Just another reason to take the Bible as God's Sure Word

I was reading the bible yesterday when something in it struck me as a fulfillment of a prophecy.

The reading of the passage taken from Zephaniah 2. Emphasis will be from 3 - 15. It says

3 Seek ye Jehovah, all ye meek of the earth, that have kept his ordinances; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye will be hid in the day of Jehovah's anger.

4 For Gaza shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon a desolation; they shall drive out Ashdod at noonday, and Ekron shall be rooted up.

5 Woe unto the inhabitants of the sea-coast, the nation of the Cherethites! The word of Jehovah is against you, O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant.

6 And the sea-coast shall be pastures, with cottages for shepherds and folds for flocks.

7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Judah; they shall feed their flocks thereupon; in the houses of Ashkelon shall they lie down in the evening; for Jehovah their God will visit them, and bring back their captivity.

8 I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.

9 Therefore as I live, saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrah, a possession of nettles, and saltpits, and a perpetual desolation: the residue of my people shall make a prey of them, and the remnant of my nation shall inherit them.

10 This shall they have for their pride, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the people of Jehovah of hosts.

11 Jehovah will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of the earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his place, even all the isles of the nations.

12 Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword.

13 And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy Assyria, and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like the wilderness.

14 And herds shall lie down in the midst of her, all the beasts of the nations: both the pelican and the porcupine shall lodge in the capitals thereof; their voice shall sing in the windows; desolation shall be in the thresholds: for he hath laid bare the cedar-work.

15 This is the joyous city that dwelt carelessly, that said in her heart, I am, and there is none besides me: how is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in! every one that passeth by her shall hiss, and wag his hand.

I quickly remember a new article I read from Associated Press, last week. Please click here to read the new article and appreciate this. Remember the guys who wrote the article were not trying to support the Bible or making any suggestion towards the current-day middle-east land dispute.

First it is worth noting that this prophet Zephaniah made this writing during his ministry which is dated between 640 - 609 B.C. - that is exactly when all this nation had root and never looked like doing down.

But today everybody know that of the five famous philistine cities (Ashdod, Ashkelon, Ekron, Gath and Gaza), Israel totally controls Ashdod where the famous port currently is and Gaza (aka Gaza strip) as homeland to the Palestinian. The Israel control just began in the twentieth century after the various aliyah(s).

Gath is now a National Park.

The philistine are now extinct such that without the bible no man would have known of their previous existence. Report have it "In 604 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded and put the Philistines' cities to the sword. There is no remnant of them after that". Source

The Moabites and Ammonities are also very extinct.

Nineveh (one of the greatest trade cities of old) also extinct.

Ethiopian was slain but there are not extinct as they are now the world known country east of Africa.

Which history book of predictions has been this accurate? We must take God's written word as it is. So much history there is about the bible but the contents have proven themselves as true. Therefore we must embrace this book that speaks of any future with so much accuracy because if it has always been accurate, the it revelation of God and his purposes can't be the first fallacy.

Nevertheless, the ultimate reason to believe God is in the book of Hebrews 11:6 - "Without Faith, it is impossible to please God ..."

Photo gallery from Associated Press

Six reasons every believer should pray in tongues

1. One of the basic benefits of being a believer
Mark 16:17 - "And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues".
Jesus was not necessarily saying your native dialect is going to change but that your new man should acquire a new language for communication. Is there any reason why a believer would not want any of the signs in Mark 16:16-18?


2. Bypassing your mind in prayer is sometimes very essential
1 Cor 14:14 - "For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful."
Praying in tongues causes a child of God to communicate spiritual mysteries without even his mind understanding what he is saying. This is beneficial for a very important reason - No one can speak outside his understanding and as long as our mind is hindered by our physical dimension, our petitions will remain so. Praying in tongues therefore enables a physical man on earth to speak beyond the expected dimension of his mind and speak in the realms of the mind of Christ.


3. To identify the things God has freely given.
1 Cor 2:11- 14 says
"For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
The scripture is quite explanable. A good reference to explain things would be Adam who had to name all living creatures that came before him. He needed the understanding or intelligence of the physical to do that. In like manner, we need the perfect wisdom of the spiritual to identify, name or appropriate for our profit the things not seen (spiritual). The bible tells us that they are freely given and somehow its like the things that are freely given are those we struggle to get.


4. Building up your most holy faith
Jude 20 says "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost".
The precendence to this verse actually described a lot of decadence that was creeping in the world of then. Our own generation's depth of decay surely thrumps their of course. But it is worthy of note that no matter how dark our world is, God's expectation of growth and fruits from us is not compromisable. Therefore as the world around us (from the internet, TV, music, fashion, lifestyle) grows downwards, our faith must be built up. But still we don't know what we are up against. Therefore, our prayer must be in the Holy Ghost who helps our infirmities and intercedes for us in our weaknesses.


5. The spirit is willing
Matthew 26:14 - "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak".
The spirit is willing to go the way of it source - the giver of its life. The flesh also is seeking to go in the direction of its material - dust. Incidentally we are a house of both. Hence, it is our actions that determine we direction our lives would go. The spirit unto life or the flesh unto death. Praying in tongues especially by a person who is filled with the word of Christ by study and meditation gives his willing spirit strength in the sure times of temptation. And remember Proverbs 24:10 says "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small".

6. You live in the spirit - you should also talk in the spirit.
Gal 5:16 says "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh"
Gal 5:25 says "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit"
John 4:24 says "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth"
Acts 20:22 says "And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there"
John 11:33 - "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled"
Seeing that there are a lot of spiritual expressions that a spiritual man could make, praying in the spirit could not be out of the list. Also remember that praying in the spirit is a strong connotation of praying in tongues as described in 1 Cor 14:2 - "For he that speaketh in an unknown tongue speaketh not unto men, but unto God: for no man understandeth him; howbeit in the spirit he speaketh mysteries"

I may not have put down all the possible reasons so I would encourage anyone reading this to add some more to the list (by commenting on the article) for us all to learn. Only try not to repeat points.

God bless.

The God of All

I have always heard questions like this: "if God is omnipotent, why does He allow the Devil to mess up everything He's done so far?" Why do He allow bad and not Good alone.

Now my first answer to that would be: God is the God of all. The same one created both. And thus it is written in the book of Isaiah 45: 7

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things

Jesus also when He was describing God as perfect used the words in Matthew 5:45

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

Though it is hard or rare to think of God as even the God of the devil or angel. He owns the life and breathe of his enemies. He is God and creator of all. To saints and sinners, jew and gentiles, believers and atheist, christians and muslims, angels and demons, earth and skies, friends and enemies, everything that exists owe to him their life.
But this two parables would throw more light than much explanation would.

First is the parable of the field in Matthew 13 : 24 -30 (American Standard Version).

²⁴ Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man that sowed good seed in his field:

²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares also among the wheat, and went away.

²⁶ But when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

²⁷ And the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it tares?

²⁸ And he said unto them, An enemy hath done this. And the servants say unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

²⁹ But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them.

³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.

What about the enemy? Why didn't he just take out the enemy like the US took out Osama Bin Laden? Why wait for the enemy to cause much mess?
The answer is that firstly, to everything there is a time and a season to every purpose under the heaven. The 'taking out of the enemy' or his judgement would happen but not yet. Even the parable above illustrates this.

The next question is that until the taking out is done why not de-capitalize him, or disable his ability to cause more trouble?
The answer is so found in the bible , as in Romans 11:29 (Amplified Version)

For God's gifts and His call are irrevocable. [He never withdraws them when once they are given, and He does not change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call.]

God so sticks to his laws and will not go against one. We can count on him on that. But incidentally we are all beneficiaries of this virtue because we all were one time enemies of God.

How about Divorce????

My sister and I were having a discussion and she was telling me a pathetic story about a woman who had a very terrible time in her marriage when she asked me the question, "what do you think about divorce?".

The question coming on the background of the story I felt sorry for the woman but ... I could afford to go her way as I said that I felt sorry ... but if anyone has Heaven as target, divorce is not something to try out.

Jesus was quite explicit even though the society even the church community now seem to have double standards on the issue, it is still there in the bible

² Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?”

³ “What did Moses command you?” he replied.

⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”

⁵ “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ ⁷ ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, ⁸ and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰ When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. (Mark 10, New International Version, ©2011)

God was very explicit in Malachi 2 when he said

¹⁰ Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?

¹¹ Judah has been unfaithful. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves by marrying women who worship a foreign god. ¹² As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD remove him from the tents of Jacob—even though he brings an offering to the LORD Almighty.

¹³ Another thing you do: You flood the LORD’s altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer looks with favor on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. ¹⁴ You ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.

¹⁵ Has not the one God made you? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

¹⁶ “The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the LORD, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the LORD Almighty.

So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful. (Malachi 2:10-16, New International Version, ©2011)

So in the light of God's word, we really want to feel for our fellow man/woman who really wants to make that hard decision but remember God made it clear "If you are divorced, you are not suppose to go marrying another else it will be counted as adultery".
Indeed we can say this message sounds crude for our generation but remember "IF ANYONE DESIRE AND IS WORKING TOWARDS HEAVEN, THERE IS NO OTHER WAY".

God bless.