Music is one of the ways in which we declare the mighty power of God. When we sing of His Power, we get the manifestation of His Power.
And when His Power manifests, chains are broken, mountains are levelled and destinies are released.
Olamiji Rasheed, an uprising singer from the Western part of Nigeria, delivers this beautiful rendition of Tasha Cobbs’ ‘Break every Chain’.
I was in my room one afternoon doing the bottle flip. I was not so good at it at that time, so it was kind of hard for me but I kept on doing it. Sometimes it would almost stand then fall and at other times, it would fall completely.
After several failed attempts at getting the bottle to stand, I decided I had had enough of the failures. I wanted to quit. But a voice within encouraged me to try it out, one last time. I yielded to that voice, and it worked this time.
Many of us have found ourselves entangled in a particular sin or addiction. We might have been trying to get out of it. But it seems as if the more we try, the stronger the entanglement becomes. We keep making vows and at the same time keep breaking them and each time we break them, we cry asking God for help and liberation. We feel enslaved, hopeless and helpless. We want to give up already thinking we can’t be free from it, thinking it’s our fate and we must take it as it is. But I want to encourage you; don’t give up now!!
Now is not the time to give up. Now is the time to increase your efforts. Do not let the devil win this fight for you are more than conquerors through him who loved you (Romans 8:37)
God hears your cries, he sees those secret tears and he is ever ready to save you for his hands are not too short that he cannot save neither is his ear deaf that he can’t hear for he said, I will hear their cries and I will save them.
God sees your sincerity, He knows you are truly tired of falling over and over again. So He’s saying, “Hang on in there, I’m coming and soon the fall will be completely over”.
Don’t give up! Remember, when there’s life, there’s hope.
We are not perfect but we are on a journey towards perfection. On this journey, when you fall, do not drift away from God. Pick yourself up, dust off the pain and move closer to him than ever before. Do not let the feeling of guilt and condemnation overcome you and blind your eyes from seeing God’s great love for you. No sin, No mistakes and No fall can ever take his Love away from us.
Keep crying and running back to him than after every mistakes and soon, the light will shine down on you and your stance in Christ will be so firm. Firmer than you can ever imagine.
Remember God said, “The Egyptians you see today, you shall see them no more”. Likewise, the problem and struggles you see today, you will see them no more.
Written by Tolu-Taiwo Victor
Determination is defined as firmness of purpose. Determination is the ability to be persistent, resolute, certain, steadfast to your decision and choices.
Determination is an important value that a man must possess when he is in a pursuit of a great thing. Determination is the fuel of any passion and purpose. If there is no determination there will be no need to purse things of greater value.
Determination is the root of greatness, nobody is truly great, if he is not determined to think outside the box. Only determined people can change the their world. Life is tough by default. Fate pleases no man; fate gives no allowance for smugness. Only the determined becomes great; only the determined can take the pen of fate and write their own destiny, and fulfill that destiny as it written.
Determination requires understanding the sacrifice and the pains of a preferable future and deciding to go through the obstacles and with the mindset of coming out great. Determination is seeing your future and doing whatever it takes in right way to get that future.
Determination is making choices and decisions that will make your future accessible. Determination is a mental and a spiritual choice, it is what makes us stand out, it what makes our future or our target become more attainable.
Daniel 1:8
But Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king’s food or drinking his wine, so he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet. (MSG)
The text above tells us about the story of one of the most successful Christian politicians in Bible history, Daniel. Daniel was taken captive into the land of Babylon. His parents were killed during an Babylon’s invasion of the Jewish country.
By divine providence, Daniel was selected with other Jews to be trained in the arts and science of the Babylonians, and to be fed with the King’s delicacies in order to have improvements in their mental well-being. This seemed attractive. Daniel would have probably accepted the King’s food but for the fact that it was prepared in a manner that was considered ‘defiled’ by Jewish culture.
When he observed this, we are told in scriptures, that he determined within himself not to accept the King’s food. He determined in heart not to defile himself with the king’s dainties.
His determination made God to favor him above the other Jews.
What decision have you determined to take?
It is wrong to live your life in laxity, without specific decisions and choices. It is wrong to make your choices to be dependent on the circumstances surrounding you, rather than the inner choice you have made.
Determination is that which is needed in tough times like these. Due to the pandemic, political chaos and economic hardship, one is tempted to become apathetic towards the future. One is tempted to lose hope about one’s dreams. Fate seems bleak; the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be imperceptible.
Now is the time, to determine in your heart, that no matter what happens, you are not going to give up on your dreams. You will become the person that God has destined you to be! Like Daniel, no matter how potent the temptation to defile yourself in this corrupt world might seem to be, stick your decision to stay pure.
You are not the first who has been in this kind of situation. Joseph was sold from his father’s house to Potiphar’s house. When it seemed as if he had gained stability in Potiphar’s house, he was lied against and sent into the Egyptian dungeon. The dungeon is usually a dark place. There is no illumination there. It is filled with dirt and the stench from the prisoners’ faeces.
This was the kind of condition Joseph found himself in. In the prison, one does not eat proper food. Joseph was locked up in the prison, the same way a lot of us have been locked up in our homes. But Joseph’s lockdown was what God was going to use to take him into the palace.
This is the reason you must be determined this season. Though it may not be visible, yet, be rest assured that God is doing a mighty thing in your life. He is making all things to work out for your good.
GreenHills Emmanuel
Types of determination
Organic determination: This type of determination is an inborn determination in every man to fulfill his purpose on earth, this kind of determination is what pushes people to do the unthinkable and makes them reach the height where men has not reached, it was such determination that led many scientist or men who brought innovations to the world, this kind of determination is in every man. This kind of determination must be trained and nutured and be brought to good use.
Inorganic determination: This is a kind of determination that is infused into us as maybe a speaking or we heard a word of motivation words or purposeful words spoken to us in order to help us realize our potential. Such determination helps us to set our daily goals and targets.
Every civilization, kingdom or race has its Culture. There is always a distinct manner of living peculiar to its citizens.
There is always something that marks them out from other people. A sense of identity that is expressed in their general disposition to every situation.
As representatives of a Kingdom, we have a culture that sets us apart from others, a pattern of operation that is peculiar to us.
Ever since the world fell into the state that it is in today; in control of the enemy by virtue of man’s fall and relinquishing dominion to the Satan; God has been interested in setting his people apart both in behavior and disposition.
He gives them His laws and desires they walk in His ways. He sets before them a pattern to conform to. This has been from the days of the Israelites to the present.
The kingdom of God has its culture. A pattern its citizens must conform to. A way they are to walk.
It is quite disheartening to see a believer behaving in a manner strange to Christendom’s culture.
It is very sad to see that in some situations, there seems to be no difference between a believer and an unbeliever.
What has gone wrong, why is this so?
It could be due to more emphasis being placed on the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit than the fruit of The Spirit in this generation.
Most Christians are taught that they should speak in tongues but not that that same lips should not slander others.
That they should heal the sick but not that they should also cater for the needs of the sick through giving.
This leads to the production of many Charismatic, yet, poor-in-character Christians. Believers who speak in tongues, yet, cannot be trusted with someone else’s finances.
Believers should be exposed to both the Power and Character perspective of Christ.
Another reason is the low concept of Christianity that is being incorporated into the modern believer.
A poor understanding of the concept of grace and liberty that has been afforded the believer in Christ, that seems to impress the idea that the Christlike character expression of the believer is of no importance. A Christianity that accommodates abortion of young ones. One that is compatible with laziness and Spiritual complacency. It is quite saddening.
What is the pattern of the New Creation’s Behavior?
What is the standard of conduct of the believer? In what way should pattern his steps?
There are several things that distinguishes us as sons. Patterns expected to be seen in us. Expressions that must be made manifest and highlighted in the different areas of our lives.
These are different areas we are expected to differ in compared to the pattern of the world.
1. Manner of Food:
Food is an expression of culture.
Food in this context refers to the things which we feed our minds with. What we constantly feed our mind is a determinant of what culture we will conform to.
If you eat the food of dogs, you will be weak like dogs.
If you eat that of Lions, you will roar.
When the world delights in feeding on sensual musics and books based on knowledge against Christ, we must delight in feeding on the Word, the Truth and the Life.
2. The Manner of Clothing
What people wear affirms what kingdom the belong to. Clothes here refer to our behavior, disposition and carriage. It refers to our mannerisms and adornments.
Ours must be Noble and not common. That a behavior is popular does not mean its virtuous.
That others “pepper dem” doesn’t matter to us because we are salts.
We must stick to the uniform of the kingdom.
Colossians 3:8-10: “But now you yourselves are to PUT OFF all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have PUT OFF the old man with his deeds, 10 and have PUT ON the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. “
3. Language
This refers to our manner of speech. The fruits of our lips.
Our language as believers should be one that completely highlights who we are.
In a generation full of hate and pain, our words should be soothing and like a balm, healing.
Members of the Kingdom do not speak anyhow. That vulgar words trend and are famous does not mean a believer should speak them.
Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”
We have a pattern that we should adher to. One that highlights our uniqueness and peculiarity as a chosen people. This pattern is found in our constitution (The Word of God).
This posits that as we live by God’s word and will, we conform to his pattern.
Romans 12:2: ‘And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…’
One of the greatest blessings we have as Christ’s Church, is Fellowship with one another. Other than the coming of The Holy Spirit, there has been no greater blessing which God has bestowed upon us than the opportunity to have fellowship with one another.
Unfortunately, due to its regularity, going to church has become a mere habit for many believers.
Note: The Church is both a group of individuals as well as an institution. Spiritually, it is the Union of the Elect. Also, physically, it is an institution or location dedicated to the worship of the Lord.
We have Christians who go to the Church gathering on Sunday, for carnal purposes. Some go to play to the gallery. Some go to search for a suitable spouse among the congregation. Some go to flaunt their wealth. But the wise go, to encounter God.
Even as we go to our respective places of worship, let us ask ourselves whether we are really going there to meet with Christ, or we are going there to meet with God.
Psalms 27:4: ‘One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.’
We may not be privileged to live in the Lord’s House all the days of our lives, yet, the weekly Sabbath day in which we converge should be held in high esteem and sacred reverence.
We must go to the Temple, not for the two primary reasons highlighted above.
1. To Behold The Lord’s Beauty.
There are beautiful bounties found in the Lord. The Lord’s Beauty is His Glory, His Holiness. The Lord’s Beauty is also the Manifestation of His power. His Beauty is seen in the miracles He works. His Beauty is seen in the great blessing of His Presence which He causes to rest in our churches. The Gospel is the Lord’s Beauty.
To behold the Lord’s Beauty, we must in joyful ardor, listen to His counsel as it proceeds from the lips of the pastors.
We must go with the expectation in our hearts, that we are going to encounter the Lord in a new dimension in His Presence.
2. To Enquire in His Temple
His Temple is also a place of enquiry. In the Church, we are away from the noise and distractions of the world.
We obtain inner tranquility, because we are with people who are in one accord with us.
It is in this solemn moment of tranquility, that we can seek and receive direction from God. But in order to make enquiry of the Lord, we must be careful not to get distracted by the outer features of the Church.
We must be careful not to allow Admiration of the people around us, to distract us from communing with the One who lives in us.
We must be jovial, yet, sensitive in the church. Jovial with everyone around us. And sensitive to the words of the One in us. Only when we do this, shall we be able to profit of the privilege of assembling together on the Sabbath.
The outstanding characteristic of natural man is Selfishness. It has given to us every one of the major sins that are destroying the human race.
Selfishness is the parent of the liquor traffic, gambling, and every other sin.
The husband who comes home h
The outstanding characteristic of natural man is Selfishness. It has given to us every one of the major sins that are destroying the human race.
Selfishness is the parent of the liquor traffic, gambling, and every other sin. The husband who comes home half drunk doesn’t love his family as much as he loves himself. The mother who has taken on the unhappy habits of modern society, and dares display these habits in the presence of her growing children, loves herself and her appetites more than she loves her children .
The natural man cannot love his children as much as he loves himself. He cannot love his wife as much as he loves himself.
The natural human heart is a partaker of the Satanic nature, Selfishness; and when that Selfishness gains the ascendancy it makes the man a despot in his home, filling it with the spirit of tyranny.
I saw a couple who had lived very unhappily and had thought much about separating, but there were little children. The father had a godly background, and so had the mother, but neither of them had ever received Eternal Life.
After the children came along, the wife began to feel the irritations of bondage and said, “These children just rob me of my liberty.” The husband began to feel the same limitations. Selfishness began to grow apace.
The home was not a home. It was just a place where they quarreled and made up, found fault, and cursed the children.
Then one day my little book, “The New Kind of Love,” fell into the hands of the husband. He brought it home and started to read it. He became so engrossed in it that his wife wanted to know what he was reading.
You see, Selfishness is always jealous. The keener and richer your Selfishness is, the more sensitive you become. She became very curious as to what that little book was. Finally she said, “What is that you are reading?”He said, “It is the most wonderful book I have ever read.”
He laid it down on the table, and she began to read it. She hadn’t read half of it before she made her decision. She had seen things.
When he came into the house she said, “How far did you read in that book?”
“Nearly all of it. One of the men at the office gave it to me.” He responded. “What do you think of it?”
“I only wish we had gotten hold of it when we were first married and life would have been different,” she said.
He picked up one of his children and held it in his arms. “Wife,” he said, “would you like to go with me on this thing? I would like to have Eternal Life. I am sick of my selfishness.”
She looked into his face, and reached out her hand and said, “My dear, I will go the whole way with you .”
The two older children were not home when it happened, and the father and mother did not tell them about it .
Three or four days later the oldest girl said, “Mother, what has happened to you and Dad? You haven’t quarreled since last week.” Then the mother told the story to her, and the girl, in her mother’s arms whispered, “Mother, I want it too .”
And so, Love came to live in that house. After a bit every member of the household sought to give the other more than he received. Love’s rivalry began to develop. The husband and wife sought to out-do each other in love.
You see, when two New Creation people, Love filled, begin to practice Agapa, the very atmosphere of heaven is in that home.
Love’s slogan is, “I am not seeking my own, but your happiness.”
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could have classes that would take up the study of Agape.
There has never been a chair of “Love” in any of our Colleges or Universities, and yet it is the most important thing in life.
You cannot adjust the labor and capital situation by law or by force. It can only be settled with Agape.
Oh, if there should arise in the labor world a great leader who could evangelize the labor world and prove to them that
Selfishness has never yet built anything that it did not destroy!
Sense Knowledge has built cities, but it always destroys them.
Few of us have recognized that there are two kinds of ambitions: one was born out of the desire to conquer and to reign, and to have and to hold, no matter what effect it had upon those who stand in the way;the other is the ambition to give, and to build, and to make happy, to educate and to train, and to make beautiful, glad homes.One is the Jesus kind, and the other is inspired by Satan.
EW Kenyon, ‘The Hidden Man’
1 Cor 4:15 KJV “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.”
Paul says you may have ten thousand instructors, but not many fathers (1 Cor 4:15).
I would that young believers who love the word understand this.
Just as sure as your parents at home were not your teachers in school, and your teachers in school were not your parents at home; so it is in the kingdom and with the church.
Your schoolteachers and university lecturers definitely taught you things your parents didn’t know, but you did not leave home to live with them. You went to class, learnt a lot and went back home.
You will meet anointed wordsmiths and charismatic apostles and prophets; but your shepherd is your shepherd – that is, your pastor.
You do not receive upbringing in the classroom. You receive it at home.
Foundation, fundamentals, Character; even the edge that makes you excel in school, comes from your parents at home. Mine taught me a lot of schoolwork that put me ahead.
Even in the boarding school, teachers are only partly interested in you. It is your parents who think of your 24/7 every aspect of your life.
So, do not go to and fro following this teacher and that apostle because they “have the word”. No. That is how spiritual vagabonds are bred.
Spiritual vagabonds are people going forward very fast to nowhere in particular. They have many so fathers, they do not know who they are.
Be planted somewhere under someone in a church family, whether of 10 or of 10,000.
It takes more than teaching to become a well rounded Christian or minister of Christ. Christ is a Person. And Christianity is a Life. It is found not only in what is written or said, but in men who have believed and who walk with the Lord.
You are living epistles, said an apostle, read of all men (2 Cor 3:2). Disciples aren’t just those who have been taught the teachin, but those who have walked the walk (Mark 3:14 – that they might BE WITH HIM).
Even the general idea that you are a member of a church because you listen to the message every Sunday, is a mistaken one.
Those that be PLANTED in the house of the Lord, the word says, shall flourish in the courts of our God (Psalm 92:13).
Discover your place in the Body. Understand your spiritual identity.
Belong and be connected and fed and mentored somewhere specific whether it is Deeper Life, House of the Rock or Celestial Church.
From there you can follow anyone. Be a planted specific that drinks from one source and sips from several others; rather than a wandering generality who has no distinct identity, a pipe or harp that has no distinct sound.
Have many instructors, if you must; but make sure someone specific is bringing you up in the Lord.
Amen.
Ebele UzoPeters
Jesus told the story of a father who had 2 sons. He said to one, go work in my vineyard. That one said “I will not”, but later he went and did the work.
The man had said the same to the other “Go work in my vineyard”; and that one had replied “Yes Sir, I will”, but he did not go.
Jesus then asked those whom He was talking to “Which do you think was the better son?”, and they answered rightly – forget what each son said, the one who did the father’s will – was the better one.
Jesus then told those to whom he was talking; those who ruled and who had the people’s ear – congress and the media, or the pharisees and the sadducees, that the prophets of the Lord, or John; came and showed the way of righteousness and those regarded as sinners – prostitutes and tax collectors believed him and stood with the church, but they after they had heard, still refused to believe and carried on with their ways.
He then told another parable and ended it by referring to a stone which the builders rejected, which had become the chief of the corner.
This is a parable to a nation where those don’t say what you want to hear but do what is right are rejected over those who say what you want to hear but do what is left.
We hope someone is listening. It is well.
Ebele UzoPeters
Dunsin Oyekan is a renowned Nigerian artiste known for his spiritual songs of worship.
His latest release ‘Yah’, will spur you to worship Yahweh, our God.
Benson Idahosa was one of the most renowned men of God of his age. His ministry featured mighty Manifestations of God’s Power.
In this video clip, Idahosa narrates his ordeal with God in the U.S.
I ran an experimental workout yesterday on Brain ELASTICITY. I took a reading adventure that took me more than ten hours.
Though my goal was not to spend time studying, but to observe the widening of my brain horizon.
It was quite tough reading for that duration. I was checking for the limit of my brain’s elasticity in the place of study.
I found out that the human brain has no ELASTIC LIMIT when it comes to being fed with information. It cannot get overfull.
It can be stretched and stressed, but each time you go beyond a certain threshold of stretching, your brain masters it and conditions itself to survive under such mode of stress and strain.
Those who study for long hours can attest to this.
The brain can be conditioned to embark on a work, apart from studying for lengthy hours without experiencing any BREAKDOWN, hence the complexity of the human brain.
Don’t get it twisted. No human is blessed with a special breed of brain to be exceptional. Never!
We all have more or less the same brain potential, but not many folks have crossed the stress threshold of their brain. They would rather sleep than stress the brain.
I once introduced a concept which I called “Brain Potential Power” (BPT). I posited that the brain can actually be stressed under certain conditions but if it can get ACCUSTOMED to such stress, it will ‘marry’ the stress as its natural disposition or abilities.
Say for instance, you can only study for thirty minutes and whenever you try to go beyond that, you get brain pain.
You can actually get rid of that pain by enduring it and going beyond those thirty minute.
When this is done steadily, your brain gets schooled to familiarize itself with the NEW development of scaling above mere thirty minutes to probably an hour, such that you can at anytime study beyond thirty minutes without any noticeable pain.
Christian Uchechukwu
KOINONIA ART 