Living for Jesus Christ in a Broken & Sin-Filled World
by H.K. Holevinsky
As long as the sun is shining on our planet, broken or not, sin-filled or not, there is hope. Hope is what causes people to continue searching for truth, to push away thoughts of ending their life, to courageously hang on to a thread of chance. Although love and belief are the two most powerful forces in the universe, hope comes in at a strong number three.
Without hope, love and belief are an incomplete trinity. Hope gives us strength to carry on, gives us courage to hold on, and gives us peace to rest on.
As long as we’re still here, the Son is still illuminating the darkness which too often surrounds us in this broken and sin-filled world, and is still offering salvation to all who have yet to repent and say yes.
When Jesus was here on the earth, He spoke to different groups of people in different ways. To the self-righteous Pharisees and Sadducees, He was direct about their hypocrisy and self-righteousness. To the crowds, He taught plain and simple truths, and went about performing miracles to lend evidence of who He was. And to those who followed Him, including the disciples (who were all Israelites), He spoke in parables; but why? Why speak in puzzles to those most interested?
The parables of Jesus are among the greatest and most picturesque lessons of His public ministry. A parable is a story about a familiar subject to teach an important moral or spiritual lesson. Many of Jesus’ parables begin with wording such as, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.” There are also examples from everyday life to convey a spiritual truth such as the Parable of the Good Samaritan, which teaches love and mercy. The parables were used to:
(1) Reveal truth (and mysteries) to those who were willing to hear and believe; and to
(2) Conceal truth (and mysteries) from those who rejected truth (and Christ) because of the hardness of their hearts.
While many became lost in the surface of His stories, true disciples could dig deeper and learn better how to walk with Christ.
The focus of most parables was the kingdom the Messiah was establishing. He wanted his disciples to understand He was talking about a spiritual kingdom; one not of this world, as the Jewish people (and their blind leaders) were expecting, but rather one composed of all races and all people; and one saturated by love and compassion. This kingdom, many believe, was firmly established on Pentecost after His resurrection, and Christ was already seated upon its throne in heaven. (See Acts 2:29-33).
As followers of Jesus who have the Holy Spirit living in them, the parables of Christ can be demystified and learned from. For those who reject Christ, not so much.
More books by H.K. Holevinsky
Living for Jesus Christ in a Broken & Sin-Filled World
Volume 1: Growing in Grace
Everything we read in the Scriptures tells us we are living in a broken, ruined, sin-filled, and evil world. Even though our foremost enemy is invisible to us, the damage he and his legions have caused to mankind and the world we live in is incalculable.
Wars and death and crime and human atrocities have permeated our history, and while it may look like things are improving, we’re told they will only get worse. More wars, more earthquakes, more floods, more lust, more families destroyed; the list goes on. Are these losses spiritual or physical? Both. And why? Two reasons really: first, because long ago, humankind disobeyed the Creator of a perfect and beautiful world, allowing sin to enter in, resulting in separation from God, degradation and death. Secondly, over thousands of years, sin and iniquity have multiplied exponentially, resulting in man’s abuse and destruction of resources, and God’s recurring judgement on mankind’s rebellion. Is there any hope? Yes, there is.
In God’s infinite mercy and unconditional love, Jesus Christ came into this world to seek and to save that which was lost. He lived a perfect life, completely sinless, and willingly laid down His life, sacrificially paying the price for all sin, and to heal the brokenness between God and humankind. This is the hope for all of us: Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, the Messiah, the Promised One, the Savior of judgment-bound humanity.
Of course, one would think that once this sacrifice has been made and God’s judgement has been satisfied, all would be well. It would be, except people are still human, each of us with a free will. Even though some have turned to Christ and given up their own will to be followers of Jesus, many have not. The ratio of unbelievers to believers is incredibly high, thus continuing the trend of rebellion, evil and destruction started long ago. But what about believers? Are they making an impact on the lost? Do they exercise the Power given to them at salvation? Have they learned how to live life as God has intended them to live?
That’s exactly what this book is all about.
Living for Jesus Christ in a Broken & Sin-Filled World
Volume 2: The Committed Life
When the sun rises over the horizon, or for that matter begins to fall, people are always speechless because of the beauty and majesty of colors, attractiveness, and splendor of creation.
In the same way, when the Son rises over the horizon of sin and brokenness for a lost person, and they begin to realize the potential of what can happen in an instant, they are often speechless as well. While the Holy Spirit works in their heart and they repent and call upon the Name of the Lord for salvation, they may see hope and happiness for the first time in years. They are experiencing the new birth, and trusting Jesus Christ as the “Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
The world is still broken, but they are no longer of the world. The world is still sin-filled, but their sins are washed away. The enemy is still real and will be a formidable foe, but they have been freed forever from his eternal grip.
The lost will tell us, “Things are improving, inner-city murders have decreased, tobacco sales are down, crime and burglaries have fallen, and social security payments are up. All while human trafficking, sex trafficking, organ harvesting, terrorist bombing, inflation, chronic illness and obesity rates are climbing through the roof.
There is no fix for our world other than Jesus Christ. Band-Aids and patches won’t work. Legislating morality always fails. Peace talks are temporary, at best. God made the world perfect; willful humanity ruined it; God has a plan to fix it. And His plan includes you.
This is a mess, and is exactly what this book is all about:
To help believers realize their TRUE IDENTITY IN CHRIST.
To help believers UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE WORK OF THE MINISTRY.
To help believers COMPREHEND HEALTH & WELLNESS FOR BELIEVERS.
To help believers see that REJOICING, PRAYING, AND GIVING THANKS CONTINUALLY is a lifestyle.
To help believers find the joy in THINKING YOUR WAY TO HAPPINESS.
To help believers understand the CONFLICT OF THE UNRIGHTEOUS MAMMON and serving God.
To help believers UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LOVE & THE HUMAN HEART.
To help believers COMPREHEND ETERNITY WITH JESUS CHRIST.
My prayer is that God will use this second volume to encourage you to live the life Jesus described in the Scriptures. That you will take advantage of and use the Power you already have within to impact the world around you. That people will see a significant difference in you and in how you live; in your joy, in your rejection of sin and worldly choices and rebellion; and they will ask you about it. And that you will build and maintain an amazing relationship with your Creator, both now, and in preparation for the world to come.
May Jesus Christ be praised and honored and glorified by all that we say, all that we think, and all that we do.