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Two verses of the Scriptures that is generally quoted on the issue of seeing God include,

Genesis 5 verse 24: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.

Exodus 33 verse 20: And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.

However, a strange twist in the plot occurs in Amos 5:4 which says,

“For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live”

These three scriptures have raised questions in my mind, over and over again.

How could God – Who specifically told Moses that no man could see Him and live – later on tell the Israelites that if they sought him, they would live?

Wasn’t it Enoch’s seeing God that led to his ceasing to exist?

These and other similar questions roamed around my head.

The answer can be found in Colossians 3:5a,

Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth”

The word “mortify” in blunt and plain English means “to kill“. So, in essence, Paul was telling us here that we should KILL our members which are upon the earth.

Note that the Bible never said, “And therefore, the LORD thy God will assist thee in mortifying thy members…”.
Rather, the Bible orders us, “Mortify, therefore your members…”. It is apparent that the initiative is with the believer who wants to follow God.

This is where Jesus’ statement in Matthew 16:24 becomes much clearer,

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross (the instrument for his mortification), and follow me.”
(Brackets mine)

Little wonder Enoch was able to successfully walk with God.

To understand the depths of Enoch’s walk with God, we have to understand his dire situation as a man.

Genesis 5:1 says,

“This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him“

When God created Man, He was created as a type – clone, if you like – of God’s Own Perfection and Divine Nature.

However after the fall of man from the state of Grace, note what happens,

“And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, and after his image; and called his name Seth”

Adam’s offsprings were no longer in the likeness of God. They were now in the likeness of the Fallen Man. They were now types of the Fallen Man, carrying his sins and fallen nature. Man changed from a state of God-consciousness to that of Self-consciousness.

It was in this predicament that Enoch found himself.

Even, his walk with God did not start automatically,

Genesis 5:21 says,

And Enoch LIVED sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah.

As innocent as that verse may sound, it contains a powerful truth.

Even Enoch lived in the manner that was normal for every man born in the likeness of Adam – the Fallen Man.

At this point in his life, Enoch was the master of his own life and destiny. At this point in his life, Enoch LIVED and was the Chief Executive Officer of his Self-controlled life.

This brings us back to Genesis 5 verse 24:

And Enoch WALKED with God: and HE WAS NOT; for God took him.

Notice how Enoch took the initiative in walking with God. In our walk with God, God is never the variable. He is the Constant One Who is the same yesterday, today and forever. We are the variable factors in our walk with God. The moment you are ready, you will find God.

Now, the key to understanding how Enoch WAS NOT is found in Galatians 5:16-17,

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

Note here again that the Bible does not say, “And the LORD thy God will help thee walk in the Spirit…”. No, that verse is telling us as Christians to take the initiative and walk in the Spirit. It is telling you to use your gift of freewill and choose to walk with God.

This is what Enoch did in that timeless battle between the God-conscious spirit and the self-conscious flesh.

This was what Enoch did in Genesis 5:24. He choose to walk with God to the point that there was no more of “himSelf” and then God took him.

This was the point that God was passing on to Moses in Exodus 33:20. In essence, God is saying that no man can see Him and still be alive…to the flesh!!!

And that is why God’s plea to the people of Israel (and to us by extension) in Amos 5:4 is so passionate:

Seek Me [by dying to the flesh] and live [life everlasting]

“He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform

And therefore it was imputed unto him for righteousness”

Romans 4:20-22 (KJV)

The first thing we note is that Abraham did not waver at all concerning God’s promises for him. James 1:6-8 explains that anyone who wavers is not walking in faith and as a result, such person cannot (that is, totally unable to) receive anything from God. Abraham refused to waver. Instead, he grew stronger as a result of his being empowered by faith. And how did Abraham get empowered by faith? He gave praise to God!!! Abraham arrived to a point where he was established and firmly rooted in his faith in God. He abounded and multiplied in that faith as a result of thanksgiving to God. Never underestimate the power of thanksgiving and praise, they go a long way in helping you release your faith in God (Colossians 2:7).

Romans 4:21 then makes us understand that Abraham was fully confident and assured that the same God who had promised him was also able and mighty enough to keep the Word that had been promised…

Now, check out verse 22 of Romans 4,

“And therefore it was imputed unto him for righteousness”

It was this particular verse that completely blew me away.

Due to the fact that Abraham believed that God was able to do what He had promised, God declared Abraham to be a righteous man!!!

This is a very, very profound truth that is about to be shared. If you can just grasp it now, this truth has the potential to change how you view God’s righteousness. This is a verse that shows God’s grace at its best.

It’s amazing how people can easily believe that God spoke the entire world into existence.
It’s amazing how people believe that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
As believers, we find it easy to believe that in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God (John 1:1).
Infact, we find it relatively easier to believe that God’s Word “became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14).

Yet, when it comes to righteousness by faith, we find ourselves at our wit’s end.

See, Abraham only believed God’s Word that he would inherit the world,

“For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law but through the righteousness of faith (Romans 4:13)”.

All Abraham did was to believe Go
d’s Word and God looked at Abraham and said, “YOU ARE A RIGHTEOUS MAN!!!”

Do you know what I consider to be the most amazing thing about this truth?

It is the promise itself!

See, the promise that God gave Abraham wasn’t that he would be saved or won’t go to hell! Let’s check the story together in Genesis 15:1-6,

After these things, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram, I am your Shield, your abundant compensation, and your reward shall be exceedingly great.

And Abram said, Lord God, what can You give me, since I am going on [from this world] childless and he who shall be the owner and heir of my house is this [steward] Eliezer of Damascus?

And Abram continued, Look, You have given me no child; and [a servant] born in my house is my heir.

And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, This man shall not be your heir, but he who shall come from your own body shall be your heir.

And He brought him outside [his tent into the starlight] and said, Look now toward the heavens and count the stars–if you are able to number them. Then He said to him, So shall your descendants be.

And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God).

It was on this note that Abraham was put in right standing with God as a man who had righteousness imputed into his account.

Friend, if God could do this mighty for a man who believed God’s promise for a son, why do you still find it difficult to relate with the truth that God’s grace has saved you and you have received God’s righteousness by faith?

It feels so good to be back here. I had been unavoidably absent as a result of certain circumstances that were beyond my control. As a result, I’ve not had much time to devote to update my blog every now and then.

The important thing is that I’m back and I would endeavor to post as frequently as time would allow me.

I Peter 1:3 says,
“Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”

The Word says that God, through His superfluous and abundant mercies, has begotten you again to a living hope through the ressurection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

This living hope is expressed in another portion of the Bible,

“To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory”  (Colossians 1:27)

As a result, the reason you can be very, very sure that you have been born again is because the very hope of your calling is alive and dwelling inside you.

You have a living Hope that is residing inside you and He is the One that qualifies you for what is described in 1 Peter 1:4,

“To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in Heaven for you”

You see, you have been born into an inheritance that is incorruptible, undefiled and fade-proof. That inheritance has been reserved in Heaven for you!!!

But the questions that tend to arise from all these include:

What and where is heaven?

What kind of inheritance is waiting for me there?

Personally, I mulled over these questions for quite some time.

Was Peter referring to only our reward in Heaven after our sojourn here on earth or he meant the inclusion something profound?

To know for sure, check out Ephesians 1:3,

“Blessed be God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places in Christ”

So, we have been blessed with every spiritual blessings in Heavenly places. Our inheritance is an unlimited and spiritual one.

Aha, you might think, I Peter 1:4 was only talking about our heavenly inheritance.

Well, not quite.

Check out Ephesians 2:6,

“And raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”

Note that this verse does not refer to a future event. If it did, the verse would have read something like,

“…we will be made to sit in heavenly places in Christ”

Rather the verse emphasizes something that has already happened!

We have been raised up together with Christ.

We have been made to sit together in heavenly places with Christ.

This is an event that is already happening.

Despite the fact that your stint here on earth is not yet over, the Bible tells us that we are already seated together in heavenly places in Christ.

This is where it gets all interesting:

The inheritance that Peter speaks of in 1 Peter 1:4 is a spiritual one that is reserved in heaven for us.

However, as believers and therefore, spiritual beings (I Corinthians 6:17), we are already seated in heavenly places in Christ.

We are not ordinary individuals. Rather, we are spiritual beings made to naturally function in a spiritual realm!

That inheritance reserved for you in heaven is one you can readily access and enjoy on this side of eternity. This is not an inheritance that is kept aside for you to open when you get to heaven. Instead, the inheritance is one that has been exclusively set aside and reserved for you to enjoy.

Look, God would not use your inheritance for you. Your refusal to enjoy what He has bequeathed to you does not add or take anything away from Who He is. God has given it to you. It is yours.

And yes, you can start enjoying all God has given you right now!!!

For those of you who have been wondering where you’d get the strength to continue offering your life to your Lord Jesus Christ on a daily basis in the face of those odd and old habits you had in times past, I’ve got good news for you.

You see, the very moment you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, something powerful happens,

Colossians 1:13 says,

“It is God who has delivered us out of the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us into the Kingdom of His dearly-loved Son (Weymouth)”

That’s right! You were delivered from the power of darkness. You were delivered from the forces of evil urges and desires. You were delivered from their sphere of influence. You were totally delivered. You were set free from their authority, jurisdiction, power, right and strength over you.

Then, you were also transferred, translated, carried and exchanged into the realm and rule of Jesus Christ’s royalty! You are now in God’s Kingdom!

How can I be so sure of this? You may ask,

Well, John 14:18a says,

“I will not leave you comfortless…”

These are the powerful words of Jesus Christ that hold a profound truth. Yes, you’ve made the decision to accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. However, it is quite obvious to your rational mind that Jesus Christ is not physically present on the earth now.

Yet, Christ’s Words to you are, “I will not leave you comfortless…”

He’s telling you that He honors His Word and He would not leave you alone in your battle against the old urges and evil desires whenever they rear up their ugly heads.

Christ is telling you that He would never leave you, neither would He forsake you.

And to show you that He means whatever proceeds out of His Mouth, Jesus Christ proves it by saying,

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever…

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. (John 14:16a; 16:13-14 KJV)”

That is the Ministry of the Holy Spirit.

That is Jesus fulfilling His Promise not to leave you comfortless.

And you know what? That’s not all!!!

Once you’ve made up your mind to accept Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you have the Holy Spirit residing in you, making your heart His abode.

1 Corinthians 3:16 says,

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? (KJV)”

Remember, Jesus Christ is your Lord. He owns you and you belong to Him. And He has sent the Comforter to dwell within you. Christ has ensured that you have a choice not to turn your back on Him and all He’s done for you. You are in His Kingdom now. You are God’s temple now; and His Holy Spirit dwells inside you now!

Romans 8:9a goes on to reveal,

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. (KJV)”

God’s Own Spirit dwells within you and you can’t fulfill the desires that your body would naturally give in to. But there’s still more,

“But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Rom 8:11 KJV)”

God’s Own Spirit resides in you! He occupies you as a house! You are His dwelling place! These statements simply cannot be overemphasized! God’s Own Spirit dwells inside you and He is going to ‘quicken’ your mortal body. That word ‘quicken’ as used in the passage means to ‘make alive, revitalize, give life to’. In essence, the passage is saying that the Holy Spirit would make your body alive to fulfill God’s Ideals and Perfect Will for your life. It implies that the Holy Spirit would make you realize that your body – God’s Temple – was made for far more important things than evil habits and urges. You were living in dead works before, just merely existing. Now, He would make really alive, fulfilling your inherent potential.

2 Corinthians 1:22 says,

“Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. (KJV)”

That’s right! God Himself, the Almighty Potentate, has sealed you for Himself. He has stamped you with His private Personal mark of identification. He has marked you as His Belonging, or better still, His Kinsman. And He’s given you His Spirit in your heart!

I could go on and on to describe the role of the Holy Spirit in helping you overcome that habit you are struggling with.

You’re not alone, left out to hang and dry.

No! You are now much more than a conqueror!

You can now walk with your head held high.

You can now walk without a single iota of doubt or fear of slipping back into your habit.

You know why?

Jesus had made it clear that there’s only one way you can please Him and make Him happy: Keeping His Commandments!

Furthermore, there is only one way you can keep His commandments,

“If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands. (John 14:15 AMP Emphasis mine)”

That’s right! Love!

The only proof of our love for our Lord and Savior, the Redeemer of our souls, is to keep His commandments.

And you know what the Holy Spirit does?

Check out Romans 5:5,

“We’re not ashamed to have this confidence, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (GOD’S WORD)“

The Holy Spirit’s Presence in our hearts stirs up Love for our Savior and Lord within us. And in turn, the Love for our Savior and Lord would prod us into keeping His Commandments.

It’s so simple.

It’s so straightforward.

If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My Commands.

Note that that the verse does not say ‘you must keep My Commands’. Neither does it say ‘you shall or you have to keep My Commands’. It says ‘you will keep My Commands’. It’s a simple natural order similar to the gentle and graceful flow of a river along its course. No struggles. No tug-of-war. Just the gentle flow.

If you love Him, you will keep His Commands.

If you love Him, you will want to make Him happy.

If you love Him, you won’t yield to that evil habit or odd urge you are struggling with.

And all this is possible via the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in your heart.

“There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. (Phil 1:6 THE MESSAGE)”

It is no longer news that God has deposited so much into us.

2 Corinthians 4:7 says,

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us (KJV)”

But many times, it seems as if we are just ordinary people without anything special about us.

Long ago, however, I made up my mind to take everything that God has said in His Word as nothing but the Truth. I am who He says I am; I have what He says I have; I can do what He says I can do. If God has said in His Word that I have a treasure within me, it is settled! Who am I to even consider otherwise?

Unfortunately, a lot of us think contrary to all that God has said in His Word.

But many thanks to the Holy Spirit Who inspired Apostle Paul to pen down these powerful words in his second epistle to Timothy,

“Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee… (2 Tim 1:6a KJV)”

God’s gift is within you and that is the truth!

You have a treasure within you, and that is the truth!

God’s power is resident within you, and that is the truth!

And you know what? When you are not sensing your uniqueness or maybe you are feeling as if you are an ordinary fellow, YOU CAN STIR UP THE TREASURE WITHIN YOU!

Now, you might probably be thinking that I’ve started sounding like certain motivational preachers. Well, perhaps I am guilty of that…

But before you cast your first stone at me, take note of a major difference between the teachings of the Bible and those of the motivational teachers who preach psychology and jumpology.

The Bible would show you HOW you can stir up that treasure within you. On the other hand, motivational teachers and preachers don’t do that. Instead, they would tell you to pretend and live in a continual state of denial of your present perceived reality.

Friend, the Bible does not teach that! The Bible teaches something entirely different: It opens your eyes to what your reality should be!!!

Now, while the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to tell us that we CAN and we SHOULD stir up God’s treasured gift within us, Apostle Peter was given the baton to tell us HOW we should stir up that gift.

Consider 2 Peter 1:13,

 “And I consider it right to keep stirring you up with reminders [“to stir you up by putting you in remembrance (KJV)”], as long as I am in the tent of this body (CJB)”

That’s it! Very simple!!!

The way to stir up the treasure within us is to put it into remembrance continually. Just keep on remembering that you have a treasured gift from God within you and you’d find out that you will continually walk in the conscious awareness of your special uniqueness.

See, there is a greater reality than our present perceived reality. That reality is the spiritual reality described to us by the Word of God. Regrettably, many of us are so attuned to our present perceived reality that we think that only those things we can apparently see, touch, smell, taste and feel is all there is to life.

Friend, there is more to life than our five senses and logic. Tune out of your perceived reality and force your logical mind (the possessive pronoun ‘your’ implies that an item is your own; it belongs to you and should be subject to you) to peer through the reality described by God in His Word of Truth. Only then would you stir up what God has deposited in you and eventually make great exploits by maximizing your potential.

For years, I think I could be referred to as a People-pleaser. All the time, I would go out of my way just to make the other party happy. I used to be willing to compromise anything – and more often than not, this “anything” always ended up being the sacrifice of my own happiness. Back then, all I ever wanted was a good report from all and sundry,

“That boy is nice…that boy is nice…”

This act continued until I realized that I had all the wrong motives behind my niceness. I wanted to be a nice guy because I liked it when people talked about me in glowing colors. I wanted to be a nice guy because I wanted people to point me out as the standard. Basically, my motives were not based on a genuine care for people, but rather for the recognition and good talk that I would get.

My friends, that’s the height of selfishness. In fact, it could be referred to as pride at the height of its evil ugliness!

But many thanks to God for His indwelling Spirit.

With the Bible as my mirror, I started seeing the truth.

Galatians 5:22-23 says,

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

Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (KJV)”

As you must have probably noticed, niceness is not mentioned once. For Heaven’s sake, the word “nice” does NOT even make one appearance in the entire Bible (well, except you consider Phenice, Bernice and Eunice)!

Galatians 6:10 also says,

“As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. (KJV Emphasis mine)”

How many times have you seen popular people smiling and hugging the poor, needy and downtrodden just because of a news camera that is trailing them?

How many times have you seen big men and women going to various lengths to maintain a positive public image (and a private ego massage)?

One of the deepest truths I have come across on this subject is found in Acts 10:38,

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. (KJV Emphasis mine)”

Note that the very fact that the Bible makes a demarcation between doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil shows that there is a difference between the two.

What is the difference, you may ask.

Well, take a look at this example from Luke 8:27, 35:-

“And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and ware no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.

Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid (KJV Emphasis mine)”

That looks like an ordinary verse until you consider the fact that the demon-possessed man that Jesus healed was stark naked! Yet, after healing the man, Jesus did not give the man a nice smile and bid him Godspeed…

No! The man was first healed and then properly clothed. But the question that now arises is this: Where on earth did the man get the clothes from?

That’s right!!! The man got his clothes from Jesus Christ – the One Who goes about doing good.

Friend, I charge you today to stop deceiving others and yourself with a pious display of unflappable niceness. There is a higher level you were called to live as a Spirit-filled believer.

See what 1 John 4:17b says,

“…because as He is, so are we in this world. (KJV)”

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was not a nice Man. In fact, there was not a single drop of niceness in that fount that flowed from Immanuel’s Veins. Instead, Christ went about doing good. And you should consider doing the same too…

Selah!

When you read the story of Adam and Eve, what do you see?

With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, I see much more than an accurate historical description of the origin of the human race. And so should you!

Look, I’m not denying the fact that the Book of Genesis, especially the creation story should first of all be taken literally. However, I also believe that the Book of Genesis, especially the creation story is a kind of microcosm of the entire Bible. Believe me sincerely, you ought to be treating the book of Genesis with greater respect.

In a previous post, I told you how God inflated you with His raw, fresh and Divine Inspiration. Now take a look at this verse,

“And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him (Gen 2:20 KJV Emphasis mine)”

Did you notice the word ‘but’?

But for Adam there was not found an help meet for him…

The ‘buts’ seem to rear out their ugly heads in our lives every now and then.

When this happens, we start questioning ourselves and even God.

We point our accusing fingers at the Almighty God – our Creator – and we remind Him (as if He forgot) of His Promises to us.

But in the midst of all this, we seem to want to try and remember Genesis 1:31a,

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good (KJV)”

God saw all that He made and they were not just good, but very good!

Despite this, Adam apparently still had a ‘but’ in his life. He still had no help meet. Yet God had said that all that He created were very good. I’m sure, if you and I were to be in Adam’s shoes, we would have sulked all around the Garden of Eden mumbling something like, “God, I thought You said that all things created by You were good. Well, I think You are forgetting a little something here. Something like my help meet. I’m a little bit lonely down here. Hello!”

Do you know what I consider to be the most profound part of the story?

Genesis 2:18 says,

“And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him (KJV)”

This statement was made long before Adam felt the need for a help meet, and long before Adam even thought of feeling lonely. The truth is that long before Adam had the breath of God’s Life residing within him, God had long since solved Adam’s loneliness issue.

How do I know, you may ask? Well, Genesis 1:27 is the answer you need:

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them (KJV Emphasis mine)”

Long before Adam was aware of his creation. Long before Adam had become conscious of his purpose in the Garden of Eden. Long before Adam felt the pain of loneliness and the necessity of a help meet, God had already provided Adam, not just a help meet but a family.

And where was the answer? Adam had been carrying it within him all along.

You know what?

The Spirit of God is an Auto-Creative Force. The Bible refers to Him as the Finger of God (Exodus 31:18, Luke 11:20). In essence, the Spirit of God is God’s ‘Hand’ – the way God works. And when the Spirit of God dwells within you, that Auto-Creative Force brings to being what you so desperately need.

God has inflated us with His Spirit. We have everything we need for success in life.

1 Corinthians 2:10-12 says,

“But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God (KJV)”

God has given unto us His very Life. Now that He has given us all we need, what else remains?

This is what God saw in us. This is the very reason why He called everything He created good. Very good.

Note that God did not form Adam’s help meet from the dust of the ground. He didn’t have to. God had already inflated Adam with His raw, fresh and Divine Inspiration.

All God had to do was to dull Adam’s sensitivity to the natural physical things around the man. And believe me sincerely, we all have a very restless and noisy flesh nature that needs to be quieted before we can identify what God has already deposited into us. We have to put our senses, our logic and our critical mind in our pockets before we can identify our answer that had been lying latently within us.

“And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof (Gen 2:21KJV)”

And then God simply took out of the treasures He had already deposited into the man and fashioned out what Adam needed.

“And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man (Gen 2: 22 KJV)”

The surprising thing is the fact that Adam also knew what had happened, as soon as He had seen his help meet. Note what Adam said in the next verse,

“And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. (Gen 2:23 KJV)”

Adam’s natural sensitivity might have been dulled, but his spirit man was definitely alert!

In the day of old, Adam’s challenge was one of loneliness; what is yours today?

Poverty?

Confusion?

Living life without a sense of direction and purpose?

Sicknesses and Diseases?

Whatever it is, remember all that God created is very good.

Remember that you have God’s Divinely Inspired Breath, which is the Holy Spirit dwelling within you.

And remember that the answer you are desperately looking for is within you.

It could be a flash of insight.

It could be an enlightening discernment.

It could be a sudden knowing.

Whatever it is, the answer has already been placed within you by God.

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue (2 Peter 1:3 KJV)”

A couple of months ago, I had the privilege of watching one of the popular TED Talks – a series of special, motivational or inspirational talks. I gained a lot of things and I was prompted to look for more of such videos. Along the line, I stumbled on one particular talk that grabbed my attention. I gave in to it.

This sweet lady was passionate about what she was saying, which was something about the rampage of poverty in the world. She talked and talked and finally gave in to the tears that were dammed behind her glass eyes. In due course, she soon mumbled something on how people could believe the existence of God. Then as a way to prove herself, she quoted a portion from Deuteronomy 15,

“For the poor shall never cease out of the land… (Deut 15:11a KJV)”

And then the lady hammered and hammered on that particular phrase: “For the poor shall never cease out of the land…”

Now, I’m not taking a dig at the woman from the TED Talks or anybody with similar opinions. As a matter of fact, I think she actually made a lot of sense and raised valid points as long as she stayed on course. However, that would not stop me from bring your attention to a point that I’ve shared with you before and will most likely share with you again:

Don’t take Bible verses in isolation!

You see, to have a better understanding of the contextual meanings of scriptural texts, it always pays to read the preceding and succeeding verses. And the same principle applies here.

God loves us very much and He wants us to live a glorious life here on earth and then in heaven.

Little wonder that the Bible says,

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth (3 John 2 KJV)”

That is God’s perfect will for us; a rich and prosperous soul, as well as a rich and prosperous body.

2 Corinthians 8:9 also goes on to say,

“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich (KJV)”

That truth is very weighty. We find it so easy to believe that Christ became sin for us and we have His righteousness. Yet, we surprisingly find it so difficult to accept that Christ became poor for our sakes so that we could be rich and enjoy His wealth.

Friend, which do you think is harder: Christ making you righteous or Him making you rich?

Believe me, making you righteous was far more tasking than making you rich. You know why? Poverty is just one of the many results of sin. Sin would cause all types of sicknesses, including financial sickness. Sin would cause all types of death, including fiscal death. Sin would cause poverty. Christ redeemed us from sin, therefore, He also redeemed us from poverty.

That is a vital truth, if you can take it.

God doesn’t want you to be poor. He created you in His Image. He is rich and he created you to be rich. Anything otherwise is as if you are trying to put God to shame.

With this at the back of our minds, let us return to our friend from the TED Talks.

Deuteronomy 15:11 says,

“For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land (KJV)”

To have a better view of the scenario, go as far back as the 4^th verse of the same chapter,

“Save when there shall be no poor among you; for the Lord shall greatly bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it (Deut 15:4 KJV)”

“However, there should be no poor among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you (Deut 15:4 NIV)”

“However, there will be no poor among you, sincethe Lord will surely bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess (Deut 15:4 NASU)”

“But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance to possess (Deut 15:4 ESV)”

Wow! Now, I wonder why no one seems to enjoy quoting this portion.

This is God’s will for us. He said that there would be NO poor people amongst us. He said He would bless us in our own land. This is God’s Promise to us, spoken from His Word. God is not like men that say what they do not mean. No, God is the God of Integrity. He is bound by His Word because His Word is His Bond. He honors His Word much more than anything He has named. He has promised and He would do it.

That’s good, right? Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but there’s a part that no one lie to listen to. Despite the fact that God is a loving God with promises that He’d fulfill, He is not irresponsible. Every promise of God has a condition. And Deuteronomy 15:5 spells it out,

“Only if thou carefully hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all these commandments which I command thee this day (KJV Emphasis mine)”

Very simple conditions. Yet seemingly hard for the average Joe.

God’s conditions for Him to load you with immense prosperity is simple and straightforward: Listen to God’s Commands and do them.

That’s all. Really, that’s all.

But the truth about God is that He knows all things. He knows the end from the beginning. And the fact that He has given unto man the gift of Free Will, God knows that many people would choose NOT to meet His simple and clear-cut conditions He had already laid down for us to be care-takers of His wealth. This is the reason Deuteronomy 15:11 comes into the picture.

God is not saying that because He is the Almighty One, He would just select people randomly that would automatically be poor. No, that is far from the way God works. Rather, we are the ones that get to choose whether or not we want to meet up to God’s basic conditions for u to receive His Blessings.

“…To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts (Heb 4:7bKJV)”