Category Archives: Victorious Living

September 5, 2015 · 6:04 pm

A few Good Reasons Why You Should Stop Trying to Live for Jesus

There are two main modes of thought when it comes to how to live. The first mode of thought comes from the world. If you listen to the world, it’ll tell you to ‘live for you’. It’ll encourage you to be true to yourself and be honest with who you are. The problem with the advice ‘live for you’ can be summed up with the question ‘who are you?’ The second mode of thought comes from religion. If you listen to religion, it’ll tell you to ‘live for God’. If you are a Christian, you’ll be specifically encouraged to ‘live for Jesus’.

Is there a problem with trying to live for Jesus? You better believe it. How can you and I live for a perfect and sinless savior? The simple answer is that we cannot. Try as hard as we might, we fall short of living up to the standards of Jesus (God). In fact, the only person who can live for Jesus is Jesus. Thus to try to live for Jesus is to set yourself up for a life of wondering if you are doing enough, a life of performance anxiety, a life of fear and doubt, and a life of endless striving to be good. It is a life of law keeping – a life of bondage.

Light-bulb moment: If you find no peace in your christian walk and you feel shackled as a christian, it is likely that you are trying to live for Jesus.

The good news is this: God does not want us to live for Him, He wants to live for us! If you don’t believe me, perhaps you’ll believe the Holy Scriptures.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me – Galatians 2:20

The scripture above says ‘I no longer live’. If we are no longer alive, how can we live for anyone? Moreover, if we are dead, then someone has to live in place of us. That person who is supposed to live for us is Christ.

Since God is not a control freak, He will only live for us if we allow Him to do so. Now if you are like me, the only way I’d allow someone to take my place in anything is if (1) that person is better than I am (2) that person is worthy (3) I have faith (trust and believe in that person). I’d say Christ fits that billing extraordinarily well.

Light-bulb moment: The only way Christ can live for us if for us to surrender in faith

Why allow Christ to live for us rather than try to live for him? Here are 8 good reasons:

Living for Jesus involves works and requires a lot of effort, but allowing Jesus to live for us involves faith because only our surrender is required.
Living for Jesus leads to anxiety, but Jesus living for us leads to peace.
Living for Jesus leads to condemnation unto despair, but Jesus living for us leads to conviction unto repentance.
Living for Jesus leads us to keep up appearances, but Jesus living for us leads to transparency.
Living for Jesus leads us to be depressed about who we are not, but Jesus living for us leads us to be confident about who He is and who we are in Him no matter our shortcomings.
Living for Jesus leads us to shy away from God when we get it wrong, but Jesus living for us leads us to move towards God when we get it wrong.
Living for Jesus leads to fear and doubt, but Jesus living for us leads to faith and love
Living for Jesus comes out of religion, but Jesus living for us comes out of relationship (intimacy).

Story of Job

Job was a man who tried to ‘live for God’. By all intents and purposes he succeeded in doing just that. In fact he was blameless when it came to living for God. Yet, his life was filled with fear. He would quickly go and make penance for his children after parties out of fear (Job 1:5). He also feared that he was going to lose all he had (Job 3:25).

In due time he found out that religion could not sustain him. After losing everything, he came to the realization that he had only ‘known about God’ (religion) instead of knowing God (relationship) (see Job 42:5). The turnaround for him came after he realized that he could trust God and that there was nothing that God could not turn around (Job 42:1). Once he surrendered to God in his heart fully, he not only regained all that he had lost but got a double portion of what was lost.

Light-bulb moment: Even if you are doing a great job living for Jesus (obeying the law), the glory of living for Jesus pales in comparison with glory of Jesus living for you.

But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious – 2 Corinthians 3:7-11

If we are to see the manifestation of the glory of God in our midst, we have to stop trying to live for Jesus and we have to allow Jesus to live for us. We have to move beyond religion and move into intimacy. I speak to myself.

6 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized, Victorious Living

Tagged as A good reason not to live for Jesus, glory of God, Jesus, Jesus living for us, Living for Jesus, relationship, Religion, Story of Job

August 8, 2015 · 6:05 pm

How Can I Experience God’s Best For My Life?

This week I roused myself early each morning to attend 6:00 am prayer at church. Though we all sought the Lord for different things, a common theme emerged. We were all crying out to the LORD for His glory to be revealed in our midst, in our lives, and in our communities. In other words, we wanted to see his majesty, splendor, magnificence, beauty, honor and victory manifested in a tangible way.

As I pressed in with the rest of my brethren in prayer, asking the Lord to show me His glory, He spoke to me saying: You ask me to show you My glory; My glory is already present within you; All you have to do is yield to it. When He said this, He brought to my remembrance the following passage of scripture:

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory – Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)

How Can I Experience God’s Glory?

Through the bible, we know that Jesus is the brightness and radiance of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3). We also know that the Father is glorified when our lives bear much fruit (John 15:8). Hence we understand by these scriptures that Jesus is the radiance of God’s glory because His life bore an incredible amount of fruit. And Indeed Jesus life is still bearing fruit through the relationship He has with those who accept Him.

In fact while physically in this world, Jesus’ life bore so much fruit (through healing, preaching, setting people free…) that we are told that the world is not big enough to capture all that He did (John 21:25). So how did Jesus bear so much fruit and so manifest the glory of God? He did it by surrendering himself completely to leadership of the Holy Spirit who spoke to Him the words of Father (John 5:30).

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 (Amplified Bible)

See, Jesus was able to manifest the glory of God because He surrendered to the Spirit of Grace (the Holy Spirit) who was within Him and empowered him to bear much fruit. Why did Jesus surrender to the Spirit of Grace? It was because He fully trusted the Spirit’s leadership and guidance for He knew the Spirit was from God the Father.

In other words, the trust and belief that Jesus had in God, enabled Him to surrender His life to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and so allowed Him to do those things that glorified God – things that were seemingly impossible before.

Hence, we see that faith (trust and belief) in God leads us to surrender to the grace of God (the Holy Spirit) who then in turn empowers us to radiate the glory of God. The truth is simply this: Faith leads to Grace; Grace leads to Glory.

Light-bulb moment: The glory of God is radiant and draws people to God because it accomplishes both the supernatural and natural things that defy man’s belief and expectation. In other words, evangelism is helped when the glory of God is manifested in a tangible way.

Light-bulb moment: It is impossible to experience the glory of God without having faith and walking in it.

How Can I Recognize Faith?

Faith is the key to experiencing the glory of God. Without faith, we are unable to do the works of God. No wonder James, the brother of Jesus says that ‘faith without works is dead and that he will show his faith by what he does (James 2:14 – 18). By this we see that talk alone is cheap and profits nothing!

Real faith on the other hand unleashes the power of God and reveals the glorious works of God. Only words of faith carry life-changing power which in turn carry out the will of God. It does something tangible.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it – Isaiah 55:11

Hallelujah, I will say it again: Real faith releases the power of God (grace) which then in turn unleashes the tangible presence and evidence of the glory of God. Real words of faith does something, it just doesn’t go into a vacuum!

Light-bulb moment: Faith releases power that accomplishes something tangible – that something is the will of God.

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power – 1 Corinthians 4:20 (NLT)

How Can I Grow My Faith?

But I don’t have much faith you say! Well Jesus says that we can move mountains if we have faith as tiny as a mustard seed! So don’t underestimate what even the tiniest amount of faith can do.

If that’s the case then why is the size of my faith important you ask. The size of our faith is important because it determines what we ask of God and what we are believing in Him for. Indeed, God grants to us that which we have enough faith to believe in. First, if we do not believe, we will not ask. Even if we do ask but not in faith, we receive no reward. So dare to believe. If we call ourselves believers, we ought to believe!

You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask – James 4:2

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him – Hebrews 11:6

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God – Romans 10:17

If you want to grow your faith, all you have to do is spend more time reading and meditating on the word of God. The more of His word you have within you, the more you are able to hear from God – for God will never speak contrary to what He has written in His holy word. The first things that God will start to speak to you is how much He loves you and how He is for you and not against you. He will show you the errors of your ways and then give you a promise for the future. How amazing!

This love which He shares with us is what draws us to lower our guards, get closer to Him so we know Him more. By so doing, we come to trust and belief in Him more. Faith = trust and belief in God. If we trust and believe in Him and trust and believe that He loves us, then it follows that we will trust and believe in what He says and move in it – thereby unleashing grace and glory.

Light-bulb moment: The size of our faith determines the size of our request. In other words, if we limit the size of our faith, then we limit the manifestation of God’s glory in our lives. So, believe big and ask big in faith – and go from glory to glory.

Food For Thought: If you want God to show you His glory, then you have to show God your faith

1 Comment

Filed under Teaching, Victorious Living

Tagged as Experiencing Gods best, Faith, Glory, Grace, How to defeat life problems, Why should I read the bible, word of God

November 8, 2014 · 10:16 am

Prayers That Get the Job Done

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much – James 5:16

Jacob was in trouble! He was about to face his brother Esau twenty years after he had cheated him out of his birthright by pretending to be him to their father. Jacob was sure that Esau remembered the episode. How could he forget such a thing! Jacob must have reasoned within himself: Not only did I steal his birthright, but I ran away as quickly as possible from the scene of the crime with my tail between my legs without uttering as much as a word of apology!

Jacob was in serious trouble. If the offense was bad enough, Esau was now coming to meet him. Oh yes, it was about to be on like Donkey Kong and Jacob knew that he had no chance. Esau was coming at him with 400 strong men while Jacob’s corner mainly consisted of women and children. Moreover, Esau had the advantage of passion on his side. Jacob knew he deserved the justice that was about to be meted out on him. What was he to do? It seemed his plea for mercy from Esau had fallen on deaf ears! What he did was make the first quality decision he had made in a long time. He went to Papa God in effective and fervent prayer as a righteous man. When he did, God answered him.

What Made Jacob Righteous?

I know what you are thinking. How can I say that Jacob was righteous? If righteousness is measured by what we do, then Jacob was on the opposite of righteous. Jacob was the kind of man with whom you did not want to be affiliated. He was a trickster and a cheater.

If righteousness is measured by what we do, then we are all in trouble, for the best that we can do in the arena of righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). All of us have fallen short of the passing mark (Romans 3:23). The good news is that righteousness is not determined by who we are but is determined by whose we are. It is not determined by performance but is determined by relationship. We know this for we are told that those who have a relationship with God are righteous. Here is how the bible puts it: For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (Jesus) – 2 Corinthians 5:17

So what made Jacob righteous? He was righteous because he had a relationship with God through the promise God had made to his fathers. Similarly, we are righteous because of the relationship we have with the Father through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus.

What Made Jacob’s Prayer Effective?

Know the Will of God: Jacob started his prayer by reminding God of His own words concerning him. He said to God: You told me to return to my country and family and I will deal well with you (Gen 32:9). I will treat you well and make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude (Gen 32:12). See, Jacob knew the will of God for his life and so he prayed the will of God. The bible says that we ask and do not receive because we ask amiss (James 4:2). It is impossible to ask amiss when we ask according to the will of God! Jesus said that He will do whatever we ask in His name (John 14:13). To ask in the name of Jesus is to ask according to His will. If this is not too clear, consider the messengers in olden days who declared that they come in the name of the king. What they are saying is that they have come according to the will of the king and to declare his will. If we want our prayers to be effective, we have to know the will of God for that which we pray and then pray it.

Humble Yourself: Jacob continues with the words, I am not worthy of the least of the mercies and truth which you have shown me (Gen 32:10). In other words, Jacob submitted that his success had absolutely nothing to do with his own strength, efforts, position or character. He humbled himself before God. The bible tells us that God will not despise (turn away) a broken and a humbled heart (Psalm 51:17). Perhaps the clearest illustration of humility getting the attention of God is found in the book of Daniel. The angel of the Lord said to Daniel: From the first day that you set your heart to understand (the will of God) and to humble yourself before your God, you words were heard (by God); and I have come because of your words – Daniel 10:12.

Ask Honestly: Jacob continues: Deliver me, I pray from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children (Gen 32:11). Jacob was very direct with his prayer. He did not beat about the bush but he was very honest with God. He said, I am afraid, help me. He did not try to impress God with clever words. He simply surrendered to the gravity of the situation and prayed a truthful prayer. I have come to realize I must surrender to the truth. If I have been a fool, I surrender to that truth and go to God and say, Lord I have been a fool, help me. Surrendering to the truth requires that we pray what is truly in our heart. If what is in our heart does not reflect the truth, God will show us that as well. It is crazy not to tell God the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

What Made Jacob’s Prayer Fervent?

The Angel of the Lord visited Jacob because he prayed an effective prayer. Once visited by the Angel of the Lord, he continued in fervent prayer, asking for the blessing of the Lord over his quandary with Esau. He was so determined and relentless in his pursuit that he wrestled with the Angel of the Lord even after his hip came out of joint. He wrestled until day break. Elijah is another man who would not relent in prayer. He prayed seven different times until a cloud of rain appeared in the sky.

We must be as Elijah and Jacob. We must wrestle until day break (until there is light at the end of the tunnel). The presence of the Lord signifies that something significant is about to happen. That is not the time to give up but it is the time to press into God and wrestle with him until we receive the blessing.

When we doggedly pray the will of God in all humility and surrender is when we will see results in our lives.

1 Comment

Filed under Teaching, Victorious Living

Tagged as Effective prayer, Fervent prayer, honesty, how to get prayers answered, Humility, Jacod and Esau, Jesus, Laban, why is God not answering my prayers, WIl of God

September 21, 2014 · 8:39 pm

10 Surefire Ways to Get Yourself Depressed – Part III

Living in Disguise, having a sense of Entitlement, being Prideful and Rebellious, Envious, Selfish, Stubborn, Insolent, taking too much ownership, and Narcissism are character traits that spell D.E.P.R.E.S.S.I.O.N. These traits lead to depression because they destroy relationships and tend to rob us of our need to be loved and accepted.

(9) OWNERSHIP: Taking ownership is usually a positive trait as it usually means we are taking responsibility for our lives. Yet this positive trait can lead to unintended negative consequences when we take ownership for those things that we have no business owning. Taking ownership of something we cannot reverse such as past mistakes is a losing battle since we cannot go back in time to fix them. It only leads to frustration and the propensity not to forgive ourselves.

The craziest things about taking ownership of your past sins is this: You are taking ownership of that which no longer exists. In Christ, your past sins have not simply being covered, they have been remitted. Another word for remitted is dispatched.

See, one of the many wonderful things about having a relationship with Jesus is that he has taken ownership for our sins. Every sin you have every committed or could ever commit has been placed on him. So please, do not take ownership of something that you no longer own. And please don’t mistake the consequences of your sin with having ownership of it.

All of us have to take ownership of the worldly consequence of our sins but the sins is no longer something that the Lord imputes to us. All sin is imputed onto Jesus once we accept Him in our lives

(10) NARCISSISM: Are you hypersensitive to less than glowing feedback? Do you tend to blame everyone else for your failures? Are you always looking to take credit for everything good around you. Does it always have to be your way or the highway? Is it all about how you feel and how it affects you? Do you lack empathy for the plight of others? If you answered yes to these questions, then you have some of the character traits of a narcissist.

If you have the traits of a narcissist, then your key words are ‘let go and let God’.

Submitting ALL of your pain, your past, your hurts to God is the only way the fears, insecurities and trauma that leads you to want to control everything will ever be eradicated. Instead of comparing yourself to other people, a simple comparison of yourself to the holiness of God will lead to surrender. If you do not know what is in your heart that you need to submit to God, just ask the one’s that know you the most. Ask for their brutal honesty and listen with an open mind and heart.

Remember that the wounds of a friend are faithful but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful (Proverbs 27:6). I don’t know about you but I would rather be wounded now and heal than be trapped in the cage of self-deceit.

Acknowledging (confessing) that there is a problem is the first step to solving it. When you confess your faults instead of trying to defend them (and so deceiving yourself), you leave room for God to do His best work in your life.

Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the Lord, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you – Hosea 10:12

It is time to break up the fallow ground of our hearts so we can enjoy the best God has for us.

3 Comments

Filed under Growth, Pain and Fear, Victorious Living

Tagged as depression, holiness, Narcissism, ownership, traits of depression, unforgiveness

September 7, 2014 · 3:57 pm

10 Surefire Ways to Get Yourself Depressed – Part I

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), roughly 18% of Americans suffer from anxiety disorders. The contributing factors that may promote depression are many. They include abuse, certain medications, conflict, death or loss, genetics, substance abuse, major events, and other personal problems. Additionally, factors such as our upbringing, our coping strategies, and our general view and outlook on life impact the possibility of us developing anxiety disorders.

Being a proponent of the “Prevention is Better than Cure” principle, I wonder how many cases of depression can be prevented if we learn the right copying strategies, have the right perspective on life, and perhaps avoid the character pitfalls that have the ability to drag is unto the dark pit of depression.

Just as an unhealthy lifestyle promotes many cases of obesity and cancer, there are some things that we should avoid if we want to reduce the likelihood of falling into depression. Here are 5 of 10 things we should avoid that promote D.E.P.R.E.S.S.I.O.N.

(1) DISGUISE: In masquerade parties, we wear masks and pretend to be people we are not. In real life, we tend to wear masks to hide who we truly are. Many times, it is because we are afraid of being a disappointment or are afraid of being rejected by people. Hence, fear is the main reason people where masks. For most of us, mask wearing is only meant for a particular audience – perhaps in our workplace or when around certain caliber of people. The problem comes when we are so deeply fearful that we no longer take off our mask – regardless of company, situation, or circumstance. We are in dangerous territory when no one around us really knows who we are. When this happens, we do not have real relationships but have developed illusions of relationships. We feel deep loneliness because no one know who we truly are though we may be surrounded by people. Many comedians wear masks and so suffer from depression.

A key to stop our mask wearing is to know that we have been accepted. Our acceptance does not come from who we are or what we do but from who God is and what He has done! So let us take off our mask and allow people to see the real us. We must leave the place that tells us we have to behave before we belong; we must go to the place where we first belong well before we behave. That place is at the feet of Jesus!

(2) ENTITLEMENT: When we feel entitled to something, we not only feel disappointed when we do not get it, we feel robbed and angered. We feel as if some grave injustice has been done against us. We feel the world is unfair and against us when we can do nothing about our perceived injustice. So we go around gloomy and sad with the weight of the world on our shoulders. A weight that we have placed there ourselves.

Perspective is what breaks the yoke of entitlement. From a biblical perspective, the only thing we are entitled to or deserve in this life is death! We know this because the bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; it says that the wages of sin is death! We must let go of whatever we feel entitled. We must learn to be glad for those things that we do have and are in the process of attaining. Only by living with a heart of gratitude will we see the little miracles that God places in our lives on a daily basis.

(3) PRIDE: I feel like cringing everything I hear someone say “My pride is all I have left“. I want to reply, “You pride is likely the reason you have nothing but pride left“. See, the bible says that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Why is pride so bad? It is because pride does not seek help from others. Pride says we can go it alone and ostracize people. Pride never admits any wrong-doing. Pride refuses to pardon but drinks the poison of unforgiveness. Pride convinces us we are the stud-muffin but then fails to pick us up when we fall. Pride cannot stand failure and is hard on us. Pride never wants to change course even if the course is leading us straight to the pit. Pride is the friend the betrays us in the end. Pride causes conflicts in our world and leads us to live the stressed life instead of the blessed life.

When we make it about pride, we make it about is. When we make it about humility, we make it about the greater good.

(4) REBELLION: We will never find the tree rebelling against the sun. No tree has ever decided not to bends itself towards the sun. Similarly, you will never find the fish rebelling against the water. Likewise, we should not rebel against the truth. A truth is something that remains unchanged regardless of time and circumstance. A truth about human beings is that we are relational beings – we were made to be in relationship with one another in love. The moment we lock ourselves away from all people in our hearts is the moment we begin to rebel against our need for companionship.

Just as it is hazardous for us to rebel against the law of gravity, we must not rebel against the spiritual laws governing faith, hope, and love. Rebelling against these spiritual law’s will lead to spiritual starvation and depravity and deep state of anxiety.

(5) ENVY: Nothing saps satisfaction faster than envy. We not only become dissatisfied with what we have, we become dissatisfied with God. Envy causes us to question how much God loves us. This is turn causes us to cheapen every blessing God has bestowed on us. Envy causes us to take our eyes off God and place is on other people; it is what causes us to keep up with the “Jones”. It leads to unhealthy competition with people who are not competing against us. In other words, it causes us to put undue pressure on ourselves to perform.

Instead of being envious, we must make a conscious decision to be happy with where we are and what we have. Even if our current situation is not the best, it does not have to stay that way. Remember that Joseph was not always in the pit but made it to the palace. Remember that David was not always running away from Saul but became a king. Instead of being envious, we must embrace our season of character development while awaiting our promotion in life. Moreover, we must make it a point to be happy for others. We must remember that God is no respecter of person’s. If he has done it for our neighbor, He can do it for us as well as we trust and follow Him.

3 Comments

Filed under Pain and Fear, Victorious Living

Tagged as anxiety disorder, depression, disguise, entitlement, envy, happy, pride, rebellion, Robin Williams, why am I depressed

August 30, 2014 · 2:57 pm

I Had Peace But My Relationship Still Fell To Pieces!

“You know how the pastor said not to do anything without peace? Well, I kept myself pure, got the consent of my parents, went through marriage counseling, and had great peace about the man I was marrying. Yet he turned out to be the wrong one. Emmanuel, I had peace but my marriage fell to pieces.”

It was clear that my friend’s previous experience was challenging the truth that had been preached. Choosing not to open a can of worms, I stuck to the topic of peace! To her comment, I replied:

Peace does not reveal the will of God for your life (the word from God does that); Peace confirms that you are moving in faith as you follow the will of God for your life. Moreover, there is a difference between the peace from God and the peace from man

PEACE OF GOD

Consider the scene in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus’ sweat became as droplets of blood as he resisted sin. The passage of scripture in Luke 22 tells us that Jesus was in anguish. In other words, peace was the last word we can use to describe what Jesus felt in the garden as he asked the Father if there was any other way to bring salvation to men besides going to the cross. If Jesus had simply said “I do not have peace about going to the cross”, he would have missed the will of God. But Jesus already knew the will of God, so he prayed to the father for help. In turn, the Lord sent an angel to strengthen him and he left the garden in peace.

Thus, just because we do not have peace about something does not mean it is not the will of God for our lives. It may very well mean that we have not surrendered to the will of God for our lives. Once we know the will of God and surrender to it will the peace of God come over us.

Be anxious for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus – Philippians 4:6

The pre-requisite to the peace of God is prayer, petition, and a heart of thanksgiving as we move by faith in the will of God.

No faith equals no peace; only anxiety ensues!

PEACE OF MAN

Conversely, the peace of man can be very dangerous because it is based on previous experience, comfort, and can be tainted by our own will. Consider the children of Israel who decided not to go into the Promised Land. They had no peace about it because they saw the giant opposition they had to face. Yet, it was the will of God to go into the land to possess it. The giants they saw in the land dissuaded them so much that they forgot all about the promise of God. In other words, they walked by sight and not by faith.

Though they had peace about their decision to stay put in the wilderness, it was the wrong decision. You know the end of the story. All of them except two that had no peace about staying in the wilderness died in the wilderness. In other words, the peace of God would have taken them to their destiny but the peace of man led them to destruction. So next time you have peace, make sure the source of your peace is from God.

The peace of God follows the will of God, but the peace of man follows the will of man.

Consider the wicked. The peace that comes from God does not go with them (Isaiah 57:21) but they certainly experience the peace that comes from doing their own will (see Proverbs 4:14-16 below).

Don’t set foot on the path of the wicked;
don’t proceed in the way of evil ones.
Avoid it; don’t travel on it.
Turn away from it, and pass it by.
For they can’t sleep
unless they have done what is evil;
they are robbed of sleep
unless they make someone stumble – Proverbs 4:14 – 16

Some people do not have peace unless they do what is justified in their own eyes but not necessarily justified in the eyes of the Lord. If you have ever felt great peace only after taking justice into your own hands and repaying evil for evil – saying to yourself that the person got what they deserved – then you know what it is to have the peace of man.

Friend, jut because you have peace does not mean you are in the will of God. Only let the peace that comes from God be your umpire.

2 Comments

Filed under Relationships, Victorious Living

Tagged as garden of gethsamane, peace in relationships, Peace of God, peace of man, The way of peace

April 18, 2014 · 4:11 pm

Why Does God Allow Non-believers to Prosper?

Why is it that God allows those who do not care about Him to prosper?

Right after the fall of man, God told man that the ground was cursed for his sake; that he was going to have to toil, and that all the work of his would bring him thorns and thistles (Gen 3:17). Mankind continued in this vain until after the great flood – which wiped out all humanity except Noah and his family. After this, God made a covenant with all creation. God made a new proclamation with man which made the proclamation of Gen 3:17 null and void. He said that the ground would no longer be cursed for the sake of man even though all that he imagines in his heart is evil (Gen 8:21). He said that there would always be seed time and harvest time for as long as the earth remains (Gen 8:22).

Thus, we see that God gave man a way to prosper from his toil and work irrespective of the state of his heart.

In His mercy, God allows mankind to eat of the fruit of his toil (hard labor) whether we are obedient to Him or not.

Jesus referenced the mercy of God that he pronounced in Gen 8:22 when he mentioned that God makes the sun rise on the evil and good, and sends the rain on the just and unjust (Mat 5:45).

But I say to you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them who spitefully use you, and persecute you;That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust – Matthew 5:44-45

To paraphrase, Jesus is saying: You need both the sun to shine and the rain to fall for the plants that you have sown to grow. Whether you are good or not good, God makes the sun rise and the rain to pour so that harvest time can continue in the world; so that all humanity can prosper. God, in his love and mercy makes no distinction between those who are good and those who are evil in this respect. Therefore be like him and be make no distinction between those you love and your enemy.

Why should we strive to be obedient to him when there are so many who are disobedient and are doing well?

For those of us who accept Jesus, we not only walk in the continued mercy of God, we also receive the favor of God on our life as well as the Holy Spirit of power. We no longer have to toil and spin for what we need (Matt 6:28). We can simply depend on God to provide those things for us as we walk in loving- obedience to His Spirit. Hence we see that it is no longer hard toil and labor (works) that brings blessings. Rather, it is loving obedience that brings blessings. Though we can continue in the way of all creation, Jesus has shown us the better way – the way of favor and power!

In the way of the world, the extent of your blessing is proportional to the labor of your hand. In the way of the Word, the extent of your blessing is proportional to the extent of your obedience.

A good example of this is the man, Daniel (see book of Daniel). He walked in obedience to God and so became the second in command of the greatest kingdom in the world at that time! Nothing he could have done in his own strength (toil) could have made him attain that position, for he was a foreign slave. No way would he have been given that opportunity outside of God. Thus we see that obedience will get us to a higher position than what toil can. We also see that obedience is faster and easier than toil.

Second, obedience releases power! The man of God that went to King Jeroboam (read 1 Kings 13:1-6) was supernaturally protected from being arrested when he obeyed God. Furthermore, God released His power to break the alter for the sake of the man of God. Likewise, God will always release his power on our behalf as we walk in obedience – His power to save, heal, speak boldly and courageously; His power to achieve all that he has called us to achieve!

Faithful obedience releases the favor and power of God to do the miraculous in our lives.

So why choose God? We choose God because we want more than just the mercy of God. In our appreciation of His love for us, we also want to experience His chain-breaking and life giving favor and power in our lives. When we live in the fullness of His grace (mercy, favor, and power) is when the world will take notice and our influence on it will explode. Then we will start to live heaven on earth and more people would be drawn to God and be saved. In other words, love compels us to be obedient! Obedience in turn will release the abundant life in our lives.

4 Comments

Filed under Teaching, Victorious Living

Tagged as Daniel, Fall of Man, King Jeroboam, Love your enemies, Noah and the flood, Olivet Discourse, Seedtime and Harvest Time, The curse after the fall, The Man of God, Why do unbelievers prosper?, Why should I be obedient?

February 22, 2014 · 7:18 pm

Stop Working on Your Testimony and Start Living Your Promise

In a recent conversation, a friend of mine said of her daughter, ‘she is working on her testimony’. Knowing the daughter, the first thing that entered my head – right or wrong – was this: Will she ever stop working on her testimony? To give you some context, the friend I am speaking about happens to be roughly twice my age. Her daughter is older than I am and has been working on her testimony for a while. The thing about it is that she is saved and has good knowledge of the word of God. Even so, she has decided to hold onto her pride, which has in turn caused her to walk in outright disobedience to the Lord.

In the event you are not familiar with the term ‘working on your testimony’, it refers to the state of a person who does not know the Lord or has backslidden away from the Lord.

While there is no timetable for a person to stop working on their testimony – for the Lord can do wondrous things in anyone’s life at any point in time, and do it quickly – my concern is that some people never come out of their testimony to be able to tell it.

There is no better example of this than the children of Israel who perished in the wilderness. While the journey to the Promised Land was meant to take 3 – 11 days, fear and unbelief led God to send them through the wilderness of the Red Sea.

This is the period that God had in mind for the children of Israel to ‘work on their testimony’. During this time period, God showed them incredible mercy and worked mighty miracles, and even spoke in the hearing of the people. He did this for a period of 2 years so that they would come to know Him, trust Him, and rely on Him.

But no! When it came time to enter into the Promised Land after 2 years – the time God had allotted for them to stay in the wilderness of testimony, the people refused to enter into Canaan. As a result, they ended up spending another 38 years in the wilderness and the original generation that left Egypt died in the wilderness except Joshua and Caleb.

Note: The Ark of the Covenant was called the Ark of the Testimony when the children of Israel were in the wilderness. All the things that were placed in the Ark – covenant tablet, manna, Aaron’s rod – were placed there during the wilderness years.

God wanted the children of Israel to ‘work on their testimony for 2 years but they decided that they were going to work on their testimony for 40 years! As a result, only 2 of 600,000 men achieved that which God had ordained for them! They rest of them perished while still working on their testimony.

The uncomfortable truth is that too many of us today are still working on our testimony even though God has already made a way to enter into his promise for our lives. We say God is going to do it when He has already done it! We continue to pray to God but refuse to walk in obedience when He answers our prayers and gives us instructions.

If this is you, my plea is that you stop working on your testimony and start living the life of promise God has for you. It’s time to stop eating the manna and start feeding on milk and honey! Aren’t you tired of the snake bite of the wilderness?

Light-bulb moment: Leaving the wilderness will cost you your pride, ego, fears, and unbelief. But your reward for paying this price will be rest, peace, joy, and strength!

Let us do something ‘crazy’ as believers: Let us actually believe what God and move when He tells us to do so!

Two Very Good Reasons to STOP Reaping All That You Sow

Everybody wants to reap love but nobody wants to sow it; it is easier to reap than it is to sow!

As I pondered this statement, it came to mind that one of the reasons it is seems easier to reap than it is to sow is because reaping is the realization of the reward that sowing promises. Sowing is done in hope while reaping is done in faith – since faith is the evidence or realization of things hoped for (Heb. 11:1).

Light-bulb moment: The end result of sowing in hope and watering the seed of hope with the word of God is a harvest of faith.

As I continued to ponder, I realized that just as the process of developing faith is not easy, the process of reaping is not easy. As an example, the process of reaping wheat is just as laborious as sowing it. It involves putting the sickle to work, gathering the wheat harvest, threshing the wheat on threshing floor, and separating the wheat from the chaff.

But just as the difficulty of reaping yields a tangible reward, the difficulty of developing faith results in triumph and victory in our lives (see 1 John 5:4). Moreover, the faith we attain is meant to help produce victory in other people’s life as well – just as the 5000 men on the side of the mountain ate from the fruit of the faith Jesus had in God.

Light-bulb moment: The seed of hope we plant is not just meant to produce victory in our lives but victory in the people around us.

In other words, people around us should be able to reap where they have not sown! That other people should be able to reap from the produce of our land is not my opinion but has biblical roots, Here is how God puts it:

And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not completely reap the corners of your field when you reap, neither shall you gather any gleaning of your harvest: you shall leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God – Leviticus 23:22

This passage (along with many others) reveals God’s heart for the stranger (anybody not related to us) as well as the poor. Indeed, He has commanded us to take care of our fellow man out of a heart of love.

As if love for our fellow man was not a strong enough incentive to obey this commandment, God also makes it worth our while when we do it. Here are two reasons it is good for us to stop reaping all that we sow!

God prospers and promotes us

God has promised to bless the work of the hands of those who have a generous heart and to bless all that they involved in (Deut. 14:29; Deut. 15:10). In other words, He will make all you invest in profitable, He will get you a raise at your job, and He will prosper your business.

God is saying that you should give of your time and your resources of the things that reflect His heart instead of trying to maneuver your way at work, play politics, and kiss up to the boss.

Boaz (in the book of Ruth in the bible) was a man who followed the commandment to leave gleanings in the field for the stranger and the poor. The bible tells us that he was a man of great wealth (Ruth 2:1)!

Light-bulb moment: If you want to become wealthy, develop a heart of generosity in love and stop reaping all you sow. Do not wait to become wealthy before you become generous.

It opens up doors of opportunity

The only reason Boaz was able to come across Ruth is because he left some gleaning in the field. If he had not, Ruth would simply have passed through his field. But Boaz was a generous man who left a lot to the stranger and the poor. He had so much left over grain in his field that Ruth spent the entire day there (Ruth 2:7)! This in turn allowed Boaz to inquire about Ruth – which in turn led to him taking her as a wife.

See, Boaz’s generosity and desire to please God in whom he delighted opened the door of opportunity for him to meet his wife. He gave what he did not need (barley) and he got what he wanted (a wife)!

If you are not meeting the right people, it may very well be that the right people (those who have a good heart) have no reason to stop by your place.

Light-bulb moment: A good reason to stop reaping all you sow is so that you may get those things you desire in your heart.

Food for Thought: I open the door of opportunity to blessings tomorrow when I leave a little bit of my harvest for the stranger today.

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:

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.

Category Archives: Victorious Living

A few Good Reasons Why You Should Stop Trying to Live for Jesus