The Attachment that comes with a Blessing!

Everyone prays for a blessing or anticipates to be blessed in one way or another. From as little as having a desire to be blessed with basic amenities of life such as food, shelter, and clothing to the desire for abundance and wealth capable of feeding nations... Even the prayer to blessed with child at an old or young age and the desire for a great job or a breakthrough on your job or a prayer for the right spouse, etc. All these and more can pass as a blessing that ranks high on the list of our prayers for God’s blessings.

 God is faithful and knows how to give good gifts based on his sovereignty as James 1v17 says 

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”(NKJV)

“Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens.”(NLT)

As we look up to Him for a blessing, He is able to freely give us what we desire according to His will. 

The point of this is not to dispute the ability or record of God to Bless as the scriptures says 

“..for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”(Matthew 5:45). 

This on the other hand is to prompt you to be aware that for every blessing you have recieved or desire from him comes with a responsibility to embrace it and manage it to the glory and praise of Him.

A blessing of money comes with the responsibility to use it judiciously. The blessing of a car seeks the responsibility to ensure it works effectively and efficiently to fulfil it’s purpose. The blessing of a child calls for the responsibility to raise that child up according to God’s purpose to be a blessing to his/her world. The blessing of that gift/talent you have should also showcase a responsibility to nurture and use it to serve your world. The blessing of a right spouse calls for the responsibility of both parties to work at being right for one another according to God’s purpose.

As you have received or crave and pray for a blessing from the Lord, also put into consideration the responsibility that this blessing confers on you as well.  A responsibility to selflessly embrace it and be a custodian of the same while maximising it to the glory of His purpose. This is a reward that requires your diligence and submission to the will of the giver of the blessings.

As a believer in Christ, you have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3). That is a blessing on a realm superior to the physical which the world focuses on. A blessing bestowed on you because you believed in Christ Jesus, and He lavished the Holy Spirit on you without measure. He lit you up as a light of the world and made you His child. To enjoy this state of blessedness, you must embrace it as truth and commit to being responsibly committed to the life of the Spirit. You enjoy the blessedness of being a light of the world when you recognise you have been lit by God to shine His light to the world. You enjoy being a child when you step up and take that role as a child of the living God according to His will.

Count your blessings, be responsible for them!

God be praised forever more!

NEVER

Never is a word that expresses a strong position about something implying a discontinuity. It is a word that a believer in Christ Jesus must be careful to use when when making certain decisions that are permissible in the scheme of God’s plan and agenda.

When you recognise that God is the owner of your life and you are willing to allow Him to have the lead role, then NEVER is a word you use cautiously. There are some obvious decisions you should grow into as a maturing believer. With such growth comes an enriched understanding and a realization of responsibility in Christ. For example, you shouldn’t make a decision like “I can NEVER forgive that person”. This is clearly an anti-Christian position, though many Christians are caught in that web. As you mature in Christ, you realise the severity of such a statement. 

A higher level of decision not to be made may be in statements like “I can NEVER marry someone like that” or “I can NEVER leave that job” or “I can NEVER have a child anymore”.

While these examples are. relatable in our contemporary life, they were also case points that people in bible times might have found themselves in. 

Joseph would have been close to never wanting to forgive His brothers; Prophet Hosea would have likely said he can never marry a harlot; Joseph the earthly father of Jesus would have told Mary to forget the wedding because He can NEVER get married to a woman who is pregnant. Elizabeth was societally and medically confirmed and agreed that she could NEVER have a child. The list could go on of people whose life portray the reality of how the word NEVER should not be expressed outside of God’s consultation either beginning from His word or unto receiving direction from Him in your daily walk with Him.

Science may have said you can Never be healed, but the God of all creation can heal you. You may have sternly decided never to go with the plans, but God can reroute your path to arrive at the same decision as the only option. 

Be careful to take the NEVER position as a believer without consulting the owner of your life. 

I’ve learnt and could say I’m still learning not to use it affirmatively. This is because I know the one who owns me can call with an assignment that will overrule any decisions I have made irrespective of whether it is major or minor. Many things I’ve said I will never to, I have seen the Lord lead me to do them while He stood by me and used me through the decision. 

We must recognise that He is sovereign over all things and can alter any decision, situation, report, agenda, appointment, etc, to establish His rule. 

Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.(James 4:10)

God be praised forever more!

No Turning Back..

 

There’s a song trending with the lines “I have decided to follow Jesus” by Gaise-baba and   Lawrence Oyor. It’s one that everyone is jumping on to do a cover or dance video. I’m suspecting you have added yours as well… LOL.

It’s a good one with danceable beats, convicting lyrics and chorus sung in a resounding way that can readily play in the head. This could imply something- regurgitation of the words that could also imply meditating on the words that should build convictions. 

This piece is to remind, charge and possibly caution in order to avoid a throwing to wind of the reality of that golden phrase - 

I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS.. NO TURNING BACK!

The original hymn with those lines was generated based on the last words of the Garo martyr Nokseng as his family first and then himself died. He was asked to denounce Jesus Christ publicly or have his family killed one after the other beginning with his child, then his wife before himself. The words were inspired by the Holy Spirit through the martyrdom. (https://renewaljournal.com/2017/11/29/the-true-story-behind-the-song-i-have-decided-to-follow-jesus/)

While we sing and dance with joy and energy this new viral song that is loud about living triumphantly a beautiful life of having abundance to spend for Jesus Christ, we must not fail to stay sober as we remember that the same phrase was expressed by a man watching his dear family killed before he himself joined them.

Imagine you were in the same situation as the martyred, would you have been able to sing or shout those lines loudly -

I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS.. NO TURNING BACK.. THE WORLD BEHIND, THE CROSS BEFORE ME… NO TURNING BACK..!

A few years ago, a damsel called Leah Sharibu was held back by the Bokoharan group and will not be released with the other girls released because she failed to renounce Christ Jesus. I saluted and admired her courage while challenging Christians on social media then if they would have had the conviction to do the same. Someone responded vehemently on to my post saying she(Leah) did not use wisdom and so on. I still dove my heart for Leah for what she did irrespective of the eventual outcome which is not public. Whether in life or death, her saviour who owns her keeps her safe.

For this current race, I do pray that the words being sung have a heart alignment built on conviction that will withstand trials when or if they do come. The concern is that it’s very easy to loose the import of a message when it’s all frenzy and without serious sober reflections on how much impact it could generate.

God be praised forevermore!

Fulfilling God’s Purpose..

 Fulfilling God’s purpose in life is not about the numbers or size of the task to be carried out. It is simply about being faithful to act on the assignment given dutifully.

Many people have it mixed up in their head that someone with a grand and very visible ministry is fulfilling God’s purpose better than someone who is known only to a sizeable congregation that he is sent to be in their lives at that period. As a result we undermine one and exhalt the other thereby losing out on what God has intended for you through the one undermined.

As in the book of Romans 12, every part have it’s usefulness and none can be discarded as irrelevant because of their hidden role.  The role of the eyes to the body is important just as the mouth, the ears or the brain. Do away with the hypothalamus in your body and your whole world is a mess. The question is what is that?!?!??! HYPOTHA…What??

The hypothalamus is that organ in human body that regulates the body temperature. It’s an hidden, relatively unknown organ that must play its part in the body for the common good of all.

Stop looking down on people because they have been assigned roles you think are not big and start appreciating everyone from the eyes of God’s sovereign grace who chooses who he wills, when He wills to carry out different jobs that will bring glory to His name. To one He puts in a village to lead locals to Christ and offer them spiritual guidance. To another he sets up to be the GO of a large ministry that is know around the world. Every position is important and demands faithfulness.

What has God called you to do? To what purpose has God saved you and allowed you be where you are at this time? Can you faithfully commit to it and stop prioritising the quest for a big stage. The most important thing is to be faithful to the one that enlisted you for the assignment. 

God be praised forever more!