₦airaland Forum

MostHigh: I do.

That settles it then.We are surely not on the same page.

You are an adherent of Judaism while i'm a gentile saved by grace to partake of the blessings of Abraham(Gal 3:14)

Cheers

okeyxyz: Bros!! as long as you continue to follow the definitions of the Law of sin and death, then SIN will continue to influence you. The definitions according to the Law is not the same definitions according to God.

Can you please explain the definitions according to God?

MostHigh: The sermon on the mount gives us the perfect representation of the king in relation to his kingdom

Paul can only expound or expand upon these principles

His preaching to the gentiles was his calling, but salvation is to the JEW first then the GENTILE as it is written.

Paul is a JUADIZER confirmed by scripture, no matter what he spoke with his mouth HE STILL LIVED THE WAY OF THE JEW TILL THE END.

Salvation is of the JEW.

@MostHigh

Pls do you live as a Jew now? Do you observe Sabbath, Passover, feast of Tabernacles etc now?

MostHigh: No untruth spoken here

The Mission of every believer is TO BE EXACTLY AS THE MASTER IS AND NOT GREATER.

You are putting paul in an elevated position over his brethren and hence the master himself.

It is written in the holy book that the gentiles AKA unbelivers will be ruled by a rod of iron in the KINGDOM AGE.

The Rod of iron is the LAW.

I still do not see how i've made Paul greater than the master.

Paul talked about things that none of the other apostles talked about.Paul preached to the gentiles that the other apostles were loath to do, it could only mean he heard and saw things they didn't see.I didn't make all these up.Check your bible and you'll see.

okeyxyz: @OP, There are faults I find in your passage, the same faults that abound in virtualy all "christian" texts and teachings and upon which the true meanings and benefits of Grace is lost to the christian. These faults are found in how the OP defines flesh and Sin.

First of all is the meaning of the word FLESH: Most cristians(as te OP) read Paul's references to flesh and they (mis)interpret it a the physical, biological flesh. Though it's use by paul is related to the physical/biological nature but it's not the primary denotation that he means for this word. Paul uses "flesh" to refer to the human mindsets and traditions that has led man to misinterpret the Law(for the law is spiritual, but I am carnal...Romans 7:14) in a literal sense and generating in us the the results/fruits of this misunderstandings in the forms of Lusts, bitterness, wickedness, diseases and ultimately death. So since the law(though spiritual) was handed to carnal(literal) minded people, the Law then becomes an instrument of the flesh and is automatically do the works of the flesh. So Paul's references to flesh are actually reference to the Law. Thus when he says: know we no man after the flesh...(2 Corinthians 5:16), He means we no longer define/judge people's actions from the point of view of the Law(flesh), even though we used to know christ in this manner(remember he came to fulfill the law), We therefore cease to define/judge him in this way. So this is the problem with christianity; They still look to that christ who observed the laws of Moses, therefore they continue define sin according to the Laws of Moses.

So to address the Topic: Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?? Paul says: No!! you CANNOT continue in sin because you are dead to sin, just like christ is dead to sin(The Law) and the debts of sin cannot be collect from him anymore. Sin(the Law) has no reach over you anymore. How are we dead to sin then? Because our definitions of right and wrong is no longer according to the Law, therefore the Law(of SIN and death) cannot be used to judge You. YOu are under a new Law which is the Law of Liberty in Christ. If any man is in christ, he cannot have a mindset of the Law. What does this mean?? If you still continue to define right and wrong according to the Law, then you are not in christ and your conscience condemns you when you do those things that the Law(not christ) forbids you from. This is the principal fault of "christianity" today; They still continue to define right and wrong the way it was before the death, burial and ressurection of Jesus Christ, Not knowing that these definitions have changed with the ressurection of Christ. They are still observing the Law(Jesus before his death) instead of following the risen christ.

WRONG!!

You are dead to sin means sin can no longer influence you.means sin has lost his control over you and can no longer make you exhibit its attributes in your body.The Adamic nature that was making you prone to doing things that grieve God has been crucified and you're now led by the Holy Spirit.

The Sin nature(Adamic nature) will still want to overpower you as long as you're in this body of flesh but blessed be God makes us triumph in Christ Jesus.

my brother, sin is still what God calls it.We have however been empowered by the spirit to live above it.

MostHigh: How does the bolded make paul an authority over the apostles and even the master himself?

Lawlessness.

welcome Mosthigh.

You are guilty of hasty conclusion.where in my write up did i imply what you said above?

i guess you too are guilty of lawlessness for uttering an untruth against me

JesusisLord85: That's because it is an article he copied. Not that it takes away anything from it
Anyway I shall respond later. Bro shdemidemi I will respond on Revelation later, I was out yesterday.

haba bro If he copied it,i'm sure he'll let us know though like you said it takes nothing away from its beauty.

however i really love the write up and more grace to you shdemidemi

@OLAADEGBU

The way you talk about these hell visits, all i see you doing is glorifying the demons that belong in hell.your tourists tell us the demons are having a swell time there punishing children of God who wear earings.Are the demons not ever punished? also why the contradictions in the various hell accounts?

your fascination and obsession with these stories is getting to alarming dimensions and i'm not sure its healthy.Pls brother,i advice you take a break and give it a rest.

Enigma: Remember that the Bible does not detail every single thing the apostles did or taught.

What about the apostles whose ministries were hardly mentioned at all --- are we to say that is because they knew, taught and did nothing?

No, of course not!

About Luke 18 and the fact that the apostles didn't understand a particular thing at a particular time or that it was "hidden from them", we should remember that there is a time for everything.

At a particular time, it might not be given to them to know some thing; but it may be revealed later at a time of God's choosing.

Now, it is important to remember that because of fellowship and because of Jesus' own corporate view of His disciples, even if something is revealed to one apostle, as far as we can see, it usually ends up being for all.

Let me point to two important things to bear in mind!

1. "Flesh and blood" did not reveal Jesus' "Sonship" to Peter, the Father did. Who then revealed it to the other apostles? Who even revealed it to Paul?

2. What about all the promises to the apostles that the Holy Spirit will lead them to all truth?

you are right my brother when you say the bible did not mention everything they thought.However, things like rapture, glorious new bodies,body of Christ and it's workings are cardinal to our beliefs as Christians and to think they left those out and only apostle Paul spoke about them should provoke some thought.well it did for me.

the father revealed the sonship to Peter but you'll agree it was God's prerogative to reveal other mysteries to him and others which we know he didn't if we are to believe Luke 18:34.

Another is the issue of ministry to the gentiles.Even after God showed Peter that he will welcome the gentiles and Peter saw the success of his preaching to Cornelius, we know he and the twelve did not still start a ministry to the gentiles.Only Paul did.

I believe Peter finally understood hence his declaration in 2 Peter 3:15-16.

Enigma: Jesus to his disciples!

Luke 8

And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.


So, the "mysteries" were revealed to all the apostles. Nothing revealed to Paul was hidden from Peter etc

OK my brother,can you pls explain what Luke 18:34 means?

Also I might be wrong, but I can't find anything about the rapture or our glorious new bodies or reference to the term body of Christ and how it functions in any apostle's epistles except Paul.kindly point them out to me if you have the references.

Sorry,I can't give references now as I'm using my phone.will be more detailed when I get back to the office

Bro shdemidemi, this write up explains your position better than all I've read from you in time past.This explains the GRACE IS NOT LICENSE to sin mantraa.

A Christian is not a friend of sin and CAN NEVER be.

God bless you richly.

DrummaBoy: @Demi

I have requested that U open a thread for this discuss U gave above and put it in a proper perspective rather than making it a response. I agree with Goshen U may not have found d right words to put it these things though U are saying the right things.

In addition to what U said above salvation is not only by grace through faith alone, if we consider what Jesus said in John 17:3 we understand salvation or eternal life is also knowing God. When men understand the gospel, and know God, they lay faith to the done work of the cross and they are saved.

That is why the body of Christ needs teachers and not all the ministries we see around. When people understand and know God, they are saved.

And that is why the war against Judaizers and their teaching will not end bc the biggest impediment to knowing God is false doctrine or religion.

Cheers.

I must confess i am in full agreement with shdemidemi on this teaching.You see my brother there are things in Paul's epistles that are not found anywhere else in the new testatment and why the Apostle used the word mystery a lot.The 12 who walked with Jesus on earth had a lot of things hidden from them that didnt come to light until after Christ ascended to heaven.an example is in Luke

Luke 18:31-34
'Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. 32.For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: 33.And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. 34.And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.'

At the bolded, who hid it if not God? because it wasn't time for them to know.We need to now ask what exactly was the content of the message they were preaching while our Lord was with them.

That is why the first two preachings Apostle Peter did in Acts 2 and Acts 3 did not relate salvation to his death, burial and resurrection.Rather they only talked about his name, repentance and baptism for remission of sins then God will send Christ to bring in the kingdom as promised in the prophets.

We all still have a lot to learn and i am fully in support of your statement that we need more of bible teachers than all the mega ministers we have today if the body of Christ is to grow as Christ intended.

God bless you and others who are helping and encouraging believers to open their bibles more and more

following this lesson.hope to learn 1 or 2 things

well done OP

I love this piece brother.Our lord said in John 6:44 that no man can come to him except God draws him. It's all about God and the sacrifice on the cross really.All we need do is accept the offer by believing.

God bless you

Alwaystrue: @Candour, pay for what biko? Correction? At all.

@Image, Candour, Drummaboy, others I would like to understand what you mean by calling the name of the Lord in vain though. We have an All powerful name Jesus that knees bow at its mention that is why we should call that name in praise, worship, in times of need etc. Personally calling the name of either Jesus, God or Holy Spirit as a swear word or in situations where He won't be glorified is a no no.
Saying Oh dear is much better than saying Oh God at every exclamation. Swearing too isn't right as even the bible says so. I feel if many know how powerful the name of the Lord is we will respect it.

dont mind me jare.i was thinking in naira and kobo when i typed that.

I agree with you & Drummaboy about the bolded.we must remember Paul the apostle admonishing us to do all things to the glory of God(1Cor 10:31).I believe it includes the use of his name.

Mudley313: understanding the nigerian psyche, you do not need to have any discerning power to know that the so-called pastor was attributing cheating to divine favor...in nigeria, the end justifies the means, and that's how it has always been...uduaghan wins election through massive vote rigging; holds thanksgiving service the following sunday in the church of the PFN head...nigerian uses fake documents to acquire visa to travel abroad; gives testimony following sunday to let the world know what the lord has done for him...nigerian student graduates university through mostly bribery of lecturers to score good grades; it's the lords doing and it's marvelous in our eyes...yahoo-yahoo boy hammers and acquires landed property; has pastor come dedicate the property...mind you, these are not hypothetical situations, but ones i have personally witnessed in my dealings with the hypocritical riddle that is your typical nigerian

your assessment of the Nigerian psyche is very correct.In fact i also have examples along the line of yours that i've personally witnessed.However the OP obviously knows something we dont that makes him able to draw his conclusion.I can also draw that conclusion based on experiences i've had but what if this is truly different?

He should say all he knows and help every body remove all doubt.

Thank God almighty for saving you brother.many had similar experiences but didn't have a happy ending like this.

Wish you more of God's protection

P/S:You have to pay Alwaystrue for the correction o.it shouldn't be free

@youngdady

The concerns raised by Striktlymi and image123 are valid and pivotal in arriving at a conclusion.The bolded in your original post did not tell us if the questions were the exact interview questions he was eventually asked.Even as students, our lecturers might give us AOC to expect and maybe how to tackle them.That would qualify as examples and wont be wrong in my own estimation.

You are asking us to arrive at the conclusion you got to without giving us the background information you used in doing so.

This will be difficult my brother if you want objectivity

PEACE – Mark Of A True Christian

John 14:27
‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.’

In the above verse, we hear our Lord and savior telling the disciples who would later become the apostles how he was leaving them a very important commodity needed to run the race; His Peace. The peace being talked about here is different from the peace the world offers. In fact, our Lord was aware of this hence his statement that ‘…..not as the world giveth…’ in the verse above. The world offers peace but the peace of the world falls far short of that which our Lord and master made available to us. The world has different definitions for peace. Some say peace is the absence of war while others say it is the presence of justice. This is not the type of peace promised us by Christ. What then is that peace given to us by Christ?

The peace offered us by our Lord is an unencumbered peace. Peace that is not dependent on circumstances or status. Peace that remains peace in the midst of troubles and situations that call for fear. This peace is not based on your reserves in the bank or the tranquility you have around your environment. This peace spoken of by the Lord is that which made it possible for Paul and Silas to sing praises to God almighty while imprisoned in the dark recesses of a roman dungeon in the city of Philippi(Acts 16:23-25). It’s this peace that enabled Paul to tell the Philippians in Phil 4:4 ‘Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice’ even while he was in prison in Rome, going further to pray for them thus in Phil 4:7 ‘And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus’. He wrote this verse under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit just after asking them in verse 6 to ‘be anxious for nothing…’. It is only the peace of God that could have made this man write this to a group of free believers while he himself was in prison awaiting execution. In the old testament, Isaiah talked about this peace in Isa 26:3 ‘Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee’ and it was displayed by Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they relaxed in God’s faithfulness and refused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image(Dan 3:16-18). They were at peace even though the threat of the furnace was hanging on them. What then brings about this peace in Christians?

This peace overflows in the life of Christians when they know and believe they are washed from sin by the blood of the lamb and have had their hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience(Heb 10:22). When they know they are guiltless hence they have peace with God through faith(Rom 5:1) and God is not condemning them. This inner peace is manifested when Christians realize they are joint-heirs with Christ(Rom 8:17) and Christ is seated far above all powers; good and evil(Eph 1:20-21) which makes them superior to powers of darkness. Christians have the spirit of God working in them to do of God’s good pleasure(Phil 2:13). They are those led by the Spirit of God and they manifest the fruits of the Spirit. Gal 5:22-23 enumerates the fruits of the Spirit and we find peace is one of them. Christians are able to exhibit this fruit or attribute because being led by the Spirit, they do not operate by the physical senses. Phil 3:20 says ‘For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ:’ A Christian has the peace described by Christ because his hope is not based on earthly things or considerations. He is in the world but he is not a part of it as he has been translated into the kingdom of Christ(Col 1:13). Therefore being citizens of heaven, we Christians should have peace even if we suffer afflictions because ‘..our light affliction,…….worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.’ (2Cor 4:17-18).

Are you a Christian troubled by guilt? Be at peace because your heavenly father has forgiven you all sins(Col 2:13). Are you troubled by fear of attacks from dark powers? Be at peace because God in you is greater than the world(1John 4:4). Are you anxious about your needs being met? Be at peace for your father has promised not to forsake you(Heb 13:5). Allow the peace of God pervade your life and affairs. Let the peace of God be evident in your speech, demeanor, thoughts, actions etc. Let the story of your life be expressed in terms of the peace which God alone gives. Be encouraged by the words of the chorus below. See it as your master assuring you of his power to subjugate all concerns confronting you.

‘They all shall sweetly obey my will,
peace be still, peace be still.
They all shall sweetly obey my will;
peace, peace be still.’

God bless you richly

JeSoul: This is an exquisite way of stating things. I personally always struggle with the balance of loving others that are not of the fold realistically. By that I mean its very easy to love and care when such a person is not evil or hasn't done a wrong. But when it comes to folks who have hurt others, especially children Tina Turner comes out singing "What's love got to do, got to do with it?" lol.

You're being very candid my sister.I struggle too but we must remember its God who works in us to do his will(Phil 2:13) and we will succeed by his strength alone(Phil 4:13).He will not ask us ro do what he hasn't empowered us to do.

We must also remember that love doesn't overshadow consequences.there are consequences for actions so loving the child molester does not cancel out the consequences he'll suffer for his crime.

Nah but really, I would appreciate some real life practical examples and pointers on how to get and do better at this

My sister this your request isn't easy at all I honestly believe that until you're put into the particular situation, you won't know how you'll react.we only know that God almighty has promised to see us through and we must trust him to.I saw a documentary sometime ago about a Christian survivor of Rwandan genocide who now feeds a man who took part in the killing of her husband and 4 children.that is an example to learn from(not an easy one if you ask me) but its her reality.I believe factoring eternity into any situation we find ourselves helps a lot.i trust you'll find this is true.The Christian journey is not a rose petaled pathway.we must be ready for some tough tests.

Godbless brother Candour, hope you and the whole family are doing expectionally well by His grace .

Thanks for asking sister.we are all doing well.trust you and your family are bubbling in God's grace too?

Cheers and God bless

lagerwhenindoubt: The Greatest Commandment across all belief systems

You're right actually.all preach love but the adherents pay lip service to it.I believe however that a true follower of Christ is empowered to live a life of love because of the indwelling spirit.

God bless you for your comment bro

LOVE – Mark Of A True Christian

John 13:34
‘A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another’

The above is the charge given by Jesus Christ to the twelve disciples shortly before he went to the cross to purchase redemption for you and i.He called it a new commandment. He had mentioned it earlier when he referred to it as the summary of the law of Moses along with love for God almighty(Matt 22:37-40) .The Apostle Paul advocated it in Romans 13:9-10 and Gal 5:14. James penned a reminder in James 2:8 as did John in 2 John 1:5.

What then is this LOVE? We see the answer in 1 John 4:10 which says ‘Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins’. This is the totality of the Christian message. That a sovereign God sent his son to the earth to die for the sins of sinful men. It was love at its peak. From here we get the explanation of love as ‘seeking your neighbors highest good’. The Almighty God in seeking the highest good of mankind sent his only begotten son to die in our place that we might become the righteousness of God in him(2 Cor 5:21) after all John 3:16 affirms that ‘for God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’.

Love is sharing, love is giving, love is showing understanding, love is showing empathy, love is kind, love is longsuffering. In a nutshell, love is beautiful. Love is not envious, love is not proud, love is not boastful, love is not selfish, love is not easily provoked. Paul the Apostle enumerated all these and more attributes of love in his great treatise on the subject in 1 Cor 13:1-13. Nothing can stand against the God kind of love. It breaks barriers and it builds necessary bridges. We see a demonstration of profound love in the early church when believers who had means liquidated their holdings and brought the funds for distribution to needy brethren(Acts 2:45).Churches that had something to spare sent help to those who were lacking(Acts 11:29) and even Apostle Paul worked with his hands to cater for brethren who were with him on his missionary journeys(Acts 20:34).It was love that made Paul endure all the odds he faced on his missionary journeys to ensure the Gospel got to as many as possible(2 Cor 11:23-27).Even our speaking must be in love to enable both speaker and hearer to grow up in Christ(Eph 4:15).

Our Lord also gave the parable of the good Samaritan to show another practical side of the type of love he expects from us: Love that does not discriminate against even a perceived ‘enemy’. You’ll find the story in Luke 10:25-37.The Samaritans were ‘tainted Jews’ due to inter-marriage with Syro-Phoenicians and therefore regarded by pure Jews as enemies of God. However the Samaritan who was assumed not to be right with God was the one who showed love to a pure Jew in need. If a supposed ‘enemy’ of God could do this, how much more a child of God? The lord had expressly said it when he asked us to love our enemies(Matt 5:44) and it was put into practice by God himself according to Romans 5:8 when he showed love to sinners who were by default the enemies of God.

Love should distinguish a Christian from the world. Love should be the currency with which a Christian transacts business in the market place of life. We worship a God of love, we’re adopted into the family of a God of love hence the Christian should become love personified. Our lord in John 13:35 said ‘By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another’. It is only by showing love to our fellow humans that we can be called true followers of Christ. Many scream it daily that they love God. They sing it in songs and even go extra mile to show it but Apostle John says ‘If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?(1 John 4:20).Gal 5:22-23 lists the fruits of the spirit. Manifestations that indicate the spirit of God is operational in us and LOVE is first on the list. We infer from 1 Cor 13:1-3 that being good, sacrificial or manifesting spiritual powers without the ingredient of love means nothing. It’s a total waste. A Christian is one led by the Spirit(Rom 8:14) and if you’re truly led by the Spirit, love must be evident. Love your neighbor and the master affirms that in so doing, you show love to him(Matt 25:37-40).

Are you ready to follow in the master’s footsteps? Are you ready to manifest your membership of the family of God? Love is the way to go. Paul called it the more excellent way in 1 Cor 12:31 and 1 Cor 13:13 tells us that ‘And now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love'.

As we go about our daily life, let the words of our Lord and savior echo in our hearts ‘love thy neighbor as you love yourself’. Put this into practice and see your life minister the gospel to those you come in contact with.

God bless you richly.

musKeeto: Nice one @bolded.

@red: apparently it's a thing of the genitals..

LOL @red

when the cores are involved,the mind seems to go on sabbatical

JeSoul: This is a very key point that we should keep in mind. Leaving room for recognition that on this side of eternity we will fall short, but praise God! He is faithful to complete the good work He began in us.

Very true.The day a Christian realises this truth is the day he gets set free from the yoke Jesus talked about in Matt 11:28-30.He has promised not to leave us nor forsake us.praise God indeed for he is faithful and his mercies endure for ever.halleluyah!!!

I have the gift of unquenchable love for those of my Father's household ...your spirit is undeniable hence one of the few people I follow on NL cos I don't want to miss your very enriching and encouraging and challenging topics. I pray for God's strength to complete your healing and strengthen you fully. By God's grace you are healed and charged to post more and more edifying posts . Godbless my brother!

hmmm.......my sister,this your encouraging words no be here o.Maybe i should even laminate it God bless you greatly.indeed i'm healed.Thanks a lot.I pray for God's grace to be more consistent in my postings but more importantly to put up posts that will truly edify members of the body of Christ on Nairaland.

Wish you the best sister.

damiso: Love this

you're welcome sister.i hope it blessed you greatly

cheers

JeSoul: Another fantastic article brother Candour. It's quite a charge to be able to be selfless 100% of the time. I'm sure we all are to some degree but to completely put on the cloak of Christ at all times...may God in His mercy empower us. Amen!

Ps hope you've been well. Wish we read more from you on here. Godbless!!!

God bless you dear sister.Thanks a lot for your comment.

As long as we are in this body of flesh,the enemy will always want to stir up the Adamic nature to nullify the work of the Holy Spirit in us but we are not to give place to the devil.I will be lying if i say i'm 100% compliant but with God's grace the world can actually get the gospel just by observing the lives of Christians and that is the aim of this post.

@the bolded.It's almost like you have the gift of clairvoyance.I've been under the weather lately but am getting stronger.I will try to be more active henceforth God helping me.

Cheers sister and wish you the best

ReLaTE: I recently got married and hv performed other necessary things traditionally bt hv nt wedded in the church yet. I hv stopped my sexx chic frm visiting me since am nw married though my wife doesn't stay wt me. My issue is that my wife doesn't want sexx wt me till after church wedding which i never disagreed wt her,bt I can't stay wtout sexx for 6 weeks at most.
My question is that since we are nw married,is it a sin if we hv sexx (according to her belief).
Secondly,wl I be committing fornication or adultery since I wl still be having sexx wt my former chic?
I need mature advice here.

My brother,this your posts sounds like somebody trying to get backing to engage in an activity you know you shouldn't indulge in.You're married according to your opening line but you still have a chic by the side that can visit whenever you need her.That is the perfect situation for cheating on your wife and she's not even moved in yet.Pls break that association with this 'sexx chic' before it wrecks a marriage that hasn't even got off the ground.

Also what is 6 weeks that you can't do without intimacy? what will you do when your wife puts to birth and you can't go near for upwards of 2 months or more? what if you travel out of the country to attend a seminar for 3 months? pls its a thing of the mind.a little wait wont kill you.personally i believe as long as you've fulfilled the traditional marriage rites,you're already married in the eyes of God.Church wedding is just surplus declaration but since your wife wants to abide by church rules,then try and be patient for her.

Man shall not live by intimacy alone..........

Mr anony: SWEET!

yeah!! found the hymn sweet and loaded too

Alwaystrue: @Candour, Thanks so much for this article. It is really thought-provoking, action-oriented. May the Lord increase you more in the knowledge of Him and help you also to apply it to your life.

dear sister,you know you're always blessed

Thanks for your prayer @the bolded.It is what i crave the most.I pray everyday that God almighty gives me the grace to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith i have been called(Eph 4:1)

God bless you richly

frmglorytoglory: Thumbs up candour. Amazing article. Please keep them coming. God bless

Dear sister,Thanks.Glad you found it amazing and i hope it really blesses you and help you to a more fulfilling walk with the Lord.

Cheers and God bless

CHRIST LIKE SELFLESSNESS – MARK OF A TRUE CHRISTIAN

Phil 2:3-5
'Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:’

The above quotation from Paul’s letter to the brethren in Philippi underscores what the mind of Christ for Christians really is: The entire Christian experience should be one of continued acts of selflessness. This attribute took our Lord and savior Jesus Christ to the cross to die for our sins and we also are enjoined to 'deny self daily while following the lord’ (Luke 9:23)

Selflessness is defined by the free dictionary as 'Having, exhibiting or motivated by no concern for oneself’.It’s simply the opposite of selfishness which revolves round the unholy mix of me, myself and i.Selflessness works towards the general good before thinking of oneself. It is closely related to Altruism and Self-sacrifice. A selfless Christian does not seek to be known, praised or rewarded for the good he does because he doesn’t glory in the flesh. All he wishes is for Christ to be seen and glorified in his attitude and actions which when faithfully executed, will 'draw all men unto the Lord’ (John 12:32).

Selflessness must be seen in our attitude and actions if we are to proclaim the testimony of the finished work of the cross. This is because a natural consequence of the truly surrendered spirit led life is selflessness. The mind of Christ is selflessness so can we claim we have Christ if this attribute is not in us? The world isn’t stupid you know. We’ll surely be found out as pretenders no matter how much we scream our allegiance to Christ if this attribute is lost in our day to day activities. We should do well to take heed to Peter’s advice in 1Pet 2:12.

As human beings born into this world, we’re all selfish by nature. We’re born with a sinful nature that daily bows before the deity called self and until we acknowledge the crucifixion of the Adamic nature, we’ll continue to struggle with selfishness. We live in a me first world which constantly pushes us to satisfy self even at the expense and in total disregard of others and consciously or unconsciously, we see selfishness creep into our secular and spiritual pursuits. Have you noticed how works of charity in our modern world have become opportunities for self promotion? How about those mega church buildings we erect or fanciful state of the art gadgets and machinery we invest so much offerings of the faithful on? ostensibly to ‘the glory of the Lord’? Doesn’t it look more like we are only seeking a date with the compilers of the Guinness book of world records or a flattering mention in the media? Even our individual testimonies are almost delivered with the intention of shaming that our brother or sister in the Lord who doesn’t yet realize that ‘only a life lived like ours’ qualify for that magnificent financial favor much like the Pharisee of Luke 18:10-14.

Romans 8:14 says ‘for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God’ .Can we honestly affirm that the motives for our acts of ‘good’ are leadings of the Spirit? Or are they leadings of the flesh tailored to make us feel good and superior? We must act differently from the world around us if we are to actually show ourselves as children of the heavenly kingdom. Selflessness must be the watchword in our dealings with everybody – Christians and non Christians alike. Opportunities to mentor babes in Christ should be for the benefit of helping a young Christian grow in grace not to advertise our erudition or gargantuan spiritual depth and understanding. When trying to ‘correct’ an erring brother/sister, their ultimate good must be paramount in our mind. Even more careful should we be when trying to show a sinner the pathway to life else we might alienate them and make them more hardened.

Selflessness will make us willingly give up comforts so our neighbor can have little of what God has blessed us with(1John 3:17).It will make us think twice before abusing a position of responsibility entrusted to us in the Church of God, public service or business. Selflessness will make Church leaders promote the gospel more than they promote themselves and their denominations. It will make us allocate Church resources more to places where it will benefit the Church(you and i) in line with Acts 2:45 and 1 Cor 16:1 rather than projects which massage our ego and buttress our vanity.Our sub groups in Church will be more effective because we all are more concerned about the greater good than individual points. Only then will the purpose of Heb 10:25 be accomplished.

Let us not be moved by the promise of instant gratification of the self to destroy the good work God has called us to do. We’ll be more effective carriers of the good news of the gospel if our individual lives become examples of selflessness.

We should heed B.B McKinney, the song writer who wrote the hymn ‘let others see Jesus in you’. the chorus is reproduced below

Let others see Jesus in you, Let others see Jesus in you.
Keep telling the story, be faithful and true:
Let others see Jesus in you

God bless you richly.

May we all learn to walk truly in the freedom Christ death,burial & resurrection bought for us.we were redeemed with incorruptible things,let us not bellitle redemption by placing a price tag on God's blessings.they are invaluable.

May God bless us all