Issues of Forgiveness

Issues of Forgiveness

Anything that relates to gratifying the desires of the flesh will always sell. Anything that gives people the opportunity to gratify their sexual, selfish and self glorification appetite will make a very good business. Things outside these may bring spiritual satisfaction but they don't quickly appeal to people like those that tickle their carnal appetites. These things can be addictive and addiction sells.

Retaliation, either overt or covert, is one of those things that gratify the flesh. Vengeance is sweet to the flesh and the cravings for it can hardly be quenched in those who have allowed it to take them over. Pride would see it belittling that offences go without a disproportionately bigger repercussions of pain. It feels good to the carnal mind when something evil happens to someone who had taken advantage of it. It even sounds justifiable. But justice and repercussions aren't the same, mercy may come with justice but never with vengeance. Forgiveness may come with justice but there is no compassion in retaliation. Retaliation and forgiveness are as apart as hell is from heaven.

Just as sex and other addictions like pride and abusive substances sell, so also does vengeance sell. Check out most movies, especially action movies, they sell based on story lines in which vengeance is done sometimes outside the justice system. Even in religious cycles of all places, check out those churches that promise death to those who offend them, they seem to gather more people, same with those that permit other forms of fleshly gratifications and religious pride. And those that can combine these will have even more people. The flesh sells. 

But that's not the way of God. The way of God says love covers multitude of sins. It says, we should forgive, just as our heavenly Father forgives us through Christ. Jesus Christ told an elaborate story how we may not be forgiven our sins, if we insist on having vengeance on those who offend us. Peter had asked Him how many times he would forgive an offending associate, He had replied seventy times seven. No doubt, God wants us to keep forgiving those who offend us. Does this remove the place of justice and judgment? Of course not. But there are issues that shouldn't go to the law enforcement or to the judicial system which we should overlook without taking a revenge. 

Being vengeful isn't an act of love. Love is a major sign of the New Creation. He who doesn't have love abides in death. Being sensitive to every hurt and the inability to overlook wrong suffered is a major sign of spiritual death. Where there is no love, there is no light, there is no life, but gross darkness and death. The enlightenment of love is what brings civilization and development. People who don't prioritise love will remain uncivilized, raw, dangerous, fierce, violent, primitive and savagely. And that's the basic recipe for self destruction. 

Justice is an act of love, it gives everyone his desert in order to keep the evil away from the good. Retaliation isn't an act of love but of satisfaction of selfishness. There is no unforgiving spirit without the seed of vengeance. Unforgiving spirit will seek for ways to inflict pain in return and would be glad to see evil happen to the offender even if such is a sibling, a parent, a spouse or a close associate, even if the offence is only in their imagination. Unforgiving spirit will never give up, it never heals, it never overlooks, it is ungodly to its extent. Unforgiving spirit behaves as if it never hurts nor offend another. It's always ever perfect in its own judgment, it can only be offended, it doesn't offend in its own imagination. 

King Saul envied David and for many years pursued him in the wilderness to kill him. Twice David had the chance of killing him, but twice he spared his life and wouldn't permit another to kill him. No wonder, he was called a man after God's heart. 

Absalom's step brother raped his sister, he pretended as if he was alright with him till he had the opportunity to kill him. He too was killed in cold blood by another vengeful person in Joab. 

Solomon became king and gave God a thousand burnt offering, God appeared to Him in a dream offering him a blank check to ask for whatever he desired. He only asked for wisdom to rule God's people as he should. God showed how impressed He was with him, and gave him more than he asked for and one reason was because he did not ask for the lives of his enemies. 

We know about Christ who when He was insulted, did not insult in return. He taught us to love our enemies and to pray for those who despitefully use us. He taught us to forgive and to forbear and to be His disciple we have to follow Him closely and take to His teachings. 

We aren't doing people any favour forgiving them or not taking offence at their errors and the hurts we suffer from them, we are only following the example of the Master as our obligations. 

Of course, it always makes us look weak, as if we have no capacity to fight for our rights, but as someone said, meekness isn't weakness, it is strength in the spirit. It is smallness in the spirit to hold on to wrongs suffered, it negates the Spirit of Christ and the principle by which we are saved. 

We must overcome the flesh to forgive those who we hold things against and live free. We don't have to relate to forgive. Friendship and fellowship don't mean forgiveness and not being friends don't mean hatred or being vengeful. The key is to forgive to the point that remembering the hurts and the offences don't hurt anymore and don't trigger the urge to take a revenge. 

Take that step today, forgive and be healed! 

I pray God grants us grace to live like Him and for Him and not to seek self glory. 

Have a lovely weekend 

Romans 12:19

1Peter 3:9

1Peter 4:8

Mark 11:25

Colossians 3:13

Mathew 6:14&15

Matthew 18:21-(35)

Ephesians 4:31-32

1Samuel 24

2Samuel 13

1Kings 3:10-14

1Peter 2:21-23

1John 3:14

Photo Credit: Alexas_Fotos/Pixabay 

The Complexity of Gratitude

The Complexity of Gratitude

One of the end times characteristics is that people will be unthankful. Being unthankful isn't a character trait anyone would want to be characterised with. You don't want to be called an ingrate. No one wants to be. Yet, we can't be thankful enough even for the least of the good things others do to and for us through grace.

The truth is that people desire to be given credit for whatever they do. It seems to be how we are wired. The downside is that as much as we want others to acknowledge what we do, we don't always find it easy to show enough gratitude for what others do even if we hate the tag of an ingrate. It is a complexity in the nature of humans. 

The complexity of gratitude is embedded in the fact that none of us is self sufficient and we will always need and enjoy other people's graces and others too will enjoy ours. The complexity extends to judging how much gratitude will be enough for a good done. Most times, this is only in the mind of the doer of the good. But as we enjoy whatever benefit from others, it is required that we reciprocate to the best of our abilities under God. 

The complexity extends to the point of not being able to let the recipient know what would constitute gratitude that should be shown, so as not to be called an ingrate. I got to know at a point in my life that not every good thing people do freely is a gift. Not every gift is free, some are merchandise, which you can't finish paying for, the problem is that you won't ever know what you need to do to be free from the bondage of gratitude for such, no one tells you that. Some are forever indebted. 

Yes, we are forever indebted to those who have ever showed us help and grace but at what point does one start to become an ingrate? The complexity can actually become a blackmail depending on the people involved. 

I understand that one can be grateful today and withdraw the same gratitude tomorrow. One may be ungrateful today and realise that later and start being grateful for what wasn't recognised in the past. That too is part of the complexity of gratitude. 

Do I have a right to complain that someone didn't show me gratitude for what I did for the person even when it is clear that the effort or sacrifice wasn't acknowledged or reciprocated? I don't think so. This is part of the complexity. 

But I speak for myself here because I can't judge another person who feels he hasn't been properly acknowledged or thanked for what he or she might have done for another. Though I won't do that in my most noble state, yet, it will be absurd to me, for me to query anyone for complaining not being shown gratitude for what he or she did if such feels it is deserved. 

I write this at a ceremony organised by Lagos State Pension Commission (LASPEC) to give retirees of the state their bond certificates with which to claim their gratuities and their pensions. I came with a person who retired seven years ago. This should be a way of saying thanks to these old men and women for serving their community for many years...but the gratitude is coming seven years after for this particular person...but it is still gratitude, isn't it? Is it accepted or acceptable? This is part of the complexities of gratitude. Can gratitude be late? Does lateness constitute ingratitude? 

The best attitude is to do our good without any expectations of reciprocity. This is part of what's called grace. It is no more grace if after I'd done what I consider good and godly to expect the recipient to say thank you or to do something that I want for what I did. That should be at his or her own discretion. 

There are things we do that those who would benefit from them should ordinarily never know we were behind them. If we become too hungry for gratitude, we would someday walk up to them to tell them what we did just for them to say thank you. If I pray for you in my closet, should I come tell you, even if it would mean you seeing me as a good person and not telling may make me look bad? 

Jesus Christ said our gifts should be given without the right hand knowing what the left does. He said we should not blow the trumpet to offer our gifts. We should give to those who ask us and those who took from us, we should never ask again for the things taken. It shows to me that we should give, not expecting anything in return, not even a thank you, so that the heavenly Father can recognise the grace we show. 

God is the ultimate Paymaster. We should let Him do for us what He, as the faithful and righteous judge of all things, deems fit for what we have done. If we get too consumed by people's sense of gratitude or our own judgment of their thankfulness, we will weaken our hearts in doing good and closeup the flow of grace from us to others and from God to us. 

We should however do our best to show gratitude to our benefactors the best way we can, even if it comes short of their own expectations. God must know we are grateful in our hearts first, then we show it to those who do good to us to the best of our abilities. It won't be alright to trade with our good or with our gratitude to the point of unending reference. Let's free people and keep our hearts from unnecessary disappointments and hurts. 

The good feeling of being able to do good to the benefits of those who need it, grateful or not, is enough reward for doing good, and God, who is never going to be unrighteous will never forget our labours of love! 

Good Morning. 

Luke 6:35

2Timothy 3:2

Matthew 6:1-4

Luke 6:30

Hebrews 6:10

Photo Credit: SecularEthos/Pixabay

The World won't Light You Up: You Do!

The World won't Light You Up: You Do! 

So you paid for a full bouquet of a digital satellite TV as a Christian, that's OK. But remember there will be all sorts on it. Educational, News, Entertainment, Sports and of course, religion. Religious channels you don't believe in, entertainments that aren't Christianity compliant and even items that aren't your taste are all inclusive. 

What you do is tune to the channels that suit your needs and biases, ignore those that aren't and people won't even know you have such channels on your bouquet. That way you keep your home safe from the pollution of the world! 

Learn to overcome the temptations of watching what you shouldn't watch as a Christian, learn to take your eyes off what you shouldn't be seeing. That's the beauty of Christianity. We are in the world but not of the world, you won't overcome worldliness by asking the worldly not to be worldly. It's like coming to my house and telling me how to run my hood. You learn to keep your head and enjoy your host as much as you can while you are in my house, when you get to your home, you can do as you like. 

When we start behaving as if it's the job of government to help us live the Christian life or we start complaining how worldly the world is, we show how we are yet to understand that we have no enduring place here, we have no resting city here. This isn't home yet. 

The Old Testament and some other religions run as nationalistic religions. Where what's supposed to be spiritual laws become national constitutions and they may not run as designed without active support of an earthly governmental system back up. Christianity isn't like that, everybody doesn't have to comply to us to be able to run the race set before us. That's why Christianity is more tolerant and predominantly Christian communities accommodate all and that's the strength of the system, it opens up the opportunity for non believers to feel the love of Christ and have the choice of following Christ. 

When we get to that point where we become political or social pressure groups to fight for rights as if we need that to be Christian, we know we have refocused from heavenly things to carnality. 

We must begin to disciple ourselves to live the life even in hostile environments and communities. We are not those who will demand everyone to cover up so that we won't be tempted to be adulterous or immoral. We remain holy even with naked and nude sinning men and  women all around. We are called to live without being spotted by the world. The world is there as dark as ever and gross darkness will still cover the earth, and it is our light  that will shine for the glory of the Lord to be revealed and it's into that light that people will rush into according to Isaiah. We are the light of the world, we are the salt of a decaying world to preserve it, we can't place that responsibility on the world, rather we are to show the world the alternative that's in Christ. 

If we are demanding of the world to arise and shine, if we have got to the point that the world should not decay because we don't want to smell the rot then what's our salt good for, what's our light good for? 

Photo Credit: EvgeniT/Pixabay

Christian! This world won't comply to you, it won't adjust to accommodate you, you are the one not to conform, you are the one to keep transforming till your godly life and light shine across the world and it's darkness. You are the one to keep holding forth the Word of life in the perverse and crooked world. The world is unrepentant, it's individuals in it that'll step out of it while it keeps its rebellion and perverse reputation in its gross darkness. It won't comply to you until God's Kingdom comes and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our God, while we wait for that, we refuse to be sucked in, we refuse to be moved and on the day of visitation we'll be saved. 

Let's learn to keep our position and stand, living as we have been equipped, with the life and the Spirit of God, occupying till He comes, providing the people an alternative to the world!  Maranatha!

God in Man's Court:Judging God, Justifying God.

God in Man's Court: Judging God, Justifying God.

3 True, some of them were unfaithful; but just because they were unfaithful, does that mean God will be unfaithful?

4 Of course not! Even if everyone else is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures say about him,

“You will be proved right in what you say,

and you will win your case in court.” Romans 3 NLT

3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned,
And done this evil in Your sight—
That You may be found just when You speak,
And blameless when You judge. Psalm 51 NKJV

Have you ever tried to judge God? OK, that sounds too strong, let me rephrase, have you ever questioned God over an issue in which you feel He could have done better because things didn't go the way you had expected, prayed or believed?

It seems we do that often, though mostly unconsciously. It is the basis of most people's unbelief, spiritual lethargy or even atheism. It's just like someone, a priest, head of a worldwide denomination, who got to the scene of the tsunami south East Asia, and purportedly wondered aloud if there was God who permits such things to happen.

But the scriptures seems to envisage God in man's court of judgement. David had referred to the scenario where God would be judged, as ridiculous as that sounds. How can the Creator of the heavens and the earth, of the spiritual and the physical, the all knowing, the all powerful and the ever present, be judged by this weak being who knows so little about things and hasn't even being able to conclude on how and why he and his world came to being, be able to question His Creator?

But God who made man the way he is, knows his tendencies. He made man a free moral agent with a freewill and certain degree of audacity. He was made to be able to choose either to go against the laws of his existence or to comply with them, made to either acknowledge and fear his creator or to despise and rubbish Him in his foolishness. And of course, the majority would rather choose not to acknowledge God. In that regard, the only thing man, probably has failed to postulate as hypothesis is that man actually created the universe or the multiverse. He has driven close to saying he created himself actually or what does he mean when he says, he evolved, as of evolution being intrinsic within him?

So, man can judge God and God wouldn't mind, actually. God made man in His own image and since God is Judge by nature, man too would display such instincts of being able to judge things, and God too can be a subject of man's judgment even with his limited knowledge.

And that's actually the issue here, knowledge plays a big role in being able to judge rightly. When Jesus Christ says we should not judge, He didn't mean we should throw away our ability to make decisions and to recognise errors. He was saying we should be ready to be judged with the same measure we used in judging others. If that would be dangerous which can lead to mistrials, then we better don't judge others at all. This is because we don't always have a complete knowledge of issues and it could bounce back on us. Lack of adequate knowledge is an handicap in passing truthful judgment. We may be sincere in judgement but not truthful and so we have to be careful.

In our inadequate knowledge and jagged picture of God that we have, we still try to judge God. That then leaves us with mistrials. Aside the fact that we don't often judge ourselves first. Man is so conceited, that he feels he's always perfect and God is the one who isn't. Oh, you'll quickly wonder where I got that from. Who ever says God's not perfect? You asked. Well, we say that every time we try to judge God. If He were perfect why would we ever put Him in the defense dock?

But then that's not where God's justification is. Some would want to justify God by default, while that's ok, because we agree that He is perfect and the definition of perfection as the standard, yet, God would want to be judged by His merits. He is justified in His sayings according to the scriptures we quoted.

He corrected Job and his friends through one of the friends, Elihu. And all God was saying is that He had done what is good for Job which was justified by the latter end of Job. Some other friends of his had wanted to exonerate God by fiat, and God wouldn't take any of that, just as He won't take Job justifying himself either.

God would proof Himself. Yet not on our terms but definitely through our unflinching faith in Him. He won't compromise that. If we conclude that He doesn't exist through unbelief or by experience, we are on our own...He won't proof Himself if our faith in His existence isn't concluded.

When He is judged, He will be found true. He does not do evil. If evil happens, He may have been sidelined and ignored. We sideline Him when we won't do our parts. We are burdened with the responsibility of finding out the laws and the resources provided for us by God to make life here liveable to its extent against all the forces that might work against us. Man was made to survive the universe but he must find out how. If he fails in that responsibility, it won't be God's fault anymore. He is justified whenever we judge Him.

An example is the rate of mortality among nations of the world. There are deaths that would have been averted were it in some other countries, yet we blame such deaths on God. The fact, that other humans have conquered such deaths, is justification for God in man's court of judgement.

Where was God when a terrorist group killed a priest? Then I will ask why the group won't try it in some other countries with better security systems? Many of the evils of the world are problems we can overcome, which actually have been overcome among some groups. We were created to dominate this world and we can and we have in many areas. Genesis 1:26&27.

If we act more like David, a man after God's heart, who knew that what had befallen Him wasn't God's fault but his, we will see God being justified more and more.

We often believe that we have no obligations in whatever happen around us. That sense of irresponsibility is what unfairly condemns God in our courts of judgment. But don't we have responsibilities in how we fare in this world? Obviously, we do. We have all that it takes to find out all that God has given us and to use it to the benefits to which God intended them to be to us.

Can you imagine that some adults in some countries don't know if its possible not to have electricity in one day? Yet some others in other parts of the world live in perpetual darkness and powerlessness with its terrible consequences. But God created electricity to serve humanity, so that they would be able to enjoy this world to the extent to which He planned it to be. So, if you don't have electricity and people live less than humans and die from its consequences, should such be blamed on God?

We have provisions both in the spirit realm and in the physical and there are laws and procedures by which we can access these resources to benefit us and support our existence here. These are the codes for our dominion over whatever evils are here on earth and if we won't discover, learn and apply these, we may not enjoy the fullness of all that God made for us to enjoy.

Don't let me bore you, if I'd not done that already. My heart is full of thoughts having just lost a friend. But let me close with this scripture that put the responsibility of so many of our failures right at our doorstep.

2. It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,
But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25

If God would be judged, it will be right to judge Him based on His responsibility and not on man's responsibility. God has the responsibility of providing things which He conceals, man has the responsibility of finding those things out. If a package is sent to you, it won't be the responsibility of the sender to open the package and use the items within, would it?

The word, 'kings' in Proverb 25:2 is instructive in showing that it isn't an individualistic effort that must discover those things that make for our peace, progress, development, dominion and enjoyment on the earth but a corporate and leadership responsibility, which finds out what things have been made available to subdue evil and create peace beyond greed on this present earth. If kings won't do it, they and their people will remain subservient to those kings who do it.

Does this mean that divine intervention within the purview of man's failures and prevalent evil won't be available? Not at all, His mercy will still come through and His promises, He will keep but we must also always seek to do our part for the world to be all that God planned for it to be.

Good morning! 

The Righteousness Culture

The Righteousness Culture

Culture evolves. Except we deliberately decide to keep it, it's change is inevitable. The problem is that culture, just as any other issue in nature must be cultured, because if left to go its own path, it won't always bring what's ultimately beneficial to the people within it.

The morality and the practices of a people group can't be left to the morality of the individual. The corporate morality of a group of people must be determined by those values and the aspirations of the people according to their potentials and their possibilities. This is a job for altruistic visionary leadership. Of course, we use the constitution and other moral codes to steer the direction of culture, leadership must isolate core values from the available moral codes to form what should become culture and practices of the people to create uniqueness and corporate identity for the people otherwise, the people would be known more for evil than for good.

Religious beliefs and practices provided for ancient communities, moral codes from which values and conducts within them are formed. Lots of modern advanced communities developed their corporate and societal moralities from those religious codes even when religion has become less popular. You can not exorcise the influence of the love of Christ from the present practices in communities with Christian foundations. The freedom of grace and care for the poor, the weak, the visitor, the sick, the disadvantaged and the less privileged by corporate governance sit well with the core doctrines of grace brought by Christ, things we easily see in these communities these days. 

When Jesus Christ said the poor you will always have with you, it was a responsibility He was transferring to us and not an information to maintain the status of the poor or to justify poverty in society. 

Judas, who would eventually sell Him to the enemies couldn't fathom the spiritual importance of a woman pouring an expensive oil on the feet of Jesus Christ, to him, it was a waste. His perspective actually made sense, except that it was a symbolic act pointing to the burial of Jesus Christ who would soon be crucified. Judas had raised the issue of the poor being more in need of such largesse. Jesus then told him, you will always have the poor to take care of, but His own time was about to end and such act was necessary. 

By that, He left a command that the poor should always be taken care of, which was what formed His ministry budgetary and financial policy back then. 

The disciples preached and practiced that alongside the preaching of the gospel. And as the gospel spread into nations, people embraced not just the beliefs but also the practices. With time, it formed the culture of nations, even where Christianity, as a religion wanes, the character of Christ remains malignant in corporate policies, eroding barbarism and establishing love and care in taking care of and protecting the weak, the sick, the visitor, the jailed, the less privileged even animals, as culture.

It has defined modernity, civilisation and enlightenment in many societies. Helped people break barriers of gender, social and economic classes and set nations on the path of greatness as corporate moralities affected the values and the culture of work, relationships and leadership.

Of course, many have used religion, even Christianity to do evil but such evils would never be traced to the person of Christ or to His teachings, no matter how hard some religious or irreligious people try. 

Christ's love, the freedom He gave to people around Him and His stance against violence, governmental and religious leadership insincerity and hypocrisy are well documented and can be seen. That's a major reason why certain detractors would rather claim He never existed.

His teachings about doing good, going the extra mile, abolishing an eye for an eye, loving the enemy, not giving evil for evil, visiting the sick, giving to the poor, visiting the criminal in prison, clothing the naked and association with the poor, peasants and weak yet not abandoning those who are better off are hallmarks of His lifestyle and teachings.

So, to identify with Christ and not just with mere religion purportedly derived from Him, we cannot leave doing good to pursue some esoteric righteousness that does no one no good beyond public disturbance. A follower of Christ would seek to do what He says and what He did. A follower of Christ is redeemed from wickedness and set in motion to zealously practice good as derived from the love nature of God. A follower of Christ would live in His core teaching of Matthew chapters 5, 6 and 7, otherwise, it's mere religiosity.

Now, in a community where there are lots of people who believe in Christ from this perspective, we expect to see Christ likeness become culture. Going to church and bearing Bible names won't be enough, except for mere hypocrisy. Going about with big church titles won't be enough. Christ and His light must be clearly seen in the practices of those who claim to follow Christ. 

Of course, we know many are followers of churches and church leaders and not followers of Christ, but we should rather follow Christ otherwise our religion is nonsense, irrelevant and disturbing! Where following Christ becomes an avenue for exploitation and for multiplicity of darkness, sickness, poverty and death, then it is not following Christ, we had no so learned Christ.

Crowds in church isn't a sign of revival until those crowds start occupying for Christ by showing the life, the light and the love of Christ in their communities and societies. It is more than gathering to sing and to dance and to share high sounding sermons heavily laden with superstitions but lacking Christ, His thoughts and His works. Our society can never enjoy development when those who claim to know Christ won't show forth His love and light in every space they occupy.

It takes a deliberate decision to follow Christ, it will cost you. It is the cross, it is self denial, it is laying down all, it is sacrificial, it is self immolation. When we clamour for this, our society becomes better, we become humane, less barbaric, less calloused and insensitive to the weak, the sick and the poor. That's when we become godly and Christ like. Not just when we go to church or sleep there.

 James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

Have a great week! 

Matthew 26:6-13

Matthew 25:33-40

Matthew 5:43-48

John 13:29

Galatians 2:9&10

Proverbs 12:10

Luke 9:51-56

Matthew 5:38-42

Matthew 26:52

Titus 2:13&14

Ephesians 4:20

Matthew 16:24

No Love Lust

No Love Lust

Yes, it's correct. No love lust. It definitely rhymes with the idiom, no love lost, which means no love exchange between two or more people or groups of people. Though it rhymes with the idiom, it isn't saying the same thing exactly.

Love and lust are often used in place of one another. The negativity that comes with the word 'lust' limits its use, people prefer to use the word love in place of lust. The result is that people take lust for love and love for lust.

The demarcation between the feelings of lust and of love is only a thin line. Both have passion and energy, but one is only selfish and the other sacrificial, though under their spells, only the mature would know the difference. The pleasures derived from them are also different, one is intense but short-lived, while the other may start out slowly to burn for eternity. One is like fire from a pile of wood, while the other is like fire from a petrol explosion. One has the tendency of getting you into trouble that won't end, while the other gets you into lifetime bliss and goodness. One definitely is more attractive than the other, that sluggish one often looks too drab even if that's what's good for us.

The Bible tells us that worldliness is made of three things, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. All the three are expressions of selfishness. They are the cravings of our flesh. When the Bible talks about the flesh, it's not talking about our bodies, but a mindset that seeks to exalt and satisfy self without restraints nor respect for God or for others.

 Self is expressed in the way we manage our appetites and importance in relation to other people. When self is managed by lust, there won't be restraints in satisfying sexual cravings, in desire for things and in self expression and in the sense of personal importance.

Ordinarily, unrestrained self cares less about others. When the urge for sex comes, lust is nondiscriminatory, it won't care who is used to satisfy it and at whose expense. When the desire for a thing arises, lust doesn't care whose those things are, they must be acquired at all cost even when not needed, but just because the eyes crave for them. When it is to express self, lust will do anything to put others down, even if they are better in reality and may not mind going any length to put self above perceived and actual competitors because lust always says you're better than the rest.

And when lust is on rampage, both the subject and the object are in danger. The object becomes a victim to be exploited and the suffering begins immediately and may last a lifetime, while the suffering of the subject, the perpetrator, begins after the initial and temporal pleasure of sin and may last forever. 

What about love? Love is the very opposite of lust. Love gives as the ultimate reason. Lust gives as a means to an end, the end, which is to satisfy itself and discard the receiver with inflicted pains. 

Love seeks good and not evil for others even at the expense of the lover. Love never takes advantage of others. It does not seek to satisfy self by depriving others, love won't put others down to exalt self, it would rather condescend in preferring others.

Sexually, love would stay by its commitment to a lover and would not deprive others of their spouses. Love won't sleep with another man's wife or with another woman's husband. Love won't even crave for such. It respects others and seeks their pleasure. Love won't make a love vow and break it either by doing things contrary to the vows or by walking away from it. Love won't abuse others, physically, psychologically, financially or in any other way. Love protects people's lives and dignity.

Even among married couples, love in sex would mean seeking the sexual pleasure of your spouse and not just yours even when you may have to sacrifice yours. It expresses itself same way in acquisitions and in self importance. Love does not puff of, its never conceited, never envious. 

That's why in intimate relationships, you have to follow love and not lust. Are you sure your suitor isn't being motivated by lust? Are you sure that lady you're holding isn't there with you just for what she can get? Isn't that guy just out to use you for his sexual lusts?

Are you sure you are in that relationship because you really love that person and you're ready to make sacrifices to better the person or is it just for what you want to get out of it sexually or materially?

It isn't love, when all you do is exchange sex for things between you and your spouse. The day sex won't come there won't be things to exchange and the day those things won't flow, sex won't be available...and the day they are missing nothing holds the relationship for any higher purpose. That's not what relationships are meant to give. It normally ends in destruction. 

Seek love, not lust, 

Give love, not lust. 

Let it be love, and not lust,

No love lust.

Happy weekend! 

Unleash the Treasure Within

Unleash the Treasure Within

Jesus Christ came to offer us good hearts. Being born again is not an outward stamp of divine approval but an inward operation to install an operating application that would positively affect our overall output quality.

When we believe in Christ Jesus, in the prophecies concerning Him, in His life, in His Words and His works up to His death and His resurrection and we consequently submit to His lordship, God saves us. We activate the redemption His life, death and resurrection provided on our behalf and an operation, the operation of the New Creation is activated within us. We become born again.

When this happens, our sins are washed away because the Lamb of God had taken away the sins of the world and those sins will never be remembered anymore.

The old stubborn, stony and hard heart that ran against God is taken away and replaced with the heart of flesh, upon the table of which the laws of God concerning the person is inscribed causing a circumcision of the heart.

A new spirit is given. Regenerated and "regened" with the very nature, the supernature of God, it is the power to become God's children and the ability and the potential to grow up spiritually to become like Him, to be transformed and conformed to His image. It is called the eternal kind of life, Zoe. This life gives us the potential ability to get the glorious body at the resurrection just like Jesus Christ, the first born from the dead. The new spirit is built to be able to accommodate God through the Holy Spirit. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit within our bodies from where the fruit of the Spirit is released to the outside. 

Then we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a seal of our redemption to lead us by the quickening of our mortal bodies and the ordering of our steps into doing the will of God and bearing the fruit of the Spirit. Blowing and driving us as the wind blows in the direction of divine destiny and the will of God per time. 

This operation is what Jesus Christ meant when He taught on the treasure of the heart and how until the heart is filled with good treasures, the mouth can't speak good things. He rebuked the Pharisees, how they were whitewashed sepulchres and hypocrites filled with dead men's bones. The Pharisees are the height of what men can become through external religions pursuing God's righteousness, yet it is lacking, because it didn't have the power to change the heart. 

But as good as the new creation is, the release of all that potential depends largely on the person. We were set free so that we can make personal decisions, hopefully in God's favour. God wants us to truly submit by our own free will so that the Holy Spirit can drive us and we can bring forth the fruit of the Spirit. We can't be masters and the Holy Spirit will be master same time. We have to die for Him to live through us. 

It takes our conscious effort towards doing good and expressing righteousness to release the enormous power we have in the new creation. If we don't do that, spiritual evil weeds will outgrow the heart and it will live as if it hasn't been regenerated and the result will not be as expected. The new creation is like the seed broadcasted by the sower, the heart that receives it must be ready to do something with it or else it goes to waste in character and in charismatic power. 

The New Creation man has the capacity to live like God and face challenges like God with God's power and wisdom so as to live above the lusts in the world, but such will have to realise what he or she is loaded with, such must realise the newness he or she has and the nature, the supernature within and confront temptations and trials from that understanding and from that platform of faith to overcome. Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world. 

Jesus Christ said, a good man, out of the good treasures of his heart brings forth good things... This is who we are. The treasures within us are the fruits God wants us to deliver to the use of the evil and caustic world around us... To bring life to the dead, to bring light to the darkness and to bring love to the world filled with hate, wickedness and insensitivity. 

Will you start unleashing the good treasures within you as from today as one with the new creation? Unleash newness and be different! 

Matthew 12:33-35

Matthew 23:25-28

Jeremiah 31:31-34

Ezekiel 11:19-21

Ezekiel 36:25-27

John 3:3-10

2Peter 1:4

2Corinthians 5:17

Romans 8:11-14

John 1:12-13

Romans 10:9-10

Galatians 5:22

Philemon 1:6

Photo: Pezibear/Pixabay 

Leadership, A Limiting Factor

Leadership, A Limiting Factor. 

29 There be three things which go well, yea, four are comely in going:

30 A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any;

31 A greyhound; an he goat also; and a king, against whom there is no rising up.

Proverbs 30

2 Show me a righteous ruler and I will show you a happy people. Show me a wicked ruler and I will show you a miserable people. Proverbs 29

In science, the theory of the limiting factor is well experimented both in physiological and environmental processes.

It is defined in physiology as the slowest, therefore rate-limiting, step in a process or reaction involving several steps.

Imagine a convoy of vehicles leaving a point to another destination, to arrive as a convoy, the vehicles must all go at same speed. Under such a condition, the slowest moving car and not the one with the capacity to go fastest, controls the overall speed and the time of arrival.

Sometimes, leadership is like that. It does not matter the quality of those who lined up behind a leader, the overall outcome depends largely on the overall quality of leadership provided. 

Ecclesiastes 8:4 Where the word of a king is, there is power;

And who may say to him, “What are you doing? NKJV 

Certain powers come with leadership. This authority is used based on the vision, the character and the competence of leadership. The authority that comes with leadership is meant for edification and not for destruction. 

 

"For even if I should boast somewhat more about our authority, which the Lord gave us for edification and not for your destruction, I shall not be ashamed." 2Corinthians 10:8 NKJV

But the powers don't translate to edification automatically, it all depends on the vision, the person and the competence of the person in power. It can actually become a tool for the destruction of the same people it was meant to build up. It can also become a self-destruct device in the hand of the leader. 

An African billionaire was once quoted to have said he had had no choice than to be friends with whatever political party that's in power because just one policy statement of government can bring you to poverty. 

That's the power of leadership. It can be a limiting factor depending on who handles the position. That's why nations aren't as rich or as resourceful as their natural and human resources but to the level of the quality of leadership they have been under. A people is where they have been led. Leadership defines the destination, the direction and the speed of a people group in their quest for freedom, welfare and greatness. When leadership is the slowest of all the factors of change, it becomes a limiting factor to the people's quest for self actualisation. 

The wisdom of leadership to transform from being a limiting factor to being a motivation is in recognising its own imperfections and limitations and to organise in such a way as to be able to limit those personal limitations from limiting his or her leadership service provision. 

Every people group has its own potpourri of human resources capable of extracting what the group needs to maximise its potential. Leadership function is to engage these human resources, who are skilled but not as empowered, to measure the distance between where the group is and where it has the capacity to be, and to work out the hindrances to covering that space, devising means of covering the distance and overcoming the hindrances on the way without sentiments. When that has been done, such solutions are executed with the power and the authority of leadership to move the system to the desired haven. When a leader thinks he or she is omniscient, he or she is headed for disaster! 

Inadequate consultation is the bane of leadership. Inadequate consultations in consulting people with personal visions, incompetent, parochial and shortsighted people, consulting people who are ignorant of the big picture and the power of corporate selfishness, who would rather get rich personally than make sacrifices for corporate prosperity. Such consultations will always end in people’s poverty and limitations and so undermine the true essence of leadership. It is a recipe for making a leader a limiting factor. 

Proverbs 25:4 Remove the dross from the silver, and a silversmith can produce a vessel;

5 Remove wicked officials from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness. GNT

A leader must know the limit of his or her own capacities. No human being is infallible, none is perfect. He or she must then engage those people with enough integrity and skills, the very best among his or her people, to help create a corporate vision and to pursue the corporate vision to fulfilment in order not to become a limiting factor to the whole group. 

Not doing this will make a community of Nobel prize winners in different fields live in an environment of poverty of ideas, paucity of innovativeness and lack of both mental and physical development due to the overriding leadership quality!