For the longest time, I avoided the Gospels (particularly the first books of the New Testament). To me, it was unnecessarily repetitive. Why would three persons write the same thing and feature only minor differences, when one person could have condensed all the facts together? So despite being an avid bible reader, I preferred to start from the book of Romans whenever I began a study of the New Testament. While at this, I prayed for the Holy Spirit to make the Gospels appealing to me, so that I could know Jesus more, because what’s the best way to know a person except to listen to them, watch their lives and study them closely to know what drives them?

Nothing changed until I decided to give it another shot, and now I read the bible slowly, visualise the scenes in my head, act as an onlooker and ask questions when I get to a verse that makes me uncomfortable. What changed? I started listening to sermons by the most visual bible storyteller I have stumbled on. Lisa Harper was just another preacher till I listened to one of her sermons, then I listened to more, and now I follow her teachings closely. It is how she brings the Bible to life in ways I have never thought, drawing from her seminary training to offer fresh perspectives on incidents that happened in Bible days. 

On one of those days, she made reference to the book of Mark which was in fact the first book of the gospels, and stated that Peter was Mark’s source for the material that comprised the most beautiful 16 chapters I had read in a long time. I have always been drawn to the person of Peter and how he mirrors many of us, so this revelation piqued my interest. The beauty of Peter’s slow but lasting transformation after he encountered Jesus promises hope for the doubtful, the impetuous, the unstable, the unqualified, the parochial, the complaisant and other flaws in between. 

Peter the illiterate became the first leader of the church (Peter the rock); Peter the presumptuous became the apostle who taught us to have a gentle and quiet spirit (1 Peter 3:4); Peter the hypocrite (Galatians 2:11 – 13) became the apostle whose books is straightening lives all the way out. 

Perhaps you think you are incapable of being a “true” Christian, consider the life of Mark and Peter. Did you know that Mark was the young man in Mark 14:50-52 who abandoned the Lord and his cloth and ran away naked for fear of being seized by Jesus’ arresters? It was such a personal and somewhat embarrassing detail that no other book of the gospels repeated it; and it makes sense for him to include that detail in his account probably after years of dealing with the shame of leaving his Master because Mark understood that many Christians will one day fail the test of discipleship and will need grace. 

The gospels are filled with deeply flawed, utterly broken people who seemed beyond redemption; Mark, Peter, the woman with the issue of blood, the leprous man, the demoniac, Blind Bartimaeus among others. These ordinary people whose lives took on a whole new meaning after meeting with Jesus have become hope-givers. Their stories stir within our weary hearts the assurance of a new beginning, of healing, love, acceptance, and true identity. It compels us to consider Jesus for who He truly is, a faithful high priest who knows and feels our every discomfort. It gives us the correct perception of God. It encourages us to even dare to believe that God is so deeply in love with us. It wrenches us from the place of complacency to one of fervent, living relationship with this same Jesus who is still changing lives. This Jesus who is more real than the mobile phone you are reading this piece from. This patient and kind Jesus who will sit and listen to you while He works on you. This Jesus who gently tugs on the fringes of your heart, inviting you into the most deeply satisfying relationship you will ever have. He does not just want to give the rules, but he seeks obedience that comes from a place of sincere love and true devotion. He wants to meet you in the pages of your bible, and particularly wants you to build a true conviction of who He is as your crack through the fascinating pages of the gospels. 

I want to encourage you to start with a chapter or a verse today. Today is a good day to begin that journey of intimacy with Jesus, and like I asked at the beginning of this piece, what better way to know a man than to listen to him talk, watch his life and study him closely?

Author: Uwisike Blessing

 In the creation of every breathing human, there was a purpose, it does not matter the circumstances surrounding their birth. According to the late Dr. Munroe, to every creature (including the cockroaches and ants we squash under our feet), there is a purpose. Physical and Spiritual exercises are a necessity to successfully complete this purpose. Six questions below will address both forms of exercises. 

 Who? 

Everyone is expected to. While physical exercise can be done by everyone, spiritual exercise can only be done by those who have the right relationship with God and are living a victorious life above sin. You can have this relationship by accepting and confessing to God that you have sinned and need Jesus’s blood to cleanse those sins. Having faith that this is done and a determination to live holy will give you this relationship. 

What? 

It’s really simple. No relationship thrives without communication. Spiritual exercise is hearing from God and talking to God. Munroe said, If Jesus was on earth now, out of curiosity or awe, you would definitely want to follow him on social media or even physically, just to know what he’s up to or what he has to say. Well, He was and still is on earth! You should definitely follow the Bible every single day, Jesus is the Bible. That is hearing from God and that is the first basic spiritual exercise. 

Secondly, continually giving praises to God for all He is and all He’s done, and prayer are profitable spiritual exercises. They enable us to speak to God and hear from Him as well. 

Physically, according to professionals, anything that gets your heart pumping vigorously and has you breathing hard and fast for a couple of minutes is good exercise. Walking briskly, running, jogging, cycling, weight lifting, skipping and so on are great exercises. Get moving! 

 How? 

Endeavour not to read the Bible on a surface level. Studying the Bible might seem a herculean task as some passages might seem unclear. Great Bible scholars have made it really easy. Various commentaries are available online with just a click on Google. Unclear verses can be typed in and commentaries read online, according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Hard copy Bibles with cross-references also provide for better context and understanding. You can only please God and fulfil your purpose if you know what God created you to do, and you can only know what He created you to do by reading His word and applying it to your life. Also, when praying, after thanking God and stating our requests, let us endeavour to spend some time in silence, listening for God’s response. 

For physical exercises, only do what works for you or what is recommended by your coach and combine this with a healthy diet. You are sure to begin reaping the benefits as soon as you start! 

 Why? 

A great teacher once said, without God, man can do nothing, and without man, God will do nothing! If you do not pray, God will do nothing, your spiritual muscles will become lethargic and it eventually leads to spiritual death. Effective prayer cannot take place without diligent study of God’s word. 

Physical exercise with a healthy diet keeps the heart strong and the body going, without which diseases surface and quality of life depreciates. 

Spiritual exercise will enable you to FIND your purpose, while physical exercise will enable you to DO/FULFILL your purpose. 

 When? 

Spiritual exercises must be done daily, non-negotiably! Asides from dedicated times for spiritual exercises, opportunities such as waiting in a queue, traffic jams and so on can be maximized for spiritual exercises. It’s easier to perform physical exercises when you know you have to do it daily, however, experts suggest three times a week is enough to keep the body fit. 

 Where? 

Spiritual exercises can be done anywhere, from the bedroom to the bathroom to outdoors to places of worship! Physical exercises can be done in gyms, stadiums, race tracks and so on; however, to keep motivated, it is advisable to have some surface like a staircase or exercise equipment right at home if possible! That way, there will be little hindrances and no excuses! 

 Conclusion

It is all about the goal. Keeping the endgame in mind at all times will propel you; it will add fuel to your fire and purpose to your exercises, even when physical or spiritual weakness and lethargy kick in. Paul in 1 Timothy 4:8 says that “bodily exercise profiteth little”. An acquaintance of mine says ‘please add that ‘little’ to your daily activities!’

Knowledge is having the right information, understanding is having clarity about this information and wisdom is applying the clarified information. Application of what’s been read here will foster maximum benefits! Thank you for reading! Till next time!

Author: Charity O. Abass

Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and settle there, and build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” (Genesis 35:1 NIV)

                                                                         I

When God determines to help a man, a family or a generation, He pays enviable attention to them and becomes persistently committed to their course, arranging every opportunity to make sure they don’t go out of His determinate will. Remember that it was Terah (Abraham’s father) who first got inspired to go to Canaan, but he ended up dying in Harran against divine intention (Gen. 11:31-32). Abraham also caught the same vision when the Lord told him to leave his father’s house (Gen 12:1). God deliberately called him out to settle and separate his children for His eternal redemptive purpose. He needed to cut him off completely from his past. But it is surprising that many years later when Isaac, Terah’s grandson, would suggest a refuge for Jacob when he fled from his brother Esau, it was the same Harran he recommended (Gen 27:43). However, as Jacob started out on his journey, the Lord interrupted him in a night dream and made him discover Bethel (Genesis 28:10-29:1). Bethel (meaning: the House of God) was birthed out of the significant experience Jacob had as he was about to leave Canaan, stepping out of the Promised Land, to begin a hustle for an uncertain posterity or prosperity among the pagan Chaldeans. Bethel has deeper connotations for Jacob as well as many believers today. It is God’s presence, the secret place.

Bethel is a place of encounter.

An encounter is a form of contact or divine intervention, interruption or interference arranged to get a man’s attention back to God’s intentions for him. Arguably, God was not in full support of Jacob’s journey. God immediately interrupted him when He saw that Jacob had left Beersheba (a Well of Oath), a place of abundance and refreshing.God divinely arranged that the sun should set so that He (God) could show him His will.Here, Jacob had his first and first-hand experiential knowledge of the God of his fathers. This place practically became a reference point for both God and Jacob in their subsequent interactions. Every one of us at one point must have had a time, place or period of such immeasurable encounter either as dealings, revelations or salvation. Every meaningful record is traceable to a “Bethelian” encounter.

Bethel is a place of connection

It is at Bethel that the heavens connect with the earth, humanity with divinity, the terrestrial with the celestial, and the natural with the supernatural. It is a place beyond ordinariness. In his dream, Jacob saw a stairway that reached heaven and angels ascending and descending.This suggests that Bethel is a place of sharp spiritual discernment; there is no network failure there. Bethel represents any designated place in our houses and any period of the day when we enjoy real fellowship with God.

Bethel is a place of covenant

At Bethel, God re-established and formally transferred the Abrahamic covenant and inheritance to Jacob (Genesis 28:12-13). God personally pledged His presence with him and promised to bless and protect him. It is at Bethel one gains access and gets connected to divine covenant, purpose and promise for one’s destiny. Bethel was really a great discovery for Jacob, a revelation that was sufficient to camp around, an awesome place to settle in, a beginning to end his fruitless journey and start afresh. But despite all that he saw and received, when he woke up, Jacob only marked the spot with an altar and a name and went still on his journey to Harran.

                                                                          II

Have you discovered your Bethel: a place of daily encounter, a set time of uninterrupted fellowship with God in prayer and His word, a strategic stairway to the supernatural, a covenant or word to work with and walk in? God wants you to find and settle in your Bethel. Explore your Bethel. Don’t despise it, camp around its revelations for it will prosper you. Unfortunately, Jacob despised his own Bethel, but he paid dearly for it with twenty-one years of agony. He manipulated his way from God’s presence and went on his predetermined venture despite the divine visitation (Genesis 29:1). In Harran, he actually tried, he ran, but he was ageing and practically not moving forward. From him, we learn that any journey away from our Bethel is usually fruitless and stress-full. When a man decides to do anything or go in his own way, the consequences may not be bearable. Jacob left God’s House (Bethel), an atmosphere where he could have enjoyed and become the best of everything God could offer to mankind: the best of fellowship and spiritual growth experience, the blessing of fertile land, the security from God’s presence, to mention a few. He ended up in Laban’s House, a place where he was seriously battered. His journey became an adventure in terrible hostility, maltreatment and dehumanization. However, as I mentioned earlier, when God has selected a man for His purpose, He gets committed to helping him stay in line. When Jacob became totally stranded, God arranged for his escape. Hence, it is important, at this point, to consider God’s divine strategies for bringing men back to their Bethels:

                                                                          III

God sends His Word. Then the Lord said to Jacob, Return to the land of your family. (Gen31:3).  God’s word has been the most authentic tool in God’s hand for helping a man out of any trouble. Joseph remained in the dungeon until God’s word came to him. Outside Bethel God’s words are scarce, and revelations are not common. But God in His mercies deliberately sent His word to help Jacob out of slavery. When you are outside Bethel the only voice that repeatedly comes to you is ‘Return!/repent’. That’s a voice of mercy and redirection.

God sends unusual Blessing: For Jacob, God protected him and multiplied him uncommonly beyond his efforts. He gave him divine wisdom to acquire wealth such as he had never recorded before so that he could get prepared to go back and not return empty.

God withdraws His Blessing: Many have perished without remedy in foreign lands or in pursuit of a dead goal all in the name of “I must not return empty”. Naomi lost all in Moab when her family ran away from divine dealings through famine. When you see unusual blessings or notice unexpected persistent misfortunes, retrogression, unfruitfulness, stagnation, etc. check if it is not God calling you to return. Either blessing or misfortune can be God’s intervention for you to be back in His will.

God brings you in favour with your foes: The major reason Jacob could not stay in Bethel after his encounter was the grave fear that Esau would pursue and catch up with him there. But when he decided to come back, God arranged mercies to speak for him. As a sign of His mercy, intervention and involvement, when a man decides to go back to Bethel, God brings him into favour with his foes.

God may be forceful: When a man is insensitive or unbending to divine biddings through other means, God resorts to forceful measures. We have heard cases of those called into ministries, who because of their possessions, reputations or promotions, neglected His call. Some of them suffered the loss of body parts, loss of property and even loved ones. God had to disposition Jacob’s thigh, in the long run, to position him in His will.

                                                                        IV

Friends, you don’t need to suffer misfortunes or calamities before you respond to divine calls to return to Bethel. God doesn’t need to withdraw all He has invested in you because of your stiff-neckedness. It is just half of the year, it is wise to look back, discover the missing link and trace your steps back to Bethel where God told you He was sufficient for and ready to help you if you would trust Him. Jacob rejected God’s House/Will (Bethel), he never became better but battered and that for 21 years in Laban’s House. Jacob! Jacob! God’s calling. Go back to Bethel!   

Author: Oyetunji Sunday Abraham

I once witnessed a court session during which two accused persons were sentenced to death. After the judge read the judgment and left for her chambers, it could have seemed this was probably what the defendants duly deserved. Sadly, the comments passed later by the co-lawyers suggested that the lives of those men would have been “saved” if the lawyer had done a thorough job, without loopholes.

That is food for thought! One cannot afford to be mediocre; the consequences are grave! If mishandling earthly matters could be that costly, how much more the issues of eternity? How much more the things pertaining to doing the will of the Almighty God?

Let us look at the story of King Saul in the Bible. His appointment as king over Israel was God-ordained. Perhaps, Saul might never have imagined himself with a crown on his head as king over those multitudes, but it happened!

After some time during the reign of Saul as king, God gave him an instruction. Saul was to attack a nation called Amalek due to what they had done to Israel earlier (1 Samuel 15:3). He was to “utterly destroy” EVERYTHING – men, women, animals – everything! 

Saul set out to carry out the command and thereafter felt he had done all that God told him to do. He was eager to give the Prophet (Samuel) the report of this feat. 

1 Samuel 15:13 (NKJV, emphasis added)

Then Samuel went to Saul, and Saul said to him, “Blessed are you of the LORD! I have PERFORMED the commandment of the LORD.”

Saul boldly asserted that he had performed the commandment of the Lord! Wow! He must have been so proud of that! However, there was a missing gap, and Samuel rightly pointed it out. Yet, Saul probably did not get the point. 

His responses to Samuel seemed he might have been thinking, “I have of course done what God asked me to do. I utterly destroyed Amalek except for their king, and the best of their animals for sacrifice to God. I expect you to be praising me that I have done well.” (1 Samuel 15:1, 20 – 21)

Nonetheless, Samuel expressly revealed that Saul had instead disobeyed God though he did a part of the command given. That calls for some deep reflections! It is not enough to do a part of God’s will; one must go for the gold – do the will of God maximally, leaving no stone unturned!

Interestingly, in the Bible, we have another Saul who fulfilled God’s will maximally. This other Saul is popularly referred to as Paul. On a lighter note, we could as well title this piece: A Tale of Two Sauls. But then, let us take a cue from the second Saul (Apostle Paul).

2 Timothy 4:7 (KJV)

“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” 

That was a statement boldly made by a man who had done his work well. In the instance of King Saul cited earlier, he had not fulfilled every bit of what God required him to do, before he came to a halt. However, the other Saul (Apostle Paul) ensured he did a thorough job, to accomplish every part of what God wanted him to do, despite all odds.

Acts 20:24 (NKJV)

“But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”

For us as well, God has different instructions and assignments for each of us, according to His purpose for us. It behoves us to strive that we do everything excellently, without falling short in any area, so we could walk in the fullness of God’s beautiful plans for our lives.

Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9:24, wrote to believers that though everyone could run in a race, one person receives the prize. Hence, we should run in such a way that we would obtain it. We need to desire that we experience God’s very best, and not settle for less.

Dear believers, let us go for the gold – let us seek to stand perfect and complete in all the will of God, without any loose ends (Colossians 4:12). We do not just want to do a part of the will of God concerning our lives, we want to do everything God would have us do.

It’s possible there are some parts of God’s will for our lives that we are not yet giving due diligence and attention. This is a call for us to deliberately seek God to help us maximally fulfill His will, desires and instructions. Let us be always conscious of this, and keep trusting Him every day that we would not be found wanting in any area. It’s about going for the gold, and getting the very best!

Author: Fehintoluwa Ogunbowale

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16, NKJV)

Several phrases have been employed in the Bible to describe the Christian life. However, “walking in the Spirit” in this context depicts the Christian life as a journey. It equally shows us that this journey is “in the Spirit”. Hence, for anyone to be able to walk in the Spirit, they must first of all be in the Spirit.

For instance, if you wish to take an evening walk in a garden around your house, you would first of all have to get into the garden. Similarly, to be able to walk in the Spirit, one must at first be in the Spirit.

At this juncture, we may ask the question, how can one be in the Spirit? Or, what does it mean to be in the Spirit? Is “being in the Spirit” just about those somewhat special moments when one could feel like “Oh, yeah? I’m in the Spirit right now!”? Those could be certain times during Church services, times of worshipping God in songs, times of praying fervently to God, etc.

These are all beautiful, but, being in the Spirit, is far more than such subjective, varying experiences. There is an objective criterion in the Bible to determine whether one is in the Spirit or not. And what is that? Apostle Paul reveals it to us in his epistle to the Romans.

Romans 8:8 – 9 (NKJV)

8    So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 

9    But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

In other words, if the Spirit of God dwells in a man, then the man is in the Spirit. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of God is never a part of Him. It is by the Spirit of God that we have a vital union with God. That is how a man gets to be in the Spirit.

Our Lord Jesus Christ equally taught this when He was addressing Nicodemus, as recorded in the third chapter of Saint John’s Gospel.

John 3:5 – 6 (NKJV)

5    Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

6    That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

Anyone who is born of the Spirit of God is no longer of the flesh, but of the Spirit. Such a one has the Spirit of God, and is therefore regarded as being in the Spirit.

This crucial spiritual truth is the reality of every believer in Christ Jesus. They are in the Spirit because they have the Spirit of God in them. It sounds so simple, right? Yes, it’s simple but true.

But then, for us to vitally experience this reality, we have to walk in the Spirit. That is the “realm” in which we are able to live as those who are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit. We have received the Spirit of God so we can experience the “Spirit-life” — the divine life.

This is what Apostle Paul stated in the 25th verse of Galatians 5: “If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.” As such, walking in the Spirit is indispensable to us as believers.

It is by walking in the Spirit that we will no longer live according to the dictates of the flesh. This is what we have in our opening verse: “I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16, NKJV)

Do you remember the illustration of a garden that was mentioned earlier? Being in the garden is not enough; one has to walk around in the garden, to fully explore the amenities there. Similarly, for us to maximally enjoy what it means to be in the Spirit — to be a child of God — to have the Spirit of God, we have to walk in the Spirit.

Beloved, we have to be fully yielded to the Spirit of God. It requires being given totally to the things of the Spirit. This is not just based on certain activities we do in Church once in a while; it is about how we live the whole of our lives — in Church, at home, at work, with family members, with friends, etc.

The Holy Spirit is our Helper and Guide; He’s here to see us live the life which God has called us to live. We cannot live the Christian life successfully, without the Holy Spirit. It cannot be done in our own ability or power. We must never put confidence in our own “flesh”, we should rather walk in the Spirit — do things by the Spirit.

Hence, as we give ourselves continually to prayer, we are walking in the Spirit. In devoting ourselves to the word of God, we are walking in the Spirit. As we obey the Spirit of God in every circumstance, we are walking in the Spirit.

Let us allow the Spirit of God to transform us completely. We should not “quench the Spirit of God” (1 Thessalonians 5:19, NKJV), but we should give the Holy Spirit a free course in our lives. Since we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Author: Sam Oladosu

In my nearly two decades of Pentecostal Christianity, I had misunderstood Galatians chapter 6, especially verse 17. I had misinterpreted what Paul meant when he said: “From henceforth, let no man trouble me: for I bear on my body the marks of my Lord Jesus”. I had thought this scripture was Paul’s retort to naysayers and his invocation of God’s protection against his enemies. I had used that scripture to pray for God’s protection; I had assumed that by bearing the mark of Christ on my body, the enemy would not be able to attack me. I had misunderstood Paul because the mark, for him, was proof of the attack of the enemy and the world upon him. The Greek word for “mark” in the context of Galatians 6:17 is “stigmata” which simply denotes the infliction of wounds on the body. This word shares the same epistemological root with the word “stigma”. Basically, in the Greco-Roman-Jewish tradition of that time, stigmata were usually sutured on the skin of slaves and cattle in a way that suggested that they were forever at their owner’s/master’s beck and call. This new understanding of Galatians 6:17 challenged me. It made me ask myself: what bodily wound or societal shame have I borne for the sake of Christ, my master?

To provide a little more context to Galatians 6:17, Paul, in the earlier parts of Galatians 6, was addressing Judaizers in Galatia who were fixated on observing certain Jewish laws (while ignoring others) as a means to holiness. Paul felt a bit disappointed in the way these Judaizers challenged his teachings and the way they chose religiosity over sincere commitment to Jesus Christ. Hence, Paul told them: “let no man trouble me” –– that is, “do not inundate me with your religious queries”. Before making this statement, Paul had mentioned in the same chapter that he would glory in nothing but the cross of Christ. And now in verse 17 of Galatians 6, he is saying that he bears the mark of Christ on his body. These statements, again, point to Paul’s absolute commitment to Christ; it means that he is completely sold out to Christ, the same way a slave is sold out to his master. He is a prisoner – not held by chain but by commitment – to Christ. The marks on his body, of course, are the wounds and scars he got from proclaiming Christ as the son of God; they are the corporal punishments inflicted on him for being a disciple of Christ. They are his stripes of persecution which point to Jesus’ stripes at the crucifixion. The marks confirm Christ’s ownership of Paul; they confirm the fact that Paul did not own his life because he has been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20). Put differently, the immeasurable amount of suffering that Paul went through because of his association with Christ constituted the mark of Christ indelibly inscribed on him; they formed the stigmata that underlined his devotion to Christ (I Corinthians 11:24-27)

As I earlier mentioned, this new understanding of Galatians 6:17 challenged me–– and I hope it challenges you too. While many of us are not might not experience bodily mutilation because we choose to follow Christ, I wonder if the mark of Christ is inscribed on our minds? I wonder if the stamp of Christ reflects in our worldview and in the way we navigate our daily lives? Do people see the evidence of Christ’s ownership of you? Would people look at your life and conclude that you are sold out to Jesus. Has your affiliation with Christ ever been seen as a stigma by the world? Whether we like it or not, we are all marked by something. If the marks we bear are not Christ’s, then we must ask ourselves: whose/what marks do we bear?

Woe unto them that are at ease in Zion…(Amos 6:1)

We live in a world that idolizes ease. The ads, the technologies and the home appliances…everything these days seems to be moulded for convenience. This insatiable pursuit of convenience even slips into our everyday language so much that we often talk about “convenience stores” or about going to the “convenience”. It is human nature to desire comfort instead of hardship or difficulty. It is part of our Adamic nature to opt for the easiest way out and avoid any sort of unpleasantness. While all of these are not inherently immoral, and while having things easy in life (or having an easy life) is not necessarily unchristian, we must be careful not to make an idol out of our hunger for ease.

Man’s desire for ease may become a problem in his life; in fact, a man’s reach for ease can metamorphose into a spiritual disease. This is why prophet Amos declares woe unto the Israelites “who are at ease in Zion”. At this time in history, the Israelites as a nation experienced economic growth. They had so much confidence in their nation’s financial prosperity and, as a result, revelled in a vainglorious self-confidence. Many of them also prided in their luxuries and the ease with which they navigated life. Hence, as Amos points out, Israel’s uncritical embrace of ease dulled their spirits and sensualized their souls as they became indifferent about the things of God. In other words, Israel’s security in its wealth was a fleshly security — its ease was a carnal one. Again, the problem is not that ease is a bad thing; after all, Jesus promises to give rest ­– which is one kind of ease – to those who come to Him (Matt.11:28). The problem, in the case of the Israelites, is the source of, and the lust for, that ease. In essence, Amos shows, through the example of the Israelites, that the indulgent lust for comfort is sinful and that abundance can become a curse if we build our sense of security in it.

Jesus’ parable of the rich man who built bigger barns (also known as the parable of the Rich Fool) is instructive in the way it points to the banality of wealth accumulation. The rich man Jesus’ parable idolized the ease that his wealth brought him; he said to himself “soul, you have many goods laid up for many years. Take your EASE, eat, drink, be merry” (Luke 12:19). Again, the worship of ease is destructive. The love of convenience dulls our senses. When we overfeed our soul with revelry (rather than the things that edify), we become spiritually apathetic toward God and our neighbours. Part of the reasons why Amos declared woe unto them that were at ease in Zion was also because they neglected their neighbours who were in need. They became selfish in the way they avoided any sort of discomfort or any encounter with unpleasantness. When we prioritize our own ease over everything else, we become blind to the needs of the ones around us.  

The point is not that we become averse to material wealth but to materiality itself. When all we earnestly prayed for come to fruition, we must be careful not to relapse in our pursuit of God. No matter what our status is, we must strive not to lose our awe of God. We must check ourselves whenever we feel like we are becoming too comfortable with our spiritual standing with God (1 Cor 10:12). We must always be on the lookout for when our spiritual antennas start to blur especially when we experience a change in our socio-economic status. After all, Jesus said: “woe unto you who are rich for you have already received your comfort” (Luke 6:24).

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons (children) of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not” – 1 John 3:1

Personality is a comprehensive description of what a person is made up of in terms of qualities and characteristics that make them distinguishable from others. It is complex in the sense that it incorporates all the identities – such as professional, cultural, psychological, educational and so many other kinds of identities – that someone might possess by the virtue of who they are or what they do. Psychologists have tried to come up with a taxonomy of human personalities, but the personality of a Christian is deeper than this categorization. Usually, when people talk about themselves either in objective or subjective manner, they are trying to allude to their personalities. Thus, self and personality are inseparable.

Studies have shown that the concept of self can be bifurcated into me and I. ‘Me’, on one hand, emanates from the society. Set of statuses, titles, and labels that people go by are generally ascribed to them either through formal or informal social constructions – teacher, president, lawyer, doctor, mother, ‘beautiful’, dullard, professor, and ‘poor’ are examples of titles that might be ascribed to individuals by human society based on their biological or material situations. When there is a dissonance between an expected behavioural pattern of a person carrying a certain title or label, the description of the ascribed status changes in a way that may not be pleasant to its bearer. That is why titles and statuses can be withdrawn, suspended or invalidated. On the other hand, ‘I’ represents personal notion of self which may or may not be in relation to societal ascriptions. Simply put, ‘me’ is subjective self while ‘I’ is objective self.

The knowledge of ‘self’is significant in helping us to know who we are as Christians. My experience as a child raised in a religious home lends credence to how social ascriptions generally shape the perception of our person both as an individual entity and as a member of society. I knew from my childhood that to maintain a good stance as a well-brought-up child, it was necessary that I refrained from certain deviant behaviours.  There was a seeming conditioning of my cognitive and social consciousness on how to and how not to relate with people in order to attract positive evaluation necessary for general social acceptance and personal development. Going by the ‘social rating system’, I was a ‘good boy’. Sooner than later, I was ascribed the label of ‘pastor’; a title I carried throughout my days in school. Genuinely, I disagree with this social ascription! Why? I wasn’t always what the people thought I was – I had my flaws that were not open to social evaluation. I knew I needed to get God’s acceptance before I could truly be His child. Thankfully, I did the right thing.

A number of accounts in the Bible are also very instructive on this subject. When Jesus called the ‘Rich Young Ruler’in Matthew 19, He was not calling him into poverty but to a personality change. The society already gave him a positive evaluation and positive labelling – righteous, pious, rich, keeper of the law and so on – but his real personality with God was nothing to write home about. Zacchaeus, Rahab, Jabez, and Mary Magdalene are examples of people who went about with unpleasant labels that the society ascribed to them. But when these decided to subject their existence to what God would have them be, their personalities changed.

From time immemorial God’s people have been described, assessed and labelled differently. While the world places emphasis on material importance, God’s people are soulful and possess eternal entities that are not accessible to the lenses the world uses to evaluate its own. In John 15, we have a vivid description of how God wants His children to see themselves. Soon and very soon, the importance of keeping a Christian personality will be made popular – “when He shall appear, we shall be like Him” (1 John 1:2).

So, who are you?

Author: Lifted Jare

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke 9:23

Self-love, self-care, self-help, self-acceptance…we have come across these words a million times on TV, on social media, from friends, in books etc. We might have even at some point preached them to other people. On the surface, the words are innocuous; in fact, many people have testimonies of how believing in and acting on them transformed their lives. In a world where everyone is chasing ‘gains and profits’, where the value of a man comes down to the aggregate of his capital, where we are all caught up in the game of “eat or be eaten” and are fed with a “survival of the fittest” mentality, it makes sense that people would find respite in self-care and self-love. It makes sense that people look out for themselves and put themselves first in this world of rat races. However, for people who are not too invested in this world because they believe a better place is being prepared for them in the azure above, self and love are antithetical. At the centre of these expressions (self-love, self-care, self-help) is SELF, the very thing which Jesus instructs us to deny (Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:23).

Does self-denial then mean that one must live misanthropically or stoically? Certainly not. To be clear, self-denial does not imply that you should not take care of yourself nor does it mean that you cannot enjoy the good things of life. As someone puts it, “self-denial for the Christian means renouncing oneself as the center of existence (which goes against the natural inclination of the human will) and recognizing Jesus Christ as one’s new and true center. It means acknowledging that the old self is dead and the new life is now hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3–5)”. Self-denial is in not being at the center of your own show; it is in giving the remote control of your life to Jesus. It is not seeking your own glory or fame but Jesus’. It is in letting Jesus shine in and through you.  John the Baptizer gave a nod to self-denial when, at the sight of Jesus, he said: “He must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30). Paul is another figure who understood and lived in self-denial. In his letter to the Galatians, he wrote: “I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central… Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20, MSG). In other words, self-denial is in knowing that your life is not your own; it is understanding that you belong to God and live to serve His purpose. It is in thinking of your relationship with God in terms of what you can do for Him, not in terms of what is in it for you. The struggle, of course, does not end with this knowledge or thought. You need to make a conscious effort to reject the persistent demand of the self (also known as carnality or the natural man or the flesh) to control you. Remember that Jesus, the utmost personification of self-denial, prayed against his own will (self): “not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). In like manner, self-denial is a kind of self-discipline; it is what Paul describes as “bringing one’s body under subjection” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Interestingly the word ‘discipline’ comes from the word disciple– which goes back to what Jesus said: If any man will be my disciple (my emphasis), let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Self-denial is the true test of discipleship – and is meant to be a daily practice. It is a decision you make each day to live in obedience to Christ and in tune with His Spirit.

So, what should self-denial look like in daily life? From my own experience and from what the Holy Spirit has been teaching me (note: I am not even near perfect when it comes to denying myself), self-denial comes when I prioritize heavenly pleasure over earthly pleasure. For example, as a way of reducing (or even exterminating) the power of my flesh so as to energize my spirit, I sometimes deny myself food. While there are so many health benefits of fasting, for a Christian, it is a way of opening up yourself to God; it is a way of sharpening your spirit. One can also exercise self-denial through the act of giving. Jesus told a young man that to have treasures in heaven, he should sell all his possessions and give them to the poor (Matthew 19:21). In light of this, we exercise self-denial when we choose to give our hard-earned money to people who are more in need than us. This exercise in self-denial is a way of showing that our assets or possessions do not have control over us. Self-denial may also come in the form of choosing to live modestly. Believe it or not, choosing modesty when you can easily afford luxuriance requires a lot of self-denial. When, on a daily basis, the urge to live flamboyantly or show off comes, you deny yourself by choosing moderation. Other forms of self-denial in daily living may include choosing to pray or meditate on God’s words when you can easily choose to watch Netflix or play a video game. It may also involve denying yourself sleep in order to intercede for others. It may involve denying yourself comfort if it will bring a smile to someone’s face. Self-denial is in being your brother’s keeper. A life of self-denial is ultimately a life a service: service to God and service to others. Christian self-denial is in losing one’s life in order to find it (Matthew10:39).

It is with great joy that I welcome you to the year 2022. No doubt, 2021 came with all shades of positive and negative things, but we are most grateful to God that we are to celebrate the new year.

From childhood, I have always known the new year resolution to be the culture of many even though most people don’t follow through on the decisions made at the dawn of the year (and many may be discouraged to continue the endless cycle of making resolutions). The culture is still a good one to hold on to, so we can evaluate our lives and do more for ourselves because our decision dictates our destiny. It will be a good thing to make realistic and achievable decisions and not be carried away by emotions.

Many times, the reason for our failure in the resolutions we make might be because we are aiming to do too many things at the same time. One of the profound scriptures that came alive to me in 2021 is: “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11). It serves as the summary of what we should resolve to do in just three phrases. If these three things are followed through, we will find ourselves living fulfilling lives. It’s important to note that these three are very important, and not one is more important than the other. However, for this blog post I want to look more into spiritual fervency because it seems to be the most ambiguous of the three.

I came across several synonyms and definitions of fervency, which include but are not limited to having fervor, zeal, the intensity of feeling, enthusiasm, fire, heat, boiling over, intensity, passion, vehemence and even violence. Going through each of the detailed definitions of these synonyms alone in the context of spiritual fervency is both enlightening and reviving. Of all the definitions of fervency that I came across, the terms ‘boiling over’ and ‘fire’ caught my attention and gave a refreshing understanding. We can’t just ignore the fact that God expects us to have an active spiritual life. Fire can’t go unnoticed, and water at a boiling point comes with restlessness and heat. This is the explanation of the burning passion God would want for our spiritual life and towards him. The question is: can we then truly say we are fervent spiritually?

It is important for us to note that God is not pleased with anyone who has drawn back in passion towards him and his work, examples were found in the letters John wrote to the angels of the churches which stated: “I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou were cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth”( Revelation 3:15-16). To the church in Ephesus in Revelation 2:2-5, he wrote: “I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent”.

These verses show that when a man lacks passion and enthusiasm towards God, he is likely to fall. It is therefore very important to start with the evaluation of our spiritual lives to know where we have fallen, repent where necessary, and go back to what we did when the passion was there. This can only be achieved when we come sincerely to God to restore the passion and excitement (joy) in our hearts. David prayed: “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation” (Psalm 51:12a).

Even though we may belong in faith, we need to position ourselves as newborn babes as instructed by Apostle Peter to desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2).

When we saturate ourselves with the word of God in an atmosphere of the Holy Spirit, we will have the testimony of Jeremiah in Jeremiah 20:9, which states: Then I said, I will not make mention of him, nor speak any more in his name. But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay.

We cannot have the word burning in us and not share the gospel. Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Heb. 4:16

It is also very important to know that our spiritual fervency can only be sustained by consistent prayer life and waiting. 

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:30-31.

One of the acts that bring sustainable answers to our request comes when we have intentional and fervent prayers. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. James 5:16b KJV. I love the way the Amplified Bible, Classic edition put it; “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].

Finally, 1 Peter 4:8 instructed that above all things have fervent charity (love) among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

Love is the height of spirituality and we should pursue fervently this virtue alongside our passions in prayers, words, and evangelism. Men of like passion like Apollo (Acts 18:24-25), Epaphras (Col. 4:12) to mention just a few have displayed fervency in their spiritual lives, burning actively in their prayer life, intercession, and love. The Lord is more than willing to give us more fervency this new year if we are willing to position ourselves for the fire from heaven to descend on our altars.

Author: Victor Ogunlola