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THE DAMON AND PYTHIAS STORY

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According to an ancient Greek legend, Damon and Pythias traveled to live in Sicily where Pythias was convicted of plotting to overthrow the despotic King Dionysius of Syracuse, and was sentenced to death. Before dying, Pythias wanted to return to Greece to see his family. Damon offered to take his place and agreed to be executed if Pythias did not return. In the end, the bully king Dionysius let the two friends go because he had never seen such a friendship. Several years back, a very close friend of ours came to me one morning to ask for some money for a pressing need. I had some money with me which we kept for a particular purpose coming up, so I gave it to my friend. When the purpose for which we kept the money came and neither my friend nor I had returned the money, my wife became furious and fought me for days despite the fact that I told her who I lent the money to and the urgent need he had. I didn't mind the castigation but consoled myself by the fact I showed love to a dea...
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BURN YOUR BRIDGE

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  But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”  (Luke 9:62 NKJV) History tells us that the great General George Washington in his battles at the birthing of America as a nation, employed a peculiar strategy. After the conquest of a battle, he moved on, crossed the river and sets ablaze the bridge on it behind them. First, his own soldiers no longer have the temptation to deflect to the enemy camp; secondly the enemy would not sneak to their camp behind them for a counter-attack!  Moses led the children of Israel successfully across the Red Sea and the Lord closed the sea first, to destroy the Egyptian forces in hot pursuit, and to avoid a turning back by Israel, for no sooner had the people crossed over to the other side after some difficulties than they started hollering to go back to Egypt. God does not expect us to look back with desires to go back to the old sinful ways of our past. Remember Lot's w...
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QUO VADIS?

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  Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, where are You going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow Me now, but you shall follow Me afterward.”  (John 13:36 NKJV) Henryk Sienkiewicz was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. He was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his "outstanding merits as an epic writer." Quo Vadis is taken from a scene in Sienkiewicz book with the same title. The scene reveals that, persuaded by the saints in Rome, horrified Saint Peter is leaving Rome and suddenly he sees Jesus going towards the city. He asks Him 'Quo vadis, domine..?' (where are you going my master?) Jesus says: 'I am going to be crucified for the second time, because you do not ought to'. The legend says Peter immediately turned back to the city and faced his martyrdom. He was killed in Rome around the same time as Saint Paul. Fiction aside,...
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DEFECTIVE OFFERING

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Whatever has a defect, you shall not offer, for it shall not be acceptable on your behalf. And whoever offers a sacrifice of a peace offering to the Lord, to fulfill his vow, or a freewill offering, it must be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no defect in it.  (Leviticus 22:20-21). This injunction from the Lord to His people caught my attention again, and a compulsion fell on me to share it to us, His present people. The compulsion is borne out of the weight of the prescribed consequence God places on disobedience to this injunction, for not only is a defect. I've offering unacceptable to God, the bible describes it as evil: “You offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ ‘...when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:7-8) What then is a defective of...
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OUR ADVOCATE

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 '...If anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.'  (1John 2:1-2 NKJV). Renowned itinerant preacher and Pastor, Robert Henderson, teaches extensively about the Courts of Heaven. He emphasises that our prayers are not answered because we go to God as Father and as Friend merely and not as Jugde. He teaches that our accuser, Satan, knows that our sins, transgressions and iniquities stand against us before God as hindrance to our prayers and we need a verdict of acquittal for our prayers to be answered.  Jesus our advocate is seated at God’s right hand pleading believers' case whenever Satan brings accusations against them. (See Job 1), Believers are the accused, Satan is the accuser of brethren, Jesus Christ is seated with the Father as Advocate interceding for them, and God the Father is seated on His throne in the courtroom of heaven as ...
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FIRSTFRUITS

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    Honour the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.  (Prov. 3:9-10 NKJV) I have friends who I know give their firstfruits conscientiously. Some do so by bringing to church their first salary each year without fail as firstfruit. Some give part of the total income of the previous year as seed sown into the new year, while some give the whole of the first sale from their business as first offering. Yet some unliberated folks still bring real fruits from their first harvest. These people have made this a habit which they hardly break. An attempt to emulate them may need great determination and prayers to accomplish!  God gave these words through Moses to the children of Israel: “When you come into the land which I give you and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest.” —Leviticus 23:10. One blo...
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RESET TO SERVE

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This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.   (Jeremiah 6:16a NLT) When we newly became born again, you could almost see the fire we carried as young believers. First we wanted everyone to know that we have found something very precious - a new relationship with God by yielding our lives to Jesus Christ. People could see the change in us from the way we now carried around the bible, spent more time praying, participated in fellowship meetings and never missed attendance in church. We could hardly control our zeal to serve in God’s kingdom and wanted all we met to be the same. We felt Christ would return any moment to take the saints back with Him to heaven so we yearned to be among the number.  But now, perhaps because Christ has tarried in His coming as we expected, the fire has dimmed, and continues dimming further by the vicissitudes of life that dail...
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A PSALM OF PAUL

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  - Romans 11:33-36 GNT How great are God's riches!  How deep are his wisdom and knowledge!  Who can explain his decisions?  Who can understand his ways?  As the scripture says,  “Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give him advice? Who has ever given him anything, so that he had to pay it back?”  For all things were created by him, and all things exist through him and for him.  To God be the glory forever! Amen. Merry Christmas. Olusegunisaac.blogspot.com Links to my EBooks: https://selar.co/m/olusegun-isaac https://rightwaybooks.com/profile/olusegun-isaac
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PRESSING ON IN FACE OF ODDS

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  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.'  (Philippians 3:12-14 NKJV).      Jamaican star Usain Bolt was the fastest man on earth, at least till the 2016 Rio Olympic games when he ran the 100 meters sprint in 9.58 seconds. Some call him 'lightning bolt'. At 32 years of age he was already worth $24 billion according to the Forbes Index. Many know him as a sprint star alone, but he is also a footballer, dancer, coach etc. When asked the secret of his success he made these statements among others: "Those seven guys behind you in that track want it much as you want it. So you have to want it more. This is why you train harder." And another statement by him: "It doesn't matter where you start, as long as you finish strong. There are better starters than ...
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ARE YOU COMPLACENT?

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  Text:  The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.  (Matthew 19:20-22) Have you heard the saying about the cat by the riverside that wants to eat fish but does not want its paws wet? So it is with us humans; everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die! There's always a price to pay. The dictionary defines complacency as 'A feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger, trouble, or controversy'. A parent is complacent when he or she desires God-fearing children but doesn't train them in the way of the Lord. A leader who wants success but condones sloppiness among his followers is complacent. A pastor who wants a ...
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