Only in Him

Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 (NKJV)

For what reason are we alive today? For what reason do we exist at this time of history? There is hardly a day in all the news outlet known to man that someone's demise isn't reported either through natural causes, man-made causes, disasters or other causes. Life and the breath of life is suddenly snuffed out and a once vibrant, hopeful, energetic body and soul is harvested confirming the futility of all that is under the sun. Having this knowledge ought to help us re-adjust our mindset of life and all that is therein ... all we have, our accomplishments, riches, physical endowments and achievements must never be our glory objects, they must never be the sole driving force of our life's pursuits, but our reverence, awe, yearnings, and glory must be in Him who provides, heals, protects, the giver of all good things and Him who harvests the souls of men.

If there is anything we glory in, it must be in the only One wise and Almighty God who exercises lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

When Did I Help Christ?

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:35-40 [KJV]

Just wait until we get to heaven and hear the history of how we helped out Christ in these situations above. We will be just like the folks in the story and ask the question, when did we do these things? Every time we provide assistance to others, we are performing these tasks. There are no banners displayed to say we are helping Christ, but as the physical body of the Church, we are working to demonstrate the love that Christ has for people.

We sometimes look at the opportunity to help as a bother. We wonder why someone cannot make it out of their situations. We have no idea surrounding the circumstances of where they are or why they are there. We know that God is the only true judge and we should take advantage of any pure opportunity to help without pretense or looking for some reward to come because of what we did. God knows how the folks got to where they are and He also knows our intention for helping them out. Let God handle the purity of the acts and let us just do what God has called us to do. If we keep it that simple, then we can help Christ and not ever worry about it.

Be Encouraged,

Martin

Diverse strategies, one intent

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God,[d] but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NKJV)

Apostle Paul's mission and intent was clearly defined. He had a goal worthy of pursuing to its logical conclusion. Like the Lord Jesus Christ clearly displayed in the gospels, the strategies of the gospel are dynamic and multi-varied with all resulting in one common goal - winning souls for the Kingdom of God. From the Apostle's stated strategies here, there isn't any clear cut pattern or one single way by which to reach this objective, the end here justifies the means of winning precious souls that the King of Kings died for.

Our goal is to serve all men..... atheist, unbelievers, murderers, adulterers, etc. Their soul is precious to Him and nothing is too much for us to do to reach these for the Kingdom sake. It is part of our individual and collective mission, and we must not shy away from it or be ignorant of it.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

Beware of the fascination

Friends,

I confess that I find myself, on occasion, heavily distracted by politics. Even though there is no question as to who I am voting for and why, I still catch myself seeking out news and opinions on this year's presidential race. Perhaps that's why the Lord pointed out this verse to me today.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ
- Philippians 3:20, NKJV

So yes, I have responsibilities that come as part of life on this planet, in this country. And those responsibilities include voting according to my beliefs and values (as opposed to media popularity). But I suspect that I'm not alone when it comes to needing help in staying focused on what is eternal, as opposed to what is noisy.

Let us pray together that we be diligent in our duties, but not at the expense of being devoted to Christ.

Be encouraged, Jose

How to be

Friends,

A few years ago, the Lord showed me the difference between boys and men. He told me that boys think about what they do, whereas men think about who they are. Considering who he is forces a man to slow down and truly examine his motives, his intentions and his thoughts. Then he can assess the quality of his actions. Anyone who has raised one knows that boys cannot slow down. In a sense, the ability to slow down is a primary indicator of maturity.

In the same manner, our Lord focuses on the heart. In other words, He is less concerned about what we do than He is about who we are. Because He is perfectly and completely mature, God can do this perfectly and completely. And what does He want us to be?

Romans 12:12 (NKJV)
[Be] rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

The qualities expressed in this verse (as well as those that come before and after) describe essential characteristics of Christ:
He focused not on the adversity, but on the hope that was set before Him.
He patiently endured trials and tribulations that would make all other men wilt.
And of course, He never ever stopped praying.

Let us be conformed to the image of Christ that He has placed in each of us. Let us have our identity be in Christ Jesus. That is who we are. We can evidence that fact by ... rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.

Be encouraged, Jose

Because the harvest has come

And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
Mark 4:26-29 (NKJV)

So it was succinctly described in the above verse, we are scattered on this planet at every continent with a specific divine mission and goal to sprout and grow. Out of our efforts He breathes and bestows increase for the yields to manifest. When our grains ripen, He takes us with Him because the harvest has come. The harvest must always succeed the sowing. Our pursuits (period between sowing and harvest) must bring forth a harvest for Heaven to partake in us. A fruitless sojourn will only be cleared, packed and set for burning and destruction.

Be encouraged,

Afolabi

Be Ready

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Matthew 25:1 [KJV]

As we recall this parable, we know that the central theme is to be prepared. Sometimes we get prepared, like for the Y2K events that did not occur. Some of us may still have items left from the original stockpile. Sometimes we prepare for events like hurricanes that do come through and we are ready to handle the worst that it brings. In life, we make choices about how we prepare. Let's think about those for a moment.

When we hear of an upcoming event, we can plan to get ready or assess that we are OK in our current state. Either way, we are making a choice. We can establish a plan or go with a take events as they come, and again, we have made a choice. Some events arrive faster than we can react and we are stuck with the predetermined choice our survival instincts make. Again choices have been made.

Since we are choosing something at every turn, let's prepare for the events and make better choices. For it is better to be prepared and not have to use the plan (like Y2K), than not to have a plan and hope that we can ride out the events upcoming (like a hurricane, tornado or the return of the Lord).

Be Encouraged,


Martin