The friend receives the tithe on God's behalf.

Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

After all, even when you give the pastor your tithe, he was meant to use it to touch lives?

jagunlabi:

^^ You still have not explained why it was necessary for jesus to die for us in other to save us all.Why was such an act necessary?Christians will never be able to provide a concrete answer to that question, ever, because every christian knows deep down what a senseless and superfluous act that was.

Please permit me to answer this one.

This is not true. Some Christians understand the true nature of the Deicide (Christ's sacrifice).

Salvation accrues to the believer in a two-fold manner by virtue of Deicide:

1. In spite of the crucifixion, and
2. Because of the crucifixion.

The "in spite" part is where men and forces of nature attempted to ridicule God by murdering his son, the same way they killed and persecuted revolutionary prophets before Christ (Matt 23:34-37). God knew that they would treat his son the same way, but his counsel worked in spite of their evil machinations.

The "because" part is the part that nobody else saw coming. The only person who is recorded to have had an idea was John the Baptist, who announced in John 1:29 that Jesus was the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. This was in comparison to Leveticus 4:32 where laws were passed that to cover up for sin, one must sacrifice a lamb without spot, deformity or blemish. Against the lamb's will to live, it is sacrificed to clean up someone else's sin. This was just a shadow of things to come.

So here it is: the world thought that it was getting rid of God's son, but in spite of that it still worked exactly as God had planned it. That's omniscience. So, jagunlabi, maybe the question is "What if they hadn't murdered Jesus? How would the IN SPITE aspect have occurred?" and sincerely I do not know the answer but I believe that it would have only been a matter of time before they killed Jesus. They killed other prophets that said less things to make them feel insecure.

To better understand the "in spite" dimension and the "because" dimension of operation of divine things, look at the story of Jacob and Esau.

God had already defined it that Jacob would be greater than Esau. He wasn't "cheating" Esau out of a good chance, but God said so because he already knew how things would turn out.
Gen 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.

But Jacob was cunning. I doubt that he knew of the prophecy, but he was ambitious enough to secure a legal position as the first-born for a meal of bread and red pottage of lentiles. He cheated his brother to get this backing, but I believe if he had not cheated, it would still have worked out well for him IN SPITE of not buying the birthright.

Finally, his mother remembered the prophecy and she made Jacob trick his father (who may not have known the prophecy) and get the blessing (which was already his legally since Esau sold his birthright).

Jacob got blessed above Esau BECAUSE of the sold birthright, but he also got blessed above Esau IN SPITE of the sold birthright (since that was a cheat).

It is a similar case for us.

As to how Christ's sacrifice makes any difference if Moslems, Buddhists and Non-believers can get to heaven if they don't believe in the sacrifice, Enigma has done a good job already.

@VIARO: My guy, wetin dey happen?

In defence of Deep Sight, he has truly claimed to be a theist in the past, when communicating with mazaje.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-370932.0.html#msg5183906

I take very serious exception to the above.
What is meant by this?

Are you suggesting to me that Theism necessarily comes together with –

1. Believing in answers given by other people? (I am a theist and very few people can make make this claim about me. . . I grind out my own ideas everyday. . .).

But he also claimed to be a Deist when discussing with Pastor AIO et al
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-335826.160.html#msg5043194

I believe that it is possible to logically infer the existence of God, and some of the attributes of God, but absolutely impossible to grasp the nature of God. I have once described myself as an empirical and intuitive deist.

I do not subscribe to any religion: l believe that conscience is all the religion that a man needs - if his conscience be alive, that is.

Philosophically, i would call myself a Deist. But Deism as a world-View is no creed, and thus much is left to the individual to define for himself.

I have great trouble acceding to claims to the divinity of any human being. This includes Jesus of Nazareth. I regard him as a man only. I believe that Divinity, in its intangible purity: in it's ineffability, cannot be approached or apprehended at all.

So at least I can say he is probably not guilty of deliberate mis-representation. He is only saying things exactly as he sees them.

BUT, I must say that it appears like Deep Sight is still unsure about many of the things he wants us to think he really believes in. He is still a "seeker", if I may use the term, and I don't see what's wrong with accepting that. It would come across better than portraying mixed worldviews.

Thanks Nescoemmy!

LOL I can't believe that Ogaga is turning to the Bible to defend his Satanist claims!

@Olaadegbu: Deep Sight is a deist. He discusses his beliefs here: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-404066.0.html

LOL! The many friends of JeSoul.

I don't really like referring to people as "strong and true" men of God, but I know a wise man of God who will gladly hear you out and can counsel you.

You can call him on 08033518033.

I wish you all the best.

Thanks Obyann

That is so wrong, slapping your brother's wife. I apologize on behalf of men in general.

Viaro Nice to read from you on NL again, it's been a while!

By strong's concordance, the word carnal is sarx (σάρξ) meaning:

Probably from the base of G4563; flesh (as stripped of the skin), that is, (strictly) the meat of an animal (as food), or (by extension) the body (as opposed to the soul (or spirit), or as the symbol of what is external, or as the means of kindred, or (by implication) human nature (with its frailties (physically or morally) and passions), or (specifically) a human being (as such): - carnal (-ly, + -ly minded), flesh ([-ly]).

So I think the question answers itself based on the red portion above. Your desires are carnal as they do not edify your spirit.

@Olaadegbu
You have a point there, o. When an observer begins to strip off everything about someone's identity, declarations, actions and life, the next step in that direction will be an uncertainty about the person's existence, then a firm and total denial of the person. Are Agnosticism then Atheism only a stone's throw away? May the Lord have mercy.

Hi JeSoul Arte, thanks for the encouraging SMS reply. God bless you.

@Topic: You don't need to tell the pastor. If he is smart or discerning and believes he needs to ask you to discuss your plans, you also need to be discerning as well to evade or respect him. All the best.

@Deep Sight:
So what else do you believe? I ask because Krayola sounds like an agnostic and you were grouped with him?

Krayola:

Did Jesus teach that? Whose idea is that?

Yes, Jesus taught that.

Mat 10:28  And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Do you believe that the refuse dump called Gehenna is able to destroy a soul, even if a body?

And here is another figurative use for Gehenna, in the word "hell" below:

Jas 3:6  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.

And here is Strong's concordance entry:

γέεννα
geenna
gheh'-en-nah
Of Hebrew origin ([H1516] and [H2011]); valley of (the son of) Hinnom; gehenna (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem, used (figuratively) as a name for the place (or state) of everlasting punishment: - hell.

@OP: Your trousers do not necessarily define your outlook. You can wear a skirt and be indecnt, or wear a trouser and be decent. Dressing decently and modestly is what God is concerned about.

Krayola:

I don't believe any such place exists, and the bible has no authority as far as I'm concerned. For me, it is a window into ancient Hebrew culture and beliefs, and I do agree with some of the teachings ascribed to Jesus.

I believe in (my) reason and my conscience, and I will gladly bow to their authority any time any day. . .

And I thought the word Jesus used that has been translated as hell, Gehenna, was referring to some garbage dump in a valley south of Jerusalem . . .

@Krayola: Trusting your own reason and conscience in the eternal grand scheme of things is like hiding in your room and believing you are safe from an atomic bomb onslaught. Disbelieving that a grand scheme of things exists is likewise futile in that case.

Your believing in my existence, or in the existence of Uranus or hell, does nothing to change the fact that it does. Whether the bible has no authority or not is rather outside the scope of the existence of an eternal prison called hell, once again it changes nothing about its existence! Unfortunately, no one will attempt to prove that hell exists because the proof is only in its experience.

True, the word now translated as hell is Gehenna, and refers to a garbage dump around Jerusalem. Very true. But that was just a physical word contemporarily borrowed for a spiritual place. The name it is called does not change what it is. After all, the place now known as the USA did not have that name in the days of Columbus. Once again, the name of a place has no altogether effect on its existence.

I am only reiterating davidylan's point that it is not God's intention for you to be scared, neither is it that of any knowledgeable Christian. Have a great weekend!

@Krayola: Hell was not designed to scare anyone. It is the holding-place prepared for God's enemy-at-war, and all those that fought alongside with the enemy (i.e. those that are not on God's own side). God is not bothered whether you are scared or not, because that is not his intention of creating hell.

Im sorry I have been posting this slowly, and in small parts. My current Internet Service Provider is quite a comic I am almost done now.

Now let us look at definitions of trials in the worlds of science, law, commerce, entertainment and sports, to enlighten us further on what trials mean.

Commerce: A trial is a test of the likelihood of good's suitability for consumption.
God wants to "feed" on you, enjoy your praise and your walk with Him. It's just like the wood may complain when the sandpaper scrubs hard against it, but when it ends up looking snazzy, it poses in the showglass and watches people oooh and aaah in wonder.

Science: Trials are experiments in which one tests something by using it or doing it for a period of time until one discovers how best it works. It provides a standard for consistency, viability and integrity.

Entertainment: Trials mean an auditioning: giving someone a privilege of short performance in a play to see if the person is good for the act. Some may have the accent, but not the face or the attitude. To really select the best, you need to be tried!

Sports: Trials are closed examinations or tests given to sportsmen before considering them for a buy in the club / team. But that doesn't mean he'll play: he is to be checked for attitude (e.g. when benched), considered under diverse weather conditions, drilled for his style of play, etc. It's until he is found FIT FOR ALL PURPOSES!

Law: Trials are legal processes in which a judge and jury listen to evidence and decide whether a person is guilty (or not) of a crime.

In all, in summary, trials are, as I quoth earlier: T[/b]he [b]R[/b]oot [b]I[/b]nto [b]A[/b]nother [b]L[/b]evel. This means TRIALS preps you up for another level of relevance in God! Trials are the examinations that God takes us through before promotion (see Psa 75:6, promotion comes only from God) 

==========================================

The last point of this study will be about generational curses, and I will start by saying that I do not believe that they have a hold on true Christians.

As an appetizer, consider with me:

Psa 14:5 There were they in great fear: for [b]God is in the generation of the righteous.

If God is in my generation, then I can't experience a generational curse. God cannot be cursed. It is a generational blessing that accrues to me.

More on generational curses later.

A friend once described trial as an acronym TRIAL: The Root Into Another Level.

Talking about the inheritance of God (Jacob), the Bible says of God
Deu 32:11  As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings:
Deu 32:12  So the LORD alone did lead him, and there was no strange god with him.

As an eagle stirs up her nest, God stirs up our comfort zones! The mother eagle stirs the nest to make the eaglets uncomfortable if they are getting too used to the nest. They may think the mother is wicked, but she knows what she is doing! The Eaglet may say "Now I know she is not my mother. How else would she fling me upward to fall?"  when the mother eagle flings the eaglet upward to encourage it to fly or die. THAT is trial, it will force the eaglet to use the skills that it has learnt from its mother, and excel at it.

I want to quickly make some further clarifications between trials, divine chastisements, curses and sufferings due to ignorance, to drive my points closer home.

Let's identify a divine chastisement in the New Testament: God slapped Zechariah and made him dumb temporarily because He doubted God's message, otherwise as God's Priest he would spread unbelief among the people! (Luke 1:18-22)

See another:
Psa 119:71  It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.
This is NOT suffering for ignorance, because suffering for ignorance never has an expiry date. It gets worse for as long as you remain entrenched in ignorance! It is a divine chastisement: a correction to make him learn God's statutes. Notice: MAKE HIM LEARN, so it's not a trial of what he has learnt.

Another friend of mine once said that if he walks for days in God and he doesn't get a single rebuke, then knowing that he is imperfect, he will be forced to ask himself "Am I now a bas.tar'd?" because him whom the Father loves is rebuked!

And a trial:
Job 23:10  But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath[b] tried[/b] me, I shall come forth as gold.

As seen from the two examples above, Divine chastisements and trials bring out the best in us. Curses and suffering in ignorance are just wrong for us, and we shouldn't even be experiencing them at all!

I love that cartoon, Olaadegbu. Thanks for sharing!

@woye77: Thanks for inviting me here

If U Fancied A Lady In your Church, Must U Inform D Pastor Before Approaching Her?

The summary of my opinion on this matter is:

The only reason you should inform the pastor is if the pastor is the lady herself

Special case I: if he is the lady's father, tell him BUT only after telling the lady herself

Special case II: in case the pastor is also a suitor to the lady, DON'T tell him under any circumstances or else you will be shocked how things will turn out

But really, jokes apart, it is not the pastor's business until you have spoken to the woman first of all. After speaking to the woman and hearing her out, it is also wrong to allow the pastor to mount pressure on the woman. He won't be with you in the house when you finally settle down.

@Joagbaje: You missed my point, sir. I was explaining the meanings of the words "peace" and "evil" as opposites to one another. See the MESSAGE translation (which I must confess, I really like):

Isa 45:7 I form light and create darkness, I make harmonies and create discords. I, GOD, do all these things.

The way I see it is that, God does WHATEVER he pleases, and he always has his way. The question is "Are you IN his way, or ON his side?" because whatvere is in his way gets crushed. So Viaro is correct in saying that Isaiah and the other OT prophets knew what they were saying. One needs to stay alert to the "two" qualities in God, He will not be limited in action or form of expression.

Rom 11:22 Make sure you stay alert to these qualities of gentle kindness and ruthless severity that exist side by side in God--ruthless with the deadwood, gentle with the grafted shoot. But don't presume on this gentleness. The moment you become deadwood, you're out of there.

I also do not agree that evil spirits were not known in the OT, and that demonology was a strange thing. e.g. In Jewish mystical books, it is believed that Solomon had control over thousands of demons that he sent on diverse errands. And in the Bible, we have:

Deu 18:10 There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch,
Deu 18:11 Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

And this was GOD speaking in Zechariah about an unclean spirit:
Zec 13:2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.

@Viaro: Yes o, my brother! In fact, it was a UK church pastored by a Nigerian, that I saw their website and what they were saying. That made me raise the topic and share some things from my old study notes! I continue. . .

Nine (9) Various Schools of Thought with respect to Trials

Sincerely I do not know if there are more than Nine (9), but here are 9 that I know:

1. A CHILD OF GOD NEVER FACES ANY TRIALS, OR GOES THROUGH ANY TRIALS
FALSE. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them (see Psa 34:7, and also Isa 43:2, John 16:33, 2 Tim 3:12)
Christians go through trials. The difference between us and the world is that we go through trials with a "mountain" attitude, even when we are placed in the valleys of life's walks.

2. TRIALS OCCUR DUE TO A LACK OF FAITH IN THE CHRISTIAN
FALSE. These ones are always quick to say "Brother, you don't have faith, that's why you're going through this!"
There is no Biblical position for this, so I am not content with that explanation.

3. WHEN TRIALS OCCUR, ONE MUST TELL A LIE TO COVER IT UP
FALSE. One of the most common statements to this effect (at least in Nigeria where I live), is this one:
"I am strong" when one has an illness (in this case, it is not said by faith, but said as a quick-willed slogan). Faith must always be backed up by actions! I will give two quick examples to illustrate the faith / lies aspect of trials.

Pastor: "Why didn't the two of you come to church?"
a) Christian 1: "Oh, pastor, I was strong"
Traugott: Is that so? So why were you reclining on the couch at home, watching TV rather than confessing the word or taking drugs and believing by faith that you are healed? Thus, saying you were strong is not a statement of faith, but a LIE.

b) Christian 2: "I am very rich, in fact my wallet is loaded with cash, and my bank account is overflowing"
Traugott: This is a lie, and not a statement of faith. If you really wanted to do something, money will not be a hindrance. If you pray for a means to get to church, if it doesn't come in form of cash, you will get a lift, or you will have excellent energy to trek (Even Jesus trekked, when there were chariots/coaches and other means of transport). In the ministry of the Christian, things fall in line with someone who knows where he/she is going, so you should go in faith. Faith without works is dead, and is all a lie.

4. TRIALS OCCUR AS A RESULT OF SIN
FALSE. Trials don't show up because of sin! The people with this school of thought are always quick to say "This brother / sister is in trials because of sins he/she committed" but I do not find any Biblical statement justifying that!

5. TRIALS ARE GOD'S JUDGMENT FOR YOUR PAST SIN
FALSE. These ones think that God is punishing you for your past sin, but this is not true, as the Bible declares that he remembers our sins no more. God has divine amnesia with respect to forgiven sin: it's a clean slate! But unfortunately many Christians are in this school of thought. When they say "God is judging me for past sin", the devil will nod and encourage the thoughts!

Isa 1:18, Isa 43:25, Micah 7:26, Psa 32:1, 1 Jn 1:9 all declare that God wipes away our sins when he forgives us, and thus He justifies us! It's the devil that reminds people of their past, accuser of the brethren: accusing you to your contemporaries, you to God, and you to yourself! God has not dealt with us according to our sins!

There are two things one can do with their past:
a) Forget it
b) Learn from it

Many people do the second, others do the first only, but it is important to do the second, THEN the first. If any man be in Christ, the old goes and the NEW comes! (2 Cor 5:17) Who can then bring a charge against God's own elect? (Rom 8:33)

RIGHTEOUSNESS is the ability to stand before God without condemnation, inferiority, sin, guilt or fear!

6. TRIALS ARE A DIVINE CHECK AGAINST FUTURE SINS
FALSE. These ones say things like "Lord, kill me before I sin. If you know I will blaspheme your name today, let something bad happen in my family that will put me in check." This is utterly faithless and has no known Biblical pattern.

7. TRIALS ARE SOMEWHAT RANDOM, ONE CAN'T TELL IF THEY INDICATE THE LORD'S HAND, OR THAT OF SATAN
FALSE. This school of thought is also wrong, in light of the definition of TRIALS (next post). Satan has absolutely no reason to try you because he does not intend for you to get better!


8. TRIALS ARE THE CONTINUOUS OFFSHOOT OF GENERATIONAL CURSES
FALSE. We will deal with generational curses after we are done discussing trials, and then the error in this school of thought will be seen.

9. TRIALS ARE THE EXAMINATIONS BEFORE A PROMOTION CAN OCCUR
TRUE.This is the school of thought I agree with. The adherents of this school of thought, from God's perspective, know WHY they're tried, they go through it with fullness of joy, and they come out of it better and not bitter! They know that every trial has an expiry date, and ends in a promotion, and they acknowledge Job's story as such an example of a trial.

Since many people blame things that happen to them on trials, we will need to expand on the definition of trials, and explain further.

Pro 18:13 "A fool confirms a matter before he hears of it"

Destruction lies in the wake of ignorance. Ignorance is highly vulnerable to deception, and deception is the worst tool that the devil uses against people. As small as a seed of knowledge is, it dispels ignorance and keeps deception at bay because Whatever you use grows!

The word of God, arriving in you, is bitter; but when it settles in your tummy it will taste sweet to you.

One such point of ignorance with many people has to do with the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. The Gospel of the Kingdom of God inspires LOVE, GRACE, FAITH and COMMUNION. Any other thing is secondary!!! 2 Cor 13:1 establishes that truth is confirmed between two or three witnesses. If any of these witnesses mentioned above (Love, Grace, Faith, Communion) has not confirmed whatever you are dealing with, it's not worth your time as a Christian. Everyone Jesus met, their lives got better for it. If you are in church and your life is not improving, then that's not the place for you!

Let us look at one guy in the Bible that was suffering due to ignorance. It was NOT a curse, it was NOT divine chastisement, it was NOT a trial. It was simply suffering due to ignorance and self-induced deception. It's the story of the prodigal son, which many of us are familiar with. The prodigal's brother was on the farm, WORKING, when the SERVANTS and SLAVES were partying at the return of the prodigal. He didn't even know what was happening back at home, he had to ask a SERVANT. The servant that he asked was obviously closer to the family than the guy himself. Then he complained to his father: I have been slaving away for you! Suffering in ignorance, He had been believing that if he worked hard and got his father's attention maybe he would get a cow pikin (calf) someday. LOL! THATs the height of suffering out of ignorance, when the father was altogether rich.

Now, we move on to TRIALS. What are trials?

TRIALS

We begin by considering what TRIALS are not:

1. A TRIAL is not a curse

2. A TRIAL is not divine chastisement (Pro 3:11-12)

Let us consider HOW a curse and a divine chastisement vary, before we look at trials.

The Shepherd and the wayward sheep
The sheep kept straying. The shepherd kept using the staff on his right hand to push it in line. It got more stubborn because the grass was greener on the other side, so the shepherd turns the staff around and uses the crooked end to pull it back by the neck. But this sheep wants to really chow the greener grass, so it tries harder. The shepherd uses the rod on his left hand to twack the animal on its side. The sheep gets gentle for a while. Process repeats itself until the sheep makes a really dangerous attempt, then the shepherd uses the staff to break its leg and puts the stubborn sheep on his own neck/shoulder till the broken leg is healed. (This explains why some stubborn new believers experience awesome levels of grace during a period of divine chastisement: they're on the shepherd's shoulders!).

With curses, when the believer strays via disobedience, he strays into the devil's territory and gets snared. At best, a kind of ransom will get him out mildly scathed (aftermath of a "curse" now lifted). Curses are freely given, in fact, perforced upon camp members and newcomers, in the enemy camp.

With divine chastisement, God brings a rod of correction BY HIMSELF upon an erring child without allowing him to get as far as the enemy territory. He does that for the purpose of correction and for the good of the believer. It is done in love.

Scriptures establishing divine chastisement are Psa 119:67, Num 12:1-16. 1 Chr 21:1-30, John 21:1-3

When a believer in the situation of divine chastisement genuinely confesses to God, and repents, he finds mercy.

Repent: Re-pent. Pent would refer to an elevated position, to re-pent means to come back upwards, not to stay down where you fell.

3. A TRIAL is not "suffering for ignorance's sake"

Hosea 4:6, Isa 5:13-14 describe this kind of suffering, but they are not trials. In fact, they are much closer to divine chastisements than trials, but they are not always divine chastisements either.

Hosea 4:6 says MY PEOPLE: the holy, righteous and sanctifiedc ones! Not the enemy! MY OWN PEOPLE!

There are established laws and principles in the spiritual and in the physical, and when one is ignorant of the principles and runs against their grain, there will be (super)natural consequences, and since God is just, he will not lift a finger to stop it unless he does that in his infinite mercies. However, there is really no reason to be ignorant when you walk with the God who knows everything!

Ignorance is one of the worst, and deadliest diseases in the church today. The right remedy to this destruction is true knowledge. Through true knowledge is the righteous delivered!

@Viaro: LOL! My guy!! Now you have another label/accusation, you are not only pilgrim.1, you are now an atheist? LOL. I'm in stitches here.

@Skyone: sorry to burst your bubble but my friend Viaro is a Baptist, a Christian! Actually, the tendency is to think that people who make long, rational posts without interjections of religious quotations are atheists O boy , Laffta wan kill me for this end. Chei!!! No offense meant, o, skyone. I'm just laughing in Kiswahili.

@Krayola: LOL!!! Adherent of an indigenous religion, shey? Hahaha. I am guessing that your mom is a Christian, so I can imagine the kodak moment!

Mr nuclearboy, are you in kogi state? please send me an email. Traugottmail@yahoo.com because I want to discuss some things with you. Please abeg no ignore me o!

Viaro and Tpia, thanks for your comments!

As it has been correctly asserted, trials, curses and divine chastisements are NOT the same. You can't put them all in a bag, shake it up and randomly choose one, calling them a name you please.

Curse:

A supernatural power imposed by words, causing unpleasant things to happen to the subject(s) it is imposed upon.

One who truly walks with God should not feasibly be under any curse! (see Gal 3:13-14, Gen 12:1-3, Num 23:23, Isa 54:17, Pro 26:2) However, this happens at times, and we will consider that special case.

Blessings and Curses are both imposed by words.

Blessing: Empowerment to prosper
Curse: Empowerment to fail

Therefore it is impossible to be blessed and cursed at the same time. God is the giver of all good gifts (Jas 1:17), it's from Him that all blessings proceed. When one walks with Him, they can't be blessed and cursed simultaneously because He is not deceitful and does not lie (Num 23:19). See Psa 116:11, Rom 3:4, Jas 1:17, Isa 40:8, Psa 119:89, Lam 3:37-38.

How does the blessing accrue to the Christian? The blessing that came upon us is by virtue of Christ's becoming sin for us. Jesus Christ became the embodiment of sin (2 Cor 5:21) and like the bronze serpent was lifted up, Christ took the serpent's (Satan's) nature of sin upon himself and hung on the cross. The main issure here is a matter of receiving: you need to receive this blessing that accrues to you BY FAITH!

Let me give an example: A man went to the supermarket, purchased goods and then found out that he forgot his wallet at home: including his ATM card and his cash. Fortunately, he was nice to an old lady on the queue so she offered to pay for him, but the man was so self-conscious that he left the paid-for-goods on the counter and dashed off to get his wallet! This is the story of many Christians, who have a heavy account of blessing thanks to Christ, but they leave it at the counter. It's all a matter of receiving. (See Gen 12:1-3)

As a partaker of the divine nature, the Christian takes his/her part. According to ministry, we're servants but in the family of God, we're sons!

Tpia was referring to this verse: Proverbs 26:2, and I paraphrase "An undeserved curse does not come to rest". This means that a curse can only take root where it is deserved. A believer may, by disobedience to God's Word, become vulnerable to curses because he has "given the devil a foothold". See Deut 28:15-28, Ecc 10;8, Eph 4:26-27, John 5:14, Mal 3:8-9, Psa 107:17.

I once read that over 80% of the world's illnesses are psychosomatic i.e. traceable to traits like unforgiveness and bitter hearts. But that's not the only evil in those traits, they also highlight you as a target for curses to practice their landing.

Prolonged anger becomes wrath, and when you walk in the premise of unforgiveness, it rolls you into serious danger. Unforgiveness is a trait of Satan, drop it! If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord won't hear me. By disobedience, men walk into the devil's camp. Give NO PLACE to the devil. Never borrow his slippers, giving you a reason to go to his camp to return them!

Many times when a child of God has done things out of disobedience and they are facing the consequences, they ignorantly call it a trial. But they're not the same!