Prepare for the harvest

Friends,

The world will never give you permission to pursue righteousness. Among the enemy's greatest desires is to make following Christ hard ... really hard. What is "easy" is to focus on the challenges and obstacles ... and then give them the power to stop us from seeking the Kingdom of God, from digging into His Word, and from joining forces with fellow believers int the fight against evil.

Proverbs 20:4 [NKJV]
The lazy man will not plow because of winter;
He will beg during harvest and have nothing.

The LORD admonishes His people - you and me - to prepare for the harvest by persevering in adversity. Let no act of the enemy deny you the opportunity to be in God's word. Overcome the flesh's desire for the easy path.

There will come a time when we reap the rewards of those actions. That will be a time of great joy and abundance. A time of unchallenged intimacy with Christ the King.

Be encouraged, Jose

Break from the pattern

Friends,

Each moment represents a choice. We can take this opportunity to continue doing good or to allow weariness to have its way. We must make a decision: perpetuate the cycle of sin and disobedience, or change my direction. We must, therefore, examine each moment and all the history that leads up to it. Judge that history not by man's low standards, but by the standards of the Almighty and Perfect God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Return to Me," says the LORD of hosts, "and I will return to you," says the LORD of hosts. "Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds."'
But they did not hear nor heed Me," says the LORD.
Zechariah 1:3-4 [NKJV] (emphasis added)

Over and over, Zechariah reminds the reader that it is the LORD of Hosts who is speaking. And yet, even with His undisputed authority, the leaders did not hear or heed Him. Are we doing the same as those who went before us? Are we repeating the same mistake and expecting a different result? Have we even taken a single minute to ask ourselves that question?

Today is a new day. A new morning. God's mercies are fresh and new. Do not waste this moment by continuing the deadly pattern of sin and disobedience.

Change direction.

Return to the LORD, and He will return to you.

Be encouraged, Jose

What will they hear?

Friends,

How much energy have you expended in the fight to keep your secrets, secret? How hard do you try to obscure the simple truth of less-than-holy motivations and less-than-noble intent? We do these things even with the plain truth spoken to us by our Sovereign Lord:

Luke 12:3
Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. [NKJV]

There is no escaping the facts, brothers and sisters. They are already to known to eternity, and in due time will be brought forth for all to see and understand. It is not a threat meant to intimidate us into proper behavior, nor is it an appeal to our vanity and pride.

This is simply the truth.

And it is a real reminder to pursue consistent and persistent holiness in every aspect of our lives. It is encouragement to die to ourselves daily, and to live for Christ in every moment, every thought, every action and every word. So that, when our words and deeds and thoughts are proclaimed from the rooftops, the only thing that will be heard is that which glorifies Jesus!

Be encouraged, Jose

Results from Truth

Friends,

It seems as though no one can be believed. News stories, expert opinions, even scientific research. All of it is tinged with an agenda. All of it clouded by the ambition for money and power. No institution is safe from this influence; it has certainly infiltrated the pulpit.

2 Timothy 3:13-14
But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them ... [NKJV, emphasis added]

We must persevere in the sound doctrines of scripture. Not because we have judged and found them to be acceptable. Our judgment is pathetically limited and our acceptance is irrelevant. After all, we are the ones deceived by the politicians, the preachers, and the pundits.

No. We persist in these beliefs because their source is infallible. Christ Jesus defined them. It is He who has imparted them to us. Our interpretations will not be perfect, of course. But as we continue to seek the One who is the Truth, the One will transform us.

When that transformation is completed, we will no longer be deceived. We will know and see the truth.

Be encouraged, Jose

Be Persistent

1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4 And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”
Luke 18:1-5 (NKJV)

He spoke in parables to His disciples and a discerning world, so that those who hear and can connect the dots may pick up actionable intelligence and knowledge and use to navigate the tortuous terrains of the world. This certain widow never gave up on her case before an unjust judge. She kept at it even in the face of rejection, glaring failure and loss, she kept on keeping on. The race of life isn't a 100m dash, but a marathon for those with stamina to endure and keep at the goals and will of God for their lives. The parable speaks to our persistence in prayer. Prayer in a world that have grown cold and hostile to prayers in public spaces and counting.... Prayer remains one of the potent tools of the believer, and to lay down the banners of prayers is to surrender to the adversary without a fight.

6 Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8 I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
Luke 18:6-8 (NKJV)

We must not grow weary, neither must we faint or become weak in lifting up holy hands and praying to the God the Father in all our days, for the influence of the world will get stronger and drain and sap the energies of the believing world unless the faithful stays strong, faithful and persistent. We ought to pray and not lose heart, it is the Lord's mandate for us.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi