GOD’S DISCIPLINE AND OUR HABITS

Some weeks ago, while having my morning devotion I heard in my spirit and also felt an urge to fast. Initially, I questioned what I heard because I felt the voice wasn’t very audible, overwhelming or stimulating. Also, fasting meant I was going to starve for a period of time and I felt it wasn’t convenient at that time as I was very busy (don’t get me wrong, i do fast). Anyways, the purpose of this post isn’t to give you an update about my life, I’m driving somewhere. 

Prior to this day, I had been  praying to God for his leading in ministry because God told me there is more. I didn’t know why I was praying intensely about ministry when I wasn’t even doing anything related to it at that time, I mean i was in the middle of preparing for an exams. You know the Bible says that the Holy Spirit leads us on how we ought to pray (Romans 8 vs 26), now I think that was it. The day God told me to fast was God answering my prayer. On that day, I was led to read Hebrews 12 and when I read it, I saw God wanted to teach me how his discipline was necessary for ministry. The writer of Hebrews admonished the brethren to be attentive and focused on the Christian race. To achieve this focus, distractions (what the bible describes as weights) have to be ignored or removed, this is discipline. He goes further to say that we are God’s children and he disciplines the child he loves! We must allow ourselves to be disciplined by God as dearly beloved children. 

There are many ways God disciplines his children and most importantly it’s by his word. God’s discipline can also be him training you to hear his voice when he speaks and not just to hear but act on what you’ve heard. The issue about this is that if you hear God speak to your heart and you constantly ignore or dismiss it, it becomes difficult to know when he is speaking in the future. God also speaks to us when we are tempted because he intends that you are able to resist and  character is built from it. For instance, have you noticed that as a believer, if you have a bad habit, the Holy Spirit brings it to your attention but many people take his subtleness for granted. As an example, God wanting to discipline you may be the Holy Spirit asking you not to lie to your sibling after you drank or ate something they kept in the fridge but rather own up and apologize and not to keep a straight face while pretending to be busy when you see them helplessly asking around. 

Over time, I’ve come to realize that small errors add up to cause something bigger. Small lies here and there can end up hardening one’s heart that they lie more with no remorse or reflection. If God is preparing you to handle his business he will need an accountable man/woman, you are representing him and he wants your integrity preserved. God wants to groom you as early as possible with the “little” things and not yielding on time is delay itself.

Another example, a colleague at work talks down on your outfit and the Holy Spirit tells you to ignore or to be kind with your response but you go ahead to remind them of their family problems and how curses are affecting their promotion at work. Meanwhile, God could be training you to have self control and not to beat up the treasurer of the church you would pastor in the future because he couldn’t account for a two thousand naira loss from the church account or how to handle criticism and even persecution as his child. I know It may be necessary sometimes to be stern when warning people but let the Holy Spirit guide your choice of words. Asides the fact that God may be preparing you for an assignment, we are his righteous children and we must be like him in our daily living. There are harder parts to discipline which I haven’t spoken of here and I believe God wouldn’t take you through what you can’t handle.

 Quit dismissing those subtle corrections from the Holy Spirit, it may be a subtle nudge to you, but it’s a big deal to God and for our your own good. Ignoring those subtle nudges has cost a lot of people their kairos moments, they didn’t pay attention to God’s leading.

Photo credit - Unsplashed. 

MID YEAR CRISIS?

Hi there, 

How is the year going for you? Have you lost track of what vision you started this year with? Did it feel too difficult to handle that you had to bow out quietly or maybe not quietly.

 

With a new year comes enthusiasm, many dreams to accomplish, a new slate to begin with and a beautiful end to behold. In January, this gives you an adrenaline rush like an athlete ready to run a race. 

 

Beloved, do you know that its more beautiful to behold a vision in our minds than to walk in it? God has shown you a beautiful destination, but you didn't expect the challenges that came with the journey. Its never God’s plan for you to have difficulties, but the devil always wants to fight God’s purpose for our lives. He does that by attacking your faith and you must never let him have his way, never doubt the word of God! God’s beautiful plan never changed and don't let the trails you've faced make you doubt he ever promised anything. God will always make things work out for you. Romans 8 vs 28 [NLT] “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

Finally, God’s purpose for us may benefit us in some way, but we shouldn't make the mistake of personalizing it so much that we make it all about ourselves. Galatians 2 vs 20[NLT] “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Even when there are trails on the way remember God authored his plans for you and he will finish it, it is primarily his own because he conceived it and you are just living it out because you live for him. It is always for his glory, get up, trust him and let him. Shalom.

Image credit @ pexels 

HARLOTRY

 I have heard people who visit or go to live abroad (especially from Nigeria) say that, they don’t pray as often as they did while they were still in Nigeria. They proceed to say the reason people pray a lot in Nigeria is because so many things are not going right in Nigeria. When I heard that, I knew there was something not right about this saying but I couldn’t tell exactly what it was then. Some people only seek God for their wants and needs, they see God as someone who is just there to make provisions available. When they finally get what they want and everything seems fine, they get away from God or don’t see any need for him or when they go to a new place where their daily “needs” in form of amenities are met, they no longer see any need to pray because they feel there’s nothing to pray for again. Recall those friends in secondary school who came to you because of what you had to give to them. Once they receive what they want, they disappear. Some go as far as becoming ungrateful and talking unkindly about their helpers.

You may be wondering what made me write this, I was reading through the book of Leviticus and I saw how God sternly warned the Israelites not to go against his ordinances when he was taking them to Canaan. Not just in Leviticus, most books of the old testament has warnings to the Israelites on this matter. Canaan was the promised land and God was concerned that the Israelites may see the good in the land and turn away from him, or they will think in their hearts that there is no need for God anymore. God knew the Israelites may see the good in the land of Canaan and think “oh, these people don’t know God yet their lands are flowing with milk and honey, meanwhile we were suffering in Egypt”.  Deuteronomy 31 vs 20 - For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant.“ It is not any different from this age, this is not a post to throw stones but does going to somewhere that seems better than where you came from or does having a better means of livelihood change your perspective about God? Do you now feel like you can do without God? Do you now look down on people who hold on to God especially those who seem to be struggling? Progress or whatever should rather put you in a new perspective, especially if your convictions about God has shifted after you got what you wanted. it should make you realize you probably had a give and take relationship with God or your relationship with God was built on a shaky foundation. Remember the parable in Mathew 13 vs 18-23, Jesus spoke about a farmer who planted seeds and how where it fell determines if it grows or not and how it grows. There is a part where the seeds fell on fertile soil but thorns grew amongst the plants and they couldn’t survive. The interpretation of this is that a seed which is the word of God is being planted on a fertile soil (the heart) but the good things or worries of life came and it made the receiver to forget the word of God. God called it harlotry when the children of Israel forsook him to go after the strange gods of foreign lands – Deuteronomy 31 vs 16. In our generation, the gods may not be a graven image but if attaining a new level in life or going to a new country where everything seems to be working convinces you that there is no need for God or there’s no God then you’ve idolized what you have. The children of Israel had instances where they were drawn away by the advice of foreigners to forsake their God because they were convinced by these foreigners that there was no need for God by the words of their mouth and the flaunting of their flamboyant and immoral lifestyles to the Israelites. The Israelites began to think that serving God was some sort of liability or imprisonment so, their lust drew them away from God. In those days, God spoke to them through prophets to bring them back and there were consequences for how they behaved, so they would realize they couldn’t do anything without him. Sons of God still speak these days but some don’t listen, thank God for his grace. Notwithstanding, a soul drawn away by the devil has the whole of eternity to suffer, having rejected the gospel. 

 

With all that has been said, Some people may still argue that people pray instead of working hard. There is no correlation between prayer hindering hard work. Prayer prayed in faith rather makes your hard work more effective. People who pray without going out for job interviews when they need a job, who don’t do the jobs assigned to them in their offices or don’t take up  responsibilities assigned to them are just lazy and inefficient, these has nothing to do with devotion to God. Those who use God as an excuse not to be responsible are just being lazy and this is not God’s principle. The Bible rather encourages people to do the right thing, “What ever your hands finds to do, do it with all your might”- Ecclesiastes 9 vs 10a. However, it’s an issue if you argue this way because it exposes your ignorance about God.

 

It’s about time to devote to God for who he is, not for what he has to offer. It’s time to recognize that the reason you were created by God is for God hence, you should live for him. Be intentional about having a real relationship with God today.

GUILT TRAP

 If you live with toddlers or have one you may be able to relate to this. I cannot remember exactly how it happened but i remember my sister getting ready to go somewhere with one of my nieces, she carried a bag and my niece wanting to copy what she saw carried a bag too, she must have been around 2 years old then. The bag was too big and heavy for her but she insisted on carrying a bag like my sister and even bursted out in tears when we made several attempts to stop her. It was a very funny thing to watch, she couldn't even lift the bag from the floor, and was literally using all her strength to drag it. If we allowed her, she wouldn't mind dragging that bag on the road until she wore her self out.

By now, you may have gotten a clue on what i am aiming at. If not, let me give you another instance. Those who schooled in Nigeria can relate to this. Remember those days in secondary school when you were punished for making noise in class, the punishment could be a senior or teacher telling you to sit on the wall (lean on the wall, with your back against it and your knee bent in a sitting position with no chair or stool to support your behind), while they pile up books on your outstretched arms and you are to remain in that uncomfortable position with books on your arms for a while, maybe a long time. Imagine the sweating, discomfort and especially the pain. Oh, it happened to me once, i was begging for my life. 

As a believer in Christ, you have to be careful and be on alert to reject every burden that Christ has carried on your behalf, one of which i will focus on now is guilt. While in sin, you probably did whatever you did and may not have even felt guilty about it then but now that you've accepted Christ, the devil knows you now have a good heart. He knows you are tender hearted so he may try to bring up the past to stir up some guilt and then you begin to feel terrible, he may take it further by using the ignorance of a believer to cause oppression to them with reference to something that happened in the past. 

Have you read 2 corinthians 5 vs 17, it says ”Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.“ This means that there is no evidence of any wrong. You have a clean slate. In fact, if you ask God, he will tell you there’s no record of that offense and he can’t remember it. Remember the illustration i made earlier about my little niece, sometimes we want to carry what we should not carry and then end up wearing ourselves out. No sin is too much or gruesome for Christ to wash away or are you underestimating what Christ has done? All your sins have been forgiven, past, present and future.

Hebrews 8 vs 12 “For i will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will i remember no more” 

FAITH VS FEAR

 

I have a relative who stayed with us at a particular time, When it was close to bedtime in the girl’s room and we would lay on our beds having conversations, she would put on the light to search for mosquitoes to kill, this could go on for an hour or more and most times, she hardly killed anything. Sometimes, it could be she was on to something important like patching a torn cloth or reading a book and if she sees a mosquito flying around even if its from a distance, she would exclaim “mosquito will deal with us today o” and then leave what ever it was she was doing to go after it and repeat the same cycle of wasting hours on it!

 Remembering that and laughing over it, the Holy spirit told me, this is how many of my children lose focus on important things to chase after the devil. A lot of people think they have to get the devil before he gets them. With everything that happens in their lives, they find something to attribute to the devil even when there’s nothing and this is usually out of fear or in order to avoid accountability for their actions. Some people are so tensed and focused on what the devil is up to next that they see everything as an attack and everyone as a means through which the devil could attack them, this has driven people to go to places to seek help where the presence of God is absent and they ended up in more trouble.

 Do you know that God has rendered Satan powerless? He made a public spectacle of the enemy. Hence, he has no power over you to harm you - Colossians 2 vs 15. God has given you power to thread upon serpents and scorpions. There will be temptations and trials but the knowledge of God’s word will keep you focused and you will pray by faith from a place of victory. God wants you to know him more, build a relationship with him and walk in his will for your life, this should be your focus. It’s the devil’s trick to distract you and make you lose focus.

 

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world - 1 Peter 5 vs 8-9 . Peter didn’t recommend here that we go after Satan. He said to keep your spirit sensitive and alert and this can be done by consistent study of the word of God, spending time in prayer, listening to and yielding to the voice of the Holy spirit. Resist him in the name of Jesus and he will flee. You also resist the devil by resisting the temptations he brings your way ; sexual immorality, envy, greed etc. Be steadfast in the faith; In addition to what has been said earlier, not neglecting fellowshipping with the brethren keeps you steadfast in the faith. Have faith In God’s protection.

A THROW BACK

What did i learn in 2023? I learnt to trust God, let go and rest knowing that i am more of a priority to God than i am to myself. We say we have faith in God but worry after praying. What should follow after prayers is experiencing God’s peace but we don’t accept it because we’ve not completely trusted and sometimes that lack of peace is more unsettling than the issue itself. God wants us to receive the peace that he gives, Philippians 4 vs 6-7. 

Trusting God is like putting all your savings in an investment and knowing it won’t fail. It’s like playing a game with a friend that requires you to fall on your back without looking back and trusting they will catch you. This year i went on a walk with God, I saw hurdles on the way that left me wondering “why me?” During this walk, God lovingly taught me a lesson on trusting him fully and not hold on to anything. I learnt to trust God for the seemingly impossible and i saw it become possible. 

There were some happenings this year that i wasn’t happy about initially. One major one for me was having to move to a new place, I had already prayed not to go to because I had somewhere else in mind. My feelings led me to try to influence things but nothing worked. The way it played out, it was obvious that God was adamant about me going there. It reminds me of Jonah running away and trying to hide from God because he didn’t want to go to Nineveh. The moment i got there, i could see why God wanted me there, I mean, it left me blown away for weeks! He did order my steps really. Believers, sometimes we say we want to serve God and we pray he fulfills his will on earth through us, but we make this declaration and look back. Jesus said in  Luke 9 vs 62 “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back, is fit for service in the kingdom”.

God’s response to your declaration could be taking you from one place to another, making you meet people he wants to touch, change or save their lives through you and taking you out of your comfort zone. He will definitely interfere with your plans if they don't align for his will to be done through you. In 2023, I saw God needed me at certain places at certain times because of what he wanted to do through me for people and what he wanted to do for me as well. Honestly, there were times it was uncomfortable but i can confidently say it was worth it. 

In addition, I also learnt to be excellent in whatever I put my hands to do. This is important because, as a child of God you must pursue excellence. Being excellent also gives opportunity to propagate the gospel, this was mostly emphasized in church.

Dear reader, please trust God like your life depends on it because it does and watch your life change for good.

Photocredit @ freestocks.org

REMAIN UNBOUNDED

 Some believers in the church according to Acts 15, had concerns about the Gentile brethren who were not circumcised in accordance with the Jewish law and customs. In Galatians 5, there was an unnamed person working to create division in the church of Galatia by asking that members who were not circumcised be circumcised as a requirement to be truly saved by God. In Genesis 17, God declared his promise to Abraham to make him a father of descendants of many nations. The genealogy of Christ in Mathew 1, Christ comes from the lineage of Abraham, this promise was to be fulfilled through Christ (“And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Galatians 3:29). The physical sign of the covenant God made was for Abraham to be circumcised because God had accepted him righteous by his faith (Romans vs 11), circumcision became a law afterwards. Circumcision is the removal of the foreskin, the promise of God in Christ is that the old nature of sin may be removed and man may be given a new nature of righteousness in Christ. Thus, circumcision is figurative of this promise which has been fulfilled by the death and resurrection of Christ, that as many that believe in him will be saved. This teaching isn’t to condemn circumcision , to do or not to do.

 

People hold on to the law because they think this is what justifies them or makes them worthy. In John 5, the Pharisees persecuted Jesus because he healed a man on the sabbath, this was Jesus’ response to them “You study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you will find eternal life. And these very Scriptures speak about me! Yet you are not willing to come to me in order to have life.” (John 5 vs 39-40). The scriptures point us to Christ. A lot of people hold on to figures in the scriptures without understanding what these figures are about and who they point to. Another case, is holding on to the traditions of men, many people will pledge their allegiance to carry out the traditions of men even when its being exalted above the word of God or contradicting to the word of God. It’s worse when these things have been practiced for years. For some, they are afraid to fail those who enacted these traditions and for others, it’s a matter of pride, their hearts are hardened from receiving light.

 

In Galatians 5, Paul says that we all have been set free! Understand what this entails and live wisely. You were not set free by Christ to be bound to another slave master in the name of traditions which contradict the will of God for you or the church. This would only limit how one lives the life God has purposed for them in Christ Jesus. The church of Galatia was disputed on the matter of circumcision which must have affected their relationship with one another but Paul rebuked their ignorance. Galatians 5 vs 6 “For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.”.

 

 In addition, there are people who quote ‘The devil you know is better than the angel you don't know”. These people apply this notion to Christianity as well, they build a hedge around themselves because they are afraid to discover what more they have in Christ. They hold on to untrue teachings and false doctrines that limit them from living the life God wants them to have. When they see people live and walk in the supernatural, they are overwhelmed by the unbelief in their hearts and fear of the unknown that they avoid anything that stirs them in that direction believing it’s an irrelevant part of the faith (Colossians 2 vs 2-8, Mark 7 vs 7-13). These people are okay with being mediocre in their Christian walk. God’s will is for us to discover more in him (Ephesians 5 vs 17 - 19). Traditions are not always bad, but the traditions you hold on to, does it exalt itself in your life above the word of God, the finished works of Christ or the excellency of the knowledge of Christ? If so, let it be a loss to you (Philipians 3 vs 8). 

Image credit @istock

BRACE UP

In the world today, policies and rules are made that makes one question the belief system of the people making it. There are statements made by people on social media that will leave you in awe. Most times, these things are targeted at Christians, to restrict or make christianity look bad. In fact, they go as far as misinterpreting scriptures, adding new information to and saying what the Bible did not say. This can leave people confused, make people backslide more and even increase the “hatred” some people already have towards God. The truth is, the people who take the bite are those who are not deeply rooted in the word and people who don’t really know the faith. A believer must be particularly careful of the “wokeness” culture. People who live by it may think the originators of this culture are their “saviours” from being taken advantage of but a lot of times, it causes harm. 

The miles people go to create havoc in the minds of people is surprising, it can send chills down your spine and leave you wondering what’s become of the world. People really think they can tarnish the image of Christ, it’s a ridiculous thought. There are movies out there claiming to portray Christ and they exhibit false doctrines. They make out Christ as someone against humanity and love or without decency. Beloved, these are the tactics of the devil. 1John 4 verse 6 “We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error”. Be discerning. 

There are other categories of these people who disguise as prophets and go about preaching their own gospel. They claim to be Christians but do not acknowledge Christ, they do not acknowledge that Christ came in the flesh and he is the son of God. The Bible refers to the spirit working in them as the spirit of “the anti christ”. Sometimes, they use entertaining acts to draw people in or take upon them the “saviour complex”, trying to do what Christ has already done! 

The aim of this is not to make anyone afraid. The Bible says that we have overcome them; because greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world, 1 John 4 vs 4. God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power, love and of a sound mind, 2 Tim 1 vs 17. What we do as believers is not to pay back hate with hate, we do not involve ourselves in unnecessary arguments. We respond with love, when people see your good works, they want to know God. Keep preaching the gospel and remain steadfast in the faith. Persecution is bound to come, it’s not something to be surprised or depressed about and Christ is worth all of it. Do not be ashamed of the gospel. 

Read these scriptures; Mat 5 vs 10-11, 1 Peter 3 vs 14, 2 Cor 12 vs 10, Romans 8 vs 35-37, James 1: 12, Romans 1: 16. 

Image credit: shutter stock images