Power!

Power!

Romans 1:16 AMP

[16] I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation [from His wrath and punishment] to everyone who believes [in Christ as Savior], to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Both the writer and audience of this letter are equally important. Paul the writer had his own interesting past. He came from harassment and conspiracy to murder, to a place of total and absolute trust in God. He was a Jew who was given grace to minister the gospel of Jesus to those who were not Jews, but were also targets of the plan of salvation laid out by God. As we read in the introductory part of this letter, all of us, Jews and Gentiles alike, have all received grace and have been called into the obedience that comes from faith. The plan of salvation, as laid down by God, was not for only the Jews; it is for everyone. No one is exempt from grace.

It is in this light that the verse above can best be understood. Paul had seen firsthand what it means to be saved. He had experienced the mercy of God; how else can you explain this man's experiences? He had supported the murder of Stephen, and was on his way to do more harm, yet the mercy of God found and saved him. His past was wiped clean, and he was given a mandate to bring the gospel to those who he would normally not focus on. This is part of the message about Christ; He was put to death for the sin of the world; Jew or not, and He was brought back to life for the eternal redemption of the world, Jew or not. There is no favouritism with God. 

Paul understood this, and his earthly ministry reflected this understanding. He was the ideal personal reflection of the assignment He was given by God. He wrote to both Jews and non-Jews with the same message: Jesus Christ is the power of God. Jesus is the author of salvation for all men. He has sealed life for all who will come and surrender their lives to Him. As always, this is a free gift that had been made available to all men. Anyone can come, no matter the weight of the past, or the depth of the stain. It is a gift that does not expire until it actually does expire. That is the sobering message in today's verse too: we all have access to this gift. 

It must however be noted that this gift will not always be there. Response time is of the essence. The gospel of Jesus has power, but it does not force itself on you. It has power to change men and situations, but it will not go against the exercise of your freewill. Jesus is the Wisdom and the Power of God, yet He seeks willing surrender and total submission to Him. I am a beneficiary of the grace of God that brings salvation to all men. I have come to know God; I have seen Him at work in my life and in those close to me. I have seen men with horrible pasts become vessels of honour in God's hands. It is for everyone who believes in the finished work on the cross. Have you submitted to that power? God's time of favour is here. 

Light

Light!

Matthew 5:14 AMP

[14] “You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

This chapter is the first recorded sermon of Jesus, after He had been revealed to the world through the ministry of John the Baptist, as well as the public declaration from heaven that He is God's Son. He had also been tempted by the devil, and had overcome, and He had chosen the twelve disciples who would go on to be with Him during His earthly ministry. Talk about a very busy time for Jesus as He sought to impact the world im which He had been placed. It is hard to argue for anything different for anyone who wants to walk with Jesus. If the Son of God had to go through these processes, how much more would we who seek to walk in His steps? 

The One who God backs up will always command an audience. At the time of this first sermon, there was a crowd following Him everywhere. However, at this time, the message was for His disciples, not the crowd. The demands He was laying down were not for the uncommitted majority, but the distinct few that would choose to follow Him. This is testament to the fact that though the commands and instructions of Jesus are for everyone He has made, they do not place a demand for obedience on everyone at the same time. This is why the passage from where the verse above is taken was careful to note that Jesus took His disciples to the top of the mountain, and taught them. 

Am I one of the distinct few, or part of the uncommitted majority? If I know who I am, and I am clear about my allegiance, then the verse above speaks directly to me. Jesus spoke directly to the disciples, referring to them as His Light to the world. This is clear ownership: I do not represent myself at any level. I do not speak of myself at any level. I am simply the representative of the One who calls me His own, and also sends me out to impact the world in which I have been placed. A little bit of Light is enough to deal with the deepest darkness. Even the light from a phone will make a difference. That is the power and impact of light. 

As light, I cannot be ignored. I cannot be put away in a box, and only opened when the need arises. At all times, I am relevant; at all times, I am in the public eye. Whenever I act or speak, I am putting out indications of who I am, whose I am, and what my allegiances are. The verse above likens me to a city that is set on a hill and cannot be hidden. That city is a beacon that draws men to it. It is a place of refuge for those coming in from darkness and need help. It is a place of comfort for all who have been oppressed and seeking deliverance and safety. Does the above describe me at the moment? Am I truly representing Christ? God's time of favour is here.

The Unque Gift!

The Unique Gift!

1 John 4:9 AMP

[9] By this the love of God was displayed in us, in that God has sent His [One and] only begotten Son [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind] into the world so that we might live through Him.

This is a letter written by one of the disciples, who called himself John the Beloved. He was one of the members of the inner caucus of the disciples, having a front-row seat to some of the amazing events of Jesus' earthly ministry, such as the transfiguratiion of Jesus, the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and the heartbreaking events at the cross, where Jesus entrusted him with the care of  His earthly mother. He was a disciple who truly had an understanding of what love from God's perspective looks like, as we can see clearly from this first letter. He knew that this love is best understood in action, not merely in word as we see today.

How do we know that what we see is true love and not pretence? It will take a lot of pain and a little bit of 'stupidity' for a mortal man to give up his life for someone who hates him. It is not the way of the world to sacrifice itself for another person to walk all over him. We are by nature, proud and self-conscious; we need structure and predictability to our lives so we can take appropriate action to defend ourselves if and when the need arises. This is why what Jesus did is extraordinary; He did not wait for us to model good behaviour, or to earn the salvation He secured; in fact, at the time the sacrifice was made, I was not even born, so there was no way to determine how I would react. 

This is love: freely given, without conditions or limitations, so that the targets would make up their minds on how to react. There were no guarantees that I would accept the gift; in fact, the Omniscient God who knows the end from the beginning knew that some people would reject the gift to the end of their lives, yet He went ahead to offer the gift. Even if it was for just me, that one person who would come and take hold of what Jesus offered, God considered it worth the pain and sacrifice. Oh, what love!. A love that did not wait for me to earn, deserve or merit it, but He gave it all the same. Love from an eternal and limitless God to a mortal and limited man. 

In that conclusion above lies yet another eternal truth: God would not do all these and there would be no consequence to rejection of His gift. If He has secured eternal life with Him through this sacrifice, who can turn around and blame Him for missing eternity with Him if I reject His gift to the end? God will not force Himself on anyone, and He will not go against the exercise of my freewill. There has to be a willingness to submit; a desire to personally experience this God. We live in and by Him; God has provided no other way. I must remember: eternity hangs on my response to what God has done and given. How do you plead? God's time of favour is here. 

Made Well!

Made Well!

Psalms 139:14 AMP

[14] I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

This is one of the songs of David, the man God Himself referred to as a man after His own heart. That is a special relationship God had with a mortal man, and it showed in the favour and blessings that David received from God. God is not man, but He seeks to do mighty things in the lives of His creation. He will not force Himself on anyone, neither will He go against the exercise of my freewill, but be sure that He will show up in mighty ways in the life of anyone who is totally surrendered to Him. David knew the beauty of this special relationship, as he started the song with these immortal words: 'O Lord, you have searched me thoroughly and have known me'. 

Those words can only come from the lips of someone who has seen, felt and knows who God is, what He can do and what He has done. Reflect on your own life today, and ask yourself how far you have come in the journey of life. Reflect on all that you have received from Him, and the many times you did not fully understand what was going on, but you can look back today, and come to the precise conclusion that only God could have come through for you in those times. Yes, things that were not palatable would have happened, but there is a grand scheme at work, the full details of which are not clear to me now, but are perfectly curated by the Omniscient God to work out for His glory and my blessing. 

This is why the verse above is the best place to start, in order to fully understand the rest of the journey. How can there be awesome and special considerations for a man's journey of life, and there will be no consideration for His person? How would I think that God can have all these awesome plans in place for me, but have no thoughts to my person, and how I will arrive at the place He has prepared for me? It is clear that God is interested and invested in all of the person, the plan, the purpose and the product. The plan and the purpose predates the person, and the person who will live out the plan and purpose has to be properly equipped and gifted for the assignment. 

This is why the verse above speaks directly to the One who has made it all possible. David invites us to join him to give thanks and sing praises to the One who made us. He chose the family through which we would be made known to the world; Hs planted us in the society where our peculiar gifts would be best used, and He continues to find avenues and platforms where these gifts can be fully used and maximised. What else could be bigger or better than to know that I am not an accident? Like David, I give thanks to God for who He is and what He has made me. What of you? God's time of favour is here.

Grace!

Grace!

Romans 3:23-24 AMP

[23] since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God, [24] and are being justified [declared free of the guilt of sin, made acceptable to God, and granted eternal life] as a gift by His [precious, undeserved] grace, through the redemption [the payment for our sin] which is [provided] in Christ Jesus,

There is a conclusion that is not subject to any debate or contention, and that is the fact that all of us have sinned. It has nothing to do with race, culture, language, or inheritance,  but from our shared human connection to the first man created by God. As all men are born of woman through the process of conception as well as gestation, we all inherit whatever it was that Adam and Eve inherited when they fell into sin in the Garden of Eden. As they could not find their way back to God without His help, so also can we not find our way back to God without His help today too. This is an understanding we all must have and start from, if we would take hold of all that God has made available for us. 

The same place where man first sinned was also the same place were God's divine plan of redemption, sanctification, and justification  was laid out. I note that all the three benefits listed here are all part of the same package. You do not get one without the others. We were the ones who sinned, and the ones who should have been punished, but it would have meant certain death and eternal separation from God. This is why God’s principle of substitution paid the price that was demanded by the same God for sin. Reflect on the fact that even though His Son was involved, God still did not waive the price; it had to be paid. 

This ought to make me fear God the right way. If He had not stepped in, I would not be here. By the sacrifice of Jesus, I am declared free of the guilt, burden and weight of sin. I am made acceptable to God, because it is no longer I who comes to claim righteousness, but I come in the name, and under the banner of the One who stood in my place. When God sees me, He sees the Son who took my place and now, I have access to the full riches of God's grace. There is eternal life for me now, and I know that though I do not yet have it in its fullness and reality, it has been sealed by blood, and it will be delivered when Jesus returns in His glory, or He calls me home. 

This is the reality of who I am now. The price was paid, the deal was signed, sealed and delivered to me. This is where I need to step into the place that had been prepared for me, step up into the assignment that has been given to me, and step out as His light into the world in which I have been placed. All that God did for me has an earthly and eternal purpose: show off the benefits of God's grace on earth and attract men to His light, and also take hold of the inheritance that Jesus has sealed for me by His death and resurrection. I stand to gain both here on earth as well as in heaven. That is the full package on offer: God has done His bit; how do I respond? Eternity hangs on my response. God's time of favour is here. 

The Ministry!

The Ministry!

2 Corinthians 5:18 AMP

[18] But all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ [making us acceptable to Him] and gave us the ministry of reconciliation [so that by our example we might bring others to Him],

Paul speaks about both the earthly body that we have been given, and the heavenly body that we are aspiring to have. As long as we are in this earthly body, there are limitations to what we can do, and for how long we can do them. We are not able to fully take hold of eternal life with God in this earthly body, and that is why we must strive to take hold of the eternal body that is able to see God and be at home with Him. This is the message of Paul in the verses before the one above: 'ny goal in life must be to please God. This earthly body is the only preparation I have for the heavenly phase. If I get it right down here, I get to take hold of eternal life with God too. 

One of the reasons why understanding the place of the physical and spiritual bodies is because of what lies at the end of the earthly phase. A day comes when we must all stand before Christ to be judged, and to receive what we deserve for the good or evil we have done in the earthly body. It is this clarity on the present and future that guide my reaction and response. Because I understand, I must ensure that I pass on this light to others too. It is not a responsibility to be taken lightly or treated carelessly. The death of Jesus on the cross is the key to unlocking this new life and the benefits that it gives. It must be the start point for anyone seeking the new life that has been promised.

We are made ambassadors for the One that we represent. The bible says that anyone who belongs to Christ is now a new person, with the old life giving way to the new life. If I have truly given my life to Christ for safe-keeping, it means that He now controls my life, defines my pursuits and priorities, and secured my eternal reality. There is no ambassador who lives for himself; he speaks for the country he represents. We do not promote ourselves; we promote the One who secured eternal life for us. When I speak, relate or interact, I am putting out there by relationship with Christ. Do men see Him when I speak? Do men see Him in my daily activities? 

This is the ministry that I have been called to. It is not until I stand on a raised platform or a public pulpit before people know who I am. It is only those who have a personal experience of Christ that can speak of it to other people. You cannot give or pass on what you do not have. The ministry of reconciliation is for those who have themselves being reconciled to God. God has done His bit; He has paved the way for me to come back to God. He has paid the full price for redemption, and there is nothing else to pay. I cannot hide; I am not able to just glide through life; I have become a beacon that will either attract or repel men to or from Christ. Which one applies? God's time of favour is here. 

The Right End 2!

The Right End 2!

Zechariah 14:9 AMP

[9] And the Lord shall be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord shall be the only one [worshiped], and His name the only one.

The prophet Zechariah served and ministered in the Jewish nation more than 2,500 years ago, according to available history.  That is about 500 years before Christ was manifest in the flesh. He was not physically there when Jesus was telling His disciples that He would die on the cross and that this sacrifice would be the key to sealing eternal life for all who put their trust and hope in Christ. Zechariah was not born, yet, God gave him clear pictures of what was ahead. The Omniscience God does not do mistakes, and there is nothing like an accident of history. Whatever it is that comes to pass falls in line with what He permits, and will also work out His will. 

This is the same God who declared in Genesis 8, after the flood that wiped out all human beings except 8 people, that as long as the earth remains in place, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night, shall not cease. That is a statement of purpose, and, as we know, God's word can never be broken or denied. Since the verse above was pronounced, we have seen the changing of times and seasons, but day will always follow night, and the process repeats itself all over again. Even when the Lord heard the voice of Joshua, and delayed the going down of the sun by one day, the sun still set and a new day dawned. That is undiluted power. 

In the midst of the same predictable cycle of creation lies the predictable return of Jesus one day. We do not know the exact day, as the Bible even records that only the Father knows the day, but if all other prophecies of God are being fulfilled, what stops this one too from coming to pass? If wars and rumours of wars were predicted and have already happened, as well as earthquakes in diverse places, we are indeed living in the days described as the end times. This is a reminder that even in the predictability of seasons, we must know that an end will come to all that we see today. What is the right response to this reality? It cannot be indifference; it has to be the right response. 

The reality is that one day, either by choice or compulsion, every knee will bow before the Lord in total submission. This is the message of the verse above: one day soon, the Lord shall be declared king over all the earth. He does not need my permission to be God; but He definitely needs my permission to be Lord of my life. It is the one decision that will impact my eternity. It is better that I bow now, and reign with Him in eternity, than to reject Him now and miss out on eternity. In that day, the Lord shall be the only one to be worshiped and His name the only one. Remember, this decision has eternal ramifications. Bow today; reign forever. Resist to the end, and there will be eternal regrets. As always, the choice is ours to make. God's time of favour is here.