Every Spiritual Blessing In Heavenly Places

Passage: Ephesians 1v3 

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places."

References: Hosea 4v6, John 15.

This verse says it all. Those who are in Christ have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. This will be a short post but very powerful. It is important for the christian to know and understand that he or she has already been blessed. It's not a matter of going to be blessed or hoping to be blessed or believing for a blessing, every spiritual blessing has been poured to those who are in Christ. God Almighty has made availability and provision for those in Christ to be blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, however the truth will always remain that many people continue their walk with God never understanding that they are blessed. Why is this so? The bible says in Hosea 4v6 that God's people perish for lack of knowledge. Praise God for God. It is interesting that God's people can still be destroyed. It is interesting that those who bear the name of God can still be bossed around. How surprising it is that a child of God can still live a life headed for destruction. This is one thing a lot of God's people now take for granted; brethren being a son doesn't exempt you from work or discipline. Being a child of God cannot and will not give you the right to be lazy, unprepared for opportunities, give excuses for failure, fool around. In fact, becoming a christian is a calling to higher standards of living. The demand increases because now you are of a higher class than the rest who remain in the world.

Therefore to tie this back to our passage, although we have been blessed by God with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places, the christian will never experience these benefits without seeking out what they are. This means devoting time to searching the scriptures in order to find these blessings, benefits and their conditions. Secondly they are made for those in Christ, not outside Christ. Therefore remaining or abiding in Christ (John 15) is what gives us the right to claim these blessings.

Glory be to the most High for His mercy endures forever.

Remain Richly Blessed.

Ayo.

Divine Visitation - Part 2

Now let's go a little deeper into the topic of Divine Visitation. In doing this we will examine the nature of divine visitation and some of its outcomes. From the definition given in the introduction, divine visitation is a visit from heaven and a visit from heaven can be for different reasons. How do these visitations occur and what's the nature in general?

Nature of Divine Visitation:

- Can be provoked by God

- Can be provoked by man

- Can be unexpected

- Sometimes is not restricted to the one being visited. If you're in an area where divine visitation is occurring, and you're wise you can benefit from it.

Outcomes of Divine Visitation:

Divine Visitation

- Brings Blessings

- Brings Judgement

- Change of destiny

- Change of name

- Instructions

Nature 1: Divine Visitation Provoked by God

Passage: 1 Kings 11v29-32. Divine visitation provoked by God could bring favor your way and judgement someone else's way. The best place to be, is on the side of God and in the camp of the most High . A fellow who toils with sin, is living under the jurisdiction of the devil (John 8v34) and such a fellow may not receive a positive outcome from divine visitation. Those who are in and out with God, today serving God, tomorrow serving themselves and following the own desires, will not enjoy the full benefits of being children of God. Those who have not come to know God (unbelievers), don't even have a feel of the goodness of God. You have to give your life to Jesus Christ. It is my prayer that we as Christians, we will dwell in the camp of God continually, and those who don't know Him yet will come to know Him.

Now from the passage above, we learned that a man named Jeroboam got a divine visitation from God through the prophet Ahijah. If we study the chapter well enough, we'll discover that because of the sin that king Solomon committed (1kings 11v10-11) God punished him and favoured a subordinate Jeroboam. The kingdom of Israel was torn apart and Jeroboam received ten tribes as a result. Sin can provoke divine visitation that will have a negative outcome for the sinner. This leads us to answer one of the questions asked in the introduction; as Christians we must work towards always being in a state of holiness, because we never know when God may decide to pay a visit. In fact living a continuous life of Holiness can provoke God's visitation. Also living a sinful life can provoke a negative divine visitation. Let's stay Holy.

1Kings 17v12-16: Divine visitation provoked by God will sometimes require a measure of faith from you in order for you to enjoy the benefits thereof.

Nature 2: Divine Visitation Provoked by Man

John 4v21-24 "... True worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the father seeks. If you want to provoke divine visitation, one way to do so is by being a true worshiper of God. A true worshiper is someone who worships God Almighty in spirit and in truth. The passage helps us understand that the Father has put himself to work to seek out true worshipers. When you seek for something, you earnestly search for it. When you find such a thing, you would keep it close to you in order not to lose it. This is the case with our heavenly father. Now what do you think happens when God finds such people? He dwells with them, and His blessings will remain on such a fellow. The bible also helps us understand that God inhabits the praises of His people. This brings us to another outcome of divine visitation; blessings. Divine visitation can result in a blessed life for the fellow who has been visited.

What does it mean to worship God in Spirit and in Truth? Sometimes when we say the word worship, our minds automatically turn to the picture of singing praises, and hymns to God. However worship according to a dictionary the feeling of reverence and adoration for a deity. Worship also includes every act that can rightly express these feelings towards the deity in question. Therefore you find that worship is everything we do in the notion of loving God. Now having given this explanation, how then can we do this successfully in spirit and in truth?

Using Your Gifts Accordingly...

Passage: 2Kings 2.

This passage teaches about the extraordinary event that took place when Elijah was raptured to heaven. Elijah was a well known powerful prophet in his days. Just the way today we have Pastors, there are some of them that are extraordinary in these end times. I thank God Almighty for raising men and women who have accepted the call of God on their lives to follow the King of Kings in doing His business here on earth. Let's understand that every human being was created by God with some deposit in them. What you need to be great is already deposited in you. However, you cannot reach your full potential if you do not stay tuned to the source. The source of your potential is God Almighty. Yes you were born by your father and mother, but they did not deposit these potentials in you. Some people have started showcasing their potentials and it's what is commonly known as someone's talents. You see people doing mind blowing things, that make you wonder whether or not they are human beings. You think to yourself, "is it possible that a human being can be so good in such an act, he or she has to be the best." The truth I tell you is this, if a person does not consult God Almighty for their talents or after they have discovered their talents, such a fellow will not reach the highest level with his or her potential. The highest level is that level where you reach and you use your potentials or talents to the Glory of God.

Now the man Elijah was greatly gifted. He was commonly called Elijah the Tishbite (2Kings 1v8), with no particular relatives to make mention of. You could call that not being significant in the society. His family name was not mentioned. No mention of His father's lineage, or the mother who gave birth to him. Did anybody even know any of these people? He's just a man, a Tishbite, who discovered His calling, had an encounter with God and became well respected in the society. This tells me that all yo really need is a connection with God. When a man is connected to God, his whole world changes. In John 5 when the leper had a connection with Jesus by the pool called Bethesda, he became healed of his leprosy. Brethren your dreams will become reality with a God Connection.

The focus should be on God. The bible says in Matthew 6v33, that we should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be added unto you. When you realize you gifts, you should actually seek the kingdom of God and not only focusing on the kind of things the gift can bring your way (e.g fame, wealth, babes, guys etc). If you seek the kingdom of God first, this approach will help you use your gifts to the high potentials that God Almighty has purposed for you. In the process of seeking the kingdom of God, you will discover your calling. It's not enough to just know your calling, you need to respond appropriately to your calling. How can we do this?

1) Be Humble.

Take Elisha for example, the moment Elijah called him he accepted the whole change in his life. He did what he had to do, left everything behind and followed Elijah. He served Elijah. Remember Elijah had no records in the bible of family or of any possessions, but here is Elisha in 1kings 19v19 plowing twelve yoke of oxen. Elisha was from a well to do family, however he left all that and became Elijah's attendant, servant, assistant, or whatever you may want to call it. This shows the kind of humble spirit that Elisha had.

2) Remain Faithful

If you know God has called you to do something, be faithful in that thing. Elisha never looked back from the day he was called. There will be many challenges as you face life and especially when you are on the journey to fulfilling your destiny. Oh yea, the devil is not ready to just sit down on his low throne and watch you excel because you're connected to God. That's what he hates the most; i.e. for someone to acknowledge God's faithfulness in their lives. Many people will try and discourage you, but if you remain faithful to the calling of God on your life, God will protect you and support you. Take for example Moses in the bible. When Miriam and Aaron opposed Moses, God defended him. The same still happens today, and if you're found to be faithful in God's calling on your life, He will defend you at all cost.

3) Stay Focused

When Elisha realized his calling, he stayed with Elijah till he (Elijah) was raptured. Elisha displayed exceptional focus. When Elijah was about leaving the earth, he asked Elisha what he could do for him in 2Kings 2v9. Elisha got what he asked because he kept his focus and saw Elijah as he went up into heaven.

Brethren let's stay focused on God. The kingdom is what we need to focus on. Stay Focused and use your gifts according to the will of God. God's got your back.

stay blessed

Bamex.

Divine Visitation

Divine Visitation essentially in plain words is when heaven pays you a visit. In the beginning, Adam and Eve were recipients of this great privilege, because in the Genesis 3v8, God visited them in the cool of the day. It is important we understand the nature of Divine Visitation, because it's occurred multiple times in the olden days or during biblical times. For someone who is in tune with the Holy Spirit and with the things of God, such a person will understand the importance of Divine Visitation. It is my prayer that as we walk through the study of this topic, every child of God will begin or continue to enjoy the benefits of Divine Visitation.

God loves to visit His children. He takes pride in the things which He has created. The bible says in Genesis 1 v 31, that God saw all he had done, and it was very good. Take note that "all God did was very good." It is the desire of God for things to remain the way He intended in the beginning after creation. Also Psalm 24v1-10 talks about the earth being the Lord's and the other possessions God has. Therefore being the owner of earth, God is interested in the affairs of the earth and its inhabitants. This should help us see that Divine Visitation is still in great occurrence.

As children of God, we should ask ourselves questions like

1) What do I do when my Father visits?

2) In what state do I find myself when God visits?

3) Can I live my life in such a way that God will find pleasure in visiting me?

4) Are there things I can do to provoke God's visitation?

All these questions and more will be answered as we progress in this special study. I'm excited to see what God will bring out of this exceptional topic.

Stay Blessed

Bamex

Avoiding Sin

Passage: Genesis 4 v 6-7

Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry? why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." Meditating on this verse reveals some truths about the nature of sin. These verses portray sin as an entity which has abilities, desires and characteristics.

Sin has the ability to "crouch at your door." In other words, sin can lurk around in an individuals surrounding.

Now just the same way as human beings we desire things, sin also has its own desires. While human beings can desire things like companionship, success, food, leisure, the main thing which sin desires is to posess the life of children of God.

If sin can succeed in posessing the life of a child of God, it will become the dictator of events in the life of that individual. For instance, if it is the will of God for that person to be in good health, or to succeed and graduate from college, the individual will fail or be sick because of sin. In other words, sin becomes the master and this person becomes a slave (John 8v34). God no longer rules as supreme in the affairs of such an individual.

In addition to what has been said so far, we see that sin is not a respecter of persons. Sin tries to take hold and enslave anybody who attracts it. The question we should ask ourselves now is "how do people attract sin?"

1) People attract sin by doing what is bad (From the passage):

from our passage we hear God telling Cain that he would have been accepted if he did the right thing. Now because of that, he (Cain) had attracted sin. Sin saw that Cain had passed the test of doing what was wrong and immediately became attracted. Since that day sin remained at the doorway to Cain's heart. Because sin is so persistent in it's mission, it tormented Cain's thoughts until it was able to get Cain to decide and kill his brother Abel (Genesis 4v8). This was what God tried to warn Cain about.

How do we avoid Sin?

We can avoid sin by staying away from things that will attract sin. Sin is attracted to everything bad and unpleasant. For example, lustful thought can lead to pornography, masturbation, fornication, adultry etc. Parents who create a bad atmosphere for their children by arguing or assault, may end up getting a divorce which is against biblical principles. It's like a chain reaction, when one starts the others get going. The truth is that sometimes we do make mistakes and end up doing bad things, but even in that state we can avoid sin, or avoid sinning the more.

If we observe what God told Cain we'll see that Cain was advised to "master sin" (Genesis 4v7)

We can master sin by not obeying it. We can take authority by not being enslaved by sinful desires. When we do what is wrong either as an error or knowingly, we must immediately stop and make our ways right. Ask for forgiveness, confess. If you steal something give it back because if you don't, sin will come in and make you tell lies in order not to get caught. Overtime, one thing will lead to another and your initial sin will become multiplied.

Now you may be thinking, "is it possible to avoid doing bad in the first place?" The answer is yes according to Philippians 4 v 13. Through Christ we can do all things. As a christian you have access to the power of the Holy Spirit which was upon Christ.

Lastly Be Encouraged:

If you're struggling with sin, you can be set free. The bible says in John 8 v 34 - 36:

- a person who sins is a slave to sin.

- a slave does not have a permanent place or position in the family, only a son does.

- therefore Jesus christ can set you free from being enslaved by sin.

- give your life wholly to Christ and He will set you free.

Let God rule your life.

Stay Blessed.

Bamex.

BE WISE.

Proverbs 4v7: Wisdom is the principal thing.

What is the definition of wisdom? Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge. Many people desire to be wise, but remain foolish because their desires are not backed up with actions. Having wisdom is a good thing. Have you heard people talking about you and they say "that guy/girl really spoke wisely or handled the situation with care and wisdom?" Parents are always happy to have wise children, so as a child sometimes your parents might tell you they're proud of you and happy because you did something that displayed wisdom. So generally speaking, wisdom is a good thing that people would love to posses. Question is how do we get wisdom? How does being wise become a lifestyle? What smarter place to look at than the word of God. The bible says in proverbs 1v7 that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction." This is pretty simple to figure out; if you want to be wise, start by fearing God. Note that this does not mean you will fear God today and not fear him tomorrow. You have to live a life that respects, honours, obeys, reverences, worships God (etc), continually.

Now what you have just been exposed to is the knowledge of what brings about the beginning of wisdom. You have the knowledge about wisdom; now what do you do with it? Remember the definition of wisdom is the correct application of knowledge. All you need to do is correctly apply this new found knowledge to your life. In other words, correctly apply proverbs 1v7 to your life through meditating, memorizing, informing and teaching others. In short, everything you could possibly do to make it a part of your lifestyle. Brethren wisdom is nice. Wisdom can prevent you from getting into trouble and if you've found yourself in trouble already, it can get you out. Wisdom is the principal thing the bible says in proverbs 4v7. Proverbs 16v16 makes it clearer to us by saying wisdom and understanding are better than gold and silver (paraphrased). Also there is hope, because God is ever willing to deposit wisdom into our lives. James 1v5 says "if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

May the Lord give us the grace to be wise. Remember joy to the wise.

Stay Blessed.
Bammy.

BEING A CHRISTIAN - Living Righteously

Matthew 1v18 – 20.

Living righteously is another attribute of being a Christian. God honours righteous people, as we will see from the passage. The bible mentions it clearly in verse 19 that Joseph was a righteous man. Because he was righteous, his attitudes towards situations were clever, thoughtful, without haste and they displayed obedience. Verses 18 and 19 make us understand that while Mary was pregnant with a child that was not for Joseph, he thought of putting her away secretly.
What can we learn from this Joseph guy? In Joseph’s case the righteousness he possessed was displayed in the way he handled the situation. He considered the matter carefully in his heart/mind, and that led to divine guidance from heaven through an angel of God (verse 20). The question for us today is, are we righteous in our ways? If so, it will be evident from the way we behave, treat people, handle situations, and most importantly in the way we relate with God. It will also be evident in the way we respond when we realize something wrong that we’ve done. Everybody makes mistakes, but it is in the way we respond that will make us know whether or not we’re righteous in God’s eyes. For example, David was a man after God’s heart, yet he made mistakes. It was his spirit of repentance that drew him closer to God. May God grant us a more powerful spirit of repentance in Jesus name.
When God does not answer your prayers, are you patient enough to wait? When God does not seem to be in your situation, do you give up and fall back into your old ways? Brethren we need patience like Joseph. He did not rush into sending Mary away, but he considered the matter for a while.
Be Patient, be thoughtful and be a deep thinker; be obedient to divine guidance, because these are all attributes of Righteousness.

Stay Blessed.