“A Man for All Seasons” was a movie that was released in the 1960’s, based on the true story about the final years of Sir Thomas More, a 16^th century lawyer, devout Catholic and Lord Chancellor of England who was executed for refusing to support King Henry VIII’s divorce from Catherine of Aragon and his subsequent marriage and to take an Oath of Supremacy, declaring King Henry Supreme Head of the Church of England.

He showed moral standards and refused to buckle under pressure from the King to maintain his integrity even to the point of decapitation. He was willing to die for his convictions, and in the movie, he paid his executioner money before being beheaded, this being a practice in the 16th century.

Regardless of all his noble and high moral standards, there is one man in history who really was “A Man for All Seasons,” and that is the Man Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

To become a Man, He gave up His divinity for a time. He was immortal and eternal. He had power and authority. He was the Son of God. He had created all things under God the Father, both physical as the universe and mankind, and spiritual as angels and everything else existing in the spirit realm [excluding, of course, the Father], including thrones, instruments of music, golden bowls etc., as we can read in Revelation 5:8: “Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders [angelic beings] fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

Think about what He gave up! It would be somewhat comparable [even though the comparison is enormously lacking] to a very wealthy man from a rich and prosperous family used to everything imaginable with a life of luxury, to become homeless, begging for food and sleeping on the sidewalk.

He, as a human, was subject to pain, mockery, temptation from Satan, the world and His human desires, and through it all, He never sinned and prevailed with flying colours (Matthew 4:1-11).

You could just see Satan taunting Christ: “Why go through all that suffering and die, when you can have it all now? Just fall down and worship me.”

Christ rebuked him, using Scripture: “Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, “YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD’” (Matthew 4:7).

He had compassion on the sick, the lame, deaf and blind, and He healed them, even when knowing not all would show appreciation for their healing. Luke 17:11-19 reports the following:

“Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off.   And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’  So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan.

“So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’ And He said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’”

He never wanted to put the spotlight on Himself, but He gave credit to God. “Then Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner’” (John 5:19).

He was subject to God’s Will even when facing death: “He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, ‘O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will’” (Matthew 26:39).

Nobody on this earth would want to go through the beatings, scourging, punches to the face and mockery Christ would have to face, plus hanging on the cross for six hours and then being pierced with a sword to end His life. He knew ahead of time that all of this would happen to Him. Yet He did all of this for us; so how much do we appreciate His Sacrifice, pain, suffering and death so that we could be saved and become members of the God Family?

We should thank Him for His Sacrifice and service and also thank God the Father as hard as it was for Him to look away from or “forsake” Christ for a moment, when shortly before His death on the cross, He was carrying all the sins of the world, so that God’s Plan could be accomplished and that we would have a true “Man for All Seasons” and a loving compassionate High Priest and Saviour.

Mr. Herbert W. Armstrong’s favorite Scripture was Psalm 133:1-3, which reads:

“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the LORD commanded the blessing—Life forevermore.”

We cannot have this kind of unity unless we are like-minded; that is, think alike and being on the same page.

Paul gave us this admonition in Philippians 2:5: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus…”

When the mind of Christ is internalized in our minds, there is harmony. The competition is gone and the focus is turned to accomplishing the task given to us by God. The spotlight is not on us but on Christ and our Creator God, with the desire to fulfill His Will in our lives.

It’s not just the mind of Christ in our minds, but the mind of the Father also.

In John 17:19-24, Christ says this in His prayer to God the Father:

“And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;  that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”

It is really incredible that God and Christ live in our minds through the Holy Spirit, but to what end?

Their Spirit in us does not force their Will upon us, since we are free moral agents. What They do is to influence our thinking to make proper judgments and decisions. They also open our minds to spiritual truths and spiritual understanding of Scripture—not just the understanding of what is written in the physical sense, but a deeper spiritual understanding of the intent of Scripture, which is a tremendous blessing, allowing us to grow in biblical knowledge.

In order to maintain this status, we have to be faithful in the study and meditation of the Word of God, lest we forget through neglect. We must make certain that this close relationship with God is maintained.

This knowledge should act as a catalyst to be zealous in our study and meditation of God’s Word, the Bible.

Flesh and blood cannot enter the Kingdom of God, as we read in 1 Corinthians 15:50-53: “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

The only thing moving forward into the Kingdom is our minds preserved by our human spirit which, combined with the Holy Spirit of God which had been bestowed on us, will be placed in a new spiritual body given to us by God. Let us ensure we remain faithful to the end to receive eternal life in God’s Family.

Now that the weather in our northern hemisphere is warming up and summer is approaching fast, we find ourselves getting involved in things we cannot do in the fall and winter, when the weather starts to turn. One of the first things that has to be done up here in Canada is the raking of all the leaves and branches which may have been broken by winds in the wintertime or broken by the weight of snow. Depending on the yard, that can be quite a chore, including preparations as far as fertilizer is concerned and getting the soil ready for planting. As the weather warms up, we have more outdoor activities and projects that can take up our time which is not so much an issue in the winter when we could spend more time on maintaining our relationship with God.

When we have a lot on our plate, we could get distracted, and we may start going down roads that take up time and take away from the things we ought to be doing.

It’s important to prioritize our time and not to neglect our prayer and Bible study which will otherwise cause a setback in our relationship with God. Satan is always there to provide ample opportunities for distractions, misdirection and getting us going on projects that take away time we should be spending in prayer and in studying the Bible. If we start neglecting our relationship with God, it could lead to sin, and then Satan accuses us before God of conduct which he instigated in the first place.

Summertime is a busy time for all, and it’s great to get out of the house and enjoy nature and more sunshine from the cold gloomy winter, and we appreciate the things we can do which we cannot do in the winter, but we have to make sure we are not robbing God of the time we should be spending with Him. God wants us to have a full and joyful life, but let’s ensure we don’t give in to the many possible distractions which might cause us to neglect God.

“Going the Distance” is the musical song in the original Rocky movie, and there is quite a lesson to learn from it about determination, endurance and reaching for a goal. The movie and the song are based on an unknown boxer, Rocky Balboa, with aspirations of becoming the boxing champion and what he was willing to put his body through in exercise, diet and determination to reach that goal. Even though he did not gain the title, he showed an inspiring performance of endurance, even when fighting in the ring. 

Our Christian lives are a continual battle to maintain our equilibrium in overcoming Satan and the pulls of the flesh. Thankfully, we have the perfect coach in our corner who gave us the perfect example of overcoming sin, enduring trials and attaining righteousness through obedience.

He never said it would be easy and without trials; but rather, we would be faced with challenges, but He would always be at our side through thick and thin. Hebrews 13:5 tells us:  “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU NOR FORSAKE YOU.’”

These are powerful words of great encouragement since at times, when going through severe trials and tests, we may get the feeling of being abandoned but that is just not the case. Christ is full of love, compassion and mercy.Lamentations 3:32 says: “Though He causes grief, Yet He will show compassion According to the multitude of His mercies.”

He went through trials as a human and always looked to God the Father, and He was always in a good attitude, a good example for us to follow since even though we may ask for God’s merciful intervention, it may not always come as fast as we would like, or not come at all at that time since we may have lessons to learn by the trials we face.

What really helps us through these trials which come upon us is to focus on the end goal and make the effort to attain that goal with the same determination as Rocky Balboa did in the movie Rocky, putting himself through sacrifice and physical pain via training hoping to attain the goal he was focused on.

Our hope is in a future resurrection in the Family of God, a goal attainable if we obey and are faithfully following the example of our leader Jesus Christ Who patiently endured the suffering in His life, including death, on our behalf so we could be with Him in the Kingdom. So let’s not let Him down and let us show Him that we are willing to go the distance.

The original book, “The Tale of Two Cities,” was published in 1859 by English author Charles Dickens; it was set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. In this Editorial, I want to look at the people of the ancient cities of Nineveh and Sodom. Both these cities had issues with sin.

In Jonah 1:2, we read God’s words to Jonah: “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” Nineveh had issues with wickedness which is not really defined by God as to the exact problem it had.

This is what is said about Sodom, in Genesis 18:20-21: “And the LORD said, ‘Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave, I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know.” God states that their sin is great, without going into any detail.

It’s interesting to notice that He, together with two angels, wanted to go in person to see how bad it was. You have probably heard that it is sometimes hard to describe a situation and, “You had to be there to see how bad it was”—to be there in person to get the full impact or feel how bad a situation was. God, in the Person of Jesus Christ, would stay with Abraham but would send His two angels to Sodom to evaluate the people there.

Sodom was really bad, as described in 19:4-5: “Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, ‘Where are the men [the two angels] who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally.’”

They wanted to abuse the two guests sexually, thinking they were ordinary men, and both young and old were in the mix. It is evident that the whole town was perverted and twisted sexually.

Both these cities had major issues but the outcome of them was totally different.

After trying to avoid his commission, Jonah finally went as instructed by God and warned Nineveh of destruction.  In Jonah 3:2-4, we read that God told Jonah again: ‘‘Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.’ So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, a three-day journey in extent.  And Jonah began to enter the city on the first day’s walk. Then he cried out and said, ‘Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!’” 

So Jonah sounded the alarm or trumpet as it were of coming destruction; and what was the response from the city?

Jonah 3:6-10 tells us: “Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.  And he caused it to be proclaimed and published throughout Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, ‘Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; do not let them eat, or drink water. 

But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God; yes, let every one turn from his evil way and from the violence that is in his hands. Who can tell if God will turn and relent, and turn away from His fierce anger, so that we may not perish?’  Then God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God relented from the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.”

The result was repentance of the city and thus God changed His mind about destroying it. Please note however that the city of Nineveh was destroyed later by falling back to their old ways.

What about Sodom? Genesis 19:15-17 reads: “When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, ‘Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.’ And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he said, ‘Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.’”

Continuing in Genesis 19:24-25: “Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”

So Sodom was totally destroyed. Lot had apparently been a judge in Sodom, “sitting in the gate” (Genesis 19:1); he had warned the people of Sodom repeatedly (compare Genesis 19:7-9; 2 Peter 2:7), but they did not listen. When the city was evaluated by the two angels, being there in person, it was determined that redemption at that point was far from attainable, leading to its destruction. This is not to say that the people of Sodom, as well as of Nineveh, won’t have a future opportunity to repent after their resurrection to physical life, and then be given an opportunity for salvation.

We all sin from time to time. When we realize our error, we repent and ask for forgiveness, knowing God will forgive us our sins with the understanding that we are to make efforts to overcome sin, not to succumb to it.

On the other hand, if we harden our hearts by sinning and do not repent, we could find ourselves in the situation of Sodom, beyond repair and redemption. But while the unconverted people of Sodom will have a chance in the future, for us, as converted Christians who fall away for good, there is only one final fate, which is the lake of fire from which there is no comeback (compare Hebrews 10:26-27).

As we go forward in our Christian walk, we will sin on occasion, but the final outcome of sin is really up to us; so, let’s make the right choices.