When God Seeks For Your Permission

Are you willing to let go of your good plans and allow God's will to be done? This is not an easy decision to make. It is a tall order. It is a high calling.

Let me state it here and now; for God to accomplish His plan He uses ordinary people like me and you. Sometimes the responsibility may be huge but you should know that God is not asking you if you can do it. He is simply asking if He can use you as His instrument to carry out His plan. 

We cannot run away from the fact that being an instrument of the Lord is a huge responsibility. However, you better rejoice because to be chosen as an instrument of the Lord is a favour and a blessing.  Mary was chosen by God to be the mother of Jesus Christ. The angel Gabriel greeted her as a favoured woman. "Don't be afraid, Mary," the angel told her, "for you have found favour with God!" (Luke 1:30 NLT).

Mary was given a huge responsibility - to give birth to the much anticipated Messiah. As we have discussed in our previous post, agreeing to this arrangement meant that she was rendering herself to public ridicule. God was only seeking for her permission to be the mother of Jesus Christ. Difficult as it was, Mary had to say, "Yes Lord!".

I find it interesting that the moment you agree to God's agenda in your life, He helps you revert to you plan. He helps you to accomplish your personal plans - the only difference being that your plans are now intertwined with his Divine plans. Eventually, Mary got married to her fiancé Joseph.

Accepting such a huge responsibility calls for total dependence on God. Mary accepted the responsibility based on the evidence of God's miracle working power. It was proven to her that nothing is impossible with God as her relative Elizabeth was said to be pregnant in her old age. 

When the angel had explained everything to Mary, she spoke these powerful words, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38 NKJV). As William McDowell sings, it's like Mary was saying, 'I give myself away, so you can use me.' She was surrendering all to God, withholding nothing! She took the responsibility through total obedience to the will of God.

God determines the time when He wants to unveil His plan and He looks for the instrument to use. He is the one to take care of the instrument, ensuring that it is always in good condition and well sharpened or prepared to function effectively. As long as the instrument is in the hands of the Lord, it is safe! He never forces you to be that instrument but He is asking, "Can I use you?"

When God Disrupts Your Plans

What do you do when God decides to disrupt your plans? You've got everything going in your life and suddenly He comes to introduce His own agenda. 

When I reflect on the birth of Jesus, I can't help but focus on the young Mary who was given the mammoth task of carrying the Saviour of the world in her womb. Matthew introduces the story by narrating, "This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 1:18 NLT).

Can you imagine the cultural shock and shame! She was earnestly looking forward to the 'big day' when she was going to be officially announced Mrs Joseph. She was looking forward to enter into the marriage with a sense of pride of having kept her purity for her husband. Suddenly, she was told she was to be pregnant!

She was going to be pregnant but still remain a virgin. It did not make sense. I can only imagine what was going through her mind when she received the message from angel Gabriel. She was going to be publicly ridiculed. She was going to lose the man of her dreams. Her plans were to be ruined. "Joseph, her fiancé was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly." (Matthew 1:19 NLT)

What Mary and her fiancé Joseph did not know was that it was God's time to reveal His glory. It was time for God to fulfil the long standing promise of the Messiah. It was God's time to bring on earth the Redeemer and Saviour of the world, "But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman..." (Galatians 4:4 NKJV)

I have learned that God's right time (fullness of the time) comes when we least expect it. We are never ready for such. God often makes a promise but not reveal the time when we will receive the promise. He just knows the right time. In our books the timing may be wrong but in His sovereign plan it is always the right time.

Sometimes I want to ask, "But why now Lord?" It seems to me that the Lord does not respond directly to this question. When God decides to unleash His plan, there is little or nothing you can do to change it. He has His own agenda and He wants to accomplish it through you. 

What do you do when God decides to disrupt your plans? The beautiful thing is that even though God chooses to disrupt your plans so that He can run His own agenda through your life, He never forces you into it (we will elaborate on this point in next week's post "When God Seeks For Your Permission"). 

When God comes into your life and wants to introduce His agenda, He never asks if you are ready. Instead He wants to know if you are willing. Are you willing to submit to His authority over your life? Are you willing to allow Him accomplish His purpose using you as His instrument? Are you willing to surrender your life to Him? 

Here is the interesting thing; whether you are willing to allow Him use you or not, it will not stop Him from accomplishing His purpose. But what a blessing it is to be used by God for His own purpose!

He Who Acknowledges The SON...

We have been talking about the world and the offers it presents to believers. There is nothing that shakes the devil’s strongholds than the name JESUS CHRIST of Nazareth. In one end the world denies the deity of Jesus Christ. On the other hand it denies the humanity of Jesus Christ. That is the foundation of our faith – Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.

If we desire to be in fellowship with God, our heavenly Father, we must acknowledge His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. If we desire what the Father has, we must acknowledge the firstborn of creation, Jesus Christ. We must recognize Jesus for who He is – the Son of the living God.

It is important to understand that the Father acknowledges the Son himself and he loves his Son. “The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into His hand” (John 3:35).

Let us say for instance you are a woman and you hoping for a man with a son from a previous relationship to marry you. How you treat his Son will have a huge bearing on his level of commitment to the relationship. Simply because he loves his Son. If you truly acknowledge his son, you will have him and if you reject his son you will lose the father as well. Obviously this is a feeble illustration of the relationship between the heavenly Father and his Son Jesus Christ. The Father loves the Son.

True love is demonstrated in action. Likewise, the Father has demonstrated his love for his Son by giving ‘all things into His hand.’ This means he has given his Son authority to govern all things that belong to the Father. He has put him in charge. Therefore, it will help you to acknowledge the Son to have access to the Father.

If we are to enjoy our fellowship with the Father, we must recognize the Son. In fact, we must desire to know the Son. It is better that way. It is the only way to have true fellowship with God.  And let me tell you, Jesus wants to reveal the Father to you. He does not want you to miss out. He would go to great lengths just for you to know him and the Father – to give you eternal life.

Listen to him when he says, “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Matthew 11:27)

Again, Jesus emphasizes the strong bond he has with the Father. He is emphasizing his oneness with the Father. Note that Jesus confirms that the Father has given everything to him. Also note that he says no one truly knows the Father except him and lastly note he says that he has the authority to reveal the Father to anyone he chooses to.

And if you read carefully to the preceding verses you will understand that the heavenly things are hidden from those who think themselves wise and clever but they are revealed to those with a childlike faith. Jesus cannot reveal the Father to those who are too intelligent to accept that Jesus Christ is God incarnate.

It is pointless and profits nothing  to engage in whole lots of theological debates. It is simple, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.” (1 John 2:23). 

Declining the Offer

The world’s offerings are constantly in our eyes just like media advertisements. Just like adverts are meant to be appealing to raise our appetites to buy that product or service sold, the world’s offerings are meant to be appealing to raise our desires to commit sin.

But we thank God for His grace that is revealed and brings salvation to all men. This grace further “teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,” (Titus 2:12 NIV). Through his grace, Jesus Christ ‘gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.” (Titus 2:14 NLT).

We see that God, through Jesus Christ desired that we are set free from the power of sin. However, the sinful nature (flesh) continues to fight and draw us to the world of sin. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit that we are able to overcome the power of sin. While the secular world promotes that where there is a will there is a way (i.e. will power can see us conquer anything), unfortunately not with sin. Our will power cannot  destroy the power of sin. Only Jesus can.

The world offers a craving for sin. This touches on our desires. If we are to enjoy our fellowship with God we need him to change our desires. We need him to cleanse us, purify us or sanctify us. We need him to make us holy because he is a holy God. Only Holy Spirit can produce holy desires in us. That is the reason we need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. That is the reason we need to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. It is Holy Spirit that will continually build our character, shape us and mould us, transforming everyday that we are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

The Apostle Paul shared a very beautiful advice with the Galatian church which is very needful and helpful for us even today. He said;

“So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite of what sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions… Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.”

 – Galatians 5:16-17, 24-25 NLT)

Falling In Love With The Wrong People

If you thought I am going to talk about romantic relationships, I am sorry. Not today. Nonetheless, I invite you to continue reading –  your interest in that department might be addressed.  

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church and said, “When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin. But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that. I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.” (1 Corinthians 5:9-11).

Paul clearly realized that the Corinthians had misunderstood him by making  the church an exclusive club. He had to correct them and highlight that we cannot avoid immoral people in this world. In other words we have to learn to live with them. In fact, we are only pilgrims in this world. This is not our home, our home is in heaven. We are merely ambassadors of the Kingdom of heaven here on earth.

What  Paul was concerned about was their association with the ‘so called’ believers – those who claim to be Christians yet they are consciously living in sin. He says, “Don’t even eat with such people.” In other words he was saying they should not have fellowship with such.

While we are to learn to live with non-believers, we are also warned against forging relationships with them. Later on Paul warns the very same church, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?”  (2 Corinthians 6:14).

The point is that we should not be associated with darkness. Remember, God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all. The reality is that there must be a common denominator that will inform our association with other people. Now, the line of demarcation is very clear, there is no relationship between darkness and light. There is no relationship between God and Satan. Therefore there should no be any relationship between children of God and  children of the devil. Believers should not fellowship with non-believers.

The truth is that we will work with non-believers. We will meet non-believers at the mall. We will go to school with non-believers. But we should guard against falling in love with them. We should not create bonds with non-believers otherwise we will find ourselves in bondage and unable to enjoy the fellowship with our Father.

Fellowship is an act of love. Fellowship means there is a deep, intimate relationship. Fellowship means sharing. You share your resources, including time. You share out of a loving heart. Therefore, it matters who and what you give your love to. The Apostle John says, “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” – (1 John 2:15).

When you give your love to the world or the things of the world, they will reciprocate that gesture and offer what they have. The world offers only a craving for physical pleasure (lust of the flesh), a craving for everything we see (lust of the eyes) and pride in our achievements and possessions. All these set you against God Himself and you are cut out of the joy of the presence of the Lord.

Love From a Pure Heart

What does it mean to have the love of God perfected in us? Peter writes, “Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,” (1 Peter 1:22)

1.      By obeying the truth we purify (sanctify) ourselves

When praying for His disciples Jesus said, “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is the truth.” (John 17:17). We become His disciples by obeying His word. Jesus said the word of God is the truth. The word of God is clear on how we ought to conduct ourselves before God.

Peter commends the church for being obedient children, ‘not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16). By obeying the word of God we are making ourselves approved and acceptable to our God, for He is pure.

2.      The channel for our purification is the Holy Spirit

Give a non-believer the bible to read. There are very high chances that he will not understand what is written, no matter how educated he may be. Sometimes the person may have academic knowledge of the Scriptures but they will not have an effect on Him. The reason is simple, the person is not obedient to what he is reading.

The Scriptures are spiritual and for them to have an effect they need to be activated by the Holy Spirit. Purification comes by obeying the word through the Holy Spirit. Obeying the word open the doors for Holy Spirit to do His work in you. God intends us to be first saved by believing and obeying the truth and then sanctified through the Holy Spirit. Paul writes, “…because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

  

3.      The Spirit deposits sincere love to us

God intends us to be pure and to be like Him. As the Holy God, He is a loving God. Peter says we have purified ourselves by obeying the truth through the Spirit ‘in sincere love of the brethren.’ (The King James version says, ‘unto unfeigned love’). This means that when we walk in holiness we become more and more like our Holy God. He loved us with the greatest love of all [AGAPE]. We also grow into that kind of love. This is not by any means our own work but by the grace of our dear Lord, “…because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us,” ( Romans 5:5).

4.      Because we have the true love, we should not cease to love one another

Given that the true love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, we have the authority to exercise and express it. We have to love one another fervently (without ceasing). God demonstrated His love in that whilst we were sinners Christ died for us. This was His love in action. When someone demonstrates something he is actually showing you how it is done and expects you to continue doing it. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God,” (1 John 4:7).

5.      The love should come from a pure heart

The love that we have to extend to one another should never be hypocritical. It must be sincere and coming from a pure heart. The point is that you purified yourself by obeying the word through the Holy Spirit. However, that does not mean it is done. As long as you live you have to keep your heart pure. Your former lusts which defiled you before you turned to the Lord will always be there but you have to continually keep your heart pure.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God,” (Matthew 5:8). The Lord is always willing to reveal Himself as you are walking with Him but you cannot see Him without a pure heart. We can confidently say truly our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ if we love our fellow brothers in the Lord with a pure heart.

We Obey Jesus Because We Love Him

There is a great privilege in keeping His word.

Jesus said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him,” (John 14:21-23).

The whole relationship between man and God is based on love. He sacrificed His only begotten Son because He loved the world so much. We were His enemies but because He loved us so much Christ died so that we can be reconciled to Him. He expects nothing less from us, that is why He says you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.

Jesus therefore left us with a new commandment that we love one another as He loved us. This is the commandment that the Apostle John accentuates in his letters. “But he who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes,” (1 John 2:10 – 11)

By doing this we demonstrate that we know our Lord and we love Him. That is why Jesus says He will manifest or reveal Himself to us. Jesus cannot reveal Himself to those who are in darkness, He is the light therefore Has no fellowship with darkness. That is what sets us apart from the world.

Judas asked an important question and wanted to find out how He would do that.  Jesus said He, together with the Father will come and dwell in us – make a home with us. When we obey His commandments we are basically welcoming Him to dwell in our hearts and He continually reveals Himself. We know that it is the Holy Spirit that dwells in us, teaching, guiding and leading us to and through the truth.

There is no denying that the word of God is the truth and obeying it we are simply obeying the truth. The beautiful fact is that God never forces you to obey His word. He gives you the free will and your obedience stems from love. Your earthly father may use his authority to force you to respond positively to his command but God simply needs you to do it out of love. That is why Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him and commanded him to take care of his sheep.

There is no way we can love and fellowship with God without loving one another. There is also no way we can fellowship with God without holiness. Since God is holy we have to be holy in all our conduct. So the Apostle John says whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him and by this we know that we are in Him. 

Keeping His Word

At one point Jesus was teaching and a woman, probably amazed by the wisdom from this Man screamed in the midst of the crowd blessing the womb that carried Jesus and the breast that nursed Him. Listen to what the Lord said; “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word and keep it,” (Luke 11:28).

We have seen in the previous post that we communicate with our Lord best through His word. There is no point in hearing or reading the word and then fail to do as it says. Keeping the word does not only mean preserving it but it means also obeying it – doing as it says.

Failing to do the word of God is simply failing to walk in the light. We are still in darkness and because there is no darkness in the Lord therefore we are not worthy to fellowship with Him.

The Master Himself rebuked the multitudes, “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Jesus went on to illustrate that failing to keep his word is like setting yourself for destruction.

He likened someone who obeys his word to a man building a house, who digs down and lays the foundation on a rock. When a flood comes the house is not swept away because it has a rock solid foundation. However, the one who hears the word and do not do anything is like a man who builds a house without a foundation and is easily swept off by the flood and left in great damage.

What a vast difference! The word of the Lord is the solid foundation of our relationship with God. When we obey the word of the Lord we are safe because no matter what comes our way we shall remain unshaken and strong. More than that, God is pleased with us and his love is complete in us. “But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him,” (1 John 2:5).

Our desire is to be in Him all the time and the only way is to keep His word. There is no fellowship without love. That is why in order to know that we are truly in fellowship with Him we need to be perfected (matured) in love and this comes by keeping His word. Keeping His word means being obedient to His commands and the greatest commandment is that we should love one another as the Lord loved us. Jesus says that if we keep this word He will know that we are His disciples.

So basically this is the deal that Jesus puts on the table; ‘You keep my word I know that you are my disciple and you know that you are in Me.’ 

That is the assurance we have to say truly our fellowship is with the Lord. We are all God’s children as Christians and if we love one another we are demonstrating our love for Him. That is why Jesus said if we love Him we will keep His commandments.

Living In Christ

Last week we said earthly success is nothing without Jesus Christ. Being saved is not only to save us from destruction but it is about taking our right positions with God. The Word of God says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them,” (Ephesians 2:10).

Being ‘workmanship’ means that we are a product or an artwork that God made for a specific purpose. We were made to do the works that God predestined for us to walk in them. God preordained us to walk in light and we were actually wasting our time and His time whilst we were walking in darkness.

What is also important to note is that we were created in Christ Jesus. In Him we live, move and have our being. We cannot do the good works that God prepared for us without being in Christ. Revered Chinese preacher Watchman Nee once said;

“Outside of Christ, I am only a sinner;  but in Christ, I am saved. Outside of Christ, I am empty ; in Christ, I am full. Outside of Christ, I am weak; in Christ, I am strong. Outside of Christ, I cannot; in Christ, I am more than able. Outside of Christ, I have been defeated; in Christ, I am already victorious. How meaningful are the words, “in Christ.”

We have to understand that we cannot have fellowship with God seated and folding our arms. Fellowship has to do with a close relationship that is developed by sharing in a common cause or engagement. You can get to experience God’s presence in the process of doing good works.

God has created each one of us for a purpose. Our Master expects us to be the useful vessel that is prepared for the honorable use. That does not mean we are sinless. Only Jesus Christ has and will ever live without sin. There will be times that we will slip out of the way and the enemy cannot wait for that moment to accuse and condemn us. But thank God we have an Advocate with the Father, the Lord of righteousness Jesus Christ.

When it happens that we fall into sin, we should not turn our backs on God, instead we should turn back to Him. “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).

When we confess our sins we are actually declaring that we belong to God. Through Jesus Christ we are shifting positions – from the devil’s presence (darkness) to the presence of the Lord (light). We begin to walk as children of light, acceptable and pleasing to our God.

The Word of God clearly instructs us, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done in secret,” (Ephesians 5:11-12).

There is no point in us to go searching for what is in the dark. Instead we should dwell in the presence of the Lord. Like Mary, the sister to Martha, we should come and sit at the feet of Jesus to hear His Word. The Word will expose whatever is on the dark because, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path,” (Psalm 119:105).

The whole purpose of being in fellowship is to know each other better and foster better communication. What better way to communicate to our God than through His Word. This is where we find what we can expect from our loving Father and what He expects from us. And all we do with our Lord is done in the open and in light. In him there is no darkness at all! 

Join us next week as we talk about the blessings of keeping His word.

Don't Be Fooled By Your Earthly Success

People often wonder why the sinful seem to prosper than Christians. As a child of God you are struggling, whatever you do does not seem to be coming up alright. When you look the next person who does not even know the door to a church building he or she is making it big. That often distresses the children of God. Why non-believers seem to be successful?

This is the same question that bothered David at some point. He said, “When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for me – until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I understood their end. Surely you set them in slippery places, you cast them to destruction,” (Psalm 73:16-18).

David could not find an answer until he went into the presence of the Lord. When he finally got hold of this secret his mood changed for the better and committed himself to draw near to God. The fellowship with God gave him the joy, knowing that God will hold his hand and guide him through.

The enemy has blinded people of the world to think that they are succeeding because of their efforts and there ‘aint nothing stopping them’ to take on the world. They will never see that they are headed for destruction because they are walking in darkness.

The good news is that Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God is life. God so loved the world that He sacrificed His son to save us from destruction. “But God demonstrated His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us,” (Romans 5:8).

Jesus declared Himself as the light of the world (John 8:12) and whoever will follow Him shall not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. Later in his life John writes, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all,” (1 John 1:5).

We cannot continue to walk in darkness and claim we are also in fellowship with God. To walk in darkness simply means living a sinful life. We have a commandment from God to repent from our sins. It is true that we have a sinful nature as human beings, which is the work of the devil but Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. 

It is impossible to have fellowship with God whilst you are still in darkness and thus it is impossible to have fullness of joy whilst you are still walking in darkness. The challenge is that the things that pertains to God are spiritual and without the Spirit of God you cannot fully grasp them. 

You have to accept Christ as your Saviour and by the grace of God, through your faith you will be saved. You have to believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Don’t be fooled by your earthly success, it is worth nothing without Jesus! Join us next week as we get to understand the goodness of 'Living in Christ'. 

Sin Robs Us of Our Joy

Last week we talked about joy being found in the presence of the Lord. If we want to be in fellowship with our God it is imperative to consider what can separate us from Him. There is only one thing that causes a wall of separation between us and Him – sin. The wise king Solomon – writing in his late years reflecting on his own life – says, “Truly, this only I have found; that God made man upright. But they have sought out many schemes,” (Ecclesiastes 7:29).

Sin blinds our spiritual eyes and thus we are in darkness. Therefore it renders us handicap because we are not in a position to see things of the kingdom of God. We are in fact not partakers of the kingdom of God. We have nothing to do with the kingdom of heaven. We belong to the world.

If we do not belong to the kingdom of God it only means that we belong to the kingdom of the devil, who is the god of this world. Darkness rules in this kingdom. In darkness you cannot see where you are going and you are bound to trip over now and then because you cannot see where you are going.

It marvels me when I hear people who are obviously still living in the world claiming to be worshipping God in their own way. It is common for people to remember to pray to God when they encounter challenges in life and hope that He will hear their prayers.

For a long time in my life I was also caught up in this web. With a very strong Christian background I had the idea that I can pray and God will hear me. Before I surrendered my life to Christ I went through a stage when I desired to be in fellowship with God. I bought my first Bible (I only owned a Bible as a textbook in high school). I spent time trying to pray and read the Bible even though I had not repented from my sins.

I was only fooling myself. God does not hear the prayers of a sinner. In fact, when we are still living in sin we are alienated from God. This means that we are foreigners in His kingdom. There is no communication between us and the things of the Kingdom of God. Trying to talk to God as a sinner is more like trying to speak English to a Portuguese speaking person. He does not understand your language and you do not understand his language. A sinner cannot comprehend the spiritual things because Jesus says, “…the words that I speak to you  are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

The sad news is that sin leads to death. First and foremost we need to understand that we were all created by God. The devil has never created anything. However he uses God’s creation as instruments of his wickedness. He makes one a slave for sin. He does not care what impact it makes on the person he is using. He is not interested in his or her wellbeing. Instead he thrives on destruction.

However, this the good news; Jesus has come to give us abundant life (John 10:10). He has come to usher us into the presence of God where there is everlasting joy. He has come to help us overcome a life of sin, which robs us of our joy.  In Him there is forgiveness of sins. Believe in Jesus and be saved!

Joy In the Presence of the Lord

King David says, “In Your presence there is fullness of joy,” (Psalm 16:11). This tells us that to enjoy life we have to live in the presence of the Lord. We have to realize that we have an amazing Father-son relationship with God. Therefore we should not be afraid to utilize that special privilege we attained through our Lord Jesus Christ. We have to be in constant fellowship with Him and we will realize the fullness of joy that David experienced when he wrote the psalm.

I have observed with appreciation the words of aging men in the Bible. In most cases they speak experience, maturity and authority. In his old days David stated that he had not seen one who belongs to God forsaken. Here is a man who had lived his life in perpetual danger of being killed - at some point he  had to be on the run because his own son wanted to kill him – declaring victory.

Although he was continuously troubled David always rejoiced in the Lord. He had unspeakable joy that made him long for the Lord even in times of trouble. At some point he was in the wilderness running away from Saul, obviously hungry, thirsty and tired. But take note of his words (Psalm 63:1-5), disregarding his circumstances;

“O GOD, You are my God

Early will I seek You;

My soul thirst for You;

My flesh longs for You

In a dry and thirsty land

Where there is no water.

So I have looked for You in the sanctuary,

To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life

My lips shall praise You.

Thus I will bless You while I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.”

No wonder when he was advanced in years he testified that he had not seen a man belonging to God being forsaken. He lived his life in the presence of the Lord and experienced the fullness of joy.  When he was supposed to be thinking of his safety and well-being, he longed to fellowship with His God. That is one man God endorsed as to be after His heart.

Another old man who knew living in the presence of the Lord is Joshua. When he was old and about to die, he called the people of Israel to deliver his farewell speech. He instructed them to hold fast (cleave) to the Lord.  He said, “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and all your souls that not one thing has failed of all good things which the LORD your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed,” (Joshua 23:14).

Our God is a faithful God. When we cling to Him we will not fail. No matter what we are going through at that particular moment, it is all complete in the presence of the Lord. When we are in constant communion with the Lord we shall not be afraid because we know that He will be with us. This therefore means that we are not bothered by what is happening but we have an everlasting joy knowing that we are more than conquerors. 

Pursue Joy

It is human nature to be in pursuit of happiness but it is divine nature to pursue joy. We are living in a world that is always chasing after happiness but on the contrary there is much misery and disappointment in the world. People are not at peace. Their minds and hearts are increasingly troubled. There is no happiness in the world unfortunately.

Should we be pursuing happiness in the first place? There is a danger there because happiness is dependent on what is happening around. Happiness is defined as an agreeable feeling or condition of the soul arising from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind.

When you get that monthly pay slip you feel happy. When someone says you have won the game you are happy. It is dependent on what is happening at the moment. It is temporary and in the absence of what will trigger that kind of excitement you drown in the pool of anxiety. Stress levels rocket sky high as the situation persists. Happiness is not sustainable and it is not sustaining.

Instead of happiness we are better pursuing joy. This refers to gladness (joyful satisfaction) or the state of being pleased. Joy is more than just happiness because it has to do with being content. Responding to the generosity of the Philippians whilst he was in prison, Paul says, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I learned in whatever state I am, to be content;” (Philippians 4:10 – 11).

Whilst Paul was happy that the Philippians had sent him a gift, his joy was in the fact that finally the Philippians had their desire to show love fulfilled. Note that Paul said “I rejoiced in the Lord…” This is in line to what he encourages the Philippians to do, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say it, rejoice! (Philippians 4:4).

As believers we ought to rejoice always. After all we belong to the Kingdom of God which is described as righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The big difference is that happiness is the condition of the soul (mind) arising from happening of any kind and joy is an exhilaration of the spirit and comes from the Lord . Happiness is temporary and joy is eternal.

Developing Inner Strength

The Christian journey needs people with the inner strength that will sustain them when it gets tough. It's how you walk that will determine how far you go.

 

I must state that developing inner strength is a progressive process and each challenge we encounter helps us to grow stronger.

 

There is so much we can learn from the Bible and today I want us to draw some lessons from Jesus' apostles, Peter and John. In the early days of their ministry, post the Day of Pentecost when there was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they faced serious challenges.

 

In Acts 4 we read of their arrest for preaching about Jesus Christ and in particular healing of a crippled man who used to sit by the Temple's gate begging for money. A few things we can learn from their experience. What is clear during their ordeal is their boldness which is a result of inner strength. Three principles we can learn from the two.

 

Walk in the Spirit

 

When they were interrogated on the power they had done these things Peter had the audacity to tell the Jewish leaders that the man had been healed through the power of the name of Jesus Christ. The author (Luke) tells us that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

God strengthens us through the Holy Spirit who dwells in our inner being. God himself makes a home in the hearts of believers. That's why we boldly claim, "Greater is He who is within us than the one in the world." 

 

The Jewish were mesmerized by the boldness of these two apostles who were less educated but were with Jesus.The difference was that they lived according to the dictates of Holy Spirit.

 

Walk by Faith 

 

Peter and John fully trusted God. Their faith was established in God and their desire was to please Him. When they were sternly warned not to mention the name of Jesus again, they told them point blank that they would rather obey God than men. Their faith in God made them not to be shaken in spite of the circumstances. They applied the principle, "We walk by faith not by sight."

Walk with other Saints

 

When they were released they went to the other believers and shared with them their ordeal. Together with the believers they prayed for boldness such that there was an earthquake where they were assembled.

 

You need people who will encourage and support you, people who will carry your burdens with you. These people did not pray for the removal of the challenge but they prayed for inner strength to overcome. These are the kind of people you need to surround yourself with to help you develop your inner strength.

Empowered With Inner Strength

I am sitting here thinking of the Christian journey. In my mind there's someone who has had to endure many difficulties in life but still manages to smile. This person has this inexplicable joy and peace in spite of the many trials.

Questions keep flooding my mind. What is it that keeps one going when quitting would be the easiest and less costly option? How does one truly hopes "this too shall pass" when all logic suggests otherwise? How does one deal with all the negative voices coming from everywhere, whispering discouragement?

We will face challenges now and then. Some may be short term and some may last longer. But through it all we must rejoice in the Lord. We must thank God in all circumstances.

As I am writing this piece Andrae Crouch's song 'Through It All' is impressed in my heart. The last verse goes like this;

I thank God for the mountains,
and I thank Him for the valleys,
I thank Him for the storms
He brought me through
For if I'd never had a problem,
I wouldn't know God could solve them,
I'd never know what faith in God could do...

It takes someone with inner strength to sing these words when things seem to be going from bad to worse. Only God can supply such strength. Only God can give you inner strength to face any trouble with much boldness and joy till the storm passes over. Each challenge is an opportunity to demonstrate God's power. It only takes someone empowered with inner strength to have such a view of life.

This is my prayer for you;

"I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit." - Ephesians 3:16 NLT