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Forgiven

Can you imagine living in a time where you had to follow a set of rules with not so stellar leaders as role models? Well those were the times that the Israelites lived in as recorded in the book of 2nd Kings. They had leaders that led them astray with idolatry and perversion and even though the rulers of those times got what they deserved, the Israelites shared in the consequences of the sins of their leaders.  Back in those days, many sins and transgressions were not forgiven by God. Notable among them were idolatry, burning children as sacrifices to gods, and of course disobedience… don’t get me started on disobedience. In those days there was a swiftness with which God exacted punishment on rule breakers, a swiftness that we may not necessarily experience today because of the grace of God. I think this week I discovered one of the scariest phrases ever written in scripture:

…and the LORD was not willing to forgive. 2 Kings 24: 4 NIV

As I ponder the stories I encountered in the book of 2nd Kings, I wonder if most of those people who met a sad fate had never heard of the word repentance. Most of these people received warnings from God through his prophets about what fate they would meet because of their disobedience or wickedness or whatever atrocities they had committed and I wonder if they were that ignorant about the fact that they could turn back to God, or were they just resigned to their fate? Was repentance even an option then?

It is very interesting that our fate (outside of Christ) is not very different from those of old… Unlike them though, the option of repentance has been made so readily available for the same transgressions that God was previously unwilling to forgive. It costs us nothing (except maybe our pride) and as an added bonus, the grace of God affords us the gift of time to “bypass” swift justice and yet many of us do not seem to value the fact that we have been afforded such a precious gift!

As I ponder all of this, I have come to value the ability to go before God and confess and repent of my wrong doings. What a blessed state  and dispensation to live in… How precious it is that I can go before God and say I am sorry and instead of an “I am unwilling to forgive” response, I can leave with an assurance of being forgiven as well as being refreshed (Acts 3: 19-20)…WHAAAAT!!!!! That is amazing.

Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Acts 3:19 NLT

Yours Truly.

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Know your truth and live it

One of the most confusing, weird, and controversial stories in the bible that I have encountered so far has been the story of the young and the old prophet from 1st Kings 13. To summarize the story, God sends a young prophet to deliver a word to the ruling king but not to stop or eat or drink or return the way he came. After he delivers the word he sets on his way but an old prophet chases after him and deceitfully persuades him to come home with him and eat. As soon as the young prophet finishes eating, the old prophet asks why he did not obey God and tells him he will die because of that and true to the word of the old prophet he is mauled by a lion on his way home.

For days, I have been meditating on that scripture asking what lessons can be learned from such a bizarre story and this morning a scripture crossed my mind,

By smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action. Dan 11:32 NASB

This scripture, even though contextually was a prophecy about the future state of the Israelites has allowed me to think through this story a little bit more. The young prophet received a word from God not to eat or drink after he had delivered the message to the king. The king tried to convince him to stay for a meal but he refused but when the old prophet came and deceitfully told him God had said he should come home and eat, he relented and went with him. What went wrong? Did he no longer believe God had initially spoken to him? Was he motivated to disobey God’s word because he was afraid to offend the old prophet? I don’t know the answer to these questions but what I know is that there was a disconnect between what he spoke as truth and how he lived that truth in different circumstances of his life.

The scripture from the book of Daniel assures us that those that know their God will display strength in the midst of deceit, confusion, fear, mixed messages or flattery and will resist such influences. They will not only speak their truth which comes from the word of God but they will live that truth. With all the uncertainty surrounding the covid virus and its implications on global health and wealth, there are so many theories out there and frankly, some are scary. And yet God assures us that his promises for us will not fail because He cannot lie. He offers himself to us as an anchor of hope when it feels like we are being battered by the storms of life and that should be the TRUTH we SPEAK and LIVE.

So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath. Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and steadfast. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. Hebrews 6: 17- 20 BSB

Regardless of the circumstances, we need to hold on steadfastly to the truth of God’s word and not be influenced by anything especially fear. Know that the God who has promised is a faithful God, rest in His promises, be strong and courageous and walk in the strength of the Lord.  Jesus is praying and interceding for you.

Yours Truly.

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The Pivot

Last week in our online church, the pastor shared a passionate sermon about pivoting by relating the concept in basketball with how we relate to God in the midst of adversity. For those that don’t know what pivoting in basketball is, this is what it looks like: when you are on the court and you have the ball you have three moves you can make; to pass, shoot or dribble. But once you are stationary on the court with the ball, the rules say you can move one foot around, as long as the other foot (the “pivot foot”) remains planted on the floor. This is called pivoting. As my pastor described it, a pivot is a point where movement stops and a decision must be made.

As I was reading my bible this week I came across the story of the call of Elisha in 1st Kings 19: 19-21. This is what happened:  God told Elijah that Elisha would succeed him as a prophet and so he went to look for Elisha. Elijah found Elisha in a field plowing with oxen, approached and threw his cloak on him and walked away. That was a pivot point for Elisha. All movement had stopped and Elisha had to decide what to do about that awkward rendezvous.

Here is what Elisha did: he took his yoke of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became his servant. Elisha chose to lean into the calling and purpose of God for his life which was to become a prophet. He could have just shrugged the moment away and just gone back to plowing his field.

The current global pandemic has put an unexpected and sudden pause on many things in our lives: travels, celebrations such as weddings,  business plans etc. This serves as a pivot point in our lives. How will you respond in this pause when movement has stopped? Are you going to seek God’s plans and purposes for you during this time and walk in them? Or are you going to pivot away from God’s plans and walk your own path?

Jesus is calling you to draw near, step a little deeper into the water in faith.  Slaughter your oxen and burn the plowing equipment so you have no reason to look back when you choose God’s plans for you.  Remember His plans for you are to prosper you and bring you to an expected end.

Yours Truly

 

 

 

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Lean not on your own understanding

Have you found that some scriptures are quoted so much that they almost become cliche? One such scripture for me is a childhood favorite:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Prov 3:5-6 KJV

I get the general concept of that scripture. It seems self-explanatory until you try to operationalize it! What does it mean to trust in God with all your heart and not lean on your understanding in a practical way? This week God showed me an example of this from a story in the bible. Let me paraphrase it for you:

So Solomon was married to 700 wives and had 300 concubines and almost all of these brought their foreign and detestable gods into the marriage. They gradually turned Solomon’s heart from serving God  and so God told him that the kingdom of Israel will be divided and his son would rule one tribe. On the flip side of the coin a man named Jeroboam was minding his business one day strutting about in his new robe and a prophet approached him and ripped his coat into 11 pieces representing the tribes of Israel, gave him 10  of the pieces and told him God had chosen him to rule over 10 of the tribes of Israel. God promised to make his kingship a lasting dynasty like he had promised David. What an honor it must have been! This position however came with  a warning from God; that he walked in obedience to God and did what was right by obeying God. But after he became king he got insecure. He forgot the promise of God. He forgot about his incredible appointment to kingship through a series of God-orchestrated events and he did the one thing which no one should do when feeling insecure or afraid: he thought to himself.

Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam. After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other. 1 Kings 12:26-30 NIV

He did not trust that God who had brought him that far was capable of sustaining him in that position but rather he leaned into his own knowledge and schemes. He devised ways he could keep himself secure in that kingship forever and in the process he lost it all.

This week I am reminded that trust in God means having unshakable confidence in the One who has promised that He will fulfill His word to the letter. In these times as the world goes through turmoil, I have so many uncertainties and insecurities about my future. But God is faithful. It is very important for me to lean more into him and farther away from my own understanding and schemes or plans. I need to fully trust that the promises God has made regarding my health, my family, my job, my career, my finances, the totality of my existence will surely come to pass and my expectations will not be cut be cut short.

So my encouragement to you today is “what has God said concerning you? What assurances do you have from His word?” Lean in to Him fully trusting and not on your own understanding.

Yours Truly.

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God will give you everything you need

Last year I did a series on Psalm 23 and the teachings on  …I shall not want radically changed my life. My most important take away way the fact that if God is my shepherd then at any point in time, regardless of what the circumstances appear to be, I have ALL I need.

This week something I read from the bible reinforced this. David had written this psalm long before he became king and so he understood the concept of God being a shepherd and providing for his every need. But one day he lost sight of this and got greedy. He coveted the wife of Uriah when he could have had any woman he wanted and even killed Uriah so he could have his wife. Now see what God said about this:

…’I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more… 2 Sam 12: 7-8 NIV

God knows what you need to be comfortable in this life. He knows exactly how much food you need to survive (as in the case of the Israelites in the desert and Elijah being fed by ravens). He knows exactly how much money you need to settle your debtors (as in the case of  Peter paying his taxes from the coin in the fish’s mouth). He knows you need clothes (as in the case of Adam and Eve). There isn’t a single need of yours that God does not know about and is not prepared to meet. In fact, if what he has given you is too little, he is prepared to give you more.

So why do we sometimes feel the need to be crooked and shrewd or find other ways to meet our own needs or sort ourselves out? Why do some Christians feel the need to steal or embezzle funds or take bribes so that they can meet their needs?  Is God not our shepherd? Does he not promise to supply all our needs according to his riches?

See the story of Achan in Joshua 7. God asked them to destroy everything in battle and he saw some of the battle spoils and coveted them so he took them (vs. 21). This resulted in his death and that of his entire lineage. David’s covetousness led to a curse on his family.

As the year wears on, my encouragement is to trust God for your every need. He is your shepherd and so you have access to everything you need. Just ask.

Yours  Truly.

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Pick up stones along the way

Seems like an odd topic right? Well, it will make sense in a minute. This year one of my resolutions was to pray every night with my kids and teach them how to pray. A few days ago my son wanted to go to bed and so he came and reminded us that we had not prayed yet and I felt a wave of emotions wash over me. I felt pride in my boy for recognizing that this had become a nightly routine and in the same breath I felt guilty for all the times I had reluctantly dragged myself to pray with the kids.

In church last week, a scripture was read to a couple dedicating their baby that really got me thinking about how we live in front of the scrutinizing eyes of our kids:

When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and command them: ‘Take up for yourselves twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan where the priests were standing, carry them with you, and set them down in the place where you spend the night.’”… Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ you are to tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ Joshua 4: 1-3, 21-22 BSB

This scripture encourages me that as I go along in life, I need to be intentional about picking up metaphorical stones that will spark conversations with my kids about Jesus. Following Jesus will not come spontaneously to my kids without effort. I need to actively share my faith with them, pray with them (regardless of how tired I am) and talk about the good things that Jesus is doing in our lives. This way when they are old enough they will know why they are choosing to follow Jesus and it will not only be because they “grew up in a christian household” but because they encountered Jesus on a daily basis and fell in love with Him because there were always stories of Him in abundance in our home.

Yours Truly.

 

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In conformity to His plan

We left off our last series on Your future is within you with these two questions: how can we ensure that we come to the expected end and future God has laid out for us? What if we mess up along the way or deviate from the plan, then what? Well… lets explore these questions.

John 15: 1-8 answers the first question beautifully.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing…” John 15:5 NIV

If we remain in Christ who is the true vine, then we will bear fruits. The future that is embedded within us will flourish and come to fruition. Remember in the last post we discussed how God knows the plans He has for is and he knows what the way to that expected end us but he does not necessarily tell us? Well… Jesus assures us that He is the way (John 14:6) and if we will but follow Him and not turn to the left or the right He will lead us right into the future God envisioned for us.

But what about people like me who have not stayed the course and have gone our own way only to realize that that was just a dead end? Truth is there is hope if the person repents and turns away from the wrong path. This is the key; God works everything out in conformity to his will.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. Eph 1:11 NIV

So what does this mean? It means if you for example went your own way and ended up getting pregnant out of wedlock  or becoming a drug addict but turn around and come back, God conforms that story to the plan. An example of this is David. He not only stole Uriah’s wife and slept with her, but tried to hide the ensuing pregnancy and when that failed, he killed Uriah. When God convicted him of this grievous sin, he was immediately filled with remorse  and he repented. But the story did not end there… God conformed this ugly story to the plan for David  by accepting the next child of David and Bathsheba. After the baby was born, they named him Solomon but God sent word to David to call him Jedidiah which means loved by God (2 Sam 12:25 NIV). In fact God did not stop there; he used Solomon to fulfill the future he had mapped out  for David to have an everlasting throne by establishing Solomon as the next king of Israel. And we all know that Solomon was unparalleled in wisdom, wealth, and greatness of all the kings Israel had ever had and perhaps will ever have and Jesus Christ the everlasting King came from that lineage of David.

You see, God conforms those messes when we go astray to become a part of our testimony so that when we get to our expected end, our journey becomes an encouragement to others. Never forget God’s assurance:

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 NIV

Yours Truly.

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Your future is within you

Today I was privileged to listen to a sermon by Dr. Myles Munroe and he made this statement that really struck me – “your future is not a distant thing that is to come; it is within you”. He described this using an apple: within an apple are seeds and within each seed is an apple tree. The future of that apple is within itself. In a similar concept, the future of a chicken is within an egg. It just has to undergo a process.

Within each of us is the future that God has predestined for us. He declares that he knows the plans that he has for us and it is one that brings us to our predestined future (Jer 29:11 NIV).  God establishes in His word that what distinguishes Him from any other god is that he makes known (declares) the [expected] end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10 NIV).  Long before we are born, our future is decided by God. God chooses our destinies but the fulfilment of such destinies is entirely decided by us. As Dr. Munroe suggested it is like a parent paying for college for their child. That parent sees a degree ahead and yet if the child does not apply themselves to study while in college and ends up with the wrong crowd, they will flunk out completely and not attain that degree.

So this is how it works:

God declares your expected end which is your future or your destiny –> then he backtracks to the beginning and creates you –> and he lays out the plan for how you will get to your expected end according to His will.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. Eph 1:11 NIV

Many times God makes known to us our future. The caveat is that God seldomly tell us the plan but neither does he leave us to figure it out all on our own.  He orders and directs our steps along the lines of those plans so long as we let Him.

The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Psalm 37:27 NLT

Case in point… Joseph. God showed Joseph in a dream that his family would one day bow down to him but God never showed him how he will get there. God never showed him the pit or prison. But God was with him ordering His steps along the way as long as Joseph was in step with God. The pit and prison were all part of God’s plan to prepare him for his future. Many times the things we go through in life are all a part of God’s plan to bring us to that future he predestined us for.

So how can we ensure that we come to the expected end and future God has laid out for us? What if we mess up along the way or deviate from the plan, then what? Well… we will explore these questions in Part II of this series. Stay tuned!

Yours Truly.

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The depressed Christian

There are many opinions out there about whether or not a Christian can be depressed. There are some that believe that depression is a spiritual attack and lie from the devil, others believe it is a physical/psychological phenomenon in reaction to life’s events, and yet others believe it is a medical condition just like any physical ailment. For many years now I have been thinking about this topic based on my experiences of how Christians react to the topic of depression which I will share in subsequent posts. Recently a passage of scripture caught my attention. This scripture accurately captures the old age saying “easier said than done”. This is one of Job’s friend Eliphaz speaking to Job:

In the past you have encouraged many people; you have strengthened those who were weak. Your words have supported those who were falling; you encouraged those with shaky knees. But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified when it touches you. Job 4:3-5 NLT

It is my personal experience that it is easy to give advice to others about what they should do in a given situation but usually when we have to cast a gaze inward at ourselves, the advice we give often becomes a bitter pill to swallow. For this next blog, I will like to compile some data before I write and I need your help.

The task is simple. Send me a brief message back sharing your experience of dealing with depression in your own life or in that of a loved one. How did you or your loved one get out of the rut? What helped you or your loved one cope? Or what advice did you give or has someone given you regarding depression?

I eagerly look forward to your participation and I hope all your responses come together into a lovely piece on the topic of the depression. Together let’s be healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

Yours truly.

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Chosen

Many times as a christian I feel the burden of having to live a righteous life, to live up to this standard of having Jesus as my Lord and personal savior on a daily basis. Sometimes it feels like I carry the responsibility for maintaining a relationship with God; like God is this ever loving Father whose arms of forgiveness and welcome are always open and I am the one who keeps rejecting his love and so I need to keep running into His arms daily. Well… isn’t that how the gospel of salvation is presented to many?

This week I read something from scripture that has been nagging at my core:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit–fruit that will last–and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16 NIV

This paints a different picture of God than what I am used to: a passive God waiting for his errant children to come home like the prodigal son. Speaking of the prodigal son, lets take a brief look at the character of the father in that story.

So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:20 NIV

The father was not passively waiting for the son’s return. He had been actively watching  out for his son on the daily, anticipating his son’s return. And when he returned, the father run to him  and embraced him. There was no passiveness in the father’s actions at all. The son was going to ask to be reinstated not as a son but as a servant in the father’s household and yet the father demonstrated John 15: 16 with his actions “you did not choose me but I, your father, chose you when you were still a long way off”

This is what God does for each and everyone of us his children everyday. He chooses us each and every day. We do not carry the responsibility for living out our salvation by ourselves or have to make the first move all the time. Everyday when God renews his steadfast love and mercies over you, He has chosen you; he has made the first move by running to you with open arms. When the sun kisses your face in the morning, God himself has kissed you with his mercy and he says “today I have chosen you and appointed you to bear fruits- to show the world what it means to have a heavenly father  who runs up to you while you are a long way off”

Here’s my encouragement: Sometimes the responsibility for living right and godly feels tedious. Many times I feel like a fraud because I  do not feel like I measure up to the standards that I so boldly blog about. I feel like I am always running to God with my inadequacies. Today, I am encouraged that even when I run to God on a daily, the distance I run is shorter than I should be running because God beats me to the punch and starts running towards me  with his renewed love and mercy the moment I open my eyes! Even when I was a long way off… he started running.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 2:22-23 ESV