The Dawning of 2016

There are many plans in a man's heart, Nevertheless the LORD's counsel that will stand. Proverb 19:21
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanse himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. 2Timothy 2:20-21

It's that time of the year again! I'm sure just like me, you are feeling very positive about the upcoming  year 2016.
Perhaps some of you have started writing down some new year' resolutions.
Do you want to know what I think about 2016? I will tell you;It's the year of the LORD!
Oh yeah, so much the year of the Lord, just as 2015 is, was and would always be.
And don’t get me wrong. Me saying “it is the year of the Lord is not as a result of a revelation gotten from God”, but on the contrary, based on my knowledge of the fact that each day in the year 2016 is the day that the Lord has made. Just like He made the days in 2015.

You will agree with me that if the days in 2016 belongs to God, it’s not rocket science to figure out that the entirety of the year 2016 also belongs to Him.
If the above line of thoughts are correct and true, of which I know they are. Then I will like to channel your attention towards something I believe everyone of us should be focusing on at this time of the year.

And that is; How to be used by God in whatever ways He seems fit in 2016.
I believe in resolutions. I believe in writing down goals and aspirations for the future, but the only challenge I seems to be facing lately is my inability to write down for myself goals that God has not really asked me to, or aspirations that seems to be the total opposite of what God has ordained for me from the foundation of the earth.

This is one reason I believe that the year 2016 is my year of the wonders of God' word!

The last time I checked with Him, He instructed me to give a voice to His word, by "responding to the world with the word"

Just like me, I believe so many of you are wondering what you are going to tag your 2016. Just some advice; call it the same name as the assignment God has given to you when He saved you.
Call it what He had purposed for you to do with Him here on earth. When you do this, you will discover a fresh zeal to pursue His call for your life.
Haven said so much, let me leave you with two practical ways to be used by God.
1. Purge yourself of the latter.2Timothy 2:21.

The latter could be anything. It could be your lukewarmness towards His word. It could be a bad habit or character such as strife, spiritual laxity, etc. The latter constitute of anything  that hinders us from entering into the fullness of our assignment with Him.
2. Laying hold of the very thing for which Jesus laid hold on you.Philippians 3:12
In the issue of been used by God. Laying hold of the very thing for which God laid hold of you is key. To be called  or saved is one thing, but finding out why we are called (saved) is a different ball game.

As simple as this may sound, it’s one thing that distinguished the successful from the unsuccessful In every plains of life.
Friends, if 2016 must be of any significance in our lives. We must have to purge our selves of the latter. If we must achieve all that God has purposed for us in the upcoming year, we must discover and lay hold of the very thing for which Christ Jesus laid hold on us.

God bless you, and I wish all of you a blissful 2016!

Happy New Year

It's the Kings Birthday

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.Luke 2:7.

We are in the greatest season in the history of the human race.
It's the season of the birthday of our King. The author of the life you are enjoying right now.
I know most people have their own theory in regards to the months and date of the birth of Our King, Jesus. But I choose to go with what the scripture advises.  Which is;  from the mouth of two or three witnesses let any matter be established

The issue of "Christmas" being celebrated on December 25th as oppose to October/ September according to some other school of thoughts is something that should never cause us to relent in our quest to truly show how much we appreciate the Gift of God to mankind. Especially after more than three believers has agreed for it to be celebrated on this very day.
Let’s make a serious issue about it by going all out in celebrating the Saviour of the whole world.

Just the thought of God coming down to us in a quest to reconcile us back to Him is enough reason to throw Him the biggest birthday party we could ever afford as individuals.
It's with this excitement I would want to suggest that you make Him proud in all you do as we celebrate our King.

Irrespective of your status or situation, make sure you do not talk yourself into having a passive Christmas. It's the birthday of our King, and I'm sure He would love to see you celebrate it with Him in whatever little way you can.

Let’s tweet about it. Let’s hashtag it and lets go wild on social media celebrating it without been apologetic to anyone.

It's the birthday of The King of kings.

Have a Merry Christmas!

The Place of Wisdom

But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding? Job 28:12

Dear friends,
Although wisdom is so essential, and appears to be easy to access, yet not everyone have it.

The emphasis laid on its importance in proverb 4:7 shows how deadly it is to live without it.

Job's discourse on wisdom in chapter twenty eight of the book of Job is so interesting for one not to pay attention to it.
Many of us have our own ideas as to what wisdom is.
Some of us are of the opinion that wisdom is a function of old age. Others believe it’s something one can acquire with money, or from college/ varsity.
But the scripture defines wisdom as the fear of the Lord.
This simple definition of wisdom makes  it ok to say; "The height of a man' wisdom is measured by the level of his / her fear ( reverence) for the Lord.

SOME TRUTHS ABOUT WISDOM
As I pay attention to Job's discourse on wisdom I realise the following: 
1. Wisdom doesn't come cheap. Just like other precious stones, it needs to be searched for. And only one person knows its where about. And that Person is God. Proverb 28:23.
2. Wisdom cannot be gotten outside of God. James 1:5.
3. God is both the author and custodian of wisdom. And to have it, we need to ask of it from Him.
4 . Wisdom doesn't discriminate. It has no regard for gender or age. It’s not moved by the physical status of a man. This reality explains while one can be a rich fool, a foolish male or female. An unwise old or young man
5. Wisdom answers to anyone who fears the Lord.
There is a spirit of wisdom and it comes from the Lord. One way to know it’s from the Lord is; it causes the possessor of it to reverence the Lord in all they do.

..... I am young in years, and you are very old; therefore I was afraid, and dared not declare my opinion to you.


I said, age should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. But there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding. Great men are not always wise, nor do the aged always understand justice. Job 32:6-9

Friends, the only qualification required  to walk in wisdom is the fear of the Lord. We cannot grow any deeper in wisdom than the depth of our reverence for God.
To ask the Lord for wisdom is to ask Him to increase our reverence for Him.

May you grow in wisdom as today in Jesus name? Amen!

God bless you!

God's Own Labourers

For the kingdom of heaven is like a land owner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vine yard. Matthew 20:1

What an awesome thing to know that  as Christians, we are God' own labourers. We all may not have been called to labour under the fivefold ministries of the body, but certainly are co labourers in Christ.

As doctors, lawyers mechanics, business men and women, road side vendors we have all been called to labour with Christ for the advancement of the kingdom of God here on earth.
it’s of great importance we begin to start seeking God in regards to this truth.

As someone running a small business who is a Christian you need to learn how to join yourself with God's scheme of things. Get into His vine yard. Do not wait to be called into the fivefold ministry before you start labouring with God.

Ephesians 2:10 said we are His workmanship. Note that this scripture didn't say they are (the preachers, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelist and Pastors). It said we are, which is inclusive of you working at that law firm, government or private hospital, you running that crèche or business. It’s time to get into a partnership with God in labour. This is His will for us all as His children.

As you go through this, this morning make up your mind to labour with God.


Prayer: Lord Jesus, I come to you today as a (Mention the name of your occupation) and I ask that You show me specifically how to join with You in labouring for the advancement of God' kingdom here on earth. This I ask for in Jesus mighty name. Amen!

The Stronghold of Pride

Psalms  73:6  Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment.

Friends nothing causes a man to rebel against God's word like pride does.

The average man has a picture of self sufficiency in his / her heart, I want to do this all by myself. Relying on someone to get something done is a no, no.

Most of us as redeemed as we may appear to be, struggle with the strong hold of pride. We cannot afford to have someone say they were part of our success journey. We want all the credit.

This reality is one reason we tend to always want to do something even after God must have asked us to stand still.

This same pride is what causes us to often refuse to take our issues to God even after He asked us to bring our burdens to Him. We have indirectly bought into the idea that God help those who help themselves".

Pride won't allow us to take seriously God' instruction for obtaining rest in a particular area of life we’ve been trying to obtain for years.

Due to the nature of our present society many of us are not comfortable going with God's plans for achieving our set desire simply because the process eliminates our own effort.

God does not need your help in getting you to the destiny He had arranged for you before He called you to be on earth.

The delay most of us experience while expecting some things from God could be linked to our own pride of wanting to help God out.

Often times God wants His work in our live to speak for itself and not us trying to explain it.
While it’s good to always have a plan on how to get something done let’s not forget to give room for the purpose of God concerning that thing

For many are the plans in a man' heart, but the counsel of the LORD shall stand"

Slain for My Power

"Worthy is the lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise! Revelation 5:12

There are seven obvious attributes possessed by Jesus Christ as a result of His crucifixion on the cross.

This same attributes has been made available to us through salvation the minute we received Him as Lord and Saviour of our lives. 

According to our text in Revelation 5:12, these attributes was paid for in full by Jesus, and the currency used for the purchase was His blood

To activate and operate these attributes in our daily lives we need to acknowledge the fact that they are ours. And we already possess them in their right proportions.

We need to deliberately use them for the furtherance of the kingdom of God within our sphere of influence. i.e.
Place of work, within our family, circle of friends, among our fellow course mates. Etc.

The attributes we are talking about this morning are as follows;
1. Power
2. Wealth /Riches
3.Wisdom
4.Strength
5.Honor
6.Glory
7. Praise /blessing.

As children of God, it’s important that we understand that this attributes are already residing in every one of us. All we need to do is turn them on. Like we turn on the light whenever we enter a room and feel the need for the light already made available in the room.

Two major ways to turn on these attributes within us;
Constant prayer and
Word study.

Let’s take a quick  look at the first attribute as listed in Revelation 5:12.
POWER
The word power was first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis 31:6. It was rightfully used in connection with Jacob while working for Laban, his father in-law and uncle.
The root meaning of the word power which is capacity or means was very obvious in the life of Jacob while he served Laban. Laban himself attests to this truth.


He confessed to Jacob the fact that his presence in his life was what made him so blessed.
This is the same kind of power Jesus Christ purchased for us by His blood. The power to effect change in every area of life.

It’s called dunamis. The ability to produce result even in a desert.
This kind of power has no regard for age, season or geographical location. It’s like dynamite. It has no respect for the condition of the place it’s placed. Once it explodes it changes the condition of that place.

Friends, He was slain for your power. He was slain for your dominion. He was slain for your wealth. It is time to display this power so everyone around you can benefit from it

The Power of Having the Right Understanding

As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?  
Who are you, LORD? Saul asked. I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting ," He replied. Act 9:3-5

We should never under estimate the power of a positive understanding. It makes a great difference in terms of what we attract both from God and man.
In God, His promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. There is nothing we desire that He cannot give to us. But often times we are limited by our own understanding of Him.
Our attitude towards anything is a function of our understanding of that thing.

The life of Saul who later became Paul at conversion does attest to this truth.
Paul's understanding of who Jesus was, was what informed his decision towards the early Church. He, also like other rulers never understood Jesus.

They did not believe He was God in the form of man. This simple reality led him to persecute Jesus, by persecuting His disciples. But when he encountered Jesus on His way to Damascus, his understanding of Jesus changed and this led to the change of his attitude towards God's people.

He moved from persecuting Jesus before the people of Jerusalem to propagating Jesus before the whole world.
Friends if anything most change in our lives, we have to ask Him to either change our understanding in regards to that thing or better still ask Him to deepen it.
God in His infinite wisdom has made life and placed the understanding of it as a measurement in determining what we get from it.

My prayer for every one of us today is that we will grow in our understanding of Him.
The level of our spirituality in Him is measured by the debt of our understanding of Him.
And the debt of our understanding of Him determines the exploit we will do in Him.
You can never achieve anything in God above your understanding of who He is.

Prayer;
Oh LORD! Increase my understanding of who you are, and what on earth I'm here for.

The Successful Failure

And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt.

And he took Agag the king of the Amalekites alive, and utterly destroyed all the people with the edge of the sword.

But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep,

and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was

good, and would not utterly destroy them: but everything that was vile and refuse, that they destroyed utterly.

Then came the word of the LORD unto Samuel, saying,

It repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned

back from following me, and hath not performed my commandments.  And it grieved Samuel; and he cried unto the LORD all night.  1 Samuel 15:7-11. (See 1Samuel 15:3).

Success is not measured by where we work, where we live or what we have acquired, but base on how well will live out the purpose and plans of God for our lives.

Success begins at the discovering of the destiny, purpose and assignment of God for our lives.

When we understand this truth the need to prove to others how successful we have been will ceases to be an issue.

We are anything but successful when we succeed in a task outside the jurisdiction of our God ordained destiny here on earth.

There are two types of people living on the earth today. The successful ones, and the successful failures.

Like Saul, some of us are successful failures. Not because we are useless to our selves or communities. Not because we fail to achieve the things we have set our hearts to achieve. But because we have succeeded in becoming successful in a purpose outside the assignment given to us by God

Friends I have come to realize that success outside the purpose of God for our live is no success at all. I.e.  The story of Saul in 1 Samuel 15

Saul was given the task by God to utterly destroy the Amalekites. Their animals, young and old. But he decided to spare the life of Agag the king, and the good animals.

To him he was a success after the battle, but a successful failure before God.  

To be successful is so simple when we realize it’s just sticking to what on earth we are here for.

The hardest part in being successful is in discovering what we have been called do.

  

As you read through this, this morning. I want you to know that success is what you are if you have discovered what on earth you are here for. The affluence, physical possession and accomplishment are all secondary. Like the scripture in Matthew 6:33.

Discovering your life purpose and sticking to it is to seek the kingdom first and the other things would be added to you.

If as you are reading this right now and you realize that you have been succeeding in ventures outside God’s purpose for your life it’s also not too late to reach out and lay hold of His purpose for your life. Refuse to be busy with a goal or venture that does not help you fulfill God's ultimate destiny for your life

God is NOT Dead

Put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels? Matthew 26:52-53

If that is the case, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. Daniel 3:17.

Dear friends,

Its interesting  to know that God did not give us salvation (saved us) so we could defend His name. He is not dead, He is capable of defending Himself.

As believers, the temptation to defend God in our everyday live is increasingly becoming over whelming. This same temptation has led  many of us to sought for refuge in places and things God has not commanded us to.

In the past three months I have gone through some critical time in my personal life. I have being challenged so much that all I was doing was trying to make a plan to savage God' name and integrity.

Due to this reality I found my self unconsciously trying to defend God's  reputation in my life. Then I realize that every time I tried to do this, I find my self doing the opposite of what He wants me to do.

I'm sure some of you are experiencing the same thing  right about now.
Spiritually some of you are trying to prove to others that God is not dead in your lives.

Financially, you are doing everything except the very thing God would love you to do. Just so you can defend Him before those who are always critical about your devotion to His service.

In order to shut them up, you have started helping Him.

Friends, I was in such a space few weeks back. And recently the Spirit of God spoke to my heart one evening. And He said to me. " I did not called you to defend Me, but to defend your faith in Me. I can defend Myself in you".

When we focus on defending our faith in God He will in turn defend Himself in our lives.
You and I are not the only ones tempted to defend Jesus' reputation in our lives.

Just like you and I, he took out his sword and cut off the ear of one of the guys who came to arrest Jesus. But again Jesus instructed Him to refrain from defending Him. He reminded him of His ability to call His Father for back up.

Like the Spirit of God said to me. quit trying to defend Me in your life. I'm saying to you, in respect to what you are going through at the moment. God is not dead, He knows your situation, but you have to quit trying to defend Him so He could defend Him self in your life.

Take a look at the story of the three Hebrew boys. They refused to defend Him. All they did was to defend their believe in Him and Jesus stepped into the furnace to defend Himself.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?

They replied, Certainly, O king." He said, look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like the Son God. Daniel 3:24-25.


Friend may this be the outcome of that situation facing you as you allow God defend Himself in your life! 

The Principal of the Path

Proverbs 7: 6-27-For at the window of my house I looked through my casement, and beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding, passing through the street near her corner: and he went the way to her house (6-8)

Just as every road like every road is linked to a specific destination place so also every path leads to a destination.

A path is a way or track that is built and it leads to a particular destination.

The path we take in life has no regards for the way we feel, it will lead us to where it leads irrespective of whether it is what we anticipate or not

In our text in Proverbs 7: Solomon the writer of the book of proverb gave us first- hand insight regarding the principle of the path.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: While there are a lot of paths you need just one path to take you to your desired and God ordained destination. Shalom

Throwing God a Party Instead of Quitting

The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life' worries, riches, and pleasures and they do not mature. Luke 5:14
God' word to us is as valid as a cheque already cashed when we hold onto it with everything we’ve got.

The scripture made it clear that His promises are yes, and they are amen (certain).
The devil is fully aware of this that is why he would stop at nothing until he gets you to quit holding on to God' promises for your life.
We must realize that challenges are part of the Christian walk.


They are there not because we’re too weak, or because of what we have failed to do, but simply because of the fact that the devil is afraid of us.
Our presence reminds him of his defeat and his future in hell.


This is why he is trying to stop us by bringing into our space so many distractions.
Instead of quitting on your big dreams with God because someone is afraid of you, why not call a party and celebrate it.

He did it with Adam at the Garden of Eden and succeeded in dislodging him of his inheritance in God.

Until he showed up at the garden, Adam had no worries about being as wise as God. 

Eve never had to stress about where their next meal is coming from. The couple was so busy enjoying God's presence that they had no need for anything.

They were living in the fulfillment of God's promises until they allowed the ideas of the devil to choke the very word spoken to them by God.

Although the devil is out to get us, he will never be able to unless we let down our security system (God's word to us).

Oh! How I love the scripture in Proverb 18:10.
The name of the LORD is a strong tower ... .

The devil cannot get a child of God unless he first get him / her out of God's presence.
As long as we remain in His presence it doesn’t matter how low we may be feeling we will never know failure.

Refuse to be moved, and keep pressing into His presence by reminding yourself of His word concerning you.

Come to think of it, the devil is not as persistent as most people think he is. If he is,  he could have tempted Jesus for the fourth time.

Unlike Jesus, Adam was only tempted once, and down he went.
If you want to know how impatient the devil is, try and remind him of his future at least three times every time he tries to distract you with thoughts and challenges that are capable of choking God's word to you.

Dear friends, in this race Jesus emptied our lives of every possible excuses we had.
We no longer have reasons to quit on Him, His call and plans for our lives.
I think this is a good time to get the party started. Sing unto Him a new song. Show Him your new dancing step.

He is worthy of all our praise

Making God's Word your Life

So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the things whereto I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

Every single thing made and created by God has an expiry date. This includes the unregenerate man. Outside the provision of God's salvation

Nothing outside the will and word of God has the ability to fulfill itself.

For our lives to have any meaning; any significance we need to make His every word its foundation.
When His word becomes our lives, our lives become His every word that never return void unto Him.

Just as the word of God cannot fail so also is a life that is based on the word.

Friends there' only one way to preserve anything;  be it a dream, ambition, business, career and even relationship. And that is to make it the word of God.

Let's desire above anything else the need to make His word our life and we will never have to worry about how to live a fulfilled life.

Any life that is made of the word of God cannot return void to Him, just as His every word concerning  anything cannot return to Him without accomplishing the purpose for which it has been sent.

As a child of God your life is His word and you are returning to Him fully accomplished in all He has called you to do.

Delight Yourself in the Lord

Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119: 97

Have you ever thought of how possible it is to have the right desire? A desire that gives God no other option than to cause it to come to pass?

Coming across the text in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things ....  Does not make the situation any easier for most of us to believe it is possible for a human to have a desire that God would have no option but to cause it to come to pass.

This train of thought is not any different from the thought of Nathaniel ,the brother of Philip; when he was told by his brother that they have found the Messiah  from  Nazareth, whom Moses the  prophet of God spoke about. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Said Nathaniel.

Like Nathaniel many of us do not believe that a good desire can proceed from the heart of a man. I have met Christians who still have this belief. I have heard preachers preach such sermons. If this is true, why will God ever promise to grant the desire of a man's heart?
Has He forgotten that this is man we are talking about?

Friends God is too God for a thought to skip His mind. He has never made a promise He cannot fulfill.

This truth should cause us to pay attention to the text in Psalm 37:4.  Delight yourself in the LORD, and He shall give you the desire of your heart.

The reason most of our desires are not coming to pass is because we have in our own ways reverse the lines in this text.

We have often times gone to develop a desire from something, someone outside His will and come to Him to cause it to come to pass.

To delight yourself in the LORD is to take pleasure in God's will and word. It is to make His word a priority in everything we wish for. When this becomes our habits we unknowingly begin to desire the very thing He desires. And when this is the case, having the desire of our heart become possible at all time, in every aspect of our lives.


Prayer; LORD teach me to delight in You, always in all aspect of my life. Amen

The Scripture- God’s Directives

Psalms 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 32:8

There are so many believers who do not have confidence in God. And this can be said to be true by the way they perceive and treat the very word of God.

We live in a society where people confuse the word for laws and as such finds it very difficult to live by its principles.

One of the greatest challenges of most present day believers is that they see the word of God as more of a restriction than it is a liberty and directives from Him on how to walk with Him.
This truth can be said to be responsible for the lack of influence most of us as believers have over our immediate family members and fellow neighbors.

Somehow, we have been  able to convince ourselves that by classifying the very word of God as a law, by selecting which part of it to believe and which not to believe we would become relevant to the people around us who are of different faith and to the world at large.
Again this sounds to me as a contradiction. We have become a hindrance to the very purpose for which we’ve been called, separated by God.

According 1 Peter 2:9, the believer is called out... to show forth His light....
By implication this simply means we cannot be of value and relevance to the world we live in as believers if we do not regard the word as God's directives.
We cannot be a light to a world full of darkness unless we are committed to remain the light we have be called to be.

As believers, an attempt to remove our saltiness in order to become relevant to a tasteless society is to make ourselves useless just like the tasteless society before God.

The ability of any believer to effect change and add value to his/her society is linked to his /her readiness to accept the word as God's directives on how to walk with Him.

Like the Psalmist put it in Psalm 119:105; Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my path. A path taken outside the directives of God is a path traded in darkness.

Friends none of us has within us the ability to lead a life void of darkness outside the perimeters of God's directives.

God's word is more of a directive on how to walk with Him than it would ever be a law book that we must obey in order to please Him.

Time to Move On

And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Matthew 28:7

Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish , let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" Matthew 17:4

Nothing causes so much agitation like the times when we are aware it’s time to move on.
Although most of us desire a change in many aspects of our live, but yet struggle to move on.

There is something about familiarity with certain places, people and even vocation that causes us to agitate against moving forward even when we know we have to.

I do not know about you, but change is one thing I struggle with. I hate changing location, daily routine, friends and even habits that I have become familiar with. This reality could be said to be responsible for the reason it takes me a very long time to make decisions in regards to things and people around me.

Just like me, I'm sure there are others reading through this, this morning that love staying put in a particular place even when they desire change. The truth is we must realize that God is always on the move and if we must keep up with Him, we must learn to let go and master the art of embracing change.

God cannot get us to the place we desire to be if we refuse to let go of our familiar places, people and even vocations.

I love the conversation that took place between the angel and the women who went to anoint the body of Jesus in the tomb the morning He left the grave.
Just like some of us, the women knew about His prediction of not remaining in the grave after the third day, but yet still prepared the spice to anoint His body.

I'm sure they were excited and truly believed He had the ability to exit the grave, but their agitation against change got them to rise up early in the morning to go about their daily routine. Friends nothing hinders our faith like our inability to accept change.

And the angel said to them when they finally got to the tomb; He IS NOT Here! He has moved on. Like most of us today, one account of the gospel recorded that Mary started weeping, saying to the angel, please show me, where have you taken the body of my LORD? Once she realized Jesus was no longer in the tomb.
No wonder Jesus had to appear to her just to prove to her that He had indeed moved on, and would be waiting for them at Galilee.

Just when I thought the agitation against change is something that is peculiar to only women in Bible times, the story of Peter and Jesus in Matthew 17:4 came to mind.
Peter obviously forgot that Jesus never told them while taking them to the mountain on this particular day that they would need tents as they would be joined by Elijah and Moses.

Most of us today are not any different from Peter who loves the supernatural move of God above His divine leading.

We are quick to build a tabernacle around a move, and wave of God in a place and time God is only taking us through. And we feel cheated by God when He comes telling us to leave. Some of us even have the nerve to ask Him, but God what about the investments of time, energy and resources I have sacrifice into this tabernacle?

Friends, God is not as moved by what He has done before through you like He is concern about what He could still do with you in a new place. He is not limited by the newness of the place, people and vocation He is leading you into.

The earth and everything in it belongs to Him. Psalm 24:1-3

The Hands that was Nailed

I cannot but imagine the scene of the cross in my mind. Over and over again I have tried to relive this whole scenario of what Jesus did for me by trying to put myself in His shoes but still cannot find closure with it. For God in the form of a man to suffer such humiliation and brutality from His own subjects is humbling to me. Never in my entire life have I been taught humility. Never in my wildest expectations have I been shown what it means to submit. To submit to a people and a course one has made and possesses the ability to overturn.

As I meditate on this issue of the cross and the hands that was nailed I came to the conclusion that there is only one factor that could actually motivate a person with all the ability and influence of this earth to give himself up to be humiliated and nailed to the same wood he fashioned, by a people He created. And this factor is LOVE.

He was wrongfully accused, but refused to contest the legality of the accusation laid upon Him because He loved me too much to allow me to pay for them. He knew very well that for Him to be acquitted, I need to be ready to pay for the offense I have inherited through the sin of the first man and woman who once lived. As there is a need for a scapegoat for the offense to be settled; He was mocked, spat on but yet refused to lift His hands to protest His innocence. Again this He endured because He loved me. He was stripped of His garments and was crowned with a crown of thorns all because of His decision to love me. He was nailed on the cross and was left for death and still didn’t blink an eye, because He had chosen to love me in spite of all this. What a way to define love, and what a way to prove to me He truly loves me.

As we celebrate Easter, we need to realize that without Easter, the Christian faith will not be any different from any other religion such as Islam, Buddhist, Rosicrucian, atheist, etc.

As a matter of truth the Christian faith only came into existence after this great sacrifice of love wrath by God himself in the person of Jesus Christ. This is why it will be ignorant for anyone to believe that Jesus was a Christian. He was and still not a Christian, but on the contrary the Son, follower and Lover of God. He is God.

I don't know about you, but as I recall His journey and accomplishment to and from the cross I realize accepting Him as my Lord and as my Savior has placed on me a demand to forego certain rights and privileges every ordinary human believes they are entitled to. And some of these rights and privileges are as follows.

The right to offense;
As someone who has truly made Jesus Lord, you have forfeited your right to take offence. Forfeiting ones right to take offence is not a guarantee that offence will not come knocking. As a matter of truth it’s impossible not to be offended, but always know that you do not have the legal right according to Jesus' expectation of us to take it when it does come. If He took offence;, Peter and the other disciples who denied and abandoned Him during His trying time would have had no place in propagating His gospel after His resurrection. If He took offence, the men and women who allowed themselves to be persuaded by the leaders of the synagogue and elders of the ruling council would have no possibility of making heaven as He would have closed the door of salvation against them. What about the soldiers who ridiculed Him, spat on Him and casted lots for His garment. And not to mention the ones who nailed Him to the cross. The list could go on until it included me and you who although may not have been in support of His crucifixion but yet refused to stand up for Him by just keeping quiet while evil prevails in our very society.


The right to forgive;
This right here is a very big issue within the Christian community. Perhaps it’s so because most of us are yet to truly comprehend what it means to forgive. I have encountered some acclaimed believers who struggle to forgive. Others have even sworn to settle for hell if not forgiving a particular individual will cost them eternity in heaven with Jesus. But the reality remains that as Christians we do not have the right not to forgive any one, in spite of what they have done to us. If Jesus could forgive after what He went through then it’s not a mistake that God himself tied our receiving forgiveness from Him to our ability to forgive others. There are so many good Christians who will never make it to heaven because of unforgiveness.

As you celebrate this great gift of forgiveness that has brought about salvation I want  to encourage you to do likewise to everyone that has offended you, even to the point of killing your relative. If Jesus could do it then you can do it too. Remember he said that greater works shall you do.

God bless you and have a wonderful Easter celebration.