Beware of the snare of Balaam (2).

Balaam himself was a victim of obstinacy and greed. He "loved the reward of wrongdoing" (2 Peter 2:15; Jude:11). 

When Balak first sent his messengers to him, God told him not to follow them to curse Israel (a nation He has blessed) and he complied. When Balak later sent a more powerful delegation with mouth-watering promises, Balaam refused to take God's earlier "No" for an answer and asked the delegation to stay overnight for him to learn what else God will say. God grudgingly allowed him to go with them and waylaid him before warning him to say only what He tells him to say there. 

Thrice , Balak built 7 altars and offered 7 bulls and 7 rams on them. Each time, Balaam stepped aside to seek God's face and God made him bless Israel instead of cursing them. This annoyed Balak and he sent him away . (Read Numbers chapters 22-24). 

Balaam "loved the reward of wrongdoing", though he was too smart to curse Israel so as not to be struck down by God. So he sponsored Moabite and Midianite women to lure Israel into sin so that God will punish them Himself (Revelation 2:14; Numbers 31:15,16). Though his plot succeeded, God led Israel to attack Midian and he was killed there (Numbers 31:1-8).

The Bible says at 1 Timothy 6:10, " The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows". Greediness is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5). 

Though Balaam was not an Israelite, he enjoyed God's favour until the love of money led him astray. (Contrast Balaam with Job, another non-Israelite who found favour with God till the end of his life). May we not end up like Balaam.

"OBEY GOD AS RULER RATHER THAN MEN" (ACTS 5:29)

The Bible exhorts husbands to love their wives, wives to submit to their husbands, children to obey their parents and everyone in general to submit to people in authority (Ephesians 5: 21-33 & 6:1-9; Romans 13:1-7). Are there no limits to these laws? 

🔯 The first man Adam loved his wife so much that he ate the forbidden fruit she offered him. God blamed him for listening to the voice of his wife to the detriment of keeping His laws (Genesis 3:17-19). Listening to your wife is not a sin (as can be seen in the cases of Abraham at Genesis 21:8-13 and the Shunammite woman of 2 Kings 4:8-10) but don't go against God's laws.   

🔯 Jezebel was a very caring wife. She told Ahab, " Why are you so sad that you refuse to eat?" and got him Naboth's vineyard after killing Naboth and his sons (1 Kings 21:1-29 ; 2 Kings 9:26). Ahab was the worst human being as at then, "egged on by his wife Jezebel"(1 Kings 21:25). At the end of the day, the couple, their 70 sons and all of Ahab's relatives in Israel were wiped out (1 Kings 21:20-26 & 22:37-40; 2 Kings 9:22-37 & 10:1-11,17). Even their daughter Athaliah , who had married away into Judah's royal family (2 Kings 8:16-18,24 and 11:1), killed most of her own children and grandchildren before being executed (2 Kings 11:1-16). Contrast Jezebel with Abigail, who used godly wisdom to save her family from annihilation (1 Samuel chapter 25). 

🔯 The young prophet at 1 Kings 13 disobeyed God's clear commands and paid dearly for it because an older prophet said,"An angel told me to bring you to my house to eat and drink". How can God tell you to do something, an "angel" (or demon) will "tell" somebody to make you do the opposite and you will obey the human being? Why not pray to God for confirmation? Deuteronomy 13:1-3 warns us against prophets who try to make us disobey God ,even if their signs or portents come true. Eve ignored God's command and listened to the serpent (the Devil in disguise) - Genesis 3:1-7; Revelation 12:9. God did not spare her for being fooled by a fallen angel. "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

 

📣 Nobody should be so important or dear to you to make you offend God. No wonder Jesus said at Matthew 5: 29-30, "If your eye or hand is making you stumble, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to lose one of your body parts than for your whole body to land in hell". Since our bodies are God's temples which are not to be destroyed ( 1 Corinthians 3:16-17), Jesus is telling us to abandon evil associations (1 Corinthians 15:33) here. Where no Bible principle is violated, obey your superiors and consider the feelings of your equals and subordinates. But never displease God to please ANY human being.

The equations of life.

LIFE is like a line segment drawn from a point B (Birth) to a point D (Death).
So life starts from the moment we are born until the day we die.

But in the middle of B(Birth) and D(Death) is a mysterious C (Christ). If we put Christ in the middle of our lives(Birth➡Christ➡Death), our lives will not end at D but will extend to E (Eternal life). All those who put Christ in the middle of their lives have eternal life after death. Those who do not put Christ in the middle of their lives don't have eternal life after death but they have F(Fire).

Therefore, the mathematical equation (or definition of life) for Christians is :
B + C + D = E   (i.e.
Birth + Christ + Death = Eternal Life).
The mathematical equation (or definition of life) for unbelievers  is :
(B - C ) + D = F
, i.e. Birth - Christ + Death = Fire.

Anyone who avoids C must surely lose E.

Please check the following scriptural references:   John 3:16,17 & 5:34 ; Acts 4:12 ;
1 John 5:11-13 ; Rev 20:11-15.

Life after delivery.

Two babies were in a mother's womb . One asked the other, "Do you believe in life after delivery?"

The other replied, "Of course I do. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later."

"Nonsense," said the first. "There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?"

The second said, "I don't know but there will be more  light there  than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat with our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can't understand now."

The first replied, "That is absurd. Walking is impossible and eating with our mouths is ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. Since the umbilical cord is very short, life after delivery is to be logically excluded."

The second insisted, "Well, I think there is something and maybe it's different from what it is here. Maybe we won't need this physical cord anymore."

The first replied, "Nonsense. If there is life, why has no one ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life. After delivery, there is nothing but darkness, silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere."

"Well, I don't know," said the second, "but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us."

The first replied, "Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That's laughable. If Mother exists ,then where is she now?"

The second said, "She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of her. It is in her that we live. Without her, this world would not and could not exist."

The first said, "Well, I don't see her so it is only logical that she doesn't exist."

The second replied, "Sometimes when you're in silence and you focus and listen, you can perceive her presence and you can hear her loving voice calling down from above."

................................................................

Maybe this is one of the best explanations of the concept of GOD.

70 Biblical facts about alcohol.

(1) Noah became drunk and exposed his nakedness (Genesis 9:20-26).

(2) Lot was so drunk he did not
know what he was doing & slept with his daughters.(Genesis 19:30-38).

(3)God commanded priests not to
drink so that they could tell the difference between
the holy and the unholy (Leviticus 10:9-11).

(4)The Nazarites were told to eat or
drink nothing from the grape vine (Numbers 6:3).

(5) A drunken, stubborn
and rebellious  son was to be stoned to death (Deuteronomy 21:20,21).

(6) God gave Israel no  intoxicating drink in the
wilderness (Deuteronomy 29:5-6).

(7)Intoxicating wine is like the
poison of serpents (Deuteronomy 32:33).

(8) Samson was to be a Nazarite
for life. His mother was told not to drink wine or
strong drink (Judges 13:4, 7, 14).

(9) Accused, Hannah said she
drank no wine (1 Samuel 1:14-15).

(10)Nabal died after a drunken
spree (1 Samuel 25:32-38).

(11) By getting Uriah drunk, David
hoped to cover his sin (2 Samuel 11:13).

(12) Amnon was drunk when he
was killed (2 Samuel 13:28-29).

(13) King Elah of Israel was drunk when he was assassinated (1 Kings 16:8-10).

(14)Ben-Hadad and 32 other kings
were drinking when they were attacked and defeated
by the Israelites (1 Kings 20:1,12-21).

(15) The Philistines were half-drunk when Samson pulled down the building on them and himself (Judges 16:23-31).

(16) The Lord's anger is pictured as
mixed wine poured out and drunk by the wicked (Psalm 75:8).

(17) Alcoholic drink is called the wine
of violence (Proverbs 4:17).

(18) Wine is a mocker(Proverbs 20:1).

(19)A wise person will not be
among the drinkers of alcoholic beverages (Proverbs 23:19-20).

(20)Drunkenness causes poverty (Proverbs 23:21).

(21) Drinking causes woe, sorrow,
fighting, babbling, wounds without cause and red
eyes (Proverbs 23:29-30).

(22)God instructs us not to look at
intoxicating drinks (Proverbs 23:31).

(23) Alcoholic drinks bite like a
serpent (Proverbs 23:32).

(24) Alcohol causes the drinker to
have strange and adulterous thoughts, produces
willfulness, and prevents reformation  (Proverbs 23:33).

(25)Alcohol makes the drinker
unstable (Proverbs 23:34).

(26)Alcohol makes the drinker
insensitive to pain so he does not perceive it as a
warning. Alcohol is habit forming (Proverbs 23:35).

(27) Kings, princes, and others who
rule and judge must not drink alcohol because it
perverts good judgment (Proverb 31:4-5).

(28) A land is blessed when its
leaders do not drink (Ecclesiastes 10:17).

(29) Woe to those who get up early and stay up late at night to get drunk (Isaiah 5:11-12).

(30) Woe to "champion" drinkers and
"experts" at mixing drinks (Isaiah 5:22).

(31)Drunken men stagger in their
vomit (Isaiah 19:14).

(32) The Israelites choose to drink;
their future looks hopeless to them (Isaiah 22:12-13).

(33) Drinkers cannot escape the
consequences when God judges (Isaiah 24:9).

(34)God pronounces woe on the
drunkards of Ephraim (Isaiah 28:1).

(35) Proud drunkards shall be trodden
down (Isaiah 28:3).

(36) Priests and prophets stagger and
reel from beer and wine, err in vision, and stumble
in judgment (Isaiah 28:7).

(37)Drinkers'  tables are covered with
vomit and filth (Isaiah 28:8).

(38)Drinkers seek their own gain and
expect tomorrow to be just like today (Isaiah 56:9-12).

(39)The Rechabites drank no
intoxicating wine and were blessed (Jeremiah 35:2-14).

(40)Again, God instructed the priests
not to drink wine (Ezekiel 44:21).

(41) Daniel and his 3 friends refused the king's
intoxicating wine and were blessed for it (Daniel 1:5-17).

(42)Belshazzar, ruler of Babylon  (along with his nobles,
wives, and concubines) drank wine from the goblets which
had been taken from God's temple. That very night, Belshazzar was killed and Darius the Mede took over the kingdom (Daniel chapter 5) .

(43) Intoxicating wine takes away
intelligence (Hosea 4:11).

(44) God reproves princes for drinking (Hosea 7:5).

(45) Drunkards awake to see God's
judgment (Joel 1:5).

(46) The enemy is judged for selling girls for
wine (Joel 3:3).

(47) Unrighteous acts of Israel included
the drinking of wine which had been taken for the
payment of fines (Amos 2:8).

(48) Israel is condemned for forcing
Nazarites to drink wine (Amos 2:12).

(49) Israelites are eager to follow false
teachers who prophesy plenty of intoxicating drinks (Micah 2:11).

(50) The drunkards of Nineveh will be
destroyed by God (Nahum 1:10).

(51) A man is betrayed by wine (Habakkuk 2:5).

(52) Woe to him that gives his
neighbor drink (Habakkuk 2:15).

(53) Drinking leads to shame (Habakkuk 2:16 ).

(54) A drinking servant is
unprepared for his Lord's return (Matthew 24:48-51).

(55) John the Baptist drank neither grape
juice nor wine (Luke 1:15).

(56) Christ warned against drunkenness (Luke 12:45-47).

(57) Drunkenness will cause a person not
to be ready for the Lord's return (Luke 21:34).

(58) Do not walk in drunkenness or
immorality (Romans 13:13).

(59) Do not do anything that will hurt
your testimony as a believer (Romans 14:21).

(60) If a Christian brother is a
drinker, do not associate with him (1 Corinthians 5:11).

(61) Drunkards will not inherit the
kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9,10).

(62)Sinful acts, such as
drunkenness, will prohibit a person from inheriting
the kingdom of God.(Galatians 5:21)

(63)In contrast to being drunk with
wine, the believer is to be filled with the Spirit  (Ephesians 5:18).

(64)Christians are to be alert
and self-controlled, belonging to the day. Drunkards
belong to the night and darkness (1 Thessalonians 5:6-7).

(65)Bishops (elders) are to be
temperate, sober, and not go near any wine (1 Timothy 3:2-3).

(66)Deacons are to be worthy of
respect and not drinkers (1 Timothy 3:8).

(67) An overseer is to be disciplined. He must not be a heavy drinker. (Titus 1:7-8).

(68) The older men and older women of
the church are to be temperate and not addicted to
wine (Titus 2:2-3).

(69) The past life of drunkenness and
carousing has no place in the Christian's life (1 Peter 4:3-4).

(70) Wine is associated with fornication and God's wrath (Revelation 14:8,10).

REMEMBER THAT NO DRUNKARD SHALL INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF
GOD (1 COR. 6:10).
God loves you.

Is there punishment for repentance?

A popular Yoruba song (based on a faulty translation of Isaiah 33:1) says:

"Abanijẹ́ ènìyàn tó ń bà'yàn jẹ́ kiri,
Lọ́jọ́ to bá dẹ́kun àtibanijẹ́
La ó bà ọ́ jẹ́ o".
(i.e. O destroyer, the day you stop destroying others,you will be destroyed)

This can dissuade sinners from repentance and make them continue in
sin to evade nemesis.

What does the rest of the Bible say? Consider these examples.

* "If someone wicked turns away from all his sins and keeps my
statutes and does what is just and righteous,he will surely keep
living. He will not die. None of the sins he had committed will be
held against him. He will keep living for doing what is righteous"
(Ezekiel 18:21,22)
* "Joy arises among the angels of heaven over one sinner who repents"
(Luke 15:10)
*" Repent,therefore, and turn around so as to get your sins blotted
out,so that seasons of refreshing may come from the Lord himself"
(Acts 3:19)
*"Don't you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the
Kingdom of God. Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual
sins,idol worshippers,adulterers,male
prostitutes,homosexuals,thieves,greedy people,drunkards,abusers and
swindlers shall not have a share in the kingdom of God. And yet that
is what some of you were. But you have been washed clean,sanctified
and declared righteous in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and with
the spirit of our God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

The above faulty rendition of Isaiah 33:1 in some Bible versions must
have arose from a poor understanding of the Biblical languages. The
Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew before being
translated to Greek,then Latin,...,English,etc. Before you can
translate correctly from one language to another,you must understand
both languages perfectly.

Isaiah 33:1 is properly translated as, "O destroyer, when you finish
destroying others,you will be destroyed".

The borrower is the slave of the lender (Proverbs 22:7)

Most of us use mobile phones and recharge them or borrow credit once
in a while. These mobile networks have a lot to teach us about the
evils of borrowing. Let me use Glo and Airtel as examples.


When you borrow N100 credit from Glo,you will be given only N85. That
is, N15 is charged as interest . If you use *323*pin# to load N100
credit, you will get an empty main balance plus N400 bonus, but Glo
will not deduct your debt from the bonus. It will wait for you to dial
*123*pin# (getting N100 instead of N400 ) before clearing your debt.
In short, you have lost N315 extra (N15 interest + N300 from bonus)
because you borrowed N100 from Glo.


The same applies to Airtel. Dialing *555*pin# gives you 6 times
your recharge as bonus, but Airtel will not deduct your N100 debt from
the N600 bonus. It will wait for you to dial *126*pin# (getting N100
instead of N600) . Mind you, you were given only N90 out of the N100
you borrowed. Therefore, the ripoff = N10 interest + N500 from bonus =
N510.


You can continue getting bonuses without paying your debt, but you
won't be allowed to borrow when you are in an emergency. It may be
months later, when you have forgotten the debt .


Let us try to avoid borrowing as much as we can. May God help us.