Eviana:

I will kindly and sincerely also address a few things that I saw written in my other thread by two guys...Forgness & LordReed...both of whom I am praying for..in light of the scriptural context.

Eviana:
Psalm 51 : 10 - 12 (KJV)

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.


Galatians 5:18-23 (KJV)

18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law

The above two passages are powerful, powerful portions of the Bible written by two of the most influential "foot" soldiers and mighty men of God: King David and the Apostle Paul.

As the world continues to be shaken from
its foundation...so to speak....through the successive chaos and endless tragedies, I am reminded about the Lord's precise prophesies and my need to surrender all to Him. These are extremely serious and solemn times that we are living in..and the only thing that matters is what we do for Christ...how we allow Him to transform us, mold us and prepare us for eternity.

I originally thought that I was just gonna write about the tragic event that occurred in the U.S. around 3 weeks ago and just leave it at that.
However, I am led to address Christians and the utmost need for us to have the Holy Spirit place in us the Fruit of the Spirit.
It is not a choice. It is a mandate!
Those that belong to Christ MUST have the spirit of God in them.
I was rebuked by the Holy Spirit earlier this week after a seemingly small situation occurred in the grocery store.
I will explain it on my next post.
However, I was reminded by a church brother of mine (after relaying an event to him) to not let ANYTHING or ANYONE take my focus off of Christ and what He is doing in my life as I am obedient to Him.
I will take (Psalm 51:10-12) and
(Galatians 5:18-23) and write about them separately.
They deserve a post a piece.


MODIFIED
Thank you, Dtruthspeaker, for recording my original comment addressed to two guys from my other thread. There was not even a hint of anger or offense in my reply here, HOWEVER,
I think I need to be wise about some approaches and just address the scriptural texts..as I originally stated..cause I see now what the motive was for one of them.
Sincerely praying for you guys Fgnsss & LR....as I have also been praying for Nigeria daily the last 3-4 months. Nigeria (as a whole) was even addressed in a post I did around February or so...some months back.
May you both surrender and have the peace of Christ.


To those reading, my (2) posts will be coming soon enough...as promised.

Eviana:
Forgness,
Thank you for your reply.
You kinda remind me of an old acquaintance who has the "gift of gab".
He is quite a talker....on a variety of subjects. Quite knowledgeable in many areas.
Anyway, I really hope he's doing ok during this pandemic.
I now pray for him daily....specific prayers. [/b]

It's always best to be at peace with all if possible. So I am telling you that I hold "0" grudges...no bitterness, malice or unforgiveness.
Agape
Peace unto you....

Eviana:
About one and a half weeks ago, I was in the grocery store in the produce section taking my time looking at the produce.
Through my peripheal view, I could see an older gentleman of another race standing there staring in front of him...about 5 feet away from me. I thought he was looking at the produce in front of him trying to make a decision.
However, it turned out that he was waiting for me to move!
He never uttered a word or even looked in my direction.
Here I was not even having a clue that I was delaying him!
It wasn't until I moved that I saw him go directly to where I had been.
Now you know I was perplexed as to why he couldn't just say, "Excuse me ma'am. I would like to get some items right where you are standing if you don't mind?"
How hard would that have been?
I would have gladly moved out of the way.
Then I started going through a million reasons why he didn't say a word.
Was it because of the racial tension going on across the U.S.?
Wa he afraid to say something to me, a black woman, because of the riots going on?
Was it because of the pandemic? Was he socially distancing himself?
What was it?
Well I never found out.
I only got annoyed and a little hot and mumbled under my breath as I walked away. The rest of my trip was ruined as I became fixated about the elderly man's behaviour.
Do you know that the Holy Spirit rebuked me that night when prayer time came?
Simply because I knew I was wrong for how I thought about that man in my heart....
He never heard me say anything, but in my heart I was angry and "wanted" to confront him.
Do you know that the ironic thing was, that I kept running into him throughout the rest of my time in the store?
Perhaps those were my opportunities to "right the wrong" I had already thought secretly in my heart.
However, I didn't.
It was an opportunity to show the love of Christ to someone that day who might have needed it.
I knew better, but didn't do better, because neither my heart nor my spirit were clean.
I can so relate to the words of David when he cried in (Psalm 51:10-12) for God to give him a clean heart, a right spirit and to not take the Holy Spirit away from him.
See the Holy Spirit is the life force of a believer's spiritual journey.
Without the Comforter, we cannot have the spirit of God (Phillipians 2:13).
Our hearts must be transformed.
We must allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in our lives...and it must be evident in our relations with fellow human beings...IN SPITE OF how they may behave
(John 13:35).
Sincere love for God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are the only fuel that can transform the heart.
I am reminded of (Psalm 139: 23-24) so that my next encounter will be a different story.

Eviana:
Forgness,
Forgive me for the late reply.
I have been tied up with commitments elsewhere. Never thought I would not be on Nairaland as much anymore....even as a member!
Anyhow, I will come back and answer all of your question(s) soon enough.
If you don't mind, I'd like to answer them here.
Not to offend you, and it probably would be easier to speak with you privately, but I feel more comfortable here for the time being...hence my personal text.
Yes, no malice or bitterness.
You are free to post on here and so is anyone else.
However, I don't like arguments that become destructive and endless debates about the Word. I tend to get quiet or leave the discussion.
So when I sense that happening, I'm through.

I also have one more post that I still have to write on this thread.
Anyone reading through this thread, please bear with me, I haven't forgotten. It's coming.
Blessings to all

Eviana:
About one and a half weeks ago, I was in the grocery store in the produce section taking my time looking at the produce.
Through my peripheal view, I could see an older gentleman of another race standing there staring in front of him...about 5 feet away from me. I thought he was looking at the produce in front of him trying to make a decision.
However, it turned out that he was waiting for me to move!
He never uttered a word or even looked in my direction.
Here I was not even having a clue that I was delaying him!
It wasn't until I moved that I saw him go directly to where I had been.
Now you know I was perplexed as to why he couldn't just say, "Excuse me ma'am. I would like to get some items right where you are standing if you don't mind?"
How hard would that have been?
I would have gladly moved out of the way.
Then I started going through a million reasons why he didn't say a word.
Was it because of the racial tension going on across the U.S.?
Wa he afraid to say something to me, a black woman, because of the riots going on?
Was it because of the pandemic? Was he socially distancing himself?
What was it?
Well I never found out.
I only got annoyed and a little hot and mumbled under my breath as I walked away. The rest of my trip was ruined as I became fixated about the elderly man's behaviour.
Do you know that the Holy Spirit rebuked me that night when prayer time came?
Simply because I knew I was wrong for how I thought about that man in my heart....
He never heard me say anything, but in my heart I was angry and "wanted" to confront him.
Do you know that the ironic thing was, that I kept running into him throughout the rest of my time in the store?
Perhaps those were my opportunities to "right the wrong" I had already thought secretly in my heart.
However, I didn't.
It was an opportunity to show the love of Christ to someone that day who might have needed it.
I knew better, but didn't do better, because neither my heart nor my spirit were clean.
I can so relate to the words of David when he cried in (Psalm 51:10-12) for God to give him a clean heart, a right spirit and to not take the Holy Spirit away from him.
See the Holy Spirit is the life force of a believer's spiritual journey.
Without the Comforter, we cannot have the spirit of God (Phillipians 2:13).
Our hearts must be transformed.
We must allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in our lives...and it must be evident in our relations with fellow human beings...IN SPITE OF how they may behave
(John 13:35).
Sincere love for God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are the only fuel that can transform the heart.
I am reminded of (Psalm 139: 23-24) so that my next encounter will be a different story.

Eviana:
The Holy Spirit is to the follower of Christ what oxygen and nitrogen are to air: INSEPARABLE.
You cannot have one without the other.

The Holy Spirit, as Jesus stated in (John14:16-18 KJV) below, is the Comforter who would only come after Jesus died and ascended to Heaven.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

While so many scriptures speak about the extreme importance of having the Holy Spirit guide, teach, rebuke and comfort etc., I have only chosen the above verses. I think that Jesus spoke eloquently and succintly about the role of the third member of the Godhead.

How important is the Holy Spirit?
Enough so that when asked by the prophet Elijah what he wanted, Elisha stated the following:

2 Kings 2:9-15 KJV


9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.


Elisha asks for a double portion of the prophet Elijah's spirit. Now one may wonder about that statement.
However, if one understands that thespirit that controled Elijah was the Holy Spirit, then can one see why it was so important for Elisha, Elijah's mentee, to ask for the spirit.

It is the Holy Spirit who abides in the sincere follower of Christ' life that enables him/her to manifest the Fruit of the Spirit .
I have never heard the Holy Spirit speak to me audibly...
However, He speaks to me through the Word, through nature, through the still, small inner voice...
The Holy Spirit guides the sincere seeker into all truth.
Now as humans, and since we all have free-will, oftentimes we ignore that still, small voice and choose what pleases us...as I did at the store.
However, the Holy Spirit gently rebukes and reminds the sincere follower of the mistake made...and then repentance needs to take place.
If you are claiming Christ as your Savior and yet without the Holy Spirit guiding you, then you are deceived and need to pray to God the Father for the Spirit to engulf you.
The manifestation of the Holy Spirit in one's life will come in the form of the Fruit of the Spirit which I will write about in the next post...
Be blessed

Eviana:
The Holy Spirit is to the follower of Christ what oxygen and nitrogen are to air: INSEPARABLE.
You cannot have one without the other.

The Holy Spirit, as Jesus stated in (John14:16-18 KJV) below, is the Comforter who would only come after Jesus died and ascended to Heaven.

16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

While so many scriptures speak about the extreme importance of having the Holy Spirit guide, teach, rebuke and comfort etc., I have only chosen the above verses. I think that Jesus spoke eloquently and succintly about the role of the third member of the Godhead.

How important is the Holy Spirit?
Enough so that when asked by the prophet Elijah what he wanted, Elisha stated the following:

2 Kings 2:9-15 KJV


9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.

10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.

11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.

12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

13 He took up also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back, and stood by the bank of Jordan;

14 And he took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha went over.

15 And when the sons of the prophets which were to view at Jericho saw him, they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came to meet him, and bowed themselves to the ground before him.


Elisha asks for a double portion of the prophet Elijah's spirit. Now one may wonder about that statement.
However, if one understands that thespirit that controled Elijah was the Holy Spirit, then can one see why it was so important for Elisha, Elijah's mentee, to ask for the spirit.

It is the Holy Spirit who abides in the sincere follower of Christ' life that enables him/her to manifest the Fruit of the Spirit .
I have never heard the Holy Spirit speak to me audibly...
However, He speaks to me through the Word, through nature, through the still, small inner voice...
The Holy Spirit guides the sincere seeker into all truth.
Now as humans, and since we all have free-will, oftentimes we ignore that still, small voice and choose what pleases us...as I did at the store.
However, the Holy Spirit gently rebukes and reminds the sincere follower of the mistake made...and then repentance needs to take place.
If you are claiming Christ as your Savior and yet without the Holy Spirit guiding you, then you are deceived and need to pray to God the Father for the Spirit to engulf you.
The manifestation of the Holy Spirit in one's life will come in the form of the Fruit of the Spirit which I will write about in the next post...
Be blessed

Forgness:
The two underlined parts got me thinking. Hmmm! Many have claimed same that they follow the still voice. I have not problem with it. But I know that if truly the Holy Spirit exists, and He is who He is truly, He cannot contradict himself. If He leads in truth, secrets will be revealed. How do you explain such to a non Christian? Islam has a way too. Buddhism has it's way too. And science has got it's own way. I always ask any intelligent person this: Have you found the connecting hook to all of these issues?

Forgness:
The story of Elijah and Elisah is good, and it encourages me. But it becomes meaningless if I cannot achieve same. If there is a principle or law which is no more applicable, it is called obsolete. Dont get me wrong, I am not saying it is. But why is there no manifestation of such transformation in this present day? Therefore, I can say it is fiction. And it is why many are saying so. But it may not be. How do I show it is not. By showing how it is applicable in this present day.

Forgness:
The Holy Spirit teaches, guides in all truths, reveals, etc. So, why dont we hear testimonies like this?

Forgness:
Let me share a story. A certain lady claimed to be spiritual and I simply told her a real truth. The truth was a lie I told to get something which I eventually did not get anyway, but that person used the truth against me. And no matter what I said further the person did not just believe. So, I asked myself, is it not better to continue with the lies with this person? So, I called the person and said...of you say you are a Christian and you hear from the spirit holy spirit, ask Him about the issue. But the person has not yet got the right answer. Lol. How can I listen to such a person? She claims the Holy spirit teaches in all truth, yet, the truth before her she cannot believe because it was enveloped in a unique way.

Forgness:
I told another person who did not claim to be spiritual the same story, and guess what the person took me to the story of Abraham where he told a lie that Sarah was his sister. Lol. The person did not encourage me to go on with the lie, but advised me to seek for a way to make the truth prevail again. That came from a non claimed self righteous person.

Forgness:
But the so called born again christian still insists on the wrong thing. And I see her publishing materials about Christ, Holy Spirit, God, etc everytime saying the Holy Spirit reveals the truth. Yet, the simplest issue, she doesn't get right. I am even the person trying to help her to see where she is getting it wrong, but she is still not seeing it. I know I am right cos I said the truth.

Forgness:
Then, the part where you write we deliberately dont listen to the small still voice is true. The same person i wrote about earlier who doubts keeps returning to me. And I keep tolerating her, but when she doesn't like what I say, she shuts herself out again for months. Yet, I keep tolerating her. But she cannot stand tolerating me and she calls herself a christian. Well, I am not saying she is not a Christian, my point is that her flesh is still working. And so, who are we to judge non God believers? Who are we to say they worship Satan when we are not perfect ourselves?

Forgness:
For me, I naked myself to the greatest truth. I am a pencil in the hand of my creator. He leads me. I cannot judge you for who you are. I can yell, shout, curse, nag, but later when I am calm, I will reason with you. I tolerate people cos I know I am stubborn too. And when I choose to say I want to be a friend, I mean it.

Forgness:
I dont judge you cos of where you are from or who you are. Though, I may deliberately pinch you with some attributes or your way of life at times. Lol. For example, I hate being a Nigerian recently, and my recent utterances and posts showed it. But this afternoon, someone shared with me a clip from T.D Jakes where he talked about not quiting. Jakes said "I dont care if you dont have the friends, money, connection, etc to do it, dont quit on your dreams. You may have to take classes and courses, it may take you 2 times the duration (you can imagine getting BSc in 8 years), you may be slow to grab it easily, you may bury a child or children, you may lose a spouse to cancer.....but dont ever quit. Dont quit". Therefore, I am trying to get myself back and say...despite Hushpuppi, despite Invictus Obi, Mompha, Woodberry, looters calling themselves politicians, embarrassments when travelling, onine applications rejections because I am Nigerian, closure of several doors of opportunities....I will not quit.

Forgness:
Before we tell people they will rot in hell or they are demons or their worshippers, we must look at ourselves in the mirror and ask if we are truly righteous.

Forgness:
I choose to preach Mercy, Grace, and Favor. I am happy and grateful I have a merciful God who does not treat me the way I treat people. But I am learning to be more compassionate daily.

Forgness:
I pray the Holy Spirit speaks to you about these issues I wrote about here. If truly you have the Holy Spirit, you need to return and reevaluate all I have told you. At times we need to envelope the truth in a presentable and acceptable manner, and not just throw the bomb anyhow.
Sincerely Yours.

Kobojunkie:
What connecting hook is there?
You are right!
Excellent question!
Story 1!
Story 2
It is obvious that the person from story-1 is a liar and the Truth(Jesus Christ) is not in her since She does not even obey Jesus Christ's own commandments. Jesus Christ spoke, and warned, vehemently against such people.
She is not a follower of Jesus Christ and it is OK to say it out loud you know. Forget about being nice or trying not to hurt people and such. Jesus Christ never played it nicely with the Pharisees or even the Samaritans. Being nice is not of Him.... that is one of the many lessons I learned during my early days. Honesty/Truthful is what God really rewards.
We don't say she worships Satan though - I doubt anyone really does. But we say the truth of Jesus Christ and that is anyone who says they love Jesus Christ but does not obey Jesus Christ is a liar and the Truth(Jesus Christ) is not in them. It is that simple!

Tolerance is no excuse to withhold the truth of God though. You have to be willing to tell her what the Word of God(Jesus Christ) says about the advice she gave you. Allowing her to continue in ignorance will not help her and it certainly will only let her continue in it for longer than might be really necessary!
You were going to quit on your paw-paw land?
Well, Jesus warned against making people our enemies.

Preaching Mercy and Grace and favor is not the same as preaching that Jesus Christ called us to preach. Don't misunderstand me here. I'm not on the side of the @OP here. Matter of fact, I am not even sure if the @OP is a human.

That aside, I think it is best we not "water down" the message of Jesus Christ for fear that we may hurt feelings.
First of all, grace gets you nowhere unless you are in fact born again. The grace of God is on every single living being out there. However, only those who are born again, not just those who simply believe in Jesus Christ(demons believe too), but those who are born of the Spirit of God, have the grace of Jesus Christ.
God's mercy is on all mankind as well. And He does not really favor any humans. He is not a God of favor.
I used to believe that too. But that message never got me anywhere close to Jesus Christ. It was not until I started paying close attention to the actual words that Jesus said that I realized that the many so-called pastors/preachers/GOs have it all wrong. The majority of them do not know the truth of Jesus Christ, and I will even say they don't have the Spirit of God living on the inside of them.

Forgness:

Kobojunkie:

Forgness:

My personal opinion is that OP is sound in her faith. I have not said she is not a christian. Also, the lady I talked about, I see her with flaws just like I see myself as long as I am in flesh. I just want her tolerate me, that's all. You have taken this to another level, and I will address your post later. But just for the record, I think OP is a true christian.

Kobojunkie:

Like I said, the @Op might be a bot for all i know, i am not worried about her post or her belief. My focus was your retort and your retort alone.

Do you think that if your friend from story-1 breathed her last, that her soul is going to be handled in the same "tolerant" manner as you continue to pretend is OK to handle her?

You see her "flaws" and you know they are more than simply "flaws" but you treat them like they are merely flaws anyways. Do you think Jesus Christ treats her "flaws" the same way? I mean His teachings are clear on what His followers ought to do and He is clear on how to know a good tree from a bad tree. Did Jesus Christ lie?

Kobojunkie:
What connecting hook is there?
You are right!
Excellent question!
Story 1!
Story 2
It is obvious that the person from story-1 is a liar and the Truth(Jesus Christ) is not in her since She does not even obey Jesus Christ's own commandments. Jesus Christ spoke, and warned, vehemently against such people.

She is not a follower of Jesus Christ and it is OK to say it out loud you know. Forget about being nice or trying not to hurt people and such. Jesus Christ never played it nicely with the Pharisees or even the Samaritans. Being nice is not of Him.... that is one of the many lessons I learned during my early days. Honesty/Truthful is what God really rewards.
We don't say she worships Satan though - I doubt anyone really does. But we say the truth of Jesus Christ and that is anyone who says they love Jesus Christ but does not obey Jesus Christ is a liar and the Truth(Jesus Christ) is not in them. It is that simple!

Tolerance is no excuse to withhold the truth of God though. You have to be willing to tell her what the Word of God(Jesus Christ) says about the advice she gave you. Allowing her to continue in ignorance will not help her and it certainly will only let her continue in it for longer than might be really necessary!
You were going to quit on your paw-paw land?
Well, Jesus warned against making people our enemies.

Preaching Mercy and Grace and favor is not the same as preaching that Jesus Christ called us to preach. Don't misunderstand me here. I'm not on the side of the @OP here. Matter of fact, I am not even sure if the @OP is a human.

That aside, I think it is best we not "water down" the message of Jesus Christ for fear that we may hurt feelings.
First of all, grace gets you nowhere unless you are in fact born again. The grace of God is on every single living being out there. However, only those who are born again, not just those who simply believe in Jesus Christ(demons believe too), but those who are born of the Spirit of God, have the grace of Jesus Christ.
God's mercy is on all mankind as well. And He does not really favor any humans. He is not a God of favor.
I used to believe that too. But that message never got me anywhere close to Jesus Christ. It was not until I started paying close attention to the actual words that Jesus said that I realized that the many so-called pastors/preachers/GOs have it all wrong. The majority of them do not know the truth of Jesus Christ, and I will even say they don't have the Spirit of God living on the inside of them.

Forgness:
I will not call the person a liar like you did. It is wrong to just splash such words in people's faces. It seems you are too bold in your approach to what you believe and what you want others to believe. To me, she doesn't have deep understanding of the subject and it is why I tolerate her till date. And I am not perfect too. I just want her to tolerate me too, and we can flow better. That's all I can say here. Of course, with your tone, you may do far worse than her if you don't agree with the other person. I will not go into the fruits of the Holy Spirit since this is not my thread, and Eviana has said she will talk about it. But I know that tolerance is one of the fruits.

1 John 2 vs 3-6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. If we obey what God has told us to do, then we are sure that we know him.
4. If we say we know God but do not obey his commands, we are lying. The truth is not in us.
5. But when we obey God’s teaching, his love is truly working in us. This is how we know that we are living in him.
6. If we say we live in God, we must live the way Jesus lived.

Forgness:
Are you a follower of Jesus by bullying others? What gives you such boldness? Lol. It is not OK to say what you wrote here. Maturity is keeping your opinion to yourself, and finding a better way to address the issue. For example, OP told me he was praying for me. Why? Because she felt otherwise about me. Lol. Of course I just smiled. Cos I disagreed with her in certain areas. But if you check well, I disagreed with some of her doctrines, and not even the basis of christianity. So, it is funny how we have all been soaked into doctrines. Same you are doing here too, even far worse. Are you a follower of Christ with this your confrontational approach? It is never OK for me to tell anyone that the fellow is not a follower of what she believes in. It is not wise and not OK. It can never be OK. Even you know it, there are ways you can say it and the person and others listening or reading easily grab your point.

John 14 vs 23-24
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23. Jesus answered, “All who love me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them. My Father and I will come to them and live with them.
24. But anyone who does not love me does not obey my teaching. This teaching that you hear is not really mine. It is from my Father who sent me.

Forgness:
Let me give you a practical example. Look at how Oyedepo is making direct confrontation against Buhari and check him with Adeboye's approach. Which is more effective? When Adeboye carried placards with his congregation, it shook Aso Rock. They trembled. Meanwhile, Oyedepo is becoming an ordinary loud speaker gradually. He even rained curses on BokoHaram, and did it stop BH? Lol. Yet, I cannot deny the fact that both men are gifted. Both men are powerful. So, that we do things differently does not mean we are not followers of Christ. Let us learn how to tolerate one another. This is vital.

Matthew 7 vs 15-20
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15. “Be careful of false prophets. They come to you and look gentle like sheep. But they are really dangerous like wolves.
16. You will know these people because of what they do. Good things don’t come from people who are bad, just as grapes don’t come from thornbushes, and figs don’t come from thorny weeds.
17. In the same way, every good tree produces good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit.
18. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit.
19. Every tree that does not produce good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20. You will know these false people by what they do.[a]

Forgness:
What is the opposite of tolerance? Violence. This might be what you are preaching if you want me not to tolerate you. You dont need violence or any forceful method. OP is right with the choice of phrase: "Free Will". If you want to, fine. If you dont want to....fine. What does that sound to you? Tolerance. Jesus told his disciples to go and preach the gospel, if they dont accept, leave them alone and not dash it into their faces the truth you believe in. He said, pick your scandals and leave.

Matthew 5 vs 43-48 (ERV)
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43. “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor[k] and hate your enemy.’
44. But I tell you, love your enemies. Pray for those who treat you badly.
45. If you do this, you will be children who are truly like your Father in heaven. He lets the sun rise for all people, whether they are good or bad. He sends rain to those who do right and to those who do wrong.
46. If you love only those who love you, why should you get a reward for that? Even the tax collectors do that.
47. And if you are nice only to your friends, you are no better than anyone else. Even the people who don’t know God are nice to their friends.
48. What I am saying is that you must be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

Forgness:
When Jesus was called to fight the same Pharisses you mentioned about the adulteress who should be stoned. Did you notice his wisdom in addressing the case? For sure, the real law condemned the woman, and the right thing was to condemn her there before launching attack on the man who she committed it with. But he preached mercy and tolerance in a unique way, and her accusers left one by one. And he told the woman, "I am not judging you because you have received mercy". Jesus did not even tell her she was wrong. That's mercy. Did the action water down Jesus' words? Did Jesus point her flaws to her directly bashing it at her face?

Forgness:
You may not understand mercy fully. What you did above is just defining the terms. Let me simplify what I believe. Mercy is Calvary. That's the underserved favor. You do not deserve salvation, but you have it. And it comes with a simple requirement. That requirement is what all religions do not agree on. But what I believe is that: Golgotha is mercy. I am happy and grateful to know this merciful God.

Forgness:
Listen, it can never be OK to cause disunity, trouble and violence in the name of saying your truth. I am not saying you are causing violence yet, but making bold statements like this in this present world and knowing fully well you are in Nigeria where there is religious intolerance may not be wise. I don't call it "the" truth cos you have not been proved it beyond reasonable doubt it is the truth. So, I will call it "your" truth. Please, be careful how you present your truth.

Forgness:
Show me evidences that your truth is the truth before you start making bold statements. And you are too bold. I hope you do not confront muslims like this because they believe in something also. So, can you show me with real evidence why I should take your truty and not the truth presented by a Muslim brother? Yes, I heard you well, but show me that your truth is the real truth before you start making bold statements. Can you?

Romans 2 vs 11
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11. For God does not show favoritism(For there is no partiality with God.)

Deuteronomy 10:17
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17. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe.

2 Chronicles 19:7
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7. Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts.

Forgness:
What you preach, can you prove it? Can you show me now the future you are preaching? The Jesus you want to compare yourself with has the backing of spiritual forces that according to the Bible, He proved everything with actions. But many just come boldly here without any force or power behind them and start talking rubbish. This is my point.

Forgness:
Ok. Does hell exist? That's another argument. But that is still in the future. So, why cant people use their brains and first deal with what is present? Covid-19 is here and Athiests are blasting all spiritual people here to call their "god" and "God" to heal the land. They are telling you that science will solve it and you shut up yet the only response is to yell at them back. But when Elijah was challenged, he delivered. Why cant we deliver today? Baal could actually make fire on the altar, but in my opinion, Elijah's God prevented it from doing it. So, if we say our God is the God of Elijah, why can we not perform the same miracle? Can you explain it as a Christian? OK. Stop reading "a book" and display that power now. Can you? If you cannot, why not? People cannot explain these things; yet, you read many bold statements from them. It is ridiculously st.upid.

Forgness:
Well, I am talking directly to you that you learn how to tolerate people. Tolerance is what we need more in this world. You can preach the gospel without removing a single truth and still tolerate people. Remember, Jesus did not live with muslims, Buddhist, Africanas etc.. He lived with Jews like himself. If you want to learn different approaches, you should learn from Paul who had to change his style cos he had to mix with the Romans. And it was the reason he blasted Peter who was his boss when James was around that Peter who was mixing freely and tolerating the Romans suddenly became what you describe here because James was around. Tolerance is the KEY.

Forgness:
There is a difference in correcting with love and making statements which can cause war. You know there are different opinions in this present world and people die and kill because of certain statements. Why would Jesus want you to make such statements which can cause violence when you can just zip your mouth?

Forgness:
I just want to mention that I do not see anything so wrong with OP, I am just addressing a style she adopted cos Atheists bombarded her. That's all. And she apologized, but still insisted like you that the truth must be told. Which truth? The not well presented truth? The truth can be angrily tossed into the bin cos it was not properly presented. Someone is asking you why your God cannot take care of Covid-19 and you cannot return to the Holy spirit to teach you what to say. Yet, you are telling me to believe your truth. Which damn truth is that? Someone is telling you that science is what will save humanity now, and you have no word; yet, you claim you are saying the truth. Which truth is that? We are dealing with the present and you want to tell me the reality is not now but I should just be taking the application of the word many years ago. What kind of truth is that? Show me that the Gid of Elijah is still alive, then, I will believe you. You cannot show me, zip your mouth.

Forgness:
What kind of truth can you say you preach when everything about the nation you came from is a scam? Answer me? How do you want to say it? You can only argue here, but take it down to a caucasian who is an Athiest and if you dont get a dirty slap, thank your God. Lol. Of course, I know my limit ooooo. I will be silent where I know I do not have the morale right to speak. And I pray that God empowers me and set me in the right position to say the truth in the right way. Which mouth can you use to preach the truth when your own house is sinking?

Forgness:
At times, I wonder how foreigners reading Nairaland religious section feel. You see millions of people worshipping together, singing, crying, rolling on the floor, binding, losing, speaking in tongues, yet.... they are professional scammers. What the heck is that? But everything is fake. And the truth you can see here on nairaland. They all are fakes. They come to nairaland to debate their stu.pidity. Debating rubbish instead of them to study the word together.

Forgness:
Do not ever judge, so you dont get judged. Let God judge. Let Him be the one to have the final say. Let Him be the one to say this is OK. Tolerance is vital. Listen to others and learn. For Christ's sake, we are talking about the future. You dont know it. You have no proof. See, anyone who has seen the future dont argue and bash people. Why? The spirit reveals it to a disciplined heart. That person must have learned tolerance so much so that when the fellow presents the truth, it will not instigate violence. You cannot just say the truth anyhow. Present it in a way it will not I instigate violence. This is maturity. And be sure, you know it is the truth with evidence of personal experience, not with brain washed mentality.

Forgness:
However, faith is needed to receive that testimony which is the back up. So, I tell people, shut up if you are still at the faith level. Keep hope alive. Keep faith alive. When you get the revelation with evidence, then you can explode. But guess what? Maturity would have set in, and you just see yourself humble, and you pass the message automatically with tolerance. When they do not receive your message, carry your bag and leave. This is what I am going to do here now. I think I have passed my message clearly. And with the way OP writes, it seems she understands what I am saying.

Eviana:
Praying for you too Kobojunkie.....you are newly added to my list and I am sincerely telling you this.

Kobojunkie:
Oh, She wakes up again! So what will you be praying for! Before you go back to bot-mode at least answer that one? Shouldn't you ask me what I would like to see happen in my life instead?

Eviana:
Praying for you too Kobojunkie.....you are newly added to my list and I am sincerely telling you this.


Okay, back to the topic.
Galatians 5:19-21 (KJV)


19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,

21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like
: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

As the above scripture passage has stated,
the "works of the flesh" are the opposite of the fruit of the spirit (which is coming on another post....soon enough).
The works of the flesh come from the father of lies: satan....the enemy....the accuser....the destroyer....the manifestation of evil incarnate.

Those that sincerely follow Christ--those that believe Jesus was born of a woman, lived, died and rose again-- and has the power to forgive sins and cleanse from ALL unrighteousness--cannot be ruled by the works and/or lust of the flesh.

The "works of the flesh" are expected by those who deny Christ' deity. That is because the Holy Spirit does NOT abide in them. So that is normal behaviour.
However, when a child of God partakes in the works of the flesh, somewhere in his/her walk is a disconnect, disobedience or a partial surrender to the Lord.
If we, Christians are honest with ourselves, we have ALL come up short or fallen in one or more of the areas listed.
We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) KJV at some point in our lives.
As I have always said, what one does when he/she has fallen, is the crucial point.
First, one has to believe that Jesus can forgive and cleanse a confessed sinner from sin.



This is where the Holy Spirit comes into play. He gently rebukes, guides, warns, etc. when a child of God gets tempted to choose the wrong thing, be it in thoughts, words, or actions.
This is how one knows the Holy Spirit is working in one's life.
When tempted and choosing not to give in to the temptation and live in regret for the moment...only to have to confess that bad choice or actual sin later.
Or when tempted to retaliate to words spoken or misspoken about various things from various people etc.,
When continually provoked for no valid reason, but you choose to sincerely pray for the person(s) rather than exact vengeance because you know the person is bound...under the other spirit.
So many instances where the Holy Spirit impresses the mind to not only do good to those who are kind, but to those who despitefully use & abuse you..perhaps not having good intentions.
I know the power of the Holy Spirit is real in my life personally, because my thoughts and actions are changing daily.
Sanctification is a daily process...

The Holy Spirit truly living in a person testifies to the power of a living Savior who desires to transform lives from sinners to saints...to change thoughts and habits and to break the stronghold of sin in a person's life.
Cooperation has to come from the person, however, and without force from the Lord.
Jesus is love and is waiting with open arms to the sincere truth seeker.

Eviana:
Just know that I don't pray any "by fire by force" prayer nor am I capable of forcing the Lord to do anything in your life.
I pray specific prayers for each person....and from what I can see by a lot of what you have posted (had to stop reading your posts though), I know exactly what to pray.
Folks, I am not a "bot". I am a real live human.....and he/she knows it.

Eviana:
You and Forgness, please and kindly handle your conversation/contrived debate on someone else's thread because you two have become a distraction.
I know you both have issues with what I have written, but I can make "0" apologies on truth.

Eviana:
I am writing to followers of Christ and to others of different religions, you are "welcome" to read if you are interested.
Praying for you guys sincerely...blessings to both of you.
Going back to "bot" mode until I write my "Fruit of the Spirit" post.

Eviana:


Just know that I don't pray any "by fire by force" prayer nor am I capable of forcing the Lord to do anything in your life.
I pray specific prayers for each person....and from what I can see by a lot of what you have posted (had to stop reading your posts though), I know exactly what to pray.
Folks, I am not a "bot". I am a real live human.....and he/she knows it.
You and Forgness, please and kindly handle your conversation/contrived debate on someone else's thread because you two have become a distraction.
I know you both have issues with what I have written, but I can make "0" apologies on truth.
I am writing to followers of Christ and to others of different religions, you are "welcome" to read if you are interested.
Praying for you guys sincerely...blessings to both of you.
Going back to "bot" mode until I write my "Fruit of the Spirit" post.

Exactly! The bolded part. No destructive debates, but there are so many endless debates. Why? Because all these things are future. So, what is subjective about the future? Listen to me, our root always has influence on us. This is the meaning of life. But which way to go? Would you blame the Muslim man or woman born into it and taught that Islam is not the way? Would you say the catholic man is too strict? I mean, he was born there. Jehovah Witnesses are bad. Yeah. For real? Why? What exactly is wrong with them? Oh! Witnesses can frustrate one too with their so called their way is the only way and their publications. Very annoying at times. Ok Jesus is the way. Yes, I know, and I have heard it many times. What is the proof? Where is the evidence? Muhammed is the way, what is the proof? Where is the evidence? There is no God, but they cannot prove it based on their own theories, but always disproving the claim there is God. Tell them to come up with positive theories, they cannot. Their work is full of guesses. God created the heaven and the earth. Show me how? They cannot too. And the whole world is in a chaos. Why the debate?

For me, it is about sitting down and listening to everyone. This has always been me. If you want to be my friend, you have to show me explicitly what you are trying to make me believe with evidences. Even it is abstract, there is a way to it. Show me the way. It is not just telling me that believe, believe, believe, believe. I want the person to show me that thing first. What purpose is just dropping verses in the Bible and Koran without connecting them to real present life cases?

I ask people: What is your testimony. And no answer other than "just believe". But my life is times 100 better than the ones telling me to believe. What exactly do you want me to believe? You even see Christians fighting themselves. And then, they say, "believe me cos I am a catholic". Now it is no more believe Christ but believe denomination. Waoooo! This is where I keep telling everyone that this world is messed up.

Seriously, I want to discuss, but when we start discussing, you will just see someone come in here to abuse me. And I dont take that. I will rain mine back cos I have come to realise that Nigerians are born to be talked to back. Even so many children that their parents cannot even look at one's face will start talking rubbish here. It's why I keep to myself.

Of course, whenever you are free. It is not a must you reply me at all any more. I just feel that when one tells me she knows the way and I ask her the way, and the person starts drawing back cos of my questions, I start to think otherwise too. And it seems to me that everyone does not understand what is really happening.

But I assure you, if I decide to open a thread and I start discussing, it will be captivating. Truths will be revealed. Knowledge is passed. Eyes are opened. But I am not interested in that. I am just attracted to your posts which I need clarifications. Not just copy and paste.

Well, if you choose to discuss here, I am in. If you choose not to discuss further, it is ok.

God bless you ma!