PUNCTUATION MARKS
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Let’s do some classwork reminder today, punctuation marks but in relation to love or love relationship? Yes I tell you they are there, they are there for us to utilize but unfortunately we don't use them most times. Today we shall examine some of the important punctuation marks to be used, the meaning and the relevance to love.
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Comma: Looking at the meaning of comma, it separates. Separates coordinated independent clauses, separates an introductory word, and separates a salutation from a letter and so on. You need a comma in your relationship/courtship, you need to separate your partner from your friends, and you also need to separate yourself from other friendship standing as threat or posing danger to your relationship.
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Singles, you also need a comma, separate yourself from friendship(s) that are not well spelt, friendship that involves emotion without the consent of the two parties. Comma also indicate a pause between parts of a sentence. Pause, look at your relationship, how much of God is in your union, do you have a convintion, are you enjoying or enduring it? Pause, also check if emotion is mixing with mere friendship which can lead to serious pain.
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FULL STOP: The symbol or sign for the full stop is a tiny dot. It is the strongest punctuation mark and it is sometimes called period. It helps us to know that we have come to the end of a complete sentence. 'He/she is my partner and I cannot cheat on him/her (Period)'. He/she has said this or that and I believe, end of story. There are some people of the opposite gender you don't need a pause (comma) for, you need to be firm and apply a full stop. If you have been cheating on your partner, God is calling you today to put a full stop and open another chapter of faithfulness and abstinence. God has revealed to you that the person is not your partner, no need for patronizing him or her. He/she is your ex, then why the close communication, put a full stop today.
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Enough of allowing anybody to turn your body to a playground, you were bought with a price, put a full stop today and allow God to reshape your life.
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Question Mark: The question mark is mainly used at the end of an interrogative statement (a statement that requires an answer). You need to ask questions in your relationship, know his/her goals, vision, spiritual stability and so on. When you noticed emotion inflow into your friendship, ask questions so as to take the necessary steps, don’t go the friends with benefit route, it mostly leads to pain and abuse. Ask where the relationship is leading, how you can help each other and so on.
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When you're angry, know when to put comma and full stop, lest you say too much and cause more troubles than the existing one, remember the Bible even said 'let your speech be with grace' (Col.4:6). When you are afraid in a relationship, there is nothing you aren't scared of, then it is time to think of a full stop because perfect love as said by the Bible casts out all fear (1John 4:18).
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Repost (Copied and Edited)
Tuesday, 4 July 2017
PUNCTUATION MARKS
Friday, 2 June 2017
SEXUAL ISSUES AND CONTROVERCIES IN SOCIETY.
ETHICS
SEXUAL ISSUES AND CONTROVERCIES IN SOCIETY.
some cultures are more conservative or liberal about things, like sex outside of legal marriage, and cultures differ on how much they accept minority sexual orientations. However, even within one culture, it's also true that different people have different opinions about these issues. These different opinions cause many debates, with people arguing on each side of the issue.
Those controversies are teen pregnancy, birth control, pornography, and prostitution.
1.Teen Pregnancy
The first controversy in this lesson is teen pregnancy. Some people and cultures believe that women should not become pregnant or have children while they are still in their teen years. The main argument on this side of the issue is that most teenagers have not reached a level of emotional maturity needed to take the responsibility needed to be a good parent. Another argument is that teenagers usually don't have financial stability or independence, and it is expensive to raise a child. Interestingly, social scientists have shown that when a young girl has weaker family connections and is from a low-income background, she is more likely to become pregnant as a teenager, instead of less.
However, across the world, there are many cultures that encourage teenagers to marry and have children. On this side of the debate, younger women are more likely to be healthy and have the energy needed to raise children. As women age, birth defects are more and more likely to be seen in children, so there are biological advantages to children born from young mothers. Another advantage is that if a culture encourages teenagers to marry early, resulting pregnancies are considered more socially acceptable than teenagers who become pregnant without being married.
BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE
sex before marriage is termed as formication.
Fornication is a sin against the other person involved. It is always a mutual sin engaged in by two or more. Involving others in your own sin, You sin against them. If your convictions had been strong perhaps they would have been encouraged to do right. The sin, the shame, the wrong is shared by both. For this reason Paul writes in I Corinthians 7:2, "Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife and every woman have her own husband". Temptation is not a sin fornication is.
Fornication is a sin against oneself. Paul said, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" I Corinthians 6:18. The body of the believer belongs to God. He has been bought with a price and is to glorify God while in the flesh. All of this is clearly taught in this chapter. Fornication is generally committed. in private. This leads one to believe that, since no one knows, or since the act was committed with a prostitute or call girl, that the sin goes unnoticed and the consequences are allayed. This is just not so. Pre-marital sex? An effort to reach compatibility? An innocent game to play? Not according to the word. God says it is fornication, sin, and those who commit such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. It is not sex which God condemns, but it's misuse outside the marriage bond
2.Pornography
The third issue in this lesson is pornography. Let's start by defining what pornography is. Pornography is objects, images, or materials designed specifically to cause sexual arousal. Many people use pornography in many different ways. Some people look at pornography when they are alone, as an aid toward masturbation.
CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO PORNOGRAPHY.
The Church should condemn pornography in its strongest terms.
The victims of pornography addiction should not be condemned but rather helped to overcome.
Those who make pornographic materials available either online or hard copies should receive stiff penalties.
3.PROSTITUTION
the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment.
It is usually provided as an underground service. Although the practice is illegal in most places, it actually becomes a “viable” job source for many women. The majority of prostitutes are female, mainly from the nature of the job, however men do become prostitutes on rare occasions. Prostitution raises many ethical issues resulting from the degrading of one’s body through offering a sexual service that is widely available. The debate as to whether this service is morally wrong focuses on if the degrading of one’s body could actually be considered rape and if women can be “forced” into this profession. When evaluated through Kant’s Deontology theory, prostitution can be viewed in different ways regarding each person’s intentions going into the act. The ethical issues raised by the act of prostitution can be thoroughly analyzed by Kant’s Deontology as to whether they are morally relevant since each person has their own intentions when engaging in this service.
WHY PROSTITUTION IS IMMORAL.
the scripture condemns prostitution and almost all human races agree with this condemnations.
Though some women are forced into prostitution against their own will, the majority who works in this industry are free moral agents.
The motives of prostitution are purely materialistic.
Prostitution exposes women too many other evils they can contract HIV AIDS.
4.HOMOSEXUALITY
homosexuality involves sexual attraction to those of the same sex female are referred as lesbians
In our time a lot of voices have been raised claiming the lights of the homosexual. developed countries have embraced this practice.
CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO HOMOSEXUALITY.
The church must not abandon the scriptural opposition for the sake of fitting in the society.
We cannot accept same-sex marriage.
Scriptural position is that marriage is a relationship between a male and a female, and that sex should take place within marriage.
5.FEMALE CIRCUMCISION
Female circumcision is a practice that arose very controversy.
Those who oppose it insist that it needs to be referred to as female genital mutilation.
It distorts and mutilates what God created as good and beautiful and denies women gift of sexual satisfaction.
CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
Community needs to be educated on the charges related to female circumcision.
Presentation of holistic gospel to various communities will yield the needed change from within.
Monday, 24 April 2017
WATCHFUL PRAYER
From the herald of His coming 2007
By Dave Butts
"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful" (Colossians 4:2).
Devotion to prayer was one of the marks of the early Church. In Acts 2:42, Luke lists four areas of devotion that marked the Jerusalem church:
Apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread, and prayer. The rest of Acts demonstrates their devotion, as a praying Church breaks out of Judea and embarks upon its mission to the world.
God’s call to His people today is for nothing less than that demonstrated by the first believers.
Through dependence upon His power through
prayer, we establish His kingdom in the lives of men and women everywhere, seeing Christ’s
kingdom advance among the nations.
In Colossians 4:2, Paul’s command for us to be devoted to prayer is sharpened by the phrase, "being watchful." Watchful praying is a more
intense, more kingdom-focused type of prayer. All too often our prayers can be a reflection of an unfocused, bland faith. We ask little, expecting
little, and what we do ask for is more about our own desires than the purposes and plans of God.
Watchful praying takes effort. It is an
aggressive sort of prayer life, recognizing that life
is lived out in the midst of a battleground.
Watching and praying is a lifestyle focusing on
seeing the kingdom of Christ advance and
knowing that our prayers are a vital part of what God is doing on planet earth.
To watch and pray first of all means that we watch God. As we draw near in intimacy and see how God is moving, we pick up divine cues from
Him as to how we should pray.
Scripture speaks much of keeping our eyes on the Lord:
• "O my Strength, I watch for You; You, O God, are my
fortress…" (Psalm 59:9).
• "But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for
God my Savior; my God will hear me" (Micah 7:7).
• "I will stand at my watch and station myself on the
ramparts; I will look to see what He will say to me, and
what answer I am to give to this complaint" (Habakkuk
2:1).
• "It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and
puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and
tells the one at the door to keep watch. Therefore keep
watch because you do not know when the owner of the
house will come back – whether in the evening, or at
midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he
comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I
say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’" (Mark
13:34-37).
God’s Word also tells us to watch what is
happening around us, and sometimes even
within us. There is to be an awareness of our
surroundings and what God might be doing in
them, so that we can pray with greater
effectiveness. Here are just a few of the
Scriptures that point to this way of watching and
praying:
• "Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly
amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that
you would not believe, even if you were told" (Habakkuk
1:5).
• "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on
what day your Lord will come" (Matthew 24:42).
• "Then He said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with Me.’ Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.’
Then He returned to His disciples and found them sleeping.
‘Could you men not keep watch with Me for one hour?’ He asked Peter. ‘Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak’" (Matthew 26:38-41).
• "Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that
you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them
slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your
children and to their children after them" (Deuteronomy
4:9).
One of the most fascinating aspects of watchful praying is how closely it ties us to the very nature and activity of God Himself. God is a watcher! Again and again in the Bible we read of how He watches over the affairs of both nations and individuals. He calls us to join Him on His watch…to devote ourselves to watch and pray
that we might participate with our Lord in His purposes. What an amazing privilege! Carefully
consider these Scriptures that point to God on His
watch:
• "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you
go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave
you until I have done what I have promised you" (Genesis
28:15).
• "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you
should go; I will counsel you and watch over you" (Psalm
32:8).
• "He rules forever by His power, His eyes watch the
nations – let not the rebellious rise up against Him" (Psalm
66:7).
• "The LORD will keep you from all harm – He will watch
over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and
going both now and forevermore" (Psalm 121:7-8).
• "The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch
on the wicked and the good" (Proverbs 15:3).
Would you today join with a watching God? He is calling His people to such an intimate place with Him that we begin to see some aspects of
what He is seeing as He allows us that privilege.
Our watching is for the purpose of praying into
our world the purposes and plans of God. How
amazing is the grace and calling of God that He
would grant us the joy and favor of laboring
alongside Him through watchful praying!
Monday, 6 February 2017
DEAR SOMEONE
