Adebisi2008’s Weblog

By
Adebisi, Samson O.
Ajegungle Baptist Church, Agbowo, Ibadan, Nigeria
samsonadebisi2007@gmail.com

Acknowledgment
I give glory and adoration to God for inspiring me from time to time. It was His inspiration and gift of spiritual understanding that made it possible for me to write this book, I was once a victim of worry, but now I am a victor over worry. May His name be praised forever! Amen.

I deeply thank my dedicated wife: Mrs. Rebecca Olabisi Adebisi, whose constant prayers and loving support was the greatest human factor that enabled the writing of this book.

Brother ‘Seun really deserves a high level of commendation for assisting me to proof read, edit and collate this book. Actually, he nearly became my Secretary. May God prolong his life in the propagation of Christ’s Ministry, in Jesus name. Amen.

Brother ‘Lolu Akande is highly commended for correcting oversight. God has really used him as an honored vessel for the major source of outlet of this publication. May God richly bless him.

I am greatly indebted to Sister ‘Bose who has earlier assisted in the proof reading, when the draft was first produced; and for the moral encouragement I received from her.

Preface

The reason for publishing this booklet is not to create enmity, but to really open the eyes of fellow Christians to the dangers that exist in partaking in the Ileya festivity.

I am very sure it might not have occurred to you that it is a sin to partake and participate in this festival; but you would be without excuse, after you have thoroughly read this book and digested it, to continue to partake of it.

Any way, my prayer is that: May the Father of our Lord Jesus, who helped me to stop partaking of it, strongly hold you to your faith in Him, in Jesus name, Amen and amen.

Forward

The essential responsibility of the church is to make disciples of all nations. Mark16:15. Everybody must come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ irrespective of race, tribes or religion.

Jesus Christ is for all, the Bible says; “for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” John3:16. Therefore all Muslims too must be saved. How can they be saved if they are not invited? How can they succumb if they are not convinced?

Brother Samson Adebisi in this booklet has made it categorically clear the relationship between Christianity and Islamism.

The book is therefore very good for both Christians and Muslims as it highlights the genesis of both faiths.

It enables a Christian knows how to witness to a Muslim and it illuminates a Muslim understandings on whom Jesus is. It clears air on the argument about Ishmael and Isaac and establishes Biblical facts in Genesis16 1-16. Therefore it is a worthy book to be read by all.

Pastor SG Adegboyega
Ajegunle Baptist Church
Agbowo, U.I. Ibadan.

Introduction

I was born into a Christian family, in a small village called Atente in the Afijio Local Government Area of Oyo State. In that village Muslims constitute nearly 70% of the population and most of them were friends to my parents, especially, my father. Since they were friends of his, each time they celebrate Ileya festival, they would invite him, and of course, he always took me along. However, the funniest thing is that even after we would have eaten the food dedicated for this festival, I was the one who would pack all the remnants. This include of the meat, together with packets of cigarettes, kola and money, I would pack all these things because I found them to be so cheap and free; not knowing that the Bible says they are food of deceit.

In addition, when I was much younger, any time we wanted to slaughter animals, my father used to call for the assistant of a Muslim, in the village. This is because they would not eat of it if they should come to know that a fellow Muslim did not slaughter the animal. All these created a struggle within me and made me very inquisitive; after all, they claim there is only one God.

By the help of the Holy Spirit, I have been growing up in the power of the Lord, God is really helping me in the understanding of the Scriptures, and He is strengthening me as well. Due to my inquisitiveness about this issue, He opened my inner eyes to really see and find the answers to all my questions. I really thank God today because He has permitted, at least, one of my dreams to happen.

Isaac or Ishmael?

There exists a contradiction between the Christians belief and that of the Muslims’ concerning the son the Lord required of Abraham (Ibrahim) as a sacrifice! Isaac or Ishmael? Christians believe Isaac was the son God asked Abraham (Ibrahim) to offer to him as a burnt offering; but Muslims believe it was Ishmael, the son of Hagar (Gen. 15:15; 22:2).

Though Muslims believe that he (Ishmael) was the son that God asked Abraham to offer to Him as a sacrifice, biblically, we are very sure that it was Isaac, whose mother was Sarah, that God required of Abraham (Gen. 16:15; 22:2).

There is no disagreement with the fact that Abraham, whom the Muslims call Ibrahim, was the father of Ishmael. The emphasis here is that Ishmael was the son born to Abraham by Hagar and Hagar was a slave to Sarah. (Gen. 16:1). This agrees with the Muslims belief that they are slaves! Nevertheless, thank God, we Christians are sons of God: Even the Scriptures say; “Slave does not stay in the home forever, but son stays in the home for ever “(John 8:35). Hagar was not the legal wife of Abraham; it was Sarah who advised Abraham to sleep with Hagar. The Bible says: “so she said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Why do not you sleep with my slave? Perhaps she can have a child for me”. So Abram agreed with what Sara said, so she gave Hagar to him to be his concubine (Gen. 16:2-3b).

God in His mercy promised Hagar, that He would make (Ishmael) a great nation; only that Ishmael will be a troublesome person throughout his generations (Gen. 16:11-12). If we look at Muslims, right from the time of the introduction of their religion, they have been very quarrelsome.

In Genesis 22:2, we are told that God asked Abraham to take his son, Isaac, whom he loved so much, and go to the land of Moriah. There on a mountain that God would show him he was to offer Isaac, and not Ishmael, as a burnt sacrifice to Him (God).

In addition, He made it clear to Abraham that it is in Isaac, and not Ishmael, that his seed shall be called (Gen 21:12).

Therefore, Isaac was the son God required of Abraham as a sacrifice!

Burnt Sacrifice or Eaten Sacrifice?

If at all, Muslims must kill rams for the Ileya festival, such rams ought not to be eaten but burnt.

In Genesis 22:2, the Lord asked Abraham to offer Isaac to him as a burnt sacrifice; and in those days in the Bible, before the physical manifestation of the Lord Jesus, the people used to burn their offering with fire. Even, the ram given in substitution for Isaac was burnt (Gen. 22:13).

After God spared Noah and his family from the flood, the Bible tells us that he built an altar to the Lord and took of every clean animal and of every clean fowl and offered them on the altar as burnt offering to the Lord (Gen. 8:20).

Dear friends, that Noah burnt the offering unto the Lord was evident in verse 21 where the Bible says when the Lord smelled the pleasing odor i.e. a scent of satisfaction to His heart, the Lord said to himself, I will never curse the ground because of man.

What God required of Abraham was a burnt offering. Looking through the Bible at the guidelines for offering burnt offerings, it is clear that burnt offerings were not to be eaten but burnt, as the name suggested! Leviticus chapter one and many other passages of the Bible declare this truth! Since the Ileya ram is meant to be an image of sacrifice GOD required of Abraham, it ought to be burnt and not eaten.

The likely question that comes to mind is ‘why do Christians slaughter animals during Christmas and New Year’? It is for merry, for Christians are nowhere in the Bible mandated

Apology

Christians do not believe that any apology must be made to God or that we must seek for an approval from God before slaughtering animals. Genesis Chapter 1, verses 24, 26-28 says: “Then God commanded, let the earth produce all kinds of animal life: domestic and wild, large and small … Then God said, and now we will make man human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have Power Over the fish, the birds, and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small, so God created human beings, making them to be like Himself, blessed them, and said, have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control. I am putting you in charge of the fish, the birds, and all the wild animals.

Genesis 9:2-3, state clearly that the Lord gave plants and animal to man for food. Since the Lord had said we should have dominion over all the earth, it is no longer proper to be seeking for an approval before we slaughter animals for food.

In addition, Christians do not believe that there is a particular direction to which the animal should be faced when we are about to slaughter it. Not many people are sure of exactly what they are saying, whenever they are about to slaughter an animal. Although there are many places in the Bible where it was mentioned that people slaughtered animals, we do not read it anywhere in the Bible that they said “things” before they were killed.

Considering the account in Genesis chapter 18, verse 7, we would see that Abraham (Ibrahim) did not even handle the slaughtering of the animal, talk less of giving instructions to the servant to say a particular thing before the slaughtering. Again, considering the time of the dedication of the Lord Jesus. Luke 2:24 says: “They also went to offer a sacrifice of a pair of doves or two young pigeons, as required by the law of the Lord”. No mention is here made of uttering a particular set of words before slaughtering the birds!

There is no need for apology or the utterance of particular words before the slaughtering animals!

Acceptable Blood
It is not mandatory to kill rams every year!
It is the belief of Muslims that whenever they kill rams, or cocks, they substitute the life of their children with that of the animal. They also believe that blood of the animal is for the remission of sins.

However, the Bible says almost everything is purified with the blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:22), the Scriptures however, strongly warns against all the beliefs that Muslims have in respect of killing rams or hen or whatever. The book of Hebrews 10:5-6 (RSV) says: “Consequently, when Christ came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifices and offerings thou has not desired, but a body has thou prepared for me; in burnt offerings and sin offerings thou hast taken no pleasure”. He (God) abolished the first covenant and its sacrifices in order to establish the second covenant (Heb. 10:9). Hallelujah!

Christ did not take the blood of goats and bulls and their ashes to offer as a sacrifice; rather, He took His own blood and obtained eternal salvation (Heb. 9:12). “If the blood of goats and bulls and ashes of a burnt calf sprinkled on the people who are ritually unclean purifies them by taking a way their impurity, how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ? Who though the eternal spirit offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals (sacrifice), so that we may serve the living God” (Heb. 9:13-14).

Hence, the one and only blood that remits sin is the blood of JESUS CHRIST. Hallelujah!

Dangerous Eating

Muslims believe that the ram killed at Ileya is for atoning, propitiation and remission of sins; but the Bible disagrees! When the Muslims kill rams or any other animal, dear friends, it is more or less a public food popularly known as Sàráà, and eating such a food could be very dangerous indeed.

In first Corinthians 10:20-21, the Lord strongly warned Christians against partaking of such feasts! “No! What I am saying is that what is sacrificed on pagan altars is offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink from the Lord’s cup and also from the cup of demons; you cannot eat at the Lord’s table and also at the table of demons” (1st Cor. 10:20-21).

Further more, the Bible says: “Do not work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together? How can Christ and the devil agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? How can God’s temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we (Christians) are the temple of the living God! As God Himself had said … I will make my home with my people and live among them … (2nd Cor. 6:14-16b).

While partaking of the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) makes us God’s partners, partaking of the Ileya food makes one partner with demons! Should a Christian be a partaker with demon?

Acceptable Sacrifice

The Bible declares that Jesus had made the needed sacrifice for the remission of sins with His blood, and the sacrifice was perfect and acceptable to God! Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted Him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that He made of His own body once and for all (Heb. 10:10).

The Bible says, “the same sacrifices are offered forever, year after year … If the people worshipping had really been purified from their sins, they would not fell guilty of sin any more and all sacrifices serve year after year to remind people of their sins. For the blood of bulls and goats can never take away sin” (Heb. 10:1b-4).

We (Christians) strongly believe the word of God that Christ (however) has offered one God that Christ (however) has offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective and active forever.

In conclusion, the scripture says: “For God loved the world so much that He gave His only son, so that everyone who believes in Him in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18 NKJV).

Do you dine with the devil?

If your answer is yes, it is high time you stop!

Adebisi2008’s Weblog

Glory be to GOD in the highest, Amen/2ce for His mercy endureth forever, Amen, for His mercy endureth forever Amen..

“Fear” seems such a powerful deteriorating influence on the character of the average Nigerian men.

I have thought long and deeply about the phenomenon of the clear fickleness and lack of moral courage of the average male under conditions of direct individual confrontation. Factually, the phenomenon is not new, the extreme circumstances of this years have only served to accentuate it. The tragedy of our nation is primarily due to this fact. I think the reason stems from the fact that the male is fundamentally self-centred; an attitutde of mind largely engendered by the sociological factors of our present age.

The conditions of our recent colonial state had a levelling effect on our class structure, we were all uniformly subordinate to the English man whose administrative activity tended to cut across our social stratification, recducing us all roughly to one class, and often creating a new orientation of class structure in rudimentary from having no bearing on the traditional class structure especially in the South. The period includes the pre and post independence era, is the peiod of new social stratification based on new mentally among the male because our society is basically male oriented.

The conditions of a permanent state of struggle for social elevation, creates in the male an attitude of mind whereby his every action is subjective to the consideration that it assists or retards his march upwards. Under these conditions, added to which is the fact that the higher he goies the more unstable becomes his living standards, he is generally unable to meet most confrontations which might relegate him to lower status. At any price and at all costs, even of normally accepted values, he must maintain his level, so he becomes basically a coward against issues affecting his status. This is largely responsible for the exaggerated capacity for compromise amongst most Nigerian males. This is part of our difficulty with operating the democratic process, which is basically one of organizing order out of a fundamental system of self-sustained conflicts of interest, in which every interest has its own unyielding proponents.

In Nigeria, very few hold fast for long to any principle or loyalty which is not consistent with his own self-interest, and most males will shamelessly reject any stand which involves a threat of loss of status.

With females it is different. Generally they are divorced from the struggle in the sense that their status in invariable relative to that of the man they are associated with, so they have not generally developed the instinctive subjective attitutde to life except in the few cases of the career girls…

l e t u s s t a r t o f f b y d e f i n i n g w h a t c h r i s t i a n i t y i s n o t:

• It is not - doing good works, although important does not qualify
• It is not - being religious, many people fall into this trap
• It is not - being a nice caring person, again helpful, but missing the point
• It is not - that I have not done anything really bad, so I must qualify

• But it is - recognizing that we have all got it wrong, doing things from a selfish viewpoint, and believing that the only way we can get right with God, and be sure of our place in Heaven, is by asking Jesus into our life. For God sent Jesus into this world as a life line for our salvation.

Now let’s look at the difference between Religion and Christianity!
 Religion is Man seeking God,
 Christianity is God seeking man

There is a little known phrase in Christian circles “That God so loved the world that he didn’t send a committee!” He just sent one man called Jesus, his only son. We can try all we like to be good, to uphold certain values, to even follow religious duties, but these are all worthless. Until we ask Jesus into our lives, and start to follow Him, we get nowhere. We need to recognize that if God made the world, gave us a free will to enjoy it, saw that we had messed it up, gave us a way out, we need to take it.

Therefore, there is “only one way” out of this, and that is to recognize that we have got it wrong. We have sinned in our thoughts, words and deeds, and need to turn away from the world’s trap of the anything goes attitude, as long as it does not hurt anybody. However, it does hurt God because he loves you very much. He sent his only son to rescue you, to heal you, to restore you, to give you a new start, to be part of his family, to bless you on this earth, and to give you eternal life.

What more can you ask for?

If you turn away from your sins, and ask Jesus into your life, he will not only guide you, help you, be your closest friend, but he will also set you free from any hurts, pains, fears, doubts or bondage that may be holding you, at this present time.

Please remember that there is nothing that God cannot forgive. If this statement or any other points we have discussed raises more questions than answers in your mind, please e-mail whatever questions you may have to samsonadebisi2007@gmail.com, and I assure you to treat your questions with utmost confidentiality and feed you back with appropriate answers

If you really want to move forward, feel there is something missing in your life and want to change, then you have four choices.
Please do not hesitate to send your e-mail to the same e-mail (samsonadebisi2007@gmail.com)
with your name and address.

You can contact me on 2348057101277 further counselling.

Whatever you do make sure that this day, is the start of the rest of your new life with God. He has a plan for your life, but he can’t tell you what it is unless you start a relationship with him, and start listening! It is well with your soul. Amen.

Politics in the workplace can get vicious – and we’re not talking about the governmental kind. Rather, office politics, or how power and influence are managed in your company, will be a part of your career whether you choose to participate in them or not.

Some workers say they don’t want to get caught up in politics at work, but most experts argue that playing the game is crucial to your career success. By not getting involved, you may find your talents ignored and your success limited, and you may feel left out of the loop, says Louellen Essex, co-author of “Manager’s Desktop Consultant: Just-in-Time Solutions to the Top People Problems That Keep You Up at Night.”

“Politics get nasty when an employee is out for his or her personal gain alone,” Essex says. “Think of playing office politics as a game of strategy through which you are able to get the resources and influence you need to accomplish your goals. Most often those who are diplomatic, respectful and build coalitions with effective people win.”

Here are Essex’s nine tips to help you win at office politics and still gain others’ respect.

1. Observe how things get done in your organization
Ask some key questions: What are the core values and how are they enacted? Are short- or long-term results most valued? How are decisions made? How much risk is tolerated? The answers to these questions should give you a good sense of the culture of your organization.

2. Profile powerful individuals
Pay attention to their communication style, network of relationships and what types of proposals they say “yes” to most often. Emulate those traits by drawing on the strengths you have.

3. Determine strategic initiatives in the company
Update your skills to be relevant to company initiatives. For example, don’t lag behind in technology, quality or customer service approaches that are crucial to you and your company’s success.

4. Develop a personal track record as someone who gets results
Style without substance will not gain others’ respect, especially in today’s organizations that focus on outcome.

5. Don’t be afraid to toot your own horn
If no one knows of your good work, you may lose at the game of office politics – when you really deserve to win. Let others know what you’ve accomplished whenever you get the opportunity. If you don’t know the fine art of diplomatic bragging, you might get lost in the shuffle of your co-workers.

6. Treat everyone with respect
Don’t show preferential treatment or treat co-workers badly. You never know to whom someone might be connected, and rude behavior may come back to bite you.

7. Don’t align too strongly with one group
While an alliance may be powerful for the moment, new leadership will often oust existing coalitions and surround themselves with a new team. Bridging across factions may be a more effective strategy for long-term success if you intend to stay in your current organization for some time.

8. Learn to communicate persuasively
Develop an assertive style, backed with solid facts and examples, to focus others’ attention on your ideas and proposals. Good politicians can adjust their messages for their audience and are always well-prepared.

9. Be true to yourself
After analyzing the political landscape in your company, if you decide the game is one you can’t play, prepare to move on. It’s not typical, but some organizations actually condone – even promote – dishonest, ruthless or unethical behavior. The game of office politics in this situation is not one worth winning.

——————————————————-
Rachel Zupek is a writer and blogger for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.

Three Bible couples tell all.
by Liz Curtis Higgs
————————————————————–

In the beginning was Eve, that foodie from Genesis 3, who “gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6). To be fair, Eve simply handed over the fruit; she didn’t insist that Adam chow down. At least, not in writing.

Not so with the three matriarchs. Sarai clearly told Abram, “Go, sleep with my maidservant” (Genesis 16:2), Rebekah whined to Isaac, “I’m disgusted with living” (Genesis 27:46), and Rachel railed at Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” (Genesis 30:1). Drama queens, all, and very 21st-century in the way they managed their mild-mannered husbands.

Sarai says “Go”
Considering Sarai’s plight, it’s easy to empathize with her: “Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children” (Genesis 16:1). In a time and place when a woman’s worth was measured solely by her ability to produce sons, 75-year-old Sarai was running out of options.

She’d been exceedingly patient—with her husband, with her God, with her barrenness—from the day she married. If her patience was running thin, no wonder. If her faith was starting to wane, who could fault her? Silent in the biblical account until this moment, Sarai finally spoke up and said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children” (Genesis 16:2).

So far, so good. She wasn’t blaming God, simply acknowledging his sovereignty. If she’d called out to God for strength, prayed to God for direction, or pleaded with God to open her womb, we’d have praised her as the model wife.

But Sarai didn’t call on God. Instead, Sarai cast her gaze toward an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar, a handy remedy for the Abe-needs-an-heir problem, and said to her husband, “Go, sleep with my maidservant” (Genesis 16:2).

Go what?!
Scandalous as her plan appears, Sarai didn’t come up with this on her own. An Assyrian marriage contract, dating from around 1900 bc, required the wife to purchase a slave woman for her husband if a child was not produced after two years of marriage.

But God didn’t call us to follow the culture. He set us apart, as he did this ancient couple, promising Abram, “I will make you into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2).

“I will make,” not “Sarai will make.”

Abram says zip
Of course, Abram still had to comply with his wife’s audacious plan. A man who had spoken with God, who had faith in God’s word, and who’d been declared righteous by a grace-giving God—surely this man would refuse to sin so egregiously.

“Abram agreed to what Sarai said” (Genesis 16:2).

No resistance? No discussion? No seeking God’s blessing before proceeding with this no-no? Well … no.

Only a loving God could use such imperfect couples to accomplish his perfect will.

Truth is, women often get what we want through not-so-subtle persuasion, verbal agility, and emotional expression. At least, that’s how it works in my marriage. My husband and I live in the old farmhouse I fell in love with and drive the Toyota I picked out.

Does my dear husband have an opinion? Naturally. He’s also a peacemaker, and granting my wishes gives him what he wants: harmony at the Higgs house.

I can see Abram nodding (and Sarai glaring at me for giving away our time-honored tactics). Abe wasn’t the first or last man in history to have a pushy wife. Without hesitation Sarai “took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife” (Genesis 16:3). Notice how Sarai took and gave, just like Eve, who took and gave something forbidden to her spouse.

Sarai should have trusted God’s timing. But she didn’t.

Abram should have trusted God’s provision. But he didn’t.

In the push and pull of marriage, both partners bear the responsibility of honoring God first.

Home improvement
The next generation started out on a better footing. Isaac didn’t sleep with Rebekah’s maidservant in order to build a family, not even after 20 years of marriage. Instead, “Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren” (Genesis 25:21), and his prayer was duly—and doubly—answered.

Since Rebekah was still of childbearing age, hers was not a miraculous, postmenopausal conception like Sarah’s, but it was twins. Like every pregnant woman with indigestion, swollen ankles, and a gymnast in her womb, when “the babies jostled each other within her,” Rebekah moaned, “Why is this happening to me?” (Genesis 25:22).

Why me? It’s a question we’ve all asked the Lord at some point. We pray for the perfect job, then are dismayed when it’s not everything we’d hoped for. We pray for the ideal mate, only to be taken aback the moment his or her less-than-ideal traits surface. We pray for God to bless us with children, then balk when parenthood isn’t filled with endless Gerber Baby moments.

So we understand why Rebekah wanted an explanation for her pain and applaud her bold move: “She went to inquire of the Lord” (Genesis 25:22). When she spoke, God not only listened, he also answered: “Two nations are in your womb … and the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23).

From the moment Rebekah gave birth, that heel-grabbing younger son was the apple of her eye. Isaac adored the older Esau, “but Rebekah loved Jacob” (Genesis 25:28). Rather than standing side by side, loving their sons equally, this husband and wife stood apart and played favorites, driving a stake through the heart of their marriage.

Isaac grows old, Becky gets pushy
Forty years later, things came to a head. Isaac was an old man with eyes so weak “he could no longer see” (Genesis 27:1). His wife’s hearing, though, was as sharp as ever. When Isaac called Esau to his side to confer the patriarchal blessing, “Rebekah was listening as Isaac spoke to his son” (Genesis 27:5). That is to say, eavesdropping.

A more assertive husband might have curbed her meddling nature, but Rebekah was married to a man who’d been overprotected by his mother, leaving Rebekah little choice but to mother Isaac as well, no doubt losing respect for him in the process.

When Rebekah dragged Jacob into the picture, she was no longer bent on pleasing her husband, only on getting his goat. “Go out to the flock,” she told Jacob, “and bring me two choice young goats, so I can prepare some tasty food for your father, just the way he likes it” (Genesis 27:9). Like millions of wives after her, Rebekah literally buttered up her husband by cooking his favorite meal. Only a wife would know how best to deceive the man who loved her, confusing his senses so thoroughly Isaac made Jacob his heir.

At once Esau began plotting revenge. “The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother” (Genesis 27:41). Uh-oh. When Rebekah got wind of Esau’s nefarious plan, she ordered Jacob to flee to her brother’s place in Haran. But in order for Jacob to travel safely, Rebekah had to enlist Isaac’s help, manipulating him once more.

She chose a concern they both shared—Esau’s two pagan wives—then began a conversation with her husband—as I often do, sad to say—by breathing a sigh of complaint. “If Jacob takes a wife from among the women of this land … my life will not be worth living” (Genesis 27:46).

Another dose of high drama. Anything to get Jacob on the road, pronto. But Isaac couldn’t see through Rebekah’s machinations—or didn’t want to—and so gave his wife what she wanted. Again.

With his father’s blessing, Jacob soon departed, leaving Rebekah with a heartbroken husband whom she’d shamelessly betrayed. Some marriage, eh? Truth is, Becky left a lot to be desired in the good wife department. Isaac, too, forgot his first love and poured his affections into “godless Esau” (Hebrews 12:16).

Rebekah shouldn’t have favored Jacob over her husband. But she did.

Isaac shouldn’t have favored Esau over God’s chosen heir. But he did.

In marriage, loving God first, and then each other, is the best way to show love to our children.

I need a baby
For a thumbnail sketch of Rachel, picture Holly Hunter in Raising Arizona, tearfully demanding of Nicholas Cage, “You go right back up there and get me a toddler!”

Like her husband’s mother and grandmother before her, Rachel was barren. She’d waited seven long years to marry Jacob, only to end up sharing him with Leah. Her sister gave birth as regularly as the ewes lambed every spring, yet Rachel couldn’t conceive.

Naturally, Jacob bore the brunt of Rachel’s frustration. (My husband would murmur, “Oh, there’s a surprise.”) Rachel didn’t want just one child, not when Leah had four. She demanded, “Give me children, or I’ll die!” (Genesis 30:1).

When wives throw out ultimatums, husbands seldom respond well. Case in point: “Jacob became angry with her” (Genesis 30:2).

Bet this wasn’t the first time they’d had such a conversation. After four, five, six years of marriage without a child in her womb, any little spark probably set Rachel ablaze. Instead of dousing her fury with a pitcher of cold water, Jacob added gasoline, and said, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” (Genesis 30:2).

Jacob knew God alone could open Rachel’s womb and, to date, had not done so. We have no record of Rachel seeking God’s counsel as her Aunt Rebekah once did, nor of Jacob praying on his wife’s behalf as Isaac had.

Instead, Rachel offered a sadly unoriginal solution: “Here is Bilhah, my maidservant. Sleep with her …” (Genesis 30:3).

“Nooo!” we shout, waving our arms to get her attention. “Don’t go there!” We know how this sleep-with-my-servant business can end up. Besides, Rachel’s intentions weren’t as honorable as her great aunt’s: Sarai wanted an heir for Abram; Rachel wanted children for Rachel, period.

Pushed, pulled, and prodded
As for Jacob, this henpecked husband was tricked into marrying Leah by his conniving father-in-law, Laban, then forced to work an additional seven years for Rachel’s hand, then pushed into Bilhah’s arms so Rachel could wear the mantle of motherhood. Are we done yet? Nope. “When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her maidservant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife” (Genesis 30:9).

In case you’ve lost count, that’s four wives. Although “Jacob was in love with Rachel” (Genesis 29:18), we’re never told Rachel loved Jacob in return. In fact, she glibly bartered his sexual services for a handful of her sister’s mandrakes, an ancient fertility drug. “Very well,” Rachel told Leah, “he can sleep with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes” (Genesis 30:15).

Did Jacob refuse, retaliate, rebel? No, he rolled over and “slept with her that night” (Genesis 30:16).

Rachel shouldn’t have treated Jacob like a servant. But she did.

Jacob shouldn’t have bowed to Rachel’s every demand, rather than seeking God’s will. But he did.

Instead we’re called to “submit to one another out of reverence for Christ” (Ephesians 5:21), so that God alone has the upper hand in our marriage.

A lesson worth learning
Jacob listened to his wife. Just like Isaac. Just like Abraham. Three generations of strong-willed wives and soft-hearted husbands, without a lesson learned.

Well, one lesson, perhaps, that rings through the ages: Only a loving God could use such imperfect couples to accomplish his perfect will. Knowing God loved, blessed, and used this flawed patriarchal family, we can be sure there’s hope for us all.

Even as we seek to honor the Lord in our marriages, to submit to each other in love, to resist the urge to push or rollover, we can rest in knowing God’s well of patience is deep, his grace is abundant, and his faithfulness knows no bounds.

___________________________________________ 

Liz Curtis Higgs is the author of 26 books, including Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible (WaterBrook Press). She and her husband, Bill, have been married 22 years.

www.LizCurtisHiggs.com

Ab initio, there was no hierarchy in the relationship of the early parents, that is Adam and Eve. I mean there was no hierarchy. They were living equally. Perhaps Adam was like a team leader to Eve. Maybe, they have been trying to get things done by influencing one another. Either party was free to make his or her own decision by influencing the other party. There was a total freedom for the woman [Eve]. Eve gave Adam the forbidden fruit to eat. Of course, Adam still had to comply with his wife’s audacious offer, apparently he accepted that fruit due to Eve’s influence. Adam, a man who had spoken with God, who had faith in God’s word, whom God had declared custodians of that splendid garden by a grace-giving God—surely this man would not refuse to sin so egregiously. No resistance? No discussion? No seeking God’s blessing before proceeding with this no-no? Well … no. But as a result of their sins which occured from Eve to Adam, God reversed that system under which they were living and replaced it with a new order. Thus, man ultimately became a figure of authority. See what the Lord God says in Genesis 3:16.

“To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” [Genesis 3:16]

The quotation above depicts God rules in the affairs of men. Since the pronouncement of this curse on Eve and especially the last statement in the above quotation, something of noticeable importance has happened to the Adam and Eve’s way of life. God instituted hierarchy in that family. Meaning that, they were categorized according to their ability and status. He made the man [Adam] to be on top and Eve low. In other words, God made Eve subjective to Adam. She was not free to take her own decision again, all her decision were subjective to her husband. Look at the last statement in that verse 16 again, “Your desire will be for your husband and he shall rule over you”. Thus, every woman is made subjective to their husband. Unfortunately some women of this generation are not willing to live in consonance with God’s verdict as stated above. Some government leaders, and other groups of people would not like to abide by God’s verdict, they lobby and influence their respective national representative body having supreme legislative powers, to enact laws that will directly or indirectly put wife on equal ground with their husband. To worsen the situation in some countries, they try to reverse the verdict of God, by finetunning their constitutions in such a way that make husbands subjective to their wives. Consequently, there are many broken marriages and homes. Broken relationships lead to broken marriages, broken marriages however, lead to broken homes, thus broken homes lead to broken society. If marriages are not broken, hence, homes cannot be broken. There are chaos in families because they have reversed the verdict of God. There a good number of single parents especially in the western world. As a result of single parentship experienced by their offsprings, most of these offsprings have became nuisance on the streets and threat to the peace security of our environment. There will not be end to this pervasive developmental disorder, if we do not trace our steps back to the word of God.

Conclusively, it does not matter whether our culture permits such lifestyle or not. Christians need to know that God did not call us to follow the culture. He sets us apart, as he did this ancient couple, promising Abram, “I will make you into a great nation” (Genesis 12:2). In the push and pull of marriage, both partners bear the responsibility of honoring God first.

I am only on, therefore, I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. Because I cannot do everyting, so I will not let what I cannot do interfere with Something that I can do. Samson

Some people are not commiting sins probably because they are not in the environment that applaud such act or because they do not have opportunity to do so.

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust” (James 1:14, NASB).

Temptation.  It befalls all of us.  It can come directly from the devil, a devil’s advocate, through a friend, or from my own self.   We are all open to temptation for, like a lawn bowl that has a bias (weight) on one side that causes it to curve away from the goal, we have a bias that, unless guarded, causes us go astray and miss the mark of God’s goal for us.  The bias is our sin nature that we are all born with.

So how do we defend against temptation?

First and foremost, as author Max Lucado says in his book- “On the Anvil”, Max made us to realize that there are 2 very simple strategies for protecting ourselves from sin and temptation.  The first is to recognize Satan.  So often, we are lured into a sin because it looks so attractive, so fulfilling, so right at the time.  So we find ways to rationalize our actions and make excuses for our attitudes.  Instead, we must be like Jesus in the desert and call Satan by name.  No need to dialogue with him as did Eve and consequently fell.  We begin to see justification for sins committed or about to commit when we tend to dialogue with Satan.  No more sugar-coating the truth.  Don’t try to water down the power of sin.  Call it what it is.
 
Second, we can guard against some temptations by making sure we get legitimate needs met in legitimate ways.  For
instance, after fasting for forty days, Jesus was hungry.  This is when Satan tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread.  Satan always has a way to tempt us at our weakest and/or neediest point. For another example, many singles when they are lonely, instead of getting their companionship needs met in healthy ways, turn to sex as a poor substitute for
love.

Third, realize that God’s salvation begins at the point where we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord of our life-and as we grow in wholeness and maturity.   As Jesus often asked, “Do you want to be made whole?” Wholeness is a requirement for wholesome living, for only to the degree that we are made whole will our lifestyle, our actions, our thoughts (the beginning point of temptation), our behavior, and our relationships be wholesome.

Fourth, walk with God.  Growing in wholeness is a life-long
process, so in the meantime to avoid giving in to temptation, we need to not only make sure we get our needs met in healthy ways, but also to walk with God.  That is, we need to know what his Word teaches by reading and studying it faithfully, and we need to commit and trust our life to God every day, and seek his guidance and help to live a life that will glorify him in all that we are and do.

Fifth, be filled with God’s Spirit who gives us the insight to recognize temptation for what it is and the power to overcome its onslaughts.

Lastly, when we do give in to temptation and sin, remember that God says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all righteousness” (1 John 1:9, NKJV).  The important thing is to get up, put things right where needed and possible, and go on.

Please, say these words of prayer after me:

Evalasting Father, thank you that you have provided a way of escape from giving in to temptation for me through your so great salvation.  Help me to keep growing in faith, love, maturity and wholeness, and fill me with your Holy Spirit so that I will have the strength to overcome temptation.  Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer.  Thankfully, in Jesus’ name, amen.

Friendship may be a simple thing, but lots of love, it brings things to share and talk about something you just can not do without, all your life, friendship lasts through the years, you will look back.

Remembering the laughs and happy times especially when it’s straight from the heart. Friendships do not die, they continue to grow, so be sure to cherish the friendships you know.

Sometimes the waters get rough, and it seems you might lose your way. But whether in front, beside, or behind you, I am with you everyday. So when it seems too much to handle, remember to call my name. I’ll always do the same.

I am Adebisi, Samson O. A Christian, and Nigerian from west Africa continent.

I am fortunate to know Jesus early in my life. I was born into a Christian family of ADEBISI in 1970. My parents work hard to bring me up to live Christlike life right from my boyhood. I gave my life to the Lord Jesus in 1988. Since that time, everything about me changed, the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in me enables me to hate sin. Not that I am living absolute sinless life, but the significant difference between the erstwhile life I lived and the one I am living right now is that I am no longer perpetually living in sin, by His grace. It is ever presence of Christ Jesus in my life that give my life a definite shape. So, now I realise that any life that is lived outside Christ Jesus is a life lived in the dark and without a definite shape.

By the grace of God, I began my pre-Secondary School education in 1978 and I finished in 1984. I finished Secondary School education in 1989.

By the special grace of God, I bagged my first University degree, that is BSc-Secretarial Administration and Office Management from Lead City University, Ibadan in 2007. I have a professional membership with Institute of Certified Secretaries and Reporters [ICSR] in 2007. If God make all things work well, by September this year, I will be in the Maritime Greenwich College, London for my MBA-Entrepreneurial Management in the United Kingdom.

I am married and blessed with 3 good children. They love the Lord Jesus.

In my hierarchical set of values, honesty comes first.

I have passion for excellence and impressive results.

I like meeting and making friends with people.

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!