YOU ARE GOD'S INHERITANCE

This is a brief summary of Ephesians 1. The book of Ephesians generally, reminds and makes you realise who you are in Christ Jesus. You are God's rich and glorious inheritance. It gave God great pleasure to adopt you as his son.

Do not forget the Holyspirit is a guarantee of God's promises to you. The Holyspirit is your seal, he is that mark bearing witness that you belong to God. This mark is light and it repels darkness.

Christ has been given all authority, over everything you can and cannot think of and through him, we have this same authority. Infact, God wroughts his power through us. Oh! if only you knew how much power God has given to you. 

Your life on earth is that of purpose. It's a life precious to God. God loves and values you. God's heart is gladdened when he looks at you. You are like a jewel in the hands of God.

As earlier stated, you are God's great inheritance, you give God so much happiness. God wants you to live life knowing this. He wants you to have all wisdom and knowledge concerning who you are and the kind of life he's given to you, knowledge is power. The bible is there to open your eyes to the realities you have in Christ. Life is easy when you know this.

Do not say “This is not about me, maybe she's referring to a devout Christian”. Certainly, this is for you and you are loved by God. 

PRACTICAL LOVE

I feel my love walk is constantly being tried and tested. And I must say that it's not easy to love someone sometimes, even loving people who constantly provoke you. It's not easy and this is what we are not told many times because we are just expected to love.

Our love walk is something we have to be intentional about. Still, we can't do it on our own, we need God to help us through it. If not, you may be frustrated. Loving people may not be easy but then, it's the foundation of our Christian walk and without love, whatever we do is absolutely invalid. Loving someone is beyond being nice to them, one can be nice and still not have love in their hearts towards the one they are nice to. The love from your heart should be the drive to do something for someone. Doing something for someone if you are being coerced to do it isn't love or coercing someone to do something for you isn't love either.  I mean it's beyond doing something for someone because you've been guilt tripped to do it.

A popular scripture about love is 1 Corinthians 13, which is a very good description of what love is. I also love to read 1 John, John says that if you don't love one another, you don't love God. If you study the love walk of Jesus while on earth, you will realise that he loved people who were “the unqualified” for love. We may not have actual pharisees and scribes who condemn and choose whom to love, but some believers still act like them. This is not to condemn anybody, but everyone deserves your unconditional love whether you think they qualify for it or not. Love isn't judgemental of a person, love is rather forgiving and should inspire people to want to know God or to want to become better people. Someone doesn't have to do anything for you to be worthy of your love. Christ did all he did for us unconditionally and because we are like him on earth, we ought to love like him.

I must add that loving someone unconditionally doesn't mean you shouldn't correct them when they are wrong or stand up for yourself when you feel you are being mistreated by someone. Please know that correction is not condemnation and speaking up for yourself doesn't have to end in chaos. For example, you go to the bank to redraw money and you've noticed the cashier is constantly rude to you, instead of holding a grudge or returning the rude attitude, you could speak to her politely but confidently about how you feel when she does that. Whatever you do, let love be your guide.

Jesus was very humble in his love walk. I mean, a master washed his disciple’s feet. After accepting God into your life, you were called to a higher place with Christ. Old or young, that doesn't mean we can't serve others. We always want to be served many times, it's a good feeling and it makes us feel respected or loved, but no matter your age, status and hierarchy in the society. What is your thought on serving someone of a lower status or age? It may not be actual washing of feet like Jesus, but as believers our lives are that of service in the body of Christ and even serving people not yet part of his body, no matter where we find ourselves. Even as a leader in whatever capacity you find yourself even if you are a leader in the home front, service is leadership basically. Love is being sensitive to know someone around you needs help and helping them.

Loving can be shown through giving but loving someone can also be by holding back from giving them something when God tells you not to because he knows it's not good or beneficial to them at the moment or it may be a drive to a bad habit in them. No matter how much emotion you may feel when you hold back. Because, it's beyond feelings.

Loving someone is beyond doing something for them to feel good about yourself or for praises. Loving someone is letting go of manipulating them for selfish reasons. A lot of us seek to be loved, but let people love you from their hearts not by manipulations. Loving someone is respecting them whether old or young. God respects each and every one of us, that's why he leaves us with choices. Also God wants you to do whatever you do from your heart for him. Loving someone is respecting their boundaries. Loving someone is willing to understand or respect how they feel about something even when it's different for you and then having a common ground rather than imposing your opinion on them. Loving someone is seeing how God sees them, seeing that everyone is valuable. Because, this will guide your actions and words towards them

It's easier to love other people when you love yourself, it's easier to love and accept who you are when you believe God loves and accepts you. It's easier to love others when you understand God loves you as a person. We didn't deserve God's love, but he didn't hold it back from us. Love is God and because we have God in us, we are love. 

Your contributions and comments are welcomed 

ALL SOVEREIGN GOD

The world was in a lot of chaos which it is currently recovering from. Some people may have been infected with the virus and some affected as a result of the pandemic. This involves the unstable economy, going through something personal due to movement restrictions or any other difficult situation this may place someone in.

In one way or the other, people have expressed their fears of what may become of the world. Will the world ever recover from this? Will the economy ever recover? Or If they will ever recover from the chaotic situation they are stuck in.

We've  learnt to trust God in situations in the past, then this came and some people deep down their hearts may have doubted the sovereignty of God over this particular one because, they thought it was out of control (this is not to spite anyone). As Christians, we are not to trust God in small situations and leave him out of the "big things". Nothing is too big for God to handle. As a matter of fact, he sees the end from the beginning. I mean he is all wise and all knowing. God gives us assurance in difficult times and instructions on how to get out or get through them but it's possible to let our human wisdom/reasoning rule over what God is saying to us if we are not careful.

The battle isn't against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. One may say "let's  be realistic" but this is the actual reality. God has given his children authority over the devil as a result of what Christ did. (Colosians 3 vs 15; In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross).

God is saying that his reign is forever, his kingdom no man can overthrow. The tribulations may seem overwhelming, but God is in control and everything is in your favour.

 2 Timothy 1 vs 7;  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.

A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY

A lot of people do not understand what it means when you tell them God loves them, God's  love cannot be measured but here is the most powerful story of all time, that which is the love story between you and God.

When Christ came to the earth, he came in our nature, to know what it meant to be you and I living on earth, to show us that because he could conquer sin, that through him we can also conquer sin. While on earth, He taught us how our relationship with God should be like, by learning from his relationship with the father. He taught us that signs and wonders follow his gospel. The life of Jesus literally taught us everything we needed for life. Christ is like that friend that comes into your life and at that very moment, you are upgraded. That friend who goes through thick and thin with you just so he would understand you better and to show you how much love he has for you.

After his work on earth was done, the time came for him to die for you and me. Salvation  means deliverance, and the reason for this death is so you and I might be saved forever. ( Hebrews 10 vs 10 : For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.). As long as you believe in the saving grace of Jesus ALL your sins are forgiven, I mean the sins which you would have committed your entire lifetime. (1 John 2 vs 12 12: I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus, Hebrews 10 vs 17  i will never again remember  their sins and lawless deeds). When you believe in Jesus Christ, you are being made perfect in Christ, you are made righteous because an exchange was made and the gift of righteousness was given to you (Hebrews 10 vs 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. Ephesians 2 vs 8-9 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it). Righteousness is a gift from God, not given to us based on how we have been or based on how well we've behaved or based on what we've done for God, we didn't work for it. He freely gave it to those believe in Jesus. This is hard for many to believe, but it's how this works, it's the word of God.

It doesn't matter how your past has been, God is earnestly waiting for you to come to him.

You may have been saved but you see yourself still involved in one or more things that may make it seem like you are not really God's own. First of all, understand that you've been delivered from the power of sin and you are no longer a slave to sin, live in this reality (Romans 8 vs 1  So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death). Stop condemning yourself and hold on to the grace of God made abundant unto you, because when God sees you, he sees Jesus(righteousness) as a result of that exchange that was made when Christ died. You remain God's own because nothing can snatch you out of God's hands. You've been made righteous and the Holy spirit is at work in you so you will live like the righteous person that you are, just trust God. The Holy spirit is the seal God has placed over you to claim you as his own. Hence, the devil no longer has power over you.

If you dont believe in Jesus Christ, you are not saved and now is an opportunity to be saved. (Romans 3 vs 22: We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.) This is beyond being a regular church goer, being religious or just being a good person. You have to acknowledge the finished works of Christ by believing in Jesus Christ. Say this prayer of salvation to be saved. "Lord Jesus, I believe in my heart that you are the son of God who died for all my sins, I declare you Lord over my life, I believe that I have been made righteous by your finished works" Amen. You've been saved! God is happy to receive you. Welcome to the family. I encourage you to read the bible which will constantly renew your mind, you can contact me personally : kekenyeubulom@gmail.com.

WHAT GRUDGES DO

Today's scriptural reference is from the book of Genesis 33. Jacob committed  the gravest offence towards Esau, he took Esau's birthright. If you read what happened in the scriptures, Esau forgave Jacob and accepted him and his family. Aside forgiving and accepting Jacob, he even offered to helpand protect Jacob.

If God can be gracious to us despite how much and deep our sins were, we can be gracious to other people who offend us. Why? Because we have God in us and he is our mirror. It may not be easy but it's very possible with the help of God to forgive offences and let go of grudges.  A particular day, it was revealed to me how grudges can be a hindrance to so many things. Holding grudges against people has never been worth it. People may offend you in several ways but it doesn't make them less of value than any other person.

When you hold grudges against people, it blinds your eyes from seeing them as God sees them and as a result you can't relate with them how God wants you to relate with them. A grudge is like blindness that prevents one from seeing clearly. So many times we are made aware of how grudges are not healthy for us, which is very true but my emphasis today is to let you know how keeping a grudge will not be beneficial to the other person, because we are meant to love one another as we love ourselves.

If you hold a grudge against somebody, it's hard to get revelations from the spirit concerning this person which obviously wont be of good to this person or one may not get a clear revelation and even when things are revealed concerning that person to you, you may not be able to pray wholeheartedly for them. When you pray, what they have done to you keeps flooding your mind and it becomes a distraction and an hindrance, because you are not able to pray in love. As Christians our actions towards one another if not done in love, is useless(1 Corinthians 13). Grudges have a way of dampening people spiritually generally, it doesn't necessarily have to be in relation to the offender.

Do not wait to learn things the hard way. People will offend us, sometimes it will be unbearable, one may get angry, but dont stay in that anger. People who have lost someone they held grudges for will tell you when this person was taken away from them, they realised all the anger, grudge and hate  wasn't worth it. Some of them wished they could have reached out to this person more, some wished they could  have been there for that person. Some people even then see that the person's faults wasn't significant anyway after they passed.

No wonder the bible says pray for your enemies and do good to people who hurt you. You never know what someone is going through, so dont let a grudge be an hindrance to reaching out, forgiveness or walking in love towards another person. Infact, they dont have to go through something to deserve your love.

If you feel being close with this people can cause you to fall or isn't good for your soul, it's okay but let your hearts towards them be that of forgiveness and love and never stop praying for their souls and overall wellbeing.

This message has been laid in my heart to reach out to people with it, I dont know who it's for but do not take it likely.

HE CARES

You ever been through so much in a short while that it seems everything is just piling up and one of these days you are going to reach your breaking point. It has happened to me before, the most severe was three years ago, I wasn't in such a good place. I was smiling fine, trying so hard not to get on the bad side of people and just living, but I wasn't  really happy, by God's grace I overcame it and God opened my eyes to learn from that situation.

Life can be challenging, especially when it feels like you are under so much pressure to do your best for something. Or it could be you just merely facing one problem, and before you are out of one you've entered another and then it becomes so much that you feel choked. You wanna cry, you may even want to cry in public but something holds you back, maybe your pride. You may even be one to not talk to people alot, so its worse because you keep it all in. Sometimes you sleep and wake and just want everything to be over.

I came to realise something, the first time you are hit by a storm and instead of talking it out in prayer, but choose to stay right there to make sense of it and keep being gloomy about it, it will to pile up. Then another one comes and same thing and then another comes and they just keep piling up. You keep arranging burdens to bear for yourself on your back.

The reason why this happens is because we let go of the place of trusting God and letting him bear our burdens, even when we know he handles them well. The devil lies that we are more capable to carry our own problems but as a Christian you are no longer of yourself but of God. You feel that particular care is too humane for God to handle or we trust God for a minute and let go the next. I have also come to realise that most burdens we chose to carry are based on us forgetting who we are in Christ. What's in the world or what the world has to say about you is not true, deep down we know it's not true but we believe it and keep a grudge that it was said. Greater is the one you have in you and what he has given to you in him.

We forget peace is what God has freely given us. Happiness is what God has given us but we still have to choose it. God has given us the free will to choose what we want. While we are still in our perishable bodies, we will face so many trials. But then the've become God's yoke to bear not ours. Sometimes what's pushing you is right under your nose that you can't seem to get past it. But have you prayed for wisdom on how to go about it? Have you left it onto God. Have you poured out your heart to the person God wants you to pour it out to? Are you letting go and forgiving who ever offends you?

You are free to cry but after those tears understand that God can never leave you.

Things happen that may want to take away our happiness, in fact, you may even become unhappy but realizing that you are not holding on to your happiness in Christ and choosing to be happy is all that matters.

Sometimes we are so used to worrying that even the little things that never made you worry now have your attention. Take a moment to breath and pray. If you need to talk to somebody do so. I may not be able to solve your problem with this writeup but talking to God about it will help you.

Are you fruitful?

^{Galatians 15 vs 22-23}
 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruits in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Reading through Galatians 5 down to verse 22, I was drawn by that verse, not that I hadn't seen before, but it felt different this time. To show how familiar I am with this verse, I remember a time my mother taught it in children's sunday school when I was a child. She made it into a song for us. I remember clearly how she took her time to make sure we were able to memorise that verse as a song. I liked that song so much that it stuck with me till adulthood.

As a teenager, those days I thought the law to be the way. When I wanted to reprimand myself to be sure I was still the holy child of God who kept the commandments, i would remember this verse sometimes, it was more like an obligation for me to conform to it, like things I needed to possess to be a true child of God. After i had the revelation of the gospel of Christ  it made me realise, I had all of it in me. It was who I was. So yesterday,  evening, I came across this verse again. The question I asked myself was, Was I bearing these fruits? even though the seed have been planted in me. He has given me love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and goodness but i had to be intentional/conscious about bearing this fruits. This fruits are signs that the seed planted in us are being watered (by the word, it is also a sign of our deligent walk with God or our yield to the Holyspirit) and that its springs forth to bear fruits.

Are you letting yourself bear fruits of what has been planted in you? It's already in you. The reason we bear this fruits is because they are beneficial or I should say they are edible to people God has brought us in contact with. We also reap for ourselves the benefits of bearing this fruits, it's a yardstick to see how much we've grown spiritually.

  Lastly, because you went astray or distant doesn't disqualify you. We are his own and even when we go astray, he upholds us with his right hand and prunes us so we may bear good fruits, but you have to be willing to let him.

John 15

1“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

AMAZING GOD

2019 has been a year! One of the toughest journeys for me. I was initially tempted to look just at how tough it was, then I thought about it and realised that though the journey was tough, God fought the battles. More like big battles and a bigger God. God has taught me so much this year, I came to realise  that indeed i can't do anything by myself and i needed God more than I thought.

When i tried  to do things alone, allowing my human wisdom to control some situations, i failed woefully. Those days when it seemed like God coming through for me may not happen or was unrealistic, he actually came through. I learnt that God was more powerful than I could ever know and that I could never measure the power of God. He works beyond our own imaginations. He knows the end from the beginning. Our wisdom alone can't take us anywhere, we always fail at it. We may find our selves in certain situations and trails but God is the one on the battle field and all we have to do is trust him with all our hearts.

I have written about my experiences above but then, I'm just trying to let you know that you shouldn't go anywhere at all without God. Sometimes you may feel you know better, sometimes fear may guard our decisions, sometimes it may feel like involving God is unrealistic, sometimes  it may feel like everything is already set to not work in our favour or it may seem like it's too late but all these are lies of the devil. God never leaves our side and he always comes through, even after we have displayed our highest level of insecurities and foolishness.

Studying the book of Exodus, I learnt so much. Most important lesson was that God orders our steps. Moses was sent by God to deliver the Israelites from their sufferings under Pharaoh. It was magnificent to see that everything worked out just as God had planned. Moses told God he wasn't going without him, he insisted he wasn't qualified to deliver his people, he nagged at God at every slightest opportunity, he was afraid, it was tough for him but when it was time for God's plans to come through, he worked mightily through Moses. God had Pharaoh's heart in his hands. What we forget sometimes is that as much as God is on our side, he is also in control of things on the opposing side, regardless of who or what is involved. Pharaoh must have thought himself to be wise. At every step of the journey, God made everything required available at the right time. It's all about trust.

I also want to remind you that God loves you wholeheartedly.
Regardless of your qualifications, actions, family prestige, accomplishments, your service in his vineyard etc. Put all of this aside and God still loves you. His love is totally unconditional and undeserving. By the reason of the death and resurrection of Christ, you've been found worthy and qualified by God so never put yourself down for any reason. Only in Christ can you find your worth not in the face of man. Please don't end 2019 without God and don't  start and go through 2020 without him, have the consciousness that he is always there even when things don't make sense to you. Praise God!

REFLECTION
How has this year been?
What are your testimonies?
What were your struggles?
Do you still have present struggles?
Do you feel God is with you through it?
Have you allowed God teach you this year?
Have you been submissive to God's leadings?
Have you let God take over your heart?
Have you let God unconditionally love others through you?