Vitamin G: God's Truth Given to Mankind

By Peter F Serra

Have you ever wondered what motivates and produces the courage necessary for someone to place into print his inner thoughts and understanding of life? Have we ever found ourselves seeking answers within the complexity of life and then finding all that has been given? Such is the reality of everyone who has been touched by the hand of God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Writers Apex
• Release date: Mar 21, 2023
• ISBN: 9781639501823

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Copyright © 2023 Peter F. Serra.

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ISBN: 978-1-63950-186-1 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-63950-181-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-63950-182-3 (e)

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Contents

Preface

Confused Convicted Convinced Converted

Tought and Action

Everlasting

Reasoning

Apprised Annointed Cursed

Beaten Battered Broken Bruised

This World is Not My Home

Be Holy

Redeemed Renewed Respected Resurrected

Deprived Depressed Driven Dead

Sin and Doubt

More and Less

Bridges

Disobedience

Freedom

Pearls

Pride

Persistence

Then and Now

A Soldier in the Field Audience With The King

About the Author

Preface

The overall intent of this writing is to bring into focus the inner workings of this poor man to the awareness of those I love. I recognize that at some point I will no longer have ability to convey to my children and grandchildren the love I have, not only for them but for all who call Jesus, Lord. A candle is not hidden under a bowl and the truth is not meant to be proprietary, rather, it is meant to be heralded and applauded by all who have been given the ability to see through the eyes of love. A light is shone into the darkness to lead those who are seeking a way out.

Even if there are some who are not seeking the freedom of light’s illumination, once truth (light) is brought into the dark the natural reaction is to move toward that which was heretofore unknown. It is this light that has been given to all of us who have found salvation and eternal life; having been the recipient of such a gift, it is my understanding such a gift is meant to be shared, with all who will accept such reality. God has called his children to be communicators, in all aspects of interaction with others; mostly, it is through the manner in-which we conduct our lives. Honesty in our lives will attract others to the truth; hypocrisy, is present when the speech we present conflicts with the manner in-which we conduct our lives. Hypocrisy will not attract it will cause others to recognize the deception in the presentation and fail to permit truth its moment to advance.

Additionally, if just one word written in this book encourages someone to seek to know the God of all creation, or answers a question that builds up their faith, then, the effort put forth has been more than worth it! Everything written within is for the glory of God, and in testimony to his wonderful gift to mankind. All scriptural quotes are taken from the New International Version of the bible, except where otherwise noted. All quotes are made in bold italics.

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Acts 2:5-12 There were Jews living in Jerusalem, religious people who had come from every country in the world. When they heard this noise, a large crowd gathered. They were all excited because all of them heard the believers talking in their own languages. In amazement and wonder they exclaimed, These people who are talking like this are Galileans! How is it then, that we hear them speaking in our own native languages? We are from Parthia, Media, and Elam; from Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia; from Pontus and Asia, from Phrygia and Pamphylia, from Egypt and the regions of Libya near Cyrene. Some of us are from Rome, both Jews and Gentiles converted to Judaism, and some of us are from Crete and Arabia-yet all of us hear them speaking in our own languages about the great things God has done! Amazed and confused they kept asking each other, What does this mean?"

1

CONFUSED CONVICTED CONVINCED CONVERTED

It’s the day of Pentecost (as it was called in ancient Greek) and the believers are gathered in one place. The day of Pentecost, wherein the Holy Spirit is given to the church was also a feast day for the Jews. The feast of Weeks as it was known, was a celebration of the harvest and subsequently a giving of thanks to God for his abundant generosity. I like to think it is not coincidence that the abundant giving of the Holy Spirit is found to be most pronounced in the common man: These people who are talking like this are Galileans. We find out a bit later-on that three thousand people were converted to the truth as it was presented in multiple languages. It makes sense to have the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church on a day that ensured a great number of people to be present in Jerusalem. At this time there were Jews from all over the world living in Jerusalem, and they are confused by the fact that these men are speaking in languages they had no way of learning? Those whose attention was captured by a sound like a strong rushing wind and their subsequent firsthand observations of those proclaiming the truth of Jesus, are increasingly confused because they recognize the very articulate and multilingual presenters of truth as commoners from the region of Galilee. Galilee may very well have been looked upon as an area lacking the sophistication of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who had more of an opportunity to receive an education; adding to the confusion as to how these common folks were able to present such tremendous strength in the truth of Christ in every language? The confusion may stem from comparing (there is always an elitism concept), those who are troubled by the trials presented to the poor, and the so-called elite of society untroubled by life’s struggles. This multilingual presentation says to all those listening, that God shows no favoritism, but invites everyone to receive his grace. This same message was made at the death of Christ when the curtain in the temple was torn, symbolically announcing to everyone the ability to come into the presence of God. The religious protocol had sectioned-off the temple grounds, wherein the common man was permitted into the outer court, the priests were granted admittance into the inner court and the high priest alone was permitted into the holiest place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept and symbolized the presence of God. No longer is there a separation based upon the perception of self-righteousness; rather, all were being apprised of their need to accept the offering of forgiveness in the sacrifice of Christ.

They asked for meaning

Throughout the confusion there is the question that shouts for the meaning of the occurrences they are witnessing, and they receive a magnificent answer from Peter as he addresses the crowd. It may not be obvious to everyone, but we should recognize that the crowd finding conviction and conversion in the truth presented, were also the recipients of the Holy Spirit! Adding to the occurrences taking place (the attention getting noise sounding like a strong rushing wind and the believers speaking in many languages), there is the added strength present in the truth that overcomes a natural fear of the ruling religious. Everyone living in Jerusalem was keenly and acutely aware of the events that took place regarding the crucifixion of Jesus. The ruling religious had serious power to intimidate, threaten, and yes, crucify those who voiced opinion contrary to the status quo. Beginning with being barred from the local places of worship and in such outcast status a person may very well find a closed door at the homes of family and friends; religious rule was that threatening! In addition to the ruling religious there was a king and of course the Roman dictators who lent additional strength to the diminished freedoms of the people. As such, not many opposed them and for those who did the price was always very expensive. Those witnessing the folly of resistance to the power of dictatorial rule, understood the message very quickly, at the sight of a crucifixion.

Having said this, what we find is the tremendous power of truth, having ability to break the grip of deception and fear; those hearing the believers, in addition to being set free by the truth are finally able to admit to the captivity in their lives, being imposed from both internal and external influence. It was an open secret that the authorities were seeking to kill Jesus because of the truth he presented to those hungering for freedom! Everyone in Jerusalem knew of the crucifixion and they are now being told that the religious have failed to crush truth because Jesus has been resurrected from the grave! Late-on in the book of Acts we find the attempts by the religious to stop the truth of Christ met with the resistance that evil could never overcome. Such truth has continued throughout the centuries into our present day. Neither threat or assaults upon those speaking such truth have succeeded to stop the intention of God to save all of those he has predestined since before the foundations of the earth were created!

In the last days

Acts 2:14-17 Then Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles and in a loud voice began to speak to the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, listen to me and let me tell you what this means. These men are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only nine o’clock in the morning. Instead, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about: ‘This is what I will do in the last days, God says: I will pour out my Spirit on everyone. Your sons and daughters will proclaim my message; your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams.’

By God’s Spirit coming to those who will invite him into their hearts and minds a new form of direct communication between God and mankind has now become widespread and no longer exclusively inherent in the prophets of God. With this indwelling of the Holy Spirit comes the ability to not only know, love and serve God, and want to do what is good and right in his eyes, but we are also given the ability to communicate to others the truth that will also set them free. Initially there was the language barrier that needed to be instantly overcome, and in this what we find is the ability of God to bestow upon his followers this ability to speak in foreign languages. God speaks and he is not faced with a communication difficulty. And neither are those who follow his example given to us in Christ.

The conversion of Saul

Acts 9:3-9 As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from the sky flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? he asked. I am Jesus, whom you persecute, the voice said. But get up and go into the city, where you will be told what you must do.

The conversion of Saul continues with him, getting up as commanded, and when he opens his eyes, he’s blind. It’s not until three days have passed that Saul has his eyesight returned, when a man named Ananias finds him and places his hands on him so that he might see again. I’m wondering why it is that Saul was made blind for this period? Perhaps it symbolizes the three days Jesus spent in the grave and in this we find Saul the hit man for the religious is resurrected into Paul of Christ? Perhaps it is a time frame that Jesus knew was necessary for Paul to be completely purged from his former life; the purging taking place within Paul, having no outside distractions? It’s interesting to note that the conversion of Paul and the blindness imposed took place when he was near Damascus. If blindness had taken place far away from Damascus the remaining portion of the journey would have been very difficult for Paul and those with him. He was made to be completely within himself and in this imposed darkness and prayer he is led into the light of truth and the magnitude of his former existence. Paul becomes perhaps the furthest traveling representative for the good news of Christ, and in this we must also understand that Paul was also given the gift of tongues. During the time of Paul there are two official languages: Latin and Greek.

Paul is not only a Roman citizen from birth, but he has received firsthand tutoring from the very religious priesthood he formerly served. Therein we can assume that he spoke Latin, and when it comes to Greek, it appears he had no trouble causing a great uproar in Athens when he discloses that the unknown god that they worshiped had forbidden such idolatry a long time ago. As such he is entering the field of preaching the truth of Christ with the linguistic talent far in advance of others of his time. It is still a great leap of assumption to think that Paul could go to these foreign lands and preach to the inhabitants without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Today we don’t hear very much about the gift of tongues, simply because the truth of Christ has already been preached throughout the world and continues to be brought to the consciousness of many even within societies that forbid such truth to be spoken.

Paul is a man that will never find it within himself to let go of the wrongs he had imposed upon the infant church, and when he asks to have a thorn removed from his side by our Lord, he is told, My grace is sufficient for you. This is a lesson that all of us should recognize as it pertains to our own former commissions of wrong and in this understanding learn to forgive ourselves. Paul’s understanding about our Conflict in Man he recognizes that it was not he who chose to do the things that are now understood to be painful to remember; rather, it was sin that ruled in us. A slave does not have a choice in the way he conducts his life; he was ruled by the sin that lived in him! With the advent of the power of truth and grace we have been set free from the sinful nature and permitted to say no to that which had formerly ruled our lives. No longer slaves to our sinful nature. We are not perfect, but we have truth that limits the assaults upon the conscience; prior to salvation’s appearance we had no choice but to follow the dictates of our sinful nature.

Persecution letters for the Free-Thinkers

It appears the good news of Christ has spread great distances and in response, the ruling religious equip Saul with letters of introduction to the Jews living in Damascus. The distance from Jerusalem to the city of Damascus was one-hundred-thirty-five miles; while we may not think of it as a long road trip it certainly was one that had to be undertaken with serious purpose. Perhaps, those Jews who were confused convicted and converted to Christ, on the day of Pentecost, had returned to their homelands and began to bring to others the joy of freedom from the religious tentacles forbidding freedom of thought? Free-Thinking in the time of the early church, and even today in Christianity itself persists; it is not a term of endearment! Examples of those who question the teaching of a religion, or even those who have an understanding contrary to a given political preference are numerous. Departure from religious teaching, defining, Free-Thinking makes itself known when one denies the teaching of a church, for the content of the bible, that clearly contradicts such church teaching. One example of this has to do with beliefs that say, the mother of Jesus had no other children; the bible makes clear that she did. What is interesting about this contradiction between the bible and tradition is that every denomination of Christianity professes the immutable, changeless perfection of the word of God, as it has been handed down to our present time. The following scripture brings to us the undeniable truth: John 2:12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and disciples. There they stayed for a few days. Differences between scripture and traditional belief, does not mean there is no value in some of the traditions handed down to the church; it is difficult, and at times troubling, to give tradition equal validity to the bible. For us to place greater trust in the traditions of the church is basically saying to us that God did not have the ability to give to us his word without error. The bible is the word of God and within this designation there should not be a problem with always having God’s word as the beacon of truth.

Free-thinking, being permitted in Christianity is not only freedom brought about by the truth contained in the bible, but also, the truth that the conscience of man presents to us; denying such ability for the common man to choose was never the intent of salvation. We do not live under a legal system of religion; freedom of thought apart from the lawyers who determine compliance to religious teaching, must have been something of tremendous revelation back then during the early church, and it has not lost its joy up until the present day! As a child, eating meat on a Friday was declared a sin by the church, but it’s no longer; if it was a sin sixty-years ago why not now? For those transformed by the truth of God’s love, such freedom to know what is acceptable, or not, in the eyes of God must have caused a constant ringing of praise within the internal halls of the soul! Just as in the time of Jesus and in our present time there are the religious who want to control the people of God. The idea that God can forgive sin directly, was not encouraged sixty-years ago, but church members were told to go to confession. I’m sure that when Jesus told the apostles that what they permit on earth will be permitted in heaven, and what they bind on earth will be bound in heaven, he didn’t mean it to be in the denial of free thinking. Thus far, a picture of the determination of the high priest (during the time of Christ) and others in controlling positions of authority has been painted without recognition of those who knew the truth of Christ’s purpose but were perhaps, unwilling to challenge their own religious leadership. This understanding of God’s ability to give to us his complete word without error, and his ability to forgive sins apart from a religious confession, or a cleansing afforded in a temple sacrifice and some time away from the populace has somehow morphed into a condemnation of those who are able to think in a manner highly acceptable to God and the freedoms he desires for us. Having God’s word set upon a pedestal declaring it to be total truth, may have been an irritant to those who had declared the infallibility of the Papacy?

Before the day of Pentecost and afterwards, we get a clear picture of the truth present in the ruling religious, but their obstinate, bloody-mindedness precluded and otherwise made it impossible for them to openly recognize the truth presented in both the person of Jesus, and those who he had chosen to continue his work. It was a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Sanhedrin and a Pharisee, who had come to Jesus at night (perhaps in fear of his being associated with Jesus), and declared to him that, they knew he was a man sent by God, because no one could do the things you are doing unless God was with him. Later during the attempt to stop the apostles from mentioning Jesus, we find a man named Gamaliel, who was very much respected by all for his teaching and wisdom, pointing-out the unwise approach of the religious in their attempt to stop the apostles from mentioning the name of Jesus. Basically, he reminds them that others have come into the public-eye claiming to be someone but eventually had failed in their attempts to be recognized as the Messiah or his representative. Concluding in his presentation that if they are wrong in their determination, that the apostles should no longer mention the name of Jesus, they would find themselves fighting against God; an absolutely losing situation! And so, we understand that the rulers were fully aware of their stance against the goodness presented in the person of Jesus, and those who would ultimately proclaim his message of salvation. In addition, we understand that those who understood did nothing to prevent the atrocity of both crucifixion and the persecution of Christians. Basically, good and evil will always be positioned against each other until God destroys evil forever. The saying, Birds of a feather flock together is most pronounced in the separation between good and evil. For the most part evil existing in the hearts of mankind is focused on the immediate time and place and the benefits to the individual; self-satisfaction and the desires for what the world has to offer. However, evil in long range terms its planning in the war that it constantly denies, is continually working to achieve its goals. Small victories, such as teaching not only what is a correct way to speak but also to think, embarks upon the road to a narrowly focused way of thinking and ridicules everyone who does not accept this mindset, as, Free-Thinkers. Everything truth has built over the centuries, from its most pronounced foundation in the advent of Jesus upon the scene of corruption and death, is constantly