Psalm 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
Why would a loving Father dare to put His dear child right in the presence of those that seek that child's hurt, and expect the child to enjoy great goodies He's placed before them? Is that child not going to cower in fear and terror?
Yet God who is all powerful knows that He has no enemy greater and stronger than Him. He only sometimes allows His children to go through the dark valleys to strengthen them. In due time, He brings them rest right before their enemies, knowing that with Him close by, the enemies can't harm His children.
David who wrote Psalm 23 had had his fair share of pain and frustration, running away from King Saul and living in constant fear of being sought after to be killed. And yet after all this, God glorified him.
Joseph was glorified in the presence of those who had enslaved him and imprisoned him, those who had laughed at him and mocked him, and probably called him a no body, and teased him about his silly faith in a so-called God. Joseph's faithful God silenced them all and made Joseph a lord over their lives.
Next, we shall look at how God set a table before Mordecai in the presence of Haman his enemy.
WHAT IS NEXT?
31.3.14
30.3.14
A Mother's Love
Isaiah 49:15 "Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!
Mothers usually bond specially with their children. Ideal mothers look after their children and fight for their best interests. This is why God uses a mother's love to show forth His love and care for us.
1 Kings 3:16-28 Solomon was faced with a conundrum. Two mothers were claiming to own the same child. Solomon full of wisdom, knew that every true and faithful mother would want her child alive out of the love held in her heart for her child.
So Solomon using this cue, declared that he will cut the child into two so each woman would have an equal share of the child.
These were the initial reactions of the two women upon hearing this:
The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”
But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
By these two differing responses, Solomon was able to discern who the real mother of the child was. The simple reason being that true motherhood is characterised by love.
Love is supposed to be the source from whom motherhood evolves. A woman in love makes a baby, and in love incubates it in her womb and delivers it. She nurtures it with love, food and care.
Motherhood as God plans it is based and built on love. Any other foundation is contrary to God's plan. God is able to place love in the hearts of people who motherly care for orphans and in the hearts of those who adopt children to enable them to genuinely care for their wards.
Where love is not the foundation, there ensues a lot of pain and sorrow. Therefore let all mothers pray for the love they have for their children to grow. And may God pour His love upon all who play motherly roles, Amen!
WHAT IS NEXT?
Mothers usually bond specially with their children. Ideal mothers look after their children and fight for their best interests. This is why God uses a mother's love to show forth His love and care for us.
1 Kings 3:16-28 Solomon was faced with a conundrum. Two mothers were claiming to own the same child. Solomon full of wisdom, knew that every true and faithful mother would want her child alive out of the love held in her heart for her child.
So Solomon using this cue, declared that he will cut the child into two so each woman would have an equal share of the child.
These were the initial reactions of the two women upon hearing this:
The woman whose son was alive was deeply moved out of love for her son and said to the king, “Please, my lord, give her the living baby! Don’t kill him!”
But the other said, “Neither I nor you shall have him. Cut him in two!”
By these two differing responses, Solomon was able to discern who the real mother of the child was. The simple reason being that true motherhood is characterised by love.
Love is supposed to be the source from whom motherhood evolves. A woman in love makes a baby, and in love incubates it in her womb and delivers it. She nurtures it with love, food and care.
Motherhood as God plans it is based and built on love. Any other foundation is contrary to God's plan. God is able to place love in the hearts of people who motherly care for orphans and in the hearts of those who adopt children to enable them to genuinely care for their wards.
Where love is not the foundation, there ensues a lot of pain and sorrow. Therefore let all mothers pray for the love they have for their children to grow. And may God pour His love upon all who play motherly roles, Amen!
WHAT IS NEXT?
29.3.14
Isn't God sometimes funny?
Isaiah 55:8-9 "My thoughts are nothing like your thou what," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
For us to walk perfectly with God, we must aspire to walk in His wisdom, and allow Him to teach us His ways.
Have you ever heard a lecture on an unfamiliar lecture/topic and felt like a fish out of water? Have you listened in on a conversation in a strange language that sounded gibberish in your ears?
If you ever have, then you have grasped an inkling of what God's level of operation is compared to ours. No wonder the Bible presents to us events that made people laugh. Sarah laughed because God sounded so funny - how on Earth could He dream her pregnant at her old age? Genesis 18:12
Isn't God sometimes funny? He appears so when we cannot comprehend Him. When Jesus told Jairus that his daughter was not dead but only sleeping, the people gathered laughed. (Mark 5:35-40)
God does not think like man, for us to be His friend and co-workers, we ought to learn His language and understand His ways.
God is moving His Church into an overflow of the miraculous. We ought to be in line with God's thinking, methods and ways in order to tap into this grace.
WHAT IS NEXT?
For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
For us to walk perfectly with God, we must aspire to walk in His wisdom, and allow Him to teach us His ways.
Have you ever heard a lecture on an unfamiliar lecture/topic and felt like a fish out of water? Have you listened in on a conversation in a strange language that sounded gibberish in your ears?
If you ever have, then you have grasped an inkling of what God's level of operation is compared to ours. No wonder the Bible presents to us events that made people laugh. Sarah laughed because God sounded so funny - how on Earth could He dream her pregnant at her old age? Genesis 18:12
Isn't God sometimes funny? He appears so when we cannot comprehend Him. When Jesus told Jairus that his daughter was not dead but only sleeping, the people gathered laughed. (Mark 5:35-40)
God does not think like man, for us to be His friend and co-workers, we ought to learn His language and understand His ways.
God is moving His Church into an overflow of the miraculous. We ought to be in line with God's thinking, methods and ways in order to tap into this grace.
WHAT IS NEXT?
28.3.14
God's protection
Zechariah 2:5 For I,’ says the Lord, ‘will be a wall of fire all around her, and I will be the glory in her midst.’”
God's presence is like fire that surrounds us to protect us from intruders. He is our secure and most reliable security system.
The devil roams around like a roaring lion looking for whom to devour.
1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
As Christians, we have God in us and around us. He protects us from evil, and protects that which He has blessed us with. The prowling lion, Satan, cannot harm us nor steal from us.
When we serve God and draw close to Him, His fire consumes the presence and works of Satan and his agents. God's presence also preserves our glory.
As a Child of God, you have a rich glory as your inheritance. God's presence protects this inheritance. It is yours to claim and enjoy!
It is my prayer that we may perceive and possess this inheritance - the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:18
WHAT IS NEXT?
God's presence is like fire that surrounds us to protect us from intruders. He is our secure and most reliable security system.
The devil roams around like a roaring lion looking for whom to devour.
1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
As Christians, we have God in us and around us. He protects us from evil, and protects that which He has blessed us with. The prowling lion, Satan, cannot harm us nor steal from us.
When we serve God and draw close to Him, His fire consumes the presence and works of Satan and his agents. God's presence also preserves our glory.
As a Child of God, you have a rich glory as your inheritance. God's presence protects this inheritance. It is yours to claim and enjoy!
It is my prayer that we may perceive and possess this inheritance - the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Ephesians 1:18
WHAT IS NEXT?
27.3.14
The fire of God
1 Kings 18:22-39
24 Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!" And all the people agreed.
Deut 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Hebrews 12:29 for our "God is a consuming fire."
God is a consuming fire and has the ability to devour anything contrary that opposes His Sovereignty. God's power fell as fire upon the sacrifice of his servant Elijah. This is because the sacrifices of the righteous are pleasing to the Lord.
Animal sacrifices are meant to be burnt unto a deity. The prophets of Baal called on Baal all day but no fire fell on their sacrifice. God fell as fire upon Elijah's sacrifice so that all idol worshipping could be curtailed . The Prophets of Baal were killed as a result, and the fear of the Lord fell on all who witnessed it.
Is there anything in your life that opposes God or is not in line with the Word of God? Is there the presence of any sickness? Call on the fire of God to consume; to devour that which has not been ordained by Him, God.
Jeremiah 23:29 "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
Proclaim the Word of God upon your situation or condition. It is like a fire that will consume anything present that is contrary to God's promises.
WHAT IS NEXT?
24 Then call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the LORD. The god who answers by setting fire to the wood is the true God!" And all the people agreed.
Deut 4:24 For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
Hebrews 12:29 for our "God is a consuming fire."
God is a consuming fire and has the ability to devour anything contrary that opposes His Sovereignty. God's power fell as fire upon the sacrifice of his servant Elijah. This is because the sacrifices of the righteous are pleasing to the Lord.
Animal sacrifices are meant to be burnt unto a deity. The prophets of Baal called on Baal all day but no fire fell on their sacrifice. God fell as fire upon Elijah's sacrifice so that all idol worshipping could be curtailed . The Prophets of Baal were killed as a result, and the fear of the Lord fell on all who witnessed it.
Is there anything in your life that opposes God or is not in line with the Word of God? Is there the presence of any sickness? Call on the fire of God to consume; to devour that which has not been ordained by Him, God.
Jeremiah 23:29 "Is not my word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
Proclaim the Word of God upon your situation or condition. It is like a fire that will consume anything present that is contrary to God's promises.
WHAT IS NEXT?
26.3.14
The sin of rebellion
1 Samuel 15:22–23
But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."
When we choose to disobey God, and decide to walk in our own ways, the Lord sees that as our pride at work. We were created by Him and for His use. We are meant to be His servants, and do servants instruct masters?
God is not an overbearing master. He regards us as His children. He is a jealous God who cannot condone us putting Him second. Whatever we have in our lives that comes before Him is an idol. When we rebel against Him, He sees it in the same light as practising witchcraft, which is an abomination to God.
Also, when we refuse to obey God, we act stubbornly, and consciously or subconsciously render obedience to one other than God - an act equal to idolatry.
Let us examine every area of our lives and work on obeying God in totality. This begins with a heart surrendered totally to God, and willing to obey God.
WHAT IS NEXT?
But Samuel replied, "What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?
Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.
Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the command of the LORD, he has rejected you as king."
When we choose to disobey God, and decide to walk in our own ways, the Lord sees that as our pride at work. We were created by Him and for His use. We are meant to be His servants, and do servants instruct masters?
God is not an overbearing master. He regards us as His children. He is a jealous God who cannot condone us putting Him second. Whatever we have in our lives that comes before Him is an idol. When we rebel against Him, He sees it in the same light as practising witchcraft, which is an abomination to God.
Also, when we refuse to obey God, we act stubbornly, and consciously or subconsciously render obedience to one other than God - an act equal to idolatry.
Let us examine every area of our lives and work on obeying God in totality. This begins with a heart surrendered totally to God, and willing to obey God.
WHAT IS NEXT?
25.3.14
The Pride of Satan
Satan's pride led him to rebel against God, causing a third of the angels to be thrown out of
Heaven with him.
Revelations 12:7-9 ; Isaiah 14: 12-15
Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth,and his angels with him.
“How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.
Satan seeks for men to be on his side, to equally rebel against God. In Genesis 3:1-5, he lied to Eve to eat the fruit God had warned her against. Satan was separated from God's Kingdom through rebellion, he therefore caused Adam and Eve to be equally separated from God through rebellion.
When we seek our own way rather than God's, we exhibit pride and the spirit of Satan. King Saul sought his way, not God's. The way of the Lord was for him to wait for Samuel to sacrifice to God. God's instruction was for Saul to destroy everything his defeated enemies owned.
But just like Eve put God's instruction aside, and conceived her own, Saul did likewise and followed his own law and rule. This was regarded as pride and rebellion against God. It brings about man's downfall and shame.
Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.
- WHAT IS NEXT?
24.3.14
Glory to God!
We were created to praise and worship God.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now all has been heard;
Satan was also created to worship God, and was doing so, until pride entered his heart. Now he seeks for followers to follow him and to worship him.
This was evident when Satan tempted Jesus: Matthew 4:8-11 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Though God seeks our worship and attention, the devil works at distracting us from worshipping God. He causes us to doubt God's instructions like he did to Eve. He influences us to disobey God just like it happened to Adam, and to the man of God in 1 Kings 13.
Should we falter and fall for the devil's lies, he steals from us. The devil stole the authority vested in man by influencing Adam and Eve to sin, and by the mercies of God through Jesus we can have that authority back.
The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came for us to have life abundantly. The first Adam failed when tempted, but the second Adam (Jesus), conquered the devil when tempted.
Matthew 4:10-11 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
WHAT IS NEXT?
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the duty of all mankind.
Satan was also created to worship God, and was doing so, until pride entered his heart. Now he seeks for followers to follow him and to worship him.
This was evident when Satan tempted Jesus: Matthew 4:8-11 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Though God seeks our worship and attention, the devil works at distracting us from worshipping God. He causes us to doubt God's instructions like he did to Eve. He influences us to disobey God just like it happened to Adam, and to the man of God in 1 Kings 13.
Should we falter and fall for the devil's lies, he steals from us. The devil stole the authority vested in man by influencing Adam and Eve to sin, and by the mercies of God through Jesus we can have that authority back.
The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came for us to have life abundantly. The first Adam failed when tempted, but the second Adam (Jesus), conquered the devil when tempted.
Matthew 4:10-11 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
Through Jesus, we can freely worship God and be restored. Glory to God!
WHAT IS NEXT?
23.3.14
Standing alone in God - Part 2
How glad Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego might have been when God miraculously turned up for them.
God turned up for Stephen as well. In his suffering for standing up for his faith, while he was being accused and stoned, his spiritual eyes popped open, and he saw Jesus who is usually seated at the right hand of God, standing up in admiration of his faith.
When we are convinced of what we have believed in, we cannot be moved by anything contrary.
Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Stand up for your faith in God, even at the peril of your life. God will always come through for you, physically and/or spiritually. He is faithful!
WHAT IS NEXT?
God turned up for Stephen as well. In his suffering for standing up for his faith, while he was being accused and stoned, his spiritual eyes popped open, and he saw Jesus who is usually seated at the right hand of God, standing up in admiration of his faith.
When we are convinced of what we have believed in, we cannot be moved by anything contrary.
Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Stand up for your faith in God, even at the peril of your life. God will always come through for you, physically and/or spiritually. He is faithful!
WHAT IS NEXT?
22.3.14
Standing alone in God - part 1
Majority does carry the vote, but the majority is not always right.
Daniel had to defy the King's decree not to pray. He could not forsake his daily communion with God. Daniel was a friend of God, and he knew how to stand alone in God, even if it meant every other person was against him.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego also stood alone. Stephen stood alone and suffered a very painful death for the sake of God.
In the case of Daniel and the three Hebrew boys, God showed up and delivered them, however with Stephen, he was stoned to death. Before dying, God opened his eyes and he saw Jesus giving him a standing ovation.
Sometimes in our walk with God, we may be faced with a situation where we have to defend what we believe, it may not go down well with others, even others that we equally love. But we must learn loyalty and allegiance to God by standing alone.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Daniel had to defy the King's decree not to pray. He could not forsake his daily communion with God. Daniel was a friend of God, and he knew how to stand alone in God, even if it meant every other person was against him.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego also stood alone. Stephen stood alone and suffered a very painful death for the sake of God.
In the case of Daniel and the three Hebrew boys, God showed up and delivered them, however with Stephen, he was stoned to death. Before dying, God opened his eyes and he saw Jesus giving him a standing ovation.
Sometimes in our walk with God, we may be faced with a situation where we have to defend what we believe, it may not go down well with others, even others that we equally love. But we must learn loyalty and allegiance to God by standing alone.
WHAT IS NEXT?
21.3.14
Spiritual sensitivity
Matthew 2:13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."
When the baby Jesus was in danger of being killed by Herod's evil schemings, God sent an angel of the Lord to warn Joseph, his father, to escape with him. Joseph could have woken up from sleep and simply dismissed the dream as a fiction of his imagination.
If that had happened, the baby Jesus probably would have been harmed. God speaks to us all the time, we must tune our ears and hearts to hear and obey Him. There are many evil traps we could avoid, if we listen keenly to God, and look out for his voice, through dreams, through mental impressions, through His spoken direction, through His written word, as well as through happenings around us.
Isaiah 50:4-5
The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
When the baby Jesus was in danger of being killed by Herod's evil schemings, God sent an angel of the Lord to warn Joseph, his father, to escape with him. Joseph could have woken up from sleep and simply dismissed the dream as a fiction of his imagination.
If that had happened, the baby Jesus probably would have been harmed. God speaks to us all the time, we must tune our ears and hearts to hear and obey Him. There are many evil traps we could avoid, if we listen keenly to God, and look out for his voice, through dreams, through mental impressions, through His spoken direction, through His written word, as well as through happenings around us.
Isaiah 50:4-5
The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears; I have not been rebellious.
WHAT IS NEXT?
WHAT IS NEXT?
20.3.14
Dreams - Part 2
In the past, God has used the medium of dreams to minister to His children. God used a dream to tell Joseph what he was going to grow to become.
In Judges 7:13-15, God allowed Gideon to overhear his enemy's dream to know what God was going to use him to accomplish.
In the book of Daniel 2:27-28, Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar when asked to reveal and interprete a dream the king had that “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these.
In the above, Daniel made known to the King that God gave him a dream so he would know what was to come.
In 1 Kings 3:4-15, God interacted with Solomon via a dream and granted him his heart desire that manifested in real life. Solomon in a dream asked for wisdom. God granted his request, Solomon became one of the wisest ever to have lived.
Solomon's dream is a good example of how our dreams can manifest in the physical realm. Solomon only dreamt, but the wisdom he asked for in a dream manifested in real life.
Joseph interpreted two dreams whilst in prison. One was a good dream, and another a bad dream. They both manifested in real life.
As Christians, we ought to pray against bad dreams and refuse them in the name of Jesus. For whatever we bind on earth will be bound in Heaven. And whatever we lose on Earth, will be losed in Heaven. Life and death lies in the power of the tongue, and they that love it will eat the fruit thereof.
WHAT IS NEXT?
In Judges 7:13-15, God allowed Gideon to overhear his enemy's dream to know what God was going to use him to accomplish.
In the book of Daniel 2:27-28, Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar when asked to reveal and interprete a dream the king had that “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.
He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these.
In the above, Daniel made known to the King that God gave him a dream so he would know what was to come.
In 1 Kings 3:4-15, God interacted with Solomon via a dream and granted him his heart desire that manifested in real life. Solomon in a dream asked for wisdom. God granted his request, Solomon became one of the wisest ever to have lived.
Solomon's dream is a good example of how our dreams can manifest in the physical realm. Solomon only dreamt, but the wisdom he asked for in a dream manifested in real life.
Joseph interpreted two dreams whilst in prison. One was a good dream, and another a bad dream. They both manifested in real life.
As Christians, we ought to pray against bad dreams and refuse them in the name of Jesus. For whatever we bind on earth will be bound in Heaven. And whatever we lose on Earth, will be losed in Heaven. Life and death lies in the power of the tongue, and they that love it will eat the fruit thereof.
WHAT IS NEXT?
19.3.14
Dreams - part 1
The Oxford dictionary defines a dream as a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep.
Job 33: 14 - 18 For God speaks once, or twice, and yet no one listens. 15 In a dream, a special dream of the night, when deep sleep comes upon men, while they sleep in their beds,16 then He opens the ears of men.
He teaches them and makes them afraid telling them of danger, 17 that He may turn man away from wrong-doing and keep him from pride. 18 He keeps his soul from going to the place of the dead. And He keeps his life from being destroyed by the sword.
The Lord speaks to us through dreams. He tells us of things to come, and warns us if there is any evil ahead of us through dreams. There are certain dreams that repeat themselves for emphasis. Pharaoh's dream which Joseph interpreted in Genesis 41 was a double dream with the same meaning. God gave it to Pharaoh to warn him of what was ahead of him.
We ought to be sensitive to God's voice to us through dreams. It is a guiding voice, and should we struggle to understand what He is saying, we ought to ask Him to explain to us.
Your dreams can paint a picture of what is, and what is to come. Be sensitive to them.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Job 33: 14 - 18 For God speaks once, or twice, and yet no one listens. 15 In a dream, a special dream of the night, when deep sleep comes upon men, while they sleep in their beds,16 then He opens the ears of men.
He teaches them and makes them afraid telling them of danger, 17 that He may turn man away from wrong-doing and keep him from pride. 18 He keeps his soul from going to the place of the dead. And He keeps his life from being destroyed by the sword.
The Lord speaks to us through dreams. He tells us of things to come, and warns us if there is any evil ahead of us through dreams. There are certain dreams that repeat themselves for emphasis. Pharaoh's dream which Joseph interpreted in Genesis 41 was a double dream with the same meaning. God gave it to Pharaoh to warn him of what was ahead of him.
We ought to be sensitive to God's voice to us through dreams. It is a guiding voice, and should we struggle to understand what He is saying, we ought to ask Him to explain to us.
Your dreams can paint a picture of what is, and what is to come. Be sensitive to them.
WHAT IS NEXT?
18.3.14
The Reflection - Part 2
We cannot underestimate the unseen. God's children were asked to mark their doorposts with the blood of a lamb without blemish. This resulted in their deliverance from death. Likewise the blood Jesus shared for us delivers us from eternal death and damnation.
1 Corinthians 1:20-21 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
1 Corinthians 1:20-21 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
The unseen is as relevant as the seen. The fact that without the right instrument we cannot see the baby in the womb does not mean that baby does not exist. Scans have shown some babies yawning and stretching in the womb. Just like air, we cannot touch it but testify of it as real.
Like rays, prayer has wireless waves it travels on to Heaven and back with an answer. The concept of telephone, radio, tv, and wi-fi are all modelled after things that already are, and were in existence even before the creation of the world.
Like rays, prayer has wireless waves it travels on to Heaven and back with an answer. The concept of telephone, radio, tv, and wi-fi are all modelled after things that already are, and were in existence even before the creation of the world.
Therefore the origin of the famous saying in the Bible - there is nothing new under the sun!
God has a lot of things to show us, and a lot of blessings to give us, if only we shall tune in to his channel through studying of His Word, and answer His call through prayer. If we shall connect to His Holy Spirit as to wi-fi, we shall then be able to download his unmeasureable blessings and enjoy them, as well as upload Heavenly wisdom and direction.
WHAT IS NEXT?
17.3.14
The reflection! Part 1
May your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven
This simple statement is revelatory. Heaven is a spiritual realm, we cannot with our physical eyes behold it. Heavenly beings are spiritual beings, it took a prayer from Elisha asking God to open his servant's eyes for him to see the great heavenly host and chariots surrounding him. 2 Kings 6:15-17
Is it not interesting to know that Heaven has horses and chariots? That there are scrolls that can be opened and read as seen in the book of Revelations. Meetings are held in Heaven, Satan attended one of those meetings and asked permission to attack Job. There are streets made with gold, and mansions. Heaven sounds like a very developed form of Earth.
The revelation here is that things on Earth are modelled after and/or influenced by spiritual things that we cannot see. The meeting in Heaven had an effect on Job's life and circumstances on Earth. Likewise certain unseen meetings in the realms of the spirit can influence our lives on Earth.
This is why we ought to pray for God's will to be done at all times in our lives. God is faithful, and His Will will always bring us to a good end, even when we physically cannot fathom how.
This is why we ought to pray for God's will to be done at all times in our lives. God is faithful, and His Will will always bring us to a good end, even when we physically cannot fathom how.
WHAT IS NEXT?
16.3.14
Fresh Word
From my opinion, freshly baked bread is a delight to savour. Stale bread is the contrary.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35
We have an eternal supply of bread for life if we have Jesus in us. Jesus is the bread of life, and the Word of God.
John 1:14 declared about Jesus saying: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
God desires to give us a fresh Word each day. Jesus delights to fill us daily with Himself. He is the bread of life, and the Word of God.
Isaiah testified of his daily supply of a new Word from God in Isaiah 50:4 - The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
Daily going to God for manna; for bread, is a sign of our trust and dependence on Him . Exodus 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.
God has a fresh Word for you today, I pray that you shall hearken to it. May the Holy Spirit speak that Word to us as we study God's Word, as we go about our daily fare, and as we consciously listen out for God's guidance, Amen.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. John 6:35
We have an eternal supply of bread for life if we have Jesus in us. Jesus is the bread of life, and the Word of God.
John 1:14 declared about Jesus saying: And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
God desires to give us a fresh Word each day. Jesus delights to fill us daily with Himself. He is the bread of life, and the Word of God.
Isaiah testified of his daily supply of a new Word from God in Isaiah 50:4 - The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
Daily going to God for manna; for bread, is a sign of our trust and dependence on Him . Exodus 16:4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether or not they will walk in My instruction.
God has a fresh Word for you today, I pray that you shall hearken to it. May the Holy Spirit speak that Word to us as we study God's Word, as we go about our daily fare, and as we consciously listen out for God's guidance, Amen.
WHAT IS NEXT?
15.3.14
Deeper
God is calling us into the deeper through His Holy Spirit. It is not enough just to be known as godly, like Cornelius in Acts 10 : In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. 2 He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.
We are being asked to step into a deeper experience with God via His Holy Spirit. God wants to pour in an amazing way His Spirit upon His Church - all those associated with His name!
There are many people who stall their Christian experience after being associated with Christ. They refuse to delve deeper and do not allow God to unwrap His delightful delights to them. They stop at having God's name put on them, with no matching power and demonstration as a child of God.
Others walk a little further with God and then cease to fan their fire with coals of the Word and prayer. God desires that we do not lose our first love. He cautions in Revelations 2:4-5 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
Our experience in the Lord must have a crescendo effect - growing from strength to strength. Each day adorned in fresh testimonies of a higher magnitude. Miracles must be our daily fare. We ought to walk closely with the Holy Spirit, and like the Ethiopian ministered to by Philip, we shall gain a deeper meaning and revelation of God's Word.
Are you ready to respond to the call of the Holy Spirit to step deeper? Would you light your fire once more? Just call on God and just like Cornelius, if you answer God's invitation, you will walk into a revival, a supernatural outpouring of His Spirit! Worship a bit more, spend more time with God in prayer, delve deeper into His Word, and very soon, you'll explode in glorious encounters with God.
If your life is well lit by God, it will brighten where you are, and light up other lives. That is how revival breaks out!
WHAT IS NEXT?
14.3.14
Looking at other men.
Jeremiah 2
‘Has a nation ever changed their gods? But my people have exchanged their glory for worthless idols’ –Jer. 2:11. ‘Is Israel a servant or a slave by birth? Why then has he become a plunder?’ vrs 14
God’s people are becoming exploited by the enemy. Their glory, their honour, their blessings, their authority, their dominion is being taken from their hands.
When people plunder, it normally means they are taking the spoils of battle because power has exchanged hands and the weaker party has no choice but to stand and watch as they take the best of their lands and property from them.
In the case of Israel, they were plundered because they gave up on Yahweh God, with whom they had ruled, and took in Baal, whom they ruled. Thus Baal plundered them and took every good thing Yahweh gave them.
This happened because Jacob's heart and focus was not on God but on other men Jer 2:23-25
Other men can be:
· Trials we are going through
· Sins we are holding on to
· Addictions we can’t let go
· Anything in our lives that takes our focus off God.
Our hearts may still feel the guilt of betrayal but we will be plundered because we have lost our first love for God. We followed him through the dessert but now we have forgotten him and are looking at other men.
The dessert may be: periods of dryness, conflicts and pain, fear and desperation, uncertainties, to mention but a few.
We have forgotten our husband and are looking at other men. Let us turn our face to God if we want restoration, not our backs, for it is only when our faces are to him (when our focus is on him again) that when we cry out, he can save us.
Jer. 2:20- remember when ‘those men’ enslaved you; the lord helped you break the yoke from your neck and set you free when he tore the bonds on your hands. Yet now you are looking back at Egypt, you are looking back at Assyria and their men and like a prostitute, you are yearning for more.
The Lord planted us in high places, people (and the enemy) saw God in us and honoured us, the words God placed in our mouths had value and it attracted kings and princes. But now we speak and nobody listens, because we are looking at other men, all other men but our husband.
How much more faithless /unfaithful are we going to be? But we say ‘I am not defiled, I have not run after the Baals’ vs 23. We may still say, ‘I am still born again, I call on the name of Jesus and believe him’; but God is saying, look at your life and tell him, who dominates you more, Him or the ‘other men?'
Written by Aba Dadson
WHAT IS NEXT?
13.3.14
The Covenant promise of healing
Mark 5:24-32
The woman had probably prayed for healing, he had visited doctors and was out of money. She had probably gone to see preachers/prophets as well but the woman didn’t go to Jesus to ask for healing, she had probably gotten tired of asking, seeing she had suffered for many years.
What did she see that made her want to touch his garment and not ask him for healing? she said, 'if only I can touch (not him) but the herm of his garment, I will be healed.’ Is this linked with Malachi 4:2 where the prophet said the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings? The wing, according to a Jewish Rabbi I listened to, can be found on the prayer shawl that the Jews had on them during Jesus’ day. It’s the loose threads at the end or the base of the shawl that is referred to as the wings.
Did the woman know that the sun of righteousness with healing in his wings (herm of his garment) was the one walking before her?
She could have touched his hand, but she touched his garment. The woman was tired, the woman wanted her freedom, and she was desperate. She probably listened to the scribes talk about the coming messiah and when she saw him, she knew the key was the garment Malachi 4:2.
She touched not the person walking, but the word she had buried in her. She saw the word she had heard and she touched to take what she knew she believed.
The woman understood WORD + FAITH = MIRACLE, AND FULFILLING PROMISE.
That is why Jesus turned because someone did not touch the man but the WORD. The word he was about to show the world through grace by his death, the woman already knew. The woman didn’t touch power, the woman touched promise and the promise had the power she required to be whole.
Healing is promise not power. Healing is what we get when we take promise and believe. That woman activated promise that Jesus’ death was made available to all. She saw that Jesus contained that promise and she took it
The woman’s faith in the promise caused her to receive. What do we see? The sickness or the promise? Are we going to continue pleading and begging or are we going to take what is ours already by promise and grace? The woman acted on promise alone and received. Jesus even made it easier by adding grace. Which means we won’t have to wait till we see ‘the sun of righteousness’ passing by but we only have to believe and we will have it where ever, however. It’s that simple. The woman had to wait many years, for the promise to pass by her home town; grace has made the promise available to us every day. What are we going to do about it?
Mark 5:36b ‘don’t be afraid, just believe’
Written by Aba Dadson
WHAT IS NEXT?
The woman had probably prayed for healing, he had visited doctors and was out of money. She had probably gone to see preachers/prophets as well but the woman didn’t go to Jesus to ask for healing, she had probably gotten tired of asking, seeing she had suffered for many years.
What did she see that made her want to touch his garment and not ask him for healing? she said, 'if only I can touch (not him) but the herm of his garment, I will be healed.’ Is this linked with Malachi 4:2 where the prophet said the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in his wings? The wing, according to a Jewish Rabbi I listened to, can be found on the prayer shawl that the Jews had on them during Jesus’ day. It’s the loose threads at the end or the base of the shawl that is referred to as the wings.
Did the woman know that the sun of righteousness with healing in his wings (herm of his garment) was the one walking before her?
She could have touched his hand, but she touched his garment. The woman was tired, the woman wanted her freedom, and she was desperate. She probably listened to the scribes talk about the coming messiah and when she saw him, she knew the key was the garment Malachi 4:2.
She touched not the person walking, but the word she had buried in her. She saw the word she had heard and she touched to take what she knew she believed.
The woman understood WORD + FAITH = MIRACLE, AND FULFILLING PROMISE.
That is why Jesus turned because someone did not touch the man but the WORD. The word he was about to show the world through grace by his death, the woman already knew. The woman didn’t touch power, the woman touched promise and the promise had the power she required to be whole.
Healing is promise not power. Healing is what we get when we take promise and believe. That woman activated promise that Jesus’ death was made available to all. She saw that Jesus contained that promise and she took it
The woman’s faith in the promise caused her to receive. What do we see? The sickness or the promise? Are we going to continue pleading and begging or are we going to take what is ours already by promise and grace? The woman acted on promise alone and received. Jesus even made it easier by adding grace. Which means we won’t have to wait till we see ‘the sun of righteousness’ passing by but we only have to believe and we will have it where ever, however. It’s that simple. The woman had to wait many years, for the promise to pass by her home town; grace has made the promise available to us every day. What are we going to do about it?
Mark 5:36b ‘don’t be afraid, just believe’
Written by Aba Dadson
WHAT IS NEXT?
12.3.14
Drunk in the Spirit
Ephesians 5:18 Don't be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts.
On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, onlookers described the disciples as drunk. They might have been behaving as such - so full of what had taken over them! Drunks can be loud and joyful, singing on top of their voices and drawing all attention to themselves .
Likewise we must allow the Holy Spirit to take full control of our lives and emotions. We must submit to Him and be led by Him. A fully drunk person is like a puppet controlled by the power of alcohol. So must we be completely submitted to the power and guidance of God through His Holy Spirit.
We must pray fervently in spirit and in truth, and appear like Hannah did as she prayed earnestly to God. When we delve deeply into God, and bask in His loving control, we tend to appear different to the world. We might be wrongly misjugdged, but if we stay put and boldly speak and show forth God's truth, we shall give birth to people born of God and in God.
Just as Hannah conceived Samuel, we shall conceive souls that will bless God with their lives, and like Peter, win many souls to God.
WHAT IS NEXT?
On the day of Pentecost in Acts 2, onlookers described the disciples as drunk. They might have been behaving as such - so full of what had taken over them! Drunks can be loud and joyful, singing on top of their voices and drawing all attention to themselves .
Likewise we must allow the Holy Spirit to take full control of our lives and emotions. We must submit to Him and be led by Him. A fully drunk person is like a puppet controlled by the power of alcohol. So must we be completely submitted to the power and guidance of God through His Holy Spirit.
We must pray fervently in spirit and in truth, and appear like Hannah did as she prayed earnestly to God. When we delve deeply into God, and bask in His loving control, we tend to appear different to the world. We might be wrongly misjugdged, but if we stay put and boldly speak and show forth God's truth, we shall give birth to people born of God and in God.
Just as Hannah conceived Samuel, we shall conceive souls that will bless God with their lives, and like Peter, win many souls to God.
WHAT IS NEXT?
11.3.14
Dead to self
Galations 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Colossians 2:20a
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world.
Colossians 3:1-3
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
To live godly lives in Christ Jesus, we have to die daily to the ways of the world and rise up to the ways of God's Kingdom.
James 4:4
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
We cannot claim to love God and still be living by the standards of the world. The world finds nothing wrong with many things that God finds wrong. Concerning different areas of our life, such as marriage, we ought to seek and follow what God has designed. Following the world's could make us enemies of God.
We must die to our earthly desires such as the lust of the eye, not everything that looks appealing to the eye is acceptable in God's eyes. We cannot do things just because they make us feel good. Rather, we must do them because they tally with God's Word. We ought to be proud of what makes God proud. Merely following the ways of the world, jumping on the bandwagon of what makes the world applaud, can lead you to partake in what Heaven frowns at. 1 John 2:16
We must renew our minds in God, to ascertain its non conformity to the ways of the world, so that our lives may please God. Romans 12:2
WHAT IS NEXT?
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Colossians 2:20a
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world.
Colossians 3:1-3
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
To live godly lives in Christ Jesus, we have to die daily to the ways of the world and rise up to the ways of God's Kingdom.
James 4:4
You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
1 John 2:15
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
We cannot claim to love God and still be living by the standards of the world. The world finds nothing wrong with many things that God finds wrong. Concerning different areas of our life, such as marriage, we ought to seek and follow what God has designed. Following the world's could make us enemies of God.
We must die to our earthly desires such as the lust of the eye, not everything that looks appealing to the eye is acceptable in God's eyes. We cannot do things just because they make us feel good. Rather, we must do them because they tally with God's Word. We ought to be proud of what makes God proud. Merely following the ways of the world, jumping on the bandwagon of what makes the world applaud, can lead you to partake in what Heaven frowns at. 1 John 2:16
We must renew our minds in God, to ascertain its non conformity to the ways of the world, so that our lives may please God. Romans 12:2
WHAT IS NEXT?
10.3.14
Dying to self
We are new creatures in Christ Jesus, we cannot afford to be controlled by our worldly desires, but rather we must renew our minds through God's Word, and allow God to mould and direct us.
What God desires must be paramount. What we desire must be in line with God's. We have to give up thoughts and behaviours that focus on our sinful nature and embrace the nature of Christ.
Kindly meditate on the following scriptures:
Galations 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Galations 5:24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Romans 6:1-4; 11-14 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
12 Do not let sin control the way you live;do not give in to sinful desires.
13 Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.
14 Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.
John 12:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruits.
Ephesians 4:20-24 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
God richly bless you!
9.3.14
Escape from death through the blood
When God was delivering His children, the Israelites, from the cruel clutches of the Egyptians, He brought plagues on the Egyptians. His last straw that broke the Egyptians back was the killing of every first born son born to them. God exempted the first born sons of His Children. They escaped through the blood of a lamb on their doorposts. Exodus 11, 12.
In 1 Corinthians 5:7, we learn that Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. Jesus is the perfect and last lamb that was sacrificed to redeem us from death - from sin and eternal death.
Here are excerpts from Hebrews 9:
WHAT IS NEXT?
In 1 Corinthians 5:7, we learn that Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us. Jesus is the perfect and last lamb that was sacrificed to redeem us from death - from sin and eternal death.
Here are excerpts from Hebrews 9:
So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world.
12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever.
13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity.
14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
The blood of Jesus has secured our redemption. He is the perfect and last sacrifice that seals our covenant with God. The first covenant was sealed with the blood of animals - Hebrews 9:18-22. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness.
Concerning the blood Jesus shed on the cross for us , Hebrews 9:26 reads But now, once for all time, he has appeared at the end of the age to remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice.
Since the wages of sin is death, Christ by His death has saved us from sin and death. In Him we have the forgiveness of sin and life eternal. As a result, if we believe in Jesus, even when we physically die, we shall live on -John 11:25
WHAT IS NEXT?
8.3.14
Fan your gift
Timothy 1:6-7
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
God has given gifts to all his children. Like the parable of the talents, God has given us different talents and we must use it, not hide it. Matthew 25:14-30
We must fan our gift by using it. Practice makes man perfect, and experience can build expertise. We have to sharpen our gifts by prayer, studying God's Word, and eschewing timidity. We must boldly step out and use our gifts to bless other souls.
1 Corinthians 12:7-10
1 Corinthians 12:28
Romans 12:6-8
The above are examples of gifts that God bestows on His
children, and that which He endows them with . God also gives special abilities such as writing, acting and drawing. He can also gives skills to men.
Exodus 31:1-6 Then the Lord said to Moses,“Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.
He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!
WHAT IS NEXT?
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.
God has given gifts to all his children. Like the parable of the talents, God has given us different talents and we must use it, not hide it. Matthew 25:14-30
We must fan our gift by using it. Practice makes man perfect, and experience can build expertise. We have to sharpen our gifts by prayer, studying God's Word, and eschewing timidity. We must boldly step out and use our gifts to bless other souls.
1 Corinthians 12:7-10
1 Corinthians 12:28
Romans 12:6-8
The above are examples of gifts that God bestows on His
children, and that which He endows them with . God also gives special abilities such as writing, acting and drawing. He can also gives skills to men.
Exodus 31:1-6 Then the Lord said to Moses,“Look, I have specifically chosen Bezalel son of Uri, grandson of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. I have filled him with the Spirit of God, giving him great wisdom, ability, and expertise in all kinds of crafts.
He is a master craftsman, expert in working with gold, silver, and bronze. He is skilled in engraving and mounting gemstones and in carving wood. He is a master at every craft!
“And I have personally appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, to be his assistant. Moreover, I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make.
Please find your gift and fan it into good use.
WHAT IS NEXT?
7.3.14
The Invisible Teacher.
1 Corinthians 2:10-13
But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.
No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
We need to be conscious of the teachings of the Holy Spirit. When you attend academic lectures and do not pay attention, you are unlikely to hear and understand what is being taught. In like manner, we are being taught by the Holy Spirit all the time, but can miss His teachings unless we consciously pay attention.
Make a conscious effort to listen to God, every minute of everyday. He speaks to us through nature, through circumstances of life, through others, through His Word and through our intuition. Train yourself to familiarise with God's voice, and pray to God to help you hear His voice and to know His ways. Amen!
Further Readings: 1 John 2:20, 27-28
WHAT IS NEXT?
But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.
No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit.And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths.
The Holy Spirit is our teacher, who teaches us all the truth we need to know about God. He lives in us and guides us inwardly to discern God's truth from the lies of the evil one.
John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
John 14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
We need to be conscious of the teachings of the Holy Spirit. When you attend academic lectures and do not pay attention, you are unlikely to hear and understand what is being taught. In like manner, we are being taught by the Holy Spirit all the time, but can miss His teachings unless we consciously pay attention.
Make a conscious effort to listen to God, every minute of everyday. He speaks to us through nature, through circumstances of life, through others, through His Word and through our intuition. Train yourself to familiarise with God's voice, and pray to God to help you hear His voice and to know His ways. Amen!
Further Readings: 1 John 2:20, 27-28
WHAT IS NEXT?
6.3.14
Beware! The Anointing can come and go
The anointing of God is a supernatural empowerment granted to us by the Holy Spirit of God.
Samson received this empowerment by following specific instructions given to his parents by an angel of God. So far as he followed them, he was supernaturally empowered to do the unnatural.
Samson lost God's anointing when God's instructions were breached. When Samson lost this empowerment, he was weakened as a result.
But Samson's hair started to grow again. When God anoints us, it is easy for us to begin to take the anointing for granted and think that we are able to do the things we do by our own wit and ability.
Samson learnt his lesson the hard way. Though his hair had started to grow, he was still weak and had been overpowered by his enemies who made mockery of him.
Then Samson turned to God- the actual source of his strength - Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” Judges 16:28
God heard this prayer, and empowered Samson again. As Samson had prayed to die, he died alongside his enemies. When the anointing of God came upon Samson, when he was given the second chance, he once again accomplished the unthinkable.
He singlehandedly brought down the strong pillars of a solid temple. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.
Do not take the anointing of God for granted. When you walk in disobedience to God's Word, you can lose the anointing of God. However if you have been disobedient and lost God's anointing, there is hope for you, because God's gifts and his call are irrevocable - Romans 11:29. When you repent like Samson, God shall once again empower you.
WHAT IS NEXT?
Samson received this empowerment by following specific instructions given to his parents by an angel of God. So far as he followed them, he was supernaturally empowered to do the unnatural.
Samson lost God's anointing when God's instructions were breached. When Samson lost this empowerment, he was weakened as a result.
But Samson's hair started to grow again. When God anoints us, it is easy for us to begin to take the anointing for granted and think that we are able to do the things we do by our own wit and ability.
Samson learnt his lesson the hard way. Though his hair had started to grow, he was still weak and had been overpowered by his enemies who made mockery of him.
Then Samson turned to God- the actual source of his strength - Then Samson prayed to the Lord, “Sovereign Lord, remember me again. O God, please strengthen me just one more time. With one blow let me pay back the Philistines for the loss of my two eyes.” Judges 16:28
God heard this prayer, and empowered Samson again. As Samson had prayed to die, he died alongside his enemies. When the anointing of God came upon Samson, when he was given the second chance, he once again accomplished the unthinkable.
He singlehandedly brought down the strong pillars of a solid temple. So he killed more people when he died than he had during his entire lifetime.
Do not take the anointing of God for granted. When you walk in disobedience to God's Word, you can lose the anointing of God. However if you have been disobedient and lost God's anointing, there is hope for you, because God's gifts and his call are irrevocable - Romans 11:29. When you repent like Samson, God shall once again empower you.
WHAT IS NEXT?
5.3.14
Anointing makes the difference
Samson was anointed by God, and as a result was able to accomplish remarkable feats.
God gave his parents specific instructions as to how he ought to live his life. One of the instructions was never to cut his hair. Judges 13
In Judges 16, Samson was lured by his lover to tell her the source of his strength , he fell for her coaxing and told her. This spelt doom for him as she betrayed him and had his hair cut.
Suddenly, Samson became ordinary. He was no longer able to do the extra ordinary things he used to do. The anointing of God on his life clearly was what had given him the enablement to do the extra ordinary, beyond human understanding.
When Jesus was arrested, Peter was afraid and even denied knowing Jesus. Then after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter was one of the disciples that waited in the upper room and were baptised and anointed by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
This anointing clearly made a difference in Peter's life. He suddenly became bold and fearless and preached openly to many about Jesus, saving three thousand souls in a day. Acts 2
The anointing of God empowers an individual and makes an ordinary person able to do the extra ordinary. It gives one the boldness and courage to accomplish the unthinkable.
Do you wish to make a difference with your life? Pray for the anointing of God. It can help you to make a difference that will affect other lives positively. The anointing of God can assist you in your career and endeavours, to remarkably sparkle in performance and show forth sterling abilities.
WHAT IS NEXT?
God gave his parents specific instructions as to how he ought to live his life. One of the instructions was never to cut his hair. Judges 13
In Judges 16, Samson was lured by his lover to tell her the source of his strength , he fell for her coaxing and told her. This spelt doom for him as she betrayed him and had his hair cut.
Suddenly, Samson became ordinary. He was no longer able to do the extra ordinary things he used to do. The anointing of God on his life clearly was what had given him the enablement to do the extra ordinary, beyond human understanding.
When Jesus was arrested, Peter was afraid and even denied knowing Jesus. Then after the death and resurrection of Jesus, Peter was one of the disciples that waited in the upper room and were baptised and anointed by the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
This anointing clearly made a difference in Peter's life. He suddenly became bold and fearless and preached openly to many about Jesus, saving three thousand souls in a day. Acts 2
The anointing of God empowers an individual and makes an ordinary person able to do the extra ordinary. It gives one the boldness and courage to accomplish the unthinkable.
Do you wish to make a difference with your life? Pray for the anointing of God. It can help you to make a difference that will affect other lives positively. The anointing of God can assist you in your career and endeavours, to remarkably sparkle in performance and show forth sterling abilities.
WHAT IS NEXT?
4.3.14
Long for the anointing
Wikipedia defines anoint as:
To anoint is to pour or smear with perfumed oil, milk, water, melted butter or other substances, a process employed ritually by many religions. People and things are anointed to symbolize the introduction of a sacramental or divine influence, a holy emanation, spirit, power or God.
As a Christian, and a follower of Christ, I believe to be anointed is to be empowered by God for a divine purpose.
Saul was anointed for Kingship, and David acknowledged the anointing of God on Saul - 1 Samuel 24:6. Similarly, David was anointed by Samuel to succeed Saul. 1 Samuel 16:13
The anointing of God empowers us for the service of God, to break the heavy yoke the devil has placed on many lives, and to free the souls of men to serve God through the name of Jesus.
Isaiah 10:27 and Acts 10:38
Jesus in Acts 1:4-5 asked the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem until they received the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. They obliged, and in Acts 2:1-4, they received God's anointing - a pouring of the Holy Spirit on their lives. They were set on fire for God, and this fire spread across all throughout the Book of Acts, bringing many to Salvation, healing and delivering many afflicted by the devil.
In order to be effective in God's Kingdom, you need God's power and supernatural ability to do the humanly impossible, and to affect other lives positively. Long for God's anointing. Ask for it and it shall be given to you.
WHAT IS NEXT?
3.3.14
Finding and using your gift.
Isaiah 8:18 Behold, I and the children whom the LORD has given me are for signs and for wonders in Israel from the LORD of hosts, who dwells in mount Zion.
Romans 8:19 For all creation, gazing eagerly as if with outstretched neck, is waiting and longing to see the manifestation of the sons of God.
Being in the family of God gives you God's DNA and genes. You are for signs and wonders! You are of a different breed and the whole world is waiting to experience your uniqueness.
The early church was a sign and wonder to their generation. People were being healed all over. The message of the Gospel was being preached with power and miraculous demonstrations, leading many to salvation.
As part of God's family, we shall one day stand with all of those who have made history on earth through faith in God. What will be your story?
Will you be the servant that buried his one talent, thinking it was not enough? Matthew 25:14-30
Now is the time to rise up to your name - a child of God! It is time to use your God given abilities and gifts to bless your generation. It is time to reach out to the next person by you, and spread the fire of God. Use your light to light their darkness.
Please search for the hidden talent, and put it to use. Invest in another life. Spread the love of God. God is counting on you!
WHAT IS NEXT?
Romans 8:19 For all creation, gazing eagerly as if with outstretched neck, is waiting and longing to see the manifestation of the sons of God.
Being in the family of God gives you God's DNA and genes. You are for signs and wonders! You are of a different breed and the whole world is waiting to experience your uniqueness.
The early church was a sign and wonder to their generation. People were being healed all over. The message of the Gospel was being preached with power and miraculous demonstrations, leading many to salvation.
As part of God's family, we shall one day stand with all of those who have made history on earth through faith in God. What will be your story?
Will you be the servant that buried his one talent, thinking it was not enough? Matthew 25:14-30
Now is the time to rise up to your name - a child of God! It is time to use your God given abilities and gifts to bless your generation. It is time to reach out to the next person by you, and spread the fire of God. Use your light to light their darkness.
Please search for the hidden talent, and put it to use. Invest in another life. Spread the love of God. God is counting on you!
WHAT IS NEXT?
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