The Murderer in your Closet

The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah-Ps. 9:15-16

It is quite surprising how we live in self made prisons. No matter how we look at it, what we get entangled with in life is usually our own making, whether good or bad. Think of it this way, our choice to learn or do any course that eventually becomes our vocation of which sometimes we use clichés like, "this work is my life", is solely our making. As we gobble that chunk, let us quickly look at it from the point where we need to take utmost precaution. “The heathen are sunk in the pit that they made”, how can one be making a pit just to get sunk in it; “in the net which they hid is their own foot taken”, that sounds to me like bad habits we unconsciously form which eventually enslaves and compels us. Just like Tyron Edwards wrote “Any act often repeated soon forms a habit; and habit allowed, steadily gains in strength. At first it may be as a spider’s web, easily broken through, but if not resisted, it soon binds us with chains of steel.”

 If the heathen had known that the pit they were making will be their undoing, they would have done that with much sympathy or not even try it at all. If they had known that the net they were hiding from the glare of others will eventually claim their feet, they may have withdrawn from the machination. The summary of it all becomes that "the wicked is ensnared in the work of his own hand". Both the “pit” and the “net” are their own making. In life nobody has much power to afflict you more than you have the power to afflict yourself. What other people do can be stopped by your decision, but the very thing which you do to yourself, by yourself and which you consider perfect, if not excellent, will never occur to you as something you need to desist from, because they seem harmless. These pits and nets could look like smartness and ingenuity, they could be fun and trendy, but may actually be your death-trap. How limited we are in our thoughts and imaginations that we announce our obituary without knowing. It cuts across virtually everything we do; feeding, attitude to life, choices we make, etc. How desperate we need a superior guide to guard our life. How apt it will be for us to understand that the life we are struggling to protect in our own way is not our making.

"Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture-Psalm 100:3.

How do we expect to lead this life without the owner’s manual and expect to get the best out of it? It is time to evaluate our works (choices we make and execute), to know what will become of them in nearest future. Or rather it is much better not to execute our decisions if they do not fit into the owner's manual or else we would be digging our pit, with our hands.

No matter how we look at it, life is bigger than us without the creator of life. The earlier we recognize and make him Lord, the better and sweeter our life will be in the future, both in this life and the life beyond. God bless you.

All we ever needed

But grow in grace (undeserved favor, spiritual strength) and recognition and knowledge and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (the Messiah).............2 Peter 3:18.

The conjunction that started this verse presupposes an avoidable danger before now. However, the object for the discourse is not the danger, because in life we face dire situations everyday that tends to make us slip. The object is the injunction "to grow in grace-undeserved favor, spiritual strength". If we can grow in grace that means grace are in proportions, and grace is defined here as undeserved favor and spiritual strength..Thus, even though we got saved by grace (undeserved favor),we can go beyond that level of grace. We can increase the proportion of grace we enjoy in God. We can get to have much favor than others and more spiritual strength. If there's anything we need as mortal beings, it an undeserved favor from the Living God and an inner strength to stand against the arrows of the enemy. The more favor we have the easier to access the treasures of the Kingdom and the more strength we have, the more firm and confident we can be in the profession of our faith, because every fall we experience is an indication of weakness in the spirit. Therefore, if what it takes to get our feet fixed before God to enjoy His favor and to live in extreme spiritual strength is to grow, then we should make every effort to do all it takes for us to grow.

Growth is a characteristic of living things and it's only possible to one who has a good nourishment. However, it takes one who is alive first in the spirit (born of the spirit and water) to be talking of growth. It is not for those who are still dead in sins, what they need first is the saving grace which is available as soon as they confess that Jesus is Lord and Savior. On the other hand, to get the nourishment to grow in grace we need to eat spiritual food which is gotten through the study of the word of God and prayer. The word of God supplies the ingredients while prayer does the exchange of our weakness for His strength.

Oh!, what a need we have to give our all in the pursuit of this one thing that guarantees our sustenance in this walk with God. It is by grace that we started and it is by grace and grace alone that we can finish. So let us give ourselves to earnest prayer and the intermeddling with the word of life in order to grow in grace. 

Truth, Lord; yet

Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.Matt 15:21-28

It is not an easy thing to have a need which you cannot solve. But it is more frustrating when you have someone who can help but does not care, because you are not part of his project. Such was the case of this Canaanite woman. Her daughter is grievously vexed with a devil yet the only one who has power to cast the devil "ignored her"-MSG, with the excuse that she is not part of His project. Yes, it's possible not to be part of the Master's project. As a matter of fact, we all lost His Lordship through sin and became devils’ subject, like the woman’s daughter. It is only those who knew that they are grievously vexed with the devil(lost in sin),that cries for mercy. At this point, this woman's last resort is Jesus, yet there was no access. The disciples said that “she's bothering us....and driving them crazy"-MSG. Even that could not assuage the Master. What did this woman do, was it her fault that she is a Canaanite? How could the Master of the Universe refer her to a dog? Wait a minute, is that not enough for this woman to give up and stop begging Him? But here is a woman who have understanding of the key to heavens treasure. She has come to the fountain and she must go with a filled pitcher. How often has God confronted you with who you really are, the best you could do was to get angry and detach yourself from Him. God cannot release His mercy when we are still full of ourselves. Inasmuch as the Lord does not like the fact that the devil is vexing you, but He cannot either help you unless you acknowledge who you are. Jesus, struck the woman at the root of her problem. It takes a dog to be vexed with a devil, no wonder we have to chain dogs because if you don't, the dog will escape before you know. But, children are found at home. Jesus was right, you don't give what belongs to children to dogs. So, as soon as the woman saw that the Master has gone to her root, she owned up with her identity, and yet pleading for mercy. Excuse me, the only way to pull through is to respond like the woman, "And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table-v 27.The Lord cannot heal one who is well. It takes a broken man to access the mercy of God. Don't you think you need to own up and get the devil out of your closet. You can still have that dreams fulfilled, it doesn't matter what you have become, but you must decide to become a child and no longer a dog. The woman requested for crumbs just like the prodigal son requested to be a slave, but she didn't know that she has qualified by her confession. Though her faith was amazing for even believing that crumbs is enough to set her daughter free, but Jesus did not just give her the crumb. You may think that sin has totally disqualified you from the promises of God over your life, I have good news for you, you deserve more than the crumbs. As a matter of fact, crumbs cannot satisfy you. Jesus can reinstate you into dominion but are you willing to accept who you have become and cry out for mercy. This is a great day for you. The devil is leaving your life, family, business, finances, etc, now, because you have submitted to a new Master. Congratulations!!!...

It is Jesus...

And straightway Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, while he sent the multitudes away.....But the ship was now in the midst of the sea, tossed with waves: for the wind was contrary.-Matt 14:22,24.

Could this be for real?.How do we explain this? We are certain "he constrained us to enter". Or could it be why He withdrew because He knew what's ahead? Such and such could be the thoughts of the disciples when the storm began.

It could seem ironic that one who has been created by God, called by God and sent by God should have any obstruction in the journey and not even by any other thing but by nature itself which is solely the masterpiece of God, Himself, but it happened. If the story had ended there, we could have a reason to worry. But, it didn't."And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea"-v25.His power is so majestic that He does not recognize our times. He is so awesome that He defies nature. How pathetic it is that we are so limited in our imagination, otherwise, we could have known that He can still catch up with us, no matter the distance we have gone.

Has the waves (of challenges and difficulties) gone so high and the winds (of trials and temptations), gone so contrary that you are beginning to even deny yourself? Maybe, you just need to endure for a little while, perhaps into the night, for He will surely come to you. Child of God, brace up and wait for Your Maker, for you are the sheep of His pasture and the apple of His eye. He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear...It's time to look up and say, I know that my Redeemer lives and even if worms should eat up my flesh, I know that I shall yet see Him..Be of good cheer; it is Jesus..

Take a Stand

The Good Seed and the Tares

The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one -Matt 13:38.

The kingdom of God(the domains which are identified as God's own, the people who really are said to be godly, those whose lives are given for the kingdom)have a distinctive characteristic.

They cannot be mistaken for any other because there is no other like them on the earth. They are purely heavenly. They glaringly portray the marks of God, Himself. In the midst of darkness, they are shinning lights; in the midst of error, they stick out for the truth. They cannot help but exhibit the divine nature of which they've been configured. The seeming confusions on the actual doctrines of the Christian faith, notwithstanding, the Kingdom of God cannot be smeared with counterfeit. It stands sure.

However, the Kingdom of God maintains its savor on a premise. The premise that its products are of good seed; the pure seed or the incorruptible word; the divine sperm, which cannot but produce something divine.

It is not a coincidence that we err. We err because we cannot but err for, “a good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things”-Matt 12:35.

Hence to err is our nature and to be good is God's nature. So, for God to reproduce His nature in us in order to establish His Kingdom, He first infuses us with the good seed. No one who claims to be an offspring of the good seed should be found erring, for a good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things. It is a treasure chest in the heart that is watered by God alone through His Word by the Spirit. Hence, it cannot be said to run short of supply. Therefore, the children of the Kingdom of God cannot be mistaken. They are the carriers of the good seed which produces good fruit. Anyone who is found producing anything contrary should not claim to belong to this Kingdom, ”for God knows those who are His and let everyone that nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity”-1 Tim. 2:19.Such a one could better be described as a child of the evil one, which infuses tares into his subjects, for, it takes an evil treasure to produce evil deeds.

Just as good deeds are contagious so are evil deeds. Hence, anyone who rather is contaminating the field, injecting all negative ideas and sinful notions into it belong to the evil one who uses tares to offend and cause men to do iniquity. Hence, God's judgment on the tares is a furnace of fire with wailing and gnashing of teeth-Matt 13:42

Where do you belong, the good seeds or the tares? The differences are clear. What kind of seed are you sowing into the earth everyday you wake up?.Do you spread the aroma of the Kingdom of God or the stench of evil deeds?

Maybe this is the right time to evaluate what you consider as a walk with God so far. If you need a change of heart, why not fall on your knees right now and cry out to Him who alone can save your ailing heart from damnation. He is right there to give you a brand new start. As you respond to this call, I welcome you into the Kingdom of God.

What God has cleansed,call not thou common

See one another through the eyes of God and stop condemning the saints of God. God is a God of restoration and restoration does not imply physical change. It is an inward renewal of the mind orchestrated by the Holy Spirit through the word of God. Most times the outward transformation takes a little while but that does  not negate what God has started. We should provide a good platform for people to grow their faith by loving them genuinely and not looking at anybody from the past.

The Jewish cleansing is only an observation of the law for the sake of peoples' attention but which does not stop them from any evil-John 18:28.

God is a Preserver of destiny, that's why,"..........He pardons everyone that prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of His fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary-2 Chronicles 30:18b-19 

Whose brand are you parading?

 And the Lord said unto Him,I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me. I have hallowed this house which thou hast built, to put my name there forever and my eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually..1 Kings 9:3

The Lord responds to our prayers and supplication. When we don’t pray we limit God. Not praying in itself is setting ourselves against God, that is, making a god of ourselves, because we tend to prove to God that we can do it, irrespective of Him. It’s a form of pride and God opposes the proud. But praying is a demonstration of our helplessness and dependency on Him. He knows that we are feeble and that nothing we do can suffice our lack of Him, so He responds as if with a waiting arm hoping that we’d ever cry out to Him.

However, prayer should be made before God and not before men. When we pray to showcase our ability to pray and not our need of Him, then, we’re not falling before Him. We must fall before Him. It is a sign of worship. There can be no true praying without a prostration to worship. Worship is only given to deities. So when we pray before Him, we subscribe to His Sovereignty and cry out (when we do it), otherwise, we may be doing a religious ritual and not worship. Until our heart is truly willing to worship, we may not have prayed before Him. No wonder we pray amiss, because to worship is to surrender our will to His and let Him choose to respond. However, every prayer made before Him, He hears.

Now, we dare not parade what God have not hallowed, in His name. We don’t put God’s name in anything, He puts His name by his choice and when He does, it implies that He has hallowed/sanctified it. To hallow or sanctify means to set apart for God’s use. It’s only what God has set apart for His use that He can attach His name to. We can actually build anything, initiate anything, start anything, but we can only get Him involved by crying out to him in worshipful praying. He is only God in what he has hallowed, not necessarily in what we put His name upon. If there’s anything that we should desire, it’s to have God’s name upon our lives. His name is His brand and no one makes a light of his brand. However, He doesn’t just imprint His name, He makes it eternal. Everything God steps into is meant to last for eternity, that is, it produces eternal results. He doesn’t start a project without finishing it.

God does not leave his brand to the feeble hands of mortals, His eyes and His heart goes with his name perpetually.

Do you have God’s branding over your life?.If not what are you parading (in His name).Remember, whatever does not have His name (commendation) is at risk and can only be for a while.

Maybe it’s time to fall before Him like King Solomon in total surrender.