DON’T DIE BEFORE YOUR TIME (Part 2)

...continue from part 1

Jesus knows that men could die before their time. The fact that Jesus raised people from the dead and gave others powers to do so shows that many people die untimely

Source: Google Image

 

The devil went to the meeting of the children of God and was roaming around there. When the Lord asked him what he was doing there, he said he was roaming around. Then the Lord said,

“Have you seen my servant Job?” The devil said, "Yes, let me deal with him and he will deny you." The Lord said, “Go but do not touch his life.” Beloved, the enemy has power to shorten life and to kill.

All the people Jesus raised from the dead were young people. Lazarus was a young man and had not lived out his days when he died. It is very sad to note that nowadays, young people are dying at an alarming rate.

The son of the widow of Nain in the Bible was a young man. He had not lived out his days. Jesus had to intervene. The daughter of Jairus that died was a young lady. She had not lived out her life before she died. Jesus raised her to life so that she could live out her days and possess her possessions. Any power that does not want you alive by any method is not the kind of thing to joke with.

Peter called Dorcas back to life so that she would finish her assignment. The devil has come to steal, to kill and to destroy. Unfortunately, many people have been turned over to Satan to die an early death. It was not the will of God for Korah, Dathan and Abiram to die in the wilderness, but they stood in the way of the work of God. Those men and their family members died before their time. It was not the will of God for Ananias and Sapphira to fall down inside the church and die, but they told lies to the Holy Spirit and died before their time.

Let us consider the deep scripture in Deuteronomy 17:20

“That his heart is not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turns not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.”

Jeremiah 21:8

“Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death.

says, “And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death.” Two ways are laid down in that passage. The choice of where you follow becomes a personal decision. When God withdraws His blessing from people and they walk right into judgment, they die before their time. When there is no protection, Satan kills them.

 

Source: Google Image

The Bible says, the angel of the Lord encamps roundabout those that fear Him to deliver them. So, if you do not fear the Lord, his angels will not surround you. Therefore, Satan can kill you off. Thank God because He has kept millions from dying before their time. We can see that in Psalm 103

...continue in part 3

DON’T DIE BEFORE YOUR TIME (Part 1)

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 16:12, Ecclesiastes 7:17

 

A lot of people claim they cannot die until their time comes. But what does the Bible say?

The Bible makes us to understand that we can lengthen or shorten our lives according to the way we live and the way we believe. That is why any enemy that is not afraid of dying is indeed a great enemy. The way you believe is very important.

The Bible says King Asa died before his time. Let us see why he died in 2 Chronicles 16:12

Source: Google image

 

“In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians.”

“And Asa in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the Lord, but to the physicians.”

(The Bible did not say it was a sin for him to seek the physicians but he did not bother to seek the Lord at all). Verses 13-14: “And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign…

King Asa died before his time. The Bible gave the answer in a very short sentence: “In his disease he sought not to the Lord,” but to the physicians and therefore he died.

No disrespect to physicians: Anyone that puts his total hope on a doctor and believes that the doctor is the alpha and omega and believes anything he says from his book is hundred percent correct on his life, such a person will die before his time.

 

The Bible says something very interesting in Ecclesiastes 8:13

“Yet because the wicked do not fear God, it will not go well with them, and their days will not lengthen like a shadow.”

“But it shall not be well with the wicked; neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.”

The wicked will not be able to prolong his days because he does not fear God. Proverbs 10:27

“The fear of the Lord adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short.”

King Asa committed the agenda of his life to the hands of the doctors and refused to pray. He did not know that there is no medical X-ray or device that can detect the arrow of witchcraft. He did not know that doctors themselves find some cases absolutely mysterious. Sometimes, some doctors who are honest own up that some cases are not medical problems. They advise people in such conditions to go and pray.

...continue in part 2

 

 

The Meaning of Easter

What does Easter mean to you?

The meaning of Easter is Jesus Christ's victory over death. His resurrection symbolizes the eternal life that is granted to all who believe in Him. The meaning of Easter also symbolises the complete verification of all that Jesus preached and taught during His three-year ministry. If He had not risen from the dead, if He had merely died and not been resurrected, He would have been considered just another teacher or Rabbi. However, His resurrection changed all that and gave final and irrefutable proof that He was really the Son of God and that He had conquered death once and for all.

Jelico Jibe, 57, grimaces in pain as he is nailed to a wooden cross to mark the death of Jesus Christ on Good Friday in San Matias town, Philippines                                Picture: Romeo Ranoco/Reuters

However, Easter did not always symbolise Christ's resurrection from the dead and the meaning of Easter was quite different than what Christians celebrate today. The feast day of Easter was originally a pagan celebration of renewal and rebirth. Celebrated in the early spring, it honoured the pagan Saxon goddess Eastre. When the early missionaries converted the Saxons to Christianity, the holiday, since it fell around the same time as the traditional memorial of Christ's resurrection from the dead, was merged with the pagan celebration, and became known as Easter. The meaning of Easter was also changed to reflect its new Christian orientation.

Today, the meaning of Easter, for millions of Christians, is that of honouring and recognising Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, and His glorious promises of eternal life for all who believe in Him.

Happy Easter

MGI HERITAGE DAY 2015

Photo:Lesego Masoga

A stall selling African beads and caps

 

A group of Zimbabwean students celebrating

Long shot of MGI Humanities Building

A religious robe

A group of students from different nationalities

‘Homo naledi is not contrary to biblical scriptures’

By: Mia Lindeque

Methodist church leader Paul Verryn says the discovery of Homo is nothing contrary to biblical scriptures or what religious people believe.

Scientists revealed a significant fossil discovery, which had been kept a secret for years, at Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind.

But this has been met with mixed reaction among religious groups and individuals, who say they will not be referred to as descendants of baboons. 

 

Verryn says it is written in the scripture that nothing is made that doesn’t have God’s influence in it.

“The essence of what in written in scripture is that humanity and the whole of creation is designed and brought into being by God and that we have a very unique dignity.”

Founding president of the Kara Heritage Institute Mathole Motshekga has denied Homo naledi is his ancestor. 

Former Congress of South African Trade Unions general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi is the latest person to react on social media, saying no one will dig old monkey bones to back up a theory that he was once a baboon.

Researchers who worked on the special project have hailed Homo naledi as a historic discovery  which will help better understand who we are and how we evolved, also questioning what it truly means to be human.

On Friday a leading UK scientist praised the team involved in the discovery of Homo naledi for its transparency regarding their findings.

The so-called Naked Scientist, Chris Smith, said the team had been open and honest allowing its work to be scrutinised.

“The first thing they’ve done is to publish the results in a journal which is open access, this means anyone in the world can gain access to the paper and to read it for themselves and begin to make their mind up.”

But not all the reaction to this ground breaking find had been positive  

 The New York Times quoted an expert in the field of human evolution who questions the classifying of this new species in the Homo class, the same designation humans fall under.

The age of the bones is also still unclear and Smith said scientists have years of work ahead of them.

He added that the most important step for the team was to try to extract DNA from the fossils.

“Because they’re in such pristine conditions they may too surrender their DNA secrets. So that’s going to be the other really key thing to look into.

“Once you’ve got a DNA message from these individuals that will really begin to shed some light on where they fit into things because you can’t argue with the DNA.” 

What are your own thoughts? Do you think Homo naledi is your relative? Please leave a comment.

Do you believe in reincarnation?

My biological father told me so many times before his death that when he dies, he would come back into this world. He believed one of us (i.e. his children) would give birth to him again, but my Sunday school teacher taught me otherwise, he taught me that there is nothing like reincarnation, so I decided to check what the bible says on the subject of reincarnation, and below are my findings:

 

The concept of reincarnation is completely without foundation in the Bible, which clearly tells us that we die once and then face judgment (Hebrew 9:27). The Bible never mentions people having a second chance at life or coming back as different people or animals. Jesus told the criminal on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise" Luke 23:43), not "You will have another chance to live a life on this earth." Matthew 25:46 specifically tells us that believers go on to eternal life while unbelievers go onto eternal punishment. Reincarnation has been a popular belief for thousands of years, but it has never been accepted by Christians or followers of Judaism because it is contradictory to Scripture.

The one passage that some point to as evidence for reincarnation is Matthew 17:10-12 which links John the Baptist with Elijah. However, the passage does not say that John the Baptist was Elijah reincarnated but that he would have fulfilled the prophecy of Elijah's coming if the people had believed his words and thereby believed in Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 17:12). The people specifically asked John the Baptist if he was Elijah, and he said, "No, I am not" (John 1:21).

Belief in reincarnation is an ancient phenomenon and is a central tenet within the majority of Indian religious traditions, such as Hinduism, Sikhism, and Jainism. Many modern pagans also believe in reincarnation as do some New Age movements, along with followers of spiritism. For the Christian, however, there can be no doubt: reincarnation is unbiblical.  

IS MASTURBATION WRONG?

The Bible does not discuss masturbation at all.  This seems a little odd given that Leviticus has so much to say about sexuality, one would think it natural that the subject would be covered.  But it isn't. 

Masturbation is not specifically declared to be sinful or not biblical.  Nevertheless, we must be cautious to pronounce something to be sinful or not sinful when God is yet to make such pronouncement. Therefore, we have to derive norms from Scripture on related sexual issues and see if we can wisely apply them to the subject of masturbation.

First of all, sex was created by God for procreative purposes, physical enjoyment, and the demonstration of intimacy between spouses.  In this context, the sexual act is intended to occur in a healthy marriage relationship between spouses in purity and holiness.  In contrast to this, masturbation is the self-stimulation to the point of sexual release without the gifting of a spouse.  It would seem that masturbation is a denial of the sexual design of God for couples.  But, is it sinful? 

Again, answering this question is difficult because the Bible does not pronounce it as sin.  Nevertheless, there is the principle of purity that is obviously true.  Does masturbation fall under the category of purity?

One can say this for sure.  If masturbation involves sexual fantasies and/or pornography, then it is certainly not pure and is very sinful.  The Bible clearly teaches that our minds are as important to God as our bodies are and that we are to remain pure in both.  Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery'; but I say to you, that everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her has committed adultery with her already in his heart," (Matt. 5:27-28). Jesus is saying that thinking lustful thoughts is sinful.  Therefore, masturbation involving sexual fantasies (at least not of one's spouse) is undoubtedly sinful.

But this brings up the issue of a spouse masturbating while thinking of his/her spouse.  Is it sinful?  Again, since the Bible does not declare it sinful, can we?  I don’t think so.

Well! Let's say that a wife is incapacitated by an accident and is in the hospital for an extended period of time.  Is it alright for the husband to masturbate if he thinks only of his wife in order to relieve sexual tension?  Again, without a specific declaration of Scripture, it is difficult to pronounce it as sinful.  On the one hand, his body is not his own, and it is for his wife; and he is not to be mastered by anything (1 Cor. 6:12). But on the other hand, she is not available.  Would his masturbation be sinful should he commit it if he only thought of his wife?  I cannot say for sure. In fact, I don’t know the answer.

Then again, what if someone masturbates with absolutely no sexual fantasy of any sort in mind?  Is it then sinful?  Again, this is difficult to answer. But, since the Bible doesn't condemn or condone it, can we make dogmatic assertions? 

Furthermore, what if a person masturbates in order to reduce the sexual urge in an attempt to not commit fornication?  Certainly, actual fornication would be a sin, and masturbation would be preferable in this instance.  But does this mean that the person is being mastered by the flesh?  If so, then that would be wrong.  But, does it mean then that a self-release of sexual tension is then acceptable if it is to avoid fornication?  Again, since the Bible does not declare masturbation a sin, I cannot say it is.

Let’s look at one account in Genesis 38:9 some people often quote in order to validate their arguments about masturbation.

 The story of Onan in Genesis 38:9?

Some people incorrectly cite Onan in Gen. 38:9 who spilled his sperm on the ground, as a justification for masturbation, but this is a mistake because this story is not in the context of masturbation. The Bible says:

"And Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so it came about that when he went in to his brother wife, he wasted his seed on the ground, in order not to give offspring to his brother," (Gen. 38:9).

Again, this is not about masturbation.  It is about the failure of Onan to give children to Tamar, the widow of his brother, and fulfill his duty to raise offspring in his brother's name.  By refusing his obligation, he sinned, therefore, it cannot be confused for masturbation.

Conclusion

The goal of the Christian life is to be pure in thought and deed.  I believe that the issue of masturbation comes down to this.  Therefore, I believe that though masturbation under certain circumstances may not be sinful, the desire to be sexual, pure and holy should move the Christians to avoid it. I mean ONLY Christians.

Perhaps God did not mention masturbation in the Bible because He is so aware of our sinful tendencies, our situations, our difficulties, etc., and desires that we seek holiness and purity by seeking to master our own flesh.  If God had declared that it was a sin, there wouldn’t be any confusion, since He did not say anything in the Bible about masturbation, we would have to thread carefully and not be quick to pass judgement.

If, however, you are bound by masturbation and it has overtaken your sexual life, then you continually need to go to the cross and ask the Lord for help or you can pray and ask the Lord to provide you a spouse so that you would not fall into bondage of the flesh continually.

 Stay blessed until next time