Abraham had a very good relationship with people; relatives, neighbors, servants, etc. He treated people with respect and dignity. His negotiation with God concerning depraved Sodom and Gomorrah goes to show; 1. his relationship with God and 2. his concern and care for people (Genesis 19). When Abraham went out to save Lot (from his troubles), I found it very interesting that most of the men that accompanied Abraham were servants born in his own house; over 300 men.

My prayer, my heart cry. My honest desire and hope. All of YOU in me, Jesus.

I have often read phrases like ” forgive for your own good“… or forgive for the burden is yours so lighten up yourself” These phrases sound good and factual but I have always felt uncomfortable reading or hearing them. I used to wonder if that’s the reason God asked us to forgive those who hurt us.

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 NKJV

Note that it says even as God in Christ forgave us…

How did God forgive us? Jesus paid the price for our sin by shedding his blood(Heb 9:22) and by faith in this sacrifice we receive forgiveness. If someone does not receive this forgiveness, he/she struggles to fellowship with God.

Now let’s transpose this with our relationship with one another; ….when a brother hurts another it is important that he forgives his brother not only for his peace of mind or good but also for the good of the one who hurt him so that real fellowship is restored. The one who hurt his brother must acknowledge the hurt and receive the forgiveness for a genuine fellowship.

Sometimes a brother makes light of a hurt and dismisses the forgiveness as unnecessary and still expects the hurt brother to “move on”…..this is not right.

In summary what I am saying is that;

1. Forgiveness is not only for the forgiver but also for the forgiven.

2. The forgiven has to acknowledge and receive forgiveness for genuine fellowship to be restored

3. It is pertinent that we let the one who has hurt us know and that we have forgiven (let’s not bottle it up and pray it will go away). It’s up to the forgiven to receive it or not.

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”
I Corinthians 13:3 NKJV

Should christian counsellors charge for their services/ministry work? This has been a long debated topic and while I can understand that it isn’t cheap to own and run a counselling platform of any sort, here is what I eventually heard in my Spirit as I spent days thinking about whether I should have charged the young lady described above.
…

A daily or regular confession of everything love represents and means according to 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, creates in us a consciousness of who we are, it helps reinforce our identity to us. And because word-based confessions are not mere recitations (God’s Word is Spirit and life), by our confessions we are claiming exactly who we are and rejecting anything contrary to our love nature.

If you are ever in doubt of what makes the list of Acts of God, John 10:10 would help you…
“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

The Epistles constitute letters written to the early Churches in different locations. As Christians, these letters are directed at us as well. From these letters we learn about our identity, rights and privileges in Christ, etc. So Christians are to live on the new testament (especially the epistles).

As true as that is, we cannot deny that we still learn a lot of lessons from the old testament. Most practices of the old testament may be obsolete but the principles remain timeless and still applies to us today.

Second Kings 8:1-13 is an interesting old testament scripture. It is a really long portion of scripture but it made an interesting and insightful read to me …..

“And Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets, and said to him, “Get yourself ready, take this flask of oil in your hand, and go to Ramoth Gilead. Now when you arrive at that place, look there for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, and go in and make him rise up from among his associates, and take him to an inner room. Then take the flask of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord : “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ Then open the door and flee, and do not delay.” So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramoth Gilead. And when he arrived, there were the captains of the army sitting; and he said, “I have a message for you, Commander.” Jehu said, “For which one of us?” And he said, “For you, Commander.” Then he arose and went into the house. And he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord , over Israel. You shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, that I may avenge the blood of My servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord , at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish; and I will cut off from Ahab all the males in Israel, both bond and free. So I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah. The dogs shall eat Jezebel on the plot of ground at Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her. ’ ” And he opened the door and fled. Then Jehu came out to the servants of his master, and one said to him, “ Is all well? Why did this madman come to you?” And he said to them, “You know the man and his babble.” And they said, “A lie! Tell us now.” So he said, “Thus and thus he spoke to me, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord : “I have anointed you king over Israel.” ’ ” Then each man hastened to take his garment and put it under him on the top of the steps; and they blew trumpets, saying, “Jehu is king!” “
II Kings 9:1‭-‬13 NKJV

There is just so much being said about anointing in this passage..

Through the Bible we find 3 groups of persons who were anointed in a similar way as Jehu; Priests, Prophets and Kings.

Some of the applications of the term ‘anointing/anointed‘ in the Bible include; for consecrating a place, a vessel, a body before burial, or as a tradition following a wash.

The process of becoming anointed as narrated for Jehu is quite different from how Jesus was anointed. For one, there was no physical pouring of oil on Jesus’s head by any prophet. Jesus was anointed with the Holy Ghost by God Himself…..

“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.”
Acts 10:38 NKJV

This was a special form of anointing different from what upheld in the old testament. However, despite the obvious differences in the method of the anointing of Jesus and Jehu, we see similarities in the events that follow someone’s anointing…

Jehu was as much God’s choice for His people at the time he was anointed as Jesus was. So although Jehu received the pouring of oil on the head by a prophet (while Jesus did not), Jehu was first chosen by God.

There is just so much we can glean from Jehu’s story. When God anoints you….

1. He Separates you.

2. He promotes and honors you.

3 He puts you over a territory with a specific assignment.

4. He gives you authority and power.

5. He gives you influence

6. He defends you.

“Saying, “Do not touch My anointed ones, And do My prophets no harm.” “
Psalms 105:15 NKJV

7. He sets you up for celebration.

Well then, who is qualified to receive these privileges? Anyone who is anointed by God!

As Christians we receive the same anointing as Jesus did when we become baptized by the Holy Spirit.

“Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.”
II Corinthians 1:21‭-‬22 NKJV

Have you located your territory? Are you wielding your authority and exercising your power? Are you assured of the special protection available to those chosen of God?

The purpose of the anointing is to make power available for good works to be done. Don’t waste it..

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
Acts 1:8 KJV

When God anoints you, you have power to witness for Christ.

The same power at Pentecost that turned the disciples into changed men…. changed and charged for exploits to the marvel and amazement of onlookers…

There is a strong connection between humility and submission. Submission requires subordination, subjection, obedience, yielding which are all expressions of humility. To successfully submit to an authority, humility is needed. I believe that unlike humility which we are expected to express towards God and all men, submission is contextual.