Let us each do a work

Friends,

Is predictability the hallmark of your gatherings? Do the same people contribute in all of the important ways?

1 Corinthians 14:26 [NKJV]
How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.

The Lord has gifted His people in many ways. And all are called ... even commanded ... to use and develop those gifts. So, when the Spirit calls you to bring forth a word, bring it forth. When you are lead to praise Him, then praise Him. Do not leave the whole burden of the work of the Kingdom to a weary few.

Be encouraged, Jose

For good works

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8 (NKJV)

The grace of God is promised in abundance for God's children. The grace to abound in all things resulting in sufficient and more than enough resources to fulfill purpose and accomplish goals. The succeeding abundance is for the expansion and increased capacity for good works and the furtherance of heaven's agenda. The priorities and goals of the grace should not be misconstrued or termed as liberty for self indulgence.

His grace must propel us and increase our propensity to do greater good works. The grace must not be misused.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

A worthy challenge

Friends,

Everything is important to God.
The reverse is also true: Nothing is unimportant to God.*

With this in mind, we are challenged ... and well-served ... to examine every thought, every action and every word. Measure them against this standard:

Philippians 2:3a [NKJV]
Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit

It is truly a great challenge - worthy of energy and great enthusiasm. This passage challenges you and me to stop and think before speaking: are my words self-serving or will they encourage and edify another? These words call us to stop and think before acting: will my actions bring joy and comfort to my brother or sister, or are they meant to draw attention to myself?

To obey this passage is to imitate Christ Jesus and, in so doing, bring great joy to our Heavenly Father.

Be encouraged, Jose

* note: Man cannot function in this state, for when he tries, the result is the opposite. But God is not man. His abilities are not limited.

A glimpse of eternity

Friends,

We know what unrighteousness looks like. We can see it every night on the news. We see it everyday in the tabloids. We see examples large and small, dramatic and mundane.

But what will righteousness look like? How will we know it?

And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
Revelation 19:8 [NKJV]

We might only catch glimpses of it here in this life. And even then, we must remember that in a fallen world, nothing can be truly and completely righteous.

Yet in the glorious return of Christ, when time loses its meaning and its grip, we will behold what He has done through His people. And it will be more beautiful than we can imagine.

Be encouraged, Jose

Bearing witness

Friends,

One way or the other, our words and thoughts and actions will bear witness to the true condition of our soul. People the world over blame God for being mean and unfair. They demand to be judged as righteous, even though there is ample evidence of their failure to live up to even the most basic standard of moral conduct:

Isaiah 3:9 [NKJV]
The look on their countenance witnesses against them,
And they declare their sin as Sodom;
They do not hide it.
Woe to their soul!
For they have brought evil upon themselves.

People claim to have kept the commandments even though they spent their adolescence in rebellion against their father. They declare their innocence even as they declare entire passages of His word as irrelevant and outdated. People claim to love and worship and obey the LORD, and in the next moment disregard His Sabbath.

We deserve the wages of sin.
Truly, our own thoughts and words and actions bear witness to the evil in the natural man's heart.

Without the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, we will have fully earned the evil we have brought upon ourselves. But by the grace of Christ, those who are His are declared righteous.

Be encouraged, Jose

For good works

4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:4-10 (NKJV)

His available grace has been bestowed on all that all may come to the knowledge of His love and nature. His acts teach us unconditional love, love not driven for self gain and gratification but with a sacrificial intent not demanding a kickback or favor.

As specially crafted people destined and designed for good works in Christ Jesus, let us walk and work in this path and role with our all so as to fulfill our purpose in Him that has called us.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

From the heart to the hands

Friends,

1 Corinthians 5:8 [NKJV]
Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

For many reasons, the modern church continues with a wide variety of old rituals and habits. The Lord understands the comfort that men find in old rites and ceremonies.

The biggest danger, though, is that we persist in these habits without any change in the heart. If our hearts are still full of resentment, unforgiveness, and bitterness, then the rituals are simply an acted out lie.

But if there has been a change, then we will be keeping the feast simply by the course of our words and deeds. There will be no real need for the rituals (though they may be useful for remembrance). For our every breath will be a proclamation of the amazing work that our Lord has done.

Be encouraged, Jose

Effective work

Friends,

In the study of physics, "work" has a very specific definition. And by definition, work can only have occurred if there has been some change in the subject's physical state. So if a man pushes against a brick wall for an hour, but the wall does not move, there has been no work (as related to the wall).

2 Timothy 1:9
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,
[NKJV] emphasis added

We can work very hard trying to live a good, moral and upright life. We can give up drinking, swearing and philandering. We will certainly have a better life if we do so. But all of that effort will have changed nothing, as related to our salvation. Nothing eternal is affected by our efforts. No work will have been done.

It is Jesus who has done the work.

The work Christ at Calvary has made a difference. Our state has been changed.

Be encouraged, Jose

Time is Precious

I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
John 9:4 (NKJV)

They passed by seeing folks with different challenges, issues and problems. One of the confronted problems was that of a man blind from birth. The Disciples pondered what the cause of the problem was, asking who was responsible for the man's blind sight. Who? The parents, the guy or....? The Lord took their attention away from the unimportant to the real deal... That the works of God may be revealed to a clueless generation. Many opportunities abound in our day to showcase the works of God to our world.

Time is precious, we won't be here forever. Like the Savior stated, we must work the works of Him who sent us while it is day, for the night is coming when all works will cease. Quit acting like this is going to be forever, night is coming, let's get active and busy with Kingdom work.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi