Tag: faith

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

GET YOURSELF READY AND THE LORD WILL ACT

ID-100215430Preparation is always done prior to expectation of something(s). When we are expecting visitors, we make sure we are prepared for their comfort. In sports, participants commence their preparation some several years prior to the set period of competition. For one to write an exam and pass, preparation in the form of studying is very important. Sometimes, in spite of the time spent in our preparations, we may still record some lapses; however, the lapses may have been more if we had not prepared at all!

How do we prepare when we want to receive from God? In Christianity, a lot of Christians do not know the difference between ‘faith’ and ‘faithfulness’. More often than not, some Christians are faithful to God. They go to church regularly and participate in church activities-faithfulness. As long as they are active in church activities, they expect God to also play His part in honouring His promises. When these people do not experience the promises of God in their lives but others are enjoying the promises, bitterness sets in. It is important to participate in church activities but there is much more to do. The scripture below will help us to answer the question above.    

Psalm 102: 16-17 states “When the Lord shall build up Zion, He shall appear in His glory. He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer”. To receive from God, we need to prepare our hearts! Faithfulness will help us to some extent to get blessed by God. However, to be blessed more by God beyond faithfulness, we need to add faith to our faithfulness. The amount of the word of God in us and its right application is directly proportional to His glory in our life-faith. As we meditate on His word, become doers of it and speak in concert, He shall appear in His glory. God always deals with us according to the level of knowledge we have of Him. If the Lord appears in a form that you are not familiar with in His word in you, you can’t recognise His presence and act accordingly. His word is always important in preparing us for His action.

Young Samuel enriched himself with the word of God before God appeared to him. Secondly, God appeared to young Samuel in a voice similar to that of Priest Eli because Samuel was familiar with the voice of God through Priest Eli. As an experienced Priest, Eli directed Samuel on what to do.

To get ourselves ready for His glory, we must build ourselves by enriching with the word of God to generate faith in us in addition to our faithfulness. God acts when we have a personal discovery of Him through His word. Secondly, the counsel of experienced priest(s) is necessary most of the time to give us direction on what to do by way of preparation for God to act. Thirdly, prayer must always be part of the process of preparation for God to act.

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BIBLE AND WEALTH

BRING FORTH GOOD THINGS

ID-10033670Can you imagine a world where everything is perfect? Can we have a world where there are no robberies, no murders, no diseases, no poverty and deprivation, no pollution and what have you? What a utopian proposition! The statistics of the elements above are always not pleasant for most countries on this planet. All of us have the ability and responsibility to make this world a better place but not all of us have the mind-set of making the world a better place- that is why some people work to generate wealth and some others refuse to work but will rather rob the wealth of others. Why is this the case? We are going to explore this using the scripture below.

A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things (Matthew 12:35). You will always give what you possess and you cannot give what you don’t possess. If you give what you don’t possess, then it is likely that you have either stolen from somewhere to give out or you have borrowed from somewhere to give out.

A good man always has good treasure and therefore brings forth good things. Good men will not rob from people; good men will not murder; good men will not blame the systems of the world as being responsible for every bad thing that happens but will rather contribute to ensuring that the world is a safe haven for everybody on earth. A good man will always discover something glorious and share to improve the lives of people in the world. A good man will invest in appropriate sectors after hearing from God. A good man will hunger for increase in order to bless the world. A good man is full of love, hope and faith. If you love people, hurting them will never be an option.

The negative things happening in the world now are as a result of the fall of man resulting in a heart that always brings forth evil things. To change an evil heart requires the word of God. Therefore if you want to enjoy the treasures of prosperity and meaning in life, change your heart by receiving the gospel of Jesus Christ.   You may have heard the phrase “born again” several times and may not have been moved by it. But this is the truth, to be born again is to discover who you truly are and the abilities God has deposited in you to bless yourself and the world around you. “Born again” goes beyond mere religious rhetoric.  

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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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