| Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11: 28, 29
One thing that bothers many Christians is the inability to decipher what it takes to please God. Like the Pharisees at the time of Jesus, the abundant life has become a “struggle to please” situation for many. They have forgotten the call of Jesus in chapter 11 of Matthew to come to Him with all burdens and He will give rest to our souls. We say we have come to Him by faith, but neglect the request which He makes in the same sitting “Take My yoke upon you” and “learn from Me”. There are many tired Christians today because many are struggling to please God using various styles and techniques. Jesus gives rest to all who come to Him (Hebrews 4: 9,10). The call to rest is a call to cease from our own works and attempts at making God happy, to a life lived in synchrony with Him. I recently heard a preacher describe the yoke Jesus was referring to in Matthew 11 as a double looped instrument which is used to connect two oxen together. In this way, they can work together to till their master’s field and bear fruit. Jesus requests that we come to Him with our burdens and find rest for our souls; but He’s offering us something in replacement for our burdens—His yoke. Jesus asks that we take His yoke upon ourselves because He wants to come alongside us and work with us; He wants to be your partner and the one you look to for counsel. We learn from Him that we already please God because of the price that He paid on the cross. We also learn from Jesus that He has given us the Holy Spirit to come alongside as our helper. The double loop yoke reminded me of the statement of Jesus about the person of the Holy Spirit. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” John 14:16. Jesus does not leave us by ourselves to express the godly nature. He gives us the Holy Spirit to come alongside us and help us fulfill His own good purpose for our lives. The Spirit teaches us all things and leads us on in the way of real life. Pleasing God becomes all we do then because we are acting out all He leads us to do. Praise God, we have the Holy Spirit who empowers us to do all that God will have us do. Learn true rest by accepting that you please God and He works in you to fulfill His good pleasure. Ifelayo Ojo |
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6
No one enters into a relationship with God without expressing faith in Him, but many times (like the Galatian Christians,) people ‘forget’ about faith and start struggling to ‘please’ God. This should not be; but the reason we find many Christians in this situation is because we have not taken time to grow in our relationship with the Father of spirits. Like Martha, we get encumbered by activities that we expect ‘will make Jesus happy’, but don’t take time to sit at His feet, listen to Him and get to know Him. I believe Jesus hailed Mary’s decision to bask in His presence as the only thing which is needed, because He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (See Luke 10: 38-42)
Some friends of mine were going away for a weekend and needed someone to keep their children with. They ended up choosing the husband’s Mom for this important task—she lived close by, was happy to have the kids and they trusted her. There were other people who fulfilled the first two criteria, they had many neighbors who will be happy to have the kids; but had not built enough of a trust relationship to entrust their precious children to them.
The point of today’s devotional is that you cannot trust God if you don’t know Him and you do not get to know Him automatically because you are a Christian. Not everyone trusts their mothers with their kids, it is the people who are known and respected that get to handle such tasks. You need to cultivate a relationship with God, the same way you invest time in your physical relationships. True, God is spirit; so some people say it is more difficult to relate with Him. Yet, He has presented multiple avenues to enable us get to know Him:
He seeks to hear our voice in prayer [Pray continually (1Thessalonians 5:17)];
He wants to talk to us through the scriptures [Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation (1Peter 2:2)];
He wants to reveal things beyond human knowledge to our spirits [“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”–but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.(1 Corinthians 2: 9,10)]
Apostle Paul said this to the Galatians when they got lost in the motions: “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” It is time we stopped playing religion and concentrated on building ourselves up in the relationship we have with God. Then we can truly rely on our all-powerful God to help us live a fulfilled life, accomplishing His purpose. We find His grace sufficient for every situation; because we know Him, we can trust Him to fulfill His promises in our lives.
– Dr. Ifelayo Peter Ojo
Jesus while teaching his disciples on how to pray told them to start with the following statements; “And He said to them, When you pray, say: Our Father, who is in Heaven, hallowed be Your name Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in Heaven, so also on the earth.” (Luke 11:2)
Jesus clearly defines the father as heavenly, which logically means that the children and consequently the divine siblings of Jesus are also heavenly. They come from a kingdom which is superior to any earthly kingdom. In other words, they are governed and constrained by a superior constitution. He gives credence to God’s kingdom – God’s ability, ingenuity, creativity, wisdom, authority, governance, love, immortality, superiority and omnipotence. Jesus also taught that we should desire God’s will to be done on earth as God desires from heaven.
The strength of every kingdom is known by the territory it controls and influences. That’s why the most influential countries in the world like the USA, Japan, France, etc. are also the most powerful. These countries have tested political cum government institutions, good educational systems and in-depth technological development. They’re always putting in place measures to improve their present state. These countries have put in place structures that always make them relevant in current world affairs. For instance, most of their nationals or scholars produced from their educational system are at the helm of affairs of the biggest organizations and conglomerates in the world. Today most of the cultural, economic, technological, educational and political systems in the world are designed after the systems that have been designed and deployed in these nations. These great nations have colonized and are still directly or indirectly colonizing many nations the world over.
Christians have the ability to control and influence even more territories than the earthly kingdoms above do. We are of the supernatural Kingdom; we have the creative ability and divine dispensation of God, which is far greater than what best human kingdom can offer. The most startling revelation I’ve ever gotten as a Christian is the fact that I’m not just from the breed with a heavenly lineage (Phil.3:20), but I’m also a holy nation (1 Pet.2:9) – the kingdom of the Father of Lights. Every Christian has been gifted with this status. We’ve been fully equipped with the ability of God (Col.2:10). God the author of heaven and earth, who lives in eternity with His awesome glory inhabits in us (1Cor.6:19-20). God has made us to display his unlimited glory, ability and wisdom to spirits and to humans (Eph.3:9-11).
I’d admonish every Christian today to live in line with the perception of our Kingdom by understanding our power and ability. Our prerogative is to subject ourselves to the dictates of heaven so we’ll always do what God dictates to us. If we live this way we’d naturally replicate our lives and kingdom values in our spheres of contact and beyond.
Emeka I. Ofia
| If you wake up in the morning and hear your dog barking or your rooster crowing, you don’t get excited and impressed. You don’t run to your neighbour and say – ‘Oh neighbour! Can you imagine this, my dog was barking this morning’. You know that would sound so strange. This is because your dog was wired to bark naturally and anything short of that is abnormal.
Likewise, when we live holy, healthy and victorious lives, God is not excited because he doesn’t expect anything less from us. The Christian life is a life of an all-round victory and success. Every step we take should exude the grace of God. Our actions should tell stories of the excellences of God. Anything short of this is not the Christian life.
Some of us used to behave very badly before we became born again. At those times, we had this constant feeling that God was fuming because of our terrible attitudes. So as soon as we entered into God’s kingdom and we were told that angels were rejoicing in heaven because we are saved, we got fired up. However, we are not really living the Christian life any longer; we are up today and down tomorrow. We slip into the excellent attributes of God and slip out the next minute. And surprisingly, whenever we manifest God’s nature, we think God is jubilating again.
How can He jubilate because you don’t care about the perishing souls around you in general, but today you decided to preach to someone? How can healing the sick and living in good health fire Him up? How can helping the needy make him bask in excitement? How can living a holy life one day in one month make angels to celebrate? How can donating to God’s work last year cause a roar in heaven? Are these not the things we have been wired to do naturally … and constantly? Are they not expressions of the purpose we are to fulfill on earth?
The Bible says in 1 Peter 2:9 – “But ye are a elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that ye may show forth the excellences of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light”. This is one major purpose why you are here on earth. God is pleased with the believer because of Christ’s work on the cross and we now have to make it our sole purpose to be pleasing to him. You are here to display your identity in Christ. You are here to live the Christian life that will naturally attract others to Christ. Don’t slip in and out of it and think God is excited for the moments when you get it right; you don’t expect your dog to slip in and out of ‘barking’. Also, don’t get too agitated saying “I do not know my purpose”. Obey the known purposes of God for your life and the things specific to you will be unraveled as time goes on.
– tope aladenusi
|
I recently interviewed someone for the position of a driver. Below is an excerpt of our conversation.
Me: Why did you leave the company where you worked before?
Driver: They don’t usually take care of their staff.
Me: So how do you define “take care”?
Driver: Hmm … For example, in my friend’s company, they usually give him a bag of rice during Christmas period. But that company never gave us anything.
Me: Okay, was it written in your employment letter that you will be given rice at Christmas?
Driver: No
Me: Then why were you expecting what was not in your terms of contract?
The truth is that, I knew the answer to my questions even as I was asking him. He was suffering fromentitlement mentality or go-getters mentality. Many of us reading this may have already began to throw stones at this driver, but I know that if we look closely at our lives, we would realise that we do something similar in varying magnitudes.
I have heard more believers complain that someone (Uncle, Relative, Friend, Pastor, Boss, etc.) did not help them than I have heard from even unbelievers. Many of us are go-getters; we spend more time counting the blessings others did not give to us rather than counting the blessings we gave. Our thoughts are more engrossed with how we will get from others. And it is a pity that believers with such mentality may find it difficult walking in God’s purpose for their lives. Why?
The epicentre of God’s plan for your life is centred on how you will donate to this world. As a believer, you were qualified for heaven the very moment you accepted the salvation of Jesus Christ, but God left you here so you would give something unique to this world. When you are more concerned about what you will get from this world, you are moving in the opposite direction from God. It becomes more difficult to pick the signals He is beaming at you because your mind is saying “get, get, get” and most times He is saying “give, give, give”.
If Jesus had the “get get” mentality, he would have grabbed the ‘opportunity’ to become a king, but he preferred the rugged cross over the royal chair because he was thinking of how he would give salvation. If Apostle Paul had the go-getters mentality, he would have given up when he was thrown into prison as there would be no opportunity to “get” again. But while he was in prison, the givers mentality made him fulfil purpose by preaching the gospel and writing some of the New Testament books we read today. If you see this life to be all about getting, I tell you it will be difficult to discover and walk in the unknown purposes of God for your life.
No wonder Jesus kept saying … You are the light of the world; you are the salt of the earth. In other words, you are a giver to the world. But it is unfortunate that many of us are crying that the world’s light is not shinning on us. When you start seeing yourself as a giver and a solution to the world’s problems, you are positioning yourself to walk in God’s purpose for your life; you are obeying the known will of God and that will usher you into a discovery of the unknown details.
Am I saying you should not receive your entitlements or encourage others to cheat you? No! But I’ll like you to know that the reason why you are in your family, church, workplace, ministry, community and the world at large is because there is something God wants you to donate there. So rather than singing “pass me not o gentle giver”, start singing – “I will pass not until I have given what He wants me to give …” Once you start thinking like this, you are taking another good step to easily decipher all theunknown things God wants to do through you.
– tope aladenusi
Ephesians 1:7
The lustful desires of your heart
He turns them to divine love
That hatred towards your neighbour
Now passion to save his soul
Before, he is quick to anger
Now, provoke him and he smiles
All pursuit bringing grief at the end
Now a mission to gain eternal rest
It all happened like a mystery
Jesus died to bring it to pass
This is a hard saying, who can hear it?
What a truth! Jesus cleanses everything at a go.
– okenna igbokwe
Startled by the new concept being introduced by the man he believed was sent from God, the curious Pharisee asked “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?” The master’s answer in verses 5-8 of John Chapter 3 probably got the old Pharisee the more confused as he exclaimed “How can these things be?”
Like Nicodemus, many are confused and uncertain about what it means to be born again and how a man can be born again today. It is sad that some acclaimed Christians in which some are even ‘workers’ in their local assemblies, are not sure of their salvation. While some are ‘trying to’ be born again, others are ‘asking for the grace to’ make heaven.
But if we will clearly look into the Scriptures with an open mind and reason along with the written word, we will not have much trouble understanding the mind of God. This new concept of ‘getting born again’ introduced by our Lord Jesus Christ was also explained by Him as to what it is and how it can be attained.
“Verily verily I say unto you, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit“. John 3:5-6. In other words, the master is saying that getting born again is a spiritual birth, not a physical one. That is the number one point.
Now, how can a sinner get born again? The master went on to explain it.
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up (i.e. He will die for the sin of the world on the cross); that whosoever believes in Himshould not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life…He that believes on Him is not condemned. John 3:14-18.
Can you observe the repeated phrase in Jesus’ statement above? Whosoever believes in Him!!!
Let’s consider some other verses of the Scriptures where the issue of born again is discussed.
“He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even unto them that believe on His name…which were born of God (born again)”. John 1:11-13.
We can see clearly that to be born again is to be born of God (born of the Spirit). It is because we are born of God that we are called the sons of God, Halleluiah!
“Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” 1 John 5:1
This is a straight to the point statement by Apostle John.
When the keeper of the prison where Paul and Silas were kept wanted to make this necessary decision, he asked “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Paul and Silas answered him “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your house.” Acts 16:30, 31.
Lastly, let’s consider Romans chapter 10. “That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (born again). Verse 9.
The new birth comes to anyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ as God’s only sacrifice for sin and confess (receive) Him to be the Lord of his life. For making such decision, a hitherto sinner receives a new spirit from God and as he submit to the Lordship (authority) of Jesus Christ through His word, he experiences a new life called Eternal life (Zoe)-The Life of God.
(Further Scriptural references: Hebrews 3:18-19, Heb. 4:2-3, 6, And 11).
– segun eshorun
Identifying God’s will for our lives is one of the easiest things for Christians to do. But we must be ready to believe and obey God’s principles, however how simple they may appear.
I usually say to myself that … When I get to heaven, I should not be surprised if God tells me that more than 90% of what He would have me do have already been written in the Bible. I may not be very correct with my estimate, but the truth is that a ‘sizeable portion’ of God’s will for our lives have been documented in the Bible.
Therefore, you can view God’s purpose from two perspectives – the known and the unknown. Theknown consists of His principles / will as revealed in the Bible, as well as things He has revealed to you personally. The unknown consists of things that are mostly peculiar to you that God has not yet revealed. If we are not faithful in obeying the “known”, why should we expect to discover the “unknown”? Do we want to discover it just for the sake of knowing? Many times, the unknown is discovered while we are attempting to do the known.
Act 16:7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spiritsuffered them not.
Act 16:8 And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.
Act 16:9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
Act 16:10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia,assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
Paul and his companions were attempting to obey God by planning to go and preach in Bithynia. They knew that God wanted them to preach, what they were not sure of was where. But while they were attempting to go to Bithynia, the revelation of Macedonia as God’s will for them came.
Obeying God’s will for the New Creation as documented in the Bible ushers us to discover the unknown purpose of God for our lives. If Joseph was disobeying the will of God with respect to sex, he would probably have been rollicking and frolicking with Portiphar’s wife when the opening for the post of Prime Minister of Egypt showed up. If Timothy was a reigning thug during his youth, we may be wondering how he discovered God’s purpose for his youthful age by being the Bishop of several churches? If we do not obey the will of God for our lives that is already written in black and white, what assurance do we have that we will even obey the ones that we claim to “hear” or “perceive”?
It is also important for us to obey the will of God already revealed to us personally. When Paul had an encounter with Jesus on his way to Damascus, the Lord told him: “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do” Acts 9:6. He obeyed and this led to him getting saved and receiving his sight. If Paul had not become a believer and started obeying God in Acts 9, it is arguable the Holy Ghost would not have said in Acts 13, “Separate unto me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have sent them…“.
Have you been praying on the mountain for several months asking God for your purpose in life? Please come down and start obeying Him. You don’t discover it by prayer alone. To obey is better than the sacrifices of futile prayers, church politics, religious activities and worldly proclivities. Continue obeying the will of God you already know, and at the right time, you will be able to identify the ones that are still unknown.
– tope aladenusi
Why are you here? That’s one question anyone that must achieve the God kind of success must answer. God has a specific purpose for sending you to the earth and it is your responsibility to identify it and fulfil it. Many believers agree with this, but they keep asking the question: How do I identify my purpose? How do I know what role I’m to play on earth?
The first point I will like to share is – get into the game. You may be wondering what game I’m referring to; Is it football, tennis, basketball or what? Although the game is not any of these, we can draw some lessons from the game of football. I used to be a defensive midfielder in a local football club that was in my neighbourhood during my teenage years. But to be sincere, I did not desire to play this defensive midfield position. I loved the ecstasy of scoring goals and kept assuming I was a good striker, and deserved the No. 9 shirt. But anywhere I have ever played, the coaches had a way of sending me back to my rightful midfield place.
How did the best players in the world finally settle for the field positions they currently play? They got into the field and kept on playing. They did not discover it by sitting at home and analyzing football. They were in the game. Which ‘game’ do you need to get into to discover your role in life?
You need to (be born again and) start living the kingdom life! You have to stop sitting on the fence and start exercising on the field. Believe that Jesus Christ paid the price for yourredemption by dying on the cross and live like you truly believe it. I like the way Billy Graham puts it “when we live apart from God, our lives get out of tune”. You need to be in tune.
Jesus Christ gave us the password – “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33. Getting into God’s kingdom and living by the kingdom principles puts you in a position to identify your purpose. Just like you do not get into the football field and try to play by the rules of basketball, it is important you live by the rules of the kingdom. (Galatians 6:15-16)
Are you currently living your life based on the standard of God’s word?
We will continue next week.
– tope aladenusi
The bible says in 2Corinthians 5:17, 20 – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature … Now then we are ambassadors for Christ …”
We (believers) are Christ’s ambassadors! I like the way Philippians 3:20 (BBE) buttresses this point – “For our country is in heaven …” We don’t belong here. We are only here on a temporary basis and soon, we will return to our country – heaven. Are you really living the lifestyle of an ambassador?
Some dictionaries define “ambassador” as an important official who represent his or her government in a foreign country. An understanding of how the average ambassador in the world behaves may shed more light in areas where we need to up our game:
- An ambassador is not in another country on his / her own accord. You are on an assignment and you should be working with your home country (heaven) to achieve that.
- Ambassadors are officially protected from harm by what is known as diplomatic immunity. The host government cannot detain or arrest ambassadors. Are you enjoying your diplomatic immunity in this world? Are you ignorantly allowing the god of this world to tamper with your immunity? If you claim to be molested, oppressed by people, witches, wizards and the devil, do you know who you really are?
- Ambassadors reflect the life (and lifestyle) of their home country, even in a foreign land. You don’t expect the US ambassador to Nigeria to live in one of the slums in Lagos. They live in very nice places. Does your prosperity reflect that of your country?
- An ambassador is usually appointed for a specific length of time. Your tenure as Christ’s representative is gradually being exhausted. Are you making the best use of the time?
- An ambassador’s main function is to advance the interests of his country in a foreign land. Are you focusing on pursuing your personal interests or the interest of your country? Are your prayer points overwhelmed with your interests or the interests of heaven?
- Ambassadors are sent to countries with which diplomatic relations are maintained. The diplomatic relation your country has with this world is for a major strategic purpose – to reconcile men unto God. Is that your focus in life?
- Ambassadors are spokespersons for their foreign offices. Have you been speaking on behalf of heaven recently?
We could go on and on. But at this point, I ask you this: Are you an ambassador for Christ in words alone, or in deed and truth?