TRY THE MASTER POTTER
In Jeremiah 18:6, the Lord said: ”O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” … ”Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!
Before uttering the statement above, God instructed Prophet Jeremiah to visit the potter’s house and he obeyed. And on getting there, he witnessed first-hand, the man’s dexterity with clay. God later told him that He too, could remould humanity with the expertise akin to the Potter’s.
Who are Potters by the way? Well, they are people who make pottery-ware such as earthenware, stoneware, and porcelains. They operate from places called potteries and they usually acquire their skills from their forebears and pass same down to their offspring. There are a lot of them worldwide and God is their overall Master. And like most brilliant Potters, He is very dexterous at remoulding stuffs, including all aspects of the humanity. For example, He can remould our:
1. Health. One of God’s topmost interests is to heal our diseases and the Psalmist captured this fact succinctly as follows: ”Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits …Who heals all your diseases” (Psalm 103:2-3). Thus, if your health is not very sound at the moment, then pray to God, the Master Potter about it and He’ll remould it for you in Jesus name. Amen.
2. Business/Work. God also wants our businesses/works to do well. In Deuteronomy 16:15, He said: ”Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the LORD your God in the place which the LORD chooses, because the LORD your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands…”. Perhaps your business/work is performing sub-optimally at present; please try the Master Potter for a change and He’ll remould it in Jesus name. Amen.
3. Finances. Remember that riches and honour belongs to God, the Master Potter (1 Chronicles 29:12), and He is willing to share them with us (Psalm 84:11). Therefore, try Him today if your finances are in decline and He will remould them without fail in Jesus name. Amen.
4. Reputation. Jesus is very eager to remould our reputations too; ostensibly for the Master Potter (John 8:29). In Revelation 2:17, He said: ”…To him who overcomes … I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it”. Maybe your reputation is in tatters at present and you are at a loss about what to do; please keep calm. Just try the Master Potter and He’ll remould it in Jesus name. Amen.
5. Salvation. This is a must have for all Christians (John 3:3). Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-10), a chief tax collector and great sinner would have ended up in hell if he hadn’t met Jesus Christ. And when he did, he received his salvation and became suitable for the kingdom of God. If you are not yet saved i.e., you are not born again; please try the Master Potter through Jesus Christ right now. He is set to remould and save you. Please don’t forget that without salvation, you cannot attain heaven (John 3:3). May you not end up in hell in Jesus name. Amen.
As you can see, God the Master Potter is willing and capable of fixing various areas of our lives that need attention and He is ready to focus on yours in particular this time around. So, if you are struggling with any issue currently, please try Him immediately. Pray to Him to remould you in the area and He will do so and you’ll have you good reasons to rejoice all the days of your life in Jesus name. Amen.
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Encouragement, Faith, Hope
TRIBULATION FOR REWARDS
In John 16:33, Jesus Christ said ”…In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world”. This is a very soothing admonition which kept the disciples of yore abreast of the inevitability of tribulations in life and the ability of Jesus to safeguard them. It is similarly soothing to us in this age and time.
Tribulations are a major part of life and they come in different forms and proportions. They can be hereditary (Genesis 3:1-24) or acquired (Genesis 4:1-14) in terms of origin and they are usually very discomforting. They affect everyone therefore, we shouldn’t be stunned by them (1 Peter 4:12). What is more, they don’t last forever and in most cases, they are ultimately beneficial (2 Corinthians 4:17, Romans 5:3-4).
So, what are tribulations and why does God permit them among Christians? Well, tribulations can be seen as ”severe trial or suffering”. They are synonymous with affliction, hardship, distress, adversity, etc. and God permit them for many reasons including:
1. To toughen us. As soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:3), all Christians are bound to experience stints of tribulation to toughen us and to help us defeat our enemies which by the way, are spiritual and deadly (Ephesians 6:12). Please note that their defeat is not overly difficult as we have highly potent weapons at our disposal (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) which we can deploy against them with ease. However, we must seek to gain the skills essential to operate them well. This we can achieve through a continuous training program involving studying and correctly applying the words of God (highly potent (Hebrews 4:12)), fasting and prayers (Matthew 17:21) etc.
2. To prove our commitment to Him. For example, God allowed Job to go through series of tribulations to prove his commitment to Him. And in the process, he lost his children, wealth, dignity, health etc. still; he remained stoically committed to God. Soon, He restored all Job’s loses (Job 42:10) and blessed the latter part of his life more than the former (Job 42:12). Are you also experiencing tribulation(s) presently? If you are, God may be proving your commitment to Him hence don’t let Him down.
3. To show His power. In Acts 16:16-26, Paul and Silas were unduly beaten and imprisoned but they refused to ditch God because of their tribulation. Instead, they prayed and sang hymns to Him and He showed His power by causing a great earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations and made all its doors to open and everyone’s chains to loose. Are you facing any tribulation lately? If you are, fear not; God may be planning to show His power through you and He’ll save you (Isaiah 35:4) as He saved Paul and Silas.
4. To gain our attention. Saul (later Paul) was for a long time, too busy persecuting Christians to listen to God. Meanwhile, God needed him for His work on earth so; He subjected him to the tribulation of blindness (Acts 9:1-9) in order to gain his attention. He later served God meritoriously and to date, he is a celebrated Christian legend. Are you also too busy for God? Does your profession, business, wealth, family, education, ministry etc. take precedence over Him? If your answer is yes then, have a rethink very quickly because you cannot possibly succeed without Him (John 15:5). Please give Him your full attention henceforth!
Finally, kindly remember that God is with you at all times and He has no plans to do otherwise (Hebrews 13:5). With that at the back of your mind, please confront your tribulation(s) prayerfully and with great confidence that He will definitely help you at some point (Isaiah 41:10). In addition, please don’t stop serving and obeying God and He’ll reward you beyond your expectation in return (Deuteronomy 7:12-15). So shall it be in Jesus name. Amen.
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Hardship, Hope, Tribulation
BACK OFF!
Towards the end of his epistle to the Galatians, Apostle Paul said ”From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus” (Galatians 6:17). This is one of my favourite bible passages and I presume the Apostle wrote it to keep undesirable elements who wouldn’t allow him rest at arm’s length. In other words, he ordered them to back off!
And as things are, it is still relevant to us (Christians) these days for the simple reason that there are many people out there, determined to make our lives difficult for no plausible reason. They include those who frown at and punish open identification with Jesus Christ, those who churn out dreadful policies to repress the Christian faith and those who encourage the side-lining, harassing, beating, jailing, stoning, and even killing of Christians, etc. No doubt, we need to act very swiftly and wisely too to safeguard our lives and faith and the starting point is to tell our tormentors to back off!
Nevertheless, be warned that they are not likely to listen to us without an ugly fight; no thanks to their innate wickedness and their dogged loyalty to Satan, their master. In a situation like this, we are free to ask God to protect us and to deal with them as He pleases and He will listen to us. Remember how He dealt mercilessly with king Pharaoh and his people for flouting His orders to release the Israelites from bondage. In the same vein, God is willing to deal with our tormentors if they refuse to give us a breathing space.
There are many ways by which He might achieve above but we shall only take on the following at this point.
1. He might withdraw their peace. Prophet Isaiah confirmed this stance in Isaiah 48:22 thus: ”There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked”. And I am persuaded that if God withdraws our tormentors’ peace today, they’ll desist from troubling us.
2. He might curse them. To substantiate this viewpoint, King Solomon said: ”…The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked…” (Proverbs 3:33) and it is crystal clear that whoever God curses is doomed. Please recall the way He cursed the Serpent for deceiving Eve; that incident signalled the start of its travails which subsists till present day (Genesis 3:14-15). So, except our tormentors let go of us peacefully, God is open to cursing them too and they’ll suffer greatly as a result.
3. He might fight them. God said ”…I will contend with him that contends with you…” (Isaiah 49:25). That is, He will fight those who torment us and looking at His track record, we can safely go to bed and sleep knowing fully well that He will triumph over them at the end of the day. Don’t forget that He is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29).
4. He might destroy them. The Psalmist verified this position in this way: ”Upon the wicked He will rain coals; Fire and brimstone and a burning wind Shall be the portion of their cup” (Psalm 11:6). Personally, I cannot imagine anyone, including our tormentors, surviving this type of onslaught.
5. He might wipe out their history altogether. The Psalmist was so sure that this is possible that he asked God, with confidence, to ”Let them (i.e. his tormentors) be like chaff before the wind…” (Psalm 35:5a). Meanwhile, it is a common knowledge that chaff before the wind is a goner as it will neither be seen nor remembered again. Likewise, God is keen on wiping out our tormentors’ history if they decline to give us respite.
As you can see, God is not short of effective ways to deal with all trouble makers including our tormentors. Consequently, there is no good reason why we should continue to absorb unnecessary abuses from them to any further extent since He is on our side and it is inconceivable that we’ll not overcome them eventually (1 John 4:4). Therefore, let us arise with confidence today and order them to back off to start with. If they wish, they’ll listen to us but if they choose not to, then they’ll have themselves to blame for the colossal calamity that will befall them when God steps in on our behalf (Isaiah 41:11-13). A word is sure enough for the wise!
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Deliverance, Encouragement, Freedom, Hope, Liberation
THE BENEFITS OF TRUSTING GOD
I received a text message containing the wordings of Proverbs 3:5-6 recently and it blessed me a great deal. It reads: ”Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths”.
Above is a very popular passage amongst Christians and being one of my favourites; I have read it several times before. But this time around, I felt a strong urge to study it more closely and in the end, I unearthed some mouth-watering benefits open to those who trust God whole heartedly. Please permit me to share a few of them with you here trusting that they’ll motivate you to trust Him more. They are:
1. Divine Confidence.
Many times, the Psalmist’s life was laden with fears and each time, God expunged and replaced them with divine confidence; just because he trusted Him. He referred to one of such occasions like this: ”…In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?” (Psalm 56:3). God is still in the business of replacing people’s fears with divine confidence if they trust Him. You too can join them and He’ll give you divine confidence to confront and subdue all the challenges you are facing presently in Jesus name. Amen.
2. Divine Direction.
The renowned King Solomon, having enjoyed divine direction several times in his life, recommended trusting the Lord to everyone as follows: ”Trust the Lord with all your heart….And He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6). Consequently, if you sincerely want to succeed in life then, you need divine direction and the only person who can honestly give it is God. However, you must be prepared to ask and trust Him for it first.
3. Divine Strength.
God is willing to give people enduring strength if they put their trust in Him at all times, . Prophet Isaiah gave credence to this view when he said: ”Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength” (Isaiah 26:4). So, if you are desirous of enough strength to triumph on earth, then you need to ask and trust God for it and He’ll give it to you without qualms in Jesus name. Amen.
4. Divine Victory.
In confirming the availability of this benefit, the Psalmist said: ”Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5). Perhaps you desire outstanding victory in certain areas of your life e.g. your relationship with God, your health, business, education, family set up, etc. then you need to trust God for it and it will come to pass in Jesus name. Amen.
5. Divine Deliverance.
Again, the Psalmist assured us that divine deliverance is available to all who trust God. He said: ”And the LORD shall … deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him” (Psalm 37:40). As from today, pray to God to deliver you from the vice-like grip of the Devil then, trust Him that He’ll do so and He will in Jesus name. Amen.
As you can see, the benefits of trusting God are stunning and I believe no right thinking person would spurn them for any reason. Therefore, pray to God to give them to you straight away. Also, make sure that you do not stop trusting Him even if you have to repeat your prayer time and again because He will surely reward you at some point (Hebrews 11:6). May the good Lord fill your heart with joy and your mouth with praise as you trust Him continually in Jesus name. Amen.
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: God, Hope, hope in God, Trust in God
THE BATTLE IS GOD’S
On the 4th of December 2002, I went to the High Commission of a major European country in Lagos, Nigeria to book an appointment for visa interview; my wife was with me. Ordinary, such event shouldn’t be a big deal but it usually was in our setting because of the hassles involved.
In the past, applicants went to the High Commission in person to book their visa interview appointments and that meant going there to join the usually long and riotous queues formed daily. In order to lessen their burden therefore, many of them arrived at the place sometimes as early as 2.00 am. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to guarantee their being attended to at the end of the day. Please permit me to mention here that most of the subsequent visa interviews that took place weeks or months after appointments were given ended up in disappointment.
In any case, we got to the High Commission around 10.00 am because of my earlier commitments and as expected, we met thousands of disorderly people on queues; sweating, yelling, cursing, pushing and fighting. And the Nigerian security men on duty that day made the situation even worse as they were more interested in brutalizing people rather than maintaining law and order. All above and more discouraged me seriously and I opted to return to my base after all, I knew I could remain in Nigeria, excel and help people get well. That was my thinking but God’s was different (Isaiah 55:8). He wanted me out!
So as we were going back to our car, 2 Chronicles 20:15 flashed through my mind. It says: ‘’…Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s’’. Instantly, I knew God was ready to fight my visa ‘battle’ for me and this stirred us to turn back and I approached the cruellest security officer in sight. I told him my mission and asked him to act on it. Immediately, there was great silence all around as everybody waited for him to deal with me ruthlessly. Anyway, he only looked at me menacingly and shouted ‘’who are you by the way?’’ and I introduced myself to him calmly mindful of the enormous power at our disposal (1 John 4:4).
Soon, his contorted face relaxed and he ordered his men to open the massive gates for us to come in. Then he held my hand gingerly and led us into a vast waiting room where he introduced us to his colleagues as his ‘special friends’ and asked them to assist us. And in next to no time, a young, amiable official of the High Commission attended to us. To begin with, he perused my papers and said they were very good therefore; I needed no further visa interview-that was an unimaginable occurrence. Then, he told me to pay the required visa fees to the cashier and I did. Guess what? I was issued a visa in less than 3 hours from the time we arrived at the place; a feat that took most people several weeks, months or even years to accomplish. God fought and won my (His) battle spectacularly and those who heard the story were amazed and they gave glory to Him (Psalm 126:1).
Friend, I have gone this far to let you know that you needn’t fear your battles or fight them by yourself any longer. Please, hand them over to God in prayer today; they are His anyway and He will make mincemeat of them. He did it for me and many other people in the past and He’ll do it for you too in Jesus name. Amen. Remember that He is mighty in battle (Psalm 24:8)!
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Don't give up, God the battle Chief, Hope, Miracle
God is Still Working in The Dark
Today, we shall be considering the fact that God is still working in the ‘dark’; the dark in people’s lives. But before we proceed any further with this write up; let us take a good look at two sides of the word ‘dark’ so that we can better understand its significance. They are:
1. The absence of light.
Many untoward things happen in the absence of light. For example, visibility is poor, movement is restricted and crime may escalate. Also in the absence of light, Satan and his agents are at their peak maiming and killing people and destroying their properties. However, it is cheering to know that God is equally effective during this period counteracting their evil antics. Remember that He does not sleep nor slumber (Psalms 121:4). It is also on record that He performed many outstanding miracles in the absence of light (i.e. in the dark). For example, He created light in dark (Genesis 1:2-3), He sent Angels of death to visit Egypt in dark (Exodus 12:29), He sent a strong wind which divided the red sea for the Israelites to pass through in dark (Exodus 14:21-22) etc.
2. An unpleasant or a gloomy state.
Gloom is a major part of today’s world and it is visible everywhere you turn to; in individual lives, in families, in communities, in governments etc. All over the world, people now find it difficult to feed properly, to pay their debts and mortgages; job opportunities are fast shrinking and businesses cum investments are collapsing at an alarming rate. A glance at the state of the world’s infrastructures also connotes gloom. Schools are crumbling, health facilities are going under, transportation systems are deteriorating etc. Because of all above and a lot more, many people are frustrated and they believe that the easiest way out is to end it all up. Many people even query the relevance of God nowadays. To such people, I say please pause a little bit! God is still very relevant and He is actively working in the dark of our lives. Today, He is saying ’’Let there be light’’ in your situation and it will be so (Genesis 1:3) in Jesus name.
Friend, are you experiencing a ‘dark’ (gloomy) situation in your life at the moment? If you are then, I assure you that you are not alone; God is with you and you are bound to do well eventually but you must be prepared to endure to the end (Matthew 10:22b). Abraham Lincoln’s situation was probably worse than yours. For a substantial part of his life, very few things worked out fine for him but he endured to the end and became one of the most celebrated Presidents of the United States of America. Do not give up and please constantly remember that ‘’weeping may endure in the night, but joy comes in the morning’’ (Psalm 30:5).
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Dark, Darkness, Gloom, Gloomy, Hope, Hopelessness, State of Darkness
It Shall Come To Pass!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! I am very excited to welcome you to January 2005. To God be the glory.
Please allow me to bless you with a short story today. Some years ago, there was a church led by an ebullient Pastor. And in the course of one of their Sunday services, he asked interested members of his congregation to testify to the goodness of God in their lives. He also encouraged them to back up each testimony with a relevant biblical quotation.
The first person got up and quoted Philippians 4:19 -‘’and my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus’’. He narrated how God met his needs in an amazing way during the week. The second person got up after him and cited Galatians 6:9 -‘’and let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart’’. He told the congregation how somebody he once helped, came back to bless him with a huge sum of money which he used to settle his debt. Next, the third person got up and cited Psalms 107:20 -‘’he sent his words and he healed them and delivered them from their destructions’’. She then gave an account of how God delivered her from a debilitating illness. Many other people also presented their unique testimonies and the church was truly blessed that day.
Finally, an old man got up and his quotation was very simple -‘’it shall come to pass’’. This is a very common biblical quotation. And his testimony was that he had many problems before which he tried to solve by himself without success. He was ill and he had no money to get himself treated, some of his children were badly-behaved, his wife’s business had collapsed and he was neck deep in debt. At a point, he toyed with the idea of committing suicide but he quickly jettisoned it. Instead, he approached God in sustained and fervent prayer and help soon came from unexpected quarters and his problems were solved one after the other that is; all of them came to pass to the glory of God. He ended his testimony by challenging everyone to bring their concerns to God for first class resolution.
Friend, what is it that made your life tough in 2004 and has now followed you into 2005? Is it an incapacitating illness, dearth of money, lack of job, drought of ideas, business failure, failed ministry, academic or professional stagnation, bareness of any kind, broken marriage, destructive habit, debt, etc? I challenge you today, like the old man did, to turn it over to God and it shall come to pass in Jesus name.
Jesus is willing and able to set you free and He confirmed this in Matthew 11:28 as follows: ‘’Come to me all you who labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest’’. Please approach Him today and He will set you free.
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Deliverance, Expectation, God's Blessings, Hope