GOD USES THE FOOLISH THING OF THIS WORLD TO CONFOUND THE WISE.

TEXT: 1 CORINTHIANS 1: 25, JUDGES 6: 11- 16

The dictionary defines foolishness as having or showing a lack of good sense, judgement, or discretion. Foolishness entails acting in a way that does not portray someone as being sensible. Foolishness is acting, thinking, or doing things at a lower standard or percentage when compared to others.

When God is set to make use of a vessel, He empties you of “yourself” and fills you with “Himself.” Therefore, it does not matter your level of intelligence, it is God that qualifies the chosen ones. He is not looking for the qualified, eloquent, neither is He looking for supper intelligent ones. The scripture says, “He frustrates the devices and schemes of the crafty, so that their hands cannot attain success or achieve anything of [lasting] worth” (Job 5: 12).

For God to use you, you need to rely on His wisdom and acknowledge that without Him, you can do nothing. All God wants from us is our availability and He will equip us for every good work, even beyond our expectation. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying wisdom is not necessary, neither am I saying being intelligent is a waste of time. What I am saying is, peradventure life thew you lemon and you had no opportunity to go to college, or not that intellectually sound, do not write off yourself. God can still use you even in the capacity that people that are wiser than you will be wondering how you are doing it.

In the same vein, if you are blessed with wisdom and intellectual abilities, trust not only in your intelligence and wisdom, because it does not cause God anything to render a proud heart redundant if he fails to acknowledge him.

There are Bible characters that wrote themselves off because they felt they are not worthy to do great exploits- example are, Moses, Jephthah, and Gideon. Moses gave God an excuse that he could not be used to deliver the Israelites because he stammers (Exodus 4: 10). Gideon told God that he was from the smallest clan of Manasseh and could not be used (Judges 6: 14- 16).

God saw strength were Gideon saw weakness! God saw a great man full of strength- God saw Gideon as a mighty man of valour, not as he saw himself. Jephthah was the child of a prostitute, and his siblings sent him away so that he would not share from their inheritance. However, they came looking for him to help them fight the Ammonite and they promised to make him their head- This was someone that was once rejected!

In a nutshell, please do not write yourself off, neither should you look down on yourself- with God, you can do great and mighty things. Let me finish with this scripture, “but the people who do know their God shall be strong and do exploits” (Daniel 11: 32b).

Image: Google Image

DO NOT LEAVE GOD OUT OF YOUR PLAN

 

TEXT: JOHN 15:5

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.”

At the beginning of every New Year, we come up with new year plans, visions, and goal (short, medium, and long term). We propose in her hearts to be more effective and productive- we focus on making the most of the new year without wasting and time or day on any endeavour that would not add value to us.

We want to strive to turn a new leaf in any areas of our lives that we feel we need to improve on, and what we are doing well, we want to be at the best of our game in that regard. There is nothing wrong in planning and setting achievable goals to guide us through the year and our entire lives. In fact, we all know that whoever that fails to plan is planning to fail. Therefore, planning beforehand is a very vital tool to achieving success.

When people make plans, goals, and their vision for the new year, it may be in written form so that they will be ticking the boxes as they year progresses, and some keep their plans and goals in their hearts, and they follow it throughout the years. Whichever way we choose to document our plans and goals, we should not leave God our of our plans and goals.

It is good to have the mindset to start the year with great desires and expectations. People have high hope and aspiration to make their lives better as they journey through every calendar year. However, by the first quarter of the year, the aspiration, and the zeal we brought to the new year may start to dwindle or decline. The reason for this is that people tend to relax and go back to their old ways of life. This is normal as human beings. That is why the scripture admonishes us in Matthew 26: 41 that we should watch and pray, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. There are things we really want to do, but our flesh may debar us from achieving them. let us look at what Apostle Paul said in Romans 7: 14- 16… “We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.”

The verse above is mostly used in the context of living in sin and struggling to put the flesh into subjection. In the same vein, we can use it to explain how our flesh through procrastination or complacency hinder us from fulfilling all the goals and aspiration we planned to achieve. Therefore, we need the help, the support and the leading of God through the Holy Spirit during the planning and implementation of our set goals and vision.

You may be wondering, what about unbelievers? Do they not achieve their goals without God? Yes, they did, but I am talking of good success here- the one that God gives without adding sorrow. Many of the rich and successful unbelievers are depressed and frustrated because the “God factor” is missing in their lives.

Our anchor scripture says we should abide in God for without Him we can do nothing because He is the vine, and we are the branches. When a branch falls from the vine, it dries off because it lacks the source of nourishment. This verse has just summed up all the explanations I have been talking about.  As believers, without God we can do nothing spectacular. To avoid frustration, never leave God out of your plan.

IMAGE: Google Image

 

 

DO NOT BE A LONE RANGER

 

TEXT: 2 CHRONICLES 11: 10-15

“10 Now these were the heads of the mighty men whom David had, who strengthened themselves with him in his kingdom, with all Israel, to make him king, according to the word of the Lord concerning Israel.

11 And this is the number of the mighty men whom David had: Jashobeam the son of a Hachmonite, chief of the captains; he had lifted up his spear against three hundred, killed by him at one time.

12 After him was Eleazar the son of Dodo, the Ahohite, who was one of the three mighty men. 13 He was with David at Pasdammim. Now there the Philistines were gathered for battle, and there was a piece of ground full of barley. So, the people fled from the Philistines. 14 But they stationed themselves in the middle of that field, defended it, and killed the Philistines. So, the Lord brought about a great victory.”

A lone ranger is the one who acts alone without consultation or seeking opinion of others. In the journey of life, you need people around you- you need people to travel the journey with you so that when life and situation happens, you will see people to encourage, advice, and give you shoulders to learn on. In addition, we need people of like minds to journey with us, so that they will be there to inspire, commend, correct, support and redirect us whenever there is need to do so.

There is a quote that “if you want to walk fast, walk alone, but if you want to walk far, walk together.” While walking far may seem beneficial to you as you will encounter no delay- as you would be able to walk at your own pace. However, you may be heading fast in the wrong direction! Since nobody is walking along the path with you, getting support or head up from friends or people will be impossible.

On the other hand, if you want to walk far, then you need to walk together with others. Walking together with others may seems slow as you do not have the liberty to walk at fast pace- You will have to wait for others that are on the journey with you and ensure you walk at their pace. Nonetheless, the good side of this is. You will be able to walk far- you will achieve more than you would have achieved if walking alone at fast pace. You will not miss your direction when you walk with others, because the Bible says in Proverbs 11:14 that “but in the multitude of counsellors, there is safety.” Walking with others brings wisdom, resilience, perseverance, tolerance, knowledge sharing, encouragement, and ideas to handle issues of life.

In this new day and age, no one is an island. If you think you are so good and everyone else is bad, you may not go far in life. No matter how efficient and knowledgeable you are, you need the combined effort and support of other people for you to be able to achieve much. Partnership, collaboration, and networking are key factors to success in this new age- No matter what talent you possess, they are limited.

Jesus Christ was not a lone ranger even though he had all the power to do things by himself without needing support from people. Yet, exemplified the need for teamwork by building his team players in form of his disciples who joined him in his service to achieve his purpose on earth. This tells us that in this world multiplicity of talents and wisdom are required to achieve purpose. You must be able to interact, relate with people and learn from them as you CAN NEVER know it all.

Do not be a lone ranger either in your ministry, your establishment, or in your community. You need other people’s support to advance or overcome obstacles that you may find difficult to handle on your own.

Walking together may be slower than walking alone, but it is more beneficial to walk with people of like minds- it will help you to go far in life. No man is an Island. Our text spoke about how God provided mighty men for David to support him during his reign as a king in Israel.  These people helped him to fight his battles against his adversaries.

The second text talks about how God provided help to Moses through the seventy elders of Israel to share in the burden. Are you a minister of God or a head of an organisation? How do you treat the people that the Lord brought your way to lift your hands up and share from your burden? Are you walking alone or walking with them? are you approachable? Can they bring up ideas and suggestions to the table when there is any decision to be made, or do you think their ideas does nor count because you are their leader?

If as a leader, you are leading alone without any input from people around you, it means you are walking fast as a lone ranger, and it may not lead to a successful journey. Do not be a lone ranger- carry the good people that the Lord has connected you with along- walk with them so that they can support, encourage, motivate, and call you back on track with respect. Give them the opportunity to bring in ideas to the table, let them have the freedom to give you godly advice when you need one. God bless you.

IMAGE: GOOGLE

BE ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING

TEXT: Philippians 4: 6

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

The scripture says in Matthews 11: 28 that “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” The world is full of ups and downs, many times the tide and storm of life toss us here and there that our sense of reasoning and ability to trust God to see us through may be beclouded. When life comes knocking, we tend to forget about the promises of God to see us through every situation, and never to leave nor forsake us. Why do you need to worry and struggle over a situation that God has offered to help you with? Can you do it better than Him? Why are you worrying yourself over a situation you barely have control over? The situation is beyond you power, wisdom, and strength, so give it to God!

The scripture says “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? (Matthew 6: 27). A secular quote by Ema Bombeck says “worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.” Instead of worrying and being anxious, please just lay it at His feet! Babies and toddlers do not worry about what they will eat, drink or wear. It is not in their place to figure out “How” these things will come by, because they know “Who” will provide all their needs (their parents).

Children have absolute trust in their parents to provide all their needs, they do not have to think about how the needs will be met. in the same vein, you need childlike faith and trust in the lord regarding all affairs of your life, so that you will not be dealing with anxiety and high blood pressure.

Our anchor scripture says, “Be anxious for NOTHING, but with prayer and supplication, make your requests known to God.” All you need to do, is to make your requests known to God- tell him with your mouth what you want him to do for you and leave it at His disposal and see how He will handle it.

Do not worry about how He is going to solve the problem, take the pressure and frustration off your shoulder- have absolute trust in the Lord your maker. God has given us the heads up in John 15: 33 “In this world you will have problem, but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.” In your journey of life, tribulation and problem are non-negotiable. We will go through them, but the good part is that the battle has been won before we started!

Be encouraged that God has not brought you this far to fail you. Let me end with these scriptures, “And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. So do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear? Only people who do not know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father in heaven knows you need all of these (Matthew 6: 30- 32). On final note, the Lord is telling you today that “He will not leave nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6 ).

                                     IMAGE: Google Image

CHRIST IN YOU THE HOPE OF GLORY

 

TEXT: COLOSSIANS 1:27, JOHN 15: 5-10

“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27).

“5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love (John 15: 5-10).

What is glory? Glory is renown honour won by notable achievements. It is an outstanding achievement that cannot be hidden. Glory is an achievement that announces itself. What do you understand by hope? It is a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen (Dictionary.com).

The Biblical meaning of hope is the CONFIDENT expectation of what God has promised. Our text in John 15 says “if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear more fruit. The relationship that would propel us to glory has to be dual relationship (that is, relating with God- getting intimate with God, and he also has a relationship with you). This is when we can be sure that we are on the path of glory. Some people believe they are in Christ while they play religion. There is clear distinction between being a religious person and being saved genuinely- God resides in those that are GENUINELY saved and not those that attend church weekly without any form of godliness in them!

I heard Joyce Meyer saying one day that “staying in garage does not make you a car, neither does going to church makes you a Christian.” Our right standing with God is what guarantees the manifestation of the glory of God in our lives. The question we need to ask ourselves now is “is Christ in me and am I in Christ?”

Our text says, “Christ in you the hope of glory.” Christ MUST genuinely be in you; He must know you and have relationship with you, and you must do the same by cultivating a very sound and genuine relationship with Him so that he can shower you with His glory. The irony of things are some people believe they are in Christ, they work for God, they pay tithe and never missed services in their local churches. However, they are not walking with the lord they are working for, they have no relationship with God, he does not communicate or relate with them on personal level- They are strangers or aliens to God! This type of relationship would not make you enjoy the glory of God.

Cultivate a genuine relationship with your maker, do not play religion. For the glory of God to manifest in us, we must be sure that we are not alone on our Christian walk or journey, we must be sure that God is on the journey with us. How can we be sure that Christ is in us? By constant examination of our heart and examining your life and standing with God. Your heart needs to be renewed and be transformed. You must have a genuine fellowship with God and not “playing church.” God bless you.

Image: Google Image

COME OUT AND BE SEPARATE

 TEXT: 2 CORINTHIANS 6: 14-17

“14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? 15 What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.” 17 Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”

The believers of old got the name “Christians” from the people of Antioch in the book of Acts 11: 26. They got the name because the people of Antioch noticed something conspicuously different about Christ followers. The believers’ lifestyle was so evident and unique that the name “Christian” was assigned to them because they put into practice all they had learned from Jesus. They emulated Jesus and lived lives worthy of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. They represented Christ and made him known to the whole world even after he had ascended!

We are created in the image and the likeness of God, and as dedicated children of God; washed and redeemed with the blood of Jesus Christ, we are no more of this world even though we live in this world. The salvation we got on the day we chose to follow Christ, means that we are ready and determined to live a sanctified life- that means separation from the world and unto God. This separation from the world is an internal state of separation- it means separating yourself from worldliness and every work of flesh, as well as separating yourself from unbelieving friends and relatives. Separating from unbelievers does not mean you should run away from them or abandon them; it only means that you should be careful how you relate with them. you should stand your ground by maintain the standard that Christ has given us- do not compromise on your faith, do not conform with the standard of the unbelievers and the world at large. Rather, you should be a good example of the believer that will act as change agent to intercede and witness to unbelieves to turn from their sinful ways.

Sanctification has to do with dedication, consecration, purity, and separation from sin. These days, it is difficult to distinguish a worldly person from a Christian. There are many works of flesh and worldliness that has crept into the body of Christ because of what is tagged “Modern Christianity.” These are evident from the choice of clothing (appearance in general), style of dance- (worldly dance steps are reigning in altars of God!), to the choice of music, songs, worldly slangs, and lyrics that have crept into Christian praise teams!

When you examine the lifestyle of some believers, you will marvel to see how difficult it is to see Christ reflected in them! Our text says as believers you should not have anything to do with unbelievers, because there is no correlation between light and darkness. The verse says, “we are the temple of God.” The Spirit of God lives in you, do not grief the Spirit of God with the way you live. Do not emulate unbelievers, you are an agent of change to draw sinners to Christ. Do not let the world change you or draw you out of God’s side to their side. Come out of them and be separate. Let people see Christ in you, do not conform with the doctrines of this world. Come out of them and be separate!

IMAGE: Google.

VAIN IS THE HELP OF MAN

 TEXT: PSALM 108: 12- 13

“12 Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. 13 Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.”

Help can be defined as making it easier or possible for someone to do something by offering them one’s services or resources (Cambridge Dictionary. Org). A helper may decide to assist his or her beneficiary by embarking on some of the task to reduce stress or workload on the recipient.

Rendering a helping hand to someone may also be in form of providing advice or financial support to someone. As relieving as seeing someone to help with your needs is, it is ideal to know that lasting and genuine help can only be found in Christ. Human beings are limited in what they can do, we have limited strength, resources, wisdom, endurance, temperament and even life span!

Placing your hope and trust on human beings for help may lead to disappointment when they are unable to meet your need, or when they become exhausted in providing help. I am not writing that we should not look around for human help, as we know God will not come down to help us- He sends help through people around us. Therefore, as the scripture admonishes in Hebrews 12:2 “to look up to Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith.” For genuine and lasting help, look up to the ALL-sufficient God. Call on Him to send help to you through vessels that He has prepared for the task. These types of helpers are called “Divine Helpers.” They will not get weary or tired of you, they will not spite you with their help and they will not withhold their help because God has prepared and equipped them for the good cause.

On the other hand, if you seek help from fellow man when God did not lead you to him or her, it may not end well. The person may be willing to help but faced with his or her own human limitations or challenges. A helper that is not sent by God may withhold his or her assistance at any little instance of anger or other reasons best known to him or her.

Hence, our anchor scripture directed us to the right channel or source of seeking lasting and unfailing source of help- which is God, because human help is vain. Do not be going around compelling or soliciting for help from people to the pint of becoming a nuisance. You may be looking into the wrong direction for help. Go to God in prayer and let Him lead you to the vessels He has prepared to help you. May the Lord connect you with your divine Helpers in Jesus name.

Image: Google Image