HOW THE APOSTLES DIED.

1. Matthew. Suffered martyrdom in Ethiopia, Killed by a sword wound.

2. Mark. Died in Alexandria, Egypt , after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he was dead.

3. Luke. Was hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous Preaching to the lost.

4. John. Faced martyrdom when he was boiled in huge Basin of boiling oil during a wave of persecution In Rome. However, he was miraculously delivered From death.
John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos. He wrote his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos . The apostle John was later freed and returned to serve As Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey . He died as an old man, the only apostle to die peacefully

5. Peter. He was crucified upside down on an x shaped cross. According to church tradition it was because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die In the same way that Jesus Christ had died.

6. James. The leader of the church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.

This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.

7. James the Son of Zebedee was a fisherman by trade when Jesus Called him to a lifetime of ministry.

As a strong leader of the church, James was   beheaded at Jerusalem. The Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at his trial.

Later, the officer Walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, he declared his new faith to the judge and Knelt beside James to accept beheading as a Christian.

8. Bartholomew. Also known as Nathaniel. He Was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in present day Turkey. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

9. Andrew. He Was crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers they tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony.

His followers reported that, when he was led toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words, "I have long desired and expected this happy hour. The cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it". He continued to preach to his tormentors For two days until he expired.

10. Thomas. He Was stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish the church in the Subcontinent.

11. Jude. He Was killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.

12. Matthias. The apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot. He was stoned and then beheaded.

13. Paul. He Was tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the churches he had formed throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the foundational Doctrines of Christianity, form a large portion of the New Testament.

Perhaps this is a reminder to us that our sufferings here are indeed minor to compare to the intense persecution and cold cruelty faced by the apostles and disciples during their times For the sake of the Faith.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: But he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

Pass on to encourage other Christians. Why Do we feel sleepy in Prayer, but stay awake through a 3 hour movie?
Why are we so bored when we look at the HOLY BOOK. But find it easy to read other books?

Why is it so easy to ignore a massage about God,


Why are Prayers getting smaller, but bars and clubs are expanding.

Why is it so easy to worship a celebrity, but very difficult to engage with God?

Make this message your contribution to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

A Deadly Frozen Night (A True Story)

=============================

There was a Jewish man named Yankel, who had a bakery, in a town, Crown Heights, Germany. He always said, "You know why I’m alive today?"

He said "I was a kid, just a teenager at the time in Germany.

Nazis were killing Jews with no mercy.

We were on the train being taken to Auschwitz by Nazis. Night came and it was deathly cold in that compartment.

The Germans left us on the side of the tracks overnight, sometimes for days, without any food. There were no blankets to keep us warm. Snow was falling everywhere. Cold winds were hitting our cheeks, every second. We were hundreds of people in that terribly cold night. No food. No water. No shelter. No blankets ".

"The blood in our bodies started freezing. It was becoming ice.

Beside me, there was a beloved elderly Jewish man from my hometown. He was shivering from head to toe, and looked
terrible. So I wrapped my arms around him to warm him up.

I hugged him tightly to give him some heat. I rubbed his arms, his legs, his face, his neck. I begged him to try to be alive.
I encouraged him.

All night long, I kept this man warm this way.

I was tired, and freezing cold myself. My fingers were numb, but I didn’t stop rubbing heat into that old man’s body.

Hours and hours went by. Finally, morning came and the sun began
to shine. I looked around to see the other people.

To my horror, all I could see were frozen bodies. All I could hear was deathly silence.

Nobody else in that cabin were alive. That freezing night killed them all.

They died from the cold. Only two people survived: the old man and me.

The old man survived because I kept him warm... and I survived because I was warming him.

May I tell you the secret to survival in this world?

When you warm other people’s hearts, you will remain warm yourself.

When you support, encourage and inspire others, then you will discover support, encouragement and inspiration in your own life as well.

My friends, That is the secret to a happy life." "When you are good to others you are good to yourself" "When you make people happy, people will make you happy"

Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill  the law of God.

*Share*

False accusations!!

A Pastor Who Stole K25,000.00 Bank Cheque.

A Couple 👫 invited the Pastor of their Church ⛪ for Dinner 🍲 🍻 in their Home 🏡.

After the Pastor left, the Man 👨 said to his Wife 👩; "I think the Pastor has stolen the K25,000.00 open bank cheque that I kept on the table of which I had the intention to give him".

Angrily his Wife 👩 exclaimed; "If they are not Pedophile, they are Thieves. There is no need to invite him again. We shall from henceforth be attending another Church ⛪".

Two months later, the Woman 👩 met the Pastor in a certain street and was courageous enough to face him and said: "Good morning Pastor, you have surely realised that we no longer attend Church ⛪. This is because we're very angry with you. The day You ate in our House 🏡 , there was a K25,000.00 open bank cheque on the table. It disappeared while we were eating. You were the only Person who visited our House 🏡 at that time".

The Pastor said to her, "Yes, I took the cheque. I put it in the Bible 📙 to avoid spilling the sauce on it".

The Woman 👩 got so confused and asked the Pastor to forgive her.

Back in her House 🏡, She took up the Bible 📙 and found the bank cheque which had been there for two months.

*Please Note 🗒*
: For Two ✌ Months, She had not opened her Bible 📖 to reflect on the Word of God,

For ✌ Months she and her Husband falsely accused the Pastor.

For Two Months, the incident had tortured them.

If you are Reading 📖 this Story now and You are not at Peace with Yourself, for any reason whatsoever, *ask yourself whether it's because you have not opened 📖 Your Bible 📙 for a long time.*

Do you even have one?

Secondly, "do not accuse anybody falsely". So many times we accuse people wrongly

God Bless you!

When you die. ...

 

*WHEN YOU DIE*
When you die, don't worry.
Don't be concerned over your decaying body because people will take care of what is required.

*They will..
*1 - Buy you new white clothes
*2 - Wash you
*3 - Take you out of your home 
*4 - to your new place of stay (the grave)
*5 - Many will come to bid farewell at your funeral - in fact, many will cancel work for the sake of your burial, even though most of them didn't know you whilst you were alive.
*6 - Your belongings will be gotten rid of:
* your cars
* your check books
* your bags
* your shoes
* your clothes
* Your job, someone else will take your position*
* Your wealth will go to inheritors
* Whereas you will remain to be questioned about every minor and major deed
* There will be 3 types of mourners over you
* 1- The people who knew you only at face value will say 'poor man'
* 2- Your friends will grieve for hours or days but then return to laughter
* 3- The deep grief at your household will last for a week, two weeks, a month, 2-months or even a year

* And thereafter they will add you to their memories
* And so your story amidst the people ended
* And your story with the reality begins, *where will you spend Eternity?*
* And that is the life after death
* Indeed, the following things will leave you:-
* 1- Beauty
* 2- Wealth
* 3- Health
* 4- Children
* 5- The mansions
* 6- Your spouse
* And your real life has just started, *Eternity*.

The question here is....
*What have you prepared for your Eternity or hereafter?*
This reality needs to be thought over: Therefore 
*Take care of these two things ..*
*1- Salvation*
*2- Sanctification*
Don't forget your *Prayers*
*And don't forget to pass this message on to many...* Because once your  eyes closes in death, the only property left for you is *"your relationship  WITH GOD".*  
Where will you spend Eternity, *Heaven or Hell.* Let's all live a *holy life* my Brothers & sisters.

Please forward for evangelism..

Target Achieved

This 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home yesterday. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.”

“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged, it’s how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice;

I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away, just for this time in my life.”

She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.”

And with a smile, she said: “Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less, & enjoy the every moment. .

8 THINGS TO CARRY LIKE A CRATE OF EGG

We have so many things in life that we can handle with strong hands & they can withstand pressure and force. There are things that are so fragile in nature & anyone who wants to handle them must do so with every carefulness and tenderness. I saw a truck loaded with cartons of Indomie Noddles. Two guys were asked to move the cartons of Indomie from the truck into a shop. You need to see the throwing and catching prowess of these two guys. One was in the truck throwing the cartons to the one at the entrance of the shop and he was throwing it into the shop. The one in the truck can throw about 3 cartons at a go and the one in the shop will catch it so well. They can do it like that because the Indomie in the cartons are not fragile. They can't handle crates of egg like that when loading from a truck into a shop. It takes extra carefulness and tenderness, if not, it will break and that will amount to huge debt and wastages.

Friends, there are things we also must carry and handle with extra- carefulness because these things are fragile and once broken, it is not easy to put back together and once some of this things get broken, they can lead to huge damage and destiny wastage.

Let me mention 8 of those things you must carry /handle with carefulness as if you are carrying a crate of eggs.

1. Your Name: 

Your name is very important and fragile. There are names that stinks in the ears of people simply because, those who bear those names spoilt the name. The way to handle your name with carefulness​ is to be careful of your doings. Your actions can rubbish your name. A good name can open doors for you & for your children and generations after you. The Bible says ' A good name is better than precious ointment...' (Ecclesiastes 7:1). When your name is mentioned any way, like in your office, at home, on social media like Facebook, Twitter, IG, etc., what comes to people's mind? Carry your name with carefulness. It is a huge asset. Read one of the quotes written by Shakespeare:
'Who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;
'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;
But he that filches from me my good name,
Robs me of that which not enriches him,
And makes me poor indeed'.

2: Your heart: 

Many hearts are broken, shattered, wounded and bitter today. One of the factors responsible for this is because many of these hearts' owners were careless with their hearts. You can guard your heart from being broken and bitter. Run away from people, and things that are bent on breaking your heart. Carry your heart like a crate of eggs. You need a whole heart before you can be said to be fully whole!

3. Your Wife: 

When you put too much pressure on your wife, you will break her. 'Likewise ye husbands, dwell with your wife according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel...' ( I Peter 3:7). Handle your wife with carefulness and tenderness. Let tenderness flow in your manliness. Don't be wicked to your wife. Carry her like a Queen. She is strong, powerful and wise, yet, she needs to be protected, cared for and handle like a crate of eggs. Treat her like that.

4: Your purpose: 

Your purpose is your destiny. If you don't handle it with utmost carefulness, it can slip off your hands and gaze and get broken. So many things can come like pressure on this crate of egg of purpose. Discouragement, lack of fund, delayed breakthrough, etc. These are things that may want to come like pressure on your purpose to break it. Don't allow them! Carry it with care. Carry your purpose away from people and things that may want to put pressure on it and break it.

5: Your health: 

You have only this body as a vehicle that will carry you through your journey of destiny in this life. Handle your health with carefulness. No matter how big your vision is, once you are dead, nobody can really run the vision like you! Fight for your health. Avoid things that can destroy your health. Wealth is useless when your health becomes useless. Don't kill yourself before your time. Do your best to stay alive. We still need you here. Don't use your fork and your spoon to dig your grave. Watch what you eat. Always pray for divine immunization against sickness and diseases.

6. Your Marriage:

 So many people handle their marriage like a carton of Indomie Noddle. Let me remind you sir/ma. Your marriage is fragile. Handle it like a crate of egg. It must not break! A broken marriage is not easily put back together, because, when a marriage breaks, many things get broken with it. Husband and wife, please, carry your marriage like an egg. It must not break!

7: Your words: 

Your worth is attached to your words. Be careful with words. Once broken, you can't gather it up again. Many people are careless with their words. They speak violently. They make empty promises and break it. Some say things they later wish they never said. Guard your words. Be careful with it.

8: Your eternity: 

Those who are running up and down to fulfill destiny here on Earth without thinking of their eternity are not wise! Hear what the Bible says 'Oh that they were wise, , that they understood this, they would have considered their latter end! (Duet. 32:29). Friends, the matter of eternity is not something you should handle with levity. Think about where you will spend eternity. You will die one day. I will also die one day. All that we are and have in this world are vanity upon vanity.

 Take the matter of your end very serious. Stop living carelessly as if you have extra life. Think about eternity. Don't live for the pleasure of this present moment alone. If you miss heaven, you cry!

You will not miss heaven, in Jesus mighty name.

In life. ..

*In Life...*

     In life, some may walk, others may run, but remember the Lord gave the tortoise and the horse the same days to reach Noah's ark. 

     Your journey might be rough and tough but you will definitely get to your destination. 

     Jacob looked at *Joseph* and saw a good son! 

     The ten brothers looked at Joseph and saw a useless dreamer! 

     The travellers looked at Joseph and saw a slave!! 

     Potiphar looked at Joseph and saw a fine servant!!

     Potiphar' s wife looked at Joseph and saw a potential boyfriend! 

     The prison officers saw in Joseph a useful prisoner!

      *How wrong were all of them !*

           But *GOD* looked at Joseph and saw a Prime Minister of Egypt in waiting!! 

        *"Don' t be discouraged by what people see in you !!"*

        *"Be encouraged by what God sees in you!!"*

     *Never underrate the person next to you because you never know what the Lord has deposited in that person.*

     *** Remember *David* got the anointing of becoming a King while he was a simple child herding sheep.

     *** *Esther* was a simple orphaned girl yet she was a Queen in waiting.
     Now, you may show that love by sharing this message with those you love.

*IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW PEOPLE SEE YOU,*
But
*IT MATTERS HOW GOD SEES YOU !*

 ** *GOD IS GOD !***

        *HE* doesn't care about *age*, 
no wonder he blessed *Abraham*.

       *HE* doesn't care about *experience*, no wonder he chose *David*.

     *HE* doesn't care about *gender,* no wonder he lifted up *Esther*.

     *HE*  doesn't care about *your past*, 
no wonder he called *Saul* to become *Paul.*

      *HE* doesn't care about *your physical appearance*, no wonder he chose *Zacchaeus*
(the shortest one).

     *HE* doesn't care about *fluency in speech* , no wonder he chose *Moses*.

     *HE*  doesn't care about *your career*, no wonder he choose *Mary Magdalene* *a demon possessed prostitute* who was delivered to become a faithful follower of JESUS !

   All I know is that my  *God never changes !*

     *HE* never made *a promise HE wouldn't keep*,👌

*HE* never saw
 *a person HE wouldn't help*,👌

*HE* never heard 
*a prayer HE wouldn't answer*, 👌

🖼 *HE* never found *a soul HE wouldn't love*,👌

*HE* never found 
*a sinner he wouldn't forgive*,👌

       *This is the kind of God I  am called to commune with every day the moment I wake up...24/7 !*

     *What a privilege to belong to such a great and mighty GOD and call HIM, Abba Father !.*

How the Internet started, according to the Old Testament

In ancient Israel , it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a healthy young wife by the name of Dorothy (Dot for short). Dot Com was a homely woman, large of breast, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.

And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?"

And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, dear?"

And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. The sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures –
Hebrew to The People (HTTP).

And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS. And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. Indeed he did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drum heads and drumsticks.

And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others." And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel,
or eBay as it came to be known. He said, "We need a name that reflects what we are."

And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."

"YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside.

It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).

That is how it all began. And that's the truth. I wouldn't make this stuff up!!

Dear Terrorist,

As I was preparing a meal for my child to eat after the liturgy, I heard an explosion coming from a couple of streets away. I ran out of my house and I saw smoke arising from the direction of the Church. As I began dashing towards the misty road, my thoughts camouflaged with the dusty air “please have mercy on my dear child! Lord, please let him be alive!” I prayed as I approached the ruined castle, Pushing and shoving everyone out of the way,

I desperately sought after my son. I desperately sought after for my beloved child. After minutes of torment, there he was… laying besides the altar, slain with nothing covering his torn body but rubble and innocence. I helplessly held his lifeless body in my arms and my tears...my tears he blessed with his martyred blood. I heard the cry of every family echo throughout the room. I saw parents collecting the body parts of their children. I saw the priests and bishops looking at to the heavens and praying. I bowed my head and I looked at my child hanging off my arms. My surroundings silenced.

The first time I held him, he was covered in my blood and was afraid. And now as I held him for the last time, his blood was shed and he was in peace. I am now at peace. Today he was given wings to ascend and join the rest of the angels and saints. You thought you have won by killing the innocent but their souls have now risen to the eternal Kingdom.

The walls of the church are now splattered with the blood of those you martyred. Before you entered, the icons were hazed with aromatic incense and now they’re coated with the blood of the new saints. I am writing to you for one reason only. From the depths of my heart, I want you to know that “I forgive you”. No bomb can ever detonate the love we have for our Savior. Our knees have hit the ground and created an impact that no explosive is ever capable of doing. I want you to know that when you execute these attacks, you widen our pathway to the Heavenly Kingdom.

I thank you with all my heart for sending my child to his Father. Although you’ve left him in pieces on Holy grounds, he is now complete in the eyes of our Lord. Our limbs can be amputated but our love for our God cannot be pulled apart. When Christ was on the wood of the cross, He looked up to heaven and asked His Father to forgive those who tortured and crucified Him for they do not know what they do. I know you’re blinded by darkness and unaware of your actions and that is why I forgive you. In your eyes, you see broken walls and bodies torn apart but in our eyes we see the Soldiers of Christ becoming stronger and the love of God growing in our hearts.
The Coptic Church has not been destroyed but instead has become victorious once again.

Yours truly,
The one who has forgiven you

By: Steven Attalla

*'God, Why Is This Happening to Me?"*

*_“We don’t know everything, and our prophecies are not complete. . . . Now all we can see of God is like a cloudy picture in a mirror. Later we will see him face to face. We don’t know everything, but then we will, just as God completely understand us”_*  (1 Corinthians 13:9, 12 CEV).

In his pain and despair, Job asked a lot of legitimate questions: “Why let people go on living in misery? Why give light to those in grief”(Job 3:20 GNT).

This “why” question is human nature, and we all ask it. We have this misconception that if we understand the reason behind our pain, then it will make the pain easier.

You don’t need an explanation; you need strength. You don’t need an explanation; you need a Savior. You don’t need an explanation; you need comfort and support.

*But we always go looking for an explanation! We ask questions like, “Why did that person walk out of my life? Why did he make a promise to me and then break it? Why did he hurt me? Why did I lose my job? Why did she die? Why did I get sick?”*

Friends, I’ve been studying the “why” question for years, and I’m going to give you my educated answer: I don’t know. And I’m never going to know, because I’m not God. And neither are you! Some things we’re just never going to understand until we get to the other side of death. Then it’s all going to become very, very clear. Only God knows. And if you don’t get his answer right off the bat, you might as well stop asking “Why?” because you’re simply prolonging the pain.

Proverbs 25:2a says, “It is God’s privilege to conceal things” (TLB). *God is a God of revelation. He reveals himself through nature, circumstances, and Scripture. The only reason you know anything about God is because he has chosen to reveal himself.*

*But the Bible says God doesn’t just reveal; God also conceals. And sometimes God intentionally hides his face from us. Why? So we’ll learn to trust him and to live by faithrather than by our feelings.*

*God doesn’t owe you an explanation for anything. God doesn’t have to check in with you first before he does something. God doesn’t have to get your permission before he allows things to happen in life. God is God, and we’re not always going to understand why some things happen.*

*One day it’s all going to be clear. It’s all going to make sense. You’re going to be able to say, “So that’s why God allowed that in my life!” Until then, God wants you to trust him.*


"Have a blessed day"