September 10, 2013 · 6:00 am

The Reason You Cannot Succeed is You

We have a natural tendency to try to find someone or something to blame for our failures! If this is you, then I want you to reconsider!

In reality, the only person we can blame for our failures is ourselves. See, the moment we receive the Holy Spirit is the moment we run out of excuses. By receiving the Holy Spirit, we have received the fullness of power and love; we have received clarity and a way to carry out all the goals and dreams we could ever have! If we do not move towards success after receiving the Spirit of God, it is because we have refused to channel the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

The first step in channeling the power of the Holy Spirit is this: Believe what the Holy Spirit says about you!

The bible tells us that all scripture is inspired of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). Hence, finding out what the Holy Spirit says about us is crucial! In light of this, God made it easy for us to find out what they Holy Spirit says about us. He provided a manual we can read. Indeed, we can read about our new status now that we have been saved (born-again).

When you read, you will find some stunning things about yourself! Some of the things you will find out about yourself (in Christ) are these:

  • You are more than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)
  • You can do ALL things (Philippians 4:13)
  • You have exceedingly great power available to you (Ephesians 1:19)
  • You are seated with Christ in a place that is far above all powers and might, principalities and dominion (Ephesians 1:20; 2:6)
  • You have an unfailing friend in the all-powerful Jesus – who will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)

Did you know these things about yourself or have you always had a wrong image of who you are? From today onwards, words such as “I am a nobody” should never enter your mind. No! You were beautifully made in the image of God for a unique and special purpose in this world. See, to give up in life is to give up on the real you. Do not let an imposter that has been created by the world rule your life. You can rise up and change your destiny in life. You can be the real you – a success!

It all starts by changing the way you view your life and by changing the way you view your circumstance. Of course circumstances are hard. Do you think your enemy wants you to be discover who you are and what you can do? Of course not! See, the hardships of life are simply the distractions the enemy tries to use to take your focus off the Holy Spirit and who you have become in Christ. Do not listen to that fool!

Instead, I want you to choose to stop listening to your own words of doubt, which are truly the words of the enemy. I want you to stop listening to the enemy and being your own worst enemy. I want you to start to surrender yourself to what your friend – the Holy Spirit – is saying to you and about you.

The Holy Spirit is your friend and your companion because of Jesus! Therefore, it is because of Jesus that the Holy Spirit only has good and profitable things to say to you and about you. He is for you and not against you…this means that you can trust Him fully! This is true especially when He corrects you and tells you to mend your ways. He says what He says because He loves you and wants to grant your heart’s desires.

If you cannot succeed, it is because you have drowned out the voice of the Holy Spirit!

Rekindle your love for the voice of the Holy Spirit today. Open the bible, and rediscover the real you!

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September 7, 2013 · 7:15 pm

Perfect Love Has No Fear (The Song)

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love – 1 John 4:18

Listen to ‘Perfect Love Has No Fear‘ below:

It should not shock you when I say that fear is just about the most tolerated sin. Yet the truth remains that there is no room for fear when we are living in love. Therefore, the presence of fear in our lives points directly to the absence of love.

Since God is love, this means that fear is what controls any area of our lives that we have not surrendered to God. It is in these areas that we experience defeat.

The end of living with fear is a doubt, paranoia, prejudice, classicism, racism, and protectionism and so forth. There is no trust where fear lives – only chaos, ruckus, and ballyhoo. To move away from God is to move towards a world of injustice, love, and immorality. To move away from love is to move away from life and into death.

But perfect love has no fear! We are not afraid to help our brothers and sisters no matter where they live. We are not afraid to give our sons and daughters to people that look different than we do. We are not afraid to stand for what is right.

Light-bulb moment: Love is the greatest motivator in achieving greatness.

It was love that drove Martin Luther King to spearhead the civil rights movement, not fear. It was love that drove Mother Teresa to give her life to helping the poor, not fear. It was love that spurred Nelson Mandela to spend over a decade in prison for his beloved country, not fear. It was love of mankind that spurred Jesus Christ to drink the cup of suffering on the cross. Fear would have stopped all these people, but they overcame fear with love.

Light-bulb moment: We do not defeat fear by fighting it. The way we defeat fear is by introducing love. Focus on love today, and the fear you feel will disappear.

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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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August 17, 2013 · 12:36 pm

Called and Chosen to Influence – Ezekiel the Watchman

A priest is an ordinary person who has been called to be in a position of influence! Though priests exert considerable influence today, they were the pinnacle of influence in times past when there was no separating religion from politics; when there was no distinguishing between ‘church’ and ‘state’.  

Ezekiel, being a priest in the house of the Lord was called to be influential. Though he had no formal authority (for he was not a king), he had plenty of power to influence the elders of Judah and the overall population.

Now, since the scriptures tell us that we are a member of a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) in Christ, it is clear that we are now all priests! This means that we have all been called to be people of influence in our society. Therefore, we can no longer idly stand by in our communities while circumstances deteriorate! We cannot simply say ‘there is nothing I can do’. No, there is something we can do!

Light-bulb moment: As believers, we are all called to exert positive influence over our society.

While we may not have the authority and resource to change the world around us, the least we can do is be a watchman! This is what God called Ezekiel to be in a time when there was seemingly nothing he could do – for he was in captivity with the rest of Judah. Here is what the Lord specifically spoke to Ezekiel about being a watchman:

 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways

Light-bulb moment: We can exert positive influence over our society by being watchmen

Here are 3 important truths this passage of scripture tells us about watchmen.

Responsibilities of a watchman

  1. Watchmen are responsible to speak only what the Lord relates to them; they are not to be originators of their own words. In other words, we have to take ourselves out of the equation – it is not about what we think or what we want to say, it is about listening to God to receive what He says. Just as God gave Ezekiel the words to speak, He will give us the words to speak as well (Ezekiel 3:10).
  2. Watchmen are not responsible for the outcome; they are responsible to obey God in doing and saying what God has asked of them. The outcome depends on the individual or the society the watchmen are responsible to guard
  3. Watchmen are held responsible for their disobedience. In other words, they bear the guilt for the demise of the society or of the individual if they fail to perform their duty. Hence, failure to follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit to speak into the life of an individual is a costly matter. When God tells us to act, societal norms need to get out of the way. But ‘he is my boss’ or but ‘I am shy’ are no excuses! ‘What will people think if I do this or say that’ many times is what leads to the prolonged suffering and unnecessary deaths of people we have been called to watch over. Friends, you and I have been called to be watchmen!  Indeed, we must pick up the mantle of being a watchman and exert positive influence on our societies if we are ever going to see the world change.

Light-bulb moment: The society perishes when there are no faithful watchmen.

Characteristics of a watchman

While God has called all of us to be watchmen, not everyone is chosen to be a watchman. As an analogy, just because we have passed all the qualification exams in school does not mean we automatically get hired. We have to go through an interview process where we are evaluated.  The same is true of God. He will choose only those who have passed the evaluation. The evaluation that Ezekiel passed is hidden in the following verses:

The Lord said, “In this way the people of Israel will eat defiled food among the nations where I will drive them.” Then I said, “Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.” “Very well,” He said, “I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.” – Ezekiel 4:13-15

Here are 3 important truths these passages reveal about the characteristics of watchmen

  1. Watchmen have a proven record of obedience: Ezekiel said that he had never defiled himself even from his youth. This shows he was obedient to observe all the ordinances of a Nazirite. If Ezekiel would not compromise his Nazirite vow, God understood that he would not compromise His word.
  2. Watchmen are bold and courageous: Ezekiel spoke back to God and objected to God’s initial prompting to defile himself. How bold and courageous! By this, God understood nothing was going to move Ezekiel into rebellion. Unlike the other elders of Judah, He was going to stay steadfast no matter the situation.
  3. Watchmen have a heart of love and integrity: Ezekiel could have cowered and done what the Lord wanted Him to do disdainfully. Instead, He was bold and courageous to entreat God not to defile himself. In essence, he was saying: ‘God, I love you too much and love myself too much to defile myself’. As a result, God changed His mind for Ezekiel. By this God understood that Ezekiel had a heart full of integrity.

As a side note, we should ask God if we are not sure about His instruction. Moreover, just like Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, we can ask him to change his mind about what He is asking us to do. Of course like Jesus, we must say ‘not my will, but Your will be done’.

Food for Thought: To be successful watchmen, we must be strong and courageous to obey the voice of God in love no matter what!

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August 13, 2013 · 11:38 pm

The father, The rose, and His son

Once upon a time, there was a boy who saw a beautiful rose in a rose garden planted by his father. This rose so caught his eye that he went to his father and asked him to give it to him. When the father asked his son why he wanted the rose, the son replied, ‘I want this rose because it is beautiful. I want to plant it in the best soil and I want to nourish it so that it becomes a beautiful flowerbed.’

Seeing that the heart of his son was in the right place, the father asked one more question. He said, ‘Son, are you sure you are ready for the responsibility of a gardener? Are you sure you are ready to handle this beautiful rose?’

The son, whose eyes were now filled with tears wasted no time in saying yes! He then described to his father how special this rose was to him; how he could not keep his eye off this particular rose, and how his heart melted every time he thought about it. The father, seeing that the rose was truly his son’s heart desire was moved with compassion. So he said to his son, ‘I see that you truly love this rose. I want to give you this rose but I first have to make sure you are ready! You see son, I love this rose very much as well. I have spent a lot of time nourishing it. I will let you take care of this rose for a while. If you take good care of it in my garden, I will allow you to put it in your garden’

Upon hearing this, the boy went away extremely happy. After months of diligently taking care of the rose, the son approached his father once more for the rose and the father consented to him taking the rose. The night before he was to get his prize, he could hardly sleep! The next morning, he approached his rose and after a moment’s pause, bent down to uproot it from the ground.

But when he grabbed the stem of the rose to pull it out, he felt a sharp pain in his hand. So, he quickly let go of the rose and looked at his hand only to find blood all over his hands. Not understanding what happened, he took a closer look at the rose and found that its stem was covered with thorns!

Angry and disappointed, he left the rose halfway uprooted from the ground and stormed into the house. When he found his father, he said to him: ‘Father, look at what this rose of yours has done to me. Why did you not tell me that it is full of thorns? If I had known that this flower had thorns on it, I would not have asked you for it’

To this remark, the father (after tending to his son’s hand) sat him down and explained to him saying:

‘Son, there is no flower as beautiful and as desirable as the rose. But the rose is not perfect – just as no flower is perfect. Son, you must learn to handle the rose if you are ever going to enjoy a good relationship with it. Like many others that I have given a chance to get to know the rose, you only chose to see the beauty but you blinded your eyes to its thorns – and so you got hurt. Others who saw the thorns decided that they no longer wanted the rose – so they settled for less and missed out on the best thing I had planned for them. Son, you desired an idea of the rose but never the true rose. You must desire the entire rose – even with all its thorns. See, those thorns you do not like right now are the same weapons that the rose will use to defend itself against other false gardeners apart from you. See son, the rose is only good to those gardeners that handle it with the gloves of love and will only respond to those who treat it with love! This is how I have on purpose brought up the rose.

Moreover, the father said to his son:

‘Son, see how you have hurt my rose! You rejected it when you found that it had thorns. You have left it uprooted so that it is no longer fully secure in the ground. You have left my rose vulnerable and insecure. This is wrong of you! You took something that was secure where I planted it and now you have left it insecure because you did not adequately prepare yourself for it. My rose never asked for you but you asked for it. My rose did not fool you by hiding its thorns but you fooled yourself. Because of your hurry, you blinded yourself. Now son, I will go back and replant my rose for now . I will make her secure and lovely once more. My question to you now is this: Do you still want my rose; do you want me to teach you how to handle it?

The son who now realized his foolishness quickly apologized to his father and said:

‘Father, I am sorry that I have hurt your rose. I was so enamored by the rose that I forgot that you are the master gardener! How prideful of me to think I could take care of this rose without asking for your help! Now, I will delight myself in learning from you so that my heart’s desire (the rose) does not turn into a thorn in my flesh’.

Over the next few years, the son learned from his father how to take care of the rose and eventually got the rose in due season – when he was mature and seasoned enough to handle it. So in the end, the father was gracious to both the rose and his son.

Food for thought: God longs to grant us our heart’s desire, BUT we must not make our desire our delight. If we do, then our heart’s desire has become an idol that becomes our thorn in the flesh and keeps us from the father. When we fail to delight ourselves in the Lord, what was meant to be a blessing becomes a source of pain! If we want to do right by our rose, we must put God first. When we do, he will give us what we desire in due time (see Psalm 37:4).

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August 5, 2013 · 10:01 pm

Called and Chosen to Rule – Joseph the Son of Jacob

Why was Joseph called and chosen to rule over all the land of Egypt? Is it because he had the gift of interpreting dreams? No, the gift is NOT what got him his position!

See, Joseph would never have been called to speak to the Pharaoh and so would not have been given the opportunity to show his God-given discernment and wisdom IF he had not first shown love – concern and compassion  – to his fellow inmates. Here is what the bible says about Joseph:

And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they were sad. So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?” And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please.” – Genesis 40:6-8

Listen to me and please understand that the reason why God is choosing you to be great is NOT because of your gifts and talents, but because of your heart for His people! If Joseph (though a prisoner himself) had not first taken the initiative to look at his fellow prisoners, he would have missed the opportunity to interpret their dreams. If he had not interpreted the dreams, the butler would not have told Pharaoh about Joseph (see Genesis 41:9-14).

But you are different!  You take the opportunity to look at the people around you. Though you may be in the same situation as they are, you still care enough to take notice of their expression (just like Joseph). You do not want people to be weighed down by sadness, doubt and uncertainty, but you want them to experience joy and peace right in the middle of whatever they are going through. This is why you take the initiative to look at the people! This is what you do when you go about taking notice of where there is need in your outreaches.

But you do not stop there, once you see a need, you are moved with compassion. You care enough to ask people what is wrong with them (just like Joseph). Although you have a destination and an agenda, you create time to be salt and light to those around you. You are NOT like the priest and Levite who were so consumed with their own agenda, but you are as the Good Samaritan who, being moved with love and compassion, stopped to pour out wine (the Holy Spirit) and oil (the anointing or empowerment of the Holy Spirit) on the wounds of the man who was hurt (see Luke 10:34). You are as Jesus, who being anointed with the Holy Spirit and power, went about doing good and healing those who were oppressed of the devil (see Acts 10:38).

But there is more, you are called and chosen to rule today because you also say words of life, truth, wisdom, and encouragement that God gives to you. In your humility, you offer people the water of the word so that they are not left thirsty. Instead, you fill them up and they go about refreshed and encouraged. Oh, how your words have changed the countenance and facial expression of many people around you – all to the glory of God! Just as Joseph offered the prisoners hope that their dreams could be interpreted by saying ‘do not interpretations belong to God’, you are offering people hope through your words

Lastly, you show people love. You just do not tell them that hope exists – by saying God is able – but you actually plead with people to show them the love of God (just like Joseph). You say to people through your actions, ‘You have been hoping that I can help you… I am both able AND willing.’ This is what Joseph did when he not only told the prisoners that God could interpret their dreams but followed it up by actually asking the prisoners to tell him. Remember how the man with leprosy said to Jesus ‘if you are willing, you can heal me?’ Remember how Jesus said ‘I am willing’, and then cleansed him? This is what you are doing when you say ‘tell me your problems so I can offer you the solution’.

Hallelujah! The solution inside of you is Jesus and just like Joseph, you are showing the power of love by looking, asking, saying, and showing.

When you noticed a need and volunteered your gift of interpretation, this is what you did – you showed love.

God is not going to forget that. It is because of this heart of compassion that God will use your gift and talent he has given you to put you in front of Pharaoh. Then you shall be put in charge of the whole land. All this because you have dared to love!

Food for thought: Love is always the key that is propelling you into your destiny. Wait for it, your audience with the Pharaoh is coming!

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August 3, 2013 · 11:13 pm

4 Things the story of Judah teaches us to keep in mind when dealing with pain and fear

The story of Judah (Joseph’s brother) and his family in the book of Genesis interrupts the telling of the saga of Joseph. In Genesis 38, we read how Judah got married and then gave birth to three sons. How his first born, Er, was killed because of his wickedness – thereby making his wife, Tamar, a widow. It also tells how Judah’s second son, Onan, perished because he did not want to give his brother an heir through Tamar, whom he had married after Er’s death.  

It is at this juncture in the story that Judah sends his daughter in-law away until his third son was adequately grown (Genesis 38:11). This is how he dealt with his pain!

Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house – Genesis 38:11

 As we would later find out, Judah never planned on giving his third son, Shelah to Tamar as a husband but simply wanted to be rid of her! Why? Genesis 38:11 tells reveals that he was afraid for the life of Shelah – his third and last remaining offspring.

Of the many things that can be drawn out from the interesting incidents that occurred in the family of Judah (read Genesis 38), here are four key lessons this passage of scripture teaches us about pain and fear.

Pain has a tendency to blame

Just like any of us would be, Judah was grieved with the loss of his first son. Seeing Tamar’s pain and wanting to do right by her, he decided to give her as a wife to his second son, Onan. When Onan died, Judah – who did not understand why his sons died – started to search for answers.

Without any clear cut answers, all he could manage to do in his hurt was make the connection that his two sons’ had been with the same woman (Tamar) prior their death. As a result, he erroneously blamed her for their deaths and shamed her by sending her away! His pain turned Tamar into a monster! Here is what we can learn from this:

No lasting decision should be made when we are hot, hurt, and emotional

Pain leads us to think the worst about people

Hurt people end up hurting other people (especially the ones closest to them)

 

Pain turns coincidence into root cause

James Whitcomb Riley famously said ‘When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck’. While deductive reasoning is powerful, it can lead to the wrong conclusion if the base assumption behind the reasoning is wrong.

For example, the assumption we are making about James Riley is that he has studied birds and that he knows exactly what a duck walks like, swims like, and quacks like. If he does not know exactly what a duck walks like nor knows exactly how a duck swims, then what he thought sounded like a duck may have been someone using a duck caller!

Back to the story, just because Tamar was the wife of both of Judah’s son’s when they died does not mean she caused the deaths. What did Judah think – that Tamar had some sin that held her responsible for his son’s death? Hmm!

Here are some things to consider prior to assigning a root cause when dealing with pain:

Just because something is factual does not mean it is truthful.

Logic will always lead to the wrong assumption if the starting assumption behind the logic is not true

Correlations does NOT prove causation

Fear always leads to deceitfulness

Judah was afraid for the life of his third son. As a result, he lied to Tamar about his intentions to give him to her in marriage. I am sure Judah justified his deceitfulness by convincing himself that what he was doing was what any other parent would do. He was trying to protect his son, right? Wrong!

In truth, all he was doing was trying to protect himself from the pain of losing another son. He never asked his son what he wanted, even after his son had grown up. In truth, his actions were ‘self’ motivated; what he was trying to do was protect himself – not his son.

Unfortunately for him, what he did not know was that he was protecting himself from the wrong problem. The problem was not Tamar, but was the unrighteousness of his sons. But fear blinded all of that away and led him to make a promise to Tamar that he never had any intentions of keeping.

A person who cannot keep his/her promise is a person who is looking out for his/her own self-interest

A person who cannot seem to tell the truth is a person who is fearful. Get to the source of the fear and deal with it, and you would have dealt with the habit of lying

 

Fear leads to having double-standards

Judah’s response of ‘bring her out and let her be burned’ when he was told of Tamar’s immorality smacks of having double-standards. While he was perfectly okay with his unrighteousness, her unrighteousness deserved nothing short of death. ‘How dare she shame me like this’, he must have thought to himself! He forgot about the time he had shamed her by sending her away from his house and from her family!

This attitude of ‘burn her for what she did, but never mind what I did’ is rampant in people living with fear. Why? It is because fear loves to the take the focus off itself and put it on other things. Fear loves to remain hidden and will out forward any distraction so it is not discovered. It loves to quickly point the finger of blame without ever finding fault.

A person living in fear considers others only for as long as it benefits them

Fearfulness will always lead to selfishness; selfishness will always lead to broken relationships

Has pain and fear caused you to become someone you are not? If this is you, there is freedom in God today. Refuse to allow pain and hurt to control your life today. Instead give it to Jesus – the one who took away all our pains and fear and made freedom and love available to you – and allow His Spirit to control your life through His word.

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July 31, 2013 · 1:26 am

Just Be You – Rediscover the King in the Mirror

The phrase ‘just be you’ is usually spoken in the context of telling someone not to conform to every norm and not to live a life trying to please everybody. While this is sage advice, the advice only ends positively only if we know who we truly are. Now, we cannot answer the question of ‘who we are’ until we know what we are.

The scripture reveals to us that ‘what we are’ are spirit beings. We know this because God, who is spirit (John 4:24) decided to make us in His image (Genesis 1:26). Seeing that we are spirit beings, this means that this body is simply a garment that cloaks our true nature. And just as a garment shows wear and tear over time, the physical garment of our body also deteriorates over time.

Light-bulb moment: The man in the mirror is not the real you; the real you is hidden.

This hidden person inside of you is not like your body which changes over time. The spirit only has two states of existence – it is either dead or alive. Therefore, the first question you have to ask yourself is this: Am I dead or am I alive?

If you do not know the answer to this, then consider that it is the Holy Spirit that gives life (John 6:63). Hence, any person without the Holy Spirit is spiritually dead. Such a person cannot ‘live’ their identity for they are not even alive. How does the Holy Spirit give us life? He does this by taking up residence within our spirit when we accept Jesus as our Lord and savior. When He does this, He seals our spirit with His Spirit (2 Corinthians 1:22) so that our spirit and His Spirit become inseparable. Here is what it all means:

Light-bulb moment: Our living identity is given by the Holy Spirit and is found in the Holy Spirit

Since ‘what we are’ is spirit and ‘whose we are’ is the Holy Spirit’s, the only we way can ‘just be us’ is to live by the Spirit. The moment we stop living by the Spirit is the moment we become imposters! As imposter, we no longer as who we are but have started acting like someone else!

Remember the ‘You are not you when you are hungry’ snickers advertisement on television where the teen turned into a grumpy Liza Minnelli when hungry? It is just like that with us when we do not live by the Holy Spirit. Living without the influence of the Holy Spirit is akin to starving ourselves of life. It makes us grumpy and cranky; we begin to act like who we are not. In truth, we are no longer controlled by our true selves (who are identified with the Holy Spirit) but are controlled by our hungry flesh.

Light-bulb moment: The only way to ‘just be you’ is to live by Spirit. If you are not being you, then you are being whatever your flesh (your senses as impact by things and people) wants you to be.

So then the question is this: Are you being you or are you acting like who you are not? Today, choose to be you! It is so much more difficult trying to be someone else anyway. Furthermore, whomever you are trying to become is not as good as who you are! If you have been running away from yourself, I want to encourage you today to stop, look inwards, and rediscover who you truly are. I promise that you will love yourself!

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