I have always wondered how the Law in the Old Testament is relevant to a believer in Christ, till I read an article by Tyndale, which I am going to attempt to summarize below:
The Law was given by Moses, for the purpose laying down the commands of God to His people, and the consequences of following or not following them. It laid down strict and specific instructions and only those that obeyed ALL of them were considered worthy of God’s love.
As a new covenant Christian, the purpose of the law is to bring us to the knowledge of who we are- so that we can perceive our nature. It is this Law that condemns us for from it we realize that we can never, even if we be ever so good, do anything by and of ourselves to please God. For the Law requires a perfect life and nothing less.
The Gospel is the good news, the news of joyous tidings about Christ and the evidence of God’s love for us by freeing us from this Law. It is Christ telling the whole world that if you repent and believe in Him through faith and grace, the bondage to the law will be broken and we will be restored to life and saved.
Man’s disobedience earned us a nature so evil and corrupt that we are bound by it. Because man chose to disobey God, the devil became our father. We naturally consent to the devil’s will and because of that we are nothing but loathsome and damming in God’s sight. For us to come to this realization of our nature is when we read and or hear the Law, for from it we then realize that we can never fulfill it to the extent that it requires. The Law convicts and sentences us to damnation and offers not a way out, and for this reason, without hope or mercy we are left with guilt and the fear of impending death.
This is what Christ came to save us from, for with His blood, he purchased for us new lives, loosed us from the law and through Him, Our God could then “see” us as His children once more! – This is the Gospel!
For when the Gospel is preached, and believed, then the Spirit of God begins its work in the new believer. Love, kindness, goodness, faithfulness then becomes evident in our lives. We live not to go to Heaven, for this is already obtained for us through the blood, but to love, obey, worship and follow the will of our Father. There is nothing we can do to earn ourselves a place in Heaven, but through Christ, we, by faith, believe that we are co-heirs of all that is promised.
…and now, I hope, I have shed, even if it be a miniature of light, on the value and importance of the law, without which we would never know the magnitude of what Christ did for us and how, without faith in Him, it is impossible to please God.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
“By Their Fruit”
The beauty of Christ is seen in the fruit of the spirit because Christ is the tree, and we are the branches. A life touched by and in-built in Christ will show a godly character.
True spiritual maturity is measured by the fruit of the spirit which are goodness, faithfulness, peace, patience et al (Gal 5); and not the gifts of the Holy Spirit like wisdom, knowledge, healing, speaking in tongues(1 Cor 12). Gifts are what God gives us, which we are supposed to use to edify others.
For us to know that we live in Christ and that He lives in us, the fruits of the Holy Spirit need to be part of our character and this is what we give to God by yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to touch our personality.
So check yourself, do you use your gifts to educate, enlighten and teach others about God, Christ and the Gospel? Do these fruits (character, personality, behavior) continuously worship God?
A carnal person may be able to manifest the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but it takes a person who has dedicated herself willingly to the Lord to manifest the fruit of the spirit.
True spiritual maturity is measured by the fruit of the spirit which are goodness, faithfulness, peace, patience et al (Gal 5); and not the gifts of the Holy Spirit like wisdom, knowledge, healing, speaking in tongues(1 Cor 12). Gifts are what God gives us, which we are supposed to use to edify others.
For us to know that we live in Christ and that He lives in us, the fruits of the Holy Spirit need to be part of our character and this is what we give to God by yielding to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to touch our personality.
So check yourself, do you use your gifts to educate, enlighten and teach others about God, Christ and the Gospel? Do these fruits (character, personality, behavior) continuously worship God?
A carnal person may be able to manifest the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but it takes a person who has dedicated herself willingly to the Lord to manifest the fruit of the spirit.
Friday, July 30, 2010
This evening- a witness of the miracle at Cana
Tonight, God has dealt with me, and pleasantly so, about trusting Him to give us what we need in His time, not in the time we feel we need it.
Sometimes we feel that His presence is hidden from our hearts and He has forgotten about our needs, yet far be it from the truth. Like at the wedding in Cana when Jesus’ mother entreated unto him “They have no more wine” to which he seemingly checked her with “Woman, why do you involve me… my hour has not yet come.” sometimes His hour has not yet come for Him to act towards our needs. Out of ignorance, nonetheless, we have gone unto God, complaining that we have not seen the manifestation of His love in our lives for we lack those things that we believe we so earnestly deserve and at the exact time we think we need them. Sometimes Christ seems to be telling us, like unto His mother “why do you involve me?” which makes us downcast and dwindle in our faith.
Friends, do not become faithless before our God, even when the facts of life show that the sky is falling (like Chicken Little); because notwithstanding our circumstances, even those little things that may seem irrelevant for God to care for, like the fact that I was so wrought with sorrow, fury and an attitude of resignation towards my employ a few hours ago this evening, about a reprimand I believed I didn’t deserve; if we choose to cast it unto God, he will surely, as surely as I am testifying herewith, always, always come through for us; and with a wow manifestation. And like the master of the wedding banquet at Cana said “saved the best, till now” God’s timing is always perfect and the manifestation the best.
God will see us through the hours of painful extremity, till our human will is broken and till we learn to look up to Him, unto His blessed countenance, then He will show forth His glory, so that we can know for certain, that He will always turn our water into wine!
Be then not discouraged, when God does not immediately return your prayers, but at all times, praise Him, like I did while driving home tonight. Remember all the times He has saved, blessed, healed and answered you; and remember to, like His mother said “Do whatever He tells you.”
Ps: read Christ as God and the reverse- for they are one.
Sometimes we feel that His presence is hidden from our hearts and He has forgotten about our needs, yet far be it from the truth. Like at the wedding in Cana when Jesus’ mother entreated unto him “They have no more wine” to which he seemingly checked her with “Woman, why do you involve me… my hour has not yet come.” sometimes His hour has not yet come for Him to act towards our needs. Out of ignorance, nonetheless, we have gone unto God, complaining that we have not seen the manifestation of His love in our lives for we lack those things that we believe we so earnestly deserve and at the exact time we think we need them. Sometimes Christ seems to be telling us, like unto His mother “why do you involve me?” which makes us downcast and dwindle in our faith.
Friends, do not become faithless before our God, even when the facts of life show that the sky is falling (like Chicken Little); because notwithstanding our circumstances, even those little things that may seem irrelevant for God to care for, like the fact that I was so wrought with sorrow, fury and an attitude of resignation towards my employ a few hours ago this evening, about a reprimand I believed I didn’t deserve; if we choose to cast it unto God, he will surely, as surely as I am testifying herewith, always, always come through for us; and with a wow manifestation. And like the master of the wedding banquet at Cana said “saved the best, till now” God’s timing is always perfect and the manifestation the best.
God will see us through the hours of painful extremity, till our human will is broken and till we learn to look up to Him, unto His blessed countenance, then He will show forth His glory, so that we can know for certain, that He will always turn our water into wine!
Be then not discouraged, when God does not immediately return your prayers, but at all times, praise Him, like I did while driving home tonight. Remember all the times He has saved, blessed, healed and answered you; and remember to, like His mother said “Do whatever He tells you.”
Ps: read Christ as God and the reverse- for they are one.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
In the Spirit and Truth
“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.” John 4:23
From the context above, we are told to worship God in the Spirit and in truth. These words were spoken to a Samaritan woman by our Saviour Jesus Christ, a woman from a culture that was never to associate with the Jews. But as it is to be feared, out of those many thousands of us that say we worship God daily, weekly or whenever we choose to, very few, comparatively speaking, are aware of the kind of worship that is acceptable to our God. I cannot, therefore, but think it very necessary to us all of the words of our Lord on the instructions of how to worship our Father in Heaven.
In accomplishment of which I shall:
First, define what is meant by worship;
Secondly, lay down a detailed discourse on how we are to worship in the Spirit;
Thirdly, expound briefly on how we are to worship in truth
The word “Spirit” here is written with an upper case “S”- which denotes the Spirit of God.
Worshiping God in the Spirit therefore, means that we should worship Him with all fullness of awareness in our hearts, and soul; with an attitude of consciousness about what we are doing and with the assistance of His Holy Spirit- in the Spirit. Our thoughts, at the time of worship, should be only on God, not on other things.
First, define what is meant by worship;
For us to fully comprehend how to worship, I feel inclined, first to define worship and how I understand it. English defines worship as the “reverent honor and homage paid to God”, but I will personally take it a step further and define it as an “act of conscious awareness, with the help of the Holy Spirit, intended to glorify, revere and pay tribute to our God, Father, Son and Spirit.” The emphasis I put here is on the words “act” and “awareness”.
Worship is an act, it should be actionable. Think of all the ways we worship God, all these ways should be “doing things”- if I can use our P.3 definition of a verb. Worship can be singing, dancing, praying (yes, prayer should actionable as well), even going about our daily activities. Realize here that worship is not limited to public praise in a gathering or amongst fellow believers. There is also private worship, and this can be expressed through our acts of obedience toward God. Suffice it to say that in the broad sense of the word, worship can be when we tell another about the Gospel, when we teach children about Jesus, when we help the needy, when we obey our elders, when we love our husbands and just about any obedience of the Word of God could be largely construed as worship.
Secondly, lay down a detailed discourse on how we are to worship in the Spirit;
Worship is a way of expressing our love, adoration, and thanks to God. However, it is only the Spirit of God, who can afford us the grace to worship God right. We cannot truthfully decide to praise and worship God outside of the Spirit that dwells in us. However, recognize that worshiping God is not for His own benefit. Whether or not we do it, God is not affected in anyway, He is unchangeable. Similarly, whether we glorify God or not, he is still the same yesterday, today and forever. Let me digress here and mention that when “give” glory to God, it is not because he does not have enough glory and thus He needs more, no. We give glory to Him because glory belongs to Him! Because he deserves it! Because He is glory, in and of Himself!
Worship has to be with “awareness”, and this in-Spirit awareness is of whom we are directing this worship to – God. Seeing that God is the object of worship, He has the right to specify and stipulate what kind of worship He accepts. Paul tells the people of Athens about a kind of “ignorant” worship “I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” in the verse preceding verse 23 above, Jesus says to the Samaritan woman “You Samaritans worship what you do not know”. Likewise, many of us today know not whom we worship. If we are ignorant of who God really is, how then can we claim to worship Him every day or every Sunday morning? (For those who put God in the “Sunday box”)
Thirdly, expound briefly on how we are to worship in truth
To worship in truth, one has to know what that truth is, and to know the truth, one has to read, meditate and understand what is in the Word. For us to truly worship God, we have to do whatever is commended in scripture. The Word of God, which God placed above His own name, has the dos and don’ts of His instruction. Do not be deceived by those who tell you that you can worship God in your own way, if it feels right then it is ok, or that God will understand. Nedda! God has laid down, and very explicitly so, the truth in the Bible, and if our ways of worshiping Him are outside His instruction, then that sacrifice of praise, or worship or prayer or dance or song, will be unacceptable. Just because worship is offered does not necessarily make it acceptable. Isaiah prophesied of those who worship God based on human teachings and principles (Is 29:13).
I must emphasize, that worship like prayer, is not optional, it is expected of us. When we learn study and receive the Grace to comprehend God in His fullness, we will understand why we need to worship Him. In the meantime, let me try and express upon you here the most basic example of our obligation to worship: We all know that God created Heaven and earth, and that he made all things and offered them to us for our own use. The Children, the Job, the family, the health, the joy the very air we breathe and everything that we see or do not see, everything that we know or cannot comprehend, all that we wish for… was created by God! If I offered you 100,000 shs, what would you say? Thank you, right? Now friends, God has given us life, breath, sight, love and so much more… how cannot we not say thank you? Friends, each time you take a step, know that God gave you those legs, each time you look at your children, remember God gave you those eyes, each time you breathe, remember God gave you that breath! We should be thanking God every day, every hour, every second we are alive! (PS 150: 6) How then, I fear, can we go about our own business, steal, kill, lie, cheat, fornicate, insult people, get drunk and then go to church on Sunday to worship Him? How can we? Some would say, ‘well I repent before I go to church.’ Sure, you do, but what is repentance if you are going to do it again next week? Others would say “I was tempted.” Ok, but there is a difference between premeditated sin and temptation. How insensible can we be of all the free gifts we have from God that we cannot afford true and Spiritual worship toward Him?
Worship is a culture; it is a culture of the children of God in the Kingdom of God. We should not only go to a worship service, we should BE a worship service! (Ps 34:1). We can tell a Muganda from the way they dance, we can tell a Munyoro from the pet names they have, all these cultures are observable and we move with them wherever we go. Likewise, seeing that worship is a culture, we should be worshiping God all day, every day as with our human cultures. We should me moving with a song on our lips, a spring in our steps all the while practicing our Kingdom culture of worship, prayer and praise all day and night!
Remember, God, the creator of all things seeks man’s worship; Let us ALWAYS give it to Him.
From the context above, we are told to worship God in the Spirit and in truth. These words were spoken to a Samaritan woman by our Saviour Jesus Christ, a woman from a culture that was never to associate with the Jews. But as it is to be feared, out of those many thousands of us that say we worship God daily, weekly or whenever we choose to, very few, comparatively speaking, are aware of the kind of worship that is acceptable to our God. I cannot, therefore, but think it very necessary to us all of the words of our Lord on the instructions of how to worship our Father in Heaven.
In accomplishment of which I shall:
First, define what is meant by worship;
Secondly, lay down a detailed discourse on how we are to worship in the Spirit;
Thirdly, expound briefly on how we are to worship in truth
The word “Spirit” here is written with an upper case “S”- which denotes the Spirit of God.
Worshiping God in the Spirit therefore, means that we should worship Him with all fullness of awareness in our hearts, and soul; with an attitude of consciousness about what we are doing and with the assistance of His Holy Spirit- in the Spirit. Our thoughts, at the time of worship, should be only on God, not on other things.
First, define what is meant by worship;
For us to fully comprehend how to worship, I feel inclined, first to define worship and how I understand it. English defines worship as the “reverent honor and homage paid to God”, but I will personally take it a step further and define it as an “act of conscious awareness, with the help of the Holy Spirit, intended to glorify, revere and pay tribute to our God, Father, Son and Spirit.” The emphasis I put here is on the words “act” and “awareness”.
Worship is an act, it should be actionable. Think of all the ways we worship God, all these ways should be “doing things”- if I can use our P.3 definition of a verb. Worship can be singing, dancing, praying (yes, prayer should actionable as well), even going about our daily activities. Realize here that worship is not limited to public praise in a gathering or amongst fellow believers. There is also private worship, and this can be expressed through our acts of obedience toward God. Suffice it to say that in the broad sense of the word, worship can be when we tell another about the Gospel, when we teach children about Jesus, when we help the needy, when we obey our elders, when we love our husbands and just about any obedience of the Word of God could be largely construed as worship.
Secondly, lay down a detailed discourse on how we are to worship in the Spirit;
Worship is a way of expressing our love, adoration, and thanks to God. However, it is only the Spirit of God, who can afford us the grace to worship God right. We cannot truthfully decide to praise and worship God outside of the Spirit that dwells in us. However, recognize that worshiping God is not for His own benefit. Whether or not we do it, God is not affected in anyway, He is unchangeable. Similarly, whether we glorify God or not, he is still the same yesterday, today and forever. Let me digress here and mention that when “give” glory to God, it is not because he does not have enough glory and thus He needs more, no. We give glory to Him because glory belongs to Him! Because he deserves it! Because He is glory, in and of Himself!
Worship has to be with “awareness”, and this in-Spirit awareness is of whom we are directing this worship to – God. Seeing that God is the object of worship, He has the right to specify and stipulate what kind of worship He accepts. Paul tells the people of Athens about a kind of “ignorant” worship “I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.” in the verse preceding verse 23 above, Jesus says to the Samaritan woman “You Samaritans worship what you do not know”. Likewise, many of us today know not whom we worship. If we are ignorant of who God really is, how then can we claim to worship Him every day or every Sunday morning? (For those who put God in the “Sunday box”)
Thirdly, expound briefly on how we are to worship in truth
To worship in truth, one has to know what that truth is, and to know the truth, one has to read, meditate and understand what is in the Word. For us to truly worship God, we have to do whatever is commended in scripture. The Word of God, which God placed above His own name, has the dos and don’ts of His instruction. Do not be deceived by those who tell you that you can worship God in your own way, if it feels right then it is ok, or that God will understand. Nedda! God has laid down, and very explicitly so, the truth in the Bible, and if our ways of worshiping Him are outside His instruction, then that sacrifice of praise, or worship or prayer or dance or song, will be unacceptable. Just because worship is offered does not necessarily make it acceptable. Isaiah prophesied of those who worship God based on human teachings and principles (Is 29:13).
I must emphasize, that worship like prayer, is not optional, it is expected of us. When we learn study and receive the Grace to comprehend God in His fullness, we will understand why we need to worship Him. In the meantime, let me try and express upon you here the most basic example of our obligation to worship: We all know that God created Heaven and earth, and that he made all things and offered them to us for our own use. The Children, the Job, the family, the health, the joy the very air we breathe and everything that we see or do not see, everything that we know or cannot comprehend, all that we wish for… was created by God! If I offered you 100,000 shs, what would you say? Thank you, right? Now friends, God has given us life, breath, sight, love and so much more… how cannot we not say thank you? Friends, each time you take a step, know that God gave you those legs, each time you look at your children, remember God gave you those eyes, each time you breathe, remember God gave you that breath! We should be thanking God every day, every hour, every second we are alive! (PS 150: 6) How then, I fear, can we go about our own business, steal, kill, lie, cheat, fornicate, insult people, get drunk and then go to church on Sunday to worship Him? How can we? Some would say, ‘well I repent before I go to church.’ Sure, you do, but what is repentance if you are going to do it again next week? Others would say “I was tempted.” Ok, but there is a difference between premeditated sin and temptation. How insensible can we be of all the free gifts we have from God that we cannot afford true and Spiritual worship toward Him?
Worship is a culture; it is a culture of the children of God in the Kingdom of God. We should not only go to a worship service, we should BE a worship service! (Ps 34:1). We can tell a Muganda from the way they dance, we can tell a Munyoro from the pet names they have, all these cultures are observable and we move with them wherever we go. Likewise, seeing that worship is a culture, we should be worshiping God all day, every day as with our human cultures. We should me moving with a song on our lips, a spring in our steps all the while practicing our Kingdom culture of worship, prayer and praise all day and night!
Remember, God, the creator of all things seeks man’s worship; Let us ALWAYS give it to Him.
Putting God in a Box
We serve a limitless God, but in the routine walk of life, it is not shocking to see how many of us usually forget this. Our God, the God of Abraham, Moses, Jacob and David, is the same God we serve today. We all know the amazing things that God did for these men of faith- he parted the Red Sea, he fed His people bread from Heaven, He led a few hundred men to conquer an army of thousands and many other exciting things. These are the stories we heard in Sunday school and read from our Children’s Bible books, but sadly for most of us, this is where we left them.
The Old Testament God seems so ancient and distant to our seemingly modern and fast-paced lives. Our “modern “ lives have a timetable so God has to fall in there somewhere, and for most of us, Sunday morning is His time. All the praise, prayer, song, and obedience is done within that set time, outside of which, God and all that is “religious” would be definitely misplaced. We “modern” Christians have confined God in time and space and deciding for him when He can move and act. I was reading a Bible verse at work a few weeks back and a colleague saw me and said
“Eish, Florence, hope you are not starting a cult”- My heart wept!
Friends, allow here me to me share with you an excerpt from Andrew Wommack’s article:
“Many people think there can be no such thing as a limit on God. They see that as removing His divinity. A god that can be limited isn't really a god in many people's thinking.
I will say this: God isn't personally limited by anything or anyone. But when it comes to us receiving from Him, we can limit what He wants to do through us or for us. God doesn't sovereignly do what He wants with us. We have to cooperate.
God Himself is limitless, but what He can accomplish is limited. Not because of any lack of power or ability on His part, but because of the part we have to play.
Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us..." Many people stop after the first comma and proclaim God can do anything, but that's not the truth of this verse. God has limited Himself to what we believe Him to do. If there isn't the power of faith working in us, then He can't, or you could say, will not, work independent of us. “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead” James 2:20
God is who He is, regardless of what we think or believe. If we don't believe God is real, that doesn't make Him cease to exist. As far as our experiences go, we won't encounter Him until we change that opinion.
Take salvation for example. Second Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." You can't make it any plainer than that. It is not God's will for people to perish, but they do. Why? Not because God wills it, but because God gave them a free will, and they choose to reject God's provision for their salvation.
That's a very sobering thought! People don't like that truth because it makes them responsible. Most people don't want to be responsible for their lives. They like to think that God just sovereignly makes things happen in their lives. That way, they can blame God for the mess they are in and say, "God is teaching me something or making me a better person." But that's not what God's Word says.
The Lord willed for the Israelites to enter into the Promised Land in a short period of time. But the generation that came out of Egypt died during the forty years in the wilderness. That wasn't God's will. That was because of their own choices.”
The Old Testament God seems so ancient and distant to our seemingly modern and fast-paced lives. Our “modern “ lives have a timetable so God has to fall in there somewhere, and for most of us, Sunday morning is His time. All the praise, prayer, song, and obedience is done within that set time, outside of which, God and all that is “religious” would be definitely misplaced. We “modern” Christians have confined God in time and space and deciding for him when He can move and act. I was reading a Bible verse at work a few weeks back and a colleague saw me and said
“Eish, Florence, hope you are not starting a cult”- My heart wept!
Friends, allow here me to me share with you an excerpt from Andrew Wommack’s article:
“Many people think there can be no such thing as a limit on God. They see that as removing His divinity. A god that can be limited isn't really a god in many people's thinking.
I will say this: God isn't personally limited by anything or anyone. But when it comes to us receiving from Him, we can limit what He wants to do through us or for us. God doesn't sovereignly do what He wants with us. We have to cooperate.
God Himself is limitless, but what He can accomplish is limited. Not because of any lack of power or ability on His part, but because of the part we have to play.
Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now unto Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us..." Many people stop after the first comma and proclaim God can do anything, but that's not the truth of this verse. God has limited Himself to what we believe Him to do. If there isn't the power of faith working in us, then He can't, or you could say, will not, work independent of us. “But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead” James 2:20
God is who He is, regardless of what we think or believe. If we don't believe God is real, that doesn't make Him cease to exist. As far as our experiences go, we won't encounter Him until we change that opinion.
Take salvation for example. Second Peter 3:9 says, "The Lord is... not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." You can't make it any plainer than that. It is not God's will for people to perish, but they do. Why? Not because God wills it, but because God gave them a free will, and they choose to reject God's provision for their salvation.
That's a very sobering thought! People don't like that truth because it makes them responsible. Most people don't want to be responsible for their lives. They like to think that God just sovereignly makes things happen in their lives. That way, they can blame God for the mess they are in and say, "God is teaching me something or making me a better person." But that's not what God's Word says.
The Lord willed for the Israelites to enter into the Promised Land in a short period of time. But the generation that came out of Egypt died during the forty years in the wilderness. That wasn't God's will. That was because of their own choices.”
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Why we Should Suffer- Part 2
Now, we have lived, in our formers lives, submitting to the desires of the flesh, and from this we reaped “lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.” – Now read the above sentence again and let in sink in for a minute…. Do you see the rewards of following the flesh? Is this the life we should be living, a life of unending partying and clubbing, a life of orgies and sexual immorality, a life of greed, envy and strife? Is it? Of course no, no way! That WAS our former way for life, but now we have a new one- a Kingdom life, a life so different from what the world expects or regards as normal such that the world will be “surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you.” Now, when the abuse is heaped on us, then then we will feel the suffering I am speaking of here. Hehehe… I think we are now beginning to see why the apostle Paul said we should rejoice when we participate in the suffering of Christ. For more than sharing in the glory of Christ, we now know that we should accept this suffering, and this should make it easier… ok, more bearable.
“But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” Now there is a scary statement! Judgment is not a fable, it is real and it is coming. We will all have our day to answer for the type and kind of lives we have led, and each will be judged according to what he knows. So if you are reading this, you now know the truth, so there, your excuse of ignorance is out the window! The living God will ask us to account for all, each and everything, so if we do not have a good excuse, which I believe there is none, I suggest we quit pleasing this world and live the new life Jesus died to give us! About this, I will be blunt and say no more.
For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. There are many reasons, I believe the gospel is preached, and here we are told one of them. Now if you read my previous blog, I ended with a deep conviction on whether we decide to choose life or death because judgment is coming. Now in the same vein I will continue. While the judgment of God, the fear-worthy judgment of God is coming, we are already facing a much less but quite sorrowful judgment here on earth. This judgment is according to human standards and though I somehow feel inclined not to label it sorrowful, I will maintain that it is so in the sense that it is us human beings who judge each other and to me that is pathetic- maybe then I should label it a pathetic judgment- which is also guaranteed! People will judge you when we are not like them: they will call you pretender and a hypocrite if you decide to go to church on New Year’s Eve instead of going to the club like you used to; they will laugh at you and call you weak and a failure when you decide to quit smoking, drinking, fornication and clubbing; they will hate you because you do not gossip and use perverted language with them anymore; they will call you old and boring because your choice in movies, and music is no longer bordering on X-rated; I mean the world will judge you for just about anything that is not “normal” to them- by human standards. But remember, that we “live according to God in regard to the spirit.”- and this is why we live a different lifestyle. The lifestyle of the one, who lives for Christ, should be seen! Do not think salvation is a onetime process and once you receive it, it’s a done deal. No. Salvation, though free, needs to be worked at to be maintained. Paul in his letter to the Philippians urges them to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. So as we live, no, as we choose to live according to God, we are working out the salvation we received, because choosing this life, like we have previously seen, comes with a lot of suffering in this world. But is eternal life, joy and the glory of God so small a trifle in our esteem, as not to be worth a few fleshly sacrifices? Is eternal life so steep a purchase, as not to deserve the temporary renunciation of a few worldly pleasures? Surely it is.
The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Lastly, Peter exhorts us to pray after a warning about the end of things. Now let us take the statement “The end of all things” verbatim. Read it again. “All things”! not some things, not earthly things, not bad things, but “all things”. People, everything is coming to an end, things we see and do not see; things we have and long to have; things we love and those we hate; all things are going to perish. I believe this might be the reason Jesus said that we should not store things on earth, but in heaven. So when Peter tells us to have an alert and sober mind, it denotes that there is a possibility of losing focus and being confused by the things of this world, in this world, which will wash away anyway. You see, it is easy for us to become so wrapped up in our day to day activities and the material things in the world hoping that they will give us what we need in life. We get absorbed by our jobs, our families, our material possessions, our lax and worldly lifestyle that we are bound to forget that all these things will be gone one day and all we will have left will be the last account that we will give to God of what we did on this earth, to glorify Him- yes we were created for that reason. Friends, what will you tell God? How will you tell him that you chose the world and rejected him, yet all He had for you was love? Think on that, people. Think!
So as Peter lastly exhorts us, let us pray…
Let us pray that when we suffer in this world, we are always mindful of the sufferings of Jesus Christ and like him the spirit of the Lord will always grow in us the attitude to persevere the judgment of the world. Let us pray that we continue against all odds, to work out our salvation and live a life according to the will of God our father who created us to glorify his name among the people so that people may believe. Let us lastly pray, that we always consciously choose life, and the treasures of heaven and that we always keep a sober and watchful mind, a mind full of prayer, and a heart full of the word of God. In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
“But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” Now there is a scary statement! Judgment is not a fable, it is real and it is coming. We will all have our day to answer for the type and kind of lives we have led, and each will be judged according to what he knows. So if you are reading this, you now know the truth, so there, your excuse of ignorance is out the window! The living God will ask us to account for all, each and everything, so if we do not have a good excuse, which I believe there is none, I suggest we quit pleasing this world and live the new life Jesus died to give us! About this, I will be blunt and say no more.
For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. There are many reasons, I believe the gospel is preached, and here we are told one of them. Now if you read my previous blog, I ended with a deep conviction on whether we decide to choose life or death because judgment is coming. Now in the same vein I will continue. While the judgment of God, the fear-worthy judgment of God is coming, we are already facing a much less but quite sorrowful judgment here on earth. This judgment is according to human standards and though I somehow feel inclined not to label it sorrowful, I will maintain that it is so in the sense that it is us human beings who judge each other and to me that is pathetic- maybe then I should label it a pathetic judgment- which is also guaranteed! People will judge you when we are not like them: they will call you pretender and a hypocrite if you decide to go to church on New Year’s Eve instead of going to the club like you used to; they will laugh at you and call you weak and a failure when you decide to quit smoking, drinking, fornication and clubbing; they will hate you because you do not gossip and use perverted language with them anymore; they will call you old and boring because your choice in movies, and music is no longer bordering on X-rated; I mean the world will judge you for just about anything that is not “normal” to them- by human standards. But remember, that we “live according to God in regard to the spirit.”- and this is why we live a different lifestyle. The lifestyle of the one, who lives for Christ, should be seen! Do not think salvation is a onetime process and once you receive it, it’s a done deal. No. Salvation, though free, needs to be worked at to be maintained. Paul in his letter to the Philippians urges them to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”. So as we live, no, as we choose to live according to God, we are working out the salvation we received, because choosing this life, like we have previously seen, comes with a lot of suffering in this world. But is eternal life, joy and the glory of God so small a trifle in our esteem, as not to be worth a few fleshly sacrifices? Is eternal life so steep a purchase, as not to deserve the temporary renunciation of a few worldly pleasures? Surely it is.
The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Lastly, Peter exhorts us to pray after a warning about the end of things. Now let us take the statement “The end of all things” verbatim. Read it again. “All things”! not some things, not earthly things, not bad things, but “all things”. People, everything is coming to an end, things we see and do not see; things we have and long to have; things we love and those we hate; all things are going to perish. I believe this might be the reason Jesus said that we should not store things on earth, but in heaven. So when Peter tells us to have an alert and sober mind, it denotes that there is a possibility of losing focus and being confused by the things of this world, in this world, which will wash away anyway. You see, it is easy for us to become so wrapped up in our day to day activities and the material things in the world hoping that they will give us what we need in life. We get absorbed by our jobs, our families, our material possessions, our lax and worldly lifestyle that we are bound to forget that all these things will be gone one day and all we will have left will be the last account that we will give to God of what we did on this earth, to glorify Him- yes we were created for that reason. Friends, what will you tell God? How will you tell him that you chose the world and rejected him, yet all He had for you was love? Think on that, people. Think!
So as Peter lastly exhorts us, let us pray…
Let us pray that when we suffer in this world, we are always mindful of the sufferings of Jesus Christ and like him the spirit of the Lord will always grow in us the attitude to persevere the judgment of the world. Let us pray that we continue against all odds, to work out our salvation and live a life according to the will of God our father who created us to glorify his name among the people so that people may believe. Let us lastly pray, that we always consciously choose life, and the treasures of heaven and that we always keep a sober and watchful mind, a mind full of prayer, and a heart full of the word of God. In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Why we should suffer- Part 1
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because those who have suffered in their bodies are done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 1 Peter 4: 1-7
I read this scripture last night and it got me thinking a lot about my life, the decisions I have made and why I am at this stage of my life. I read it the second time, and it hit me-most of the things that I have set my mind on in the past, have ended up eventually manifesting in my life, and this is the reason I am where I am today. All the good things I have thought about and cultivated in my life have produced good fruit and all the bad things have equally produced dead fruit. Then I read the scripture the third time, and I saw just how much truth and revelation was embedded therein; so I asked the Lord to give me words of wisdom and the grace so that I can share with you the truth that has just been revealed to me in the hopeful attempt that these words, in the least bit, just might be the turning point in someone’s life, just as they have been in mine. So I will expound on each verse with the wisdom that the Spirit has granted me so that I leave no truth assumed, but plainly understood.
But before I proceed, I am going to take it for granted that all who are reading this have, in the least bit, heard of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that whatever the religion they follow to practice their faith, they believe that there is one true God;
I am also going to take for it granted further that you believe that the word of God, which is the Bible, was written by the inspiration of the Spirit and is the eternal truth;
And lastly, I further take it for granted that you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the messiah and the savior of all mankind.
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body” We all know, or should I say, we assume we know how our Lord Jesus suffered. The Bible says that he was tempted by the devil, arrested by his own people, called a thief, carried a heavy cross, whipped, insulted, spat on, crowned with thorns, crucified, speared, and many other dreadful things. However, Jesus knew that he was meant to suffer. Consider though, that all of Jesus’ sufferings were to his body. It was his body, his human body, to which all the above things were done. The human body that our lord inhabited, brought him tremendous suffering why? Because the body’s characteristic desire is to make man want to do, say, hear, and think things that are of the world, things that are against the will of God, and when we do not follow these desires, these ways of the flesh (read the world) we suffer, or more accurately, our body suffers. So Jesus did not obey his human desires. He did not obey the devil who was telling him to turn stones to bread or throw himself down; he did not choose his family over the rest of the people; he did not prove or boast that he was Messiah even when he was slapped and spat on; he did not even turn away from death yet he feared that the burden was too heavy to carry.
So how do we, as followers of Christ, suffer today? When our body is too tired and lazy to go to church and we force it to- it suffers; when our bodies covet another woman’s husband, or desire to have sex outside marriage, and we ran from it- it suffers; when our bodies desire to imbibe that glass of whisky, that cold Bell, that extra piece of black-forest cake, and we say no- it suffers; when we hold back on indulging in gossip, insulting that irritating taxi conductor, taking that bribe, lying to our friends, hating people, back-biting and being spiteful of our boss, jealousy, selfishness- all things that come naturally to our human body- the body suffers. Now the suffering I am speaking of here is not the I-need-more-money, i-long-for-a-husband, i-am-losing-my-house etc type kind of suffering. Not that that is not suffering, it is, but the type I am referring to here is the suffering we face because we deny our bodies the things it craves when we choose to follow the will of God.
Now to some of us, suffering is many things and happens in various ways. Not to belittle anybody’s kind of suffering, but I think whenever we are having a tough time, fighting off the temptations and issues of this world, it would help us a long way to remember Jesus’ suffering which was way, way more painful than what we go through, but most of all, it would help us to remember how he came out victorious at the end of it all. The important thing though, is to learn how Jesus persevered through his suffering. This was by having a different attitude, which Peter exhorts us to carry below:
“arm yourselves also with the same attitude”, Now the attitude being spoken of here is the attitude Jesus had when he was suffering. Throughout the times Jesus was suffering, he always, rested on the word of God, he always did what the will of God commanded that he should do, but I also think he wore humility above all else. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, he quoted the word of God, when Jesus was afraid of death, he prayed; when Jesus was insulted, mocked, speared and crucified, he forgave his condemners sins. Imagine that! Even as I write this, I am so totally humbled; and cringe at the thought of the complaining and grumbling I do mbu when I am suffering! We have not known suffering; none such as the one Jesus went through yet can you imagine how much we exhibit weakness, protest, misery and a complaining attitude because we want to have things our way? So, when the scripture says that we should have a similar attitude, this means that all the while we are suffering, (denying our fleshly desires) we should arm ourselves with the Word, wear humility and generally have a Christ-like attitude. Note that, suffering is not optional. The Bible says in many instances that we shall suffer, and should share in the sufferings of Christ so that we shall share in his glory as well. There is hope however, at the end of all this- “because those who have suffered in their bodies are done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” Can you imagine what is like to be done with Sin? When sin, the devil and all his legions have no hold on you, and you are living a life, a life so high above the kind and type of this world, free from fleshly desires and all? Now that is living the Life! This is a promise, a promise written in black and white, that we can take to the Bank, as it were. The apostle Peter is telling us the rewards of suffering which is the great reward of freedom, and living the ultimate kingdom Life- a life that we as believers in Christ are born to live. Succumbing to the desires of the flesh is the worldly way of living, and since the evil one is the king of this world, do I really need to spell it out whom we will have chosen to serve if we choose to follow our bodily desires?
“For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.” This is so straight forward and obvious that I think I should not comment on it at all lest I water it down. I mean, we all know the kind of lives we lived before we received salvation. But I think I should comment on the use of the word “choose”. This word clearly denotes the presence of option. This means that, we do consciously decide to do the things that we do. So when suffering comes, the action we take at that moment, will either give us the kingdom life, or lead us to the grave, yes the grave- because the reward for sin is death! I guess I should remind you or probably press on you here that when I say suffering I am not merely speaking of emotional distress and/ or physical pain - I am speaking of all sorts of suffering that we as followers of Christ undergo when we choose, there is that word again, not to follow the ways of this world; even though emotional and physical pain are most usually the consequences of choosing the worldly life. In other words, what I am saying here is that, when we follow Christ, we are guaranteed to suffer- yes I think this comes out more clearly. We will suffer; and there are no two ways about it.
I do want you to digest all the above so I will stop here in an attempt to let you take this all in. However, if I should have one more thing to say it will be this- as long as we are alive in this world, life will always, always throw us a curve ball, and this is not the worst thing that can happen. There will always be times when this body we inhabit will try to get its way to make us obey it. When we choose to continuously follow these desires of the world and permanently kill the spirit of God that lives in us- then the worst thing has happened, for then we will die! And no matter how God loves us, and He loves all of us, we will not, even with this intense love, survive his wrath and the end of days if we “choose” not to obey his commands. As Mr. Dollar once said, if you do not obey His word, God loves you enough to lead you to the path of hell and even open the gates for you, while loving you all the way, because love is His nature. However, only you, you, you, can make the decision right now, to choose life, or death!
May the Lord watch and keep you always.
I read this scripture last night and it got me thinking a lot about my life, the decisions I have made and why I am at this stage of my life. I read it the second time, and it hit me-most of the things that I have set my mind on in the past, have ended up eventually manifesting in my life, and this is the reason I am where I am today. All the good things I have thought about and cultivated in my life have produced good fruit and all the bad things have equally produced dead fruit. Then I read the scripture the third time, and I saw just how much truth and revelation was embedded therein; so I asked the Lord to give me words of wisdom and the grace so that I can share with you the truth that has just been revealed to me in the hopeful attempt that these words, in the least bit, just might be the turning point in someone’s life, just as they have been in mine. So I will expound on each verse with the wisdom that the Spirit has granted me so that I leave no truth assumed, but plainly understood.
But before I proceed, I am going to take it for granted that all who are reading this have, in the least bit, heard of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, and that whatever the religion they follow to practice their faith, they believe that there is one true God;
I am also going to take for it granted further that you believe that the word of God, which is the Bible, was written by the inspiration of the Spirit and is the eternal truth;
And lastly, I further take it for granted that you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, the messiah and the savior of all mankind.
“Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body” We all know, or should I say, we assume we know how our Lord Jesus suffered. The Bible says that he was tempted by the devil, arrested by his own people, called a thief, carried a heavy cross, whipped, insulted, spat on, crowned with thorns, crucified, speared, and many other dreadful things. However, Jesus knew that he was meant to suffer. Consider though, that all of Jesus’ sufferings were to his body. It was his body, his human body, to which all the above things were done. The human body that our lord inhabited, brought him tremendous suffering why? Because the body’s characteristic desire is to make man want to do, say, hear, and think things that are of the world, things that are against the will of God, and when we do not follow these desires, these ways of the flesh (read the world) we suffer, or more accurately, our body suffers. So Jesus did not obey his human desires. He did not obey the devil who was telling him to turn stones to bread or throw himself down; he did not choose his family over the rest of the people; he did not prove or boast that he was Messiah even when he was slapped and spat on; he did not even turn away from death yet he feared that the burden was too heavy to carry.
So how do we, as followers of Christ, suffer today? When our body is too tired and lazy to go to church and we force it to- it suffers; when our bodies covet another woman’s husband, or desire to have sex outside marriage, and we ran from it- it suffers; when our bodies desire to imbibe that glass of whisky, that cold Bell, that extra piece of black-forest cake, and we say no- it suffers; when we hold back on indulging in gossip, insulting that irritating taxi conductor, taking that bribe, lying to our friends, hating people, back-biting and being spiteful of our boss, jealousy, selfishness- all things that come naturally to our human body- the body suffers. Now the suffering I am speaking of here is not the I-need-more-money, i-long-for-a-husband, i-am-losing-my-house etc type kind of suffering. Not that that is not suffering, it is, but the type I am referring to here is the suffering we face because we deny our bodies the things it craves when we choose to follow the will of God.
Now to some of us, suffering is many things and happens in various ways. Not to belittle anybody’s kind of suffering, but I think whenever we are having a tough time, fighting off the temptations and issues of this world, it would help us a long way to remember Jesus’ suffering which was way, way more painful than what we go through, but most of all, it would help us to remember how he came out victorious at the end of it all. The important thing though, is to learn how Jesus persevered through his suffering. This was by having a different attitude, which Peter exhorts us to carry below:
“arm yourselves also with the same attitude”, Now the attitude being spoken of here is the attitude Jesus had when he was suffering. Throughout the times Jesus was suffering, he always, rested on the word of God, he always did what the will of God commanded that he should do, but I also think he wore humility above all else. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, he quoted the word of God, when Jesus was afraid of death, he prayed; when Jesus was insulted, mocked, speared and crucified, he forgave his condemners sins. Imagine that! Even as I write this, I am so totally humbled; and cringe at the thought of the complaining and grumbling I do mbu when I am suffering! We have not known suffering; none such as the one Jesus went through yet can you imagine how much we exhibit weakness, protest, misery and a complaining attitude because we want to have things our way? So, when the scripture says that we should have a similar attitude, this means that all the while we are suffering, (denying our fleshly desires) we should arm ourselves with the Word, wear humility and generally have a Christ-like attitude. Note that, suffering is not optional. The Bible says in many instances that we shall suffer, and should share in the sufferings of Christ so that we shall share in his glory as well. There is hope however, at the end of all this- “because those who have suffered in their bodies are done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.” Can you imagine what is like to be done with Sin? When sin, the devil and all his legions have no hold on you, and you are living a life, a life so high above the kind and type of this world, free from fleshly desires and all? Now that is living the Life! This is a promise, a promise written in black and white, that we can take to the Bank, as it were. The apostle Peter is telling us the rewards of suffering which is the great reward of freedom, and living the ultimate kingdom Life- a life that we as believers in Christ are born to live. Succumbing to the desires of the flesh is the worldly way of living, and since the evil one is the king of this world, do I really need to spell it out whom we will have chosen to serve if we choose to follow our bodily desires?
“For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.” This is so straight forward and obvious that I think I should not comment on it at all lest I water it down. I mean, we all know the kind of lives we lived before we received salvation. But I think I should comment on the use of the word “choose”. This word clearly denotes the presence of option. This means that, we do consciously decide to do the things that we do. So when suffering comes, the action we take at that moment, will either give us the kingdom life, or lead us to the grave, yes the grave- because the reward for sin is death! I guess I should remind you or probably press on you here that when I say suffering I am not merely speaking of emotional distress and/ or physical pain - I am speaking of all sorts of suffering that we as followers of Christ undergo when we choose, there is that word again, not to follow the ways of this world; even though emotional and physical pain are most usually the consequences of choosing the worldly life. In other words, what I am saying here is that, when we follow Christ, we are guaranteed to suffer- yes I think this comes out more clearly. We will suffer; and there are no two ways about it.
I do want you to digest all the above so I will stop here in an attempt to let you take this all in. However, if I should have one more thing to say it will be this- as long as we are alive in this world, life will always, always throw us a curve ball, and this is not the worst thing that can happen. There will always be times when this body we inhabit will try to get its way to make us obey it. When we choose to continuously follow these desires of the world and permanently kill the spirit of God that lives in us- then the worst thing has happened, for then we will die! And no matter how God loves us, and He loves all of us, we will not, even with this intense love, survive his wrath and the end of days if we “choose” not to obey his commands. As Mr. Dollar once said, if you do not obey His word, God loves you enough to lead you to the path of hell and even open the gates for you, while loving you all the way, because love is His nature. However, only you, you, you, can make the decision right now, to choose life, or death!
May the Lord watch and keep you always.
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