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Almighty Alone

 “ And Hezekiah prayed before the LORD, and said, O LORD God of Israel, which dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou hast made heaven and earth. Now therefore, O LORD our God, I beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that thou art the LORD God, even thou only. ” 2 Kings‬ ‭19‬:‭15‬, ‭19‬ ‭KJV The threat from king Sennacherib of Assyria is synonymous to everyday life’s overwhelming challenges and confusion. They are intended for captivating the minds and focus of believers and unbelievers alike, demanding their worship with fear, frustration, and fault-finding. When the minds are dominated by the activities of these agents, their authorities and relevance are promoted at fhe expense of recognizing the omnipotence of God. Whereas, king Hezekiah chose the recognition of the presence of the Lord with prayer and intercession. Suddenly, prayers enabled the disappearance of king...
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Pure Presence

      “ For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Cæsar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.” Acts 27 : 23 - 25 KJV Rhetorical narrative of the presence of the Lord is vague and virtual until the real experiences of trials and the challenges of life are unveiled. And for the companions of Apostle Paul enroute Rome from Caesarea, it was a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon that brought the experience of the pure presence of God. Prior to the storm, Paul was just one of the prisoners; he became a preacher with the abiding presence of God afterwards. When we are limited by the polluted presence of the gods in position, prosperity, and privileges, we are tempted to make empty boast of the power to steal, kill, and destroy in order to sustain relevance. King Sennacherib ...
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Winning Way

   “ Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, And Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, And turned my hand against their adversaries.” Psalm 81 : 13 - 14 KJV One of the advantages of this digital age is the access to information. While it is divinely orchestrated that knowledge shall increase astronomically in the last days, God still recommended that the winning way remains every believer’s attention to divine counsels. When we walk with the Lord and pray unto Him, is it primarily for the purpose of laying down our frustrations and complaints? No, but rather to listen to His counsels on all matters of life.  Therefore, the psalmist recalled on the relationship of the Israelites with God in retrospect, “ Oh that my people had hearkened unto me,  And Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, And turned my hand against their adversaries”. Unfortunately, where kings now hold sway, where principalities gra...
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Wise Way

   “ Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud. He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: And whoso trusteth in the LORD, happy is he. ” Proverbs 16 : 19 - 20 KJV Without the enabling grace to discern that the opposite of wisdom is pride, seemingly righteous people will lose good relationships to their inability to absolutely trust God to handle the challenges of life more affectionately. Meanwhile, the overtly proud and arrogant people do not believe in God. They pride their achievements and accomplishments in life on their personal efforts and ingenuity. Unfortunately, even the religious people or fools also indirectly say there is no God by their forced struggle for relevance and recognition with the overtly proud and arrogant people. Whenever we lean simply on our own understanding of ‘how things happen ?’, ‘why do people act in the way they do?’ , and ‘what do we need to do in response to the challenges of life?...
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Waiting Workforce

     “ Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully. ” 2 Kings 12 : 15 KJV In our days where accountability in service is wearing a questionable toga, the ‘for they dealt faithfully’ assessment of the workforce that handled the maintenance work at the temple is possibly reserved only for the days of king Jehoash and priest Jehoaida. And just as here the priests were the faithful workforce in the scrutinizing eyes of Jehoash and Jehoaida, God is looking for faithful workforce that will wait on Him to supply all their needs, rather than falling into the temptation of helping themselves with unfaithfulness, unrighteousness, and unhappiness. Whether in the line of duties as parents with parenting, ministers with ministrations, partners and associates with project management, etc, the waiting workforce understands that faithfulness is the only credentials for fruitfulness. Fraudulent pra...
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Shining Star

  “ Return, we beseech thee, O God of hosts: Look down from heaven, And behold, and visit this vine; Turn us again, O LORD God of hosts, Cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved .” Psalm 80 : 14 , 19 KJV It is a pity that shining star can sometimes reflect the shadow of itself when it turns away from the source of its radiance. When the heart of man focuses on the shadow of his brilliance, intelligence, and skills as the primary source of breakthrough and accomplishment in life, it loses the radiance of righteousness by the grace of God. For example, Jehu was a shining star and important instrument used by God to accomplish the destruction of Baal worship in Israel, and the execution of the royal seeds in the lineage of Ahab according to the prophecy by Elijah the prophet. However, the scriptures has it that  “ But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin ...
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State-sponsored Services

   “ Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris. who, when they came to Cæsarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.” Acts 23 : 31 , 33 KJV When Apostle Paul later wrote to the brethren in Rome “ So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also (Romans 1 : 15)”, he apparently could graphically remember how the Lord replaced the state-inspired threat of the Jews with the state-sponsored services of the Roman soldiers and military personnel. It was a midnight escort service from the Jewish council in Jerusalem to the court of Governor Felix in Caesarea that opened the new missionary door to Rome. Whereas, to the state and the Jews under conspiracy to terminate the life of Paul, Apostle Paul had been arrested, incarcerated, and silenced from all preaching engagements in Jerusalem. Invariably, with absolute focus on the sovereign God and Master of all ser...
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