Sacrifices of Praise, The Fruit of Our Lips

UV 3753/10000 Sacrifices of Praise, The Fruit of Our Lips Through Him, therefore, let us at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. Hebrews 13 v 15 Through Jesus, the ultimate sacrifice of God to satisfy the requirement of the law, we are enabled or given grace in the sight of God to offer a sacrifice of praise to Him. Our sacrifice is the fruit of lips that speak words and sing songs that gratefully acknowledge the gift of salvation by grace, eternal life through faith in the name of Jesus, the Passover sacrifice, the password and passport to the throne of heaven. In and through Him we have passed from eternal death to eternal life, from darkness to light, from untruth to truth, from bondage to freedom in Christ. Gratitude is the first sacrifice of the fruit of lips. What is sown in our hearts and minds by the Word emerges and manifests as fruit of the lips. Hence, the Proverbs say, “ The heart will speak that which it is full of.” We should be emptied of ourselves and be filled with the Spirit of God. The second fruit of the lips is to confess Jesus as our Saviour and Lord, to confess positively all the time, implying to speak positively and with hope and grace at all times. If we trust God, we should confess our faith in Christ before men. We tap the power of positive confession when we speak of our faith in God through Christ. We are acknowledging that He is the way, the Truth and the Life ( source of eternal life AND resurrection from temporary or physical death). By such confession, we light the lamp of faith in the hearts of others who hear us and see our witness. The third type of sacrifice of the fruit of the lips is to glorify God in and through our lives. We need to manifest the power, glory, mercy of God in our lives in all that we think, speak and do. We need to go the extra mile in all that we do. The miracles and wonders that our senses or intellect cannot perceive are conceived by such sacrifice of faith. This type of sacrifice reveals the glory of God as El Shaddai, Jehovah Jireh, Jehovah Shalom, Jehovah Tsidkenu ( righteousness), Jehovah Rapha ( Healer). For His power working in us is able to do exceedingly, abundantly more than all we think, ask or even imagine. Our lips should then focus on these three types of sacrifices. Then our lips are consecrated like those of priests, to be disciplined to speak only such words and things that are approved by the Lord who gave us our amazing tongues, the power of speech. Our words will save souls and lives from perishing and lead them to salvation.

The Salt of Life

UV 3752/10000 The Salt of Life Then Elisha went to the spring of water and threw the salt in it and said,” Thus says the Lord: I ( not the salt) have purified and healed these waters; there shall no longer death or barrenness because of it.” 2 Kings 2 v 21 Elijah was a greater prophet than his disciple Elisha but due to the double anointing that Elisha got, the latter did greater miracles and had a more victorious life than Elijah. The salt that Elisha threw in the spring of water is a metaphor for the word of God. The word of God is the salt that makes our lives tasty. It is the salt that cause the leech of sin to release its clutches on us. It is the salt that heals our wounds. The salt that Elisha threw in the water of the spring purified it. The word of God purifies our thoughts and our hearts. Since the water was bad, the land was barren. Once the water was purified by the salt added to it, the land became good, fruitful. Likewise, the word of God makes our lives fruitful. The salt healed the water. Likewise, the Word of God has the power to release healing in our lives, healing of deep and inner hurt, healing even of physical or mental ailments. The salt removed death from the water. The word of God releases the resurrection power of Jesus in our lives. The word of God penetrates the deepest part of our being- the spirit of man. We gain strength and wisdom from the word to be able to endure the suffering we are tested with. We obtain the wisdom of God to enable us to make the correct choices and decisions. Salted water has the effect of a disinfectant. Likewise, the word disinfects us of the influences of this world and its systems, our past conditioning and the old sinful man in each of us. The word of God is the source of the spring of sweet, life giving water that flows from our hearts. The word gives us encouragement, emboldens and empowers us. We can become mature in faith only if we increase our intake of the word on a regular basis. Elisha had to only throw the salt once into the water to rid it of its poisonous qualities but we need to take the word on a daily, regular and frequent basis. Human knowledge like the contaminated water is polluted and contaminated by sin or hamartia. The word heals human knowledge and makes it fit and useful for human consumption. We also learn from the uni-verse that it was not the salt that purified the water but the Lord God. Likewise, the Lord God causes His word to function in our lives to heal, to bless, to deliver, to multiply, to purify, to make fruitful, to save from death.

Availing Counsel, Wisdom and Power

UV 3751/10000 Availing Counsel, Wisdom and Power This also comes from the Lord of hosts, who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great. Isaiah 28 v 29 The uni-verse hails the Lord God as the Lord of the hosts or the armies of heaven, of angels and archangels and heavenly beings. The metaphor of army is employed to convey His sovereignty and unassailable power. It is a commitment to deal with the spiritual forces attacking us at any given time on any given day. His protection is real. Weapons may come against us but the Lord will cause it to perish and not flourish against us. He gives us wise counsel how to duck it, avoid it, blunt it, negate it, eradicate it. The other day I had three warts on my body removed by having it cauterised. It was burnt little by little till its roots were burnt. It cannot grow again at that spot. Likewise, the Lord counsels us to remove by its roots the weapons and snare the enemy plants against us. His counsel is truly wonderful and His wisdom is great. We will be threshed like grain by the Lord as a farmer threshes wheat with horses and cartwheel but not beyond what is required. We will not be damaged but we will be edified. The ways of our God are not our ways but our ways can be those of God- that is the marvel of faith. We do so when we listen carefully and hear His words intently. Our applications need to rise to Him daily. We need to ask for spiritual discernment to recognize the voice of God in the whisper of the Holy Spirit. When we have such discerning spirit, we will know the spirit of everyone who comes to us or who interacts with us. We will know what to say and what to do in every situation. Jesus is wonderful in counsel, wisdom and power. We need to sit at His feet like Mary and not be too busy like her sister Martha. We obviously lack wisdom and we need to ask the Lord for more and more wisdom. We lack counsel to take decisions in our times of dilemma. We can seek counsel of the Lord. We lack power to execute our decisions and we can obtain grace from the Lord to carry out our decisions.

Abundant Grace, Intimate Connection

UV 3750/10000 Abundant Grace, Intimate Connection For out of His fullness ( the superabundance of His grace and truth) we have all received grace upon grace ( spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favour upon favour and gift heaped upon gift). Grace and truth came through Jesus to satisfy the requirements of the law in full. Jesus being full of grace and truth is able to make all spiritual and other blessings to abound in our lives. Jesus has revealed to mankind the wonderful truth regarding the Father in heaven and of the Holy Spirit, God now on earth. He has released His abundant grace and mercy on all of us though according to law we deserve punishment and not reward or blessings. Jesus being greater than all who preceded Him including His forerunner, John the Baptist laid that foundation of truth in our lives that no storm can shake, no earthquake can disrupt or disturb. He has given us grace to build on that rock-like foundation. Jesus gave us the right, the authority, the privilege to be called children of God. If we rely on His name, He will not belie us. We are born again in Him by the will of God, through His abundant mercy, grace and wonderful, amazing truth. As the prophet Isaiah wrote, “ We are a planting of the Lord to reveal His splendour.” He waters us so that we are well nourished and we grow to be strong and fruitful for His glory. When Jesus ascended to heaven to take His rightful place at the right hand of the Father, He distributed gifts to the children of mankind. He gave us the gift of eternal life when we deserved punishment of death, He gave us abundance of grace in place of scarcity or shortcoming or ‘hamartia’. He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to lead, guide and chide us. He gave us the gifts of the Spirit that includes word of knowledge, wisdom, prophetic utterance, discernment, healing, deliverance. The Father and the Son desires that we display or manifest supernatural fruit of character in accordance with repentance. We need to change for the better in every aspect of our lives, in every type of effort, in every relationship. In order to change, we need to avail His abundant grace, His abundant wisdom, His clear truth hidden in His word but revealed by the Spirit through diligent study. We need to be intimately connected to the Lord in our families like the wheels of a vehicle are connected to the axle and the power of the torque engine ( equivalent to the grace of God) is conveyed without loss to each part of our being. Before grace came to earth through Jesus, Moses had to cleanse himself and climb the mountain to meet God and talk to Him. Today, Jesus comes to us and talks to us since the requirements of law were more than met by grace.

Invincible Shield and Sword of God

UV 3749/10000 Invincible Shield and Sword of God The Lord will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; theyb will come out against you one way, but flee before you in seven ways. Deuteronomy 28 v 7 Many weapons come against us who trust God but the Lord will not allow it to harm us. It is allowed to reveal and manifest the grace of God towards us. The enemies who rise against us will be routed and sent on seven different routes, implying complete and total rout. The Lord covers us with His shekinah glory as a hen covers its chicks with its wings. The glory of God is revealed to us through prayer and the word, the two wings of the Lord. The people and forces that try to attack us will be put to shame and will not be seen again even as the Egyptian masters were not seen by the freed Hebrew slaves led by Moses. The Lord frees us of all fears of our enemies even as the latter flees in fear and confusion. The Lord will show us mighty things that He will do in our lives. He who is in us is far greater than any force or persons in this world. Like Nathaniel, Moses, Joshua we should spend time in prayer, while sitting up, while waking up, while walking, while lying down, while kneeling and prostrating. The Lord will not deny any good desire of our hearts. We cannot lead God’s people without pleading with Him. The Lord will never disgrace us. He surrounds us with His protection, His guidance, His leadership. Each promise of God is a mighty shield against every type of weapon. We need to claim these promises one by one, aptly according to the weapon that is threatening us. Then, the fear, the threat will evaporate. He saves us, delivers us and lifts us up. The Jericho walls will fall, the Jordans of our lives will be crossed. Like Alexander and Rufus of the New Testament, we only need to cleave to the Lord and leave our own fears and evil desires behind. His shield of faith is impenetrable, His Sword of the word is invincible, imperishable. We only need to yield to His shield and wield HIs sword effectively to succeed, to triumph over our enemies, to be victorious against anything the enemy throws against us.

The Precept of Exchange and the Non Negotiable

UV 3748/10000 The Precept of Exchange and the Non Negotiable Because you are precious in My sight, you are honoured and I love you, I will give other men in return for you and other peoples in exchange for your life. Isaiah 43 v 4 Exchange is both a worldly principle and practice even as it is a spiritual precept and practice. The value of a thing is determined by what we are willing to give in exchange for it. Whatever we are not willing to give in exchange for anything is called non negotiable. In this uni-verse, the Lord God declares each human who trusts Him and is committed to Him as a bride to a man as someone precious in His sight. We are special to God. We are exclusive and are given exquisite gifts. He honours us as a groom honours his bride with precious gifts. He affirms His love for us. Further, He commits to give lives in exchange for us. Human salvation is not free of cost to God though it is free for us. A cost had to be paid in real time and space. Here, God pledges that He is ready to give even nations to rescue His beloved, to ransom us from the captivity of the enemy who has abducted our souls and spirits. In His reckoning, a single man or a few, as few as ten people are more valuable than an entire nation that disbelieves. He regards us as more valuable or most valuable. But even entire nations not being a sufficient payment for our eternal freedom, He sent His own Son, welded to His own Being to be the ransom, the payment ofr all and for all time. Exchange is both a worldly principle and practice even as it is a spiritual precept and practice. Each of us, then is as precious as Jesus is in the sight of the Father. Jesus, today, is honoured above all names in history. The Father declares Him as His beloved Son to whom we should listen. Our way of acknowledging our eternal debt to God, our thanksgiving and praise is to listen to Jesus, the Word of God. When we listen to the word, we honour both the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit who illumines it to our understanding. It is amazing how God traverses the paradox of being both exclusive in His love and inclusive in His acceptance of all human beings who confess their faith in Him and His Word. Jesus is the most indescribable and exquisite gift that mankind needed, individually and collectively. The word says that He has scattered gifts to the poor or in other words, to us who are spiritually poor, He gifts us with understanding of His word. He causes us to triumph over our common enemy. He redeems us not to be captured again but to be set free forever.

Tri-une Relationship with the Trinity

UV 3747/10000 Tri-une Relationship with the Trinity But you , Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, My friend. Isaiah 41 v 8 God revealed Himself to Isaiah, the prophet as the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, the ever present One, the One who existed before history began, the unchanging God. He also revealed that all who believe in Yahweh ( Israel and her commonwealth of nations) are His servant(s). We are like Jacob in his cunning and human vulnerabilities like a worm but the Lord turns us into a powerful threshing instrument of the nations. We are chosen by grace to be His messengers to communicate His love and law to all people. What we speak and share causes a churning in the minds even as worms churn the soil and prepare it for sowing of plants. The Lord also revealed that He longs for a personal relationship like He had with Abraham with each of us. We are declared as Friends of God even as Abraham was. Unlike Jacob, we do not have to wangle the favour of our Heavenly Father by deceit but we are born again in His favour. He has chosen us and we have not chosen Him. It is His grace that enables us to believe Him, follow Him, obey Him. He becomes our shield of faith to quench or put out every burning arrow fired at us by the enemy. He is the sword that executes excellence in our lives. The promises He spoke to Abraham we inherit by faith. By faith, we too are offspring of faith of Abraham though we are Gentiles. As long periods of silence or no contact increase the distance between friends, if we do not spend enough time in the presence of God, talking to Him, listening to Him, our distance increases and conversely, we become intimate with Him and He with us, when we spend long periods of communion, worship, discussion, conversation with Him. He will share with us secrets that are not normally shared with servants. Our intimacy will determine whether we are His servants living in fear of Him, friends living in love of Him or children living in obedience to Him. The uni-verse also says that we can be all three at the same time. He is the One who makes us complete and we do not have to compete with another as siblings like Jacob and Esau did. He has enough time, attention, energy, resources to devote to each of us. He knows us as a Master, as a Friend, as a Parent.

Formation, Information, Reformation, Transformation

UV 3746/10000 Formation, Information, Reformation and Transformation Then the Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being ( an individual complete in body and spirit). Genesis 2 v 7 The Lord formed man from the dust and that gives the reason behind our intimate connection with the earth. We are to till the earth, tend it, take care of all creatures on earth as good stewards. Dust is the same as dirt. The word “dust” symbolizes what is ordinary, what is lifeless. Dust also implies humiliation, defeat, destruction, low value. God took what is ordinary and breathed His spirit into us to make us extraordinary, glorious like the image of God. As we are formed from dust, our bodies return to the dust and it teaches us to be humble and to never think of lifting ourselves against God. He breathed into his nostrils the breath of God, Yahweh. Formed from planetary dust, but breathed into by Eternal God, man became dualistic by nature and origin. We could choose to belong to the dust or to God, the Breath or Life Giver, the form or the inner power. Man began to inhale -Y-H and exhale W- H and with every breath we acknowledge the genesis of our lives- Yahweh or Jehovah. With every breath we thank the Lord for forming us in His image. We are formed in the image of His first and then only Son, Jesus. It was almost as if God sculpted and formed the first man looking at the model of Jesus. Man is not just a physical likeness of Jesus but His spiritual likeness. We are to be humble like dust and gentle like Jesus. When the first man chose deliberately to be like the dust and not like God, he needed a Saviour, a Redeemer to restore him to God, to give him eternal life and Jesus was promised and sent later. This constitutes the life-saving information. The sound of our breathing speaks the name of Jehovah. The Lord has made us as fragile as grass. Without Him we perish, with Him we flourish. Without Him, we fade like flowers; with Him, we bear forever fruit. Just as His breath in us gives us life, when He breathes on us, our breath is taken away. We are blown away like the dust of the earth. The Lord God formed us for His glory, informed us that He would send His Son Jesus to save us from our infirmities and shortcomings and how we can transform us. The process then is – formation, information, reformation and transformation. After the formation of man in His image, the next important stage of information is fulfilled by the Word of God for the word of man is not sufficient for that purpose. When Jesus breathed on the disciples, the Holy Spirit came on them and they were transformed. Hence, Jesus breathing on us is vital for our reformation and transformation. If we are just formed, not informed, reformed and transformed, we are not fulfilling the purpose of the Creator or the Redeemer Jesus. Our breath itself is the first level of thanksgiving, praise, prayer, communion, worship of Yahweh. Our words, action, life are the next levels. When we inhale we should take in the breath of God and when we exhale, we should give up our own ways that belong to the dust.

The Overflow

UV 3745/10000 The Overflow And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 2 Corinthians 9 v 8 God has pledged or promised to bless us abundantly in numerous promises in His word. Jesus said His purpose in coming to the earth is to give us life and life in all its abundance. His grace or favour abounds towards us in all things at all times, even through hardship, famine, pandemic, depression, recession, sickness and health, birth and bereavements, weakness and strength, life with all its ups and downs. God is our greatest need and in Him is met all of our need. His word contains the grain of truth or seed that is intended to meet all our need – security, prosperity, peace, goodwill.. His grace is indeed sufficient for us in all our circumstances. When we sow the seed that the Lord has provided for us, it will produce a harvest of righteousness. He causes an overflow of blessings in our lives so that we would be able in turn meet the needs of the needy around us. We will abound in every type of good work- good thoughts towards people, good words to encourage the discouraged, to comfort the distressed, good actions to help the under privileged, the poor, the hapless so that the recipients in turn will trust the Lord and give thanks to Him. We throw bread on the waters so that it will return over time or beyond time to us as more blessings. We enjoy these blessings on account of the “indescribable gift” of God – Jesus. In Him, we have access to the treasury of heaven, in Him we obtain grace in the eyes of the Father, in Him every promise of God becomes our inheritance as co-heirs with Him. He has re-written our rights, our destiny, the will of God concerning us. Even what is intended by the enemy to hurt us is turned to a blessing.

Maximising Our Influence, Minimising Our Distractions

UV 3744/10000 Maximising our Influence, Minimising our Distractions Making the most of your time ( on earth, recognizing and taking advantage of each opportunity and using it with wisdom and diligence), because the days are ( filled with) evil. Ephesians 5 v 16 We, followers of the Lord, having been saved should save or redeem our time to do the Lord’s will. We need to act with wisdom, prudence and diligence in utilizing every moment, every contact, every influence we have, every opportunity to advance the kingdom of God, the glory of God on earth. Diligence implies knowing which word of God applies to which decision and action of ours. Diligence means obedience to the word of God. When we are obeying the Word, we are doing the will of God. We are honouring God in our lives and trying to maximise our potential and influence for the Lord on earth. We are living as the wise and not the foolish who ignore the Word. St Paul did not mince words when he said that while we pursue the purpose God has set for our lives with courage and strength from above, we should recognize that this world is full of untruth and evil. We should realize that we will face all kinds of temptations, trials, tests, tribulations, obstacles and persecutions. Yet, we should move forward from day to day with confidence in the promises of the Lord to be with us through it all. Maximising our potential and influence for the Lord is to be accompanied with minimizing our distractions and attractions to the seductions of this world. We should cast aside anything that hinders our faith, affects our sense of purpose. We can do all this only if we constantly ask the Lord for wisdom, supernatural wisdom and power and grace. We should not rely on our own sense or senses but on the constant guidance and coaching of the Holy Spirit. Since the days are filled with evil often disguised as good, we should be spiritually discerning so that we make the right choices consistently. Even on days and occasions when we fail, we should pick ourselves up with God's grace and help, renew ourselves in wisdom and power and move ahead with our eye focussed on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

The Message of the Messiah

UV 3743/10000 The Message of the Messiah And he said, “ The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, ( and to progressively understand His plan with clarity and power) and to see the Righteous One ( Jesus Christ, the Messiah) and to hear a message from His own mouth. Acts 22 v 14 The blinding of Saul and the opening of the vision of Paul was followed by these words spoken by Ananias, the faithful cobbler who lived on the street called Straight. Indeed, till we walk and live on the street called Straight and Narrow, we too are blinded by the world and its knowledge to the truth. It takes the Truth personified, Jesus to end our blindness, restore our vision so we can see God in all that we do and experience. We are anointed by the Holy Spirit to be able to see the Righteous One who makes us righteous by His sacrifice. We hear the message from His own mouth. The sword of the word of God that is in His mouth, as mentioned in the book of Revelation, begins to penetrate our hearts and sets us free from all chains, bondages of the past, of unbelief. Faith is a progressive realization of the plan that God has for each of us. We do not see, know or understand all of it. We do not see the entire stairway to heaven like Jacob but we see a step we need to take to walk at the same pace as our pace setter Jesus. As we grow older and more mature in our faith, it becomes more clear and the power of God seizes us even as the power of sin ceases in us. We desire to walk into our God ordained destiny, step by step, day by day, moment by moment. Jesus walks alongside us holding our hand. Hearing the message from His own mouth transformed Saul into Paul. His mistaken anger and zeal to persecute the followers of Jesus evaporated and was replaced by the zeal to make the name of Jesus and His being the Way, the Truth and the Life, the Messiah prophesied well ahead of time to save both Jews and Gentiles. The zealous Jews like Saul expected a Jewish Messiah not a Messiah for even their persecutors, the Gentiles of all nations. When Saul’s flawed perspective was corrected by the vision and the message of Jesus and that led him into his destiny, to be the most effective of the apostles who left his footprint all over the then known world, Europe and Asia Minor. We, too need a first hand experience and encounter with the Risen Christ, listen to His word to know and to be able to walk in accordance with God’s will for our lives, to do all that He intends us to do for Him in this lifetime and to enter our eternal destiny with God in Christ. Christ is our constant companion in this life and our transport into eternity. His name and His word are the password that enable us to pass from death to life, from darkness to light, from untruth to truth, from bondage to freedom.

Transformation

UV 3742/10000 Inner Transformation Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36 v 26 This is an amazing promise of the Lord to give us a new heart of obedience and not one of stubbornness, one that feels the hurt of God when we sin or fall short of His standards. The uni-verse sums up the whole process of sanctification. He will give us a new spirit of discernment to distinguish right from wrong. The spirit of disobedience that inhabits us from birth is not the spirit that the Lord breathed into man when we were first created. The Lord restores the spirit and heart that He first created man with. He will replace our stony hearts, the hearts that are inured to sin. A stony heart is not sensitive, not grateful, not reverential to God, not faithful, not empathetic, not feel guilty despite doing wrong. He will save us from our uncleanness. He promises to call for new grain or new seeds of blessing on our lives, once our hearts and spirits are replaced. He promises also to put His Spirit within us who will cause us to walk in accordance with His word, His laws, His commandments and precepts. We will thereby receive power, guidance, grace to obey the Lord and His word. The fruit of the Spirit in our hearts and spirits will grow and multiply for the glory of the Lord, the sower and the harvester of souls. We will be able to tame the animal within us, the animal of lust, selfishness, pride and stubbornness. We will learn to be ruthless with ourselves and kind to others. We will always try to be gentle and humble like the Lord Jesus who never once lifted Himself up against the Father in thought, word or emotion though He Himself is God. The new spirit and new heart of the believer or follower of Jesus are led by the Spirit of God. When so led, we develop a loathing for our former selves and we repent truly in our hearts to turn away from our past. The transformation is so great that the word describes us as new creatures in Christ. The one time washing in the blood of Jesus justifies us. But we need to daily renew ourselves by washing in the word ( water in the realm of the spirit) to cleanse us of any muck, filth, unclean thoughts, motives, words, actions, attitudes that have affected our hearts and spirits due to our inevitable engagement with this world.

When God Distinguishes A Man

UV 3741/10000 When God Distinguishes A Man So this (man) Daniel prospered and enjoyed success in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Daniel 6 v 28 The word “so” at the start of the uni-verse summarises why Daniel prospered and enjoyed success. His discipline, his indomitable faith in the God of Israel, his courage, his convictions brought the favour of God upon him. Of course, his spirit of excellence, his knowledge, skills played a role but the primary factor was the grace or the favour of God upon his life. He was willing to face death but was not willing to compromise his faith in God. He was fearless from the days of his youth. His discipline of prayer thrice a day with his face towards Jerusalem and his knowledge of the scriptures were the source of his power. Daniel is a biblical character whom I admire from the days of my youth. I aspired to be like him. He gave first priority to God and the things of God. From his early days, he had the anointing of a prophet and saw visions and was able to interpret visions. This extraordinary gift made him the “go to” man for successive kings. His courtesy and respect for the king despite him having given in to the evil plots of his rivals set him apart. He blessed the king even as he was drawn out of the lion’s den. He was wise in his words and was persuasive with the overseer when the latter refused to give him just vegetables and not meat from the king’s table. Daniel’s life and testimony has a relevance not just to his age and time but for all time as the Lord gave him messianic revelations. Daniel had an amazing understanding of the sovereignty and power of God over all nations. Without his knowledge the most prized treasure Nebuchadnezzar took away from Jerusalem was the young lad Daniel. Daniel was quick to learn even the local laws, literature and contemporary knowledge of the empire of Babylon. He proved himself ten times more competent and knowledgable than the contemporary home grown civil servants. His faith distinguished him. The spirit of excellence distinguished him. The presence of God with him at all times distinguished him from the rest of mankind.

The Health and Wealth of Nations

UV 3740/10000 The Health and Wealth of Nations Behold, (in the restored Jerusalem) I will bring it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace ( prosperity, security, stability) and truth. Jeremiah 33 v 6 God is a God of restoration. In this uni-verse, He promises to give us health and healing. He will completely heal us as He is Jehovah Rapha. The revelations He gives us will lead us to Shalom. Jerusalem means “ the peace of the Jews” or the Shalom of the Jews. Through the revelations He gave the Jews, He brought Shalom to the Gentiles, the people of all other nations. Through the revelations, He gives us, the Gentiles, He will restore peace to the Jews. Hence, we are asked by the Psalmist to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, that the Jews be reconciled to God through faith in the shed blood of His Son, the Messiah Jesus. When they do, they will have an abundance of Shalom which is inclusive of prosperity, security and stability and truth. They shall know the Truth ( Jesus) and Jesus shall set them free from the shackles of religion, from meaningless human traditions that have replaced the inner power of faith and a personal relationship with God, Jehovah. This uni-verse is preceded by the word that came to Jeremiah, the prophet. The Lord made the earth to establish it as His footstool where all can come and worship. When we call to Him, He will show us amazing grace, great and awesome things which we do not know, comprehend or understand. He will give us insight into His plan to prosper us individually and collectively, to give us hope and a future in eternity. When we pray or call to Him in the name of Jesus, miracles are set in motion that will establish us, strengthen our faith, reveal the love and power of God in practical and real ways in our everyday lives. The health that the uni-verse promises is holistic, health of spirit, mind and body, health of relationships, health of nations. Covid has proven to us that the health of nations is more vital to the wealth of nations. Health is our primary wealth. Even when at times we lose our health or some aspect of it, the Lord steps in as our healer, our deliverer. The only thing required of us is to call out to Him in faith in His name and the name of His Son Jesus.

Perfect Understanding, Complete Help

UV 3739/10000 Perfect Understanding, Complete Help Therefore, it was essential that He had to be made like His brothers ( mankind) in every respect, so that He might (by experience) become a merciful and faithful High Priest in things related to God, to make atonement ( propitiation) for the people’s sins ( thereby wiping away the sin, satisfying divine justice, and providing a way of reconciliation between God and mankind. Hebrews 2 v 17 Jesus was on earth like every ordinary human being so that He, despite being God from the beginning, could empathise with us. He knowing our weaknesses, our suffering, our temptations, our situations, our predicaments, our fears and worries. Jesus, therefore, has total understanding, complete empathy with humanity. Being perfect, He could pay the absolute price exacted for human unrighteousness by His righteousness. Being made vulnerable like us, He understands our needs and rushes to our side when we perchance panic. He is able to help us and provide immediate assistance to us who are exposed to the very threats He was exposed to on this earth. The irony of history is that Jesus is both human, high priest who offers the sacrifice, the sacrifice that is offered as perfect atonement and the God to whom it was/ is offered. He also referred to His body as the temple or the place of sacrifice. In addition to His role in propitiation, He is the One who mediates on our behalf before God, the Father. He is the Pleader, the Advocate on our behalf when the enemy accuses us as a public prosecutor does before a High Court. He is also the One sitting in judgement who dispenses justice to the aggrieved, who redresses the grievances of His people. Unlike Moses who tired hearing the grievance of the people and had to delegate his responsibility to lesser leaders under him, Jesus does not abdicate or delegate or relegate His responsibility to us. As the Supreme Judge, Jesus plays a dual role as both Lion and Lamb. He is fierce as a lion to our adversary and gentle as a lamb with us. He is the mother hen who covers us under His wings to protect us from every predator. He is wiser than Solomon and is wisdom personified. The words from His mouth executes like a sword. He is the Word. His word is like a hammer that destroys, dismantles, demolishes and a sword that executes, a fire that destroys. He is so like us and yet so unlike us. Whatever we have experienced in life by way of temptations, loneliness, pain, sufferings, Jesus has felt it. Whatever pain we have suffered in life, Jesus has experienced it at a more intense and deeper level. His empathy with us is total, His understanding of us is complete, His ability or competence to address effectively the issues of our lives is absolute.

Seven Metaphors for Our Metamorphosis

UV 3738/10000 Seven Metaphors For Our Metamorphosis And to this people you shall also say, “ Thus says the Lord, “ Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.” Jeremiah 21 v 8 The way of life that the Lord God has set before us, as mentioned in this uni-verse, is none other than Jesus Christ. This is the reason, Jesus said, “ I am the Way, the Truth and the Life..” He is the way of truth and life or the way to live truthfully. He is the straight and narrow road that we should take. Once we are on this Road, the other metaphors that Jesus employed to explain His role take effect in our lives- The Door ( to salvation, eternal life), The Bread of Life, (our holistic needs of spirit, mind and body), The Shepherd ( guidance, leadership, provision, protection), The Light of the world ( way out of darkness, hopelessness, bondage to sin), The Vine ( to live fruitful and victorious lives manifesting the nine fruit of the spirit), The Resurrection and the Life ( life beyond death, eternal life). The seven “ I Am” statements are completion of the way God defined Himself as “ I am who I am”. It implies that Jesus is one or more of these metaphors in our lives at any point of time. The seven metaphors are needed for the completion, the metamorphosis, the fulfilment , the perfection of our otherwise imperfect and flawed lives. With these seven manifestations of Jesus in our lives, we find our sufficiency and proficiency in the Lord. Seven itself is a symbol of completion in the Bible like seven days, the complete of time, seven continents- complete space. The seven metaphors work in space and time of our lives as well as beyond space and time, beyond the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. Jesus came not to confirm the scarcity of meaning and purpose and power and resources but to remove it. To replace it with the framework of abundance. He came to replace hamartia or shortcoming of human life with hyperbole or abundance. The first and foremost abundance He seeks to provide in our lives is spiritual abundance- the abundance of the character of God manifested in human nature in the form of the nine fruit of the spirit. But the seven metaphors also extend to the physical dimension of health, longevity, productivity, resources, the emotional dimension of joy, of peace, of hope, the social dimension of love, helpfulness, the creative dimension and so on. God is real in every realm. He cannot be restricted to manifest only in a particular place or time or manner. Our faith in His word, His promises, the seven metaphors opens portals or gateways for God to manifest Himself as the I Am…

The Justice of God

UV 3737/10000 The Justice of God Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore He will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him. Isaiah 30 v 18 We can expect perfect justice only from God. The justice dispensed by earthly authorities only has a semblance or appearance of justice and often papers over exploitation, injustice, inequality. The Lord God, the uni-verse says in contrast, LONGS to show grace to us. He is eager to find opportunities to vindicate us, to help us, to uplift us from oppression. Even when we go wrong, He desires to show His grace. He is not only just but He is compassionate. Hence, should we fight against injustice or just wait passively for the Lord to act. The sense of the word is that we need to do whatever lies within our means to undo the injustice, to expose the perpetrator, to have it remedied. But at no point, should we hate the oppressor or be violent in our response to injustice. Jehovah did not approve the act of Moses in beating an oppressive Egyptian to death when the latter was needlessly whipping a fellow Jew. Moses had to face the consequences of his act and had to flee to the wilderness. Eventually, the Lord forgave Moses for His impulsiveness and appeared to him in the burning bush on Mount Sinai. Even when Moses was reluctant to take the mantle of leadership, the Lord showed compassion and forgave Him. We need to wait patiently and expectantly for the Lord to act and not in any way take the law into our own hands to punish the offender. The period of wait is a time the Lord will use to groom and shape us to fulfill our leadership and spiritual potential. During this time, we can augment our faith and confidence in the justice of the Lord by reading, studying and meditating on the Word, by recalling past instances when the Lord set right things in our lives when circumstances were adverse, when we were falsely implicated, when we were betrayed or let down even by our near and dear ones.

The Eagles of Heaven

UV 3732/10000. The Eagles of Heaven But those who wait for the Lord ( who expect, look for, and hope in Him) will gain new strength and renew their power; they will lift up their wings ( and rise up close to God ) like eagles (rising toward the sun); they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not grow tired. Isaiah 40 v 31 Faith is all about waiting with expectation, with hope, with thanksgiving. When we wait on God to fulfill His word or His promises to us, our strength and power are renewed to do thagt which lies with us to do in the fulfilment of those very same promises, to realize a life of hope, promise and which has a future in eternity. The wings mentioned in the uni-verse are a metaphor for prayer and the word of God. These are like the powerful wings of a large eagle for with these we can fly upto heaven, fly into heaven, into the very throne room of God, the Father. We will rise up in our character and new nature to the Sun of Righteousness, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Word of God, the Lord Amen, Adonai. Every morning for years, my hour of power spent at the feet of Jesus have been the source of power and upliftment for my entire day. The rock like foundation of each day that no events or circumstances of the day can shake. The Lord renews my mind during this hour of power, sends His resurrection power to flow from my heart into my veins. Believers are the eagles of heaven. We are forever floating like eagles in the upper reaches of heaven’s atmosphere. We go where eagles alone can dare to go, the mountain tops, the craggy rocks, the mountain fastnesses. Like old eagles retire to a lonely place to shed old feathers and replace them with new feathers, our times alone with God renews our feathers so that we can fly higher and higher. Like an eagle’s eye spots it prey from a great height and distance and in one fell swoop do a precision dive to capture it, the Lord renews our vision so that we do “precision dives” to fulfill God’s revealed purpose in our lives. While worldly people walk and run and go weary, we fly on account of our faith, on account of our mighty wings of prayer and the word. The Lord energises us, empowers us, equips us, anoints us, enables us and supplies us with an inexhaustible source of power. The eagle is not threatened by any other bird or predator and likewise, we are not intimidated or threatened by any other being, human or spiritual. It is God’s grace that powers our wings like the wind and cushions of air that support the eagle when it floats around. We leave the crutches the world gives us, the cages that confine us and are free to fly high. We do not fight our battles on the ground like the world does but shifts the theatre of warfare against the enemy, the wily serpent in the air, the realm of spiritual power.

God's Act of Rescue

UV 3731/10000 God’s Act of Rescue “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you, ” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 1 v 19 Those who are living in the light of God and doing what is right always face attacks and assaults from the enemy. The powers of darkness attack from all directions but He who is greater, more powerful, victorious over death and darkness lives in us. He promises to fight for us. He is with us in every situation and He promises to rescue us. He provides the way of escape, that we might endure trials and tribulations, tests and temptations. We only need to take a position, a stance of faith, resting on His promise of help, of victory. We only need to brace ourselves even as He embraces us in His protective care. God, the Father allowed His beloved Son Jesus to embrace death so that death and sin cannot have a claim on us, so that the claim of justice, of due payment for sin is paid fully and finally. Of course, , many followers of Jesus have also suffered for His Name, for their beliefs. But as a rule, the Lord cares for us as the apple of His eye. But we should not act as if we are the apple tree of independence, of disobedience. We should not like Adam and Eve aspire to be like God in His power and awe. We should rest our faith only on His word, rest our faith in His shed blood. This is the stance that will transform all circumstances into victory for us and glory for Him. The Lord will fight for us and wrest victory for us. We only need to remain still or faithful and composed. We should not lose the peace and joy of salvation in these difficult moments when we are under attack. We should know God is working behind the scenes and discern behind the outer skein of circumstances, His hand obtaining victory for us. Life is never a picnic but there is no need to panic. God is in control even when He does not seem to be present in our situation. We need to be both eager to see His grace manifest in our situations as well as patient to wait till it happens. During the period of waiting, we should show no signs of frustration, desperation, depression but hold onto the promise, keep praying and praising God in anticipation of what He is going to do as if He has already done it.

God Plus Us

UV 3730/10000 God Plus Us Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame. Isaiah 50 v 7 The Lord is Sovereign in our lives. His will is supreme, His word is supreme in our lives. Though He is Sovereign in power and authority, on account of His great love for us, He manifests Himself to us as Ebenezer and hides His awesome power that it might harm us or cause us to fear. He manifests Himself as our Helper. Since He helps us, we will not surely be put to shame. We will not be disgraced. We will not have to hide like Adam and Eve when they first sinned. We will not be put to shame before our earthly enemies or our spiritual foes. We are certain of being vindicated and therefore, victorious against all odds in life. Since we have this confidence in God Almighty, we can set our faces like flint, implying we do not have to flinch with fear like the frail men we are. God is infinite in strength and wisdom. Hence, God plus us are invincible, a deadly combination, a winning team. We can be determined, dedicated, devoted like Jesus when he set His face towards the cross. Jesus ascended the cross knowing for sure that in history and in eternity He would not be disgraced, His death on the cross would not be in vain but it would give hope and salvation to all who hope in it. Certainty of faith will help us not skip a single heart beat as we rest assured that the Lord will rush to our help in every circumstance, even death threatening ones, even circumstances that seem to put us to shame, when we look as if we are defeated and humiliated. Arrow heads used to be made of hard flint stone. When we have faith in Jesus, in His awesome power and grace, we will be like flint stone arrow heads, darting straight to fulfill the purpose God has set for our lives. Nothing can detract us, distract us, disturb us, deter us or divert us.

The Bank of Heaven

UV 3729/10000 The Bank of Heaven The Lord will open for you His good treasure house, the heavens, to give rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hand; and you will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow. Deuteronomy 28 v 12 If we do not swerve to the left or to the right but are steadfast in serving the Lord, not turn aside from any of His words, His commands, He will bless us with treasure from above. He will give us treasures out of darkness, secret treasures of which we know nothing. He will send us showers of blessing aplenty in due season, both the early rain and the latter rain. He will bless all the work of our hand. The words “ good treasure house” implies that there is a kind of Bank of Heaven in which all of us have accounts into which the Lord credits what we need as well as the abundance He wants to bless us to reward us with for our diligence, faithfulness, obedience and dedication. As the word promises, there is much profit in labour. There is much more blessing in God-blessed labour. We will not labour in vain but for gain in every sense of the word. The keys or codes we need to open our bank vault in heaven is already placed in our hands- diligence, dedication, devotion, discipline, determination. These are the good treasures that the thief cannot steal, the robber rob, the moth or rust cannot destroy. There is a season or particular time period of our lives when the Lord releases the showers of blessing upon us as the land rec We will not be indebted to foreignors but we will lend to others. He will send foreignors to serve us, even their leaders. He establishes the work of our hands so that it meets our needs. We will become signboards to point others to the Lord. These blessings and promises are conditional to our diligent study of the word, our careful listening to His voice, our careful obedience of His directions, counsel, commandments and will. In all our ways, we must lean on Him, listen intently to His voice, the whispers, promptings and nudging of the Holy Spirit. God is infinite in love, wisdom, power, grace. God plus us is also infinite in love, wisdom, power, grace. We are leaders of humanity by divine appointment and enablement or anointing. We will be above and not beneath. We are the TOP people not in terms of power, wealth, position but in terms of TOP- The Tabernacle of Peace. Since God, the Eternal One, the Almighty is tabernacle in us, we have peace. Peace or the holistic Shalom is the goal; the presence of God in us ensures peace. Prosperity is only a concomitant, an accompanying factor, a side dish. Happiness is the dessert.

It is I

UV 3728/10000. It is I But Jesus said to them, “ It is I ( I AM); do not be afraid.” John 6 v 20 Jesus gave only one reason for the disciples, terrified by a fierce storm in the Sea of Galilee, for them not to be afraid : “It is I.” Indeed, we, as frail human beings, are terrified of death, the great unknown but the Great I Am who has been there and overcome, is with us even in the valley of the shadow of death. His shadow, overpowers the shadow of death, and lights up our lives. It is impossible for us to face a storm without fear but all things are possible for Jesus. It is impossible for us to face a deadly pestilence like Covid without fear and trepidation but it is possible to do so if Jesus is in our “boat”. Our boat may be rocked hard and dangerously. The winds and waves of misfortune may be threatening our peace but we just need to ask Jesus to board our boat. The boat that was tossed about in the heavy storm was able to reach the shore where they were planning to land. Once Jesus is in our boat (our life, our hearts) we will be able to reach the intended destination. No storm can stop us. No force on earth can hinder us for He who is greater than any of these and all of these is with us, in us, for us. Jesus is the anchor of hope and the word of God is the chain that connects us to Him. No storm can drag us off course as long as we repose our trust in Him and are attached intimately to Him as an iron chain to the heavy anchor. The three hooks of an anchor are a metaphor for the Trinity. Through Jesus, we are connected to the Great I am, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. The presence of God must not be intermittent but continuous with us for us to be safe and to feel safe. Everything else can be intermittent- prayer, fasting, working, resting, eating, exercising but the presence of God needs to be continuous. We need a twenty four hour connect and communion with the O-zone of His presence, His omnipotence that no storm or challenge can threaten or destabilize, His omnipresence that never leaves us nor forsakes us, His omniscience that surrounds us and cares for the tiny details of our lives. We need to hear His reassuring voice, “ It is I.”

Magnets for Everlasting Joy

UV 3727/10000 Magnets for Everlasting Joy And the ransomed of the Lord will return and come to Zion with shouts of jubilation, and everlasting joy will be upon their heads; They will find joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing will flee away. Isaiah 35 v 10 The common enemy of our souls, satan has abducted our souls and taken mankind into captivity from birth. But Jesus came to set us free, to pay the ransom for our freedom from the wages of sin- eternal death and bondage to the enemy. We are now free by virtue of our faith to return to God, to Zion, the kingdom of God. Since we have returned by re-birth of our souls, we can rejoice and shout praises unto the Father who sent His Son to redeem us. We have become magnets for joy and gladness, to attract these into our lives and to repel sorrow and lamentation. We can now live a victorious life, the abundant life, eternal life. Eternal life is not something we live after we die physically but it is living our lives on earth with an eternal perspective, as children of God, as siblings of Jesus, as non resident citizens of heaven, as servants of the Lord, as subjects of the King of Kings, as priests and kings of the Most High. We are a liberated people and we should not live as slaves of sin, cursed to live a life of bondage. We are a people returned to our homes, our homeland is none but the Lord God. We are to live as the wise and not return to our days of captivity. Our spiritually blind eyes have been opened and hence, we can leap for joy. Our spiritually deaf ears have been healed and hence, we can rejoice. Our spiritually crippled faculties have been restored and hence, we can live fully, freely and joyfully. Our spiritually mute tongue has been released and hence, we can praise, thank and worship the Lord. Formerly, we believed that the enemy’s deceptive words are to be believed and the Lord’s word to be distrusted as the enemy suggested that it is meant to limit us, to keep us from being like God. Now, we know that it is the Lord’s word that is to be believed and we derive our freedom, our strength and our blessings from His word. The chains of captivity have been broken and we are set free forever. The joy of the Lord that is embedded in His word is our source of strength. Our joy and pleasure which was formerly ephemeral, transitory, vain, momentary is now everlasting. It is not a joy imagined within our heads or our hearts. It is not a mere emotion. It is lasting joy, everlasting joy. It is the joy that comes from the faith, hope and assurance that we shall live forever in Zion, in the presence of the living Lord, the Great Sovereign and King who never enslaves anyone. It is the joy that comes from the blessings the Lord’s favour has brought upon us.

Our Tabernacle and Refuge

UV 3726/10000. Our Tabernacle and Refuge The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He drove out the enemy from before you, and said, “Destroy!” Deuteronomy 33 v 27 We as believers of Jesus have come to dwell in God and on God, the eternal One. He is our refuge, our shelter, our place of comfort. In normal times, He is our Tabernacle of joy and in times of crisis, difficulty and danger, He is our refuge, our hiding place, our shield. His arms are like wings under which we have come to rest. The two wings of prayer and the word sustain us and carry us through our lives and into eternity with God. The Lord goes ahead of us to destroy our common enemy. He is our weapon of mass destruction and of eternal life. He creates and sustains, He judges and saves His people, those who trust in His Name. He is the shield of our help, the sword that executes excellence in our lives. We will tread on the high places of the enemy and they will cringe before us. We dwell in safety and security because of our faith in the Lord. His mercy drops down on us like dew from heaven, softening our hearts like the early rain prepares the crop for ripening. He carries us into a land full of grain and new wine, new experiences to savour and relish. His word strengthens us from within and His answers to our prayers strengthen us from above. He is invincible, invisible and indestructible. His love is forever, eternal, unchanging and steadfast. His will is sovereign. His power is insurmountable and unstoppable. His grace is sufficient for us in all circumstances. It opens up a spring and fountain of joy deep within us that never dries up. The enemy has plans to harm us while the Lord has plans to help us, to give us hope, a future and after that eternity. Jesus is the word of eternal life who guarantees eternity for every one who believes Him. Hence, He said His purpose in coming to the earth is to give us life, eternal life and life in all its abundance. He has not withheld anything good from His own.