God begins His work on us long before He saved us. Apostle Paul said, “But when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me that I might announce Him as the gospel among the Gentiles, immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood” (Gal. 1:15-16). This shows that Apostle Paul was set apart from his mother’s womb just like you and I. Then he told us that he became a minister of God’s word after having persecuted the church. While he was yet in his mother’s womb, God set him apart, and his course was assigned. You can check out what God told Jeremiah the Prophet in Jeremiah 1: 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” When Apostle Paul was saved, he embarked on this journey of faith. This shows that the preparation and initiation of a minister are determined by God when such a person is still in his mother’s womb. Most us think that this is only for pastors but the truth is that it is for the general Body of Christ – THE CHURCH. You may have been called as a doctor, engineer, plumber, politician, a governor, a lawyer, support worker, teacher, IT expert, etc., you should understand God’s sovereign arrangement in our environment. His hands is behind everything— in our family, and in our profession, even when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

The experiences we went through before we were saved and after being saved was and is still under God’s sovereign arrangement. Though our experiences may differ, I bet you they are all similar (1 Peter 5:9). God gives us our distinctive characters, our temperaments, our inclinations, and our virtues. He prepared all of these things. No one goes through any experience by accident. No person inherits a character trait by accident; everything is under God’s sovereign hand. He made provisions long ago for our natural abilities and experiences, and He has prepared us for our future commission. This means that the temptation and trials that come our way are not to make us fail rather strengthen our faith, to show us how weak we are, and the need to always depend on the Lord. God has no intention to remove the bad and ugly events that may come to our ways sometimes, rather He wants us to trust Him in everything we do no matter how little such things may be (Psalm 37:23 NLT). You remember what Romans 8:28 says, “And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose. For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honoured] among many believers. And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity] AMP Version.

In our Christian walk with the Lord, God wants us to consistently depend on Him and not to lean on our own understanding so as to be able to grow daily. This may not be easy sometimes but His grace is sufficient for us. If we are unwilling to be dealt with, we will not be able to work well for God not to talk of walking with Him. We must not think that such dealings are optional. What do I mean by dealing or dealt with? It is our daily carrying of our cross as Christians as we walk with Jesus. This daily walk with the Lord brings about our brokenness. We must be broken, and we must bear the mark of the cross not necessarily physical. Our spirit must be a broken spirit, and also have a repentant heart (Psalm 51:17). God’s word has to penetrate our whole being—our feelings, our understanding, our heart, and our spirit. It has to flow in and out of us; it has to be identified with us, and then it must be released from us as a result of grinding, crushing, and pressing. If our emotion is misaligned, if our mind is impaired, or if our understanding, heart, and spirit are even slightly off, we may likely misinterpret God’s word. Not only will our word be flawed, but the church is likely to suffer as well. We have to learn to allow God’s word to pass through us without any hindrance or contamination if not we will damage God’s word and affect the church negatively. This is why we have so many half-baked Christians, who have refused to submit to authorities and have decided to become leaders overnight without being a disciple.

In the wake of the devastating earthquake that destroyed much of Haiti in 2010, one philosopher wrote, “For those who believe in an all-good, all-powerful God, we’ve seen that they face a question that remains pressing after all these centuries, and which is now horribly underscored by the horrors in Haiti. If a deity exists, why didn’t he prevent this?”

Most people have an innate desire for justice and empathize when something unjust happens to the innocent. They also desire for mercy to be shown when adversity strikes. When we perceive that either of these two things is missing, the human response is often anger and blaming God for not doing what we think He should have done. The scene at the cross is the ultimate convergence of justice and mercy, and if viewed dispassionately, it’s the end of any arguments about God’s justice and His mercy: Both are fulfilled there. But here we also have human nature on full display when confronted by the face of God. One “criminal” hurls insults and denies Jesus (Luke 23:39). It appears that the other owns his own shame and asks that the Savior remember him (Luke 23:42). Did he think he would inherit “paradise”? (Luke 23:43). Hardly. He simply wanted some token of mercy.

Sometimes, especially amidst personal adversity or when learning of great human tragedy, we can become the scoffing thief—hurling insults and embracing disbelief because it looks as if God has no power or is unwilling to step in and save the day. The humble thief responded in the only acceptable way, however, as should we all: He was aware of his well-deserved condemnation and asked in humility for Jesus to respond to his need—seeking mercy rather than reward. By God’s grace he received both!

Culled from

www.ourdailyjourney 13/12/2016

In America, two brothers were sentenced to 20 years in prison for trying to kill their parents. They allegedly drugged their parents, stabbed them and tried to set the house on fire. Despite the horror they went through the parents have chosen to forgive their boys and asked the judge for mercy. These parents were willing to forgive their children no matter what has happened. This is love! Think of it, our Lord Jesus chose to forgive us our sins no matter how grievous it is, and to accept us as His very own when we repent of them (1 John 4:10). Sometimes you hear people say if God truly say He loves us why does He allow the killings and bombings around the world? Well I want you to know one basic truth: First of all, right from the day Adam and Eve ate the fruit they were told not to eat by God in the Garden of Eden man fell, and the only remedy is Jesus coming into the life of a man before man can take his rightful position. Secondly, the Bible said, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the LORD, search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve” (NLT Version). Salvation is free and God has given man free will to choose, to accept Him or not. What will you say about a young man who is in dire need of help but refuses help given to him. True change starts with and within us that way we can make impact in the lives of those around us both in the church (Body of Christ) and the world at large.

God’s love is wonderful and awesome. It’s so high, wide and deep that we cannot fathom it. Even though I always pray for God to touch the heart of sinners to repent, I have never fully understood how God can allow a wicked man who has committed so much atrocities such like wiped out a whole family still come and receive God’s mercies until I watched on the news about the two boys who wanted to kill their parents and their parents still forgave them and pleaded with the judge to have mercy on them. This is what Jesus does for all His creation today as long as you still have breathe in you. It is never too late to ask for this same mercy for God’s love is still available for us to access. What crime have you committed; is it abortion, is it killing a fellow man or woman, its it cheating on your spouse, is it drugs, name it. Jesus is at the door your heart knocking, if you will open your heart and receive Him, He will come in and take His rightful place in your life. New and great things will He do in your life (Luke 15: 11 – 32).  Jesus’ arm is still wide open just as it was on the cross for Him to embrace you and say, “Your sin has been forgiven, go and sin no more” (John 8:11). Your question may be is that all – well yes that is all as long as you don’t go back to your old ways. All you need is to find a living church where the Word of God is preached and the man of God is living a righteous life and there God will use him and other fellow believers to help you grow spiritually. Study the Word of God day and night. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand the mysteries in the Word and I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope God has given to us He called–His holy people who are His rich and glorious inheritance. I pray for you that God will meet every need you so desire to make you grow in your knowledge of Christ and that He shall send to you an angel in form of a friend who will guide you in the things of the spirit and to make wise decisions and such a person will not be afraid of your success or run you down because of your failures rather he shall encourage you and not quit. Remain blessed.