I spend at least an hour on week days to get from office to home. Take away the occasional break down of heavy-duty vehicles that may disrupt free flow of traffic, the ride home has become woven into my daily routine that it fleets swiftly away almost without notice.

A few days ago as I rode home my thoughts wandered to how incredibly I’d risen from a very lowly and pitiable childhood to an unfolding enviable future. I seldom talk about my childhood, not that I am ashamed of it, no, but it’s usually too much hassle trying to convince people of my before and now. They constantly struggle to make sense of it. I remember narrating some aspects of my growing up to a senior citizen bosom friend of mine, bewilderment spread all over her. She couldn’t help but ask: “Grace, how did you turn out so right?” My response to her will probably shock you too; “I turned my life over to Jesus Christ at a pretty young age“.  Yeah, a few mistakes here and there just like anybody else (as I think about them now though, all have been certainly part of the building up process), but choosing Christ changed my story and my life   -and He isn’t done with me yet!

Esther was an anonymous Jewish girl, never heard of, never known. She ‘happened’ to have been raised by Mordecai. She ‘happened’ to be among other girls cleansed, pampered, beautified and brought into the King’s harem following Queen Vashti’s ‘dishonor’ of the King’s call (Esther Chapters 1-3). Esther also ‘happened’ to have met the King’s specifications and preferences for a queen. Yes, Esther was chosen and became Queen.

Was Esther’s whole life really a chain of coincidences?

Mordecai vested time and energy getting Esther grounded in the faith. And when the Jews were faced with a life-threatening situation, Mordecai immediately recognized that Esther’s whole life hasn’t been a coincidence but a play out of a master plan.

Esther has been raised for ‘a Time and a People as this’.

So back to this day that I rode home and reminisced on how favored and blessed I am. I also remembered siblings, relations, acquaintances that have been on this life’s journey with me. Of course I have been weighing in on their needs every now and then to help and bring some relief and meaning, but the reality hit me so deeply that I must do more, as led by God’s Spirit.

It is not a coincidence that you’re seated next to a rude, disrespectful, self-centred and highly competitive colleague at work, or that you are living next door to a difficult busy-body individual as a neighbour.

Is it possible that you have an impact to make in that life?

Like Mordecai said to Esther;

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise fro the Jews from another place but you and your father’s house will perish.”  Esther 4: 14.

Give it your best shot. Don’t be replaced.

 

 

 

“Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come….” Matthew 6:9-10.

Growing up was adventurous for me in more than one way. A 1000-page book would not successfully capture my experiences and escapades. Specifically today, I remember how it became a family tradition to take a 5-10minutes walk to the evening prayers following the ringing of the 6:00pm church bell. On very few occasions, we would recite ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ at home if my Big Auntie was too tired to make the walk to the Church. And almost every time, I would wonder what ‘thy kingdom come‘ actually meant? What kingdom is this? Where is it? And where on earth would it be located?…..

A few weeks ago, my curiosity about ‘the kingdom of God’ was aroused once again as I read through Mark 4:26;

“And He said, The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how for the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come”

As I began studying about ‘the kingdom of God‘, I was convinced that my childhood desire to understand what this really means wasn’t misplaced. Curiosity can indeed make you smarter! 🙂

So what is a Kingdom?

A kingdom describes a realm, country or government whose ruler is a king or a queen. Kingdoms are defined by territories and physical boundaries and every kingdom has its people, values and culture. Citizenship into any kingdom is determined by birth, naturalization, marriage, etc depending on a country’s policies and regulations.

‘The Kingdom of God’ refers to a specific government established by God (Jehovah), having as its king Jesus Christ who is King of many other kings (Matthew 28:18). The Kingdom of God is not of this world (John 18:36) and is not delineated by physical boundaries and landmarks. Citizenship into The Kingdom is by a spiritual rebirth.

I enumerate below 2 fundamental attributes of anyone that may become a citizen of God’s Kingdom;

1. The kingdom of God is for the ‘poor in spirit’ (Matthew 5:1-7). This refers to people who can make just a little space for vulnerability and brokenness. Vulnerable enough to believe the Bible, to pray and believe that God answers prayers. Vulnerable enough to believe in the existence of a Superior Being that made the world and everything in it. And vulnerable enough to confess Jesus Christ with their mouth, believe in their heart that He (Jesus Christ) came down to Earth from Heaven to save man from sin and was killed, buried but raised back to life by Almighty God.

2. The kingdom of God is for persons who can be child-like (Matthew 18:1-5). Those that can HUMBLE themselves. Humble themselves to Trust, Obey and Follow. Humble themselves enough to learn new things and have rich imaginations/creativity. People who forgive easily and keep no record of wrongs (definitely not describing ‘Christians’ who want to ‘honor’ their late mother and so would not welcome a relationship with her living ‘enemies’).

Romans 14:17-18 tells us the prevailing culture in God’s Kingdom. A culture of Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14: 17-18). Where Righteousness refers to virtue, integrity, uprightness, being justifiable and right. Peace means tranquility, quietness, stillness, calmness or freedom from disturbance or war. And Joy portrays a state or feeling of delight, pleasure, happiness, rejoicing, triumph, radiance or ecstasy.

Jesus Christ is our Peace (Ephesians 2:14, Isaiah 53:5). Jesus Christ became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). And Jesus Christ prayed The Father to send us The Holy Ghost to keep our lives ever flowing with Joy (1 Thessalonians 1:6, John 14:26, Galatians 5:22).

We therefore are Righteous through Christ, have Peace through Christ and overflow with Joy in The Holy Ghost through Christ. Halleluyah!

So we possess all that the Kingdom of God is about;

“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17

In Mark 4: 26-32, Jesus Christ paints a picture of the Kingdom of God and I love it!

“Then He said, ‘To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth, but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” Mark 4: 30-32.

To put seed in the ground and believe that it will grow requires some level of faith, albeit, latent. To put seed in the ground and go to sleep suggests an absence of fear/anxiety and existence of Peace/Rest. We plant, water, go to sleep and God causes our seed to grow to the point that it yields branches which provides nests for birds.

The Kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The Kingdom of God is about faith and increase. The Kingdom of God is about the overflow of this increase to others.

Now, there were a group of fully grown men (and maybe women) who apparently remained in my childhood state of wonder and enquiry. They went to Jesus and asked Him when to expect The Kingdom of God……

“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation, nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21.

Jesus Christ did not answer them with a parable. He gave a simple and clear response; The Kingdom of God is not a physical structure or a designated land area or visible territory. Rather, The Kingdom of God is Within Me and You!

The Kingdom is in us as integrity, uprightness and Godly virtue. The Kingdom of God is within us as calmness, freedom and stillness. The Kingdom of God is within us as overflowing joy in the Holy Ghost. The Kingdom of God is in us as faith and increase, yielding great harvest that spills over to others.

This is the Kingdom of God.

Thy Kingdom come dear Father, and Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Tuesday November 8th 2016, was the date for the United States of America’s 58th election to determine her 45th President. The media made sure every home that cared to follow events of the election were carried along.  General opinions in and outside America seemed to resonate that both the Republican and Democratic candidates offered Americans a very thin choice line.

In my home, Arnold and I supported different candidates for different reasons. Unfortunately for my very logical, detailed and analytic author husband, yours truly didn’t have a ‘sensible’ explanation for preferring one candidate over the other. It was simply a ‘spiritual’ decision 🙂

As the election results started trickling in, there was an unusual quietness in my home. The TV set wouldn’t come on and be almost permanently  fixed on CNN at 6.30am as has been the case for many days. Arnold’s candidate lost! And although my preferred candidate won, I have to quickly say I was full of questions for America’s future. 🙂

What is God up to? Where is the world right now? Is the end truly near and if true, how near? Which aspect of John’s prophesies in the book of Revelations is happening now?

These and many more questions set me off on the journey am about to walk you through. It was a journey of many days (and has not yet ended).

I have to say at this point that you have a big role to play as you read this write-up.  Your thinking cap must be on all through this journey and your trust anchored firmly on The Holy Spirit the Teacher of all truth. The Spirit knows ALL things. The Book of  Revelations is understood by the one that has Godly Wisdom.

We are venturing into the book of Revelations!!!

The Book of Revelations is one book in the Bible that scared me in the past. Everything seemed like a horror movie. Descriptions of the heavenly creatures are the last things my highly imaginative mind want to feed on, at least never before bedtime! Naaa

It was different this time; I needed answers to my questions. And did I dig into The Lord’s Revelations to John of future events? Yes, I did!  And it kept my attention for many days……And its my pleasure to share my thoughts with you.

We’ll start from chapter 12.

Now, because the book of Revelations is highly metaphorical, we’ll need  to make sense of and attempt to unravel some of its key subjects and terms. The following are my understanding and descriptions of some of Revelation’s pivotal characters;

Woman (chapter 12 Vs 1) most likely refers to a Great Nation.

A few days ago, I met a member of a particular christian sect, who very passionately tried to convince me the Woman of Revelations 12:1 is Mary the Mother of Jesus. But is that really true?

Prophesies speak of future events (Selah).  In Revelations, John (a disciple of Jesus Christ) narrated his visions about future events after the death of Christ. John could not have been prophesying about events that have already occurred!  Jesus was already born into the tribe of Judah in Israel.

My Assertion: This Woman was not Mary of Joseph the carpenter.

So, who was this Woman? The Bible offers a detailed description that we have to try to understand…

(a) The Woman is clothed with the sun;

This suggests that this Great Nation has sunlight all the time. But since there’s no such nation where the sun never goes down on earth presently, I think this may refer to a Great Nation that has birthed or colonized many other nations such that at any time (t), each of those nations have sunlight! (fill in the gaps).

(b) The Woman had a garland of 12 stars on her head. This part is interesting. Follow me now;  The head is the focus of authority. The garland of 12 stars on a head (which is a round-shaped object), gives a picture of a decorative wreath on the head having 12 stars. The Great Nation had this wreath on her head.

Now because the head represents the focus of authority, my thoughts are that this Great Nation was subservient to an authority that had as its symbol a wreath-like crown with 12 stars.

Exercise 1: Attempt drawing a picture of a round-shaped wreath with 12 stars around it and see what you’d get (fill in the gaps). Hint: have you seen the EU image/flag? I suggest you look at it again……..

(c) The Woman has the moon under her feet;

This bit is not really clear to me yet, but I have 2 thoughts here. If the Woman is clothed with sunlight always, then she doesn’t necessarily need the moon.  Or this Great Nation actually did set foot on the Moon, putting the moon under her feet. Again, this bit is not clear and my thoughts will hover around it for some more time while I trust the Holy Spirit to sharpen my understanding.

(d) ‘The Woman was persecuted by the dragon after birthing the Child’.

The dragon sent flood after the woman to wipe her off the earth, but didn’t succeed. The dragon left the Woman and her Child and went to make war with her other children (colonies, nations) who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ…Christian Nations!

Child (chapter 12 Vs ) most likely refers to another nation, not exactly as great as the Woman, but which was birthed or colonized by the Woman.  Who is this Child? Does this refer to Jesus Christ? Again, Jesus had been born, killed and buried. He arose and ascended to Heaven giving John these visions and prophecies.  This is where I think a misunderstanding creeps in while trying to make sense of Revelations.  People strongly believe the Woman refers to Israel and the Child Jesus Christ. But is that really correct?

My Assertion: This Child is most likely a Nation.

This Child, rules all nations with a rod of iron. And the Child was entrusted to God. Who is this Child? What nation is it that has great powers enough to influence other nations? To cater for, defend other nations and trusts in God? (fill in the gap).

e) Dragon (chapter 12 Vs 3, 9) is the Devil, Satan.

**Note that Satan was cast out of Heaven to earth with his angels. The Devil has his own angels! (Selah).

There’s also a great, fiery red dragon with 7 heads, 10 horns and 10 diadems described in chapter 12 Vs 3. He had a tail that drew one-third of the stars of Heaven which were thrown down to earth.   Does this description still refer to Satan?

Heads are foci of authority, so could be Kingdoms or nations.

Horns represent rulers of nations or kingdoms

Crowns on heads are likely to be Cities, offshoot of the Heads/nations.

f) The Beast from the Sea (chapter 13 Vs 1-8). Beast most likely refers to an alliance or coalition. Three (3) Beasts are mentioned through the verses (1st, 2nd, and Scarlet Beast).

g) Harlot/Whore (most likely refers to a Religion established by a prophet. The False Prophet is therefore the head of this religion.

This has been another long blog post, if you read it patiently to this point, chances are you’re interested in understanding what times we’re in too…..     🙂

We have basically attempted to describe and understand the key characters in the verses. A Great Nation (let’s call that ‘Nation A’) birthed a Nation (‘Nation B’) that trusts in God and has dominance over the rest of the world. Satan tried to destroy Nation B through flood but failed, so Satan caused an Alliance from the sea still with the intent of wiping off Nation B. The Alliance is made from countries that practice one religion and follow a false prophet.

In ‘Revealing Revelations 12 to 20: Blog Post 2‘, we will begin to follow the narrations in these scriptures and come up with meaningful explanations. I am excited and expectant!

Stay Blessed,

My love always…….

It was a gloomy day in my walk with God. I had questions, many questions, specifically about my health. Why won’t these symptoms clear completely? Why do I still experience them every now and then? Yes The Lord in His faithfulness and sovereignty lifted the weight of them off me few years ago, but why do I still feel them sometimes? Why do they still resurface attempting to limit and depress me?

No doubt, The Lord Jesus Christ paid the full and eternal price for sin, sickness and disease, I believe and confess same regularly. And many times, Like Apostle Paul, I’d asked The Lord to completely remove the symptoms from my body. But strangely, they persist. This is unusual. Jehovah never fails me, that’s why I call Him; ‘Faithful Father’. In the darkest of nights, He’d show up, but why not now?

He did show up!

It wasn’t a coincidence that my friend and colleague Dr. Solomon Bibama sent me his latest telegram; “Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh”. Immediately, I grabbed my Bible and opened to 2 Corinthians 12 where Paul’s ‘thorn in the flesh’ stared at me for hours, days and maybe a week. My mood lightened, but what I read didn’t make sense. I had more questions….

Yes Paul had abundance of visions and revelations of The Lord Jesus Christ, but if you ask me, maybe Paul needed to, considering who Saul was. And I believe that if The Lord wanted to keep Paul humble, He needn’t give him a thorn in the flesh, there are many other ways to keep someone debased than inflicting them with disease, and really, not after you’ve paid a huge price to buy the person’s healing! (Selah). The Lord could have limited Paul’s exposure to the revelations if He considered them a threat to his humility and health.

Just to set the records straight, Jesus Christ, did not inflict Paul with a thorn in the flesh. Neither did He send a messenger from Satan to do it so as to keep Paul humble.

Pause,……

The Bible gives us Jesus’ mission statement in Acts 10:38;

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about DOING GOOD and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him”.

Interestingly, the book of Acts of the Apostles is believed to have been written by Apostle Paul. How did he then arrive at the conclusion that this same Jesus would send him a messenger from Satan to keep him humble? Hmm… brother Paul and I will hold an interesting discussion on this when we meet at home! 🙂 There’s probably something that’s not clear to me….

Setting out to study this scripture, my intention was to refute (in love) Dr. Bibama’s assertion that Paul’s thorn in the flesh wasn’t an ailment. But depending on which Bible version or translation you read from; different phrases are used to describe Paul’s experience as told in 2 Corinthians 12:7

“Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a HANDICAP to keep me in constant touch with my limitations.” The Message Translation

“But to keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan’s messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud.” Good News Bible

“I will say this: because these experiences I had were so tremendous, God was afraid I might be puffed up by them; so I was given a physical condition which has been a thorn in my flesh to hurt and bother me, and prick my pride.” The Living Bible

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger from Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” NKJV

The dictionary defines ‘thorn’ as; “a woody plant bearing sharp impeding processes (such as prickles and spines. A small sharp-pointed tip resembling a spike on a stem or leaf.”

You see, we can read these scriptures till The Lord returns and muse over what Paul actually meant; whether he had a physical ailment or not, etc….., but it won’t do us any good!

Call it a physical ailment/condition, a handicap, a thorn in the flesh or whatever, the irrefutable fact remains that these experiences attempted to limit Paul. To keep him low and debased. He didn’t like the feel of it and he’d rather have it totally gone.

In all of this, and considering my personal experiences too, I was curious to know The Lord’s response to Paul? Paul tells us he asked the Lord, 1, 2, 3 times to take away the thorns. But the symptoms persisted!!!!

This same Jesus that came to heal and liberate all that were bound and oppressed by Satan. Could He not take away Paul’s pains and discomfort?

The Lord’s response to Paul, may also be The Lord’s response to you today, especially if you are going through a similar experience as Paul in any area of your life;

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

Notice: There is no documentation of The Lord holding any discussion with Paul about the thorns (SELAH). Do you know why? Because it’s inconsequential.

What can be more significant or important than God Himself dying for sin, sickness and disease?

For years priest after priest attempted to purge man’s sins through innumerable sacrifices without success (Hebrews 10). Jesus Christ perfected forever all those who are sanctified by ONE single sacrifice and bought an eternal redemption! It is rather rude to discuss sin, sickness and disease after paying such a huge price.

The Lord’s response was to appropriately direct Paul’s focus. It’s not about the sickness, it’s not about the physical limitations, it’s not about you and I. It’s ALL about what God can do and has done in us through Christ Jesus.

For where The Lord’s strength is, sickness is powerless. You will not be limited by sickness and disease where My strength is. Yes, the thief came to steal, kill and destroy. But I say to you, for as long as you draw from My strength, my life in you will continue to strengthen you and there is nothing you cannot do. The eternal price for sickness, sin and disease was paid in FULL at Calvary. Any symptom in your body is therefore a wandering stranger. Resist it, lay your hands on your body (as a HEALED Spirit that you are), say your healing confessions and do not fail to put on the whole armor of God always. But whatever you do, DO NOT LIMIT the potency of My strength and My life in You. My life in you is the rejuvenating grace you need and it is ALL you need. Focus on My grace, focus on My strength.

Thank You Father.

Thank You Faithful Father.

Yes, you are absolutely right, I am writing once more on Luke chapter 5. So let’s call this, blog post 3 of Peter’s meeting with Jesus; a divine connection that changed Peter’s life forever.  The assumption here is that ‘Men after God’s Heart‘ and ‘10 Things about Peter that made for a net-breaking Increase‘  occupy blog posts 1 & 2 positions respectively.  I strongly recommend you read ‘10 Things about Peter that made for a net-breaking Increase‘.

Today, I focus only on verse 4 of Luke chapter 5;

“ When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch”

Simple dictionary definitions of ‘launch out‘ means; “to make a start on a new and challenging enterprise, to throw or propel with force, to hurl, to set or thrust, a self-propelled craft or projectile”

And Deep means; “extending far down from the top or surface, very intense, very extreme, far down in”

So Jesus said to Peter; Make a start on a new and challenging enterprise thrusting forward against any resistance, propelling yourself forward to reach well beyond the top or surface.

To quickly create a contextual background, Peter and his fellow fishermen had toiled all night without any catch of fish. They pulled their boats to shore in despair and disappointment. It was a difficult, tough, challenging and seemingly unproductive night of fishing without fish.

That’s where your net-breaking miracle is; …..in that challenging, seemingly difficult task. It is a road less traveled that’s why you’re not likely to find many people on it.They do not have the vision, they do not have the passion, they cannot reach deep, they cannot press hard by faith against all odds (their feelings, experience and natural knowledge).

An experience of a heavy, weighty and overflowing miracle like Peter’s comes when we look beyond apparent difficulties associated with a trade, business, job or task and say like Peter; ‘nevertheless Lord, at thy word’ (Luke 5:5) when we know we got His word.

The winning strategy is to reach deep, well beyond the top or surface.

The Second thing I want to point out from Luke 5:4 is the part that says ‘let down your nets’ as it raises a few questions…What nets? How many nets?

Nets for a fisherman represents the tool of trade. What is yours? What tools do you need for that God-given vision, business, trade or project.  And how many do you need to use to become extremely and overwhelmingly successful?

I believe that at the point Peter and his men started packing up the fishes from the deep end, the choice of how many nets to let down was absolutely theirs. They were the determinants of how much increase they gathered. And assuming there were many more partners and nets around, the fish wouldn’t run out from source. So to directly answer the question of ‘how many nets?’ ….I say, as many as you can provide and carry.

Finally, (for today 🙂 ), Jesus was specific about the exact place to let down the nets….at the deep. So we’ve said that ‘deep’ relates to something that is far down in, extreme, intense. That speaks of going the extra mile and it also indicates specificity of location.

There is a specific place where your trade, business, job, project would yield a miraculous turnover, and The Lord knows the exact spot.

My love always.

 

 

 

One of my recent blog posts  ‘Things that do not satisfy‘,  was concluded stating that God wants to take care of us Himself and we can buy without money.

Well, in this blog post, I share how to become a money belt or money bag in God’s Kingdom. And I tell you even I am learning this as I write…

A money bag can mean a bag for holding money, it can mean a very wealthy person or it may often represent a rich extravagant person.

While we want to play down on negative extravagance, being very wealthy or very rich remains an ultimate goal for most people.

One thing I am learning  though is that until one’s wealth or riches spills over to others, that person is not truly rich.

I got all so excited as I read through Luke 12:33

“Sell your possessions (show compassion) and give {donations} to the poor. Provide money belts for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing and inexhaustible treasure in the heavens, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” Amplified Bible Version.

How many times did Jesus Christ say to a self-acclaimed rich or righteous persons; ‘go sell all you have and give to the poor”?

We find that in

Question: what is the relationship between giving to the poor and being rich, righteous or honorable?

Three portions of scripture come to the rescue…

“He has given freely to the poor, His righteousness endures forever; his horn will be exalted in honor.” Psalm 112:9

“If a king faithfully and truthfully judges the poor, his throne shall be established forever.”     Proverbs 29:14

“So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “you still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Luke 18:22

We all know how the story of the self-acclaimed rich guy in Luke 18:22-25 ended. Jesus likened the possibility of a rich man entering heaven to the impossible task of attempting to pass a Carmel through the eye of a needle. Why? Is being rich a bad thing? No! But being possessive and defined by one’s wealth is surely destructive. We must learn a good lesson from the rich man of Luke 12:20.

So, who qualifies as ‘poor’?

The simple definition below of ‘poor’ is from the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus;

“lacking money or material possessions“.  And synonyms for ‘poor’ include; beggarly, broke, down-and-out, famished, impoverished, needy, penniless, poverty-stricken etc

This definition and list of synonyms sure paints a picture of somebody in our minds as we read through them. And you are right! That person is your ‘poor’.

Isn’t it troubling how we often organize big classy societal occasions or reception, identify our guests before hand with a gate pass or personalized invitation card, not just for security reasons, but to make sure riffraff, beggars, the hungry looking ones do not stray in and embarrass us before our highly esteemed guests.

Well, see what Jesus advised in Luke 14:13;

“But when you give a banquet or a reception, invite the poor, the disabled, the lame and the blind.”

Poor people matter to God and Jesus Christ communicated that much to His followers. In fact, I think (my personal thoughts) that of all kinds of giving mentioned in the New Testament; giving of alms, tithing and offering, giving to those that minister spiritual things to us (local pastors/shepherds) and sharing with one another (giving to other people especially those of the family of God), Jesus Christ seemed to have laid more emphasis on giving to the poor.

Yes, I hear your question: ‘What happens to tithing’? Like I’ve stated before, the tithe is an obligation, and does not count as an offering. You just give your tithe so that God’s work goes on. If a Christian refuses to tithe, then such a person has taken to himself the title of a ‘God-robber’ (Malachi 3).

Permit me to share with you one of my favorite portions of scripture; Matthew 23:23

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”

So, Jesus Christ expects us to pay our tithe. In fact, reading Matthew 23:23 over and again, it’s almost as if Jesus Christ took it for granted that the tithe is paid. Tithing wasn’t His focus in that scripture. He already assumed tithes were paid without struggle, hence His emphasis on justice, mercy and faith.

Giving to the poor is an act of mercy and faith. It can become an expression of justice if you reason that you are wealthy or rich so you can help others. So it’s a just and fair thing for a comfortable-you to give to the poor around you.

See what Apostle Paul says to us in 2 Corinthians 9:9, quoting Psalm 112:9 which we read earlier;

“As it is written and forever remains written, “He {the benevolent and generous person} SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ENDURES FOREVER“.  Amplified Bible Version.

I meet some Christians who have started feeling like their receiving is not quite commensurate with their giving. They say they are faithful tithers, they give to their men of God and other ‘powerful’ men of God, they give all sorts of offerings to the church etc etc…

Great! But maybe like Jesus Christ said to that rich man, …….you still lack one thing……..’Give to the poor around you’ and do not stop scattering your seed abroad. For surely, you’ll become a money bag/belt,  you will abound and have abundance for every good work, you will have great indestructible treasures in heaven, and your righteousness will endure forever.

Don’t tell me now that you are poor and have nothing to give.  Find someone poorer than you are, give, and walk yourself out of poverty.

Praise God forever!

Like Jesus said, the poor will never cease from the land. There will always be poor people whether by choice or through ignorance. Christ expects us to give to them.

 

 

Did you know that in early modern Germany, candles were the first form of lights used for  decorating homes during the annual celebration of Christmas?

Now, fairy lights (Christmas lights) and Christmas decorations on Christmas trees have become quite customary decoration trends in most Christian homes at Christmas.

At Christmas, holiday lights are used to beautifully adorn homes, Christmas trees, commercial buildings, playgrounds, etc,  and don’t they just come in different dazzling combinations, configurations and colors?

Everyone gets excited and awed by the ornate display of the twinkling Christmas lights.  If you ask me why this is so, I believe it’s connected to the nature of light coupled with its attractive and colorful arrays on Christmas trees.

As perplexing a phenomenon as light has been to scientists, its key characteristics that have been unraveled are that; light stimulates the sight and makes things visible. Light illuminates; bringing radiance, brilliance, glow and a glaring dazzle. Light dissipates darkness and ushers in daylight (hope). These, and maybe a few more characteristics of light are irrefutable as we can attest to them from our daily living.

But nowhere in my little literature review and internet search did I see ‘light’ described as human! Yet a man came into the world so many years ago and described Himself as; “the light of the world“, who has “the light of life.”

“….I am the light of the world, he who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 8:12

John the Baptist attested to this light…

“In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”  John 1:4

Little wonder then the world didn’t like Him. He spoke with an irritating audacity and with an infuriating pomposity. How dare He claim to be light? Light is pure, light shows direction, light is knowledge, light illuminates and is incomprehensible by darkness. How dare anyone claim to be light?

Some months ago, my understanding of what Jesus Christ meant in Matthew 5: 19 broadened a bit and I too, just like Jesus Christ, realized that ‘I am light’. This became my mantra. I said it, I muttered it and I knew it!

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden”.

At about Christmas 2016, The Holy Spirit exploded it in my spirit that ‘I am light’.  Halleluyah!

As light, I am a city set on a hill. I bring illumination to the world around me. I cannot be hidden.  I cannot be put in a secret place or under a basket (Luke 11:33). I cannot be successfully intimidated, suppressed or oppressed.  I bring hope to my environment and beyond. I am an embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, counsel, might, and understanding. I have the Spirit of God and it is a spirit of excellence. I have the light of life in me!

Dearly beloved in Christ Jesus, as we celebrate this Christmas Season, we must remember and maintain our statuses as lights for as long as we live in this world. And because Christ is alive in us, our lightness will bring direction, meaning and hope to the world around us.

Jesus Christ was born to bring light to a dark world. Jesus Christ, before ascending to Heaven deposited his Light in you and I so that the world will continue to have light.

Hope you have a very memorable and light-filled Christmas this year and join in my quest; to make this Christmas memorable also for some Lazarus’ at my gate :). Hoping you locate your Lazarus this Season if you haven’t already.  Christmas offers another opportunity to feed, soothe and/or heal your Lazarus.

My love always…

Grace Obomanu.

 

Except otherwise stated, all Bible quotations are from the New King James Version.

In this very long but interesting blog post, I throw some light on the act and practice of witchcraft, attempting to expose the spirit behind witchcraft, what it seeks to achieve, how God (Jehovah) expects Christians to handle ‘witches et al’ and how to recognize people with a semblance to the spirit of witchcraft.

The aim is not to create fear or torment, but like in one of my past posts; ‘Satan Demystified’, I sincerely hope that Christians would become liberated, fearless and equipped to recognize and tackle the spirit of witchcraft in whatever form it may want to present itself. More importantly, it is my fervent prayer, that people already immersed in sorcery and witchcraft (by choice or by birth) would seek The Only Light (Jesus Christ), who is able to liberate and set them free so they don’t burn in Hell.

The Bible asks us in 2 Corinthians 10:7;

“Do you look at things according to the outward appearance?”

And my response is; everything is first spiritual then physical!

Believe it or not witchcraft, mediums, spiritists, soothsayers, sorcerers exist.I found a very thrilling and hilarious encounter between a dead Samuel and Saul in 1 Samuel 28:3-20. A greatly frightened and troubled Saul had contacted a medium to talk to dead Samuel because The Lord wouldn’t talk to Saul either through dreams, the Urim or the prophets. Even in death, Samuel gave only the word of The Lord!

How should one born and filled with the Spirit of God handle witchery? Should a Christian be concerned about them or just ignore them? Is it okay to be intimidated and oppressed by these spirits?

By providing answers to these questions from God’s word, I believe that the eyes of our understanding on the subject of this blog post, would become enlightened. Praise God!

Let God’s people not perish because of ignorance. Amen.

 

1. What is witchcraft?

For many young inquisitive story-lovers and TV-watchers, the word ‘witchcraft’ brings to mind some of Harry Potter’s books, TV movies such as Charmed, Bewitched, etc.

While I am personally not a fan of witch-laden movies and the likes, witchcraft can mean a lot more than the nicely scripted acts we see in movies.

I am a strong believer in the notion that our thoughts (and sometimes dreams) are greatly influenced by what we expose our minds to. So I must conscientiously choose the pictures created in my mind (and those of my children), remembering at all times to guard our fragile hearts with all diligence (Bible verse) and to carefully test and name every spirit as either good or evil.   For instance, what spiritual edification is there in a film on witchcraft?  Selah.

Witchcraft is understood by many as having pact with Satan to secure power to do evil and hurt people. While some persons refute description of witchcraft, preferring instead to argue that membership into Wicca (a duotheistic worship of the ‘Moon Goddess’ and the ‘Horned God’) gives personal protective cover, a little dig however into the history of witchcraft reveals its strong connection and roots to magic.

Magic was discovered in the period of chaos, scarcity, sickness, bad weather. At such times, witches and sorcerers would cast spells and carry out rituals to draw the powers of the gods. By harnessing such powers, witches could groom, nurture or destroy,  thus breeding fear among people. In fact, the Roman law, distinguished between good and bad magic. Jail, fine and banishment were possible punishments for bad magic. Good magic on the other hand, resulted in healing and hopeful divination and was therefore sanctioned.

Before we go too far, I’d like to give you  definitions of witchcraft from the dictionary. So for all logical thinking persons, the dictionary recognizes witchcraft!! 🙂

Because witchcraft operates within cultural beliefs and practices, it can be pretty difficult to offer a uniform, precise definition. However, witchery cover a religious, divinatory and medicinal role and operates from a magical standpoint in every context.

“Witchcraft (also called witchery or spellcraft) broadly means the practice of, and belief in magical skills and abilities that are exercised by individuals and certain social groups.” -Wikipidia

“the use of sorcery or magic; communication with the devil or with a familiar spirit. An irresistible influence or fascination” -Merriam-Webster.

“the practice of magic, especially black magic; the use of spells and invocation of spirits“

The dictionary therefore suggests a strong link between witchcraft and magic. Magic means;

“the use of means (as charms or spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces. *magic rites or incantations. *an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source. *something that seems to cast a spell;  *enchantment.” -Merriam Webster.

Scientifically, magical powers and witchcraft have no credence as they have remained unsupported by experimental testing and have generally lacked scientific explanation. So again, for the very logical and scientific thinkers, magic (and witchcraft) can very well be a joke.

Does the Bible consider magic and witchery as jokes? 

Accounts of acts and practice of magic are replete throughout the Bible. Both the New and Old Testament strongly condemn witchcraft, magic, sorcery and all forms of divination and soothsaying.

Magic is an illusion, its unreal and it cannot be substantiated. Sometimes, people experience very strange feelings of ill-health that defies all known medical explanations.  A Godly intervention may be all that is required.

We have some descriptions of witchcraft in the Bible.

a. Witchcraft is sin.

“..rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, …” (1Samuel 15:23). So witchcraft is defiance, resists authority, loves control, insubordinate and nonconforming.

b. Witchcraft steals peace. 

“...what peace, as long as the harlotries of your mother Jezebel and her witchcraft are so many?..”     (2 Kings 9:22)

c. Witchcraft does evil and never good. 

“…practiced witchcraft and soothsaying, and sold themselves to do evil..” (2 Kings 17:17; & 21: 6, 2 Chronicles 33:6).

d. Witchcraft provokes God to anger.

“…and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger.”    (2 Kings 17:17 & 21:6, 2 Chronicles 33:6).

e. Witchcraft et al (witchcraft, sorcery, occultism, and all forms of divination) defile.

“Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.”   (Leviticus 19:31)

f. Witchcraft is cowardly.  Mediums make low speeches (lacking in authority). They mutter and whisper out of the dust. (Revelation 21:8;   Isaiah 8:19; 29:4).

 

2. Why do people indulge in witchcraft?

Just put a handful of toddlers in a small play room with the best toys in the world and in no time you’ll notice teams and team leads naturally emerge among them. Man seems to have misconstrued God’s command in Genesis to subdue the earth and dominate it to mean dominance over every other human! 🙂

There is a strong desire for power and dominance in every man which if uncontrolled and unchecked pushes one to search for aids to dominance. Occultism and all forms of evil divinations (including witchcraft) are primarily birthed this way. Most times, people who indulge in these ungodly associations start off seeking personal gratification and powers that can safeguard them from others. But just like other gifts from Satan, acts and practice of divination ultimately kills, steals and destroys (John 10:10).

 

3. How do witchcraft et al work?

*By ‘witchcraft et al’ I mean; witchcraft, sorcery, occultism, and all forms of divination.

(a). Witches use means to hunt after souls by influencing natural forces through supernatural powers or by invocation of spirits . Some of the means used in witchcraft include;

• Spells (Acts 19:19;  ). These include; love spells, money spells, white magic spells, doll spell, chants, spells for flying, spells with candles, spells with cats, spells for protection, etc                 **Witches generally cast their spells when they get angry and they have spells in books.
  
• Enchantments (Acts 8:11, Revelations 18:23; Exodus 8:7 ). This simply means operating under a spell, being astonished or attracted to something or greatly fascinated without good reason.
• Charms (Ezekiel 13:18-20; ). Means to become fascinated, delighted, pleased, attracted, captivated, dazzled, hypnotized, bewitched, seduced spellbound etc.
• Poisons
• Gifts   (Ezekiel  13:18,
• Invocations (Isaiah 8:19).  Witchcraft and all forms of divination invoke the dead.

(b). Initiation into witchcraft involves a passing through fire (2 Kings 17:17; 2 Kings 21:6, 2 Chronicles 33:6, ).

(c). Individuals can be initiated at birth or become enchanted or charmed using any of the means listed above (2 Kings 17:17; 2 Kings 21:6, 2 Chronicles 33:6).

I believe that a witch once entered my home in the guise of a nanny; I’d just had one of my babies. On this particular Sunday morning, I just suddenly felt feverish and literally passed out. Of course I didn’t make it to church that day. Waking up, I felt something was wrong, I immediately asked for my few weeks old baby who was brought, and she looked okay physically. The discomfort I felt made me start thinking and praying. The next Sunday, the same feverish feeling started again, this time, I got up carried my baby and the nanny to church! The nanny was very uncomfortable and restless throughout the service and a few days later she insisted she must leave my home.

My next meeting with her was at an immunization session, she’d found another victim; a harmless innocent new mum.  She almost jumped out of her skin when she saw me and tried very hard to avoid any close contact with me. But I managed to get close to her and asked her; ‘what are you up to now?’ She didn’t want her new boss to hear our discussion and so preferred we spoke a distance from her. 

I believe she’s on an assignment to initiate newborn babies. She didn’t succeed with mine! My subsequent calls to her agency to bring me another help wasn’t fruitful as the manager muttered something about my home which I can’t remember clearly.

 

4. What does God think about witches?

a. Witchcraft et al is delusional,  full of lies and does not bring comfort.  Zechariah 10:2 tells us that;

“..The idols speak delusion, the diviners envision lies and tell false dreams; they comfort in vain. Therefore the people wend their way like sheep…”

The sheep without The Shepherd (Jesus Christ) is the one most prone to following after the falsehood of divination. For the Bible records that the sheep of Jesus Christ is sensitive enough not to follow the voice of a stranger (John 10: 14, 27).

b. God does not want His children seeking after mediums. In Leviticus 19:31 God commands us;

“Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits, do not seek after them: I am the Lord your God.”

c. God turns his face away from anyone who practices witchery and consults medium.  Leviticus 20:6 reads;

“And the person who turns to mediums and familiar spirits, to prostitute himself with them, I will set My face against that person and cut him off from his people”

d. God’s penalty for a witch is death.

“You shall not permit a sorcerer to live”.   (Exodus 22:18, Deuteronomy 18:10,

And Leviticus 20:27 reads;

“A man or woman who is a medium, or who has familiar spirits, shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones. Their blood shall be upon them”.

e. Witchcraft et al will be destroyed in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone in the Second Death;

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone,..“

 

5. So until the Second Death comes, how should Christians handle witches? 

How many witches should we kill and how would we kill them?  🙂 . Ephesians 6 answers these questions for us;

“Finally my brethren, be strong in The Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. stand therefore, having girded your with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; and praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all saints, and for me, that utterance may be given to me that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,..” Ephesians 6:13-19.

This scripture tells us how to handle all forms of principalities and powers (including witchcraft).

• We need to be strong in The Lord
• We need to be strong in the power of the Lord’s might
• We need to pray always in the Spirit
• We need to be watchful and cultivate perseverance
• We must wear (as clothing) the full amour of God and take a stand against the devil’s schemes.  Wearing the full armour of God entails putting on  the Helmet of salvation, the Breastplate of righteousness, girding our waist with the truth, covering our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, carrying the Shield of faith and holding strongly in our hands the Sword of the Spirit. It is with the sword of the Spirit (the weapon of our warfare), that we pull down strong holds, cast down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We bring into captivity every thought(certainly not of good) to the obedience of Christ and we punish every disobedience and rebellion (2 Corinthians 10: 4-6). 

We must also remember that Christ disarmed all principalities and powers, making a public spectacle of them and triumphing over them in victory (Colossians 2:15). After gaining that feat, Christ received all authority  in Heaven and on Earth which He handed over  to us-Christians (Matthew 28:20) and God the Father made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Friends, fear not for Christ has conquered the devil and all his agents. Christ is in us (John 16: 20) and He is greater than he that is in the world (1 John 4:4, Exodus:18:11). 

Can you imagine the devil walking up to Jesus Christ and saying to Him; ‘look Jesus, whatever You did at Calvary was nothing, I am here to oppress and suppress You‘. If you cannot imagine that happening with Christ, you shouldn’t accept it happening to you.

Some months ago when I got really sick without a satisfactory medical explanation, some elderly Christian friends of mine became very worried that I might die. They suggested I go inquire (from a medium) what the problem could be.  My response to them never changed; “if I was bewitched or poisoned, then that for me is much easier than being labelled with a disease. Jesus already settled all principalities and powers”.

Truth is, both the bewitching and the known disease emanate from the same source (John 10:10). And it is aimed at killing, stealing from and ultimately destroying the destiny of Christians without knowledge. Christians who have been given all authority and don’t know it.

Brethren, Fret not about witches and all kinds of principalities and powers. Apostle Paul  in Acts 13:6-12 being led by the Holy Spirit, demonstrates to us how to handle a sorcerer or witch acting under guise of a prophet.

Bar-Jesus, like many sorcerers and false prophets today, knew his trade and didn’t pretend about his intention to make money. He recognized a need in Proconsul Sergius Paulus, who though described by the Bible as an intelligent man, was very lacking in Godly wisdom. Bar-Jesus sucked up to Sergius Paulus and continuously fed him with false prophecies.

Interesting thing about Bar-Jesus, which Christians must not miss is that he knew he was a false prophet 🙂 because when Paul and Barnabas showed up, Bar-Jesus recognized that his trickery was over! Paul only made his sure exit less traumatic by simply cursing him with temporary blindness first.  Oh! I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit like Paul was in this narration such that no stinking deceitful, fraudulent, son of the devil and an enemy of righteousness like Bar-Jesus misses a taste of God’s fury.

 

In sub-theme 6, I discuss my little concern about witchery and the Church…

   6. Can a Christian be under the influence of witchcraft and not know It?

My answer to this question is a resounding ‘Yes’.

And this is where things around witchery gets a bit confusing. Sometimes the people we have very high regard for may actually be exhibiting features of witchcraft and because of the respect we have for them, we only realize after a lot of harm has been done, or we still carry on without knowing what’s up!

As a young Christian, I remember my Pastor frequently mentioning 3 main attributes of witchcraft; Manipulation, Seduction & Control (MSC).

All 3 features may not be present in one person at the same time, but the presence of any them in strong uncontrollable measure should make us begin to consider operation of a spirit other than the spirit of Christ. The Spirit of Christ is evident in the Spirit-filled life (Galatians 5:22-23).

So as I end this very extended blog-post, we must remember  as 1 John 4:1 commands;

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”

Many false prophets are presently in the world, leading churches, teaching the bible, calling ‘Jesus’, ‘Jesus’ everywhere.  The Bible admonishes us to Test every spirit to ascertain whether they are of God.

Where you find Manipulation, Seduction and/or Control ruling in a church, pause, stop, look again, then conduct the litmus test;…….whose spirit is at work here? If it is Not the Spirit of God, then it must be the spirit of the devil.

Your ‘prophet’ may actually need help and the earlier you start praying in the Spirit for him, the safer it will be for you, the church and your leader/prophet.

May God help us all.

We are victories through Christ. And it doesn’t matter how the devil wants to come after us, he’ll come in one way but disperse in several directions because the Greater One lives in us.

Halleluyah to Jesus Christ.

Peter (birth name Simon), is one of my favorite disciples of Jesus Christ. Understanding his transformation from an unstable, talkative fisherman to a reliable leader of the Church of Jesus Christ, reveals God’s magnificence in making a masterpiece and a rock out of an unusual vessel.

The early verses of Luke chapter 5 does more than show a miracle of provision and abundance. Those verses of scripture portrays Peter in a light that helps us appreciate why Christ chose him to lead his team despite his obvious human imperfections. They reveal the personality of Peter and how this contributed to him experiencing a net-breaking miracle.

The Master’s instruction was simple;

“Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch”. Luke 5:4b NKJV.

For many months, the Spirit of God stayed me on Luke 5 in response to my desire to experience God’s wealth and riches. I am still learning by that scripture 🙂 And in addition to some attributes of Peter elaborated in one of my past blog posts; ‘Men after God’s Heart‘ , I discuss here 10 things about Peter that I believe made his net-breaking miracle experience possible.

1. Peter was skillful and hardworking. Peter was not only a professional fisherman, he was also very hardworking and resilient. Why spend a whole night searching for fish? With Peter’s proficiency with fishing, he would know better that the tides were unfavorable that particular night and pull the boat to the shoreline. But Peter didn’t do that, he stayed on all night searching for any catch of fish at all. Peter was surely a man dedicated to and passionate about his trade.
2. Peter had a generous attitude. Looking at the display of generosity by Peter in the above verses of scripture, I have to say that, my husband, Arnold, is much more generous than I am. I have vivid examples of times Arnold have cancelled people’s debt following a not-so-profitable business deal. Sometimes, I am not sure how I’d react in such circumstances. Peter’s generous nature is revealed in the ease with which he released his boat to Christ for a preaching session. A bad night of fishing without fish is enough to make anyone cranky and not nice…. So it would not be completely inappropriate for Peter to have been offended by Christ’s ‘insensitivity’. If Jesus could teach about God’s Kingdom from his boat, He could as well command fishes into Peter’s boat rather than ask for a boat to preach!
3. Peter was teachable. I had to use my imagination a bit to answer the question of where Peter was after letting Christ have his boat for a sermon? Was he washing his nets or getting a well deserved rest? I want to believe that Peter sat down with the crowd and listened to Jesus teach. What Peter didn’t realize though was that by bringing himself to listen to Jesus Christ, he was building his faith in preparation for his forthcoming miraculous catch of fish. Peter’s faith was stirred by Jesus’ teaching, his expectation was aroused and I daresay Peter was greatly mesmerized and astonish with the words of wisdom that proceeded from Jesus’ lips.
4. Peter acknowledged the limits of his skill. As a Medical doctor, it will be a hideous task for an Engineer to try to tell me what drugs cure malaria, for example. Such volunteer of unsolicited teaching is only likely to be acceptable to me if my encounters with this Engineer suggests a superior ability or prowess for thinking critically across different spheres of life such that I buy-in and respect his views on issues other than engineering. When Jesus directed Peter (a professional fisherman) to exactly where he needed to let down the nets for a good catch, it was easy for Peter to obey Christ because having listened to Him, he appreciated a superior knowledge/wisdom in display, probably a supernatural gifting, that surely flawed his skills and fishing expertise. When we come to our wits end, may we be humble enough to seek God’s directive.
5. Peter respected authority. When a seasoned fisherman tells you he has toiled all night without a catch, he must be pretty sure of himself. But again, having listened to Christ, Peter recognized Jesus’ authority and if Christ could teach with such wisdom, He must have God’s authority. Maybe more important is the fact that Peter placed Jesus’ authority above his experience. He must have adjudged Jesus’ audacity and confidence as not natural, and also worth respecting.
6. Peter recognized and acknowledged a miracle when he saw one. There are many people that would come up with logical explanations about why their second round of fishing yielded great catch rather than ‘fall down at Jesus feet’. Peter recognized that only a supernatural intervention would give the kind of catch they experienced and he was not going to take the praise to himself.
7. Peter cared about other people. When Peter called his partners in the other boat to come help gather miracle, I believe that he called them to come share of his abundance and not to come help him carry his blessings and give it back to him at the shore. These same guys had toiled all night with Peter and once again, we see Peter’s generous nature show up. There are people who would rather struggle to get all the fish to the shoreline (and probably drown in the process), instead of share them with others.
8. Peter prioritized Godly wisdom over earthly strengths. By ‘strengths’ here I mean all of man’s skills, knowledge, proficiency etc. How do you toil all night without success, and be magnanimously given what you toiled for in an overwhelming measure, only to abandon same and walk away? You must have seen something of greater value! Whatever Peter heard Christ teach, combined with his experience of the miraculous catch of fish, made nonsense of Peter’s technical know-how, knowledge and experience. He hungered for Christ’ wisdom.
9. Peter prioritized Godly wisdom over wealth. People are constantly making efforts to enhance their skills, to make them marketable and possibly meet their needs comfortably. You don’t seek for a promotion, get one and then refuse the salary increment or benefits of your promotion. Peter needed fish to make money/wealth. It doesn’t make sense that he’d walk away from it when he got it. Can you just imagine how much money 2 almost-sinking-boats laden with fishes would bring? But Peter suddenly ignored all that to become a fisher of men; a concept he knew nothing about.
10. Peter trusted Christ. By abandoning his fishes, boats and nets and following Christ, Peter was walking into the unknown. That is only possible where trust has been built. Yes, Peter was generally unstable in his reaction to things, but to abandon his only source of livelihood without thinking was a bit overboard. I believe Peter’s encounter with Jesus helped his decision no matter how irrational it looks. If Jesus can teach with such unearthly wisdom and miraculously provide what he toiled for all night, then Jesus can be trusted absolutely to take care of him.

Peter gave up all (wealth, proficiency etc) for a higher calling.

Would you be ready to give up all for the gospel of Jesus Christ?

Personally there are attributes of Peter I need to imbibe to prepare for the overflow and abundance God has in store for me. I hope you find something to work on yourself too 🙂 And when the wealth comes, may we still recognize that ‘fishing for men’ supercedes all.

Prayer

Thank You Father.

You are at work in us to will and to do of Your good pleasures. And we give You praise forever in Jesus name. Amen. Help us to heed your instruction to “launch out into the deep and let down our nets for a catch”. For only in full obedience and unwavering trust is our miracle guaranteed. Amen.

……………….

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Blessings & Love Always.

Grace Obomanu

The Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well needed more than a natural bucket of water to quench her thirst (John 4). In fact, her fundamental problem wasn’t about physical water at all. This woman thirsted for love. Five husbands have failed to satisfy her desire. She needed a love that would satisfy and never fail. What she didn’t know was that no man could possibly give that kind of love, because every man desires same!

Isaiah 55:1 calls us;

“Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters;….”

This write-up focuses on things that do not satisfy. I promise to do another in the near future on the bible-recommended thirst quenchers;  the waters, wine, milk and bread as expressed in Isaiah 55: 1-2.  🙂

So, what are the things that do not satisfy as mentioned in Isaiah 55?

Verse 2 of Isaiah 55 sheds a little more light on what these may be..

.”why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy?”.

Maybe we should start by listing some possible items we spend our hard earned wages on; houses, cars, gold, silver, clothes, bags, food, vacations/holidays, school fees, and so much more.

A few days ago, I brought out a clutch purse bought not too long ago, which i hadn’t used in a long time, and behold! the leather just  wouldn’t stop peeling off.

A colleague narrated to me some days ago, how her newly bought metallic gold shoe came out of the box covered in molds that completely discolored the pair, rendering them unusable.

Let’s not even talk about our so called designer clothes that start loosening the first day we wear them.

And before we make this into a lady’s talk, did Mercedes not release a much fuller option model of your car this year? And you bought yours just last year. Or which is more trendy on buildings now? Paints or bricks? What do you think it’ll be in the next 2 years? Maybe paint again!! 🙂

You shouldn’t even be too quick to judge others until you have been exposed to some level of wealth and you chose different! The temptation to want more never really goes away. What matters is how we respond. Selah.

While nursing my mum 2 years ago before her demise, I lost my gold bracelet. Apart from being very busy taking care of my sick mum, I was also not very well myself.  You can imagine that searching for that piece of jewelry was the least of my problems at the time. This suggests to me that no matter the worth of our most priced possessions, LIFE remains invaluable and life means much more than all our riches.       Selah!

Things that do not satisfy are constantly before us, begging for us to spend our money and wages on them. But it doesn’t matter how expensive or costly they  are, and regardless of the waranty placed on them, they rot, they decay, they tarnish and most importantly, they keep luring and attracting us without quenching our thirst/desire for them.

There will always be a more attractive Range Rover, Mercedes, House, Bag, Shoe, Gold, Dress, etc. And we’ll continue to be attracted to them!

So does this mean we shouldn’t eat again?  ☺Shouldn’t we ride good cars again? Are jewelry and beautiful clothes out of bounds now? Should we demolish our state-of-the-art buildings and move into huts to prove our spirituality?

For me, I think moderation, simplicity and a focus on Kingdom business remain good guides. God will continue to cause His children to have SUFFICIENCY in all things so as to meet their needs and the need of others. Our role is to constantly put ‘under’ control our desires and always allow God’s word illuminate as well as guide our choices and decisions.

God WANTS to take care of us Himself. Enough of too much hussling and chasing after perishables.

The waters, wine, milk and bread are supernatural. Understanding what they represent will help us continually access God’s supernatural provision of health, wholeness and prosperity!

I want to heed God’s call in Isaiah 55: 1, of buying without money and I hope you’d join me  🙂

Come let’s follow the Lord and buy without money. Jesus is leading and we’re following. And as long as we remain in His presence, spending time in His word, listening to the Holy Spirit nudging to act in moderation (1 Timothy 2:9), every yoke of wasteful living will be broken and taken off layer after layer, until we’re totally liberated and restored.

Thank You Father.