Can Cursing be validated with Mark 11:14

So, is Mark 11:14 talking about cursing or blessings?

“And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.”

This is definitely cursing. But you will agree with me that the subject here is not human but it was a tree.

Even when John and James wanted to rain down fire on people who were against Jesus, he never gave them the go ahead. Luke 9:51-56.

I am trying not to repeat myself on the points I have already written about in my article which you read.

Conclusively, I must state that we serve a God of justice and he will definitely not allow the wicked to go unpunished (in this present life and even after this life). However, that is His sole prerogative to decide.

We cannot and we should not try to push him against his will.

If the early missionary that brought the gospel to Africa had prayed such prayers against our great grandparents, I guess me and you won’t be on earth today because most of our great grandparents and ancestors where arch-enemies of the gospel.

Let me leave you with this words from Romans 12:17-21 NKJV.

17 Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men.
18 If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
19 Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord.
20 Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Feel free to air your disagreement to my points.

And please, don’t hesitate to visit my blog where I have a lot of helpful article that will really be of help to you.

Stay blessed in God’s love.

Yours in Christ,

Pst. Gavin Aleogho

What does it mean to Pray for your enemies?

Thank you very much for taking out time to ask these questions.

Let me start by affirming to the fact that I am also a strong believer of the Old and New Testament of the Bible. I believed that the Old Testament is fulfilled in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ who usher us into the era of grace.

In answering your questions, let me first of all drop the very Words of Jesus Christ who is our example and who is our Lord from Matthew 5:43-48 NKJV.

43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'
44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
45 "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47 "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?
48 "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

When Jesus asked us to pray for our enemies, what was the prayer point?

I think Matthew 5:43-48 and the Lord ’s Prayer is a good pattern given to us by Jesus Christ to follow to achieve praying the right prayer.

What does it mean to PRAY FOR your enemies?

The English dictionary and the Bible dictionary all defined the word “FOR” the same way. That is: On behalf, in service of, aimed at, toward, because of etc.

From this definition, you will agree with me that there is nothing in this definition nor from Jesus’s word in Matthew 5:43-48 that suggest that it’s a prayer that is “not in favour of a subject”. On the other hand, PRAYING AGAINST simply implies that you make a prayer that is hostile and not favorable against a person.

So, how should we pray for our enemies?

I give full details in my article titled, “HOW TO PRAY FOR YOUR HUMAN ENEMIES. To give you a summary; to pray for your enemies is to:
1. Pray for their salvation.
2. Pray that God will restrain them from the evil they do.
3. Pray for their deliverance from the grip of the devil that has possess them.
4. Pray for divine Justice.

I hope I helped you? I am always to open to answer any question you might have or a contrary opinion.

Shalom.

-Pst. Gavin Aleogho

How to deal with known human enemies

You will agree with me that the enemy is not powerful than your God.

When your relationship with God is intact... There is no way the devil can overcome or overpower you.

1. Ensure that you are standing right with God. The devil can only strike when the edge is broken.
2. Be more conscious of the presence and power of your God than the limited power and presence of your enemy.
3. Resist the devil (James 4:7). This is down by standing on the authority of Christ to halt every satanic manipulation.

I hope this is clear?

I am open to help with any other question.

Shalom.

Pst. Gavin Aleogho

Question on Exodus 22:18 and Proverbs 11:21

The scripture you quoted in your question are Exodus 22:18 and Proverbs 11:21a.

It reads

“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.” Exodus 22:18.

“Though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished:” Proverbs 11:21a

Let me start by stating that the Bible is divided into two aspect, which is the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was primarily for the Jews who where under the Laws and the Prophets like Moses, Elijah and the rest.

The coming of Christ Jesus gave rise to the New Testament where we belong. We as believers are not under the old Jewish religion which was govern by the Old Testament. We are believers, under the New Testament which is under the authority and the finished work of Christ on the cross. Thus, Christ is our Master, Lord and Examples.

So, because we are under the authority of Jesus Christ, we take direct instruction from Him, not Moses or Elijah. So, if Moses says something and Jesus counter that instruction with a new instruction, we has followers of Christ (not Moses) will have to follow the new Instruction form Jesus. Except you are under the lordship of Moses.

Moses through God’s leading gave the instruction that “suffer not a witch to live”. Who is a witch? Is a human being who is possessed with an evil spirit to do havoc. Right? And a witch is an enemy of every good thing and everybody.

So, Jesus’ new instruction is not to kill your enemy the witch, but to love them and pray for their salvation.

Matthew 5:38-48.
38 Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39 But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40 And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

If anyone insist on praying against and kill witches, then you should do it physically, because that was how they were doing it then.

Besides, if we must apply Exodus 22:18, then we should also kill idol worshipers as stated in verse 20, and also apply all the ceremonial and judicial laws in that same Exodus 22. Because there is no room for selective application of the scripture.

The wicked will definitely not go unpublished either in this life or in the life to come. Because in this life the law and justice will catch up with the wicked. Take for example, when an arm robber is caught, he is punished (in whatever way) for it by the law of the land. And in the life to come, if the wicked did not repent, he or she will spend eternity in hell.

I hope I helped you.

I am still open to any clarity you might have either on this subject or on another biblical subject.

Shalom.

Pst. Gavin Aleogho

THE TREASURE IN OLD GOSPEL SONGS

-By Gavin Aleogho 

After giving my life to Christ, while growing up in faith, I was exposed to divert gospel songs that were sang by different artist especially foreign artists. Today, I may refer to such songs as old songs and to the artist as old-time gospel Artists.

In the process of time, I have come to realize that some old songs have stood out for me, out of my many old collections. They stood out because I found that today, by simply listening to such old songs, beside the memories it brings and the lessons I was taught from them, I am reconnected to my “first love” for Christ.  I don’t think this is peculiar to me alone.

For me, some old-time gospel Artists whose old songs keep ministering to me are: Bob Fitts, Don Moen, Maranatha singers, Michael Smith, Cece Winans songs, Women of Faith, Juanita Bynum. From my country men; I have two people, which are Panam Percy Paul and Wale Adenuga.

Thanks to our contemporary gospel Artists, otherwise known as gospel musicians. I am a fan of most of the present Nigeria contemporary gospel Artist. Some of my favourites are: Sinach, Nathaniel Bassey, David G, Victoria Orenze, Rev. Igho. I must state that beyond the names mentioned here, I have many others, and I believe there are other great “Holy Ghost” filled artist which I don’t know. Thus, I am not saying these are the only best Artists in Nigeria, because even me, I have a credit to an album which you can download for free by clicking on this link.

What informs my choice of artists or gospel songs I listen to?

I look beyond voice, sound production, lyrics or the physical peripherals. Although, this cannot be ignored in making a choice. Beyond these features, I try to look at the level of God a gospel Artist carries. To put it another way, I look at how connected to God he or she is. Does the Artist have a closer walk with the Holy Ghost? I believe, you can only give what you have. Thus, every Artist is inspired based on the level of God he or she carries. One that is full of God will produce a song “out of his belly”, thereby helping me to flow in the presence of God.

Lest I divert your attention to something else, the essence of this article is to help you reconnect back to your “first love” for Jesus by simply listening to they old gospel songs that ministered to you greatly, when you began your walk with God.

It is time to go back to some of your old gospel music collections.