Psalm 23 (Part 3)

Why will God leads us into the paths (dimensions) of his righteousness? Because of "Hashem (His name)". Not because of our doing, but simply because He has become our shepherd. The interesting thing is, after a while the sheep can walk in the path that the shepherd has led them through without help because they now have the Shepherd's mind. The sheep becomes mature in discerning what's good and what's evil, what's godly and what's not.

To Abraham, the Lord said "I know Abraham, he will command his household to do all that I've commanded him". We should remember that Abraham didn't start that way. Abraham had to learn obedient. Jesus learned obedient by the things he suffered, the ultimate word he uttered was "Not my will but Your will". One "will" must prevail and it’s going to be the Shepherd's will or else, he isn't the shepherd to begin with.

Learning obedience brings us to verse 4: "Yea, though I walk through the Gey Tzalmavet, I will fear no rah; for You art with me; Your shevet and Your staff they comfort me."..

Let me explain this word "Gey Tzalmavet". Often when we read this word in the King James Version and it means shadow of death. Other translations also have it like that, but what about if we flip the word "Tzalmavet" into reasonable vowel, it will turn to "tzalmut" meaning "Self-image" or "Identity" from the root word "Tzelem" which means God's image.

Let's step backward a bit here for understanding. Shadow of death is not "Death" literary, like many of us believe it to be. It has nothing first and foremost to do with "Death" but it has to do with "Your/our identity". If I were to re-read that verse 4, it would be "though I walk through things that want to proof my identity wrong, I will not be afraid because my identity is secured in my shepherd".

Daily we are bombarded with stuffs that wants to choke our identity in Christ, some even ask us to prove our identity. For example, Satan asked Jesus to prove his identity by turning stone into bread. The emphasis isn't on the bread but on His identity as the Son of God. Many a times, situations and circumstances want us to prove our identity, we can either choose to say "lo ira ra"(I'm not afraid) or we can start by proving ourselves to the situation, the end result of that is Fear.

Sheep has no strength to defend themselves, sheep solely depend on the shepherd to defend them. Time and time again we may try to defend ourselves, we may try prove that we are right while every other person is wrong. The end result of that will be, if we are actually sheep, fear and shame. When we make Christ our Lord, what we are saying as sheep is:

"I don't have my right again, I don't need to prove anything to anyone, I don't have any strength because I have given up, I'm not going to avenge myself of things done to me and so on... I'm just going to be sheep."

David could have dealt with Saul, but he couldn't because he's no longer the master/captain of his ship. At other time someone was cursing him and he replied "allow him, maybe the Lord has asked him to curse me...(See 2 Samuel 16:5)" David of old (remember Abigail and Nabal?) would have avenged himself but God has de-roped him.
He couldn't defend himself again, rather "Hashem" was now His shepherd. Despite his mistakes, the Lord became his shepherd.

Lastly, the rod is for correction while the staff is for comfort and encouragement. "And David encourage himself in the Lord". At other place, "God brought correction to David through Nathan the prophet". There's always a rod for correction for every sheep and staff for comforting the heart of the sheep. Both work together to produce the desired result that the shepherd is looking for in the sheep...

In conclusion, I don't want to re-explain verse 5 and 6.

I just want to mention the latter part of the last verse of that Psalms that reads "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord".

In this dispensation of Grace. We are not to dwell forever in a house built with bricks and blocks as house of the Lord. "We are the House of the Lord". We are the lively stones that's building up a house for the Lord and we've also be made priests and kings to our God. For we are a kingdom of priests not of the Leviticus order, rather of the endless life that's founded in Christ Jesus.

We must daily remind ourselves because it is possible to associate the brick and blocks with God's house. It's very easy to turn a place or a thing to "house of God". God dwell not in in the building built by men, he dwells alone in the house he builds by Himself. "Whose house are we" says Paul. I remember when the Lord started opening my eyes to that truth, he led me to be reciting the last verse as "I am the house of the Lord forever"

Grace and Peace.

Read Part 1 Here and Part 2 Here

Read More

Journey So Far Part 2

Journey so far II…

The embodiment of servant-hood/slavery

(This is the continuation of the Journey So Far Part I Read it Here)

And he said unto Abram, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;

And also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge: and afterwards shall they come out with great substance.

There are two things I will love us to put in our heart as we begin to read this second part. These were highlighted in the above verses of the scripture. The first is "SERVING" and the second is "GREAT SUBSTANCE". Moreover, we should note that the initiator of these two things is "GOD". It was Him that pronounced this prophecy to Israel while they were in their father's loins, Abram. This co-notes or shows that God has a purpose for sending His people into slavery and the end result is "GREAT SUBSTANCE". With this is mind, we can now go into this second part fully.

Moab hath been on ease from his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither hath he gone into captivity; therefore, his taste remained in him, and his scent is not change.

Some of the means that the great God has created and made on this journey to the Kingdom are challenges and slavery; without these means, the level of one growth cannot be measure in God's eye. Just as an athlete is not worthy of a crown and a gold medal without passing the test of race/competition, so also any Christian is not worthy of any crown or being glorified with Christ without challenges and slavery.

If these two things are missing in a believer's life then, degeneration is inevitable. This is why most men of faith in the past had to pass through many challenges and slavery. They were not men or women of faith by mere confessions but by what they went through. Was it Abraham, Enoch, Moses? Was it Peter, Paul and the other disciples? Were they not a slave or bondservant of Christ? Was it by mouth confession only? No! It was a result of reality. I'm not saying you should not confess good things but my emphasis is that those good things will and shall not come without challenges and slavery; your confession are mere word when it lacks the reality of the cross.

According to that scripture above in genesis, the blessing of the children of Israel were tied to been a slave in Egypt; if they refuse it, they would not experience the blessing. They cannot refuse, it was/is the laid down rules and plans right from God's hands to all his children. It was God that ordained it. Though they were yet to begin the journey but the laws and road map had already been drawn and mapped out for them; the foundation was laid in their father by God. And, I'm very persuaded that Abraham would have declared the whole counsel of God to Isaac, then Isaac to Jacob and Jacob to his children.

Jacob experienced slavery and challenges, Joseph was not exempted nor spared from it, even Moses had his own share of it, and then all the children of Israel partook of it.

If we call ourselves spiritual Israel needless should we think that we are exempted or God will bypass his laid down pattern for the sake of us. God maintain His standard in every generation, the world may change, people may go and come but His standard is the same yesterday, today and forever.

Things that God hates....

Read More

The Journey So Far (Part 1)

The journey of everyman started from the day the Lord God said "let there be’’. Reading from the book of genesis, one may be able to understand why the Lord God created human beings and also the purpose and goal of Him in creating all things. Not only that but also the purpose of our existence because, inside of His will we find our will.
Majorly, I believed the Lord created us for one purpose though He may have many dimensions of bringing us into that but, that purpose is to make us “His Bride’’ here on Earth. I believed His intention was not to take us to "heaven' but as His wife, to be His authority here on earth (this is why the Lord pray for us in John 17:15; I pray NOT that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest KEEP( PRESERVED) them from Evil),to Judge the Earth and everything He has created, by that we might fulfill His promises in Genesis 1:24-27.

Thus means that, as God is ruling in Heaven, we will both be ruling on earth and in Heaven with Him, we will be living in two realms simultaneously. Just like our Lord said: "the son of Man who is in Heaven and on Earth" ( John 3:13.Paraphrase mine). And this is the peak of our calling in Him to become HIM who is the Father of the Spirit.

But, it takes a long journey for this to be accomplished in us. Since the fall of man in the Garden, one thing or other has been taking the place the Lord desired to have in human race and this is why the Lord has not relent in calling people out when those whom He has called settled on their Journey.

One of the things that happened to "Adams’’ was that though they were pure from the day the Lord created them but they needed to keep the Holiness deposited in them by the virtues of endurance yet, they were "vulnerable to temptation’’from the enemy, the Devil.
The antidotes the Lord provided for them was in the tree of life which was in the midst of the garden. This was why the Lord planted that tree in the garden and gave them permission to eat from its fruits.

But how often do we turn away from the thing that would have saved us from long term regret and cling to those things that brings an unending disappointment and failures.

Man has never faced a temptation that Lord has not provided way of escape from. In fact, it has not been one way but many ways of escaping. But, why would the One who created the universe allowed the enemy to come in and polluted what He has created? Not even the animals and plants but the man He has given Authority to. Why was devil so interested in what God has made in His Image?

That suggest to me that the enemy is always against God’s delegate Authority; anything that has to do with dominion or Power is what the enemy is after. "As Jezebel, who was interested in Power to control the nation of Israel, the prophets of God and turned them to her own nation and prophet then, seek to put to death those who refused her as an authority".

So also at every dispensation the enemy is always against God’s Authority, since he knows that where God’s authority resides will give way for the Kingdom of God to come in.

Jesus said: "If I by the finger of God cast out demons know for sure that the Kingdom of God is come over you’’.

When God gives man an Authority, He creates space for such a person to be "vulnerable to the temptation from the enemy’’, just like when our Lord was baptized, the next thing that happened was for Him to be led to wilderness in order to be tempted by the enemy. His 40days of prayers and fasting were not for power but were a trials of what He possessed (The Authority, Power and Dominion).

The same thing was what happened in the Garden of Eden; Adam has been given dominion and power but here comes the time of trial or test for what he has possessed but the first trial was what man fell into.

When Eve fell, Adam has no choice than to come and meet her where she has stumble and failed.
The enemy plan was to get to the man but first, he needed to get him through his wife; as he couldn’t get King Solomon to raise Idolatry in Israel except through the concubine, the strange women that Solomon fell in love with.

God in His own plan has a place for trial or tests for His Creation. Take for instance, An Automobile Company will not put their goods in term of cars out for sale without a proper test; series of trial and tests has to be conducted before they are in stocks for sales. If they failed in running those trial and tests, and then place their Cars for sale; They are out for unrecoverable failure.
If man can take time in doing that, how much more the Lord God of the universe who gave all things to man!

So, God has a place in the wilderness to conduct His tests on each of His Children; and this was the exact thing that occurred in the Garden of Eden. God gave an instruction; His word to man but, He also went ahead to allowed the man to make decision as regard the instructions.

When God give you a promise, know for surety that before the promise become materialize, it will first of all kill you and if it hasn’t done that then it won’t come to pass.

You may ask, what is the trial and test is all about? It is a test/trial of Love; it is a trial that come out of unfeigned love of God for man. He desire man to prove to the enemy that he (man) loves his Creator unconditionally. And this was exact thing our Lord did while He was tempted in the wilderness. He proved His Love, what has been done and who He was/is to the enemy.

Everyone can remember Job and his trials. Imagine if we only read the first two chapters of Job and neglect the remaining chapters; we can be irrational by concluding that God set up Job for destruction. But indeed, God set up Job not for destruction (though that was the aim of the enemy) but to declared to the Devil that Job loves his Creator and no matter what happened he will not by any means denied Him.

Every pages of the bible I turn to, I keep on seeing the replay of what has happened in the Garden of Eden. The trial of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and Caleb, David the man after God’s heart and many more, are point to the truth identity of our Journey in Him.
All of these people carry their own cross in their generations. What of the Church age? The Apostles and the believers that followed the Lord faithfully? They embraced their cross on a daily basis and they all have a testimony that their Love for Him the world is not worthy of.

In every generation, that was what God has been doing; calling those that love Him unto Himself. These are the people that will give up all things for His purpose and counsel to be fulfilled in their life.

It will be most appropriate to say the same thing that God said about Adam while in the Garden; "It is not good for man to be alone, I will make him a help meet for him’’ the same things applied to the Lord Himself.

Every animal, all living creatures have their counterpart but for God none of them match to become His own Bride. Just like Adam was in need of Love before God found that love for him, so also The God of creations, the Maker of Heavens and Earth was and is also in need of love.

"The creation desired to be beloved so also the Creator Himself’’

But who are those that will meet His needs? Who are those that are willing to love Him? Who are those that will become His Bride indeed?
In the ultimate commandment, the first on the list is

"LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL AND WITH ALL YOUR MIGHTY"

This is where all other commandment sums up into. For, if I really love him as He has commanded then I will keep His commandment. By not keeping His commandment prove that I don’t really love Him. Every of my actions can be weigh by that.
If there is any generation that the Lord is looking up to in order for this to be fulfilled, then it is this generation. The time and dispensation we are in is all pointing to the fact that God will not take anything less than His bride; "there may be many concubine and harlots in the Land but the Lord must surely have His own wife. Among the multitudes, He must have a remnant; those who are in love with Him on daily basis".

Yea, there may be many who are in love with ''things'' about Him but they are not His bride. Whatever you are in love with is automatically your husband.
So, the calling of the Lord to those who are on this Journey is a calling to a marriage feast; herein the Scripture is fulfilled in our eyes:

"The Marriage of the Lamb’’

We must not forget that we are a people on a journey and our journey is not an easy one, the gate is narrow so also the path. Everything about this journey required a ‘’Person’’ and not a ‘’thing or method’’.

He that gave the method or thing is Greater; the Giver of the rain is more important than the rain.

May the Lord give us understanding as regard this. Amen.

The Journey So Far…… (Part 2) Read Here

Read More

Our Journey Of Love

Our Christians' journey is a journey of Love and not of WAR; It's in love we conquer war,all kind of hatred and things that offend in His Kingdom.

This love journey is eternity, for we are created for love and to be loved. The Love that the Lord has for all is what makes Him to cause the rain to fall and the sun to shine on both the righteous and the wicked.

His love is beyond measure. The blessing you and I received is as a result of His unconditional love.

His body is built on that Love. Dividing His body is as a result of lack of Love; for the heart will no say "I will not pump blood to the legs because of one thing" neither will the legs refuse to carry the body.

If the eyes is affected the whole body suffers it together. We are not yet complete in love when we divide His body.

Our love grows as we abide in His presence, His love and glory will emanates from us for the world to see.

God's throne is established on Love and out of that throne proceeds living water, Yes, its out of that throne. His throne is YOUR HEART! It is when He reigns and dominates that people can truly drink from this living water.

For us to really understand this our LOVE JOURNEY then abiding and loving is very crucial.

The bridge that makes us to be in Heaven while on Earth is LOVE. Our love for Him and for His brethren.

Like Brother John said: "He that loveth knoweth God".

Knowing God is as a result of loving God and desiring for His presence. A man has not know God until he starts loving his neighbor though he may profess to know God or to be Christian.

Love tolerates all thing, receives corrections, rebukes, exhortations and complies with other but en-shews evil.

It is in love the Lord will judge the world including Satan and his co-workers.

Love is the cement of the Lord's House nothing brings His House together than LOVE!.

Solomon said:

"We have a little sister and she has no breast, what shall we do for our sister in the day when she shall be spoken for"

(song of Solomon 8:8)

The breast here signify the breastplates of righteousness; the two breast signify LOVE and FAITH (1 Thessalonian 5v8).
Our salvation start from receiving the Love of Christ and the acceptance of that Love equal to FAITH.

The Church of the living God is built on the Foundation of LOVE and FAITH. His judgment, chastisement and correction are all in His love. In this love LIGHT is make manifest and darkness is disperse.
In His love, JUSTICE and EQUITY is established.

Love is the Strong tower and anchor that hold His Church. Here is where sins, iniquities, abominations and uncleanness are expose and judge.

In his love, He gave the prodigal son his inheritance knowing fully well that he will squander it.

In His love He allowed him to decide and make decision without compelling him against his wish, though he (the prodigal son) spent all and wasted his inheritance among heathen(pagans) but in His love, He received him back to Himself not as servant but as a "DEAR SON".

In His love, He had compassion on the multitude and fed their hungry souls, knowing that, at the end they will betrayed and crucified Him.

Just as He loved sinners, so did He extends His love to Judas Iscariot who betrayed Him. He gave him time to repent and make a right choice.

Peter wasn't an exception of His love, although he failed many time but held on to His unchangeable love, the love that is ever extending to all.

Love dealt(deals) with us not according to our prayers, praises, good works and offerings rather on the basis of how HE sees our DESIRE FOR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.

My failures and mistakes are not enough to compared to the way He loves me, neither does my success measured up to the greatness of His love toward me.

But my REACTIONS (answers) to His gentle CALL and PROMPT OBEDIENCE captivate His HEART than my ten thousands of BULL for OFFERING without obedience.

Here is what the Lord told me while I was in His presence and I believe is for everyone that are called by His name:

"IF YOU LOVE ME , YOU WILL KEEP MY COMMANDMENT AND ABIDE IN ME; THEN WILL I MAKE MY ABODE IN YOU.
YEA, I WILL LIVE, WORK ,WALK, SPEAK AND DO ALL KIND OF MY GOOD PLEASURE IN YOU; THEN SHALL MY GLORY FLOW(SPRING)FORTH IN YOU AS THE SUN RISES IN HER FULL STRENGTH AND AS A MOON, COMING OUT OF HER CHAMBER WITH HER FULL GLORY BRINGING LIGHT TO EVERY DARKNESS OF THE NIGHT.

ABIDE IN ME, ABIDE IN MY LOVE, DWELL IN ME, DWELL IN MY FAITH; BATH YOURSELF IN MY LOVE AND WALK BY MY SIDE EVERYDAY.

IT IS A CALL TO LOVE, A CALL TO ABIDE, A CALL TO DWELL AND BATH YOURSELF IN MY SUFFICIENT GRACE WHICH EQUAL TO LOVE AND FAITH.
FAITH AND LOVE WILL ABIDE.

IF A MAN LACK FAITH, HE CANNOT LIVE IN MY PRESENCE AND IF A MAN DOES NOT LOVE HE CANNOT ABIDE IN MY HOUSE.
THESE TWO MUST BE THERE BEFORE YOU CAN DWELL WITH ME. IF YOU ASK FOR FAITH - THAT I SHOULD INCREASE YOUR FAITH, I WILL GLADLY DO THAT BUT, IF YOU PUT ON HATRED YOU WILL NOT STAND BEFORE ME.

YOU MUST GROW IN MY LOVE, YOU MUST GROW IN MY FAITH FOR THIS LIVING WATER TO FLOW THROUGH YOU".

"ABIDE FAITH, ABIDE LOVE, ALL THESE IN MY HOUSE THAT I AM BUILDING"

SHALOM

Read More