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Showing posts from 2012

The Consolation

If there is someone the world loves to hate is Jesus Christ. Since creation, I beg to submit that the most controversial personality that has ever lived is Jesus Christ. Even though it has been proven that He lived, died and rose again with many eye witness reports at the time and present archaeological finds that proves His existence; yet many do all manner of things to disparage His deity, even archaeology and modern science had been employed in this act. In fact, trying to disprove His existence and deity has become a money making venture in the literary and movie industry. Unfortunately, the more the world tries, the more the world is made painfully aware that Jesus Christ did live, walked upon the earth, died and rose again. And whether the world approves or not, He is coming back again! As children of God we should not be worried about the blasphemies, blackmailing and heresies that are been spread about Him because they were all foretold by God in the Scriptures – Luke 2:34, “

A Call to Maturity

When a baby is born, the baby is expected to grow, going through the milestones at the expected age and time. When a child that ought to be walking is still crawling, then there is a problem. God arranges situations that will cause you to realize your state in Him and make you grow (mature) in Him. Paul declared in 1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.” A child has a peculiar way of behaviour and is not penalized for doing things peculiar to his age but when he ought to be behaving like a man he begins to act like a child – not a good sight to behold. Unfortunately, so many children of God are in matured (physical) bodies but childish towards the things of God! What manner of person are you since you came to the Lord? Are you still childish in your attitude and behaviour towards the things of the Kingdom? How much of the word of God that you have come to know h

The Roll

The mindless killings and kidnappings around the globe especially in our clime at this time have increased to an unprecedented sad level. The questions that are being asked in a lot of hearts and fora are: why is this happening, where is the face and love of God, how could He allow this to happen and many more of such. This had affected the walk of so many with God and made many more resolve not to follow God; equally, some have resolved to draw closer to God in the light of these strange and worrisome events. The truth is, the world is filled with darkness that is affecting the thoughts, actions and life in general of the people. The world believes that the best solution to this darkness is to create more darkness by taking God out of the lives of people. As long as the Creator is taken away from His creation, darkness will reign. In Genesis 1:3, the Bible says darkness was on the earth and the face of the deep until God spoke light into it. And we know that where there is darkness

As The Year ends…2

The fact that Christ is coming back again is not in dispute but how prepared are we for His return is the crux of the matter. Jesus Christ Himself declared in Matthew 24:36-44, that in as much as no one knows the time of His return, the world will be largely unprepared as it was during the days of Noah. Unfortunately, a large part of the Body of Christ is preoccupied with the things and happenings of the world and less attention is paid towards our eternal dwellings. No wonder so many have booked dates to the end of the next coming year. A year they don’t know if they will see. The sad part of this is they do not acknowledge that these dates will only hold if the Lord tarries in His return. We have been warned to live our days as if they are the last and to bear in mind in all we do His imminent return. Jesus is not going to delay His return because we have some appointment we must keep. Friend, how prepared are you for His return? All we are preoccupied with is how we will consolida

As The Year Ends…

To the glory of God, if the Lord tarries, the year 2012 is winding up. Our sincere prayer is that we will go through the rest of the year without any mishap and enter the year 2013 prepared like conquering warriors. If I may ask, under God, how did you fare in your walk with the Lord from the beginning of the year till date? You might argue – only God knows! That is not true and will simply not do! The Bible tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are still in the faith. You don’t need someone else to examine you; you can, with the help of the Holy Spirit know your stand with God. However, if we lack this knowledge and refuse to examine our past and present walk with God then we are bound to repeat the same cycle again. So many desire to serve the Lord better and have a better grip on their life in Christ but if such lack knowledge then it will just be a mere dream that will not see the light of day. “Therefore My people go into exile because they lack knowledge; the dignitaries a

10 Stupid Things Ministers Should Never Do - J. Lee Grady

I had the privilege of sharing a pulpit with Dr. Mary Ann Brown two times. She was bold, prophetic and painfully blunt. People who hate women preachers hated her even more because of her no-nonsense sermons—always delivered in her Texas twang. She would get her audience laughing and then skewer them with a hot blade of truth. When this spiritual giant   died last month at age 73 , I remembered the last words she said to me when we were together at a conference in Chicago in 2011. After lamenting the fact that so many ministers in the United States were failing, Mary Ann locked eyes with me and said with stern, motherly authority: “Lee, please don’t ever get stupid.” I knew exactly what she meant—and I’ve pondered her words often, especially since her death. I don’t want to be stupid; I want to finish well. So how can we avoid spiritual stupidity? We can start by avoiding these 10 mistakes that have become common in our movement during the past decade. If you are a minister, or if you

Let Them Pursue

Several times as children of God we have wondered if we heard right when certain decisions we took under God aren't going according to the way we thought they should. We may not show it but in our hearts we question if truly we heard the Lord right or it was a figment of our imagination. This is not new, it happened to Moses. I could imagine the dilemma of Moses when he led the children of Israel out of Egypt and the Lord gave him a specific instruction that seemed to contradict their mode of leaving in Exodus 14:1-4; “Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth , between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea. Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: ‘they are wondering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in.’ I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I a

Finishing Well 2

Except God’s will becomes yours you cannot receive revelations from Him that will help you in this journey of life. You may know and be able to quote a lot of Scriptures, do all the right things; except your will is subsumed in God’s they are just mere words and activities. When a person is outside the will of God such cannot do well neither can such finish well. So many teach and believe that their strength and intellect will determine how they live and will end. Unfortunately, we have seen over and over again that is not the case; everything concerning a man is not at his prerogative but God’s. No wonder when Job had an encounter with the Almighty God he repented in dust and ashes of the harsh words he had spoken concerning Him. If a person had not had encounter with God, he believes all he needs is in his hands and that is what will determine his end. You may do awesome and great things but your end is determined by your stand with God. No wonder the Psalmist said in Psalm 33:16-1

Finishing Well 1

When Mary Magdalene reported to Simon Peter and the disciple that Jesus Christ loved that she could not find the Lord’s Body that had been placed in the tomb, they both ran to the tomb to verify her words. The Bible recorded in John 20:1-8 that they both ran together but the other disciple whom Christ loved outran Peter and arrived at the tomb first without entering. I could imagine the excitement, disbelief, shock and so many emotions that could be flooding their minds at that moment. But something curious happened; the disciple whom Jesus loved got to the tomb but did not enter in until Peter entered the tomb chamber before he could. That was quite distressing. He had run so hard yet he could not enter until another from behind entered first to ascertain that there was no danger! Praise God he later entered! So many times we had pursued the Lord concerning several matters but just when we were about to go in deeper, so many develop cold feet and draw back. Friend, it is not how fas

When You Feel Betrayed by God - Ed Stetzer

 ‘ Just can’t seem to forgive God’   is a common phrase I've heard in ministry over the years. Whether experiencing personal grief or physical suffering, we all have a propensity to blame God for circumstances beyond our control—and as such find it hard to “forgive” Him. I've experienced it in my own life.  I will always remember the way my sister Betty died. She was barely an adult when she was diagnosed with cancer for the second time. We, as a family, travailed the challenge of watching her as a 12-year-old suffer from a rare form of skin cancer. The chemotherapy, the disfiguring surgery and all the accompanying challenges were realities in our everyday lives.  She got better for nine years, but then she died, and I struggled with the question,   Why ? Both Mom and I had to confront the issue we   perceived   as God’s unfairness.  My mother avoided confrontation with God for seven years. Mom stayed away from church and from Christians. She could not understand (and still d

True Freedom

A disturbing trend is taking place in the Church and as children of God we must rise and turn the tide that has risen to overwhelm and silence the Church of the Living God! Praise God that the keys of the Kingdom has been given to the Church and no better time than these to use them. These are very critical times that we must arise and walk in the Truth that is Christ Jesus and fulfil the mandate of God upon our lives. Unfortunately, so many in the Body of Christ have set their minds wholly on what they can get on earth rather on what the Lord has in store for them in eternity. All they labour for is for the perishable things of the earth. Thus their messages are filled with ‘earth’. This is the times we must be alert and walk in spiritual discernment at all times in order to stand against strange teachings, designed by the kingdom of darkness to lead the Elect (if possible) into slavery. One such dangerous teaching is that anyone who is born again is immune to sin! They teach that a

Examine Yourself

When the very essence of a man’s belief system is challenged, the man rises in arms in order to defend it. This had been the norm from the beginning; in some religions they become destructive in order to defend the system they strongly believe in. However, if the foundation of what you believe in is not challenged you might be deceived to think your way is right and the truth. A day is coming that will reveal the truth about the diverse belief systems in the world, whether the world likes it or not. As a child of God though, we are not to rise up in arms against those that challenge our faith or dismiss them but we must be open enough to take in the criticisms and or corrections and analyse them based on the Light of the Word of God. Once it fails this test, we discard them. No one is saying you are not declaring or living the truth, but if it is done without LOVE, it is a PERVERSION of the Truth! The reason why evil has thrived and will continue to thrive is because so many are aver

Say Goodbye To The ‘Armor Bearer’ mentality – J. Lee Grady

My friend Charles wanted a mentor. He was eager to learn the ropes of ministry, so he asked an older pastor for training. The pastor agreed—but Charles soon realized the man wanted a valet, not an apprentice. Charles became the man’s “armor bearer.” The man never took Charles on hospital visits, involved him in ministry assignments or prayed with him. Instead, Charles was expected to carry the pastor’s briefcase, fetch coffee and take suits to the cleaners—with no salary offered. In this case, “armor bearer” was a spiritualized term for “slave.” This bizarre trend became popular in churches 20 years ago, but it still thrives. It appeals to insecure leaders who need an entourage to make them feel important. Some pastors have even assigned trainees to serve as bodyguards—complete with dark glasses and concealed weapons. These young men are instructed to keep people away from the pastor so he doesn’t have to talk to anyone after a church service (because, after all, the poor preacher mi

Unbeatable

All over the world, the enemy has stepped up his attack on the Body of Christ, however, those that ought to be watching are either blind, sleeping or have left their duty post. Fortunately, the enemy has nothing new to offer but to recycle the same ammunition he had used from the very beginning. There is therefore, a need to understand this tactic in order to stand against it and defeat it. As His children, God Almighty is our Shelter and Protector against the forces that confront us on a daily basis to bring us down. In the Bible, the people of Amalek had a way of attacking people that was similar to the operations of the devil. The Bible says “They met you along the way and attacked all your stragglers from behind when you were tired and weary. They did not fear God.” Deuteronomy 25:18. This is the same pattern the devil employs against the children of God. He has no fear of God as exemplified in his temptation of Jesus Christ. His age long system of attacking those that became we

Before You Move, Hear This…2

Have you been in a situation when you feel as if you have gotten to the end of your rope and it looks like you are not getting the responses you ought to be getting from Heaven considering the grave situation you are in? At this point, many advise us to take decisions based on the facts on ground! Armed with these facts, so many go on to take decisions that eventually alienate or push them completely out of the purposes of God for their lives. Naomi made a decision to return back to Bethlehem with her two daughter in-laws when she heard God had responded to their cries. However, when faced with the daunting prospects for their future Orpah one of the daughters in law chose to remain with her people and her gods. Ruth on the other hand forsook everything to follow her mother in-law back to a strange land. Ruth looked beyond her precarious situation and saw the God of Israel as a better God to serve than the gods of Moab. Despite the seemingly plenty and security she could find if she

Before You Move, Hear This…

So many times circumstances or situations we face force us to make decisions to save ourselves and our loved ones from hunger, danger, lack, famine and or hardship. These circumstances often times ‘lead’ us to alter our position or stand either spiritually and or physically in search of greener pastures while in reality we are actually moving from “The Source” or “The Land of Bread” (God’s Presence) into the very things we fear. When a person moves from the Fountain of Living Waters, such will go into a land that appears to be watered but in reality is a desert that devours its inhabitants. The book of Ruth started off by describing a man named Elimelech and his wife Naomi, both Ephrathites from Bethlehem in Judah. He along with his wife and sons left the land of Bethlehem for Moab because of famine. The Bible says he entered the land of Moab and settled there with his family. We don’t know for how long he lived there, but it was recorded that shortly after he died; his sons Mahlon and

Against All Hope

Are you going through any challenge that makes you wonder if God is actually listening to you? You have prayed, done vigils, and fasted yet no results? You have done all manner of deliverances yet to no avail? You have asked the Lord for forgiveness from sins you cannot even remember when you committed them. On top of all this, you are facing daily taunting from people that are around you that ought to empathize with you. The story of Hannah in 1Samuel 1 comes to mind. She was the first wife of Elkanah, a deeply religious family. He married another wife named Peninnah probably because of the childlessness of Hannah. Yearly they go up to the House of God in Shiloh to pray and offer sacrifices. Despite all this, Hannah’s state did not change. One can only imagine her state of mind when it was time to go the House of the Lord for sacrifice. So many at this point have turned back and stopped following because they believe the afflictions they are going through is beyond redemption; as a

Get Ready!

The days of carelessness and unconcerned attitudes to the happenings around us has passed; so many have grown hard and callous hearts towards these happenings. Unbeknownst to them, these very things are beginning to affect them one way or another. We are warned to “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk – not as unwise people but as wise – making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16. Friend, except we want to deceive ourselves the days are indeed evil and we know time is running out to the Coming of the Lord to rapture the saints. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no good news and the consciences of even the children of God are beginning to get use to this evil. There is a need to be cautious and come to the side of the Lord against this evil trend. Yes, the fact that you are heaven bound is not in dispute, but what about your colleagues, neighbors, friends, family, where are they heading? Maybe you are afraid to speak what you could hear God say

The Call 2

I once had an interesting conversation with a young friend that is just starting out in the call of God upon his life. He complained about the way his call was being received by those he called mentors. He felt he had not gotten enough support from them and he started doubting if God had truly called him. At the time of our conversation, he was feeling defeated, depressed and dejected. He expected that his ministry will be received and celebrated by his peers and his mentors. The tendency for so many at this stage is to compromise in the instructions received from God to gain the acceptance of the people. The Lord has put His word in our mouths and we have no choice but to declare what He is speaking. “ Then the Lord reached out His hand touched my mouth, and told me: look I have filled your mouth with My words.” Jeremiah 1:9.  Friend, they are not your words or message, it is the message of the Lord, why then are you seeking validation from people around you? The Bible tells us in

The Call 1

So many children of God carry offences in their hearts because they feel they ought to occupy a position or be ordained to a particular office and they are not. Consequently,  many have left the place of cover, training and primary assignments to places that will accommodate the fleshly intentions of their hearts. They forget Hebrews 5:4 that tells us “No one takes this honor on himself; instead, a person is called by God, just as Aaron was.” It is not for the individual to demand this honor because he/she feels they deserve it. The House of God is not a political association or the market place where people are rewarded for their loyalty or services! One cannot help but wonder: when they have such rewards here for their ‘works’, what other reward do they expect when they stand before the King of kings? You don’t need any man to validate you or the call of God upon your life. Each person on earth has a purpose and a responsibility entrusted to them on earth; none of us sneaked into

Take Charge!

We are in the times that the Bible calls Perilous Times in 2 Timothy 3:1-5. These are strength reducing times: times when people turn away from the truth, vulnerable to every wind of doctrine and not given to sound doctrine. They are dangerous times indeed! We are in a time that even the mighty are falling away from the truth on a daily basis. One of the things that is quite worrisome in these times is the denial of the Person of Jesus Christ and His works amongst believers. There is so much that God has put within us that we must give expression to in this times. The reason why a lot of people deny Jesus Christ as Lord is because of the love and preservation of self. Let’s see an example in the Scriptures, Psalm 78:9 – “The children of Ephraim being armed and carrying bows turned back in the day of battle.”   The experience of the children of Ephraim is being re-enacted in this times. People are running away from challenges or taken over by the troubles they are going through. Go

Climb The Tree

The political, economic and social terrain of the world is littered with broken and battered lives. The few that are wise have picked up themselves from the dustbins of the world system in search of Who this Jesus Christ is and what He is saying at these times. The Bible tells us in 1John 2:17 “ ...And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in His life abides (remains) forever.” (AMP)  Even the world’s scientists know that this present world with all its fads is passing away and have started advising people to store food in preparation for Doom’s Day! If the world knows and understands that a day is coming when this world as is presently known and seen will pass away, howbeit that many sons of the Kingdom are at a loss as to what to do? This is not the time to hype certain areas of the Scriptures to the detriment of others. This is the time to take