To My Fellow Schwab Employees

As I have already stated in my email from today, I cannot thank each of you enough for the impact you have had on my life. Some of you had a significant impact, while others only a small, but nevertheless you have impacted my life and made a contribution that I can never repay... Thank you.

I care deeply about every one of you. Some of you are going through some very difficult, life-altering events, and I have been praying for you. These circumstances are never easy, but we all must go through them every now and again, and I believe with all my heart that it is these circumstances that God desires to use to get our attention about our life and eternal matters (Lamentations 3:33-41). Our life on this earth is short; it is the eternal things that truly matter (2Cor. 4:18). We ought to make sure that what we believe about eternity is true.

When I say that I care, I really mean it... and what kind of person would I be if I said that I cared deeply but didn't share with you what I believe about eternity?! If I stayed silent on this matter, I would be a hypocrite that just says that I care, but doesn't care enough to tell you what I believe is true. Someone that is a true friend will always tell you the truth, even if it hurts (Prov. 27:6). Please consider the following words. I believe the bible is the word of God, and this is what it says:


WE ARE SINNERS
God is holy, perfect, pure, righteous, and completely just (Deuteronomy 32:4; Genesis 18:25; Psalm 92:15); we are not... not even close. Whether we like to admit it or not, we are all sinners (Romans 3:23; Ecclesiastes 7:20) because we have broken God's holy standard (1John 3:4). Even if we have sinned just one time in our lifetime, that still makes us sinners that have broken God's law/standard (James 2:10). Just like when words go out of our mouth and cannot be reversed, so when we sin it cannot be undone. From our human perspective and understanding we can try do something to make up for the mistakes we've committed, but from God's perspective his standard is perfection (Isaiah 64:6; 1Peter 1:15-16). We have personally offended our Creator, and since he is holy, perfectly just, he must judge sin; there must be a consequence for sin. If there is no just judgment of sin and no consequence for sin, God is an unjust, imperfect judge, and if the God of the bible is true this cannot be! God is not a liar (Titus 1:2). When we die we will stand before God and give an account of our life (Hebrews 9:27). If we stand before him in our sin, we will have no hope... we are all guilty. There is nothing we can do on our own to redeem ourselves from our sin... We need a savior.


WE NEED A SAVIOUR
It is clear - we are guilty sinners before a holy God. To be forgiven of our sin, and redeemed from the consequences of our sin (death, hell, and the lake of fire - Romans 6:23; Revelation 20:11-15) we need a way of escape. We need a saviour! Jesus Christ is the one and only savior (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1Timothy 2:5). God does not want us to perish in our sin (2Peter 3:9; Romans 1:16); he has every right to let us perish because of our sin, but the Lord chose to love us and offer a way to escape the just judgment we deserve. The bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ is God (John 1:1, 14; 10:30; Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:23), and when Jesus died on the cross he chose to bear the sins of all mankind on his shoulders (1John 2:2) and therefore receive God's full punishment for sin (Isaiah 53:6, 10-11). Please understand what this means... God took your sin and my sin and received our punishment for our sin so that we may have the chance to be redeemed! There is no greater display of love than this! Jesus has truly become the Saviour we need... (John 3:1-36)


WE HAVE A CHOICE TO MAKE...
As we've already established, we are sinners and we truly need the Saviour, but now we are at the crossroads of the most important decision you will ever make... What will you do with Jesus?

#1 - Will you choose to believe this and receive the free gift of salvation God freely offers through the Lord Jesus Christ?

#2 - Will you choose to not believe this and reject the free gift of salvation God freely offers through the Lord Jesus Christ?

The bible says it clearly and very simple:

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:9-13
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.


This is why I believe the gospel with all my heart and am not ashamed of it...

• God is real
• God is holy, perfect, pure, and just
• I am a sinner
• As a sinner I have violated God and deserve to be separated from God for all eternity
• God loves me and is not willing that I should perish in my sin
• God provided a way for me to be redeemed from my sin... Jesus Christ!
• The Lord Jesus Christ is my Redeemer because I believe he loved me, took my sin, took my punishment, and I called upon him to save me; without him I can do nothing

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog entry... Will you prayerfully and carefully consider these things? If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email: swineka@gmail.com

Until our paths cross again!
-Stephen Wineka

Going Deeper... "Follow Me"

God has been stretching me lately by calling me to a life that will be willing to go deeper with him... and I have determined that I need to write more about these things. I need to remember what God is doing now so that when I look back over my life at a later point in time, I can thank him for all the things he has done. In my life I have always learned that my ways are pathetic in comparison to what God desires to do, and yet it is such a battle to keep my flesh under subjection (1Cor 9:27) and stay content in God's ways. To be honest, one of the things that keeps coming to my mind is fear when it comes to going deeper with God... but why?! God gave himself to redeem my soul, as well as to offer eternal redemption to all those that would believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:3; 9:12-15; 10:10-14; Jn. 3:16-17, 36; Acts 20:28; Gal. 3:13; 1Thess. 1:10; 1Pt. 1:18-19; 1Jn. 2:1-2). Therefore it should be a very small thing to give everything that I am back to him! This is where I cannot help but to think to myself...

Romans 7:24-25 - "24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin."

This has been my conviction lately... I exist and am alive in this world for the sake of Jesus Christ and his gospel, therefore I must further the gospel in some way everyday. If I lay my head on my pillow at night and cannot be persuaded that I have furthered the gospel, then I am not living in the center of God's will. O Lord, help me! I cannot do this on my own strength, wisdom, or power. You, Jesus, must change me from the inside out in order for me to obey this conviction... and I know that there is nothing that you ask of me that you haven't given me the ability to do each day, so I need to believe you and obey you.

Matthew 4:19 - "And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

Matthew 16:24 - "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

Mark 8:34 - "And when he had called the people [unto him] with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."

Luke 9:23 - "And he said to [them] all, If any [man] will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."

John 10:27 - "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:"

John 12:26 - "If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will [my] Father honour."

1 Corinthians 4:16 - "Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me."

1 Corinthians 11:1 - "Be ye followers of me, even as I also [am] of Christ."

Ephesians 5:1 - "Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;"

Philippians 3:17 - "Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample."

1 Thessalonians 1:6 - "And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost:"

Hebrews 6:12 - "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."