Special and very important instructions for the Christian Community (exclusively) living in our dear country Pakistan. Live gracefully and yet profess your faith as Christian or minority community in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan faithfully and honestly. Ever since the inception of Pakistan on the globe of the world, the Christian Community has played very honest and fruitful role as its citizens on the whole and as minority in particular. Our men and women have served in the government as agriculturist, teachers, doctors, nurses, soldiers, businesses and above all have always prayed to our almighty God, for the country’s survival and integrity Our faith in God and His Spiritual Messenger Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, whether we study the Biblical era of the Old Testament or the New Testament, we have always confronted the hard critical and challenging life as believers. Believers life can never be the bed of roses. As a matter of fact “to have access to a beautiful flower rose, one has to go through the paths of thorns. In the Old Testament God visited man for two basic reasons: blessing or judgment. The blessing was often some form of national deliverance from oppression. I want to quote four references from the Bible (Old Testament) where God’s visitation has either blessed His people or passed judgment. a) Isaiah 10:3 — The Lord said to the nation Israel, “What will you do in the day of visitation, and in the dissolution which shall come from far”? The Lord was going to visit Israel with Judgment because of it’s sin. b) Genesis 50:24 — “Joseph said to his brothers, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land”. Joseph was certain that God would deliver His people from Egyptian bondage. c) Jeremiah 27:22 — The Lord said, “They shall be carried to Babylon, and they shall be there until the day I visit them… Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.” The Lord was promising to deliver His people from the Babylonian captivity. d) I Samuel 2:21 — “The Lord visited Hannah: and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord”. God visited Hannah and blessed them with a child. God’s Visitation in the New Testament a) Luke 1:68 — Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people.” b) Luke 7:16 — “God has visited His people!” That was the people’s response after Christ raised a widow’s son from the dead. c) Luke 19:44 — In weeping over Jerusalem, Christ said, “You did not recognize the time of your visitation:” He mourned that Israel as a whole failed to realize the Salvation He would provide. Certainly ”the day of visitation” in Peter2:12 refers to Salvation: when the Lord visits the unbeliever and so-called believer and opens his heart, that person will remember observing the godly behavior of faithful Christians and respond in Saving faith. That kind of response glorifies God. 2 The Need for Godliness and Godly behavior Of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, Peter, writes in his first letter, 2nd chapter verses 11-20: “Dear Believers, I urge you to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among your fellow citizens, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evil doers, they may account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to one in authority, who is responsible for punishing those who do evil and praise those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. Act as free men, but use it as bond slaves of God, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil. Honor all men; love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the one in authority.” The foundation of our faith is not so much what we say, but what we do. As is often said, “Action speaks louder than words.” In Mathew 5:16, Christ put it this way: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may hear your good words and see your good works, and glorify your Creator who is in Heaven.” Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ addressing us as family God: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins to set us free from the present evil age, according to the will of God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Apostle Paul very clearly differentiates between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit in his letter to the congregation of Galatia and now to us through the word of God, the Bible. Works of the flesh are obvious: Fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing and things like these. He further warned us, that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. And there is no law against such things. Apostle Paul also warned and says, “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit. The real survival of our faith is how we conduct our family life i.e. our relationship, as parents, as husband and wife after marriage and our relationship and upbringing of our children and our children’s treatment to their parents when they grow old. In respecting and following the Word of God as stated in 1st. Peter 3:1-7. “In the same way you wives, be submitted to your own husband so that even if any of them are disobedient to the Word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. And let not your adornment be merely external— braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands. Thus Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.” “You husbands likewise, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman; and grant her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” He is to care for his wife’s needs, be considerate, be chivalrous in protecting and providing for her. He is to cultivate companionship, love and fellowship with his wife, which “grace of life” refers to as marriage. In concluding this letter, I want to bring the most important points that you need to remember as believers. Bible, the most Holy Book of Almighty God, has given us the Ten Commandments in the book Exodus 20, through Moses. 3 1 You are to have no other gods before me. 2 You are not to make for yourselves a carved image or any kind of representation of anything in heaven above, on the earth beneath or in the water below the shoreline. You are not to bow down to them or serve them; for I, THE LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sins of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but displaying grace to the thousandth generation of those who love me and obey my commandments. 3 You are not to use lightly the name of THE LORD your God, because HE will not leave unpunished someone who uses his name lightly. 4 Remember the day, Sabbath, to set it apart for God. You have six days to labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath for THE LORD your God. On it, you are not to do any kind of work -- not you, your son or your daughter, not your male or female slave, not your livestock, and not the foreigner staying with you inside the gates to your property. For in six days, THE LORD made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. This is why THE LORD blessed the day, Sabbath, and separated it for himself. 5 Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land which THE LORD your God is giving you. 6 Do not murder. 7 Do not commit adultery 8 Do not steal 9 Do not give false evidence against your neighbor. 10 Do not covet your neighbor’s house; do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor. Further Jesus added in the book of Mathew 22:36-40. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets.” Just remember, that as Pakistani citizens, you even as a minority are Pakistani first and then whatever you want to call yourselves. Read your Bible and pray everyday to your Creator, the Almighty and Everlasting God for yourselves and for your country. After this manner pray: Our Father in heaven! May Your Name be kept holy. May Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us the food we need today. Forgive us what we have done wrong, as we too have forgiven those who have wronged us. And do not lead us into hard testing, but keep us safe from the Evil One. For kingship, power and glory are yours forever. Amen. Mathew 6:9-13 May God bless us all, Waqi Elijah Mohammed Shafi Colorado, USA