BELIEVING IS SEEING

                   

“Seeing is believing” is a popular saying that has been around from time immemorial. Ittends to point out the fact that you can only believe what you see and it isonly in that, the truth could be ascertained, verified and confirmed just likethe legendary doubting Thomas. But for every child of God, this is very farfrom the truth.

For a bible-believing believer who is grounded and rooted in the word of God, he operates by a different rule. For him, believing is seeing.

God has given us precious promises according to His love for us. These promises are yes and amen in Him. But with these promises come the attack of the enemy who brings several obstacles that could make us be doubtful of these promises whether they would be manifested in the physical. The devil wants us to see contrary to what God has said and will always want us to see in the negative and believe the promises will never come to pass. He wants our physical eyes to paint the wrong picture.

Despite the attack of the evil one, we should not lose sight of these precious promises and discard the devil’s decoy. With our spiritual eyes, we should see the promises already being manifested. Our believe in God’s ability should be evident in seeing with our spiritual eyes and not the physical; that is when believing is seeing and we should move a step forward by acting on what we believe we are seeing with a corresponding action.

BELIEVER'S INHERITANCE (PART TWO)

            

From the story of Efe, it was obvious he suffered from ignorance that cost him a lot. He never knew how much he was worth, hence the troubles he went through not to talk of the shame, embarrassment and dejection that accompanied his being an ignoramus.

                                                                                                       

Just like Efe, there are lots of believers that are wallowing in the mire of ignorance which has caused them untold and unnecessary hardship in life, living a life not befitting the status of a true child of God that has it all.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6); knowledge in this bible verse does not translate to mean scientific, art, management or everyday knowledge; it basically means the knowledge of the word of God and the revelation of God himself.

Most believers are ignorant of the inheritance that has been bequeathed through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They are completely oblivious of their right in Christ; hence they suffer seriously for nothing just like Efe. What a pity!

The testament (will) Jesus left us to know our inheritance in Him is found in the whole of the New Testament. The New Testament helps us to know who we are and our position in Him. It tells us what we have been delivered from and the things that have been delivered into our lives. It opens our eyes to our glorious inheritance in Christ Jesus.

Ignorance is a strong weapon the enemy is using to deprive a believer the knowledge of his inheritance in Christ. A believer does not need to suffer from the blindfold of Satan. He needs to bury himself in the word of God to see himself and his inheritance in Christ, for the word of God is a mirror that reveals who we are in Him. The more we behold the mirror, the more we know who we are in Christ Jesus.

BELIEVER'S INHERITANCE (PART ONE)

Efe whistled his way to work inspite of the harmattan cold. He believed that was the only way to keep himself warm and active despite the biting cold and an empty stomach. He was looking forward to a better day.

Efe was a happy-go young man in his mid-twenties with no formal education but had good command of English language by sheer providence. This gave him an edge over his fellows in his trade of motor mechanic. His fluency seemed to be the attracting force in drawing clients to his workshop which as expected, drew lots of envy from other people in the trade.

Business had been dwindling for Efe in the past few months. The numbers of clients have drastically reduced to his utmost surprise. He failed to fathom the dearth of clients. His inability to get clients expectedly translated into a near- empty pocket for him.

Despite all these, Efe was optimistic things would get better. This did not deter him from being his usual self from greeting and acknowledging greetings from the young and old that cold morning.

Lunch time came, but he could dare not step outside his workshop; he was financially handicapped. The day showed no sign of any goodies; he had no single client in the morning compared to the previous day when a client showed up. He looked at his inactive overall that was hung and he shook his end in pity.

Efe’s stomach began to rumble in protest. The hunger was not helping matters. He had an ego for borrowing; he hated the idea with a very strong passion, but as things stood, he had no option than to go and borrow money which was a big shame for him. He reasoned he must swallow his pride if he wanted to satisfy the hunger that seemed to be eaten his intestines

He approached a woman whose shop was adjacent to his workshop for a ‘soft loan’, but the woman came up with the excuse of having a hard time in her business too. Efe felt dejected. Not totally down in his spirit, he went to two other people who gave him varieties of excuses. The only thing left for him to do was to borrow money from his jealous competitors.

Efe braced himself up to meet his competitors. Initially, he developed cold feet, but the pangs of hunger quickened his steps. He told them about his predicaments, but none bulged. They told him point blank they had no money to borrow ‘an educated motor mechanic’. At the mention of the statement, he felt as if a sharp sword pierced through his heart. As he walked away slowly with head bow, he could feel their soft jeers sticking to the helm of his cloth.

The dejected man was about to enter his workshop, when somebody who had seen what he was subjected to by his competitors called him and gave him money that was enough to take care of his lunch.

Later in the evening, Efe recounted in his mind what transpired during the day. He was angry with himself and cursed the day. He angrily pulled down his overall where it was hung. Out of his   overall’s pocket flew some notes of money. He was extremely shocked! With trembling hands, he picked them and counted the money. Efe could not believe the amount of the money found which could actually feed him three times a day for a whole week.

Yet to recover from his discovery, Efe sat down and began to figure out how the money came about. Slowly and painfully, he recalled a client had given him the money some days back for a job he did for him. He was so angry at himself. If he had known he had such money in his overall pocket, he wouldn’t have been going around begging for peanut.  More angrier was Efe when he remembered the insults and ridicule he was subjected to. Hot tears started cascading down his face.

PREACHING THE RIGHT WAY

‘Repent for the end is near; Jesus is coming very soon and if you continue in your sin, you will end up regretting your life. Is there anyone who makes womanizing his special hobby and his hormones always scream out of control when anything in skirt passes by, such person is eternally damned and i am telling you to brace up for hell fire because that is where you will eventually end up. You that can exhaust a brewery and enjoy drinking yourself to a state of stupor but do not stop at that, but have also become a close companion of the white stick that craves for the red flame, turning yourself into a human chimney; i bet you will never escape the sulphuric stench that fills the satanic abode. Also you that indulge in one kind of sin or the other, remember Sodom and Gomorrah and the judgment of God that befell them, i promise you will never escape such judgment which will even be worse and greater than the rejected sinful cities’.

I am sure most of us would have never missed this type of preaching which condemns a sinner to the barest, reeling out the consequences of sins and the harsh judgment that awaits any sinner. People have heard preaching that condemns and brings fear to the heart of the hearer. Guilt always accompany this type of preaching. It leaves anyone that hears this message in a state of helplessness.

However, there are some who hear this type of preaching and hiss at the preacher. For them, nobody has the right to judge and condemn their way of life and poke nose into their private affair. They are of the firm opinion nobody has the right to tell them the way to live their life and do not see any good in the gospel that is supposed to bring good news, but rather loads of condemnation.

The way the gospel is preached by many Christians from time past up until now most times speak of condemnation. Condemnation brings guilt, fear and total rejection of the gospel by most hearers. Gospel means good news, but when the preaching of the gospel is riddled with condemnation, then it is no longer the good news the gospel is supposed to be.

Preaching the gospel to people should be done in a way to reveal God’s love. Gospel should be preached with great emphasis on God’s love. It should be pointed out to people how much God loves the world that He gave out His best for us when we did not deserve it. God loves a sinner, but hates sin.

Let us imagine a young man cut down in his prime. The killer apprehended, charged to court, convicted of his crime and sentenced to death. The father of the deceased now comes forward and offers another of his son to be killed in place of the killer and wants the government to free the killer. Definitely, people will think the man’s head needs to be examined by a psychiatrist for giving out another of his son to be killed for a criminal that deserves to die for his heinous sin. That is just the way God gave us His son to die for us when we were undeserving.

Condemnation does not lead to repentance, rather the goodness of God leads to repentance (Romans 2:4).

GIVING: THE TRUE PICTURE

Andy sauntered into the architectural wonder. He could not miss the sea of heads for anything. The congregation was brimming as usual.

It was not out of place for the church to be filled to capacity during a Sunday service; it was completely understandable. The church was already in progress when Andy came in. He quietly took a seat beside an old lady.

When the offering time beckoned, the pastor mounted the pulpit as usual and wasted no time in quoting 2 Corinthians 9:6, “But this i say; he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully”. Andy was least surprised. This had been the usual verse the pastor read each offering time.

The pastor continued, “If i were you, i will double the money you intend to give to God. The bigger the money you give to God, the more He blesses you.” He concluded.

“Andy watched the old lady beside her changed the denomination in her hand into a higher one. He began to feel guilty because he had the lowest denomination on him. Andy had skipped church service for some times simply because he had money for transport fare, but none for offering and walking the 5km distance between the church and his house could be suicidal.

Andy watched as others like the old lady rummaged through their pockets and handbags bringing out an ‘unprepared’ offering. As Andy lowered his offering into the offering bag, he felt thoroughly washed up in shame and came to an utmost conclusion that his offering was not accepted by God.

The issue of modern day Christianity teachings on giving to God is raising lots of highbrows by Christians alike and people of other faith. More questions are being raised than answers that are being given. The way preachers go about the teachings of giving gives the impression of selfishness and extortion of innocent, unsuspecting congregation. The church members give out of compulsion mixed with fear. People like Andy always feel sorry and guilty.

Let us take a look at the bible verse the preacher quoted; “but this I say; he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully”. The keyword here is sparingly.

The Greek word, pheidomenos was translated to sparingly which means to be stingy. American heritage dictionary defines stingy as ‘giving or spending reluctantly’ and also ‘scanty or meager’.

The preacher gave the impression that the bigger the money you give to God, the bigger He blesses you and the other way round. What a wrong impression!

God does not judge us based on our monetary magnitude, (Luke 21:3) rather He judges us according to how much we give to Him out of how He has blessed us and also the attitude behind our giving. A multi-billionaire that gives in hundreds of thousands could be giving stingingly while a few hundreds from another person could be a generous giving. Those who are reluctant to give to God should expect the same from God because He gives us back with the same measure (attitude) we give (Luke 6:38).

Let us change our giving perception. We should not give to God based on sentiments, compulsions and out of fear; rather, our giving should be based on how God has blessed and prospered us, and in doing that, we should be cheerful about it, for in that, our giving will be meaningful and acceptable in the sight of God.

GOD WORKS THINGS OUT.

He woke up that very morning and began to bask in the euphoria of how ‘great’ the event of the day was going to be. Eyes darting across the room, his gaze was at that instant, fixed on a little bag sitting quietly on top of a small table at the far end of the room. His thought on the content of the bag brought a fresh wave of joy to him. He began to reel out in his mind what he would do with the money. A wry smile played around the corners of his lips.

His heartbeat missed all of a sudden. Today, he was going to be called several names: Traitor, greedy fellow, religious rebel, betrayer and who knows whether his name could be a definition of the act he was about to commit by generations yet unborn. He imagined the look on his boss’ face and how his other colleagues would perceive him. He shrugged it off and cared less in as much he had been made richer with the bribe. Today again, his profile would rise and his curriculum vitae would swell, having been a petty thief using his position as the treasurer to piffle what he could lay his hands on.

He left his house to meet his ‘contractors’ who were restlessly waiting for his appearance. These were the group of people that considered and paraded themselves as the religious mentors of the people and high religious VIPs of the society.

The young man sighted his boss and his other colleagues, but he ignored them and went straight to his boss, and with an hypocritical praise, he kissed him.

The response of his boss, who knew his mission, was unprecedented.

“And Jesus said unto him, Friend wherefore art thou come? Then come they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him” (Matthew 26:50).

How could Jesus regard somebody who gave Him up to be killed as a friend? What sort of friendship could that possibly be? A so-called friend who passed an indirect death sentence on you? Is a friend not a person that cares and protects your interests and looks out for the best in you?

I’m so sure the disciples would be wondering while Jesus could call Judas Iscariot a friend. The supposed friend who could not protect his friend’s interest. This is what the disciples would think, and the rest of us. Conventional wisdom teaches that a traitor is not a person worthy to be called a friend. But not with Jesus.

Jesus knew better than the disciples and the rest of us. To Him, Judas was His friend and a very good one at that.

Jesus knew His purpose on earth. He was the only baby that was born and destined to die for the sins (Past, Present and Future) of mankind. His purpose would not have been accomplished if He was not given away by a kiss. The work of redemption would have been halted if Judas had not been greedy. The gap and enmity between God and man would have never been closed and never ceased if Judas Iscariot had a good conscience. Our hope of eternal bliss would have been jeopardized if Judas was never a black sheep among the disciples.

Have you ever been betrayed by someone or people very close to you: Siblings, family, friends or those not in this category? Learn from Jesus. His traitor led Him to fulfill His mission and purpose in life which made Him to be glorified eventually.

Every acts of betrayal or disappointment always lead to a greater glory if you are in Christ. It is in Him we live, move and have our being; hence, we are at a very great advantage. Just hold unto Him and you will know that all things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28).

WILLPOWER WITHOUT GOD'S POWER

A new year is here again and a warm congratulations to all. Transiting into a new year means a lot to many people. One of such is looking inward to dig out all the habits they consider bad with a view to doing away with them and effect a character and lifestyle change in anticipation of the New Year. This is because they want a new beginning and a fresh start. That is when New Year’s resolutions come into focus.

New Year’s resolutions, which have become a platitude in this modern day, could be traced to the medieval era. Resolutions come with a very strong decision by those making the commitments not to revert to the old ways of doing things. Resolutions made by people always come with a strong will laced with the notion of translating into a better character, hence, they vow to stay glued to them.

It is a well-known open secret that it does not take long before the new resolutions begin to wear out and dissolve into a very thin air. People find it extremely hard to stick to their newly found lifestyle, not even their willpower could find the desirable expression.

Several reasons have been attributed to the failure and collapse of resolutions: busy schedules, procrastination, making unrealistic resolutions and all whatnot. Experts have done intense research and have come out with diverse panacea, but all to no avail.

The questions that come up is why do people who are always resolute about their resolutions often end up falling short? What is the reason behind this strong commitments evaporating easily like a volatile substance? The reason is within reach: People believe in their willpower rather than God’s power!

Willpower without God’s power leads to emptiness. Willpower only functions for a short period of time because its foundation is derived from the human flesh that is not recreated.

“When there is a will, there is a way” so goes the popular maxim. There may be a temporary way out, but the way out is a disaster waiting to happen. It is when a will is rooted in the power of God, that there will be a way out

A person with willpower believes so much in what is carnal self can do and he is determined to make a success out of it. Self-determination will only make such person grounded in himself (flesh) rather than in God’s ability. It may turn out to work for a while, but it is a matter of time before it fails. Self-determination that does not align with God’s ability always end up in disappointment.

When willpower takes a man to the end of himself (his ability), that is when he erroneously quote Matthew 26:41 “The spirit is indeed willing, but the flesh is weak”. How can a weak flesh without the sprit of God expect a miracle to happen?

For a resolution to be resolute and find a true lasting meaningful expression, there is need for God’s strength and ability. We cannot do anything without Him. We amount to nothing if we fail to acknowledge His ability.

An unregenerated spirit, a spirit that is still corrupt with sin, can only do things in his ability and not that of God, making it difficult for him to stick to any resolution he makes.

A person that is born again has received the strength and the abilities of God. He has a regenerated spirit. This is because at conversion, he has received a new spirit, (2 Corinthians 5:17) a spirit that enables him do all things (Philippians 4:13). This spirit will always make him walk and stick to any physical or spiritual resolutions he has made (Philippians 2:13) and all he needs to do is to constantly renew his mind with the word of God.

No matter what your resolutions are this year and beyond, whether they look achievable or not, the only guarantee and assurance that you will adhere to your resolutions is by inviting Jesus Christ into your life. Without Him, we are nothing in this world. His entrance into your life will beautify you and you will never regret your decision. Give Him a chance today, and i assure you your life will never remain the same.