THOSE WHO KNOW THEIR GOD pt 1

I was admiring the achievement of a sister in Christ and at the same time challenged when the scripture Daniel 11:32 ("... but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.") crept into my heart and has stayed.

It was an answer to an unsaid question," why can't I?"

Then the Holy Spirit opened my heart to the following truth, which i will share in the next few weeks.

Daniel 11 showed clearly that our knowledge of God will be known or tested in the face of temptation, persecution, affliction etc. just as light is valuable in darkness. Just like the 10 virgins, we are all natural carriers of the Light of God. We have been empowered with the lamp but we have the responsibility to fuel it and keep the fire burning.

How we keep burning for God is in our knowledge of Him.

What it means to know God?

I needed to ask myself this question and these 5 answers were what I got from Daniel 11:32 in various Bible versions.

1) Commitment

Daniel 11: 32(MSG)

...but those who stay courageously loyal to their God will take a strong stand.

To know God means to be committed to Him. Commitment means to stay (be rooted) in God. This means we must be committed to the word, to prayer and to fasting. We must be committed to fellowshipping with God. It's an investment of time and resources to build a relationship with God. It's very profitable too.

2) Courage 

To know God means courage to stand in the face of opposition. Courage to have faith (believe) in God despite the reality.

3) Loyalty

Loyalty means to give or show firm and constant support or allegiance to a person or institution. 

Knowing God means to give firm and constant support to the things of God. Regardless of our situation, condition or position in life, we must remain loyal like Apostle Paul...when we have plenty and when we have nothing.

...to be continued...

WELCOME TO 2016: HOW TO STAND WITH GOD

I am delighted to welcome you to Year 2016. I have had this surge of excitement for this New Year since last year August. I cannot explain why but I believe it’s because what the Lord is set to do this Year is way beyond us. By the end of the year we will be dazed by the goodness of God over our lives.

CONVICTED OR CONDEMNED

The summary of what you are about to read is that God loves you so much whether you love Him in return by words or by deed. Continue reading if you want to hear more about the Love of God. 

God Wants You To Prosper

One of the ways the devil has robbed us of our benefits as a disciple of Jesus is that until we become poor we cannot be righteous, holy or bring pleasure to God. Someone once said affirmatively that there are people that are like Christ living in this world (yes I agree) but they are only found in the villages where there is no civilization and they live in penury (I disagree).

You can live in the city and be righteous. You can be rich and be holy. You can be wealthy and be like Jesus. 

THE EXEMPLARY YOUTH

For the cycle of man's fleeting life, like the cycle of the revolving year, has its succession of seasons -- its springtime of childhood, its summer of youth, its autumn of maturity, and its winter of old age. The season of youth is a very glad and glorious time. It has all the freshness of spring and all the fertility of summer. Yet it is a season of great and frequent perils (Bible Illustrator NT).

Youthfulness is accompanied by vigor and vision which is an attractive tool for the enemy (devil). For this reason we fight battles with the devil that we cannot afford to lose because at the old age when we would realize that all is vanity, we would no longer have the strength neither the vision(Acts 2:17).

FRIENDS

We are influenced by our friends, even more than our families, probably because we spend more time with friends than with family as we grow up. I assume this is why an adage says “Show me your friend and I will tell you who you are”, and not “show me your family”. Our lifestyle is defined by the company we keep. Therefore it is paramount that we chose our friends wisely. Our friends don’t choose us but we chose them. It is our choice to

REPENTANCE

I was just wandering why I kept doing the things I had never wanted to do again because after doing those things, I feel unattractive to the Grace of God.

I have been thought that determination will not do the magic but only Grace could set me free from this ‘thing’ that easily entangles me. Only Grace could set me free from self righteousness. Only Grace could take me to the everlasting realm I longed to live through holiness and refined righteousness.

So I began to consciously look out for Grace. I thought that Grace was a knowledge I needed to attain. I tried to apply the principle of Grace. I forgot that Grace is a function of the Spirit and not of the flesh. I tried to apply Grace to my human reasoning but I ended up becoming my own grace. The inevitable result was that I got more entangled.

If you have ever felt this way, you are not an alien.