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LYDIA

  CHARACTERISTICS: A Gentile adherent of Judaism, she was a successful businesswoman who sold a type of cloth prized for its purple color. As head of her household, she may have been either widowed or single. So strong was her faith that her entire household followed her example and was baptized. She extended hospitality to Paul and his companions, even after their imprisonment. Her Sorrow: To see Paul and Silas beaten and thrown into prison for the sake of the gospel she had embraced. Her Joy:  That God’s Spirit directed Paul and his companions to Macedonia, enabling her and others at Philippi to hear the gospel for the first time. STORY IN BRIEF: Lydia, a business woman who made her living by selling clothes, lived in Philippi, Macedonia. She was a gentile but Judaism-addict. Paul had a vision where a man pleaded that he came to Macedonia with the gospel. So he headed there. After sharing the good news with the Philippines along the coast, Lydia and her household believed an...

THE GREATEST WEAPON !

  “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds…. “ 2 Corinthians 10:4 KJV As christians, we are not improverished of ammunitions with which to withstand the enemy and his wiles. Yet these weapons are variably effective. There is, therefore, the need to look into the nature of each of them and reasonably determine the most productive. According to Paul, in the preceding scripture, our arms are not physical; prayer, praise/worship, faith, obedience and Light, are all rather abstract though results-yielding. Now, which of these does satan fear most? Let us find out from the following paragraphs. Prayer is a good arm. It transforms both on the inside and on the outside of us. But if prayer is a request, then satan can pray too; he got far into God’s presence, requesting of His permission to try Job. He demanded of The Lord to sift Peter like wheat. Thus, prayer is not satan’s most-feared ! Afterall, he too can pray to God. D...

DEBORAH

  MEANING OF NAME :  Honey Bee CHARACTER :  Deborah was not just a political leader, but was also one who trusted in the faithfulness of Her God, resulting in their victory over foreign oppressors. HER REGRET :  Herpeople's faith had grown weak after deviating from their God. HER JOY :  Through her courageous and faithful leadership, God, again handed them victory over their opposers. STORY IN BRIEF :  Following the reign of Joshua and Rahab, was DEBORAH - the prophetess. Deborah was not dispirited like her fellow Israelites but rather remained loyal and strong in God.   Israelites, would practise idolatory after conquering the gateway to Caanan ( Jericho). Thus, they became timid and discouraged in the face of the uprising Canaanites led by their king, Sisera. But Deborah would keep her trust in the God that brought them this far. She joined Barak and his thousands of men in an attack at the Canaanites. And God was faithful - He granted them Victory a...

THE GREATEST WEAPON ( Part 2))

And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22 KJV . Our preliminary article has established that of all the weapons, including prayer, praise/worship, knowledge and faith, obedience is the greatest. Faith is proved by obedience. As the popular adage is, ” practice makes perfect.”, so knowledge itself is also not complete without obedience. Prayer, praise and worship are all forms of sacrifices, yet God says obedience is better than them all. Today’s piece reveals why Obedience is God’s number one ! As quiet as obedience is, it remains the loudest tone of faith amongst prayer, praise and worship. The three Hebrew boys had not even the slightest hint of deliverance from God if they disobeyed the king’s orders.But their faith-oriented obedience was voiceferous in the ears of God ! How about Daniel, Job and Joseph? They equa...

ELI

  MEANING OF NAME : Jehovah is high or my God  HIS JOY : His good personality earned him admiration and corporation from his fellow Israelites during his ministry. HIS REGRET : His two sons let him down by their low quality characters. STORY IN BRIEF : Eli, a Levi, was from the family of Ithamar. He served as the priest and a high judge of Israel for about 40years. Though Eli himself was a good man, his two sons were not. Yet He made them occupy the Priestly positions. And when they went wrong, Eli would only warn them. He did not rebuke them.  Eli paid deerly for lack of proper parental control when his two sons were slaid in the battle with the Philistines, where the Israelites also lost the ark. Eli, on hearing this, fell over his back and died breaking his neck. And because that Glory was departed from Israel, Eli's daughter-in-Law  named the son she immediately brought forth, " Ichabod " which means, " without Glory ". SCRIPTURE REFERENCES : I Sam. 1–4; 14:...

THE SHUNAMITE WOMAN

 


She lived in Jezreel, specifically along a road that links Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Being a generous woman, she agreed with her husband and made a resting place on the top of their building for Elisha who mostly plied that road.


One day, when the shunamite saw Elisha travelling the road again with his servant she invited them over into her house and showed her kindness so much to the Prophet's satisfaction.


Thus, Elisha sought through his servant, Geharzi, to reward her gesture but the woman sharply objected to it. The Prophet then asked his servant if there was any favour he could use his influence with the King of Israel to offer her but the woman would still reject that offer.


So he asked Geharzi to suggest a reward for the woman. When the servant mentioned that the woman had no child, Elisha declared that they would have one a year's time from then, which the Lord also fulfilled.


When this child died some years later, the woman went laid him in Elisha's room. But God remained faithful; after Elisha prayed and laid himself on the child a couple of times, he jerked back to life ! 


FURTHER READINGS:

Song of Songs 1 – 8

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