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Bible study: 7 Reasons to Personally Study the Bible

Posted by Ekundayo Nov 24, 2015 Holy Word, Church, Family, Gospel Evangelism, Podcast bible study Leave a Comment

Bible study is the act of digesting the word of God in your heart for a healthy spiritual growth. It is unfortunate that the Christians across the world could not tackle the rise in abominable acts in the societies. Why? The significance of personal Bible Study got diminished!! We need to promote private Bible Studies.

The 2012 online survey of Life-Way Research shows that only 19% of churchgoers personally (not as part of a church worship service) read the Bible every day.
But the shocking statistics for 2014 conducted by the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture says only 9% of Americans read the Bible daily.

According to the Canadian Bible Engagement study (May 2014), 55% of Canadians never read the Bible, 28% seldom read the Bible and 11% read it once a week or more frequently.

The British Bible Society released a study showing many British citizens cannot identify certain Bible stories; 43% of children have never heard the story of the crucifixion.

This sharp drop in Bible studies is a signal of end time tribulation. The faith of the young ones in Jesus Christ is becoming irrelevant. Jesus predicted this faith scarcity recorded in the book of Luke chapter 18 verses 8: “… Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

The seven reasons for a personal Bible Study include:

1. God’s Identity Card

Bible study is the easiest way to identify God. The reason for the high number of lukewarm Christians is due to the failure to know the profile of the Lord Jesus Christ they accepted as Savior.

It is impossible to enjoy a good relationship with someone you can’t identify. And you will find it easy to know the identity of the Lord when you always study the word of God in the Bible.

For instance, you might not know the name of the Lord if you have never read a passage such as Exodus chapter 3 verse 14: “And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

2. Authentic Road Map

This generation is filled with false Pastors and Prophets. If you obey their teachings without studying the Bible, then you will miss the right track to heaven. The Bible is the only perfect Book that describes how to live in holiness, love and peace.

The journey to heaven requires bible study. This is synonymous to your map readings, and obedience to traffic rules when driving on the highway.

If you don’t study the word of God regularly, then it is impossible to know the right lifestyles acceptable to the Lord. Second Timothy chapter 3 verse 16 and 17 says: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

3. Bible Study yields Miracle

The study of God’s word in the Bible can ease your heart from heavy burden. It restores hope, strengthens faith and can heal your broken heart. I had never regretted studying the Bible every day.

In the past, I suffered memory loss. But, when I gave my life to Jesus and read the Bible daily, I noticed a great improvement. I’m no more suffering from memory loss! Hallelujah!!

4. Bible is God’s Amplifier

God is not dumb and He won’t hesitate to speak, if you are ready to hear from Him. Your regular Bible study will give answers to questions bothering your heart.

For instance, I noticed my heart always becomes troubled when I play jokes. And my pastor did the same to make us laugh during the church service. So, no one told me it was wrong to be a clown! I prayed to God to explain the misery of my troubled heart.

I didn’t hear from God until I stumbled on Ephesians chapter 5 during my personal bible study at home… “But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.”

Bible study will save you from a lot of mess in the Christendom today.

5. Understand God’s cultural views

The careful study of the Bible shows that God is so much interested in the cultural practices of His beloved children. He warned the Israelite not to follow the culture of the Amorites and others, because such cultural practices are bunch of abominations. (Exodus 23:23-25)

In a scenario where the culture of your land contradicts God’s view, it is wise for you to engross yourself in an uninterrupted bible study. For instance, America and some countries had legalized the practice of homosexuals which is against God’s will.

Leviticus chapter 20 verses 13 say: “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”

Everyone in this generation requires an intensive personal bible study, this will give us the understanding of God’s view on the right culture to practice.

6. Bible Study Exposes Devil’s secret

You will know more of devil’s devices if you study your bible every day. And you will also find it easy to scrutinise the false teachings of the antichrists in the Christendom.

Devil knows that a lot of ‘lazy Christians’ find it difficult to read the Bible, so he is recruiting a lot of brilliant Pastors. Their job is to deceive the people with ungodly doctrines.

The bible study I did in the book of second Peter opened my eyes to see many sugar-coated deceits in our midst. “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.” (2 Peter 2:1)

7. You will overcome temptation and sin

Jesus Christ did intensive Bible study when He was young and it helped Him in the desert where there was no Bible to read. He overcame Satan’s temptations through the word of God. Listen! ‘You can’t give what you don’t have!’

The Devil is not happy about God’s salvation for your life. So, he will whisper many temptations to your heart, because he does not want you to be free from sins. But, Jesus Christ will wash your sins away if you give your total life to Him.

Read your Bible Daily and you will overcome all the temptations of devil.

Forgiveness: How to Forgive and Forget

Posted by Ekundayo Nov 8, 2015 Holy Word, Church, Family, Podcast, Youths forgiveness Leave a Comment

Forgiveness is the ability to heal a wounded heart. To forgive and forget an offense involves an emotional process, and it is not an instant event.

Doctor Saima Noreen and his team at the University of St Andrews carried out a related research and their outcome suggests that forgiveness facilitates forgetting. The research found that individuals are more effective at suppressing items of information associated with memories for offenses they have already forgiven.

Fred Luskin, a psychologist reported that in careful scientific studies, forgiveness training has been shown to reduce depression, increase hopefulness, decrease anger, improve spiritual connection and increase emotional self-confidence.

Research also shows that people who are more forgiving report fewer health and mental problems, and fewer physical symptoms of stress.

There are various offenses such as cheat in the marriage/office, fraud, lies and so on. These offenses might not have the same hurtful size, but God wants you to forgive every offender.

Everyone had once offended the Lord, but He forgives us and forgot our past sins. The forgiveness of the Lord made us Christians today! So, the Lord made forgiveness a mandatory trend for every one of us.

Matthew chapter 6 verses 14 & 15 says: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

3 Rules of Forgiveness for Reconciliation

Forgiveness is not an action you do in haste or under pressure. You must find out the details of the offense, and the intention of the offender.

Jesus gave the rule of forgiveness in the book of Luke chapter 17 verse 3 & 4 says: “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

1. Criticize your Offender
It’s sinful to keep malice with your offender. Ephesians chapter 4 verses 31 say: “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice”.

So, the first step towards forgiveness is to call the offender, and criticize the offense through the word of God. Read the Bible passage that condemns such offense to the offender.
You might be going through a serious pain, but you must be strong to explain the scriptural implication of the offense to the offender.

2. Confirm Offender’s Repentance
The offender that deserves forgiveness and reconciliation must feel bad for committing such offense.

For instance, a rude son offended his dad by joining bad boys to steal on the street. The action of this boy brought a public shame to his father. Having rebuked the boy, the confirmation of his repentance was to renounce his bad gangs, and join the group of God-fearing boys.

3. Forgive your Offender
Forgiveness might not be easy in some heart-breaking offenses, but it is safer for you to forgive the (repented) offender.
Matthew chapter 18 verses 15 says: “Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”

Forgiveness that deserves reconciliation is a two-way process which involves; repentance on the side of the offender and to forgive on the side of the offended person.

There are some occasions where the offender will not be remorseful for the offense committed. It would be impossible to reconcile with such offender. Don’t allow the bitterness to stay in your heart forever. The best options are forgiveness and prayers for the stubborn offender (who might be your enemy).

How to Handle Forgiveness without Reconciliation

Jesus explained the scenario in Mathew chapter 18 verses 16 &17:

• “But if he (offender) will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established’.

• And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector”.

Benefits of Forgiveness

• It restores hope for the offender.

• Forgiveness relieves the heart of the offended person.

• To forgive and forget offenses will give you a healthy heart that is free from bitterness, anger, stress and hypertension.

• The more you forgive, the lesser your risk of losing heaven…

Angry: How to Control Anger

Posted by Ekundayo Aug 24, 2015 Family, Holy Word, Podcast, Word of Faith anger 14 Comments

God created anger as one of the emotions in us for positive usage. Unfortunately, a lot of people get angry always, because they could not control their anger. I heard a true life story of a couple in Nigeria few weeks before the March presidential election. The husband supported the ruling party while the wife was a supporter of the major opposition party. After a hot political argument between the couple, the wife was angry and she went to the kitchen for one of her sharp knives. She stabbed her husband to death. The wife committed this murderous act because she allowed anger to control her sense of judgment.
Anger is like a two sided coin. There are two dimensions to anger which I called; holy anger and unholy anger.

Is Holy Anger a Sin?

Holy anger is a harmless emotional expression which is meant to correct wrong situation. For instance, a judge got angry to a thief and sentenced him to six months imprisonment for rehabilitation. The holy anger of the judge is to help the thief to change from his bad lifestyle to a good one.
The expression of your holy anger is acceptable by God when you act against unholy circumstances. Jesus got angry when He discovered that the temple of God had been rented to some business men for trading. Every action He took when he was angry was meant to restore the primary purpose of the temple.

Luke chapter 19 verse 45 to 47 says: “Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’” And He was teaching daily in the temple…”
You are not a sinner when you get angry to a wrong situation. But make sure your holy anger contributes to the positive change of the improper circumstances. Holy anger is not a regular character of God, but He gets angry when disobedient people compromise the laid down rules of living a good life.

The book of Judges chapter 2 verses 20 to 22 says: “Then the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel; and He said, “Because this nation has transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and has not heeded My voice, “I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, “so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.”
Few Pastors preach on the altar with holy anger, because they dislike the choice of people who act against the will of God in the Bible. For instance, I recently watched Pastor John Hagee on the television, and I was impressed with the way he preached with holy anger against homosexual. Same-sex marriage was recently legalized by the supreme court of the United States. Holy anger is always expressed with love, but unholy anger is disastrous!

How Disastrous is Unholy Anger?

Unholy anger is a destructive emotion with unproductive outcomes. Sometimes it emanates from a heart filled with jealousy. Unholy anger is impatient and has no solution to offer…
Unholy anger in our society had caused unpleasant crises such as:
• Divorce
• Drug abuse
• Domestic violence
• Division in some churches
• Death as a result of racism and non-racism issues.
You have to be careful with the way you react to any unpleasant issue that comes your way. For instance, the first murderer in the Bible, Cain, found himself in the mess because of his unholy anger to Abel whose offering was respected by the Lord. “…And Cain was very angry,…Now Cain talked with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him…” (Genesis 4:3-12)
Anger in its broad sense is not a comfortable mood for you, so the following steps will help you control anger:
1. Always forgive the offender
2. Express yourself in Agape love
3. Pray for the initiator of the anger
4. In case of cheat; do not revenge but let God be the Judge
5. Always allow the Holy Spirit in you to control your actions when you are angry.

5 Ways to Save your Marriage from Crashing

Posted by Ekundayo Jul 26, 2015 Family, Holy Word, Podcast marriage 1 Comment

God designed marriage as a perfect plan to overcome the burden of loneliness in man. Genesis chapter 2 verse 24 says, ‘’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.’’
It’s no more news that there has been a high rate of marriage crashing in our generation. God is not pleased with this trend, because He hates divorce. Malachi chapter 2 verses 16 says, ‘’ For the LORD God of Israel says That He hates divorce, For it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the LORD of hosts. “Therefore take heed to your spirit that you do not deal treacherously’’.
Marriage involves the use of some spiritual skills to prevent it from crashing;

1. Maintain the Family Prayer Time

Do not allow the rush of the morning, or the tiredness of the night to snatch the family prayer time from you. I had tried this method and it has been a good medium of solving marital conflicts. When I had misunderstanding with my wife, I always find it difficult to sleep over it, because the two of us respect the family prayer time before going to bed. Thus, we humbly solve our differences before the Lord so that our prayers will be answered.

In the book of Matthew chapter 5 verse 23 and 24, Jesus says: ‘’ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.’’

Prayers with your spouse in the morning and at night release an unbreakable supernatural bond to your marriage.

2. Sharing the Word of God

I asked a couple who were so hot to crash their marriage if they read the Bible together every day. I was shocked to discover that none of the couple reads Bible except on Sunday service.
If the government is taking away Bible from the public places, then it is disastrous for couples to hide theirs in the private home. The word of God is powerful and highly significant to the unity of a marriage. When you have a contrary opinion to a decision your spouse intend to take, do not organize a hot debate center in your living room. The best action is to argue with respect to God’s word, pick your Bible and read through related passages. If your spouse’s decision is on God’s side, then give your consent.
Otherwise, tell your spouse with a respectful voice that such decision is against God’s will. Sharing the word of God together with your spouse gives a greater chance of common reasoning which will reduce hot argument drastically.

3. Doing Things Together

A Christian marriage understands that both the husband and wife is helper to each other. Doing domestic work together such as; laundry, painting, cooking and cleaning are all filled with fun.

Doing things together establishes a mutual understanding between you and your spouse, and it discourages conflicts. A lot of couples carelessly find it easy to crash their marriage, because they do things alone. But in a condition where both couples do things together, to break-up will be a hard nut to crack.

4. Learn to Say ‘Sorry’

Some marriages stand the risk of crashing when the spouse at fault in a particular matter could not say ‘sorry my love’. Apologizing for doing something wrong rekindles the light of love in the marriage.

5. Don’t Make Jest of your Spouse

Some spouse thought it is all about fun when they expose their spouse’s error in the public. It does more harm than good. For instance, a woman at a wedding party yelled at her husband to button his sleeve, everyone around him laughed at his improper dressing but deep in his heart it was a public embarrassment.

It is the responsibility of both the husband and wife to give their hearts to God. Every marriage controlled by God cannot crash. So, keep your marriage intact by drawing close to God…

Tattoo: God’s View to Tattoo on Your Body

Posted by Ekundayo Jul 16, 2015 Family, Holy Word, Podcast, Word of Faith, Youths body, Christian, tattoo 1 Comment

The oldest discovery of tattoo on human skin was found on the upper lip of a Chinchorro culture mummy from South America, dating to about 6,000BC, while the oldest direct evidence of tattoo in Europe is the body of Otzi the iceman, dating from the late 4,000BC.

Tattoo had been an ancient practice for different purposes across the world. For instance, the Greeks and Romans used tattoo as punishment and identification of slaves and criminals. While in some part of the world, tattoo is an idolatry practice to show solidarity to idols.

Presently, tattoo is referred to as fashion in the western civilization. One in every five adult in the United States has at least one tattoo on their skin, and women have the highest figure according to the results of The Harris Poll. It is unfortunate that most of the film artists, musicians and sport men are promoting tattoo through the media.

Is Tattoo Acceptable for Christians?

Romans chapter 12 verse 1 and 2 says: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.’’ This passage always struck my heart when I ponder on controversial topics such as this.

As a child of God, your body is designed for God, and not to the fashions of the world. The teachings of God were different from the culture of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites who lived on the promise land, so He warned the Israelites to destroy them and never to follow their customs. Deuteronomy chapter 7 says: “…and when the LORD your God delivers them over to you, you shall conquer them and utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them nor show mercy to them’’.

Piercing, cutting and tattoo on the skin were popular practices in the midst of the heathen to worship their idols and to pacify the infernal deities they dreamt of, and to make them propitious to their deceased friends. God gave the strong warning, because He does not want the Israelite to receive the image and superscription of the dunghill deities.

Four reasons for Christians to Stay Away From Tattoo

1. God is the sole creator of your body, so any tattoo that could change the natural appearance of your skin is not acceptable by Him. God does not want you to idolize your skin, because He is a jealous God. Deuteronomy chapter 4 verses 24 say: “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God’’.
2. Bleeding of the skin: The tattoo artist uses a machine with the attachment of needles piercing the skin repeatedly. Every puncture of the needles inserts tiny ink droplets and this process causes bleeding and pains to the body.
3. There is the high risk of viral infections such as HIV and hepatitis through the use of the needles.
4. There is no scriptural reference that supports the practice of tattoo.
Tattoo might look like an attractive fashion, but not all what looks good is beneficial to the body. Christians must be careful not to be carried away by the lustful desire of tattoo which has no spiritual benefit. Paul knew what your body can push you to do, but He warned in Romans chapter 6 verses 12, “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts’’.
I belief tattoo was not mentioned in the New Testament, because it was not a threat to the faith of the early Christians. I discovered the view of God on tattoo when He was teaching the Israelite how to live an acceptable life. Leviticus chapter 19 verses 28 say, “You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor tattoo any marks on you: I am the LORD’’.
Tattoo is becoming popular, and you must not be deceived by the false preachers who support the wrong fashion. God cares for your skin so much. I consider the use of tattoo as an abuse to the body created by God.
The inks of tattoo change the natural appearance of the skin created by God. If we surrender our body to God as a genuine Christian, then you will agree with me that tattoo is completely unnecessary in the Christendom.