Category Archives: Teaching

March 22, 2014 · 8:44 am

Do Not Go Back to the Jail of Your Past – Pass Go and Collect 200

In the book of Hosea, God mentions that there will come a day when we will no longer call Him Master but we will call Him Husband (Hosea 2:16). Friend, that day came over 2000 years ago! It came when Jesus decided to (1) pay the debt that kept us as slaves and (2) marry us to Himself so that we could become royalty just as He is royalty.

What a promotion! Jesus took it upon himself to change our destiny from death (that comes from sin) to life (that comes from His righteousness – not our own). He not only decided to liberate us from bondage, He took it a step further and propelled us into kingship.

Why we go back to jail

Here is what Jesus did in a nutshell: (1) He put down his crown and descended His throne (2) He stripped himself of royalty and put on journeyman’s clothing (3) He traveled from a far country to our jailhouse (4) He sacrificed himself so that we would be released (5) He married us to Himself so that He could take us back with Him and experience what He experiences (6) He picked up his throne again but then gave us crowns of rulership when we got back to His country (See Romans 8:17 and Ephesians 2:4-8).

Since Jesus has done all this, then why is it that too many of us do not live the life Jesus suffered to give us? Is it because we think it is too good to be true? See, many of us are still trying to pay the debt that has already been paid by Jesus! We almost feel bad that we got away scot free! So, we take off our crowns and return back to the jailhouse and attempt to pay off a debt that no longer exists. We put ourselves back in bondage of works – which is the way of the world – so that there is no difference between them and us. We return to our past!

How crazy is this behavior – working to receive nothing since the price has already been given to us as a gift! The jailor (Satan) cannot believe his luck – he keeps his mouth shut and only opens it to repeat to us that we did not deserve what Jesus did. The King (Jesus) cannot believe it either. He calls out to us as we go back to the jailhouse pleading with us to stay with him. In truth, the King should be very angry because we have made his sacrifice of no effect. He set us free but we put ourselves back in chains!

Light-bulb moment: To live the life God intended requires that we stop trying to deserve His love – we do not –  and start accepting it for what it is!

Break out of Jail

Without accepting the truth of the unconditional love of God, we place ourselves back in chains and we attempt to work our way out of debt. This is like saying to a jailor: I know I broke the law to get in here and I have been given the death penalty. Now that I am in here, I am going to keep all the law so that you can let me out!

This does not even work in real life! No matter how much good a person does in jail, it does not negate what he has done before. Only the judge can pardon! God is our righteous judge who has already pardoned. We no longer have to live as slaves – trying to please our master through our good works. We are now married to the Master because of his love for us. All he now wants of us is to be faithful – to be full of trust and belief in Him (who He is and what He has done). If you are not faithful or “full of faith”, you will find yourself going back to the jailhouse!

Food for Thought: Today, I will not go back to jail; I will pass the test of faithfulness and collect on God’s goodness

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December 24, 2013 · 11:55 am

How Can I Get Doors of Opportunity to Open for Me?

Called and Chosen to Execute – Bezalel

For a minute imagine that you are an architect. What a great honor it would be if the pope asked you to build the next great cathedral or the Queen of England asked you to build her a castle! It would not only be a great honor but it would the opportunity of a lifetime. Your name would be immediately stamped in history and people would read about you and get to know your works long after you were gone. Moreover, you would not have to worry about finding work anymore, and financial worries would be a thing of the past.

This is exactly what happened to Bezalel. Once day, Moses called out to him and told him that God had selected him to build His (God’s) house.

I bet the other skilled architects must have wondered within themselves, why Bezalel and not us; we are just as highly skilled as he is! Not finding a suitable answer to this question, it would not surprise me if many of them simply put it down to luck. But luck had nothing to do with it.

Luck hardly ever has anything to do with being chosen. What may look like luck is usually the hand of God in action.

I reckon many of them were called to be great architects. I would wager that many were filled with the spirit of wisdom, ability, knowledge, understanding, and intelligence in all works of craftsmanship. Yet, only one was called by name (chosen).

If you have been filled with the Spirit of God, then you have been filled with the spirit of wisdom, ability, knowledge, understanding, and intelligence to prosper you in everything you do. It means you have the ability to be called by name just as Bezalel was called by name. Even so, to be chosen you must not just have the ability of Bezalel but you must have the character of Bezalel.

To have ability is to have potential; to be chosen to fulfill potential requires character

Bezalel’s Character

Honesty and Integrity: Large sums of gold, silver, bronze, and clothing were required to build God’s house. Bezalel knew how much of each material was needed to build the house to specifications based on his skill. When the people started to bring more material than was required, he promptly told Moses to tell the people to stop the collection (Exodus 36:5-7).

Bezalel could have stashed away some of the superfluous material for himself. He could have colluded with the other artisans to make a profit. But he did not do this. He did not allow his eyes to become greedy nor did he covet the gold and silver. His thinking did not become selfish. He did not say: what am I getting paid to do this work? He did not convince himself that it was his right to take of some of the collected material. He did not want to defraud the people of their belongings by continuing to collect unneeded supplies.

Would you have done the same if you were Bezalel?

Patience  and Obedience: Moses looked at the work Bezalel did and saw that he had done it just as God commanded, therefore Moses blessed him (Exodus 39:43). Since we know that the children came to the wilderness of Sinai in the 3rd month after the start of the journey out of Egypt (Exodus 19:1) but the tabernacle was not raised until the 2nd year of the exodus (Exodus 40:17), we see that it took a while for Bezalel to be paid for his work. He did not know he was to be paid and was only paid after the work was completed. Thus the honor of doing the work in obedience to the will of God was enough for him.

Can you say the same? Are you focused on what you have been called to do or are you focused on the blessing?

Moreover, he did not doubt the instruction that Moses gave him. He could have said to himself, I know a better way to do this work, let me change this and change that. No! He let God be God, forgot about his own opinion, and did exactly what God commanded through Moses. He would have missed out on his blessing if he had not obeyed without adding or subtracting a thing.

Is this you or do you mix your own way with God’s way?

Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it – Deuteronomy 12:32

Good Steward: Moses only saw what Bezalel made when he brought it to him (Exodus 39:43). Thus the only way Moses knew how much gold and silver was used (Exodus 38:25) is because Bezalel was a good steward of all materials used. Bezalel was an overseer of the work that was being done and ensured that nothing was wasted.

Are you a good steward of everything God as given you? Are you a good steward over your time and resource? Are you disciplined enough in your stewardship?

The way we answer these questions will ultimately determine whether we reach our full potential or if our lives will be summed up by could have, should have, and would have!

Food for Thought: Dedicate yourself to honesty, integrity, patience, unwavering obedience to God, and good stewardship and you will see great doors of opportunity swing wide open for you.

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November 17, 2013 · 10:15 pm

Success Secret from Jesus – Day 9 – Courage

COURAGE

And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the table —John 2:14–15

Jesus was indignant when he discovered that the temple had been turned into a business office. Even so, he did not allow his anger to turn into blind rage but was able to control his anger – as evidenced by him taking his time first to make a whip of cords. His anger served to accomplish a righteous purpose – return the temple back to its purpose as a place of worship. Thus in purging the temple of traders, Jesus shows us the following:

Righteous (good-breathed) anger can be an effective tool when used in a controlled manner in appropriate situations (as determined by the Holy Spirit) for the purpose of correcting a wrong.

If we shift our focus away from anger, we see that Jesus acted courageously and in a godly manner. Whereas others may have felt that the temple was no place for merchandising, Jesus was the only one who was courageous enough to stand up to the money changers. Although he had no direct authority over those he chased away, he did not allow that to stop him from doing what was right. He took a bold stand and acted courageously while leaving the consequences to God. And so he righted a wrong.

COURAGE UNDER PRESSURE

Being believers, we ought to be filled with courage, for we know that God is for us. We should not allow our fear of the unknown to keep us from moving courageously toward the vision God has given us. Rather than focus on our obstacles, our niggling doubt, and the persistent whispers of naysayers, we must exhibit courage and press on toward our goal.

As evidenced by Rosa Parks, the African American civil right activist who has been touted as ‘the mother of the freedom movement,’ a single act of courage at the right time can change the course of history.

GODLINESS

It would have been easy for Jesus the “nice guy” to rationalize and justify the traders’ activity in the temple. He could have convinced himself that the oxen and sheep made it easy for the populace to give their burnt offerings; that the doves made it convenient for anyone to purchase them; and that the money changers made it easy for everyone to pay their tithes in the correct currency. No! Jesus the “godly guy” showed up. He did not condone bad behavior, but instead, he put an end to it.

While a nice person may enable bad behavior through inaction (often to his or her own detriment), a godly person always focuses on what is good and allows the chips to fall where they may.

Choosing godliness is not always popular. It does, however, command people’s respect and promote their confidence in you because of your adherence to high moral standards. Furthermore, godly people tend to attract other godly people who operate in the highest levels of integrity. So stand your ground today and walk in godly courage.

Check out Looking to Superman – The secret to success in life on superchampinc for more practical tips the experience of Jesus teaches us on being successful.

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September 2, 2013 · 8:08 am

Meekness – The Secret to Inheriting the Earth (Conclusion)

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” – Matthew 5:5

Jesus is the ultimate example of a man who walked in meekness. He was completely surrendered to the leading of the Holy Spirit to the point that He only spoke only what the Father spoke and did only what the Father did (see John 14:10). He did not question, when the Holy Spirit told Him to venture into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He chose not to disobey when the Holy Spirit then told Him to make His way to the cross to be mutilated and killed. Furthermore, Jesus makes mention of His meekness as written in the gospel of John where He says:

I am able to do nothing from Myself [independently, of My own accord—but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders]. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide. As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me – John 5:30 (AMP)

Importance of Meekness

It was love-driven humility (meekness) that made Jesus the most successful man that ever lived.

In three years of being led by the Spirit, he changed the course and history of the world, undid the wages of sin which Adam unleashed on the world, defeated sin and death, reconciled us to God, made available to us all covenant blessings and promises of the New Covenant, and inherited all kingdoms of the earth.

Thus it is no wonder Apostle Paul encourages us to have the same mind which was in Christ – the mind of humility and obedience.

  • Meekness is important if we are ever to take possession of the honor; riches and life that has already been made available to us (see Proverbs 22:4).
  • Meekness is important if our prayers are to be answered (see Daniel 10:12).
  • Meekness is paramount if we are going to live victoriously here on earth (see 2 Chronicles 7:14)

It is no wonder Apostle Paul tell us to put off self-imposed rules and regulations which is cloaked in false humility (see Colossians 2:18-23). While false humility has the appearance of being good and is usually lauded by the world for it aims to please the world, it profits absolutely nothing.  True humility on the other hand usually finds the persecution of the world because it puts God first and always, goes against the herd mentality, and is the road less traveled. Even so, it is what makes all the difference in our existence and allows us to fulfill the purpose of God for our lives and to reach the destiny God has in store for us.

Conclusion

A lack of understanding of what is means to be meek (humble) has unfortunately made a mockery of the words of Jesus when he says the meek shall inherit the earth. This is because the world’s definition of meekness has to do with what others think about of us instead of what God speaks to us. As a result, too many people are trying to gain the favor of man by walking in false humility instead of walking in the grace (favor) of God by walking in true meekness.

To be truly meek requires that we let go our own will and completely submit to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. When we do this, we find that we are able to walk just as Jesus walked and we are able to become successful in life just as Jesus was successful. Moreover, just as Jesus was given all the kingdoms of the earth as an inheritance, we find that we also inherit the earth. Indeed, blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

 

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August 31, 2013 · 11:15 am

Meekness – The Secret to Inheriting the Earth (Part I)

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” – Matthew 5:5

Unless God is lying, meekness is the secret to inheriting the earth. Therefore, the root cause behind our inability to inherit honor and the richness of life on this earth boils down to the lack of meekness. I can say this confidently because this is what the bible teaches. Since God is not a man that he should lie (Numbers 23:19), we can only conclude that the reason our meekness today is not yielding the result we want in life is because what we think is meekness is not meekness at all.

We cannot inherit the earth if we have an erroneous understanding of what it means to be meek

For example, there was a time I thought “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” meant that taking hold of heaven required that I had to be weak, listless, and fatalistically surrendered to whatever life threw at me. I thought it was God’s will for me to be a victim in life. I carried on thinking ‘poor old me, Jesus just wants me to suffer in life for Him‘ until I came to the realization that our faith has made us victorious in life (see 1 John 5:4). This does not mean that we will not experience suffering, trial, and tribulation in life. What it means is that we have been granted the power to overcome any trial and tribulation the world can throw at us (see John 16:33).

Popular View of Meekness

A quick search for the meaning of meekness in the dictionary reveals words such as ‘overly submissive’ and ‘humble’. The online dictionary further describes a humble person as someone who has a modest opinion of themselves.

A survey that asked people what it meant to be meek or humble revealed statements such as: Someone who does not highlight his/her achievements, a person who is submissive to others; a person who has a modest opinion of themselves, and who is weak compared to others. In other words, the survey revealed that a person is seen as humble if the individual downplays their achievement, is seen as vulnerable, and is borderline apologetic about who they are or have become to others.

In essence, meekness has become a label that is now applied based on how people view people instead of how God views people.

The issue with this is that the view of man is often tainted with feelings of jealousy, fear, insecurity, and inadequacy. Conversely, the view of God is always right, just, honest, and pure. In other words, the assessment of a meek person can never be based on our assessment but on God’s assessment. So, the question to be answered now is this: how do we know who is truly meek or humble?

       I.       True Meekness

That the measure of meekness should not be based on man’s opinion is nowhere better highlighted than in Numbers 12:3. Here, Moses writes of himself that he is the meekest man living on the face of the earth (see Numbers 12:3). Since Moses did not know every single man that lived on the face of the earth at that point, to us this statement certainly seems misguided at best and prideful at worst. Today, most people would regard Moses as being ‘full of himself’.

But when we realize that all the words that Moses wrote were inspired of the Holy Spirit (see 2 Timothy 3:16), then we see that Moses simply wrote under the guidance and dictate of the Holy Spirit. Hence, it was not Moses that wrote Numbers 12:3 about himself but it was the Holy Spirit that wrote it about him. Moses was just the vessel for the Holy Spirit’s penmanship.

In fact, what Moses wrote under the guidance of the Holy Spirit took great humility. He had to completely forget about his feelings concerning what he was being told to write but chose to completely submit himself to the leading of the Holy Spirit. In writing Numbers 12:3, he decided to let go of his opinions and bow to the opinion of God. So, we see that Moses was ‘overly submissive’ to the Holy Spirit and had a ‘modest opinion’ of his own feelings about the words he was writing. Moses must have said to himself ‘well, if You say I am the meekest man alive, I chose to submit to that assessment no matter how I may feel about that’.

For Moses not to have written what the Holy Spirit told him because of what others would have felt about it would have revealed pride. It is pride in the sense that he would have been saying to God, ‘I think what You are asking me to write is wrong and that people will not receive it as You intended. I know better than You God and so I will just leave this portion out’. In truth, the only reason Moses would have left out Numbers 12:3 is if he was thinking about himself and about how others viewed him; he would have left it out in selfishness and in pride!

What Moses wrote in Numbers 12:3 reveal to us that true meekness requires that we completely surrender ourselves to God’s word and that we totally submit ourselves to the leadership of the Holy Spirit; that we die to our own thoughts, feelings, and opinions.

Hence, it is true meekness to believe and agree with God by saying ‘I can do all things through Christ’ instead of saying ‘I just do not have the ability’. While the first statement is aligned with the truth of word of God, the latter is aligned with the doubt that comes from taking our eyes off the ability of God and instead placing it on our own ability. While the first is a statement rooted in faith, the latter is a statement rooted in unbelief.

In other words, meekness or humility is the key that allows us to walk in the faith that gives us access to grace (Ephesians 2:8 tells us that grace comes through faith). Indeed, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (see James 4:6).

Pride is the end of paying close attention to man’s thoughts, opinions, and ways but humility is the end of paying close attention to God’s words, opinion, and ways.

Food for Thought: True meekness is what enables us walk in the power (grace) of God onto inheriting the earth.

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August 24, 2013 · 12:03 pm

3 Key Lessons from Burnt Offerings – Am I giving my offerings in vain?

It is often said that the Old Testament is the New Testament concealed. To be candid, I had no qualms in allowing the Book of Leviticus to remain concealed to me. I simply had no interest in reading about all the laws of the priests, the laws of the offerings, and laws concerning the feasts. I justified my lack of interest by accurately reasoning that all its laws were fulfilled by Jesus Christ and that they were no longer relevant for today.

Sadly, I continued in this attitude for years until a few months ago when God spoke into my heart as I was meditating on 1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9)

That morning, as I was saying “I am a member of a royal priesthood”, I heard a voice say: “Well, if you are a priest, how do you know if you are performing your priestly duties?”  Try as I might to brush off that voice, I could not. It was too late! God already had my attention.

He further told me that morning that He wanted me to read Leviticus – a book that pertains to the priests. He asked me how I would be able to truly serve his people if I did not know what my duties were as a priest.

The next morning, I opened my bible to 1st chapter of Leviticus fully expecting God to reveal a few things to me. He did not disappoint!

Everything that God has written in His word is good for us to know and understand.

Here are a few lessons from that 1st chapter of Leviticus

Lesson 1: God will never ask us to do what He is not willing to do BUT will do more than He asks us to do

…If His offering is a burnt sacrifice of the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish… (Leviticus 1:3)

The children of Israel were required to offer a male animal without blemish to make atonement for their sins (by the laying hands on the animal that was to be slaughtered), but God offered up His own spotless Son so that all of our sins would be laid on Him.

Also, while man’s sacrifice only offered temporary atonement for sin, God’s sacrifice offered permanent atonement for sin.  Hence, God’s sacrifice was not only greater but much more powerful in what it achieved.

The truth is that it is too easy to mope around belly-ache about the things God has called us to sacrifice. In those instances, we should remember that our sacrifice is just a stop-gap for what He is going to do in our lives.

When God asks us to do something that is difficult for us, it is because He is going to do something much greater and much more significant that will bless our lives.

Lesson 2: Only those things we do willingly is acceptable to God

…When any of you bring an offering to the Lord…he shall offer it of his own free will… (Leviticus 1:2-3)

The children of Israel were required to bring their burnt offerings willingly. In fact, this was the second requirement to make an offering acceptable as a sacrifice – the first was the animal had to be without blemish, and the third was the person had to lay hands on the animal.

Hence, only those offering of obedience (works of obedience) were acceptable IF they were done out of a willing heart.  Why? This is because true obedience comes out of love (see John 14:15), and true love is something that is offered out of free-will.

The bible says that the sacrifices acceptable to God are a humble spirit (see Psalm 51:17). It does not say that the offerings acceptable to God are a humble spirit. In other words, what we do is what we offer! But what we offer only becomes acceptable to God as a sacrifice when it is done willingly (out of a humble and willing heart).  

Our offering of obedience is acceptable to God as a sacrifice ONLY when done out of a willing heart. Moreover, only those offerings acceptable to the Lord result in His favor.

If God has called us to do something, we might as well benefit from it by resolving to do it willingly out of love. That comes as we explore God’s heart to find out why he wants us to walk the path He has for us.

Lesson 3: God desires our best! He does not want us to give Him someone else’s best

The children of Israel had the option of offering a bull, a goat or sheep, or birds as burnt offerings. This reveals to us that God will not ask us to bring more than we can afford to bring. If we are able to bring a bull, then that is what He wants, but He will not despise those who only have the ability to bring a pigeon!

Conversely, if we can afford to bring a bull but decide to bring a pigeon, God knows it and is not well pleased. This is one of the lessons Jesus teaching His disciples when he pointed their attention to the woman with the two mites.

Hence, God does not compare anybody’s best to our best.  All God wants is our best! Therefore, we should never compare our best to anyone else’s. It only results in pride or jealousy. 

We must keep our focus on giving God our very best – no matter what that looks like.

Similarly, it is foolishness comparing our current ability to be obedient to God to someone else’s ability! We place ourselves in a position to receive God’s best by offering Him our best!

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July 26, 2013 · 3:25 am

‘The lamp of the body’ needs regular oil change

Ancient Brass LampThe lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! – Matthew 6:22-23

In biblical times, the lamp used was an oil lamp. Now, if an oil lamp is to give light, it must be filled with oil. The quantity and quality of oil the lamp contains determines the quality of the light the lamp gives. Moreover, it is the oil lamp that leads the way since it gives the light shows the way and illuminates a path.

So when Matthew 6:22 says ‘the lamp of the body is the eye’, it is telling us that the lamp of the body is the mind. In other words, the mind is the oil lamp that leads our body.

Light-bulb moment: The mind is the oil lamp that influences and controls our ways and actions.

For the oil lamp of the mind to be judged as good, it has to fill our entire way of life with light (Matthew 6:22). Since Jesus is the light of the world (see John 8:12), the only way for our entire being to be full of light is for us to be filled with Jesus.

Light-bulb moment: It is not just enough to have Jesus; our minds have to be filled with Him if we are to be a light to the world

Since the only way Jesus can lead us (fill our body) is through the Holy Spirit, then it becomes clear that the only way our light is good is if the oil lamp of our mind contains the pure oil of the Holy Spirit. Simply put, just as Jesus completely surrendered his mind to the leading of the Holy Spirit, we must surrender the oil lamp of our mind to the influence and control of the Holy Spirit.

The problem is that we tend to allow impure and junky bad oil to enter our oil lamps. Note that this ‘bad oil’ is like water to the pure oil of the Holy Spirit – it cannot mix with the Holy Spirit but can only displace the oil. Once bad oil is introduced, we can no longer say that the oil lamp contains pure oil.

When the oil lamp of our mind is contaminated, sometimes our mind operates on bad oil (flesh) and at other times it operates on good oil (Holy Spirit). In those times our oil lamp is running on bad oil, the light it produces is dim to the point of darkness. But when the oil is good, the light it produces is as bright as day. In other words, yo-yo like behavior is a result of good oil mixed with bad

Light-bulb moment: If we are being led by the Spirit in an area of our life but cannot get it together in another area of our life, then we need an oil change!

So how do we change our oil? First, we must dump the bad oil through confession – If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness – 1 John 1:9. Then, we must flush the residual junk out by renewing our mind with the word of God. Once flushed, the purified oil lamp is now ready to be filled with the pure oil of the Holy Spirit.

Light-bulb moment: The word of God is the valve that activates the inflow of the Holy Spirit into our minds. Moreover, without confession and the renewing of our minds, we find that our lights will begin to grow dark.

After this infilling of the Holy Spirit, we must then apply the right filter. Indeed, the oil lamps of our mind run smoother and shine a brighter light when we apply the filter of spiritual disciplines – reading the bible, prayer, fasting, fellowship, serving, giving, and worship.Without this filter, all we do is go through a cycle of confession without shining much in life.

So I ask you once again, when was the last time you had an oil change? If it was not today, then your light is already becoming dark.

Food for Thought: No spiritual oil change is complete without the application of spiritual disciplines


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July 22, 2013 · 3:08 am

How to stay in the will of God for your life when struggling

If we are honest with ourselves, following the instruction of God and staying in the will of God for our lives can be very difficult. If this is you, then do not worry – you are not alone. Even Jesus had the most difficult time staying in the will of God for His life.

The thought of having to endure all that pain, suffering, and being separated from God left Jesus sorrowful and deeply distressed (Matthew 26:37). Here is how Jesus put it Himself: “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death” – Matthew 26:38

Talk about dreading what you know is the will of God for your life. But instead of giving up and saying ‘I can’t do this, it is just too difficult…I give up’, Jesus took another route.

If you are finding it difficult to stay in the will of God for your life or you are dreading what God is asking of you, try doing the following things that Jesus did in the garden of Gethsemane. If it worked for Jesus, it will work for you!

Do Not Deny Your Struggle

We see that Jesus did not keep the fact that he was deeply distressed to himself but told his disciples. Although He was their Lord, he did not worry about what they would think about him if he showed weakness. The lesson is that we should not fool ourselves if we are struggling to keep in the will of God. Furthermore, we should not be too prideful to tell other people that we are struggling.

See, Satan loves to convince us that we are the only one’s struggling. That way, he can murmur all sort of lies into our heads that lead us down the path of loss of transparency with our loved ones. Since there is no true fellowship without transparency, we see that what he is trying to do is isolate us. Just like the lion who tries to isolate the gazelle from the rest of the pack, he wants to isolate us so he can mess up our lives. Do not let him!

Light-bulb moment: Admitting you have struggles is the first step towards opening the door of opportunity to getting them fixed.

Ask Mature People for Help

Jesus not only admitted his struggle but called His top disciples (Peter, James, and John) to help him battle the sorrow that he was experiencing (see Matthew 26:36 -38). It is important to note here that He did not tell every disciple but only the ones that were mature enough to handle what he had to say. Just think about the kind of ‘help’ Judas would have offered?

So, who are the ‘prayer warriors’ that you need to ask for help today? Is there a very wise person that you should call to help your through your situation? If you can think of no one, it is time to develop those relationships and keep those people close to you. If Jesus needed help, so will you!

Light-bulb moment: Saying ‘I need help’ is a sign of maturity.

Shut the door to distractions

In dealing with His struggle, Jesus tells his disciples to stay while he went a little farther (see Matthew 26:39). See, Jesus did not need any distractions but decided to go a place that was quiet so He could do battle with the anxiety that was attempting to overtake Him. Moreover, I believe He did not want His disciples to be distracted by Him either. He wanted to give them time and solitude to seek the Lord without worrying about whether He was okay physically – for Jesus was sweating profusely!

This tells us that we must give the people that know our struggles time to seek the Lord on our behalf so that their solution is from God and not their own opinions or life experiences. Furthermore, we have to be willing to shut the door to whatever may be a source of distraction to tackle our fears, doubts and whatever else is trying to cause us to falter.

Light-bulb moment: You open the door of clear communication with God when you shut the door to your distractions.

Be persistent in Prayer

The last thing that Jesus did was pray. He not only prayed once but prayed three times! If the Son of God needs to pray multiple times before experiencing victory in His mind, then who are we to give up just because we do not see the result immediately.

If Elijah had to pray seven times to see the rain, then we need to be persistent in prayer if we want to experience the goodness of God in our lives. Prayer will not only bring you peace (see Philippians 4:6-7) but it will also bring you a solution (James 5:16). Prayer magnifies who God is and keeps you calm in the storm.

Remember, He who has promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23)

Light-bulb moment: A prayerful person is a person who has victory over Satan and experiences the peace of God in their life.

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July 17, 2013 · 3:03 am

How Do I Guard My Heart (Part II) – Prayer and Thanksgiving

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God  and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus – Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)

Instead of guarding our own hearts, Philippians 4:6-7 makes it clear that is it the job of the peace that comes from God to guard our hearts when we go to Him in prayer and with thanksgiving. Once we submit our request to God, we can rest assured that He is not hiding His face from us (Ezekiel 39:29) and that He who has the whole world in His hands loves us so much that He is working everything together for our good.

See, prayer and petition is the way we cast our cares upon God (1 Peter 5:7). It is what guards our heart and mind from worrying (anxiety) by unleashing the peace of God into our hearts. Therefore, when the bible says to ‘guard our heart for out of it flow the issues of life’, it is saying that we should guard our hearts from worrying (through prayer and thanksgiving), because worrying which comes from fear (or a lack of trust in God) causes the issues of our lives.  Indeed, it is a lack of trust in God that causes us to choose the world over the word (see How Do I Guard My Heart – The Word) and so unleashes turmoil in our world

Light-bulb moment: The way to stop worrying is to start praying wholeheartedly in trust and surrender.

In conjunction with Part I of this two -part series, we see that the way to guard our heart is to spend time in the word, through discernment, via prayer and supplication, and with thanksgiving. It is these spiritual disciplines when done in trust and surrender that allows us to walk obediently in the Spirit. They are what guard our hearts and minds from the filth of the world.

Without understanding this, the tendency is to guard our own hearts away from people out of fear. Since there is no fear in love and fear involves torment (see 1 John 4:18), it is no wonder so many people are tormented in their relationships. Let me explain:

Many times for a person – let’s say Kevin – who has been hurt before, guard your heart means ‘do not allow yourself to be hurt again’. If Kevin does not understand how to guard his heart with the word, prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, and through discernment, then ‘do not allow yourself to be hurt again’ for Kevin turns into ‘scrutinize my partners every move, try to control her life, and never allow yourself to fully trust her’.

Alas for Kevin, fear-based doubt and self-preservation leads the relationship instead of love-based faith. In response, Kevin’s partner feels suffocated, controlled, and imprisoned. As a result she fights back and the relationship goes through turmoil and fails.

Kevin, not realizing his fear was the culprit of the turmoil and failure feels that he successfully protected himself from hurt. He says to himself ‘Aha, I knew she was going to hurt me’. He does not realize that he has hurt himself. He has made his worst fear come to pass by taking fear-based actions which made it so – all because he did not know what is meant to guard his heart.

In the example, Kevin thought he was protecting himself from hurt, but all he was doing was keeping himself from love.

This also applies in our relationship with God. If we do not know how to guard our hearts, we guard our heart from love (God) and so are unable to unlock the power of God over our lives.

Food for Thought: When we guard our heart, we guard love (God) right out of it. When He guards our heart, He allows love to flow right into it.

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July 16, 2013 · 3:58 am

How Do I Guard My Heart (Part I) – The Word

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it – Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

Proverbs 4:23 clearly says that the reason we should guard our hearts is because everything flows out of it. This scripture is further explained by Jesus when He tells us that ‘from within , out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness’ – Mark 7:21

Hence, we see that we must guard our hearts so that filth does not to flow into it. Why is this? It is because whatever flows into our heart will ultimately flow out of our hearts. Once filth flows into our hearts, it becomes sin and leads to sinful actions.

Now, while it is clear that we should guard our hearts away from the filth of the world, what is at times unclear is how we actually go about this. Should we keep lock ourselves up so we do not get contaminated by filth or is there another way? Here is the answers: The way we go about guarding our heart away from the world is by keeping our minds filled with the word of God. Since the mind is the gateway to the heart, whatever we keep in our mind will ultimately make its way to our heart. If we keep out mind filled with the word, our hearts will reflect the word of God and so we develop a heart that is akin to that of God.

Moreover, our mind is either being influenced by the world or it is being influenced by the word. By filling our minds with the word of God, there is no room for the world in there; hence we have effectively guarded our hearts from the world and its influences.  Put another way, by filling our heart with the word of life, we find that only life flows out of our hearts.

Light-bulb moment: An effective way to guard your heart is to fill your mind with the word of God

The alternative to guarding our heart with the word is trying to avoid the world. Doing life this way requires that we cease to be salt and light to a fallen world because everything in the world would cause us to backslide since there is no ‘word’ barrier. It is not the will of Jesus that we seclude ourselves away from the world. Jesus did not do seclude Himself but spent time with tax collectors and other marginalized people so that He could be salt and light to them. Furthermore, He said He does not want us to be taken out of the world but to be protected from evil (John 17:15). Why? It is because He wants us to influence the world by shining our light in the darkness – instead of hiding our light under a basket and away from the darkness.

Light-bulb moment: We should never turn the guarding of our hearts into something we force to happen instead of something that happens naturally as we spend time with God.

So how does God protect us from evil that works through people? He does this through the Holy Spirit via the spiritual gift of discernment. Thus, it is the Holy Spirit that protects us from evil. This is why Jesus prays to God that He protect us from evil. He does not pray that we protect ourselves from evil through our own prejudiced and experienced based thinking. Hence, just as Jesus kept away from certain men because he discerned their hearts (John 2:24), we must keep away from evil company through spiritual discernment – not experiential or cultural discernment.

To conclude, guarding our heart with the word allows us to insulate ourselves away from the effects of the turmoil of the world and the actions of people, without alienating ourselves from people out of fear. Since guarding our heart Jesus style allows us to be salt and light to the world, we see the guarding our hearts has everything to do with love and has nothing to do with fear.

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