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GENERAL, Holiness and Grace, Spirituality

What does it mean to be the salt of the Earth?

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Frankly speaking, cooking is the last on the list of things I like doing. I don’t like cooking and for that reason, I’m can hardly be found in the kitchen.

However, things changed when I rented my own apartment and started living alone. I had to compel myself to cook my own lessons. One of the foods I quickly mastered is Beans and Plantain Porridge.


One day, I prepared it so delicately with the spices available. When the porridge was cooked, I was so pleased with its scent and outlook.


But the grin on my face quickly faded was I tasted the food. It tasted bland.

Then I recalled that I hadn’t put salt in the food. This realization struck me – the realization that in spite of all the spices I added to the food it remained bland until salt was added.


As soon as the salt was added, the taste was restored and it was edible again.


This invaluable significance of salt is the reason Jesus used it in describing believers.


When He described us as the Salt of the Earth, He meant we are the ones that will restore God’s original nature and flavour to humanity.


1. Salt adds taste


Just as salt is used to add taste to food, Jesus expects believers to add value to people’s lives.


Jesus expects us to be the source of hope and joy to troubled hearts. He expects us to be motivation to a depressed world. He expects us to be instruments of edification.


Believers ought to be fountains of hope for folks of different races to come and draw from. We are supposed to be so endowed with heavenly graces and fragrance, that no one spends time with us and remains depressed or down casted.

Instead, by conversing with us, men receive inspiration to pursue that which God has called them to do.



2. Salt gets rid of corruption


Salt is used to preserve food and prevent its corruption. Likewise, God expects believers to be instruments to get rid of the corruption prevalent in men through the preaching of the Gospel.



In Romans 12:1, we are admonished to present our bodies as a living sacrifice to God. This simply means that God desires for men to live for Him here on Earth. However, God will not accept the life sacrifices of men that are full of corruption.



Thus, in Mark 9:15, Jesus said, “every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.”


The only way we can make men presentable and acceptable to the Lord is salvation. We must make it our duty to bring the good news of Christ to people.



Paul described the Gospel of Christ as ‘the power of God’ unto salvation. This mighty power of God is the only antidote against sin and moral decay that exists in humanity.


It is through preaching God’s Word that we dispense our seasoning to the world.


CAN A SALT LOSE IT’S TASTE?



This is one of the strongest metaphors in scriptures. It seems quite difficult to understand because in literal sense, a salt can almost-never lose its taste, because it is the taste that makes it salt.



However, Jesus as a warning to believers for us to lead holy and God-fearing lives to avoid being like a salt that has lost its flavour.



A believer can lose the divine flavour and influences in him if such believer continually lives in sin. He can also lose it if he decides to live in carnality. Such believer is not useful to the Kingdom.

Jesus said such believer will be trampled upon – this means he/she will be a slave to the wishes of the world and Satanic agents.



Believers are meant to be rulers and folks with authority to trample over serpents and scorpions {representing satanic and his cohorts}.

However, if such believer casts off Divine influences and conforms to the world, he will lose his usefulness in the kingdom and become an easy prey.



Jesus’ metaphor further reveals that there are two kinds of salt,
– The useful one
– The worthless one


Which do you desire to belong to?


What differentiates a salt from every other spice is its flavour. When this flavour is gone, the salt will lose its uniqueness.

Thus, Jesus was also trying to teach believers to hold onto the lifestyles and beliefs that makes us unique and distinct from the world.

Paul reiterated this in Romans 12:2 when he instructed the Church to avoid conforming to the world’s pattern.


If we adopt the world’s morally debased system of living, we will lose the divine flavor that makes us separate and unique amongst them.

The conclusion of this is that the consciousness of our salt-like nature and responsibilities must never leave our minds. We must live with it and live by it.



You are the salt of the Earth ❤️

Holiness and Grace

Shall we continue in sin? Scriptures that caution against carnality.

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In the old testament, the Israelites often received immediate punishment whenever they transgressed the law.

God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for homosexuality; Achan was stoned to death for stealing, witches were killed, Zechariah was struck with dumbness when he doubted etc.

However, Jesus came to put a stop to this and introduce a new system in which our sins can be forgiven.

He not only became the sacrifice for our past sins, but also our defender for any sin we may commit in the future.

1 John 2:1: “But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” (NIV)

Thus, the believer can be rest assured that sin is no longer a problem. It is no longer a hedge between him and God. God no longer punishes us whenever we sin because of the blood of Jesus.

However, this truth can be taken beyond the divine intention by an immature believer – one who is still carnally minded.

Since the Blood of Jesus cleanses us of all our sins, why can’t we cast off all restrains and live a life of sensuality.

Here are scriptures that admonish us against such;

1. Ecclesiastes 10:8 “… whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him.” (KJV)

Even though we have been free from the obligations and demands of the old testament law, we are still subject to the commands of Christ in the New Testament as well as the instructions of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

There are sins which a believer must never engage in. Engaging in these sins, especially intentionally, will expose such believer to the attack of the enemy.

There is no protection for the rebellious or the disobedient.

Smokers will always have lung problems no matter how much of Christ’s blood was shed for them.

A fornicator will always be prone to STDs and HIV; a liar will definitely have a lot of business losses; a believer who delves into homosexuality and transgenderism will definitely experience a lot of regrets at the end of his life.

When a believer wilfully decides to live in sin, he has rebelled against the commands of God and will be prone to the assault and abuse of Satan.

Thus, we must learn to live in obedience to the Spirit of God and His commands in scriptures. They are not meant to keep us in bondage, but to liberate us.

They are not meant to make our lives boring, but to keep us within the reach of God’s mercy, away from Satan’s territory.

2. Hebrews 12:1: “… let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” (KJV)

The Christian life is like a race run till eternity. However, to prevent us from reaching the finished line, Satan distracts by getting them entangled in their fleshly desires. No believer can make true progress in piety while living in sin.

Living in sin makes one lose focus on God. It brings guilt and shame upon the soul of a believer; making it difficult for such believer to sense the presence of God.

Thus, the Bible admonishes us to mortify our flesh and flee lusts, because these things have very negative consequences on even our faith.

The beginning of apostasy is wilful sinfulness. So we must avoid it at all cost.

3. 1 John 2:5 “But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him.”

The truth is that one cannot claim to love God while living in disobedience to God’s word.

Love and disobedience do not go hand in hand. Instead, true love for God will inspire awe in our hearts and cause us to live holy lives.

A child who claims to love and respect his parents will definitely not do whatever will offend his parents or taint their honour.

The evidence that we really love God and honour the sacrifices He made for us on the cross is that we present our bodies to Him as a living sacrifice and live holy lives.

One who lives in sin willfully has no love for God, and those that do not love God have no place in His kingdom.

Therefore, dear believers, let us abstain from sin and carnality. Though it seems pleasurable, it’s only poison hidden underneath ecstasy. Stay within the boundaries of God’s moral law.

However, God isn’t a wicked God. He isn’t a God without mercy and pity on those who sincerely want to be free from their carnal desires.

And that is why He has given us His Holy Spirit to guide us and help us live holy life.

A true believer desires freedom from sin and not freedom to sin.

Faith, Holiness and Grace

God has your back!

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Some time ago, I was burdened under the load of guilt and condemnation. I felt horrible at myself. I felt that I had failed God and that God had rejected me.

This thought severely harmed my spirituality and dwindled my devotion to God. I continued to live in this false sense of condemnation until one day I discovered in the scripture that I had been wrong all along.

I came across Isaiah 41 and felt as if God was speaking directly to me as I read it. It opened my eyes to the fact that I had been deceived by Satan all along. His weapon against me was to make me too sinful to do good, not too guilty to do good.

But, ever since God opened my eyes and instilled in me the Gospel of Grace, I’ve been living and thriving in the awareness of God’s Love for me.


Have you been living under the same condemnation I endured years ago? This sermon is for you.


Isaiah 41:9: I have called you back from the ends of the earth so you can serve me. For I have chosen you and will not throw you away.


God has chosen you and He will not throw you away. No matter your mistakes; or your shortcomings, He will never discard you.


God is not like an intolerant employer that fires his staffers for any little mistake made. Unlike the employer, God did not call you because He needed a special favour from you.

There’s nothing you’re doing for God that God cannot do for Himself. He has thousands of angels in heaven waiting for the word of His command.

God called you because He wants to bless and perfect you. He called you out of absolute love for you.


The employer asks for a certificate before employing, but all God asks from us is simple faith in Him. The employer accepts a staff based on qualifications, God accepts us because of the finished works of Jesus.

Before He chose you, He knew who you were. He knew you were capable of evil before He chose you. Despite all of your sinister tendencies, He chose you to do His will and be His vessel.



So don’t ever feel unqualified to work for God. Don’t ever feel like you have to do anything to qualify for God’s calling. Because even when you knew nothing about Him, He chose you to serve Him and work for His Kingdom.


You’ve been searching for who will carry the ‘mantle’ of the exiting fathers and lead the next generation of Christians into Kingdom service, God is saying, look no more, ‘I choose you!’

Isaiah 49:15 “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you!

God, like a nursing mother, never abandons His children. God still loves you as much as He did when He died for you, no matter what mistakes you’ve made in the past. Why, then, live in guilt when you can live in His Love?



Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”



My son had a sprinting contest to participate in. It was a marathon sprint and every team consisted of father/guardian and son.


My son was visibly tense and afraid that he would lose. But when I reiterated to him that I would be running in the race with him, he suddenly became bold.


Similarly, God wants us to be bold in whatever task we want to do. Whether it is an exam to write, a topic to study, whatever the case may be, God wants you to do it with boldness and confidence that He’s with you, moving your hands to act excellently and influencing your mind to think in a godly manner.


Do not be afraid of anything. God has promised to strengthen you in the face of difficulty and tough trials.

Sometimes, God allows us to go through these trials not to punish us, but to bring us to a point where we rely only on His strength.


He will strengthen your body. He will strengthen your mind. He will strengthen your spirit.

I pray for you this morning that you receive the strength of God into your being. That every burden of guilt and shame be removed from you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Are you going through any challenge that needs prayer? We’d love to pray with you and trust the Lord of Grace to help you. Send your prayers to nwododivine82@gmail.com 😊

Holiness and Grace

How can I subdue my sexual lust?

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Lust, in recent times has been a major tool in the hands of the enemy to distract, delay and to deviate the mind of believers, especially youths from pushing and pursuing that which is of a Greater value.


Lust is an extreme desire for something. Lust isn’t long-term. It bases its roots on short term desires and always demands instant gratification.



Lust, especially towards sex, has eaten up some youths both due to ignorance or due to adherence to the Rules of God’s Kingdom.

Though, God authorised marriage and sex, lust makes us have an untameable desire for sex even when it’s wrong to indulge in such outside marriage.


Growing up as teens, and young adults, we all know about the Chemistry that happens to us. How do we respond? As maturing Ladies and Lads, there would be times when the thought of sex would cross our minds; it’s inescapable.


But what do we do?




1. DON’T PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE.


The Scriptures tell us in Songs of Solomon not to Awaken love when we are not ready. That could be likened to a guy always visiting a lady, telling her he loves her so much, buying her gifts, taking her out, and painting an image in her heart that he loves her whereas, he has no intent of marrying her.



That would really hurt the Emotions of the lady because those actions he took towards her had awakened love in her.



If you are not ready for sex, do not awaken it. Don’t even knock at its door. It’s like a sleeping lion. Just leave it quietly. Because if it awakes, it ravages everything it sees and makes sure It finds what it seeks for.


Stay away from lust inciting materials. There are things that stir it up and increase it’s grip over our souls.

The more we consume these materials, the more lust gains dominion. Mortify the flesh by denying it of its food – sexual imaginations, Pornography, immoral conversations etc. Separating ourselves from these things weakens the grip of lust over our soul.


I know that beyond the Do’s and Dont’s there is a spiritual aspect, but we must also be willing to keep our guard and by His strength, avoid things that stir up the wrong emotions in us.


2. FEED YOUR SPIRIT.


“Watch and Pray lest you fall into temptation”.


Prayer, Meditation, Fasting, studying the word and other spiritual activities, strengthen us to resist temptation and builds our Spirit man with the required fortitude required to say NO to ungodliness.


The more we study God’s word, the more our hearts get renewed and transformed into the likeness of Christ.

God’s word is the chemical that mortifies every seed of immorality within us. This chemical is applied upon our hearts when we meditate on it.



3. MENTORSHIP AND ACCOUNTABILITY


1 Corinthians 10:13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man”


What you’re going through isn’t new, there are believers who have had their private battles with the snares of lust and have subdued it. Counsel from them is necessary.


Get a coach who will guide you through the path towards spiritual freedom.





There are two major sources of learning;
– By a Mentor.
– By a Mistake.




FLEE!!!!

2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”

A lot of times, we are the cause of our own problems; like Eve, we desire the forbidden fruit. Do not tolerate even the appearance of sin!



Learn to leave when the atmosphere or environment is not conducive for your soul’s wellbeing.




Holiness and Grace, Spirituality

Tozer Daily: Hungering after God.

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“My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.” – Ps. 63:8



Come near to the holy men and women of the past and you will soon feel the heat of their desire after God.

They mourned for Him, they prayed and wrestled and sought for Him day and night, in season and out, and when they had found Him the finding was all the sweeter for the long seeking.

Moses used the fact that he knew God as an argument for knowing Him better. “Now, therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, show me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight”; and from there he rose to make the daring request, “I beseech thee, show me thy glory.”


God was frankly pleased by this display of ardour, and the next day called Moses into the mount, and there in solemn procession made all His glory pass before him.


David’s life was a torrent of spiritual desire, and his psalms ring with the cry of the seeker and the glad shout of the finder.

Paul confessed the mainspring of his life to be his burning desire after Christ. “That I may know Him,” was the goal of his heart, and to this he sacrificed everything.

“Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but refuse, that I may win Christ.”


How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers.

Everything is made to centre upon the initial act of “accepting” Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible), and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls.


We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him we need no more seek Him.

Thus the whole testimony of the worshiping, seeking, singing Church on that subject is crisply set aside.


In the midst of this great chill, there are some I rejoice to acknowledge, who will not be content with shallow logic. They will admit the force of the argument, and then turn away with tears to hunt some lonely place and pray, “O God, show me thy glory.”

They want to taste, to touch with their hearts, to see with their inner eyes the wonder that is God.


I want deliberately to encourage this mighty longing after God. The lack of it has brought us to our present low estate.

The stiff and wooden quality about our religious lives is a result of our lack of holy desire. Complacency is a deadly foe of all spiritual growth.

Acute desire must be present or there will be no manifestation of Christ to His people. He waits to be wanted.


Every age has its own characteristics. Right now we are in an age of religious complexity.

The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.

The shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly, and the peace of God scarcely at all.

If we would find God amid all the religious externals we must first determine to find Him, and then proceed in the way of simplicity.

Now, as always, God reveals Himself to “babes” and hides Himself in thick darkness from the wise and the prudent.

We must simplify our approach to Him. We must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). We must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood.

If we do this, without doubt God will quickly respond.

AW TOZER

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

Holiness and Grace, Spirituality

2 Prime Elements of Christian Culture that you must know!

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  Culture is the way of life of a group of people. It includes their values, their mode of dressing, their language, customs and traditions. In some villages, here in Africa, there are certain days in which neither marriages nor burials are head.

It is their custom there, and though a pagan belief, they stick by it, and they punish those who break it. That is how strong the idol worshippers adhere to their culture. The strength of every village lies not in the god they serve, but in the culture they inculcate in the villagers present there.

The same way the idol worshippers have their culture, is the same way this world at large has its culture.

THE WORLD HAS A CULTURE

Have you ever observed that the moment one announces publicly that one is a homosexual; one receives praises and applause from different ‘Human Rights’ organizations.

But when one publicly speaks against homosexuality, one is criticized and labelled as a, ‘Religious Extremist’. It is their culture! The culture of the world celebrates sodomy. They celebrate ladies wearing clothes that reveal sensitive parts of their body. Fornication and abortion fall under the culture of the world. The culture of this world includes everything that contradicts God’s principles and laws.

Divorce, Pornography. These are all permissible under the culture of the world.

Living in this world even as a believer, one can be tempted to yield to the culture of the world, just to belong and avoid being persecuted.

But in Romans 12, Paul speaks vehemently against it.

Romans 12:2: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world…..”

THE KINGDOM OF GOD ALSO HAS A CULTURE!

Ephesians 5:8: For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light” (NIV)

There is a way we live as the light of the world. When we got born again, even though our spirits were recreated, our mind and our behaviours remained the same. But God expects that as we grow in our faith, we begin to remove these negative thinking and behavioural patterns and develop in us, the pattern of living for Christians.

This Kingdom Culture is what has made many great in this kingdom. It is what has made many believers survive the hardest of opposition and live an ever victorious life.

1. THE CULTURE OF ENQUIRY

2 Samuel 2:1

In the course of time, David enquired of the Lord. “Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked. The Lord said, “Go up.” David asked, “Where shall I go?” “To Hebron,” the Lord answered. (NIV)

Proverbs 3:6: “in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV)

True saints are never presumptuous about what to do. They always enquire from God before making choices.

Believers who are confused and lacking direction are believers who have not developed the culture of always enquiring from God.

Most of the divorces that happened in Christian marriages happened because of the inability to enquire from the Lord before stepping into that marriage.

God wants us to acknowledge Him, not just in our businesses, or in our education, but in all our ways.

Have you sought for the Lord’s permission to do business with that partner?

Have you sought for the Lord’s permission to take your kids to that school?

When we teach on these things, we are tagged as extremists. But extremism is actually when you live your life and you make your choices without bothering about what God has to say about it.

Take a look at this:

Proverbs 3:6: “Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go…” (MSG)

You don’t need to hear the ‘loud’ voice of God before knowing that God has spoken.

God speaks in different ways.

He can implant a strong, compelling resistance deep within you.

He can give a sense of optimism and tranquillity to your spirit.

He can speak through your pastor.

He speaks in many ways. We do not hear because we are not concerned with what He has to say.

Develop the habit of always asking God,

‘What should I do’

‘Is this right’ ‘Is she the right one’. ‘Should I go ahead and do this’. It will save you from a lot of trouble.

2. THE CULTURE OF SENSITIVITY

Source: Paul Sohn

Luke 5:22: “But when Jesus perceived their thoughts…. (KJV)

Luke 20:23

But he perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why tempt ye me? (KJV)

Jesus was the most controversial public figures in His humanity on Earth.

He was hated and despised by the cunning Jewish Rabbis. As result of their hatred, they made several attempts to get him entangled in serious problems, by asking him tricky questions.

Just like Jesus, Christians are hated around the world, by the world. In places like China and North-Eastern Nigeria, Christians are being murdered in large numbers.

The world hates Christians, and they always look for ways to get them in problems. Hence, you cannot afford to live in this world as a genuine, devout Christian and not be sensitive.

Spiritual sensitivity doesn’t mean a believer should live in suspicion, reclusiveness and timidity. It simply means we must be proactive and discerning in our daily works.

Spiritual sensitivity is a culture, and a skill that the believer must master. There are times I interact with very jovial people, yet, because I have a trained spirit, I can see beyond their jovial outlook, to behold the depressed and destabilized person they are within. This helps me a lot in liberating people from depression.

Training your spiritual sensitivity is quite simple.

i. Pray regularly. Prayer keeps us in spirit-mode. This helps us capture spiritual signals and signs that God sends into our spirit to keep us safe and prosperous.

ii. Observe fasts at intervals: The absence of our fasting causes our spirits to get rusted; and it reduces the ability of our spirit to get necessary information quickly.

iii. Do not be in a hurry! Always stop to ponder and meditate before doing things. Be ever cautious of what the Holy Spirit is saying within you.

These two principles outlined above, are quite necessary for you to imbibe.

If you do not imbibe the culture of God’s kingdom, you will be like an old wine skin carrying a new wine.

It will make you a misfit both to the Kingdom of God and to the world. Develop the habit of always enquiring from God. Develop the habit of being sensitive to His voice within you.

Pray this prayer:

“Dear Father, I thank you for giving me access to your counsel and wisdom. Having gotten knowledge of the utmost priority of seeking your counsel in my daily endeavours, I decide that from today, I shall continually enquire from you. I shall seek your approval or disapproval in whatever I am going to do. I shall listen for your voice in whatever way it comes. Thank you, Father. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen”.

Now, go ahead and put what you learnt tonight into practice.

We would love to hear from you. Koinonia Art is all about Christian-Christian interaction. Drop a comment, a question, appreciation, testimony etc. and we will reply right away.

Shalom!

Holiness and Grace

Freedom from Lust

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Every man born of a woman, has in his mortal body, the foremost enemy of God, the nature of the Flesh.

Lust dwells in every man, both Christian and Unbelievers. It is called the fleshly nature. Being Born Again does not automatically remove the flesh from you.

However, regeneration, subdues the power of the flesh in you. It subdues it and renders it powerless, such that it is unable to take control of you without your permission.

Romans 6:14: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (KJV)

You can only willfully yield to it, but it can no longer exert control over you.

If this is true, then why are several believers still enslaved to lustful desires?

Colossians 3:5: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry”(KJV)

Colossians 3:5: “So kill (deaden, deprive of power) the evil desire lurking in your members [those animal impulses and all that is earthly in you that is employed in sin]: sexual vice, impurity, sensual appetites, unholy desires, and all greed and covetousness, for that is idolatry (the deifying of self and other created things instead of God).” (AMP)

Apostle Paul first tells us in Romans 6, that our flesh was crucified with Christ. But now, in Colossians 3, we discover that he is admonishing the Church to mortify and put to death, the flesh and its desires in us. This is to tell us that mortification is a continuous and repeated process.

The flesh is not supposed to be subdued and left unattended to. The carnal desires are not supposed to be defeated initially, and then left unattended to. These desires are like weeds that sprout up whenever they want, in the most unwanted areas. A lot of believers are still enslaved to lust and its desires because they failed to understand how to mortify such desires whenever they sprang up.

James 1:15 ‘Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is full-grown’, bringeth forth death.’

The word ‘conceived’ in James 1:15 also means for something to be tolerated or allowed to expand and grow.

I have had quite a lot of experience dealing with teenagers and youths struggling with problems related to lust; and from my experience with them, I have observed that their enslavement to sin, began with their tolerance of the inner fleshly desire.

A PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATION OF THIS FACT

Let’s assume you discover that you’re beginning to have ‘funny’ dreams, and that whenever you see beautiful girls presently, all you think of is handling the sensitive parts of their body.

At first, you shake it off. But the thoughts and imaginations keep coming. After a while, you begin to tolerate it, you call it a ‘weakness’, and you say it’s just a mere thought.

What you just permitted is the first stage to Enslavement. It’s called Conception.
Now that you’ve allowed the fleshly nature within you to inspire carnal thoughts into your mind, you will find those thoughts increasing.

That single tolerance you gave to the flesh was like an open door, that allowed the torrents of carnality, flow unhinged, into your mind.

They grow from strength to strength and even begin to choke up the word of God within you.

One day, you had a flood of carnal thoughts rushing into you. Your body was on fire with lust, you felt like an animal on heat. This is the Birthing stage. Lust has been conceived and it’s about to birth sin.

Satan comes and whispers to your ears that once you watch porn once, the desires will calm down and won’t torment you again.

‘Just meet its demands so that it’ll let you rest’, he says to you.
But you’ll never discern that it’s his voice because his voice is aligned with what you’re experiencing.

You open your phone and begin to open the porn website. As you’re opening it, you ask God to speak to you if what you’re doing is wrong.

Lol.

You won’t hear any voice because the thorns of the flesh have choked up your pure conscience which was supposed to be the Voice of truth within you.

The website opens and once you watch pornography, boom… Lust has given birth to sin.

You love what you see, you even masturbate while watching. But afterwards, you feel downcast and guilty, this is because the fleshly desires have been temporarily satisfied, so they’ve become calm again.

Despite your feeling of guilt, that little sin will cost you severely. Sin from the outside looks as tiny and fragile as a little spider’s web, but when you fall into it, its cords are as thick as a cart rope.

It holds you tightly and influences your mind to believe that a spirit of lust has possessed you and that you are in need of deliverance from it.

That single act you called a little sin, will lead to several recurrences. This is what it means to allow sin to grow into its fullness. It is the GROWTH stage.

From watching porn weekly, it becomes a daily thing, it becomes an hourly thing.

By satisfying your fleshly desires, you are feeding the power of sin and you’re strengthening its grips over you.

If you don’t find solution fast, it can lead to the last destination, spiritual DEATH!

But God never left us hopeless and helpless. No matter how deep you’ve fallen into this kind of enslavement, there is always a way out.

OBTAINING FREEDOM FROM LUST AND ITS DESIRES

  • Genuinely Repent: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

If you want to be truly free from enslavement to lustful desire, then you must open up to God. Do not try to hide from God; do not try to conceal your sin, neither should you excuse it. When you open up to God, He will purge you and cleanse you totally. Repentance is the first key to freedom.

  • Get in touch with a Mentor: Proverbs 15:22: “Without counsel plans fail…”

In every stage and sphere of our lives, we need mentors. We need people who we can be accountable to. Mentors are symbols of authority, discipline and instruction in our lives. Don’t be so proud that you feel you can break out on your own, without anybody’s help. You need the prayer of a higher spiritual figure; you need the experience of an elder to learn from. Get in touch with your pastor, or Christian leader who you can relate with in person. Narrate your ordeal, and submit to their instruction.

  • Get rid of the Flesh-feed:

Stay clear of the company of friends whose conversation only incite your flesh. Get rid of those videos, pictures and literature that feed your flesh and make it gain influence over your mind. The more you starve your flesh of these things, the more it dies.

  • Create an Atmosphere of Spirituality:

2 Cor. 3:17 “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”

Create an atmosphere around you filled with God’s presence. Pray in tongues, in your spirit, and out loud as much as you can. Declare God’s word daily. Let your heart be full of singing to God daily. Get in fellowship with believers around you. Love God, and watch how your life will transform for the better.

Holiness and Grace

BE YE HOLY

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James 4:4 “You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

We live in a world where darkness is being celebrated over light in the name of civilisation.

Immorality is seen as the norm and standard of living, while morality is seen as extremism. In a world like this, the believer is tempted to conform to the culture of darkness.

He is tempted to conform, because, if he doesn’t, he’ll be persecuted.
He wants to imbibe the world’s culture, because if he doesn’t, he’ll be ridiculed and denied certain offices.

Hence you see believers, who once began as Gospel musicians, filled with the Spirit and addicted to God, but as they journey to fame, they start sliding into secularism as well as making close companionships with worldly musicians.

The temptation to conform to the standard of the worldbis what will make a young, beautiful saintly lady, put on a dress tht exposes the sensitive part of her body, and still show it off proudly.

Dear Reader, we are in the Season where many shall fall away. The love of God shall wax cold in the heart of many.

But God’s word remains the same and God’s standard remains the same.

God has called us out of darkness into Light. We are different from those who live in the world. We have a different culture from them, we belong to an entirely different kingdom.

We cannot make the culture of the world our culture!

The word, Church, means called out. God called us out of sin unto righteousness, out of living in rebellion, onto living in Holiness unto the Lord.

God called the Israelites out of Egypt. But He didn’t take them to the Promised Land at once. He led them through the wilderness.

For years, all God did with the Israelites was to give them commands and instructions through Moses. But God’s intention was to imbibe His own culture into the Israelites.

The Israelites had left Egypt, but they still had the Egyptian mentality. In order to get them into the Promised Land, God needed to reshape their mentality and refine their culture.

Take a good look at this:

Leviticus 20:26: “You must be holy to me, because I the Lord am holy, and I have separated you from all other peoples to be my own.”

This is God speaking to the Israelites. God separated them; He severed them from the other nations. He placed a line that separated them from other nations (metaphorically).

This is a type of God’s dealings with the New Testament Church. We were delivered from slavery to sin (Rom. 6:7) and we’re Pilgrims (1 Pet 2:11) on our way to the Heavenly Canaan.

God is saying to us today, in the thick of the rise of Satanic civilization in the world, be Holy and separate from them.

WHAT GOD’S WORD SAYS ABOUT HOMOSEXUALITY

The World believes in Homosexuality. The world believes there is nothing wrong in gay and lesbian marriage.

The world believes there is nothing wrong in gay and lesbian lifestyles. They believe in sexual perversion, all in the name of Human Rights.

It is wrong for a Christian to accept such. We are not governed by the opinions of the world, but by the Instructions of God. This is the truth that every genuine Christian must stand for.

Leviticus 18:22 “Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin.”

Leviticus 20:13 “If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed a detestable thing”

God detests Homosexuality. He was against it and He is still against it.

The opinions of the world, will not change this!

What about those Saints who are struggling with living contrary to worldly culture?

If you find yourself in such situation, where you find it difficult to live as a Christian and very easy to live as an unbeliever.

Do the following consistently,

1. Study God’s Word and Declare your Identity daily. Let a consciousness of who you are be formed in you. When this Consciousness is ever active in you, it will restrain you from following the path of the world.

2. Filter your association. In your professional work, relate well with as much people as possible, whether gay, lesbian, good or bad, but be careful those who you allow into your private space. Thy have a way of greatly Influencing your lifestyle.

3. Hate sin. See it as what it is. A pollution of the mind and defilements of the spirit.

4. Filter what you watch, Read and Hear. In every human, Christian or non-christian are lustful propensities and desires.

But the Christian has his own mortified by the power of the Holy Spirit, while the unbeliever has his own, fully developed by the working of the spirit of disobedience.

Yet, a Christian can also get himself enslaved by lust if he keeps feeding those desires by consistently exposing his mind and eyes to pornography.

Expose your mind and your eyes instead to godly content such as this, and in time, you’ll be free from being ruled by lustful desires