Month: February 2013

Morning Dew

 

Key Passage: Hebrews 11:1-3

 

Key Text: Hebrews 11:1 – “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.”

 

 

How many times have you sat on a chair without ever checking if the chair can hold your weight? How many times have you boarded an aircraft to go to another destination, without ever worrying if the pilot knows the way to London, Paris or wherever we may be travelling to? Ok, perhaps these are too deep. How about switching on the lights in your bedroom? How many times do you do that without ever considering the process that makes the light bulbs light up, or even think the lights would never come on? Why do we rush to get the clothes off the line, when we see a dark cloud? I am asking these questions, so you can understand the simplicity of faith and why we all should understand and walk in faith. Actually, I remember reading something somewhere, I can’t quite remember who said it, but it is quite profound giving our subject today. It takes a lot of faith for the atheist to believe there is no God.

The passage today, tells us faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. So how does one develop faith? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Let’s unpack this. Faith comes or is developed or a better word is released by hearing. So if you hear something it produces an understanding that provokes an action. So if you hear what God has to say about something, you then must make a decision to believe or disbelieve and that decision sets you on the path to faith or fear. Once you believe, then you act in accordance with your believe and that is where the power of faith gets released.

On the converse, if you chose not to believe the word of God, you have then chosen to believe something else. Since there can be no vacuum, you either have faith or you are in fear. That in itself also releases what you chose to believe. That is why fear is perverse faith. It is believing in the lies of the enemy rather than trusting in the truth of the word of God.

Now another dimension to faith has to do with the ‘unseen’. That word simply means, not palpable or evident to the natural senses. Sometimes it is even actually just simply opposite to what is physically evident. That’s why faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. So faith is a connector, a portal, or a hook to bring something from the unseen realm into the seen realm. The bible teaches us that what we see is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. So if a person is diagnosed as ill, they can chose to believe they are ill and will remain ill because the disease is incurable; or they may chose to believe the word of God that says, “by His wounds we were healed”. Now if you study this word or promise, you would realise that healing has already been secured and packaged for us, but we need to get it into our reality. How does this happen?

It’s actually quite simple. Very simple. There is nothing God promises us that He has not already finished. I will repeat that. There is nothing God promises us that He has not already finished!!! So when God says something is ours, and we believe it and refuse to doubt, and then we start to modify our actions to show that we actually know that what God says will come to pass, then we by consequence of these actions release our faith and that faith reaches into God’s eternity and draws into our reality, that God created and accomplished feat. Healing, prosperity, deliverance, salvation etc are all pieces of eternity, but it takes faith to draw them into our realities. Like I said before, a miracle is a piece of eternity invading our reality.

So if you can sit on a chair without checking if the chair can absorb your weight; if you can board an aeroplane to travel for 12 hours to a destination, without asking the pilot if he knows the way; if you can turn on the tap in your house and expect water to flow; if you can switch on the lights in your bedroom without asking where the power comes from to light up the bulb, then you can activate your faith, because it has to do with what God has already accomplished.

 

Let’s pray: Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to please bless me with the ability to walk by faith and to live by faith. Help me to believe your words over my current realities and help me to act in such a way that my faith will attract your eternity into my reality. I believe but Lord help my unbelief. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

 

 

Morning Dew

 

Key Passage: Genesis 50:15-21

 

Key Word: Genesis 50: 21 – “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good,..”

 

 

It has become abundantly clear to me, that God really has a way of turning the devil’s worst into great blessings for us His children. Like the stories I shared yesterday on Goliath’s sword, when the enemy really rages against us and rises up to try to harm us, God in His wisdom makes these situations channels of real blessings.

Take the life of Joseph. His brothers hated him because he had a dream and was a favoured child. They cast him into a pit and eventually sold him as a slave to the Ishmaelites who sold him on as a slave to Potiphar in Egypt. Joseph ended up in Egypt as a slave to Potiphar, and through some more mishaps ended in prison. But God was with him all through this ordeal and God was working out a master plan. Eventually Joseph became the Prime Minister in Egypt and a severe famine arose in the world. Joseph’s family were affected in this famine and they came to Egypt to seek food. Eventually Joseph brought his entire family to Egypt to live with him, escape the famine and develop into a mighty nation. Joseph declared later on to his brothers “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today”

God meant it for good.

Last night I was discussing with my mother in law and my wife, the mystery of all the godly barren women of the bible. Has it occurred to you that they all brought forth eventually, great, mighty and world changing children? Let’s run through the list. Sarah brought forth Isaac, one of the Patriarchs. Rebecca brought forth Jacob from whom came the twelve tribes of Israel. Rachael brought forth Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph became the Prime minister of Israel and from Benjamin’s tribe  came the first King of Israel, Saul. Hannah produced Samuel, one of the greatest prophets of the bible. Manoah’s wife produced Samson, the strongest of the judges of Israel. Finally Elizabeth the wife of Zacharias’ produced John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of Jesus Christ. Jesus described John as the greatest man born of women.

I am convinced that God is not the author of evil, but He can allow something’s because He sees how He would be glorified through them. I don’t know who I am trying to encourage today. You may be going through a real trial and a test of your faith, please trust God, because He is at work and He is fashioning something much more glorious out of what you think is a trial. If you have ever seen a cloth tapestry being woven, it really looks like a lot of mess. But when the mess is reversed, you then see the beautiful picture the weaver had in his or her mind all the time.

Satan will not have the last laugh in your life! You will laugh at the end, because God specialises in great outcomes.

In these hard and pressured times, we mostly don’t understand what God is up to, but as the lyrics of a popular song goes “If you can’t trace His hand, trust His heart”.

Let’s pray: Father God, You are amazing. You work in mysterious ways your wonders to perform. Father, I want to affirm that you have my life in your hands and you are more than able to perfect that which concerns me. I put my trust in You and believe that my story will have a glorious conclusion. Thank you Father for I have prayed in Jesus name. Amen.

Morning Dew

 

Key Passage: 1Samuel 17: 41-51

 

Key Text: 1 Samuel 17:51, ‘Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it.’

 

Great military strategists over the ages have learnt that what may appear as the enemy’s greatest weapon against them in the place of battle, can sometimes be the very thing that can be leveraged to destroy the enemy. God is the greatest strategist. He is a ‘man of war’ and knows how to win every time. The bible is full of stories of how God turned the weapon of the enemy against him and destroys the enemy with his worst weapons.

In 1 Samuel 17:51, ‘Then David ran and stood over the Philistine and took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him and cut off his head with it.’ We see here that David used the sword of Goliath to cut off the giant’s head. This is so amazing, that the very weapon he carried to kill David with was what David eventually used to finish him off.

Another story we see in the book of Esther 7:9-10 – Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high. 10 And the king said, Hang him on that. So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Haman, the enemy of the Jews had planned to hang Mordecai on a gallows seventy-five feet high. In a twist of events, God made sure that the enemy of Mordecai and the Jews was hanged on that same gallows and Esther took over all that belonged to Haman and Mordecai was given his position in the palace.

There is some unusual wisdom here, in that some of the issues we consider problems may carry within them the means of totally dealing with the problem.

One last story and perhaps the greatest example of God turning the enemy’s worst against him, is found in the story of Jesus Christ our Lord, His betrayal, crucifixion and resurrection. Satan entered Judas Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus Christ, made him betray Jesus; then he instigated the religious authorities to seek the death penalty against Jesus from Pontius Pilate, then got Jesus scourged and crucified on a cross, just outside the city walls of Jerusalem. The bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 2: 7-8 – ‘But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory’

Whilst Satan was plotting and executing his most sinister plan against the Son of God, he was at the same time constructing the deathblow that will completely set humanity free from his grip, open the gates to Hades and death and release the captives forever. In orchestrating the death of Jesus on the cross, he was helping God fulfil his redemption plan for mankind. He did not understand, he was not wise enough and he was too consumed with destroying the Messiah, that he basically nailed himself.

I don’t know what the enemy has fashioned against you to use to pull you down or destroy you. I want you to know if you can turn your life and situation over to God, He would make sure that the point of your greatest pain becomes the point of your greatest victory. God is wise.

Jude 25 – To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

 

Let’s Pray: Father God, you wisdom is unsearchable. You are the only wise God. I thank you that the enemy does not have the last say in our lives and that when we are weak, then we are strong, because your strength is made perfect in our weaknesses. Father, turn every assignment of the enemy against me into a resounding victory for me. Where I have appeared to be down, Lord turn it into a launching pad for a greater manifestation of your glory in my life. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Morning Dew

Key Passage: 1 Samuel 25: 2-44 (Please read if you can)

Key Text: 1 Samuel 25: 24 – She fell at his feet and said, ‘On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.’

 

It has been said that there exists in every man a king and a fool. Depending on the circumstances, he can either be a king or a fool. Or how do you explain the same man putting his life on the line to defend his family, and a few days after goes after another woman, commits adultery and puts his marriage in jeopardy. But wise women know this truth and have learnt how to bring out the King in their men and totally subdue the fool in them.

Today we read the story of a great and often ignored woman in the bible. Abigail. She was the wife of a man called Nabal. Nabal had offended David by not honouring him and helping him, that David was determined to destroy Nabal and his household. But Abigail intervened and spoke to David and changed his mind about acting rashly and offending God. There are a few points I want to share regarding this woman, that we can all learn from and most especially women today.

Nabal was a fool and a scoundrel, but he was successful and rich. I am totally convinced that Nabal was successful because he had Abigail as his wife. She had learnt how to speak to the king in this fool and make him see value in his life. Secondly, when she learnt what her husband had done to David, she quickly arranged provisions and took to David. David was not yet the king of Israel, but she knew he would be someday. So she met David, full of anger and determined to destroy Nabal and his household.

The way this lady handled the enraged David is a lesson for all women. Abigail was a very beautiful woman, but she did not try to charm the future king with her beauty. Instead she did the very opposite. She dismounted from her donkey and fell on her face to the ground. This is submission. This will always disarm men, because it touches the king in them. Then, she spoke to David letting him know that her husband was not worth the price David was about to pay. She then began to affirm David and remind David of his destiny and purpose and that God was on David’s side. She also affirmed that Saul was persecuting David unjustly.

She ended her appeal, by affirming that David will someday become king in Israel and that David should not let his heart be stained by this foolish act of vengeance. That he should also remember her when he eventually becomes king.

Please read David’s answer “32 And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! 33 Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand! 34 For as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male. 35 Then David received from her hand what she had brought him. And he said to her, Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice, and I have granted your petition.”

The end of this story is that David returned home and did not sin against the Lord, but he never forgot Abigail. When Nabal died, David married Abigail.

I think women need to learn from other women like Abigail and Sarah. Though, very beautiful women, there were notable more for their wisdom. See what the bible says about this; 1 Peter 3:1-6 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewellery, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.’

Ladies, learn how to speak to the king in your men and you will have a noble king on your hands, but if you decide to speak to the fool in him, you guessed it, you would have the fool manifesting. Don’t always criticize him for his foolishness, just let him know he is a king and kings do things a bit differently and soon, you would see your king arise.

Let’s pray: Father God, thank you for the lesson from Abigail’s life. Thank you for using her to show us that we can get our men to be truly noble and kingly. Lord please grant us the practical wisdom to know how to speak to the king in our men and how to subdue the fool in them. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Morning Dew

 

Key Passage: Esther 3-4

 

Key Text: Esther 4:14 – “…And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”

 

It has often been said that a good mentor can cut down your journey by miles, helping you avoid silly mistakes and guiding you to your destination safely and in record time. Most great people have mentors and can attribute most of their successes to lessons imparted by mentors. I like the concept a lot. First it is biblical and secondly, it is wise. One of the advantages of being mentored is that you get to stand on shoulders of giants and you get to see further than you could have seen standing on your own. Another reason is that a good mentor can call you to order when you are erring, and they have a way of reminding you of your purpose and destiny.

Today, we read about an orphan who became the Queen of a vast empire, because she had the guiding hand of a mentor in her life. Esther or Hadassah had a man called Mordecai. Actually Mordecai was her uncle and had taken Esther under his wings when her parents passed away. Being Jews in a foreign land, Mordecai had to teach Esther about the customs and traditions of the Jews and ring her up with the highest moral standards. Mordecai gave Esther her identity.

After Esther became queen by a series of God ordained incidences, Mordecai continued to guide her and watch out for her. He gave her vital information to help her and taught her how to be discretionary with her background. Then arose an enemy of the Jews who wanted to destroy and annihilate all the Jews from the empire. Mordecai got to know of this sinister plan and told Esther to do something about it. Esther was so reluctant to act, perhaps she had gotten used to being the Queen and did not want to jeopardize her position; perhaps she was just too scared to go and see the king, thinking it may cost her, her life; perhaps she did not want to associate with the Jews anymore, after all she was now secure as queen in the palace.

But thank God for Mordecai. He called her to order with a statement that has been preached so many times by preachers over the ages. “Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, Do not think to yourself that in the king’s palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. 14 For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” Esther was jolted back to life and purpose by Mordecai’s well articulated and measured statement. This is one of the most invaluable things a mentor can do for the person they are mentoring.

I don’t know if you have a Mordecai in your life. If you have, celebrate them. If you haven’t, then try and find one. If all else fails, then let me assure you that we have a God ordained Mordecai in our lives as God’s children. We have the Holy Spirit, who is our leader, teacher and guide. The Holy Spirit has one overriding purpose to make us like Jesus. He will also remind us who we are, and whose we are. He will help us to understand our purpose in life.

It is hard to think that Esther would have been so great without the great Mordecai in her life. Thank God for Mordecai.

Let’s Pray: Father God, thank you for appointing mentors for our lives and enabling them to help us through our journey. We also thank you most especially for the Holy Spirit, who is our leader and guide through life. We open our hearts afresh for the Spirits leading, as Your word says ‘As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God”. Thank you Holy Spirit for your leadership. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Morning Dew

 

Key Passage – Acts 4:36-37

 

Key Text – Acts 4:36 –Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement),

 

Some days are hard to get through. But perhaps with a little extra effort and teeth grinding we could survive those days. But it is much harder to get through a rough season of life without the support and encouragement of trusted friends, brothers, sisters and whoever else God may send to us at those times, to help us to get through. A few such people certainly have blessed me in my life and I am so grateful to each one of them.  

Today’s passage introduces us to a strategically important person in the New Testament, we very rarely hear about, but God knows how vital he was to the expansion of the gospel and the early church. His name is Barnabas. Actually, his real name is Joseph, a Levite and a native of Cyprus, but the apostles’ nicknamed him Barnabas, which means son of encouragement. As his name goes he was a real God sent encourager. How we need such people today.

The first time we encounter him in the bible, he had just sold a piece of land and given the money to the apostles for the ministry. He was encouraging them with his giving. There are many such people today, who are not even celebrated, because they are silent operators for God. They encourage ministers to do their work by giving of their substance for the purposes of God. Many ministries will collapse without these Barnabas’. But this was not his greatest work.

When Saul got converted miraculously from a persecutor of the church to an apostle, it was Barnabas that first spotted the genuine conversion of Saul of Tarsus and discerned the pivotal role Paul would play in the spreading of the gospel, that he brought Paul and introduced him to the other apostles. Please understand, that everyone in Jerusalem in those days lived in the fear of Saul, so it needed someone as genuine and trustworthy as Barnabas to do this job. If Paul had not had this right hand of fellowship, who knows what would have become of him?

Barnabas went even further and accompanied Paul of his first missionary journey first as Paul’s leader and mentor, then later as his co-minister and then as he sensed Paul’s anointing, calling and grace, he was willing to play second fiddle to Paul. What an amazing man. He helped Paul take-off in ministry, served Paul and strengthened him and at the appropriate time allowed Paul to take the leadership role.

When revival broke out in Antioch, it was also Barnabas the apostles sent to checkout the move and discern its genuineness. When Barnabas got there he saw the grace of God at work and he encouraged and strengthened them. He then went and got Paul from Tarsus (Spain) to help this new move of God. What a man. What and encourager!

We can all learn from Barnabas and help someone else along the way. It could be a gentle word, a pat on the back, a referral, an endorsement or even just a note to say well done. We could also pray for someone who is struggling. These are little acts that can transform people’s lives.

Today, I want to dedicate this piece to all Barnabas’ the world over and pray that God will bless them and multiply the grace of God on their lives. I also want to acknowledge all my Barnabas’ who have helped me along my journey and to also say a big thank-you to all who have been my encouragers with this daily blogs. You know yourselves. God bless you.

Let’s pray – Father today we recognise that you have been at work in our lives through these encouragers, these Barnabas’. Father, please raise up more of these types of people and help me to learn from Barnabas and encourage someone along the journey of life. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Morning Dew

 

Key Passage: John 19: 28-30

 

Key Text: John 19:30 – “It is finished!”

 

If you have ever closed a deal, then you must know the exhilaration that follows a successful closing of a deal. When everyone has been properly satisfied and you get your cheque. Hmmm that feeling is sweet! Then there is the feeling of a huge weight off your shoulders when you commit to settling a long-standing debt like a mortgage. After you have made monthly payments for 120 months, finally you get to pay the last instalment and you are all clear, then you breathe that sigh of relief and thank God you are free.

But the greatest feeling has to be reserved for the situation, where one is so indebted. So indebted, there is no way to repay and everything around one is crumbling, because the creditors are now foreclosing. Then out of the blues, someone comes along and pays off the debts and you just get a note from your creditors telling you, your debt has been settled by a close relative and the person prefers to remain anonymous. Imagine the mixture of emotions one would go through. From relief to unbelief; From sheer joy to an overwhelming sense of peace; From being grateful beyond words, to feeling completely helpless in expressing your gratitude and then feeling indebted for life to the anonymous benefactor. It’s probably the ultimate feeling.

Now, when Jesus let out the cry of “It is Finished “ on the cross. It was the feeling of the deal is done and dusted. Actually the Greek word for this statement is Tetelestai. Which means, fully paid for. ‘I have completed the deal of redeeming mankind’. Jesus fully paid for our redemption. He fully paid for our salvation. He fully paid for our forgiveness. He fully paid for our punishment. He fully paid for our healing. He fully paid for our peace. He fully paid for our prosperity. He fully paid for our restoration to God and to heaven.

What do you want? Are you in the debt of sin? Jesus has fully paid the price for your sin to be forgiven. Are you sick? Needing Healing? Jesus fully paid for you to be healed. Whatever the need of mankind today, Jesus fully paid for it on the cross. It’s a done deal. I mean done! It is not to be done. It has been done. It is a past event that has a present potency and an eternal relevance. All you need to do is believe.

It is a done deal. Tetelestai. It is fully paid for. Sweet. It is FINISHED!!

 

Let’s pray – Father God, I want to thank you for what Jesus did for me on the cross. Today, I rest in the assurance that whatever I request of you, Jesus already paid the price for my requests to be met. Thank you Jesus. Amen.

 

Morning Dew

 

Key Passage: Matthew 14:22-33

 

Key Text: Matthew 14:29 – He said, ‘Come’. So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.

 

It has often been said that ‘the good is the enemy of the best.’ Pondering on this statement a bit could prove quite instructive. By nature we humans don’t like change and once we get comfortable, we resist strongly anything that tries to challenge our status quo. What often happens is we reach certain points in life and we decide its time to settle and consolidate. So change and risk we resist.

In our story today, we see Jesus demonstrating to His disciples another dimension of living. The supernatural life-style, they were designed to live. He asked them to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They didn’t enquire from Him how to get there; they simply jumped in the boat and set sail. Jesus on the other hand went up the mountain to pray and at about 3:00am in the dead of night he began to walk towards them on the water, whilst they were battling to row against a storm. The first lesson here is that God has His ways of accomplishing His designated tasks and they may not be our conventional routes. Just think about Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea.

As Jesus began to get near the disciples boat, they were afraid, thinking they had just seen a ghost. Jesus reassures them that it was Him and not a ghost. Peter then asked Jesus to ask him to come to Him on the water if He truly was the one. Jesus said, ‘ Come’.  The bible tells us Peter stepped out of the boat and began to walk towards Jesus on the water. Peter experienced the supernatural and I’m sure he was forever changed by this experience.

The most logical and safe place to be in a stormy sea is in the boat, but Jesus asked Peter to come out of the boat. Well quite honestly, it was a general word and all the other eleven disciples could have stepped out too on that word. Whenever we refuse to move in faith we deny ourselves the opportunity to experience the supernatural and we miss out on a life of adventure with the Lord.

If Peter did not venture outside the boat, he would never have experienced the miracle of walking on water. God wants us to all ‘walk on water’ as it were. But we have to first conquer our fear of the unknown and leave the familiar for the unfamiliar. I once heard a preacher say this “You never gonna know it until you step out of the boat”.

What is your comfortable boat that is keeping you away from experiencing the joys and thrills and excitement of walking on water? If you really want the best life God has planned for you; if you really want an exciting and adventurous life; if you really truly want to walk with God, then you must be ready to step out of your boat and walk with Him on water.  Trust His word and launch out on His promise. Who knows what He has designed for you outside the boat?

 

Let’s pray: Father God, thank you for the supernatural life You have ordained for me. Forgive me for allowing fear and comfort to rob me of the best life You have for me. Deliver me from the good, so I can get the best. Deliver me from fear and comfort and let me have a life full of adventure. I want to walk with You, so help me Lord. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

 

Morning Dew

 

Key Passage: Matthew 11:12

 

Key Text: Matthew 11:12 – “and the violent take it by force.”

 

The world needs a few more daydreamers. That sounds kind of absurd, but please let me land. I am convinced that those who dream at night when they sleep are not those that change the world, but those with eyes wide open, dream dreams beyond the realms of man’s limited senses. These people are the real world changers. Recently I began to explore the concept of faith again and began to see some truths that have revolutionised my perceptions.

Most of us live in this world surrounded by limitations and impossibilities. Nothing wrong with this, if you chose to remain in blissful ignorance. But once you discover that there is a realm, where your limitations are removed, then you are totally messed up for this reality that causes limitation. I know that the law of gravity operates on the earth, but if you ever break into space and experience zero gravity, your perception of reality is altered for life. Just ask the astronauts who have been to space.

Those of us who walk with God on this planet called earth are not called to live by the limitations this realm imposes on us. We are called to live by the realities of another realm. The realms of God. The Kingdom of God. This Kingdom is invisible, yet more real than what we presently experience called earth. Secondly, this realm is eternal. Ours is temporal or temporary. Thirdly God’s realm is perfect, ours is not.

In our reading today, we see that Jesus made a very astounding statement, that John the Baptist is the greatest of all men born of women, but the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he. Please let this soak in. Why did Jesus say something so powerful of a believer? Well, Jesus knows what we have access to and what John had access to. Its all about access. John, though a messenger of God and the forerunner of Jesus Christ, did not have free access to heaven and to the age to come, yet a believer has unrestricted access to the heavenly realm.

So the next verse spells it out. “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.” What Jesus was saying here, is that God’s realm has been yielding its treasures to some people and he called them the violent. He said this ‘violent’ people are taking it by  force. Really by force. Yes by force. The force of faith. These violent people, take a look into the eternal realms of God, by prayer, study of the word of God and by prophetic release, then with the force of their faith, bring a piece of God’s eternity into the present reality. This is what we call a miracle. It is a piece of God’s eternity invading our reality. But it takes the violent force of faith to bring it in.

This is where limitations are broken. Where gravity and laws of nature are suspended. Where impossibilities become possible. Where heaven kisses the earth.

The violent are these daydreamers who have seen what is in eternity and are obsessed with reproducing that on earth. They are filled with the awesome revelation of God and would not allow anything in this temporal realm stop them from manifesting what they’ve seen. These are the world changers. You too can be one.

 Let’s Pray: Father God please give me the grace to always think of the possibilities available in the heavenly realm. Let me stretch my faith so I can lay hold of the miracles I need for expanding your Kingdom here on earth. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Morning Dew

 

Key passage: Song of Songs 8: 6-7 – Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised

 

Key Text – Song of Songs 8:7 – Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it.

 

If you follow the secular media, especially the tabloids and lifestyle/celebrity magazines, you would clearly get the impression that love is some fleeting, whimsical feeling that wafts into your life and leaves almost as quickly as it came. You get the impression it is an unpredictable phenomenon like the British weather. The ease at which the celebrities fall in and out of love, and the frequency of their love cycles is quite alarming. They give the impression that love is transient. Nothing can be far from the truth. Love never ends.

One is really burdened, because the bible says in Hosea 4:6 “My people perish for lack of knowledge”. People have been fed with junk and lies and as such many people have broken lives and relationships, because they are no longer in ‘love’. The big question is was there love at the foundation of the relationship or infatuation or just plain lust? Love is not what you feel, it is something you do, and you give. It is a deliberate act of your will and once you commit to real love, you never pull out. It is for life.

One of the reasons for the misconception is the general application of the word love. Love in the Greek  has at least four meanings.

1. Eros – from where you get the word erotic and that has to do with sexual love, which is purely a physical thing and must not be confused with the sexual intercourse shared between two married people, which is a consummation of their love and in a very deep spiritual way the two become one flesh. Eros is another word for lust. Because people feel sexually attracted to each other, does not mean they are committed in love.

2. Phileo – This is the where we get the word filial love which is the love friends have for each other. It is delighting to be in the presence of another, a warm feeling that comes and goes with intensity. This type of love requires some level of commitment, but it is still not the love that should exist between man and woman or more specifically husband and wife.

3. Storge Love – Storge is the natural bond between mother and infant, father, children, and kin. William Barclay states, “We cannot help loving our kith and kin; blood is thicker than water”

4. Agape or Agapa, this is the love of God shed into human hearts. It is the love that is totally unconditional, without prejudice and without expectation from the recipient by the giver of the love. Agape is the highest purest for of love. It is the love that God loves us with, and He expects us in turn to love others with such love.

Our text today shows us that the flames of love are  most vehement flames. They cannot be quenched by a deluge of water, nor can it be drowned in floods. Love has in-built in it the capacity to overcome the worst life can throw at it and still come up looking bright and beautiful. Love is not whimsical, Love is rugged, dogged and can never die. Love is eternal, because it comes from eternity. Love never fails. It never stops and never runs dry.

Jeremiah 31:3 says “the Lord appeared to him from far away.  I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” God’s love for us is not a fleeting love. It is everlasting, that is why God is so committed to us His children.

Romans 8:37-39 shows us “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The bible tells us nothing; absolutely nothing can come and separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Isaiah 49:15-16 says ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;’ This is one of the most profound illustrations of God’s love to us His people. He asked if a breast-feeding mother could forget her child and not breast feed him? He said even if she can forget, He would never forget. He went on to say He has engraved us on the palms of His hands. WOW!

 I suggest to you that this was a prophetic word about Jesus Christ whose hands were pierced at the cross. The wounds are love marks and every time He reaches out to do anything with His hands, He is reminded of His love for us. If you really want to know how much God loves you, just look at Jesus on the cross. If you want to know how committed God is to you, look again at the cross. This was no whimsical, fleeting act. This was an indelible, deliberate, permanent decision. God loves you and I.

This is LOVE!

 

Let’s pray: Father, give me a fresh understanding of love and help me to receive deep within my heart your love so I can love people with the same love. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.