God Tests Abraham's Faith

 Can you see what Abraham is doing here? He has a knife, and it looks as if he is going to killed his son. Why would he ever do that? First,let le see how Abraham and Sarah got their son.

Remember,God promised them that they would have have a son. But that seemed impossible,be because Abraham and Sarah were so old. Abraham,however, believed that God could do what seemed impossible. So what happened?

After God made his promise,a whole years passed. Then,wh wh Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 years old,they had a baby boy named Isaac. God had kept his peompro!

But when Isaac had grown older, Jehovah tested Abraham's Faith. He called: ' Abraham!' And Abraham anserean: 'Here I am!'  Then God said: 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, and go to a mountain that I will show you. There kill your son and offer him up as a sacrifice.'

How sad those words made Abraham, because Abraham loved his son very much. And remember,God has promised that Abraham's children would live in the land of Ca'naan. But how could that happen if Isaac were dead? Abraham did not understand, but still he obeyed God.

When he got to the mountain, Abraham tied up Isaac and put him on the altar that he built. Then he took out the knife to kill his son. But just at that moment God's angel called: 'Abraham, Abraham!' And Abraham answered: 'Here I am!'

Don't hurt the boy or do anything to him, God said. 'Now I know that you have faith in me, because you have not held back your son, your only one, from me.'

What great faith Abraham had in God! He believed that nothing was impossible for Jehovah, and that Jehovah could even raise Isaac from the dead. But it was not really Gods will for Abraham to kill Isaac. So God cause a sheep to get caught in some nearby bushes, and he told Abraham to sacrifice it instead of his son.

Abraham-A Friend of God

 One of the places where people went to live after the Flood was called Ur. It became an important city with some nice homes in it. But the people there worshipped false God's.

That was the way they did in  Ba'bel too. The people in Ur and Ba'bel were not like Noah and his son Shem, who kept on serving Jehovah.

Finally,350 years after the Flood, faithful Noah died. It was just two years later that the man you see in this picture was born. He lived with his family in that city of Ur.

One day God told Abraham: 'Leave Ur and your relatives, and go to a country I will show you.' Did Abraham obey God and leave behind all the conforts of Ur? Yes,he did. And it was because Abraham always obeyed God that he came to be known as God's friend.

Some of Abraham's family went along with him when he left Ur. His father Te'rah did. So did his nephew Lot. And,of course Abraham's wife Sarah went too. In time they all arrived at a place called Ha'ran, where Te'rah died. They were far away from Ur. After a while Abraham and his household left Ha'ran and came to the land called Ca'naan.

There Jehovah said: ' This is the land that I will give to your children.' Abraham stayed in Ca'naan and lived in tents.

God began to help Abraham so that he came to have great flocks of sheep and other animals and hundreds of servants. But he and Sarah did not have any children of their own. When Abraham was 99 years old,God said: '' promise that you will become father to many nations of people.' But how could this happen, since Abraham and Sarah were now too old to have a child?

Men Build A BIG Tower

 Man years ago. Noah's sonss had lots of children.

And their children grew had more children. Soon there were many people on the earth.

One of these persons  was a great--grandson of Noah named Nim'rod. He was a bad man who hunted and killed both animals and men. Nim'rod also made himself a king to rule over other people.

God did not like Nim'rod.

All the people at time spoke one language. Nim'rod wanted to keep them all together so  that he could rule them. So do you know what he did?

He told the people to build a city and a big tower in it. See them in the picture making bricks.

God was not pleased with this building. God wanted the people to move out and live over the earth. But the people said: Come on! Let's build a city and a tower so high that it's top will reach into the heavens.

Then we will be famous!'   The people wanted honor for themselves,not for God. So God made the people stop building the tower. Do you know how he did it? 

By suddenly causing people to speak different languages, instead of just one. No longer did the builders understand one another. This is why their city came to be called Ba'bel,or Babylon,meanin m "Confusion."

The people now began to move away from Ba'bel. Groups of persons who spoke the same language went to live together in other parts of the earth.

Current Affairs

 In April,2003-President Olusegun Obasanjo was sworn in for a second term as president.

4-18 October,2003 All African Games ( COJA) were held in Abuja, more than 10,000 foreigners visited the country.

July 29, 2003- Nigeria Satellite,Nig SAT- 1 was launched into space at the Military Base of Russia at 7:12 am Nigerian Time.

Men Build A BIg Tower

 Many years passed. Noah's sons had lots of children. And their children grew up and had more children. Soon there were many people on the earth.

One of these persons was a great grandson of Noah named Nim'rod. He was a bad man who hunted and killed both animals and men.

Nim'rod also made himself a king to rule over other people.

God did not like Nim'rod.

All the people at that time spoke one language. Nim'rod wanted to keep them all together so that he could rule them. So do you know what he did? He told the people to build a city and a big tower in it. This is the picture.

God was not pleased with this building. God wanted the people to move out and live all over the earth. But the people said:_ Come on! Let's build a city and a tower so high that it's top will reach into the heaven's. Then we will be famous!'  The people wanted honor for themselves, not for God.

So God made the people stop building the tower.Do you know how he did it? By suddenly causing people to speak different languages, instead of just one. No longer did the builders understand one another.

This is why their city came to be called Ba' bel, or Babylon, meaning " Confusion."

The people now began to move away from Babylon.Groups of persons who spoke the same language went to live together in other parts of the earth.

Genesis 10:1,8-10

The Great Flood

 Outside the ark,the people went about their life the same as before.The still did not believe that the flood would come. They must have laughed more than ever. But they soon stopped laughing.

All of a sudden water began to fall. It poured down from the sky as when you pour water from a bucket. Noah had been right! But it was too late now for anybody else to get into the ark. The door had been closed tight by God.

Soon all the low ground was covered. The water became like big river. It pushed over trees and rolled around big stones, and made a lot of noise. The people were afraid. The climbed up to higher ground. Oh, how they wished they had listened to Noah and gotten into the ark when the door was still open for them! But now it was too late.

The water kept getting higher and higher. For 40 days and 40 nights the water poured out of the sky. It rose up the sides of the mountains, and soon even the tallest mountains were covered.

So just as God had said,all the people and animals outside the ark got died. But everyone inside was safe.

Noah and his sons had done a good job building the ark. The water lifted it up, and it floated right on top of the water. Then one day, after the rain stopped falling,the sun began to shine.

What a sight it was! There was just one big ocean everywhere. And the only thing that could be seen was the ark floating on top. The Giants were gone now. No more would they be around to hurt people. All of them had died, along with their mothers and the rest of the bad people.

THE GIANTS IN THE EARTH

 If someone were walking toward you and he was as tall as the ceiling in your house, what would you think?

That person would be a giant! At one time there really were Giants on the earth. The Bible shows that their fathers were angels from heaven.

Remember, the bad angel Satan was busy making trouble. He was even trying to get God's angels to be bad. In time, some of these angels started to listen to Satan. They stopped the work that God had for them to do in heaven. And they came down to earth and made human bodies for themselves. Do you know why?

The Bible says that it is because these sons of God saw the pretty women on earth and wanted to live with them. So they came to earth and married these women. The Bible says that this was wrong, because God made the angels to live in heaven.

When the angels and their wives had babies, these babies were different. At first they may not have looked very different. But they kept growing bigger and bigger, and getting stronger and stronger, until they became Giants.

These Giants were bad. And because they were so big and strong,they would hurt people. They tried to force everyone to be bad like themselves.

E'NOCH had died, but there was one man on Earth now who was good. This man's name was Noah. He always did what God wanted him to do.

One day God told Noah that the time had come for him to destroy all bad people. But God was going to save Noah,his family and many of the animals. Let's see how God did this.

Genesis 6:1-8

A Good SON, AND A BAD ONE

 Look at Cain and Abel now. The have both grown up. Cain has  become a farmer.

He grows grains and fruits and vegetables.Abel has become a keeper of sheep. He likes to take care of little lambs. They grow up into big sheep, and so Abel soon has a whole flock of sheep to watch over.

One day Cain and  Abel bring a gift to God. Cain brings some food he has grown. And Abel brings the very best sheep he has. God is pleased with Abel and his gift. But he is not pleased with Cain and his gift. Do you know why?

It is not just that Abel gift is better than Cain's. It is because Abel is a good man. He loves God and his brother. But Cain is bad; he does not love his brother.

So Good tells Cain that he should change his ways. But Cain does not listen. He is very angry because God liked Abel better.

So Cain says to Abel,'Let us go over the field.'There, when they are all alone,Cain hits his brother Abel. He hits him so hard that he kills him. Wasn't that a terrible thing for Cain to do?

Even though Abel died,God still remembers him. Abel was good, and God never forgets a person like that.

Current Affairs: Post Colonial Era(1960-present)

 In October 1,1960 Nigeria gained her independent from Britain; Tafawa Belewa became the Prime Minister, and Nnamdi Azikiwe became the President.

In October 1,1963 Nigeria severed it's remaining ties to Britain, and the Nigerian first Republic was born.

In December 1,1964 the first civilian to civilian national election.Reaching January 15,1966 Nigeria's first coup deposed the Nigerian first Republic; Prime Minister Tafawa Belewa, was assassinated along with the premier of Northern Nigeria, Ahmadu Bello, and the Finance Minister, Festus Okotie-Eboh.

In January 16,1966 The Federal Military Government is formed, with General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi as the Head of State and Supreme Commander of the Federal Republic.

July 29,1966 A counter coup by military officers of Northern extraction, deposed the Federal Military Government; General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi was assassinated along with Adekunle Fajuyi, Military Governor of Western Region.General Yakubu Gowon became the Head of State.

In 1967 Ethnoreligious violence between Igbo Christians, and Hausa/ Fulani Muslim in  Eastern and Northern Nigeria, triggered amigration of the Igbos back to the east.

Marriage tips: What the wife need to do to get her husband attention

 The wife needs to find a time when she can sit down with her husband and talk with him about your need for better communication.Be very respectful.Say something like:

"Darling, sometimes I feel lonely.I feel like you and I are becoming strangers to each other. I'm not saying it's your fault.

I think both of us need to take the effort to build our communication."

Choose a good time for saying that to your husband.

Don't say it when he is tired or hungry.Wait  until he is relaxed, and in the quiet place where the two of you can be alone and discuss freely.

Will that discussion change your husband into a good communication? Hopefully it will help,but  perhaps he will still not communicate very well.

The wife should remember this: You must love and respect your husband even if he doesn't communicate well.

You should also remember this: You are not perfect, and your husband has the job of loving you alone with your weakness.