Many of us can identify with the statement ‘Christ is Risen!, He is Risen Indeed’. If you were like me, who grew up in an orthodox christian setting, Easter was (and remains) a very exciting season in the Christian faith. We would sing hymns of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection as early as the ‘Good Friday‘.  If I remember clearly, we often held carol nights on Good Fridays; singing around the town with candle lights. And although the songs weren’t particularly joyful, the whole exercise was exciting.  🙂

I also remember the ‘Palm Sunday‘ march around the town; symbolizing Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Question: Why was the triumphant entry important to Jesus Christ? Why did He do it?  We’ll consider that in another blog-post…soon.

Today, I bring you the Good News of the Kingdom of Jehovah and of His dear son, Jesus Christ; ‘Christ is Risen!’ ….He is risen indeed. 

Big brother Apostle Paul narrates the significance of Christ’s resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.

“But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20

Paul tells us why Easter should be celebrated always;

1. Christ is Not dead, He is alive. God, Jehovah, raised Christ from the dead.
2. We believe that our sins are forgiven, and we testify that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus only because Christ is risen. If Christ were still dead, then we would be sinners. But our spirit bears witness with God’s spirit that we are FREE from sin. Halleluyah!
3. So our faith and believe is not futile, for we are living testimonies of God’s great and mighty works which we experience in our daily living.
4. Because Christ is risen, the dead in Christ will resurrect also. For if we only have Hope in this life and in the things which we see and feel, then we are of all men most pitiable and miserable.

I am excited that Christ is Risen! Halleluyah!

This blog post could have been titled; ‘The Second Resurrection’.  We find the First Resurrection in Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:12 and other New Testament Bible portions;

“even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”  Ephesians 2:5

“buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

We were made alive and raised together with Christ when God raised Him. We were in Him at death, but we didn’t remain dead, no, we were raised together with Christ Jesus.

I recommend one of my favorite and earlier blog posts; “Dead Man Walking” for more clarity on how we were saved.

This is the Good News; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried and on the third day, God Almighty raised Him (together with Every Born Again Christian).  After resurrection, Jesus Christ was SEEN by Cephas, by the 12 disciples, by more than 500 hundred brethren at once, by James, by the apostles and then by Paul. (1 Corinthians 15; 3-8).

Paul carefully documented these events for us and for any doubter.

We are not a people without hope. No, our Hope is anchored firmly on the resurrected Christ, the mighty miracles He works daily in our lives and in the conviction within our spirit that we are Christ’s and He is ours.  Halleluyah.

And even if we die physically before the second coming of Christ, our physical bodies will be transformed and we SHALL be Resurrected.

“For The Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”                               1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Praise God forever.

Jesus said to Martha (Lazarus’ sister);

“I am The Resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 

In case you are still taking your time in surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, Easter is a good season to do it. Make it an Easter to always remember. Give your life to Jesus Christ today and become Born Again (John 3:3).

Simply say this prayer;

Dear God,

I ask in the Name of Jesus Christ that you forgive my sins. I believe in my heart that Christ died for my sins and you raised Him up from the dead just to save me. Lord Jesus Christ, I receive you as my Lord and Saviour today.  I declare today that I belong to Christ and none other. Thank you for hearing  and answering me, in Jesus name. Amen. 

Congratulations if you just said that prayer. And welcome to the family of Jehovah.

You must be baptized by water by immersion and you must be filled with the Holy Ghost.  You can be told how to experience these when you attend a bible-believing church. You may contact me also.

 

My love always…

 

 

 

 

The sin of one man (Adam) brought sin and death to all mankind (1 Corinthians 15:22), but through Christ’s death resurrection and life were made available to all mankind (1 Corinthians 15: 21).

The cross ensured  forgiveness of sins,  reconciliation of man to God and restoration of  the relationship between man and God. A relationship that cannot be severed by sin, however, an intimacy that cannot be experienced where sin exists. That’s what Isaiah talked about in Isaiah 59: 1-2;

“Surely the arm of The Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

Cry out to The Lord while you can. For the great day of The Lord comes, when it will be too late to fully enjoy Christ’s offering; the offering of Himself as an atonement for sin.

Zephaniah 1, just like Isaiah 59 tells us about the great day of The Lord;

“The great day of The Lord is near- near and coming quickly. The cry on the day of The Lord is bitter; the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry. That day will be a day of wrath-a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers.” Zephaniah 1: 14-16.

Don’t become proficient at blowing off your sins, giving excuses that will not excuse you from God’s wrath. Do not let your conscience become seared and unresponsive to God’s prodding by His Spirit.

Give Your Life to Jesus Christ Today.

You do not have to spend eternity in Hell. Jesus’ death ensured Hell didn’t become your abode in eternity. God provided full, complete, eternal pardon for sin because of Christ’s death. You are only assured of a shelter in Heaven in eternity if you receive God’s free gift to you- Jesus Christ!

Accept Jesus Christ today into your life as your Lord and Saviour.

You just say this short and simple prayer;

Dear God,

I ask in the Name of Jesus Christ that you forgive my sins. I believe in my heart that Christ died for my sins and you raised Him up from the dead just to save me. Lord Jesus Christ, I receive you as my Lord and Saviour today.  I declare today that I belong to Christ and none other. Thank you for hearing  and answering me, in Jesus name. Amen. 

Congratulations if you just said that prayer. And welcome to the family of Jehovah.

You must be baptized by water by immersion and you must be filled with the Holy Ghost.  You can be told how to experience these when you attend a bible-believing church. You may contact me also.

Happy Resurrection Week!  🙂

My love always

 

 

 

In ‘Revealing ‘Revelations 12 to 20′: Blog Post 1’, we basically gave descriptions of the key subjects in these verses of scripture. And I did promise, that in the second part, we’ll begin to follow the narrations in the book of Revelations and come up with meaningful explanations.

This blog post we’ll begin to study Revelation’s 3 Beasts (Chapter 13 Vs 1-8); the First Beast, the Second Beast and the Scarlet Beast.

We described a ‘Beast’ as used in Revelations as most likely referring to an Alliance or a Coalition. An Alliance being a group of countries, political parties or people who come together for specific purposes, interests of mutual benefit.  And a Coalition refers to an alliance of people, factions, parties or nations; a combination into one body; a union.

The First Beast (Chapter 13)

This Beast came out of the sea, had 10 horns, 7 heads with 10 crowns on its horns; each having a blasphemous name.  It resembled a leopard, with feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the First Beast its power, throne and authority. One of the heads of the Beast was fatally wounded but got healed and the whole world marveled, followed the Beast, worshiped it and worshiped the dragon.

My thoughts

This is an alliance between 7 countries/kingdoms with a common interest and purpose. These 7 countries/kingdoms are located on an island( came out of the sea). The 7 Countries/kingdoms altogether have 10 cities (10 horns) and each city is an authority in itself (10 horns).  The symbol for this alliance has a black and white background,  and the logo on its flag looks like the feet of a bear (like curled worm) while what it speaks, professes or believes in (its mouth) has a hexagonal shaped symbol; like a small black house with 5 sides  over a white background (that’s the shape of a lion’s mouth).  All 7 Kingdoms share the same faith/belief.

One of the 7 countries/kingdoms was almost extinct, but surprisingly recovered and became admired and adored by people from many nations, who visit it often and marvel at its beauty.

In ‘Revealing ‘Revelations 12 to 20′: Blog Post 3’, we’ll consider the Second Beast.

Hope you make sense of these descriptions, they are actually very easy to decipher. You need to pray and you need to think.   🙂

 

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.