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.

BEING A CHRISTIAN

Passage: Romans 12v2

There's something I've been working on which I also think we all should strive to improve at, and that is Being a Christian. Some of you reading this will agree that at some point in your life you felt like you were not a good Christian, or were not exactly as good as you should be. This is a good individual observation and if the person making this statement is honest then he or she is on the right path. However, it's not good enough to just notice what's wrong in our lives, we have to put in the effort of making the necessary changes.
So what can we do to be better at this christian lifestyle? Romans 12v2 says that we should "no longer be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." It then continues to say that when we do this, we will be able to "test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will." So the ability to know what God's good, pleasing and perfect will is comes as a result of the mind trasformation that we undergo. That is transformation in the God-direction and not the wordly direction. I pray that nothing will hinder God from doing His transforming work in our lives as He takes us on this new series.

Stay Blessed.

NB: Your passion for [enter task here] isn't big enough, that's why you're still praying and you're not out there doing it.

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How's the Foundation that's being Laid?

Passage: Psalm 11 v 3
Reference: Hebrews 3v4

The passage says "When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?" This could be seen in countless ways. If you've been quite observant you'll notice that everything we do in life is about building. It could be your christian life, ministry, relationships, family, walk with God. If one does not lay the right foundation, in the future when attack comes eventhough one is holy or righteous he or she will be helpless. But thank God because he is a restorer. The One who can change the report of the past and make it into a glorious future.

Now the question is how do we get a solid foundation? It is through God. If we let God build everything, there will no problem. There will be challenges along the way, but the end result will be praise and glory to Him. The bible says in Heb 3v4 that God is the builder of all things, so if we leave God to do His work, the foundations in our lives will be laid properly. However if we try to take His place as the builder, we will only be applying human wisdom and this wisdom can only go as far as 1km; (that's even if it can go that far) but you get the point. Don't become the lead architect and tell the creator of heaven and earth to take a leave.

Brethren let's listen to His guidance in every aspect. Let God lead us into the right Careers, the right Spouses, the right jobs, the right cars, the right expenditures to make (spending money). Submit to God in every area. Let God tell you how to dress, and what outings to attend. Let Him have the say when it comes to what time to go to bed. Beloved, lets be children in His hands and not outgrow ourselves. He cares. God give us this grace In Jesus Name, Amen

Stay Blessed.

Don't complain, Just Ask.

Passage: Matthew 6v25-34
Reference: Exodus 16

You see, something interesting about the christian walk is that those who are in it should not worry. Why is this important? As a christian God has delivered you from the world and has called you to live a kingdom lifestyle. In our passage, Jesus was trying to show His disciples part of what the christian lifestyle entails. One is that as a child of God, we should not worry. Sometimes when we're not sure what is going to happen next we tend to worry. When we don't know which school is going to give us admission, we tend to worry. When we're not sure how the money to sustain the family is coming we tend to worry (does not mean we should not work hard so we can have a steady income). When we're not sure how we're going to do on that exam, we tend to worry. The truth is we're not always required to know the outcome of things; however, we're fully required to trust in God. Instead of worrying, ask yourself this question; "Have I done all that is required of me? Also have I done them at the right time and in the right way?"

In our referenced story today, we see that the Israelites found themselves at a point that led to worry. Instead of asking the right questions like "God what can I do to find food?" they grumbled. They should not be blamed because if they understood better they would have done better. Remember God delivered them, so they could serve Him. Just like we are called to serve God and live the kingdom lifestyle, the Israelites were also delivered out of bondage so they could live in this way too. So God came in and provided them with manna. For each day God made provision for them. For the seventh day he also made provision by giving them double portion on the sixth day. He did this so they didn't have to work on the seventh day(Exodus 16v29). However some still disobeyed.

For a child of God, God makes provision for each day, each job, each family, each year, every future, each education, each feeding need, truly whatever one can think of, God has made provison for them. He pays more attention to you than to the lillies and the grasses of the field. The bible says in Psalm8v4 that God is mindful of man. This means that man's concerns are what fill up the mind of God. Man's issues are what God is fully concerned about. So in essence, when the time is right God simply releases the provison like He did for the Israelites. What we need to do is work with and fully utilize the grace that he has made available for the moment and what happens next, He will sort out.

Brethren, instead of grumbling notice that your situation is an open door for God to release the provision He has kept for you since time past. Also when He does, don't be like the Israelites of old who did not give thanks. Remember to go back and give thanks.

Stay blessed

Why not give thanks?

Passage: Luke 17v11-19
References: Leveticus 13

This passage talks about ten men who encountered Jesus, but not all of them got the full benefit of it. Why? We'll look at the reason in details. Firt let's look at somethings about these men:
1) These men were helpless. They had a skin disease (leprosy), and there was no one around who could help them but Jesus whom they called out to.
2) These men according to their tradition were unclean. The bible explains in Leviticus 13 what people found with skin diseases had to do to become cleansed. In the case of these men the word of Jesus came forth and after they obeyed it began to cleanse them. I pray that Everything tagging you as unclean shall be removed by God's word today in Jesus name (amen).
In leviticus 13v3: the priest would have to examine the individual and if confirmed that he has a skin diesease in this case Leprosy, the priest would pronounce such a person as ceremonially unclean. So because of their condition, they were not good enough to live among the people and they could not worship God with others in the community. They were isolated. The verse tells us that they even stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice "Jesus Master, have pity on us." That was where the society had placed them; they were left to be noticed at a distance. They said to themselves "instead of going closer to the master, let's just shout as he is passing." They became limited in their minds; they didn't know that Jesus was the type that didn't care about skin diseases and he would have recieved them gladly. Affterall, it's the same Jesus who had lunch with Levi the tax collector in Luke 5v27-31.

Jesus then asked them to show themselves to the priest. Notice here that Jesus did not pray for them, he just asked them to do according to leviticus 13; go for priestly inspection. They could have grumbled and said, "why did He not just heal us, why do is He asking us to go to the priests?" Instead they all obeyed, but only one of them came back to give thanks after he noticed that he was healed. This one then becomes the only one to recieve a total breakthrough.

In our christian walk we always have requests for God. There are problems that we want God to move on our behalf and solve. There are sicknesses that we need healing for. There are jobs that we're waiting on God for. Some are looking for their future partners. Some are believing God for the salvation of loved ones and friends. Whatever it is, it's still a request God is interested in heairng. However, sometimes we forget to come back and give thanks when we see results. In the story Jesus pronounced the man well after he came back to give praises to God. Coming back to give thanks and praise is an act of faith that seals our blessings and makes them whole. Obedience is good but we need to crown it with thanksgiving.

Stay Blessed

Are you born of God - Part 4

Passage: 1 John 5
References: 1 John 3v8-9.

He who is born of God does not continue to sin (v18) . Those who are born of God
3) Do not continue to Sin: Pay close attention to the statement made in this verse; it says "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the ONE who was born of God keeps him safe." Let's spend some time looking and trying to undrstand who the bible is referring to in this verse. Who is the ONE? The ONE is Jesus. Jesus was the one born of God. The bible says in Matthew:1v18 that Mary was found with a child through the Holy Spirit. Also in Luke:1v35 the angel replied Mary and said "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most high will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the SON OF GOD." Jesus is the firstborn of all creation and he protects those who are born of God after Him.

Now that we understand that Jesus is the one who protects us, we have to also notice that the first thing v18 says is that those who are born of God do not continue in sin. So it's our responsibility first to stay away from sin and shun every appearance of evil, then the evil one will have no right over you. Sin exposes you to danger. May God give us the grace to keep away from sin and to help us understand all that sin comprises of. May we grow into mature children of God not needing milk, but feeding on solid meals from the Father. Follow Jesus who is both our Savior Lord and big brother.

Stay blessed.

Are you born of God? - Part 3

Passage 1 John 5
References 1John 3 v8-9

For a while now we've been dwelling on the topic of "Been born of God". We started by looking at its meaning and some requirements as described in 1 John (3&5). Prior to this post, the topic dealt with was believing that Jesus is the christ. Now we'll look at another requirement of been born of God. Those who are born of God are those who:

2) Overcome the world: What a brief statement, but breaking it down reveals a lot about its power. There are two major words in this statement, Overcome and World. What do they mean?
Overcome: means to overpower, to defeat and to prevail over.
World in this context refers to that which is not Godly. So the world in this context is anything ungodly and could be attitudes, concepts, laws, governmental regulations, cultures, mindsets, etc.

So to overcome the world means to take control of, or to overpower, to defeat and prevail over anything which in ungodly. The question is why are we fighting against the world, because before you talk of overpowering something or someone, you must have been in some sort of fight with it. Well let me tell you the answer; there is a fight. The bible says that we are in the world but not of it. Have you noticed that as a christian there are somethings that kind of concflict with your conscience. That's because the things of the world conflict with our Godly standards. So every now and then we find ourselves being tempted to do what our conscience is pricking us not to.

God is our father and to be born of Him, he has shown us that we should overcome the world. As individuals we know those things that contend with our faith in God. Some of them are temptations that have even become familiar to us. However, remember that in Christ we are overcomers because he assures us in John 16 v 33 that we should be of good cheer, because he has overcome the world. May God give you the enablement to exercise your authority over the world in Jesus name, amen.

Stay Blessed

Are you born of God? - Part 2

Passage: 1John5

References: 1 John 3v8, v9

Those who are born of God are those who:

1) Believe that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 5v1): The word believe means:

• To accept as true
• To expect or suppose, to think, judge or regard
• Be confident about something
• To credit with veracity, i.e to credit with truthfulness or with a fact.

Looking at the above definitions of believe, let’s compare how we feel about Jesus being the Christ. The bible did not say we should know that Jesus is the Christ, if it did then the only requirement would be the knowledge of Jesus being the Christ. However, it says that those who believe that Jesus is the Christ are those who are born of God. There’s a difference between believing and knowing. One can know without believing, but one cannot believe without knowing. The concept of believing comes from your inner convictions. You believe something to be true because your convictions tell you that it is right. A conviction is “an unshakable belief in something without need for proof or evidence.” So to be born of God, in our minds Jesus being the Christ has to be more than knowledge, it has to become a conviction.

For example, a person would not steal because of a conviction they have about that act. To them stealing is wrong, so they wouldn’t do it. A person will not smoke because they are convinced it is bad for their health. People do things based on their convictions (i.e. their beliefs) so from the examples, we can see someone's lifestyle is built on convictions they have developed over time. Now what is God telling us about someone who is born of Him; that person should be convinced that Jesus is the Christ. This can only be achieved by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. The bible says in 1John 5 v 6 that the Spirit testifies to this fact; that Jesus is the Christ. If we live by the Spirit of God, this truth builds up within us and therefore becomes a conviction. Just like the presence of our parents or guardians and their influence in our lives have instilled in us things we sometimes call attitudes, behaviors, morals or in short convictions, God as our father does this through His Spirit in us. Remember that it is His Spirit in us that shows the sign that we are His (1 John 3 v 24). Brethren let’s embrace the Holy Spirit, He is the lifeline of our new lifestyle in God. May we be blessed as we begin or continue to live as God’s children.

Stay Blessed.

Are you born Of God? – Part 1

Passage: 1John5

References: 1 John 3v8, v9

1 John 3v9 says that “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God.” 1 John 5v18 also says that “we know that anyone born of God does not continue to Sin.” When a baby is born, the child comes out of the union of the Father and Mother. Ideally nobody else should be able to claim this child apart from the mother and father, although that is not really the case in this present time we live in. This child also has the nature of the father and mother because it bears the genes of the parents. Those who are born of God carry His genes (“His seed remains in him”), and since God does not sin His children also should not continue in sin. The bible says in 1John 3v8 that “those who do what is sinful are of the devil because the devil has been sinning right from the beginning.”

How do we become born of God? God gives us the answer in chapter 5 v1 of the same book (1 John). Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. Also those who overcome the world are born of God according to verse 4 of the same book. Finally if you are born of God, you ought to love Him by obeying His commands. We’ll now look at the qualities and summarize what the bible tells us in 1John 5 about those who are born of God.

Stay Tuned and Stay Blessed.

Love as an Abiding factor

Passage 1John 3v11-24, 1John 4v7-21

1 John 4 v 16 says that God is love and whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him. What does it mean if God lives in a person? It means everywhere that individual goes, God is present with Him/Her. If in Toronto, God is there with the person. If at home God is there with the person. If at church, God is also there with the person. Now picture in your mind how it felt when you knew God was with you in a particular situation or point in your life. Then imagine how it is to have God present in every situation and aspect of your life. For example if God was not with Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego they would have died in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3v24-25). If He wasn't with the Israelites, they would not have had any Manna to eat. If God was not with Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, he would not have performed all those wanders and miracles. So in essence, having God brings protection, provision, guidance, peace, no fear, etc but the requirement is we must love. What then should we and should we not Love?
1) We should Love God: Mark 12 v 30
The greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all you mind and with all your strength. We love God by obeying His commands, which is simple and short to say but might not always be easy to do. However, thank God for His grace that can enable us to do all things. Loving God by obeying His commands assures us that we abide in Him.
2) Love your Neighbor as yourself: Mark 12 v 31
Someone else we need to love is our neighbor. Our neighbor is not just the person who lives next door. Neighbors include everybody we come across. The bible says in 1John2v9-11 that he who does not love his brethren abides in darkness and does not know where he is going. If we love our brethren then we live in the light, which makes us live in God because 1John1v5 says that God is light. So in essence if we love our brethren we abide in God and this assures us that we're on the right path.
What should we not love?
1) The world and the things in it:
1John 2v15-17 shows us that we should not love the world and the things in it. These include:
         -Lust of the flesh (craving of sinful man or cravings for sensual gratification)
         -Lust of the eyes (greedy longings of the mind)
         -Pride of life (boasting of what one has or what one has done)
Since we know what to love and what not to love, how do we actually show love to the things we're allowed to. 1 Corinthians 13v4-8 shows us that love is kind, patient and so on. Also the bible shows us in 1John3v18 that we should not just love in words or tongue but with actions and in truth. That means our love must be displayed in practice and in sincerity.
To conclude many have come across the topic of love before, but what is important is that without love everything else is unimportant (1corinthians 13v 1-3). This is something we need to keep in mind all the time. All our actions, thoughts, motives, basically everything about our lives should be driven by love because love comes from God and God is love. If love dwells in our homes, we can be sure God is present. If there is love the in church, we can be sure God is present.
Stay Blessed

How Much Can You Handle?

Passage: 2 Kings 4: 1-7

The story of this widow is very unique. The wife of a late prophet who feared God. Very interesting that some how she found herself in this position, but today we'll highlight something interesting about her miracle.
In verse 3 of our passage, Elisha told the woman to go borrow empty jars, and she should not get just a few. Elisha told her this because he knew what the power of God could do for her. Elisha did not limit God's ability and the woman herself obeyed in faith and by doing this she also did not limit God. Some of us don't see some things as being possible so we don't even want to try and ask God for help. This is an act of limiting the power of God in our lives. The question is, after believing God and acting in faith, how much could the widow handle?

Details on how many empty jars the woman borrowed were not given. However she kept pouring the oil and at the point when there were no more empty jars the oil SEIZED. The question for us today is how much of God can we handle? How hungry are we for God? The moment we get satisfied, and we don't have room again for God, His power, presence, blessings, anointing, revelations, mercy, grace and anything you can think of will seize in our lives.

- If we don't have room for His correction again, He will stop correcting us;
- If we don't have room for His presence again, He will stop showing up;
- If we don't have room for seeking Him again, we will not find Him;
- If we don't have room for His advice, guidance, instruction, He will stop giving them.

Because the widow had no more empty jars the oil seized. We need not to stay empty but we need to stay hungry for God. The moment we get satisfied with where we are, God will seize in our lives. May we never get satisfied up to the extent of not seeking God again. May God also intensify our hunger for Him in Jesus name, amen

Stay Blessed.

How to Abide in Christ - Part 4

Passage: John 15: 1-10

Another way of Abiding in Christ is by

4) Obeying His Commands:

verse 10 of the passage says that "if [we] obey His commands [we] will abide in His love, just as [He] has obeyed [His] fathers commands and abide in His love." This seems pretty obvious but how else do you want to live your life, if it is not dwelling in the Love of Christ. If it seems as if the whole world is against you, as long as God loves you, you're OK. If you're in a situation that does not seem to end, remember God's love for you is bigger than any situation life can throw at you. If you're waiting on God for something, remember His love for you will not fail. If you decide not to do the things your friends do, they might look down on you and think bad of you. However if what you do pleases God, then He loves it and that's better than what your friends think.

This concludes this series, but new revelations come as we seek the face of God, so He will reveal things that are unique to your walk with Him, and I pray that we will all have the grace to put all this into practice.

Stay Blessed.

NB:
-Check out previous blogs by navigating through the blog archive on the right hand side of the window.
-Spread the gospel by sharing the postings on the blog with people you know. You will be sowing seeds by doing this.

How to Abide in Christ - Part 3

Passage: John 15: 1-10
References: James 4: 6, Psalm 42:1, Psalm 127:1

Another way by which we can abide in Christ is
3) To Depend solely and put our entire Trust in God:

To depend means to "rely on" and trust basically means the same thing. The bible says in
James 4:6 that "God gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Humility is an act of total surrender, submission, and dependence on God. It is also conforming wholly to the will of God. Pride does not attract grace from God. Essentially what proud people say is "God I don't need you to tell me what to do, I have it all under control." When you're angry with someone and the Holy Spirit is telling you not to say anything bad in your anger, obeying that voice is a sign of humility. Humility is saying thank you to God for the day, whether it seemed good or bad in our eyes. Humility is confessing your sins and repenting. Humility is depending solely and putting our entire trust in God.

To abide in Christ we need to take God as number one in every aspect of our lives.
- Don't give God your studies and hold back your finances;
- Don't give Him your service and hold on to your relationships with people or your spouse;
these things do not show total dependence or trust in God, we need to release everything.

What is it that we have that we think holding on to will be a better thing to do than giving it to God. The bible says in Psalm 24:1 that "the earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;" so that which you have, really does not belong to you. We need to be careful so we don't develop an "it's my own" mentality, because humility is saying "everything I own belongs to God."
Psalm 121:1 says that "Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain." For us to really build a life, God has to be the builder. To abide in Christ we need to submit ourselves to God in all areas. May all the we've lost be restored as we release everything to God.

Stay Blessed.

How to Abide in Christ - Part 2

Passage: John 15 : 1 - 10

2) Keep Bearing Fruits:
Another way we can stay connected to the vine is by bearing fruits. There are so many things we can do that will help us bear fruits. Evangelizing, helping the needy, checking up on people to see how they're doing are examples of ways by which we can bear fruits. Sometimes the way we understand the whole act of bearing fruits, makes it seem like it's a job only for pastors. There are so many things we can do in one day that will be an act of bearing fruits. Praying for people is also another act of bearing fruits. The passage says that those branches that bear fruits, God prunes so they can bear much fruits. So if we want to abide in Christ, we need to keep bearing fruits.

Take for example an employee who is always available for you at work. Delivers a good job all the time, and is always willing to take up new challenges. You would want to have him or her in your company for as long as possible if not forever, because it is with employees like that, that your company will forge ahead. How much more do you think God expects from us, seeing that He considers us to be His children and not employees. If we're going to inherit the kingdom, then we better do the hard work. The kingdom of God is not your regular multinational company here on earth, that you can get in with your MBA, Phd, Masters and all that. Getting in requires more than any degree you can attain and inheriting it requires even more.

Remember God prunes those branches that bear fruits, so they can keep bearing fruits. God won't leave us to all the work without giving us the ability and support. Be blessed as you bear the fruits in the world around you.

Stay Blessed

How To Abide in Christ - Part 1

Passage: John 15 : 1 - 10
References : Hebrews 12: 5 - 6.

We've seen the importance of abiding in Christ, and as shown it is a Christian's heart beat. The next step is to know HOW TO ABIDE in Christ: We can abide in Christ:

1) By Allowing God to have His way:
verse 2 of the passage says that God prunes every branch that bears fruit so it can keep bearing fruits. The greek word for prunes also means to clean. So what Jesus is saying here is that occasionally God cleans us so we can better perform our duty as christians. However if we do not allow Him, then we will gradually get disconnected from the vine (Jesus).

So how do we allow God have His way in our lives? We allow God have His way when we heed to His corection, discipline, and then repent. The bible says in Hebrews 12: 5 - 6 that "...we should not make light of the Lord's discipline, and we should not lose heart when He rebukes us, because the Lord discipline those he loves and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son." This shows that when God prunes us we continue to bear fruits, and when he rebukes, disciplines or punishes us, it is because he loves us and accepts us as children.

How lovely is it to know that everything our heavenly father does is to build us. Why struggle with God when He is moving in our lives. Sometimes He asks us to let go of somethings, but that's hard to do because it's become a part of our lives. If we keep it in mind that everything is to build us, then we will feel better giving God what He asks.
Sometimes we also think that if I give God this amount of time or money, I won't be able to provide enough for my family, study for my courses, or do the things that I really love. In short no time for myself. Reality is christianity is not bread and butter like a friend of mine says. We need to get ready and understand that we will face challenges. May we be blessed as we let God take full control of our lives, becuase this way we will truly be Abiding in Him.

Stay blessed

Abide in Me - Part 4

Passage John 15 : 1 - 10
References : 1 John 3, Galatians 5 :22-26, Matthew 10 : 32, Hebrews 10 : 25, Matthew 7 : 22 - 23, Proverbs 11 v 30.

Importance of Abiding in Christ

3) Prepares Us for the coming of our Lord.
1John 3 v 28 says "and now little children abide in Him that when He appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming." As a little kid, if I behaved properly while my parents were out I would look forward to the time they would come back home. On the other hand if I was naughty or did something wrong, my parents would find me in bed by the time they were back home. Why? simply because I didn't want to meet them with a bad behavioral report.
Same applies with our heavenly father. As stewards our goal should be to present a good report to the Master when He comes. 1 John 3 v 28 shows us that this can be achieved by abiding in Christ. May God give us the grace to Abide in Him.

Stay Blessed

Abide in Me - Part 3

Passage John 15 : 1 - 10
References : 1 John 3, Galatians 5 :22-26, Matthew 10 : 32, Hebrews 10 : 25, Matthew 7 : 22 - 23, Proverbs 11 v 30.

Importance of Abiding in Christ

2) It enables us to fulfill our purpose as Christians:
One purpose of our calling as Christians is to win souls, and that is bearing fruits. That does not mean that we should start planting trees everywhere, but plant the seed of the gospel in the hearts of the people in the world around you. Remember the bible says in Proverbs 11 v 30 that "the fruits of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise."

Now verse 4 tells us that without abiding in Christ we cannot bear fruits, this means if we do not abide in Christ we will not be able to win souls into the Kingdom of God.
Verse 5 now confirms it again by saying if we abide in Christ and He in us we will bear much fruits.

What other kind of fruits can we bear apart from souls? Galatians 5 v 22 - 26 talks about the fruits of the spirit. These are characters, behaviors that someone exhibits when the Holy Spirit dwells in them. Remember the analogy given in "Abide in me Part 1"; the Holy Spirit is the sap. If we abide in Christ that sap (the Holy Spirit) runs through us.

Next we'll look at another importance of abiding. As you start making efforts to abide in Christ, may you be blessed.

Stay blessed.

Abide in Me - Part 2

Passage John 15 : 1 - 10
References : 1 John 3, Galatians 5 :22-26, Matthew 10 : 32, Hebrews 10 : 25, Matthew 7 : 22 - 23.

Importance of Abiding in Christ

1) It is the Essence of the Christian Walk:
You cannot call yourself a christian without abiding in Christ; according to today's passage, it's that simple. For example a broken branch cannot claim that it is part of the apple tree; who will believe since it is not attached to the tree in question and it lies dead on the floor? Nobody will stop your mouth from saying you're a christian, but without abiding in Christ you'll only be deceiving yourself.

- Going to church ALONE does not count. Church is important because the bible says in Hebrews 10 v 25 that "we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together." however doing church ALONE, does not count.

-Carrying the bible around does not make you a christian. This is not to condemn the act, but again we should not let that alone give us an identity. Again, it is good but doing it ALONE does not count.

-Saying that you know Jesus and you believe he existed does not count. Remember the bible says in Matthew 7 v 22 - 23 that "Many will say to Me in that day , 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from you you workers of iniquity'" Again that is not to say we should be quiet about Jesus, and our salvation because the same bible says in Matthew 10v32 that "therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My father who is in heaven." We need to spread the gospel, invite people out to church service and church events. If we've been doing that good job, if not we need to buckle up.

As we've seen, there are so many good things we can focus ourselves on doing as Christians but they need to be done with wisdom and not just in parts but in a whole. We need to abide more in Christ.


Next time, we'll look at the another importance of abiding in Christ.
Stay Blessed

Abide in Me - Part 1

Passage John 15 : 1 - 10
References : 1 John 3, Galatians 5 :22-26, Matthew 10 : 32, Hebrews 10 : 25, Matthew 7 : 22 - 23.

Let's take a brief class in agriculture. A tree springs from its roots. Eventually starts developing branches and these branches produce fruits (keep in mind that the fruits contain seeds). A tree has a sap which is analogous to the blood. The sap is to a tree as blood is to the human body. So when a tree branch is cut off it "bleeds" (sap comes out). Eventually the sap in the branch dries up, but there is still sap running through the actual tree.

While keeping in mind the above analogy, what exactly is Jesus telling us in the passage? He is the true vine, God the father is the vine dresser and we are the branches. For the sake of this discussion let's summarize the passage and the agricultural analogy given:
-God the father = Vine dresser
-Jesus = Tree (True Vine)
-Holy Spirit = Sap.

Why look at this in detail anyway? Why does Jesus like this word "ABIDE" so much that in the space of ten verses he mentions it ten times in my version of the bible (NKJV:John 15v1-10). We'll start now by looking at the importance of abiding in Christ, and may God reveal more of the importance as we take time to study our bibles. Amen

Stay Blessed

Do you want to be made well?

Read John 5 v1-9 & v14

This passage is very interesting, in summary there's a man who's been sick for 38 years, and Jesus heals him. Let's however go deeper into the story. Verse 6 tells us that Jesus saw the man lying there and knew that he had been in the condition a long time; that means Jesus did his own research and discovered that man had been sick for a while. Then Jesus asked, "do you want to be made well?" Why did Jesus ask such a question? Maybe He's trying to draw our attention to something, because that statement suggest two things...
1) Problems are not supposed to last that long;
2) If they do, then maybe we allow it.

This man's response made Jesus have mercy on him. May you find mercy before God today. It wasn't because he didn't want to be made well, according to him there was nobody to help him into the pool. In short there was no way out. Another reason why Jesus asked him, was because if he was willing his problem could have been solved.
Now how did he get into that situation in the first place? Verse 14 reveals to us that it was due to sin. That's what sin can do to someone, and if a fellow continues to live in sin something worse could follow just as Jesus told the man.

Are you in a situation that seems to be persistent and difficult to solve? Let's do a spiritual check. Answer honestly the question "Do you want to be made well?" If the solution is clear, ask for grace to implement. If not ask Jesus into the situation and to make you well.

Stay blessed.

The next move...

Read John 2 v 1-10
So what happens next after you invite Jesus into the situation? The obvious thing is wait and see results. However, we can learn one important thing from the passage and that's obedience (v7-8). As we read, Jesus gave some unexpected instructions to the servants. I bet the servants were thinking and saying to themselves, "can this guy be serious? We need wine and he's asking us to fill waterpots with water." (verse 7) Despite this, they obeyed. Maybe they obeyed out of desperation, who knows but they still obeyed.
What's next when we ask Jesus into our situation? We simply obey and leave logic and common sense out of the picture. Sometimes the solutions to our problems will sound funny when God starts to lead us in His ways, and some other times it might start making sense what God is asking us to do. No matter how the instructions come to you, the next move is to obey.

Stay blessed.