Keeping Secrets.
A secret is information meant to be kept hidden from others whether a person tells you to divulge it or not, so knowing what to do with such is really pretty straight forward.
Are you a trustworthy person?
If you are then you "may be able" to keep secrets and if you ain't you had better work on yourself so you won't lose friends, acquaintances and most importantly your integrity as a result of your lack of self-control.
As Dr. Myles Monroe of blessed memory correctly said, "If the purpose of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable."
The ability of a person to keep confidential that which he ought, especially God's people, is vital in the work God has called us into but if one does not know the importance of trustworthiness such a person will automatically not be able to keep peoples confidential information hidden from others.
The ability of a person to
identify a word or two spoken in passing as something worth keeping to oneself is very important.
In James 1: 19, we are aptly warned, thus "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,.."
Not only does speaking too much lead to unplanned utterances but as in Proverbs 10:19 (NKJV) we are warned that in "the multitude of words "sin" is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise."
Some of us may have heard the Quote from William Edward Norris, which goes thus:
“If your lips would keep from slips, Five things observe with care;
To whom you speak,
of whom you speak,
And how, and when, and where.”
To the bearer of juicy secrets who reads this, who is pushed and prodded by his big mouth and not God's prompting, I council you to not put God's people and kingdom into disrepute by learning to keep a tight reign on your tongue.
If you know that passing on an information about another will not glorify God, that it won't lead to prayer or fashioning out a worthwhile remedy to the issues of the person been spoken of, then by all means, "keep your mouth shut!"
We are reminded in Proverbs 18: 21, that "the tongue has the power of life and death,..." let's use it to bring forth life.
The thief, the ancient enemy of our souls, as in John 10: 10, works tirelessly with the sole purpose of stealing from, killing and destroying mankind, so let's not be willing pawns in his ministry by failing to bridle our tongues.
If you erroneously think your oral slip-ups only affects the person you divulge his or her secrets, then you better wake up and wrap your mind around James 3: 2, which says:
"We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check."
If you're never at fault in what you say by offending or destroying others with your utterances either directly or indirectly, you'll become a perfect man, able to control your whole body and therefore not stumble when it comes to getting your body to do what God's Spirit desires that is at war with your flesh.
This means that the errors in your speech that offend and have adverse effects on others will as well lead your flesh to acts of disobedience against what you know is the right thing you ought to do. It will lead you to falter and fall into temptation.
I'm sure you are conversant with the adage,"what goes around, comes around!" or some other variant of it, well, know that the devil leaves his unwitting as well as willing servants usually worse off than the people they help him to harm or ruin their lives.
Finally, are you a bearer of sensitive information someone has told you?
Then by all means, "Keep it to yourself!"
You have been warned!
STOP ASKING GOD FOR MONEY
A lot of us have gotten into the bad habit of asking God for money with regards to almost everything we desire He provide for us. We have unconsciously gotten to a point in our lives that we believe with enough cash we can buy just about anything we need.
The system of this fallen world we live in has surreptitiously crept into our actions, reaction, language and prayer life to the point that we have become used to asking God for the middleman (money) between Him and what we really need rather than asking Him directly because of how Almighty He is to meet us at the very point of our need.
We have been brainwashed into forgetting God's specific provision for mankind that if we ask for what we need in the name of Jesus and do not doubt, we shall receive what we asked for as inJohn 16:24, and not the purchasing power to get it.
Money is a middleman, a go between, a valid medium of exchange in the contemporary world we live in but before money existed, men were accustomed to exchanging goods and services with each other. Things and services rather than money in a trade-by-barter system.
When the use of money first began it was amedium of exchange that men chose to give value and peg it's value with that of gold bullions they had stashed away in the vaults of their bank but before it existed men would barter (exchange) things for their face value based on simple demand and supply.
Banks were made to be secure repositories, reserve for valuable items men would take there for safekeeping.
God's provision by prayer or favour withoutasking, however doesn't usually involve any trade at all. God can use other men or any of His creation to freely give men what they need or want, no matter how lavish it may be.
Like a bank, God Almighty has a repository of blessings in heaven and in earth that He can endow men with, so ask for your specific needs and wants and trust Him to show Himself mighty on your behalf.
Shalom
Hearing God (4)
It is interesting how we tend to call on God only when we are in need like a genie in the bottle of some sorts, that we only beckon upon when an issue arises at our whim, to do our bidding.
This erroneous attitude is actually born out of our incomplete knowledge of who God is an how we ought to relate with Him. While God desires to save us from situations that are beyond our comprehension and ability, His purpose in our lives is far more than the mundane things we usually think about and desire.
God's desire for all mankind can be understood in the words He spoke to Abram in Genesis 17:1 to 2 and 7, where He said to Abram,
1. “I am God Almighty ; walk before me faithfully and be blameless.
2. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”
7. "I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you."
God's overwhelming desire with regards to how He wants to relate with His creation, is to have a loving Father to son relationship with us all in which He will be our God and we will be a people that would walk faithfully and blamelessly before Him all our days.
Do you lack the ability to hear God as you would your earthly father?
Prayerfully work on developing a relationship with Him and learn to fellowship with Him and His word like you would any other human being you are closest to.
Relate with His Holy Spirit as you would a friend that is closer to you than a biological brother.
Practice being conscious of His presence and His Almighty ability to guard and guide you through every situation in life by talking to Him concerning everything in life, no matter how seemingly trivial or mundane the issue may be and by all means, take time to listen, and you will definitely see a turn-around in your relationship with Him.
Shalom.
Hearing God (3)
The question you must ask yourself now is, Do you have ears to hear? or better still, How do you qualify to hear what God's spirit says to His church?
In John 10:3 to 5, we are made to understand that the sheep listen to the voice of the good shepherd and that when he calls his own sheep by name, goes on ahead of them, and leads them out, his sheep follow him because they know his voice and that they will never follow a stranger but run away from such because they do not recognize a stranger's voice.
The gospel truth is that you must be a member of God's flock to listen to him, to the point of considering what he says like the disciples of Jesus did or you will just be like one of the members of the crowd.
As in Matthew 13:11 and Mark 4:10,
the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given only to his flock, that is, those who choose to follow him as his disciples and ask him about the meaning of the parables but not to those who are part of the crowd, who follow him only for material gain and are not really bothered about understanding what he has to say, talk less adhering to it.
There is only one message that rings out throughout the new testament concerning God's heartbeat, that He desires we fulfil. This message is always the summary of what the Spirit says to His church and the message simply is this: "go and make disciples of all nations,.." (Matthew 28:19).
This message which is God's command to the church, is born out of this resounding desire of Jesus as recorded in John 10:16, which goes thus:
"I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."
If you have ears then I believe you have heard what God's spirit says to His church. With the measure you obey it, it will be measured to you - and even more.
Shalom
Going Beyond Devotionals (3)
A friend is someone you like, is fun to be with and who helps and supports you in your endeavours as well as trying times while an acquaintance is someone who you just known but is not a close confidant.
Is God and acquaintance or a friend in the present relationship you have with Him?
King Solomon in Proverbs 18:24, spoke about a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He was referring to the Holy Spirit. This kind of friendship that your love for God goes beyond your love for your spouse, family members or best friend is the kind of relationship God has called all of us individually into.
The Holy Spirit being a friend who sticks closer than a brother should be the testimony we have about our relationship with God our Father,through our constant meditation on His Word and fellowship with His Spirit.
Could it be that the inordinate use of devotionals to kick off our relationship with God on a daily basis is proof of Spiritual bankruptcy?
If you think I'm going too far with this then permit me to ask you this simple question, "Do you need a devotional to relate with the closest members of your family or your best friend?"
If there's one thing I have learned it is that there's a difference between knowing God and knowing about God and the difference between friendships and acquaintances can be seen in the time one devotes to building such relationships.
Could it be that the issue most of us have in relating with God is our involvement in a semi-conscious adulterous relationship with the world, and cannot even admit the truth that our friendship with the world has actually brought about a salient enmity against the things of God as we are not able to squeeze out adequate time to fellowship with Him and His word because we'd rather be doing something else as regards what this present world and it's people have to offer?
Prayerfully ask God to upgrade your relationship with Him by giving you the grace to go beyond devotionals.
Shalom.
Going Beyond Devotionals (2)
I further pondered about our normal relationships in a family setting. I knew that for a healthy relationship to work and be maintained, Communication was key, apart from other variables like Quality time, Laughter, Generosity, and finally, the all-too-important factor of Commitment.
Everything with regards to our growing a relationship with God begins and ends on the altar of purpose, commitment and planning.
As Dr. Myles Monroe of blessed memory once said, "When purpose is lacking, abuse is inevitable"
The purpose for our need to relate with God is that He not only desires it but He created us for such.
Planning is necessary in the sense that if we don't fashion out time and what to relate with God about we won't really enjoy fellowship with Him talk less, obeying Him.
I believe that Christians lack content and commitment in building it up to keep a flow of communication with God because we seldom take out time to set goals at the beginning of the day and have personal feedback session with ourselves before we go to sleep at night.
Our relationship with God almighty like other relationships is the same, as both parties have rights and responsibilities that ought to govern the special relationship He has called us into.
We usually lack content in our relationship with God in these areas:
1. Being able to be real with God and tell Himhow we actually feel, as opposed to how we should in the light of God's word that we know to be of a superior truth than the facts of the situations we face.
2. Having a healthy expectation that God will reply prayers and petitions we have made known to Him and making out time to wait on God so he can reply our petitions and prayer through any medium He deems fit.
3. Not having enough issues to bring to God for help or in thanksgiving because we fail to actually document the challenges we, or others face from time to time or count our blessings so we can name them one by one and adequately appreciate Him for them.
Do you lack content when you relate with God?
Learnt to care about His own needs that only you can meet, with regards to worship, a meaningful fellowship with Him and His word, meeting the needs of others and standing in the gap by praying for those in need or less fortunate than you, fulfilling His purpose for your life and those of others He has put in your care, etc.
If you do you will find out that you can have awonderful time in His presence as you daily seek answers to how you will bring such about in your daily life, through prayer, meditation on His word and keeping concise notes on the revelations He gives you about His Word; His will and His ways, so that you can obey accordingly.
Shalom.
Going Beyond Devotionals.
To devote oneself to something or someone is to solemnly commit one's time and efforts towards it.
Christian devotional literature (also called devotionals) are publications that are designed for individuals or groups to read and meditate upon usually for each calendar day, for their personal edification and spiritual growth.
The books essentially on Christian living are not meant to be read in one sitting but are designed for one to read and think about what God is trying to pass across in the passage(s) given.
Daily devotion to the Word of God is proof that we desire a meaningful and constant relationship with God.
Devotionals are great. They are opportunities to ensure an early and daily fellowship with God and his Word is maintained on a constant basis.
Devotionals help give people a focus at the beginning of their day thet they can ruminate over and put to practice when they make out time to do so on the job or whilst involved in any other endeavour during the hustle and bustle of that day.
When we begin the daily grind of taking the kids to school rushing to meet up with clocking in at the office and facing business at one's place of work, there's seldom time to reflect on talk less practice anything one has imbibed about God, His will and His ways except what one freshly remembers from that mornings devotional.
Although devotional guides serve as a veritable means of keeping in tune with God's will and His ways through His Word, there's definitely something more than such external mediums of fellowship with God.
I couldn't help but wonder whether God didn't want our relationship with Him to go beyond such pacesetters.
At one point in time I noticed that if I didn't use a devvotional, what I call a third-party application to start off my day with meditating on God's Word, I'd have no real bases for communing with Him or praying.
The thought was somehow disconcerting, as I believed that before the advent of devotionals, God's people were able to communicate with Him and fashion out a daily or even moment by moment relationship with Him without relying on any third-party innovation to do so.
Before devotionals became so prevalent people would fashion out and devote themselves to a reading scheme to ensure they covered the holy writ annually, follow their church calendar or devise some other reading plan to have a deeper understanding of God and His will for them.
There's an account in Genesis chapter 3, verse 8 onwards of how God Almighty would walk in the garden of Eden, in the cool of the day and actually converse with Adam and Eve His prized creation, before such fellowship with mankind was severed as a result of sin.
God desires such a one on one relationship with everyone of us if we would just dare to believe in it's possibility and cultivate it as in Christ Jesus did, so that the broken fellowship of us relating with God as a friend that sticks closer than a brother can be restored. However if we must talk with God we must also take time to listen as every meaningful relationship is a two-way street.
