Religious worship and devotion is very important. The general concensus in the scriptures is that we love God with our hearts and fear Him.
As important as this obligation may be, Christ pointed our attention to one aspect that has been ignored for long in matthew 5:25-32.
If you are praying or worshipping God and suddenly remember that your brother have something against you, leave your offerring and go first to reconcile with your brother or fellow.
How splendid and sublime this priciple of human relationship is as exposed by Christ?
Does it then mean that God put more premium on being at peace with our fellow human being that worshipping Him? Yes. Not being in good standing with our neighbour will make our worship to be in vain. Our prayers will stay unanswered and our brother bitter against us.
There is need to take the initiative to be at peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.
As much as it lies in your hand, live in peace with all men.
Make effort to reconcile with those who offend you and those you offend. Freely forgive and let God have his way in your life and relationship.
God place a high premium on our relationship with others. Never ignore this fact.
P.S.: Text Mattew Chapter 5: 25-32
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Beauty For Ashes
We often come across certain circumstances in life which makes us think that God has forsaken us. Such moments are times of bereavement. Loss of a dear son or daughter after labouring so much to train and make them somebody in life. Other times, it could be loss of a benefactor or natural disasters. We think we have been watful and prayerful. Why didn't God reveal it and stop it before it happened? Why me? But i have been up and doing in my religious obligations.
God promised to keep and protect me. Why this calamity now? Questions up questions seeking for answer fills our minds. It is a time of grief and emotional trauma.
We need the grace of God to survice such moments.
Jesus Christ did not commit any sin while on earth. He was holy and upright. His enemies could not find anything wrong in Him yet they called for His crucifixion.
Why should God allow His only son to be so treated?
It is for the cause of the salvation of manking. That is the why. If Christ did not die, we cannot be saved. We cannot have access to the throne of grace. We cannot be counted as inheritors of His kingdom.
When Christ willingly offered Himself as sacrifice, He committed Himself to the will of the father who allowed it. God rewarded Him by giving empowering Him to be the greatest name in the history of manking. At the mention of His name, every knee now bows.
If you are bereaved or griefing, know that the Lord has permitted it. He will give beauty for your ashes and the songs of joy for your mourning so that His name will be glorified in you. He will console and comfort you so that you can be a better instrument in His hand to minister to the needs of others.
Our grief may be the direct answer to our prayers for God to use us mightily.
Know that the Lord is God, He will be exalted among the heathen and in the earth.
Fear not because the Lord is with you. He will make rough places straight before you.
P.S.: Text Is. 51vs. 3, 2 Cor. 1:3-4
God promised to keep and protect me. Why this calamity now? Questions up questions seeking for answer fills our minds. It is a time of grief and emotional trauma.
We need the grace of God to survice such moments.
Jesus Christ did not commit any sin while on earth. He was holy and upright. His enemies could not find anything wrong in Him yet they called for His crucifixion.
Why should God allow His only son to be so treated?
It is for the cause of the salvation of manking. That is the why. If Christ did not die, we cannot be saved. We cannot have access to the throne of grace. We cannot be counted as inheritors of His kingdom.
When Christ willingly offered Himself as sacrifice, He committed Himself to the will of the father who allowed it. God rewarded Him by giving empowering Him to be the greatest name in the history of manking. At the mention of His name, every knee now bows.
If you are bereaved or griefing, know that the Lord has permitted it. He will give beauty for your ashes and the songs of joy for your mourning so that His name will be glorified in you. He will console and comfort you so that you can be a better instrument in His hand to minister to the needs of others.
Our grief may be the direct answer to our prayers for God to use us mightily.
Know that the Lord is God, He will be exalted among the heathen and in the earth.
Fear not because the Lord is with you. He will make rough places straight before you.
P.S.: Text Is. 51vs. 3, 2 Cor. 1:3-4
When Things Go Bad
Things really went bad for David in 1 Samuel 30. The Amalekites invaded his settlement at Ziklag. It was a terrible devastation. His goods and women were taken captives. It was a great loss indeed and the sight of the situation of things was gorius. His servants could not stand the psychological trauma of the loss.
Who was to blame for this? Since they could not find the captors, they descended on their master-David.
Yes. He was responsible for the loss. He could have creatively taken vital steps that should prevent such a heavy loss. They wanted to stone him. Such was the dilema of leadership.
When things go bad what do you do? Let's learn from what David did.
He encouraged himself in the Lord. What is that suppose to mean?
Perhaps he started thinking positively. He thought about the goodness of God to him in the past. He knew nothing could have happened to him without God knowing about it.
He must have remembered that trusting in God is more profitable than putting trust in man. Already his servants who suppose to have rally round him has turned to be his adversary. Nobody to turn to except God. 'Be still and know that I am God'. He could have remembered that scripture and believed it. He knew that with God nothing shall be impossible. It is possible for God to restore his loss and lead him to find the whereabout of his enemies.
He prayed to God and he received answer to his prayer.
The story ended on a positive note. David found his enemies and captured them. He subsequently recovered his lost goods.
When things go bad please remember that you are not alone. God is with you like a mighty terrible one. He thinks about you always and ready to answer you when you call upon Him.
When you believe that with God nothing shall be impossible, it is certain that you will find it expedient to call upon Him.
Seeking the face of God when things go bad is a sure step to victory. Just as it worked for David at Ziklag so shall it work for you.
P.S.: Text 1 Samuel 30
Who was to blame for this? Since they could not find the captors, they descended on their master-David.
Yes. He was responsible for the loss. He could have creatively taken vital steps that should prevent such a heavy loss. They wanted to stone him. Such was the dilema of leadership.
When things go bad what do you do? Let's learn from what David did.
He encouraged himself in the Lord. What is that suppose to mean?
Perhaps he started thinking positively. He thought about the goodness of God to him in the past. He knew nothing could have happened to him without God knowing about it.
He must have remembered that trusting in God is more profitable than putting trust in man. Already his servants who suppose to have rally round him has turned to be his adversary. Nobody to turn to except God. 'Be still and know that I am God'. He could have remembered that scripture and believed it. He knew that with God nothing shall be impossible. It is possible for God to restore his loss and lead him to find the whereabout of his enemies.
He prayed to God and he received answer to his prayer.
The story ended on a positive note. David found his enemies and captured them. He subsequently recovered his lost goods.
When things go bad please remember that you are not alone. God is with you like a mighty terrible one. He thinks about you always and ready to answer you when you call upon Him.
When you believe that with God nothing shall be impossible, it is certain that you will find it expedient to call upon Him.
Seeking the face of God when things go bad is a sure step to victory. Just as it worked for David at Ziklag so shall it work for you.
P.S.: Text 1 Samuel 30
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Learning From The Patriach Of Faith-Abraham
Abram(that was his pagan name) before God changed it to Abraham-the father of faith.
This morning, reading through Genesis Chapter 13-15 as i usually do everyday in my 'read the bible through' for one year as guided by the popularly used daily bread manual, i began to see something new about Abram and what made him so special and different.
Our choices make us who we eventually become or the ripple effect we get from our daily actions.
God told him to leave his country and kinsmen to a land he will reveal to him. He obeyed. As he stepped out in his journey, he took Lot (his cousin) with him.
At a point both Abram and Lot became so rich with goods and servants that the land could no more accommodate them all.
The immediate challenge was the conflict that ensued between the servants of Abraham and those of Lot. Instead of Abram to call them to order and warn them against intimidating his servants (since he was the master and benefactor), he chose the option of peace.
He encouraged Lot to choose anywhere that could accommodate him and his men so that there could be peace since there was no reason for quarrelling.
Do you know what Lot did? He chose the best land in his own sight and left the 'barren' land to Abraham.
I think of what one could have done naturally in such a circumstance. Rail abuse on Lot of course for being an ingrate. Abram could have retorted 'I only gave you the opportunity to test your level of respect for me. Do you think you are so smart and wise? How could you have chosen the best land mass and leave the fallow area to me? I'm sorry, i could no longer cope with your excesses. I'll give you 24 hrs to go back to your land of nativity. I could no longer stomach your disrespectful behavious which has unfortunately being copied by your servants'.
Abram never said anything near the paraphrased sentence above.
We can see in him a man who understand spiritual laws. He allowed Lot to have his way so that God could have His way in his own life.
That is it. If we allow other people to cheat us and have their way, God will move on our behalf and remember us for good. He will fight for us and bless us.
Abram was a good example in humility and brotherly love. He was ready to pay the sacrifice so that peace could reign.
Here we have a classic in human relationship. Did he loose eventually as a result? No.
God appeared to him and entered into a covenant with him to bless him and make him great and generations after him.
We stant to gain more if we apply spiritual laws to our daily lives.
* 'Seek peace and pursue it'.
* 'In honour, prefer one another'.
* 'Whatever is good, whatever is honest, whatever is of good report,...think about these.'
* 'Let brotherly love continue among you'.
* 'Approve things that are excellent,....being full of the fruits of righteouness..'(Phil. 1:10,11).
How good and marvelous would it be if you could adopt Abraham's proven principles which guarantees spiritual health, promotes effective human relationship, ensures peace and spread positive results from generation to generation?
Here is our challenge. By extension, the world will be a better place if we live by the example of Abraham. Africa for example will say an emphatic good bye to ethnic wars and religious intolerance; Europe will be more passionate about the developing world and the Middle East will enjoy peace and tranquility.
You may not be able to influence what happens in the world at large but you can start today from where you are.
Brighten the corner where you are.
P.S.: Today's text taken from Genesis Chapter 13-15 and Phil. 1:8-11
This morning, reading through Genesis Chapter 13-15 as i usually do everyday in my 'read the bible through' for one year as guided by the popularly used daily bread manual, i began to see something new about Abram and what made him so special and different.
Our choices make us who we eventually become or the ripple effect we get from our daily actions.
God told him to leave his country and kinsmen to a land he will reveal to him. He obeyed. As he stepped out in his journey, he took Lot (his cousin) with him.
At a point both Abram and Lot became so rich with goods and servants that the land could no more accommodate them all.
The immediate challenge was the conflict that ensued between the servants of Abraham and those of Lot. Instead of Abram to call them to order and warn them against intimidating his servants (since he was the master and benefactor), he chose the option of peace.
He encouraged Lot to choose anywhere that could accommodate him and his men so that there could be peace since there was no reason for quarrelling.
Do you know what Lot did? He chose the best land in his own sight and left the 'barren' land to Abraham.
I think of what one could have done naturally in such a circumstance. Rail abuse on Lot of course for being an ingrate. Abram could have retorted 'I only gave you the opportunity to test your level of respect for me. Do you think you are so smart and wise? How could you have chosen the best land mass and leave the fallow area to me? I'm sorry, i could no longer cope with your excesses. I'll give you 24 hrs to go back to your land of nativity. I could no longer stomach your disrespectful behavious which has unfortunately being copied by your servants'.
Abram never said anything near the paraphrased sentence above.
We can see in him a man who understand spiritual laws. He allowed Lot to have his way so that God could have His way in his own life.
That is it. If we allow other people to cheat us and have their way, God will move on our behalf and remember us for good. He will fight for us and bless us.
Abram was a good example in humility and brotherly love. He was ready to pay the sacrifice so that peace could reign.
Here we have a classic in human relationship. Did he loose eventually as a result? No.
God appeared to him and entered into a covenant with him to bless him and make him great and generations after him.
We stant to gain more if we apply spiritual laws to our daily lives.
* 'Seek peace and pursue it'.
* 'In honour, prefer one another'.
* 'Whatever is good, whatever is honest, whatever is of good report,...think about these.'
* 'Let brotherly love continue among you'.
* 'Approve things that are excellent,....being full of the fruits of righteouness..'(Phil. 1:10,11).
How good and marvelous would it be if you could adopt Abraham's proven principles which guarantees spiritual health, promotes effective human relationship, ensures peace and spread positive results from generation to generation?
Here is our challenge. By extension, the world will be a better place if we live by the example of Abraham. Africa for example will say an emphatic good bye to ethnic wars and religious intolerance; Europe will be more passionate about the developing world and the Middle East will enjoy peace and tranquility.
You may not be able to influence what happens in the world at large but you can start today from where you are.
Brighten the corner where you are.
P.S.: Today's text taken from Genesis Chapter 13-15 and Phil. 1:8-11
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)