Scripture Review

Good day Beloved in Christ Jesus. Welcome to this week's episode of scriptures review. Remain blessed as you read.

Topic: PEACE, BE STILL.

Text: Mark 4: 39, "And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

The relationship between power and weapon can be liking to a content and a container. The ultimate power in heaven and the earth is the power of resurrection. No greater power than the resurrection power. It is greater than the power unleashed from the beginning; greater than the power unleashed during the creation of the heavens and the earth. The power that brought death to life, and transfigured mortality into immortality. The power that restored the lost glory of the first Adam, to the second Adam who is God the Son. The first born amongst the dead; the first fruit amongst many brethren. This is the invincible power subsumed in our weapon of Peace. Resurrection power is the greatest of all powers ever unleashed by God, while Peace is the greatest weapon in the hand of Christians. If Satan was aware of it he wouldn't have allowed Jesus to go to the cross. Satan have several weapons, among these is the weapon of hate, bitterness, confusion, unforgiveness, sadness, envy, and many more. These are called assault weapons in the kingdom of darkness. They are arrows. Once it hits a man, the virus will spread so fast, and cause chronic infection.

For instance, if a man is shot with the arrow of hate, the seed of hate will grow very fast inside of him against his fellow brother without a cause. Arrow of bitterness and unforgiveness are another deadly arrows which turns their victim into a monster subsumed in the spirit of bitterness. If you mistakingly wrong a man that is struck with the arrow of bitterness, just forget it. Such a man will never forgive. These are invisible assault arrows that many people don't understand. Ignorantly, many people try to describe it as principle, some even call it hereditary or nature. They say, that man is a man of principle, if you cross his line he will never forgive you. This is not principle, this is bitterness. All those descriptions are propagated to make it look normal. These are spiritual arrows. There are spiritual warfares going on 24/7 in the atmosphere, if you know, you know. These assault arrows cannot be quenched except with the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; the breast plate of righteousness, and the beautiful feet of the gospel. The only assault weapon of warfare that Christians possess is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The weapon of Peace is embedded in the word of God. The devil prefers violence, and assault, but we cannot conquer him with his weapon, except with the weapon of Peace. Jesus is our Weapon, the Prince of Peace. Don't get me wrong, the spiritual controls the physical. I have heard some Christians say, back to sender! I don't know where they learnt that from. I did not see that in my Bible. How do you want to attack Satan with hatred, bitterness, how? Bitterness and hatred are Satan's weapons! You cannot conquer Satan with his weapon; you can only conquer the devil with the weapons of our warfare. When the enemy shoots the arrow of hate against you, and you retaliate with "back to sender." You are invariably attacking the devil with his own registered trademark. This is the reason why many Christians fight lose battles. The devil is not a fool, I believe you know that? It is you who is fooling yourself. When the enemy attacks, all you need do as Christian is to use the weapon of Peace. Peace, be still! That is it. The devil understands that language; the demons understand that weapon; the evil spirits obey without questioning whenever they hear, "Peace, be still".

Whenever you are in crisis as a Christian always remember our weapon is Peace, this is our weapon! Christians need to be skillful in the use of the weapons of our warfare. You should know the difference between assault and defence. What I mean is, at times we need to be offensive, and sometimes we need to be defensive. Peace is a defensive weapon! We use it whenever we perceive an attack or assault from the enemy. We use Peace as a protective shield to silent all forms of attacks, as we defend ourself. The weapon of Peace is used to correct all unpleasant situations, but when you desire something or you're seriously in need of something, all you need do is to ask and it shall be given unto you; seek and you shall find whatever the thief has stolen away from you; and when you knock the windows of heaven shall be opened unto you. 'Ask' is a petition for heaven to grant our daily need. Seek is our responsibility to pursue the kingdom of God and it's righteousness. "Knock" is a higher dimension of "Ask". When you knock, it causes heavens to open permanently for you to enter into dimensions of good success and prosperity. Knock grants open heavens.

The different between 'ask' and 'knock' is very simple. Children in Christ ask for daily provisions from God, while Sons in Christ knock the door of heaven for empowerment. Adults knock to become the manufacturer of needs. You are no longer desiring, you have become the desire of many nations. Everybody wants to be like you. Not because you're chasing clouds, but because heaven of heavens has anointed you, and made you a river for men to drink from. While many are questioned to identify themselves, as for you, everybody identifies you. You are a national identity. Everybody want to identify with you. You have become a kingdom; a name that is engraved in the rock for an everlasting memorial. You are a men, not a man. Because you're not alone. When you move, the hosts of heaven move with you. Legions of angels attend to your biding. You don't have to command angels, God commands them to attend to you before you ask. You have become the excellency of power and the excellency of dignity. This is the pedigree God wants all His sons and daughters to operate. For us to move from being the children of God to being the sons of the Most High God.

Shalom ...

Good day Beloved in Christ Jesus. Welcome to this week's episode of scriptures review. Remain blessed as you read.

Topic: WHO TOUCHED ME?

Text: Mark 5:30, "And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?"

Whenever God asks a question always remember that He is not seeking for information, neither is He seeking for explanation. He only wants to call your attention to some missing details. He wants you to check yourself and fix something missing. Remember when He asked Adam, where art thou? Genesis 3:9, "And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? If you think God was seeking information about Adam's where about, you must be a joker. God is not oblivious of what transpired between Adam, and Eve, and Saran, in the Garden of Eden. Have you not seen a man look into his wife's eyes and say, where is my wife? This is not the woman I married. Dear, what has come over you? I'm sure you have heard such conversation between couples in the past. The intent of the question is not to seek information, but to call your partner to order, so she may come back to her senses. This is exactly what God did to Adam. God was saying something like, where is my Adam? What has come over you? God is of a purer eyes to behold iniquity.

The moment iniquity sets in, He quickly moved to call Adam to order. Unfortunately, Adam didn't get the message. Genesis 3:11, "And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?" When God asked Adam who told him he was naked, God was not seeking information from Adam. God was like, Adam, you are naked! Says who? To Adam, appearing before God undressed is nakedness. He mistaken glory for clothing. God saw a lose glory, Adam saw a lost clothing. Adam has forgotten that before now him and his wife have been physically naked without shame. Sin brought shame. Genesis 2:25, "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed." God's reaction was like, "who lectured you about nakedness, haven't I warned you not to go near that tree." Same thing applies to believers, we think we have the capacity to explain our failures. We think our explanation is legitimate enough to justify our failures. You can never know the meaning of responsibility until you understand the necessity of results regardless of obstacles.

Anybody can give millions of excuses to justify failure. Granted, there are delays and hindrances, but regardless of those obstacles excuses don't justify your failure. Excuse is the difference between the responsible and the irresponsible. You're not empowered to put in efforts; you're empowered to get results. Who cares whether there are obstacles on your way or not. The ultimate measure of true responsibility is the results. It's only an irresponsible leader that gives excuses to justify their failures. During Jesus' earthly ministry, many of the sick couldn't receive their miracles on time for just one reason. They were queuing up and struggling to get Jesus' attention in the midst of the crowd. Until one woman took a bold step to break the protocol. Although crowd would not allow her to get Jesus' attention, but she had access to the border of Jesus' garment. That was all she needed. She just set a strong precedence for others to follow. Since that day everybody follow suit. And as many that touched His garment were made whole. Just as God questioned Adam, when Jesus asked "who touched me?" He was not seeking for information.

Jesus didn't ask that question to prove any point or to add this particular healing to His list of accomplishment. He did that to deliver others from their distractions. Despite the fact that He was so close to them, they have this idol in their heart, that unless Jesus gives them attention and lays hand on them, they won't be able to receive their miracles. They were all rubbing their body around Jesus but they never touched Jesus. They were closed to Jesus but they never touched Him. You can be close to Jesus and still not touch him. They were dinning and winning with Jesus but they never touched Him. Rather than seeking for Jesus' attention, why don't you Just go ahead and touch Him. The easiest way to get Jesus' attention is to touch Him. You may see Jesus attending to others and you're worried when is it going to be my turn? Rather than worrying about who Jesus is attending to, why don't you just touch Him. You may not be on Jesus' schedule or itinerary for the day but you can touch Him. When it comes to touching Jesus, there is no hard rules or protocol about it, just go ahead and touch Him.

Remember how Ruth touched God's heart and got God's attention. Ruth was not an Israelite, she was a Moabite, who became the great-grandmother of Jesus, because she touched God's heart. There may be crowd thronging on Jesus for attention, that is not supposed to be your problem. Just stretch out your hand and touch Him. Mark 5:31, "And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?" Many Christians are struggling under prolonged challenges because of distractions. Distractions itself is a constant in life. You cannot stop distractions from coming, but you can refuse to be distracted. You don't have control over distractions but you have control over your self-will. Do you know that Peter's insensitivity was not enough to deny that woman of her miracles. The blurred vision of your pastor is not an excuse for you to limit God. When you show some love to a fellow brother or sister in Christ, you have touched Jesus heart, and you will definitely get His attention. Mark 5:34, "And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."

Shalom ...

Good day Beloved in Christ Jesus. Welcome to this week's episode of scriptures review. Remain blessed as you read.

Topic: HAVE SALT IN YOURSELF

Text: Mark 9:50, "Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another."

Good is used in the Bible as God's divine standard. First, Jesus said no one is good but God. For God is good and His mercy endureth forever. When God created the earth and everything therein, including man, God said everything was very good. Genesis 1:31, "And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day." In like manner Jesus said, in Mark 9:50, that salt is good. It is the goodness in salt that makes it a necessity in very home. Not everything on earth is good. Somethings are good while somethings are obviously evil. A typical example of evil was the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden. Some may say, but there's also good in the fruit of that tree apart from the evil. The truth is, the good in the fruit of knowledge of good and evil is as poisonous as the evil in it. Can you eat a poisoned food because the food is tasty? Regardless of the taste of that food, the poison in it has contaminated it. The good in that tree is limited to its beauty, attraction, and taste. It is seductively good to the eyes, but poisonous to the body. Eve, got attracted and enticed to the tree by it's seductive power.

The evil in the tree is so deadly that the moment Adam and Eve tasted it, it corrupted their DNA, and they lost the original image and likeness of God. Exactly what Jesus said in His remarks- salt is good but if the salt has lost its saltness how then can it proof its originality. It's like draining blood out of man. How would a man stay alive without the blood, because the live of man is in the blood. What is the usefulness of salt that cannot season your meal. The same way blood flows in man in order for man to stay alive. Jesus said have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another. This makes sense to me. The reason being that if Jesus has not interpreted salt as peace, it would have created an open ended debate. Some people may misinterpret salt as having a good conscience, which sounds good, but its not it. Some may liking salt to giving cheerfully for the propagation of the gospel. How can you advance the gospel with money? The word propagation in itself is taken from the word propaganda. It's an artificial pressure exerted to promote numeric strength of the church. Emphasis on bumeric strength of the church is not a growth propelled by the Holy Ghost in most cases.

Numeric centered growth is man's selfish desire for competitive church at the expense of qualitative dynamics. In the heart piece of God, there are two basic quality God desires to see in man. First, the light, and the second is the salt. The gospel light is the live of Christ that men see in us, which shines darkness and darkness cannot overcome it. While the peace of God, is the power of God in us to maintain and sustain environmental harmony regardless of the enemy's attacks. This is what Jesus referred to as "have peace with one another". Wherever there is crisis, we use the weapon of peace to restore hope. Wherever there is darkness, our lives shine as light for men to see the way, the truth and the life. And wherever there is sorrow, we bring joy, because, the joy of the Lord is our strength. The light of Christ is the wheel of the gospel, while peace, is the weapon that quenches all forms of spiritual assaults. Salt has five basic functions: it's used as seasoning to add value to your meal; it's used as healing agent applied to internal injury; it's commonly used as preservative agent; it's used as protective shield; and finally, salt is used as repelling agent.

You may be thinking why didn't Jesus liking believers to sugar instead of salt. The reason being that, sugar attracts unwanted guests like ants, bacteria and all forms of corruption. Salt is one of the most used chemical powder for different purposes. Salt constitute one of the most important substances used in both homes and industry, because of its high demand for value. At home salt can be added to food as seasoning to give your food a desired taste. If you want to cook soup or stew, you must add salt to it. Without salt in your food, stew or soup, your meal would be tasteless. Salt can also be used for medical purposes domestically. For instance, if you have tooth ache, or you mistakenly bite your tongue, it is impossible for you to put cotton wool with iodine, or ethanol on your tongue or tooth. The best remedy is to use salt and water solution; gargle it in your mouth for a minute or two and then spit it out. This can be repeated at intervals until your tongue, or tooth gets healed. In case you don't have refrigerator, and you want to preserve your raw meat or fish. Just coat it with salt and your meat and fish will be preserved for weeks or months until you're ready to cook it.

Salt is a very good preservative agent because it prevents the growth of bacteria in our food. Salt is also used as protective agents when installing earthing and lightening arrestor in the house, to prevent electric shock, and lightening strike. Spiritually, salt has been used over time as repelling agent in the house to drive away negative energies. This is mostly used by paranormal investigators and those who practice metaphysics. Jesus said we are the light of the world. Then He said, we should have salt in ourself. This means our personalty is the Light, that is who we are. But our quality is the salt, which we must have in our possession. Light represents our character, while, salt represents our behaviour. Our personalty and character as light is a message for others to read. What we preach is minor while, who we are and what we do is major. Salt as seasoning means, our behavioural and disposition must add value to people around us. Salt as healing agent, speaks of our contribution to healing controversial issues. We must also preserve the truth undiluted. Our words should protect rather than being destructive. And finally, the salt in us must repel all appearances of evil.

Shalom ...

No studying, no growth

Good day Beloved in Christ Jesus. Happy new month and welcome to this week's episode of scriptures review. Remain blessed as you read.

Titled: GOD'S APPROVAL OF YOU

Text: 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

Every man craves for a lift to advance him in life, nevertheless, people go extra miles to sacrifice and earn success. Success is not a gift, it is earned; you work for it. Success itself is subjective. Just as a criminal sees smooth operation has success; a soldier also sees victory in battle as success. Same way a rich pastor sees money as success, while, a faithful pastor sees salvation of souls as success. That is why it's important to divide between the lines when it comes to defining success. The way God proposed good success for Joshua shows success is subjective. Joshua 1:8, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." In order to make good success, God recommended the studying of the book of the law to Joshua. There is high degree of assurance that after studying the book of the law, there is a guarantee for prosperity and good success. Prosperity in this context speaks of finishing strong in ministry.

After studying comes evaluation. This evaluation is what apostle Paul described as "approved unto God". The essence of approval is to justify the validity of your studies in daily life. When you study the word of God with spiritual understanding it must reflect in your daily life. This is what apostle Paul referred to as rightly dividing the word of truth. That is, you walk the talk; you practice what you preach; you dissect the word of God without mincing words. If not, shame lies at your door, and unto it shall be your desire. Whatever we do in life echoes in eternity. Any christian or preacher who does not know this is living is darkness. Darkness describes absence of light or degree of blindness. There are three types of blindness: There is physical blindness; there is partial blindness and there is spiritual blindness. Physical blindness occurs when a man loses his physical sight. He cannot see physical things but he can see in his dreams. This shows he has a limited vision. Partial blindness is experienced by all faithful Christians. We can see celestial beings only with the eyes of our heart, but we do not have the capacity to behold God or celestial beings with our physical eyes.

This is the type of darkness that covers the the whole earth. We believe in the reality of the presence of celestial beings, but we cannot see them easily with our naked eyes. Spiritual blindness is a state of gross blindness in the spirit. That is, you're devoid of vision. You cannot see God or celestial beings even with the eyes of your heart. Your vision is only limited to physical things. You're are living in spiritual darkness. Spiritual darkness is not the absence of physical light but the absence of vision. During the journey in the wilderness, God gave Moses law, engraved in stones with God's finger. And He commanded the children of Israel to observe His ordinances, uphold His statutes, and obey His commandments. The essence of the book of the law is for reminder. Children learn from what they can see, but adults learn by repetition. That is why God told Joshua to make it a daily ritual to meditate in this book of the law, day and night. Every servant of God in history gave themselves for personal studies. Our spiritual elevation is embedded in personal studies. Regular attendance in church programs may help you to be faithful in service, but it can not guarantee your spiritual growth and safety.

If you crave for the anointing of Enoch, Elijah, Elisha, Daniel, Peter, John, Paul and the rest, the secret is embedded in personal devotion to studying your Bible and most importantly, studying of Christian books that are written by faithful men of vision. Paul the apostle is not bigger than all faithful apostles of our contemporary time. Everybody is equal before God. Just as Paul wrote several epistles to the new testament churches to edify the body of Christ. Likewise, thousands of faithful servants of God have written several epistles (i.e. books) that will help to build you up in faith. Without mincing words, there's no gain in trying to please anyone by hiding the truth. I'm not a man of the people, I do prefer to be a man for the people. So, I will unequivocally declare to you that without studying of Christian books and your Bible, you cannot grow spiritually. The Holy Bible is the documented order of reference to confirm all truth, but Christian books contain documented truth with standard operating procedure as guidelines for spiritual growth. Bible tells us how God spoke to His messengers, but if you want to know how to hear from God, there are christian books that will guide you to attain that pedestal.

Your spiritual maturity must be assessed and approved by God. This is what brother Paul referred to as "approved unto God". Do not submit yourself to men's approval. Follow Jesus, and stop idolizing vain men. You may call them pastors, senior pastors or G.Os, the truth remains, they will use you to advance themselves in ministry and at the end dump you. If you want to grow spiritually, dedicate meaningful time to personal studies and prayers, and don't allow church programs to keep you busy rather than being occupied. Since you have been attending church programs consistently, have you been able to hear God's voice clearly? God often uses the physical phenomenon to teach us spiritual principles. Success does not come by chance, it comes by tract record of rare discipline and consistent studying for personal development. After studying comes success; after success comes fulfillment; and after fulfillment comes responsibility. It's high time you challenged the statute quo and did something different. You cannot continue to do the same thing all the time and expect different results. When a man sees his end, he want to know there're some purpose to his life, because, activity suggest life filled with purpose.

Shalom ...

It isn't normal for christians to be in lack ...

Good day Beloved in Christ Jesus. Happy new month and welcome to this week's episode of scriptures review. Remain blessed as you read.

Topic: PROPERITY OF THE SAINTS

Text: Matthew 26:11, "For ye have the poor always with you; but me ye have not always.

Matthew 26: verse 11, is one of the most controversial scriptures popularity misunderstood amongst christians in general. Most people misinterpreted Jesus' remarks out of context, and runaway with their personal conviction. According to that passage, Jesus didn't recommend poverty has God ordained reality, neither did He validate material lacks has normal. What Jesus said in context is that, His mission on earth is very short. Because, He would be departing from the earth earlier than they expected. But the poor people are still very much around in case you want to help anyone of them. Jesus' remark emanates from the kind gesture of a woman who anointed Jesus with precious ointment. Matthew 26:7-9, "There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat. But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor." When Jesus' disciples saw the volume of costly ointment poured upon Jesus they were startled.

They couldn't believe such volume of precious ointment was emptied on Jesus just like that. To them, it was a wasted investment. They saw it as surplus of paid over pleasure. How on earth could someone pour off such valuable ointment on the Master's head, considering the economic value of the ointment. They didn't realize how important it was for the body of Jesus to be preserved in death without stinking. As a matter of fact, they had no idea about Jesus death. They were only concerned with the cost rather than appreciating the purpose for which it was meant to serve. Anytime you get concerned or angry against God's surplus provisions, bear it in mind that you are acting under unnecessary indignation. If it pleases God, He can decide to pour heavy rain upon the earth everyday while the earth swallows it up, yet God is not tired of nourishing the earth with showers of blessings. So, what is your problem? If excess provision is spent uncontrollably in God's vineyard, how is that your problem? There are some christians who get angry whenever they see their pastor buy a brand new car, as if pastors are ordained to go around on commercial buses.

Poverty mentality is antichrist. This is not to promote prosperity gospel but to remind all christians of God's unchanging and unfailing provisions for all His children without exemption. It is God and God alone who decides whether or not to bless His servant with a bike or a car. It is none of your business whether the pastor rides SUV or a tricycle. Allow his Master to decide what is worthy for His servant, not you. Whenever you notice a lack in the church, especially among members, check the pastor. It's either the pastor is self-centered or worldly. Hear the testimony of Jesus' disciples, in Luke 22:35, "And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing." Jesus asked His disciples, since you guys have been with me, and since I have been sending you up and down without money and without savings accounts, did you lack anything? And they answered, nothing! They were not working, they were not earning salary, but because they were with Jesus, they lack nothing. Even in their homes their wives and children don't lack nothing.

Come to think of it, when Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding in Canaan, most Christians described that as Jesus' first miracle. That is not true! Only a shallow minded Christian will think that was Jesus' first miracle. If that was Jesus' first miracle, why did Mary advise the organisers at the party to do whatever Jesus' tells them? The reason being that Jesus has been doing countless miracles within the family without publicity. If not, how did Marry know that once they follow Jesus' instruction miracles will happen? And if the organisers are not aware of what Jesus is capable of, why did they go to Mary for help? This is commonsensical. John 2:4-5, "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." Jesus is our perfect example, and because we are Jesus' followers, if will follow His instructions we will never be in lack. Hear the testimony of John the beloved, in 3 John 1:2, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth."

Our physical, mental, and spiritual prosperity as Christians is God's priority. It is a taboo for a child of God to be in lack. If you're a Christian yet you live in lack and abject poverty, check yourself. Search the scriptures, you will never find any record of a servant of God who lived in lack or abject poverty, never. Sin is the only explanation for your lacks. You may ask, how about Lazarus and the rich man. And my answer is, how about Jesus' disciples and the poor people in Jerusalem? Jesus disciples were never in lack but there were still poor people living in Jerusalem at that time. Jesus did not come to the earth to share money. The gospel of our Lord Jesus is not about sharing of money and food. Jesus only fed those who came to listen to the word of God wholeheartedly. At times Jesus may go on marathon preaching for three days before feeding the people, because His primary motive was not to entice people with food, but to feed them with the word of God. If you're in the church and you're still living in lack, you're definitely not a disciple yet. Perhaps you're just one of the pastor's recruits. That is why you depend on pastor for survival.

If you're truly God's servant, He will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Psalm 37:25, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." The reason, why we still have beggars in the church is because the church has become a business center where pastors make merchandise of their members. Pastors have turned churches into den of robbers rather than a house of prayer.

Shalom ...