Virtuous Living

Unseen Barriers

In the past week or two I have been deliberating on a few things in scriptures which points to controlling powers and the rules of engagement in order to identify these barriers and overcome them. Today by the Grace of God I want to share with you what the Bible prescribes for victory.

Many believers walk in ignorance of the word of God. The effects of things they ignore are clearly seen in their lives. Bishop Oyedepo once said “what you don’t confront, you can never overcome”. We live in a world where physical things have spiritual dimensions to them. The spirit rules the physical. And so to be carnally (physically) minded is suicidal.

In 2 Corinthians 2:11, Apostle Paul states … “lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices”

The major strategy of the devil is to keep believers in bondage by keeping us from the word of truth that has power to librate us. And so if your are a nice Christian who does not like trouble and like minding your own business, I am here to announce to you that satan does not repeat your niceness. Once you are a believer, there is no negotiation with the devil. You need to know all that there is to our journey on earth in order to apply yourself effectively in your dominion mandate.

Ephesians 6:12 outlines what every believer is against. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Our Christian walk is one of warfare, between light and darkness. Our battle is not physical and so we don’t need military training to win. Our battle is in the spirit. Our opponents are principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness in high places. This is a tall order and so if you relent as a believer you will be overtaken by these. The purpose of God for us is that we grow as Christians in the spirit to take these enemies on. For lack of time I will not be able to go into details on what each of the enemies represents. I will focus on one which is powers (controlling powers).

These are evil forces that place limitations and unseen barriers on families and destinies.

I will give you two examples so you understand the effects of powers on the life of a person.

A woman of God whose daughter delivered in the UK a few weeks back got a visa to visit her daughter and new born for the first time in the UK. A week before her scheduled flight, her husband gets a stroke. This is the first time she is even traveling overseas. Now she has to stay and take care of her husband.

A young man doing well in business, making good money, living life has a child out of wedlock and is taking care of his child without the desire to marry, he has two women he is studying to date, his younger brother is also living the same reality. When I observed his situation I told him, “Bro, we need to pray about this, you need to marry”. So I invited him home… He was coming from Spintex to North Legon and notified me when he set off. After an hour, I was not hearing from him so I called him and he said he was at Mallam, that his maps rerouted him.

This is a clear case of powers behind the scenes (they not only managed to distract him but absolutely diverted his course). Eventually I got him to meet us half way and we prayed; God gave him directions, he did them, got clarity to choose ‘the wife’ out of the two women and has set a wedding date now. Hallelujah!

Until you deal with unseen barriers from your bloodline and family you will be at a disadvantage.

Our solution as prescribed by the word of God is in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

By prayer you can overcome any stronghold in your life. By deploying our divine weapons we have the advantage over the enemy and his devices against us. Choose to engage in prayer today that God may bring you the deliverance and liberty He has promised through His word.

Shalom peace and life to you.

Ps Ron Chiarelli

YOU ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD

Jesus said even though you are in this world, you are not of this world (John 15:19). There are different kingdoms in this world namely the Ashanti Kingdom, Mali kingdom of old, the water or marine kingdom, the forest, Islamic, satanic kingdoms respectively. Space won’t permit me to name all the kingdoms of this world. However, one kingdom that is greater than all these kingdoms is the kingdom that every Believer belongs to. It’s called the Kingdom of God.

It’s a spiritual kingdom governed by a King called Jesus Christ. In this kingdom, our way of doing things, speaking, dressing, behaving in the midst of battles is entirely different from the way other kingdoms operate. This is the best kingdom in the entire universe. To be rooted in our kingdom, every believer needs to play a role. In other words, if you want to remain in it or come out of it and still believe you are still in it when you are not actually in it depends on you.

Oh yes, the Bible says in Deuteronomy 30:15 “Today, I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster”. We can see here that whatever we do or become in life is dependent on the choice we make. These days, the devil takes a lot of believers out of the kingdom of God through a subtle way and it’s called worldliness. You may say why is it a sin? I have a good heart. I don’t smoke, fornicate, tell lies or do a bad thing. So why do you say worldliness is a powerful tool the enemy uses to disconnect us from God’s secure position? The enemy may not directly make you commit obvious sins because he knows you may not do that.

When you see a believer listening to worldly music and you question them, why do you do that? They tell you there’s nothing wrong with it. That’s true but remember every song is backed by a spirit whether you believe it or not. You may argue with me and that’s ok with me but God will help us understand.

There’s something we theologically call the law of atmosphere. You can create a godly or ungodly atmosphere by consistently listening to music that doesn’t glorify Jesus. You do that for at least a month and see whether you won’t erect an altar or not.

Many believers have attracted demons of lust, violence, depression etc to themselves through secular music. A young girl told me after listening to a particular secular music, she saw demons enter her room in her dreams to frighten and oppress her. It took prayers to set her free. These demons came from the music. If Christian music can attract angels or the Spirit of God, secular music too can do the opposite. Remember you aren’t of this world.

Elsewhere, you see some young women wear torn trousers and when you tell them it’s not right, they see you as an uncivilized person and even laugh at you. The God of this world has indeed “blinded their eyes“. When you consistently dress indecently, with time you will become “bold” and fight anyone who tries to tell you to dress well because you may think you are defending your womanhood. Is wearing torn clothes a sin? No! But they lead you somewhere. So from being bold and very prideful, you will start loving and following those who dress like you, learning their ways of life and you may even start watching their videos or listening to them passionately. Then you will gradually stop going to church or anything about church or God will start irritating you. Or you will go to church only when you feel like it.

Is that the Spirit of God? No, it isn’t! With time, you will become a fornicator or an adulterous person and convince yourself that everyone is like that including your spiritual leaders or pastors for “as a man thinks in his heart so is he”. Then you will begin to abort and from there you may lose your womb. At this stage, your eyes will open and you will know you have been deceived or fooled by the devil.

At this point, you may have tattooed yourself and followed ungodly people. I’m talking about Christians here and not those who were Christians before and later tattooed themselves. Now the sin is the effect of your dressing on yourself and others and not the clothing and that’s why the Bible says “shun or turn away from every form of evil” (Proverbs 3:7).

Mothers, parents, guardians, don’t give the devil a chance to strike you through your children or loved ones. Don’t sit there and say “oh they are young so leave them”. Please, don’t get me wrong for I personally love dressing well, I mean I love class and not indecency or ancient way of dressing.

A guy on the other hand, starts with a weird haircut which may not be a sin. From there, he starts smoking weed and from this level, he becomes a rapist or an armed robber and eventually loses his relationship with God and is shot under the bridge by the police and that becomes his end.

This could be because he left the kingdom of God through worldliness and entered a different kingdom that is obviously not of Jesus Christ. Only a few people may be worldly and still be in our kingdom. But believe you me, these people may not benefit entirely from their salvation because when the flesh dominates the spirit, you live as a carnal Christian. Don’t let the flesh control your spirit so that you become worldly. Draw closer to God through the word, prayer and fasting. If possible, be among believers for the Bible says “don’t forget the assembly of the saints”. If you do this you will come out from “among them” and be or remain in the kingdom of God.

For those of us who are out of the kingdom through worldliness, the good news is that we are never condemned but still loved by God. We can always come back to Him like the prodigal son, confess our sins and enter this marvelous kingdom of light for the Bible says “we were translated from the kingdom of darkness and brought into the marvelous kingdom of his dear Son, Jesus ( Colossians 1:13). I’m happy you have allowed this word of God to find expression in your life.

“Je vous aime tous et toutes”!

Dr. David Tobi Ogoudou

Plunge Deeper

As I drove through traffic en route to drop my children off in school, I had tuned in to a Christian radio station where citizens was sharing their perspectives on some pertinent issues in our society today. The children begun whining I. The back getting restless from being in the slow moving traffic. Efforts to keep them calm were not yielding so I decided to focus my energies on getting them to school without feeling flustered myself.

With all the whining, I could barely hear, talk less of follow the discussion ongoing. In my efforts to pay rapt attention to the discourse, I tuned up. It was only after a while that I noticed they had both gone quiet and the volume was too high. Tuning up not only enabled me hear better but also drowned out my distraction and also got me so engrossed that nothing else mattered in the moment. I tuned back down to reasonable volume as a commercial played and I realized a lesson we often take lightly. When you’re listening to something or someone of value you tune up and vice versa.

While I pondered on those thoughts, it dawned on me the scripture that speaks about Samuel and his experience with Eli:

“And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision. And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see; and ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep; that the LORD called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I. And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down. And the LORD called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again. Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the LORD had called the child. Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place. And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.” 1 Samuel 3:1-10 KJV

Carry out a simple litmus test to ascertain what the state of your heart is. Which voices or things are you highly tuned up on and which others have become a bare whisper. Notice the verse 7 of the above scripture, the Word of God says that Samuel did not YET know the Lord neither was the word of the Lord revealed to him, hence his inability to decipher God’s voice. However after heeding to direction and guidance by digging deep (investigating the source of the voice/ satisfying his curiosity), the verse 10 established that he knew what to do when the Lord came, and stood and called as at other times.

Could it be that your struggle to navigate certain situations you’re having to deal with may be because you’re drifting away from the voice of God? As children of God that should never be our story. Three tools to plunge deeper into the Presence of God and consistently be in tune with the Holy Spirit:

1. Reading and meditating on the word of God. Cultivate the habit of having a quiet time with God daily. It doesn’t have to be hours on end. Spending 15-30 minutes reading/studying the word of God for yourself consistently everyday definitely shifts your spirit man into the right gear.

2. Constantly being in the mode of worship. Surround yourself with spirit filled music. Sing in the spirit in moments when your mind tends to wander. Always harbor a content and grateful heart.

3. Pray without ceasing. 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there certain goes a long way to keep your direction in focus and deliver you from things unseen. As a Christian you cannot depend solely on corporate prayer. That has it’s place but you need to master the art of communicating with your Heavenly Father at a personal level.

Stay plugged in; ensure you are not disconnected (that could be fatal). Plunging deeper into God is a sure way to keep your spiritual antenna alert and guarantee your longevity.

With Love, Esinam.

The Token

“For this is my covenant unto them, When I shall take away their sins. As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” Romans 11:27-29 KJV

A woman had a daughter whom she loved. This child was unassuming and had almost always held opposing sentiments to her mothers. Albeit this friction could not mar their relationship and she equally loved her mother so much. Although she loved her daughter, this mother had her reservations about how successful her daughters future would be. Her daughter had vowed nonetheless to do her proud. Growing up and maturing in her faith, she eagerly pursued God’s will for her life and had managed to chart her own unique path in career and ministry. Her mother, now aging and celebrating her retirement had a gathering hosted in her honour. Her beloved daughter was in attendance and had bought her a lusciously arranged bouquet of flowers.

Unbeknownst to the mother, there was a cash token in the bouquet. The mother kept the bouquet and only discovered the token the morning after the celebrations. She assumed it might have gotten there by accident and quickly phoned her daughter, asking when she could return the money. Her daughter, having expected no different a reaction from her mother smiled softly at the other end of the line and to her mother’s surprise said, “it’s all yours, use it as needed”.

Many a time we do not recognize, acknowledge and we sometimes even fail to appreciate the tokens that God himself has freely given us for our own benefit. This may be due to the fact that we underestimate the value of what we have because we truly do not see it’s worth. We question their existence and usefulness and God’s ability to use it for His glory.

“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.” 1 Kings 17:8-16 KJV

Need I say more about the above except to reiterate the last verse; the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail. How did this happen? She put her ‘token’ to use as instructed. Rahab used her brothel, David used his harp and witty battle skills, Solomon used his wealth, Samson used his strength, Joseph used his interpretation of dreams, Moses used his meekness and leadership, Esther used her favour before the king, Daniel used his academic excellence, Mary used her virginity, Dorcas used her gifts, Paul used his knowledge and experiences, the little boy used his five loaves and two fishes, the woman at the well used her story. I could go on and on but the bottom line is, God couldn’t have possibly singled you out and given you nothing to use. Side note: none of the aforementioned individuals was perfect. They each availed themselves and used what they had, their tokens!!!

“I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” Romans 11:1-5 KJV

Don’t write anyone off as irredeemable when we’re still enjoying the era of grace. Rather seek that the Holy Spirit will convict them to receive the gospel that we share. May the reaper angels be deployed to our advantage and empower us to harvest the field of souls; the remnant of the end times. The soul you may be writing off could very well be your heavenly neighbour. Renew your mind, shift your perspective! Redirect your goalpost from scoring more “judging/criticism-points” to scoring more “soul-points”!!!

What do you have in your hand. What talent, gift or token has God blessed you with? How are you using it to populate heaven. I pray that we all channel our energies to ploughing the field of souls and leverage on the gifts God has blessed us with to redirect them from the highway to hell onto the narrow path. “And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” – (Luke 10:2) May your life be the example to those who see it because you choose to use ‘the token’ you have.

With love, Esinam.

THE SILENT PERIODS OF GOD (2)

When God is silent, it means He’s working on other factors needed to help you do His will. The will of God doesn’t only depend on your obedience. It depends on the synergy of many other people and many other factors. Sometimes when God leaves you in silence, it’s because He’s at the other end of your destiny rearranging the people and conditions that must make you to walk in purpose. If Elizabeth had a child before God’s time, there would have been no occasion to bring herself and Mary together. The moment Mary finished her interaction with the angel, she found that her tummy started protruding she was afraid because no one could relate with her situation but she remembered Elizabeth, a woman who had also gone through that season. One of the major reasons why Elizabeth was delayed was because of the timing of Jesus and John the Baptist.

If Jesus had died as a child , do you know how frustrating it would have been for John the Baptist to be in the wilderness? When Jesus was growing, John was also growing in the wilderness. It was when he started his ministry, that’s when Jesus was ready to be baptized. If John was born earlier than that time, John would not be able to have the patience to wait until Jesus grew. Imagine John the Baptist as an adult doing ministry. How old would Jesus be when he turned 30 if they hadn’t grown around the same timeline? There are times the silence of God means he’s putting things in place to make sense of your destiny and purpose.

When Elizabeth met Mary, the baby in her womb leaped and she was filled with the Holy Ghost and she began to speak. I thought God was silent. So the Holy Spirit could still speak through Elizabeth? Why didn’t He speak for that long? I thought Elizabeth had backslidden and so wouldn’t hear the voice of God again. For some of us the reason why God is delaying us like this is because the person(s) in the blueprint of our destinies to connect us aren’t yet born again. So God must raise someone to train such people so that our destinies will be fulfilled.

Forget everything man is saying to you. Discard all prejudicial statements from men to discourage you in your darkest moments. Don Moen sang and said “even in my darkness hour, through the sorrow and the pain, I will sing 🎤.” Sing such songs during these inexplicable periods precious ones. When I was jobless for over two years, that song meant so much to me. I sang it anytime the devil tried to discourage me everywhere I found myself, like a madman. He blessed me with a very good job and he will do better for you. In these periods, give thanks and know He’s preparing a table, fixing things so that you will never need to have any trouble about them again in your life. I trust this wise God.

When God is silent, it’s possible He’s fighting unseen battles, and averting certain dangers that may befall you on your way to executing his will. When Satan tries to stop your destiny and he can’t stop it, when he knows that it’s sure and you are moving the path of destiny, the next thing he does is that he begins to program all kinds of woes on your path to actualizing your destiny. God seeing that can suspend that which is His will for your life and then deal with the obstacles that will be waiting for you in the future. And the moment that’s done, He’ll release you to go.

Matthew 2:20, “Arise and take the young child and his mother and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s life.” When Jesus was born, Herod was angry and killed all the children. When Jesus was born and the angels visited him, there was no angelic manifestation again or the voice of the Spirit. The angel therefore said you can now go for all who wanted his life are dead, all the curses and the yokes that would have been waiting for you. While God suspends the revelation of His will, He makes sure all those obstacles are dealt with and when the road is cleared He now says “You can go”. Sadly, most believers are not mature enough to understand this. Arise, go and marry now! Arise have your children now! Arise and be healed now! Arise and take your business now! Frankly speaking, God is answering your questions now!

Give Him praise. “Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God” (Philippians 4:6). If God did not train Moses for 30 years and simply because he wanted a prophecy to come to pass, He pushed Moses prematurely, He might have brought them out of Egypt but they would all die. Even with all the training, it was only Joshua and Caleb that entered that promised land. When people are undergoing spiritual training, understand it and pray for them and stop asking them meaningless questions like when will you go to school? When are you having your next child because your one and only child is 15 years now? and so on…

Jesus I give you praise. I honor you Lord and pray that You increase Apostle Joshua Selman’s oil.

Dr. David Tobi Ogoudou

THE SILENT PERIODS OF GOD (1)

Having been a Christian for several years, I have asked myself some important questions but I never received satisfactory answers until God spoke to me and answered me through Apostle Joshua Selman. One of these questions has always been why does God remain silent most of the times after we have prayed, fasted and when we even live for Him?

Dear reader, I am sure you have also asked yourself that question before and you were either given unsatisfactory theological or human answers. Dear friend, if you have not yet asked yourself such a question in your Christian walk, believe you me, that time is imminent. It’s just a matter of time. The silent seasons of God are periods where you pray, fast and do everything and you won’t still hear His voice.

When God is silent with regards to Him revealing His will to you, it could means three things. The first reason is that He’s working on you. This is when He begins to work in and on you as His vessel. Revealing His will to you in your current state will be a waste so His silence means you should continue the training and the building of yourself until He makes you that vessel that will be able to do ‘that will’ you want Him to reveal. God why are you silent in my life and destiny? God was silent in the life of Jesus for 30 good years. We didn’t hear Jesus communicate with the Father as a child and yet He was God. God spoke about His birth as a child and that was all until He turned 30. Meanwhile he had been praying, fasting and preparing himself. Anytime God is silent focus on yourself and not Him. At age 12 Jesus couldn’t fulfill the will of the Father because he needed to grow. In those moments of silence, Jesus increased in wisdom, stature, and favour with God and man, the Bible says.

What have you been doing in these moments of silence? Do you complain? I hope you don’t do so. Please, learn to grow. Read, go to school, learn a trade or do something profitable with your life without forgetting to honor God at all times. Focus on allowing Him build you. Anytime God reveals His will to you it means you have become the vessel that necessitates that revelation. In this period, the Lord will withhold His voice and focus on your training. It’s not easy but worth it. The Lord give us grace to understand.

When Joseph had a dream, that was the end of it. There was nothing else he saw or heard again. He just had a dream of his destiny. When he went into the pit, I’m sure he would say Lord explain to me why should a righteous person be in a pit? There was silence!!! Why should I be sick? Why should I still be unmarried till now? Why should I be barren or jobless despite being serious with the God of the Hebrews? Silence!!! When they were selling him, God was still silent. But was he out of the will of God?

Even in your confusion, God is still with you dear friend. Romans 8: 28 says “All things work together for good to them that love the Lord (not for everyone) and are called according to His purpose”. So anytime u don’t understand your life, ask yourself this question “ do I love the Lord”? If your love is still in place find rest. Troubles only start when the challenges steal away your love for God and that’s when you will be in trouble. You will never be in trouble in the name of Jesus. Receive grace to be patient in trying moments. After years, His majesty will speak; He will take a second to speak in ur life. When it has to do with bringing your season to an end, God doesn’t sound as a small still voice. He comes majestically. He will do things that will be impossible for you to deny that He is the one behind your miracle.

Whilst you are waiting for Him to get you a job, He will favour you not by giving you a job but a very good one with other things that you never thought of. And that’s when this scripture will find expression in your life “When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream”. While you are waiting don’t be regretting what you would have been doing. Your compensation is already in the plan for when Joseph was lifted, he was given a new attire, a ring, and even a wife that he never prayed for.

Hannah had been waiting for a long time for a child because the child that was coming was not an ordinary child. He’s the one who anointed all the kings of Israel so dear friend be patient. Patience is powerful because it can help you to put together the kind of compassion you need through your pain so that you’ll sustain certain results when they come. When some destiny things come too easy there’s no memory bank of pain. You’ll be careless over so many great things. Do you think Joseph had the time to be careless after spending more than two years in prison? The memory of his pain in prison would not make him take his job lightly. That’s why some of us are so serious with God. This is because we know where He brought us from.

Don’t go to the devil or live a careless life when God is silent. Rather, draw closer to Jehovah than ever before. Be conscious of the fact that if He doesn’t help you no other person or entity can do same. The Lord bless you.

Dr. David Tobi Ogoudou

Who makes the rules!?

Priorities in life have evolved over the past few decades for a lot of individuals and families. For some it’s important that they attain academic laurels and have a place within the corridors of power in whatever society they find themselves. For some others it’s all about status and living the bougie life, purely socialites. For yet another group it’s all about the money, how it’s achieved is inconsequential.

Looking rich, feeling rich, acting rich, being rich; none of it actually really matters if you’re outside of the will of God. I recently heard a story of a middle-aged woman who had grown through the ranks of her career and was doing so well. Despite all her achievements though, she was unable to make time for her family and even her health. She kept putting off taking care of herself until the fatal happened, she collapsed at the very job that had stolen her years and died within 24 hours.

Another young vibrant gentleman who had spend the early years of his life just living as anyone else finally decides to seek God after he had reached the point of depression. Unfortunately time didn’t align with his plans. He was found dead in his room one morning, how heartbreaking.

One lady shared her story about pursuing her career goals and always aiming to achieve more. She rose to high ranks of her dreams but the strain on her life and other goals were gradually becoming unbearable. She was earning a sweet pay and doing well by certain standards but she decided to make a sudden switch based on realities of life. She chose to focus more on herself, family and things that really mattered to her. Albeit, self indulgence doesn’t necessarily guarantee fulfillment. Eternal fulfillment and satisfaction is only discovered in God’s perfect will. Read that again!!

“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:20-21).

“Every way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the hearts.” (Proverbs 21:2).

1. How often do you weigh the motives for the decisions you make and the actions you take?

2. What propels you to act in the ways that you do?

3. How often do you pause to reflect on the impact of your life here on earth to your life in eternity?

The first two humans were told by their Creator that it would be wrong for them to eat the fruit of a certain tree. “You shall not eat of it or even touch it, lest you die” (Genesis 3:3). But in Eve’s eyes, the tree was good and desirable. “The woman saw that the tree was good for food, a delight to the eye, and desirable to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6). And so she ate. In Eve’s eyes it was good to eat the fruit. But in God’s word it was forbidden. She ignored God, called evil good, and did what was right in her own eyes. Adam joined her. People have been doing the same ever since, and they won’t live happily ever after.

Making time for family and taking time off to practice self-love is good. Worldly standards and what people deem as success and fulfillment can be good and propel you to achieve seemingly great things. However the most prudent thing to do is to seek the face of God in all your endeavours. I will end with a few versus of one of my favourite chapters of scripture (kindly find time to read and meditate on the whole chapter).

“One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, And every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”Romans 14:5-12 KJV

Why put your eternity at risk for timely pleasures that evaporate as steam? Finding God’s will for your life puts everything into perspective. Look up to God not just as your source (for substance and provision) but more significantly as your Coach (your guide and direction). Remember that He makes the rules and we shall all give an account of this life to Him. Be adequately prepared, Selah!

With love, Esinam

https://youtu.be/96DMaugOI6Y

What if God is unhappy

“GODFIDENCE”: Having Confidence in God

“Thus my heart was grieved, And I was pricked in my reins. So foolish was I, and ignorant: I was as a beast before thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee: Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, And afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart faileth: But God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” Psalm 73:21-26 KJV

How many times haven’t we cried out to God and He has given us strength? How many times haven’t we cried out to God to take away a pain or a situation? And yet even in those moments He always gives us strength to keep moving, to keep living, to keep breathing. As the word says he is the strength of not just our hearts but also our portion (all that we have and own) forever.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 KJV

Faith does not make us immune to the hardships of life. There are moments when jobs are lost, hearts are broken, or loved ones are taken before their time. There are other times when we are left waiting (and waiting and waiting) for our dreams to come to fruition. The dream for a child, a spouse, or for a relationship to be restored. For a loved one to overcome an illness or addiction. For a break in our career. Our hearts are left aching with longing for what we don’t yet have. Yet in our moments of unbelief and despair the word of God admonishes is this:

“Let not thine heart envy sinners: But be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. For surely there is an end; And thine expectation shall not be cut off.” Proverbs 23:17-18 KJV

Most of us have spent time picturing what our lives will look like. We paint a canvas in our heads of our marriages, children, careers, friendships, and sometimes even apportion timelines for all of these things. Having a vision, direction or expectation of how our lives should pan out is a good thing, but what happens when our dreams and expectations are shattered by life’s disappointments? By the death of a loved one, the breakdown of a marriage, or the loss of a career? How do we respond? Do we get angry towards God and respond in bitterness? Do we vow to never dream again, or trust again, because it hurts too much to hope? Or, are we willing to stretch forth our hands to the heavens and surrender the canvas of our lives to Him.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, Neither have entered into the heart of man, The things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9 KJV

I have also painted a canvas of what my life would look like in my mind, but I have discovered that my canvas may not be consistent with the ultimate canvas that God is painting for me. Fantasy can be idolatry, oftentimes driven by the lust of the eye, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. We are more prone to veer off God’s perfect will for our lives when we put our trust in an image carved out by our minds. It can be much easier to place our trust in something we can see and control, than to place it in a God we cannot see and cannot control. Give him your life as a blank canvas and trust Him to paint a masterpiece. Offer your life as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto Him alone.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9 KJV

God cares about us, and He cares about our dreams. He cares enough that He is willing to redirect us away from what we think we want, so that He can lead us into what He has for us; His perfect will for our lives. Have unrelenting confidence in God Almighty and watch Him transform your life into a spectacle of His glory.

Love, Esinam.

Confidence – Tasha Cobbs Leonard

Counting on God’s Promises

Our word for today is an audio file to exhort and encourage us all. I hope you’re blessed by it and energized to face the upcoming week.

Thank you for listening 🙏🏼

With love, Esinam.

BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

As a young believer, I had always wanted to know what it meant “to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit”. To this end, I searched and searched so as to decode the meaning of that expression to no avail. I asked a few people about it but they didn’t give me any satisfactory answer.

I asked myself questions like, “Why would the Bible say if we sin against the Holy Spirit we will not be forgiven?“. But the Bible also says, “If we confess our sins, He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness“ (1 John 1:9). This means that Jesus the Son of the living God forgives sins only if we confess them earnestly and live to please Him.

Now, does the Father also forgive sins? Jesus Himself answers that question in Matthew 23:34, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do”

Concerning the Holy Spirit, Jesus said in Matthew 12: 31-32 ”Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man (Jesus) will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come”. Hmmmmm, please let’s ponder over these verses. Is the Holy Spirit greater than the other two personalities of the Godhead? Absolutely not! They are equal in glory, power and majesty. Can I shock us? Most of us Believers are guilty of this offense. Oh yes! We blaspheme against the Holy Spirit at all times.

Apostle Johnson Suleman of Omega Fire Ministries defines the expression “blaspheming against the Holy Spirit” as ascribing the works of God to Satan”. For example, some Christians say” This miracle is not of God. That man of God isn’t of God etc…. How sure are you? You maybe right at the wrong time or wrong at the right time. Let’s focus on our lives and leave what we don’t understand to God.

So why did God say if we blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, it cannot be forgiven? Some people think it’s because that’s the biggest sin. No, that isn’t it. When a man of God preaches and all of a sudden you feel the man of Gos is talking about you when He hasn’t even mentioned your name and may not even know you, you have to know it’s the Holy Spirit at work. The Bible says, He (the Spirit) convicts you of sins. So, it’s the Holy Spirit that’s the instrument of forgiveness. In fact, He is the one that makes you feel guilty. If you’re now offending Him, who will make you feel guilty to now repent? So when you sin against Him and He’s grieved, the forgiveness process will not be initiated for it’s still Him that’ll convict you that you’re wrong and now you have blocked Him from helping you. You can’t be forgiven because you have closed the door and He can’t help you. He the Spirit is a person (emotions, will and knowledge) and not human. Jesus said when “He” shall come. Grammatically speaking “he” is used for a person. Humans are made up of 206 bones, water and flesh. That’s biology for you. Bones, flesh and water don’t have knowledge, will and emotions. It’s the personality that has knowledge, emotions and will.

Ephesians 4:30 “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God…” So, He can be grieved. To treat the Holy Spirit as a person, talk to Him. Say these things like “Holy Spirit, I love you, I adore you, you are welcome in this place”. Anyone who has a low self esteem, or is depressed may not know the Holy Spirit. If He’s in you, He will comfort you when the need arises and give you boldness. Be conscious of His presence with you at all times!

The good news is that if you grieve the Holy Spirit, you can go before Him, confess your sins and honesty repent from them and He that gentle personality will surely feel loved, respected, honored and blot out that sin. Yes, with God nothing shall be impossible. Go to Him, for He’s your Father and He yearns for your attention, communication and fellowship with Him.

Jesus is Lord!

Dr. David Tobi Ogoudou

THE STOREHOUSE

God wishes His people to prosper in all departments of life to His glory.

It’s not God’s wish that we remain poor so as to feel holy. In fact, the God of the Bible is the one who made Abraham, Isaac and Jacob financial gurus.

The Bible clearly says “ the Lord takes delight in the prosperity of His saints.” This means when you are prosperous in ur soul, spirit and body God is happy. God blesses His people through the adherence of spiritual principles like offerings, tithes, sacrifices among others. The principle that is my focus today is the “storehouse”.

What’s the storehouse? Is it only a physical storage place? Or there’s more to it?

In Malachi 3:10 the Bible says “ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat in my house and prove me now herewith says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that there shall be no room enough to receive it.”

The storehouse can be the place of your primary spiritual nourishment. In other words, it refers to your local church. So if I attend church A, church A becomes my storehouse and that’s where I am biblically commanded to give my tithes. That’s where you are spiritually fed and it’s also the place of your growth.

Secondly, the storehouse also refers to any ministry that’s committed to the salvation of souls and equipping of the saints. So, if I am led as a Christian, I can pay my tithes in a ministry that’s not my local church. Some believers or servants of God do this a lot. Men of God like Apostle Joshua Selman, Johnson Suleman among others really understand and practice this spiritual principle to their advantage. We strive in this kingdom on the platform of knowledge. I pray we get to that level in Jesus name! These men walk on God and the world just doesn’t know why they are immensely rich and they are doing well in ministry, life and destiny.

Finally, the storehouse can also be an individual, or a minister who is committed to the salvation of souls and equipping the saints. A case in point is when Abraham gave his tithes to Melchizedek and the Bible said He blessed Abraham and said “Blessed be Abraham of the Most High God, possessor of heaven and earth”. Consequently, Abraham became rich in cattle, silver and gold”. I have been a crazy practitioner of tithes from my schools days till now and I have seen the hand of the Lord in my finances. When I was a teacher, my colleagues envied me and didn’t know why I was making headway and they weren’t. Beloved, I can’t lie to you with the Bible.

Why don’t you try this principle with understanding and see your finances receive a touch from God.

Don’t give grudgingly because God loves a cheerful giver. Keep sowing till you see a difference in your finances. You are wise if you do what the Lord asks you to do.

As you give, he will bless you by giving you ideas, connect you to your destiny helpers or speak to you directly and tell you what you need to do concerning whatever you want from Him. When you see a man of God sowing into the life of another man of God, don’t criticize him or think he isn’t wise. If you want to go higher in life, you sow into the lives of those who are higher than you so as to tap from their grace and be blessed for ”iron sharpens iron”.

Giving to the poor isn’t out of place. It’s also biblical but it doesn’t do what your tithes do. If you want to know what your tithes do in your storehouse, read Malachi 3:10 -12 carefully. When you give to the poor the Lord delivers you from the bed of afflictions or sickness (Psalm 41:1 -3). Blessed is he that considers the poor, the Lord will deliver him in times of trouble, the Lord will preserve him and keep him alive and he shall be blessed on earth and you will not hand him over to his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing and restore his health.

Beloved, don’t let the storehouse be empty. Don’t let your church be empty and don’t let your man of God be hungry. Bless him and you too will be blessed. Don’t join people who don’t understand spiritual things and criticize the principles of God and His servants.

Remember, your church, other ministries or a man of God can be your storehouse.

Shalom! Soyez benis au nom de Jesus!

Dr. David Tobi Ogoudou

Flawless

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18 KJV

It is that time of year when we remember the greatest sacrifice ever made. This is not a season of bunnies and eggs, neither is it an unusually long weekend for road trips and vacations. It is a reflective period where we remember and honour the sacrifice of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ who shed His blood to redeem mankind from death, hell and the grave. All glory to Yeshua Hamashiach, Saviour of the world. Even in our weakness and unbelief He never requests a refund for the sacrifice He made. We didn’t deserve it, we couldn’t earn it, yet He did it anyway because of His love for us.

If for any reason you have not had a chance to believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as your Lord and personal Saviour, I urge you to take that bold step today. What better time to embrace redemption than in the season where we remember the very sacrifice that was made to rescue us from the grips of death. Kindly say this prayer with me; “Dear Lord Jesus, I thank you for loving me and coming to die for me. I appreciate your sacrifice on the cross where you took my place, bore my sin and shame and shed your blood to set me free. I believe in you and accept you today as the Lord of my life. Please write my name in your book of life and accept me as your own. My life belongs to you henceforth and I will live for your glory. Thank you for saving me, in Jesus Name. Amen.”

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 KJV

As children of light, here are a few reminders of things we should do to maintain our relationship with our Heavenly Father:

1. Pray constantly. It might feel like a tough chore but it does us more good than we recognize. Prayer is simply talking to God, and listening to Him speak back to us. The scriptures admonish us to pray without ceasing. Take the time to have honest conversations with God; He will not screenshot them and share with anyone. The more you engage Him in conversation, the more you grow spiritually and you become increasingly conscious of His abiding presence.

2. Read and meditate on God’s word. With everything currently happening in the world, it is easy to get overwhelmed and stressed. Bills to pay, work to do, family, inflation, health issues, school, a pandemic, wars, politics, societal issues and so on. You best redirect your focus and let the word be your anchor. Cast all your burdens unto Christ, He really and truly cares for us. Try also to memorize scriptures to fill up the well of your soul. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal mysteries to you as your study the word.

3. Be kind and generous. It doesn’t take a person going about town dishing wads of cash to strangers to define generosity. Little acts of kindness such as lending a helping hand, sharing the word of God, encouraging and praying for a friend or colleague go a long way to make an impact. The next time the thought of an old friend or colleague crosses your mind, take a few moments and say a prayer for that person. They might be in a situation in which God has chosen you to intercede on their behalf. I recently had a situation where a lady’s name kept crossing my thoughts and this was unusual. I said a brief prayer for her but I still felt unsettled so I went ahead to text her to find out how she was and encouraged her. It turned out she was almost due to have a baby. To the glory of God, she had a successful Caesarean section and both herself and the child are doing amazing. Hallelujah! Many a time, it’s the little things that really count.

4. Learn to wait on God. Waiting on God involves trusting Him to meet you at the point of your need without fail or disappointment. Waiting can be hard. In fact it is hard. It is uncomfortable. It can be painful especially when you’ve been fasting, praying, giving and believing God for a breakthrough for a really long time while living right and honoring Him. Do not forget however that He knows what is best for you and sees the end from the beginning. Consider this a period to build capacity for the mind boggling testimonies that will fill your mouth soon. The very manuscript/ blueprint of your life is in His hands. Don’t give up, don’t lose hope, forge forward. His perfect will is better than any fantasy you can ever imagine.

“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.” Titus 3:3-7 KJV

His blood has made us flawless. Our good deeds and kind works didn’t earn it. We were but as filthy rugs before Him but the cleansing of His precious blood purchased a garment of righteousness for us. As children of God living a godly life is not to prove that we deserved forgiveness but rather our works indicate an absolute faith in God and a resolve to please Him. With Christ seated at the right hand of God the Father interceding on our behalf, we are before Him flawless. Be not intimidated by lies of the devil and demonic projections. God loves you and if you trust Him and His will for your life, you will be victorious. Walk in this knowledge and confidence in Him henceforth. May the peace of God that passes all understanding fill your hearts and minds always, in Jesus’ Name.

Love, Esinam.

Mercy Me – Flawless