“Only one Word – ‘Come!’ – was enough to make Peter forget about the safety in the sinking ship, the intimidation of the boisterous wind and, the limitations of the human body.
He has spoken more than one Word to us, we should at least be able to breathe!”
I’m back…albeit in a new dimension as I set out to outdo my Self.
I don’t know how this would eventually pan out, but The One Who uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise, even He has convinced me,
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness….”
Wow!
It feels so good to be back here. Yeah, I know you must have missed me very much. Don’t worry folks, over the next couple of days (or maybe weeks) I’d more than make up for my enforced ‘sabbatical’ from blogging.
While I was ruminating on what to use for marking my return to blogging, I realized that there were numerous Children of the Light who had no idea of certain laws, perks or if you like, truths that should govern their everyday life. For this reason, I felt that I should share some of them with you:
1. The Holy Spirit makes intercession for you (Rom 8. 26)
2. Christ makes intercession for you (Rom 8. 34)
3. You are putting on Christ (Gal 3. 2, 5)
4. You have the Spirit of God’s Son resident in you (Gal 4. 6)
5. You have been blessED with all spiritual blessings in Christ by God (Eph 1. 3)
6. You WERE CHOSEN in Christ before the earth’s foundation to be holy and blameless (Eph 1. 4)
7. You’ve been acceptED as one of God’s beloved (Eph 1. 6)
8. You’ve BEEN MADE to sit together with Christ in heavenly places (Eph 2. 6)
9. Through Christ, you have access by the Holy Spirit to the Father’s presence (Eph 2. 18)
10. The power of God in you, is able to do for you more than what you ask or think (Eph 3. 20)
11. God is at work within you to will and to do His good pleasure (Phil 2. 13)
12. God has qualifiED you to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in the light (Col 1. 12)
13. God has deliverED you from the power of darkness and translatED into the kingdom of His dear Son (Col 1. 13)
14. All treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ. Interestingly, your life is also hid in Christ! (Col 2. 3; 3. 3)
15. You have been elected in God (1 Thess 1. 4)
16. The Word of God works effectively in you (1 Thess 2. 13)
17. You have been given all things that pertain to life and godliness (1 Pet 1. 3)
18. You have been called to be a partaker of the Divine Nature (1 Pet 1. 4)
19. In everything, you are enriched in Christ (1 Cor 1. 5)
20. You are God’s temple and the Holy Spirit resides in you (1 Cor 3. 16)
21. You have the Mind of Christ (1 Cor 2. 16)
22. All things are yours….and you belong to Christ (1 Cor 3. 21, 23)
23. You are joined to the Lord and you are one spirit with Him (1 Cor 6. 17)
24. You are the image and the glory of God (1 Cor 11. 7)
25. There’s a treasure in you (2 Cor 4. 7)
26. You are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor 5. 21)
It doesn’t stop here.
You can take up the Word of God and search for more verses that tell you who you are in Christ. Feel free to add more to the comments section below….
Let’s take a moment and ponder on what would happen if Someone walked up to you in the heat of the day. He’s immaculately dressed in a black tux, white shirt, black tie and matching shoes.
The Guy presents to you His Identification card. You blink your eyes in wonder. Why, you say, He’s from my bank! His face has a tender mix of compassion and concern. You look into His eyes and instantly know you can trust Him.
All is going according to the script, until He tells you that there’s £100 million lying fallow in your bank account.
The cautious part of you looks incredulously at the Man standing in front of you.
A hundred million pounds?!!
The Man from your bank then presents your statement of account to you. You stare at the sheet of paper, your mind trying to convince your heart that it’s all a hoax.
But, moments later, with your tear-stained eyes facing the Bank Manager seated opposite you, you find out that there was no scam in the first place.
It was all true!
In fact, the money had been lying dormant in your account right from the day you were born!
You hold back the well of tears threatening to flood your eyes, as you remember the days you forced yourself to fast, since there was no money to buy food.
You remember how you used to walk long distances to your destinations because you had no money for transport.
You remember how you wore one cloth for all your social functions.
You remember how you couldn’t pay your bills….
Just then, the Manager peers down a particular document on the table and tells you that there’s a clause attached to the money in your account.
When you ask what it is, The Manager tells you that after every withdrawal you make, not minding how frequent or how large it is, the account is replenished back to its original amount!
You’d probably have fainted at this point!
Nice story, you might say…
But to me, it’s more than just a ‘nice story’. It’s an analogy that clearly depicts how many pass through life, enduring it while we’ve been given ALL THINGS to enjoy.
You see, in real life, we are all given a BLANK CHEQUE to write out whatever we want. For some, they write exorbitantly; others write less impressive figures. Still, some others do not even know that such a cheque exists in the first place!
The key here is KNOWLEDGE. Because, unless one KNOWS that he/she has priviledges and perks, he/she would probably just get by with life.
But regardless of the presence/absence of the knowledge, the TRUTH remains that everything has been given to us to enjoy!!!
That’s what abundant life’s all about.
You don’t have to struggle with lack of money or the absence of good health. You don’t have to battle with anxiety or certainty over the future.
You don’t have to struggle anymore because you’ve been given ALL THINGS that pertain to life here on earth.
All you have to do is to go to your banker, withdraw from the ‘pool of unlimited resources’ that has been freely given to you and live your life to the FULLEST.
It’s the good life. No scam!
A couple of weeks ago, a trending topic on twitter was #LiberalismInFourWords. I responded by saying,
“Unguided Freedom Is Bondage”
This post explains why I said that:
Revolving altars; Synchronized fountains of water falling on tinted glass backdrops; Lightning effects with variant shades, themes and colours; Entertaining music by talented vocals; Charismatic preachers with tablets, immaculate dress sense and tongues…well-oiled eloquoent ones; Church audience in attendance with various versions of the Bible on their phones; Projectors working overtime to display the Bible verses being preached, as well as keypoints in the preacher’s message….
That about sums up the state of Christianity in this current dispensation.
Christianity, as a religion, has never had it this good!
Right from the days of the early church in the Old Roman Empire to the mid-1900s, Christians had endured diverse forms of persecutions:
Some were ostracized; others were maimed, or even crucified.
Many were fed to hungry beasts; some skinned alive.
Many more were burnt to stakes while numerous others were impaled!!!
Indeed, it took something more than raw guts to be a Christian in those days. It took a very deep conviction, as that decision was similar to a death sentence.
As it were, one of the mysteries of Christianity to the Gentile world was that it seemed to even wax stronger and spread wider with increasing adversity in the form of persecution.
Naturally, one would always expect a system that could thrive in the face of affliction to do the same, or even better under favourable conditions.
However, History has shown us that this isn’t always the case.
For example, in the early 1900s, majority of Eastern Europe was under a strict communist rule which saw all religions as the ‘opiate of the people’ and subsequently banned them. Defaulters were jailed, tortured and eventually liquidated. Yet, despite the high risks involved in being a Christian during this time, the Brethren in this region still met regularly in underground Churches and the Gospel was propagated massively. Against all odds!
However, when you fastforward a couple of decades after Communism’s demise, the percentage of Christians in these Eastern European countries have drastically dropped. Even the larger portion of the few Christians left are the nominal ones.
So, I ask: ‘What is going wrong?’
When I look at the state of the Body of Christ today, I cannot help but wonder,
“Is this the Body that Christ ransomed with His precious Blood?
“Is this the Bride that the Lamb is coming back to marry?”
Listen up: Though the devil isn’t wise, the guy remains an cunning schemer!
You’ve gotta give him that.
You see, when satan found that adversity was only aiding the propagation of the gospel, he decided to change his warfare tactics to a more subtle one.
LUXURY!!!
Yup. Luxury.
The devil and his cohorts are still on the offensive. However, the Church has assumed that the apparent absence of adversity implies that the devil is tired and no longer interested in attacking.
Be sober. Be vigilant. Be watchful.
That’s the only way we’d be able to thwart the devil’s incessant attacks.
Life’s never been this good!
Technological advancements and worldwide peace seems to have made modern-day Christianity to be a shadow of what it used to be.
Please note that these luxuries aren’t evil, but when they shift the focus from Christ, they become potent poisons that can weaken our stand in Christ.
Resist the devil and he would flee from you.
Put on the whole armour of God.
The funny thing about the armour is that there’s no cover for the back!
What does this imply?
There’s no room for running away from our battleground in life.
When you turn away from the battle all in the name of luxurious vanity, you leave your back exposed to the fiery darts of the enemy.
It’s either wholehearted commitment to God or total union with the evil world system. You can’t afford to be double-minded about Christ. There’s no middle ground!
Christ is coming back soon.
This isn’t the time to be slack or lax!
This isn’t the time to let the fire on the altars of our hearts to go out!
Whoever puts his hand to the plough but looks back isn’t fit for the king’s prize.
Duty calls!
It’s time to stand up strong as true soldiers of God’s own army!
It’s time to lay aside all fithiness and superfluity of naughtiness!
It’s time to come to terms with yourself and ask,
“After all these things; After enjoying all the aesthetic values and exquisiteness of my church building; After enjoying my preacher’s motivational psychology and philosophical teachings…WOULD I STILL MAKE IT TO HEAVEN?”
A couple of years ago, I stumbled across this uniquely simplified article on Human Relations. I believe it is an interesting read that could change a lot about how you relate with others:
¤¤ The LEAST important word: I
¤¤ The MOST important words: We
¤¤ The TWO MOST important words: Thank You
¤¤ The THREE MOST important words: All Is Forgiven
¤¤ The FOUR MOST important words: What Is Your Opinion?
¤¤ The FIVE MOST important words: You Did A Good Job
¤¤ The SIX MOST important words: I Want To Understand You Better
Now, I’m not going to expantiate on the aforementioned nuggets. Instead, I want you to ruminate on them and let the points get fully formed in you. Don’t be fooled by their simplicity. Therein lies their potency!
I’m serious.
You know what I feel?
Many of the world’s problems today arise from our propensity to complicate simple matters!!!
Just imagine what would happen if just 1 in every 10 individuals made it a point of duty to relate with everyone in his/her sphere of influence with this kind of simplicity.
Just picture the peaceful society that we all could have had the chance to exist in!
Yet, it’s so funny to see how something so simple could be so hard.
I guess it all bores down to our freewill.
Yea, our freedom of choice…
He is the All-knowing, He sees everything coming
But this time, Common Sense is also justified by her children
It’s a night like none before, embedded with as much
that escorts the very moment of a discovery
Under a tree lie three, gallantly flunking the much
anticipated practicals, while
Ahead, a rock beckons, luring His sympathetically
aching knees with its ample space
The moment is near, and He’s a Man, like the rest of us
His heart is filled with heaviness in its profundity
Each beat drawing Him ever closer to the Inevitable
The spirit is willing,
The body is weak,
The soul is wandering undecidedly
For the last time, the Master kneels,
with a macabre mix of
desperation and depression, squeezing
blood from His pores after all the sweat is gone
Instead of oil, His Own Soul is pressed at Gethsemane,
broken and crushed, albeit by His permission
Like a blast from the past, it comes to Him:
the prince initially earmarked to be a supplanter,
who changes his lot by prevailing over The Father
Tough times never last, they first come before the crown
Circumstances and challenges are not forever,
the diamonds at the end of the gloomy tunnel of Despair are
Somewhere, somehow, something clicks!
Like a shining beacon of hope never before found,
the Messenger points out to Him
the ever present Grace He can always tap into
As a tactically-advantaged Field Marshall,
He rises, rejuvenated and renewed!
“Let’s go……..”
Motivational preacher’d be like:
“And I shouted, “God!” and INSTANTLY He replied me, “Yes, my son!”. Then I told Him, “Move this mountain, Lord!” and He said, “Yes, my son! Would that be all?””
And I’m like: Is that the picture of the Ancient of Days you have in your puny mind…sir ?!!
A talkative God?
A God you can wrap around your little finger?
A God that is waiting on you just to serve all your whims?
An inferior God?
(Before I go on, I must say that the title of this post is a LITTLE bit….er….misleading. You won’t be seeing any tips on how to command God. Sorry to disappoint you, but kindly spare me some minutes. I promise you won’t regret it)
Now, on commanding God, it seems to me that a lot of preachers have taken Isaiah 45 vs 11, a bit out of context. The verse says,
“Thus saith the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, and His Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hand, command ye me”
So, they see the phrase, “Command ye me” and then proceed to exercise their “authority” over the LORD Almighty.
Funny, isn’t it?
But to have a better understanding of the contextual meaning of a Biblical text, it pays to read the preceeding and suceeding verses.
Verse 10 says,
” Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? Or to his mother, What hast thou brought forth? ”
Now, this is getting interesting!
From Isaiah 45 vs 10, it is apparent that verse 11 is a QUESTION!!!
In essence, God is saying: Inasmuch as you can’t question your parents about why they gave birth to you or why you have certain features in your physique, you also can’t question His purpose regarding you!
He’s not asking you to command Him.
Instead, God is saying, “You shouldn’t dare to command Me!”
Well, that should settle this issue.
But if you still have doubts, let’s check verses 12 and 13:
“I have made the earth and created man upon it. I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city and shall ket go my captives, not for price or reward, saith the LORD of hosts”
Regardless of what we declare, decree or command, it is His Will and Purpose for our lives that would stand in the end.
Look, don’t waste your time commanding Jehovah to do your own selfish, lustful desires. We are not meant to command God. We are meant to do His own will and bidding.
Do yourself a favour: Whenever you pray, instead of commanding God, find His perfect will by His Spirit; and pray in that line.
Remember, swimming against the tide causes you to expend a lot of energy while you cover very little ground.
On the other hand, flowing with the tide is both easier and rewarding.
Be wise!!!
The following question should help you put some perspective into how you see your walk with God:
“If God, in His infinite power and might, should decide to take His throne and all His glory into the very flames of Hell, would you follow Him there?”
Not like the aforementioned scenario would play itself out, but the question helps to bring into sharp focus the main motivation that drives people to God.
You see, for many people, that motivation is THE FEAR OF HELL!!!
Yes! Trust me.
People have a skewed view of God, which has been sold to them by religion, tradition and the devil. They see God as a taskmaster that seeks 100% adherence to 10, 000 dos and don’ts.
So, they think, “How can we escape the distasteful ending to haters of God? Well, we’d claim to love Him, so we don’t end up in Hell!”
But that’s not the character of the God I worship and serve.
His personality is far from that of a taskmaster. Instead, He is loving and caring. He knows our shortcomings and has our best interests at heart.
He craves for a loving and working relationship with as many that would avail themselves to Him.
God is not looking for those that would worsip Him because they are scared of death and Hell. Neither is He looking for those who just see worshipping Him as a free ticket to Heaven.
God is searching for those who love Him for the sake of Love itself.
In conclusion, the fear of death or Hell should not be what drives you to God.
Your driving force should be a loving heart and a desire for a working, loving relationship with the King!!!
I use a small java phone:
The Nokia C2-05.
It is a slide phone with ‘old-fashioned’ alphanumeric keys.
Over the past couple of years, the phone has been quite indispensible to me.
I make and receive calls on it.
With it, I send and receive text messages.
Since I don’t have a laptop, I surf the net with this same phone.
I check mails and maintain THIS blog with it.
I even upload and download files and ebooks on it.
Now, a couple of months back, I was going through some trying moments. I believe God ministered to me with this analogy:
We pick up our phones and effortlessly expect to send and receive messages, make and receive calls, browse, upload and download files. Instances when this doesn’t happen, we simply check the phone settings (or our airtime balances!) and rectify the issue.
No wires link our phones to the sites we download from.
No ropes join our phones to other phones when we make calls or send messages.
Instead, we believe and unconditionally trust in the unseen microwaves and radiowaves in the air, even though we don’t see them.
Yet, when asked to have faith in the power of God, we fidget and fret!
We ask to see physical manifestations, first!
You see, prior to the discovery of phones, telecommunication towers and satellite dishes, already there were invisible microwaves and radiowaves. Because man was unaware of them then didn’t mean they didn’t exist.
Thankfully, man learnt to harness these invisible waves for his use.
The same goes for faith and the power of the Spirit!
The power of God is available to and for all and sundry. Words can’t even begin to describe the potency and magnitude of the power of the Spirit!
But, until you can have that simple and unwavering belief similar to the one you have in your phone, when you expect it to work the way you want it to, without any doubts, only then, would you begin to be a partaker in the goodies God has in store for you!!!