Disinfrenchfries Diasporan @bumight

It needs to be studied how America scammed the world into making soccer 4 quarters instead of two halves 🤣

Before we read other books about the Bible, we must make sure that we've actually read the Bible itself. There's no doubt that the Church has been blessed by theologians, commentaries, confessions, and centuries of scholarship. However helpful they may be, none of them is inspired. None of them carries the authority of Moses, Isaiah, Christ, Peter, orPaul. And perhaps no doctrine demonstrates the importance of this more than predestination. For many believers, the word already means something before they have ever examined what Scripture itself says about it. Not because Scripture is unclear, but because many believers encounter the doctrine through theological systems long before they encounter it through the actual storyline of Scripture. As a result, the word "predestination" immediately carries assumptions that may or may not be what the biblical authors themselves intended. Before allowing Augustine, Calvin, Arminius, or any later theological tradition to define the doctrine, perhaps the first question we should ask is a much simpler one: What is the Bible actually doing when it speaks about God's predetermined purpose? Because predestination did not suddenly appear in Romans. It did not begin in Ephesians. It did not originate with Paul. The epistles were written to explain truths already revealed throughout the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. And when we begin where Scripture begins, something remarkable emerges. The Bible's first emphasis is not on a predetermined people. It is on a predetermined Redeemer. Immediately after the fall, before Adam and Eve could offer a sacrifice, formulate a prayer, or seek a solution, God Himself announced His redemptive purpose: "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." (Genesis 3:15) The first gospel promise is not a list of selected individuals. It is the promise of a coming Deliverer. A Seed. A Redeemer. A serpent-crusher. From that moment onward, the entire Old Testament becomes the unfolding story of God's predetermined purpose to bring salvation through that promised Seed. As history progresses, God narrows the line through which the promise will come. Not because He is narrowing salvation. But because He is narrowing the channel through which salvation will come. From Adam to Seth. From Seth to Noah. From Noah to Shem. From Shem to Abraham. From Abraham to Isaac. From Isaac to Jacob. From Jacob to Judah. From Judah to David. From David to Christ. This is divine purpose unfolding through history. This is the story Scripture is telling. When God called Abraham, He did not merely promise him descendants. He announced His redemptive plan for the nations: "In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 12:3) Not some families. Not a hidden subset of humanity. Not a secret elect community. All families. And God repeats the promise so often that it becomes impossible to miss: "In thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 22:18) "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 26:4) "In thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." (Genesis 28:14) Why the repetition? Because God is emphasizing the scope of His redemptive purpose. The promise was never merely Israel. The promise was Christ through Israel. And the blessing was never intended to terminate on one nation. It was always destined to reach the nations. Paul later explains this explicitly: "And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham..." (Galatians 3:8) Think carefully about that. Paul says Genesis was preaching the gospel beforehand. The promise to Abraham was not fundamentally about ethnicity. It was not fundamentally about national privilege. It was the gospel. God's predetermined plan to justify people from every nation through faith in Christ. This is why many popular discussions of predestination begin in the wrong place. They begin with Romans 9. The Bible begins with Genesis 3. They begin with individuals. The Bible begins with Christ. Even the famous example of Jacob and Esau is often detached from its original context. Many believers have been taught that Romans 9 teaches that God chose Jacob for eternal salvation and Esau for eternal damnation before either was born and before either had done any good or evil. But is that actually Paul's argument, or have we imported assumptions into the text that Paul himself never intended? Yet Paul is drawing from Genesis and Malachi, and both contexts must be respected. When God spoke to Rebekah, He said: "Two nations are in thy womb." (Genesis 25:23) Not two eternal destinies. Two nations. The prophecy concerns covenant history and the line through which God's redemptive purpose would move. Furthermore, the statement: "The elder shall serve the younger" was never literally fulfilled between Jacob and Esau themselves. It found fulfillment in the nations descending from them. When Paul later quotes: "Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated" he is quoting Malachi, written more than a thousand years after both men had died. The discussion is covenantal and historical. It concerns the role each nation played in redemptive history. Paul's point is that God is sovereign in determining how His redemptive plan unfolds. The issue is the line of promise. The issue is not proving that God arbitrarily assigns eternal destinies before people exist or do good or evil. The same principle appears in Pharaoh. Many people quote: "Whom he will he hardeneth." But Exodus repeatedly tells us Pharaoh hardened his own heart before God judicially hardened him. Pharaoh rejected revelation. Pharaoh resisted God's word. Pharaoh repeatedly chose rebellion. Only then do we see God confirming him in the path he had chosen. This pattern appears throughout Scripture. People reject truth. God gives them over. Romans 1 teaches precisely the same thing. Pharaoh demonstrates God's sovereignty over human rebellion. He does not demonstrate God creating unbelief in innocent people. The greatest example of God's predetermined purpose is not Pharaoh. It is Christ. Isaiah calls Him: "Mine elect." (Isaiah 42:1) Peter calls Him: "A chief corner stone, elect, precious." (1 Peter 2:6) Notice this carefully. Before believers are called elect, Christ is. Before anyone shares in the blessing, Christ is the blessing. Before anyone participates in the purpose, Christ is the center of the purpose. The New Testament never presents election or predestination apart from Him. Everything is in Christ. Through Christ. By Christ. For Christ. This becomes crucial when we examine every actual use of predestination language in the New Testament. In Acts 4:28, God's predetermined purpose concerns the cross. In 1 Corinthians 2:7, God's predetermined wisdom concerns the redemptive plan hidden before the ages. In Romans 8:29, believers are predestined: "to be conformed to the image of his Son." Notice the destination. The text does not say predestined to believe. It says predestined to be conformed to Christ. In Romans 8:30, the focus is the certainty of glorification. In Ephesians 1:5, believers are predestined unto adoption. In Ephesians 1:11, believers are predestined unto inheritance. Every occurrence concerns either Christ, the cross, God's redemptive plan, or the future destiny of those who belong to Christ. Every single one. What is striking is not merely what the texts say. It is what they never say. They never say God predestined certain individuals to believe while withholding any genuine provision from the rest. Instead, they repeatedly emphasize God's predetermined purpose in Christ and the guaranteed destiny of those who are united to Him. This is why Paul repeatedly uses the phrase: "In Him" "In Christ" "In the Beloved" throughout Ephesians 1. The chosen people are chosen in the Chosen One. The elect share in the destiny of the Elect One. The inheritance belongs to those united to Christ. The entire doctrine is Christ-centered from beginning to end. And this is why the universal invitations of Scripture remain completely intact. "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." (Isaiah 45:22) "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16) "The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (John 1:29) "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32) "Who will have all men to be saved." (1 Timothy 2:4) "Who gave himself a ransom for all." (1 Timothy 2:6) "Who tasted death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9) "The sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2) "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17) The biblical story never moves from "all families of the earth" in Genesis to "only a secret subset" in the New Testament. It moves from promise to fulfillment. From shadow to substance. From Abraham's Seed to Christ. Predestination, therefore, is not first a doctrine about excluding people. It is a doctrine about God's unwavering commitment to accomplish His redemptive purpose in Christ. The cross was predetermined. The Redeemer was predetermined. The inheritance was predetermined. The glorification of believers was predetermined. The final conformity of believers to Christ was predetermined. And because God's purpose is centered in Christ, every believer can rest in this certainty: The God who planned redemption before the foundation of the world will complete redemption at the resurrection of the saints. That is biblical predestination. Not a doctrine designed to make sinners wonder whether Christ died for them. But a doctrine designed to magnify the wisdom, faithfulness, and triumph of God's eternal purpose in His Son. The Bible's focus is not a secret list hidden in heaven. The Bible's focus is a Savior revealed to the world. And the invitation remains exactly as wide as Scripture presents it: "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17)

@kamizee @optixbaba Agree with it being non negotiable. Make a schedule that you follow regardless with a mix of heavy/light days. Have a min time (30 mins) So on the day you don’t feel like working out, you already know what you’re doing, and you can tell yourself it’s only for 30 mins

@xobiolz What exactly did we think it was going to achieve? 🤔

@au_badela …there was some electromagnetic activity/force field, which could be why the priests were instructed to carry the ark on poles. God’s laws are not arbitrary, they are there to protect. I might be wrong on my physics theory sha 🤷🏽‍♀️

@au_badela There’s also a physics part - I think to it. The punishment for sin is encoded in the sin. If you disregard the laws of gravity, God doesn’t have to come down to kill you. I believe whenever the glory of God came down on the Ark,…

@kamizee Lo change iwa e 🏃🏾‍♀️‍➡️

@adekoyaoyinda If you commmute for work, that’s a great block of time - you can listen if you drive or read if you’re a passenger. Use your notes app to take notes on the go, then you can wrap it up b4 bed. Works for those of us that can’t sit still- also forces u to meditate the whole day.

After almost twenty years of sharing the gospel in India, I have lost count of how many of my Hindu friends, relatives, and strangers have said the same thing to me. They admit openly that the idols they bow before are not real gods. They know it. They say it without hesitation. It is spoken almost the way Westerns speak about Santa later in life. Not real, but useful. A noble lie they say. Something cultural. Something emotional. Something passed down. Scripture already told us this would happen. Romans 1:18 to 23 exposes this. It is not ignorance. IT IS SUPPRESSION. The truth about God is known, yet deliberately pushed down. Not because the evidence is lacking, but because acknowledging the true God would demand repentance and surrender. Men do not worship idols because they think stone has life. They worship idols because idols make no moral claims. They ask for rituals, not repentance. They accept offerings, not obedience. They comfort the conscience without confronting the heart. This is why idolatry survives even when belief collapses. It is not faith that keeps it alive. It is fear of the living God. When the true God is removed, something must take His place. And so, men exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for images that demand nothing and change nothing. And this is where we must be honest. This problem does not end outside Christianity. We have done the very same thing within it. Many who call themselves Christians admit something similar, though they use different language. They do not deny Jesus, but they reshape Him. They speak of a Christ who never confronts, never warns, never judges. A Jesus who exists to comfort but never to command. Just as idols are shaped to fit human desire, we have shaped our own version of Christ. A Jesus who affirms our choices, blesses our plans, and never speaks of repentance. A Jesus who saves without lordship and loves without holiness. Scripture warns us about this. Paul says there will come a time when people will not endure sound teaching but will gather teachers to suit their own passions in 2 Timothy 4:3. That is not paganism entering the church. That is idolatry wearing Christian language. Even superstition has found a place among us. Crosses are treated like charms, verses are repeated like spells, prayer is reduced to technique, and worship is shaped more by atmosphere than by truth. We anoint everything with oil as though the bottle holds power, sprinkle water as though holiness can be transferred by touch, and chase methods instead of repentance. Faith is measured by outcomes rather than obedience, by results rather than surrender. What was meant to draw us to Christ has been turned into ritual without reverence, practice without truth, religion without the fear of God. And in doing so, we unknowingly replace living faith with sacred habits that demand nothing from the heart. This is not far from what Romans 1 describes. It is still an exchange. Not of stone this time, but of truth. We exchange the real Christ for a manageable one. A Jesus who asks for admiration but not surrender. The tragedy is not that people reject Christ openly. It is that many worship a version of Him that does not exist. And a false Christ cannot save, no matter how sincerely He is spoken about. The living God cannot be edited. He is not a symbol. He is not an idea. He is not safe. And until He is known as He truly is, even Christianity can become another form of idol worship.

Good Job Mané! Good Job Senegal!!! #AFCON2025

@PoojaMedia - we need a tactician in the coaching box -players need to watch themselves after every game so they can identify their weaknesses and work on it - solid Team B

Looks like the era of winning soccer tournaments based on talent alone is long gone. Talent just gets you in the circle of the good teams, This is one of the best Super Eagles showing I’ve seen. I hope they work on fine tuning the team #AFCON2025

We don’t talk (enough) about Bruno #SuperEagles

Anyway, he should quickly break the record so they can all move on from the irritating question!

There’s nothing wrong in saying “Yekini was a great striker and I aspire to be better- but not at the expense of my team” After all good parents pray for their kids to surpass them. Someone needs to tell him to stop confessing nonsense!

TL sleep? I really hate the way Nigerian media has been asking Osimhen if he wants to break Yekini’a record…and I hate his useless answer. Nigerians and the performative humility they want to see.

@sil_vee_yah He didn’t kill his daughter. God has never collected human sacrifice - except that of Jesus. When Jeohthah gave his daughter to God, it meant she would never marry and his lineage would come to an end as she was his only daughter.

@GbemiOO The MUAs should start giving time blocks. Once your time block is over, they carry their box

@kachieze @blossomozurumba I don’t think it’s tithing per se. we are not meant to consume 100% of our income on ourselves. Most likely people like OP stopped paying tithes and essentially stopped giving, which interrupted the natural law of increase

@TommyPearlDee with the greatest tweet of all time in alladis.