Should A Christian Smoke?

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Should A Christian Smoke?
(Cancer is the curse of the modern World)

   The Bible must be our guide in the Question. Christians did not smoke, they were on fire! They were fired with enthusiasm to live our lives well and pleasing to our Lord. A Christian should be at least the 3 things shown below.

1] Free
   Free from anything which grows into making us a slave. . .
[GW] Galatians 5:1 “Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm ⌞in this freedom⌟, and don’t become slaves again”
[GNT] “Freedom is what we have—Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again”
[MSG] “Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you”
[AMP]John 8:36 “So if the Son makes you free, then you are unquestionably free”
… Our bodies are to be temps where the Holy spirit resides. Let me suggest this, would you give someone you hold in high esteem a damp mould ridden condemned house to live in? Well this is what us Christians do if our ways are not changed the way they should be.

2] Pure and undefiled
   Pure and undefiled, in His ways is an example. Let me ask you this .. “Is smoking a pure habit?” .. “Does it defile us?” .. I would like you smokers to look at your fingers and think of what it is doing to your throat & lungs. Let me put this to you, “should defiled fingers and lips partake of the bread & wine (Communion), Which we speak of such a pure and undefiled one as is Christ?”. Is it a good example to your children and the youth of the church?
[NLT] Matthew 6:13 “ And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one”

3] Personal temple
[GW] 1 Corinthians 6:19/20 “Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves. 20You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body”

   Your body is the temple of the holy Spirit, and it is to be presented to God, Holy and in order to Glorify Him. I’m sure you don’t need me to remind you that smoking leads to cancer, this in it’s self should be a wake up call. . .
[GW] Romans 12:1 “Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God’s compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to him. This kind of worship is appropriate for you”
... Would you truly stand there and blow putrid smoke into the temple of God and then present it to Him, telling God it is a Holy thing? Do you sincerely think smoking positively Glorifies God? Now being honest, on which side do you think the scales weigh down? I know that any addiction can be hard, but smoking being one of the most difficult to quit. As for my Father in law after giving his life to Christ he said one day I can’t do this any more, threw his cigarettes in the bin. But today there is a plethora of aids to help.

This message is one of my own but it is actually my late father in laws, which he wrote on 

this subject.

These are the Bible translations used in this study...
GW: The Gods Word translations
MSG: The Message translation
GNT: The Good News translation
AMP: The Amplified translation
NLT: The New Liviing Translation

Whats in a song - Who is there like you V2

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What’s in a song:

Who is there Like You

   When as a Child I was told this to help bolster up, and help with my self worth. By having Faith in the Lord will help your self worth, giving greater motivation to over come what ever life throws at you. This is all, but truthfully this question is answered only by one. Because we all look different from each other. You’ll be told at some point you look just like or sound like you Mum or dad, as was told many times. For this study I have decided to post each verse separately.

   Only God truly owns the title ‘Who is there like you’, for example of the one true God who created the Heavens and the Earth, you should read 1 Kings 18. Today I want delve deeper into the song ‘Who is there like you’

1) Who is there like you?

And who else would give their life for me,

Even suffering in my place?

And who could repay you?

All of creation looks to you,

and you provide for all you have made.

2) So I’m lifting up my hands,

Lifting up my voice, lifting up your name,

and in your grace I’m blessed,

For your love has to come to me and set me free

I’m trusting in your Word.

3) Trusting in your cross, trusting in your blood,

All your faithfulness,

For your power at work in me, is

changing me Changing me

    V2] So I’m lifting up my hands
Psalms 134:2 “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord”Psalms 135:1-3 “Praise the name of the Lord; Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord! 2 You who stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God, 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is pleasant”   

   When praising our Lord on high, we’re encouraged to raise our hands up to Heaven just we see many others do, aside from the fact that we are told to do so in the Bible, as here .. “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, And bless the Lord” .. I would recommend though you raise them on high ‘OPEN’. As have you ever tried to someone anything, when they have a clenched fist. Most must have seen a bird nature film, when a parent returns to the nest and all the chicks would stand to receive with their mouths OPEN wide, other wise they will receive nothing. So to help receive from our Heavenly Father, just as did when as a child we stood with our arms open-wide to receive, so we need to the same with our Heavenly father God.

‘Lifting up my voice, lifting up your name’
Psalms 5:3 “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up”
   God does not care if you sing off key, all that matters is that you do .. “My voice You shall hear” .. not to just hum some nondescript tune, which I have been guilty of myself, from time to time. Don’t let it just be in .. “the Morning” .. In our car the radio station called ‘Premier Praise’. They play, 24/7, old & new Christian songs/ Hymns & worship songs from a variation of artists. So on the whole you are bound to know a song that you can sing along too, before you know it your lifting your voice in praise. “I will direct it to you” ‘lifting up you name’. . 

* Please I recommend, don’t lift up your eyes or hands whilst driving * ...As I have just said you can find time during the day to worship Him .. Buss~ Train ~ Walking .. no matter there is always time, even in the shower. Just the other day whilst waiting in the car for Betty to do the shopping, I had the radio on singing my head off to some worship songs on the radio.

‘ And in your grace I’m blessed’ .. Being blessed could mean, having green lights all the on your journey, whilst singing praises to Him, or just doing someone a nice turn. Gods riches are limitless.

‘For your love has to come to me and set me free’
Galatians 5:1 “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage”
God love for us is without measure, that is the price He has put on our soul. John 3:16 tells us . .
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”
… that is how much He loves us. If this don’t convince you, you need Him more than you know or realise. He came to set us free from our bondage. See what Jesus tells us about He came to free us . . .
John 8:36 “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”
… so .. you shall be free indeed” .. if you thought different let these words encourage you, for god is faithful all the time. I hear you say that ‘I’m not in bondage, I have to say you are. Do you smoke? ~ Do you drink? ~ Do you Gamble? Do you like looking at Porn? Are always low/angry/feeling lost? These are forms of bondage.. “the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed”
* The New King James Bible put the ‘made free’ statement in, which comes from the old Hebrew word: ‘eleutheroo’.which breaks down phenetically as the following .. ‘el – you – ther – ah – oh’. Strongs Concordance #1159 I.E. to liberate, acquit, set-free, deliver.

‘ I’m trusting in your word’
   We really must believe in His ‘Living-Word’. Why Do I call it so? It is because our Saviour lives, as does God. His Word has been a road map on how to live, since the day it was written. So it’s relevance for life will last forevermore. . .
Psalms 17:7 “You who save those who trust in You”
2 Samuel 7:28 “O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant”
… so what is there to disbelieve? Samuel has told us this as well as the Psalmist.

#V2 follows in a couple of days, so please listen to the song a few times. here is the link to the song, just past the link into your browser ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYkce-EhNuQ 

Prayer

I fear no one as I'm yours Lord. I was once lost cut a drift in a storm of no end, until I found you. You give hope to the hopeless, through your Word. Let my voice carry the love in my heart for you. I know I'm free from all bondage, for whom the Son sets free is free indeed. Thank you Heavenly Father, Amen