Dressing well

10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;
Ephesians 6:10-17 (NKJV)

It is appropriate that we dress-up for the right situation and occasion always. It will be out of place to don the best corporate suit, shirt, tie and shoes to match for a football battle on a field of play. With no protection to the body and the right gear, a wrongly dressed person is just a disaster waiting to happen. Our new man requires this new outfit for effective engagement in our daily encounters and interaction with the world. From the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shoes for the feet that spread peace and good news, the shield of faith, helmet of salvation to the sword of the spirit, the new man is well equipped to engage the world and dominate according to God's will for our lives.

Are you well dressed on a daily basis? Take a cue from these important accessories of the perfect dress code, lest you make some areas of your life vulnerable to the the tricks and onslaught of our common adversary. Dress well always and

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

Gladness in our heart

Friends,

Consider all the LORD has done for you. Consider His kind admonishment and chastising. Consider His boundless generosity and overwhelming love...

Psalm 4:7-8 [NKJV]
You have put gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

Lift up your voices, O people of God. Praise the King of kings!

Be encouraged, Jose

He has set his own apart

Friends,

The LORD promises something remarkable to those who are godly. He promises that we will be treated as a distinct and unique group of people. We will not experience the same things as those who are not godly.

But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The LORD will hear when I call to Him.
Psalm 4:3 [NKJV]

Sometimes, this means that we will be subject to higher standard, and therefore to more severe consequences for our disobedience.

At most times, though, this means that will experience great blessings while the world explodes around us. We will hear the blasts, and feel the percussion. But while the ungodly see only destruction, we will be at peace, seeing eternity.

We are truly set apart. He listens specifically for the voice of His people, just as those who are truly His know the voice of Almighty God.

Be encouraged, Jose

Our peace

Friends,

There is an ongoing search within the heart of every person. Some people are aware of this search. Others are not. But regardless of whether we acknowledge this quest, it is part of who we are. It is a desire ... a deep longing ... for peace. Some men chase it through "self-awareness" while other expect to find it in conquest. There are as many attempts as there are people. And all of them will lead to the same dead-end.

There is only one correct path.

Ephesians 2:4 [NKJV]
For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

There is only correct path, because there is really only one destination that is truly peaceful -- full of peace. Not all roads lead to it. Only the way of Christ leads to Christ. He is our peace.

Be encouraged, Jose

Value His words

Friends,

The Lord's words to us demand a response. He speaks to His people ... and His message is one of peace and reconciliation.

I will hear what God the LORD will speak,
For He will speak peace
To His people and to His saints;
But let them not turn back to folly.
Psalm 85:8 (emphasis added) [NKJV]

The great temptation is to go back to our old ways. It is so hard to change the habits formed over a lifetime. It takes energy to speak, to think and to act in a new way. And the old patterns of the flesh are familiar and easy to revert to.

But the LORD calls us to a higher way. It is the way of eternity and of holiness.

What are you doing today that is the way of man, and not of God? What needs to change in your words and deeds and thoughts in order to demonstrate that you are not turning back to your folly?

Answer these difficult questions, brothers and sisters, and be renewed in your transformation into the image of Christ.

Be encouraged, Jose

Find peace

Friends,

We always seem to be in some season of ritualistic observances. Beware of the trap they represent.

Isaiah 50:11
Look, all you who kindle a fire,
Who encircle yourselves with sparks:
Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled—
This you shall have from My hand:
You shall lie down in torment. [NKJV]

The LORD keeps His promises. This we know. And He promises to chastise His people when they give up the pursuit of intimacy with Him in exchange for the satisfaction of some ritualized form of godliness.

Brothers and sisters, let us be free of calendar-driven spirituality and tradition-bound practices. Let us pursue Christ in spirit and in truth. Purse holiness and find peace.

Be encouraged, Jose

Real Peace.... Go figure!

6 There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. 7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased. 8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:6-8 (NKJV)

It is easy and convenient to be swayed by public opinion, by what the pundits say, what the commentators report and what the analysts analyze. But those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, Which cannot be moved, but abides forever. The peace from trusting the Lord is unexplainable. The assurance and confidence earned from this trust will confound and confuse them that know Him not.

6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Phillipians 4:6-7 (NKJV)

The place of real peace simply is in a steady relationship with the Creator God upon which our faith, trust, and believe rests.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

How to deal with the scoffer

Friends,

In every congregation - whether large or small - there will be found at least one person who finds a way to sow dissension and confusion. In an effort to be polite, we give them time and attention. But perhaps that isn't the best response.

Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;
Yes, strife and reproach will cease.
Proverbs 22:10 [NKJV]

In this verse, "scoffer" is translated from the Hebrew word luwts, which can be understood to mean one who boasts, shows scorn, mocks, or derides. Those kinds of words and attitudes are almost always directed towards those in authority. They surely undermine the authority of leaders and confuse the thoughts of followers. Nothing good comes from them.

When we encounter the scoffers and scorners, the boasters and the mockers, we would do well to remove their influence from our lives. When we do, the peace that Christ promises will be freed from the contention, the strife and the reproach that those people bring. We will be free to enjoy the great calm and contentment that flows from being deeply connected to Jesus.

Be encouraged, Jose

When we were the enemy

Friends,

One of the hardest things for a man to do is to treat an enemy with kindness. This is not to turn a blind eye to sin, or to fail to serve the cause of justice. But in every thought, word and deed, we are to obey what Christ commanded ...

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you
Matthew 5:44, NKJV

Before we were called into salvation, you and I were the enemy that Jesus prayed for. Like all the world, we hated Him. Like the typical unsaved man, we demanded that the Lord come to our aid on our terms whenever we wanted His help. We had no problem using Him one moment, and cursing His name the next.

Yet with all that ...

He persistently called us into His family
He patiently taught us
He graciously forgave us
He rightly admonished us to repent
He willingly died for us

While we were yet His enemy, Jesus loved you and me. Can we do the same today?

Be encouraged, Jose

The Garden's victory

Friends,

Where are you living today?

Genesis 2:8
The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. [NKJV]

Man was created outside of the garden ... in the wilderness. But he was not meant to stay there. The wilderness is a place of danger, of sin, and of death. The Garden is a place of rest and provision and life. The Garden is where we are headed when Christ makes His return.

Now, we live in a fallen world. And indeed, it often feels like a "jungle out there." But ask yourself ...
Is day-to-day life characterized by fear, anxiety and uncertainty? Or is it marked by peace and assurance and confidence.
Are you buffeted by shame and condemnation? Or do you repent and walk in the freedom of grace and forgiveness?

We are fearfully and wonderfully equipped to subdue the earth, to survive and thrive in the wild reality of daily living. Our equipment is the grace of Christ Jesus. And when we rely on that, we can walk through this fallen world unfazed by its attacks, knowing that a victorious peace is assured.

Be encouraged, Jose

Speak with Him

25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:25-27 (NKJV)

He is not man that will just rap because He has command over sweet and rhythmical lyrics. His words are life in themselves. We have a helper within, someone we can converse and relate with. One with a mandate to guide us and teach us all things.

Do you know you have this resource readily available to you? speak with Him, seek His counsel, receive His direction and you will never get lost in the wilderness of life.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

Peace in Him

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (NKJV)

The pursuit of life, happiness and our dreams on our own can be a draining and sapping exercise. A constant confrontation of challenges of all sorts. But to them that be in Christ, they are able to experience peace and a life with the ability to null and void all the noisome pestilence of life. Trying and challenging seasons will come, but because Christ is the anchor and centerpiece of our journey, we can relax and remain confident that all things, no matter how rough they may look presently, will work together for our good for as long as we continue to operate in His purpose.

Overcoming is guaranteed, true and lasting peace is certain, we only need to know and acknowledge upon which Rock we stand.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

A great calm

Friends,

Unless you are a commercial fisherman, it is difficult to imagine the kind of storm that Jesus and His disciples encountered on the way to the Gadarene country. They were in a small boat, crossing a deep and open sea. When the wind picks up, there is nothing slow it down. And the seas crash together with a ferocity that will shake even the most hardy of men. The wind whips the rain into your face so hard that it stings; it blows so hard you can't even hear your own voice.

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
Peace, be still!
And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
Mark 4:29 [NKJV]

And there was a great calm.

Ponder that for a moment.
In one moment there was Terror. Fear. Opposition. Chaos. Pain. Uncertainty.
In the next moment... there was a great calm.

That is the power of Christ's voice. His power has not diminished since that day 2,000 years ago. And no matter how violent and terrifying the storms are in your life today, a single word from our Lord will have the same effect.

There will be a great calm.

Be encouraged, Jose

What confidence?

Then the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: “What confidence is this in which you trust? You speak of having plans and power for war; but they are mere words. And in whom do you trust, that you rebel against me? Now look! You are trusting in the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, on which if a man leans, it will go into his hand and pierce it.
2 Kings 18:19-21 (NKJV)

Now the nation of Israel had been waylaid and boxed to a corner. The King of Assyria held them hostage and requested a ransom from the nation. King Hezekiah paid this stripping himself and the nation of valuable treasures even from the Lord's temple (2 Kings 18:14-16) in the process. But the adversary comes to steal, kill and destroy. As if that wasn't enough, the Assyrian king intended to run over and take Jerusalem captive. Like in modern warfare, he embarked on a comprehensive propaganda campaign to frighten and terrify King Hezekiah and its territory to submission.

Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria? Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand? Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?
2 Kings 18:33-35 (NKJV)

Even when the odds and numbers may not line up in your favor. The stats and polls may be at their lowest numbers, but they that trust in the Lord shall be like mount Zion that cannot be moved. When you know and are conscious of the One in whom you trust, then you can have peace and confidence that makes no sense to most.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

Beyond addition into multiplication

Friends and fellow pilgrims,

When you multiply anything times zero, the result is zero. This is a mathematical truism. Keep that in mind as you read the opening verses of Peter's first letter to the believing church that had been scattered throughout the world.

1 Peter 1:1b-2 [NKJV]
To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

I have taken the liberty of emphasizing that last line to illuminate a critical truth. The true believer need not pray for grace and peace, for both have been given to us. They are part and parcel of the unmerited favor that Almighty God has bestowed upon His sons and daughters.

Let it be our prayer today that these gifts be multiplied. That the grace and peace that reside in us with Christ become an outpouring of grace and peace to our brothers and sisters. That this overflow would cause the world to stop in awe and wonder. And that, in so doing, we would give proper honor and worship to Christ our Savior and King.

Be encouraged, Jose

The tyranny of greed

Friends,

Just in case.

Just in case we need a reminder of how devastating the pursuit of material possessions is to our souls ...

Indeed, because he transgresses by wine,
He is a proud man,
And he does not stay at home.
Because he enlarges his desire as hell,
And he is like death, and cannot be satisfied,
He gathers to himself all nations
And heaps up for himself all peoples.
-- Habakkuk 2:5

Note how the Lord connects the enlargement of desire with death. Just as death is always taking and is never satisfied, the greedy heart cannot be satiated. Death will continue to consume men until every person of every nation has succumbed. Greed will drive men to consume to destruction of their souls ... and beyond.

We need not live this way, brothers and sisters. We have the ultimate source of satisfaction in Christ Jesus. He is every thing and all things. He alone can satisfy every longing of our heart. We need not leave the home He has built for us to find Him.

Be content with Christ, because there is nothing and no one greater.

Be encouraged, Jose

Peace assurance

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NKJV)

When the Creator declares His plans for His creature, He has total control over the process and outcomes of the creature. Have the Father declared peace and not evil? To give a future and one of hope? Then how come we often panic or worry like the one with no hope or peace assurance. Will the Maker lie to His children? Never!!! It is not in the character of our Maker to talk loosely.

If He says it, He will surely do it. No matter the circumstance, you can always count on God, you can depend on Him, Anytime and Every time.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

The word, faith & works

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.
Hebrew 4:1-3 (NKJV)

Not all the Israelites that made it out of the land of Egypt made it to the promise land. They heard and received the same word as others did, but they chose disobedience and slacked in mixing faith with God’s spoken promises. As a result, they knew no peace; neither could they enter their rest. Life simply overwhelmed them until they were completely wasted.

For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, They shall not enter My rest,”…
Hebrew 4:3 (NKJV)

Do you still nurse any doubt over His ‘yet to be fulfilled’ promise? Does the presence of a ‘prolonged waiting’ period cause you to wonder if it will ever come to pass? As He the Lord has spoken, to disbelieve His word is to doubt and disobey Him. His word in our lives must be thoroughly mixed with our faith and works to be most effective. When you have a good mix of the word, faith and works, you can see beyond your present and what you see (the possibilities that are invisible to the human eye) is what will enable you to enter and experience His peace, because faithful is He who will also do it. Got the right mix?

Be Encouraged,

Afolabi

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

To those who follow

Friends,

As born-again Christians, we have a remarkable story to tell. We should consider what our Lord has done. We are commanded to do so by God's word. He exhorts you and me to truly understand His provision and protection so that we can teach those who come after us that He is the One who can be trusted:

Psalm 48:12-14 [NKJV]

Walk about Zion,
   And go all around her.
   Count her towers;
Mark well her bulwarks;
    Consider her palaces;
    That you may tell it to the generation following.
For this is God,
    Our God forever and ever;
    He will be our guide
    Even to death.

These verses require us to live in the city; which is to say... among His people. And as we live out our lives in fellowship with true believers, we will clearly see that we are in a refuge, a place of peace and safety. Our brothers and sisters are our towers, our bulwarks, our walls and our watchmen.

Be encouraged, Jose