Nigerian’s Heaven

“All those who are from Nigeria, join that queue, the rest of you, remain on this queue. Since you are Nigerian, giving or accepting bribe is ok; you can enter heaven. Or because you are Nigerian, it is not a sin to disobey government laws, or pay your correct taxes, levies and dues…” Many people expect God to say this to them when they get to the Judgement Seat.

The time of Noah is significant with what will happen when Christ comes. God will not spare the world, but the people’s righteousness will be used as a yardstick for punishing the ungodly. God is saying if my servant who was also in the world under the same sinful conditions as you were, was able to live right, why wouldn’t you? Chew on that! God will not spare the people of the old world as seen in Revelation. He intends to build a new pure Jerusalem.

After man sinned in the Garden of Eden, God was still merciful and compassionate that He still wanted to dwell with men despite their disobedience. Until He then saw that man had taken in the sinful nature of the devil and it was impossible to dwell in man. In fact God “strived” with men but because of man’s will (choice), God could not prevail. That is why it is impossible to mix both the flesh and the spirit. The flesh brings about – death/destruction while the spirit life – they are going to two different areas. So God said….. “for he is in flesh”. Men acted/thought flesh.

However, when we look at the love of Christ, we make a wonderful discovery. Love is more a decision than an emotion! Christ-like love applauds good behaviour. At the same time Christ-like love refuses to endorse misbehaviour. Jesus loved his apostles, but he wasn’t silent when they were faithless. Jesus loved the people in the temple, but he didn’t sit still when they were hypocritical.

God will use righteous people as a yardstick in judging others. The story of Noah explains that God will never lack a righteous person to use. As people will think that there are no more righteous people on earth, God is laughing saying that there is somebody who He can use. God CANNOT lack a vessel even in the midst of immorality in this pervert generation. Noah did not doubt or grudge when he heard God’s voice. He obeyed and it was counted to him as righteousness.

The question we should be asking ourselves is “Can God boldly say to me, that I am righteous before him in my generation?

Eat and Die

Man, as created, was good. God created man in His own image and likeness, in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness. Well, then, if God created man good, how comes it that all men now are bad? How did sin pass into all mankind? What caused this stupendous change from good to bad?

God created Adam, the first man, and Eve, the first woman, and placed them in a perfect home, the Garden of Eden.  In fact, everything about Earth was perfect at that moment in time. God put two important trees in the garden: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Adam's duties were clear.  God told him to tend the garden and not eat the fruit of those two trees, or he would die.  Adam passed that warning on to his wife.

Instead of believing God, Eve believed Satan.  She ate the fruit and gave some to her husband to eat.  Scripture says "the eyes of both of them were opened." (Genesis 3:7, NIV)  They realized they were naked and made hasty coverings from fig leaves. 

That view of the matter becomes more explicit in certain important passages of the New Testament. In the latter part of Romans 15, in particular, the Apostle Paul makes it plain. "Through one trespass," he there says, "the judgment came unto all men to condemnation" (Romans 5:18). "Through the one man's disobedience," he says in the next verse, "the many were made sinners." In these words and all through this passage we have the great doctrine that when Adam sinned he sinned as the representative of the race, so that it is quite correct to say that all mankind sinned in him and fell with him in his first transgression. There is a profound connection between Adam and the whole race of his descendants.

Christianity teaches that human beings are unable to overcome their fallen nature on their own and must turn to Christ as their Saviour.  The doctrine of grace states that salvation is a free gift from God and cannot be earned, merely accepted through faith.

The contrast between the world before sin and the world today is frightening.  Disease and suffering are rampant.  Wars are always going on somewhere, and closer to home, people treat one another cruelly.  Christ offered freedom from sin at his first coming and will close the "end times" at his second coming. 

The Fall of Man shows I have a flawed, sinful nature and can never earn my way into heaven by trying to be a good person.  Have I put my faith in Jesus Christ to save me?

God made it all

The birds and the bees, the flowers and trees,
The stars in the sky, the little butterflies;
The rivers and creeks, the cool summer breeze,
The clouds and the leaves, the plants and the seeds,
Everything we see, God made it all!

The rabbits and squirrels, little boys and girls,
Our fingers and hands, each woman and man;
The dogs and their fleas, the creatures of the deep,
The he's and she's, yes, even you and even me,
Everything we see, God made it all!

In summary, the simple truth of the creation story is that God is the author of creation. In Genesis 1 we are presented with the beginning of a divine drama that can only be examined and understood from the standpoint of faith. How long did it take? How did it happen, exactly? No one can answer these questions definitively. In fact, these mysteries are not the focus of the creation story. The purpose, rather, is for moral and spiritual revelation.

God was very pleased with his creation. Six times throughout the process of creating, God stopped, observed his handiwork and saw that it was good. On final inspection of all that he had made, God regarded it as "very good." This is a great time to remind ourselves that we are part of God's creation. Even when you don't feel worthy of his pleasure, remember that God made you and is pleased with you. You are of great worth to him.

In verse 26, God says, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness ..." This is the only instance in the creation account that God uses the plural form to refer to himself. It's interesting to note that this happens just as he begins to create man. Many scholars believe this is the Bible's first reference to the Trinity.

On the seventh day, God rested. It's hard to come up with a reason why God would need to rest, but apparently he considered it important. Rest is often an unfamiliar concept in our busy, fast-paced world. It's socially unacceptable to take an entire day to rest. Yet God knows we need times of refreshing. Our example, Jesus, spent time alone away from the crowds. So, we should not feel guilty when we take time each week to rest and renew our bodies, souls, and spirits.

The story clearly shows that God was enjoying himself as he went about the work of creation. As noted previously, six times he stops and savours his accomplishments. If God takes pleasure in his handiwork, is there anything wrong with us feeling good about our achievements?

Do you enjoy your work? Whether it's your job, your hobby, or your ministry service, if your work is pleasing to God then it should also bring pleasure to you. Consider the work of your hands. What things are you doing to bring pleasure to both you and God?