Battles may seem bigger the further we climb the ladder of life, the stakes higher but there are still others who need us. We must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder our communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people (standing in gap/mediating); but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, meaning struggling with God in agreeing to His will just like Balaam did, your foot may get crushed against the wall (Numbers 22) or you will be crippled for the rest of your life just like Jacob (Genesis 32: 24 – 25). Many at times we grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob and Balaam did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn’t meet with your approval, we force His permissive will there by causing God to say yes to our plea when actually it is not His consent. The consequences of such permission are not good.

Prayer is effective only when there is completeness— “take up the whole armour of God….” and making a distinction between God’s perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God’s permissive will is the testing He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters. We should not be spineless and automatically say, “Yes, it is the Lord’s will.” We don’t have to fight or wrestle with God, but we must wrestle before God things that need changes according to His will that way we become more victorious daily at the altar of prayer.

Excerpts from utmost.org 16/12/20

As his peers were promoted one by one, Benjamin couldn’t help but feel a little envious. “How come you’re not a manager yet? You deserve it,” friends told him. But Ben decided to leave his career to God. “If this is God’s plan for me, I’ll just do my job well,” he replied. Several years later, Ben was finally promoted. By then, his added experience enabled him to do his job confidently and won him the respect of subordinates. Some of his peers, meanwhile, were still struggling with their supervisory responsibilities, as they had been promoted before they were ready. Ben realized God had taken him the “long way around” so that he would be better prepared for his role. 
When God led the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus 13:17–18), He chose a longer way because the “shortcut” to Canaan was fraught with risk. The longer journey gave the people of Israel more time to strengthen themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually for subsequent battles. 

Sometimes what we call delays may be a process that we need to go through so as to be fully mature so as to handle or manage the responsibility that comes along with the blessing. As children of God let us not be quick to get into conclusion about any situation without first seeking the face of God to know His will (Jeremiah 33:3). The shortest way isn’t always the best. Sometimes God lets us take the longer route in life, whether it’s in our career or other endeavors, so that we’ll be better prepared for the journey ahead. When things don’t seem to happen quickly enough, we can trust in God—the One who leads and guides us.

Culled from odb.org12/11/20 (edited)

The true test of a person’s spiritual life and character is not what he does in the extraordinary moments of life, but what he does during the ordinary times when there is nothing tremendous or exciting happening. A person’s worth is revealed in his attitude toward the ordinary things of life when he is not under the spotlight (see John 1:35-37 and John 3:30). It is painful work to get in step with God and to keep pace with Him— it means getting your second wind spiritually. In learning to walk with God, there is always the difficulty of getting into His stride, but once we have done so, the only characteristic that exhibits itself is the very life of God Himself. The individual person is merged into a personal oneness with God, and God’s stride and His power alone are exhibited.

It is difficult to get into stride with God, because as soon as we start walking with Him we find that His pace has surpassed us before we have even taken three steps. He has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined in His ways. It was said of Jesus— “He will not fail nor be discouraged…” (Isaiah 42:4) because He never worked from His own individual standpoint, but always worked from the standpoint of His Father. And we must learn to do the same. Spiritual truth is learned through the atmosphere that surrounds us, not through intellectual reasoning. It is God’s Spirit that changes the atmosphere of our way of looking at things, and then things begin to be possible which before were impossible. Getting into God’s stride means nothing less than oneness with Him. It takes a long time to get there, but keep at it. Don’t give up because the pain is intense right now— get on with it, and before long you will find that you have a new vision and a new purpose.

Excepts from utmost.org

How far are you willing to go for Christ even when the odds are against you? (1 Corinthians 4: 10 – 13). Responsibility means the state or fact of being accountable for one’s actions. It is also the ability to make moral and rational decisions. Asking to be used by God, be blessed, and to be a blessing to your generation is a serious business and for such a role to be given to you, you must show total dependence on God. Anything else won’t go. If you check the Scriptures you will see that only a few men make it to the top. These men and women defied all odds and by the confession of their mouths and also by putting their lives on the line as long as they are in accordance with God’s will, they overcame. To be used by God is not just a walk in the park. Many pray this prayer (to be used by God) including me but I must warn you that this is no child’s play. Handling spiritual matters can be the easiest thing if you choose to obey God’s instructions without being sentimental, yet the most dangerous thing ever (Hebrews 4:12). Until you see that being a true leader is to be the servant of all then will it be handed to you by God. The same with blessings, until you can see yourself being made as a sacrifice for others by what is given to you, such things you are asking will be put on hold waiting until you can be broken and be made as a sacrifice, then God “may” decide to bring it into manifestation. Don’t think that all leaders are leaders. Some are tyrants and dictators and should not be seen as leaders. Leaders are servants (Matthew 20:26). 
In our walk with God, we should ask God for the willingness to submit our will to His will no matter how impossible we may think the task is. Jesus told Philip in John 6:5, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” God in Genesis 22:2 said to Abraham, “Take your son, your only son—yes, Isaac, whom you love so much—and go to the land of Moriah. Go & sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains, which I will show you.” Both messages are similar and are pointing to salvation. When the disciple found a boy with his lunch and the boy was willing to give his lunch for the sake of others. Jesus broke the bread and the fish and gave to His disciples to share and after, 12 baskets were gathered. The same way Abraham was willing to give up his only son as a sacrifice to God. The Lord made provision and today we are called children of Abraham. Both sacrifices point to the work done on the Cross (Luke 23). When Jesus died and was buried, He rose back to life and today millions are born new in the Spirit (1 Peter 1: 2 – 4). 
We are made as sacrifices when we go through trials and diverse tribulations. Because of  Christ we look like fools, we are weak, ridiculed, sometimes we go hungry and thirsty and don’t have enough clothes to keep warm yet we bless those who curse us and patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment. But be sure to know that all your suffering and being foolish for Christ does not go unnoticed by the Lord for in due time He shall bless and reward us in full. 

May we remain faithful till the end and never lose our taste as we are the salt of the world and the light of the world. Today we are living epistles that men read and come to Jesus (2 Corinthians 3: 2 – 4).

Marriage is purely spiritual (Ephesians 5: 31 – 32). God alone can keep it running. Inviting God to be the head helps to make your marriage work well. He will guide both couples as they honour Him thereby making the marriage beautiful.

Love in marriage (Genesis 24:67) is like the shock absorber in a car. Love helps the marriage sail through the storms of life. When you love your spouse you are proud of the person irrespective of the social status and beauty or no beauty. Both couples protect each other when love is in the marriage.

To make a marriage work, effective communication (Colossians 4:6)between a couple is needed. This helps in bringing understanding between couples knowing what both like or don’t like. Communication also helps both spouses to learn to compromise without a fight and to disagree to agree in love.

Love Making (sex) (1 Corinthians 7:5) is the lubricant that keeps a marriage going. It spices the marriage. When it dies there will be a crack. This brings about the end of the marriage unless it’s rekindled.

Money is meant to bring comfort and ease to marriage (Hebrews 13:5). Be content with you have, agree, and build together and in all commit everything in God’s hands. Any woman or man who goes into marriage with the intention of saving money for himself or herself in the case of any eventuality has already broken the marriage before entering it.

Obedience and believing in the totality of God’s Word will keep any marriage from crashing or sinking. Try and avoid the third party in the marriage as much as possible and report all your challenges to God in prayer. When a spouse is angry or hurts, the best place to go is to channel all grievances to God. You’ll be amazed at how fast you will heal as long as you follow the direction of the Holy Spirit without a doubt. Remember in marriage prayer without obedience is like faith without works.

When couples disagree and refuse to come to terms to resolve their differences or better still come to a compromise, at this point is where couples bring the marriage to an end and go their separate ways by divorce. God never wants any of us to divorce.

An adage says that you cannot start learning how to use your left hand in old age when you are right-handed. Begin early in applying Kingdom principle in your marriage if not you may live to regret actions taken no matter how irrelevant the decision may look. But the only way both couples can make their marriage work is to go back to God who knows how to restore His people and is able to restore the marriage as long as both couples agree. Our Father in heaven surely knows how to turn our mess to miracles.

God’s throne is established upon authority. All other authorities are appointed by God (Romans 13:1). No one in the whole universe has authority except God. It does not matter where you are: office, business or market place, church, etc. This is why we need to learn to submit to God’s authority only then can authority be bestowed on us. 

Our service to God is not a matter of voluntary sacrifice or self-denial rather it is a matter of accomplishing God’s will (Romans 12:2). If we truly want to represent God, we must first be acquainted with Him through His Word and also by the dealing of the Holy Spirit. All our authority is based on our knowledge and learning before the Lord. If we have sufficient experience and understand His ways according to John 15, only then can we have authority, execute it and others will submit to your authority as well. Satan is afraid of us submitting totally to the authority of Christ (God’s will). 

Now there is a possibility in God’s work that we can stand in principle on Satan’s side while we stand in doctrine on God’s side and we may think that we are still doing the Lord’s work. This means that while we may be teaching that Jesus Christ is Lord (doctrine), we may still see it as nothing when we go on sleeping with women believing it’s alright (values) as long as God is answering our prayers and the gift of God in our lives are being made manifest. When this action is in play Satan no longer respects or fears us because He knows we are treading on dangerous grounds that can get us killed at any time (Proverbs 14:12). This is one of the reasons many leaders in the church have lost authority given to them by God without knowing it. Authority is not something to play with and anyone who authority is bestowed on should submit himself for the Lord’s sake to every human institution and to be ready for every good deed. It is so sad to see some people misuse authority given to them thereby causing people to discredit others who are in the same line of work. Beloved, righteousness exalts a nation  but sin is a reproach (Proverbs 14:34). The verse does not say that our past righteousness will exalt us today or tomorrow, nor does it say that our current sin will one day in the distant future be a reproach. 

The administration of the whole universe is under God and the greatest demand God has on man is not bearing the cross, offerings, consecration, or self-sacrifice but SUBMISSION (Obedience). Obedience is the highest expression of response to God’s will. The Kingdom of God is an order of government established by divine authority. It is the only legal government that can exist in any part of the universe.

Many winners have reached their success by climbing a special ladder called “Never Give Up”. However, there are also many who have lost the opportunity to achieve success because they gave up too soon. This can happen in every area of life: family, education, friends, church, business, etc. Perseverance and relying on God’s word is the key to victory. Apostle Paul persevered despite persecution and affliction (2 Timothy 3: 10 – 11). He viewed life with realism, but most especially with the eyes of the spirit. As followers of Christ we will suffer persecution and affliction, this is no longer news. We need to arm ourselves like warriors with the same purpose Christ had, being willing to suffer for doing what is right and pleasing God because when we suffer in the flesh we are done with sin (wilfully sinning). Whenever troubles of any kind come our way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. I know some of you will be like…… “talk is cheap”. I’ve learned to trust God and I’m being reminded when my faith is tested, I have a chance to grow and be more mature spiritually. I must confess that during the trial it’s not always easy. What we need to do during these periods is to ask God for the grace to go through it and as well look into the Word of God that is like a mirror that will show us a way out as we keep trusting and relying on God.
The Word of God will definitely give you the assurance and also the insurance to know that God is there with us even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of pain, we shall continue to allow our patience to grow. And when it grows, our spiritual muscles develop and this enables us to have more understanding of spiritual matters and how to relate with people at any given point no matter how difficult they may be. In any situation you come up against, ask the Holy Spirit what to do even if you know what to do (this comes from a relationship with God). No matter how right the facts of your solution may be, trusting and obeying God is far more because He knows the end from the beginning and the beginning to the end. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours. Even Satan had to admit that God blesses us and can give us maximum protection……. “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land” (Job 1: 9 -10). I must tell you that God is not a magician and does not condone laziness as many would be thinking in their heads that’s why some of His promises of blessings are not forthcoming. Beloved, even when delays of your blessings happen either by Satan or by natural disaster or whatever, if God chooses not to allow it to happen it won’t but sometimes God allows things to happen so that our faith might be strengthened the more so we can know our true friends, see for ourselves how weak and the need for us to depend on Him.
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8)

The true test of our spiritual life is in exhibiting our mountain top experiences in the valley. It is a wonderful thing to be on the mountain with God, but a person only gets there so that he may later go down and lift up the demon-possessed people and heal the sick in the valley (see Mark 9:14-18; Matthew 8: 14 – 16). If we only have the power to go up, without the power to descend from the mountain then something is wrong. For example, when you are in a secluded place during a fasting and prayer time for like 3 days, there are things we experience such as what we hear God say to us, what we learn and also our approach to spiritual matters becomes more mature, etc. You must also be able to bring into application what we’ve learned during our time with God on the mountain top to our day to day living with all humility. Winning souls to the kingdom are one of the primary objectives of all our spiritual experiences. We are made for the valley and the ordinary things of life (day to day living), and that is where we have to prove our stamina and strength. Yet our spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mountain. Have you not felt like that before? As in to always feel as to remain there whenever you remember your time alone with God. I have been there before but thank God, He weaned me of such. We feel that we could talk and live like perfect angels if we could only stay locked up in a place praying and fasting, but we must not allow our spiritual selfishness from wanting to make them the only time.

We have all experienced times of exaltation on the mountain when we have seen things from God’s perspective and have wanted to stay there. But God will never allow us to stay there. If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed—you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed. Just like crude oil, it needs to be processed to become oil or diesel for car use (John 12:24). We have to be placed into God (mountain experience) and brought into agreement with Him before we can be broken bread in His hands. We don’t produce fruit on the mountain top experiences rather it’s in the valley (day to day living). And our relationship with God will allow us to express the life of Jesus each time we come up against any kind of challenge by being patient, love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control know the right and right place to apply our mountain top experiences in the valley place (day to day living).

Excerpts from utmost.org

’Whenever God says to pay attention we need to do so if not we may end up doing things in our own way. Many have limited themselves or rather have put a stop to their spiritual growth because of one disobedience or the other. Some of us because we choose to show ourselves when the time has not come, we end up being relegated by that very act of disobedience. 

Beloved, if we truly want to grow and be blessed by God in all areas of our lives and to have rest, we need to obey God’s commands (such as instructions), regulations and decrees. The characteristic of a disciple is not that he does good things, but that he is good in his motives, having been made good by the supernatural grace of God. This can come only by obedience. Obedience is the only way to self denial, death to self on a daily basis, and the way to the Cross.

If you desire knowledge and insight into the teachings of our Lord, you can only obtain it through obedience – to the totality of God’s written word without reservation or doubt. The golden rule to follow to obtain spiritual understanding is not one of intellectual pursuit, but one of obedience. The teachings of our Lord hit us where we live. We cannot stand as impostors before Him for even one second. He instructs us down to the very last detail (Psalm 37:23 The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives). The Spirit of God uncovers our spirit of self-vindication and makes us sensitive to things that we have never even thought of before. We must come in full admission that we are helpless before God so we can receive this grace of His to live a life of total obedience by the help of the Holy Spirit.  I would suggest that you examine the things you tend to simply shrug your shoulders about, and where you have refused to be obedient, and you will know why you are not growing spiritually. Even at the risk of being thought of as fanatical, still obey what God tells you.

 Prayer: Holy Spirit help me to obey You when it is convenient and when it is not convenient. Help me to obey You when I am being pressured and the demand is high on me to follow the way of the multitude. Help me Holy Spirit to obey even when all makes no sense to me and may I honour You the more, even when I am being hurt by my loved ones by still obeying You in Jesus name…Amen!!!

Excerpts from utmost.org 

Faith in Action

Take for example, “I say I love you,” My character and attitude must conform showing that indeed that I do love you by the way I respond to you, I help and assist you, my patience with you, my trust in what you tell me, and agreeing with you in almost all you say because I know you won’t miss lead me. I will always watch your back as well. Now this is faith in action. Anything other than this is manipulation especially the attitude and response towards your strength and weaknesses. Many of us Christians miss it when we say we have faith in God yet our attitude and character does not conform to what we confess. No way can the power of God flow in our lives no matter our fasting and prayers. When I speak of God’s power I mean the life of Christ flowing through you to touch the lives of unbelievers.

*Favouritism*

Vs 9 of that James 2 hit me like a bolt and I prayed and asked God to please help me not to and never to do preferences when I approach people or their matters. Funny enough I was meditating over 1 Corinthians 13 three days ago and it was as if my eyes was wide open and I began to see that all these we are running after; prophecy, knowledge, fasting and prayers, faith, miracles and power to heal etc if I don’t have love for my fellow man …….all I have gotten is a waste.

Love is the ultimate and will last forever whereas other things are just here today and gone tomorrow. So when Christ’s love rule in our hearts we are sure of heaven and will also experience other gifts of the Holy Spirit in full measure.

May the Lord perfect all that concerns us in Jesus name….Amen!!!!