Tag Archives: Faith

Spirituality

Exercising Faith

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Faith is conviction in the certainty and reality of God’s word. It is living a life of trust in God.

Faith is very important in the life of believer. It is so important that in Ephesians 6, Paul said “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”

He described faith as above all the other weapons of Christian warfare. This shows its priority in our lives.

Without faith, there is no Christianity.

We need faith not for our salvation alone, but for a continuous experience of the benefits of salvation here on Earth.

What if my faith is small?

Jesus never told us that only large faith is accepted by God.

St. Matthew 17:20: “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

There is nothing that is impossible to the man who lives by faith.

Jesus likened faith unto a mustard seed. Though a mustard seed be small, yet, it grows to become a mighty tree. Jesus expects our faith to grow and expand daily.

Faith grows when we utilize it. The more we live by faith, the stronger it grows.

Exercising Faith is not just claiming the provisions of Scripture, but also understanding the laws of Christ and applying them.



EXERCISING FAITH



– Total devotion to God


” For we have heard of your devoted lives of Faith in Christ Jesus and your tender love toward all his holy believers.” – Colossians 1:4 TPT.



The strong in faith are the consistent in devotion. Faith is built and released at the altar of our devotion.
The faith of a man becomes more solid as long as he advances with being committed and steadfast in his walk with God.


– Understanding the Will of God:



Faith without understanding the will of God will not be profitable. For faith to be active, your understanding must be enlightened. You must understand the will of God concerning you.

You must understand the will of God concerning your health. You must understand the will of God concerning your family.

When Satan wants to cripple great faith, he comes with a wrong, unscriptural perspective which seems to match with the believer’s negative circumstance.

Choose to cling to the illumination that you’ve received from God’s Word.



– Hearing the Word of Christ daily:



“If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;” – Colossians 1:23 (KJV)

The Gospel is the Word of Christ. The Word of Christ is like a seed that is planted in our spirit to bear fruits.

The fruit of God’s engrafted word is Faith.

When a food crop, take rice for instance, is eaten by one. The moment it is processed by the body’s digestive cells, the chemical it produces is known as Carbohydrate.

When one rats Beans, the chemical produced by the processing of that beans in the stomach is known as Protein.


The same way rice produces carbohydrate in the body, and beans produces Protein in the body, is the same way God’s Word, when taken into our spirits and meditated on, produces Faith.


– Take the steps of faith.

James 2:20: “Faith without works is dead?”

The steps of faith we are to take are generally our obligations in the New testament.

Pray without ceasing. Support the Lords work through your Giving. Love the Lord with all your heart, mind and soul. Preach the Gospel.

While doing these things, there are times God will give one specific instructions that might look strange to the natural mind.

At that moment, your faith is being tested. Do not let doubt becloud your mind. Hold and obey the instructions firmly.

That’s the way of faith.

Greenhills Emmanuel

GENERAL

More on The International Christian Youth Conference

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As we step into the month of February, the International Christian Youth Conference (ICYC) draws closer.

With scores of participants from different parts of the world, ICYC is a Cyber conference a believer shouldn’t meet.

Here’s a brief info on the Guest Ministers at the Conference;

1. Judah Olorunmaiye

Popularly known as “PJ”, Pastor Judah is a Pastor at Rhema Chapel, Osogbo, Western-Nigeria.

He is renowned for his relentless pursuit of truth, and his committedness to preaching God’s Word in its rawest form.

PJ is the author of one of Nigeria’s bestselling book, ‘Candid Opinions from God’s Oracle’. He is followed on Facebook and Telegram by thousands of believers all over the world.

2. Evangelist Ndi Perez:

Perez is a Us-based Evangelist whose ministery has featured mighty Manifestations of God’s power. He is widely celebrated for his simplicity, humility and Passion for the things of God.

God has wrought several Miracles under his ministrations. Miracles which include the healing of cancer, diabetes, Corona Virus etc.

3. Wesley Kayode Luther:

Wesley is a Nigerian-born preacher, whose ministry has spread from Nigeria to countries like South Africa, Dubai, US, UK etc. He is the founder of the Cyber-christian network chain, ‘Revival Train’, which consists of over two thousand members worldwide.

It is a great honor to have the ministry of these great servants of God in our midst. This is a great conference you will certainly enjoy.

To participate in the conference, open the link below;

Koinonia Art

See you there!

GENERAL

Upgrading your Perspective

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Image Source: blog.kevineikenberry.com


What if everything works out for your good?

What if all goes as you planned?

What if your hopes and dreams come true?

What if it all turns out great?

What if everything works in your favor?

A lot of people have adopt a negative perspective of life.

All they see is the cloudy and gloomy side of life.

If you are among this category of people, you must decide today, to change. Wipe your mind’s mirror of all the stains which is hindering your eyes from beholding the light of divine hope God is trying to show to you.

Whatsoever you get from life depends greatly on how you choose to see it. And what you see not only depends on what you look at, but also on where you look from.

The time has come for one to stop blaming one’s government for one’s financial hardship.

The Bible tells us that though we are in this world, we are not of this world.

This means, that though we are in the government of our respective countries, we belong and are dependent on a higher government; the government of heaven.

This is supposed to be the standpoint of a believer when addressing the affairs of this world. Though there are circumstances we cannot avoid or change immediately, yet, we can always change our perspective.

Our perspectives can be changed to seeing a challenge, to seeing a phase life which will surely pass.

It was Chris Pine that said,

“The only thing you sometimes have control over is your perspective. You don’t have control over your situation. But you have a choice about how you view it.”

The Bible says, “As a man thinks, so he is” (Prov 23:7).

Your perspective will either become your prison, or your passport to greatness.

Begin to think positively. God gave us a powerful gift which is our imagination.

Begin to imagine beautiful things about yourself and as you imagine, desire, pray and believe they it will become your reality (Mark 11 vs 24).

That is how it works! The more you imagine these good things, the more your desire for them grows stronger. And burning desire is the trigger of fervent prayer.

Begin to confess positive things rather than negative things. The Bible is filled with positive confessions. Devote an hour daily to reading, Meditating on and declaring the promises of God to you.

Let them be your Perspective.

Start each day by confessing God’s promises consciously with faith in your heart.

Confess them at your place of work or during your lunch break. Confess them at night before going to bed and watch how your life will change for good.

Think positively and speak positively.

Let your heart be illuminated by your continuous gaze at the light of God’s promises.

Let your face be illuminated, by your smile of hope, and confidence, that no matter what you are going through, you are coming out strong.

Written by Tolu-Taiwo Victor

GENERAL

Be Patient with Maturity

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Sometimes it takes time and spiritual growth to learn how to put God’s love to work for you. We don’t grow up spiritually overnight.

You can’t put an adult head on a baby’s body, and sometimes it takes time to mature in love.

My brother Dub was a good example of that. It took him time to mature in love because of his upbringing. Dub was always big for his age. By the time he was six¬teen, he was 6 foot 4 inches tall.

But Dub grew up with a chip on his shoulder because he’d been orphaned and kicked from pillar to post. He wouldn’t take anything from anyone.

In fact, when he was a seventeen-year-old boy, I saw him whip four grown men.

But then Dub got saved. And, really, if you’d known where he’d come from, you would have known that something miraculous happened to him to change his nature.

But even though there was a dramatic change on the inside, sometimes he still had a hard time keeping his flesh under. He had to learn to mature in love, and really, he came a long way from his younger days.

But one time, for example, Dub was out in California, and he went into a little coffee shop. He was sitting at the counter, and he ordered something to eat.

When the waitress brought it to him, he bowed his head to pray before he ate. After he prayed, the fellow sitting next to Dub asked him where he was from. Dub said that he was from Oklahoma.

Then the man asked, “Do you know Oral Roberts?”
Dub said, “Well, I don’t know him personally, but I’ve shaken his hand.”

Well,” the fellow replied, “He’s a so-and-so,” and he called him a name.

Then the fellow asked, “Do you know Kenneth Copeland?”

“Yes,” Dub said. “I know him personally.”

“Well,” the fellow replied, “he’s another so-and-so.”

Then the fellow said, “Do you know Kenneth Hagin?”
Dub replied, “Yes, I do.”

The fellow said, “He’s another so-and-so.”

When the fellow said that, Dub knocked him off the counter stool. Then he picked him up and carried him outside.

The owner of the restaurant called the police, and when they got there, Dub was holding the fellow up against the building praying for him.

The police officer said, “What’s the matter?”

Dub said, “This man said my brother was a so-and-so. By saying that, he was calling my mother a dirty name too. No one talks that way about my family!”

The policeman said to the fellow, “Did you do that?”

The man said, “Yes.”

The policeman said, “Why, you ought to have better sense!” Then he asked Dub, “Who is your brother?”
Dub said, “Kenneth Hagin.” The police officer said, “Oh! I’ve read his books and listened to his tapes.”

Then he turned to the other fel¬low and said, “What’s the matter with you!”

The fellow said, “Well, I guess maybe I did do wrong.”

My brother Dub told the fellow, “If you want help, here’s my card. Come and see me.”

The man came to see Dub the next day and got saved!

Now I don’t advocate getting people saved that way, but I just told you that to show you that sometimes it can take time to learn to keep the flesh under and to mature in love.

But Dub came a long way from his younger years. It took him a while, but he grew in love. The Lord had worked Dub over on the inside and made him a new creature, but then Dub had to learn what to do with the outward natural man.

It took him some time to learn to put on Christ on the outward man (Rom. 13:14) and to mature in the God-kind of love.

But it’s no use laughing at Dub, because the Lord is still teaching some of us how to bring the outward man subject too!

___________________
Kenneth E. Hagin

Spirituality

Kingdom Focus

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The Longman dictionary states that focus is ‘to give special attention to a particular thing or concentrate on something important.’

Focus is one of the greatest channels of exerting our mental and physical energies properly.

According to the scriptures, Focus is the ability to channel your concentration on the work and desires of the kingdom.

“And all who focus their hope on him will always be purifying themselves, just as Jesus is pure.” 1 John 3:3.

The more we focus on the Kingdom and its desires, the more we increase in our productivity as Kingdom Agents.

To be focused on the kingdom is to make the kingdom the central point of your life. To be focused on the Kingdom is to be engrossed and immersed in the desires of the kingdom.

To be focused on the kingdom is to channel all your energy and strength into the work and the demands of the kingdom. Without focus, one tends to get distracted with the cares of this life.

It is saddening, that in this generation, there are believers whose focus is on the things below instead of the things above.

It is a pity how we set our eyes on things that will only give us temporal happiness and yet we become unfulfilled and we complain how God is not favoring us.

One can only find the path to one’s Destiny fulfilment in the pursuit of Kingdom demands.

“The eyes of your spirit allow revelation-light to enter into your being. If your heart is unclouded, the light floods in! 23 But if your eyes are focused on money, the light cannot penetrate and darkness takes its place. How profound will be the darkness within you if the light of truth cannot enter!” – Matthew 6:22-23.

Light cannot enter our spirits when our focus is not on the Kingdom. There are several bounties in the covenant of Grace we entered when we got born again. But focusing on the things of this Earth at the expense of that of the kingdom, will deny one a clear revelation of those bounties.

Whenever our focus is not on the kingdom, we make our minds to wallow in darkness. Hence, God’s Light finds no access through which it can shine upon us.

If your eyes can be focused on the kingdom, the eyes of your understanding would be enlightened, the rivers of revelation and the fountain of life would always spring out from within you, because you are focused on what produces light.

When your affection is not set in the Kingdom, you will lose relevance in God.

Many persons are worried about their hope for a better future. But one whose focus is set on Christ, has none of such worries; for he is confident that in beholding Christ, He beholds His future.

Therefore, as long he continues to commit himself to the kingdom, Christ is committed to giving him a better future.

Here’s The Passion Translation’s rendition of one of David’s verses;

“For I’ve kept my eyes focused on his righteous words and I’ve obeyed everything that he’s told me to do I’ve done my best to be blameless and to follow all his ways keeping my heart pure” Psalms 18:22-23

A man who is committed and focused on the kingdom will always follow after the words of Christ because those words are his guiding steps.

The words of Christ are what keeps the focus of a kingdom man, as long as he continually and consistently behold the Christ, the kingdom becomes available to him more and more.

Paul was so focused on the kingdom that he went about preaching the gospel from nations to nations.

Our focus enables us to do great things for the kingdom.

Many people are wishing to be Kingdom agents, to spark Revival in many nations of the world, yet, they are not focused on giving their best for the kingdom.

Such persons are usually interested in the material benefits that comes with God’s work and not the work itself.

They are not after kingdom advancement. They are not ready to sacrifice themselves for the master use.

Focus makes you go after the substance and not the shadow .


“So above all, constantly chase after the realm of God’s kingdom and the righteousness that proceeds from him. Then all these less important things will be given to you abundantly. Refuse to worry about tomorrow, but deal with each challenge that comes your way, one day at a time. Tomorrow will take care of itself.” Matthew 6:33 TPT.



Until we refuse to put our eyes on the material things that the kingdom gives and focus on what the kingdom will make of us, we will keep on making mistakes and then our journey ends in circles.

Refuse to worry about tommorow and take charge of today.

The scripture aforementioned admonishes to chase after, with all vigor, Kingdom demands.

Jesus said that in the Kingdom, ‘The violent takes it by force’.

The violence Jesus told us about, is not physical violence, but living a life of mental and Spiritual concentration on our Kingdom purpose.

It means that there is a consistent understanding you must acquire from the kingdom in order for your life to be productive.

Beloved, I admonish you this day, to realign your focus to your kingdom purpose.

It does not mean you should neglect your duties here on Earth. It rather means that you should be devoted to the purpose for which you were created and reborn.

God bless you.

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Daily Worship: Break Every Chain, African Rendition.

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Music is one of the ways in which we declare the mighty power of God. When we sing of His Power, we get the manifestation of His Power.

And when His Power manifests, chains are broken, mountains are levelled and destinies are released.

Olamiji Rasheed, an uprising singer from the Western part of Nigeria, delivers this beautiful rendition of Tasha Cobbs’ ‘Break every Chain’.

GENERAL

Do not give up

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I was in my room one afternoon doing the bottle flip. I was not so good at it at that time, so it was kind of hard for me but I kept on doing it. Sometimes it would almost stand then fall and at other times, it would fall completely. 

After several failed attempts at getting the bottle to stand, I decided I had had enough of the failures. I wanted to quit. But a voice within encouraged me to try it out, one last time. I yielded to that voice, and it worked this time.

Many of us have found ourselves entangled in a particular sin or addiction. We might have been trying to get out of it. But it seems as if the more we try, the stronger the entanglement becomes. We keep making vows and at the same time keep breaking them and each time we break them, we cry asking God for help and liberation. We feel enslaved, hopeless and helpless. We want to give up already thinking we can’t be free from it, thinking it’s our fate and we must take it as it is. But I want to encourage you; don’t give up now!! 

Now is not the time to give up. Now is the time to increase your efforts.  Do not let the devil win this fight for you are more than conquerors through him who loved you (Romans 8:37)

God hears your cries, he sees those secret tears and he is ever ready to save you for his hands are not too short that he cannot save neither is his ear deaf that he can’t hear for he said, I will hear their cries and I will save them. 

God sees your sincerity, He knows you are truly tired of falling over and over again. So He’s saying, “Hang on in there, I’m coming and soon the fall will be completely over”. 
Don’t give up! Remember, when there’s life, there’s hope. 

We are not perfect but we are on a journey towards perfection. On this journey, when you fall, do not drift away from God. Pick yourself up, dust off the pain and move closer to him than ever before. Do not let the feeling of guilt and condemnation overcome you and blind your eyes from seeing God’s great love for you. No sin, No mistakes and No fall can ever take his Love away from us. 


Keep crying and running back to him than after every mistakes and soon, the light will shine down on you and your stance in Christ will be so firm. Firmer than you can ever imagine. 
Remember God said, “The Egyptians you see today, you shall see them no more”. Likewise, the problem and struggles you see today, you will see them no more. 

Written by Tolu-Taiwo Victor

GENERAL

Why you must be determined!

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Determination is defined as firmness of purpose. Determination is the ability to be persistent, resolute, certain, steadfast to your decision and choices.

Determination is an important value that a man must possess when he is in a pursuit of a great thing. Determination is the fuel of any passion and purpose. If there is no determination there will be no need to purse things of greater value.

Determination is the root of greatness, nobody is truly great, if he is not determined to think outside the box. Only determined people can change the their world. Life is tough by default. Fate pleases no man; fate gives no allowance for smugness. Only the determined becomes great; only the determined can take the pen of fate and write their own destiny, and fulfill that destiny as it written.

Determination requires understanding the sacrifice and the pains of a preferable future and deciding to go through the obstacles and with the mindset of coming out great. Determination is seeing your future and doing whatever it takes in right way to get that future.

Determination is making choices and decisions that will make your future accessible. Determination is a mental and a spiritual choice, it is what makes us stand out, it what makes our future or our target become more attainable.

Daniel 1:8
But Daniel determined that he would not defile himself by eating the king’s food or drinking his wine, so he asked the head of the palace staff to exempt him from the royal diet. (MSG)

The text above tells us about the story of one of the most successful Christian politicians in Bible history, Daniel. Daniel was taken captive into the land of Babylon. His parents were killed during an Babylon’s invasion of the Jewish country.

By divine providence, Daniel was selected with other Jews to be trained in the arts and science of the Babylonians, and to be fed with the King’s delicacies in order to have improvements in their mental well-being. This seemed attractive. Daniel would have probably accepted the King’s food but for the fact that it was prepared in a manner that was considered ‘defiled’ by Jewish culture.

When he observed this, we are told in scriptures, that he determined within himself not to accept the King’s food. He determined in heart not to defile himself with the king’s dainties.

His determination made God to favor him above the other Jews.

What decision have you determined to take?

It is wrong to live your life in laxity, without specific decisions and choices. It is wrong to make your choices to be dependent on the circumstances surrounding you, rather than the inner choice you have made.

Determination is that which is needed in tough times like these. Due to the pandemic, political chaos and economic hardship, one is tempted to become apathetic towards the future. One is tempted to lose hope about one’s dreams. Fate seems bleak; the light at the end of the tunnel seems to be imperceptible.

Now is the time, to determine in your heart, that no matter what happens, you are not going to give up on your dreams. You will become the person that God has destined you to be! Like Daniel, no matter how potent the temptation to defile yourself in this corrupt world might seem to be, stick your decision to stay pure.

You are not the first who has been in this kind of situation. Joseph was sold from his father’s house to Potiphar’s house. When it seemed as if he had gained stability in Potiphar’s house, he was lied against and sent into the Egyptian dungeon. The dungeon is usually a dark place. There is no illumination there. It is filled with dirt and the stench from the prisoners’ faeces.

This was the kind of condition Joseph found himself in. In the prison, one does not eat proper food. Joseph was locked up in the prison, the same way a lot of us have been locked up in our homes. But Joseph’s lockdown was what God was going to use to take him into the palace.

This is the reason you must be determined this season. Though it may not be visible, yet, be rest assured that God is doing a mighty thing in your life. He is making all things to work out for your good.

GreenHills Emmanuel

   Types of determination

Organic determination: This type of determination is an inborn determination in every man to fulfill his purpose on earth, this kind of determination is what pushes people to do the unthinkable and makes them  reach the height where men has not reached, it was such determination that led many scientist or men who brought innovations to the world, this kind of determination is in every man. This kind of determination must be trained and nutured and be brought to good use.

Inorganic determination: This is a kind of determination that is infused into us as maybe a speaking or we heard a word of motivation words or purposeful words spoken to us in order to help us realize our potential. Such determination helps us to set our daily goals and targets.

Spirituality

The Culture of The Kingdom

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Every civilization, kingdom or race has its Culture. There is always a distinct manner of living peculiar to its citizens.

There is always something that marks them out from other people. A sense of identity that is expressed in their general disposition to every situation.

As representatives of a Kingdom, we have a culture that sets us apart from others, a pattern of operation that is peculiar to us.

Ever since the world fell into the state that it is in today; in control of the enemy by virtue of man’s fall and relinquishing dominion to the Satan; God has been interested in setting his people apart both in behavior and disposition.

He gives them His laws and desires they walk in His ways. He sets before them a pattern to conform to. This has been from the days of the Israelites to the present.

The kingdom of God has its culture. A pattern its citizens must conform to. A way they are to walk.

It is quite disheartening to see a believer behaving in a manner strange to Christendom’s culture.

It is very sad to see that in some situations, there seems to be no difference between a believer and an unbeliever.

What has gone wrong, why is this so?


It could be due to more emphasis being placed on the manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit than the fruit of The Spirit in this generation.

Most Christians are taught that they should speak in tongues but not that that same lips should not slander others.

That they should heal the sick but not that they should also cater for the needs of the sick through giving.

This leads to the production of many Charismatic, yet, poor-in-character Christians. Believers who speak in tongues, yet, cannot be trusted with someone else’s finances.

Believers should be exposed to both the Power and Character perspective of Christ.

Another reason is the low concept of Christianity that is being incorporated into the modern believer.

A poor understanding of the concept of grace and liberty that has been afforded the believer in Christ, that seems to impress the idea that the Christlike character expression of the believer is of no importance. A Christianity that accommodates abortion of young ones. One that is compatible with laziness and Spiritual complacency. It is quite saddening.

What is the pattern of the New Creation’s Behavior?

What is the standard of conduct of the believer? In what way should pattern his steps?

There are several things that distinguishes us as sons. Patterns expected to be seen in us. Expressions that must be made manifest and highlighted in the different areas of our lives.

These are different areas we are expected to differ in compared to the pattern of the world.

1. Manner of Food:

Food is an expression of culture.

Food in this context refers to the things which we feed our minds with. What we constantly feed our mind is a determinant of what culture we will conform to.

If you eat the food of dogs, you will be weak like dogs.

If you eat that of Lions, you will roar.

When the world delights in feeding on sensual musics and books based on knowledge against Christ, we must delight in feeding on the Word, the Truth and the Life.

2. The Manner of Clothing

What people wear affirms what kingdom the belong to. Clothes here refer to our behavior, disposition and carriage. It refers to our mannerisms and adornments.

Ours must be Noble and not common. That a behavior is popular does not mean its virtuous.

That others “pepper dem” doesn’t matter to us because we are salts.

We must stick to the uniform of the kingdom.

Colossians 3:8-10: “But now you yourselves are to PUT OFF all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have PUT OFF the old man with his deeds, 10 and have PUT ON the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. “

3. Language

This refers to our manner of speech. The fruits of our lips.

Our language as believers should be one that completely highlights who we are.

In a generation full of hate and pain, our words should be soothing and like a balm, healing.

Members of the Kingdom do not speak anyhow. That vulgar words trend and are famous does not mean a believer should speak them.

Colossians 4:6: “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.”


We have a pattern that we should adher to. One that highlights our uniqueness and peculiarity as a chosen people. This pattern is found in our constitution (The Word of God).

This posits that as we live by God’s word and will, we conform to his pattern.

Romans 12:2: ‘And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…’