LightandDarkness:


Thank you, no I did not. I always wondered what people meant by a conversation with God. Most people I've spoken to can't say, did they hear a voice? Where it came from. A conversation isnt just speaking it's receiving a response. I personally think most peope that say that speak to God probably experience something from their unconscious.

Yes, a conversation is not just speaking, but also receiving. I wish pastors and Christians generally would break it down when they say God speaks with them. From what I've learned over the years, God speaks in different ways - audible voice, inner witness (still small voice), dreams, visions (open and close), etc. The primary way God speaks to believers is through the "still small voice" (another terminology that needs explanation). If you dig deep you will find out that majority of people who told you God spoke to them were actually talking of the "still small voice."

So, how does the still small voice work? God through the Holy Spirit drops a piece of information into a believer's spirit and from there the believers pick it up in their thought. Have you ever done something wrong before and then it occurred to you thereafter that "something" warned you not to do it? Have you ever had a thought to do something but it sounded out of place at that time only to made perfect sense hours/days after? I experienced this a lot after I gave my life to Christ years back, but I did not understand what was going on with me. Years passed and I eventually, through hearing messages and reading books, learned that the "something" that has been speaking to me in my thought was the "still small voice" of God. Lots of times I either overrode the thought by reasoning out the message or missed the thought all together as the voice of God. With time, I've come to learn and understand the voice of God (or thought from God) and obeying the voice has brought peace and valuable knowledge.

The challenge that most Christian face when it comes to the "still small voice" is how to identify the voice (or thought) of God from the myriad of thoughts crossing our minds every minute. Peace is the leading way you would identify the voice of God. When God speaks to your heart, it will bring peace. Have you ever been stuck with two options while trying to make a decision? Thinking of one option brings peace while the other leaves you agitated? Still small voice is quite subtle that we can miss it or easily override it. The key is to be sensitive, learn it and obey. With time one becomes accustomed to it and it becomes a way of life and feels more conversational. This is just the tips of the iceberg when it comes to hearing from God. I can recommend great books and audio if you would like to dig further.

Let me share with you a personal experience:

A while back, here on Nairaland, I got interested in a member and was getting close to her when all of a sudden she disappeared. I had that peace I talked about earlier concerning this person. One day, I was in the shower and I was talking with God about her when God said, "I will bring her back when the time is ripe." Note that I did not hear a voice! It was a thought that was imprinted in my heart; the thought stood out from all others. Also, note the construct of the sentence - it could not have been my thought, but a response from "someone." Well, I believed and held on to that message and she finally came back to the forum after about 6 months. She also has her testimony of why, how and when she left and returned. We got married two years later and our relationship has been great.

LightandDarkness:



2.Actually I was a Christian and based off your story I had a stronger Christian background than you did. Church every Sunday, devotion everyday twice a day, Sunday school teacher, choir etc but yet here we are.

I really like the conversation you are having with the OP. I have a question for you? While you were a Christian, did you hear from God? Did you have conversations with Him?

honourhim:
Hello brethren, kindly give your views on predestination as recorded in the scriptures quoted below for more understanding to the readers here(including myself).

Romans 8;28-30

28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified


Also

Ephesians 1;4-6, and 10-12.

4 According as he hath chosen[b] us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

5 Having predestinated[b] us [/b]unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
[/b]

Does the above scripture imply that those who are born again now and those who will be born again in future are predestined for it? Which means those who are not predestined to be born again will never be no matter what? And those who are predestined to be born again will be no matter what? Kindly contribute for more understanding. Thanks.


N.B. Pls note that this thread is not intended to mock God. He is the creator and whatever he want cannot be questioned. I.e. assuming what i think about the above scripture is actually what it means.

Look at the verses you quoted from Ephesians 1. The key to understand predestination in this context is to define "US" in the verses. Paul wrote the book and he addressed to the church in Ephesus - see V1 below.

1 This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus.

I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus,[a] who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

Paul even defined who the Holy people in Ephesus were - faithful followers of Christ Jesus.

So, I believe the "US" in those verses refers to Paul and the people in the church in Ephesus, better still the faithful followers of Christ Jesus in Ephesus. so, could it be that only Paul and there people were predestined bu God? No! because the faithful followers of Christ Jesus in Ephesus increased with time. In a nutshell, as many that are faithful followers of Christ Jesus are predestined.

No, God did not predestined individuals, but as many that will accept the gift of His son will join the group of the predestined ones.

I understand there is a school of believe out there that God actually predestined people for heaven and there is nothing you can do to to leave this group of people or join them. This believe nullifies John 3:16.

That is devil's economy - he gives you N10 and collects N1000 from you.
Biko, make them show am road go MFM.

John 16:13
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

For any controversial topic in the bible, our best bet is to consult the author - Holy Spirit. He is in us to guide us into all truth.

WOW!!! The good old days. The mention of young pioneers brought back memories . . .

That Architect only had one job and . . .

Moisef:
Indeed sister, I stopped going to church because I hate the Jesus they portray (commercialized version). All they center around is the amount they have to drive to the church account after marketing his holy name (Even the so called S.U churches too). No one seem to care about the salvation of souls anymore, members will rather come to church to show off and one would wonder if its a beauty pageant or a house of praise and prayer... But after reading this write-up some days back my only prayer has been for God to lead me and my family to a place (church) where he dwells and delight in. A place where I can feel his presence. A place where the undiluted word of God is preached.

A big fat Amen to that prayer, sister. And, that is the way to do it - pray and let God lead you to where His Spirit dwells.

Acidosis:


All this wahala just for se. x?? Haba!




See why some men would rather pay 'opo' N5k to get it done and closed. Time is money please.

You can display affection at a leisure time, but you shouldn't recommend these assignments as means to get s.ex with one's wife.

Shoo! You call this wahala? So, what exactly is a man's role in marriage if he cannot play with his family and make his wife happy? This is simply a way to build intimacy in his relationship. He doesn't have to do exactly what she wrote but she gave an excellent pointer that OP can make use of.

And, what is the point of marrying if you can always quench your fire by engaging your so called "opo"? Disgusting!

1.) did you really tell your wife you will not discuss the subject again after trying twice? So, how would you resolve the issue na? Oh, you will grab one of your side chicks already inviting you, Shey? Wrong move! You will only end up destroying your home. Biko, don't do it.
2.) I don't completely agree with dumping your female friends just because you got married; some friends are worth keeping. However, those ones that are inviting you to bed, you need to get rid of them double fast. They are temptation and trouble waiting to happen. If you keep communicating with them, it will happen one day. Those ones with good heads on their shoulders, make them your family friends. Never keep female friends who your wife is not friend with. I'm talking of close friends and not acquaintances.
3.) I read a book where the author describes the mind of woman as a stack of books and the mind of man as a set of books in a shelf. If a woman desires to read the book at the bottom of the stack, she will have to remove all the books on top of it to reach it. For man, he can simply reach and pull any book to read any time. In a nutshell, if your wife has anything on her mind bothering her and se.x has been pushed to the bottom of the stack of issues, you will have to help her clear the issues before se.x can happen. We men can keep issues aside and enjoy good se.x and tackle issues later. So, open that channel of communication on the issue again and get to the bottom of the issue. Don't be too quick to say she has no issues because you provide everything she needs. A lot of times it is not about needs. You will be surprise what you will turn up. Most of the time, it is something simple but overlooked.
4.) Men are visual, while women are emotional. No matter how tired you are, if your wife walks around in se.xy lingerie, you will respond and perform. For women, visuals alone will not do it. You need to press your wife's emotional botton to get your desired response. It seems you have chores and other distractions under control, but are you engaging her? Do you guys spend time together before retiring to the bedroom after work ? Read Onegai's response again about spending time with your wife. Don't ask for se.x, create the atmosphere for it.
5.) Your wife's attention is divided when the kids start to roll in. It will only get "worse" with increasing number of children. Your alone time with your wife will be reduced to almost nothing; cuddling in front of TV while watching a good movie will disappear, se.x anytime and anywhere in the house will suddenly go extinct
etc. Onegai wrote about kids timeline and what to expect in her second response. Read it again and that will give you a good picture what your wife might be going through since you mentioned you have kids. Taking care of children is a FULL TIME job. I doff my hat to all mothers in the house; may God bless their efforts on their children. With children around, you have to make conscious effort to plan for se.x, otherwise it will be left in the back burner, either by one or both of you.

Now, go and put together a creative strategy to get enough of the "Wetin call" to your satisfaction. And, while at it, get rid of all those side chicks you are using as safety net.

Mindfulness:


@bold

Words of wisdom!

Where do I find them?

There are still lot of great Christians around who represent Jesus very well. There is no specific place I can direct you to, but by their fruit you shall know them. Just look closely when someone professes Christ, and you would be able to tell.

TheSixthSense:



You can scrutinise all you want. But I smile at all these because I also did them. I only tell my story. I never made any arguments. And once again, this isn't about making any superior arguments. You guys are intelligent and nobody wins an argument. The message here is if you want to experience this living God that is Spirit. Look for Him, I only share how He found me, by His grace. [/b]

Also some questions for you:

1. If you want a job, what would you do?

I guess you would search for one. Would you look for superior arguments about how people find jobs and wait for the job to appear to you even without applying?

Now lets say, you are looking for a type of job that I currently hold. Wouldn't it be of help to you if you ask me how I searched for and secured the job in the first place?

So if you really want Jesus, you would look for Him. I only described my journey to experiencing the living God.

2. Why does God even have to appear to you, when you are just 1 in 7 billion?

If you look for arguments, you will find more arguments. If you seek Jesus, you will find Him. You don't even have to be lead by anyone. It is as basic as this.

And experience is superior to all the arguments or rationality any day. So why settle for arguments that are not forthcoming when you can get a real experience.

One more thing, I notice any time I ask atheists to pray asking Jesus to reveal himself to them, they never do. May I ask why? What are you guys afraid of? or maybe you are only looking for arguments. But I am sorry, I never made any.

Bro, I don't understand your response; was it for me?

Just to clarify, I only used your testimony to drive home the point that God would reveal himself to anyone who ask Him if the person means it.

I will leave your last questions for the atheists in the house as I always wonder the same as you.

Remain blessed, bro.

gensteejay:

I would write a well-researched article -- in no distant time -- about Islam, its tenets and common misconceptions. But that would be in a new thread and the link will be posted here.

As for your claim on Jesus' death in the Qur'an, nothing is further from the truth. In the Qur'an, it is stated explicitly that Jesus (prophet Isa in Islam) was not crucified and did not resurrect:

Q.4:157 And [for] their saying, "Indeed, we have killed the Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, the messenger of Allah (God) ." And they did not kill him, nor did they crucify him; but [another] was made to resemble him to them. And indeed, those who differ over it are in doubt about it. They have no knowledge of it except the following of assumption. And they did not kill him, for certain.
Q.4;158 Rather, Allah raised him to Himself. And ever is Allah Exalted in Might and Wise.

I would also discuss Jesus' crucifixion in the thread by God's grace.

Almost all Christians know very little about Islam, Qur'an. They only form their opinions about the religion from the attitudes of Muslims. If Christians were to know about Islam, many of them would love to be Muslims.

Thanks for the correction and for confirming my position. Jesus in the Quran did not died but was taken to heaven by God, whereas Jesus in the Bible died and resurrected - huge difference! There is no teeny-tiny reason to believe the two are the same person.

As I've mentioned before, in order to get Christians to listen to you, simply tell of the great things that Islam has to offer. If you try to discredit the authenticity of the content of the bible which I have confirmed and I know to be true beyond any shadow of doubt, you will always meet with a thick brick wall.

Mindfulness:


What can I say?
To each their own.

I prefer any atheist to those religious judgemental fanatics who feel that God loves them more just because they go to church or the mosque or whatever place they go to to worship God. I can't stand these self-righteous hypocrites.

Don't mind those religious judgemental fanatics jare, God loves all human being equally. Just because they go to church or mosques or even put on their self-righteous acts does not increase the love God has for them a teeny-tiny bit! In fact, God loved the whole world and gave His son to died for ALL. If only Christians will preach the simple message of salvation of "believe and be saved" without asking folks to put their ducks in a row before coming to Christ, the whole world will probably be Christians by now. A lot of Christians turn people away from Christ instead of attracting them to Him

Bro, I'll encourage you to hang out with Christians who really understand the message of the cross (the non judgemental fanatics) and you will not be disappointed.

gensteejay:
TheSixthSense, I am happy that you now believe in the existence of God and commend your lucid style of writing. It beats my understanding how some folks would deny God's existence. They claim to be 'super intelligent' but chose to turn a blind eye to all the wonderful signs of God in nature. Atheists want to see God instead. They think their sight can withstand the Eternal Light of the Great One. They believe they can use logic to understand God's nature; but human intelligence cannot grasp the workings of God's Infinite Intelligence. We can only accept the things God said about himself through his Holy Books and prophets and messengers.

He has not only believed in the existence of God, he has also received direction from God to read his Bible. Why did God not direct him to read Quran or any other religious book?

So the man who truly seeks eternal salvation should seek God with utmost openness, truthfulness; for God is one and too powerful to have partners or die to save anyone. Since God is one, he must have only one way of worship; in essence, there can be only religion. And anyone who is well-versed in the Bible and the doctrines of Christianity (not the attitudes of Christians per se) cannot be an adherent of the religion, unless he is not truthful to himself.

Christianity is not about being religious, keeping rules and laws. It is having a vibrant relationship with the creator of the universe, something that non-christian will never understand until they come to Christ.

After reading your several posts here, I see you read a lot and seem quite analytical. I would like to recommend that you still continue in your quest to seek God. Study Islam; compare it with Christianity. Do this with openness of mind and you will get answers to the questions bothering your mind now about your religion, about God. I said this because your posts here depict you as a rational man and no rational man would read the Bible in detail and not have many questions.

Bro, OP has connected with the one and only God one-on-one already, there is absolutely nothing to search for again. He is home!

Islam is the true path to salvation. As a Muslim, I believe in Jesus; but as a great prophet of God not God himself. God is so mighty that he cannot eat, drink, or die to save anybody -- unlike what the Bible states. Every man would earn his own salvation.

Study the Qur'an; the Book discusses the personality of Jesus without any crookedness. However, there are a number of contradictions, ambiguous statements about the divinity of Jesus (sorry to say) in the Bible.

The last two paragraphs are the main reasons I decided to respond to your post. I cannot but ROFLOL when Muslims claim they "believe" in Jesus. The Jesus in Quran died and rot in the grave, while Jesus in the bible resurrected; how are they the same? You are either not talking about the Jesus in the Bible or you did not get your facts straight. There are several historical proofs that Jesus in the bible resurrected, not to even talk of the proofs recorded in the bible.

Furthermore, you claim that God is so mighty and powerful that he cannot eat, drink, or die to save anybody and yet you said you must earn your salvation; how exactly would you earn your salvation aside from God that you expect to be with at the end of the day?

Rather than coming here to attack Christian believes which you obviously don't know anything about, why don't you tell OP all the good things that Islam offers so that he can make informed decision.

habebe1:
I would like to let you know that this response is not aimed at discrediting your experience. However, it still does not answer a question I have been asking for a long time now? What is exclusive to christians? I am agnostic but was born into a liberal christian family. My doubts developed in my early teens even before external influences such as books or Internet.

I can't deny that there were times during my late teens and early adulthood that I felt the emptiness. This made me consciously seek God but every time I sat in church I just could not comprehend what these guys were talking about or why they used very funny fatuous stories to explain passages. I gave up, it wasn't for me. ( Guess the devil really has a hold on me)

Back to my question, what is exclusive to christians? Money, happiness, long life? I respect the christian institution and what it has done for Africa but can't understand why people freak out when I choose not to live my life according to the principles of someone whose life did not cover such important areas like marriage and owning a business to name a few ( Being very basic here). I honestly wish I was in the born again bubble sometimes, I have really tried but like I said earlier it did not work.

Maybe God would find me one day like Paul. Until then I live my life happily as I can in this tough but promising country called Nigeria while not being an alcoholic, chain smoker or drug user. I refuse to believe I would be sent to burn in a special furnace for quenching my biological needs( thats the only "sin" I think I commit now). All the same I am happy for you OP

A couple of points as per exclusivity of Christianity:

1.) Christianity is the only religion where God did all that is required for man to be saved and have a relationship with him. In other religions, you have to “work” for your salvation. In other words, God reaches out to man on His own terms in Christianity while in other religions man has to meet up with some standard (unknown in some cases) in order to please Him. I’ll give you a simply analogy: If you offend someone, do you get to say what you have to do to get back to the person’s good book? Or does the person get to tell you what to do to get back with the fellow? Think about it. Yes, most religions if not all have holy books from God, but you have to look inside the book to understand the teaching. Truth be told, I’ve not (neither can I even) research all religions, but I practiced Islam with my parents until my early 20s and also read about some other religions as well.
2.) Only Christianity guarantees salvation 100%. Point one refers, you will agree with me that salvation is not 100% guaranteed in other religions as man struggles to please God through his life and even in certain religions those alive still offer prayers to God to forgive the deceased sin and accept the fellow.

You see most people believe in a supreme being who created all that we can see, but the issue is almost always how to connect with and relate with this being.

Most atheist and generally unbelievers are always asking for proof before they believe. In Christianity, it is actually the other way round – you believe first and then the proof will follow. This may sound like a trap, but it is not. You probably would say that other religions can say the same and you only have just one life time to get it right. Well, when I say believe first, I don’t mean you have to start going to church and become all churchy!!! All I’m saying is simply ask God to prove/reveal Himself to you, and MEAN it. It is not a spooky stuff. I can assure you he will reveal Himself to you in a way that you will not miss it. I have seen this happen before when an agnostic simply asked God if He was truly up there to reveal himself.

Let me point out the “believe before proof” in OP’s posting to prove my point. OP might not even realized this when he wrote part 2: Road to Redemption.

Having realised my spiritlessness, even if I did, I certainly wasn’t using it at all. So, I wrote a simple sincere letter to God, funny but I did, asking for my spirit to be resurrected then I shoved it somewhere and forgot about it. I thought, just as conveniently as some people would summon spirits of darkness and control them to do what they want, seeking the more powerful God in your convenience would be better, plus I am sure He wouldn’t ask for blood rituals and the sorts. He is not like that

The bold part part refers: An atheist wrote a letter to who? GOD? I thought atheists do not believe God exists. And, do you write a letter to someone that does not exist? OP believed there was a supreme being. He did not go to church or get churchy etc. Simple believe – tiny faith!! Just in case there is a God – like agnostic thought. And, did God reveal himself and provide OP with proofs? See bold parts below:

Now, I have read quite a number of books in my life, but for some reason I kept having a strong gut feeling, for the first time in decades, that it wasn’t a coincidence that I was reading the book at the time. So, I re-downloaded the bible app, I deleted when I became an atheist, on my phone - there has to be immense power in it, it isn’t all fairy tales. However, I didn’t know which book or chapter to open to. But for some reason Psalm 51 crossed my mind. And behold:

“Purge me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow . . .”

I read it over and over again. 'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous Spirit’ resonated so much in me. It was as if a different part of me had come alive. I could feel repentance in my spirit. I felt sorry. And in my heart I said Lord, I knew You as a child, what have I done with my life? what did I get involved in? And if there is anything to go by from the book I read is that I had opened portals from my actions. Oh! hide Your face from my sins and blot out my iniquities.

Did you pick up those proofs? Do you believe he got a reply to his letter? God reached out to Him! God “told” him he did not read the book by coincidence, He directed him to re-download the bible, He gave him a specific chapter to read and imprinted specific verses in his spirit. Again, did God reveal himself and answer his request? Look at it again, he asked God in his letter to resurrect his spirit and what happened? In OP’s words, “ It was as if a different part of me had come alive.”

Oops! I just uncovered the third exclusivity in Christianity – the Holy Spirit of God. When we believe and receive Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us to empower and guide us to live Godly life. When you really get into a conversational relationship with God, you will never think of leaving Him.

Bro, I encourage you today to either also write a letter to God or simply ask him to reveal himself and He will meet you right where you are.


habebe1
Ranchhoddas
youngestland
TheSixthSense
seun

habebe1:
I would like to let you know that this response is not aimed at discrediting your experience. However, it still does not answer a question I have been asking for a long time now? What is exclusive to christians? I am agnostic but was born into a liberal christian family. My doubts developed in my early teens even before external influences such as books or Internet.

I can't deny that there were times during my late teens and early adulthood that I felt the emptiness. This made me consciously seek God but every time I sat in church I just could not comprehend what these guys were talking about or why they used very funny fatuous stories to explain passages. I gave up, it wasn't for me. ( Guess the devil really has a hold on me)

Back to my question, what is exclusive to christians? Money, happiness, long life? I respect the christian institution and what it has done for Africa but can't understand why people freak out when I choose not to live my life according to the principles of someone whose life did not cover such important areas like marriage and owning a business to name a few ( Being very basic here). I honestly wish I was in the born again bubble sometimes, I have really tried but like I said earlier it did not work.

Maybe God would find me one day like Paul. Until then I live my life happily as I can in this tough but promising country called Nigeria while not being an alcoholic, chain smoker or drug user. I refuse to believe I would be sent to burn in a special furnace for quenching my biological needs( thats the only "sin" I think I commit now). All the same I am happy for you OP

A couple of points as per exclusivity of Christianity:

1.) Christianity is the only religion where God did all that is required for man to be saved and have a relationship with him. In other religions, you have to “work” for your salvation. In other words, God reaches out to man on His own terms in Christianity while in other religions man has to meet up with some standard (unknown in some cases) in order to please Him. I’ll give you a simply analogy: If you offend someone, do you get to say what you have to do to get back to the person’s good book? Or does the person get to tell you what to do to get back with the fellow? Think about it. Yes, most religions if not all have holy books from God, but you have to look inside the book to understand the teaching. Truth be told, I’ve not (neither can I even) research all religions, but I practiced Islam with my parents until my early 20s and also read about some other religions as well.
2.) Only Christianity guarantees salvation 100%. Point one refers, you will agree with me that salvation is not 100% guaranteed in other religions as man struggles to please God through his life and even in certain religions those alive still offer prayers to God to forgive the deceased sin and accept the fellow.

You see most people believe in a supreme being who created all that we can see, but the issue is almost always how to connect with and relate with this being.

Most atheist and generally unbelievers are always asking for proof before they believe. In Christianity, it is actually the other way round – you believe first and then the proof will follow. This may sound like a trap, but it is not. You probably would say that other religions can say the same and you only have just one life time to get it right. Well, when I say believe first, I don’t mean you have to start going to church and become all churchy!!! All I’m saying is simply ask God to prove/reveal Himself to you, and MEAN it. It is not a spooky stuff. I can assure you he will reveal Himself to you in a way that you will not miss it. I have seen this happen before when an agnostic simply asked God if He was truly up there to reveal himself.

Let me point out the “believe before proof” in OP’s posting to prove my point. OP might not even realized this when he wrote part 2: Road to Redemption.

Having realised my spiritlessness, even if I did, I certainly wasn’t using it at all. So, I wrote a simple sincere letter to God, funny but I did, asking for my spirit to be resurrected then I shoved it somewhere and forgot about it. I thought, just as conveniently as some people would summon spirits of darkness and control them to do what they want, seeking the more powerful God in your convenience would be better, plus I am sure He wouldn’t ask for blood rituals and the sorts. He is not like that

The bold part part refers: An atheist wrote a letter to who? GOD? I thought atheists do not believe God exists. And, do you write a letter to someone that does not exist? OP believed there was a supreme being. He did not go to church or get churchy etc. Simple believe – tiny faith!! Just in case there is a God – like agnostic thought. And, did God reveal himself and provide OP with proofs? See bold parts below:

Now, I have read quite a number of books in my life, but for some reason I kept having a strong gut feeling, for the first time in decades, that it wasn’t a coincidence that I was reading the book at the time. So, I re-downloaded the bible app, I deleted when I became an atheist, on my phone - there has to be immense power in it, it isn’t all fairy tales. However, I didn’t know which book or chapter to open to. But for some reason Psalm 51 crossed my mind. And behold:

“Purge me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow . . .”

I read it over and over again. 'Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous Spirit’ resonated so much in me. It was as if a different part of me had come alive. I could feel repentance in my spirit. I felt sorry. And in my heart I said Lord, I knew You as a child, what have I done with my life? what did I get involved in? And if there is anything to go by from the book I read is that I had opened portals from my actions. Oh! hide Your face from my sins and blot out my iniquities.

Did you pick up those proofs? Do you believe he got a reply to his letter? God reached out to Him! God “told” him he did not read the book by coincidence, He directed him to re-download the bible, He gave him a specific chapter to read and imprinted specific verses in his spirit. Again, did God reveal himself and answer his request? Look at it again, he asked God in his letter to resurrect his spirit and what happened? In OP’s words, “ It was as if a different part of me had come alive.”

Oops! I just uncovered the third exclusivity in Christianity – the Holy Spirit of God. When we believe and receive Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us to empower and guide us to live Godly life. When you really get into a conversational relationship with God, you will never think of leaving Him.

Bro, I encourage you today to either also write a letter to God or simply ask him to reveal himself and He will meet you right where you are.


habebe1
Ranchhoddas
youngestland
TheSixthSense
seun

Contact17:
I seriously have a question that I would really like to gain insight about. I am not a Chirstian so I don't have a lot of knowledge about Christianity but I have had a lot of Christian friends - Catholics and Protestant mainly. Anyways let me go straight to the point.

I want to know why Christian women cover their hair in church?

There was also this girl who covered her hair all the time even though she was Christian, I don't know if she was Catholic or Protestant or Anglican etc but it had me wondering if it had a religious purpose.

Serious answers only please

The short answer to your questions is NO. There is no religious purpose to covering of head in Christianity. It is actually an example of culture finding its way into religion. The portion of the bible that lots of Christians used to back up this believe was specifically for a group of Christians who has this as their culture and it was used as an analogy to drive home the order of authority as established by God.

Really, whether covering of head or not (or any other such rule) is not what provides the salvation in Christianity. Unlike other religions where the burden of man salvation rest squarely on man shoulder, salvation in Christianity is a gift and all one needs to do is accept it. Besides, when one receives Christ, Holy Spirit of God comes to live inside the new believer. The Holy Spirit of God is like a senior partner who lives with the believer 24x7 to guide believers to live Godly life.

Since you are not a christian, all this might sound Greek to you. Here is a summary - in Christianity, it is not what we do (or can do for that matter) that makes us right before God, but what God has done and we accept. It is not about man doing things (such as covering of head, fasting, alms giving, praying (even a million times a day), modest dressing, etc) to please God for acceptance, but God reaching out to man in his own way to bring salvation to man. It is absolutely free (no laws/rules to keep) and 100% guaranteed!

Contact17:
.

Why did you delete your post? Do you now have all the traffic you wanted?

Anyway, one way I would suggest is to comment on similar blogs and have a link to your blog in your signature. Also, you can post same info here on NL and have a link to your blog for people to click on for more of your blogs; I've got hooked to some bloggers this way.

Good luck!

Airforce1:
such a shameless woman you are Stella.

I'm ashamed of you.

You destroyed your friends home, took her husband and son away from her and you feel it's cool.

God will judge you.

How did you know this? Are you close to them? Biko, confirm before I throw Stella under the bus o! She is one of my favorite Nollywood star.

checkengine:



Ha ha ha ha. Guy this your hilarious post is outstanding. As a brother's keeper that I am, be rest assured I will remember you in the event I find 2.

I thought by now I would have landed that one person whose smile was all I'll need to have a superb day. Nigerians are still so sceptical about the possibility of starting a meaningful relationship online. Please if I may ask, why does the society feel it's awkward and not realisable? What major difference exist between an online meet and a physical shopping mall meet aside the visuals establish instantly?

Have you seen an advert in a shopping mall before that says,"wife/husband wanted, apply within"? Bro, you need to change your strategy. No woman will be proud to tell her friends/family that she responded to "wife wanted" advert on NL.I believe you will be better off if you use a dating site. Just my opinion o.

Online communities and social media can serve as a good platform for young men and women of marriagable age whose job does not avail enough time to socialise. We just have to embrace it as a new frontier that has come to stay.

Agreed! however, the way you go about it matters a lot. Lots of people (including myself) found their spouses on this forum. If you keep putting ads out on social media that you are looking for your "lost rib," your effort will yield little or no result. Just like in real life, you need to meet someone, become friends and then go from there.

I will give you a brotherly advise, lurk around your favorite sections on the forum especially this one (family) and read folks responses to genuine family issues. People show their true colors when they are not under scrutiny. I can assure you it won't take long before a moniker would jump at you as a woman with a good head on her shoulder. Once you have such moniker, check her profile and look at her other responses in different sections. Put the info together and you should have a fair idea of where the person is at. Also, if you give your genuine opinion on issues, someone might just find you!

When you zero in on that special person, don't forget to check in with God to confirm He agrees with your choice before you dive in. Starting with Him is also a great idea as He would direct your path and your search time will be greatly reduced.

Happy "chasing", bro!!!

@OP, how far na? No update ni? Abi you don elope with . . .

The one for "using phone" is very important for the Pokemon catchers. I love it.

konfused:
Biko what qualifies this issue as wickedness, girl A was a side chick, cos I don't want to indulge in abortion now am wicked.....

I love girl B, I need advice and not telling me if am wicked or not...

Side Chick ko? What does that even mean? someone to keep on the side to sleep with whenever you feel like and dump at the end of the day for the real deal??shey? Obviously, you don't think the so called "side chick" is human or deserves to be loved and cared for? No matter what level she is there is still someone of her level out there that will love and appreciate her. And besides, do you think she wants to be where she is or be in that situation for life? You really don't need anyone to tell you that you are wicked, you should know by now yourself. If you found out that girl B has been keeping you as "side guy" all this while, how would you feel? Or how would you like some clean guy to call your sister "side chick" to your face?? Go ponder on that to start with.

Ok. Now lets see if there is any damage control you can deploy to salvage the situation.

First, sit girl B down and tell her what you have done with girl A. If she dumps you, great! You now only have girl A to deal with. You then have to sit down and think of what you wanna do with girl A - marry her and be miserable or leave her but take responsibility to father your child and support the girl. If girl B is crazy enough to still wanna hang on to you, then let girl A know you are not moving on with the relationship with her but you will take responsibly for the child and support her. And yes, the conversations with both girls will be difficult and emotional. You just have to Man up and do what you need to do. It is what it is!

Above all, you need to get you head screwed on straight and go back and look for your integrity wherever you lost it. In addition, stop calling fellow human being "side chick", it stinks!!!

lirusehn:
Mods abeg endeavor to move this to the right section


If you are expecting the Chinua-Achebe's kind of write-up 'You are on a Long thing .


STRAIGHT TO THE POINT


It was around 4PM on Friday after a long hectic journey,having to leave Lagos for Kaduna was one hell of a nightmare .

Left Lagos around 9 PM on Friday and unfortunately the bus Bleep*d us all up before getting to Lokoja, we wasted like 5 hours and after much ado I got to school around 3:30PM with my tommy requesting for executive restoration.

The first thing to know about me is the fact that I can't stand hunger for 10 minutes as i may end up crying out loud like a kid and funny enough my desire for food is always on a zero level while traveling,Irrespective of how far the journey could be i can't stand eating nor drinking anything.



My girlfriend came to meet me on my way to my lodge,I had scanned her hand hoping to see a food warmer or food flask but I only could see her hand bag 'WTF' i screamed inside of me.


FAST-FORWARDED TO MY ROOM.



It was already some minutes to 4 o'clock and my stomach isn't helping matters, I needed to eat something but ain't gon' start walking to community market which has always served as my 'Mr Biggs' . The distance alone would only provoke those precious worms inside of me who had almost finished my tiny intestine.

Need i tell you my worms are like snakes?? Mehn!! You won't believe ryt?? Trust me these niccurs got no chill They can finish one bowl of garrri within 5 minutes . Don't even tell me to de-worm, can't stand to loose them.



Back to the topic, My GF advised
me to cook it came as a shock as i smiled like a wounded ant. Cook?? You mean puke?? . Where would i get foodstuffs from?

She explained how she got 3 bowls of rice from a friend who stays somewhere around my lodge and how she couldn't take it home.

Blah blah blah!! The rice has so far been in my room since then. Glad she has a spare key to my room,hehe!! If not i for no get hope.

We agreed we gon' cook. Won't that take like hours?? I might not make it i thought .

The only pot i have should do the magic,' My almighty PRESSURE POT' . To whom it may concern, I bought this pot 2013 and have not used it more than 7 times despite being my only pot and my gas cooker is all repping. The gas no one finish 'Edakun help me!!' after 3 Yrs??


Who's gon' stop this cooking? i asked myself. Calm down my spirit said!!!
Post Malone wasn't helping matters too, I had sworn to disturb the whole lodge with my newly downloaded Post Malone songs. This guy na fire AhswearuGod!!!

¿“Cigarettes and a headband. Commas¡ commas in my head man. Slumped over like a dead man...¡”. Mehn!! Nawaoo Post Malone is gon' kill sombori

She brought out the rice and was shocked to see Ofada rice, 'plz sombori call 9 1 1' this black thing?? why not Kuku kill me na. . Not like I had any other option so I just couldn't stop her from cooking it.

Wey pepper and tomato na? She gave me this nasty look like she was gonna stop cooking if I hadn't shut up.
Can't sombori play with you again? Action speaks louder than voice obviously!!!


Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! The pot popped out pressured vapor as usual, I knew the food was on the come. I noticed starch oozing outa the vent tube.was this normal?? IONO. Less than 7 minutes the food was to be parboiled, i removed the weight valve and ssshhhh again the pressure escaped. Little did I know the worst was about to happen. The whole pressure had escaped and it was time for me to open the pot.

I sang the last verse of the then playing tear$ by Post Malone. I Was so ready to open the pot but like the pot was stiffened by those who wanted me to die of hunger. As a typical yoruba guy, the first thing that came to my mind was 'My Village people don come'. If not why would this pot start playing pranks all of a sudden?? I had no kola to offer gods nor Palm wine so I was so ready to give the pot all that it demanded.



' Post Malone - whatever' was already playing and this had given me more strength. I garnered my last strength and force opened the Pot. Lo and behold i met my doom.


I shouted JESUS CHRIST but it was already late, God isn't a magician. The pot exploded with full force and the explosion boomed and the final attack was on my face. My average-looking-face?? Why not my chest na . Before I could say 'MEHN' my whole face had turned red and had blanched.

Face wey i dey manage b4 naim come spoil so??
After 30 minutes the whole face don turn something else,i barely could see people around. Syto yaff die o.

I begged my Gf to stop the music or even delete all my Secular songs if possible , I remember say na God i need . Everybody in the lodge had gathered in my room,different voices of friends and foes all echoed in my head. I kept hearing 'sorry o' 'pele' haba'. Almost everybody around turned Doctor all of a sudden as they kept telling all sorta ways to treat the burn.
Imagine Ahmed a Political scientist even prescribed drugs for me. It was until then I knew I was hopeless.



Indeed it was so painful and my face would prolly never remain the same. Whichever way am glad it didnt get more than this. All thankz to God,Thanks to y'all for reading too. Never forece-open your pressure pot so as to avoid stories that touch.






Pics before the burn

Next time, just place the pot under running tap for few minutes to eliminate the pressure and and you can open your pot without any yawa. Pele, ndo o!! Wishing quick recovery.

Bluette:
I can c many pple claiming pressure pot is evil.. No its not.. It boils food even d almighty beans for 15 mins, and u will enjoy d softness and taste of it. But most pple like d OP due to hunger u forced it open.. D sound wen u force it open its like a gunshot. So imagine how such force will land on ur face.


What I do wen I'm too hungry and I used pressure pot.. Is dat I lift d tube(I don't know what dey call it maybe am right/not) ... D small thing on top of d pot inwich d pressure is being passed out, dats wat m talking about.. Lift it up till all d pressure is out..wen its out u won't hear any sound..then u can open. Cos if u say u wait till d pressure is out..omo na long thing o. So I do mine manually..pls don't use ur hand to lift it o..it wud be hot..use spoon or any oda object.

@ Bluette, this is dangerous as well! you could get the steam on your face/fingers as you remove the "small thing" that allows pressure to escape. I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned reading the instruction! As per the instruction, if you need to quickly reduce the pressure, just place the cooker under running tap for few minutes; once the hissing sound stops, you can then safely remove the "small thing" and open the pot. You can as well use a cup to pour water on the pot if your tap is not running; it really takes few minutes if not seconds to get the pressure knocked out.

You won't believe I used to wait for the pot to cool down even with the "small thing" on and hunger dealing with my like OP until the day I read the instruction. Chai! I suffer no be small o! All the time the pressure cooker saved me I take am wait for it to cool. Since that day I don't use any appliance without reading the instruction like someone preparing for Jamb.

hopefulLandlord:
@OP if you keep asking these questions, you're on your way to atheism

Please don't discourage @OP from asking questions. If you don't ask questions and get the correct answers that is when atheists can easily sway you to their side. Bro, study to show yourself approved and ask questions when needed.

ChemicalReaction:
@Benjibabs, are you a pastor?

No, just a bro in Christ.

ChemicalReaction:
I don't wanna think that God cares abt some more than others, but that is what i think anyway. And it even dates back to the beginning. What do you think?

It is hard to digest since we believe that God is loving and loves all. Believe it or not God has always, all through the ages, chosen one person/tribe/group over another.

He chose Abel over Cain
He chose called Abraham out of all the descendants of Noah
He chose Jacob over Esau
He chose David, the youngest son of Jesse
He chose Gideon as a judge , the least in his father's house
He chose Moses to lead Israelite out of Egypt
He chose Israelite over all other tribes of the world to bring the Messiah to save the world

From the few examples above, you can see that in some cases God gave a reason for His choice or we can see clearly why he made a particular choice. However, in some cases, He gave no reason and we cannot figure out why he made the choice. This is simply the sovereignty of God. This is why God is God.

I will suggest you read Romans 9. Paul provided an excellent explanation about the sovereignty of God in this chapter. He gave a good analogy with clay and the potter. We cannot question a creator on whatever he decides to do with his creation, especially when we don't even know why he made the creation in the first place.

Now to your original question about the killing in the old testament. There are two reasons I can point to for this killings:

1.) To fulfill God's promise - God promised Abraham that he would bring his descendants to the promise land. How would they take possession of the land when some people had already taken possession of it? Note that they passed through/bypassed other lands on their way to the promised land and did not kill anyone in those lands.
2.) To avoid corruption - They could have entered the promised land and cohabit with those there. This is dangerous as we later found out in the lands where they did not either chase all the inhabitants out or wipe them out that the inhabitants corrupted them and they followed other gods and were punished.

Another question you asked was who created the enemies? Good question! The enemies that the Israelite fought were mainly the Canaanites. See their origin below:

The Canaanites are mentioned over 150 times in the Bible. They were a wicked, idolatrous people descended from Noah’s grandson Canaan, who was a son of Ham (Genesis 9:18). Canaan was cursed because of his and his father’s sin against Noah (Genesis 9:20–25). In some passages, Canaanites specifically refers to the people of the lowlands and plains of Canaan (Joshua 11:3); in other passages, Canaanites is used more broadly to refer to all the inhabitants of the land, including the Hivites, Girgashites, Jebusites, Amorites, Hittites, and Perizzites (see Judges 1:9–10).

The land of Canaan was the land God promised to give to Abraham’s descendants (Genesis 12:7). The Canaanites are described in the Bible as a large and fierce people, not easily defeated, so the Israelites would need divine help to come against them, defeat them, and take their land away. God promised Moses and Joshua that help (Joshua 1:3).

http://www.gotquestions.org/Canaanites.html

In a nut shell, all that happened in the old testament were preparation for the Messiah to come. After Adam and Even sinned, God set in motion the move to redeem man. Part of His plan was to separate a group of people to Himself, nurture them and bring forth a messiah through them to save the whole world, including the "enemies." Today, with the new testament, there are no more enemies and special chosen group. Jesus' death has collapsed the wall of separation between the chosen and the outsiders. As many that believe and accept the gift of salvation via Jesus Christ are immediately adopted to the family of God.

To help you understand the flow better, you may want to read bible in chronological order so that you can follow the events as they occurred. YouVersion bible app has an excellent bible reading plan called "EPIC" that presents the story-line of the bible in a nice chronological order.

Joavid:


hmmmm...things are happening here o


abeg couples that met here should come out and be counted abeg.

if you got/getting married to someone you met here, please share your love story.

we're interested.

Met my wife here back in 2007. Got married in 2009. We now have two lovely kids and our love is waxing stronger by the seconds.

And yes, we were living in different countries when we met here. Will share the love story another day.

I'm not sure of other phones, but iPhone now comes with Medical ID that can be accessed when the phone is locked. On the medical ID page, you can access the phone owner's basic bio data and emergency contact. One can even call the emergency contact while the phone is locked.

AdmiralDru:
How does Microsoft pay for us to use Bing instead of google.

MS does not really pay users to use Bing instead of Google, they simply pay you for using Bing. You can still use Google if you like. Check out the link below to see how you can get paid for using Bing via Bing Rewards. They actually don't give cash but credits for your searches which you can redeem for whatever you desire on the list under the redeem tab.

https://www.bing.com/rewards

I use my credits for Sykpe minutes - best reward ever!