Monthly Archives: May 2015

May 05

7 Traits Of True Mourners

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There are two groups of people: the proud in spirit and the poor in spirit. The proud in spirit are destined for hell and the poor in spirit belong to the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted” – Matthew 5:4

 

There are seven basic traits of poor in spirit.

 

The poor in spirit are humble.

They are submissive to God and his Word. They are yielded to the will of God and will obey him at any cost to themselves at any time for any reason. They know their position before God who is all-powerful, all-knowing and present everywhere. The proud in spirit rule their own kingdoms from their own self-made thrones. They do as they please whenever they would like. They deceive, manipulate and steal from others. These people think they rule above God.

 

The poor in spirit are contrite and penitent.

They realize they are guilty of sin against God and have offended him deeply. They realize they deserve the eternal, conscious torments of hell. They are very sorrowful over any sin they have committed against him. They know that God is holy, and they are not. The proud in spirit are self-righteous. They do not believe they have sinned against God or anyone else. They do not believe they need to apologize or repent to anyone for anything.

 

The poor in spirit have true confession of faith.

They make a true confession of faith. That does not mean one day they confess that Jesus is Lord, repent of all their sins and commit themselves to God, and then the next day they give return to living their own sinful lives. Those who do this have not made true confession of faith. The poor in spirit confess they belong to Jesus and commit themselves to God, day in and day out.

 

The poor in spirit condemn themselves for sin and suffering.

They admit they have sinned. They do not try and blame someone else for their own failings. They do not excuse themselves because they were stressed out, tired or hungry. They simply proclaim their own guilty sentence and accept the consequences of their sins.

 

The poor in spirit have sincere, honest exposure before God and men. 

They voluntary expose themselves before God and men. They do not try and hide their sin. They do not confess their sin only if they are caught or pressure is put on them. Once they realize they have sinned, they confess their sin to God and expose themselves before those who they have sinned against.

 

The poor in spirit rely on the Lord for salvation alone.

They depend on the grace and mercy of God. They trust in what Jesus has done for them. They trust that Jesus has taken all their sin and given them salvation and righteousness. They do not rely on their own good works or their church checklist. They do not find escapes in sexual escapades, in drug or alcohol abuse or in work. They trust in Christ alone, and run to him for all help, comfort and salvation.

 

The poor in spirit plead for mercy.  

They plead for mercy from Jesus. Psalms 2:12 tells us, “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” We must ask Jesus for forgiveness and receive his righteousness

 

May 04

Better Than Gold!

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If men would prioritize on seeking true wisdom than they search for money and worldly possession, our world would be the better for it. The discovery of Solomon, the wisest man in the Old Testament who spent all his life amassing wealth and earthly possessions that all amount to vanity presents a great lesson from the scripture below;

“For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it” (Proverbs 8:11).

 

“Wisdom is better than rubies ” he declared.

  • Wisdom, instruction and knowledge of God are to be preferred above silver and gold.
  • Wisdom gives strength and discretion that makes the possessor act right.
  • It saves from self-conceit, pride, arrogance and delusion.
  • Wisdom delivers and preserves one from evil and equips the possessor with creative abilities for better living.
  • While wealth does not make one wise, wisdom brings greater riches. This is why it is preferable. The source of wisdom matters.

 

Wisdom that manifests in sinful attitude to outwit others or destroy them is devilish and undesirable.

Life-enriching wisdom flows from only one source, Jesus Christ, who is Wisdom personified. To have this wisdom, one has to be willing to empty oneself of self-conceit, deception and perversion. There must be the willingness to turn away from all worldly wisdom which focuses only on self.

 

In humility, you must accept your folly, admit your nothingness and be willing to be made rich by Christ. This simply requires true repentance and simple faith in the Lord Jesus.

 

Besides, you need to continue to abide in Christ and take the Bible as your most valued asset on earth. The more you read it, the wiser you become.

 

You also need to constantly draw from the deep knowledge and wisdom of God’s appointed ministers in corporate fellowship and Bible study so as to continue to grow.

 

If men in the world make a lot of sacrifices in search of perishable riches, we need to do more to get divine wisdom which is far better than gold!

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Get wisdom, get wealth.

 

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May 03

When God Fights For You

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There is so much truth in the saying that “if God is all you have, then you have got all you need.” This is because if we allow God have full control of our lives, He will manifest His power in every area of our needs.

 

“And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah” (Joshua 10:10).

 

Israel, on their way to the Promised Land under the leadership of Joshua, encountered many hostile nations. But they prevailed against all. News of their incredible victories made kings to panic.

 

Indeed, Gibeon, a great city of mighty men, found it expedient to submit to the superior power of Israel even under tough terms.

Adonizedec king of Jerusalem feared Israel and was incensed with Gibeon for submitting and signing a pact with them. Panic-stricken, he arranged a confederacy with four neighboring kings against Gibeon. Gibeon handed the battle to Israel who routed the confederacy of five Amorite kingdoms.

 

Notice how the event was captured in verse 10: “And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.”

 

This string of victories did not come to Israel by dint of hard work or military might; God fought for them. As long as Israel was in good standing with Him, the Lord of hosts remained their Banner.

 

God still fights for His people. For those who through repentance and faith in Christ have submitted their lives to God, He is the Source of their victory. When God fights for you, no confederacy of demons or men can withstand you.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A city set on a hill cannot be hid.

 

 

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May 02

What Do You Know About God?

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In an age of distressing crises and sundry pressures of life, many people are often hesitant in relating with strangers. Some even adopt the extreme position of showing suspicion towards those they do not know.

 

In fact, conventional wisdom tells us that the more aware and acquainted you are with a person, the more likely you are able to relate well to him. It follows then that spiritually speaking, the reason many people do not have a flourishing relationship with God is because they really do not know Him.

 

Bible writers were different. They knew only little about God, of course, for no one can ever successfully unravel all there is about the Almighty. Yet, they spoke about Him with so much reverence and awe.

 

“The princes of the people are gathered together, even the people of the God of Abraham: for the shields of the earth belong unto God: he is greatly exalted” (Psalm 47:9).

 

The Psalmist in the scripture above best illustrates this. In obvious wonderment, he urged all people to clap their hands, shout with the voice of triumph in praise and worship of the almighty God, the great King over all the earth.

 

  • He points out that God has power to subdue nations and peoples under Him;
  • He desires to be praised, honoured and worshipped.
  • He reigns and rules in holiness over both good and bad people.
  • He has power over all. No wonder the people who know Him, “even the people of the God of Abraham” unite in extolling His greatness and exalting His Name.

 

God, indeed, is so awesome; we can never capture all His essence in words. But this must not stop us from describing Him in glowing terms.

 

We should excitedly tell others about Him, especially what He has done for us, and what we know personally about this “God of Abraham”. And like Abraham, what we know about Him should make us obey Him without reservation.

 

This way, we can become, not just God’s children but His friends and spiritual inheritors of all the promises that He made to Abraham.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: If you know God more, you’ll trust Him more.

 

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May 01

Great Revelation

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Charles Swindoll, an evangelical Christian pastor and radio preacher, in the course of studying the Scripture, worked himself up with a feeling of finding examples of early believers, whose lives were marked by rigidity, predictability, inhibition, dullness and caution.

 

But his research could not get him anywhere. Instead, Swindoll said: “The examples I find are of adventurous, risk-taking, enthusiastic, and authentic believers whose joy was contagious even in times of full trial.

 

Their vision was broad even when death drew near. Rules were few and changes were welcome. The contrast between then and now is staggering.”

 

“Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength” (Daniel 10:8).

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Daniel’s vision, from the scripture passage above, opened up detailed prophecy about Israel’s future. He was particularly concerned about this and he prayed and fasted for three weeks. By the twenty-first day, a man appeared to him, giving him a revelation.

 

Prior to this, the prophet had had some visions, which he could not clearly understand. But this one was clear enough to him. The vision startled him!

 

The man in the vision clothed himself in linen, which symbolized purity, and girded his loins with fine gold of Uphaz, which equally symbolized high position. His body also was like the beryl, which symbolized royalty, and his face as the appearance of lightning, which also symbolized truth.

 

His eyes were like lamps of fire, which symbolized judgment, while his arms and feet glistened like polished brass, which symbolized power, and his voice like the voice of a multitude, which also symbolized power.

 

Even though those with Daniel did not see the vision, what they experienced made them to run into hiding, leaving Daniel alone.

 

The prophet, who had completely lost all his strength by the virtue of this vision, was terribly afraid as well. He was so afraid that he fell down and started to sleep. This shows that nobody can comprehend God.

 

This is why we all need to fear, reverence and adore Him. Our finite minds can never comprehend God. But our praises and adoration of Him can attract His manifest presence.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Finite man cannot fully comprehend the infinite God.

 

 

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