Walk Right!

Walk Right!

1 John 2:6 AMP

[6] whoever says he lives in Christ [that is, whoever says he has accepted Him as God and Savior] ought [as a moral obligation] to walk and conduct himself just as He walked and conducted Himself.

John would know what he was talking about in his letter here. Reflect on the introduction to this letter: he was writing about what existed from the beginning, what he had heard, seen with his eyes, looked at and touched with his hands, concerning the Word of Life. That is the personal touch that makes the difference between hearsay and evidential reality. Many have heard, but they do not have a personal encounter with the One who makes the difference. John had seen, he had heard, he knew, and now, he could speak so boldly about the One who is and gives etermal life to all who put their trust in Him and follow Him to the end. 

There is no replacement for this personal encounter. When a man is walking with Christ, that walk reflects in every decision he makes: where he walks, where he works, who he walks with, who he works for, and where he js headed. This walk and work leave no room for any form of carelessness or assumptions. I have got to be precise, exact and intentional about the choices that i make, to align with the demands of this walk and work. As we have always made clear, God will not demand from me that which He has not first supplied sufficient grace for. If He commands it, it is possible. Man's weaknesses have never been able to negatively impact God's ability to help man walk right. 

It is not possible for the fallen human nature to please God, and that is why a change of ownership is the foundation to a life of impact. Anyone can make any claim, but my life's choices, decisions and reactions reflect the state of the contents of my heart. If I say I live in Christ, it must not take forever for men to note the difference in me. Jesus referred to His disciples as the light of the world, and a ciry set on a hill that could not be hidden. A child of God has no hiding place, or a place to become complacent. If I say I have accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, He cannot be Lord over some areas of my life, and I in charge of other areas. Being Lord means total control. 

For all such people, the charge is for us to walk and conduct ourselves the same way Jesus did. He is the perfect example of all that God loves and desires from all who are His own. He has not left me without clear guidance on what is expected. I must not pay lip service to Christ, and then deny Him with my daily choices and actions. I also note tht the verse above says it is an obligation. Well, like all of God's commands, I do have the power of freewill. I get to choose to obey Him, not out of compulsion, but as a mark of the love He has shown me. I have a duty to show Him off, as a reflection of His own mark of ownership on me. Is this true of me? Is it true of you? God's time of favour is here. 

God's Supply!

God's Supply!

“ And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 AMPC

As it is the practice, context to the verse above is important. Paul and Timothy are the ones credited with writing this letter to all the saints in Christ Jesus who were at Philippi, along with the bishops and deacons in the church. Consider the lives of both men, and you will find out that they were not men who would compromise on the standards of God's word. Paul was the one who mentored Timothy and left him at Ephesus, so he could entrench the principles and practices of God's kingdom in that church. These two then wrote this letter, charging the church to continue to stand by the principles they had been taught. Do you know who and whose you are? 

Do I need to be reminded of the One who calls and sets men apart for Himself? The work of ministry is the work of God carried out by men and not spirits. God is the Almighty, and He can raise stones to praise Him, yet, in His own wisdom, He has given grace to mortal man to carry out His divine assignment. This is the privilege all who are called by God to walk with and work for Him have access to, but as we know, God does not force His principles on anyone. It is a willing surrender to, and an acceptable of His authority, that activates the grace of God which enables a man to run faster, go higher and reach farther than he would ever imagine possible.

That is the basis of the verse above. This was a church built on the back of commited men and women. It was a Roman colony, so not a place that initially welcomed the message of Paul. However, God had prepared Paul for the assignment, and through the experiences of Paul and Silas, and the ministry of the early disciples in that community, a church was planted. Are there obstacles in my way trying to distract me from the work of missions? I must remember that this work is God's first and foremost, and He will definitely raise the required resources for the work that needs to be done. This church, even with its own lack, found a way to minister to the needs of Paul.

It was with such a heart of gratitude that Paul prayed this prayer for the church. His needs had been met, not by those who sought to show off, but by people who offered fragrant odour of an offering and sacrifice which God delighted in. This help came from sincere and willing hearts. When Paul was referring to His God, He was referring to a God who sees the hearts of men and rewards accordingly. When a man does anything with the right motives, God is indeed pleased and His blessings are guaranteed. If I also desire such a blessing, I must also be prepared for such sacrifices. God's supply can meet any demand, but His supply flows in the direction of a sacrificial life. Does this describe me? God's time of favour is here. 

Guard Well!

Guard Well!

Keep and guard your heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life. Proverbs 4:23 AMP

As we know, Solomon did not become the man or king he became by accident; there was a lot of preparation, planning, prepping, presentation and preservation that led to him becoming king. Let us examine the words of a few verses just before the one above, where he said: “When I [Solomon] was a son with my father [David], tender and the only son in the sight of my mother [Bathsheba], He taught me and said to me, Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments and live. Do you see the benefits of an investment of time and prayerful contributions into the life of a child? Do you see why God burdens the hearts of parents for their children?

David may have been called promiscuous by the standards of today, but he did right by his son Solomon. As we know, it could have been this example of Godly teaching that made this boy offer the sacrifices he made, and made God appear to him and ask him to request for anything at all. In our own generation today, maybe we would be asking for riches and wealth, but this young king asked for wisdom. Of course, God the Author and person of wisdom was more than willing to give him what he asked for, and the benefits and impact of this wisdom are still seen in and around us today. Practically every verse in the book of Proverbs is a message on its own.

From the lives of parents and son, we learn a lot of life lessons. David should have been at war but he was home. Bathsheba maybe should have been aware of prying eyes as she took her bath. Both ended up in adultery; David went a step further and murdered the husband of Bathsheba. The heart of man, as God has said several times, is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. The human degenerated heart without Christ is capable of anything because it is under the control and influence of the devil. David was forgiven but the consequences of what he did affected those who knew nothing of his evil actions. Be careful to submit this heart to the control of the One who formed it.

By myself, I cannot help myself. The heart is tuned to always focus on something every time. It is the focus of the heart that drives its pursuits and priorities. The heart is the origin of thoughts, actions and decisions, and one gets to live or die by the quality of the products of the heart. That is why guarding it is non-negotiable. It is only by understanding the power of Christ that I can keep my heart from evil. I have been given freewill; God does not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of that freewill. Be sure that if you submit the heart to Him, He will take care of it. He wants to control it, so it can lead to eternal life. Would you give Him yours? God's time of favour is here.

Hear Well!

Hear Well!

“ And He said, He who has ears to hear, let him be hearing [and let him consider, and comprehend].” Mark 4:9 AMPC

We encounter this short verse at the start of the earthly ministry of Jesus. He was one who commanded crowds anywhere He went. He was not one to say what pleased the crowd at the expense of His heavenly Father. As the first verse in the chapter from where the verse above is taken makes clear, a great crowd gathered about Him as He began to teach. It was such a large crowd that He has to get into a ship and sit in the ship on the lake in order to reach out to as many as possible. Maybe in our own day, it will be a good time to whip up the crowd and get them on our side. Not Jesus; He spoke the truths about the kingdom of God to all who would listen.

He used parables or illustrations to teach the truths of the kingdom of God to the crowd. One of the parables was that of the sower. We see a man carrying precious seed to sow, and as he went, the seed fell on four different types of grounds. The first type was along the path. Of course, where there is not much guidance or protection, anything can happen to the seed, so it is not a surprise that birds came and ate the seeds. What guardrails do I put in place to protect the seed I receive? Do I even know the value of the seed in the first place? The devil knows the value of the seed and he will do all he can to distract me from enjoying the full potential and power in the seed.

The second type of ground was the one full of rocks, with not much soil to let the seed develop strong roots down below to support full growth up above. As there not much soil, at the slightest hint of trouble or persecution, they fall away and go back to their familiar past. We also find the third kind of ground which fell among thorns. It would have grown well but because it was competiting with other distractions and cares, the seed stood no chance. As I consider my own life today, is there anything that is competing for attention with the Word of God in my heart? I must always remember that there is nothing wrong with the quality of the seed; the ground defines the output. 

The last type of ground is good (well-adapted) soil. It did not get like that accidentally; it took effort, time and investment. You work on the ground in preparation to receive the seed. The ground allows the power of the seed to be made manifest. The seed is able to grow up and increase, and yield up to thirty times, sixty times, and even a hundred times as much as had been sown. Even the power of adequate preparation is relative; God does the increase progressively, in line with my capacity to fully maximise what He gives. If He knows I can handle it, He will give it to me. How is my hearing, and my capacity for obedience? God has spoken; he who has ears to hear, let him hear. God's time of favour is here. 

Raised!

Raised!

“ And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11 AMPC

Paul was writing to all of God's beloved people in Rome, who were called to be saints and designated for a consecrated life. That is the standard of the call of God upon a man's life. It does not matter where I started from; it really matters who I am and where I am going. For the saints in Rome, there were some who were slaves and bonded to other masters, and there were some who were quite wealthy and highly connected. Whatever the physical state was, nothing was more important than the work that Jesus had wrought inside their hearts. That is why Paul could speak of the grace of God in so many ways. It is grace that qualifies a man for access to resources that would have been beyond his reach. 

It is the working of this grace that guarantees that there is now no more condemnation for anyone who has made the decision to follow Christ. As the first verse in the chapter from where the verse above is taken makes clear, your location determines your allocation. What I get is a function of where I am: in Jesus or in the world. There is no middle ground of inconsistency or lukewarmness; it is either I am all in or all out. For those who are all in, the major characteristic is that we walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. The flesh no longer has any hold of me; the desires of the flesh have been put to death. 

I note that this is not just the ideal but it has to be the reality of my life. It cannot just be what I speak about only, but what I also live out on a daily basis. It cannot be occasional activity; it has to be a daily lived experience. I cannot switch it on and off when convenient for me; the life I now live is not mine to define the way I want, but the way the owner of the life wants me to live. That is why it is called the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. It is a law; it binds all who are under its control or influence, and also delivers from the other law that promotes sin and offers only death. It is this same law of life that now offers me the same life that Jesus has: a life without end. 

Indeed, the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is still active and at work today. As you consider all that is happening around us, we see things that man had given up on suddenly become different. That which was hopeless suddenly changes form. That is what the person and power of the Spirit can achieve. He is the One who gives life to our mortal bodies, and ensures that we take hold of the eternal life to which we have been called. My current human body is going nowhere; I need the help of the Holy Spirit to take hold of all that Christ promises. I have to be IN Him to take hold of Him. Are you IN Him? Does He know you as His own? God's time of favour is here.

The Armour!

The Armour!

“ Put on God's whole armor [the armor of a heavy-armed soldier which God supplies], that you may be able successfully to stand up against [all] the strategies and the deceits of the devil." Ephesians 6:11 AMPC

God always makes it clear and unambiguous what we are in for. He does not leave us in any doubt what His call upon a man's life means. God had made it clear through all the ages that His call on a man's life will demand something which the natural man is unable to initiate, produce, or sustain. The natural man cannot submit to the things that the spiritual man is subject to by nature. The natural man cannot contend with the things that the spiritual man has to contend with. This is why both the natural man and the spiritual man have different pursuits and priorities, and also answer to two different masters and authorities.

That is the foundation of the verse above. Paul was writing to the church in Ephesus, and this was a church that knew well what opposition looked like. This was a town that was steeped in idolatry, with a lot of places for idols dotted all around town. This was a town where a riot was instigated because Paul's teachings were now a danger to the commercial viability of these idolatrous practices. Paul had stayed in this town for some time, teaching about the principles and practices of God's kingdom, and he had also left a young man named Timothy there, to continue to teach and entrench the principles of God's kingdom. 

It is not a wonder, then, that Paul wrote to the church, informing and warning it that this call of God on their lives was not a call to earthly comfort and convenience, but a call to the consciousness of the conflicts that they would need to deal with on a daily basis. Nowhere does God ever promise that the life He calls us to will be free of tough times and trials. He also does not leave us ignorant or unaware of who we are and what we have been given. One of the critical things He has done for us is to give us the information and tools we need to succeed in this race we have been called to, and these are the parts called the armour of God.

As noted in the verse above, there is the whole armour provided by God. There are no half-measures when it comes to what God offers. You cannot take what you think you need and ignore the rest. You cannot pick and choose the parts that make you comfortable, and then choose to take off the ones that seem burdensome. The Omniscient God knows what is ahead; therefore, all His provisions are eternal in scope, impact and relevance. If I will successfully stand up against the strategies and deceits of the devil, I need the help and provisions of the God who has defeated him. Intellect and acquisitions cannot help me if God does not help. He has done His part by providing; how would I respond? God's time of favour is here. 

Praise!

Praise!

I WILL praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth (recount and tell aloud) all Your marvelous works and wonderful deeds! Psalm 9:1 AMPC

The one thing that immediately stands out from the introduction to this song is also that there is no record of any drama. Most of the songs written by David had a recorded foundation; in one instance, it was when God delivered him from the hand of Saul who was trying to kill him, or in another instance, it was sorrow for his sins of adultery and murder. So many songs came from the place of distress and pain, but at the start of this chapter, all we read is: 'a psalm of David'. At this time, he did not need to sing about tribulations, troubles or trials, but about the triumphs of knowing this God who had done wonderful things for him.

Like David, do I need an experience of trouble before I know the value of the God who is in charge of all of life? Must something go very wrong before I run to God and ask for His help with that situation? Do I even consider that there is a need to praise God unless there is clear proof of what He has done for or given to me? Do I react to God first based on what I perceive He deserves, or for who He is, no matter what my own experiences may have been? David sang a lot about the troubles that he had, but we also know that he was a man who was also quick to take any opportunity he had to praise God. Can the same be said about me? Can this be said about you?

There is a lot of value to taking out time often to reflect on how far I have come, what I have experienced, and how God has shown up for me in amazing ways. Check out the verse above: David made a personal decision to praise God. It was not force; it was not a matter of compulsion. Like David, I also get to choose if, how and when I praise God. God does not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. He wants me to choose to praise Him. What flows from my heart as a freewill offering is more precious than what comes from a rigid and unyielding and unwilling heart. As always, the choice too matters. 

It was praise, not complaints. It was appreciation, not just desperation without any aspiration. It was not like David had it all good; even in the midst of distress, he did not wait for the stars to align before he burst into praise. David also committed his entire heart to this process, not just half-hearted devotion. This also matters; God does not deal in half-measures; He either takes all or nothing at all. If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all. Of course, when the internal is sorted,e external impact is non-negotiable. People will definitely feel the impact and power of a life that God has touched. Can people see and know God through my current direction? God's time of favour is here.