Does Your Heart Condemn You? Rejoice! It is a clear indication that you are spiritually discerning


English: 4 days of Evangelism Training in Sout...

English: 4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern California provided by LivingWaters Ministry. Obeying the great commission of Jesus Christ. “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone” Mark 16:15 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Does Your Heart Condemn You? Rejoice!  It is a clear indication that you are spiritually discerning

 

 

 

 

 

When your heart condemns you, rejoice, it is a clear indication that you are spiritually discerning…Awake enough within to recognize truth from falsehood: those actions that perhaps are tainted by ulterior motives fueled by selfish ambitions and vain conceits.  It is in moments like this that you are invited to choose God above all distractions thereby returning to the fellowship that leads to profound wisdom and peace: your soul’s connection to God.

“This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us.  For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.” 1 John 3:19-20

 

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

 

A Way with Words by Kay Campbell


English: Resurrection of Christ

English: Resurrection of Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Way with Words by Kay Campbell

I didn’t even have a ticket when I arrived at my first Women of Faith event in Hartford last year.  I had decided to attend at the very last minute.  I didn’t know anyone there and certainly didn’t know what to expect.

God knew, though.  A multi-sensory spiritual pep rally was in store, complete with soul-stirring worship and heartwarming stories.  In an arena filled with tens of thousands of women, I heard God whispering in my ear and reigniting my passion for writing.

I’ve always loved words-from the time I was a little girl and my father taught me a new word every night when he tucked me into bed.  Now, four decades later, God was reminding me of that love through Women of Faith.

As I experienced the event, descriptive phrases were rolling through my mind like ticker tape:  the litany of lyrics weaving a melodious tapestry; the gifted speakers painting vivid word pictures; the enticing stacks of books inviting me to learn not only about God but also about myself.

When I returned home that evening, I dusted off my journal and began to write letters to God again.  Since then, I’ve written several inspirational stories, one of which was recently published by Guideposts.  I even had the memorable experience of meeting a very special lady whose life was changed by reading my article.

It is my dream to share my stories about faith and hope with others.  I know the Author of life has a plan for me and I want to thank Women of Faith for adding an exclamation point to my journey!

 

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

The Wrestling Match


Detail - Glory of the New Born Christ in prese...

Detail – Glory of the New Born Christ in presence of God Father and the Holy Spirit (Annakirche, Vienna) Adam and Eva are represented bellow Jesus-Christ Ceiling painting made by Daniel Gran (1694-1757). Post-processing: perspective and fade correction. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Wrestling Match By http://www.girlfriendsingod.com

 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – (Ephesians 6:10-12, NIV)

It was the end of the school year.  The sun was blazing in the sweltering high 80s with not a hint of shade to be found on the treeless playground.  The boys were stinky from their sweaty schoolyard endeavors and the girls were now wilted versions of the fresh flowers they had been that morning.  It was almost time for the big wrestling competition.  Electric excitement lingered in the air.  I was a fifth grader at West Hempfield Elementary School in Irwin, Pennsylvania and I had signed up to participate in the wrestling match.

To this day, I’m somewhat amused and perplexed that I would’ve thrown myself into the middle of such a barbaric display.  Wrestling certainly wasn’t my sport of choice, or even a faint interest of mine.  So, as we all gathered around the red and white striped gymnasium mats for the annual, end-of-the year wrestling tournament, I was sweating bullets…not just from the relentless, yellow ball of heat in the sky, but also from the nerves that consumed my body.

Before the match even began, I was a captive to the bully in my brain.  What do you think you are doing?  This is ridiculous!  Caroline is not only three inches taller than you, but she’s meaner than you, and she’s in the sixth grade!  You are going down, Gwen.  Prepare to be humiliated in front of every fourth, fifth and sixth grader in the school.

At the sound of the whistle, the match was on. Caroline and I danced around like two alley cats with their backs raised high. She had a confidence in her eye that was foreign to me at that moment. A series of unskilled and ungraceful moves followed. (Cringe with me here!) She lunged and I retreated. I lunged and she retreated. Then came contact.  Within seconds we were on our hands and knees battling for control. Battling for the win.

The sounds of the crowd were deafening as Caroline moved in to get the better of me. All I could think was, Just DON’T let her get you on your back! Feelings of hopelessness and desperation flooded my heart as she and I exchanged move for move. There were several points allotted and several restarts from Mr. Gordon’s whistle.  In the midst of this primitive battle, my goal had changed from trying to win to just trying NOT to be pinned…therein lies the defeat.

As the match came to an end and the final whistle blew, it was Caroline’s victorious arm that was raised high in the sky.  I was defeated in front of half the school.  Cheers went up for Caroline as I shrunk back into the sea of students, longing for super powers that would render me invisible.  I was exhausted from the match, humiliated from my failure, and defeated by both Caroline and my own mind.

That was a dark day for me as a young girl.  But as dark as that day was emotionally, I was able to clearly see my opponent.  Ladies, when it comes to spiritual wrestling matches, we do not have the advantage of sight.  The Bible says: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  (Ephesians 6:12, NIV)

Many of the battles we contend with each day are spiritual.  We can’t see our enemy.  And while at first glance this may seem disarming, look again at Ephesians 6.  The Bible clearly tells us that we can be equipped to stand firm with the Armor of God!

 

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:13-18, NIV)

Though the wrestling match with Caroline seemed overwhelmingly daunting, the battles that I face now are so much greater.  I’m thankful that God’s word clearly says the victory is ours if we are in Christ. If God is for us, who can be against us?

What are you wrestling with today?  Is the enemy speaking lies to you?  Do you feel weak?  Strength comes when we call on Jesus!  We can stand firm against the schemes of the devil when we put on the armor of God!   Suit up girls…a battle is going on all around you.   Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power!

Let’s Pray

Dear Lord, I thank You for being a Mighty God Who longs to cover my weakness with Your strength.  Please equip me for all that lies ahead today, protect me from attacks and schemes of the enemy, and help me to be strong in Your mighty power.  Cover me with Your peace, truth, faith, and salvation so I can stand firm in the battle.

 

I ask this in the powerful name of Jesus, amen.

Now It’s Your Turn

·         Make a list of the top struggles you are currently facing.

·         Take each struggle to the LORD and ask that He would equip you for the battle.

·         How will putting on the Armor of God will help you trust Him more? Stop by my Facebook page so we can discuss it. http://www.Facebook.com/GwenSmithMusic

More from the Girlfriends

Hey friend. I hope you’re suited up and ready to do battle now. If you are struggling to see how you can get from the wrestling mat to the winner’s circle, be sure to get a copy of our GiG book, Trusting God: A Girlfriends in God Faith Adventure.  (Today’s devotion is an excerpt from Trusting God by Sharon Jaynes, Gwen Smith and Mary Southerland.)

Ready to Go Deeper with God? In the Old Testament, the Israelites used to head into battle lead by the singers. Worship went before them and paved the way to victory. My new CD, Uncluttered is purposed to sweep you away from life-noise and to focus your heart and mind on the one thing that matters: your relationship with Jesus Christ. We are running a great CD Special now, so swing by http://www.GwenSmith.net… or you can download the songs from iTunesor Amazon.

 

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28


Three angels visiting Abraham

Three angels visiting Abraham (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28.

There is a delightful little story of two angels who stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family.  The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the guestroom. Instead they were given a small space in the cold basement.

As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, “Things aren’t always what they seem.”

The next night the two angels came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had, the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest.

When the sun came up the next morning, the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was perplexed and asked the older angel, “How could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you fix a hole in his wall. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.”

 

“Things aren’t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead.”

You see, things aren’t always what they seem. The Bible promises us that “all things work together for good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). Surely you can trust the Lord to work things out for your good during this strange season of craziness in our topsy-turvy world!

Just remember, things are not always as they seem!

 

 

 

 

 

 

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

How do you know if you are being a good steward? The Authority of Godly Stewardship


English: 4 days of Evangelism Training in Sout...

English: 4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern California provided by LivingWaters Ministry. Obeying the great commission of Jesus Christ. “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone” Mark 16:15 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

How do you know if you are being a good steward? The Authority of Godly Stewardship

How do you know if you are being a good steward? There is only one way to know—read God’s Word. Deuteronomy 8:3 says: “Man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.” We show our love for God by obeying Him, being a steward who manages things on His terms.

Human ownership must be governed by God. That’s why when God made Adam, the first thing He did was give him instruction: “The LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). God gives instruction to protect us, and following His instruction provides His results.

When you first consider stewardship, you might think it has too many limitations. But let me assure you that the limitations of stewardship are always for the enjoyment of it. God doesn’t give us commands to stifle our stewardship, but rather to expand it. We shouldn’t think that God’s ways are negative—we can’t do this or that—because the negative exists to enhance the positive.

So many people think God’s commands restrict their freedom. But freedom in the biblical sense never means just doing what you want. Freedom in the Bible is the power to do what you ought to do. How do we get that kind of freedom? Jesus told us the truth sets us free, and the absolute standard of truth is God’s Word.

John 8:32

 

 

 

 

 

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Allow LORD Jesus To Take Charge Of Your Affairs


English: 4 days of Evangelism Training in Sout...

English: 4 days of Evangelism Training in Southern California provided by LivingWaters Ministry. Obeying the great commission of Jesus Christ. “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to everyone” Mark 16:15 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Allow LORD Jesus To Take Charge Of Your Affairs

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.”

John 1:1-3

It can be mind boggling to contemplate the vastness of the universe, from the greatest star to the smallest particle. It is so vast that astronomers are now saying that it stretches beyond what we are capable of penetrating, even with sophisticated telescopes like the Hubble. And every bit of it was created by the Living Word of God, Who, even as He hung the stars in space, counted them and called them each by name!

And Who keeps all this in perfect order? Who keeps Earth from getting sucked into some gigantic black hole, or planets from spinning out of control, or stars from falling from the sky? Who keeps people upright on earth while it turns on its axis? Who established the laws of nature? Who gives people the very breath they breathe?

The answer is none other than the Living Logos of Almighty God Who was in the beginning with God, and Who was God, and Who is the same today. He is bigger than we think and greater than we think. Nothing is beyond His ability. If He can keep the universe in order, He can keep your life and mine in order, too. He knows what’s wrong in your life and how to fix it. Give Him the authority to put it right. Let Him take charge.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Exodus 25. The Ark of the Testimony


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Exodus 25. The Ark of the Testimony

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. 3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass, 4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair, 5 And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, 6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, 7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate. 8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. 12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. 13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. 15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. 16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof. 18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. 20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be. 21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

23 Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. 24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about. 25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about. 26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof. 27 Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table. 28 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them. 29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls thereof, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them. 30 And thou shalt set upon the table showbread before me alway.

31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. 32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side: 33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick. 34 And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flowers. 35 And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick. 36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold. 37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it. 38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold. 39 Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels. 40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Exodus 24. The covenant is sealed


English: The Sin of Nadab and Abihu, illustrat...

English: The Sin of Nadab and Abihu, illustration from a Bible card published in 1907 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Exodus 24. The covenant is sealed

 

1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off. 2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him. 3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do. 4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD. 6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient. 8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

9 Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: 10 And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness. 11 And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.

12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Come up to me into the mount, and be there: and I will give thee tables of stone, and a law, and commandments which I have written; that thou mayest teach them. 13 And Moses rose up, and his minister Joshua: and Moses went up into the mount of God. 14 And he said unto the elders, Tarry ye here for us, until we come again unto you: and, behold, Aaron and Hur are with you: if any man have any matters to do, let him come unto them. 15 And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount. 16 And the glory of the LORD abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud. 17 And the sight of the glory of the LORD was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel. 18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

 

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Exodus 23. The LORD’s Angel sent to lead Israel


Stained glass at St John the Baptist's Anglica...

Exodus 23. The LORD’s Angel sent to lead Israel

 

1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. 2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment: 3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause. 4 If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again. 5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him. 6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause. 7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked. 8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous. 9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof: 11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard. 12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. 13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth. 14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. 15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) 16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field. 17 Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord GOD. 18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning. 19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother’s milk.

20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. 21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him. 22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries. 23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off. 24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images. 25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee. 26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil. 27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. 28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee. 29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. 30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. 31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee. 32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. 33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!

Exodus 22. Laws about repayment. Responsibility for property


English: Deuteronomy 8:18, Thou shalt remember...

English: Deuteronomy 8:18, Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, 1901 Bible card published by the Providence Lithograph Company (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Exodus 22. Laws about repayment. Responsibility for property

 

1 If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it, or sell it; he shall restore five oxen for an ox, and four sheep for a sheep. 2 If a thief be found breaking up, and be smitten that he die, there shall no blood be shed for him. 3 If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be blood shed for him; for he should make full restitution; if he have nothing, then he shall be sold for his theft. 4 If the theft be certainly found in his hand alive, whether it be ox, or ass, or sheep; he shall restore double. 5 If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be eaten, and shall put in his beast, and shall feed in another man’s field; of the best of his own field, and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make restitution. 6 If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the stacks of corn, or the standing corn, or the field, be consumed therewith; he that kindled the fire shall surely make restitution.

7 If a man shall deliver unto his neighbour money or stuff to keep, and it be stolen out of the man’s house; if the thief be found, let him pay double. 8 If the thief be not found, then the master of the house shall be brought unto the judges, to see whether he have put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods. 9 For all manner of trespass, whether it be for ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner of lost thing, which another challengeth to be his, the cause of both parties shall come before the judges; and whom the judges shall condemn, he shall pay double unto his neighbour. 10 If a man deliver unto his neighbour an ass, or an ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep; and it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it: 11 Then shall an oath of the LORD be between them both, that he hath not put his hand unto his neighbour’s goods; and the owner of it shall accept thereof, and he shall not make it good. 12 And if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitution unto the owner thereof. 13 If it be torn in pieces, then let him bring it for witness, and he shall not make good that which was torn. 14 And if a man borrow ought of his neighbour, and it be hurt, or die, the owner thereof being not with it, he shall surely make it good. 15 But if the owner thereof be with it, he shall not make it good: if it be an hired thing, it came for his hire.

16 And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife. 17 If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. 18 Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. 19 Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death. 20 He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the LORD only, he shall be utterly destroyed. 21 Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. 22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. 23 If thou afflict them in any wise, and they cry at all unto me, I will surely hear their cry; 24 And my wrath shall wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.

25 If thou lend money to any of my people that is poor by thee, thou shalt not be to him as an usurer, neither shalt thou lay upon him usury. 26 If thou at all take thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it unto him by that the sun goeth down: 27 For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall he sleep? and it shall come to pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear; for I am gracious. 28 Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people. 29 Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. 30 Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with thy sheep: seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth day thou shalt give it me. 31 And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.

May GOD bless Nigeria, America and Israel and take care of us; May GOD make His face shine upon us, And be gracious to us; May the LORD lift up His countenance upon us, And give us peace, In Jesus Christ Name, we pray! Amen!