The main passage that is used by some Christians to forbid tattoos and body piercing is Leviticus 19:28: "Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord.” Sounds like a clear prohibition, doesn’t it, until you recognize this is part of the Mosaic Law that the believer is not under obligation to follow. Before one uses this passage to forbid tattoos, they should take a look at the previous command: “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard” (Lev 19:27). I haven’t seen many Christians with uncut beards, have you?

            The issue of tattoos and body piercing falls under the category of disputable matters mentioned in Romans chapter 14: “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way” (v 13). Now simply because you feel like there is nothing wrong with tattoos is not a reason to put one on you. I do not personally feel anything is wrong with a Christ-centered tattoo, however, I know it might offend others for me to have one, so I refuse to even consider it (of course I hate needles too).

            Someone at this point might argue, “Well, I just think that God is absolutely against us putting tattoos on our body, because our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.” Well I understand your position, but remember, according to the Book of Revelation, God will put his name and number on our foreheads. So even He will put a mark on us.

            Marks on bodies have signified for centuries what kind of person an individual is. In the Book of Revelation there were some that had the  mark of the beast which signified the kind of people they were, so God counters and gives His mark to His servants to show the righteous character of His people. In the end, no doubt, a Christian should only have a Christ-centered tattoo if he is going to have one.

            If you are a teen still under your parent's authority, then you must abide by their rules against tattoos. It is more important to show obedience to parents then to get a tattoo, which shows rebellion. The same goes for members of churches where pastors set rules in this area. If the pastor does not allow tattoos or body piercing for members who are in places of authority, then one must abide by the pastor's rules. Don't try to justify the tattoo by pointing to this article, because I will not back you up. I believe obedience and submission is more important than getting tattoos and, thus, causing strife.

Finally, remember a tattoo is permanent, and do you really want something permanent on your body? It’s like wanting a coat you see in the store, and buying it with the condition you have to wear it always. How much do you really like that coat? I offer this advice to people wanting tattoos; why not put a good, professional, temporary tattoo on your body instead of a permanent one? After it wears off, you can put a different one in its place. I am just offering practical advice, not rules.

S

I was actually expecting to read local contents. Most of the people you listed are in advanced countries where the challenges are different(though not necessarily easier). The topic was catchy but no real depth. Their stories are motivating no doubt but I believe a lot more people wld be able to relate to stories about successful nigerians on what they were doing at 25.

Is it possible to love two masters @ the same time? You will either love one and hate the other... Jesus saying... She probably in-love for the wrong reasons. Der are traits in u she likes nd some traits in d oda that she likes so shez tryin to have her cake and eat it. What happens wen she finds d complete guy who has d whole package features. Wake up dude shez in love wit u 4 d wrong reasons.

We are all RAPIST... We have RAPED Nigeria with reckless abandonment but she doesn't complain... She can't complain. Who will she complain to? The truth is she doesn't care. She gave u a place to build ur concrete jungle on nd DATZ ALL dts was her sole destiny. "There was a country"... But now " A People" it is to d people that u owe ur duties and responsibilities to. They r nt Ghosts... Be the change u want to see in d world.

N1600\month. N1500 for BIS nd N100 for emergency call to folks above 50yrs. Evri1 I shld b callin r either on facebook, whatsapp, BBM, 2go, e-mailin.

Let's stop dis hypocritical bewilderment. Candidate selection happens evriwer in nigeria. At best, u cld have a controlled election where d strong candidates r asked to step down pavin way for d selection by exemption election. Perhaps d supposedly winner of dt primaries ws compensated. It happens all d time in grassroot politics. I think d guvnor shld knw hw to mak politically correct statements. Such blatant disregard 4 d rule of law nd electoral process is not only crude bt unpolitical for a professional politician like akpabio... All d same, d man has alwys bein known for nt bein economical wit d truth, hez a man who talks with passion bt I guez dis time sentiment ruled ova reasoning nd POLITICAL BLUNDER ws inevitable. Watching d video clip ws quite funny... Damage control shld be activated nd d correct move will be to stay silent nd let it die a natural media death. Tryin to defend such statement in dis era of political awareness wld only mak d guvnor look more ridiculous. All d same. Its 9ja politics. Such statement in 2003 ws viewed normal, 2013, we will forgive u akpabio but 2023, whoeva makes such statement will b impeached nd face criminal charges.

Π@$S:
We are so in love but the thought of us being related is so annoying and always create that gap between us. I'm asking to know if it is legal or should we just forget about it?
~> I DONT MIND WHAT FAMILY OR SOCIETY WILL SAY <~

It depends on d perspective u r viewin it frm. We have d societal view and d religious view. Mosttimes, d societal views r alwys in conflict wit d religious. If I assume u r a christian, derz nth wrong in marryin ur cousin. In leviticus 18:6-17 God took time to set out marriage boundaries among close relatives. D list of prohibited close marriages included--- ur father, mother, step mother, ur sister whether brought up in d family or another, ur niece... Dts hw far it goes. Beyond doz boundaries r acceptable. Som might argue dt God cldnt go on nd on bt jus stopped there. Dt wldnt b correct as d book of leviticus ws a book of guidlines in details. God ws very xplicit in givin guidelines in dt book so he cldnt ve ommitted cousin marriage by error. I knw 4 a fact dt in my mother's village, cuzins marry buh its prohibited in my fathers'. So d choice is up to u. My advice wld be, if its nt acceptable in ur family perhaps u cld let it go coz I doubt if u cn bear d heat dt follows such close kith marriages.

Freiburger:
What are you saying? are most pastors not on salary?

I don't think it is proper to pay instrumentalist or even pastors or anybody that renders services in church except on full time basis. I ws born in the apostolic church and we were taught how to play any instrument from age 10. In my set, we were abt 15 nd d church paid for our trainins. For every child dat grew up nd got baptized in our chapel, learnin @ least 1 instrument ws a must. So we had reservoir of instrumentalist for evry instrument. One person cld play on tue nd anoda on thur nd anoda on sunday dependin on who comes first to service. @ a point we had a time table for it. Of course nt evribodi perfected their trainin to a professional level but d seeds were bein planted. 10yrs later, some stopped playin nd only a few turned professional bekoz we dedicated more time to it. Currently, I'm worshipin with rccg nd ve been der for 4yrs nd I dnt collect a dime bkoz I knew hw I started. Freely I received nd freely I must give. A lot of d instrumentalist dat the apostolic church trained, are nw playin in oda churches so u cld say de lost their players buh de kip on producin more. Anytym I meet my oda professionals whom I grew up with bk then in apostolic, we r alwys grateful. Of course de dint lose all coz some r still with dem. De train their pastors, singers nd instrumentalists nd workers in d vineyard. I tink personally for me dat if diz new genaration churches by chance happen to reap frm d investments doz orthodox churches made in their teenagers it nt rilly bad buh de must learn to grow beyond dat nd ve a plan in place to build their own. If de invest in trainin 10 young talents in various instruments, wit tym de wld be able to play well though nt professionally nd if de chose to leave d church de shldnt count it as a lose coz another denomination wld gain frm it. Bottom line dnt pay any instrumentalist professional or nt. If u cnt use d amateur in ur midst then search urslf, coz somthng is wrong wit ur salvation.

stine b: [b][/b]THE BIBLE

my BLOLAR u are VELY VELY COLLECT

[quote author=GARRI (x7)]
The guy wey first set himself ablaze in tunisia to express his dissatisfaction abt govt policies na activist like him too. If hm no like d pace @ wich development dey go 4 9ja, make hm set himslf ablaze nd then call for revolution we go follow. Shey blood dey shed for revolutionary struggles but WHO WILL BE THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB? No be behind twitter dem dey sit down dey call for revolution afterall person wey dey analyze football game frm inside d tv no dey get injury na doz wey de field. No b talk, na cheap nd na free. Sss no suppose waste our country meagre resources to pursue sef. Jesus don die for the world finish, so my blood no dey needed. If omojuwa wan save 9ja mak hm lay hm life. I promise to tell my grandchildren stories abt in in social studies. Activist dey fight for hm belle sey na common man dem dey fight for. Except I no play aluta for sch.

uhonmora: As usual, Mr Jo has taken off on his own tangent. simply provide yes or no answers to the questions raised.

The verse most cited in support of the tithe is mal.3:8-10. For the purpose of learning about God , because we can't truly serve him if we don't know about him and what he expects from us for it is in spirit and accurate truth about him that he desires for us to serve him not out of unfounded fears or false teachings.
1) What is the tithe..... The tithe is 10% of the increase, established in leviticus27:30-33. As an offering holy to the Lord. The scriptures identifies the tithe as grain nd fruit, herd and flock. The tithe is food not because of d nature of the occupation at the time.

2) What was the tithe for?..... God doesn't need the food. God doesn't eat. God doesn't desire sacrifices or offering(psalm40:6) the tithe was used to feed the Levite priest and their families who were required to work in the temple day and night ministering to God on behalf of God's people(1chro 9:33) without the tithe, the levite priest would have need to raise their own food thereby taking them away from ministering before God, hence the refernce in mal3:10 " that there may be food in my house". Neh13:10-13 records a time when the levite priesty were not receiving the tithe wherin thjey abandoned their daily temple responsibilities to work the farm to feed their families. Unlike other tribes of isreal who were given land as their inheritance, the levites were not given land, only a few cities in which to live in. God was their inheritance(num 8:20-21) it says " the Lord said to aaron you will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them. I'm your share and inheritance among the isrealites. I give to the levites all the tithes in isreal as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting"

Burdening. The body of christ with the tithe requires several twist nd reinterpretations of the scriptures
1) The tithe must be imported from the OT law of moses into the new convenant of grace by christ Jesus.
2)The truth must be redefined from cattle and fruit to money and often time.
3) The storehouse must be redefined. From the temple in jerusalem to the local church building.
4)The body of christ must buy into the ordained clergy as the new priesthood, thereby replacing the levite as the rightful recipient of the tithe.

Let's suppose for the sake of argument that jesus commanded us to continue tithing. It would be appropriate then to use the tithe to feed the priesthood as originally purposed. Who then is the priesthood? The apostle peter writes that every believer is a priest. The institutional church has borrowed. From the old testament model of the levitical priesthood, thereby establishin a new priesthood that is separate from the body of christ.


Jesus is the word of God in flesh(john1:14) he knew what mal3:10 meant when he instructed the rich man to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor and hungry and since he commanded us to preach the gospel throughout the world why is most of our tithes used for church buildings and salaries with only a small percentage devoted to the poor, missions and evangelism.

I grew up believing tithing ws necessary and a law so I used to pay my tithes but as I came under a deeper meaning of what the law entails I discovered that givin to the advancement of God's will here on earth ws necessary bt as to the amount, its left for the individual not under law or compulsion but as he purposed in his heart. I still set aside 10% of my gross eanings to give to the church to propagate the gospel. When I give, its nt because I'm testin God to see hw he will open the gates of heaven nd pour out riches. NO! I give bkoz I must nd with accurate knowledge thay dat pronuncement of blessing ws in fulfilment of God's promise to isreal if de obeyed the laws as he gave to moses. But we r nt under those laws anymore. to delligently follow the laws of tithing is to unnecessarily put a load of observin d oda laws. Why take 1 seriously nd discard d odas. Set aside part of what God has blessed u with for the poor nd to ur local church nd most esp par of ur time also. I believe God will give us deeper understndin.