Satan does NOT stay on his own lane.

Whenever a criminal is caught red-handed, he almost always blames the Devil for his actions and expects to be left off the hook because of that. At the other extreme, some people claim that Satan is not to be blamed at all for people's misdeeds. They say Satan stays on his own lane before being toyed with by people.

What does the Bible say?  

In the Garden of Eden, God blamed both man and the Devil (Genesis 3: 1-24). Man was to blame for disobeying the orders of God, "the Most High" (Psalm 83:18) because of Satan, a fallen angel (Job 1:6 ; 2:1 & 38: 4-7). You don't disobey your parents because of your older sibling, do you?   

However, God didn't absolve the Devil (who was created before Adam and Eve and is therefore older) from all blame (Genesis 3: 14-15). Revelation 12:9 calls Satan "the original serpent . . . who is misleading the entire inhabited earth", including Adam and Eve. 1 Peter 5:8 says " the Devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone" and James 4:7 urges us to oppose him to make him flee from us. These verses show that Satan DOESN'T stay on his own lane. He was wandering about the earth in Job 1:7 & 2:2. Those who stumble others will end up worse than someone thrown into the sea with a milestone hung round his neck (Luke 17:2). Accordingly, Satan will be destroyed along with those he manages to deceive (Revelation 20: 7- 15). 

DID YOU NOTICE THESE THINGS ABOUT JESUS' BIRTH?

 

1. The genealogies of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:1-16 & Luke 3: 23-38 diverged from David to Jesus Christ. One passed through Solomon (Mt 1:6) and the other through Nathan (Luke 3:31). Both Solomon & Nathan were David's sons by Bathsheba (1 Chronicles 3:5). Joseph (Jesus' stepfather) has 2 "fathers", Jacob & Heli (mentioned at Matthew 1:16 & Luke 3:23 respectively). The "fathers" have different ancestors all the way to David, & therefore can't be the same person. One of them must be Joseph's FATHER-in-law (or Mary's father).

2. Both Mary & Joseph were from the tribe of Judah. Though they were based in Nazareth, both had to travel to Bethlehem to "register in their own city" (Luke 1: 26,27 & 3: 1-5). Jesus had to be both biologically (through Mary) & socially (or patrilinearly, through Joseph) from Judah (Micah 5:2).

3. There were 2 towns named Bethlehem in Israel then. One was in the tribe of Judah (Ruth 1:1) in Judea (Matthew 2:1), while the other was in the tribe of Zebulun (Joshua 19:10-16) in Galilee (Matthew 4:15). That's why Micah 5:2 was specific. 

4. On the 40th day of his birth, Jesus' parents offered a "poor man's offering" of 2 turtledoves (Leviticus 12: 6-8; Luke 2 : 21-24). This is well before the astrologers came with their costly gifts.  

5. Jesus was almost 2 years old when the astrologers came from the East. Shortly after they left, Jesus' parents had to flee to Egypt with him. Note that his just-6-months-older cousin , John the Baptizer, (who was also in Judea) (Luke 1: 36-40) escaped the massacre of "boys aged 2 years & under" (Matthew 2:16) without having to relocate. There must have been official birth (& death) registration records to guide the soldiers against the desperate mothers' understandable lies. 

6. The star did not lead the astrologers to Jesus in Bethlehem directly, but first took them to murderous Herod (who would have killed Jesus, but for God's intervention) in Jerusalem. Note that the angels and the shepherds did not tell Herod about Jesus earlier. Satan must have used the star to endanger Jesus. 

7. There are 2 other persons named Jesus in the Bible apart from Jesus Christ (Luke 3:29 ; Colossians 4:11). Therefore, it is not a sin to name your son Jesus (as long as you don't call him MESSIAH or CHRIST). 

8. Mary was not sinless ; she did purification after childbirth like any other Jewish woman (Leviticus 12: 6-8; Luke 2 : 21-24 ; Romans 3:23). It was the Holy Spirit that shielded Jesus from contamination in the womb (Luke 1:35). 

9. Zechariah's doubting of Angel Gabriel's message (despite the precedent of Abraham and Sarah) led to his being made dumb for some time. Mary's doubt was understandable because no virgin had ever given birth without sex before. Hence, the angel patiently explained things to her. 

10. Mary wasn't a virgin for life. After giving birth to Jesus, she had 4 sons & at least 2 daughters for Joseph (Matthew 1:25 & 13: 53-56).

THE FATHER, THE SON AND THE HOLY SPIRIT (MATTHEW 28: 19,20)

A man and his wife become "one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). Yet ,they remain 2 separate individuals and "the head of a woman is her husband" (1 Corinthians 11:3). Similarly, the oneness of God and Jesus (John 10:30) means unity of purpose and does not make them the same person or equals. Jesus is the "beginning of all creation" (Revelation 3:14), God's first creature, whom he used to create everybody and everything else (Colossians 1: 15-16). He is one of the angels God made before he created the earth (Job 38:4-7 ; John 17:5). God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit appeared as separate individuals at Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:16-17). Jesus Christ himself said, "The Father is greater than I" and called his Father "the only true God" (John 14:28 ; 17:3). Jehovah himself said, "Besides me there is no God" (Isaiah 44:6 ; Psalm 83:18).1 Corinthians 11:3 also says, "the head of Christ is God".

1 Corinthians 8: 6 says,"There is actually to us one God, the Father,... and there is one Lord, Jesus Christ". See also 1 Timothy 2:5. After his 1,000-year reign (Revelation 20:1-6), Jesus Christ will hand over the kingdom to his God and Father (1 Corinthians 15:20-28).

What about the Holy Spirit? 

* The Holy Spirit , "the power of the Most High", came upon Mary and overshadowed her while she was pregnant with Jesus (Luke 1:35). 

*It came upon Jesus during his baptism (Matthew 3: 16-17).

*Jesus blew on his disciples and said, "Receive the holy spirit" (John 20:22-23).

*The holy spirit is known but not seen by Christ's disciples (John 14: 16-17) and will remind them and us about all the things Christ said (John 14:26).

*After the 120 disciples received the holy spirit at Pentecost, it was Peter and the other apostles (not the holy spirit) who spoke verbally to the people (Acts 2:1-36). 

* The holy spirit didn't write a single book in the Bible, lay hands on anyone or travel to visit anyone as Paul and the other disciples did. "Men spoke from God as they were moved by holy spirit" (2 Peter 1:21 ; 1 Peter 1:11-12). See also Exodus 31: 1-3; Numbers 11: 16-30; Judges 14:19 ; 15:14 ; Psalm 51:11 ; Ezekiel 37: 1-10; Luke 11:13 ; Acts 2:4; 5:32 ; 7:55-56 ; 8: 14-17 ; 10 : 44-48 and 19: 1-7 . The holy spirit can be distributed among many persons without any loss to the person doing the impartation (e.g. John 20: 22-23 ; Acts 8: 14-17 ; 10 : 44-48 and 19: 1-7) . God says, "I will pour out SOME OF MY SPIRIT on every sort of flesh" (Acts 2:17). 

Therefore, the holy spirit is God's active force that He uses to achieve His purposes (Luke 1:35). While Jehovah God (Psalm 83:18) and Jesus Christ are in heaven (Acts 7:55-56), the holy spirit is inhabiting many persons (including God and Jesus) in both heaven and the earth. 

The "jinxed" single mother who produced the Messiah.

Mary got pregnant without having sex, but God convinced Joseph to marry her (Matthew 1:18-25). They later had at least 6 children together (Matthew 13:53-56). Therefore, she is not the single mother I have in mind.

The woman I am talking about is Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law (whose story is recorded in Genesis chapter 38 in the Bible).

Judah had 3 sons : Er, Onan and Shelah. Er (the oldest) was Tamar's first husband. After God killed Er for being wicked, Judah told Onan (the second son) to marry the still-childless Tamar in order to raise up offspring for his late brother. Onan had nothing to lose, since he could still marry any other woman he likes along with Tamar. Polygamy was allowed then. However, he "wasted his semen on the ground so as not to give offspring to his brother". God killed him too for this. He could also have declined marrying her (as Ruth's nearest male in-law did and allowed someone else, Boaz, to marry her) - Ruth 4:1-10; Deuteronomy 25.5-10. Onan was killed for being a dog in the manger.

Judah told Tamar to go back to her father's house until Shelah grows up, but he didn't really intend to "waste" his only remaining son on a "jinxed" woman (since he didn't know it was God who killed the two sons). 

When Tamar saw that Shelah had grown up without her being sent for and that Judah (now widowed like her) was going to pass through her area on his way to a feast, she veiled her face and sat by the roadside like a prostitute. Judah fell into the trap and got her pregnant. She collected his seal ring, cord and rod as security (for the goat he promised to send) before the act. Thereafter, she left the streets and couldn't be located to return the items when the goat was ready. 

The items identified Judah as the owner of the pregnancy and saved her from being hanged for "prostitution" (i.e. sleeping with another man without having been given a "discharge certificate" by her late husband's family). Judah acknowledged being in the wrong for neither letting Shelah marry her nor telling her to find another man outside their family. He didn't sleep with her again after that, let alone marry her.

She gave birth to twin boys, Perez and Zerah. Perez became an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1: 3,16; Luke 3:23, 33). God understands extenuating circumstances (1 Samuel 16:9; Psalm 7:9) and didn't condemn her for her unusual action in getting herself a child. Shelah too lived and prospered (1 Chronicles 4:21-23) while Onan did not leave any child behind. He didn't have any child from an earlier woman.  

Beware of the snare of Balaam (2).

Balaam himself was a victim of obstinacy and greed. He "loved the reward of wrongdoing" (2 Peter 2:15; Jude:11). 

When Balak first sent his messengers to him, God told him not to follow them to curse Israel (a nation He has blessed) and he complied. When Balak later sent a more powerful delegation with mouth-watering promises, Balaam refused to take God's earlier "No" for an answer and asked the delegation to stay overnight for him to learn what else God will say. God grudgingly allowed him to go with them and waylaid him before warning him to say only what He tells him to say there. 

Thrice , Balak built 7 altars and offered 7 bulls and 7 rams on them. Each time, Balaam stepped aside to seek God's face and God made him bless Israel instead of cursing them. This annoyed Balak and he sent him away . (Read Numbers chapters 22-24). 

Balaam "loved the reward of wrongdoing", though he was too smart to curse Israel so as not to be struck down by God. So he sponsored Moabite and Midianite women to lure Israel into sin so that God will punish them Himself (Revelation 2:14; Numbers 31:15,16). Though his plot succeeded, God led Israel to attack Midian and he was killed there (Numbers 31:1-8).

The Bible says at 1 Timothy 6:10, " The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows". Greediness is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5; Colossians 3:5). 

Though Balaam was not an Israelite, he enjoyed God's favour until the love of money led him astray. (Contrast Balaam with Job, another non-Israelite who found favour with God till the end of his life). May we not end up like Balaam.

"OBEY GOD AS RULER RATHER THAN MEN" (ACTS 5:29)

The Bible exhorts husbands to love their wives, wives to submit to their husbands, children to obey their parents and everyone in general to submit to people in authority (Ephesians 5: 21-33 & 6:1-9; Romans 13:1-7). Are there no limits to these laws? 

🔯 The first man Adam loved his wife so much that he ate the forbidden fruit she offered him. God blamed him for listening to the voice of his wife to the detriment of keeping His laws (Genesis 3:17-19). Listening to your wife is not a sin (as can be seen in the cases of Abraham at Genesis 21:8-13 and the Shunammite woman of 2 Kings 4:8-10) but don't go against God's laws.   

🔯 Jezebel was a very caring wife. She told Ahab, " Why are you so sad that you refuse to eat?" and got him Naboth's vineyard after killing Naboth and his sons (1 Kings 21:1-29 ; 2 Kings 9:26). Ahab was the worst human being as at then, "egged on by his wife Jezebel"(1 Kings 21:25). At the end of the day, the couple, their 70 sons and all of Ahab's relatives in Israel were wiped out (1 Kings 21:20-26 & 22:37-40; 2 Kings 9:22-37 & 10:1-11,17). Even their daughter Athaliah , who had married away into Judah's royal family (2 Kings 8:16-18,24 and 11:1), killed most of her own children and grandchildren before being executed (2 Kings 11:1-16). Contrast Jezebel with Abigail, who used godly wisdom to save her family from annihilation (1 Samuel chapter 25). 

🔯 The young prophet at 1 Kings 13 disobeyed God's clear commands and paid dearly for it because an older prophet said,"An angel told me to bring you to my house to eat and drink". How can God tell you to do something, an "angel" (or demon) will "tell" somebody to make you do the opposite and you will obey the human being? Why not pray to God for confirmation? Deuteronomy 13:1-3 warns us against prophets who try to make us disobey God ,even if their signs or portents come true. Eve ignored God's command and listened to the serpent (the Devil in disguise) - Genesis 3:1-7; Revelation 12:9. God did not spare her for being fooled by a fallen angel. "Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (2 Corinthians 11:14-15).

 

📣 Nobody should be so important or dear to you to make you offend God. No wonder Jesus said at Matthew 5: 29-30, "If your eye or hand is making you stumble, tear it out and throw it away from you. It is better for you to lose one of your body parts than for your whole body to land in hell". Since our bodies are God's temples which are not to be destroyed ( 1 Corinthians 3:16-17), Jesus is telling us to abandon evil associations (1 Corinthians 15:33) here. Where no Bible principle is violated, obey your superiors and consider the feelings of your equals and subordinates. But never displease God to please ANY human being.

The equations of life.

LIFE is like a line segment drawn from a point B (Birth) to a point D (Death).
So life starts from the moment we are born until the day we die.

But in the middle of B(Birth) and D(Death) is a mysterious C (Christ). If we put Christ in the middle of our lives(Birth➡Christ➡Death), our lives will not end at D but will extend to E (Eternal life). All those who put Christ in the middle of their lives have eternal life after death. Those who do not put Christ in the middle of their lives don't have eternal life after death but they have F(Fire).

Therefore, the mathematical equation (or definition of life) for Christians is :
B + C + D = E   (i.e.
Birth + Christ + Death = Eternal Life).
The mathematical equation (or definition of life) for unbelievers  is :
(B - C ) + D = F
, i.e. Birth - Christ + Death = Fire.

Anyone who avoids C must surely lose E.

Please check the following scriptural references:   John 3:16,17 & 5:34 ; Acts 4:12 ;
1 John 5:11-13 ; Rev 20:11-15.