Tag Archives: Jesus

April 8, 2014 · 6:28 am

Doing What Matters – Say No!

We have 86,400 secs every day to make an impact on our world and in the lives of the people around us. While a second or a minute may seem like a short amount of time, it is not. Life happens in short time bursts. All things – whether good or bad – happens to us in moments. Similarly, life can change in just an instant. Most times, we do not realize or take advantage of the precious moments we have because we are too busy doing things and running around. A life lived this way can be very frustrating and unfulfilling for it is life that is lived by default and not a life that is lived by design.

To get the most out of the moments of our lives requires that we live a life by design.

This means that we have to get rid of the distractions that so easily plague us. It means that we have to stop running around doing what everybody else wants us to do in favor of what we have been called to do. In life, I have realized that while everything can be elevated as being urgent, not all things can be elevated as being important. You will simply have to learn to say no if you are to do what matters most and get the most out of your life.

 

Say ‘No!’

People are good at elevating the importance of what they want you to accomplish for them. Most people will want you to drop everything you are doing to focus on their issue. Do not be surprised if they try to manipulate you with emotions to get their way. They may get angry or teary-eyed; they may give you the silent treatment or call you incessantly. Worse still, Do not be surprised if all of a sudden, the person who you is never sure God is speaking to them tells you that God spoke to them plain as day concerning your life. Do not yield when the person starts to quote scripture to try to guilt-trip you into doing their bidding!

When this happens, ask yourself two key questions: Is what I am about to do moving me towards my purpose. Is this the will of God for my life right now? Is this a godly distraction or is it an ungodly distraction?

Not everybody’s emergency is your priority. Most people’s emergency are fear and impatience driven!

If you do not ponder your ways, you will find that you spend most of your time being other people’s door mat and being a slave to other people’s wishes. This is not only bad, it is idolatrous in that you have put other people’s wishes above God’s wish for you! You are more focused in pleasing man than you are pleasing God!

If you cannot say no, is it because you are afraid of something? If you can’t say no, is it because you have made something an idol in your life above God? Is it because you have misplaced your trust?

Our trust should be in God and no one else! We will learn to say no to the things that is not in God’s plan for our lives – even though those things may be noble.

Example of Jesus: Even Jesus had to say no! When he was told that Lazarus was sick and dying, he followed the will of God and decided to stay an extra 2 days where he was before departing. While he could have taken off immediately and spared many people the agony of mourning Lazarus’ death, Jesus understood that God had better plans through the death of Lazarus. As we know, Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave and people got to see God’s mighty power. If Jesus had not obeyed, it would have robbed the people of seeing the truth that Jesus had power over death. It would have robbed the people of believing! See, Lazarus would have recovered one way or the other since it was the will of God. What was more important was that the people believed.

Are you depriving the people in your life the miracle that God wants to do for them because you are rushing to the rescue all the time? Have you started playing God instead of allowing God to be God because of your inability to say no?

Food for thought: Just because you are doing what seems right, and is right in peoples eyes, does not mean you are being obedient or doing what is right in the sight of God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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February 18, 2014 · 7:00 pm

Tales from The Amazon – The church built on a pond

We walk by faith and not by sight

I have often wondered what first entered the mind of Jesus when the Holy Spirit instructed him to spit on the ground and make mud out of the soil and rub it in the eyes of the blind man! Did He think like me and say, ‘You want me to do what? Surely, there must be another way?‘ Or did He blame the devil for the thought (like some of us would when God asks us to step out of our comfort zone) and say, ‘I rebuke that thought! Devil, I bind you up right now!‘

Being Jesus, He probably just said, right away sir, as you wish! See, it is easy to justify, rationalize, intellectualize our way into why we are not doing what God wants us to do, when He wants us to do it, and how He wants us to do it. But no matter what the excuse, disobedience is disobedience.

Pastor Natalino of Renovation Church in Belterra had the opportunity to walk in disobedience when the Holy Spirit stopped him and told him to declare that he was going to build a church in what was a good sized pond! From a conversation with him, his first thought was, ‘Really God! Of of all the places, you want me to build a church here!’

Unlike many of us,  Pastor Natalino decided not to make the voice of the Holy Spirit of no effect! He went to the city council and informed them of what He wanted to do.

They thought he was crazy and laughed at him!

Do not be surprised if the world laughs at you when you are walking by faith

But Pastor Natalino would not be deterred! Like Nehemiah, he would not listen to the laughs of his detractors but pressed forward towards the mark of his calling. He rented a pump and over a number of days promptly drained the large pond. But would you know it, no sooner had he finished draining the pond, an enormous deluge of rain befell Belterra and filled up the pond once more! Now what was he to do? He did not have any more money to spend to drain the pond a second time! What was he to do?

Though crest-fallen, Pastor Natalino would not stay disheartened! He passed the test of endurance and obedience.

He said to God, ‘God, you are the one that told me to build a church on this land. This is your will. I am being faithful to you, therefore, help me bring to pass what you have ordained.‘ Lo and Behold, the pond which was completely filled up dried up within the next few days! In his testimony, Pastor Natalino said: The first time, I climbed the mountain of draining the lake. The second time around, I spoke to the mountain to be removed

I tell all of you with certainty, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ if he doesn’t doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him

– Mark 11:23

See, the bridge to success is many times filled with trial and tribulation. When they come, what we must not do is fill our minds with doubt of God’s calling on our life. Instead, we must ask God for wisdom while actively waiting patiently for the manifestation of the promises of God. (see James 1:1-8).

Ultimately, Pastor Natalino was able to build the first phase of the church God had promised him. It is his picture that you see in the top left corner of this blog. I am honored to have met and him and to have had fellowship with him and his congregation in Belterra!

Food for Thought: Though the enemy will laugh at me in the beginning, I will have the last laugh in the end if I do not grow faint and weary but continue in faith

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January 11, 2014 · 11:07 pm

Faith, Fear and Money: Is your lack of faith stealing your financial freedom?

I am sure some of you clicked on this blog out of curiosity while some of you have clicked on it to crucify me since you have a problem with anyone connecting faith and money! If this is you, then I apologize for my lack of sensitivity for I could have titled this blog faith and blessings. But when I considered that the bible tells us that the blessing of the Lord makes one rich (Proverbs 10:22), I thought it best to avoid wording games. I do submit though that a better title may have been faith and riches or faith and wealth.

But doesn’t the bible say that money is the root of all evil? No, it does not say that! It says that the love of money is the root of all evil. Hence, money becomes evil only when we love it. There are generally two ways to love money:

  1. We can love money so much that it consumes all of our thinking and drives our behavior. When this happens, money ceases to be the vehicle to do good works but becomes the goal itself. When money becomes the goal is when morals, ethics, law, and good judgment go out of the window. This is why God says that we cannot serve two masters – we cannot serve money and God. This love of money is what pushes men people to engage in human trafficking and pushes parents to sell their children into sex slavery.
  2. On the other side, we can love money so much that we do not want to part from it. So we hold it, horde it, and being a miser…instead of investing it so it can be put to greater good for our communities. This love of money is why God was so angry with the servant who hid his money in the ground instead of placing it in a vehicle that could earn interest.

But when we love God, we are obedient to Him. Obedience in turn will always bring blessings…including riches. The question is do we trust and believe God enough to obey his plans and his ways: Work hard and smart, invest hard, and give back hard! Do we have faith to do all He wants us to do?

10 Spies Sent to Canaan

The answer to that question was NO for 10 of the 12 spies sent to Canaan. They saw a land flowing with milk and honey; a land with grape clusters so huge two that people had to carry it on their shoulders. But they did not focus on that; they filled their minds with the size of the people in the land.

Instead of seeing the good future their present could create by faith, they concentrated on the bad of their present circumstance. Instead of seeing the opportunities, they saw the challenges. Instead of focusing on the reward of their march into Canaan, they focused on the cost of the investment. As a result, they ended up staying in the wilderness 40 years longer than what was originally planned. Their lack of faith (trust and believe) cost them the life that God had in store for them. Instead of milk and honey, they died on manna (which no longer had the taste of honey) and water!

Light-bulb moment: We must not be as the 10 spies who wanted the take the less costly trip back to Egypt to continue to live as slaves instead of taking the more costly trip into Canaan to rule the land!

See, we can either focus on what God has asked us to do or we can focus on the obstacles in front of us?

Light-bulb moment: Fear will always focus on the cost of an investment while faith will always look at the return on investment.

Fear causes too many people to park their money in the bank to earn 0.25% interest while paying the same bank 3.5% interest to finance a house! Faith on the other hand gives us boldness and courage to use the same money to start an income generating business in real estate or other avenues that can have a 25% or higher return on investment…if we would only develop our faith!

Light-bulb moment: Fear will always play it safe, but faith always plays it risky according to the world’s standard. To play it safe is to play it scared!

Think about this: God had to have faith in Jesus that He would actually accomplish that task He was given. If He did not have faith in Him, He would never have sent Him! But He had faith in Him and sent Him.

This illustrates that everything worth doing involves a measure of risk. If we truly love, then we will risk it all – just as God did with Jesus for us. If you love your family and your household, then you will take the journey to develop your faith so that you can be bold and courageous to do all God as called you to do.

If you do not like risk, neither do I! Yet, we can rest assured in the truth that there is no risk in God! God defies all statistics and He has never failed! So, the way to eliminate risk is to do all that God tells us to do.

Light-bulb moment: God has already blessed us. It is our job to take hold of the riches of those blessing by faith

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October 28, 2013 · 7:05 am

Success Secret From Jesus – Day 8 – Excellence

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

EXCELLENCE

And He said to Him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now.”
—John 2:10

The first miracle Jesus ever performed was to turn water into wine.  For this series, we will not focus on the significance of turning water into wine. Instead, we will focus on the excellence behind the very first work that Jesus. This first miraculous work set the stage for the quality of the subsequent work Jesus would perform. Jesus started excellently and finished excellently.

The water that Jesus turned into wine was so good that the master of the feast could not help but call the bridegroom to congratulate him on its quality. He said: “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now.”

The wonderful thing about this portion of the story is that the bridegroom had indeed served his best wine first; yet the best wine he could find paled in comparison to the wine that had been produced from mere water. You see, the best that the bridegroom could offer paled in comparison to the best that Jesus offered.

Light-bulb moment: Excellence is found by allowing Jesus to have his way with us and work through us.

Let Your Excellence Speak for You
The quality of what we do must be excellent. The same Jesus who raised the bar when he turned water into wine is more than able to do an excellent work through us, because he lives in us. Thus, to be like Jesus, we have to make sure that our work output is excellent. If we do this, we find out that we are recognized in all we do just as the bridegroom was recognized for the wine that Jesus produced for him.

Its brilliant for us really. Jesus does the work, and we receive the plaudits for it. It not our work but Jesus working through us. Therefore, we must always give God the credit. We must avoid becoming puffed up by thinking that our success and fame is due to our own powers and abilities. It is only through the power of Christ in us that we are able to achieve anything

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October 20, 2013 · 5:47 pm

Success Secrets From Jesus Series – Introduction

Jesus is the most successful man who ever lived.

His accomplishments are simply staggering. In only three short years, he changed the course and history of the world, undid the muck of the past which Adam unleashed upon the earth, defeated the power of sin and death, reconciled us to God—thereby guaranteeing salvation to those who choose him—and made available all covenant blessings and promises in him.

Jesus is also the most famous man that ever lived.

Not bad for a person who was a carpenter by trade huh! Indeed, the name of Jesus is the most recognized name on earth despite the fact that he has been gone for over 2000 years. Now that is some staying power! If Jesus could do all this in three years, how much can we do in a lifetime if we would just commit ourselves to becoming like him? The extent to which we commit ourselves to following his example will (1) determine the level of success we achieve (2) determine whether that level of success is fleeting or lasting. It is best to model yourself after Jesus if you want long, lasting, and fulfilling success in all areas of your life.

Start your journey on being a success right here:  Devotion

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October 10, 2013 · 7:31 pm

Success Secrets From Jesus – Day 3 – Discipline

On day 2, we discussed how preparation is key to be able to stand the test which decides whether we are promoted or we spend more time in the wilderness. Now, we must examine the traits required while being tested.

SELF-CONTROL

Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
—Matthew 4:3–4

The test Satan uses to confront Jesus after 40-days of fasting is brilliant in its simplicity. Satan knew that Jesus must have been hungry after 40-days of no food. He knew that Jesus’ flesh was crying out for some nourishment. So he asked Jesus if to use His power to turn stones into bread. In other words, He wanted to see if Jesus was going to use His powers to gratify His human desire (flesh) at His point of weakness or if He could practice self-denial.

Here is why this is test is so important: Satan knew if Jesus could not deny himself food (his human wants) at the beginning of His ministry, He would not be able to deny himself the human want of running away from the pain and suffering which was to come on the cross at the end of His ministry.

The first test was to see if Jesus was prone to self-gratification; it is was to see if Jesus would satisfy His fleshly desire.

Destiny Requires Self-Control
Just as Jesus exercised control over His flesh, we must stay self-controlled in order to stay on course toward our goal. We cannot give our attention to every whim. We must discipline ourselves so we do not allow our penchant for instant gratification to derail us. Discipline is necessary to achieve progress in life.

Imagine what would happen if we denied ourselves an extra hour of sleep and instead used it to workout? How about we cut out an hour of television in order to spend it with our loved ones? What if we all took the time to build ourselves up spiritually in the morning prior to tackling the day’s duties—how great would the our world be?

There is no success without constancy of purpose, and there is no consistency without self-control. 

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

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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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August 24, 2013 · 12:03 pm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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July 26, 2013 · 3:25 am

‘The lamp of the body’ needs regular oil change

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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