Jesus Christ – “The Way, the Truth and The Life”

This season, more popularly known amongst Christians as lent, is really all about Jesus Christ the son of God. This is that season when we celebrate His death and subsequent resurrection. Hereafter, we shall go on to celebrate His ascension and the coming of the Holy Ghost according to His promised. This is one season when the love of a Savior who loved so much He gave all so that those He loves, (every man), may be saved. This is indeed true love. Neither before or even after Him was there nor will ever exist such display of genuine or sincere love and one so deep. I think I may have a better understanding now of why God was silent when Jesus seemed hesitant to complete the journey as His death drew closer. As He seemed to pause for a minute during His prayer, there was nothing heaven could do or say because Jesus could not be compelled to do it: it had to be an act of love. Hence the long silence. Thank God, it only lasted a while before He chose to go on.

Mathew 26: 39 “He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

John 15: 13 “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

The Father was desperate to be reconciled to His children and the children needed to be reconciled to The Father; that they may successfully walk through this earth and then be with Him in glory. The only ‘bridge’ between God and His children which was acceptable to God, was Jesus Christ and He had to die that painful death to make it happen. No wonder Jesus Christ could boldly announce that He is “The way”. The greater chooses how he would be reached by the lesser. So anyone desirous of legitimately reaching him, would go his way. Of course there would always be those who would try other ways to reach the greater; but any other way would not bring anyone to Him. It may seem sometimes like there are many ways to getting to a destination but all other routes end in a maze except the one or ones meant to get there. I have been really close to places several times in my life but just couldn’t get to the place because I missed a turn. God made the decision and Jesus Christ aligned willingly; there is no other way to God but Jesus Christ.

John 14: 6 “Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”

Romans 12: 2 “…but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think…”

There is no other way to explain this but to accept that Jesus was unequivocal about the fact that He is everything for anyone who wants to dwell in the Father. No wonder one cannot be connected to God through Him and find “the world” or any other god interesting. If Jesus is correct as we know He is, then there is absolutely no other acceptable life except one that is steeped in Him. When He says He is the Life, then if you want to live, it must be through Him. So that for everyone who is not in Him who thinks they are actually living or “enjoying life”, you really are not. To “enjoy life” you need to first have it and you don’t have it outside of Jesus Christ because it is in Him. Every other thing that looks like life is not really life. It doesn’t matter who else pushes something they would like to describe as life, at the end of it all is our common enemy the devil whose ultimate purpose is to destroy man (saved or unsaved). Very often we like to think that the devil is only after believers and that is not true, he is after everyone but has to work harder against those he believes are lost to Christ.

Acts 17: 28 “For in him we live, and move, and have our being”

Christianity is definitely all about transformation; it is an entire change of culture and attitude of mind i.e. mindset. The more I think on God, the more I realize that He is indeed God. He is not frivolous and chooses His words carefully. When He says we have to allow our own transformation, it is indeed so. To move from “life” without Christ to life that is Christ, is a complete change of mindset. It isn’t a behavior modification thing no matter how good we may think we were. The best man is still man and had no idea how to live in Christ; it is a concept totally alien to him because we were all born into sin. Life in Christ is acquired culture which must be acquired for us to make heaven. No matter how terrible or nice you are, we all start on an even ground when we come to Christ. It is what you then do subsequently that determines where you end and the ending is more important even now than it was. As we celebrate, let us remind ourselves that our Savior’s return is imminent.

Life Is Not In Charge: You Are Through Christ

As I read through an old blog, I decided to rework and re-publish it just in case one person who reads it may be “going through something” and heard that believers never have “valley experiences” i.e. very challenging times. I wish I could say so but I have had them and I have seen God come through each one with me making me stronger and feeling more blessed than ever. Life is sometimes like a rollercoaster. Some days are easily great and others, one may need to make great. I met someone who never had these experiences, so she does not believe we should have them; but we do and we are not strange. We have learnt to enjoy “hilltop experiences”, inspite of what we may be going through. We do so with an attitude of thanksgiving and confidence that we are who God says we are. Thanksgiving facilitates the renewal of our strength so that we are able to, through Christ, stand and successfully take on what life throws at us. As believers, we must learn to make the most of every day.

 

Ephesians 6: 13 – 14 “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground…”

The songwriter says “nobody told me that life was going to be easy” and in truth, Christ never said so. It is one of those thoughts or suggestions we love to cling to which make us ill prepared to deal; making believers fail so often that the word of God which says we are blessed begins to look like a lie. Our enemy would rather have us deceived so that we are always “putting out fires” making it difficult for us to be on the offensive in this battle for authority on earth. It is sad that having gone through these experiences ill prepared, we fail to prepare our children or those coming after us, to deal better. We instead, tend to protect them from the realities inadvertently working for their failure because one way or the other, life catches up with everyone notwithstanding the depth or extent of one’s walk with God. If anything, it is the way you deal or handle life’s attempts to determine the cause of your life that is a reflection of the extent of your walk with God.

Genesis 1: 5KJV “And God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”

The sun rises and sets daily; so every day is bright at some point and dark at another. This is a very real description of the way life works; seeking also to dominate or control man but fails when dealing with believers because God’s presence in our lives makes it impossible for life to enslave us. Of course it still attempts to do so, but we always have the victory; truth that we must always walk in. Every attempt by life on our lives is not ended, until our victory through Christ is established. This is reality we must accept even when it is contrary to what we are experiencing physically. We must train ourselves to accept and live in the truth of God. It doesn’t just happen; we work at making it our reality. It is always our decision what we choose to see happening in our lives. We don’t have to see what others see if it doesn’t align with God’s word. It however, takes real inner strength to see what God sees inspite of what may see physically and that strength only comes from a revealed knowledge of God.

Romans 8: 27 “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

Hebrew 5: 14 “Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong.”

Acts 17: 28a “For in him we live and move and exist.”

God is one Father who loves so much He died for us; yet is not excessively protective. Though He comes with us, He actually does let us “go through” with a certainty that if we hold onto and trust Him, we will come through. Most parents would love their children if love was measured by what parents allow their children go through, because most of them would certainly take their children round the “valley of the shadow of death” but He who loved us enough to die for us takes us through it for the priceless experiences and the prizes set before us. Success is certain for every sincere believer; we need maturity and strength to carry “success successfully.” God does not just make good decisions, but right decisions.

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.”

To all those who think making positive confessions keeps one from “valley experience”, truth is that they don’t. Whilst making them is important, wise and aligns with God’s word as long as the confessions are Christ teaching, they won’s keep you from experiencing life as long as you are in this world. Instead, they will keep you as you “go through” and bring you out a better and more positive person. This is the reason we are more than conquerors. We conquer through Christ and surpass all expectations. We are built to weather the storms of life and come out victorious because Christ already won the victory for us.

The Contention Is Real – You Have An Enemy

There is no doubt that we are in the end times: these are definitely very troubling times. The activities we see around us are a strong reminder that the end is near. Whilst some saints rejoice about this truth, others wish it away and some others even argue that a God so good will not allow any of these “evil events” listed as part of all that will be unveiled in the last days.  It really does not matter what we prefer to or actually believe, God’s truth stands forever. The present times call for prudence on our path. A prudent man sees what is ahead and makes arrangement to hide from the evil thereof. We cannot over prepare for what is imminent – we are in the last days. It will be sad to have all the information that we have and yet pretend like these things will not happen for very selfish reasons because they will happen. We all wish we could live forever but we know also that we won’t; at least here on this earth, so it is wise to act accordingly.

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

Isaiah 14: 27 “The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has spoken – who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?”

In the normal course of my day, I counsel with people very frequently; almost every day. Even if I did not hear from God directly, all of the counselling has confirmed to me that believers are definitely under very serious attack from our enemy – satan. Pressures are mounted against us from all sides - our marriages, finances, health, businesses, relationships etc. Meanwhile minds are greatly troubled; such great turmoil in the minds of many even to the point of them losing their peace. The number of believers with mental health issues that stem from lack of peace or troubled mind today is mind boggling especially when we have a Saviour who is Himself, The Prince of peace. The plan is for us to lose faith in our Saviour. Do you know that some even trust themselves now more than they trust God? No wonder, Jesus wondered if He would find faith on the earth when He returns. Our individual faith is seriously under attack; but people have experienced such things before and have come through, so we must not fail God. If you prepare yourself, you will be better equipped to deal successfully.

2 Corinthians 4: 8 – 10 “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not given to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodied.”

Much as I enjoy going to church and fellowshipping with believers, I have found that I need to ask myself some hard questions daily so that I do not unwittingly align with satan’s plans to ruin us. One has to be very deliberate to survive. In these present times, one cannot afford to assume that they are believers just because they confess that they are and have told themselves so. We need to test our own selves. Look at your works daily and ask yourself if they line up with the works expected of believers. The fruits tell who we are hence we are told that we shall be known by them. It is not just the works/fruits but also the reason you do that good work that you do. For it to be a “God work” it must be inspired by the Holy Spirit. Dead works, no matter how good will count for nothing. You have to think again on your works and see if it evidences the faith you claim to profess. Dead works do not spring from the Fountain of Living Waters and as such do not bring joy or satisfaction but drain them, also making the believer’s life dreary and burdensome which eventually leads to loss of faith. It may please you to know that Jesus came that we may have joy and the fullness thereof. Joy is indeed a necessary ingredient for our survival so that stealing it is an attempt by the enemy, to choke one to death.    

2 Corinthians 13: 5 “Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as committed believers. Examine yourselves not me! Or do you recognize his about yourselves by an ongoing experience that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit.”

James 2: 17 “So you see, faith by itself isn’t good enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”

Armed with all these truth, we cannot afford to let satan stop us from enjoying the benefits of the victory we have in Christ. We must guard our hearts, living like pilgrims that we are, always prepared for the return of our Saviour, inspite of all that the enemy throws and will continue to throw at us. We must deploy all the instruments of war we know to ensure that we successfully enforce the victory Jesus won for us so that we do not live defeated lives here on earth. You cannot be passive about your faith anymore if you are a believer. It is time to contend earnestly for our faith. It is time to make up your mind what you want to do about your faith. We must do all we know to do to resist the enemy that he may flee from us. It is time to put on your strength “o Zion.”

When We Pray …. Saturday 10th March

If you know me, then you may want to plug into long suffering now because this is my favorite topic; you may have heard me talk about it again and again - Prayer. When things get tough or our enemies seem too strong for us, it is time to turn to our Big and Mighty God in whose name we not only find safety, but who also does all to ensure we enjoy the benefits to us of Christ victory. With all we hear today that goes on in our world, there’s no doubt that it is time to turn to our Big God. If you live in my part of the world, it is even more compelling to do so; not because it is the worst but because God is our only Helper. There is no doubt that there are other things one needs to do beyond praying but what better place to get and who better than God to receive instructions and/or directions from as to what other things need to be done? It is time, now more than ever before, to tarry in the place of prayer for our lives and nation. Whilst we commune with God at all times, it is another level of prayer to tarry; to wait on Him in the place of prayer. We have come into that season when we must do so. Believer or not, people are drawing strength like never before from whatever they believe, we must draw strength from our Mighty God.

 

Daniel 11: 32bamp “but the people who are spiritually mature and know their God will display strength and take action to resist.”

 

Luke 18: 1 “One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up.”

 

This is about a deeper level of prayer: that prayer where you hold onto God until you have a confident assurance that it is okay to leave the place of prayer. It is waiting on God, albeit, in prayer. To pray at this level, one must sincerely and seriously desire to see God move to alter a circumstance or challenge. We don’t just rush in and rush out. I have heard believers say we don’t need that depth of prayer for God to hear us, maybe true; some others even joke about it: but this and many more are some of the reasons our prayers seem ineffective and incapable of producing results. It is so bad now that evil and unbelieving people laugh when we say we are going to pray about a situation: but in this same Country there once lived a man amongst several others, Archbishop Idahosa, whose prayers even the witches feared. They feared the effectiveness of his prayers because of God’s consistent response. His God is the same God we worship who is just as powerful today as He was then. This is that season when we must shut out everything else more often than we would normally, to call on our God until He answers.

 

2 Corinthians 10: 4 “We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.” 

 

As we tarry in the place of prayer The Holy Spirit guides us such that we pray exactly as we should, remaining insistent as we take hold of all we desire, facilitating its physical manifestation. Unless and until we learn to tarry in the place of prayer, we may not fully enjoy dominion as God originally mandated. In these times, paying lip service to prayer “wont’ cut it.” Negative spiritual activity is risen significantly, we cannot continue like babes and the silliness of carnality is becoming more obvious. Today, many believers very quickly take their battles to the flesh because it seems easier; but the truth is, it is the worst turf for us because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Moreover, when we fight in the place of prayer, we deal at the very level where all things originate before they manifest in the physical and God is able to join forces with us to enforce the victory His son won, something He always wants to do. In truth, He does the enforcing and we are only instruments through whom He does it.  

 

2 Corinthians 10: 3 “We are humans but we don’t wage war as humans do.”
 

We must make time for this level of prayer despite the efforts of our age old enemy to stop us from doing so which is why every step forward for us is a victory step. There is no doubt that various things contend for our time but believe me please, it is more often a trick of the enemy to distract us from true prayer. Indeed, it is often in the place of prayer that one remembers everything undone which all seem like they must be done immediately or something terrible will happen. The truth is nothing will happen; the enemy just wants to frustrate your desire to tarry in prayer. If you were “tarrying in gossip” he won’t have reminded you. Just remember even at such times that you are in control and can stop him. When believers sincerely and deeply commune with God, heaven cannot remain unmoved. So, you are invited to our WCO prayer conference. The secret is, men do sneak in too. Time is 9am prompt, Saturday 10th March at God’s Favourite House, Lekki – Epe Expressway, Opposite Oluwanisola Estate, by Chevron Toll gate.   

Yes You Are A Disciple; But Whose Disciple Are You?

I have been thinking about following Jesus and the way we follow Him today as against the way those who were first referred to as Christians followed Him such that they were called Christians. There is no doubt that their faith and/or belief in Christ must have consumed them so much, it altered their personalities such that they responded to situations in the same way - the way that Christ would have responded. They were without a shadow of doubt His disciples (a people who heard His words and obeyed such that their obedience could not be questioned). They rubbed minds with Him to the extent that His thoughts had become theirs. It was easy to tell that they followed Him. Interestingly, following Jesus, even from the beginning of time, has not been without its own challenges just as it is today. There has always been an “unhidden cost” to following Jesus Christ. Indeed, Jesus admonishes whoever wants to follow Him to count the cost of doing so. Believers in Christ today, complain so much about the Christian life that we often sound like a people lured or deceived into this Christianity.

 

Luke 14: 27b – 28 “…be my disciple … but don’t begin until you count the cost.”  

Hebrews 12: 1b – 2 “And let us run with endurance the God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.”

In our day, our own journey with Jesus starts with us getting born again, a term coined to describe the process of getting born of the Spirit of God. This birth takes place when one believes and accepts the truth that Jesus Christ is indeed the Son of God who died and rose again and then ascended to His Father. As soon as this rebirth happens, the fullness of The God head (God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost) take their place in the person empowering such person to live their life according to The Spirit of God as well as enabling them become like Jesus Christ. This experience, also facilitates the opening of one’s spiritual eyes so that they can see Jesus (spiritual revelation) and only thereafter can they fix their eyes on and follow Him. It is impossible for Jesus Christ to be revealed to anyone who has not had the salvation experience without which we cannot have on earth the life that prepares us for a great life in eternity.

Luke 9: 23 “Then he said to the crowd, “if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.”

I have come to realize, over time, that the fact that one has a revelation of Jesus is not necessarily a guarantee that they follow Him; they are two separate things. Revelation of Him only opens a door that facilitates following Him which is what it takes to His disciple. Following Jesus, unlike following anyone else does not happen randomly; it takes a deliberateness. This is because there is a properly laid down procedure to following Him. Jesus laid down clear steps to following Him which starts with giving up one’s own way and daily taking up of one’s cross. Anyone not aligned with this procedure isn’t a disciple notwithstanding the number of times they are in church. No wonder many claim to follow Him but appear not to because they truly don’t. They meet none of the prerequisites and have no intention of doing so. They do not intend to give up their own way. As long as Jesus way tallies with theirs, then they appear committed to Him, but when His way begins to differ from their preferred path, they dump His way. It is only to the extent that we deny self that we can carry our cross and only then can we follow Him.

Hebrews 12: 4b “let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”

Without a doubt, there is a cost to following Jesus Christ; but there is also gain in following Him. There is a self that must be denied and a cross to be carried daily. “Ugly” as the cross is, carrying it is apparently the privileged of only a few; it is not given to all. To be effective in carrying the cross, we must drop all weight and self is a major one. The cross of Jesus Christ is “very heavy”, we don’t any other added weight. One of the challenges of the faith we share today is the fact that self is allowed to mix with Truth even when the scriptures tell us that the two always are against each other. How can anyone succeed with a serious battle going on always in their mind? Many are backsliding because it gets too heavy; heavier than it is meant to be because the grace of God given to us can only help us bear the burden of the cross and not our own added burden.  Some of us even carry our own cross and not the cross of Christ so that we complain consistently against Christ and have no semblance to Him or His followers. We must begin to work out our salvation with fear and trembling and if one finds that they have built on faulty foundation, it is never too late to start again.

REMEMBER THAT THE RETURN OF CHRIST IS NEARER NOW THAN WHEN WE FIRST BELIEVED

Which Way believer? Is it the broad or the narrow way?

I am sure you know the story of the strait gate and narrow way as against the wide gate and broad way which we have heard several times; this past Tuesday during our midweek service, the preacher described both ways very colorfully so I decided to borrow it hoping that she will not mind. Really, really and really again, I am not advertising the church I attend but we definitely hear the word of God. I hope you do too in your church otherwise, you need to do something about it. These are very “perilous times”; I sincerely don’t know how any believer can successfully navigate this life without consistently hearing the accurate The Word of God. I guess you read your bible, which is really great, but what you hear may help your understanding and/or interpretation of what you read and maybe also let you know the ones you may have missed. Again, it impacts on the quality of your fellowship since you most likely keep company with some in your church.

 

Mathew 7: 13 “You can enter God’s kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”

So the preacher, describing the broad way, said that the fact that it is broad suggests that it provides  enough room to turn around several times over so that one can sin and repent over and over again until it becomes a normal way of life and others can sway from side to side several times over so that one may be a little spiritual one day and carnal the next so that no one needs to be too much of any just as long as you a good mix - not overly spiritual or outright carnal after all you still prefer to be described as “believer or born again”. The reality though is that notwithstanding the way you prefer to describe yourself, the path that allows you all that movement is one that leads to hell which isn’t the destination you  chose when you chose to make Christ Lord in your life. You just flowed into it for the ease of living. As it is often said, “You know, life does not have to be so hard.”

Romans 14: 17 “For the Kingdom of God is … a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

1 Corinthians 4: 20 “For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power.”

The truth is, the problem with that narrow gate and difficult road is just what they are “narrow and difficult”. Our challenge though, is that this is the only way that takes us to that end we desire so much as believers in Christ. I guess God let it be that way because He knows that He already provided all the help we need and will ever need to go through and go through well; otherwise the bible won’t refer to His Kingdom which is this narrow and difficult path as meat and drink. Certainly, our God is good and He is not one of those parents described in the African adage, who give with gifts with one hand and retrieve it from you, with the other” so that you actually got nothing. He sent His son to die for us that we may have that gracious life on earth that would facilitate a wonderful life with Him in eternity. If there is anything that could be described as confusing about God, it surely isn’t that. He reaffirms His desire for us to live an amazing life, albeit on this narrow way, by providing abundant grace; not to destroy ourselves by continually  doing wrong and apologizing, but to live marvelously on the narrow way.

Galatians 5: 19 “When you follow the desires for your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Galatians 5: 25 “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.”

God has laid out clearly for us what He will not tolerate. It behooves us to put that truth before us always even if we fail several times over. To put a lie before one’s self is to short change one’s self. How does anyone in their right senses do that to themselves? God has made it clear that we are required to be Holy, we have to be. He also says every man would reap what they sow, so that our time on earth is our season for sowing whilst the reaping is quality of life we get to live in eternity. We must be careful to ensure that our sowing will produce the harvest we sincerely desire which is why we must put the truth before us always. It will be sad if for ignorance, one sowed bad seeds and only released they sowed the wrong seeds on the day of harvest. What do you want for eternity? We must make that decision daily and God has done all He will ever do to ensure we get the help needed to get our desired result. We must begin to credit God with all the credit that He deserves, which satan would hate because the more credit one gives Him, the more.

Galatians 6: 7 “Don’t be misled-you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.”

Don’t Leave For The Pain; God Is Turning It Around

I had a very special guest today; one of those I actually love to sit with and just chat. These are some of the people who visit, deliberately, to spend time with you and are genuinely interested in sharing your highs and lows as well as share theirs. I am so glad that this visit was all about a new high that God has given her. I suspect she thinks I was sleeping, because I was drowsy, but I was wide awake and her story was another testimonial of God’s goodness. I don’t know what more God needs to do to make us very assured that He is good and always working to bring us to a good place. We must begin to credit God with all the credit that He deserves, which satan would hate because the more credit one gives Him, the more one trusts Him and moves closer to Him in love. Trust is a must for love, if the bible is correct as we all know it is, then loving God and trusting Him must go hand in hand. A relationship not built on trust is already faulty and would end up in the wrong place.

 

Psalm 103: 5a “He fills my life with good things.”

Psalm 37: 5 “Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.”

So you must know now that I love her story. She has been born again, loving and trusting God; believing Him for great things; yet everything that ought to go wrong went wrong. In her own self, she was dealing with personal weaknesses that threatened to destroy her and then she had challenges with her spouse and marriage. As if that was not enough, her family had issues which even included the death of a sibling. It was indeed a difficult time and she doesn’t know this but I sometimes wondered how she coped with life and still found the energy to laugh because I know for certain that laughter in such times, is very costly. No one, but her alone, knows what it cost for her to laugh. Also, from the little one has learnt about God, He won’t give you information as to how He will turn everything around so you are somewhat in the dark. You just go on knowing that “He has your back” which is really like walking blindly. An unplanned walk you embark on, seemingly without a destination and your path remains unlit. Every step is a challenge and/or struggle; yet, bad as it felt when you took the last step, you still have to take another and several others that you may go forward. No one goes forward remaining in the same position.

Ecclesiastes 9: 1 & 4 “Even though the actions of godly and wise people are in God’s hands, no one knows whether God will show them favor. The same destiny ultimately awaits everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad…Good people receive the same promise as sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t… There is only hope for the living.”

If you have not gotten there, you will one day: as life goes on. My question is this – what will you do when you get there i.e. when the challenges come? Some of us are right there now and my question is – what are you doing? Whether or not you act, you have done something. Our response to challenges that life throws is a major pointer to where we are at with God. I hate to say this but everyone will get there one day, believer or not; when you do, will you “curse God and die” as Job’s wife counselled him to do or will you stand? I have lived long enough to see a number of believers go through contrary circumstances and each one responded according to “the amount of God in them.” Some “go through” when they are young and others when they are much older but how are you “going through”? The way you come through kind of determines where you end up. Some, though they came through, have become bitter and wicked because of these experiences, while some others have become very cynical about this faith we share. From what we know, I don’t think the attitude with which we come through will change God or even cause Him to reconsider His methods and anyway, He already provided strength or grace to help us come and to do so successfully.

Job 2: 9 “… Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”

Romans 15: 13 “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”

I have seen a number of people lose their salvation for circumstances like this and as a result lost the opportunity of enjoying benefits God had laid out for them in their future which sadly, they may never touch. They lost their joy which also activates strength and everyone needs the strength to stand whilst trusting that He is working things out as He is indeed. Today, my friend testified; God has completed the work. The end of it was so quick and much more than she wished for that she is still reeling from the depth of the love that God showed in working everything the way He did. The beginning was so slow and the middle too tough; no one would have thought it would end the way He ended it. It is like a dream to her and so shall your own story end – just like a dream. It happened to the children of Israel too, they thought they were dreaming when God turned their captivity around. However, you have to hold on. You have come too far to truncate everything. It is too late to turn your back Him. Please be encouraged, God is working it but you must trust and invest in your relationship with Him.

Hebrews 10: 35 – 37 “So do not throw away tis confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it bring you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised. For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay and my righteous ones will live by faith.”