“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word WAS God.” John 1:1
Jesus is the Word made flesh. He is the beginning and the end because He is God, and nothing in this world, underneath or above, was made without Him, including the things that people have ascribed to themselves as their inventions. Without Him, nothing was made that has not been made.
Jesus’ was coming was to bring in hope to a world lost in darkness. That is why John the Baptist came as a witness to this hope; to introduce the world to the Light and hope of Life in the darkness. This Life that is Christ. That is who Jesus is. Bringing God’s love into a world that was starved of hope and granting some the grace to be called Children of God.
He came to the world which He created in His Splendor and Majesty, but the world did not recognize Him and so rejected Him. However, for those who were granted the grace to believe in Him and accept Him, He brought them the message of grace and truth, stamping out the law of Moses, introducing them to an everlasting love, and giving them the right to be called children of God.
Jesus is Grace and Truth, which He has given to a world pregnant with darkness as a source of Life, Hope and Salvation. All He wants is that we believe in Him and accept Him, and He will do the rest of the hard work, of enabling us to see in this darkness. He is waiting with outstretched arms to introduce you to an undying, unfailing love. Jesus is LOVE.
Wednesday 28 December 2011
Sunday 25 December 2011
Tuesday 9 August 2011
FAITH AND/OR OBEDIENCE (PART 2)
Yesterday's blog post was on Naaman and Abraham and the execution of their faith and obedience to the instructions of the Lord. There were some parallels which were drawn in the lives of these two Bible personalities, which were important in demonstrating to us the extent of God's faithfulness when we have faith and obey Him. This is just a continuation of what was discussed in the previous post and I pray that God speaks to hearts and answers questions through this post.
I intend for this to be a short piece because I want it to be very straight-forward. Hebrews 11:1 defines what faith is. This could be faith in whatever and whomever but I choose this definition of faith in this verse to be a representation of the faith I have in God the Almighty. I hope that He is your choice also. Obedience, according to the Encarta Dictionary is the act of following rules and instructions and submitting to authority. So at least now that we have a perspective of both words, I hope we can delve into the matter at hand.
I wish to point out to you that having faith like that of Abraham without looking back, complaining or grumbling leads to automatic obedience, just like what we see in Genesis, in relation to Abraham and Isaac. Abraham required no persuasion to obey the Lord's instructions because he trusted in the Lord whom he served. On the contrary, one can be obedient but not have faith and this is what we observe in the case of Naaman. I doubt he would even have ended up in the River Jordan if Elisha's servant hadn't persuaded him. In Naaman's case, his obedience resulted in his faith in the Lord, while Abraham's faith in the Lord led to his obedience in the Lord. So what would have happened if Naaman had not obeyed?
Having faith is the most important key in our walk with the Lord and in the unleashing of His blessings upon our lives. This is because our faith, like that of Abraham, is an automatic assurance of our obedience in the Lord, because when we trust in the Lord, we give Him the reins of our lives, knowing in our hearts that He will not disappoint. Naaman could have refused to dip in the Jordan River, in spite of the persuasion he had received and what would have been the outcome? Basically, what God is telling us through the stories of these men is that it is safer for us to have our trust in God and then obey Him, rather than obey Him, which will hopefully lead to our faith in Him when He comes through for us.
You see the risk in obeying without faith is that: what if God does not come through for us at the time we choose to obey Him? Does that mean that we will never believe in the goodness of the Lord? This is serious oh!!! It is not safe at all!!! The safest and wisest approach, I believe, is to cultivate our faith in the abilities of the King of Kings so that the obedience to His instructions will be the by-product of that faith, so that the floodgates of Heaven will pour out blessings upon our lives and save the things we find dear.
Naaman was blessed in actually coming to believe in the goodness of the Lord, but please do not take that risk! Faith is more important. Do you have faith in the Lord?
God bless you!!!
I intend for this to be a short piece because I want it to be very straight-forward. Hebrews 11:1 defines what faith is. This could be faith in whatever and whomever but I choose this definition of faith in this verse to be a representation of the faith I have in God the Almighty. I hope that He is your choice also. Obedience, according to the Encarta Dictionary is the act of following rules and instructions and submitting to authority. So at least now that we have a perspective of both words, I hope we can delve into the matter at hand.
I wish to point out to you that having faith like that of Abraham without looking back, complaining or grumbling leads to automatic obedience, just like what we see in Genesis, in relation to Abraham and Isaac. Abraham required no persuasion to obey the Lord's instructions because he trusted in the Lord whom he served. On the contrary, one can be obedient but not have faith and this is what we observe in the case of Naaman. I doubt he would even have ended up in the River Jordan if Elisha's servant hadn't persuaded him. In Naaman's case, his obedience resulted in his faith in the Lord, while Abraham's faith in the Lord led to his obedience in the Lord. So what would have happened if Naaman had not obeyed?
Having faith is the most important key in our walk with the Lord and in the unleashing of His blessings upon our lives. This is because our faith, like that of Abraham, is an automatic assurance of our obedience in the Lord, because when we trust in the Lord, we give Him the reins of our lives, knowing in our hearts that He will not disappoint. Naaman could have refused to dip in the Jordan River, in spite of the persuasion he had received and what would have been the outcome? Basically, what God is telling us through the stories of these men is that it is safer for us to have our trust in God and then obey Him, rather than obey Him, which will hopefully lead to our faith in Him when He comes through for us.
You see the risk in obeying without faith is that: what if God does not come through for us at the time we choose to obey Him? Does that mean that we will never believe in the goodness of the Lord? This is serious oh!!! It is not safe at all!!! The safest and wisest approach, I believe, is to cultivate our faith in the abilities of the King of Kings so that the obedience to His instructions will be the by-product of that faith, so that the floodgates of Heaven will pour out blessings upon our lives and save the things we find dear.
Naaman was blessed in actually coming to believe in the goodness of the Lord, but please do not take that risk! Faith is more important. Do you have faith in the Lord?
God bless you!!!
Monday 8 August 2011
FAITH AND/OR OBEDIENCE (PART 1)
Hi guys, I know it has been a while since my last post. However, I have been thinking about this particular post for quite some time and I hope that God speaks to some hearts through this post to the glory of His Name. This is intended to talk about the parallels between two very important personalities in the Bible: Naaman and Abraham, and how their walk/encounter with the Most High changed their lives as a result of their faith and/or obedience.
I am sure most of us are familiar with the famous Sunday School stories about Abraham, found in Genesis, and Naaman, found in 2 Kings (please lend a few minutes to take a look at these stories). My main focus, today, is going to be on how these men reacted to the instructions that they were given by God, and what the outcome of their faith and/or obedience was.
So allow me to just give a brief summary of the portion of the lives of these men that I wish to address, as told by the Bible. Abraham was a man whose walk with the Almighty was so entrenched in faith that he willingly obeyed God's instruction to sacrifice his one and only beloved son, whom he had waited for till his 100th year to have; the one who was supposed to be the heir to all his belongings; the one who was to carry on the legacy of Abraham's lineage. Yes, that son was the one chosen to be sacrificed. Not Ishmael the least loved one oh, but the most cherished, adored and appreciated one, Isaac. Our dear "Father of all Nations", does not utter a single word of complaint or frustration at God; neither does he grumble or curse for such a hefty task. He simply obeys and goes on his way to do what he has been commanded.
On the other hand, let's have a look at Naaman. At the beginning of 2 Kings 5, Naaman is given a lot of accolades because of his achievements. However, the "but" that immediately ends his praise is very instrumental in hinting at the pathetic situation that Naaman lived in. He had everything BUT he was a leper, which was terribly disgraceful and abominable at the time. Thank God he was rich! Fortunately for him, Naaman is told about a prophet of the Lord, Elisha, who can cure him of his disease, obviously in the Name and by the Power of God. So he sets off in search of this man. Interestingly enough, Naaman is told to dip into the River Jordan 7 times so that his flesh will be restored. Now tell me, isn't this one of the simplest tasks in the world? Naaman is required to do nothing out of the ordinary to be healed of this disease; mind you a very unfortunate skin ailment that he must have been desperate to get rid of. Ironically, big man Naaman simply cannot do this because he is too big a man to step into the muddy, smelly, dirty river of Jordan to wash himself. After all he has only leprosy! Indeed! So he is own his way home, but returns, until he is persuaded to do what he was told. Lo and behold, Naaman emerges with skin as smooth and lovely as that of a baby.
In these two stories, both men were blessed. But one was required to sacrifice that blessing which was so dear to him, while the other sacrificed his blessings willingly in the hope of receiving a newer, more important blessing. Therefore, through it all, we are able to witness the saving grace of our Faithful Father, who only wants our faith and obedience. We see that Abraham portrayed the true essence of having faith in the only God, which transcended to his obedience in Him, since the God that he trusted was not one to fail him. Contrastingly, Naaman did not have faith in the healing power of our God, neither did he initially obey, till he was persuaded and cleansed, then he finally, admitted his belief that there is no greater God but Jehovah Jireh (2 Kings 5:15b).
I hope you are understanding the drift of events because it is important that we know the importance of the works that our faith in God and our obedience to His instructions can achieve. Abraham had faith that God did not intend to harm him and so obeyed him, no matter how "absurd" the command was. Thankfully, our Faithful Daddy was only testing Abraham's faith, and so Isaac was saved. As a result, God's promise that Abraham will have descendants who will be as numerous as the sand on the seashore was fulfilled, and here we are now! This is all the work of faith and obedience.
Contrarily, Naaman did not have faith in God, neither did he want to obey God. However, events led to events and then he finally decided to dip into the river, maybe not because of his faith that he will be healed, but because he was desperate to try anything. That is why after he was healed he admitted his new faith in the God of Israel. He was saved through God's miraculous Hand, since in the end he was obedient to the words of the Lord.
Sometimes God works in ways such that by obeying Him, our faith in Him will grow from grace to grace. I intend to talk more about Naaman and Abraham in relation to faith and obedience later on, however, it will be for your own good that you study the lives of these two influential personalities in the Bible and allow the Lord to guide you to the reach His conclusions in His own time. As you meditate on the Word, continue to learn from the word and make it a part of your life. Living for Christ always!!! God bless you!!!
I am sure most of us are familiar with the famous Sunday School stories about Abraham, found in Genesis, and Naaman, found in 2 Kings (please lend a few minutes to take a look at these stories). My main focus, today, is going to be on how these men reacted to the instructions that they were given by God, and what the outcome of their faith and/or obedience was.
So allow me to just give a brief summary of the portion of the lives of these men that I wish to address, as told by the Bible. Abraham was a man whose walk with the Almighty was so entrenched in faith that he willingly obeyed God's instruction to sacrifice his one and only beloved son, whom he had waited for till his 100th year to have; the one who was supposed to be the heir to all his belongings; the one who was to carry on the legacy of Abraham's lineage. Yes, that son was the one chosen to be sacrificed. Not Ishmael the least loved one oh, but the most cherished, adored and appreciated one, Isaac. Our dear "Father of all Nations", does not utter a single word of complaint or frustration at God; neither does he grumble or curse for such a hefty task. He simply obeys and goes on his way to do what he has been commanded.
On the other hand, let's have a look at Naaman. At the beginning of 2 Kings 5, Naaman is given a lot of accolades because of his achievements. However, the "but" that immediately ends his praise is very instrumental in hinting at the pathetic situation that Naaman lived in. He had everything BUT he was a leper, which was terribly disgraceful and abominable at the time. Thank God he was rich! Fortunately for him, Naaman is told about a prophet of the Lord, Elisha, who can cure him of his disease, obviously in the Name and by the Power of God. So he sets off in search of this man. Interestingly enough, Naaman is told to dip into the River Jordan 7 times so that his flesh will be restored. Now tell me, isn't this one of the simplest tasks in the world? Naaman is required to do nothing out of the ordinary to be healed of this disease; mind you a very unfortunate skin ailment that he must have been desperate to get rid of. Ironically, big man Naaman simply cannot do this because he is too big a man to step into the muddy, smelly, dirty river of Jordan to wash himself. After all he has only leprosy! Indeed! So he is own his way home, but returns, until he is persuaded to do what he was told. Lo and behold, Naaman emerges with skin as smooth and lovely as that of a baby.
In these two stories, both men were blessed. But one was required to sacrifice that blessing which was so dear to him, while the other sacrificed his blessings willingly in the hope of receiving a newer, more important blessing. Therefore, through it all, we are able to witness the saving grace of our Faithful Father, who only wants our faith and obedience. We see that Abraham portrayed the true essence of having faith in the only God, which transcended to his obedience in Him, since the God that he trusted was not one to fail him. Contrastingly, Naaman did not have faith in the healing power of our God, neither did he initially obey, till he was persuaded and cleansed, then he finally, admitted his belief that there is no greater God but Jehovah Jireh (2 Kings 5:15b).
I hope you are understanding the drift of events because it is important that we know the importance of the works that our faith in God and our obedience to His instructions can achieve. Abraham had faith that God did not intend to harm him and so obeyed him, no matter how "absurd" the command was. Thankfully, our Faithful Daddy was only testing Abraham's faith, and so Isaac was saved. As a result, God's promise that Abraham will have descendants who will be as numerous as the sand on the seashore was fulfilled, and here we are now! This is all the work of faith and obedience.
Contrarily, Naaman did not have faith in God, neither did he want to obey God. However, events led to events and then he finally decided to dip into the river, maybe not because of his faith that he will be healed, but because he was desperate to try anything. That is why after he was healed he admitted his new faith in the God of Israel. He was saved through God's miraculous Hand, since in the end he was obedient to the words of the Lord.
Sometimes God works in ways such that by obeying Him, our faith in Him will grow from grace to grace. I intend to talk more about Naaman and Abraham in relation to faith and obedience later on, however, it will be for your own good that you study the lives of these two influential personalities in the Bible and allow the Lord to guide you to the reach His conclusions in His own time. As you meditate on the Word, continue to learn from the word and make it a part of your life. Living for Christ always!!! God bless you!!!
Saturday 23 July 2011
PETTY OR PLENTY???
I was reading Psalm 33 and I came across the verses, 16-19. And it just got me thinking about the number of things we have that we take for granted.
For example, when your parents travel you just expect them to come back. I mean that is the normal way of things. You wake up in the morning and you yawn, get out of bed and start doing the normal things that constitute your day. "Ah! Another day! Could it get any worse?!" or "Could it get any better?!". You watch TV and see a film about armed robbers attacking some house and people begging for mercy and you are like "Look at these people! They have saa oh! If only they had a gun. If it was me die3..." and you go on and on about what you will have done to the criminals if you were in that position. Yet you have never encountered something like that in your whole life. "I guess I'm just lucky!" But are you really?
The psalmist is telling us in v13-15 that: "From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth - He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do." Yes, the Lord observes us every minute of our life and sees what we do. Those times when we need Him the most and we don't even realize, which is always, He steps in. ALWAYS! Because He sees us and knows our every cry/need/want/desire, even before we ask Him for them in prayer (Ps 139:4). So yes, that is why it is easy for us to take the things we have for granted; we have so many things when we don't even ask for them. "If I don't ask but I have, doesn't that make what I have normal?" Does it really?!
I don't think so! The psalmist boldly and correctly points out the fact that "No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior can escape by his great strength." (v 16). What the psalmist is clearly saying is that the things that look like the norm and are expected by us humans, like finding food to eat, going out and returning home, all those "petty" things that happen in our lives are not by our might, strength or power (N.B. Ironically, the "petty" things are the most important ones. Think about it!). Oh, it's wonderful to have these things, but won't it be wonderful to acknowledge the One who gives them to us and not take them for granted?
v 18-22 tells us of the unfailing, compassionate love of the One who gives these "petty" things to those who trust in Him. We are told that His eyes are on us to deliver us from trouble and death, and keep us alive in times of famine (v 19). So you see, the food that we have and savour everyday, and sometimes "pose" about and turn our noses away from is given to us by God. But do we acknowledge this? When we sleep and wake up or when we go out and come back home, unscathed and unharmed, safe from death, do we acknowledge that? "Abi, these are just normal daily activities. Why bother. I'll get them again tomorrow".
I hope the Lord is speaking to you through this. Telling you that the fact that your heart beats alone and pumps blood to every organ of your body is not because you are a special human being, but it is because of His grace. When you wake up and open your eyes and see the walls of your room, it is because the Lord chose you to live for Him another day. All the Lord is telling you is simply acknowledge Him for everything, even the "normal" things that happen to us everyday, because we are not alive because of our own strength or doing, but because of grace; abundant grace so much so that it does not only keep us alive but sustains us every nanosecond of our lives.
I know it is very easy to forget to say thank you for our beating hearts and blinking eyes and hearing ears every time, but make it a point to write it somewhere so that you will always remember to thank God for them, maybe once a day or once every hour or something... but don't forget to ask God to remind you to always thank Him for the "petty". Or should I say the "plenty"...
God bless you! Live for Christ!!! <3
For example, when your parents travel you just expect them to come back. I mean that is the normal way of things. You wake up in the morning and you yawn, get out of bed and start doing the normal things that constitute your day. "Ah! Another day! Could it get any worse?!" or "Could it get any better?!". You watch TV and see a film about armed robbers attacking some house and people begging for mercy and you are like "Look at these people! They have saa oh! If only they had a gun. If it was me die3..." and you go on and on about what you will have done to the criminals if you were in that position. Yet you have never encountered something like that in your whole life. "I guess I'm just lucky!" But are you really?
The psalmist is telling us in v13-15 that: "From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth - He who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do." Yes, the Lord observes us every minute of our life and sees what we do. Those times when we need Him the most and we don't even realize, which is always, He steps in. ALWAYS! Because He sees us and knows our every cry/need/want/desire, even before we ask Him for them in prayer (Ps 139:4). So yes, that is why it is easy for us to take the things we have for granted; we have so many things when we don't even ask for them. "If I don't ask but I have, doesn't that make what I have normal?" Does it really?!
I don't think so! The psalmist boldly and correctly points out the fact that "No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior can escape by his great strength." (v 16). What the psalmist is clearly saying is that the things that look like the norm and are expected by us humans, like finding food to eat, going out and returning home, all those "petty" things that happen in our lives are not by our might, strength or power (N.B. Ironically, the "petty" things are the most important ones. Think about it!). Oh, it's wonderful to have these things, but won't it be wonderful to acknowledge the One who gives them to us and not take them for granted?
v 18-22 tells us of the unfailing, compassionate love of the One who gives these "petty" things to those who trust in Him. We are told that His eyes are on us to deliver us from trouble and death, and keep us alive in times of famine (v 19). So you see, the food that we have and savour everyday, and sometimes "pose" about and turn our noses away from is given to us by God. But do we acknowledge this? When we sleep and wake up or when we go out and come back home, unscathed and unharmed, safe from death, do we acknowledge that? "Abi, these are just normal daily activities. Why bother. I'll get them again tomorrow".
I hope the Lord is speaking to you through this. Telling you that the fact that your heart beats alone and pumps blood to every organ of your body is not because you are a special human being, but it is because of His grace. When you wake up and open your eyes and see the walls of your room, it is because the Lord chose you to live for Him another day. All the Lord is telling you is simply acknowledge Him for everything, even the "normal" things that happen to us everyday, because we are not alive because of our own strength or doing, but because of grace; abundant grace so much so that it does not only keep us alive but sustains us every nanosecond of our lives.
I know it is very easy to forget to say thank you for our beating hearts and blinking eyes and hearing ears every time, but make it a point to write it somewhere so that you will always remember to thank God for them, maybe once a day or once every hour or something... but don't forget to ask God to remind you to always thank Him for the "petty". Or should I say the "plenty"...
God bless you! Live for Christ!!! <3
Tuesday 19 July 2011
IT WAS INTENTIONAL
The story of Moses is one that has been hammered into our heads since our days in Sunday School - his birth and achievements. We all know that Moses was born during the time where Pharaoh had ordered that any male child born to a Hebrew woman be thrown into the Nile (Exodus 2:1-20). However, Moses managed to escape this execution, not because of his own strength or the strength of his mother or sister, but because God had drawn out the plans He had for Moses long before he was conceived, and was only playing them out.
God did not let Moses be born in a time where the massacre of Hebrew male children was normal for nothing. He did not command Moses' mother to make a basket for him and place it on the same river that was the burial grounds for the other children for nothing. He did not make Moses float while the others sank for nothing. He did not cause Moses to enter into the palace of the one who had ordered his execution for nothing. He did this to show us that no matter the situation we may find ourselves in, He only has good plans for us (Jer 29:11), and it is in those situations that He will be glorified. Yes! It was intentional.
Psalm 139 tells us that God knew us way before we were thought of by our parents. He tells us that He has planned out our lives for us before we were conceived. He tells us that He knows our every thoughts and actions even before we do them. Basically, what He is telling us is that everything happening to us now is not coincidental, and that He is only working out that which He ordained and wrote in His Book before we came to be (v 16). Everything about us is planned.
Let's think again about the baby whose birth got shepherds to hear angels sing, whose birth brought about a star in the sky to direct wise men to Him, who was born in a manger, who was conceived by a virgin, who was born to save mankind. All the circumstances of that baby's birth had already been laid out in Isaiah and other books, centuries before His parents were born. The plans were being laid out merely as had been prophesied. Everything that happened was the intention of the Lord.
So yes, we are experiencing God's plans for us, irrespective of its bitter sweetness. Yes, our lives are not too exciting. Yes, it is intentional. You may think your life is insignificant, your life is too hard, you are being punished way beyond what you deserve, but you are not. So rather than dwell on the immediate taste and feel of the path our lives are taking, let's dwell on the aftertaste, which we have been assured is fantastic. Let the Word guide us and let the Holy Spirit lead us to accept what God has outlined for us. Fortunately or FORTUNATELY, it is intentional and so let' make the right choice and give Him the reins to finish off what He started, because He is the Beginning and the End (Rev 22:13).
God bless you!!! Live for Christ!!! <3
God did not let Moses be born in a time where the massacre of Hebrew male children was normal for nothing. He did not command Moses' mother to make a basket for him and place it on the same river that was the burial grounds for the other children for nothing. He did not make Moses float while the others sank for nothing. He did not cause Moses to enter into the palace of the one who had ordered his execution for nothing. He did this to show us that no matter the situation we may find ourselves in, He only has good plans for us (Jer 29:11), and it is in those situations that He will be glorified. Yes! It was intentional.
Psalm 139 tells us that God knew us way before we were thought of by our parents. He tells us that He has planned out our lives for us before we were conceived. He tells us that He knows our every thoughts and actions even before we do them. Basically, what He is telling us is that everything happening to us now is not coincidental, and that He is only working out that which He ordained and wrote in His Book before we came to be (v 16). Everything about us is planned.
Let's think again about the baby whose birth got shepherds to hear angels sing, whose birth brought about a star in the sky to direct wise men to Him, who was born in a manger, who was conceived by a virgin, who was born to save mankind. All the circumstances of that baby's birth had already been laid out in Isaiah and other books, centuries before His parents were born. The plans were being laid out merely as had been prophesied. Everything that happened was the intention of the Lord.
So yes, we are experiencing God's plans for us, irrespective of its bitter sweetness. Yes, our lives are not too exciting. Yes, it is intentional. You may think your life is insignificant, your life is too hard, you are being punished way beyond what you deserve, but you are not. So rather than dwell on the immediate taste and feel of the path our lives are taking, let's dwell on the aftertaste, which we have been assured is fantastic. Let the Word guide us and let the Holy Spirit lead us to accept what God has outlined for us. Fortunately or FORTUNATELY, it is intentional and so let' make the right choice and give Him the reins to finish off what He started, because He is the Beginning and the End (Rev 22:13).
God bless you!!! Live for Christ!!! <3
Friday 15 July 2011
THE COST OF BEING A DISCIPLE
I was watching TBN some days ago and a certain pastor (I can't remember his name) was preaching about the little things that steer us off the path as we follow Christ. In his preaching he referred to Luke 14:26:
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple."
He mentioned that this verse was one of, if not the most controversial verse in the Bible because the One who told us that love is the greatest commandment of all the commandments, and that we should love our neighbours as ourselves, and that hating our brother is synonymous to murder and that we should love each other just as He loved us, is the same person telling us that we should hate our brother, family, neighbour, friend, even our life. Wow Jesus, what is it you really want us to do? Hmmm. Let's see...
This verse is only controversial when we look at it in its literal sense. It contradicts everything Jesus said when we try to understand what He was saying literally. The Bible is not called the Book of Truth for nothing. Jesus did not say He was not a liar for nothing. He said all this because it is true. Yes, He does not lie. And if we believe the Book of Truth is the truth, then I guess we have to conform to what the Book says right? Yes! So now, since we cannot look at the verse literally because it makes it seem like Jesus is contradicting Himself, which of course He is not, then we have to look at it in another way. The only other way.
Remember God told us that He IS a jealous God (Exodus 20:5) and so He does not want us to put anything before Him. Okay, I hope that has got you thinking. Now let's see. If the Bible is the Truth and God does not want us to put anyone or anything before Him, I guess that must include our brothers, family, neighbours, job, material possessions, aspiration, even our lives. I hope things are taking shape now.
Okay so hate and love are opposite poles. Agreed. But can we say that hate is a very very very very very very very extremely toned down version of love. I think that is possible. In another sense, hate can mean that you do not love as much. So now let's look at what Jesus said using what we have discovered about hate. I hope you can see the end of the tunnel now. Anywho, Jesus said we should hate the people around us and ourselves if we want to be His disciple. Does this mean that Jesus is telling us to our love for the people around us and ourselves should be very very very very very very very very very very very very extremely toned down? Absolutely. So if our love should be so toned down, then who should the excess love go to? Evidently if we are going to become His disciples and tone down our love for ourselves and the people around us, then the rest of the love should go to the person we intend to follow. Him. I think things are getting clearer now. So basically, Jesus is telling us that if we want to follow Him, then the love that we must have for other things aside Him must be considerably and I mean considerably toned down, to the extent that it is almost considered hate, in comparison. I think everything fits now. In other words, Jesus must be placed first!
Jesus was not telling us this because He is a selfish man and wants all the love in the world for Himself. He told us this because He knows how much the things around us can cause us to be distracted, and how the things we place in precedence to Him can cause us to relegate Him to the background. But the Kingdom of God does not work that way. It requires all the commitment to be able to do the work that it has been established for. So yes, Jesus did have a reason for demanding all of our dedication. This is because He understands the duty that He has set before us, and because He still loves us and wants us to have our free will, He has given us the condition, "If". He has left it to us.
Jesus understands. But do we understand? Are we willing to take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 14:27)? Can we carry the burden? Do we love Him that much to sacrifice all else? It is tough, I know. But with the strength of the Lord we can become Pauls in our own way and live our lives for Christ. It is difficult, I fully understand. I would not say that I have forsaken everything else, but I am willing to try and I hope you are to. Because the God who called us to His eternal glory will [carry us to completion and] will Himself make us strong, steadfast and firm (1Peter 5:10).
God bless you!! Live for Christ!!! <3
"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple."
He mentioned that this verse was one of, if not the most controversial verse in the Bible because the One who told us that love is the greatest commandment of all the commandments, and that we should love our neighbours as ourselves, and that hating our brother is synonymous to murder and that we should love each other just as He loved us, is the same person telling us that we should hate our brother, family, neighbour, friend, even our life. Wow Jesus, what is it you really want us to do? Hmmm. Let's see...
This verse is only controversial when we look at it in its literal sense. It contradicts everything Jesus said when we try to understand what He was saying literally. The Bible is not called the Book of Truth for nothing. Jesus did not say He was not a liar for nothing. He said all this because it is true. Yes, He does not lie. And if we believe the Book of Truth is the truth, then I guess we have to conform to what the Book says right? Yes! So now, since we cannot look at the verse literally because it makes it seem like Jesus is contradicting Himself, which of course He is not, then we have to look at it in another way. The only other way.
Remember God told us that He IS a jealous God (Exodus 20:5) and so He does not want us to put anything before Him. Okay, I hope that has got you thinking. Now let's see. If the Bible is the Truth and God does not want us to put anyone or anything before Him, I guess that must include our brothers, family, neighbours, job, material possessions, aspiration, even our lives. I hope things are taking shape now.
Okay so hate and love are opposite poles. Agreed. But can we say that hate is a very very very very very very very extremely toned down version of love. I think that is possible. In another sense, hate can mean that you do not love as much. So now let's look at what Jesus said using what we have discovered about hate. I hope you can see the end of the tunnel now. Anywho, Jesus said we should hate the people around us and ourselves if we want to be His disciple. Does this mean that Jesus is telling us to our love for the people around us and ourselves should be very very very very very very very very very very very very extremely toned down? Absolutely. So if our love should be so toned down, then who should the excess love go to? Evidently if we are going to become His disciples and tone down our love for ourselves and the people around us, then the rest of the love should go to the person we intend to follow. Him. I think things are getting clearer now. So basically, Jesus is telling us that if we want to follow Him, then the love that we must have for other things aside Him must be considerably and I mean considerably toned down, to the extent that it is almost considered hate, in comparison. I think everything fits now. In other words, Jesus must be placed first!
Jesus was not telling us this because He is a selfish man and wants all the love in the world for Himself. He told us this because He knows how much the things around us can cause us to be distracted, and how the things we place in precedence to Him can cause us to relegate Him to the background. But the Kingdom of God does not work that way. It requires all the commitment to be able to do the work that it has been established for. So yes, Jesus did have a reason for demanding all of our dedication. This is because He understands the duty that He has set before us, and because He still loves us and wants us to have our free will, He has given us the condition, "If". He has left it to us.
Jesus understands. But do we understand? Are we willing to take up our cross and follow Him (Luke 14:27)? Can we carry the burden? Do we love Him that much to sacrifice all else? It is tough, I know. But with the strength of the Lord we can become Pauls in our own way and live our lives for Christ. It is difficult, I fully understand. I would not say that I have forsaken everything else, but I am willing to try and I hope you are to. Because the God who called us to His eternal glory will [carry us to completion and] will Himself make us strong, steadfast and firm (1Peter 5:10).
God bless you!! Live for Christ!!! <3
Tuesday 12 July 2011
PRAISE HIM WITH THE LITTLE
As I told you before, there is always someone out there trying to take God's glory away from Him to give to something else, or even place in himself. Daniel 5:14 is a clear example of this:
"I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee."
Belshazzar, who knew our Almighty King very well and knew everything that God had done to his father, Nebuchadnezzar because of pride (Daniel 5:18-22), still could not bring himself to acknowledge that God was the one that had blessed him and brought him thus far, and that God was the one who was working through Daniel. He had to give credit to the gods for Daniel's wisdom; gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or hear or understand (Daniel 5:23).
So to re-affirm what He said in Isaiah 42, Belshazzar was slain that very evening (Daniel 5:30), and a new king took over. This is just to remind you about who and where the real glory, honour and praise should be directed towards. Not to any man (1 Cor 3:21), not to any god, not to yourself, but every ounce of praise that escapes our mouths should be directed at the Holy One.
But here is another thing the Lord wants to address in Daniel 5:16-17. Daniel was promised the honour of becoming the third highest ruler in the kingdom and offered gifts as well, just so that he could do what God had called him to do. God did not give Daniel the spirit of interpretation of dreams for nothing, but it was given to him so that it could be used to bring God glory. Daniel took note of that and told Belshazzar:
"Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation."
Daniel sought to merely do his job as a child of God and look at what the Lord gave him afterwards. v29 says that at Belshazzar's command, Daniel was given everything that he had been promised by the king and was made third highest ruler in the kingdom.
Although the fact that we must acknowledge God in everything that we go through is not missing is this message, I want us to also consider the fact that using the gifts that God has given us to bring Him glory is also very key in our walk with Him. Daniel did just that and God BLESSED him. We should do likewise, not even for the blessings, but because we love the Lord with all our hearts and want to praise Him with the little blessings He has given us. People will always praise us for the special things that God has blessed us with, influencing us to put our pride in our abilities, but let us remember that it is the Lord who gives and the Lord who takes away and praise His name at all times (Job 1:21). In any case, the Lord says that those that do not have, even the little that they have will be taken away from them (Matthew 25:29). So let us come together and help one another harness the little gifts that God has given us to be used in His Kingdom so that we can go out there and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 28:19), for our reward is not on earth, but our reward is in heaven (Matther 5:12).
God bless you!! Live for Christ!!
Monday 11 July 2011
DO YOU WANT TO BE A BEREAN?
Acts 17:10-12 tells us the sort of people that the Bereans were:
"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few."
They did not only listen to the Word of God and accept it with eagerness and ready hearts, but they also checked with the Bible all the time to make sure that what they were being told was true. Is that what we do when people teach us about the Word of God and point us to parts of the Bible? Do we even bother to check when we are told to? I know I am a culprit in this sometimes but I strive to make it a point to act like a Berean when ever the situation presents itself.
Besides God did not instruct Paul to include this little portion about the Bereans in this book of Acts for nothing. It is because our Great and Mighty God knew that His people in the future generations will forget to check with His Word anytime they are referred to it, and so could be easily misled. So Paul had to include this very short, and I repeat short story into the Book of Acts as a reminder and instruction to us children of God.
You see, God does not do things without a reason. He does not just make mistakes. He provided us with the written Word, physical and true, so that the false prophets and the hypocrites will not cause us to stray from the straight and narrow road (although filled with a lot of pot-holes and bumps). He is indeed our Provider, Jehovah Jireh! God loves us so much that He cannot see anyone of His children fall. So at every point in our lives, He provides us with something that will keep us from stumbling, or even staying on the ground too long after falling. That is why it is important that the Word of God becomes our reference point at all times in our lives.
Be like the Berean, and make sure that no matter how convincing a preacher, a friend or even an enemy may sound, the Bible remains your reference point since it holds all the Truth in the world. It is the only truth that is not relative to anyone (TOK). It is the absolute truth. Make the Bible your best friend. Oh and lest I forget, when you hear the Word, ask God to open up your heart to receive it with all eagerness and excitement, not forgetting to check with the Book of Truth, just like the Bereans did, and I think your passport into the city of Berea, as a temporary citizen will undoubtedly and without hesitation be approved!
God bless you as you continue living for Christ!! <3
"And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few."
They did not only listen to the Word of God and accept it with eagerness and ready hearts, but they also checked with the Bible all the time to make sure that what they were being told was true. Is that what we do when people teach us about the Word of God and point us to parts of the Bible? Do we even bother to check when we are told to? I know I am a culprit in this sometimes but I strive to make it a point to act like a Berean when ever the situation presents itself.
Besides God did not instruct Paul to include this little portion about the Bereans in this book of Acts for nothing. It is because our Great and Mighty God knew that His people in the future generations will forget to check with His Word anytime they are referred to it, and so could be easily misled. So Paul had to include this very short, and I repeat short story into the Book of Acts as a reminder and instruction to us children of God.
You see, God does not do things without a reason. He does not just make mistakes. He provided us with the written Word, physical and true, so that the false prophets and the hypocrites will not cause us to stray from the straight and narrow road (although filled with a lot of pot-holes and bumps). He is indeed our Provider, Jehovah Jireh! God loves us so much that He cannot see anyone of His children fall. So at every point in our lives, He provides us with something that will keep us from stumbling, or even staying on the ground too long after falling. That is why it is important that the Word of God becomes our reference point at all times in our lives.
Be like the Berean, and make sure that no matter how convincing a preacher, a friend or even an enemy may sound, the Bible remains your reference point since it holds all the Truth in the world. It is the only truth that is not relative to anyone (TOK). It is the absolute truth. Make the Bible your best friend. Oh and lest I forget, when you hear the Word, ask God to open up your heart to receive it with all eagerness and excitement, not forgetting to check with the Book of Truth, just like the Bereans did, and I think your passport into the city of Berea, as a temporary citizen will undoubtedly and without hesitation be approved!
God bless you as you continue living for Christ!! <3
Thursday 7 July 2011
NO DIFFERENCE!
God has called each and everyone of us unto salvation. There is no difference between the Jew or the Gentile in God's eyes. He wants each and everyone of us to experience the healing power of Christ's death and resurrection. Brothers and sisters, no one is is required to follow a set of rules to render them fit to become a child of God because it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus that we are saved, just like everyone else who accepts Jesus as their Lord and personal saviour (Acts 15:11).
Jew or Gentile, we all belong to the body of Christ, each of us having very important roles to play in the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Cor. 12-13; 21-27). Let us endeavour not to estrange other people who want to experience the love of God because we feel that they do not it the picture of a child of God "for we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and were all given the one Spirit to drink."
Read Acts 15 and learn what ensued between some Jews and the disciples and apostles of Christ as they argued over the matter of Jews and Gentiles. There is a lot of wisdom to be obtained from this chapter. God bless you as you continue living for Christ!
Jew or Gentile, we all belong to the body of Christ, each of us having very important roles to play in the Kingdom of Heaven (1 Cor. 12-13; 21-27). Let us endeavour not to estrange other people who want to experience the love of God because we feel that they do not it the picture of a child of God "for we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and were all given the one Spirit to drink."
Read Acts 15 and learn what ensued between some Jews and the disciples and apostles of Christ as they argued over the matter of Jews and Gentiles. There is a lot of wisdom to be obtained from this chapter. God bless you as you continue living for Christ!
Wednesday 6 July 2011
NEVER TOO YOUNG!!
I know when we talk of young people of God every one's mind goes straight to Timothy. No doubt, Timothy was indeed a special man or should I say boy of God. But he was not the only one. I was reading Job and I came across a young man named Elihu who I feel contributed mightily to helping Job appreciate and realise God's hand in his life. I will definitely talk about Elihu a few more times because the man has a lot of wisdom to give (Job 32-Job 37), but today I shall concentrate on Elihu as a young man of God.
Elihu sure had thoughts like we, the young generation, normally have in this recent time and age. We think that all wisdom comes from those who are old and advanced in years and so are fearful to speak out about what we know especially in the midst of the elderly (Job 32:6-7). But here is a young man, who although believed in these limitations, felt that it was not the old who were wise and the aged who understood what was right, but it was God who gave people the right to know right from wrong and also gave people understanding (Job 32:8-9). As a result, he stood up and corrected the elderly people who he felt had allowed Job to go on the wrong track. He made certain that these people knew that they were doing the wrong thing, and set out to correct them (Job 32-Job 37).
Today, my message is a very short one. No one is too young to step up in the Kingdom of God, and where necessary correct those, even the elderly, who are faltering in their walk with the Almighty. Elihu managed to get Job thinking about the right things through what he said, and by so doing, got God to speak to Job and admonish him, and in the end, Job was blessed.
So young people of today, including myself, please let us step up. We have a lot of God in us and we have a lot of God to give to the world. He has done so much for us and so it is our duty to give Him the little that we can which is praising Him, as well as telling the world about Him. Young people, let us take up our armour and prepare for battle in this world. But first, remember Elihu's words:
"But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right."
Don't forget, we are very well-equipped, but we must avail ourselves us young children of our Heavenly Father, to achieve great things in His Kingdom.
Let's get ready.. Live for Christ!!! :)
Elihu sure had thoughts like we, the young generation, normally have in this recent time and age. We think that all wisdom comes from those who are old and advanced in years and so are fearful to speak out about what we know especially in the midst of the elderly (Job 32:6-7). But here is a young man, who although believed in these limitations, felt that it was not the old who were wise and the aged who understood what was right, but it was God who gave people the right to know right from wrong and also gave people understanding (Job 32:8-9). As a result, he stood up and corrected the elderly people who he felt had allowed Job to go on the wrong track. He made certain that these people knew that they were doing the wrong thing, and set out to correct them (Job 32-Job 37).
Today, my message is a very short one. No one is too young to step up in the Kingdom of God, and where necessary correct those, even the elderly, who are faltering in their walk with the Almighty. Elihu managed to get Job thinking about the right things through what he said, and by so doing, got God to speak to Job and admonish him, and in the end, Job was blessed.
So young people of today, including myself, please let us step up. We have a lot of God in us and we have a lot of God to give to the world. He has done so much for us and so it is our duty to give Him the little that we can which is praising Him, as well as telling the world about Him. Young people, let us take up our armour and prepare for battle in this world. But first, remember Elihu's words:
"But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right."
Don't forget, we are very well-equipped, but we must avail ourselves us young children of our Heavenly Father, to achieve great things in His Kingdom.
Let's get ready.. Live for Christ!!! :)
Monday 4 July 2011
GIVE HIM THE GLORY
King Herod was very instrumental in the persecution of God's people. In Acts 12:1-4, we see some of the things that Herod had done and intended to do to the Christians of the time who went about praising and spreading the gospel. However, I do not intend to discuss Herod's place in persecuting the Christians. Rather, I want to point out the importance of giving God the glory and praise in whatever happens to us and whatever we do, because it is about time that we acknowledge that everything that has happened to us or is happening to us is as a result of God's purpose for our lives.
I find it very interesting the circumstances surrounding Herod's death. Perhaps, I would have linked his death to the fact that God was angry with Him for putting His people to death and persecuting them. But no! This is not the reason for Herod's immediate death. Instead of Him to give the glory to the One who had put him in the position to experience praise from his subjects, he rather took the praise for himself and sat gloating about his achievements. HIS ACHIEVEMENTS INDEED! (Acts 12:21-22). But you see, God Himself said that He is not going to let anyone take away His glory for himself; neither will He give His glory to gods or man (Isaiah 42:8). And my God who keeps to His Word and does not lie, made certain of it. Acts 12:23 says that "Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck Him down, and he was eaten by worms and died." This was Herod's death because he stole what was not his, and that was Jehovah's glory. What a way to die for someone who was considered a "god" by His people. *God probably made Him die in this way to prove a point: THERE'S ONLY ONE GOD.. Go Jesus.. Go Father... You rock!!!*
So my message for you today is simple and very straight-forward. Give God the praise and glory. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight (Psalm 3:5-6). He deserves more than we can ever give Him so give your best, and not the rest!!! Trust me, I find myself at fault when it comes to giving God all of myself. I am selfish and hard-hearted when it comes to the things of God. But another reason why I love my God so much is because He has provided us a way, an avenue for us to come to Him, despite our selfish, undeserving natures and ask for forgiveness. He gave us the path, which is Jesus Christ, so that we can make amends and be restored to Him. We are blessed oh! Too blessed for us to take that for granted and not acknowledge God. Please, remember that where you are now, no matter how much you may detest it or how much you may appreciate it, it is all God's doing. Therefore, remember to give Him the thanks and praise, not for everything but IN EVERYTHING (Kirk Franklin).
I don't want to end up like Herod, and I do not think you want to either. So please, whatever you do and say, please do it to the glory of God (Col 3:17) and please remember that even in our sin and unworthiness, He sent His Son to come and die for us and set us free. That is something we must be eternally grateful for. God will never concede HIS GLORY for anyone, so don't be that person who tries to deprive God of His glory, because you will DEFINITELY lose. Do what is right.
God bless you!! Live for Christ and give God the glory!!! :D
I find it very interesting the circumstances surrounding Herod's death. Perhaps, I would have linked his death to the fact that God was angry with Him for putting His people to death and persecuting them. But no! This is not the reason for Herod's immediate death. Instead of Him to give the glory to the One who had put him in the position to experience praise from his subjects, he rather took the praise for himself and sat gloating about his achievements. HIS ACHIEVEMENTS INDEED! (Acts 12:21-22). But you see, God Himself said that He is not going to let anyone take away His glory for himself; neither will He give His glory to gods or man (Isaiah 42:8). And my God who keeps to His Word and does not lie, made certain of it. Acts 12:23 says that "Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck Him down, and he was eaten by worms and died." This was Herod's death because he stole what was not his, and that was Jehovah's glory. What a way to die for someone who was considered a "god" by His people. *God probably made Him die in this way to prove a point: THERE'S ONLY ONE GOD.. Go Jesus.. Go Father... You rock!!!*
So my message for you today is simple and very straight-forward. Give God the praise and glory. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will make your paths straight (Psalm 3:5-6). He deserves more than we can ever give Him so give your best, and not the rest!!! Trust me, I find myself at fault when it comes to giving God all of myself. I am selfish and hard-hearted when it comes to the things of God. But another reason why I love my God so much is because He has provided us a way, an avenue for us to come to Him, despite our selfish, undeserving natures and ask for forgiveness. He gave us the path, which is Jesus Christ, so that we can make amends and be restored to Him. We are blessed oh! Too blessed for us to take that for granted and not acknowledge God. Please, remember that where you are now, no matter how much you may detest it or how much you may appreciate it, it is all God's doing. Therefore, remember to give Him the thanks and praise, not for everything but IN EVERYTHING (Kirk Franklin).
I don't want to end up like Herod, and I do not think you want to either. So please, whatever you do and say, please do it to the glory of God (Col 3:17) and please remember that even in our sin and unworthiness, He sent His Son to come and die for us and set us free. That is something we must be eternally grateful for. God will never concede HIS GLORY for anyone, so don't be that person who tries to deprive God of His glory, because you will DEFINITELY lose. Do what is right.
God bless you!! Live for Christ and give God the glory!!! :D
Friday 1 July 2011
SEEK, ASK, FAITH
I was having my quiet time this morning and the devotional used Mark 10:46-52 to talk about declaring what you want into your life before Jesus gives it to you. The devotional pointed out that by Jesus asking Bartimaeus what he wanted, He wanted Bartimaeus to make a declaration into his life and have faith for it to come to pass. However, reading the short passage got me seeing things in a different light, although not entirely veering of the path that God had chosen to point out through the devotional.
For me, it got me thinking about the fact that Jesus expects us to seek Him too and when we seek Him with all of our hearts, we will find Him (Jer. 29:13-14). Just like Bartimaeus did, Jesus wants us to call out to Him at the top of our lungs ignoring those who tell us to shut up and assess our lives, adding that our continuous calling out to God had yielded nothing. Of course people will be there to try and discourage you as you seek God out, but trust me, no matter how long you may have been seeking Jesus' face, He has promised in His word that we will find Him, and He never fails on His promise, so indeed He'll be there. He'll just be waiting for us to ASK.
We know how Jesus is very particular about us asking Him for what we want and need (Matthew 7:7) so yes, before Jesus will answer your prayer, you must ask. Bartimaeus told Jesus that he wanted to see (v51b) after Jesus had asked him "What do you want me to do for you?" (v51a). You see, after Jesus has been sought out and has been found, He asks us the question above, and its up to us to answer, and pour out our souls to Him. Ask for what is on our hearts that we want Him to do for us. But for Him to answer after we have asked, He wants us to ask with FAITH.
Jesus said that whatever we ASK him for in prayer, we should believe that we have received it and it will be ours (Mark 11:24). Basically, Jesus wants us to have faith that He will do it for us, because He WILL definitely do it for us, once and only if we ask by faith and do not doubt. Jesus does not like sin and encourages us that when we come to Him asking for forgiveness, He shall cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Therefore, we cannot go before Jesus in prayer when we have doubt in our hearts because anything that we do without faith is sin (Romans 14:23). So you see, first of all, we cannot approach the throne of grace with sin in our hearts, therefore, in order to avoid sin, we must remove all doubts in our hearts before we present our requests at the feet of the Most High.
Tonight, my message is short and simple, seek, ask and then have faith and the good and faithful Judge, who is our Lord, The Almighty, shall answer our prayers and will provide our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19).
God bless you and Live for Christ1!! :)
For me, it got me thinking about the fact that Jesus expects us to seek Him too and when we seek Him with all of our hearts, we will find Him (Jer. 29:13-14). Just like Bartimaeus did, Jesus wants us to call out to Him at the top of our lungs ignoring those who tell us to shut up and assess our lives, adding that our continuous calling out to God had yielded nothing. Of course people will be there to try and discourage you as you seek God out, but trust me, no matter how long you may have been seeking Jesus' face, He has promised in His word that we will find Him, and He never fails on His promise, so indeed He'll be there. He'll just be waiting for us to ASK.
We know how Jesus is very particular about us asking Him for what we want and need (Matthew 7:7) so yes, before Jesus will answer your prayer, you must ask. Bartimaeus told Jesus that he wanted to see (v51b) after Jesus had asked him "What do you want me to do for you?" (v51a). You see, after Jesus has been sought out and has been found, He asks us the question above, and its up to us to answer, and pour out our souls to Him. Ask for what is on our hearts that we want Him to do for us. But for Him to answer after we have asked, He wants us to ask with FAITH.
Jesus said that whatever we ASK him for in prayer, we should believe that we have received it and it will be ours (Mark 11:24). Basically, Jesus wants us to have faith that He will do it for us, because He WILL definitely do it for us, once and only if we ask by faith and do not doubt. Jesus does not like sin and encourages us that when we come to Him asking for forgiveness, He shall cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Therefore, we cannot go before Jesus in prayer when we have doubt in our hearts because anything that we do without faith is sin (Romans 14:23). So you see, first of all, we cannot approach the throne of grace with sin in our hearts, therefore, in order to avoid sin, we must remove all doubts in our hearts before we present our requests at the feet of the Most High.
Tonight, my message is short and simple, seek, ask and then have faith and the good and faithful Judge, who is our Lord, The Almighty, shall answer our prayers and will provide our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19).
God bless you and Live for Christ1!! :)
Wednesday 29 June 2011
JETHRO: WHO WOULD HAVE EVER THOUGHT
From all the teachings that I have heard, I have never really heard anyone talk about Jethro, Moses' father-in-law. But last night, I was reading my Bible (I am reading the book of Exodus at the moment), a portion I have read once or twice before, but this time, God showed it to me in a different light.
In Exodus 16 and 17, we hear the Israelites complaining and gnashing their teeth quite a number of times at God and Moses because they feel that they have been brought into the desert to die. Indeed!... lol... But here is Moses, as soft-hearted as he already is, having to deal with these complaining and ungrateful Israelites. That must have been a handful for him. But God in His own splendid wisdom was preparing a way for Moses to be relieved of some of the stress He was feeling at the time, so that Moses did not give up and turn around. In any case Moses always presents His case to God and so it was only about time that God was going to straighten Moses' path. (Prov. 3:5-6).
Along comes Jethro, who had not made it a point to visit Moses until this time. How did Jethro find Moses anyway, since the Israelites had been moving around quite a lot? All this was God's plan. So let's see how God worked. In Exodus 18, Moses explains to Jethro, his role as the judge of the Israelites in verses 15-16. He would have probably been expecting a compliment from Jethro on how he was handling the business of judging the people well and his sacrifice of doing the job from "morning to evening". However, Jethro does the opposite in verses 17-23, showing Moses a better way of being a judge. This may seem insignificant but it is not because through this advice Jethro gave, we see the beginning of the formation of the judicial system which most countries have developed. And this idea all came from a priest of God, around the time that the Israelites were being taken to the Promise Land.
I want us to concentrate on the fact that Jethro is mostly considered to be a minor character in the Bible. Although people do not really look at the story of Jethro, he was, in reality, a major instrument for God. First of all, he hinted at the structure for the judicial system that we have in our nations at the moment, and then went on to provide Moses with the means through which he could rest and not be too stressed out by the people. This is Jethro's story; an insignificant one indeed.
This just got me thinking about the fact that in our lives today as Christians, we see a lot of our fellow Christians doing big things and achieving great things in the Kingdom. They are the Moses's of our time. But we forget that some of us have been chosen by God to be Jethros to advice the Moses' and encourage them not to get weary, while establishing "judicial systems" in our own little ways. People do not regard us because we are not in the "spotlight" like the Moses', however, we must remember that God has different plans for each and every member of Christ's body (Jeremiah 29:11-14). In any case, who is supposed to be the "spotlight"? Us or God? We must remember that we are only vessels for God's Kingdom and His Glory, and that's that. No more no less.
So in our walk with Christ, as we continue to strive to live for him, let us remember that there are Moses' and there are Jethros, each with a different purpose. Appreciate who God has made you because the little that you contribute to someone's life will go a long way to blessing other people through that little act of kindness or that advice or that sacrifice. Remember that God has called us called all those who love Him according to His purpose for our lives (Romans 8:28), so let's live according to that purpose. You are equally important.
God bless you!! Live for Christ!!!
In Exodus 16 and 17, we hear the Israelites complaining and gnashing their teeth quite a number of times at God and Moses because they feel that they have been brought into the desert to die. Indeed!... lol... But here is Moses, as soft-hearted as he already is, having to deal with these complaining and ungrateful Israelites. That must have been a handful for him. But God in His own splendid wisdom was preparing a way for Moses to be relieved of some of the stress He was feeling at the time, so that Moses did not give up and turn around. In any case Moses always presents His case to God and so it was only about time that God was going to straighten Moses' path. (Prov. 3:5-6).
Along comes Jethro, who had not made it a point to visit Moses until this time. How did Jethro find Moses anyway, since the Israelites had been moving around quite a lot? All this was God's plan. So let's see how God worked. In Exodus 18, Moses explains to Jethro, his role as the judge of the Israelites in verses 15-16. He would have probably been expecting a compliment from Jethro on how he was handling the business of judging the people well and his sacrifice of doing the job from "morning to evening". However, Jethro does the opposite in verses 17-23, showing Moses a better way of being a judge. This may seem insignificant but it is not because through this advice Jethro gave, we see the beginning of the formation of the judicial system which most countries have developed. And this idea all came from a priest of God, around the time that the Israelites were being taken to the Promise Land.
I want us to concentrate on the fact that Jethro is mostly considered to be a minor character in the Bible. Although people do not really look at the story of Jethro, he was, in reality, a major instrument for God. First of all, he hinted at the structure for the judicial system that we have in our nations at the moment, and then went on to provide Moses with the means through which he could rest and not be too stressed out by the people. This is Jethro's story; an insignificant one indeed.
This just got me thinking about the fact that in our lives today as Christians, we see a lot of our fellow Christians doing big things and achieving great things in the Kingdom. They are the Moses's of our time. But we forget that some of us have been chosen by God to be Jethros to advice the Moses' and encourage them not to get weary, while establishing "judicial systems" in our own little ways. People do not regard us because we are not in the "spotlight" like the Moses', however, we must remember that God has different plans for each and every member of Christ's body (Jeremiah 29:11-14). In any case, who is supposed to be the "spotlight"? Us or God? We must remember that we are only vessels for God's Kingdom and His Glory, and that's that. No more no less.
So in our walk with Christ, as we continue to strive to live for him, let us remember that there are Moses' and there are Jethros, each with a different purpose. Appreciate who God has made you because the little that you contribute to someone's life will go a long way to blessing other people through that little act of kindness or that advice or that sacrifice. Remember that God has called us called all those who love Him according to His purpose for our lives (Romans 8:28), so let's live according to that purpose. You are equally important.
God bless you!! Live for Christ!!!
Tuesday 28 June 2011
IT SIMPLY DOES NOT EXIST
I have heard quite a number of people use it and I have used it quite a number of times to encourage fellow believers. But the phrase: "God will not give us anything we can't handle" simply does not exist anywhere in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says:
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
This verse has been misquoted so much that we have arrived at the new verse "God will not give us anything we can't handle". But rather than preach the wrong thing, I feel that it is necessary that we begin to understand the difference in the actual verse and what we have finally come up with.
God NEVER said that He will not give us a situation we cannot handle; rather He said that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear for even in our temptations, He will provide a way for us to flee or stand up to the temptation. You see, in this verse, God is telling us that as Christians, there is no excuse for us to stand before Him and say that "There was nothing I could do; the lie was necessary" or "Father, I had to steal the money; how else am I to survive" because He has given us a way out, no matter how dire and hopeless our situation may be. He wants us to understand that we can indeed live without sin, because, Jesus Christ, whom we are being conformed into His likeness (2 Cor. 3:18), lived as a man, without sin. This is what Paul was teaching us in 1 Cor. 10:13.
Although God will not tempt us beyond what we can bear, He will certainly give us more than we can handle. Not because He is a wicked God, but because He wants us to understand that His weakness is stronger than any man's strength and His foolishness is wiser than any man's wisdom (1 Cor. 1:25). God places us in situations where we WILL be overwhelmed because He wants us to realize that leaning on our own strength is futile, but when we commit our ways into His hands, He will make our paths straight (Prov. 16:3). In those situations where we feel hard-pressed and hopeless and down, that is the moment where God decides to show Himself strong and lift us up out of the slimy pit and the mud and mire and set our feet upon a rock and give us a firm place to stand (Ps. 40:2). This is the same message Paul gives us in 2 Cor 1:8-9.
Our loving Father wants us to know that He loves us so very much and that in every hopeless situation, He is there to lift us up. Do not rely on your own strength in whatever you are going through, but look to Jesus and He will lift you up!
God bless you and continue to live for Christ!!!
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
This verse has been misquoted so much that we have arrived at the new verse "God will not give us anything we can't handle". But rather than preach the wrong thing, I feel that it is necessary that we begin to understand the difference in the actual verse and what we have finally come up with.
God NEVER said that He will not give us a situation we cannot handle; rather He said that He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear for even in our temptations, He will provide a way for us to flee or stand up to the temptation. You see, in this verse, God is telling us that as Christians, there is no excuse for us to stand before Him and say that "There was nothing I could do; the lie was necessary" or "Father, I had to steal the money; how else am I to survive" because He has given us a way out, no matter how dire and hopeless our situation may be. He wants us to understand that we can indeed live without sin, because, Jesus Christ, whom we are being conformed into His likeness (2 Cor. 3:18), lived as a man, without sin. This is what Paul was teaching us in 1 Cor. 10:13.
Although God will not tempt us beyond what we can bear, He will certainly give us more than we can handle. Not because He is a wicked God, but because He wants us to understand that His weakness is stronger than any man's strength and His foolishness is wiser than any man's wisdom (1 Cor. 1:25). God places us in situations where we WILL be overwhelmed because He wants us to realize that leaning on our own strength is futile, but when we commit our ways into His hands, He will make our paths straight (Prov. 16:3). In those situations where we feel hard-pressed and hopeless and down, that is the moment where God decides to show Himself strong and lift us up out of the slimy pit and the mud and mire and set our feet upon a rock and give us a firm place to stand (Ps. 40:2). This is the same message Paul gives us in 2 Cor 1:8-9.
Our loving Father wants us to know that He loves us so very much and that in every hopeless situation, He is there to lift us up. Do not rely on your own strength in whatever you are going through, but look to Jesus and He will lift you up!
God bless you and continue to live for Christ!!!
WE ARE EQUIPPED
So I was just reading Exodus one evening and this message hit me. God instructed Moses to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let His people go, but Moses was to scared, doubtful and unsure of his abilities that He pleaded and pleaded with God to “send someone else to do it” (Exodus 4:13; NIV). God then introduced Aaron as Moses’ helper (Exodus 4:14-16; NIV), but still charged Moses to use the staff that he had in his hand, since it was going to perform miraculous signs (Exodus 4:17; NIV).
I read all that and it got me thinking. God sends us out with a task at-hand, but we complain about our inadequacies and choose to remember and remind God about our inabilities, just because we are afraid that we cannot do what God has sent us out to do. We choose that moment to forget that God has blessed us with talents and abilities, and as a member of the body of Christ, we have individual but special roles to play in the Kingdom of God. We forget about what we carry in our hands.
God will surely give us an Aaron to help us, support us and hold our hand as we strive to accomplish the goal He has laid down for us, BUT that staff in our hand, which is supposed to do miraculous signs, is what we must believe in. That that ability, talent, tool that He has so graciously blessed us with shall be put to use in His Kingdom so that people may see and glorify our Father in Heaven (Matthew 4:16 ).
In whatever situation or encounter we may have gone through or may be going through, we must remember that God will never leave us nor forsake us and so we should not be terrified, neither should we be discouraged, but rather we must be strong and be courageous because the Lord goes before us (Deut. 31:6). In any case, He has provided us with an Aaron in every endeavour that we shall face. But primarily, we must remember that God has equipped us properly to walk through the fire and come out unscathed because He will be with us. He has adorned us with a staff that shall perform miraculous signs to bring HIM glory. Go into the world a fearless child of God and release the Israelites from bondage. We are not alone!
God bless you! Live for Christ!
I read all that and it got me thinking. God sends us out with a task at-hand, but we complain about our inadequacies and choose to remember and remind God about our inabilities, just because we are afraid that we cannot do what God has sent us out to do. We choose that moment to forget that God has blessed us with talents and abilities, and as a member of the body of Christ, we have individual but special roles to play in the Kingdom of God. We forget about what we carry in our hands.
God will surely give us an Aaron to help us, support us and hold our hand as we strive to accomplish the goal He has laid down for us, BUT that staff in our hand, which is supposed to do miraculous signs, is what we must believe in. That that ability, talent, tool that He has so graciously blessed us with shall be put to use in His Kingdom so that people may see and glorify our Father in Heaven (Matthew 4:16 ).
In whatever situation or encounter we may have gone through or may be going through, we must remember that God will never leave us nor forsake us and so we should not be terrified, neither should we be discouraged, but rather we must be strong and be courageous because the Lord goes before us (Deut. 31:6). In any case, He has provided us with an Aaron in every endeavour that we shall face. But primarily, we must remember that God has equipped us properly to walk through the fire and come out unscathed because He will be with us. He has adorned us with a staff that shall perform miraculous signs to bring HIM glory. Go into the world a fearless child of God and release the Israelites from bondage. We are not alone!
God bless you! Live for Christ!
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