Scripture Text: Leviticus 18:27; Jeremiah 3:2

Defilement is anything unclean, polluted, filthy, soiled, impure, unholy, blemished (of persons and characters) or desecrated.

There are different channels by which defilement come into the lives of man. You can be defiled through the following ways:

1. Seeking after wizards (Leviticus 19:31)
2. Abortions (Leviticus 20:3)
3. Making and serving idols (Ezekiel 20:17-18)
4. Shedding of blood (Isaiah 59:3)
5. Foods (1 Corinthians 10:20)
6. Mouth/Tongue (James 3:6)
7. Death- Any action carried out that which produces death defiles (eg. murder)- Numbers 19:15
8. Spiritual uses of saliva, semen, blood, pus, faeces, etc. and sprinkling of these cause defilement
9. Sexual Pollution (Hebrews 13:4) These include:
- Inordinate affections
- Foolish fondness
- Teddy-bear husbands
- Teddy-bear wives
- Insatiable sex
- Unlawful sexual intercourse
- Scientific fornication (use of intimacy gadgets, dildos etc)
- Prostitution
- Incest
-Masturbation
- MouthAction
- Anal sex
- Rape
-Lust
-Pornography
- Animalistic sex
-Sexual flashbacks
- Preoccupation with ungodly sexual desires
- Filthy conversation and communication (sex chats via messages or videos)
- Sexual confusion and wandering mind
10. Medical defilement (abuse of drugs and medical treatment, and invasions)
11. Mutilation of the body (cutting, marking, tattooing, piercing and all forms of disfiguring the body)
12. Hard drugs and Self medications
13. Cursed materials or bewitched household items (Deuteronomy 7:26)
14. Foundational bondage.

How Can We Cleanse Ourselves From Defilement?
- Surrender your life to Jesus, you need to get born again.
- Carry out a spiritual research on your life
- Repent of every known sin.
- Forgive those who have offended you.
- Break every ungodly soul tie
- Cast out all the agents of defilement and their effects within, outside and around you in the name of Jesus Christ
- Ask God cleanse you.
- Ask God to reverse the consequences of all the items that have caused pollution your life.

I pray that every agent of defilement assigned against us shall be disgraced, in the name of Jesus Christ, amen!

If you would like to give your life to Christ just say this short prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I come before You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil and I enter the Kingdom of Light, in Your name I pray, amen.

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Culled from "Fire in the Word" Vol. 25, 27&28.

Scripture Text: Proverbs 3:5-6

Our popular Scripture, Hebrews 11:1-2 defines: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report". Faith is the assurance that the things revealed and promised in the Word are true, even though unseen, and gives the believer a conviction that what he expects in faith, will come to pass. Having faith in God usually brings good reports.

Contrarily, Natural Reasoning is the innate human faculty of reasoning; human reasoning or its conclusions, as distinguished from divine revelation.

God delights in those who have faith in Him and those without faith displeases Him. This is evident in Hebrews 11:16 which says:

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him".

Ten (10) Scriptures That Talked About Faith vs Natural Reasoning

1. Psalm 118:8
"It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in humans".
2. Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight".
3. Isaiah 11:3
"And he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,
or decide by what he hears with his ears";
4. Isaiah 55:8-9
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts".
5. Jeremiah 17:5
This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord".
6. John 20:29
Then Jesus told him,
“Because you have seen me, you have believed;
blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
7. 1 Corinthians 1:21
"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him,
God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe".
8. 1 Corinthians 2:5
"So that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power".
9. 1 Corinthians 2:14
"The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God
but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit".
10. 1 Corinthians 5:7
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here"!


However, for one to have total faith in God, he or she must have been born of the Spirit and Spirit-led. In essence, anyone who is not born again cannot not experience the faith the Holy Spirit expresses in believers. Faith is one of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and anyone who wants to inherit the Kingdom of God must bear this fruit in him or her.

So, if you are not be born again and still believe in your strength , this is an opportunity for you to repent and put your trust in God. Just say this:
"Lord Jesus, I come to you today, come into my life, take control of my life and rule my world. I say bye-bye to the world and enter the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus for in your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

" Fear God and obey His Commandments. For this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work to judgement for every secret thing, whether good or bad".

From the above Scripture, the main purpose we are all here on earth is fear God and obey His Commands. Whatever we do with our lives in seasons and time, we must fulfil our whole duty to God; for God will bring to judgement every work we do whether good or bad. Whatever we do in secret, there is reward, judgement and consequences.

How Do We Perform Our Whole Duty To God?

It has been established that our whole duty is to manage our time and seasons well in the fear of God. In other words, our time and seasons here on earth is for us to fear God and obey His Word and instructions to us.

The question now is, what is the fear of God?

1. Proverbs 3:7 says: "Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the LORD and shun evil". This means that the fear of God is for us to shun all forms of evil.

2. The fear of God is the respect, reverence and total submission to God and to His Will. Our real service is to respect and choose His will over ours- Proverbs 3:5-6.

3. Looking around us daily and beholding the awesomeness of God's Power around us will trigger us to appreciate Him and fear Him. The creative Power of God in nature, universe, heaven and the earth should instill His fear in us by praising and worshipping Him alone- Psalm 19:1.

4. To fear God is to live with others in love, joy, peace and harmony. This is the command of God for us. Treating others the way we want to be treated are ways to fear God- 1 John 4:18.

5. If we fear God, we won't be selfish towards or cheat others in our dealings. But we will use any opportunity or position to please God and serve humanity and men will see in our actions and dispositions that we truly fear God.

Mathew 5: 14-16

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven".

6. Every blessed day that God wakes us up and makes us alive should be one of the major reasons to fear Him. "The Lord killeth, and maketh alive: he bringeth down to the grave, and bringeth up" (1 Samuel 2:6). He is the One that sustains our lives everyday, so we should fear Him for that (Psalm 3:5)

Benefits of Fearing God - Psalm 25:12-15

"What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose.
His soul shall dwell at ease; and his seed shall inherit the earth.
The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will shew them his covenant.
Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the net."

- We'll become God's personal projects and He will complete and perfect our lives in every area.
- He'll take over our lives and heaven will watch over us 24/7.
- He will satisfy us with long life - Proverbs 10:27
- He will give us wisdom to live a life of impact and meaning, and we can never be stranded in the journey of life- Psalm 145:19.
- He will empower us and fortify us with His weapons against satan and sin- Exodus 20:20; Hebrews 10:26-31
- God will have mercy on us as a weapon of warfare.. He will show us mercy instead of judgement- Luke 1:50.
- God will secure us and our family members. The Lord is with those that fear Him- Psalm 115:11
- He will direct our path in the right way and keep our feet from evil, disaster and sudden death- Proverbs 3:25-26
- The Secret of the Lord is always with those that fear Him. God will begin to trust us with His secrets when we begin to fear Him- Psalm 25:14
- The fear of God in us will never let us lie but speak the truth at all times- Proverbs 8:13.
- Heaven and its host will automatically become our deliverance ministers- Romans 8:38-39.
- The fear of the Lord brings in us the humility Spirit.
- We will be made holy and righteous through the fear of God. When we fear God, we His Holiness and His Glory- Philippians 2:12-13
- We shall inherit God's Kingdom at last- Isaiah 33:6; Luke 12:32.

Brethren, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom... It is wise to hear God as from today. Tomorrow may be too late to repent. The best time is now! Give your life to Christ by obeying the commands of God in John 3: 16-17: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him". For this is the whole duty of man on earth.

If you would like to give your life to Christ Jesus, just say this short prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. i say by-bye to the devil, and I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen".
[i][/i]
Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Mathew 5:8

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

The one of the things we learn from the beatitude is that Jesus is concerned with our heart and Him aim is to change the hearts of sinners just like you and me so that we can have access to the Father and His Kingdom in heaven.

The heart is what you are, in the secrecy of your thought and feeling, when nobody knows but God. . “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). From the heart are all the issues of life.

"What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart . . . For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a man” (Matthew 15:18–19).

“Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit . . . For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:33–34).

Our heart is utterly crucial to Jesus. What we are in the deep, private recesses of our lives is what he cares about most. Jesus did not come into the world simply because we have some bad habits that need to be broken. He came into the world because we have such dirty hearts that need to be purified.


What Does it Mean To Be Pure In Heart?

1. Psalm 24:3–4:

"Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false,
and does not swear deceitfully."

David pointed out that a pure heart is a heart that has nothing to do with falsehood. It is painstakingly truthful and free from deceitfulness. A deceitful heart is when you will to do one thing but you are actually doing the opposite of what you will. Or you don't regard God's instructions in your heart but you are doing it just to fulfil all righteousness. That is impurity of heart. Purity of heart is to will one thing, namely, to “seek the face of the Lord”.

2. James 4:8:

"Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you men of double mind."

Men who need to purify their hearts are “men of double mind.” That is they are men that will two things not just one thing. The impurity of double-mindedness is explained in James.

So the double-minded man has his heart divided between the world and God, like a wife who has a husband and a boyfriend or a husband who has a wife and a girlfriend. Purity of heart, on the other hand, is to will one thing, namely, full and total allegiance to God.

3. Matthew 22:37:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart."

Jesus Christ also commanded us to love the Lord our God with ALL our heart, not with PART of your heart. Not with a double or divided heart. That would be impurity. Purity of heart is no deception, no double-mindedness, no divided allegiance.

Therefore, purity of heart is to will one thing, namely, God’s truth and God’s value in everything we do. The aim of the pure heart is to align itself with the truth of God and magnify the worth of God. If you want to be pure in heart, pursue God with utter single-mindedness. Purity of heart is to will that one thing.

What is it to see God?

1. First, to see God means to be admitted to His presence. To be admitted into God's presence is to ensure that God always welcomes us into His presence. However, no sinner can be admitted in God's presence.

2. Second, seeing God means being awestruck by His glory — by a direct experience of His holiness, just like Moses did.

3. Finally, seeing God means being comforted by His grace. Again and again the psalmists cry out to God that He not hide His face from them. For example in Psalm 27 (verses 7–9) David says, Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me! . . . Hide not thy face from me.

Brethren, purity is a prerequisite for seeing God. The impure are neither granted admittance to His presence, nor are they awed by the glory of His holiness, nor are they comforted by His grace. Jesus’s point in Hebrews 12:14: “Strive for . . . the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” In other words, blessed are the holy for they shall see God. There is a real purity and a real holiness which fits us to see the king of glory.

But “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean; I am pure from my sin?- Proverbs 20:9, And with the disciples: “Who then can be saved?” Jesus answer comes back just like it did to the disciples in Matthew 19:26 - “With men it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” In other words, God creates a purity for us and in us so that we can pursue purity. Only by His grace through Jesus Christ that we can be made pure. We must seek God in prayer like David, “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10). Lastly, we must look to Christ “who gave himself for us . . . to purify for himself a people” (Titus 2:14).

In conclusion, No purity of the heart, no entry to God's Kingdom!

If you would like to give your life to Christ, just say this prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Ref: https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/blessed-are-the-pure-in-heart

Scripture Text: James 3:2 - “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.”[b][/b]

The tongue is certainly the most dangerous part of our body. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21). “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity” -Prov. 21:23. Words can make or break lives, relationships and churches. The line between information, gossip and slander is easily crossed. No-one can tame the tongue–except God, by His grace.

What is ironic in the human tongue, mine naturally included, is that “With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God” (James 3:9). Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right! That’s like expecting to find poisonous water and fresh water coming out of the same fountain. Does a spring of water bubble out with both fresh water and bitter water? Does a fig tree produce olives, or a grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty spring” -James 3:8-12. It is contrary to the Spirit of God and the will of God. Sadly, no human can tame this wild tongue of ours so we must rely on God’s strength in trying to bridle it because it’s just about as hard as bridling a wild stallion. “No human being can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison.

James 3 scripture… it says that “No human being can tame the tongue?” What’s the point of trying if it can’t be done? Matthew 19:26 says that “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” The way to tame your tongue is by partnering with the Holy Spirit; these problems cannot be solved or transformed by mere willpower.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit…For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” -Matt 12:33-34

Why It is Important To Tame Our Tongue

Words have meaning. They can bring great joy and admonishment but they can also leave deep wounds where scars cannot be seen or easily be healed. One small word can do so much good but it can also do so much bad. The power of the human tongue is that it can make a child believe they’ll never amount to anything or they’ll feel encouraged by their parents and feel like they can amount to anything. The rudder on a great ship is so tiny compared to the vessel but that same tiny rudder can cause the whole vessel to sink.

1. Peter writes about the tongue as something we must do; keep it from evil and the “lips from speaking deceit.” It takes a cooperative work with the Spirit and Jesus strengthening us to keep this rebel member of the body. The tongue likes to move before the brain told it what to say. Peter puts it like this; if we love life and desire to see a good day then keep the tongue from evil (words) and lips from lying because “a lying tongue” is an abomination to God (Prov 6:17).

2. Do you claim to be religious but just can’t keep your tongue under control? James has a word for you; if someone really thinks he’s a religious person but lies and deceives, then that person’s religion is totally worthless. It’s one thing to say you’re a Christian but sometimes our words betray us; they reveal what’s in our heart. Jesus clarifies this point by saying “the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man” (Matt 15:18) because it is “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matt 15:19).

3. Saying rash words are deadly and poisonous. One second of restraint can mean avoiding a thousand days of regret. Spontaneous anger never ends well and the person who spoke the angry words nearly always ends up with regrets for what they said. The use of imagery is very vivid and compares to the deadliness of a quick thrusting of rash words with that of actual sword thrusts. This naturally injures the person on the receiving end however the tongue of the wise can often heal what the rash person has inflicted. The rash one is constantly cutting a path by mowing down everyone in their way on the way to what they want, however the wise person’s words can act as a balm that promotes inner healing.

4. Also, it is important to tame our tongue because it takes one tiny bit of gossip, one slip of someone’s confidential files, or some flash of anger in a moment to set a whole forest on fire. Smallness does not mean insignificant. Dynamite does come in small packages and nothing in the human body packs a punch like the human tongue. It can do so many great things but it can also do so many destructive things. Like the old Navy saying “loose lips sink ships” so a tongue can sink a marriage, a church, a relationship, a job, and just about anything else you can imagine. The tongue’s like a loose cannon on a wave-tossed ship. It can help but it can also quickly turn on you.

5. Solomon sees a gentle tongue as one that gives life but when used in a perverse or evil manner, it breaks the person’s spirit. At least it breaks their resistance to perversion. The tongue and the words used can be profanity-laced or grace-filled. The choice is purely up to the one which the tongue belongs too. It is a matter of personal choice so it is always best to remember that “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly” (Prov 15:2).

Biblical Verses That Talks About The Importance of Taming Our Tongues


“The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing” -Prov 12:18

“Set a guard over my mouth, LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips” -Psalm 141:3

Psalm 34:12-13 – “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies.”

Proverbs 10:11 – “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life…”

Proverbs 10:19 – “Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.”

Proverbs 10:21 – “The lips of the righteous nourish many…”

Proverbs 10:31 – “From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be silenced.”

Proverbs 11:12 – “Whoever derides their neighbor has no sense, but the one who has understanding holds their tongue.”

Proverbs 12:18 – “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Proverbs 15:1 – “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Proverbs 15:4 – “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”

Proverbs 16:23-24 – “The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent, and their lips promote instruction. Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”

James 3:8 “But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.”

Proverbs 18:21 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

Proverbs 12:18 “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

1 Peter 3:10 “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.”

James 3:5 “So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire.”

James 1:26 “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.”

Proverbs 15:4 “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”


How Can You Tame Your Tongue?

1. DEDICATE YOUR HEART, MIND, AND TONGUE TO THE LORD, DAILY
Seek holistic purity. Pray that God would protect your mind from thoughts that lead to words of destruction. Offer all the words of the day ahead to Him with praise. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise–the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” When we choose praise, we “sacrifice” slander, gossip, fear-based words, and the language of hell. Luke 6:45 says that, “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of!” What are you filling your heart and mind with?

2. PRAY THAT GOD WOULD GIVE YOU AN AWARENESS/CONSCIOUSNESS OF YOUR WORDS
Someone once said, “Taste your words before you spit them out!” Acknowledge your need for discernment and God’s grace to help you remain conscious of your words. Be intentional. If you’re supposed to speak up, do it with boldness. If you are supposed to remain silent, do it with boldness. Psalm 19:14- “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength.” Take responsibility for the words that come out of your mouth.

3. SURRENDER UP YOUR “RIGHT” TO COMPLAIN
You and I are not entitled to the act of complaining, especially not in front of your friends, coworkers, and strangers. No one enjoys hearing it, and the people that seem to don’t have your best interests in mind. If people don’t engage you or agree with you when you complain about yourself and others, it is because you are making them uncomfortable.

4. ASK FOR FORGIVENESS FOR ANY UNLOVING WORDS OR ATTITUDES
“Indeed, we all make many mistakes. For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way” James 3:2. Spend some time with the Lord repenting and asking for forgiveness regarding language or words that you have spoken that are offensive. Commit to working on changing the way you speak in order to demonstrate His love to the world.

5. PRACTICE SPEAKING WORDS THAT WILL ENCOURAGE, COMFORT, EDIFY, AND INSPIRE
Ask God to guide you to speak words that will honor Him and accomplish His purposes. The goal is to SPEAK LIFE. This means that you try practicing Ephesians 4:29 which says, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” To encourage means to give support, confidence, or hope. To comfort means to soothe, console, or bring freedom from pain. To edify means to cultivate, develop, and build up. And to inspire means to motivate, excite, energize, and to “breathe into.”

In conclusion, what was on the tongue of the psalmist should be on ours too as he wrote, “I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue” (Psalm 66:17) so “my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long” (Psalm 71:24). There is no greater use for the tongue “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:9).

If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I come before You today, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!


Ref: https://www.whatchristianswanttoknow.com

Scripture Text: 1 Corinthians 6:12, 20b)

In 1 Timothy 5:23 Paul told Timothy, "Stop drinking only water and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illness.". This was suggested for medical reason. However, the in-depth study of the Scripture shows that generally, drinking alcohol is dangerous for Christians. Although the issue of drinking alcohol is controversial because of some reason most people proved to be Biblical but if you allow the Holy Spirit to lead you in the study of God's Word, you will actually see that it is dangerous to drink alcohol. It is always difficult to drink alcohol without getting tipsy or drunk, and that's exactly the sinful part of the whole thing.

We are going to be looking inward into reasons you should stay away from drinking with some Biblical verses and examples.

1. Genesis 9:20-25: Noah cursed his children after getting drunk from alcohol.

"Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father naked and told his two brothers outside. But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then they walked in backward and covered their father’s naked body. Their faces were turned the other way so that they would not see their father naked". When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done to him, he said,

“Cursed be Canaan!
The lowest of slaves
will he be to his brothers.”

2. Genesis 19: 30-38: Lot's daughters committed sexual abomination with their father after getting him drunk.

"Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains, for he was afraid to stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived in a cave. One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man around here to give us children—as is the custom all over the earth. Let’s get our father to drink wine and then sleep with him and preserve our family line through our father.”
That night they got their father to drink wine, and the older daughter went in and slept with him. He was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up. The next day the older daughter said to the younger, “Last night I slept with my father. Let’s get him to drink wine again tonight, and you go in and sleep with him so we can preserve our family line through our father". So they got their father to drink wine that night also, and the younger daughter went in and slept with him. Again he was not aware of it when she lay down or when she got up.
So both of Lot’s daughters became pregnant by their father. The older daughter had a son, and she named him Moab[a]; he is the father of the Moabites of today. The younger daughter also had a son, and she named him Ben-Ammi[b]; he is the father of the Ammonites[c] of today".

3. Leviticus 10:9-11: The Bible regards to who drink as "unclean" and "common" people.

“You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean and so you can teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses.”

4. Deuteronomy 21:20: Drunkards tend to be stubborn, glutton and rebellious.

"They shall say to the elders, “This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a glutton and a drunkard.”

5. 1 Samuel 25: 36-38: Nabal died of heart failure after he became sober from being drunk.

When Abigail went to Nabal, he was in the house holding a banquet like that of a king. He was in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing at all until daybreak. Then in the morning, when Nabal was sober, his wife told him all these things, and his heart failed him and he became like a stone. About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

6. 1 Corinthians 10:23-24: It's not all things that seems good that are helpful.

“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

7. Children of God with special anointing and divine assignments are usually forbidden to drink wine.

a. John the Baptist- "For he [John the Baptist] shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb".
b. Samson- Judges 13:7 "But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. You must not drink wine or any other alcoholic drink nor eat any forbidden food. For your son will be dedicated to God as a Nazirite from the moment of his birth until the day of his death.’”
c. Aaron and his sons- Luke 10:9 :"You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the tent of meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come...".

8. Proverbs 20:1: Drinking wine can mock you and make you foolish.
" Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise"

9. Proverbs 31:4-5: Being drunk can lead to perverseness and wrong judgement

"It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted".

10. Isaiah 5:11: The Lord declared "woe" unto drunkards.

"Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them".

11. Ephesians 5:18: You cannot be filled with wine and the Spirit of God at the same time.

"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit".

12. Romans 14:21: It's not good to drink wine as a Christian because you may be hindering an unbeliever from giving his or life to Christ.

"It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak".

13. 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8: Those who drink cannot simultaneously be watchful and sober as the Lord Has commanded.

"Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night. But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation".

14. We are not to be mastered by anything (i.e. addicted to anything). Rather, we are to live in submission to the Holy Spirit and God’s revealed will in the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 6:12, Romans 8:5).

15. We are to take every thought captive for Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:5). Therefore, we are not to allow our minds to be taken captive by alcohol (Romans 8:6).

16. We are to present our bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God (Romans 12:1).

There was alcohol during biblical times, and God did not forbid it, except under certain circumstances and to specific people. In Jesus’ ministry, He did not speak of any prohibition. And Paul spoke clearly about the limited and responsible consumption of alcohol. But alcohol consumption can lead to sin and that is why we should avoid drinking it.

Physically, alcohol can have a short-term and long-term effects. Short term effects may include but not limited to distorted vision, hearing, coordination, altered perceptions and emotions, impaired judgment, bad breath and hangovers. Such problems can occur after drinking over a relatively short period of time. Long-term effect of alcohol drinking may also lead to other problems such as liver disease, heart disease, certain forms of cancer, and pancreatitis—often develop more gradually and may become evident only after years of drinking. Women may develop alcohol-related health problems sooner than men and from drinking less alcohol than men. Because alcohol affects nearly every organ in the body.

Our body is the temple of God and we should always keep it undefiled and disciplined- Proverbs 10:17. We must strive for holiness within and without and let's not confuse those whose souls have been lost with our carefree as a Christian. Remember that if your action misleads someone to miss heaven, you are also guilty.

If you would like to give your life to Christ just say this short prayer: "Lord Jesus, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Texts: Ephesians 4: 31-32; Mathew 5:23-24; Micah 6:8; 1 John 4:20-21


God has called us to forgive others as He has forgiven us. Refusal to forgive is not only harmful to us but it is a sin of rebellion and disobedience against God. People might have betrayed or hurt your feelings deeply that you find it difficult to let go. This is not the will and mind of Christ for us! Jesus Christ Himself passed through the pains of offences, betrayal, disappointment and all but in all these, He never sinned. He understand how we feel when someone offends us yet he does not approve of unforgiveness and unresolved differences. A forgiving heart is the heart that have come to terms with God first over a matter and goes on to accommodate the offender. Hence we should always remember that God forgave us and we should not harbour bitterness so that our prayers would be answered. Refusal to forgive can put one into emotional poison, deny one of God's promises and can make one to lose the inheritance of God's Kingdom.

There are dangers and consequences of unforgiveness and we must do everything within our power and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit to avoid them.

1. Loss of a Walk with God: Unforgiving spirit separates you from fellowship with God. It separates you from enjoying the benefits of dependence on His wisdom, and separates you from growing more of the Fruit of the Spirit in your life.

2. Loss of Health and Vitality: God provides healing and blessing through forgiveness, both for those confessing (seeking forgiveness) and those forgiving. When David did not confess, he suffered physically (Psalm 32:1-5) Research shows that bitterness and grudges impact your health.

3. Loss of Joy: Bitterness and vengeance fuel wars and the disputes you have with your enemies. They always hurt and destroy you as well as others. Forgiveness, though, heals. Choose wisely.

4. Loss of Freedom: Consumed with, Controlled by, and Become Like the Offender:: Your mind is stuck on trying to resolve something that only God can handle effectively. When you spend that much time thinking about those who offend you, you are already consumed by the offender. They not only consume your mind, worse yet, they control you. The longer you carry the grudge, the more they control your thoughts, actions, and feelings. The more you want vengeance, the more energy drains from you as you plot, seek, or try to get revenge. And, even if you do get revenge, you often have regrets, second-guesses or feel it wasn’t enough. So, the more energy you use and the more time you spend thinking about the person who wronged you, the greater the chance they have to influence your thoughts and actions. You increase the possibility of becoming just like them. The Lord has a better path for you. He wants you to renew your mind. He wants your mind controlled by His thinking, by truth. Most importantly, He does not want you to renew you mind to just anything, it is to renew your mind to truth.

5. Loss of Hope: Depression is often born from an unhealthy focus on past events. It can be birthed from trying to control a past event, the unfairness of what happened, and the lost hope for justice. Hope, like joy, doesn’t grow from vengeance, bitterness or holding grudges. Hope takes root in the soil of forgiveness. Forgiveness encourages hope and a new future for your life. That's what forgiveness is about.

Forgiveness is the best way to deal with your memory of wrongful pain. It’s an opportunity to be free of the pain and probably help other people, even the person who hurt you. It’s your choice to trust God's way or yours. And by the way, the alternative to forgiving – bitterness and vengeance – only makes the pain last longer. It will affect you emotionally, mentally, and physically, and even generations to come. Please, don’t choose that.”

If you would like to give your life to Christ just confess this:
"Lord Jesus, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen!"

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Ref: Mountain Top Daily Devotional; https://gr8relate.com

Scripture Texts: Psalm 109:7; 80:4; 35:13; Proverbs 28:9


Prayer is a good thing and a medium of communication with God. However, wrong praying is just as sinful as not praying at all.

The psalmist writes, “How long wilt thou be angry against the prayer of thy people?” (Ps. 80:4). Here God was not angry because they didn’t pray. God was angry because of the prayer they offered Him. Moreover, David says of the wicked, “Let his prayer become sin” (Ps. 109:7).

These Scriptures show that it is not all prayers the Living God is pleased with. There are some prayers that get God angry and they are the ones offered to Him in sin.

Let's consider some of these things that can make our prayers become sin.

1. Praying With One’s Back Toward God (Jeremiah 2)

These are prayers made when we have idols in our hearts. God said to the idolatrous Israelites in Jeremiah 2, “They have turned their back unto me, and not their face” (v. 27). The essence of idolatry is setting one’s gaze on something other than God. Such was the case at the foot of Sinai when Israel worshipped the golden calf. Moses’ face shone with radiance because he had looked on the glory of God on the mount. In contrast, the calf worshippers turned their backs to God. Lot’s wife, in order to look back at Sodom, had to turn her face from the Godward direction and directive. Desiring Sodom rather than God, she was turned to a pillar of salt. To pray while defying God’s commands and ignoring His standards, hoping that God will overlook disobedience, is to turn our backs to God, which makes our prayers become sin.

2. Hypocritical Prayers (Mathew 6:5; Galatians 6:12)

Our prayers can become sin if done in hypocrisy. Hypocrites loves to "show-off" while praying and most times pray in the flesh with so much unnecessary lengthy and repetitive prayers, without being Spirit-led.

3. Praying As A Substitute For Obedience

Prayer can never be substitute for obedience. In Joshua 7:10-11, we read that Joshua and the elders of Israel were moaning and complaining before God after the Israelites were defeated at Ai. They were putting on quite a show tearing their sackclothes, throwing dust in the air, and griping to God. But God appeared and said to Joshua, “Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned”. Joshua never realized that their prayer had become sin until God told him that the Israelites were defeated because Achan had partaken of the accursed (forbidden) thing. Disobedience in the camp, disobedience in the church, and disobedience in the heart hinder the blessing of God. More prayer was not the remedy on this occasion. Their great need was to get the sin out of the camp!

Today, many are wasting their breath praying while supporting religious, political, educational, and social institutions which are against the Will of God. In this dispensation, our great need is not prayer, but repentance! “He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination” (Prov. 28:9). Praying instead of repenting is sin.

4. Selfish Praying (James 4:3)

Any prayer we offer to God that does not honour God’s name, advances God’s kingdom, or in accordance with God’s will becomes sin. This can also be called praying amiss. Our prayer is meant to be God-centred and Spirit-centred not self-centred. The first three elements in the Lord’s prayer concern God’s character, cause, and kingdom. Man’s concerns and needs are secondary.

5. Faithless Praying

“Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23). To pray in unbelief is just as bad as not praying at all. Many of us pray to God for forgiveness for a certain sin yet unwilling in our hearts to let go of that sin while still praying. This type of prayer becomes sin for it is done with an evil heart of unbelief.

6. Praying To Oneself

“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself” (Lk.18:11). This man is not really praying to God. He is praying. . .with himself. By comparing himself to extortionists, adulterers, and the publican, this Pharisee was building a case of self-righteousness, self-image, self-talk, self-esteem, and self-image in his mind when compared to others. Contemplating on our good deeds or perfection as motive behind praying is sinful and not acceptable to God. We must come to Him with a heart of humility, for all have sinned and cut short the glory of God.

7. Praying To Men Rather Than To God

God-forsaken souls like Saul, from whom the Lord had departed (1 Sam. 28:16) could not obtain answers or direction from the Lord. Saul sought out a medium whom he asked to conjure up Samuel that he might seek counsel from the departed prophet. Asking advice from departed spirits by means of witchcraft, and praying to men instead of God made his prayers become sin. Many people now worship men of God rather than God Himself. Some even now pray in their pastor's name and ascribe their miracles to them rather than God.

8. Praying Out Of Duty Alone

This is prayer made to fulfil all righteousness as a Christian. Christians ought to pray in faith and Spirit to get results or answers from God but many often “say” their prayers and do not expect anything as a result. Having fulfilled their duty they are not disappointed when nothing happens. Prayers of this sort are little more than religious exercises, rituals, and routines which take up time while producing a pious sense of having done one’s duty, and can become sinful prayers.

9. Pretentious Praying

Jesus said of the scribes, Pharisees, and hypocrites, “Ye devour widow’s houses, and for a pretense make long prayer” (Mt. 23:14). The contradiction between the Pharisees’ deeds and sanctimonious prayers was astounding. In order to cover their deceitful works they prayed lengthy prayers. They hoped their outward religiosity would disguise their wicked actions.


10. Asking God For Assistance While Shying Away From Responsibility

Many ask God to do for them what He has plainly told you to do for themselves. God initiates every good thing in our lives, but it is our duty to cooperate with His Spirit in “working out” our salvation. Jesus said, “Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say” (Lk. 6:46). To appeal to God for help while neglecting the clear-cut mandates of Christ is sheer folly. God has given us the privilege, as well as the duty, of implementing the spiritual disciplines. To utter words in prayer while never exercising one’s will to do one’s duty to God becomes a sin.

11. Praying From An Impure Heart

“If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Ps. 66:18). Looking favorably toward sin bars God from hearing prayer. God views our hearts before He listens to our words. “Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7). This is why confession of sin is mandatory. In order to contact God our sins must be put under the blood of Christ. Sin separates from God (Isa. 59:1-2). Only the Blood can cleanse from sin. To seek to approach the Creator with an unclean heart makes our prayers sinful.

12. Praying To Another "god" rather than the "Living God"

Our conception of God must come directly from the Word of God and not from philosophy, culture or spiritual apostasy. We must pray having the Almighty I Am in our heart so that our prayers do not become sin.

Brethren, the right form of praying is Spirit-born, Spirit-guided, and Spirit-empowered. The Spirit helps our infirmities when it comes to prayer and makes intercession for us (Rom. 8:26). Sinful praying is praying on a human level. Man apart from God will naturally pray corrupt prayers because man has a corrupt nature. But prayer that is acceptable to God is only possible in the power of the Holy Spirit. Let this truth grip your heart and cause you to cry out, “Lord, teach me to pray!”

Prayerlessness is sin and calls for deep repentance. Wrong praying calls for repentance just as loudly as not praying at all. Do not doubt it, praying amiss is sinful. Praying aright is a mighty force. May God enable us to recover the lost art of Spiritual Praying.

If you would like to give your life to Christ say this:
"Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Ref: https://christlifemin.org/

Scripture Texts: 2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 1:10

Last week, we talked about certain things we need to check out in our lives before we can confidently call or answer as Christians. Yes! We have been saved by God's grace and become heirs to His Throne that day we gave our lives and all to Christ but we constantly need to examine ourselves and right standing and the kind of confidence we have in Him, lest we fall (Galatians 6:14).

Today, we will continue we the checks to boost our confidence that we are Christians as discussed below:

4. You must peaceably live with others in order to win them to Christ: Proverbs 16:7 says; "When people's lives please the Lord, even their enemies are at peace with them. As a confident Christian, you ought to have first built up your peace with God by pleasing Him before you can embark on the journey of soul winning, only then can you make peace with the lost souls and win them back to Christ. It'll be a total failure if you try and win people over using violence, threats, abusive words or trying to proof that you are better than them spiritually or in the Word of God. These are not the qualities of Christians. We should live by example and try to relate with their thinking in order to win them. Lost souls should be approached with God's wisdom and through the Holy Spirit directives while we ourselves must lead a quiet and peaceable life with all men. Also, we can identify with the lost souls by giving them your background and credentials in Christ, sharing your personal testimony of Salvation with them. - Acts 21:39; Acts 22:3; Colossians 4:5)

5. You dare not compromise with the world (Mathew 5:16; Romans 14:16; Romans 12:17): To confidently call yourself a Christian, even if you are at the verge of getting beheaded, nothing can make you compromise. We must caution against pleasing others to the point of compromising. We should stand up for, and not be ashamed of our faith. How do we do this? We must be honest and sincere in all our dealings. We must not bring reproach upon the cause of Christ. We must be blameless and innocent. We should not let our liberties or grace in Christ become a "stumbling block" to others who are yet to be saved. Don't confuse people with your bipolar spiritual behaviour and keep your priorities straight. Consider the fate of those who covet riches and exhibit wrong attitudes in the Scripture before you compromise with the world.

6. You must be spiritually and financially responsible (1 Timothy 5:17-18; Acts 20:34-35): Confident Christians don't shy away from their responsibilities. Although full-time pastors, Christian workers and missionaries are preachers of gospels and reapers in God's harvest that deserve wages albeit all Christians must be spiritually and financially responsible. Christians with secular jobs should help support God's workers and not find lame excuse why they shouldn't pay their tithes or give offerings because pastors will eat their money. What happens to the act of showing kindness which is one of the fruit of the Spirit? On the other hand, God's workers should stop being lazy bones. God's workers can hold secular jobs too so that they can help the needy in the society, even Apostle Paul worked as a tentmaker under Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:1-3). We should all be responsible and help each other spiritually and financially and not become freeloaders hiding under Christianity. Jesus Christ is our example. He fed the hungry (5000) with food and the Word of God and even instructed His disciples (Peter) to feed His flocks.

7. You must be responsible to the government (Romans 13:1): Christians do not misbehave in the society and strive to obey government rules. We must try to be good citizens and obey the government (e.g. obeying traffic rules, getting the correct license required as and when due, pay taxes, adhering to policies and procedures, obeying curfew period and other instructions from government to its citizens). Most government laws are for our good and protection. We must also set a good example by praying for the government and officials rather than cursing them. This is what distinguishes us as Christians. We must perform required national and community duties. However, we must obey God above all for He rules the governments of men.- Titus 3:1; John 19:10-11; Proverbs 8:15-16; Acts 4:19-20.

If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer: "Lord Jesus, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil and enter into the Kingdom of God Light. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen"!

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Colossians 4:12

Have you been in a situation where you or others have ever doubted you as a Christian? If there is a chance (even a slim chance) this has occurred or may occur, then you need spiritual overhauling. So, next time, before you raise your hands when they are calling out Christians, please check out what we're about discussing now.

"Epaphras, a member of your own fellowship (i.e. to God's holy people in the city of Colosse) and servant of Christ Jesus... always prays earnestly for you, asking God to make you "strong", "perfect" and "fully confident" that you are "following the whole Will of God" - Colossians 4:12. From this Scripture we can see that before you call yourself a Christian (servant of Christ Jesus) you must be strong, perfect, fully confident and always willing to follow the whole (not in part) Will of God, just as brother Epaphras prayed.

As Christians we need to be cautious. Our relationship to the society goes a long way to determine if we are Christians or not. Like someone always says " there is nothing like a 'good Christian' or 'bad Christian'. it's either your are a Christian or a heathen; for Christ or against Him".

Christians, to boost your confidence anywhere in the world that you belong to Christ, look out for these things!

1. In your true mind, you are always seeing yourself that you don't belong to this world: We are not of the world, but Christ Has chosen us out of the world (John 15:19). As Christians, we are citizens of heaven, sojourners in this world, pilgrims passing through, the earthly lands, homes and mansions we possess now are temporary and our lives on earth is brief. When we constantly remind ourselves in our subconscious mind, moment by moment, that that this world is not our permanent home: it shapes our thoughts and perspectives about life itself, we focus more on how to please Christ, we think more about God's Kingdom and where to spend eternity in afterlife, we lose the will to fight over worldly and unworthy things that will perish with this world, and take things very easy- John 17:14-16; Romans 12:2; Hebrews 11:14,16; Hebrews 13:14.

2. You have completely separate yourself from those who conform to this world: You don't need to announce this yourself. When worldly people have started sorting you out by themselves because of the Christlike character in you then you have just started the separation assignment. They know you: the heathen, worldly family, friends and colleagues, and even demons are already testifying that you are indeed a Christian. When they have started calling you names like "pastor", "fanatics" ,"Jesus' mumu" , "prayer addict", "Bible addict", and avoid you like a plague when they want to commit their atrocities such as alcoholism, idolatry, smoking, fraud, wild parties, sexual immoralities, lying and deceits of any kind- because they know you won't bulge; then you can now start seeing yourself as someone who has come out from among them and separate yourself to God. You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and of devils. What fellowship do you have with darkness or those who have out rightly rejected Christ? Why will you be unequally yoked together with unbelievers? Why will you join yourself in marriage with an idolater, unbelieving and worldly spouse? And you still confident that you are a Christian? However, God is not telling us to entirely separate, especially when we are already deep in such relationships (e.g., marriage, family members, etc.) but He still wants us to witness to them. He wants us to go into the world, and preach the gospel of Christ to unbelievers. Jesus Christ told God that He should not separate us by taking us out of this world but to keep us from the evil of the world. So, we must always hold our principles in Christ no matter the situation- John 17:15; Philippians 2:15; 1 Corinthians 10: 20-21; Nehemiah 13: 26-27; 1 Corinthians 7:12-16,39.

3. Your core values and attitude align with God's : The friendship of the world is enmity with God. Love not the world neither things that are in it. When you deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, live soberly...in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, choosing rather to partake in the suffering of Christ and God's people against frivolities, keeping pure religion without blemish, abstaining from lusts of the flesh , resisting being influenced by trends, fads and media, you don't pursue vanity or indiscriminate worldly entertainment, you don't give in to unholy peer pressure and influence, you don't compromise or tolerate ungodly ways, you avoid wanton parties and activities and don't go to the opposite extreme (i.e. practicing self-righteousness or refusal to accept invitations to pure and innocent lunch, dinner, banquets and feasts): then you can start boosting your confidence of being a Christian- James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-16; Hebrews 11:24-27; 1 Corinthians 7:31; Colossians 2:8; Romans 13:13-14; 1 Timothy 5:22; 1 Peter 4:3-4; Mathew 9: 9-13; 1 Corinthians 10:27.

...to be continued

if you would like to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer: "Lord Jesus, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil and enter into the Kingdom of God Light. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen"!

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 8:1-5

The Bible commands believers to give because God blesses us when we give (Mathew 6:4). Material and spiritual blessings are delivered abundantly to our bosom when we give. Also, it has been confirmed that the best form of investment is giving to God's work. We can invest towards the needy, missionaries, evangelism, etc. However, giving is not just enough but the motive by which we give is noteworthy, to avoid giving amiss. Although, the concept 'giving' has become a controversial issues nevertheless we should always give with the right motives.

We will consider the different types of givers today in order to give us insight into the type(s) of givers we really are.

Types of Givers

1. Reluctant Givers: They are usually unhappy when anyone talks about giving. They raise all kinds of debate and arguments to justify their negative attitude towards giving. Even if they have to give, they do it grudgingly with so much reluctance. They are against paying of tithes while some who manage to pay can delay or borrow their tithes.
2. Casual Givers: These people are irregular or occasional givers who show very little commitment to God's command of giving. They are inconsistent and unfaithful givers (Philippians 4: 14-20).
3. Stingy Givers: They lack generosity. They usually give sparingly and are unwilling to share a large part of their substance or possessions with anyone, not even with God nor Kingdom projects (2 Corinthians 9:6).
4. Covetous Givers: They pretend to give their all to God but are actually giving a little or part of what they have. e.g. Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5: 1-11).
5. Expectant Givers: They give with a mind of getting a reward or favour from the person they are giving to (Mathew 6:2). We should emulate the three wise men who traced the star from the East to locate Jesus and gifted him with great gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh. These men had no hidden agenda, neither were they self-seeking. They came specifically to worship Jesus and bless His family with gifts (Mathew 2:11).
6. Willing Givers: They give from their heart and willingly even though it seems difficult to give. Father Abraham is a classic example for he willingly offered to give his only son to God. God saw his faithfulness and replaced Isaac with a lamb for offering (Genesis 22:1-19).
7. Big Little Givers: Like the poor widow who gave to mites, these people give their all to God even in their lack or little. God usually adjudge our giving by the measure of what we have left after giving, not what we give.
8. Sacrificial Givers: They give not out of abundance but out of their poverty. This type of giving is unusual, painful and extra ordinary and most time will cost them something in order to attract God's attention to change their financial stories or pending situations to testimonies. The widow at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-16) and David (2 Samuel 24:24) are typical Biblical examples of sacrificial givers.
9.Voluntary Givers: These are like Zacchaeus- the tax collector who gave his foods to feed the poor without being asked to do so (Luke 19:1-9)
10. Unpretentious Givers: These type of people give without making any shows of their giving. They are modest and unassuming (Luke 10:25-37).
11. Perfumed Givers: These people's gifts bring "an odour of sweet smell and saviour, a sacrifice acceptable, fragrant and well-pleasing to God. The Philippians were perfumed givers. (Philippians 4:18).
12. Life Givers: Giving does not involve only money. We can give our time, talent and resources to God. We can also give to God's Kingdom by winning souls for Christ consistently through the Word of God or our godly lifestyles (Mark 12:41-44).
13. Consecrated Givers: As shown in our scripture text, we are to be like the Macedonians by first giving ourselves to the Lord, as a living sacrifice, then we can go on to demonstrate great acts of generosity to Him and His work with all our substance (Proverbs 3:9).
14. The Greatest Giver: The Greatest Giver is God- who gave His only begotten Son for us that we might be saved (John 3:16-17). Jesus Christ the Son of God gave Himself and His all to save and redeem us. Therefore, when we give, let God's Kingdom always be in our focus.

Brethren, Jesus Christ Has given us Himself and His all, what have you given back to Him?

This is another chance to give your life to Christ and give your all to the Lord, just like the Macedonians. Give yourself up to God today as a living sacrifice so that He can takeover your life, for tomorrow may be too late.

if you would like to give your life to Christ, just say this short prayer: "Lord Jesus, I come to You today, I offer my life to You, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!



Reference: Mountain Top Daily Devotional

Scripture Text: Philippians 4:6-7

As Christians, it is evident to us that prayer is an effective medium of communication with God. However, most of us do not really know or understand the effectiveness of supplication and how it affects our relationship with God as a whole.

Prayer and supplication are closely related and interconnected as they are both forms of reverence and invocation to God. However, there is a thin difference between supplication and prayer. Prayer is defined to be doxology, praise, thanksgiving, confession, supplication, and intercession to God. Prayer is the way to renewal and spiritual life. We can pray in thanksgiving, simply praising God for His many blessings and mercy, and it is a form of talking to God generally. What then is Supplication?

Supplication

Supplication (also known as petitioning) is a form of prayer, wherein one party humbly or earnestly asks God to provide something. Supplication is a request. And if the request is made to God, it becomes a prayer. However, supplications are not those quick or "sharp sharp" five minutes prayers we do. In a supplication, we ask God for something from a place of humility and desperation. When we are humble before God, we acknowledge our sinful condition as well as God’s holiness. Humility in the place of prayer helps us to pray with the right motive (James 4:1-3). Supplication arms us with the strength and courage to suffer and wait while we ask for relief. If we’re truly humble, we will ask in faith and continue to believe even when life does not turn out like we had hoped.

Biblical Examples of those who made Supplication to God

1. Moses: He asked to see God’s glory (Exodus 33:18)

2. Hannah: She asked for a son (1 Samuel 1:11)

3. David: He asked for punishment of his enemies (Psalm 83)

4. Hezekiah: He asked for God to prolong his life (2 Kings 20:1-3)

5. Esther: She asked for deliverance of the Jews (Esther 4:15-16)

6. Jesus: He asked for strength on the cross and power for believers (John 17)

Scriptures we can use to make supplication to God


- Psalm 20:4 – “May he give you the desires of your heart and make all your plans succeed.”

- 2 Chronicles 33:13 – “And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea.”

- Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

- Matthew 7:7-11 – “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

What are the things we can ask God in Supplication?

1. Divine Healing: Trusting the Lord as the Great Physician who can heal anybody. Being humble to His will and power over the sickness or disease, honouring and trusting Him regardless of what happens.
2. Interceding for someone: We can humbly request God to reveal Himself to any of our loved ones who are yet to experience Christ's salvation.
3. For Companionship: If anyone is lonely and needs a companion to share and experience love with, supplication can be made to God in this regard.
4. For Wisdom or Direction on an issue: Sometimes, when we feel so desperate or in a dilemma to making a right decision, we can humbly table it before God for Him to take over (Proverbs 3:5-6). We should wait on Him while I read His Word and listening for His voice. He will surely guide and use us according to His glory.
5. Supplication for Protection: We can humbly commit our lives into God's Hand to protect us from all harms and evils of this world. Let Him know that He is the only One you trust with your life.
6. Supplication for Faith: Many times, we need God to help us increase our faith especially when the situations may be looking impossible in human perspective and confused (Luke 1:37). God can help us overcome our doubts, fears and unbelief if we humbly seek Him for help (Mathew 7:7).

How To Make an Effective Supplication to God?

It is important to NOTE that supplications that are wrongly made may not be effective. There are things we must do that can help us get our desired requests from God in the place of supplication.

1. Ensure that you have accepted Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour. That is, the first step to an effective supplication is the salvation of our souls (James 5:16; John 3:16)

2. Give Praise and Thanksgiving to God: Just as today's Scripture tells us, our supplication should be made through thanksgiving... so that God can give us our requests.

3. Confess your sin: If we come to God with hidden sin, He will not hear your prayer. We need to ask God to reveal our sins to us (Psalm 51:1-7). Then we confess and forsake all our sins. We need to remember who we are and ask God for forgiveness in an active form of humility.

4. Lament!: Share your burdens, complaints, and confusion with God. He wants to hear you. Mentally lay your worries at God’s feet. (John 16:33, Matthew 11:30).

5. Ask God for His will: Don't be afraid to ask God for His good and perfect will you want. If you have praised, confessed, and lamented, your heart and mind are suppliant, ask that His will be done and He will answer you (John 14:14).

God made us to walk and talk with Him daily, to love Him and long for Him and pant for His Word. So, when we implore His power over our lives, we reveal our dependence on Him hence Supplication builds faith, even as it requires faith.

If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer: "Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Ephesians 6:10-18

Today, we will be looking at the concepts "Good News" or "Gospel" "Shoes" of "Peace" - one of God's Armor, and how to use them to stand against the devil.

"Gospel" or "Good News"

The word gospel is translated from the Greek word euangelion, and it means “good news” or “good tidings.” Our Lord Jesus Christ came to the world to tell people the good news, the gospel, of a coming Kingdom of God. This message was intended for the people to take a decision on where to spend their Eternity. “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14-15). Also, our Lord Jesus Christ went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.” (Matthew 4:23).The gospel message that Jesus brought was about a coming government of God on earth and what we should be doing to prepare for it!

Jesus brought a directive to His disciples, whose feet were to be firmly planted in the gospel: The good news of His coming Kingdom was to be shared and spread. “Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:1-2).The disciples carried out His command! “So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere” (Luke 9:6). His final command to His disciples was , “the Great Commission,” . “And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned’” (Mark 16:15-16). In fact, the feet of those disciples, who were delivering that message of peace, are figuratively described as beautiful: “And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!’” (Romans 10:15).

"Shoes of Peace"

In our world today, we have come to think of peace as a time when there are no active wars. But the Bible shows us that peace is more than just the absence of conflict—peace comes from unity and closeness with God (Isaiah 2:2-4).

During the time of the apostle Paul, the shoes worn by the soldiers of the Roman Empire were called "caligae". They were specifically designed to keep soldiers’ feet healthy during the rigors of long forced marches and were very different from the sandals worn by most of the populace.

The shoes were constructed from three layers of leather, which were pulled up and laced around the ankle. The "caligae" helped protect against blisters and foot diseases. In addition, small spikes or iron hobnails were often driven into the soles of the shoes in order to give firm footing on uneven terrain. in those days, a soldier’s shoes formed the foundation of his armament. The foot soldiers of the empire relied on walking as their primary means of transportation, so the ability to move easily and comfortably was a necessity for them. Also, they needed to be able to step about in battle without thinking about where they placed their feet. They needed solid footing in order to concentrate on the battle at hand. The hobnails on their shoes made it easier to hold their ground or navigate through difficult terrain.

The enemies of the Roman Empire would sometimes place sharp, spiked objects on the ground in front of them before a battle. Any attacking soldier not wearing shoes substantial enough for the attack would soon find himself crippled or fall dead in battle. The shoes were vital to the foot soldiers.

The same is true where the armor of God is concerned. Our enemy, Satan the devil, will use every opportunity to litter our path with distractions and traps—and only the shoes God gives us as part of His armor can give us the protection we need to keep moving safely across the battlefield.

There is a famous quote of “If you’re going to talk the talk, you also have to walk the walk.”

Just like having a good pair of shoes can help us walk across rough terrain, having confidence in Christ allows us to boldly proclaim His name. While we may face persecution in this life, we can rest in knowing the Savior of the world loves us and cares for us.
Having our feet fitted with the shoes of the gospel of peace allows us to be ready to share God with others at all times. As Christians, we should always be prepared, as we never know when an opportunity may arise to share the good news of the gospel with someone else. Ultimately, the shoes of peace equip us to fight for Christ in the spiritual battles we face.

However, before we can activate God's Armor Shoe of Gospel and Peace, we need to be a friend of God. We must have given our lives to Christ and accepted Him as our Lord and Saviour. Only by this can we use this "Shoes of Good News" to crush the devil and keep standing after the battle against him and all his demons, principalities and powers in heavenly places and of this world. In addition, when we put on the shoes of God and spread the "Good News", our feet shall be beautiful and we bring "joy", "peace" and "good tidings" wherever we go or step. We also must have been fortified by God and no power of darkness can harm us.

if you are willing to put on this "Shoe of Peace" but you are not yet born again, this is a best chance for you for tomorrow may be to late. Please say this short prayer- "Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: 2 Peter 3-16

If you are reading this message now and you are fond of mocking the Truth of God's Word (the Bible) or like to twist the Scriptures, you are a scoffer! This message is for you, and you need to repent now so that this act will not lead to your destruction.

Today's Scripture Text is affirmative of the fact that the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ is coming. Whether we like it or not, believe it or not, mock it or not, take it slightly or serious; Jesus is coming soon and His Coming is at hand. It is better to believe and be prepared for it so as not to be caught unaware.

A scoffer can be defined as someone who mocks or makes fun of someone or something, especially of religious or moral values. The Bible describes them as those who choose to disbelieve God and His Word, deliberately.

Biblical Facts About Coming of The Lord's Day and Why we Should Prepare!

Are you one of the scoffers who believes not and usually says: " What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created"- 2Pet 3:4. I have a good news for you today as confirmed by Apostle Peter in today's scripture Text.

1. Have you deliberately forgotten that God made the heavens long ago by the Word of His Commands, and He brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water? Then He used that same water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood because of the wickedness and sin of man in the days of Noah.
2. By that same Word of His Commands, this present heaven and earth have been created and stored up with fire. This fire is being stored up and kept for the day of judgement, when the ungodly people will be destroyed.
3. Don't forget that a day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day to Him. God doesn't operate in our own time but in His own, and God's time is the best.
4. The Lord isn't really being slow about His promise, as scoffers think. No! He is only being patient for our sake. He doesn't want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent. Our Lord's patience gives sinners time to be saved!
5. The Day of the Lord will come unexpectedly as a thief. Then this present heaven will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire; and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgement. On that day God will set the heaven on fire and the elements will melt away in the flames.
6. After the destruction of this present heaven and earth with fire, there shall be a day when we will have new heavens and new earth, a world filled with God's Righteousness, as He Has promised us.
7. The requirements needed by us to see and live in this new world to be created by God is to be born again, live a holy life and live peacefully in purity, blameless before God.

Hence as believers, we are not to mind the scoffers who continue to reject genuine repentance. Scoffers are to repent from their sins so that the will not be destroyed eventually. For those of us who already believe in the Lord Second Coming, we should be on guard so that we will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose our foothold secured in Christ. "We must grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. All glory to Him, both now and forever! Amen!"-2 Pet 3:16.

If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer:
" Lord Jesus Christ, I come before You today, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen!

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Luke 13:6-9

...give it another year and put plenty of fertilizer, if it's still barren next year, cut it down! (Luk 13: 8b,9).

Happy new year to you all!

Glory to God for His mercy to witness another year. Last year, many of us had hopes for next year ( i.e. this new year). Now that we are here, what does God think of you? Has God spared you to see the new year for a second or last chance to bear fruit in Him. Probably you have been a barren fig tree for a long time, you were not useful to God neither have you borne fruit in Christ, is this the year you bear fruit or be cut off?

In today's Scripture text, Jesus told a parable of the Barren Fig Tree. A man planted a fig tree. The fig tree used up lots of nutrients but did not produce any figs. “Why should I let this good-for-nothing fig tree use up good soil?” he asked the man. “Cut it down.” But the gardener replies, “Let it be for one more year. I will do everything I can for it. If it bears fruit, great! If not, cut it down.”
This story is about God's grace and generosity to sinners for another opportunity to repent but not to perish. Jesus Christ is the one who intercedes for us not to be cut off but be given a chance to be ferterlized ( through the Good News/Word of Christ), so that we can bear fruit of new birth and resurrection ( John 3:16).

God is not finished with any one of us yet, that's why He's giving us another opportunity to repent from our sin and turn to Christ for the salvation of our souls. He is a patient God!
The farm owner wants to cut it down. But his head gardener, a patient person who sees the big picture and asks the right questions says to him, “First let me aerate the soil and throw some manure on it. Let’s give it a second chance. After that, if it does not produce fruit, we can chop it down.” The question for us is “Are we like that fig tree? Are we bearing fruit that will last? What kind of fruit are we expected to bear?

Brethren, the fruit God is expecting us to bear this new year is the fruit of the Spirit, which is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control ( Galatians 5: 22-23).

How do we bear this fruit?
1. Repent from all known sin
2. Give your life to Christ Jesus and make Him Your Lord and personal Saviour.
3. Ask for and receive the Baptism of Holy Ghost and Fire.
4. Be a friend of God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
5. Befriend the Holy Spirit in your daily life and routine.
6. Store up your treasure in Heaven and seek first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness...) Mathew 6:33)
7. Love God with all your life, soul, might, strength and power, and love your neighbor as yourself.
I pray that God will give us the grace to bear good fruit and we shall not be cut off this year and beyond in Jesus mighty name, amen.

If you would love to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".
Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Mathew 26: 41

The Bible tells us to watch and pray!
While prayer has been an integral part of Christians, it is also important to watch as much as we pray.

To be watchful is simply to look out for something: our footsteps, our words, our decisions and so on. We need to be conscious of the things going on around us or in our lives so that we will not stumble.

What are the things to Watch?
1. Watch for temptation lest you fall. We are to be watchful for temptation of the flesh (Gal 5: 19-21). Sin such as gluttony, sexual immorality, passing values or things of vanity, anger, unforgiveness, unfaithfulness, lies and whatever that can make man fall off from God must be put on watch.

2. Watch for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelations 19:11-16 ; John 14:1-3). The second coming of Jesus Christ is the hope of believers that God is in control of all things, and is faithful to the promises and prophecies in His Word. In His first coming, Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby in a manger in Bethlehem, just as prophesied. Jesus fulfilled many of the prophecies of the Messiah during His birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection. However, there are some prophecies regarding the Messiah that Jesus has not yet fulfilled. The second coming of Christ will be the return of Christ to fulfill these remaining prophecies. In His first coming, Jesus was the suffering Servant. In His second coming, Jesus will be the conquering King. In His first coming, Jesus arrived in the most humble of circumstances. In His second coming, Jesus will arrive with the armies of heaven at His side. Don't be left out!

3. Watch for life of Wisdom. Only God's Wisdom leads to life. A life of Wisdom is to be filled with divine wisdom in all the things. Applying God's wisdom in your walk with Him is profitable. Many have been defeated by the spirit of ignorance because they refused to ask and follow God's wisdom in their actions and decisions. Not all battles can be fought, there are some words that should not be spoken , there are certain places you should not go, and there are some people you must not confront in life. To know these, you need to watch and ask for God's wisdom. Whenever you apply divine wisdom people will testify that the Spirit of God dwells in you.

The Scripture also enjoins us to be sober and vigilant because our adversary, the devil, moves about roaring and seeking whom he may devour (1Peter 5:.

You can't really watch except through the help of the Spirit of God. And the Spirit of God does not dwell where there is sin. So if you want to watch effectively, you need to first give your life to Christ and also receive the baptism of Holy Ghost so that you can get the divine help.

If you would like to give your life to Christ say this short prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Ref: Mountain Top Life Devotional

Scripture Text: Ephesians 4:14-30

Holy Spirit is the Third God-Head. He is a gentle man, full of love and Has been sent to help us in our Christian walk.
However, the Spirit of God Has long been grieved enough by mankind and we need to start making Him happy, so that we will not face His Judgement. The Scripture has helped us summaries ways to make the Spirit of God happy.

1. You must be born again and united with Christ (Ephesians 4:3-6)
2. When life tosses you, you must not waver. You must stand firm in Christ.
3. You must speak the truth always, especially if you are under the influence or pressure to lie. Stop telling lies!
4. You must be selfless and put the interests of others before yours. This gladens the Spirit of God.
5. You must walk in the Light (Christ), forsaking all forms of darkness from your mind.
6. You must forsake your old ways, bad habits and ungodly characters and begin anew a Christ-like life.
7. You must get rid of anger, bitterness, rage, harsh words and slander to make the Holy Spirit happy.
8. When words that come out of your mouth they must be soothing to the hearer. Your words must no more be abusive, vile, vulger foul or offensive but good, helpful and encouraging to others.
9. You must be kindhearted and forgiving towards anyone who offends you.
10. You must be the doer of the Word of God and apply it in your daily life.
11. Trust God totally! It is one thing to have faith in God, it is another to trust Him with your life and everything (Psalm 31:1)
12. Rely solely on the Power of the Holy Spirit, the giver of Power (Acts 1:.
13. Listen and adhere clearly to the instructions and nudges of the Holy Spirit and not what is in your five senses.
14. You must love your neighbors as yourself.
15. You must witness for Jesus wherever the Spirit leads. This make Him happy.
16. Run away from anything and everything that is displeasing to God.
16. Seek first, God's Kingdom, His good and perfect Will, and His Righteousness in all you do.
17. Have a full cooperation with the Spirit of God.

When we cooperate with the Holy Spirit, He will cooperate with us. When we do all the aforementioned, the Spirit of God will be happy with us and follow us every where we go. He will lead us, teach us, cover us, advocate for us, comfort us, walk with us, direct us and guide us to inherit the Kingdom of of our Father with Christ Jesus.

But remember, to make the Spirit happy we must be born again. We cannot have access to Him except we have Christ in us.

If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this:
"Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life to change my world. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Ref: Mountain Top Life Devotional

Scripture Text: 2 Peter 3:8-9.

Long-suffering is the first of this second set of three fruits. It is the fourth Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Long-suffering simply means patiently enduring wrongs and difficulties. It is a deliberate, slow, measured and consistent calmness in the face of provocative or hopeless situations. An associate to patience, long-suffering means to be cool, calm and collected to avoid rash reactions to issues.

In our Scripture text, Peter makes us understand that is a strength rather than a weakness: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” Therefore, if we fear God and keep His commandments, we can delight in His long-suffering and loving attitude towards us since as sinners, we do not deserve such blessed consideration. Paul says more bluntly in Romans 2:3-4: And thinks thou this, O man…that you shall escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” Peter reminds us that God was long-suffering during Noah’s time. In 1 Peter 1:20, we read, “Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”

There are so many benefits of long-suffering to mention but few:

1. It accomplishes God’s perfect purposes for our lives(Romans 8:28). Everything God does, He does for a reason—an infinitely good reason. He does nothing arbitrarily but purposeful, intentional, loving and wise to perfect His grand and perfect providential plan for our lives.

2. It is God’s tool for the advancement of the Gospel and His Kingdom (Philippians 1:12) .In His wisdom, God has chosen suffering as one of the primary tools He uses for the effective spread of the gospel and the encouragement of the saints.

3. For our Purification (Job 23:10; Psalm 119:67) Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. God uses suffering in countless different ways to increase our holiness and obedience.

4. It increases the Power of God in Us! (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). When we realize that our suffering opens up greater possibilities for God to demonstrate His power in our lives, we will delight in our sufferings. Lack of suffering tends toward self-reliance which reduces the level of divine power at work in your life.


5. It exposes us to the level of our faith or unbelief (Luke 8:13).
All suffering is a test. Each trial exposes the genuineness or lack of genuineness of our faith. When a trial pushes a person away from God, that exposes the fact that faith, in that area, is not real. When suffering drives a person toward God, that exposes the fact that his faith is real.

7. It gives us greater ability to experience various attributes of God (1 Peter 4:13). One of the reasons for our increased capacity for joy on that Day is the fact that our suffering enables us to experience all the attributes of God that can only be experienced in the midst of pain. There is no greater thing than to have a favorable experience of an attribute of God.

8. It increases our understanding of the goodness of the presence of God (Psalms 13:1). One of our greatest problems is our inability to appreciate what is so wonderful about the presence of God. We can read about it in Scripture, but often our emotions and desires don't get on board with what we know intellectually. But when we suffer, and we say to our soul, “See, the presence of God is so good; this is a sample of what it’s like to be a little further from that presence”—that trains the soul to appreciate (with mind, heart, and soul) how wonderful the presence of God is.

9. It increases our thirst for God’s presence (Psalm 63). Like David, we can respond to agonizing pain by using that pain to increase our thirst for God’s presence, because only His presence can restore joy.

10. It draws us closer to God and intensifies prayer (Luke 22:44).It is a fact that our most intense, heartfelt, passionate prayers, have been in times of anguish or desperation.

11. It makes us long for Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:. The greater our hope for heaven the more we honor God. Suffering increases that hope. We should respond to long suffering by thinking more about heaven.

12. It increases our hope for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 21:4) . Let long suffering turn our thinking to that glorious Day as no joy is greater than the one awaiting us in Heaven.

13. It teaches us to understand God’s Word (Psalm 119:71). Very often the key to understanding God’s Word comes only through suffering. A painful ordeal breaks into our lives, and the agony of it drives us to seek a solution from Scripture with an intensity we would not otherwise have.
15. It teaches us the horror of sin (Romans 8:19). All pain exists because of sin and is designed to teach us how horrible sin really is. None of us hate sin enough, but suffering, if we use it right, can train us to hate sin more. Let all your distress over suffering feed your hatred for sin and increase your love for righteousness.

16. It gives us the privilege of participate in the sufferings of Christ (1 Peter 4:12; Philippians 3:10; Acts 5:41).

17. We have a reward from God (Luke 6:22). Suffering for Christ is a grand and glorious privilege, and will be richly rewarded. No matter what you go through in following Christ, He will make it worth our while!

18. It Motivates us to change (Psalm 119:67). Long-suffering is a gift from God that motivates us to take action to solve problems in the soul. When our pain is due to a pattern of wrong thinking or behavior or attitudes, when the pain becomes intense enough it drives us to find answers about the cause of that pain and change towards a right cause.
19. It activates compassion (Hebrews 2:18). Compassion is a crucial component of Christ-likeness, but it is impossible apart from suffering. You cannot feel for someone who is suffering if you have no idea what it is like to suffer. And the closer your suffering is to that of the other person, the greater your ability to have compassion. So the greater the intensity and variety of your sufferings, the better!

20. It encourages us to help others (2 Corinthians 1:3). In our suffering, we succeed in finding comfort from God. And having suffered and found comfort from God, we now have the ability to show others how it’s done.

21. It increases God's glory in our lives (2 Corinthians 4:17). The greater our suffering now, the greater the glory of heaven for us when Jesus comes.

22. We follow the footsteps of Jesus (Philippians 3:10; Hebrews 2:10; 1 Peter 2:19-21). Every time we suffer and respond like Jesus responded, we are following in His glorious steps.

23. It enables sacrificial giving and deeper expressions of love (2 Corinthians 1:6;1 John 4:9; 2 Sam.24:24). Giving in a way that causes us suffering is the most costly gift we can give. That is the way God gave to us. Suffering enables us to give precious, priceless gifts even when we are penniless.

Brethren, to get the fruit of long-suffering is not within our power. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. However, only when we have given our lives to Christ can we have access to the Holy Spirit, who in return fills us with His "Fruit". And this fruit that we bear in us (Gal. 5:22-23) is only way we can inherit the Kingdom of God.

If you would give your life to Christ today, say this short prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I come to you now, come into my life, take control and change my world. I say bye bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: 2 Corinthians 7: 8-11

"Rejoice! Not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter"

Our Scripture text today shows that there are sorrows that are the Will of God to bring a great change in us. Sorrow can be beneficial; it is not always a bad thing. Paul writes to the Corinthians that, though he did initially, he does not regret having caused them sorrow (2 Cor 7: because they were made sorrowful to the point of repentance, according to the will of God (2 Cor 7:9).

Repentance is a change of heart towards a course. It usually begins with an intellectual recognition and confession of sin, but it does not end there. There is also a “change of heart”—an emotional component in which the genuine believer mourns over having sinned against the God whom he loves. That is why in Psalm 51, David says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Genuine repentance is a matter of the heart. This is why Jesus pronounces a blessing upon those who mourn over their sin: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matt 5:4).
Unlike worldly sorrow is not always beneficial, genuine repentant will experience sorrow over their sin. Sorrow itself is not repentance. There is a kind of sorrow over sin that does not produce repentance, and therefore does not lead to salvation- that is the worldly sorrow.

So, why is godly sorrow a good thing?

1. It causes us to repent from our sins and change our ways.
2. It leads us away from sin and results in being forgiven.
3. It results in various godly characters such as: earnestness and zealousness towards the Will of God.
4. It results in godly actions.
5. It liberates us from our "pet" sins which we glorify as weaknesses.
6. It navigates our hearts to please God and serves as a compass towards the Kingdom of God.

Brethren, today God is calling you to express your godly sorrow. He does not want you to only feel guilty about your sins, He wants you to stop that sin and repent genuinely. The end of godly sorrow is joy and heavenly rewards from our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

If you would like to give your life to Christ in godly sorrow today, just say this:
" Lord Jesus, I come to You today, I open the door of my heart to You, come in and take total control of my life and change my world. Translate me from darkness to the Kingdom of Your Light, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Job 15:14-16; Romans 3:10

Self-righteousness is the idea that we generate, that we in ourselves are righteous and acceptable to God (Romans 3:10).

Jesus and the Apostle Paul came down particularly hard on those who attempted to live in self-righteousness. Jesus’ condemnation of self-righteousness was especially harsh in His treatment of the Pharisees and Scribes of the Jewish nation. He condemned them for rigidly adhering to their lawful traditions in order to make themselves look better to others. The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax collector was specifically told by Jesus to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt (Luke 18:9–14). Jesus had repeated clashes with the Pharisees and scribes about true righteousness. In the same vein, He spent a great deal of time and energy warning His disciples about the dangers of self-righteousness, making it clear that, without Him, they could do nothing (John 15:5).

Also, Paul spoke about self-righteousness by condemning the Jews’ self-righteous trust in circumcision (Romans 2:17–24). He said that the Jews tried to gain acceptance with God based on their own righteousness, demonstrating ignorance of the true righteousness of God (Romans 10:3). His conclusion is that Christ is the end of the law for righteousness, not man.

Paul’s letter to the Galatian church also addressed this issue. These believers were being told that they had to do certain things to be acceptable to God, specifically, to be circumcised. But Paul advocated against this belief, regarding it as “accursed” (Galatians 1:8–9). He told them that, if righteousness could come from their own actions, then Jesus died “for no purpose” (Galatians 2:21). Paul’s conclusion about the Galatian believers was that they had been foolish in their attempt to be perfected by the flesh (Galatians 3:1–3).

Why Self-Righteousness is Wrong?
1. Because we are not righteous on our own (Isaiah 64:6)
2. Only God is good (Job 9:2; Mathew 19:17)
3. It leads to pride (Proverbs 30:12-13; Luke 18:11)
4. It separates man from God (Romans 10:3)
5. It makes us unable to see our sins (Proverbs 13:12; Luke 6:41-42)
6. It prevents true righteousness and trust in God (Galatians 3:6)
7. A proud attitude displeases and angers God (Isaiah 65:5; Luke 16:5)
8. It makes us despise and be unmerciful to others (Mathew 23:29; Luke 18:9,11)
9. It takes God’s grace for granted (Galatians 2:21)
10. It is a dishounourable act towards Christ’s death for us.

Many believers today are plagued by this attitude, and it is a sinful nature trying to do something to merit our salvation without God in the picture. It is difficult for our prideful hearts to appreciate the costly freedom of grace, bought for us by the blood of Jesus with no contribution from us. It is so easy to compare ourselves with one another than it is to recognize that we cannot measure up to the standards of the Holy God.

However, in Christ we can know true righteousness and forgiveness of sin that comes to us through grace. The fact that He stood in our place made us benefit from both His sinless life and His sin-bearing death (2 Corinthians 5:21), and because of His sacrifice, we can face our sin and bring it to the Cross rather than trying so hard to be good before God. Let go of your self-righteousness and let God through our Lord Jesus Christ into your hearts.

If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I come before You now, come into my heart, take control of my life and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen”.

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

"gotquestions.org"

Scripture Texts: Romans 8: 38-39; Proverbs 10:12

Calvary greetings to you Brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus. Today, we need to discuss the reasons why we should be love and forgive one another in order to fulfil the Will of our Father. We need love and forgiveness because:
1. God is Love (1 John 4:: God’s love for us is everlasting. He showed us His love by sending His only begotten Son to die for us when we were yet sinners. Jesus’ love for us washed us from our sins through His own blood. Dwelling and abiding in God’s love is important because he that loveth shall be loved by the Father and Christ will love and manifest Himself in his or her life (John 14:21).
2. The First Great Commandment is to love God: We must love God with all our souls, with all our might, with all our strength and with our whole lives (Mathew 22: 37-38).
3. The Second Great Commandment is to love our Neighbours: We must love our neighbours as ourselves as God Has commanded to us (1 John 3:11)
4. We have been commanded to love one another (John 13:34): If God loved us, we ought to love another no matter what, as this is not an option but a command from God (1 John 4:11). God gives us love to love others. To love is the greatest law of God. Love is the most important virtue therefore we should fervently love one another sincerely and genuinely. The benefits that loving others bring to us is more than what words can express.
5. Real and genuine love results in unity of believes. Genuine love never gives up or fail. Real love is not pushy, it is considerate of others’ weaknesses, it will not hurt or do wrong to others and makes us kind and courteous (1 Corinthians 13:4-6).
6. Genuine love results in good deeds. Putting love into action is what Christ requires of us (Luke 10:30-35). Compassion, sacrificial love and giving our lives to others, being concerned about others’ welfare, selflessness, and doing good to brethren are all some of the qualities of our Lord Jesus Christ we must emulate in our daily lives.
7. Love is better than hate. We do not love God id we do not truly love our fellow man or woman (1 John 4:20-21). God Has commanded us not to be hateful (Leviticus 19:17-18). When we hate one another, there will be darkness (1 John 2;9,11). Haters are not of God and Christ regards them as murderers (1 John 3:14-15). Hatred is a bad fruit that stir up strife and should be avoided.
Brethren, we are to love all men, our brothers and sisters and even demonstrate God’s love to our foes. If you have no love towards another in you, this is the time of repentance! If you have not accepted Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour, this is the appointed time! Tomorrow may be too late!

Say this after me, if you would like to give your life to Christ Jesus:
“Lord Jesus, I come to You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world. Give me the grace to love You and my fellow man and woman as You have commanded me all the days of my life. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen”.

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text- Philippians 3:10

Believers should have goals to attain in all spheres of their lives, including spirituality. We should remind ourselves that is our goals (Colossians 3:2), and God must be the first in our lives (Mathew 10:37-38). As Heaven bound Christians, we must possess Christ-like traits. There are numerous lists in the spiritual bucket of characters we must possess to make Heaven.
Heaven Bound Christians are:
1. Those who have experience Christ and Salvation and New Birth.
2. Spiritually sanctified.
3. Holy-Ghost filled.
4. Word/Scripture-filled.
5. Prayer addicts.
6. Hard working in Christ and in secular works.
7. Completely delivered.
8. Holy.
9. Discerning.
10. Thirst and hunger after God.
11. Regular on retreats for prayers.
12. Teachable and godly.
13. Broken.
14. Quiet.
15. Capable to adapt to change.
16. Incurable and sacrificial givers.
17. Incurable worshippers of God (in praises and hymns)
18. Altar people i.e. always establish altar for God wherever they are: at home, at work or abroad.
19. Those who have divine love towards another.
20. Prosperous and constructive and Spirit-led in all their activities.
21. Those who you cannot buy with money or position.
22. Those who do not repeat errors or sin.
23. Self-discipline.
24. Willing to accept responsibilities.
25. Those who understand the dynamism of purpose.
26. Patient and courageous.
27. Simple in acts and in deeds.
28. Those who have integrity.
29. Meek and humble
30. Not interested in human approval.
There is endless list of this to mention but few. If we call ourselves Christians, heaven should always be constantly on our mind and we should not be carried away by the things of this world. We are in the last days and we should daily work out or salvation in holiness and righteousness so that we can stand upright in Christ (1 Corinthians 10:12).

For those who are yet to know Christ, this is another opportunity give your life to Him. Say: “Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world. I say bye-bye to the devil and I enter into the Kingdom of Light. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen”.

Congratulations!!!
God bless you.
Peace!

Reference: Anatomy of Deep People- Dr. D.K Olukoya

Scripture Text: Mathew 4: 17

Brethren, there are lot of misconceptions about repentance and it's important to know what true repentance is and what's not.

Repentance is Not...
1. Going to church or church membership
2. Belonging to a group, house fellowship, a worker or title in the church.
3. Water baptism
4. Mere saying sorry without changing the behaviour that led to the sorry.
5. Paying of tithes, offerings, charity and giving alone.
6. Good works alone without forsaking your sins.
7. Guilt or mere feeling of guilt without step taken.

So, the question is what is repentance?

True Repentance is...
1. Confession of ALL our sins, opening every closet and sweep every corner of our filthy lives, complete honesty and coming clean without any secret sin left behind.
2. Feeling the impact of your sin on others and godly emotions that will propel you to ask for forgiveness from those you've offended with brokeness.
3. Mingling with matured Christians that will only speak the blunt truth, accept their responsibilities, realise and turn away instantly from any of their sins. This godly company will help you grow.
4. Being filled with the Holy Spirit and putting yourself in restriction or self control from sins by the help of the Holy Spirit in you.
5. Appreciating the privilege of the second chance God Has given you to repent and never joke with it.
6. Complete reformation, renewal and transformation of your mind and soul in Christ through the Spirit of God. Romans 12:1-2
7. Having godly sorrow when you sin which is also the prerequisite to salvation.
8. New life in Christ.

True repentance makes us alive in Christ. It gives us access to the Father as heirs to His Throne. Also, we will have the opportunity to reign with Christ in God's Kingdom forever and ever.

"Repentance today! For tomorrow may be too late".

If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer:
" Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Romans 1:18

The revelation of truth came in Jesus Christ! He said, "I am the truth." Truth cannot contain any lies, deception or anything that does not have its source in God! Truth is not truth when separated from the Spirit, for everything without the Spirit leads to death. Doctrines not embedded in Truth are not of God. When truth is received in the carnal mind of man, such mind cannot receive spiritual realities (1 Cor. 2:14), it remains in the death realm. We need truth to reveal the counterfeit! Jesus Christ is our statement of truth! His mind did not receive any lies. It was always focused on the Father and on obedience to the Father's decrees. He only did what the Father showed Him to do. This is the mind that we have received in Christ.

The suppression or putting down of truth takes place when ungodliness and unrighteousness emerge as truth - when truth is used to stimulate the appetite for unrighteousness. Unrighteousness is everything that is not God’s righteousness, everything that is not right in His eyes, and everything that does not have its source in Him! Godliness has to do with who God is; righteousness has to do with what God does and everything that is against the essence of God is sin. He is the One who declares what is right. Only what is right in God's eyes counts - not what is right in our eyes! This is basic to understanding the gospel.
We do not have the ability to decide what righteousness is; we can only agree with God's definition of righteousness. If we disagree with Him, we are not believing God. God's definition does not compute with our natural mind. That is why humanity suppresses the truth in unrighteousness. The Greek word for suppress, "katecho”, literally means to hold down, to restrain or to hinder. If we do not receive truth, we are suppressing it! It's as simple as that.

Disobedience is a suppression of truth. When God's righteousness is revealed to us, but we refuse to receive it, we suppress truth. This is the devil's opportunity to present us with more lies. The natural mind receives them, and more ungodliness and unrighteousness occur. This picture the heart of unregenerate man throughout history. The Scripture states that God's wrath is against the unrighteousness in men – it is not talking about the devil and evil spirits. Blaming the devil is a cop-out. For example, when Adam and Eve acted on the devil's advice, they received his mind of lies and deception. Although Eve was the one deceived but by acting on Eve’s deception instead of obeying God, Adam suppressed the truth.

Those who suppress the truth may experience the wrath of God on their ungodly attitudes and actions. When we refuse to listen to God, His wrath will allow us to experience the tragic results of our disobedience! Once we come to the end of our vanity and self-effort, and cry out to God, God will hear us. But before we will turn to God and accept His wonderful salvation, we must be convinced of our need. We need to acknowledge that our own ideas do not work, and that we cannot experience peace and happiness without God. Since the natural mind cannot understand spiritual realities, it follows that man cannot come to God of his own volition. God needs to open our blind eyes to see the grace of God and His love. Only then can we receive from God.

God is love, so everything He does is prompted by love. His judgments are prompted by love, for they are to lead people out of the deception of carnal thinking. Even His wrath is prompted by love, for it is designed to help people realize their need for a Saviour. God's goal for humanity is that it be created in His image! When His image is formed in us, Christ will be revealed to the world.
Our high calling in Christ Jesus is to reveal Truth (Christ) in righteousness and glory to God for His intervention in our lives, and His ability to transform us into His likeness through Christ.

If you would like to receive and reveal the Truth- Christ into your live, say this short prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I come to You today, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen”.

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

The Good Seed.

Scripture Texts: Romans 12:1-2; Mark 4:24-25

In part 1 of this message, we discussed that God reveals His Will to us through the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, dreams, visions, prophecy and revelations.
There are more other ways God can reveals His Will to us as we will contiue this in today's message.
6. Godly Counsel: God sometimes reveals His Will to us by engaging in counseling with others who know God and His Word well more than we do. Through this means, He can help us understand His plan through others that are Spirit-led (Acts 15:25,28). God wants us to always seek godly Counsel and be willing to change plans if He leads otherwise (2 Samuel 7:1-13).
7. Obvious Circumstances: God can set up a glaring circumstance to communicate His Will to us. For example, God gave David a specific sign as to when or the right time to rise and attack the Philippines (2 Samuel 5:22-25). These circumstances sometimes indicate God's leading to know when it's time to move on or stop something. If God Has given you any sign, have faith and follow His leading (Hebrew 11:23-27; Mathew 14:30-31).
8. Witness of the Spirit: God sometimes reveals His Will to us by giving us a strong desire over an issue. However, we must be careful that this desire is Spirit-led so that it will not end up in greed or covetousness.
9. Confirming Signs: We can confirm God to show us a sign so that we can confirm if it is His Will. For example, Abraham's servant set a specific requirement to let him know who was to be Isaac's wife. However, requiring a sign often indicates unbelief (Mathew 12:39; John 4:48).
10. God's Will and Plans are sometimes Conditional: God sometimes depends on man's actions and reactions to make His Will known. For instance, God delayed judgement because Ahab repented (1 Kings 21: 17-29). Also, because Moses sought the Lord, He repented of the evil He thought to do on the people of Israel because of their unbelief and sin ( Exodus 32: 9-14).
11. Alternative Choices: God gives us chance to choose within the boundary of His overall Will. For example, God gave Solomon the choice to ask for whatever he wanted(1 Kings 3: 5, 9-10). David was also allowed to choose his punishment (2 Samuel 24: 11-15). However, our plans and choices should be subject to the Will of God by asking the Holy Spirit for help. Your choice should also show loving consideration for others.

To submit your will to God, you need to give your life to Christ so that He can help you through the Holy Spirit. This is another opportunity to surrender your life. Say this short prayer:
" Lord Jesus, I come before You today, I accept You as my personal Lord and Saviour, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Texts: Romans 12:1-2; Mark 4:24-25

The prerequisite to knowing God's Will is to submit our will to God. Jesus Christ our Lord submitted His will to the Father( Luke 22: 42; John 6:38).
Being submissive to the will of the Father is when we seek and trust Him, when we desire to do His will alone and when we do everything in our might to obey Him (John 4:34; Ephesians 6:6). By this, God will reveal His Will to us because He now trust us that we will obediently follow it.

God reveals His Will to His obedient children through many ways:
1. The Holy Spirit, who guides us to find God's Will (John 16:13-14)
2. The Word of God. That is God can reveal His Will to us by searching deep into the Scriptures and obeying the Word (Psalm 119:105; 2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 2:18). While reading and studying the Word, a verse may speak specifically directly to you or the current situation you are facing. But you must be careful not to interpret it as you please and that is why it's important to pray and ask God to help you understand. You can also seek the help of matured Christians to explain difficult passages to you.
3. Dreams: Sometimes, God reveals His Will to us through dreams. Revelatory dreams can show us what the will of God is for us as He did for Abraham (Gen 15: 12-16), Abimelech (Gen 20: 2-7), Jacob (Gen 28:10-16, 31:10-13), Laban (Gen 31:22-24), Joseph (Gen 37:5-9, 40:1-13, 16-22), Pharao ( Gen 41:17-32), Israel ( Gen 46:1-4), Gideon(Judges 7:9-15), Solomon (1Kings 3:5-15), Eliphaz ( Job 4:12-21), Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 2:1,28-29,31-45), Daniel(Daniel 2:16-19, 7:1-28), Joseph (Mathew 1: 20-21, 2:13,19-22), The three wise men ( Mathew 2:12), Pilate's wife (Mathew 27:19). However, we have to take caution by praying to God about every dream we have.
4. Vision: God reveals Himself to us sometimes through visions. A vision is when God flashes a picture in our mind's eye or falling into trance with eyes open(Numbers 24:4). Some Biblical examples God gave His will through visions were Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:1-4;8:1-2;10:4-7), Zechariah (Zechariah 1:7-, Zachariah ( Luke 1:11-13,22), Paul(Acts 9-1-7,12; 16:9; 26:13-19; 18:9-10), Ananias ( Acts 9:10-12), Cornelius (Acts 10:1-6), Peter(Acts 10:9-16).
5. Prophecy and Revelations: God speaks His will through us or through our hearts when we prophesy. God may prophesy through us to ourselves or to one another. Biblical examples were Elijah ( 1 Kings9:12), prophets ( Acts 13:1-2). However, we are to beware of false prophets and try to test to know those who are truly from God.

To be continued...by God's grace.

You can only submit to God or know God's Will if you are in Christ Jesus. God reveals His secrets only to those who are righteous.

If you would like to give your life to Christ, just say this short prayer:
"Lord Jesus, I come to You today, I accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world. I say bye bye to the devil, I enter into the Kingdom of light, in Your name I pray, amen"

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Scripture Text: Hebrews 3:7-13.

“Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand.” – Augustine

The children of Israel wandered in the desert for an entire generation – 40 years – because of their unbelief at Kadesh and when they had reached the borders of the “Promised Land”, their leadership – all but two – agreed that taking the land was impossible – impossible for them, but possible for God! They were prohibited from reaching their goal – the promised blessing from God upon Israel.

Proof of Unbelief
Those with unbelief heart possess the following characteristics:
1. Complete rejection of Jesus Christ and his gospel
2.Acceptance of Christian theology, but living a life devoid of Christianity in practice. The religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world (James 1:27)
3.Refusing to accept certain parts of the Word of God within your life – the parts that you find personally displeasing.
4.Disliking spiritual and pure worship. Less comfortable with true worship, and more ensnared by rite and tradition.

Causes of Unbelief
- Ignorance of the gospel message and of scriptures that are useful for our discipleship.
- Believing you are saved based upon church membership or a religious heritage.
- The love of sin.
- Attachment to objects of sensual nature instead of attachment to Christ e.g. attachment to worldly music.
- Love of the world – The pleasures, riches, and honors of this world swell so much in the sinner’s eye that he considers eternal goals of no consequence and unworthy of his pursuit.

How To overcome Unbelief
The Holy Spirit is the way solution to overcoming unbelief. Through His Word (the Bible), he guides us to where, when and how of situations and gives us confidence in the God of all possibilities Romans 10:17.

Benefits of Believing
Psalm 81:13-14 – If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!
Revelation 3:20-21 – Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

Accept Christ and His Gospel today for tomorrow may be too late.

Say this: “Lord Jesus, I come to you today, I confess and accept You as my Lord and personal Saviour, come into my life and change my world today, in Your name I pray, amen!

If you have just given your life to Christ, welcome to the fold and congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Texts: Mathew 15:10-20; Mark 7:20-23

The things that contaminate the body and spirit are what defile a man- the temple of God (1Corithians 3:16)

Contamination is an action or state of making or being made impure by polluting or poisoning. When a man is unclean, polluted and descecrated, he is contaminated. He is no more the original man God created but has been altered.
There are so many filthy things a man does that defile him both body and spirit. This likewise expose him to demons, Satan and everlasting punishment or damnation.

What are the things that contaminate man?
Sin! Sin!! Sin!!!
They include:
1. Immorality or sexual sins.
2. Anger
3. Alcoholism
4. Smoking
5. Bitterness
6. Unforgivenness
7. Anxiety
8. Evil thoughts.
9. Care for worldly things more than God.
10. Theft
11. Murder
12. Greed
13. Wickedness
14. Deceit
15. Lustful desires
16. Envy
17. Slander
18. Pride
19. Foolishness
20. Ignorance; and every other vile things that comes from the mind.
How can we then overcome?
2 Corinthians 7:1 says it all. You can overcome contamination in body soul and spirit by:
- Accept that you are contaminated.
- Repent and accept Christ as your Lord and personal Saviour
- Confess your sins and ask God for forgiveness and mercy.
- Cleanse yourself with the Blood of Jesus
- Purify yourself from everything that contaminates the body and spirit i.e., perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
- Spiritual discipline
- Avoid all perverse talk
- Stay away from corrupt speech.
- Look straight ahead and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
- Mark out a straight path for your feet and stay on a safe path of Christ
- Let the Holy Spirit be guide you always in every area of life.
- Be wise and set your heart on the right path (Luke 6:45; Ezekiel 36:26, Psalm 51: 10).
If you want to give your life to Christ, say this prayer:
" Lord Jesus, I come before You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".
Congratulations and God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Psalm 37:37-40; Mathew 6:33

What is Righteousness?
1. Absolute obedience to God, even if it is convenient or not.
2. Doing the right thing against the wrong even if you will end up standing alone.
3. Following the “Way” of God, even if it is rough and narrow.
4. Standing up for the right thing even if it involves persecution and suffering.
5. When the flesh and its works has died, and the Spirit of God is awakened in a man’s spirit.
6. When your honesty is rugged, undiluted, crude and uncivilized.
7. Morally upright in all ramifications and clean from sexual sins, bribery, and all forms of corruption of this world.
8. Having a right standing and right heart with God.
9. Absolute integrity (“yes is yes” and “no is no”)
10. Living a life of purity and holiness.
11. Innocent and faithful with God.
12. Living by every Word of God
13. Living the life of Christ.
There is a level of righteousness require to make our prayers effective (James 5:16). If you have been wondering why you have been praying and not getting results, you may need to examine if you are right with God. Being right with God will trigger answers to prayers with little efforts. Also, righteousness is the sure ticket to enter the Kingdom of God and see Him (Hebrew 12: 14).
Power and Benefits of Righteousness
There are Scriptures and promises of God to those who are righteous. Let us examine a few:
1. Proverbs 14:34- “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people”.
2. Proverbs 12:26- “The righteous is more excellent than his neighbor: but the way of the wicked seduced them”.
3. Proverbs 28:1- “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion”.
4. Proverbs 11:8- “The righteous person is rescued from trouble, and it falls on the wicked instead”.
5. Proverbs 3:32- “For the LORD detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence”.
6. Proverbs 32: 8- “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you”.
7. Proverbs 92:12- “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD”
8. Psalm 34: 17,19- “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles. he afflictions of the righteous are many, But the LORD rescues him from them all”.
9. Psalm 37:25- “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread”.
10. Proverbs 3: 32- “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him”.


If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this:
"Lord Jesus, I come before You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

ref: Dr. D.K. Olukoya Message.

Scripture Texts: Genesis 39:1-13; 1 Corinthians 6:18.

What do you think would have happened to Joseph’s destiny if he had slept with Potiphar’s wife?
Joseph was a man full of wisdom and had the fear of God. The Scripture makes us understands that he fled when his boss’ wife tried to seduce him. He did not bind and cast the demon out of her but fled! Joseph’s action gave us an expo that the only way to overcome sexual immorality is to run! run!! run!!!
Apostle Paul made us understand that when we commit other sin, it is within our body, but sexual immorality unites us sinfully with another person. It unites us deeply both on a physical and spiritual level which has great consequences. Sexual sin therefore includes prostitution, adultery, pedophilia, homosexuality and any other sexual relationship outside marriage.
You may intend to prove that you can overcome sexual temptation by running away from your weakness or you don’t need to run away from your weakness, you just need to be stronger. This is a wrong approach. Your intention to conquering temptation may be right but your approach is wrong. This is because if you continue to stay in the environment where temptation abides, it will rather conquer you. Rather than stick around to prove you can resist, it’s time for you to get your feet moving and resist sin by saying goodbye as you walk out and let the door slam behind you! It is only a strong person that walks away. So, get out!
However, there here are list of sins we need to flee:
1. Flee from gluttony;
2. Flee from evil influences or evil company
3. Flee from morally bad friends
4. Flee from corrupt stimulants (phonography, masturbation, etc.)
5. Flee from youthful lusts
6. Flee from wrongdoings and all the sins listed in Galatians 5:19-21
Right now, you might be thinking on how to flee these sins. I would suggest some points below:
- To flee gluttony, if you’re tempted to overeat, stay out of kitchen or eatery or drink water instead.
- You can also choose new friends that are godly and dispel the corrupt company.
- Take a break from people, places or deeds that usually brings temptation.
- Quit watching movies or TV programmes that can be stimulants or stop reading that immoral novels or materials. Watch or read godly contents rather.
- Discontinue your Internet Service immediately whenever you’re tempted to navigate to pornographic sites that keeps luring you into their seduction. You can even add filters to block these immoral websites.
- Stay away from drugs or alcohols. These are also stimulants.
- Be a friend of God, study the Bible always so that your heart will be Spirit filled rather than being carnally minded (Romans 8: 6-10).
- Lastly, you need to pray to God to strengthen you to flee from these sins after you have strongly determined in your heart to flee. Ask for help from the Holy Spirit and the grace to flee.
Taking this approach may be the answer to the prayers you’ve been praying to be free! So, start applying it!

If you would like to give your life to Christ, this is another opportunity for tomorrow may be too late. Say this short prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I come before You now, come into my life, take control of my life and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen”.

Congratulation!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: Ephesians 4: 29-32; Judges 16:1-6

To grieve the Holy Spirit simply means doing something that will make Him sad. God takes the form of the Spirit being who has feelings and emotions like us to dwell with us and teach us all things after Jesus Christ ascended into Heaven.

There are things that we do which can sadden the Holy Spirit and they include:

1. Using foul and abusive language: such as rotten, obscene, profane, dirty, and vulgar languages, whether you are joking or being serious while using them.
2. Bitterness: This is when you have a resentful spirit and embittered towards almost everyone you come across. When people around you don't see you smile but your life is full of conflict, anger, arguing, fighting, unforgivenness and unreconciliable spirits, you are grieving the Holy Spirit.
3. Uncontrollable anger: Throwing fits of rage, being easily angered, shouting or screaming when angry, destroying valuable things when angry, slander or malicious behaviour, plotting evil or conspiracy for revenge and so on are part of what one can do to grieve the Spirit of God.
4. Disobedience to the Word of God and His instructions, committing immoral acts with your body, choosing your will over God's Will and all forms of appearances of evil will grieve the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is our divine Light and spiritual compass that leads us to do the right thing at the right time. But when you constantly grieves him without repentance, he departs from you.
Samson and king Saul, king Solomon are typical Biblical examples whom the Spirit left because of their sins.It is therefore important to know that when the Spirit leaves you, demons in their millions will take over your soul.

Are you guilty of grieving the Spirit of God? There is room for repentance. Go on your knees and ask for mercy. Tell God to forgive you and not take His Spirit from you. David recognised the danger of the Spirit of God departing from someone in the life of Saul and that was why he prayed for forgiveness after he committed adultery with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, Uriah(Psalm 51). You too can be forgiven if you are ready for genuine repentance.

If you would like to give your life to Christ say this, please:

"Lord Jesus, I come to You today, forgive me all my sins, come into my life, take absolute control, and change my world, in Your name I pray, amen".

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!

Scripture Text: 1 John 3:8-10

Calvary greetings!
Today, we are going to briefly talk about some sins that have been redefined to make them look appear in a form that have light consequences. Sin is sin, and nothing but sin. Satan has been making use of this strategy to rob people of their eternity and it's better to be wise about it.
Some of these sophisticated sins are:

1. Pride - Classy
2. Drukeness- Chilling
3. Gossip - Community of sharing thoughts
4. Promiscuity- Sexually active
5. Laziness- Motivationally deactivated
6. Drug addiction- Substance abuse
7. Prostitution- social workers
8. Adultery- Extramarital affairs
9. Fraud- Cleverness
20. Nudity- Fashion

You can never deceive Christ, no matter how light you paint your sin.
The Bible tells us to flee from all appearances of evil. Once it's looking as evil or sin, flee!

However, whatever things that are:
- True
- Honest
- Just
- Pure
- Lovely
- Of good reports
- Virtuous;
- and Praise...think on these things.

May the Lord help us in Jesus mighty name.

If you would like to give your life to Christ, say this short prayer:
" Lord Jesus, I come before You now, forgive my sins, come into my life, take control of my life, and change my world. Thank You Jesus, in Your name I pray, amen"!

Congratulations!!!

God bless you.

Peace!