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Holy Heritage

  “ Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly: gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children, and those that suck the breasts: let the bridegroom go forth of his chamber, and the bride out of her closet. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God?” Joel 2 : 15 - 17 KJV By referencing the concern of Apostle Paul with the Corinthians “ If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable (1 Corinthians 15 : 19 )”, the burden of Prophet Joel on the challenges of heathen heritage can readily come alive. When believers’ passions and drives are motivated and limited to the rat race for political positions, economic stability, earthly comforts, and the world’s standards of...
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Holy House

  “ But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them; and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it .” Obadiah 1 : 17 - 18 KJV Everyone knows about the foundation of hostility between the house of Jacob and the house of Esau. While the house of Jacob represents the generation of those who hold the promises of God, including freedom from oppression, destruction, and damnation, there is no deliverance in sight as long as the house is bewildered in hostilities. Unfortunately, New Testament believers are not equally free from oppression, destruction and damnation as long as they are entangled in the hostility house; despite the fancy claims to salvation experience through faith in Jesus Christ. We live in the host...
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Winsome Words

  “ Order my steps in thy word: And let not any iniquity have dominion over me. Deliver me from the oppression of man: So will I keep thy precepts. Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; And teach me thy statutes .” Psalm 119 : 133 - 135 KJV Inspiration by the words of the Lord is simply the enthronement of God as the centre of our human instruction in life, family, career and relationships. There are so many religious activities in these days of manipulation by social media, economic standards, and the pressure of performance. Irrespective of our professional practices, the practical steps of most believers are ordered by social and economic standards and etiquettes. And when the psalmist prayed “ Order my steps in thy word: And let not any iniquity have dominion over me ‘, he was not alone by all practices today. The prayer is sincerely deeper than “ Order my speeches in thy word… ”. Many preachers can give sound speeches on holiness and righteousness; but they are denied th...
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Real Refreshment

  “ The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; Therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, To the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly Wait for the salvation of the LORD. ”  Lamentations 3 : 24 - 26 KJV Depending on the cause of exertion and weakness, there are sundry sources of refreshment for the body and the soul of man. For tne most parts, with the prospect of monetization, emotional breakdown and disturbance are readily refreshed by financial inducement. Little wonder, even the scriptures say “ A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry: but money answereth all things ( Ecclesiastes 10 : 19)”. Notwithstanding, money refresheth not all things. Even after the abundance of wealth and the provision of material resources, there is always a void in the heart of man that only God can fill. The presence of God in all life’s circumstances is the real refreshment. And whenever our fellowship at home, coll...
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Careful Christian

  “ This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men .” Titus 3 : 8 KJV Doing good is readily taking for granted because of every believer’s experiential knowledge of the grace of God. If the Giver of grace, Jesus Christ, in the days of His earthly ministry went about doing good, it is natural to expect all the takers of grace to be ‘do-gooders’ . As apparently insulting the ‘do-gooders ’ term seems in our days, John Wesley once encouraged “ Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can ”. Without this careful devotion, we have seen too many supposedly Christian workers and leaders being used as unfortunate pawns in the hands of the enemies of the grace of God. Doing good requires careful mainte...
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Peculiar People

   “ For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works .” Titus 2 : 11 - 12 , 14 KJV With prejudice to the import of the grace of God in the affairs of anyone, people will always mistake popularity for peculiarity. Truth be told, the grace of God doesn’t promise the redeemed of the Lord popularity, but rather peculiarity. Unfortunately, those who abuse the privileges of grace have often engaged in the teaching and practicing of ungodliness, licentious lifestyle, and all forms of wickedness. Truly, these nefarious lifestyles can promote popularity with affluence, avarice, social, and political advantages; but they will obviously deny anyone the hope of being part of a peculiar people of God and candid...
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Selfless Stewards

  “ For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; but a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers .” Titus 1 : 7 - 9 KJV One of the fundamentals of a successful ministry in the vineyard of the Lord is stewardship.  And by Apostle Paul’s reference to steward of God in his admonition to Bishop Titus, it is evident that Bishop can be steward of men rather than being steward of God. To be steward of men at the expense of stewardship to God is to become influenced by either the provocations or preferences of fellow men. The moment our actions and inaction are influenced and controlled by the affections, afflictions, and atrocities of men, we become self-wiled rather than being selfless stewards of the Lord. It is i...
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