These days the products are known as skin toning creams. Frequently used by black Americans and well heeled Africans. It is claimed to restore the natural skin tone. i.e. your complexion as a baby, before the sun took its toll.

So I guess people who tone do not expect skin damage, afterall, they are simply restoring their God-given complexion.

Could it be that there were quite a lot of people named Michael, hence, you would always find the good, bad and ugly named michael.

TV01
According to the bible, Christ has redeemed us from of the curse of the law (and not from the entire law as you alluded)

Since you agree from Deut 28 that the obedience or disobedience to the Law has its blessings and Curses, and Christ redeemed us from the curse, then you should know that we can then freely enjoy the blessings of the law.

Back to the topic. If according to Malachi the prophet, God has promised us more blessings than we can have room to contain, if we pay our tithes and offerings. I consider this a law and the blessings which accrue to it are blessings of the law.

You may say that it was OT or meant for a certain group of israel, but like I said, we are children of Abraham according to the promise, hence we can tap into this blessing.

TV01,

TV01:


Really? What would they be? Please expound on this. The law is bondage and for the flesh. It's for the ungodly. Whilst the law is good and holy and just, Christians don't attain to righteousness or blessings through keeping it or being bound by it in part or in whole.

I thought you would know that law has its curses as well as blessings. Because Jesus redeemed from the curse of the law, in order that we might enjoy the blessings of the law.
Since you dont know, I'll give you some examples of Blessings of the law:
1. Seed time and Harvest

If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.

12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.
You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.
13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.



Furthermore, you seem to have removed the OT from your own bible. Have you not heard that we are sons of Abraham by the covenant?

TV01:



Let me take a wild guess RCCG or some other Pentacostal outfit?

Since you are curious, I attend any church where I feel led by the holy spirit. I have visited with a few churches and fellowship groups over the years.

However, I believe that the body of Christ would not benefit much from us overly focussing on what denomination one attends.

God Bless

Good points by all.

So do we then reluctantly agree that there are different kinds of unbelievers, and as such we cannot use our earthly scales of judgement to determine who gets in and who stays out, afterall it was Christ Himself who said things like:

The last shall be first.
Again,
- To enter into the kingdom, you must be like these little ones.

- No one is good except God.

And many other statements, many of which we cannot humanly claim to agree with or genuinely understand.

TV01,


I guess the game, set, and match would have to go to , TayoD and Analytical

How can we then determine which portion of the scripture was invented to suit a particular purpose.

Personally, I tend to place the words of christ in the highest level of truth. If we decide to apply that principle in the exposition written above, we could say this;

Words of Christ:
John 6:70-71 70 Jesus answered them, Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?

Matthew 26:24; Mark 14:21) he said, "But woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed for it would have been better for him had he never been born.

I believe that the above 2 passages have clearly shown the destiny of Judas. All the other (seeming) contradictions were not Christs direct words, and thus should not be used as a yardstick to determine the destiny of Judas.

If abortion is legal in Europe, what, if I may ask, has been the incidence of abortion and has it been more rampant than when it was still illegal?

Would legalising abortion increase the rate?

What about a partial law that allows abortion in cases of rape, serious disabilities to be carried.

From a biblical point of view, pls consider this:
Jesus would probably not have been born since His mum was pregnant without a spouse. If abortion were legal in that time, she just may have had one.

Have you read the context of that passage? Pls find it and read it (Matthew 21:18-22, Mark 11: 20 -24

The action by Jesus was meant to reveal certain things to us:

1. In your situation, The power of Life and Death are in your tongue.
2. You must bear good fruit, otherwise you will end up in eternity like that fig tree.
3. Whatever you ask for, Believe that you have recieved it, and you shall have what you say.

So my bros, it was not an act of imperfection. Rather, God revealed to us, something which was a mystery from the days of old.

Can you pls elaborate on the main differences?

4 Play:

@Groupoint
So you spank your kid?Social services are on their way

Na you sabi. That's a story for another day. You will need to educate your kids on what to say when social services do come , otherwise.

But really, the frustartion has been known to send mothers into severe depresion. Why do you think many oyibos these days dont want to have any children?
They have weighed the whole thing and since they cant bear to smack a child, then they wont even bother to have one.

The principle of 10% is clearly God ordained. In as much as a believer is not bound by the curse of the law. The law also has its blessings.
It is then up to you if you wish to avail yourself of the blessings of this particular law.

Therefore, I am saying clearly that you do need to pay 10% of your increase towards the work of God, if you want the blessings that accrue to that principle.

Seun:

I won't have anything to say to him.

@Seun, If I were you I'd say to the pope; Pls show me how you maintain a membership of 1 billion strong and counting.

My guy, Dont mind them jare. Just look for a girl who big pass you small. Even those one wey dey play female football for Nigeria. So that when next you raise your hand, she go give you black eye and broken ribs. After a few days in hospital, you will be cured of the ailment.

Seun,
Sleeping together in one bed brings a lot of intimacy and security, especially for the women.

Sleeping separately may be good for the physical health, but damaging to the marital health.

Wendy,
In as much as there should be more to marriage than looks, you cannot deny that looks and atitude are the first points of attraction. Hence, the man/woman should strive to maintain that thing which cause the man to fall head over heels all those years ago.

As I said earlier, many women tend to shift focus on the children, as a result many men tend to shift focus on their 'secretary'.

Also, many men grow beer bellies, and so the woman's personal trainer or colleague at work begins to look positively delectable.

Not saying it is right, It is however a real observation.

Well it depends on how much we are talking about here.

Some guys here will call for a family meeting if the amount is substantial.

All in all, as long as the woman admits, or denies playfully (as my missus often does) then its all good ( only for the moderate figures, mind).

I dont buy that concept of 'how can you steal from yourself', well you can, if you did not take permission from yourself before moving the dough. That means 'you be tif'.

Keeping your love life sizzling is very difficult when kids arrive on the scene.
Women tend to experience a major shift in priority.
Their love and attention now shifts to this little baby who depends entirely upon the mother.
The woman becomes a bit bigger/flabby. she pays less attention on her dressing. She pays even less attention on her man. It becomes all about the baby.

The man becomes jealous/left out.
He starts to crave the attention elsewhere.
He makes a mistake by sleeping with a smart looking colleague or uni girl during a night out. He regrets it, but goes home to a wife who is more concerned with what baby has eaten. Man goes out a again and this time doesnt regret it.

I recognise that infidelity can go both ways, but in our society, it is predominantly men who stray.

Seun:

Nowadays, I might only hit a child if I catch him hitting his junior ones. Beating is not worth it, in my opinion. It only increases the distance between the adult and the child. Fear is not the best tool for controlling them.

Seun. Are you then saying that retribution is your preferred tool?

Children can drive one crazy. One really has to be in the position to appreciate what parents go through, especially the mothers. Sometimes you really just want to exorcise your own child. Its really that bad sometimes.

Before I started having children, I said to myself that I would never smack my kids.
Now I am living the reality, andaAgainst all my plans, I find that children can be so frustrating that many times it appears the only way to get the ideas into their mindset is to smack them.

What I do afterwards is explain to them what they did wrong. I ensure that they are clear on it and I extract a promise from them that it wont happen again. Also, if it happens, then they know whats coming to them.

What about people who are born disabled or suffer terrible accidents? As a result are pretty upset with God and thus cannot see truth from fact.

What about Adults who are slightly retarded. Their brains are unable to understand the concept of faith. Hence the view that a jew died for their sins 2000 years ago may be difficult to comprehend.

James was clearly the leader of the Church. This was displayed clearly in the Jerusalem conference. During which Peter, Paul and Barnabas were present also.
James made a ruling, as in a final decision concerning circumcision.
Acts 15:19-20
It is my Judgement,

Note the Greek word used by James here is krino, a term meaning "I decide", "I rule", "I judge" and not "I advise" or "I recommend".

I reffered to Peter as a sole authority, not of a specific church per se. I reffered to him as an apostle or evangelist, in view of passages in acts which describe his speeches to the jews and conversion of 3,000 in one day. He did not seem to confer with the other diciples before making those speeches.

You would also notice that Paul 'withstood' Peter,  because Peter was being hypocritical in the presence of emmissaries of his church leader, James.


- Roger Federer

I tend towards the New king James. Its easier on the eyes.

I can't say that I'm a big fan of KJV.

Some say it tends to project a holier-than-thou impression of 'Thou, maketh, liveth etc'. You get my drift.

Also, many christians do not really understand what they are saying when they quote from King James version.

Babs787,
These scriptures have not stated that these are the ways to salvation. They have only shown the characteristcs of the people who will make it into heaven. (People who fear God, Keep his commandments, Are Innocent as the little children etc)

Now the way to heaven is clearly stated in the Bible is through acceptance of Jesus Christ.
You cannot accept Christ without loving Him.
You cannot love God , whom you havent seen, yet hate your fellow man, whom you see.

Hence the true believer, who accepts Jesus Christ, will definitely possess the xtics you described above.

The details do matter.
Perhaps not for your salvation, but to live a life of victory.

@ Olabowale.
Where did you read that Christ arose after 72hrs? if Friday was the first day, does that not make Sunday the 3rd day? Who mentioned hours?



You see TaniCarr, the details do matter.

Lol TV01, Is dey really poor because of that?
_{I think its because dey is black}

Some Christains are poor because they have not done what it takes to get rich e.g. Hard work and Smart decision making.
This has nothing to do with their christianity.

Some other christians are poor because God is taking them through a phase of earthly poverty, like a wilderness, after which they wouild come into their promised land.

@TV01, you said
"Plurality is exactly what the Bible prescribes. Plurality of Elders stops the focus resting on one person and also acts as a check against error or abuse. If a single person with sole authority falls into error/heresy, the whole flock are likely to follow. Debacles like the Rev. King Saga arise due to that very reason. "

Would you say that people like Peter, Paul, James and John were not 'Sole Authority Pastors' in their respective fields/regions/churches?
James was clearly regarded as the leader of the Jerusalem Church.
Pauline epistles rarely seemed like Paul sought the opinion of a fellow elder or deacon. Scripture shows that Paul it was who dished out the instructions to these other Bishops. Why?
The same cuts across when you read James, or John.

Furthermore, the dark events which occurred in the history of the church: e.g. The spanish inquisition, could hardly be blamed on a 'sole authority papacy'. You obviously are aware of the influence that cardinals weild even today.
Hence whether there is a celebrity pastor up there or a group of celebrity elders, the focus should be on God rather than Man/Men.

Your serve,

Life has taught me that You get whatever you earn.

What ever you expect from life. Life will give it to you.

Believe it and you will achieve it.

LOL.  

God Himself will slap me, if I use Rev King as my own excuse O.

But seriously. There are illiterate people from China to Russia to Katsina that rely on a preacher to read and interprete the word of God to them.
Are we saying that God will hold these innocent people to book if they genuinely believed wrongly?

Somehow, I think not.

cute-ass:

@poster

Sorryooo, not to sound rude or something but what kind of a question is that
"why are some christians poor", just like asking "why are some women barren" or "why are some human beings crippled/blind".
That's life, everybody can't have it all, the world would be boring coming to think of it, the contrast of life is what makes it exciting. So my dear such is life and life is such

It is a valid question.
Many Christains and Preachers say that Christ has given us victory over poverty. (He became poor, so that we can be rich).
Yet all over the place, you see millions of poor, struggling sick Christians.
So I'd say its a moot point.

So guys are we in agreement if we say the following:

1. The only way to heaven is through Christ.

2. However, there are indeed some who genuinely did not believe, because the preacher appeared ungodly (as many propsperity, miraculous, Naija and USA preachers often appear).

This non-believer will surely not go to hell because the bible says that the sins of these ones will be borne by the ungodly (false) preacher?

I am really in search of the truth here.