A young man, Eli, promised his younger brother, Matt, to get him a suit and throw a party for Him if he got a first-class honours degree from his university study. Although promised years ago, Matt kept that promise to heart and worked hard to achieve the goal. As God will have it, he completed his studies and graduated with first-class honours. During a conversation with Eli a few months before his graduation, Matt began to specify the colour and brand of the suit he wanted and the kind of party he wants on the graduation day. What gave Matt the boldness to request that without wavering in his mind that his brother will do what he said he will do?
God has given us uncountable promises in His word. These words are assurances He gives us to be steadfast in our walk with Him. These promises are often preceded by conditions that we need to fulfil or has already been fulfilled in Christ. Whoever knows these promises and can put God to remembrance with it can fully claim what God has promised.
The LORD said to me, “You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled.”
Jeremiah 1:12 (NIV)
God is committed to fulfilling His promises to us. It is our responsibility to know what He has promised us and claim them. God is not a man that He should lie nor the son of man that He should repent; has he said and will he not do it, Balaam noted (Numbers 23:19). Do you know what God has promised you?
Prayer
May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen
What we say has an impact on what we see and become. This direct correlation is affirmed by Christ as he taught that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.
Your confession is a public affirmation of what you believe or have witnessed. The Greek word translated as confession is the word homologea which also means to assent, that is, covenant, acknowledge: – profess 1.
Dr. T. L. Osborn in his book “Healing the Sick”2 defines confession as:
saying with the mouth what one believes in the heart
agreeing with God in the heart enough to say what God says, to speak God’s words, to use God’s expressions and declarations and to acknowledge God’s words.
faith’s way of expressing itself in our testimony
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.
Luke 6:45 (NIV)
Why your confessions matter
It reveals your convictions and beliefs
It determines whether you have life or death
It creates a platform to create the impossible. Realities are developed from our confessions.
Your confession leads to your possession.
We need to pay close attention to what we say this year. The things we say will become a reality for us. Define your reality by what God says and what He has promised.
Prayers
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Sources:
eSword X Strong Concordance on Hebrews 10:23
Osborn, Tommy Lee. Healing the sick. Osborn Foundation, 1959.
It is a new year and we are grateful to God for granting us this glorious opportunity to be alive today. This year, we will focus on studying what God’s word has promised us and what how we can claim and see the manifestation of these promises. We pray that this will be our year of the fulfilment of the word of God concerning our lives.
I remember a story of a young boy who went to His father for his PS5. The father looked at his son curiously and asked his son why he needed the PS5. The son smiled back at his father unwittingly and reminded him of his promise to buy him a PS5 once he became first in the exams. At last, the father relaxed, nodded his head in disbelief that his son had held him to his promise as a reason why he needed the PS5. He had no option but to honor his word and purchase the PS5 for his son.
It must be worth noting from the story above that the son did not need to worry about how and where the father would get the money from to purchase the PS5 for him. Whether the father would use a credit card, borrow money from friends or take it from his savings was not his problem but that of his father.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23 (NKJV)
Likewise we need not worry about the promises of God to us. If we can hold fast to the confession of our faith in what God has said, the duty lies with God to fulfil His word. The opening scripture says God is faithful, so we are sure to receive what He has promised.
The basic question we need to ask ourselves is: “What has God promised us?”. This question we shall answer through our blog posts this year. I am excited about what we are going to discover together. Are you excited too?
Prayer
Thank you Father for this opportunity to be your child. I am grateful for your promises to me and qualification you have given me as Your son. I pray that you enlighten the eyes of my understanding to comprehend the deeper truths in Your word. Thank you forever and may Your name forever be praised. Amen!
The songwriter, Charlotte Elliot, wrote: “just as I am without one plea…” after going through a lot of challenges. She was bedridden and battling with the sense of being useless. After many years, she was visited by a minister who asked her if she had peace with God. After much contemplation, she opened and received Christ into her life. This encounter gave her a sense of confidence, and then she wrote 150 hymns and many other poems. [Source]
Life presents us with many unforeseen challenges. These challenges can make us feel useless and put our faith in God to test. Although we may go through these challenges and may not have an easy escape, having peace with God and holding on to your faith in Him would give you a chance at fighting. One way for you to have peace with God is to let all that you are praise the Lord.
Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
Psalm 103:1-2 (NLT)
Letting all you are praise the Lord means that you choose to let God take glory for whatever situation you are faced with. The “you” that will bring praise to God is the life that is surrendered unto Him. Let the pain, struggles, disappointment, successes, etc be a praise to God. He sees your heart and know what you feel, think and imagine. Just let all that you are praise the Lord.
Prayer
I thank you Father for Your grace that is over my life. I am grateful for your power and love for me. I offer all that I am unto you. I pray that I become worthy of an honorable praise to you in Jesus name! Amen
A young man was put up for a surprise of His life when He was sent to visit His grandfather in the village. His grandfather was a retired army general who went to the village to embark on the NGO he had always dreamed of doing. Early the next morning, he was awoken by his grandfather doing his morning tour of the village and visiting the beneficiaries of his project. This young man, thinking retirement was an end to serious work quizzed his grandfather. His grandfather, replying to him with a broad smile said: “I did not come here to rest. I came here to fulfil my purpose. I need to stay faithful to what I have begun with undivided attention”.
How many of us have begun things that we left hanging? It is not the beginning that actually matters, but the end is also important. Starting a journey is not very important, but staying faithful to the course is. Challenges of varied gravity are bound to come our way to test our conviction of what we are doing, but that is when we need to prove that we mean business.
“I am the sprouting vine and you’re my branches. As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you—but when you live separated from me you are powerless.” (John 15:5 TPT)
Jesus typifies this with the parable of the vine and the branches. He explains that the only way we can bear fruits and even bear many fruits as Christians is to remain connected to the vine. Irrespective of what the “weeds” will try to fight us with, we need to stay connected to the vine. The wind may be boisterous and we may feel like we are falling apart from the vine, but that is when we need to understand that it is the vine that is deeply rooted in the soil and the vine is what sustains us.
Without Christ, we can do nothing. He expects us to bear many fruits because it shows that we are His disciples. Whatever Christ has entrusted to you as a branch in the vine, remain in Him and stay faithful to the course. Do not be filled with greed and covet after what another branch is doing. Focus on yours and stay connected to the course for which CHRIST will reward you for.
When the master gave the talents according to their abilities to the servants before leaving, He expected them to be faithful and work hard to produce fruits from what He had given them. (Read Matthew 25:14-30). If you were called to do anything, STAY FOCUSED and REMAIN FAITHFUL.
Prayer
I thank you father for your word today. Thank you Father for entrusting me with something to do for you. I am really grateful to be a vessel of honour dedicated to your service. I pray that you will grant me the grace to stay faithful to that which you called me for. I pray that no wind nor weed will take my attention from you and your assignment. AMEN!!!
I woke up this morning tired. I had a conference dinner to attend yesterday and slept late at night. However late I slept, I was up early. I felt the need to pray but was also halfway asleep if you have experienced that feeling. After much struggle, I got up to start praying but was not getting into the mood. With much push and persistence, I was surprised by the richness of the fellowship I had this morning.
Why do I share this story? You have been crippled and lost motivation to pursue God’s vision for you. This may be due to a sense of guilt, past failures, discouragement from other people, low self-esteem, as well as pride. Resorting to the current trend of events, it seems normal to rather settle in your little space, and enjoy yourself as the precious time to fulfil your purpose whiles away.
Keeping ourselves never helps us. As Dr. Maxwell writes in his book, the 15 laws of growth that self-esteem puts a lid on our potential, and being intentional, aware of yourself and start working on yourself to have another view of yourself. The New Testament is filled with scriptures that create awareness of who we are in Christ, placing an infinite bound on what we can do. It’s time to rise up and start doing it again!
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21 (NKJV)
This is my prayer for you that you will be equipped to get to the finished line. You can make it there, all it takes is faith and courage. Just Do it!
In our past two posts, we have been dealing with how you can focus on your goal. We discussed that to focus on the goals we need to have some “me-time”, deal with distractions and be ready to say NO (link). We also learnt that it takes wisdom to know how to deal with each distraction that we face in life (link). Our discussion today will focus on the role of others in reaching our goals.
We all need people to reach our destination. God blesses us through men, and these people are meant to help us get to the destination God has given to us. They have the capacity to be direct us, open certain doors for us with their influence or are ready to carry the burden with us until we reach the destination. Rabbi Daniel Lapin puts it very excellently in his book “Business Secrets from the Bible” by noting that “We are in fact, created for this very purpose- to connect with one another”. These are our destiny helpers. A man in Mark 2:1-5 received his healing because of his four friends. There are a few things we can learn from this scripture:
Destiny helpers are not in for their personal benefits (Verse 3). These four men could have rushed to Jesus and listen to the word and ask for help with something, but they thought of their friend.
Destiny helpers do not give up in the face of challenges (Verse 4). These four men wanted to help the man to get his healing and were not ready to let a packed room stop them. When you meet your destiny helpers, they would not run away from you because of the challenges you face.
Destiny helpers look for opportunities to solve problems (Verse 4). The four men sought for other opportunities to get the paralytic man to Jesus. That was when they uncovered the roof where Jesus was. Men who have been destined to help us will seek for opportunities to help us reach our goal.
Jesus saw their action as enough faith for the paralytic man to get healed. I should sign the warning that there may be people who would present themselves as destiny helpers, but they are hypocrites. Beware of any person who would try to take you away from fellowship with God and the believers.
Let me end this post by also saying that you are also meant to be someone else’s destiny helper. In his book “How successful people think”, John C. Maxwell noted that “When you work to consider an issue from every possible angle, examine it in the light of another’s history, discover the interests and concerns of others, and try to set aside your own agenda, you begin to see what others see”. Let me add a phrase to the last sentence of John Maxwell’s statement… “you feel the way they feel and are ready to help them through”.
Prayer
I pray that God will grant us the spirit of discernment to be helpers to people He has destined that we help, and be connected to our destiny helpers. This and many other blessings we ask in the name of Christ our Lord. AMEN!
If you have read this message and you do not know Christ, I would like to ask you to receive Him as your Lord and personal saviour. He has been made wisdom unto us and it is only through fellowship with Him that you grow in wisdom. If you want to receive Jesus as Your Lord and Saviour, kindly repeat these words after me:
Thank You Father for sending Your Son Jesus to come and die for me so I can be saved. I receive You Christ as my Lord and personal Savior. Please come into my heart and fellowship with me. Amen!
If you have said this prayer with me, welcome to the family of believers. Do find a Bible-believing and Holy Spirit-filled church to fellowship with.
Our previous post was on focusing on your goal. For a recap, we learnt that to focus on our goal, we need to have some “me time”, deal with distractions and press on with what we are doing. For a recap of that edition, kindly read the blog post via this link.
A reader of the post asked a question we want to discuss today. The question is presented as follows:
Question: What if along the way something unplanned happens but dealing with it means sinning against God? Will you drag the problem along to reach your goal or will you just stop and deal with it first and continue?
With this question, we will discuss dealing with distractions as you focus on the goal. As was mentioned in the previous post, you can not do away with distractions, as the word focus comes with dealing with distractions. Dealing with these distractions will be different for each person as well as the circumstances. However, I have outlined a few points from the Bible for us to have a look at.
Each situations requires wisdom to handle. Wisdom requires that we understand the situation and know how to respond appropriately. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10) and the Holy Spirit has been given to us to guide us.
Some distractions must be dealt with before progressing. They are meant to provide you with the necessary fortitude to get to the goal. These can include your guilt, fear and anxieties as well as unchecked emotions. Joseph run away as he was enticed by Mrs Portiphar (Genesis 39:1-20); Paul asked his son Timothy to flee from youthful lust (2 Timothy 2:22), and many more examples. You would have to deal with these things so you can move on. Further reading: Hebrews 12:1; Psalm 32:5; Luke 10:40-42; Matthew 6:25-26.
Some distractions would have to be dragged along till you get to the end. A typical example was Jesus dealing with the teachers of the law as He was about His ministry. At every point in his ministry, you could find them asking a question or challenging his actions. It would have taken eterninty to change their thinking patterns. Therefore it was important that He dealt with this hypocrisy and injustices as He continued His ministry. In oour current lives, this would mean that we have to also deal with the injustices, moral inappropriateness as well as persecutions as we focus on our goal of becoming like Christ.
No matter what distractions you face and the approach you have to deal with it, it should never let you sin against God. If it leads you to sin, then its a sign that you were directed by God. You need to advice yourself and seek direction.
There is a price to pay to reach your goal. It takes determination and perseverance to get there.
Prayer
I pray that God will grant us the wisdom to deal with the distractions as they come our way. May we receive the grace to put aside every weight and sin that so easily entangles us. This and many other blessings we ask in the name of Christ our Lord. AMEN!
If you have read this message and you do not know Christ, I would like to ask you to receive Him as your Lord and personal saviour. He has been made wisdom unto us and it is only through fellowship with Him that you grow in wisdom. If you want to receive Jesus as Your Lord and Saviour, kindly repeat these words after me:
Thank You Father for sending Your Son Jesus to come and die for me so I can be saved. I receive You Christ as my Lord and personal Savior. Please come into my heart and fellowship with me. Amen!
If you have said this prayer with me, congratulations on joining the family of believers. Do find a Bible-believing and Holy Spirit-filled church to fellowship with.
One of the easy parts on the journey to success is receiving an idea or vision. Everyone can have a vision or an assignment,yet not everyone gets the vision actualised nor the assignment done. Not to offend anyone, one distinguishing feature between successful people and ordinary people is FOCUS.
To be focused is to pay attention to something. This means the individual must make a conscious effort to pay attention to what he/she is doing, irrespective of potential distractions. An acronym of focus I found on the Random Vibz says Follow One Course Until Success.
There is a passage of scripture I want to use to illustrate this. It was an encounter between Jesus and His disciples at the very beginning of His ministry.
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Simon and his companions went to look for him, and when they found him, they exclaimed: “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also. That is why I have come.” So he travelled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and driving out demons.
Mark 1:35 – 39 (NLT)
The preceding verses describes Jesus in Capernaum casting out a demon as He taught on the Sabbath. After sunset, people brought the sick and demon-possessed for Jesus to deliver and heal them, which He graciously did. The next morning, Simon and the others came looking for Jesus as He had his “me-time”, as my wife calls it. They mentioned that everyone was looking for Him. Jesus responded that He did not come to be a Capernaum preacher, but to travel around and proclaim the good news. He could have been content with the congregation he had and made the place His headquarters, but He focused on the purpose He was sent.
This passage gives us some things to do if we have to focus on the goal:
Have a “me-time”. This will help you re-assess how far you have gone with the vision and assignment and also strategise for the future.
Be ready to say NO to other peoples suggestion. If you want to be focused, then you cannot please everyone by accepting all suggestions and comments. You would have to learn to say NO. Steve Jobs once said “Focus does not mean saying yes. It means saying NO.” (Source)
Press on with what you are doing. You cannot focus on the goal and remain at the stagnant. You need to move ahead and get to the next step. If not, you can be de-motivated and eventually give up on the task.
It is my prayer that as we have resolutions and vision for the year 2022, we will not lose track of what we have, but will see to the accomplishment of it. May we all, on the 31st December of this year be filled with gratitude to God and proclaim with confidence like Apostle Paul did that we have fought a good fight and have finished the race.
PRAYER
I thank You Father for the opportunity you have given to us to learn today. We pray that You grant us the grace to keep focused on the assignment you have entrusted unto us. May we walk steadfastly with You as You guide us in Your perfect will. This and many others we ask in the name of Christ Our Lord, AMEN!
If you have read this booster and you do not know this man Jesus we are proclaiming, then this is the opportunity you have to receive Him as your Lord and Savior and establish a relationship with Him. Kindly say these prayers after me.
I thank You Father for sending Your Son Jesus to die for me, a sinner. I confess all my sin and surrender myself unto You. I accept Jesus as my Lord and personal Savior. Come into my heart and fellowship with me! Amen!
If you have said this prayer after me, congratulations for joining the family of believers. Find a Bible-believing and Holy Spirit filled church to fellowship with. You can contact us for suggestions.
It is a privilege and an honour for us to come your way this year with our spirit boosters. On behalf of the entire team, we want to wish you a blessed new year. God bless you and remain a blessing.
I woke up this morning to a song that was lingering in my spirit. The song was sung by William McDowell. The video is attached below. As I listened to the song, a question came to mind. What does it mean for you to say your life is not your own?
Various imageries of this phrase come to mind. I would like to use two of what comes to mind to explain the phrase:
a. A servant
Modern-day slave abolition has seen to the end of ruthlessness that was done to people who were bought to serve their masters. Let me apologise if you or any family member was a victim of such incidents. In today’s age, there has been a level of right that has been accorded to those who are being paid to be of service.
When someone is a slave, then the person has no will of his or her own. It simply means whatever decision you make is at the mercy of the Master. Your dreams, aspirations, plans and your deeds are subject to the approval of your Lord. If he refuses, you are not in the position to carry on with what you have in mind.
Paul tells us this in his letter to the Corinthians:
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)
Although Paul knew he would be arrested as he gets to Jerusalem, he encouraged the elders in Ephesus that:
24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
Acts 20:24 (NIV)
Was he obliged to go to Jerusalem and be put in prison? Was he obliged to honour God with His body? His reason for dedicating his life was because He knew that He had been bought by God, and as such his life belongs to His master (Galatians 2:20).
b. An agreement
Whenever you have an agreement with someone, for example, a mortgage agreement, there are clearly stipulated guidelines and principles that must be followed. Upon agreeing to the terms of the agreements, you are liable to fulfil the terms of the agreement, any deviation from it constitutes a breach of contract and has its consequences to be faced. Some mortgage agreements can state that you do not own the house fully until your payment for the house is completed. Even though you are legally registered to the house, you can still be evicted if you fail to pay your mortgage.
Likewise, when you signed on to be saved by Christ, you signed an agreement that He should be your Lord. As such, you openly declared that your life is not your own but belongs to Him. As such you were open unto Him for His guidance and leadership over your life. So the prophet Jeremiah noted:
Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own;
it is not for them to direct their steps.
Jeremiah 10:23 (NIV)
Going contrary to that agreement comes with its consequences. Life outside the will of God in Christ is a life of chaos and utter dissatisfaction. You have agreed to give your life to Christ, so your life is not yours.
God bless you and remain a blessing!
Prayer
Thank you Father for being a blessing to us today through your word. I thank you for your teaching today that my life is not my own, but it belongs to you. I pray that you will grant me the grace to continually die to self so that I can glorify you. This and many other blessings I ask in the name of Christ our Lord. Amen!
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