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.

Sycamore Tree

Luke 19:1-6: And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho. And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich. And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a Sycamore Tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

Zacchaeus is a perfect example of a lot of us, he was a chief among his peers and had an outlook of one who all is well with (Rich). But like all humans, we know ourselves more than the way others perceive us. Despite his Chief status, he knew his life was still very empty of something or rather someone really vital. Am sure a lot of people will be hailing him as a 'Don', as a man of timber and caliber and as a role model, but the truth is that in our inner place we know how wrong our fans, friends and colleagues are. 

1Co 2:11  Who ever knows what you're thinking and planning except you yourself? (MSG)

We are the only ones who truly know our inadequacies and struggles. Maybe you are reading this and you realize that the applause you receive from school, work, church is very encouraging about your life, but i will have you ponder and pause.......is that the true reflection of your life. Like Zacchaeus do you feel you aint there yet? Despite his success, he knew he needed Jesus. 

He sought to see Jesus who He was.....despite his reputation, he sought Him. Are you seeking him my brother and sister. Has your reputation or standing in school and at work crucified your search? Is it possible that you are trying but you cant get through? In verse 3 we saw that he could not see Jesus because of the press or the crowd. It is sad that there are lots of things crowding out Jesus in our lives, only because we do not make adequate room for Him in our lives. Our jobs, friends, phones, social media, babies, spouses and even church activities are crowding Him away from being seen. We give more priority to these things than seeking Him for ourselves. 

Some of us say we are still young or lack spiritual stature to seek Him like some do. To you i say "climb the SYCAMORE TREE". It helped Zacchaeus it will help you too. 

A sycamore tree is any thing that helps you see Jesus in the midst of distractions and busy schedules of our lives. It gives you leverage to see Him. For a lot of people their sycamore tree is Church Services. For a lot of believers without it they wont have any relationship with Jesus. Without it a lot of people wont experience Him. I do not mean seeing Jesus physically folks, but i mean church affords a lot of people the opportunity to speak to Him, hear Him, feel Him, fellowship with Him and so on. However some lose that fellowship in church when they become religious and encumbered by many activities like Martha. 

Luke 10:40-42: But Martha [overly occupied and too busy] was distracted with much serving; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, is it nothing to You that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me [to lend a hand and do her part along with me]! But the Lord replied to her by saying, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; There is need of only one or but a few things. Mary has chosen the good portion [that which is to her advantage], which shall not be taken away from her. (AMP)

Nevertheless, the main point of this post is that I feel the Holy Spirit will like to point out the fact that a lot of people have now turned the Sycamore Tree to the only place where they meet with Jesus. Some folks only worship and pray seriously in church. If service doesn't hold in church for a whole week, their prayer life, study of God's word, praise and worship and seeking His face consciously is suspended for that week.

If you travel from home for a week, will you cease to communicate with your wife and loved ones for that period? How come we do so with God? The sycamore tree has become the only source of our tryst with God. I sense the Lord saying "make amends, create room for me and constantly meet me there, for there is much to discuss".

He awaits you!

God bless you. Shalom.

Do you need Preferences with God?

Men and women are excellent when it comes to setting parameters. And when it comes to the choice of who to marry the stakes are high. Regrettably, those of the Household of Faith set parameters, and worse still those parameters we set, we set to guide God in His choosing for us. We usually say God must give me someone like this and that, who has this and that and so on. We often say those parameters are necessary considering the fact that God knows how we are wired. He did the wiring so we should trust that He'll give us what is in line with our peculiarities. Giving Him structures is a show of lack of Faith at best. 

We feel we need to set these parameters because of our peculiarities. We say we can't marry a reserved person, I must marry a phlegmatic and not a sanguine, I can't marry a slim person, I can't stand dark ladies, I can't marry from a particular State, etc. 

But are all our peculiarities and preferences from God? Is God still not busy trying to refine, cut off and prune some things in our personality? Can we then set parameters for a perfect and all-knowing God based on our imperfect and still revolving personalities and peculiarities? 

I have a friend who six to seven years ago often dated big stature ladies, that was his preference then. He just liked them big. By the time he was set to marry less than two years ago he married a slim sister because his preference had changed. Let us not be ignorant of the fact that we have not even fully discovered ourselves......our likes, dislikes, tastes and preferences because they often change as we grow up. Let us just allow God do the choosing. He knows all about you. What your likes and preferences will be in the future He knows it. He knows the ones that will change and the ones that are fixed. Trust him. He will give you the exact person that will suit you.

Question: A virtuous man or woman who can find? Answer: None but the Lord. 1 Corinthians 2:10. The Spirit Searcheth ALL THINGS ( this is a study on its own). God Bless.