Daniel 1-3:30-The Benefits of Obeying God (4)
• Heavenly Rewards
The decision of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey God, made the entire citizenry of Babylon to experience His immense power first-hand and I believe a lot of people must have yielded their lives to Him unconditionally that day. And for this reason, there must have been great rejoicing in heaven and the three young men must have been suitably rewarded thereafter (Luke 15:10, Galatians 6:7-8). In the same vein, if you win souls for God, which is always a wise thing to do (Proverbs 11:30), you will be fittingly rewarded in heaven as well in Jesus name. Amen.
Categories: Words of Faith Tags: Faith, Obedience, Trust
Daniel 1-3:30-The Benefits of Obeying God (3)
• Divine Blessings
The determination of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to disobey king Nebuchadnezzar and their willingness to obey God as well as their resultant promotion must have exposed them to breath-taking blessings in Babylon. This confirms as true, Isaiah 1:19 which says: ”If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;”. Friend, if you too are willing and obedient henceforth, you shall eat the good of your land in Jesus name. Amen.
Categories: Words of Faith Tags: Faith, Obedience, Trust
Daniel 1-3:30-The Benefits of Obeying God (2)
• Divine Promotion
For disobeying king Nebuchadnezzar and obeying God’s law that forbids the worship of other Gods, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego got summary promotion in the province of Babylon. Please note that their promotion was divinely engineered as confirmed by the Psalmist in Psalm 75:6-7 where he said: ”… promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another”. So, if you desire promotion in any area of your life today then, seek God’s opinion about it and obey Him strictly too and you’ll have it in Jesus name. Amen.
Categories: Words of Faith Tags: Faith, Obedience, Trust
Daniel 1-3:30-The Benefits of Obeying God (1)
• Divine Protection
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship the gold image made by king Nebuchadnezzar. Instead, they obeyed God’s law that forbids worshipping other gods (Exodus 20:4-5). As a result, they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace but four men, the fourth being like the Son of God, all unbound and unscathed, were soon spotted in it. That is, Jesus was on hand to protect them thus verifying what Isaiah 43:2 says viz.: ”…When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you”. As you walk through the ‘fires’ of life day by day, choose to obey God and He’ll protect you divinely in Jesus name. Amen.
Categories: Words of Faith Tags: Faith, Obedience, Trust
DON’T OVER-RATE YOURSELF!
In Proverbs 23:7, the wise King Solomon said: ”For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…”. This is a very vital statement aimed at moderating how we think. And from a general point of view, our thoughts are like seeds, good and bad; which produce crops after their kind and they determine who we are at any point in time. For instance, if we harbour angry thoughts in our minds every time, then we will be angry every time. But if we think of peace continuously then, our lives will be awash with it. Besides, if we devote too much time to thinking how unwell we are then, we may never enjoy first-class health etc. It is therefore clear from above, that it pays to think highly of ourselves at all times.
But we must be careful not to think more highly of (or over-rate) ourselves otherwise, we shall be guilty of flouting Apostle Paul’s counsel that goes thus: ”For I say … to everyone…not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think…” (Romans 12:3). Doing otherwise amounts to pride which God resists (James 4:6) and punishes sternly.
The Devil, once a model of perfection (Ezekiel 28:12), is an example of someone who out of utter pride, thought more highly of himself and resolved to mirror God. He said ”I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). And due to his daring but unwise ambition, God cast him out of Heaven to face ignominy, belittling, irrelevance and calamitous ending on earth (Ezekiel 28:17-19).
So, how does the Devil’s plight affect us? Well, it affects us because, if God could deal mercilessly with him, His priceless Angel (Ezekiel 28:11-15) then, He won’t bat an eyelid to deal with us mercilessly as well if we think more highly of ourselves. May this never be our portion in Jesus name. Amen.
On the other hand is Jesus Christ, who has every right to think more highly of Himself but never did (Philippians 2:5-7). Consequently, God catapulted Him well above everyone and everything everywhere. Apostle Paul confirmed this fact as follows: 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).
We can also receive mind-blowing rewards from God if we comport ourselves sensibly like Jesus. Please remember that He (God) does not promote favouritism in His dealings with humanity (Galatians 2:6, Deuteronomy 10:17).
In conclusion, whilst it is okay to think highly of ourselves as being prosperous, influential, adorable, healthy, happy, educated etc., it is grossly unacceptable and excessively risky to think more highly of ourselves. We have a well-defined choice before us here, please let us choose wisely; let us choose not to think more highly of ourselves at any time! May our choice be pleasing to God and may He reward us in full as well in Jesus name. Amen.
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Humility, Modesty, Obedience
THE BENEFITS OF OBEYING GOD
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 1:1-3:30) were young Jewish men who served with their comrade, Daniel, in the palace of king Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. They were exceptionally gifted, strikingly good looking and God fearing and owing to their sterling qualities, they got rapid promotion to the highest echelon of governance in Babylon.
At a time, the king made an image of gold and ordered everyone to fall down and worship it at the sound of certain musical instruments. He also ordered that whoever disobeyed his instruction, should be thrown into a burning fiery furnace. But contrary to his expectation, the young men disobeyed him, instead they obeyed God’s commandment which says: ”You shall not make for yourself a carved image …; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them…” (Exodus 20:4-5). And for this reason, they were bound and thrown into the burning furnace but God saved them. This is a very popular account and it contains some model benefits that come with obeying God. Let us now examine them in turn.
1. Divine Protection.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship the gold image made by king Nebuchadnezzar. Instead, they obeyed God’s law that forbids worshipping other gods (Exodus 20:4-5). For this reason, they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace but four men, the fourth being like the Son of God, all unbound and unscathed, were later spotted in it. That is, Jesus Christ was on hand to protect them thus verifying what Isaiah 43:2 says viz.: ”…When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you”. As you walk through the ‘fires’ of life day by day, choose to obey God and He’ll protect you divinely in Jesus name. Amen.
2. Divine Promotion.
For disobeying king Nebuchadnezzar and obeying God’s law that forbids the worship of other Gods, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego got summary promotion in the province of Babylon. Please note that their promotion was essentially not man made; it was divinely engineered as confirmed by the Psalmist in Psalm 75:6-7 where he said: ”… promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. 7. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another”. So, if you desire promotion in any area of your life today please, seek God’s opinion about it and obey Him strictly too and you’ll have it in Jesus name. Amen.
3. Divine Blessings.
The determination of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to disobey king Nebuchadnezzar and their willingness to obey God, as well as their resultant promotion, must have exposed them to breath-taking blessings in Babylon. This confirms as true, Isaiah 1:19, which says: ”If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land;”. Friend, if you are willing and obedient as from now on, you too shall eat the good of your land in Jesus name. Amen.
4. Heavenly Rewards.
The decision of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey God, made the entire citizenry of Babylon to experience His immense power first-hand and I believe a lot of people must have yielded their lives to Him unconditionally as a result. In that case, there must have been great rejoicing in heaven that day and the three young men must have been suitably rewarded thereafter (Luke 15:10, Galatians 6:7-8). In the same vein, if you win souls for God, which is always a wise thing to do (Proverbs 11:30), you too will be suitably rewarded in heaven in Jesus name. Amen.
As you can see from above, it is advantageous to obey God at all times so; I encourage you to do more in this regard henceforth so that you can partake in the resultant massive benefits. If God asks you to serve Him more, please obey Him, if He asks you to change your job, obey Him; if He wants you to start a specific business, obey Him; if He asks you to propose to a particular sister or to accept a marriage proposal from a brother; Obey Him; if He asks you to study a particular course or to learn a particular trade, obey Him; if He asks you to change your location so that you situation can change, please obey Him; etc. and in the end, you’ll have every reason to rejoice in Jesus name. Amen.
Jesus is Lord!
C Adedayo Stoney Adegbulu, 2010
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: Benefits of obedience, God, Obedience
It Pays to Obey God
We shall consider 1 Samuel 15:22 today. In it, Prophet Samuel said: ‘’…Behold to obey is better than Sacrifice…’’.
This is a very relevant statement for today’s world where most things appears to have gone haywire. Form my personal observation and discussions with different people; I have come to the conclusion that our world is what it is today because a lot of people have made up their minds to jettison God’s instructions. For example, in Leviticus 19:18, he said: ‘’…you shall love your neighbor as yourself…’’. Supposing we adhere strictly to this instruction then, acts of terrorism, needless murder, worrisome antisocial behavior, damaging corrupt practices, disturbing poverty, excruciating hunger, unpardonable squalor and avoidable diseases, etc that are endemic in most parts of the world will not be as pervasive as they are at present.
What then is the way forward? We have to make up our minds about obeying God’s instructions without faltering. But to start with, let us consider the probable ways by which people may respond to God’s instructions. They may:
1. Disobey him completely. In Exodus 5:2, God instructed Pharaoh through Moses and Aaron to release the Israelites from bondage but he disobeyed completely. And for this reason, he and his people suffered untold hardship. At different times, their waters became blood and their land was inundated with frogs, then lice, flies, boils etc. In addition, they suffered massive loss of their livestock and each family lost its first born. As if these were not enough, the elites of the Egyptian army also perished in the red sea. It is evident from above, that acts of disobedience to God’s instructions are repulsive to him and they carry with them inescapable punishments. This is made obvious in Hebrews 2:1-3. It reads:
1. Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we heard, lest we drift away. 2. for if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3. How shall we escape…?
2. Obey him partially. In 1 Samuel Chapter 15, the Lord instructed King Saul to go to Amalek and destroy everything therein because its people disturbed the Israelites as they came up from Egypt. Initially, he responded enthusiastically but derailed later on by keeping for himself, some of the spoils of war which God specifically instructed him to destroy. Because be obeyed God partially, he lost his sons, anointing, throne, and life. We can infer from the calamities that befell Saul that God does not condone partial obedience of his instructions-you either obey him in full or you don’t at all. You are furthermore expected to make your stand crystal-clear whenever you are dealing with him otherwise; he will find it extremely difficult to put up with you. Jesus Christ supports this position in Revelation 3:15-16. Let us see what he said:
‘’I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. 16. So, because you are lukewarm-neither cold nor hot-I am able to spit you out of my mouth’’.
3. Obey him completely. In Exodus 20:5, God, while referring to earthly gods said: ‘’you shall not bow to them nor serve them…’’. Daniel obeyed this instruction completely when he had to. In Daniel Chapter 6, a plot was hatched by his detractors to depose him from his exalted position. They got King Darius, to sign a decree which forbids any man from praying to any god or man apart from himself for thirty days. They knew that Daniel would never obey the decree and that he would get into trouble subsequently. As expected, he didn’t obey it instead, he prayed and gave thanks to God openly and he was cast into the Lions’ den but guess what? The Lord shut the Lions’ mouths and spared his life. Now let us see the King’s ensuing reactions. First, he was astounded and he went on with his people, to openly acknowledge the supremacy of God. Next he destroyed Daniel’s detractors and their entire families by casting them into the same den of Lions whilst he prospered Daniel.
Friend, is the Lord instructing you lately to support his work with your clout, resources, time, expertise, ministry, etc? Or is he instructing you to help the needy members of your society? Is he instructing you to spend more time with him in prayer and in reading your bible? Does he want you to just stay calm in your present state and await his intervention? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, then be prepared to obey him completely (this is the only sensible and rewarding option opened to you) and you can be sure that it shall be well with you (Jeremiah 7:23). Remember that ‘’if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land’’ (Isaiah 1:19). So shall it be in Jesus name. Amen.
Good news!!! This monthly bulletin is four (4) years old today. To God be the glory. Hallelujah!
Jesus is Lord!
Categories: Mind of Christ Tags: God, Obedience