Written on the heart

Friends,

When the Lord called us into His Kingdom, He gave us a new heart. The old heart was a dead thing, made of stone. The old heart could only accept the letter of the law and could only attempt to obey with legalism and mechanical behavior changes. The new heart, however, can hear the voice of the Lord, and therefore can obey out of love.

2 Corinthans 3:3 - NKJV
clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.

Since we are part of God's message of love and hope to this dying world, it is imperative that we stay soft and submissive to His voice. We must tune our ear to recognize Him. And then, we can be the living, breathing Gospel preached to all we encounter.

Be encouraged,
Jose

Why are you just sitting there?

Friends,

In the annals of human history, there have been many stupid questions raised. My personal top-10 includes this one:

Now there were four leprous men at the entrance of the gate; and they said to one another, "Why are we sitting here until we die?"
2 Kings 7:3, NKJV (emphasis added)

To set the stage for you, the four men had been kicked out of a city that was going through a horrendous famine. It was so bad that people no longer saw each other as friends and family, but as food. And there these men were... just sitting there. Their sickness preserved them - who wants to eat a leper? And then one of them finally noticed the obvious and wondered why they should remain, waiting to die.

Is there no greater famine than to lack the living word of God?
And yet, professing believers file into buildings new and old, week after week, only to hear religious-sounding pep talks and self-improvement advice. The Word is not preached, and no one seems to notice that they are starving!

How long will you sit there?
Why are you sitting there until you die?

Sisters and brothers, if you are not getting fed the real meat of God's word, get up and go find it. We don't need to be churched; we need to be transformed into the imaged of Christ! The only means is by His Word. Seek it out. Delay no longer. The blessings of God await!

Be encouraged,
Jose

Good works

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)

The grace, richness of God's mercies towards us and His unbinding love have raised us up from destruction, death and hopelessness. This incredible act raised us to another level entirely, it raised us for a goal, it launched us into a new purpose and dimension. Indeed we have been saved and spared for a reason, not to return to the old man or the carnal and worldly norms but to good works, works worthy of increasing and advancing the cause of God's Kingdom here on earth.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

Our salvation has already been confirmed, sealed and delivered to us by His grace and blood shed at Calvary (a very costly price) for the purpose of amongst other things - setting us up for good works. It will be futile to be about nothing (good works) after so much as been put on the line for us. Friends, we cannot lose sight of this great commission, let's get busy, so our fruits of righteousness may increase as He surely desires of us.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

No Honor At Home

Friends,

For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country. John 4:44 (KJV)

Why do we have to leave to get recognition? Why can't we get that at home? Why is it that honor always escapes us with the ones we love the most? Probably because we are all conditioned to see things as they were instead of as they are. We see changes and - because of the need to keep order in our mind - we ignore and disregard them.

A great example is the Timex watch. When the makers of the Timex watch first made their discovery, they wanted to share that with the world. So, they went to expert watchmakers in Switzerland to show them their discovery. The Swiss completely dismissed their findings and thus Timex was born. In the industry that they were attempting to change, they were completely ignored, so much so that they had to start their own organization to prove that their discovery was real.

Sound familiar? Christ was such a great teacher in the local area, that He was making a life changing difference. However, the folks that saw and heard Him could only see that He was only a simple carpenter's son. He had not been to school. He was only could of build and repair furniture, but certainly He could teach anyone about God. As we look at our situations today, we may have to leave our country to make a difference or we just may have to make a stand. Ask the Lord for the guidance in our situation and move ahead with His Plan. He will get the honor if we just do our part.

Be Encouraged,
Martin Rayner

Wisdom from Above

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 3:17-18 (NKJV)

The wisdom we are urged and encouraged to seek comes with some simple but sterling qualities, qualities easy enough to distinguish even by ourselves. A non-self seeking heart, bitter-free mind and bowels of mercy will exude and display good works having a lasting impact on the people around them, their environment and indeed their world. Should we settle for less? Our world, governments, nations, families and individuals have consciously or unconsciously enthroned self-seeking motives thus robbing the world of a unique opportunity of the display of God's goodness and mercy in our situations. The endless pursuit of self never brings ultimate satisfaction, instead it leads to discord, fightings, wars, etc. When we seek Heavenly wisdom, because or motives are not driven solely for self gain, the fulfillment and peace that is experienced is full and long lasting.

But irrespective of our actions, the mercies and goodness of our Sovereign God continues to persist. The wisdom from above produces results, spares us of unnecessary laborious pursuits, enables us achieve more effectively even with less resources and gives us the greatest impact to our world. This we need to seek at all times.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

You and me against the world

Friends,

Those of us with children know full well the daily battle we fight against the influences of this fallen world. The messages of amoral living, subjective ethics, and the supremacy of pleasure are everywhere. They are getting louder, more intrusive and, unfortunately, more effective with each passing day. There is only one defense that can stand up to this onslaught.

Proverbs 22:6 [NKJV]
Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.

As the old saying goes, "The best defense is a good offense." We must approach the training of our children with the same attitude. We cannot simply be good examples for our young. That is too passive a stance. We must be willing to courageously speak to them, demonstrating our love with appropriate rebukes and admonishing.

Sisters and brothers, the same applies to us, as well. Our own thoughts, words and deeds need protection from the influences of evil. And we cannot be passive about this either. It is imperative that we make time to be in the Word. The world will not make that time available of its own accord. The job, the after-school activities, and even the church functions will all conspire to make us too busy for Bible study. But if we fight back and train our minds in the way of God's Word, then as we get older, we will not depart from it.

Be encouraged,
Jose

Heavenly brethren

Friends,

I had lunch today with a small group of believers. One of them shared a dream she had, last night, of being in Heaven. Problem was... Heaven just wasn't what she expected. It was noisy, with people everywhere, talking to each other, laughing, sharing, and simply enjoying the fellowship.

"Where is Jesus?" she asked. The person nearby pointed to the groups of believers all around her. She was astounded. Why isn't everyone in reverent awe of our Lord? Why aren't they focused on Him? Why won't they be quiet? She woke up pretty ticked off at God. Heaven just didn't fulfill her expectations.

As we talked about her dream, we all came to the realization that all of us love those peaceful, quiet times with God.... when there's no one else.... it's just Him. And yet, the Lord tells us that He dwells within each of us and He longs for our fellowship.

Hebrews 10:25 [NKJV]
not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

Our little lunch today was a slice of Heaven. Not because any of us are especially charismatic, or holy, or smart or even nice. But because in each one of us is a little slice of Christ Jesus. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and flows from us. And when two or more of us are together in His name, He is there in our midst.

Our friend's anger was, of course, replaced by joy and anticipation. We know that when this fallen life is through, we will have special intimate times with Christ. We also know that we will be with each other, living in love as true brothers and sisters.

The next time you gather together with the Body, remember that you are getting a glimpse of Heaven. Take it in. Enjoy it. Thank Almighty God for it.

Be encouraged,
Jose