Coming glory

Friends,

What we encounter here is not a preview. This world is filled with hate and rage that is intentionally directed at Christ and His followers. We see more and more evidence of what has been the case since the moment the enemy stood ready to devour the Child of God (Rev 12:4).

Jesus knew that we might question the point of all this suffering and persecution. And, because He is a wise leader, He answers this fundamental question ...

Matthew 19:27-28 [NKJV]
Then Peter answered and said to Him, See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?
So Jesus said to them, Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

What we encounter in this world will not last. It is passing. It is difficult, painful, and frustrating. But it is not eternal.

Our place, seated in the throne of Christ, is eternal. It has no end. And it is glorious.

Be encouraged, Jose

A bit too comfortable

Friends,

Have you been living in partial victory?
Do you find yourself struggling against the same issues, day after day, month after month, year after year?

It's not the first time for you, for me, or for anyone else.

But the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem; so the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.
Judges 1:21 [NKJV]

The tribe of Benjamin did the same thing that all the others did. They took the land and declared victory. Indeed they were victorious. But they did not drive out the ones that they defeated. The victors therefore did not take full possession of their reward.

The Jebusites are a threshing people. They represent the weight of condemnation and self-recrimination. They beat us over and over with the guilt and reproach of our sinful past. In so doing, they drag us back to relive that past, to repeat those same stumbles, and to deny us the full experience of living under the blessing of God.

Why did the Benjamites allow the Jebusites to live with them? Who knows.

Why do we allow the sins and the weight of our carnal past to remain with us? Why don't we drive it out? Are we too comfortable with the familiarity of those life choices?

Choose today, brothers and sisters. Continue to live under condemnation and guilt and shame. Or drive out that Jebusite spirit, and live in the freedom that abundantly flows from genuine repentance.

Be encouraged, Jose

Leaving it behind

Friends,

Over the past several years, people have been forced to reconsider the emphasis they place on material comforts and possessions. They see friends and countrymen survive the loss of jobs and homes. They may have lied awake at night, contemplating how they would deal with such circumstances, should they arise.

It is at times such as those that a man is forced to come to terms with his dependence on the stuff he has accumulated. Has he formed a bond with those things? Has he placed his trust on his job, his title, his accomplishments, his prestige, or his credentials? Has he become so reliant upon them that he might be unwilling to give them up should the Lord call upon him to do so?

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”
Mark 10:23, NKJV

The word riches can be interpreted to mean many things. Of course, we recognize that it means wealth and possessions. But it can also mean the gifts that the Lord has lent us for this time on earth.

Would you give up a ministry if God called you to lay it down? Will you leave the church band to focus on your preaching, even though you are a fine musician? Will you forgo the mission fields of a far-off land so that He can speak through you at a local shelter? Will you stop leading a Bible study, even if you don't have any idea why He commands it?

These, too, are riches, dear brothers and sisters. And we must be willing to lay them down ... along with everything else ... to walk the narrow way that leads to deeper intimacy with Christ.

Be encouraged, Jose

The setup

Friends,

When I was a boy, my mother used to remind me that the best way to keep something from falling was to place it on the ground. It is the same principle that protects toddlers from injury when they stumble and fall. They simply don't have that far to go.

We know that the opposite is true, as well. Old adages like, "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," come to mind. And of course, all of this wisdom has its source in the Words of the One True Wise God ...

Proverbs 16:18 [NKJV]
Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride is what puffs us up, seeking to make us bigger than we are. Humility keeps us grounded in the truth.

When the truth reveals the emptiness of pride, the aftermath can be devastating. For evidence, look no further than humiliation suffered by the wives and children of adulterous celebrities. On the other hand, humility has nothing to fear from the truth.

Pride takes many subtle and not-so-subtle forms. It is certainly bravado and arrogance. And it is demanding and stubborn. But pride also keeps score. Pride is envious.

The true believer has no time for pride. Seek the LORD and beseech Him to reveal every instance of pride in your life. A life of humility is a life of peace and contentment. Seek it, by seeking Christ.

Be encouraged, Jose

To the place of Peace

They shall build houses and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit;They shall not plant and another eat; For as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands.
Isaiah 65:21-22 (NKJV)

How cool is it to pursue the place of peace. The place where things just work, things fall in place by divine arrangement and it all looks like we are so perfect and effective. Brothers and Sisters that is the idea of dominion over our environment. When Kingdom principles rule over our land, families, communities, hearts and nation at large, then the labors of our hands never goes to waste. Our generation is not decimated, our present is preserved for His glory and as a showcase to all nations. The place of peace starts from our hearts where God daily resides, from there love comes forth to our world and spreads to every corners of our neighborhood and God's Kingdom takes root.

When our ways are pleasing to Him and we make Him the center of our attraction and pursuits, we succeed in all we do even in the face of the fiercest challenges of life. With little effort, our gain is immense. Waste, vanity and destruction is far from us because we make our place, the place of peace which is in Him.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi