Tag Archives: Faith

GENERAL

A place where the weak are strengthened

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1 Thess.5.14 – Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, SUPPORT THE WEAK, be patient toward all men.



Studies show that church attendance is gradually declining in America. Our youths are leaving the Church to join the streets – unfortunately, it seems like the Covid/lockdown magnified the situation.


With the Internet taking over as the global means of communication, it is important that as believers, we preserve the sacred custom of having fellowship with one another physically.



One of the most important benefits of having fellowship with the believers is that it strengthens us.


Paul reveals to us in 1 Corinthians 9:24, that Christianity is a race. In this race, there are those who have gone ahead of us; those who are with us and those behind us.



As we run, just as 2 Timothy reminds us, there are times one get weary. It’s not that such saint has fallen from faith, it’s just that he needs some words of encouragement to reinvigorate him to continue the race.


The Saint is in a battlefield constantly. It is either he is fighting against the antichrist system of the world, or he is fighting against the attempts of the flesh to lord over him.


This war requires strength and fortitude. This strength a lot of times cannot be generated by ourselves; it is gotten in fellowship with other folks of our faith.


This reminds me of the Vision Rick Joyner had. He said he saw believers striking themselves and the enemy was able to penetrate. He said he saw an army, so large and great and all the devil had to do was to poison the warriors against themselves. Immediately they started to hit themselves, the demons gained control.

A PLACE WHERE WE CAN BE STRENGTHENED

The communal Church is the strength of the saint.




A place where we can be strengthened is only in the midst of those who understand what we pass through.


A place where we can be strengthened is a place where we have people with the same goal, mission and hope as we do.


A place where we can be strengthened is a place where we see those who have gone far ahead of us and those we look up to – where they place their right hands on our shoulders and whisper to our ears, “You are stronger than you think”.


Statistics has shown that majority of those who end their lives abruptly, died out of hopelessness.


The Lord knew we would encounter these things, thus the need for fellowship.


A strong man remains strong because He is surrounded by Several other Strong men.


If we were sufficient alone, God wouldn’t have told Adam He needed Eve.


The Bible says, “Two are better than one, for one will sharpen the Countenance of His friend”.


IRON SHARPENS IRON


Having fellowship with other believers strengthens our faith. It makes us know we aren’t alone in this journey. It makes us strong when we feel weak.



The Church is where we find hope. The Church is where our decisions and determination is reinforced. The Church is where we are assured of His Glory and Presence.


If we ever think we can stand alone and do not need the House of Faith, then we have believed a lie.



If you want a coal to lose its flames, separate it from other coals. It may be producing and anchoring fire, but when separated, within minutes, the fire dies out.


So it is for the Saint. If we are separated from other coals, we will experience spiritual collapse.
Stay with the Brethren.

A united Body cannot be easily intimidated.


Has your hand ever told you it doesn’t need your ear? Just imagine how it would look like if your body parts were dissembled.

You would be so weak that even a puppy would be able to intimidate you. But you are strong, complete and bold because your body parts are together. So is it when we’re in union with other saints. It makes it nearly impossible for the enemy to attack us.




Written by Ehimwenma Fortune Osarunwense.

Spirituality

Spirituality: How can I pray for long hours? 😔😔

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The issue of praying for long hours has always been a trending topic among Christians. Prayer is often likened unto exercise.


There are times all one needs is light warmups, pushups and a few jogs; but there are times a standard athlete must spend quality time training himself and exercising his muscles in the gym.


This is also applicable for prayer.

There are times when all one needs is a light thirty minutes prayer; whereas there are situations that a quality Christian must spend time praying and declaring the Word of The Lord.


Thus, the importance that believers are taught not only how to pray, but also how to persevere in the place of prayer.

The athlete is trained on how to jog round a standard football pitch for more than thirty minutes nonstop; the Saint must also be trained on how to exercise his spirit for hours nonstop!


THE POWER IS IN QUALITY NOT QUANTITY


The essence of this lesson is not to spur you to begin to long duration the purpose and target of your prayer.

That’s the greatest mistake many-a-praying saint makes;it’s also the first step towards losing prayer stamina.



For effective prayer, you must have faith, knowledge of God’s Word as well as a heart aligned with the will of God.



Yet, this post is to train you on how you can engage God with both quality of heart and quantity of time.



1. THE WORSHIPPER


Prayer is a form of worship, thus, in order to pray well and pray long, one must be in the posture of worship before God’s presence.

The essence of spending time singing songs of worship to God cannot be argued.


Many a times, when a Saint desires to pray and goes on his knees, the burdens, pressures and concerns of the day will seem to be laid on his head.

Sometimes, it is like the consequence of the vigorous body exertions surface in the body all of a sudden; other times it could be sleepiness. When this happens, do not try to coerce yourself to pray.


Instead, lift your hands to God and sing songs of worship from your heart.

The Psalmist referred to worship as ‘Magnifying the Lord’, when the Lord is magnified and revealed in the room where your worship is being released, prayer becomes easy.


The more you worship God, the more you become aware of his presence. I once heard someone say, ‘I don’t worship much before praying, because I came to pray not to worship’.


This is the mindset of some saints, and its very wrong. Sometimes, all we actually need to do in God’s presence is not even to pray in loud tongues, but to worship and adore His majesty.


Worship awakens even our spirit and enable it to be able to receive from God. Before you present your requests to God, make sure you attend to His own request – that you worship Him in spirit and in truth.


2. YOU AIN’T GOING ANYWHERE


You must be aware that you’re praying for long. Cast away all thoughts that will make you be in a haste, and be conscious of the fact that you’re going to spend time in God’s presence.



3. PRAY WITH DIRECTION



Do not pray randomly for the sake of covering time. Let your mind be focused on a particular goal.



1 Corinthians 9:26 “I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:”


The Saint must be careful not to be like a boxer that only punches the air – exerting energy but making no impact.


His mind and spirit must be on the wall which he intends to crush, the barrier to break and the mountain to move.


4. GO BEYOND YOUR STRENGTH!

When the sprinters in a marathon become tired, they do not stop running entirely – because they know they have a destination that they must reach. Instead, they reduce their speed.


Having set a time target for yourself, you should keep praying until you’re able to reach it. If you do not have a time target, you should keep praying until you’re internally satisfied that you’ve done enough.



When you do this, you’re stretching yourself like the elastic runner, to go beyond your normal size. When you seem to be physically tired, you can rest, and if it’s not convenient for your health, stop the prayers and continue next time; otherwise, keep going.


Reduce the loudness of your voice; reduce your physical exertion, but ensure you’re praying.


5. PRAY-READ THE SCRIPTURES


There’s no greater source of strength than God’s Word.


Daniel 9:2 “During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, was studying the writings of the prophets. I learned from the word of the Lord, as recorded by Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.”


Daniel 9:3 “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting.”


Daniel’s discovery of God’s prophecy about the nation of Israel spurred him to pray. A Saint who gains ground in long term prayer is a Saint who prays with his Bible open.

He constantly checks here and there, to see what God’s Word says about his business, family, kids etc, and the more he discovers it, the more he prays with it.

If you do not know what to pray, pray with God’s Word. Turn Bible verses into prayer points.

Finally;

CONSISTENCY IS KEY! An understanding of this will prevent you from setting unrealistic goals for yourself in prayer. Don’t expect to pray for five straight hours on your first attempt. Begin from an hour and keep advancing at weekly intervals.

Faith

Covenant Lessons from Father Abraham

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God desires a relationship with every man. It is only through a relationship with God that we gain full understand of who God is.


If our fellowship with God is weak, our hearts will be unable to dwell on the things of God.


It takes consistent fellowship with God to be able to understand the thoughts of His heart.



God relates with man on different levels; but there was a man in the old testament who became the friend of God – Abraham.


It is only those who have become friends with God that can be entrusted with His secrets.


True Friends keep secrets. God never wanted to hide anything from Abraham because he was a friend of God.


And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Genesis 18:17.

Here are some vital lessons believers must learn from Abraham’s walk with God:





Faithfulness to the Covenant:


Abraham was faithful to the Covenant between him and God, and he ensured his children and household followed his lead.



“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” Genesis 18:19.

Abraham’s faithfulness and loyalty is worth emulating. As believers we must live a life of faithfulness and loyalty to the covenant of Grace.


We must abide by the terms of the covenant ranging from faith to holiness and even consecration. We must also ensure we teach our children the tenets of this covenant and guide them into it.



The greatest inheritance we can give our children is to teach them the ways of God and show them the covenant.




A Life Of Sacrifice:


Abraham was sacrificial. He entertained strangers with the best of his flocks. He trained his nephew, Lot in the stead of his father without demanding a return. He was willing to sacrifice Isaac in obedience to God.


Abraham was willing to go extra mile to ensure the completion of his obedience. May we not be satisfied in partial obedience as believers – because partial obedience is absolute disobedience.



The life of the believer is a life of sacrifice, we don’t own anything in God we are only made stewards.


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


Absolute Obedience:

The life of Abraham is absolute obedience to God’s instructions. Obedience is our proof of our loyalty and submission to God.

One can’t claim to be a devoted citizen of a country and live in disobedience; one can’t claim to be a devoted Christian and live in constant disobedience to God’s word.

His WORD IS HIS COMMAND

Someone once asked, ‘How can you say I’m living in disobedience; God hasn’t spoken to me about His dos and donts before.

I deem this a fallacious statement. God does not need to appear to us in dreams and visions like He did with Abraham; His Word is His command to us. The Bible is the Book of God’s commands and instructions to believers.

When you do not pray as commanded in scriptures, you’re living in disobedience. When you commit the sins which the scriptures speak against, you position yourself in the path of disobedience.


“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Hebrews 11:8.

Abraham obeyed by faith – he obeyed God promptly.

There must be a consistent and accurate walk with God that secures our establishment in the kingdom.

Obedience and diligence are non-negotiable in the kingdom. If we must secure the working of God’s covenant in our life, they must be our watchword.



God testified that Abraham was His friend. He also testified about David. The covenant principles highlighted above when put into practice, will earn you the friendship testimony of God.


What will God testify about you?


Green-Hills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

Faith

Believe in The Immutability of God

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Isaiah 51: “Look unto Abraham”


If there’s anything I’m sure of, it’s the words of scriptures. God never minced words. If He says we should look unto Abraham, He means it.

Abraham is the symbol of the Christian faith. He is widely celebrated for his unrelenting belief in the promise of God.


Hebrews 11:17 “It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,”


Hebrews 11:18 though God had promised him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”


Hebrews 11:19 “Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.”


The intensity and strength of Abraham’s faith was revealed when he attempted to sacrifice his only son.

This was the son that God had promised him; Isaac was the son through whom Abraham would become the father of many nations.

He was the precious and promised seed, yet, Abraham never showed any reluctance in sacrificing him just to please God.


The radical faith of this Saint of Old is what believers need today. We need to build our faith to become even stronger than that of Abraham if we are going to inherit the promise.

Having studied the life and pilgrimage of Abraham, I discovered only one source of Abraham’s strong faith;

– The Immutability of God


Hebrews 6:13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:


Hebrews 6:14 “I will certainly bless you richly, and I will multiply your descendants into countless millions.”


Hebrews 6:15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.



When God made the promise to Abraham, He swore by His name to fulfil the promise He made to Abraham.

The moment God made that oath, Abraham held onto it. He gripped it firmly and even gave thanks knowing that God would fulfil His oath.


Like Abraham, all we have to sustain our faith in this world is the immutability of God’s Word. God no longer needs to appear in dreams to give us His Promise like He did with Abraham.

In the days of old, there was no scripture or precedent to look up to and be strengthened in faith. There was no record of God’s promise to any man.


But God has blessed us with His Word – The Bible. We can look onto it in our moments of despair and be rest assured that so long as the Promise has been made, it will be fulfilled.

This, folks, is the definition of strong faith. This is the faith of Abraham and every person who ever walked with God.


It is a solid conviction on the immutability of God’s Word – if He said it, He will do it.


Psalms 37:28 “For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will perish.”



God has given His Promise, that He will never abandon you. Even in your darkest moments, He will always be there.

Though, it may seem as if God is silently watching the world destroy itself, His eyes are specially fixed on His Saints.

Folk, stay glued to the promise of God that He will keep His beloved safe and lead us unto prosperity.

If God never fails, then let us hold unto His word. Let us believe His word that all things work for our good. Let us believe His word that even in famine, the Lord shall bless us with abundance.

Let us believe in the immutability of God.

Amen.


Faith

Enduring Faith!

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There is always an interval between the Promise and the fulfilment of the promise in the relationship between God and His children. That interval sometimes is long and full of several trials and challenges.


Could it be that the crisis believers are experiencing is only the interval between the Promise and the fulfilment of The Promise?


When David was anointed by Samuel in 1 Samuel 16, one would have thought David would become king the very next day, just like Saul.

Paradoxically, David ended up a wanderer in the wilderness, leading a pack of wild men for almost fourteen years before he finally ascended the Throne.



But even in those hard times running from Saul and living in the toughest of weather and geographical conditions, David stayed glued to God’s Promise that he would one day, ascend the throne of Israel, and surely, that day came.



There are certain challenges that God might not remove from our paths, but He has given us His Promise in His Word to sustain us even in these moments of trials and hardships.


Abraham is another example of a man who had to wait for years before seeing the fulfilment of The Promise.

At 75, Abraham had no son to call his own, yet, God promised Him a seed as well as fatherhood over nations. God usually gives us mind-blowing promises even in our distress in order to test us and stir up our faith.


Abraham was old, so was his wife. Neither of them could get pleasure from one another; neither had the capacity to create a seed; this was the difficult condition Abraham found himself in.



Does this sound similar to what you’re going through presently?


Probably you have a deadened business – a business already dried up by the harsh circumstances of life, with no income from it. God’s word is saying,


Psalms 92:12 “The righteous thrive like a palm tree, And grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.”


God is giving you His Promise of fruitfulness the same way He promised Abraham a seed. Though all may seem hopeless, your job is to cling unto the word of God, and keep hoping on Him until the time of fulfilment.


Hebrews 6:15: “After waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise.”


Abraham definitely obtained the promise, but God’s Word told us that he had to wait patiently. Faith alone doesn’t obtain the Promise; a faith that cannot endure pain and suffering will never be able to obtain the Promise. Patience is needed.

Source: depositphotos


Patience is needed because The Promise is like a destination, faith makes us expectant of it, but only Patience will keep us expectant. Only patience will keep driving us towards our destination.


Patience is needed because on the journey to the promise, a lot of challenges will arise – persecutions, pandemics, plagues etc; God will permit these things to come your way to prove your Faith not just to Himself, but to the enemy and generations to come who will read your story.


The faith of the saint is not proven when the Saint has finally received The Promise, the faith is proven and seen in the road to attaining the promise.

Faith is in the Saint’s ability to withstand the pressures of life and keep serving God in expectation of an unseen promise.

Nwodo Divine



Romans 4:17 “As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations. He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.”


Here, we see a revelation of the intensity of Abraham’s faith. Paul, under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit, explains to us that though his organs were as good as dead,

Abraham believed God had the ability to enliven whatever is dead, and though there was probably no possibility of getting a baby from Sarah’s womb, God had the ability to call it forth into existence.


Such a powerful faith!


Isaiah 51:1 “Look unto Abraham…”

Source: Vectorstocks


Let us look unto Abraham and imitate his faith. Let the troubled Saint believe that God can revive his business; let the sick Saint believe that God can restore life to his body; let the depressed Saint believe that God can call forth great and mighty things into his life.


Romans 4:18 ”He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be.”



The Bible was careful to state that Abraham’s situation was not just of a man hoping in God it was a hope Against Hope – meaning, even when every reason to hope was gone,

Abraham never stopped hoping. Even when there was no reason to have faith, Abraham held unto The Promise.



Romans 4:20 “He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God


Romans 4:21 because he was fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.


Even in the uncertainty of the future, Abraham kept giving glory to God – He kept praising the most High. This means this man was never depressed about His childless state; he continued giving glory to God.


In this we learn that one of the evidence that have faith in God is that we believe God even when things seem not to be okay.

Thanksgiving is an evidence of faith in the ability of God to transform our situation.

Conclusively, beloved Saint, in your journey towards the Promise, make faith your fuel, patience your driver and Thanksgiving your music.

We hope you were blessed by this, we’d love to hear from and interact with you 😊. Do drop a like and comment. God Bless you, fam 😘💞💖

Faith

The Use of Faith

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A tool is something useful;

it is a thing available to serve a specific purpose. Its level of importance is determined by how much value it has.


We can consider faith a tool; an instrument that is useful in diverse ways.



One may wonder what the uses are, not to worry, they are explained below:




1. Faith is A CURRENCY


Just like one accesses physical commodities with money, faith is used to accessing whatever is supernatural. Faith determines our response to things about God and His kingdom.



It is attached to everything we do in God’s Kingdom; our works and responsibility towards the purposes of God must be mingled with faith, else they will amount to naught.


2. It is an instrument used for GAINING ALIGNMENT


We tread the path of alignment on the strength of our faith in Christ. By faith, we believe in the finished work of Christ. Also, it always prone believers to action. When there’s faith, there are works, so faith validates our work and makes it pleasing unto God.



3. Faith serves as A PARAMETER


God has standards in his kingdom, and for them to be met, there are kingdom parameters that are used to measure our duties. One of these criteria is faith.

He checks not only our heart posture (the intents and purity-state of our heart) but also whether we are faithless.



A pure heart is not enough, God demands faith when we carry out actions. Apostle Paul understood this and so he exhorted the brethren in Rome, thus:



‘‘He that doubteth is damned if he eats because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin’’ Romans 14:23.


His teaching labels the‘ absence of faith’ as a sin. A faithless Christian is vulnerable to sin and attacks from the devil.

His deeds are questionable, not because he is not holy, but because his actions did not take a stance from faith.

Satan easily conquers such a Christian during trials because he does not believe in the word of God.


4. Faith is the FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY


Salvation and holiness are gained only by faith. Salvation begins with complete faith towards the finished work of Christ (they include His crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension).



Christ sustains our salvation through our constant unwavering FAITH in Him.

Although sinful activities in the world make piety tough for the children of God, we can remain exceptional from the patterns of the world when our faith in Christ is consistent.

This is where we give due diligence in responding to the salvation we once received.


2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.



Walking by faith is a deliberate action, it is a conscious response to our new nature by carrying out the responsibility that is befitting of a born again.

It is on this basis that we grow in grace and the Knowledge of God’s word.

Our faith sets us on the advantage of becoming approved of God, both in words and deeds.


2 Peter 1:5-7: “And beside this, giving all diligence, ADD TO YOUR FAITH virtue; and virtue knowledge. And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity’’


Brethren, it all begins with our faith, we gain all these virtues as a bonus for exploring faith.



That’s amazing! The usefulness of faith has proved to be all-encompassing–just like have been stated earlier in the first series of this subject.


Stay with me as we unveil more sequels that faith holds for us.


God bless you, abundantly.




David Chikwado Caleb

GENERAL

The Paradox of the Prophecy

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Text References: Genesis 37:3-9; 39:20; Chp. 41

The story of Joseph is one which is very common among us today – the story of how he was sold into slavery by his very own brothers, how his case deteriorated from slavery even into imprisonment, and how it finally ended with Joseph being on the throne.

We are very familiar with this story; but one thing many Christians do not realize is that they are actually having a re-experience of what Joseph experienced – that is, they are playing out the plot of Joseph’s story.

Joseph had a great dream of becoming a King. He was destined for greatness; he was destined for kingship and royalty. Joseph was a royal by destiny.

Like we do today, Joseph in his days had a dream of leading nations. In one of his dreams, he saw himself being the leader of ‘stars’.

In other words, Joseph was destined to be the leader of leaders and not mere men. This is the destiny of every child of God. You are born for nowhere else but the top.

The Cedar

Psalm 92:12 “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (NKJV)

            

The Palm tree is a tree which is known for its strong and solid roots, bark as well as productivity.

When the Bible tells us that the righteous will flourish like it, it simply reveals to us that as believers, whether you are a Child, teenager, youth or adult, in every of your engagements, fruitfulness and productivity will be the output.

It means that things will only keep getting better in our lives and in our engagements. It means that as a believer, in your academics, you will be among the best. In the skill you’re acquiring or the trade you are doing, you will achieve immense success. This is the prophetic destiny of every child of God!
          

But what you must also know dear saint, is that there will be a time when what you see in your life seems to contradict what you see in God’s word; I call this ‘The Paradox of the Prophecy’. It is a season that every Saint who ever became great in life passed through.

          

God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations, yet, for many years Abraham never had even a child.

Isaac blessed Jacob with the blessing for greatness, yet, for more than 14 years Jacob lived as a poor servant serving a shrewd master and receiving very little money as his wage.

God anointed David through Samuel to be king over Israel, yet, for many years David wandered from wilderness to wilderness leading a pack of wild and hungry men.

God promised to take the children of Israel to a land flowing with milk and honey, yet, for many years they walked in the wilderness eating only a kind of food daily.

                

The list is innumerable. The reason you must know this is that success and greatness comes in seasons and phases; if you are in what seems to be a tough season now, do not write off your dreams!

           

This paradoxical season comes in many forms – in Joseph’s life, it came in the form of slavery and imprisonment.

How could the one who had the stars in the galaxies bowing before him become a servant boy in the house of Potiphar?

How could the one who had the prophecy of worldwide greatness become a prisoner dwelling in a prison with criminals, thieves, and strumpets?

I was thinking since he was destined for greatness, God would make queens his nursing mothers and the palace his playground; but we see the exact opposite.

This young teenager lost his mother at an early age and suffered severe antagonism and antipathy from his brothers.

Wasn’t he the royal one? Wasn’t he supposed to be loved and pampered since he had the brightest future? – but we see the exact opposite. Joseph grew up in the toughest of environments.

           What does this reveal?

           

You are not alone! You are not the only one who is going through pain, intimidation and hardship inflicted by our nation’s system of education and economy.

Joseph also grew up knowing this pain; he also grew up receiving scorns and mockery from his older brothers. But the climax of the story is that he still became the noble that God destined him to be!

          

Look unto Joseph and be strengthened. He lived for years in a dungeon – an underground prison full of darkness and the most evil of criminals.

In the dungeon, you do not get good food; you do not wear good clothes; you do not get any encouragement or motivation; no one visits you in the dungeon – it is a place where you are left alone.

Does that sound like the condition you are in? Maybe you wish you were born in a very wealthy family; but you are living in a house or street full of dirt, immorality and ungodliness, do not despair, it’s only a paradoxical phase!

It is only a juxtaposition of the prophecy and the present. Or maybe all you’ve ever gotten is criticism even from your trusted ones; maybe you have no one to give you the love, acceptance and recognition that you crave for, look unto Joseph and be strengthened, he once went through the phase you’re going through today.

Great men are always alone, and great men are men who at adolescence or even childhood, were compelled to take responsibility for their lives and future by the harsh circumstances and battles of life.

Joseph was taken away from the comfort of his parents like many Christian youths these days are compelled to leave their families to learn a trade and fend for themselves due to lack.

But Joseph did not allow his circumstance to affect his grip on his prophecy. Even in the prison, Joseph saw himself as a leader and acted as one. Do not allow what you are going through affect your mood, rationality and self-esteem!

Be bold and confident of yourself! Be respectful and always look for a way to help those in your society!

Do not be intimidated by your peers who seem to have everything they wish for handed to them on a platter of gold! Neither should you be discouraged to think that your life will remain as it is now.

Hebrews 3:6: “….    Hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (KJV)

Don’t lose Hope!

God is saying to you, hold unto the hope of a great end. Hold unto the promise of God in the scriptures that you will be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath.

Do not lose your confidence and courage! Keep serving God and devoting your time to Kingdom work, rejoice in hope that surely, you will sit on the throne that belongs to you.

Spirituality

Beholding God

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To Behold is to see or look at; to see means to; perceive or detect, witness or observe by personal experience, to understand, to meet or visit.

It is a known fact that what you see at all times or look at has a way of influencing your life. Many times, it can become the very drive and controller of our being.

This is because “the eye” is a gateway to the soul of man. This eye is not just the physical eye that consists of the retina and cornea. Sight is not just of the eyes, but also of the mind. The interpretation of what a man get from seeing is dependent on the state of mind. For example, one who keeps exposing his mind to pornographic materials will definitely become addicted to immorality.



You as a son of God, thus, your gaze should continually be on God; always beholding. It is in this beholding that you come to know God, study his principles, understand his ways and government, have personal experience building convictions of your faith and become a witness that can stand strong at all times.


Hebrews 12:2a
[2] Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. (Amp)

Hebrews 12:2a
 2We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. (TPT)


The answer to your complains about not understanding God is spending time in God’s Presence, gazing at His word and glory. It is not something you should do once; it is a continuous process.

The things of this natural realm tend to stand as a distraction between you and God. Scriptures admonish us not to pay attention to these things. The worldly and natural standards, ways of life shouldn’t be our concern, the gaze of our heart must be set on God.

Like the Psalmist, we must lift the eyes of our heart from the concerns of this world unto the Heavenly hills where the Lord dwells.


2 Corinthians 3:18
And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. (AMP)


In the above scripture, what happens when one constantly beholds God is revealed. When you spend time beholding and gazing on God’s glory through His word, an inner transformation begins to take place – we become transfigured more and more into His likeness.

Do you know what that means?

You begin to manifest His nature; it becomes your way of life; it is a state whereby everything about us is immersed into God and everything about God is immersed into us.

The more we see God, the more we get our minds enlightened and our hearts flooded with truth.

How do we behold God?


You don’t behold God’s glory by staring at the sky, trying to imagine what God looks like. You behold by staying in the Word constantly. When you do that, The Holy Spirit begins to open you eyes to understand who God really is. Meditate on the knowledge and understanding that you get from God’s word, when you do that, it sinks into your heart and becomes a conviction. This conviction about God is what will determine the quality of our Christian living.




Written by:
Chidimma Blessing.

GENERAL, Spirituality

How to profit from The Bible

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The Bible is God’s tool for building His Saints. It must not be approached as an ordinary book.


The Bible is a spiritual book that can only be understood by spiritual men.


THE REVEALER OF TRUTH


“But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [complete truth]. For He will not speak on His initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].” John 16:13 (AMP).


The mysteries in the scriptures are subtly hidden from the knowledge of a carnal man. It takes the revelation of the Holy Spirit to unveil that which is hidden in God’s Word.


Anyone can read the Bible and to an extent, understand its message. But to be able to relate with the scripture and profit from its richness, we need the help of the Holy Spirit.



APPROACH TO STUDYING THE BIBLE

1. Meekness:

“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which can save your souls.” James 1:21.




In order to be properly taught by The Word, the Saint must be ready to let go of his/her preconceptions and previous mind-set. He must come to God’s Word with an open heart, willing to accept its reproof and obey its instruction.


The Saint must approach the word as a student approaches his teacher. He must acknowledge that he knows nothing and he is capable of knowing nothing outside what The Spirit of Truth teaches him.



2. Consistency:

Spiritual Growth happens not in the quantity of time we spend in God’s Word alone, but also in how consistent we are in studying God’s word.



The Saint must not be lazy and sluggish in his approach to the Bible. It must be a daily habit and necessity. It must be cherished like the material food and must be mused on morning, noon and night.



Psalms 1:2: “….. on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.”

If the hardest of mathematical equations and formulas written by men cannot be fully understood in inconsistent and unserious studying, how much more a book written from the inspiration of God?

The Saint who will profit from the Word must be habitual student of it. He must be willing to devote at least an hour of the day and night to studying the scriptures.



MEDITATE ON IT

Source: Crosswalk

In order to apprehend the knowledge of The Divine, our minds must be conditioned into silent meditation.

It is in meditation that illumination is received. This great principle remains the secret of the wisest of men who have received the revelation of Christ.

In meditation, we ponder upon what we see in God’s word; we make it ours – we personalise it and apply it to our lives. Knowledge is processed from mental knowledge into conviction through meditation.

Meditation gives us insight into a knowledge. It opens us to a practical and real experience of Truth.

Meditate on God’s promises towards you. Ponder on His instructions;. Meditate on His wondrous works recorded in scriptures. The more you do this, the more God’s word becomes real to you.

PRAY-READ THE SCRIPTURES

Accompany your study of God’s word with prayers. Prayer deepens our understanding of the word and solidifies our faith to expect what the Word has promised us.

There are promises we come across in scriptures that we are to pray about and declare over our lives. When you come across such while studying God’s word, do not hesitate to instantly begin to declare it over your life and your family.

Conclusively, ensure you study your Bible with a pen and jotter, and desire to practice everything you’re learning from the scripture.

GENERAL, Ministry

More than a Book

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Some see this prized asset as a mere collection of scripts and scrolls written by men; but the Bible is more than a collection of scripts, it is a collection of divine mysteries. It is a treasury of vast heavenly wisdom. 

Though it was written through the hands of men, the Bible was written by God Himself. It is an outflow of God’s divine wisdom and power.

One of my favorite verses about the Bible remains;

‘Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth forever.’ – Psalms 119:160.

God’s Word is eternally true and relevant. The Bible remains the same. It doesn’t improve; neither is it progressive! What the Bible called sin thousands of years ago, remains sin till date – including homosexuality and fornication.

Some Facts about the Bible

1. It is the Book of God’s Kingdom: 

Every kingdom or state has a book(s) called a constitution. The Constitution contains not only the rules and regulations guiding the state, but the rights of the citizens in that state. The Bible tells us that our conversation is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), and that we have been translated from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of God (Colossians 1:13).

The Bible is the constitution of our Kingdom. It reveals to us who we are in Christ, our responsibilities as well as our rights in Christ. The Bible reveals to us our identity as sons of God.

It is in God’s word that we discover that by the stripes of Jesus, we are healed (Isaiah 53). It is in His Word that we discover that we through the redemptive work of Christ, we have been made a royal priesthood, holy and acceptable unto God (1 Peter 2:9).

2. The Book of the Supernatural

The Bible is not a mere storybook! It is a book which presents to us the workings of God’s power in the days of men of old. Any Saint who devotes his time to studying this book with an open heart, will surely walk in the supernatural.

There is a measure of faith that is released into our spirits each time we read of the incredible acts of God. God did not record those acts so that we can read them for leisure or mere knowledge. He wrote them so we would read and be strengthened and ‘faithened’ to command the same.

WHY IS THE BIBLE VERY IMPORTANT?

The importance and significance of God’s word in living a life of victory can never be overemphasized. Here are a few reasons why God’s word must be treated with sacredness and studied with fervency and devotion;

1) All Scriptures are Profitable:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” – 2 Timothy 3: 16-17. 

There is profit in studying the scriptures. Profit means gain, benefits, income etc; in other words, we get great gain when we devote our time and concentration to studying the Bible. We gain spiritual knowledge; we gain faith; we gain hope and inspiration to keep moving in the quest for greatness.

Until a believer begins to profit from God’s word, He can never be a profitable and productive servant of God. God’s word is also profitable for reproof, correction and instruction.

In God’s Word, we are instructed on how to conduct our lives on Earth as Christians. How then can a believer live in confusion when such an all-encompassing treasure as the Bible exists?

2) The Foundation of Our Faith:  

“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” Romans 15:4. 

Solid faith grows by steady intake of God’s word. One of my mentors Nwodo Divine would always say, “Just as when we eat rice, it becomes carbohydrate in our body, and when we eat beans, it becomes protein in our body; when we eat the word, it becomes faith in our spirits”. Our faith can only stand strong when it is founded on God’s word.

So the scriptures were written to build and grow our faith. For faith to grow, there must learning and unlearning. A believer can’t grow in faith if he chooses to stick to the superstitious and mythical beliefs he had as an unbeliever or Christian infant.

Look at the word whatsoever that was written in the scripture was to form our faith, it is written to show us the pattern of living in God’s kingdom. It is only those who stay with scripture that will always produce what is in the scriptures.

The Scripture discloses the norms, ethics, habits and behavior of believers. It is because many do not know the scriptures that they conform easily to the world.

Until we go back to intense study of the scripture, we will always err and give the wrong counsel and direction to our young ones. 

3) The Revelation of His Will:

And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? Luke 24:32.

Until the scriptures are opened to our understanding through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, our eyes will continually be blind to the things that God is trying to show us. 

The scripture uncovers God’s will and counsel for our life. The Scripture is very important because it captures God’s purpose for individual, Family, nation and generations to come.

BIBLE OVER DARWIN

The scripture also shows our root. We may be created with material bodies, yet, God’s word reveals to us that man in his true form, is a spirit (Job 32:8). In God’s Word, we discover that man came from God (Genesis 1:27) and not from apes – a frivolous assertion made by a scientist whose mind had been darkened by Satan.

The Bible shows us that man didn’t evolve from any pre-existing being, but we were rather created from God.

Folks, it’s time we start paying attention to the Word as it is the manual that God has given us to guide us unto success.

If you were blessed by this, please give it a like, retweet and drop a comment, I’ll reply right away 😊😊🙏🏿🙏🏿

GENERAL

The Greatest Love

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Love was one of the most powerful weapons God used in redeeming Mankind back to himself; and that weapon is still very much active today. 


The Bible says in John 3 vs 16;

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his ONLY begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.



Jesus was the only Son God ever had, yet, God was willing to sacrifice Him for the salvation of the world. 


God gave Jesus out into the cold hands of death just because of you and I and in doing this, put both Heaven and Earth in Great danger. 


Great danger? 


Yes! Because the fate of both Heaven and earth depended on whether Jesus would fulfil or fail in His mission. 


Jesus faced several temptations, yet, He overcame them all. He refused to be distracted in His mission to save mankind. Scriptures tell us that He prayed with so much fervency – not for Himself, but for you and I. (Hebrews 5 vs 7) 


He had the power to disappear before even when the soldiers came to arrest Him at Gethsemane.


But He said, “Not my will Lord, but thy will be done”. 


His great love for us made Him willing to sacrifice His freedom and dignity.





He even bore our curse;

Galatians 3:13 – “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”



Folks, God’s display of love on calvary remains the highest display of love for eternity.

St. John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”





Even when we fall, He picks us up and wipe the stains of sin and guilt away with His Blood.


This is the incomprehensible love of Christ – the love that passes understanding.




If you ever feel like anyone hates you, remember that two thousand years ago, a Divine Being named ‘Jesus’ made the greatest love sacrifice on the cross.

Are you feeling hopeless or in despair? Look unto the cross and be strengthened.


If you ever feel like an outcast, Remember you have been adopted by God through Christ and you are now a part of God’s Household {Ephesians 2:12-13}

Rejoice and bask in the love of Christ! 😊😊




Written by Tolu-Taiwo Victor