Tag Archives: Bible Study

February 11, 2026 · 9:46 pm

ONLY GOATS CROSS LAWNS

“ONLY GOATS CROSS LAWNS”

These were the words of my secondary school Principal. I don’t remember how many times I heard him say this, but the words stuck. More than 30 years later, I still take the longer route to get where I need to go, instead of taking shortcuts that cross and deface pristine lawns. These words still ring in my head today, and I don’t want to ever see myself as a goat.  SAMBA, as we fondly called him, was a great man who shaped and moulded our young minds with his words, actions, and charisma. Many of such words still guide my thoughts and actions today.

With this on my mind, I can imagine what occupied the thoughts of the Rechabites when they gave Prophet Jeremiah the answer below:

Then I set jars full of wine and some cups in front of the men of the Rechabite family. And I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they said, “We will not drink wine. For Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, told us, ‘You and your sons must never drink wine. Jeremiah 35: 5 – 6

They had the opportunity to compromise and take some wine. After all, their father was not there looking over their shoulders. He was long gone, but his words remained with them. They had built invisible boundaries with the words of their father, and nothing was going to make them break ranks. Not even the fact that the counter instruction was coming from the revered prophet of God.

At 17, Joseph found himself in another man’s land without parental or pastoral oversight. He was presented with an almost irresistible opportunity to compromise. Instead, he stayed within the boundaries of the Word and chose to face the dire consequences. He overcame by living up to the standards of the Word of God that had been sown into his heart while in his homeland.

As we journey through the paths of life, opportunities to make little shifts in our Word-influenced boundaries will come our way. Those compromise-laden opportunities may appear insignificant initially, but they create footholds for the enemy to hit us with bigger opportunities. When we walk on lawns, the grass does not disappear immediately. Instead, it is eroded gradually until the place where beautiful grass blades once stood becomes bare ground. That is the same way little compromises eat away at the fabric of our relationship with God. The fact that everyone is doing it and it is generally accepted as the norm does not make it right. God’s Word does not metamorphose. It is settled in heaven.

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable]. Psalm 119:89 [AMP]

The thing about little compromises is that when we break the resistance and do it the first time, it becomes easier subsequently. We gradually become numb to the tugging of the Holy Spirit in that area until the boundary set by the Word of God completely disappears. It should not be so.

Also, …

My word, which comes from my mouth, is like the rain and snow. It will not come back to me without results. It will accomplish whatever I want and achieve whatever I send it to do.” Isaiah 55:11 [GWT]

Nobody may see it; nobody may know about it. However, it never leaves us the same. Just like the Word of God always accomplishes God’s purpose, every little and apparently innocuous act of compromise will also accomplish its purpose of initiating a chasm between our Father and us. We ALWAYS have the grace to say NO.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age Titus 2: 11 – 12 [ESV]

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February 2, 2026 · 9:43 pm

MEASURE BY MEASURE

I have been going to the gym regularly for a while now…not that I’m preparing for any contest though 😊. I just want to stay fit and toned. My trainer focuses on different muscles every day, with the objective of hitting every muscle group at least once each week. To achieve the desired result each day, I have to go through a fixed number of repetitions of an assigned activity for multiple sets. If I don’t hit the agreed number of repetitions and sets, the output will be sub-optimal. Also, as I developed a consistent rhythm of gym attendance, the weights that I use for the strength exercises have progressively increased. If I don’t increase the weights, my muscle toning will become stagnant. If I go back to the old weights, it feels as if I am not doing any work, just like drinking water with a teaspoon when you are thirsty. The measure of result that I feel in my body will depend on the measure of effort that I put in at the gym.

Because of this experience, the verse below in the Classic Amplified Version now comes with added significance to me. I can fully relate.

And He said to them, Be careful what you are hearing. The measure [of thought and study] you give [to the truth you hear] will be the measure [of virtue and knowledge] that comes back to you—and more [besides] will be given to you who hear. Mark 4: 24 [AMPC]

The measure of attention we give to the Word of God that we read or hear will determine the measure of fruit that will show forth in and through our lives. The drill should be to consciously engage and meditate until the “Word becomes flesh” in our hearts. In most cases, it would require devotion of a significant amount of time and bandwidth. We should not just hear the Word and get all excited at the moment and then move on as if nothing happened. No matter how deep the revelation might be, we need to build the personal discipline of going back to chew the cud like ruminants to extract all there is for us in the Word. If not, we will ultimately remain at the same spot.

In the parable of the sower, the seed that fell on good ground brought forth fruit that was thirty, sixty, and a hundred times more than what had been planted. In this case, the seed was the same, the fertile soil was the same, but the yield was not all the same across all the fronts. Some sections yielded a thirty-fold return, while some others returned a hundred-fold. What could be the difference? We could come up with multiple suggestions and reasons, but one thing is sure – the fault was not from the seed. The Word is permanently potent. It must have had to do with the measure of something.

For indeed we have had the glad tidings [Gospel of God] proclaimed to us just as truly as they [the Israelites of old did when the good news of deliverance from bondage came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith (with [a]the leaning of the entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) by those who heard it; [b]neither were they united in faith with the ones [Joshua and Caleb] who heard (did believe). Hebrews 4:2 [AMPC]

It’s not just enough to hear the Word. It’s not just enough to read the Word. It’s not just enough to memorize the Word. The Word needs to move from our ears, our lips and our eyes into our hearts, where all the issues of life flow from. We need to engage with the Word in our hearts until all the issues of our lives are coloured by the Word. The measure of our engagement will determine the measure of the impact of the Word in and through our lives.

When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven’s Armies. Jeremiah 15: 16 [NLT]

picture credit : Testmark

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January 14, 2026 · 7:38 pm

THE MOUSE TRAP AND I

Once upon a time, my mum bought a mouse trap to deal with a growing menace of mice in our house. I was still in primary school then and I had never seen a mouse trap before that time. I got home one day, and I saw this contraption. I did not know what it was, so there was no way I could know if it was armed or not. I picked it up, I’m sure you can guess what happened next. The mouse trap did what it was designed to do. It had no way of sensing that my finger was not a mouse. So…I found out by experience that I was not meant to play around with an armed mouse trap.

As at that time, the mouse trap was not a novelty. It had been in production for a long time. I was just the one that did not know what it was. This is the same way we fall into many traps when the word of God has already made a way for us. The word of God has been with us for ages, it is not novelty. However, when we don’t open it to study it, meditate on it and live by it, we significantly sell ourselves short. A little dose every Sunday will never be enough for the journey that we need to face each week and indeed every day.

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1: 8 [NLT]

As Christians, we are not designed to function optimally without a consistent fellowship with God through His Word. We miss out on a lot if we do not study enough or if we study superficially. Also, we could also become very exposed to potential attacks and harm if we are ignorant of the schemes and plans of the enemy. Our defences are planted on the pages of the scriptures.

…To keep Satan from taking advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his schemes. 2 Corinthians 2: 11 [NLT]

We forfeit so many things and bear needless pains when we stay far away from the Word of God. We fall into avoidable booby traps even though we already have the map that guarantees our perpetual safety. The Word is loaded with so many promises covering every area of our lives. The more we study, the more we discover these promises and the more we are formed into the image of the WORD, which should be our ultimate goal.

Furthermore….

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2Timothy 3:16 – 17 [NLT]

…We all have rough edges that can only be smoothened by the study of God’s Word. The degree of smoothness that we get to experience and our usefulness for Kingdom priorities depends on how much time we spend with God’s word, allowing ourselves to be worked on. As we are smoothened, we reflect Christ more in all that we do, and our light will shine to an extent that our lives will lead men to God. We will never reach our full potential and fully attain to the level that God ordained for us if all we do is a quick skim through the Word each time.  Just like the old song says; “Read Your Bible, Pray Everyday….If You Want To Grow”. This song is for all of us, not just for kids. We should stop making the Word of God to be like a novelty to us.

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May 18, 2025 · 5:18 pm

IN BUT OUT

Luke 15:31 NASB2020

And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. 

Imagine for a moment that you’re on a trip far from home. No cash, no cards, no friends that you can call on to help out. Instead, you have a bar of gold in your backpack. Many people around you are willing to part with a fortune for your gold. However, you don’t know that what you have is priceless gold, so you continue to languish and starve needlessly.

This is what happens when we do not know all that we have received as part of our inheritance in Christ. The brother of the young man that we have come to know as the prodigal son easily comes to mind to describe this scenario.

He was in the midst of abundance but didn’t know what he had. That’s why he was complaining when his brother was being celebrated. He could have had this celebration every day if he chose to. Everything that their father had was available to him, but he didn’t know and therefore couldn’t access it. Even though he was older, he was still a child in knowledge of what he had available to him and had to live like every other person.

Paul captured this aptly in his letter to the Galatians:

Galatians 4:1-2 NLT

Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. 

This is not just about chronological age; it’s about knowledge and capacity. In most cases, a young child is not capable of grasping the importance and extent of their inheritance until they become older and more mature. So, until they attain the required level of knowledge, they have to make do with whatever they are given.

Having the requisite knowledge at the appropriate level is what guarantees a victorious Christian life. A life enjoyed to the full extent that our Father has paid for. This knowledge of our place and position in Christ also increases our awareness of our power to live above sin and different variants of temptation.

This is so important that it features in most of Paul’s prayers for the people that he had preached to:

Ephesians 1:16-17 NLT

I have not stopped thanking God for you. I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your KNOWLEDGE of God.

Philippians 1:9-10 NLT

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in KNOWLEDGE and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 

Colossians 1:9-10 NLT

So, we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete KNOWLEDGE of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. Then the way you live will always honour and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

Jesus also taught this to those who were listening to Him while He walked among us. John 8:32 NLT And you will KNOW the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Our permanent freedom from all kinds of oppression lies in the truth that is revealed to us. It is only the truth that we KNOW that will profit us. It’s of no use to us if we don’t KNOW it. 

This depth of revelational KNOWLEDGE will not be thrust into our laps. It’s not a free gift like salvation. We need to make every effort to add it ourselves. 

2 Peter 1:5 GNT 

For this very reason do your best to ADD goodness to your faith; to your goodness add KNOWLEDGE;…

If it was meant to be a free gift, Peter would not ask us to add it by ourselves. It is through diligent seeking that we would enter into the depths of KNOWLEDGE that God has prepared for us. We have been given all it takes; it is ours to search out by the help of the Holy Spirit

picture credit: Eternal Life Embassy

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January 2, 2025 · 1:52 pm

SUMMER AND WINTER

A while ago, I watched a movie in which one of the actors made a statement that I found quite amusing. He had traveled to a country in the temperate region and spent some time in freezing weather. As expected, padded jackets became a customary part of his dressing when he was there. Having spent considerable time there, he refused to stop putting on the jackets even after being deported to his tropical climate country.

Someone dared to approach him and ask him why he was still wearing the jackets under sweltering conditions. His response, which I found funny because of the way he said it was that just because they were in the same place did not mean that they were necessarily under the same climate.

I remembered this recently when I was considering the story of the woman with the issue of blood in the bible. Peter could not understand what Jesus was saying when He asked for the person who touched Him, with so many people pressing around Him. Obviously, many people were touching Jesus at that time, but all the touches were not equal.

Everyone was touching Jesus but only the woman with the issue of blood was healed. She was probably not the only person that needed some kind of healing in the crowd. They were all in the same place, touching the same person but their experiences were different. The preparation of her heart and her faith made the difference. Some of the people who were around Jesus at that time must have gone home empty-handed even after touching Him.

At that moment Jesus felt power had gone out of him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”  His disciples said to him, “How can you ask, ‘Who touched me,’ when you see the crowd pressing you on all sides?”  But he kept looking around to see the woman who had done this.  The woman trembled with fear. She knew what had happened to her. So, she quickly bowed in front of him and told him the whole truth.  Jesus told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace! Be cured from your illness.” Mark 5: 30-34 [GWT]

This can also be related to the parable of the sower in the bible. The sower sowed the same seed, it produced different results depending on the soil it landed on. The problem was not with the sower, nor with the seed. The soil condition was the variable in the equation, and it made all the difference. In this story, the soil refers to our hearts, which can be in different conditions, even when we are in the same place and hearing the same message.

The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others.  The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.  The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.  But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.  The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.  And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Mark 4:14-20 [NLT]

The fact that we attend a ‘powerful’ gospel meeting or encounter a minister of God that we greatly admire does not mean that we would be impacted by that meeting. The preparation of our hearts is key to what each meeting leaves with us. Some people will attend the same meeting and leave completely transformed, while others will only leave with an overdose of goosebumps. The people who came out of Egypt and ended their journey in the wilderness can tell their stories about this. They heard God and saw him do unimaginable things, yet it was recorded that they displeased God because faith was missing in their hearts.

Our approach to EVERY meeting of believers should be that of great faith, an eager expectation to meet God and open hearts. If Jesus said He would be present any time 2 or 3 people gather in His name, it implies that His power would be available to touch, heal, save, and transform us, whether there are 2 people or 2000 people in the meeting. This should not depend on whether it is a prayer meeting, cell meeting, bible study, revival conference, or on who the minister is. Our heart condition is the key variable, and it is completely up to us what climate we choose to be in.

Image credit: RADsan

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May 5, 2024 · 8:13 pm

THE SERPENT AND THE STORM

The visual coverage of a horse is approximately 340o. There is only a small section behind its head where it cannot see. In literal terms, a horse facing forward can see almost everything happening behind it. That is why racehorses must wear blinkers or blinders. Without these accessories, they will be distracted by so many things in their line of sight and easily go in a different direction. They are not capable of focusing on the racetrack without these blinkers. The brain of the horse is wired so that whatever it does not see does not exist and whatever it does not hear cannot constitute a distraction. If a horse is restricted to seeing only what is ahead, it is constrained to running only in that direction by what it sees. Apart from helping them to stay focused, the blinkers also help to protect them from being spooked by anything that suddenly comes into their visual range.

Like the horses, we need to choose the object of our focus carefully to enjoy our relationship with God and get the best of His promises for us. We need to deliberately choose what to keep looking at amid the chaos. Life is configured to throw different shades of distractions at us. How we react to those distractions will determine how and where we end up. Our reaction depends largely on what we are looking at and the filter through which we judge the circumstances. Most times, those distractions come to test our resolve to hold on to the word of God concerning different things in our lives. The suffering and difficult situations we experience may be great, but God sees us and is constant through it all. The circumstances do not diminish His power and ability.

“You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character], Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation]. Isaiah 26:3[AMP]

If we can keep our eyes on the Word in the face of all distractions, there is no limit to what we can accomplish through Christ. When God sent fiery serpents among the Israelites as a punishment for their sins, they cried to God in repentance, and He directed Moses to make a bronze serpent and hang it on a pole for them. If anyone was bitten by a serpent and the person fixed their gaze on the serpent, they would live. The fact that Moses hung that serpent up did not mean that the snakes were no longer there. Instead, the people were meant to take their eyes off the snakes that were attacking them and keep looking at the bronze serpent that was in front of them. If they could keep their focus on the bronze serpent, the presence of the snakes around them had nothing on them. It was all about the object of their focus.

On another occasion, Peter and the disciples were in the boat, being buffeted by the wind and the waves. Jesus showed up walking on water and Peter had enough faith to join him.

Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves. Matthew 14:24 [NLT]

When Peter left the boat and went on a gravity-defying trip by walking on the water, the storm was still the same. When he started sinking in obedience to gravity, the storm was still the same. What changed? His focus. He moved his focus from Jesus and His promise to the storm and then rational thinking took over. The object of the focus changed.

Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable]. Psalm 119:89 [AMP]

The word of God and the promises contained therein do not change based on our circumstances. The ability of God to be a provider does not depend on economic indices. The power of God to save, heal, deliver, and bless does not vary with what is happening around us. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The only thing that could change is the object of our focus. If we are able to keep our eyes off the serpents and the multifaceted storms coming at us from different angles and keep our eyes on the faithful God, we will see the salvation of our God.

Regularly praying for ourselves like Paul prayed for the Ephesians will help us trust God more and enable us to keep our eyes on Him through the wind, waves, and storms.

I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power. Ephesians 1:19 [NLT]

The object of our focus should always be God and His Word. He will guide and direct us on what to do to come out of the situation as more than conquerors. He is always faithful.

Image credit: breederscup.com

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April 16, 2024 · 5:39 am

ILLUMINANCE

Have you ever seen a lady that applied elaborate make-up in the dark? Without telling you what she did, it would be evident that something was wrong. Imagine a gentleman attending a black bowtie dinner putting the finishing touches to his dressing while standing in front of a mirror in a dark room. The angle of inclination of the bowtie would speak so loudly, announcing to everyone who looked at the man that it wasn’t properly aligned. Whenever there is insufficient lighting, errors and imperfections abound.

Part of my job includes monitoring the application of specialized coating on critical equipment. The coating offers the equipment protection from degradation throughout its design life, in addition to aesthetics. The mandatory prerequisites for coating application include a test for the minimum ILLUMINANCE, which literally means the amount of light in the room where the painting is to take place. The reason for this is that poor lighting could make the paint applicator or inspector miss out coating defects on the equipment. When the defects go unnoticed, there is a risk that the item could fail before the end of its design life. It will not fulfill its purpose fully unless there is an additional intervention to fix the defects. When there is adequate lighting in the room, the chances of missing out defects are reduced to an insignificant level.

When things are done in the dark, the difference will always be clear. When someone walks into a dark, crowded room, he will most likely crash into things and other people. As God’s children, this does not have to be our fate. We don’t have to walk in the dark unless we choose to. The revelation of God’s Word beams ample light into our lives, ensuring that we walk in the right direction.

Your Word is a lamp to guide me and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105 [GNT]

Understanding your Word brings light to the minds of ordinary people. Psalm 119:130 [CEV]

The Bible abounds in multiple versions today and is easily available to us. The inspired writers gave us these words from God to guide us. Without these scriptures, there are chances that would not see anything wrong with our lives.

There is a way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12 [AMP]

We may think we are doing the right thing, but the LORD always knows what is in our hearts. Proverbs 21:2 [CEV]

We mostly appear perfect in our own eyes, until we are screened under the light of God’s Word. When under the light, the areas where we need improvement are brought to the fore and we would often have the experience that made Prophet Isaiah speak out and say; “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.”

When we use the word of God as our mirror, it helps us identify and make the necessary adjustments required for us to become who God made us to be.

Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2Timothy 3:16 – 17 [NLT]

The more we dig into God’s word, the more our definition of what is tolerable is refined and we are continuously transformed into the image of God, becoming perfect like our Father. Things that are lawful become more and more inexpedient and we shed a lot of weight. The more we study God’s word, the greater the illuminance that we experience, and consequently, the less the level of impurity we can tolerate.

I will end with a reminder that there is more to the Word. Lighting up our lives and our paths is just one aspect. Dive into the Word for that complete package.

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March 25, 2024 · 7:41 pm

MODIFIED COMPASS

Imagine that you are travelling between two locations by air. Obviously, there is a qualified pilot in control of the aircraft. If not, you will probably not be sitting there. There are mandatory requirements that the pilot must meet to receive the authorization to take off from the Air Traffic Control. One of such requirements is submitting a flight plan, which includes the Route to be followed; Cruising speed; Cruising level; Weather forecast; Fuel requirements and Alternative airports in case of an emergency.

In order to follow the route defined in the flight plan, the pilot has to depend on a compass in addition to other instruments. Imagine again that midway into the flight, the pilot decides that the shadow cast by the sun in the cockpit is a better guide than the compass and then goes ahead to disregard the compass and follow the shadow and his feelings. The aircraft will almost certainly end at the wrong location.

Another relatable experience would be to set a destination on your GPS equipment or Google Maps for a road trip. Somewhere down the line, you decide to trust your hunch instead of following the GPS directions. Where do you think you will end up?

In our journey as Christians, we start off with a personal relationship with our Lord and Saviour – Jesus Christ. We then continue with the Bible as our compass. God inspired people to put down those words of the holy scriptures. By His divine power, the words have been preserved across generations, despite multiple attempts to obliterate them. Now, the Bible abounds in multiple versions, that are available to us in both hard and soft copies. The Holy Spirit opens the eyes of our understanding to see light in the word of God as we read.

Every Scripture passage is inspired by God. All of them are useful for teaching, pointing out errors, correcting people, and training them for a life that has God’s approval. 2Timothy 3:16 [GW]

As we study the Bible, we learn to obey the instructions and take the lessons contained therein. We are not at liberty to choose what part to obey and what part not to obey. The instruction to completely obey the Word of God does not depend on our feelings. Technological and socio-cultural developments that have happened across different generations have not changed or modified the meaning of the word. The meaning of the scriptures in the B.C years is in perfect alignment with the meaning in the A.D years and the meaning will not change for Gen-X, Gen-Y, Gen-Z or Gen-ꝏ

Psalms 119:105 says “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path”. If we choose to leave the path that has been lit up by God’s word, we will end up following the “way which seems right to a man and appears straight before him, but its end is the way of death”. Proverbs 14:12[AMP]

The fact that society now considers some behaviour as acceptable does not mean that the instructions of the scriptures related to those things have changed to align with current views. We are not at liberty to modify this compass as we fly unless we want to head away from God’s Kingdom.

God knows the end from the beginning. So when the Bible was written, He already knew how different the world would be in our generation, compared to what it was like back then and He got it covered. There are no surprises with God. According to Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow – so is His WORD. His Word is Changeless. No modifications are allowed.

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September 10, 2023 · 8:56 pm

EMBERS AND FLAMES

This was one priced asset in my secondary school days. Many people born in this generation will never know the joy of using this. It was an essential asset in the boarding house, but only a few privileged people had this charcoal iron as students. Because we had to look sharp in our school uniforms, we usually had long lists of people waiting to take their turns to iron their clothes with the few that were available to us. It requires a special skill not to burn your clothes because it does not come with a temperature regulator or thermostat. We also had to deal with the risk of hot ash creating holes in our clothes as it was intermittently let out through the bottom vents.

The heat for the iron came from bits of charcoal placed in the box of the iron and left to burn for a while. It had to burn for a sufficient time so that when the flame was put out the coal still glowed red hot. However, after a while, the glow would wane and the temperature on the contact surface of the iron would drop. In order to increase the temperature again, you have to fan the embers into flame and the cycle repeats. One cycle of fanning is never enough. It has to be continuous, otherwise, the charcoal iron will eventually become like every other cold piece of steel.

This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 2 Timothy 1:6

The gifts that God has placed in us as believers are like the bits of charcoal in the iron. If we do not fan them into flame, no matter how gifted we may be, we will pass through the earth and those gifts will remain completely dormant. They will be useless to both us and the people that God intended us to reach with those gifts. It will be like the case of the servant who got one talent and buried it in the ground, waiting for the return of the master.

The gifts of God upon our lives cannot develop themselves. We have to take personal responsibility to nurture them with the help of the Holy Spirit to the extent that the gifts produce fruits thirty-fold, sixty-fold, and a hundred-fold. Personal responsibility comes with personal sacrifice. We start from the personal acknowledgment that we are not empty, but endowed with different gifts that need to be nurtured – and we will give account to God on how the gifts were used while we were here.

Just like the charcoal in the iron needs continuous fanning, these gifts need to be continuously nurtured. It is not a one-off activity. Diligence in nurturing the gifts births excellence and enhances productivity. It places us in a place where God can trust us with more responsibility and in the earthly realms, we will stand before kings.

Do you see a man skillful and experienced in his work? He will stand [in honour] before kings; He will not stand before obscure men. Proverbs 22:29

We cannot get to the point where we say that we have reached the zenith of those gifts. There will always be new unconquered mountains before us. If we do not hone these gifts and talents, we are effectively denying God the opportunity to be glorified from the investment He has made in us…and that is not where we want to be.

When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. John 15:8

Introspect. Discover those gifts. Nurture them. Bless people. Glorify God. This is the will of the Father for us.

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September 3, 2023 · 4:55 pm

JUST LIKE A LION

One of my favourite TV channels is National Geographic because I love watching animal documentaries. It’s especially interesting to watch big carnivores like lions hunting down their prey. Most times, these deft hunters start from a crouching position, hiding from the view of their target and camouflaged by surrounding vegetation. They do this hoping that they can identify and isolate the easiest target from the group unnoticed. Once they are satisfied that the chance of getting the target is high enough. They spring out from hiding. Amid the chaos, they don’t run after all the animals in the pack that are startled and frightened by their sudden appearance. If they chase multiple targets, they will go home empty-handed. They instead lock their focus onto the one that they have identified as the target and try to isolate them from the rest of the group.

No matter how long the lion has been hunting, it still has to go out each time it is hungry to look for food because that is how it was designed. If no animal strays into its territory and makes itself vulnerable, it will go hungry for that day. This is the same with the devil when he goes about looking for prey. We are not at the mercy of the devil, he has to seek for his prey and if we are in Christ, we are not in his territory.

Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. 1 Peter 5:8

He does not have the power to attack someone who does not walk into his territory. That is why he must go about sneaking around and hoping to catch someone off guard. He is not as powerful as we often make him up to be. The death and resurrection of Jesus made it so for believers. We cannot live our lives in dread of him. Instead, we should live in the reality of the victory that Jesus obtained on our behalf and delivered to us.

Like a bird that wanders from her nest, So is a man who wanders from his place. Proverbs 27:8

Our place of safety is in Christ. If we do not break our hedge of protection by toying with different shades of sin. We are beyond the reach of the enemy. Yes, we are untouchable! It is so liberating to live and work in the reality of this knowledge and revelation.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him. Psalms 91:1-2

God is our refuge, our fortress, and our place of safety. In battles, the refuge is usually impregnable unless someone opens the door from within. That is what it is like to have God as our refuge and place of safety. As long as we live in Him, move in Him, and have our being in Him, we remain untouchable. No matter how hard the devil seeks like a roaring lion, we will never be in his path nor within his reach. So if we want to live in perpetual victory over the darts of the enemy, then we need to latch on to the grace of God and live a life of dominion over sin.

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:14

There are so many more verses of the Bible that reinforce this point concerning the victory that we have in Christ. As we dig into them and meditate on them, our faith will indeed be founded on solid ground. The solidity of the foundation depends on us and how we esteem the Word of God. May God’s grace be multiplied to us.

picture credit: pixels.com

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