“In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2Tim 3:12NIV) 

Did you see that? Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. And observe Paul does not say, “Everyone who wants to live a godly life will be persecuted.” That is because a lot of people today are trying to live godly lives. But they are not seeking to live godly lives in Christ Jesus. That someone decides to live a godly life does not mean he is going to be persecuted. There are a lot of people all around us who are trying to do good things. But that is not because they are related to Jesus Christ. So such individuals may not expect any kind of persecution. 

But here Paul is saying that everyone who has determined in his heart to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. He can expect to be persecuted. And we can see how this played out in the lives of the Apostles in the book of Acts. For example, in chapter 3 of the book, Peter and John were used by the Lord to heal a man that was impotent in his feet for a little about forty years. And while everyone who witnessed the incident was praising God and thanking Him for healing that man, some other people had a different and negative response. 

Why did they have a different and negative response? Was it because the man was healed? No! Rather, it was because of the person in whose name the man was healed. Look at how Luke reports this from Acts 4, beginning with verse 1: 

“The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.” (Acts 4:1-2NIV) 

Now what disturbed those religious leaders of the Jews? It was the fact the apostles were teaching the people in the name of Jesus. So, it was not the healing of the man per se that disturbed them. The healing was a good work. However, what troubled them was the name that was used in doing the healing. In essence, they were troubled because of the apostles’ relationship with Jesus Christ.

But then, when someone does what is good, what should naturally happen? People should praise him. But these people were not doing that. At least, if you would not praise the one that has done something good, you should praise the one in whose name he has done it. But we are told that these people were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.  

In any case, from verse 3, Luke goes on to say, “They seized Peter and John and, because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.” (Acts 4:3NIV) Why were these people put in jail? Was it because they healed the man that was impotent in his feet? No! It was because of their relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. And that clarifies what Paul tells us in our opening text that anyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. Everyone who will commit himself to doing something good because of Jesus Christ will be persecuted. 

Peter and John were jailed not, as I pointed out before, because they healed someone, but because they healed someone in the name of Jesus Christ. So, if you are being persecuted for doing anything good in the name of Jesus, don’t be surprised. It is something you are to expect. And instead of allowing that to surprise you or fill you with discouragement, learn to commit yourself into God’s hand for strength, encouragement and protection.

Have a very lovely day.

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“Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” (Ps 55:22NIV) 

Look at that. If only we will cast our cares upon the Lord, He will surely sustain us and keep us from falling into the pit of shame, disgrace and humiliation. And that is because He cares about us. (Cf. 1Pet 5:7)

It is quite unfortunate, however, that many people, including Christians, know nothing of the care of God for their lives. They don’t know that He cares so much for them that He is committed to sustaining them through life every blessed day. And because they don’t know these things, they miss His daily benefits for them and struggle through life in a spirit of despair. (Cf. Ps 68:19).

Look at the animals of the field and the birds of the air, for example. God is daily committed to taking care of them. Just a while ago, my wife and I were watching a wildlife documentary on the Television, and we saw a great horde of animals, fat, strong and agile, migrating from some place to another. Then we started talking about them and about the beauties, wonders and care of God, as revealed in the Scriptures.

Now consider this: those animals have no human shepherd to feed them, care for them, fold them in a pen or take responsibility for them. Also, they are not working or toiling or handling any kind of investment that will yield dividends for them in the future. In short, they have no worries about today or tomorrow or the future or an imminent recession or famine. Yet they are numerous, big, fat, tough, strong, agile and beautiful to behold. And why is that? It is because God is taking care of them.

The bible says:

“Lord, you have made many things; with your wisdom you made them all. The earth is full of your riches. Look at the sea, so big and wide, with creatures large and small that cannot be counted. Ships travel over the ocean, and there is the sea monster Leviathan, which you made to play there. All these things depend on you to give them their food at the right time. When you give it to them, they gather it up. When you open your hand, they are filled with good food.” (Ps 104:24-28NCV)   

Think about that. God is committed to taking care of all the animals, birds, insects and the several other living things He has created, both great and small. He is committed to giving them good food at the right time. He is committed to sustaining them, so that they do not disappear from the face of the earth, even in a period of famine. And even though these creatures are unable to pray to God articulately or intelligently, as man is able to, God never shuts His ears to their cry for food or sustenance. And that is because He cares about them. 

Now if that is how God cares about all these creatures, which have not been created in His likeness or made to fellowship with Him, will He not much more care for and sustain His man, whom He has created in His image and after His likeness? He surely will! And what we need is to learn to relate to Him every day on the basis of this knowledge that He cares about us. Then we will begin to swim in the rivers of His goodness, mercy and kindness and also begin to sing like one of our Psalmists, who says: 

I have known the Father’s care for me,

He’s been good, He’s been good,

Through it all He’s always there for me

God’s been good to me.

Have a most refreshing day

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Sometimes, when I consider the degree of corruption or decay in our world, I wonder if it is possible at all for anyone to live in absolute purity in it. But God, according to the bible, demands absolute purity from all men. And He also shows us through the bible that it is possible for us to live in absolute purity in this world. For example, despite the fact that the corruption in the world of the days of Noah was so great that God was willing to destroy all humanity from the face of the earth because of it, Noah and his family still stood out at that time as an example of purity in a lost world (Gen 6). 

Also, in the days that God sought to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for their unspeakable immorality, Lot and his family still stood out at that time as an example of purity amidst a lost race. In fact, according to the bible, the man had two daughters who were still virgin when destruction came upon those two cities. (Cf. Gen 19:1-8) In addition, when Prophet Elijah began to petition God against the corruption in the nation of Israel, telling Him how he was the only one that stood for righteousness, God made him realize that, apart from him, He still had seven thousand people in the land who had not defiled themselves. (Cf. 1Kings 19:1-18)

But how did these people succeed in staying pure, despite the high degree of corruption in the world of their days? Was it by having very high moral standards? No! Yes, it is good to have high moral standards. But if it is not God that sets those standards for us, they will not accomplish in us the standard of purity He wants in our lives. That is because God does not just want an outward display of purity; He also wants an inward testimony of it. That means He wants our purity to flow from the heart. And the only thing that can do that for us is the word of God.

One of the Psalmists says to us, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to the word of God.” (Ps 119:9NIV) Can you see that? The only way we can keep ourselves pure in this world of corruption is to allow our lives to be run or controlled by the word of God. Unfortunately, even though many today, both old and young, get to hear God’s word through various means week after week, they don’t see it as something to be taken seriously or to be lived by. The word of their parents, friends, family members, colleagues at work, movie stars, song artistes and so forth mean more to them than God’s word. Yet they wonder why their lives are so messed up.  

See, as long as we won’t give the word of God its rightful place in our lives, it does not matter how hard we try to keep our lives right and normal in this twisted world, we will continue to fail, and our lives will remain messed up. That is because the only true light for us to walk here on earth and not stumble and fall is the word of God. Yes, the word of God is the only thing that can purify our lives and keep them pure in this utterly polluted world. (Cf. Ps 19:7-11) So, go for His word and embrace it wholeheartedly, and your life will be kept without blemish till the Day of the Lord.

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“The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” (Ps 138:8NKJV)

I know these are very trying times for many people in this nation. These are times in which many are losing their jobs, shutting down their businesses, cutting down their expenses and giving up on their dreams. Nevertheless, God is able to perfect everything that concerns those who trust in Him. He is able to fulfil all His good purposes concerning them, as we see in our opening bible text.

Now remember the many trials and oppositions the children of Israel faced when God brought them out of Egypt. Nevertheless, God made good all His promises to them. He brought them fully into the land He had promised to their forefathers on oath. That was why Joshua, in his last words to the people, said, “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” (Josh 23:14NIV)

Look at that. The trials, temptations and challenges those people faced did not have enough power to prevent God from fulfilling any of His promises to them. And that is because He is greater, stronger and mightier than all.

Now He is able to do even much more than He did for those people for us. He is able to fulfil every one of His good desires for us, regardless of the current situation of our country. So, we don’t need to lose heart or throw away our confidence. We don’t need to give up on our dreams or aspirations because of the so-called economic and political realities we are being daily confronted with. What we need is to hold fast our confidence in God, and He will perfect all that concerns us and fulfil all His good purposes for our lives.

So, as you face this new day, don’t function with a spirit of despair, regardless of what you see or hear. Rather, always remind yourself that God’s eyes are upon you, and He will show Himself mighty on your behalf, if you will fully commit your heart to Him (2Chro 16:9).

Do have a most lovely day.

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“We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. Instead, we were like young children among you. Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.” (1Thessalonians 2:6-8NIV) 

Can you see that? Paul says we were delighted not only to share the gospel with you but our lives as well. In other words, the man was living a life of sharing. 

Now do you know what it means to share your life with someone? This is what anyone who is working with the Lord must do—you share your life with others. You deliberately allow people to come into your life. You tell them things about yourself that you naturally would not but for the work’s sake. You share your time with them. There are times ministers sit down for hours to counsel some brethren. And that is not always convenient. 

Sometimes ago, for instance, one of our brothers had to travel to Okuku (a town in Osun State, Nigeria,) to counsel another brother. Was that convenient? No! There are times you want to do some things but, because of the Lord’s people, you have to shelve them. You are sharing your time with them. You have come to understand that your time is not yours exclusively anymore; God’s people also have a share in it.

Furthermore, you share your resources with God’s people. That was the life Paul lived—he was sharing his resources with his companions and with God’s people. Some of us have sometimes had to give up certain things we wanted to do, so that we would be able to give or contribute to the Lord’s work. Did we do that out of convenience? No!

At any rate, because Paul was sharing his life with God’s people, there were things he could not do; there was a quality of life he could not live. You can now see why he says we are poorly clothed in a letter to the Corinthians (1Corinthians 4:11). It is not because he could not have used his money to get jewelleries and expensive robes for himself. But he knew what that would do to the work. He knew some things would suffer, if he did that. Yes, he was working hard. But he was not working hard for himself; he was working hard to take of God’s people. And, as he said to the Ephesian-Church, they were doing all such things to teach God’s people that through that kind of hard work they must help the weak. 

We also must open our lives for others to come in, so that they can share in our resources, time and every other thing that concerns us. What would you be doing with ten pairs of shoes, when you have brothers who don’t have any? Think about that! What would you be doing with four or five cars, when there are members of the household of God who don’t have any? 

So I want you to understand that Paul was not saying that they were homeless, hungry, thirsty and poorly clothed because they could not have lived a flamboyant life. They chose that kind of life so that they could adequately share their lives with God’s people. What, then, are you willing to do in order to adequately share your life with the people of God in your life? Or what must you do in order to freely share your life with them? Think about that, as you face this new day. And may God grant you the strength to see right and to also act right, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a blessed day.

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“Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.” (Ephesians 6:19-20NIV)

What is Paul asking for here? He is asking that the church in Ephesus will pray for him so that he will become more effective in the exercise of his gift, as a teacher of God’s people. Why is this important? Well, you need to realise that there are Christian assemblies where people complain about the quality of sermons they hear from their pastors. You hear things like, “Our pastor did not preach well today. I would not know what was wrong with him. Could it be that he didn’t eat well before he came or was he having some sort of challenges? Or how do you explain his several wrong quotations of the scriptures?” And you know they may complain like that for years and not experience any change.

But I want you to know that such people are making a mistake. How? See, even though your pastor has been called to edify you, he will not automatically do so. That is because there are a number of things that must be in place for him to do so and to do so consistently. And this is one of them: you should be praying for him that each time he opens his mouth to speak the word of God to you, he will proclaim it as effectively as he should. 

Sadly, a lot of God’s people don’t know this. Yes, they come around for their church meetings, expecting their pastors to share God’s word with them. But are they concerned about getting blessed through whatever he shares with them? No! If they are truly concerned about getting edified through what he shares with them, they will pray about it. They will ask God to make every word they will be hearing from him a blessing to them. 

Now that is what Paul is saying in our opening text. He is telling the Ephesians to prepare to be edified through him. And how are they to prepare? It is through prayers. And if you too want to continually be edified by your pastor or other people that are feeding you with the word of God, you had better be given to praying for them that God will be with their mouths so that their sermons will always be a blessing to you and not a waste of your precious time.

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“How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?...” (Exodus 33:16NIV) 

Those were Moses’ words to God when he was leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land. He wanted His presence and participation with them. He wanted something that would distinguish them from other peoples. And he knew that the only thing that would do that was God’s active participation with them.

Perhaps you too have been saying that you are a child of God. But how will those who are not believers know that you are related to God? What will be the difference between you and those who are not believers where you work, live and among your friends? How will they be able to tell that there is a difference between your life and theirs? Will they ever become jealous of you, simply because they can see that God is doing something for you that they are not experiencing or enjoying?

Furthermore, Moses said, “…What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:15NIV) God’s presence in a man’s life is what makes the difference. God’s involvement in a man’s life is what makes all the difference in the world. And that is the kind of difference you as a child of God should desire. 

Your colour shouldn’t be the difference. Your height should not be the difference. When they are saying the difference between Brother X and Mr Y is what? They should not be talking about colour, height, size, natural skills, intelligence quotient and other stuffs like that; rather, they should be talking about God. They should be saying the difference between these two fellows is God. They should be saying, “God is involved in this man’s life. Otherwise, how do you explain the things that are happening in his life?”

To say the fact, you need to get to that place in life where people begin to say that about you. They should be saying, “How do you explain this kind of progress, if God were not involved?” or, “How do you explain this kind of advancement? It can only mean that God has been involved.” 

See, there are people that men look at the way they handle their businesses and other things and say, “Look, this kind of success is not ordinary. He must have done something fetish or diabolical.” Why would they say that? It is because they are making comparisons. They may say something like, “Aren’t we in the same business? Are we not using the same equipment? Are we not in the same market? How come he is getting this kind of result? It is not natural; something is fishing.” 

People say that a lot of times about unbelievers. But do you know they are supposed to be saying the same things about Christians? Men should be saying, “Only God could be the explanation for this kind of success, progress, advancement, calmness and peace.” Therefore, we cannot overemphasise the need for God’s participation in our lives.

Now it is not that God is not willing to participate in our lives; it is not that He is not willing to get involved in our affairs; it is that God will never impose Himself on us—we will have to let Him; we will have to allow Him. In Isaiah chapter 1, verse 19, God says, “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land.” If you read that from the Living Bible it says, “If you will only let me help you, if you will only obey, then, I will make you rich!” 

So it is up to you. It is all depends on how much you allow Him, on how much room you give to Him in your life. And may your eyes be daily opened to this, so that you will allow God to freely participate in your life and affairs and make your life what it is meant to be. Amen.

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“How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us?...” (Exodus 33:16NIV) 

Those were Moses’ words to God when he was leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land. He wanted His presence and participation with them. He wanted something that would distinguish them from other peoples. And he knew that the only thing that would do that was God’s active participation with them.

Perhaps you too have been saying that you are a child of God. But how will those who are not believers know that you are related to God? What will be the difference between you and those who are not believers where you work, live and among your friends? How will they be able to tell that there is a difference between your life and theirs? Will they ever become jealous of you, simply because they can see that God is doing something for you that they are not experiencing or enjoying?

Furthermore, Moses said, “…What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” (Exodus 33:15NIV) God’s presence in a man’s life is what makes the difference. God’s involvement in a man’s life is what makes all the difference in the world. And that is the kind of difference you as a child of God should desire. 

Your colour shouldn’t be the difference. Your height should not be the difference. When they are saying the difference between Brother X and Mr Y is what? They should not be talking about colour, height, size, natural skills, intelligence quotient and other stuffs like that; rather, they should be talking about God. They should be saying the difference between these two fellows is God. They should be saying, “God is involved in this man’s life. Otherwise, how do you explain the things that are happening in his life?”

To say the fact, you need to get to that place in life where people begin to say that about you. They should be saying, “How do you explain this kind of progress, if God were not involved?” or, “How do you explain this kind of advancement? It can only mean that God has been involved.” 

See, there are people that men look at the way they handle their businesses and other things and say, “Look, this kind of success is not ordinary. He must have done something fetish or diabolical.” Why would they say that? It is because they are making comparisons. They may say something like, “Aren’t we in the same business? Are we not using the same equipment? Are we not in the same market? How come he is getting this kind of result? It is not natural; something is fishing.” 

People say that a lot of times about unbelievers. But do you know they are supposed to be saying the same things about Christians? Men should be saying, “Only God could be the explanation for this kind of success, progress, advancement, calmness and peace.” Therefore, we cannot overemphasise the need for God’s participation in our lives.

Now it is not that God is not willing to participate in our lives; it is not that He is not willing to get involved in our affairs; it is that God will never impose Himself on us—we will have to let Him; we will have to allow Him. In Isaiah chapter 1, verse 19, God says, “If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land.” If you read that from the Living Bible it says, “If you will only let me help you, if you will only obey, then, I will make you rich!” 

So it is up to you. It is all depends on how much you allow Him, on how much room you give to Him in your life. And may your eyes be daily opened to this, so that you will allow God to freely participate in your life and affairs and make your life what it is meant to be. Amen.

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“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1Corinthians 1:9NIV) 

Who is Paul referring to here? If you would read from verse one of the chapter, you would understand that Paul is talking to all the members of the church of God in Corinth. He is not referring to some selected few among them; rather, he is referring to everybody. 

Now what is he saying to them? He is saying, “God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” So, God’s call to us is a call to fellowship. We say all the time that God is calling people everywhere, with the exception of none. But what is God calling them to? 

Well, some may say that He is calling them to salvation. That is true. But you must understand that salvation is simply a means to an end—everything does not end with the salvation of our souls. Everything does not end with our being born again.

Of course, it is important that you be born again. Nevertheless, you need to understand that, even before the opportunity to be born again became open, God had been calling men. Before Jesus came God had been calling men. I don’t need to remind you that people could not be born again until Jesus perfected His work of redemption. So what are we going to say about those people God called before Jesus came? What did He call them to? Did He call them to become born again? No! That is because people could not be born again at that time.

Here, however, Paul is showing us what God calls people to? He calls them into fellowship with Himself. So, our call, call it a general call if you like, is a call to fellowship. Now, personally, I do not like the phrase ‘General Call.’ Our call is not a general call; it is a basic call; it is God’s fundamental call, a call to fellowship. 

Therefore, you need to keep in mind that God has called you to fellowship with Him. In this portion of the scripture Paul says God has called us into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ. And if you read the last verse of the last chapter of what we now call Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he talks about the fellowship of the Holy Spirit—we all recite that at the close of our meetings. So this call is not just a call to fellowship with Jesus Christ, it is also a call to fellowship with the Holy Spirit. (Cf. 2Corinthians 13:14)

We all, then, who have answered this call should take our fellowship with God very seriously. That is all that He wants us from us. He wants us to fellowship with Him in all ways. He wants us to live with Him, as He wants to live with us. And I pray that your heart will be strengthened to embrace this reality and daily walk in the light of it.

Have a blessed day.

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I once heard an African preacher talk of how distressed he was about the quality of print the publishers of his books were giving him. And so distressed and dissatisfied was he that, when visited one of these developed countries, he decided to go to some printing presses to see what sorts of machines or equipment they were using. But to his surprise, the machines those presses were using to publish excellent quality of books were not different from the ones his local printing presses were using. What, then, was the problem? People! Those handling his books either did not have the right kind of training to use the machines they had or did not have a culture of excellence.

Today, as I also move around and interact with people from different walks of life in our country, I see very similar things. I see that many of our workmen (both those with formal education and those without it) don’t have the right kind of training and discipline that result in excellent services. That explains why there is very little demand for our products in the international market. And this needs to change.

Look, you don’t have to be a local person when you can be an international person. And being an international person has nothing to do with running from one country of the world to another, doing all kinds of odd jobs or wasting tax payers’ money. Rather, it has to do with a possession of abilities and qualities that are wanted on the international plane of things. In other words, being an international person means that what you are and what you do are things that people in different parts of the world want and are willing to pay or beg for.

How, then, do you become that sort of person? Is it by praying and fasting or by endearing some mighty prophets? No! Truly, prayers, fasting and prophetic blessings have their own roles in building a significant life before God and men. But they are not enough. In fact, some people have become renown in the world without them. So, if you, as a child of God, want to become relevant anywhere you find yourself in this life, you must do more than praying, fasting and courting men of God; you must also get the right kind of training and develop yourself to be excellent at whatever you do. 

The bible says, “Observe people who are good at their work — skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don't take a back seat to anyone.” (Prov 22:29MSG) Can you see that? If you bring diligence and excellence to bear on whatever you do, though it may take a while, you will someday be dealing with people that matter in your world and not with some nonentities. 

For example, something is said in the bible about a man called Kenaniah (1Chro 15:22&27). And it is that he was highly skillful at singing. So, even though he did not seem to have a great background, he was eventually entrusted with the responsibility of leading the national choir of Israel, and nobody questioned his ability to do well. Excellence cannot be permanently ignored or rejected! 

Therefore, if you too will become skilful and excellent at whatever you do, serious minded people won’t be able to ignore you or question your ability to deliver. And it might not be long before you become a national or international figure, depending on God’s purpose for your life.

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As you journey through this life, it is important you learn to take advantage of good and upright counsel. That is because it will often prove to be the difference between failure and success in your life.

You know that none of us has a monopoly on wisdom or knowledge. The only one with that characteristic is the Lord Jesus. He is the only who possesses all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:2-3). And even though He has been made wisdom unto us, one of the ways He manifests this wisdom to us is through the counsel and admonitions of other people.

Look at all the Scriptures we have, for instance. They were not personally written by the Lord Himself – they were written by certain individuals that He Himself selected and inspired. Yet all of these Scriptures belong to Him and have been given to us for our teaching, correction, rebuking and training in righteous in living (2Tim 3:16-17). So, as we relate to the Scriptures, we don’t relate to them as the word of men but as the living word of God, which has been given for our transformation and lifting up.

In the same manner, God often seeks to counsel and instruct us through other men, especially believers. So we must humble ourselves to relate to other believers in such as a way as to continually gain Christ’s wisdom from them, regardless of their social, family, academic or political status.

And I am saying this because one of the reasons many of us fail in many of our endeavours is that we don’t often get sufficient counsel from others. Some of us, in fact, think because we have the Spirit of God in us, who has been given to lead and guide us into all the truth we need to know about life, we don’t need the support, assistance or counsel of other people anymore. 

But that is a very wrong and immature way to think. Of course, it is not every counsel, even from believers, that is godly or that can do us good. And we can detect ungodly and destructive counsel through the Scriptures and by the help of the Holy Spirit. However, that is not to say that we must not give any place for the counsel of other people, especially godly and wise men, in our lives.

The bible says, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety.” (Prov 11:14NKJV) Can you see that? Where there is no counsel, sound counsel, we can get into trouble and fall or lose. But in the multitude of counsellors, we can learn how to stay safe.

Now, having a multitude of counsellors does not mean that one will automatically be safe. But by exposing ourselves to the sound counsel of others, we can gain tremendous insight into the issues of life. And that way, we can be saved from disgrace, embarrassment, failure and even death.

So, if, having prayed and studied the Scriptures, you still seem confused about an issue of your life, you will not be wrong to turn to godly and upright people, who have a reputation for loving the progress of others, for some counsel. And you don’t necessarily have to see such people face to face; you can read their books or listen to their messages on whatever matter you are dealing with for further clarifications. Then you can subject everything to the test of the word of God. (Cf. 2Cor 10:5; 1Thess 5:20-21)

In addition to that, there are times that those who don’t know God also can give you fine counsel. And I am not talking about counsel on spiritual matters here, though, sometimes, as in the case of Jethro and Moses, those who don’t know God or Jesus Christ may give a counsel that will prove to be very helpful in handling spiritual matters (Ex 18). Rather, I am talking about counsel that can prove helpful in our different fields of endeavour like Engineering, Economics, Management, Medicine, Metrology, Agriculture and so forth. 

So, don’t use Psalm 1:1 as a reason for saying, “I cannot listen to what this person is saying to me about how to handle my business, finances, farm, body or academics because he is not a Christian.” That is not wisdom, for wisdom is always humble enough to learn from others, even when they are not Christians. And I pray that the Spirit of God will fill you with the fullness of His wisdom in all your ways and also keep you from yielding to strange and destructive counsels, in Jesus’ name. Amen. 

Do have a prosperous day! 

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“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” (1John 4:4NIV)

First, John speaks of our origin in our opening text. He says we are from God. That means our origin is in God; our life is in Him; our roots are in Him. Then he goes on to say that we have overcome some individuals. And who are these individuals? In the context of the passage of this text, the individuals we have overcome are men and women with the spirit of the antichrist. These are people whose activities and teachings are set against the teachings and works of Christ.

In any case, John says we have already overcome them. That means we are not going to overcome them or try to overcome them; we have overcome them already; we have been set above their lies, errors and evil schemes. And how did we do that? John says it was by God. According to him, not only do we have our life and origin in God, we also do have His very person and presence in us. So, we are not facing life alone; we are facing it with God. (Cf. 1John 3:24)

Now think of what it means to be facing life with God. To face life with God is to face it with all of His power, wisdom, knowledge and resources; it is to face it with everything that He represents and has. And who is a match for God’s power, wisdom, knowledge and resources? Nobody! Or do we really have any situation or circumstance that can successfully challenge or beat God’s omnipotence, omnipresence and omniscience? No!

All this is why John says, “Greater is the one who is in you that the one who is in the world.” The one who is in us and at work in us is God. And the one who is the world and at work in it is the devil. Now it is obvious that the being that men are most afraid of in this world is the devil. But he himself knows that he is not a match for God in any sense. And that is because he too is a created being, a being created by God, with very limited powers and resources. (Cf. Job 1:6-12, 2:1-6, Ezk 28:11-19) 

Not only that, satan is not even as powerful and formidable as we have been made to believe. According to the Scriptures, a time is coming when God will send just one angel to arrest and bind him up for a thousand years. If satan, then, can be arrested and bound by just one angel, does that not suggest that he is very limited in abilities? That is exactly what it suggests. (Cf. Rev 20:1-3)

So, with God in us, there is no scheme of the devil and his cohorts that is a match for us; there is no challenge, trial, temptation, situation or circumstance that is a match for us. However, we need to walk in the consciousness of His awesome presence in us so that we will not forget to take advantage of it in our time of need.

I pray that the Spirit of God in you will daily strengthen your heart and emboldened it to walk in the victory and liberty that the Lord has already purchased for you, as you go through the remaining part of the year. Just keep walking with God, and you will keep walking without fear.

Have a very pleasant day.

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“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.” (Luke 10:16NIV) 

Who is speaking here? It is our Lord Jesus Christ. And who is He referring to? He is referring to believers in Him; He is referring to all of us who have become members of His body through our faith in Him. And why does He speak like that? Why does He say, “Whoever listens to you listens to me and whoever rejects you rejects me?” He says this because of our oneness with Him. 

See, He is the one we are representing in this world. We are sharing His life. We are sharing His holiness. We have become His ambassadors here on earth. (Cf. 2Cor 5:20)

Therefore, anyone that listens to us here one earth listens to Him as well. That is because we do not have a message of our own. It is the words that He has put in our mouths that we are declaring. If you, then, won’t listen to us, He is the one you are refusing to listen to. 

That being the case, on the day of reckoning, when some will stand before Him and He will say to them, “I told you how to live to please me, but you would not listen”, they will ask Him, “When did you ever say anything like that to us, seeing that we never saw you?” And then He will say to them, “But members of my body spoke to you. And since they spoke to you, you have to take it for granted that I was the one that spoke to you. But since you rejected them you have rejected me also.”

Now why will the Lord speak in this manner? It is because we are one with Him. So, anyone who listens to us listens to Him and anyone who rejects us rejects Him. In like manner, anyone who rejects Him also rejects the one who sent Him, that is, God. You can see, then, that the Lord takes our oneness with Him as members of His body seriously. And you too should take it seriously.

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“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"” (Isa 6:1-8NIV) 

The first thing to note in this passage is that Isaiah was with the Lord. Of course, the things he describes here are from a vision he had seen. But the point is that he was with the Lord when he heard the things he heard. And because he was with the Lord he became aware of his own unrighteousness or wickedness, something that the Lord immediately took care of. 

But then, even though Isaiah was there before the Lord, He still said, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?” Isaiah was there. He was standing before the Lord. And so the Lord could have said, “Will you go for us, Isaiah?” But He did not say that. He did not assume that Isaiah was there for Him, even though he was right there. 

So, even though he was standing there before the Lord, He still said, “Who will go for us? Whom shall I send?” And Isaiah had to say, “Here am I. Send me!” before the Lord said to him, “Go and tell this people…” Therefore, standing before the Lord or being with the Lord’s people all the time does not mean that you are available to lead or serve them. 

Moses, as we are told in Exodus, chapter 3, was standing before the Lord on that holy ground. Yet he was frank about the fact that he was not available for what God was sending him to do. God said, “I am sending you to Pharaoh.” And Moses said, “No, I am not available for that. Send someone else.” God even gave him some signs to show him that He would be with him and ensure that he succeeded in the task. Still Moses said, “Send someone else.” In fact God got angry with him at some point, for he was just giving all kinds of reasons he was not available for the job. He even said that he stammered and so was unsuitable for the task. And God was like, “What do you mean by that? Who created the tongue with which you speak? Are you saying that I cannot fix it for you, so that it becomes suitable for whatever I want you to use it for?”

The point is that Moses wanted God to know that he was not available. That is why I am saying that the one that God will use in leading or serving His people must be available and available not just by words of mouth. The Lord shared a parable of two sons who were told by the father to go and work in his farmland. When he said to the first son, “Go and work today in the vineyard,” his reply was, “No, I will not go. I am not available.” But later, according to our Lord, he thought about it and went. Then the father said to the other son, “Go and work in the vineyard today.” And he said, “Okay, I will go.” But he never went. (Cf. Matthew 21:28-31)

So, being available to lead or serve God’s people goes beyond just saying it with your mouth or being present with the Lord’s people or in their meetings all the time. It is a thing of the heart. You have to be truly available, available to God and available to His people. You must be willing to do whatever you are told to do at the time He wants you to do it. You must be willing to care for His people when due. When they need you, you must be there. Whatever it is that they need you for, you have to be there for them.

It is unfortunate today that many so-called leaders of God’s people are not available to the people they are leading. You need to visit some of our assemblies and see the way leaders are treated there. You will see that they are not available. Someone will want to see the pastor, and he will have to first deal with several layers of secretaries and personal assistants before he is able to get to him. Some pastors are more difficult to access than the president of this country. Why? They are not available.

Now are you too available for God to use in blessing His people? You know the answer. And whatever it is, remember that God will not reward you for what you do not make yourself available for Him to do.

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“Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant – not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2Corinthians 3:4-6NIV)  

The first thing Paul tells us in our opening bible text is that our competence comes from God. Then he goes on to say that we are ministers of the Spirit. In fact, he actually says God has made us able ministers of the Spirit. 

So, if you are a child of God, you are also an able minister of His Spirit, just as I am an able minister of the Spirit. And our competence (our ability to minister for God) does not come from our education. It does not come from our wealth. It does not come from our age. It comes from God Himself. 

In fact, our ability to serve God or minister for Him effectively does not even come from the fact that we know a lot of Scriptures or from the fact that we pray all the time. Rather, it comes from God.

Now am I saying it is not good to pray? No! It is good to pray. I pray and, as we are instructed in the Scriptures, I also urge you to pray. Also, I study the Scriptures. And I urge you too to do your own studying of the Scriptures. But I do not derive my confidence or competence from the studying of Scriptures or from praying; I derive it from God. 

You can be studying the Scriptures and also praying and still not be competent in serving God and in blessing people. And that will be because you are relying on the effort you are making in praying or in studying Scriptures. But the word of God says our competence comes from God. Our ability to minister effectively, which is what Paul is talking about, our ability to reach out to people and deliver them from the power of the devil comes from God Himself. And as long as we are functioning with this mind-set, we are equal to any task given to us by God. Yes, we can do whatever He wants us to do. We can bless all the people He wants us to bless, regardless of the circumstances. Hallelujah!

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“Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.” (Acts 19:18-19NIV) 

When did these things happen? It was when Paul was in Ephesus, preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. And as a result of his preaching, people’s lives were being radically changed. So, they were coming out publicly to testify that their lives were being changed. Those who had charms were bringing out their charms to destroy them. Those who had magic books were bringing out their magic books and burning them. And they were doing these things publicly.

Unfortunately, today, often when we want to lead people to the Lord, we will say, “All eyes closed. If you don’t want any problem in your life, close your eyes.” Why do we do that? Generally, it is because there are people who will not raise their hands and confess Jesus, if others are watching them. And that is because they don’t want anybody to know they are getting born again. 

But when you secretly get born again like that, it becomes easy for you to still go out there and act as you had not been born again. At least, nobody saw you when you gave your life to Jesus. So, nobody is going to be expecting that you live up to a particular standard, since they don’t even know that you are a Christian. 

However, it was not like that in bible days. At that time, you would openly make your confession of Jesus Christ as Lord. You would come out and everyone would see you. And that was an indication of the change that had taken place on your inside. 

That, of course, is what we see in our opening bible text. These people were coming out and renouncing their wickedness publicly. That shows that they were excited about the word of God that they had received. It shows that what they received was real.

Now can you too say that what you received was real? Are you bold to tell the world that you are now a child of God, a new creation in Christ Jesus? Are you bold to publicly express your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? If you are not bold to reveal your identity as a child of God to the world around you, then, something may be wrong with what you received. And you need to check it before it is too late. Otherwise, God forbid, when you eventually stand before the judgment throne of God, you may just realise that what you have been calling light has been nothing but darkness all along.

So, check yourself.

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“But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, and entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense. Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the LORD followed him in. They confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the LORD God." Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the LORD's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the LORD had afflicted him.” (2Chron 26:16-20NIV

What led Uzziah to enter the temple of the Lord to burn incense? It was pride. Here was a king that began reigning at the age of sixteen and then went on to reign for fifty-two long years. Even the great King David reigned for only forty years (2Sam 5:4-5). But this man enjoyed many fruitful years of reign as a king over the land of Judah. Why? It was because the Lord gave him rest, good health and success in all his ways. In fact, the Scripture says that this man was marvellously helped by God to become famous, powerful and great (2Chro 26:15

But then, after many years of enjoying the goodness of God, he began to think of himself as some special breed. At least, he had succeeded as a king, as a military leader, as a farmer and as a land developer (2Chro 26:6-10). So, as he thought, if he should go into the priestly ministry as well, nothing should stop him from succeeding. That was why he entered the temple of the Lord with incense in his hands to bur

However, as the priests in the land boldly told him, it was not in his place to burn incense to the Lord. In other words, he had already overstepped his boundaries. He had taken upon himself to do something that he was neither anointed nor trained to do. As the bible shows us, even those who were anointed as priests at that time could not just show up before the Lord anyhow or offer any kind of incense to him and not suffer for it

Why did Nadab and Abihu die before the Lord, even though they were his anointed priests? Was it not because they offered a strange fire before him? (Cf. Lev 10:1-3) Then why did God, through Samuel, tell King Saul that his kingdom would not endure? Was it not because he took up the priestly duty of Samuel in offering some sacrifices to the Lord on an occasion? Yes, he did what he did because he was frustrated and under great pressure from those around him. Nevertheless, he did it at the cost of his kingdom. (Cf. 1Sam 1

Now these two accounts were well documented in the Scriptures for someone like Uzziah to learn from. But apparently, he learnt nothing from them. So, the very day he overstepped his boundaries to assume priestly functions in the land was the day God struck him with leprosy on his forehead. God struck him with something he could not hide from anybody. So, he had to step down from the throne for his son, Jotham, to reign in his stead. And even when he died, public sentiments would not allow the palace to bury him with his ancestors. Instead, he was buried in a field near them. (Cf. 2Chronicles 26:21-2

What is the point of this? It is that while it is good to diversify in life, especially when God is increasing us in good things, we must know our boundaries in life and not overstep them. That you are successful in a certain line of business or vocation does not mean that you have what it takes to succeed in any other kind of business or vocation

So, if it is not something you are absolutely sure you have abilities or training for, don’t allow pride, greed or the smooth talk of men drive you into doing it. Otherwise, you may meet with utter disgrace by getting involved in it. And only God knows how many successful people that have met with certain death, disgrace, illness or destruction by getting involved in politics or some sort of businesses that they did not have the ability, training, influence or experience to succeed i

Then, regardless of how successful you may be in life, don’t ever disregard spiritual authority or carelessly interfere in spiritual functions that God has not given you abilities for. Yes, every child of God is anointed and not one of us is more anointed than others. However, each of us has their own place in the kingdom. And it is only by staying in that place where God has anointed you to be that you can prosper. If you should, then, begin to address yourself by a name or title that God has not given you and to take up tasks that He has not gifted you to do, at some point, disgrace or destruction may break out on your forehead. And you won’t be able to hide it. So, mind yoursel

f.n.. 3)3). n.).), mind yourself.

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As we see in the bible, at various times in life God plants us in different people’s lives to be helpers or comforters to them. This, of course, is never to make slaves of us, even though we may sometimes find ourselves doing things that slaves do. Rather, it is often to prepare us for greater heights God wants to take us or for greater assignments He wants to give to us.

For instance, before Joseph became second-in-command to Pharaoh, he had served as a servant and helper to Potiphar and also to the warden of the prison he was taken to after the blackmail of Potiphar’s wife. And the experiences and training he had while serving these people must have helped him greatly while leading the nation of Egypt. Also, before Elisha became the leading prophet of the nation of Israel, he had first served and helped Elijah in many ways. And the time he spent with that man of God must have greatly helped him in cultivating the right culture in handling the word of God even in difficult situations. (Cf. Gen 39-41; 1Kings 19 - 2Kings 2)

But then, we must understand that the reason both Joseph and Elisha eventually got to the great heights God wanted them to get to and also succeeded there was that they made themselves quite useful to those that they were meant to serve at the time they were meant to serve them. If Joseph, for instance, had been useless to Potiphar, he would not have put all his possessions in his care. Or if he had been useless to the warden of the prison he was taken to, he would most likely not have had the opportunity to meet the man that secured his release.

So, wherever you are, identify the people God wants you to serve, help or comfort and prove yourself highly useful or invaluable to them instead of becoming an unnecessary burden. Don’t be like Job’s three friends who came to comfort him in his time of trial but ended up hurting him more. Look at his words concerning them: “You, however, smear me with lies; you are worthless physicians, all of you! If only you would be altogether silent! For you, that would be wisdom.” (Job 13:4-5NIV)

Then don’t be like John Mark who, in his early days as a minister, abandoned Paul and Barnabas during their first missionary trip. According to Luke, this man had followed these apostles to help them in whatever way they might need him. That means he may have been required to help them with their house chores, travel arrangements, letter writing or delivery, tax payments and so forth. But for no good reason, he left them when the work was just starting. So, he was a useless minister to them at that time, even though he was Barnabas’s cousin. No wonder Paul did not want them to take him when they were going on their second missionary trip. (Cf. Acts 13:5&13; Acts 15:36-41)

Now all thanks to God that Mark later woke up and began to make himself responsible in serving the leaders He wanted him to serve. So, Paul would later ask Timothy to bring him to him because he had become useful to him in his ministry (2Tim 4:11). And that is how God wants all of us to be. He wants us to grow up to be tremendously useful to the people in our lives, especially our leaders, whether at home, in the church or at work. 

See, leaders, including our parents, don’t want liabilities around them but helpers. They already have enough work to do and don’t want followers that will make things harder but easier for them. So, if you can’t make things easier for your leaders, wherever you may be, you are useless to them. And as long as you are like that, your leaders won’t see any reason to lift you up. Even God can’t open greater doors of usefulness for you, if you are useless to those He wants you to serve or help. So, wake up, as Mark eventually did and start making yourself useful to all the people He wants you to serve. And before you know it, doors of opportunity for greater heights will start opening here and there for you.

Have a fabulous day.

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“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul; and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:1-5NIV)

What is this psalmist telling us here? It is the need for us to acknowledge and praise God for all that He is doing in our lives. He says do not overlook any of His benefits. That means we must continually show gratitude to God. Our show of gratitude to Him must be constant and always. We must be ever thankful to Him for all that we are receiving from Him, not forgetting to thank Him for anything.

Being grateful to God in this manner, of course, will include being grateful to Him also for those things we cannot feel, see or touch that we have received or are receiving from Him. In other words, we are not to be grateful to God only for the material things or the things associated with living in this world that we receive from Him – we are also to be grateful to Him for the spiritual things we have received from Him. 

Yes, we must be thankful for the material things and other things that are associated with living in this world that we have received from God. But there are things are even more important than the things of this world that we have received from Him and that we need to acknowledge and be thankful for.

For example, the Lord once sent a number of his disciples out to preach the gospel and heal all kinds of sicknesses and diseases. And they went and came back with glad tidings. That was because many were healed and delivered from all kinds of problems. What shocked them even more was the fact that demons obeyed them. So, they began to rejoice over that. But the Lord told them not to rejoice because demons submitted to them but to rejoice because their names were written in the book of life. (Cf. Luke 10:17-20)

So, there is a higher level of praise, thanksgiving or appreciation that we can give to God. When we are thankful to Him for those spiritual blessings that we have received from Him, we are giving Him a higher level of praise.

In any case, the point of it all is that we must not overlook any of the beautiful things we are receiving from God, so that we may thank Him for it. And I pray that your heart will be daily strengthened to do so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great day. 

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I pray for you today that God will continue to keep you safe from the corruption of these last days and make you stand before our Lord Jesus pure and blameless when He returns. Amen.

Sometimes ago, I saw some very disturbing videos on the internet of some of our young men and women in the country stripping themselves naked, even in some big markets, all in the name of playing a game. They call it flip-game challenge. And many were getting involved in this madness boldly. Why? They just wanted to make themselves happy and forget their pains and sorrows. Then some saw this as a means to make easy money on the internet. Unfortunately, they didn’t care what they had to do to make that happen. 

Now all this brings to my mind one of the things our Lord Jesus says about the last days. He says, “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matt 24:12-13NIV) What will increase in the last days? Wickedness! Immorality! Deceit! And how will the increase in these things affect God’s children? It will make the love of many of them for the Lord become cold. In other words, they will no longer be passionate or fervent in living for the Lord or in serving Him. That, of course, will be because they too want to keep in step with their friends, lovers, family members, neighbours and so forth that do not know the Lord.

But the Lord is also very clear to us about the fact that it is only who remain firm in their love for Him and devotion to Him to the very end that will make their salvation complete. Those who give up on Him or on righteous living because of the wickedness, immorality, deceit, bitterness or jealousy around them can only lose their souls. So, don’t let any of the terrible things the people around you are doing to take care of themselves, protect themselves or make themselves happy make the fire of your love for God die. Instead, condemn their acts, turn away from them and cling to the Lord. That will be your wisdom.

Remember that the Lord Jesus says, “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.” (Matt 16:25NIV) What this means is that all your friends, family members, colleagues at work or in school, neighbours or even church members that think they are going to save themselves or make themselves happy by stealing, getting drunk or getting involved in prostitution or money rituals will someday realise that they have not saved or made themselves happy at all but have only destroyed themselves. And if you allow them to entice you to be involved in their sins, you too will someday realise that you have destroyed yourself and perhaps the people you love in your attempt to save your life.

Which is it going to be, then? Will you remain true in your devotion to the Lord, regardless of the challenges life may throw at you, and depend on Him for victory, peace and joy in every situation? Or will you join all the people around you that are daily destroying themselves while they are trying to save themselves? Well, the ball is in your court. My prayer, however, is that the Spirit of God will strengthen your heart not to foolishly join the world in running a race that is bound to end in destruction. Amen.

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Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me, I still had no peace of mind, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia.” (2Corinthians 2:12-13NIV) 

Clearly, an opportunity was given to Paul to present the Good News to the people in Troas, as he mentions in our opening bible text. But he says that because he had no peace of mind – he was troubled and afraid – he did not take advantage of the opportunity. So he went on to Macedonia.

In like manner, there are times we are given opportunities and we recognise them as opportunities to preach the Good News but still will not take advantage of them. Why? Like Paul, it may be because we lack the courage to do so. 

But the Spirit of God is always there to supply us with all the things that are necessary to take advantage of the opportunities that He is bringing to us. And if we will recognise that and count on Him for whatever we need when these opportunities come, we won’t waste them. 

Now the Lord is going to give you opportunities to publish the Good News today. He is going to give you opportunities to tell people about Him. But these opportunities may not come when you are holding a bible in your hand or when you are praying. Instead, they may come at a time that you are not expecting them. Perhaps they will come when you are having a chat with someone or when you are on a bike or when you are sitting with someone in a car. It may even be when you want to buy something from someone. 

Wherever it may be, it is important that you recognise whatever opportunities the Lord brings you to share His Good News. Of course, it is also important that you are able to take advantage of the strength, the wisdom and the resources that are available in Him to utilise these opportunities. And my prayer is that you will be strengthened to do so, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great day.

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“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you paid the last penny.” (Luke 12:57-59NIV) 

Who is speaking here? It is our Lord Jesus. And what is he talking about? Well, He is not talking beyond something mundane here. Instead, he is also talking about something spiritual; he is speaking about how to deal with your adversary. 

Now who is your adversary? Satan! And if you are not born again, he is dragging you off to destruction, according to the Lord Jesus. What, then, are you going to do about that? You have to pay him off. For if he drags you off like that, you are done for. 

See, Satan is in control of your life now because you have not been saved by faith in Christ Jesus. And if you allow the situation to remain like that, he will drag you off until he completely ruins you. Then you will appear before God and you will not be able to escape—you will be thrown into prison and you will not be able to get out until you pay the last penny.

Naturally, you may be able to pay the price for your freedom, if we are talking about an earthly prison. But spiritually, which is what we are talking about, you will not be able to pay. Once a man is dragged into hell or into the lake of fire, he cannot pay; he will not be able to rescue himself. That is why Jesus says, “Right now that you can rescue yourself, right now that you can settle with your adversary, do so.” 

But how will the natural man do so? How will he free himself from the control of the devil? How will he free his family from the control of the devil? How will he free his business from the rule of the devil? What will he do to free his marriage from the control of the devil? He does not know. 

Well, that is where the Good News begins. And the Good News is that, even though the natural man is unable to rescue himself from the control of the devil, God has done something about it. Even though the natural man on his own is unable to settle accounts with the devil, God has done something about that. 

The reason he is under the control of the devil in the first place is that he is owes and has to pay. But he does not have what it takes to pay. Thank God, however, that He has done something about the payment. In Christ Jesus, God has done something about the payment, so that man is able to settle accounts with the devil. And once he settles accounts with him, he becomes free. But as long as he does not do that, Satan will continue to drag him around; he will continue to make nonsense of his life.

If you, then, want to be free from the control of the devil, if you don’t want him to drag you off into destruction, embrace Jesus as your Lord today. And He will save and deliver you permanently from the hold of the devil.

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“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.” (1Corinthians 4:5NIV) 

I want you to pay attention to that. Paul says that when the Lord comes, He is going to bring to light what is hidden in darkness and expose the motives of the heart. That means the Lord is going to expose the intentions of our hearts, the things that motivate us to do what we do, when He comes. 

Whatever it is that you are doing, even though it is a good work, when the Lord comes, He is going to expose your motive for doing it. Now that is easy for the Lord to do, for in Hebrews 4 we are told that nothing in all creation is hidden from God; everything is laid bare before the eyes of Him with whom we must reckon. So, he sees everything and knows everything.

Well, the point I am making is that God is not just concerned about what we do; He is also concerned about our motives and intentions. These are what will determine whether what we are doing will be acceptable in His sight or not.

So, I ask you, “What is your reason for doing what you are doing?” Truly, God created us to do good works. But these works can be polluted either by sin or carnality. Christians don’t have sin in their nature because they have been recreated. But carnality also can pollute good works. It can render them useless. Don’t give room for carnality in your life, then. Don’t give room for envy, pride, greed or bitterness in your life. Otherwise, all your good works may end up becoming nothing in the sight of God.

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My prayer for you today is that God will establish the works of your hands and cause you to prosper in all your ways now and always, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now, if you said ‘amen’ to that prayer, it must mean that you believe in prosperity. Actually, I am yet to come across anyone who does not believe in prosperity or who does not want to prosper. Even those who criticise and complain about the so-called prosperity preachers and their messages also want to prosper. They want to succeed in their businesses. They want to be promoted at work. They want to build their own houses and wear good dresses. They want to stay healthy. And they want their children to do well in their studies and get employed by great companies or institutions. So, they are not really against prosperity, as their language suggests. What they are probably against is undue emphasis on acquisition of material wealth.

To say the fact, there are many preachers today who think of prosperity only in terms of material wealth. And while it is true that God wants His people to be rich in material things and also empowers them to do so, it is also true that He does not measure the quality of people’s life on the basis of their material possessions (Luke 12:15). So, being prosperous in life goes beyond having a lot of material things; rather, it involves possessing the ability to enjoy life in all its richness, regardless of the circumstances one may find himself in. And the ability to enjoy life in that manner does not come from having a lot of money, great education or a mighty influence on men; it comes from God.

Solomon, in his great book on life, Ecclesiastes, says to us, “Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work — this is a gift of God. He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.” (Eccl 5:19-20NIV) Can you see that? If you are enjoying your body, your family, your job, your education, your house, your resources and the fruit of the labour of your hands, regardless of how unattractive these things may be to men, then, you must understand that you are blessed of God.

Now I said that because Solomon further tells us in this same book that it is possible for a man to legitimately acquire great riches, properties, honour, children and even longevity and still not enjoy his life (Ecc 6:1-3). So, even though, naturally, we will consider anyone who has all such things prosperous, he is really not prosperous, if he is unable to enjoy them. And there are many like that today, who appear to be prosperous in the eyes of men but who are not enjoying their so-called prosperity. But, if you are a child of God, you need to know that He not only wants you to prosper but also wants you to enjoy your prosperity. 

David, in one of his Psalms, says, “Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, "Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant."” (Ps 35:27NKJV) Look at that. The Lord delights in the prosperity of His people. And since He delights in our prosperity, we can expect Him to continually furnish us with the ability we need to enjoy it. 

We, however, must stay away from anything that could tamper with the enjoyment of the things God has freely provided for us. Yes, we must stay away from things like greed, immorality, carelessness, over-confidence, confidence in the flesh, bitterness, envy and a host of other things that give Satan opportunities to steal people’s joy from them. And as we do so, we will continually see God at work in us, empowering us to enjoy our lives, regardless of the circumstances we may find ourselves in.

Do have a lovely day.

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Have you ever cheated before in life? Well, I have many times. In fact, all of us have cheated many times. But we must know that it is not good to cheat. And in case you don’t know who a cheat is, I will tell you. A cheat is someone that cleverly takes from others things that do not belong to him. Also, a cheat is someone that uses dirty tricks to win for himself prizes or rewards that he does not deserve. So, a cheat is a clever thief, a clever thief that brings sorrows and pains to the heart of others. That means a cheat is a wicked person.

Now there is no rest for wicked people. So, there is no rest for the cheat. And how do I know that? It is because the bible says so. Isaiah tells us this in chapter 57 of his book: “But evil people are like the angry sea, which cannot rest, whose waves toss up waste and mud. "There is no peace for evil people," says my God.” (Isa 57:20-21NCV) Look at that. Those who are wicked cannot enjoy rest or peace in this life. Their hearts and minds will never be calm. And that is because their wickedness will continue to hunt them.

Look, for example, at the fraudsters that are popularly called ‘419’ in our country today. Do they have peace or rest in their lives? No! They have to keep changing residences because they are afraid that those they have hurt or law enforcement agents may suddenly catch up with them. Also, look at another group of fraudsters that are popularly known as ‘Yahoo boys’. Do they have rest in their lives? No! Yes, they may appear to be living large to those around them. But is their peace in their lives? Can they freely move around the way other people do? Can people, even their family members, freely come to their houses and enter any room they like? No! They have to carefully keep most of the things they do away from others for fear of being caught in their wickedness.

In addition, if you have ever cheated as a student, you should have no problem agreeing with me that there is no peace for the cheat. You get suspicious whenever somebody is coming towards you. Even if somebody just says, “You, over there…” you will think you are the one being addressed, and you will start sweating or fidgeting or shivering. Why? You have been cheating. You have brought into the examination hall materials that don’t belong there. So, you cannot be at peace, for you know that you can be caught and disgraced.

Now what is the point of making money or acquiring things that you cannot peacefully spend or enjoy? What is the point of cheating to attain a position that you will always be afraid to occupy? Or what is the point of cheating to obtain certificates or credentials that you cannot defend with confidence? It is all useless! All of this is why I don’t envy cheats or fraudsters or thieves – I love to maintain the peace of God in my life. You too should not envy them, so that God’s peace can abide in your life forever. But supposing you have lost that peace because of you have been a cheat all along, you can have it back by turning to God through Jesus Christ now. And He will not throw you away. Instead, He will restore you and bring back peace and rest into your life. So, don’t delay. Do the right thing now.

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“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own. You were bought at a price. Therefore honour God with your bodies.” (1Corinthians 6:19-20NIV) 

From what Paul says to us in our opening text, it is clear that the Christian does not belong to himself. I don’t belong to myself. You don’t belong to yourself. So you cannot do with your life as you like. You cannot say, “Well, this is my life, and I will do with it as I like. I don’t want anybody to interfere.” That is wrong. The one who is of the world may talk like that. He may live like that. But a Christian cannot live his life like that. His body does not belong to him. His hands do not belong to him. So he cannot do with his hands anything that he likes. His eyes do not belong to him. He cannot look at anything that he likes, because his eyes don’t belong to him. His legs do not belong to him. So he cannot take his legs to wherever he likes. That is because he belongs to someone else. 

Again, Paul says, “You are not your own.” So don’t think you have the final say on your life; for you do not. God bought you. He paid a price for your soul. When we say that we have been set free or delivered from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God, we must understand that it is not a cheap affair. It is easy to say, “O, I have been made free. I am free!” But how did you become free? Do you think God just said to the devil, “Let him go; he now belongs to me?” No, that’s not what happened. God did not just command satan, saying, “Let my people go,” as he did in the case of Pharaoh. God had actually said to Pharaoh, “Let my people go!” Pharaoh struggled and struggled with that, until he saw things that were bigger than him. Eventually he let God’s people off. (Cf. Ex 7:10-11, Ex 12:31)

Now what happened in Pharaoh’s case was a type. But that’s not what happened in our case. God did not just command the devil to leave us. God, actually, could not have commanded the devil to leave us. That is because, naturally, we belonged to the devil. Are you following? Every natural man that is born into this world is a child of the devil. Every child that is coming to this world is a child of the devil. That is the position of the scripture. But why? It is because of our relationship with Adam. When Adam sinned, he became a child of the devil. So everyone that proceeds from Adam is a child of the devil, naturally. That was why God could not have commanded the devil to let us go.

It follows, then, that in order for God to take us away from the devil, he had to pay. He had to buy us back. He had to pay the price for our souls. That was the reason he gave Jesus—he was the payment, the ransom, for our souls. And because God paid for our souls, satan had to let us go. It was a legal transaction. The price had been paid. So satan had no choice, but to let us go. Now he has no claims on our lives. For we now belong to God, naturally. All this is to let us know that it was a transaction that took place—we were bought back from the devil. Now we are no longer slaves of the devil. God bought us. 

But God, having bought us, could have made us slaves again; for he paid the price for our souls. People buy slaves and sometimes lead into worse slavery conditions. But when God bought us, he did not turn us into slaves; he turned us into Children. That is because, originally, that was what we were. And that God is now treating us as children does not mean that we should begin to think that we belong to ourselves. We don’t belong to ourselves; we now belong to God. 

Therefore, as the apostle goes on to tell us, we should honour God with our lives, our bodies and everything else we have. Otherwise, we will be wasting His grace, which will come with serious consequences. My prayer for you, then, is that you will not waste God’s grace but make the most of it to daily live to honour him, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Cheers!

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“After this, Jesus went out and saw a collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. ‘Follow me,’ Jesus said to him, and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.” (Luke 5:27-28NIV) 

Would you not think Levi was bewitched for him to have done that? That was a grown up man, a responsible man with a job. Yet Jesus went to meet him at his work place and said to him, “Follow me,” and the man left everything and followed him. 

Well, in verse 29, it says, “Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.” (Luke 5:29NIV) Interesting! Not only did Levi leave his job and follow Jesus, he also left cheerfully; he was happy to leave. 

How did I know that? It is clear from what we have here: he held a banquet; he had a party for Jesus, immediately after leaving his job. He did not come back home, crying and saying, “O, what am I going to eat now?” It is possible that you are in that position and are saying, “God is asking me to quit my job, please sympathise with me.” If you are expecting anyone to sympathise with you because God has called you away from your job to do something else for him, then, you don’t know what you have been called to do.

Levi was so happy that he had a banquet for Jesus and invited people who were like him to come around. He brought in other tax collectors and sinners like himself to Jesus. Why? He was excited about his newly found relationship with the Lord.

See, one of the reasons we don’t talk to the unsaved people around us is that we are not excited about our faith. The reason you don’t talk to your friends, neighbours, colleagues at work, family members or course mates is that you are not excited about your faith. Perhaps you are even feeling sorry for yourself because you are a Christian. And there are many that are sorry for being Christians today. But you don’t have to be sorry for being a child of God. Why? That is the best thing that can happen to any man or woman here on earth.

So, as you go this new day, be excited about your faith. Be excited about your relationship with Jesus Christ. I am excited that I am related to Jesus. And no one will ever make me feel sorry about that.

Have a lovely day.

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“Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: ‘Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, “Here I am – it is written about me in the scroll – I have come to do your will, my God.”’” (Hebrews 10:5-7NIV) .

What did Jesus say, when He came into the world? He said I have come to do your will my God. Jesus came to do the will of God. He came to please God. He knew that was the reason he came. So there was no other assignment. Nothing was greater than this to him. “I have come to do your will,” he says. “This is my vision. This is my aim. This is my objective. This is my focus. The will of God is what I have come to do.” 

Now that has nothing to do with preaching. Of course, Jesus preached. But that was just a part of the will of God for his life. Sadly, when we talk about Jesus’ pleasing God, people often think only in the line of His ministry—His preaching, healing of the sick and casting out of devils. He did these for only three and a half years. What about the first thirty years of his life? What did He do with them? Did He please God with them?

Well, God had said to Jesus, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well-pleased,” even before He started His ministry. So if He had not preached a single message here in the world, He would still have pleased God. That is why pleasing God has nothing to do with becoming a pastor, an evangelist or a prophet. You can be all these things and still not be pleasing God. 

There are a lot of pastors, prophets, evangelists and apostles out there who are not pleasing God. Those are just carrying around titles. And all these titles are nothing before God, if our lives are not consistent with His will. The things that are highly esteemed among men are nothing before God. (Cf. Luke 16:15) 

So, living for Jesus wasn’t about being a prophet or a preacher or a healer; it was more than that. His focus was to please God. He made it His business to please God. And is that your focus too? Until it becomes your focus and vision, it cannot be realised. Until pleasing God becomes your motive, your objective in life, it cannot be realised. But that is what you were made for. And I pray that your heart will be strengthened to live accordingly every day, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Stay refreshed.

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“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” (Hebrews 3:1NIV) 

Who are we to fix our thoughts on, according to the writer of the book of Hebrews and as we see in our opening text? We are to fix our thoughts on Jesus. In other words, we are to consider Jesus in our thoughts. 

Now what are we to consider about Him? Well, he tells us in the verse that follows the one above, which reads: “He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.” (Hebrews 3:2NIV) Here he is telling us to learn from Jesus, to learn from His life of faithfulness. 

He says consider him; fix your thoughts on Him. You may have a lot of people around you who are terrible examples of faithfulness—you don’t have to consider them. There is one, however, that you can consider. This one was faithful to the one who appointed him. His name is Jesus Christ. And you should consider Him, so that you may emulate His example of faithfulness.

Your parents may not be faithful or they may not serve as good examples of faithfulness for you. Your friends, your colleagues at work, your course mates, your class mates, your fellow traders or even your brothers and sisters and pastor in church may not be true examples of faithfulness to you. Don’t waste your time considering them. And don’t let them be the reason you are living an unfaithful life. 

In short, don’t make anybody your excuse for not living a life of faithfulness. You already have a perfect example set before you, and that is Jesus Christ. Therefore, you are told to consider Him because He was faithful to the one who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. And as you fix your thoughts on Him, you will have all the encouragement you need to daily live a life of faithfulness to God, faithfulness to yourself and faithfulness to others.  

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“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest.” (Hebrews 3:1NIV) 

Who are we to fix our thoughts on, according to the writer of the book of Hebrews and as we see in our opening text? We are to fix our thoughts on Jesus. In other words, we are to consider Jesus in our thoughts. 

Now what are we to consider about Him? Well, he tells us in the verse that follows the one above, which reads: “He was faithful to the one who appointed him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.” (Hebrews 3:2NIV) Here he is telling us to learn from Jesus, to learn from His life of faithfulness. 

He says consider him; fix your thoughts on Him. You may have a lot of people around you who are terrible examples of faithfulness—you don’t have to consider them. There is one, however, that you can consider. This one was faithful to the one who appointed him. His name is Jesus Christ. And you should consider Him, so that you may emulate His example of faithfulness.

Your parents may not be faithful or they may not serve as good examples of faithfulness for you. Your friends, your colleagues at work, your course mates, your class mates, your fellow traders or even your brothers and sisters and pastor in church may not be true examples of faithfulness to you. Don’t waste your time considering them. And don’t let them be the reason you are living an unfaithful life. 

In short, don’t make anybody your excuse for not living a life of faithfulness. You already have a perfect example set before you, and that is Jesus Christ. Therefore, you are told to consider Him because He was faithful to the one who appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. And as you fix your thoughts on Him, you will have all the encouragement you need to daily live a life of faithfulness to God, faithfulness to yourself and faithfulness to others.  

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“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling…” (Hebrews 3:1NIV)

Who is the writer of the book of Hebrews referring to here? He is referring to Christians. He calls them holy brothers and sisters. That is our identity. There are, of course, many Christians that still struggle with this. You tell them, “You are holy,” and they say, “No, I am not.” 

But look at what this man tells us. He says, “Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling…” He refers to us as holy brothers and sisters. Why? It is because that is actually what we are. We are holy before God. We may not feel like we are. But what we feel or do not feel cannot change the truth. And the truth is that all of us who are in Christ Jesus are holy brothers and sisters.

Then this man of God goes on to say that we are also partakers of the heavenly calling of God. I am a partaker of the heavenly calling of God. Are you getting some facts about your identity now? You are a holy brother or sister. You are also a partaker of God’s heavenly calling. 

Sometimes when I say to people, “If you are ever going to make it to heaven, you must know right here on earth,” there are those who find it weird. They have contrary views. They say, “When we all die, then, we are going to know whether we have made it to heaven or not.” But that is a wrong position to be. It is a very precarious situation to put oneself. It is precarious not to be certain of where you will be when you leave this plane of life. 

At any rate, we are told by the Spirit of God in our opening text that we are holy brothers and sisters and also partakers of God’s heavenly calling. That means we have been called to inherit the kingdom of heaven. We are inheritors of the kingdom of heaven. That is the gospel truth. And that is what you should live your daily life to uphold.

Have a great day.

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“When David was told, "Look, the Philistines are fighting against Keilah and are looting the threshing floors,” he inquired of the LORD, saying, "Shall I go and attack these Philistines?" The LORD answered him, "Go, attack the Philistines and save Keilah." But David's men said to him, "Here in Judah we are afraid. How much more, then, if we go to Keilah against the Philistine forces!" Once again David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD answered him, "Go down to Keilah, for I am going to give the Philistines into your hand." So David and his men went to Keilah, fought the Philistines and carried off their livestock. He inflicted heavy losses on the Philistines and saved the people of Keilah. (Now Abiathar son of Ahimelech had brought the ephod down with him when he fled to David at Keilah.)” (1Sam 23:1-6NIV)

From our opening bible text, it is clear that it is not enough to find out from God if it is alright for us to do something; it is equally important we find out from Him whether success is sure for us in what He says that we can do or not. David, as we see in the text, was not just satisfied with the fact that God had told him that it was okay for him to support the people of Keilah in fighting the Philistines. He also wanted to be sure that doing so would not result in defeat but victory for him. And he got his answers.

But why did David act like that? He must have known that the fact that God tells someone to go ahead and do something does not mean that the person will succeed in doing so. If the person does not ask God questions on how to go about what they want to do or ask Him if they are going to succeed in doing it, they may not succeed. They may, in fact, get killed or injured while acting on the word of God.

For example, we are told in the bible that when God told Samuel to go and anoint David in place of King Saul, he immediately protested. Why? He knew that Saul had become wicked and ruthless, for the Spirit of God had already left him at the time. And if he should carelessly ordain someone else in his place, Saul would most likely kill him. So, he had to express his concern to God about the matter. And God taught him what he would do in order to succeed in the assignment and not put himself in arms’ way. If that had not been the case, if he had simply hurried down to the house of Jesse to anoint David as king in place of Saul, he would most likely have lost his life in the process, even though it was the will of God he was carrying out. (Cf. 1Sam 16:1-14)

Also, we are told in the book of Judges of how the eleven tribes of Israel failed twice to defeat the tribe of Benjamin, even though God was in support of their cause. As the story goes, certain wicked men from the tribe of Benjamin had raped a woman to death. And because their tribesmen would not punish them or hand them over to be punished by the people of God, all the men from the remaining eleven tribes decided to move against them in battle to purge the land of wickedness. (Cf. Judges 19-20)

But they did not just move against these Benjaminites without first consulting God. They consulted Him first, and He asked them to go. He even told them the first tribe to go. But when they went, they met with utter defeat. Summoning courage, they came to God again to ask whether it was alright for them to go to battle against the men of Benjamin. And He said that it was alright for them to go. But when they did, they lost again. In fact, their loss was so terrible that they all came back, weeping and crying before the Lord. (Cf. Judges 20:17-26)

Nevertheless, they inquired of the Lord again the third time to know if they should still go and fight the men of Benjamin. This time, however, God did not just tell them to go but also told them that He would give them victory. And when they went and fought against those evil men, they succeeded. Why? It was because the Lord had said that He would make them succeed. (Cf. Judges 20:27-28)

But why did they fail the first two times they went to battle against the Benjaminites, even though God approved of their going? Though we are not expressly told this in the bible, we can infer from other things said in it that they failed in that manner because they did not get enough instructions from God about the matter. Yes, they asked God if they could go to battle against those people and who should go up first among them. But they did not ask Him about the right time to strike or if they would succeed at all in doing so. So, they failed. And it was just the mercy of God that made them succeed in the final battle; it was not that they learnt their lessons and asked sufficient and right questions.

However, David, who must have read their account in the Scriptures, would not act like them at all in fighting any battle. He would not just ask God if it was okay for Him to engage in any battle; he would also ask Him if he would succeed in doing so. And God always answered him. No wonder he never lost any battle. (Cf. 1Sam 30:7-8; 2Sam 5:18-19)

In like manner, if we too do not want to find ourselves failing while acting on God’s word or instructions, we should always be patient to be adequately instructed by Him. Yes, God has spoken to you about what to do about a matter. But also make sure you find out how to go about it, where to handle it and when to handle it. Don’t run ahead with insufficient instructions about the will of God concerning any matter of your life, even if it is a prophet, an angel or God Himself that has spoken to you. Instead, like Samuel and David, always ask relevant and enough questions from God about any matter you are dealing with. Otherwise, you may often find yourself failing or getting injured while doing His will.

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“Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people — men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain — and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.” (Ex 18:17-24NIV)

There are certain events that are recorded in the bible that would probably not have been recorded in it, if it had not been the Spirit of God that moved the writers of its books to write down the things they wrote. One of them is the visit of Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, to him. What was so special about this man’s visit to Moses that it had to be recorded? A man, with his daughter and grandchildren, misses his son-in-law, goes to visit him and then he throws a party for him. How does that bless anybody? (Cf. Ex 18:1-12)

Well, of course, that is a blessing to me, for it shows me that if we all are going to throw away our prejudices and relate to people in love, we can build good relationships with our fathers-in-law, mothers-in-law, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law and so forth. Moses and Jethro were from two different nationalities and religions. Yet because Moses was his son-in-law, Jethro treated him kindly all the forty years that he spent with him as a fugitive (Ex 2:15-22). And even after he had left him to do the Lord’s work, the man was still concerned about his welfare and so paid him a visit. That is how it should be. But in most cases, it is not like that.

At any rate, this account is not put in the bible to merely show us the kind of affection Moses and his father-in-law had for each other. Rather, it is put there to show us how God used Jethro’s visit to set Moses right and make him more effective and efficient in the work He had given him. As it further shows us, the very second day that Jethro came was the day he noticed that something was wrong with Moses’ leadership. Yes, he was a prophet of God and also a good and righteous man, who loved his people and wanted the best for them. But his leadership style was wrong. It could not effectively and efficiently care for all the people. In short, it was bound to wear him and the people out at some point.

So, as we are shown in our opening text, Jethro lost no time in showing this man of God what was wrong with what he was doing and what he needed to do, if God would permit him, to serve God and the people better. And as we are also shown, Moses listened to him and do as he had been counselled. This, of course, made the work lighter for him and also made it possible for everybody that needed leadership help among the people to be helped. (Cf. Ex 18:24-26)

Now what if Jethro had not visited Moses at that time and pointed out to him what was wrong with what he was doing and the way out? He probably would have carried on in his error and made a mess of his ministry or die before his time. And what if Moses had not listened to that man? What if he had dismissed his counsel as that of a pagan priest that knew nothing about the living God? His pride would most likely have accelerated his destruction and the destruction of his ministry. 

What, then, is the point of all this? It is that there may be times that God needs to send certain people into our lives to show us what we are missing or what we need to do to increase in fruitfulness, usefulness or profitableness in life. It may be in our job, business, marriage or ministry that we need the good counsel or instruction of such people. Whatever the case is, it will be wise of us at such times to look beyond our relationship with such people or their status or handicaps to whatever truth God is using them to draw our attention to. 

But if we allow pride or sentiments to make us turn down a good counsel, which probably would have been the difference between failure and success for us, it is only a matter of time before we have ourselves to blame. To say the fact, what some of us need at this time to get to higher grounds in our businesses, jobs, ministries or homes may not even be more prayers, more miracles or a greater diligence. It may just be one word of counsel that will open our eyes to certain simple things we can do that will bring everything home to us. And perhaps God is already using someone to speak to us and show us what needs to be done. But our pride or sentiments won’t just let us take them seriously. We need to humble ourselves right away and act on the good counsel that is freely coming to us. Otherwise, we may never experience the lifting we so desire.

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“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13NIV) 

Think about that. The sole responsibility of all mankind is to fear God and keep his commandments. Our sole responsibility, as humans, is to live a life of faith in God, a life that takes Him very seriously. So, if you are not living a life of faith in God, you are just wasting your humanity – you are wasting away and not fulfilling your humanity. 

Of course, people may sing your praise for the things you have accomplished. And you too may praise yourself for the beautiful things happening in your life, for which you are happy and perhaps for which others adore you. But if your life is not all about taking God seriously, pleasing Him and doing His will, you are failing in your duty as a human being. Let us just say that you are living less than human. That is because your whole duty is to take God seriously, to live a life of faith in Him and a life of reverence for Him.

Paul once said to the religious leaders of the Jews that he was convinced that he had fulfilled his duty to God in all good conscience (Acts 23:1). That means he was clear about the fact that his life had been about pleasing God. 

Also, speaking along this same line to the Roman brethren in his letter to them, he says from verse 9 of chapter 1, “God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God’s will the way may be opened for me to come to you.” (Romans 1:9-10NIV) Look at that. He says, “God, whom I serve in my spirit…” This man is testifying here that he is serving God in his spirit. He knows that his life is about serving God. 

Do you also know the same thing? Is your conscience clear about this? Now, of course, what God thinks about us may be different. What He thinks about our commitment to Him may be different. But it is important that we ourselves are also clear about where we stand in our relationship with Him. It is important that we examine ourselves to know whether our lives have actually been about taking God seriously and pleasing Him or not. This is because if our lives are not about taking Him seriously and pleasing Him, then, we are wasting them. That is the point.

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As you face this new day, I will like to remind you of your role as a Christian in the world. The Christian is an ambassador of Christ in the world. He is not here for himself; rather, he is here for the one who saved him; he is here to represent his interests. (Cf. 2Cor 5:15-20).

Now the very first thing Christ is interested in is that men everywhere would return to God. That is the reason He came into the world in the first place. The bible says, “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God…” (1 Peter 3:18NKJV) Thank God we have been brought back to Him. We were lost in our sins and iniquities. But God found us and reconciled us to Himself through Christ Jesus. So, as it is now, we are no longer enemies of God but friends. We are no longer children of the devil but children of God. 

Having been reconciled to God, then, He seeks to reconcile others to Himself through us. And for that to happen, we must be interested in what He is interested in—the reconciliation of man to his creator. So, let me ask you, “Are you interested in what God is interested in?” Or shall I say, “How interested are you in what interests God?”

Apostle Paul, writing to the Philippian-Church about some of the believers who were with him, said, “I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. I have no one else like him, who takes a genuine interest in your welfare. FOR EVERYONE LOOKS OUT FOR HIS OWN INTERESTS, NOT THOSE OF JESUS CHRIST.” (Phil 2:19-22NIV – emphasis added)

Now how many people like Timothy can we find in our midst today? How many of us are sincerely concerned about the things that concern Christ Jesus? These are the questions the Spirit of God wants us to answer as we move on this year. God loves all men, and He is very much interested in what eventually becomes of them. But how will they know these things? It is through those of us who have already experienced His love, mercy and kindness. We are the only ones that can prove God’s love to them. We are the only ones that can show them how much God is interested their well-being.

So, as you go today, I want you to take up this challenge: Become interested in people the way God is. Show them how concerned you are about their salvation, fruitfulness and well-being. The Lord has promised that He would neither leave nor forsake us. So we can rest upon Him for strength, wisdom, grace and whatever we may need to bring those who are lost back to Him. Remember that He is the one at work in us and through us. And if we will allow Him, He will accomplish great and mighty things by our hands.

I trust that you will take no other view apart from the one the Spirit is bringing to us here. So, go ahead and walk with God, and you will walk without fear.

Stay blessed. 

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As we celebrate the goodness of God towards us every new day, it is his desire that we begin to experience order and coherence wherever our lives have become disjointed. “Oh,” you say, “is it possible for a Christian’s life to become disjointed?” The answer is yes. The bible shows us that it is possible for a child of God to live a disjointed life and not even know it. (Cf. Colossians 2:18-19)

Now to be disjointed not only means to be thrown out of orderly function, it also means to be disconnected from one’s source of life. Anyone who does not recognise and acknowledge his source of life can easily be disconnected from it. If you do not recognise and acknowledge your source of wisdom you can easily be thrown into confusion. And if you do not recognise and acknowledge the true source of your peace, your life can easily become a home of chaos. 

How many of us are living in confusion today because we have refused to acknowledge Christ as our wisdom? How many of us are experiencing untold pains all because we are not going to acknowledge Christ as our peace? 

Christ is the source of our life and fruitfulness. Therefore, to be disconnected from him is to be disconnected from life and fruitfulness. He himself says, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.” (John 15:4NCV) 

What that means is that you cannot live a meaningful life all by yourself. You cannot live a life of peace, joy and stability, if you are disconnected from Jesus, for he is the source of every good and perfect thing. (Cf. James 1:17)

Well, the point I am making is that the Lord wants to restore us wherever we have become disconnected from him. He wants to bring us back in step with his Spirit wherever we are out of line. He wants to get rid of everything that is blocking the flow of his grace, love, peace and mercy into our lives. He does not want us to continue to live in confusion; he wants us to live well-ordered and organised lives. 

Now God wants all these things for us because he himself is a God of peace and not of disorder. (Cf. 1 Cor 14:33) We, however, must be willing to allow him to set us right in every area of our lives by acknowledging him as the source of our peace and stability. My prayer is that none of us will prevent him from putting our lives in order in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a very fruitful and productive day.

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As you continue your journey through this life, it is good that you answer this question for yourself: How available am I for God? It always interests one to know that no Christian will ever say, “I don’t want to be used by God.” In fact, it does not matter the number of Christians that you find in a congregation or an assembly, if you ask, “How many of you will like to be used by God?” they will all raise their hands and say, “I will like to be used by God.”

Well, I believe the time has come for us to rephrase that question. So what we ought to be asking ourselves now is, “How many of us are actually being used by God?” or “How many of us have actually made ourselves available to be used by God?” The reason our world is not changing is that we who have tasted the goodness of God are refusing to be used by him. God can’t just seem to take hold of us when he needs us—we are simply unavailable. 

Our problem, as I earlier highlighted, is that of insincerity. If we simply tell God not to bother us, if we tell him not to disturb us with his business, he will most likely let us be. But we are not saying that at all. Rather, we are like that young man that Jesus describes in a parable, saying, “Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, 'Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.' "The son answered, 'I don't want to.' Later on he thought better of it and went. "The father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, 'Sure, glad to.' But he never went. "Which of the two sons did what the father asked?" They said, "The first…"” (Matt 21:28-31MSG)

Now, as Jesus asked, what do you think of that story? Which of the two sons do you represent? There is no need for you to start making excuses. There is no need for you to start giving reasons you have failed to make yourself available for your father’s work. That is because the father will never ask you to do any work that he has not given you the ability to do or that he himself is unwilling to commit to. Our Lord Jesus perfectly illustrates this when he says, “… My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." (John 5:17-18NIV) 

Look at that text again: he says, “My father is always at HIS WORK TO THIS VERY DAY…” That means God never abandons his own work. He is not remiss; neither does he grow tired or weary. Instead, he is ever committed to saving souls and transforming lives. And as Jesus puts it, it is on this basis that he also works. And it is also on the same basis that we are to do anything for God. The father is not asking us to present ourselves to be used and dumped as most of our organisations do. The reason he ever asks us to do anything at all is that he wants us to partner with him; he wants us to share in his glory and splendour. Didn’t our Lord Jesus share in his glory, having laboured with him? Sure, he did! (Cf. John 17:4&22, Phil 2:6-11)

Now are you willing to share in the glory of what God is doing in the world today? Are you willing to be his partner in his quest to bless and lift men? Note this: God can do without us, but he is unwilling to do so. Therefore, we should not make light of this rare privilege. Instead, every new day, we should whole-heartedly ask him, “What will you have me do today? Where will you have me go today? Who will you have me reach out to today?” As we daily do so, God’s mighty power will gush out through us like torrents of flood, and men will behold his glory and beauty in us.

So let’s get to work!

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“Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.” (Ps 29:2NKJV)

The psalmist speaks of the beauty of holiness in our opening text. That means Holiness is meant to beautify our lives. Unfortunately, many do not hold this view. They think holiness has to do with dullness. For them, you cannot be holy and at the same time be lively. But that is not the position of the scriptures. Holiness is not synonymous to dullness at all. So when you see a Christian who is dull, then, you can almost be certain that his holiness is questionable.

Holiness is God’s gift to us; it is not a product of works. Another word that is usually used synonymously with it is sanctification. And to be sanctified is to be separated for a specific or an intended purpose. For instance, a chair, by nature, is sanctified for sitting. Of course, somebody may decide to stand on it or carry it on his head. But a chair is not made to be stood upon or to be carried on our heads; it is made essentially for us to sit upon.

In the of light this, when a man’s life is sanctified unto God, it means that his life is being lived as God intends him to live it—his life is serving the purpose for which God has made it. That is what it means to be holy. And that is what brings beauty and satisfaction into a man’s life.

Today, many of God’s people don’t even know how God wants them to live their lives. That is the reason they are not walking in the holiness of God. And that is also the reason there is no beauty about their lives. Paul says to the Thessalonian Christians, “Finally, brethren, we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you learned from us how you ought to live and please God, just as you are doing, you do so more and more.”(1Thes 4:1RSV) 

From the above scripture, you can see that we can actually learn how to live and please God. Every Christian ought to be doing that—we ought to be learning how to live our lives to please God. If that is our concern, then our lives will never be boring or uninviting. But how can we learn how to live to please God if we do not know him personally? The key to our living a holy life or a life that is pleasing to God is possessing a true knowledge of him. When we know God personally, we will definitely know how we ought to live our lives to please him.

Therefore, as you face this new day, face it with a desire to know God better in your life. The better you know God, the better you will know yourself. And the better you know yourself, the better you will live your life the way you are meant to live it. 

Remember this: God himself desires that every one of us would know him progressively. That is why he says through Jeremiah, “...I will put my law within them, and I will write it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And no longer shall each man teach his neighbour and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest...”(Jer 31:33-34RSV) 

Stay refreshed! 

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“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:7-12NIV) 

What picture of God does this paint for you? A God who delights in making you happy! Here is a God who delights in giving good gifts to those who ask Him. Notice that our Lord says that when you ask Him for bread, He is not going to give you a stone instead. That means He will fulfil the desires of your heart. And if you ask Him for a fish, He is not going to give you a snake or a scorpion instead. That is God for you.

The problem, however, is that the things we often ask of God are things that will hurt us or others. We don’t ask for bread. We don’t ask for fish. Instead, we ask for stones. We ask for snakes. We ask for scorpions. We ask for those things that can hurt or harm us or others. And when we ask Him for such things, as a responsible father, He will not deliver them to us. 

So, to just generally assume that God is not interested in what you desire or want is to miss it, for that is not the picture of Him that the bible paints for us. The picture of God that the bible paints for us is that of a God that is interested in fulfilling the desires of your heart. But He will only do so when your desires are in agreement with His will. 

All of this is why the Psalmist says, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will fulfil the desires of your heart.” (Cf. Ps 37:4) So, if you want God fulfilling your every desire, delight yourself in Him. Yes, align your desires with His will. Then you will never again ask Him for anything that He will not gladly give to you.

Have a blessed day.

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“Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel — because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.” (Gen 11:1-9NIV)

The story of the tower of Babel given to us in the bible teaches us two major things. The first is the power of unity. As the account goes, there was a time in the world during which all men spoke only one language. But it was not the fact that they spoke one language that they were able to accomplish what they accomplished in building the tower of Babel; rather, it was because they were united in purpose and in mind.

Speaking the same language is a good thing, for it makes it possible for us to communicate our thoughts, desires, visions and even concerns to others in ways that they can understand us and work with us. However, it still does not guarantee that people will work or labour with us to accomplish our dreams or visions. This explains why we have groups, organisations and institutions in which, though the members speak the same language, they are not accomplishing their visions or experiencing any real development. There is no unity of mind and of purpose among them.

In the case of the people who worked on the tower of Babel, even God recognised their unity and said if they continued in that same spirit, there was nothing they planned to do that would be impossible for them to accomplish. That, of course, does not mean that they, like God, would be able to do anything they wanted, just because they were united. Rather, it means that they would be able to do anything that is within the capability of the human mind and potential. 

So, if you want that organisation or institution or group or family you belong in to go from conquest to conquest in accomplishing its visions and set goals and maximise the potential of everyone in it, then, strive to promote unity of mind and of purpose there. Also, if you want that business, company, group or family you are leading to keep accomplishing every good thing it sets out to do and enjoying the very best of the people in it, then, labour to promote unity of mind and of purpose among your people. Emphasise the relevance of unity to them all the time. Reward those who excel in maintaining and promoting unity of mind and of purpose among them. In short, make unity your watchword. 

Now do not be among those who stir up fights or divisions or rebellion where you are or among those who deliberately set up those under them in opposition against one another, as a way of preventing rebellion among them. That is diabolical. And even though it may work for you for a while, ultimately, any form of disunity that is promoted in your business, workplace, group or family, whether it is your creation or another person’s creation, can only limit and ruin everybody there, creating a platform for other forms of evil to spread among all of you. Remember that any kingdom or house that is divided against itself cannot stand (Matt 12:25). 

The second thing the story of the tower of Babel teaches us is that unity against the counsel of God is disastrous. Indeed, God recognised the unity of the people building this tower, but He also disdained their reason for building it. Unlike what many have proposed, they were not building the tower because they wanted it to be a link connecting the earth to the throne of God in heaven. No, that was not their idea or plan. And that was even beyond human capability. What they wanted, however, was to erect an imposing and magnificent tower that would be a point of attachment for all men, keeping them from spreading over the face of the earth to replenish it. They wanted a building project in which everyone would be a stakeholder and would never want to move away from because of their sentiments and love for it.

But what was God’s purpose for humanity? No! His purpose for us when He made us was for us to fill the whole earth and replenish it (Gen 1:26-28). So, when men began to work on this tower, they were setting themselves directly against God’s purpose, even though they were united. In other words, their unity was not to promote God’s cause but their own desires and pride. And in order to show them that His purpose could never be thwarted, God’s stepped into the situation and confused their language, so that they could no longer be united. That was how that project was abandoned and the people spread out from Babel over the face of the earth.

Therefore, though unity is important and is a powerful force for making people fully express their potential, it will only have the blessing of God, when it is used to promote His cause and righteousness. But the moment we begin to unite ourselves with others to do evil or to work contrary to the purpose of God, we can only expect Him to judge our so-called unity and throw us into confusion. So, don’t team up in unity with anyone or any group of people to do any kind of evil, for confusion will certainly be the payment you will get for doing so. And no one can tell what such ‘confusion’ will take away from your life and affairs.

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“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45NLT) 

Think about those words. Even though Jesus is lord over all of God’s creation, He still chose to serve us in order that we might have life and have it more abundantly. 

But then, it is easier for many of us to accept His service in bringing us salvation from our sins and the dominion of darkness than it is for us to accept His service in every matter of our lives. What I mean is that many of us usually think the Lord’s desire is to serve us only in those issues of our lives that we consider to be big or grand. So, we don’t expect Him to move in those seemingly little matters of our lives, for we believe those are for us to handle. But the Lord is interested in serving us in every area of our lives, big or small, great or little.

Now He illustrated this in the way He treated His apostles just before He went to the cross. As John reports in his gospel, one evening, just before the Lord was crucified, He did something shocking and amazing – He washed the feet of His apostles. And what He did, as historians would have us know, was a job that was usually done by house servants and maids. But the Lord, knowing fully well that God had put all things under His dominion, still went ahead to serve His men in the manner that He did. (Cf. John 13:1-5)

Yes, of course, one of them, Peter, protested and said, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet? No, this is not happening. You are my Lord, and I won’t allow you to stoop so low that you will wash my feet.” And what was the Lord’s response to his protest? It was this: “Unless I wash you, you have no part in me.” Then Peter, not understanding what the Lord meant by this at all, quickly said, “If that is the case, then, wash my hands and my head as well.” But the Lord said to him, “No, Peter. A person that has already taken his bath does not need to wash his whole body again; he only needs to wash his feet.” (Cf. John 13:6-10)

What exactly was the Lord getting at by all that? It was that, as one who truly loved His men, His desire was not just to help them with the big matters of their lives but also to help them with the so-called little matters of their lives. And He was not doing this because He had forgotten that He was their Lord; rather, He was doing it because He loved them.

In like manner, the Lord wants to serve us too in every area of our lives and not just in those ones that we consider big or great. Naturally, there is a tendency in every one of us to want to handle some matters of life all by ourselves. And that is usually because we believe that we have enough intelligence, resources, influence and power to get them done on our own. But the Lord has already made it very clear to us that there is nothing, big or small, great or little, that we can accomplish apart from Him. He has shown us through His word that we have no competence of our own to get anything done in this life. So, whatever we get done apart from Him, if we get anything done at all, will someday stare us in the face as nothing. (Cf. John 15:5; 2Cor 3:5)

All of this is why we need to allow Him to serve us. We should not think there are some issues of our lives that are just too small or insignificant to commit to Him or bother Him with. In fact, we should never ever think we are bothering Him by casting every matter of our lives upon Him. That is why He came to us in the first place. He came to bear all of our life’s burdens and worries for us, that is, on a daily basis (Ps 68:19). And He came to do this because He loves and cares about us as His own possessions (1Pet 5:7). 

To reject His service in any way, then, is to say that we don’t belong to Him. So, let us allow this Lord of glory to serve us in whatever way He wants to. Let Him wash our lives, our hands, our legs, our feet and every part of our lives. 

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“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mark 10:45NLT) 

Think about those words. Even though Jesus is lord over all of God’s creation, He still chose to serve us in order that we might have life and have it more abundantly. 

But then, it is easier for many of us to accept His service in bringing us salvation from our sins and the dominion of darkness than it is for us to accept His service in every matter of our lives. What I mean is that many of us usually think the Lord’s desire is to serve us only in those issues of our lives that we consider to be big or grand. So, we don’t expect Him to move in those seemingly little matters of our lives, for we believe those are for us to handle. But the Lord is interested in serving us in every area of our lives, big or small, great or little.

Now He illustrated this in the way He treated His apostles just before He went to the cross. As John reports in his gospel, one evening, just before the Lord was crucified, He did something shocking and amazing – He washed the feet of His apostles. And what He did, as historians would have us know, was a job that was usually done by house servants and maids. But the Lord, knowing fully well that God had put all things under His dominion, still went ahead to serve His men in the manner that He did. (Cf. John 13:1-5)

Yes, of course, one of them, Peter, protested and said, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet? No, this is not happening. You are my Lord, and I won’t allow you to stoop so low that you will wash my feet.” And what was the Lord’s response to his protest? It was this: “Unless I wash you, you have no part in me.” Then Peter, not understanding what the Lord meant by this at all, quickly said, “If that is the case, then, wash my hands and my head as well.” But the Lord said to him, “No, Peter. A person that has already taken his bath does not need to wash his whole body again; he only needs to wash his feet.” (Cf. John 13:6-10)

What exactly was the Lord getting at by all that? It was that, as one who truly loved His men, His desire was not just to help them with the big matters of their lives but also to help them with the so-called little matters of their lives. And He was not doing this because He had forgotten that He was their Lord; rather, He was doing it because He loved them.

In like manner, the Lord wants to serve us too in every area of our lives and not just in those ones that we consider big or great. Naturally, there is a tendency in every one of us to want to handle some matters of life all by ourselves. And that is usually because we believe that we have enough intelligence, resources, influence and power to get them done on our own. But the Lord has already made it very clear to us that there is nothing, big or small, great or little, that we can accomplish apart from Him. He has shown us through His word that we have no competence of our own to get anything done in this life. So, whatever we get done apart from Him, if we get anything done at all, will someday stare us in the face as nothing. (Cf. John 15:5; 2Cor 3:5)

All of this is why we need to allow Him to serve us. We should not think there are some issues of our lives that are just too small or insignificant to commit to Him or bother Him with. In fact, we should never ever think we are bothering Him by casting every matter of our lives upon Him. That is why He came to us in the first place. He came to bear all of our life’s burdens and worries for us, that is, on a daily basis (Ps 68:19). And He came to do this because He loves and cares about us as His own possessions (1Pet 5:7). 

To reject His service in any way, then, is to say that we don’t belong to Him. So, let us allow this Lord of glory to serve us in whatever way He wants to. Let Him wash our lives, our hands, our legs, our feet and every part of our lives. Then and only then can our lives be meaningful, pure, unsullied and overflowing with God’s goodness in this dark and decaying wo

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“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” (Romans 1:16NIV) 

Why is Paul not ashamed of the gospel? It is because he is convinced and persuaded that it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes it. Now Paul is saying this to the Romans, men and women who have been brought up to believe in force and to trust in their military strength. They were the world power at that time. And with their military strength they had conquered several people, people of different languages, colours and tribes. They had taken the lands of these people and imposed their civilization upon them. 

But their military strength could not change the hearts of their captives or conquests, neither could it change their own hearts. Their military strength could not put an end to sexual immorality that pervaded the entire Roman Empire at that time. It could not deliver them from debauchery and the different kinds of evils that were troubling the land. So, Paul tells them, “I know what can deliver you from all these ills. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ. So I am not ashamed of preaching it, for I know it is capable of changing anybody’s life.” 

Now do we have the same persuasion? Do you have the same persuasion in your heart that the word of God is capable of changing people’s lives? Do you have the same persuasion that the word of God is capable of transforming people’s lives? All these people that are misbehaving and messing up around you, your friends who are living immoral lives, your colleagues who are living immoral lives, your neighbours who are messing up, are you persuaded that the word of God is capable of changing their lives? Or have you totally written them off? 

You know sometimes we are found saying of some people, “No, he cannot change. That is how he is going to end his life.” But have we given them the word of God yet? Paul says I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. If you too have the same conviction, you will not be ashamed of giving the gospel to anyone around you that cares to listen.

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“For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1Timothy 4:8NIV) 

Here Paul says physical training is of some value. Yes, godliness is better, for if you train yourself to be godly, the benefits are eternal. Nevertheless, physical training still has its own value. Paul says it is of some value. And you should get that value, though it is small.

So, exercise your body. It is important. Of course, you won’t find in the Scriptures what sort of exercise you should do. But there are professionals in this area as well as people who have some experience in it. Consult them, and they will tell you what is good for you. 

But it is important that you exercise your body. Do not allow your body to become unnecessarily fat or so fat that you can no longer carry it. Exercise it. Also, if the nature of your job requires that you sit down for long, you should know that you will need to give your legs or back some sort of exercise, so that they will not begin to give you problems at some point. 

Some of us use computers all the time. There is what is called office ergonomics, which speaks of the proper way to sit in the office, the proper way to set your desk and chair and so forth. Such things are important in keeping your body healthy. And if you don’t pay attention to them, you may start having issues with some parts of your body at some point.

Also, look at pregnant women. There are exercises that they subject them to when they go for antenatal. Why? They want to keep their bodies fit for what is coming. So, you cannot say, “It is not in the bible that pregnant women should exercise their bodies?” Exercise has its own value. And you should get it, even though it is not much, for it is one of the things that will keep your body fit and healthy.

Have a great day.

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“Jesus said to his disciple: ‘Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied round their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves.’” (Luke 17:1-3NIV) 

The Lord is showing us here that it is possible for us to be responsible for other people’s fall. You can be an accessory in other people’s fall. We can make ourselves available to be used by the devil in making others to sin.

Now while it is true that when we make somebody sin, we are going to be punished, it does not mean that the one who has sinned will not be punished at all. What I am saying is that even if someone is responsible for making another person sin against God and fall, it does not mean that the one who has sinned will not be punished or made to face the consequences of the wrong things he has done. 

Truly, the one who causes another one to sin will get the punishment due to him for doing so. That, however, does not mean that the one who was misled or made to sin will be exonerated. In the case of Adam’s sin, for example, we can see that even though God agreed that Eve played a role in his sin, He did not because of that exonerate him. And even though He agreed that it was Satan that deceived Eve and caused her to do the wrong thing, He did not because of that vindicate her. Judgment was passed on the devil for what he did, but Eve also was punished for the role she played in the whole thing. Likewise, Adam was not left alone – he too received his own punishment for what he did. 

So, we must not think that by holding other people responsible for our sins, we will be exonerated. That is not going to happen. God, in dealing with matters of sin, looks at everyone that is responsible for them and makes sure he receives what is due to him. We humans don’t usually act like that. We just look at things narrowly and judge people on the basis of what they have done. We are not going to consider all the other factors that are responsible in making people do whatever they have done. But God does that. 

In the case of Eli’s sons, as another instance, even though their father was not in any way involved in their wrongdoings, he also was punished. Why? God said that he was in a position to set his children right, but he did not. So, God considered him to be a partaker of their sins. And that is why you need to keep in mind the fact that there is no way you are going to get away with your sins by blaming others for them.

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“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Ephesians 5:15-17NIV) 

Did you see that? We are to be careful how we live, not as unwise but as wise people. That means we need to watch how we live. We need to watch what is happening in our lives and what we are doing with them. We are not to live anyhow, recklessly or carelessly but thoughtfully.

Now what will make it possible for me to do that? It is my understanding of the will of God. That is why Paul says do not be foolish but understand what the Lord’s will is. If I do not understand what the will of God is for my life, there is no way I can live my life to agree with it. So, I need to first understand what God wants of me. I need to constantly make effort to know what He requires of me, how He expects me to live and function. Then I can begin to watch the consistency of my life with what He wants.

So, if you have been living your life anyhow, you are not doing the right thing as a child of God. If you have not been watching what you are doing with your life to see that it agrees with the will of God, you are not living right as a child of God. You need to pay attention to what you are doing with your life as a child of God. I also need to do so. And my desire is to get to that point where I am able to say, as Jesus did, that I always do what pleases God. That means if I am not at the moment doing all that pleases Him, I should know. If my life is not in agreement with His will, I should know. And if I know that my life is not in agreement with His will, what am I doing about it?

God wants my life to conform to His will. Paul says in his letter to the Romans that God predestined us to conform to the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29). So, we have a standard that our lives are meant to conform to. That is why we cannot live our lives carelessly or recklessly but in conformity with the will of God. And may you be strengthened to live accordingly every remaining day of your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid day.

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“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.” (Luke 15:13-16NIV)

As the story of the prodigal son shows us, he left his father, taking along with him everything he had. But before long, he lost everything and was left with nothing. And that is to illustrate to us what will become of everyone seeking to be independent of God. He is going to ultimately lose everything. 

But then, those who choose to live independent of God may not lose money. The prodigal son lost his money because he was not financially intelligent. He had not learnt enough from his father about handling money before he left the house. So, he lost all his wealth. But you may live independent of God and not lose your money. You can choose to live independent of Him and be wealthy. You can choose to live independent of Him and still be influential. In fact, your fame may arise out of the fact that you have chosen to be independent of God. There are people that have become famous or influential by living very crazy lives. They do crazy things that get people’s attention and even lead some to fall in love with them.

So, your choice to be independent of God may not result in poverty for you. It may not keep you from being famous, powerful or highly educated. This is one thing that Christian preachers often miss. They often erroneously give their hearers the impression that when someone chooses to be independent of God, he will surely not amount to anything in life or be able to get to certain heights in life. But that is not true. 

See, the story of the prodigal son is simply an illustration of what can happen to those who seek to be independent of God. A whole lot of other things can happen to those who choose to be independent of God, that is, apart from losing their wealth. They can lose their health. They can lose their positions. They can lose their family. Or they can lose their happiness. 

But then, they may, in fact, not lose any of the things I just mentioned. They may have what seems to be a perfect life, the kind anyone would wish to have. However, there is something else more important than all these things that those who seek to be independent of God will surely lose, if they do not repent. That is their soul. And losing your soul is worse than losing anything else in this world. That is because the things of these world can be recovered, if we lose them. But our souls cannot be recovered, if they are lost. So, if you lose your soul, you have lost everything.

Do you, then, want to lose your soul? What will you give to redeem your soul, if you should lose it? Nothing in heaven and on earth can redeem your soul apart from the sacrifice God made through His Son Jesus Christ. And you cannot make that sacrifice yours, if you want to live independent of God. So, if you do not want to lose your soul, don’t run away from God. Instead, yield yourself to Him and begin to live with Him. And He will see to it that your life is full and rich.

Have a blessed day.

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“Then Samson's wife threw herself on him, sobbing, "You hate me! You don't really love me. You've given my people a riddle, but you haven't told me the answer." "I haven't even explained it to my father or mother," he replied, "so why should I explain it to you?" She cried the whole seven days of the feast. So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him. She in turn explained the riddle to her people.” (Judg 14:16-17NIV)

What was Samson’s weakness? Women! Yes, that is what almost every bible student or teacher would say. But Samson was not the first or only person in the bible to love women or to be involved with multiple women. Abraham, as we are told in the bible, had more than Sarah in his life. He also had an unspecified number of concubines in his life. Yet he was not led astray or into destruction by any of them. What about David? He also had many wives and concubines in his life. Yet not one of them led him astray or opened the door for Satan to come into his life and afflict him. (Cf. Gen 25:1-6; 2Sam 5:13)

Am I saying it is alright to be a lover of women or to be involved in polygamy or adultery? No! The word of God is very clear about God’s stand on such things. And though He did not punish these saints of old for their involvement with multiple women, He has now made it abundantly clear to us through His Son and through His holy apostles that people who give themselves to sexual immorality have no place in His kingdom. 

However, I brought up these things just to show you that Samson did not fail God and fall simply because he was involved with all kinds of women. Rather, he failed Him and fell because he was weak in handling love manipulations and pressure. 

As we see in our opening text, even in handling the very first love of his life, the only woman that he actually went after to marry, he was weak. He was weak in handling her manipulations and the pressure she mounted on him to do something that would put him in financial trouble. And though he gave in to her, he still ended up losing her to another man.

Similarly, in handling Delilah’s case, he was weak in handling her manipulations and pressure. Yes, he loved her. But when it became clear to him that the woman was up to no good, what should he have done? He should have walked away. Even if he was not going to walk away like that, he could have told her that he had no intention of discussing the secret of his power with anyone. But he did not do any of these. Instead, he kept on telling the woman lies and trying to play games with her. And when he could no longer handle her nagging, he told her the whole truth and exposed himself to destruction. (Cf. 1Sam 16)

Now there are many today that may end up being destroyed like Samson because they too are weak in handling the pressure or manipulations of certain individuals in their lives. These individuals may be their husbands, wives, parents, children, friends, neighbours or even religious leaders. But they are constantly on their necks, manipulating and pressuring them to do something that will put them in trouble. 

They may be pressuring them to borrow money for them or for certain things they can do without, money that they have no capability to pay back on time. Or they may be pressuring them to acquire facilities they cannot manage or to go for a job that will take them away from the faith or to get involved in a love relationship that is bound to be deadly. But the truth is that when trouble eventually happens, as it will most likely happen, these people may not be there at all to save them.  

So, if you have people in your life at the moment that are constantly manipulating, threatening, enticing or pressuring you to do something that you know is not good for your life, home or future, you must not yield to them. Will that be easy? No! Taking our stand against threats, manipulations and pressure, especially if they are coming from those that we love, respect or adore, is usually not easy. But we must always remember the word of the Lord that says, “My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.” (Prov 1:10NIV) We must also always remember His word that says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.” (Ps 1:1NIV)

Now, of course, it is not every time that these words apply only to sinners and ungodly people. There are times that it is godly people, who ought to know better, that yield themselves to be used by the devil to harass, threaten, manipulate, entice or pressure us to go overboard and destroy ourselves. And where this is the case, we must take our stand against the devil using them, while still maintaining our love for them.

Truly, doing this may sometimes require that we end certain relationships altogether or that we endure the rejection and hostility of those that we love dearly. But we have to do so, as long as it is what will keep us in the will of God. All we need is to keep our Lord Jesus who, as an example for us to follow, endured the opposition of sinners all His earthly days always before us (Psalm 16:8; Heb 12:3). And we will never grow weary or be moved but always be vindicated by Him as being right and just in our ways. 

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“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:7-12NIV) 

What picture of God does this paint for you? A God who delights in making you happy! Here is a God who delights in giving good gifts to those who ask Him. Notice that our Lord says that when you ask Him for bread, He is not going to give you a stone instead. That means He will fulfil the desires of your heart. And if you ask Him for a fish, He is not going to give you a snake or a scorpion instead. That is God for you.

The problem, however, is that the things we often ask of God are things that will hurt us or others. We don’t ask for bread. We don’t ask for fish. Instead, we ask for stones. We ask for snakes. We ask for scorpions. We ask for those things that can hurt or harm us or others. And when we ask Him for such things, as a responsible father, He will not deliver them to us. 

So, to just generally assume that God is not interested in what you desire or want is to miss it, for that is not the picture of Him that the bible paints for us. The picture of God that the bible paints for us is that of a God that is interested in fulfilling the desires of your heart. But He will only do so when your desires are in agreement with His will. 

All of this is why the Psalmist says, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will fulfil the desires of your heart.” (Cf. Ps 37:4) So, if you want God fulfilling your every desire, delight yourself in Him. Yes, align your desires with His will. Then you will never again ask Him for anything that He will not gladly give to you.

Have a blessed day.

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“"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:22-24NIV)

When Jesus says, “Have faith in God and speak to your mountain,” we need to understand that our speaking must be done in agreement with His will. If what you are saying is contrary to His will, He will not back you up. 

So, if you are asking a mountain to move for your selfish reasons, don’t expect God to back you up. You don’t just start going around and asking any mountain you see to change its position. On what basis? Is that on the basis of the word of God to you? Is that on the basis of the will of God for your life or your world? Or is it that you just want to prove that you are related to God and have access to His authority and power?

Jesus did not do that. He never had to prove anything to anybody. When Satan told Him to prove that He was the Son of God, He did not answer him. Then when the religious leaders of the Jews asked Him to give them signs that He was truly of God many times, He did not answer them. Why? The reason was that His miracles were not done to prove to people that He had the power of God. Rather, they were done because it was the will of God for Him to do them. 

In other words, Jesus delivered people from satanic bondage not because He wanted to prove that He had authority but because God wants people to be delivered from every bondage of the devil. All He was doing with His authority and power, then, were God’s works.

So, if you want your situation to move, you need to know the will of God about it. Then you will not be telling that situation to move just because you feel that it should move; rather, you will be telling it to move because it is the will of God for it move. 

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‘A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard; and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he told the man who took care of the vineyard, “For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?” “Sir,” the man replied, “leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig round it and fertilise it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, the cut it down.”’” (Luke 13:6-9NIV) 

The Lord told this parable to show us something about God’s activity. He wants us to know that God is actively examining our lives. For what? For fruit! He wants our lives to be bringing forth the fruit of righteousness, holiness and so forth. We, in fact, have the fruit of the Spirit listed for us in different passages of the bible. And we are meant to be bringing forth this fruit in increasing measure. 

Since God, then, is examining our lives for fruit, we also ought to be examining them for fruit. So, I need to check my life to see whether it has been bringing forth the kind of fruit God wants it to bring forth or not. Has it been bringing forth the fruit of love, of peace, of contentment, of humility, of gentleness, of self-control, of brotherly affection and so forth? Has my life been bringing forth this fruit in increasing measure? I need to settle down and look at my life to see whether it has brought forth fruit to God this year or not.

If I have been taking God seriously all the year, then, my life will definitely be bringing forth fruit unto Him. But if I have not taken Him seriously, there is no way my life would have brought forth fruit unto Him, the kind of fruit that would honour Him and cause men to praise Him. In short, it is the degree to which I take Him seriously that my life would bring forth fruit. 

God Himself, as we see in Scriptures, is committed to this cause. He has not left us to ourselves in the matter. That is why the fruit He wants us to bring forth is referred to in the bible as the fruit of the Spirit. He is the one working in us to bring forth this fruit. But He will only be able to bring forth this fruit, if we permit Him to work in us. He will only be able to bring forth this fruit to the degree that we permit Him to work in us. The bible is clear about the fact that God is at work in us to will and to act according to His good purpose. But His work will not be evident in us, if we will not allow Him to do what only He could do in our lives. (Cf. Philippians 2:13)

In Saint John’s gospel, chapter 15, we are told that God is committed to pruning the lives of His people so that they may bring forth much fruit. But it is only those who allow Him to cleanse their lives of those things hindering their fruitfulness that will bring forth much fruit, as He wants. 

In any case, what I am saying is that I need to examine my life for fruit, since God is examining it for fruit. I need to be checking my life in this manner, so that I will know whether it is being lived in consistency with the will of God or not. Otherwise, a time may come when God, as we see in our opening bible text, may have to judge me for being fruitless. My prayer is that each time God looks into your life and my life, He will find sufficient fruit of His righteousness in them, so that He will not be compelled to judge us. Amen.

Have a great day.

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“"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.” (Mark 11:22-24NIV)

When Jesus says, “Have faith in God and speak to your mountain,” we need to understand that our speaking must be done in agreement with His will. If what you are saying is contrary to His will, He will not back you up. 

So, if you are asking a mountain to move for your selfish reasons, don’t expect God to back you up. You don’t just start going around and asking any mountain you see to change its position. On what basis? Is that on the basis of the word of God to you? Is that on the basis of the will of God for your life or your world? Or is it that you just want to prove that you are related to God and have access to His authority and power?

Jesus did not do that. He never had to prove anything to anybody. When Satan told Him to prove that He was the Son of God, He did not answer him. Then when the religious leaders of the Jews asked Him to give them signs that He was truly of God many times, He did not answer them. Why? The reason was that His miracles were not done to prove to people that He had the power of God. Rather, they were done because it was the will of God for Him to do them. 

In other words, Jesus delivered people from satanic bondage not because He wanted to prove that He had authority but because God wants people to be delivered from every bondage of the devil. All He was doing with His authority and power, then, were God’s works.

So, if you want your situation to move, you need to know the will of God about it. Then you will not be telling that situation to move just because you feel that it should move; rather, you will be telling it to move because it is the will of God for it move. 

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“I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make your enemies turn their backs and run. I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.” (Exodus 23:27-30NIV)

God was going to give the land of Canaan to the children of Israel. He had made a promise to do this and was, at that time, already leading them there. But before they would go into the land, He wanted them to know that He was not going to hand over all the inhabitants of the land to them at once or in a single year. Why? According to Him, the land would become desolate, if He did that, and wild animals would multiply against them.

That means God was concerned about their readiness to handle the land. He wanted to give it to them. But He also knew that they were not numerous enough to occupy it. So, if He drove out all the people in the land at once, what would happen was that most part of the land would become desolate. That is because they would only be able to occupy the land on the basis of their numerical strength and resources. They would not be able to develop or cultivate whatever was left of the place. And that would cause whatever was left to become a jungle in which wild animals would multiply in an unchecked manner. Reclaiming it, then, would become a very difficult thing for them to do.

So, you can see why God said that He would not drive out the inhabitants of the land of Canaan all at once but little by little. This would give the Israelites time to become numerous enough to occupy and develop all of the land. What we are saying, then, is that the volume of the land of Canaan that the Israelites occupied and received was a function of their readiness to develop it.

In like manner, the volume of what we will receive from God often depends on our readiness to handle it. So, it is important that we be devoted to developing ourselves to be able to handle what is coming to us from God. We need to make ourselves ready for that position we desire to occupy or that God has shown us in a dream that He wants to take us. This is so that the position will not destroy us but become a platform through which we can increase in usefulness in God’s hand and through which He can elevate us even higher.

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“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10NIV) 

What is Solomon saying to us here? It is that we are to pour yourself into whatever work our hands find to do. This is important because a lot of people hate hard work today. They do not want to pour themselves into whatever they are doing. But that is not God’s way. You must not hate work. You must not hate your responsibilities.

As we see in creation account, God worked diligently in creating the universe. And when we look at His work, we see beauty, excellence and diligence. There are all kinds of Scriptures that talk about the excellence that God brought to bear on what He created. We too need to bring excellence to bear on whatever we are doing. And one of the ways to bring excellence into what we are doing is to pour ourselves into it. We are not taking half-measures. Instead, we give ourselves completely into what we are doing, giving it what it takes. That is what promotes diligence.

When we are talking about diligence, we are talking about showing concern for what we are doing, so that it may accomplish the results it is meant to accomplish. That is the attitude you must have towards your work. You handle it with a consciousness that it must accomplish the result it is meant to accomplish. This is even beyond pouring yourself into your work and working with all your energy. That you use all your energy to work does not mean that you will get the results you are meant to get. If you are not mindful of the results that are expected, you may just waste your energy and skills doing something unprofitable.

So, you need to know what is expected of you by the one or ones you are working for or responsible for. What sorts of results are your clients or customers expecting from the work you are handling for them? And if we are dealing with fulfilling your responsibilities to your parents, children, the church of God and so forth, what sorts of results ought to be accomplished in their lives? You need to be concerned about the results. Why am I doing what I am doing? What is my work supposed to accomplish? That is another thing that aids diligence.

When you are diligent, when you are concerned about the quality and results of your work, you will not do it anyhow. You are going to do it to accomplish expected results. That means if you need additional understanding or knowledge about what you are doing, you will go for it or get someone who knows better than you to help you. That will be because you are concerned about getting acceptable results. 

During the reign of King Joash, this is said about those who handled the repairs of the Temple: “The men in charge of the work were diligent, and the repairs progressed under them. They rebuilt the temple of God according to its original design and reinforced it.” (2Chronicles 24:13NIV) Can you see that those people were diligent in handling the work given to them? And because they were diligent in handling it, the work progressed under them. When you bring diligence into what you are doing, the work will progress and excellence will manifest in it. When you bring diligence into what you are doing, the beneficiaries will enjoy the results or experience progress through the results. 

Therefore, in handling whatever you are doing, you need to be concerned about the results that you are accomplishing. Is it something that will serve those you are working with or something they will cast away as useless?

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“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29NIV) 

Can you see that? The people that God foreknew, He also predestined. That means before they came to be on the scene of life, God had determined what their lives would be like. Paul says God had predestined them to be conformed to the image or likeness of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 

Now that is the goal, their life goal. They are to be rendered in the image of God’s son. They are to be conformed—it is a conformation—to the image of the Son of God. Originally, when God made man, the bible says He made him in His image and after His likeness (Genesis 1:27). But when you see man today, does he look like the image of God to you? When you see man today, does he bear the likeness of God in your eyes? 

But when God made him, he was made, as close as possible, to be like God. God made him in His image and in His likeness—in form, in appearance and in disposition. But because of the fall of man, he lost all that. And even though he still bears a physical appearance that looks like God, he does not bear that spiritual appearance. He does not bear the appearance of God in his character—he already lost it. He no longer talks like God. He no longer thinks like God. He no longer acts like God. He was reborn after the image of the devil. Satan became his father. And he began to talk the way satan talks. He began to think the way satan thinks. He began to act the way satan acts. 

Thank God, however, for His work of redemption for mankind. That work of redemption is to restore us to God’s original purpose for our lives. Therefore, now, our being born again is the beginning of that process. And having being born again, having being recreated, God wants us to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. 

Remember when Jesus came, His life was a revelation of the perfection of God. The bible says He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus was man as God would have man to be. He was man as God intended man to be. He was the perfection of manhood. And that is why He addressed himself as the Son of Man (Mark 2:28). 

Well, the point being made is that in Christ Jesus the true revelation of what God wants us to be is seen. And now we who have given our lives to Him are being admonished to be changed, to be transformed, until we become like Him. This is to be our life goal. And I pray that your heart will be daily strengthened to walk in the light of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid day. 

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“Put on the whole armor of God so that you can take your stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Eph 6:10NIV) 

What is Paul’s message to us here? It is that we can actually take our stand against the devil’s schemes. You, as a Christian, can take your stand against the wiles of the devil, against his lies, against his stratagems. You can say ‘No’ to the devil. You can say ‘No’ to satan’s schemes. You can say ‘No’ to his works. You can say ‘No’ to disease. You can say ‘No’ to division in your family. You can say ‘No’ to confusion in your life..

See, you don’t have to live a confused life. You don’t have to live as a slave to sin. You don’t have to live as a slave to sickness. You don’t have to live as a slave to disease. You don’t have to be a slave to failure. You can say ‘No’ to all these things.

So, when you see that satan is at work around you or in your life, don’t keep quiet. That is one of the reasons we are learning this. The moment you observe that this fellow (satan) is already taking certain steps against you, don’t keep quiet. Why? The word of God says that you can take your stand against him. And I love that. I love the fact that I can take my stand against the schemes of the devil. I can take my stand against the lies of the devil in my family, in my business, in my job or in any other area of my life. But I am not doing that in my own strength; I am doing it in the strength of God. That is the reason I am told to put on the full armor of God. 

Unfortunately, when we talk like this, some people think we are boasting. They’ll say, “His mouth is so smooth and sweet. Is it that easy to take your stand against the devil?” Well, if that is the way you are thinking or living, then, satan will continue to mess you up. That is the point. He is messing up a lot of God’s people today. But it is not meant to be so. The reason he is messing us up is that we are not taking our stand against him. If you allow him, do you think he will not cause your failure? He will! Left for the devil, you should be on the sick bed, wondering whether you are going to die or not. That is what he is after. 

But the word of God says that we can take our stand against his schemes. It is now up to us to either take our stand against him and keep enjoying the victory Jesus has won for us or to allow him to continue to mess us up. My prayer for you is that your heart will be strengthened to do the will of God in this matter and put the devil to flight anytime he shows up in your life. Amen.

Have a great day.

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“Put on the whole armor of God so that you can take your stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Eph 6:10NIV) 

What is Paul’s message to us here? It is that we can actually take our stand against the devil’s schemes. You, as a Christian, can take your stand against the wiles of the devil, against his lies, against his stratagems. You can say ‘No’ to the devil. You can say ‘No’ to satan’s schemes. You can say ‘No’ to his works. You can say ‘No’ to disease. You can say ‘No’ to division in your family. You can say ‘No’ to confusion in your life..

See, you don’t have to live a confused life. You don’t have to live as a slave to sin. You don’t have to live as a slave to sickness. You don’t have to live as a slave to disease. You don’t have to be a slave to failure. You can say ‘No’ to all these things.

So, when you see that satan is at work around you or in your life, don’t keep quiet. That is one of the reasons we are learning this. The moment you observe that this fellow (satan) is already taking certain steps against you, don’t keep quiet. Why? The word of God says that you can take your stand against him. And I love that. I love the fact that I can take my stand against the schemes of the devil. I can take my stand against the lies of the devil in my family, in my business, in my job or in any other area of my life. But I am not doing that in my own strength; I am doing it in the strength of God. That is the reason I am told to put on the full armor of God. 

Unfortunately, when we talk like this, some people think we are boasting. They’ll say, “His mouth is so smooth and sweet. Is it that easy to take your stand against the devil?” Well, if that is the way you are thinking or living, then, satan will continue to mess you up. That is the point. He is messing up a lot of God’s people today. But it is not meant to be so. The reason he is messing us up is that we are not taking our stand against him. If you allow him, do you think he will not cause your failure? He will! Left for the devil, you should be on the sick bed, wondering whether you are going to die or not. That is what he is after. 

But the word of God says that we can take our stand against his schemes. It is now up to us to either take our stand against him and keep enjoying the victory Jesus has won for us or to allow him to continue to mess us up. My prayer for you is that your heart will be strengthened to do the will of God in this matter and put the devil to flight anytime he shows up in your life. Amen.

Have a great day.

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It is hard for anybody to read the story of Joseph of bible days and not be inspired. That is because his story tells us something of the power of God to fulfil His purpose for us, regardless of the obstacles or challenges we may be faced with. As we see from the bible, Joseph was a man that was given the privilege to see the greatness of his future, even as a boy in his father’s house. And he indeed went on to be very great – he became the prime minister of one of the most powerful nations of his time, Egypt. (Cf. Gen 37&39-47)

But what made it possible for Joseph to be all that God wanted him to be, despite the hostility of his own brethren, the blackmail of the wife of his master (Potiphar) and his being forgotten by Pharaoh’s official that he had helped in the prison? The first thing was faith in God. Joseph had faith in God and in His ability to bring to pass His purpose for his life, regardless of the odds. And that was kept him strong in the face of all the challenges he faced in his father’s house, in his master’s house in Egypt and even in the prison.

The second thing that was responsible for the fulfilment of God’s purpose in Joseph’s life was God’s favour. As we see in the bible, this young man met with God’s favour everywhere he went. That means he was loved and embraced by people that mattered and that were able to help him. For instance, he had the love of his father, as a young man in his house. Also, he had the love of his master, Potiphar, as a slave in Egypt. In addition, when he was unjustly imprisoned, he had the love of the prison warden. And when he eventually stood before Pharaoh and spoke with him with confidence, clarity and brilliance, he won the heart of this king and was elevated above every other person in the land. That is what we call unusual favour.

But, as we also see from the scriptures, Joseph was not just loved and embraced by people because God’s favour was at work in him but also because he was hardworking, smart and diligent. See, it is one thing for God’s favour to open doors for a man; it is another thing entirely for the man to possess enough character to keep such doors open for himself. Joseph had character, the kind that many young people of today do not possess. Read what is written about him in the bible, and you will see that there was nothing that was committed to his care that he handled carelessly, foolishly or unfaithfully. No wonder every important person that he met loved and wanted him.

Another thing that made it possible for Joseph to fully come into the place of honour God had prepared for him was purity. Joseph loved and cherished purity. In fact he was willing to give up his entire public life and a great future for it. So, he was a man that could not be bribed or corrupted with anything, not even with free sex. And that is the kind of man God is able to trust with the care of kingdoms and nations.

Now you, unlike Joseph, may not have a clear picture of God’s purpose for your life. But that is not to say that He does not have a great purpose for you. He does have a great purpose for every one of us. And that purpose is for us to prosper and be a blessing to our immediate world (Jer 29:11). Fine, we may not be another Joseph or be known all over the world. But whatever God’s purpose for us is, the same ingredients are needed for it to be fully accomplished in our lives, which are faith, favour, diligence and purity. And if our lives are full of them, there is no telling what height God will cause us to attain in life.

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“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29NIV) 

Can you see that? The people that God foreknew, He also predestined. That means before they came to be on the scene of life, God had determined what their lives would be like. Paul says God had predestined them to be conformed to the image or likeness of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 

Now that is the goal, their life goal. They are to be rendered in the image of God’s son. They are to be conformed—it is a conformation—to the image of the Son of God. Originally, when God made man, the bible says He made him in His image and after His likeness (Genesis 1:27). But when you see man today, does he look like the image of God to you? When you see man today, does he bear the likeness of God in your eyes? 

But when God made him, he was made, as close as possible, to be like God. God made him in His image and in His likeness—in form, in appearance and in disposition. But because of the fall of man, he lost all that. And even though he still bears a physical appearance that looks like God, he does not bear that spiritual appearance. He does not bear the appearance of God in his character—he already lost it. He no longer talks like God. He no longer thinks like God. He no longer acts like God. He was reborn after the image of the devil. Satan became his father. And he began to talk the way satan talks. He began to think the way satan thinks. He began to act the way satan acts. 

Thank God, however, for His work of redemption for mankind. That work of redemption is to restore us to God’s original purpose for our lives. Therefore, now, our being born again is the beginning of that process. And having being born again, having being recreated, God wants us to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. 

Remember when Jesus came, His life was a revelation of the perfection of God. The bible says He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus was man as God would have man to be. He was man as God intended man to be. He was the perfection of manhood. And that is why He addressed himself as the Son of Man (Mark 2:28). 

Well, the point being made is that in Christ Jesus the true revelation of what God wants us to be is seen. And now we who have given our lives to Him are being admonished to be changed, to be transformed, until we become like Him. This is to be our life goal. And I pray that your heart will be daily strengthened to walk in the light of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid day. 

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“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29NIV) 

Can you see that? The people that God foreknew, He also predestined. That means before they came to be on the scene of life, God had determined what their lives would be like. Paul says God had predestined them to be conformed to the image or likeness of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 

Now that is the goal, their life goal. They are to be rendered in the image of God’s son. They are to be conformed—it is a conformation—to the image of the Son of God. Originally, when God made man, the bible says He made him in His image and after His likeness (Genesis 1:27). But when you see man today, does he look like the image of God to you? When you see man today, does he bear the likeness of God in your eyes? 

But when God made him, he was made, as close as possible, to be like God. God made him in His image and in His likeness—in form, in appearance and in disposition. But because of the fall of man, he lost all that. And even though he still bears a physical appearance that looks like God, he does not bear that spiritual appearance. He does not bear the appearance of God in his character—he already lost it. He no longer talks like God. He no longer thinks like God. He no longer acts like God. He was reborn after the image of the devil. Satan became his father. And he began to talk the way satan talks. He began to think the way satan thinks. He began to act the way satan acts. 

Thank God, however, for His work of redemption for mankind. That work of redemption is to restore us to God’s original purpose for our lives. Therefore, now, our being born again is the beginning of that process. And having being born again, having being recreated, God wants us to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. 

Remember when Jesus came, His life was a revelation of the perfection of God. The bible says He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus was man as God would have man to be. He was man as God intended man to be. He was the perfection of manhood. And that is why He addressed himself as the Son of Man (Mark 2:28). 

Well, the point being made is that in Christ Jesus the true revelation of what God wants us to be is seen. And now we who have given our lives to Him are being admonished to be changed, to be transformed, until we become like Him. This is to be our life goal. And I pray that your heart will be daily strengthened to walk in the light of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid day. 

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“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” (Romans 8:29NIV) 

Can you see that? The people that God foreknew, He also predestined. That means before they came to be on the scene of life, God had determined what their lives would be like. Paul says God had predestined them to be conformed to the image or likeness of his Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 

Now that is the goal, their life goal. They are to be rendered in the image of God’s son. They are to be conformed—it is a conformation—to the image of the Son of God. Originally, when God made man, the bible says He made him in His image and after His likeness (Genesis 1:27). But when you see man today, does he look like the image of God to you? When you see man today, does he bear the likeness of God in your eyes? 

But when God made him, he was made, as close as possible, to be like God. God made him in His image and in His likeness—in form, in appearance and in disposition. But because of the fall of man, he lost all that. And even though he still bears a physical appearance that looks like God, he does not bear that spiritual appearance. He does not bear the appearance of God in his character—he already lost it. He no longer talks like God. He no longer thinks like God. He no longer acts like God. He was reborn after the image of the devil. Satan became his father. And he began to talk the way satan talks. He began to think the way satan thinks. He began to act the way satan acts. 

Thank God, however, for His work of redemption for mankind. That work of redemption is to restore us to God’s original purpose for our lives. Therefore, now, our being born again is the beginning of that process. And having being born again, having being recreated, God wants us to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. 

Remember when Jesus came, His life was a revelation of the perfection of God. The bible says He is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being (Hebrews 1:3). Jesus was man as God would have man to be. He was man as God intended man to be. He was the perfection of manhood. And that is why He addressed himself as the Son of Man (Mark 2:28). 

Well, the point being made is that in Christ Jesus the true revelation of what God wants us to be is seen. And now we who have given our lives to Him are being admonished to be changed, to be transformed, until we become like Him. This is to be our life goal. And I pray that your heart will be daily strengthened to walk in the light of this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a splendid day. 

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“Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks.” (Phil 4:6-7GW)

Can you see that? Paul says there is no place for worrying in a true walk with God. Is there any challenge you are facing that He is unable to handle? Or is there any project you want to handle that He is incapable of taking care of? 

So, don’t paint God bad. Don’t give the world the impression that He doesn’t care about you. Instead, talk to Him about the problem. Tell Him, in your own words, exactly what you need from Him. 

Now Paul says when you do that, you should do so with a heart of gratitude, thanking God in anticipation of what He will do. And that should not be a problem, should it? Isn’t that what you naturally do whenever you write a letter of request to people? You thank them in anticipation of what they will do. So, you should be willing to do the same with God and, in fact, with the highest sense of respect.

In any case, as we turn over the burdens of our hearts to God like this in prayer, Paul tells us that He will act on our behalf. And the first thing He will do is to take care of our inner situation. He will guard our hearts and minds with His indescribable peace, so that, even though we cannot see anything on the outside, we will know deep inside us that our problems are over (Rom 8:28; Phil 4:7). 

Then, in ways that are beyond our explanation, God will fix the problems themselves on the outside, so that we our hearts can overflow again with much thanksgiving. So, you don’t need to give up on your dreams that are yet to be accomplished in the year. There is still time to talk to God about them. Remember that nothing can ever be too late with Him. You just begin to do the praying, and you will be amazed at how He will fulfil His good word to you.

Have a great day.

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It is no news that we live in a world that is distressed and agitated. The boldest, the strongest, the wisest and even the richest of men live everyday with a growing sense of insecurity. It is becoming clearer to them that their wealth, influence, strength and wisdom cannot secure peace of mind for them, and they find that strange, very strange. 

But, according to the bible, nothing should be strange about the fact that money, position, affluence, wisdom, great education or strength cannot guarantee peace for anybody. Peace is spiritual. So it is not something that can be worked out through any earthly means or qualifications. 

Not only that, peace originates from God. Therefore, it is not something just any spiritual being can give. God’s angels, for instance, as powerful, holy and spiritual they are, cannot give anybody peace, unless they bear words of peace to him from God Himself. It should not surprise you then that satan and his demons cannot give peace. They don’t have peace; so they cannot give it. 

Satan and his demons are restless wanderers, as the scripture makes clear. So, anyone who is in league with them will ultimately wander through life in a restless manner. Don’t you see how men and women who are without God wander from one engagement to another, in search of rest and satisfaction? What they have failed to grasp is that there is nothing in this life or from the devil’s hands that can give man rest or satisfaction or peace of mind. Man’s rest and peace of mind are solely in God. (Cf. Job 1&2; Matt 12:43; 1Pet 5:8)

Now that is exactly what God is saying to all of humanity, and that is exactly the message He has brought to us, His children. The scripture says, “I will create the right words: ‘Shalom shalom to those far off and to those nearby!’ says Adonai; ‘I will heal them!’But the wicked are like the restless sea — unable to be still, its waters toss up mud and dirt. There is no shalom, says my God, for the wicked.” (Isa 57:20-21CJB)

Look at that! God is saying to us, “It does not matter where you are in life – spiritually, geographically, financially, socially and so forth – if you will turn to me and walk with me, you will have perfect peace (Shalom shalom).” However, to those who ignore Him, He says, “There is no peace for you, irrespective of what you do or have. Go to the ends of the earth and live alone, if you like. You will still not have peace, as long as you do not take me seriously.”

I thank God that you and I are among those who are able to experience and enjoy God’s peace today. And we will do well to confront our world with His message of peace, as we journey through the remaining weeks of the year. We need to let our world know what we know about God’s peace. We need to let them know through our own lives that PEACE is beyond a programme; it is a quality of life, which a man may receive only through a virile relationship and fellowship with God.

Do have a peaceful day!

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As we face this new day, I will like to remind you of the times in which we live so that you will not be carried away by the winds of anxieties and entertainments that are blowing here and there. We have come to a time in which people are striving to be all kinds of things except what God wants them to be. And if we, for any reason at all, choose to walk in ignorance of the characteristics of these times, we will eventually find out that we have become what God never intended for us to be and are doing what He never desired for us to do. 

Now I want you to know that this is already happening. I mean many of God’s people are already being affected by these times. And that is because they are naļve; they are ignorant of the characteristics of the days in which we live. 

Paul, in order to prevent his son in the faith, Timothy, from getting caught up in the mess of his days, said to him, “You must understand this: In the last days there will be violent periods of time. People will be selfish and love money. They will brag, be arrogant, and use abusive language. They will curse their parents, show no gratitude, have no respect for what is holy, and lack normal affection for their families. They will refuse to make peace with anyone. They will be slanderous, lack self-control, be brutal, and have no love for what is good. They will be traitors. They will be reckless and conceited. They will love pleasure rather than God. They will appear to have a godly life, but they will not let its power change them. Stay away from such people.” (2Tim 3:1-5GW)

Now you too must understand what Paul wanted Timothy to understand. You must understand that these are the last days. You must also understand that these last days are filled with violent periods that are capable of changing people’s attitude towards God and towards life. And when Paul says people will change, who do you think he is referring to? You say, “The unbelievers, of course!” 

But you are wrong. To be candid, Paul could not be referring to the unsaved ones here. That is because the unsaved ones don’t have to be any of these things that are stated in Paul’s list—selfish, arrogant, abusive, ungrateful and so forth; they are already. Therefore, it is the Christian that Paul is referring to here. It is the Christian that can stop being christianly and start being something else because of the pressure of the hour. It is the Christian that can cover up his terrible intentions with an appearance of godliness.

So watch out for those desires that are capable of driving you crazy. Watch out for those ambitions that can make a beast of you while you still go around with a bible in your hand. And be careful of those relationships that can secretly plant the yeast of hypocrisy in your life and make you live a life that is foreign to the truth. Remember this: “Just a little while longer, and he who is coming will come; he will not delay.” (Heb 10:37GNT)

Stay blessed. 

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“But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2Peter 3:8-9NIV) 

What is Peter telling us here? It is that one main reason God’s judgment is often delayed is that He is patient. Sometimes we expect that when people sin or do something wrong, God should step in immediately and whip or flog them. But God does not often act like that. He is a patient God. And He is patient because He does not want the destruction of anybody. He says, “I take no pleasure in the death of the sinner.” (Cf. Ezekiel 18:23 & 32) .

Unfortunately, some people now take that as meaning that they might ultimately escape God’s judgment. They are now of the opinion that they might ultimately get away with wrong doings. They have heard all kinds of things about God’s judgment. They have heard that He was a just judge, who would pay everybody back according to his deeds. But then, they have also been asking themselves, “If all these things are true about God, why has He not judged me for my misconducts? Why hasn’t He punished me?” 

Some will even say to you, “You say that judgment is coming. How come God has not judged me for all my sins? Look at me. I am still prosperous, even though I am stealing and embezzling public funds. But look at you. You say that you are living for God, but you can’t even pay your children’s school fees. Look at you. You can’t even dress well. I am the one that is supposed to be suffering here. But I am not suffering. You call me a sinner. And I am fine with that, for I am not suffering.”

Now people like such think that they will ultimately escape the consequences of their sins. But they will not. It is unfortunate, however, that that wrong thought has made scoffers of them. Because of this wrong philosophy that they will ultimately escape the consequences of their errors, they now scoff at the things of God. 

But if you are doing the wrong thing and have not yet faced the consequences of doing so, you are just enjoying the patience of God. That is what you are enjoying. And it is important that you turn away from your wrongdoings before it is too late. I tell you payday is coming. A day will come when you will pay for all your wrongdoings. And what you believe about this does not matter. It is the reality that you will have to deal with when the time is ripe.

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“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes…” (Proverbs 3:5-6NIV)

Here is a call to absolute in trust in God, if we don’t want to be disgraced in life, in spite of everything we may have going for us. See, you may have skills along certain lines in life; exercise your skills without relying on them. People may call you intelligent. They may say you are brilliant. But don’t let that get into your head. If you rely on your own brilliance or intelligence, what you will produce is barrenness—barrenness upon barrenness, emptiness upon emptiness. 

We have professors that are rotten today—you know that. We have Doctors who have no place in life. We have people with wonderful certificates who have no place in life. I was sharing with a brother the other time and he was telling me how he tried to finish from the Polytechnic with Distinction but ended up with the Upper Credit--though it was very close to Distinction, it was still Upper Credit. And when he told me that, I asked him not to worry about it. Then I said, “Do you know there are people who would never get a good job because they finished with ‘Distinction’ or ‘First class’ in school.”

And you know that is the truth. There are people who finished with Distinction from school who still do not have a place in life now. Yet some who finished with Pass from the same class have already become big fellows in some companies now. So if you are depending on your own natural abilities or skills, a day is coming when they will fail you. Don’t depend on these things, then. Instead, trust in the Lord. Draw your provisions from Him. Draw whatever it is you need in life from Him. And you will never be disappointed or disgraced in life.

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“If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.” (John 15:19NIV) 

The world does not love the Christian, according to our Lord Jesus Christ in our opening text. So, do not expect the world to love you. Don’t expect the world to praise you. If the world loves you, then, you are a fake. If, as a Christian, unbelievers love you, then, you may want to check if nothing is wrong with your Christianity. That is because they are not supposed to love you. I know this is hard, but it is the reality. 

Now I am not saying they are not supposed to relate to you--that is not what I am saying. I am not saying they are not supposed to smile at you—they will actually smile at you. But if you are actually practising Christianity, they will hate you. That is because your life will be contrary to the life they are living. Your life will condemn them. Your life will expose them. And you will not be able to agree in principle. 

Again, that is not to say that you will not be able to work together or play together. But when we are talking about the principle of living, you won’t agree. For the ideas of the world are foreign to the ideas of the kingdom of God. 

Then, in order to solidify what He says in our opening text, Jesus goes on in verse 20 to say, “Remember what I told you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.” (John 15:20NIV) Did you see that? If Jesus was hated and persecuted by the world, then we, as His disciples, must not anything less. We cannot be smarter than our master. 

With the kind of ministry that Jesus had here on earth, you would expect that the world would love him. But the world did not love him. Instead, the world killed him. When they were shouting, “Crucify him, crucify him,” where were the people that He healed? When they were slapping Him, where were the individuals that He raised from the dead and the multitudes that He fed? Where were they when they wanted to kill Him? 

Now what wrong did He do that made them kill Him? What harm did Jesus do that made them kill Him? Obviously, they killed Him for telling them the truth. They killed Him for challenging their way of living. So do not think that because you are kind and nice, the world would appreciate you. You will be making a mistake. Do not think because you are good to everybody, they will treat you well or when they see things that belong to you wasting away, they will protect them. You will be missing it, if you reason like that. 

You know, most of the time, we get carried away in the world, because of the applause of men. Because of all these people that are constantly smiling at us and praising us, we think we are loved by the world. The truth is that we are not loved by the world. This is why, Jesus, while teaching His disciples made it very clear to them that they were not greater than their master—if the world hated their master, it would indeed hate them as well. 

Well, the point our Lord is making to us here is that we are not of the world. And we must not forget that.

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“From one man he (God) made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth…” (Acts 17:26NIV) 

From how many people did God make all the nations of the earth? Well, Paul tells in our opening text that God made all the nations of the earth from one man. That means all of us came from one man. And here he is referring to Adam. That is interesting. We all belong to the same family—that is what he is telling us. It does not matter what your colour is, it does not matter what your language is, we all belong to the same family.

See, this is Christian thinking. It is foreign to the world. The world thinks we are of different families. But God does not think like that. God made all of us from one man; we all came from the same stock. So, though we have different colours, different heights and different languages, we still belong to the same family.

Unfortunately, Satan has succeeded in confusing and misguiding us. And that is why we fight one another. We fight those who don’t look like us. We fight those who don’t live with us. We fight anyone who is different from us; for we see him as entirely different—he does not belong among us. 

But here, Paul tells us that we all came from one man; we all belong to the same family. This, of course, means that there is no special race before God. No race is superior to the other. The white are not superior to the black. And the Jews are not superior to the Gentiles. You know the Jews used to pride themselves in the fact that they are a special race before God. They say, “Well, God chose us above all the nations of the earth. That means he prefers us to all of them.” But that is not true. God only chose them to illustrate something to the world. And that has already been done. 

At any rate, we have to keep it in mind that we all belong to the same family. So don’t hate people who don’t look like you. Don’t resent those who don’t speak your language or share your colour. Don’t do it; for you belong to the same family. And God, of course, will someday judge every evil act that men have committed on the basis of racism. So, mind yourself. 

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“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (2Corinthians 5:17NIV) 

The first thing Paul declares to us in our opening text is that the Christian is a New Creation. He is not who he used to be. Christianity is not a continuation of a man’s old life. When a man becomes a Christian, he is a New Creation. Paul says the old man has gone. That means the person you used to know has gone. We now have a new person. So whatever you knew or identified with that old person has already gone—it is in the past. And that is how you are to regard yourself--you are now a New Creation. Even though you are in the same world, you are a New Person in the same Old World. That is how you must view or regard yourself. And that is the way you must regard every child of God-- He is a New Creation: the old has gone, the new is now here!

Then Paul goes on to say, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ…” (2Corinthians 5:18NIV) Did you see that? The New Creation is of God. Everything about the New Creation has its existence in God. Everything about you has its existence in God. Everything about me has its existence in God. There is nothing of the New Creation that is of the world. There is nothing of the New Creation that is of the devil. That is why you must not associate the devil with the New Creation. You must not associate anything that is of the devil with the New Creation. 

Sin is of the devil, for example. So you must not associate it with the Christian. It is amazing when you find Christians who say there is still Sin in their lives. That is wrong. It is a wrong position to take. You cannot say that you are a Christian and, at the same time, say that there is unrighteousness in your life. You cannot say that you are a Christian and, at the same time, say that you do not have the holiness of God in your life or that you do not have the righteousness of God in your life. 

In any case, here, Paul tells us that everything about the New Creation is of God. Not only that, he also tells us the kind of relationship we now have with God. He says, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself in Christ…” So we have been reconciled to God—He is no longer angry with us. And we are no longer far away from Him—we have been brought to Him. 

In his first epistle, the second chapter, the twenty-fifth verse, Peter tells us that all of us went astray—we all wandered away from God. That statement is set in past tense. And that means every natural man has wandered away from God. But now, having become Christians, we have returned to the overseer and shepherd of our souls. So we have now returned to God. I have returned to God. I am with God now. I am no longer away from God. I have returned to the shepherd and overseer of my life. 

So then, Paul says God reconciled us to himself. Again, who did the reconciliation? It was God. Now, to be reconciled means ‘to be brought back.’ I am not talking about the being brought back of someone who travelled. I am talking about the resolving of an issue between two people who are fighting or quarrelling. Do you understand? Once we were fighting, but now the matter has been resolved. We are no longer fighting. We are no longer quarrelling. The enmity between us has already be cancelled or erased. What this means now is that we are God’s friends. We are his people. We are on the side of God and God is on our side. And that is now our relationship with God, the relationship of the New Creation with Him

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“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16NIV) 

The first thing Paul tells us here is to be careful how we live. He says, “Be very careful, then, how you live your lives—not as unwise but as wise, taking advantage of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” There is, therefore, a recognition of the fact that these are evil days in the scripture. The scripture does not deny the fact that these are evil days. 

You know, in most of the programmes being aired on our Television stations, there is often an attempt to impress upon our hearts that these are evil days and that everybody around us is evil or wicked. And sometimes you see people gathering to watch or listen to the so-called strange and mysterious things that are happening around the world. Personally, I am not interested in things like such because I already know from the scriptures that these are evil days. 

But even at that, the bible tells us that there are opportunities in these evil days. So, Paul says, “Take advantage of these opportunities. Don’t let your focus be only on the fact that these are evil days; rather, let it also be on the fact that there are opportunities in these evil days.” Why is that important? It is so that you can make the most of the opportunities of these evil days to rise and shine. 

So, don’t just keep looking at all the bad things happening in your world and around you. Instead, start looking also at the good things happening and what you can do with these good things in making life better, easier and more enjoyable for you and others. And may the Spirit of God daily open your eyes to see every opportunity for growth, development and promotion that you can utilise for your prosperity and peace of mind, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Have a great day.

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“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against the all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.” (Romans 1:18NIV) 

The wrath of God means the anger of God, the disapproval of God. And Paul shows us in our opening bible text that this wrath of God is already being revealed. There are people who are waiting and saying, “At the end of the ages the wrath of God will be revealed.” Yes, at the end of all the ages the wrath of God will be revealed. But we need to know that right now His wrath is already being revealed. 

What we are saying is that God’s disapproval against the rejection of the truth is already being revealed. Those who are ignoring God, those who are ignoring His injunctions are already experiencing a revelation of His wrath—it is breaking out against them. Unfortunately, many of them don’t even know that what they are experiencing now is a revelation of God’s wrath. They don’t know because of the nature of this revelation.

Again, Paul says, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18020NIV) 

This is a very powerful statement. What needs to be known about God has already been made known; it has been made plain to men. So nobody has any excuse for not doing what is right. It does not matter where you are in the world, what needs to be known about God has already been made known. Just look around you. Look at the whole creation—the sun, the moon, the stars, the trees, the animals and so forth. You can tell that all these things did not just erupt or appear on their own; there is a creator behind them. 

Look at the process of giving birth; look at the reality of death. You can only conclude that there is a wise being behind all of these things; they are not just happening by themselves. So even if you have not heard the gospel, what needs to be known about God has already been made known.

For instance—even if we set aside the gospel—there is no place you get to in the world that certain things are not considered as immoral. Before the gospel came to us in Nigeria, for example, fornication has always been wrong; lying has always been wrong; adultery has always been wrong; stealing has always been wrong. Am I not correct? 

So it is not just because of the introduction of the gospel that we began to see these things as wrong. We have always known that they are wrong. And this means that even without the revelation of the gospel to man, he can still know that certain things are wrong and that certain things are right. Therefore, no man will have any excuse before God for not embracing what is right and rejecting what is wrong.

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“For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:7-8NIV)

This is a very interesting fact. And you know, frankly speaking, this does not just apply to Christians alone; it applies to everybody. Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord; we are His property. And because we are His property, it becomes important for us to do His will. 

When you create something, you create for your will. Isn’t that so? When you make anything, you make it for your purpose. So it will be cheer foolishness for your creation to challenge you and say, “I know you created me, but I will love to do with myself as I please.” That will be sheer foolishness, or what do you think? 

God said a pot made by a potter does not have any right to challenge the potter that made it. (Cf. Isaiah 45:9) Look at the vehicles and all the things that we use: they don’t challenge us, or do they? They stay where we put them to perform whatever function we have made them to perform. In like manner, because we belong to God, it becomes imperative for us to do his will. 

Now I need to say this to you: until a man recognises and acknowledges this as a fact or a reality, God has nothing to say to him. Again, I say until a man recognises and acknowledges the fact that he belongs to God, it will be a waste of time to tell him to do the will of God. 

You know, out of our zeal for God, a lot of times, we try to counsel, charge, and even compel people to live their lives for God. We say, “Don’t live your life like this. You need to live it for God.” But who are we talking to? We are talking to someone that does not think he belongs to God. If he does not think he belongs to God, then, do you think it will make sense to tell him to live his life for God? No!

So the right place to begin is that of drawing man’s attention to the fact that he belongs to God. Until we get a man to agree that he belongs to God, any other thing we tell him about God will not make sense to him. Also, whatever instruction we bring to him from God will n

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“Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.” (Gen 13:10-13NIV)

Whose choice was it to go and live in Sodom? It was Lot’s choice. He was the one that made the decision for himself and his family. And did it look like a bad decision at the time? No! On the contrary, it looked like a very perfect one, a perfect decision that would catapult him and his family into a great enjoyment of prosperity for generations to come.

But as bible accounts show us, Lot’s choice to go and live in Sodom was a carnal one. It was a choice that was based only on what he saw. The portion of land he saw was indeed good and desirable. But his choice of it was only based on how well it would serve him and how greatly it would contribute to his wealth and prestige. He was not looking at the fact that staying in that land would put him right among wicked and unreasonable people, right among scorpions and vipers.

Well, some years later, the implications of the choice he had made began to dawn on him. First, he, his family members and all their wealth were suddenly taken as captives along with all the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. And it took the intervention of his uncle, Abraham, for them to be rescued and restored. (Cf. Gen 14) 

Now he should have taken that as a warning from God to him. But he was too possessed and occupied with his business of making money that he could not even see things in that light. And not long afterwards, he started receiving the torture of his life while living among those wicked and unreasonable people. According to the bible, everyday this man saw and heard things that tortured his righteous soul, things that wanted to drive him crazy (2Pet 2:8).

But what led him into that situation? It was a carnal choice he made years before. And that choice eventually led him to lose his wife and all the things he had gathered through years of hard labour. In fact, by the time he was leaving Sodom, we have no record in the bible of his herdsmen and workers again. They all must have been lost by him to the immorality of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Cf. Gen 19)

What is the point of all this? It is simply that the choices we make now will sooner or later justify us or condemn us. God, through His word, has given us perfect and clear guidelines on how to make choices and decisions that will result in earthly and eternal prosperity, safety and peace of mind for us. And if we learn these guidelines and apply them to our lives, sooner or later, God’s wisdom will prove Him right in our lives and affairs. But if we ignore them and choose to follow our own schemes, sooner or later, we will see for ourselves how foolish we are to ignore God. 

Now perhaps this is already true in your life. Perhaps certain carnal choices you made in the past are already haunting you and torturing you with undesirable circumstances. Don’t let things go from bad to worse before you cry out to God for restoration. See, whatever you are witnessing now as a result of your past bad choices, however terrible they may seem, may just be a warning to you from God that worse experiences are coming. So, take the warning and hurry to do the right thing. And God, who is rich and kind in mercy, will show you mercy, spare you and also restore you.

Cheers!

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“Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins.” (Isa 40:1-2NIV)

That was God’s command concerning the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Judah. He wanted them to be comforted and restored after their years of hard labour in slavery. So, He gave the announcement that their sins had been fully paid for, that their years of bondage were over and that they should be comforted and restored. And when God gives a command like that, everything in all creation starts working and cooperating towards its fulfilment. 

For example, when God gave the command in heaven that King Nebuchadnezzar be driven from his throne and given the mind of an animal for a certain period of time, all the angels of God began to pass it along to one another and to work with it. And here is how Nebuchadnezzar himself describes what he saw in a vision about the matter: “The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of men.” (Dan 4:17NIV)

Did you see that? When God gave that command the hosts of heaven responded to it and began to run and work with it. Now, as Daniel pointed out to Nebuchadnezzar, the only thing that could make God show mercy and annul the command was for him to renounce his sins and turn away from them (Dan 4:27). But did he do that? No, he did not. So, exactly twelve months later, the command that God had given concerning him was fulfilled. He ran mad and was driven away from his throne. And he went on to live and eat grass like cattle for the amount of time set for him. (Cf. Dan 4:28-23)

You can see, then, that even though God gave a command that Nebuchadnezzar should be brought down and humbled for a certain period of time, the command was not fulfilled immediately here on earth. It took all the spirit beings working on the matter one full year to accomplish it. And if this king had repented during that period, what happened to him would have been prevented.

In any case, I said all that to just let you know that when God gives a command that something be done, everything in all his creation, living and non-living, seen and unseen, will begin to work towards its fulfilment. How long it will, however, take them to get it done is something we cannot say. But they will surely get it done, unless God annuls the command because of the repentance or wickedness of the person or persons involved.

Therefore, when, as we see in our opening bible text, God gave a command for the city of Jerusalem and the nation of Judah to be comforted and restored, all the hosts of heaven went to work to make it happen. And it happened during the reign of Cyrus king of Persia, even though it was several years later. (Cf. Ezra 1) 

Now we too, as a country, need God’s comfort. We need Him to give a word of command for times of refreshing to be brought to us and for us to be comforted from all our troubles and trials. And how do we get Him to do this for us? It is by approaching Him in prayers for mercy.

Remember that Centurion that once came to Jesus for help, healing and comfort for his sick servant. This man, when he came to the Lord, did not talk about his righteousness or merits. Why? He knew that he had nothing to make him deserve anything from the Lord. So, he simply said, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” (Matt 8:8NIV) And when the Lord gave the word for the man’s servant to be healed, he was healed that very hour.

In like manner, though we too, as a nation, have no righteousness or worthiness that makes us deserve to receive anything from God, His mercy can make us receive from Him. All we need to do is to ask Him, as that Centurion did, to give the command for us to be comforted, healed and restored. And it shall be so, for everything in all creation will immediately begin to work towards making it so. But are we going to do that? Am I going to do that? Are you going to do that? The earlier we begin to talk to Him about this the better it will be for all of us.

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“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray…” (James 5:13NIV)

Observe that James does not say, “Is any one of you in trouble? Let him seek help outside God.” Instead, he says, “Is any one of you in trouble? Let him pray.” That is because seeking help outside God (whether through witchcraft, sorcery, manipulation, theft, adultery or other ungodly means) is not an option for the believer at all. And to do so is to shut whatever door of God's grace and favour you might have hoped to find against yourself (2Sam 28:4-25; 2Kings 1; Jer 17:5-6). 

So, whether it is a health problem, marital problem, financial problem or even religious problem, don't ever seek help outside God. It is not only dangerous for you to do so; it will ultimately destroy you and whatever it is you are trying to protect.

Furthermore, James does not say, “Is any one of you in trouble? Let him hire prayer warriors to do his praying for him.” What he says is for the one in trouble to pray for himself and by himself. And is that to say that the prayers of other believers for us is not important or significant at all? No! On the contrary, we see that James, in this same letter, admonishes brethren who are sick and whose sicknesses, evidently, have refused to go away, even though they have been praying for themselves, to call for the elders of the church to pray for them. And he says prayers offered in faith for such people will make them well and even obtain forgiveness from God for them, if they have sinned. So, James, in keeping with the Lord's instructions to the church about prayers and the practice of the Saints of old, enjoins us all to learn to pray for one another. (Cf. Matt 18:19-20; Acts 4:23-31&12:5; James 5:14-16)

Nevertheless, James is also careful to let us see that we must never underestimate the prayer of even one person. He says the prayer of one righteous person is powerful and effective (James 5:16). And he goes on to illustrate his point with the story of Elijah the man of God and how he, as one man, offered prayers that affected an entire nation in very remarkable ways (James 5:17-18). So, nobody should use congregational prayers as a substitute for his personal prayers. That is because there is a degree to which other people's prayers can work for you, if you yourself are not a praying person. 

Did Jesus, for example, not pray for His apostles not to fall into those temptations that were associated with His arrest and murder? He did. Yet He made it very clear to them that they also needed to do their own praying, if they would not fall. But did they? No, they did not. They were just too tired and overwhelmed with grief to pray. So, His prayer could only restore them but couldn't keep them from falling away for a while. (Cf. Luke 22:31-62)

Now I have showed you all this to let you know that you must take your personal prayers to God seriously. Yes, you must take the expression of your dependence on Him very seriously, regardless of the circumstances of your life, good or bad. And as you do so, it does not matter what trouble you may find yourself in, you will never be alone but with God, who will ensure that you walk in victory over it.

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“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.” (Proverbs 6:6-8NIV) 

This is a call for us to learn orderliness from ants. As Solomon tells us, ants have no commander or overseer or ruler. Yet they are orderly. They are orderly in the way they do things. They know when to gather their food. They are wise enough to know when to store up food for the future. And they have nobody to supervise them or to direct them. Yet they are doing these things. If ants can be orderly like this, then, we have no excuse for not being orderly in our lives. 

Well, this is a call to orderliness. This a call for us to know how to put first things first. This is a call for us to know how to organise our lives for greater fruitfulness or effectiveness. When we organise our lives, we will see that we are able to eliminate frustration and depression and are also able to free ourselves from unnecessary burdens. 

So, learn from the ants. You don’t need anyone to organise you or direct you. It is your job to organise yourself and to direct your affairs well. You have the Spirit of God in you. And you can do this.

Stop making excuses, then, for disorderliness in your life. Stop making excuses for late coming. Stop making excuses for not doing the things you are supposed to do when you are supposed to do them. Don’t waste your time on irrelevances. Don’t waste time on non-essentials. You need to know those things that are important for you to do and when you are to do them and then act accordingly. Know when you need to work and when you need to rest. Know how to put yourself on a schedule. And as you function like this, you will see that you have shut the devil out of certain areas of your life, that is, without even praying.

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“Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.” (NIV) 

That is our instruction. We are to turn away from wickedness. We must turn away from sexual immorality. We must turn away from greed. We must turn away murder. We must turn away from hypocrisy, rage, anger, deceit and anything else that destroys humanity. Anything that destroys humanity is wickedness. And we must turn away from it. 

Also, anything that sets itself up against God or does not embrace God is wickedness. Wickedness does not end with doing what is evil or what is unrighteous. Wickedness also includes a rejection of God or a refusal to acknowledge Him. And we must turn away from it.

We will, however, not turn away from wickedness, if we do not hate it. So, we must hate wickedness. The reason wickedness is thriving in most of our communities and workplaces is that we do not hate it. Even many of us who refer to ourselves as Christians still have secret love for adultery, greed and other wrong things. So, we hardly, obviously and fully take our stand against wickedness where we are. It takes someone that hates wickedness to take his stand against it publicly and privately.

Well, the word of God is telling us that our attitude towards wickedness must first be that of hate for it. That is where to start from. Until we hate wickedness there is nothing else God has to say to us about it. Until we hate it, we will not stand against it. Until we hate it, we will not turn away from it. It is the one that hates wickedness that will turn away from it. It is the one who hates wickedness that is going to stand against it.

We have all kinds of instructions given to us in Scriptures on how to relate to sin or wickedness. But until we hate it, we will not act on those instructions. As long as we have secret love in our hearts for wickedness, as long as we have secret love for any form of sin in our hearts, we will not stand against it. And if we won’t stand against it, it will not stop ruining our world for us.

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“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (NIV) 

Who is the giver of righteousness? God! So, in order to be righteous, God must give you righteousness as a gift. It is not something that your hard work can obtain for you. And to possess His righteousness, you must be hungry and thirsty for Him in your life. Then for His righteousness to manifest in you, you must also be hungry and thirsty for Him to work in you.

Well, the point is that God wants us to be hungry and thirsty for Him, for more and more of Him. And He says that those of us who are hungry and thirsty for Him, who want to see His righteousness manifest in our lives and in our world, will be satisfied by Him. He will satisfy us with everything we need. Why will He want to satisfy us with everything we need, if He does not want us to have more? The truth is that He wants us to keep having more and more until we are satisfied. And all we need for that to happen is to be hungry and thirsty for more of Him and more of what He wants us to have. 

This, of course, is showing us that He does not want us to be complacent in life. Instead, He wants us to always desire to know Him better, to have His fullness dwell in us, to be all that He wants us to be and to have all that He wants us to have in this world. And what will lead us to experience these things is our hunger and thirst for them. 

Look also at what Jesus says in John, chapter 10, verse 10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (NIV) Can you see that? Our Lord Jesus came so that we may experience fullness of life. And if you are complacent, you cannot experience life to the full. If you are complacent, you cannot be all that God wants you to be in life or accomplish all that He wants you to accomplish. The moment you are complacent, the moment you think that your life is okay as it is and that you do not need to be a better man, woman, husband, wife, child, Christian or citizen, you are already on your way out of relevance and out of this world. You are already dead, even though you are alive, and your life has begun to decompose and decay. 

You need to understand that as long as you are alive in this world, you cannot have any false sense of self-satisfaction. It will keep you from looking ahead to becoming the person God wants you to be and to having what He wants you to have. It will make you crest. And once you crest in that sense, you can only depreciate in character and usefulness. 

God, however, does not want us to crest in life. What He wants is for us to continually hunger and thirst for fullness of Him and of the life that He purchased for us in Christ. So, we must always look forward to what can be instead of fixing our gaze on what is. Of course, we must be thankful for what we are and what we have. And we must not get ourselves involved in anything that is contrary to the will of God in order to be where we want to be or have what we want to have. But we must always be hungry and thirsty for more of God and more of life. Otherwise, our lives will stagnate.

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“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb 4:16NIV)

That is a very clear instruction to us from the Spirit of God. And what is it about? It is about receiving God’s already given mercy and grace in our time of need. When is our time of need? Every moment is a time of need for us all. That is because there is no moment that we do not need God’s sustenance. 

However, it is not every moment that we have this feeling that we need God to urgently attend to a matter of our lives. If we, then, find ourselves in that moment, a moment in which it is clear to us that God must urgently attend to a matter we are dealing with, the Scripture above is one of those Scriptures that we must immediately act on.

Now, again, what does this Scripture tell us to do, if we should find ourselves in a moment of need, a moment in which we are desperate to experience salvation or breakthrough? First, it tells us to approach the throne of grace. So, there is a throne of grace. Yes, there is a throne where grace and mercy to deal with any kind of need or life’s trial can be adequately received. And it is the throne of God our Father. So, anytime you have a need, whatever the need may be, approach this throne.

But then, observe that we are not just told to approach the throne of mercy; we are also told how to approach it. We are told to approach it with confidence. In other words, regardless of what our needs may be, regardless of what we will want God to handle for us, we must be bold to approach His throne and express ourselves. Why? First, it is because our Lord Jesus Christ has taken care of everything that in the past made us unworthy of approaching God with freedom and confidence. He has reconciled us to God, so that we are now at peace with Him. (Cf. Rom 5:1; Eph 3:12)

Second, Jesus Christ is now our High Priest and is very much present at the throne of God’s grace to intercede for us. That means He is always there to speak along with us to God. And that is because, as we are told in the verses before our opening bible text, He has been through whatever any of us may be going through right now. He understands how we feel. He understands our fears, our worries and our weaknesses. So, He will always be on our side, giving us support, as we seek to draw from God’s grace and mercy in our moment of need. (Cf. Heb 4:14-15)

All of this is why we are told to approach that throne of grace with freedom and confidence in our time of need. And when we do so, we will surely find sufficient grace and mercy to walk in victory over whatever challenge we are faced with. If you, then, are faced with any challenge that is seeking to rubbish your life, steal your joy or cheat you of what is yours, you don’t need to hesitate any longer in approaching God’s throne of grace about it. Just approach it where you are and as you are, petitioning Him about the matter at hand. And He will not reject your prayers or ignore you. Instead, He will answer right away and make sure you receive all the grace and mercy you need to experience His victory.

Now we see an example of this in the case of King Hezekiah, when Sennacherib attacked the land of Judah and sought to possess it for himself. Before this time, Hezekiah had tried to appease him by giving him all the silver and gold that could be found in the royal treasuries and also in the temple of God. Imagine that. That man so much oppressed them that they had to start taking from God to satisfy him. (Cf. 2Kings 18:13-16)

Well, the point is that Hezekiah did his best to avoid any trouble from Sennacherib and to make sure peace reigned in his land. Yet Sennacherib was not satisfied at all. Instead, he sent his supreme commander and a very large army to threaten Hezekiah and his people and to tell them to surrender peacefully to him. In fact, he went on to tell them that that no god could save them from his hand. In other words, they should not wait for any supernatural deliverance. (Cf. 2Kings 18:16-27)

It was at that point, of course, that Hezekiah felt greatly pressured to petition God about the matter. And in doing so, he carefully presented to God everything that was happening, including Sennacherib’s arrogant words against Him, and appealed to Him to urgently intervene and prove Himself as the Sovereign God. Did God, then, answer him or not? He did. As the account shows us, that same night, an angel of the Lord entered the camp of Sennacherib and killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand of his soldiers. And when he himself shamefully returned home, two of his sons cut him down with the sword. That is how he ended up losing his life without being able to carry out any of his threats against the people of God. (Cf. 2Kings 19)

Now maybe you too are faced with a problem that is exactly like Sennacherib in your life. You have been trying all you can to avoid any confrontation with it. Yet it is annoying you all the time, seeking to devour your life, home, peace, rest and resources and even preventing you from faithfully serving God. Well, it is time for you to act like Hezekiah and appeal to God about the problem. And don’t forget that He has said that we could freely approach His throne of grace about anything. So, lose no more time in doing so. Instead, draw close to Him and tell Him everything in your heart about the problem. And while He may not have to end anyone’s life, as He did in Sennacherib’s case, He will surely do what will give you permanent and absolute experience of liberty in the situation. Amen.

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“Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5:15-16NIV)

What is Paul’s instruction to us in our opening bible text? It is for us to be very careful how we live. Why do we need to exercise caution or carefulness in the way we live? According to Paul, the reason is that the days we are living in are evil.

Is Paul now saying that every day is an evil day? Yes, that is exactly what he is saying. And is that in line with the mind of God? Yes, it is in line with the mind of God. That is because our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when addressing us about the need not worry about tomorrow, says this to us: “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt 6:34NIV)

That means every day is loaded with enough trouble, enough evil to ruin anybody. However, the evil of any day does not have to ruin us or destroy us. And it will not ruin us or destroy us, if we know how to live. But if we do not know how to live, even the good of any day we witness may not do us any good at all.

As Paul equally shows us in that text, though the days we live in are evil days, something we all can attest to, they are also days of opportunities. In other words, the days we live in are not entirely evil but also good. What is important, therefore, is for us to recognise the good in every day and make the most of it to defeat the evil in it. 

Now that is what Paul refers to as living wisely, living carefully, living thoughtfully. Yes, each new day will bring its own kinds of evil to our world. But we must not just focus our attention on the evil happening in it but also on the opportunities God is making available to turn the evil happening in it around for our good. 

The bible says this to us about God: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28NIV) Did you see that? Just as our enemy, the devil, is working hard to fill every day with evil for us, God, our Father, is also working to turn every ugly situation around for our good. And whose work do you think will naturally prevail? God’s work!

So, instead for you to allow all the bad things happening around you or to you to make you lose your mind and start misbehaving, focus your attention on the good things God is doing on your behalf and how you can make the most of them to frustrate the devil and defeat every evil thing he is doing to bring you down. That was how Joseph functioned when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. He did not focus on his slavery but on the opportunities that it afforded him to rise and shine. And did he rise and shine or not? He did. (Cf. Gen 39)

Also, when he was in the prison, he did not focus his attention on the bad things happening in the prison and what they could do to him. Rather, he focussed his attention on the good things happening there, on the opportunities available for him there to rise and shine. And did he rise and shine or not? He did. In, fact, he went on from there to become the prime minister of the land of Egypt. (Cf. Gen 39-41)

In like manner, what will spell wisdom for us, especially those of us living in Nigeria now and who are faced with unnumbered problems, is to stop looking only at all the bad things that are happening in our land and to also start looking out for the opportunities God is providing through them to turn things around for our good. And as we recognise these opportunities and begin to utilise them, we will soon see that the evil days are not entirely evil after all – they are also loaded with all kinds of good things for us to enjoy and flourish. 

My prayer is that God will open your eyes to see the good He has in store for you every remaining day of your life and also lead and strengthen you to make the most of it, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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“Be very careful, then, how you live — not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” (Eph 5:15-16NIV)

What is Paul’s instruction to us in our opening bible text? It is for us to be very careful how we live. Why do we need to exercise caution or carefulness in the way we live? According to Paul, the reason is that the days we are living in are evil.

Is Paul now saying that every day is an evil day? Yes, that is exactly what he is saying. And is that in line with the mind of God? Yes, it is in line with the mind of God. That is because our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, when addressing us about the need not worry about tomorrow, says this to us: “Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt 6:34NIV)

That means every day is loaded with enough trouble, enough evil to ruin anybody. However, the evil of any day does not have to ruin us or destroy us. And it will not ruin us or destroy us, if we know how to live. But if we do not know how to live, even the good of any day we witness may not do us any good at all.

As Paul equally shows us in that text, though the days we live in are evil days, something we all can attest to, they are also days of opportunities. In other words, the days we live in are not entirely evil but also good. What is important, therefore, is for us to recognise the good in every day and make the most of it to defeat the evil in it. 

Now that is what Paul refers to as living wisely, living carefully, living thoughtfully. Yes, each new day will bring its own kinds of evil to our world. But we must not just focus our attention on the evil happening in it but also on the opportunities God is making available to turn the evil happening in it around for our good. 

The bible says this to us about God: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28NIV) Did you see that? Just as our enemy, the devil, is working hard to fill every day with evil for us, God, our Father, is also working to turn every ugly situation around for our good. And whose work do you think will naturally prevail? God’s work!

So, instead for you to allow all the bad things happening around you or to you to make you lose your mind and start misbehaving, focus your attention on the good things God is doing on your behalf and how you can make the most of them to frustrate the devil and defeat every evil thing he is doing to bring you down. That was how Joseph functioned when he was sold into slavery by his brothers. He did not focus on his slavery but on the opportunities that it afforded him to rise and shine. And did he rise and shine or not? He did. (Cf. Gen 39)

Also, when he was in the prison, he did not focus his attention on the bad things happening in the prison and what they could do to him. Rather, he focussed his attention on the good things happening there, on the opportunities available for him there to rise and shine. And did he rise and shine or not? He did. In, fact, he went on from there to become the prime minister of the land of Egypt. (Cf. Gen 39-41)

In like manner, what will spell wisdom for us, especially those of us living in Nigeria now and who are faced with unnumbered problems, is to stop looking only at all the bad things that are happening in our land and to also start looking out for the opportunities God is providing through them to turn things around for our good. And as we recognise these opportunities and begin to utilise them, we will soon see that the evil days are not entirely evil after all – they are also loaded with all kinds of good things for us to enjoy and flourish. 

My prayer is that God will open your eyes to see the good He has in store for you every remaining day of your life and also lead and strengthen you to make the most of it, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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My prayer for you today is that you will keep experiencing God’s exaltation until you are fully established in His good purpose for your life, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Now one major way not to miss the full realization of God’s good purpose for our lives is to walk with Him with patience. As we see in Scriptures, the fact that God has a good purpose for someone does not mean that everything will be realized overnight. God, for instance, ordained David as king in place of Saul. But He did not put this young man on the throne the same day He ordained him. In fact, He did not put him on the throne until about thirteen years later. 

Why, then, did God not put David on the throne the moment He ordained him as king? It was because he was not yet ripe for the position. Being a king comes with a lot of responsibilities and not just privileges. And if one is not wise and strong enough to handle those responsibilities, he would fail woefully. Also, if one does not have enough faithful, wise, competent and strong subjects that would help him establish and strengthen his kingdom, he would most likely be devoured by the wolves in that kingdom. 

So, though God wanted David on the throne of Israel because he was a man after His heart, He still had to give him time to learn, prepare and strengthen himself for the position before putting him there. Otherwise, his reign would have ended even before it had any chance to start. And the accounts of the persecutions he suffered from the hands of Saul were enough proof for this.

In like manner, even though God has great plans for our lives and is committed to fulfilling all of them, He will not do anything that would end up destroying us or give us anything that we would not be able to manage or keep. Therefore, He may have to keep certain things from getting into our hands until we are adequately equipped to handle them, keep them and also not destroy ourselves with them. But if we are not patient, we may get angry with Him for not fulfilling His promises to us as we expect and throw away our confidence in Him. And doing that, of course, can only make us totally miss the fulfilment of His purpose for our lives.

Look at what He said to the children of Israel through Moses before He took them into the promised land: “The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.” (Deut 7:22NIV) Did you see that? Even though God was going to drive out all the enemy nations before His people, so that they may occupy the land flowing with milk and honey that He had promised to give them, He did not intend to do so all at once. Why? Was it because He was not powerful enough to do so? No! Rather, it was because doing so would not be advantageous to them.

As His words clearly indicate, these Israelites were not numerous enough to occupy and manage the whole land at that time. So, even if everything was given to them all at once, it would not be long before wild animals multiplied against them and began to kill them off. And that would not be good at all. Therefore, in His wisdom, God decided that He would only eliminate their enemies little by little until they were numerous and strong enough to take over the whole land. And He still operates by the same principle. He still fulfils His purpose for His children little by little, based on their immediate ability to manage His provisions and exaltation. All they need is to be patient with Him and continue to do His will, knowing that He is utterly dependable and powerful enough to fulfil His purpose concerning them (1Thess 5:24; Heb 10:35-39). 

So, if you are already feeling that God is not fulfilling His purpose in your life or is acting too slow, His Spirit is speaking to you now, saying, “Be patient and continue to do the will of God.” That is because He may just be waiting for you to become strong or wise enough to manage what He is bringing. And my prayer is that whatever is lacking in your faith, wisdom or strength to manage God’s provisions for you will be immediately and abundantly supplied, so that your experience of His exaltation and salvation will no longer be delayed. Amen.

Have yourself a wonderful day

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I once heard a preacher speak of how the board of elders of an assembly once wrote to their headquarters to have their pastor transferred. Their reason was that he had been preaching on just one subject since he got to their church, which was repent and be saved. And when the pastor was asked to explain himself, he said that the problem was not that he did not have any other subject to preach to these brethren but that they had not acted at all on the one he had been preaching to them. “Why, then,” as he further pointed out, “should I teach them new things, when they will not act on the one thing that I have been teaching them?”

What is the point of this? It is that until God’s people begin to intelligently act on what they are being taught, preachers who know what they are doing will not stop going over it. This is one of the reasons Paul says to the Philippian brethren, “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.” (Phil 3:1NIV) 

Did you see that? Paul did not see it as a problem at all to go over again the same things he had taught these brethren before. Why? It was because doing so would help them in staying in the will of God.

Now I know that many of us often get offended when we are being reminded or taught again by our pastors something that we already know. But we must also understand that if we are acting well on what we know to be the truth of God to us, we won’t need anybody to remind or teach us to do so. It is when we are acting as if we did not understand what we have been taught or like a forgetful hearer or like a stubborn student that this becomes necessary.

For example, I have personally observed that even though the subject of appreciating our pastors and other church leaders, who regularly feed us with the word of God and watch over us by the power of God, has been severally taught to many of God’s people, only few still take it seriously. I am saying that in most of our assemblies only very few people often personally and deliberately appreciate their leaders, not just with words of mouth but also with their material things. What about others? Do they not know this? In most cases, they know. But they won’t just act accordingly. (Cf. Luke 10:1-8; 1Cor 9:14; Gal 6:6)

It will, in fact, shock you to know that many children of God have never in their lives deliberately approached their pastors to simply say, “Thank you sir for the good work you are doing,” or to just do something for them that will make them happy. But if these same brethren hear that their church leaders are involved in some sexual scandal or financial mess, they will most likely not hesitate to spread the bad news or to use whatever means they have to totally destroy them. It is no big wonder, then, that the prayers and words of blessings of many preachers don’t settle on their brethren to work for them.

Or do you really think that it is every word of prayer or blessing that is said on behalf of people that may rest on them or work for their good? No! Jesus once said this to His apostles: “When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.” (Luke 10:5-7NIV) 

Can you see that? A word of blessing can return to the one who offers it, if the person he is offering it for does not respond appropriately. So, even if your pastor is praying for you to prosper and do well in life all the time but you are not relating to him as God wants you to, his prayers of blessing may not settle on your life and work for you as they ought to. 

Unfortunately, many of God’s people don’t understand that the reason they are not prospering under their pastors in most cases is not that something is wrong with those pastors spiritually. Rather, it is that they are not relating to them as God wants them to. And if they will repent of their disobedience and stop taking the things they ought to have used to support their pastors to some prayer mountains, they will begin to see that they can prosper even more under the daily ministration of those pastors than under the once in a while ministration of the so-called anointed prophets they are dying to see. But will they repent? (Cf. Matt 10:40-42)

In any case, my point all along is that if your pastor has to go over certain bible topics again and again with you, it may not be because he does not have something else to teach you; rather, it may be because you are not yet working with what you have been taught as you are supposed to. And if you are not working well with what you have been well taught, it may be that you do not yet understand it as you should or that you are being a forgetful hearer or that you are just being stubborn. None of this, of course, is acceptable. 

So, stop being slow to learn, forgetful or stubborn and begin to take the things you are being taught seriously. That way, you can leave the elementary teachings of the Christian faith and move on to maturity (Heb 5:11-6:3).

Have a lovely day.

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Our Lord Jesus once said this to His disciples: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work.” (Cf. John 4:34) On another occasion He also said to them: “As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” (John 9:4NIV) 

Why did our Lord speak like this? First, it was because He knew that God had given Him a ministry to carry out here on earth. Second, it was because He had a sense of responsibility. And this was driving Him to take the ministry God had given to Him seriously. Third, it was because He knew that He did not have forever to do the job God had given Him. So, if He did not give His ministry the attention it deserved, He would not complete it by the time His time here on earth was up.

In like manner, each of us too has received a ministry from the Lord. Each of us has a job or a set of jobs that God has assigned him to do for Him and His kingdom here on earth. That is what the bible tells us. It is on us, then, to know what the ministry we have received from Him is and to begin to carry it out diligently and with the intent of finishing it on time. And Paul, speaking along this line to the Ephesian-elders, says this about himself: “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.” (Acts 20:24NIV)

Can you see that Paul’s focus in life was not at all different from our Lord Jesus’ focus in life? His focus too was to do the will of God with his life and to finish His work. And would that be convenient for him? He did not expect it to be convenient. In fact, he said that the Holy Spirit had already warned him not to expect this to be convenient for him (Acts 20:22-23). However, whether it was convenient or not, he was determined to please God with his life in all ways and to diligently complete the task He had given to him. Why? It was because he knew that the one who called him and set him apart for Himself would always be with him and ensure that he succeeded. 

Now if we too would function with the mindset that both our Lord Jesus and Paul had about living for God and doing His work, then, we will never fail God, regardless of how hard or inconvenient things may be for us. But is this the mindset with which we are operating in life? Are we functioning with an abiding consciousness that our lives must be lived to please God and to do the work He has given us, whatever this work may be and whatever the circumstances of our lives may be?

If we are not functioning with this consciousness, then, we are simply wasting our lives. No, it may not look like we are wasting our lives, especially if we are being praised by men for our accomplishments in different areas of life. But a time is coming when, as Jonah eventually did, we will realise that all our race outside the will of God can only end in the belly of a big fish, in a place of utter darkness, where there is no gain, where there is no reward. And that is when we will know that all that we have done has been for nothing. 

My prayer is that your race and toil here on earth will not eventually amount to nothing, in Jesus’ name. But you too must reset your focus, if it has not been on doing the will of God and finishing the task He has given you.

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My prayer for you today is that God, in His mercy, will continually keep you and all that is yours safe from every hidden trap of the devil. Amen.

As bible accounts go, twice the king of Israel, Saul, talked to David about marrying his daughter. The first time it was Merab, his older daughter, that he presented to him. But the young man declined. He told him that his people were not rich and influential enough to become the king’s in-laws. So, Saul dropped the idea and gave his daughter to someone else. (Cf. 1Sam 18:17-19)

Then, sometimes later, Saul was told that his younger daughter, Michal, was in love with David. So, he immediately told his men to talk to David again that he had another opportunity to be his in-law and that all he needed was to bring him a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. That means David would have to first kill a hundred Philistines before he could get their foreskins. (Cf. 1Sam 18:20-25)

But why was Saul bent on giving his daughters in marriage to David? Was he the only man around that was qualified to marry his daughters? No! Or was it because he was really pleased with David and wanted him to be a member of his family by all means? No! The bible is clear about the fact that he was jealous of David’s military success and popularity among the people. So, it was not because he was really delighted to have him as his in-law that he wanted him to marry one of his daughters; rather it was because he wanted was to use the marriage thing as a trap to get him killed. And if God had not been with him, he would have been dead while trying to become the king’s son-in-law. (Cf. 1Sam 18:29-27)

What is the point of this? It is that there are times that certain people’s so-called favour to us or request from us may just be death, destruction or disgrace pills coated with sugar. And if God does not open our eyes to see what they are up to and also show us the way of escape, we can end up becoming victims of their evil schemes. So, we must never think we will be safe because we are always good to those around us, because our ways are pure before God or because we are always careful in the way we relate to others. Instead, we should continually commit ourselves to God for safekeeping. That is because if He does not keep us safe, we will not be safe, regardless of how sensitive we are or what things we are doing to stay safe (Ps 127:1). 

Remember Uriah, one of David’s warriors. Remember that he was the one that bore the letter of his death sentence. Yet he did not know anything until he perished. And how could he have known that the king he trusted with his life and was ready to die for any day and any time had hidden his death sentence in the letter he gave to him? Or how could he have known that all the kindness and favour the king was showing him during his last hours on earth were just a way to trick him to accept a bastard as his son? He could not have known these things unless they were revealed to him. So, he perished because he had no revelation that could prepare him and lead him to escape from what was coming for him. (Cf. 2Sam 11)

That is telling us that good, upright and faithful people can become victims of the wickedness of even those that they trust, if God does not show them mercy and protect them. So, again, I am saying that you should learn to always entrust yourself and all that is yours to God for safekeeping instead of counting on your goodness or smartness. And my prayer is that He, in the fullness of His mercy, will always reveal to you every hidden snare of the enemy and also keep your feet from being caught by it. Amen.

Have a great day.

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Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev 4:11KJV) 

Look at that. Everything that exists today was created by God and was created for His pleasure. That means there was not one thing that God created to bring Him pains or regrets; everything He created, He created to bring Him pleasure and delight.

Do you know that even Satan was originally created to bring God pleasure and delight? Concerning Him, the bible says, “…You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you: ruby, topaz and emerald, chrysolite, onyx and jasper, sapphire, turquoise and beryl. Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you.” (Ezek 28:12-15NIV)

Can you just imagine that? Satan, before evil was detected in him, was a delight to the heart of God. He was created to be a demonstration of the wisdom, majesty and magnificence of God. And isn't that what most wise manufacturers do? They don't only manufacture products to meet certain needs of life; they also manufacture them to demonstrate their intelligence and taste for beauty, elegance and excellence. And that is why they are usually willing to go to any length to prevent others from pirating or adulterating their products.

So God also created Satan, like every other thing He created, to show forth the unsearchable riches of His wisdom, might and dominion. Unfortunately, wickedness was found in him and, instead for him to continue to be a delight to God's heart, he became an object of utter ruin and destruction and was set apart for an eternity of suffering and torture, an eternity away from the presence of God. (Cf. Matt 25:41, Rev 20:10)

But as we already saw from the Scriptures, it was never God's original intention for Satan to end up the way he has now ended up. It was his rejection of God's truth that brought this fate upon him. Remember that our Lord Jesus said this about him: “…He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him…” (John 8:44NIV) Can you see that? Satan would not hold to the truth of God's word. And because he would not hold to the truth, wickedness took over his being, and he was set apart for destruction.

Now do you know that was exactly the same thing that happened to Adam, the first man, in the Garden of Eden? He also was created to bring delight and pleasure to the heart of God. And even though Satan was said to be the model of perfection at his creation, Adam was far better than that. Adam was created to be the visible representation of everything God is, for he was made in the image and likeness of God. (Cf. Gen 1:26-27)

But, like Satan, Adam also, at some point, rejected the truth of God. And because of that, wickedness took over his own being too, and he stopped being fruitful and productive. I mean that he stopped fulfilling God's purpose for creating him, which was to bring joy and delight to His heart. Instead, he started bringing pains and regrets to His heart and so became a partaker of Satan’s fate. (Cf. Gen 6:5-6, 1Sam 15:10-11, Matt 25:41) 

We thank God, however, that He provided a way to restore man in Christ Jesus. So man, in Christ Jesus, is now able to fulfil again God's original purpose for bringing him forth; in Christ Jesus man is now able to bring forth fruit that will delight God's heart.

In any case, the point of all this is that, for anyone to be fruitful and productive in this life, for anyone to fulfil God's original intention for bringing him forth, He must allow the truth of God's word to abide in His heart. Truly, the Lord Jesus Christ has said to us, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4NIV) But how do you remain or abide in Him, for your fruitfulness and productiveness? It is by allowing His words to abide in you. That is exactly how John puts it in his first epistle. He says, “Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.” (1John 2:24NKJV)

So, as you continue your journey through this year, let the words of Christ abide in you richly and permanently, and you will be amazed at how fruitful and productive your life will be in the year. God bless you.

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“…God, who is the Creator of all things, kept his secret hidden through all the past ages, in order that at the present time, by means of the church, the angelic rulers and powers in the heavenly world might learn of his wisdom in all its different forms.” (Eph 3:9-10GNT) 

Think about that. God, right now and not later, wants the angelic rulers and powers in the heavenly world to learn His manifold wisdom through the church. In other words, He wants to manifest His wisdom through you and me because of our faith in His Son Jesus Christ. What a marvellous thing! 

See, we may have started out in life as ordinary, ignorant and unimpressive people. And many indeed started out like that. But it really does not matter to God. As long as we are in Christ Jesus, our social, cultural, political or academic background does not matter; what matters is a new creation. And since we are new creations in Christ, God’s intention is to teach the world and all the powers that are operating in it His wisdom through us. This is what He recreated us for. Therefore, the thoughts we think, the words we say, the decisions we make and the things we do ought to daily and always communicate the wisdom of God to men, angels and demons alike.

Look, for example, at the apostles of old. Everywhere they went, they shocked rich, powerful and influential people by their words and acts of wisdom, even though many of them were unschooled and ordinary men. And why were they able to function like that? It was because of their relationship with the Lord Jesus. He was the wisdom by which they were living, functioning and handling life. (Cf. Acts 4:13; Acts 13:4-11; Acts 25&26)

In like manner, Jesus Christ is our wisdom too. The bible says, “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God — that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” (1Cor 1:30NIV) Because of who are we in Christ Jesus? It is because of God. He, not any man or woman, is the reason we are new creations in Christ Jesus today. And it is He who has made Jesus Christ our wisdom. So, as far as we are concerned, our own wisdom is a living person, not a mere sense of good judgment. Our wisdom is Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:2-3).

Now since our wisdom is a person, how do we see it manifest in us? Is it by daily confessing that He is our wisdom or how? While it is okay to confess and affirm that Jesus is our wisdom, His wisdom won’t find expression in us because of that. He is already our wisdom. Confessing Him, therefore, as our wisdom will not make Him any more our wisdom or make His wisdom find expression in us. What will make the wisdom that He represents find expression in us is our learning from Him, so that we make His ways our ways and His thoughts our thoughts. The more we do this the more His wisdom finds expression in us. And the more His wisdom finds expression in us, the more God’s purpose of teaching men and the rulers and powers in the heavenly realms His wisdom through us is fulfilled.

The question, then, is, “Do we want this purpose of God to be fulfilled in us and through us?” I am asking if we want those of this world and all the angelic beings that be to learn through us that God’s ways are the only true ways to make sense out of life. If we do, then, we must take more seriously our devotion to learning from our Lord Jesus in order that we may know Him better, for the better we know Him the better the expression of His wisdom through us gets (Phil 3:10). And my prayer is that, as you face this new day, you will realise that this is God’s expectation on your life and that you are in a position to fulfil it.  

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“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28NIV) 

This is a free invitation to everyone who is troubled and is bearing loads of life that are crushing him. The Lord says to him, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.” If He did not have what it takes to give us rest, He would not say, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.” It is because He has what it takes to deliver rest to us from all the things that are troubling us and making us tired of life that He tells us to come to Him for rest.

So, you don’t have to allow any problem of life to destroy you or drive you mad. You don’t have to allow any situation to take charge of your life and turn you into a beast or a slave. All you need is to come to Jesus for rest, and He will give it to you. I mean that the Lord will give you rest right here on earth. Yes, the rest He intends to give to us is beyond something that we enjoy only in this world. Rather, His intention is to give us eternal and permanent rest from every problem of life. 

However, while the earth and all the problems that are associated with staying in it still remain, the Lord wants us to have rest in it. And He has been giving those who come to Him rest in it. For instance, we are told this about King David: “After the king was settled in his palace and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him, he said…” (2Sam 7:1-2NIV) Look at that. The Lord gave David rest from all his enemies around him. So, he settled down in his palace to enjoy his life and kingship. But that did not happen overnight. I mean that he did not come to this place of rest overnight. Only God Himself knows what number of miracles He had to perform in order to bring him there.

As we are told in the bible, this man was ordained to be king at a very tender age, when he was but a boy (1Sam 16:1-13). But did he ascend the throne the day after his ordination by God? No! Instead, even though he was a man after God’s own heart, he went through what many today would call ‘hell’ before he got there. He was persecuted, hunted, robbed, slandered and even betrayed on his way to the throne. And even after becoming king, troubles, wars and betrayals did not vanish from him overnight. They kept on coming for him. But because, in all these things, he set the Lord continually before himself and lived according to His word, he was preserved (Ps 16:8). Then there came a time in which even those around him could say, “The Lord has given this man rest from all his enemies around him.”

Now the same God that gave David rest from all his enemies around him is the one we are dealing with. Yes, He is the one that says to us, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.” And if you have come to Him, then, rest is already available for you to enjoy. But someone may say, “I have come to Him. Yet I am not enjoying any measure of rest in my life. My life is still full of troubles that are weighing me down and seeking to utterly destroy me. What, then, is the problem?” Well, the problem is that you have not learnt how to take His rest and make it yours.

See, the Lord does not just say, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” He also says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:29-30NIV) Did you see that? The only way to find the rest that God has given is to walk with Him and learn to do things His own way. Even though you have come to Him, as long as you are trying to solve your life’s problems in your own way, you will never find the rest He gives. 

But the moment you quit using your methods and schemes and start listening to Him and acting on His instructions, you will start finding His rest in your life. Yes, He may have to daily perform a million miracles for you to experience His rest. But what does it matter? He will do whatever He has to do to make sure that someday you are able to look around and say, “Blessed be God, who has given me rest on every side from all that seeks to destroy me.”

Have a lovely day.

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“He removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it. (It was called Nehushtan.)” (2Kings 18:4NIV

We have in the book of Numbers the account of how God sent venomous snakes among the Israelites because of their ingratitude and grumbling. And when they cried out to Him for forgiveness and mercy, He listened to them and told Moses what to do for their salvation. (Cf. Num 21:4-

What, then, was Moses to do for the salvation of these people? He was to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole for all of them to see. Then anyone that was bitten by a snake only needed to look at this bronze snake in order to live. And it was so. All those who were bitten by snakes and who looked up to the bronze snake lived and did not die – the venoms of those dangerous snakes had no power over the

Now what was in that lifeless bronze snake that made it effective in keeping alive any of the Israelites that was bitten by a live poisonous snake? What power was it carrying? The answer is ‘None’. There was nothing powerful about it or in it. It was just what it was – a lifeless bronze snak

Why then did it work in saving the people? The truth is that it wasn’t that bronze snake that saved those Israelites. Rather, it was God that saved them. Remember that it was He that told Moses to make the bronze snake and put it on a pole for the people to look at. And He could have asked him to put up something else or to do something totally different for their salvation, and it would have worked as well. Therefore, their salvation did not come from the bronze snake but from Him and through their obedience to His instructio

Unfortunately, they and their descendants after them did not see things that way. They thought it was that snake that saved them from death in the wilderness. So, somehow, years after Moses had left them, they idolised it and set it up in a high place as a god to worship. And they continued to worship it until Hezekiah became king and totally destroyed it and ended its worship, as we are shown in our opening bible tex

Now try to imagine the kinds of suffering those people must have experienced from God’s hand, year after year, for worshipping that bronze snake in place of Him. Yes, He was the one that gave it to them. But it was merely an instrument that He used to get their attention at the time and make them trust Him for their salvation. So, it was never meant to be kept as an object of worship. But they turned it into another god for themselves and became idolaters and sinners

In like manner, there are many today that have idolised certain people, things or processes that God used at some point for their salvation, healing or exaltation. So, anytime they have any problem or challenge, they look up to these things for help instead of looking up to God. They may have been doing this thoughtlessly. But it does not change the fact that they have become nothing but idolater

Now, as it is made very clear to us in Scriptures, God has zero tolerance for idolatry. He always judges it in very ruthless ways. That is why we are commanded by Him to flee from idolatry (1Cor 10:14; 1John 5:21). So, if you have anyone or anything that you have idolised in your life, perhaps because God once used it for your healing, deliverance or promotion, you need to redefine your relationship with it and smash whatever altar you have erected for it in your heart

See, people are people, not God. And things are things, not God. Yes, God may have used them in the past for your good. But He could as well have used other people or things or even nothing at all. So, don’t exalt them to His place in your life and arouse His jealousy. Don’t turn them into the solution to every problem you have or encounter. God alone holds the solution to all your problems and challenges. And if you give His place to another in your life, utter disgrace and destruction are the only things you can hope fo

Then be careful not to allow anyone to use you or anything from you to replace God in their lives. And if this is already happening, you need to stop it right away before you ensnare yourself. That is because God will never share His place as God with anyone or anything. And scriptures are very clear about this. So, watch yoursel

f.r.. s.. t.n.e.m.9)) So, watch yourself.

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“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May those who love you prosper. May there be peace inside your walls and prosperity in your palaces.”” (Ps 122:6-7GW)

The above text is taken from a prayer of King David for the city of Jerusalem, which happened to be God's chosen capital city for the nation of Israel at that time. Now his reason for offering this prayer is that there may be peace and prosperity within this city. That means the prayer of this king, here, is not against enemies that may want to take over the city of Jerusalem. Rather, his prayer is against internal dissensions that may lead to open conflicts and upset the peace and prosperity of the land.  

Now we too need to learn to offer such prayers for our country, especially at a time like this when so many things have fallen apart. What I am saying is that instead of saying or doing things that could result in any form of civil or religious war, our focus should be on working and praying to see that peace reigns absolutely in our land. And that, to say the fact, is actually what God expects from us. He expects us to be committed to working and praying for the peace of the land in which He has settled us.

Look at what He said to His people, Judah, after they had been taken away to another land as slaves. He said, “Work for the good of the city where I've taken you as captives, and pray to the LORD for that city. When it prospers, you also will prosper.” (Jer 29:7GW) Can you see that? God would not allow His people to do anything that would jeopardise the welfare or prosperity of the land they had been taken away to as captives. Instead, He wanted them to labour and pray for the good and prosperity of that country. In fact, He went on to warn them not to listen to any preacher or prophet that may want to counsel them to act differently (Jer 29:8-9). And why did God say such things to them? It was because that was the only way He could get them to prosper—their prosperity was tied to the prosperity of the nation they had been taken to.

Now if God wanted His people, who were captives and slaves in a strange land, to work and pray for the good of that land, do you think He would expect anything less from us, seeing that we are in our own land? No, He would not. Rather, He would want us to pray more for our land and work harder for its prosperity. 

It is, however, unfortunate that, in recent times, instead of praying and working for the peace and prosperity of our land, many of us, including Christians, have been saying and doing things that are capable of totally destroying our nation. We have been crying and calling for war and bloodshed. And I am yet to understand what we seek to gain by doing so. 

Is it that we are so foolish that we now think that any kind of war or a revolution of bloodshed will bring this country to our desired haven? Or are we saying that we don't know that wars don't build nations but tear them apart? 

Granted, we may be hearing and witnessing all kinds of things that don't promote our common welfare or peace. Nevertheless, the instruction we, as God's people, have received from Him is to work and pray for the peace of our land. To act differently is to act in disobedience to Him. And there is no way we can act in disobedience to God and not regret it. 

So, beloved, even if others around you are bent on having a war, any kind of war that may ruin this nation, you must be more determined to work and pray to see that peace and prosperity reign in it. And let me assure you of this: the weapons we have in God are more powerful than guns, grenades, fighter jets, swords and so on; the weapons we have are mighty through God to pull down every stronghold of confusion, bitterness, class hatred, ethnic hatred and so forth. Let us, then, take up these weapons and begin to use them in building our nation, and victory will surely be ours. 

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“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” (Rom 8:26-27NKJV) 

What is Paul saying here to us about the Holy Spirit and prayer? First, he tells us that we have a weakness, which is that we do not know what we should pray for as we ought to know. So, it is not that we don't know what to pray for at all. We do know a number of things that we should be praying to God about. But there are yet many things that we don't know we should be praying about or that we don't know what to say to God about.

Personally, I fully identify with what Paul is saying here. I know what it means to want to pray and not to know exactly what to pray about. And even when I know what to pray about, a lot of times, I may not know the exact things to ask of God concerning what I am praying about. So, I find myself stuttering and trying to find the exact words to phrase my petitions or requests. And that is the weakness that Paul is referring to. 

Thankfully, however, as Paul also points out, the Holy Spirit is there to help us in dealing with this weakness. How then does He do that? According to him, the Holy Spirit makes intercession for us with groans that words cannot express. That means, even when we are short of words in prayer, even when all we can do when praying is groan or yearn, the Holy Spirit is able to communicate those deep and unvoiced yearnings of our hearts to God in accordance with His will.   

But then, it is good to note here that Paul does not say anything about speaking or praying or singing in tongues. Instead, he speaks of groanings; he speaks of yearnings. And those are deep and inarticulate cries of an aching heart. How some people then have been able to take them as 'speaking in tongues' is what I still don't understand. I know what it means to groan when praying. I know what it means to pray with a heart that is so heavy that all you can do is to just let out some deep sighs once in a while. And since I also pray in tongues for the most part of my prayer time, I can tell there is a big difference between groaning when praying and praying in tongues. Yes, I agree that it is possible for one to also groan when praying in tongues, but groaning is still not the same thing as praying in tongues.   

Furthermore, even though it is true that our Lord Jesus says that among the signs that will accompany those who believe in Him is that they will speak in other tongues, the bible is clear about the fact that it is not every believer that speaks in tongues. For example, Paul, while teaching the Corinthian church about the gifts of the Spirit in a letter, asks the following questions: “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.” (1Cor 12:29-31NIV)

Now you know that those are very valid questions, which should not be difficult for us to answer. What I am saying is that we all know that it is not every Christian that is an apostle or a prophet or a teacher of the word of God. We also know that it is not every Christian that is a miracle worker or that has the gifts of healing or that can interpret tongues. And since this is the case, it should not be difficult for us at all to agree that it is not every believer that has been given the gift of tongues. 

It is, therefore, totally wrong to make any believer feel less spiritual than we are because he does not speak in tongues or because he does not possess certain spiritual gifts that we possess. It is equally wrong to give a believer the impression that until he begins to pray in tongues he cannot get certain results in prayers or be built up to be a great believer. That, to say the truth, is one of the reasons there are many preachers that are taking all kinds of ungodly approaches to make people speak in tongues.

Well, the point I am making is that the Holy Spirit is always there to help in our prayer weaknesses. So, even when you feel too weak to pray or when you are so troubled in your heart that you don’t know what to say to God in prayer, still be encouraged to pray. That is because the Spirit of God will take charge and intercede for you with those deep sighs and groanings of yours in accordance with the will of God. And that, of course, will be followed with great testimonies.

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“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7NIV)

Being anxious or worried when confronted with any problem of life is never the solution to experiencing victory and peace over it. But that is usually what many, including believers, do when they are in any kind of trouble, real or apparent. They keep thinking over and over again about what the trouble they are in or that they think they may be in will ultimately do to them and how they may never escape from its claws. And the more they think about it the more they are gripped with fear, fear that may eventually drive them to take foolish and destructive steps.

In any case, Paul says we are not to worry about anything. That, however, is not to say that we are to fold our arms and allow the troubles that have come to us to destroy us. That is not what the apostle is instructing us to do. While we are not to worry about any problem or trouble we may be faced with, for worrying will not in any way solve it but compound it, we are expected to do something about it. What, then, are we to do about it? One main thing we must do about it, according to Paul, is pray.

Again, his words are, “In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” In other words, we are to tell God what we want Him to do for us about the matter at hand. Is that to say God will act exactly the way we want Him to act? No! God does not have to solve any problem the way we have figured it out. Otherwise, He would not be God.

Unfortunately, many often expect that when they present a matter to God in prayer, He has to handle it according to their own reasoning or what their understanding can handle. And when they do not see Him make the kinds of moves they think He should be making or take the kinds of steps they expect Him to be taking, they conclude that He is not doing anything concerning their matter and turn elsewhere for help.

But the bible says this to us about God: “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Eph 3:20-21NIV) Look at that. God is not in our class in reasoning or in handling things at all. So, whenever He acts on our behalf, it will always be beyond what we have asked for or can figure out.

Nevertheless, we need to ask and to keep asking Him to move on our behalf. And every trouble that comes to us is presenting us another opportunity to ask Him to move on our behalf. Then, as we do this with a heart of thanksgiving, says Paul, the peace of God, which transcends all human understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Think about that. When we talk to God about the issues of our lives, whatever they may be, He releases His peace into our lives first. We may not see any change in our circumstances immediately. But we will have His peace in us, guarding and protecting our hearts and our minds against every evil thought of the devil that may want to fill us with fear or drive us to act against the will of God.

All of this is why it is important that we give ourselves to praying, not just when we are in trouble but at all times. That is because the more we pray, the more God's peace takes charge of our lives. This explains why people who truly pray to God hardly give up on life, commit suicide, run away from home or their responsibilities or become dejected in life. They may not see what God is doing about the problems they are faced with. But there is peace in their hearts, a kind of peace that comes with knowing that God, whom they have prayed to, will not fail them but make all things work together for their good. 

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Our Lord Jesus once spoke about the feast of the kingdom of God, illustrating it with the story of a king that sent his servant to invite certain people for a feast he was going to have. And when everything was ready, he sent that servant to go and bring in those that have been invited. But they all began to make excuses and would not come. So, he had to send the servant to go and get all kinds of people from wherever he could get them to come and partake in that feast. And this story was told to tell us the attitude of the Jews to the kingdom of God and how this paved way for those of us who are Gentiles to be partakers of this kingdom. (Cf. Luke 14:15-24)

Now what form this feast is going to take in the kingdom of God is not what we can say. But the church meetings we are holding now in the world are symbolic of what we will be experiencing then in God’s eternal kingdom. Every one of us will have his place in that feast. That is why we must take the various places God has given us in His kingdom very seriously. This is why you must not take church meetings lightly. 

See, the Lord expects you to be in these meetings, your own assembly’s meetings. As we see in Scriptures, there was a time He healed ten lepers, who had come begging Him to heal them. He told them to go and show themselves the priests. And on their way to seeing the priest, they realised that they had been cleansed of their leprosy. So, they got so excited that they ran off to go and show themselves to the priests. But one of them, who was a Samaritan, came back to the Lord to give thanks. Why did he not go and show himself to the priests immediately? It may be that, as a Samaritan, there was no priest for him to meet and show himself to. And even if there were priests for him to show himself to, he felt it was only proper for him to first come and give thanks to the one that had healed him. (Cf. Luke 17:11-19)

Well, this man came back to thank the Lord. And from the way the Lord responded, it is clear that He was expecting all of them to come back to give thanks for their healing. But they all did not come. It was only that Samaritan that came back. And it was only he that the Lord ministered to more. He received more. He received something better than what the other nine people had received because he came to give thanks to the Lord.

In like manner, the Lord is expecting us to come to our church meetings not just for Him to minister to us but for us also to minister to Him and to minister to one another. He expects us to come and give thanks to Him for what He has done for us. He expects to come and pray. He expects us to come and learn. And if you are not where He wants you to be at the time He wants you to be there, you are wasting your time and energy wherever you are. Whatever you are doing that is not consistent with what God wants you to be doing is a waste.

Remember there was a time, according to bible accounts, that Jonathan wanted to find out whether his father truly wanted to kill David or not. And how he did he find out? It was through what happened in a feast of the king with his officials. When the feast began, the king observed that David was not in his own place like all the other officials. And the king was concerned, even as a natural man, that one of his officers was not in his place at his feast. So, he asked his son, “Where is the son of Jesse? Why is he not here?” Jonathan, of course, gave his excuses for David. But the king was furious because of the whole thing. (Cf. 1Samuel 20)

Now King Saul was mad on that occasion because of his jealousy. But the point is that there are times that natural men take meetings seriously. If, for example, you are working in an office and a meeting is being held in the interest of that organisation, but you will not show up there, it is only a matter of time before you start having issues with that organisation. Even if it is a social group that you belong to, and you will not take the meetings of the group seriously, you too will not be taken seriously.

In like manner, if you are not taking church meetings seriously in your assembly and others, as a result of this, will not take you seriously in certain ways, you are partly to blame. I am not saying that it is alright for other brethren in your church to ignore you. But my point is that if you will not take church meetings seriously, there is a level of attention or commitment that you too cannot enjoy from the people of God with whom you are in fellowship. So, cultivate the right attitude towards your church meetings. And may the Lord strengthen you to do this, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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“When Jehoshaphat king of Judah returned safely to his palace in Jerusalem, Jehu the seer, the son of Hanani, went out to meet him and said to the king, "Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD? Because of this, the wrath of the LORD is upon you. There is, however, some good in you, for you have rid the land of the Asherah poles and have set your heart on seeking God."” (2Chron 19:1-3NIV)

Why was King Jehoshaphat confronted by Jehu the seer with such strong words, as we see in the above text? It was because he had gone into battle to support that wicked King of Israel, Ahab. And he did that against God’s instruction. God had revealed through Prophet Micaiah that Israel would lose and that Ahab their king would die, should they go to war against Ramoth Gilead. But Ahab did not believe the words of the man of God because he was confident in his ability. Jehoshaphat, however, being a godly man, knew that Micaiah had spoken the mind of God. Yet, in order not to appear weak before Ahab and his officials, he ignored the Lord’s warning and went into battle in support of his friend, Ahab. And if the Lord had not been merciful to him, he would have perished for his foolishness and disobedience in that battle. (Cf. 2Chro 18)

At any rate, when this man came back safely to his own kingdom, God sent a prophet to let him know that He was clearly against him for going to help Ahab and that His wrath was already upon him. But why? It was because Ahab was an idolatrous and wicked king. So, in the eyes of God, to support him meant nothing other than to support idolatry and wickedness. And that could have cost Jehoshaphat his life.

Now what are we to learn from this? It is simply that God does not want His righteous people helping the wicked in promoting their wickedness. And don’t miss my point here. I am not saying that God does not want righteous people to help unrighteous people or do good to them at all. He wants us to help all men, both good and bad, and to do good to them, for He Himself is continually helping all men, both good and bad, and doing good to them. (Cf. Matt 5:43-48; Gal 6:10)

But then, we have to be discerning in the way we help or support people, especially those who do not know the Lord. When we are certain that the help that we give to them will do nothing but promote wickedness or unrighteousness, we must not give it. Otherwise, we will be participating in their unrighteousness and sinning against God. That, of course, may expose us to afflictions, if we are not shown mercy. And only God knows how many of His people are suffering at the moment because they, at some point in their lives, helped the wicked or those who hate God to do wickedness. 

Therefore, learn to pay attention to the way you relate to unrighteous people, so that you don’t foolishly promote their unrighteousness. And to say the fact, if all of us who know God and believe in righteousness begin to take these things seriously, wickedness will begin to drastically reduce in our world. At least, we all know that, regardless of how smart a wicked man may be, there is a limit to what he can do alone, if he does not get help from others. So, we all can, to a great extent, paralyse the wicked in our world by refusing to help them steal, cheat, oppress, cover up evil or do any kind of wickedness.

Unfortunately, because many of us don’t know or understand God’s stand along these lines, we are continually sponsoring evil in our neighbourhoods, offices, schools, business centres, markets and so forth. Yet we complain all the time about the corruption and wickedness in our land and how they are ruining us. The truth is that these things will continue to grow and to ruin us unless we all who claim to know the Lord and to believe in His righteousness stop feeding them in people’s lives. But are we going to stop feeding them? Are we going to stop feeding wickedness and ungodliness? Well, I pray that we all are strengthened to stop, for our good and for the good of our nation.

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“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1Cor 3:6-8NIV)

In our opening text, Paul makes it very clear that the one responsible for any kind of real growth in life is God. And he uses his ministry and that of Apollos to illustrate his point. According to him, he was the one that was responsible for the planting of the seed of the gospel of Jesus on the soil of the hearts of the Corinthian brethren. And that was because he was the one that brought this gospel to them. He, in fact, stayed with them for more than a year to nurture the growing seed of the word of God in their lives (Acts 18:11).

Then, after Paul had left these brethren for a while, Apollos, another apostle of the Lord, came to them and began to water the growing plant of the word of God among them. How? By feeding them with more of the truths of the gospel! So, they began to grow remarkably in the grace of God and in the knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ. 

However, at some point, these Corinthians began to wonder whom they ought to give the credit to for their spiritual growth and for all the manifestations of the power of God among them. Was it Paul? Was it Apollos? Or should it be Peter, who had also come to them at some point and ministered to them in the grace of God? This, of course, brought divisions among them and opened the door for Satan to begin to spread all kinds of evil things among them.

Therefore, as we see in our opening text, Paul had to intervene and show them what they were missing. And what were they missing? It was the fact that the people that planted the word of God in their lives and the ones that watered it were not at all important, as far as the subject of their spiritual growth and fruitfulness was concerned. 

Yes, God would reward each of these people according to their labour over and among these Corinthians. But they were not the ones to accept the credit for their spiritual growth and advancement. The one to accept the credit was God Himself, who made the seed of His word that was planted in their hearts and also watered to grow. That means if God had not caused the seed of the gospel that was planted in their hearts to grow, the labour of the one that planted it and that of those who watered it would have amount to nothing.   

Now we see this same principle emphasised all through the Scriptures (Ps 127:1-2; Hosea 14:8; Heb 3:4). God is the one that makes all things grow and fruitful. In other words, the power for growth and fruitfulness comes from Him. Therefore, if He does not make whatever we are planting or watering grow and fruitful, it will not grow or yield any fruit for us. And that will result in vain labour for us. 

So, if we want anything we are planting or watering, a business, a marriage, a house or people, to grow and bring forth fruit that will fill our hearts with joy, we must learn to commit it into God’s hand. We must not think that our skilful or diligent labour over it is enough to make it grow and fruitful, for it is never enough. And if we fail to realise this and act accordingly, we may end up labouring in vain. May you never again labour in vain, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

But then, even though God is the one that makes all things grow, He will not make grow what we have not planted. So, don’t expect God to release the power for growth and fruitfulness into what you have not planted. That will never work. For instance, if you have not planted the seed of faith in your heart, don’t expect God to make your faith grow. Crying to Him or praying to Him to make your faith grow won’t accomplish anything in this situation. That is because you are not planting faith in your heart.

Also, if you have not planted your money in some business, in people or to acquire some education or skill, don’t expect God to multiply it. This is what many of us who are always praying to God and confessing His word to multiply our resources don’t get. What is God going to multiply? It is the seed you have planted. He cannot multiply the seed you have not planted. 

Yes, God can give you seed to plant. But if you turn all of it into bread and refuse to plant any of it, there is nothing He will multiply for you. Therefore, you will always have to wait for the supply or support that is coming instead of experiencing a multiplication of what you already have in addition to whatever supply or support that is coming. And that may slow down your prosperity or take it completely out of your reach.

What is my point, then? It is that if you want to see God multiply anything for you in life, you must begin to plant the seed of that thing. Jesus says, “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.” (John 12:24NIV) In the same vein, if you want that thing in your life to multiply, plant it and then commit its growth and fruitfulness into God’s hand. And may your eyes be opened to see every seed you need to plant for your growth and multiplication in all good things, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” (Psalm 32:8-9NIV)

This is God telling us about His commitment to teaching us, counselling us and showing us the way we should go in life. And He will do this with His loving eye on us. So, we are talking about the teaching, leading and counselling of a lover, of one who cares about us and wants the best for us. 

Then He goes on to tell us not to be stubborn. He wants to teach, counsel and guide us in love. But if we are like the horse or the mule, then, we will have to learn the hard way.

See, there are many today that it was after they had messed up their lives terribly that they understood what God had been saying to them all along and began to obey it (Psalm 119:67). So, you can choose to settle down and listen to what God is saying to you and experience His best for your life or you can choose to ignore Him and learn the hard way. Unfortunately, some people will die while learning the hard way. So, they will not be able to put to use the lessons they have learnt.

Well, what God is saying to us is that we can either learn from Him, that is, by His revelation, or by experience. I know people used to say experience is the best teacher. But they are wrong. Experience is not the best teacher. God is the best teacher. He is the teacher of the best. So, listen to Him. And He will teach you what is best for you and also guide you in the way you ought to go. 

I want to be the best I can be and have the best I can have in this life. I do not know all these things. But God knows them. So, I want Him to teach and guide me into the best He has prepared for me. And if I listen to Him, that is going to happen – I will be the best He has destined me to be and have the best He wants me to have in life. But if I will not listen to Him, I will have to learn through experience. Learning through experience, however, is a hard thing, especially if you are learning through your own experience. And you will surely have to learn through your experience, if you will not listen to God.

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“But there is a place where someone has testified: “What is mankind that you are mindful of them, a son of man that you care for him? You have made them a little lower than the angels; you crowned them with glory and honour and put everything under their feet.” In putting everything under them, God left nothing that is not subject to them. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them. But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.” (Hebrews 2:6-9NIV)

The writer of the book of Hebrews, in our opening text, is quoting from Psalm 8. And he is informing us of our situation when God first made us and planted our feet here on earth. He put everything under our feet. Then this man goes on to say that in putting everything under our feet, God left nothing that is not placed under our feet. So, everything is under us. Even the angels are under us. Remember that Paul says that we will judge angels in chapter 6 of 1Corinthians. That is telling us something about our class in creation, in God’s scheme of things. 

But then, this man further tells us something that is so real to us now. He says at present we do not see everything subject to us. In other words, even though God left nothing that He did not put under our feet in the beginning, right now, we do not see everything under us. At the moment, we are scared of animals. We are scared of snakes, lions and other wild animals. Some of us are even scared of cockroaches. These ones cannot sleep in any room in which there is a cockroach. 

Now this is pointing to the fact that we do not see everything under our control anymore. Do we see the angels under our control? No! Do we see demons under our control? No! Even though God has given us authority over all demons, we do not see them under our control. That is why we are frightened by them. That is why we are often oppressed and tormented by them. Many today are blind or deaf because of demonic afflictions. Many also are on beds of paralysis because of demonic afflictions. And all this is because we do not see these demons under our control.

What about our economy? Do we see it under our control? Many are living in abject poverty today. They are not in charge of their finances. They are labouring hard in everything, but it is all in vain. Why? They are not in charge. Look at the way insecurity is staring us in the face in this country. Look at how hard it is for people to move from one place to another in the country without having to look over their shoulders. There is insecurity everywhere. There is chaos everywhere. And though we have governments and leaders of governments, they have not been able to curb or control these things. 

Also, accidents, flooding, disasters, outbreak of epidermic and so forth often happen in our world and we have not been able to handle them. We can manage them to some degree and prevent them from totally destroying us. But we know that we are not in a position to absolutely stop or eradicate these things, even in our most developed climes. And that is because of our fall.

However, those of us who are Christians have hope. And that is because of our Lord Jesus Christ who has triumphed for us. So, the writer of the book of Hebrews, tells us that even though we do not see everything under our control at the moment, we do see Jesus who has been crowned with glory and honour as Lord over everything. Truly, we may not see the situations of our lives under our control, but we do see Jesus as Lord over them. We may not see the economy of our nation under our control, but we do see Jesus as Lord over it. We may not see a whole lot of things under our control, but we do see Jesus as Lord over everything.

Now because we see Jesus, there is hope for us of someday having everything back under our control. Because we see Jesus, we can live victorious in this world. Because we see Jesus, we can exercise control over all the situations of our lives that have been trying to dominate us. By ourselves, in ourselves we may not have control over anything going on in our lives. But as believers in Christ Jesus, we can exercise control over any situation of our lives because of our faith in Him. That is why it is important that we fix our gaze on Him. So, fix your gaze on Him and there will be no situation that He will not bring under control for you.

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“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness – they mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:25-27NIV)

Paul is here speaking about the mystery of God that He kept hidden for generations. What is this mystery? He says, “It is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” In other words, the mystery of God consists in the manifestation of Christ in us. Christ is referred to in this same letter to the Colossians as the image of the invisible God. It is also said in the letter that it has pleased God to cause His fullness to dwell in Christ. So, with Christ in us, the fullness of God is now dwelling in us. (Cf. Colossians 1:15&19)

But then, will His fullness be evident in us? That is the big question. God’s will is that His fullness will find expression in those of us who believe. But is it happening in me already? Is this happening in you already? Paul prays for the Ephesian brethren that God’s fullness will fill them. In other words, he wants His fullness to take charge of them and be evident in them. Why? That is what will draw men to God, the revelation of Christ in them, the revelation of the fullness of God in their lives. (Cf. Ephesians 3:14-19)

What, then, is the place of preaching Christ in all this? Well, it is indeed important that we preach Christ to those in our world. But any form of preaching that is not accompanied with the manifestation of the wisdom of God and His fullness will not draw people to Him or accomplish His purpose in their lives. People want to see what Christ has done in us. They want to see His image in us. They want to see what He is doing or has done in us. That is what they can appreciate.

If someone wants you to marry someone, for instance, and you have never met the person before, what is reported about that person may not be enough for you to want to meet him or her. But if you are shown the picture of that person, you will want to see whether it is appealing to you or not. If it is, then, you want to meet the person. If it is not, then, you may not want to meet the person, even if she is of awesome character.

In like manner, people need to see the image of Christ in us. They need to see His fullness in us. And if it is His image that is seen in us that we are proclaiming, then, it will be easier for those of the world to relate to our message. Paul says this of himself: “But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being.” (Galatians 1:19NIV) Did you see that? Paul was preaching the Son of God that was being revealed in Him. He was not preaching a Christ that people could not see in his own life and conduct.

The point I am making is that Christ needs to be seen in us. God wants Him to be seen in us, for He is the exact representation of His being. He wants the worlds of angels, demons and men to see Him in us. This is the secret He has been keeping, the fact that He wants all His creation to see that man is His actual child and that he is capable of manifesting His fullness. He wants them to see His wisdom, righteousness, holiness, love, patience, self-control, gentleness, generosity, goodness, humility and everything He represents in us. This is what will draw all men to Him. This is what will cause them to know that we are truly divine.

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“Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honor.” (Romans 13:7NIV) 

Based on the positions our leaders are holding, we must show them adequate respect and honour. When Paul was giving his defence before King Agrippa and Governor Festus, he referred to this governor as ‘Most excellent Festus’ (Acts 26:35). That is as good as addressing him as ‘Your excellency’. And when he began to address King Agrippa, he motioned with his hands as a sign of respect. 

That was a man of God, showing proper respect to the leaders of the land. But there are many so-called men of God today that have no iota of respect for the leaders of our government and societies. Yes, these leaders may be coming to you for prayers and counselling. That does not mean you should not honour and respect them. They are showing you respect because you are a servant of God. And as a fair exchange, you too should recognise them as servants of God and honour them. 

See, God is watching you and the pride in your heart as you relate to the leaders of our land. And this pride that you are refusing to deal with will limit you in various. In fact, it is already limiting you. You are just not paying attention. Paul was a man of God. Yet he related with respect and honour to King Agrippa and Governor Festus. We all should learn from him and begin to function accordingly. 

What about our attitude towards taxes? The laws of the land command us to pay our taxes and revenues. So, we should pay them and not seek to evade them. Today, we have the privilege of finding out what our leaders are doing to our taxes. We even have the privilege of taking them to task in the court about how they are using our taxes. But in bible days, the people did not have such privileges. Who was going to challenge the Ceasars on how they were using their taxes? Who was going to challenge the Herods on how they were using the taxes they were collecting from the people? Yet these people were commanded by God to pay their taxes. 

In like manner, we too are commanded by Him to pay our taxes. And we do know there are stringent laws in many countries against tax evasion. So, don’t try to evade tax payment. The word of God says that if you owe taxes, pay them, and if you owe revenue, pay it. Yes, you can go to the tax offices to get some reduction on what you pay. That is alright. But don’t evade the payment of your taxes. You will be walking contrary to the will of God by doing that. And there will be consequences.

In Saint Mark’s gospel, chapter 12, some people came to Jesus to ask him, if it was alright for them to pay taxes or not. And He told them to bring Him a coin. When they had brought it, He asked them, “Whose inscription is this on the coin and whose image is this on it?” They said, “Ceasars!” Then He went to tell them this: “Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s and to God what is God’s.” By that, the Lord was telling them that it was right for them to pay taxes. And that is the final word on that matter. We too, then, must pay taxes. There is nothing to debate about it.

In addition to that, when the Lord said to those people, “Give to Ceasar what is Ceasar’s and to God what is God’s,” He wanted them to also know that they must respect national symbols. So, whatever respect that is due to our national symbols should be given to them. Show respect to our National Flag. Show respect to our National Anthem and National Pledge, when they are being recited. Show respect to our National Currency. And show respect to our uniform men, all the officers (police men and women, soldiers and so forth) that are representing the nation. They may misbehave. And many of them often misbehave. But the word of God does not permit us to insult them.

We read in Scriptures how a man called Simon, who was from Cyrene, was forced to carry the cross of Jesus by the Roman soldiers. So, it is not a new thing for uniform men to misbehave, especially when they are in uniform. Yet we are told to respect them. That does not mean we cannot take them to task in a court of law for misbehaving. But we are not permitted by God to molest, harass or insult them. Others may feel free to do such things. But we are not permitted to do so. Also, others may see us as weak for acting like this. But the word of God does not say so. Instead, it tells us that the weapons of our warfare are effective and mighty through God. (Cf. Mark 15:21; 2Corinthians 10:4)

So, praying to God about our leaders is effective. Practising righteousness in our land is effective. Submissiveness to established authorities is effective. Therefore, don’t stop doing these things because people are persecuting you or insulting you. And the Lord will reward you for being true to Him, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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“While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill – while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision…” (Daniel 9:20-23NIV)

Daniel is referred to here, in our opening text, by angel Gabriel as one that is highly esteemed before God. That means his reputation before men is not different from his reputation before God. Interestingly, on another occasion, another angel was sent to him and he said about the same thing concerning his reputation before God. This is in Daniel, chapter 10, from verse 10, which reads:

“A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.” (Daniel 10:10-11NIV)

Two different angels were sent to Daniel at two different times, and they both said the same thing about him. They both said that the reputation he had before men was the same as what he had before God. As he was highly esteemed among men, he was also highly esteemed before God. 

Also, look at Job and his reputation before God. God saw him as a true worshipper, not as a fraudulent one. And does He see me as a true believer, as one that is truly living for Him or as a liar, a deceiver or an immoral person? 

If you are truly God’s child, you are going to labour before Him to have a reputation that matches your position in His family. Otherwise, when all has been said and done, it may just be that you have actually not been born again. If you are truly a child of God, you will labour to live a life that is consistent with your position in His heart. 

And isn’t that the way we function as children in our homes? We want to live to attain the positions we have in our homes. We want our parents to see us as their children indeed, that is, through the way we function. We do not want them referring to us as bastards. And there are times that we find parents referring to their children as bastards. Why? They are looking at how those children are behaving and wondering if they are truly their children.

Well, if you too are truly a child of God, what is your reputation before Him? I am not asking about your position before Him here. Your position, if you are truly born again, is that of a child before God. But does your reputation match that position? Is your behaviour showing that you are truly His child? You may have a reputation before men as being a true child of God? But do you have the same reputation before Him? That is what we are talking about. And that is what is going to determine how He rewards you on the day that He judges all men. 

So, labour to have before God a reputation that agrees with the position He has placed you in His kingdom. That matters a lot to Him, for it is how you bring Him praise here in the world. 

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‘A person can receive only what is given them from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah but am sent ahead of him.’” (John 3:25-28NIV)

What said these words? It was John the Baptist. And there is a part of what he said that I want you to pay attention to, which is, “A person can receive only what is given them from heaven.” In other words, it is only what God has given you that you can legitimately receive – you cannot receive what He has not given. 

Yes, you can go out of your way to take for yourself what God has not given to you. But that is going to get you into trouble sooner or later. It does not matter whether it is manipulation, force, witchcraft or sorcery that you are using to get what God has not given to you. It can only lead you into trouble. It is only what God has given that does not come with sorrow or pains.

Similarly, Paul says this to the Corinthians: “For what makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do your boast as though you did not?” (1Corinthians 4:7NIV) Did you see that? Is there any good thing that has come to us legitimately that we have not received from God? Did we bring anything into this world when we came? No, we brought nothing. Everything we have had and enjoyed in this life has come to us from God’s hands. Even the very life in us has come to us from Him. Our bodies also have come to us from Him. 

That being the case, we ought to be grateful to Him. Our attitude to God must always be that of thanksgiving. And this is not only about when we receive from God things we have not worked for. Yes, from time to time, God will move people to give us gifts. We should be thankful to Him on such occasions for moving people’s hearts to give to us. And we may not really see anything wrong or difficult in doing that. But when it comes to those things we have worked to earn, we may not see the need to be thankful to God for them. However, whether what has come to us is what we have worked for or a gift, we must understand that nothing can come to us except what God has given. 

Mind you, speaking about receiving gifts from people, it is not everyone that God moves their heart to give to you that will give to you. Some people may not give to you, even though God has spoken to them about giving something to you. So, if someone takes that bold step to give to you as he has been instructed by the Lord, if someone matches up their desire to give to you by actually giving to you, you should be thankful to God for it.

Am I saying we should not thank men for what they do for us or give to us? No! It is also important that we learn to thank human beings. When people give us gifts or do something for us, we should thank them. Even when people pay us for goods sold to them or services rendered for them, we should thank them. That is because there are people all around us who worked for some people or the government and are yet to collect what is due them. So, if someone pays you for what you have done for them, you should thank the person.

But more importantly, you must acknowledge God as the one responsible for all the good things coming to your life and be thankful to Him. You must not overlook any of the things He is doing in your life. Otherwise, you will be exhibiting an attitude of ingratitude. And ingratitude always comes with consequences.

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“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25-26NIV)

The book of 2Kings 20 gives us an account of how King Hezekiah, one of the greatest kings the nation of Judah ever had, became ill to the point of death and of how God sent His messenger, Prophet Isaiah, to tell him to put his house in order, for he would not recover from his illness but die. But instead for Hezekiah to readily accept that death sentence from God, he decided to pray to Him for mercy and healing. And did God answer him or not? He did. He answered him and even decided to add fifteen more years to the ones he already used. (Cf. 2Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38:1-8)

Now that is amazing, or what do you think? Fifteen more years to Hezekiah’s life! Just like that! I mean that God just added those years to this man’s life, just as simply as you would add a pinch of salt to your stew. Once again, I say that is amazing; it is just mind-blowing. And I can almost hear someone saying, “Oh, I want that. I wish I could have something like that.”

To say the fact, who does not want longevity. People wish for death on their sick beds or desire to commit suicide mostly because they consider their cases to be hopeless. They simply cannot see what joy, comfort or peace staying here in the world offers them again. So, they want to die and escape from everything that is troubling them and making their lives miserable. But if they knew just one thing to do to make their lives pleasant again, just one thing to do to take away their pains and exceedingly great sorrow, they would most assuredly tear whatever will they have written, take back whatever parting words they have said and say, “Oh, I want to live again and enjoy life too.” 

And if you are one of such individuals, wishing for death to come to you now or wanting to kill yourself because of your miseries and misfortunes, I want you to know that you don’t have to die like that. That is because the life of peace, health, comfort and joy you want, which your money, influence, fame, education or power has not been able to give you, is something God is able to freely give to you. 

Our Lord Jesus, as we see in our opening text, once while talking to His disciples about the need for them to do away with all forms of worries in their lives, said something very striking to them. He said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25-26NIV) Look at that. There is nothing any one of us can do by ourselves to increase the length of our days here on earth by just one hour. Our worrying about this won’t even make it happen. Yet the Lord went on to say that increasing our length of days here on earth is a very little thing for God to do. A very little thing? I mean that is many people’s biggest problem. Do you know how much money, energy and so forth that people all around the world put everyday into staying alive? It is beyond comprehension!

Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus is saying to us that increasing our length of days is a very little thing for God to handle. Just as it was like nothing for him to add fifteen more years to Hezekiah’s years, so it is nothing for Him to add twenty, thirty, fifty or even a hundred more years to your time here on earth. At least, from what we see in the bible, people lived to be nine hundred years plus in the days before the flood of Noah’s time (Gen 5). So, it is almost nothing for God to add to your years. And if it is a little thing for Him to add to your years, then, what will increasing your resources, enlarging your business territory, bringing you a great husband or wife or giving you children of your own be for Him? Almost nothing!

All of this is why the Lord tells us not to worry about life or anything else in this life (Matt 6:25; Luke 12:22). That is because there is nothing that we need in life that is beyond what God can easily or readily make available to us. The only problem is with what we are going to do with what He gives us. The fact is that there is nothing God gives to some people that they are not going to waste on meaningless living. Even if He gives them a thousand additional years of comfort and rest, they are still going to waste them on nonsense. So, our Lord’s instruction to us is that we should stop worrying about those things that we need, which God already knows and can easily supply, but to put ourselves into taking our place in His kingdom and learning His righteousness (Matt 6:33; Luke 12:31). That way, not only will all these things that we need be given to us, but we also will have learnt how not to waste His gifts and blessings in our lives. 

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“Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her; rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her. For you will nurse and be satisfied at her comforting breasts; you will drink deeply and delight in her overflowing abundance." For this is what the LORD says: "I will extend peace to her like a river, and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream; you will nurse and be carried on her arm and dandled on her knees. As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem." When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like grass; the hand of the LORD will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes.” (Isa 66:10-14NIV)

I have observed that every time I discuss the situation of our nation with others I am filled with anguish of heart. Why? It is because I love this nation and want all to be well with her. But will all be well with her? All cannot be well with her, if God does not step in and make it happen. And this is why I pray for this country day after day that God will show her mercy, rescue her from all those who are ruining her and lift her up to be great again. If you too care about this country and want to see all go well with her, you should be praying to God for her. 

More so, God Himself wants us to be praying to Him for any land in which we reside, even if it is a foreign land. Why? It is because our personal prosperity and peace of mind are connected to doing so. Look, for example, at what He said to the people of Judah, when they were in exile:

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper." (Jer 29:7NIV)

Did you see that? God expected His people to seek the peace and prosperity of the land of their enemies and to also pray for it. Why? Their prosperity was connected to it. In other words, they could never prosper beyond the level of prosperity of that land. So, if they truly cared about their individual prosperity, then, they must also work and pray for the prosperity of the land they were sojourning in.

Since God, then, want foreigners to seek and pray for the prosperity and peace of the land they are in, do you think He will want anything less from the citizens of the place? Absolutely not! This is why we must be given to seeking the prosperity and peace of our country and to also praying for her. 

Yes, it may look like our prayers and efforts are not working or accomplishing anything. But our Lord Jesus has told us to always pray and not to give up. Why? It is because God is always answering our prayers and working to turn things around for our good. Yes, there are times that He may need to perform more miracles than we can imagine in order for us to see what He has been doing for us all along. And there are also times that we may not for a long time see what He is doing for us because of the great measure of wickedness in our land. But there is no time He does not answer the heartfelt prayers of His people and work for their good.

So, we must not give up on praying for our land, even if we cannot yet fully see or comprehend what God is doing to save and exalt her. Instead, as we keep on praying for her, we should also begin to do what He tells us to do in our opening bible text. What does He tell us to do? He tells us to rejoice with and over our nation. And who among us are to rejoice over her? All of us who love her and who have been mourning in prayers for her!

Why, then, are we to rejoice with and over this country, especially when nothing seems to be working well for her? It is because God Himself has promised to give us peace of mind and satisfaction through her. Yes, He has promised to comfort us and make us flourish in her. How will He do this? I cannot tell you that. And exactly when will all this fully manifest? I cannot also tell you that. But I can tell you that if we will begin to act on His word and rejoice before Him over our nation, He too will make haste to fulfil His promises to us and make sure we witness and enjoy the salvation, exaltation and rest of the nation.

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“His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Eph 3:10-12NIV)

Paul, in our opening text, declares to us that God's intention is that He will be displaying His many-sided wisdom through the church of Jesus Christ that you and I are a part of to the world of demons and angels. He wants them to continually be in shock through the way we will be handling matters of life and solving problems that men think are impossible to solve. 

Now what have we done to deserve to be treated by Him in this manner? Nothing! It is all a function of His love for us. And we have become beneficiaries of these things through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So, you are favoured, my friend, if you are in Christ Jesus. You may not have realised it yet. But that is your situation. And you need to begin to make much of it. You need to begin to thank God continually for causing His favour to rest upon you and for choosing you for the display of His wisdom. And as you thank Him for this, also be bold to tell Him to fulfil His intention concerning your life. In other words, tell Him to daily cause His manifold wisdom to be in manifestation in your life, in all your affairs and in all your relationships. And you will be amazed at the way you will begin to make decisions and take steps that will make you prosperous, safe and unbeatable by the enemies in your life. 

Remember what the Psalmist says along this line. He says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” (Ps 23:5-6NIV) So, your enemies don't have to be dead in order for you to prosper and be safe where you are. God is able to take a very good care of you right in their presence. And they will not be able to do anything about it. You should say a loud 'Amen' to that.

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“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25-26NIV)

The book of 2Kings 20 gives us an account of how King Hezekiah, one of the greatest kings the nation of Judah ever had, became ill to the point of death and of how God sent His messenger, Prophet Isaiah, to tell him to put his house in order, for he would not recover from his illness but die. But instead for Hezekiah to readily accept that death sentence from God, he decided to pray to Him for mercy and healing. And did God answer him or not? He did. He answered him and even decided to add fifteen more years to the ones he already used. (Cf. 2Kings 20:1-11; Isaiah 38:1-8)

Now that is amazing, or what do you think? Fifteen more years to Hezekiah’s life! Just like that! I mean that God just added those years to this man’s life, just as simply as you would add a pinch of salt to your stew. Once again, I say that is amazing; it is just mind-blowing. And I can almost hear someone saying, “Oh, I want that. I wish I could have something like that.”

To say the fact, who does not want longevity. People wish for death on their sick beds or desire to commit suicide mostly because they consider their cases to be hopeless. They simply cannot see what joy, comfort or peace staying here in the world offers them again. So, they want to die and escape from everything that is troubling them and making their lives miserable. But if they knew just one thing to do to make their lives pleasant again, just one thing to do to take away their pains and exceedingly great sorrow, they would most assuredly tear whatever will they have written, take back whatever parting words they have said and say, “Oh, I want to live again and enjoy life too.” 

And if you are one of such individuals, wishing for death to come to you now or wanting to kill yourself because of your miseries and misfortunes, I want you to know that you don’t have to die like that. That is because the life of peace, health, comfort and joy you want, which your money, influence, fame, education or power has not been able to give you, is something God is able to freely give to you. 

Our Lord Jesus, as we see in our opening text, once while talking to His disciples about the need for them to do away with all forms of worries in their lives, said something very striking to them. He said, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” (Luke 12:25-26NIV) Look at that. There is nothing any one of us can do by ourselves to increase the length of our days here on earth by just one hour. Our worrying about this won’t even make it happen. Yet the Lord went on to say that increasing our length of days here on earth is a very little thing for God to do. A very little thing? I mean that is many people’s biggest problem. Do you know how much money, energy and so forth that people all around the world put everyday into staying alive? It is beyond comprehension!

Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus is saying to us that increasing our length of days is a very little thing for God to handle. Just as it was like nothing for him to add fifteen more years to Hezekiah’s years, so it is nothing for Him to add twenty, thirty, fifty or even a hundred more years to your time here on earth. At least, from what we see in the bible, people lived to be nine hundred years plus in the days before the flood of Noah’s time (Gen 5). So, it is almost nothing for God to add to your years. And if it is a little thing for Him to add to your years, then, what will increasing your resources, enlarging your business territory, bringing you a great husband or wife or giving you children of your own be for Him? Almost nothing!

All of this is why the Lord tells us not to worry about life or anything else in this life (Matt 6:25; Luke 12:22). That is because there is nothing that we need in life that is beyond what God can easily or readily make available to us. The only problem is with what we are going to do with what He gives us. The fact is that there is nothing God gives to some people that they are not going to waste on meaningless living. Even if He gives them a thousand additional years of comfort and rest, they are still going to waste them on nonsense. So, our Lord’s instruction to us is that we should stop worrying about those things that we need, which God already knows and can easily supply, but to put ourselves into taking our place in His kingdom and learning His righteousness (Matt 6:33; Luke 12:31). That way, not only will all these things that we need be given to us, but we also will have learnt how not to waste His gifts and blessings in our lives. 

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“I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest — and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.” (Prov 24:30-34NIV)

As we see in our opening text, Solomon learnt from the lazy people around him. He learnt that things can only get bad or worse for us in life through laziness; they can never be better. So, he would not yield to laziness in his life. Unfortunately, many have been too dull to learn from the lazy people around them. So, they had to learn from themselves. When they were young and agile and could put their hands and mind to work, they were busy running around from place to place. They would not settle down in any formal school to learn things that would make them fit for life. And even when they were taken to some people to serve as apprentices, laziness would not just let them stay. 

But now that they are old, we see these same people, when some of their mates have already retired from active work and are now receiving dividends from their businesses or pensions and support from the children they have brought up, waking up early and working all day and sometimes all night just to be able to take care of themselves and perhaps their children or grandchildren. Yet what they are doing is not enough to deal with the poverty or misery in their lives. One, of course, may look at them and feel very sorry for them or wonder why life has been so cruel in treating them. But the truth is that they are the reason for their own pains and miseries. 

Is that to say that God is unwilling to show such people mercy and send help to them? No! But they must first admit that they are largely to blame for the sorrow and pains in their lives before they can truly receive His help.

Then we have those that laziness is seriously hurting in their workplaces. God has blessed them with a good job. But laziness would not just let them prosper in it. So, nobody is interested in promoting them or in employing their services. They may go from prayer mountain to prayer mountain, if they please. But unless they deal with their lazy or slothful approach to their jobs, they can only expect things to go from bad to worse for them.

What about some who are now suffering in their marriages? Laziness brought them there. First, when they were growing up with their parents or guardians, laziness would not permit them to learn those things that will make them responsible wives, husbands or parents. Then, having gotten married, laziness would still not allow them to settle down and learn those things that would make them responsible in their homes. Therefore, marriage and parenthood have become sour for them. But who brought the pains and miseries they are now experiencing upon them? They brought it on themselves. And unless they deal with the laziness in their lives, they may never experience any better day.

If I want to continue to give you examples of how laziness is able to make life hard and miserable for us, space will not permit me. But my point is that don't make room for laziness, any kind of it, in your life. Don't detest hardwork. It won't kill you. Don't detest mental activity that is directed towards increased usefulness and profitability in life. It will only make life easier and better for you. And don't avoid any spiritual activity that will enable you to gain more and more from God, for its benefits are beyond measure. Instead, strengthen your lazy arms and knees and wake up your sleeping mind, so that you may give yourself fully to whatever responsibility you need to give yourself to. By doing this, you will be naturally separating yourself from certain present or future problems and laying a foundation for a lifetime of rest for yourself.

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“"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."” (Luke 18:10-14NIV)

What was the problem with the prayer of the Pharisee mentioned in this text? It was full of self-praise. Yes, he thought he was giving God a report of his life and what was going on in it. But that was not it at all. He was simply praising himself to God and telling Him how he was far better than other men, especially the tax collector that was praying close to him. So, his prayer was not a report of his fulfilment of the will of God but an expression of his feeling of importance to God.

Sadly, there are still many like this Pharisee today. They too are often expressing their sense of importance to God when they pray. And they believe there are things He must do for them because they are so important to Him and righteous too. But God does not do things for people because He owes them, for He owes nobody nothing. We are the ones that owe Him our very lives. Therefore, whatever He does for us is never going to be on the basis of what we deserve or what He owes us but on the basis of His love for us and mercy. (Cf. Job 41:11; Rom 11:35)

Now the other man that was praying right next to that Pharisee understood that. He knew that he was a sinner and did not deserve to receive anything from God. That was why all he was asking for was mercy. And did he get it or not? He did! But the other fellow got nothing from God. Why? He, in his pride, approached God on the basis of his merits, on the basis of his sense of importance. And he did that because he did not know that no man has any merit before God. 

As the bible tells us, all our righteous acts are as filthy rags before Him (Is 64:6). So, the only righteousness that is acceptable to God is His own righteousness, which He freely gives to all those who put their faith in Him and not in their works. And it is those who have received this righteousness as a gift from Him that He qualifies to be partakers of His kingdom and sharers of His life and work (Rom 5:17).  

If you, then, have received God's gift of righteousness, you don't need to pray like that tax collector, addressing yourself as a sinner before Him. That will be nothing but an insult to His righteousness; it will be nothing but a rejection of His righteousness. What you need to do is to thank Him for making you righteous in His sight and also worthy of whatever He gives to you (Col 1:12).

Have a great day.

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“"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."” (Luke 18:10-14NIV)

What was the problem with the prayer of the Pharisee mentioned in this text? It was full of self-praise. Yes, he thought he was giving God a report of his life and what was going on in it. But that was not it at all. He was simply praising himself to God and telling Him how he was far better than other men, especially the tax collector that was praying close to him. So, his prayer was not a report of his fulfilment of the will of God but an expression of his feeling of importance to God.

Sadly, there are still many like this Pharisee today. They too are often expressing their sense of importance to God when they pray. And they believe there are things He must do for them because they are so important to Him and righteous too. But God does not do things for people because He owes them, for He owes nobody nothing. We are the ones that owe Him our very lives. Therefore, whatever He does for us is never going to be on the basis of what we deserve or what He owes us but on the basis of His love for us and mercy. (Cf. Job 41:11; Rom 11:35)

Now the other man that was praying right next to that Pharisee understood that. He knew that he was a sinner and did not deserve to receive anything from God. That was why all he was asking for was mercy. And did he get it or not? He did! But the other fellow got nothing from God. Why? He, in his pride, approached God on the basis of his merits, on the basis of his sense of importance. And he did that because he did not know that no man has any merit before God. 

As the bible tells us, all our righteous acts are as filthy rags before Him (Is 64:6). So, the only righteousness that is acceptable to God is His own righteousness, which He freely gives to all those who put their faith in Him and not in their works. And it is those who have received this righteousness as a gift from Him that He qualifies to be partakers of His kingdom and sharers of His life and work (Rom 5:17).  

If you, then, have received God's gift of righteousness, you don't need to pray like that tax collector, addressing yourself as a sinner before Him. That will be nothing but an insult to His righteousness; it will be nothing but a rejection of His righteousness. What you need to do is to thank Him for making you righteous in His sight and also worthy of whatever He gives to you (Col 1:12).

Have a great day.

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“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.” (2Peter 3:10-15NIV)

Why is God going to bring about a new heaven and a new earth? It is because He is going to destroy the present heavens and the present earth. As Peter tells us in our opening text, everything we have here on earth is reserved for fire. All the things we now see – the heavens we see, the earth we live in and the things we use here on earth, the cars, the roads, the machines, the vehicles and so forth – will be destroyed. God is going to make an end of them all. Not one of them will survive. And after they have been destroyed, God will set up a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Righteousness has not been permitted to reign here on earth. Yes, God has introduced His righteousness to us. But people love wickedness instead of righteousness. People love darkness rather than light. And they do all kinds of things to subdue the truth. They do all kinds of things to harm the truth. They do all kinds of things to get rid of the truth and righteousness from the face of the earth. But a day is coming in which all the activities of men, all the evil things they are doing will be brought to an end. Then righteousness will begin to reign freely on that day. 

Now we are to anticipate that day. And not only are we to anticipate it, we are to get ready for it. In fact, the reason we are told these things in advance is that we may get ourselves prepared for what is coming. We may not know how the government of our nation will turn out. We may not know how the circumstances of our nation will turn out. But we do know that a day is coming when God will put an end to all the things that are happening here on earth in order to establish a new order of things. Are we going to be a part of that new order of things or are we going to be lost forever? It all depends on how seriously we take the things we have been told about what is coming. 

In Saint Matthew’s gospel, chapter 24, verse 42, we are told this: “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” (NIV) Here the Lord is clearly showing us that the day these things will begin to take place is not known by anyone. No one knows when God will introduce in a new order of things. None of us knows exactly when God will set this earth and these heavens on fire in order to establish a new order of things. That is why we are told to keep watch. And if we believe all that we are told about what is coming, we will definitely keep watch and get ready for what is coming.

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“When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house.” (Luke 10:5-7NIV)

As we see in the bible, God has blessed all of us who are His children with all the blessings in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:3). So, we cannot be more blessed by anybody or through any ministration than we already are. However, having all the blessings of God is not the same thing as experiencing all the blessings of God. That is why there are many children of God whose lives don’t appear blessed at all, even though they are fully blessed. 

To experience the fulness of God’s blessings, there are things we must be doing. For instance, we must be devoted to praying to Him, for there are some of His blessings for us that will not manifest in our lives unless we do so. Also, we must be devoted to learning and practising His word. Otherwise, there are certain of His blessings that we will never know of or enjoy. These will just keep eluding us.

Then we must be devoted to fellowshipping with His people. That is because there are certain blessings of His for us that we can only access and enjoy as we properly receive and fellowship with other children of His that He has planted in our lives. So, we will do well to duly recognise the role every child of God that is in our lives at the moment is meant to play in our experience of the blessings of God. Otherwise, we may, for our entire lifetime, cheat ourselves of certain blessings of God that we could have enjoyed or experienced.

For example, as we see in our opening bible text, every minister of the gospel sent out by the Lord is a channel through which He makes people experience His blessings for them. Therefore, how they respond to such a person and his ministry will go a long way in determining whether they experience His blessings through him or not. If they relate to him well, then, the blessings God wants them to access and enjoy through him will flow freely into their lives. But if they do not relate to him well, then, those blessings will just return to him, regardless of how hard he himself tries to get them across to them.

This explains why all the prayers and words of blessings being offered for some believers by their church leaders and other ministers of God are not working for them or in their lives. They are not relating to those ministering to them with love and respect and in peace. So, they cannot experience or enjoy the blessings of God that are for them and are meant to be communicated to them through the ministries of these leaders. And unless they humble themselves and change their attitudes towards these people, certain good things that could have been theirs in life will never be theirs.

Now it is possible that you too are not experiencing or enjoy certain blessings of God in your life, marriage, business, job or academics because your attitude towards some people that God has placed in your life to minister to you is wrong. Yes, it is possible that you are the very person repelling certain manifestations of the blessings of God in your life through your pride, stubbornness or stinginess in relating to some people placed by Him in your life to minister to you. If that is the case, then, you need to admit the fact that you have been missing it and change your ways.

What exactly do you need to do about this? Well, everything depends on what wrong attitudes you have towards those people God has appointed to make you experience His blessings through their ministries or prayers. So, check yourself to see if there is anyone that is currently in a position to minister to you in the word of God or prayer that you have been relating to in pride, bitterness, stubbornness or stinginess and begin to do the right thing in relating to them. And before you know it, those blessings of God that have refused to manifest in your life through them will begin to freely find expression, causing you to overflow with joy and praise to God.

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“But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." (1Sam 13:14NIV)

Those were Samuel’s words to King Saul after he took it on himself to offer to God sacrifices that Samuel ought to have offered to Him. And why did he do that? He did it because he got tired of waiting for Samuel. 

As the account goes, Samuel had told him to give him seven days to be with him and make sacrifices to God before he would engage in the battle that was before him. But for reasons not disclosed in the bible, Samuel was late in coming. So, Saul decided to usurp his authority and make the sacrifices the man was supposed to offer. Unfortunately for him, just as he finished making the offering, Samuel came. And all he had left to do was pronounce God’s judgment on him. (Cf. 1Sam 13)

Now what was God’s judgment concerning Saul? It was that He had already replaced him with someone else. But did God really have to do that? Why did He not give him another chance to redeem himself? Well, God did not give him another chance because it was useless to do so. As we also find out in the bible, after this incident, God sent Samuel to him again to give him another assignment. And how did he handle it? Unfaithfully, as usual! He went and did his own thing, not what God had commanded him to do. (Cf. 1Sam 15)

So, Saul at that time had already developed an independent mind. That means he was only after doing what pleased him and not what pleased God, who anointed him and made him king over His people, Israel. Therefore, he could not be trusted by God. No, God did not remove him from his throne immediately. In fact, He allowed him to reign for forty-two years. But He never gave him any task or assignment again till he died. So, those years of his reign were nothing but useless years, as far as God was concerned, just as he too had become nothing but a useless king.

What is the point of all this? It is that God is taking note of our attitude towards whatever task He gives to us. If we are handling the tasks He gives to us diligently and faithfully, whether they are tasks He gives to us directly or those that He gives to us through others, He will continue to give us more tasks. And as He gives us more tasks, He will also multiply His grace in our lives to do them. So, we will find ourselves increasing in usefulness, fruitfulness and relevance before Him.

But if we cultivate the habit of handling the tasks God gives to us as we please, a time is coming when He will have nothing else to say to us again. He will simply find someone else who will do what He wants. Don’t we also function in like manner? We do! If, for instance, we have a tailor or carpenter that is always doing what he pleases with our work and not what we want, are we going to keep giving him jobs to do for us? No, we will not, especially when he is not the only carpenter in town. Why? We don’t want use all our time arguing with someone that has no mind or intention of satisfying us.

In the same vein, God also does not want to use all His time arguing with us, when it is clear we have no intention of doing what will please or satisfy Him. This is why, as we see in our opening text, He is always searching for people who are after His heart. Why? They are those who will willingly and faithfully do what He wants and not be arguing with Him or doing their own thing. 

So, if you are not one of those who are after satisfying God always in living for Him and also in handling His work, you are simply making yourself ready for redundancy in His kingdom. That, of course, does not mean that God will reject you as His child. He won’t reject you as His child, if you do not reject Him as your Father. But the fact that you are His child does not mean that He considers you as someone He can entrust His work to. And if He is not entrusting His work to you, then, you are nothing but a useless child. 

I pray that you will not end up living the rest of your life as a useless child of God, in Jesus’ name. But you also need to examine your ways and your attitude towards whatever tasks you are currently handling for the Lord and make amends where necessary. It is well with your soul.

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“Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one.” (2Corinthians 7:2NIV) 

These are the rules to follow in relating to our brethren in our various assemblies. We are to make room for them in our hearts, as long as they have no reputation of corrupting, injuring or exploiting others. It is only those who have a reputation for doing these things that you may not open your life to.

But if the people of God in your life do not have a reputation of corrupting people, injuring people or exploiting people, it is in your interest to open your life to them. That way, they can help you, if you are missing it. 

What I am saying is that if your life is open before the people of God, they can easily help you deal with whatever is wrong in it. If your life is not open to them, there is no way they can help you unless they receive a revelation about you that can guide them to do so.

Now I am sharing these things with you because I do not want you to become a Judas, a betrayer, or even something worse and ruin your faith and life. See, you must be careful not to supress or ignore the truth coming to you. You must live an open life. Let the people of God know what is going on in your life, regardless of where you live and what you do. Then they can fulfil the word of God that tells us to keep watch over one another.

In Hebrews, chapter 3, from verse 12, we are told this: 

“See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” (Hebrews 3:12-13NIV) 

Can you see that it is our duty to watch over one another in our journey as Christians. But we cannot do this effectively, if we do not know what is going on in our individual lives. So, let us know what is going on in your life.

We have similar instructions in chapter 12 of this same book. Look at them from verse 15: 

“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son.” (Hebrews 12:15-16NIV) 

You can again see that it is our duty to see to it that none of us falls short of the grace of God. But how can we do that, if you are behaving like Judas Iscariot and hiding your activities. It is the duty of your brethren to watch over you. It is their duty to help you in your faith journey. But if you don’t allow them, how will they be able to fulfil this duty to you? So be open to the brethren in your life. And God will continue to keep you safe.

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“Do your best to come to me quickly, for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica…” (2Timothy 4:9-10NIV) 

Demas, as we see in our opening text, got distracted at some point in his Christian walk. But he used to move around with Paul in doing the work of God. But at the time this letter was being written by Paul to Timothy, Demas had become distracted and had deserted Paul.

We are not told what got Demas distracted. We are simply told that he fell in love with this world. Maybe he felt that his life was not moving forward enough because of his devotion to the gospel. Maybe he felt that he was not getting enough money to do the things he wanted to do in life, just as Judas Iscariot once felt. Or maybe he felt that he needed to settle down and have a family of his own. Whatever his reason may be, the fact remains that he got distracted and probably held his devotion to the work of God as the reason for his backwardness in life and abandoned the work.

Many have also deserted their ministry because of distraction. Perhaps you to are already distracted. Well, the Spirit of God is calling out to you today and now and saying, “Do not diminish in my work for any reason; instead, abound in it.”