mindset – Promise Tewogbola

Who Died And Made You God?

Within the space of two weeks, two different people within my circle of influence were visibly shaken by other people’s opinions about them. One moment, we were talking and jesting, the very next moment, they were wrapped with so much doubt and uncertainty in themselves. What I found most appalling is the fact that nobody had been physically present to make them feel bad.

I can empathize since I was once a victim too.

I had always attached a large importance to what people thought about me. In fact, in a bid to maintain my “Nice Guy” persona, I went to great lengths to conform to other people’s expectations of me. Not only did this leave me in the quagmire of mediocrity, I was also constantly overwhelmed and frustrated, because I was spread out too thin, trying to “meet up with the standard”.

Right now, God has cultivated me to the point where I really could not give a rip about your opinions of me.

Remember this?

By the way, you can still get your copy by clicking on the picture above!

Anyways, I may still have tendencies to be shy in a new environment, but I am secure in the love of the Father to know that He’s got me – any day, any time. Of course, by now, you should know that one of my favorite Scriptures I like to quote about this matter is John 12:3-5:

“Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.”

Are you like the way I used to be? Frustrated and overwhelmed with meeting up with the opinions of others? Pay attention to the following practical tips that may be helpful in helping you to a life of freedom and abundance – just as God wants it!

The Father, The Son And The…Donkey!

I’m sure I’ve heard Ebenezer Obey sing a song about the story I am about to share. Ah! The good ol’ days…

But I digress.

So, there was this old man who had a son and a donkey. They were apparently going on a long journey and the father put the boy on the donkey, while he walked by the side. As they moved along, they passed some old women sitting in the shade. One of the women called out (I’m pretty sure she was a Yoruba woman), ”Ahhhhhh…..Shame on you, a fully fit boy, riding while your old father is walking. What is this world turning to? Ahhhh….the children of nowadays!”

The man and boy decided that maybe the critics were right, so they swapped positions.

Later as they passed by a group of mothers watching their young children play by the river. One (Yoruba woman, of course!) cried out in protest, ” Ahhhhh….eh!!! Oooooooo!!! Ahnahn! Ahnhan! Ahnhan! Wat hapin na? How can you make your little boy walk under this terribly hot sun while you ride! Ahnhan…don’t you have any conscience?”

So, what did the duo do? They simply decided that maybe it would be in their best interest to walk.

Next, they met some young Warri men hanging out.

“Oboi! See craze o! You guys have a healthy donkey to ride on, and yet you’re both walking!” one of them shouted.

So, both the old man and his son climbed the donkey.

Then they met a group of Animal lovers….

Of course, one of them shouted, “You people are so mean! Imagine you were the donkey, how would you feel carrying two people on your back?”

The old man and the boy saw that there was clearly no way out of their ‘predicament’, so they struggled to carry the donkey.

As they crossed a bridge, they lost their grip on the really confused animal and it fell to its death in the river!

This is pretty much the first lesson to be learnt: Irrespective of what you do, people would always talk about you!

If you do something, they would talk. If you refuse to do anything, they would still talk. It makes absolutely no difference if you do anything or not, because people would always find a way to still talk about whatever you do.

Funny enough, in my experience, I was able to find freedom to live above people’s opinions of me the moment I realized that opinions would still be formed – regardless of what I do. If that’s that’s the case, I might as well go ahead with what I feel God is leading me to do per time!

Nothing Has Meaning, Except The Meaning You Give To It

Some days ago, I wrote the following on my Facebook wall:

“All human phenomena are absurd outside context. E.g, money: ‘Give me this Ferrari and I’ll give you a piece of paper with digits. Deal?'”

I was with a person who posted Christian content on his personal Facebook wall.

Now, that would not have really mattered, except when you consider the fact that this person is a highly-placed individual in a very secular community. So, naturally, some people started criticizing him for posting such content.

That really got to him.

I mean, it’s not like he shared some nudity or pornographic images on his Facebook timeline. He only shared a few encouraging lines from the Bible and he was being criticized for it?

If you look at the issue the way I have started seeing things, you’d realize that some things do not even make sense at all, except you decide to read meanings. Everyone accesses social media via their phones and laptops and if you are working yourself up because someone criticizes you on social media, in the ‘realest‘ sense, you are actually getting worked up with your phone! Whoever is criticizing you online is not in the same room with you, and there is no need for you to waste mental energy rehearsing your rebuttal in your mind. There is simply no time for that!

I remember a story I heard while growing up. Now, don’t quote me anywhere because I’m not sure whether it’s fact or fiction.

So, this witch went to a party and she was served jollof rice and fried rice – topped with chicken wings. She took offense and some days later, she started afflicting the family who organized the party. One way or the other, the witch was soon found out and she was asked why she decided to afflict the family.

Her response? Her rice was topped with chicken wings, instead of chicken thighs!

While some of you might laugh at the story I just shared, a lot of you reading this post are just the same way. In fact, so many would be offended if they went to a party and were served water, instead of juice or wine. They would forget that water is probably the healthiest liquid you can drink. Rather, they would think that they have just received the worst insult that any human could possibly endure!

Don’t even get me started with those who feel offended because someone handed something over to them with their left hand – instead of the right hand….

Receive Understanding To Tie It All Together

You would not believe it (just kidding!), but God has an opinion.

He has an opinion about everything – and He has His opinion about you!

If there was ever an opinion you need to highly consider in your life – that opinion is God’s.

This is where Understanding comes in play.

You see, Understanding is a supernatural discernment and perception of reality from God’s point of view. In essence, it is perceiving and accepting God’s opinion about things, people and places per time.

The truth is that with Understanding, it is impossible for you to be confounded, depressed, confused or at a loss. Why? You have the benefit of a supernaturally elevated perception – one that is backed by the very breath of God. By understanding, you are tuned into the dynamics of the spirit and your comprehension of actions, events and intentions becomes razor-sharp.

To me, the most outstanding feature of understanding is that it is applicable to EVERY aspect of your life. That includes your physical well-being, career, social life, relationships, spiritual walk with God, emotional intelligence, financial health and so on.

Proverbs 8:9 says, ‘They are ALL plain to him that understandeth’

Understanding makes all things plain to an individual.

Understanding is all-encompassing.

When it’s in full manifestation in your life, you understand the ways and timings of God, you undestand people, you understand things, and most importantly, you’d understand how God sees you.

He sees you as righteous.

He sees you as anointed.

He sees you as wise.

He sees you as forgiven.

God sees you as beloved!

The more you focus on God’s perspective of you, the more you can walk in the full awareness of God’s love – without anybody’s opinions holding you to ransom!

And if they try, you can look them squarely in the eyes and ask them, “Who Died And Made You God?!”

Understanding Understanding

When compared with what has already been said about Wisdom and Knowledge in Christendom today, it’s a bit surprising to find out not so much has been said about understanding, in spite of the fact that the Word says so much about it.

In the Parable of The Sower, Jesus says that the Word will not profit you in the absence of Understanding.

‘When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart…’ (Matthew 13:21).

Understanding is deeper than what you think it is and we’d be trusting our Teacher to put us in the right path to understanding Understanding.

One of the most direct definitions of Understanding is found in Proverbs 9:10. It says, ‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding’

We’re more concerned with the second portion of that verse: ‘…the knowledge of the holy is understanding’

Now, I’m aware that some translations render that verse as ‘…the knowledge of the Holy One…’, but I believe that such translations are a bit limiting. We’d appreciate why shortly.

Understanding means possessing the knowledge of the holy, therefore, we need to know what ‘holy’ means before possess its knowledge.

So, what then is the meaning of ‘holy’?

Being holy simply means being set apart for God, by God.

However, nothing can be holy without God because God is the only one with the attribute of being holy and He’s the only One capable of inputing the attribute of being holy.

This inputing happens via the presence of God.

Throughout the scriptures, it is apparent that the Presence of God is what makes a place, a thing or a person…and even a particular time, holy.

For instance, the place where the burning bush burnt in Exodus 3:5 was not said to be holy AFTER Moses’ encounter with God. Neither was the place where Joshua met with the captain of the Lord’s hosts in Joshua 5:15 referred anymore as holy after the encounter. All these places became holy as a result of God’s manifested presence!

Great! But what does this have to do with understanding?

A lot, actually.

Since God is too big to lie (Titus 1:2), whatever He says is Truth. And whatever He declares as holy by His Presence becomes just that!

So, when you have understanding, you suddenly become highly perceptive to whatever, wherever, whoever God has marked and vetted with His Presence per time!

You become highly sensitive to realities of the Ultimate Truth from God’s point of view per time!

What do you think made the men of Issachar stand out from among their peers?

‘And the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do…’ (1 Chronicles 12:32)

They were sensitive to what God was doing in Israel per time. They had picked up on their receivers that in the NOW agenda of God, David was the one who has been vetted by God to be Israel’s king. As a result, they broke camp with Saul and joined David.

When Understanding is established in your heart, you cannot be stranded!

When Understanding possesses you, you cannot be at a loss, neither can you be confused!

Rather, you’d find yourself in step with God and always one step ahead of what the devil, circumstances or the world throws at you.

Today, we live in a world where there’s a dearth of men and women of understanding and the Father is earnestly seeking and searching for men and women who would avail their hearts to stay sensitive to the realities from His point of view.

Would you be part of them?

Security In The Audience Of One

When it comes to forming opinions about ourselves, a lot of us are very sensitive to what others say about us.

News flash: Every single person would form an opinion about you, whether you do something or remain nothing!

Personally, I experienced first-hand the truth of that statement. You see, in a bid to become a ‘people person’, I was becoming a ‘people pleaser’.

For a while, I thought it worked. Everyone seemed to like me – males, females, seniors and juniors…

…that was until The Woman entered the picture.

Really, there’s was nothing I could do to please this woman!

It seemed as if she took pleasure in embarassing and humiliating me with every chance she got.

Back then, I didn’t understand, neither did I appreciate the lesson she was inadvertently teaching me.

Eight years later, it’s crystal clear.

You’d lose sight of yourself if you try to conform into other people’s opinion of you.

At that young age, I had been unconsciously trying to be the nice guy that did not want to offend anybody.

I didn’t want to disappoint the ‘expectations’ that other people had of me.

So, I put unnecessary pressure on myself to ‘perform’ and meet up with the opinions of others.

I most likely would have continued to tread down that path today, were it not for the intervention of THAT woman!

The lesson was driven home while I was meditating on some verses I came across many years back.

‘Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. After that He poureth water into a bason and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded’ (John 13:3-5).

Wow!

Jesus could perform the menial task of washing His disciples’ feet because He knew Who He was.

He was secure in the fact that all things had been given to Him.

Jesus didn’t feel pressured to meet up with the standards that were expected of a highly respected Rabbi.

As long as Jesus knew He was doing what the Father was doing per time (John 5:19), He didn’t give a rip about the opinions of anybody else – be it the Pharisees, the multitude, the Gentiles or even His disciples.

Look, we all know that doctors wear ward coats. But I tell you the truth, a ward coat without the doctor is just another piece of cloth. It’s the doctor in himself that gives value to the ward coat!

Similarly, when you make up your mind to see yourself the way God sees you, no one’s opinions matter anymore.

You’d secure yourself in God’s Love for you.

You’d develop an outlook on life that remains the same, regardless of people’s criticisms or approvals.

You won’t live your life trying to conform to other people’s expectations and opinions of you.

Rather, you’d get into the Word and walk in the reality of how God sees you right now.

Granted, you might make mistakes and errors of judgement along the line.

You might get it wrong at times and make a big mess of things.

People would not see eye-to-eye with you on so many issues.

So what? Big deal!

I assure you, as long as you secure yourself in God’s Love for you, you’d have what it takes to learn from the experiences and move on.

Jesus was secure because He only had an audience of One – His Father.

You’d also find security too, when you come to the realization that, ultimately, only One Person’s opinion matters, and that’s God’s!

Think BIG!

pdm 5

Many people cannot think big.

Fact.

Today, it’s not uncommon to hear youths making remarks like, ‘I really hope I can get a decent job when I graduate’ or ‘I hope I will be able to make enough money to pay my bills and stuff.’

Rarely would you hear a young person say, ‘By God’s grace, I see myself making millions before I’m 25’

I get nauseous when I hear things like that, because getting a decent job, or making enough money to pay your bills isn’t even the biggest thing you can do with your life!

Sadly, many people are going to live mediocre lives, far below God’s best, because they’ve set the bar very low for themselves.

Psalms 78:41 says, ‘Yea, they turned back and tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel.’

When I was in secondary school, I used to write the following words across the front cover of all my notebooks:

‘Sky is the beginning, God is the Limit’

Clearly, in the light of Psalm 78:41, that was a very toxic thought that could have potentially limited what I could receive from God.

If I had persisted in that way of thinking and had managed to see some level of ‘success’, I would still have fallen short of the richness and vastness His plans for my life.

Listen to this: God never was, never is, and never will be your limitation.

In fact, it works the other way around.

If there’s any variable in the equation…you are the cause!

I don’t mean to condemn you. I’m just pointing you to the answer.

You really need to renew your mind (Romans 12:2)!

Many of us think that renewing our minds merely means changing your way of thinking so as to lead a righteous life.

Renewing your mind is far more than that. It also means changing your perspective of God, so you’d see Him for who He really is.

God is BIG.

His thoughts are BIG.

He thinks about YOU.

And His thoughts about YOU are BIG!

Why would you want to limit what God can do in your life because of your small-picture thinking?

You’ve not been thinking big, and that’s why you’re dissatisfied with where you are.

You’re made for more than your current experience, and that’s why you’re looking for a change in your current situation.

Why not change your thinking and start to discover the plans that the LORD GOD has for you.

Start seeing yourself for who you are in the sight of God: His Righteousness.

Start seeing God for who He really is: The Almighty Potentate.

Start seeing your situation for what it really is: Temporal.

Think BIG and watch your life turn around for the best…just as He has planned it to be!

Mirror Image

You Only Live Twice

We live in a day and age where personal leadership and responsibility is at an all-time low…and it’s not going to be better anytime soon.

Debauchery and turpitude seem to be the order of the day. Indeed, the times that Paul spoke of in 2 Timothy 3:2 – 7 are happening right before our eyes. In High Definition (HD)!

“For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents…trucebreakers…incontinent…despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady…lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God….”

Curiously, though, we have decided to take Paul’s end-time warnings to the next level!

We’ve branded it!

We’ve made it our own!

In fact, we’ve made it look so fashionable and trendy!

More like,

Let’s s eat and drink and make merry, after all…#YouOnlyLiveOnce

But do we actually live once?

This is the point where some of you might bracing yourselves for a bashing about heaven and hell! 🙂

Hmmn…you’re right! That’s one way of looking at it!

But, nah, I won’t be going that way. We have much of that condemnation talk already.

This is the deal:

People have not yet gotten it into their craniums that there are two aspects to life.

The physical realm, which constitutes of all that we can interact with with our 5 senses and logically explain…

And the spiritual realm is the causal realm (2 Corinthians 4:18), which can only be sensed by our spirits.

You see, every individual is essentially made up of 3 parts: spirit, soul and body. However, ever since the Fall, every child given birth to had a dead spirit that was separated from Life-Giving Essence of God. So, such a child could only interact with his environment with his five senses (body) and his will, emotions, intellect and conscience (soul). However, when such person accepts Christ as his Lord and Savior, the very Life-Giving Essence of God quickens the spirit of such man – making it alive and responsive to God!

Unfortunately, spending years on a #YouOnlyLiveOnce psychology, takes its toll on our life philosophy…and it’s only when one has renewed his mind on the Word of God (Romans 12:2) that such mental shackles are shattered.

For instance, Ephesians 2:6 tells us that as believers in the finished work of Christ, God has “made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Note that verse didn’t say ‘we will be made to sit’ or ‘He is making us to sit’

Nope. The verse says God ‘has made us sit in heavenly places.’

That’s past tense. A done deal!

But how can we be seated in ‘heavenly places’ if we are still very much alive in the physical realm?

Well, that’s because we live twice! In the spiritual realm, as well as, in the physical realm.

Yet, so many people live as though all there is to life is in the ‘here’ and ‘now’. A few more believe that their forays into the spiritual realm would only kickoff when they physically die.

As a believer, nothing could be further from the truth!

Jesus said, “…he that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 3:16, 6:47).

Do you think Jesus was merely referring to life in heaven after one’s death?

No, it includes the perks too. He was referring to the manifestation of the realities of heaven. That’s everlasting life!

No sickness, no pain, no lack, no want. That’s everlasting life!

As it is in heaven, that’s how it is on earth! That’s the kind of life that Jesus Himself lived here on earth.

You need to realize that God has given every believer all that is needed for an abundant life on earth (2 Peter 1:3). Unfortunately, many believers are just managing life. That’s not an abundant life to me!

So, how can you live twice?

Simple.

Have faith in God!

In the same way you believe a mirror’s description of your face in the natural, you’ve got to believe that God’s Word about you is the true description of your spirit.

God is Spirit. His Words are the truest description of reality.

So, when God says you’re righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21), or you have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), believe it with every fibre of your being. Because, His Truth is The Truth!

It’s only when you’re able to do this that you’d be more aware of the riches, wealth and abundance bubbling around and within you per time.

It’s only with this understanding that you’d realize that the very words on your lips are a bridge that funnels wealth and blessings from the unseen realm into the tangible world.

Only then would you be able to take your position of authority in heavenly places in Christ, believe and speak your desired reality into manifestation.

Who cares about #YouOnlyLiveOnce, when you can live twice?

Not me.

Whose Job Was It? (Part 2)

As I mentioned in the previous post, Job’s story is included in the Bible, so that we can profit from his experiences and not repeat the same mistakes (1 Corinthians 10:6).

In the last post, I shared how our actions have spiritual implications, which in turn would determine the quality of our experiences in life. This time around, we’d be examining more actions that clearly mark out Job as the architect of his predicaments.

First off, from Job’s story, it is crystal clear that the man was more sin-conscious than he was God-conscious. The Bible records that the first thing Job did each day was to offer burnt offerings in case his children had sinned and cursed God ‘in their hearts’ (Job 1:4 -5).

Job didn’t offer sacrifices of thanksgiving or those of praise.

He didn’t meditate on the awesomeness of God.

Oddest of all, he didn’t even wait for his children to commit the sins first, before he started worrying about offering sacrifices for them!

You have to understand that since Job lived in the patriachal times – long before the advent of the law (Genesis 46:13), he wasn’t obligated to have offered sacrifices solely for sins. After all, Abel, Noah and Abraham, all offered burnt offerings for diverse reasons other than sin. Ironically, Noah got drunk and Abraham lied that Sarah was his sister, yet not once did the Bible record that these men offered sacrifices for sins.

Why?

These men were more God-conscious than they were sin-conscious. Noah found grace in God’s eyes at all times, while the Bible calls Abraham a Friend of God. The sins of these men could have easily given the devil a foothold in their lives, but, listen, nothing can beset a God-conscious man. He is unbeatable!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating for a riotous lifestyle where we don’t give a rip about God and His Holy Standards. But what I’m really against is becoming so ‘over-religiously’ paranoid about sin that we start treading that fine line between sanity and outright madness.

The truth is that you’d never be able to overcome sin by focusing on sin. The effect of that would always be counterproductive. That’s why Ephesians 5:16 has got to be one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It says,

“…walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh”

It’s simple.

The only way to overcome sin is to shift your focus to walking in the Spirit. In other words, be Spirit-conscious, be Word-conscious, and then, as a result, you’d not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.

While Job’s intentions are good, it’s clear that his decision to be sin-conscious, rather than God-conscious somehow kickstarted spiritual events that led to his unpalatable experiences.

Secondly, Job had the problem of speculative imagination, or as Psalms 19:13 puts it, ‘presumptuousness’ (i.e, using your imagination to picture bad things based on wrong or incomplete information). When you observe his practice of offering sin offerings every morning, you’d see speculative imagination at work.

I mean, how could Job have known that his children may have been nursing the idea of cursing God?

Well, it takes an actively misused imagination to do that!

You cannot have constant and continual evil imaginations and then expect good to happen to you. Proverbs 24:14b says, ‘…and thy expectation shall not be cut off’.

Job later says plainly in Job 3:25, ‘For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me’.

It’s my belief that Job’s continual choice to be more sin-conscious, than God-conscious, somehow led him to have an expectation of the worst from God someday. You can see that much when Job tells his wife: “…shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?”

What a statement!

Because Job was so sin-conscious, his theology was totally messed up. The devil was able to convince Job that all his sufferings were the handywork of the Loving Father!

Listen, God is a good God. He’s all together wonderful, loving and caring for His children. He would never use sickness, poverty or tragedies to ‘teach His children sense’.

No! No!! No!!!

It’s inconsistent with His very Nature!

However, if you’re sin-conscious, you’d never see this side of God. Instead, you’d continue to see yourself as a miserable sinner that God’s out to get. And once this happens, you’d gullibly accept every ware of tares that the devil brings at your doorstep – all in the name of receiving the punishment for your sins.

Friend, Jesus has paid the price in full for your sins. You don’t have to believe the lies of the devil and continue to ‘serve punishment’ for your sins. Instead, shift your focus away from your sins to Jesus’ grace. Shift your attention to God’s deep love for you. And as you do so, you’d find that you’d can have an expectation of good experiences in your life, resulting in an exponential increase in the quality of your life and all that’s associated with you!

God bless you.

Whose Job Was It? (Part 1)

The Book of Job introduces Job as a perfect and upright man who feared God and eschewed evil. In a generation of men whose imagination constantly churned out evil, Job was God’s Quintessential Man. Yet, for years, I struggled with the notion that the innocent Job had to suffer so much hurt and pain. At that time, it seemed to me that Job was caught up within a ‘power tussle’ between God and the devil. It looked so unfair that Job was treated as the proverbial grass that suffered while two elephants were at war. The picture I had in my mind was that Job was so helpless….

Or was he?

Upon a closer examination of the story from a pair of unbiased, non-religious eyes, we’d find that neither God, nor satan was the primitive cause of Job’s predicament!

As it were, Job was the unwitting designer who took up the thankless job of orchestrating his own misery.

How?

Well, to understand the ‘how’, we have to appreciate the reality that all our actions have spritual significances. All through Job 1 and 2, we can observe the narrative seamlessly switching from Job’s actions and activities in the physical realm; and the spiritual realities of God, angels and the devil. This is because Job was doing some things in the physical realm that was having spiritual implications.

You see, the causal realm is the spiritual realm. That’s the Ultimate reality that gives rise to our individual apparent realities. 2 Corinthians 4:18 tells us that the seen physical realm is temporal, time-bound, while the unseen spiritual realm is eternal.

While it is true that the unseen gives rise to the seen, our actions in the physical realm trigger events in the spiritual realm that would ultimately determine the quality of our next experiences in the physical realm. These experiences, in turn would cause us to take further actions and decisions in the physical realm that have spiritual significances which would in turn determine the quality of our next experiences, and the cycle repeats itself again and again for the rest of our lives.

This is why Romans 6:16a tells us this:

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey….”

God is Love. And that’s why He has given us our Freewill. He would never, ever force Himself on you. Revelations 3:20 shows man’s Owner and Creator, at the door of man’s heart, saying, almost respectfully, ‘Behold, I…knock…’

If you decide to use the freewill God has given you to choose to yield yourself to Him through your thoughts, decisions and actions, it would cause a series of spiritual events that would ‘allow’ God the right of way to make your next experience in the physical and prosperous one.

Conversely, if you choose to yield your members to the devil, you’d give him the right of way to make your next experiences in the natural to be deleterious!

Job’s story is included in the Bible, so that we can profit from his experiences and not repeat the same mistakes (1 Corinthians 10:6). I’ve shared one thing that Job didn’t understand, there are still others I’d like to share in the continuation of this truth in the next post.

Remain blessed.

Finding Grace

Genesis 6:8 says, ‘But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord’

There’s a principle in Scripture interpretation, referred to as ‘The Principle of First Appearance’. The principle simply states that the first time a word appears in the Bible, there’s a lot of importance attached to how the word is used in that context.

The word ‘grace’ first occurs in the Bible in Genesis 6:8. And believe me, its significance could change your life forever!

The Bible tells us that Noah found grace IN the eyes of the Lord. Some people may read that verse and just gloss over it like that. But if you pay attention, with the Spirit’s help, you’d find that Genesis 6:8 is actually trying to tell us HOW to walk in grace.

The process is actually simple.

Just look IN the eyes of God!

Some may scoff at this and say Promise likes taking scripture verses a little too literally. Others may complain that Promise is reading too many meanings to a Bible verse that simply means that God lavishly poured grace on Noah.

But the Bible never said the God poured grace on Noah!

No. It said, Noah FOUND grace IN the Lord’s eyes!

God’s grace was already abundantly available to ALL of mankind. But Noah was able to find it IN the Lord’s eyes.

What then does it mean to find grace IN the sight of God?

I’d use a story to explain:

When I was younger, anytime my parents took me for outings, but didn’t want me to eat there (for reasons best known to them), all they did was to look at me…

…and I would find the instruction not to eat IN THEIR EYES!

My parents were able to communicate with me clearly and non-verbally, regardless of how far they were from me, or the number of people in the room at the moment.

How?

Because of the relationship I had already cultivated with my parents over the years, I knew how to read meanings and receive instruction by merely looking into their eyes!

The same occurs with receiving grace.

God’s grace is already richly abundant to all of Mankind. However, the levels of manifestations of that grace differs from one to another…depending on the quality and quantity of time spent lovingly gazing into the eyes of the Father.

There’s no formula to receiving grace from the Father. All we can do is to imitate Noah, and cultivate a rich, vibrant relationship with God!

The Art Of Observation: Anyone Can See, Few Observe

For a moment, let’s assume that you had a plot of land which you took the time to clear and uproot the weeds. Now, what would happen if you refused to plant any seeds in your cleared land?

It’s simple.

Your land would would be overgrown with weeds again.

Now, did the fact that you DID NOT plant the weeds prevent your land from being overrun?

No! Actually, despite the fact that you did not consciously plant weeds in your cleared land, your decision NOT TO deliberately plant seeds was also a decision to permit the growth of weeds in your land!

It’s the natural order of things: When you plant seeds, crops grow; when you don’t plant seeds, weeds would grow!

Many people agree to this truth, yet it’s astonishing that so many find it difficult to understand that the same principles hold true in the art of observation.

You see, everyone has the ability to see and observe. However, the sad thing is that not everyone is CHOOSING to observe deliberately!

Principles would always be principles. They aren’t respecters of one’s consciousness. With principles, ignorance isn’t an excuse; with principles, there are no alibis!

Whether you are conscious of the fact or not, the quality of your life at the moment is dependent on what you saw in the past; and the quality of your life in the future would be dependent on what you are seeing NOW…regardless of whether you’re looking deliberately or not!

The difference between the observers and passive seers lies in the deliberate effort applied to the stream of consciousness. The observers refuse to allow the land of their lives to dictate the sort of fruits that would come out of it. Rather, they deliberately and consciously select the kind of seeds that they want to propagate on the lands of their lives.

Observers understand that man is a partner with God in the continuous creative process of instituting order in the world.

In spite of this reality, the truth is that many people are merely seeing, but not consciously observing.

The irony is that what they see is often an accurate description of their APPARENT REALITIES. What many people are seeing all around are chaotic weeds of poverty, unpredictable economic tides, wars and rumors of wars, lack, strife, loose morals, ever-dropping standards, and so on.

There are apparently weeds of chaos everywhere. Note the term ‘apparently’. It implies that the weeds of chaos aren’t the ULTIMATE REAL DEAL! It’s just a perception of reality.

In spite of this, here’s what distinguishes those who have mastery in the art of observation:

‘While the majority choose to see and adapt to the weeds of chaos in their lives; the very few who observe, challenge chaos to create order, because they can choose to see that too!’

Observation is a deliberate and conscious effort that God has designed and ordained everyone to be a master at.

Unfortunately, many are merely seeing, and quality of their lives naturally matches up with the quality of their defective vision.

Friend, why don’t you just take a step out of the traffic, and for once, take a look at what ought to be.

I promise you, you’ve got nothing else to lose, and everything to gain!

The Art Of Observation: What Seest Thou?

From my little understanding, whenever God asks a man the ubiquitious question – What Seest Thou? – it’s because the object of interest is already in existence within such man’s frame of vision! From Jeremiah to Ezekiel; to Hosea, Amos and Zechariah, all these men were asked the same simple question: What seest thou?

This brings us to a curious discovery, which many individuals amazingly still miss. It goes like this:

Observation is a conscious and deliberate action that is solely dependent on the mind of the observer.

It’s that simple and quite basic too.

The truth is that there’s a dearth in the number of genuine observers in our generation today. There are gaps in all sectors of the world’s economy that need to be filled by men and women who have mastery in the art of observation. Sadly, that rarely seems to be the case, as observation is a lost art washed down into the cesspool of the past.

What’s the problem? Well, for one, this current generation is full of people not willing to embrace responsibility for observation!

Why? Observation requires focus and deliberate conscious efforts for it to be successfully done. And frankly speaking, we live in a world where personal responsibility is just too much work for the average Joe!

We live in a generation where the majority are just too mentally lazy to summon the efforts it takes to do the most basic of all actions – to see and observe.

We live in a generation that finds it easier to do a lot of blame-pushing and finger-pointing, rather than taking personal responsibility for their lives!

The truth remains that the quality of life you’re currently experiencing is dependent on how far you saw (consciously or unconsciously) in the past. And the quality of your life in the future, would be determined by the quality of your vision now!

You see, until you decide to take responsibility for your life, and personally choose to deliberately master the art of observation, you’d live at mediocre levels for the rest of your life!

The good news is that the moment you decide to start practising the art of observation consciously, you’d start seeing in a way that very few in this generation would ever see! And the reason this would happen won’t be because what you observed suddenly materialized. No, it would be because you had embraced the state of mind that empowered you to discern and pick what was ALREADY around you!

So, I ask again, ‘What Seest Thou?’