Concealment

Inherent in sin is the will to conceal it.

I consider this a profound truth. Sin comes with a pre-packaged or in-built self-preservation or self-concealing ability. When sin comes, it also comes with a desire and a will for it to be kept secret.

Sin is the number one reason why our world is what it is today and it is the reason Jesus came. It is one of the reasons for which grace is given to man. It is the sole reason why there is a hell and the only condition to qualify for it.

When you consider Adam and Eve, you will discover that their first reaction to falling into sin was to take cover, that is to hid.

It is your first reaction when you sin too. Be it lying, envy, sexual immortality, stealing etc. We see people engaging in these things daily but they would not readily admit it and when they admit, they still have folks or institutions they can admit it to.

Sin's in-built concealment software sort of installs in any man that sins thereby making such unwilling to admit their wrong.

This however is Sin's self-sustaining plan. With this Sin can perpetuate, sustain, preserve and improve itself in a man's life. This is Sin's power.

Sin prospers (grows, improves, increases and multiplies) when concealed or hidden. But the person who conceals it will not........

Proverbs  28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Concealment is Sin's staying power. Opening up is what destroys its hold. Don't let Sin have dominion over you. Speak out. Expose it.
I hear someone saying "you want me to expose myself?" Yes! Expose yourSELF! Expose your SELF! Expose SELF! Mr Self or if u like Mr Flesh must be exposed. He is a friend of Mr Sin. Don't hide him much longer.

Get on your knees, pray and talk to God and look for good folks and undress the sin that easily besets you.

God bless you.
SHALOM.

Investment

I have being experiencing some pains of late, because i have being putting some resources into some areas of my life in order to reap some gain in the future. It is painful now. It is not comforting now. It has tightened my budget and sometimes makes me exasperated. I want to shout sometimes when i drop more resources into it. But then there is a hope ahead. The hope of an harvest. This hope keeps me going, keeps me investing, keeps me keen on the investment.
But sadly many pray and hope for harvest and gain where and when they have not invested. You have to have invested before you can dream of gain. When i was going for fitness training in a gym some time ago, the instructors often say "no pain no gain". The investment is the pain of the fitness regime, while the gain is the fitness attained.
What are you investing in yourself and in your life? You can invest in your personality, in your finances, marriage, education, relationships, ministry, family, etc. Lets make sure we are planting or sowing something for the future. The future depends on the actions of today.
It is not only money that can be invested, but it is the only thing we think that matters and can be invested. I have discovered we all have something to invest. Lets act now. Sow now. Invest your time, money, prayers, words, energy, etc, into what will culminate into fruits harvestable in the future. You have a seed to invest.
A sower went out to sow his seed............ Luke 8:5 NKJV
Investing answers to the law of cause and effect. Investing creates an effect every time, maybe not immediately but surely.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest,........... Genesis 8:22 KJV
Shalom.

And You Shall Call His Name Jesus.

  

But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. Matthew 1:20-21 NKJV


It is well stated in this passage the reason why the Son of God's earthly name is Jesus. Jesus means Savior. And the primary thing that He came to save us from is SIN. That is what Adam fell into that initiated all the death, darkness, ignorance, decadence, evil and chaos we see today. It striped man of Glory. In order for man to be restored and for all these chaos to be removed, the source of the decay which is SIN must be removed also. Hence the arrival and redemptive work of Jesus.

I repeat, the primary reason why Jesus came, and is called Jesus is to save from sin. If He saves you from sin, then the order of decadence, lust, poverty, death, curses, etc will dry up and cease. Don't seek prosperity, deliverance, and blessings, rather seek Jesus for freedom from the hold of sin. Then blessings can flow. Don't put the cart before the horse.

If Jesus' primary reason or objective or purpose for coming to us is to save us from our sins then irrespective of our callings, sin should be a primary thing we should seek to address and save ourselves and people from. As ministers, Pastors, Prophets and God seekers, sin should be the foundational issue we must seek to deal with. Irrespective of if we are called to teach or preach Prosperity, faith, healing, deliverance, discipleship, music, grace, holiness, prayer, evangelism, relationships, marriage, miracles, anointing, etc sin must be the primary issue we must seek to uproot. With sin in the lives of the people or ours, how effective is our message? What can we achieve with people whose lives are well controlled by sin? Our message will not bear fruit in them if sin is not addressed when we preach faith, grace or prayers to them. All our work in people's lives must have sin removal as a primary objective. I believe we will fail in our callings and fail our Lord who called us if we do not seek to address sin consistently in the discharge of our call.

It was and is still Jesus primary objective and so it must be yours and mine too.

As brothers and sisters, we must not relent, sin must not have a hold on us. It is possible to live free from the hold of sin, God demands it and we must obey Him. He is the source of power, lets seek Him and find Him till He makes the name Jesus (savior) real in our lives by saving us from all our sins.
Shalom!

Do Not Stir Up Love

Song of Solomon 2:7 MSG
Oh, let me warn you, sisters in Jerusalem, by the gazelles, yes, by all the wild deer: Don't excite love, don't stir it up, until the time is ripe—and you're ready.

Songs Of Solomon 3:5 & 8:4 repeats this divine instruction. When something is written in scripture, it has to be taken seriously. What if it is written thrice? The funniest thing is that this scripture is not one that is taken quite as it should.

Most relationships today starts with or because of emotions. By emotions i mean feelings of love and attachment. Whereas, it should not be the alpha of any relationship. Emotions should not be allowed until you are ready. Emotions at best will confuse you. It is unstable because it changes and often hinders Godly insights from being adhered to. This scripture show that the pattern here is the direct opposite to what the world system goes by. And isn't God's way always different? Don't go into that courtship until you are ready folks.

So what exactly does the bible mean by being READY? It means when all protocols and backings have being sorted out. It is not proper brothers and sisters for you to start an affair without God, parents and spiritual authorities over you permitting you. Without these backings and protocols observed, you are not ready. Don't let emotions lead you, let this pattern guide you. With this you will not miss it. God cant lead you astray. If He backs it the other authorities over your life will follow in time.

This pattern is like the process of purifying water to make it ready for use. The importance of its use will determine the more care and scrutiny that goes into the purification. Water for drinking is the most important and is the most expertly purified. Can i ask you.......how important is the person you will marry? He or she is not just a colleague, a casual friend, or neighbor who do not need the most serious scrutiny before you relate with. He or she is like the water you will drink, and it is important that you check that he or she is not harbouring a poisonous substance. Just as some poisons or impurities cant be found by the naked eyes so also the true nature of that brother or sister cant be known by our senses. Hence we need God. Please check with Him and also receive guidance from appropriate and necessary quarters.

When all protocols are duly observed then you are ready. Shalom.

Come Closer To See Closely.

Recently my designation changed in my place of work, and this meant that i had to leave the over two hundred people I oversee to go elsewhere and manage another bunch of people. Interestingly I looked back to the over two years i spent in that assignment and the several hundreds of lives that have passed through me during these period. It was saddening to realize my life had touched a little number of them EFFECTIVELY. I know I could have made a greater difference in these lives.

Why such a minimal impact?

I realized that a lot of them didnt realize who i am and what am capable of and thus couldn't take advantage of what i can offer.
A lot of them didn't know the gifts and abilities that I have and so could not connect to or take advantage of it.

So why did they not know?

Because they didn't come closer. A lot of them didn't bother to look closely. They judged me by my looks, dressing, demeanor, position, age, tribe, class, rumors, gossips, etc. And subsequently missed out on what my life could have poured into theirs.

Some people were college or childhood friends of very outstanding people today but they didn't see what they were capable of then. I now see how a lot of people would have passed through a lot of influential people without knowing. Only Heavens know those people you have allowed to slip away with content that could have accelerated your progress in life.

I felt sad as I attended the send off party held for me. I could have offered more and helped so much more. "What could I have done differently" was the thought in my heart. I was on the verge of blaming myself until I remembered Jesus. He reached out to everyone but few came close, and it was those few that later caught the revelation of Him as the Son of God. They didn't know until they came close. Those who didn't come close couldn't know. He called some, like the rich young man but he couldn't come because of his riches. After a three-year ministry whose impact thousands of years later, we're yet to recover from, Jesus left only a few close people on the earth. People who truly knew Him and in whom He poured much into were few. 

Others won't come close because He was regarded as one who performed miracles through Beelzebub. Some where discouraged by the rumors peddled against Him. A lot just criticized Him for His success, some because He challenged their religious beliefs and others because He associated with the poor.
Do you know you might be criticizing people you ought to be close to. You wont understand and see them properly from a distance. Same way a lot of people may have criticized and misrepresented you.

How many people have you failed to connect with or harness their potential because you stayed afar of? Whereas if you had moved closer they could have been a pivot for your lifting and destiny. God uses people, and there are people positioned to help us, all we have to do is "come thither".

Shalom!

ASSUMPTIONS

Gen 16:2  And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it MAY BE that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai. (KJV)

Rom 14:5  One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

Heb 11:13  These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Rom 14:23  And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. 

The first time I noticed the phrase MAY BE in Genesis 16: 2 it struck me instantly as a word filled with probability and therefore void of Faith i.e an absence of God's word. This is a family of Faith who have left their home and relatives and so on to pursue God's promise to them. They were living in Faith until this moment. There are always moments like this in a Believer's life, when his or her Faith in God's word is pressurized by situations, circumstances, friends, comments, social, economic, physical and cultural realities. Friends, family and very close confidants will question what God has convinced you of. Paul said we must be fully persuaded. The heroes of Hebrews 11 were also fully persuaded. And you too must be. You must revisit and solidify the belief you have in the teachings, instructions and promises God has made to you. Never make a decision with a "MAY BE". It is a doubt based word and not a faith based word. Never execute an action not knowing if it is within God's will and plan for you.

Don't change location, jobs, church, ministry, etc with a "maybe" it is God's will mindset. Please be sure. God has spoken to you about His will for your life in marriage and simply because he has not approached you about it you begin to have doubts and you begin to move away. Who told you God Has not spoken to him too. Who told you it is not you that he is thinking about even though it SEEMS to you that it is another he is watching. God is true to His word. Relax. He has shown you a vision of tomorrow yet you doubt it because of what today looks like. Dont worry. Please dont take a wrong step out of doubt.

Sarai made an ASSUMPTION! "MAY BE this is the way God will do it" "MAY BE this is the guy i will marry, he SEEMS a nice person". "MAY BE i should go into this business or that". ASSUMPTIONS are not of Faith elements and consequently any action taken throught it is a SIN! Romans 14: 23.
Assumptions are always in the direction of the easiest or most sensible or obvious options. The Faith option is the God ordained way for us. Revisit what He said and stay on it. If only Abram and Sarai did that, there wont be Ishmael and consequently none of the issues and wars in the middle east.
What is the consequence of your "MAY BE" going to be in the future? That action you are taking via assumption, what will it result in? That business, that relationship, that marriage, that change of job or location, what will it lead to in the future? It will certainly take mercy for it not to result in an unpleasant end. Let's be wise friends.

Never again assume God's will. Be sure of it. Don't agree with an assumption of God's will like Abram did when Sarai came up with it.
BE FULLY PERSUADED BEFORE YOU ACT.
Shalom.

FIREBRANDS

Judges 15:3  And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 
4  And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took firebrands, and turned tail to tail, and put a firebrand in the midst between two tails. 
5  And when he had set the brands on fire, he let them go into the standing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up both the shocks, and also the standing corn, with the vineyards and olives. 




The post today is for people like me who desire continually to carry something of God with which they can be effective, extraordinary and outstanding in their lives. I will not publicize this post through social media platforms because it is for a few. A few like the 300 men of Gideon, or the 315 servants born and trained in Abraham's house, or the 300 foxes caught by Samson, or yet like the 120 disciples who tarried for fire in the upper room. If you find yourself reading this post today you might just be one of those few that Heaven is calling.

Are you like me who thinks that the supernatural and the extraordinary move of God's Spirit is now scarce? Unbelievable, jaw dropping and unfathomable miracles and manifestation of the Spirit are clearly scarce, few and far between. All we see now is talk and more talk. And the talks and messages are regrettably void of the supernatural. They are void of Unction and the saving grace of God. That was not what we saw in Acts Of The Apostle and the Gospels. We saw power, we saw extraordinary things, we saw the demonstration of the Spirit. That is how Paul came into the cities he won, that is how the Apostles turned the world upside down and that is how we will fulfill our callings too.

Looking at the story of Samson here, i began to pray that God will place firebrands on me that i will run with. I began to pray daily that His presence, power, Spirit, unction, fire and grace be so strong on my life that as i run through this world, the crops, vineyards and plantations of God's enemies will be burnt down. That as i go about my work, studies, ministry, marriage and so on, His fire will continually flow through my life to cause healing, salvation, deliverance and miracles.
I went out to a friend's house carrying a measure of God's presence, it was evident, it wasn't imaginary, He was there with me. You can sometimes tell if He is on your right, left, front, back or all over you. I got to my friend's house a sat down in the palour, he greeted me from his bedroom and stayed there for awhile. Within a few minutes he started sobbing and crying, when i heard i walked to meet him in the bedroom, there he was completely overwhelmed by God such that He began to confess his sins. I didnt preach to him, i was just privileged to bring in God's presence into his house and God did the rest. That is a measure of what we are talking about. Charles G. Finney will walk into CITIES and everyone will be arrested by God's presence. This is a greater measure. I do not know how you desire to be used of God, but if it is not at the same level with Jesus or more, you are still very far behind. Greater works than what Jesus did is what He promised us, how can we settle for a measure that does not supercede the wisdom of men. 
I want to see singers who minister and men are slain in the spirit, healings and miracles breakout every time they minister, i want to see drama ministers who will do one act that will bring hundreds of thousands to their needs before Jesus. I want to see producers, directors, script writers, media personnel, doctors, bloggers, Facebook, google+ and twitter users who carry such an unusual Unction of God's Spirit that they bring supernatural endowments to bear in our physical day to day lives and thereby show the Glory Of God to our world. Will you be that individual?

The foxes knew they carried something and that fire is what kept them running. They knew they carried fire. My prayer is that God will pour so much of Himself in my life and yours that it will be tangible, feel-able, manifest and evident. I pray that God will place a fire in our hearts and lives that will make us continually go about doing His will. You cant rest with so much of Him in and on you. You will always want to pray, fast and study. You will not be bored or lazy in the place of prayer when you receive His fire.

4  And Samson went and caught three hundred foxes,
 
It is my prayer that God will catch me. Samson had to Catch the 300 foxes. God needs to arrest some of us from other pursuits that are not His will for us. May He interrupt us from pursuits that do not have eternal value. May He constrain us to the path of destiny and purpose in the name of Jesus. I hope that brothers and sisters reading this will pray this prayer, because any pursuit outside His will is void of reward, provision and grace. May God grant us all understanding.

I hope i have been able to share the burden of prayer that is in my heart with you. I pray that God will grant increase to His word in your hearts. Please do pray.

Finally Samson said  
Judges 15:3  And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. 

I will leave you to interpret that.

God Bless You. Shalom! 

Regurgitation

Psalm 23:1  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
Psalm 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Psalm 23:4  Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Psalm 23:5  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Psalm 23:6  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever. 

Psalm 23 is one of the most important psalms in the Bible. I bet a lot of us even know it by heart. As kids we learnt to memorize it. Psalm 23 gives a detailed list of the responsibilities of God our Shepherd towards us His sheep.

About a year ago i started looking at the sheep. It is not enough to look at the responsibilities of the Shepherd, because we are not that Shepherd here, indeed none of us has the capacity to carry the task listed in Psalm 23 but we are the sheep. One important characteristic of the sheep that i remembered really quickly is REGURGITATION. And this is what today's post is about.

We learnt that while sheep eat, they simply swallow and not totally chew food, they then store what they eat in one of the four compartments in their stomach. Then later when they have a quiet place to lie down they will start to regurgitate, i.e they will begin to bring all they have eaten back to their mouths and now properly chew it and digest it. I think i did well with that layman's definition, but i believe you get the idea of it all.

Psalm 23:2  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 

Every now and then, the Lord (SHEPHERD OF OUR SOULS) makes us lie down to eat of His good Word and He leads us to be washed by His Word. We attend Churches, seminars, listen to messages on TV, internet, etc, we share the word with friends and all of that. We do a lot of attending, listening and sharing. We don't do the lying down just as often. Note that this is when a sheep regurgitates. After you have heard all the different sermons, principles and doctrines, there is need to lie down and revisit them, re-chew them, ruminate over them and re-think over them. Test all! When you lie down with the Shepherd, you should re-study all you heard and read that was presented to you as the word of your Shepherd.
John 10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.
Act 17:11  These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 

The Berean Christians exemplified this issue. Despite the efficacy and credibility of Apostle Paul's message, they still sought to lie down and check with the Shepherd after they have being taught. 
Do you regurgitate? It has become so important these days because of a lot of errors, deceit and false doctrines are being thrown around. Did you recheck all that the writer wrote in the last book you read? The bible says "Test ALL spirits". Test all books, sermons and every source of knowledge. Guard your heart with all diligence. (Pro 4:23)

Have you ever wandered why we fall for some doctrines in the past and even now? It is because they are very similar to the truth, very identical but probably 1% different from it. That difference is huge and significant to the marking scheme of Heaven but usually unnoticed by the earthly. There are many books and messages out there that have 1% or more deviation from the truth. It might produce the desired result but Heaven marks it wrong in eternal value. How do you identify the difference? God told Moses "speak" to the rock but he "struck" it with his rod instead, yet the result was the desired result......water but how many noticed he failed the marking scheme of the examiner. Everyone rejoiced at the sight of water and the miracle. May we not be carried away by results and miracles in Jesus name. Lets always check. If you are a Preacher always check, if you are the listener do so too.

A lot of Christians will not check because they seldom LIE DOWN. A sheep won't regurgitate until He has found a quiet place to lie still. Learn to have a quiet time each day to check your values and principles you want to live by in the light of God's word for you. Regularly have retreats to re-chew those things you hurriedly picked up during the week in this our fast-paced world.

And do regurgitate on this post too. God bless you.
SHALOM!  

Same Team

Gal 6:1  Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Gal 6:2  Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

I have watched with a lot of pain how most believers are quick to run down and criticize anyone who is found to have committed a sin, even if he or she confessed without being caught. We become judges immediately a brother, a sister, a pastor or pastor's wife commits a sin. Because we are at war with the devil, time after time we see men of high standing in ministry fall to the wiles of the devil but time after time our response is to injure them further with our mouths by gossiping and slandering them. Leaders of our army (Prophets, Pastors, Evangelist, Music ministers, drama ministers, etc) are at the forefront of this war and because of their roles they become prime targets of the enemy. "Operation Strike the shepherd and the flock will scatter" is still a major strategy of our enemy. Regrettably we injure our generals more than the devil does.

Taking a look at what obtains in the corridors of power in the world is instructive.  Leaders of governments are the most guarded and protected. Their countries ensure they are the most guarded. This is important when you are at war. At war we need everyone working for the ultimate goal, which is Victory. No soldier leaves an injured soldier in enemy territory. We do the opposite most times these days as believers.

How many of us will broadcast his or her father's or mother's or brother's indiscretion to the world?
I bet you wont tell anyone if your father was caught in adultery. Yet we broadcast fathers in the faith who have done so. We go as far as discussing with unbelievers what should be a family matter. Do we not realize we are brothers and sisters in the Lord? WE ARE ON THE SAME TEAM! Irrespective of church denomination, race or ethnicity. Why do we assassinate each other's character like this? We cant win this war with all this backbiting and back stabbing. We are fighting ourselves from within.
We all need ourselves. We need everyone to get up.

Eph 4:11  And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12  For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Eph 4:13  Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

We need to nurture our fallen brothers, sisters and leaders to get back up and join the battle again. Noah rose up from the stench of alcohol (SIN) to pronounce blessings and curses that shaped the prosperity and fortunes of races and kingdoms. 
That fallen man can still rise up with good nurturing to take cities for Jesus.

Nurture Them Church!!!
Don't Crucify Them!!!

I know some of our Leaders might have missed it, let us not rebuke them or make jest of them as Ham did to his father because there will be consequences. Remember Miriam too.
However, pray for them and leave God to correct them His own way. God is more convincing than you and i can ever be. Leave the correcting to Him. They are HIS servants!

Finally, a lot of us aspire to be used mightily of God like some of our fathers today, we desire a great work. So let us not destroy the throne they are sitting on. It is only a fool who will destroy the throne he wishes to sit on.

Does God Exist?

Some years ago i wrote my graduating project on "Atheism" at the university. I was to consider arguments that prove or disprove the existence of God. It was really like a journey for me as i examined facts, abstract views and metaphysical conjectures on the issue. As i proceeded i realized that most of the facts denied the existence of God. Quite frankly that is expected given that God is immaterial and infinite, therefore empirical means cant be used to prove His existence. So, can His existence be proven or disproved in any other way? I concluded my project with an interesting thought that will leave you to decide.

This is my conclusion: If God exists, then Heaven and Hell exists, right? If He doesn't exist then there won't be Heaven or Hell. To go to Heaven you have to be righteous and deny yourself of all sorts of worldly pleasures that are sinful so as to please God and avoid His judgement. If you live an upright life and you die and there is no God and subsequently no Heaven, what have you lost? Well your only loss is the sinful pleasures you gave up to follow a God who eventually does not exist. But if He does exist then eternity in Heaven will be your reward. On the other hand, if you choose to live a sinful life, enjoying all kinds of pleasures and doing things contrary to God's will and you die and discover there is no God, then you have lived your life to the full by your own standards. However, if you die and God is waiting on the other side then Hell is dead sure.

So what do you think? If you don't believe in God's existence now, will you risk knowing it on the other side of life? Are you reading this and you believe in God's existence but you are not doing His perfect will? You are risking a lot. Think about what you stand to gain or lose.

BELIEVE.