This God!

This God!

Psalm 18:2 AMPC

[2] The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress, and my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength in Whom I will trust and take refuge, my Shield, and the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower.

The words of the verse above were spoken by David, when the Lord delivered him from all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul, who wanted to kill him. Here was a man who God Himself said was a man after His own heart. David was a man who found joy in silence, and could praise God in any situation. He found God's hand at work even when facing a lion and a bear, as well as when facing the gaint Goliath. In the seasons of despair and pain, he found a way to praise God. In the seasons of joy and ecstasy too, he found ways to praise God. It is not a wonder that God dealt with him the way the bible records show. Having God on your side does not in any way shield you from tough times, but you have the assurance that He will help you in and through any situation that may come up. Like David, God us still looking for people who will hold on to Him for all of life. 

Check out the many ways David describes God in the verse above. One thing you will quickly note is the personal nature of the many descriptions of God: my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer; my God, my keen and firm Strength; my Shield; the Horn of my salvation, my High Tower. There are 9 references to MY or I in the verse above. God is many things to many people, and all of us on earth can call God by different names, but you can never deny the power of a personal encounter with Him. Men can testify of their own experiences, and you can be really encouraged, but you need to ask God for your own. Again, the fact that God touches you does not mean that trouble will not also try and reach you. Calling God my Rock, my refuge and my fortress means that troubles indeed came calling, but God provided a place of confidence and rest. 

It may take time, but God does not rush into things. He wants me to learn to depend on Him, and that is why I have my lifetime to learn about God, what he can do, and how to approach Him. Without troubles, I may never know the depth and scope of my need for God. If things were always great and smooth, I may never acknowledge that I need God for every step of the journey of life. He is also a place of salvation and my High Tower, which also means that by trusting in Him, I am telling other people where my allegiances now lie. As soon as I make God my own, I tell the world that I am now under new ownership and management. I have now become a spectacle for the world to see, and indeed, I become an attraction that draws men to the God I claim to know and follow. I had better represent Him well, so that men can come to the saving knowledge of Him, as I have. Do you have or know this God? God's time of favour is here.

Wait!

Wait!

Psalm 27:14 AMPC

[14] Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.

In a world that is increasingly finding it very difficult to stay still, today's verse is a timely reminder of God's expectations for those who claim to know and follow Him. The world seems to recognize and reward those who know how to get ahead. The world also has these adages that support being in a hurry or to be quick in decision making, and of course, there are good reasons to do so. However, when it comes to the things of the Spirit, one has to be very careful that you are not running a race straight out of the perfect will of God for your life. This is a God who has been at the control centre of all creation since it had been formed, and continues to sustain all these things by His Word. He knows what He is doing, and He will not be rushed into any action through pressure from me or anyone else. How do you put pressure on a God who you cannot control? How do you get to hurry Him up when you do not have his timetable?

When it is time to act, He sets out and no one can question or limit Him. One verse that speaks to his unique sense of timing is the first part of Galatians 4:4, which says that "But when the set time had fully come...".  When His time is right, the whole of creation will align to carry out His plan. You read of verses such as Lamentations 3:37, which says: "Who is he who speaks and it comes to pass, if the Lord has not authorized and commanded it"? That is absolute power and authority. Another one is Psalms 115:3 which says that "Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him". That is also proof of unquestionable power. Do any of the verses above show a weak, clueless, thoughtless or easily manipulated God? Do any of these verses show that God can be hurried into making mistakes, unless I am the one who walks or works myself out of His will? 

This is why the verse above is actually a good recommendation or counsel. You are not compelled to align, and a man is free to do whatever he wants to do. God does not force His will on anyone, neither does He go against the exercise of my freewill. I can run as fast as I can in the opposite direction of His will, like Jonah did initially, or I can simply say, like Isaiah after his vision of God's glory, "Lord, here I am". As always, the choice is mine to make, but the consequences of whatever decision I make is determined by God. He has made quite clear what the earthly and eternal consequences are, and I will have to make a choice one way or another. There is no fence to sit on here. Let your heart be stout and enduring; soak it in the Word of God; walk and speak with Him daily Listen for his regular  instructions, and obey. You will see Him work. God's time of favour is here.

Cause and Effect 2!

Cause and Effect 2!

James 5:13 AMPC

[13] Is anyone among you afflicted (ill-treated, suffering evil)? He should pray. Is anyone glad at heart? He should sing praise [to God].

As was laid out in the devotion for yesterday, the human phase of life can be unpredictable and messy. There will be times when things will go according to plan, and there will also be many times that things will go horribly bad. There will be opportunities to see God at work and times when it may seem that we have been abandoned by God. Again, it is quite important to emphasize the power and effect of sin on our world today. Due to sin, we are now exposed to the power and actions of the prince of this world, whose work is to steal, kill and destroy. That is all he can do, because it is all he has. We also have a God who rules and reigns over the affairs of men, and whose plan and purpose for man cannot be thwarted unless and until that man simply works at cross-purposes with God. God wants to show Himself strong in my life, but i must let Him do what He is qualified to do.

God does not force Himself on anyone, or go against the exercise of my freewill. He makes all of us a simple offer, and that is He can solve our problems the way He sees fit, only if we can trust His wisdom, timing and leading at all times. His solutions may not always make sense at the time, and may sometimes seem slow, but God is never late. When a man is afflicted, whether ill-treated or suffering evil, God's recommended solution is to pray. It does not ordinarily sound sensible or rational, but in the hand of God, obedience is critical to accessing all that God has promised. He does not say I should accept all that has happened and do nothing about it, but I have to be careful not to defend myself to the point where it becomes self-help. Prayer helps to keep me grounded and dependent on God as the One who can help me through whatever it is that the devil may seek to throw at me. 

It could also be that things have aligned, and I have what I have asked for. I do not become conceited, thinking my effort or labour had something to do with what I now have. God's prescription for this season of gladness of heart is to sing praise to God. Praise takes away the focus from myself and my burdens or cares to the One who loves me enough to send His Son to die in my place. If He could do that willingly, I know that there is nothing else that He cannot give me. Praise keeps the focus on the person and power of God, so that God is moved to do even greater things for me. This is the connection between both situations: whether good or bad, I fix my gaze on the One whose power and might cannot be compared to anything or anyone else. My response to my situations is defined by my understanding of who God is, and what He can do. Do you know this God, or have we found alternatives that are taking our eyes and hearts away from God? Input will define output. Make sure you have God. God's time of favour is here.

Cause and Effect!

Cause and Effect!

Matthew 5:4 AMPC

[4] Blessed and enviably happy [with a happiness produced by the experience of God's favor and especially conditioned by the revelation of His matchless grace] are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted!

Life will happen to the best of us. As a result of man's first sin in the Garden of Eden, sin has now become natural to us. We do not have to do much to sin, as the natural order for man is to choose wrong over right. It is therefore not of much benefit to worry too much about sin, but about its earthly and eternal consequences. There is no value to just crying over sin; it is more important to seek God's solution to sin and take advantage of what He offers as the permanent solution to sin. As you read the bible, you find good examples of the destructive power of sin, the mercy that true repentance and sorrow for sin can attract, and the reconstructive work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all who truly are sorry for their past sins. Where do you fit in all the above? 

As laid out above, there are many things that could cause a man to mourn, because this side of eternity permits it. This mourning is a meaningful, persistent grief over wrong; over something that is not right or good. There is a right context to this mourning which leads to blessedness, and that has to be my focus. The pain, suffering and death in the world today could cause a child of God to mourn, as there is an understanding of the cause and effect of sin on the world, but the child of God also knows that God has made adequate provision for the solution to sin. As the child of God mourns over the pain and destruction the world experiences today, there is a counter balance in the joy that comes from knowing that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord is saved from the power and effect of sin. 

It takes personal knowledge and experience to fully grasp both sides. It is not a wonder, then, that Jesus was speaking to his disciples here. If you are not a disciple of Jesus, it means that you do not have access to the remedies available. It means that you may have to sorrow all alone, with no one to help. It is not a wonder that the bible makes a big difference between worldly sorrow and Godly sorrow. Those who have God will also have life happen to them, but they have the big advantage of having God on their side to walk with them. My prayer is that none of us end up like Judas Iscariot, who, by worldly sorrow, ended up hanging himself and losing out in eternity. As the verse above says, God's favor and matchless grace are available for all who seek Him. The world gives enough pain;  I have nothing to lose if I seek God. God's time of favour is here. 

The Right Value!

The Right Value!

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13 KJV

[12] And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; [13] and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

Paul, Silas and Timothy are recorded as the writers of this letter to the church in Thessalonica, and the letter covers a range of topics that remain relevant to this day. Of course, the Word of God is valid for all times, and will remain so until this version of earth and heaven will pass away, in line with the express directive of the Word of God. The verses above lay emphasis on areas of church life that sometimes lead to some controversy, and these are leadership and selfless service. It takes a broken life to offer selfless service to other people; it takes an understanding of what is at stake, who it is you work for, why you work and what you are working for, for a person to go all out in service for a God you have not yet physically seen, but you know, without a shadow of doubt, that He is alive, and a rewarder of all who diligently seek Him. It is the start point for anything of value. 

All three of the writers - Paul, Silas and Timothy knew what this call by God required of them. All of them were leaders of the church at the time, in various places and fields. No man can take on the task of leadership by himself, arrogate to himself the power of leadership. The One who owns the church is the One who calls men to all levels of leadership and service, and it will do me a great deal of good to know who I am, and where I have been called to stand and serve. The title should not define me; irrespective of what men call me, I know who I am working for. This understanding will help me, whether I am a 'leader' or a 'follower' or wherever it is that I am asked to occupy. I have a duty to help, pray for and support all who have been placed over me. I do not envy a man based on title, but I respect the grace and call of God on their lives, and keep asking God to uphold and help them. 

One good way to keep me grounded is to act as I would if the positions were reversed. How would you want other people to support you when you need it? God uses situations and people to prepare us for what He wants us to achieve for Him. There will be times when my best preparation is supporting another person and being willing to act in the shadow, maybe unknown. It is not easy being a leader of men, especially when not all of them have the clear understanding of what spiritual leadership is about. I must not push myself forward as if I am the best available. I am content doing what God has asked me to so, and supporting all who lead and direct. This is the path to peace that God commands, and as the word of God has said, He is not an author of confusion. If indeed I have God, I will seek and pursue peace. Do you have God in you? Your contents will define your pursuit. God's time of favour is here. 

Owned!

Owned!

1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV

[16] Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

As always, it is important to define and clearly establish who the audience of the message in the verse above is for. This helps to define the demands and the expectations from those in the audience. Paul was speaking to the church in Corinth, so these were people who were expected to have an understanding of who God is, what His will is, and how they were expected to walk. Unfortunately, they had allowed the pressure from the world get to them, and they were now seeking approval from men as the standard. Cliques led by the efforts of men were now becoming more important than the demands of the walk of faith. This is grave danger in starting in God and seeking to continue the journey by personal effort or self-help. At no time must a follower of Christ become distracted to the point where you think that you can now do the work on your own, or rely on human help only.

This work now needs to be done under new management, and that is why the same writer, speaking to the same audience, said quite clearly that when a man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old has to give way to the new. Whatever inspiration you got from the world to carry out any assignment has to now be subjected to the dictates of the Spirit of God, who is the new boss now. Whatever was the motivation for the perspiration to carry out the work for the world, now has to bend to the empowerment and direction of the Holy Spirit. Something has to be possess someone to drive him or her to work tirelessly in pursuit of a goal. For all of humans, there is a vacuum in all of us, and someone must fill it in order to drive that which we need to get done. God and the devil are the only two masters relevant to this conversation, and with opposite eternities on offer. 

Be sure that the one who drives you knows the right destination. It will be quite unfortunate if the one who possesses you to pursue a course of action does not have life in himself and is therefore unable to guarantee you eternal life. The picture of the temple in the old testament was one set up exactly as God wanted, with worship and sacrifices made exactly as God prescribed. No one could offer strange or unholy sacrifices, as death was the result of such practices. The standard of God has not changed, and has not been lowered for anyone; those who carry the vessels of God cannot afford to live as they please or do as they please. The one who owns is the one who inspires those he owns to do the work He needs to get done. Labour by itself does not count; perspiration without God's inspiration and help does not lead to anything of value. If you are under God's ownership, your life's pursuits must reflect that reality. God's time of favour is here. 

Give!

Give!

Luke 6:38 AMP

[38] Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.”

There are principles by which the kingdom of God operates, and one of them is giving. This principle is quite important because there is a right way, as well as a wrong way to do it. As it is a kingdom principle, be sure that all who do it the right way get the right results from it, and the devil is also smart enough to provide sufficient alternatives to the right way of giving, to serve as distractions. For everything God commands, there are both earthly and eternal blessings and consequences, so be sure that for everything that the devil also promotes, there are both earthly and eternal consequences too. Our focus is on giving the right way; the way God prescribes and accepts. Please note: self-promotion will not replace divine instruction. If God has said it has to be done in a particular way, seeking the blessing requires seeking to obey. 

Obedience comes easy to those who have submitted their wills to God. Does this describe you at the moment? Are there things you think are too big to give up? A definition of 'giving' available online is 'to freely transfer the possession of something to someone'. Do you note the words 'freely transfer'? It has to come from a place of freewill, not compulsion or forceful takeover. God does not accept anything less than what my whole heart is willing to give. Remember the story of Ananias and wife Sapphira, who both conspired to lie to the Holy Spirit about what they gave. The gift was theirs to do with as they pleased, and the value of what to give was theirs to decide, but the motives behind the gift was bad, and this cost both of them their lives. No amount of grammar can help you explain the wrong motives, because God sees the heart.

For all who understand the mind of God, we know that whatever comes from the heart comes from a place of submission. If the heart is able to give it all up, it is because the heart knows the origin and purpose of all that it holds. If you are willing to give it all up, it means you are making room for more of God's blessings. If you do not make room by giving, how does God's new provisions find room to manifest? If I give with small measures, it means that there can only be a refill with small measures. In the same way, if I give with big measures, I will also get refill in big measure. There is the additional grace that leads to an overflow, simply because of the divine principle that you will always get back geometric proportions whatever it is that you sow. God will raise men that will bless you beyond even your available space, so that giving becomes a lifestyle. Picture the life of blessing a man can have, when God knows that there is nothing the man cannot give up. Does that describe you? God's time of favour is here