Category Archives: GENERAL

GENERAL

God’s Building Materials

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1 Corinthians 3:12
If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,

1 Corinthians 3:13 Their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.

It is weight that counts. Wood, hay, stubble are cheap, light, temporary; gold silver, precious stones are costly, weighty, eternal.

Here is the key to value.

The heavy metals, the gold of the divine character and glory, the silver of His redemptive work: these are the materials He prizes.

Not merely what we preach, please note, but what we are, weighs with God; not doctrine, but the character of Christ wrought out in us by God’s orderings, by God’s testings, by the Spirit’s patient workings.

Work that is of God is work that has been to the Cross. When our work has been that way, we can rest assured that it will in the end survive the fire.

Not, “Where is the need most evident? What ideas and resources have I got? How much can I do? How soon can I put that doctrine into practice?” but, “Where is God moving? What is there of Him here? How far does He will for me to go? What is the mind of the Spirit on this?”—these are the questions of the truly crucified servant. He recognizes God’s “Go” and His “Speak,” but also His “Wait,” and His “Go,” but say only so much. Aware of his own weakness and emptiness, the greatest lesson he has to learn is to commit his way to God and wait to see Him move.

The problem lies in our failure to understand that, in God’s work, man in himself is of no use. Wood, hay, stubble, these suggest what is essentially of man and of the flesh.

They imply what is common, ordinary, easily and cheaply acquired—and of course perishable. Grass today may clothe the earth with beauty, but where is it tomorrow?

Human intellect may give us a grasp of Scripture; natural eloquence may have the power to attract; emotion may carry us along; feelings may seem to supply a guiding sense—but to what? God looks for more solid values than these.

Many of us can preach well and accurately enough, but we are wrong. We talk of the flesh but don’t know its perils; we talk of the Spirit, but would we recognize Him were He really to move us?

Too much of our work for God depends not on His will and purpose, but on our feelings—or even, God forgive us! on the weather. Like chaff and stubble, it is carried away by the wind. Given the right mood we may accomplish a lot, but just as easily, in adverse conditions, we may give up entirely. No, as the fire will one day prove, work that is dependent on feelings or on the wind of revival is of little use to God. When God commands, feelings or no feelings, we must learn to do.

The God-prized values are costly. Those unwilling to pay the price will never come by them. Grace is free, but this isn’t. Only a high price buys costly stones.

Many a time we shall want to cry out “This is costing too much!” Yet the things wrought by God through the lessons we learn under His hand, though we be long in learning them—these are the really worthwhile things.

Time is an element in this. In the light of God, some things perish of themselves; there is no need to wait for the fire. It is in what remains, in what has stood God’s test of time, that true worth lies. Here are found the precious stones, formed in what

God graciously gives us of sorrow and trouble, as He puts us “through fire and water” to bring us to His wealthy place. Man sees the outward appearance; God sees the inward cost. Do not wonder that you experience all sorts of trials. Accepted from His hand they are the sure way to a life that is precious to Him.

May God have mercy on the clever people who pass on merely what they have read or received from another. Not even speaking for God can be done without cost.

It is all a question of whether the person’s life is light or weighty, for weight shows the quality of the material. Two men may use the same words, but in the one you meet something you cannot get past; in the other— nothing.

The difference is in the man. You always know when you are in the presence of spiritual worth. No amount of theorizing about the Lord’s return, for example, will take the place of a life that has been daily lived looking for Him.

There is no escaping this difference, and no substitute for the real thing. Alas, some of us are so unlike our words that it might be better if we said less about spiritual things.

Do not wonder, then, at God’s concern for the materials of His house. Imitation jewelry may have a certain beauty, but what woman who has once possessed the real thing would give it another thought?

The apostle Paul leaves us in no doubt of his own valuation. Ten coolie-loads of stubble can never approach the price of one single gemstone.

All flesh, all mere feelings, all that is essentially of man, is grass and must vanish away. What is of Christ, the gold, the silver, the costly stones, these alone are eternal, incorruptible, imperishable.

It is this lasting character of God’s Church that must now claim our attention.



Watchman Nee

Christmas, GENERAL

CHRISTMAS IS COME

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A neonate springtime and neonate Sound,
Birth of humble nascence pipping to resound,
As a breath of fresh air at summer eventide
The spring comes from afar, I hear it hither,

A neonate springtime and neonate sound,
In a manger our redeeming star was lay,
Shut in behind with a wooden gate,
Amid the grimness He stood pale – bright.

A neonate springtime and neonate sound,
The reflection of the father’s thought,
The genuine murmur of the prophets,
At tremble desires, He was born.

A neonate Springtime and neonate sound,
The wise men peeped to behold the baby,
absorbed melancholy in thought
Ever loyal and keen, their footsteps bent.

A neonate springtime and neonate sound,
The incipient affection for the humans,
The open adoption, trembling and willing spring across the world they hear it thither.

A neonate Springtime and neonate sound,
Kiss the son, lest he be angry,
Embrace the son, lest you fall off
Clasp with arms of affection, lest you regret,

Have a Merry Christmas.


©UBOKOBONG MICHAEL

GENERAL

The True Revelation of God’s Fatherhood

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The ‘God-figure’ in this generation, I am afraid, has been diluted and reduced beyond what the Personality of God really entails. We now use sensual images to depict the relation of the Holy Spirit with Saints.

We now have Christians who brag about how they relate with The Holy Spirit as their Lover. They speak ecstatically of how they ‘make love’ with Him, and how He hugs them, and even them pet names.

As fanciful as this sounds, it does not correlate with the fatherhood of God which we are given in scriptures. It only appeals to the sensuality of our human self and is highly inaccurate when weighed by the tenets of scriptures.

Some people do not feel they are close to someone unless they can talk to that person anyhow, and jump on that person’s head. That is not closeness, that is mere childishness.
Some even relate with God this way. They think it is okay to address God like He is their mate or sparring partner. They justify this wrong culture, by saying it is because God is their ‘Padi’ (Nigerian colloquial term for ‘buddy’).

Some believers see this as a sign of intimacy. Alas, it is not. It is just the culture of childishness.

The mature ones who truly love God, do not rant. God loves all His children, and that’s what makes us His children; but only those who love Him are mature. Loving Him is what makes for maturity.


Whenever mature believers feel they have a strong case with God, they do not speak to Him anyhow.

Abraham pleaded with God over Sodom and Gomorrah, because of his nephew, Lot who lived there.

The account is in Genesis 18:23-33. He kept saying “Lord, don’t be,angry, if I ask one more question”
He was was called God’s friend (James 2:23), yet, never once did he address God casually. He called God, ‘Lord’.

In Exodus 33:11-23, MOSES had a very intimate conversation with God.

He kept saying “Lord, if I’ve found favour in your sight…”. He pleaded with God over the stubborn Israelites in Numbers 14:1-30. He said “Please pardon them”. God said He spoke with Moses as someone speaks with his FRIEND (Exodus 33:11)

David was a man after God’s heart. Read the Psalms and see how he prayed. When he lost everything in 1 Samuel 30, he didn’t speak flippantly to God. He was greatly
distressed, but prayed with thanksgiving, making his requests.

Jesus pleaded with the Father concerning the suffering He was to go through. Even though Jesus is the Son of God. The one who dwelt in the bosom of the Father; He did not sit down, cross his legs, and say “Dad, make you sef tink am. We wee drag dis tin
o”. No. The Bible says He knelt down (Luke 22:41) and laid face down on the ground (Matthew 26:31), and said “Father, if it is possible, do this thing for Me. I submit to your
will”.

That is how intimacy with God works.


Look at how the apostles prayed in Acts 4:24-31. They started with “Lord, you are God”, not “Daddy, come here!”


Paul in Ephesians 3:14 said “For this cause I BOW MY KNEES TO THE FATHER”.

A ‘modern’, ignorant saint, who read such, would say “Do you kneel down to ask things from your Father? Will your son or daughter kneel down to ask things from you? This is as a result of ignorance about the Fatherhood of God!”

Western political correctness has entered the church as perverted grace gospel.

“God is love. God is not angry with anyone. He doesn’t have any anger. God is not bipolar. He
just loves everyone and has forgotten all about sins. Do not talk about sins. God’s Spirit never convicts the believer of sin. Do not call it sin. Just preach “love”. God is not to
be feared.”

These are sensual opinions that civilization has created in the Body of Christ today. Civilization has corrupted our thinking.

To raise a child now means to allow them do whatever they want including slapping and insulting you whenever they feel like.

Thanks to civilization, any punishment meted out to kids, which is beyond “you are grounded for 2 weeks” and “no more ice cream” is criminal. Pupils can insult their wards and teachers. and it is tolerated.

Unfortunately, this civilization has also negatively influenced African fatherhood.

To African fathers, the Bible says “Do not provoke, or harass, your children by the way you treat them, or be too hard on them to the point that they are discouraged, frustrated, feel inferior, and become resentful and sullen (Ephesians 6:4, Colossians 3:21)”

To American fathers, the Bible says your children MUST NOT be wild, unruly or insubordinate, but must be under control and must be submissive (1 Tim 3:4; Titus 1:6).


Proverbs 22:15: “Folly is bound up in the heart of a child, but the rod of discipline will drive it far away.”

Despite how plain the Bible is, on approving the meting out of physical discipline to children, we still have Saints in the Body of Christ today, who due to being influenced by the evil civilization prevalent in the society, condemn what the Bible justifies.


Proverbs 23:13-14 New International Version

13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
    if you punish them with the rod, they will not die.
14 Punish them with the rod
    and save them from death.


Physical discipline is not always necessary, and we all pray for children who will listen to gentle but firm counsel. Physical discipline is wrong when done in a reactionary way; but when done in love and in good measure, it is good and right.

Dear friends,


God forbid that we look to Africans to know His fatherhood.
And God forbids that we look to Americans to understand His fatherhood.

The BIBLE is our standard. And in the end it will be clear Who is right.

1 John 3:1 says the LOVE of the Father makes us God’s children, and Hebrews 12:5-11 tells us that the DISCIPLINE of the Father makes us His children, and that without this discipline, we are like bastards.


Yet, some will still feel that because they are going through a hard time, they can talk to God anyhow. I haven’t met even one who went through a tenth of what Job went through. At a point, he felt he had been wronged, and demanded an explanation from God.


“God, where are you, how could you let this happen to me? How could you do this to me, it is unfair! Where were you when this happened? You are unfair!!” He said to God, repeatedly.


Just an answer from God, and he repented saying, “I’ve been foolish. I have been really foolish. I take it all back. I repent in dust and ashes.”

A word is enough for the wise.

Ebele UzoPeters.

GENERAL

Imitators of Christ’s Love

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St. John 8:3
The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group

St. John 8:4
And said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

St. John 8:5
In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”

St. John 8:6
They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.

St. John 8:7
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

St. John 8:8
Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

St. John 8:9
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.

St. John 8:10:
Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”

St. John 8:11
“No one, sir,” she said.“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

It was never really about adultery.
It was beyond immorality.
It was bigger than sin and iniquity.
It was actually a domicile nature.
A state of the heart, the posture of the soul.

Caught in the very act of adultery, she was humiliated, dragged into the public to be stoned, facing shame in the sight of all, but it was much more than falling into a sin.

But her accusers could not see beyond her act. They condemned her from the outside, not knowing that a fruit is only an offspring of the tree.

We have some clergymen who do the same thing today. In their attempt to preach against sin, they address the act, point to the fruit, but neglect the inward cause of it

St. John 8:12
When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

In John 8:12, Jesus revealed to us, that the root cause of the sinfulness of mankind was the darkened state of their hearts.

Hence, in order to save them, we must turn on the light, we must do as Jesus did, pretend not to see reasons to condemn the accused, look away from the darkness, search for light, and then rise up to dispel, expel and send darkness into extinction.

So when we preach to sinners, we do not dwell on their sins, rather, we partner with Christ and trust Him to flood their darkened hearts with His divine light.

Once their hearts receives the Light, their acts will reflect the same.

Thus, we ought not to be among the crowd to accuse the woman caught in the very act of adultery. Rather, we imitate the love of Christ, who refused to condemn her, and gave her a chance to live rightly.


Jesus said to her,

GO AND SIN NO MORE.

This was a certification that her nature had been changed, from adultery with men, to adoption with God. She became born again. She became the living testimony of ll Corinthians 5:17.

‘Go and sin no more,’
That was a powerful charge. It was a command, verdict and a law. An inscription upon her soul.

Friends, that woman represent every sinner around each and every one of us, they need help, they need Christ, they know they are wrong but they are confused as to what to do.

Beloved, would you help them?

Doo something before they’re ‘stoned to death,’ I mean the second death, eternal damnation.

Defend them and reveal Christ to them.
(John 8:1-12)

Let us pray.

© Shadrach Iyere

GENERAL

Soldiers with Caring Hearts

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I once watched an American war movie. It was based on real events. In the movie, American soldiers were fighting against terrorists in a foreign country. The battle was a really tense one.

The fierce bullet exchange kept the American soldiers focused in the battlefield, even though they were gaining grounds.

As they advanced, one of their men was hit by a bullet. It was as though his bulletproof vest had worn out due to several shootings from the enemy’s rifle.

The wounded soldier seemed to be a setback to the advancing soldiers. The bullet had hit him where it mattered most; his left breast; but he was still alive.

But as he lay, bleeding profusely, struggling to stay in this world, a frontline commando ran to him. He grabbed the bleeding soldier and upheld him in his arms.

“Leave me and focus on the battle. I am useless to you in this state” the bleeding soldier managed to say.

But the commando paid no attention to his requests. He took the wounded soldier away from the battlefield to a secret cave.

This cave was built in a hidden place by the American soldiers, and was full of medicals employed to treat soldiers.

The wounded soldier was immediately attended to. He was treated, and lived to become a war veteran in America.

1 Timothy 6:12: “Fight the good fight of faith”

2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought a good fight”


Ephesians 6:12: “For we wrestle… against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”


2 Corinthians 10:4: “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds…”

The first verse mentioned above reveals to us, that Christianity is not just a religion, it is a fight. But it is not just any fight; it is the fight of faith. In the third verse aforementioned, our opponents are revealed to us.

They are powers of darkness and spiritual wickedness, who try to make our lives sour and send various trials and temptations our way just to shake our faith.

In the last aforementioned verse, we are told that we are not left in this war, without powerful weapons.

Our weapons are mighty. When applied properly, they conquer territories, destroy those who rebel against the government of God, and cast down every device that exalts itself above the knowledge of God.

But this fight is not just an individual one, it is equally a collective one. It is a fight against every member of the body of Christ as well as a fight against the body of Christ as a unified mystical society.

In this fight, do not be so concerned about winning that you fail to help those who have been wounded by the shots of the enemy.


It befuddles my imagination, that these days, whenever a believer stumbles in faith, he becomes the mockery and object of criticism in the church.


He is labelled a backslidden Christian, a hypocrite and is almost ostracized from the church. This is not supposed to be so. The Church is a Body.

When the hand feels pain, the entire body bears it. When the legs get wounded, the entire body is affected. Then why would a saint, see his fellow brother/sister, struggling or wounded in faith, and would ignore such a fellow.

Some would go to the extent of mocking the fellow.

When Peter was taken captive by Herod, and held in jail, the Church prayed fervently for him. It was because of their prayer that Peter got freedom.

Bible never recorded Peter praying for himself, instead, it lets us know that Peter was fast asleep and held in chains when an Angel came to rescue him.

What if the church had not prayed? Peter would definitely have been beheaded by Herod.

There are believers who are being held captive by different kinds of chains. Some are in literal prisons because of their faith. Some are being held by chains of lust, immorality, addiction etc.

They are so held by it, that they see no way out. They wallow helplessly in these vices. They are still believers, but they have been captured by the enemy.

It is the duty of the free saints, to pray ceaselessly for such believer.

You must pray for that believer as if your health depended on his spiritual wellbeing.

Some Christians have been wounded emotionally, by the losses they incurred this year.

Some have been bruised in faith, due to the severe hardship they experienced this year.

Do not ignore them! Pray fervently for them! Let them be your top priority in prayer.

Do not ignore the wounded saints. Even if you cannot treat them, take them to the master doctor; Christ. Offer them unto Him in prayers.

And do not withdraw your help from those you can help. Help them with food. Help them with beautiful Christmas wears.

Treat them with the balm of positive words. Heal their wounds with a genuine smile at them, and a show of love.


This is the life that Christ has called us to live; a life where we bear one another’s burdens. It is a life where we are our brother’s keeper.


Live it to its fullness.


You can begin now by picking up your phone, and reaching out to that believer who you know has gone through hell this year.


You can live it now by wiring money to the account of that church that has suffered financial lapses this year.


You can live it now by ordering for beautiful clothes for that child whose family is too poor to buy her Christmas wears.


God bless you as you live this life of love!

GENERAL, Holiness and Grace

DON’T KILL THAT CHILD!

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Genesis 19:14: “Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and wandered in the Desert of Beersheba.”

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes.

 16 Then she went off and sat down about a bowshot away, for she thought, “I cannot watch the boy die.” And as she sat there, she began to sob.

Abortion is now a trend in almost every country regardless of its legal repute. In fact, out of over 200 million pregnancies worldwide that is recorded each year, approximately forty-six million which is about twenty two percent , end in abortion.

Where abortion is legally restricted, botched abortions are a major cause of maternal death.

Young Ladies in particular are at high risk for unintended pregnancy, because they have limited access to enough funds, and are more likely to seek abortion than advanced women.

At another view of reference, most women above 25 years will only seek for abortion for two main reasons. One of which is pregnancy that resulted from illicit affair while the other is melted on the palm of poverty.

A significant percentage of those women who end up in the hospital with complications from unsafe abortion are young.

Young ladies may be afraid to tell their parents or guardians about a pregnancy and may attempt to get an abortion on their own accord. How be it such decisions are always a matter of life and death.

As Christians, we need to ensure that females most especially the teenagers, are well informed about unsafe abortion and the options available to them should they have an unwanted pregnancy.

Most often, the primary cause of pre marital pregnancy, is not in anyway far from self.

One of the primary causes is sexual immorality.

Although, it might have been said of Hagar that she wasn’t the one who made advances towards her master, Abraham, but without doubt her relationship with him ended her as ‘‘the other woman’’ and while she was sent away from the home she nearly disposed her child as a victim to death.

Your entanglement in sexual activities might differ from hers. It might even come in form of fornication or rape, which might eventually lead to pregnancy. And as a result, you want an abortion.

Listen, in this kingdom even when we walk on paths that resulted in falling short of Grace, there is yet a hope for us and that hope is the truth.

John 8: 32 ‘‘And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.’’

Thinking abortion is a means of escape or a cover for your flaw is a lie. It will get you held in more shackles. Of a truth, illicit pregnancy is bad but the life of the baby wallowing in your womb matters to God just as the son of Hagar mattered to Him.

Beloved reader, it is only accepting the truth that will set you free. Drop the decision that propels lie. Do not kill that child. That life in your womb matters!

Abortion, simply defined, is murder. You made a mistake in getting involved with someone. Abortion will not eliminate that mistake, it will only compound it.

Hagar wanted to abandon her son to die, because she did not have enough to take care of him.

But God sent an Angel, and a well of water was revealed to her. That well sustained her and her child.

In the midst of the shame and financial troubles involved in unwanted pregnancy, God has a well He has prepared for you and your baby, to sustain the both of you.

All you have to do is Trust Him. Go to Him in remorse for your mistake. Seek for forgiveness. And decide to trust Him for a bright future.

Moses of the Bible days, was born in a time when Jewish male babies were being murdered. As soon as the government discovered you had a male child, they would take him from you, and kill him.

But Jochabed delivered a baby boy, and saw that he was good, so she hid him.

He was born in the time of turmoil, yet, she saw goodness in him.

He was born in the time when they were poor, wretched slaves, yet, she saw goodness in him.

She would have aborted him while he was in the womb, since male babies only caused trouble.

She would have gotten rid of him, herself. But she decided to keep him, and nurture him.

And that little boy grew up to be the Prince of Egypt and eventually the Great Prophet of Israel.

That seed you are carrying which you think is the fruit of your mistake, can also turn out to be the recompense of your mistake.

Don’t abort that baby! This is not all about being liberal or pro-life. This is about choosing what is best for your future and health.

Keep the Baby.

You can win this. At first, it will be hard, but with God on your side, everything will work out for your good.

©voicequo

©Nwodo Divine

© Koinonia Art

Christmas, GENERAL

A Christmas Story: From The Physics Lab

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Matthew 2:1-2, 9

“”In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”

…When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

THE SUN is a star. It’s a small star. Many stars we see in the sky are many times larger than the sun. They are just so far away. Other stars are roughly of equal size with the sun, some are smaller.

In much the same way, some stars are much brighter than the sun, emitting far more dazzling light, while others are dimmer.

The light from the sun takes 8 minutes to get to the earth. Light is the fastest known traveller. It travels 300 million metres every second. All lights have this speed.

Traveling at this speed, light from the sun covers a distance of 150 million km in 8 minutes.

NASA’s spacecraft embarked on a journey to Pluto in 2006, traveling at 60,000km/hr; it took it 9 years to arrive there in 2015. If it was journeying to the sun, it would have taken it 78,000 years!

Think about that.

Your sports car at 200 km/hr that will go from Lagos to Ibadan in 40 minutes, if there is no traffic hold-up; but if it were to get to the sun, that will be some 24 million years!

Light does the distance in 8 minutes.

THIS MEANS THAT light leaving the sun at this moment, would reach you in 8 minutes. And the light hitting your eye now, left the sun 8 minutes ago. THIS MEANS THAT: NO ONE SEES THE SUN AS IT IS, EVERYONE SEES IT AS IT WAS 8 MINUTES AGO. I read this in a geology or an astronomy text in my secondary school library. It was quite fascinating.

Going a little farther- after the sun, the star nearest the earth, is the PROXIMA CENTAURI. This star is 4 light years away from the earth. This means that just as light from the sun takes 8 minutes to get here, light from the Centauri takes 4 years to get here.

That’s an astounding 40 trillion kilometres, but only 4 light years. If you see the Centauri tonight, the image reaching you was produced 4 years ago in 2013, and is just arriving today, at the speed of light. You are seeing it as it was in 2013

SIRIUS is twice as large and as bright as the sun. It’s almost 9 light years away. Putting kilometres and sport cars aside, if you see the Sirius tonight, we’d be seeing an image 9 years old.

When therefore you see the Centauri, the Sirius, and the Epison Indi (12 light years) in the night sky, one image is from 2013, one from 2008, and the third from 2005.

The Sirius Star

There are 45 stars within 17 light years of the earth, bringing us images from the past 17 years. What is more?

We have at least 200 billion stars in our galaxy, several tens to hundreds of light years away, many of which are visible from the earth with the unaided eye, on a clear starlit night sky.

The Deneb for instance is one of the farthest stars in our galaxy that can be seen with the unaided eye. It is said to 200 times larger, 200,000 times brighter than our sun, and about 1400 light years away.

If you see the Deneb tonight, you’re looking 1400 years into the past at an image from the 7th Century! Stars in the sky are a time map.

The light from those stars reaching your eyes are coming from very different distances and from very different times. You are seeing images from different generations and different eras.

NOW, IN GENESIS 22:17, WHEN GOD preached the gospel to Abraham, when he showed him the stars and said to him ‘so shall your seed be!’; God was showing him his descendants shining from different times.

The sky was like a mirror. Whereas normally, it shows time spreading back over days and years and centuries; God was showing the man stars in a time sequence spread forward over centuries.

He said ‘Abraham look, that star 45 years from now is Jacob, and that star 430 years from now- is Moses, rising from the backside of the desert to Mount Horeb; look, that one 600 years from now is Debbie, arising a mother in Israel…and that over there is David rising 700 years from the head of Goliath to the throne of Israel.

That is Daniel, that’s James, Martha, Paul, Apollos, Lydia, John, Augustine, Luther, Wesley, Ajayi Crowther, Parham, Elton, Cho,… He showed Abraham all these stars shining in their generations.

THEN GOD SHOWED Abraham the Source of the light. He showed Him the true Light, that gave light to other stars. (John 1:9)

He showed Him the Daystar. This Star is different from other stars (1 Corinthians 15:41) Every star shining in the sky, is shining because of the Daystar. They emit some light, but He will bring the morning. He will bring the Day.

John 8:56
Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.“

LITTLE WONDER the wise men saw a star in the sky when Christ was born which led them to him (Matt 2:2,9). They were not the first to see it though. Balaam saw it hundreds of years before that time (Num 24:17). It had always been in the sky. And God showed it to Abraham that night too.

Galatians 3:16
Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.
Galatians 3:29
And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

God said to Abraham – He is the CHRIST, whose goings have been from everlasting, arising from Bethlehem Ephrathah, of Judah (Micah 5:2), lifted onto the Cross, whose circuit extends to the lower parts of the earth, and the third day shall rise, and afterwards you ascend Lord of all. This is the Star that gives all others light and causes them to rise.

THAT STAR entered into earth’s orbit 2000 years ago, terrified and defeated the rule and dominion of Night, and birthed the kingdom of Light in the realms of men. He is coming again with the fullness of Day, to forever destroy the Night.

This is the essence of Christmas.

So many have lived for and served God, with the beautiful hope of heaven, whose names are not in our history books- unnamed and unsung. Nevertheless, because of Christ, God knows their names, and their lives shine before Him with great brightness.

2 Corinthians 4:6

“for God who commanded THE LIGHT to shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts the light of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus. Psalm 147:4 says ‘He telleth the number of the stars; HE CALLETH THEM ALL, BY THEIR NAMES. Their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.”

When He showed Abraham that night- if you are Christ’s- Your star was also there. Your light has come, and the glory of God is risen up on you.

His name is Jesus, Christ; the Son of the living God.

Arise.

SHINE!

Merry Christmas.

GENERAL, Ministry

The True Christmas Message!

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There is a preaching that does the expected; exciting young men and women; and a teaching that makes the elderly nod in deep thought, say the occasional Amen, and afterwards shake the hand of the preacher as a measure of appreciation. We bless God for that.

Yet, we also know that the teaching of a good orator that knows understands oratory and connecting to people’s emotions, may be able to do the same. One who knows how to steam a powerful message in a broth of rhetoric and cadence, spiced with an impassioned voice and well timed gesticulations; will surely steer the audience, but only the expected will occur.

Only those who like speeches will be impressed. Only those who are happy, will smile. Only those who are okay will clap. Only those who are young will, hoot, and make a great deal of noise, “yea!”, “aye!”, “on point siiiir!”, “preach!”

Yet…

The rich will not embrace the poor. The hypocrite will not relent. The sinner will not repent.
The aged will not dance. The hurting will not be healed. The agnostic will not be persuaded . The stingy will not give, and The offended will not forgive.

However, there is that preaching that readily produces the unprecedented, and easily accomplishes the impossible.

THAT PREACHING that is the current ministry of the Holy Spirit. That is a ministry of weakness, brokenness, fear, and much trembling, and yet one of the demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

THAT PREACHING that is a ministry of love. A ministry of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. That chooses the least likely, and exalts the most unexpected; that destroys artificial barriers, dissolves race, casts out caste

THAT PREACHING that is the message of the Cross. That confounds the wise and turns the knowledge of this world into foolishness

THAT PREACHING that knows no man after the flesh, but beckons to all, man or woman, black or white, great or small, Jew or Gentile, to come to the Cross – the place where everything previous, everything Adam may end, where Christ and Him crucified becomes the common denominator by which all old things are passed away.

THAT PREACHING which by the same vital force that raised up Christ from the dead, becomes the platform alone upon which we here the glorious shout that breaks the hold of darkness “Behold, All Things Are Become New!”

THAT GOSPEL that

Thoroughly forgives the sinner,
And makes him completely new.
Restores the brokenhearted,
Broken dreams, broken minds, broken homes.
That heals the sick,
And restores the life of the dead.
Dead lives, dead bodies, dead marriages,
That turns sworn enemies into trusted friends.
That sets the solitary in families, 
And gives the desolate an inheritance.
That enriches the poor,
And makes the barren more fruitful than the fertile.

THAT PREACHING that fixes teenagers to their seats for the quarter of a day, taking notes, resetting the tiny visions which they had previously thought mighty, and digging deeper stakes, all the while praying under their breath, and seeking the face of God; replacing ambition with vision, so that instead of preparing to take over the world, rather deciding to let the Lord take over their lives; [for it is only when Jesus is Lord of one’s life that one may gain the whole world and still possess and keep his soul]

THAT PREACHING that turns a roomful of elders in their 70s and 80s, loose in tongues, pacing, jumping, laughing, and running about prophesying and rejoicing, for hours on end…judging God faithful, speaking of things to come, against hope believing in hope, receiving strength to bring forth, and giving glory to His name.

That pregnant virgin, king in a manger, God in a diaper, Savior on a cross, criminal in paradise, graveyard dwelling madman-into-sound evangelist,

pharisee terrorist-into-apostle and bond servant of Christ-making, sinner-into-saint,

blind-seeing, 
lame-walking, 
enemy-reconciling,
dumb-speaking, 
dead-raising…….GOSPEL.

That is the message of Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Ebele UzoPeters

GENERAL, Spirituality

Faith over Feelings

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Even though God can be touched by your feelings, and even though He became flesh to bear your sorrows, and even though He is the Comforter, remember that He is not an emotional God.

God is spirit, not soul. Faith is spiritual. Emotions are not spiritual. They are soulish. God is a faith God. He is a God of Love. There is spiritual love and humanistic love. They are not the same thing.

Human love is very nice. Human love is superficial.
Human love can change to hate in a second.

God’s love is kind. God’s love has a red fount, in the blood of Christ Jesus. God’s love is transforming.

Always learn to separate your emotions from your faith. Don’t be stoic. Have feelings. Pour them out before God; but remember that they are your feelings.

God can touch your feelings and know them; but if you want to touch His feelings and know them, have Faith. Only faith. Just faith.

When a baby is crying and the mother comes to carry it, it stops. Why?

Is it because the tears have run dry? No. The baby has some faith in its mother.

If you needed one million naira today, and the richest man in the world met you and asked you what you wanted, will you keep crying?

No. Why? You have some faith in his ability.

1 Samuel 30:4
Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.

1 Samuel 30:6
And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: BUT DAVID ENCOURAGED HIMSELF IN THE LORD his God.

1 Samuel 30:8
AND DAVID ENQUIRED AT THE LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.

.

John 11:35
Jesus wept.

John 11:38
Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.

John 11:41
Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. AND JESUS LIFTED UP HIS EYES, AND SAID, FATHER, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.

.

When you have finished weeping.

Do likewise.

Jesus is alive, and He is Lord.

———————–

GENERAL, Prayer, STORIES

THE GREAT PEARL OF SALVATION

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St. Matthew 13:45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

St. Matthew 13:46: “When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

In the Bible days, Pearls were very precious commodity. They were rare and quite expensive.

The Pearl is remarkably because,

A. It is durable. Other gems may rust away, but the Pearl stays. Other gems may lose their beauty as they get older, but the Pearl never loses any single of its glitters. Hence, in the ancient days, of was passed on from a royal generation to another generation. It never fades, never gets worn out.

B. It is little in size, but great in worth. The Pearl can be the tiniest object on your palm. It can be impercitible. Yet, it is of great worth. It’s worth is not in the size, its worth is in the quality of beauty and virtue it emanates.

C. A Pearl of great size brings wealth to you. A merchant could discover a pearl in his farm, and at the moment of discovery, take it to sell, and becomes a wealthy man over night.

What lessons do we learn from these?

1. Salvation is of a great value. Yes. It is the greatest gift you can ever possess. Your salvation is worth more than the biggest of buildings. Do you know what it cost God? It cost God His own son. The salvation of your soul is worth more than pearls and dollars and pounds and gold. It is worth more than all these things.

And so you must seek for it. Just like the man in the parable sought for it. And even after getting born again, you must keep working out your salvation.

In order to get this perfect salvation which we desire, you must sell all that you have. Not your material possessions. Not your skills and talents. You must give away your sins. Your pride. Your impenitence. Your hate and malice.

You must let them go, if you must procure the great Pearl of salvation.

Salvation is an exchange. It is the letting go of the lower to purchase the higher. It is the letting go of the Earthly, to procure that which is Heavenly. It is letting go of the sensuality and carnality, to procure the treasures of the spirit. It is letting go of the temporal, to procure that which is permanent. It is letting go of your burdens, to carry His yoke which is light and gentle.

There is no salvation without an exchange. You cannot obtain the Great salvation of being united to the Lord in flesh, if you cannot sell off your earthly lusts that stand between you and God.

This Great salvation is costly! You must be ready to let go of your positions and stature in the society to procure it at the last day.

Hebrews 12:1: ‘Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles’

There must be a throwing off, for there to be an obtaining. Let go of those besetting and entangling sins. Cut them off and sell them at the market of life.

You must sell off,
Your sins,
Your old worldly friends,
Your worldly habits,
Your self righteousness.

And choose to hold unto this great Pearl of salvation.

And here’s another thing, once procured, it never fades away.

This great Pearl was present with Stephen when he was being stoned to death. It was present with James when he was beheaded. It was present with Paul from the prison, to trial to judgment.

It never goes old. It stays with you, till you go and meet your Master.

I’ll conclude with this excerpt from a profound teacher of God’s word;

“When the pilgrims were in Vanity Fair, one chanced mockingly to say to them. “What will ye buy? “ But they, looking gravely on him, said, “We buy the truth.” At that there was occasion taken to despite them the more; some mocking, some taunting, and some calling upon others to smite them. Nevertheless, in spite of all the abuse, these good pilgrims would only buy the truth; and when they bought it, not for any price would they sell it again. Usually, in ordinary merchandize, what we buy we are at liberty to sell; but it is not so here, for the command is express, “Buy the truth, and sell it not.” And a most merciful provision it is; for, as one says, “Those who sell the truth sell their own souls with it.”

(Robert Macdonald.)


God Bless You 🙂