Word up...

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation.

Satan went to visit Jesus in the Garden of Eden, and Satan came all happy and
boasting. (Lk 4: 1-12; Job 1: 6-12)

"Yes, Lord, now I have
everybody captive,
(well nearly everybody down
there).

I
set traps, I used the baits of temptation,

I know
well what
each one of them can't resist.

I nearly caught them all!"
(I Pet 5: 8-9; Eph 6: 10-17)





"What are you going to do
with
them?" Jesus asked.

And He was praying to God the
Father.





Satan
answered "Oh, I
am going to have some fun with them!"




I'll make them divorce
after they
have married

so the foundation of
humanity will
never be able to be established

"the family" (Mt 19:4-6;
Mal 2: 16)





I will make
them hate
each other and abuse each other,
make them fall into
alcohol and
drugs without control. (Rom 13: 12-14)




I will teach them to make
weapons
and bombs,
so they kill each
other





"I am really going to have
fun!"



"And when you are tired of
playing
with them, what will you do?"

Jesus asked. And continued
praying



"Oh, I will kill them all
and
their souls will be mine forever"


"Lord "
with all
respect, it's, their decision" (I Jn 3:8-10)



"How much do you want for
all of
them?" Jesus asked.





"Oh, you don't want these
people.
They aren't anything good.

Why do you want them if
they
neither follow you nor love you?

Many hate you! I have seen
many of
them spitting on you, cursing you and even denying
you."

"What's more, they love me
a lot"
(Mt 24: 10-13)



"You don't want these
people!!"



"How much?" Jesus asked
again



Satan looked at him with a
nasty face



"All your tears and all
your blood,
all the pain of the entire
world,
all together" (Is 53: 4-10; I Pet 2: 24 )



Jesus said..."DONE"




"and He paid the price"
(II Cor 5: 21)



How terrible it is that
people
don't seek for God,

and then ask themselves why the world is
going to hell!





How terrible that we seek
the
newspaper everyday to read tragedies

and we never seek the
Bible



How insensible it is how
everybody
wants to go to heaven,

thinking they can get
there
without having to believe,

without loving God above
all things,
or doing what the Bible
says...the
Laws of God.



It is terrible how some
people can
say "I believe in God"

but still follow Satan (Who
as matter
of fact, does fear God)

(II Tim 4: 3-4; II Jn 1:
7-11)



Don't you think it's
pathetic how
they send
each other thousands of
jokes by email,
so they spread like
plagues.



But when it's about the
Lord's messages,
we think about it twice
before we
share them;

and we leave the mailboxes
of our
friends without this message





Don't you think it is
outrageous
that the obscene,
vulgar and crude is
allowed freely
to pass through the internet

that even many people
would desire
to get into the screen.



But it is forbidden to
speak
publicly about Jesus
in the schools, places of
work,
self-help groups,
etc... (Acts 4: 19-20)



Even after
knowing
what He did for us.

Because the Romans didn't
kill
Him. It was our sin.
that we may be
forgiven

and know Him in His glory
with the Father.



Doesn't it seem incredible
to you
how somebody can be a
light
on
Sabbath
in the Church,
worshipping and thanking
the Lord
for His mercy,
for one more day to live
etc.



But during the rest of the
week he
is an invisible Christian! (II Tim 3: 1-5; Rom 10: 9-13)



Does this seem just to
you?

Don't let Satan stop you
from thinking
about this Message and sharing the Gospel
with all your contacts on
the Web or wherever,

It doesn't matter if he
tells you
that many don't believe this
Don't let him get through
with his plans!



Stop worrying about what people may think of you

It is time to worry about
what
"God thinks about you"



Please brother and sister,
pass on the Good News of Christ?

"We just did
it"



May God bless you always
(II Cor 13: 13 )

Ever wanting not to stop...

In the inner most recess of my soul,
I peceive You once again in a fresh encounter;
The utmost joy of my soul is in You,
That takes away all my pain and fears
And then I shall begin to sing once more a joyful song
Because You give a sweet melody to my heart
I shall shout and rejoice with a loud voice.

In the morning time when I wake up
You are the bright sunshine that refreshes my spirit;
Now I'm drown deep in the river of Your love
Oh my King, how my heart overflows with Your river of joy;
Flowing with grace and mercy
As You overwhelm me with an out pouring of Your Spirit.
Even in my darkest moments,
I shall praise You and never want to stop.

Twilight becomes so beautiful
When the sun is setting and the moon begins to glow,
And that is Your awesome glory in full splendor
Yes I adore You;
And then I feel that my heart might more than beat
Just to praise Your majesty.

And as the stars start to twinkle in the night sky
Each of those beautiful twinkles speaks,
Of Your glorious presence in all Your creation.
It makes me want to raise my voice
And praise Your holy name
And I'll never want to stop
'Til even the police come knocking at my door.

-uche

Position yourself to receive His best

So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)

The Word of God promises so many blessings to us. Some of those blessings or promises are as follows: faith, joy, hope, victory, peace, abundance, eternal life, wisdom, protection, righteousness, love, the Holy Spirit, power, prosperity, health, and so on. Believing and receiving all of God's promises however, is after salvation, the most essential step we must take in learning how to be in touch with God through prayer, and to lay hold of His promises. Faith is the key, "for without faith it is impossible to please God; for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrew 11:6).

Isn't it exciting to know that the lasting success and prosperity that you desire is on the path God has prepared for you? You don't have to wonder whether you can experience health, wealth and the fulfillment of your dreams; God's Word guarantees it. All you have to do is get on the right path so that you can begin to live the abundant life Jesus came to give you (John 10:10).

The first step to getting on the right path is to accept Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior and allow your heart to be filled with the love of God. Being born again includes you in God's family and gives you the right to go to Him for help and direction. As a loving Father, He has made it His duty to guide you in your life. You must also make a commitment to renew your mind with the Word of God (Romans 12:2). By applying the scriptures to your thinking, you will change your old mindset and become more open to hearing from the Lord. As you fill your spirit and mind with the Word, your thought process will become aligned with the mind of God. His thoughts will become your thoughts. And you will find yourself walking a path that lines up with His will for your life because you've made the Word your final authority. The next step to discovering the will of God for your life is to yield every aspect of your life, spirit, soul and body, to Him (Romans 12:1). Doing this signals that you are ready and willing to do what He tells you to do at any given moment.

Proverbs 3:5, 6 says "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths." Once you present yourself to God, trust Him to lead you to the right path. Always acknowledge Him and allow Him to lead you even when you think you have it all figured out. There may be times when you have a plan mapped out, but when you acknowledge God and allow Him to lead you, He may tell you to go a different way. By seeking Him first, you position yourself to receive His best.

Praying in the Spirit is another essential key to getting on and staying on the right path for your life. When you pray in tongues, you are communing with the Spirit of the living God. During those times, He will release His will for your life and give you the wisdom you need to take the next step (Romans 8:26). The most vital part of getting on this path to the good life is trust. No matter how you feel or what you think you may know, trust God and do not attempt to rationalize His will. Seek Him every day and walk by faith and believe that His will is done in your life.

Now that's what's up....

Beloved Friends and Readers, it’s a joy for us to be back online once again. Much as we love to keep this Blog fresh and exciting, yet the challenges have been quite much here in Nigeria. But we thank God who has enabled us to be back and better, to Him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

Please remember that the vision of this Blog (House of Virtue) is to proclaim the promised life which we have in union with Christ Jesus.

God has promised us eternal life which we have in union with Christ Jesus. For this reason we would remember to keep alive any gift that God has given us when we received the Holy Spirit. For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, His Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control. With this in mind, we ought not to be ashamed, then, of witnessing for our Lord; instead, do all that we can for the spread of the Good News, as God gives us the strength and ability for it.

God has saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace by means of Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but now it has been revealed to us through the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus. He has ended the power of death and through the gospel has revealed immortal life.

We urge you therefore, friends, to hold firmly to the true word of God in the Bible, let the example of Jesus and the Saints be the example for you to follow, and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus.

Like Paul said to Timothy (2Tim 2:1), we encourage you to be strong through the grace that is ours in union with Christ Jesus. The times we are living in are indeed precarious with the truth; therefore, it would be wise to become more alert and see yourself as a soldier on active duty who wants to please his commanding officer and so does not get mixed up in the affairs of civilian life. Remember that an athlete who runs in a race cannot win the prize unless he obeys the rules (2Tim 2:5).

May the LORD be with your spirit, and His grace be with you all in Christ. Amen.

With love,

Uche & Lola

Show some love

"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.
-Deuteronomy 5:16 (New International Version)

Today, a friend sent us this interesting email we'd love to share with you here. Enjoy the read:

An 80 year old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45years old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow perched on their window.The Father asked his Son, "What is this?"

The Son replied "It is a crow".
After a few minutes, the Father asked his Son the 2nd time, "What is this?"
The Son said "Father, I have just now told you "It's a crow".
After a little while, the old Father again asked his Son the 3rd time,
What is this?"

At this time some expression of irritation was felt in the Son's tone when he said to his Father with a rebuff. "It's a crow, a crow". A little after, the Father again asked his Son t he 4th time, "What is this?" This time the Son shouted at his Father, "Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times 'IT IS A CROW'. Are you not able to understand this?"

A little later the Father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary, which he had maintained since his Son was born. On opening a page, he asked his Son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary :-

"Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa, when a crow was sitting on the window. My Son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a Crow. I hugged him lovingly each time h e asked me the same question again and again for 23 times. I did not at all feel irritated I rather felt affection for my innocent child".

While the little child asked him 23 times "What is this", the Father had felt no irritation in replying to the same question all 23 times and when today the Father asked his Son the same question just 4 times, the Son felt irritated and annoyed.

So.. If your parents attain old age, do not repulse them or look at them as a burden, but speak to them a gracious word, be cool, obedient, humble and kind to them. Be considerate to your parents. From today say this aloud, "I want to see my parents happy forever. They have cared for me ever since I was a little child. They have always showered their selfless love on me. They crossed all mountains and valleys without seeing the storm and heat to make me a person presentable in the society today".

Say a prayer to God, "I will serve my parents (whether old or young) in the BEST way. I will say all good and kind words to my dear parents, no matter how they behave.

Life at the speed of grace...

Every generation encounters the pressures of life, but no generation has had to cope with stress as much as this present generation. Everywhere you go, you find people struggling to stay on top of their own situation. In the midst of these hectic experiences, Christians are trying to glorify God. For some it may have proved too demanding.

Very often we may be tempted to think that relating to God is a frenzy of activity, of praying, fasting and witnessing, that's not true. We must get to know the God who lets us lie down and gives us sleep, as the Bible says in Psalm 23:2-3: "He makes me lie down in green pastures...he restores my soul" and "grants sleep to those He loves" (Psalm 127:2 NIV).

Sometimes in the midst of today's pressures of life we may feel that we have not met God's expectations, that we have failed God. Then the devil seizes the opportunity to tell us the lie that when we fail God, we have to suffer for it. What a big lie! When we fail, Jesus does not keep away from us, instead, he comes to us. Remember that Jesus did not reject Peter after he denied Him three times. Rather, Jesus re-gathered His disciples after His resurrection, and even provided food for them as you will read in John 21:12. God tells us in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak." And so hear what the Apostle Paul has to say when he got this revelation, "I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me" (2Corinthians 12:9).

When the pressures of life begins to overwhelm you today, you must remember to run to God in prayer in order to feel His protection and power.

The Best News in the World Today!

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people." (Luke 4:19 GNB)

In his days, Jesus had good news to share and people wanted to hear it. His message offered practical benefits to those who listened to him. His truth would set people free and bring all sorts of blessings to their lives.

In our world today there are many people who are frustrated in their personal lives, in their family, in business, work, etc. They take their cue for living from television and radio, and in newspapers and magazines, and they build their lives around these information. The end result is always the same: souls which get completely broken and distraught. Today’s news is all laced with war, political/economic crises, natural disasters, gender/marriage controversies, drugs, sex, etc.

As children of God, it’s important that we learn from Jesus how to show the relevance of the information we receive from the Bible. And then by the enablement of the Holy Spirit we can share this information, as well as apply the message personally to people’s lives.

The Bible calls this information the “Good News” or the “Gospel.” Jesus commands Christians to preach the Gospel to all people (Mark 16:15). The Gospel is about what God has done for us and what we can become in Christ. It’s about personal relationship with Christ being the answer to our deepest needs. The Good News offers people what they are anxiously searching for: forgiveness, freedom, security, purpose, love, acceptance, and strength. It settles the question of our past, gives assurance for our future, and gives meaning to today. We believe the Good News of Jesus Christ is the best news in the world today.