What is Spiritual Importance?

There was a time I was preparing for a test back when I was in secondary school (middle-high school), only for me to read the wrong area. I read it so well and wrote it that way. I actually didn’t know it was wrong till the results were released. The reason why I didn’t know was because the events that took place were similar but as similar as they were, they were different. You know, as Sons and Daughters of God, we make these mistakes too. We put so much effort into serving God, whereas what we did was quite irrelevant and not needed. I'll tell you a true life story.

Jesus visited His friends, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus [whom Jesus raised from the dead]. Now, Martha welcomed Jesus into the house and went in to prepare some things to serve Jesus. But Mary was at the Lord’s feet listening to His word. Not too long Martha came out and was a little upset at Jesus (surprised?). She said “Lord, don’t you think it’s unfair that my sister left me to do all the work by myself? You should tell her to get up and help me.” Luke 10:40b TPT.

To think of it, isn’t it normal and courteous for a person you visit to get something for you, maybe like a drink or snack or even food (like in my country)? But you know one thing about Jesus? He does things from the spiritual to the physical. In order words, the kingdom of God (which He came to establish) is so important to Him that to Him, anyone paying attention to that is much more important than anything else. And this was Jesus' answer to Martha in John 10:41-42, “The Lord answered her, “Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? ⁴² Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this from her.” TPT.

Did you see what Jesus said? Jesus said, “Mary has discovered one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet.” It is not the sitting at the feet that is most important, but what she was learning—the kingdom of God. Jesus’ mission was to establish a new kingdom here on earth, and Jesus was glad that Mary saw its importance and caught it early enough by sitting at His feet.

Jesus said people would have gone about their normal business when the trumpet sounds for His second coming. To discern things in the spirit is highly important. Yes, what Martha did was not wrong, but at that moment, if she could sense things in the spirit, she would have known it wasn’t needed.

Many times, we engulf ourselves in so many church activities that we miss our purpose. We don’t have time to sit at His feet to learn about His kingdom (which anyone born of God is at the moment) and go about the great commission. Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 that we should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and I don’t mean unnecessary religious church activities. This is strengthening His purpose here on earth through you, which you carry out in the leading of His Spirit (the Holy Spirit). It could come in any form, as a job, as a business owner, as a direct missionary, and more. But all have one mission, and that is the great commission (and not making more money). Telling people about who Jesus is, why He came, and His kingdom they could join at that instant.

Please, learn what is most important because from what I see, the church is being distracted with so many unnecessary activities and the devil is happy about that. Just look around you, is darkness on the increase or decrease? The answer is left to you.

Be like Mary and not Martha. There is no time to waste. The harvest is plenty, but the labourers are few. In this case, many are distracted making the labourers few. Ask the Lord Jesus to help you do the needful today before His second coming.

 

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, and you are now brand new!

                                          

Log on next time.

 

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GOD BLESS YOU.

 

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

Mary's Lessons in Cana of Galilee

Last time I wrote on The Mystery in Cana of Galilee, where I explained the real reason why Jesus turned water into wine. My focus was on Jesus. In this write-up, I will still take a look at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, but my character focus would be someone else, and this is because of key things I would like us to take note of.

My focus is on Mary, the mother of Jesus. There are three key points expressed within the event that are important for every Son and Daughter of God to emulate.

The wedding in Cana of Galilee is found in the book of John 2:1-12. And we understand that Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding ceremony. Mary being present at the ceremony would imply that she was also invited to the ceremony. So, while the ceremony was on, it happened that they ran out of wine. This brings me to the three key things I would like you to take away from this write-up.

We understand that Jesus was about thirty years of age about this time, and Mary, being the mother of Jesus, must have had an overdose of the miraculous for thirty years through her relationship with her son. She had come to understand that God was living in her home. Mary knew her son well and knew what He was capable of because He was God-incarnate. So, take note of this.

When the wine was finished, Mary went to Jesus and told Him that they had run out of wine.

So, the first key point here is that the first thing, or in this case, the person that Mary thought of when there was an issue, was Jesus. This is not being religious. She has been able to understand God meets our needs or comes to our aid in the simplest of things and that Jesus was the first person she thought of. And why was that?

Point two, she knew Jesus. This is why it was a relationship and not a religion. She knew Jesus who was God-incarnate, and what He was capable of doing. Hebrews 11:6b makes us understand that to have faith, we must first know Him. You cannot trust someone you don’t know. Imagine when you were a child, and you were in a children's park for hours, then you became hungry, but your parents were not back to pick you up. Then someone came and said, “Don’t worry, someone said food is coming.” You may not believe that person. But if that same person came and said, “I saw your mum. She said I should tell you she is bringing food.” The reason why you would believe the second statement is because you know your mum.

To know a person boosts your faith and trust in that person. This is the same with Jesus, the more we fix our eyes on Him, the more our faith in Him increases (ref.: Romans 10:17; Hebrews 12:2). So, Mary knew Jesus and knew what He was capable of doing.

Point three, she told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. In other words, she had complete faith in Jesus and was ready for Him to lead the way to come out of the challenge. Thus allowing God to be our Shepherd, (ref.: Psalms 23; 119:105). She understood that we just don’t dump our challenges on God and walk away. Instead, she saw the importance of being led. This is where the Holy Spirit comes in for those born of God.

Mary expressed three key points every Son and Daughter of God should emulate as their way of life. We must know the Lord Jesus because Jesus said that eternal life is to know God and Jesus’ purpose on earth, that is, to understand the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord Jesus (ref.: John 17:3).

Jesus should be the first point of contact in every situation, which is an expression of faith. Also, we should be ready to do whatever He asks us to do. All these boil down to knowing Him. You cannot follow a person you don’t know. So, to know Jesus is to know grace. And to know Jesus is a natural boost of our faith in Him.

 

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, and 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 obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV) 

The Mystery in Cana of Galilee

I have heard controversial stories about the first miracle of Jesus, which is the turning of water into wine. Some claim the wine was alcoholic, while others claim it was non-alcoholic. But of what use is that order than to justify the canal cravings to satisfy the flesh when it comes to wine drinking. The thing is we fail to see the big picture here.

Everything Jesus did, had a hidden meaning to it. Well, some are quite obvious when you look at it. But the turning of water to wine had a hidden meaning that I’ll explain to you today.

The miracle of the water turning to wine is found in the book of John 2:1-12. So, Jesus and His disciples were at a wedding in Cana of Galilee. His mother was also at the wedding. Then it happened they ran out of wine, and Jesus’ mother came to Him to do something about the situation. This was because she most likely would have seen Jesus live a miraculous life from His birth till now, as He was about thirty years of age, which was like enough time for Mary to have gotten an overdose of God living in her house, which most likely would have been the very reason why Jesus was the first person she thought of when they ran out of wine.

So, after Mary had summoned Jesus, she told the servants to do whatever He asked them to do. Now, this is where the hidden message within this miracle comes into play.

When Mary told Jesus that the host had run out of wine, Jesus told her that His time had not yet come. Take note of that. But being an obedient son and seeing the faith of His mother, He moved, meaning His time had now come, and just as every speech goes, we must give an objective or give reasons for the speech. Likewise, Jesus had to give an objective as to His reason for His coming to the world. And this was shown in this miracle.

There were six sets of waterpots of stone used for purification according to Jewish tradition. Jesus asked the servants to fill the pots with water to the brim. And then take some out to give to the master of the ceremony. The water had turned to wine, that was it.

The waterpots were used for purification. Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:5 that unless a person is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. John the Baptist said in Luke 3:16 that he baptises with water, but Jesus, who is greater than himself, will baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire. We understand that anyone who has been baptised into Jesus has a new spirit in him or her because he or she was purified from within. And this was the message Jesus passed when wine instead of water came out of the jars of purification.

The wine represents the new creation or the new spirit, and also the kingdom of God. Thus, talking about what comes out of anyone who is born of God. As Jesus had told the Pharisees it is not what goes into a man that makes him clean or unclean, but that comes out of the man (ref.: Matthew 15:11).

Throughout the scriptures, even before the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, there have been signs depicting Jesus Christ and who He is. We must learn to read between the lines, thus asking the Holy Spirit to interpret to us what the scriptures are talking about.

So, the turning of water into wine is not a subject of debate if a person should take alcohol or not because if one looks closely, Jesus always spoke from the spirit down to the physical and not the other way around. This was why He used parables to illustrate things of the spirit for us to understand. Thus, we must first ask ourselves the spiritual meaning of things to understand the physical. Therefore, let God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

 

 

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, and 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 obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

Faith is not Works

Last time I wrote on How to Oppose Worry. This write-up is still in line with the last one.

So, we have times when we pray right and get an assurance that it was a done deal, but it appears as though nothing was forthcoming. Today, I want to explain how to use your faith in a way it didn’t [in many ways] occur to you how faith works.

First of all, grace and faith must work hand in hand for the manifestation of God’s provision. Grace is all about God’s provision, that which we inherited by becoming joint heirs with Christ Jesus. Faith, on the other hand, is simply believing that all God has given to you by grace is yours, that simple. So simple but not as simple as it seems based on the results seen, as many struggle to receive what God has given to them.

The funny thing is that we think there is something we must do to receive this grace after becoming born again. But to surprise you, the only work we are to do is simply to believe. Just believe, that’s all, nothing else. God doesn’t need your offerings before His grace is released or else it won’t be called grace. Don’t forget, grace means unmerited favour, that which you don’t deserve. So, from the beginning, we don’t deserve it. In other words, there is nothing you can do to merit what God gave you; this is why it is called grace. All you have to do is receive what God gave you. This act is called faith. But why do we not see these things manifest? [Read: Is Faith a Process?].

One reason why we do not see things manifest is that we think we need to do something before we can receive the grace of God. I see this many times, as we feel we are not worthy to receive the grace of God, so we feel we need to do something. But really, you were not worthy and will never be by works; this is why it is called grace! The only reason God has given it to you is because you were joined with Christ Jesus as one (ref.: Romans 8:17). After all, it was Christ Jesus to whom God gave all things. And because you are joined with Christ as one, whatever happens to Him affects you.

But then again, doubt stands as a hindrance to receiving this grace. Not that God withholds His grace, but we, through unbelief, cannot stretch out our hands to receive. This is because manifestation only happens when grace and faith are combined. In other words, this is called offer and acceptance in the Spirit. And doubt is the lack of acceptance. This is why we need to constantly renew our minds with the word of God (ref.: Romans 12:2).

Now, another crucial thing is that faith moves with speed. In other words, how we receive is based on how fast we raise our hands. Allow me to elaborate. We all received the perfect health of Jesus when we were born again. But how come you break down with sickness, and you declare that you are healed and see nothing done the moment you declare? But you saw another Son of God declare that by the stripes of Jesus, he was made healed, and immediately, he became healed. What did he do that you didn’t?

Your level of belief is the reason. But that doesn’t mean your body didn’t hear you when you spoke. What just happened is that your body’s speed of manifestation is based on your belief. In other words, you are to keep declaring that you are healed for your mind to accept Christ Jesus’ health as a normal way of life. The more you believe this implies you are doubting less. And this means the faster you see the health of Christ Jesus manifest in your life.

Faith is simply accepting all that God has given to you by grace through Jesus Christ. But the manifestation is based on your belief system. Just accept it as true and it will be. The more we fill our hearts with the word of God about who we are right now in Christ Jesus through confession, the faster we see doubt die off and grace manifest faster.

 

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, and 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 obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

 

How To Oppose Worrying

Have you ever prayed to God for a situation that you felt was urgent, and the Holy Spirit assured you it was a done deal, also strengthening you with the scriptures, but everything around you was shouting to you as it appeared as the opposite? Yes, I have been in such a situation.

The Bible has made us understand that the Sons and Daughters of God are in the world, but not of the world (ref.: John 17:16). So, it should not surprise you that things appear off what the Lord said. Then again the pressure could be so strong that you want to believe the situation wasn’t answered. But right there is where the trick of the devil comes in.

The Bible says in Proverbs 18:21 that death and life are in the power of the tongue. In other words, we could deny ourselves what God has answered based on our words. And that’s what the devil wants us to do by putting things around us to affect our thoughts and not see our prayers answered. But the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 10:5 that we should cast down every opposing thought to the obedience of Christ Jesus. And one powerful way is through gratitude to God for an answered prayer.

Gratitude, in this sense, is an act of faith. It strengthens our trust in what God has already done. And in doing this, we find ourselves not worrying, but resting on the words of God that He has answered our prayer.

The devil deceives using the five senses to make us disbelieve the truth. But when we remember who we placed our trust in and the assurance from His word and the Holy Spirit pointing them to us, all we need to do is to be grateful to God that He has done it. And, of course, we need to walk closely with the Holy Spirit, who will position us to receive this request because the work of the Lord does not seize because we haven’t received an answered prayer. But when we walk closely with the Holy Spirit in His leading us into the truth, we prepare the ground ready to receive the answered prayer.

The prayer was already answered the moment we presented it to the Lord, but God alone knows the perfect time the answer should manifest to our favour and His glory. So, don’t look at the clock, look unto Him in gratitude.

 

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, and 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 obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

 

It Happens In Your Hands

There is something remarkable about the feeding of the five thousand, a miracle by Jesus which is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels. So, what did I notice that is so remarkable? Well, it isn’t something quite new, but it is something we need to take note of when dealing with God.

Jesus went to a deserted area to spend time with His Father—God our heavenly Father, but He saw a lot of people who came looking for Him. Jesus, of course, had compassion on them, healed the sick among them, and performed several miracles. It was getting late and His disciples advised that He should dismiss the people so that they could go and get food to eat.

Jesus surprisingly asked His disciples to give the people something to eat. But thinking as typical humans, they concluded that it would cost a lot of money to feed the people because there were more than five thousand people. As the men alone were five thousand, women and children’s actual figures weren’t stated which in total would most likely hit above ten thousand at the least. So feeding them would cost a whole lot.

Now, this is where it gets interesting. Jesus asked them what they had, and they said they only had five loaves of bread and two fish, which belonged to a boy. Jesus said that was OK and requested for it. He raised the bread, looked up to heaven, gave thanks, and began to break the bread and gave it to His disciples to give to the people who were seated in their fifties and hundreds. As we know, when the people were filled, Jesus asked the remnant to be packed together, and it was a surprising twelve baskets full. Wow!

The point I want you to take note of here is that the miracle did not happen in the hands of Jesus but in the hands of the disciples. Remember, Jesus asked them to feed the people. When they didn’t get what He meant exactly, He asked them what they had. He blessed it and gave it to them to distribute.

God has given us the entire world as resources to use for His kingdom as managers here on earth. The question He will always ask you is what resource you have in your hand. The five loaves of bread and two fish were enough because that is enough for Him to show you how to exercise your dominion here on earth that He gave you.

Every time we cry to God to come to our rescue, He always asks what we have in our hands. It is what we have in our hands that we command in the name of Jesus to meet our needs.

Let me elaborate on that. God’s business is to meet our needs, not us. True, we could be in a state where unbelief sets in. When this happens, take what you have in your hand and speak life into it to meet your needs. In other words, you are asking Jesus to release how to make use of the wisdom He has deposited inside of you in the use of the resources He placed in your hands for the right purpose. I hope you got that.

The reason why this is important is that by living the life of a steward or manager here on earth, we use the resources He has given us in the right way to expand His kingdom. In the use of this, we see our needs being met. But as I said, unbelief or doubt could deter us from our focus on Him because we are not seeing our needs being met. In other words, we start thinking like the disciples who were seeing the impossibility of feeding the people. But God always needs us to focus on Him to get things running. So that is why we need to have a resource in our hands, that is, what the resource(s) we use for the work He asked us to do, and then we speak to it in the name of Jesus to be enough to meet the needs required.

Our focus is on His mission, the miracle happens in our hands as we use the resources in His wisdom. And in every case, in the Bible, the miracle happens when we obey Him on how to use the resources, the wine at the wedding at Cana of Galilee, the widow’s oil and many more. Speak to your resource and allow Him to lead you in the right way to use it.

 

 

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, and 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 obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)

 

Who is the Judge?

I remember being in a class in my first year at the university, the lecturer that day said a tree cannot say it is tall until it stands among other trees. And what he said got stuck in my head since that day. And this is true; many times, we measure ourselves based on the standard we find around us to either justify ourselves or look down on ourselves. But when it comes to the righteous way of life before God, do we look around us to give ourselves a score, or do we look at the person who is righteousness personified?

In Luke 18:9-14, there is the popular parable of a Pharisee and a tax collector who both went to the temple to pray. The Pharisee justified himself based on the people he saw around him, like the tax collector, saying he fasts twice a week, gives tithes, and even compares himself with the collector that he wasn’t like him. The tax collector, on the other hand, just asked God to be merciful to him for being a sinner. Jesus said the tax collector went home justified rather than the Pharisee. Why?

Isaiah 64:6 says our righteousness is like filthy rags. This goes to show that no one ever qualified for God yet except Jesus. If anyone was righteous in the sight of God, then there wouldn’t have been a need for a saviour. So, the purpose of the Law wasn’t to make us righteous, but to show how unrighteous we are and the need for a saviour.

So, the Pharisee who justified himself only said he was less of a failure than the others, but still a failure. That sounds harsh, right? But that’s what we mean when we justify our actions.

Since Jesus was and is the only person who stands righteous before God. He then gave us the perfect spirit which we all receive when we become born again. This is why our righteousness is by grace and not by works so that nobody like the Pharisee can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

It is because of what Jesus has done for us we can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need, (ref.: Hebrews 4:16).

So, the person who does the righteousness check is not us but God Himself because the only reason we are righteous is by the grace of Jesus. This is because, on our own, we can NEVER be righteous. So, it is all praise and thanks to our Lord Jesus.

I would have concluded my write-up in the previous paragraph. But just to answer some questions that may pop up in someone’s mind if I ended it that way. Someone might conclude that we can never be righteous by our works no matter how hard we try because we are righteous because of the grace of Jesus. So, we can go on sinning because it is grace and not works that matters. NO! That’s not what I mean.

Apostle Paul attended to this mindset in Romans 6, but I’ll quote verses 1-5 from The Passion Translation. It says, “[1] So what do we do, then? Do we persist in sin so that God’s kindness and grace will increase? [2] What a terrible thought! We have died to sin once and for all, as a dead man passes away from this life. So how could we live under sin’s rule a moment longer? [3] Or have you forgotten that all of us who were immersed into union with Jesus, the Anointed One, were immersed into union with his death? [4] Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life. [5] For since we are permanently grafted into him to experience a death like his, then we are permanently grafted into him to experience a resurrection like his and the new life that it imparts.” You can read the entire chapter when going through the scriptures.

So, it is clear that since we have been saved through grace, we now have the perfect spirit of Christ Jesus which in turn is expected to affect how we live through the renewal of our minds (ref.: Romans 12:2). So, the renewal is still a process, but because our righteousness is a free gift from our Lord Jesus, this is why we are righteous.

 

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, and 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 obtained from the New King James Version (NKJV)