JESUS SERIES!

BEAUTIFUL SAVIOUR

            Ever heard of Jesus Christ and wondered exactly who He is? Do you see him as a religious leader or an individual with good teachings? Is he a confabulation or a myth? Or do you even think he never existed?

            Let me show you who Jesus Christ is! Jesus Christ is God come in the flesh. Yes I know that you have heard people call him the son of God; Jesus is indeed the son of God. Yet, have you ever wondered how he became the son of God? You see, the son-ship of Jesus has a reference to time, as Hebrews 5:5 explains. It was in the time realm that Jesus became the son of God. We know that for man to be delivered from the fallen nature God had to experience man’s experience and man had to enter into God’s nature; this was fulfilled in Christ.

God had promised in Isaiah 7 verse 14 that He was going to come into the midst of man as a man. Now this is where things get exciting! God actually did come! Not as an angel and not in a camouflaged form. God actually did come as a man. Question is how did he come? Again the most informative book – the Bible shows us: (John 1:1 and 14; 2nd Timothy 3:16; John 3:13). Understand therefore that the person born of Mary was not just the son of God, rather it was the Jehovah El-shaddai – The Lord God Almighty – that was born in the flesh; the passage in Timothy makes this clearer! The person that was crucified on the cross, who we believe and proclaim and who is our love, is God Himself. So while Jesus was man in time, He was God in eternity.

So my dear, don’t be foolish anymore and see Jesus Christ as just the second person of the trinity; for you remember what He says: ‘I and the Father are one’, and again, ‘He that has seen me has seen the Father’ and again ‘I am in the Father and the Father is in me’. 

This is who Jesus is! Our God in time, through the ages and into the realm eternal!!! 

Glory!!!

#10 COOL Things About Christianity

One day, in Texas, I went out on evangelism with a girl. That was the first time I met her and that was my first campus/street evangelism (with a group) in Texas. For the sake of anonymity, I’ll call her Eva. While Eva and I went out preaching the gospel of Christ, we met a girl who said she was raised Catholic, but since she’s now grown, she was considering what religion to get plugged into. Eva and I (me – mostly quiet, being my first day) shared what we believed about God to her, and all was good until Eva ended with, “And you know, the cool thing about Christianity is that once you accept Christ, you can stop trusting God and you’ll still go to heaven.” I was dazed – too dazed to speak. Thinking back now, I wish the ground had opened up and swallowed the concrete chair I was sitting on [with me on it]. One thing I definitely knew was that Eva didn’t mean any harm. She just understood/interpreted the doctrine of eternal security wrongly. You can’t stop trusting God and call yourself a believer. How can you NOT believe and then say you’re a believer? Of what are you a believer in then, I ask? Anyway, I’m not here to criticize a dear sister in Christ. However, recently, as I thought about that event, I realized that there are actually really really cool things about Christianity. And so I’ve put together this really short list of some cool things about Christianity. You sure can add more J

#1	Jesus started and completed the work of salvation for us even before we knew we needed salvation – Romans 5:6-8; John 19:30
#2	When God looks down on the earth, He doesn’t see us with all our mistakes and errors and stuff, He sees Jesus’ righteousness and that satisfies Him – Romans 5:1; 2nd Corinthians 5: 21
#3	We have eternal security. No power of hell and no scheme of man can ever pluck us from His hand – John 10:28-29; Ephesians 1:13-14
#4	We don’t need to pray for blessings. We’re blessed already – Ephesians 1:3; 2nd Peter 1:3
#5	We are assured of the Father’s unconditional love. Nothing can ever separate us from His love – Romans 8:38-39
#6	We have all that Christ has. We’re joint heirs with Him – Romans 8:16-17; 2nd Peter 1:4
#7	We have so much authority, in fact Christ’s authority; that whatever we say is done – not just here on earth, but also in heaven – Matthew 28:18; Luke 10:19; Mark 11:23; Matthew 18:18-19
#8	We’re seated in Christ in heavenly places far above principalities, and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named. In the words of Kenneth E. Hagin, we’re looking down on the devil. Cooool!!! – Ephesians 1:21, Ephesians 2:6
#9	For those of you who like me fantasizes being a queen or king, not a thing to worry about; we already are royalty AND we’re going to be adorned with beautiful heavenly crowns when we get there. And, shh, I heard there’ll be stars on them. I’m excited already J – Revelation 1:6; 1st Corinthians 9:24-25; 1st Thessalonians 2:19; 2nd Timothy 4:8; 1st Peter 5:4; Revelation 2:10; James 1:12
#10	Christ is our life. It’s not ours anymore. And as He is, so are we in this world. Even more, when we see Him, we shall be like Him – Colossians 3:3-4; 1st John 4:17; 1st John 3:2

#11 (added by Jane Paulsen from comments below): We are confident in the fact that when we talk to God, He actually hears us. He isn’t dead. He is Life Himself

 

Hey! Let’s Have a Chat About that Place. Yeah, the One We Hate to Talk About…

Okay, I’d really like to beat about the bush – ’would really really like to. But I won’t. I can’t, even if I tried. So in the spirit of going straight to the point, let’s talk about “hell”.

Yeah, I know you don’t want to hear about it. I mean, who wants to talk about such a horrible place, right? But think about it for a second, wouldn’t you like to know a lil somethin’ somethin’ about a place that you’ve heard being talked about since you were little as the most dreadful place that exists in the universe, especially as it is said that some humans will end up there? I don’t know about you; your curious-i-o-meter may be on zero, mine is way high up there, and if you will just twitch yours a little bit, I’d like you to join me on this.

I believe the Bible in and out. I believe the Bible completely – the things I don’t understand and the ones I do. So when the Bible mentions in several passages that there is a dreadful place called hell, I believe there is. Do not let anyone deceive you into telling you that there is no hell. The same God who has called you blessed, holy, righteous, just, and has promised you all the benefits of the earth, the same God has said there is a place of damnation reserved for the devil, his cohorts, and all sinners. Dear friend, if you believe God for His promises, believe Him also for His words about hell. Now, that settled (hoping we’ve all agreed on this one thing), let’s talk about that place. What does the Bible have to say about hell?

Well, for one, it is a place of total separation from God (2^nd Thessalonians 1:9, Isaiah 59:2). This simply means that everything that GOD gives to us freely – light, love, joy, peace, satisfaction, etc. – are all absent in hell. It is a place of total darkness and fear. I cannot imagine living without light or the sun. I cannot imagine life without love. Honestly, I just paused to try and imagine it, and I can’t. I don’t even know how it’d feel like without love, and I don’t want to know; and praise be to God through Christ, I will never know. Amen. But see, hell is that place – a place with no light, no love, and no joy; nothing good. It is a place of torment (Matthew 8:12; Luke 16:23-24; Matthew 13:50). Of course, a place of total darkness, hatred, sorrow, sickness, etc bad, will definitely be a place of torment. Jesus said the worms there do not die – Mark 9:48. It is a place of unquenchable fire (Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 19:20). Someone once told me that “theologians” or “scientists” have said that it is not actually real fire, but it’s gonna be so cold to the extent that it feels like fire. Temi says, “I don’t care what your analyses are. All I know is that it’s a horrible place with “unquenchable fire” and I don’t wanna go there. Full stop!” The Bible also says that it is a place of complete destruction (Acts 3:23; Matthew 10:28; 2^nd Thessalonians 1:9; Matthew 7:13). It is a place of everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46) where God’s ultimate judgment will be meted out against sinners (John 3:36; Revelation 20:11-15).

Now, that said, I have heard people ask the question, “would a loving God send His creatures to hell?” If you’ve wondered so too, I have an answer for you: YES!!!!!!!!!! A loving, merciful, just, holy, and righteous GOD would permit those who want to go to hell to go to hell.

Why? Well, first of all, He is a holy and righteous Judge – 2^nd Timothy 4:8. If God doesn’t punish iniquity, He ceases to be holy and righteous; and God would never deny Himself – 2^nd Timothy 2:13. Being the holy God that He is, He has perfectly designed things in such a way that when this world is over, we can reign with Christ in a perfect “world” with no sin at all. Hell is the place where iniquity, wickedness, selfishness, and all who carry the sin nature in them are banished to.

GOD is indisputably a loving God. It isn’t His love that sends a person to hell. No, in His love and mercy, He gave His all – Jesus – so that we can escape the sorrow and condemnation of hell – John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9. He is not delighted in the death of the sinner – Ezekiel 33:11. Still even then, because of love, He will not choose our eternal home for us. He did not create robots. He created man in His image to have dominion and authority. God has given us everything we need; it is left for us to decide what to do with it – Joshua 24:15. And that’s why I said He’ll permit those who want to go to hell to go there. Man has the power to send himself to hell.

Finally, the Bible clearly states that it’s sinners who will go to hell. No believing child of God can go to hell. I mean, you have Christ living on the inside of you; you cannot possibly take Christ with you into hell. Isn’t that good news? Even better news is that salvation is available to everyone. The jailer in Acts 16:30-31 asked Paul and Silas, “What must I do to be saved?” Paul replied, “Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” In their very same words, I say to you who has not accepted Christ as Lord, “Don’t let it wait any longer; believe on the Lord Jesus, repent of your sins and you shall be saved.” – Luke 13:3; Acts 17:30; Acts 3:19; Revelation 2:5.

To repent means to “turn from” – 2^nd Chronicles 7:14; Joel 2:13; Zechariah 1:3. Now if you say you believe in Jesus, you have to also turn away from your old ways to show that you indeed believe in Jesus. I mean, if your sin, wickedness, selfishness, etc. were what was going to take you to hell, doesn’t it make sense that when you get saved, you have to stop doing those things? Don’t believe those who say that you can be saved and still continue to sin. Paul asked the Romans, “How can you be dead to sin, and still live in it?” Romans 6:1-2. It doesn’t make any sense. I know we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ, and we are holy, blessed, sanctified. I know that’s what the Bible says. That is justification. Justification does not make us righteous, it only pronounces us so. An illustration I like to use is this: My cousin, Seun, is the music director in my church. My pastor named him so. Seun is the music director; there’s no argument about that. That's his position. However, in the actual sense, Seun cannot be considered a music director until he begins to act in the capacity of a music director. To be a music director indeed, he has to do all that is expected of a music director. In the same light, our position is “righteousness”, but until we begin to produce righteous fruits, there is nothing to show that we are righteous. You get that? An apple tree that produces oranges will never be considered an apple tree. Even Jesus Himself said, “By their fruits, ye shall know them.” (Matthew 7:16, 20). Now, don’t get me wrong. You cannot live a holy life by yourself; it is God who does it all in us. However, we must yield ourselves to God (Romans 6:13), so that He can work in and through us for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). And that also depends on us.

For you who are already in the faith, take seriously the counsel of our dear Apostle Peter – giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and agape (love). For if you do these things, you will not be barren or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you will never fall – 2^nd Peter 1:5-10.

 ⁷He that overcometh shall inherit all things;
and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.

⁸But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable,
and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth
with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Revelation 21:7-8

Factory Rejects

When we were much younger, my family lived in London for a short while. It was a long time ago, but I still have many beautiful memories of our stay there. While we were there, my mom spent a lot of time and money buying us girls really pretty clothes. I think that’s when I knew how much mom loved clothes. She hasn’t changed much. Lol. Anyway, she got some of them at costly prices from big stores, and she got some really cheap. Something my sisters and I definitely noticed was that some of the cheap clothes had their labels slit in half or even cut off in half. Of course, we asked why. My mom told us that she got them from a factory-rejects store. Surely, we wanted to know more, “Why are they called factory rejects, mommy. They look good.” Mom was patient enough to explain that sometimes, while the clothes were being made, they ran a double stitch over some spots that required just one stitch, or a button may’ve been missing, or just something, anything may have gone wrong; and so big clothing lines like Marks & Spencer, Next, and bhs did not want those “substandard” clothes associated with their products. As a result, they sold them off really cheap. I never went any further to find out if that was indeed why they were called such. All I remember was that the clothes momma got us – pricey or cheap factory rejects – fit us really well and were very beautiful. What the manufacturers considered below standard was very well accepted by mom and us girls. Interesting, isn’t it?

You know, as I read the Bible every time, I come across a number of human factory rejects too. The only difference is that these people who are considered substandard aren’t considered so by their Creator, but by fellow creations. Isn’t it funny that while we – non-manufacturers, non-creators, non-inventors – consider fellow human beings imperfect or inferior, the One who created everyone deems each person good, really good – Genesis 1:31. If you don’t mind, let’s take a look at some of these factory rejects in the Bible. Perhaps, you may relate somehow.

I think my best one so far is the leper Jesus touched. It was such a “hit”, all the synoptic gospel writers thought it very important to share the news (Matthew 8:1-3; Mark 1:40-41; Luke 5:13). Jesus touched a leper? Impossible! No way! Unacceptable! The leper was unclean. Banished. Should be quarantined. Not allowed in public. Should not be touched by any clean person. It wasn’t the people’s fault; the law of Moses said so – Leviticus 5:1,3. Funny thing is that Jesus could have healed that man without touching him. Jesus touched him to make a point. Like the leper, aren’t we going to accept His unconditional love and compassion and begin to see ourselves through His perfect eyes, rather than through the world’s eye? Can’t we also be like Him and reach out to the “substandards” around us too?

~~~

Samaritans are just not acceptable. A little history: they started out as full Israelites, but intermarried with “heathens”, and so became “less of human beings” to the Jews (2 Kings 17:24-29). They were settled in Northern Israel; and that’s where Jesus encountered one – on His way to Galilee (John 4:1-42). Jesus met this Samaritan woman at the well, and asked for some water. So I already mentioned one problem – she was Samaritan. A Jew should not be relating with a Samaritan – no, and not in public (John 4:9_b). Number two problem is that she was a woman. I’m not very sure why that was a problem, but I see in verse 27 that the disciples probably did see a problem there. Third, she was an experienced divorcee still living in adultery. What a lonely, unacceptable life! I read somewhere that in those days, women usually gathered themselves in groups of twenties or thirties to go fetch water in the early hours of the morning or in the evenings. But John records here that this lady was alone at the well. Is it possible that she was rejected by fellow women because she didn’t fit in? Her sinful life didn’t bother our Master, though. He offered her salvation, which she gladly accepted. And Jesus was so excited she got saved that He quickly lost His appetite for food and water (John 4:31-34). What a Savior!

~~~

Zacchaeus, the publican and sinner (Luke 19:1-10); Mary Magdalene, the woman possessed with several demons (Luke 8:1-3); Bartimaeus, the blind man told to shut his yap (Mark 10:46-52); Little children, who Jesus insisted should come to Him (Mark 10:13-14); the lonely impotent man by Bethesda’s pool (John 5:1-16); the adulteress woman condemned to death by stoning (John 8:1-11); the Gadarene demoniac (Luke 8:26-39); and several others more – all these societal rejects enjoyed compassion and acceptance from a faultless, loving, and gracious Savior.

Jesus began to show grace long long before He was born. We saw very unlikely people in His genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17) – Tamar, Judah’s deceptive daughter-in-law who did the abominable just to have children (Genesis 38); Rahab, the Harlot from Jericho (Joshua 2-6); Ruth, the Moabite lady – (wait! A Moabite in Jesus’ lineage? Inconceivable! – Deuteronomy 23:3-6); and Bathsheba, David’s concubine and an adulteress. I believe this was intentional; a perfect way for GOD to introduce Christ’s mission on earth.

I don’t know where or how you may’ve belittled yourself, or how society may’ve considered you less-than-acceptable. I’d like to tell you that your Manufacturer knows that you’re perfect (Hebrews 10:14). He formed & knit you flawlessly in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). He loves you personally to know how many hair strands are on your head (Luke 12:7). He will care for you until your hair is white with age (Isaiah 46:4). His grace covers you. You may be factory rejects to the entire world; to Him, you fit perfectly in the show glass’ mannequin. He showcases you for the world to see. On a signpost right beside you, He writes –

SEE MY WORKMANSHIP (Ephesians 2:10)
SEE MY WONDER (Psalm 139:14)
SEE MY GLORY (2nd Corinthians 3:18)
SEE MY RIGHTEOUSNESS (2nd Corinthians 5:21)
SEE MY BEAUTY (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Isn’t that exhilarating? So, if anyone dares to tell you how not-up-to-standard you are, raise your head and like the ex-impotent man made whole in John 5:11, tell them boldly, “He that made me whole; He that saved me; He that created me, the same said to me, I am of very high value (Luke 12:7; 1^st Corinthians 6:20a). I am accepted in Him (Ephesians 1:6), and that is enough for me!”

Dear Readers

Dear Readers,

I don’t know how many of y’all are out there. I previously [and mistakenly] judged the number of readers this blog had by the number of comments and Google pluses (which are usually very few) per post. I know you’re not very many, but I now know that you’re a lot more than I thought. I just want to say I appreciate you, and I hope my blog posts have been inspiring. Anyway, to avoid being too formal and being too mushy, lemme go straight to the point. I have invited my friend, Kunle, to be a writer on this blog too. Kunle’s being a blessing to me since the day I met him. He taught me how to study the Bible, and if I have to credit any human being for my spiritual growth, he’s the only one who deserves such credit. But no, I won’t credit any human, for it is God who worked in him for God’s own good pleasure in my life. All glory to Him alone. You are going to enjoy Kunle’s posts. I can assure you that. So, keep reading, keep on supporting. Thank you. And if we never get to see on this side of life, we should not fail to meet on the other side. God bless you.

Temi

It's All In You!

On Wednesday, my pastor’s wife was delivered of a beautiful baby girl. OK. I don’t mean the kind of newborn that you don’t think is really cute, but you just have to say something nice; and then you go something like, “Awww. She looks adorable,” Or “Oh, doesn’t he look so peaceful?!” NO, I mean a really really cute, adorable, peaceful looking baby – For real!!!...

Anyway, while I was with them in the hospital hours after her birth, waiting for her & momma to be discharged, I sorta mentioned to my pastor that I’d never held a newborn before, out of fear of dropping the little angel. So, after they were discharged, as we got set to take her home, he insisted that I be the one to hold her in the car all the way home. Trust me, carrying a newborn isn’t that easy, but it’s marvelous. I just kept staring at her all the way home. I looked at her shut eyes, her slender and long fingers, and it amazed me as she moved her tiny body and stretched herself for comfort – this little wonder marveled me. Looking at her reminded me of something my Sunday School teacher told us back when I was still a teenager. She said that when she had her male child, she looked at him and saw that God had put in him all that he needed to grow into a full adult man. They weren’t fully developed at the time of birth, but they were all there. He had eyes, ears, legs, a brain, a heart, liver, kidneys, etc. – it was all in him. If you think about this a little deeper, wouldn’t you agree that at the time of our New Birth, God also put in us all we need to grow from baby believers into ground-shaking, continent-moving, world-changing believers? It’s all in us. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” What makes the difference between a stagnant, ever-remaining-a-baby kinda believer and a mature one is, just as a physical person, what we feed on, how much we are cared for, who will interact with, etc.

So, going a bit deeper, let’s take a look at some of the things that God put in or gave us at the time of our new birth:

1.      The Holy Spirit: – The moment you accepted Christ into your heart, the Spirit of God came in to be resident in your life. Your body became His temple – 1 Corinthians 6:19. And His presence in your life is to make you live a Christ-like, holy life. Unfortunately, many believers who have the Holy Spirit in them have refused to tap into His limitless abilities, thereby living in carnality, as if they were never saved. God has given us the Holy Spirit. It is left to us to yield to Him so that we are instruments of righteousness unto God, and not instruments of unrighteousness unto death – Romans 6:13.

Another important truth in us having the Holy Spirit of God available to us is that He helps us to serve. What I mean is that the Holy Spirit within us is for our own self-character and personal Christian living. But the Holy Spirit can do beyond that. He can come upon us too. We can yield ourselves to Him completely – in and out – so that He works in and through us for His good pleasure – Philippians 2:13; so that our lives won’t be just for us anymore, but for others as well. The Lord Jesus makes this distinction of the Holy Spirit’s dual work in us clearly in the book of John. When Jesus told the Samaritan woman by the well that He can give her a well of water that will make her never thirst again, and that springs up into everlasting life, He was talking about the Holy Spirit at work IN us – John 4:14. But when he spoke out on the last day of the feast, in John 7:37-39, about rivers of living water that flows out of one’s belly, He was referring to the Holy Spirit at work THROUGH us. A well of water can’t serve many, but rivers of water can. A Christian’s goal should be to become a vessel by which Christ’s rivers of living water can flow to serve the whole world. We have the Holy Spirit of the Most High God available to us. How much of Him do you drink in (Ephesians 5:18) everyday to produce God-like characters, and to reach the world for Him? It’s all in you. It depends on you!

2.      The Fruit of the Regenerated Spirit: – It shouldn’t be hard to figure that when the Holy Spirit came into us at the moment of conversion, He deposited His own characters in us as well. These characters that we now possess are referred to in Galatians 5:22-23 as the fruit of the spirit. They are the fruit of man’s regenerated spirit. Meaning that as believers, if God’s Spirit dwells in us (and He does), we undoubtedly have love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and temperance in us. As we outwardly express these God-characters in us, we become identified with Christ and we grow into the mature adults that God intends for us to be. Just as a child experiences retarded growth if he/she isn’t given the proper vitamins in their right proportions, a believer who refuses to express these characters will not grow right; because the more you express it, the more you grow.

3.     Spiritual & Physical Blessings: – A believer is blessed. Simple! Ephesians 1:3; 2^nd Peter 1:3; Proverbs 10:22. If you’re not experiencing blessings (of all kinds) as a believer, my advice to you is this: start claiming them! Believe God for His word, and enjoy your blessings. This is important because through His blessings upon your life, you can enjoy a more fulfilled Christian life, and reach out to others for Him. Spiritual blessings make you meet the spiritual needs of others, and physical blessings make you meet the physical needs of others. Although, apart from believing God for your blessings, other things are important. If you are a carnally-minded, carnally-behaved Christian, you automatically give the devil access into your life – to tamper with your spiritual, as well as, physical blessings. So, before you begin claiming what’s rightfully yours, check yourself. Please, see Psalm 24:3-5; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Malachi 3:8-12; Proverbs 3:9; Luke 6:38. I can sense some of you will grunt at this point. The truth is a bitter pill. Take it anyway; it’ll heal you.

4.    The Word: – The phrase, “You are what you eat,” is a valid point even in a spiritual context. My goodness! I cannot overemphasize with words the importance of studying & meditating on God’s Word. It is awesome beyond belief. Trust me; I’ve never being able to express it enough. It’s liberating. It makes you grow into a sturdy Christian so quickly that you begin to wonder, “How come?” I was born again for twelve whole years before I began taking God’s word very seriously; and after I did, it’s not even close to two years yet, and I can’t believe the difference. You are indeed what you eat. Feed on God’s word and have life unimaginable, or feed on the world’s garbage, and anticipate death that’d surely come. God’s given it to you. It all depends on you!

5.      Our Church Family: – This is the truth – Your church family is as important as your biological family. You cannot do without the other. I know there are some folks out there who say, “What’s the use of going to church? As long as your relationship with God is alright, who needs to listen to somebody’s boring preaching?” I getcha! I used to say that before – before I understood that not having a church family is like living in an uncompleted house without a roof over your head. Although, the church family is not instilled inside of us at new birth, it is an essential part of our spiritual growth. If you do not have a “specific” church where you worship and fellowship, please, prayerfully seek one. It is very important. As a newborn isn’t just left alone to care for him/herself – but enjoys the nourishment and love from a mother, the guidance of a father, and the friendship of siblings; so should spiritual babes not be left alone. Even the Bible tells us not to forsake the gathering together of our brethren – Hebrews 10:25. Of course, like every normal family, our spiritual families will hurt us sometimes. But those hurts don’t kill us. They make us stronger and help us to grow. For the first time in my life, I am super active in a church where my mom or dad aren’t the head pastors; and I can tell you for certain that I have grown tremendously in the nine months since I’ve been there. Not because all has been rosy rosy. In fact, there were sometimes when there were more thorns than roses. But even in those times, I sought God, and in seeking God, I found new truths about myself, prayed/worked to deal with the unpleasant parts of me, and I grew. My church family show me who I really am, and each time, remind me of my need for God. To those who are already spiritually strong, you need to nurture your young converts so they can grow healthy and be spiritually mature too.

There are definitely more things God has deposited in us or given to us that will help us grow into maturity. But something to note here before I close is that as even properly nourished/cared-for babies don’t grow into adults in a day, so won’t spiritual babes grow into maturity at once. Constantly feeding on the word, tapping into the Holy Spirit, accessing spiritual blessings, expressing the fruit of the spirit, and fellowshipping with the saints will eventually accrue to produce a strong, well-grounded man or woman of God.

Welcome Baby Orungbe. You’ve come into a great home; and I know you’ll grow to be an amazing, strong woman of God someday. Aunt Temi Loves You.

Exercise Your Faith! - Part 2

To all who read my blog, I say thank you very much for your comments, messages, and emails. It’s has been really encouraging. Last week’s post on exercising your faith attracted some nice personal comments, best of which I consider from those that were inspired to begin exercising their faith. My friend, Opeyemi, said, “I’m learning to exercise my faith… take it for a run! Give it a good insanity workout. Get it to work.” To that, I say, you go girlfriend! Like, Ope, I hope we all can do that everyday with our relationship with God J

Well, as the title suggests, I broke up the entire article into two simply because a reader once told me that long articles put him off. So, here is just the concluding part to my last Tuesday’s bible study teaching:

So How Big Should Your Faith Be For It To Work?

Not so big. A mustard seed size is enough to speak to a mountain or a tree to be uprooted and be cast/planted into the sea, and it will be done. Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6. Of course, the bigger your faith is the better. Just as a mustard seed grows to become a mighty tree (Matthew 13:31-32), God expects that our faith grows bigger and bigger as we put it to work.

When Will Your Faith Not Work?

1.      When you don’t forgive those who have offended you: How do I know this? See the next verse after Mark 11:24 – “²⁴ Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. ²⁵ And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:24-25. If you don’t forgive men their trespasses, your faith will not have a place to function the way it should to produce your expected results.

2.      When you don’t walk in love: Every person who desires to exercise his faith in order to produce results should know this important truth, “Faith works only by love.” Galatians 5:6. If you like, let your faith be as big as a mountain, if you don’t walk in love with the brethren, your faith is as good as dead. 1 John 3:14 says that, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death.” A dead man cannot exercise his faith. Your faith cannot produce results without love.

3.      When your belief is not in line with God’s word: Your faith has to be completely based on the Word of God. If not, it will not work. You cannot exercise faith to have someone else’s husband or wife as your own and expect that it would work. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 according to the Amplified Bible says, “And we also [especially] thank God continually for this, that when you received the message of God [which you heard] from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the Word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe exercising its superhuman power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it].” Your faith will work only when it is in line with the word of God. James puts it this way, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” – James 4:3.

4.      When you have too many options: Yesterday, I got to work and received the following message from my cousin, “Faith is closing all other alternatives and holding unto one.” How true is that? Faith is saying, “This is what God has promised me through His Son, Jesus, and this is what I will receive, and I don’t care the obstacles facing me. It belongs to me. God says so, and so it is.” The bible says anyone who is double minded when he’s asking from God cannot receive anything from the Lord – James 1:6-8.

Lord, Increase Our Faith!

Luke 17:5