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Bill Sunday once remarked, “Christianity means a lot more than church membership,” and very often this is what it turns out to be if you are not careful about ‘staying in the faith’. Living as a Christian is not just about being saved but is a daily struggle to live according to God’s Word and a continuous effort to be pure in his eyes.

To the new believer, there wouldn’t be much of a difference between Catholicism and the faith that many authentic preachers have exhorted Christians to live, and this is why it is vital for them to immerse themselves in the Word of God as well as enrich their lives in fellowship with Christians who have been in the faith for a while now.

And there is always the danger of being led astray by people who do not understand the facts of the antichrist conspiracy, and thus it is vital for you to find an authentic guide who will be able to help you distinguish between true and false, thus helping you to grow stronger in the faith.

However, there is one concept that Christians must definitely understand, and that is conditional security which clearly explains that we are saved by grace but we must work out our salvation on a daily basis if we are to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

It is thus important for Christians around the world to not only counter false dogma with the Word of God as it is a ‘double-edged sword’ that is able to understand the thoughts and attitudes of believers and unbelievers alike but to remain steadfast to the faith by running the race to its very end.

And while it might seem hard at times (as Paul admitted too), there will no greater joy when you are able to live according to God’s Word.

Have you been thinking of what to do with the piles of books that have collected over the years? Consider donating them to the less fortunate.

There are millions of children worldwide with no access to books, either due to poverty, natural disasters or due to wars and civil unrest. The millions of dollars worth of books which are thrown away each year can change the destiny of many helpless children worldwide.

The books that you donate will help create libraries for schools which have never had one, and quite possibly there will be many children who will be opening a book for the first time in their lives. This will give them the opportunity to learn to read, math, science, history and will open up a world which they never even knew existed. This will give them hope to better their lives and that of the people around them.

There are organizations that collect books and ship them around the world. www.booksforthirdworld.org and www.roomtoread.org are such organizations. Find out where the nearest collection centers are.

Use your books carefully and donate them to a charity which will help make the world a better place.

With the Bible being open to interpretation and with people answering the most asked question of all, “What is the gospel message?” with their own understanding, it bodes well for those who want to know the truth, especially if they are new believers, to find the right source to learn from and grow in their spiritual lives.

So where do you find these bible answers?

If you think that it is found within the confines of a church, no one can argue with you. But there are other ways by which you can study the words of the Bible on your own, while also forming your own opinions.

Yes, we are talking about the internet which is used for both ‘good and evil’ these days.  There are certain sites that will help you delineate the truth from the jargon that you are so used to hearing whether the subject deals with the doctrines of grace or even more debatable ones such as Calvinism and so on and so forth.

As you grow spiritually, there are questions and doubts that you might have about the faith that you follow, and in being able to clear them out, you should be able to stand firm on what you believe in no matter what people say.

Ultimately, words are just words but what will remain is that the Word of God should be understood clearly.

As more wealthy Asians move away from the conventional model of making simple donations, the new accepted path is to open foundations as well as venture philanthropy. And among these Asians, Singapore is one such country in which these donors are being encouraged to do so by making it easier for them, thanks to Senior Ministers.

Speaking at the Credit Suisse Philanthropists Forum, the Senior Minister, Goh Chok Tong, validated the fact that most of the wealthy are now moving away from the concept of leaving behind a legacy to the “giving while living” philosophy, and this calls for the need of advisory services in Asia. And this is where banks are beginning to set up philanthropic advisory capabilities to advise clients on how to give without the need of setting up a foundation of their own.

And according to statistics, with the world’s wealth increasing by almost 72 percent with figures touching $ 200 trillion over the last decade, there is no doubt that the wealthy of Asia (apart from other parts of the world) are in a position to assist those who are in need of help.

In particular, China’s billionaires have also contributed almost 6 percent of their wealth in the last few years, and which amounted to almost $ 3.3 billion over the last five years. Despite these growing numbers, philanthropy remains a challenge, and this is where Singapore comes in, being a primary financial hub in Asia, and one of the ways by which it has encouraged philanthropy is giving tax cuts up to 2.5 times for people who donate to the Institute of a Public Character.