Looking for ...

Friends,

Have you ever been walking down a street when the aroma of busy kitchen came across you? It smells so good! You look in every direction, excitedly searching for the source of that appetizing scent. You may have just eaten, but you suddenly seem hungry. And even the most stoic of men cannot hide that look of longing and anticipation in their eyes.

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the LORD our God,
Until He has mercy on us.
Psalm 123:2 [NKJV]

Now we can look and look and look, but normally the chef will not feed us just because we are looking and looking and looking!

But the LORD is different. Indeed, He is unique among all things! When we look for Him, He gives us everything. He gives us all of Himself. He holds nothing back.

Seek the LORD today. You will find His mercy. You will find His love. You will find His patience. You fill find ... Him!

Be encouraged, Jose

Battle for the Soul

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death
James 1:14-15 (NKJV)

The battle is fierce and relentless. The battle for the control of our soul is a raging one and our Spirit and Flesh slug it out for the total control of our soul daily. The Spirit must be fed and nurtured just like our Flesh is fed with food and drinks. The Spirit must be well versed, grounded and predicated on the living word of God. Likewise we ought to mortify and put to death the inordinate and carnal affections that feed our flesh. Apostle Paul described this clearly below...

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.
Romans 7:18-20 (NKJV)

This sin as Paul put it is what we must mortify and kill lest it grows stronger and eventually claim our soul. The Spirit will gain ground when we feed it and fellowship on the word. To shrink on this is to cede more ground to the flesh which is capable of overrunning our soul to destruction. The battle for our soul is daily and the Spirit must be fed daily for it to compete effectively with our flesh. Have you fed your Spirit today?

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

The forgiveness imperative

Friends,

All to often, the notion of forgiving one another is seen as merely a good idea. We forgive because it leads to our own healing. We forgive because failing to do so perpetuates and exacerbates the pain. And as a reminder ... let us remember that we are commanded to forgive ...

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32 [NKJV]

But sometimes, we hold on. We say we forgive, but in reality we do not. How many times has this happened in your heart? And when this happens, our hearts slowly but surely lose their tenderness, becoming hardened and brittle. The kindness we would normally display quietly fades into thoughtlessness and then to hostility.

Christ Jesus knows that you have been wounded. He knows that those wounds are deep and painful. And even so, He rightfully demands that you forgive those who have hurt you. It may be an instantaneous relief, or it may take a long time. But it must be done, brothers and sisters. It is vital to your heart.

Be encouraged, Jose

He made Himself ready

Friends,

You have no doubt heard the expression, "Take the bull its horns." I wonder ... has any really tried to do so? I can't imagine that the bull would stand idly while a man takes hold of his horns. I can't imagine that such an action would end well for the man foolish enough to actually try it.

Genesis 22:13
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. [NKJV]

Picture this scene in your mind. Under natural circumstances, would a wild ram stand still while his horns were tangled in a little bush? Of course a ram is not as powerful as a bull, but a desert shrub is certainly no match for a ram being held "against his will."

But then, we are not talking about natural circumstances are we? Rather we are looking at a sacrifice, sent by Almighty God, perfectly obedient, and completely prepared to lay down and die for the sake of one who is far from innocent.

Sound familiar?

Christ Jesus was not murdered.
He was not forced to stay on the cross by any man.
Even those nails were no match for His sovereign power and might.

He went ... willing and obediently ... to the cross. He did so out of love for His Father. He did so out of love for you and for me. He spent His whole life making Himself ready to be the One who redeemed us with His blood.

Our gratitude and ceaseless praise is the very least we can offer. Why not start right now!

Be encouraged, Jose

Let them go that they may serve me

So Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the LORD God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may serve Me.
Exodus 10:3 (NKJV)

We long for liberation, we fight for it, passionately and aggressively, we pursue it with every ounce of strength that we have, and eventually we become overcomers, we scale the hurdles and overcome the obstacles. Now with freedom and liberation comes responsibilities. It is the liberty to worship, praise and serve the Living God. Freedom to bring sacrifices of praise, the power to show forth the glory of God in our lives to the world. This liberation did not come cheap, it actually cost the blood of the Lamb, the Son of God.

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men— as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.
1 Peter 2:15-16 (NKJV)

The liberty is for service to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It was never intended to satisfy self but to serve Him unencumbered who lives forever more.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

Release your grip on temptation

Friends,

Christ Jesus instructed us to enlist the Father's aid daily in keeping us away from temptation. An old country song reminds that we don't need anyone's help in being lead to temptation, because we'll find it all by ourselves. Our generations are certainly not the first to have this problem ...

Numbers 31:15-16
And Moses said to them: "Have you kept all the women alive? Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD." [NKJV]

In this episode, the warriors appointed to defeat the Midianites had forgotten that the beautiful women they carried back to camp were the very ones who had very recently tempted their brethren and enticed them to sin. In other words, the victorious soldiers in the LORD's army took hold of temptation and brought it back home!

Are we doing the same today?

It is time to stop holding tight to that which tempts us. You know what those things and thoughts are... so stop pursuing them (and then wondering why you stumble). Return to your pursuit of that which is Godly, and you won't have time to pursue that which is not!

Be encouraged, Jose

Bible Studies - Numbers and Hosea

Friends

The Bible study sessions from the past two weeks have been posted at Bible Study Audio. They include the conclusion of the book of Hosea and the next couple of chapters from the book of Numbers.

Take the time to listen closely to what God is saying in these important books.

Be encouraged, Jose

Prepare today

Friends,

How are you preparing for Christ's return? Does it even cross your mind to get yourself ready?

2 Peter 3:14
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; [NKJV]

Certainly no one knows whether our Savior will make His return this afternoon or one hundred years from now. But we have a choice today. I pray we choose to live as though He might reappear at any moment. So that no matter what, we are found living a holy life... and not a carnal one. That we are found in pursuit of His Kingdom and His righteousness... and not our own.

He is returning, brothers and sisters. Are you ready?

Be encouraged, Jose

Remain Confident

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise:
Hebrew 10:35-36 (NKJV)

It is said that it is impossible to please God with our faith. Our Faith is exercised and comes to play not in times of ease, abundance, merry, good health or when all is going smoothly with us. We are able to express our faith in Him in very dire situations, circumstances and conditions that put our survival on the spot. When our season of faith comes, the above scripture admonishes us to uphold and keep our confidence in our faith intact, for such trying and challenging seasons can weaken our resolve, undermine our confidence and erode the strength of our faith if we lose heart and faith.

In our seasons of trial and challenges, we must endure and keep the faith, doing the will of our Father at all times. After doing this will we be qualified recipients of the promise.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

Just to Know Him

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Phillipians 3:8-11 (NKJV)

Apostle Paul put this so eloquently. To gain the world is to lose out on Christ, but to lose out on things of this world for the excellence of the the knowledge of Christ is great gain. What else could be greater than operating in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and the power of His Resurrection? To be a follower of Christ and a believer without this knowledge and power of resurrection is to miss out completely,

May the Power of His Resurrection come alive in every facet and aspect of our lives that every dead, idle, weak, feeble, inactive and lifeless part of us may come to life to the glory of Him who paid our sin, debt in full. If any thing at all, just come to His knowledge and the revelation will make a way.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

Deep satisfaction

Friends,

Where are searching for satisfaction today? There are easy, pat answers to that question ... family, work, play. But let's get beyond those cliches and dig down to the root of the question.

Will the work you do ever truly be satisfactory? Or will someone always find something to criticize? Maybe the criticism is done to motivate; maybe it's done to strengthen. But the criticism proves that your work will never be fully satisfactory, doesn't it?

Will your spouse fully satisfy you? Your wife may be the love of your life, but she is still an imperfect human being, and mistakes are inevitable. Your husband may be all you ever dreamed of, but he can never be all you truly need.

Psalm 17:15
As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. [NKJV]

There is an easy, almost mindless, agreement when we say that God is the source of our satisfaction. But the hard truth is that we rarely evidence that belief in our daily lives.

Today, sisters and brothers, consider who God is. Consider His infinite love and kindness and holiness. Ask yourself if there is anything or anyone that can possibly match Him.

And then be reminded ...
The Lord has given Himself and all that He is to us. And there is no greater source of satisfaction than to be found in His likeness.

Be encouraged, Jose

Passover to Passover

Friends,

When the LORD first instituted Passover, it was a relatively simple affair. His directions were specific but they were fairly straightforward. We find them in the twelfth chapter of Exodus ...

Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat—that only may be prepared by you. So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day throughout your generations as an everlasting ordinance.
Exodus 12:15-17 [NKJV]

Keep in mind that these instructions were given to a people that was approaching the end of centuries of captivity. There were very few tangible reminders of God's promise, only the stories of journeys taken and battles fought by old sheep herders and their sons.

Once the LORD delivered Israel from the grip of Egypt, He began to unveil more mysteries. Prior to their entrance into the Promised Land, God's people had forty years -- being led by the very presence of God -- to learn the deeper meanings of what He had been teaching them. And so, near the end of this journey, the LORD introduces more into the Passover feast:

"On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. And you shall present an offering made by fire as a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Be sure they are without blemish. Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah you shall offer for a bull, and two-tenths for a ram; you shall offer one-tenth of an ephah for each of the seven lambs; also one goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you. You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a regular burnt offering. In this manner you shall offer the food of the offering made by fire daily for seven days, as a sweet aroma to the LORD; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work."
Numbers 28:16-25 [NKJV]

As you can see, God has made the preparations more extensive, the worship more intense, and the sacrifice more complete. At first, the children of God could only make minimal preparations. After years of hearing His voice, God expects more.

The same is true today.
We must not stay in our state of initial salvation. We must grow. If a 30-year-old man still sucked his thumb and needed a diaper, we would recognize that something was terribly wrong. If a 30-year Christian has no deeper knowledge of the LORD than he did when he first came to Christ, then we must likewise realize that something is terribly wrong.

Where are you today in your walk with God? Have you grown? Have your prayers changed? Are you doing battle against the powers and principalities of evil? How much of your prayers are about asking for yourself versus interceding on behalf of your brethren?

Take time this weekend to consider these questions and to go before God. Listen for His answer. And be resolved to obey His word.

Be encouraged, Jose