All posts by Nwodo Divine

GENERAL

DISOBEDIENCE

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Disobedience as common as it sounds, has contributed greatly to the fall of mankind. It has led to many unfulfilled destines.


The main purpose of God for man was to live a life of constant fellowship with him in the garden of Eden, but that purpose was cut short because of the sin of disobedience.


God gave instructions but they were disobeyed and till today, we still suffer from the consequences of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.


Disobedience to even the simplest and smallest of instructions could lead to a lasting problem or negative consequence.


How powerful the sin of disobedience could be, so powerful that it made the mighty fall (2nd Samuel 1:19).


In 1st Samuel chapter 15, God gave Saul an instruction to destroy the Amalekites with everything they possessed but he disobeyed and followed his own idea. God immediately rejected him (2 Samuel 1:18)


Sometimes, all we need to move to the next stage of our lives is obedience to an instruction from God.


The instruction might look simple or unrealistic, yet, it carries in it, the power to change your life for good, if obeyed, and to cause severe negative happenings, if disregarded.


We have become fond of negotiating with God just as Saul did.



We want our ideas to prevail over God’s ideas thinking ours is the best.


We want to do God’s will our own way but remember, it’s God’s will so you must do it God’s way and not your way.


God is very clear about disobedience. He says it is rebellion and that rebellion is like witchcraft


1 Samuel 15:23: “Rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols.”



Whenever God gives an instruction and you stubbornly ignore it, God sees such stubbornness as equivalent to idolatry.


How? Because you are idolizing your own ideas above God’s command.


It is ironical for us to expect God to speak to us, when we are living in stubbornness.



“Keep my commandments and live ” – Proverbs 7:2



The Life-Line of every believer is in his obedience to God’s commands.

The key to experiencing the fullness of God’s divine life is in obedience to His commands.

If keeping God’s commandments is the key to our living, then disobeying his commandments would lead to the opposite.

It would lead to spiritual death. It would lead to spiritual retardation.

God loves nothing less than complete obedience to His Word.


The instructions of God might seem too burdensome, but with His commands, comes Grace for obedience.




Written by Tolu-Taiwo Victor

Spirituality

Walking Bibles

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John 6 vs 56:
“He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”


Anytime we hear the phrase “THE WORD OF GOD ”, what our minds travel to instantly is the BIBLE.

Why? Because the Bible is an ancient book in which lies the Word of God. But, the actual Word of God is not the letters.



The actual word of God is JESUS CHRIST THE SON.


As Christians, we must study our Bibles at all times but what about the unbelievers? What would they read?


Many of them do not have access to the Bible and even those who have access to the Bible see the Bible as a big boring book filled with historical events.


The moment they hear the word ”JESUS” or anything that has to do with God, they lose interest immediately.


So what do they study? They study us!

John 6 vs 56 says that Jesus (THE WORD OF GOD) dwells in you In other words, you are a walking Word of God.


We are being read and studied by the unbelievers around us.

There’s a life in The Word which our lives as Christians must manifest. It is the God-kind of life.


Sometimes, a simple good deed could change a notorious sinner into a devout Christian.



The Bible says that we are a city set on a high hill that can never be hidden.


It means no matter how hard you try to hide yourself, you will surely be seen and closely watched by the people around you.


Whatsoever you do will affect the kingdom of God and the lives of those watching you either positively or negatively.



St. Matthew 5:13: “Ye are the salt of the earth”


Salt brings sweetness to food. Our lives must be sweetness to the unbelievers. Our words and actions should make their lives better.


The unbeliever beside you does not care about the church you attend. All he cares about is the kind of life you live.


The unbelievers you have as neighbours do not care about the number of gospel songs you have in your phone. All they see is the Light of God that you release into their own lives.



That unbelieving colleague at your work place cares little about the Bible you carry around, all she wants to see is Christ in you.


You are a walking Bible.
You are a Bible to those around you. You are a carrier of God’s words and the life it brings. So let your light shine bright.


Do not hide your identity in Christ.
Be known for who you truly are; a Christian and a walking Bible.
You are an ambassador to the kingdom of God.


Be careful in all you do, you are being watched.


About The Author Tolu-Taiwo Victor is a young African writer.whose works have been published on several Internet platforms.

Spirituality

A Charge To The Believers in the Marketplace

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God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that will aid our growth.


Everything God has given us is to our advantage, for our life to be in alignment with the intentions of God.


If you are not manifesting the Kingdom of God in whatever business you do, then you’re not living by the government of God.


Jesus Christ is an example of how a man should operate under God design.


Several believers are not working under the design of Christ, rather, they have chosen to work under the design of their denomination.


Until we manifest the kingdom of heaven as Christ did, we are living below God’s intention.


“Your lives are like salt among ppeople But if you, like salt, become bland, how can your ‘saltiness’ be restored? Flavourless salt is good for nothing and will be thrown out and trampled on by others.“Your lives light up the world. Let others see your light from a distance, for how can you hide a city that stands on a hilltop? And who would light a lamp and then hide it in an obscure place? Instead, it’s placed where everyone in the house can benefit from its light. So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others so that the commendable things you do will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-15.


God’s design is for us to be salt to season the earth and to light up the world. Adam’s fall made the world to lose its illumination and seasoning.


Believers as the salt of the Earth means we are to better the lives of people.

It means we are to bring healing to the sick, hope to depressed and freedom to the oppressed and light to the dark-hearted. We are add value to our society. This is the purpose of the Church!



Isaiah 60:1: “Arise, shine… “


The Gentiles will not come to us if we remain in a slumbering state.


There is so much darkness on the face of Africa because of the absence of illumination.


To become light is to break people out of the bondage of religion and culture and bring them to experience the excellent knowledge of Christ.


To lighten up the Earth is to fill the earth with the knowledge of the Glory of God.


For believers to take over the marketplace we must be ready to as Light and Salt unto the world.


Do not stay idle in the Church! Go into the world and become a Kingdom advocate today!


Engage the Kingdom today. God bless you!



Written by Greenhills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

Health and Lifestyle

Forgiveness

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Some time ago, Sissy got offended by a brother. There was a misunderstanding and then she got accused by him.

At first, Sissy thought that the young man would come around, realize his wrongs and ask for forgiveness, but he didn’t.




She tried to ignore the slander coming from the young man but it was a difficult thing to do.


Her pain was procured from the fact that such a mature Christian as that would make such statements. 


As a godly woman, Sissy tried not to engage in a heated argument with him.


The little she did was to calmly try to clear up the misunderstanding.


Yet, it  was as if her calmness escalated the young man’s anger as he continued to pour out his rage on her.



Some weeks passed and everything returned to normal. Sissy continued with her life. She did not want to remember the incidence that had happened.

Her silence in the face of the slander showed that she overcame the temptation. There was no need to remember what transpired.


Some time later, in church, Sissy listened attentively as the preacher exhorted the congregation on the need to forgive and forget one another’s offenses.

The preacher went ahead to quote a verse from the scripture that says “… love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:44



At that moment, the Holy Spirit opened the eyes of Sissy to what she didn’t know!



He unfolded her heart and made it bare before her. There were still traces of grudge within her. All along, she had borne grudges towards her offender. It was subtly hidden in the innermost part of her heart.



After the church service, Sissy resolved to call her offender and boldly affirmed her forgiveness.



Grudge is a paramount issue in the body of Christ. 


Sometimes we get so offended by people that we feel we should knock them down or throw them over the fence.


Other times, we feel we have truly forgiven our offender but when a proper heart check is done, traces of grudge would be found in our hearts.


The devil may lay grievances in one’s heart in such a tricky way that one may not easily detect. 



That is why a heart check carried out by the Omniscient Holy Spirit is important. On our own, we may never get to find out. 


The Psalmist understood this and said in Psalm 139:23-24:

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”



One way to discover that you hold grudges towards your offenders is that you try to withhold help from them when you are in a position to. Or you get dissatisfied while helping them and constantly refer to their wrong towards you. 



That is not the life Christ mapped out for us. We are to truly forgive our offenders. When it seems difficult to do, we must give up our will and ask God for his power to let go.


When we forgive thoroughly, it shows we carry the nature of God. He forgives us when we err and remembers those offenses no more.



True forgiveness brings peace of mind. It is even a prerequisite for us to be forgiven by God.



Matt. 6:14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Matt. 6:15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.




It is essential that believers ask the Holy Spirit to teach them how to not give or take offenses.

That way, we get more tolerating towards others and our environment filled with love and stability.

About The Author. Ada Mbamalu hails from the Eastern part of Nigeria. She is a student of English Language and Literature, and is a highly prolific writer.

GENERAL

Dealing with Procrastination

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Many destinies today, have become a mirage because of procrastination.


Several people would have reached the peak of their skills if they hadn’t fallen into the trap of complacency and laziness.



A lazy man is one who procrastinates.


Greatness comes by decisive and deliberate action to do what is important and needful for your success in Life. Complacency is the enemy of Growth.


Nothing will grow in our lives if we continue to live a life of missed opportunities as a result being lazy.


How to deal with Procrastination


1. Discipline:

Discipline is the bridge between planning and accomplishment.

Achievers are people who have the ability to compel their will and channel their energies in achieving a specific goal.

There is no key to achieving success other than discipline. Discipline yourself to work now! Discipline yourself to study now! Discipline yourself to face your fears! Just do it!

Do not shift to tomorrow, what you can do today! Grab your pen and write that story! Make that phone call!


2. Scheduling your time;


There are 24 hours in a day, each hour comes with its opportunities.



To schedule your time is to arrange your activities and fix them at their respective hours.


Several people schedule their time for insignificant things.


This is wrong as time is not renewable. Any hour spent without a deliberate schedule will lead to wasted opportunities.


Friends who will not help you to schedule your time should never be around you. Distance yourself from friends who will not respect your daily schedule. Your day is very precious to you. Many people are on the same level today because of the lack of a definite schedule. Give yourself to schedule.


3. Choose Sensible friends:


Friends are pointers to destiny, Loving your neighbour is a commandment, having a friend is your choice.


Any friend you have that will always make you use your time to talk, party and do other things that will not bring benefit to you and help you to get grow should not be your friend.


You must get rid of friends who are time wasters.


Never give yourself to friends who love to gossip. Friendship is either value-adding or value-depreciating.


Surround yourself with friends who will add value to your destiny and will always tell you what to do when you are confused.


4. Develop A Responsible Mind-set:

Ignorance is the greatest obstacles of a man, Bad mind-set is an enemy of progress.


If you want to grow, take responsibility! you are not like other persons. Our responsibilities are unique. So don’t just sit down, engage your responsibility!



God bless you!


Greenhills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

Spirituality

Overcoming Fear

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In the widespread of the Covid 19, we have seen many people nurturing fear because they are not sure of what the future holds for them. Fear has evolved to become the language of men.



Fear has replaced faith. Men have lost their trust in God and his power to help them.


God desires that we gain control over our fear and not yield to it. Fear is not the nature of a believer. The devil uses fear as a tool to put us in worry and in anguish.


Fear is one the tools the devil uses to put men below his ability. Fear breeds identity dilemma. It makes one unsure of the verity of what God has said.


How do you overcome fear?


1. Know what God is saying:

Fear dominates us when we lack knowledge of what God is saying at a particular season. When God’s Word comes, fear disappears. Hence, matter the circumstance we find ourselves in, we must be spiritually sensitive enough to hear and know what God is saying.
Spiritual sensitivity is built through prayer.


2. Building a Robust Faith:

“Even when it seems I’m surrounded by many liars and my fears, and though I’m hurting in my suffering and trauma, I still stay faithful to God and speak words of faith.” – Psalms 116:10 (TPT)


What you say when you are in fear matters a lot. We are not to be driven by fear, we are to be driven by Faith. Faith is needed to win every fear in our life.


Tribulations and trials will come, but the Faith that God has built-in us through His Word will always help us to overcome fear.


In the midst of the numerous foes he had, David was unshaken because of his firm grip on God’s Word.


Speak Words of Faith to whatever circumstance that is breeding fear in you, and decree your dominion over it. This is Faith.


3. Knowledge of who you are:

Fear will not go because you ask it to go. You must understand who you are in the kingdom. You must know your rights and what you are to enjoy in Christ.


Fear waters down your real identity and presents to you, a false one.



“Didn’t I commission you as judges, saying, ‘You are all like gods since you judge on my behalf? You are all like sons of the Highest, my representatives.’ – Psalms 82:6 TPT.


God created you with an identity, you must not allow fear to rub you off your identity.


You are representative of God on the earth. You must understand that you are a Kingdom Citizen and you are god therefore, fear must not come near your dwelling.



Knowledge is equally crucial.


“In him, you have been made extravagantly rich in every way. You have been endowed with a wealth of inspired utterance[d] and the riches that come from your intimate knowledge of him.” – 1 Corinthians 1: 5.


We are made rich and endowed with so many things in the kingdom through the knowledge of Christ.


To deal with fear, we must have knowledge of our identity. Ignorance breeds fear. On the grounds of ignorance, the devil wins, on the grounds of Knowledge, we win.


Everything we want and desire for ourselves is found in the Knowledge of Christ.


Get Knowledge through the word of God and other inspired books by Men of God.



PRAYER:

“Listen to my testimony: I cried to God in my distress and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears!” – Psalms 34:4 TPT.

It strengthens our spirit to hold unto God’s Word.

I want to encourage you this morning, do not fear! Do not allow the vagueness of tomorrow’s hope to subjugate your spirit.

NO matter what, you will survive! And you will come out of this better than you’ve ever been.

God bless you!


Written by Greenhills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

GENERAL

Launch Into The Deep

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Before Jesus came to them, Peter, James and John were fishing, yet they never knew that there was something deeper than fishing.

At times we are too focused on our endeavour that we fail to see the deeper calling of destiny that has been attached to our lives.

Peter, James and John were Fishermen, yet, there was a calling for them to become great Apostles that would set the pattern for the preaching of The Gospel.


“And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” Luke 5: 1-11. KJV



This is a very important message to learn from. Scriptures tell us that they toiled all night, yet, they could catch nothing.


Like Peter, a lot of believers have been toiling fruitlessly to earn substantial living. This lesson is for you.


Jesus wanted to teach the crowd he had no platform to preach from, he decided to use Peter boat.


Peter’s boat was his investment. It was his tool for working. It was his source of income. He gave the boat to Jesus. At the end, we are aware of the multiplication that ensued.



1. God’s Kingdom must be established in our Business. Wherever we find ourselves, we must live with the consciousness that we are children of God, representing God there. A believer must be guided by Christian principles in his business engagements. Let the Throne of God be exalted in your hearts.


2. We must ready to launch our nets into the deep if we are going to receive a big catch. To launch into the deep means to think beyond our present circumstances. It means to dream big. It means to invest big. It means to give your all to Kingdom work.


Peter was initially reluctant to launch into the deep because his thinking was shallow. Jesus was seeing a draught for Peter. But Peter’s thoughts were settled on the fruitless toil he had the previous night.


Many of us are still holding on to our past lives. God is calling us into abundance, but we are afraid to expect such, because of the memories of the fruitless toils we made yesterday.



I know of believers who are reluctant in giving life their best shot, because the last they did such, it did not yield the expected results.


But Jesus is saying this evening, launch your net into the deep. To launch into the deep, means one has to leave the realm of surface and mediocre living, and go after the deep realities of The Kingdom.


When Peter obeyed, he received a net-breaking miracle of multiplication.


What are you doing with your boat? Do you want to launch into the deep? Come and embrace the kingdom.


Written by Greenhills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

About The Author Greenhills Emmanuel is a Nigeria-based preacher and writer. He has written numerous articles which has been published across several Internet platforms.

Health and Lifestyle

Q/A: Is it right for a believer to celebrate Valentine’s Day?

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Is it right for a believer to celebrate Valentine’s Day?



This is a question which is frequently asked among believers. Some are of the opinion that due to the sinful acts that are carried out on Valentine, it is not worth celebrating in Church.


For this to be clarified, one has to understand the etymology of the word “Valentine’s Day” and the purpose for which it was intended.


Far back in 270 AD, Emperor Claudius II Gothicus concluded that single men were more useful in battles than the married counterparts. On that note, he vetoed marriages for every single man in Rome.


Valentine, a Christian priest around the time realizing the injustice of the decree decided to help the unmarried men escape the unjust laws made by the Emperor, by secretly joining them in marriage with their lovers.



However, the outcome of this sacrifice was fatal for St. Valentine when the emperor, Claudius II learned of his actions, as he was later clubbed to death.


Valentine’s Day is celebrated annually on 14th February, to commemorate the martyrdom of the 3rd Century Christian priest, Valentine.


Nowadays, Valentine’s Day is closely linked to expressing romantic love, but there’s no definite association between romantic love and the ancient figure, St. Valentine.


However, it is believed that mid-February shows the first whiffs of Spring. Spring represents a new beginning and pleasance in life. It is also known to be the copulation season for most bird species.


Hence, St Valentine’s Day became closely associated with romantic love through its coincidence with Spring season.


Today, we commemorate Saint Valentine’s selfless sacrifice for the Romans.


With this in mind, celebrate this year’s Valentine differently. Celebrate it, not only with love but also with the consciousness that sacrifices are elements of love.


Note that your first sacrifice must be presenting your body as holy and acceptable to the Lord.

Romans 12:1: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”



Love God with all your heart, remembering that we love Him because He first loved us.



Likewise, love your neighbour as yourself. These are the greatest commandments. It is upon them that the Law and The Prophets are built.


Finally, love is not a thing to be emphasized only on Valentine’s Day.


Rather, always plant the seed of affection and kindness in every place you find yourself.



Happy Valentine’s Day!!!

Written by Ada Mbamalu