Bible Reading – Matthew 9
Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house and many tax collectors and sinners came to eat with Jesus and his disciples (Mat 9:10). The Pharisees could not understand his action. I’m sure they were wondering how could the one who says he is the son of God dine with sinners. Is he not knowledgeable enough to know that “evil communication corrupts good manners”?
Jesus overheard the Pharisees questioning his disciples on this issue and remarked: “People who are well do not need a doctor, but only those who are sick” (Mat 9:10 – GNB). It was clear from his statement that his decision to dine with sinners was purposeful. When you see the son of God dining with unbelievers, there must be a critical mission at the back of his mind. He wants to give them the lifeline they need to get well.
All sons of God are carriers of this lifeline. But not all the sons of God relate with unbelievers with the same motive like the first son of God – Jesus Christ.
Why don’t we emulate Jesus? Every day we find ourselves in the midst of sinners; we know they are sinners, but we rarely tell them about the salvation from Jesus. We sit with them in our offices; we dine with the in the restaurants; we go to school with them; these days, we even go to church with them; but … we do not act like someone who has been given the primary task of reconciling men to God (II Cor. 5:18).
Look at your sphere of contacts. Examine your family. Flip through your phone book. Browse your address list. Are they all born again? You are there for a purpose. Talk to them about the saving grace of Jesus. They may not admit immediately, but you have sown a seed.
I remember a friend preached to me before I got born again. After his message, all the other messages I had earlier heard about Christ dawned on me. I was able to connect them together and conviction was born in my heart. Your listeners may not get born again instantly, but you have sown a seed they will connect to tomorrow. Who knows what they will become after that connection has been made?
If you must be accused of dining with sinners, it should be because you are there for a critical mission – like Jesus was with the tax collectors. They are in need, and you must help.
-tope aladenusi
Bible Reading: Matthew 5
“Ye are the light of the world: a city situated on the top of a mountain cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under the bushel, but upon the lamp-stand, and it shines for all who are in the house”. Mat 5:14-15
God has configured you to shine. No matter how hard men try, they can never stop you from shinning. Only you can stop you from shinning. People may facilitate your move from one position to another or one location to another, but they cannot move the illumination in you. Jesus Christ says ‘no man lights a lamp and put it under a bushel’. So why do some think that God has lighted our hearts and it may not be his will that we shine? Why do we think he wants us to shine only at a particular season? Why do we think that he is comfortable with the world seeing us as sinners, paupers and ‘sicklers’. No. Never! ‘You are the light of the world, you cannot be hid”. In order words, you are the light of the world and you should be in limelight. Anywhere you are, your lifestyle and success should command attention. Mediocrity has no place in Christianity.
I now appreciate Matthew 5:16 like never before –
Let your light thus shine before men, so that they may see your upright works,and glorify your Father who is in the heavens
First, it is your responsibility to let your light shine. No one can shine it on your behalf and no one can stop you from shinning it.
Second, let your light shine before men. Many times I hear Christians say things like “well, I may not look righteous before you, but I know God sees me that way. I may not look like an ambassador of Christ, but God sees my heart. I may be so poor and wretched, but I am rich in the Spirit. I may fall sick every now and then, but I have health on my inside”. My brothers and sisters, come out of that. God already knows your inner state and he acknowledged that several times. But he did not say “let your light so shine before ME, but before MEN. In order words, let others see on the outside what God sees on your inside. Let them look at you and see holiness, success, good health, prosperity, generosity. So that they can glorify your father who is in heaven
Are you only shinning before God? Beloved, His commandment is clear – Shine before men. Hallelujah!
– tope aladenusi
Have you ever noticed that God currently says blessed and not bless1. He says washed and not will wash2. He calls you cleansed, and he says you are sanctified2. He says forgiven3 and not that you should be looking for forgiveness. He says you are called.
It’s such an endless list – justified4 and even delivered5.
The issue is not so much about what God should do to you; rather it is about what God did. No wonder scripture says you have received the spirit of God so that you should know what God has freely given you already6.
The word of God is not revealing what God is about to do. Neither is it a blank cheque to fill in what God should do. It is an accomplished deed revealing all that God has done for you. Ephesians 2:10 aptly describes you as God’s masterpiece. A master piece does not need any touch again by the maker. It is complete already.
Let’s face the facts and accept who God says we are. You may not feel like it. People around you might not suggest it. You may even have been acting contrary to it all the while. But this does not deny the fact that God has made you whole. For in Christ all the fullness of the God head dwells in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ – Col 2:10
Ever seen anyone deny the humanity of a baby because it fails to speak?
If only you had a glimpse of the man within. You would wonder why you had been fooled all the while.
Again, remember these are not issues you neither pray into reality nor carry out any form of work for it to manifest. The same way you would not tell a 3 year old baby born without any defect whatsoever to pray to walk.
This is simply what we should affirm or rather acknowledge. We should allow it rule our mentality and take over our very walk. There is something about you. Time is not called to tell it. It is who you are and have been made in Christ Jesus.
One alarming thing I noticed in the letter of James was in the description of the mirror – like quality of God’s word. God’s word is not out to show who you should be; rather it tells you who you are. That is who you are now. Learn to agree with the word. Renewing my mind in accordance with this truth and the true image of who I have been made makes me align my walk accordingly.
1 Eph 1:3 2 1st Cor. 6:11 3 Eph 1:7, Col 1:14 4 Rom 8:30 5 Col 1:13
– bolaji akanni
It is a wise decision to want to know where you stand, whether you are on the path of success or not, but it is possible to do this in an unwise way. There are two common ways believers score themselves that always results to detrimental consequences.
Some believers feel they are experiencing success in life when they compare themselves with others they believe are in the same social stratification, age group or work class with them and it is as though they have an upper hand. That is why some pastors feel rosy when their church congregation is more than the one close to them and some men feel groovy when they buy luxuries their friends can’t afford.
Some other times, when believers realize that others they classify as their mate are getting results they are yet to get, they start feeling envious. That is why some ladies change the tone of their prayers when most of their friends are getting married and some men start having sleepless nights when their friends got a higher paying job, built a magnificent edifice or bought a new car.
Perhaps right now you have a keyboard and a mouse in front of you. Can you try to use the mouse to type the word “SUCCESS”? If you succeed in doing that, try using the keyboard to click on the word you typed. Yeah! Such things don’t make sense when we are dealing with objects, but don’t you wonder why they make a lot of sense with believers? How will it sound if the mouse suddenly begins to lament that ‘I cannot type’. No wonder II Corinthians 10:12 says “…When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise”.
In the story of the prodigal son, the Bible says in Luke 15:17 (NIV) that “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘how many of my father’s hired men have food to spare’. The prodigal son scored himself not with his fathers hired men but with the standard in his father’s house. The right way to know whether you are still on the path of success is to score yourself with the standard in God’s word and in view of His plan for your life, which is unique to you alone.
– tope aladenusi