In our Home Church meeting this week, we undertook an in-depth study of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10:38-42, highlighting the classic and thought-provoking concept of giving God’s Word priority in our lives, constantly, and through our actions, choices, and decisions.

The Lord admonishes us in his Word that, “if you love me, then keep my commandments.” This entails total submission, dedication, and obedience to His Word.

Really, God is more interested in our personal relationship and walk with Him, than in our work for Him. Our personal relationship and walk with God determines our place in His heart,  and ultimately, in eternity.

God’s place in our scales of preferences, and what we are willing to give up for Him, is a pointer to the state of our hearts, which reveals its deeply-rooted priorities.

God needs your time more than your money. God needs your heart more than your time. Essentially, God wants all of you – your body, soul and spirit.

Giving God all He wants and more can only take place while in deep fellowship and intimacy with Him – the Word of God.  This is because, the Word of God teaches us, enlightening our minds in the process. It’s a soul-searching spirit that helps and directs us on the path of righteousness.

The Word of God keeps us focused on Him in spite the cares and troubles in this world. It shields us from the manipulative devices of the kingdom of darkness, which is meant to distract and pull us away from His Word.

The Word of God strengthens us to make God’s Word priority in our lives, through our actions, choices, and decisions.

An African proverb says, “When deeds speak, words are nothing”.

Prioritize the word of God in your life and may He bless you in Jesus name. Amen.

At midnight, when the storms roared and the boat began to sinkk, a man filled with courage spoke to the wind and said, “Peace be still”.

The children of Israel had provoked the Lord, and were at the verge of being wiped out, when a courageous man spoke on their behalf, and the Lord tempered justice with mercy.

The courage to speak, not only for yourself but for others as well, is the pathway that leads to greatness and distinction.

So, this week at the Infinity Home Church, we decided to speak out and share stories of instances where we’ve been courageous enough to make bold moves, step out of our cocoons, and damn whatever be the consequences.

I was so sick; serious complications had arisen as a result of the bronchi pneumonia I had come down with. My life was meaningless to me. I wanted to be someone else – anyone else, but without the aches, pain and suffering. The frequent trips to the hospital were now disgusting. I didn’t know what to do.

Still in agony, I was diagnosed with a kidney infection that threatened to take my life away from me.

Panic, chaos, fear!

I was in a frenzy, scared to death, and the doctors words kept reechoing in my mind, “the situation is bad, like, really bad”.

Out of options, I started medications and was in the middle of it, when a man filled with courage spoke to me. He said, “Stop all the medications and believe in the healing power of Jesus Christ”.

Now, that was a tough one, considering my past.

However, I took a step of courage, and as Raymond Lindquist said, “Courage is the power to let go of the familiar,” I let go of the familiar – the drugs, going back to the hospital – and believed in God’s word.

I haven’t gone back to the hospital and its been over two years. My health has been completely restored. I’m whole!

Just dare to let go of the familiar. Be bold! Be courageous! There’s no stopping you.

God bless you and remain in His embrace.

Often in life, the negative experiences we have not only ‘teach’ us, they have a nice way of preventing us from letting go and moving on to the next level. Thus, we suspiciously view things through the mirror of our experiences. Unfortunately,the inability to let go results in a timid approach to life that hinders us from achieving our deep-seated dreams and desires.

In the course of our home church meeting this week, we studied the above phenomenon. We realized that to change our current realities, we need to mind what we are focusing on, as what you focus on, multiplies.

We looked at what the apostle Paul had to say about this:

‘But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.’ ~ Philippians 3:13

No wonder he was able to achieve all he did in his lifetime.

We figured out that one should place one’s focus on the mirror of God’s word; simply partner with God by agreeing with what He has said concerning us in His word.

Mirror, mirror on the wall
Who is the fairest of all?

The above is a line from the popular tale of  Snowwhite and The Seven Dwarfs. The tale has it that Snowwhite’s wicked step mum had a mirror that could tell who was the most beautiful in the land and the mirror never told lies.

As people of God, we have something superior – the mirror of God’s word. You are who and what He says you are. For crying out loud, who knows more about a product than the maker? So let go and let God’s word.

Gideon in the book of Judges 6, decided to let go of his past negative experiences at the hands of Midian [ Israel’s oppressors at that time] and embrace what he saw in the mirror of God’s word as shown to him by an angel of God. His life and that of his fellow Israelites never became the same, simply because he chose to let go and let God’s word.

Let go of that abuse experience!

Let go of that betrayal by a loved one!

Let go of that experience at the hands of that creditor!

Let go of that failure at trying some thing new!

And let God’s word!

God bless you.

A number of occurrences this week, got me mulling over this statement by Jesus, “the words I speak to you, they are spirit and they are life.”  I decided to bring it up during our interactive bible discussion at Excellence Home Church. As I mentioned last week, this session is always a time of great learning and illumination as we pool ideas and impressions.

We examined the story in the book of Ezekiel 37:1-10, where we saw the prophet Ezekiel bring to life very dry bones by mere declaration of the word of God. By the time he was done, a vast army stood before him according to the word of the Lord.

The bible is rife with numerous instances where situations were turned around according to the word of the Lord.

Beginning from the amazing story of creation in Genesis, to the prophecies handed down to the apostle John in Revelation, we see the word of God as a force that rules both in heaven and on earth.

Hebrews 4:12 aptly pays a tribute to the word of God:

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double edged sword…”

As we rounded off our discussions, we made the following deductions:

• The word of God is a force that causes change to occur.
• Just as Newton’s first law of motion states that an object at rest will continue in the same state unless a force is applied to it, the challenges we face on our path to success won’t budge unless we apply the force of God’s word.
• We have to feed our our faith with God’s word so we can move our mountains

Next week we will be sharing our personal experiences on this subject. God bless you.

In religious circles, the concept of ‘the grace of God’ is one of the most misunderstood; lots of people actually think that divine grace is some kind of sleep-lazily-while-everything-comes-to-you favor from God – you know, some kind of magic luck.

Well, it’s not.

The Grace of God is basically an extraordinary capacity for superhuman work.

It’s the ability to go the extra mile and work ‘forever’ without fatigue.

The evidence of the grace of God is an extraordinary amount and quality of hard work

The grace of God is not a cop out for the lazy from the challenges of life. It’s rather that phenomenal ability to ‘effortlessly’ deal with the storms of life.

God never tires, slumbers nor sleeps. His ability is infinite, His wisdom incomprehensible, and His knowledge is unsearchable. But these divine capabilities can also be infused into a human being, causing him or her to run and not get weary, walk and not faint, and mount up on wings like the eagle.

The grace of God is the ability of God manifesting in a human being. Whenever and wherever this happens, you see an individual that accomplishes a thousand times more in a single moment, than a million people would in a lifetime. It’s quite a wonder to behold pure grace in operation.

The effect of the grace of God upon the life of an individual is an unlimited capacity for long, voluminous, and hard work; but the distinction of this grace is that this massive labor is hardly felt by the laborer.

Yes, any struggler is working. But a man of grace is doing even more work. However, while the struggler is expending his own energy, the recipient of grace is expending another’s energy – and so never experiences tiredness.

For instance, Paul worked harder than all the apostles, but never felt it because he wasn’t doing the hard work with his own energy; rather the grace of God was doing it. Hear him:

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them- yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10).

God is able to work in us both to will and to do.

"for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." (Philippians 2:13).

Yes, and He is also able to make all grace abound to us.

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." (2 Corinthians 9:8).

So what is your access to the grace of God?

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1,2).

Faith is your access into the grace of God.

And faith without works is dead.

So when you put your faith to work, you unlock divine grace.

When you put your faith to work, you unlock divine grace.

When you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, confess with your mouth that God raised Him from the dead, and dare to step out and live by His words, you unleash the forces of supernatural grace in your life.

When you believe in your heart and dare to confess with your mouth that you’ve been healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ, and you dare to rise up from your sick bed, His strength is made perfect in your weakness.

When you believe in your heart and daily confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ was made poor that you might be made rich, and so shall supply all of your needs according to His riches in glory, and you dare to go after opportunities and work at your job with a grateful attitude, you unlock His supernatural financial grace and favours in your life.

There is really no magic about the grace of God. it simply manifests in the lives of men and women of simple faith who dare to step out of their comfort zones while the rest of the world is crying wolf.

You can’t experience the grace of God if you are timid, fearful, lazy, complacent, and indolent.

The grace of God is for men and women of faith, guts, courage, adventure, and initiative.

So, rise up and step out in faith this week, and let the grace of God carry you to your glory land.

Like a heaving sea ruffled by the heavy wind, most people tend to     live in doubt of their self-worth. Like a timid lad with an abused childhood, many naturally nurture a fractured self-image. In the guise of humility, they manifest a personality that reveals an inability to keep a steady course on the path of affirmative boldness.

The above sayings paint the picture of our discussion in this week’s meeting. We x-rayed the fact that the average Christian tends to derive his self-worth from his prevailing circumstances.

We studied Judges 6:11-16,and saw how Gideon cringed at God’s mighty description of him. His self-image had been disfigured by Midian’s continued humiliation of Israel. His present status was that of a depressed, downtrodden, doubtful, cowardly, and fearful young man with his self-image the height of my slippers.

We observed one striking phenomenon: while Gideon extracted his self-worth from his circumstances, God evaluated and addressed him based on the awesome, yet latent abilities He’d stashed away in him. We observed similar trends in the cases of Moses, , and others.

Then I came up with this: “Your self-image, who you are, is not to be determined by your circumstances or by people’s opinion of you, but by what God says of you; for what is written is superior to whatever is happening!

The tasks God gives you indicate who He’s already made you. He addresses you based on what He’s made your future.

You’re more than your present status.

There’s more to you than meets the eye.

The bible says that as Christ is, so are we. God sees you exactly as He sees Jesus Christ. No mind has ever conceived what God’s planned to make of you.  Not even your sins should be allowed to depreciate your self-image; for right inside you is the DOMINION over sin (Rom6:14).

Now Amaka asked: “how do we discover who God’s made us?”
Here are the answers:

• By meditating on God’s WORD
• By dwelling on the Spirit-inspired prophecies upon you
• By nursing those persistent dreams that God’s embedded in your heart.

We concluded by studying Romans 12:2, Renew your mind!

This sermon summary is on how to release the grace of God within you to power you to heights of sterling legacies that no one could ever achieve or even imagine in a million lifetimes.

The grace of God is His ability working in and through you.
When this is happening, folks marvel at your strength, speed, and stamina, not realizing that there’s supernatural ability powering your thinking and efforts from within, and creating phenomenal results without.

Jesus Christ was powered by the grace of God

"But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9).

Think about this for a moment:

In order to be crowned with glory and honor, Jesus needed to die, and not just to die, but to die for all men.  You see, there’s a an infinite chasm of difference between simply dying (one death), and tasting death for everyone (infinite number of deaths squeezed into one).  Anyone can die; but experiencing an infinite number of deaths for an infinite number of human beings is another matter entirely. But that was what His mission demanded, that was what it took to provide salvation, resurrection, and eternal life for all men.

It wasn’t easy, but as Cece Winans sang, it was worth it.

But, and this blows my mind, how in the world could one man wearing flesh and blood — Jesus Christ — accomplish all that did within just three and a half years?

The answer is this : He was powered by the grace of God.

"…so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone." (Hebrews 2:9).

Jesus Christ performed phenomenal feats, paid the ultimate price, and fulfilled His mission of saving mankind. 
But it all happened by the grace of God.

Paul too was powered by the grace of God

The Apostle Paul is arguably the greatest of all the Apostles. He redefined Christianity, turned the Roman Empire upside down, and altered the course of human history.

But he too acknowledged that his secret was the grace of God.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them- yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." (1 Corinthians 15:10).

The grace of God within him caused him to excel the other apostles in labour and results.

And as you can see here, the grace of God is His ability working in and through you. When this is happening, folks marvel at your strength, speed, and stamina, not realizing that there’s supernatural ability powering your thinking and efforts from within, creating phenomenal results without.

From these examples of Jesus Christ and Paul, excellence in life and mission is clearly a function of the grace of God.

Stop struggling in the flesh!

God’s grace is in you, and its infinitely capable of powering you to heights of sterling legacies that no one could ever achieve or even imagine in a million lifetimes.

Yes, this grace of God that enabled Jesus Christ to pay the ultimate price, and empowered Paul to excel others, is within us.

But you’ve got to let the grace of God do its job in your life!

How?

‘Simply’ this:

Trust in God and stop struggling in the flesh.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Trust in God is the key that unlocks the grace of God to start powering our mission and rise to the top.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1,2).

Yes, it is by faith in God that we gain access into this grace.  When you trust God like a child would her daddy, you release the powerful grace of God in your life to lift and take you effortlessly to your preferred realities.

Are you willing today to abandon yourself into the mighty hands of God and let His grace power your mission and your destiny?

I dare you today to take God at His Word. Wholeheartedly agree that what God has said about your possibilities and capabilities, about your identity and worth, about your future. Then act accordingly. It is called trust and it is what activates God’s grace within you.

God bless you.

Faith without assignments is dead

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James 2:26).

If I replace ‘works’ with some of its other synonyms – assignments, exercises, challenges, difficulties, and problems, the above verse will then read, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without (assignments, exercises, challenges, difficulties, and problems) is dead also."

Think about that for a moment:

Faith without assignments, without exercises, without challenges, without difficulties, without problems, is practically dead (that is, useless, in-operative, dormant, and powerless).

So, the difficulties that you encounter every now and then can actually be perceived as GIFTS to you to force you to exercise your FAITH, and participate in the divine nature.

You need to exercise your faith, to develop it, to grow it, to build it up.

"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit." (Jude 1:20).

In other words, exercise your faith, stretch it.

Why?

Your victory is hidden in your faith

"For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith." (1 John 5:4).

Your victory is hidden in your faith.

And because faith without assignments, without exercises, without challenges, without difficulties, without problems, is dead, God allows challenges as gifts to develop the faith you already possess within you.

This is why it is said that ‘no tests, no testimonies.’

The tests – or difficulties – come so that you can exercise your faith, and by so doing manifest supernatural testimonies on earth that will bring glory to God.

He already has in mind what He is going to do

In John 6:1-15, Jesus and His disciples were faced with a formidable challenge – they had only 5 loaves and 2 fishes to feed a crowd of over 5000 starving people!

He said to Phillip, one of His disciples, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” But it was also recorded there that He asked this question simply to test Phillip, for He already had in mind what He was going to do!

“He (Jesus) asked this only to test him (Phillip), for He (Jesus) already had in mind what He was going to do.” ~John 6:6

He knew what He was going to do suggests to me that He had arranged that challenge!

You see, if you love God and are called according to His purpose, there is no way problems will fall across your path without His permission. I’m certain of that because it is written:

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” ~ Romans 8:28

And if He allowed it, its only because He already has in mind what He is going to do, which is to manifest His glory in your life and inspire men to worship Him. If He allowed it, its because He has already made a way for you to escape victoriously. As it is written:

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1 Corinthians 10:13).

You have the mind of Christ

Jesus presented His disciples with a challenge to force them to exercise their faith. But what did they do?

Like most of us, in the face of difficulties, the disciples lazily began to think on excuses. And they found enough reasons not to do anything; enough reasons to shift the responsibility to the crowd.

“We have no food,” they whined, “the people are so many and hungry.”  They reminded Jesus that where they were at was a desert, and that they had no money to spare.

That sounds like most of us today.

You see, ultimately, the consequence of failing to develop your faith is a weak mind; you become mentally indolent and lazy.

Typically, the natural propensity of the human mind is to think primarily in terms of problems, rather than solutions. The Fall conditioned the Adamic mind to see limitations, rather than infinite possibilities.

So, God put His faith in your heart to reverse this propensity. He put faith in you so you can participate in His nature and glory – so you can create your own miracles on the earth.

His faith is designed to be a tool for your spirit to exercise dominion on the earth.

And this faith can only be exercised through using the mind of Christ within you for solutions to life’s many challenges.

Yes, you have the mind of Christ within you!

""For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ." (1 Corinthians 2:16).

Meaning that you have the capacity to access His thoughts in any situation to know the solutions He has already provided.

So, use the mind of Christ within you

This means that you start thinking supernaturally!
Searching His mind for His ready-made solutions amounts to thinking supernaturally.
It means to stop thinking in terms of problems, and start seeing divine supernatural possibilities.

The disciples saw the needs, the difficulties, the limitations, and impossibilities. But Jesus Christ saw the presence and power of His heavenly Father.

He knew that His Father was always with Him and had made provisions for that need even before it showed up.

While others looked down, He looked up.

While others complained, He gave thanks.

He was focused on His Father. That’s what it means to think supernaturally; to think only in terms of the love and power of your heavenly Father.

God loves you, He cares about you, and He will never allow you to be disgraced or stranded.

When the disciples refocused their thoughts on Jesus, they shared in the divine idea within Him.

And when they implemented it, they participated in the divine nature.

“Jesus than took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.
When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, ‘Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.’
So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.” ~ John 6:11-13

Let this be your experience this week.

When you think on His power, and His love, His thoughts are released within you to overcome and exercise dominion over all of life’s challenges.

Praise God!

This page is devoted to discussions on the subject of loneliness.

Loneliness is one of the most pervasive and chronic soul diseases of our time. In my many years ministry, of praying and counseling with hundreds of people, I am yet to meet a person that hasn’t experienced some sort of loneliness at one period or the other.

Studies after studies have continued to show that a greater percentage of the human family experience loneliness in one form or the other.

Besides it’s pervasiveness, loneliness is a painful experience; it’s torturous.

Wikipedia describes loneliness as “a feeling in which people experience a strong sense of emptiness and solitude,” and compared it to “feeling empty, unwanted, and unimportant.”

I have received several emails from readers of this blog requesting that I write on the subject of loneliness, particularly how one can move from loneliness to happiness.

In one of my recent facebook status updates, I posted the following:

“Loneliness is the absence of a true friend. Do you have personal experiences related to how a true friend helped you overcome loneliness and depression? I would welcome individual experiences on this to share on my blog”

In response, someone sent me a facebook mail with the following comments:

“I have been pondering the subject of loneliness recently. I have come to realize you can have many friends that are close and that you are able to confide in but still be lonely.
I believe that there are a select few people who come into our lives that we connect with on a deep spiritual level. At times we long to talk with or spend time with these people. They understand us in a way and on a level that most people do not. When these people are not available we can experience intense loneliness.”

I think her insight is a profound one that goes to the heart of the matter.

Please, I invite you to share your personal perspectives, and experiences, on loneliness. In your opinion, what does loneliness mean? What do you think is the cause of this painful state of mind? And how can one move from loneliness to happiness?

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3).

In these troubled times, peace of mind is an invaluable asset; more so because it also guarantees victory. This peace and the victory it brings belongs only to those whose minds are stayed on God. In other words, if you keep your expectations fixed on God.

What have you built your expectations on?

Many expect to get a good job because they have a university degree.

Many expect to be rich because they are smart, talented, and hardworking.

Many expect to marry a great spouse because they look great and have a good sense of humour.

Many expect to be healthy and strong because they eat the right food, exercise, and rest.

In short, many have built their expectations on the shifting sands of human abilities, and this is why many are frustrated and disappointed today.

What is the basis for the expectations that you have?

Great men of faith in history, like Abraham, obtained victory from God because their expectations were fixed upon God.

"Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be". Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead- since he was about a hundred years old- and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." (Romans 4:20-21).

Abraham’s expectations rested upon the integrity and power of God’s word, and that was why he had the victory.

Keep your expectations fixed on God

In spite of the odds stacked against him – he was an old man, and his wife too was old and past the age of child bearing – Abraham kept his expectations firmly fixed on God. In the end, his victory was stunning.

If you will keep your expectations firmly fixed on God, in spite of the odds stacked against you, you will eventually sing the song of victory.

God can do in a moment what man can never accomplish in a millennium

Sometimes we are tempted to ask for how long we will wait.

In reality, that is a very foolish question – a question that reflects gross ignorance of the capabilities and ways of God.

God can do in a second what men can’t do in a thousand years. He can do in a moment what man can’t do in a millennium.

But you must not get distracted

"His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies." (Psalm 112:8).

Keeping our expectations fixed on God actually means that we should not allow ourselves become distracted by the contradictions of our lives.

Yes, the contradictions and confusions of our lives. You know, those things that don’t seem to add up. Like, "If God is with me, why this and why that?"

Well, stop looking at the winds and waves of your life; rather keep your mind focused on Jesus Christ.

keep your thoughts stayed and focused on God’s word, on what He has said concerning you, on His promises to you.

Of course, you’ve got to know what’s in there first.

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." (Colossians 3:16).

Establish your heart in His eternal Word. This is the key to peace of mind, victory, and prosperity.

When you establish your heart in God’s word, you experience inner joy and peace; joy unspeakable and full of glory; peace within that passes understanding.

This peace is a powerful magnet for prosperity and victory.

Don’t listen to the voice of doubt that rises within every now and then, because that’s satan trying to distract and lure you away from the prosperity and victory God has in store for you.

Instead, ask God for the inner strength and stamina to persevere in your faith against all odds.

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay." (Hebrews 10:35-37).

"But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him". But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved." (Hebrews 10:38-39).

A powerful prayer for these times

"For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being," (Ephesians 3:14-16).

Ask God for the inner strength and stamina to keep your expectations fixed on Him.