....And may the Church say Amen to living holy lives? AMEN! I loved what you wrote Ola because it is the truth! It seems to me that even the true meaning of the parable in Matthew 25 regarding the five wise and five foolish virgins has also been lost on many today. Had the foolish virgins actually taken up their own "responsibility" as you spoke of in your letter, like the wise virgins had done, the door would not have been shut on them.   ALL of the virgins were supposed to be a part of the wedding party. But the foolish virgins failed to  take up their own responsibility to be ready for the wedding and this caused them to be left behind and only "they that were ready" went in to the marriage....  (The word ready there means to prepare.) Preparing is what the wise virgins did. Not preparing is what the foolish virgins did. (Matt. 25:8-10.)   The scriptures are filled with warnings from the Lord...to watch, to be ready, to not sleep, to not put one's hand to the plough, and look back. Luke 9:62...that without holiness, no man will see God.  The Lord gives warnings because of His love --- He wants us to heed the warnings because He knows if we don't there will be consequences just like there were for the foolish virgins who did not prepare for the upcoming wedding enough to even have oil in their own lamps...and were left behind because of it. He doesn't want that for us so He warns us. The wedding parable is a parable for the would-be Bride of Christ. It warns her about the expectation the Lord has placed on her to be ready for Him when He comes. He has a standard and an absolute expectation that she will meet it by being ready for Him on that day.   Personally, I have chosen to not gamble with my responsibility/my part, to be ready for that day. I have chosen to keep my own 'lamp filled with oil" just as the Word of God says to do. We all know what it means to live right!  Everyone seems to "get it" when it comes to the unacceptable sins of "other people" (i.e. abortions, homosexual acts,) ...but when it comes to cutting out our own adulterous affairs, or pornography, drug addictions,  ____ whatever presumptuous sin one refuses to separate from, then we hear -- "Oh, God's grace will get me through." But what about the responsibility to produce fruit unto righteousness. What about commandments to repent when we don't get it right? And true repentance does mean to turn..to change directions.  The time has come where the Lord will no longer just "wink" away our unrepented sin. Very soon, He'll come. He'll take the obedient, ready ones back with Him. And the others...well....   ------The Wedding Parable Continues------ And the foolish said ...Give us your oil for our lamps are gone out. (Showing that the foolish were also Christians because THEY ONCE HAD OIL IN THEIR LAMPS -- BUT NOW IT HAS GONE OUT!!!)  But the wise said...Not So! (I'm not gambling with my oil...Nope...Get your own!)... And while the foolish went to buy (were out trying to make up for loss time...) the bridegroom came...AND THEY THAT WERE READY WENT... AND THE DOOR WAS SHUT. (Self-explanatory.)    Blessings dear Ola. I appreciate your stand for righteousness and truth.   Michelle   ( PS-- my own mother's name is Ola.  :)                                ______________________________________   Acts 17:30 - And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.   Acts 26:20 - But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.   Matthew 3:8  Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance.   Matthew 3:10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.   James 2:18 - Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.   Hebrew 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance...   Rev. 22:11,12 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.  12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.    Romans 3:4...let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, ...          __________________________________________________________________________   Ola Ilori (28 Feb 2011) "To Charmaine" Hi Charmaine,  Thanks for posting my article on RITA.   What you didn't know was that I did post it there, and it was immediately removed!   We are living in dark days indeed!  These are days in which those who speak up for a life of holiness and righteousness are branded as false teachers and heretics!  Be encouraged, you are on the right path. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, He plants His seed in us by His Holy Spirit. His seed, is the source of the eternal life we have.  Eternal life is expressed, in our lives, through two main ways. These are through living in holiness [abstinence or marriage] and righteousness [doing good to others]. Others would include singing praises, offering up prayers and speaking the Word of God. These virtues cannot come forth without our free will involved.  Since we have this gift of eternal life, planted in a body that delights in sin, we will struggle to begin with. It's to be expected! We are actually suppose to battle with our flesh in order to bring forth the Lord's holiness and righteousness. This is what denying self and taking up the cross is all about. Overtime, living in holiness and practising righteousness becomes spontaneous. We are then no longer under the control of the enemy. Neither do we live in fear of our Heavenly Father, for we know that He loves us, because He has given us the power to become His sons and daughters. Note these Holy Spirit inspired Words, "...Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied. saying: "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For he has visited and redeemed His people...to grant us that we being delivered from the hand [control] of our enemies [evil spirits], "Might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life."(Luke 1:67,68,74,75)   It's important we understand that our holiness IS His holiness because it originate from His gift of eternal life in us.   Also our righteousness IS His righteousness because it originates from His gift of eternal life in us.   This is not working for salvation. This is fighting our own flesh, to allow for the manifestation of the gift of life the Lord has given us!   How else can we express love to our Heavenly Father?   Is it not by making sure we're profitable stewards of His life in us? If we fail to take responsibility and crucify our own flesh, the Lord's chastisement kicks in. What's happened over the years, is that many have been told they don't need to subdue the flesh and live in holiness and righteousness.   That's considered works All they need to do is claim by faith the holiness and righteousness of Christ. This is why so many Christians give in to the flesh. Those who are single live in fornication. While those who are married end up divorced. Also hatred, greed, wickedness and selfishness abound in the Church. All the while claiming they are covered in the holiness and righteousness of Christ! And when the Lord, in love, attempts to chastise them, in order to get them to change their behaviour, they think they are being attacked by the Devil! This is the delusion that abounds in the Church today! The Lord's chastisements we experience today, are quiet moderate compared to what many will experience in the 7 Year Tribulation! None of the Lord's children will lose the free gift of eternal life!    However, because for some people, the moderate chastisements of today are not bringing out the holiness and righteousness buried deep within them - they'll be going into the 7 Year tribulation!   Eternal life is a free gift.   the resurrection/rapture, however, has to be attained.   We are to use our free gift of eternal life to bring forth holiness and righteousness day by day.   This will enable us to attain "translation status" on the Day of the rapture!   "...But those who are counted worthy to attain that age and the resurrection from the dead..." (Luke 20:35)   Even Paul had doubts on whether he had done enough to be included in the resurrection!   "...If by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect; but I press on..." (Phil.3:11,12)   We also must press on each day, crucifying our flesh, living in holiness and practising righteousness, in order to be included in the rapture.   Do remain blessed,   Ola.