Deuteronomy 23:5 “However, the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.“ Job 1:10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.” Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” 2 Corinthian 2:7 “or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.” Food and Curses A question was raised: Can we food that has been sacrificed for another God? Does satan have power? the answer is yes, but it can not overpower a child of God. 1 Samuel 17:43 “He said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.” Food can be consumer if you do not have the knowledge of where the food is from: 1 Corinthians 10 Joshua 24:15 5 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 5:14-15 “I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.“

Luke 15:20 “So he got up and went to his father.” The prodigal son would have stayed in the same pig farm and starved if he had not gotten up and gone to his father. THINKING -> PRACTICAL Once he returns to his father, he leaves his old ways. Isaiah 59:1 “Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.“ Listen! The Lord is not too weak to save you, and he is not becoming deaf. He can hear you when you call. But there is a problem, your sin has cut you off from God. Because of your sin, he has turned away and does not hear you. Exodus 32:33 “The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.” If God can write your name in the Book of Life, he can remove your name too.

The New Testament teaches us that evil spells or curses do not have an impact on a believer, as Jesus Christ has taken our sins and curses on the cross and set us free. Galatians 3:13 “Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.” 1 Peter 2:24 “He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds, you are healed.” Due to the sinful nature of the human from Adam, we were doomed and deserved to die as a sinner however God out of his love, paved the way through Christ to have communion with us again. Isaiah 53:4 “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!” Isaiah 53:9 ‘He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.” The greatest downfall and resistance to humans is sin. Hebrew 7:26 “He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honour in heaven.” The perfect sacrifice by who was “Holy, blameless…” the only one who can intercede for us for our sins “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” ~ Hebrew 4:15 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” ~ 2 Cor 5:21  2 Peter 2:21-22 Knowing Christ and turning back “21 It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.22 They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.” Luke 15:21 Parable of the prodigal son “21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. 22: “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. The son made the decision and made his way to the father. Decision without action is meaning less. As we can see the father was waiting for the son’s return. Son believed he did not deserve to be welcomed back, similarly, we have not deserved salvation. However, it is only with Jesus’s sacrifice we are able to stand in front of God. The son came in front of the father with a poor outfit. And the first thing after receiving his was to change his appearance, similarly, we need to be transformed our way of life and appearance to be in the presence of God. John 1:12  Who has the right to be called Children of God ” But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”

Galatians 3:13 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” Hebrew 4:2  “For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.“ Scripture without sharing the faith is not beneficial. As christians it is our great commission to share the Good News we received and encourage other to have the relationship with God. Act 2:14 “Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say.“ Peter who denied Christ and ran away, once he understood and received the Holy Spirit. The same Peter who spoke against Christ stood in front of thousands abs shared the Good news and baptised others. Mat 26:15 “And asked, “What are you willing to give me if I deliver him over to you?” So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.“ Judas bargaining to betray Christ, like wise many Christians are bargaining Christ in this day and age. We need to understand there is nothing more valuable than what Christ offers. This is seen by Zacchaeus who gave everything he had once he truly knew the value of Christ: Luke 19:8 “But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” 3: ” He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd.” He was intrigued to see who was Christ  4: “So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.” Zacchaeus made the effort to climb the tree to see Jesus, therefore it show the dedication and commitment we way able to endure to see Jesus. 9:  “Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham.” Jesus can be taken into any home, compared to some leaders who are not worthy to be welcomed. Zacchaeus desired to know Christ and because of this desire Christ came and stay over at his house. In this story we can learn that once you have truly received Christ you do not value anything of this world instead you will give away your world valuables as you will be prioritising the kingdom of heaven! Mark 5:25-33 Jesus heals the sick women Many people have touched Jesus, but when it is done by faith there is power which you receive. Often as humans we sometimes see the problem that we face to be greater than Christ. This can be seen when the disciples being afraid of the strom when Jesus was in the boat with them. Once they had the knowledge of the power of Christ then are able to stay composed during the storm which life brings and even lift others in their own personal storm. 1 Peter 4:17 “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”