Be Full Of The Consciousness Of God

1 Corinthians 2:12

¹²Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

I believe that you know the story of David the shepherd boy who defeated the 10-foot-tall Goliath, a champion warrior. Ever wondered why David succeeded while the others failed? 

David’s secret was that he didn’t know defeat because he was not conscious of a God who cannot. He was only conscious of a God who had rescued him time and again.

You can imagine him saying, “One day, I was taking care of my sheep when a lion came and took one of them. I was not willing to settle for that! I went after the lion, caught it by its beard and smote it. The Lord delivered me from the lion’s mouth. On another occasion, a bear came and took one of my flock. I went after the bear and smote it. The Lord delivered me from the bear. This same God, who delivered me from the paws of the lion and bear, will deliver me from this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:34–37)

David was conscious of what God had done for him. He knew that God was the one who was for him, loved him, favoured him and gave him success. You can also remind yourself that the same God, who did tremendous things in the past for you, will do the same for you again.

Be like David, who was full of the consciousness of God. Do not be like the army of Israel, who were full of the consciousness of the words of Goliath. I believe that they must have talked about Goliath’s threats, rehearsed his words and, as a result, filled their hearts with fear and trembling. (1 Samuel 17:11, 24)

Do not feed on man’s words nor the devil’s which only give you anxiety and fear. Feed on God’s Word by reading the Bible and listening to messages about who you are in Christ and what He has done for you. Pump yourself up with God’s Word until you are filled with the consciousness of God, that you might know the things that have been freely given to you by God!

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FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT

Luke 4:24, "And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country."

LUKE 4:16-30

A modern day equivalent of this verse is "familiarity breeds contempt." Those who know the most about us also know more of our faults than anyone else. As a general rule, our weaknesses will blind most people to our strengths.

However, in the case of Jesus, there were no faults or failures to bias these people. In this instance, the problem stemmed from the people's lack of perception. They knew Jesus better than most in the flesh, but they had failed to see who He was in the Spirit.

Jesus was God in all His power and majesty, yet He was clothed in flesh --a human in every respect (1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:3). These people looked on Jesus' outward appearance and failed to see God within (1 Sam. 16:7).

Likewise, we fail to see the potential in others and even in ourselves because of our preoccupation with the outward appearance and actions. But within every born again person is a new creation which is waiting to be released (2 Cor. 5:17). All it takes is someone who believes.

Today look beyond the exterior in yourself and others and help bring into reality what we can be in Christ.

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Be Conscious Of Your Position In Christ

John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.

Have you ever noticed that in this verse, Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches”? He did not say, “I am the vine, try to be the branches.” In other words, He wants us to realise that we already are the branches. We do not have to struggle to become the branches. 

And as His branches, we only have to abide or remain in Christ our vine. How do we do that? We do that simply by being conscious every day of our position in Christ. 

Because we have received Christ, we are in Christ and are accepted in the Beloved. (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 1:6) God accepts us because we are in the Beloved and He is in us. And that is how God sees us today when we come into His presence. 

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Blessed Wherever You Are

Deuteronomy 28:3                       

3“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country.

You may have heard of people who think that to have better “luck”, they have to move to a new home, work for a certain company or even migrate to another country.

The truth is that it is not the place that gets you the blessings, but whether God’s blessings are on you. And for you, child of God, you are already blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 1:20) He has paid for your blessings with His blood. So the blessing is not on the land but on the man!

It was in the city of Jerusalem that Jesus was whipped, cursed and spat on. And it was outside the city on Calvary’s hill that He was pierced and crucified. That is why you are blessed in the city as well as outside in the country! In fact, you are blessed regardless of the location. 

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Down But Not Out

2 Corinthians 4:8–9

⁸We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

Before you were a Christian, when something sad or bad happened to you, you cried until you had no more tears left. Your heart simply broke into pieces, and you felt trapped, depressed and totally defeated.

But after you became a Christian, even when something worse happens to you, you still cry, but you feel comforted inside. You are sad outwardly, but your heart isn’t heavy. You don’t understand why, but deep down inside you, there is something lifting you up. That something buoyant, which is rising from the inside of you, is the life of Christ in you!

You cannot be completely distressed because Christ in you is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6) who says to you, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

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‘All That I Have Is Yours’ - Luke 15:31

Luke 15:31
³¹And he said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.”

After running a few errands for his parents, a little boy went to his father and said, “I know why you and mummy had me.”

“Why?” his father asked. 

“So that you will have someone to run errands and work for you!” exclaimed the boy.

Like the little boy, do you see God as a Father who demands obedience and service from you? Have you ever felt that unless you obey God and keep all His commandments, you don’t have a right to be blessed by Him?

Jesus told the story of the prodigal son to show how some of us call God “Father” and yet don’t know the Father’s heart. There are two sons in this parable. We know what happened to the prodigal son, but we can also learn something about the older son. This is what he said to his father when he discovered that his father had thrown a party to celebrate the return of his irresponsible, spendthrift brother: “Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.” (Luke 15:29) 

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Don’t Be Dust-Conscious

Don’t Be Dust-Conscious

Luke 13:11    
                   
¹¹And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.

Imagine being bowed over for 18 years. All you would see is the dust on the ground. That was the predicament of the woman in Luke 13. Dust was all her eyes fell on, all the time, everywhere she went, until she became dust-conscious. Thank God she finally saw the beautiful feet of Jesus, who brought her good news and raised her up. 

Now, dust is the devil’s food. The Bible tells us that God cursed the devil to eat dust all the days of his life. (Genesis 3:14) Dust represents death. (Genesis 3:19) The devil wants you to be like him — to fall flat on your belly, crawl and eat dust. To eat dust is to feed on your shortcomings and lack, until you constantly feel that there is so much in your life that you need to clean up. You may not be bowed over, but like the woman, you become dust-conscious and life every day is a struggle.

Having a dust consciousness also affects the way you see others. You look at people’s faults all the time. You point out their shortcomings and rake up their past failures. When you are dust-conscious, you find your relationships robbed of peace and joy.

And if you, like the woman, keep looking at the dust, before long, that inward position of dust-consciousness becomes so entrenched that you become the devil’s food because dust is what he eats. God’s Word describes him as being like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

If you don’t want to be devoured, lift your head above the dust! Instead of looking at your failures, look to Christ who has delivered you from every defeat. See yourself the way God sees you — righteous and holy in Christ. (Colossians 3:12, 2 Corinthians 5:21) You are not dust because you are not in and of the flesh — you are in and of the Spirit. (Romans 8:9)

The more you realise who you are in Christ, the more you will straighten up and walk the way God sees you — a new creation with His authority, power and overcoming Spirit!

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Asking In Jesus’ Name

Asking In Jesus’ Name

John 16:23
²³… Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.

Do you always end your prayers with “in Jesus’ name. Amen!”? Maybe your Sunday school teacher taught you to do this, or maybe you have heard church leaders and other believers utter it at the end of their prayers. 

I used to say, “In Jesus’ name. Amen!” very quickly as if those were magic words that would get my prayers answered. Then, one day, I heard the Lord asking me why I was doing that.

God wanted me to realise that whenever I pray and say, “In Jesus’ name,” I am putting my entire faith for my prayer to be answered not in who I am, nor in what I have done, but on the person and name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and what He has done at the cross! 

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Fix Your Eyes On God’s Unshakeable Word

Fix Your Eyes On God’s Unshakeable Word

Philippians 4:19
¹⁹And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

“This war will affect the world’s economy.”

“Unemployment is at an all-time high.”

People of the world feel helpless as systems of the world go up and down. But God does not want you to feel helpless because you are not of the world. (John 17:16) You are of God and therefore need not be subject to the world’s systems. Whatever the world’s situation is, fear not because “God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus”.

Notice that Philippians 4:19 says that “God shall supply all your need”. It does not say that God may supply some of your needs. It also says that God will do it “according to His riches”. It is not out of His riches. If a millionaire gives you a hundred dollars, it is out of his riches. The sum is only a small portion of his riches. However, if he gives to you according to his riches, it means that he is lining up his millions for your supply!

Lastly, the verse says that God does it “according to His riches in glory”. It is not according to the riches of your company or how well the economy is doing. No, it is according to God’s riches in glory! 

So how do you stop yourself from feeling helpless in uncertain, shaky times? The same way I stopped myself from getting sea-sick when I was on board a navy ship for the first time during my National Service stint. A senior navy officer had advised me, “Don’t look at the waves around you. Look at the horizon far away. Look at that stable, stationary line and you will feel better.” When I fixed my eyes on that unshakeable, unwavering line, even though the ship bobbed in the rough sea, I did not feel sea-sick anymore. 

My friend, don’t look at your circumstances or the bad things that are happening in the world because you will get “earth-sick”. Instead, look at the unshakeable, eternal Word of God. Your heart will become stable and you will see your God supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!

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Fight From Victory, Not For Victory

Fight From Victory, Not For Victory

Ephesians 6:11
¹¹Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

God does not need you to defeat the devil today. Jesus has already done it and given you the victory. (Colossians 2:15, Romans 8:37) Your part is to enforce the victory by simply standing your ground, which is victory ground. In other words, you “fight” from victory ground by standing. You don’t fight for victory.

In Ephesians 6:10–18, the passage on spiritual warfare, the word “wrestle” appears only once (verse 12), while the word “stand” appears four times — “… stand against the wiles of the devil…” (verse 11), “… withstand in the evil day…” (verse 13), “… and having done all, to stand…” (verse 13), “Stand therefore…”. (verse 14) Four times the Holy Spirit tells us to “stand”. Yet, many Christians are focusing on wrestling their way to victory!

My friend, you are already on victory ground. You already have everything in Christ. (1 Corinthians 3:21, 23) You are already blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3). The devil knows this. And that is why his tactic is to deceive you and make you think that you don’t have the victory.

So when he attacks you by saying, “Look at that meagre balance in your bank account! How are you going to pay the bills?” stand your ground. Declare, “I am not trying to be rich, I am rich. In Christ, I am rich!” It doesn’t matter how much you have in the bank. You are rich because you are in Christ. And as the need arises, the supply will be there if you believe you are rich.

It is the same with healing. The devil will try to attack you with symptoms in your body. He will try to put pain in your body, and make you feel weakness here and there, so that you think that you are still sick. He is trying to make you believe that you don’t have your healing. Call his bluff there and then. Say, “No devil, I am not trying to get healed, I am healed! I am standing on the victory ground which Jesus gave me!”

My friend, it makes a world of difference when you fight from victory and not for victory!

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Guard Your Heart

Guard Your Heart 

John 14:27
²⁷Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The night before He died, Jesus gave His peace to His disciples — “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you…” This peace is not just for His disciples, but also for us. Today, we have His peace.

The moment you believe in Jesus Christ, He who is the Prince of Peace comes to live inside you. And when the Prince of Peace resides in you, every blessing that you will ever need pertaining to your soundness and wholeness is already inside you.

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GOD'S IDEA OF GREATNESS

GOD'S IDEA OF GREATNESS

Luke 3:20, "....he shut up John in prison."

John spent 30 years preparing for a six month ministry, followed by one and a half years in prison before he was beheaded. Many people would not consider his life very successful, yet Jesus said John was the greatest man who was ever born (Mt. 11:11).

John's greatness didn't lie in his own success, but in the success of another. John stirred up the hearts of an entire nation in expectancy of their Messiah. The ministry of Jesus owed much of its success to the work of John. John had prepared a people to meet their God (Mal. 3:1).

In our celebrity conscious society, few people want to be the backup singer or the announcer who introduces the main speaker. We have adopted a mentality that unless we are in the limelight we have failed. That's not the way the Lord looks at things.

When the Lord passes out rewards in heaven, we may be shocked to see how He evaluates greatness. Many people who did not receive recognition while on earth will shine like the stars in eternity. The Lord will judge our works on what sort they were and not what size they were (I Cor. 3:13).

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Critics beware

From experience, we know that it is easier to criticize than to correct; we understand that it is easier to find faults than solution and we realize that excessive criticism is usually destructive not productive. Yet the urge to criticize other remains a powerful temptation for most of us. Our task, as obedient believers is to break the twin habits of negative thinking and critical speech.

James 4:11  Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.

Negatively is highly contagious: we give it to other who it turn, give it back to us. This cycle can be broken by positive thoughts, heartfelt prayers and encouraging words. As thoughtful servant of a loving God, we can use transforming power of Christ’s love to break the chains of negativity and we should.

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God Can Turn Your Evil Day Into Good Days

God Can Turn Your Evil Day Into Good Days

Esther 9:22
²²… rest from their enemies… sorrow to joy… mourning to a holiday…

Today, many Jews are celebrating the feast of Purim. The name Purim is derived from “the lot” which a Gentile, Haman, cast concerning the fate of the Jews when they were in Persia under King Ahasuerus.

Haman, the villain in this story in the book of Esther, hated the Jews and sought to exterminate them. He got King Ahasuerus to allow him to issue a decree to annihilate all the Jews in one day — on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar. But God used Queen Esther and her uncle Mordecai, both Jews, to turn the tables on Haman and save the Jews.

Haman was hanged on the very gallows that he had constructed for Mordecai! Then, the king allowed Queen Esther and Mordecai to issue a counter-decree to allow all the Jews to defend themselves and destroy their enemies in one day — on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month of Adar! 

So instead of the Jews being exterminated on that fateful day, their enemies were destroyed! God turned an evil day for the Jews into good days. He turned their mourning into rejoicing and gave them victory over their enemies.  

My friend, God can do the same for you today. He only wants you to remain in your position of rest in Christ. You see, because of Jesus’ finished work at the cross, you are seated in heavenly places in Christ, far above every principality, and evil assault the devil can throw at you. (Ephesians 2:6) Just as Mordecai sat within the king’s gate, and refused to stand up and bow to Haman, let’s not “bow” to the devil by allowing him to move us out of our position of rest in Christ. Don’t allow him to get you worried, frantic and doing things to save yourself. 

Queen Esther was also in a position of rest before Haman was executed. She was seated on a couch as Haman pleaded before her for his life. While doing so, he accidentally fell over the couch where the queen was. The king, thinking that Haman was assaulting his queen, sent him to the gallows!

Beloved, remain at rest in Christ’s finished work, and He will turn your evil day into days of rejoicing and feasting!

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Start with God-the first in learning

Whether you’re young or adult you’ve still got lots to learn. Even if you’re a very wise man, God isn’t finished with you yet and He isn’t finished teaching you important lessons about life here on earth and life eternal.

Do you eek to live a life of righteousness and wisdom? If so, you must continue to study the ultimate source of wisdom: the Word of God. You must associate, day in and day out, with godly men and women. And you must act in accordance with your beliefs. When you study God’s word and live according to His commandments, you will become wise and you will be a blessing to your friends, to your family and to the world.

Prayer;

Dear Lord, I have so much to learn. Help me to watch, to listen, to think and to learn every day of my life. Amen.

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Forgiveness Is For The Undeserving

Forgiveness Is For The Undeserving

Matthew 18:21
²¹… “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”

The Lord’s answer to Peter was simple: Up to seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:22) In other words, all the time!

“Well, Pastor, he does not deserve my forgiveness.” 

Neither did you deserve God’s. Listen, there is not a single person alive or dead who did not break all 10 of God’s commandments. There is no such thing as a “partial sinner” or “great sinner”. All of us were great sinners when Jesus saved us! And we need to have that revelation because if we know that we are forgiven much, we will love much. (Luke 7:47)

“Pastor, how can you say that I have broken all 10 commandments? I have not committed adultery. I have been true to my wife since the day we married.” 

My friend, Jesus said, “If you lust after a woman in your heart, you have already committed adultery with her.” (Matthew 5:28) That is God’s standard. Man looks outward, but God looks inward. God sees the heart. So everyone has broken all 10 commandments. Everyone is a great sinner. 

Now, you are no longer a sinner if you have received Christ as your Saviour — you are now a new creation. But you were a sinner and God forgave all your sins through the death of His Son. You owed God big time, but God forgave you through His Son’s death your huge debt.

So if someone has wronged you, say this: “I did not deserve God’s forgiveness, but God forgave me through Christ. So I forgive this person also in Jesus’ name.” If you say something like, “He does not deserve it,” it makes no sense. Forgiveness is not for people who deserve it. If they deserve something, then it is punishment. No, forgiveness means that you extend grace. Grace means undeserved favour, like how God extends undeserved favour to you.

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Forgive And Let God Take Care Of The Rest

Forgive And Let God Take Care Of The Rest

Ephesians 4:32
³²And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

People like to say, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget.” Have you heard that before? Now, in the first place, nowhere in the Bible does God tell you to forgive and then to forget. It is not in the Bible! The devil is adding something here to make the whole thing burdensome. 

God only tells us to forgive because God in Christ has forgiven us a debt we cannot pay. When we do this, we do ourselves a favour because bitterness and unforgiveness in the heart can sometimes destroy our health! 

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Happy Father day - His Love Demonstrated

His Love Demonstrated

Romans 5:8                       
⁸But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

When we go through a trial, we tend to ask ourselves, “Does God really love me? How come He is not showing it?” When that happens, it is time to bring in the cross, for God’s love for you is forever displayed at the cross.

God gave up His Son to suffer and die on the cross for you. Jesus was pierced in seven places for you — in His head by the crown of thorns, His two hands and feet by the nails, and His side and heart by the spear of a Roman soldier. 

Jesus wore the crown of thorns on His head so that you can have a sound mind free from fears, guilt, depression, anxieties and stress.

When Jesus first showed His nail-pierced hands to His disciples, He said to them, “Peace be with you”. (John 20:19–20) He wanted them to know that peace is found in His finished work, typified by His pierced hands. The more you see His finished work which bought complete forgiveness of all your sins, the more your conscience will be at peace and rest.

Jesus’ feet brought Him to places where there was lack, diseases, rejection, condemnation and even death. And those feet were nail-pierced so that you do not need to be in such places yourself. He has rescued you from having to suffer these things in life.

Blood and water flowed out of Jesus’ side when it was pierced. (John 19:34) Medical science will tell you that that means His heart had ruptured. Jesus literally died of a broken heart so that your heart can be filled with joy.

And just as Eve came forth from Adam’s side when he was sleeping, the bride of Christ, the church, came forth from Jesus’ pierced side and death. If He died to have you as His spotless bride, He lives today to care for you.

The only man-made things in heaven today are those scars on His body. They will remain forever as tokens of His everlasting love and passion for you. So if God did not spare His Son, but delivered Him up for you, how will He not with Him also freely give you all things! (Romans 8:32)

Happy Father day. 

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Don’t Let Your Past Rob You

Don’t Let Your Past Rob You

Philippians 3:13–14

¹³Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Are you living a life of regrets thinking “if only…”? If only I had that college education… if only I had married the right girl… if only I had taken up the other job… if only I had not made that stupid mistake… Is your past robbing you of the joy of today? Then you need to forget your past.  

You might say, “But Pastor, you do not know what I did in the past!” 

Consider Paul. If the devil had anything to bring against Paul, it would be reminders of how he had persecuted the early church, and caused the deaths of many, including Stephen, the first Christian martyr. 

Paul had done horrendous things that were hard for him to forget. But he had such a revelation of God’s awesome forgiveness that he could say, “… forgetting those things which are behind… I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Beloved of the Lord, God has forgiven not only your past sins, but also your present and future sins. God has completely forgiven you and declared, “Your sins and lawless deeds, I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)

Like Paul, you can forget your past, the wrongs you have done, and the hurts you have caused others. God can take the tears of yesterday and transform them into the miracles of tomorrow. God can restore in all abundance to you what you have lost. God can cause all things, even the painful things of your past, to work together for your good.

His Word says, “The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:8) It will cover your past. Wherever you go, God’s glory covers your past. It is no longer the same past that you know of because God’s glory has descended on it. Your past is past! It has been wiped out. It is gone. So don’t let your past rob you of the joy of today any longer!

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Don’t Put Your Faith In Diets And Exercise

Don’t Put Your Faith In Diets And Exercise

Psalm 118:8                       
It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

A lot of people think that the way to get health is to watch what they eat. For example, many people say that the Mediterranean diet is a very healthy one. I agree, generally. But do you know that the people Jesus healed were on a Mediterranean diet? They did not eat pork and prawns, for example, because they were Jews and these things are not kosher for them.

I know that you want to walk in divine health. But God does not want your focus to be on food — what to eat, what not to eat — or even exercise — how to exercise, when to exercise. All these are natural means which people of the world trust in. It is better to trust in the Lord and His finished work, than to put your confidence in the latest man-made diet plans and exercise regimes.

At the cross, Jesus took your sicknesses and carried your pains, and by His stripes you were healed. (Isaiah 53:4–5) The Bible even tells us how to escape sickness and premature death — by discerning the Lord’s body when we partake of the Lord’s Supper. (1 Corinthians 11:29–30) But instead of focusing on these truths, many of us prefer to focus on dieting and exercising!

Now, I am not against eating well or exercising. I myself exercise and I do watch what I eat. For example, I don’t like to eat oily stuff because it makes me feel uncomfortable. And when I have to preach, I do my best not to eat foods that make me burp! 

But I eat generally healthy stuff not because I trust dieting to make me healthy. I exercise not because I trust exercising to make me healthy. No, I trust the finished work of Christ to make me healthy. I eat well because I like to feel good and I exercise because I enjoy the rush, the sweat!

God wants you to be free when it comes to eating and exercising. Don’t make laws for eating and exercising, and then trust these laws to give you “divine” health. 

Trust in the finished work of Christ. Discern His body when you partake of the Holy Communion. And just enjoy your food and workout!

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Confess God’s Word

Psalm 103:20
²⁰Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.

Notice that the verse says that angels are “heeding the voice of His word”. Now, who gives voice to God’s Word? Each time you and I quote God’s Word aloud, we give voice to His Word. And when angels hear God’s Word given voice, they respond!

The Bible says that at the end of Daniel’s three weeks of fasting and praying for an answer from God, Angel Gabriel appeared to Daniel and said to him, “I have come because of your words.” (Daniel 10:12)

So when angels hear you saying, “Thank you, Father, no evil shall befall me nor shall any plague come near my dwelling” (Psalm 91:10), they will come to your aid because you are giving voice to God’s Word.

And even if you do not quote a verse perfectly, they can still come to your rescue. This was what happened to a lady in America. While walking home after an evening church service, she was attacked from behind by a man and dragged towards a dark corner in an alley. In that frantic state, she remembered only one word from that evening’s sermon. So she shouted, “Feathers! Feathers!” The man released her and fled. 

Feathers? What did she mean? She was actually referring to Psalm 91:4 — “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge”. In that state of panic, she remembered only one word — “feathers”, and it was enough to cause her attacker to flee. You see, it is not the ability to quote a whole verse accurately that has power, but faith in God, which is released by quoting just one word.

If you know God’s Word by heart, but do not open your mouth to proclaim His promises, the power of His Word cannot be released. The Bible does not say that angels heed His Word. It says, “… His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word.” So give voice to God’s Word and see His angels respond. Angels are activated when you speak His Word!

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Christ, The Power And Wisdom Of God

Christ, The Power And Wisdom Of God

1 Corinthians 1:24
²⁴... to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

People today run after two things: miraculous signs and wonders, and knowledge. It was no different in Bible times. The apostle Paul acknowledged that “Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom”. (1 Corinthians 1:22) So when Paul preached Christ crucified as God’s solution to them, the message was "to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness”. (1 Corinthians 1:23) They didn’t understand how getting a revelation of Jesus and His death could give them the miracles they needed or the wisdom they wanted.

Beloved, we don’t have to run after miracles or wisdom today. We just need to run after Jesus because He is “the power of God and the wisdom of God”. The more we know Christ and Christ crucified, the more we will have the power and wisdom of God. 

Several church members have shared how they have seen the power of God blast financial debts out of their lives. Not knowing what to do about their debts, they looked to the Lord to deliver them. And the Lord was able to do so mightily because He is indeed the power of God. 

So if you are facing a financial debt, Christ has the power to remove the debt. And because He is also the wisdom of God, He will show you where you went wrong and teach you how to stay out of debt forever!

Let me give you another illustration. Let’s say a man, whose wife has left him, looks to Jesus to bring his wife back. Christ, the power of God, brings about a miraculous restoration of their marriage. But it is Christ, the wisdom of God, who will teach the husband how to keep his wife by showing him what he had done wrong and what to do to strengthen the marriage. If the husband does not have this wisdom, it will only be a matter of time before the same problems surface and the wife leaves him again. 

My friend, Christ is both the power and wisdom of God to us. As the power of God, He removes obstacles in our paths. As the wisdom of God, He continually directs our paths!

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Behold The Glory of Jesus In You

Behold The Glory of Jesus In You

2 Corinthians 3:18
¹⁸But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

When you look in a mirror, what do you see? Of course, you see yourself.

Beloved, God does not want you to see yourself in the natural — small, troubled, weak, sick, broke and a loser. God wants you to see yourself the way He sees you — healed, strong, rich, whole and complete, because Christ is in you. (Colossians 1:27) 

God wants you to behold as in a mirror the glory of His Son who is in you by His Spirit. As you behold the glory of the Lord who is in you, God’s Word says that you are being transformed from poor to rich, sick to healed, loser to winner — from glory to glory!

The world may say to you, “It can’t be that easy. You can’t be transformed just by beholding the glory of Jesus. No way! You must do something about you. If you don’t put in effort, nothing will happen. If you don’t do anything, nothing will change.” 

But the world will never understand that as you are beholding the glory of the Lord who is the successful one in you, you are being transformed from a failure to a success. And this is not accomplished by any effort of yours, or by your working hard to get ahead of others, but by the Spirit of the Lord!

As you behold the glory of the Lord who is the healthy one in your sick body, you are transformed from sickness to health. And this is not accomplished by any effort of yours to keep fit and eat well, but by the Spirit of the Lord! 

My friend, what can be easier than beholding the beauty of the Son? So stop focusing on self and self-effort. Look away from these things and begin to behold the glory of Jesus who is in you right now, and you will begin to behold the miracles that you need!

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Believe First And You Will See

Believe First And You Will See

Matthew 8:13                       
¹³… as you have believed, so let it be done for you…

Some people say, “How can I believe it when I don’t see it? But if I can see or feel something, I may just believe that something is happening!”  

The woman with the issue of blood who came to Jesus could have felt the same way. For 12 long years, she had gone from one doctor to another, trying to find every conceivable cure they could offer. She not only grew worse, but ended up losing all her money to those doctors and their “cures”.

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Happy Mother Day: God Can Qualify The Disqualified

God Can Qualify The Disqualified

Psalm 103:4
… ⁴who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies…

Four women are mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus. (Matthew 1:1–16) Interestingly, they are not Sarah, Rebekah, Leah or Rachel, wives of the patriarchs of the Old Testament. Instead, they are Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bethsheba, women who were Gentiles or had morally questionable backgrounds.

Tamar resorted to deception and prostitution to produce children through her father-in-law. Yet, it was from her line, the tribe of Judah, that the Messiah came. (Genesis 38)

Rahab was a Gentile and a prostitute in Jericho, who became a believer in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Joshua 2:1–21) She also became the mother of Boaz, who married Ruth. (Ruth 4:13) 

Ruth was a morally upright woman. But as a Moabitess, she was a Gentile and therefore considered unclean. Yet, this Gentile woman became the grandmother of David (Ruth 4:13–17), whom the Jews regard as their greatest king. 

Bathsheba committed adultery with David. (2 Samuel 11:4) Later, she gave birth to King Solomon (2 Samuel 12:24), from whose royal line Jesus is descended.

So what is God saying to us here? 

God is saying that He is greater than our sins — where sin abounds, His grace abounds much more. Grace is greater than our sins, so that even when the world disqualifies us, God can qualify us to receive His blessings!

God is also saying that He is a God of many chances. These women’s stories show us that even when our troubles are the result of our own making, they are neither final nor fatal. For when we turn to Him, He can turn our situations around until we see His glory upon us!

Finally, God is saying that He is a God of supernatural positioning. Even when all our earthly connections are gone, the moment we turn to Him, He will find ways to turn our captivity into blessings. As shown in Ruth’s life, He can put us at the right place at the right time for that door of blessings to be opened to us!

My friend, don’t look at your natural background or circumstances and be discouraged. Trust the One “who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies”!

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