Monday, 1 October 2012
GOD OF MYSTERIES
Job 11:7: can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?
Who is God? John 4:24 – God is Spirit. Psalms 91:1 says God has a shadow and the safest place to be is under His shadow. Can anyone explain how a Spirit can have a shadow? Remember spirits are invincible and shadows are visible. The bible describes God as Love in I John 4:8 , the same bible describes Him as a Consuming fire in Hebrews 12:29. How can one explain God that so loves that everyone wants to be around Him and yet He is a fire that consumes. Jesus is described as the Lion of the tribe of Judah in Revelations 5:5 and by the time we get to Revelations 7:10 He is called the Lamb upon the throne. How can one be a Lion and a Lamb at the same time? We know from reading Isaiah 66:1 that God is so big He uses the earth as big as it is as a footstool yet He is so small He can fit into the hearts of every man inside the earth.
Aside His existence been a mystery, His ways are mysterious too. John 3:8 compares His ways to the wind that blows where it wills,we hear the sound but cannot tell where it came from and where it is going. Romans 11:33 says His ways are past finding outs. Job 11:7 describes the things of God as deep and unsearchable. Despite all these, we are expected to know Him because the combine knowledge of Him and Jesus is called eternal life -John 17:3. According to 2 Peter 1:2, Grace and peace is multiplied to us in the knowledge of God and Jesus.
We do not really know anyone until we know their secrets. The only way to really know God is by knowing His secrets. Psalms 25:14 says the secret of the Lord are with those that fear Him. Anyone who aspires to know God must fear / reverence Him. This brings us to a crucial question, what does it really mean to fear God? Proverbs 8:13 says the Fear of the Lord is to hate evil. The fear of God is measured by hatred for evil. The more we fear God, the more we will hate evil.1 Thessalonians 5:22 say we should flee from everything that appears as evil.
ACTION POINT: Passionately hate evil and your knowledge of God will increase.
Saturday, 29 September 2012
Hunger & Thirst
Proverbs 16:26: The person who labors,labors for himself,for his hungry mouth drives him on.
Hunger and thirst are mechanisms God has put inside every living creature to ensure their survival.Hunger is a sign that the body needs food and thirst is a signal that we are running short of water in our system. Hunger and thirst do not only act as mechanism for survival but to achieve God given goals for our lives.According to Proverbs 16:26 , hunger is a mechanism that drives a man towards his destiny. Hunger determines our action .Solomon was so hungry for the attention of God that he offered a thousand burnt offerings ,2 Chronicles 1:6-12. Hunger determines our priorities. The hunger for the Holy Spirit led the disciples to gather in the upper room waiting for the Day of Pentecost- Acts 2:1-4.While others prioritized enjoying themselves they prioritized been filled with the Holy Ghost.Hunger determines our efforts. The more hungry one is for success the more effort one is willing to put into life. The man at the pool of Bethesda was so hungry for healing that he remained at the pool for 38 years ,John 5:1-18.
The level of a man’s hunger will determine the level of his achievement i.e. the bigger the hunger ,the bigger the effort and the bigger the achievement.Most of the achievement we see today are results of hunger to succeed. Our hunger determines the no of our sleeping hours.One point to note is this , hunger is visible. It is easy to tell when a man is hungry for food, you see the eyes turning red ,such men do not smile at all so also it is easy to tell when an individual is hungry for success.You see them always studying at night, working very hard, you can tell because they are the first to get to work and the last to leave.
The Most High expect His children to be hungry for peace.1 Peter 3:11 says Let him turn away from evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and pursue it.Our hunger for peace should drive us to pursue peace at all cost.Also according to Matthew 5:6 we should hunger and thirst for righteousness. But the most important form hunger is the hunger the kingdom of God and His righteousness according to Matthew 6:33 . Anyone who has this form of hunger will be satisfied in all endeavor. This brings us to the question , how hungry are we to reach the top ?what form of hunger do we have ? is our hunger for the things of God visible to our family and friends ?
ACTION POINT:Our hunger to please God should be visible to all.
Friday, 28 September 2012
Divine Advocate
1 John 2:1 says My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Many who are yet to give their lives to Christ do not know what are they are missing.Asides from the fact that the only way to the Father in heaven is Jesus -John 14:6,only the friends of Jesus will be allowed in Heaven.Who are His friends? According to John 15:14 ,His friends are those who does what He commands. What are His commands? Isaiah 60:1 says Arise and shine! ;Mark 16:15 says Go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature;Mark 12:30-31 says love the Lord your God ,with all your heart,soul and mind and also love your neighbor as yourself.
Aside from all these , Jesus is also an advocate before the Most High God.An advocate is the one who speaks,plead or argue in one’s favor.From time to time the enemy gathers evidences and prepares a case against us before the Father in heaven.Revelations 12:10 calls him the accuser of the brethren.The Father either throws away the case like He did in the case of Moses in Jude 1:9. He brought an accusation against Moses and it was thrown out,no wonder Micheal the archangel told him the Lord rebuke you.The Father can also hear the case while Jesus acts as our advocate.
Jesus is not only our advocate before the Father alone, He is our advocate before men.In John 8:1-11 , He acted as an advocate for a woman caught in adultery and she was set free. Jesus is present to advocate for you today. While the enemies are presenting a strong case why you should not be promoted in that place of work, why the decision should not go in your favor,why you should not receive mercy , why you should not be favored Jesus is also present advocating for you. One thing we need to note is this , He is not only an advocate but the Judge too according to 2 Timothy 4:1. Give your life to Jesus today and all decisions will go in your favor because your advocate is the Judge.Remember His services are free.
PRAYER POINT: Call on Jesus to speak for you before the Father concerning your heart desires.
Thursday, 27 September 2012
God's favorite Part 2
Proverbs 14:31 says He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.
If only world leaders know how much God loves the poor and the needy ,they would do all in their powers to formulate policies that cater for the poor and needy in our societies today.War will be the last option because those who suffer from war most are the poor who can not protect themselves.
God loves the poor and needy. Proverbs 19:17 says He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord,and He will pay back what he has given.According to Ezekiel 16:48-49 , one of the reasons why God destroyed Sodom was because of how they treated the poor and needy in their midst.Psalm 72:12 says For He will deliver the needy when He cries,the poor also and him who has no helper.
Everything we have came from God.John 3:27 says everything we have is a gift from God.According to Ephesians 2:8, the gifts we receive from God are a function of grace. Everything we have came as a result of grace and mercy.
Why do we have to give to the poor ? According to Deuteronomy 15:11 ,it is a command from God.Secondly , so that when we cry to God He will hear us-Proverbs 21:13.Thirdly,it brings happiness -Proverbs 14:21.Fourthly ,those who give to the poor will lack nothing-Proverbs 28:27.To crown it up God has promised to bless the work of all those cater for the poor -Deuteronomy 24:19
ACTION POINT: Look for someone in need today and bless them.
Wednesday, 26 September 2012
identifying the wise part 1
Proverbs 24:5 says a wise man is strong, yes, a man of knowledge increases strength;
Job 28:28 defines wisdom as the fear of the Lord.
There are four ways to identify the wise.
Firstly, by who they walk with .Proverbs 13:20 says He that walks with wise men shall be wise.Proverbs 27:17 says Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.We are who walk with . Any one who keeps friends that do not fear God, do not fear God themselves.The elders have a saying ,they say show me your friend and i will tell you who are. One way to measure how much a man fears God is by looking at his circles of friends .1 Corinthians 15:33 says Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” Our friends influences us and even if they can not lead us to sin the day they will reap the reward of their foolishness, we may partake in it because Proverbs 13:20 says the companion of the fools shall be destroyed.
Secondly by their words.Luke 6:45 says A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil.Matthew 12:34 says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.Our words reveal the content of our heart. James 3:12 says Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.Also it is impossible for wise to say foolish things. The wise utter wise words and the foolish say foolish things. The wise do not make dirty sexual jokes,abuse or curse only fools do this.
ACTION POINT: Take necessary steps to be in the camp of the wise.
Tuesday, 25 September 2012
Promotion and Demotion
Daniel 2:21 says And He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth
kings, and setteth up kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and
knowledge to them that know understanding:
When the Most High
is involved in an individual’s life, He takes them from rock bottom and
sets them at the very top.1 Samuel 2:8 says He raises up the poor out of
the dust, and lifts up the beggar from the rubbish, to set them among
princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory: for the pillars
of the earth are the LORD’S, and he has set the world upon them.In 1
Samuel 10:1, He took Saul- an unknown farm boy and made him the king of
Israel.Within 24hrs , He turned Joseph- a prisoner to a prime minister.
When He is involved ,age does not matter. Uzziah was only sixteen years
when He made him king over Jerusalem.Moses was around eighty years when
the Lord met him. Gender means nothing when He is involved.The Most
High lifted Deborah so high to the extent warriors begged her to go to
war with them- Judges 4:8.Also status ,creed means nothing. Daniel was a
slave in a foreign land ,yet the Lord made him one of the three
generals in the empire. He took David from the back of the forest and
made him king.Because He was involved in the life of Mordecai, death
sentence turned into promotion. Haman went to the king to request for
the head of Mordecai, he came back pulling the horse Mordecai was
riding screaming “thus shall it be done to the man whom the king
delights to honor!”
One thing we need to remember is when He is
involved, sky is the limit but when He withdraws His support such a man
will fall to the mud. It does not matter how high an individual has
risen when He withdraws His support that’s the end.He lifted Uzziah very
high at a very tender age.No king could look into the eyes of Uzziah
but pride set in and he became a leper - 2 Chronicles 26:1-end.
Immediately Saul became a king , no one could talk to him again , he
could now decide what part of God’s instruction to obey . God left him
and demons began to torment him on the throne. Miriam the prophetess
suddenly began to disrespect the man of God because she had the gift of
prophecy , well the one who gave her that gift took back the gift and
she never prophesied again until she died.
PRAYER POINT: Father , help me not offend you .
When He is involved ,age does not matter. Uzziah was only sixteen years when He made him king over Jerusalem.Moses was around eighty years when the Lord met him. Gender means nothing when He is involved.The Most High lifted Deborah so high to the extent warriors begged her to go to war with them- Judges 4:8.Also status ,creed means nothing. Daniel was a slave in a foreign land ,yet the Lord made him one of the three generals in the empire. He took David from the back of the forest and made him king.Because He was involved in the life of Mordecai, death sentence turned into promotion. Haman went to the king to request for the head of Mordecai, he came back pulling the horse Mordecai was riding screaming “thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor!”
One thing we need to remember is when He is involved, sky is the limit but when He withdraws His support such a man will fall to the mud. It does not matter how high an individual has risen when He withdraws His support that’s the end.He lifted Uzziah very high at a very tender age.No king could look into the eyes of Uzziah but pride set in and he became a leper - 2 Chronicles 26:1-end. Immediately Saul became a king , no one could talk to him again , he could now decide what part of God’s instruction to obey . God left him and demons began to torment him on the throne. Miriam the prophetess suddenly began to disrespect the man of God because she had the gift of prophecy , well the one who gave her that gift took back the gift and she never prophesied again until she died.
PRAYER POINT: Father , help me not offend you .
Monday, 24 September 2012
How valuable is our word
Matthew 24:35 says Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
According to Psalms 33:8-9 ,one reason why we should fear God is because of His words- once He speaks ,it is done.Jeremiah 23:29 compares His word to a hammer that breaks rocks and a fire that consumes.Hebrew 4:12 says His word is sharper than two edged sword.Psalm 107:20 says His words has the ability to heal.
One of the reason why God’s word is so powerful and efficient is because of how God takes His words. Psalm 138:2 says He has exalted His word above Himself, no wonder Isaiah 55:11 says his words will not return to Him void but it shall accomplish what pleases Him and prosper in the thing He has send it.God will go to any length to keep His words -why? because He values them.
The value we put on our words is the value the world,challenges,situations will put on our words.Those who value their words will go to any length to keep their word.God went out of His way to use the dry bones of Elisha to perform the 14th miracle for Him in 2 Kings 13:20-21 since he carried double portion of anointing of his predecessor.
To what extent are prepared to go to keep our words?if we want mountains to move at our commands ,we must treasure our words! If we do not value our words no one will even mountains.Another reason why we need to value our word is because only those who value their words can walk with God.Psalm 15:4 says only those who swears to their hurt and does not change can abide in the tabernacle of God.
Have you said “I DO” to anyone on the altar and you are considering changing that? or have you giving your word to God that you will serve Him all your life with all your strength or have promised to do a thing or the other if He helps you ? God expects all His children to value their words.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:if we do not value our words ,no one will even mountains.
PRAYER POINT: Father, from now onward help to keep my word at all cost.
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