The danger of pornography in this present generation.

   If there is anything that is or rather has destroyed so many lives in this generation is the sin of immorality of divers sort. As a very young convert, after I gave my life to Christ Jesus. I began a Spiritual research about so many things; one of which was about the dangerous virus that the devil has been using to cage men, women, youths, teen and even children to a very large extend. Am talking about PORN (PORNOGRAPHY).

Pornography is a spiritual virus that the devil is using and has been using to cage men, women, boys and girls who never see it as a dangerous tool. As look at it this way; for instance you have a smartphone, tablet or a laptop and because you really want to use your devices to its full potential; you decided to install some Apps into it. Now, at the process of installation you discovered that one out ten apps you install into your device is carrying virus and its almost corrupting your device system. Friend, please be since will you allow it to continue or will you rather quickly uninstall it and if you discovered that the virus is still there I believe you'll either go and flash that device or rather install antivirus app to help you do the work right? The same apply to pornography my friend. 

Its a spiritual virus that the devil is using to corrupt the minds of men these days most especially the youth. Back in the centuries, pornography was never the picture of the day, but now it is. You can see it many homes today; its there there in the movie (few days ago I was watching a particular movie given to by my friend; do you know that particular movie porn scene in every episode. I have to do away with it immediately), pornography is there in books we read today, its there in the songs that being played today, you can see it in almost every advert in there television or internet. Its not really funny to say, but its everywhere. We need the Word of God with is the eternal antivirus to wipe it out from our 
mind, heart, lives and the society at large.

Now let's discuss about the issue before us. What is porn or pornography?

Pornography is a book, phone message, magazine, video game, picture, video, movie or website that show images of men, women, boys and girls naked in a sexually provoking manner.

According to one of the world's most populous pornography website pornhub reports in 2017 that there were over:

28.5 billion annual visits to the website

81 million daily average visits

25 billion search performed

50, 000 search per minute

800 search per second

4, 052, 542 videos uploaded.

This report above shows that many people especially young people are trapped in the snare of pornography. This is really serious. Friend, the question now is; are you among this statistics??? If you are; do you know you're on your way to hell now? The only now for escape is by genuinely surrendering your life to
Jesus Christ now and be saved.

According to TSB Foundation. Seven reasons while you need to stay (flee) away from pornography:

1. It corrupts the mind and if not controlled (work on) it can lead to total decay of the mind.

2. It enslaves the mind, spirit, soul and body. It takes away your will power.

3. It enflames sexual list and leads to insurmountable sexual dissatisfaction.

4. Its exposes you to sexual perversion or unnatural sexual lifestyle like homosexualism, pedophile, beastility, sadomasochism, lesbianism, and so many dangerous acts.

5. It increase your desire to masturbate.

6. It promotes sexual promiscuity.

7. It is a sexual sin direct from hell fire.

So, beloved you must understand that the mind is where we create, imagine, design and visualize our future and every other things in life. It is where great ideas are birthed. Therefore, it is impossible for a mind that has been hijacked or stolen by pornography to generate any healthy idea. Remember, as a man thinks so is he. So, you must keep, guild your mind against this treading evil already in the air. Only the Lord Jesus Christ can help you out.

There is no point deceiving yourself my friend. You know yourself better than anyone around. You know very well you are tired of that lust that still hook you up to still go to that website to watch porn or that still make you to hide in the dark to watch pornography and masturbate in so much that after you finish you still go to God and say "am sorry Lord", yet you still go back to that stinky vomit. 

My brother, my sister, I that is writing this article to you have been in so of these things then I was still ignorant of the true Word of God. Read 1 Peter 1:14-16. You'll discover that what God has called us to is to live a holy, sanctified life that glorifies Him only in every square of life. If God could save and help me out: Righteousness Joshua Aluaye-Ohiole.
Beloveth, how much more you. 

You can come out now from this sin and be saved. If you really want to surrender your life to Jesus Christ now and receive grace to live for Him daily. Please, say this prayer with me:

"Lord Jesus, my Saviour I come to you today. I have been living in the dark thinking am living right. I have defiled your temple so many times thinking am having pleasure. I abuse the gift of sex so many times in my ignorance. Lord am sorry. Please, forgive me dear Lord. Restore me to yourself Lord and give me grace to live above sin. Clear my name from the book of death and hell by your precious Blood and please write my name in the Book of Life. Help to have a right relationship with you everyday of my life from today Lord. In Jesus name I pray. Amen! Thank you Father."

Beloved, if you have just prayed that prayer right now I congratulate you. To grow more in Christ and shield from the from life which you once live. You will have to begin a journey with the Word of God. The practical and biblical way to overcome lust and canality is to occupy yourself with God and godly aspirations. I recommend you to the Word of God. Occupy your heart with it henceforth. If you don't have a Church you attend presently please, look for a bible believing Church around your locality and start one. On this same subject please click HERE to read our other article on Sexual Purity. If you need more assistance please, do email us or call/ chat up the founder of GoRighteous Initiative directly with this contact +2348108390203. 

God Bless you richly.

A Call unto Holiness

   The call of God is the manifestation in time of His purpose in eternity: "Those he predestined, he also called" (Romans 8:30). This we know that Believers are the "called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:15-16). In His call He reveals to us what His thoughts and His will are concerning us and what the life is to which He is perpetually inviting us to.

   He makes clear to us through His Living Word what the hope of our calling is, and as we spiritually apprehend and enter into this, our life on earth will be the reflection of His purpose for us in eternity.

   

   The Holy Word--the Bible uses more than one word to indicate the object or aim of our calling, but none more frequently than what the Apostle Peter speaks of in one of our text above: God has called us to be holy as He is holy. Apostle Paul addresses believers twice as "called to be saints (that is holy)" (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:2). "For God did not call us, " he says, "to be impure, unholy, unclean, but to live a holy, saintly, sinless, spotless, guiltless, heavenly bound life" (1 Thessalonians 4:7). ---Emphasis added. As believers in Christ, if the only thing we are still living for immediately after our conversion is very far from this very life of holiness that the Lord God Himself has called us to; then, we are yet to experience the true power of the Cross and God Himself. Some years ago, when I got converted this is what I experience---that power of true Holiness in God through Christ. It was this same power that drives me on my knees to pray till the Lord God has to purify me--I mean, the real ME. Till data am still experiencing this power, because daily I give myself to the Word. Believers, know this; that the more deeper we go into God's Word the more He reveals Himself to us personally and to this effect the more the the things of the world and its lust will gradually fade away.

   Apostle Pual, when he writes, "The God of Peace, sanctify you through and through," he adds, "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). So, it is not what you struggle to do by yourself not even trying or thinking to live out in your canal and powerless mind. No! He says, He will do it. What He expect you to do now is to yield your very self to Him. 

   

   The calling itself is spoken of as "a holy calling." The eternal purpose, of which the calling is the outcome, is also continually connected with holiness as its aim. "He chose us in Him ... to be holy and blameless in his sight" (Ephesians 1:4). "From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit" (2 Thessalonians 2:13). "Chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit" (1 Peter 1:2). The call is the unveiling of the purpose that the Father from eternity had set His heart upon: that we should be holy.

   Without doubt, to know what God has called us to is of infinite importance. To misunderstand it is where the falling away begins from. You may have heard that God calls you to salvation or to happiness, to receive pardon or to obtain heaven. But have you ever noticed that all these were subordinate to His main purpose? It is to "salvation through sanctification"; to holiness first and foremost as the element in which salvation and heaven are to be found. Like my daddy in the Lord, Pastor W. F. Kumuyi will say;  "give me holiness or nothing else." That's while you see his ministry is mainly on the doctrine of God's holiness and that is the true foundation every true believer who aspire to know God intimately needs to setup for a better spiritual stand with God.

The Experience or Lack of Holiness

   

   It pains my heart to see that so many people who profess to be Christians are yet to know the main purpose of which they're redeemed from sin. The complaints of many Christians as to a lack of joy and strength, of failure and lack of spiritual growth, are due to the fact that they have not given holiness the place that God gives it. No wonder Apostle Paul, when he spoke to the Ephesians about being "chosen to be holy," prayed for the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God to be given to each believer that he might know the hope to which he has been called (Ephesians 1:17-18). Let all of us who now see to what we are called pray this prayer and ask God to show us that just as He who called us is holy, so we are to be also. Our calling, before and above everything else, is to holiness. Let us ask Him to show us what holiness is: first His, and then ours; to show us how He has set His heart upon it as the one thing He wants to see in us: His own image and likeness. Oh, that God by His Spirit would teach all of us what this calling means! It is easy to conceive what an influence it would have.

Called unto Holiness

   

   "Just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do" (1 Peter 1:15). This call of God shows us the true motive behind His command: "Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:16). Let's look at this holy statement very closely; we will see that it is as if God said, "Holiness is my glory: without it you cannot see me or even enjoy me; there is nothing higher to be had. So, I invite you to share my likeness." Does this attract you and move you deeply--the hope of being partakers of His holiness? There is nothing better He could offer you. Shouldn't we cry to God to show us the glory of His holiness, that our souls may be made willing to give everything to respond to this wonderful call?

   His call also shows the nature of true holiness. To be holy is to be Godlike, to have a disposition, a will, a character like God. The thought almost looks like blasphemy, until we listen again: "He chose us in him ... to be holy" (Ephesians 1:4). In Christ the holiness of God appeared in human life, in His own life here on earth. We have the holiness of the Invisible One translated into the forms of human life and Conduct. To be Christlike is to be Godlike; to be Christlike is to be holy as God is holy. Does this very expression seem to be real in your Christian walk with God Oh, thou Believer?

   The call equally reveals the power of holiness. "There is none holy but the Lord"; there is no holiness but what He has, or rather what He is and shares. The quality is not something we do or attain by our own power: it is the communication of the divine life, the inbreathing of the divine nature, the power of the divine presence resting on us. And our power to become holy is to be found in the call of God: the Holy One calls us to himself that He may make us holy by possessing himself. He not only says, " I am holy," but "I am the Lord, who makes you holy" (Leviticus 22:32). Because the call comes from the God of infinite power and love, we may have confidence that we can be holy.

The Call

   The call no less reveals the standard of holiness. There is not one standard for God and another for man. The nature of light is the same whether we see it in the sun or in a candle; the nature of holiness remains unchanged whether it dwells in God or in man. The Lord Jesus could say nothing less than "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). When God calls us to holiness, He calls us to Himself and His own life. The more carefully we listen to His voice and let the fact sink into our hearts, the more will all human standard fall away and only His words remain.

  The call shows us the path of holiness. The calling of God is one of efficacy, an effectual calling. Listen to Him and with divine power the call will work what it offers. He calls the things that are not as though they were. His call gives life to the dead and holiness to those whom He has made alive. He calls us to listen as He speaks of His holiness, and of ours like His. He calls us to Himself, to study, to fear, to love, to claim His holiness. He calls us to Christ in whom divine holiness became human holiness, to see and admire, to desire and accept what is all for us. He calls us to the indwelling and the teaching of the Spirit of holiness, to yield ourselves that He may bring home to us and breathe within us what is ours in Christ. Believer, listen to God calling you to holiness; come and learn what His holiness is, what yours is, and what it should be.

The Prayer you should Pray now

...draw near to God even has He is willing to do so to you now. "Be holy, as I am holy." Take a step further friend you will hear a voice from Calvary: saying; "Be holy, for I am holy."

Dear Child of God, have you ever heard this call from God? Shouldn't we confess that happiness has been to us more than holiness, and salvation more than sanctification? But it is not too late to redeem the error. Listen to the voice that calls, draw close, and find out what holiness is, or better, find out and know Him who is the Holy One. If the first approach to Him fills us with shame and confusion, makes us fear and hold back, let us still listen to the voice that tells us to be holy, as He is holy. "The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it" (1 Thessalonians 5:24). All our fears and questions will be met by this One who has revealed His holiness with one purpose in view: that we might share it with Him. As we yield ourselves in the deep quietness of our soul to listen to the voice that calls us, it will awaken within us a new desire, a new passion, a new hunger and strong faith to be holy.

...to you who is reading this now: if truly you're in pursuit of holiness, you must begin with God Himself. You must go to Him who calls you. It is only in the personal revelation of God to you as He speaks, "I am holy," that the command "Be holy" can have life, power and strength in you. 

...The major prayer I pray everyday is not going to God and begin to ask for money, blessings, fruitfulness, enjoyments, this or that. No! My prayer daily is Oh, Lord give me a heart that seeks after you, that seeks to please you every seconds of my life in holiness and sincere worship in truth. Fellow believer, what's your heart cry like?

...the good Lord God of Host will makes us holy even as we all come to Him in true sincerity and humility. Amen!

God bless you.

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Forgiveness: The Eraser of Anger

   Forgiveness really is the eraser of guilt and anger. It is the key that unlocks the shackles of the past and permits us to move forward with our life in a freer, far lighter way. Once we understand this we can start the process of healing that we deserve.

    "And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted yo us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil" (Luke 11:4).

    "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15). --KJV.

Forgiveness: how vital it is?

Bear these strategies in mind as you reflect and move along on your journey of forgiveness:

-- Your main goal is to release the hurt and the anger that is feeding the pain. Just as you can heal from a painful thorn in your foot by pulling it out, so you can recover from any painful experience by moving forward. Once it doesn't have a place deep in your heart and mind, it can no longer trouble, and the harm can at last come to a stop. Choosing to forgive means you allow those bad feelings to leave your life once and for all.

-- It's essential to replace negative feelings with neutral ones. When the facts remain unchanged, but those facts no longer have the ability to damage, then you are free of the past. You can change from being a victim to the victor. You are human, and so you can be hurt. Human beings really are resilient, and because you are human you can heal - from a love betrayal or awful, unfair experiences in your life. If you're still reacting, then you're still stuck in some kind of emotional mud. With forgiveness you can be free of those toxic reactions.

-- Humor is a wonderful agent of healing. If you are able to smile about the love that once hurt you, or joke about the years you fought with a sibling, family member, or lover then you trade pain for a different emotion. That heavy load is shifted, substituted by a much lighter newfound feeling that can even put a spring in your step. The healing power of forgiveness comes from our ability to let go of our anger and resentment. These emotions don't really hurt those who have hurt us, but they certainly do hurt us. When we forgive we're actually protecting ourselves; we unburden our mind, our emotions, and a great deal of our time. Putting focus on more empowering and positive areas frees and moves away from the event or person who has hurt us.

   Forgiveness keeps us from harm's way. As far as we continue to dwell on and concentrate on hurt in the past, continually reacting to the pain someone has caused, we remain emotionally stuck with that person and with what they have done. Forgiveness breaks the chains that lock. With it we take a gigantic step forward with our lives, disengaging the negativity and shielding ourself from harmful emotional involvement.

-- Constantly going over a hurtful experience over and again keeps it fresh in the mind, creating mental and emotional upset. Should the topic arise in conversation, it's much wiser to respond with: 'I've decided not to focus on that experience. I'm allowing it to fade from my life, and I'm moving on to better things.'

-- One of the most important aspects of the emotional recovery process is our own self-talk. What we say to ourself is the strongest driving force. Choosing words that feel authentic, we may say: 'I choose to feel good today. Regardless what others say or do, my happiness comes from within through the enablement of the Holy Spirit. I alone determine how I feel by the love of Jesus Christ ruling in my. No place for the devil to make me feel lonely.'

   Statements such as: 'I am now nurturing the child within, and I am doing a really good job. I alone have direct control over my psychological wellbeing. I look at the positive things in life. I get up every day and focus on what's beautiful and what's right.'

   Once we at last come to see that our anger hurts only ourselves, then we are able to arrive at that state where forgiveness becomes reality. With forgiveness we draw that line under the past and allow ourselves to move on with our life.

   In this freer state, we can finally let go of the past, and at last begin to live the life with which we have been gifted through the help and strength of God. Remember, when you forgive; you're the one winning and also on a safe side.

God bless you.

Encountering Misguided Prophecies: When to Say No to a Thus Saith The Lord

Twenty-three-year-old George Whitefield sat on a ship ready to sail for America from the port of Deal, located approximately 70 miles southeast of London. For some time, he had experienced a compelling call to preach the gospel to colonial America and now the day for his departure had finally arrived. His heart was filled with gratitude, excitement and expectation.

As he waited for the ship's crew to hoist anchor and sail, a letter was delivered to him from John Wesley who had just returned from a failed mission to Georgia. He opened the letter and was stunned by what he read. Wesley wrote that when he saw that the same wind that brought him in was taking Whitefield out, he inquired of the Lord about Whitefield's journey. Wesley emphatically stated that the word God gave him for Whitefield was, "Let him return to London."

Whitefield was shocked and momentarily confused. Wesley was 10 years his senior and had been a mentor to him. He held the Wesley brothers, John and Charles, in very high esteem. However, this word from John contradicted everything he believed about his call to America.

Whitefield went to prayer, and as he prayed, there came to his mind a story from the Old Testament about a "man of God" who lost his life because he listened to the words of an "old prophet" instead of diligently adhering to what God had instructed him.

I Kings 13 tells this story of the unnamed "man of God" whom God instructed to go to Bethel and prophesy against the idolatrous altars that had been established there by King Jeroboam. God also instructed him not to stop to eat or drink but to return directly home to Judah when he had completed his assignment.

Based on this directive from the Lord, he went to Bethel. As he prophesied against the idolatrous altars, they miraculously split apart, and the ashes were poured out on the ground. As he departed Bethel according to the Lord's instructions, an "old prophet," who heard of what had happened, saddled his donkey, caught up with the "man of God" and invited him to his home to eat and drink.

When the "man of God" recounted to the "old prophet" what the Lord had instructed him, the "old prophet" said, "'I am a prophet like you, and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, 'Bring him back with you into your house so that he may eat bread and drink water'" (1 Kings 13:18). The "old prophet," however, was lying.

The "man of God" went back with the "old prophet" in contradiction to the instructions the Lord had given him; and as a result of his disobedience, he lost his life and was not buried in the burial ground of his ancestors.

With this story so vividly impressed on his mind, Whitefield knew what he must do. He sent back a reply to Wesley in which he said, "I cannot return to London." Whitefield said no to Wesley's "thus saith the Lord."

History has demonstrated that Whitefield made the correct decision, for he became the major figure in the Great Awakening that rocked Colonial America and prepared her for statehood. Everywhere he went, great revival followed his preaching.

Because of God's blessing on his labors, he became the most recognizable person in colonial America and Thomas S. Kidd, who teaches history at Baylor University, calls him "America's Spiritual Founding Father."

We can all be thankful that Whitefield said no to Wesley's "thus saith the Lord."
I pray that God will helps us to always take the right decision[s] at all time in Jesus name. Amen...! 

Pasted from: Charisma Magazine.

God bless you.

The Flesh

   If a man or woman does not know himself/herself or who he/she truly is, nine out of ten times, he will take the wrong decision. That is why spiritual knowledge is very crucial.

Who Are You?

   Do you know who you are? Do you know why you do the things that you do? Do you know why you respond to situations the way that you respond? Do you know why you get angry? Do you know why you don’t get angry? Do you know why you make the choices you make? Do you know what motivates your life?

 

If you don’t know who you are, nine out of ten times, you will take the wrong decisions. And if somebody keeps taking the wrong decision, his life can never make any progress.

    As a reminder,  man is - spirit - soul and body.  The body, which is known as the FLESH, is the outer part. Let us use an egg as an illustration; an egg is made up of three parts, the shell, albumen (the white matter) and the yoke. The real life is inside the yoke. But the shell is necessary as a house ,case container for the yoke and the albumen, once you break the shell, the egg is finished you don’t have an egg anymore. Once the shell is broken, the shell has finished its work, it is thrown away, it can’t be used again for the same purpose.

   That is the way the body of a human is once this flesh is destroyed, once it is broken, the spirit man and the soul goes out, and we say or hear,  a man is dead. But while the man is alive, his flesh has the capacity to suffocate the spirit-man and suffocate the soul. However, whatever God is going to do in any life, God is going to work through the spirit.

   Therefore, your flesh must be submissive; your flesh must be broken . The resistance and the sinfulness that is in the flesh must be destroyed. When people do terrible things, they smoke, they commit adultery, they tell lies, and they gamble, it is not the devil, it is the flesh. When people gossip, slander, harbour unforgiveness, or are malicious, it is not Satan, it is the flesh.

   There are people whose lives are controlled by the flesh. They never mind their own business, it is not the devil, it is the flesh. There are people who bear grudge, they are so stingy, so selfish, some are so self-centred, and yet some are so proud; for some they crave for recognition and unless you give them, there will be trouble. It is not Lucifer, it is the flesh. If the flesh is what is controlling a life; the person is going to have a hard life. You will be wondering why people don’t like you, you will wonder why wherever you go people seem to resist you, and you will wonder why you pray, and it never get answered. What some people do is that they transfer the responsibility of their personal weakness to a devil. Some transfer it to an invisible and imaginary enemy and some churches encourage them by teaching them to pray: “All the enemies of my life, all the enemies of my progress, all the enemies in the village, all the enemies in Lagos.”

   The bitter truth is, there is no enemy anywhere; you are the enemy of yourself

If you don’t know yourself, you will not face reality, you will keep blaming other peole. It is unfortunate, there are a lot of Christians who blame everybody under the sun but themselves, but in actual fact, they are the problem of themselves.

   Many claim ancestors who are supposed to be sleeping in peace inside the grave are responsible for their problem.  Some will say they are going to break ‘ancestral covenants’.  which they believe are the ones that keep troubling them every time.What has ancestral covenants got to do with you?

   “They say it is something in the village that the ancestors used to worship...  The scriptures say, “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation, old things are passed away.” Whatever your ancestors worshipped, he has died with it. If you chose not to worship that thing, it cannot exercise dominion over you. It can’t.  It is what you surrender yourself to that can have dominion over you. So if you surrender yourself to anger, anger will have dominion over you, if submit yourself to unforgiveness, unforgiveness will have dominion over you. If you submit yourself to adultery, adultery will control your life, when you surrender yourself to drinking; drinking of alcohol will control your life. The bible says, “Whoever you yield your members to, the servant you are” if you submit to a man, then you become the servant of that person... (to be continued)

God bless you.

The Present-Day Christian and His Emotions

 In some Christian circles, repressing or disavowing authentic emotions is considered a virtue or perhaps even a gift of Spirit. Denying anger, ignoring pain, skipping over depression, running from loneliness, and avoiding doubt are not only considered normal but actually virtuous ways of living out one’s spiritual life.

But this is not the model we find in Jesus, who freely expressed his emotions without shame or embarrassment:

• He shed tears (Luke 19:41).
• He was filled with joy (Luke 10:21).
• He felt overwhelmed with grief (Mark 14:34).
• He was angry and distressed (Mark 3:5).
• He was sorrowful and troubled (Matthew 26:37).
• His heart was moved with compassion (Luke 7:13).
• He expressed amazement (Mark 6:6, Luke 7:9).

Jesus was anything but an emotionally frozen Messiah.

In Gethsemane, we see a fully human Jesus—anguished, sorrowful, and spiritually overwhelmed. He is pushed to the extremes of his human limits: “and being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

So, we must ask ourselves: Where did we get the idea that acknowledging and expressing authentic emotion is somehow less than spiritual? And why do we believe that we can—or somehow should—grow in spiritual maturity without simultaneously growing in emotional maturity?

And then there’s the example of Job:

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his

birth. He said:

“May the day of my birth perish,

and the night that said, ‘A boy is conceived!’

That day—may it turn to darkness;

may God above not care about it;

may no light shine on it.

May gloom and utter darkness claim it once more. . . .

If only my anguish could be weighed

and all my misery be placed on the scales!

It would surely outweigh the sand of the seas—no

wonder my words have been impetuous.

The arrows of the Almighty are in me,

my spirit drinks in their poison;

God’s terrors are marshaled against me.”

(Job 3:1—5a; 6:1—4)

Job was one of the richest men in the world in his day. In contemporary terms, his assets would have included a fleet of Rolls-Royces, private airplanes, yachts, thriving global companies, and significant real estate holdings. “He was the greatest man among all the people of the East” (Job 1:3). After a series of natural disasters, however, something unthinkable happens—Job is reduced to poverty and his ten children are killed in a terrible natural disaster. When he attempts to get on his feet, he is infected with “sore boils” from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. Physically, it looks like he is about to die at any moment. His wife’s compassionate counsel? “Curse God and die” (Job 2:9).

Job finds himself alone, isolated, and living outside the city walls in the garbage dump. As the text indicates, Job is very angry. But there is a lesson for us even in Job’s anger. Here is how author Philip Yancey describes it:

One bold message in the Book of Job is that you can say anything to God. Throw at him your grief, your anger, your doubt, your bitterness, your betrayal, your disappointment—he can absorb them all. As often as not, spiritual giants of the Bible are shown contendingwith God. They prefer to go away limping, like Jacob, rather than to shut God out. In this respect, the Bible prefigures a tenet of modern psychology: you can’t really deny your feelings or make them disappear, so you might as well express them. God can deal with every human response save one. He cannot abide the response I fall back on instinctively: an attempt to ignore him or treat him as though he does not exist. That response never once occurred to Job.”

In the same way, God invites us to feel our emotions, experiencing them without self-condemnation, and exploring them in his loving presence.

Question to Consider

In what ways do you tend to suppress or deny difficult emotions—anger, sadness, fear—rather than admit them to yourself and God?

Prayer

Father, the idea of being emotionally transparent with you—especially when my emotions are raw—is very difficult. In fact, it almost seems disrespectful. Thank you, Lord, that you love all of me—the good, the bad, and the ugly—and that your love is without conditions. In Jesus’ name, amen.

________

Adapted from Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day: A 40-Day Journey to Deeply Change Your Relationships by Peter Scazzero. 

In this groundbreaking devotional book, Peter Scazzero reintroduces and expands upon the ancient spiritual discipline of the Daily Office. The basic premise is simple: Christians need to intentionally stop to be with God twice each day to create a continual and easy familiarity with God’s presence for the rest of the day.

Stray Blessed.

Hazards of living without Christ

Hazard is variously defined. According to Advanced English Dictionary, hazard is a 'source of danger, a possibility of incurring loss or misfortune'. Much of man's hazard is of his own making. Wrong choice of lifestyle ultimately leads to tragic end. I always remember what a relation of mine told me when I visited him many years ago. He sat me down and narrated the aftermaths of his odd past life. He lamented that he had wasted his life on earth. He said that I should learn from his woes. He was the only child singled out of his siblings for formal training in school. He was the only hope of his family but instead of concentrating his efforts on his studies he gave his attention to pleasure and immoral life. At the end of his academic pursuit he could not pass his final examination, however, he got a job. He was later retrenched because he had no certificate to sustain his job. He later came back home to live in his family house. He could not maintain his family and train his children. He lived beggarly and few years later he died miserably. "There is a way that seems right to a man", the Bible warns us, but the end is the way of death." (Proverbs 14:12). I have never forgotten the advice that relation of mine gave me which has remained a girder if truth supporting my decision for godly lifestyle over many years and it continues to remind me that the most important thing we can ever do is to live for God. It is no secret that failure to live according to the pattern of the word of God leads only to heartache. Wrong choice of lifestyle ultimately leads to tragic ends: The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short " (Proverbs 10:27). 

  "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." (John 3:3). Physical birth is not enough; one must be born again spiritually to enter the kingdom of God. You must have to deal with your sin problem and also conquer your secret sinful lifestyle personally in order to avoid hazardous living. Becoming a Christian involves receiving Jesus Christ into one's life by a direct act of will. Consciously ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come into your life today. "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn not with a physical both resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God Himself." (John 1:12-13).

 People often confuse religious practices with real godliness or sentiment with true spirituality. Mere involvement in Christian activities is not always the true manifestation of genuine salvation experience. In the same vein, physical birth into the most religious family is not a substitute for spiritual birth in Christ. Jesus declared,

   When you are born again, you are adopted into God's family and you become His child and  God becomes your Father in a real and intimate nature which ultimately makes you victorious over the sinful nature. The presence of God's Spirit in you assures you that you belong to God. "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9). Once you are a Christian, life becomes meaningful and purposeful. Here is an excellent summary of Christian salvation experience as contained in the first question and answer of Heidelberg catechism (1563) and stated in Disciple's Study Bible (1988): 

   Question: What is your only comfort in life and death?

   Answer: That I belong, body and soul, not to myself but to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ who at the cost of His own blood has fully paid for all my sins and has completely freed me from the dominion of the devil, that he protects me so well that without the will of my Father in heaven, not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that everything must fit his purpose for my salvation. Therefore by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him (p. 1717). 

   Let us pay attention to the grace that the Lord Hod gives us through our Savior Jesus Christ and live it out deeply in such a way that everyone around us will see Christ in us. Spending time with Christ helps us to know Him intimately and keep our focus on Him. If we are not drawing fresh strength each day from Him we can easily dry up and lose interest in the things of God. Therefore, start the day with Him (personal quiet time, personal devotion or personal covenant time) and end the day with Him. Listen to God as He speaks to you even as you read His word-the Bible. God reveals Himself to us through His word. Everything He wants us to know about Him is already in His word.

   We live and grow in Christ in prayer. The Bible admonishes us to "pray continually" (1 Thessalonians 5:17). God expects us to cultivate the attitude of continuous prayer which entails openness to God in all situations and a practice of talking to Him about all situations. As children of God, our prayer is an intimate conversation with our loving, concerned Father.

   God has also provided an ideal avenue for us to grow in grace and in the knowledge of Him ----it is fellowship. Sincere and genuine Christians stash in fellowship of true believers. We are not called to go it all alone in our Christian journey. "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another and all the more as you see that Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:25). Share your salvation experience with people around you.

   If you want to live a full and meaningful life in this sinful world you have to surrender your life fully and wholeheartedly to Christ to avoid living with regrets. "For I know the plans I have for you, declare the LORD, " plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11). Beloveth, make the decision now; I mean now, because there is no time again. You can see for yourself that when you receive Jesus Christ into your, then, God's plan in accordance with Jeremiah 29:11 becomes real in your life, but if you reject it now, if you reject God's love and purpose for you now I tell the opposite becomes the reality, because automatically the devil's plan will work on you which is: "to steal, and to kill, and to destroy the very you" (John 10:10a). Friend! Be wise, flee sin and self and repent, and bebe converted now! Do it now before its too late.

God bless you.

THE PICTURE OF A WORLD WITHOUT CHRIST

   From the very beginning of all creation clear difference between light and darkness was presented in (Genesis 1:2-5). "And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from darkness. And God called the light Day, and darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." Let us note that all the works of creation which God carried out in the atmosphere of light (Day) were qualified by the Holy Spirit as "good". On the other hand, the condition that preceded as " without form and void". The NIV of the Bible expressed it as "formless and empty". The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary explains the word " void" as "empty, completely lacking". Altogether hopeless! This must be an unpleasant, ugly and horrible entity. It is not surprising that God in His omniscience and love for humanity immediately reacted by terminating such an unfortunate and ill-omened order and era. Darkness truly is the opposite of light. An atmosphere of darkness portrays people groping, stumbling and falling, having casualties of all sorts, tears, sorrow, regrets and ultimately the tragic end of death. You cannot find help in darkness because there is no illumination and therefore no direction. Rather than creating and building up, what darkness offers is destruction.

   In the light however, you can find direction, turn from danger or pitfall; you can repair, create and save life. Darkness is figuratively and rightly used to represent evil or sinful setting whose champion and mastermind is Satan and his demons. They are responsible for every negative and unpleasant experiences and activities earlier enumerated, leading to death and destruction; darkness robs people of peace and joy. Yes, he came to steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10a). This is the hopeless (void and formless) end of sinful humanity. But, thank God for the coming of the light. Jesus is the light of the world, the light that gives life (John 1:4,9; 8:12; 14:6). He ushers His followers to the glorious eternal life (Colossians 1:27). Pictures of a Dark world abound. 

Darkness in Eden!

   God created the first man (Adam) and woman (Eve) and gave them light in form of breath of eternal life, divine heath, garden with abundance of food and all comfort, power and dominion over all creation, and divine fellowship with Him. However, the devil, the thief and architect of all evils robbed mankind of the light by craftily leading them into the darkness of sin. The inevitable consequence was endless suffering that has lingered till today. They were plunged into the dark world characterized by: 

1. Loss of fellowship with God (Genesis 3:8).

2. Loss of God's glory, dominion and power.

3. Loss of peace and joy. (Genesis 3:8-13,16).

4. Curses. (Genesis 3:14-19). 

5. Spiritual death. (Genesis 3:23-24). 

6. Physical death, and

7. Fear and insecurity (Genesis 3:8). 

   Indeed the world of darkness is one of woe and endless suffering. Examine yourself! (2 Corinthians 13:5). Are you living in darkness or in light? Living without Christ means living in darkness.

Kingship and Kingdom in Darkness

   The Bible is filled with records of struggles for assumption of kingship and establishment of kingdoms in darkness. Hence such names as Jeroboam son of Nebat, Ahab and his wife, Jezebel; Manasseh, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod and etcetera have becomKings.  erence points and by-words for evils.

Jeroboam Son of Nebat: 

   (1 Kings 11:26-27; 12:28-34; 13:16). In line with his rejection of God in his heart, he made two golden calves and blasphemously declared, "Here are hour gods O Isreal who brought you up out of Egypt." (1 Kings 12:28). He thus led Isreal into unmatched idolatry.

   Ahab and Jezebel. It was said of Ahab so of Omri: He did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of the Kings before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of  Jeroboam so of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in Samaria. He made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the Lord to anger. His wife, Jezebel connived with him to plot and kill Naboth the Jezreelite and robbed him of his vineyard. Jezebel killed many prophets of the Lord (1 Kings 18:4). She also sought to kill Elijah (1 Kings 19:2). How did they end up? Of course! You know the story. Disaster was  on Ahab and his household.

   Manasseh: As king of Judah he did evil in the eyes of the Lord, following the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelite. (2 Kings 2:2). He built altars in the temple of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, "In Jerusalem I will put my name". He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practices sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. It is a fearful thing to live in a kingdom ruled in darkness.

   Nebuchadnezzar: The wicked and extremely idolatrous king of Babylon who made the golden image to which he sought the then world to bow to in worship. He was tragically reduced to a four-footed beast and made to eat grass under the mighty hand of God. Darkness will always lead to a tragic end.

   Our Contemporary Kings/Rulers: The politicians of today in quests for power and rulership are known for falsehood, deception, violence, opportunism and exploitation. Those who occupy political offices today are opportunists whose styles of governance are characterized by corruption, fraud, terrorism, oppression, callousness and insensitivity. These are the features of a world in darkness.

   The Spreading Darkness of the Last Days: One of the global features of the last days is increasing manifestations of darkness (John 16:1-3; 1 Timothy 4:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:12,15). Abominations would abound permeating even the holy place and assuming a stand. Saint Paul also predicted the godlessness of the last days. Their characteristic vices such as love of money and love of self; being boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, brutal, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power shall culminate in the loss of the world peace. This is a clear picture of pitch darkness gradually enveloping the world.

The End of the world of Darkness

   "The wicked shall be cast into hell and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17). "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). This is the destination of anyone who remains in darkness to the end of his/her life on earth.

The Way Out of Darkness

   Over and over again we should all know that there is no other w-a-y but Jesus Christ the Son of the Living; through Him alone we have access to the Father-God, our Creator. Through Him alone we are sure of safety and escape from darkness. Jesus paid the price of sin once and for all on the cross of Calvary, and cried out, "it is finished" (John 1:4-5; 8:12; Romans 5:17-19; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; John 19:30). By that he brought about the era of darkness to a perpetual end. He is the one who delivers His adherents from the dominion of darkness, being the author if redemption (Colossians 1:13-14). The world of darkness and its characteristic evil manifestations have left humanity in total unrest and doom. The perilous times shall precede the rapture of the Church, and the second coming of Christ. No human government can change the order.

   "Salvation is found in no one else for there is no name under heaven given among men by which we shall be saved" (Acts 4:12). 

   "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends if the earth for I am God, and there is no other" (Isaiah 45:22). 

   Jesus therefore declared, "Come unto me all you who labour and are heavy laden, I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). He only can disperse the darkness of your life.

   Have you not suffered enough dearly beloved! Why not  hasten to run to Jesus the light of the world and have eternal rest to your soul? Don't say you've go far; friend: simply make up your mind to quit the world if darkness, confess and renounce the evil lifestyle of darkness. Invite Jesus unto your heart now by faith and be saved today.

God bless you.

Your Right in Christ Jesus

   Your right in Christ Jesus. When we are dealing with a sensitive topic like this one; first we should ask ourselves: what are Rights? What's my Right? Do I really have a genuine Right in this world? Of course you have----your right is in Christ Jesus. Now what is Right? "Right is anything that is in accordance with principle of justice." Being rightful or rightish about yourself is not what you just get like that especially in this world, but we have a better "right in Christ." Therefore, Every genuine Christian is no longer under the dominion of Satan, for God has "delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son."

God's Original Design for Man

   God's original design for man was that he should have dominion over every created thing on the earth because he was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26). The world "Dominion" as used here, means lordship, rulership and sovereignty. It can also been seen as an act of having power through legal authority. In Genesis chapter one, we read that God gave to Adam, the first man He created, a kingdom and also gave him dominion over it. God was so interested in the man He created in so much that He crowned him with glory and honour (Psalms 8:5). His kingdom was magnificent in scope; it covered the whole earthly realm; he was to be the king of the universe under God's leadership. Everything was placed under his authority (Psalms 8:3-8). He was designed to rule over everything that God had made in the universe; all creatures were to be subject to his dictates and direction. Being the king of the kingdom meant that man was to guard and protect his kingdom on earth from all intruders including the devil and his cohorts. And as long as Adam walked according to God's commands, he was to retain his position and dominion.

   But alas, Regrettably! Man lost this unique position as a result of his sin. How deadly is sin? Adam's responsibility was to safeguard the earth and preserve it from all external forces but he failed to do this when he allowed Satan in and obeyed his voice. Satan was an archangel who was dismissed from God's service and cast out of Heaven to the earth because of his inordinate ambition to be like the Most High (Isaiah 14:12-14). He wanted to overthrow God and be in control of God's kingdom as if it was possible. So by disobeying the express commandment of God and yielding to sin and Satan in Eden, Adam committed treason against God and relinquished his authority over the earth to Satan, for as the Scripture says, "His servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness" (Romans 6:16). Adam traded his divine position for the knowledge of good and evil and Satan become the "god of this world" (2 Corinthians 4:4). The devastating consequence of this is that the whole humanity came under the bondage of Satan.

   Now, being the god of this world, Satan  wreaks so much havoc on earth. As the Scripture puts it clearly, that Satan's only intention is to "steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John 10:10a). The extraordinary level of decadence, corruption and wickedness being experienced today is a direct consequence of Satan's reign on this earth. This present world lies in evil because it is by an evil personality working in direct antagonism to God's programme band purpose for the earth. Millions of people in various parts of the world are held captive by Satan and are under the influence and at the mercy of demonic powers. They are bound by the chains of sin, fear, worry and anxiety, diseases, tormenting habits, to mention only a few.

The Christian's Position in Christ

   While this world remains under the governance of Satan for the meantime, God initiated a programme to get the kingdom back from him just immediately after Adam's fall in Genesis chapter three. Propelled by His love for humanity, God promised to send a deliverer who would bruise the head of Satan, the old serpent, and wrest the kingdom from his hand (Genesis 3:15). This was a great mystery that even Satan had not the slightest knowledge of (1 Corinthians 2:7-8). The promise was fulfilled when Jesus Christ was born; He was the seed of the woman who was to bruise the serpent's head.

   When Jesus Christ died in the cross and rose again the third day, He conquered Satan and purchased eternal redemption for us. As part of the divine master plan, Jesus Christ----the second person in the Godhead----voluntarily assumed human nature and subjected Himself to the death of the Cross so that "through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:14-15). Therefore, by His death, resurrection and ascension to Heaven, Jesus did not only bruised Satan's head but also "destroyed his works, disarmed his principalities and powers, and took the captives out of his hands, and saved those he would have devoured" ----according to John Gill's own words.

   The Bible tells us that having overpowered principalities and powers, and conquered the dominion of Satan, Jesus now sits "in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:" And [God] put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church " (Ephesians 1:20-22). Christ now has all the glory, power and dominion of this world. This implication of this is that every genuine Christian is no longer under the dominion of Satan, for God has "delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom if his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). He saves us from the dominion of sin and Satan, and from eternal damnation in hell. Through Jesus, we have the forgiveness of our sins, redemption from all the works of the devil and healing from all forms of diseases (Colossians 1:14). When Jesus delivered us from the chains of sin and the yoke of Satan's dominion, He raised us up to sit with Him in Heaven: He has "quickened us together with Christ, And hath raised us up together, and and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:5-6). For every born-again child of God, this is our true and present position in Christ Jesus. We are seated with Him in heavenly places, which is far above all authorities, rulers, principalities, powers and forces of this world.

   It is therefore, an aberration and a substandard life for a Christian to live under servitude to Satan and his hordes of fiendish agents. As a born-again Christian, you should enter into the liberty which Jesus Christ has purchased for you, and not be subject anymore to the dominion of sin and Satan.

Exercising Your Dominion in Christ

   Many Christians live defeated lives because they are ignorant of who they are n Christ. They walk feeling defeated and humiliated while the the devil and circumstances of life toss them about like a rudderless ship. But this shouldn't be so. As a Christian man, woman, youth boy or girl and teenage children alike, you are to determine the course of your life according to the will of God and do not allow the devil to drift you about in life. Good enough, God has promised to help you (Hebrews 13:5; Isaiah 41:10; 49:24-26).

   In this year my very dear reader reading this message now, take dominion over your life, heath, workplace (career), business, ministry and family. Beloveth, rise up and assert your authority over the devil and move on from victory to victory for this is your portion in Christ Jesus. Enough of this spineless Christian life; exercise your rights in Christ, live out your DNA----because you resemble God your Father.

   In fact, when you repented of your sins and forsake them and became born-again, you became a child of God----heir of God and a joint heir with Christ (Romans 8:17). What Christ has is what He's given to you. He has dominion and authority, and He has given all of these to you also (Luke 10:19).

   Instead of living in fear or bondage, Jesus expects that you exercise the authority and dominion He has given to you. Take dominion over everything concerning your life and well-being. There are three realms in which you need to exercise your dominion as a Christian: body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Don't let sickness have dominion over your body; because you have been healed  (Isaiah 53:5). Don't let sin have dominion over your soul and spirit (Romans 6:14). Don't let Satan have dominion over you in any form. Beloveth, rise and walk in the dominion that Christ has given you for free.

God bless you.