In the Rest place of God, there is no anxiety, worry or panic, because faith in the Word reigns supreme.

For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us

We’ve probably all heard or read about the Bible story of Esau and Jacob, the twin sons of Isaac. May I ask your perspective on the story; did Esau sell his birthright or did Jacob seize it from him? ?

By virtue of his birth position as the firstborn twin, Esau was naturally positioned to receive the birthright blessing from his father Isaac. So God gave Esau an advantage from birth; an opportunity to inherit the birthright blessing.

However on this particular day, somewhere in his teenage days, Esau didn’t see his birth position as a privileged position, he didn’t think it was worth more than a bowl of pottage… Esau thought he needed food more than a future birthright blessing….

“Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary. And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.”
Genesis 25:29‭-‬34 NKJV

Esau had just returned from an exhaustive and not very successful hunting session. He was weary (hungry and weak) and just needed something to eat. On returning home, his brother had a ready meal of pottage waiting to be consumed.

Esau only asked for some of Jacob’s pottage, as would any hungry brother who’d smelt food from far off.

Esau had a legitimate reason to want food; he had labour out in the fields and was exhausted. Are there believers today whose experiences can be likened to Esau’s on this particular day- working hard and having nothing to show for it? What options do people in this situation have? How should they handle the pressures of life-rent, fees, food, clothing, etc, etc? How should they meet family obligations and responsibilities? Like Esau, do these people have any advantage by virtue of being Christians or are they thrown daily into the same rat race as the people of the world?

In Hebrews 12: 14-16, the writer draws a spiritual lesson from Esau’s response to his pressures;

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled; lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.” Hebrews 12:14-16 NKJV.

Esau is used here as an example of a godless person because he did not recognize his birth position as being worth more than a bowl of pottage, and believers are admonished to place high value on their spiritual inheritance; to consider it as precious; never to trade it for anything else.

Let’s think about Esau for a bit; why did he easily give up his birthright?

Do you think he understood the spiritual implications of his birth position? Did he link his birth position to a blessing? Do you think he believed in this blessing? Or was Esau just an impatient person driven more by his desires than reasoning?

Here are my thoughts……

One, It seems to me that essentially, Esau lacked good knowledge and understanding of both natural and spiritual things/processes. Yes, Jacob may be described as a schemer, ‘supplanter’, tricky and deceitful person, yet, I still think Esau was naïve; he neither understood how the world works nor how to make it work to his benefit. Additionally (and most importantly) he was also unspiritual/godless and so could not understand the spiritual implication of his birth position, so he had little or no regard for it. Naivety and godlessness are obviously 2 dangerous combinations. If Esau at least had one of these, Jacob would have had a very hard time taking advantage of him. You don’t sign a letter of agreement (or swear even casually) to forgo your birthright blessing for the rest of your life! That is not smart; spiritually or naturally.

Two, I think that Esau allowed fear to dominate him, fear of the unknown, fear of what his future would be like. And fear is always a reflection of unbelief. So Esau had slipped into unbelief (even without realizing it). I daresay, this didn’t all happen in one day. It’s likely a subconscious response to seeming to be unsuccessful despite putting in a lot of efforts at becoming successful. One thing Esau did not realise though was that all along he had something worth more than a bowl of pottage.

Esau had the Blessing Advantage but didn’t place a high value on it. He did not value his birth position, did not value the blessing that comes with it, and he had no regard (anymore) for the source of the blessing-God! If he did, he would have probably known to endure a temporary hardship, to be patient through a transient pain/discomfort, he would have most likely known to choose and safeguard/preserve something with a long-term value/benefit over a bowl of pottage.

Dearly beloved, Esau had the blessing, you have the Blessing! By virtue of your rebirth and position in Christ, you have the Blessing (Galatians 3:14b). Do you know it? Do you recognize it?

The blessing is worth more than any temporary gain because the Blessing always brings increase and multiplication.

The blood of Jesus that bought your salvation is worth more than a bowl of pottage. The call of God upon your life is worth more than that attractive but illegal agreement you are considering signing. The anointing on your head is worth more than the transient satisfaction of sexual sin. The plans and purpose of God for your life is worth more than that temptation to cut corners and indulge in dirty deals.

Esau needed to exercise just a little more control, a little more patience, if only he had some more regard for his privileged position, he would have endured a temporary hardship, pain, discomfort, distress.

How do you lose a life-long advantage over a transient discomfort? How do you trade the Blessing for a Bowl of Pottage?

Do not step out of God’s will, stay with God, stay with His Word. Stay in the blessing. Do not seek alternative routes to success, walk in-step with the Spirit, stay with God, stay in the Word, stay in the blessing. Do not go to the fortunetellers (those claiming to see into your future), do not consult the spiritualists (those falsely claiming to reach God on your behalf), do not sign misleading agreements. Stay with the Word (Isaiah 8:19-22 MSG).

The Blessing will continually speak for you. Shalom!

I remember when I got born again; June 1993 at one of the branches of Deeper Life Bible Church, Nigeria. It was my first time at the Church, a friend had invited me for their regular Sunday service. There was a talk on the importance of choosing heaven over hell; talk about a broad way that leads to hell and a narrow path which leads to heaven. Yours truly didn’t want anything to do with hell, so off to the front roll I marched as soon as the alter call was made for people to make a decision for Jesus. I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ; hell lost a soul; Heaven’s gain….

As I think about my spiritual rebirth day, I am reminded of the process that brought me to my current spiritual status of being alive in Christ. Having heard the message on salvation as was preached that day (deliverance through faith in Christ Jesus), the expected response from me was to confirm my believe by simply walking down the aisle towards the Preacher, who led me to confess the ‘sinner’s prayer’.

Twenty-eight years later, even with a little stormy time along my walk, my salvation status hasn’t changed; I know that I am born again. I received my salvation that day, and that hasn’t changed.

Unknowing to me, the only good thing about that day wasn’t that I got born again, no, I was also delivered from the curse (Sickness, Poverty and spiritual death), because the same sacrifice that bought my salvation also bought my healing.

Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was a blind roadside beggar. On this particular day when Jesus walked out of Jericho, Bartimaeus didn’t want alms, he’s learnt how to ASK and RECEIVE gifts through the years. Today, he wanted a different kind of gift;…. healing for his eyes. All attempts by bystanders to stop him proved futile. In the end Jesus connected with his faith, his sight was restored. Bartimaeus RECEIVED his sight, ….just like that. He believed Jesus could heal him, he asked for his healing and he got it.

“Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.“
Mark 10:52 NKJV

Do you believe Jesus has healed you? And if I may kindly ask; ‘have you received your healing in the same way that you received your salvation?‘

Healing confessions are no good if we lack the conviction that we are already healed. Our confessions and partaking in communion do not in themselves bring healing, they are ways in which we further proclaim and maintain that we are healed.

Someone asks; ‘Grace, I am currently taking medications for a health condition, do you advice me to discontinue?’

Not at all, drugs or not, the truth remains that Jesus bought our healing. As Jesus would say…..’believe comes before seeing‘. So believe and receive.

By His Stripes I am healed.

Lord I believe that by the Stripes of Jesus I was healed. I receive my healing, and I declare that I am working in it everyday.

Thank You Lord!!

Yes, God will send His Word to shine the light into our hearts, bringing illumination and understanding to help us take advantage of all Christ has done, and to help us see that He already healed us (I Peter 2:24). And the Holy Spirit helps us see that God already sent His Word and healed us. So do not let the enemy keep you in bondage with an expectation that your healing is coming from God, no, the Word (Jesus) already came and healed all your diseases.

The 6 Attributes of God I share in this blogpost are intrinsic to Him. They are His nature. And these attributes of God do not change irrespective of circumstances. They remain constant.

The resultant effect of the mercies and compassions of God is His goodness. When His mercies and compassions meet, His Goodness is inevitable. Halleluyah! So if His mercies and compassions follow me everyday, if they fail not, if God is steadfast, committed at sending mercies and compassions towards man, surely, goodness must be an everyday experience with God too.

God is God of all
And Father to all who choose Him.
Through Jesus Christ all can be become sons and He their Father.

Though God of all, He still hates all forms of depravity and profanity.
He Wills that all may become saved and sons, He becoming Father to them.
His loving arms are open to all.

By Grace and through faith all can become saved and sons.
Grace doesn’t excuse depravity or profanity.
Even in Grace, God is still a holy God.
He still abhors depravity and profanity.

From the time of Sodom and Gomorrah, to the time and ministry of Jesus Christ, to this time of the Church age, God is still a holy God, He loves all people but still hates depravity and profanity.

Most events of the old testament were written for our learning today, some things to emulate, others to abstain from.

The evil choices of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, fall into the group of things to abstain from….

“as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.“
Jude 1:7‭NKJV

“Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”
Romans 1:27 NKJV

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly; and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)”
II Peter 2:1‭, ‬6‭-‬8 NKJV

God’s ways haven’t changed.
His principles are still the same. Be ye holy as He is holy….

While this represents another display of the subtleness and schemes of Satan at derailing young people using what’s often considered modern and trendy music as bait, Christians must awaken to the fact that such unholy and worldly dress culture is fast becoming acceptable in the Body of Christ and is often been excused for weather conditions, traditions and fashion trends. No gainsaying, this is not God’s plan.

When The Doctor Says ‘No’ is basically a narrative of my walk through a health challenge and how the Lord walked me to victory. It is a short read, however the truths, knowledge and wisdom in it will last a lifetime.