A better reason Bible Reading: Acts 13:1-4
We should desire to know God’s will concerning whatever we do because He knows everything about everything. This was our emphasis last week. But beyond the success that it enables us to achieve and the needs that are met, there is something more important. Knowing and doing the will of God strengthens and nourishes our relationship with Him.
We know that communication is a vital ingredient in any good relationship. It is most effective when it is a two-way traffic. So many times I hear some men tell their wives over the phone that “I love you” and the women are swift to say “I love you too”. We know the importance of feedback in our earthly relationships. We experience the act of talking and listening. Have you ever imagined if only the wife is talking for over one week and there is no feedback from the husband? Well, women know better. But most of us have a wrong approach towards our relationship with God. We are most concerned about firing requests towards heaven from time to time but have never been concerned to know what God actually wants us to do. Our communication is usually a one-way traffic where we do all the talking. It should not be so.
Beloved, Christianity is so sweet. One way to experience this sweetness is to cultivate the habit of communicating effectively with God which includes, hearing from Him.
– tope aladenusi
In an attempt to safe guard the law of the land, they offended the law “architect”.
In trying to uphold the “dos and don’ts” of God, against all disobediences, they sinned against God and killed him in the flesh.
The fight for the law was furious, violent and aggressive but unknowing to them, the fight was against the very law giver (Luke 6:11)
Oh! What a glorious and wonderful occasion, the greatest event that ever occurred in the world.
The rich men of the world had spent on their ‘occasions’, but were not as glorious as this.
The ‘super nations’ had spent their resources, yet it wasn’t worth it.
Oh yes! It was worth it.
That noisy day yet dynamic,
That day of uproar yet brought peace,
That day of sorrow yet brought joy.
That day of panic though for that moment,
That day of great tears that such tears will never flow again,
In His own body, He bore all for the whole world
When love lifted Him high
Yes on a rugged tree, made across each other.
It wasn’t easy but it was worth it.
Blood was shed but its efficacy is for generations yet untold.
‘It is finished’ was His last word.
‘He gave up the ghost’ was the last event up there on the cross.
It is done, alas everything was perfect…
His ascension on the third day marked the glorious triumphal entry.
Love killed God.
Love sacrificed God for humanity.
Yet it was worth it
Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world, made manifest that day.
Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world,
Bravo! Excellent! Superb! Great!
– funmi aina
A better option Bible Reading – Psalm 121
It is better to live your life based on divinely inspired discernment than on experiments. It is better to rely on truth & conviction rather than on trial & error. Life is so short that you can’t afford to spend your whole time experimenting. It is possible to get things right the first time. I do encourage men to stand up if they have fallen, but I also know that like Jesus Christ, you can do without stumbling.
You are so engulfed in a few activities that you may not know which other activities have a direct impact on your life.
Your two eyes can only see a short distance and you need the help of the eyes that sees all things in the world at every microsecond.
Your brain cells do not process every latest information that is released into the world, so you need God to alert you of the ones that will propel you to the next level.
You may be certain about the present, but there is one who wants to reveal the future to you.
You may be trained to have a good assessment of people but you need the one who sees the deep secrets of every heart. Even the world has come to acknowledge that ‘Not all that glitters is gold’. You need the leading of God to pick out the gold among the glittering objects.
Knowing the will of God is so sweet; most times it grants you success with ease. It constantly ushers you into peace, power, progress and prosperity. It is something every man born of a woman should crave to know. It is a better option towards living a successful life.
– tope aladenusi
Bible Reading: Ephesians 5: 11-17
Growing up as a Christian, I heard many believers say “God told me to do it” or “God said so and so thing would happen”. Most times, these all turned out to be lies because the events they prophesied never occurred. Can you imagine a Pastor once said “God instructed me to take a third wife”? I was almost discouraged to doubt the truth that God leads us. Perhaps you’ve had such experiences or right now you hate to hear the phrase “God told me”. Well, just before you give up on the authenticity of the truth that God leads us, I want you to consider a few things.
There are some fake currencies in circulation, but it never discouraged you from spending. Maybe you feel you will be able to know the genuine ones. Also, you know the importance of having some money in your pocket, so no matter the number of fakes in circulation, you are not discouraged from spending. Do you know that the reason why the ‘fake’ exists is because the ‘Real’ had been in existence? So the abuse of the “leading of God” does not erase its reality.
Do you know the importance of knowing God’s will with respect to every area of your life? The Bible explained one of them in Ephesians 5: 17 –
“Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants”(MSG)
“Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (ASV)
You may agree with me that if we are to read this verse another way, it could read “If we do not understand the will of God, we are foolish/careless”. Can you stand this?
Can you imagine if Jesus did not understand God’s will? Then he would have been made a king in his time and die like an average man. Maybe you won’t be saved today. That would have been ‘carelessness’ on Jesus’ part, right? The world system has been designed in such a way that so many things are clamoring for your attention. As a result, if you are nonchalant about knowing God’s will, you may join many Christians who are in a wrong location, growing in a wrong profession and settling for a wrong emotional association. This is just to mention a few examples.
Dearly beloved, I desire that you start craving to know the will of God for yourself and your loved ones. This desire will help you easily digest the steps to recognizing God’s will that we will pass across in our subsequent posts.
– tope_aladenusi
Once upon a time,
There was me in them; the first of my type
Placed by God Himself to have dominion over all things
I knew it was peaceful, my senses agreed it was wonderful out there. But then I just wasn’t a part of it. I wished I was there, I wished I could give names too but…
Suddenly I heard voices
At first they were angels, then arguments and finally …
I heard OK! Oh no She had yielded then He yielded too
And I saw particles of the sacred fruits drop on me; they were defiled and so was I. Things now look changed, God was angry, or wasn’t He?
I thought He would wipe him out of existence definitely,
I would be wiped out too but no … He just left them with the consequences.
HE CONDEMNED US; the He, the She & the Me in them.
Then I was born in what a time like this, if I was born earlier I would have had a say. I would have had my boast But alas…
Things went on, and on, and on and on…
And suddenly, something happened; someone was born, someone different from me, the exact opposite but in the same vessel of clay.
Who was he?
Three decades three years He walked on the same filthy land but did not do the things I do as a result of the action of the first of my kind
He was the first of His kind
They called Him JESUS CHRIST, the Messiah.
He performed miracles, did wonders but really He came for a purpose
To Die, To Save Me, To REDEEM ME INTO something better than what I once imagined and once admired
I was cleansed no longer was I defiled
I had become one of His Type
CONDEMNATIION WAS ERASED AND JUSTIFICATION CAME.
No wonder He didn’t wipe us out in the first instance
It was all part of a master plan
I thank God I wasn’t allowed to have a say because I know this is better
This is my story and I will praise Jesus Christ all the day long.
– funmi_aina
Bible Reading: Romans 8: 1- 14
One of the greatest assets of a believer is the potential to discern God’s will. Every believer has the same right to know God’s will for his/her life although not all of us take steps to actualize it. Those who have been able to train themselves to discern the mind of God are seen as great men of God. Whereas, knowing the will of God is similar to a radio station that is always broadcasting signals; if you do not tune your radio frequency to that of the station, you may never get the signals. In like manner, God is always sending signals to all believers, but only a few are tuning to ‘God’s frequency’.
The ability to recognize and actualize God’s will naturally position you in the path of peace, progress and prosperity. But how can you recognize the will of God concerning any area of your life? What do you need to do in order to make sure you always know the mind of God concerning a subject?
The questions I’ve been asked by numerous counselees over the years have informed me that the body of Christ is in dire need of this message. But I believe every believer should be very knowledgeable of this subject.
In the next few months, we will be teaching on this subject. I will like you to inform all your friends and loved ones to join you in benefiting from this message. One easy way they can do this is by freely subscribing to our mailing list viahttp://www.christlifeline.org/mailinglist.html
Our desire is that these teachings will affect your life to the point that unbelievers around you will crave to be like you and when they come to inquire the reason for your success, you will introduce them to Jesus Christ.
– tope aladenusi
- A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is
shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain.2. An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he
predicted yesterday didn’t happen today.3. A statistician is someone who is good with numbers but lacks the
personality to be an accountant.4. An actuary is someone who brings a fake bomb on a plane, because that
decreases the chances that there will be another bomb on the plane.5. A programmer is someone who solves a problem you didn’t know you had
in a way you don’t understand.6. A mathematician is like a blind man in a dark room looking for a
black cat that isn’t there.7. A topologist is a someone who doesn’t know the difference between a
coffee cup and doughnut.8. A lawyer is a person who writes a 10,000 word document and calls it
a “brief.”9. A psychologist is someone who watches everyone else when a beautiful
girl enters the room.10. A professor is one who talks in someone else’s sleep.
11. A consultant is someone who takes the watch off your wrist and tells
you the time.12. A committee is a body that keeps minutes and wastes hours.
– femi fadumila
Never mind who dares… if God cares
Never mind who frowns… if God smiles
Never mind who mocks… if God exalts
Never mind who cheats… if God lifts
Never mind who struggles… if God promotes
Never mind who curses… if God blesses
Never mind who withholds… if God gives
Never mind who disappoints… if God appoints
Never mind who separates… if God unites
Never mind who rejects… if God accepts
Never mind who forgets… if God remembers
Never mind who tears… if God mends
Never mind who stirs… if God stills
Never mind who binds… if God liberates
Never mind who devours… if God protects
Never mind who stains… if God cleanses
Never mind who faints… if God heals
Never mind who hates… if God loves
Never mind who crucifies… if God resurrects
Never mind who dies… if God lives.
“…Casting the whole of your care (all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all) on God, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.” I Peter 5:7 (AMP)
– tope aladenusi
Jesus Christ met a man who had been sick for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda and he asked him, “Would you like to be well?” “I can’t, sir,” the sick man said, “for I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred up” – John 5:6-7 (NLT).
This man had Jesus by his side, but his mind was more focused on his difficulty. His reason was simple – ‘I & no one’ couldn’t help. Many believers also fall into this web of trusting in their abilities and in others for help despite the fact that they have Jesus residing in them always.
If you ask a believer, “Do you believe God can divide a sea?” he would probably say, “Yes! He did it for the Israelites”. If you question further, “Do you believe God can crumble a building?”, “Of course, even the walls of Jericho came down flat”, he would say. But ask him, “Do you believe God can help you out of this so called difficult situation you are going through?” He would immediately start fumbling with words. He claims to trust God for big things that are not directly attached to him, but for little challenges that come his way daily, he schemes other sources of solution.
The reason why we say a situation is difficult is because we have looked at it and compared it with our abilities and connections, and we realize they don’t match. But no matter how big any difficulty may look, placing it before Jesus, we immediately see a possibility.
Beloved, we live in an age where the ideas of philosophers are gaining more grounds and we are taught to trust in the various means by which help comes, rather than on the source of help; we are taught to rely on ourselves and connections for help, but Christianity is still saying – “From where does my help comes, my help cometh from God”.
– tope aladenusi