ARE YOU A ROMAN IN ROME?

Have you heard the name ‘Beltshazzar’ before? What do you know him for? Here’s a little about this man.

Ask me of a man firm and disciplined to the marrow, I will direct you to Belteshazzar. If you are really interested to know about someone who was faithful and impeccable, you sure need to know more about Daniel.

He was so disciplined that he thrashed the dictum “when you go to Rome, behave like Romans” by behaving like a Jew in faraway Babylon.

During his early years in Babylon, he purposed in his heart not to eat the appetizing-salivating meals served at the king’s palace; if some of us were in his shoes, what would we have done? Enjoy ourselves and yell out “God understands”?

He wasn’t egocentric; after interpreting the king’s dream, he requested his friends be elevated to a higher position in the province but he remained at the king’s gate. Think about that!

All through the provinces, he was known to love and adore His God to the extent that his fellow Governors that wanted to indict him sought out ways to nail him but could only say “We shall not find any charge against Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God” they knew the only “wrong” they could find in him must be his quintessential love for God.

In places we find ourselves, what are we known for? What kind of life do we live? What do we represent? If those Governors were to be with us, what fault will they find in us? Is it possible for us to be convicted for doing the right thing in the sight of God as was the case of Daniel?

He prayed to God three times every day as a custom and that was the only fault his fellow Governors could find against him in order to get him hooked.

When we start living our lives like Daniel, great things will come our ways. Some of the great things that took place in Daniel’s life due to his trust, faith and firmness in the word of God include:

- God sent His angels to guide and guard him throughout his stay in the Lion’s den : which means, even if we get into trouble by doing things God’s way, God will always take care of the situation His own way.
- The king made a decree that in every dominion of his kingdom, that men must worship, tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: when we live for God, He will use us to draw men to Himself.

You can read more about Daniel from the book of Daniel in the Holy Scriptures.

When we dare to be like Daniel by standing alone, having a firm purpose, and making our purpose and stands known to everyone without any compromise, God will do for us as He did for Daniel even more.

Remember, if you walk in God’s light,
Shun the wrong and do the right
God will always make a way for you
God loves you more than you can imagine.

Are you a Roman in Rome, Learn from Beltshazzar.

@Elexharry

My Service Year Experience (In Brief)

My name is Elekwa O. Elekwa. The “O” in my name stands for Ochie and Okechukwu. I hail from Bende Local Government Area of Abia State. I was born with my twin brother at General Hospital (now Abia State University Teaching Hospital) Aba, Abia State. My Nursery, Primary and Secondary Education were all in Aba Abia State; furthermore, I attended Abia State University, Uturu where I studied Architecture. This actually is not my autobiography; if need be, I still have many things to achieve before that. The little about me above is just to highlight that I have lived almost all my life in Abia State and the Eastern part of Nigeria. This article is a summary of some of the many things I observed and experienced during my service year.

NOT EVERY NORTHERNER IS HAUSA AND NOT EVERY NORTHERNER IS A TROUBLE MAKER!
For us, everyone from the North is an Hausa man or woman. I used to think that the Fulani are a group of Hausas that rear cattles not knowing that they are a tribe. Most of the people from Niger State are either Nupe or Gwari and other minor tribes, I once went to somewhere in this State (Maraba Guni) where I met people who neither speak nor understand Hausa but only Gbagi (Gwari people’s dialect). Even my friend Ogiri Joel from Nasarawa State who would be called an ‘Hausa man’ in the East will always tell me he is not Hause but Alago. I later researched, heard and read about more ethnic groups in the north that I never knew. They include; Kadara, Zuru, Koro, Baruba, Gana, Dibo, Kambari, Kamuka, Pangu, Dukkkawa, Gaada, Ingwal, Amo, and many others. Also, northerners are not trouble makers as we often think they are there will always be trouble makers everywhere in the world.

MOSQUES EVERY WHERE!
All through my life in Abia State, I saw only three (3) Mosques; one at Azikiwe by Asa road, another at Mosque Road (all in Aba) and the third one at Eket Road in Umuahia (Abia State Capital). But as I got to Minna, there were Mosques everywhere; very big ones as big as cathedrals, small ones and very small ones. In the street where I stay there are more than ten (10) Mosques, one is less than 15 metres from my window. I later figured out that the big mosques are used for Friday prayers and other special prayers while the small ones are used for everyday prayers. Apart from these block/built mosques, Moslems also pray anywhere with their mats if that place is not dirty. Mosques were also synonymous with plastic kettles and water.

I NEVER NEEDED AN ALARM CLOCK TO WAKE-UP BY 5!
During my stay in Minna, I discovered that Moslems pray 5 times daily (though from my research, there’s a sixth one by 7am-Shurooq, which is not obligatory). The prayer hours are 5am –Fajr, 12noon- Dhuhr, 4pm – Asr, 6pm –Maghrib then 7pm – Ishaa. If you can remember, I said earlier that there is a mosque less than 15m from my window; the mosque has a horn speaker, so the Fajr prayer served as my 5am alarm.

WHO’S IN CHARGE OF TAXI?
I noticed something about the Taxi drivers, 90% of these drivers are Yoruba. Did you notice that too?

VIGILS!
I actually thought vigils were only for Christians until the last ten days of the Ramadan fasting; that day, when the horn beside my window came on, I thought it was 5am only for my clock to say otherwise! I had to run to twitter to ask my twend @trueNija (he tweets Islamic stuffs on twitter) if the time for prayers have been changed from 5am to 1am, he then told me that Moslems have vigils everyday during the last days of the Ramadan fasting, those ten days were something else for me, I cannot forget them easily.

PURCHASING POWER!
The first time I heard of “purchasing power” during my service year was from The Chief Servant, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, CON. (Talban Minna) Executive Governor of Niger State. He used it during his interactive session with the Corps Members at the Orientation Camp; Corps Members were comparing the State Allowance in Niger State to other States, and the Chief Servant told us that the purchasing power in Niger State is not the same with those States. I later observed that too...

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH MINNA
Seventh-day Adventist Church Minna was my family during my service year. There I met wonderful, loving and lovely people. At the church, I met and made friends with so many people including my fellow Corps Members - Obiuto, Micah, Chinyere, Loveday, Ocheze, Otobong and David. The Church organized a ‘Corpers Day’ for us on the 13th of October 2012. I will really miss that family.

NCCF NIGER
I was not a part of NCCF during the Orientation Camp… after Passing Out from Orientation Camp, NCCF officers came and safe guarded our luggage and took them to the Family House. That was how I ended up with NCCF. I was a loner during the Orientation Camp; apart from my roommates, I made no new friends. But the NCCF Family House provided for me a ground to make more friends. I met wonderful people there – Mfon, Ayor, Mekus Moredays, Peter, Ogiri, Kaycee, Moses, Solomon, Alex, Mike, Bro. Moses (Mama), Abodunrin Dayo (Uncle) Godson, Ibrahim Ismaila (Papa), Oliver, Jackson, Justice, Ndubuisi, Paul, Sunny and so many other wonderful people. I also had a good time with the NCCF Choir and attended some Rural Rugged too.

MINISTRY OF WORKS CORPERS’ LODGE – KPAKUNGU
I was privileged to stay in the same lodge with wonderful people from all over Nigeria .We had good times; threw banters up and down, had political arguments as well as watched football games together; the arguments and shouting that follow were part of it too. We always stay awake after every UEFA Champions league game to analyze and argue. Of course, the Ronaldo/Messi argument comes up most of the times too. The Night after the Euro 2012 finals was the quietest night in the lodge because we supported different teams during the event, but that night, we supported Italy and Pirlo to win Spain. My lodge mates include Ogochukwu Aduba (Delta), Michael Amalu (Enugu) and Abiodun Animashaun (Lagos) Chelsea fans, Samson Egbefa (Delta) Man Utd., Ejireme Onos (Delta) Arsenal, Obinna Nwaroh (Enugu) Liverpool, Oghenero Ishieke (Delta) Real Madrid, Chinenye Nwegbo (Enugu) and Ikokpu Nsini Udo (Akwa Ibom) are not football fans. Another significant feature of this lodge was that out of the ten (10) Corps Members that resided there, four (4) were CDS Presidents : Ogochukwu – ICPC, Michael – Environmental, Ikokpu (Lala) – Red Cross and Elekwa – NYSC Band, Obinna and Chinenye were Treasurers in Sports CDS and NEMA . We were later joined in the lodge by another lovely set of Corps Members mostly from the Batch C – Henry, Ben, Nonso, Ify, Happy, Dabbie, Churchhill and others. I will miss all these wonderful people.

NYSC BAND AND MDGS
I attended MDGs lectures during the Orientation Camp and Graduated from the program. I have been involved with Parade Drums since 1999. But during the Orientation Camp, I did not join the Band because I was still acclimatizing to the weather. After the Orientation Camp, I joined the Band and went with them to various outings; one of which was the Inauguration of the SURE-P in Niger State by the Finance Minister Dr. Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. During my time in the band, I met wonderful among who are; Ifeanyi Oliver, Mike Uddin, Christy Kolo, Mfon, Jackson, Kayode, Otobong, Ijeoma, Lilian, Abigail, Innocent, Ngozi, Michaels, Nnaemeka, Wale, Ojukwu and so many other people there won’t be space to mention. I couldn’t join the MDGs CDS Group since I was already with the Band, but I still worked as a DKF for MDGs with Day Junior Secondary School Limawa where I met wonderful kids.

CONCLUSION
My phone’s contact can now boast of names from all over Nigeria! Thanks to NYSC. I also experienced how other tribes in Nigeria pronounce my name; most times, it can be lovely, funny and annoying too. I was once called Elekwuu O. Elekwuu.

My service year was filled with so many experiences that the space provided cannot enter them all. It was really a wonderful experience I will never forget and I will miss so many people. God will continue to bless my parents, siblings and friends who never relented in prayers and support all through this time. To God be the Glory for seeing us through this journey.

You can follow me on twitter @Elexharry

Elekwa O. Elekwa
08063344634
NG/12A/0612

My Service Year Experience

WHEN GOD IS WITH YOU - Gen. 39 in Mind

When the Lord is with you, great things follow you.

A great example of someone who had the Lord on his side was Joseph as could be read in Gen. 39

Joseph was sold as a punishment by his brothers, but was sold into the house of Potiphar an officer of Pharoh and he reigned there

He was so much in charge that Potiphar left everything into his hands that He knew nothing about his wealth but only his daily meal.

When God is on your side, don't think temptations won't come, don't think you're immune to temptations...

But know that those temptations will always come to test your relationship with God and when you triumph, more blessings are on the way + more temptations + more blessings etc

Joseph was tempted by his Master's wife. When she was trying to lure him, he made a statement;

"There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39:9).

Joseph took an upper hand when his temptation came, he flee from Potiphar's wife because that was the only option - Lesson: Certain temptations require we run away from them rather than staying to solve them, meaning running away from certain temptations is the solution.

Yet that was not the end, triumphing brings other challenges. He was accused by the Madam of trying to mock her (rape her).

After all, he found himself in the prison!
But since the Lord was with him, no shaking!

"But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison." (Genesis 39:21).
He became a leader, an over all leader in the prison of the King's servants.

"The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper." (Genesis 39:23).

When we fear the Lord same way Joseph did as well as doing the right things in all situations, the Lord that lead Joseph will lead us.

@Elexharry

The Pagan Origin Of Easter

Easter is a day that is honoured by nearly all of contemporary Christianity and is used to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The holiday often involves a church service at sunrise, a feast which includes an "Easter Ham" decorated eggs and stories about rabbits.

Those who love truth learn to ask questions, and many questions must be asked regarding the holiday of Easter.

Is it truly the day when Jesus arose from the dead? Where did all of the strange customs come from, which have nothing to do with the
resurrection of our Saviour?

The purpose of this tract is to help answer those questions, and to help those who seek truth to draw their own conclusions.

The first thing we must understand is that professing Christians were not the only ones who celebrated a festival called "Easter."

"Ishtar", which is pronounced "Easter" was a
day that commemorated the resurrection of one of their gods that they called "Tammuz", who
was believed to be the only begotten son of the moon-goddess and the sun-god.

In those ancient times, there was a man named Nimrod, who was the grandson of one of Noah's son named Ham.

Ham had a son named Cush who married a woman named Semiramis. Cush and Semiramis
then had a son named him "Nimrod."

After the death of his father, Nimrod married his own mother and became a powerful King.

The Bible tells of of this man, Nimrod, in Genesis 10:8-10 as follows:

"And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar."

Nimrod became a god-man to the people and Semiramis, his wife and mother, became the powerful Queen of ancient Babylon.

Nimrod was eventually killed by an enemy, and his body was cut in pieces and sent to various parts of his kingdom.

Semiramis had all of the parts gathered, except for one part that could not be found.

That missing part was his reproductive organ.

Semiramis claimed that Nimrod could not come back to life without it and told the people of
Babylon that Nimrod had ascended to the sun and was now to be called "Baal", the sun god.

Queen Semiramis also proclaimed that Baal would be present on earth in the form of a flame, whether candle or lamp, when used in worship.

Semiramis was creating a mystery religion, and with the help of Satan, she set herself up as a goddess.

Semiramis claimed that she was immaculately conceived.

She taught that the moon was a goddess that went through a 28 day cycle and ovulated when full.

She further claimed that she came down from the moon in a giant moon egg that fell into the
Euphrates River.

This was to have happened at the time of the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Semiramis became known as "Ishtar" which is pronounced "Easter", and her moon egg
became known as "Ishtar's" egg."

Ishtar soon became pregnant and claimed that it was the rays of the sun-god Baal that caused her to conceive.

The son that she brought forth was named Tammuz.

Tammuz was noted to be especially fond of rabbits, and they became sacred in the ancient
religion, because Tammuz was believed to be the son of the sun-god, Baal. Tammuz, like his
supposed father, became a hunter.

The day came when Tammuz was killed by a wild pig. Queen Ishtar told the people that Tammuz was
now ascended to his father, Baal, and that the two of them would be with the worshippers in the sacred candle or lamp flame as Father, Son
and Spirit.

Ishtar, who was now worshipped as the "Mother of God and Queen of Heaven", continued to build her mystery religion.

The queen told the worshippers that when Tammuz was killed by the wild pig, some of his blood fell on the stump of an evergreen tree,
and the stump grew into a full new tree overnight. This made the evergreen tree sacred by the blood of Tammuz.

She also proclaimed a forty day period of time of sorrow each year prior to the anniversary of the
death of Tammuz.

During this time, no meat was to be eaten.

Worshippers were to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and to make the
sign of the "T" in front of their hearts as they worshipped.

They also ate sacred cakes with the marking of a "T" or cross on the top.

Every year, on the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox, a celebration
was made.

It was Ishtar's Sunday and was celebrated with rabbits and eggs.

Ishtar also proclaimed that because Tammuz was killed by a pig, that a pig must be eaten on
that Sunday.

By now, the readers of this tract should have made the connection that paganism has infiltrated the contemporary "Christian" churches, and further study indicates that this paganism came in by way of the Roman Catholic System.

The truth is that Easter has nothing whatsoever to do with the resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ.

We also know that Easter can be as much as three weeks away from the Passover, because the pagan holiday is always set as the first
Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Some have wondered why the word "Easter" is in the the King James Bible.

It is because Acts, chapter 12, tells us that it was the evil King Herod, who was planning to celebrate Easter, and not the Christians.

The true Passover and pagan Easter sometimes coincide, but in some years, they are a great
distance apart.

So much more could be said, and we have much more information for you, if you are a seeker of
the truth.

We know that the Bible tells us in John 4:24,

"God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must
worship him in spirit and in truth."

The truth is that the forty days of Lent, eggs, rabbits, hot cross buns and the Easter ham have everything to do with the ancient pagan religion of Mystery Babylon. These are all antichrist activities!

Satan is a master deceiver, and has filled the lives of well-meaning, professing Christians with
idolatry.

These things bring the wrath of God upon children of disobedience, who try to make pagan customs of Baal worship Christian.

You must answer for your activities and for what you teach your children.

These customs of Easter honor Baal, who is also Satan, and is still worshipped as the "Rising Sun"
and his house is the "House of the Rising Sun."

How many churches have "sunrise services" on Ishtar's day and face the rising sun in the East?

How many will use colored eggs and rabbit stories, as they did in ancient Babylon.

These things are no joke, any more than Judgement day is a joke.

I pray to God that this tract will cause you to search for more truth.

We will be glad to help you by providing more information and by praying for you.

These are the last days, and it is time to repent, come out and be separate.

David J. Meyer
Last Trumpet Ministries International
PO Box 806
Beaver Dam, WI 53916

Dating versus Courting By Tom Brown

Joshua Harris wrote a book with a provocative title, "I’ve kissed dating goodbye." You need to kiss dating goodbye. I believe that dating is the world’s way to find a
spouse. Many might be wondering, If I don’t date, how am I going to find a spouse?

You should find a spouse through courting. Courtship is more of a scriptural way to meet a prospective spouse than dating. What is the difference between dating and courting? Let me say first of all: Don’t get hung up on terms. It is possible to use the word date but not necessarily have the same understanding as my definition. I am giving you my definition of dating. If you say you date but don’t do what I define dating as being, then I feel you are practicing courting, although you might still use the term dating.


My definition of dating is that it is a modern game where intimacy is practiced before commitment. It
often involves romantic talk, holding hands, kissing, making out, and often times sex.
Commitment never proceeds intimacy. The word date comes from the word mate. It doesn’t sound good to tell someone you are mating with Mr. X.
You prefer to use the word dating. It sounds so much better, but in reality, dating and mating are
sometimes the same. I looked up the word date in my encyclopedia and it said, "see Sex and Teenage. " Even my encyclopedia agrees with my definition.


Courtship is the time-honored and successful practice of learning about someone enough to know whether or not the two are compatible for marriage. It often involves friendship, discussing
each individual’s future plans, knowing the parents if they’re alive, and praying privately for God’s will in the matter. After deciding it is God’s will to get married, the couple prays together and then go to their parents to seek their blessings and finally to the pastor to seek his approval.
After engaged the couple still avoids intimacy until marriage. Commitment comes before intimacy. Someone might be thinking, How old is this writer? I’m under forty, and my wife, Sonia, and I proved that courtship could work in this modern age. We both were virgins when we married each other. So don’t tell me that this is unrealistic. We never kissed or even held hands until we were engaged. It can work. We’ve been married for almost 18 years, and are still in love.

Why people fall away from the Lord?

I’ve been pastoring for almost two decades, and I’ve noticed that the number one reason people are led away from God is because they get
involved in a relationship which is not honoring God. People rarely fall away from God as a result of drugs, alcohol, or cults. Christianity is a relationship, so it stands to reason that an unholy relationship will be the number one cause of backsliding.


We are relational people. Our faith is based on a relationship with God. We need a relationship with God to fulfill us. Satan knows this, so he tries to replace your relationship with God with a wrong relationship with another. If he can succeed, you will discover that your relationship with God will suffer.


Dating is Satan’s method of getting you distracted from God. As I said before, dating involves intimacy. Once a person develops intimacy, they can easily make each other out to be idols. The Romeo and Juliet syndrome takes place.

"Oh, I can’t live without you! I need you! You are everything to me!"


Like Romeo and Juliet you will began to despise the advice of your parents and others who care for your spiritual well being. You will soon give more and more time to this person. You will begin to spend less time with your family and
Christian friends. Before you know it, you rarely attend church.


"Who cares, I’m in love!" you say. Remember the end of Romeo and Juliet: they killed themselves!
That is not exactly a romantic ending.


Satan tried it on me

Hey, I am a guy! I know what I’m talking about. Satan tried to get me involved in wrong relationships with different girls. Oh, they were so pretty! But they weren’t born-again, Spirit-filled girls. I knew God had called me into the ministry,
so I realized my choice for a wife was critical. None of the girls I liked were interested in being a
preacher’s wife.

Satan almost got me on several occasions. One girl, who was drunk at the time, said to me, "Tom,
with you being religious and all that, and me being such a sinner, we would make a good couple." Yea, sure?

When I met Sonia at church, I asked her to play tennis with me. We saw each other every week at
a nursing home that we ministered at together. We went out a couple of times. In all those months, we never saw each other as idols. We
were simply good friends.


The trouble with many marriages is they are built on sex, not friendship. There is more to a
marriage than sex. Yes, sex is fun, it has its place, but friendship is even more important.


Many argue that unless you have sex before marriage, you might not be satisfied with your spouse’s performance. They say, "Better find out if you are compatible sexually before marriage than after marriage."


You know this argument is so lame. Common sense tells us that sex will be wonderful so long as you are in love with the person. It doesn’t matter if they can do gymnastics in bed, what matters most, is if they love you. Sex is meaningful with someone you love. You can learn to perform better as you go along. That is part of the fun.


Get it out of your system

Another argument of the proponents of sex before marriage is this: if you wait until marriage
to have sex, then you will always desire more; better to get it out of your system before marriage
than to do it after marriage. This argument is so ridiculous. I would argue just the opposite. Sex can be addictive. I’m more worried about playboys settling down.


Take for example a man who hates to shop. He decides to go to Wal-Mart and gets himself some overalls. Let me ask you this question: how long do you think he will keep his clothes? Remember
he doesn’t have many clothes. Yet, you and I both know he probably will keep those overalls for many years.


On the other hand, a woman who loves to shop will buy some expensive clothes and add them to
her dozens of outfits. How long do you think she will wear them? Not very long.

You see you don’t have to try on many clothes before you will be satisfied with what you bought. My wife loves to shop. She will take hours trying on different dresses to see which one she likes. Finally, she decides on a dress, only to take
it back later. On the other hand, I try on one pair of shoes, it fits, and I take it home. I will wear those shoes out until my wife encourages me to get another pair.


Trying on different people does not make it less likely that you will want to keep the one you picked. Actually, chances are you will more likely become dissatisfied with the person you married, because you know what others are like, and you might start to reminisce about the other guys you slept with. But someone who knows only one
person, does not have anyone else to compare him with, and is more likely to be satisfied with their "one and only".

Fornication or Adultery

Modern dating has failed the church. The fact is divorce is just as high among Christians as it is
with the world. I believe a major contributing factor to divorce is fornication.

And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication,
and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery. (Matthew19:9, KJV)

Notice two words Jesus used: fornication and adultery. Jesus gave the cause of divorce as being fornication. The result will be that the person will committeth adultery. Fornication is sexual sins committed before marriage. Adultery is sexual sins committed during marriage. You rarely have adultery until you first have fornication. Jesus placed fornication as the cause for divorce. Adultery is not necessarily the cause for divorce. Adultery usually was preceded by fornication.


During Jesus day, a prospective bride swore to her virginity. If she said that she was a virgin but
after marriage the husband finds out she had lied, then according to Jesus and the Law of Moses, the
husband could legitimately divorce her.


I know what you might be thinking, The past is the past. Yes, I believe that, but what if the person
claimed virginity when she was not a virgin. Then the person could not be trusted, and thus, Jesus said it was all right to divorce her because lack of trust.

The main cause of divorce is not what is happening during marriage but what happened before marriage. How you live as a single person, will eventually show up in your marriage. If you are a fornicator before marriage, you will more likely be an adulterer during marriage. If you remain pure before marriage, you will more likely remain pure during marriage. A sexually pure person is better prepared for marriage than a fornicator would be.

I know God can forgive and transform us. Mary Magdalene in the Bible proved that. I am not
predicting that you will have trouble in your marriage if you messed up before marriage. At
the same time, I would be lying if I told you that how you live as a single person does not have any bearing on your marriage, because it does.

As the Church, we try so hard to work on marriages in trouble, when we should be working just as hard on relationships before
marriage. We should expect purity before marriage, just as we would expect purity during marriage.


Dating simply sets the stage for sin. And worse, I feel dating is so expected and sometimes,
encouraged by the church, family and Christian friends, that we wonder why people fail sexually,
and later, get disappointed when they fail in their marriage.


I know Christian parents who allow their teenagers to date. The world expects teenagers to date, so parents feel like they must go along with the world. Listen, unless a person is ready for marriage, they should not be placed in a position to perform the duties of marriage. We are not called to go along with the world. We are to be
holy—pure and simple.


It is crazy for young fifteen, fourteen and even thirteen-year-old people to date and experience
intimacy. Dating is serious business. Yet it is becoming the norm for this age group to have
sex.

The Dating Game

Sex is serious. The Bible says, "Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body;
but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body" (1 Cor 6:18, ASV). We are not to play near fornication, but flee it. Let’s face it: dating as it is practiced today, does not agree with
this scripture. When people date, they are not fleeing fornication; instead they are flirting with it.
They are seeing how close they can get to sex without actually doing it. That’s not fleeing.


The scriptures also says, "Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute (fornicator) is one with her in body? For it is said, ‘"The two will become one flesh’ (1 Cor 6:16)."
Fornication is similar to the act of marriage. When you fornicate you are acting as though you are married. You are one flesh during sex. "But I’m not married." I know. That is what makes sex before marriage so serious. One flesh union should be reserved for a husband and a wife, not
your boyfriend or girlfriend.


Modern dating has taken something very serious that God has made and turning it into a game. You’ve seen the Dating Game, and that sums up
dating: it has become a game. Dating has become a recreational activity. Yet, God says it is serious.
Sex is not like playing sports or games. It is not meant to entertain you. It is meant by God to draw together two people who are in love and who have committed to spend the rest of their lives together.

Learn to love appropriately. You need to use
your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. (Philippians 1:9-10 The Message Bible)

Real love is not sentimental gush. I know guys will say anything to get sex from their girlfriends.
They will even use the famous "I love you" line to get what they want. But real love is sincere. Does the guy really love her? Is he ready to take responsibility for a child that they might conceive?
Love must be sincere. Love is not selfish. If a person really loves someone, then he will make
sure not to do anything, which might hurt her.


Love is intelligent. I know we usually do not associate love with intelligence. Hollywood makes
love emotional. But God makes love intelligent. Okay, so you feel something for this guy, but use
your head, not your libido.


Courtship places intelligence as a premium to a relationship, but dating places emotions as the
prime indicator of a relationship. Courtship understands real love.


Dating is basically selfish. Does love motivate the guy who sleeps with his girlfriend when it will scar her emotionally and damage her relationship with God? Does love motivate the girl who leads a
guy along then breaks up with him when she finds someone better?

Smart love looks beyond personal desires and the gratification of the moment. It looks at the big picture: glorifying God and serving others.

The Wrong Cart

Dating is not an essential part of the complete teenage experience. You can serve God better without it.

I can hear some people say, "Hey, Pastor, you are throwing out the baby with the bath water. The problem isn’t dating. It is self-control." Give me a break.

How can we expect to exercise self-control if we constantly put ourselves in compromising situations? As I wrote earlier, my wife and I were virgins before we got married. That is not to say
we were not tempted. We were. The only time we had to repent before God was when we placed ourselves in a position we should not have. We were alone in her parent’s van. They let us borrow it. After eating dinner, we headed back to Sonia’s house, only to make a detour into the woods. Mistake! We almost fell. That was the only
time we placed ourselves in that kind of position.


I can imagine couples constantly placing themselves in compromising situations. Sooner or later, they will fall. I’m sure Sonia and I would have eventually succumbed to fornication if we
had constantly placed ourselves in that kind of position. But we didn’t.


The problem is not lack of self-control. It is buying into the whole modern idea of dating. We are
expected to be alone. We are expected to say no, when there are no safeguards that are in place.
I’m suggesting that we place the safeguards in place. The best safeguard is to teach and expect our members to practice courtship.

When you go to the grocery store, the most important thing to do is to get a good shopping cart. Not one that has wheels constantly spinning around. You may want to go straight down the aisle, but if you are not real careful, your cart will veer off course into a can of tomatoes. You didn’t intend to hit the cans, but you started off with the wrong cart. May I suggest that dating is the wrong cart to begin with? It just doesn’t work. Courtship will work.

www.wtbm.org

MY EXPERIENCE TODAY FROM WHERE WE WORSHIPPED

Today (7th April 2012) after two weeks of not worshipping in a Church, I finally got the opportunity to worship to the Glory of God.

To the Glory of God, from the direction I got from a friend who stays in this State, I was able to locate an Adventist Church. I had a wonderful time worshipping with my fellow believers. Below are some of the things I experienced.

I experienced one thing that made me glad and that is - Seventh-Day Adventist Church is the same everywhere; same songs, same greetings and responses... Almost everything was the same so I kind of had a Dejavu instead of feeling strange among my brethren.

Brethren, I tagged this Church 'Family Church' because they all behaved as one; shared jokes, commended and praised each other, I saw love flowing amongst them. I went on to tag it 'Nigerian Church' because I was afraid Hausa language will dominate the worship, but I realised the members were from all over Nigeria - Igbo, Hausa, Yoruba, etc, which made English the language used throughout worship with little Hausa.

Hausa songs were sang by a family and the Women Choir which sang before the main Choir sang during Divine Service. The Church Choir is filled with Youths and their sound production was wonderful. I feel I may join that Choir before I leave this land. I was thrilled by the Choir. They even sang an Igbo Song - 'Ka amara gi Nna rudata, ike agwuwo ndi gi' and some other songs I knew.

I knew I will meet something different in the church, surely, I did. One of them is the response for 'Happy Sabbath'. When someone with Mic said 'Happy Sabbath' I replied loudly 'Happy Day' only to hear something different from the whole Church. Instead of 'Happy Day', when one says 'Happy Sabbath', they reply 'Remember to keep it Holy!'. I learnt and added that to the ones I knew before now.

Before now, I knew that Deacons are more active than Deaconesses, I knew Deaconesses don't do much work during worship. But here, the Deaconesses were the ones shifting the Lectern, they were even the ones that collected offering during Divine Service. They were very active more than their men counterparts. It wasn't only in the ushery department, the ladies were active in all activities of the church; during Divine Service, it was a vibrant young lady that led the Choir, during Song Service, it was a lady too...

... I'm happy I've found a Church were I'll be worshipping for the time being. Don't try to find out what I hid in those elipses please. Also, Church closed by 12:15pm which is great.

Great time I had in that Seventh Day Adventist Church located at David Mark Road, Tunga Minna - Niger State close to IBB's Mansion. I hope to get involved soon.

@elexharry