In this issue
Happy or cursed New Year?
Are you going to heaven or hell? Please think about it carefully before it is too late.
They are not saved
About two thousand six hundred years ago, the prophet Jeremiah lamented that his people were not saved, saying, “The harvest is past, the summer has ended, and we are not saved.” (Jeremiah 8:20) Now we have entered the new year of 2025. But most people are not saved. No matter how many years have passed, people are not saved. How do you feel about that? Is it a Happy New Year to you? What are people rejoicing about?
The prophet Jeremiah wrote of his experience, “Since my people are crushed, I am crushed; I mourn, and horror grips me.” (Jeremiah 8:21). Now, like Jeremiah, I cannot rejoice because my loved ones are still unsaved and are only interested in worldly things. I grieve for them.
The prophet also says, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician in the land? Why does the daughter of my people not recover from her wound?” (Jeremiah 8:22) Is there no balm in Gilead, Jeremiah was frustrated. The prophet said the balm of Gilead could heal wounds, even though he did not reveal what kind of wounds it could heal. The prophet lamented that there was the balm, but the wounds of the Jews could not be healed. Is there no physician, he added.
I, like the prophet, would like to ask these questions: Is there no salvation of God? Does God not allow people to get to heaven? Has the right to get there been hidden from us? Is salvation only for good people? Is the salvation only for those who strive for God and do good deeds? Is it not for everyone? If it is for everyone, why doesn’t everyone know about it? Why would we needlessly have to enter the great tribulation to endure all kinds of suffering, just to go down at the end into the lake of fire? Why do people who know the good news of salvation keep silent? And why do people not want to hear it?
Man is like grass
Man is proud because he does not know about himself. He is greedy, ferocious, and ignorant. The Bible says, A voice says, “Cry out.” And I said, “What shall I cry?” “All people are like grass, and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them. Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” (Isaiah 40:6-8)
As God says, people are like grass. Grass does not last a year; it only lives a season. In the same way, human life does not last a hundred years. In adolescence, man wants to be an adult quickly. When he becomes an adult, he spends his time in greed and pleasure as though he will never die. Although he sees death taking away all ages, he does not think that it will come to him also.
God compares the glory of man, such as success, wealth, and fame, to withering away like a flower before his death. Even dictators, because they are old, do not realize that they will rule for only a few short years, so they are cruel and oppressive. Are you drunk on your achievements and do not see anything past today? You should not spend all your time, money, and energy on things that will last for a short time.
The Word that will last
Why does God say, “The word of the Lord endures forever” and compare it to the glory of man? It is because He wants to remind people not to spend all their time, money, and energy on the glory that will last for a moment, but to focus on His Word that will last forever. The things of the world were created by the word of God (Genesis 1; John 1). God will destroy them with fire (2 Peter 3:10). We should not be attached to the things of the world that will pass away. We should only hold on to the Word that will last forever. Christ said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). Isaiah said, “All the host of heaven will melt away, and the heavens will be rolled up like a scroll. As a leaf falls from the vine, and as a fig tree casts its fruit, so shall all the host of heaven be dissolved.” All the host of heaven shall fall. (Isaiah 34:4)
Again, "Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail." (Isaiah 51:6) The prophet Micah also said, “Like wax before the fire, like waters gushing down a deep, the mountains shall melt, and the valleys shall be split open at his presence” (Micah 1:4). Peter said, “The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). Therefore, he gave an advice, “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:11-13)
Do you, as Peter said, look for new heavens and a new earth? If you do, you will strive to live holy life and take pleasure in godliness. Otherwise, you will be a hypocrite. You will face sorrow and grief.
Submit to husbands’ headship
Let us learn from the above verses. Paul says that wives are to submit to their husbands.
Can all women follow this? Why should wives submit to their husbands?
Actually, they should...
(1) Because they submit to the Lord. In Paul’s day, the church and women submitted to the Lord. They do not put their own desires first. However, because churches and women today do not acknowledge the Lord’s headship, Paul’s counsel is no longer affective. It is not easy for a woman who does not accept the Lord’s headship to accept the headship of her husband.
(2) Paul says, “Christ is the head of the church.” Is Christ still the head of the church today? Aren’t most churches headed by pastors, elders, and members? The head leads the body. In the same way, the church must be ruled by Christ, the head. If Christ rules, the church must learn to know and obey his will. Do churches today know the will of Christ? Do they follow the will of Christ?
The will of Christ is that since he has saved everyone, every member of the church must accept that salvation. However, there are many churches that do not fully know the salvation of Christ. Because they do not know that salvation, they do not preach about it. Not only that, they do not like those who preach it, and they even forbid it being preached. Even those who received salvation do not acknowledge the lordship of Christ. Therefore, they want to lead the church according to their human views and human preferences. Since such churches do not accept the lordship of Christ, women no longer see a good example to follow. Therefore, acknowledging the lordship of their husbands is a very distant and difficult thing to do.
For women to accept their husbands as their heads, the following conditions should be looked upon.
(a) If a husband is competent than his wife in everything, it is very easy for the wife to accept her husband as her head. Since a man needs to be competent than his wife, he should not marry a woman who is more competent than him.
(b) If the husband and the wife are almost equal in competency, it will be difficult for the wife to accept the lordship of her husband. There will be a ton of conflicts between them that cause them to fight and argue all the time.
However, The Bible does not say that a man is the head only if he is able to lead in everything. Therefore, wives are to submit to their husbands without competing with them. If they submit to the Lord, they will also be able to submit to their husbands. Christ is capable of doing everything since he is also God, yet, he obeyed his Father without fail (John 5:19; John 5:30; Philippians 2:5-9). Therefore, women, even if they could stand alongside their men, should respect their husbands as their heads, which is in line with what the Bible has to teach. At the same time, men should not be abusive to his wife. The head leads the rest of the body, but does not abuse or oppress the body parts.
(c) If a man is weaker than his wife and needs to rely on her, it is not easy for a woman to accept her husband’s authority. In such a situation, a woman should not dominate her husband, but should give advices and patiently explain things to him. Such patience and long-suffering are not easy by nature. However, if you are filled with the spirit of the Lord, it is completely easy. By doing so, you can measure yourself whether you are a spiritual person or a natural person.
Wife is the rib of husband
It was said that God created man from the dust of the ground, but woman was formed from the man’s rib. "So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[a] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[b] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man." (Genesis 2:21-24).
Why did God create man from the dust of the ground, but not woman also from it? The reason is that he wanted the woman to be one with the man. If the woman were created separately from the dust of the ground, she would not have any connection with the man. Adam said that Eve was made from his rib, and said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” Therefore, men need to know that their wives are "bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh." Paul says, “No one hates his own flesh” (Ephesians 5:29). Why do men beat their wives? Because they do not know that their wives are their own flesh. From now on, let every man consider his wife not as a separate entity, but as a bone of his bone or his own flesh. If he beats his own flesh, he's hurting his own flesh. No one wants to cut up his own flesh and throw it away. The parts of his body may not be in proportion to others, or may not be attractive, but no man wants to get rid of them. If the part of his body is in pain, would the man not take good care of it tenderly? Therefore, men should not regard his wife as though she is not part of him. Like Adam, the wife should be regarded as his bones and his flesh instead.
The parts of the body could be unattractive, and be a pain sometimes. Similarly, the wife should not forget that she is a part of her husband, and I should not be annoying. She should instead try to stay supportive of him. The wife should only remain in the place of the ribs. If the ribs rise above the head, it would only look like the horns as in animal's. Let every wife be careful that she does not rise above her husband, but remain faithful and supportive as the rib would be to the man. Even if the parts of the body are unattractive, they should stay in their place. Since the husband is the head, it would be scary if the wife were to place the head under her armpit.
Why was a woman created from the ribs and not from any other bones? The reason is that the woman is to be a helper or support. Moreover, Adam represents Christ, and Eve represents the church. The church was formed by the blood that flowed from Christ’s side. Therefore, Paul says, “Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.” (Ephesians 5:24). Let the churches also submit to Christ as their head and submit to his headship.
