I remember one day during my bible study; the study was on Job. I was certainly amazed of how God was telling the devil about a certain man- his ways and his heart for God.
I stopped to think that moment... Itunu! What does God think about you?


It has been over 3 months after the study on Job yet that question still resonates in my spirit. It would and should continue to resonate in my spirit...hehe!
Look at how God describes Job.
Job 1 verse 8. God said to Satan, “Have you noticed my friend Job? There’s no one quite like him—honest and true to his word, totally devoted to God and hating evil.”

If you study this chapter very well, God was boasting about Job. Remember how our parents talk to their friends about us; their children- how amazing we are at school work, or how we were the best at the school play or musical.
That is exactly what God was doing here!
Brings me to the topic.... can God vouch for you? for me?
The devil tries to tempt God's children all the time, either based on our weakness or life circumstances.
Can God boldly say I KNOW Mary can't ever drink even though tempted or persuaded by her friends.
Are our weakness(sinful habits) so overwhelming we cannot even vouch for ourselves, how much more God, lol!
The grace of God is not just available to forgive our sins but to prevent us from falling constantly into sin.

We all have/have had struggles but the grace of God and the power of salvation is available to deliver us.

I celebrate you all
muahhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey guys!

cómo ha sido su semana?

Fine I hope!

In my walk with God, I have learnt a lot of things; and I am still learning.

This portion is concerning my study of the word.  (A POST ON HOW TO STUDY THE WORD COMING SOON)

You cannot have a successful Christian life without constantly feeding on the word of God. There are a lot of materials available to help the young believer/Christian in our day to day study.

Some of these are the different translations of the bible to help us relate bible teachings with our present day life and give deeper meanings to teachings; a lot of us including myself do not understand old translations like the King James bible

My favourite is the message translation. Since I have been studying with this bible translation I hardly ever use any other,lol

A lot of churches and bible study groups use this translation a lot too.

 

Here is a little more information on WHY EUGENE PETERSON, THE TRANSLATOR wrote the message translation

Why was The Message written?

The best answer to that question comes from Eugene Peterson himself: "While I was teaching a class on Galatians, I began to realize that the adults in my class weren't feeling the vitality and directness that I sensed as I read and studied the New Testament in its original Greek. Writing straight from the original text, I began to attempt to bring into English the rhythms and idioms of the original language. I knew that the early readers of the New Testament were captured and engaged by these writings and I wanted my congregation to be impacted in the same way. I hoped to bring the New Testament to life for two different types of people: those who hadn't read the Bible because it seemed too distant and irrelevant and those who had read the Bible so much that it had become 'old hat.'" Peterson's parishioners simply weren't connecting with the real meaning of the words and the relevance of the New Testament for their own lives. So he began to bring into English the rhythms and idioms of the original ancient Greek— writing straight out of the Greek text without looking at other English translations. As he shared his version of Galatians with them, they quit stirring their coffee and started catching Paul's passion and excitement as he wrote to a group of Christians whom he was guiding in the ways of Jesus Christ. For more than two years, Peterson devoted all his efforts to The Message New Testament. His primary goal was to capture the tone of the text and the original conversational feel of the Greek, in contemporary English. Language changes. New words are formed. Old words take on new meaning. There is a need in every generation to keep the language of the gospel message current, fresh, and understandable —the way it was for its very first readers. That is what The Message seeks to accomplish for contemporary readers. It is a version for our time —designed to be read by contemporary people in the same way as the original koine Greek and Hebrew manuscripts were savored by people thousands of years ago. That's why NavPress felt the time was right for a new version. When we hear something over and over again in the same way, we can become so familiar with it that the text loses its impact. The Message strives to help readers hear the living Word of God— the Bible— in a way that engages and intrigues us right where we are. Some people like to read the Bible in Elizabethan English. Others want to read a version that gives a close word-for-word correspondence between the original languages and English. Eugene Peterson recognized that the original sentence structure is very different from that of contemporary English. He decided to strive for the spirit of the original manuscripts—to express the rhythm of the voices, the flavor of the idiomatic expressions, the subtle connotations of meaning that are often lost in English translations. The goal of The Message is to engage people in the reading process and help them understand what they read. This is not a study Bible, but rather "a reading Bible." The verse numbers, which are not in the original documents, have been left out of the print version to facilitate easy and enjoyable reading. The original books of the Bible were not written in formal language.

The Message tries to recapture the Word in the words we use today.



If you do not have this translation; you need to get it!!! Your study life will take a great leap!

Joshua 1:8-9 The Message Translation (MSG)

And don’t for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you’ll get where you’re going; then you’ll succeed.



CREDITS;

WWW.GOOGLE.COM

http://www.messagebible.com

So follow what? What are we as Christians meant to see and emulate in the people that we look up to? I thought about what common traits successful Christians share with each other it occurred to me that every Christian who has walked with God successfully has ALL these traits, every single one of them. I'm not talking about popular Christians but successful Christians, people who have clearly shown that they are fruitful over the years. I compiled a list of them that I want to share with you so read along and get ready to start adjusting your life;

1- Prayer: nobody can claim to know someone he doesn't communicate with; all successful Christians know this and devote so much time to doing this everyday. Funny thing is that nobody is used to praying at first but they all discipline themselves (more on that later) and overcome the natural laziness to do this. Even though when they start it doesn't make sense they always still keep at it until it does.

2- Fasting: Since the concept of fasting is denying the body what it needs so that the Spirit can grow in strength it then follows that the most spiritual people would fast a lot. You will never find any great man of God (not necessarily a Pastor) that doesn't live a life of fasting and prayer.

3- Study of the Word: 1 Peter 2:2 says, "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:" again if growth is gotten by studying the Word of God then it follows that the most spiritual people as in the case of fasting would also study their bibles a lot. These people are led by the Word, it's firmly written in their hearts and no wonder David says in Psalm 119:11, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." It’s important to know that they not only study but spend an enormous amount of time meditating on the Word.

 

……….God authorized and commanded me to commission you. Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near IN THIS WAY OF LIFE…….then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. Matthew 28:19(MSG)

........In many respects,the epistle to the Philippians is the most beautiful of Paul's letters,full of tenderness,warmth,and affection.The abiding message of Philippians concerns the nature and grounds of Christian joy.remember the joy of the lord is our strength(Nehemiah 8 vs 10)

For Paul,true joy is not a surface emotion that depends on favorable circumstances of the moment.Christian joy is independent of outward conditions and is possible even in the midst of adverse circumstances such as suffering and persecution.joy ultimately arises from fellowship with the risen glorified Christ.
The letter to the Philippians reveals the timeless message that true joy is to be found only in a dynamic personal relationship with Jesus Christ and in the assurance that God is able to turn adverse circumstances to our good and his glory.(It must be noted that Paul wrote this letter when he was in prison)

  Finally we look at Ephesians.no book unveils the mystery of the church like Ephesians.This letter enumerates some of our spiritual blessings in Christ. Chosen,blameless,adopted,accepted,forgiven,predestined,sealed.

Christ is the model husband,unselfishly giving himself to enhance his bride-his church.

The word glory occurs eight times and refers to the exceeding excellence of Gods love,his wisdom,and his power.Paul reveals the commitment of Jesus to build a glorious,mature,and ministering church,not having spot or wrinkle.

Ephesians unfolds the process by which God is bringing the church to its destined purpose in Christ.
    All these teachings have deep implications for us and we will do well to study,meditate and pray.
CELEBRATE YOU!!!

Hello God-fam,

 Hello God-fam,

And when James,Peter,and John,who seemed to be pillars........ Galatians 2:9.

The apostle Paul recognized that James,peter and john were "pillars" in the church.The dictionary defines a pillar as a column of support in a building or a person of authority.while these men were authorities in the early church they also represent the three pillars of foundational doctrine that are vital to the spiritual health of a believer.

Throughout history we have observed a sad biblical fact.when the original anointed leadership of the church dies out the people begin to fall away.for example we see this happening after Joshua's death(judges 2) and the same was true of the early Christians.After the first century,the church slowly began the long descent into the prophesied apostasy.(2 Tim 4 vs 3)while there have been revivals and reformation along the way,they are always needed and God is always calling his remnant back to her foundation.

When the church falls away from the word of God,it falls into apostasy.The word of God is very simple and the apostles were the expositors that were ordained by God to explain his message.John,peter and James were the ones handpicked by God to be foundational pillars of the church.when we begin to place others above these foundational leaders apostasy is not very far behind.

Even apostle Paul went to these pillars(peter,James and john) when he had an encounter with the lord.Paul's doctrine is based on the original three pillars of doctrine.

We fall into apostasy when we fail to cleave to the foundational pillars of the first century church and in order to hold on to them we need to understand exactly what they are

The pillars themselves are grounded firmly upon the foundation of the lord Jesus,the messiah.(Remember we said James,peter and john represent authority figures and foundational doctrines of the church)

The first pillar represented by john is the first to emerge.John's doctrine emphasizes the gospel of love.John 3 vs 16.

The gospel is the purpose of the church,without it we have no church and no reason to exist.when we allow the gospel take second place in our lives we have taken the first step towards apostasy(which literally means a falling away)The gospel of the first century emphasized repentance and faith in the blood atonement through a thorough understanding of the messiah's role.
When the gospel is presented according to the pattern contained in the scriptures it produces in people a conversion of heart.
In the next post, we continue with the remaining two pillars, Peter and James.
Thanks O.E for this teaching(A FRIEND WITH A HEART FOR JESUS)
Celebrate you ALL.