Category: Tracks
Track Articles
Righting the wrongs.
When you admit you’ve done something wrong and that you’re truly sorry for doing it, you want to make it right. If you had run over your neighbor’s bicycle, you’d buy him a new one. If you had never returned a wrench that you’d borrowed years before, you’d take it back to the owner. If you said something untrue about someone, you’d contact those you talked to and straighten it out. These actions are called restitution.
To become a Christian is to admit to God that one is sorry for his sins. God in turn forgives him. So is that the end of the matter? If the new Christian had never in any way harmed any other person or organization, then yes, the slate would be completely clear. But if that isn’t the case, then God expects him to straighten out the past wherever possible.
Now some will take issue with the subject of restitution and say God’s forgiveness is so far-reaching that He does not expect a person to take care of the past. The only problem is that the Bible says no such thing, nor does it even imply that this is the case. Furthermore, it just doesn’t make sense!
Picture a new Christian, aglow with a fresh, born-again experience. As he excitedly tells his friends what the Lord has done for him, he thinks of his childhood friend, John. He hasn’t seen John since high school. So he calls him and tells of his new life in Christ. John is moved by the change in his old friend’s life, but after listening for a while, he finally asks, “Hey, what about all those tools you stole from your neighbor? And that farmer’s gas tank you shot full of holes. Are you going to make those things right?” The new Christian then says, “Oh, John, Jesus forgave me for everything I did wrong, so I don’t have to make the past right. Isn’t that wonderful? Now, don’t you want to become a Christian also?”
Preposterous? Of course it is! And yet some are misled into thinking that God sanctions their defrauding others. Not so! Paul the Apostle said, “And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men” (Acts 24:16). Not just toward God, but toward his fellowman also.
If you are not a Christian, you may be saying, “Well, that makes sense. I wouldn’t think much of someone who said that God had made him an honest man but that he wasn’t going to make the past right. But what about me? I owe people thousands of dollars for things I’ve done. Does that mean I can’t get saved until I pay it all back?”
No, it doesn’t. As long as you are honestly willing to make restitution as soon as you are able, God will save you the moment you ask Him to. If a person has many restitutions to make, it may take him years to pay them all back. But God will certainly not withhold salvation from him until he can.
If you don’t remember all that you need to take care of, God will gently remind you. And more than that, He will go before you when you make things right. Some of the most convincing testimonies are given by new converts who are making restitution. Once you’ve straightened out the past, you will rejoice in the peace that comes with a “conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.”
Are you a Christian? It is vitally important to know. Church membership is honorable, and doing good deeds is worthy of praise. But the soul-searching question still remains: Are you really a born-again Christian? Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).
A born-again Christian is one who yields himself completely to Christ. This is necessary to inherit eternal life. When Jesus told Nicodemus that he needed to be born again, Nicodemus did not understand. Then Jesus used the illustration of the wind. Even though we don’t fully comprehend how it blows or why, we know it blows, and we can see its effect. So it is when a person is born again. We cannot understand how it happens, but we see and feel the results.
Many people who claim to be Christians are ignorant of this new birth, while others try to receive it in their own way. It cannot be obtained by good works, joining a religious organization, or merely turning over a new leaf. It takes a repentant heart, a godly sorrow for the sins one has committed, and a turning away from all sin. Then by faith one must reach out to God for mercy and forgiveness, and claim His promise of pardon. One can know personally what it means to be born again. A prayer such as the publican prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner,” will bring the Lord’s forgiveness. The Bible says the publican was justified (Luke 18:13-14).
Some may feel they have committed only little sins and do not need to be justified. Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God in the Garden, the entire human family became sinners by birth and need to repent. However, God provided the plan so that all can be saved. Jesus, God’s Son, died in our place that we might have forgiveness for our sins through His Blood (Colossians 1:14).
Because of Christ’s death, every person has the opportunity to be pardoned. No one is held under the bondage of sin and condemnation without a chance of becoming a child of God. No one is serving Satan because he does not have the power of choice. Jesus shed His Blood that all might be redeemed.
The gap between the sinner and the Savior must be spanned by faith in God. Faith believes what God says. In Hebrews 11:6 we read, “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Faith reaches out so a person can experience saving grace through the redeeming power of Christ.
The first step toward forgiveness is realizing the need for it. The Bible says that all have sinned. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8-9). Many feel they are too weak to overcome sin. In their own power they are, but when one is born again, his life is changed. God gives him the power to have victory over sin. Then he can say like Paul the Apostle, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).
When you repent and ask God to forgive you, His Spirit will witness with your spirit that you are a child of God (Romans 8:16). You will know that you have been pardoned. The peace, joy, and love of God will fill your heart, and you will feel a sacred fellowship with Him. As you keep living in the will of God, your life will be a testimony that you are a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Many were defeated, the picture of despair, when they came to God. Some were hopelessly bound by crime, immorality, drugs, or alcohol. But God delivered them instantly. Even their countenance was changed when they repented with an honest heart. Others were so self-righteous, proud, moral, and kind that they didn’t see their need for salvation. Yet when these self-righteous ones saw their need and repented, God made just as great a change in their lives.
While most people are saved in church, you can be saved anywhere. People have been saved in their homes, alone in the woods, or walking among the crowd. Others have knelt in a prison cell. God requires only an honest heart. “Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).
Do not think you have strayed too far in sin to receive this salvation. Whatever your condition, Jesus is able and eager to save you. He says, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). In place of the word “whosoever” you can write your own name.
If you desire to be saved, God will never turn you away. Jesus said, “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). All you need to do is meet the conditions God has laid down in His Word. Pray with an honest heart, “Lord, I am a sinner and I need forgiveness. Have mercy upon me and I will serve You the rest of my life.” A sincere prayer like that will receive an answer. When you receive that born-again experience your name will be written in Heaven, and you will have the hope of eternal life.
Will you call upon God now? “To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart”
(Psalm 95:7-8). Invite Him into your heart and find pardon.
The Atoning Blood
What it Means to You
The penalty for sin demanded payment. What we could not do for ourselves, Christ did for us!
The words of the old hymn tell us, “There is power in the Blood.” As we read through the Bible, we find that it magnifies the atonement of Jesus Christ above all other themes. We learn that the Blood of Jesus Christ was the price for our redemption. Yet do we fully understand the teachings of the Bible about the Blood? What is its importance to one who is seeking God?
The Bible does not describe the chemical composition of blood in scientific terms. However, it does tell us something that is basic to our understanding of this fluid that circulates through our arteries and veins. In Leviticus 17:11 we read, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
When God made man, He formed a body from the dust of the ground, and then breathed into it the breath of life. But when Adam sinned, death entered into the human family. The human body became subject to decay and death.
At that early stage in the history of mankind, the first representation of Jesus, the Perfect Sacrifice, took place. The blood of animals was shed when God slew animals to clothe Adam and Eve after they had disobeyed Him. The word atonement means “a covering.” The only way their sin could be covered was by the shedding of blood.
Old Testament Evidence of Atonement
Throughout the Old Testament, we find additional evidences of the requirement of blood as the only means of atonement. Abel’s blood offering was accepted by God, while Cain’s offering of the fruit of the ground was rejected. Noah offered sacrifices when he came out of the ark after the Flood. Abraham was known for the many sacrifices he made unto the Lord.
When the Israelites were released from Egyptian bondage, the blood of a lamb without blemish was applied to the side posts and lintels of the doors of their houses. This exempted them from death when the eldest in every Egyptian home was slain. God had said, “When I see the blood, I will pass over you” (Exodus 12:13). If the Israelites had ignored the command to apply the blood, ventured out from under the blood that night, or substituted something for the blood on the side posts and lintels of their houses, the firstborn of each family would have perished.
Many aspects of the Levitical law and Tabernacle worship also looked ahead to the time when Jesus, as the Lamb of God, would shed His Blood to redeem mankind. Daily sacrifices reminded the people of the effectiveness of the blood. The scapegoat taken into the wilderness on the annual Day of Atonement represented Christ, who took the condemnation and curse of sin upon Himself. When the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies, he would have been stricken dead had he not first offered blood.
Concerning Christ’s Sacrifice
However, it is not enough to recognize the historic significance of the Blood. One day nearly two thousand years ago, all the types and shadows recorded in the Old Testament found their culmination at Calvary. There the Perfect Sacrifice was made, and redemption was purchased through “the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19).
Christ was able to atone for the sins of mankind because His Blood alone was sinless. His conception in the womb of Mary was supernatural. A study of the process of conception reveals that the female ovum itself has no blood, nor does the male sperm. When these come together, conception occurs and new life begins. At that moment the blood type is determined. The Bible explicitly states that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and caused Jesus’ conception. God planted the life of His already existent Son into the womb of a virgin, and thus the Blood of the Son of God was a separate and precious type, completely pure of any Adamic stain of sin.
The Bible clearly states that all have sinned, and are in need of redemption. “And without shedding of blood is no remission” (Hebrews 9:22). It was necessary for Christ to die in our stead in order to satisfy divine justice and to pardon the sinner. His Blood was shed for every man, that “whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Power in the Blood
The power of the atoning Blood is not limited to redemption. We read, “Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate” (Hebrews 13:12). Sanctification is a second work of grace by which the inbred nature of sin is removed from our lives, making us pure and holy within.
The Blood of Jesus avails for our healing. We read in Isaiah 53:5 that “with his stripes we are healed.” This thought is repeated by Peter when he said of Christ, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
The Blood is of primary importance in intercessory prayer. When those who are obeying every known command of God have need of protection, deliverance, or strength, they have access to God through the Blood of Jesus. “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,…Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (Hebrews 10:19,22). Jesus is our High Priest today, making intercession before the Father for us with His Blood.
Any attempt to place a value on the Blood of Christ would be impossible. It is priceless! Truly there is wonder-working power in the Blood.
“Which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” Acts 1: 11
Announcement is a noun which is an act of announcing or being announced. It can be a public notification or declaration or a piece of formal stationery designed for a social or business announcement.
An announcement may be heard on the news on radio or from social or business, gatherings at home, school or church. It can also be read from the papers, seen on television or on the internet; just as you are reading this article now.
Imagine a scenario where you are in your home with your family and friends sitting comfortably on the chairs you have just bought for your living room. There you are waiting to eat the special dinner being prepared by your mum and watching an excellent action/thriller movie. Suddenly the programme changes and a ‘Breaking News’ comes up with the following announcement: ‘there is a storm coming within the next 7 hours and it will pass through your city in the middle of your house evacuation required’. The announcement is telling you to leave all and escape for your life…
WHAT WOULD YOU DO? Would you run immediately, or first eat the special dinner your mother has prepared with so much love or would you like to finish your movie with your friends or decide to continue to enjoy your new set of chairs? The questions are too many to answer within the short time you have got to save your life!
When we are anchored on the things of this world, it just makes it difficult for us to hear that sweet and gentle voice calling us at the right time to be saved. There is something inside of us, a special place in our being that can only be completely satisfied by the presence of God. There are too many people trying to fill this vacuum with drugs and other things but to no avail. Only Jesus can fill that emptiness and He is coming very soon.
The announcement for a concert coming up from a great artist always begins earlier than that of a little artist. When a king from another land is visiting, the information abounds everywhere. There is that greatest Announcement of all, Jesus Christ the Son of God is coming soon, Yes, He is coming back and we are in the preparation period. It will be the greatest event ever because, for some, it is times of starting eternal life while it will be a time of eternal destruction for the others.
What you should do now is to leave everything you are doing and follow the instructions in the Bible to save your life. You may be comfortable with the life you have now, but is it worth losing your soul forever without making adequate preparation for eternity in heaven?
Would you like to enjoy that Movie, and lose your life?
Would you like to enjoy your mother’s dinner and lose your life?
Would you go contrary to the desires of Jesus Christ in other to please your friends?
The signs are everywhere for the second coming of Jesus Christ. It is not worth taking this announcement for granted because you will be in danger of eternal damnation if you ignore, scorn or have a nonchalant attitude.
May the Good Lord Save your soul and keep it, purifying you and edify you according to His grace. May these words be a blessing for you wherever you go, and remember that this is the greatest announcement of all the announcements you have ever seen, read or heard:
Jesus Christ is coming soon, to take away the ones who have lived in the real Word of God. Remember that believing on the Lord and living in the Word of God day by day are the ingredients needed to make heaven.
I will tell you this in Spanish:
‘No todo el que me dice: Señor, Señor, entrara en el reino de los cielos, sino el que hace la voluntad de mi Padre que esta en los cielos.” Matheww 7: 21
‘Praise ye the Lord’ Psalm 113:1
In Psalm 113:1-3, Christians are admonished to praise the Lord forevermore. It is our duty as well as our privilege. You are advised to set aside all your conditions, situations, and requests in order to focus on God the Giver and praise Him for who He is. Praise is different from thanksgiving which is an expression of gratitude for the blessings that we have received from God. May we not be replaced with stones for not performing our duty of praising God.
When we praise God, we acknowledge His glories and the excellence of His personality. We focus on His attributes, His greatness, His goodness, His mighty acts and His sovereignty because praise belongs to God alone and not man. There is nothing in man to be praised. In order to avert the fall of God’s judgment, we should not accept the praises of men. “I am the Lord that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another,” (Isaiah 42: 8). God will never share His glory with any man. The Bible recorded that “upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration [spoke]… and the people gave a shout, saying it is the voice of a god and not of a man.” Acts 12: 21. Herod proudly accepted the praise and he was immediately smitten for thousands and thousands of worms to eat him up. Remember, praise belongs to God alone and not man.
God says in Isaiah 43: 21: “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise” It is His will, therefore, that we praise Him. We are created to praise, acknowledge and appreciate God for His glory, honour, greatness and majesty. May God forgive us our sins of lack of praise.
How about self-praise? You are like a beast if you have pride in your heart and fail to acknowledge God. If you think that you are somebody, you have something, or you know everything, you have actually died spiritually. But thank God that we can repent and avoid the punishment from God for not acknowledging Him.
The power of praise worked in my life recently. I fell ill with hernia pain when I travelled to Scotland with my wife and brother Baltzell, the Director of Works from Portland Oregon. I could not continue with the sightseeing so I just sat down somewhere praying and beseeching God to heal me. God started dealing with me in such a way that I just had to acknowledge His greatness and His praise filled my mouth so much that the hernia pain departed. If it worked for me, it will work for you if you put everything aside and focus on who God is.
Praise Jesus using His names like, the Most High, the Great Physician, the Commander, the Captain, the Everlasting, the Almighty, the Great I AM, Jehovah, the Living God, the Holy One, the Only Potentate, the King of Kings, the Father of Light, His Excellency, His Highness, the Good Shepherd, the Righteous Judge, the Preserver, El- Shaddai, All-Sufficient, the Creator, the Defender, the Self- Existent, the Alpha and Omega, Love personified. Praise Him for His natural attributes like: Incomparable, Invisible, Inscrutinable, Unchangeable, Unequal, Unsearchable, The Infinite God, the Omnipotent God, the Omnipresent God, the Omniscient God, the Only Wise God; and also for His moral attributes; His Holiness, His Impartiality, His Kindness, His Justice, His Love and Grace, His Mercy, His Truth, His Goodness, His Righteousness and Perfection. In fact, praise Jesus for everything.
I stopped by a tree the other day as I heard little birds chirping and jumping from one branch to the other; without a care in the world. A song just came into my mind, “He watches over the sparrows, and I know He watches me.”
Wow! Immediately, I remembered a verse in the Bible: “Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26).
Can you imagine how we human beings worry and fret; even though we claim to have a heavenly Father who cares for His own? Moreover, we know that worries cannot change our circumstances. May we learn from the birds not to worry.
To avoid worry, let us remember today these wonderful promises of care from God: ‘Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear what man shall do unto me’ (Hebrews 13:5-6). So “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7.
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11
The All-knowing, All-powerful God has the perfect plan for our lives. That plan is better than any deal the devil, cultists, or any man can offer us in this world (John10:10). In it, we are completely and comprehensively insured. It is greater than the greatest insurance cover in the world. It is a master plan that covers every aspect of our existence from day one in our mothers’ wombs to the day we take our last bow from the world stage. (Jeremiah 1:4, 5)
Our individual role in life is unique and specially designed by God. There is an empty vacuum in history for each one of us to fill. The scripts to act out before this global audience are differently composed by God. It would therefore be disastrous, catastrophic, ruinous and devastating for anyone to ignore their God-given role and try to play out that of another person!
Unfortunately, many of us do not understand God’s plans for our lives. Some people spend their entire lives trying to live like the Joneses. What a waste? Many never discovered God’s design for their lives until the 11th hour when they are in the twilight of their lives. How painful?
The adage says: ‘Better late than never!’ Moses was 80 years of age when he discovered God’s perfect plan for his life. Before then, he had spent the first 40 years as a prince in Egypt, and the next 40 as a pauper in Midian. He had made mistakes and had derailed from the path of destiny. Nevertheless, he got re-connected to his destiny. In my own case, I had spent a significant chunk of my life, doing stuff that God had not called me to do, and living a lifestyle that heaven did not design for me. What about you?
Are we at the centre of God’s will for our lives? As we evaluate ourselves in the light of scripture and God’s will, can we honestly say that we are doing exactly what God created us for, and living exactly as we ought to be living at this point in time?
If we are not living in line with the Divine mandate for our lives, or we are consciously or unconsciously choosing to do things our own way, we are directly or indirectly passing some strong messages to God: that we know better than Him; that we really do not care about His purpose and plan for us and that we are too busy to care about why He created us in the first place.
We need to work out our own salvation as ignorance is no excuse. Our destiny is too important to be left to chance. God will hold us accountable for how we lived our lives (Matthew 25:14-30). It is our solemn responsibility to discover our place in God’s Great Agenda and then go all out to fulfil it. May God help us.
“As the saying goes; there are two important days in one’s life: the day you were born, and the day you find out why you were born.” Soren Kierkegaard
‘Hear My Voice, and …follow Me’ John 10.27
In the office where I work, there are a number of cupboards and fire safes that are locked overnight for security, and each morning, the first one is to open them up. In my first week in the job, the occasion arose for me to open the cupboards. I soon discovered that the fire safes were particularly difficult to open. I was about to give up when a colleague told me the trick. ‘Turn the key slowly and listen for the click’. I listened to the advice, and sure enough, after a few turns I heard a slight ‘click’, and ‘hey presto!’ the door opened.
It made me think about how we Christians feel inclined to give up on certain prayer requests because the doors are not opened. We need to ‘turn slowly’ – spend more time in prayer, and not just ask, but spend time to actually listen to the Lord for a ‘click’.
We find it easy to talk on and on at the Lord, but in fact, prayer is two-way communication. The Lord has many things to say to us too. The ‘click’ on that fire safe door is ever so slight – you can only hear it when you are close to it and there is not much noise around. It is important that we find a quiet time and place to hear from the Lord. Oh, what a challenge in these days of mega-busy schedules! ‘ And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone’ Matthew 14:23. Jesus managed it – so should we!
The first time I opened the fire safe I had to turn a few times before the ‘click’. Sometimes we may not receive a definite answer right away, but we must persevere like the widow with the unjust judge (Luke 18:1-8), listening and believing that the Lord will answer. ‘Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.’ Matthew 7:7-8.
Now when I am first into the office and I go to open the fire safe, I have no trouble with it. It has almost become second nature because I have gotten used to listening out for the click. The more time we spend with the Lord, the more we will be familiar with His voice. ‘My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me ‘ John 10:27
Don’t give up – listen for the ‘click’!
One day my mum told me to iron a skirt. The skirt was very creased, I knew that it was going to be hard to iron, but I still attempted to do it without advice. After several attempts to iron the skirt, the creases were still there and no change was visible. I started to get frustrated and decided to iron the skirt on the floor, as the surface was flat and I thought that it would make the job easier.
The job became easier but the skirt collected the dirt from the floor. My mum was not pleased with me and she told me to go and wash the dirt off the skirt. The following day I was asked to iron the skirt again. This time I cared to ask for advice and I was told that if I made the skirt a bit damp, it would make the ironing much easier. I obeyed this instruction and the skirt was smoothly ironed in less than 10 minutes.
The same way today we are given instructions by God, but instead of asking Him how we should carry out these instructions, we tend to do them ourselves and forget about God. When everything does not go to plan we get frustrated and look for an easy way out. This is not the will of God and he is not happy with us and may sometimes scold us. But if God gives us something to do and we don’t know how to go about it, if we ask Him He will direct us on how to do it.
TRUST IN THE LORD WITH ALL THINE HEART; AND LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING. IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS. (PROVERB 3:5, 6)
‘As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God,’ Romans 8:14.
‘All things bright and beautiful
All creatures great and small
All things wise and wonderful
The Lord God made them all.’
God made us different and we should celebrate our differences and allow God to sanctify our personality to be used for His glory.
Extrovert=Spiritovert=Introvert
Psychologists describe two main personality types as extroverts and introverts depending generally on their abilities to process and respond to different information.
Extroverts are directed to the objective world while introverts are directed towards the subjective world. Extroverts are talkative, open minded and easily adapted to new friends, groups and environment. Introverts, on the other hand, are interested in their own thoughts and feelings. They keep their own territories, enjoy being alone, appear reserved, quiet and thoughtful. They have difficulty making friends and they are like icebergs; what you see on the surface is only a small per cent of their entire selves, you always have to look for the substance underneath. Introverts do not easily like to change decisions but are good listeners and methodical, whereas extroverts are vibrant, warm, emphatic, people-persons, curious and they are almost predictable.
All personality types are good, but they must be given over to the spirit to be used to the glory of God. We make decisions based on our ideas, thoughts and personality types. These decisions must be spirit driven in other to properly qualify us as sons and daughters of God.
I am led to use the term ‘spiritovert’ if we have yielded our personality type, life, actions, deeds, thoughts and all to be controlled and driven by the spirit of God.
We need to become ‘spiritoverts’ in order to please our Father in Heaven. We start with the radical change of the born again experience. The Spirit of God transforms our spirits through Jesus Christ, ‘for without me (Jesus) ye can do nothing.’ John 15: 5
Jesus is the fullness of God in the body. So to be led of the Spirit, we will first need to empty ourselves through repentance, relying on the Blood of Jesus to wash us clean. Then He who is the perfect God and perfect Man will fill us with His own Spirit leading and divine nature. Only then can we be spiritoverts and be fulfilled.
We Christians are sometimes affected by our personality types and these hinder our spiritual growth. We need to continually rely on the Holy Spirit for directions and instructions from the word of God as we pray and exercise our faith in God. May God help you and me to be always led by His Spirit.
“And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. And he said: Bring me a new cruse and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the LORD, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake”. II Kings 2: 19 – 22
God speaks and things are happening to the tune of the signs of times. In my house lately, we were surrounded by flies akin to those plagues in Egypt and were very distressed. We searched the whole house and the surroundings for the source of these flying insects but to no avail. This went on for a couple of months spending a lot of money on fly sprays and cleaning the house thoroughly looking in all the wrong places.
One blessed day, after a lot of consecration and prayers, the Holy Spirit led me against all oppositions to the source of the problem: a dead squirrel rotting away in the loft. Oh! What a pleasant good-bye as the garbage men took that rubbish away that week.
We oftentimes go around our problems and issues neglecting the source. In II Kings 2:19-22, Elisha went to the source to heal the waters of Jericho. He could have achieved nothing if he had gone to the delta or the downstream of the river. In Joshua chapter 7, Joshua removed the source of shame and defeat in Israel when Achan and his household were exposed and eliminated for their sins of disobedience and covetousness. In Luke 8:26-33, Jesus dealt with the Gadarene demoniac by casting out the legion of evil spirits tormenting him. It is worthy to note that Jesus did not bind and cast out the man but the powers that held him in bondage.
We are hereby admonished to take time to identify our problems and difficulties and once they are identified, to pray to God to deal with them. We are instructed never to avoid or pretend to be unaware of the origin of our problems. If you are confident about the real source, take the giant step by pleading the blood of Jesus that was shed on Calvary for your deliverance.
The Bible says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers. Our focus, therefore, should be to report the case to Jesus who is above these powers instead of fighting human beings that might have been helplessly possessed by these evil spirits. Prayer will allow us to know if the source is from God like in Job’s case. In such situations God will, if you allow him, deal with the problem in His own way, time and manner but be aware that not all sources of events that happen to us are from God.
Our Christian journey becomes easier if we are connected to Jesus – the source of life. This connection starts with the confession leading to forgiveness of our sins and promising never to return to them again. If after salvation, we have issues, we search for the source using the Bible as our searchlight. If we are the source, we can humbly ask for God’s mercy but if God has permitted anything to come our way as He has the right to draw our attention as He wills, we can genuinely and faithfully ask for His help with the assurance that He is in control and our burdens will definitely become lighter.
For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7′
Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youth’s rite of Passage? His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sunshine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.
He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own. The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm. The wind blew the grass and earth and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!
Finally, after a horrific night, the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold. It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him. He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm. We, too, are never alone. Even when we don’t know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us. When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him. For we walk by faith, not by sight!
‘Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.’ Matthew 6:33
This verse says ‘seek first and all these things shall be added’, but it is rather strange that some people, if not all want ‘all these things’ to be added first before they seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness. This certainly will not work because it is the wrong formula.
We in the United Kingdom are familiar with the concept of ‘buy one, get one free’ used in our supermarkets as a result of market competition. Imagine someone going into a supermarket, wanting to get a free item advertised without actually buying the first one. You would conclude that that individual has a problem! It would be a fruitless effort for that individual to try to get the free item without purchasing the first one. So it is with everyone who comes to God and instead of seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, seeks all ‘these things’ such as a job, money, a spouse, children, education, protection, healing, success – the list goes on.
How do we start to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness? It begins by seeking reconciliation with God through repentance unto salvation. When you come to God, you must first acknowledge that you are a sinner, confess your sins, repent of them, and promise God that by His grace you will never go into them again. You pray until you have the assurance in your soul that you have been forgiven of your sins and you confess with your mouth that you have been saved. This salvation is that which will be confirmed by the Spirit of God according to Romans 8:16 ‘The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God’.
When this experience happens and the Spirit has confirmed your salvation, ‘ALL THESE THINGS SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU’. That would be using the right formula, which will certainly work according to the Lord’s will. It would be like going to the supermarket and buying an item labelled ‘Buy one get one free’ and then getting the second free.
We must seek God first and His righteousness before all these things can be added.
‘And they did not receive Him’ Luke 9:53
Nobody likes to be scorned or shunned when trying to reconcile with an enemy, but Jesus faced this when He visited the people of Samaria. Jesus had enough reasons to avoid passing Samaria because of the long tradition of the Jews despising the Samaritans and the Samaritans hating them in return. They did every possible thing to hinder one another from entering each other’s territory.
The 15 miles journey via Samaria was the shortest route to Jerusalem. Jesus, crossing prejudicial and racial boundaries, passed through Samaria to offer the Samaritans the chance to hear the Good News and receive their salvation. Heaven’s judgment of consuming fire was hanging over them, but the Lord’s unfailing mercy had been prevailing for them. Mercy refused judgment. “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning:” (Lamentation 3:22, 23). Nevertheless, they missed their chance because they did not receive Him.
A cold response to divine goodness has become a natural reaction of fallen mankind. It was recorded that Jesus came to His own people (the Jews) who had longed for a Deliverer, but they received Him not. Here the old saying, ‘familiarity breeds contempt,’ rang true. He, whom angels feared to offend, was despised by men; even His own kinsmen. However, those who received Him by merely believing in His Name received the blessings and the right to be God’s adopted children (John 1:11-13). People all over the world may consider themselves to be God’s children. They may even celebrate that we all are children of God. By creation we are, but by choice, however, we all are sinners and lead sinful lives until we genuinely ask for help from Heaven. We can choose to be God’s children through Jesus Christ alone (Galatians 3:23).
Jesus always looks for the shortest route into our hearts. But many times we show a cold response and give Him no choice but to take a longer route. Thus we delay our deliverance because we deter the Deliverer. Sometimes such delay may eventually lead to denial, death and damnation. These are the sad testimonies of those damned souls in Hell. Many have missed numerous chances of deliverance! In the same country where many rejected the Lord, a penitent woman received Jesus and persuaded others to do the same (John 4:29-30). Where people refuse Jesus, a host of others receive Him. The mission of God is not void nor without profit. If you reject Him others will receive Him. “For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect? God forbid: yea, let God be true” (Romans 3:3, 4). “If we believe not, yet he (Jesus) abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2: 13).
We never know when Jesus will pass our way for the very last time. Take a brief moment to look and listen; He passes your way daily. Count the times you have shown cold response to His Spirit and messages. How many times have you turned Jesus away, even in your difficult circumstances, when He offers to help? Let us take every opportunity to receive Him into our hearts, respond positively to Him when He calls, prove we love Him by the way we live, and serve Him with fear and trembling, and maintain our relationship with jealous care (Psalms 2: 11, 12).
We need Him more than ever before especially with the evil happenings of these last days. May we believe and give Him a warm reception in our hearts! Have you a place for Jesus in your life today?
“I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6).