Of God and Mankind

Romans 2:1-8 (AMPC) “THEREFORE YOU have no excuse  or defense  or justification, O man, whoever you are who judges  and condemns another. For in posing as judge  and passing sentence on another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge are habitually practi si ng the very same things [that you censure and denounce].   2 [But] we know that the judgment (adverse verdict, sentence) of God falls justly  and in accordance with T ruth upon those who practi s e such things.   3 And do you think  or imagine, O man, when you judge  and condemn those who practi s e such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God's judgment  and elude His sentence  and adverse verdict?   4 Or are you [so blind as to] trifle with  and presume upon  and despise  and underestimate the wealth of His kindness and forbearance and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful  or actually ignorant [of the fact] t...

Mark 8:36-37 (AMPC)  “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?   37 For what can a man give as an exchange (a compensation, a ransom, in return) for his [blessed] life [in the eternal kingdom of God]?”   Dear people of God, the scourge of the coronavirus sweeping across China and other countries in the early months of the year 2020 was a stark reminder of the need for people to know God.   As of Tuesday February 11, 2020, it was reported that about 1,018 people mostly in China had died while over 40,000 people had been infected with another over 100,000 under medical observation.   In fact, in one day alone, it was reported that 109 people had died from the virus.   There was palpable fear amongst the citizens in many countries the world over.   Even in the United States, a citizen infected by the virus and outside of the country said she had received death threats not to come ba...