True Strength

True Strength

Philippians 4:12-13 NIV

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

This is not one of the most popular of messages in the Bible, but for the sake of balanced teaching, it will be good to learn a few lessons from the life of Paul, which will aid our walk with God and our understanding of his purposes. Paul was never a man to settle for the mediocre or the ordinary; whatever he was asked to do, he did it fervently, either initially out of misdirected zeal or ignorance, and later out of directed focus and spiritual energy. He was hardworking, he was diligent, he was a tentmaker. Even while preaching the gospel in faraway lands, he kept on working, supplying his needs through the skills of his hands. You would then wonder why he could talk about going hungry, or being in want. It just did not gel with the picture we have of a fervent, hardworking man.

If there's anything I have learnt in my life, it is that all the circumstances that would come my way must have one end-purpose in view: the glory of God. All that I seek, pursue or labour for must bring glory to God. All that he allows or permits is for his glory, not my own lifting.  It therefore means that even in lack or in need or in abundance, God is always at work, seeking to show off his glory in any life totally surrendered to him. He determines the course of the journey and the events along the way, and any lessons learnt is a message to the world that God is at work. Atimes, God speaks loudest in lack, and atimes, you hear him clearly in the midst of plenty. Ultimately, what is important is what God says about what he has allowed, so that the lessons he desires to teach are learnt, and the lives that require to be impacted are impacted. If I understand that my life is not my own, then all that God brings my way is acceptable to me, and I work with him to bring his message of hope, life and live to a sick and dying world.

It is hard to hear this in the midst of all the 'prosperity' that we hear about in the church these days. God is a God of riches and wealth but he is also a God of accountability. He does not give his resources to people who will waste them, because he has a world he needs to reach. There are times he will take you through lack so you can understand the world he is sending you to, and there are times he will take you through a season of harvest so you can touch the world with his blessings. After all, it is his world, his assignment, his mission field, his missionaries, his resources, his message, and his direction. We are just vessels that will give account of all that has been entrusted into our hands.

As we go out today, let us remember that God always has a message for someone out there in the world. How he seeks to preach that message is his prerogative, all we can do is to be available. God is looking for lives surrendered to his leading and direction. Can he count on you? His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, help me seek after your glory in my life. Let your grace and mercy speak through me, so that he world can see you in me. Amen.

God's Searchlight

Day 46- God's Searchlight

Jeremiah 17:9-10 KJV

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?  I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

I think we have been deceived by the devil into thinking we can do evil and get away with it. We have been told that we own our lives and we can therefore choose how we want to live. One of the cardinal results of Adam's sin was that he chose human wisdom and intellect over and above that which God could give. God himself testified in Genesis 3:22 NIV:  And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” if God could talk about man's rejection of true wisdom as far back as Adam, I wonder what he would say about this present generation.

We have found new and novel ways of committing evil: we have found a substitute for Godly marriages, and we call them trial marriages, cohabitation or friends with benefits. We call adultery mutual attraction or sex with 2 consenting adults. We refer to fraud and corruption as 'cooking the books' or being sharp, smart and savvy. We seem to have lost all fear of sin and its consequences.  Homosexuality, inordinate desires and other vices have been made to look better than they really are; the world is teaching us that these things are acceptable, after all, we are humans and perfection is not possible.

Unfortunately, the ultimate decision on what is right and wrong lies with God alone, and not man. We do not own the standard, God is the standard. We do not dictate life's terms and conditions, God does. We cannot cleanse our hearts by ourselves, God alone can. He is the one who knows our hearts and can make us pure without and within. He is the creator of our hearts, and he alone has what it takes to give us what we really need, so we can be all that God intends for us to be, and at the end of our lives, be where God ordained for us to be. Do not be deceived: Galatians 6:7 NIV:  Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.

People of God, take stock today and ask God for his help so you can live life according to his terms. All the people we seek to impress today will be gone tomorrow. The people we wanted to copy or emulate will also receive their own judgement. The things we thought were okay by the world's standards will face the judgment fire of God- the true and only Judge. God knows our deepest motives and intentions, and while we can deceive the entire world, we cannot deceive the one who created us. He owns, holds and knows the manual for our lives. It will do us good if we found out what this God wants and pursue them. At the end of our lives, a reckoning will be done and a reward/punishment will be given. Which will be yours? What you have done in the past can remain in the past if you choose a new start with God. What you are doing presently will determine how you will end up. Make sure it is what God approves.  What is found with you when he returns determines what you will get. His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, help me live in the light of your commands and instructions. Let my life seek after your pleasure, so that I may enter into eternal life with you at the end of my life. Amen.

True Love

True Love

John 15:13 NIV

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

In all the experiences I have seen in this life, there is no other word, expression or truth that has been badly misinterpreted, maligned and abused as much as 'love'. Everything around our lives seeks to find the true meaning and essence of this 'love'. Movies try and explain it, and because they do not understand its true meaning, every act of illicit and illegal sexual activity is defined as 'making love'. Novels try to explain it, but because they also do not know what it means, what they refer to as  'love at first sight' is actually a physical, natural attraction that usually leads to the faulty 'making love' that movies promote these days. Friends try to define what they share as true love, but because the foundation of the understanding of what love means is faulty, they replace true love with 'deep friendship', until a terrible quarrel comes and separates them, sometimes permanently.  We now use the word 'love' interchangeably with like, appreciate, and friendship, among other similar expressions. The issue is: if all these were true love, why are our lives still empty and devoid of direction, impact and effect? Why are we still struggling to accept the other person, with his/her imperfections and all?

The fundamental answer is a fundamental understanding of what 'love' really means. Today's extract answers this question, as it gives us the source, meaning, impact and essence of love. First of all, the greatest example is as this passage has laid down: Christ gave his life for us. Time will not permit me to fully expand on this, but this love was not expecting anything in return when it was given. There was no expected reward, no forced response. The objects of this love did not even appreciate what had been given, but the love was shown all the same. This is true love, a love that does not do things because it wants to be paid back, or because the target of the love is 'lovable', but simply because love had to be shown regardless of the response. This love was also shown in action, not in words. I know ladies who will literally 'die' if they were to hear the words: 'I Love You' from someone they have been secretly admiring for a long time, but remember talk is cheap. Most men, forgive me for this, but we are quick to talk and slow to act. We calculate and rationalize before we do anything, because we cannot give something for nothing. That was not the example that was laid down for us; Christ said it and did it. He backed up his confession of love with a life of showing love. We ought to do the same if we claim to follow Christ.

This is getting really long so let me just conclude here: Love is not just an act, or a process. One of the gravest mistakes we make is seeing love from the basis of an act. We explain love from the angle of its target, or the source of the action itself,  instead of the true source. We see the action or the outward expression and we define what we see as love, forgetting that what we see can be polluted by the wrong motive or intentions. True love is God-personified, not man-made. Man, in his fallen state, is not capable of true love. He can only truly show it and receive it in the right context: when his heart is ruled by true Love Himself -Jesus Christ. He has shown us true love, and he has taught us how we can truly love. All we can do is live and love like him. Beyond Valentine's Day and all the noise that will be generated today, your show of love can only make sense and impact when you have understood the true source of love. Get the source right and all the fruits your life produce will be right. Get the origin wrong, and everything else will be a waste of space and resources. Remember-  You cannot give what you don't have.  His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, teach me what true Love means. Help me know you truly, and live my life as you direct. Amen.

Keep Doing Right

Day 44- Keep Doing Right

Galatians 6:9 NIV

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

So many lessons here, but a few will be sufficient for our thoughts today: First of all, we must settle on what God says is good, not the things that customs, traditions, conventions and the nature of man say are right. One of the gravest dangers we have exposed ourselves today is that we have allowed the fear of man guide our actions. We want to earn man's respect, we want to be accepted, we want to move in the 'right' circles, we want to be loved, so we blend in, compromise and stand for nothing. Our principles are on shaky grounds, our foundations are faulty and our 'faith' is tied to the things we can see. God is the ultimate decider of what is good and necessary for us to do, and he has made this known through his Word. As we read and seek his help to understand, we know what he expects and we are quick to obey because it is in obedience to his word that our lives can make impact.

Secondly, there is no guarantee that you will always enjoy doing good. There will be times you will wonder why you brother at all, there will be times that you will have no motivation to keep doing 'good', there will be times when people will pay you back evil for the good that you have done. What do you do: how do you react? God's Word here makes something clear: my doing good is not because I want you to reciprocate by doing good back to me, but I do good because the good God, who has himself been good to me, commands that I do good to others. I do good, not because of earthly reward, but because of eternal rest. I do good, not because it is always convenient, but because when I weigh what God has already given me, nothing is too much for me to give back to him.

Thirdly, everything has a reward, good or bad. Once our focus shifts from the right foundation, everything else that we do is warped and crooked. We do 'good' sometimes, expecting to be paid back almost immediately, or within a specific period of time. We do 'good' and when it appears as if the 'reward' delays, we become weary and de-motivated. We do good atimes, so we can feel good about ourselves. Let me remind you: your doing good is not because of others, but because God commands it. Whatever he commands, he will reward obedience to it 'at his own time', not ours. We have a sense of timing that God has no respect for. We look at our 'mates' , expecting that we should be at par with them. I hear people sing songs, praying that they will always be equal to their mates. People, life is not a competition or a comparison; it is an individual race, a personal relationship, a unique lifestyle. God does not call in groups, or equip in groups. He calls us as individuals, equips us and puts us in the world where we can be blessings, or he brings other people who are similarly gifted to assist or complement us, and he brings such people our way for a reason or a season. Never run ahead of him, or think that he is slow. Everything works out in his own time and in his own way. All I need to do is to keep doing 'good'. The rewards are sure if we do not give up it give in to discouragement. His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, keep my focus solely on you. Help me keep on doing good, even when there seems to be no reward or nobody is taking notice. You are the Righteous judge, and at the right time, you will abundantly bless. Amen.

All Safe.....

Day 43- All Safe

John 10:28-29 NIV

I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all;  no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.

Indeed, your location determines your allocation. Where you are determines what you get, and your family lineage determines your inheritance. For as many as are in Christ, they are safe in the Father's hand. Nothing, nobody and no situation can be so powerful that it can snatch anyone from the Father's hand. The Bible calls those hands the everlasting arms, the ones that have held the world as it is all these centuries, and still continues to hold everything by his awesome power.

Please check your present standing. Are you in the world, striving to live by the world's standards, or are you located in the Father's hands? Can you say, without a doubt, that God led you to the place where you stand presently, or have you been led by the world's expectation and definition of success? The greatest gift a man can get is eternal life, not success by the world's standard. Everything we see now is bound by time, but eternity itself beats time. Time as we know it, will cease to exist one day, and all that would matter is where I am found when the trumpet shall sound and the owner of my life shall make a demand for it. What would my answer be? Where would I be found? His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, may I be found in you when you return a second time. May l live my life in full consciousness of eternity and your expectations for my life. Amen.

Choose Life

Day 42- Choose Life

Deuteronomy 30:15-16 NIV

See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

There is always a choice to be made. Every day that we live is a summary of the decisions that we make in our lives. Every choice also has an end, a destination, a consequence. Nothing is in vain, and nothing is futile. Everything counts, because we are eternal beings who must give account of our stewardship before God. Moses here teaches us the same lessons that God seeks to teach us today: by our actions, words, conduct, company and conversation, we are already making choices.

The choice has to be made today. It cannot wait till tomorrow. Today is the day of decision. No where in the bible does God promise us forever on this side of eternity. What he says is that our actions and decisions now will shape the future we will have as eternal beings.  And as we walk, work and run in this Christian journey, we are reminded of the command and the blessings that are attached. The command is to love God, obey him and keep his commands, laws and decrees. You cannot obey someone you do not love, neither can you claim to love someone that you consistently disobey and disregard his directives. If we claim we love God, it must be seen in our ways and actions. Our lives must be a constant testimony to the values of our confession. If I claim I love God with my lips, but my actions deny that truth, I have only made myself out as a liar, but if by my life, people can see that I truly love God and obey him, then my life will speak and attract others to God.

There are blessings attached to obedience. There is no command of God in his Word without a corresponding expectation from us and an attached promise. God has not asked us to seek him in vain, but he is looking for people he can entrust with the deep riches of his kingdom, people who have made obedience a lifestyle. Can God count on you? Can he find you faithful, willing and obedient? Remember,  Isaiah 1:19-20 NIV:  If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land;   but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. The choice is before you. Consider well the end of both choices, and choose well. There is no middle ground; no sitting on the fence. You have to commit to one. His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, help me choose you, so that my life can truly matter and make impact for you. Amen.

True Life

Day 41- True Life

1 Samuel 2:30 NIV

“Therefore the Lord , the God of Israel, declares: ‘I promised that members of your family would minister before me forever.’ But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from me! Those who honor me I will honor, but those who despise me will be disdained.

When God called Moses, Aaron was chosen as a spokesman to speak on behalf of Moses, his brother. Aaron saw all the miracles that God did through Mises' rod and words, and he knew that God is indeed powerful. In the course of their journey in the wilderness, God instituted a new form of worship for Israel, and Aaron was expected to be the first priest to serve in that first tabernacle to be built. God made a promise go to Aaron- Exodus 29:9 AMP: And you shall gird them with sashes or belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind caps on them; and the priest's office shall be theirs by a perpetual statute. Thus you shall ordain and consecrate Aaron and his sons.

True Power

Day 40- True Power

Hebrews 4:12 AMP

For the Word that God speaks is alive and full of power [making it active, operative, energizing, and effective]; it is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the dividing line of the breath of life (soul) and [the immortal] spirit, and of joints and marrow [of the deepest parts of our nature], exposing and sifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart.

I have seen the power of God's Word at work in various areas of life and endeavour. I have seen lives changed and destinies restored through the power of the Word. But I have also seen opposition to the Word and I have seen what that has led to in the lives of those who resisted. It would be a grave mistake to belittle the Word and words of God and call them mere words; everywhere you see God's Word being mentioned, you will always find it starting with a Capital W. We all known by the rules of grammar that nouns are always capitalized when used anywhere in a sentence. It then shows that the Word of God is a person, a living, breathing being, who is the embodiment and the reality of the words that have been written. He is the One said to be in the beginning with God, through whom all things were made. He is the One who holds all things together, who was the power behind all that we see today as creation.

One of the greatest mistakes man makes is to fail to equate the written words with the person of the Word himself. We read the bible and apply reason, logic and brainpower to what we read, thinking that we can rationally process what we read. We read so as to obtain head-knowledge, not heart-knowledge and a relationship with the Word Himself. We spend a long time looking for inconsistencies in the words written, or we seek out portions that support what our sinful hearts want to do; forgetting that the Word of God can only be properly understood, processed and applied with the help of the One who authored it.

If you want to unearth the resources and wealth of the Word, you must come to the Author. You must apply his rules and listen to Him for guidance and inspiration and teaching if you really want to know what He wants for you. The Word is so powerful that He knows our innermost thoughts and desires; He can reveal even the deepest secrets of our hearts, things we thought we had buried deep enough.  He is the one that can take the worst of sinners and make him the best of saints. He is the one who can give you a word that will change your entire history and destiny. He is the one who can establish a whole nation on the faith of just one man who believed with his heart what the Word himself had promised.

What have you received from the Word? Does it appear as if the promises are failing and you just don't know where the fulfilment will come from? God never fails, his Word cannot fail because He is God and is fully in charge of the affairs of man. All we need to do is to hold on to what we have heard and believe in Him who has promised. If God cannot fail, then his Word, which is He himself, cannot fail. Hold on, hold fast that which you have heard and received. May his plans and purposes come to pass in our lives. His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, help me trust your Word. In these strange, faithless times, let my soul be firmly anchored on your Word. Amen.

Comfort, God's Way

Day 38- Comfort, God's Way

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 KJV

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;  Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

As we run this race set before each of us, we need to be reminded of God's expectation and demand for and from our lives as we run. Let us quickly establish something: God never promised us an easy race; in fact, everywhere he spoke about what to expect, he kept using words like 'burden', 'cross', 'yoke', and related words. These words do not connote an easy ride, so I wonder where else in Scriptures people find words from God that promise a smooth, trial-free race as they run.

Today's extract highlights a few lessons for us as we run: God is a God of mercies and comfort. This shows that when you are in God, you enjoy benefits and blessings that the world cannot comprehend or understand or explain. There are so many kinds of mercies that we enjoy; so many benefits, so many blessings. We travel and turn safely, through routes that others had perished in, we enjoy miraculous provisions, we enjoy healing in our bodies, we have peace in the face of the most trying circumstances. These are just a few of the numerous blessings that God gives. Did you notice that there is nothing mentioned about the world here? There are many things of God that the world cannot comprehend, because it does not know how God works it out.

How does a woman who has lost a child rejoice and remain faithful? How does a man who has lost everything rejoice and sing songs? How do you explain a man's strength in the midst of the most trying circumstances? It then shows that what man needs most is not what the world can give. When it matters most, and troubles come, the world will have no answer because it does not understand what is needed. When troubles come, you can only find help in the person who has fought the system and triumphed. He says in John 16:33 NIV:  “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” If you are looking for comfort and convenience in the world, then you will have to live on the terms of the world. If you are looking for comfort God's way, then you have to seek God on his terms, not yours. Job faced things that the world could not prepare him for. His friends came and in ignorance, said a lot of things. Job held to God and eventually, received back all that he had lost and more. What lessons can the world teach you about coping with loss and death?  Daniel was an upright boy but he found himself in captivity along with other Jews of his generation. There was an easy way out: blend in and feast, or stand out and maybe die, or slim down and waste away. He took a risk on God, stood by God, and we read about him centuries after. It all came down to a decision not to seek the world's comfort, but to seek God first.

That is the summary of our thoughts today. Seek God first. It is not about what I can get, but what God wants for me. It is not my life anymore; God now lives through me and I must surrender all to Him if indeed I understand what it means to trust Him. Whatever direction he takes me, i know that he is with me and will not let me go. All that I need, not what I think I want, will be provided by Him. The world does not have what I need; God alone does. The world cannot understand why, only God answers those questions. What we need, the world does not supply. Let us therefore seek God out today, so we can enjoy what he has for us. His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, help me depend on you for everything I need. The world has nothing I need, you alone have all that life needs. Help me trust you and hold on to you for all situations that will come my way. Help me overcome. Amen.

Priorities and Pursuits

Day 37- Pursuits and Priorities

LUK 12:29-31 ASV

And seek not ye what ye shall eat, and what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: but your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. Yet seek ye his kingdom, and these things shall be added unto you.

We live in strange times indeed. The world has taught us many things: how to get the best education, how to amass wealth, how to enjoy what life has to offer. It has not however taught us how to trust God for the core things that we need; it cannot teach us this because it does not know how to. It is a basic principle of life that you cannot give what you do not have.  The world has principles, processes and procedures, yet people in it still lack direction, focus and integrity because the world's principles are founded on the wrong premises. The world emphasizes labour, strength and intellect; God just asks that I believe in Him. That is hard, especially when everything around you is threatening to fall to pieces.

It would appear strange that the Bible is asking us not to worry about basic necessities of life. We all know how important food, clothing and shelter are to our lives. We cannot do much without these, yet God is asking me to leave the details of that to him to work out. All he needs me to do is to seek his kingdom here on earth, and he will sort me out.

This extract teaches a few lessons: it is important to be fed and clothed, but it is more important to understand that nothing you do by your own power can guarantee the provisions of these things. Our salaries and savings deceive us, and we think that these will help us in the day of trouble. Believe me, trust in God and his power is absolute; you cannot trust him in part, while checking your bank balance secretly. You cannot confess your trust in God, while having a backup plan in case he fails. The other extreme is to worry so much about where the next one is coming from that we do not see when the present happens. We are so focused on the next meal or the next provision that we have forgotten to thank God for present blessings. Both extremes are outside God's divine purpose for our lives.
What should I do? I must see and seek  God in all that happens around me. An understanding of God that I have is that he's interested in my daily life, no matter how boring. Why would God feed people for 40 years in the desert; people without jobs, farms or houses? They fed everyday, without fasting. In fact, they were so spoilt that at a point, they complained about the monotony of the food. May God open our eyes to the need to understand that God is interested in our daily living and in our eternal life. Everything he does, gives and says is tailored to be a seed sown towards our eternal existence. No wonder then, that he needs me go seek his kingdom.

When I seek his kingdom, I'm asking that he comes down and reign in the affairs of men. I'm asking him to be King and Lord of all. I'm asking him to establish his Righteousness in the earth, so that the inhabitants of the earth will see what they are missing. No wonder the people of the world have to pursue these things for themselves, as nobody will do it for them. We have a God who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think. The way? - Seek his kingdom. When you take care of God's business, God will take care of your own too. His time of favour is here.

PRAYER- Lord, help me trust you completely. I reject every temptation to trust in human structures and efforts, and I focus only on God and his power. Amen.

Christ Alone

Day 36- Christ Alone

Colossians 2:8 NIV

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.

There is a trend that is going on now that is frightening and is slowly gaining ground in the Church circles. I used the word "Church" carefully, so as to distinguish between the real depth and the surface of the issues we are dealing with. Our experiences have made us lazy and fearful, and we have contracted our security and peace into the hands of mortal men like ourselves; men who cannot help themselves in the day of trouble. We have allowed the fear of the unknown lead us into bondage of the present, thereby mortgaging the unsure future into the hands of an insecure god. Men who are to show the way to Christ have shown that they themselves do not know where they are going, but because they must keep body and soul together, they gather together gullible and impressionable minds together, tell them what they need to hear, and keep them in continuous bondage so that they can keep coming for more.

We listen to convenient messages that make us comfortable, not convicted. We are okay with words that stir us our emotions, not our consciousness of sin and its evil. We want to hear that God is a God of prosperity, not a God of Righteousness; we want to hear that he is a God who has all we need, but not what we have to give so we can become what he wants us to; we want to hear that he is a God of mercy after we have wilfully sinned, but we do not remember he is also a God of judgement just before we wilfully commit the sin. Actually, God is both and much more, but unfortunately, we have chosen sides with convenient truth that we are comfortable with. He is a God who has everything you need and has promised to supply everything you need. Nowhere did he promise that everything you want will be given to you when you want it.

The Bible declares in John 8:32 AMP:  And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. Truth is a person, not an idea or a concept, or something a man of God tells you it is. If what a man tells you is contrary to what God has said, know that it is falsehood and a deception. Even if it looks and sounds 'spiritual', look it up in the Word of God and let the Truth himself lead you aright. Most times, we are too lazy to search for truth, and a starving, empty man will grab whatever is offered as food, poisonous or not. There is a God-shaped vacuum in every man created by God and something must fill that space, good or bad. You have a choice as to what or who will fill that vacuum: God or the false teachings of man.

Make up your mind today to seek God for yourself. Man is not the standard, God is. Man is not the determinant of truth, God is. Man does not have what you need, God does. Seek him out today, for his time to favour you has come.

PRAYER- Lord, help me to seek you out as the only Truth that I need. Keep me away from false and deceptive teachings, and help me focus only on you as the Truth that sets free indeed. Amen.

Peace!

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

We live in a world of ever-changing values and standards. The world never seems to know where it is going or what it wants; that is why trends come and go, fashions come and go, and sin always seems to become more and more daring. We live in a world of darkness, a world that is comfortable with evil because its prince himself is evil. This is the same world that God has asked us to live in and make an impact in. How do we do that? How do I live as a sane person in a crazy world?

Today's extract seeks to help us focus on the important things. There will always be distractions, but the quality and target of your focus determines the quality of the output of your life. If I focus on what the world has, and I pursue its allure and attractions, then I have opened my heart to a lot of heartache. No matter how much you have, you are never satisfied because the focus, target and pursuits are all wrong. It does not matter how much you justify the pursuits, as long as they are done outside God's prescriptions, all you have amassed will fall away with the test of time. 

So, what is expected? There is a strong advice: there is something I must avoid, and something I must do. I must avoid anxiety, and I must pray about everything. I cannot do one without the other. Many times, we do the opposite: we talk a lot about the issues, we complain a lot and grumble about what we are passing through, but we do not do the needful: Pray. Until we do that, we are not entitled to the blessings that come from obeying these instructions to pray. But as we pray, we are telling God that we cannot help ourselves, and we depend on him absolutely to help us, we tell God that we have no strength in ourselves, but we depend on the grace of God for everything that we need.

As we go out today, let us remember that we are not equipped to fight life's battles by ourselves; God wants to help if we will allow him. We must be willing to let go and let him work. As we surrender to him, he fights on our behalf and does what we could never have achieved, no matter how hard we tried. Pray today, his time of favour has come.

PRAYER- Lord, help me to put everything that is bothering me on you today. I have no power of my own, but I depend on the grace that you alone can give. You have all power and all strength, and I know you will help me even as I pray. Amen.