Surrendered

Surrendered

Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139: 23 ‭-‬ 24 KJV

David pens down the words of this psalm, with highlights on the limits of man and the limitless and unsearchable power of God. It takes a man with a personal experience of this God to be able to write these words. Until a man has searched for and tried other options, he will never know the value of the very personal knowledge of God. Until a man has been pushed to the extreme and has come to a point of no return, he may never know who God is, what he offers and the eternal consequences of a life that knows God. This is the focus of today's extract. 

Man by nature is comfortable around self-deceit. Man can convince himself that white is black if it fits the narrative he seeks to pursue. The fall of man into sin opened the door to fallacy, falsehood and deception. Man needs the help of the true God to see himself for who he really is. Man cannot come to that realisation all by himself without the help of God. No wonder the psalmist asked God to do the work Only He could do in a man's life, which is to show man who he really is. God is true as well as the Truth, and all he does is based on his nature, which is truth. He owes no man any allegiance, and by his nature, he is committed to all who truly seek him. Where do you stand? 

The prayer of the writer of this psalm is instructive: he is asking God to search and try him; I can't be trusted to see myself as God sees. I am asking him to turn his light on me and expose anything he does not like or cannot use in me, so I can make the necessary amendments. It's by his light that the darkness in me is revealed. It is by his light that all secret and alien alliances are exposed and dealt with. I am not asking to know my own heart; God's verdict on the human heart as corrupt and desperately wicked makes it impossible for me to trust my own view when it comes to my own heart. My thoughts need to be brought unto daily submission and surrender to the trying and cleansing power of God. He is the only one who can do a work in the heart that will not only be of great use down here on earth, but will also impact eternity. 

My best gift is to God is total surrender. As long as I claim ownership of my life, I will not admit that I need help. God is able to see the parts of me that are not clear to me, which I may have hid behind a lot of pretence and hypocrisy. I may know how to keep up appearances, but when God takes a hold of me, all the pretence is stripped away and I see myself for who I really am, and I can take the necessary steps to make corrections. God wants to lead me down the path of peace and joy; he wants to take me all the way into eternal life. He does not do half-measures, where he takes a man on a journey and then abandon him. He is a God of completion, who takes a man by his hand, equips him for all he needs for life and Godliness, and then stays with the man until the end comes. 

I note that it is his hand that leads, not mine. I do not have the wisdom, knowledge or understanding of what is required, but God is more than willing and capable of providing. He is all I need, as well as have all I need. He must deal with the nature of sin in my natural man, so that his life can then find full expression in and through me. He does all of these things, at no price, except my total surrender to, and acceptance of all that God is. Can that be said of me? Can that be said of you? His time of favour is here. 

Love, God's Perspective!

Love, God's Perspective!

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 1 Corinthians 13:1 KJV

The visible and the audible gifts can be quite distracting. We ascribe greater importance to those gifts that are easily noticed; those gifts that appear as if the church cannot do without. We celebrate those who have the gifts, forgetting the role all the other non-visible/audible gifts play in the body of Christ. Today's extract seeks to place the gifts of the Spirit in the right context, and also lay emphasis on the right attention to be ascribed to all that I see and hear. 

First, God places greater importance on people, not gifts. Yes, the gifts will be used to bless lives but if there were no human beings to bless or impact, the gifts will be of no use. I have to sort out this order of importance, if my life will be all that God has set it out to be. The gifts are good, but the template of usage is equally, if not more important. 

Secondly, God gives gifts to people so that one person can supply what is lacking in the other. No one person is given ALL available gifts; God's divine arrangement is such that no single person can boast about his qualifications, endowments and self-sufficiency. Whatever it is I have been given is God's expectation from me to touch and impact another life. If I refuse or neglect to use the gift in this manner, how do I demand that another person supply that which is lacking in me? 

Thirdly, I can be quite charismatic, with people literally eating out of my hands, but without the right heart, I am only wasting my time; God takes no glory from a life that does not point him out everytime. I cannot be a seasonal wonder; good only when it is convenient and then doing my own thing at other times. How is my heart? How is yours? 

I can be very gifted in both the ways of men and of God, yet lack the heart of God in carrying out my assignments. This is the danger: a lot of applause by men but no recognition by God. At the end of it all, man's applause is uncertain and unpredictable, and it is dangerous to set store by it. I may know the tongues of men and of angels, and be able to decipher the mysteries of men, yet i gain nothing if my heart does not rest on the things that bring God praise. 

Love is the connection between activity and impact. Being busy is not the same as making impact. Speaking well does not automatically imply serving in line with God's will. If I will not end up as a mere noisemaker, I must find out what God's will is and pursue it with all my heart. Love remains and is able to focus, even when the heart is heavy. No matter what i have got now, it is not enough if there is no love. I ask God to help my walk with him, so that my work for him can be accepted by him. His time of favour is here. 

Possible!

Possible!

Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believe. Mark 9:23 KJV

We see Jesus being transfigured before his 3 disciples, Peter, James and John. The prophets Moses and Elijah were also revealed with him, and the meaning of this revelation has been the subject of many messages in our own times today. Heaven testified to the Lordship, authority and leadership of Jesus, and the fact that even before all the popular names Israel knew, Jesus is the Lord of all. That is the fact that runs through all of the Scripture - Jesus is Lord of all. It is not subject to my agreement or my cooperation; he is Lord not matter what I say or how I feel. If I admit and submit to it, it makes my life less complicated; if I resist it, it still does not change who Jesus is. Do I know who this Jesus is and has he been made known to me personally? Does he know me as his own? 

The crowd had an idea of who he was. Each person in that crowd had his/her own reasons to following after Jesus. Some needed food, others needed healing. Some knew that he could provide all these, but also knew that his touch that gave life was the best gift that they could get from him. Why do I follow after him; is it because it is the popular thing to do these days or because I know he is the One who has the answers to all of my life's questions? Why do I seek him? 

A man came from the crowd to seek Jesus. He had brought his child to the disciples, seeking healing for the child that was possessed by a demon. The disciples could not cast out the demon, and the man was worried. How could the people who followed Jesus be so powerless that they could not do this simple thing? No wonder the man came to Jesus and said: but if you can do anything, have compassion and help us. The response of Jesus is quite instructive and holds lessons for us today:

Jesus seems to be saying to the man as well as to all of us: As powerful as I am, I'm limited by your reception of or response to me. I can do all things, but there is a need for you to believe in my power, ability and capacity in order to receive what you want from me. Faith is that ingredient required to activate my power. Men received miracles in the bible through the faith of their friends, or simply because Jesus was moved sometimes by compassion to help people, but the people who seemed to get the greatest miracles were those to whom Jesus said: your faith has made you whole. Faith is the key to the door of God's mighty intervention in my life. Things thought to be impossible are made possible when I address them by faith. 

As it was in the days when Jesus spoke these words, so is it today. Faith is still required if I will please God. All the men of old who walked with God and we speak about today walked with God to the point where God reckoned with their lives and granted them their hearts' desires. Many of them had nothing to boast about, except the fact that God intervened in their lives and made their story a testimony. It is still very much the same God; he has not changed his format for dealing with men, and all who will come to him, just as they are, all things will be possible to them. If I seek his intervention, the secret is faith. If I seek healing, the key is faith. If I seek even the most impossible of things, as long as I approach God in faith, I am assured of a response that lines up with God's perfect will. I may not always get what I want, but I am sure that God is pleased with my life and will make me a blessing to the world he has placed me in. What could be better than this? His time of favour is here. 

Right Offerings!

Right Offerings!

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. Romans 12:1 KJV

There is a plea that goes out to all who profess allegiance to the King of Kings. For all who claim to know this God, there is a code of conduct that is laid down, and there is really no room for discussion or compromise on the terms and conditions of the code. You either take the code and run with it, or you reject the code outright and do your own thing. There is no middle ground here, because this is a choice between two extremes. You are either with God or against him. You cannot have one leg in with him and one leg out with the world. That is the hypocrisy that the world seeks to pursue and perpetuate, but which really does not hold water when it comes to God.

This is the essence of God's mercy. Mercy creates a bridge between a holy God and sinful man, making it possible for that sinful man to approach the Holy God. It is both a good thing, as well as a 'bad' thing, as it is mercy that creates the path but also lays out the consequences if I reject the path. It is not a wonder then that Paul is pleading with his audience here not to take the mercy of God for granted. Mercy demands a particular course of action; it does not leave you without a clear idea of what it demands of you. It does not leave it to your instincts or your own desires; mercy makes very clear what God's perfect will is, supplies the grace required to help you know and recognise this will, and then supplies the strength required to follow this will. 

Of course, this plea is addressed to those referred to as brethren, people washed in the blood of the lamb, bought with his precious blood and sealed for the day of redemption. It is not for everyone, as hard as this may sound, but it is for all who hav come to the saving knowledge of Jesus. People want the benefits, but do not want to pay the price. With God, you just can't play both sides. The crowd is out there, with its own desires and pursuits, but for brethren, the pleasure of the crowd holds no attraction. Am I a part of the people in the crowd of those referred to as brethren? 

What is the expectation of God for those who are brethren: present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. It is a service I must do by myself, of my own freewill, and not under compulsion. It is a present to God, not to any man, so the view of men do not count here. If I am offering a present to God, why should I be bothered if a man like myself does not like what I do or how I do it? Can any mortal man influence God's judgment of my life? It is called a sacrifice, which is an irony on its own, as a sacrifice is not supposed to be living. It is a sacrifice because it is expected to be dead to its own will and desires, and at the mercy and pleasure of the one to whom it has been offered. That is the picture of submission, where a man knows who he is, who he belongs to and who he serves. When a man has sorted these out, he is free of men's expectations or opinions.

I note the meaning and effect of the sacrifice I am asked to make. It has to be holy and acceptable to God. It does not matter how you convince yourself that your motive and intention are honest; they just have to align with God's nature, which is holiness, for what you offer to be acceptable to God. I can do all the gymnastics and drama, yet God does not reckon with what I do, because he is not first interested in what I do, but who I am. That is why the presentation of my life is the actual service to God, not what men see me use my life for. Men will judge me based on what they see; God judges me based on what he knows about me. Unfortunately, we live for the positive approval of men, forgetting that in the final analysis, men's views are always changing, based on what they want from you or how they want you to perform, but God's view is based on his truth, which does not change in line with the weather. 

Today, it is a plea based on God's mercy. One day, it will be the basis of God's final judgment of the world. Here, Paul is  beseeching men to get their priorities right, because these are the ingredients of a life that God can dwell in and use for his glory. Today, it is a plea; tomorrow, it will be judgment. Today, there is a choice of response;  tomorrow, the choice made will be the basis of either eternal life or eternal damnation. I will not be able to blame God then for the consequences of the decision I make today. Let me not focus on pleasing men, or doing things that only man approves or applauds, but on what God approves. At the end of it all, only God's view counts, his judgment is final, and eternal life is worth whatever sacrifice I am asked to make now. His time of favour is here. 

No Fear!

No Fear!

For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee. Isaiah 41:13 KJV

This is the season of fear. Everywhere you turn, there are events and stories that grip your heart and threaten to destroy its peace. We hear of war, famine, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, fires and related scary stories, and you wonder where and when these are all going. It does not appear that there will be any respite from any of these things, yet, God speaks, asking me to turn away from the physical reality around me and focus on him. He has a word for me for today, and that word in summary, is this: in him, there is no room for fear. Have you heard that word? 

It then means that long before the fear comes, I must have sorted out the word that is appropriate for that fear. I cannot wait until I have reached the middle of the river before I start to paddle, or before I realise that I cannot swim. The time of peace is the time for preparation for the storms that are coming. It is not a matter of IF but WHEN. I cannot argue my way out of tough times, or avoid them by prayer and fasting; they are a fundamental part of the process for my growth and development. Tough times do not always mean that I have sinned; they are reminders that I an human, a work in progress, and on a journey to eternal life. 

This is why today's extract is quite important. God speaks here, telling me ahead of time not to fear. He does not send anyone else to me, but he speaks to my heart directly, saying he is holding my hand. What is the effect of this: holding my hand is a confidence-booster. If God holds my hand, nothing can happen to me without his permission. It has to touch God first before it is allowed to touch me. His hand is such that he can hold all of the world and its fullness and still have plenty of space. He is the everlasting God, the Almighty, which means that everything created or formed by him answers to him. How does a created thing ever become more powerful than its creator?

If God holds me, I am safe. If anyone else holds me, I am only as safe as he who holds me is. If a man cannot first secure himself, how can he secure the life of another? We are talking about a God who spoke in Genesis about the seed of the woman, and centuries later, the word spoken came to pass. This is a God who spoke of the end of all things, and without doubt, recent events show that all the things spoken about are all coming to pass. Can I ask myself: is the God I claim to know, serve and follow the God that is introduced here?

And the God speaks right to the fear, addressing the concerns I may have. He says he will help me, as he knows I cannot help myself. He is the Help of Israel, and Israel is still being helped till today, despite the fact that it does not fully acknowledge God. Israel is helped because of the promise God made, not really because Israel was the best of people. We stand where we are, not because we merit his grace, but because of his help. There is no room for pride or self-sufficiency here, and all I am and have flow from who God is, not who I am. I appreciate God for his grace and help, and I go forward in that assurance that God has my back. His time of favour is here. 

Word for the Season!

Word for the Season!

Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Isaiah 12:2 KJV

Isaiah speaks about God from a place of personal experience. God has always made it clear how he views and treats sin. The wages of sin have been death since the days of Adam, and they remain so, no matter what the new age doctines want us to think. He dealt with Adam that way, as well as David centuries later, as well as Judas Iscariot in his own earthly days and continues to remind us that his view of sin has not changed. He is not man, given to emotional outbursts, and who can change his mind to suit the situation. He is not like most men who need the validation of other men like themselves to have healthy self-esteem. Nothing I do or refuse to do can change who God is; I am the one who must fit my life into God's will. 

Isaiah spoke of the consequences of sin too. Just before today's extract, he recognised the mercy of God that forgives sin and restores. It is God's perogative to show mercy and restore. There is nothing I could have done to deserve it, neither could I have paid the right price for it. The currency of God's grace is not one any mortal man can earn, manufacture, or work for. It is given solely by grace. I stand where I am today all by God's grace. 

That is the foundation on which today's extract is based. It is my understanding and acceptance of my helplessness that makes God's help quite important. That is why praise that flows out of a heart that knows what it has received is accepted by God. Do I praise God out of a sense of duty, because I am asked to do it or because I clearly understand and recognise what God has done for me? I can seek to convince myself that the reason for my praise is genuine; God cannot be mocked or deceived. He knows my heart and all its hidden motives and intentions. 

This writer did not come to the conclusions in today's extract overnight or by accident. That is the result of personally experiencing God's forgiveness. I must seek God at that level too, so that my song can look like today's extract. When God works on and lives in my heart, there is no room for fear. Sin has no place. The world knows its place, and it offers nothing of value to me, because I have found a God who is more precious than all of the world's treasures. 

He declares to the world: God is my salvation. For me, my mind is made up. I tell the world about my total allegiance to God, whether it likes it or not. Can I also take the same position? Can I dare stand alone on the side of God, no matter how unpopular it seems? God is my strength and song. He is the inspiration behind my perspiration. I work for God, but I enjoy what I do for him because he does not owe. He is a rewarder of all who diligently seek him, and all who depend on him for their daily living are assured of his presence, protection, provision and power. 

No matter what the past looks like, God wants to do a new and fresh thing. He is salvation, and he is able to give salvation. He is able to take all my past baggage and make it into a package of grace. He can take the mess of my past life and turn it into a message of hope and redemption. It has to be God; no man, no matter how connected or powerful, can secure that for me. This is the word for this season of fear and uncertainty. You are safe, only in God. No man can secure himself, not to talk of securing anyone else. He wants to save you; in fact, he moved heaven and earth to secure the salvation of men, and it will be such a waste if I do not take advantage of the free gift of life that has been made available in Christ. What are you waiting for? His time of favour is here 

Wise? Build Right!

Wise? Build Right!

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: Matthew 7:24 KJV

At some critical points in my life, I would have to decide how to respond to the Word of God that comes to me. There will be several opportunities to hear God, either by personal or corporate fellowship with God. I would have to search the scriptures for myself and see what God has for me. I would have to listen in during fellowship to hear what God has for me. He has promised that he will not leave me without guidance and direction. His Word is the compass for daily living, the light for daily decisions and the guard against a lifestyle of sin. I do not know of any other thing that can preserve a man, or keep him from evil, except the Word of God. That is why my reaction and response to the Word of God is the greatest decision I have to make. The consequences of that decision are eternal. 

As always, it is a personal decision that nobody can take on your behalf. That is why today's extract starts with that offer: 'whosoever heareth'. It is an offer open to all; yet it is an offer that not all will take. That is the truth about life. In Jesus' day, there were some who felt that they knew his family quite well, and he could not be the Messiah, even though they saw the mighty works he did. It is still the same today: we see God's mighty hand, yet we do not believe. We think we have God figured out and there can be no surprises. We ascribe glory to created things, rather than the creator. We apply logic and common sense to the things of the Spirit, and then lose our minds when things don't make sense the way we want. We forget that it is not best for things to make sense, but for them to align with the purpose of God. Have I sought to reduce God to the level of my common sense? Have I sought to bring God down to my level, thinking I can fit him into a particular narrative or fit him into a mold? I must repent and place God in His rightful place. It does not matter who I am now, or what I had done before; it all comes down to this one decision: what would I do with the words of Jesus spoken to me? 

And I note that it is not just enough to seek it out and hear a lot of it; the balance is in doing it. So many people hear; the function of the physical ear is to hear. However, as we know, even though the ear hears, it does not always listen to understand what is spoken. The bible refers to some people as forgetful hearers, which means they indeed heard, but it did not leave any impression and they soon forgot all they heard. What kind of hearer or listener am I? How I hear and listen go to show what kind of builder I am. All of us alive are building towards the future. Our decisions, responses and reactions to things today are the building blocks for the future. As I hear God's Word, how I take, process and react to it are all parts to the house I am building. As we all know, building a house takes time, effort and the right materials and skills. You don't start from the roof; you start from the foundation. If the foundation is right, a fitting structure can be placed on it. If the foundation is not right, it does not matter what kind of structure you want to place on it; it is an accident waiting to happen. 

The wise don't have all the answers; they are wise only because they have made the right decision on the response to God's Word. The wise don't boast in what they know, but on whom they know and have submitted to. They are wise because they have made up their minds that Jesus and his Word will be the focus, even if he leads where they do not understand at first. If I will be wise, I have to walk the same path. If I will be wise, I have to set my heart on the Word of God, even if it wounds me. The Word of God is described as a double-edged sword, which can cut in any direction, even addressing both the speaker and the hearer. It is profitable for doctrine, reproof, instruction and training in righteousness. There is no life that the Word of God cannot change, and if the Word of God cannot change you, then nothing and no one else can. 

I am building for eternity. Oh, I cannot be inactive. Doing nothing has consequences; building right has consequences; building the wrong way has consequences. It does not matter what you do or don't do; every action, inaction or decision has a consequence. If my present actions/inactions were to be presented to me as a house to live in, can I stay in it? Would I be able to? Work towards the end in view; build according to the pattern that God can bless; build in line with the Word of God. My eternity will be glad I did. His time of favour is here.