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