What You Didn't Know About Cain and Abel (reposted)

Hello everyone,

Today's write-up would be about Adam and Eve. After they where driven out of the Garden of Eden, they had two boys—Cain the first, and his brother Abel. “Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground” Genesis 4:2. The time came for both of them to bring an offering to the Lord, Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground, while Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and their fat. As we know, the Lord respected Abel’s offering, while he didn’t respect Cain’s offering. With this story of the two brothers, we have been taught that it was because Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock, while Cain brought the fruit of what he tilled, some even say, Cain brought scrap to God, but that’s not true, what Cain brought was very good, but it wasn’t like that of Abel. Was it just the issue of the first fruit offering issue alone that made God accept Abel’s offering and reject Cain’s or there is more to the story of God’s decision? Yes, there is more to the story, and the reason is that many of us could fall into the category of Cain or maybe have already fallen, but don’t know, let me explain why.

Many think Cain’s offering was bad, but if it was why was he angry? The reason why he was angry was that he brought what he had sweat for, which he felt was presentable. The reason why Cain’s offering was rejected was simply that Cain depended on his self-effort. Cain was just like a regular businessman who goes about his business and becomes very successful and feels it was by his effort that all these came about, his waking up early in the morning, meeting that client and striking that big contract which fetched you a large amount of money and so on, many of us forget that all of our successes came from God. The Bible says in James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” And Psalms 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’S, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.”

We should always remember that all of your successes come to the Lord, and in so doing give Him the regard, this was what Abel understood, even though his family was pushed out of Eden, God was still with them. even though they had to till the ground, it was the Lord who made seed grow and livestock have young ones, and in giving God that respect and regard that all that he [Abel] had, came from God, he honoured Him by giving Him the firstborn of his flock, while Cain just brought a part of his crop which symbolised self-effort, there was a difference.

Another thing Cain did which is seen in today’s market is that Cain killed Abel. Now, this looks grievous, but what this means today is that Cain eliminated his competition, which looks normal right? No, it doesn’t to God. What many of us do not know is that as long as God tells us that we would succeed in a thing, it is done. To eliminate a competition implies the presence of flesh and not God’s presence. We are to understand that the story of Cain and Abel isn’t just a man respecting God by bringing an acceptable offering to God and the other bringing a non-acceptable offering, rather, one symbolised self-effort, while the other symbolised God’s effort.

Recognising God in everything is to give your life to God/Christ, thus presenting yourself as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, (ref. Romans 12:1). Your offering to God has nothing to do with what you bring, but with the state of your heart because everything is attached to you.

May the LORD bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you. May the LORD be gracious to you and lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. AMEN.

                    

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!

Log on next time.

For prayers and comments, send to the comment section below.

GOD BLESS YOU.

Don't Take The Word For Granted (reviewed)

Hello everyone, welcome to an awesome Monday,

Today's write-up would focus on 2 Timothy chapter 2, with verse 15 being the key verse, which says, “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.” AMP. This verse brings out the importance of the state of our hearts which should be eager to present ourselves to God approved at all levels, which implies that we should be working in line with what our Lord Jesus has called us for, being careful to follow in detail exactly what the scriptures say, thus walking in the Spirit with total confidence, without any mixture of adulterated material.

In Verse 5-7 of 2 Timothy, it says, “And if anyone enters competitive games, he is not crowned unless he completes lawfully (fairly, accordingly to the rules laid down). [It is] the hard-working farmer [who labors to produce] who must be the first partaker of the fruits. Think over these things I am saying [understand them and grasp their application], for the Lord will grant you full insight and understanding in everything.” AMP. Looking at these verses which were just quoted, Apostle Paul told Timothy that the things of God are not things he was to take for granted, and just as one enters competitive games, the person isn’t crowned unless he has proven himself worthy, through a fair play according to the law, in the vein, it is a person who takes whatever he puts his hand into seriously that would yield great result.

Also, the hard-working farmer was used as an illustration, that a hard-working farmer is the one who labours to produce and he is the one who would first partake of the fruits, likewise, as the hard-working farmer or the one who enters competitive games and all that they have to go through to get great result, so also is the expectation of anyone born of God, most especially the teachers.

Paul’s emphasis was on the teachers because the confusion we find today in the body of Christ is as a result of a teacher who wasn’t well grounded in the Word and was ordained to teach the Word. We shouldn’t be carried away by eloquent speeches, what we are to focus on is the Word of God if it corresponds to Jesus died to achieve and obtain through His resurrection. The sad aspect is that many teachers mix the old and new covenant which is not right.

The old covenant is about our self-effort in pleasing God, following laws which were not part of our lives, being forced to obey them in order to please God, or else we die. On the other hand, the new covenant is the establishment of a brand new life where Jesus is the first born, so as we enter this new covenant, everything that Jesus has right now automatically belongs to us, simply by believing that’s all. Another important thing is that we now have a brand new life with the Holy Spirit living in us directing our path in line with our new life which is the new life of God.

May the LORD bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you. May the LORD be gracious to you and lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. AMEN.

                    

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!

Log on next time.

For prayers and comments, send to the comment section below.

GOD BLESS YOU.

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Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from New King James Version (NKJV)

God Blesses The Persecuted For Real

Happy Weekend everyone,

There are times when I look at how decisions are being made it gives me concern because a lot of them (decisions) end up supporting what is wrong. The case here is that the world itself is blinded by lies upon lies that those who stand up for the truth are often persecuted. 2 Corinthians 4:4 says, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” NIV. In line with this, Jesus said in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

You must be strong if you want to save the world, as the world is living in lies and is decaying every day. The tenets and moral standards are lost because the world isn’t living on the truth. But you who know what is right should not sit down and fold your arms as you watch the world decay, you are to stand up and save the world. The truth is that the world doesn’t know that they are doing what is wrong, although they have this feeling that something isn’t right.

Those who are born of God are meant to go into all the world and tell them the good news of how they have been set free from their bondage and how what they have been holding unto have been lies all the while, but they would persecute you because of the truth which you hold on to. 

1 Peter 3:14 says, “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you are blessed, “And do not be afraid of their threats nor be troubled.” 2 Corinthians 4:17 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” Jesus said you are blessed when you are persecuted, and yours is the kingdom of heaven. Don’t be afraid, God has rewarded you for every effort you make, but one thing you must understand and do is that you must be led by the Holy Spirit, without whom you’ll just be wasting your time. He is your direction, your eyes, ears and your senses. Save the world, believe in yourself in Jesus for He knows you can do it, that’s why you were chosen.

May the LORD bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you. May the LORD be gracious to you and lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. AMEN.

                    

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!

Log on next time.

For prayers and comments, send them to the comment section below.

GOD BLESS YOU.

PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW MY BLOG

Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from New King James Version (NKJV)

Who Are Those Responsible For Peacemaking?

Hi everyone,

We all hear things like World Peace and how the world has tried to end conflict to bring peace, but conflict is on the increase, nation rising against nation, terrorism on the rise and so on. It is then clear to say that the manner of approach in solving this world problems is totally wrong. But there are those whose lives are to be peace makers. Matthew 5:9 says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” The Amplified Bible says the peacemakers are “makers and maintainers of peace.” The Message Bible puts Matthew 5:9 thus, “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.” Going by this verse, the sons of God are peacemakers because peace making is a criterion which makes one become a son of God.

Romans 8:14 says, “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” This would mean that being led by the Spirit of God includes being peacemakers which makes one become a son of God. But one thing you are to understand is that being a son of God is to be a peacemaker. One thing is that unlike the world’s way of solving problems, the sons of God are led by the Holy Spirit. This is very important because without the Holy Spirit’s leading you cannot be true peacemakers.

Sons of God are not just to occupy space here on earth without doing anything, are to bring peace to the world, because if there is no peace on earth, you know who to blame, so sons of God, do your job.

May the LORD bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you. May the LORD be gracious to you and lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. AMEN.

                    

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!

Log on next time.

For prayers and comments, send to the comment section below.

GOD BLESS YOU.

PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW MY BLOG

Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from New King James Version (NKJV)

Who Are The Pure In Heart?

Hello everyone,

I wrote in an earlier blog that the reason why the corruption level in the world is on the rise is because people are not honest with others, thus, they don’t say the truth, and this isn’t being pure at heart. Jesus said in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Wow, to be pure in heart would make you see God? The Message puts this same verse thus: “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.” Your mind and heart are very important, because they determine the kind of life one would have. Our words which determines or commands things as we speak only functions based on the state of the heart and mind, but at the level where you get to see God, you should be living your life at a particular frequency.

Hebrews 12:14 says, “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” And to pursue peace with all people, and holiness, you need to be pure in heart. To be pure in heart starts with being hungry and thirsty for righteousness which would be revealed to you. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” By this you are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, and Matthew 5:6 says, you will be filled, with the Holy Spirit.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit is one thing, but to walk with the Holy Spirit by being led by Him is another which proves where your heart lies. As you decide in your heart to be led by the Holy Spirit, you define the type of heart you have, which is a pure heart, and why is that? Galatians 5:16 says, “I say then: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.”” Walking in the Spirit is living the life of God here on earth which is by being pure in the heart and when your heart and mind is just as God’s heart, you shall see God.

To see God also means to think like Him, your approach to things would be just as God see things. The Bible says you have the mind of Christ, (ref.: 1 Corinthians 2:16), but this refers to those who have been filled with the Holy Spirit after receiving Christ as Lord of their life who is their life too.

Your heart and mind should be in tune with the Holy Spirit by being led by Him, thus walking with Him, and you’ll see God.

May the LORD bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you. May the LORD be gracious to you and lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. AMEN.

                    

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!

Log on next time.

For prayers and comments, send to the comment section below.

GOD BLESS YOU.

PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW MY BLOG

Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from New King James Version (NKJV)

They Don't Deserve Mercy But...

Hello everyone,

Are there people in your life who you hold a grudge on, maybe because of what they did, and you feel you can never forgive that person ever? Well, true, there are people who really don’t deserve forgiveness, some could be because after all you did for them, spending your hard earned money on them, they later made it in life and now they spite you as though you never did anything for them, all these are the challenges even after becoming a Son of God, you still face. Today’s write-up is about mercy and how it can be fused into our daily lives and how important it is.

In Matthew 5:7, Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” The Amplified Bible puts it thus: “Blessed (happy, to be envied, and spiritually prosperous-with life-joy and satisfaction in God’s favour and salvation, regardless of their outward conditions) are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy!” Just take a look at the synonyms used in classifying the word “blessed” expressed by the Amplified Bible, it shows the great level of importance of mercy. To be merciful is to express compassion, care, forgiveness, love not just to your friends and family, but also to those you don’t like and don’t know [strangers], as the expression of mercy must be sincere, well only God knows those who are truly sincere, and it is the sincere ones that Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5:7.

The Samaritans in the time of Jesus were those who were spited by the Jews. The Jews spited them so much that they didn’t want to have any dealings with them to the point where the Jews washed their hands if they had any contact with the Samaritans. But Jesus (after being asked by someone who wanted to know who his neighbour was), gave a parable of a man who went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, beat him up to the point where he was left half dead. The so called “men of God” saw him and passed by, paying more attention to where they were going. It was then a Samaritan who saw him then had compassion, in other words, he had mercy on him. The man who was half dead was most likely a Jew, but the Samaritan didn’t put that in mind, as some at that point would have said, “Yes! This is good for him, the Lord has started avenging my enemies”, but the Samaritan on the contrary, cared for him, cleaned his wounds, and took him to an inn where he was looked after. Not only that, he paid the innkeeper, wow! He showed mercy to his “enemy”. What we fail to understand is that our religious worship isn’t what God looks at, but our attitude to people and way of life, not by being religious, but by expressing love and mercy. Sincere mercy and love can never come from the devil, especially when it is your enemy involved, this is why God cherish those who show mercy.

Psalms 41:1 says, “Blessed is he who considers the poor; the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.” There are those who are in need around us, we are to help them, we are to show sincere mercy and compassion to them, God sees all these things, which is why Jesus said those who are merciful will obtain mercy. The Message puts Matthew 5:7 thus, “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.” This is true as God will send care to you just because you cared for others, this is the true religion Apostle James was talking about, not the one the priest and the Levite displayed in the parable of the Good Samaritan. And all these starts from opening up your heart to forgive those who have offended you, yes, you were hurt, but of what good is it to you? It is even bad for your health to hold unto grudges. Jesus said in Mark 11:25, “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.” Now, it is not that Jesus won’t forgive us, of which He did so on the cross, but, you are preventing His grace to flow through you as you are holding back by not forgiving those who have wronged you. Remember, you are not just to study the word, but you are to express it in everything in your daily lives, because it should be your life itself. Christ showed us mercy that while we were yet sinners He died for us (ref.: Romans 5:8), we are now to receive His Spirit as our new nature in order to express the true and sincere love, mercy, compassion to those around us. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.

May the LORD bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you. May the LORD be gracious to you and lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. AMEN.

                    

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!

Log on next time.

For prayers and comments, send to the comment section below.

GOD BLESS YOU.

PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW MY BLOG

Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from New King James Version (NKJV)

Getting To Him is Easier Than You Think

Happy New Week everyone,

There’s no way you can jump the fence in getting anything, there is always a process, and in getting to God, there is a process, it isn’t by getting strange objects to appease Him, but just a hunger to know Him, that’s all. In Matthew 5:6 Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” To be hungry and thirsty for righteousness is how you receive God into your life. Allow me to elaborate.

Many of us think to get to God is so difficult and sadly today, many church gathering (churches), do not help out at all, they bring up the issue that one must be cleansed before they can see God. But how can they be cleansed when they are prevented to see the One who would wash them, any and everybody can get to know God who would get to transform them just by being hungry and thirsty to know Him. An instance could be a man who has been trying to get your attention, but you have been so busy paying attention to other things order than the man. But when you need the man, you would do everything to shut out every noise in order to hear the man, because you really need him, the same is so with Jesus/God when you really need Him, you would shut out every other noise and distractions just to get to know Jesus.

Jesus told the woman at the well that He would give her living water and whoever drinks of the water would never thirst again as it would become in the person a fountain of water springing up to eternal life, (ref.: John 4:10,14). In line with this, Jesus also said that He is the bread of life, whoever eats of Him shall never hunger and He who believes in Him shall never thirst, (ref.: John 6:35). You must hunger and thirst for righteousness, because now we know that righteousness comes from Jesus, but how do we get this drink and food, are we going to eat Jesus literarily? [Just a joke]

To be filled after you are hungry and thirsty for righteousness is by receiving the Holy Spirit. This the Apostles received on the day of Pentecost, (ref.: Acts 2:4). The Message Bible puts Matthew 5:6 thus, “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.” Jesus said you’re blessed when you hunger and thirst for God. He is always there when we need Him, come just as you are for He knows those who really hunger for Him because He knows your heart, so always hunger and thirst for Him even when you’ve received the Holy Spirit, because you are still growing in Him. Remember, you’re blessed when you do this and you’ll allow what you’ve received to fill you.

May the LORD bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you. May the LORD be gracious to you and lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. AMEN.

                    

Why not accept Jesus today if you haven’t. Pray out loud, “Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Saviour. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!” Congratulations, you’re born again, you are now brand new!

Log on next time.

For prayers and comments, send to the comment section below.

GOD BLESS YOU.

PLEASE LIKE AND FOLLOW MY BLOG

Unless otherwise stated, the following scriptures are gotten from New King James Version (NKJV)