Honor Comes From God; He is the source of all honor

Have you thought about Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ recently? Isn’t it worthy of note that her family is not mentioned; not even her father’s name is mentioned. It would appear that with God, the family through which He sends one to earth is irrelevant when it comes to Him making decisions as to whom He will use. God is more interested in us as individuals than He is in the families we are from when He is making such decisions. These decisions are tied to our own level of readiness and/or preparedness for His use. Much as God promises to save us and our families, the choice of who and extent to which He uses individual members of families, is certainly impacted by several things which definitely does not include one’s family. God has made it very obvious that He can use anyone from any family. The excuse that one’s problems stem from the family they are from is no longer tenable because that isn’t a handicap to any saved right thinking adult. The bible is replete with stories about people who entered greatness or fulfilled their destinies despite the circumstances of their families.

 

2 Timothy 2: 21 “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use for every good work.”

Some of the saddest people in life are those who always talk about other people’s pedigree. Such people talk about it even more than those who by reason of their families, are better placed to do so. They have imprisoned themselves in a ‘box’ because of what they consider theirs or other people’s pedigree, they are indeed suffocating yet will have to pretend like they are fine. Those worse than them are the ones who look up to them and feel the desperate need for them in their own lives or in their circle of friends. Such persons are pathetic. It is a terrible mistake for a believer to get so carried away that they judge people by lineage. One of the greatest mistakes a believer can ever make is to think that God honors because of the family one is from. God does not consider families when He lifts and/or promotes any one and like we have been reminded over and over again (those involved in Halleluiah challenge) God moves suddenly; so suddenly that one is unable to catch with Him.  

Ephesians 2: 19 “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.”

God moved real quickly with Mary and Joseph to honour them such that their names are in the bible that forever more, they will be remembered. He gave them a great name by making them earthly parents for Jesus so that even today, they are honored. This is what God wants to do with everyone who is called by His name. We have no business looking down on or up to anyone just because of the families they are from. We have one family that makes a huge difference - the family of God. Anyone who is in Christ has changed their pedigree. They become a part of this family and deserve to be accorded the respect due to them inspite of the biological family they are from. As believers, we must learn to honor people based on the extent of their submission to God. Believers do not need to make a fuss or insist on being honored because God places the honor on them. Mary and Joseph entered greatness by being yielded; and so did Joshua as well as several other people in the bible. The time has come for us believers in Nigeria to yield so that God will Himself place His honor on us.

John 5: 41amp “I do not receive glory and approval from men.”

John 5: 44 “For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.”

King David, Ruth, Moses, Abraham and several others yielded their lives to honor by yielding to God. Jesus Christ the Son of God yielded. Let me add that even Nathaniel Bassey yielded hence the Halleluya challenge. Do you want to be honored, then yield to the one to whom belongs all honor? Do not fight for it. All the craftiness in the world will not bring one that honor that comes from God, just submit. We, as believers do not need to fight for or destroy others for honor. Worldly wisdom does not give true honor; lasting honour must come from God. God is looking for believers who are ready to yield and/or submit to Him that He may lift them up; are you? God is looking for a people whom He can announce but again they must be ready. Don’t worry about your family’s bad name or your very humble background, you are now called by the name of the Lord. Any believer desperate to be announced, must be desperate to pay the price. They must be desperate about yielding to God who is clothe in honour and majesty and desires strongly to clothe us in the same way.

Numbers 27: 18a & 20a “The Lord replied, Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him…transfer some of your authority to him.”

Think On It

One of the many things I have learnt in life is to think deeply; to consider and/or turn things over in my mind. I must admit though that I sometimes over think things, which can be bad too; but, in my opinion, not as bad as not thinking enough before we act or speak. I still make a lot of mistakes because I sometimes make jokes that are often misconstrued, so I have to try even harder. It is easy to think the people around you understand you so well that you can’t be misunderstood but it is not always so. Many relationships and even lives have been destroyed because someone didn’t think enough. It is also very easy to assume that because one was emotional, it is okay for them to speak without thinking, but the impact of those words spoken in that emotional state may be irreparable. It is human to be emotional but we have to think before we speak and when we are too tired to think, I suggest it is best to remain quiet; indeed one may be considered smarter than they are just because their words are few. Furthermore, it is wise to do so because God counsels that we do so and there is none wiser than the He in whom wisdom resides. If He counsel that we be slow to speak then it must be the right thing to do.

James 1: 19 “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to angry.

Our God is deep and thoughtful. One of the things that is revealed about God in His Word, is the fact that He thinks things through. If God did not want us to know that He thinks then He would not share with us some of the process that led to Him making certain decisions. The bible lets us into His thoughts concerning the destruction of Gomorrah and several other such things. God lets us know that He puts all the information available to Him together and weighs them before He makes His final decisions. He truly is one who weighs all actions. In weighing actions, He is thinking enough. He listens well and processes the information He has before making the decisions which He speaks. God is letting us know that we have to be deliberate even about the things we say. Sometimes, we speak so many words that it is apparent we do not remember that those words would be called up at that crucial point of judgment. If and whenever we find that we spoke without thinking, we must take responsibility for our many words. Let us think enough to be certain that what we communicate is what we intend to communicate. Our hearts can be judged from our words so think on it enough to have the right thought in your heart. We owe it to ourselves to ourselves to think through before we speak or act.

1 Samuel 2: 3b “For the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed (examined).”

Mathew 12: 34b “For whatever is in your heart determines what say.”

So becoming like God is also thinking things over or enough. There are women who think it’s a sign of femininity to say things that are obviously not thought through. Such ladies don’t think much before they speak and as a result often sound very silly. I daresay that it is another lie of satan; part of his agenda to ruin God’s creation. How can the help fit for anyone be made an unthinking being? Our God is all wise; He definitely did not make women to be unthinking beings. The godly woman is a deep thinking woman out of whose mouth comes wisdom and not craftiness or silliness; hence this woman is not crafty nor timid but confident, powerful and operating with a very sound mind like any other child of God yet very controlled. Refuse to allow anyone make you feel you are strange just because you think enough. You have a sound mind and you are meant to use it.

Proverbs 12: 23 “The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge, but fools broadcast their foolishness.”

Proverbs 22: 3 “A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes on blindly and suffers the consequences.”

Indeed King David, who wrote most of the Psalms, was a deep thinking man who would often commune with his heart. In a number of the Psalms he wrote, he was deliberate about making us think even more on them so he would often write the word “selah” which is translated “think on this”. We have made many bad decisions because we didn’t think enough on a thing or we acted before we thought through and it was too late to “take it back”. The prudent man thinks way ahead of whatever he perceives would happen. Some things have to be thought through and decisions reached before one faces a situation that one has perceived is in the future. When God gave us a mind and/or will, I guess one of the reasons is for us to think. God wouldn’t even force or compel us to follow despite that He wanted us so much He sent His only Son to die. He wants it to be for us an act of will so that it is a thought through decisions to love Him. It is an act of will. Something we elect to do. If He would let us think through that, then He must want us thinking. We are thinking beings though, as is often said, too much of everything is bad.

Learn From Ammon

We must be careful to counsel one another correctly just as we must be careful where we seek counsel and what counsel we accept. Now more than ever before, our counsellors are just as important as us listening. This also suggest that we have to be careful who our friends are because we listen to them. It is only normal to hear those we spend a lot of time with even without any intention to do so. It is only natural to hear voices that consistently speak around one yet we can’t afford to listen to just anyone. We must prayerfully choose who we listen to especially when it comes to issues that pertain life. Indeed, every decision is important and sometimes they may not just affect the decision maker, but several others too so that a decision based on bad counsel may also impact on several others changing lives for the worst forever. Ammon, king David’s son who fell in love with his sister and loved her so much he fell ill, could not have intentionally ruined his family and set himself up to die. Not even the evil friend and counsellor, his cousin, gave much thought to the consequences of his counsel; and like him, we also often do not give much thought to the consequences of our wrong counsel.

2 Samuel 13: 2a & 3a “Ammon became so obsessed with Tamar that he became ill … but Ammon had a very crafty friend-his cousin Jonadab.”

I believe that at that point in time, both the counsellor and Ammon were only thinking of themselves and the pleasure of getting exactly what they wanted when they wanted it and in the way they wanted it. I guess it is not the worst thing in the world to long for a thing but we must learn that not all we long for should or would be ours. Even when some of these things are within our reach, the fact that we can’t have them is a reality, one we must accept from time to time. Ammon knew his longing was wrong but he had never learnt contentment or self-control. He never learnt enough discipline to hold back when he longed for something he could not have. It is easy to talk about Ammon but believers are doing just whatever we long to do these days despite the Word of God and/or the Holy Spirit. Indeed, some still get raped by believers today under the pretext that the women wanted the sex but this is because the rapist is so self-consumed and/or absorbed, he chooses to believe in the lie he has told himself. The truth is such people are only too desperate to have what they want despite the consequences. They also would have found counsellors for themselves, who are like them and share the same spirit Shimeah.

2 Samuel 13: 5 “Well. Jonadab said, I’ll tell you what to do. Go back to bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, ask him to let Tamar come and prepare some food for you. Tell him you’ll feel better if she prepares it as you watch and feeds you with her own hands.”

Ammon did not want to control the evil longing for his sister; instead, he allowed his desire control him and for everyone that thinks the fact that “we could not help ourselves” makes an evil thing okay, Ammon and his family endured the terrible consequences of his action. Self – control is absolutely important if we must fulfill our destiny. No wonder God counsels that we need this fruit of the Holy Spirit. Ammon could have had several other women but he wanted this very one and wanted her right away so could not wait to marry her. It is sad to observe that though Shimeah’s family did not suffer as a result of his counsel, it was the beginning of a lot of pain for David’s family. It is therefore, of utmost importance that we learn self-control and contentment even if we were not taught it by our families. It is never too late to learn it as the Holy Spirit indwelling us has that virtue in His nature.

2 Peter 1: 5 “In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control…”

It is okay to appreciate a good thing and not have it. It is okay to appreciate what God is doing in any other life and not attempt to ruin it because it isn’t happening in yours. Please let us stop counselling one another wrongly. We must be able to remind ourselves that we can’t have all we want and even if we will have it, it may not be at the time we want it. It is time to remind ourselves of things like self-control. We don’t have to bring down one another. The pleasure derived from evil never last long. It never measures up to the pain caused.

Listen… You Need Understanding

Recently, in the course of a conversation with my Pastor, I recalled David’s last conversation with Solomon before he passed on and I have since given it a lot of thought. I realized that Solomon already started showing signs of wisdom and understanding before he was crowned king. Apart from the fact that God already chose him, he seemed in my opinion, to be the only one of David’s sons, who acted appropriately enough to enter that office. So that though the prophetic word concerning his destiny had been spoken, he walked appropriately enough to ensure that word came to pass. His discussion with David just before David died, gives some insight into the person that Solomon was. It showed him to be a man who listened carefully and as such, had great understanding. David appeared to be giving him uncompleted instructions concerning different people but Solomon understood him and knew what he was expected to do concerning each person and/or instruction. Indeed, David also showed that he trusted him enough to let him exercise his discretion with regard to dealing with the persons that he needed to deal with and he obviously exercised the discretion correctly.

1 Kings 2: 6a “…do with him what you think best…”

1 Kings 2: 9 “… you are a wise man, and you will know how to arrange…”

Though David’s words were few, Solomon obviously did not miss out anything. He heard his father’s heart in those very few words and made the right decisions regarding each person showing that he had good judgment. There is something about paying earnest attention. It helps us hear even what is left unsaid accurately “reading between the lines.” Sadly, we very often don’t pay attention enough to hear the things that are left unsaid but therein often lies the little details that help our understanding so that we may respond appropriately. Understanding is so important that God counsels in His word that we get understanding. In asking us to get understanding, God is letting us know that it is our job to develop it. It is not done for us; neither is it taught us; but it is our responsibility to get it. The skill and/or ability to make good judgment is already freely given by God, we just need to sharpen it and we have the Holy Spirit to help us.

Proverbs 4: 5 “Get wisdom; develop good judgment.”

Proverbs 4: 7 “Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do! And whatever else you do, develop good judgement.”

To get understanding, one needs to be able to hear and also listen. We need our hearing sharpened and patience to listen that we may hear what is left unsaid and hear it correctly. According to Oxford dictionary, to listen is to “pay attention to” whilst to hear is to “perceive with the ear the sound made by someone or something”. Many of us hear but don’t listen so how can we then make wise decisions? We remain timid and/or immature because we do not have understanding. We often are either not open to receiving any information because our minds are already made up or we believe we are correct or our attention span is just short so we don’t listen long enough to even take in any new information. We must begin to listen again. We must take control of our minds and ensure that it does not stray when it should be listening. Indeed our difficulty with listening is some of the reasons we are unable to access the hidden treasure in the word of God that would move us forward. One has to pay earnest attention to the God’s word to increase in wisdom and understanding. When the bible talks about ‘hearing and hearing’, it is talking about listening enough to take in information.

2 Timothy 1: 7 “For God has not given us a Spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

If we would listen enough, we would discern more accurately and be saved a lot of trouble. Just imagine what would have happened if Solomon did not really understand David, I am certain that some other persons would have counselled him out of his instructions and they may do so out of ‘love’ for him. Indeed even his mother almost misled him in asking him to let Abishag be given to his brother Absalom. Understanding makes one bold and confident as against a lack of it which makes one nervous and confused strengthening one’s flesh. Please get understanding and it is your decision.

Do Not ‘Replace Sheer’ Grace With ‘Sheer License’

I definitely cannot claim to be old enough to be numbered amongst those who have a head full of white hairs; but I do have a few of my own and have seen enough seasons of life to know without a shadow of doubt that God’s word is unchanging. His word is so settled, not even His grace can change The Word and I am eternally grateful for that. The unchanging nature of His word makes it easier to have confidence in and/or trust Him completely. His stability is something everyone needs and even more so now as the word becomes more unstable. It gives me great pleasure and joy to serve a God whose word does not always require authentication. God authenticates His word Himself. This is all some of the reasons we have hope. We are certain that He is not playing games with us so that we can trust Him enough to look forward to the coming to pass of that which He has said. No wonder the bible says Hope will not fail: How can it, when it is in a God whose word is certain forever?

Romans 5: 5 “And this hope will not lead to disappointment.”

Psalm 119: 89 “Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven.”

It is therefore sad to find that there are those who would like to make nonsense of this word and yet claim to depend on it as well as being lovers of God. These are indeed, “perilous times” when we must live deliberately and carefully so that we are not swayed from The Truth. The truth is under attack from all fronts, within and outside the church, we just must be careful what we accept. The gospel that was once handed down is still the only gospel. Jesus Christ who came to teach and/or share this truth, has not returned to teach another and will not return until He comes for His bride. So where are all these strange gospels which permit us to live carelessly come from? These gospels we now enjoy which only talk about benefits leaving out responsibilities creating the impression that since Christ bore all the consequences of our wrong, we can continue in wrong doing since we once invited Jesus Christ into our lives. We have a big problem.

Romans 6: 1 – 2a “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of His wonderful grace? Of course not!”

Jude 3b - 4 “I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into our churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives.”

God’s word clearly tells that Jesus Christ took away the sting of sin so that anyone who accepts to cede authority of their life to Him, compels sin to let go of their lives thereby breaking the power or control of sin, and enjoy the benefit of doing so. This entire process requires God’s help from the beginning to the end and that help is in the person of The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence in our lives and the help He releases to facilitate our living the way and doing the things God desires, is grace. It is the strength to do what God would have us to do or live the way God would have us live. Grace never contradicts the power of God; instead it facilitates our becoming like God. Wherever God is revealed, grace is present because it is one of the things that make Him who is. It is a characteristic of God; for He is full of grace. It is therefore a little disconcerting to find some who want to create another gospel which they call the gospel of grace. There is only one gospel and upon which our faith is built; that gospel is one of grace and is rooted in the cross. To gain full access to and enjoy the benefits of grace, we must also come through the cross.

Hebrews 13: 13 “So let us go out to Him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore.”

We must be very careful and sensitive as believers otherwise we would be deceived. God already warns us in His word that there would be a lot of deception in the last days so please look out for yourself. There is a lot going on “in the name of the Lord” but recall that we were already warned when He said some would come telling how they did a lot in His name and they would still be turned away so it is much more than doing things in His name; it is more of how much we let Him live in and do things through us. Our faith is not complicated; it is simple as our God is. Hence, God says not many wise or noble make success of this faith.