I DO IT FOR THE LORD

Why do the innocent die?

Anonymous asked you:
How, why, would a “loving” God let innocent people die?

I answered:

Thank you for this question! We have all lost loved ones, and this surely is one of life’s toughest questions. Please let me answer it to the best of my ability. All I ask from you is a patient and open-mind.

There are so many terrible things in this life, and death is one of them. However, I do believe that there is a simple reason for God allowing death in this world: nature. This is the natural course of things. Even God’s own followers die. They die by murder, disease, and poverty, the same as everyone else. In this world, nothing is perfect. Everything is running down and getting worse. How could God let this happen? Well, it’s a complicated question, of course. We can start with a few statements:

1. If this world is perfect, there would be no reason for death to exist. 
2. It would be chaotic and destructive to put immortality into the hands of imperfect people.
3. If there is a God, then there is a life beyond this one. Therefore, He is able to still be loving because there is immortality beyond this hard life. 

Having said these statements, it becomes apparent that immortality in this world would actually be negative, not positive. However, God has still provided an end result for the repentant. Someone who repents is simply one who follows Jesus as God, their Savior who died for their sins. Because Jesus took the punishment for all the evil you and I have done, we can have a personal relationship with Him. Let me briefly explain: 

A good judge will never turn a blind eye to evil. Retribution must always be made for every evil act. So God made a way to still be a perfect judge and still allow us to have a relationship with Him forever.

Having said these things, we can now examine the state of human beings, and whether they should get into a perfect dwelling without Jesus. They of course would have to be innocent (free from moral wrong).

in·no·cent

1. free from moral wrong; without sin; pure.

Are we innocent? We lie, cheat, steal, murder, insult, abuse, hate, cheat, curse, gossip, slander, condescend, and blaspheme. By very nature, our parents have to teach us not to be evil, for that is our natural course. We were not born innocent and then victimized by the corruption of society. Therefore, we are evil. We are then corrupted by society and become even more evil. 

e·vil                                                                                             

8.the wicked or immoral part of someone or something.

Clearly, we are imperfect, not innocent: evil. So my question to you is this: How, why, would a perfect, just God die for us evil persons in order to forgive us our debts? That is beyond absurd. You and I, we do not deserve perfection. We choose evil instead of good every day. Yet, He died anyway, because He loves you.

Death is the course of nature. The rampant poison of imperfection is running through the veins of this earth. If humans lived forever, we would all be monsters. The worst notion of a loving God is blessing evil with immortality. Think of all the criminals in the world that are in prison, or have passed away. Now, think of all the people who would commit those same crimes if they were not afraid. Instead of asking me, “Why would a loving God let people die?” you would ask, “How could a loving God let man live forever?”

We would all take advantage of such power. It would corrupt us all. Governments would cease; guns would be useless. You would not be able to die, and you would live in fear of being captured and tortured every day for eternity. Of course, such conditions are barely imaginable, but I suspect that if every criminal that ever walked this earth were alive today, then such would be the case. Instead of allowing this earth to continue in such a way, he limits our lives and dies for us so that we could live. In this way, the evil will perish and the repentant will live forever. How, why would a perfect, just, loving, holy, merciful God do such a wonderful thing?

Jesus Christ. He came to this earth and lived a perfect life, yet He was tortured and killed for claiming to be the very One that He is: God. He then rose from the dead to prove to the world that He truly is God, and He sent those who witnessed this to share what He had done to the world. You have asked me how God could let innocent people die. Yet, I tell you He lets us live, and He died for us in our place. He has always loved you, and He always will. I hope you realize this soon.

“⁵ But he was pierced for our rebellion,
    crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
    He was whipped so we could be healed.
⁶ All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
    We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
    the sins of us all.” – Isaiah 53:5-6


I truly hope you have read this with an open mind. Please consider what I have said. I do not wish to fight or argue. Life is hard, and I just want to help you. Please let me know if you have a reply, question, or anything you’d like to share with me. You have my prayers.

God bless and much love

Samuel Assaf

Anonymous asked: Is smoking cigs/weed a stumbling block to getting closer with Christ and/or interrupt with the dwelling of the holy spirit?

I appreciate your question!

Both are a distraction away from Christ. Here’s how:

You smoke weed/cigs in order to get your high. They relax you. They make you feel good. Then, you’re stressed out about something, so you smoke to relax. Then, you become psychologically addicted. You depend less on Jesus and more on feeling good to get rid of the pain. Only there is one problem. There is not a single drug that will take away the pain. It is just a distraction. So you start doing it more and more because it makes you forget some of the pain. Jesus slowly becomes smaller and less important. You’re still stressed out, and no matter how much you smoke, that won’t change. Anything can be psychologically addicting, but drugs are highly more addicting because they mess directly with your mind and body.

Or you might ask if it is still wrong if it is for fun. But then I will have to return the question in this way: You’re setting these things on fire and breathing it into your body. When this happens, it alters your state of mind and unsobers you. You’re not using your body to glorify God any more. You are using your body to satisfy what your body wants. 

This is a great question for you to ask! Although, there is a much more important and personal question that I want you to ask instead:

How can I get closer to Jesus, and is smoking distracting me? If the answer is yes, then by all means stop. If the answer is “I don’t know,” then by all means stop. Yet, if the answer is no, let’s see how long that will last.

I wrote another post about this with a more Scripture-based argument. Feel free to add in “cigarettes” whenever the word marijuana pops up. Here it is: 
http://amartyrschallenge.tumblr.com/post/23941913901/christians-and-weed

Just remember to search your heart and see what is the wisest decision you can make! Something doesn’t have to be sin in order for it to be unwise. As Pastor Mark Driscoll used to say: “Some things are not sin, they’re just stupid. It’s not a sin to eat a lawn mower, it’s just stupid!” 

So just really ask yourself this: Is this wise or unwise? Find out exactly why you want to smoke and if you should really be focusing those desires on Jesus. Because if you find yourself wanting to smoke instead of going to Jesus, you are going to be in deep waters.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 10:28-30

Jesus said that, not drugs. 

I hope I was of help! Please message me again if you disagree, have something to add, or if you want to ask another question! I appreciate it, and I’m praying for you!

God bless and much love!

Samuel Assaf 

A little long-distance relationship advice

I answered:

Well, I would say that there are ups and downs to long distance relationships, but before I get into that, I should first lay out what dating is actually for. For the sake of smooth grammar, I am going to assume that you are a man, so if you are a woman, please still apply what I say to you.

Dating only ends in either marriage or breaking up. So you should probably aim for marriage instead of breaking your heart or someone else’s. 

 Having said that, you shouldn’t be looking for a girlfriend, you should be looking for a wife. You should find someone with the qualities of a Biblical, Godly woman and then date them to find out if they would make a good wife or not. If you don’t know what a Biblical, Godly husband/wife looks like, message me again and I will provide you with material that will help you understand which qualities you need to develop, and which qualities you will need to find in your spouse.

Now that we have gotten the general statement of a dating relationship out of the way, we can now discuss long distance relationships.

Here are some pros and cons when it comes to long distance relationships:

Pros:

• Getting to know the person at an increased rate because of communication without much fun dates.
• Learning to sort through fights and problems without the ability to “Hug it out.”
• Discovering how much you are willing to be with the person over time.
• Being able to observe character traits that the person develops while you are away.

Cons:

• Stress of distance.
• Trust issues may develop
• Person may find someone else
• Jealousy may be quickly aroused
• Lack of “fun” events
• Communication barriers, as personal conversations must be done on skype or on the phone

So these are just a few that I can name from the top of my head. It really depends on who you are, who the other person is, and if the relationship is worth it or not. Don’t trick yourself into thinking that you’re stuck in the relationship and you have no choice but to marry the person. Get to know the person, understand why you are struggling so much, and for goodness’ sakes, talk about it with your long-distance partner.

Communication is the most important key in marriage, or in any sort of relationship for that matter. So this is a great time and experience to learn how to communicate with your girlfriend, and also to learn how to communicate with your friends, family, and God-willing, your wife. 

Perhaps you’re not even in the season for looking for a spouse. You should take time to reflect and pray, and look into what is required of you as a spouse, before you look for one. I can provide you with material, if you find yourself lacking knowledge in this area.

I hope I was of help! Always remember that there is more to life than finding a spouse, and you have your whole life to figure that out. Focus on Christ, and grow with Him as you continue to sort these things out, or strive to fight the struggles of your long-distance relationship. Remember that you don’t need to decide who you will marry today or tomorrow. Just take your time, get to know the person, see what you need, and maybe one day you will find out that this person would be beneficial as a wife, or just simply not for you. Always pray, and be teachable and open minded.

God bless and much love!

Samuel Assaf 

Dating only ends in one of two ways..

Anonymous said: 1/3 My boyfriend and I… Well things have changed a lot recently. We dated all of last year, then he moved away to hockey school. We completely broke off and I missed him to an extent I can’t even explain. He came back at the beginning of the summer and we hung out once.. Things just came together and we’ve been dating since.. But like I said, things have changed. He’s not Christian. And since he came back.. Oh look he’s a teenage boy with physical desires that I wasn’t prepared for.

2/3 Things weren’t like this before he left. I’ve gone a lot further than I had planned on. This wasn’t entirely his fault, like he didn’t force me, I gave in to temptation. I see now that I shouldn’t have. I feel like he now has expectations and I’m not comfortable with it. As I said before, he’s not Christian. Christ plays a big role in my life and before I just thought I’d work with it and try my best to show him how the Lord has been working in my life.

3/3 I don’t really think he’s open to it though. So it’s not just the spiritual issue anymore, it’s the physical too. I need advice, I don’t know what to do, although I feel like I really should just break up with him. Thank you in advance. <3

I said:

Thank you for coming to me with your problem! I’m sorry to hear that you are in such a predicament, but I think there is something that you need to do, and I think you know it as well.

I think that the best thing you could do is to break up with him. You want a husband who is a Christian, yes? You want a husband that you know is going to lead you closer to Christ, not away from Him. Even if you did not cross sexual boundaries, I would still give you the same advice.

Dating can only end in one or two ways: it is either marriage or a break up. So you should be dating to win, not to lose! And currently, I think you know that you are losing. You are not with a wonderful man of God. You are with someone who isn’t a Christian, and this is dragging you down and distressing you. I don’t know this guy, but he could be the nicest and most respectful man on the earth, and yet he still can’t give you what you need, because what you need is spiritual:

¹⁴ Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

¹⁷ “Therefore come out from them 
    and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
    and I will receive you.” 
¹⁸ “I will be a Father to you,
    and you will be my sons and daughters, 
says the Lord Almighty.- 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

Having said that, I think you know what you should do. IF you think you are ready for a relationship, then stop looking for a boyfriend, and start looking for a husband. Your search will be a lot simple that way. Date to win, not to lose. I know that you must be in a very hard situation, because I’m guessing that you don’t want to hurt him and you love him. So I want you to pray and think about this and then decide on what you think God wants you to do.

I know that I have sounded very clear and precise, and I hope that has not been taken in a condescending or harsh way! When it comes to relationships, I need to be very to-the-point because a lot of emotion is usually involved. So to help you see clearly through this situation, I cannot beat around the bush. Just know that this was said with all good intentions, and I hope that you will have the strength to work through this situation and be able to wisely choose which direction you need to take!

God bless and much love!

Samuel Assaf

Comfortable Christians

vangizzy asked:

Hi. I’m still quite young, and I am.. a christian, But this question was brought up and it kind of stuck to me. “If you are comfortable where you are at, maybe the satan has you right where he wants you?” What do you think about this rhetorical question? Thanks:)

I said:

Thank you for your question! It’s quite a common phrase used in most Christian circles. It’s not a quote from the Bible, but I think it does hold a certain amount of truth. I think it can also be misconstrued.

There’s nothing wrong with being comfortable. Sometimes life just goes great. However, I think Satan traps us when we start thinking that we deserve to be comfortable:

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” – Matthew 4:1-3

So Jesus is fasting, and Satan comes along and tells Him that He should eat. Jesus could have said “Wow, I am so hungry. I should eat.” But instead, Jesus refuses to give into the temptation. In the same way, I feel as though Satan can come to us and try to convince us that we can take a break from God. He tries to convince us that it’s okay to just get comfortable and not try so hard.

Christianity itself isn’t comfortable; it challenges us to strive for a standard much higher than what we have to offer:

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? For what can a man give in return for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” – Mark 8:34-38

The verdict:

Is your life comfortable because you’re going through a season of joy, or are you comfortable because you don’t want to deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Christ every day?

Sometimes, life is great and comfortable no matter how hard we fight for the Gospel. Most of the time, it is really hard. Let us fight in this world, and rest in Heaven. Let us not desire comfort, but instead let our deepest desire be for the lost souls of this world.

God bless and much love

Samuel Assaf

When Porn Attacks.

Anonymous said: Hey Samuel. Ive been a christian for a couple years now. I live my life in God’s name every chance i get. Ive preached at church, I’m a leader figure in my youth group. I love God, and I want nothing more than to show others of my faith. I do that a lot, i talk of my faith to others so much, and I’m in love with my faith so much. I feel like such a failure though. I’ve been battling a pornography addiction for almost 3 years, and idk what i have to do to cut it out. how i can i battle temptation


I said:

My friend, I am proud to hear that you are sharing the Gospel. Keep up the good fight of faith!

First of all, you cannot be superhuman and never sin. You know Paul? That really awesome dude that always preached and went to prison for it and got beaten and tortured and persecuted? Yeah, he was full of sin. Look at this:

¹⁴ So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. ¹⁵ I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.¹⁶ But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

¹⁸ And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.^[d] I want to do what is right, but I can’t. ¹⁹ I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. ²⁰ But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.

²¹ I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. ²² I love God’s law with all my heart. ²³ But there is another power^[e] within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. ²⁴ Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? ²⁵ Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.- Romans 7:14-25 (NLT)


So, my friend, you beat yourself up because you hate sin just like God does! You’re battling your sinful ways because you are a sinner, and you will always be until you die.

However, there is something that must be brought to light. Addiction tends to elevate things in our lives above God, which is idolatry. You’re worshipping your flesh instead of God when you continually give in to your temptations. Allow me to prove this to you:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.- 1 Corinthians 10:13

This tells us two things. One, sin is your choice. This addiction of yours can be broken if you tried. And second of all, God has given you the means of escape! Yes, it won’t be easy, but you can overcome it!

So here’s how you overcome this type of addiction. It comes from your desire to fulfill your physical and/or emotional needs. Perhaps you just lust all the time and you like looking at naked women. Or perhaps you are really stressed out about something and it makes you relax. Perhaps this is your way of being loved. Whatever it is, it is not okay. But first of all, don’t stay on your computer so long. Don’t just sit there on Facebook and keep pressing the refresh button! Get out of there man! Boredom always makes a man lust. Secondly, set yourself with real boundaries! Don’t try not to watch porn, try not to lust! If you don’t lust, you won’t watch porn! Look at what James says:

Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. ¹⁵ These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. – James 1:14-15 (NLT)

Do you want to be free from this sin? Do you WANT to be free from this sin? Then you have to cut it off from where it starts! You must fight the root of it: lust. It will take a while, and it won’t be easy. But if you never give up and always persevere, you will overcome!

Now, allow me to speak in terms of every addiction. You have to put God first, because you’re not putting Him first. You keep choosing to serve your flesh instead of God! So just start to be more Christ-centered. When the temptation to lust comes, don’t just try resisting it on your own. Don’t you get it? You can’t do this! You can’t! That is why you need Jesus! Jesus will get you through my friend! The secret is Jesus! Check this out:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil… Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.- Ephesians 6:10-11,13 (ESV)

You have to be strong in God. You have to stay focused on Him. Please, do yourself a favor and read and study the whole chapter of Ephesians 6. That chapter will tell you what you need to do.

Listen: The key to defeating sin is not battling the sin; it is focusing on Jesus! Let Christ defeat your sin! Understand this: only Christ has the power to defeat your sinful nature. Do you understand? You have to start praying, worshipping, and reading your Bible more. Make more of a conscious effort to serve Him every day. That’s how you defeat sin! Because the closer you get to Christ, the further you get from sin.

It won’t be easy, and it could take a while, but if you really try, you will never even watch it again! You can do this, the Bible says you can! Have faith in your God, for He will give you strength! Keep fighting the good fight of faith. I’m proud of you.

Let me know if I can help you more!

God bless and much love

Samuel Assaf

Homosexuality.

Anonymous said: Why are you against homosexuality? You do realize, don’t you, that homosexuality isn’t a choice & it can’t be changed, which means that being against homosexuality is like being against a person’s skin color or ethnicity, which are both also unchangeable & innate. I’m sure you think it’s hateful to be racist or xenophobic, so why do you think it’s somehow not hateful to be against homosexuality? (Oh, and I myself am bisexual, so I can tell you for a fact that I did not choose to be this way.)

Also, have you ever actually studied the history and context of all of the supposed “anti-gay” Bible verses? Heck, have you ever even read those verses in the original Greek and Aramaic (before they were translated a million times), and do you know what the words “arsenokoitai” and “malakoi” mean? Or do you just take those verses at face value, even though that just gives you an incredibly shallow interpretation of them?




I said:

Actually, you have been severely deceived because I know quite a few examples of people who are no longer homosexuals. One’s identity is sacred, to be sure. But a preference is not sacred. I like pizza, I cannot help liking pizza. That is my preference. Does that mean I have to eat pizza? No. You like homosexuality. Does that mean you have to practice homosexuality? No. Just because you think that you were born gay, it does not mean that you have to practice that. Also, there is no sound scientific evidence that proves that sexual preference is genetic. It is usually caused by life experiences and the environment. It’s very complicated. But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. Let’s say that you were born with a proclivity towards same-sex relations. That proves nothing. Others desire to lie, murder, cheat, steal, be angry, violent, or lust. Just because a lot of people say, “I was born this way.” It doesn’t make it okay. Being black or white isn’t a choice. However, you can choose who you have sex with.

Furthermore, by admitting that you are born with a strong desire for homosexuality, you are actually supporting the Biblical grounds of the sinful nature of man. The Bible does not teach that we are born perfect and then mess things up later on, it teaches that we are born imperfect. You and everyone else have had a desire to sin since birth. There are plenty of people who believe that lying Is okay. The Bible says it’s a sin. There are people who think swearing is okay. The Bible says it is a sin. Just because you think that homosexuality is okay, doesn’t make it permissible.


Please watch this short video for a very good explanation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CIw6ngIqaD0

As for what the Bible says about homosexuality, I have done a video to cover the topic. It is 30 minutes long, which really isn’t that long when you think about it. It includes all the notes you need. Here is the link:

http://amartyrschallenge.tumblr.com/post/21124953887/does-the-bible-accept-or-deny-homosexuality-and

Let me know if you have any more questions or arguments.

God bless and much love!

Samuel Assaf 

Steps to Overcoming Sin.

Anonymous asked: I’m a Christian who struggles with his sexuality everyday—it’s really tough. With the mix messages culture & society tell me (us) everyday, I’m thankful for the word & for all people who believe in the accurate gospel. Some days I find myself really plotting an experimentation with the same-sex, I’m afraid of myself sometimes. I have deep remorse and am profoundly apologetic for the way my mind is. Although, I’m haunted… I’m trying to allow God to transform me. Any insight or words on this?



I said:

Thank you so much for opening up to me. You seem to be really going through a hard time with this. 

I noticed two key things from what you said: You are fighting your sin nature, and you are trying to allow God to transform you.

Your sin nature

This is what Apostle Paul had to say about struggling with the sin nature in the Scripture:

I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. ²² I love God’s law with all my heart. ²³ But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. ²⁴ Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? ²⁵ Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. – Romans 7:21-25 (NLT)

My friend, you cannot be free from sin. You are it’s slave. You cannot do it. That is why you need Jesus! He is strong enough to pull you through whatever you are going through. He is strong enough to get you through this! Look at this Scripture:

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)


Hope is not lost! God has made your escape! The choice is yours: Will you continue in your sinful, selfish ways as you crawl your way to death? Or will you rely on Jesus to help you fight your way through every single battle to eternal life? The choice is yours.

Hallelujah my friend! You have a choice! Rejoice in the mighty power of God, and trust in Him for your repentance. Remember those Scripture verses my friend. The answer is Christ, and He has prepared a way for you to escape your temptation!


God transforming you

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. – Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)


The first verse pleads you to offer your BODY as a living and holy sacrifice. This means that with whatever you do, let it holy and pleasing to God. Whatever choice you make is a choice to either worship God or curse Him.

The second verse explains it further by saying to refuse to listen to the culture, but instead allow God to transform your thinking. Instead of thinking about your sin, think about Jesus. When you are tempted you should pray, read your Bible, or just escape out of that situation. For super effectiveness, you should probably do all three. Make sense?

Put yourself under good teaching, become accountable with a strong Christian friend (with everything, not just sin.), pray unceasingly, and study the Word of God. Allow Him to change the way you think.


My friend, thank God for the grace that you have found in Jesus. Never stop looking to Him. Our relationship with God is not about abstaining from sin, it is about getting close to Him. The minute you take your eyes off of Him, you will sin. But if you always keep your focus on Jesus, you will never fail.


The closer you get to Christ, the further you’ll get from sin.


I hope I was of help. Please do not hesitate to reply, or to ask any other questions you may have.

God bless and much love!

Samuel Assaf

Homosexuality.

 Anonymous

Understanding Scripture.

Anonymous asked:

Colossians 3 1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

I said:

I’m actually impressed that you looked at those verses and thought about what was actually being said. A number of Christians today just pass over those verses because they’ve heard those things so much. But you want to grasp the true meaning, so I commend you for that.


As is indicated with verses 5-10, Paul is simply saying this: Since now Jesus has given you a new heart, stop focusing on your flesh, but start focusing on God. Stop focusing on earthly things. You died to your sinful nature when you believed in Jesus, and now your life belongs to Jesus. When Christ comes back in the Second Coming, you will be with Him.

Now, this would be confusing unless you read verses 5-10. Also, it is a continuation of chapter 2 which talks about being free in Christ by living by His rules and not human regulations. Chapter 2 talks about this from chapter 2 verse 6 all the way up to chapter 3 verse 17.

Here’s some encouragement for when you are struggling to understand the Bible:

Chapters and verses were added into the Bible only a few hundred years ago. Why was this done? So people could make references. Just like now, you wanted to understand it more so you showed me the Scripture reference so I could look it up and explain. There is nothing wrong with that. However, Paul wrote Colossians (and many others) as letters. Meaning you have to read from the beginning of the letter to understand what he’s talking about in chapter 3. You have to do this with any book of the Bible. You never start reading in the middle of a book, so you should never just read the middle of a book of the Bible without understanding the beginning! Of course, I’m not suggesting that you are or are not reading out of context, I’m just giving you a helpful tip!  

I hope this helped, let me know if you have any more questions regarding this or anything else!

God bless and much love!

Samuel Assaf

I’ve always admired the bravery and sheer honesty of Daniel’s 3 friends and their event with the burning furnace.

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” - Daniel 3:16-18


So basically, there are these three guys who are threatened with being burnt alive unless they commit idolatry and worship other gods that are not the true God.

So what do they declare?
They declare that they will bow down to no man and no false god,and that their God is alive, and able to deliver them from the very flames that can take their lives.

But then they add something very strange and unseen in today’s Christian culture. 

They declare that even if their God does not save them, they will still honor Him anyway.

So I have a question for all you Christians out there.

If you go through suffering and persecution, are you willing to love God even if He doesn’t save you?

Do you need health, wealth, friends, a job, a certain achievement, or anything else to honor and love God?

Or is God enough?