The End......

Ecclesiastes 7:8 NIV:
The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.

It always matters how you start a thing. Everything we embark upon always has a start-point and it is important to watch that start. What was the inspiration behind the start? Who/What led you into that thing, project or assignment that you have embarked upon? Whoever is the basis of that assignment also determines to an extent how that assignment will end.

But it is always better to end well. God always remains God because he does not tie us down to our mistakes and decisions. He's always seeking ways to improve our lives and to ensure that we end well. His grace always sees beyond the now into the future that he has already planned and everything he does for us or allows in our lives will work towards that end. It doesn't matter so much then how you started or why you started; the moment God gets involved, then your good end is secured. Stay humble, stay dependent on God. He alone can bring us into the place he has already prepared for us. His time of favour is here.

Answered Prayers

Zechariah 3:7 GNBDC:
the Lord Almighty had said: “If you obey my laws and perform the duties I have assigned to you, then you will continue to be in charge of my Temple and its courts, and I will hear your prayers, just as I hear the prayers of the angels who are in my presence.

You need answers to prayers? You want a change of status or a change of fortunes? The prescription is as stated in our extract today: "if you will obey my laws". Sounds simple yet this is the most difficult for us as human beings. We rebel against authority, we love having our way. Power, position and possessions are the greatest assurances of our success and "arrival". We measure our greatness by the things God considers the least and then we wonder why our lives lack drive, conviction and guidance. It is not really about what you are doing now; it is about how you do whatever it is you are doing now and who has asked you to do it.

The verse above says: if you obey my voice and perform the duties I have assigned to you........ . Who's your guiding inspiration? What's your motivating factor? What/Who drives you? Who's giving you your present assignments and pursuits? Remember, God is not rewarding activity; he's rewarding our pursuit of His purpose. He's the One whose opinion counts at the end of the day and whose opinion must be sought if our lives would count at the end of our life's journey.

Make the consultation today: seek God and His purpose for your life. Life is not truly lived until it is directed in the path of its most useful purpose by the same God who created it. His time of favour is here

Just as He has Said.....

Genesis 21:1-2 NIV:
Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised him.

Watch the words above: God had opened his mouth years before this story and had made promises to Abraham and Sarah about children. Years rolled by, and it appeared as if the person who promised had forgotten of had lost the power to fulfil his words. Just as we do today, we hear from God but because of delays, issues and pressures, we begin to doubt the full authenticity of what we heard. We begin to subject the awesome God to rational and logical process, thinking that God can be fitted into our narrow, myopic and limited view.

The beautiful words we focus on today are: 'as he had said'; 'as he had promised'; and 'at the time God promised him'. If there is anything to trust, it is the Word spoken by the Word himself. He's speaking himself and placing his name, reputation and life on the line and because he's a jealous God, he will guard his name against all scandals. He has no nature of deceit or double-speak, and he always watches over his words to bring them to fulfilment.

Wait for God's appointed time. There's something amazing about God's timing. When you have waited patiently, you realize that he stepped in at just the right time you needed him most, not when your own time calculation demanded it. We are the ones who have a biological clock for women to give birth, we are the ones who determine a 'shelf-life' for women to get married. We are the ones who seek to elevate budgetting and forecasting over God's timely and adequate provision. While it is important to plan, never forget: nothing beats God's timing and nothing can be better than having God step into your situation at the 'right' time.

Get a Word from God's mouth today and stake your life on it. God already stakes his life and reputation on his Words and you can rest assured that he knows what he's doing. At his own 'set time', he will turn things around for good. Wait for him, wait on him, wait with patience as God declares his nature and power through you. His time of favour is here.

My Help......

Psalm 121:1-2 NIV:
I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord , the Maker of heaven and earth.

Indeed, there is nowhere you look these days and you get inspired. You look around you and see the issues that surround you; you look inwards atimes and you find no strength to sustain you in times of distress. All around, there is a greater emotional demand on your time, resources,energy, abilities and body more than ever before.

The only place left to look is up. Every other option has got its issues. The Psalmist must have tried other options and found out that nothing else worked. He must have looked around him and realised that there was no help around him or inside of him. The advice today is the same thing the Psalmist has done: look up to God. He comes highly recommended by those who have tried him and found him to be faithful and dependable.

He is the Maker of Heaven and Earth and therefore understands fully what is needed by everyone to make a success of his life and ministry. He alone can help when all other options have failed. He is the One who walks in and stays in when everyone else has left. He is the One who makes the first step of offering help to us, even though we are the ones in need of that help.

Look up today, stop looking around. Depressing scenes abound all around. The only place to look is up. Look to God and cease from fruitless labour. His time of favour is here.

Peace

Matthew 5:9 NIV:
Blessed are the peacemakers,    for they will be called children of God.

Which do you make: war or peace? Which do you promote by your actions: war or peace? Can people rely on you to seek an end to strife or do you deliberately pursue strife? If you are a child of God properly so called, then peace will be an automatic pursuit. The Lord we serve calls himself the Prince of Peace and as many as have accepted him as Lord have that peace and will make peace wherever they are.

Is your life promoting peace? Do people know you are a child of God by the fruits of peace that you bear? Can you be referred to as a child of God by the fruits that you bear? His time of favour is here.

Gaining God's Favour

Proverbs 3:3-4 NIV:
Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.   Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.

Indeed, our generation thinks that riches, connections and popularity is what gives you favour. We think we can buy our way into God's definition of success. However, he has laid down the standard: if you want God's favour which will definitely guarantee you man's favour, then you must follow the blueprint. Love is a God- thing, not a man thing. You can't truly love outside of God so you need God so as to gain favour.

Live in God, love like God; get favour with God and man. His time of favour is here

Life's Journey

Genesis 13:1 NIV:
So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.

God had told Abram to get out of his father's house, with all he had, and set out for a place he would show him. God knew where he was taking Abram to and he had to get him out of his background and familiar sphere of influence. This is where our life's lessons begin: trusting God is not always convenient. God may have to take you out of familiar environments so he can bless you abundantly and in a way that it will be obvious that self had nothing to do with it.

Be careful, however, who you set out on the journey with. God called Abraham to himself; Abraham called Lot to himself. It is the One who calls that can sustain the journey and it is He who commissions an assignment that will provide the resources required. Lot's end is a classic reminder that even man's best intentions don't always end well for man. We cannot start and conclude God's assignment by our strength, neither can we take on additional responsibilities outside his guidance.

Let this be a lesson to us all: we were not sent to save the entire world. That's Jesus' assignment and he's doing it well. Ours is to key into that part he needs us to do and rely on his strength to finish well. Don't take with you anybody or anything that God had not approved. It will weigh you down. Don't forget: it is only the man who received the vision that will set out in directions that others do not understand. Every other person is just along for the ride. His time of favour is here.

Exponential Increase

Deuteronomy 10:22 NIV:
Your ancestors who went down into Egypt were seventy in all, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

God made simple arithmetic, where 1 + 1 will be equal to 2. But then, God wanted to prove that where he is concerned, there are times he will set aside natural laws of arithmetic and establish further mathematics or complex maths, where 1+1 could equal 1.  Or how do you explain the mystery of marraige where 2 very distinct people are seen as 1 person? Or how do you explain the logic behind 1 chasing a thousand, and 2 chasing ten thousand?

That same God is still in the business of showing himself strong in the lives of the people who are committed to serving him. His promises cannot fail, and he can move heaven and earth, just to bring his word to fulfilment. When the sun stopped going down for a whole day while Joshua was fighting, God was sending a strong message that there is no law I won't set aside where my children are concerned.

70 people came into Egypt. They went through tough times; things weren't so good, yet when they were leaving, there were 600,000 men, beside women and children, and so many possessions. That same God is still in charge of our lives, and he will perfect all that concerns us. His time of favour is here.

God is in Charge

Daniel 4:17 NIV:
“ ‘The decision is announced by messengers, the holy ones declare the verdict, so that the living may know that the Most High is sovereign over all kingdoms on earth and gives them to anyone he wishes and sets over them the lowliest of people.’

There's a God that rules over the affairs of men. The same God who set up humble Daniel as an administrator in Babylon was the same God who brought down Nebuchadnezzar when his heart was exalted. The same God chose prostitute Rahab as part of the lineage of Jesus. He does as he chooses and no one can question him, because he's the one in charge of the affairs of men.

Whatever God does, the ultimate goal is so that men may acknowledge his power and praise Him. If we recognise and acknowledge the fact that God is fully in charge of our lives, then we will not fret when things don't go according to plan or when God interrupts our schedule because he wants to bless us. God has a unique sense of timing and harmony that only someone with total and absolute knowledge of all constants and variables can combine to achieve his ultimate purpose. Nothing catches him by suprise and everything will work out to his own end-purpose- even our carelessness, mistakes and errors.

When next trials arise and you think you can't go on, or you think that God is helpless or late, think again: if he holds the universe in place and ensures that the seasons keep ticking, he surely has your life under control. His time of favour is here.

Never Late

John 11:21-22 NKJV:
Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

God's presence is the assurance of breakthrough. Pity the man with a lot of issues and nobody to help him bear them. Pity the man struggling under a burden too heavy for him, yet with no one to lend a helping hand. But most of all, pity the man who has no God, no help, no comforter, no guarantee that his life will enjoy any good.

Lazarus had died and had been buried, the final seal of the 'irreversible' nature of death. Mary and Martha had been mourning. Then the good news: Jesus had come. Martha went out to meet him and in a few words, taught us the importance of faith and the power of God. In her own words, if Jesus had been there, Lazarus would not have died. The presence of God gives and sustains life; he does not destroy, he builds and sustains life. God's presence is key to all that a man desires. His presence speaks life and his absence will leave room for a host of other influences.

She also confessed the immutable power of God to do whatever he has promised. God isn't like man, prone to rash words and actions; God watches and weighs his words before he speaks them so that once they go out, his power of accomplishment accompanies them. They cannot fail so his words can never be spoken in vain.

Like Martha, let our own lives speak of faith and action. Let our life be an agreement of what we profess and what we practice. Let God's Word be the only anchor we hold on to when life gets rough. Because his Word is eternal, that is the only thing that matters. Everything, even this present life, has an expiry date. Only God lasts forever and if we are live with him forever, he's got to live inside of us.

Get God, get life. His time of favour is here.

Sowing and Reaping

Galatians 6:7-9 NKJV

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

As long as this earth remains, God's natural laws will not be broken. As long as this earth remains, there will always be a reaping of like-seed with what was sown and a harvest of what was put in the ground. No man will sow maize and expect to harvest yam. In fact, what always makes sowing amazing is the exponential increase that harvest brings. You put in a few seeds of corn, you harvest cobs of maize in quantities that have no direct relationship with what was planted. This should set me thinking: there's nothing I do that is in vain. There's nothing I do that does not have its corresponding result, whether good or bad. Everything will be rewarded or punished at the appointed time, no matter how far you run or how hard you try and conceal your actions. Time has a funny way of revealing even the deepest motives for man's behaviour.

When you do good and men repay you with good, continue to do good. When men keep pressing you to compromise, remember that God's rewards isn't determined by other people's reactions to you but by your own actions and reactions. What you do with what others give you is proof of your maturity and readiness for God's blessings.

Remain focused. Don't give in or give up. His reward is here because his time of favour is here.

Real freedom

John 8:31-32 NIV:
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.  Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

True freedom is not the absence of chains but the knowledge of and obedience to the commands of God. Freedom is not really an expression of liberty to live as one pleases, but as God pleases.

Discipleship starts by believing in Jesus. You become his disciple by willingly accepting his mastery over you. You commit yourself to follow him as he leads. But the difference between Judas Iscariot and Simon Peter is seen in their moving from just being a disciple to knowing the truth. It is not enough to bear the names or talk the talk. My life must embrace the person of the truth that makes the walk and the talk match. Christ is the connection that brings reality into my walk so that all I do, say and think show the quality of my convictions and depth of my knowledge of the truth.

I must move from a mouth-confession of Christ to a life-confession of Him. It is applied knowledge that sets free, not the fact of knowledge itself. If I know Christ can save, but I say nothing, do nothing and believe nothing, then there can never be true freedom. I must seek true life and freedom even as I seek out the person of Christ himself.

Get a life; get the true life and enjoy true freedom. His time of favour is here.

Freedom and Responsibility

Galatians 5:13 GNBDC:
As for you, my brothers and sisters, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another.

There is always a major difference between the world's view and the Word's view on the meaning of freedom. The world sees it from a selfish point of view as an absence of personal responsibility or accountability- where you are free to do as you please. The Word sees it from a broad view- a point where you acknowledge that another paid the terms of your freedom from one level of bondage and gave you fresh terms of engagement. You were not set free to live as you pleased but you were set free from a hopeless end and given a responsibility that guarantees you endless hope.

That is the defining moment for the world. The world does not understand accountability and responsibility the way the Word understands it. The natural man cannot understand either because it goes against everything that nature enjoys. But as we come to God and understand his ways, we begin to understand what he demands from us. We are not our own masters; we have a new master.  We have renewed ideas, renewed hope, renewed vision, new responsibilities and renewed strength to follow our new master.

Check your fruits and your focus. The produce of your life depends on your investment. Are you investing in the world or in the Word? Are you serving others in love or demanding service from others? Serve with God as your focus and watch your life impact others. His time of favour is here.

Finding True Rest

Psalm 62:1-2 NIV:
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Today's text is a statement that is borne out of experience and cold facts. No man pens these words if he has not proven them to be true and factual. There is no other way to prove these words to be true than from the testimonies that arise from personal experiences.

The world cannot give you peace because it does not understand it. The world only knows selfishness and self-centeredness. The world is never at rest because the prince of this world is always roaming to and fro, seeking lives to destroy. No wonder then, that all who depend on the standards, principles and policies of the world will never know peace. You cannot give what you do not have, so do not expect that you will run to the devil and he will give you peace. He does not understand it, he cannot comprehend it, his nature abhors it, he cannot give it. Why not seek out the other prince- the Prince of Peace, the one who can sleep in the midst of the storms of life because he knows that as long as he's in the boat of your life, no storm can swallow that boat. Why not seek after that inner peace that his presence can bring, no matter the temperature of the external surroundings.

You see, peace is not the measurement of the calm situations around your life, it is the presence of the Prince of Peace, no matter what else is going on around you. His presence assures you of safety in the face of the greatest dangers; wealth in the face of the most stringent economy and abundance in the face of poverty all around. That is what peace can do and it is only God that gives it. Look around you, you will be depressed because there seems to be nothing of inspiration around you. But look inwards, give God your heart and let him work out the fine details of your inner state. His time of favour is here.

Training in Godliness

1 Timothy 4:8 NIV:
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

I'm wondering why the Bible equates physical training with Godliness. Can we find a point of convergence for both? How does being Godly help my life and what gain comes with physical training?

I believe that Godliness is a daily practice. No man wakes up one morning and suddenly becomes Godly. Godliness is the sum of all the little daily decisions you make for God daily. When you are tempted to lie and take the easy way out, but you stand for the truth no matter what, then you are training for Godliness. When compromise and mediocrity is the easier option for others, but you have Godly principles you live by and uphold, then you are training yourself for Godliness.

The world's standards are always changing. What was sacred a few decades ago has become despised a few years after. God's standards are not like that at all. The same standards of faith that God held Abraham to is the same he is demanding of us today. God doesn't change like shifting shadows and his children who would lay claim to their relationship with Him must prove their allegiance through the quality of their lives.

You can only train for a while or for a few years. The body cannot withstand the same pressure for sixty years. You just must give yourself a break sometimes. Not so with Godliness. It is a life-long regimen, a constant life-demand. Physical training only does your body good to an extent; Godliness has eternal consequences.

Focus on the right priorities today. God's nature is our ultimate aspiration and as we walk in his nature, we seal our eternal redemption. Live right; live holy; live Godly; his time of favour is here.

Victory through Christ

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 NIV:
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ever wonder why sin has got so much power? Ever wonder why it appears as if no matter how hard you try, what you really do not want to do is what you find convenient and easy to do? That is the power of the sinful nature. It is as old as man because it is the cause of man's rebellion towards God since Adam.

Today's text shows something. The law was given to regulate man's behaviour and restore man's broken relationship with God. It was given so that man may know what code of conduct was expected of him and how he could reclaim his lost place with God. But no matter how hard the law tried, it could not really deal with the problem of sin because in the first place, it could not understand it. How does a law that came into existence centuries after the fall of man deal with the cause of man's fall itself?

A solution had to be proferred. There had to be something or someone who outlived man's sinful nature and who could understand the root cause of sin and deal with its effects and consequences. God had to come, as he alone had dealt with rebellion, even in his own realms of heaven and had successfully expelled the leader of the rebellion. He had the power, knowledge and wisdom to deal with the problem of sin in man.

Victory has come through Christ. He alone existed long before sin ever became a world issue and he alone can help man deal with the power, effects and consequences of sin. In him alone is victory, every other arrangement is only a temporary one that will not last and will not deal with the root cause of sin. Jesus alone is the solution; he alone has the power over sin, death and the grave. Seek him today and receiv life. Reject him reject life. His time of favour is here.

Perfect Peace

Isaiah 26:3 NIV
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.

It has often been said that there is no perfection on this side of eternity. Because we have become imperfect beings as a result  of the fall of man in the garden of Eden, nothing our lives produce can be perfect. We can only strive towards perfection as we live our lives from day to day. While that is true, let me introduce you to the One who is able to bring perfect harmony out of broken chords.

There's a God who can do what seems impossible for man. There's a God who is able to bring peace in the midst of war, light in the midst of the thickest darkness and hope in the midst of the most hopeless of situations. He alone can fulfil the promises made in the text above.

How do you get peace in a world going to pieces? How do you maintain equilibrum in a world gone haywire and imbalanced? How do you keep your head when all others are losing theirs? The answer is simple: let your heart and mind stay on God, the only true source of peace. Sounds odd, but the evidence abounds to this testimony. Ask Isaac who sowed in a land of  famine and in the same year of sowing reaped a hundredfold harvest. Ask the man who saw an iron axe-head float on water or Peter who actually walked on water. As many as can keep their minds stayed on God will have their lives produce such extraordinary breakthroughs.

If you desire peace, then stay connected. If you desire change, work with the God who can change the entire course of your life by just one intervention. His time of favour is here.

Being Truly Wise

Proverbs 3:7-8 NIV:
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.   This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

For everything God creates, the devil always offers a cheap, inferior and deadly alternative. For every good plan of God, the devil is always plotting to install his own evil plan in the mind of man. The battlefield is always the mind of the man, as that is the seat of all decisions, actions, thoughts and motives.

It all began in the Garden of Eden. God's plan was man's eternal dominion; the devil wanted the dominion to himself. A cheap alternative to God's perfect plan was suggested: truly be like God, knowing good and evil, as if man was not already like God. And so man fell to the lure of being like God by foul means and the battle continues daily for the souls of man and total control of his destiny.

But then, God's plan has always been undefeatable. It doesn't matter the quality or quantity of the opposition against God; he always wins his battles. Today's text highlights another area of our lives where we have always struggled as natural men: the area of wisdom and pride. No man rejects wisdom. We seek it by all means, fair or foul. We spend a fortune in acquiring it through books and higher learning. We go to the ends of the earth in search of it but today's text highlights the greatest source of true wisdom: God. Sounds ordinary but check out the statistics: he created the world as we see it now in just six days, just by speaking everything into existence. Man was formed by his hands and at birth, is endowed with the most important attribute he needs: the nature of God through the breath of God in him. That breath is the impartation of all that God is into man. All that God does becomes possible because of the nature, breath and power of God deposited in us.

Why, then, do we not fully maximise these potentials? Why are our lives seemingly empty of meaning and direction, if indeed, we carry God's nature in us? Why does it appear that man prefers the cheap, deady alternative to the one God offers? Simply put, you can only get the original when you have the original personality living in you. You can't get God's best for your life by living a life outside his control. If you truly desire what God offers, you must come to him on his own terms and do his bidding.

We claim God's promises and blessings most times without wanting to do what he wants. We seek his good without doing the good he wants us to do. We seek wisdom from every other source except from the true source and we wonder why we are tense, unhealthy and full of evil desires. No man truly begins to live until he has begun a new life in God. No man truly has wisdom until he has received the new life that the personality of true wisdom brings.

Get a life, get the true life. Get God, get true wisdom. He gives the real deal, all other options are cheap alternatives. His time of favour is here.

Unity....

1 Corinthians 1:10 NIV:
I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.

I know that many things have been said about the possibility of unity among diverse human beings and the seeming impossibility of getting two people to perfectly agree on anything. People coin expressions like "there's unity in diversity" to back up this thought. While not disagreeing with this position, I believe there's a direction God wants us to move in and that is expressed in the words of the text quoted above.

How can people of different ethnic and geographical backgrounds all speak with the same mind and have the same thoughts? How possible is it for people who have different experiences and exposures  be perfectly united in mind? I believe the answer is in the foundation of every life and the contents of each vessel. When God created man, the focus of that creation was the ability and nature that man was given. God breathed into the man and man became a living soul. The breath of God was the defining nature, not colour, race or tribe. The breath of God in man is the connecting influence that seeks to reach out to other people. It is only as we allow the breath of God to work in us that God's nature, attributes and power can be made manifest in us.

Pefect unity in mind and thought is more of an inner quality than an outward character trait. There's nothing outside of us that makes us similar to other people: fingerprints, DNA, hair and eye samples are personal traits that cannot be shared or transfered. There is however that nature and power of God, given to us when he breathed into us, that connects us to other people and makes us united in mind and thought.

As we allow God work in us, he can bring about the unity of mind and thought that he desires. His presence in any life guarantees unity of mind and thought with as many as will give him room in their hearts too. His time of favour is here.

Tit for Tat

Luke 6:37-38 NKJV:
“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

As I read these verses, I'm reminded of the rules that govern human relationships which these verses inspire. We desire that people do good to us, we want to be treated fairly and honestly. We desire that whatever good we ask for, all concerned will do so for us. The issue with such thinking is the order of arrangement. Which one comes first: the good we desire from others or the good we must first do before we can demand any good from anyone else? If we then do good to others first, is it compulsory that they do the same good to us? Are we doing good for others for the sole purpose of getting the same reward from others?

The Christian race is one that is full of unpredictable twists and turns. A lot of things happen as we run this race: the good and the not-so-good; but through it all, we are reminded again that there's a God who sees all that goes on and he it is who will reward every man accordingly. For everything we do, whether good or bad, there is a just reward, which God alone can determine.

If God then determines the just rewards for my actions, then why then do I get evil atimes for the good that I do? Why do the people I have helped in the past the same people who will repay me wigh evil? Why do people easily forget the good done to them by others as soon as they are comfortable? Questions that God may not answer but all he demands from us is this constant reminder: the same measure you use will be measured back to you. That is a warning we will do good to heed as we run this race. Ours is not to do good, expecting that good will come back to us from the same people we have done good for, but we are to do good, irrespective of what people do or give us in return. We are not judges; we are products of God's grace and that grace can only be effective in the lives of others when we live it out by doing good, no matter the cost.

God is a true judge and his rewards will be just. I need only worry about the true motives for my actions; God will take care of the results if I take heed to the seeds I sow. As I recently heard: "Christians are not perfect; we are only forgiven". That same grace must move from us to other people, so that the life of God in us can be replicated in the lives of others. His time of favour is here.

Your Soul's Worth

Mark 8:36-37 NKJV:
For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

Really, how much is a soul worth? What value can you place on a soul? If an exchange was to be arranged for just one soul, what could be given in exchange? As I examine my life in the light of the verses quoted above, some truths come to mind:

° There is a need to draw a scale of preference or priorities. We need to sit down and critically examine our lives, conduct, conversation and company so that a stand can be taken. There are always competing interests fighting for recognition and priority in our hearts. We are the ones who would determine the place of these interests in our hearts.

° It is possible to spend our lives in pursuit of a standard and at the end discover that we had run in vain. There is a race set for all of us, but how we run it is a matter of personal conviction. Life is not a race with anyone; it is a race of faith, a fight for eternity. No two people can run on behalf of each other, so we need to stop trying to measure our lives in the light of other people's expectations and standards. Standards differ from person to person and from generation to generation; therefore it would amount to suicide to try and live up to undefined standards set by other people. Why not make your own standard that of God, so people can know God through you?

°  A day of reckoning will come. Let no man deceive you. There's no logic that supports an unaccountable life. By human standards, we demand an account by stewards, employees and trustees. We hold them accountable for their actions and inactions. How then can we reject the idea of God holding us accountable for our actions too?. One day, no matter how long it takes or how far we go, we will give account for every word and action our lives produced. Ensure it is the right quality that can stand the test of God's fire.

°  Nothing can be of more value to God than a soul that he owns and holds. There's nothing a man can give that can be of the same value as a soul. If God could take his time creating man, and then giving man his own breath, then his soul is worth more to him than anything else. God is interested in the eternal value of every life he owns.

Indeed, God loves us and wants the best for us. We owe it to God to discover his purpose for us and pursue it. Life lived with purpose makes God's investment in our lives worth it. Rejoice, for his time of favour is here.

Walk the Talk

James 3:13 NIV:
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

Indeed, there's wisdom and there's wisdom. There's 'wisdom' the world gives and true wisdom that come from God. The fruits both of them produce always show their origin. It does not matter how long the fruits hide or how long it takes for the seeds to bear fruit; one day, the reality of the quality, origin and substance of the fruits will be revealed.
How then do you ensure that what you have and are nurturing is the real thing? When you then have the right thing, how do you confirm that you have the right attitude to what God has given you?

True wisdom comes from God. The world has fake substitutes for whatever God gives and it almost always looks like the real thing. This is why you need God to know the real thing. God has asked us to ask him for wisdom and if he could give us his own Son, then nothing else will be too big for him to give us. It is therefore important for us to know and have the wisdom that God gives. A fundamental attribute of that wisdom is that it leaves no room for pride. How can you boast about something you hold that you know was given to you in the first place? How can you be selfish with something that grace delivered to you?

When a man realises the grace of God upon his life, his life shows off the fruits of that grace. No wonder our text here says that if a man is truly wise and full of understanding, his life will show it by good deeds done in humility that comes from true wisdom. Let us truthfully examine our hearts this day and ask ourselves: is my life bearing the fruits of grace? Am I living in humble realisation of my total weakness and complete dependence on the grace of God? Have I learnt to make my walk match my talk, so that lives can be blessed by my life? Remember, it is only a consistently Godly life that can lead others to God. My life has the potential of being such if I surrender it in humility to God and allow him do his work in me. His time of favour is here.

God is Great

2 Samuel 7:22 KJV:
Wherefore thou art great, O Lord God: for there is none like thee, neither is there any God beside thee, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

A background to today's text will do us good. David was a man who enjoyed the limitless grace of God in all ramifications. He was a man who, despite all his shortcomings, knew how to get back into God's good books. His C.V included murder, adultery and conspiracy, grave sins for which he deserved death. But unlike many of us today, when he was confronted with his sin, rather than rationalising, he repented wholeheartedly. He gave no excuses; he just gave himself to God wholeheartedly. No wonder then, that God called him a man after his own heart.

This context shows David planning to build a magnificent temple for God. Plans had been made and the materials had been provided. God said No. God even went as far as reminding David of some of the things he had done wrong and the innocent blood he had shed, which disqualified him from building that temple. Rather than complain and murmur, David accepted and still coined the words of the focal text quoted above. Are there not many of us who seek to do great things for God, yet it appears there's no help from God in that regard? When God disrupts our best-laid plans, do we accept it or do we grumble? Can God take our attention away from what we think is proper and fix us on the things that matter?  Can we still praise God when everything has gone south, our best plans have been battered and our hopes seem shattered? Will God still remain God in our lives when things don't look too good?

As I ponder on the words above, I see a man who has made up his mind to praise God, no matter what circumstances around him dictate. Praising God isn't a matter of emotions or circumstances; it happens in spite of circumstances. It is easy to praise God when everything is easy and calm and all our plans are being backed up by God's action. Our reactions when things are not going well is the true test of the quality of our faith.

A fundamental lesson: God forgives and forgets our confessed sin; the problem is with the consequences of that sin. David was forgiven but the results of his sin led to a break in his own, adultery in his own house and a constant battle for succession to the throne after David's death. Yet, the mercy of God was evident. The product of the 'marriage' of David and Bathsheba became the next king after David. All of God's promises came to pass in the life of Solomon, so much so that Solomon was the only king of Israel who never had to fight a single war, except for the war to control his own raging emotions and his household.

God is a God of mercy and love. His power is awesome yet humane. His judgements are true yet tinged with mercy and love. His grace is available for all who will take advantage. Indeed, there's none like him. Praise God today, for his time of favour has come.

Rest....from fruitless labour

Matthew 11:28-30 KJV:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

It is a world of stress and high tension. We rush to sleep at night, setting alarm clocks and priorities for the next day, unsure of what the day holds and even more unsure of what our purpose and pursuits should be. We rush through the day, meeting and keeping appointments and deadlines, with hardly a thought of what our life should be like. We then rush home at night, seeking a balance to our lives by ensuring we are available to our family members. It has become a juggling art: balancing work, family, life and fun. We mostly tilt towards work, while our families suffer in the process, only to discover later than our pursuits were the wrong priorities.

We labour so much while our lives show a disproportionate return on our labour. We run after a lot of things and at the end of our pursuits, we hold less than what we started the journey with. There has to be a purpose to every pursuit and a reason for every race. There must be a God-inspired pattern for every priority that we set before us and it is only as we run, walk and work with God that we can find the rest that we desire.

There's an invitation to only those who have realised the folly of labour without God. There's stress and trouble for any man seeking to find peace outside the true source of that peace. For any man seeking true rest, Christ simply says: 'Come unto me'. That is all you need to do. When you come, there's an exchange of burden, a transfer of spirits and a help that is divine and eternal. When you come with your burden, God just does not take the burden and send you out into a responsibility-free life; he takes your own burden and gives you his own burden: a gift, a talent or a responsibility you have been specially endowed to perform. He just doesn't give you this, he empowers you daily so you can fulfil these responsibilities. He gives you his own yoke and because it is his, he's carrying it with you. You are not left alone at any time to bear these things by yourself. He's the example that bears following and his life is a living testimony that with God, you are never without help.

His help is available through his Spirit and he gives you just what you need to fulfil his own purpose for your life. He isn't going to leave you alone to navigate this wild world alone without help. His presence will help sustain you whatever the yoke you may have been given to carry. His presence has been promised and by the nature of God, every promise of God will be fulfilled. His time of favour is here.

The Unsearchable God.....

Isaiah 40:28-29 KJV:
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord , the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

God is really unsearchable. There's no limit to his power, wisdom and strength. There are not enough human adjectives that can fully qualify and quantify the the nature of God and the works of his hands. From the words above, God is described as an everlasting Father. I just see a God who's constantly holding out his hands to his creation. It does not matter how long he is ignored; he will keep knocking and waiting until you either open up or the waiting time expires by his coming. His patience is impeccable, as I'm not sure any man who continue to sustain and uphold something you have created but which exists in rebellion towards you, its creator.
We constantly live our lives like we own them; thinking that our wisdom, power and abilities can sustain us through the journey. But what I have learnt is that God alone is the one who never grows weary. He has been the same consistent God through the ages. His work, methods and results may not be predictable, but his nature is. He doesn't always do things the way we expect but he sure makes certain that we end well.
There's just one lesson though: As long as I feel self-sufficient and capable, I may not enjoy the fullness of God's grace and mercy. If I do not confess my faintness, how do I acknowledge my need for the power of God? If I feel capable and strong enough, how does God's power make any impact in my life? If I desire God's strength, I must plead my weakness and my need for him. No man can come to God and argue from a position of strength. Outside of God, there's nothing in me now that can sustain me through the journey ahead. I need God's power, strength and ability.
God's greatness is seen in the conclusion of the verses above. How does God increase strength for a man with NO might? I though that 0 multiplied by even a million would always result in a 0. But with God, your 0 meeting with God's 'minimum' will result in amazing breakthroughs. The lesson for me here is: all I need is to be available; God will work out the results and the effect, afterall, it is his life, his gifts, his calling and his assignment. I'm just a privileged vessel.
I rejoice in his strength today, because his time of favour is here.

The Substance of the Gospel

Romans 1:16 KJV:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

I have been severally taught that 'gospel'  has its root word in Greek and means 'good news'. I could then substitute 'gospel' with 'good news' and see whether it sheds more light on our focal passage above: ' I am not ashamed of the good news of Christ.......'. It then means that there's good to be found in Christ or there's a good to be enjoyed in having Christ. For as many that have received him, Christ then must be at work in them, working in the power of God to bring out his good purposes. If then there's good news in Christ, why are Christians then the most persecuted people? Why does it look as if the more of Christ you profess, the more 'bitter' the trials and tribulations? Does it not atimes look like there's nothing good about our profession of Christ?
I just believe that there's something very personal about the good news that Christ brings which cannot be shared like every other gift. What today's passage talks about the good news of Christ as the 'power of God unto salvation'. God's greatest expression of power is the grace of salvation: where a man can willingly come to God through Christ and he's set free from his past and given a new and fresh start. The workings of God's salvation through Christ isn't according to reason, logic or common sense; its not what your human mind can fathom. It is a gift from God to ALL mankind, but which will only work for 'anyone who believes'.
This is the issue. We complain a lot about the issues we face in life but we do nothing concrete about it. We want to enjoy a life free from fear but we seek help in the wrong places. We desire God's will and purpose for our lives but we desire to find this will through the wrong person or means. We have raised man to the level of God and made him our source of help. We just cannot get used to the simple idea that Christ, in God, is all we need.
This morning, let us seek help from the right source and person. Try the channel God has provided and approved as the only way to salvation. Many options seem available, but if God has laid down one and only available channel, then our lives will only start when we come to that channel.
God is waiting for us. His free gift of salvation through Chrisst is available for 'anyone who believes'.  Better to risk all on God and lose all, than to risk nothing at all and then really lose all. His time of favour is here.

Beautiful feet!

Isaiah 52:7 KJV:
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Check out the kind of mouth that goes along with the kind of feet that you have. Do the words they speak match the paths they walk? Do you walk the talk or is there a strong disconnect between what you practice and what you preach?
Check this out again: how beautiful are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings; that publishes peace. It goes further to expand the scope of the good tidings: that publisheth salvation. That is the whole plan of God: man's reconciliation with God. That is our focus, our pursuit, our major assignment. There's nothing else that brings more reward, grace and blessing than to replicate God in the lives of the people he brings our way.
This week, spread good tidings. Let your feet, mouth and life speak about the good tidings of salvation. Let your life point to the greatness, majesty and glory of God. He will make your life beautiful. His time of favour is here.

It's Free for All.....

Titus 2:11 KJV:
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men...

These are sobering times and sobering words that must provoke sobering thoughts. We are in a season of strange events and even stranger behaviours. We live in uncertain times, without any idea of what the next moment, minute, hour, day or week will bring. The ONE thing, however, that will certainly and assuredly happen is that this world, as we know it,  will cease to exist one day. This is as certain as night follows day and vice versa. God has promised us that what we see now will be destroyed by fire, to be replaced by what he has promised- new heavens and a new earth. If you can point to just ONE of the promises of God that has failed, you can doubt this one too, but if there's no evidence of a failed promise by God, then you can bet your eternity on this- Jesus will one day return.
Today's passage buttresses this truth- God's grace has been revealed and is available to all men, irrespective of location, past, history or background. All these things do not bother God; what you do with the knowledge of his grace is the key factor to your eternity. If after the grace is revealed, and there is no response or acceptance, then the punishment is inevitable.
God always gives a choice, and that is itself the power to choose. His gift of grace is a blank cheque and has been drawn to all men, but it is only those who fill in their names and accept the unconditional grace that will benefit. I know that excuses will not hold water on that day, because daily, God reveals his grace of salvation for as many as are alive now. Choose to receive that grace today, tomorrow is out of your hands. Now is the acceptable day, today is the day of salvation. His time of favour is here.

Generational Blessings

Deuteronomy 7:9 KJV:
Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

This same God, who has been working in the affairs of men from the days of Abraham, says that he is the same God, who is faithful to his words, keeping every covenant and promise he makes, ensuring that as long as he lives, his words shall come to pass. God always does his part because it is in his nature to be faithful. There's nothing else to add to his nature because it is all-encompassing and stable, predictable and constant. The reason why we do not enjoy the fullness of his grace and goodness will be a result of our own reaction to his nature.
Watch the words above: he keeps his covenant....... with those who fear him and keep his commandments. That's the sore point. Can we really say we fear the Lord? Do our lives point out to God? Am I laying the foundation of a generational blessing for my family? There's a joy in this verse too: what I do now is a seed that my generation will eat from. Many of us are enjoying the grace and favour that our parents enjoyed. Wouldn't it be nice if we do the same for our own children and generations too?
Nothing is inconsequential or unimportant. Everything is a seed sown into eternity. Watch what you sow, as the fruits of your life will outlive you. His time of favour is here.

Wisdom from above...

James 3:17-18 KJV:
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

There are a lot of lessons in the verses quoted above, but there's one central theme that bears emphasis. Wisdom is important for life's decisions, but there's a need to examine the sources of wisdom, and the best of all available options. Not to forget- every decision we make in life has eternal  consequences. Because God has set his purpose in eternity, our lives are to be lived in the full consciousness of where we will spend eternity.
That said, there's a wisdom that comes from above and another that comes from below. The one from above has a major character that distinguishes it from the one below and that is the first attribute mentioned above: it is first of all HOLY. If there's something missing from our walk today, it is holiness. We have a set standard from Monday to Saturday night and a different one on Sundays. We lift up 'holy' hands on Sundays and we strike down others and oppress them during the week. We have compartmentalised our lives so that there are different phases and faces of our lives that we show to other people. We look good on the outside but we are inwardly filthy and pretentious. Believe me, you can only deceive people, and that for a while. God cannot be deceived or mocked. He knows our hearts' state at any time and we would only do well to live our lives in the full consciousness of where God is taking us to.
There are other lessons but we need to pause for a bit here and let it all sink in. My life makes no sense if it is not lived in line with God's commandments. It makes no sense when God's nature is not being produced in me. My life will not make impact without holiness. That should be my main pursuit and focus. Every other benefit accrues as a result of the inner state. If without holiness, no man shall see God, then of what use is any other pursuit? Of what benefit is my trying to outgive God when I have not met his first and major requirement?
Pursue holiness. It is the only standard God approves and rewards. Everything else is an added advantage. His time of favour is here.

Freely Given

Genesis 22:12 KJV:
And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.

It is very easy to overlook the lessons of the passage quoted here, either out of familiarity with the storyline or the knowledge of how it all ended. But let me take this from the beginning and relate it to our lives. Picture a man who had walked with God for so many years, yet had no child of his own. He had heard God speak about a child so he wasn't just imagining the promise. That was all God gave him: a wife and the promise. And for 25 years, he waited and waited......... it was as if God needed reminding. How many of us can wait that long for a promise to be fulfilled? How many of us are content with a Word from God, no matter how long it takes for fulfilment? Can we hold on and hold out without deviating or trying to help God achieve his own promise? Can God trust me with higher responsibilities as I remain faithful in the face of little trials of faith?
Abraham's promise from God came after 25 years and then, the same God who promised and fulfilled it was asking for the same blessing again. I believe this is the fulcrum on which our faith and walk as Christains revolve: until I learn that all I hold belongs to and comes from God and can be demanded for anytime by the owner, my Christian journey will lack substance. There's nothing I have and hold now that would have been possible outside of God. There's nothing worth holding on to if that thing has not been given to you. You can't hold on to it for long. If God owns and holds everything, then there's nothing I can claim as my own. Abraham understood that and was ready to offer Isaac back to the One who gave him in the first place; afterall, if God could give him one, God could as well take him and give him many others in return. Hannah's experience buttresses this fact: until I learn that God owns it all, I don't get to keep anything. Everything I hold now is a privilege and a responsibility which must be accounted for.
God knows when our giving is sincere and he will bless abundantly. No one gives so much to God to make God a debtor. God has given the greatest gift that can be given. There's nothing else he won't give together with his Son. No demand on earth, no matter how complex or uniform, can exhaust the resources of heaven. Rejoice, for his time of favour is here.

Trials as Necessary Ingredients for Growth

John 16:33 KJV:
These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Doesn't this verse sound blunt and discomforting atimes? We look into our lives and we see a lot of trials and tribulations on our journey to eternity. I am sure we wish atimes that the journey was easier and more comfortable.  This is the point where this verse becomes more difficult to accept.
We thought that it was supposed to get easier the closer we got to God. It was supposed to be more pleasurable as we grew in our relationship with God. Unfortunately, with God, the closer the walk, the more diverse the challenges. He does not promise us a trial-free walk; what he has promised us is his ever-abiding presence. God does not promise us a non-accountable life; he seeks to use our lives as a classic example of what he can do with a life that is totally yielded to him.
If we look for peace around us, we would be disappointed, as the world does not give that kind of peace. If you are looking for comfort and convenience, check again what and whom you believed. The call of Christ is peculiar- there's nothing you seek in Christ that the world does not have a cheap alternative. Unfortunately, many settle for the alternative, forgetting that the actual is much better. The peace of God does not remove trials; it gives you grace to bear the trials. The comfort God gives isn't the pity that man offers; it is comfort in trials that strengthen us so that we can in turn be able to comfort others. Everything God does or gives is done with an eye on eternity.
As I journey through life therefore, something must be settled in my heart: God's presence is the ultimate. There's no experience, trial or pain that His presence cannot solve. There's no battle so fierce that can overpower you or any struggle so big that can render you powerless as long as you have in you the One whose words alone can calm every raging sea.
Get God today, see what he can do. The world's system keeps turning, God's grace and presence keep sustaining. His time of favour is here

Success.....

Deuteronomy 32:15 KJV:
But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.

There are many issues we face in life daily that require strength and patience to overcome. Somehow, as we endure under the weight of the trials we face, we become stronger and better as individuals, able to help others overcome their own challenges too.
But there is an area of life that comes with many hazards and it is in the area of success or prosperity. Many of us have handled the loss of a loved one well, many have lost jobs and contracts and still stayed true to the faith, knowing that somehow, God was able to raise them up again. But if there's a pit that has destroyed the testimony of many people, it is in their handling of 'success'.
Somehow, we bear up under adversity, telling ourselves that it is only for a while. We wait for years for God to give us a breakthrough in an area of life and we can be very patient as we wait. We can trust God for the provision of certain things and we have to wait for the passage of time before these things come. We pray for success and prosperity atimes, and we wonder why God does not seem to answer. I believe that God himself knows the dangers success without him can bring. We seek God for prosperity and then kick God out when prosperity comes. We fast and pray for prosperity and breakthrough and then we consume the fruits of God's prosperity as if we were the ones who brought them about by our own power. We live by faith before wealth comes and when there's breakthrough, we want to work out the rest by our own wisdom and power, forgetting that there's nothing we can do or be outside of God.
Jeshurun in our passage above started well. He was picked out of the howling wastes of the desert, without God and without hope. He was helped by God every step of the way. Provisions for his needs were met out of places he had no investments in. In fact, there were provisions from places that had no business supplying such things in the first place. How do you explain water from a rock, or manna for 40 continuous years? The bible testified that God alone led him; no foreign god was with him. That was before success came.
Suddenly, Jeshurun looked at himself and loved what he saw. He suddenly realizes that he had arrived. He had forgotten thd journey,the experiences and the destination God had in mind;  he could only see the present. That is a danger we must avoid. Whatever God gives us and does for us is only a small bit of his big plan. His destination is heaven, every other thing he does is a step towards our eventual arrival. We must never forget that.
Anything God would give us that will deny us heaven will surely not be given to us. We must watch our hearts and lives closely, so that God's 'blessings' do not become stumbling blocks to our safe arrival in heaven.
Never forget God; without him, success is not possible and outside of him, prosperity is always temporary. With Him, heaven is the ultimate. His blessings and success are the benefits. His time of favour is here.

Power of Words.....

Proverbs 18:21 KJV:
Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

This verse and thought bears repeating again because of its importance in our lives and our walk with God. God, who is our father and creator, laid a foundation for this thought by creating the entire universe with words. He simply spoke the entire world into existence and still keeps sustaining it through the power of his word. All we see and hear today are offsprings of the foundations already laid by God. To make matters even better, God made man in his own image, and sealed it by imparting his breath into man. God's creative power, amazing words and higher life were all imparted into man with that breath. Man now has the power to dominate, create, and subdue. What sin did was to corrupt the power and ability God had given; sin could never take away from us what it never gave in the first place, it could only seek to corrupt that which God had given.
We therefore have an opportunity to walk once again in the full realisation of our power, grace and ability in God. God's original plan is still there, and only as I tap into the free stream that comes from God can I fully live out my potential. My words are important because of who I am. It doesn't matter initially who I know; all of us were given the power of words. Most just don't know how to use it right, and they spend the oppourtunity cursing others. But for as many as have God's life in them, there's a deep understanding of the power of words and why we need to watch what we say and how it is said. God doesn't waste words, neither does he talk anyhow; everything he says is purpose-driven and eternity- based. If only we could learn from him, how less complicated our lives would be and the great impact our words would have.
The power of our words are clearly spelt out today. It is a choice to be made between two clear alternatives. There is no middle ground, you just must commit to one direction. May God grant us the grace to watch our words before they end up as destiny-destroyers. Speak life, spread life and get life. His time of favour is here

Your Heart.....

John 14:1 KJV:
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

This admonition by God so many years ago still holds so much power and grace even till today. As we take a look at the things that surround us, and the daily experiences of our lives, we wonder whether we can make it or if our lives will really make impact. We struggle to wake up in the morning and we run around daily, seeking to make ends meet. As we run around, there is a nagging thought in our minds that make us wonder if all these efforts will be worth it at the end of the day.
The same passage in focus gives us insights as to the reason why we must hold on and hold out. If we only had hope for this life, the Bible says we are of all men most miserable. This tells me that there's a reason behind the season and a benefit from the experiences. We can't go through all God brings our way in vain; there's something God is working out as we walk with him.
Relax, we are in safe hands. He has promised us a good end and a home after all these experiences. His promises have never been known to fail and they won't start now. All we need to do, as highlighted above, is to believe in God. His actions, words and conduct show that he can be trusted to keep to keep his promises. His time of favour is here.

Making a Choice!

Matthew 6:24 KJV:
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Life itself is a mixed flavour of choices, oppourtunities and consequences. We are daily faced with choices and decisions to be made, with the attendant effects and results of these choicez being evident around us today. We consider some things as small and insignificant, forgetting that nothing is inconsequential on this side of eternity. Everything counts, as an account must be made of every step, decision and action undertaken by us.
Today's verses highlights a fundamental truth: the only power we have is the power to make a choice. Once a choice is made, the end-game of that choice begins to run our lives. That is why John 3:18 KJV says:  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. The man who has made a choice not to believe, even though he's alive, is condemned already, because that is the end-result of his own choice. As soon as he believes, the end-game has changed; eternal life becomes the reality, even while he's still alive in his physical body.
These words above state the truth as an incontrovertible fact: no man, no matter how skilled or proficient, can serve two masters. You can't love them, serve them or devote attention to them equally. One will enjoy more time and attention in some areas while the other may benefit in some other areas. God brooks no opposition and he's not in competition with anyone. He will not share glory with created things, neither will he allow divided devotion. We must make an active choice on whom to follow: the creator or created things. You can't find a middle ground because there's no middle ground; indifference itself is a choice because you are not deciding actively for God.  Think about it,count the cost and make a decision. I pray it is the right one, so that all ends well. His time of favour is here.

God is for me!

Joshua 23:10 KJV:
One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you.

There is a constant need to check the quality, integrity and nature of your support system. There's no one alive who does not need a form of support or help of a kind; we cannot succeed alone without help. Where we now go for help and support makes all the difference between being an overcomer or being overcome by challenges.
Today's extract makes an assertion, and gives conditions under which that assertion can be true. One of us, with the right support system and the right backing, will chase a thousand. There's a multiplier effect of God's help- you alone with God can achieve more than a million without God's help. Ask the young boy whose small lunch of five loaves and two fishes helped feed over five thousand men, besides women and children. He had twelve baskets of food left, a result that has no basis scientifically, mathematically or physically.
If God fights for you, you don't have to do much- just keep depending absolutely on God for help. It sounds easy to say but the challenges we face and the timeline and deadlines we attach to these challenges keep pushing us to 'help' God, but we forget that we really cannot help God. He's our help; we cannot help ourselves. He's the refuge and strength, we need him, not the other way around.
As we go out today, let us remember this: God fights for those who depend only on Him, and he ensures that they overcome, no matter what the challenges may be. Pity the man without God and without help, left alone to carry the burdens and issues of life alone. God has promised to be there for us, and because his promises never fail, our lives can never go to waste. His time of favour is here.

God is for me!

Romans 8:31-32 NIV:
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

How I pray that the deep truths revealed in the verses above will be our personal experiences. We keep asking God for things and because we don't receive them as soon as possible, we begin to doubt his power and ability to provide. We seek alternative channels and sources, mostly outside of God, seeking those same things. We tend to avoid God when it seems as if he's not listening to us and we go after dead, deaf and dumb options, which offer no true help.
This is the poser in the verses above: if God could freely and willingly give up his Only Son to die as punishment for sins he knew nothing about, or to bear the cross for crimes he didn't commit, so that we could have life in its fullness, what then,can't God give? If God could turn away from his Son while bearing the sins of the world so that Jesus' new life could give us a new life also, free from sin and its evil end, what can't God give us? The greatest gift has already been given; every other thing is an added benefit of that greatest gift. With Jesus comes the full options; nothing good is withheld from those who already possess the greatest gift.
No wonder then, that the verses above start with that strong assertion: if God be for us, who can be against us? If God is on your side, the quality and quantity of the opposition against you does not matter;  God is in you and for you and his presence, power, prosperity, privileges, protection, provisions and peace are all for you.
As you journey through life, remember, the opposition doesn't count. What you need to work on is the power backing you up. Make sure that the real power himself is for you; he will work out all the other details that bother you. Get his life and really enjoy your life. If he willingly gave his life, there is nothing elsse he will not willingly give you. His time of favour is here.

Ask.....

Matthew 18:19-20 NIV:
“Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

There is an authority and a responsibility God has bestowed upon us who are His children- the grace of asking. It is both a privilege and a responsibility because an understanding of its power unlocks oppourtunities and change that had been thought impossible. The words above were spoken, not by a prophet under inspiration, but by the Lord Jesus himself, and his words are backed up with his never-changing, ever-constant power, presence and purpose.
God has given us a power that no other person can guarantee- that we can change our lives, circumstances and fortunes by asking. All we need to do is to agree with someone on anything, and that thing is settled. Looks like a tall order? The bible is replete with accounts of people who moved mountains, received healings, got life restored and shut death up simply by asking. There's something about the Word of God that is effective and effectual; there's something about what God says and never forgets, no matter how long it takes for that thing to come to pass. What is required of me is to find out what it is that God wants and ask in line with his purpose. It is a settled fact that God will always honour his Word and bring his Word to fulfilment, but he's looking for children who know their stand and can declare his Word and get results.
Many times, what we do is complain and murmur about our situations, or we simply talk about it to people who have their own issues and simply could not care less what happens to you. God alone is the One who truly cares and he alone is the one who will accomplish that which his children demand of him.
Let us ask him; he always hears and listens, and his power is inconquerable and unquestionable. We deny ourselves the best God has on offer when we do not ask him for anything. Ask, until your joy is full and your breakthrough is complete. His time of favour is here.

Going back....

John 21:3 NIV:
“I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

It is difficult to understand the things that went through the minds of the disciples the few days after Jesus had died. They had lived, eaten, drank, lived, slept and walked with him for three and a half years and they had settled into a near-comfortable routine. They had all left their regular jobs to follow Jesus  and their needs had been met in amazing ways. Then the upheaval: Christ was taken away forcibly and killed; the disciples were scattered and had to meet in secret; some claimed they had seen the crucified Christ. I want to believe it was too much for Simon to bear. He had left all to follow Christ; now, it appeared like there was nothing left to aspire to; nothing left to pursue. He just had to go back to familiar surroundings.
Before we criticise Simon, let us examine our own lives. When things get complicated, what do we do? When confusion sets in and all seem lost, where do we go? Don't we atimes seek out the very people and practices that Christ delivered us from, simply because they seem to be a better option than the confusion we face? Don't we atimes seek help from situations, circumstances and things that God had placed under us? Are we not like Simon atimes, seeking help from our past mistakes and ways, trying to change the future by holding on to past errors, actions and thoughts?
We have been saved from the past; we therefore owe it to God to keep the past where it belongs. We were saved to serve going forward, not to be like Lot's wife who was still distracted by the riches of the past, even though they had been  consigned to destruction.
If things don't look clear now, hold on to God. If God called you, he alone can make a way out for you. There are no second options or a way back for anyone who has decided to follow Christ. The danger of going back is so explicitly explained in  Luke 9:62 NIV: Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”  God calls us to a lifetime of service and devotion to him, not a contract of employment, which can be terminated by either party. You are saved for eternity, not for some time. Let us live our lives worthy of heaven so that we can enjoy the fullness of God's blessings. His time of favour is here.

A New Command

John 13:34-35 NIV:
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I'm wondering why God calls the instructions given here a new commandment. Since the days of the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness, God had been speaking through Moses on love. Deuteronomy 6:4-5 repeats part of the verses quoted above verbatim, which means that really, the wordings of the instructions and commands aren't really so different. What, then, makes the command new?
I believe that the difference between the old and the new testament is the example available for emulation. God's commandment must have been cumbersome and laborious because as many as they were, there was no example to emulate, no presence worth following, no higher inspiration to strive for. Men had no real help, so they had to labour hard to attain God's standards. No wonder man fell so many times. But now, we have an example, an inspiration and a leader to follow and emulate. He has walked the same ground we have walked on, eaten the same food with us, felt the pangs of hunger and thirst, has had to pay tax like normal law-abiding citizen, and faced diverse temptations and trials, and has overcome. His examples and precepts have been noted down and we have been asked to follow his steps. He calls us to walk as he walked, talk as he talked, live as he lived, and love as he loved us. Thaat is the greatest lesson that can be passed down- the lesson of an example worthy of emulation.
Many people hold others to a standard they have not attained themselves, or demand an allegiance from people when they have not declared theirs yet. Christ is the way to follow, whose word matches his walk and who has been proved as a worthy example.
That is what makes our love new. His life has laid down a new standard. Whatever examples we had before have become stale and ineffectual; his life and love is the new levels to aspire to. May his grace grant us the power to live and love just the way Jesus lived and loved. His time of favour is here.

At Your Word.....

Luke 5:5 NIV:
Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

There's a place for effort and work, but there is a higher grace that disgraces effort, just to prove a point. There's a place for human contribution, but there's a grace that discountenances human reasoning and intellect, putting them to shame, just to prove that God is awesome.
Here was Simon and brother, spending the night, the natural time for fishing, finding nothing. Now, they were washing their nets, after a fruitless night. Here comes a stranger, asking to borrow their ship, seeking to use it as a pulpit. Simon didn't know how long it would take but he obeyed, saying nothing. The stranger preached, Simon listened.
Then comes the clincher: the stranger asked Simon to let out his net for a catch of fish. Simon must have looked around to see if the man had a net of his own or any fishing qualifications at all. Here he was, an expert fisherman, with nothing to show for his expertise after a whole night's work, being told by a stranger and a fishing novice, to seek for fish during the day: possibly the worst time for fishing. But I think Simon must have heard the stranger speak from his boat earlier, and must have noticed that there was authority in his words. Simon's words leads the way for our devotion this morning: there's a place for expertise, but God can shame expertise just to prove a point. It doesn't matter how long you have been doing a thing, once God steps in, he can bring a fresh insight, perspective and order into that thing.
Just like Simon said: even though I have done the best I can and failed, even though my expertise and knowledge have disappointed me, even though my best has not been good enough, what I need is a Word from you that can change my situation. That should be our focus also: get a Word from God that can change your situation. Get an assurance from the mouth of God that will sustain you through the storms that will come.
The issue is: do we listen for his voice? Are we patient enough to hear him speak? Do we try our best and our all first, then go to God when all options have failed? Or, do we wait on God to speak before we launch out?
The inspiration behind your words and actions will determine the length and depth of your impact. The inspiration of Jesus' words led to a net-breaking and boat- sinking miracle, the conversion of 4 souls at the same time as disciples and the start of a move by God to spread the gospel all around the world. 1 Corinthians 1:27-29 NIV says:
"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him."
Never doubt the power of God's Word. It has the power to produce amazing results. Get a word from God today to sustain you through the experiences that will come your way. His Word is alive and powerful. His time of favour is here.

The Importance of Riches

Luke 12:15-21 NIV:
Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”    And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.  He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’     “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.  And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’     “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’     “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

What a life! What a waste! What a loss of focus and a lack of priorities. The world has its standards- it measures success on numerical or quantifiable basis: how much money you have in your bank account; how many cars or houses you own; how much you pay for rent or school fees for the children. Life has become a comparative race, where everyone wants to be like the other person, not caring too much about how that other person came to be how he/she is. We measure ourselves mentally and physically, trying to outdo each other in displays of wealth, wisdom and power. We forget that like Einsten once said in paraphrase: the things that count cannot always be counted in terms of numbers, while what can be counted doesn't always count.
The story above is a lesson in the right priorities: a man who planted crops got a rich harvest. He had no power over the seeds or their capacity to bear fruits. He could not determine beforehand  which ones carried the potential of increase. He just planted all and waited. At the appointed time, the seeds bore fruits: fruits he had no control over, fruits he could determine how they came about. Yet, in 2-3 verses, he assumed total dominance over everything he could see. The word I  was used up to 5 times in those few verses. Where was the place of God or the place of the grace of God and his provision and provenance? Was there anything he had control over: the planting, the waiting period, the harvest? Could he determine the start or end of anything?
One big lesson: we don't owe or hold anything, except that which God gives us grace to hold. We are nothing outside the grace and mercy of God, and we will do well to remember that constantly and regularly. All he gives us is in trust and there's nothing we have or hold that we can retain by our own power.
All the glory for all we see or have must be returned to God, the owner of all things and the determiner of the destinies of men.
May we never be so full of our own importance that we forget the important: God is the ultimate; not what we own or hold but who we know.
His time of favour is here.

Growing in Grace

Luke 2:40 NIV:
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

We need the grace of God in our lives. This statement looks out of place in this world of struggles, pains and disappointment. From our waking moment to the time we sleep off, thoughts fill our hearts and minds, worries sap our strength. We worry over what we will eat and when we get it, we then worry about the next meal. We worry over the future of the children God gives us as blessings, wondering whether we can adequately take care of them. Today's passage seeks to change our perspective and focus, turning our attention away from what we need to do to what God alone can do in our lives.
As Jesus grew up, the Bible testified that he grew and waxed strong in spirit. It was both physical and spiritual growth. The child did not know too kuch about how it happened; God himself was at work, sowing the seeds of power and greatness in the child. God who creates all things is also at work today, seeking to bless and increase anyone who is willing to allow him work in their lives.
We need the grace of God in every aspect of our lives. We need his power, mercy, grace, favour, love and Spirit.  We cannot work or walk alone; God's presence and Spirit must be essentials in our lives if we are to make the required impact. God is too great to make insignificant vessels, without impact and without effect in the world.
We were born for impact; we were born to make a change. We cannot do it without God; we can't do anything outside of God's Spirit. Let us depend totally on God, allow him work out that which is his ultimate desire and that which only His Spirit can bring to pass. His time of favour is here.

Burden-Bearer

Psalm 68:19 NIV:
Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.

There's a doctrine that has been going around for some time now- come to Jesus, and all your burdens will be taken away. Well, whatever comes after those words are important in helping you know if the person speaking knows what he/she is saying. There's nowhere in the Bible that God promised his children a total burden-free life; what he promised us is his ever-abiding presence, together with a complete package of trials, burdens, battles and daily victories. Our walk with God begins with an understanding of God's expectations for us and a clear undersranding of what God has promised us.
In his own words, not quoted speech, Jesus himself said in Matthew 11:28-30 NIV: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light". Where then do we read about a burden-free life? Where does he promise us a trial-less passage through life? How does the quality of our convictions and the faith we profess get tested and its quality confirmed without trials and burdens?
Do not be deceived: before you enter in, count the cost. Be sure of what you are getting into before you take that all important decision of following Jesus. He will take you to the destination he has already promised us, but we must also trust him through the routes he takes us through to get there. If we trust his power to grant us a place in heaven, how can we then not trust his wisdom in the most difficult of circumstances?
Our faith is strengthened and our trust in Him is sharpened as we face these challenges. We must not avoid them; we must embrace them, so that the fullness of God can be established in us.
His time of favour is here

The Important and the Necessary

Matthew 4:4 NIV:
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’  ”

These first words Jesus spoke to the devil while he was being tempted hold a few lessons that we will do well to heed as we journey through life. Needs will never end, neither will the desire to satisfy hunger or thirst. These are basic needs that God himself knows are important for our growth and development. No wonder that was the first focus of the devil when he came to tempt Jesus. He knew Jesus was hungry, and he knew he needed food, so he came with a simple proposition: if you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread. Was there ever a doubt that Jesus was the Son of God? Was there anything on record that shows that he could not turn anything into something else? This experience underlines one of Satan's strategies- twist God's answers and decisions into questions,placing doubt in man's heart, making him think that maybe, God does not want this one for me. Satan did that for Adam and Eve, taking God's instructions and command, twisting it by adding another element to it, then making them see what they stood to achieve by eating the fruit. That is his Modus Operandi.
Thank God for Jesus- who saw beyond the temporal satisfaction of hunger and was able to establish a true fact: bread only satisfies for a while, bread only works for a season. Long after it has been eaten and forgotten, the real hunger remains, one that only the true Bread of Heaven, the Word of God can satisfy. God's Word is the real thing that matters; as He is the only One who can quench the deep thirst in man's heart. Nothing else will work; nothing else matters.
May our hearts seek after the real Bread; the one that can truly satisfy. Nothing else will work; nothing else matters. His time of favour is here.

Are you Mature?

Hebrews 5:14 NIV:
But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

Can you handle the constant pressures that the world and its standards bring? Can you bear the burdens of the ever-shifting sands of the world and its priorities? Today's passage seeks us to honestly assess ourselves in the light of the real truth and know where we stand.
How much of God's Word do you know? How much of his Word have you hid in your heart? How much of his Word can you call upon in times of stress and trouble, knowing that his Word is true and will help? How prepared are you to face the challenges that the world will bring your way?
Remember, it is not when the troubles come that you will know what to do; your convictions are built on a daily basis through the decisions you make daily and the steps you take on a daily basis. If you compromise standards in the face of the slightest pressure or you just go with the flow on every issue, how does God trust you to handle higher responsibilities? If you do not have standards to maintain or uphold, how does God determine the contents of your heart or the texture of your character? If you rise and fall with every wave of doctrine that you hear, how do you even know, understand and uphold the truth?
God is calling us to move beyond the milk into the meat of his Word. God desires that we grow beyond dependence on any man into total dependence on Him. He alone can sustain and uphold us; we just must attach ourselves to Him and let his Word lead. It is by constant behaviour that we get better at doing something; and it is by constant exposure to God's Word that our lives get better and have meaning.
Seek His Word today; seek his will, purpose and instructions. That is the way to true growth and independence, and the only way to make meaningful impact for him. His time of favour is here.

His On-Going Project

Ephesians 2:10 KJV:
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

This remains one of my favourite verses of Scripture. There's a lot of hope, faith, love and grace revealed in the few words written above. These verses were written so many years ago, yet God says we are his workmanship, an on-going project. This tells me that long before I was conceived, a plan and a purpose had been laid for me. Long before I even knew anything, God already knew me, and had a plan for my life. The cavear is that, it is only in Christ that those plans find true expression and fulfilment. Many of us have turned to people, possessions and position, seeking purpose in created things instead of seeking the Creator himself. No wonder then, that we are frustrated, defeated and lifeless. It is when Christ is involved that our lives are impactful and our purposes are fulfilled.
God had already ordained us to do good works long before we became good. I owe it to God first, and to the generation he has put me, to discover these good works I was created to do and to get busy doing them. Why this is important is evident in the lives of vert successful and wealthy people, who have amassed a lot of possessions, yet are very unhappy and are unfulfilled. They look happy to the world,but they are really unhappy and irritable. Wealth doesn't guarantee joy, only the true joy does and until he comes, man only struggles, he cannot achieve anything.
Let us therefore seek God today and discover the reason for our creation. Let us get busy at what God created us to do, because God's rewards are not tied to activity but to fulfilling purpose.
Rejoice in this new month as you find real joy at what God has created you to do. His time of favour is here.

Servants of God....

I Peter 2:15-16 NKJV:
For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.

If the verses before these ones quoted above are read, a dilemma comes up: do I obey every authority, Godly or otherwise? Can I make a choice as to which kind of authority to obey? If I know that my rulers aren't Godly, can I, out of conscience's sake, refuse to submit to them, claiming that I submit to a higher authority? These are questions that have agitated the minds of many of us, especially in a community where authority is godless, directionless and immoral. Still God speaks on this and says: Submit to all authority. God's Word makes an assertion in the verses beford these ones above that all authorites are instituted by Him. What this means is that nobody rises to authority or kingship without God's knowledge and permission. Ours is to submit to their authority.
Submission, however is not docility or complicity in permitting evil to reign unchallenged. Evil is to be resisted in any guise or form or in any personality in which it is seen. God expects that as his ambassadors, we promote his grace, power, love and mercy to everyone. We do not fold our hands and watch evil thrive; the bit we can do, we do, trusting God that He will take care of us.
God has called us to be free; not free from authority, but free from the bondage of the devil; not free from obeying other authorities, but free to obey all within the bounds of God's law, trusting God that as we do this, our lives will reflect God's power and will speak to others.
It is amazing how much of the standards of God's Word people know. They cannot and will not obey God, but they surely will hold any 'Christian' accountable to his confession. If you claim you know Christ, let your conversation, company and conduct show that you are of a different stock.
Slaves don't have a choice in the instructions they obey. They don't analyse the boss's instructions and choose the ones to obey. If we are slaves or bondservants of God then, according to these verses, then we do not choose what to do; we do as we have been told. Only then can the Master be glad with our service and our lives' light can shine for the entire world to see.
May God find us worthy of being his light and life in this dark, dying world. May our lives be examples of obedience and grace; lives that know when to speak and act and when not to say or do anything. May God be continually glorified in us, as we submit to authorities instituted by Him. His time of favour has come.