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BIBLE AND WEALTH

HE MUST INCREASE IN US

ID-100216105Generally, every individual in this world desires to increase. The desire to increase is innate and starts to operate from our infancy as children. As children, we desired to walk just like any other normal person; we desired to grow bigger just like any other normal person. As the years passed by, our parents took us to school and with time, we desired to chart a particular career. The choice to choose a particular career is a demonstration of the desire to increase.

Families desire to increase. Increase may come in the form of numbers, that is, giving birth to children; taking up new jobs in order to earn more income for the upkeep of the family etc. Nations and the world at large desire to increase. Nations would want to work towards increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP); improving the health care system of citizens etc. The world at large is working towards reducing maternal mortality and reducing the level of global poverty by increasing the standard of nations as stated in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

All the above forms of increase is necessary and crucial for sustainable development. However, there is another type or level of increase which I want to talk about in this article. This is mentioned in     John 3:30 which states, “He must increase, but I must decrease”. This is a profound statement by John the Baptist. John was baptising and Jesus was also baptising. Jesus was baptising more people than John because more men were going to Him. John was asked why Jesus was baptising more people and he answered by saying that – He must increase, but I must decrease.

As children of God, we must desire to increase and work at it. The ability to increase is deposited in our spirit and it is our responsibility to portray this in our walk of faith. In December 2012, what were the New Year resolutions we made? Were we able to achieve them?  We are in December 2013 and it is likely that we will come out with new resolutions for 2014. Let us ensure that we work towards achieving the New Year resolutions for 2014. We must increase in the roles we play in our jobs; increase in the way we take care our families; increase in good relations with people. We must increase in the roles we play in church growth by witnessing to the unsaved and investing part of income in the ministry of the gospel. Above all, the indwelling of God’s word in us must increase from now and in 2014. 2014 must be a year of increase in any area of our lives because that is the purpose of God for our lives. We must be a blessing to the world more in 2014 and beyond than in 2013.     

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

WHY DO WE PRAY?

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Prayer is an important part of every religion. Even non-religious persons sometimes say some prayers especially when challenges arise. In Christianity, prayer is a privilege granted to the child of God to have fellowship with the God-head. How do we feel when we are having great fellowships with our earthly parents? We feel very accepted and confident at home and wherever we find ourselves. We may not be liked by our peers in school for several reasons but so long us we know that we are loved by our parents and always have fellowship, we are at least ok.

As we pray, we make investment in eternity. It can be likened to buying of shares in an investment market. As we buy shares, we are confident that in future we will get some returns on our investment. Of course it is true that sometimes, we make losses on our investments but prayer as a form of investment comes with no losses! We may be enjoying some blessings now because of the prayers we made some years back or because of the prayers of loved ones which were made some years back.

As we pray, the eyes of our understanding are enlightened. We are able to understand the scriptures more and obey the scriptures. Our spirits are tuned up to receive encouragement and revelations from God to be able to impact on the world around us. We are able to get more understanding about situations around us and to know the right things to do and at what time to do these right things. We are able to connect to the ideas and visions of God concerning situations in our lives.

Prayer makes tremendous power or strength available for the child of God. Power is the ability to cause changes. A lot of activities go on in the spiritual realm. Things that happen in the physical realm have some connections in the spiritual realm. As we pray, we are able to cause changes in the spiritual realm and later see these changes in the physical realm.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 states that we should pray without ceasing. This shows us how important prayer is to the child of God. If you abrogate the communion between you and your loving father, several negative consequences can result therefore the need to always commune with the father. Scripture is replete with several instances where prayers were said and positive results were achieved. In the book of Acts, the church prayed for imprisoned Peter and an angel rescued him from prison. Several miracles of Jesus were done after He had prayed.      

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR SITUATION!

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I have heard some people say that life is not fair. Some others have also said that the world is an unfair place to live in. Though these statements may be true, we will be doing ourselves some good if we purpose to do something about the unpleasant situations we are going through. Throwing in the towel will rather worsen our case because literally, we will be saying that it is ‘finished’ and we can’t do anything anymore. This article will briefly look at a scenario in the bible where the church did something about an unpleasant situation and had a good result.   

“Acts 12:1-8: Now about the time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison: but prayer was make without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before the door kept the prison. And, behold, the angel of the Lord came upon him: and a light shined in the prison; and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me”

If you are going through an unpleasant situation after doing all that is humanly possible, don’t worry so much. Don’t throw in the towel yet. You got to do something again! You got to first locate what God has said about the unpleasant situation and pray in faith. A pray of faith always delivers result(s). The church would have also lost Peter if prayer was not said for him. There is tremendous power in prayer and it is the responsibility of the child of God to pray and get positive results. The word of God will displace fear and increase our faith to reverse or stop any unpleasant situation.  As we pray and meditate on God’s word, our actions are tailored in the right direction to change bad situations.

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

REIGN OVER CIRCUMSTANCES

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Roman 5.17: For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Adam and Eve transgressed in the Garden of Eden and as a result death took dominion over man. Though Adam and Eve committed the sin, Adam was held responsible because of his role as the head of the household.  Sin is separation of man’s spirit from the spirit of God and therefore the inability of man to reign on earth. John 3:16 tells us that the appearance of Jesus on the scene atoned for our sins and therefore man is no longer under the bondage of sin. Jesus Christ brought to us grace and righteousness through the blood He shared on the cross.  

The more grace you collect, the more circumstance you are able to reign over. Righteousness is the right standing with God through Jesus Christ. It is not possible to receive more righteousness as it is with grace.

How do we collect more grace? To collect more grace, you have to constantly indwell yourself with the good news. The more you study God’s word, the more grace you receive. You also have to speak God’s word in concert with the kind of change you desire. As you speak God’s word, you make many changes in the spirit which cause situations around you to change for the better. You will also find yourself doing the right things at the right time. Before long, your desired change will come. Fear is the number one torment to our faith and these are directly proportional. The more faith you have, the less fear (or no fear) and the more fear you entertain, the less faith (no faith) you possess.

As you change situations and take dominion, make sure you don’t lord it on your peers or subordinates. The dominion of man is not supposed to ‘rule’ over other men. Man was given the dominion to rule over other elements on earth apart from man. Some of these elements include poverty, sickness, spiritual attacks etc. Walk in the consciousness of reigning over circumstances and you will never regret for following the gospel of Christ.

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