THE WITNESS OF THE LORD PART 2

Acts 22: 15 “ For you are to be His witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. “

After Ananias had restored Paul’s sight through the power of God, he gave him a prophetic word in the anchor scripture above “ For you are to be His witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard”. For me this is a perfect definition of a witness. From the scripture we see who or what a witness does for the advancement of the kingdom of God.

Last week, we learned that a witness is a proof producer and a martyr.

Please, say after me, “I’m a proof producer. I’m a martyr for Christ Jesus. Amen!

A witness is also a preacher or an evangelist. Some people say preaching and teaching are the exclusive right of the five fold ministries ( apostle, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers). Some even say women are not supposed to preach or teach because of a scripture they were shown that lacked good biblical exegesis . We are not here for arguments but to learn precious ones. Every believer is supposed to preach and teach the word of God wherever they are and when the need arises. In Matthew 28: 19 -20, we read “ go ye ( disciples or believers) therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things whatsoever I have commanded you and lo, I’m with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen!

Besides, when Jesus resurrected from the dead, he first appeared to a woman who later went and informed the disciples ( Mark 16: 9 -11 “Now when he was risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved.

Mary Magdalene proclaimed the good news to the disciples. Theologically speaking anyone who proclaims the word is actually preaching it. One can also encourage the people of God by preaching. In other words, Mary, a woman preached the word of God. So every believer who desires to be a witness should strive to teach and preach the word of God with power, accuracy and precision.

When you preach, you talk about God’s personality, power and kingdom.

When was the last time you preached the word of God to someone. If you say you don’t know the scriptures and that’s why you can’t preach, I would tell you Jesus is disappointed in you. If you say you can’t preach because you don’t understand English, I would tell you Jesus says you are not serious. Sometimes, we give all these flimsy excuses because we live like those in the world. We don’t care if people perish. See, heaven and hell are real. If we don’t believe the word of God, only death can confirm the existence of those realities to us.

Would like death to confirm the existence of heaven and hell to you? What if you were not saved and thought you were before you died? Stop saying if my father will change, he will change and that you don’t care. Masa, care oh. In fact, those who are not saved in your family are your assignment as a witness. You can’t afford to see them languish in hell tomorrow. It’s not a good place. Please, get them genuinely saved through the word of God. You are not only going to church to have your personal needs met but also to be a blessing unto others.

When we come to church, we taught the word of God, are trained to read the scriptures, meditate on them and go out there to win souls for Christ. If you have never preached before or you feel shy to do so, please wake up cos we don’t have time now and you and I may not know when we or our loved ones who are not saved may exit this world. When a young person or someone dies, the question we ask is “ were they married? Did they have children?”. In as much as these are well meaning questions, I don’t think that should be the first questions to ask? Were they born again should be the first question and the rest come follow. This is because marriage and children are blessings from the Lord but trust me when to get to the other side of the divide the question would not be “ were you married or did you have children”? No! If you did on earth, that’s a plus and it’s good but there it means nothing. Your salvation is what counts there!

Your pastors can’t reach out to everyone on earth and that’s why they preach to you every day so that you can go out there and become a blessing to perishing souls.

If you are a policeman, you have to go and preach to policemen and not necessarily your pastor. This is because, the Lord planted you there for that purpose. If you are a nurse, get unsaved nurses saved either through the word, your lifestyle that commands results or your prayer life. You will render an account of unsaved souls at your workplace that you didn’t try to get saved when you face the judgement seat.

1 Corinthians 9: 16 “For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”. It’s a must to preach the gospel like Paul said as a witness. How did you get saved? Share it with a scripture! How did you get healed? Talk about to the sick with a scripture to back your experience and pray the prayer of faith for them. That’s preaching. How did you get a husband or a child after so many years? Tell people how God had mercy on you and met you at the point of your needs. That’s the work of a witness. You may not need to always quote the scriptures but let Jesus be the focal point of your preaching or salvation and not a Mallam or a fetish priest or priestess somewhere.

I started preaching to, visiting and praying for the sick when I was in secondary school and God has always been faithful. You can do better! Yes, you can do it!

As you begin sharing the good news, the Lord will start upgrading you in the spirit. A time will come, you will quote scriptures to convince some people to get saved and they wouldn’t mind you because such people need something beyond the word. You may hear something like this from the Spirit , “his name is Peter and he had a very bad dream last night and when he woke up he was scared”. As you tell him that he will now be surprised and give you his undivided attention and that would be an opportunity to now expose him to the entire counsel of the Lord and ultimately get him saved and you would also have the opportunity to pray for him.

Some people wouldn’t be moved by the prophetic because of their conditions so out of faith you would have to reach out to them and lay hands on them and pray for healing for them. What do you think would happen if they are instantly healed? Paul said the “gospel is not in words but in the demonstration of power”!

As a witness, you can meet someone and as he begins to tell you about a particular yoke that has plagued his family from generation to generation, you will instantly have an answer to that long standing battle and help him out through the Spirit or God. Would he follow or listen to whatever you tell him when he’s totally free? That’s the gospel.

There’s however a price to pay to get to that level as a witness. Joshua 1:8 “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.”. Fill your soul with the word, listen to spirit filled word from generals in the kingdom, live a life of holiness and prayer and you will be a good ambassador of Christ here on earth to the glory of Yahweh!

As a witness, you are a preacher and a teacher irrespective of your sex, age or background.

The best is yet to come. Shalom!

Se. David Tobi Ogoudou

THE WITNESS OF THE LORD

Glory, glory, glory to God in three persons, the blessed holy Trinity.

Jesus, anoint my lips and fingers with a fresh oil and speak to us so that your name will always be glorified.

Acts 1: 8 “ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Sometimes when we hear some people talk or reason, we wonder if they really know who they are in Christ. You head some people say “ Father, come and deliver me”. Babies pray that way. God can answer that prayer by His mercy and deliver you but when you grow or become a witness, he wouldn’t mind you and you maybe wondering why answers aren’t coming. It’s because in Luke 10:19 He said “ Behold, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” He expects you to exercise the authority and power He has given to you over that demon responsible for your challenge and you are there crying out to Him. “ Masa”, you are a witness to His power. Let the devil know you know who you are and what you have.

The scripture above clearly said, “ ….you will be my witnesses….”. This was a statement made by Jesus Himself to his disciples of whom you are now because when you got born again, you received the life of God in your spirit man. This means, you are no longer an ordinary person even though you may appear the same way physically speaking.

Moreover, if God wants to do something in the earth realm, He will surely need a man to carry out that assignment. The same principle applies to the devil, he also can’t function adequately without a man.

If you decide to represent Jesus or the devil, you become a witness. But in the name of Jesus, you and your entire family shall never represent the devil and anything that looks like him.

God almighty is so powerful that in Luke 19: 40 He says “ if these should hold their peace( humans) these stones ( inanimate things ) would immediately cry out. You and I will never allow that to happen as long as we have breath in us!!!

Elsewhere, in Psalms 19 : 1, we read “ The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows his handiworks. Even though, inanimate things including the heavens can attest to God’s eternal power and ascribe glory to God, the Bible says” the earth, God has given to the children of men” ( Psalms 115:16). We are the ones to whom this place has been given to to manage and carry out His assignments on His behalf. I mean we are ambassadors of Christ.

An ambassador represents his country in a foreign land. The decision an ambassador takes in the absence of his president in a foreign land is assumed has been taken by the president himself. When you appear where there’s darkness, your light must appear to prove you belong to Jesus. One day, a demon possessed girl was sent to come and destroy me. I was a teacher by then and I didn’t know who the girl in question really was and I also didn’t know God’s hand was so strong on my life. She joined my class as a student and as she got closer to me, she started feeling dizzy and experiencing a terrible headache. But she never gave up. Devils don’t easily give up but we Christians unfortunately do. The more she got closer, the more she held her head in pain and asked me, who am I? I smiled and said I’m a child of God and she was like “ that’s why”. She added by saying she had a confession to make to me. The confession was that anytime she approached me, a Great Light shone upon and around me and that was responsible for her sudden acute headache and dizziness. Praise God in the highest! She went on to say “she knows she belongs to the dark world and that I belong to the Light”. The long and short of this story is that even as a teacher, I represented God in my class by His grace so you too can do same in any field God had called you to function.

In fact, until people see the glory of God in your life, family, marriage, business, you are not yet an ambassador of Christ but rather just a Christian if you are born again. Being a witness of Christ has nothing to do with a denomination or a church but you the person or the child of God.

So, if a Christian is not a witness, who then is a witness? It’s true, to become a witness, you have to be a Christian first. That’s the first stage that cannot be overemphasized.

Someone who sees or has personal knowledge of something is a witness. What have you personally seen or what personal knowledge do you have about Christ, that you can replicate when the need arises for His glory?

Someone called to give evidence in a court is also a witness. When your family says, prove to us that your God can heal, can you prove it to them by healing your family members’ whose health have defied modern and traditional medicine? If yes, you are a witness, to Jesus healing power.

Finally, a witness is someone who is called upon to witness an event or action, such as a wedding or the signing of a document. When there are weddings are you called to come and grace the occasion because your people know the hand of the Lord is upon you? Remember, being a witness for God is for the whole body of Christ. It’s not limited to those in the five fold ministry.

Also remember, Jesus went to a wedding in the Bible and showed us what it meant to be a witness there. If you can dedicate your children to God instead of dedicating them to a familiar spirit, you are a witness of the Lord. He doesn’t need to come down and do that because you are around.

Wake up! What dimension of God do you represent as a witness apart from your title at work or church or wherever you go or are? Do the broken-hearted feel comfortable when they are with you? If yes, the Holy Spirit’s ministry of a comforter is finding expression in you and through you and that’s an eternal witness.

Did Jesus cheat people when he was on earth? The answer is a capital NO. If you are fair in all your dealings with men and make sure people are paid after working for you and in fact they are happy working for you, you are a kingdom representative. Kudos to you! We are in a generation where we can’t tell who an eternal witness is from who a satanic witness is. Unfortunately, it’s Christians who behave like worldly people in our offices. You hear statements like “ We are all Christians but……..”. Brother if you make such statements consistently, I personally doubt your salvation. Yes, you are not a Christian, let alone an eternal witness because when the Master was on earth, we never heard statements like “ I’m Jesus but in this situation, let’s go the way of the world”. If he didn’t do that why do you do so? Jesus didn’t falsify documents to make money so you just can’t do same. Don’t sit there and say “ but…”. My friend, the fact that everyone is doing a wrong thing doesn’t mean everyone is like that. There are still remnants for Christ Jesus and they are the people we call the witnesses of the Lord.

You maybe so poor now but trust me when you begin to put into practice kingdom principles responsible for kingdom financial wealth and freedom and add diligence to what you do, sister those who doubted your God wouldn’t need you to preach to them before joining you to your church. This is because you would have proven to them that “even though he ( Jesus) was rich, he become poor so that you can become rich”. It’s not everyone who is moved by the word of God. In addition to the word, some need the prophetic, power or they want to see you represent wealth to genuinely give their hearts to Jesus. Hence, a witness is needed!

A witness is also a martyr. This is what most Christians don’t like hearing. We want preaching, prophetic utterances and power which I believe in and walk in by His grace. But see, there is a place for that.

A martyr is someone who willingly accepts being put to “ death “ for adhering openly to one’s religious beliefs; notably saints canonized after martyrdom. Some of the disciples of Jesus died as martyrs. Luke, the physician, was hanged on an olive tree. Matthias [Disciple who filled the place of Judas Acts 1:20-26 ] was stoned and beheaded at Jerusalem. Apostle Paul (Saul who wrote half of the New Testament was beheaded by Emperor Nero at Rome. Where was God, when they were killing them? Did they renounce their faith to avoid being killed? No!!!

Do you believe enough to die for Christ? The three Hebrew boys said, “even if you throw us into that blazing furnace, we will not bow to your God.” Do you understand? How many of us can confidently say to the devil that even if we have no children, we will never go and see a jujuman for solution but still believe in God for our miracle?

James 1: 2-3: “ My brethren, count it all show when ye fall unto divers temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith workers patience”. Count it all joy when you are not married and you are growing. God cannot disappoint you like the three Hebrew boys in that furnace. Once he sees your heart and knows you mean what you say and trust in Him, He will reach out to you. Job never broke down in calamity. In pain, agony, when his wife even said, “ curse your God” and die, his reply was “ even if he slays me, yet will I trust him”. Eiii!!! That sickness can do its worse but it cannot kill you for like Job keep saying “ my redeemer liveth”. And remember, for you as witness, that infirmity is not unto death, but for the glory of God to manifest in your life and through you”. You shall not die but live to declare the works of the Living God in the land of the living”. Are u a witness? You could have slept with that man for that job, but you said no way, and he sacked you. Don’t worry my sister! You did what was right in God’s eyes.

Some of you are sexually molested because you did not dial the number of immorality. Some of you have been unemployed since you said no to that witness of the devil and are therefore struggling. Witness of Jesus, hear the word of the Lord, maintain your integrity, look up to Jesus for there’s fire in his eyes, he sees everything, knows the secrets of men and he’s the righteous Judge. Mark my words, since you have come out from among them, he will sanctify you. Yes, I know it’s not an easy thing, it’s an ordeal you must go through and after that you shall receive “ the promise”. Without tests, you have no testimony. The song writer said “ through it all, through it all, I have learnt to trust in Jesus, I have learnt to trust in God, through it all, through it all, I’ve learnt to depend upon His word.

As a witness, you can’t afford to be smoking and telling me you do that because the weather is cold. Jesus never smoked. If you feel cold, start praying in the Holy Ghost and be moving about. Please, your excuse is unacceptable. Science itself is against it. People felt cold and never destroyed themselves so what are you saying? Don’t let the devil deceive you. You are not married but living with a man. God still loves you and wants you to do the right thing so start doing the right thing. For you to say you are with him because you have no place to sleep is not the attribute of a witness. Go and look for something to do with your life. You may have to go and sleep in kiosks or under a bridge or with friends who may maltreat you. Don’t worry, it’s part of the process of your training. When God finally remembers you, you will become a source of encouragement to others. Suffer for Christ now and tomorrow you will smile. Don’t enjoy in iniquity now and cry tomorrow. Don’t you think some ladies went through same ordeal and came out victorious? I mean they didn’t go and live with a man who is not their husbands but decided to live in deplorable conditions for sometime and later God honored them? You can do same or even better only if you believe, receive grace and make up your mind. The suffering is for a while.

As a witness, you are a proof producer and a martyr.

Jesus loves you all! You are blessed!

Dr. David Tobi Ogoudou

The Good Story

We all have stories about our lives and certain struggles that we deal with. Most often, our struggles might water down the faith and trust we have in God and His plans for us. Today I’m sharing a little excerpt from a recent book read about a mom of four who was battling cancer. I pray that this stirs up your faith and encourages you to hold on to God despite the hard season of life you’re currently struggling with.

“Recently, Jason came in the room in tears and asked me to go and snuggle beside Harper Joy. He was letting her share all her words of her day with him before bed- her favorite time of the day. Then suddenly she turned to Jason and asked, “Is Mama going to die of old age or of cancer?” Jason struggled for the words, but found himself crumpled under his own grief. He came and asked if I could support him in answering. I walked down the hallway and climbed under the covers with my vocal, young daughter. This one longs for the words, to hear the explanations, and process her feelings out loud. She is very much like me. These moments are a gift to my own love of words, feelings, and expressing troubles of my heart. I snuggled close and she draped herself over me. Her eyes were big and tearful. She wanted to hear from me. She wanted the truth.

I knew this was a sacred moment, a moment where the truth was being asked. She wasn’t asking for false hope; she wanted me to love her with honesty. I told her I had heard her question, and I asked her my own question in response. I asked her if she believed God would meet her in both of those places. I looked at her face and wondered at her love, her beauty, her tenderness, and I asked her a question many grown people cannot answer or embrace. In the most painful fear and hurts of our lives, will God be good? Not just the simple: God is good, indeed, always good. Not the rote, recited, memorized answers we have been trained to give in the edges of life. But the asking: Is Jesus really good in the awful of cancer, fire, heartbreak, and devastation? In the face of all that is broken, is God good?

How do you speak to your young child of grace you struggle to have the imagination to behold? You just do. It’s the raw places of faith without sight. It’s the painful moments of preaching a sermon to yourself you know you struggle to believe. It’s the quiet prayer from Mark: “I believe; help my unbelief?” (Mark 9:24). How do you brave the impossible with children? How do you face these heartbreaking moments? You show up. You look at their faces and beg for God to give you His infinite imagination for the goodness of the days to come, the days for which you may not be present. You pray you will be courageous when the hard days come. You pray that, even as the end comes, there will be good days, good moments, that there will still be enough strength for love. You pray for the moments to continue. You pray for the grace in the raw edges to live well, embracing kindness you dont feel. And then you walk back to your room and weep.

Weep that your young child has to lie in bed at night and wonder if they will know their mama in a month, a year, a decade. You weep because you never imagined this will be the good story. You weep because your feet is so weak, but your weak faith is enough when coupled with God’s grace.

In every season of our lives, we meet the edges of life we never expected. The unexpected pain of life often leaves us only with the choice of how we will endure it. It could be a marriage you didn’t expect to break, a job you thought you’d never lose, a difficult child to raise. We all have unexpected hard, but how do we face it?”

Trusting God when the miracle does not come, when the urgent prayer gets no answer, when there is only darkness–this is the kind of faith God values perhaps most of all. This is the kind of faith that can be developed and displayed only in the midst of difficult circumstances. This is the kind of faith that cannot be shaken because it is the result of having been shaken.

Nancy Guthrie, Holding on to Hope

“But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 AMP

Life can be rough and tough but when you experience the dents and ditches of life as a Christian you ought to always trust God to deliver an expected end. The writer of the story of our lives knows what we need, when and how we need it. His timing is always perfect. Many a time when you feel maxed out, it’s a sign that there’s a plot twist round the bend. Keep holding on so as not to truncate the beautiful story of your life.

Behold, I am making all things new. Revelation 21:5

May Jehovah grant us the grace and strength to live out the purposeful lives he’s mapped out for us. Oh that we would have the faith to trust His leading every step of the way, testifying of His faithfulness even in the bleak moments. May your story be the good one that ends in our praise to Him and for His glory.

With Love, Esinam.

Following God

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Ephesians 5:1-2 KJV

1. To follow God you need to move

How can you follow somebody without moving? There is the need to move in the realm of the Spirit. In the movement itself may even be your survival and your salvation. Many movements that God allows is for life and for survival. And the spirit of God moved and there was life,

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”Genesis 1:2 KJV

When people are complacent and prefer to remain in their comfort zone it means that the person is resistant to movement. Be ye followers of God by moving.

2. To follow God, you need to be creative.

To be creative means to innovate or make something. It could also imply that you merely add an element to an existing thing such that it becomes like a completely new thing.

“And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:26-27 KJV

God breathed into us His creative abilities when He made us in His image. God can give you something small (a little idea or decision) to apply to an old thing to make it new.

3. To follow God, you need to be strong.

God is clear. He is not like Pontius Pilate.

“And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him: No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. I will therefore chastise him, and release him. (For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.) And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas: (who for a certain sedition made in the city, and for murder, was cast into prison.) Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again to them. But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go. And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them him that for sedition and murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired; but he delivered Jesus to their will.” Luke 23:13-25 KJV

Pontius Pilate was not strong. He was not clear. One moment he wanted to pardon Jesus and let him go but the next moment he succumbed to the will of the people and gave Jesus up to be crucified. People who seem to be soft are actually evil (not strong). It is not enough to have good intentions. And people who are ambivalent or unclear about their stance are evil. Ambivalence is a very dangerous thing. It is equivalent to being lukewarm.

“I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:15-16 KJV

Indifference is the greatest enemy in relationships – Rick Joyner.

Pray for the grace to follow God. Grace to move and not be stagnant, that your feet are constantly in motion to swiftly fulfill His purpose according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. May your be creative with bursts in f fresh ideas to enrich whatever your hands find to do. And may you be strong and unwavering in your stance to follow Him.

With Love, Esinam.

Habits of Gratitude

The secret of happiness is to count your blessings while others are adding up their trouble.

William Penn

As we read God’s Word, we can see the theme of being thankful. There are hundreds of verses telling us to give thanks or offer praise to God. Outside of the Bible, you’ll find lots of articles and research stating the benefits that come with being a grateful person. People who are thankful are known to be depressed less, get better grades in school, sleep better, stay healthy, have deeper friendships, and have a brighter outlook on life. Basically, gratitude is good for you!

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Living as grateful people is God’s will for our lives. God knew before the beginning of time how positively gratitude would affect us—long before an article or book was written about the topic. So, whether your life is moving along smoothly or it feels like you’re walking in quicksand, consider adding these daily habits to your life: 

• Create new pathways. Dr. Caroline Leaf, cognitive neuroscientist and author, said, “As you think, you change the structure of your brain.” This isn’t easy. But, we have a choice in what we think about, so let’s allow thoughts of gratefulness to fill our minds.

• Choose five things. Make a daily habit to say or write five things you’re thankful for. You can do it any time of the day—morning or night!

• Set a gratitude alarm. Choose different times in the day. When the alarm goes off, ask God to bring to mind the blessings and gifts in your life and thank Him for them. 

• Tell someone. Every day, talk to someone about what you’re thankful for. Maybe it’s their friendship, the sunrise, a powerful moment with God, or an unexpected blessing you received. Saying it makes it more real.

It’s vital that we make our gratitude habitual so that when life’s storms come upon us, we know how to navigate the rough waters. And part of this is trusting God and even choosing to be grateful when we don’t understand the world around us.

As we build this gratitude muscle, it won’t be something we have to think about—it’ll become as natural as breathing. Enjoy the music using the link below as it ushers you into a place of gratitude.

With Love, Esinam.

Overcoming Insecurities

God has given you an identity, but if you do not walk in your identity, then you cannot operate in the kingdom of God. You cannot walk in your calling until you overcome insecurities. Each one of us may have battled with certain insecurities at some point in our lives, but God teaches us through His word the keys to overcoming deeply rooted insecurities; I hope to teach you glean on these too.

1. First, understand that intimacy cures insecurity.

Never forsake the secret place. Don’t replace time with God for anything else. When you are aware of God, you’ll lose focus on yourself. Get lost in the presence of God again and you’ll notice that the insecurities that seem so big now, will diminish.

It’s when we lose focus on God that our insecurities enlarge. Understand that when you fight to keep your intimacy with God, you’re fighting to keep your insecurities at bay.

2. And secondly, we must read the Word of God until it feeds us.

“And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17 KJV

In Genesis 2, God commands Adam to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We know that Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate the fruit. As a result of this disobedience, they began to struggle with insecurities. There will always be a reason to feel insecure, but there is a choice to not feed on that insecurity.

Many insecurities stem from the fact that people have a Bible, but they do not let it feed them. When Adam and Eve focused more on what the serpent said, instead of what God had told them, their perspectives changed.

If you eat from the tree of insecurity, you will hear the voice of the devil. But if you eat from the tree of life, you will hear the voice of the Lord. Think about this, it was not the tree that made Adam feel ashamed, it was his eating from it that affected him. Feeding leads to feeling. If you choose to focus and “feed” your insecurities, feelings of depression, anxiety, and isolation will follow. However, if you learn to feed on God’s words about you, you’ll find that feelings of security, boldness, and love will follow. I want to encourage you to stop eating from the tree of insecurity and heed the voice of God and His Word.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts:” Psalm 139:23 KJV

3. You must not compare yourself to others if you want to be complete.

The Bible says do not covet (Exodus 20:17). As long as you are desiring someone else’s blessing, you’ll stop counting your blessings. There is nothing wrong with finding inspiration from other people. However, when you try and duplicate what God called someone else to do, you will always live feeling incompetent and not enough. God is not interested in making you better than another person, He wants you to be better than you. God wants to make us complete.

4. Learn to not live in your soul, but instead, speak to it.

The Bible teaches us that David spoke to his soul. As Christians, we should be determined to be ruled by the Word of God, not by our soul’s emotions. Don’t rely on your feelings to determine how you feel. Tell your soul how to feel. Command your feelings to be in line with the Word of God.

It’s not enough to just think about it and direct your feelings; you have to live according to the Word, and not according to your feelings. Feelings are a result of what you are feeding your soul, and what you are feeding on depends on where your focus is.

Focus on God, feed on His Word, and tell your soul what to feel.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: And all that is within me, bless his holy name.” Psalm 103:1 KJV

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope in God: For I shall yet praise him, Who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” Psalm 43:5 KJV

5. Be careful to not draw your identity from people’s compliments.

Compliments will cause your self-worth to be inflated, and you’ll find yourself getting easily destroyed by the criticism. The moment you know who you are in Christ, you’ll take criticism, and you won’t let it crush you; you’ll take compliments and you won’t let them inflate you.

Chew criticism, and compliments, then spit them out – don’t let them feed you.

6. Learn to receive correction without feeling criticized.

Many people, when getting criticized, feel as though they are getting attacked. The reason why criticism hurts is due to insecurity. In order for you to step into the call God has for your life, you must learn to take feedback and correction without taking it personally.

“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” Hebrews 12:11 NIV

When you are being corrected, the person correcting you is addressing your issue, not attacking your identity. If you want to be secure, focus on growing. God will surround you with mentors and people who will help you grow.

Don’t allow insecurities to hinder the calling God has for your life. Let your insecurities dissolve in the presence of God. Find your security and identity in Christ, according to God’s Word. These are things that took me years to learn but have blessed my life enormously. As you put these very simple steps into practice, watch the transformation that will happen in your personal life!

“Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it.” Proverbs 8:33 NIV

“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10 NIV

Let’s pray: Father, forgive me for putting my worth in other things instead of Your Son Jesus Christ. I want that to change. I want to see myself according to what Your Word says. Holy Spirit, help me to feed from the Bible and spend time in God’s presence to know who I am. I know You have a purpose and a plan for me. Give me faith to believe and know that my identity is found in Jesus Christ.

Please help me to be grounded in Your Word instead of being guided by my emotions. God, You know my battle with insecurities and criticisms. Holy Spirit, give me the humility to accept correction from those around me. Put people in my life who will help me grow, even if it is difficult. I want to be the person You want me to be. Thank you for helping me, in Jesus’ precious Name. Amen.

With Love, Esinam.

The Rapture of the Church

Signs of the End of the age

Mathew 24:4-39, ; 36-44( No one knows)

The return

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

4:13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

Scoffers

In 2 Peter 3:3-4, Peter says, “Scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep…”—or literally “died”—“…all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’”

So they were saying, “There’s no ‘coming again’ of the Lord! It hasn’t happened yet. It won’t happen in the future.” They were mocking the concept or the doctrine of the return of Jesus Christ.

There will also be mockers in the last days, and those mockers have arrived.

As Christians, we believe in
1. the Incarnation, that God became a man in Christ;
2. we believe in the Crucifixion, that Jesus died on the Cross for our sins;
3. we believe in the Resurrection, that Jesus rose victoriously and bodily from the grave;
4. we believe in the Ascension, that Christ ascended back into heaven;
5. and we believe in the exaltation, that Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father.

But that’s not the end of the story; 6. we also believe in the return of Jesus Christ. He is coming again.

We focus so much on His birth and on His death and on His Resurrection, but we forget that He is ascended, exalted and will come again.

Jesus promised to come again.

In John 14:2-3, Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”

I believe His promise. Jesus always keeps His promises. If He promised He is preparing a place and He promised that He would come to “receive” us, I believe that’s a revelation of the rapture of the church.

He said that He will take us to His “Father’s house,” and I believe His promise will be fulfilled.

When was the last time you thought about Jesus return? Are you prepared for it? Should the rapture occur today, where will your soul be headed?

Kindly watch the video below and be reminded of what signs the Bible warns about as we await our Saviour’s return. He is coming again!

Glory Hallelujah!!!

Rev. Ron

Buried Treasure

“The ones that play a major role in old tales of magic, spells, and adventure can be understood as “hoardes” or “troves” from earlier eras, buried or hidden at a time of danger but then never retrieved by those who had left them behind. It was believed that they offered a relatively easy way to get rich– if one knew a few magic words and were willing to brave the curses attached to the treasures… Viewed rationally, the search for buried gold had little prospect of success; the basis for legendary quests may lie in symbolic traditions of late antiquity, like Gnostic doctrine, in which treasures stood for specific attainments sought on the path to knowledge. Guardians block access to these inner treasures and can be commanded only by those who possess secret passwords and geometrical symbols…” (Biederman, 350).

“The search for treasure has a twofold symbolism: either the search is for earthly treasure, such as gold or jewels, usually hidden in a cave or underground, the finding of which brings trials and tribulations and, where greed is the motive, leads to final disaster, or the search is for spiritual treasure, symbolizing esoteric knowledge or enlightenment, the search for the Center, for lost Paradise, the Grail etc… and the goal is guarded by monsters or dragons; this represents man’s quest for, and discovery of, his own true nature” (Cooper, 176).

In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus contrasted what he called treasures on earth and treasures in heaven. Treasures on earth are evanescent and corruptible, whereas treasures in heaven will never pass away or suffer corrosion.

““God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field. “Or, God’s kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for exquisite pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.”Matthew 13:44-46 MSG

Thus, God likens hidden treasure to a collection of interwoven things: Understanding, wisdom, the fear of God, knowledge of God, and God’s Word, all of which are positive and powerful factors in living God’s way of life. These are all things God must give, and they are hidden until He gives them.

“When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you,” Proverbs 2:10-11 NKJV

From the opening paragraphs we see perspectives on ancient treasure hunting and how people were keen to discover treasure they heard about through tales and folklore even if they had no direct connection to owning same. You may have also heard about pirates and their quest for treasure on the high seas. They literally risk their lives just to capture valuables to enrich their lives.

The kinds of research that men are willing to embark on just to find “supposed“ hidden treasure is utterly amazing. We have certain people whose whole lives are devoted to prospecting distant lands in the hopes of discovering gold and other precious stones. They invest in heavy equipment, deprive themselves of everyday luxuries and travel far and wide to satisfy this curiosity with so much zeal and passion. There are certain shows where people have invested for instance to discover the millions hidden by the famous Pablo Escobar. These expeditions are heavily funded by rich sponsors who may have some personal interest in the results and findings thereof. Are we as christians willing to dig deep into the word of God to discover what he has said, who He is and what he actually has in store for us? Would we go the extra mile to search for the treasures of His kingdom? How zealously affected are you for the Lord?

“But we have this precious treasure [the good news about salvation] in [unworthy] earthen vessels [of human frailty], so that the grandeur and surpassing greatness of the power will be [shown to be] from God [His sufficiency] and not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7 AMP

The scripture above refers to the good news of God’s word as treasure in earthen vessels (being us-human frailty-children of God- christians). This reveals what great a mandate we have as believers to propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ through our lifestyles and intentionally winning souls. It is imperative that we dig deep to discover what potential God had placed in us and how we can we exploit them to propel His kingdom. However our aim is not to make a name for ourselves but to be tools and vessels that ultimately portray the power and efficacy of His sacrifice for mankind.

“When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He stole the show, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise, get such ability?” But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “We’ve known him since he was a kid; he’s the carpenter’s son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?” They got all bent out of shape.” Matthew 13:53-57 MSG

Familiarity breeds in the hearts of many who subconsciously give off the “I grew up in the church attitude”. Working in church corporate offices and being overly familiar with the administrative aspects of running the church account for this blunder. They gradually relegate the crux of service in God’s house to the back bench. They come to church as a job to earn a living and no longer as an act of worship and submission to God. Their service in church becomes more of a means to an end rather that an opportunity to be used by God in His vineyard. The reality is even worse when we consider supposed Christians who work circular jobs and he unexemplary their lifestyles are.

““Or imagine a woman who has ten coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and scour the house, looking in every nook and cranny until she finds it? And when she finds it you can be sure she’ll call her friends and neighbors: ‘Celebrate with me! I found my lost coin!’ Count on it—that’s the kind of party God’s angels throw every time one lost soul turns to God.”” Luke 15:8-10 MSG

Your treasure forms a part of your identity. That is why a person may be described as rich or wealthy. We can reasonably assume a person is a millionaire and refer to them as such because they wield millions. In the same vein we can say another loves God because we observe their works through their acts of service in God’s kingdom and their obedience to His word. It is important that we discover the treasure of God’s kingdom here on earth in order to be useful to His purpose. So that while we work here on earth we will also be storing up treasures that do not decay in eternity.

I pray that we all arrive at that point in our lives where we earnestly seek to live out our purpose in God through our obedience to His Holy word and our service in His vineyard. May we wholeheartedly offer up our resources to His service and instruction. That we shall daily search for him through His word and through prayer because we desire His presence just like buried treasure.

With Love, Esinam.

The Paths of the Lord

“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.” II Corinthians 2:14 NKJV

“The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.” Psalms 25:9 NKJV

What is the reason why we are here and what should we do next? For every age bracket there are common delusions of what should be done. We need to humble ourselves to be led by God through the Holy Spirit on what we need to do next. Only a meek person can admit that they do not know what to do next. Our prayer should be please guide me oh Lord. Forgive my very proud comments. I don’t know what to do next. In everything you are doing somebody knows better but they will only teach you if you are humble to receive their guidance.

Indicators to show that you are on the right track.

“All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, To such as keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O Lord, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great. Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, And his descendants shall inherit the earth. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him, And He will show them His covenant. My eyes are ever toward the Lord, For He shall pluck my feet out of the net.” Psalms 25:10-15 NKJV

1. You are truthful

All the paths of the Lord are truth. Most decisions are based on some idea and every error is based on some delusion. Almost every wrong way is based on a decision that is not true. No matter how great a prophet is he only knows part or a little depending on what is revealed to him.

2. You are merciful

All the paths of the Lord are mercy. Anywhere you are in the path of the Lord there is mercy. Being vengeful and remembering of everything to repay the changes in your phase are all from unforgiveness. Ask God for redemption, forgiveness and restoration. Make a deliberate effort to forgive someone, to show mercy somewhere and flow in the word of God.

3. You keep the word of God.

Always pause and reflect to be certain whether you are adhering to what the Bible says in all your doing. Ask yourself: “Am I obeying the word of God?”

4. You fear the Lord

You must be afraid of the Lord (and revere Him). God can make you love or die. It is an important truth that keeps you in the right way. Constantly having the consciousness of God. Without this you live in iniquity effortlessly. With the presence of the fear of God, you will definitely be somewhere near, within or around the path of the Lord.

5. You overcome your iniquities (crooked orientations)

An iniquity is a slight in character or crookedness in your orientation. It could be directional orientation, perverseness, deception, manipulation, lying, wickedness or immorality. Without realizing it you always manipulate people or are overly suspicious of everything or everyone around you. Experiences can make you crooked.

6. You know the secret of the Lord

When someone tells you a secret m, it is a sign that you are close to them. When the Lord starts to share some secrets with you it is a sign that you are nearby. May God show you His secrets and reveal things to you.

7. Your eyes are ever on the Lord

When your eyes are ever on the Lord and not on any man then you are near Him. Which moment of your life can you not pray about? You look up to Him for everything and trust Him to lead in you all righteousness.

Let’s say this prayer together if you also desire to discover and stay on the paths of the Lord. “Please Lord, don’t be quiet in my life anymore. Let me be filled with Your truths. Let me not base my life on delusions. Save me Lord from whatever orientation in my life that leads me off the right track. Help me to always fear You and keep my eyes on You alone. I love You Lord, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.”

With Love, Esinam.

Living in the Consciousness of God’s Glory

My Christian sister was asked by Facebook what was on her mind. Her response, “Do u really want to know? Facebook is asking what’s on my mind. Hmm…It is pain. Pain when I open my Bible. I want to eat it all, but I’m unable. It gives me pain. My inability before God pains me. Inability in obeying His Word. 😪😔😭😢. This is what’s on my mind now.”

Why do we get transactional with God. Basing our requests on specific scriptures that favor our desires and expectations, we ask Him to bless us according to those words. It’s not wrong to ask for stuff (He asks us to open your mouths wide and He will fill it). We must. It is necessary to enable us live the glorious life. We also must not lose sight of the fact that He is Omniscient(all knowing; he knows what we will ask before we do). It is a wonderful thing to know that we do not rely on men for our sustenance but on God because we acknowledge Him as our source. Wouldn’t it be even better to not only acknowledge our Heavenly Father for what we can get from Him but go on to desire to know Him ; to spend time in communion with Him and obedience to His word.

““I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want.” Amos 5:21-24 MSG

Pause now and reflect! Is your current love affair with God, (the Abba Father) at it’s rosiest or has it gone stale? Are you rationing enough time to commune with Him on a daily? – Personal communion not just corporate – or are you consumed with finding your feet or making a name for yourself within an institution or in your community. Are you doing it religiously but half-heartedly. Or per adventure just to satisfy your religious conscience?

“Give ear, O my people, to my law: Incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come, The praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, Which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, Even the children which should be born; Who should arise And declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; A generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.” Psalm 78:1-8 KJV

Life and circumstances can get us carried away, pursuing frailties with so much zeal that we risk getting distracted from Gods original purpose for our lives. We must choose daily to walk in His perfect will for our lives. After all this world will pass away. When our time on earth is gone may we not have regrets of what could have been but instead shall we be glad that we lived in the consciousness of God’s glory and majesty.

We need to get it right and now. We need to pass on the tangible realities of serving God to the next generation. We have to be the example, a legacy worthy of emulation. This time we have now is our rehearsal for eternity. May we have the grace and wisdom not to waste it. Hallelujah!!!

With Love, Esinam.

God is Good

“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 ‭KJV‬‬

The above scripture is one many Christians love to quote to exhort one another that God has good things in store for us. These same words were part of a letter delivered to God’s people when they were taken captive from Jerusalem into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

“Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, unto all that are carried away captives, whom I have caused to be carried away from Jerusalem unto Babylon; Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them; take ye wives, and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons, and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; that ye may be increased there, and not diminished. And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace. For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭4‬-‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Amidst their captivity and struggle, God instructed them specifically to build houses and plant vineyards for their sustenance. He further asked them to pray for the peace of the city that had taken them captive because their own peace depended on it. In their moments of hell and high water, they were still required by God to see and act positively in order to thrive.

My prayer and hope for you today is that you begin to see things from God’s perspective regardless of how difficult your situation might be. You don’t need to follow the trends and laws of this world to do well in life. Whether you are inherently a pessimist, optimist, realist or idealist is besides the point when it comes to living out your purpose and walking in the will of God. What is important is that you trust God and His word and stay in sync with Him through prayer, meditating on the word and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

“Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
‭‭Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

It is important to always be in a place where you are humble enough to seek the Lord. Even when you are thriving, excelling, succeeding according to your desires and the standards of this world, don’t forget that you need God. The above scripture tells us that it is when we call upon God that He will hearken unto us, He will hear us and answer. It is only when we seek Him that we will find Him and we ought to search with ALL OF OUR HEARTS. We have to deliberately and intentionally desire to know Him and commune with Him to understand the depths of His knowledge and Spirit.

The unexpected is only unexpected from our perspective but from God’s perspective it is not unexpected.

Lady Rev. Adelaide Heward-Mills

We have to consciously seek Him in everything we do and no matter the circumstances we face to truly appreciate who He is to us and what He does in our lives. I pray that every moment of our lives serves as an opportunity to know God even better; that we experience Him in more meaningful ways each passing day. Just like He always delivered the people of Israel and took them to their promised land, know that you also are the apple of His eye and He will do same for you if you trust in Him.

“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.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The song here expresses this in very few words. It blessed me and I pray it blessed you too. That we all come to that point where our lives continuously proves the goodness of our God.

May your struggles keep you near the cross
And may your troubles show that you need God
And may your battles end the way they should
And may your bad days prove that God is good
And may your whole life prove that God is good

I pray that this encourages you, no matter what you may be going through or where you find yourself, that God cares for you. He loves you more than you can ever imagine and He has your best interest at heart. Just trust His leading through the help of the Holy Spirit every step of the way.

With Love, Esinam.

Fruitfulness

“Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.””Genesis 1:28 NKJV

There was a Pastor who had observed that a particular member of his congregation was always vibrant during the sermon, chanting his feedback about how a good word was often preached. This person had a very weird attitude albeit. He never brought his Bible to church, took notes or actively participated in other important church activities. He would always exclaim chants like “tell them”, “good word” and the like while the pastor preached.

So one day the pastor prayed fervently to God as he prepared a powerful sermon that this man’s heart should be stirred-up to change through the teaching he was going to give. Incidentally, that weekend was accompanied by very heavy rains and a lot of areas were flooded. On Sunday no one came to church because of the havoc the rains had wreaked except for this gentleman. The pastor was shocked but still went ahead to preach his message.

After the service, the young man walked up to the pastor and said; “that was a powerful message pastor. It is unfortunate that those who needed it were not here to hear it”. Many of us like this man receive the seeds of God’s word and plant them in our hearts but our not yielding the expected fruits.

What does God expect from us? Fruitfulness in our:

  • Vertical relationship
  • Horizontal relationships

Your vertical relationship is your relationship with your maker and creator. In your relationship with God, He expects you to be fruitful and not barren. The requirements for developing and maintaining fruits in your vertical relationship with God demands all of you.

Vertical relationship leads to fruitfulness. Love the Lord with all your heart, your soul, your mind and your strength and love your neighbor as your self. You are enabled see the pathway that leads to fruitfulness and success.

“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.” Psalms 1:1-6 NKJV

Jesus cut the unfruitful tree. We are called to bear fruits that remain. Bearing fruits helps in securing your relationship with God through Christ Jesus.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”Galatians 5:22 NKJV

Horizontal relation that leads to fruitfulness entails loving thy neighbor as yourself by expressing compassion, empathy and concern.

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”” Acts 1:8 NKJV

Why must we be fruitful?

To enable us be ministers of the message of reconciliation and ambassadors of the kingdom of God.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” II Corinthians 5:17-21 NKJV

To help us live our lives as the salt of the earth & light of the world.

““You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13-16 NKJV

“Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the Lord will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3 NKJV

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”” Acts 1:8 NKJV

I pray that you are encouraged to live a more fruitful life, bearing glorious fruits as the word has commanded us. Shalom!

Rev. Ron.