Earlier today, I had a very strong impression in my heart to prophesy over my family. The contents of the prophecy were very clear to me, I could clearly see everything I needed to prophesy about, the words to say were running through my mind, I felt a strong sense of confidence in every word.  Arnold my husband was right beside me trying to get some sleep, the urge to start speaking was getting stronger, but then something was missing….and I will tell you what that is in a bit.

Thirty minutes earlier, Arnold and I had agreed we needed to nap….Sunday siesta! 🙂 The sermon today was good; Arnold loves governance and politics so the preacher got his full attention, well almost fully. One time, the preacher gave a rhetoric command; ‘rise up and be the voice of reason’, Arnold jerked up from his head bent position, almost standing to his feet. Only wisdom stopped him from jumping up and screaming ‘yes preacher‘. His slowness in awakening from his short nap gave him sufficient time to look around and find that everyone else was seated.

We both needed to sleep, last night was a business night, we had some sleep deficit to catch up on. Additionally, we’d booked an appointment to listen to a younger chap share his passion about a business idea…this was due in an hour…

But I wasn’t sleeping, the words of the prophecy kept running through my mind as I partly thought, ‘well I can do it during our prayer time’, besides Arnold seemed asleep now. But then I heard in my spirit; ‘the word is nigh thee even in thy mouth, …the word of faith‘

Oh! I thought, ‘word, ….faith….prophecy…….

I quickly grabbed my Bible and located Romans 10:8.

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:8‭-‬9 NKJV.

The first time I heard the concept of faith in Christianity explained was almost 2 decades ago, that would be from Hebrews 11. As you can imagine, there has been countless other times. Today, as I read Romans 10:8-9, my understanding of faith improved.

What do we have in Romans 10:8-9?

This scripture describes the steps for becoming a born-again Christian. But that’s not all. It provides the layout for a victorious Christian living founded on the kingdom principle of faith.

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:8‭-‬9 NKJV

Becoming born again is simple; you listen to the good news and allow it create a picture in your mind, believe what you heard and believe the picture created in your heart, then confess (with your mouth) that what you have come to believe is so, and hey, you have it! You are born again, Praise God!!! 

Hearing the good news alone is not faith {It’s part of the process}

Conceiving the good news alone is not faith {It’s part of the process}

Speaking about the good news alone without fully believing it, is not faith {It’s just part of the process}.

Faith=Conceive it+ Believe it + Speak it + Receive it. 

This principle of faith is succinctly described in Romans 10: 15

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? NKJV

Let’s flip Romans 10:15 from bottom up;

Send a preacher out to preach so that people can hear the good news, believe it and then call on (confess) Him. 🙂

To say to a mountain ‘move‘ is not enough to make it move. There is a ……..’does not doubt in his heart‘,  a …..’believes what he says will happen‘,  before a ……’he will have what he says‘ (Mark 11: 23).

Faith=Conceive it+ Believe it + Speak it + Receive it. 

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
James 2:26 NKJV

Hebrews 11:1-3 says;

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Hebrews 11:1‭-‬3 NKJV

A substance is tangible, an evidence is evident, so why does the Bible describe them in Hebrews 11 in future and passive terms? hoped for’….’not seen’….

Because the picture is fully created in a person’s mind, the person already believes it, the person has already confessed it and though not yet visible, the person already has it.

Look at Hebrews 11:1-3 again and this time, let’s see something different and interesting…

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Hebrews 11:1‭-‬3 NKJV

‘.…for by it the elders obtained a good testimony‘ in the above scripture can mean: 1. The elders are remembered because of their faith or 2. The elders created a testimony for themselves by operating in faith or 3. Both.

I will choose both.

You can become a faith champion by consistently creating your own testimonies obtained and secured through conceiving a thing, believing it, speaking it {plus acting on it} and having it.

I hear people say ‘faith is the Christian currency‘….is that absolutely correct? …….

Right now, if you are thinking like me, the immediate question to be answered is” what can I buy right now with my faith? I mean now! If faith is really this simple, why waste anymore time?

Can we create anything by faith? I mean anything at all…… 

How did the elders do it?

Three scriptures;

“…but without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11: 6

“…By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Hebrews 11:2

“….”How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? NKJV

The base, setting under, or substrate of faith is The Word of God.

Hearing the word, believing in the existence of God, knowing and believing the word of God are prerequisites to obtaining a good testimony through faith.

So any believing, conceiving, speaking, acting that is not founded on the Word of God is merely a wishful thinking or a positive thinking. It is not faith.

Faith is based on the Word of God.

Oh! but what happens when the object of your faith does not manifest instantly, what do you do?

That’s where the twin brother of faith comes in; HOPE

Faith says ‘it’s done and I receive it, Hope patiently awaits the physical manifestation of the faith object.

Hope, doesn’t let your faith focus slip. Even though it tarries, it shall surely show forth.

Halleluyah!!!

Now back to my story about that prophecy 

I can have those thoughts and words running through my mind all day (and even into another night), and with all the confidence i feel about them bustling in my heart, but until I open my mouth and actually begin to say them out, and say them based on the word of God, nothing is gonna happen. So the moment Arnold turned a bit in his sleep and I established that he was no longer asleep, he got a full release of the words for the season. 

I leave you with an interesting dialogue between Ezekiel and Jehovah…..

“The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then he caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? So I answered , ‘O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live……..So I prophesied as I was commanded and as I prophesied there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them and the skin covered them over over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds , O breath and breathe on these slain that they may live. So I prophesies as He commanded me and breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.” Ezekiel 37: 1-10. NKJV.

The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth.

What are you waiting for? 🙂 ……..Start putting flesh on those bones…….

…………………..

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Blessings & Love Always.

Grace Obomanu

A Business Owner had worked all year round to keep his business afloat amidst regular dips in profits. His hard-work paid off, business still made sense; his profit margin wasn’t bad at all. Only thing was, he has become really exasperated, irritated by trivial issues, excitable by mundane ones. He needed a break!

He called for a management meeting with all departmental heads and informed them of his plan to proceed on an extended leave. Business must remain profitable in his absence. He assigned tasks and targets to each managerial portfolio with accompanying resources to aid achievement of expected outcomes.

Few days before proceeding on his vacation, he assembled his managers again and distributed seed stocks. To the Sales Manager he handed $5,000 and a list of tasks. He must at least double the money before the business owner returns. Standing next to the Sales Manager was the Finance Manager, who thought to himself, ‘Oh! the company’s net worth is better this year than it was last year, that attests to my hardwork. I’ll surely get more than $5,000. He got $2,000! The other person in the room was the Operations Manager who, just like the Finance Manager was full of great expectations. ‘He has kept everything together this past year, he thought’. If not for his dedication and commitment, their experience could have been worse considering global economic recessions. His Master would certainly give him more than $5,000 to trade with. He got $1,000!

Spread across the faces of the Sales Manager and the Finance Manager was a mix of chagrin and delight, they are certainly unhappy with Mr. Business Owner but then their fate seemed better than that of Mr.Operations. ‘At least the Master considered them more productive and superior to Mr. Operations. They busted into laughter. Mr. Operations went all red.

The Business Owner watched them in utter bewilderment. ‘These people don’t get this, he thought’. He quickly called them to order, explaining the criteria for distributing the resources. Every man has received according to his strength, ability and role in the organisation. This was not a reward system. His hopes are that each manager would employ given resources, maximize profits, without neglecting his primary responsibility. He wished them well and embarked on his journey.

Despite the explanations given by the Business Owner, the Operations Manager went away disgruntled, depressed and disillusioned. ‘The Master surely hates me, he thought‘ He is not only ungrateful and selfish, he is a wicked man and cares about nothing more than his profits.’ Mr. Owner has treated him badly despite all his years of hard-work and commitment. Instead of rewarding him for ensuring the smooth running of daily operations in the organization, he humiliated him in the presence of his colleagues by giving him the least money to trade with. He was going to do absolutely nothing with the $1000 given to him. If the Master didn’t trust his ability to trade, then he shouldn’t expect any further gains from him.

We find the response of the Business Owner to Mr. Operations on his return in Mathew 25:

“…. ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.”

Mr. Operations was right; his Master didn’t trust him to deliver. His initial explanation on the criteria for distributing the resources was only a cover up. Mr. Business Owner obviously see him as wicked {selfish} and lazy. He was of little or no benefit to him personally or to organizational growth. The only reason operations were still great was because he weighed in most times. Giving him one talent was simply an act of generosity, he would have gotten nothing.

Interestingly, they had made clever judgment about each other .. well, to a great extent 🙂 Business Owner was profit-oriented and result-driven, Mr. Operations was seen as selfish but didn’t know it}.

Jesus gave the Parable of the Talents to teach on faithfulness to the things of God. Profitability of the Kingdom of God is about making disciples of all men (Matthew 28:19). If the One-Talent Servant knew the overall organization goal and focused on it, he would (1) Continue to work towards achievement of the overall organizational goal irrespective of his perception about his Master’s feelings towards him. (2) He would have become more self-aware of how his Master saw him and seize the little opportunity given to improve himself or set things right.

He missed both.

Jesus never gave a condemning parable without admonition on the way to repentance 🙂

Let’s stay faithful and committed to the things of God. We will reap where we sow if we do not faint. And let us stay relevant in the vineyard in which we’re planted, always being reminded of 1 Corinthians 12: 20

“But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.” NKJV.

I have shared this testimony some years back on my online talk page and I promised someone who missed it I’d share it again this morning on the blog. Like David, this testimony (and the recent testimony of how God restored my health-which is narrated in my blog post “When the Doctor says No“), stand as my own ‘I have overcome the bear and the lion, this uncircumcised Philistine wouldn’t be different’.  God’s faithfulness is sure. We can depend absolutely on His faithfulness.

Many years back as an undergraduate, I had the priviledge of having my own private accommodation outside the school hostels. I didn’t really like the campus accommodation for more than one reason; shared rooms, dirty rest/shower rooms, shared and very small cooking areas, etc etc. A personal room was private and more suiting of my personality at the time I think. Not that I could afford to rent one myself, The Lord miraculously gave me a free room most of my university days through my Uncle (God bless him). So I wasn’t really born with a silver spoon. My Uncle practically trained me through school-tuition, books, allowances, etc etc. God bless him again.  But you see, sometimes, even as would happen with a rich child, my supplies ran out-toiletries, provisions, groceries, etc etc.

Like most Nigerians, I was brought up eating mostly a Nigerian staple food- garri (processed from cassava). Many Nigerian households survive on garri, it’s filling and you only require a bowl of soup to stay full and sustained for hours.

It was Saturday morning, I was in my room and there was drought; my supplies had ran out, totally out. My beverages, cereals, biscuits, everything was gone! But not my garri, I had a handful of garri somewhere in the room.

Not that this was the first time this would happen, but for some reason, I was greatly vexed in my spirit. I was angry, not with my parents, Uncle or anyone else, I was upset that God would constantly let my supply run out!  I prayed out loud and told God, He had to send me soup that day, as I was not going to try to ask anyone for food, visit anyone (hoping they feed me), or even go home (to my Uncle’s house). I needed a miracle, period!

So the whole day, I sat at my table studying my big medical books, occasionally reminding God that I was waiting for Him to show up with my soup. And it wasn’t a small wait! I was hungry, I was fagged out and I was tired. There was temptation to just discard this miracle/faith chase and simply ‘soak’ the garri and drink it. But I didn’t. I didn’t really also know how to speak ‘faith’ words at the time, or how to give so as to receive, but I’ve been enjoying a close intimate relationship with God and I was certain He existed.

It was not until about 16.00 hours that someone knocked at my door. I delayed in answering the door, upset that the response to my request was coming too late. But then, I told myself to check who’s at the door first 🙂  To my utter surprise one of my aunt’s was standing by the door with a big bowl in her hand. Her house was about 30 minute’s drive from my room. Sorry to say that at the time, I was not particularly close to this aunt. So you understand my surprise. What was she doing here? It was after I let her into the room and welcomed her warmly, that she explained that she felt in her spirit to bring me some soup as she cooked that afternoon. I thanked her immensely and she left. That was the last time she visited.

The Lord showed up with my soup!!!

There are so many things I do not know about God, so many things I am discovering about God as I walk with Him daily. But I know for sure; that God is faithful- it is His nature, He cannot be otherwise. He is faithful, He is merciful and He is a Covenant Keeper.

 “Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.” Deuteronomy 7: 9  NKJV.

Many times, Christians speak about faith as if it’s some religious ceremony. What is faith?  Faith is the substance of our belief. Faith is Christian living. Faith is Evidence. Faith is Believing and Seeing. Faith is Now! (Hebrews 11:1). Faith was me fixing my eyes on my bowl of soup until it showed up (and oh! I need to take on many more faith projects to continue to enjoy the fullness of The Blessing).

You know, faith can be easy and yet difficult. It is easy to speak faith, but it can be challenging to patiently wait until the substance of it becomes evident. The beauty in it all though is that while you wait, your spiritual muscles are strengthened, you move some rungs in the ladder of your faith walk and more importantly for me, you build memorials of God’s faithfulness for your future walk as your the object of your faith becomes physical.

So I ask you today- Where is your focus? Who is your source? Where will the refill of your supply come from? If you answer “from a known man” to any of the above, then I say to you; ‘you are of all men most miserable‘. Man will fail and fade, but not God.

 

 

 

 

You cannot serve The Lord Jesus Christ and Mammon.  Mammon represents anything a Christian values more than The Lord, and may include money, fame, status, material possessions, etc.

Value system is an individualistic concept and is greatly determined by one’s virtues or vices. People’s internal conception of what is good, useful, beneficial, desirable or important is entirely their prerogative. More often than not however, values are informed by aspirations, need for relevance, desire to make meaning out of life, want of material possessions and concerns about making ends meet (having food, drink, clothing, shelter etc).

For a Christian, it is expected that the Bible should majorly influence choices made (what is right or wrong) as will be ultimately reflected in actions taken. Jesus Christ recognized the importance of value system in informing our thoughts, words and actions. Little wonder then, He categorically stated in Matthew 6:24b; “…you CANNOT serve God and Mammon.”

“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Mammon” Matthew 6:24 NKJV

It’s an all or null situation, ….and understandably so. Except of course we are dealing with the ‘christian’  described in James 1:6 as ‘a wave of the sea driven and tossed by every wind” ; a man who is unstable, unsteady and undecided about his beliefs and value system.

“…for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6b NKJV

The double-minded man described in James 1:6b has his answer from the Lord in the next verse of same scripture…he should not expect to receive anything from The Lord!

The Lord Jesus Christ admonishes us to keep worry far from us. Do not worry about food, drink, clothes and any other drivers of our decisions and choices. The Lord takes care of the jobless birds of the air, feeds and nourishes them. He clothes (most beautifully) the lilies and grass of the field.

The way I see it, worry and faith seem to be at extreme ends of a spectrum for a Christian. If you have faith in the ability and willingness of The Lord to meet all your needs, you won’t worry and your value system is unlikely to be twisted from Christ’s expectations.

So have faith in God for your daily needs!