Do You Know Who You Are? You Are Royalty

I sincerely struggle with understanding why a believer would not know who they are. Every bible believing and studying child of God should know this because over and over again through scriptures, God reveals who He is, who His children are and the privileges and/or benefits of being His. It has nothing to do with your personality type because God gives grace to exhibit any personality trait required to get “the job” done which is why Paul said He could be all things to all men; it really is about the core of your being. It is about whose child you are and what family you belong to so that for every believer, it is about belonging to God and being a partaker of that inheritance. The Kingdom of God kind of reminds me of Americans who believe in the American dream. They believe anyone can make success of their lives in America if they desire to despite the family or where they come from; so it is with the kingdom of God.  

 

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.”

 

1 Corinthians 9: 22b KJV “I am made all things to all men that I might by all means save some.”

 

I dare to suggest that this is the underlying reason for many believers being very mixed up about our faith. We are so mixed up that though our faith is all about simplicity, sincerity and service, we struggle so much to “announce ourselves” just like the world. So we struggle to “position ourselves” and we do it in such a hurry that we don’t even make room for a period of tutelage. Everyone is working toward being put “out there”, struggling to be noticed and revered but in the process, often leaving Christ behind and not even noticing. We want everyone to notice when we walk in, we desire the highest seats, priority treatment and so on; we want all this at any cost to others but we ourselves not paying the price that God demands. Meanwhile, those of us who do not attain to “such great heights” then criticize those who do but only because we long for their positions but are unable to get there. We want our faces on all the bill boards so much so that billboards have almost become family albums and those whose faces aren’t there yet, yearn for the day when their faces will be there. There is something going very wrong and mostly because some people don’t know who they are and have refused to know. If your pursuit is for accolades and advantages of these esteemed offices, you most likely don’t know who you are. You not knowing who you are is a problem for our faith.

 

1 Peter 2: 10 “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people.”

 

The sad thing about these desire for accolades and/or advantages of these spiritual office, is that it is insatiable. You just keep wanting more because the underlying issues remain unresolved - you still don’t know who you are. I make these observations very carefully; my intention is not to publish our flaws but for us all to know that our issues can be fixed but only if we allow the word of God help us. This identity crisis is real but you are now in Christ and totally complete in Him. Leave that problem to the world.  The truth is, the pressure is on for believers to get carried away but please we must do all we can not to forget who we are. We are very special, children of The Most High God; Kings and priest; a people who have the right to call God “Father” and not because they earned it but because they accepted His love for them. When you understand this, you realize that you are complete in Him and need nothing or no one to complete you. Only then are you are able to truly be a blessing. The truth is nobody wants extra baggage; not even your spouse, much as you may hate to accept this truth.  This is the bane of some of the issues of some marriages today. You assume your spouse’s action is to meet a need created by your own insecurities and then you are more disappointed than you should be when you find out his action are for other reasons. Of course it is painful when one’s expectations are disappointed but you must accept that underlying your expectations are your insecurities so please don’t blame anyone unduly for not meeting promises you imagined they made.

 

Colossians 2: 10a “S you also are complete through your union with Christ.”

 

When you know who you are and are comfortable with it, you don’t need to prove that to any one nor do you need to make excuses for who you are. You are just that and they will either find out now or in the future but you can’t apologize for being Kings. Leave unbelievers to struggle to prove a point about who they are. When one is nothing, they may need to make a point but not so kings. We are lions just like our Father. We don’t boast about it but anyone who wants to trouble you will not only encounter you, the lion, but also your Father - The Lion of the Tribe of Judah. God has invested too much in our lives for us to accept a life filled with insecurities. To be lacking in confidence is to undervalue God’s investment in you. Please do not make it someone else’s job to boast your confidence. It is wickedness to keep playing the victim and expecting everyone around you to live their own lives trying to make you comfortable because you refuse to work on yourself. It is in truth, the height of selfishness. You are royalty and that notwithstanding your present status or vocation. It is who you are so please carry yourself as such. If Prince William or Harry started work as toilet cleaners, believe me they will do it carrying themselves as royalty because that is who they are. You are rich in all sense of the word; your Father pulls the purse strings so you will never beg bread as long as you don’t forget who you are.

 

Psalm 37: 25 “Once I was young, but now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.”

O! How I wish Life Could Be “The Spa”

O! Can someone make life a spa please; I mean, an unreal world becoming the real world? My friend has a Spa where I go when I really want to feel beautiful. Lansey Spa has such a beautiful atmosphere that even if you just visit and do nothing, you come out feeling different in a very good way. The staff are nice, not ‘syrupy sweet’ which is unreal by the way; the atmosphere is right and there is beautiful Christian music playing in the background. The music transcends any issues that may burden one; reaching into the depths of one’s being in an unobtrusive way, yet lifting those burdens albeit so gently you don’t notice that something is changing inside you. I am certain a lot of people leave there with a feeling they want to keep forever. How I wish life could be that Spa but I hate to say this – It isn’t. Soon after I come out of Lansey, reality hits. Almost immediately, issues begin to bombard me and I almost want to turn off my phone, sorry phones if you live where I live, but then you need them on and even making the right decisions as to what you ought to do with the phones becomes stressful.

 

Ecclesiastes 2: 17b “Everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless – like chasing the wind.”

 

I am thinking that it may be wise to put a hold on making major decisions until one is in a Spa like my friend’s own. That may indeed be the best place to make serious decisions because whilst you are yet contemplating whether or not you are better off with your phones on or off, you hear that the exchange rate is worse than it was before you entered the Spa and someone died for very poor medical care, which is poor because someone took money they shouldn’t have; it really goes on and seems endless. This is the reality of the life we live especially if you live in that part of the world where I live yet God says “Be Still”. Please tell me, how real is that? It is tough to understand the mind of God when despite all that is happening you hear His word in your spirit saying “Be still”. Isn’t this a tall order for anyone in this part of the world yet that is the life of the believer – receiving the most unusual instruction at the most unusual time? Life does get tough for the believer and sometimes it feels like God complicates it further with His instructions yet His instructions are always right.

 

Hebrews 4: 15 “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for He faced all of the same testings we do, yet He did not sin.”

 

Psalm 139: 2 – 3 “You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I’m far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do.”

 

Despite that His instructions often seem out of place, God knows all things because nothing is hidden from Him. He sees all that happen in our lives and also understands the pain we feel because He has been through all we are going and would ever go through. He understands our weaknesses and knows how tough it gets to remain still when one feels an urgent and compelling need to do something.  Moreover, He never thinks to be wicked to us neither will He ask us to do anything we cannot do. Since He formed us, He knows us much more than we know ourselves. Also, as I get older, I am even more convinced that God knows that most decisions made in this state may not move us forward. Wrong as this may seem, it may be the wisest thing to wait a minute than make a very “expensive mistake”. We all sometimes need a minute to think more clearly. It is also good to note that when God ask us to be still, it suggests that He is doing all the work for us and He never fails on any assignments nor does He ever lose any battles. He is such a winner that as soon as He rises His enemies are scattered.

 

Psalm 48: 9 – 10 “He causes wars to end throughout the earth. He breaks the bow and snaps the spear; He burns the shields with fire. Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation.”

 

Chaos is definitely one of the tricks of the enemy to work victory for himself and wreak havoc in lives even the lives of believers. He stirs up chaos in lives and keeps us running from place to place like “headless chicken” as the popular adage in my place says. I guess when one leaves God behind they truly become “headless”. The evil prince of the power of the air has succeeded in making life so chaotic that some people, even believers, now think it is normal for our lives to be chaotic which by the way is different from being busy though it has been greatly mixed up which of course makes even more room for satanic activities so that more people now deliberately walk their way into chaos unwittingly creating the right atmosphere for the devil to operate. Satan loves chaos and knows that for God to come into a situation, the Holy Spirit would first move to restore order so he encourages people to create chaotic atmospheres which they ignorantly hold onto because they are deceived by satan and by so doing, they are themselves frustrating the Holy Ghost and conversely God, from resolving the issues. Please let us take a minute to be still especially at this time.

It Appears Crazy But It really isn’t

O my goodness! Is this just the beginning of the year? So much has happened and not just with us the mere mortals in my Country; even the government has been very much at work. Every day, it appears decisions are made, unmade and then remade so that we the citizens have to keep adjusting and readjusting. This is a lot and creates a lot of activity in our lives but it is honestly not as mixed up as we may think it is because God is in charge of it all and this kind of picture is not unusual for a situation that God is moving upon for the ultimate purpose of restoration. One of the things we know for certain about our God is that no matter how muddled up it gets, He is able to unravel it. So please keep the fear on a leash; do not let it take you over.

 

Genesis 1: 2 “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.

 

In the deepest darkness, when it is humanly impossible to find a way, you can still trust Him. Remember that He is Himself, The Way and The Light. This is one of the many reasons we trust Him completely even in the worst of situations. Just when you think you are completely hemmed in and the devil is rejoicing that He now has you where He wants you, God makes a way. I guess the singer must have had one of these experiences which is why He sand the song “God will make a way where there seems to be no way.” Who would imagine that He was about to make a way in the Red sea and then later in the Jordan? I guess it therefore does not make sense for one to waste all their energy trying to figure out where He would make a way, you don’t know neither are you able to figure it out because He thinks differently. Very often, we unconsciously try to figure out God’s next move forgetting that we only His creation and can never see all that The Creator sees. This is all so hard to accept but that is why we walk by faith. Trying to figure Him out is an attempt at self-frustration and waste of energy. The mind of man is unable to figure Him out. No wonder the hymn writer says “God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.”

 

Isaiah 55: 8 – 9 “my thoughts are nothing like your thoughts, says the Lord. And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”

 

Unless and until God chooses to reveal His thoughts, who can know it? When He chooses to reveal them, He does it by His Spirit who passes on the information to our spirit man. Whenever we try to work out a “seemingly befitting resolution” maybe because He seems to be taking too long, we mess it all up and even more than God intended thereby making it more difficult for ourselves. Interestingly, God will not rush to come on the scene just because you are about to mess it up; He will come when He will come because there is no mess too much for Him to unravel but we may suffer a little more than was necessary. Since His means are often far removed from our thoughts, we need to be deliberately focused on Him to hear Him and/or see the way He has made as well as go through the way. Through the journey, our eyes have to be on Him. If we keep our eyes on the “means” we may never go forward because His means often don’t give comfort as one comes through. I wonder how it was crossing the red sea with water on both sides and nothing obvious holding it back so that it looks like it could easily return to its bed easily burying one. The more one looks at the “water walls” the greater the fear of the water burying one so that all you want to do is run back to the familiar. Isn’t it strange that in such situations, one doesn’t often think to run to the other end; it is so typical to keep wanting to return to the beginning because fear wants to hold one to the familiar thereby holding one back from going forward but if your eyes are on God, you just hold on tighter to His hands and experience His consistent reassurance. Your other alternative is to keep your eyes on the people who are ahead of you as they keep their eyes on God. Make sure you are in the right company. These are times when we must take heed who we give our ears to.

 

Proverbs 13: 20 “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”

 

1 Corinthians 15: 33b “For bad company corrupts good character.”

 

Someone was once upset by the fact that I mentioned “valley experiences” in relation to believers. In her opinion, true believers do not face difficulties. Whilst that may be her experience, it has not been mine and it may not be yours too. If you have had or are having such experiences, don’t worry, you are in good company because the Apostles had it several times even when they had Jesus in their boat and they seemed set to drown but be assured, The Way maker will always make a way which will bring you out; at the end of it all, you will be standing.

Welcome to 2016 – Be Still And Know That He Is God

If you are reading this blog, you obviously made it into 2016 and we thank God. I am well aware that life is not all rosy or beautiful for everyone right now because I have heard different painful stories but I guess the most painful event for me has been that of a friend who lost her husband on the 26^th of December. A healthy man, great believer, husband and father; he died in a car accident in the course of journeying to be with his family. How does one deal in situations like this? Like Paul, I guess we can only say “thanks be to God who causes us to triumph.” Let me reiterate at this point that an attitude of thanksgiving really doesn’t suggest that life is always wonderful for one, it just says amongst others, that one is obedient and recognizes the presence and supremacy of God in their life. We rejoice not because of the good things we get, which of course add to make our joy complete, but because we have hope and know that all will be well because everything will certainly work for our good at the end of the day.

 

Romans 8: 28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

 

So here we are with different challenges and circumstances but above all with a God who is greater than any challenge or circumstance and will just at the right time turn it around for our good. I can’t even think how it felt when the children of Israel were faced with the red sea and their worst enemy behind them. What could be worse? The worst enemy of your life is behind you and you are certain he is coming to kill you which is death literally and before you, it is exactly the same; this just paralyzes anyone. Worse is the fact that you were “lured” into that position by God who is supposed to be your Father and protector. What do you do when your protector and defense appears to have lured you into death and there is definitely no way out? I can imagine the state of their mind. It is easy to say they murmured but what can one really do at that point; I am certain that a number of them already saw themselves as dead but for one man who thought to go back to God, they would have perished because God was silent until Moses was asked what they should do.

 

Exodus 14: 12 – 13 “Didn’t we tell you this would happen while we were still in Egypt? We said, ‘Leave us alone! Let us be slaves to the Egyptians. It’s better to be a slave in Egypt than a corpse in the wilderness!’ But Moses told the people, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today.”

 

The easiest thing to do is panic and do something; just anything, any kind of activity because you can’t be still when faced with death but that is exactly what you are expected to do. Of course, that one will be anxious is not out of place, Moses may also have been anxious for a minute because this is a situation that would leave anyone confused, but we have to bring our anxiety under control so we can be still. In truth, the children of Israel may have died if Moses was not still enough to think to turn to God. I would have thought God would have immediately spoken since they were in trouble even if they did not ask but He was silent. If Moses had asked also and was not patient enough to hear Him, He may have missed the instruction. Immediately one hears the instruction, God expects you to act. Instructions are not always the same, sometimes He says wait and at other times, He requires you to act immediately; you must hear Him and obey. Do not follow any rule with God. He has His own rules which we don’t know because just when we think we know it, He breaks it; all we need to do is hear and obey. If you wait when you ought to move, the red sea closes but if you move when you ought not to, you drown. It is therefore, of utmost importance that we be still enough to hear. The bible tells us that there is a time for everything under the sun. God obviously puts a time to everything. Don’t miss your time for any reason. He is not going to wait for you forever just that one may get another opportunity some other time but then it just God making another time.

 

Ecclesiastes 3: 1 “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

 

Psalm 46: 10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”

 

In that span of time it would take for Him to speak, be certain that whatever happens is not the end of the journey or battle, things will turn around. You have to know while you are being still that He is God and in charge of the situation but as soon as He give the instruction, your obedience is required. You have to know that He is God and that is the reason we ought to know about Him so we know what to think on. If you don’t know what He can do, you faith may fail you. So everyone that came into this year with one challenge or the other, I just want you to know that that situations or circumstances do not in any way describe how the year shall go for you. The only thing you know for certain is that God’s thoughts toward you are of good and He will cause all things to work for your good.

Your Destination Remains The Same; Don’t lengthen The Journey

If you are like me this is a period for stock taking. I like self-examination so I do it rather frequently and I have found that if we are true and sincere with it, we can correct ourselves before we incur the wrath of God. Despite my frequent self-checks through the year, I have found that at times like this, i.e. about the end of the year, I instinctively get into that mode. I am definitely not one of the resolution making people and have always been bad at it but I make decisions and give God all of my weaknesses again believing that every New Year reveals a better me but this is a matter of opinion. So what about you reading this blog; do you feel the same way toward the end of the year or would you rather be sad and/or moody through that period because of the mistakes you made, or goals you did not achieve or even things you truly failed at? I understand calling to mind the failures with a view to taking another look at one’s decision making process just in case it may need some adjusting or complete over haul but it should never be such that leads to depression. History is important to the extent that it helps us refocus more accurately and make better decisions; where it fails to achieve that or makes us depressed instead, then it may not be very relevant. We are encouraged to forget the past as we press into the future. Holding unto the baggage of the past as we enter into the future is like hoping to go forward carrying heavy weights; it just makes going forward much tougher.

 

Philippians 3: 13b “but I focus on this one thing; forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race…”

 

Having lived on earth for a good number of years myself, albeit very few compared to some others whom I respect very much for surviving the dealings of life, I can say with a certainty that there is no avoiding the issues of life no matter how bad or perfect one is. No wonder God prepares us for warfare and counsels that we must be wise and quick to hear and understand. To successfully go through this journey of life as a believer, one must be fully focused on one’s purpose and/or goal which you can only see through God as well as be able to let go of the past easily as one presses forward which requires strength and/or stamina. I have realized that our destination never shifts; the Promised Land did not keep shifting to make the journey longer, the Israelites made it longer themselves. God chose His preferred route for their journey with their best interest at heart but then they made the journey even longer for themselves by the many bad decisions they made. I believe very much that a number of us have made our journey to our Promised Land even longer because of some of our bad decisions. For all of us that fall into this category, it is time to stop making those bad decisions. How long will it be okay to keep making the bad decisions? The truth is Christ is coming soon and even if He doesn’t come soon, the day we go to glory Christ has come for us and much as we would love to live on earth forever nobody knows when their journey on earth will end; so we are running out of time and must advise ourselves – circumspection is required in the way we live.

 

Ephesians 5: 15 – 17 “So be careful how you live. Don’t be live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

 

So please let us be focused on going forward in this New Year. I honestly believe every believer who desires to go forward shall indeed go forward. The word of God to us is “Go forward.” The situations do not change the word of God but God changes situations and causes them to align with His purpose for our lives. That which He spoke concerning us from the beginning is waiting for us. The manifestation point for each blessing that is ours has not changed. God has not made the journey to these blessings longer; they are still where they always were - that same place where you ought to have connected with them in the course of your journey of life but maybe you made a wrong detour somewhere and so may be needing “a course correction” to connect to them; be assured that it is never too late to make that correction. My Pastor always says “it is never too late to start again.” He translates a Yoruba adage to English which says “whenever you wake up or ‘come to yourself’ is your morning”. When ‘your morning comes’, do not be afraid to do what needs to be done. Please do not give up on the word God spoke to you whether it is about your life or a child or even a situation. In this year 2016, let us start to believe God all over again. Let us renew our faith and start our walk with God afresh. You may even want to buy a new bible just as a statement that we are renewing our faith and/or belief. Our God is still on the throne.

Merry Christmas – The Process That Birth the Season

Everything surrounding the birth of Christ remains a mystery “magical mystery,” if there is any such thing. From the conception to angels announcing his birth, to stars leading some people to the manger where He was born, everything sounds interesting and magical but it is all truth because it all happened. The more I think on it all, the more I realize it had to be magical because since the time of Adam and Eve when mankind lost fellowship with God, God was again coming down to earth to reconnect with man and this time, in a more involved way. It indeed was a magical night when heaven came down to earth, the beginning of a relationship that even God had never experienced; Him indwelling everyone that chose to have a relationship with Him. This fellowship was even much better and much more beneficial to man than the previous one He had with Adam and Eve. God must have been excited, Himself, for all His goodness that was coming in the way of man because His thoughts toward man are always of good. God, must have indeed been excited. He was again giving man a fresh opportunity to reciprocate the love He always felt for man. The thought of just having all that love returned by man must have pleased God immeasurably. All of this drama that took place in that one night often tends to make us forget that this is just the end of a process which started years before that day.

 

Jeremiah 29: 11 “For I know the plans I have for you, ‘says the Lord.’ They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”

God must have been “desperate” to have many children who could love Him so sincerely that He went to so much trouble to confirm that Jesus was the Messiah that was promised for the reconciliation of man to Him. Despite all the pains God took to prove that Jesus is the promised Messiah, the Only Begotten of the Father, it is interesting to note that Jesus arrived very simply and as a child who was born like any other child and formed by the implantation of a seed. Such a great miracle that would affect the entire world forever and also impact on God adding to His own joy too came so simply and was also a process. One would have thought that it would all happen suddenly just like the return of Jesus Christ but God in His wisdom chose to start with a seed. Despite all the time that had passed from when prophets began to speak, by the Holy Spirit, of the coming of the Messiah to when He was actually born, God did not eliminate the process of His coming or do anything to hasten it. The miracle – Christ, came as a seed that grew for nine months in His mother’s womb, was born and then grew to maturity. God did not expedite the process despite that He, God, was one of the benefactors of the process. I wonder why then we often think God would expedite processes for us. Obviously, there must be some disadvantages to expediting a process that we are unaware of.

 

Habakkuk 2: 3 “The vision is for a future time…If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.”

 

Jeremiah 1: 12 AMP “Then said the Lord to me, you have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over my word to perform it.”

This entire season is indeed a reminder of the fact that His word shall surely come to pass and there is nothing you need to be doing to make it happen other than be who He desires for you to be and doing what He desires for you to do; and He would then be working to ensure the performance of His word. When He said it, He intended to bring it to pass because He cannot lie. It’s just that He starts with a seed and in my opinion, the bigger the miracle the longer it seems to take to bring the entire thing to that conclusion that we call our miracle and/or blessing. Sometimes we forget that it takes a while when we see other people’s miracles manifesting; without thinking of how long they had been waiting and what they went through in that period, we start complaining and loose hope. Sometimes we even feel we have the right to speak things against God that should not be uttered because we are upset but we do ourselves harm in doing all of that because all that is referred to as murmuring and complaining which actually slows down the miracle and may actually cause an abortion of it. I guess it might help to remind ourselves of the process that gave us Christ and the fact that God let it all play out fully. I would dare to suggest that the best way to go through the process or wait for it to unfold is by having an attitude of thanksgiving. Waiting patiently is easier when one has the right attitude of mind.

Christ Was Born – Reason Enough To Celebrate

I am so glad I am able to write another blog. I have no excuse for this long absence other than I got caught up in other things so that typing became my least favorite past time. The past few days have been exhausting. Could it be age related? I hope not. Lol! So please bear with me. Here we are, again in that season when we give gifts and eat too much of all the things we ought to eat in little quantities – Its Christmas when we celebrate the birth of Christ. There is often a lot of argument about the actual birth day of Christ so much so that some people miss out on the joy of the season because they lose their Christmas joy from arguing about the accuracy of the date. This Christmas, I would like to remind every such person that whether or not 25^th of December is the accurate day, we choose to celebrate His birth on that day. Who cares about the accuracy of the date? We care that He was born so let us just celebrate His birth since we know, without a shadow of doubt, that He was and that is the reason for us having hope. Moreover, any day one chooses, to celebrate their birth is their business; after all, we just celebrate the fact that we were born. Too many arguments about Him already; please don’t add this trivial matter of date.

 

2 Timothy 2: 23 “Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish ignorant arguments that only start fights.”

When I was much younger, Christmas season was never one of my best. I felt the weather in my Country was at its worst in this season and I worked too hard helping my mum with the cooking and washing up. As an adult and a believer in today’s world where it would appear that there is full onslaught from hell against Christianity, it has become very important to me that Christmas is celebrated. I now love to see houses decorated, though mine isn’t for obvious reasons (laziness), and feel all the joy in the atmosphere with people just looking forward to visiting one another, giving gifts and showing the love of God. It is now to me, another way of ensuring that our faith and its origin are not forgotten. A lot of Christians don’t even remember what Christianity is all about anymore. It is fast deeming in our memory. It is no longer really taught in schools which makes it expedient to talk about its origin. I don’t care how funny several mangers or even Christmas trees I see may look, I am just excited that you have one anyway so that some other person who has never heard about it can ask a question and you can then explain to them about the birth of Christ because you love them enough to explain.

Galatians 4: 4 - 6 “God sent His son born of son, born of a woman, subject to law. God sent Him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that He could adopt us as his own very children. And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, Abba Father. Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.”

Now more than ever before Christmas has become very important. In a world where all sorts of people are celebrated for every evil thing; believers are left with no option but to greatly celebrate and make a lot of noise about everything concerning our faith. From the bible account, the celebration was loud even on the actual day He was born; both in heaven and on earth it was announced with a lot of noise. It is time to borrow a leaf from the bible account of the announcement of the birth of our Saviour. God is not coming down to earth to do it, He will do it through us so this is another opportunity to celebrate let us take advantage of it. No one who was once a slave and is now enjoying liberty should be silent at this time when the birth of the deliverer is celebrated. The unique thing about this deliverer is that He has the power, still desires to and is still delivering slaves from that same form of slavery today. Who knows, because of your announcement, somebody may get saved.

Luke 2: 13 “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God”

Have you noticed that people are no longer subtle? Everyone fights to be loud so they can attract attention so that the subtle ones are drowned. We may not want to be loud all the time but when the season permits, like at Christmas, I believe it is time to go loud and also loudly proclaim the reason for the season. Even if ordinarily, we often look sad and defeated, this is one Christmas when we must make a decision to rejoice. I know that there are people who have very good reasons to be sad because of the recent turn of events in their lives; but I really would like to encourage you to rejoice. We don’t often rejoice because of the turn of events in our lives but because we have a hope and we know that He who has asked that we rejoice is always is working to give us even more reasons to do so. Today however, rejoice for Christ who came that He destroy every work of satan that we may have joy and that our joy may be full.