Billy Graham: Why Does God Allow Suffering?

On Nov. 21, 1980, when the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas burned, survivors were brought into the Convention Center, where our Crusade meetings were being held. In an interview, Governor Robert List talked about the good times at the MGM only 24 hours before. “And how quickly,” he said, “the music has stopped.”

Some day, for all of you, if you don’t know God, the music will stop. It will all be over. The Bible says, “It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

The Bible says that Job suddenly lost all of his wealth and his children. The devil said to God, “If You take all those possessions away from him, he’ll curse You and turn from You.” But God replied, “You can do anything to him, except you can’t kill him, and then we’ll see” (Job 1:11-12).

Job never asked why those things were happening to him. The closest he ever came was when he said, “Show me why You contend with me” (Job 10:2). Job was sharing his agony of spirit with the very God he could not understand.

Suffering carries a message of mystery. The Bible says, “Great is the mystery of godliness” (1 Timothy 3:16). When I was asked to explain the tragedy of the fire at the MGM Grand Hotel, I had to say, “There’s a mystery to tragedies like this. We don’t know the answer.” And we may never know until God explains all things to us.

For humans, there is a mystery as to why God created the earth. There is a mystery as to why He put people on this earth. But God has revealed answers through the Bible and through the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ. In the Bible you will find the answers to the questions and the problems of your life.

But man rebelled against God. Man said, “I don’t need You, God. I can build my world without You.” God said, “If you take that position, you will suffer and die.” Man took that position, and he began to suffer, and he has been dying ever since. Physical death is just the death of the body, but the spirit lives on. If your spirit is separated from God for eternity, it will be lost forever.

The Bible teaches that Satan is the author of sin. Sin is the reason that we have afflictions, including death. All of our problems and our suffering, including death itself, are a result of man’s rebellion against God. But God has provided a rescue in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ. That’s why Christ died on the cross. That’s why He rose from the dead.

Messages That Move Us to Action

In suffering there is also a message of compassion. Jesus said, “for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matthew 25:35-36).

As fire swept through the MGM Grand Hotel, I saw the emergency crews, the military people, The Salvation Army, the Red Cross, the doctors, the nurses and the people coming to donate clothes and food. I saw compassion in action.

In suffering there is a message of unity. Jesus prayed “that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You” (John 17:21). And that’s the way we ought to be as Christians, one in Christ. If you have been born into the family of God, you are a child of God. You are brothers and sisters.

Suffering holds a message of comfort. In Second Corinthians we read:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

Because tragedy happened to you, it gives you a greater sense of oneness with others who experience tragedy. You can feel for them in that suffering situation. Because we have been comforted through the Word of God, we in turn may be able to comfort others.

What should be our attitude toward suffering?

First, it should be one of worship. We ought to say, “O God, I believe You are the great and mighty God. I don’t understand all the things that are happening in my life, but, O God, I trust in You.”

Second, we should ask God to teach us all He would have us learn about Him, about ourselves, about others and how we can minister to those who are suffering.

Third, our attitude in suffering should glorify God. People are going to watch us as Christians. They will ask, “How is it that Christ is so in control of his or her life that he or she was able to help others?”

Jesus suffered and died for us on the cross, but God raised Him from the dead. Jesus Christ now sits at the right hand of God the Father, and He sees our suffering. He sees our life every day and knows exactly where we stand.

The Bible teaches that we are to be patient in suffering. That’s the hardest thing of all, to be patient, to have songs in the night. Ask God to help you have a trusting, patient attitude, and flee from bitterness.

In suffering there is also, I believe, a message of warning. Are you prepared to meet God? What do you have to do to be ready? God took the initiative in giving His Son, Jesus Christ. God says, “I love you. I want to forgive you. I want you to go to heaven.” But you must respond to Him. Find hope, peace, and security today.

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Your Pastor Is Under ATTACK! What Will You Do?

Hell has unleashed a coordinated assault against spiritual leaders. Are you willing to provide extra prayer covering to protect them?

I wasn't feeling especially spiritual--I was just trying to decide which carpet color I liked best. But God had other plans for me that afternoon.

Jerry, a stout 60-year-old flooring salesman, had come into my office to show me some carpet for our church. We had never met, so we chatted briefly about his business.

After a quick orientation on material and pricing options, I dove into the bulky sample books he had plunked down on my desk. I think I was considering the virtues of a soft geometric pattern when I looked up and was caught completely by surprise:

Jerry's broad shoulders were shuddering. He was red in the face, trying hard to hold back his tears.

"Are you OK?" I asked, feeling somewhat awkward.

"I'm sorry, it's just that this is hard for me. I used to be a pastor like you. Coming back to a church setting like this for the first time is difficult."

"What happened?" I inquired, trying to imagine what drove his pain.

"The constant pressure in our church on top of the painful physical attacks my wife was having almost ate me up emotionally. I became a nervous wreck. I got to the place that I knew if that phone rang just one more time, I'd lose it.

"So my wife and I packed up and walked away after 30 years of ministry. It tore us up. We still love God, but the constant battles ... ."

Jerry's voice trailed off. His head tilted down and his hands covered his eyes in shame. Before I knew it, I was on my knees beside this broken man. He gripped my hand. I asked the Lord to restore his wounded spirit and heal his broken heart.

Pastors in Pain

Jerry is not alone. In fact, nearly everywhere I travel, I meet pastors who are hurting. A wave of trouble seems to have been unleashed against the church, and spiritual leaders are getting hit with the worst of it. Many of God's servants are facing sickness, financial problems, frustrating reversals and unimaginable family tragedies.

What is happening? The Bible warned that the end times would be stressful and difficult. Yet many of us are discerning that something beyond tough times is in play.

I believe there is an all-out assault from the enemy against spiritual leaders. Satan knows what we must be reminded of today: "'I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered,'" (Mark 14:27, NKJV). For that reason, I believe unless we learn to provide our spiritual leaders with a protective shield of prayer, our churches and ministries will never fully change our cities with the gospel.

It's no secret that pastors and other spiritual leaders live with continual pressure. Leaders often have tougher paths to walk than those who follow them. The harvest fields they work in are booby-trapped with spiritual and emotional land mines hidden there by the enemy.

The statistics should disturb us. For example, did you know that hundreds of pastors in North America leave the ministry every month because of stress, burnout and failure? The numbers also reveal that:

97 percent of pastors say they were inadequately trained for the challenges they face
80 percent say pastoral ministry has had a negative effect on their children
70 percent say they constantly fight depression
70 percent say they feel underpaid
71 percent say they are in financial trouble
65 percent say they have thought about quitting the ministry within the last 30 days
70 percent say they do not have someone they consider a close friend.

If these figures are correct, we have a crisis on our hands. If these terrible trends hold true over time, the damage will be devastating.

In the midst of this enemy advance, where have all the watchmen gone? The honest truth is that many of us are dozing. Like the disciples who slept while Jesus faced His most difficult hours, we often do the same with those whose victory is so important to us.

Are you praying and fasting for your spiritual leaders? Others are, but not in the way you might think. Many of us are now aware that witches routinely fast and pray for the downfall of our Christian leaders.

Spiritual warfare specialist Ed Murphy tells a shocking story of a conversation he had on an airplane with an occult leader who admitted that he and others were fasting for key spiritual leaders to fall into sickness and disgrace.

The truth is, pastors too often go unsupported during these times of attack. One significant pastor I know suffered a massive heart attack and then a stroke from ministry pressure. Shortly afterward more than 100 families left his big-city church.

Their reason? They thought his faith was not strong enough. If he had been a true man of God, they reasoned, these things would not have happened to him.

We had better figure out whose side we are on and keep our eyes open. David made it clear that failing to properly protect your leader is a serious sin (see 1 Sam. 26:13-15).

Saul's commanders were sleeping when they should have been shielding, and an enemy was able to slink in by cover of night. We must avoid being drowsy disciples if our churches and ministries are to advance.

The Command to Cover

What can we do? God is calling believers to pray prayers of protection over their leaders so the entire church can prevail against the enemy's attacks, move forward and take cities for God. Supporting leaders means protecting them from enemy fire so they can advance and make a way for us all to come into our places.

Scripture commands us to cover our spiritual leaders with protective prayers. "Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence," (1 Tim. 2:1-2).

Paul told the Philippians that Epaphroditus had nearly died for the cause of his ministry, and urged them to honor him and care for him in light of that fact (see Phil. 2:25-30).

The people who respond to this call play an enormous role in the kingdom of God. Pastors and leaders worldwide will attest to this.

In our own church, we are blessed with devoted intercessors who make it their aim to cover our pastoral team every time they gather for prayer, often fasting for days and then surrounding us physically, praying for our needs. On occasion, they e-mail us or drop us notes filled with loving and sensitive insight birthed through their hours of prayer.

This kind of support is invaluable to spiritual leaders because it empowers us to do God's work without endless demonic hindrances. Emotionally, I can't tell you how it makes me feel to know that my marriage, family, ministry and personal life are shielded with daily prayer by faithful intercessors who have responded to the command to cover.

If you are an intercessor, and you watch in prayer over your leaders, you are a vital part of the plan of God for your region.

Opening City Gates

There is a powerful link between this kind of prayer and the advancement of the gospel (see 1 Tim. 2:1-4; 2 Thess. 3:1). Intercession for spiritual leaders enables us to strip the enemy of territory and claim the harvest for the Lord in our cities.

We cannot forget that when the early church prayed for the apostle Peter in a time of crisis, citywide revival was released. Think about the story of Peter's imprisonment in Acts 12: He not only was imprisoned during a widespread persecution of the church, but he also was bound between two soldiers, and four squads of soldiers were assigned to guard him. Surely this is a prophetic glimpse of the overwhelming resistance that key leaders face.

But Scripture says constant prayer was made by the church for Peter's release. After a glorious visitation by angels and a dramatic jailbreak in answer to a nonstop prayer storm, something incredible happened that we cannot miss: Peter was led to the city's iron gate--which opened of its own accord (see Acts 12:10).

I believe this is a compelling picture of how intercession for leaders will lead to even the most stubborn gateways opening in our cities.

In the same way, the key to a prevailing church or nation is having the right spirit in place to prayerfully support leaders. I am convinced that we will see more reconciliation, financial provision, miracles of healing and personal breakthroughs than ever before if we will learn the secret of supporting those whom God has placed over us. When we back our leaders, we are victorious, and the gospel goes forth in new power.

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Build a Prayer Shield

How you can provide covering:

Remember your leaders each time you pray.

If your church has prayer meetings, make it a practice to physically surround your spiritual leaders each time they are present for a few minutes of intensive prayer.

If your church does not have a functional prayer shield in place over your spiritual leaders, seek permission to create one. Gather like-minded prayer warriors, study good materials on the subject, and make it your mission to pray over your church or ministry leaders.

When you pray for leaders, be sensitive to the issues they commonly face and pray accordingly. Come against the attacks of the enemy in the areas of distraction, temptation, discouragement, burnout and physical sickness. Pray for an impartation of faith, focus, wisdom, leadership and fruitfulness to remain upon their lives.

If you sense God is showing you something for them, offer to share it with them. When you have their permission, be positive, brief, discreet and humble. Then leave it in God's hands with no strings attached. You may be a greater source of encouragement than you realize as you continue to pray for your leaders.

Written by David Cannistraci

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6 Simple Ways to Win Souls

Ever noticed that you can say the right thing the wrong way? When this happens your witnessing opportunity can go haywire--your incorrect attitude can create a huge roadblock. Here are some pointers to help you engage in fruitful evangelism.

1. Do your homework. Anticipate the different types of questions your family, friends, co-workers and neighbors will have when witnessing opportunities arise. Not everyone's questions will be the same.

Try to think about every person in your sphere of influence and what sorts of issues they are struggling with. What life experiences have shaped their view of life? What kinds of struggles do they experience in their jobs? 

Truth expressed in a relevant manner is the key to meeting an individual's needs. 

2. Learn to listen. We must genuinely attempt to understand what the person is saying and what his perspective is. As you listen, ask yourself, "Is this the real issue, or is this merely a symptom of something deeper?" Remember to keep an open ear to the Lord. Let Him speak to you about the person you are talking to.

3. Use questions wisely. Ask questions of the person in an attempt to answer his questions. Just make sure you ask the right questions in the right way. This will often allow an individual to see the answers to his own questions. 

Jesus used this form of evangelism when the Pharisees questioned Him about the origin of His authority (see Matt. 21:23-27). He responded by asking them where John the Baptist's authority came from--heaven or Earth? When the Pharisees saw their predicament, they answered that they did not know. 

The point of using questions in evangelism is for the other party to see the inadequacy of their worldview and a need for change, not just in their philosophy but also in their experience. 

4. Embrace humility. Don't come across as a know-it-all. Humbly admit that there are some questions you just don't know the answers to. But always offer to try to find the answers. 

5. Don't pressure people. Jesus called us to make disciples, not decisions. Don't pressure a person who has not fully considered the cost of discipleship. This results in a premature step. 

6. Trust God at all times. Many disastrous results could be avoided by simply following this rule of thumb. Remember that Jesus did not pressure the rich young ruler to follow Him (see Luke 18:18-23). Jesus presented the truth, which included what I call "the sacrificial demands" of the gospel in a conviction-filled yet pressure-free environment. 

Trust in God's power, not yours. We often forget that rational discussion alone will never convert a human heart or mind.Remember, there are spiritual barriers as well that attempt to inhibit the gospel's work, resulting in spiritual, not intellectual, blindness (see 2 Cor. 4:4).

Logic and rationale can lead a person to the cross but never through the cross. Only God can do that.

But He does it graciously, and He chooses human vessels to use in this awesome process called evangelism. That's why prayer and evangelism must go hand in hand.

Culled from Charismag

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When Casting Out Devils Brings Retaliation

When you cast out devils by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you (Luke 11:20). But what comes next isn’t always as much fun. There is often natural and spiritual retaliation for setting the captives free.

Although no weapon formed against a deliverance minister can prosper, the enemy nonetheless forms a weapon and takes his best shot. After all, when youcast out devils—when you set the captives free—you just did marked damage to the kingdom of darkness. Whether you are an experienced deliverance minister or just beginning to study the gospel art of casting out devils, entering the battle without expecting the backlash is not wise.

Retaliation From Flesh and Blood

Deliverance was an earmark of Jesus’ ministry. His keen ability to cast out demons was one of the things that made his ministry so popular among the people. But Jesus faced His fair share of retaliation for casting out devils—and so will you if you engage in deliverance ministry.

After Jesus cast the devil out of two demon-possessed men in the region of the Gadarenes, sending them into the swine, the entire town came out to meet Him. But instead of glorifying God as one might expect, they begged him to get out of town (Matt. 8:22-33). If that wasn’t insulting enough, when Jesus cast a devil out of a blind and mute man the Pharisees suggested He was using the power of Satan (Matt. 12:24). And religious spirits were especially indignant that Jesus cast out a devil on the Sabbath day (Luke 13:14). Ultimately, one of the reasons the religious spirits wanted to kill Jesus was because he was setting people free from demonic oppression and, in doing so, threatening their dead religious rule.

Those who don’t understand the spiritual dynamic of demonic oppression often criticize, mock or otherwise ridicule deliverance ministers. If you cast out devils, even some Christians may think you are a heretic or have a demon yourself. Such retaliation is from flesh and blood, but it is motivated by the whispers of the enemy who wants to persecute you sorely until you cast off your casting out ministry.

In his video teaching on Demonology & Deliverance, Lester Sumrall said he was greatly criticized for his teaching on casting out devils: “You’ve got to be able to accept that. If you are not able to accept that, the devil will defeat you quite easily. You’ve got to be willing to be mocked, to be laughed at, to be misunderstood in order to do what God has wants you to do.” Amen.

Retaliation From Evil Spirits

On the other side of the retaliation coin, deliverance ministers can expect retaliation through manifested spiritual warfare. I’ve cast devils out of people only to turn around and face a heavy dose of witchcraft or imaginations that tried to convince me the devil never left. I’ve had nightmares after exercising deliverance ministry. I’ve felt tired and sick. Thankfully, I understood that it was the enemy hitting back and took authority over the assignment in the name of Jesus.

When you set out to engage in deliverance ministry, don’t go there without preparing your heart—and don’t go there alone. Jesus sent the 72 disciples out two by two to cast out devils (Matt. 10:8). And they understood their authority in the name of Jesus before they ventured into ministry. Deliverance ministry is not a game of patty cake.

To be sure, you can’t just read Pigs in the Parlor and dub yourself a deliverance minister. If you don’t truly understand your authority in Christ—if you don’t have an intimate relationship with Him—the retaliation could be dramatic and painful. Remember the itinerant Jewish exorcists who took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits?

They said, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” The seven sons of Sceva joined into the deliverance party “And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?’ Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpoweredthem, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded” (Acts 19:15-16).

Although you aren’t likely to experience anything quite like what happened to the sons of Sceva, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t prepare yourself for retaliation before you ever step foot into thedeliverance session. Beyond fasting, seeking God for wisdom, and putting together a team of deliverance ministers, remember to bind up the retaliation and plead the blood of Jesus over yourself before and after the session. And everything you do, do it with faith in the name of Jesus. Amen

Written by Jennifer LeClaire 

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Break Generational Chains!

How your prayers can destroy generational strongholds.

We all know we can inherit our mother’s eyes, our father’s nose, or the color of our grandmother’s hair. But did you know that we can pick up character qualities from our parents, such as a bad temper, a propensity for lying, depression, self-pity, envy, unforgiveness, perfectionism and pride? These and other characteristics that have a spiritual root can be passed along from our parents to us, and from us to our children. In a particular family there may be a tendency toward such things as divorce, infidelity, alcoholism, addiction, suicides or depression all mistakenly accepted as “the way I am.”

The Bible talks about the influence our parents can have on us. It says God will visit “the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me” (Ex. 20:5). This Scripture is referring to people who don’t walk in a loving relationship with God. However, a parent who is a believer and loves God can still choose to sin. And his sin will profoundly affect his children.

The Bible says “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor. 5:17). That doesn’t mean that when we receive Jesus we are suddenly perfect and incapable of sinning. It means we have been freed from the consequences of sin, which is death, and we have been given the power to resist it. But we must make choices every day about whether we will live in that freedom and power or not.

The Bible also says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Gal. 5:1). If it is not possible as a believer to become entangled again with a yoke of bondage, why does the Bible warn us about it? The answer is, even though Jesus set us free from sin we can still make choices that put us back into bondage to it.

The point is, sometimes we accept certain tendencies toward sin in ourselves and we don’t have to. Sometimes we carry on a family tradition that we shouldn’t and it affects our children. Unlike physical traits, tendencies toward sin are something we don’t have to receive as an inheritance from our parents. That’s because these tendencies are nothing more than the unquestioned acceptance of a firmly entrenched lie of the enemy. He wants us to believe that we are not a new creation in Christ and that we have not been set free from our old nature. He wants us to think that because dad or grandpa drank too much, or was a complainer, or cheated on his wife, or abused his family with his anger, or got divorced, or was dishonest in his business dealings, that’s the way things are done in our family. But we can choose to break away from these old familial habits through prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. And when we see things we don’t like about ourselves reflected in our children, we can pray for them to be set free of that tendency as well.

“If God through His mercy has saved us, and the Holy Spirit has washed and renewed us, and we are justified by grace, then why am I still struggling with sin?” I asked my Christian counselor many years ago.

“It’s because the sin is either unconfessed, or you are choosing to continue to do it,” he answered.

“But I still have unforgiveness for various family members for things that have happened in the past,” I said. “I’ve reconfessed it. I don’t want to do it. Why can’t I get beyond this?”

“Your mother was an unforgiving person, wasn’t she?” he said.

“Very much so. She had unforgiveness for nearly every family member. That’s why she distanced herself from most of them. She had few friends for the same reason—she pushed them away with her unforgiveness for the most minor infractions.”

“Have you ever thought of the possibility that you could have acquired that tendency toward unforgiveness in your personality? Children pick up what their parents are,” he suggested.

I’d never thought about the possibility of there being anything outside my own mind that was propelling me to stay locked in unforgiveness, but the more I thought about it, the more I remembered seeing that trait manifest seriously in other family members. Nearly every family has to deal with that at some point, but most get beyond it without allowing it to cause a major breach in the family ties.

“I know this doesn’t relieve me of my responsibility to forgives, but I do see a pattern of this in my family,” I said.

“And what frightens me most is that it could happen in my own children. I see them now hanging on to unforgiveness toward one another for things that have happened. It would break my heart to think that after they’ve grown and left our house, or after my husband and I have gone to be with the Lord, they would have nothing to do with one another. I can see that I have to get free of this for them as well as for myself.”

The counselor and I prayed that day that the sin of unforgiveness in my family would not be passed down from generation to generation, but would be stopped by the power of the Holy Spirit. I proclaimed the truth of God’s Word, which says I am a new creation in Christ and I don’t have to live according to the habits and sins of the past. Through that revelation, I resolved to confess unforgiveness the moment it appeared—even if that meant doing it on an hour-by-hour basis.

The more I have released unforgiveness through confession, repentance and prayer before God, the more I have seen my children become free of it too. And their relationship with one another has improved. Of course, my children’s ability to forgive does not rely on me. It is their decision. But hopefully they will see forgiveness being modeled in a clear-enough manner as to make their decision to forgive easier.

A good way to see a negative trait broken in your child is to see it broken in you first. The best place to start is to identify any sin in your life. Wherever there is sin, you need to confess it. If that sin is given place time and again, it will become more and more entrenched. For example, a lie is a sin. By repeated lying, place is given for this trait to become entrenched, and soon lying gets out of control. Another example is wanting to die. This is a sin. When people say “I want to die” enough times, they can get to the point where they are plagued by suicidal thoughts.

If you see a place in your life where you have sinned or not lived God’s way, repent of it immediately by going before the Lord and confessing it. Ask for God’s forgiveness and say, “God, You be in control and help me not to live like that anymore.”

Then identify any sin in your parents and grandparents that you feel could be affecting you or your children and pray about that also. The Bible says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ” (Rom. 8:16-17). We want to be heirs of God, not of our family’s sin.

In Jesus’ name we can be set free from any family pattern of sin, and by the power of the Holy Spirit we can refuse to allow it any place in our children’s life. If you can think of any family traits you don’t want your children to inherit, start praying.

Stormie Omartian is the best-selling author of The Power of a Praying series, including The Power of a Praying Parent, from which this article was adapted. Copyright © 2007 by Stormie Omartian. Published by Harvest House Publishers, Eugene, OR. Used by permission

Culled from Charismag

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HOW SEX BEFORE MARRIAGE DESTROYS YOU AND YOUR GENERATION

Bible passage: Genesis 34

    Shecham the son of Hamor had sex with Dinah the daughter of Jacob and his soul was drawn to Dinah for he loved her.  The act done by Shecham and Dinah is very common in the world today. Most youths during courtship engage in premarital sex. Premarital sex is now seen as a normal thing that occurs between couples during courtship.

      

        Her brothers heard of what Shecham did to their sister, so they were very angry for he had defiled their sister. They kept quiet and pretended as if nothing had happen. This is exactly how God feels whenever you engage in premarital sex. Don’t you know that you simply defile His temple and His property whenever you engage in premarital sex?  You are God’s own and your body is His temple.1 Cor 3:16: 16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 1 Cor 6:18-20 (KJV): Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. 19 What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's. God is angry whenever you defile your body, which is His temple and property and keeps watching you as if nothing had happened, for He is a God that keeps quiet while executing His judgment.

    

     Shechem decided to marry Dinah because of the love he had for her, so he did all he was told to do by Dinah’s family. And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out. The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field, And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house. This is a typical example of how the punishment for premarital sex hunts us down unexpectedly while we are moving on with our normal lives and had forgotten about the immoral act.  We can all see how premarital sex led to the destruction of shechem and his household. For it is written that whoever destroys the body shall be destroyed. Whenever you engage in premarital sex, you are destroying God’s temple, and the bible says that such people shall be destroyed.

There are different ways in which premarital sex can destroy a person:

1.  Death:  For the wages of sin is death Romans 6:23 (KJV). God did not condemn Simeon and Levi for killing Shechem, He allowed it to happen because of what shechem did. This is the more reason why we need to stay away from sin, for the moment you engage yourself in sin, God will distance Himself from you and the devil or your enemy would use that as any opportunity to attack or harm you.

2. Failure: Premarital sex reduces or destroys one’s glory and it also hinders one from getting to his/her promised land provided by God. Moses was the only man that ever saw the back view of God, this is to tell you how close he was to God, but he was unable to get to the promised land because of anger and disobedience. If anger could hinder Moses from prospering, can you imagine what premarital sex would cost you?

3.  Premarital sex delays ones blessings and destiny: Premarital sex can make you jobless for years after graduating from the higher institution with good grades, it can make you single for years finding it difficult to have a good man or woman to marry. It can also make you barren for many years after marriage and also make you experience poverty for a very long time, for if you are destined to become a millionaire at the age of 25, premarital sex can delay such blessing until you are 50years old. Remember the Israelites, their trip to the promised land should have taken them just 11 days; instead, it took them 40 years! What’s astounding is that out of the 1.5 million people who left Egypt, only two from the original group made it to the Promised Land. Today, it seems there are many believers who have escaped “Egypt,” which represents their former life of slavery to sin. They are always looking towards the Promised Land but seems to end up wandering around the same mountains of their lives, dealing with the same problems, having the same issues.

    

      4. Illness and Diseases  : Sin is one of the main causes of illness and diseases such as cancer, leukemia, diabetes etc .In the end of the book of Deuteronomy, God gave the people of Israel a list of blessings and curses, depending if they listened or not to His Commandment and He says this:

If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God, then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you. Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the LORD will bring on you until you are destroyed. Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God. (Deuteronomy 28:58-62)(NASB) 

But not all diseases are the result of our personal sin.

          Dear reader, have you ever engaged in premarital sex and are feeling bad right now? The good news is that, Christ came to world because of people like you. Matt 9:13 (KJV) For I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Christ is ready to forgive, restore and accept you the way you are as long as you are ready and willing to repent and never go back to your old ways.

      

      Written by Adebayo Tosin

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Bible Study: Making God Your Strength in Weakness

Read Genesis 14:1–24

As followers of Christ, we strive to live in a way that visibly attests to the work of God in our lives. Yet it’s easy to feel timid or reluctant about displaying our faith—especially if we've failed before. Abram knew what it was like to fail in trusting God fully. In Genesis 12, he acted out of fear and self-preservation in the face of danger instead of trusting in God’s promise (Gen 12:10–20). Yet God remained faithful to him. In Genesis 14, when Abram learned that his nephew was in danger, he didn't hesitate to act. Emboldened by God’s promise, Abram confidently set his eyes on the armies of the Mesopotamian kings, and with his band of trained men, he took down an army of giants.

Our past failures or lapses of faith do not prevent God from using us to accomplish great things, whether in witnessing to His work in our lives or defeating armies of giants (see Psa 118:6; Rom 8:31). Abram’s life shows us that God can and will use us despite our weaknesses and failures (see 1 Cor 1:26–31). This encourages us, like the Apostle Paul, to recognize that God’s grace is sufficient and that His power is made evident through our weakness (2 Cor 12:9).

In Colossians 3:17, Paul wrote, “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus” (ESV). Paul recognized that when we live out our faith, others notice—and they benefit from our efforts. This was true in Abram’s life: The Canaanite priest-king Melchizedek recognized Abram’s courage and, more importantly, God’s hand in Abram’s victory. Our faith should not only affect us, it should affect those around us as we respond to God’s call to live as disciples of Christ (see Col 3:12–15).

1. Read 1 Corinthians 1:26–31 and 2 Cor 12:9–10. How does Paul describe our weakness compared to God’s strength? How does this encourage you to rely on the Lord?

2. How can you show God’s love to others by living faithfully? How does putting to death “what is
earthly” and putting on a new being affect how you relate to others (see Col 3:5–17)?

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12 Tips to Guard Against Sexual Sin

   It only takes a small pin to burst a balloon. When trust is gone and when there is a leak in
the integrity and character of a person, the explosion is quick and even startling. What has
taken a lifetime of hard work to build disintegrates swiftly with an act of immorality, an act of
indiscretion. You sacrifice your integrity, lose your credibility, and forfeit the right to lead.

I often speak to men about the sin of adultery and perversion because of the seemingly tolerant
attitude in society toward this sexual misbehavior. And once you cross that line, once you go
over the boundaries into sexual sin and engage in immorality, it becomes easier and easier to
justify it.

There are 12 points I share on how to maintain moral purity.

1) Recognize your potential for moral failure. Don’t say, “It can’t happen to me.” Don’t
say, “I’m immune to this” because you’re not. And if you’re not careful, if you don’t
watch and pray, if you don’t develop spiritual disciplines in your life, you’re more than
vulnerable.
2) Realize you don’t have to give in. Don’t say, “The living Christ is in me and yet I
couldn’t help myself.” You have the power of God’s Spirit; the Spirit of the living God
lives in you and will enable you and empower you.
3) Resolve to be pure; purpose in your heart not to defile yourself. And if you have fallen,
you can start over again. And you can say, “From this day forward, God, make me pure
and make me clean.”
4) Remove all bitterness from your life. Often, when a person becomes bitter, he’s upset
about something that becomes an excuse or a rationalization to say, “Well, I deserve this
pleasure.”
5) Restrain the flesh in all areas. Paul said in Romans 13:4: “Make no provision for the
flesh.” That speaks for itself.
6) Refuse to give in even for a moment. Fight this all the days of your life. I’ve known men
who have lived in moral purity all their days and then at the end of their life made some
foolish mistake.
7) Run from every form of evil. The Bible says to abstain from every appearance of evil.
8) Resist the devil. He’s the author of these lies. He’s the ultimate enemy. And in the name
of Jesus Christ you can resist the enemy.
9) Rely on the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who
strengthens me.”
10) Renew your mind in the Word of God. Saturate your heart and your mind. Renew your
mind in the washing of the water of the Word of God.
11) Rejoice in the goodness and the grace and the forgiveness and the love of God. When
you praise God, you are empowered to be pure. Worship Him! Praise Him! Because in
the praise … the act of praise itself, we are enabled to overcome the work of the enemy.
12) Remember that you will give an account before a holy God and that’s a sobering
thought. Paul said, “Don’t you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? You
were bought with a price, the precious blood of Jesus.”

It takes time to restore trust and credibility and integrity. It takes time, it takes counsel, it
takes the Word of God working in your life and cleansing your heart and your soul and
your mind and your will, and standing you back up again so that you can make a comeback
in your life by the grace of God. And we’re forever grateful for that grace that covers and
cleanses all sin.

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Reaching your promised land

Is your attitude causing you to journey in the wilderness longer than you should?

   If you are facing a struggle in your life, perhaps the problem isn't what you think it is. Many times, we focus on another person or a situation and we think that’s what is causing us to be unhappy. But the real issue might be that you have a bad attitude.

It may seem like your problem is your spouse, your children, a co-worker, the traffic, the economy, your church ... but actually, you might be wandering around in the wilderness, unable to find your promised land because your attitude stinks.

I can relate to this. There was a time when, just like the Israelites, I used to blame the things that were wrong in my life on my outward circumstances instead of looking at what was in my heart. I remember when God taught me this as I studied Scriptures about the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness.

What’s Keeping You From Your Promised Land?

We can learn a lot about the importance of a good attitude by looking at the Israelite  Consider this: The Bible says there was an estimated 1.5 million people who came out of Egypt. God delivered them from slavery and led them on the journey to their Promised Land, a place described as flowing with milk and honey. The trip should have taken just 11 days; instead it took them 40 years!

Why did that happen? In Numbers 14, we see the people were continuously grumbling and complaining about everything. They even complained about the bread that God miraculously provided for them. Anytime something difficult crossed their path, they were ready to give up and go back to Egypt—back to slavery.

What’s astounding is that out of the 1.5 million people who left Egypt, only two from the original group made it to the Promised Land. It seems even today there are many believers who have escaped “Egypt,” which represents their former life of slavery to sin. They are always looking toward the Promised Land but seem to end up wandering around the same mountains their entire life, dealing with the same problems, having the same issues.

Are you one of these people? Do you feel like you've been going around the same mountain long enough?

Early in my walk with the Lord, I was wandering around in a wilderness of carnality. That’s what the wilderness is—fleshly living that lets your soul (mind, will and emotions) be in control. This leads to a lousy attitude, because when our soul is in control, we aren't submitting our thoughts to Christ, thinking and acting like Him. Let the Lord work in your soul. He wants to change your attitude by changing the way you think.

Get a New Attitude

Ephesians 4:22-24 says: “Strip yourselves of your former nature [put off and discard your old unrenewed self] which characterized your previous manner of life and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires that spring from delusion; and be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude], and put on the new nature (the regenerate self) created in God’s image, [Godlike] in true righteousness and holiness” (AMP).

In these verses, God lovingly asks us to stop acting like we used to. This takes effort on our part, but by God’s grace and with His help, we can change. The key is to constantly renew our mind each day with God’s Word.

Although I’ve been teaching from the Bible all these years, I still have to make a daily decision to renew my mind with God’s Word. God has brought me a long way and some things are easier now than before, but I haven’t “arrived.” There are still times when I need to take off the old nature and put on the new nature of Christ. It is part of the lifelong journey we all have in our walk with the Lord.

As you become more like Christ, you’ll get closer to the promised land God has for you. Renew your mind with God’s Word every day and enjoy the journey!

By Joyce Meyer

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How to shine

Philippians 2:12-18

“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputing: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me”.

To shine, our personal faith must have a public presence. You must hold out the word of life. By guiding people into Righteousness

Daniel 12:3. Those who are wise [Or who impart wisdom] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

 2. We shine by allowing God to do his full work in us and through us.

 3. By working out our salvation with fear and trembling. God works in us before working through us.

Philippians 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed —not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence— continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling,

4. We shine by reflecting the light of God in a dark world by illuminating others. Matthew 5:15-16. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

5. We shine by doing good works without complaining.

Philippians 2:14-16. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out [Or hold on to] the word of life — in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.

6. By doing what pleases the Lord. Ephesians 5:8-10

Ephesians 5:8-15. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the

Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise,

7. We shine through our deeds and our creeds.  Deeds are our good works, while creeds are your belief, message and your witness about Jesus Christ. Those around you must not just hear your good message. They must see your good works. If your deeds are important, your creed is equally important. That is why those who are born to shine must avoid sinful deeds and evil creed that don’t give glory to God.

8. We shine by remaining connected to the source of light. If light is cut off from the source, no matter the voltage it carries, it cannot shine.

9. We shine eternally by surrendering all our victories and success at the feet of the master, it all belongs to God.

                                          

                                           Written by Dada Samson  

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