FORGIVENESS

 

Forgiveness means to let go of the wrongs someone has done to you. It means to let go of the resentment and anger you feel towards someone who has wronged you and to replace it with peaceful feelings. It is an intentional decision you make. It might not be an easy thing to do, but it is a positive thing to do. It does not mean to condone an offence, rather it is an act of releasing the negative feelings you have towards someone who has done something wrong to you. You might not return to being friends with the person, but you will not continue being enemies with the person. It is beneficial to both the offender and the offended.

In the book of Matthew 6:14 -15, Jesus Christ says that if you forgive men the sins they commit against you, the Heavenly Father will also forgive you your sins, but if you don't forgive men the sins they commit against you, then God will also not forgive you your sins. The book of Colossians 3:13 also says that we should bear with one another and forgive each other if we have any grievance towards each other. God also commands us to live peacefully with one another.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, we should strive to forgive those who have offended us, especially if they show that they are truly remorseful for what they did wrong to us. Remember that vengeance belongs to the Lord as the book of Romans 12:19 says. It is also important to not give the offender an opportunity to hurt you again. Remain blessed!

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD

It is a new year. We make choices everyday but there is a choice we must not fail to make. That is to have a personal relationship with God.

What does it mean to have a personal relationship with God? This means to commune with God in our personal lives and walk with him, everyday of our lives. We should pray to God fervently and study the Holy Bible as it is the manual of life. Nevertheless, we must continue to be with God as He is the Creator of our lives.

In Romans 8:38-39, it is written that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, not even death nor life.

If we do not accept God into our lives, it will create room for the devil to take charge of us. This is not our destiny at creation. God is supposed to rule over our lives, then, when we die, we will go up to Heaven to be with Him forever.

Therefore, it is important for everyone to have a personal relationship with God.

PATIENCE

Patience is a virtue. It is an enduring process where one has to wait for some time for a particular thing to come to pass. God usually tells His children to wait for a certain period of time for something to change in their lives. It may be a painful process, but the end of the matter always results in blessings and favor from the Lord.

Do you have the patience to wait when God insists? Can you trust His control over your life? How do you behave while waiting for the blessing God has promised you? It is good for one to always be patient while waiting for something. Great things take time to come to pass.

In the case of Abraham, he had to wait for twenty-five years to have the promised child, Isaac. Joseph was another person in the bible that waited for God's purpose in his life to become fulfilled. He went through all sorts of troubles and eventually landed in prison. From prison, he went on to become the prime minister of Egypt, a foreign land, and finally ruled over his father and family as he had dreamt many years ago. During his waiting period, he did not compromise. He held unto God to the very end. David had to wait for several years after his anointing, to become the King of Israel as the Lord had promised. Even when Saul was king and David had the opportunity to kill him and become the king immediately, David did not do it. Instead, he waited for the time the Lord would make him the king. Even when he became the king of Judah, he had to wait additional seven years to become the king of Israel. Jesus Christ waited till He was thirty years old before He began His ministry. He did not start as soon as He could speak or became an adult but waited for the right time when God had appointed for Him.

A lot of Christians are waiting for the day of the Lord's coming, it will happen, but we must be patient and keep maintaining a steadfast relationship with God. As said in 2 Peter 3: 9-10, Apostle Peter writes that God is not slow in keeping His promise, but He is patiently waiting for us to come to repentance and not to perish as the day of the Lord will come like a thief. He also advises us to be patient and keep His promise, as we await a new heaven and a new earth filled with righteousness.  Also, in verses 14-15, he advises us to be blameless and without any spot, leaving in peace with God and bearing in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation.

TRUST IN GOD

 

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding, in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight", as is written in Proverbs 3:5 -6.

We should put all our hope and trust in God because asides Him, we are too weak to do anything, even though we think we are strong enough to. God created us and all the affairs of our lives are in the palms of His hands. So, who else is better to handle our lives than Him? He alone handles the universe, and nothing is too much for Him to handle.

He wants us to have no doubts in our hearts when we come before Him with our requests. He said in Jeremiah 32:27, "Behold, I am the God of all things, is anything too hard for me?" He has all the power in this world. Do not be afraid to trust Him with anything, for He is our friend and creator.

There is no need trusting in creatures, when the creator Himself beckons on you to come to Him. He said in Matthew 11: 28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest".

Have faith in God and doubt not. Even if our faith is as small as a mustard seed, we can tell the mountain to move, and it will move (Matthew 17: 20). Everything belongs to Him, and nothing intimidates Him. Believe in Him and He will uplift you from whatever is your situation.

FIND YOUR PLACE IN GOD

A popular saying goes, "Man, know thyself". It is very important for everyone to come to terms with their true identity and only in Christ can such be revealed. Every human being has his/her place only in God.

How can one find his/her place in God? By having a daily communion with God. Walking daily with God entails all sort of things: praying, fasting, studying the bible daily, meditation on the word of God.

Another way someone can connect to God is to attend church services and participate with the brethren of Christ. It is said in Hebrews 10:25, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." We should recognize our place in God and take residence in Him, lest the devil snatches our soul, and we will not be allowed in God's heavenly kingdom at the last day. Every man should not slumber in his/her journey with God. The heavenly kingdom is so beautiful and precious that no one should lose their place in God. God has designed a unique place for each and every one of us to spend eternity with Him, only if we open our hearts to Him, invite Him and He will come in.

Don't live your life as a wind that passes by, let God work in you. Use your life to glorify God. Let Him shine His glorious light through you. Find your place in God and you will fulfil your purpose on earth.

TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS

Every Christian face trial and temptation in life, unless they are not genuine Christians. In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus was tempted by the devil immediately after forty days fasting, but Jesus withstood him. The devil hates those who do things right and he pursues them with all sorts of problems. We must be fortified against the devil's tactics inwardly and outwardly.

God also tries His beloved ones in order to strengthen us and know if we are truly His. In Genesis 22:1-19, God told Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac to Him, even though He knew that Abraham waited so long for that child. It was just a test to know if Abraham was truly God's follower. Never for once think that because you do things right, you are free from the Lord's trials. In Job 1:8-12, God let Satan try Job because He wanted to prove to Satan that Job was truly a good man. 

As gold is tested in fire, so human character is tested in the furnace of humiliation (Sirach 2:5). We have to be tried to know our true selves, our true hearts and our true feelings towards God. Never think that you are already made perfect. Times and seasons change, so does the human heart. We must always be ready to overcome trials and temptations when they come our way. 

ACCESS TO GOD

Children of God always have access to Him. This is one of the qualities of God. We need no permission to go before the Lord.

A king or queen gives permission before anyone meets with them, but God does not seek such from us. He is always open to us, and we only need to pray and seek His face.

He says in Jeremiah 33:3 - "Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know". He is always available when we call, and He is willing to answer us.

We have the privilege to go into the house of The Lord without any physical qualifications. We are all accepted before the Lord, granted we come with a pure heart and clean hands. As Psalm 24:3-4 says, "Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully".

Let us make good use of this privilege, communicate with God frequently and go into the house of the Lord with prayer and supplication. For He is always there to listen to us.

OUR NOBLE ORIGIN

As Christians, we have a noble origin which is God. We were not just born into the world by earthly parents, but we were already destined by God to be born and for a purpose.

Wisdom of Solomon Chapter 8 vs 3: In that she is conversant with God, she magnified her nobility: yea, the Lord of all things himself loved her.

We ought to have a close, personal relationship with our Creator, who is our noble origin. We are not just mere mortals who live, breathe and will die one day. We were made in the image and likeness of God. We are His ambassadors on earth and one day, we will give an account of everything we did with our lives.

Children always run home after doing their schoolwork and playing with friends. They hardly sleep outside. We are always to remain in close contact with our noble origin. Our home, which is God himself. 

There, we will find everything we need to function properly on earth as human beings. Peace of mind, joy, happiness, love, strength and all good things are found in our noble origin.

We should behave in a Godly manner which will identify us as children of God. We should always be in the presence of God and allow Him to direct the course of our lives. We are children of the highest of all. 

Outside of our noble origin, there is danger and all sorts of evil waiting to destroy us. As 1 Peter 5 vs 8 says - Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. The enemy can only be able to destroy a person when he is outside his noble origin, which is God.

Therefore, we all must abide with God who is our noble origin, our home and our place of safety.

EVE AND THE SERPENT

In the bible, when God created the world, he put Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and instructed them not to eat the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden.

However, in Genesis Chapter 3, the devil came as a serpent and told Eve not to believe what God had said. It told Eve that God didn't want she and Adam to have His kind of wisdom. It told Eve that the fruit would make them like God. Eve believed and took a fruit and ate. She also gave to Adam, and he ate.

Immediately they ate the fruit, their 'eyes' were opened and God's initial plan for humanity changed forever. Sin and death had come in.

The devil deceived Eve and lured her to disobey God. This led God to curse man, woman and the serpent.

There are three lessons to be learnt from this story:

* God's initial plan for humanity which was that there would be no sin nor death has been altered by the disobedience of Eve and Adam. When God gives us an instruction, we should endeavor to obey it, because obedience is better than sacrifice. The real nature of humanity would have been sinless and innocent without this disobedience but something bad happened instead. However, God sent His son Jesus Christ to die for us and take away the sins of mankind. Jesus is the bridge from man to God. However, sin is still present because of Eve's disobedience.

* We should learn to be content with what God has given us. Although, it is always good to aim higher in life, yet we should not strive to overtake the Creator Himself. We should not strive to become master's like the Master Himself, who is God. Eve wanted to become like God Himself, she wanted to become wise like God, knowing good and evil. God made us in His image and likeness. We only have to walk with Him and not try to be as wise as God because, this can never be possible, we'll end up challenging God's instructions.

* The devil always has strategies to contradict the instructions and beautiful life that God has given to us. God made life simple but human beings made it complicated by allowing the devil to deceive us. Whenever God gives us something good, the devil comes to snatch it from us. He uses deceptive measures which sound genuine. We always have to follow the path of God and avoid the traps of Satan. Never think that what God has given to you will be free of the enemy's (Satan) attack. The more God is blessing you, the more there would be temptations and fights from the devil. Expect it and be on guard against Satan. 1 Peter 5:8 says that the adversary, Satan is going around like a roaring lion, seeking whom to devour. We should be watchful and awake. Never let the devil take you away from the beautiful life that God has given you.

ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER

 

A popular saying that goes like this, "One good turn deserves another". This means that it is good to repay someone that has done you good with good. All human beings need one another, and this makes the world a better place to live in. 

In the bible, Rahab the prostitute helped the two spies sent by Joshua and when the time was right, both she and her family were spared from the calamity that befell the city of Jericho. No matter the situation we are, there is always someone out there that needs our help, and this should be reciprocated. 

David was helped by Abigail when he was hungry, and her husband Nabal had insulted him and refused to help him. David repaid her by marrying her after the death of her husband Nabal. Even when he was about to die, he told his son Solomon to repay the sons of Barzillai of Gilead, who had helped him when he fled from Absalom his son. He also helped Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son because of what his friend Jonathan had done for him when he was alive. He gave him Saul's inheritance, permitted him to live in the palace at Jerusalem and allowed him to eat at his table. 

Proverbs 3:17 says that if you repay good with evil, evil will never leave your house.

Always strive hard to repay good with good. By doing this, God will bless you and good will never leave your house. It is a way to thank the person who have helped you and this can make the person help you again when you ask for help.

GOD IS OUR HOME

 

A home is where we rest and put all our belongings in. All human beings were created by God in His own image and likeness. We all should submit to Him and recognize Him in all we do. At the end of our lives, we are going to answer to Him. We should feel free with Him and open our hearts to Him to come in and take His place. God is our home, and we need to rest in Him.

Satan tries His best to take us away from God, but we should always remember that God is our home, no matter what. The place where our souls find true joy, peace, contentment and happiness.

In John Chapter 14 verse 6, Jesus Christ said to His disciples, "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through Me". This means that if we want to seek God's face and make heaven, we should go through Jesus, His Son. God is our final resting place and there is no fear with Him. Despite all our challenges in life, we must always seek rest in God and He will comfort us from all our troubles. In Matthew 11 vs 28 - 30, Jesus Christ encourages us to come unto Him, with all our troubles and problems and He will give us rest.

There is no rest outside of God and all Satan gives are troubles. Submission to God is a major thing which everybody must do, and this will keep us safe and happy. Acknowledging His place in our lives will keep a place for us in heaven and our lives on earth will be protected by Him. 

A TIME FOR EVERYTHING

There is a time for everything under the sun. In Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, it is said that there is a time to be born and a time to die, a time for silence and a time to talk. At the right time, God perfects everything.

When God chose David as King of Israel, David did not become king immediately, he waited for years to assume that position. He was anointed as a teen, but he waited till he was thirty years old before he became king of Israel. He was afraid that Saul would kill him, so he ran and hid himself. He passed through a lot of challenges before he finally took what God had kept for him. 

When God made a promise to Abraham to make him a father of many nations, Abraham had to wait for twenty-five years to get Isaac for the promise to be fulfilled. He even had a son named Ishmael from Hagar his wife's maid, but that was not the promised son. God eventually brought Isaac through Sarah at the right time, which eventually fulfilled the promise and today, there is Israel.

Every pregnancy lasts for months before the baby is born, mostly nine months. If a woman tries to push out a baby before the right time, this may lead to a miscarriage and the whole pregnancy will be futile. 

If we rush a promise God made to us, we'll ruin it and that means we're trying to play God. we should have patience to wait for God's promise to happen at the time He chooses.                                                                                                  

KNOWLEDGE OF GOD

Who is God?

God is the creator of the whole world. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent. He made all things, and He commands all things.

In Genesis Chapter 1 vs 26, God said, "And now, we will make human beings in Our image and likeness". He took dust from the ground and made the first man: Adam. God made the woman, Eve out of Adam. From them came the rest of human race.

So many people have no knowledge of God, so they live in complete ignorance. In the bible, God said in Hosea 4 vs 6, "My people perish for lack of wisdom". The truth is that so many people have not heard about God before in their lives. This is why Jesus Christ instructed His apostles in Mark 16 vs 15, to go into the world and preach the word to all peoples.

We have a duty as Christians to preach the word of God to the whole world through different ways: by actually preaching the word, our own attitudes, singing about God or writing about God. This will help the gospel spread round the world and draw souls closer to God. The most important One anybody can know is God. No one should die without the knowledge of God.

                                                                                                                                                   

MAKE THE BEST USE OF WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU

God gives each of us different gifts and opportunities in life, we have to make the best use of them to the glory of God. If not, they will be taken away from us. 

In the bible, we are told that Adam lived a total of 930 years. Today, a human being does not live that long. We should make the best use of the time God has given us on earth. Be it 10 years, 100 years or 130 years, we should make the best use of it to give glory to God. One day, we shall die, and God will judge us for how we lived our lives with the time He has given us on earth. 

In the bible, 1 Samuel Chapter 15 vs 3, God commanded Saul to destroy all the Amalekites. But Saul decided to spare the choicest animals, valuable items and King Agag. This made God angry, and He rejected Him as King of Israel. Also, God chose a teenager to replace him as king. 

In the bible, Matthew Chapter 25 vs. 14 - 30, a man was travelling, and he gave his 3 servants different bags of silver, depending on their abilities. To the first, he gave five bags, the second had two bags and the last had one bag. The ones with five bags and two bags respectively, doubled their bags. But the one with one bag buried it. When their master returned, he was happy with the two servants who doubled their bags and he gave them more responsibilities, but he was displeased with the last one that buried his bag. He ordered that servant to be thrown in the outer darkness.

In Matthew Chapter 25 vs 29, it is written that everyone who has will be given even more in abundance, but those who have not, even the little they have will be taken away from them. 

We should make sure that we are not idle, but we should make use of our talents, gifts and different opportunities that God has placed in our paths to use and serve the Lord because, we do not know tomorrow.                                                                                                  

THE RACE IS NOT TO THE SWIFT

Nor the battle to the strong, but time and chance happens to everyone (Ecclesiastes 9 vs 11). In life, ironical things happen every day and this baffles us. 

Sometimes, it is not the person who has first class degree that gets the job, nor the most beautiful woman that wins the pageant. It just happens that people are lucky at different times.

The most beautiful woman in the pageant might have the least confidence and the one who ends up winning might have no parents. Whatever opportunity you get in life, make the best use of it because a lot of people more qualified than you desired that position but you were chosen instead. A man who worked hard in school may have a great degree and still be jobless for a long time while a man who never attended school will play a lottery and win millions of dollars.

There are times when shocking things happened in the bible like that of David and Goliath. David was not the most skilled warrior nor among King Saul's army, but he ended up defeating Goliath with a sling and a stone. There were men there who had trained for years in King Saul's army but couldn't face Goliath. 

There may be an urgency for a job in a place and all the qualified ones are busy making excuses but an average skilled man who is willing to offer help will do that job and even be made the manager in charge of all others who are actually more skilled than him. A rich man who disguised himself and wants to marry may eventually marry a maid because the queens felt too proud for him. 

God can place you in a position you actually didn't qualify for, and He can make you qualified just to prove to the world that He uses people that other people don't expect, to do great things. In a race, the fastest runner who everyone thought would end up winning could fall a few meters to the finish line while the one at the last takes the lead and wins the race. Expect the unexpected. Time and chance happen to everyone on earth. Bad luck also happens to everyone. Make the best use of every opportunity you have in this life.

EASTER SUNDAY

Today is Easter Sunday, also known as Resurrection Sunday or Pascha in Greek, when Jesus Christ arose from the dead. It is a wonderful celebration, and many people are joyous and happy to witness a day like this. It commemorates what Jesus said while He was still on earth, in Matthew 20:18-19.

There are many passages in the bible that talks about the Resurrection of Christ on the third day after His death on the cross. When Jesus was still on earth, He told His disciples as they were on their way to Jerusalem, that He was going to be handed over to the chief priests and teachers of the law. He said He would be condemned to death, mocked, flogged and crucified on the cross but on the third day, He would arise from the dead to life.

Years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah wrote that the Messiah would come to the world, suffer and die for our sins but will be raised to life on the third day.

If Jesus did not rise from the dead, as He had promised to His disciples, then His sermons about forgiveness and hope for eternity in Heaven would have been in vain. Jesus Christ proved His own words by His resurrection from the dead.

Christians all over the world celebrate this day as they believe that Christ has arisen from the dead, and this proves that there is life after death. Life with God in Heaven.

EASTER SUNDAY

The reason for Easter is to celebrate the risen Christ and to remind Christians all over the world that Christ has gone to stay with God the Father in Heaven. This is the day when Jesus Christ rose from the grave. 

John 20:1-18 says that on that Sunday morning, when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, she met it empty. She was frightened and thought that someone had stolen His body. Two angels appeared to her and told her to stop crying, she turned round and saw Jesus who told her that she should stop crying but she should go and tell His brothers that He had ascended to heaven to stay with God the Father.

CHRISTMAS DAY

Today is a day when Christ was born. Christians celebrate the birth of Christ on this day. A feast is important on this day and family & friends come together to celebrate today as a tradition. Gifts are shared on this day. There are many ways to celebrate Christmas which include decoration of homes, exchange of gifts between family and friends. Food, shelter and charity projects are provided for the less privileged in the society by people who are celebrating Christmas. 

The early celebrations of Christmas are thought to have begun from Roman and other European festivals that marked the end of the harvest and the winter solstice. 

Matthew 1:21 states that Mary shall bring forth a son and shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.

John 3:16 states that for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not die but have everlasting life.

It is simple to connect to God. Faith is essential. God is very patient and quiet. He works in our favor. It is necessary to attend church. This enlightens and connects us to other fellow spiritual partners. 

However, your spiritual path is yours alone. It is exciting to fellowship with God and have a personal relationship with Him. 

Today, I suggest that we ask God to be with us in our spiritual journey and ask the angels to guide us along the way.

TRUE RELIGION

Religion can be defined as the believe in and worship of a god or God with a controlling power. In James 1:27, we are told that true religion is to take care of the less privileged in the society, to help orphans and widows in their poor states and to preserve our lives from getting corrupted by the things of the world.

Action speaks louder than words. Instead of merely saying that we are Christians, we should practice it by showing love and care to the less privileged. Living a life which is spotless and free from sin. This is true religion. In James 1:26, we are told that a man who does not control his tongue but practice deceit in his own heart, practice a vain religion. 

In conclusion, we should be hearers and doers of the world, for God shall bless us.

SERVING A LIVING GOD

The whole purpose of humanity is to serve God. There are different ways in which we can serve God, and this includes preaching the word of God to the whole world, healing the sick and afflicted by the word of God, giving to the less privileged ones in the society; the poor and needy, orphans and motherless ones.

God created us in His image and likeness, and this makes every human being to be God's creature and a resemblance of God. By helping people, we serve God.

Jesus said in Matthew 25: 34 - 46, that He would put on His right side, those that fed Him when he was hungry, gave Him something to drink when He was thirsty, sheltered Him when He was homeless, clothed Him when He was naked, took care of Him in prison and cared for Him when He was sick. They would ask Him when they did these and He would tell them that as they did for the least of their brothers and sisters, they did for Him. As for those that didn't help the less privileged, they would go to eternal punishment. In order to fully serve God, we should also love our neighbors as ourselves.

DIVINE CONNECTION

When we pray, fast, study and meditate on the bible, we eventually connect to God. The act of praying to God is a link to Him. 

Knowing The Creator and living our lives in His directions is the best thing we should do as human beings, as we do not know all about our lives, but God does. It is a very good thing for us to have a personal relationship with God. This makes us know Him better and understand our purpose and destiny in this life. A human being that does not connect to God, The Creator is really not living fine.

Connecting to God through prayer, fasting, reading the bible and every other means of relating with God is very essential, as this will make us know Him better and live purposeful lives.

WELCOME!!!

Connect to God talks about ways which human beings can connect to God the Father and Creator of the universe.

God is the Creator of the universe. Human beings are creatures of God. Human beings are a replica of God, created in His image and likeness. We are on earth for a purpose and this purpose is known by God, and should be identified by each and every one, since each man has his own purpose in life. This blog teaches us ways which we can connect to God and live a purposeful and meaningful life on earth, for a great eternity. Read on...