@FifiO
May God shower his blessings on you in Jesus name. AMEN!

I have noticed a trend in this religious section.
Someone that is an aethist can come and talk about condemning God and the non-existence of Jesus Christ, and we as Christians will be supprting such statements.
Men, this thing just pisses me off (God forgive me). Instead of us speaking against such anti-christ remarks, we are supporting it.
That means we do not believe or doubt in the existence of Jesus Christ or God.
I believe there is God and I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and resurrected.
I don't care what Church you attend or what denomination of Christianity you belong, I will stand for what is the truth and not follow the bandwagon of lies and deceit.

Romans 8
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

@FifiO
May God shower his blessings on you in Jesus name. AMEN!

I have noticed a trend in this religious section.
Someone that is an aethist can come and talk about condemning God and the non-existence of Jesus Christ, and we as Christians will be supprting such statements.
Men, this thing just pisses me off (God forgive me). Instead of us speaking against such anti-christ remarks, we are supporting it.
That means we do not believe or doubt in the existence of Jesus Christ or God.
I believe there is God and I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and resurrected.
I don't care what Church you attend or what denomination of Christianity you belong, I will stand for what is the truth and not follow the bandwagon of lies and deceit

Hi there,I do not get your point. What are you talking about bro?

Blessings to everyone in the house. It's been a challenging week for me but thanks be to God who causes us to triumph. I trust God is upholding you all in His everlasting arms. Folks, please don't let go of Him. Peter said 'Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life' John 6:68

Will try and offer my thoughts on some issues I missed shortly.

Bless y'all.

@FifiO
Please don't ever quote me again.
Read what I said carefully again. You will understand 100%.

Am I permitted to quote my self then?

@FifiO
May God shower his blessings on you in Jesus name. AMEN!

I have noticed a trend in this religious section.
Someone that is an aethist can come and talk about condemning God and the non-existence of Jesus Christ, and we as Christians will be supprting such statements.
Men, this thing just pisses me off (God forgive me). Instead of us speaking against such anti-christ remarks, we are supporting it.
That means we do not believe or doubt in the existence of Jesus Christ or God.
I believe there is God and I believe that Jesus Christ died for my sins and resurrected.
I don't care what Church you attend or what denomination of Christianity you belong, I will stand for what is the truth and not follow the bandwagon of lies and deceit


Hi there,I do not get your point. What are you talking about bro?

Hellooo!, can anyone see my ID right there at the top of your post, or is it just  me? And should I not get what it is you are saying, & precisely why you are addressing it to me on this thread, should I not ask?

Blessings!

I need to correct an impression that not all Yoruba are dubious but yours friend's came as circumstance.I'm a Yoruba guy who is brought up in a discipline and well trained home likewise some people outside do but there is no way we can rule out the bad eggs!so watch out for the decent one.

@FifiO
The first statement refers to you. While the remaining statements is for other members of this forum.

@blackkolly
You should not be making tribal statements if truly u are a Christian.

@Obinna5000

Thats what I couldnt get.,thanks for clearing it up for me.
Temerance.

Blessings!

Gamine, JeSoul, A_K_O, FifiO and all, I have enjoyed your discussion on the subject of Holy Communion (yet to digest the ones on Feetwashing and Anointing Oil).

Let me share a few thoughts of mine as well:

Gamine: Also, does the communion have special powers to give health and wealth?

A_K_O: None that I know of.

I think communion just gives us a chance to deeply reflect on what the death and resurrection of Jesus means to us as Christians.

It's remembrance time. . .

On their own, I will not say the bread and the wine have special powers the same way a bottle of oil (used in anointing) or bowl of water (in feet washing) or a piece cloth (mantle/garment) on their own do not carry any special power.

One has to have an understanding of the significance of a doctrine and commensurate faith to appropriate the virtues associated with such.  In the case of communion, yes, it is remembrance time.  But remembrance of what?  Is it to form a mental picture of Jesus on the cross?  This will be no more than a mere ritual.

Communion gives us the solemn act and moment to focus on Christ's sacrificial death (the offering of His body and shedding of His blood) and its significance (the purchase of the blood and the benefits of the broken body).  To only remember the death and not take advantage of the invaluable benefits purchased by the death is to not take full blessings of the total package thereof.

Christ came to destroy all the works of the devil (1 John 3 vs , of which sin is chief (the blood for the remission of sins).  But the total package also includes healing, divine health (by the stripes on His body), deliverance, abundant life etc.  Isaiah 61 vs 1-2, Luke 4 vs 18-19, John 10 vs 10, etc gave us the purpose of His coming.

So at Communion, we partake (share) of the body of Christ and drink of the blood, spiritually (this is where it is different from transubstantiation) using the elements of the bread and the wine as we remember what He purchased for us by His death.  It will not be out of place at all then, if someone extends his/her faith at such solemn moment to connect to the healing that is in the blood of Jesus and draw virtue from the shed blood, or connect to the beauty Christ purchased instead of the ashes the person may be having, etc

While I quite agree with A_K_O in his summation, I feel the deeper dimension offered by FifiO gives us a more comprehensive essence of communion. 

Gamine: but there is something about taking the communion unworthily

---

I was taught that

If you take the communion and you werent born again

you are in danger of becoming sick, which also may lead to death

But if you take it as a Born again person

any ailment would be gone, if u believe

Posts #428 and #433 by A_K_O answer that.

1 Corinthians 11

30 This is the reason why many of you are weak and sick and quite a number [of you] have died.

If I may ask, then, what is in taking communion that can make someone weak or sick or even die?  It is taking it unworthily or not recognizing/discerning the Lord's body.  That is why someone who has not accepted Christ as the Lord and Saviour of his/her life should not partake.  It is damnation/curse upon such.  I daresay too, that the converse is true- blessing/virtues could be drawn by a believer that partakes after examining himself!

JeSoul already summarised ways to unworhilty partake, though I have a problem with the framing of no.3

3. Taking it for an unworthy purpose (for example like you mentioned Gamine, to get wealth or some kind of material favor)

This will be true if the purpose is a get-rich-quick syndrome, but I won't call a genuine need of healing (for example) an unworthy purpose.  The woman with the issue of blood got her healing by touching the helm of Jesus garment because her faith drew that virtue from the Master, despite multitude touching him without drawing anything!

JeSoul: The minute we start to add our situations, our problems, our needs we're taking the focus away from Christ and unto ourselves!

My dear this is not the purpose of communion as taught in 1Cor 11 and until someone shows me otherwise from the scriptures and not just our own inclinations or feelings I don't see how I can accept that teaching.

It will interest us to know that the Communion is also referred to in the early church as the cup of blessing!!!

1 cor 10
16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

There are invaluable benefits of what the blood of Jesus and the body broken purchased for us by His death and resurrection.  What better time to apply these than during the solemn, 'blessing-full' and 'virtues-full' moment of communion?

John 6
48 "I am the bread of life.
55 "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.


@FifiO seemes to capture my thoughts well on this.

God bless y'all.

---

Whaoh!  Have I just typed all that?   

cup of blessing!!!

Halleluya to that!

Blessings!

Analytical, Gamine, JeSoul, A_K_O, FifiO and all, Thanks for all your contribution,

I Corinthians 1:17
Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to tell the Good News, and to tell it without using the language of human wisdom, in order to make sure that Christ's death on the cross is not robbed of its power.

My brethren the message of the cross is foolishness to them that perish,

Thank you for the exposition so far on this thread, i wont like to contribute because i will only be repeating most of the things said.

Paul as concluded on the communion issue in our doctrine to be CUP OF BLESSING, Pls endevour to take it with a righteous Heart.

Philemon 1 vs 3:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

@daruche
Thanks for the post brother. God bless you.

@Gamine, Analytical, & FifiO
I read all your posts on Holy Communion and I am gaining alot from them.
I am still going to read all again for a better understanding and I will give my reply on it.

God bless everyone.

Faith Supplies

One of the natural responses that often bursts forth when someone’s faith increases is the desire to give. 
Those who are touched by a message of faith often respond by giving back to those who touched them.

Those who were touched by the ministry of the Apostle Paul on the island of Malta had a similar response of giving.

Paul, along with his shipmates, had been shipwrecked on the island.  The islanders showed unusual kindness to Paul
and the others by building a fire for them because it was raining and cold. 

When a viper bit Paul on the hand as he threw some brushwood into the fire, the islanders thought Paul must have been
guilty of a deadly crime:  even though he had escaped from the shipwreck, they thought he would now die from the snakebite. 
When Paul didn’t die, the islanders changed their minds and thought he was a god!

Even though Paul wasn't a god, God still had work to do through Paul.  Paul and the others were invited into the home of Publius,
a chief official of the island.  When Paul found out that Publius’ father was sick in bed with fever and dysentery, Paul went to see him,
“, and after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him.  When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and
were cured” (Acts 28:8-9).

While Paul’s faith in Christ allowed him to do many miracles in Jesus’ name, look at the response of faith that took place among the
islanders who were touched by these miracles.  The very next sentence of the story says:

“They honored us in many ways and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed” (Acts 28:10).

Faith supplies.  When God works in powerful ways, people naturally want to respond in kind.  They want to give freely to others as others have given freely to them.

In this way, Paul and the crew were able to go onto the next leg of their journey to Rome, where God had told Paul he would have to testify before Caesar.  God had provided everything Paul needed to get as far as Malta.  When the supplies ran out, God provided still more through the those believers who had just been touched by God through Paul’s ministry.

Supplying the needs of others is a natural response of faith.

Have you been touched in a special way through someone’s ministry?  Maybe someone in your local church, which nourishes you and perhaps your family?  Maybe someone who has stopped by to pray for you?  Maybe someone who has sent you a special gift or card or email or text message when you needed it?  Maybe a ministry on the TV, or radio, or even this one on the Internet, that God has used in a special way to reach out to you to help you to increase your faith?

If so--and if God has is causing your faith to well up within you with the desire to give--I encourage you to respond in faith and give.  It’s a way to not only help that person or that ministry on the next leg of their journey, it’s a way to let them know that your heart is going with them as well. 
As Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Luke 12:34).
Let’s pray,

Father, show me how to respond in faith to those who have touched my life for You.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Blessings to all the saints . . . Analytical, Kola, Gamine, Fifi, Daruche, dudu and everyone else I didn't mention. I hope you're all doing well in Christ.

I leave you with this verse
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not upon your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

I pray God's word will continue to shine upon our hearts and illuminate them until there is no more darkness, but only His pure light in us. Amen. Have a fantastic weekend folks!

Hello friends.  Hope you've all had a fantastic weekend.  Thank God for His love for and mercy over us.  If not for Him, where would we have been?

Sometime, we take His mercies for granted in our daily sojourn here on this side of eternity.  We run around looking for things and searching for the ephemeral while overlooking His goodness and mercy over our lives in countless ways.  One such mercy is the very gift of life itself.

Just this morning I was hit by the news of the passing away of a dear colleague yesterday.  Then I started wondering about so many things.  Certain things are more valuable than we actually think of them.  I wondered about his family left broken, his aspirations and dreams unfulfilled, his projects unfinished but definitely his journey here ended.

Beloved, shall we all learn to value many of God's gracious gifts to us more by being grateful to Him always for them?  Shall we live our lives all out for Him?  Shall we also learn to appreciate our loved ones and those dear to our hearts more while we still can?  Shall we mend those broken relationships in our lives and makeup for times lost seeing we have a sure appointment one day to answer that same call?  Shall we live more purposefully and make every moment count while we are yet alive?

Remember we shall only be remembered by those things we have done. . .Selah  Some people in the scriptures die and nothing is mentioned about them.  For some, their history is in just a sentence.  For some 1 paragraph or 2.  For some a whole book is written and for some we are still reading and blessed from their lives up till today!

Lord, at the end of our live's journey, may we be able to say like Paul that we have fought the good fight of faith and have finished the race.  Amen.

God bless.

Analytical,
thanks for sharing that as appreciating God and all the good things He has given to me is a theme that has been resonating in me for a while now. I pray for your colleagues family that they'll be comforted and I pray for you, that God will use your life as an instrument onto His glory.
AMEN. Godbless you brotha.

JeSoul, you know you are always a darling. I say Amen to your prayer. Thanks my sis.

@Analytical
I feel very sorry for the passing away of our colleague. May he/she rest in the eternal bosom of the Lord.
May God continue to preserve each and every one of us in Jesus name. AMEN.

@all members
I am still going to post my contribution on the Holy Communion soon.

Stay blessed everyone.

THE PASTOR AND HIS SON!

Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at the church, the Pastor and his eleven year old son would
go out into their town and hand out Gospel Tracts.

This particular Sunday afternoon, as time came for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts,
it was very cold outside, as well as pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said,
"OK, dad, I'm ready."His Pastor dad asked, "Ready for what?"

"Dad, it's time we gather our tracts together and go out."

Dad responds, "Son, it's very cold outside and it's pouring down rain."

The boy gives his dad a surprised look, asking, "But Dad, aren't people still going to Hell, even though it's raining?"

Dad answers, "Son, I am not going out in this weather."
Despondently, the boy asks? Dad, can I go? Please?"

His father hesitated for a moment then said, "Son, you can go. Here are the tracts, be careful son."
"Thanks Dad!"

And with that, he was off and out into the rain. This eleven year old boy walked the streets of the town going
door to door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel Tract.

After two hours of walking in the rain, he was soaking, bone-chilled wet and down to his VERY LAST TRACT. He stopped
on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to, but the streets were totally deserted. Then he turned toward the
first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell, but nobody answered.
He rang it again and again, but still no one answered. He waited but still no answer.

Finally, this eleven year old trooper turned to leave, but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell
and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang again and this
time the door slowly opened.

Standing in the doorway was a very sad-looking elderly lady. She softly asked, "What can I do for you, son?"

With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to
tell you that *JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU* and I came to give you my very last Gospel Tract which will tell you all about
JESUS and His great LOVE."
With that, he handed her his last tract and turned to leave. She called to him as he departed. "Thank you son! And God Bless You!"

Well, the following Sunday morning in church Pastor Dad was in the pulpit. As the service began, he asked,
"Does anybody have testimony or want to say anything?"

Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet.

As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face, "No one in this church knows me. I've never been here before.
You see, before last Sunday I was not a Christian. My husband passed on some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world.
Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart that I came to the end of the line where I
no longer had any hope or will to live.


So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof,
then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted
I was about to leap off, when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, "I'll wait a minute, and whoever
it is will go away."

I waited and waited, but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent, and then the person ringing also started
knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, "Who on earth could this be? Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me." I loosened
the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder.

When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes, for there on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy
I had ever seen in my life. His SMILE, oh, I could never describe it to you! The words that came from his mouth caused my heart that had long been dead, TO LEAP TO LIFE as he exclaimed with a cherub-like voice,

"Ma'am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU."

Then he gave me this Gospel Tract that I now hold in my hand.

As the little angel disappeared back out into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel Tract.
Then I went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn't need them any more. You see---I am now a Happy Child of the KING.
Since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel Tract, I have come here to personally say THANK YOU to God's little angel
who came just in the nick of time and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in hell."

There was not a dry eye in the church. And as shouts of praise and honor to THE KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated. He took his son in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

Probably no church has had a more glorious moment, and probably this universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love & honor for his son, Except for One. This Father also allowed His Son to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of heaven shouted praises and honor to The King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named.

Blessed are your eyes for reading this message. Don't let this message die, read it again and tell others. There is always a reward for you.
Heaven is for His people!

Remember, God's message CAN make the difference in the life of someone close to you. Do not be too shy to share that wonderful message.

@Kunle Oloye

Touching story,thanks for sharing.
May God help us all to walk worthy of this calling. Amen.

Blessings!

Watch this wonderful rendition of a popular Yoruba song of praise in the video link below:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kywXb31c2HA

Analytical, you're more than welcome. Also thanks for your holla of encouragement on the other thread I'll make sure I speak of God's goodness when it goes down. Godbless!

Hi All.

Thanks for all the encouragement and blessings

Its been my very companion, these past days.

Its so hard being a Christian in Nigeria

Everywhere you turn , there is always something compromising

Im spent but God is my strength o

@Analytical, aww im sorry about that
i pray the family is well and i ask God for strength for their lives

Praise be to God almighty from whom all blessings flow. See, this God we serve has no equal. Am just grateful to Him for the gift of life, resoration, and deliverance from the hands of the evil ones.

[size=15pt]Be on fire for the Lord[/size]

I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of my mouth. — Revelation 3:15,16

Everyone at one time or another has tried to keep his balance while walking on a fence. Sometimes we make it and sometimes we fall.
When it comes to obedience, far too many Christians try to "walk the fence." They keep one foot in the Spirit while one foot flirts with the world. These are some of the unhappiest people in the world.
Charles Spurgeon once said, "I never saw anybody try to walk on both sides of the street but a drunken man; he tried it,
and it was awkward work indeed; but I have seen many people in a moral point of view try to walk on both sides of the street,
and I thought there was some kind of intoxication in them."

If God is God and Christ is our Savior, let us give our undivided attention and whole hearts to God. A lukewarm Christian never has the joy of knowing the fullness of God. Obedience is the key to real faith. This is real faith: believing and acting obediently regardless of circumstances.

GOING DEEPER:
Read today’s scripture passage and define what it means by being hot, cold and lukewarm.  
Are there areas of your life where you are walking the fence? Make a decision today to get off the fence and walk in obedience.

FURTHER READING:
Romans 12:11 .

As we continue on this race may we walk and never stumble,may the Lord God cause His light to shine on our ways.
I speak the peace of God upon every family on this forum. May this year never end without you testifying to the goodness
of the Lord. All these i ask in Jesus name (amen).Shallom

Hey everyone, having a good week I trust?
I have just recently visited a thread about 'what happens when we die' and I left a question there. I have recieved very weird replies and I am not really interested in the exchange with these other religions. However my curiousity is still here with me and I wondered if we could have our own little in-house discussion on the matter.

It's like this; I have recently read a book titled 'Strange but True' and it's really making me ask what happens inbetween death and judgement. Do we get to float around,see our relatives,etc or what?

Will paste some entries that particularly got my attention in this book soon.

Blessings!

OLGA KEEPS HER PROMISE

Let me abride the background of this story; After lots of pondering over the subject of death, two college friends agree to tell each other about it,who ever dies first.

, Story:Once school let out for the summer vacation, I had no further communication with Olga because our farm homes were miles apart. In June 1926, I had a remarkable experience. I retired rather l;ate, and it seemed I had just dozed off when I found myself walking along a familiar street in Chanute. Olga was with me.

Olga was more serious than usual but looked quite natural as we sauntered along arm in arm. Then she said, : "I've come back to keep my promise"

Her tone was quiet, to prevent startling me, I think. I turned to her unbelievingly. She seemed just the same as always. There was something a bit more profound about her manner, erhaps but otherwise she seemed perfectly real.

"What do you mean,Olga?" I asked.

"Dont you remember our promise to each other?" she questioned. " I am dead! I have come back to tell you."

"No,no"I cried. "You cant be dead!why, you are here walking along side with me. You look so well!" I puzzled over her words, yet I knew she spoke the truth.

Olga was patient, but at last she seemed to think that nothing short of a shock would make me understand."Look atme!" she said. "I am dead; I died today!" Then an unearthly expression came over her countenance, turning it from youthful health to a cold palor! Her eyes lost all expression and her hands were chill to the touch.

This alarmed and horrified me, but when I looked again she was her old familiar self.

"Now you know," she said softly. I am dead! I cannot tell you what it is like, for it is not permitted, except to say that everything is alright. Never be afraid to die! Everything is alright"

THE THREE LIGHTS

When my mother, Shirey Marsh , was young she lived in Waterford,Pennsylvania. Three of her cousins-triplet girls-died when they were three years old.

When their mother came home from the burial services, she fell asleep in her living room. As night came on, she was awakened by the laughter of small children in the yard. She crept out on her porch and looked out.

She saw three blue lights lingering near the swings. Then she recognized the voices as those belonging to her girls. They were laughing and having a good time together.

Then the lights swung out toward the corn field and headed to the cemetery, which was not far from her home-

USE ME
Scripture Reading: John 6:1-15
"You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things."
Matthew 25:23
Some people say that Luciano Pavarotti, who died last year, was one of the greatest tenors who ever lived. His singing talent was unique, like the basketball skills of Michael Jordan or the mathematical skills of Albert Einstein. Many wish that they could be like these people, even just for a brief time.
As believers, we have similar aspirations. How wonderful it would be if we could have the preaching skills of Billy Graham, or the caring skills of Mother Teresa. We want to be like them not for our own sake, but because we want to serve the Lord. We want to do great things to serve our Lord in thanks for all he has done for us, giving up even his own life.
But in our reading for today we learn a very different lesson. There would not have been a miracle of feeding five thousand people if not for the little boy who offered his five loaves and two fish. Similarly Peter might not have become a great apostle or missionary if not for his little known brother Andrew, who brought him to meet Jesus (John 1:40-42).
Never underestimate what the Lord can do if we offer ourselves up for his service. Our God and Savior is willing and "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us" (Ephesians 3:20).
Prayer:
"O use me, Lord, use even me, just as you will, and when, and where until your blessed face I see, your rest, your joy, your glory share." In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Just wanted to wish all the saints a great weekend! Stay blessed n connected to the vine!

Same to you Jesoul and make sure to keep warm in Boston.
Always remember that He will come as a thief in the night