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Showing posts from June, 2012

Persevere to Maturity

Job 34:2-9, ‘Hear my words you wise men; listen to me, you men of learning. For the ears tests words as the tongue tastes food. Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good. Job says, “I am innocent, but God denies me justice. Although I am right, I am considered a liar; although I am guiltless, his arrows inflicts an incurable wound.” What man is like job, who drinks scorn like water? He who keeps company with evildoers; he associates with wicked men. For he says, “It profits a man nothing when he tries to please God.” Most of us think that we are generally good people, we go to church on Sunday, we pay our tithes, we support charity, are kind to others, do good and therefore believe that this should automatically give us a pass to heaven. But when most of us are faced with persistent hardships and trials, injustice, persecution and challenges, we tend to start grumbling, complaining to God that we do not deserve what we are going through and that He

Listen! Listen! Listen Carefully!

Job 33:14-28, ‘For God does speak – now one way, now another – though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, He may speak in their ears and terrifying them with warnings, to turn from wrongdoing and keep him from pride, to preserve his soul from the pit, his life from perishing by the sword. Or a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones, so that his very being finds food repulsive and his soul loathes the choicest meal. His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden now stick out. His soul draws near to the pit, and his life to the messengers of death. Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, to be gracious to him and say, “Spare him from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for him” – then his flesh is renewed like a child’s; it is restored as in the days of his youth. He pr

We are not Alone

2 Kings 15-17, ‘When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh my lord, what shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.’ One weapon the Devil uses against us when we are overwhelmed by a myriad of problems is loneliness. He causes us to be abandoned and neglected by our family and friends, leaving us feeling vulnerable and all alone. We are then prone to despair, anxiety, depression and fear, choosing to give up and succumb to our situation instead of persevering and forging ahead in the knowledge that our God is with us, even when we cannot see Him in our present circumstances. The Devil reminds us of the grea

Live Expecting Good

Romans 8:28, ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.’ Do not despair if things look bad, do not lose hope thinking that you have messed everything up and you have no chance at reaping any good for in all things God plans good things for those who love Him. Just look at how in Adam man was lost in rebellion and disobedience, cursed to face eternal death because of the sinful life we led, yet in His divine wisdom and mercy and love, God came and lived as man in Jesus, showing us the example by which we should live and then redeeming us unto Himself by His death at the cross thus satisfying the requirement of the law that demanded death for sin and disobedience while giving us the gift of life eternal and clothing us with righteousness in Jesus Christ that we do not deserve. God knows that you are broken, you are a cracked pot and there is no other way that He would want you because only in your broke

Who’s Church Are We?

1 Corinthians 1:11-13, ‘My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; “I follow Cephas (Peter)”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?’ The body of Christ has become so stratified nowadays yet we are supposed to be one for how many bodies does the head, who is Christ Jesus, have but one. We have allowed our own petty differences, competitions and comparisons to confuse and inflame us to the point of hating each other rather than loving each other as commanded by the Lord. We are now followers of the servants of God instead of the Lord Himself. We have forgotten that the church is the fellowship of believers and now have limited into identifying ourselves with the physical church we attend. The church has been taken over by religion, where doctrine has become more importa

Immanuel – God With Us

Joshua 1:5-10, ‘“No-one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” So Joshua ordered the officers of the people…’ Moses was a great man of God and was able to do numerous miracles. After he died, Joshua, his assistant that had been groomed as successor was called to fill in the big shoes that Mose

Contrite and Broken Spirit

Psalm 51:16,17, ‘You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart.’ In the olden days of the Jews would offer burnt offering to God as an appeasement. Now let us ask ourselves one thing, why did God want the Jews to offer sacrifices for sin, thanksgiving, dedication, atonement and other such events, was it for the meat, aroma (the seen things) or was there more? Now before a person makes a sin sacrifice, for example, he has to be aware that he has sinned in the first place. After knowing his sin, then he has to be remorseful and sorry about the wrong he has done. But it does not end there, he has to be repentant; that is, being sorry enough to stop doing the wrong thing and then know that it is only He who needs to and can forgive our sins. That is why He accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected Cain’s. God desires that whatever we do; be it thanksgiving, seeking fo

Obey your way to Prosperity

Psalm 1:1-3, ‘Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he mediates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.’ Jesus told us that we should first seek the kingdom of God and God in His faithfulness would meet our needs. Seeking God’s kingdom means loving God and to His will for your life is the demonstration of this love. God created each one of us for a purpose in life, He wants us to achieve that purpose and the only way we can do is by aligning our will with His by submission because He knows the path that we are to take to reach there. In other words we need to walk in His counsel and away from those that will mislead and derail us from our God given path of obedience to a path of rebellion and selfishness and ultimate destructio

The Nature of Man

Psalm 53:1-3, ‘The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt and their ways are vile; there is no-one who does good. God looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. Everyone has turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no-one who does good, not even one.’ The human nature is carnal in nature; that is to say that it is ruled by selfishness, arrogance, pride, jealousy, envy where we are more or only concerned with ‘number one’ than with the needs and feelings of others. Still unconvinced? Just look at the selfish behavior of small children that have not yet been socialized with a sense of right or wrong and you will notice that are only concerned with their own needs. This is the sinfulness of the human nature where we justify many a great atrocities in the name of the meeting our needs or ‘rights’ as we like to call them. Some of these ‘rights’ that we say are inalienable and fundamental are sim

God’s Mercy

Psalm 51:1-13, ‘Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to yo

The Savior

Psalm 118:14, ‘The LORD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.’ In Jesus we find salvation, in Him we find the strength to forge ahead, move on towards that prize, that has been promised to us through Him. On the cross, Jesus suffered the judgment once and for all, therefore taking the sting out of death by satisfying the requirement of the law that demands death as a just payment for sin and in God’s divine wisdom now affords any that choose to believe in and surrender their life in total obedience to Him eternal life. Jesus was given power and authority over everything in this world by the Father and now that we as believers are in Him, we have access to this power and authority over the sin of this world, able to live as new creatures in righteousness in Christ able to patiently wait with confidence the judgment day, knowing that our sins are remembered no more while we are in Him for we are covered by the blood He shed at Calvary. Therefore when we feel fearfu

The Power in the Tongue

Psalm 52:1-7, ‘Why do you boast of evil you mighty man? Why do you boast all day long, you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God? Your tongue plots destruction; it is like a sharpened razor, you who practice deceit. You love evil rather than good, falsehood rather than speaking the truth. You love every harmful word; O you deceitful tongue! Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin: He will snatch you up and tear you from your tent; He will uproot you from the land of the living. The righteous will see and fear; they will laugh at him saying, “Here now is the man who did not make God his stronghold but trusted in his great wealth and grew by destroying others!”’ The tongue is a very treacherous tool that can be used to either build up or tear down people. With a tongue you can offer praise to God and with it you can curse men. The world as we know it was spoken into existence and in faith believers call into existence what is not seen. We need to be masters of our tongue so

Victory

Psalm 118:7, ‘The LORD is with me; He is my helper. I will look in triumph over my enemies.’ Believer, the creator of the universe, He who made something from nothing, He who sees the end from the beginning, He who spoke and it was, the great I AM, I with you, He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is your helper and will provide a way for you where there is none. It does not matter what you are faced with, nothing is too big for Him, nothing is impossible for Him. Your enemies might have already written you off, rejoicing that they have destroyed you, rejoicing over your corpse and your death but He has brought you back to life, to restore you to your former position, to uplift you even higher than you have ever imagined. You are no longer a servant but a child of the Most High God through Jesus Christ. You can now look over your enemies in victory, knowing that in Christ you have made a spectacle of them, that you have the victory, that you are more than a conqueror in Chri

Strength in God

Psalm 118:10-13, ‘All nations surrounded me, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They surrounded me on every side, but in the name of the LORD I cut them off. They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns; in the name of the LORD I cut them off. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.’ The world is full of trouble, and we are constantly under attack from the Devil who wants us to lose hope and give up on our inheritance as believers. He will use family, friends, strangers and enemies to try and put us down, persecute us, oppress us, discourage us, mislead us, tempt us so that we may lose our way and not focus on Jesus Christ who is the author and perfecter of our faith and strengthens us through everything. But in all these we should never lose our focus, keeping our eyes on the prize, shedding off all encumbrances that might prevent us from reaching our destination and completing our race by focusing on Jesus, our Lord

Amazing Grace

Psalm 118:5, ‘In my anguish I cried to the LORD, and He answered by setting me free.’ We were in shackles of sin, living in slavery to it, submitting to our selfish and sinful desires but the Lord saw our anguish and sent His one and only begotten Son, called Jesus, to take our sins away and by washing our transgressions away with His blood at the cross. He has set us free from the yoke of sin and death and has given us righteousness and life. What a joy to know that you are no longer dead but alive, that your name has been written in the book of life, that you are victorious, a conqueror of this world, that you are a visitor, an ambassador of the Kingdom of God on earth longing to go home to your God because of His Amazing Grace.

Fear Not

Psalm 118:6, ‘The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’ Imagine this believer; the creator has got your back. What a wonderful thought that is, to possess the knowledge that the Almighty, Holy God is always with you. If you possess this knowledge, this truth, then despair and fear of men and angels should not grasp you. You should not allow anxiety to grip and envelop your heart even when you are confronted by troubles, trials and persecutions because He who is with you is greater than all that come against you. What might seem impossible to you is possible to Him because everything is possible through Him. He has you in the palm of your hand and no one can snatch you away from His grasp. Replace fear with faith and hope, trusting in the Lord’s faithfulness to help you through your problems and afflictions. Your enemies, both physical and spiritual, may gnash their teeth at you, plotting and planning your demise but God works out everything for the good of t

New Lease of Life

Psalm 116:8,9, ‘For you O LORD, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the LORD in the land of the living.’ We were dead in spirit but as believer we now live, through Jesus Christ’ death at the cross, we have been given a fresh lease of life, to start a new, to live only for Him who purchased our life with His, to share in His inheritance, to live in joy and peace and love for in sin all we had was heartache, misery, pain and death. God is giving you salvation, reach out with your heart and take hold of this life, this promise from a faithful and just God, to lift you up higher, from being a servant to being a son, do not hesitate, accept the deliverance of the Lord now and be counted among the living whose hope and trust is in the Lord, who are anchored on the Rock, the cornerstone that the builder’s refused that now gives life to whosoever believes.

He is Dependable

Psalm 118:8,9, ‘It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.’ God is not man. He does not change His mind, He is faithful and just, He is Almighty and powerful, He is Holy, He is all knowing, all seeing and ever present and we need to place our hopes and trust in Him for He will never forsake nor leave us unlike men who will be with you only when things are good, only for a season, who are irrational and cannot change even the head on their head to be grey. Men’s hearts are full of deceit and will deceive you but God is good all the time, having good plans for you, to prosper and provide a hope and a future. There is no other person that we can depend on other than God. Placing your hope and trust in a fellow man is like building sand castles that will be washed away but trusting and having faith in God is building your foundation on Christ the Solid Rock. Simply put He is dependable.

Use your Time Wisely

Psalm 118:24, ‘This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ The fact that you are reading this is a cause for celebration because many would have wished to have been added more time, just enough to tell the ones they love how they feel, enough to ask for forgiveness from those they wronged, to do things differently but unfortunately for them, their time is up. But yours is not so rejoice and be glad that the Lord has allowed you one more minute, one more hour, one more day, to live. If you have not yet repented this is your time to repent, stop procrastinating and putting it off for you know not what tomorrow holds for you. Believer, rejoice that the Lord has given you more time to do the work that He has set before you, to win more souls to Christ, to share the good news that has transformed your life with the ignorant and the oppressed. Do not procrastinate for you shall be called to account for your time. You are here because the Lord willed you to b

God of Compassion and Mercy

Psalm 116:5-7, ‘The LORD is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The LORD protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need He saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.’ Before we knew Christ, we were living in slavery to sin and to the Evil one, but now that we know Christ, we have been set free and free indeed! Our freedom, we did not earn but by the grace of God, His free mercy and compassion, He forgave us, once and for all in and through Christ. We were in great need of His salvation fro we were doomed to the pit, the lake of fire that had been made for the Prince of Darkness and His fallen angels, yet because of His love and compassion for man, Jesus came, shedding His divinity and choosing to live lover than angels, taking on the life of a servant, He redeemed us by His blood, at the cross, and all we have to do is to be childlike in our minds, believing that He is the Son of the living God and that He died and rose agai

The Power of Generosity

Psalm 112:5-8, ‘Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered for ever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.’ We live in a world that justifies the means used by the end sought; we lie, cheat and steal all in the name of acquiring wealth and status. We have replaced justice and equity with a clogged up, blind and unfair legal system that is tied up and led by not what is wrong or right but by rules and regulations. It teaches us to view our success with our accumulation. We hoard and accumulate and become stingy where someone with millions in his account will not even spare a few hundreds of shillings to provide just a single meal to a starving neighbor. But the living word of God teaches us that for us to receive; we need to generously a

Fear not the Plans of the Wicked

Psalm 112:10, ‘The wicked man will see and be vexed, he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.’ We should live in this world fear free, doing what the Lord has put into our hearts without fear of persecution because their plans to stop you from enjoying God’s peace, joy and hope; to dissuade you from believing in good purpose for your life and getting fulfillment from living and achieving your destiny; to keep you from exercising your power over sin; to keep you from experiencing God’s unconditional, selfless and boundless love; to keep you from maturing and growing spiritually into all you are meant to be; to keep you paralyzed with fear and many other reasons. Elisha once told us that we should not fear because those that are with us are more and greater than those that are with the wicked. They may go to witch doctors, they may harm your body but Jesus warned us to be very wary of who destroys the soul, that is the Devil, who is the p

Hope in Righteousness

Psalm 112:4, ‘Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.’ We are living in dark times full of strife, tribulations, hate, wickedness, rebellion, anger, collapse and death, a state that leads to despair, discouragement and hopelessness. Look at the news, the internet, social media and hang outs, what we hear and see is depressing. But there is good news for the believer, because God has promised never to forsake us and that we should place all our trust in Him, believing that He will make our crooked way straight, that even when others are afflicted by the plagues of death and suffering, we will not be touched that His angels will not allow us to fall even when we stumble. As believers, we are more than conquerors and God works everything for the good for those that have faith in Him. Even in this difficult and trying times, do not loose hope, do not allow fear into your heart because fear will stifle and strangle your faith. Y

Living the Word

Colossians 3:12-17, ‘Therefore, as God´s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Jesus Christ taught us how to live in righteousness. Paul told the Colossians the traits we need to hold dear in our heart as men and women of God namely compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness

What is Your Value?

Proverbs 22:1, ‘A good name is more desirable than great riches, to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.’ We live in a world that loves things and uses people. We place more value on things that we are willing to do anything to obtain it. The Lord asks what it profits a man to gain the whole world but lose His soul, highlighting that our soul was more valuable than the whole world. But how many of us sell ourselves cheap, selling our souls to the Devil for eternal damnation for a fleeting moment of pleasure. Moths and rust destroy the riches of this world so it wise to store up your riches in heaven where they will remain eternally by living a righteous life. You need to know your value, you can choose to be a child of the Most High God and inherit everything or settle for less and pay for eternity for your poor choice. Know your value, don’t sell yourself short.

Trust in the Lord

Proverbs 21:31, ‘The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the Lord.’ We need to place all our trust and hope in the Lord for nothing is possible apart from Him but everything is possible through Him. Trusting in ourselves is futile because we cannot control anything and everything happens by the will of God. Trusting in ourselves is a form of pride and rebellion where we exalt our own way, thinking, plans above those of the Lord. God is faithful and will honor His promises if we come to Him in faith.

Exalted in Our Lowliness

Proverbs 21:30, ‘There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.’ We live in a time that is the most advanced in the history of man yet, with all this knowledge, we are still foolish in the sight of God. God knows everything, even what is in the heart of man. God’s will is sovereign and no one can prevent God from achieving what He wants. We might plan all we want but God’s will prevails. It is therefore important for us, in order to have peace and joy, to live through His grace in humility and obedience to His divine will for our lives and He will exalt us. But if we exalt ourselves in pride, placing ourselves above Him, He will oppose us to our ruin.

Silence is a Virtue

Proverbs 12:23, ‘A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself, but the heart of fools blurts out folly.’ We live in a world where everyone feels obliged to give His two cents worth about everything. We have blogs on everything, we have experts who give us free advice us on everything. We demand that we have the right to know everything and we now have leaks on every issue from government to personal and private matters. But this freedom of speech of exercise at times exposes the ignorance of our generation as we say a lot but reveal nothing meaningful. It is election period and our politicians are falling over themselves to be constantly seen in the media spot light, in rallies, on podiums speaking for hours but telling us nothing really. This political noise that is raising tribal tensions is aggravating rather than edifying us and I would rather they just keep quiet if they have nothing better to say. Even a fool is thought to be wise if he keeps quiet.

Life in Obedience

Psalm 119: 33-40, ‘Teach me O Lord, to follow your decrees; then I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding, and I will keep your law and obey it with all my heart. Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart towards your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word. Fulfill your promise to your servant, so that you may be feared. Take away the disgrace I dread, for your laws are good. How I long for your precepts! Preserve my life in your righteousness.’ Who am I that I may know the plans of God? Who am I to question His wisdom? I am nothing apart from Him and all I need and desire is for Him to reveal to me His will for my life, what He has purposed for my life that I may live my life rejoicing in His will and not mine, through Jesus Christ and not on my own strength, for I cannot do anything without Christ who strengthens me. My focus is now only on Jesus who now

The Chosen

John 15:16, ‘You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.’ Jesus chose each and every one of us in Him to do His purpose and will. Even before He formed us, He knew us, before we were born, He set us apart, anointing us for His will and purpose, and therefore we should not be discouraged, fearful or ashamed for He has good plans for us, to bear good fruit according to His will and purpose for His eternal glory, praise be to God. We can therefore approach the throne of grace with confidence of asking anything according to His will and purpose of our lives because we have already received it through the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for we that believe in Him, called to Him for His purpose, are now in Him, clothed in His righteousness and seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven.