How The Devil Went on an Evangelism Mission with One Famous Preacher

As incredulous as it may sound, this story is actually true. Indeed, the devil went on a soul-winning mission with one famous preacher known in almost all Christian circles. The good news however, is that the preacher in question is not a false preacher but a good one. “How do you know? You may ask. Well, we will find out together. Keep reading…

Being a Christian myself, I was shocked to the bone when I came to the realization of the facts of the story. It is out of that astonishment that I decided to write this post and share the story with all the believers out there. This way, we can take caution and watch against these things repeating themselves in the Church.

Many Christians would confidently say they would be able to easily identify the devil should they set eyes on him. But what I learned today proved to me that most of us have a skewed perception about the devil. What is your perception of satan? What or how does he look like? Is it a horned and tailed beast with fumes of evil emanating from his face, and from every pore of his skin? Better yet, is it a fearful goat-headed or ‘baphometed’ being, an epitome of fear?  Obviously these were the images of the devil that had being let down from generation to generation, and in recent times have been fueled by movies, books and the media.

Well, I also do agree with the above descriptions of the devil. The truth however is that, satan does not look scary and evil all the time. He only looks evil and fearful when he is in his habitat – hell. This is because in hell his main aim is to fright and torment his victims. Taken out of hell and brought to earth, satan does not take on the scary and fearful image that most of us have about him. The reason for the change is because on earth he has a totally different mission. The devil’s main aim on earth is to deceive and take people captive. Surely he would have been unable to deceive no one if he were to come looking scary.

So it was this strategy of changing appearance that I believe eluded the famous preacher and made him go out on his gospel preaching mission with the devil. Anyway, the preacher in question is Apostle Paul. Yes, the same powerful man of God who wrote about two-third of the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. It is that same man who went on preaching mission with the devil. To satisfy your curiosity, here is the story:

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.

And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

(Acts 16:16-18 KJV)

Wait a minute! Even Paul could not identify the devil when he joined his evangelism team. And for many days the devil followed him proclaiming, “These men (i.e. Paul and the other disciples that were with him) are the servants of the Most High God, and have come to show us the way of salvation.” (see Acts 16:17).

What would you do if the devil speaks well of you? Obviously you would not accept his good report if he appears in the form of the devil we all know. But what if he did come in the appearance of someone you never imagine could be used by the devil to deceive you? That’s the kind of situation apostle Paul found himself. The devil followed him for many days and kept proclaiming great things about them. None of the apostles including Paul himself discerned that young girl was possessed by the devil. This is a great lesson to all of us.

We saw in the scripture above that young girl was possessed by the “spirit of divination”. This spirit is not part of the seven manifestations of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2). The word ‘divination’ also means prophesying or soothsaying. It is regrettable but most of the prophets in churches today are actually soothsayers operating under the influence of the spirit of divination. By the help of the devil, these false prophets are able to give accurate and outstanding words of knowledge. The spirit of divination is a very powerful deceptive spirit that satan is using to deceive many Christians. This is why believers must be very careful and check all prophecies with the Bible (2 Peter 1:19) to see if they are correct or not.

Also, we can overcome this deception from the spirit of divination by doing what Paul did. How did Paul finally know that the girl was possessed by an evil spirit? The Bible says, “…But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour” (Acts 16:18). The key word here is ‘grieve’. True prophesies come to exhort, to encourage and to lift us up. Beware of prophets who prophesy to scare you or make you afraid. “For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

I believe Apostle Paul was able to discover that the young girl was possessed by the devil because her words of prophecy did nothing than bring grieve to the apostle. So as soon as he became grieved he did not hesitate but turned to the girl and commanded the spirit out of her. Another lesson is the fact that Paul did not cast the evil spirit out by his own power but by the power and name of our Lord Jesus Christ. This too is a lesson to us that the battle over the devil and his demons can only be won when we stand in the name and power of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally, my prayer for all Christians is that we will begin to see the devil for the deceptive being that he really is, and not only as we have known him to be. Also we must not be ignorant of the satan’s goal on earth which is to deceive as many as he can. May God deliver us from every deceptive plot of the devil, in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen!

Vision of Demonic Army Raiding The Earth

In the wee hours of today (29/07/2013), while on a nap break at work I saw in a dream, I was walking with someone on the road. I can't remember who it really was, but suddenly we saw a military truck which was  completely off the road and approaching our direction. We were walking on the left side of the road and had to run rightwards to escape the truck, otherwise it would have hit and killed us instantly.

As we continued walking, another military vehicle approached from behind and we had to run to the left to dodge it. As we climb a little hill of the road we came to a junction on the left and saw other military vehicles on top speed coming from the road on the left. Then I saw that the vehicles were fully packed with soldiers and it seemed that a war had broke out.

So I perceived indeed a war had broken out and therefore we rushed to the nearest bush on the left to hide. Just as we entered the bush to hide, I noticed footsteps everywhere. What followed was a great shock. I saw dirty, human-like creatures everywhere. They were all naked and very filthy with wild eyes which moved to and fro as if in each for a prey.

We developed a strategy to hold our breath and act dead as a way of not drawing the attention of the dirty creatures. So we held our breath and acted dead. Then one of the creatures which I perceived to be female approached us. It looked at us carefully, intending to figure out if we were really dead. I could not hold my breath any longer so I breathed silently but the creature seemed to have noticed my breath so it held my toe to bite it. I played cool initially but I suddenly happened to have remembered the scripture that says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). So in adherence to that scripture, I resisted and spat out the contamination that seemed to have entered into me from the dirty creature.

While I had this encounter with one of the dirty demon-like creatures, the rest (many of them, probably in thousands) passed on and were everywhere, and seemed to be attacking other humans beings.

I woke up suddenly after resisting the one that was attacking me.

I understand this vision to mean that demons are infiltrating the earth in a grand military style, and this calls for prayer and fasting for ourselves, our families, our friends, the Church of God and the world as a whole. If you are reading this then please fast and pray for yourself, your family, friends, your church, the Church of God, and the any individual or organization that you feel led to pray for. We are victors and conquerors in the mighty name of Jesus, so let's take victory in Jesus' name over any demonic attack.

Open Letter to Ladies Who Think "All Guys are The Same"

Dear Sisters,

It is very regrettable that most of you resent us so much. In spite of this, most of us in most cases do not reciprocate your resentment towards us. Those of us who do this do it for one major reason: whether we like it or not you ladies will always be our mothers, sisters, girlfriends, fiancées and wives and the cycle will continue on and on.

While we may put up with you on many things, one thing most of us can’t stand, which we wish you could change is your rather ‘erroneous’ perception that all guys are the same. I am writing this letter to all the ladies out there and hope to, at the end, prove to you all that all guys are not the same! So let’s get into it.

I've found there are two types of ladies. The first type thinks that all guys are the same. Sadly, I've found that ladies with this ideology hardly find true love because (1) they most often encounter bad guys which reiterate their belief that “all guys are the same.” (2) They never realize it when a good guy comes around and treats him with the same resentment they would treat the bad guys.

I also realize that the perception that all guys are the same is just the symptoms; the real cause of such notion is a history of abuse by men, fathers, uncles, brothers, bad relationships. This is what had created such a bad and sometimes very evil notion about guys in the minds of these ladies.

Many a time, the ladies who have this perception that "all guys are the same" easily become players, moving from one guy to another, and they may also easily fall prey to temptations of lesbianism. So, what often starts as a mere resentment of the male figure could deteriorate into something serious and detestable such as lesbianism and promiscuity.

What can one do if she finds herself in the situation described above? Well, I wish I have a perfect answer, but honestly I don't. So I will just suggest two solutions. The first solution is God. Yes, the reason many women resent men so badly is because they have been hurt in the past and have not healed completely. If you are going to heal completely from the hurts of the past then you are going to need God's help to do that. Jesus Christ came to the earth as a Saviour, but also as a Healer. The scriptures say, "By his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). So trust God to heal you from all the hurts of the past and pray for grace to approach life with a renewed sense of hope.

The second thing one could do is to stop generalizing. There are millions of men in this world and if indeed you have been hurt by some, the number will be very minute if compared to the average number of men in your country or community. So with all due respect, I think it is unfair to use the misbehaviour of the 'few' men you have encountered as a yardstick to say that all men are the same. Learn to use the legal principle, "every suspect is innocent until proven otherwise". In other words, think of all people to be potentially good until you have cause to doubt their integrity. This will ensure you don't treat good guys badly when they come around.

Now back to the second type of ladies in the world. The second type is those who may have been equally hurt by men in the past, but unlike the first group, these think that most guys are the same but there are still good guys out there. Know the difference: the first group thinks "all guys are the same" but the second group thinks "most guys are the same but there are still good guys out there".

Due to the notion of the second group that there are still good guys out there, they use what I call the "back up plan". That is, they fall in love initially with just one foot forward, study the guy carefully, and if he is good then they then give him their hearts completely.

In life we don't always get what we want, but with wisdom and faith in God, we can conquer every problem and live a joyful life. Issues of the heart have to be dealt with carefully and we will therefore be blessed to follow the command in Proverbs 4:23: "Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life"

What All Gay People Must Know: The Abnormality of Homosexuality

The problem with homosexuality is that it is unnatural. Assume that you have a daughter who's six (6) years old. Now one day upon returning from work you see this young girl in bed having sex with a man of about 20 years. What will be your immediate reaction? Then to make things worse, imagine you asked your daughter about the incidence and she tells you she's attracted to older men. Would you accept such attraction as normal? Please, let's be realistic. The natural order is for someone of one sex to desire another of the opposite sex. Anything short of that is perverted and unnatural.

Many gays also argue that gay sex is just another sin but that's a weak argument. Every wrongdoing is sin but there are sins that lead unto death and those that do not. Homosexuality is not just a sin but also an abomination. It is detestable and abnormal.

In law, there's a clear distinction between what a crime is and what a tort is even though they are both wrongs committed by people. Crimes are considered heavier than torts because they are wrongs against the whole of humanity and not just one person. For example, murder is considered a crime because it is believed that the murderer is a threat to the entire society and not just the victim. Torts on the other hand, are wrongs against individual persons which does not pose a threat to the entire community. It is the same with homosexuality. Homosexuality is a sin like any other wrong but it is an abominable sin. It is unnatural and

should never be encouraged.

Is being gay a choice or not? I believe it is both a choice and also demonic. Being gay is a demonic perversion of the natural order. Now that is the starting point. The individual has to make the choice weather to satisfy his attraction to another of his/her own kind. A preacher once discovered that he's dispositionally gay but because of his love for Christ, he never satisfied his desires by having sex with a man. As a straight and unmarried guy, I have a high inclination every now and then to go find a girl and have sex with her. But that’s fornication and I know better. Sex was designed for marriage and that is how it has to be. Just because I desire to be with a girl does not mean I should go in for one while unmarried.

So the existence of a proclivity is not justification to satisfy it. If this is the case then the world must brace itself for more surprises because the arguments that would be used to attempt to normalize homosexuality would soon be applied to normalize other abnormalities such as sadism, masochism, pedophilia and misogyny just to mention a few.

Please don’t get me wrong; I don't hate gays, I detest the act of homosexuality just as I don't hate criminals but detest the act of crime. As a Christian, I am, per my beliefs, to love everybody. Now, there's BIG difference between accepting people and accepting their abnormal lifestyles. The church is a place for sinners who consider their ways as sinful and therefore seeking redemption, not sinners who are seeking their sins to be accepted as normal behaviour. Any church that accepts homosexuality as being normal is not worthy of being called a Christian Church because being gay and being a Christian are so divergent that they can never meet. God bless you!

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.

Have you been blessed by this post? Kindly share it to bless your friends and others. God bless you.

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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