UV 3030/10000 The Alpha of Finishing Well
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God
Hebrews 12 v 2.
Statistically, it is said that less than twenty per cent of people finish well. They begin well or appear to do well at times in the middle of a project or in the course of their lives but do not finish well. This uni-verse exhorts us to look on Jesus as our model of finishing well. Jesus began His sojourn on Earth well and He finished well with His triumphant glorious resurrection. Between the start and the finish of the course He ran in life on earth, there were many ups and downs. His worst moment was while pierced to the cross, with streams of blood surging across multiple wounds all over His body, His followers having deserted Him, He lay condemned like the worst of condemned prisoners. He even felt He had lost His communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. He felt abandoned by the Father to face the fate of a common and hardened criminal. Jesus went to the grave – the cave grave of a rich man. Yet, He rose again as predicted by Him on the third day. He again taught and ministered to His disciples, empowering them to preach and teach the gospel across the world. He breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit and were empowered to be fearless apostles. Jesus finished well and gloriously for He ascended to Heaven to sit on His throne at the right hand of the Father. He continues to hear prayers, intercede for millions of the faithful and appear to some of them to this day.
Jesus not only gave us a model of finishing well. As an Author, He writes on the blank pages of our hearts and our lives His word, His life-giving truth. He stays by our side encouraging, enabling and helping us to finish well our work, our projects and our lives. He proclaimed to the Father, “ I have finished the work You sent me to do.” On the cross, His last words were, “ It is finished.” The work of providing the way, the truth and the life of salvation to all mankind had been completed forever.
Drawing on the inspiration, the strength, the help, the grace, the power the Lord and Perfector of our faith and our lives provides us, we should therefore set ourselves like flint or with utmost drive and determination to complete the work the Father has given us in our lifetime. We should fully utilise our time, talents, opportunities, resources to glorify the Lord by finishing well that which we set out to do or was given to us to do.
Thursday, August 9, 2018
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
The Alpha of Dealing with Folly
UV 3029/10000 The Alpha of Dealing with Folly
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Matthew 7 v 26
Scripture divides humanity only into two categories- the wise and the foolish. The wicked or depraved are also placed under the category of fools. The wise build something to make it last. The foolish build without paying attention to whether it will last or endure. The wise build their lives on the solid foundation of the word of God. The foolish reject the word as a foundation for their lives. The wise are always ready to receive the Lord as the five wise maiden in the parable of Jesus. They are alert, eager, spiritually awake, zestful, prepared, proactive and ever ready to receive the Lord and His word. The foolish are lethargic, spiritually sleepy, casual, careless, unprepared, unenthusiastic, reactive and are caught unawares when the Lord comes or is sending them a word or message. The wise invest their time, talent, treasure wisely in the kingdom of God while the foolish fritter it away or bury both talent and treasure.
The wise build their lives so strong that it can weather or face a storm, however severe. The foolish build their lives for good times or good weather. The latter have a capacity only to enjoy good times and cannot bear tough or bad times. The foolish ignore the instructions of the Lord. The wise are diligent to always search for the Lord’s will and then go forth and do it willingly and enthusiastically. The foolish are not discerning. They are proud and arrogant. They boast of their earthly riches and exploits without a thought about their eternity. The wise find their security in their personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus. The foolish re ignorant of the existence of the Holy Spirit and pay no heed to Him. The wise fear the Triune God and listen with reverence and submission to the still voice of the Holy Spirit. The wise are ready to be tested and tried while the foolish do not enjoy challenges.
Scripture states that folly exists or thrives in the mouth of the foolish. The wise send their words and thoughts through many sieves or filters before they utter a word. The foolish cannot control either their appetite or desires or their emotions. They speak in haste and repent at leisure. They use their tongues to damage their prospects and not to advance it. They do not plan ahead and work in several directions without a sense of purpose. The wise are guided by the Lord in all their decisions. They discipline their appetite and restrain their emotions.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Matthew 7 v 26
Scripture divides humanity only into two categories- the wise and the foolish. The wicked or depraved are also placed under the category of fools. The wise build something to make it last. The foolish build without paying attention to whether it will last or endure. The wise build their lives on the solid foundation of the word of God. The foolish reject the word as a foundation for their lives. The wise are always ready to receive the Lord as the five wise maiden in the parable of Jesus. They are alert, eager, spiritually awake, zestful, prepared, proactive and ever ready to receive the Lord and His word. The foolish are lethargic, spiritually sleepy, casual, careless, unprepared, unenthusiastic, reactive and are caught unawares when the Lord comes or is sending them a word or message. The wise invest their time, talent, treasure wisely in the kingdom of God while the foolish fritter it away or bury both talent and treasure.
The wise build their lives so strong that it can weather or face a storm, however severe. The foolish build their lives for good times or good weather. The latter have a capacity only to enjoy good times and cannot bear tough or bad times. The foolish ignore the instructions of the Lord. The wise are diligent to always search for the Lord’s will and then go forth and do it willingly and enthusiastically. The foolish are not discerning. They are proud and arrogant. They boast of their earthly riches and exploits without a thought about their eternity. The wise find their security in their personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus. The foolish re ignorant of the existence of the Holy Spirit and pay no heed to Him. The wise fear the Triune God and listen with reverence and submission to the still voice of the Holy Spirit. The wise are ready to be tested and tried while the foolish do not enjoy challenges.
Scripture states that folly exists or thrives in the mouth of the foolish. The wise send their words and thoughts through many sieves or filters before they utter a word. The foolish cannot control either their appetite or desires or their emotions. They speak in haste and repent at leisure. They use their tongues to damage their prospects and not to advance it. They do not plan ahead and work in several directions without a sense of purpose. The wise are guided by the Lord in all their decisions. They discipline their appetite and restrain their emotions.
Monday, August 6, 2018
The Alpha of Fame
UV 3028/10000 The Alpha of Fame
So the LORD was with Joshua; and his fame was noised throughout all the country
Joshua 6 v 27
Human beings through history have been seeking fame as it extends their influence and is a source of power. People go to ridiculous extent to try to become famous as can be seen by some of the records claimed by Guinness record holders. But such fame is short lived and futile. But when the Lord is with a person as He was with Joshua, his or her fame spreads through the whole land. The uni-verse above states that since the Lord was with Joshua, his fame spread throughout the region. His leadership and his power was derived from his devotion to the Lord. His exploits of conquering Jericho and how he dealt with Ai spread either terror, awe or admiration for him. The Lord promises to make the name of His children or His servants great and fulfils it in amazing ways. As one recent hit song says, “ I am famous in my Father’s eyes.” We need not seek the approval of men or popularity or fame but only seek to please the Lord in all our ways.
The Lord was with Joshua in everything that he undertook and granted him extraordinary victories against 31 kings that occupied the promised land. Likewise, He promises to be with us and give us extraordinary victories in our struggles in life. We only need to surrender ourselves, our wills, our plans, our desires and hopes into His mighty hands. We are to point to Him as the Author of all our victories once we win and not appropriate the credit or glory to ourselves.
The Lord will use us to bring down many Jerichos or strongholds of the spiritual realm. Like He did with Joseph, the son of Jacob, He will prosper us wherever we are for where we go, He goes with us. At the appropriate time or the time set by the Lord, the mightiest man of the land of Egypt heard of the name of the unknown prisoner in his jail who could deliver Egypt from mass starvation and devastation. Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh and earned the favour of the mightiest man of the land. He was soon after raised to be the right hand or the most influential person next to Pharaoh in that foreign land. If we let God use our content, He will create the context to use it for His glory, the extension of faith on earth.
Sunday, August 5, 2018
The Alpha of Faithfulness
UV3027/10000 The Alpha of Faithfulness
A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
Proverbs 28 v 20
Faithfulness to the Lord is the source of abundant blessings. Faithfulness consists in both diligent obedience to the commands and precepts of the word and complete trust in the promises of the Lord. The only competition for God on earth is mammon- or money. This is the reason Jesus emphasized that one can serve either God or mammon. The uni-verse above states that those who are in a hurry to get rich somehow lose their innocence. They get ensnared by the temptation of riches. Many people erroneously believe that money is the source of blessings and that abundance of money is the solution for all their issues. Among the blessings the Lord reserves for the faithful is monetary or material blessing but our priority or heart should not be on money. When the Lord makes a person rich, He adds no sorrow to it. We are to make it our servant and not our master. We are to wait patiently for the Lord to bless us with His provision and be contented with what He provides.
None of the blessings Jesus speaks of in His sermon on the mount is about material prosperity. It is more to do with the prosperity of the soul in terms of inheriting heaven, being children of God, in knowing the Lord, in receiving mercy, in being full of peace, in having our spiritual hunger satisfied, in seeing or perceiving God, in being comforted or encouraged, in being rewarded in the eternal realm. Scripture points out to us that these are the true riches of life. Suffice it to say that when we are faithful to the Lord, we are holistically blessed without measure.
Faithfulness implies that we need to make investments of time and effort in doing the will of the Lord, in following His ways. If we are faithful in little things, we will be considered faithful in the things of great importance. Faithfulness to the Lord results in an abundance of the good fruit of the Holy Spirit. Our lives should abound in love of Christ, the joy of the spirit, the peace of our minds, the patience of our character, the kindness and goodness of the Good Samaritan, the faithfulness of Jesus who remained faithful all the way to the cross and the grace, the humility and self control of Jesus. The weeds of envy, pride, lust, hatred, contentious spirit, gloom, anger need to be continually removed from our souls for us to be truly rich.
A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.
Proverbs 28 v 20
Faithfulness to the Lord is the source of abundant blessings. Faithfulness consists in both diligent obedience to the commands and precepts of the word and complete trust in the promises of the Lord. The only competition for God on earth is mammon- or money. This is the reason Jesus emphasized that one can serve either God or mammon. The uni-verse above states that those who are in a hurry to get rich somehow lose their innocence. They get ensnared by the temptation of riches. Many people erroneously believe that money is the source of blessings and that abundance of money is the solution for all their issues. Among the blessings the Lord reserves for the faithful is monetary or material blessing but our priority or heart should not be on money. When the Lord makes a person rich, He adds no sorrow to it. We are to make it our servant and not our master. We are to wait patiently for the Lord to bless us with His provision and be contented with what He provides.
None of the blessings Jesus speaks of in His sermon on the mount is about material prosperity. It is more to do with the prosperity of the soul in terms of inheriting heaven, being children of God, in knowing the Lord, in receiving mercy, in being full of peace, in having our spiritual hunger satisfied, in seeing or perceiving God, in being comforted or encouraged, in being rewarded in the eternal realm. Scripture points out to us that these are the true riches of life. Suffice it to say that when we are faithful to the Lord, we are holistically blessed without measure.
Faithfulness implies that we need to make investments of time and effort in doing the will of the Lord, in following His ways. If we are faithful in little things, we will be considered faithful in the things of great importance. Faithfulness to the Lord results in an abundance of the good fruit of the Holy Spirit. Our lives should abound in love of Christ, the joy of the spirit, the peace of our minds, the patience of our character, the kindness and goodness of the Good Samaritan, the faithfulness of Jesus who remained faithful all the way to the cross and the grace, the humility and self control of Jesus. The weeds of envy, pride, lust, hatred, contentious spirit, gloom, anger need to be continually removed from our souls for us to be truly rich.
The Alpha of Living By Faith
UV 3026/10000 The Alpha of Living By Faith
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith
Habukuk 2 v 4
The enemy of our souls made the first man to believe that God is a liar. Man broke faith in the word of God. This displeased the Lord and man fell from grace. Jesus presented Himself to humanity many generations later as the Way, the Truth and the Life. When any man of his own free will places His trust in this truth, that Jesus is the Truth with a capital ‘T”, the very personification of the Truth of God, He comes into faith. That man or woman or child is justified and declared just or righteous in the sight of God by grace and faith. The one so justified or the “just” shall thereafter live by his faith not by his sense( intellect or reasoning) or his senses(five senses led by sight). For the person who is saved, his hearing becomes more important than his sight for by his inner hearing, he hears the Word of God. For him, the Word is food, drink and breath of his soul. He lives by the Word. The just shall live, here and now on earth as well as forever, by His Word.
Only the person who humbles his own soul and stops listening to its chatter can hear the Word and understand it is the truth. He lives by his own lights. He lives by his sense and senses. When we humble our own souls like little children who believe whatever their parents tell them, we are able to receive Jesus, the One who justifies, declares us righteous in the sight of God and equips us to live in accordance with our faith in His Word.
Now that we are justified, we are called to live by faith and not by sight. We are to check if in every aspect of our lives, we are living in accordance with our faith in our Redeemer Jesus. We can ask the Lord to fill us with His grace to cover the gaps in our faith. Even though we are believers, part of our natural and fallen selves disbelieves the Lord and makes Him out to be a liar. Knowing that He is faithful and true, we can ask Him for help to overcome such unbelief.
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith
Habukuk 2 v 4
The enemy of our souls made the first man to believe that God is a liar. Man broke faith in the word of God. This displeased the Lord and man fell from grace. Jesus presented Himself to humanity many generations later as the Way, the Truth and the Life. When any man of his own free will places His trust in this truth, that Jesus is the Truth with a capital ‘T”, the very personification of the Truth of God, He comes into faith. That man or woman or child is justified and declared just or righteous in the sight of God by grace and faith. The one so justified or the “just” shall thereafter live by his faith not by his sense( intellect or reasoning) or his senses(five senses led by sight). For the person who is saved, his hearing becomes more important than his sight for by his inner hearing, he hears the Word of God. For him, the Word is food, drink and breath of his soul. He lives by the Word. The just shall live, here and now on earth as well as forever, by His Word.
Only the person who humbles his own soul and stops listening to its chatter can hear the Word and understand it is the truth. He lives by his own lights. He lives by his sense and senses. When we humble our own souls like little children who believe whatever their parents tell them, we are able to receive Jesus, the One who justifies, declares us righteous in the sight of God and equips us to live in accordance with our faith in His Word.
Now that we are justified, we are called to live by faith and not by sight. We are to check if in every aspect of our lives, we are living in accordance with our faith in our Redeemer Jesus. We can ask the Lord to fill us with His grace to cover the gaps in our faith. Even though we are believers, part of our natural and fallen selves disbelieves the Lord and makes Him out to be a liar. Knowing that He is faithful and true, we can ask Him for help to overcome such unbelief.
Thursday, August 2, 2018
The Alpha of the Good Fight
UV 3025/10000 The Alpha of the Good Fight
The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace
Exodus 14 v 14
The good fight is a fight without animosity and without blood shed We are called to fight for the right in the light of His word. The Lord has promised to fight for us who trust Him. We are asked only to stay calm, peaceful and hold onto our faith and the Lord will intervene in our situation. Whatever be the odds against us, the Lord can reverse it. He who fought on behalf of Israel and delivered Moses and the just freed slaves of Egypt can deliver us. He who parted the Red Sea to save the Israelites from the Egyptian chariots and army can and does the impossible on our behalf. Moses promised the Israelites that they did not even have to see their enemies again.
We are therefore, not to run away from the battle but to stay in the thick of it and yet remain calm and assured that we will have deliverance and victory. We are to be brave and confident when we take a stand against the unrighteousness of this world. We need not despair or lose hope for the Lord will surely act on time. When our enemies attack us in one direction, they will be caused to flee in seven directions. Any attack on us is taken personally by the Lord. It is as if they have touched the apple of His eye. We should not allow our minds to be filled either with fear or thoughts of panic or of anger and revenge. We should wait for the power and glory of the Lord to vindicate us, to deliver us, to redeem us.
Our battles are fought and won while we are on our knees praying and praising the Lord. Many of these battles are not physical or military but at a very deep soul level. The enemies we are confronting are no longer physical but invisible spirits. We are battling not against flesh and blood but against spiritual strongholds and we need such effective spiritual weapons of offence and defence. Our grip on the Word of God which is our most effective weapon of offence and the shield of faith and prayer are vital for our victory and deliverance. The Holy Spirit strengthens and nourishes our spirit to prepare us for such spiritual warfare.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
The Alpha of Dealing with Fear
UV 3024/10000 The Alpha of Dealing with Fear
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love
I John 4 v 18
Human beings are inherently fearful of a whole host of things. The chief fear that holds us in bondage is the fear of death and judgement. The perfect agape love of God caused His Son Jesus to be sacrificed after judgement by human authorities. Jesus having cast aside the shroud of death and rising again from death, mocking His unjust judgement but having paid it in full for all humans who believe in Him and His act of perfect love, has freed us from every source and type of fear. He has not taken away our spirit of fear and given us instead the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love, power and self control. This kind of perfect love installs in us self “controls” so that we are no longer a prey to the torment of the enemy of our souls.
We begin due to our faith in Jesus to fear less and less and love more and more like Him. Our insecurities will begin to disappear. Our confidence in Christ, our source of power to defeat every thought, emotion and belief that induces us to fear, begins to mature us in our capacity to love. We can actively cast out of us every type of fear. Faith is the perfect, effective and complete antidote to fear. It not only shields us from fear but helps us counter and overcome our fears. Fear is debilitating, paralysing our minds and keeps us from acting wisely. Fears whether expressed in words or kept hidden in our hearts and minds have the power of self fulfilling prophecy in that our fears attract that which we dread the most. Fear is the whip that the enemy uses us to scourge us. But our faith in Christ liberates us. As we mature in the love of Christ, we can break every chain of fear that has grown in us since the past. The uni-verse above uses the verb "cast out" - the same words used for demons. In short, our fears constitute our personal demons from which Jesus, the embodiment, the repository, the personification of perfect love can deliver us.
Instead of denying the existence of various fears in our lives, we need to identify each fear and cast it out of us in the name and authority of the love and power of Jesus. For instance, if we are having the fear of premature death, we can command it to depart from our lives. If we are having a fear of inadequate finances, we can appropriate the promise of provision the Lord gives us and so cast out this fear. If we have a fear of ill health or a particular ailment, we can cover ourselves with the shield of faith. If we have a fear of encountering accidents while travelling or working, we can claim the protection of the Lord. Every fear in other words can be turned into a source of power, love, joy and blessing. The way to make this meditation practical, useful and impactful is take the truth, the teaching and apply it today in all aspects of our lives concerning our insecurities in our relationships, in our work life and in our expectations and aspirations.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love
I John 4 v 18
Human beings are inherently fearful of a whole host of things. The chief fear that holds us in bondage is the fear of death and judgement. The perfect agape love of God caused His Son Jesus to be sacrificed after judgement by human authorities. Jesus having cast aside the shroud of death and rising again from death, mocking His unjust judgement but having paid it in full for all humans who believe in Him and His act of perfect love, has freed us from every source and type of fear. He has not taken away our spirit of fear and given us instead the Holy Spirit, the spirit of love, power and self control. This kind of perfect love installs in us self “controls” so that we are no longer a prey to the torment of the enemy of our souls.
We begin due to our faith in Jesus to fear less and less and love more and more like Him. Our insecurities will begin to disappear. Our confidence in Christ, our source of power to defeat every thought, emotion and belief that induces us to fear, begins to mature us in our capacity to love. We can actively cast out of us every type of fear. Faith is the perfect, effective and complete antidote to fear. It not only shields us from fear but helps us counter and overcome our fears. Fear is debilitating, paralysing our minds and keeps us from acting wisely. Fears whether expressed in words or kept hidden in our hearts and minds have the power of self fulfilling prophecy in that our fears attract that which we dread the most. Fear is the whip that the enemy uses us to scourge us. But our faith in Christ liberates us. As we mature in the love of Christ, we can break every chain of fear that has grown in us since the past. The uni-verse above uses the verb "cast out" - the same words used for demons. In short, our fears constitute our personal demons from which Jesus, the embodiment, the repository, the personification of perfect love can deliver us.
Instead of denying the existence of various fears in our lives, we need to identify each fear and cast it out of us in the name and authority of the love and power of Jesus. For instance, if we are having the fear of premature death, we can command it to depart from our lives. If we are having a fear of inadequate finances, we can appropriate the promise of provision the Lord gives us and so cast out this fear. If we have a fear of ill health or a particular ailment, we can cover ourselves with the shield of faith. If we have a fear of encountering accidents while travelling or working, we can claim the protection of the Lord. Every fear in other words can be turned into a source of power, love, joy and blessing. The way to make this meditation practical, useful and impactful is take the truth, the teaching and apply it today in all aspects of our lives concerning our insecurities in our relationships, in our work life and in our expectations and aspirations.
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