The Reasons Why Every Human Being Is A Sinner

The Bible says that we have all sinned and have fallen short of God's glory (see Romans 3:23). Two dimensions explain why everybody is a sinner. The first is the fact that we've all not been able to obey the commandments of God. We have lied; we've all stolen something before, have not respected our parents 100% and have worshiped other gods apart from the almighty God because anything that takes the place of God in our lives becomes a god to us.

Some of the things that take the place of God in our lives are not all bad at all. Some are actually good things such as education, jobs, marriage, and even children. For instance, a lady may be praying to God for a husband but as soon as she gets married she stop seeking God. Again, the Bible teaches that anyone who hates his brother is a murderer. Most of us have hated on at least one person before. So we are all liars, thieves, fornicators, adulterers, idolaters, disrespectful to parents and so on. Each of us fits into at least one of the above categories of sinners.

(c) We don't own this image. It belongs to its rightful owner

In James 2:10, the Bible says that if we keep the whole commandment but fail in one point, we are guilty of all. This is so because the same God who said, "Thou shall not lie" also said, "Thou shall not kill." So if we have never killed but have told countless number of lies, then we cannot say we are just before God.

The second dimension that makes everybody a sinner is the fact that we are not only sinners because of the wrongs we do but also because our very nature is sinful. We were conceived in sin and birthed into sin (see Psalm 51:5). There are people who are naturally principled and very moral. They don't cheat others, don't steal, don't lie and don't do many things that are considered to be sin. Yet no matter how upright we attempt to live, the fact that we are sinners still holds because we were born in sin.

There are consequences for sin

Just as there are consequences for wrongdoing in every country, there are also consequences for sins. Rom 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death..." The 'death' referred to in this scripture is not the physical death but rather the death of eternal separation from God. God told Adam and Eve that the day they eat the forbidden fruit they will die. For a fact they didn't die physically after eating the fruit. However, they experienced a spiritual death. They became separated from God.

Similarly, if we continue in our sins and do not repent then we will be eternally separated from God. Assume that you owe a bank a huge sum of money, and out of the blue, someone opts to pay the debt for you. You will ONLY be debt-free if you allow the person to settle the debt on your behalf. However, if you disagree then your debt will remain and you will face the consequences thereof.

God has a better alternative for everyone who believes

Even though the wages of our sins is death, God is giving us a better alternative. The second part of Romans 6:23 says, "... but the gift of God is everlasting life THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. Everyone had sinned and everyone will go to hell if those sins (debt) are not atoned (paid). Jesus' death on the cross and the shedding of his blood is the only thing that can atone for our sins and that is why every sinner must believe in Jesus Christ to be saved.

Why is Jesus' blood the only thing that can atone for sins? The answer to this question can be found in Leviticus 17:11-12 and Hebrews 9:22. In Leviticus, God established to the Israelites that "life is in the blood" and that He had given it to them to atone for the soul. Base on this, the people of Israel used the blood of animals like sheep, goat, cattle etc. to atone for their sins. However, as sin multiplied, the blood of animals were not sufficient to atone for the sin of man and that is what necessitated the coming of Jesus and his subsequent death and shedding of blood. The shedding of blood is necessary because "almost all things are by the LAW purged with BLOOD, and WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE'S NO REMISSION" - Hebrews 9:22. The word 'purge' means "to make clean" or "to make pure" This means that only the blood of Jesus Christ can cleanse our sins and make us pure.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life" - John 3:16. Read verses 17 and 18 as well. God sent Jesus Christ to die to save mankind because He loves us greatly and don't want any one of His creation to be eternally separated from Him. As much as God loves us, He cannot force us to believe in Him. That choice is given to us and He wants us to CHOOSE Him willingly. If we choose Him we will have eternal life and if reject Him then we will be condemned forever. He himself will not condemn us but our sins will, because nothing that is sinful can come close to God. The choice is in your hands!

Jesus Christ is ever ready to receive you. You have struggled with religion for so long, you have search for truth for a long time, and now I have good news for you. The GOOD NEWS is that Jesus is Truth. His death on the cross and the blood that He shared for all mankind is available right now to wash and cleanse you from all your sins and make you pure and whole before God. All you have to open your mouth right now and speak to Him. Tell Him you are sorry for your sins and repent from them from now on. Tell him to come into your life, forgive all your sins and be your Lord and personal Saviour. Tell Jesus you want to start a new relationship with Him and ask Him to help you endure to the end. Jesus Christ is waiting to forgive all your sins and transform your life for the better. Surrender everything to Him and speak to Him right now!

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Conflict Resolution, the Christian Way

That God desires His children to live in peace and exhibit genuine love towards one another is an essential dogma in Christianity. The need for agreement among believers is so crucial that God, through Amos the prophet, asked, “Can two walk together? Except they be agreed” (Amos 3:3). It can be sufficiently said that majority of us are aware of, and would really love to live harmoniously with each other. No matter how we try however, jealousy, hatred and contentions set in and some even become more fierce and deadly than we ever imagined they could be. The end result is that friendships are destroyed, relationships broken, and members of families turn against each other. This is something we are often not particularly happy about. The need for conflict resolution thus comes to play.

In this little write up, we are going to look at two important keys that the early Church, particularly, Apostle Peter, used to resolve a contention that ensued between himself and “the apostles and brethren at Judea” ( read Acts 11:1-18). I am of a strong believe that these conflict resolution keys, which have been discussed below, are particularly applicable to resolving conflicts between Christians, Churches and even organizations.

1. Patience

The first key to resolving conflicts among us is patience. In Christianity, many a time those who contend with us do so because of great concern either for our present situations as well as future and eternal consequences. This is why patience is extremely important. The "apostles and brethren in Judea" (Acts 11:1) were unhappy and ended up contending with Peter about his dealings with the gentiles because there was an outstanding instruction in the Law of Moses that Jews should not mingle with the gentiles. Moses faced a similar contention from his brother Aaron and sister Miriam when he married a foreigner (an Ethiopian woman, see Numbers 12:1).

Now before anyone rules out the "apostles and brethren at Judea's" attitude as misbehaviour, we must be reminded that they did what they did because they were very concerned about the Word of God being fully obeyed and also concerned about Peter not erring from the faith.

I am confident that Apostle Peter was fully aware of their concern for him and that is why he exhibited patience in handling the situation. The scripture says, "But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order unto them..." (Acts 11:4). This is sheer patience at work. Peter had other choices such as brushing them off, or even counter-contending with them for disputing with him for doing the Will of God. Instead, he chose to use patience by taking his time to explain the whole issue from the beginning. This clearly depicts to us how powerful and necessary it is for us to exhibit patience when resolving conflicts among ourselves.

2. Details matter

This is yet another great lesson that Peter left for us. In addition to being patient he was also detailed in his explanation to the apostles and brethren that contended with him. He actually told the story from scratch, told every detail, and ensured they were orderly presented. He explained to them the trance he had about the "heavenly vessel" (see Acts 11:5-10), then spoke about the vision that Cornelius had and the subsequent action that he took which led to the involvement of himself with Cornelius, and also gave details of all that went on when he visited Cornelius (see Acts 11:6-17).

Guess what happened after Peter told them all these details of the matter? The Bible says, "When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." (Acts 11:18). Hallelujah to that! Many times people dispute and fight things they don't understand. It is therefore not surprising that after expounding everything to them in detail, they now held their peace and glorified God.

As Christians, it is imperial that we live together and in harmony with each other. However, things get screwed up sometimes and we find ourselves contending each other and disputing among ourselves. I believe God, through these two conflict resolution keys would help us settle our differences and live harmoniously as Jesus want us to be (see Psalm 133:1, Acts 2;44), and we would be blessed as take practical measures to avoid conflicts, resolve existing ones, forgive each other and live peacefully with one another.

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The Tiny Line Between Faith and Foolishness

Someone once told me that there is a thin line between Faith and Foolishness. I could not agree with him then but I have grown to know the statement is true. In order words, in one's attempt to apply faith, one could end up being foolish. Now, as Christians, let us not misconstrue this foolishness to the fact of the world thinking we are foolish for believing in the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. The foolishness being referred here is that resulting either from ignorance or failure to utilize discretion.

The emphasis is not on appearing foolish, but actually acting foolishly. A typical example is engaging in premarital sex then praying and hoping that God will cause you not to be pregnant. This is ridiculous because a drop of semen contains millions of sperms that have been assigned one sole responsibility of getting you pregnant.

Paul, as a new believer and disciple (Acts 9:22), grew in strength and even ended up confounding the Jews at Damascus by proving to them that indeed Jesus is the Christ. However, no matter how strong Paul became in faith, he and the other disciples did not make fool of themselves when they learned that the Jews had planned to kill Paul (see Acts 9:24).

What did they do? They applied wisdom! The scripture says:

"Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket" - Acts 9:25.

Obviously, what happened in Acts 9:25 above, is not an act of faith but that of wisdom. The disciples could have thought that because they are Christians with a strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the death threat by the Jews in Damascus is but a mere joke. Instead, they took the threat seriously and applied discretion. I am particularly glad that this scripture is recorded in the book of ACTS, it clearly shows that we as Christians in our generation must learn this act of wisdom to complement our faith in Jesus Christ.

Faith does not come to replace our senses and I believe to walk successfully in faith, we must know the times and seasons. Just as there is time and season for everything under the Heavens (Ecclesiastes 3:1), there is also a time to apply faith and a time to apply wisdom. Thus, we must not be overly enthused with our faith in God that we fail to use our senses when we have to. Shalom!

The Real Meaning of Christmas

Later today, Christmas day, a Muslim colleague of mine asked me what the meaning of Christmas is and why we celebrate it. So I took some time and with patience tried to explain to Him the whole concept and meaning of Christmas. The discussion covered Jesus’ birth, life, death and his honourable and complete work of salvation to all those that believe. In this write up, I am going to share with you portions of the discussion that I had with my Muslim friend, and in the end I pray that you will come to the truth of the celebration and know the REASON for the season.

What is Christmas?

Christmas is a time of the year where Christians and unbelievers worldwide join their families to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. It must be noted that not all Christians celebrate Christmas, some still have some reservations about the celebration and this had given rise to such questions such as whether or not Jesus Christ was born on December 25, the date on which Christmas is celebrated worldwide.

Also, it is worthy of note that majority of the Christians and unbelievers who join in with the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ do it without purpose. I say this in reference to the manner in which Christmas is celebrated nowadays. The real purpose of Christmas is to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Therefore, the use of Christmas as a time for wild parties and orgies, reveling and heavy drinking is shamefully out of place and very inappropriate.

Who is Jesus Christ?

Jesus Christ is the Son of God whose birth, life and death were prophesied several years before they actually started to unfold. The prophet Isaiah spoke vividly about how Jesus will be born, his life, and death.

About Christ’s birth, Prophet Isaiah wrote:

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” – Isaiah 7:14.

About a thousand (1000) years after this prophecy was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, the prophecy became fulfilled when Mary who was a virgin conceived and gave birth to a Son and named him Jesus Christ just as she had been told by an angel who visited her (see Luke 1:30-37 below).

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.

And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.

He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:

And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.

For with God nothing shall be impossible.

And about the life of Jesus Christ, the prophet wrote in Isaiah 9:6-7;

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Then about the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, Isaiah the prophet writes again in Isaiah 53:1-10:

Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and theLord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

How does the birth, life, or death of Jesus Christ make Him a Saviour of the world?

The wages for sin is death (see Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ became the Saviour of the world because God used Him as a lamb (see Isaiah 53 quoted above) and his death atoned for the sins of all mankind. When John the Baptist saw Jesus Christ, the first utterance he made was, “…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). In order words, John being a prophet himself saw vividly the purpose for which Jesus had come to the Earth, to save sinners.

Luke 19:10 teaches us that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. All of us were lost in our sins, and those who have not acknowledged and accepted the complete work of salvation done by our Lord Jesus Christ, are still lost in sins. We have “all sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). If we continue in our sins then we will have to pay for them by being eternally separated from God in hell.

In order words, we deserve to be forever separated from God like the devil because sin makes us unholy and nothing that is unholy can come close to God. Jesus Christ as a Saviour came to redeem and save us from our sins and make us holy and righteous before God so that we will able to live forever with Him in Heaven.

Jesus Christ is the real meaning of Christmas and not parties, orgies, and heavy drinking. Therefore, the BEST Christmas gift you can give to yourself is to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour and receive forgiveness of sins and everlasting life in Heaven. Jesus Christ does not want you to go to hell. He want you to come to Heaven and live forever with Him, and this is why He left his throne and glory and came down to the earth to die for you and me. And it is written in the Bible (the Word of God) that “God had given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son (Jesus Christ), whosoever has the Son hath the life and whoever has not the Son of God does not have everlasting life” (1 John 5:11).

Dear friend, God is inviting you to have an awesome relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. All you have to do is to repent of your sins and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour. You can do so by saying the prayer below and believing with all your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came from heaven and died to save us from sin and bondage as it is written in the Word of God, the Bible. Make this decision today, say the prayer below and believe it:

Dear God, I thank you for sending Jesus Christ to die for me.

I acknowledge I am a sinner and needs Salvation.

Today, I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour.

Jesus, please forgive me of all my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.

Help me to serve and live my life to please you all the days of my life.

Please, write my name in the Book of Life.

Thank you for saving me. In Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen!

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Thrashing The Word ‘Sexy’ Out of The Church

It is quite obvious that we are living in a sex-crazed world. Even our churches are becoming sex-crazed too, it is very pathetic! Most Christian ladies nowadays prefer to be called ‘sexy’ rather than beautiful, modest, intelligent, or virtuous. I often watch with dismay how our Christian sisters get elated when guys tag their Facebook photos with the word ‘sexy’.
 

What does the word ‘sexy’ mean? Well, the last time I checked it means:

“provoking or intended to provoke sexual interest, or feeling sexual interest; aroused” – World English Dictionary.

Dear ladies, when a guy says you’re sexy, what he actually means is that “your appearance is provoking or inviting and makes him want to have sex with you.” As a Christian sister, I don’t think this is something you should be elated about. A Christian must never be happy if his/her appearance ignites a sexual desire in another person who is not his or her spouse. This is why we must watch the dresses we wear and ensure that we are not exposing things that must not be exposed.

While we have no control what others think of us, we do have control over which compliments we endorse. In some cases, the compliment ‘sexy’ does not match our appearance and therefore it is our duty not to endorse or even be thrilled by it.

With all these being said, it must be mentioned here that being sexy itself is not wrong. Sex was created to be enjoyed within the confines of marriage. Any sexual act outside marriage is a sin (see 1 Corinthians 6:18). I stand to be corrected, but I honestly don’t think there is anything wrong with a husband telling his wife she look sexy. God in His wisdom had assigned time and season to everything on earth. Obviously there is a time to look sexy and a time not to look sexy. The time to look sexy is if you are married and it must only be for your spouse and not the outside world. There is also a time to have sex and a time not to have sex. The time to have sex is when you are married and it must be only and only with your spouse. The Bible is quite clear on this; Hebrews 13:4 says:

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 says:

For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication.

And 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 says:
Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

Dear ladies, you are not sexy you are beautiful; the value is not the same. Know your worth and let no one look down on you. You have been fearfully and wonderfully created and chosen to show forth the glory of a great and might God. You are a Princess, the cherished daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords – the Lord Jesus Christ. So accept nothing less!

Christians are supposed to change the world, but it seems the world is rather changing us. It is time for us to wake up and take our place. Let the brothers from now on learn to give edifying compliments about the ladies, and let the ladies also resolve to dress decently. 

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Why Christians Should or Shouldn’t Tithe, Part 1

Tithes and Offerings are not the same
There's a blessing for tithing and there's a blessing for giving, the two are not the same. The blessings for tithing are (1) Open doors of blessing (2) God rebukes the devil for the "tither's" sake, (3) God prevents Satan from destroying the fruits of our ground (i.e. fruitfulness in our various endeavors such as education, business, etc), (4) We receive recognizable blessings; the scripture says, "And all nations shall call you blessed!" (See Malachi 3:10-12).

The blessings for giving on the hand had appeared in several places in the scriptures. One of it is 2 Corinthians 9:7-8. My favourite scripture about the blessings of giving, however, is Luke 6:38 where God said, "Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again"
Tithes and offerings are not the same thing. The Tithe is one-tenth of our income while offering is anything that we cheerfully give to God after honouring Him with one-tenth of our income. God himself in his rebuke to the Israelites stated that they have robbed Him both in tithes and in offerings (see Malachi 3:8).

Does all who tithe receive blessings from God? The answer is a bold YES! God is not a liar and He always stand by His Word to perform it. Any ‘tither’ who is not blessed is probably not "counting his blessings" (see Psalm 103). Blessings come in different forms – both small and big. Sometimes it takes real humility to recognize our blessings and accept that they're coming from God.

The new covenant objection to tithing
Now, I want to talk about the “new covenant” objection to the principle of tithing. Many of us are tempted to hide behind this ideology to object to valuable and fundamental aspects of our most cherish Christian faith. As Christians, it is our duty to embrace the Bible in its totality. The New Covenant, also known as the New Testament of our Lord Jesus Christ does not in any way do away with the old covenant. The New Testament came to complete the Old Testament. In football, we have two halves; the New Covenant is the second half of God's relationship with mankind. There would've been no New Covenant if there was no Old Covenant. Jesus himself said emphatically that He didn't come to put away the Law (the old covenant), but instead to fulfill it (read Mathew 5:17).

In the Old Testament there were laws like "do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not worship any other god, and, respect your parents" (see Exodus chapter 20). Can we say that it's okay to kill another person, commit adultery, worship idols, or disrespect our parents, because as it is we are no more under the old covenant? Similarly, in the old covenant God complained that His children (Christians) were robbing Him in tithes and offerings, and even went further to tell them that if they do not repent and pay their tithes then they will be cursed. But if they repent and honour Him with their tithes then He will open heaven's windows and bless them greatly.

Dear friends, God does not change. In the Old Testament God's children were called Israelites, and today they're called Christians. Our identity had changed but our God hasn't. And God's Word about tithing applies to every Christian today. Christians who refuse to tithe are stealing from God and amassing curses on themselves. And Christians who tithe will receive the blessings of God just as He has promised (Malachi 3:8-12).

So, instead of arguing about the principle of tithing and trying to find scriptures to justify our disobedience, we should rather pray for God's mercy and His grace. This will help us to be obedient to our loving God and be able honour Him with our tithes and receive the blessings that come with tithing.

List of Christian Denominations That Won’t Make it to Heaven

Contrary to the title, I wish to emphasize that this post is in no wise an attack on any particular denomination. I choose this title to address a very serious issue in the church today; the issue of denominationalism, that is, the division of the Church of God into several denominations.

Many church folks today love and would rather associate with a particular denomination rather than the Christian faith. We love to say we are Catholic, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Adventist, Jewish, etc., instead of saying “I’m a Christian.” I have seen many stickers on people’s cars telling how the owner is “Proud to be a Catholic,” “Proud to be a Methodist,” “Proud to be a Presbyterian,” “Proud to be a Jewish,” etc. and only very few saying “I’m Proud to be a Christian!” Besides all these, I feel that the Church is currently experiencing a new and more severe form of division where people side with one man of God, and despise and criticize other men of God and their followers.

As Christians, I believe we should first and foremost identify with Christ! We are Christians first, and church members second.  Second Timothy chapter one verse nine (2 Timothy 1:9) teaches us that Christ saved us first before calling us into a particular ministry or church. In essence, we are to see ourselves first as Christians.

While denominations in themselves are not wrong, it must be noted that prioritizing them over the Christian faith breeds divisions and contention. In the Bible, the word “Church” is used to refer to the entire body of Christ. The scripture says, “… Christ love the Church and gave himself for it” – Ephesians 5:25. By this scripture, I believe the Bible was not saying that Christ died for only the congregation of the Church of Pentecost, or Trinity Baptist Church, or T.D. Jakes’ Church. Jesus sees all churches as one, so far as He is the center of concentration. As a matter of fact, Christ’s aim on earth was to build a Church, not churches. Jesus said He will build His Church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Matthew 16:18).
Denominations that would not make it to Heaven

While on earth Jesus taught on many issues, pivotal among them was how to make it to Heaven. As it turned out, belonging to a particular denomination or another does not guarantee entry into the Kingdom of God. The following denominations will not make it to Heaven: Pentecostals, Charismatic, Calvinists, Adventists, Catholics, and all other denominations you know on this earth, including yours. There is only one denomination that will make it to Heaven, and it is called “Christians.” Yes, Jesus emphatically taught that the only way to make it to Heaven is to accept Him as your Lord and Saviour and become a Christian. In effect, only CHRISTIANS will make it to Heaven!

The Bible has an interesting story on this. A man named Nicodemus, who belonged to a very notable denomination called the Pharisees, went to see Jesus to inquire of his eternal destiny as to whether or not he will make it to Heaven. As their tradition was, Nicodemus started his inquiry by raining some praises on Jesus Christ hoping to prove to Jesus that he was very religious, because he belonged to the then famous and most notable denomination. However, Jesus, who is all knowing, knew exactly what Nicodemus had come to find out and said to him without hesitation, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3.

Dear friends, we cannot go to Heaven based on our affiliation with any particular denomination but only by accepting Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. Our Lord Jesus Christ was very explicit on this, He said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” – John 14:6 NLT. We should therefore learn to identify with Christ and with the Christian faith first. If indeed we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, then we must always see ourselves as Christians and one body and not allow our denominational differences to divide us.

Effects of Secular Music on People and Society

I remember meeting a girl from Chicago, in an online chat room who told me, “Over here we dress and do things like hip hop.” People tend to practice what they hear more than what they see. There are many people out there who will argue and say, “Oh yeah, I listen to secular music, but it has no effect whatsoever on my life. I just listen to it and that’s it.” You can’t just listen to something without it having an impact on your life.

Oftentimes we start acting out what we hear before we know it. How did we become educated? How did we learn how to talk and speak the various languages that we speak? It all came about as we sat in classrooms and listened to teachers who imparted knowledge into us. How did that happened? It happened as we listen to what our teachers said and acted out what they consciously and unconsciously instructed us to do. The Bible says faith (to believe), comes from hearing. As you hear you believe, and as you believe you do according to what you believe. That is what it is. A lot of young people engage in casual sex, crime and other social vices because that is what they hear in the songs they listen to. A large number of hip hop songs cover sex, money, crime, whoredom, and hardcore (stubbornness and rebellion). Innocent listeners, with time, begin practicing these things and become threats to their own societies.

Do you believe the News?

Many people worldwide use the News provided by the Media agencies as their main source of information. Do you believe the News you hear? I am sure you do. The same media that provide the news also provide the hip hop and R&B songs that we listen to. It is therefore not justifiable for any of us to say that we believe news has effect on our life but don’t believe that hip hop and R&B and other secular music do. What we listen to influences what we believe. What we believe influences what we do. Thus, our actions are a product of what we listen to and what we believe. Remember “faith comes by hearing” – Romans 10:17.

Does The Dead Really Rest In Peace? A Case Study On Whitney Houston's Death

Whitney Houston has been one of my favourite musicians for a very long time. It was her sweet and powerful voice that drawn me to her songs in the first place. But as I listened to, and watched her videos, I found myself being enthused with her stage performances. Whitney has a great deal of stage control and stage power, and I admire that about her.

As my relationship with God through Christ kept growing, I came to a point in my life where I had to put away secular music completely. So I sidelined a good number of secular songs and secular artists, and Whitney Houston fell among the list of artists I had to put away. (I have written a couple of articles about why Christians should not listen to secular music. Here is the list to check some out). The truth is that there is a BIG difference between good music and godly music. Godly music goes beyond just good lyrics, and looks at the life of the artist in question as well as the inspiration behind the song.

The news of Whitney Houston’s death is a sad one, not only because I used to be her fan, but mainly because I am concern about where she may be right now as you read this post. I received the news of her death via Facebook when The New York Times posted it on their Facebook page. Just below the NYT’s post, a friend of mine posted, “Whoa that actually hurt my feelings -_- RIP Whitney Houston” See the photo below.

 “R.I.P Whitney Houston,” millions of people have already said and ‘tweeted’ this same statement and similar ones since the news broke out. As I thought about that statement for a while, the question that kept ringing in my mind is: “Does the dead really rest in peace?”

What does the Bible say about the dead and death in general? In Hebrews 9:27, the Word of God tells us that, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” 

There’s an ultimate statistic that says that ten out of every ten people die. What this simply means is that, everybody dies. Some die young and others die old, but they die all the same. And how old you are depends on when you die. If you are 20 years today, and you know for certain that you won’t die until you’re 70 years, then of course you can say you are young. On the contrary, if you’re 20 years today and you will die tomorrow then you’re already old. Would you say that Whitney Houston died young or old?

We’ve all at some point in our lives had a relative or a friend die and all we said to bid them farewell was “rest in peace.” But ask yourself; are they really resting in peace?

When you walk out of this world, what do you think is out there, what do you think is after death? This is the question I have been asking people I meet on the street, in buses, and wherever I get the chance to pop it out. And I must confess to you, many people have no idea where they will go after death. This includes Christians and non-Christians alike. Kindly read our article on “what happens after death” if you honestly don’t know where you will go after you die.

And if you do know where you will be going after death but are not sure, then you might want to read this other article to be sure. God bless you. Share this article with your friends and anyone you think will find it helpful.

Should Christians Celebrate Valentine’s Day?

I cannot think of any holiday or anniversary that is surrounded by so much controversy like Valentine’s Day. In his award-winning book, Hamlet, William Shakespeare writes:

To-morrow is Saint Valentine's day,
All in the morning betime,
And I am maid at your window,
To be your Valentine…

History of Valentine

The original history of Valentine’s Day can be traced as far back as 500 A.D.  The original story is linked to three martyrs:  

“Valentine of Rome (Valentinus presb. m. Romae) and Valentine of Terni (Valentinus ep. Interamnensis m. Romae) Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred about AD 269 and was buried on the Via Flaminia. His relics are at the Church of Saint Praxed in Rome and at Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland. There’s a third martyr/Valentine who is believed to have died in Africa” –Wikipedia.

It is interesting to know that the Christian martyrs were referred to as Valentine. It was sort of a title for them; just like we have Bishop, Pastor and Reverend for today’s ministers of the Gospel.

It is believed that the above mentioned Valentines were commemorated and celebrated yearly on February 14. The original celebration of Valentine’s Day did not have the linkage to romantic love as we see in modern day Valentine’s Day Celebrations. The celebration marked support and affection for the Valentines who even at death held steadfast to their faith in God.

Romantic Association

How did Valentine’s Day become associated with love and romance? The attachment to romantic love as we see in modern day Valentine’s Day celebration is believed to have come about as a result of a romantic poem which a duke, Charles, duke of Orleans, wrote to his wife. This of course is not the first recorded romantic association with Valentine’s Day. The first recorded romantic association to Valentine’s Day can be found in the Parlement of Foules (1382) by Geoffrey Chaucer.