Heavenly Drops of Wisdom

THE PERFECT GOD - PART 2

2012-01-30T22:31:00.000Z

Faith is believing outside what you hear, see, touch and feel with your senses. In the human realm, the concept "seeing is believing" is widely embraced. However with God "believing is seeing" somewhat explains what He expects from us.

God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. As high as the Heavens are from the Earth, so are His thoughts from ours. For human beings to grasp the language and knowledge of God, we must stretch our human senses to grasp God's infinite wisdom, which sometimes disagrees with earthly forms of understanding.

As the Bible correctly puts it - spiritual things are spiritually discerned. And these are at war with natural things. In short,the natural form of knowledge and understanding opposes the spiritual.

The human mind is below God's mind. The understanding of a human mind is inferior to God's understanding. The foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man. The Bible says that a fool says in his heart that there is no God. This is not to disrespect anyone. In the same way that we sometimes ' mock' the wisdom of a child, so does God 'mock' the wisdom of humans. Comparatively, humans are myopic in their views, compared to God. I like the TV Programme -" Kids say the darndest things" by Bill Cosby. How true is the same with the human race when it comes to Spiritual things.

In the eyes of God, and the powers and authorities that be in the realms of the Spirit, many human beings, in a bid to interprete things that are beyond them end up saying 'foolish things.' To those who see beyond what we see as humans, we tend to act like children. Children talk about things they cannot comprehend with so much conviction that it becomes hilarious. Though sounding foolish in the ears of an adult, to a child it is 'truth' at his or her level.

The saying 'He who does not know, and does not know that he does not know is a fool' portrays a pityful state. For one to learn, one ought to be humble and soak up knowledge like a child will learn, until fully developed.

The basics for understanding whom God is, is humility and faith. And all of the above is your guidance. Do kindly read it thoroughly, reflect on it.

PART 3 WILL SOON FOLLOW!

WHAT IS NEXT?

THE PERFECT GOD - PART 1

2011-12-31T16:59:00.000Z

From creation, God already knew the end from the beginning. Some wonder why He tolerates sin and the devil, and tend to think God might be a weak one if He has not been able to totally defeat the devil. Others even consider His existence as hog wash.

With our human minds, we try to interprete happenings around us, and fail miserably. God has a perfect world in mind, and is only orchestrating its making- the good and bad of this imperfect world is only a part of the story. For in due time, the present Earth will pass away. Anyone who believes the message of the Cross, that Jesus died in our stead, so that we who knew sin might know no sin, shall be saved.

In the end, the end of the end shall be the creation of a new Earth and a new Heaven, without evil forces, where the righteous shall reign with Jesus.

Does this sound gibberish to you? This is the simple message of what is and is to come. Just as we cannot totally control the earth and all that befalls us here, so are we incapable of grasping the wisdom of God. To be able to interprete God's language and even understand the mysteries of this world and what is beyond, you have to act like a child and accept the key to breaking the code of God's language. FAITH IS THE KEY!

The fact that you do not understand a language does not make that language meaningless. Please ponder on this. TO BE CONTINUED........

WHAT IS NEXT?

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-24T06:37:00.000Z

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE. John 3 :16

The message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is not fiction as many would have us believe. Neither is it mere religion. It is a truth that must not be abhorred. For it carries with it the power to save you and I, and to grant us a much clearer meaning to life, and life eternal.

Before it is too late, please carry on and read this story :

A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.

As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning of his graduation his father called him into his private study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful wrapped gift box.

Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you give me a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.

Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business. He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed to come home immediately and take care things. When he arrived at his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.

He began to search his father's important papers and saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears, he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read those words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation, and the words...PAID IN FULL.

How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not packaged as we expected?

I stumbled on the above story, and its resemblance to the Gospel of Jesus Christ brought tears to my eyes. Can you imagine buying and presenting a very expensive piece of jewellery to your loved one. But to your dismay she keeps it all wrapped up, stealing glances at it yearly and making a fuss, yet never unwrapping it? THAT IS HOW THE WORLD TREATS JESUS AND HIS PURCHASED GIFT OF SALVATION. PLEASE DON'T BREAK HIS HEART!

If you do have a heart, and this shared story touched you, then please do not spurn the beckonings and pleadings of Jesus to save you through his shed blood on the cross of Calvary. All God expects you to do is to accept His Gift of Salvation - Jesus Christ. If you believe the message of Jesus Christ, and accept Him in your heart, and confess Him with your lips, you shall indeed be saved.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

WHAT IS NEXT?

JUST START!

2011-12-15T12:57:00.000Z

There is not always a favourable time or a perfect timing for a dream to come true, or to be realised. Life does not always present the best of conditions for us. Yet the Creator of the Universe uses the odds that stand against us to His glory.

He manipulates situations for our good, and virtually sifts out the wrong in us through the somewhat painful experiences that we go through. Gideon did not see himself as a warrior, nor even capable of leading the army of God against their foes. The time the angel of the Lord found Gideon happened to be a time and phase of Gideon's life when his weaknesses stared at him in full glare: JUDGES 6:11 -15 reads :

¹¹ The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. ¹² When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.”
¹³ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
¹⁴ The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
¹⁵ “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

Gideon showcased himself as a man of low self esteem, who did not believe he could amount to anything good. Contrarily, God saw Him as a mighty warrior, and urged him to go in the strength he had to save Israel. The question I suppose was on Gideon's mind at this point was - 'Go in what strength? I have no strength, I am a weak man from a weak family, and the least in my family.'

In response to Gideon's excuses, God assured Him - ^{Judges 6:16} The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”

Gideon acted in obedience and faith. He believed the Word of God and saw what was not as though it was, plunged into action, and the rest was history - a great historical feat! This is recorded in the sands of time and documented up until this generation - In Judges 6:27 we read about an obedient Gideon who still harboured certain fears, yet threw caution to the wind to start what God had instructed him to do - 'So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.'

Gideon's obedience to God sent a war cry to the camp of the enemy who prepared for war against Israel - ^{JUDGES 6: 33} Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴ Then the Spirit of the LORD came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ³⁵ He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.

God did not forsake Gideon, He was with him and it is engraved in history that Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon’s lifetime, the land had peace forty years (JUDGES 8:28). And all these Gideon accomplished in the midst of exhibitions of his own fears and human weaknesses that crept up every now and then. His secret formula was to move in faith and obey God rather than succumb to his fears. He faced his fears and took practical steps and actions to do what God had laid on his heart .

What is it that God is beckoning to you to do? You may feel you are not qualified to do it, or may think you do not have the resources to accomplish it. Take a cue from Gideon and just take the first step, and the rest will follow, as long as you keep communicating with God every step of the way.

The Chinese Philosopher Laozi sums it all up in his great saying - A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

God bless you!

WHAT IS NEXT?

SOUL WINNING - REACHING OUT IN LOVE

2011-08-30T21:10:00.001+01:00

1 Corinthians 9:19- 23: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.”

I have become excessively burdened for the souls of men. I do ask myself lots of questions when I meet people on a daily basis. Many of whom have no idea what lies ahead of them after death. And some of whom make mockery of the very thought of eternity. I ponder on the lives of people I have personally known that have crossed over, and wonder where they are. And before I sink into despair, scriptures of hope and comfort console me, and stir up within me a burden to reach out to a dying world in love.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Soul winning can be cumbersome and burdensome. Some souls have good soiled hearts, but some have rocky hearts. However, God has promised to turn hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 reads: ''I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.'' Uprooting a plant from a rocky soil will require more energy than uprooting that same plant from a normal good soil.

In order for us to reach many people whom God has so loved that He sent His only begotten Son to save from perishing, we must build ourselves in Love. Love gives! Therefore we must give off our time in prayer, travailing over the the enemy of the souls of those bound in sin. We must give off our knowledge. Paul wrote in Romans 10: 14-15a : How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?

We must share God's love in deeds, and God's Word in love. We must painstakingly study the Word of God to enable us share the unadulterated Word without fear or favour. We must be sensitive to the Spirit of God so that we may give a timely Word in season, and know what method of evangelism to use for each dying soul. Jesus said He came for the sick - Mark 2: 17 - On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." And the sick as we know have varying illnesses that may require different forms of treatment. One form of treatment that may suit a sick person may be detrimental to another sick individual.

For some souls, we can win them over by simply praying and fasting. For some others, we must become their friends and sow gradually into their lives. Some could reach God through our communication tools like books, videos, etc. For some, we must endure severe persecution, and from some, ridicule and contempt. Some will despise us, but we must endure all things until we birth them in Christ. We may collide with doubt and blasphemy; be appalled by the sheer disregard for God and the disdain for God's Word. But hey! We must not be provoked by all these, and not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoice in the truth. We must bear all things painful, believe in the souls we are reaching that they are able to be saved, and hope in God who calls men to repentance of being able to draw them to Himself.

The enemy of this world - the old serpent called the devil has blinded many, so that they cannot see Jesus for who He truly is. However, just as the Book of Acts shows us in Luke 24:13 -35, it is my prayer that anyone we are led by the Spirit of God to reach out to, anyone we are burdened in any way to bring to Jesus will have every veil from the devil removed, and will have the scales on their eyes removed so that they can recognize Jesus for who He really is, and reach out to Him - call out to Him to save them.

Below are excerpts from Luke 24: 13-35 :

¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him.

³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

From the above, we read about how initially these two men could not recognize Jesus because they were restrained, and how eventually their eyes were opened and were able to see Jesus. As we reach out to the lost around us in love, they shall gain back their spiritual eye sight and see God as He is, and be able to identify the way to God - Jesus Christ. May God help us to reach out to a dying world in love.

WHAT IS NEXT?

THE DIM LIGHT

2011-03-13T19:14:00.001Z

Matthew 5:14-16

¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Battery run torchlights go dim when the batteries are not fully charged. As Christians we are meant to shine in this world, to lead an exemplary lifestyle that will attract others to Jesus, and reflect Jesus and God to a lost world.

Nevertheless, as a Christian, one can emit a dim light. Today, I would entreat every Christian reading this article to search inwardly and make a self assessment. Personally, I am getting off every high horse to judge myself. So I shall begin with my own assessment.

I was born into a Christian home but can recall having a personal relationship with Jesus when I was twelve years old. However, just like a battery run torchlight, there were many times that I totally disconnected with Jesus, and hence removed the batteries from my torch. I renewed my relationship with Jesus when I turned seventeen. I spent so much time in the presence of God. I would go out and strangers would ask me if I was a Christian even when I had not opened my mouth. They usually told me there was a Godly aura all around me. By the grace of God I ministered to many and touched numerous lives. I kept charging my battery, I connected continually with Jesus who lit my light and life.

As the years passed, my connection with Jesus has sometimes disconnected, though not entirely. Just like I once heard a preacher describe my situation as a car without fuel. My spiritual car sometimes wouldn't move because I had no fuel - no prayer, not in touch with my God and Lord. During such times I have been cranky, least reflective of Jesus. During such periods I appear to wield less authority in the Lord . Feeling guilty about my state and all , and having a pity party, I somewhat manage to shuffle back to God. A dim- lighted Christian, also known as a carnal Christian is a Christian who acts in the flesh. (1 Corinthians 3:1-3

¹And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.

²I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.

³For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?)

A carnal Christian speaks carelessly, may even quarrel and insult, finds pleasure in gossip and may even indulge in filthy acts. A carnal Christian may be saved but not conscious of his/her salvation and relationship with God. A carnal Christian lives anyhow and does not present Jesus Christ to a lost world. The word carnal originates from the Greek word sarkikos, which literally means “fleshly.” As Christians, we ought to live in the Spirit and be led by the Holy Spirit so we can bear the fruit of the Spirit. However, when we disconnect ourselves from God we bear wrong fruits- fleshly fruits.

Galatians 5:16-23 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

I entreat every Christian reading this to note that it is essential to stay connected to God, or our profession to be Christians (Christ like) becomes a fallacy. I have seen Christians with the worst of attitudes. I have personally sometimes not acted Christlike. To act in the flesh is to act unlike Christ. Jesus was fully led and filled by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit clashes with the flesh. They are incompatible. You cannot be full of the flesh and at the same time be full of the Spirit. And to be full of the Spirit of God, you must be connected to Jesus. You must be prayerful and filled with God's word. You must bear the fruit of the Spirit. You can have the gifts of the Spirit and be doing wonders for the Lord but in character be so unlike Jesus.

Do not be deceived , stay connected and in tune with God's Spirit. Then alone can you truly represent Jesus and reflect His nature and character. That is when we can truly qualify to use the term CHRISTIAN - meaning Christ like.

WHAT IS NEXT?

THE GOOD NEIGHBOUR

2011-02-27T22:01:00.000Z

The story of the good Samaritan is a commonly known story, but we often ignore the lessons we ought to learn from it. Below is an excerpt of this parable :

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

²⁵ On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
   ²⁶ “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
²⁷ He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
   ²⁸ “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
²⁹ But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. ³¹ A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. ³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. ³³ But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. ³⁴ He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. ³⁵ The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
   ³⁶ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
³⁷ The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
   Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

For God so loved us that He sent His only begotten Son to die for us - a sinful and perishing world - in order to save mankind from eternal damnation.. But Salvation is conditional on believing in Jesus Christ and His work of atonement for one's sins. Though many people have found out how to escape from the eternal condemnation that awaits all men, most of such are so concerned about themselves that they ignore the feeble ones who happen to be in the claws of the enemy, and who shall face eternal damnation should they not discover that there is only one name by which one can be saved.
As Acts 4: 12 puts it - Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Many people have chosen the wider road that leads to eternal condemnation. They live for themselves and have no respect for God. Some have a form of Godliness but deny the power thereof. Just like the man in the parable who was robbed and beaten, many have been robbed of salvation by the enemy of this world -the devil, and are in dire need of a good neighbour. Yet, all the good neighbours are simply passing by and are unconcerned. Just like the priest and Levite, many God fearing ones are busy working for themselves, and selfishly ignoring those in need of the message of Salvation.

The Samaritan attended to the needs of the man who had been robbed and took him to an Inn where he could be restored . We as Christians need to attend to the needs of those around us, especially those who need to be saved from the doom ahead of them. We must sacrifice our time to pray, and must exercise self control in order to reflect Jesus in all our ways. We must draw near to God so He can rub off Himself on us in order for us to reflect Him in every way. Our aim must be to draw all men to Jesus - and lead them to God's Kingdom.

Please let God's Spirit minister to you and make a decision to be an ambassador for Christ from now onwards. For he who wins souls is wise - Proverbs 11: 30.

WHAT IS NEXT?

WHEN GOD DOES NOT SHOW UP!

2011-02-06T22:19:00.000Z

EPHESIANS 6:13 - Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

1 KINGS 18 tells of the great contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, in which Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal to call for fire from their god. The prophets of Baal were unable to do so, but when Elijah called on God to send fire , God responded pronto, and proved to all that He is God Almighty.

When God shows up in the above manner, our faith in Him in re kindled, and unbelieving ones turn their hearts towards Him. However Hebrews 11: 32- 40 brings out a contrast in how God operates:

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

The above passage initially talks about God's generals who made great exploits in His name, and then right afterwards we learn of others who through faith in God suffered unduly - were flogged, stoned to death, were sawed in two etc. WHERE WAS GOD??????

WHERE IS GOD?????????????????????????????????????????????

Sometimes, we are made to wonder where God is . The above martyrs who suffered, did suffer for believing in God. They had faith in God , and were equally commended for their faith in verse 39 of Hebrews 11. However, unlike Gideon et al , these ones did not receive the promises of God on Earth. Simply put, God did not show up in their case.

I always do enjoy reading about Shadrach., Meshach and Abednego in Daniel Chapter 3. These three young men were in trouble for disobeying King Nebuchadnezzar whilst obeying God. When confronted by the King , they answered in this manner - ¹⁶“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

Young Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego trusted in God and believed He would deliver them. Yet at the same time, they seemed to understand the WAYS OF GOD as well as the ACTS OF GOD. They knew that God's ways are definetely not man's ways, and that He could choose to show up or not, depending on His ultimate plans. To these young Hebrew men, their faith in God was not going to be based on what God could and would do for them. Their faith in God was steadfast and was not going to waver, come what may.
PRAISE GOD!!!!

What was the outcome of their faith? God did show up in the hot furnace and delivered them . They came out unscathed by the fire. The same fire which even killed those that escorted them to it. God is wonderful!

I wish I could say that God always shows up in this manner, but the Bible does not teach us so. There is the story of Lazarus who fell sick, and how Jesus delayed in going to see him, and alas he died. God appeared to have failed Lazarus. But in the end, Jesus raised a dead Lazarus from the dead, and indicated that his initial delay was intended for God's glory to be seen.

Also we know of how Jesus was chosen by God to die for a sinful world in order to save a fallen mankind. Jesus felt forsaken when on the cross - he actually cried out - Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani?" which is translated, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Jesus actually felt forsaken by His father. But God had to do so for a greater plan of His to be accomplished. There are times in our lives that God may not show up when we expect Him to because of His ultimate plan to show His Glory. He may wait for the worst case scenario before He steps in, in order to receive more glory.

Sin separates man from God. In the book of Joshua chapter 7 , God again was no where to be found at a time Israel needed Him most. They were at war with Ai , and were defeated. Joshua the leader of Israel went before the Lord to question why He had let them down at such a crucial time. In the end, Achan's sin was detected as the cause of why God had turned His eyes away from Israel. God does not dwell where sin abounds. Therefore, our sin can cause God not to show up when we call, especially when we are not repentant.

We may lose a righteous man to death and ponder why God could not have prevented it. But Isaiah 57 : 1 comforts us - The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.

God may take away a righteous man at an unexpected time. Though to man, it may seem God has let us down at such times, to God it may be necessary for the good of that one to be called to glory at such a time. God is wiser than man , and even His foolishness wiser than the wisdom of man. Just as we read earlier in Hebrews 11, the martyrs believed God but did not receive the promise. And why was this so? The word of God puts it plainly in Hebrews 11 :39 - 40 ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

God has good plans for us that work for our good. But fortunately and unfortunately it's the good and bad that work for our good. In the Kingdom of God, all things ( good and bad) work for our good. We ought to love God in spite of whatever happens to us. We must still have faith in Him whether in life and death. Whether God shows up or not, we must still serve Him. For our walk is by faith and not by sight. And we must love God not 'BECAUSE OF ' but 'IN SPITE OF.'

Apostle Paul best describes all I have shared today in Romans 8 -
³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
³⁶As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
³⁷Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
³⁸For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
³⁹Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

AMEN AND AMEN!!!!!

WHAT IS NEXT?

LOOK TO THE LORD!

2011-01-07T19:40:00.000Z

Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip, he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life;
⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

When we were ushered into this world, in many ideal situations there was someone eagerly awaiting us - a midwife, doctor, nurse, parent, grandparent , etc. What awaits us in this life? How can we confidently go through this world? Are we to totally trust and depend on the people around us? Should we put our trust in the economy or social system that we live in?

Jeremiah 17:5 (NIV)  reads :  This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the

one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose

 heart turns away from the LORD.

The Lord warns us with the above scripture not to trust in mere man.

Man withers like grass. Today he lives, and tomorrow he may die.

A man is conditional, but God is unconditional.

I remember a time in the recent past when my husband was embarking

on a project, and needed some sort of help. As a man, he discussed this

with a friend who suggested someone they both knew to render that sort

of help. This suggestion threw some light on the situation, and my husband

was already excited that he was going to make headway at last.

Not long after this, my husband's hope died suddenly. It was such a shock.

A great bubble was burst! My husband's hope was deferred!

But thanks to God that his entire hope was not in a man, he was still trusting in God

and looked up to Him to bring the ultimate help.

Psalm 118:8 warns us that It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

Micah 7:5 reiterates this - "Do not trust in a friend; do not put your confidence in a companion;"

The above scriptures are not there to cause us to be filled with so much suspicion, distrust and paranoia. They are there to remind us that man is mortal, but God immortal. That man can change but God is unchanging. That man fails, but God never fails. That man knows in part, but God is omniscient. Man has Limited resources but God has infinite resources. Man in no way can compare to God. Man was created in the image of God and endowed with God-like qualities, however short of the definite fullness of God, as being omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. Man must depend on God!!!

In Christ Jesus, we are given the power as men to become children of God. God expects us to trust in Him with all our heart, and not to lean on our own understanding. If in all our ways we acknowledge Him, He shall direct our paths. And when we seek first the Kingdom of God, He shall add all other things. God in Heaven, knows what you need, and even before you ask Him, He hears and answers.

When we tend to trust in God, we shall soar in confidence, for all but God is sinking sand. The economy can face a credit crunch, the plane we rely on to move us from one point to another can crash, those we are dependent on may die, everything is sinking sand......

Man may deliberately or indeliberately fail you. But if we grasp the concept of God's unfailing love, and understand that we may not always understand the ways of God but ought to trust in Him, we shall have peace, and shall forever be blessed as the following scriptures echo :

Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed. Psalm 37: 3

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD." Jeremiah 17:7

"Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust..." Psalm 40:4

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever...." Isaiah 26:3

THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO PUT IT - LOOK TO THE LORD AND TRUST IN HIM!

WHAT IS NEXT?

GOD OUR SHEPHERD!

2010-10-05T20:02:00.000+01:00

In this age and time, where navigators are available to direct people to their destinations, most people rely solely on them to get them to places. I remember a journey from Birmingham to Shropshire with a relative. We were using a navigator - tomtom. We got to a road diversion and decided to keep to the directions of the tomtom . For over an hour , we drove around in circles. It was very late at night, My relation was sleepy and I was knackered. We got very frustrated and finally switched off the tomtom.

We drove back to where the road diversion commenced, and decided to use the road signs that showed an alternative route. The contractors had in place an alternative route to our destination, and had clearly put up visible road signs to help us reach our destination. Oh dear, we exclaimed! How come we had been oblivious to these signs all along? Our previous attention was so fixed on the tomtom, that we had missed the easiest way out, already put up for us.

This incident brought to mind how God lays down planned routes for our lives journey, and how often we abandon these and stick to our own pre-conceived ideas and promptings from ill informed persons. The contractors of the road we were using knew that they would need to guide people to their destination, and so put up visible signs of alternative routes. God is supposed to be our guide on Earth. He has routes for each individual to travel on to reach his or her expected end - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jeremiah 29:11.

God intends to lead us besides still waters, but how often do we stray to where troubled waters are. And how many times do we not go our own way like the prodigal son :

Luke 15:11-24 (New International Version)

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them. ¹³"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
¹⁷"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' ²⁰So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
²¹"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be 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. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

We choose our own ways and routes and ignore God's beckoning. We lay aside the Word of God and disregard the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Rather, we choose to listen to human beings, most of whom have no inkling of what God has planned for our lives. We go round in circles like the prodigal son, enjoying our own self gratifications , and vainly empty ourselves until we are spent, tired and frustrated.

On the contrary, God awaits us with His loving arms wide open , hoping we would realise our folly , turn to Him so He can direct us to a place of peace and curtail our long restless journey. We must learn to rely on God in these trying times, so He can be our guide. He is a shepherd that lovingly cares for His sheep. Moreso, he has the map for our lives. He knows what lies ahead of us and planned it all before we came into being. But we can miss it all, as He leaves us to make our own decisions. He has handed us our will power and will not lord it over us, but waits patiently for us to involve Him and make Him(Jesus) our Lord and personal Saviour each day of our lives.

Just as my relative and I experienced, the road signs to our expected destination had already been put up, had we followed them initially, we would have avoided all the frustrations we put ourselves through. God has a plan for you, when you follow it, you will always have peace. Even in persecution, if God is the one leading you, He shall grant you peace. God cautions us through His word that “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12), but we are encouraged with Isaiah 26:3 that God shall keep in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Him because he trusts in Him.

When we trust in God and depend on Him , He leads us and we are confident to sing along with the song writer that :

He leadeth me, O blessed thought
O words with heavenly comfort fraught
What e'er I do, where e're I be
Still tis God's hand that leadeth me

He leadeth me, He leadeth me
By His own hand, He leadeth me
His faithful follower I would be
For by His hand He leadeth me

Sometimes 'mid scenes of deepest gloom
Sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom
By waters still, o'er troubled sea
Still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me

And when my task on earth Is done
When by Thy grace the victory's won
E'en death's cold wave I will not flee
Since God through Jordan leadeth me

MAY WE CURTAIL UNNECESSARY PAIN AND FRUSTRATIONS BY LEANING ON GOD AND FOLLOWING HIS LEADING!

Written By Gina Bello and posted on

EVIL COMPARISON

2010-03-24T13:40:00.004Z

2 Corinthians 10:12 - For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

Just last night, I was watching a television programme where two sets of school children were made to play two different video games. One set played a non -violent video game while another set played a violent video game. These two groups were being studied side by side to ascertain the effects of the video games on them. This experiment was full of positive comparison and analysis. It came up in the end that those that played a non violent video game were more susceptible to help others and be empathetic. Whilst those that played a violent game were less susceptible to help others and be empathetic.

The above kind of comparison was for a good cause to help parents et cetera to evaluate the effects of video games on their children. By objectively studying these two groups and framing the individuals up in a scenario where they were expected to help another, it was possible to deduce that violent video games have a negative effect on children, whereas non violent games produced positive tendencies. Overall, this comparison added positively to one's knowledge of video games and their impact on children.

However, there is another kind of comparison that is evil and drains away our self esteem. This evil comparison is the kind that causes people to steal and rob just to be as rich as others and to possess the things that others have. This evil comparison can propel one to hate oneself and always wish to be like another. It can drive people to starve themselves in order to be model -like as some celebrities, and in the worse become anorectic.

With this kind of comparison there is no objective analysis of facts, no evaluation , no researched conclusion, only wild assumptions and embellished conclusions. This form of evil comparison will not try to first find out the body mass index of an individual, but will blindly want to reach that individual's body weight. In the end, jeopardizing their own life through anorexia. With this kind of comparison, one's strengths are not put alongside another's, nor weaknesses put alongside weaknesses. This kind of comparison does not add to one's knowledge but rather adds frustration to one's life. It is a comparison that highlights weaknesses and dims strengths. In life, everyone has strengths and weaknesses, we must learn to make the most of our strengths and learn to work on our weaknesses.

“If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself”

Max Ehrman

In life, everyone has strengths and weaknesses, we must learn to make the most of our strengths and learn to work on our weakness. As Lao Tzu wrote : ''When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you.'' Nido Qubein also said - "Winners compare their achievements with their goals, while losers compare their achievements with those of another people.'' In other words, it is not a bad thing altogether to evaluate where you are as against where you are going, but by simply comparing where you are to where others are, is a mark of a loser.

You are a unique individual with an exclusive finger print. There is no one else like you. Do not attempt to be somebody else, or strive in vain to be like another, or compete at all cost to be at par with someone else. Take each day to enjoy being you, and work at making you a better person without pushing down or hurting others. I will leave you with this as food for thought - '' Why compare yourself with others? No one in the entire world can do a better job of being you than you."

Written By Gina Bello and posted on

YOU ARE YOUR THOUGHTS

2010-01-03T23:37:00.006Z

PROVERBS 23:7

For as he thinks within himself, so he is.

You are what you think. What you believe you are is what you shall become. Your thoughts are a reflection of where you are going, they spell out what you would achieve or accomplish.

Positive thoughts bring about positive results. Negative thoughts breed negativity. Optimism ignites right actions that lead to good results. Pessimism delivers wrong actions. It is a menace that will come home to roost and render bad results.

Your thoughts are a window to your future, though they are formed by either your past or present experiences. Everyone has a belief system that controls him or her. What you believe in are like tiny strips of strings that control a puppet. You may not literally see the strings. But the actions of the puppet are in accordance to the movements of the strings that are attached to it. Your thoughts control your life, and determine which way you will take; what action you shall take; et cetera, et cetera.

Positive thoughts spur you on to victory. They ignite the right actions. They make mountains surmountable. They inflame the passion of your vision or goal. What you believe you will accomplish is what you shall accomplish. Though it may not be a walk in the park, if you put your mind to it, you shall attain or achieve it.

When you face a challenge, don't be quick to say "I cannot." Try saying -"How can I?" It will make all the difference. OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE

What did you read? Was it :

OPPORTUNITY IS NOW HERE

OPPORTUNITY IS NO WHERE

WHAT YOU SEE MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

When you fail, try again. Take a cue from Thomas Edison's view on his failed attempts at inventing the light globe, - "If I find 10,000 ways something won't work, I haven't failed. I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward." This positive attitude of Thomas Edison, I believe is what made him successful. Your success is in your mind, words and actions. And all these three are correlated.

Let good thoughts engulf your mental faculty. Eradicate negative and bad thoughts. Let this be a continuous exercise. It will take a lot of self control and self awareness to do this. But once it becomes a life style, there is no end to the great and positive things you can achieve.

HAPPY 2010!

BORN SO YOU WILL LIVE

2009-12-19T21:28:00.001Z

The Christmas season has always been a festive one. Regardless of all the different schools of thought regarding the actual date on which Jesus Christ was born, it is an indisputable fact that once in this world, a child was born named Jesus, who was as powerful as he was controversial. And many centuries after his death, he is still celebrated by billions worldwide.

A great number of people celebrate Christmas, they celebrate the birth of a hero they have never personally known or associated with. Many do not even know what this hero's life assignment was about and why he is hailed as a hero. To a lot of people, Christmas is mere tradition where turkeys are roasted, decorated trees are put up, with parcels underneath. To a good number of companies, it's time for socializing. Whilst commercial entities see it as a profit accruing time.But is this all Christmas stands for?

Jesus Christ was born so you and I would not perish. You may ask - " are you trying to say Jesus was born so we may live forever?" It sounds hogwash, doesn't it? Which human being can live on forever? But dear one, as foolish as this may sound in your ears, it is very crucial that it is discussed. What is life about? Are we only born to live and die, and are forgotten? Or is there more to who we are?

From the Christian perspective,human beings are tripartite. They have a body, soul and spirit. The body may die and decompose. But what Jesus taught us was that the soul and spirit do still exist after death. We can refresh our memories with the Story Jesus told about Lazarus and the rich man to support this - Luke 16:19-31. Jesus also taught us in John 3:16 that "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

What is eternal life all about as we know that every man is born and at a point in time do die. Again Jesus taught in John 11:25 that "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies" From this scripture, Jesus I believe was alluding to the fact that He could render one to live eternally, even after the human phase of death. One may just dismiss Jesus' words as sheepish and with a magic snarl.

Supposing that Jesus really died and was actually raised up on the third day, could his very life and after life confirm his teaching that there is existence after death? Are we simply going to sit on the fence and allow whatever the afterlife entails to take us by surprise? "What if there isn't an afterlife?" you may ask. But then what if there really is an afterlife?

As a Christian, I believe without a shadow of a doubt that there is existence after death. Jesus was born for us to live. John 3:36 reads "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." Also 1 John 4:9 says "By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him."

1 John 5:13 adds to the above -These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. And in John 6:40 Jesus said -"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." He also emphatically declared that "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus therefore is the way to eternal life.

If we do not believe in Jesus and in His Father and do not accept His teachings, we stand condemned. These scriptures confirm this : John 5:24 - Truly, truly, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death to life.

2Thessalonians 1:8 describes the judgment awaiting those who do not believe in Jesus Christ -"in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Christmas is a merry season, and even more it represents Good News. The Gospel of Jesus Christ whom we celebrate during Christmas is a package of joy, freedom and life everlasting. As you enjoy this season, take time to ponder on the arrangements you are making towards your after life. We consider irresponsible anyone that does not plan for tomorrow, for retirement for instance. In the same vein, it would be reckless on anyone's part not to prepare for eternal existence.

Think on the above! Think of the end of your life's journey , and plan for your after life. Make a wise decision today. Choose Jesus, choose eternal life!

ABUNDANCE IN FAMINE

2009-12-07T12:31:00.001Z

A story is told of old about how Isaac, son of Abraham was told by God to dwell in a land of famine as He(God) would be with him and bless him. Genesis 26:1-6

True to God's promise, Isaac gained favour in the eyes of the King of the land (Abimelech of Philistine). In spite of Isaac's mistakes, the King charged everyone not to harm him lest they face the death penalty. Isaac proceeded to sow in a time of famine and did reap a hundredfold harvest. He continued to wax great in the land, grew and became exceedingly great, that the Philistines envied him.

The Philistines felt intimidated by Isaac's wealth, it was so bad that Isaac was sacked from the land as they feared he was mightier than them. We can easily brush aside this story without looking at its salient economic implications. The famine that was in Isaac's days can be likened to an economic recession or the modern day credit crunch. It was a season of lay offs and redundancies. Prices were escalating, businesses were going downhill. Losses made were huge, and prices of food were dear.

However, God spoke at such a time to His own that He was going to bless him in the land of famine. Isaac went ahead to sow and was blessed beyond measure that men begun to fear and oppose him. God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He defies intricate economic policies and human barriers to show His glory. As children of God, it is easy for us to allow what we see to guide our emotions and wrongly rule our steps. It is humanly reasonable to think you may not be promoted at a time when many are being laid off. Forgetting that we are expatriates in this land, and rather belong to Heaven. We are governed by the economic standards of Heaven.

There is no famine in Heaven, so we can never be victims of famine. In Heaven, once you sow you must reap, so your seeds shall never die!The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day-Proverbs 4:18. Hence we can never retrogress, we can only progress. I will entreat that we take our eyes off human and worldly limitations, and focus on Heavenly principles.

Isaac obeyed God's voice and direction to stay in the land of famine. We must likewise be obedient to God's leading through His word and teachings, and via the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We must endeavour to be prompt in our obedience, and to learn and practice the principle of obedience being better than sacrifice. Do not jump on any bandwagon because of money.Do not sacrifice your time of worship to chase after wealth, with the intention of simply sending in your offerings and tithes. God needs you and your devotion to Him, not merely your money. He owns the silver and the gold, and lacks nothing.

The next thing Isaac did was to sow. We must sow in order to reap. God needs your seed to multiply, bless and increase you. You must sow your strength , talents, skills, knowledge, money and time in a venture. Then alone can God bless you. I once read a joke about a lady that prayed constantly for God to bless her with the jackpot as she had lost her job and was in dire need of money. She prayed and prayed but never won the jackpot. Angry with God, she sought answers - God simply implored - " you must buy a ticket, dear." Of course she needed a ticket to win the jackpot. This joke simply teaches us to do first things first.

Jesus first of all needed five loaves of bread and two fish before he could multiply it miraculously. In 2Kings 4: 1-7, Elisha helped a widow in debt by using what she already had in her house - oil. God is going to bless and increase what you already have. Gird up your loins and lift what you have to God in prayer(like what Jesus did with the loaves of bread and fish), and He shall greatly increase it. God has promised abundance in this season, position yourself aright for the great blessing coming your way!

A SONG OF ENCOURAGEMENT

2009-11-15T11:51:00.000Z

Beloved, good songs have a soothing effect. Enjoy this beautiful Sunday feeling encouraged, no matter the situation.

Artist: Shupe Ryan
Song: Dream Big
Album: Dream Big
Ryan Shupe Sheet Music
Ryan Shupe CDs

When you cry be sure to dry your eyes
'Cause better days are sure to come
And when you smile be sure to smile wide
Don't let them know that they have won
And when you walk, walk with pride
Don't show the hurt inside
Because the pain will soon be gone

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
'Cause when you dream it might come true
When you dream, dream big

When you laugh be sure to laugh out loud
'Cause it will carry all your cares away
And when you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself
And it'll help you feel okay
And when you pray, pray for strength
To help you carry on
When the troubles come your way

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
'Cause when you dream it might come true
When you dream, dream big

When you laugh be sure to laugh out loud
'Cause it will carry all your cares away
And when you see, see the beauty all around and in yourself
And it'll help you feel okay
And when you pray, pray for strength
To help you carry on
When the troubles come your way

And when you dream, dream big
As big as the ocean blue
'Cause when you dream it might come true
When you dream, dream big

YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN!

2009-11-11T19:23:00.001Z

David lived in the wilderness for a long time whilst running away from a green-eyed King Saul who sought to kill him. David hid in caves, and had to continually look over his shoulders, living in constant fear of death, and far from the comfort of his home and family.

He appeared destitute and abandoned by God. The irony of his situation being that he had been, prior to this time, anointed as King by Samuel, a prophet of God. God had in a spectacular way, and with a standing ovation from his family, chosen him from among seven other nominees (his brothers) to be anointed as King. This was after God had clearly spoken to Samuel the prophet saying –“Fill your horn with oil; and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehem. For I have provided myself a King among his sons.” 1Samuel 16: 1b. And on seeing David, God had spoken to Samuel saying – “ Arise, anoint him; for this is the one.” 1 Samuel 16:12

As David seemingly wasted away in the wilderness, had God forgotten all about him and about His promise to make him King? Was his palace meant to be the caves in the wilderness? Was Samuel simply ridiculing when he anointed him, or was Samuel misled? Was this all one bad dream David had to wake up from, or had God changed His mind?

Many of us find ourselves in similar situations where our very present state reeks of abandonment; and makes mockery of our very faith in God and in His promises. We may even rudely consider the absurd thought that God might have slipped into slumber, or that He might have taken His eyes off us, or worst still, could be angry with us and might be punishing us.

Now let us review the biography of Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob who dreamed of greatness – of reigning over his entire family and having them bow to him. The supposedly great man, not long after openly sharing his dreams with his family was sold into slavery by his brothers. I bet Joseph might have wondered during his many hours of toil as a slave, if he had eaten too much on the days he had those dreams. Was God mocking him, or had God simply betrayed him? These questions, I presume crowded his thoughts and could have easily clouded his sense of judgment and Godliness.

Even worst, was when Joseph was falsely accused by Potipher’s wife, and thrown into jail. Languishing in prison, Joseph interpreted the dream of the King’s chief butler who promised to help him by mentioning him to the King to get him out. However, two years passed, that is 730 days elapsed, and there was no sign of the butler’s help. Joseph’s release seemed very bleak now. At this point, it would not be surprising if Joseph had lost hope in both God and man. Having suffered betrayal at the hands of his own brothers, Potipher’s wife, and then by the King’s butler, Joseph probably was at the end of his tether.

Men had disappointed both David and Joseph. They were ill-pursued, forsaken, secluded, deserted and abandoned. But worse of all was God’s dubitable promise to make David King, and to cause Joseph to reign supreme over his family. God’s promise stared blankly at them, ironically and sheepishly smiling at their misfortunes. God’s promise seemed totally impossible; a complete fallacy; a pie in the sky! But had God lied to them? Did He mince words? Or had Heaven got her wires crossed ?

A great number of people can identify with David and Joseph. The Word of God emphatically says “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.” Ecclesiastes 7:8. In the end, David reigned as King after the demise of Saul. God’s promise was fulfilled, meaning God had at no time forgotten about His promise to David. There was an appointed time for its fulfillment, and when it was due, all roads led to the palace where David reigned in splendour.

Joseph's end was also beautiful. God mapped out a perfect plan to preserve His chosen nation Israel from dying of hunger. Using Joseph in Egypt,God provided food for Israel and Egypt during many years of famine. Joseph indeed reigned in a place of high esteem. He was a prime minister, and his family indeed bowed to him. The Word of the Lord tested Joseph, and in the long run, God's Word proved to be true.

Similarly,God has not forgotten about you. He is working amidst contrary winds to bring you to the shore of abundance; to his destined land of glory and promotion. So please, kindly keep your fingers crossed, and your faith revived as you are not forgotten.

*Key Scriptures: Genesis 37 - 47
1 Samuel 16 -31
2 Samuel 5

HIS FINISHING TOUCHES

2009-11-03T10:35:00.001Z

Jeremiah 18:4-6 (New International Version)

But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

Then the word of the LORD came to me: "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

Isaiah 64:8 (NKJV)

But now, O LORD,You are our Father;We are the clay, and You our potter;And all we are the work of Your hand.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth....., and has since then been creating. The work of His hands are a wonder to behold. His ways are humanly far fetched, and His mysteries difficult to unfold. God works in ways that are not our ways. His methods of preparation may not necessarily be our preference, but His finishing touches are of sterling quality, and His actual finished products are exquisite.

Once upon a time, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt.God promised to deliver them from slavery. Did He do that pronto? No,He rather hardened Pharaoh's heart and by this caused both the Israelites and eventually the Egyptians pain. And what exactly was God's intention? To show forth His Glory, which He was able to do in grand style, taking the Egyptians totally off-guard. In the long run, the fear of God did not only come upon Egypt, but fell on all their neighbouring countries.

Similarly, I sometimes wonder why God did not immediately give Abraham the child He promised him. Why did he have to wait for about twenty five more years for Abraham's body to be dead, and for Sarah to reach decades past menopause? Couldn't God have prevented Abraham from lying with Hagar, his wife's servant? In reality God allowed Abraham and Sarah's condition to reach impossible dimensions, even condoning their mistakes and miscalculations in the process. Thereafter, He(God) came on the scene and effortlessly performed a miracle - a ninety year old woman got impregnated by a hundred year old man, and delivered a healthy baby boy. God is wonderful!

Perusing the pages of the Bible, we come across events such as how God instructed the Israelites to walk around the walls of Jericho seven times amidst shouts.As the Israelites obeyed, the walls of Jericho fell down. This is unthinkable in the natural sense. But praise to God who performs wonders. The Lord God Almighty was at it again!

When Jesus Christ walked on earth, He had a friend named Lazarus who fell seriously ill. Jesus was informed about this, but did Jesus hurry to go and heal His friend Lazarus? No, He simply declared -"This illness is not unto death; it is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by means of it - John 11:4." Jesus then stayed two days longer before He set off to go and wake His friend up. According to Jesus: "Lazarus is dead,and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him - John 11:14-15." Jesus knew that he was going to do a great miracle for the glory of God, therefore, he was not in a haste. In the end Jesus raised Lazarus who had died and had been buried for four days. This was a miraculous feat.

Sometimes God appears not to respond quickly to our cry. We often ponder and wonder why He delays and often times allows our situation to go from bad to worse physically. Beloved, God's eyes do see your plight, and His ears are open to your cry. He is planning a wondrous and magnificent miracle.His divine purpose and plan for your life is to use you to bring great glory to Himself. We are His instruments of Praise!

Rest assured, for the end of your story shall be awe-inspiring. Trust God even if He appears to be delaying. His works are never in vain. He weaves the different occurrences of our lives into a beautiful end piece. The finishing touches of God are spectacular, and His end product a miraculous spectacle.

Balancing on the See Saw of Life

2009-10-25T15:42:00.001Z

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

In our daily walk with God, we experience all sorts of things. We have our happy days as well as our 'down in the dumps' days. There are certain events or experiences that occur which are beyond our understanding, for example praying fervently for a loved one that is sick, and losing that one to death in spite of all your prayers. These things are beyond our ken.

The journey of life sometimes appears undulating. We have our ups and downs; our days of laughter and our days of mourning. Ecclesistes 3:1-8 describes this more graphically : To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

As Christians, we must brace ourselves for unpleasant days, so that should they occur, our foundation will not be shaken. Our hope and faith must be in the Lord, who has promised us that all things work together for our good. In bad times,we must turn to God for strength, praising him amidst thanksgiving.There is a lesson to learn from each phase of life. Such lessons can be learned best when we look at events through God's Word and love. We must distance ourselves from bitterness and envy. Be content in whatever situation you find yourself in as Paul taught us in Philippians 4: 11b - 13 "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength."

When we have done all we know to do and have followed God's word to the letter, we must learn to be still and know that God is God, and that Jesus is Lord over our circumstances, and also that we are not forsaken as we have the seal of God - the Holy Spirit!

A story is told of a good christian man who had extensive work experience and a laudable profile.He applied for a job and was not offered the position. He was so hurt and felt highly let down by God. Little did he know that where he so badly wanted to work was going to come down in a terrorist attack. His office, had he been offered the job, would have been at the upper part of the World Trade Centre. Who knows if he would have survived September 11 or not. All things indeed work together for our good. Let us simply trust in the lord.

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

LOOK UP AND LIVE!

2009-10-07T15:48:00.001+01:00

SALVATION

Numbers 21: 4-9

4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, [c] to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"

6 Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live." 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole. Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he lived.

I personally believe there is significant correlation between the above passage of scripture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary through which the world has redemption from the power of sin and death. Ephesians 1:7 - In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace. Also in Colossians 1:14 this same truth is repeated - In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

As is told from the beginning, Adam and Eve sinned against the Lord, and this brought sin upon the entire human race. Human beings therefore inherited the Adamic sinful nature. Rom.3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We are therefore sinners heading towards eternal damnation, for the wages of sin is death - Romans 6:23a .

In this regard, all human beings stand accused of sin - the original sin. And because of this tag of sin on us, our works of righteousness are like filthy rags before the Lord - Isaiah 64:6. In this light, there is none of us that is righteous, not even one - Rom.3:10 . All descendants of Adam are in dire need of Salvation from this tag of sin and spiritual death, which is eternal condemnation.

Jn.3:16 hints us about how we can be saved from sin - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life. The Bible warns us in 1 Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. And in Acts 4: 12, we are told about Jesus that "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Jesus himself reiterated this in the following scriptures : John 10:9 -I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.Similarly in John 14:6, Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. And in John 8:24 Jesus admonished us to believe in His message of salvation -I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins."

Just as our former passage of scripture from Numbers 21 describes a dying sinful people who had to look up at God's medium of salvation from death in the form of a bronze snake hang on a pole, the entire human creation in a similar vein, being sinners because of the Adamic sin we inherited are bound to die and be condemned eternally. Yet God in His wisdom has provided a medium of salvation in the form of Jesus, who like the bronze snake on a pole was crucified and hang on a cross.

Through His sacrificial death on Cross Calvary, anyone who realises he's sinned against God and believes in God's medium of salvation (Jesus), can ask for forgiveness, and looking up at the finished work on the cross, confess Jesus as Lord and Saviour. Indeed, any such person shall be saved and have eternal life. Romans 10: 9 -10 sums this up : That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Earlier on we looked at Romans 6:23a which said the wages of sin is death, but thanks be to God that though we are all sinners and deserve this death ( eternal condemnation), God did not end it right there. Being merciful and loving, he gave us a second side to this Bible verse. Romans 6:23b intervenes by telling us that 'but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

Beloved, there is existence after death: eternal condemnation for all sinners and eternal life for them that believe in the salvation provided by God. John 5:28-29 reads - "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned. Please do not harden your heart. Believe in Jesus and be saved.....I can hear the Lord Jesus still crying out to all - " I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am [the one I claim to be], you will indeed die in your sins."

He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit of God is saying.... For it is appointed unto man once to die, but after this the judgment.Hebrews 9:27.

SHIBBOLETH

2009-09-27T15:49:00.002+01:00

WHO ARE YOU?

Gilead then cut Ephraim off from the fords of the Jordan, and whenever Ephraimite fugitives said, 'Let me cross,' the men of Gilead would ask, 'Are you an Ephraimite?' If he said, 'No,' they then said, 'Very well, say Shibboleth.' If anyone said, 'Sibboleth', because he could not pronounce it, then they would seize him and kill him by the fords of the Jordan. Forty-two thousand Ephraimites fell on this occasion.Judges 12:5-6

According to Wikipedia,Shibboleth (pronounced /ˈʃɪbəlɛθ/[1] or /ˈʃɪbələθ/[2]) is any distinguishing practice which is indicative of one's social or regional origin.

As we read from the above scripture, the Ephraimites were unable to pronounce 'sh', they would rather pronounce it as 's'.This inability betrayed their origin, and even led to their death. The first time I read about this story, I laughed my head off, as it reminded me about a tribe in my country of origin whose members can rarely pronounce 'r'. They almost always pronounced it as 'l'. For instance, they would say 'blother' instead of 'brother.'

As Christians we are born of the Spirit and not of the flesh. Spirit born people are citizens of Heaven.As citizens of Heaven, certain types of conversation should not be heard amongst us. We must not be vulgar, envious, spiteful, malicious nor pessimistic. This is but a few of the attributes that are anti- heaven!

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.Colossians 4:6. Jesus warns us in Matthew 12:36 -But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

What comes out of our mouths depicts our religious origin - whether we belong to the Kingdom of darkness or that of light. Most often than not many people, Christians alike, are careless with their speech. They swear profanities, say things they do not mean , and talk negatively about situations though they expect the contrary to happen.

Words carry power, we can either call forth life or death with our words. No word spoken is void of creative power so be extremely careful of the words you speak, and let them tally with the Word and will of God. As a Christian, allow the seed of God in you - your spiritual genetic make up, to reflect in your speech just as shown in Judges 12 :5-6 about the Ephraimites . What is in you must reflect what comes out of you. And what comes out of you is a silent declaration of what is in you. James 3:11-12 clarifies this truth - Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Kindly pull off all disguises and pretenses in order to bear good fruits from the seed of God in you. Your words make a statement about your origin and inner content, so set a guard over your mouth. James admonished us in James 1:19 , permit me to reiterate his words: My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

DOUBLE JEOPARDY

2009-09-19T23:06:00.002+01:00

ISAIAH 44:22 - I have blotted out, as a thick cloud thy transgressions, and, as a cloud thy sins : return unto me for I have redeemed thee.

Double jeopardy is a term to describe a double prosecution of an offence; punishment after one is acquitted or a double payment for a single crime. For the essence of this article, we will limit its definition to mean being punished after an acquittal.

As men born of women, we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God - Romans 3:23. The wages of sin, that is to say the punishment for being sinners is death - Romans 6:23.Therefore we all stand condemned to die.

Imagine facing a firing squad for a committed crime. Supposing you have a mask over your face, terrified, knowing you are doomed to die, and simply waiting for the command -'SHOOT!' And just as you are about to breathe your last, someone comes up and asks to take your place. Assuming it is endorsed and he dies in your stead. Incredible isn't it? This is exactly what Jesus Christ has done for all of mankind.

Romans 5:8-9 reads: But God commendeth His love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. Romans 3: 24-25 reads - Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.

From the above scriptures it is a forgone conclusion that sin which we inherited through the Adamic sin has been paid for, our justification is through the name of Jesus because of His shed blood for mankind.

However, after discovering this great truth that sets us free, many Christians continue to punish themselves unduly for sins that God considers past, through His forbearance. Some Christians carry guilt and pain,they go through mental turmoil and depress themselves because of a past wrong they have actually been acquitted of. Thereby unduly punishing themselves after their acquittal. We must understand that Jesus Christ's work on the cross was a complete job. When He cried out : 'It is Finished,' it was finished indeed. Thus the case( every sin we have committed or may commit) was dismissed.

Once we believe in Jesus Christ and what His work on the cross stands for, when we confess Him as our Lord and personal Saviour, we embrace God's acquittal for Sin. Hence our slate is cleaned. On the contrary, because we are human, even after we have believed and confessed Jesus Christ, we may or could still falter.The Word of God says that if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness -1John1 :8-9.

As much as we have been redeemed from the curse of the Adamic sin and its accompanying punishment - spiritual death, we are still prone to falter as we are human. However, as children redeemed by God through Jesus' blood, there is power through God's word,prayer,fasting and the might of the Holy Spirit to overcome the power of sin. God will forgive us whenever we come to Him truthfully and repentant. Nevertheless, we should not deliberately keep sinning to mock Jesus's work on the cross. Neither should we turn our back on Christ after we have believed in Him. We cannot, and must not take the grace of God for granted.

God sent His Son as a parcel labeled 'DELIVERANCE AND SALVATION' for the entire world. The message of the Gospel is the van which conveys this parcel to the world. Once you confess Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you have officially signed to accept this parcel. Accept this parcel and be saved. Once you are saved do not punish yourself unduly for your acquitted sins, but rather rise above the power of sin by growing in Christ Jesus. Your slate is clean and Jesus's blood is an eraser for all your sins.

He who has an ear ,let him hear..........

BORN IN THE PURPLE

2009-09-04T17:03:00.006+01:00

In an ideal world, people of royal blood are highly esteemed, adored and sometimes virtually worshipped. Many deem it an invaluable privilege to be royal.If horses were indeed wishes, many of Bourgeousie status as well as the Proletariat; the so called dregs of society or under privileged as well as the high class would have ridden on them to be born in the purple.

But thanks to the Sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He of royal descent died in our stead so we could share in His inheritance. Now through Christ, we have become children of God JOHN 1:12 ; GALATIANS 4: 1-5, and co-heirs with Jesus GALATIANS 4: 6-7. We are royalty on earth 1PETER 2:9, and in Heaven, we reign together with Christ -EPHESIANS 2:4-6.

We who have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth are royalty. We have been born again, not of the flesh, but of the Spirit. In spite of our earthly lineage, no matter our colour, race or social standing, we have become children of the Almighty, co-heirs with the King of kings and Lord of lords. We are citizens of Heaven EPHESIANS 2:19, and thus enjoy such privileges that mere men would not stand a chance to taste. This is the reason why we are warned in PSALM 82:6-7 not to lower our standards and be limited to die like mere men. We are higher in status than the ordinary man. We stand as citizens of Heaven, the country of golden streets and mansions indescribable. What higher status could we ask for?

We should be strutting around, but we are well behaved, full of the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,and temperance(GALATIANS 5:22-23).Against what we are made up of there is no law. This is not to say we are above the law, but we make the work of law enforcers redundant. Imagine if the entire world consisted of truthful and honest Christians exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit. It would not then be surprising if prisons were emptied and eventually police stations closed and re constructed into churches, as there would no longer be the need for them - praise Jesus!

We are humble kings, we rule with caring hearts. We are prosperous but not arrogant. Powerful but not dictators.If you are a Christian, born of God's Holy Spirit, and washed in the Blood of the lamb, keep this picture of your royalty continually in mind. Royals are careful how they behave in public as they represent a country. We are ambassadors of Heaven ,and represent Heaven on earth. Each time someone sees us, he or she must see Heaven, which is God's Kingdom: righteousness,peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.

This is the very reason why we must desist from adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, emulations, wrath,strife, heresies, envyings,murders,drunkenness,and revellings (GALATIANS 5:19-21). These things are beneath us and are demeaning to our heritage.

If you have a low self-esteem, slap your thoughts with your Heavenly royal entitlement and psych yourself up to duty, The whole world awaits your physical manifestation as a child of God (Romans 8:19).

HOLD ON!

2009-09-04T15:55:00.014+01:00

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say,on the Lord. Psalm 27:14

It is often said that Christians of this day do not like to hear teachings on righteousness, holiness, endurance, and on God's judgement.They are rather sentimental and get carried away with messages on God's promises and blessings; mainly with prosperity messages.However, many Christians even after hearing about God's good plans for their lives do not live through to its fulfilment in their lives. But beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness. 2Peter 3: 8-9a.

When the Lord gives or reveals a picture of His great plan for our lives,we mostly receive it joyfully and our hearts are usually filled with great hope and expectation. I can imagine the joy in the hearts of the Israelites when they were told about the land God was going to give to them - a land flowing with milk and honey. Contrarily, I can as well see the dismay etched on their faces when they were told by ten of the spies sent by Moses to spy the promised land, that the land they had been promised had giant inhabitants that virtually dwarfed them. All hope, I assume, seemed lost at this stage, as they struggled to believe God's promise and report, against the physical report of the ten spies. In the long run, because majority of the Israelites, though initially filled with faith in God's promise, could not rise above the tide of challenges that came in their waiting period, they were unable to enter and possess God's promised land, except for Caleb and Joshua( the only spies who never wavered in faith).

Abraham saw God's promise to Him come to pass in his life, but not after, in my opinion, he had somewhat failed the test of waiting. Just like the Israelites who believed God's promise, he did same. But as time elapsed, and there was still no sign of God's promise being fulfilled, only the physical signs that opposed the reality of God's Words and defied its possibility, Abraham decided, his wife privy to it, to have a child with his wife's maidservant. God was merciful, and despite the flaw in Abraham's faith, brought to pass His exact promise in time - Isaac was born to Abraham and Sarah without the aid of a third person.

God's promises are real! However, God usually tells us the end products of His plans, sometimes leaving the gory details of what we must suffer to get to the blissful end. There may be a battle to fight to enter into the land flowing with milk and honey. Likewise like Abraham, there may be a period of dead silence to endure. There could be princes of Persia to confront through prayer before one can live the physical manifestation of God's promise.(Daniel 10:12-13) Hold on in patience and prayer , encouraging yourself in the Lord, as you await a living testimony of God's truthful promises.

QUE SERA SERA?

2009-08-21T14:12:00.010+01:00

WHAT WILL BE WILL BE?

When I was pregnant with my first child, I imagined how she would look and whom she would grow to become.I had great dreams for her and mentally planned her life, desiring wonderful things for her. Great was the joy in my heart when I beheld her for the first time. The word of God teaches me in PSALM 139 VERSE 16 that God acted in a similar way before I came into existence - 'Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they all were written. The days fashioned for me. When as yet there were none of them,' If indeed God had already prepared and written down our days before our very existence as depicted in the Scriptural Psalm above, do we then have any control over the circumstances of our lives? Is the Spanish saying true - que sera sera? That is, what will be will be. Should we simply fold our arms and watch God's future for us unfold, regardless?

God promises us a positive and good life in Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. God's promises are yea and amen(2 Corinthians 1:20). They are definite and accurate. In the Book of Numbers 23 verse 19 we are reminded that 'God is not a man that He should lie nor a son of man that He should repent. Has He said it, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?' Whenever you find yourself in a contrary situation to God's promises, do not sit unconcerned, nor feel helpless. Take a cue from the following Biblical characters and take control of your life through the grace of God.

HEZEKIAH : When the Prophet of God declared to King Hezekiah to put his house in order as he was going to die, Hezekiah did not simply accept this as inevitable. Rather he prayed and altered the course of his life through the grace and mercy of God. God as a result of his prayer added fifteen more years to his life.

( Isaiah 38 verses 1 to 20)

HANNAH: In the book of 1 SAMUEL CHAPTER 1 Hannah who was childless was reviled by her rival. However she changed her status through fervent prayer and by making a vow unto God. As a result of this , the story of her life changed for the better as she bore a son, and fulfilled her vow to the Lord.

SHADRACH,MESHACH AND ABED-NEGO: When we are faced with adverse situations where our very lives are in danger unless we compromise our faith, we must remember the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, who refused to bow and worship King Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold. They were punished to death in a fiery furnace. The furnace was so hot that the men that accompanied them to the furnace died as a result of the heat, but praise God, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego survived and came out unscathed. God preserved their lives because of their loyalty, faithfulness and expression of faith in God. (Daniel chapter 3). Having faith in God in troubling times and refusing to compromise your stand as a child of God can change the course of your life, and bring about your subsequent deliverance.

ESTHER: In the Book of Esther chapters 2 to 8, the Jews were being persecuted , and were even going to be killed, however Queen Esther, Mordecai and the general Jewish community fasted and revoked the death verdict on their lives. Sincere fasting to God can alter your life's happenings for your good. From the above we have learnt through Biblical characters that we can alter the course of our lives through prayer and fasting, through the sincere making of vows unto the Lord, and also by simply standing loyal to God, not compromising on our faith. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says " He has made everything beautiful in His time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."

God is ever knowing, He has made us aware of our end - that His plans for us are good, to bring us hope and take us to an expected end. We must embrace this and do all we can in our capacity to bring this to pass. However, we are only human and may not know all of what is in store for us from the beginning to the end of our lives. In spite of this , we must not compromise, but continue in faith in God. Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego , we must be bold to declare that our God is able to deliver us, and even if He does not, we would not serve other gods nor worship other images. We are co-workers with God(1Corinthians3:9), so must not sit unconcerned with our life's episode, let's join hands with God and make our lives a living testimony!

THE NOBLE CHARACTER

2009-08-14T17:42:00.016+01:00

STUDYING GOD'S WORD

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Acts 17:11

The above is a description of the people of Berea in the book of Acts. In my mind's eye, I can see the Bereans seriously taking notes of whatever Paul and Silas taught them, most probably oblivious of their surroundings, save the teachings they were keenly listening to. I imagine that upon reaching home, the people of Berea went right away to their desks, presumably piled with books and scrolls on the Law. They eagerly perused its pages to ascertain the truth in the teachings they had received from Paul and Silas. They made references as they read, cross checked every little detail if it were in line with God's Word. What a meticulous way to seek God! The Bereans wanted to know God for themselves, and basically were a perfect description of what the Psalmist described in Psalm 119: 15-16 -" I will meditate on your precepts, and contemplate your ways. I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word."

The Bereans , I believe were careful about the things of God, and took practical steps to build a relationship with Him. They did not totally depend on a man's words, but instead searched for God's. This earned them the title of being noble. In contrast to the character of the Bereans is that of a Prophet in the Book Of 1Kings 13, verses 1 to 29. This Prophet actually heard clearly from God an instruction not to eat anything whilst on a Godly errand, and also to use a different route when returning from his errand. However, an old Prophet managed to dissuade this true Prophet of God from obeying God to the letter. Unfortunately, the true Prophet fell for the lies offered him by the Old Prophet, and died as a result. Even though he was a true sheep following the Shepherd, he was unable to identify a wolf in sheep's clothing who beckoned him to a path only used by wolves, and alas, he was devoured!

As Christians, we must ensure to study to show ourselves approved of God, good servants rightly dividing the Word of truth. We have an obligation to listen for the Shepherd's voice, as He has cautioned us that 'His sheep hear His voice and follow.' We cannot throw caution to the wind and follow every line of doctrine, or be gullible to swallow every teaching that we hear. Behold there are many false teachings and preachings going on. Many wolves in sheep clothing have woven their way into the flock of God. We must henceforth stay alert by studying God's Word, praying and by deliberately building a relationship with the Holy Spirit. For Jesus said the Holy Spirit will be our teacher, and guide us into all truth.(John 14:26 and John 16:13) Like Paul, we must be able to confidently say -'I know whom I have believed in.' 2timothy 1:12. And like Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in the Book of Daniel, we must know what God requires from us, and stick to doing just that.

When Satan tempted Jesus Christ, the devil cunningly and wrongly used scriptures, attempting to sway Jesus from God His Father. However, Jesus knew the scriptures and identified the flaws in the devil's declarations. He therefore did not fall prey to the devil's temptation. Likewise, we must open our eyes and ears to God's Word, and glow in noble clothings.

PRAYER

2009-08-09T19:11:00.009+01:00

Men ought to pray and never faint ( Luke 18:1)

God never minces words. Every word spoken from the mouth of God is consequential, and for a purpose.He is a God that thrives on principles, a God of order! Jesus Christ His beloved Son whom He sacrificed for the good of mankind, has reconciled man to God and has given all men the passport to commune freely with God. Now we have been assured that we can come boldly to the throne of Grace to receive mercy and grace in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)

Are you in need of grace? Grace to receive salvation, deliverance, healing, favour...call it what you want. Are you in want of mercy? To conquer a challenge; to overcome a difficulty; to move on from what seems like a dead end? It is available to you, but through prayer. God has great and wondrous things in store for you as a child of God. But not until you call out to Him. He declares in Jeremiah 33:3 -" Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not." Though God has great blessings for us, we have not yet tapped into them because we have refused to call out to Him. There is a condition to this promise - a call unto prayer!

Prayer is a priviledge to carry, as a song writer wrote. We forsake the goodies of this priviledge , bear needless pain and forfeit peace when we refuse to pray. Many of us are standing behind closed doors, waiting for diverse breakthroughs, yet funny enough we may not be praying. This can be likened to opening a closed door without its appropriate key. The key to many closed doors in our life is prayer. Jesus taught that we should knock and the door will be opened for us. The act of knocking is an act of prayer. Are you in any form of bondage or danger? Prayer can deliver you! When Peter was locked away in Prison, it was the fervent prayer of the Saints that set Him free - Acts 12: 5-17. For surely the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much - James 5:16 b.

As the body of Christ, do we want to see more miracles? Are we dying to walk in supernatural power? Then we must pray. Prayer fills our spiritual tanks with oil empowered by God's Spirit to enable us do exploits for and in the name of God. We need God's anointing to do greater things than Jesus did, but not until we offer ourselves unto prayer Nevertheless, God doesn't want us to come to Him in prayer whilst still holding on to filthiness. He wants us to come broken and with a contrite spirit - Psalm 51:17. Let us draw nigh to God, and He shall draw nigh unto us. Your miracle is a prayer away!

SEEING IN LINE WITH GOD

2009-07-10T21:27:00.004+01:00

THE HIGHER ALTITUDE

“I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” Jeremiah 32:27

On board a plane flying from a high altitude, it is interesting how skyscrapers can appear like tiny ants. One can actually delve into a world that mentally views skyscrapers as minute structures. We serve a God that sees from a higher perspective than us human beings. He says in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. For as the Heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

In this life, situations and conditions we view and think are unconquerable, if perceived through God’s eye rather than our human eye will shrink and become surmountable. It is necessary for us in our day-to-day affairs, to pause and peep into what God has said in His Word concerning each situation we encounter. We need to review His promises and believe in them in order to see His wondrous acts. Isaiah 53:1 puts it this way – “who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” When God reveals His ways and thoughts concerning us, let us not hesitate to believe them. Even when they seem beyond our ken, let us not question God and utter doubtful words, but rather, let us Join Mary the mother of Jesus and confess : be it unto me according to your Word- Luke 1:38. Moreover, like the man being crippled with doubts, let us appeal to God – ‘Lord I believe; Help my unbelief!’ Mark 9:24b.

The Bible tells us in 2 Kings 6:25 – 33 about a great famine that came upon Samaria, and in 2Kings 7: 1 – 20, we learn about how God gave His word of promise to the people of Samaria through His servant Elisha : "Hear the word of the LORD. This is what the LORD says: About this time tomorrow, a seah of flour will sell for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel at the gate of Samaria." However, we are told an officer who worked for the King, doubted and said –‘Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?’ Elisha replied and said to the doubtful officer – “In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it” True to the words of God’s servant Elisha, the next day, by miraculous means, a seah of flour sold for a shekel and two seahs of barley for a shekel. Consequently, an accident occurred that day – the doubtful officer was trampled upon at the gate of Samaria and he died. He indeed saw God’s promise fulfilled but did not partake of it because of his doubts and unbelief.

What lesson can we learn from the above? With God, all things are possible! Desist from ever undermining God’s abilities. Whenever a promise from God appears unattainable in the human sense, rather than dismiss it altogether, hope against all hope and join aboard the plane of faith that can fly you to the higher altitude, where you can clearly see as God sees. All Power belongs to God! You can choose to see the mountain or the miracle; the possibility or impossibility; the problems or the answers; the Godly truth or the human fact.

You can decide to soar with God or crawl in human doubt and fear. The choice is yours!

POSITIVE CONFESSIONS

2009-07-04T19:12:00.010+01:00

YES WE CAN Romans 4:17b - "... even God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did."

According to the Bible, God created the world with His words. The Book of Genesis explicitly reveals this - "Then God said, 'let there be light', and there was light." Awesome this is! Since we were made in God's image, likewise the human race has the ability to create incredible things out of nothing, by merely using words. As ridiculous as this may sound, great achievers have left their footprints in the sands of time wearing the efficacy or fruits of the truth that words carry creative power.

I once read about an experiment that was carried on two seedlings. They were both planted separately. One was showered daily with praises such as 'you are beautiful.' It indeed grew to be beautiful and bore nice flowers. On the contrary, the other was daily showered with negative words such as ' you are such an ugly stalk.' It sprung up into an ugly stalk, withered and died. This experiment confirms the power of words. Words indisputably can create!

The phrase 'Yes we can' run through Barack Obama's campaign for the US Presidency in2008. Many disputed that America could ever have a black President. Yet this phrase -'yes we can' believed and continually spoken by Barack Obama did bear fruits of his dream to become the President of America.I bet he saw it mentally, believed it, spoke it and lived its reality. Obama's belief and words -'yes we can' urged him to embark on a good campaign that led to the realisation of his great dream. What you think in your heart is what you will become. Proverbs 23:7 does not mince words as it puts it plainly - 'as he(a man) thinketh in his heart so is he.' You become what you think on, and what you think in your heart is what comes out of your mouth. Jesus explained this by declaring that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks - Matthew 12:34b.

A typical example of how our words can determine the course of our lives is depicted in the lives of the Biblical characters Caleb and Joshua. In the book of Numbers chapters 13 and 14, Moses sent out spies to survey the land God had promised them. Caleb who was one of the spies brought back a positive report saying - ' Let us go at once and take possession for we are well able to overcome it .' However the rest of the spies(except Joshua)disagreed and spread fear amongst the Israelites that they were unable to conquer the giants of the land, as they appeared like grasshoppers before them. Caleb and Joshua were nearly stoned for their positive confessions. In accordance to their confessions, Numbers 14: 36 - 38 records that among all the spies sent by Moses, it was only Caleb and Joshua that God allowed to live. The rest perished and were unable to enter the promised land. Joshua after the death of Moses led the Israelites to the promised land, and in the book of Joshua chapters 14 and 15, we read about how Caleb possessed the promised land.

The book of Proverbs completes it all by teaching us that ' death and life are in the power of the tongue and those who like it will eat of its fruit. In simple terms, the words you speak can either give life (positive things) or bring about death ( negative things). You shall have whatever you believe and speak so exercise restraint in your choice of words. I wish you all the best!

GOD'S GUIDANCE

2009-06-26T22:59:00.015+01:00

THE BALL AND CHAIN RELEASE

It is common practice in slave trade to chain slaves to restrict and monitor their movements. It has been said that long ago slaves were chained to rocky- shaped balls and hence could move as far as the ball permitted the chain, thus the saying - 'being released on ball and chain', depicting any controlling factor. God's word serves as a yardstick for us.It lays out for us the limits in life, and teaches us which way to go. Unlike slaves who have no liberty,we in Christ Jesus have great liberty. This is because we follow God's word ( Psalm 119 : 45), and also because we reside in the presence of the Holy Spirit - for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty ( 2 Corinthians 3: 17)

In this evil world where we have found ourselves , wrong is mostly exalted, and evil ways are at times applauded. God's ways often times are considered boring and prudish. We are in a free world, but not every path available to us must be walked on. To know where to go,or how far we can go with various things, we need to make a reference to God's Word, for it serves as the ball that tells the safety of any distance walked; The ball that designates safe and unsafe paths, and warns of steps that will lead to downfalls or doom. The Psalmist said of God's word: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path - Psalm 119: 105. We need God's word to show us the way we must walk in ,to avoid being devoured by the enemy. David cried out in Psalm 27:11 - Teach me thy way O Lord, and lead me in a plain path because of my enemies. Psalm 119 : 133 reads - order my steps in thy word and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. The liberty we have in God is the liberty His Word and Spirit has marked out for us. We are at liberty as long as we allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit. Romans 8: 13 - 14 reads - 'For if ye live after the flesh , ye shall die. But if ye through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.'

There is a way that seems right unto man, but the end of it is death-Proverbs 16:25. In this life, we are continually faced with making decisions. Our daily decisions can make or mar us. In order to choose the right paths and make the correct decisions, we must allow the Holy Spirit to play His role as the guide in our lives. The ball was a guide to slaves as it subtly told how far to go, or where to actually walk in. The death described in the above scriptures : Romans 8 :13 and Proverbs 16:25 is not death in the physical sense, but literally it means a place of condemnation, error, doom and/or anywhere sinful actions can lead us. Slaves needed the guidance the ball gave, we as Christians imperatively need the leadings of God's Word and the Holy Spirit. As freed slaves of sin, we in Christ Jesus however must continue to be tied to God's word and be sensitive to the leadings and teachings of the Holy Spirit in order to be released to the right places and unto Godly things.

Dealing with Hurt

2009-06-19T04:44:00.016+01:00

Bitterness is like poison. You will be mistaken to assume you can take it in, but not have it harm you. Gina Bello

DEALING WITH HURT

It has never been an easy thing handpicking the pieces of a broken drinking glass or an egg. The human heart is no different when it is broken. Some of us can identify with that crashing feeling that comes with disappointments. Others are familiar with the emptiness of a love-lorn state. It hurts when someone we love dearly; trust so completely, and are totally loyal to betray us incredibly. Hurt can develop into fear; grow into anger, or stew into depression. It is essential to deal with any hurt feelings you may have.

Below are a few suggestions as to how to handle hurt:
Face It ! To be able to come out of a hurtful experience and be wholesome emotionally and mentally, it is prudent to resolve to face the situation squarely. Running away from the hurt is evading reality. This does not aid recovery but rather jeopardises it.There's no need sweeping anything under the carpet. You have been hurt, and it is necessary accepting this. To live in denial is assuaging but is a deception of the highest order. One cannot run away from reality. Sooner or later the scales will fall off, and the dress rehearsal will end. You are on a live show, so do away with all airy fairy acting and see things as they actually are. Facing the hurt you are feeling is a majestic step towards recovery.

Find Support No man is an island. We all need somebody to lean on in life. When hurt,getting a human shoulder to cry on, or a human ear to voice out your hurt feelings to can go a long way to make you feel better. It is healing to find someone you are comfortable with, and to actually let down your hair as you share your emptiness. So don't hold back. Cry when you want to, off load your anger and frustration, if any. All these are steps towards recovery. Contrarily, do not spend all your time, energy and future days looking for an understanding ear( some kind of agony aunt) to perpetually pour your hurt into.

You Must Move On! You can also turn to God for support through prayer. He understands perfectly the language of pain and tears.

Eschew Fault Finding and Bitterness It is not advisable to go on a fault finding trip. This may only compound your frustration and open the door for the entrance of bitter feelings. Avoid the temptation of drinking poison. Bitterness is a poison many people drink and amusingly expect the other person, that is the cause of their pain, to die instead. Don't be decieved - poison is poison! You will be mistaken to assume you can take it in but not have it harm you.

Improve Yourself Instead of planning a revenge, think of a lucrative activity or something profitable to invest your energies into. Do something worthwhile - improve yourself! A story is told of two young ladies who were spurned by their lovers, hence were broken hearted. One committed suicide right away. But the other wrote a song out of her experience that became a hit. She made a lot of money out of her situation by her great innovation. So you see, some misfortunes are blessings in disguise. Kindly take a cue from this story and channel your energy into a fruitful venture.

Study something new; or acquire a skill, or better still give back to society through voluntary work, for example. To climax it all, let us look at a Biblical character and learn from how he handled hurt. Joseph in the book of Genesis faced a situation in which he had every reason to be bitter. He had been sold by his own brothers into slavery. His brothers also feigned his death. Joseph obviously was hurt by their actions but he continued to serve the Lord and availed himself for God to use mightily, even whilst in prison. He did not allow the hurt he felt to consume him. He rose above it! When he had an opportunity to confront his brothers, he faced his hurt squarely by crying uncontrollably. However, he did not go fault finding, but rather made a significant remark - " You meant it for evil but God meant it for good." This statement was what Joseph's success revolved around. All through his hurt, I suppose he saw the brighter side of things. Hope stirred in his heart as he visualised the good that could come his way. He did not relent, but kept alive a flame of hope and a sense of purpose in life. This finally led to his exaltation, and is worth our emulation.

Dear one, if and when you are hurt, face the pain squarely and seek support. Do not go fault finding, but rather build yourself up and add value to your life. Make sure you do not wallow in bitterness, as in so doing you will imprison your progress. Bitterness is poisonous - do not drink it!

THE GUILTY JUDGE

2009-06-12T13:07:00.009+01:00

Judge not, that ye be not judged - Matthew 7 :1

A song writer once wrote - " We're quick to notice the faults in others, but the wrongs in our own lives we often deny." How very true this is! Many human beings do not like to be criticised, but are great critics themselves. When observing, it is easy to spot mistakes, loopholes and anything below perfection. However, only a few can actually swap positions with the one being observed and not produce similar or even poorer results. It is absurd and foolish for a man to say to his brother - 'let me take the speck out of your eye,' whilst he himself has a log in his own eye. What a cheek! Yet almost all of us are, or have been found guilty of this wrong doing.

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 8 vrs 1 - 11, Jesus was confronted with a woman accused of having committed adultery. The accused woman was surrounded by self-made judges who were ready to stone her to death. Jesus, knowing all of the self-pronounced judges were themselves guilty , wisely asked the one without sin to throw the first stone. One by one they dropped their stones and retreated. The obvious reason being the dawning of their own sinful ways. I bet at that hour their minds replayed scenes of theft, adultery, lying, and the ugliest of sins they had committed in the past. Their own guilt stopped them in their tracks. The very judges of evil were guilty of evil doing! Jesus showed us in a profound way why we should not be quick at judging others.

Matthew 5:7 declares - blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. We are all fallible, so must deal gently with wrong doers. Which man can say - ' I am without sin, or have never done wrong '? 1 John 1:8 puts it this way -" If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Whoever claims to be a spotless man with no blemish whatsoever, is described by the word of God as a liar, and permit me to add, is in pathetic denial. When King David committed adultery and murder, God sent his servant Nathan to him. Being wise, Nathan did not judge or rebuke the King upfront, but played back David's sin before him with a tale. David, like most of us, evaded mercy, and in a judge's robe was angry that someone had acted so inappropriately. He verbally sentenced the poor soul to death. Ironically,he placed a death sentence on himself. When the scales finally fell off his eyes, surprisingly, God did not place on David his own pronounced death sentence. He rather dealt with the king in mercy.

As guilty ones, we need mercy. Therefore let us take off our garments as judges, and clad ourselves with mercy. As we emit mercy, mercy will be shown to us. The next time you are tempted to judge someone, remember your own short comings and the mercy you will need to be shown to you. Deal gently and mercifully with the guilty. For mercy will be measured out to you in the same measure you render it to others. Please reflect on this line of verse : Romans 2:1 - Therefore , thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou judgest doest the same things.

THE SELL–BY AND EXPIRY DATES

2009-06-07T13:09:00.003+01:00

It is imperative to look at the sell-by date on food we buy from the supermarket. And even after buying a pack of canned foods for instance, and using part of them, it is inexcusable if after some days or months, we pick the rest up, with no inkling of its expiry date, and just use them. As our wild imaginations can fathom, the repercussions of such careless behaviour could be catastrophic – food poisoning, stomach upsets, and the like. The fact that a can of food from a pack was suitable for consumption some days back, does not necessarily make the rest of the pack consumable in the now. They may have exceeded their expiry dates.

The same scenario applies to the Word of God. When God rained manna from above for the Israelites, He cautioned them to only take what was sufficient for that very day. When they disobeyed and took more than was needed, the extra manna had maggots in them at the dawn of a new day, and they stank - Exodus16: 15–20. These stinking manna were supposedly expired. Just like collecting manna on each new day, God wants us to come to His feet at the birth of each day, to receive a Word from Him to strengthen us on that very day. Yesterday’s word may be inappropriate for today, and may not actually solve today’s issues. We daily need brand new messages.

His ways are not our ways, and we cannot assume where He is directing us, or which instructions He has for us. His strategy for tackling seemingly same issues can differ on the scale of time. This can be seen in 2Samuel 15:17-25. The Philistines came up, seeking after David, and spread themselves in the valley of Rephaim. When David inquired from the Lord whether he should go after them, God answered in the affirmative. David obeyed and was victorious. However, for a second time the Philistines came up against David. He did not reach out for God’s old instructions and immediately go after the Philistines in the valley of Rephaim. Instead, he sought God afresh and inquired of what to do. To my amazement, God gave him a different instruction altogether – one of a strategic ambush. As David walked in obedience to this new direction, he triumphed!

We need to walk closely with God, following after Him each day, and inquiring from Him every step of this pilgrimage. His word of direction about a matter or incident can differ from time to time. God’s directions can have a sell-by date. And like the rest of the pack of canned food, we must not simply assume they are edible. We must consult with the manufacturer by glancing at their expiry dates. In the same vein, God being our manufacturer has sell-by and expiry dates for His directions, and needs to be consulted all the time in our walk of life. Just as God later directed the Israelites to eat manna collected on the sixth day on the Sabbath – the seventh day (Exodus 16: 22-24), so will He let us know when we inquire from Him daily, if and when to fall back on a word of direction we received in the past. Till we do this, we will be prone to mishaps and stinking experiences as a result of relying on expired directions, or on messages from the Lord, which have passed their sell-by dates.

Don’t be careless in your walk of faith. Don’t ignore the sell-by and expiry dates! Buy a fresh word from the ovens of Heaven today!

THE MOST POWERFUL DETERGENT

2009-06-01T14:34:00.006+01:00

I had a wonderful friend who was taken into glory at a very tender age. We had our good times, but as is common with most friendships, we had our bad days as well. Yet in the face of death, I sat down to ponder and to see if I could recollect anything I held against my friend. I had a sheet of paper in my hand, but believe me; there was nothing I put down on that sheet. As the cruelty of death stared me in the face, I realised that the love I had for my friend was all that remained, nothing she had done wrong mattered again. Indeed, LOVE COVERS A MULTITUDE OF SIN: 1Peter 4:8

The love of God is so strong that it moved Him to send His only begotten Son to die for us a shameful death that cleanses us from all sin. God’s love has served as a detergent in the sinful lives of men. Our sin, as stains on us, are wiped off with the simple act of love that Jesus showed to us on the cross. 1John 3:16a declares

‘ hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us.’ We live in a world where we often collide with offences. Some people deliberately offend us, whilst others offend us without even knowing. Offences can lead to bitter feelings which can defile us – Hebrews 12:15. The antidote for bitterness is having God’s love so fill our hearts that no offence can survive in our presence. If we allow God’s love to emanate from us, it will serve as a detergent that will wipe off offences and prevent bitter feelings. Just as Steven, we will be able to say of them that offend us – ‘‘Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.’’ And like Jesus, we shall say of them that persecute and cause us pain – ‘‘Forgive them, for they know not what they do.’’

The truth is, if we learn not to directly attack the people that offend us. If we will allow ourselves to grasp the understanding that they attack us in their ignorance, and perceive who is actually behind the offences – the power of evil – we will then learn to fight situations that offend us with weapons that are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Love is an example of such a non-carnal weapon. The love of God causes offences to become bearable. It covers multitudes of sin. When we get to a stage where we live in love, we shall feel less offended, and should we even be offended, love will enable us handle it appropriately. 1John 3:14-16 admonishes us to love our brethren as this depicts we have passed from death to life; that we understand Christ’s sacrifice for us; and have a deeper revelation of God’s love.

In conclusion, we must lay our lives down for others, as Steven did by emulating Christ. Love is the key to opening this sacrificial lifestyle. It causes us to see beyond the evil men do to us, and equips us to show kindness in spite of offences. Love is not easily provoked, suffers long and bears all things.

THE PERFECT IMPERFECT

2009-05-29T09:06:00.002+01:00

The room for improvement has no egress; all it has is an entrance; and in there, you can always see the horizon! Gina Bello

THE PERFECT IMPERFECT

Philippians 3 vs12 – Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Vs 13 – Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.

Vs 14 – I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Each and every one of us may harbour a dream, be filled with a desire, or have set resolutions or goals to attain. In the pursuit of these, we may come headlong with failing moments – obstacles of progress, or our own hindering blunders. Being fallible, we fumble and almost perpetually have to face our imperfection, as it gapes daily at us. This can be frustrating, especially when progress and accomplishment appear afar off. On the contrary, we may have a feather in our cap – accomplishments that can be traced to us. However, should we even have made great progress, there is still an insatiable desire in man to achieve more than he already has. A need to produce better results, or explore a new thing/area altogether. We are therefore daily hoping to approach a perfect end – staggering or with a stride.

Paul in the above scriptural verses, after asserting his imperfection, uses exemplary teaching to encourage us not to lose heart. We must endeavour to fight on until our dreams materialise. In pressing on, it will be prudent to set goals, readily put measures in place to get us to our goal/destination, to organise ourselves, and to work steadily to achieve our aim. Whether succeeding or failing, we must dream on! When a man stops dreaming, he dies! We should have something to live for; to look up to each day. In case we are drained out, with no purpose to focus on, we can pray to God to help us birth a new dream, as there is a reason for our being on earth. We must strive to fulfill our destiny.

It is expedient to leave the past behind in order to embrace the future. We must deliberately part with our very past – shame and/or glories. We should have the mindset to rise from every fall; to dream again; to not wallow in our successes as we may gloat and be bloated with pride and explode together with our very achievements.

Philippians 3:15a – Let us therefore as many as be PERFECT, be thus minded. This is the ultimate! As imperfect as we are, our beings are lined with elements of perfection. We are God’s perfect creation in imperfect jars of clay. Our perfection lies in our ability to accept our imperfection, and reach out to God for strength to make an impact with our lives – just as we are! We should persevere and fight to accomplish our dreams. We must learn to put the past behind us and expect the sun to shine on each new day. We need to fill our hearts with faith and hope for tomorrow, and depend on God to cause us to smile. Once we are able to do all of the above, we shall become perfect imperfects – the handiworks of a perfect creator!

SILENCE IS GOLDEN

2009-05-27T11:19:00.008+01:00

Proverbs 17:28 - Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.

I can vividly remember one quiet evening; I had cried my eyes out. I was down in the dumps, feeling so empty and troubled at heart. I had been continuously ill, had missed a lot of lectures, and was living in fear that I was accursed. My roommate had attempted consoling me; she kept on babbling about why I needed to be strong and cease crying. How it was wrong for me to behave as though God was not on my side, and how I needed to take my mind off my present condition. All she said was mere noise in my ears. To me, she was rubbing it in. Her words felt like a knife that was turning in my wound. I wanted to scream at her to shut up, but there was no strength in me. I was virtually spent. All I could do was cry out my emptiness, which I did passionately. 'No one understands,' I kept mumbling.

Then a cousin of mine popped in to visit. He saw I was distressed and came to sit by me, he didn't utter a word, and all he did was give me a hug. As he held me, I let out uncontrollable sobs, he rubbed my back and said repeatedly -'all is well.' I felt tremendously consoled. Within minutes, I’d wiped my eyes, and started to share my emptiness in words. He listened attentively. His silence and rendered attention meant so much to me. I felt a new surge of strength within me. I suddenly felt ready to move on. This day taught me a vital lesson that silence consoles and is golden.

There are times that we are put in a difficult position of having to comfort someone mourning. Such times are precious and our words and actions can ease or add to their pain. When we are not certain of what to say; when they already know all we can say, let's learn to sit silently with them. Such silent re-assurance speaks volumes. Words can be cumbersome when we are mourning. But there is a comforting touch in silence shared in love. God loves Jesus, but when Christ was on the cross, God was silent. There wasn't much He could say to ease Jesus' pain at that moment. The pain Jesus was facing was much needed, as much as it tore at God's heart, He could only console Him in silence. There is a pain no man can heal except the Spirit of God. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will be our comforter. When we have to console someone, let's ask God's Spirit to help us. In doing so, He'll give us the words to say, or will simply beckon to us to silently console or mourn with our loved ones.

The power of silence to console is beyond our comprehension. We must discern when to exercise this power, and explore its wonders. Ecclesiastes 3:7b - There is a time... to be silent and a time to speak.

THE MAP

2009-05-26T11:13:00.003+01:00

We indeed are in a battle, a battle where we cannot see far on our own. We cannot see far if we stand with the devil because he blindfolds us and ensures we bask in deceit. When we stand with God, He shows us what He thinks is useful to us at each point in time. He reveals what is essential. As we seek Him continually, He leads us besides still waters. There is something about God's leading; He leads us in ways in which we need wisdom to understand. We can only perceive His will when we understand God's language. There are times that God will show you much about your future, there are other times he would not show you certain aspects of your future until you get there.

Sampson and John the Baptist had their births and purposes announced. Moses had to grow past 40 to know his purpose. I guess he had no inkling who he was. We cannot always be too sure what God wants us to do in the near future. We must not be too sure we know it all for He can surprise us like he did the people of Israel, when he changed from the old covenant to the new covenant. The Israelites failed to perceive the change of direction, because they were hooked to a particular perception as to how God wanted them to lead their lives. We must be flexible in God's hands, so He can lead us wherever He feels there's need for us to be.

Our lives are mapped before Him, but He gives us the end, and reveals the actual contents in dribs and drabs. We will be fooled to know the end and assume the way, and think we know all about our lives. There may be things God is about to use you for that you have never heard from anywhere. You must draw closer to Him, and like relying on a map, rely solely on Him. Search within you and find out some of the passions you had when you had your first love. Most of them are pointers to certain aspects of your future. God gave you a prayer unction in those times for a purpose, and a hunger for His word for a purpose. You can only know from God for what purpose He has called you. We are deceived to think the work of God is for some 'called' people. But dear, God used the woman at the well to spread the good news, and God used Philip and Steven. God has mightily used available people through the pages of History. God is gathering his own and calling them together to stand in their respective ranks as in Joel 2. Please find your place in this army, because whoever happens to be in the wrong place can be badly harmed by the foes.

Let me end by telling you about the worth of obeying God. Whenever you sense God tugging at your heart to do something, do not hesitate, obey God pronto! Because you may not know the danger ahead. Juanita Bynum told us about a major conference she was supposed to hold. Thousands had paid for it, and they had spent thousands of dollars to plan it all. Then at the eleventh hour God told her to cancel it. She was openly confronted by her co-workers who were agitated by her decision. But she stuck to her guts. On the set date there was a hurricane that killed lots of people. The selected rented place for the conference was the first to be evacuated. The hurricane continued for days and ended on the set last day of the conference. If she hadn't obeyed God, a lot of God's children would have died pre-maturely. Let this story minister to you about the essence of obeying God. Let him that has ears hear what the Spirit is saying!!!

YOU CAN'T CHANGE THE PAST BUT CAN DESIGN TODAY

2009-05-26T11:12:00.003+01:00

Isaiah 43 :18 -19 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

We cannot continue to cry over spilt milk. Neither can we continue to wake the dead. Somethings cannot be reversed, try as we will. We can only accept them, and continue from there. Is it a relationship that ended abruptly? Are you still angry over a loss? Planning a revenge? Wanting to prove a point to someone that offended you?

There may be innumerable and varied reasons why someone is brooding over the past. Waiting to hatch an egg that may not even be present. No matter how logical your reason may be, or how engrossed you are with your past, it definetely would not add to today. Because fact is, merely paying attention to what was or could have been, is no way of building what is.

What is done today is what can determine what will be tomorrow. So instead of wasting away on interactions with the past, begin to design today, and take control of tomorrow. There is nothing wrong with allowing the past to reprimand you, but don't let it stifle you. Learn from it and move on to designing a better today. Your very input today will bring beauty to your life. Therefore focus on today, on what you can do to make it beautiful, in spite of your yesterday.

DON'T LOOK BACK

2009-05-26T11:04:00.002+01:00

Many of us are familiar with the story of Lot's wife. When God rescued Lot and his family from the sin -torn Sodom and Gomorrah, the angel of the Lord instructed them not to look back - Genesis 19 : 15 - 26.

Lot's wife was probably obsessed with the seemingly glories of Sodom that she was tempted to look back, and turned into a pillar of salt. In our own lives, we may have made accomplishments, attained numerous qualifications, or even secured ample possessions. However, like Lot's wife, God is asking us not to look back at these glories of the past, in order to be able to enter into His promise for the now. Our destination is still ahead.

God is the one leading us into His glorious inheritance. He daily loads us with benefits. The manna for today is not from the dregs of yesterday' s manna, but is freshly given us each day. We must therefore thank God for yesterday's manna, and believe Him for today's. Unless, we learn to part with all that we glory in from the past, we will become complacent and our growth and progress stagnated, just like the pillar of salt Lot's wife turned into.

Praise God for Sodom and Gomorrah, for His deliverance, blessings and provision, but mentally and wholeheartedly leave behind the glories of Sodom, so you can embrace God's inheritance.