Curse God and Die

With the exception of Jesus, probably no man ever suffered more than Job. Within one day's time, this man lost all his wealth and possessions, then all ten of his children were killed. Next he lost even his health as he became covered with boils from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. Finally, his wife turned against him and told him to "Curse God and die."

Some people think that, if you serve God faithfully, He will solve all your troubles. Preachers sometimes even promise that God will work miracles to eliminate your hardships. As a result, some people try to serve God but turn their back on Him when they continue to have problems.

But why did Job suffer so? Was he wicked and disobedient to God? In Job 1:8 God Himself said concerning Job: "...there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil." Job 1:22 says that, even after his troubles began, "in all this Job did not sin..."

Hardship is a part of life. Some hardships we bring on ourselves because of poor choices, such as overextending ourselves financially instead of living within our means. Other hardships come no matter what we do: sickness, financial challenges, and death are realities we all face. We often

We all have felt some sort of loss or the other in our lifetime, most of which we may regard as hardship. Even though we may not have experienced exactly what others may be going through, we can still offer them comfort because of what we have experienced from God. As God comforted us in our troubles, we can be used by God to comfort others. As we empathise with them, it provides an atmosphere in which God can minister His comfort.

What if God’s only gift to you were his grace to save you. Would you be content? Content! That’s the word. A state of heart in which you would be at peace if God gave you nothing more than he already has. You beg him to save the life of your child. You implore him to remove the cancer from your body. You plead with him to keep your business afloat. What if his answer is, “My grace is enough?” Would you be content?

You see, from heaven’s perspective, grace is enough. If God did nothing more than save us from hell, could anyone complain? Having been given eternal life, dare we grumble at an aching body? Let me be quick to add. God has not left you with “just” salvation. He has already given you grace upon grace. The vast majority of us have been saved and then blessed even more!

BONGO

Everyone reeled in laughter as Emeka shared with other teachers his childhood experience as regards the lesson and how a person handles abundance and loss.

‘As a growing teen back in the 80’s, my dad used to buy me lots of trouser materials which I used to make the trending pants, ‘Bongo’. At one point, I had close to 17 of such trousers amongst other clothes in my collection. I didn't fail to show-off, not just when I dressed up, but on weekends. I’d wash the 17 Bongos, iron and array all of them on the rope in front of our house. This went on every week.

One fateful Sunday morning, I woke up to discover (in shock and dismay) that all my precious ‘Bongos’ gone. The thief took all except my school uniform. I eventually had to wear my school uniform to church (for lack of anything else). After the incident, my father tried to gradually replace my clothes, however it was never the same but I moved on.’

Back then Emeka was ‘rich’ in his own way, lost all and survived with a mindset not to hold-on to anything. Today, he’s got series of recorded losses in business and otherwise, however he’s not shaken by such. Why? Because he believes he’ll succeed with God in his life and the resources God continues to place in his hand as a Christian.

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Drawing from the ‘Bongo’ experience, our lesson today reflects on biblical principles concerning financial issues, our reliance on God for daily needs and the need to trust God with our money and lives. This principles are drawn from Proverbs 3:9-10; Prov. 11:16,24,25 ;  Prov. 13:11 ; Prov. 22:7; Matthew 6:19-24 ; Luke 16: 1-12; 2 Corinthians 9: 6-11

As Christians, we need to evaluate where we are with money matters. Have we been making decisions based on our bank accounts rather on God’s will and direction? If so, we can ask God to help us make Him our master.

One of the tools we can use to help us use money in a way that honours God is a budget. If you already use a budget, make sure tithing is part of that budget. Ask God to help you develop a God honouring budget that will help you become financially free so you can use what God provides to advance His kingdom and care for your family.

You are blessed to be a ‘Blessing’; do don’t fail in this heavenly responsibility while holding on to anything (money, asset, resources, goodwill etc.)

Family Tree

Families can be described in many ways: close-knit, supportive or dysfunctional. One thing most families provide is a supportive structure for their members. Once the foundation of a family is laid, the structure of the family can be established. Now the Bible clearly reveals requirements for establishing a successful family. These are that wives are to submit to their husbands, husbands are to love their wives, children are to obey their parents and parents are to treat their children is an encouraging manner.

Responsibility means doing what needs to be done to take care of yourself, your family, your friends, and the greater community. Being responsible means that others can rely on you, which you follow through on your promises.

Kids need to learn that acting responsibly might involve doing something difficult--like studying for a test or giving up social plans in favour of helping the family. Responsibility can also take moral strength--such as saying no to drugs, smoking. Parents teach their children to act responsibly and do the right thing.

Children learn trust from having parents who are trustworthy. When kids are nurtured well and consistently, they develop a sense of basic trust and security. So if you say you’re coming home for dinner, do your best to be there. When you make a promise, try to fulfil it. If unexpected events keep you from following up, explain why honestly and simply. This provides a good model as children learn to take responsibility for their own actions. As a child, if you promise never to do something again, make extra effort to keep your word. This becomes easier when over time, it has been learned from a parent or older relative, the importance of one’s word.

The key to unity in the home is to be humble and gentle. Humility will allow a person to see the soundless of another’s opinion. Gentleness will communicate a desire to work out situation when conflicts occur and will create an environment in which conflicts can be resolved in a healthy and safe manner. Each member of the family must be patient with the others, bearing with one another in love. When members of a family structure that will withstand the challenges that threaten to tear it apart.

Singles Vs married

If you’re single, Satan is after you.

Okay, he’s after all of us, but there are some unique dangers in singleness — especially in unwanted singleness. He loves to deceive and discourage single people in the church and derail our devotion and ministry. But God intends to use you, your faith, your time, and your singleness in radical ways right now, as you are.

Perhaps the greatest temptation in singleness is to assume marriage will meet our unmet needs, solve our weaknesses, organize our lives, and unleash our gifts. Far from the solution, Paul makes marriage out to be a kind of problematic Plan B of Christian life and ministry. Marry if you must, but be warned, following Jesus is not easier when you join yourself to another sinner in a fallen world.

Therefore, for the not-yet married, our (temporary) singleness is a gift. It really is. If God leads you to marriage, you may never again know a time like the one you’re in right now. A season of singleness is not merely the minor leagues of marriage. It has the potential to be a unique period of undivided devotion to Christ and undistracted ministry to others.

Some pastors won’t allow singles to be ministry leaders based on 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 where it says leaders must be the husband of one wife, yet overlooking the fact that Jesus, Paul, and other apostles were single.  I have even seen how some married couples will avoid socializing with singles unless there is a crowd because they fear that the single person of the opposite sex will seduce their spouse and the single person of the same sex (especially men) will be a bad influence on their mate.  The truth is, there are many singles in the church who look for opportunities to reach out to others with the genuine selfless love of the Lord and desire to contribute the use of their spiritual gifts for the church’s benefit, but are held back by the prejudices of married Christians.  This not only hurts the church, but can greatly discourage the single believer.

Whether single, married with children, or married without children, every family unit faces struggles. Fortunately, Christians have the privileged of spiritual support system that they can turn to in times of need. The body of Christ works effectively as brothers and sisters care for one another. The bottom line is that we need to exercise the love that God commands us to in the Bible.  When we have to deal with worldly people every day and their evil ways, the church should be the one place that a Christian–single or married–should be greeted with acceptance and have the freedom to serve in whatever capacity God is leading them to.

Triumphant

Can you imagine someone trying to sell ice to an Eskimo? What colour or taste of ice would you prefer it in? We have every flavour and smell. Sweet, Stinky, Sour, or Salty. It will cost a little more for taste. Colour is priced the same. What is your choice my friend? Its magic snow! Buy a bunch from me this year and next year you'll get a bunch for free falling from the sky!

A lot of Christians are sold things the same way. Despite the fact that their father owns everything, they still go about begging to buy them; willing to pay anything. As Christians, Jesus has told us the thing that "in me you might have peace. In the world you shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world".

Before you can experience victory, you must have a knowledge of your identification with Christ. This means three things: (1) when Jesus died, you died with Him; (2) when Jesus was buried, you were buried with Him; (3) when Jesus rose, you rose with Him.

First, Jesus' death had your name on it. That's the reason the apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ." Jesus paid the debt we owed with His blood. Second, not only did we die with Jesus, but we were buried with Jesus. He carried our sins into the grave of God's forgetfulness. Thirdly, we have been raised with Jesus. Christians are not just nice people, they're new creatures. We have the same power that raised up Jesus Christ from the dead. We have that power in us. We are new people.

Jesus sacrifice alone makes it possible for us to overcome spiritually. The cross was Satan’s defeat in the lives of believers. The blood of Jesus is our biggest weapon to wage war against the devil. The things that happened at the cross still dumbfounds the devil up till now. This is the encouragement and assurance that Christ has given us from the beginning - Satan has been crushed and humiliated by God. It reminds us that evil cannot and will not win against divine righteousness, power and love. Satan’s defeat encourages us to rest in the grace and care of Almighty God.

As Christians, we will face challenges to our faith in Christ. Temptations and distractions pose threats to our determination to follow Christ to ultimate victory. We can become preoccupied with the cares of this world and forget that we are in a spiritual battle. We must be on guard. Satan is at work to oppose God’s plan for this world. He will try to move us away from the conduct and belief that reflect our faith in Christ.