Sexual Violence in the days of Dinah
But when the local prince, Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he seized her and raped her.
Soon Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter, Dinah. But since his sons were out in the fields herding his livestock, he said nothing until they returned.
Meanwhile, Jacob’s sons had come in from the field as soon as they heard what had happened. They were shocked and furious that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s family, something that should never be done.
But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and entered the town without opposition. Then they slaughtered every male there,
Afterward Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have ruined me! You’ve made me stink among all the people of this land—among all the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are so few that they will join forces and crush us. I will be ruined, and my entire household will be wiped out!”
“But why should we let him treat our sister like a prostitute?” they retorted angrily. (Genesis 34:2, 5, 7, 25, 30-31 NLT)
The Value of Divine Heritage
Why should the name of our father disappear from his clan just because he had no sons? Give us property along with the rest of our relatives.” (Numbers 27:4 NLT)
A Christian duty
Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.
(Romans 13:13 NLT)
The Sense of Time
He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
(1 Samuel 17:40 NLT)
The moment David approach King Saul, many understood that their deliverance has come. Nevertheless, there were those, including David’s brothers, who failed to see the potentiality of David to handle Goliath.
As for David, he was convinced that the appropriate time to act was now.
When he hit Goliath’s head, David’s mind was at peace because he believed he did the right thing.
He could have waited for Saul to get him a fitted amor and shield. No, David used what he has to finish off the enemy of Israel.
The passage teaches two vital lessons. Time (now) and using what we have to resolve a problem or accomplish our duties.
Procastination is the greatest enemy of time. These two are forever at loggerheads. They are not together in union and as Christians, learning to organize our lives in accordance with God’s order is a must.
Time and opportunity are best friends. Unlike procrastination that prefers to pitch a tent at our doorsteps, opportunity only chooses to visit us once in a while.
So if we utilize our time in good, expected ways, it will call upon opportunity to come and see us, and dwell with us. No lazy Christians can boldly declare that they did not miss their chances. It is likely they were not to the blessings when opportunity came their way.
When we understand that time is precious and should be treated as such, we would do anything to manage it. And that includes using the resources at hand to get the job done. I implore us to look with ourselves, to dust from the dirt off our antiques: physical or not, and utilize them within the period that time and opportunity travel down our path.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
The Sense of Time
He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.
(1 Samuel 17:40 NLT)
The moment David approach King Saul, many understood that their deliverance has come. Nevertheless, there were those, including David’s brother, who failed to see the potentiality of David to handle Goliath.
As for David, he was convinced that the appropriate time to act was now.
When he hit Goliath’s head, David’s mind was at peace because he believed he did the right thing.
He could have waited for Saul to get him a fitted amor and shield. No, David used what he has to finish off the enemy of Israel.
The passage teaches two vital lessons. Time (now) and using what we have to resolve a problem or accomplish our duties.
Procastination is the greatest enemy of time. These two are forever at loggerheads. They are not together in union and as Christians, learning to organize our lives in accordance with God’s order is a must.
Time and opportunity are best friends. Unlike procrastination that prefers to pitch a tent at our doorsteps, opportunity only chooses to visit us once in a while.
So if we utilize our time in good, expected ways, it will call upon opportunity to come and see us, and dwell with us. No lazy Christians can boldly declare that they did not miss their chances. It is likely they were not to the blessings when opportunity came their way.
When we understand that time is precious and should be treated as such, we would do anything to manage it. And that includes using the resources at hand to get the job done. I implore us to look with ourselves, to dust from the dirt off our antiques: physical or not, and utilize them within the period that time and opportunity travel down our path.
In Jesus’s name, Amen
The Shame that flushes your face
‘Wherefore, if meat causeth my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh for evermore, that I cause not my brother to stumble.’ (1 Corinthians 8:13 ASV)
Christianity is not a joke. To keep on living the true life of believer, it requires constant doings such as praying, reading the bible, attending church services, serving God in every way and most importantly, preaching God in whatever you do.
If your life as a child of God is questionable then there is a problem. The only question people should be asking you is, how we know your God? But when people start saying, ‘Are you truly a Christian? then you need to cross-examine your life.
Your family members should be the first people to benefit from your Christian life. It should your utmost goal to ensure that they, too get to know Christ and accept Hm as their Lord, and personal saviour.
If Christianity is all about food and drink then there is no need to promote Christ because it is needless. On the other hand, christianity is life. Christianity is not religion. It is simply extreme liberty from sins and guilt. It is about ensuring the continuity of other believers in their salvation. It is about solidifying what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross.
Thus be very careful. Be cautious of every step you take. Let your speech, your gestures, your way of dressing, your attitude and your movement reflect presence of Jesus Christ. Be conscious of to how you lead others to God. Do not be their blocking stone. Instead be the one who will successfully lead them to Christ. Watch the way you talk. Do not let it be said that it is through you that that person fell out of the grace of God. Do not stand in their way of salvation. Do not use the name of God to deceive people into helping you financially.
Remember if your actions, if your character and if your life is not promoting God, then please change it so that you will not cause the other Christains to fall from their righteous paths. Imagine the dirty shame that will flush your face upon realising you were the one who let others stumbled from following God!
God bless you.
Are You Spiritually Blessed?
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessings.” Ephesians 1:3
Life is not just about the physical and sadly, many people have failed to realise this. Life starts from the spiritual aspect and this is why your life STARTs in the spiritual before being in the physical.
When you value your spiritual life, then there will be tremendous balance in your life but when you don’t have any respect for the spiritual, it is where the problems would surface. I would like you to know that if you are blessed both spiritually and physically, you would come to understand and accept profound prosperity, and live a fulfilling life.
I don’t want you to limit your life to one struggling side of life. You may be going through a lot even when you don’t understand the reason why your situations are like that. You may be blessed physically and ignore the spiritual side, and for this, you won’t have a durable blessing.
Now, you need to sit down and ask yourself,
Am I spiritually blessed?
Peace!
Your Emergency Responsibility
“All Israel shall mourn for him and bury him; for he alone of Jeroboam’s family shall come to the grave, because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel, in the house of Jeroboam.” 1 kings 14:13
If you read the entire chapter 14 of 1 kings, you will discover how Abijah, son of Jeroboam fell sick, and Jeroboam instructed his wife to disguise herself and go to Prophet Ahijah to inquire about the health of their son, and how the Prophet revealed the woman’s true identity even before she stepped into the prophet’s house.
Then this was followed by Prophet Ahijah’s prediction concerning Jeroboam and his family. God granted Abijah a honourable death, and burial and memorial mourning, which all Israel did for him.
The bible says, none of Jeroboam’s family will die naturally because of his numerous sins BUT God remembered Abijah and there is no doubt here that among all the family members of Jeroboam, Abijah must have followed God with his entire heart.
Yes, the boy died but he did not die mercilessly like the rest of his family. He died normally, and was buried and all Israel mourned him.
If you read the verse again, you will notice this precious words; “…. because in him there is found something pleasing to the Lord, the God of Israel…” That means Abijah served God throughout his life!
He died, not paying for the sins of his father. I bet God removed the boy earlier on away from his family so that he would not experience any of the punishments set out for Jeroboam, who failed to serve God but worship false gods, burnt incense, bow down to lifeless images, which he believed would save him.
Many of us Christians do not see the emergency when it comes to us teaching our children about God. I would like to understand this, and that is, Christianity is not just meant for you and you alone. It involves your family members too. If you are a parent, then you have the emergency responsibility to lead your children in the ways of the Lord.
Apart from this, do not be so indulge in your sinful ways and by this influence your children as well. You are hold responsible for what happen to them. You are in charge of their wellbeing and for this, you must show them the ways of God. Tell them about the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Make them know that God exists and teach them about the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Jeroboam was a bad parent, yet his son, Abijah, chose not to follow his father’s footstep. The boy must have been shown God’s instructions right from when he was young and he lived by it until his death.
I still remind you, nothing is of emergency responsibility to you presently than to raise your children in the ways of God. You may never know the effect of this at the moment until generation after generation of yours exist years on that the effect of what you teach them would show.
Do not be a bad parent like Jeroboam; instead, make it your profound duty to nurture your children with love, and divine laws of our Lord.
Peace!
Am I worthy of having my own family?
Apart from this, the bible makes us to understand that you are worse off than ordinary believers. Does this makes any sense to you?
