₦airaland Forum

foladara777:
No, it was not a mutually beneficial contract... They were merchandize. The bible says they can be purchased and beaten, even killed if they didn't die immediately... There's nothing mutually beneficial about that... Read the verses I quoted again... Just admit your God failed to address the issue

Friend, if you look up Matthew 19:8 it says God permitted them to divorce their woves because they were obstinate about giving up the act but that He never approved of the act. Similarly, the reason why He would seem to 'okay' the act of slavery could be inferred from that passage in Matthew. 'Because of your obstinate hearts' tells me that He had tried to discourage them from he act but they wouldn't yield.

foladara777:
1. So two adults ate the forbidden fruit thousands of years ago and so babies and toddlers deserve to die gruesome deaths today?? That's basically what you are saying.
2. Your analogy to a person standing in the middle of the road is not relevant. Why? Because, it's reasonably expected that a person that stands in the middle of the road is likely to get hit by a moving vehicle but some kids laughing at a man don't expect to be torn to pieces by bears... Again, if a person driving a vehicle intentionally hits a person in the middle of the road, its wicked and that person is not a good person. So your analogy fails on both counts. Sorry, try again

2.You see, if the idea of the young lads acting in knowledge and rebellion as indicated in their words, 'go up,go up you bald one' is anything to go by, then they can only have themselves to blame, knowing the danger of their actions and still going ahead to test the man of God similar to the guy standing in the middle of the road just to
catch his fun.

1. Yeah that's the consequence of man not accepting God's leadership and deciding to cede his legal authority to the one called 'the evil one'. Whoever rules calls the shots. I would have shown you a few scriptures but my phone battery is low. This is far from the ideal situation God wants and so He says to prayer that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So all that He's doing at present is redemptive. That's why He's asking you and I to yield ourselves to Him so that He can through us, intervene in this fallen world.

foladara777:
Am just going to post a few verses of the scriptures here showing the position of God towards slavery.
However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)

When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property. (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)

Now, u would think the new testament would forbid slavery but no, it doesn't:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. (Ephesians 6:5 NLT)

Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts. Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT)

It's greatly disturbing that a supposedly good god who had the time to ban shellfish and the wearing of clothes off different materials didn't forbid one of the worst acts of man's inhumanity to man... What do you think??

Hi friend. There is such a thing as the permissive will of God (Romans 12:1-3). If I marry a harlot today, God puts His stamp on it because I have signed on the dotted line. He puts His stamp on it not because He feels it's the right thing to do but because He'll always honour a contractual agreement between parties so long as there was no force or duress involved. God will only give the terms in which both parties are to conduct themselves in such a relationship. Regarding slavery in those days, it was a mutually beneficial contract between parties and usually the bondservant would rather stay with his master and serve him because of the provision he/she would get as a result. It was sort of a business engagement that involved terms and conditions and God would work with them even in that context. Here's what He says masters should do in return:

"And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him" (Eph 6:9)

foladara777:
Am just going to post a few verses of the scriptures here showing the position of God towards slavery.
However, you may purchase male or female slaves from among the foreigners who live among you. You may also purchase the children of such resident foreigners, including those who have been born in your land. You may treat them as your property, passing them on to your children as a permanent inheritance. You may treat your slaves like this, but the people of Israel, your relatives, must never be treated this way. (Leviticus 25:44-46 NLT)

When a man strikes his male or female slave with a rod so hard that the slave dies under his hand, he shall be punished. If, however, the slave survives for a day or two, he is not to be punished, since the slave is his own property. (Exodus 21:20-21 NAB)

Now, u would think the new testament would forbid slavery but no, it doesn't:
Slaves, obey your earthly masters with deep respect and fear. Serve them sincerely as you would serve Christ. (Ephesians 6:5 NLT)

Christians who are slaves should give their masters full respect so that the name of God and his teaching will not be shamed. If your master is a Christian, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. You should work all the harder because you are helping another believer by your efforts. Teach these truths, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. (1 Timothy 6:1-2 NLT)

It's greatly disturbing that a supposedly good god who had the time to ban shellfish and the wearing of clothes off different materials didn't forbid one of the worst acts of man's inhumanity to man... What do you think??

Hi friend. There is such a thing as the permissive will of God (Romans 12:1-3). If I marry a harlot today, God puts a stamp on it because I have signed on the dotted line. He puts His stamp on it not because He feels it's the right thing to do but because He'll always honour a contractual agreement between parties so long as there was no force or duress involved. God will only give the terms in which both parties are to conduct themselves in such a relationship. Regarding slavery in those days, it was a mutually beneficial contract between parties and usually the bondservant would rather stay with his master and serve him because of the provision he/she would get as a result. It was sort of a business engagement that involved terms and conditions and God would work with them even in that context. Here's what He says masters should do in return:

"And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him" (Eph 6:9)

foladara777:
Plss biblical reference for natural disasters bring as a result of man deciding to run the world independent of God, u are a Christian, back your claims up
And as regards the Elisha story, it doesn't matter if they had met before... It's wrong to kill children and it's also wrong to stand by and let children die

Okay let's look at this passage together.

Romans 8:19-22:
"For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly (personifying the creation), but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now."

From this passage, we can see the that the consequence of death spilled over to the creation. Of course death here speaks of anything that has to do with decay, disease, corruption and all such things. So in simple terms the Bible teaches that everything wrong in the world is a consequence of man neglecting the leadership of God.

Regarding Elisha, the killing of the young lads was just as wrong as a young man standing in the middle of the road and damning the consequences. Was it a display of ignorance or rebellion? I cannot tell for sure as this was not clearly stated but I believe if the guys were trying to discredit the power of God and the unfortunate happened to them, they could only have themselves to blame just like the guy that stands in the middle of the road and thinks he can always get away with it, perhaps because he did same yesterday.

foladara777:
Wait!! Earthquakes are also caused by gradual increase in temperature?? Or earthquakes are not natural disasters?... And assuming you are right, while make an earth susceptible to increase in temperature if you are an all powerful God?? And plss earthquakes are not caused by man
God murdered those kids. Elisha cursed them and God provided two she-bears to devour 42 of them and believing and abiding strictly by the biblical account of an event is not narrowing... In fact, that's what the bible commands

The conditions of the earth are imperfect. I've explained that this was a direct result of man deciding to run the world independent of God. And it's not only earthquakes, there are at least a thousand and one imperfections in the world today. God did not kill the young lads. God gave Elisha a gift to make declarations and see them come to pass. But Elisha used the gift to curse the young lads and the rest was history

If you say the young guys just came out of the blues and had never met Elisha, you may be wrong because the Bible never said so. That would amount to limiting the scope of all that may have actually gone down leading to the death of the lads. In fact some scholars say that the words, "go up, go up" used by the young guys showed a certain level of knowledge of the prophet displayed by them and was an attempt to mock the event of Elijah ascending and handing over to Elisha. I wouldn't say this is an accurate account but I wouldn't rule it out either. The passage where it says not to add to the scripture actually refers to a revelation given to John (iirc). In any case, I'm not saying this and that happened, I'm only telling you that we don't have the full picture.

foladara777:
Man will always make mistakes?? I guess the tsunamis and earthquakes are a result of men's mistakes, right??... In fact, read your bible, Elisha merely cursed the kids, God provided the bears, God murdered those kids... And he doesn't matter what happened previously, killing kids is wrong... Don't even know why you are trying to add to the account of the bible, maybe u should write your own version

You see, the natural disasters are caused by gradual increase in global temperature. This is not God's doing even though people say they are 'acts of God'. Man wanted to run the world independent of God right from the beginning as per biblical records and even till now so I'm not sure why God should take the blame for these happenings. God did not murder the kids as you claim, He didn't. I'm not trying to add to the Bible account. I'm only refusing to narrow the scope of what may have happened.

foladara777:
Don't tell me stories... Let's discuss principles. God stood by and let them die. No purpose is served by the killing of children. And even God had a purpose, the fact that he needed people to die to serve his purpose proves that he's not the almighty because someone that can do all things will not need people to die to achieve his purpose

The purpose of my stories is to elucidate the principles. You say, 'somebody that is almighty can do all things.' If it has to do with things that are outside His character e.g. lying, then maybe I'd have to agree with you that He cannot do all things. No where in that passage is it stated that His purpose was served by the death of the young lads. It only narrates the event. It never went ahead to draw any conclusion or teach a lesson out of it so we don't have the full picture.

It's a pity I don't have my concordance with me now but I know I have checked up that phrase 'little children' before. When I have the chance, I'll look up the phrase.

foladara777:
The deed was done simple?? So God has no part of the blame?? Couldn't he have prevented the act?? I thought God could do all things

If you want to blame God then maybe you should blame Him for creating man in the first place because man will always make mistakes. It is often said that it's human to err. At the time He raised Elijah, Israel was actually going through a season of unbelief, do He needed to reassure them of His power by way of the supernatural and so He commissioned Elijah but because Elijah was human, he was prone to err. When God is working with humans, He doesn't bypass their freewill. And for all you know, you cannot tell how much these guys had done this mocking of the prophet and probably had been warned but went ahead and possibly could only have themselves to blame. The Bible would usually summarize the event. You and I don't know everything that happened between the guys and Elijah. Is it impossible that the guys had met Elijah previously? Me thinks not.

foladara777:
So the earthquake that happened in Haiti, a predominantly Christian country was because they disallowed God from stopping it... A hundred thousand people died in that earthquake, committed Christians too who pray to God everyday, u God failed to protect them

No sir. That's not for you to determine. The Bible says, "man looks on the outward appearance but God looks of the heart". I was in a fellowship and you'd almost swear that the fellowship excos were living faithful and upright lives. I got a taste of their other side when I was privileged to stay close to some of them. Even me typing, you really don't know me so I may sound like a very spiritual brother to you but only God knows the things I do in secret. Unlike man, God is not impressed by our outward activities. I still maintain that Nigerians are very religious folks but we are largely lacking in true and committed worship to God

I've always maintained that a truly successful Christian life is only achievable with the help of the Holy Spirit who was given to us to give us advance knowledge and instructions for profitable living. If someone was sensitive enough to the prompting of the Spirit, it may have been averted. It's possible that some people were given this information prior to its occurrence but they didn't act on it or were lazy and just shoved the instruction away.

I know someone who was given advance info that the financial institution (one of the top ones in the country these days) where he was working would soon fold up when the outward signs indicated otherwise. The company was actually very healthy at the time. He told a lot of people of what he saw including me. He acted on that instruction and left the company few months later and shortly after, news began to spill and the rest was history

foladara777:
Took the time to read the whole epistle but was disappointed u didn't address the issue at all... So Elisha was using God's gift to tear boys to pieces and God stood by...
And don't try to do that complicated translation shit here, I have checked three different translations and two of them use boys and the other uses little children... In the actual text the qualifier, little was used... U people try to rewrite the bible to justify God's acts of wickedness

The passage does not say God was standing or that He approved of this act. The deed was done, simples. I took out time to explain how the gift of God works, that even though it's got redemptive power, it can be used for selfish purposes and this is why God is extra careful when He releases it.

foladara777:
Men as of now don't have the power to undo natural disasters but God supposedly does, then why not stop them

You see, God will not do something for you if you disallow Him to do same. You must understand the character of God. He is all powerful yet meek. If you read Benny Hinn's account of how he first began to relate with the Holy Spirit (I know you don't believe these 'stories' now but please follow me) or Mike Murdock's account, you'll understand this quality in God. Mike was having a nice time in the presence of God in his hotel room (not other room o ), came out for a short time to have a small chat with a minister friend and talked ill about someone they both knew. He went back to his room but the presence was no longer there. Surprised, He began to ask why, and the Holy Spirit spoke to his heart, "why did you speak ill of that person? I was very displeased by that act."

Benny Hinn recounted how he would tell the Holy Spirit, "just hold on a bit" (sort of snubbing Him when He wanted to talk to him i.e. another way of saying to the Holy Spirit, please I'm not in the mood right now) and the Holy Spirit would gently and meekly give him space as requested. Simply put He doesn't force Himself on anyone. That's His character.

Yes you are right when you say man has not got the ability to stop tsunamis but God does. That power is however released when God's representatives on the earth allow Him room to work. But if they don't, the status quo would be the order of the day. It must be this way for now because legally man has been given the mandate over the earth on request.

It was not for nothing that Jesus asked His disciples to pray that the will of God should be done on earth as it is in heaven.

(read again if you've already read this post as I made some typos previously capable of altering meanings of words)

dalaman:
So Jesus doesnt have a solution to the problems of natural evil here on earth only in the mythical world to come. Well done.

The power to undo natural disaster, He has invested in men who must co-operate with Him to stall these occurences. i'm refering to the Church of Christ for He must work with man as long as the earth is concerned.

foladara777:
So God had already said before that he will send beasts and that makes it alright?? Or killing children as a sign of continued judgment is justifiable?? U need to do better than this
BTW, I saw the page u lifted this comment from... This shows desperation... But I get it, u are determined that you will justify these acts

Hi friend. I did not read all the posts on this thread for want of time but going through your post and that of ForeverGod, I thought I should give an explanation. Regarding Elijah, this was a gift from God operational. See there is something about miraculous gifts from God that I've got to let you understand. God is the giver but MAN is the recipient. Now Elijah made the pronouncement out of anger and it happened.

This is the very reason why the gifts of God are quite rare. God knows that man can actually use these gifts for good and unfortunately, for evil purposes as well. Before God endues men with miraculous power, He tests them again and again and God continues to test men to prune their hearts from wrong intents as He increases these gifts in their lives. There are gifts from God but there are also levels of demonstration of those gifts. I remember an atheist NLander challenging a christian to heal a blind boy and whilst this is very possible with God, the gifts of God do not just flow except a recipient of such a gift have so grown in the use of the gifts that they can produce it at will. There are levels of demonstration of the miraculous gifts of God.

In this instance, a group of young men were killed because they mocked Elijah. God did not tell Elijah to curse them. It was simply a case of demonstrating a gift that was already operational in the Prophet's life having used this gift time and again

Have a look at the passage below:

'And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying:The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.' (Acts 16:16-18).

Now the damsel did her divination thing for many days but Paul only undid the spirit after many days. If it was something he could just do with the snap of his finger, he would have done it earlier than many days.

(Side note: the KJV translation of that word 'little children' in 2 Kings 2:23-24 actually does not capture the word properly. 'Young men' would have been a more accurate word as per original hebrew text. But that's by the side)

Regarding the curses placed on the nation of Israel, I'll show you two scriptures that explain the intent of God in all these:

Galatians 3:13 NLT: 'But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.“ '

Galatians 3:19-28 NLT: 'Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people. Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham. Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises?Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ. Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian. For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.'

You see God already knew they would not keep the covenant. The actual intent or purpose of the law of Moses was to point people to the fact that they are sinful and God loves sanctity so if He was just relating with the nation of Israel without pointing out things they do that offend Him, that would not work out because two cannot work except they agree.

Romans 5:13-14 explains this point succinctly as follows: '(For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come'.

All the curses were actually placed on Jesus who took the punishment for all their misdeeds as per the scripture in Galatians above

butterflylion:
Ok

Alternatively you can send an email to chrmn1chrmn1@yahoo.com. God bless you.

butterflylion:
Pls sir, i sent you a pm. Pls reply.

HI Butterflylion, for some reason I don't see PMs on my email. I don't know why this is the case but let me try to PM you and we'll just take it up from there.

Anas09:
Will you attend shiloh? Lets just praise God. Its going to basically be praise.

My response to your post that had 4 questions was incomplete so I modified it. You may have a look whenever you can

Anas09:
Will you attend shiloh? Lets just praise God. Its going to basically be praise.

I'd really love to but I won't be able to attend this year so I'd stream the live sessions

Anas09:
Okay, What you mean is, When we ask for something and the answer is No, we should be able to know in the place prayer?

Bros, there are somany 'believers' who
1. Don't hear the Holy Spirt.
2. Don't believe the Holy Spirit speaks to people.
3. Don't know when the Holy Spirit speaks to them.
4. Can not differetiate between the voices in mind and the voice of the Holy Spirit.

But, they are believers, in these cases, how can they know when then answer is NO.

Okay I didn't see this post earlier, let me try:

2. Those that don't believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit are only limiting themselves; they have absolutely nobody to blame for their issues.
There's no reason why a Christian should disbelieve the ministry of the Holy Spirit when this is clearly spelled out in scriptures

1. You're absolutely correct, there a so many believers who have not trained themselves to pick signals from the Holy Spirit but I'm certain that this is the difference between living an ordinary life and a supernatural one. The Bible calls Him (the Holy Spirit), the one called to go ahead of us as a counselor

Anyone who wants to learn to have the presence of the Holy Spirit real in their lives can should try to take out time. Apart from praying daily, I used to take out time on Fridays after work, sleep till 4 and then just stay on my knees in my room singing and praying in the Spirit. Needless to say, the effect was tremendous. I used to do that every week (something happened so I kind of stopped but I'll revisit praying this way soonest). I'll recommend 2 books and you may have come across them, a) 3 Most important things in your life by Mike Murdock where he detailed his experience of how he first encountered the presence of God. For him, consistency in taking out time daily to fellowship with the Holy Spirit was crucial. He recounted that God honoured his consistency and showed up

b) Listening Prayer by Mary Ruth Swope: Very powerful book as well

3. How God speaks: sometimes spectacular at other times not so spectacular. I remember once when I was so passionate about the things of God, I began to ask Him what He wanted me to do and that I didn't mind doing anything He required me to do even if it entailed full time ministry. As I was reading the scriptures, a passage seemed to jump out of its page right before me which read, "And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron" (Hebrews 5:4). The crux of that message was no one takes that decision by him or herself to Shepherd the children of God in the capacity of a full time pastor but God is the One that calls into the ministry.

I know how much I was guided by this seemingly unspectacular message.

There was another time, I was almost late for work and I was rushing to get out of the house. I don't take my laptop or flash to the office but on this day, as I was about to head out, I just heard within me, 'your flash' and I didn't understand so I ignored the prompt. But I kept 'hearing' the same thing, 'your flash'. I argued, why would I take my flash drive when I don't use it in the office so I shoved any the 'thought'. My door used to be very difficult to open back then, and this was obviously what the Holy Spirit was trying to get me to avoid but I wasn't sensitive enough to realize it was Him. I left the room and locked my door and in seconds, I got a call from my best friend then. His words, "abeg chrmn1 (not my real name, of course), bring your flash abeg it's very crucial...thanks". I had to go through the rigours of opening the door again and trust me, this time it was as if the door decided that I wouldn't open it that day. I just highlighted the 2 scenarios to point out that He talks to us in diverse ways but if you've trained yourself to hear him and respond quickly enough you begin to master the art. The easier it gets as you go along. It's just like hearing somebody speak whom you don't know, you won't know who's talking but if your best friend should call your name, you'd easily recognize his/her voice even if you can't see his/her face. That's how it is with learning to hear the guide within.

4. Just like with every art, you only get perfect by practice. You see you're not abdicating your responsibility to make decisions in your personal life by following the direction of the Holy Spirit. For every good plan you have, He has a better one. You must realize that. Apostle Paul was going to win souls in Asia when He was restrained by the inner guide. That was his (Paul's) plan. See its a partnership and I can show you countless scriptures that supports this point. Proverbs 16:9 says, "the heart of a man devices (plans) his way but the Lord directs his steps. It's a partnership so you're not standing like a pole and saying "Holy Ghost blow me to the right else I won't move". No you don't do that because you've got to live life to the fullest. You just need to pay attention to seeking His manifest presence in your life and to sharpen the your hearing from Him. He says, "He's a rewarder of they that DILIGENTLY seek Him." Let me break down the word diligently. As a starter, if you plan to do 2 hours everyday and you made it on Sunday but didn't make it on Monday, so you continued on Tuesday, it's not ideal that way. God won't be annoyed with you but it's a training you need to undergo just like the training a guy would need to undergo at the gym to grow muscles. So if you badly want to hear from Him, diligence is very key. Mike Murdock touched on this beautifully. It's a partnership. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He'll direct your paths.

So just live your life to the full, learn to seek the face of God on a consistent basis, He'll guide you in unspectacular ways but you need to pass that test by responding promptly. As you do He can trust you with more spectacular leadings and as you practice the art you become skilled at it.

Hope I answered at least a couple of your questions.

Good night dearie

Anas09:
Yes dear. Service was great. Yours?

wonderful as always

Anas09:
Dearly beloved, responding to hopefullandlord is like pouring water on a smooth stone. Leave him to his demons.

you see my dear, the kingdom of God is not in words but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. A million words on NL would do nothing other than bring about a million rebuttals. I have personally decided to start interceding intensely for them, and I'd implore every christian NLander to do same. Cheers and have a great time. Hope you had a good time in service today

obataokenwa:
no need telling him to retrace his steps to be saved. if truly he go to the extent he got to as a previous Christian and now curse God, dear he has already sinned against the Holy Ghost. no rememdy

if there is any truth in his posts, I don't think he has reached that stage of sinning against the Holy Ghost. He was just vibrant and fervent. He has not reached that stage so there's still hope for him

lomprico:
Atheist don't like christians!

The owner of nairaland is an atheist!

Now you see why!

This is as clear as day. They spend 24 hrs everyday trying to discredit something of "little or no importance to them"

Intrepid01:
Wow bro I totally believe with what you have written up there....both the seen and unseen part of it. Pls bros, how can I have this kind of relationship with God. I am a logical and spiritual person. I don't believe things on face value,but from my little experience (as a baby xtian) that God is more real than we can imagine and he does not owe anybody explanation.

How can I know him beyond the ordinary, without distraction?
His words (bible) carry supernatural power, I have experienced a bit of it...How can I av it's revelation and understanding power ?

I think God and his ways is something worth knowing and understanding .......

just plan towards it. I'll recommend two books to you:

1. Listening Prayer by Mary Ruth Swope and
2. Three Mist important things in your life by Mike Murdock

If you need more information, do let me know

hopefulLandlord:
my question here is very simple and while I'm sure this post of yours makes sense, it doesn't answer the question

I'm not putting anything on god in my post

my question is....

"Do you believe that God could ever forsake you? What would that look like? Can you describe for me any scenario at all which would constitute God forsaking you?"

For God to forsake me, it would mean that He no longer is involved in my affairs. But thankfully the Bible says, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." (Hebrews 13:5)

deezzle:
So bimbo odukoya, myles munroe and the poor corper...the Christians killed by isis and boko haram...the many children dying from diseases deserve to die because God ignored them for telling him to leave their affairs?

I'll make it as simple as possible. That you are a Christian does not preclude you from life's issues. That's why it's important to live a spirit filled life. You see a lot of Christians have the tag, 'christian' but that's not all there is to it. You need to be tuned to the Spirit. When such tragic occurrences happen to children of God, He was trying to get their attention but they were not listening to Him. The normal way to die as a Christian is the way Moses died. God told him, his time on earth was up. That was how Archbishop Benson Idahosa and Kenneth Hagin of blessed memory died. They called their families and blessed them and then transited. I told you I was going to break it down as much as possible. It's just like saying, as a man, you will automatically have children. You know that's not the case. if you don't have sexual intercourse and if you have issues like low sperm count, you wouldn't experience what a normal, regular man should experience. (sorry this was the best analogy I could get off the top of my head, hope you get the point though)

So it's not the tag 'christianity' but is the Holy Spirit actively guiding you. As a Christian, you can be caught up in so many things and ignore the voice of the guide that's with us. That's why I still maintain that beyond all the nice stuff in the Christian faith, the most crucial factor is fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

Now to my previous post, right from the time Adam decided to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil till present, man runs the world and has taken the attendant responsibility for the happenings in it.

Anas09:
David prayed that the first son he had with Beershaba not die, God said No.

Apst Paul prayed that an infirmity, be taken away from him, God said, No.

Moses prayed to enter the Promised land, God said No.

These are not mere men, yet God still said no to them, how do we come to the place of accepting No as an answer? Pls everyone.

I cannot overemphasize the importance of learning to listen to the Holy Spirit and hearing from Him. Our whole chtistian life depends on it. It's only in very few occasions God would say 'no' to a request but if you have been praying for something and it doesn't seem to be forthcoming, you can wrongly assume that God doesn't want you to have it, when in reality you have not learnt to put your faith to work to receive from God. Yes God may say 'no' but it's in rare occasions and there would be cogent reasons for that but how would you know if you have not trained your spirit to communicate with God, in which case you begin to make assumptions?

And when I talk about communicating with the Holy Spirit, I'm not talking about just praying and then assuming in your head that God said this or that. It's very clear cut. The Bible says God spoke to Moss as a man speaks to his friends. You get information of specific things that would happen in the near future and sure enough you'd come to see those things happen. Accurate information that you couldn't have cooked up in your heard, you know.

Anas09:
You dont need to specify, i know. The spirit here is mature.

I just wanted to be a little comical. That's why I added that line

Japhet04:
I couldn't have said it any better

JahBless

deezzle:
Which God? The one that couldn't save the poor corper that died? The one that couldn't save members of the potiskum branch of rccg from boko haram gun men that massacred then during church service? The one that coulent save bimbo osikoya or myles munroe from a plane crash? The one that couldn't save the baby that died drowning in oyedepo's school?

You guys need to wake up from your deep sleep

which God? The one you asked to steer clear of your affairs? Is that the God you want to save you from the perils of life? How would He steer clear from your affairs and still guide your affairs to ensure they all turn out right?

Which God please?

Anas09:
I love you.

I love you too

(that's a holy kiss )

hopefulLandlord:
j

let me ask you a question

Do you believe that God could ever forsake you? What would that look like? Can you describe for me any scenario at all which would constitute God forsaking you?


Think about that question for a bit. I suspect that if most Christians were to ponder this they would have to admit that any scenario they could dream up could quickly be explained away as “God testing us” or “working all things together for good, according to his divine plan.”

This question exposes something about the Christian faith which you almost have to be on the outside to see: It is a carefully-wrought construct within which it is impossible for God to do wrong.

It doesn’t just mean that his character prevents him from doing evil (and keep in mind here, I believe we’re talking about a fictitious character anyway). What I’m getting at is that this version of God has been so cleverly conceptualized that you cannot find anything wrong with him. It’s not possible .

All criticisms of the character of the Christian God have been categorically disallowed because your starting point asserts that all he does must be good, must be loving. Since that is your starting point, your frame of reference, absolutely anything and everything which happens must be interpreted as God being faithful to those whom he loves.

No matter how awful the situation, it’s God being good to you.

Devastating hurricane? God is good.

Child has cancer? God is good.

Spouse dies in a car wreck? God is good.

bomb blast kills a whole family? God is good

Minister molests several church members? People are bad but God is good.

Congratulations, you have constructed a framework that necessarily precludes any criticism of God. He cannot be unfaithful to you. You have logically disallowed it.

.

Put it all on God all you want but let me give you the true picture of things. Man decided to do it all by himself and the situation in the world today is the result.

If the state of the world today is as per God's will, then He would not ask that we pray that "His will should be done on earth as its done in heaven".

I read one thread were an atheist painted a picture of his father allowing a stranger rape his 2 year old daughter whilst he was outside cleaning his car but the father did nothing to prevent the stranger even though he was inside the house.

You see that's a wrong perspective. The right way to look at it is, the father was outside the house because he would not let his father in. The stranger went in because he carelessly left the door open, and raped his daughter and then he turned to blame his father even though he still sternly disallowed him from coming close to his house after the incedent

That's exactly what you guys are doing