God, Why?--Episode 3: God, Why Should I Trust A Book That Supports Slavery And Misorgyny

Our faith is an holistic faith, and asking questions is one of the most important ways that helps us to seek and know more about Jesus. By so doing we get to tell others about Jesus and call people to worship God better. Also asking questions help us to overcome hypocrisy which was our focal point last week.

The bible has been misconstrued to suggest and encourage slavery and Misorgyny (hatred towards women). But this is not true because our God is a God of equality, treating people the same way, both Gentile or Jews, male or Female and Slave or Free .He has poured His Spirit out on all those who believe.

Romans 2:11 (CSB) says "For there is no favoritism with God." So in todays Life Discovery Gathering, we'll be looking at this two questions; Does the Bible support or encourage Slavery? And Does the bible support or encourage misorgyny?

Does The Bible Encourage Slavery?
Colossians 3:22 (Slaves, obey your human masters in everything. Dont work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. CSB)

What was Slavery in Bible Times: Bibilical slavery, was about employer, employee relationship, people captured during war. In the Bible times, slaves could own property, own other slaves and even purchase their own freedom. You can even use yourself to work to pay off debts, and get money.

How was the church to treat people who work for them?: In Christ an ethnic distinction is not placed above another. We are all robed in the righteousness of Christ.

1) We are to treat people equally not based on anything but based on their status in Jesus, because Christ thinks we are all worth dying for.
How we serve those who are underneath and beneath us is a reflection of how we worship the One above us.
Ephesians 6:5-9 CSB ( 5. Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart , as you would Christ. 6. Don't work only while being watched, as people-pleasers but as slaves in Christ, do God's will from your heart. 7. Serve with a good attitude, as to the Lord and not to people, knowing that whatever good each one does slave or free, he will receive this back from the Lord, 9. And masters, treat your slaves the same way, without threatening them, because you know that both their master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with Him.)

2) Servants are members of God's family; we are expected to treat them with love and equality. Philemon 1: 16. Treat your workers as a brother and sister in the Lord.

Does The Bible Support Misorgyny? 1corinthians 14: 34-35 (CSB) (34.  the women should be silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but are to submit themselves, as the law also says. 35. If they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home, since it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.)
The essence of a woman being silent in church is to attain order and maturity in public worship not that a woman cannot speak in church.

We see in I Corinthians 11:5 that the Bible acknowledged that a woman can prophesy. I Corinthians 11:5 (CSB) (5. Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since that is one and the same as having her head shaved.)

The Bible does not condone misogyny because women are coheirs in Christ, Jesus equally bled on them. Gal 3:28.

Below are few points we can meditate on:
-Jesus elevated women : the Samaritan woman was the first person that Jesus told He was the Messiah - John 4:21-28, the woman that was caught in adultery that Jesus didnt condemn (John 8:1-11)

-Women were key testifiers of Christ: Mary Magdalene who was the first testifier of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in John 20:1-2, Mary the mother of Jesus of course testified of the genuineness of the Christ Child (Matt 1:18, John 2:5)

The concept of Women Church Leader: In Acts 16:14-15, the Bible talks about a rich woman who encouraged her household to receive the Lord and even invited the Church into her house. The first church plan in Europe was started in the house of a woman. In Romans 16:1-7, we can see that a woman was also made a deacon.

Personal Reflection: The word of God drives us deeper and deeper in understanding our faith and understanding how God treasures everybody. And drives us deeper to see the world as part of a big story for God's Glory where male, female, teenager, pre-teen have a role to play, we all have a space in Christ.

Soul tattoo: Trust and read the bible daily, which includes listening to the bible (Our bible is trustworthy and it tells the story of the One who is faithful.)

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Saturday, 15th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: Humility and kindness wrapped up in love is a portrait and picture of what it means to grow as a follower of Christ.

Notes/Prayers: Spirit of God, help me to be a living figure of one who is growing in You. Let love and kindness be my embrace as I engage with others.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Friday, 14th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: Grace humbles us without deflating us. It encourages us without making us think too highly of ourselves.

Notes/Prayers: Dear Lord, help me to understand the workings of Your grace in me and never to take Your grace for granted.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Thursday, 13th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: To love doesn’t mean you have to agree with all the choices people make; it means you affirm the image of God in them.

Notes/Prayers: Dear Father, help me see everyone around me as one You love and died for and to affirm Your image in them.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Wednesday, 12th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: God by His grace invites us into His Kingdom to be actors in His story. He does this by taking off our masks (our old self) and giving us a new life.

Notes/Prayers: Lord I thank you for making me a part of Your kingdom by Grace. Dear Lord, please have Your way in me and express Your life through me.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Tuesday, 11th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: Don’t let one moment define someone’s life- including your own. Holiness is a lifelong journey of trusting Jesus.

Notes/Prayers: Sweet Holy Spirit, help me to see myself in the light of who I am in Christ and to keep trusting You to make me like Jesus.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Monday, 10th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: Our circumstances does not determine our faith, our faith in Jesus is what gets us through our circumstances, not merely to survive but to thrive.

Notes/Prayers: Dear Father, help me never to allow my circumstances define my faith in You. Help me to know that I was made to thrive in spite of what’s going on around me

God, Why?--Episode 2: God, Why Are Christians Such Hypocrites?

In this week’s episode, we will tackle the question of hypocrisy amongst Christians. Do you struggle with the attitude and actions of people who
claim to be Christ followers but don’t seem to reflect him? Do you sometimes have difficulty reflecting Christ yourself?

Our circumstances does not determine our faith, our faith in Jesus is what gets us through our circumstances, not merely to survive but to thrive.

Don’t let one moment define someone’s life- including your own. Holiness is a lifelong journey the more we trust Him and gaze on Him, the more we will become like Him. Gal.6:1-2

The ethics and beauty of a life that Jesus lived and the life that Jesus invites us into to live through the Holy Spirit’s power, is so beautiful and so engaging that people has to see it.

A Hypocrite is a person who acts in contradiction to his/her stated beliefs. A person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion. Hypocrisy is borrowed from a Greek word ‘hupokrisis’ -answerer (actor on stage) /pretender.

God has a play titled 'The kingdom of God' and by grace He invites us into His kingdom, to become His actors in His story. He takes off our masks (our old self) and gives us His new self Romans 6:6

Why are Christians Such Hypocrites? Because:

1. Holiness is a lifelong journey of trusting Jesus. Rom. 7:14-15, 24-25.
God does not need glory, God is glory. We need His glory, because of that which we admire is so beautiful; the more we gaze on Him, the more He will begin to rub on us. Jesus is the embodiment of Holiness. He came to earth to live a holy life because you and I couldn’t.

God did not come to make bad people good, He came to make dead people alive, therefore if we boast of our goodness, it is an indication that we have not come to the knowledge of His greatness.

Grace humbles us without deflating us. It encourages us without making us think too highly of ourselves.

God grabs us out of darkness and positions us into light. Holiness is a progressive sanctification. The same faith that brought you into the kingdom is the same faith that grows you in the kingdom Rom. 7: 14-15, 23-25.

When you are in the midst of the battle, don’t go on with the mindset of fighting on your own, instead fall to your knees and cry out saying God live through me.

2. Holiness is a choice to ‘put on’ Christ.
Jesus is not a means to the end, He is the end. He is not a resource, He is the source. The greatest prayer you can say is; LORD, LET YOUR WILL BE DONE. Sometimes God rips away from us (a process that can be painful) so He can give us what we really need. Rom. 13: 13-14.

3. Holiness is a war. Let the Holy Spirit fight it for you. Gal. 5: 16-18
With the help of the Holy Spirit, we love God completely, love ourselves compassionately and we are also empowered to love our neighbors
correctly. We have to walk intentionally by the Holy Spirit and let Him work in us and through us.

It is not about you: It’s not ‘ianity’ it’s ‘Christianity’. Put on Christ by walking in the Holy Spirit. Set your mind on things above.

4. Not all who say they follow Jesus are His followers. Jn. 4:20-21.
When you are learning about Jesus, the focus should always be on Him.

To love doesn’t mean you have to agree with all the choices people make, it means you affirm the image of God in them. Matt. 23: 23-28.

Don’t neglect justice, as long as it matters to God, it should matter to you. Don’t say that’s
not my problem because it doesn’t affect me: Remember Jesus didn’t say, ‘I won’t go to earth because sin does not affect him’.

5. Christians are known by how they love.
Love doesn’t mean I approve your sin, it means I approve your human dignity and worth. Jn. 13: 34-35. Trusting Jesus and growing in Holiness
should be an opportunity to display Jesus to the world.

Humility and kindness wrapped up in Love is a portrait and picture of what it means to grow as a follower of Christ.

You will always have something to give, because Jesus is all you need to give.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Saturday, 8th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: The Holy Spirit wants to perfect God’s work in us and God uses all things to do it even evil and suffering. Our God is sovereign.

Notes/Prayers: Thank you Lord for your work in me. Help me to know that You are sovereign in all Your ways and that You can use all things for Your redemptive purposes.

Hey people, hope your weekend went well?

The delay here is due to inconsistent network connections. I apologize. I'll post all outstanding devotionals now ( I pray network allows this time). Thanks for understanding.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Friday, 7th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: Evil and suffering teaches us to see the invisible and to pray in the Spirit.

Notes/Prayers: Spirit of God, help me to see the invisible and to pray in the spirit.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Thursday, 6th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: Evil and suffering reminds us that all of creation needs redemption and there's power in Jesus blood to heal us all.

Notes/Prayers: Dear Father, help me never to lose sight of the power in Jesus blood to redeem and heal.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Wednesday, 5th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: It's important we maintain a proper mindset in the face of evil and suffering. Evil and suffering doesnt compare to the awaiting glory.

Notes/Prayers: Spirit of God, help me keep a right mindset towards evil and suffering. Help me to never loose focus of the glory ahead.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Tuesday, 4th August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: Everything God created is good. Evil and suffering is a result of sin and this led to the fall of man.

Notes/Prayers: Sweet Holy Spirit, help me to know that everything you created is good and teach me to see good in everyone and everything.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Monday, 3rd August, 2020.

Focus/Reflection: Evil and suffering do not belong in God's good creation and one day they will be vanquished.

Notes/Prayers: Dear Father, help me to understand that evil and suffering is not part of Your original creation and that it will vanquished when Your kingdom comes in its fullness.

Sunday August 2, 2020

God, Why?--Episode 1: God, Why Is There So Much Evil and Suffering?

This is one of the most asked questions in the
religious space. If God is loving, why is there evil and suffering in the world? In this series, starting with todays episode, we will join up with Pastor Derwin and the TC community as we find answers to this question and hope as we face very difficult times.

The biggest challenge to historic biblical Christianity is what philosophers call the problem of evil. The problem of evil is a problem for every single world view. Its important to know that our longing for justice, for beauty and for all sad things to become good is actually a longing for God. Everyone is going to experience the effects of evil and suffering and we might just do it with Jesus in our corner.

Evil and suffering do not belong in Gods good creation and one day they will be vanquished. We learnt from Genesis that Gods creation is good. Even though the kingdom of God is here but not fully, it will happen when Jesus returns.
Where does evil and suffering come from? Romans 5:12 (CSB).

Evil and suffering is a consequence of sin. Sin literally means that I am willfully rejecting my role as a partner with God to build His kingdom. Sin is not just an action, it is also dark power. Often people ask why God who is Omniscient (knows everything) put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden? This is because love demands choice and God wont violate our ability to make choices.

Evil and Suffering:
1. Doesnt compare to the awaiting glory. Romans 8:18. In the midst of evil and suffering, we have to maintain a proper mindset because we have a destination which is the New heavens and the New earth. If we die before Jesus coming, our spirit goes to be with the Lord while our bodies go to the ground but when Jesus comes back, theres a New heaven and a New earth and we have glorified resurrected bodies.

2. Reminds us that all of creation needs redemption. Romans 8:19-23 (CSB) The power of Jesus blood is so epic even creation itself would heal. Please know that if you have conviction, it is different from condemnation and guilt. Condemnation and guilt says youre evil, conviction says what you did was evil but its not a reflection of who youre in Christ. Its important to discern the difference. Condemnation and guilt pushes you away from God, conviction move you into the arms of a loving God.

3. Teaches us to see the invisible. Romans 8:24-25 CSB
This means we begin to see Gods invisible kingdom working even if we dont know it.

4. Teaches us to pray in the Spirit. Romans 8:26-29 CSB
God the Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the triune God. Prayer is allowing the Holy Spirit to intercede for us.

5. Showcases Gods sovereign redemptive purpose in your life. Romans 8:28-30 (CSB) Its good we know that if God were to get rid of all evil right now, He would start with you and me. The Holy Spirit wants to perfect Gods work in us and God uses all things to do it even evil and suffering. We are now living from the overcoming power of Jesus not living to overcome. Christ already did it, we walk in it faith.

6. Reminds us that we are more than conquerors in Christ. Romans 8:31-39 (CSB) We can through Gods grace take what the enemy means for evil and God uses it for good and the good is that God conforms us to the image of Christ and we continue the ministry and mission of Christ in all of life. You precious child are more than conqueror in Christ and His sovereign goodness is holding you into His nailed pierced hands.

Hey Friends,

It's been a while here. I trust we're all doing good in this pandemically challenging times.This too shall pass to the glory of God and we shall remain standing strong.

There are answers which we most times seek, some questions seem too much to ask. In this series we will be dissecting some of those questions and getting enlightened on some of these questions. We will be joining the Transformation Church Community and Pastor Derwin Gray in this quest.

Please stay tuned.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Wednesday July 1, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Don’t be drawn into the survival of the fittest philosophy, rather get fit for God’s kingdom.

Notes/Prayers: Spirit of God, teach my heart to seek your kingdom and it's righteousness and not to be drawn into the race for survival.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Tuesday June 30, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Happiness is God making you good, it is God making you beautiful, it is God making you an instrument of justice in an unjust world.

Notes/Prayers: Father, please make me good, make me beautiful and make me an instrument of justice everywhere

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Monday June 29, 2020

Focus/Reflection: If Jesus is all that you have then you have all that you need. External things are meant to be secondary not primary.

Notes/Prayers: Sweet Holy Spirit, teach my heart to find satisfaction and happiness in You and not in external things.

THE GOOD LIFE – Episode 4- Happy are the Hungry and Thirsty.

Derwin Gray.

We are welcome to Episode 4 THE GOOD LIFE series. We are encouraged not to base the quality of our life on external things. We need to come to a point that if Jesus is all that we have, we have all that we need because He is Emmanuel (God with us).
The external things are meant to be secondary not primary.

Our longing for a better world, the desire to see injustice become just, to see broken things get fixed, the desire for suffering to be eradicated is actually a desire and longing for God.

We hunger and thirst for goodness, beauty and justice. Ultimately, Jesus is the embodiment of all that is beautiful, good and just.

Happiness is God making us good, it is God making us beautiful, it is God making us an instrument of justice in an unjust world. Our
hunger and thirst is like an echo calling out to God to make us good.

We often find ourselves in a dilemma and our dilemma lies in that we either adopt the survival of the fittest philosophy or we get fit for God’s kingdom.

However, when God gets us fit by His grace, by His mercy, by His kindness and His love, it is then we get the happiness we were created for. Matthew 5:6 (CSB).

In Jesus’ days, Righteousness would have meant “covenantal faithfulness” but now we can say it means a hunger to see God’s love spread (being a conduit of love). It’s this love that heals the broken hearted and tears down the walls and systems of injustice in our world today.

How do we become Hungry and Thirsty?
1. God gives us the desire to embody righteousness by giving us His Righteousness. 2 Corinthians 5:21.

The beauty of Grace is that God won’t ask us to do something that He doesn’t first give us the Grace to accomplish. He is the requirement
and He is enough. Grace is God's righteousness at Christ's expense.God wants to live the righteousness that is in us through us.

How do we become happy?
 Happiness is found in joining Jesus in meeting another person's need. Happiness is not all of a feeling; it is rooted in purpose. Isaiah 1:17, James 1:27, Proverbs 19:17.

 Happiness is found in joining Jesus to heal the hurt. Luke 4:18-19, Hebrews 13:3. We must know that God is not looking for ability, He has plenty of that. He’s looking for people with availability who hunger and thirst for righteousness because He put the desire there.

 Personal Reflection: Compassion means to suffer with. Whoare you suffering with? Let your prayer be that God gives you a heart that hungers and thirsts after righteousness.


 Soul Tattoo: Happy are those who live Upward, Inward, Outward.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Friday June 26, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Grace humbles you without obliterating you but it also lifts you up to celebrate you. Remember God resists the proud but gives His Grace to the humble.

Notes/Prayers: Spirit of God, teach me to know what it means to be truly humble and help me constantly embrace Your graciousness.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Thursday June 25, 2020

Focus/Reflection: In awe of God’s holiness and as an evidence of growing in Christ, you worship Him, you seek to be like Him; you don’t use Him (i.e. only begging God for your material needs).

Notes/Prayers: Oh Lord! Help me to be a true worshipper who worships in spirit and in truth. Help me to seek You not only for the things You can give and do for me.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Wednesday June 24, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Humility connects you to God’s supernatural Ability. It’s a posture that makes you recognize God’s greatness in you & His work through you.

Notes/Prayers: Spirit of God, teach my heart to be humble so that Your supernatural ability can be at work in me and through me.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Tuesday June 23, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Humility is having Godfidence, not self-confidence. The way you need your next breath is the way you ought to cling to God

Notes/Prayers: Father, I declare this day that I am nothing without You. Help me oh Lord to be dependent on You in every facet of life. Amen.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Monday June 22, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Do not look to find Happiness in created things or to fill a longing that only the uncreated creator can satisfy.

Notes/Prayers: Sweet Holy Spirit, teach my heart to find satisfaction and happiness in my creator and not in created things.

THE GOOD LIFE– Episode 3- Happy are the Humble

Derwin Gray.

We are welcome to the Episode 3 of our GOOD LIFE series. One of the striking lessons of these series is an encouragement not to look to find
happiness in created things or to fill a longing that only the uncreated creator can satisfy.

It’s important to know that as Christians our inheritance as followers of Jesus is the New Heaven and New earth and this was secured by the blood, the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus and descending of the Holy Spirit.

Humility is not timidity, shyness nor even weakness. The word ‘Humility’ can be translated as ‘meek’. Humility is having GODFIDENCE not SELF-CONFIDENCE.

Godfidence is utter dependence on God in every single facet of life. The way we need the next breath is how we ought to cling to God. His Spirit is the breath of life.

How do we become Humble? By Faith we:
1. Embrace God’s Sovereignty. Luke 5:3-7, Romans 8:28-29.

Humility gives us the ability to tap into God's supernaturalness. God Sovereignty says He is a King (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) who orchestrates and rules the whole of creation.

By implication, we obey God even when it doesn’t make sense because we know He is sovereign. God’s sovereignty is revealed in this that God is able to use and make everything to
work for our good.

2. Embrace God’s Holiness. Luke 5:8
God will use the things that we love to show us that those things can't love us like Jesus. He uses the things of this world to reveal His holiness to us.

Here, Holiness means separateness. In the light of God’s holiness, we see how big and beautiful He is and how small we are (however not in a
diminishing sense).

In awe of God’s holiness and as an evidence of growing in Christ, we worship Him, we seek to be like Him; we don’t use Him (i.e. only bogging God for our material needs).

You need to ask yourself: How big is Jesus to me? Is He someone I talk to only when I need something or in trouble?

3. Embrace God gracious call to participate in His Kingdom. 1Peter 2:9, Luke 5:10-11
When Jesus calls us out of darkness to light, when He calls us by grace to forgive our sins and make us new, when He calls us from enemy to friend and from foe to family, He's calling us to participate in the family's business.

Grace humbles us without obliterating us but it also lifts us up to celebrate us. Exodus 19:4-6. God called us into His kingdom by grace and unleashes us into the world to proclaim his praises not just in words but how we live through His power.

When we come to Jesus, God makes us into a new race called the church.

4. Embrace God’s covenantal love John 21:4-12
Jesus came to offer the new covenant of God’s love through His death and resurrection which makes new, restores, forgives, empowers, makes stronger and is full of grace.

Whenever we experience disappointment, it is good we get back to Jesus quickly or we will get back to the things that broke our heart in the first place.

Grace is inexhaustible and even in our brokenness, frustration, disappointment and failures He still calls us a friend and restores us.

Remember that Jesus gave His life for us to give His life to us and to live His life through us.

Soul Tattoo: Humility connects us to God’s supernatural Ability.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Saturday June 20, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Redemptive justice means wanting to see God’s love touch every corridor of the world beginning with me and to the world. This also requires standing against injustice in your society.

Notes/Prayers: Oh Lord, I choose to be an instrument to spread the fragrance of your love. Help me to pursue redemptive justice and to stand against injustice everywhere I see such.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Friday June 19, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Jesus is our atonement. We are covered by Jesus such that when God the Father looks at us, He sees Jesus and what is true of Jesus becomes true of us.

Notes/Prayers: I declare this day that I live in the understanding of the atonement of Jesus for me and that what is true of Jesus is true of me in the name of Jesus.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Thursday June 18, 2020

Focus/Reflection: The more we mature in Christ, the more dependent we are on Christ and this leads us to acknowledge that the only good thing in us is Jesus.

Notes/Prayers: Spirit of God, teach me to be more dependent on Christ and to constantly acknowledge that He is the only good thing in me.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Wednesday June 17, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Lament is a holy hurt, this hurt pushes us deep into faith, hope, love and into knowing Jesus and His redemptive purposes.

Notes/Prayers: Spirit of God, help to me know what it means to “lament” and let this holy hurt draw me into knowing Jesus and His redemptive purposes.

Focus for Daily Personal Reflections/Devotion for Tuesday June 16, 2020

Focus/Reflection: Mourning and lamenting within the understanding of the gospel is intrinsic to the gospel because what breaks our heart moves us into the world to look for the brokenhearted.

Notes/Prayers: I declare this day in the name of Jesus that I lament, repent and am ready to be sent to preach the gospel and reach out in love to the brokenhearted.