Category Archives: Ministry

January 24, 2023 · 7:56 pm

ANANIAS & Co.

I was on the cast of a stage play in my secondary school days. I did not have to memorize any scripts. I was a soldier in the play and all I had to do was to appear on stage at the right time with the other soldiers and fight. We disappeared backstage as the curtains were drawn on our scene. There was also another one in which I was just one of the stagehands and only got on to the stage when the curtains were drawn and away from the sight of the cheering audience.

On these two occasions, I definitely did not get any accolades from the audience because I did not do anything remarkable in their sight. However, without the fight scene in the play, it would not have been complete and of course, no stage play is smooth without the work of the invisible team that rearranges the stage between the scenes.

Celebration of those that are in our faces is a natural reaction for us and should not come as a surprise to anyone. However, some people do a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes and never make it to the stage in their entire careers. Yet without these people, the A-list actors that we celebrate will not be where they are today.

There are quite a few people in the Bible that did some heavy lifting in the background, they are not mentioned many times in the scriptures. Yet without their exploits, the story would be far from complete. I have chosen to call Ananias the Chief of this group of people. After he prayed for Paul and baptized him, his name was mentioned only once again in the Bible and that was by Paul himself during a speech. Under the prevailing circumstances in his days, getting up to seek out and pray for Paul was a great act of faith and obedience and definitely went a long way to shape the story of the New Testament scriptures as we have it today.

Another person that did not get much screen time but played a significant role was Hur, who helped to hold up the hands of Moses with Aaron in the battle against the Amalekites. This act secured victory for the Israelites at that time.

Others are Elisheba, the wife of Aaron and matriarch of a great lineage of priests that include Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar; Joanna, the wife of Chuza, one of the women that supplied the physical needs of Jesus while He walked the earth; Gilalai, one of the priests that participated as a musician in the procession led by Ezra; Hassenaah, a man whose sons built the Fish Gate during the reconstruction of the walls of Jerusalem under the repair programme led by Nehemiah; Jehiah, one of the gatekeepers for the Ark of the Covenant in the time of king David. There are so many more. These people may not have had a great mention, but their exploits are by no means meager and the scriptures will not be complete without them. What is important is that they played their part in God’s “play”.

Now we are on that stage, and we have to play our parts. That natural desire to be seen and applauded will always be there. So, if the acts and scenes we regularly appear in do not attract many accolades, the tendency to want to trade places will often tug at us. However, we must consciously remind ourselves that the applause of men is not our purpose and God’s scale of success and prominence is different from the scale that we use and it is His own that really matters.

Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men. Colossians 3:23 [AMP]

Whatever it is that you are doing, God sees, God knows and God gives the best accolades. Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap if we do not give in. Galatians 6:9 [AMP]

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December 24, 2022 · 8:50 pm

REMAIN SEATED

“Remain seated until the seat belt sign is turned off”

                                                                                  Every pilot

I have been travelling quite a lot recently and each time the aircraft lands, the pilot or the cabin crew lead always makes this announcement: “Remain seated with your seat belt fastened until the aircraft comes to a complete stop and the seat belt sign is turned off”. 9 times out of 10, people just ignore the instruction and jump out of their seats as if the instructions were to the birds of the air. I have observed this with different nationalities, so it’s not the specialty of any particular set of people.

When you don’t get up like everyone else, there is a strong pull to conform and do the wrong thing with the crowd because everyone is doing it and everyone seems to accept it. This is worse if you are in an aisle seat and the passengers you have blocked in are giving you that quizzical look. The force of the stare could almost lift you off your seat. It takes a deliberate decision not to join the crowd on those occasions.

As we navigate our multifaceted courses in life, we will come face to face with opportunities to follow the crowd in the wrong direction. The decision may be seemingly innocuous or in some cases, quite significant. At those times, “The end justifies the means” appears to be a wise counsel. When we find ourselves at those points, our focus should be the internal satisfaction that comes from a good conscience and not external satisfaction.

The Bible is filled with examples of those that tilted to either side of the balance in following the crowd and we can learn from all of them:

Aaron buckled under the pressure of the crowd and made the golden calf as a god for the people of Israel. 10 out of 12 spies chose to see themselves as grasshoppers, while Joshua and Caleb saw things differently. Noah endured the mocking of the crowd for a very long time to build the ark. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego chose to stand alone and not flow with the crowd, even when faced with the lion’s den and the fiery furnace. We know how the story ended for each group.

In these days when many people are under so much pressure from the strains of the global economy, the temptation to make little compromises for gain may appear so strong. When we can’t see any way out of the pit we find ourselves in, joining the crowd may appear logical, especially if the compromise seems insignificant. Wrong is wrong and the number of people doing wrong does not make the definition of wrong to change. We can find encouragement and direction from the following scriptures and more:

You must not follow a crowd in wrongdoing. Do not testify in a lawsuit and go along with a crowd to pervert justice. Exodus 23:2

Don’t copy the behaviour and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2

My child, if sinners entice you, turn your back on them! Proverbs 1:10

Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention. Mathew 7: 13 – 14

God knows, God sees and His grace is sufficient. Stay the course and don’t join the crowd. God is able to do it, but even if He doesn’t do it the way expect or when you expect it. He is still faithful.

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July 4, 2020 · 11:16 am

THE DEATH OF KING UZZIAH

Growing up, I recall many people in the generation of my grandparents telling stories and using the year of the influenza epidemic as a reference point to indicate the period of certain events. Many of them were not literate enough at that time to keep dates, the best way they could give an indication of when certain events occurred was to use the year of the influenza epidemic as a benchmark. So, it was usual to hear: “2 years before the influenza…” or “4 years after the influenza…”. In more recent history in Nigeria, we still have some people from the older generations who built another benchmark around the Nigerian Civil War.

As a matter of fact, in different cultures, many of such benchmarks exist. Most of the common benchmarks found in the Bible are built around different kings of Israel and Judah. Many stories in the Bible, especially in the books of 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles start with such benchmarks to help Bible historians set dates of different events. One of such key benchmarks was captured in Isaiah 6:1

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple (NIV)

In the year of King Uzziah’s death, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. (NASB)

It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. (NLT)

With this benchmark, it was possible for historians to trace the year of this event to 740 B.C.

This verse has often been misinterpreted to imply that King Uzziah had to die for Isaiah to see the Lord and by extension, it means that some people have to die for us to experience the level of blessing that God intends for us. If they don’t die, we remain limited and in bondage. Since we cannot attack these evil people and kill them by ourselves, we resort to praying and asking God to kill everyone that is acting as a ‘King Uzziah’ in our lives.

Uzziah

If indeed anybody has the powers to frustrate and manipulate the life of a Christian against the will and purpose of the ALMIGHTY God, then something is wrong somewhere. Jesus died, rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, gave us the power to become children of God – the same ALMIGHTY God that created the world and everything in it. It is this same ALMIGHTY God that parted the Red Sea for the Israelites to pass on dry ground and gave them awesome victories along the way to the Promised Land. There is no power that is big enough to derail the purpose of this ALMIGHTY God. It is not just possible, it cannot happen.

We have several reassuring verses in the Bible that allude to this:

The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe – Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High, Will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand]. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, My God, in whom I trust [with great confidence, and on whom I rely]!” Psalms 91: 1-2 (AMP)

“People will make weapons to fight against you, but their weapons will not defeat you. Some people will say things against you, but anyone who speaks against you will be proved wrong.” The Lord says, “That is what my servants get! They get the good things that come from me, their Lord – Isaiah 54:17 (ERV)

Let us be bold, then, and say, “The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?” – Hebrews 13:6 (GNB)

The servant of the man of God got up early and went out, and behold, there was an army with horses and chariots encircling the city. Elisha’s servant said to him, “Oh no, my master! What are we to do?”  Elisha answered, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  Then Elisha prayed and said, “Lord, please, open his eyes that he may see.” And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha – 2 Kings 6: 15-17(AMP)

The word of God is ever true, forever constant and it doesn’t change with circumstances. It is not selective and it is not bound by geography. God does not need permission from anyone to do what He wants to do in our lives and no one is big enough to derail His purpose. He will keep preparing tables before us in spite of the people that may not like us. The only thing we have to do is to make sure we do not break the hedge and find ourselves outside the ‘Shadow of the Almighty’. Armed with this knowledge, you can lie down and sleep, and none will make you afraid. Stay connected to the vine.

I wrote a piece a while ago about the source of our unwavering boldness and confidence as Christians… INFORM YOUR FEARS

 

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May 4, 2020 · 7:20 am

I DON’T KNOW

Have you experienced that awkward moment when a question was thrown at you and you threw back an answer that you were convinced made zero meaning? In order not to appear ignorant, you just crafted a combination of words while exuding sterling confidence built on a foundation of thin air, knowing quite well that you were not making any sense. In most cases, the people asking the questions are nice enough and play along pretending to understand you so that you will not be embarrassed.

One of my friends was not that lucky in an encounter that he had with a senior executive at work. As part of the processes to get a required approval, he had to explain some details to the senior executive. When asked a question, he had no clue what the right answer was, but decided to ride his luck and just say something. He did not expect what he heard next. The boss told him: “If you don’t know, just say you don’t know”. You can only imagine the rush of blood to his face when those words hit his ears.

I dont know

At the root of this behaviour in most cases is the feeling of: “I should know this but I’m ashamed that I don’t know and I don’t want to be seen as someone who doesn’t know”. In Zechariah Chapter 4, Zerubbabel could have pretended that he understood what he was seeing. He was a reputable prophet and he should have known what the vision meant based on his long years of prophetic experience. The angel’s questions in verses 5 and 13 tend to suggest that he expected Zerubbabel to know and understand what he was seeing. Zerubbabel, however, did not know and he was not ashamed to say that he did not know. This admission gave him the opportunity to receive an accurate interpretation of the vision from the angel in those two instances. He chose the higher path of stooping low to learn and it paid off like it always does.

When we don’t have the answer and we pretend to know, we leave the person asking the question with an impression of us that might be difficult to change in the future. The shame we were trying to avoid may now come to us in multiples. No matter how long you’ve been in church, it’s okay not to know answers to some questions. You may even be a pastor. It is still okay. And then as a teacher, it is okay to tell your students that you don’t know but make a commitment to get back to them with the answer.

The chance to say “I don’t know” may not always be an opportunity to learn anything, it may just be an opportunity to simply say “I don’t know” and move on without shame. Humility. We are not omniscient and it’s okay not to know somethings. But this does not mean that we should bask in blissful ignorance and not seek to acquire the requisite knowledge and indeed more. It is also instructive not to plan to answer “I don’t know” to the same question more than once. The first one is enough cue for us to go and research the topic.

Keep learning!

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January 18, 2020 · 4:45 pm

NOT JUST FOR PRUNING SAKE

I have always wondered why some babies make their first appearance on earth with strange haircuts. Some sections are fully cultivated and resplendent, while others are completely bare or designed with sparse vegetation. In most cases, there is usually no clear pattern to the hairstyle. However, after a few years, you’ll struggle to recognize what was once an unattractive ‘real estate’. The transformation starts immediately after the first haircut and continues to be perfected with more haircuts. I can only imagine what those heads would look like if they were allowed to just develop like that.

My childhood days were before the days of electric clippers, when all sorts of contraptions ranging from scissors, manual clippers and blade-and-comb were used to plough the hair. If you didn’t experience these things, you don’t know what you missed.

              blade1

These haircuts can be likened to the pruning of trees to make them more fruitful and desirable. The hair strands that are removed from the heads by haircuts are not exactly useless or dead strands, but their removal is essential for the required transformation. That’s the same thing with pruning. When you prune, you are not necessarily removing dead branches, but living branches that need to make way for the perfection of the tree. If these trees are not pruned, they will never reach their full potential. If the trees had sensory nervous systems, I guess pruning would be like surgery without anaesthesia…not a very pleasant experience.

There is more to Christianity than going to church and being very active in the church. There is definitely more to our relationship with God than just being good people and living chaste lives. And there is more to our walk with God than being consistent with our daily Bible study and prayers. Whatever level we get to, however deep our relationship with our Heavenly Father gets, there will always be more. We are called to live supernatural lives, doing the very same things that Jesus did while He was on the earth as summarized in Acts 10:38:

And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.    Acts 10:38 (NLT)

That ‘more’ does not come with business as usual. It comes with continuous pruning. That’s why Jesus said:

“I am the true Vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that continues to bear fruit, He [repeatedly] prunes, so that it will bear more fruit [even richer and finer fruit].”  John 15:1-2 (AMP)

The branches that need to be pruned are not necessarily bad or offensive things, they include nice things that just need to be dropped if we have to get to the level that God wants us to get to at every point in time. They are mostly things that compete with the sacrifices of time and other resources that should be devoted to God or other forms of personal and spiritual development. If we do not drop these things, we will always be at the milk level and not able to graduate to solid spiritual food and bones, like Paul said to the Corinthians:

“I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready…” 1Corinthians 3:2 (NLT)

The things to be pruned are different for everyone so; there’s no one size that fits all. Part of the work we need to do is to be on that continuous journey of self-examination to know what we need to drop at every point in time. When we discover these things, we then need to take the responsibility for pruning them off and by the way, this pruning is not for pastors or church workers only, it is for every Christian, because…

These signs will accompany those who have BELIEVED: in My name, they will cast out demons, they will speak in new tongues;  they will pick up serpents, and if they drink anything deadly, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will get well.” Mark 16: 17 – 18 (AMP)

If we are believers then we really do not have any excuse but to keep pruning and flourishing. That’s what we have been called to and it is a lifelong call. We must never become satisfied and complacent. We must keep pushing till the very end

12 I admit that I haven’t yet acquired the absolute fullness that I’m pursuing, but I run with passion into His abundance so that I may reach the purpose that Jesus Christ has called me to fulfill and wants me to discover. 13 I don’t depend on my own strength to accomplish this; however I do have one compelling focus: I forget all of the past as I fasten my heart to the future instead. 14 I run straight for the divine invitation of reaching the heavenly goal and gaining the victory-prize through the anointing of Jesus. 15 So let all who are fully mature have this same passion, and if anyone is not yet gripped by these desires, God will reveal it to them. Philippians 3:12 – 15 (TPT)

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December 15, 2018 · 5:59 pm

FAITH AND CONFIDENCE

Growing up, I had so much faith in my father. I believed he was a superman and that he could actually slay a lion with his bare hands just like Samson. I never had any reason to doubt whatever he told me. I just took his word for it. If he ever told me he could fly, I’m sure I would have believed him. I’m almost certain that most people had the same kind of blind faith in their parents – that’s just the way kids are – ‘doubt’ is not part of their lexicon and they don’t rationalize things the way adults do.

I recently read two Bible passages that reminded me of the pedestal on which I placed my dad as a child.

So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me Acts 27:25

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. Romans 4:18 – 21

Paul was sure that he got a message from God and he was confident that it would happen just as he had been told. Based on his experience with God, there could not have been any other outcome. The weather and the waves were indicating something else but that didn’t matter to Paul. He was sure of the source of the message. If God said it, it was done.

Incredible_Faith_1024x1024

When Abraham and Sarah were told that they were going to have a child, there was no reason for them to believe that it was possible apart from the fact that the message was from God. Naturally, all hope was lost. In those days, if there were professors of ‘Conception technology’, they would have told Abraham to wake up from dreamland. But because God said, it, Abraham believed it and it happened just as he was told.

confidence

For Paul and Abraham to have unwavering faith in God, they were sure that the words of assurance and promises were from God and they knew God’s character of not being capable of failure. Because of deep relationship, they could tell the difference between God’s word and their subtle imaginations or wishes. They were God’s sheep and there’s no way they would have followed the voice of strangers.

Consistent, unbroken fellowship with God is key in knowing what God is saying at every point. The ‘saying’ could come while reading through scriptures, listening to messages, worshipping God in music or in many other ways. In whatever form it comes, the constant factor is RELATIONSHIP.

Whatever the cost, we must keep the fire of this RELATIONSHIP on, for therein lies our SALVATION and the foundation of our FAITH.

 

Photocredit: www.childrens-ministry-deals.com, www.psychologytoday.com

 

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March 9, 2018 · 9:37 pm

WHO HAS YOUR EARS?

Growing up, we often had some artistes and magicians set up makeshift stages on busy street corners to show off their skills and make some quick buck. Crowds of spectators easily formed around those acts the way ants are drawn to sugar. Such crowds had a way of bringing together the good, the bad and the ugly.

My mum told me never to mingle with such crowds and I obeyed for a while, until one of those days, when the pull of the crowd was more than my resolve. I could not resist the temptation of catching just a glimpse of the performance. I really can’t remember what the show was about on that day, but one thing I will never forget about that day is that my wrist watch ‘disappeared’ from my hand on that spot. Obviously, the guy that took it from me was a professional as I was oblivious of the fact that the ownership of my watch had changed until I got home and couldn’t find it on my wrist. Needless to say that I never went near any of such crowds again…thereafter, heeding my mum’s counsel became something very vital to me.

That was the way that I lost my first wrist watch. As a matter of fact, many victories and failures we experience in life depend on who we listen to and what we do with the counsel we receive from different sources. In a way, it could be viewed as a matter of life and death because lives have been made or destroyed based on different types of counsel.

ears

The dethronement of Vashti as Xerxes’ queen was a product of the counsel that the king received from Memucan. If any other person other than Memucan had spoken up on that day, the outcome might have been different.

 Memucan answered the king and his nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also every noble and citizen throughout your empire. Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king. Before this day is out, the wives of all the king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. There will be no end to their contempt and anger. Esther 1: 16 – 18 (NLT)

Esther’s ascension to the throne was in part because she listened to all that the king’s eunuch told her. She did not trivialize Hegai’s advice.

Esther was the daughter of Abihail, who was Mordecai’s uncle. When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. Esther 2:15 (NLT)

After the death of King Solomon, his son Rehobaom lost 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel because of wrong counsel.

But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. 1Kings 12:8 (NLT)

David destroyed the Ammonites in a needless war because their king listened to wrong counsel from his commanders,

Some time after this, King Nahash[a] of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king.  David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!”  So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. 2 Samuel 10: 1 – 4

If you take stock in retrospect, I’m sure you’ll have your own tales of wise and unwise counsel, wise counsel heeded and otherwise. Most times, we are in total control of who we listen to and what we do with whatever advice we receive. So, we can choose who we give our ears to. Words are like seeds sown into our hearts through our ears, we can’t just afford to give all manner of people unfettered access to plant different things in our hearts. On the flip side, we need to make every effort to ensure that our paths are lined with wise counsel.

As we prudently seek out wise counsel and shut out destructive advice, we can be sure of one source of wisdom that never fails – the WORD!

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Proverbs 3: 1 – 2

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August 28, 2016 · 5:30 pm

THROUGH WHO’S EYES?

I remember attending a party quite a while ago, when break dancing was the hit. As a four year old boy with very little self-consciousness and without any understanding of the concept of shame, I thought I was a really great dancer. You can’t blame me too much; after all I was seeing the world through my little eyes. My opinion must have been the right one as far as I was concerned.

As I took centre stage, people were clapping and laughing hysterically. I thought they loved my deft moves. However, like the little boy in “The Emperor’s New Clothes”, someone had the courage to bring me down from my high horse. My dancing was in fact nothing short of disastrous and I had no fleeting idea. This is much like what happens as we tread along life’s well-worn paths, we form opinions, our thought patterns are shaped and we develop customized perspectives towards almost everything. We almost always see ourselves as right, because we judge ourselves through the ‘self filter’.

eyes

Looking at life generally and zooming in on our service in the Kingdom, we may actually have an incorrect view of what God demands from us, if we judge only through our own eyes. I guess the people that Jesus will address as He did in Matthew 7:21-23 will realize this too late:

‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matthew 7:21-23)

I can imagine how shocking and devastating it will be to hear that at the end of the road; after we must have thought to ourselves that we fought the good fight and finished the race well. We may even have had people cheering us on and singing our praises. But these opinions do not really matter in the end. Only one thing indeed matters – the view through God’s eyes.

When Jesus called His disciples, He had the priority clearly defined – Stay with me first before you go on to any form of service.

He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons. Mark 3:14-15

In staying with Him, we know Him more, we become more and more like Him until our will is lost in His will and our selfish motives and intentions for serving in the Kingdom become non-existent. Whatever service we are using to occupy till He comes should flow from that personal relationship and an outpouring of love for God – this is the will of God. He wants us more than whatever we can indeed offer.

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February 23, 2016 · 11:18 am

FAITH IS NOW

I got the picture below from one of Strive Masiyiwa’s recent posts on Facebook (By the way, I strongly recommend that you follow Strive if you are not already doing so). If you don’t know the story behind the picture, it will pass for just any other nice picture. The photographer’s goal was to get a shot of the eaglet and he had to wait 8 hours to get that shot. 8 hours! It took that long because the mother eagle had the eaglet under wraps for the entire period. His lucky break only came when the father eagle came around and the eaglet popped up to say hello to dad for a few seconds.

Eagle

I can only imagine what that wait would have been like. The photographer could not afford to be distracted because the eaglet’s appearance was only going to last a few seconds. It was not just a casual and relaxing wait. He had to maintain absolute focus for the entire period. I’m sure that would have required a lot of patience to pull off. This is similar to the kind of patience that Joseph had to learn while spending time as Potiphar’s chief servant as well as a prisoner, after having those dreams that caused his troubles. David also displayed this scale of patience when running from King Saul, despite the fact that he had been anointed as King of Israel by Prophet Samuel. Abraham received the promise that he would have a son when he was 75 and he had to wait with faith and patience for the promise to be fulfilled 25 years down the line.

Today, how do we begin to speak about this kind of patience when we have been taught that “Faith is NOW…” This is a popular adaptation of Hebrews 11:1, which has been sold to many of us and we have gladly bought into it. We pray now and place God under obligation to answer us immediately or He would no longer be God. The answer must come NOW!

If Abraham lived in our days, he would have ‘travailed’ and demanded that God gave him Isaac at 76 years and David would have had to pray King Saul out of the palace immediately after being anointed by Samuel. The truth is that God still answers prayers like He always did, but on His terms as the sovereign God. My thought is that there is a place for patience when we pray in faith. When the answer does not come as fast as we expect, He is still God. When it appears as if our prayers will not get the expected response, He is still God. When the answer comes faster than we expect, of course He is still God.

Please think on the verses below:

Hebrews 6:12 – 15 (NLT):  13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:14 “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” 15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

Hebrews 10: 36 (NLT):  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

James 1: 3 – 4 (KJV): 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

2 Peter 1 : 5 – 7 (KJV): 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Patience is still a priceless virtue.

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January 7, 2015 · 11:59 am

MY FATHER’S GOD

While waiting for my car to get washed on a sunny day, I sat under a tropical almond tree for a shade. After sitting for a while, I decided to ease off the boredom by walking around the tree. As I was doing this, I observed that all the leaves on the tree were not looking exactly the same. Some of the leaves were complete, while some had been turned into beautiful works of art by some leaf-eating insects. The insects had created exquisite patterns on some of the leaves by eating portions of the leaves in a creative way.

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Interestingly, both sets of leaves were still green and they appeared to co-exist happily together and the tree was still producing fruits as expected. I suspect that those half eaten leaves did not know that they had some problems. In fact, they could actually remain in that form for years if the insects choose to move on to greener pastures. This reminded me of what was written about Samson on the day that he was converted from a conqueror to a blind captive: He was ‘dead’, without actually knowing it.

Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. (Judges 16: 20 NLT)

Moving over from the Bible times to our present day; it is possible to exist in a church, where each service is indeed a wonderful fellowship with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and not be part of that fellowship. We may busy ourselves with countless church activities and still end up as outsiders where it really matters. That fellowship is what God really wants from us and it is also what we need to fulfil our calling as per the new covenant:

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. (1Peter 2:9 NLT)

We can never know him personally, understand our place in Him, grasp the immensity of the glorious life he has planned for us and realize the utter extravagance of His work in us if we do not have that personal touch in our relationship with Him. The veil has been torn and we have unlimited access to the throne of our Father.

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It is becoming increasingly popular to pray to the God of our Bishop or the God of our Pastor or the God of our Father-in-the-Lord. This is not what our father desires. He wants to be my own God. He wants to be your own God. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the term “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” was no longer commonly used. It was used just once by Peter at his fist sermon, where he had to introduce God to the Jews.The apostles all understood the kind of relationship that God wants to have with us and related with Him accordingly. He was the God of Peter, God of John, God of James, God of Timothy, God of Silas. Each person had a personal relationship with Him. This is evident in Paul’s declaration in Acts 27:23 – 25

Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’  So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. (NIV)

From the highlighted words, it is very clear that God was his God. That personal touch in the above declaration is unmistakeable. God does not just want to be my father’s God; He wants to be my God. A good starting point is a consistent personal Bible study and a good start time is now. His grace is sufficient for you and the door is open.

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