Thriving Words

Yesterday, i came across a question on tattoos for Christians. It's kind of controversial and divisive. Respected clergywoman Joyce Meyer shocked everyone when she said she was considered getting one. So, we come to the simple question, should a Christian have a tattoo on his / her body? Is getting a tattoo on ones body sinful or not? What exactly is the stand of God on the issue of tattoo.  Some Christian folks (mostly conservatives) believe getting a tattoo is a sin. They based their argument on a Bible verse from Leviticus 19:28, which says,"You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the Lord.". Personally, I don't like tattoo and don't think I will get one anytime sooner. But I strongly believe there is nothing wrong with getting a tattoo. I'm more of the view that the motive behind the tattoo is mor of a concern. Leviticus 19:28 is specifically dealing with pagans religious rituals. God doesn&

But he was wounded for our transgressions...  - Isaiah 53:5 Long time ago, every humans were sinners with no hope of Redemption. God sent His Son Jesus to died for sinners and redeemed them back into Him. But it wasn't an easy jobs like that, Jesus came truly to die for us, folks, the death wasn't an easy one. He suffered and suffered till He (Jesus) died. Today,  the death of Christ for us has been watered down. People no longer take it serious that truly so own died for their sins. Some don't even believe it.  Every believers has a future because of the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.  Jesus Christ has been made by God an offering for sin; and oh that to-night we may be able to do in reality what the Jew did in metaphor!  May we put our hand upon the head of Christ Jesus; as we see him offered up upon the cross for guilty men, may we know that our sins are transferred to him, and may we be able to cry, in the ecstasy of faith, " Great G

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—even our faith. - 1 John 5:4-5 We continue to study on how we can walk in victory. Yesterday post talks about knowing who we are in Christ.... How Do we Walk in Victory? Resisting   ( Rom. 6:12-13a) . We are to resist sin, Satan, and sin-provoking circumstances. We resist the inward prompting of sin and the schemes of Satan. Paul emphasized self-denial. God chose the denial of our lustful desires as one arena in which we are to express our love to Him ( Jn. 14:15, 21-23 ); we refuse circumstances that inflame sinful desires. Therefore, we do not go to places, buy items, or look at or talk about things that stir up sinful passions. When we are pursuing the fascination and pleasure of knowing God we can say no to things far more effectively. The essence of what we say no to is sin-provoking circumstances. Paul said that we should not present our body to situations that st

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—even our faith. - 1 John 5:4-5 It is one thing to receive freedom and deliverance. It is another thing to walk in victory.  Don’t be unprepared for Satan’s counterattack. You will face opposition and temptations when you leave here. Satan’s goal is to retake the ground he lost. You must determine to make decisions before you leave that will enable you to maintain the victory you have gained. How Do We Walk in Victory? Knowing Who You Are ( Rom. 6:11 ). We must know who we are in Christ and what we have received in Him. We reckon, or see, ourselves as alive to God—alive to the realm of God—which includes seeing that we are fully accepted and enjoyed by God, empowered to use Jesus’ authority, and indwelt by the Spirit.  The Spirit’s peace resides in our spirit from the very day that we are born again ( Gal. 5:22 ). We access His peace by acknowledging it and

A touching testimony of late Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa's daughter in-law's arduous journey of infertility treatments with five failed IVF attempts (A must read): "My husband,  F.E.Benson   Idahosa II, and I met in Benin City, Nigeria when I was 13 years old; our fathers (Benson Idahosa and Gary Whetstone) were friends. I’ve referred to my love for Feb as “love at first sight” because very soon after we met, the sparks of love began to flicker between us. After many years, my dream came true when I was 28 years old; Feb made me his wife! I was the happiest woman on earth and smiled ear to ear all through our courtship and wedding day. I was so excited to be his wife! The next thing I couldn’t wait for was to be the mother of his children; I wanted so badly to carry his baby. During the first year of our marriage, pregnancy didn’t happen like I expected. Subsequently, I convinced my husband to go with me for a fertility check-up. He thought it was silly bec

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”         - John 13:35 S omeone asked, 'can't we just ignore the difficult people or better still pray that they be removed from our lives'? Well, I know virtually everyone doesn't want to do deal with difficult people if they could have that chance but it's not always so... ...And the reason why difficult people are not removed from our lives is because these people are specifically assigned to us as spiritual exercises to teach us and help us grow. They are there to teach us and us to teach them. As Christians, Jesus requires us to LEARN all that He teaches and what He teaches is LOVE. God's love. God's Love is the way everything gets fixed! Instead of turning our hearts and minds off from those people who offend us, God is asking us to pray for them, have patience, respect and think on who they are and forgive them for hurting us. We must look for the g

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”         - John 13:35 W e all have people in our life who we can’t stand. Someone who rubs us the wrong way, makes us crazy, is our polar opposite and who we would never associate with if we had our way. It could be a dominating parent, an annoying sibling, an angry boss, a sleazy co-worker, a snobby peer, a self-righteous church member or even a spouse or partner who we no longer get along with. It can be the way they act, the things they say, their demeanor, their habits, their attitude, their beliefs, the way their chew their food…it could be their very existence! But for whatever reason, they are in our lives. But why? Why does God put these difficult people in our lives and why, after much prayer, won’t God change them or remove them from us so we can have some peace and quiet? After all, isn’t God in our life to make our life more pleasant?  Dfficult people are in our liv

...continue to WORK-OUT your salvation. . - Philippians 2:12 In time of spiritual weakness, you should decide to apply the same principles of a weight loss program to your spiritual life. Just as some folks kept a diet journal to trace their eating habits, you must began to trace your “life habits.” you should note times of spiritual victory and times of defeat. Through that, you will be able to track Satan’s successful techniques to weaken you. How humiliating to discover that when our children got rambunctious, our temper flared! When too many people phoned on a busy day, we lost patience and felt critical. On the other hand, when we began our day with prayer, listened to Christian music, and took quiet time with God’s Word, I experienced more fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, and patience. Your biggest need: self-discipline Over a period of years I collected spiritual “exercises” to help myself keep fit and strong. I discovered it is possible to develop discipline  gr

“I’m beginning to think it’s impossible to live a successful Christian life!” Jennifer exclaimed after a long, stressful day. “I get so discouraged. When I worship with other believers, I feel joyful and right with God. Then a new week begins with work, kids, problems, and ‘poof!’ – I’m back to the old Jennifer. Why can’t I stay spiritually strong?” Most Christians experience spiritual weakness at times It creeps up on us. Our zest to obey and serve God fades, and suddenly we realize we are spiritually “flabby.” Although we long for daily victory, we lack the strength to maintain a faithful walk with God. God’s Word says in Ephesians 6:10, “ Be strong in the Lord”  and encourages us not to lose heart. Spiritual muscles can be retrained. We can live a transformed, victorious Holy Spirit filled life day after day. Like Jennifer, most folks, too, fell prey to the fitness problem.  In the midst of hectic ministry, they lost enthusiasm for a daily, intimate walk with God.  They are

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. - Romans 12:2 There is a post by a friend which I have re-posted below. It is about so many things we have all been victims of and that we spread from generation to generation. Kindly read and re-read this post and allow it to sink in: When you bump your head into a door or a stool, it really hurts at first but over the next couple of seconds, the pain subsides...not for any external reason in particular, that’s just the nature of pain; it subsides over time.  When we have little kids and they bump their heads, or any other part of their body, we carry them to soothe them and in addition, it’s not uncommon to “smack” the offending obstacle and say “naughty door/floor/table/nanny”. Truth is, by the time you arrive to “smack” the object, the pain, by its nature, is already subsiding anyways.  It all l

.be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. - Ephesians 6:10 Yesterday, we started studying ways to develop our spiritual muscles. One way to develop muscles is by Prayer. We continue to study other ways by which our spiritual muscles can be developed; 2. Mediating on the Word One of the most powerful book yet mostly ignored is the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God for us. When we read the Bible, it's like talking our physical meal. Our inner man us filled when we read it always. No spiritual muscles can be developed outside the Word. Your spiritual body tissues start with the Word. If you can't afford to go hungry with your physical body, neither should you let your spiritual body go hungry. Reading the Bible do lifts up your Spirit Man. You get connected to God through his Word. The regular study of his Word; consistent godly fellowship; looking for God’s glory in creation every day; putting yourself under excellent preaching and teaching of Scripture; invest

be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. - Ephesians 6:10 Many years back as a kid, there is this funny thing we do, we raise our hands to show our tiny muscles to our friends. I just simply showed the other fellow and tell him 'Show Me Your Muscle'. We exercise to improve our heart health and we lift weights to build and tone our muscles. But what about our spiritual walk? What do we do to stay hopeful, encouraged, and faithful when it seems as if God isn't listening or answering our prayers? We may feel despair, dejected, and plain old depressed. But it doesn't have to be this way. God assures us that He will never leave or forsake us, so then why do we feel forgotten? Why do we feel so alone? Because, in times like this, the gym may be a great place to exercise to help you get your body in shape, and a run along the lakefront may be a great place to get out and clear your mind. But for the believer who affirms there is a God, and yet in the same breath

The Lord is your Provider. He loves you and He has a good plan for your life. He wants to bless you so you can fulfill His plan and purpose…so you can really enjoy your life. And in His Word, He tells us who He is and how we can access everything we need through Christ. The problem is, sometimes we miss out on what God wants to do in in our lives because we go to people, expecting them to give us what we need, instead of God. Now, God will work through the people He puts in our lives to help us, but we need to go to Him first and let Him determine the best way to meet our needs. Philippians 4:19 (AMP) says, "And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." This verse clearly tells us that God wants to meet our "every need…in Christ Jesus." But we can't just take this one scripture and expect to have everything we need without reading it in the context of the whole Bible. Matthew

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich -  Proverbs 10:4 We continue on our study about Jehovah Jireh the Great Provider. It is true that God is the great provider, but we must also understand He is a principled God. You can't afford to be lazy and yet expect God to provide all your needs. God doesn't condole laziness, you must work. It is through the works of our hands that God blessed and proper us. There are irresponsible folks all in the name of religion. God never substitute hard work. God has vowed to promise the diligent hands. Whatever such hands does prosper.  As a Christian, it is expected of us to work diligently because that is a channel for God to bless us. The provisions of God are for those who are diligent.  A lazy Christian won't be covered by the provisions of Jehovah Jireh and such Christian will become poor and poorer.... God wants to provide for our needs, He wants to prosper us b

He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich -  Proverbs 10:4 We continue on our study about Jehovah Jireh the Great Provider. It is true that God is the great provider, but we must also understand He is a principled God. You can't afford to be lazy and yet expect God to provide all your needs. God doesn't condole laziness, you must work. It is through the works of our hands that God blesses and prosper us. There are irresponsible folks all in the name of religion. God never substitute diligence for anything else. God has vowed to promise the diligent hands. Whatever such hands does prosper.  As a Christian, it is expected of us to work diligently because that is a channel for God to bless us. The provisions of God are for those who are diligent.  A lazy Christian won't be covered by the provisions of Jehovah Jireh and such Christian will become poor and poorer.... God wants to provide for our needs, He w

Hullo Sweetie, I'm sure you woud have grow wiser as you read this letter . This is my first letter to you. I and your mum was so happy and overjoyed when you were born. We couldn't wait for you to be born and here you are my beautiful daughter. Let me tell you a small secret, do you know your mum do fights me for loving you more than her (jealous abi?); even though that ain't entirely true. 😂😁😀 In this my first letter, I want to let you know certain things. We gave birth to you, we love you very well but you must understand that all this have been made possible because there is a loving God Who is also a family God. He loves Family so much and He was the One that encourages us to bring you into this world. He is our creator. We all (including you) came from Him.  The world you are in now is so full of some nonsensical stuff and wrong things that pollute the mind. They tell you things like there is no God, you evolve, among many other rubbish. Daughter,

And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him. - Psalm 37:40 There is a God that delivers His people from the hands of the wicked. There is a God that will never let the evil one prevail over His own children. Jehovah is the great deliverer. Whenever we found ourselves in the web or cocoon of the evil ones, only God can deliver us from their grip. The ground for God's deliverance towards the righteous, and the ground moreover of their righteousness itself is their trust in God. Trusting God, the righteous have taken God's laws for their rule of life, and made it their constant endeavour to serve and please Him.  As long as we put our trust in God and we believe in him, He will surely deliver us. Many folks are been tormented by the devil but instead of running to God, the great deliverer. They still run to to where their troubles and sorrow will multiply. God delivered the Is

He sent out his word and healed them, and delivered them from their destruction. - Psalm 107:20 There is a song lyrics that goes "  You are the Lord the healeth me, You are the Lord, my healer; You sent Your Word and heal my disease".  In the book of John chapter 4 verses 46-54 , we learnt about the officer that ask Jesus to come and heal his dying son, Jesus told him to go and that his son is whole. The officer believed and true to Jesus's  Words, the son was healed.  God is still in the business of healing.... We just need to believe. It's true that there are different kinds of diseases and sickness out there but it's also very true that God Heals all manner of diseases and sickness. The God that's Heals Naman is still the same God that Heals the woman with the issue of blood.  It is still the same God that Heals everyday... There is no sickness no diseases that God cannot Heals. It's our faith that matters, do we believe God still He

Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. - 1 John 3:1 If you are asked to sacrifice your only child, will you? Probably not but that was what God did when He sent His only Son Jesus to come into this world. That is what we called the Agape Kind of Love. The Greek word agape is often translated “love” in the New Testament. How is “agape love” different from other types of love? The essence of agape love is goodwill, benevolence, and willful delight in the object of love. Unlike our English word love, agape is not used in the New Testament to refer to romantic or sexual love. Nor does it refer to close friendship or brotherly love, for which the Greek word philia is used. Agape love involves faithfulness, commitment, and an act of the will. It is distinguished from the other types of love by its lofty moral nature and strong character. Agape love is beautifu

But godliness with contentment is great gain.  -    1 Timothy 6:6 | NIV We established that God want us to wealthy, no doubt. But we must also understand that God doesn't take people up, He grows people up. In our pursuit of wealth and Happiness, one thing is required; Contentment.  Contentment is a state of been satisfied with what you have. What you have night not be enough, but you wouldn't be so greedy to want more at another expense.  One dictionary defines    contentment    as “the state of being mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are.” Today it is rare that we find anyone who is truly content with his or her condition in life. The Bible has a great deal to say about contentment—being satisfied with what we have, who we are, and where we’re going. Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more import

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? - Mark 8:36 | NIV It is God desire for us to be wealthy, there ain't any joy in been poor. Money is a necessity. But there is a problem, instead of us having wealth (as God truly desire), it is the other way round, wealth is having us. Materialism is not about having possession but it's about possessions having you.  The rich man that came to meet Jesus couldn't let go of his wealth. Jesus knew this which is why he asked him to give half of all his possessions.  Anything you can't let go already have you . I have seen folks backslide as a result of them been richer.  Solomon was greatly blessed with wealth and riches but his heart was turned from God. What profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul?. Yes, it is possible to be wealthy and still be fervrent for God. Yes it's possible to be a millionaire, billionaire and serve God faithfully. We must learn that

My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:2 At certain points in our lives, we all need help. But the type of help we would get depend on Who is helping us. To be clear, not everyone takes help from the Lord, some would rather visit the herbalist, some visit the sorcerer, some even witches and wizards for help.  So why seek help from God?  Help from God brings lasting Joy. David the Psalmist knew better that only God can help completely. True Help doesn't come from abroad, neither does it comes from the south not north, it comes from the Lord above. So many people are either not born again, or they do not have a healthy relationship with God. As a result, they are ignorant of the help that can be received from God at the same time ignorant of the consequences of receiving such help outside the will of God. Many problems last long despite prayer because of help received from the devil in the past. A lot of people entered into a covenant eit

Then the king Ahasuerus said unto Esther the queen and to Mordecai the Jew, Behold, I have given Esther the house of Haman, and him they have hanged upon the gallows, because he laid his hand upon the Jews. - Esther 8:7 Thriving Prayer from the Book of Esther Every pit that the enemy has dig for you and your family, they will be the the one to fall into it. Every plans the enemy has for you is cancelled in the name of Jesus. You will not die untimely in Jesus Name. Every weapon of warfare against you will work for your good in Jesus Name. The Jews were saved because of Esther, in those month of March and beyond, you, your family and love ones are protected all round in Jesus name. In this Month of March, you will excel, you will blossom and you will prosper. In this month of March, people will favour you. Kings will make decision that will be favourable to you. In this month of March, anyone who tries to harm you or your family is dealt with in Jesu

Dear Rev. Graham: Mr. Graham, how would you like to be remembered? – D.F. My   Answer : I hope I will be remembered as someone who was faithful — faithful to God, faithful to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and faithful to the calling God gave me not only as an evangelist, but as a husband, father and friend. I’m sure I’ve failed in many ways, but I take comfort in Christ’s promise of forgiveness, and I take comfort also in God’s ability to take even our most imperfect efforts and use them for His glory. By the time you read this, I will be in heaven, and as I write this I’m looking forward with great anticipation to the day when I will be in God’s presence forever. I’m convinced that heaven is far more glorious than anything we can possibly imagine right now, and I look forward not only to its wonder and peace, but also to the joy of being reunited with those who have gone there before me, especially my dear wife, Ruth. The Bible says, “Now we see but a poor reflection as in a m

Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”  - 1 Chronicles 38:20 Some delays are neither caused by God nor the forces of evil. Another cause of the delay in our life is 'SELF'. We unknowingly caused some delays ourselves. When we fail to prepare in life, we are setting ourselves up for delay. When we fail to do what we are expected to do at the right earlier time, delay is inevitable. Whe we don't invest in ourselves, prolong delay can occur. Imagine a student that didn't read for his / her promotional exams, he / she will fail and would be delayed and stopped from going to the next class. Micah, David's wife (and Saul's daughter) child bearing was delayed/stopped simply because of the way she spoke about Kind David dancing and rejoicing. ( 2 Samuel 6:23 ) It's not every delay that is always caused by the devil. Some folks had live a very wayward life while younger and when they are old