Coolphilly, sin is everybody's problem. However, the Word of God says we are more than conquerors and that sin shall not reign in our bodies.

To walk on the path of victory against temptations and sin, always ask God for His grace to overcome sin. Apart from God we can do nothing. His grace is the most powerful gift to us to live a life pleasing to Him. Always ask and receive His grace daily.

Equally important is that you walk in love. Practice love everyday. Love wants nothing for itself but seeks the benefit of others. Walking in love makes you holy and blameless in the sight of God - Ephesians 1:4 - which happens to be my best verse in the Bible.

Do these everyday and see the victory of God in your life as sin will lose its hold on you.

Other Helps:

Stay away from every appearance of evil in the form of unholy conversations, worldly movies and music (audio and video), indecent mags or literature, godless friends or people and anything in particular that fuels your desire to sin.

Know yourself. The best way to tackle sin is to know that sin that you easily commit. You know yourself better than anyone does. You know that sin that easily entangles you. Get rid of it, avoid that situation like plague, don't wait until you sin again and again whenever that situation presents itself before you learn to flee it. If you stand to fight temptation you have already lost the battle. Only a fool does that no matter his or her level of greatness.

Surround yourself with people of the Faith who will help you in your Christian race. You can talk to them about your weaknesses and they will give you pieces of advice that will be of help to you in living the victorious Christian life.

Above all these walk in love for love never fails. Love overlooks all wrongs as nothing and it never ever seeks its own satisfaction. Love is the light that dispels the darkness of sin. I tell you this from experience. It is basically unselfish, living for others rather than self.


A Word of Caution:

Never think you overcome sin or you stand by your power. That is pride, and the day you do you are in danger of falling (1 Corinthians 10:12).

Learn everything you can about selfless love or agape love. It will not be easy at first and we can never love perfectly but the more we learn the better we become at it. Have it in mind that we will never become perfect as long as we have the body of sin but we strive everyday for perfection. Our willingness to try again after we fall is all that counts to live a holy life before God.

Phew! This long epistle ehn... I am full sure it will weary you but it is worth the time taken to read it. This is my secret to the overcoming life in Christ Jesus.

Don't get me wrong, I am still flesh and blood and I still fall just as I could fall any day. The difference is that I know God is the One who upholds me and I always learn from my mistakes in loving others and I never stop practicing love.

This is the recipe to overcoming sin, not mine.

Hope it helps

ayoku777:



I have thought about that too. But Jesus made a statement about Judas that pretty much describes someone who is doomed.

Mark 14v20-21

"And He (Jesus) answered and saith unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth with me in the dish.

The Son of man indeed goeth, as it is written of Him: but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! GOOD WERE IT FOR THAT MAN IF HE HAD NEVER BEEN BORN"

I don't think it is good for any man to had NEVER been born IF he made it to heaven. No matter how rough or bad your life was or is; if you make it to heaven, it is still good you were born.

I believe the ONLY end scenario that would make NEVER BEEN BORN a good thing is IF the person ends up in Hell and the Lake of fire.

And Jesus said concerning the person who would betray him, that it were good for that man if he had never been born.

If we do the math; it can imply only one thing about the end of Judas.

I must respectfully disagree with you here.

Remember, what Judas did Peter did. Judas betrayed Jesus while Peter denied Jesus. Equal sins against Jesus. To deny somebody when he needed you most is a callous stab in the back, much the same, if not worse, as a deceitful kiss on the cheeks. If Peter had died when he denied Jesus, it would have been as shameful as Judas' death.

The difference is that Peter repented of his denial. He knew Jesus would forgive him. On the other hand, Judas decided to take his life knowing full well Jesus would still forgive him if he repented.

What Judas did is what millions of Christians continue to do; they keep nailing Jesus to the cross by denying Him and going back to the world.

Jesus knew the end of Judas; He knew how Judas' life would end and that is why He made that statement.

If the statement meant that Judas would lose his salvation and end up in hell because he betrayed Jesus, then what hope is there for Christians as we betray Jesus many times by our words and actions?

Godmystrength: who talked about business contract here. Please point out where i make it out to be.

It is no longer selfless when one party is slaving away and trying to make marriage work and the other party is lazing away and frustrating your effort. or are you saying the wife should be the only one selfless? what kind of marriage is it. one selfless spouse and the other selfish spouse is just a disaster waiting to happen.

This gives the impression that you view marriage as a 50-50 contract...

As for me, i will rather you keep your appreciation and just do the needful as agreed rather than you taking me for granted and thinking you can bribe me with appreciation and understanding.

note the bolded. It suggests do-your-own-I-do-mine attitude that characterizes business agreements.

In response to your post, it is sad to say but that is the ugly reality of life that one has to be the column of support in a marriage where one has collapsed if the marriage is to continue standing.

Where both columns collapse the marriage ends and the children become homeless in the sense that the shelter of affection and care they once enjoyed under their parents will disappear exposing them to the dangers of life. In other words, they bear the brunt of a broken home.

Yes, the woman or man has to sacrifice all to save the marriage for the sake of the children BUT they are not to put up with an abusive partner. In that case, they should seek separation, not divorce o.

Godmystrength: If the neck is cast in POP, there will be no turning any where o. meanwhile, some men act head + neck together and maybe they leave the bombom for the wife.

hahaha. Laff wan tear my belle.

Fact is, a man is the head of the family.

However, a woman is the neck that turns the head wherever she pleases. Without the neck the head is useless. Fact.

God has given greater honour to the weaker parts of the body.

So now, who is the real boss?

Godmystrength:
Well, what i have noticed is that whether a wife contributes financially or not, the care of the house is still her sole responsibility. When a wife is working and earning money, the husband expect that she ought to contribute without been told (any deviation from this makes her a selfish woman.)

I think it will also be nice if this same man would apply this same logic and know that when a wife is working and earning and supporting(financially) the home substantially, he ought to contribute/help with the house care so that the woman will not wear out in her prime. When a man wants to tell his wife to contribute financially, no need for rehearsals, he says it as it is but a woman is expected to thread with caution else she will be seen as disrespectful.

As for me, i will rather you keep your appreciation and just do the needful as agreed rather than you taking me for granted and thinking you can bribe me with appreciation and understanding.

Jeez. Marital union is a contract to love and never abandon your partner in sickness and in health, in good and bad times. It is not a business contract as you make it out to be.

Any marriage built on any other foundation but selflessness is bound to expire in a short time. My opinion because selfless love is the greatest glue that holds couples together. Any other kind of glue like sex, beauty, money, position, etc will wear off in time but love will not.

Lol. My sermon is over. Apologies if I bored you to death there.

cococandy: What will you say for all the women who are doing all those and still go to work and maybe even earn and contribute more to the home than the husband?

I can only call that one super wife and super mother. I really respect and admire women for their inbuilt reservoir of strength, courage, hardwork and sacrifice. They are unique and we know it.

The only problem is when such woman becomes prey to pride. Then things fall apart.

shdemidemi:

Call 10 qualified doctors to diagnose a patient... They will say almost the same things. Call 10 qualified car engineers to check your car, they will say similar things. call 10 Christians who say 'God says' to talk on what God is saying, the ten of them will probably say ten different things. How do we then verify these claims and avoid been misled other than put our trust in the divine Word of prophecy that encapsulate the mind of God to every individual.

Some pastors give the spurious claims they hear lucidly and audibly from God just to make the people see and address them with awe. I heard an unverified story pastor Adeboye told his congregation. He said he was about to have breakfast so he prayed like he normally does before he starts to eat. He invited God to join him in eating his bread and tea just in the normal spirit of prayer. But to his surprise he opened his eyes and his tea was miraculously halved. He said, he decided to go back in prayer to ask what had happened to his tea, and God responded saying 'did you not just invite me to join you'?

The entire church screamed 'praise The Lord, halleluya' in high spirit.

God is God. He has never stopped talking. Just because you don't hear Him does not condemn Him to silence. If you've been to a church where the Pastor truly hears from God, you'll know without a doubt that God truly talks to people. It is obvious you don't have any idea or experience where God talked to you through prophecy. The Bible is God talking generally to everybody. The gift of prophecy is one way of God talking to people specifically.

The most baffling question is not whether God speaks but why you haven't heard Him speak personally to you, concerning your life and future.

In fact, I'm really concerned about your spiritual growth.

Joel3: why do people help God.

Nobody is capable of helping God. If God wanted anything done, with or without you, it is done. Did you help Him create the universe, the sun, the moon, the stars? Which one did you help Him create?

Why do people speak for God.

As ambassadors of the gospel of good news, our commission is to spread the message all over the world as Christians because God in His wisdom ordained it to be so among other reasons.

Why do people claim to have heard from God.

God still speaks and only those who are listening hear Him. He who formed the lips can He not speak? Of course there are deceivers who come in the name of Christ to deceive people. That's why we should test every spirit, and judge everything we hear by the Word of God.

Why do people believe they are sent by God.

I have already given answers to this question since it is related to the ones above.

Why do people believe they are the only ones who serve God..

Anybody can claim to be the only one who truly serves God but God knows those who truly serve Him, those who are His.

Why do people fight for God.

Others may but the God I know, the God I serve fights for me. That is why He is the Almighty.

Why do people perform miracles for God.

God is the source of miracles. He is the one who makes the impossible possible. Men are only vessels of His power. Miracles are not by might or power but by the Spirit of God.

Why do people kill others for God.

God never asked people to kill for Him. Before the birth of Christ, whenever the Israelites went to war, God granted them victory. Sometimes He told them to go into battle while at other times He granted their prayer for victory. That was how God dealt with the Israelites.

Comes the New Covenant. God's dealing with the Israelites (Christians) took the form of love towards their enemies. God even said the time would come when those who kill His followers will think they are doing God a favour.

Why do people kill themselves for God

They are blind and ignorant. Whoever commits suicide for God sins against God and is headed for eternal perdition. Our lives do not belong to us. Our lives belong to God because He created us, He gave us the life we live.

If all these people claim to be closer to the same God, then why are there contradiction between their dominations.

Why are they criticising other denominations who also claim to speak or heard for God.

Everybody is one in Christ irrespective of denomination. It is just a man-made identification of belief. Nevertheless, Christ is the head of the Church be Apostolic or Protestant or Wesleyan or Lutheran or Pentecostal or Catholic.

Looking at all these. Man is simply the God.

Wrong

Who is now the true God.

the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Busybody2:

I got it from google cache, twas only the second page i saw thougj. All i did was input your topic into google search and hey presto!

I will try once more to determine the possibility of its recovery. The whole thread I mean. Thanks without measure.

Busybody2:

When the Potter comes a-calling, what can the clay do ehn, lol.


What simplified things for me was in the old testament God has hundreds of names, but in the new testament He was known by only one name Abba Father...so as with my earthly Father i don't book any appointment to see my Heavenly Father, God, i don't need facebook, whatsapp, i don't need to book appointment with his PA ...same way i can saunter into my earthly Father's presence to ask what newspaper he is reading/ask if he heard such and such in the new... This is the same relationship i have with my heavenly Father God. I pull God's legs, I remind Him to expect the same naughtiness i show my Dad, my ascerbic tongue, try to bribe Him, try to run rings round Him, try to bargain or negotiate with Him...tease Him that shebi He is still my Heavenly Father who knows all my quirks and weakness, so He should chastise me gently if He has to...that i am human who likes to err on the side of caution occasionally so He should not expect 100% perfection from me, that punishment exists cos of foreknowledge of sin...etc


I guess this approach works because i wasn't born into a Christian home so didn't have to follow any protocol or toe any rigid line of fellowshipping with God...so i could just be my brash, blunt self There are times i get woken up and have realised that once i go back to sleep, na dream/vision sure pass, so i would start doing stronghead with God that i am going to stay awake cos i don't want any...but God can be so patient...even if i succumb to just one minute sleep, that dream/vision will come by fire by force...


The irony though is that with stuffs pertaining to the Holy Spirit, elewon mi l'oga, if he asks me to jump, i quickly ask how high...i might later start mumbling under my breath how rigid he is and how if one vexes him now, he fit vex no show face again for 20 years. So for me God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Angels are like family and i love being the little Sister

hahaha. Nice nice nice. God is a master planner you know, because He placed you where you would cultivate unrestrained relationship with Him. That is what He wants, just that - friendship.

It reminds me of the time Jesus came to me in a dream, smiling, and said He wants to be closer to me than my best friend and that I should be free to talk and relate with Him as I would do to a best pal. He made me feel how much He so loves me that I felt strong waves of love from Him towards me.

He is God, He is a sweet and loving Father, and He is also my very best Friend. I so love Him. I always tell Him there is nothing in the world for me, that He is my only portion. I used to keep my feelings to myself and I would not tell God because I thought it was sin or disrespect towards God to tell Him how mad or angry or frustrated I felt. I also felt telling Him how happy or glad or optimistic I was towards anything was unnecessary. However, everything changed after that dream. Now I tell Him anything, I mean like, "God why are You frustrating me? I will fall o if You don't help me." Hahahaha. I tell Him, "God I love You. Everything You do is perfect," "I love You," "God, you see how so and so made me angry. Please give me love for him or her," etc etc...

I'm still learning to talk to Him this way though I cannot say I have arrived at that stage of closeness He desires yet, but I can confidently say I'm almost there. A step at a time.

When I read your post, I kept smiling because I know your relationship with God is what He desires. He wants you to tell Him the good, the bad, the ugly...everything, because He cares to know how we feel, because He loves us deeply.

Indeed, what a caring Elder Brother and Friend we have in Jesus.

He is in the business of spoiling His kids like us with endless affection. Hahahaha. I am so in love with God, our Father and Best Friend.

shdemidemi:

My friend, I asked you questions that are still begging for answers.

Anyway, Jesus said it was expedient that He left for the Spirit to come. After He rose Je appeared to the disciples telling them to go and wait in Jerusalem to be empowered by the Spirit. The Spirit was initiated at the upper room, but spoke to the church through a mouth piece called apostle Paul.

Why couldn't Jesus say all things, rather He spoke in parables? He had to die, He had to pay the price to initiate Gentiles in to God's glory.

You see? Where on earth did they stuff you with these twisted teachings?

I thought you knew how to read but the Bible is clearly an exception...no insult or offense intended...trust me, none at all. Just plain conclusion after careful observation.

Read the Bible as you would A Tale of Two Cities. Get your own understanding, not a critic's.

Eat the Bible as you would any piece of cake. What matters is what it tastes like to you, not what they say it tastes like.

Let your understanding of the Bible be yours, not borrowed. Then, perhaps, you will understand it whenever you read it.

Olusanya333: Yea hv experienced dreams,visions nd revelation. Unless u get baptized with that Holy Spirit the Loud Audible voice can't be heard

Totally disagree with you. God can choose to speak to anybody irrespective of his or her beliefs. God spoke to Saul on his way to Damascus, at the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river, people heard the audible voice of God that spoke from heaven.

Kay17:

You are confusing yourself. It is better you think with more clarity. There was an effect of hardening the Pharaoh's mind and that impacted on his decision-making. And the Bible said, God wanted to make a lesson out of him. In other words, God fooled with the Pharaoh's freewill.

Of course I'm not disputing the fact that God hardened his heart. It is written in black and white that He created Pharaoh for the purpose of displaying His greatness and power to the world.

My point, note, is that Pharaoh never had any intention in the first place to set the Israelites free, which served the purpose of God and thus God hardened his heart to make sure he refused letting them go. This is to prove that nothing can thwart his purpose and plan even in the face of any obstacle in the person of a king. Yes he hardened Pharaoh's heart but even then Pharaoh could still choose to set the Israelites free. Why? His freewill which was intact manifested in his letting the Israelites leave Egypt. Geddit?

In other words, God hardened Pharaoh's heart but still gave Him the power to exercise his freewill without obstruction. That is why he later told Moses to leave with the Israelites. That's my point.

ifeness: @torchwave you don run commot?

hahaha. I dey but I go comot eventually nah since here no be my papa house.

ifeness: To be honest torchwave,you described a man without knowing. When your god shagged mary,the baby came out as an Arab,which showed it must have looked liked his dad. And definitely your God is a man who spoke to prophets and priests.

The book of Genesis claimed "He walked in the garden and Adam heard his footsteps.....Your God tried to look for Adam(all knowing god?) Basically,he spoke with his mouth.hmmmmmm

You need to read the bible with your eyes opened bro!

If you knew little about God and His Word, this here statement should not have made its way out of your thoughts.

Know this, when the sovereign God asks a question He is not seeking information.

finofaya:

How can a man be righteous before coming into existence? Can a man even be anything at all when he does not exist? Why am I referring to something that does not exist as 'he' or 'something'? I think you jumped the gun here, and further butressed the OP's point in the process, since if a man is made a certain way, it can't be his fault for acting that way.

A man cannot be righteous or sinful before coming into existence. It is only when he exists that he chooses to be righteous or sinful. The bolded is error of thought. It supposes that one has been programmed to act a certain way so that the concept of freewill is redundant in the make-up of man. Then why are some programmed to go to heaven when they would have loved to go to hell and vice versa?

Also, if the goal is righteousness, then somebody that is born righteous has an advantage over a born sinner, right? Infact, you can say the game has been rigged in his favour. Is that what fairness is to you? Equal opportunity but to accept God but not equal ability to?

No one is born righteous, however, we all came through the body of sin therefore we are all sinners at birth. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. The decision to be righteous or continue in sin is a personal one. No game. God has no favourites (Romans 2:11 and Acts 10:24). It is just you and your choice.

Kay17:

But there wouldn't be the need to harden the pharaoh's heart if he was bent on setting the Israelis free, right? So it turns your argument on its head.

Question, why did Pharaoh eventually let the Israelites go? Of course his heart was still hardened by God and he could have still refused even after the death of his child to show his actions had nothing to do with the exercise of freewill. Did God suddenly soften it? If God softened it then why did He harden it in the first place? At least it would have been easier to set the Israelites free by softening rather than hardening it. Again, whether He softened or hardened it, it suggests Pharaoh's freewill was not involved. Then why go through all the trouble?

In your own dispensation, God sees you as a mere pawn (most likely worthless) and you accept such a malign purpose for your life that impacts on whatever free choice you supposedly have.

Thank you. He is much better than the Devil who sees me, us, as mere meal to satisfy his insatiable appetite for destruction, and our blood as juice to slake his insatiable thirst for our sorrow and misery. Thank you but I'll go with God any day, any time.

The truth is, the Pharaoh had no choice, no freewill and punished unfairly. It proves God is unjust. But thankfully there is no God, so it is Christianity that is unjust.

You wish

qstar:

Oh, so God is really not omniscient if He doesn't know my eternal destination.

That is selective ignorance.

On the contrary, you misinterpreted my post and your conclusion does not tally with what I said.

If God brought those who, through their freedom of exercise of will, will make heaven into the world, He will also bring those who, through their freedom of exercise of will, will end up in hell because He is a just God. He does not bring one and leave the other.

They all have equal opportunity to know and accept God but He knows their ultimate destination because of the choice they make.

ifeness: Before you go further in your delusion,prove the existence of your God!

God's existence cannot be generally proved through any human sense of perception. God is not an idol of wood or clay; neither is He a scientific phenomenon that you set out to experiment.

However, He has made Himself known through His creation, His Word, His servants the prophets and apostles, His acts, His miracles, through signs and wonders, His Son Jesus Christ, those who clinically died and resurrected and testified that God exists, little children who have never even heard about the Bible but accurately describe the throne of God, the wounds on the hands and feet of Jesus as well as the angels, people from all walks of life who have nothing to gain or lose by testifying to the existence of God who have had personal encounter with Him...

In essence, if you don't believe the testimony of creation and people who have heard and seen Him, not because God is their next door neighbour but because He is reaching the world through them, then that is your decision. Believe what you want.

At least, in judgment, you can never deny knowledge of any of the above.

PastorOluT: Suicide is indeed a sin n u should never try it, I guess i don't need a sermon to make u realize that 'cos even ur question shows something is wrong.

The first thing i want u to realize is if u kill urself now, what become of ur six year old boy? The truth is there is more to life than here n now, so live for eternity by living for others 'cos I tell u ur life will be more meaningful n things would start working well for u when u spend ur life for others.

Word

Tallesty1: Lols.... The world we are living, Satan is the ruler of this "world" ( John 12:31; 16:11; 1 John 5:19). Thats why we are warned to not love the world or the things in it. 1 John 2:15 - "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, 1he love of the Father is not in him." believers are no longer of the world, they are in it but not of it.

There, you said it. He may be the god of this world BUT he has no dime or atom of control over believers.

AlfaSeltzer:

If only you knew what "roads" that passage is referring to.

Clue: the author is gay.

Lol. Alfa Seltzer, you don't even know the book that begins the Bible or the book that ends it, you know absolutely nothing about the Bible let alone its Author. If you knew, you would not be serving your master who is doomed to fail. There can only be one source of your knowledge, your father of lies, the devil. Keep deceiving yourself and being deceived.

Apatheist:
Jizz-us rose from the grave?
I'm sure your proof is the Buy-bull.

So the majority of the world that aren't Christian, are not his? Whose are they?

Who they choose to belong. Freedom of choice.