The second temptation: cast yourself down

 

Round two. In the first temptation we saw the Devil approached Christ and told Him if He was the Son of God he should use His power to get Himself out of His present circumstances. But Christ overcame the Tempter by using the Scriptures as His weapon. He lifted up the shield 🛡of eternal truth, blocked Satan's assault by telling him, " it is written, man shall not eat by bread alone but by every Word that come from the mouth of God. " The Devil received a severe blow in the first round. And so it is friends, every time we resist Satan's temptations by the power of God we get stronger.

So the Devil comes back now with the scriptures. The Devil is basically saying I know the scriptures too.  Matthew 4:6,"And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Now the Devil thought He is meeting Christ on His own ground, the scriptures. But He misquoted the scriptures. He is misquoting psalms 91:11,12. The Devil left out the part that says God will keep you in all your ways and focused on God will rescue you from the situation you put yourself in.

The Devil is persistent. Ladies, he is like that guy who keeps talking to you and you tell him you are not interested, you are not looking for a man at the moment, but he comes back saying can we just be friends. Or if you tell him you have a man, he comes back and say your man doesn't want you to have friends? All I want to be is your friend. The Devil is persistent. So he now attacts Jesus with the sin of presumption. The sin of presumption is putting yourself in a bad situation and hoping God will rescue you from it. It is an attempt to force God's hands.

If the Devil cannot get you on the first temptation. Telling you to change your situation by any means necessary, he will try to get you with the sin of presumption. Many Christians fall into the sin of presumption. It goes like this, because God loves me, I can keep playing with sin for I know God will keep me from harm or I can keep asking God for forgiveness for the same sin over and over. "Once saved always saved ,"theology leads many Christians into the sin of presumption. In thinking that they cannot lose they salvation, many cast themselves down into sin, thinking that God will still deliver them.

The temptation to cast yourself down is an attempt to get glory for yourself at the expense of God. The Devil tells us to cast ourselves down when it comes to Christians marrying unbelievers. You know that man is not a Christian, you know that woman is no good for you according to the Word of God and yet you stay in the relationship with him, yet you marry him hoping that God will bless your marriage, that God will protect you from all the dire predictions faithful Christians friends were telling you of. You cast yourself down by watching things you know you shouldn't watch and hoping that God will keep your mind from being corrupted.

Basically friends, to cast yourself down is to put yourself in situations God did not put you in and hoping to be rescued by Him. Imagine a man who who struggle with women, who used to be a womanizer, saying he is going to the strip club to preach the gospel to strippers. This guy is casting himself down and hoping the Lord will rescue Him. Satan tempts many of us to trust that because we are children of God, because God loves us, we can out ourselves in spiritually dangerous situations and God will send His angels to rescue us. Friends, this is a lie .

Jesus showed us how to deal with the sin of presumption. He told the tempter. He said, "it is also written you shall not tempt the Lord your God." It is a sin to tempt the Lord.  To out yourself in situations he did not put you in,  knowing you shouldn't and hoping He will deliver you. The key thing to notice in this temptation is the Devil knows the Bible and will use the Bible to His advantage in order to deceive. As a young Christian you may encounter that temptation when other Christians tell you it's okay to do a sinful act once because God is loving and will forgive you. Or we are all sinners anyway, one more sin won't condemn us. 

Your boyfriend/girlfriend may come to you and say David was called a man after God's own heart and yet he committed adultery and murder, so God will still forgive us if we commit a little sexual sin. Friends, resist that tempter by saying "it is also written you shall not tempt the Lord your God. " Friends, never put yourself in situations contrary to the Word of God and hoping for God's deliverance.  To do so is to put yourself on Enchanted ground and to give the Devil the advantage over you and you will surely fall. But let us resist the Tempter by saying it is also written I shall not tempt the Lord my God. Lord keep me from presumptuous sins 🙏🏾

Psalm 19:3

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

Speaking the truth is a revolutionary act

 

" Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act ." George Orwell. This world is a world full of deceits and falsehoods. "Ever since the fall of man, Satan has been sowing the seeds of error. " (Christ object lessons). Falsehood is the default system of this world. Governments use falsehoods to conduct their agendas and control the masses . Many religious systems use falsehoods to control their adherents. Businesses use falsehood and deceitful means to rob the poor and enrich themselves. Men and women use falsehoods to seduce one another and take advantage of one another. Universal deceit is the default mode of our world.

Because falsehoods is universal, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act. People don't want to hear the truth. Jesus  said in John 3, "this is the condemnation, light has come into the world but men love darkness rather than light." And why do people prefer the darkness 🤔?  Because their deeds are evil. It's a sad thing that people would rather hide in darkness than allow the light to expose the evil in their lives and be transformed. But such is the condition of our world. People prefer to hear soothing lies that are leading them to destruction than to hear the truth that saves. As a result, charlatans and demagogues are loved by the masses because they tell the masses what they want to hear .

If your wife came to you and ask you, "honey does this dress makes me look fat ?" and the dress does make her look fat. What would you say ? Would you tell her a pleasing lie or would you say honey, we may have to go to the gym together 😂. See many men for fear of conflict will say, no honey you look good, you looking amazing, a lie. They say the lie thinking that it will make the wife feel better but now suppose  when the wife goes out she makes a fool out of herself and look ridiculous in the dress and a young child come by and say lady you look fat in that dress. It would prove in the long term that lying did not  benefit her and had the husband told her the truth, it would have saved her the ridicule.

Many people lie because they think in lying they are protecting the other person's feelings. But in lying you are not only destroying your own integrity and ability to be truthful, in lying you are setting the other person up for long term failure. What happens if that person later finds out that you had lie to them ? It will be difficult for them to trust you again. See friends, telling the truth is not easy, and in our age of deceit, in our age of people being super sensitive, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.  But God has called to live the truth and speak the truth. God has called us to be revolutionaries in this world. To attack the kingdom of darkness and falsehood

The first stronghold of falsehood we must attack is our own hearts, our own lives. We must compare our lives to the scriptures and see whether or not they live up to its truth. And truth be told there will always be areas of our lives that are not up to the standard of truth. We must take these areas of darkness and bring them to the light of God in prayer. Then as we attack the falsehood in our own lives, we ask God for the strength and wisdom to attack the falsehoods in the lives of others, the falsehoods in the society at large . Truth hurts, so you must also ask God for patience, tenderness and wisdom on when and how you deliver the truth, but deliver you must. 

The light of truth must go forth. We must never allow ourselves to make compromise with falsehoods, whether it is in our own hearts or in the society, we must war against all falsehoods with the Word of God.  Some examples of falsehoods in our lives are believing I can find happiness in sin. Believing that I can keep living wrong and nothing will happen.  Believing that I am worthless, God doesn't care, God doesn't see what I'm doing etc.. add your own falsehood to the list. Some falsehoods of the society are gay marriage, transgenderism ( a man cannot become a woman and a women cannot become a man) , sex before marriage is okay etc..

Some religious falsehoods are, Jesus is a created being, I can't get victory over my sins, hell is eternal and sunday is the 7th day sabbath. I can live how I want to, all I have to do is be a good person and I will make it to heaven. I don't have to repent from sin, believe the gospel and submit to God. All these are religious lies that we must allow the light of truth to expose. But remember speaking the truth is a revolutionary act. " A speaker of truth has no friends ." African proverb. As you speak the truth, your amount of friends may diminish, there will be backlash,for people love darkness more than light .

"A speaker of truth has no friends."No one wants to hear they are wrong. No one wants to hear their belief system, their religious traditions are based on falsehoods and so you may lose many friends by speaking the truth. The society at large will oppose you at every step and as we get nearer to the end of time you will be persecuted for preaching the truth to a society, a people that love lies. Speaking the truth is a revolutionary act and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the greatest revolutionary act you can do in this world. For the faithful preaching of the gospel expose sin and the world at large love sin. Preaching the truth may not make you many friends, but some may repent and be saved for eternity and for one saved soul it is worth it. 

So friends, in all your daily interactions ask God for the strength to be truthful. Ask the Lord to create in you a new heart and to put truth in your inward parts. Ask the Lord to help you to love the truth and to out hatred of falsehood in your heart. Ask the Lord for the strength to walk in the light of truth and to be a light to those in darkness no matter the cost. Preaching the gospel is not going to get easier as the world plunge deeper into darkness and falsehood, but let us ask God for the strength to be faithful and to be a witness, a revolutionary for Him in this world.

 Let our prayers be Lord help me to love the truth and to walk in it 🙏🏾

John 3:19

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

The first temptation: turning stones into bread 🍞

 In Luke 4:3 And the Devil said unto him, if thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. This is the first temptation of Christ in the wilderness by the Devil. Have you ever been tempted by the Devil ? Have you ever find yourself in the wilderness of temptation ?  The temptations that Jesus went through are the summary of what we all go through at different points in our lives. The Devil comes to all of us. He comes to us during our youth, our middle age and before death. The Devil comes to us right before we enter into the Lord's work. If He sees God is calling you, He will come first to bring you down . Today we will look at the first temptation 

We all find ourselves in the wilderness at some point in our lives. The wilderness is a time of testing to see whether you will obey God or not. The wilderness is a difficult time. Usually comes soon after God saves you. Soon after God saves you, the Holy Spirit will drive you into the wilderness to be tested of the Devil. It is of utmost importance for us to be tested and proven before God can entrust us with greater responsibility.  And it is in the wilderness many Christians find their faiths destroyed and are led back to Egypt,  to the bondage of the world by Satan.  As soon as we get to the wilderness, the Devil will come to you and offer you to turn stones into bread 🍞

You may find yourself in the wilderness of singleness. After giving your life to Jesus, you may find it impossible to find a good Christian woman or man to court and get married to. You may have a hunger for marriage 👰🏽 and marriage is honorable but can't find the right person. It is at such a time the Devil will come to you and say if you are a son or daughter of God, surely the Lord wants you to be happy, surely the Lord want you to have someone you can share your life with, "love is love" , and the Lord is not so concerned with who you married, as long as you love each other. Plus there are not many available young men or women in the church. 

The Devil comes along and say there are no marital prospects in the church for you, why don't you turn one of these worldly women or men into a Christian? Why, let yourself starve for marriage? Matter of fact, these worldly guys are more honest, more loving and more faithful than the ones in the church. Get yourself a man, woman then ask God to help you make him or her a Christian. Turning stones into bread 🍞. How many of us fall for this temptation of the Devil . We violate God's will in order to satisfy our fleshly craving. A friend of mine says turning stone into bread is trying to change your circumstances. Trying to change your circumstances by not waiting on God to deliver you .

Then when in the marriage that man or woman now start showing their true character, stop coming to church with you, start doing all sorts of things that are contrary to the Lord, we blame the Lord for our misfortune and soon many get wearied and leave the faith all together. By listening to Satan's temptation to turn stone into bread we destroy our lives. We turn stones into break by having sexual relationships outside of marriage. The urges of the flesh are so powerful, the hunger so intense that we give in to the Devil when He comes by and say you are too young to be married, and you love him/her, plus you will marry each other anyway, go ahead enjoy sexual intimacy,marriage is just a paper .

Friends, anytime we give in to the desires of our flesh contrary to the Word of God,  we are turning stones into bread. Using our abilities to do things God forbid. We must learn to resist Satan's first approach by quoting the Word like Jesus and say it is written, man shall not live by bread 🍞 alone but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God.  The only way to resist Satan's temptation to turn stones into bread is to eat the Word of God daily. God's Word is the bread of life, by feasting on His Word daily we will gain the spiritual discernment to know when we are under temptations and will use the scripture weapons to resist Satan's power .

Remember friends, it was right after Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit drove Him to the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil. Before God can entrust you with greater responsibility, He will lead you to the wilderness. But in the wilderness do not despair, do like Jesus did, fasting and praying. It is in fasting and praying we gain the strength to master the appetites of the flesh. It was after 40 days of fasting and praying the Devil came to Christ. Jesus was physically hungry but He was spiritually strong and was able to overcome the Devil.

 

In your time in the wilderness don't spend it worrying and panicking but spend it in prayer, drawing nearer to Christ,  asking for the victory of the sinful desires of the flesh. Whether your wilderness is singleness, a sickness, joblessness, a difficult marriage, school problems etc.. whatever it is, cling to Jesus and His Word and when the Devil come, and trust me, He will come to ask you to change your circumstance, you will by the grace of God be able to tell him, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God. Let us humble ourselves before God and resist the Devil daily 🙏🏾.

Luke 4:4

And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.

The problem with Christmas 🌲

 

In John chapter 4:24, Jesus said God is a Spirit and they that worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Notice the verse say "must". I looked up the definition of the word "must": be obliged to ; should (expressing necessity). Something that should not be overlooked or missed. So Jesus said it is of utmost necessity that we worship God not only in spirit but in truth. Christmas meet the first test because many people are deceived into thinking it's really about Jesus and they worship in spirit but it fails the test of truth because it is not Jesus' birthday.

Christmas as it's widely known was the celebration of the birth of the sun god 🌞, called Mithra by the Persian, Nimrod (Tammuz ) by the Babylonians, Helios of the Greeks. December 25 was the date the pagans used to celebrate the birth of their gods. As part of the celebration there were drunken, raucous parties. Christmas was a period of decadence and moral corruption. So how did Christians come to accept this pagan practice and Christianized it ? Christians came to accept this pagan practice as corruption started to slowly creep into the church. The nominal conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine accelarated the work of corruption in the Christian church.

When the Roman Emperor became "a Christian", "the world cloaked with a form of righteousness entered into the church. Now the work of corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism while appearing to be vanquished became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church.  Her doctrines, ceremonies,  and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ ". (Great controversy 49.2) . Basically the Devil became a "Christian" and he struck a compromise with the Christians. "I will stop persecuting you if you accept my practices into your faith", and the Christian world agreed. Took on many of the pagan practices and gave them Christian names .

Some of the customs adopted from paganism were Christmas ( the birthday of the sun god 🌞). Pope Julius I chose December 25. Sunday 🌞, the day of the Sun, Sol invictus, the day the pagans used to worship the sun god replaced the sabbath day given by God in the 10 commandments,  Exodus 20. Many other pagan customs such as Mary worship, idol worship came into the Christian church and adopted Christian names, as the world came into the church unconverted. Satan had gained a major victory over the people of God and corruption rapidly progressed leading to the period called the dark ages when the Papacy ( antichrist) had almost absolute rule in christendom.

The problem with Christmas is that not only it is based on falsehoods but it is vain worship to God. In Matthew 15: 7- 9.Jesus said, You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: These people honor honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the commandments of men. Christmas is major example of vain worship, it is not a commandment of God but a human tradition. The Roman catholic Papacy rejected the sabbath commandment of God and put in its place numerous commandments of men such as Christmas, sunday sacredness, idol worship, Easter, the mass etc.. All false and vain worship.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. Deuteronomy 29:29. The birthday of Jesus is one of the secret things God chose not to reveal. If God wanted us to celebrate the birth of Christ, He would have revealed the date in the Bible, but He chose not to. To come up with things that God did not reveal is to add to His Word and adding to God's Word will only lead to deception and corruption. Christmas is a deception on a global scale. But God did reveal how we should celebrate Jesus, by giving our lives to Him.

Jesus did come into the world to save sinners like me and you, we can celebrate that every day by going into prayer and say Lord I bring you the best gift that I have, my heart 🎁, take my heart for I cannot give it. Take this little gift of mine because you have given me the greatest gift of all, eternal life, union with you. We don't need a holiday based on falsehoods to honor Jesus, we can honor Jesus by living a pure life in spirit and in truth. So friends, let us never give in to error and falsehoods just because some good can come out of it,  for God is able to bring good out of an unclean thing. Just like God is able to purify me and you from our sins. But it doesn't mean we should go on sinning just so God can purify us. Likewise God is able to use the " Christmas holiday" , to bring awareness to His gospel but it doesn't mean we should celebrate something we know to be false .

The problem with Christmas 🎄 is that it is falsehood ,but we can use the time to evangelize to others that Jesus did come into the world to save sinners like me and you. We can give people literatures about Christ during that time, we can do wonderful work for God during that time but we don't have to wait for December 25 to do all that, we can do that all year around. Friends, let us opposed all falsehoods, let us worship God in spirit and in truth. And if you want a holiday to celebrate Jesus, God has given us the sabbath day , the 7th day , a weekly holiday of rest to come celebrate Him. No need for pagan falsehoods. Let our prayers be Lord ,help me to worship you in spirit and in truth 

The lies we believe

 

All of us believe in some lies. When the Devil approached Eve in the garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3 and asked her concerning God's prohibition on eating of the tree 🌳 of the knowledge of good and evil,  He told her a two fold lies. The Devil told her you shall not surely die. The Devil contradicted God, basically calling God a liar. The first target of the Devil's lie was God Himself. Then the Devil told Eve you will be as gods, knowing good and evil. The second target of the Devil's lie was humanity, telling us lies about ourselves. The Devil's lies always have two targets in mind. Lies about God and lies about ourselves.

So what are some of the lies the Devil has been telling us? Lies such as you are worthless, you are ugly, you can't do nothing right, no one cares about you, no one loves you and if you were to die right now, no one would remember you etc.. You can add your own lie to the list. We all have what is called a core belief. A core belief is something we believe deep in our innermost being and for most of us those core beliefs are based on lies. Example you may see a beautiful girl 👱🏿‍♀️ but if when she was younger people used to tell her she was ugly, it doesn't matter what you tell her, she will still believe the lie deep within despite the external reality.

Once we believe in a lie and it becomes part of our core beliefs we will start living according to the lie. So if you believe you are worthless, you will seek worth in money, in a career , in popularity. Many men pursue after money, fame in power because deep within they believe they are worthless and the money will give them a sense of worth. No wonder we hear things such as this man is worth this amount of money. Many people's worth are determined on how much they have 😔, how sad! A man's worth is determined by how much material things he has. So, we do all we can to find our worth in these things, sacrificing God, family , friends,health in the process. The lies we believe .

Many of our women because they believe they are worthless, parade themselves almost naked in the streets, on social media for likes because the likes give them a sense of self worth. The more naked or "sexy" , the more likes they get, the more they feel they are worth something. All lies. The lies we believe impact how we live. The Devil is out to destroy us and does this work of destruction by telling us lies about God and lies about ourselves and when we believe in lies about God we will not go to Him for the truth, we will not go to Him for healing, we will trust in our own minds,  our own effort. One lie the Devil say about God is that God cannot be trusted, God cannot be depended upon. 

Many of us even Christians believe the Devil's lie that God cannot be trusted. For this reason we don't go to God with all our issues, we believe the Devil's lie that God doesn't care about us, God is not concerned about our "little issues", that God has more important things to take care of. God has more holy people to look out for, why should I a sinner bother God ? These are lies. So we set about trying to lead our own lives and we fall head first into the Devil's snare. All the problems of this world are the results of humanity believing in the Devil's lies. You have low self esteem because you believe in the Devil's lie that you are worthless. 

The greatest lie and most dangerous lie the Devil tell us is that we have sinned too much, we are too far from the Lord and that we cannot be saved. The Devil wants you to give up . Friends all of us believe in some lies and these lies are the reason why our lives are full of misery, burdens and worries. But I'm here to tell you today Jesus came to set me and you free from these lies. The Truth will set us free. Jesus is the Truth and the life. Friends, the only way to be truly free is to make the Word of God our guide of life. We cannot trust in our own thoughts because our thoughts are corrupted by lies, we must put our trust in God's Word alone .

This is why it's important for us to fortify our minds with the scriptures. Spend time daily reading and studying the scriptures and praying the Lord to purify your mind from all the falsehoods you believe. Friends, you are beautiful because the Master artist Himself made you. You are of infinite worth to God because Jesus died for you. You are somebody because you are a child of God.  Money ,fame, power ect..don't add any value to your worth for you are worth more than them all, Christ died for you, not for them. Friends, it is only by the Word of God we will be able to resist the Devil's lies. If I think this about myself, I must bring it to God's Word and test it with the Word of God.

Adam and Eve fell into sin because they believed lies of the Devil. We are suffering in this life because we believe lies about God and lies about ourselves but Jesus came to set us free. Friends, let us evaluate ourselves only based on God's Word. Let us ask God to create in us a new heart and to put truth in our inward parts. Let our prayers be ,Father sanctify me with your Words, for your Word is Truth. Bring every core belief to the Lord in prayer and test them with the light of truth.  Jesus came to set you free from Satan's lies, believe in Him.
Be free from the lies that hold you in bondage

“One soul for whom Christ has died is worth more than the whole world.” {Our High Calling, p. 98.4}

John 8:31,32

If  you abide in my word, then you are my disciples indeed , and you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free .

Life is about love

 Life is about love. Love is a beautiful thing. When in love you feel alive, you feel unconquerable. Life becomes meaningful, life is a joy and you can't wait for the next day to spend more time with the one you love. Do you remember the first time you were in love ? What a wonderful time it was ! But soon you fell out of love and heartbreak came 💔. You promised to love the other person for the rest of your life and they promised the same to you but here you are now broken, with a cold heart and unable to love. Love has so died out of your heart that you now say I'm going to love myself first. 

Self love and self care are now my priorities.

What happened to your loving heart ? Why is it now so cold ? Well life happened. The truth is we have been deceived concerning what love is. We think that love is about receiving but love is about giving, always giving and hoping that you will receive in return. Furthermore love is not just a feeling but a Divine principle, love is sacrificial in nature. Love seeks the welfare of the other person even if it is at the expense of self. Love suffers long with the weakness of others. Love doesn't hold any records of wrong, love persevere, in short love is from God. But we have been deceived, we think love is about receiving, we think love is a feeling .

Because we are deceived concerning the nature of love, when we see that we are not receiving love, we get bitter, when no longer feel love we look for a new lover and heartbreaks follow. The truth is our "love " is selfish in nature, it's all about me. I will love you as long as you love me, but the moment you stop loving me is the moment I stop loving you. Such fickle love cannot last and Satan taken advantage of our deceived hearts tell us to no longer focus on loving others but focus all your love on yourself first. Hence the increasing focus on self love and self care in these last days. The focus on self love is Satanic to the core, for love by definition is about giving to others.

Self love is now the gospel of our time. Everywhere you go you hear people talking about the need to love themselves first but what these people don't understand they are fulfilling prophecy, they don't know that they are falling into the snares of the Devil 😈. For the Bible says in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 in the last days perilous times shall come,  dangerous times, Why ? Because people will be lovers of themselves. Bible is saying miserable times will mark the last days because of an increase focus on self love.  People will stop loving others and focus their live on themselves for fear of being hurt, and evil will spread rapidly.

What's worse about this demonic teaching of self love  is that the church has adopted it. The Christian church has a habit of baptizing the false teachings of the world. Pagan teachings such as Christmas 🌲, originally the celebration of the sun god Tamuz  was baptized into the celebration of the birth of Christ.  The church falsely believes by adopting the falsehoods of the world, they will be able to reach more pagans and this is false. When the church baptized the world's falsehoods we end up with more worldly Christians and the church become weaker as a result. The Satanic teaching of loving yourself first is no different. So what must we do ?

We must return to the Bible. The Bible teaches that life is about love but we must love God first and then our neighbors as ourselves.  Love is a Divine principle and it will be difficult to love in this sinful world without having a loving relationship with God first. Loving others is hard. Others will disappoint you, be selfish to you, hurt you etc.. and you will only be able to continue loving them by receiving love from the very source, the Lord God Himself. In other to truly love others, you must love God first. In order to properly love yourself, you must love God first.  If you love God first, you will automatically love yourself the right way, for we are the temples of God .

Some say we can only love others when we learn how to love self first. Another Satanic teaching. The more I focus on loving myself, the more selfish and demonic I will become. For the more i focus on self love, the less time I will have to love others. Furthermore love is all about sacrifice, if my priority is self love I will not sacrifice for the glory of God or the welfare of others, but I will do all I can to please myself. Friends, let us flee from from thus world's deceptions and let us make the Bible our guide of life. Life is about love and love is about giving. Let us seek to love God first and pray for the power to love our neighbors as ourselves for on these two rest the law and the prophets . Lord help me to love you with all my heart and to love others as myself is my prayer .

Luke 10:27

And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.

Judgement to come ⚖

 

God will judge ! God is going to judge sin and there will be no escape. God is the Creator of all things. God made us. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. You are beautiful because you were made by God the Master artist. You are precious in His eyes and He made you for His glory. God has unique purpose for your life and He wants your life to reveal His glory to those around you. God did not make you to live however you want, think whatever you want and treat your body however you want. God made you to reflect His glory, to be a glory, a praise for Him on the earth and He will judge me and you based on how we live out our lives.

God will judge me and you ! We are not our own. Our bodies are not our own. We are God's property by creation and redemption. We were bought with a price, even the blood of Jesus. Because we are not our own, we cannot live our lives however we see fit but must strive with the help of God to live according to His will. Every thought, every action will be brought to judgment 😱! Your thoughts are not private, for God sees them and will judge you for them. Further more the way we think determine the life we live, so our thoughts are definetly of great importance to God and He will judge them. All our thoughts and actions will be examined in the judgment with the utmost scrutiny.

God will judge and there is no escape! Some people think death is the end of their troubles, it is not. This is why I speak so much against suicide. One may think in committing suicide he is escaping life's sorrows and trials but he is not, for after death is the judgment.

 Death is no escape from the judgment of God for the sinner. We belong to God, our bodies are the temples of God and if one destroys the temple of God,  God will destroy Him. We not only destroy our bodies when we commit suicide, but we destroy our bodies through sinful living. Alcohol, drugs destroy the mind's ability to reason properly, God will judge. 

Sinful living destroy our hearts' ability to love, God will judge. Lying destroy one's ability to trust others, God will judge. Being unfaithful destroys one's ability to be faithful, God will judge. 📺 Watching movies, entertainment that promote wicked things destroy purity in our minds and God will judge. Every evil act we commit destroy a good thing in us and God will judge us for destroying His handy work in us. God will judge! A gospel which only focuses on the love of God and neglect His judgment against sin is a false gospel.  Because God is love, He hates every evil thing and will judge evil evil deed done in the body. There will be no escape from His judgment 

The cross of Jesus shows that God will judge sin. For at the cross we saw a revelation of mercy and justice. God so love the world that He gave His only begotten Son to die for our sins. God saved us by putting His Son to death for our sins. There is no escape from God's judgment. If we will not accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, if we will not allow Christ to cleans us from all our sins, then we will die in our sins and in the judgment we will suffer the punishment for our sins, eternal death ☠. God will judge us for every evil thing we have done unless we repent of them all and forsake them .

So friends, knowing that God's judgment is certain and that death is no escape from it, what must we do ? We must flee from the judgment to come by fleeing to the cross of Jesus. Let us go to Jesus daily and pray Lord, cleanse me of all my sins. Lord cleans me of evil thoughts, evil habits. Lord help me to honor you with my body in the way I eat, dress and live.  Lord help me to live for you, for you died for me. God's love is no excuse for sin. God cast out Satan from heaven. God drove out Adam from paradise and He will destroy all those who cling to sin and refuse to repent. The grace of God will empower us to live Holy lives. Lord search me and see if there is any wicked way in me, cleans me of all unrighteousness. God will judge but praise be to God we can escape His judgment by allowing Christ to dwell in our hearts daily and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. 

Hebrews 9:27 

It is appointed for men to die once, but after this is the judgment. 

Take every thought captive to Christ

 

The battle is over our minds. Satan is after our minds and in the last few years we have seen an increase in mental illness in the land. Satan knows that He has a short time and He is launching devastating attacks against our minds. The Bible says Satan goes about like a roaring lion 🦁 seeking whom He may devour. Satan is seeking you, He is seeking me to destroy. But how does Satan seek us? He seek us by the things we allow in our minds. Remember Satan spoke to Eve through the medium of the Serpent 🐍 and put rebellious thoughts in her mind and brought death to her. Satan is doing the same for me and you .

If you eat poisonous food then your body will be sick. It is the same for the mind, if you allow poisonous thoughts in your mind then you will be mentally sick. The Devil is using every means to bring poisonous thoughts into our minds. Some of His major mediums of doing so are through the entertainment industry 🎥. The movies of Hollywood bring images of violence, greed, sexual immorality to our minds, to poison it. The music of the world bring thoughts of violence, drugs dealing, sexual immorality to our minds to poison it. The love songs of the world are for the most part immoral and put immoral thoughts in our minds. 

After spending hours watching television 📺, it is no wonder we find it hard to open a Bible or to pray, our minds have been poisoned. After listening to love songs for hours it's no surprise you find yourself depressed because you don't have the lover the music spoke about, your mind has been poisoned. And let us not even begin to talk about the types of music that are coming out these days, depressing and violent. It is no surprise then our young people are so depressed. The Devil is poisoning their minds through the medium of entertainment. Friends, we must guard our minds if we will not succumb to Satan's attack in these last days

Others things that poison our minds are anger, hatred, envying what other people have, desire for revenge, bitterness, gossiping, thinking evil of others etc... all these things poison the mind and makes one mentally sick. If any of these things are not brought captive to the Lord Jesus Christ,  the Devil will use them to make our lives miserable, to make other people miserable when they around us and eventually to lead us to destruction. What we allow in our minds determined if we will end up in heaven or hell, for the battle is over the mind. And the Devil knows all refuse to allow Jesus to purify their minds will be overcomed by His temptations.

Friends, we must guard our minds. We must not allow any evil thing to come into our minds. Turn off the Hollywood movies, throw away the worldly music,  delete them from your phones, for these things are mediums of the Devil, you are hearing His voice, just like when you read the Bible you are hearing God's voice. Avoid reading the romantic novels that excite lust in passion, but fortify your mind with God's Word. While we cannot fully control the thoughts that come to our minds, we can choose which thoughts we meditate on and we can bring every thought captive to Christ in prayer. 

The Devil will bring back evil things you did in the past to your mind, but as soon as the thought come pray to God about it. The Devil will bring thoughts to your minds about how you are not good, you are a great sinner, you not going to make it, you are only pretending, God doesn't love you etc.. the moment the evil thought comes,  resist it with the Word of God and bring it captive to Jesus in prayer. Friends, we must understand that the battle is over our minds and that the Devil and His Angels can put evil thoughts in our minds, just like Christ and His angels can put good thoughts in our minds. Your mind is not a safe place but is a battlefield. 

Friends, you cannot trust every thought that comes to your mind, but you must bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. The Bible says be sober, be vigilant for your adversary the Devil goes about like a roaring lion 🦁 seeking whom He may devour. Let Him not find you but you can only escape from him by fortifying your mind with the Word of God. The movies, music and teachings of this world will make poison our minds and make us mentally drunk , but the Word of God will sober us up and allow us to see danger. Friends, let us resist the Devil by bringing every thought captive to Christ. Put away every impure things from your life and mediatate only on what is true and pure. Lord help me, bring captive all my thoughts to obedience to your will .

2 Corinthians 10:5 

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

The weakness of the Christian church

 The Christian church is weak, weaker than ever. Yet, all around us are churches, on every corner and shopping plazas we see churches. What is going on ? How can there be so many churches in the land and yet wickedness is increasing ? How can there be so many churches and the spiritual darkness in the land is darker than midnight ? Darkness covers the earth and gross darkness the people. In this article I will speak of two reasons for the darkness. The precedence of humanistic theories and the love of sin above the Word of God.

Humanistic philosophies and the love of sin have invaded the church and weakens it. Humanistic theories put my feelings, what I think above the Word of God. Humanistic theories encourage the works of the flesh. One humanistic concept is life is about the pursuit of happiness. Life is not about living for God's glory but to fulfill my own happiness even if why I desire to make me happy goes contrary to God's Word.  My feelings supersede God's will. So If as a Christian sex outside of marriage makes me happy then sex outside of marriage is what I will do and anyone who tells me it is sin is  a hateful Christian, a Christian not in line with the times .

When what I want, my feelings, my happiness, my point of view become more important than the Word of God then a life of sin and rebellion is what I will have. And this the reality of the Christian church. In revelation chapter 3, Jesus called our church a lukewarm church, a church that is neither dedicated to Him fully nor to the world fully, a double minded church with 1 foot in the world and 1 foot in the church. Such a church is useless to God but is powerful in the hands of Satan. A lukewarm church which exalt human theories above the Word of God is a church who will be fearful to preach the truth for fear of offending sinners.

It is a church that is more focus on numbers than in having true converts. It is a church that have for members people who have itching ears, who want to hear sweet words but not words of repentance. A church who wants encouragement in pursuit of worldliness, a church who doesn't believe they can get the victory over sin, a church Christian in name only but as godless as the common sinner. Such a church is useless to God and is only a social club for sinners. These are the majority of the churches in our land. They are sinner centered, not Christ centered. Then it is no wonder many of these churches have worship services that look like clubbing.

Nowadays we see all manner of things in the church.  We have gay pastors, we have transgender elders, we have twerking for Jesus, we have people putting tattoos for Jesus on them while God says we should not mark ourselves. We have Christian rap, Christian rock, we have everything from the world in our church as the Word of God is pushed further back. Many churches now are simply social clubs where people go to gain emotional support to continue living in sin, to be comforted in their sins, but not a place to hear a thus saith the Lord. Not a place to hear Holiness of God and our need to repent and as a result our church have become weak, unable to stand in the face of the cultural onslaught of evil .

Friends, we are weak Christians because we have not make God's will, God's Word the guide of our lives. We have made cultural norms and cultural sentiments the guide of our faith. Friends, if we want to be strong Christians, if we want to be impactful Christians we must make the Will, the Word of God the guide of our lives. Life is not about my happiness, life is about fulfilling the Will of my Father, even God. Life is not about what I want but what God wants for me. Life is not about my emotions, but what God says is right. When your chief aim in life start to be doing God's will at all cost, then the Spirit of God will empower you to do His will

Friends, let us remember as Christians we are in this world but not of this world. We are part of another kingdom, the kingdom of God. Therefore let us make the Word of God our rule of life and not the current human theory.  Let us repent from all our sins, let us ask God to remove all wordliness from our lives, let us pursue holiness at all cost. Friends, God is looking for people in this last days who will stand true to Him, who will speak the truth tho the heavens fall. God is looking for a people who will be faithful unto death, God is looking for me and you. Friends the time has come for a revival of primitive godliness, the time has come for us to be true Christian worthy of the name

The time has for us to come out of the Babylon of sin and wordliness and to enter into true fellowship with Christ. Let our prayers be Lord help me, Lord give me the victory over sin, over my self, over my stubborn heart, over my love of the world. Lord fill me with your Holy Spirit and help me to live for you, every day of my life, for the rest of my days. Lord be the strength in my weakness, help me to be strong in the power of your might. Then friends, you will start seeing the power of God working in your lives and the Spirit of God will bring revival to your soul and make you a strong and influential Christian.  Lord let your will and not my will be done in my life is my prayer 🙏🏾

Mental illness and God's power

 

Mental illness is now rampant in our land. Everything from transgenderism, mass shootings, suicide are categorized as mental illness. Nothing is a sin anymore, but just mental illness. If I am a rude and bitter person, it is not because of sin in my life but because of mental illness. If I as a man think I am a woman and desire a sex change, it is not because of a wicked heart that I have but a mental illness that human beings alone can help make right. If someone goes commit a mass shootings, the first question is I wonder what his mental state was, and whether he was abused as a child ,not that this is a wicked individual. 

If I go and commit suicide, the question is I wonder what he was suffering from that caused them to take such a drastic measure. While we understand that someone who commit suicide was under severe Satanic assault and Satan led them to a point where they felt like they had no way out and we have compassion for anyone who is suffering currently and is suicidal. Friends, if you are feeling suicidal right now, I will encourage you to pray to God, for God is able to save you, surrender all the suicidal thoughts to God and He will give you the victory. Also go to a therapist or someone you trust so they can help you with these thoughts, so you can gain the victory. May God help you overcome. 

Suicide is still a wicked thing, it is a selfish act. In committing suicide one ignores God's will, His power to save. One also ignores the sufferings of loved ones. The law says love God and your neighbor as yourself, love requires sacrifice. The act of suicide show hatred for both God and neighbor. But the moment you mention suicide as an evil and wicked thing, people calm it a sensitive topic, meaning it shouldn't be talked about and its wickedness should not be exposed. Friends, as ministers of the gospel we must not let labels such as sensitive topics prevent us from preaching the truth and exposing evils of our time

Mental illness is real and so is sin. The increase of mental illness in the land is a Divine judgment. Divine judgment? What do you mean ? In Romans chapter 1:18-30, the Bible shows how God judges a society that has forsaken Him and worship created things, a society full of idolatry.  A society in which sexual sins are rampant, homosexuality is rampant. The Bible says that God soon hand over the people of that society to a "depraved mind ". A depraved mind is a worthless mind, a mind that cannot think properly,  a sick mind, a mentally ill mind. So the epidemic of mental illness in the land is for the most part a spiritual issue,  a Divine judgment to punish sin and rebellion.

When we refuse to keep God in our minds, when we refuse to make the kingdom of God our priority, God soon let us go do whatever we want, let us live however we choose. Soon all types of stresses and depression overcome us and very soon we may find ourselves mentally collapsing under the weight of these things. So yes friends, mental illness is real, is rampant and we need help. But the first thing in getting help is to acknowledge the problem, it is to acknowledge that the mental health epidemic sweeping the western nations is at first a spiritual problem, a spiritual judgment and it requires a spiritual solution. 

So how should you deal with your mental illness? By going to God in prayer. God is your maker and God is all powerful. Is there anything to hard for the Lord? No. Is your mental illness too great for the Lord to fix ? No, friends. God is in the business of healing and restoration, so come to Jesus in prayer. Ask the Lord to heal you of whatever mental issue you may be going through. God knew we all suffer from some type of mental illness and that's why in the scriptures God says a new mind will I give you and right spirit. Friends, the cure for mental illness is to go to God and ask to give you a new mind, we all need a new mind and a right spirit. Sin has destroyed our minds, but God can renew our minds .

Friends, you are not alone in your struggle with mental illness and dont be alone in your struggle. Seek help from God, seek help from friends, from professionals,  but most of all keep asking God for a new mind and ask the Lord to remove from you every evil thing that is contributing to your mental illness,  ask God to give you victory over every evil thoughts and suicidal thoughts are definetly evil. But never, ever think your mental illness justify sinful behaviors. There is no excuse for sin because God is able to save from the uttermost. So my friends, let us go to God in prayer and let us abide in His love and He will  heal you and renew your mind.

Lord, give me a new mind 🙏🏾

Romans 12:2

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Suicide is Self-Murder

 Recently I read the news about a DJ, Television Host and Dancer named Stephen Boss who committed suicide. He was 40 years old, was married, had 3 children: Zaia, 3, Maddox, 6, and Weslie, 14.  This man was probably going through a lot mentally and the burden became too much and so he took the solution offered by the Devil and killed himself. We pray that God may comfort the wife, the children and the family of the deceased, however what this man did was a wicked act. There is an ongoing movement in our society to normalize suicide, to make it seems as an acceptable option to escape pain and suffering, but this movement is coming straight from the gates of hell and we must resist it as children of God.

Satan is a lover of death. Jesus said the thief comes but to steal and to destroy. Satan's goal is to destroy human life by any means necessary and suicide is one of the weapons in his evil arsenal. Our society is almost fully under demonic control, so it's no surprise there is a concerted effort to normalize suicide. Suicide is an attempt to escape suffering, life's trials. Suicide is cowardice and selfishness in display. Suicide is the ultimate expression of self love, all you care about is yourself, not God, not your family but self and you are willing to break God's law and commit murder in order to escape whatever pain you may be going through.

The latest excuse for many suicide now are mental health issues. Somehow we believe its acceptable for one to commit suicide because he is going through mental difficulties. Friends, this is just an excuse from the devil. Everyone goes through some mental issue, everyone goes through trials and difficulties,  this life is not easy. And if you are a true Christian you will definitely go through mental anguish, moments of darkness and depression. Job went through serious dark times, Joseph, the apostles, the prophets all went through dark times and yet they overcame because they depended on God for strength 💪🏾, they call upon Him in time of needs. Mental health issues are no excuse for evil. 

Jesus himself went through the greatest and most severe mental crises any human being will ever experience. In the garden of gethsemane He was suffering under the weight of the world's sins🌍. He was suffering the anguish of being separated from His Father, later on He was forsaken by His beloved disciples and yet He didn't commit suicide but fulfilled the will of His Father. How was Jesus able to go on despite all His sufferings ? He relied on Infinite strength 💪🏾. He prayed, He depended on His Father. He gave us the example to follow. In times of mental anguish and suffering we are to seek God, to depend on His strength and not contemplating suicide

Is contemplating suicide evil ? Not really, it's a temptation and we are all tempted by different things.  Contemplating suicide during difficult times is simply hearing the Devil speaks to you but you must resist His temptation. When you feel like you have to kill yourself in order to find rest at last, go to Jesus in prayer and say Lord I'm struggling with depression, I'm struggling with suicidal thoughts but I know you came to give me life and to give it to me more abundantly, so help me Lord, give me the victory over these evil thoughts. I know you love me Lord, I know I'm worth your life, you gave your life for me, now help me to live my life for you. Help me Jesus .

Jesus will help you if you call upon Him. Friends, in this life we will all go through trials and tribulations. God allows trials to come to our lives in order to save us, the trials of life are designed to draw us closer to God. The trials of life are means through which God seeks to strengthen us. Do not be discouraged and become suicidal in your trials but seek help from God and if your faith in God is weak seek help from the professionals,  seek help from a friend but do not and I mean do not at any point succumb to the Devil's temptation and commit suicide. Suicide is self murder and the Bible says no unrepentant murderer will inherit the kingdom of God

God is the giver of life and God alone has the right to take our lives. Let us not seek to be gods in our lives but let us humbly submit to whatever circumstances God allow us to be in. Whatever you going through, bring it to God and ask for strength to go through it. Suicide is not the answer, suicide is evil, selfish and demonic but Jesus is the answer. In Jesus you will find help and strength in time of needs. The Devil loves death and He wants to destroy you, but Jesus came to give you life, life more abundantly. Seek the Lord, submit all wicked thoughts to Him in prayer and He will give you the victory. Again suicide is not the answer, Jesus is 🙏🏾

James 10:10

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

Depression a disease of civilization 

https://youtu.be/drv3BP0Fdi8

The Devil knows he has a short time

 There is a massive deception in christianity. The deception is many people  believe because they go to church, they read the Bible sometimes, they say a prayer here and there they are on their way to heaven. Friends, this is false and couldn't be further from the truth. Believing there is a God, believing Jesus came and die to save humanity doesn't make you a Christian anymore than it would make the Devil a Christian. In James 2:19  the Bible says you believe there is one God, you do well, the Devils also believe and tremble. Notice the devils believe so much in the reality of God that they tremble in fear. 

What does your belief in God do for you ? 

The Devil is a greater believer in Jesus than most Christians 😮. In Acts 19:15 we hear a demonic spirit tell some pretended believers who were trying to cast them out in the name of Jesus whom Paul preach say I know Jesus, and Paul I know but who are you ? The Devils know Jesus, they know He is God, they know He is Almighty, they know He has defeated them and they know He is coming back again shortly and they tremble at the thought. The devils are believers of the Bible, the devils go to church always but they remain devils. The Devils are greater believers than most of us.

Furthermore the Devil knows he has a short time. The Bible says in Revelation 12:12  the Devil has come down to us with great wrath  after being completely expelled from heaven because He knows He has a short time. So the Devil believes in the soon coming of Jesus. The Devil is a believer , He believes God's Word. He so believes God's Word that He goes to work. The Devil's faith has works to back it up. He doesn't just say He believes. He knows the second coming of Jesus is bad news for Him, so He gets to work to prevent it. Look at how evil is increasing so fast in our world. The Devil knows He is heading to destruction,  so He is working to destroy as many people as possible.

The Devil is extremely miserable, having lost heaven and facing eternal death, He is determined to bring grief to heaven by spreading miseries of all types in the human race. Look at the destruction of the family 🤵🏾💔👰🏽. In our days people are getting married just to get divorced devastating not only each other but the children involved. Look at the spread of single parents households, look at the spread of sexually transmitted disease. Homosexuality is rampant in the land, identity disorders such as transgenderism are widespread. Mental illness is out of control, crimes of all sorts are on the increase. Men love the evil and hate the good . Satan is at work

You can know Satan is at work fervently in this last days because the majority of people and even Christians are not interested in the things of God.  Say you are having a party and you will have no place to put people, but when it comes to the things of God, you be lucky if 2 or 3 people show up. Like the Bible say in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 in these last days men are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. I read somewhere this week that 40 000 argentinians went to Qatar to watch the world cup. 40000 people pay huge some of money just to attend some game, but were you to ask them to come to church for free, majority would say they are too busy. Satan is at work because His time is short .

Satan is a believer in Christ's second coming. He don't just say I believe Christ is coming soon but He does something about it. He spread his false gospel everywhere and his gospel is as long as you believe in Jesus you are ok, as you long as you go to church you are good. It doesn't matter if you are living a life of sin, it doesn't matter if you have evil traits of character, full of pride, hatred, anger, lust etc.. as long as you claim to be a Christian you are good and you are on the way to heaven and many false Christians say amen ! Wait ! Have you wondered if Satan is a believer then why isn't He saved ? He is not saved because He remains a Devil. He did not allow God to change Him 

So we see friends,  just because you believe in God, believe in Jesus will not do anything for you unless that believe results in works of righteousness in your life. To believe in Jesus and remain unchanged and in sin just make you a human devil. The devils believe and tremble, the devil is a better believer than most of us. The Devil know that His time is short and he set about to work against it. Do you believe that the second of Jesus is near, do you believe you have a short time to get ready and work for Jesus, with Jesus ? Or do you believe you still have time to live in sin and enjoy sin ? If you believe you still have time to live in sin, then my friend the Devil is a better believer than you .

Friends, let us demonstrate we are true believers. Jesus is coming soon, our time here is short, let us then draw nearer to Christ today and ask Him to transform us at all cost, to give us the victory over every sin in our lives at all costs and to give you the strength to spread the everlasting gospel. The Devil knows he has a short time and he is fully engaged in the work of destruction.  When we become true believers in Christ, we will know we too have a short time on earth as we will be fully engaged in the work of saving souls for Jesus. My question for you today is who is a better believer, you or the Devil 🤔?
Lord have mercy on us !

Revelation 12:12 

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea ! For the Devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time .

Does prayer work ?

Imagine going through a difficult time and you come to a Christian friend to talk. You tell your friend all the difficulties you are going through and after you done talking, he gave you a simple answer, " pray to the Lord about it "!. How would you feel? Wouldn't you feel offended? Wouldn't it appear that your friend doesn't care ? I mean my friend I'm going through a lot. I'm having anxiety, depression, I'm having a hard time at home, my family is falling apart, I'm struggling with addiction and I come to you, to speak to you and all you tell is to pray about it! What is prayer going to do in such circumstances? I need real help, you know what! I'm going to those who can truly help ! 

I'm going to the therapist, to the counselor, they can help me but to pray about it ? What will it do. At least when I go to the therapist they will listen to me, they will report to me what my problems are based on the latest scientific theory, they will provide the pills that I need, they will give me concrete steps I need to do that will help me in my situation but to go to my room kneel down in prayer to God and open my heart to God about all the difficulties I am having big or small is useless. When I need real help I don't go to God, I go to those who can help, I make a phone call, I set an appointment, these work but to pray to God is futile .

Believers are so simple minded, they believe in going to the All powerful God first with all their problems and they think God is somehow going to fix it ( shaking my head ). How can people put such trust in an all powerful invisible Being ? I will rather put my trust in weak, arrogant and feeble men who will pretend to have all the answers to my problems in life. Those feeble men will tell me what I want to hear and this is way better than praying.Side note, many therapists have therapists themselves, all doctors go to the doctor,  many counselors have counselors but the Lord God has no counselor for He is the Creator of all things. So we are back to our initial question, does prayer work ?

Friends, prayer works! For prayer is the communion between you and the All Wise, all powerful Creator of all things. Prayer doesn't bring God down to you, but lift your soul up to His presence. When I pray, it doesn't mean God will automatically heal me of whatever ailment you going through directly, but He may guide me to a wise doctor who will provide true cures for my situations and not just give me drugs for profits. He may guide you to a faithful Christian therapist, counselor who will help you and provide with godly counsel and quality mental health care. God will put people in your life to help you with whatever you going through and He will watch over you with tender care

Prayer links you up with the Eternal God. Plus the goal of prayer is not for God to obey your command, the goal of prayer is to make you familiar with God, to establish a relationship with Him like you would with an earthly friend you can see, like you would with a therapist. God wants to be first in our lives, in my life. He wants to be my number one therapist, my number one counselor, He wants to be the first one I run to when a crises hits and He will then guide me to find human help if needs be. The difficulties in our lives are meant to draw us closer to Christ, for He is a faithful and wise counselor.

So your Christian friend who told you to pray about whatever you going through wasn't cursing you out, wasn't ignoring you, wasn't neglecting but was doing the most caring thing a loving friend can do by giving you a referral to the Most High God, the only one who can truly help . In Jeremiah chapter 17:5 the Bible says cursed be the man who put his trust in man, man will fail you, but in verse 7 it says blessed be the man that trusteth in the Lord,  whose hope the Lord is. It is only in God we find true help. Nothing wrong with going to men for help, it is God who has given men wisdom to help you, why not go to Him first with all your cares and issues, then go to the doctor, the counselor etc.. If God cannot help you, then who can?

Pray always friends, for there is power in communion with God!

Chasing the Trophy (World cup) 🏆🏃🏾‍♂️

 FIFA's world cup ⚽️! The greatest sporting event on this planet is taking place this year in Qatar. Millions of youths aspire to win it and millions more aspire to play in it. To win the world cup 🏆 is the pinnacle of a soccer/football's player dream. To wear your country's Jersey, to represent them on the biggest sporting event on the planet is a great honor to many. To be included in the folklore of the country's legends, to be a part of history , to be a hero to many others is what many players are fighting for.

In order to reach tournaments like the world cup 🏆, players dedicate their lives to the sport. All they do revolve around the sport. Their diet, their minds, their lifestyles revolved around it, the sport become the one thing they live for.  Countries will only choose the best players to represent them and to be the best requires self sacrifice. Some of the greatest players become cult like figures to many, even gods to many and are worshipped. Some Christians will speak more about their sport idols then they will speak about Jesus. Being at  a world cup for your country brings great rewards in terms of money, fame etc..and if you perform exceptional well, you may become a god to many.

So chasing the world cup trophy is very appealing to many. But out of all the teams chasing the world cup, only one will win. All the others will go back home as losers, some on tears, but only one team will win the the trophy and be filled with joy. The team that wins it all is is jumping up and down, celebrating with their fans, their countrymen, we have won it all, we have reach the pinnacle of world football, we are the greatest. Everyone is praising the players, talking about how great they are, but soon the emptiness of life will return, soon most of the players will be forgotten and you realize all the effort you put in was for a perishable crown 🥇, a joy temporary. 

I read a quote somewhere that says, " the emptiness of sports, you see, is mostly felt in victory". The deception of this world system is this, you believe that if only you can achieve the goals you set for your life you will be happy. So you strive, strive, you fight to overcome the obstacles in your way to win the trophies 🏆 your society promise will give you lasting happiness. For some that trophy is getting a spouse, for others is to make a $100 000 a year, get a PHD, travel around the world etc.. the world offers us many trophies and it tells us of we achieve them we will find peace at last, we will be honored by the world at last but it is a deception

As soon as you reach your goal you realize the hollowness of its promise. Some people realize that and they say you know what, life is not about the end goal, but the journey, they say let's enjoy the journey instead and focus less on the destination because once you reach the destination you will be disappointed. When you win, the pursuit of the goal is removed, there is no one left to defeat, there is no obstacle left to overcome. But when you win, it doesn't change life in anyway, and the feeling of emptiness returns with a vengeance because now the goal you think would have fulfilled you prove to be hallowed. 

There is a saying that says," money won't bring happiness, but everyone wants to find out for themselves. " the same can be said of material possessions, public accolades, fame etc..When we don't possess them, we desire them and faithfully invest all our energy and talent into them, but as soon as we manage to get them we return to being empty and disappointed.
Friends, all these trophies are perishable, chasing the trophies of this world will only give you temporary happiness because they are perishable crowns. There is only one trophy worth chasing, there is only one crown worth chasing, the crown of eternal life

Jesus is offering the true World cup 🏆, a cup all of us can win. There need to be no losers in this world cup for Christ has already won it for us. But friends, to win in this cup, you must give your all, you must make Jesus your number 1 priority, you must allow Him to fill your heart, you allow your life to revolve around Him and you must seek to do all in your power to win others to Him. Those who overcome in this world cup 🏆, the world cup of life,  Jesus will grant to sit with Him on His throne and will wear an eternal crown of victory

The true world cup has only two teams, Team Jesus vs Team Satan. Friends, let us join team Jesus, let us play in such a way as to take the prize of life, let train ourselves in the way of holiness, practicing the scriptures and spending time with God daily. Those who chase the crowns of this world do it for a perishable crown,  we who partake of Jesus' team do it for a crown that is imperishable. Therefore friends, let not allow ourselves to be deceived and put all our energies in chasing the false and deceptive trophies of this world 🏆🥇, but let us put all our energy in chasing the one trophy that truly matter, eternal life with Jesus Christ 🙏🏾

1 Corinthians 9:25

And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

https://sports.yahoo.com/messi-is-our-god-lionel-messi-inspires-a-worldwide-pilgrimage-to-qatar-world-cup-121801128.html

The Bidding For My Soul

 

Good day, welcome to the greatest auction in the world 🌎 with the greatest merchandise in the world, the human soul.
Today we have for sale the reader's soul. We have two buyers, Christ ( the Prince of Peace ) and the Satan ( the Prince of this world ).
This auction is different, the highest bidder doesn't win but you reader choose the one who will get your soul, you the  reader put the price on your soul. You the reader will estimate the value of your soul. Now that we have your soul, the buyers and rules of the auction established, we shall proceed with the bidding process .

Let the bidding begin! Who shall bid first ? Christ or Satan ? Do I hear Satan speak ? Yes, Satan has spoken! What will you bid for the reader's soul Satan, Prince of this world 🌍?  What will you give for the reader's soul? I will give the world 🌏 for the reader's soul.

 
Reader, Satan has offered the world for your soul. He has put a down payment, now he will offer you the particulars.

Now reader it's your turn to ask Satan what will He give you in exchange for your soul, how much is your soul worth to you reader ?

Satan, what will you give me for my soul ? Satan answers, I will give you the desires of your flesh. I will give you beauty, fame, money, a career, the man or woman you think will satisfy all your fleshly lust, the education you think will make you somebody, the job position you think will fulfill your earthly potentials, the attention that you crave. I will give you pleasures, I will give the child you think you need. I will give you anything you want from this world 🌍, I will satisfy the lust of your flesh, the lust of your eyes and the pride in your heart , the pride of life.

I will offer the reader all that his/her flesh desires as long as the reader make the things of this world his/her priority, as long as the reader makes me the Prince of his/her life ,as long as the reader put off eternal things far from his/her mind, as long as the reader make eating, drinking, clothing, marrying and given into marriage their priorities.  I will give the reader all that their flesh desires as long as the reader stresses over things in this life, worrying about money, worrying about their future success while neglecting prayer, I will will make the reader's life in this world a success

Wow Satan ! That was a lot you offered for the reader's soul. Reader, you have heard Satan's offer for your soul, think about His offer while we go to Jesus the Prince of peace and hear what He has to offer.  Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, what will you offer for the reader's soul? What is your downpayment?

Jesus answers, my blood, my blood, I will give my blood for the reader's soul! 

Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, what will you give the reader for his/her soul? I will give the reader the fruit of the Spirit, I will give the reader peace, love, joy, meekness, faithfulness, goodness, gentleness.

I will give the reader reader self control. I will give the reader an abundant life, I will be a Father to the reader and he/she will be my child. I may not give the reader what they desire in this life but I will prepare a mansion in the world to come for the reader. I will write the reader's name in the Book of life, I will make the reader a crown in my jewels 🤴🏾, I will give the reader eternal life and the reader shall never perish.
I will take the reader eternal treasures where thief's cannot break in. Most important of all the reader will know me and my Father which is eternal life.

Wow, wow, got to catch my breath! What an offer ! Reader you have Jesus, the Prince of life's offer for your soul. Friends, angels, worlds afar and demons below, we have heard the bidding for the reader's souls from Jesus the Prince of life and Satan the Prince of this world, now we await the reader's decision. Reader, we now await your decision. How much is your soul worth to you ? Will you sell your soul to Devil for this world, for the desires of your flesh🤔? Or will you sell your soul to Jesus the Prince of life who has purchased you with His blood and offers you eternal life ? The choice is yours reader. What is the worth of your soul ? What will you give in exchange for your soul?

Mark 8:37

Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Marriage vows

Today we are gathered here to witness the union of Christ and me. In the presence of the watching universe, we will now hear the vows.

Jesus: I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you.

Me : Lord, I have not love you, I have been selfish all my life 

Jesus:  before I formed you in the womb, i knew you and I set you apart for myself 

Me: Lord, even now I don't know you, for I do always things that displease you 

Jesus:  this is love : not that we loved God ,but that He loved you and sent Son as an atoning sacrifice for your sins 

Me: oh Lord, I'm a great sinner, I'm unworthy of your love.

Jesus: while you were yet sinning, I died for you.

Me: Lord, my sins are red like scarlet, I am ashamed of my past

Jesus:  though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ,though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

Me: Lord, I only come to you when I need stuff, I  am selfish 

Jesus: Ask and it shall be given, seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall opened to you 

Me: Oh Lord you love me. I have never experienced a greater love. Despite my past, despite my brokenness, my unfaithfulness for I have had many lovers, I have put other people first, I have put money first, I have everything else first and yet you still love me. Lord, I want to love you with all my heart, I want to be faithful to you for the rest of my days. I want to put you first, I want to separate from all other lovers and cleave to you until death do us apart. Lord I love you because you first love me and die for me. Lord this is my vow, help me to keep it, help me to be faithful

Jesus: my child I vow to love you forever.I vow to never leave you nor forsake you. I vow to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. I vow to be your provider, your sustainer. I vow to keep you from falling. And if you cheat on me, I vow to forgive you, I vow to be your advocate before the Father. I know you said in your vow until death to us apart, but I vow neither death, not principality can separate you from my love. I vow if you abide in my love you will never die. I vow to take you to my Father's house where you will abide with me forever.
I love you, I want to be yours and for you to be mines forever ...Jesus Christ your Savior

In the presence of the witnessing universe I am now married to Christ and I will now forsake all other lovers by His grace and might.

Romans 7:4 wherefore, my brethren, ye are also become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 

Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready.

2 Corinthians 11:2 
For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.

Christ At The Center

The key to a victorious life is to have Jesus at the very center. It is only when Jesus is at the center of my life that I will have the peace of God. When Christ is at the center of my life, it means He has the highest priority and I do all things to please Him. Whether I eat and drink I will then do all for His glory. Many of us are not experiencing joy in the Lord because even though we go to church, self is at the center of our lives. We do everything to please self at the expense of Christ. How to put Christ at the center of my life is our topic for today

Our hearts have place for only one ruler🤴🏾! Either Jesus or self will rule my heart. We all were born with self as the ruler of our hearts. You can see in a new born baby. A baby has no concern for the welfare of his mother. A baby only cares about me. I want milk and I want it now! I want to sleep and I want to now. All humanity are selfish in nature and unless there is a profound transformation in the heart, unless Christ comes in and overthrow the tyrant self from the throne of my heart, I will live life only to please myself. Even the good I do will be about pleasing self or promoting self.
We are all selfish by nature 

How do I know if self is enthroned in my heart 🤴🏾? I know self is enthroned in my heart when I am my highest priority. When what I want and need are my driving force. I want to go there, I want to marry this person, I want to divorce my spouse, I want to buy this house, I want to cut off this friend, I want to be happy, I I I, it's all about my want, my needs and my desires. The desires of God only comes into play if it will help my desires. So I go to church because I think God will bless me. I pray because I want something from God. I want God to be the vehicle for my success. When self is in charge, disaster will surely follow 

But when Christ is at the center my life will experience a revolution. Now before I do anything, I will go to the Lord and ask for His counsel and guidance. How do I know when Christ is at the center of my life ? It is when I'm looking for a spouse 👰🏽 and say Lord, I want a spouse, make me ready for one and choose one for me when the time is right and help me be a blessing to my spouse . Lord I want a job, prepare me for one, choose one for me and help to be a witness for you there . Lord I have plan to move there, but only allow it of it will please you. Lord, help me to dress in a way that pleases you. Lord, help me to eat healthy because my body is your temple. 

Lord, keep me from sinning against you for I am yours and your mines and  I want to be faithful to you ❤.  I know Christ is at the center of my life because when I'm having a good day I say thank you Jesus and when I am having a bad day I say help me Jesus. Christ is at the center of my life when I involved Him in every decision that I make whether big or small. Christ is at the center of my life when it's no longer I that live but Christ who lives in me. As I involve the Lord in all that I do, then self is being dethroned and Christ is being enthroned 🤴🏾, now His peace will flow through my life because His kingdom of peace is reigning in my soul. Christ at the center is the  way to peace

Galatians  2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Noble Dependence

 

"Dependence"! An evil word to our generation. Our generation is one who strives for independence. We want to be independent from our parents, we want to be independent from church, we want to be independent from our spouses, we want to be independent from any form of laws or restraint. Independence and freedom are the buzzwords of our generation and we do all in our power to achieve such independence at the expense of all relationships. But where did the drive for independence come from? And who was the first to strive for it ?

Our topic for today

Lucifer, a son of God got tired of being dependent on God, He got tired of being a child of God and desired to be like God Himself, to be his own God, to take care of himself, to seek counsel of himself and to lead his life according to how he sees fit, in one Word Lucifer sought independence from God 😮. And he taught our first parents the same thing, telling Eve she can become like God by disobeying God. Telling Eve that she didn't need God to tell her what is right and wrong, but she can chose for herself what is right and wrong. Telling Eve she didn't need to wait on her husband before she made a serious decision but that she can make decisions herself and ate of the tree.

The Devil taught Eve to be independent from God, from her husband and to do what is right in her own eyes. And what was the result of Eve's independence movement 🤔? Alienation from God, strife between her and husband, the spirit of accusation was born ,she and her husband were banished from paradise. Adam and Eve's independence movement brought death to their relationship with God and with each other. Cain sought independence from God and he killed his brother. Went away from God's presence. The spirit of independence originated from Satan himself. The more we seek independence from God, the more lonely and miserable we will become.

Dependence upon God is the only way to peace and everlasting blessings. If we want to enjoy life, we must become as little children. Little children depend on their parents for everything, we must become dependent upon God for everything. A little child ask their parents for food, clothes , toys etc.. we must go to God when looking for a job, a spouse, a home etc.. Dependence upon God reveals we are His children and the Lord will reveal Himself to be our loving Father. Those who seek to be independent in life will never see the need to fully rely on God

When we choose not to depend on Jesus, we will find ourselves dependent on someone else or something else. A job, a man, a woman, a friend and these even with the best of intentions will fail you, the only One you can depend on for sure is the Lord Jesus. Dependence upon God is noble. To depend upon God is to find peace, rest for your soul. Friends, let not follow the counsel of Satan and seek to lead our own lives, but let us daily pray Lord lead my life, guide my steps, humble me and help to have a child like spirit, for you are my Father and I am your child. Independence leads to ruin, but dependence upon God leads to life everlasting. Lord help me to always depend on you, my fortress and my Rock  🙏🏾

Matthew 18:3

 
And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.