The Act of Wrestling with God and the Outcome

Do you ever wonder what it means to wrestle with God?

I’m sure you have heard the phrase “no man can win against God”. I have too, but the scriptures teach something different.

Do you know you can actually wrestle with God and come out victorious?

Friend the truth is, neither devil nor any of his agents can win against God. But as a child of God, you have what it takes to wrestle with Him and come out victorious.

One of the reason I believe this is possible is because of the fact that as children of God, our victory is His victory.

What does it mean to wrestle?

The word wrestle in the Hebrew language is spelt “abaq” and it’s pronounced aw-bak’. It means to bedust .i.e. to grapple.

The word grapple means to engage in a close fight or struggle without any weapon such as knife, gun etc.

Therefore to wrestle with God is to engage in a struggle or a close fight with Him (spiritually) not with the intention of harming Him physically, (of-course that’s not possible because God is Spirit). But to wrestle with Him so as to prevail on Him to overturn His judgement on certain issue He had already passed judgement on. This truth can been seen in the case of King Hezekiah in Isaiah 38 and the story of the woman from Canaan according to Matthew 15:22. They both wrestled with God and prevailed just as Jacob did.

King Hezekiah was sick and the prophet Isaiah was sent to tell him that the LORD said he should put his house together, for he will surely die.  

Friend you need to understand something here. God’s word does not return to Him void (Isaiah 55:11, Lamentation 3:37).

For instance, if the devil comes to me and say; Tony you’re going to die tomorrow. Do you know that  I will not panic?  The least I would do is to tell him to keep quit and order him to get out of my sight (rebuke him). The reason I will not panic is simple. Firstly, I know he is lying because that’s his language. Secondly, he doesn’t have such authority over my life, and thirdly God doesn’t   send the devil to go and announce the death of his children to them. But if God were say to me, you are dying tomorrow; O boy, I will do exactly what King Hezekiah did, because He is the author of life and that includes mine. Hezekiah wrestled with Him in prayer. He reminded God of his good deeds and future plans to keep praising and upholding His name. And while he was still on his face, the same prophet Isaiah was sent to bring him a new message;

“Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.  

The next question is, how do we wrestle with God?

By the use of our faith and words, too many times believers give up and quit fighting too quickly. And one of the famous line often used  is; “ it’s the will of God”, Even when it’s obvious that it’s the devil trying to steal from us something, someone God has ordained to be a blessing to us.

God loves it when we wrestle with Him regarding issues we really think should be decided in our favour. But what do we do most of the times?  We pack up and head for home.

I don’t know where you’re  reading this from,  I don’t know exactly what  it is that you‘re facing  But I believe with all my heart that God will want me to tell you this; “If you will wrestle with Me ( God) about it, I will make sure you come out victorious. I can see that it’s the devil that’s coming against you. Don’t bother about him, he doesn’t have the keys of hades and death anymore. I took them away from him when I descended to hell after I gave up Myself on the cross. He is just bluffing. How can he open the gate of death for you when he doesn’t have the keys?

“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Rev 1:18

   

Friend do not quit on any issue until you have wrestled with God about it. Your victory is God’s victory, therefore God will not have a problem changing His mind regarding something that seems obvious, I know that the doctors have decided on it and signed it off.  But remember that Lazarus was already dead for four days before Jesus showed up and called him out of the tomb.        

  

 As I meditate on this subject, the picture that comes to mine mind is that of a little boy and his Dad on the long tennis court, competing against each other.

As the game commenced, the Father noticed the desire and desperation in the heart of His child to win and at the same time He realized his advantage over him which makes it impossible for His child to win the game. Then as the game lingers the Father noticed that His child is not giving up on his faith to win the game even with his knowledge of the fact that his Dad is more skilled and stronger than him. And immediately, the Father stopped playing like He would normally play if He were to be playing against a real competitor. And eventually, the child won the game.

This is exactly what happens every time a child of God persists and refuses to give up on any situation, even when God has said no previously.

This is what happens to men and women who decide to wrestle with God rather than quit in the face of danger.

Chose to wrestle with Him today regarding that issue and He will give you the victory

Where are You

Recently I found myself asking so many questions as to why our society is full of men and women who are spiritually dead due to the darkness of their heart.

I mean the frequency of crime seems to be escalating  with each day passing. I know  as a people of faith we should learn to always  speak positively, especially when the situation looks out of our control. But I have come to realize  that positive confessions without  the identification and the dealing of the root cause of a problem would not automatically cause the problem to disappear. Apart from the killings and protesting taking place in almost every part of the word, there’s the issue of  intolerance when it comes to the things of God. 

Sadly as believers, we are not any different from those in the world as our intolerance for the things and ways of God could be seen and even felt by the very people we ‘re supposed to be ministering  the love and saving grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to. Many of us are so pre-occupied with the idea of being successful financially and academically that we have all the excuses in the world as to why we should  be excused from being involved in fellowship with God daily. But sadly to say, this reality has placed us in the same position Adam and Eve once found themselves in according Genesis 3.

The truth is, Adam and Eve didn’t deliberately walked out on God. No, they were deceived by Satan and until they discovered that they’ were naked they didn’t realize that

They were being tricked. Just like most of us today, they thought they were actually trying to improve themselves. After all, the fruit was good to behold, and not only that it was good, it also tasted nice. And to make it even better, it promises to make them have the knowledge of God. Wow, What a temptation!

Friends, the challenges faced in our society today is  as a result of  collective selfishness. And to make it right, we all need to answer this particular question; where are you? The same question God asked the man when He came looking for him after he had disobeyed Him. 

Until we all deliberately  return to God’s presence the issue of crime in our society will not be solved. It doesn’t matter a much awareness we raise on the issues on our social media pages. It’ doesn’t matter how many NGOs we establish to combat these crimes, we will never win the fight unless we return to His presence. The men in our society needs to get back to God’s presence, the women needs to do the same.  Our kids also must be taught how to seek God’ presence above everything else in their lives.

I love the way the author of the 16^th Psalm puts it. “ you make known to me the path of life; in your presence there’s fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore”. (ESV).  This was  God’s reply to me as  I consider the present state of our society. Firstly, He asked me; where are you guys? Any man or woman who live in My presence cannot hurt his or her  fellow man. But a man outside  my presence is as dangerous as a bear robbed of her cub.

To put it plainly; an unsaved soul or a man outside God’s presence is a serious danger to members of his community, notwithstanding how good his / her intentions are. The reason this is so is because outside the presence of God we all are open to the manipulation of the one whose job is to kill, steal and destroy (See John 10:10).   

Unfortunately due to the emphasis on success and the way it’s being defined within the present society. Many of us have left His presence in pursuit for success and this is the reason for the challenges faced today. The only remedy would be for us to go back to His presence. The church needs to start emphasising the need for both men and women to return to fellowship. Every believer should begin to ask themselves; where Am I? because that’s the same question God is asking us today.

Where are you?

The Case For Adoption

Article: Truths Christians Needs To Know About Adoption

Date:  May 28, 2017

When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to his mother, woman, behold, your son, then he said to the disciple, behold your mother! And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. John 19:26-27 (ESV)

Nothing causes doubt to arise in the heart of a prospective parent who is busy contemplating, and waiting for the approval of the people in-charge for his/her request to adopt a child like the phrase “blood is thicker than water”.  Especially among African parents who truly have the desire to adopt a child. Whether due to their own childlessness or because of their hearts for orphans, The idea that an adopted child would never grow up to be like one’s own biological child can be said to be largely responsible for the lay back attitude most people have towards the issue of adoption.  According to research, Africans, whether African Americans, or Africans from the continent of Africa have a very low record of child adoption compare to those from other race. And the blood is thicker than water slogan cannot be divorced from the negative views most Africans have when it comes to the issue of adoption. Prior to the writing of this article on adoption, I have always had my own idea and theory on the subject. Positive ones, I must confess though.  But I have never bothered to investigate my idea as it relate to God’s thought on this very subject until recently while studying the scriptures when my attention was brought to a particular scripture passage that got me thinking about the issue in a different light, and to further my thought in this regard, I asked myself the question, what is God’ take on Adoption?  I must say that my findings on this issue regarding God’ thought on adoption, for lack of better word was humbling. Oh yeah! But could be challenging for the believer who is more cultural than he /she is spiritual.

 One amongst the various articles I read while investigating this subject as it relates to the believer is the response of Rachel GarlingHouse while responding to the question ‘why white people adopts black children, by Denene Milner Aug. 2011.  Out  of all the points given by Rachel as to why white parents adopts black children, the one thought that stuck  with me is the one that reads and I quote; My girls are “my own” despite the questions we are often asked or the stares we encounter. Our motivation to adopt and to accept a child of any race is, despite the complexity of race and adoption in America, quite simple: “I wanted to be a mother to the child God had for us”.  Wow! What an incredible mind set. I wish every human on planet earth could embrace such mind set in regards to the subject of adoption.

     

    God’s Take On Adoption

After investigating God’s thought on the subject of adoption through the lenses of some researchers and of course with the help of the scriptures, here is my submission.

God The First Man To Adopt

This might sound awkward to some people, but it will not take it away from the truth  the fact  that God is an Adoptive parent, and not only that He is an adoptive parent, He is also the first to do so.   

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. Galatians 4:4-6. ESV.( See Romans 9:4 and Ephesians 1:5).

God doesn't have any problem with the act of adoption as you can see through the scriptures the fact that He is an adoptive Father. You and I were not His biological kids; on the contrary we are His adoptive children. And this reality does not make Him love us any less. As a matter of truth, when He looks at us, He sees us just like the way He sees Jesus His only begotten Son, according John 3:16. And that is why the scripture in 1 John 4:17 says; “As He is, so are we in this world. As Jesus is to God, so are we (you and I) to the Father.  The idea that one cannot truly love an adoptive child as he or she would love his/her biological child is more culturally and sentimentally driven than it is a reality. It doesn't matter if the child’ biological parents were (are) criminals.  If God’ love for the children once sold to the devil could cause them to live right and do right by Him, so is your love for that adoptive child. The stability of a parent’ love will cause any child to do right by him/her.  The way an adoptive child turns out is determined by the love and choices of his or her adoptive parent and not necessarily due to his blood line. The same way the future of a biological child depends on the choice of his/her parent to love him/her against all odds. As an adoptive parent, if you relate and treat your adopted children with the attitude of an adoptive parent, they will return the favor to you by acting like adoptive kids when dealing with you. A child’s (adoptive or biological) mind is like soft clay, it will always take the shape the potter designs it to take when it is fully dried. The whole of mankind became slave and children of Satan the very day Adam and Eve gave in, to Satan’s deception. But in spite of this truth God still sent His only begotten Son for our adoption. There’s a myth that most of us have come to believe which states; the child of a prostitute will always become a prostitute or the child of an armed robber will  always become an armed robber’. But I tell you something; the child of an armed robber is only likely to grow up and become an armed robber when there’s no one in the community who cares enough outside his or her biological parents to show him/her a more excellent way different from their life style. And the act of adoption is one excellent way to see to that.

Some myth about adoption

Adoption is a selfish, easy solution – for an unexpected pregnancy – made by expectant parents who don't care about their child.

Myth: No one can love a child as much as a birth mother or birth father does.

Myth: The birth mother will regret her decision for the rest of her life and have serious emotional problems.

Myth: Adoption is a more traumatic experience for a woman than abortion.

Myth: The adoption process is secretive and a birth parent will never know anything about their child and their adoptive parents in the following years.

Myth: A birth family will eventually forget about the child for whom they made an adoption plan.

Myth: Adoption damages the child.

Myth: Open adoption is confusing to children and a form of co-parenting.

Myth: Adoptive parents often break their openness agreements with their child's birth parents.

Myth: Placing a child with a family of another race or ethnicity is bound to cause problems for the child.

Myth About Bad Habits

 One myth about bad habits we must all delete from our minds as quick as possible is the myth that suggest that sin or any type of bad habit is genetically transmitted. If this is correct, we would have all been done from the time we became children of the devil, the day Adam and Eve sold out.  The truth of the matter is; “bad habits are likely to  re-surface within a family line, generations down the line when no one take it upon him/herself to correct  the wrong  and teach the right way to  the descendants of a supposed  ancestor who had supposedly approached life and  certain issue wrongly. Especially when they -re faced with difficulties beyond their comprehension at a time. I.e. The story of Abraham, who told a lie that Sarah was his sister whereas she was his wife due to his fear of been killed because of her beauty before they both entered Egypt (See Genesis 12:11-16, & Genesis 20:2), And that of Isaac’ lie about his wife years than the line is not in any way an indication that bad habits are genetically transmitted. (See Genesis 26:7-11).  

The Reality Of Fear

Most of us do not have the slightest clue as to why the word fear appears so many times in the scriptures and why God had to keep reminding us not to be afraid.  In fact the word fear appears   in 395 verses in the scriptures according to the King James Version of the bible. Fear has the ability to cause people to repeat the same response to a situation over and over again until they are taught a different approach on how to deal with the situation or possibly  remove the elements that causes fear to be present in that particular situation. The reason Isaac responded the same way Abraham did in the same situation was not because he had genetically inherited the habit of telling lies from him. But because he was never taught how to deal with the fear of losing one’s wife to another man, especially the man’ whose nation you have come to take shelter. Same way Abraham never had anyone taught him on what to do in such instance. And this is why God kept telling us not to be afraid after He adopted us. He did not only encourage us not to be afraid. But he also came down in the person of Jesus to show us how to deal with fear in any form.  The Cultural and sentimental idea behind adoption is based on nothing but fear. And fear often times only have   ability to paralyze us from taking a step but does not have the ability to determine the end result when we decide to beat it to it and go ahead to do what we re desire to do as it relates to the subject matter. Fear aside, adoption is one of the greatest miracles God ever wrought. Through adoption His one Son gave way to millions of sons and daughters from all nations, kingdom and status. This same miracle awaits any parent who will take the initiative, put aside the negative myth as made believed by culture and a particular community and go ahead to do like God did and adopt a child or more. Most parents who are looking for the fruit of the womb are by passing the miracle of adoption and are busy asking God for the miracle of a baby.  All children are from God, adopted or biological. The way you perceive them will determine the way you will take care of them and the way you take of them determines how they will respond and take care of you when the time is right.

         

Bibliography

·         Holy Bible (English Standard Version, Compact edition, copy right ©2001 by crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All right reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011.

·         Rachel Garlinghouse’s response to the Article “why white people Adopt black children. By Denene Milner Aug. 2011.

·         what adopting a white girl taught one black family

           BY Tony Dokoupil on 4/22/09

·         The top ten myths about adoption: Subscribe archives adoption guide state laws directory store webinars, 2017.05.27.

·         Churches Adopt Adoption by CARLA BARNHILL| JULY 6, 2010

·         History of Adoption by Cassandra Price, Program Assistant 1

·         The Trouble With the Christian Adoption Movement by BY KATHRYN JOYCE, January 11, 2016

The Danger Of Choosing Good Over Best

And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every well, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt  as you go toward Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot Journeyed east. And they separated from each other. Genesis 13:10.

The greatest threat to a life of absolute success is not the prompt occurrence of failure, but the thought or assumption that you’re still fine as long as you haven’t failed yet.  The greatest rivalry of best is not bad, or worst,but good. The reason most believers do not walk in God’ best for their lives is because they have stepped into the comfort of the good of life. The reason most of us couldn't tell until the mercy of God snatched us away from the very dungeon of the devil though we were neck deep in the very issue, relationship, habit and desires that almost cost us our life physically and eternally was because we were comfortable with the excitement of how good we felt. The danger of good is that it makes you feel and think you re okay because somebody is having it like you re-experiencing it, or below what you’re anticipating for yourself. While the quest to be the best puts pressure on us to step up our game ,the excitement  of feeling good makes us believe that we have arrived and as such, we do not  have to lift a muscle any further than we have already done. The truth is; you’re not the first person to be seduced by the ecstasy of good to the extent of losing sight of the importance of the need to lay hold of the best even if it means that you would have to pull off an extra muscle or two to make sure that happens. Adam and Eve were also seduced by what looked and sounded like good, thanks to the craftiness of Satan according to the story of Genesis chapter three. But that’s not the focus of the message this morning, because that is too obvious, although not to many of us. But let us look at a very similar story in the scriptures that was not too obvious, may be because Satan was not mentioned in this very story, ‘The story of Abraham and Lot’s separation from each other.

  Lot just like you and me had a good heart for God, the One who called His uncle Abraham. And this  can be ascertained about Lot for the mere fact that he followed Abraham to a place he had no idea what it looks like or where it’s situated, thanks to the instruction from a God  he is yet to meet or see face to face. But all the same Lot did not rebelled when He was asked by his late father’ brother to accompany him to a strange land. This reality puts Lot in the same hall of fame with Abraham the father of faith. You will agree with me that it takes a man with greater faith to embark on a journey with a supposed man of faith to a place he had no clue about; otherwise he/she must be the greatest among the ranks of the foolish. I took you through this process to show you the character and loyalty of Lot to God through Abraham, and most importantly the fact that in spite of his faithfulness, fell victim to the ecstasy or euphoria of good, and thereby made a choice by the goodness of the plain of Jordan, the very area where God had marked for destruction due to the wickedness and evil practices of its dwellers. And few years down the line lost everything, including his wife and to make matter worst, became the first man of faith to become both the biological father and grand -father of his daughter’s kids.

Friends, this is what happens to a man or woman of God (any child of God) who throw caution to the wind and fail to put God first when making a decision on where to relocate or sojourn. Whether in the literal sense or figuratively as it relate to career choice, relationship as to who to be married to, and even the ministry we join our selves to. Remember, Lot was not consumed by the fire and brim stones that were unleashed on the city where he selected   to live, but he lost everything he had worked for up until that incident.  Friends this is what happens when we choose good over best. For clarity sake; this what a man gets from putting self-gratification and fulfilment above the will and directives of God for his or her life.  The scripture said that ‘he chose for himself’…

There’s something about this story I think you should know; Abraham escaped this reality of Lot not because He was the one God called, on the contrary, he escaped because he was selfless in  his decision when it was time to make a choice of where to finally stay. Unlike Lot who chose a place for himself, Abraham allowed God to determine where he eventually stayed.

How do I know that he was selfless?  Because he allowed Lot to make a choice first before him, And by doing so He gave God the go ahead to make the choice of where to sojourn for him. And Abraham dwelt in the land of Canaan (God’ intended dwelling place for him),.. Genesis 13:12.  This was the only thing that delivered him from choosing good over best. Friend the only thing that would stop you from choosing good over God’ best or will for you in any aspect of your life is your act of selflessness, allowing God to make a choice for you.

And this will show how much trust you have in God’s ability to sustain you. Especially when you’re faced with challenges in the very place He has chosen for you to sojourn. As at the time Abraham stayed back in Canaan, the land was nothing like what God said it would be. But through faith and trust in God, the land moved from what it were when he first got  into the land to what God had intended for it to be; A land flowing with milk and honey.

Friends, it takes courage and audacity to choose best over good considering the fact that you will need hope and patience to watch a desert turning into a fruitful land because God has chosen it to be the land where you should dwell.

God bless you

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, help me to be selfless in my every decision.

Today, I receive the grace to choose best over good. And thank you for empowering me to give you first place in all that I do’ in Jesus name,

Amen!                   

The Importance of the knowledge of God’ word in the life of a believer

Bless the LORD oh my soul; And all that is within me,

Bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:

Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your

Life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.

Psalm 103:1-5

Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?

Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

Nothing bothers me like a believer who excuse his/herself from appropriating the scriptures in his situation, especially negative ones. Such a believer is not different from a terminally ill patient in a hospital / clinic who refuse to follow the instructions of the doctor in regards to the treatment prescribed for his illness. Man like any other product of a manufacturer was made by God through His word, And can be truly put back in shape by the word, in a case of any glitch. But the greatest challenge of most believers is their ignorance of the true knowledge of the word of God in their everyday life. Knowledge is not knowledge until it is put to work. It’s a good gesture to love studying the scriptures, but it is way better to understand why the scriptures were written and given to us, by God through His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

One way to understand why the scriptures were given to you as a believer is for you to first realize that the scriptures (Bible) is not different from a written will of a loving parent to his beloved kids. The scriptures are a written will from God to every believer. For those that are sick and needs healing, there are couple of provisions made for them in God’s written will. For those discouraged and tired of life, there are also tons of scriptures made available for them. 

Its ignorance that often causes a believer to only remember God when facing difficulty after trying other sources, when God through the scriptures should have been his/her the first point of reference.  I believe God is not anti –medicine or against the seeing of a doctor as a believer. As a matter of fact, I believe that God through His Spirit can actually direct a believer to go see a doctor regarding a particular illness. And He does this not because He can’t get the  believer healed, but because He Knows that, that particular believer's faith and trust is more on a doctor or medicine than it’s in the ability of His word for his/her healing. He would rather have you alive so you could be taught how to grow your faith and trust in His word than allowing you to die prematurely due to your lack of faith in His word. He gave the wisdom to the doctors as well. But what happens to a believer who cannot afford to pay for a doctor or  purchase the medications prescribed for them by a doctor, and also do not have the right knowledge of God's word to him?

The Woman With The Issue of Blood 

There was an example of a lady with an unusual illness mentioned in one of the gospels.

The bible recorded that she had suffered many things from many physicians, (Doctors) and in the process spent all her money. But yet her illness grew worst. And after twelve years of being in such condition, she finally heard of Jesus and decided to press her way through the crowd that were thronging Him, just so she could get her healing. And she did got her healing.( See Mark 5:24-34)

As I read through this passage of scripture, I realize how ignorant most of us, including myself have been regarding the importance of the knowledge of God’s word in our lives. And this could be said to be the reason we do not appropriate it as often as we should. And Thereby suffers things and illness we shouldn't have suffered. 

This particular woman was wiser than the average present day believer, she acted on the Word the minute she heard about Him. Unlike some of us who was attacked by strange and despicable sickness while having the word with us, I believe she would have approached and acted on the (Word) if she had heard of Him earlier than she did before wasting all her money on physicians. When she learned of Jesus, she never gave any excuse why the word could not heal her. Most times we suffer from illness as believers because we have made the illness too unique for God to heal through His word. We give reasons about how long we have had the illness or  being in a particular situation. We even go as far as proving that the situation is hereditary. And that’s what the devil capitalize on to inflict us the more.

The Man born blind

Remember the scripture in John 9 about the man born blind?

What was Jesus’ response to His disciples question as to what was the cause of his blindness?     

“Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

Jesus never gave them any excuse as to why the man was born blind, Instead He moved their attention to the Glory that God planned to receive from opening his eyes.

Any believer who will experience the working wonder of the word should never have any excuse as to why they are going through what they are going through. Excuses, opens the door for the devil to inflict a believers health, wealth and even sanity. The only response a believer should have when going through stuff should be; "God can fix this, He is my manufacturer and I’m pretty sure He has got a spare part of whatever  it is that is having a problem in my body.  As a believer you cannot have any illness as a result of your family history because according to scriptures, you came from a family (The family of God) with no history of any kind of illness. Therefore whatever could not be traced to Jesus health wise should not be given any excuse to remain in your body, mind, and spirit".

Psalms 103 speaks the truth;  He heals all your disease. Not some of them, all of them.

Let this knowledge be in you; The word were written and was given to you to be appropriated and not just to be admired. The word of God is His will for your health, wealth and not what others say or what you think.

God Bless you.