Tag Archives: Illumination

Spirituality

Heart Matters; The Heart – The Reservoir of Wisdom

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“For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” – Matthew 12:24

Have you ever wondered why monks and sages are so wise? I have too. What makes them so wise? Don’t they have the same brain and eyes that we have? They do.

What makes monks, sages and wealthy men wise is a heart matter. Wisdom is not a mental condition, it is a heart condition. It is a state of the heart.

Wisdom can be received and enhanced in the heart. Thus we can describe the heart as the storage tank of wisdom. It stores up wisdom and insight for excellent living.

This is why Jesus spoke of ‘the abundance of the heart’. Even as the heart can store up wisdom, it can also store folly, or it can be empty and void of wisdom. It all depends on how much development you give to it.

Here are two ways to enhance inner wisdom;

1. Get connected with God.

God in us – The Holy Spirit is our source of wisdom. Any believer who is rooted in God will never run out of practical wisdom for daily living. Building a strong connection with God requires prayer, meditation, fasting etc. Find out more here.

  • Acknowledge God
Proverbs 3:6: “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (KJV)

Here’s what Matthew Henry says about this verse:

“…. We must not only in our judgment believe that there is an over-ruling hand of God ordering and disposing of us and all our affairs, but we must solemnly own it, and address ourselves to him accordingly. We must ask his leave, and not design anything but what we are sure is lawful. We must ask his advice and beg direction from him, not only when the case is difficult… but in every case, be it ever so plain, we must ask success of him, as those who know the race is not to the swift.

We must refer ourselves to him as one from whom our judgment proceeds, and patiently, and with a holy indifference, wait his award. In all our ways that prove direct, and fair, and pleasant, in which we gain our point to our satisfaction, we must acknowledge God with thankfulness. In all our ways that prove cross and uncomfortable, and that are hedged up with thorns, we must acknowledge God with submission.”

Although there are men with natural wisdom, a look at world history reveals that it takes more than natural wisdom to survive in this world. Furthermore, no matter how smart you are, you will never know what the person next to you is thinking. You can never see into the future, no matter how clever you are; you can never predict the next war, bomb blast, tension, etc.

C. Bridges explains this better,

‘Take one step at a time, every step under divine warrant and direction. Ever plan for yourself in simple dependence on God. It is nothing less than self-idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the ordinary matters of the day without His counsel. He loves to be consulted. Therefore, take all thy difficulties to be resolved by Him. Be in the habit of going to Him in the first piece- before self-will… self-wisdom, human friends, convenience (and) expediency. Before any of these have been consulted, go to God at once!’

Here’s an exercise for this;

  • Consider a decision you must make soon. It could be a job, an admission, a course selection, a spouse, or something else. Remove your emotions and preferences from the decision and speak to God – who dwells in your heart. Ask Him to guide you in making the right decision. You can even ask Him for a sign, as Gideon did, and if your heart is sincere, God may work a sign to lead you. But the most important thing is that you acknowledge God before taking any action.

  • Read your Bible

The Bible is God’s letter to man; it is God’s eternal counsel written down. God is very interested in the Bible because it is His very own work, and how much attention we as His children pay to it. I remember writing my first story and giving it to a close friend to read. I sat there watching him read it with bated breath until he was finished. I did this because it was my book, and it made me very happy to see someone else reading what I had written. Similarly, God loves it when we pay attention to His word.

His word contains life-changing wisdom. We see deep mysteries hidden for us in the life stories of David, Abraham, and others, as well as the proverbs of Solomon, the psalms of David, the teachings of Jesus, and the doctrines of the Apostles.

Therefore, let us give attention to the reading of God’s word for our own profiting.

  • Read it.
  • Meditate on it.
  • Study it.
  • Pray with it
  • Practice it
  • Keep reading it

What if I can’t understand what is written in it?

1 Corinthians 2:9-11: “…Things never discovered or heard of before, things beyond our ability to imagine  – these are the many things God has in store for them that love Him.

10 But God now unveils these profound realities to us by the Spirit.[c] Yes, he has revealed to us his inmost heart and deepest mysteries through the Holy Spirit, who constantly explores all things. 

11 After all, who can really see into a person’s heart and know his hidden impulses except for that person’s spirit? So it is with God. His thoughts and secrets are only fully understood by his Spirit, the Spirit of God.”

The Bible can never be fully comprehended by the human intellect; it requires the revelation of the Holy Spirit to fully comprehend the wisdom hidden in God’s word. As a result, before reading the Bible, we must pray to the Lord for understanding and insight into His word.

Read the Bible with an open heart in order to receive instruction from the Holy Spirit; as if God is speaking to you through it, read it. Don’t just skim through it. The butterfly can only get nectar from its flower by sucking it; similarly, we can only gain insight from God’s word by studying it meditatively.

2. INQUISITIVENESS

Wisdom is acquired through a combination of inquisitiveness for information and a desire to learn. This quality is common among the world’s renowned scientists and researchers. It is a heart matter and goes beyond being a mere over-thinker or curious person.

Inquisitiveness is the desire to learn, to know more about people, things. It is founded from the habit of observation. If you want to fill your heart with wisdom, observe and ask questions. Ask vital questions to yourself, God, elders around you and even to nature.

A wise man once said, “He who knows how to ask, will never get lost”. If you develop this inquisitive quality and you live by it, by the time you’re old your mind will be an accumulation of years of wisdom and answers to life’s toughest questions.

Here’s a practical for you;

  • Get a book and tag it ‘Wisdom Book’.
  • Write down the pivotal questions in your life that you need answers to.
  • Go to the Bible or get lessons from trusted counselors on those questions and write them down in your wisdom book.
  • Have a ‘learning goal’ each day. This goal should be the things you want to learn for that day. At the end of the day, write down the things you’ve learnt in your ‘Wisdom Book’.
  • Be observant and write down occurrences with significant meaning in your life.

BE CONSISTENT

Again, this must be done continuously in order to see the desired results.

Were you blessed by this post? We’ll love to hear from you in the comment section.

GENERAL

How to develop a Mind with unlimited potential

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Your mind is the mirror of who you are. What you don’t think about yourself you can’t become. Your mind is like a soil anything you put in it will surely germinate.


We must be careful of what we hear, what we watch and who we listen to, this period – as all these can either limit or expand your mind.

The mistake many make is that they invest more in the quality of their dressing than in the quality of their thinking.

If believers invested in the quality of their minds as much as they invested in their fashion and physique, they’d be unstoppable.

– Nwodo Divine


Quality living is not based on the quantity of things acquired, quality living is built on the quality of knowledge you have invested in yourself.


Your mind needs information to be active just like you need to eat to remain alive. You must feed your mind daily to defeat ignorance.


What you see about yourself in your mind can only come into fulfilment if you have an accurate knowledge.

Some of us are limited in our minds because of the kind of environment and background we grew in. But do you know you can break Such limitations?


Your mind is important to God because he releases ideas, imagination and pictures to help you discover His purpose for your life.


“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3

How to break Limitations off your Mind



1. The Knowledge of God

The knowledge of God is illuminating; it is enlightening. The mind that has been fed with the knowledge of God will remain creative and fruitful.

It is through the knowledge of God that our minds can able to receive the pictures and ideas that God is showing us.



“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;” – Heb. 10:16.


The above mentioned passage gives us an insight how God uses the human mind as a platform to transform humanity into His likeness.



Our mind can only be enlightened if we pursue the knowledge of God.

Meditation is the art of visualising God’s word.

– Nwodo Divine


2. Prayer and Meditation 🧘‍♂️

Meditating on the scripture is what produces a picture for your future. Until the saint meditates on the scriptures lines upon lines, precept upon precept, the saint will never be able to fully experience the reality of God’s promises.




If we must profit from the scriptures we must meditate and give ourselves totally to things of the spirit.


“Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” – 1 Timothy 4:15.



Reading Quality Books 📚

A robust, mental and spiritual life is needed for a successful life. Reading is a lifestyle to anyone who wants to remain relevant in God.


“And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;” – Ezekiel 2:9.


Read books that will add value to your life. Books that will build your knowledge bank.


When we read books we begin living from the place the books stop. Books are powerful and you must give them priority because people will only look for you based on the relevant information you have in you.



When you begin to apply the information you have gotten, your value increases and your knowledge expands.

Have a Mentor 👨‍🏫

Mentorship delivers you from your own destruction. Knowledge with guidance from a mentor will produce wisdom.



There are people who had knowledge of so many things, but they lacked guidance, they made several mistakes.

One of the way to break limitations off your mind is to follow a mentor who has knowledge and valuable experience.


If we must break limitations of our mind we must start using the resources God has given to us to free ourselves.


God bless you.


This article was written by Green-Hills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

GENERAL

BE DILIGENT!

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Diligence to the service of the kingdom is necessary for anyone who wants to win the heart of God. A diligent person is someone who patient, persevering, and steady. He is one who is absolutely devoted to the work of the Kingdom.

The diligent saint need not be a preacher to be an effective kingdom worker. He might not be into the pastoral ministry 24/7 like the pastor, but he incorporates the preaching of the Gospel into his engagements.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:20.

It is unfortunate that in modern day Christianity, we find believers who want to enjoy the benefits of the kingdom without seeking the kingdom with their heart. The Kingdom we belong to operates with a reward-based system. In His teaching on the principles of the Kingdom, Jesus repeatedly explained that only those who are faithful to the tasks God has assigned to me them that will enjoy the bountiful benefits of the kingdom.

DILIGENT DAVID

One of the secrets to David’s success was his diligence to the cause of God. He was diligent both in his service to his father, his service to Saul and to the Israelites.

David was so diligent in His service to God, that even when he became king, he didn’t stop thinking about what to do for God. Amidst the tranquility and glory of the palace, David’s heart was restless because God did not have a Temple.

Folks, desiring to be great in the kingdom is not enough – the path to greatness is beyond mere desire. There must be an inner drive that pushes you to unquestionable diligence in God’s work.

Only lazy people desire blessings they didn’t work for. Only the slothful does nothing and expect rewards.

God’s blessing is tied to diligence. We will never fulfill the fullness of God’s plan for us if we are always lazy towards the interests of God.  It is only a diligent man that will do business with kings. In the business of the kingdom, God wants us to reach the level where we can speak to kings and deliver God’s counsel to rulers of nations.

Daniel was diligent in the things of God and because of diligence, he became excellent and industrious that even kings couldn’t resist his wisdom.

BENEFITS OF DILIGENCE

  1. God prospers the diligent:

Proverbs 13:4: “Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.” Lazy saints desire the promises of the gospel, but they get only the crumbs of providence because they are unwilling to work for it. But the devoted saints will always find miracles of divine provision in their lives; because a saint who works for the kingdom, is a saint who has his name enlisted in heaven’s payroll.

2. God promotes the diligent

“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” Proverbs 22:29. God has always promoted saints who were unique and exemplary in their service to the Kingdom. The likes of Joseph, Daniel, Mordecai etc all went extra-mile in their efforts to uphold the cause of God.

HIS FAVOUR IS FOR THE DILIGENT

The average human believes that greatness comes by hardwork, thus he remains average.

Ecclesiastics reveals to us that, ‘the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill‘.

In life, there must be a God-factor. Christians who do not understand this will always claim to be too busy to serve God.

Lastly, incorporate Kingdom Service into whatever engagement you’re doing. If you’re a student, preach to your colleagues. If you’re a trader, share Gospel trats and magazines along with goods to your customers.

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

What Is God’s will For Your Life?

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One of the profound statements made by one of the wisest Kings of Israel, Solomon, is that ‘there is a time for everything under the earth.’


There was a time you were born and there is a time you will die. The life of a man begins from the womb and ends at the tomb.


In the middle of the journey from the womb to the tomb, is the assignment that God has in mind for us.


To live a life without a clear vision of what God wants you to do is to live a wasted life.


Never live your life without understanding of God’s will for you.


A Wise Man once said ‘when purpose is not realized, abuse is inevitable.’


The will of God will always communicate the purpose of your life on Earth.



‘For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.’ Jeremiah 29:11-13.


The aforementioned passage lets us know that God has thoughts about us. He has a will and purpose for our existence.




This means that there is a picture of your future in the mind of God and He wants to show it to you.


God wants to show you His thoughts so that you your walk will be aligned with them.



Many people are ignorant of the thoughts of God towards them. This is wrong. God desires to reveal His thoughts for you, to you. The thoughts of God for us is His will for us.



“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD.” Isaiah 55: 8-9.



Thoughts are energies that constitute our lives. Ninety percent of who we are today is a product of our thoughts.


Spend time thinking through the thoughts of God daily. His thoughts are in His world. They’re thoughts of Hope, a better tomorrow, prosperity and peace.



If God’s thought is larger than our thoughts, it means that what God desires for us is far wider and greater than what we even want for ourselves.



His will is higher than our will and that is why we must surrender our will and yield to His will.


How can I know God’s Will?


The Holy Spirit will always communicate the will of God to us. He is the One who reveals the deep and hidden things of God. These things are hidden, not from us but for us.


God loves you more than you love yourself. He has our future all birthed and planned in His Mind. Seek to know the Mind of God.

Revelation of His Will for us is what births the convictions required to withstand the storms of life.


Do you know God’s will for your life or you are still roaming around looking?



Greenhills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

GENERAL

Hope Against Hope

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Against all odds, when it looked hopeless, Abraham believed the promise and expected God to fulfill it.

He took God at his word, and as a result he became the father of many nations. God’s declaration over him came to pass: “Your descendants will be so many that they will be impossible to count!”


The story of Abraham is one which is widely read and appraised. His story is one which has been inspiring generations.


Despite its commonness, I feel there has not been a time. In which we needed to revisit his story, as now.
God called Abraham out of his father’s house unto an unknown land. He promised Abraham descendants as numerous as the stars.

Yet, at old age, Abraham hadn’t received the Promised Child.
It looked as if the promise would never be fulfilled. His body’s strength was waning; the womb of his wife was becoming barren, like an Orchard whose flowers has been scorched into thorns by the piercing rays of the sun.

Yet, Abraham waited patiently for the fulfilment of The Promise. At hundred, Abraham was stricken in age. The pleasure of life and the desire of the bed were gone already.

In the midst of all these, The Bible tells us that Abraham never staggered in faith. Even when there was no reason to believe, he kept believing.

Even when he had every reason to quit and say, ‘I give up! I’ll never have a child!’, he chose to keep trusting in the words of an unseen God.

Beloved, the Promise may be delayed, but it will never be denied.

Like Abraham, you might be one who in your formative years in the

Christian experience received great promises from God. But till now, you have not seen the fulfilment. I want you to know that God has not forgotten you!


The economy might be hard. The world might be on Lockdown.

The nation might be in wreck because of weather and biochemical pandemics; but none of these things can stop God from fulfilling that which He has promised you.


“God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill” – Numbers 23:19.


God can never lie means that He can never speak of something He will not do. He will not give you an assurance if He will not fulfill His Promise.


The very Throne of God is founded on His Integrity and Faithfulness!


God does not change His mind, means that NOTHING can make God change His mind on blessing you.


Your mistakes will not make Him change His mind. The pandemic will not make Him change His mind. Your shortcomings will not make Him change His mind on blessing you.


So fret not. Be at peace. Serve the Lord with all fervency, because no matter how long it might take, surely, God’s Promise to you will be fulfilled.






Spirituality

The Power of Imagination

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Imaginations are pointers to realities.



Imagination is seeing through the eyes of your mind to produce the reality you want to live in.


What we see and hear influences our imagination. Your subconscious mind is responsible for your imagination. It is what is stored in your subconscious mind that will be determine the quality of your foresight.


The bible admonishes us to guard our hearts because therein are the issues of existence. The mind is full of imaginations. One must choose what type of imagination one wants to conceive in your mind.


Until the spirit broods on the imagination which has been conceived in your mind, such imagination will never come to reality.


God imagined what He wanted to create on the Earth. It was conceived in His mind, then the Spirit brooded on His imagination and when He spoke, what He imagined became reality.


This is a season in which different imaginations, especially negative ones, are taking hold of people’s minds.


If your imagination is not conformed to the Knowledge of Christ, it is meant to be cast down. Our imaginations should be inspired by The Holy Spirit. Your Imagination is a reflection of who you really are.



Every great invention and fascinating innovation, was first conceived in The Imagination.


ENHANCING YOUR IMAGINATION


Meditate on God’s Word

In order to enhance your imagination, align your thinking with The Word of God.

The Word of God gives you so much imagination when you begin to think about them. His Word enriches our mind and expands our creativity.

Meditating on God’s Word creates vivid images of the operation of the supernatural, in the mind. When The Holy Spirit broods upon these images and one executes them, supernatural results are produced.

Insights From The Holy Spirit


Genesis 13:14-15: “After Lot was gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction. For all the land which you see I will give to you and to your posterity forever.”


When God promised Abram that Abram’s blessings would be as far as he could see, God was not referring to physical sight. God was connoting the use of the imagination to visualize the extent of greatness that Abraham desires.


Having a limited imagination of greatness is like going to fetch water from an ocean with a tea cup.


Our small imaginations water down what God wants us to deliver through us. They can make God’s promises to us look too difficult to be accomplished.


Expand the extent of your Imagination. If God is calling you to the helps ministry imagine yourself feeding the whole of Africa. Do limit what God can do with your tea-cup imagination, widen your imagination today.


Develop The God-Mind

The kind of mind you have is very important in having an enhanced and workable imagination.

Develop the God kind of Mind. God gave you a mind, so you could think like Him, and operate in a capacity that can only be likened to His.


Adam’s mind was so enhanced that he could name the thousands of creatures that were assigned to his rulership.


Until you develop the God Kind of Mind, you will never be able to imagine what is in God’s heart.


Prayer and Imaginations

We cast down negative imaginations through our prayers. Prayer and godly imaginations must to hand-in-hand.


If you are praying for healing, picture your healing in your mind even as you pray for it. Do not pray for healing and imagine sickness.


If you are praying for wealth, picture it in your mind while you pray. Do not pray for wealth and imagine poverty.


Our forefathers in the kingdom, after imagining, would go to the place of Prayer pray with those Images they received. This created convictions in them that eventually birthed realities.


Enhance your Imagination today!


God bless you!



Greenhills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

GENERAL

Upgrade!

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To Upgrade is simply to increase in your worth and the quality of the value that you give to the society.



It is to raise your reasoning to the model of excellence and consistently improve on the quality of your mind in any endeavour you are engaged in.

Life comes in seasons. Destiny is in phases. Your ability to constantly upgrade your thinking and the quality of your services will go a long way in determining how much value you will add to the society.

Constantly upgrading ourselves is very important in sustaining generational relevance.

As Nwodo Divine, founder of Koininia Art says, ‘One must upgrade, because yesterday’s standard of excellence could today, be a display of mediocrity’


The problem with numerous believers is that even after getting born again, they still stick to their old pattern of thoughts and attitudes.


There is a clarion call from Heaven for us to upgrade.


We must advance the quality of our delivery to the level of wisdom and excellence that God has deposited in us.



Many persons, especially those in Africa, were born in bad times and conditions of life. Hence, even as believers, they have rubbed off the mindset of prominence, simply because their minds were shaped from infancy, by poverty.

Despise and detest poverty. Poverty leaves you defenceless and makes you dependent on the elite.

But greatness comes by intentional and deliberate efforts in upgrading your mind. Greatness is a lifestyle even as poverty.

UPGRADE WITH GOD’S WORD.

Source: Christianity.com


The first upgrade every believer should do is to advance his thinking to be aligned with the thoughts of God unveiled in God’s Word.


The Bible is the thoughts of God revealed. Spending time with The Bible is spending time with the thoughts of God.

When one does this consistently, one’s mind will increase in Wisdom very greatly.

The thoughts and ways of God are so mysterious, that we must constantly renew our minds to prevent being left behind in His move.


‘My life on earth is so brief, so tutor me in the ways of your wisdom. I am continually consumed by these irresistible longings, these cravings to obey your every commandment!’ Psalms 119:19-20.



For one to upgrade is for one to commit oneself to learning new things in God.


Never take pride today, in what you knew in the past because it can become obsolete.



Do not become complacent the things you’ve learnt or achieved in the past.

Upgrade and improve on them daily!

Each day, new methods of doing things are unfolded. If one does not advance in his methods, one will soon be considered to be archaic.

Joshua 1:8: ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’


In God’s first recorded discourse with Joshua, we discover an ageless truth; that our success and prosperity is tied to our ability to continually meditate on God’s Word, and practice that which it says.

As you continue to cogitate on the Word of God, your appetite for God widens. You will get unsatisfied with religion and pursue the kingdom.

UPGRADE BY READING QUALITY BOOKS

Source: Cfr.org



Upgrade your mind by getting quality books. Having a library of your own improves the way you think.

Books open you to new ways of seeing. Reading quality books sharpens our perception.

If you are not ready to be great do not read. A mind that does not read, will stink.


UPGRADE YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM


Do not let the mediocrity of your culture or background influence your belief system.

Your beliefs matter a lot. A poor character is a result of wrong belief systems. Failure and success are tied to your belief systems.


Change certain patterns and habits you know is dangerous to your destiny.


Deal with them, now!


Deal with everything that will cause the problem to your life.


Upgrade your mind and you will enjoy the best of life.

God bless you!

Written by Greenhills Emmanuel Amara-Yahweh.

Spirituality

HOW TO MEDITATE ON GOD’S WORD

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Meditation involves studying, which is a step higher than reading. The word of God is not meant to be read alone, but to be meditated upon. It is PRIMARILY meant for us to encounter.

Meditation is the practice or act of pondering (focusing) on a written or spoken discourse. It means expressing considered thoughts on a subject.

Wikipedia defines meditation as ‘a practice where an individual uses a technique –such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity –to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state.’


If you want to meditate, the basic things to do, includes:

1. SUSTAINING THE APPROPRIATE POSTURE

It was Apostle Edu Udechukwu that said that “the feedbacks you get from the scriptures, is dependent on the posture that you sustained before approaching it.”

Psalms 19:14 “Let the words of my mouth, and the MEDITATION OF MY HEART, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”

If your heart must receive divine revelation, the state of your heart must sustain the appropriate posture of: “entering the scriptures in the spirit, encountering the word beyond the mind, and interacting with the Spirit of the Word.”

With that in place, you will not be distracted and, your mind, body and spirit will be aligned and ready to meditate on the Word.

II Timothy 2:15 (NASB): “BE DILIGENT to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling (expounding) the word of truth.”

Diligent meditation will create pictures of the events that happened and what led to it.

By this, you will have insight and understand the contextual meaning of the passage.

If the appropriate posture is not sustained, you certainly will have problem with meditation.

You will look mechanically into the scriptures, but will not be able to BEHOLD the person of Jesus Christ.

You will be unable to apprehend divine realities in your spirit. You will be far from COMFORMING to the image of Christ. This is what leads one to explain scriptures only with the natural human intellect.

2. CONSIDER THE CONTEXT

“Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.” 2 Timothy 2:7

Your mind and heart must be exercised to gain insight that is embedded in the scriptures. This is what the above scripture entails.

You have to consider by meditation, before the Lord will give you understanding. You ca not get right understanding of scripture (by the Spirit) until you consider by medication.

Considering the context of scripture is necessary for application. It is wise to ask questions such as these:

To whom was it written? By whom?

What were the circumstances?

What are the precise meanings of the words in the original language?

What related scriptures might provide additional insights?

With the following questions, you will see yourself digging deep and understanding it through the help of the Holy Spirit.

Psalms 8:3 “When I CONSIDER thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained.”

From the aforementioned verse, David –The Psalmist, was meditating on the handiwork of God, and that led to what he said in the next verses.

“What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet” Psalms 8:4,5, 6.

Reading without meditation, is what causes misconception.

Misconception of scriptures leads to misinterpretation, and misinterpretation leads to misapplication of scriptures. This is how some heresies come into the body of Christ.

3. PERSONALIZING THE PASSAGES


Personalize it by rereading it in the first person; using I, me, and my.

For example, John 3:16 could be personalized by saying,

“For God so loved ‘ME‘, that He gave His only begotten Son, that if ‘I‘ believe in Him, ‘I‘ will not perish but have everlasting life.”

Colossians 3:16 could be personalized by saying, “Let the word of Christ dwell in ‘ME‘ richly in all wisdom.”

When you personalize the scripture, it becomes a living expression within your heart. This is also an aspect of meditation.

After that, read the personalized verse repeatedly. That will make room for better understanding of that

verse.

However, this method is not applicable for all scriptures because not every scripture is meant to be personalized.

MANTRA MEDITATION

Mantra in this context refers to a phrase REPEATED to assist concentration during meditation.

You can do mantra meditation by repeating a verse, phrase, or a word in the scripture. For example;

“Let the Word of Christ dwell in ME richly in all wisdom.”


Do some ‘figuring out‘ in your spirit to substantiate the passage. You can do this by representing some items in a coded way which only you may understand.

As you continue meditating, your understanding of the verse deepens, your illustrations will expand.

While asking yourself questions, you can give answers to them by introspection. You can be linked to other related scriptures, you will get to know a verse from other passages, it will widen your understanding and enable you to balance the context of scriptures.

When you have done your diligent meditation of a particular verse, chapter or book, then you will be able to illustrate and summarize the main concepts found within the passage(s).

Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, THINK on these things.”

While you diligently read and meditate, the Holy Spirit will drop a message(s) in your heart.

When this happens, you will able to discover where you had ignorance and deficiency in accurate Understanding.

Apply them accurately in the areas they are required.

David Chikwado Caleb