HAVE YOURSLEF A MERRY CHRISTMAS

My Lovely Brother and Sister

Over Two Thousand years ago, Heaven invaded Earth in the form of a baby boy. Wrapped in swaddling clothes, surrounded by animals; little did the parents know that they were holding God of the very God in their hands. Little did they know that the creator of Heaven and Earth, who was before time began; had made himself of no consequence and lay in their arms innocent and vulnerable. So was the humanity of Christ throughout his life that it took special revelation from the Father himself to know that this man was the Son of God.

Jesus drank, ate, slept and laughed with people. He went to the feasts and parties and enjoyed friendships like we all do. Heck!! His first miracle was at a wedding, where he turned water into some good alcoholic (yes, alcoholic) wine. At one time he makes a very telling statement,  

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’  The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”  Matthew 11: 18-19

When he says he was ‘eating’ and ‘drinking’ I don’t think he was talking diet foods and sparkling water. (He says they slanderously called him a Drunkard, obviously he was never drunk but that should give you some insight)

Why did God dwell among us in such a fashion? Why did he live such a human life? How come he did not just go around floating in the air, radiating light and having the energy flow of the earth as food? How come this man who displayed perfect union with God; who never did anything except he saw the Father doing it, lived such a Human life?

This Christmas you’ll be bombarded with blogs and sermons (some good and some bad) about the mystery of incarnation and about the reasons Jesus came into the earth, (for a very good blog on this topic, click this link), so I’m not going to get into it. What I do want to point out is that apart from the carols and the church service and all the politics and “spiritual” stuff that will occur this season, I will be spending this season with my wife, my siblings, and my brothers and sisters in our fellowship. We will eat, drink, sing, dance, watch movies, laugh at old jokes and make new ones. We will sleep over at each other’s houses and maybe even start a new quarrel while squashing an old one. In other words, we will be utterly human.

Jesus showed us that Divine life and Human life are completely compatible. He showed us that the reason we turned things upside down and life’s pleasures like parties for instance became drunken orgies was because we had lost our connection with the Divine. Well, he restored that connection. In him we are perfectly united with God, we do not need to deprive ourselves and engage in Gnostic fasts or New Age meditation to attain that union or even feel it. If you want to feel God’s life in you, play with your child, laugh with friends, eat a fantastic meal, kiss your wife, read a great book. You know that joy, that tingling sensation running down your spine? It is God expressing himself through you. At any rate, we do not live by our feelings, we live by what we know and believe; our feelings then follow that belief.

This Christmas, don’t be a Grinch, don’t be grumpy and seal yourself in the house. Don’t think you’re being spiritual by refusing to have clean, wholesome fun on this ‘pagan holiday’. Loosen up a bit knowing that every time you engage with people you love; you are expressing the Divine Life we have been given through the incarnation of Christ Jesus.

Grace and peace be with you

(This post is dedicated to my beloved father, who will be thousands of miles away from us on Christmas day. Till we meet again, my heart is always with you. Thank you for all the wonderful Christmases)

December 12, 2011

WHO ARE WE REALLY?

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him… (Colossians 2: 15-19)

Think about the scripture quoted above, I mean really think about it. When he says Jesus is the image of the invisible God and that all things were created in him: all things! That is mindboggling. Many times I see God as just this being that created Earth and everything in it. Sometimes we even bring him down to just an immortal father and we kind of underestimate his potency. We think he’s only there to give us moral support or to stabilize our emotions when we go through challenges (I think this is partly due to the romantic nature of God himself; he’s so loving) and then one day, he’ll take us home to a place where there will be no more sorrow.

However, the implications of the statements made about God and Jesus in the Epistles show us a different story. Jesus is infinitely more than just the High Priest with great empathy for us, he is more than the guy who comforts us in our sorrows, more than the God who will come and deliver us from this decaying world; he is the creator of the Universe. All the other things and life forms in all the other planets, galaxies and solar systems have no other God than Jesus. They all exist in him. Anything that exists in the physical AND in the spiritual realm dwells in him. “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible”. There is no other God but Jesus who embodies the fullness of the Godhead, there is nothing that exists without his consent, absolutely nothing, anywhere! Before anything appeared; before there was space, before there was time, before there was heaven, He has always existed and forever exists

Beloved, our God is bigger than we can ever imagine. Jesus is infinitely bigger than we can imagine. Flowing from this premise, when he says that we have been given his fullness; that we are exactly like him:

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. (Colossians 2:9-10)

In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the Day of Judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17 AMP)

This God, that not only created everything but has everything in him, everything!! He has made himself into a man and forever united himself to his creation. He has established in Christ’s body a vital union with humanity wherein we become partakers of his Divine nature (2 Peter 1:1-4). He has made us just like him.

When we begin to consider just how big and awesome and all encompassing Jesus really is, we will begin to comprehend that we will need an eternity to comprehend just what we really are. We cannot begin to know the depths of the New Creation. We have not even begun to really plumb the depths of who we really are. This, to me is the priority of the Church; learning together who we are, understanding what has changed and the implications of the Divine life that flows within our being. This seems like an impossible task, but like Paul, we will pray:

“that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. Amen.” ( Ephesians 1:18-23)

Grace be with you always

IT'S NOTHING STRANGE

A few days ago, at our gathering, I and my friends experienced some serious push back from our other brethren over the things we teach and advocate; legalists afraid that we are giving people too much Grace and are encouraging people to go and sin because God loves them anyway (this of course is not true, even at that meeting we constantly said that to flirt with the Law is to court sin). I have also been getting the feeling from my friends on social networks that they are experiencing such treatment from friends and respected leaders alike.

It’s not much of a big deal when people from outside misinterpret what we are doing. It will hurt, but not so much. However, It could be quite disheartening when people you consider your family and friends do not understand your heart and join in persecuting you and accuse you of being a heretic, just because you choose to teach what the Bible says without diluting it. I believe this is why Jesus said he had come with a sword to bring division between family members (Luke 12: 50-52). It’s not that the message of Grace is divisive or confrontational. It is that when people refuse to agree with the message, it could lead to some serious conflict

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” (1 Peter 4: 12-14, NIV)

Sometimes we use the preceding verse to console ourselves during trying times, like when a person is sick, broke or something like that. While I tend to agree with that; we shouldn’t let the vicissitudes of life get to us. Everybody has problems, we shouldn’t take that as a punishment from God, rather we fight the devil, resist him and he will flee. However, the context of these verses is clearly persecution; he speaks of participating “in the sufferings of Christ” as being “insulted because of the name of Christ”. But note what he says we should do when this happens; don’t be surprised, it’s not strange. I personally take solace in this statement.

I think it’s time for us who are coming to know the Grace of God (especially we younger ones, I believe the older generation of Grace Preachers have been through A LOT) to come to terms with this fact. The Gospel is news that sounds too good to be true, for that reason we sometimes get frustrated when our friends don’t get it and accept it. However, let us realize that they don’t get it BECAUSE it sounds too good to be true. Most of them are well meaning religious folk who are trying their very best to please this angry God that they have been told about since their youth.

Let’s take a journey into ancient history and see how the Jews of the early Church were being treated by their brethren. History records that they were seen as heretics, their properties were confiscated, they were excommunicated from the synagogue and everyone refused to do business with them, sound familiar? This is coupled with the fact that Jewish and Gentile believers were constantly being imprisoned and brutally killed by the Roman Empire. Now I admit that many of us might not be exposed to such extreme persecution (and many of us will), but none of us will escape persecution. “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”(1Timothy 3:12, NIV)

My take on this is that as we begin to move deeper into the truths of the Gospel and as the true Gospel continually takes root, the devil will increase his pressure to persecute us using every avenue possible, especially the religious establishment. It is what it is. So don’t feel bad or discouraged when people go against you and call you names because you say God is a lot nicer than we think. It’s just normal. In fact, expect it. The only people who will not be persecuted are those who speak lies and try to please everyone with their sweet tongues (the Epistles have a lot to say about such people, and the ruin that awaits such liars).

Let’s not feel frustrated about the way people treat us, rather let us pray a prayer that the Apostles prayed when they were persecuted:

 “Lord, consider the bad things they say they are going to do. Help us to be very bold when we speak your word.  Stretch out your hand to heal. Do miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus”

Delighted to have you

In my life, I have been around couples who have been earnestly expecting their babies. People who have been married for a long time; 2years, 3 years, 4 years, even 8 to 10 years. I have seen them live without having a baby. They go from month to month in hope and expectation. Months turn into years and some of them loose hope, others keep fighting. Then at last the conception comes to full term and a baby is born.

There is nothing more incredible to see than the joy on the faces of these couples when they finally have a baby. The way they light up when they talk about it, the gratefulness in their voice when they think of all they have been through and how God has resolved it. The way they look at the child; they love and cherish that child. At that moment, they are the happiest people in the world.

“Before the creation of the world, he chose us through Christ to be holy and perfect in his presence. Because of his love he had already decided to adopt us through Jesus Christ. He freely chose to do this” Ephesians 1: 4-5 (GWT)

Before anything that was made was made, before the beginning of time, the Father had purposed in his heart that humanity would be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ. Before he said the words that precipitated the Big Bang, God already decided that mankind would end up as his children. Sometimes we go off on all these various tangents on the will of God for our lives. We have reduced it to things that we have been created to do; heal the sick, evangelise, plant a Church, start a multi-million dollar corporation. The real will of God for us is adoption through Jesus Christ. All these things we do are a result of this one will of God; we do these things from our position of security and assurance of our adoption.

Now, just how long did it take for God to accomplish this goal in us? Four thousand years!!!!!! Since the creation of Adam till the birth of Christ, it was close to Four Thousand years. I personally don’t believe it had to be that long; if Adam had not taken a bite from the wrong tree, I don’t think it would have taken too long at all. But he did and the Trinity had to painstakingly work out their plan through the murk and the wreckage of a fallen humanity. Until thousands of years later, Jesus was born. When he was born, God had to wait another Thirty Three years for the Son to fully accomplish his ministry and go to the Cross to complete the work of atonement. Now, the Father had to watch him being shred to bits for our sake, he was beaten beyond recognition and killed in a most humiliating way; just to have us as his sons, just to have you as his son. Then after his death, the father had to wait another three days for him to rise again, marking the beginning of the New Creation. The first Adam was dead and the last Adam had emerged. Finally, the Father had to wait another fifty days for the Holy Spirit to descend on the One Hundred and Twenty disciples marking the beginning of the Church.

At last, God had his Children, we had been reconciled unto him, and we have become his sons. The idea of sonship here is not about making us one gender; it is about making us heirs with Christ, and bringing us close to himself. If Humans who have waited for years for their child to be born can be so ecstatic, how much more our God who had to wait thousands of years in order for him to send his Spirit into us, enabling us to at last call him “Abba, Father, Daddy, Papa” (Galatians 4:6)

Then you were born. You probably had no idea of what has happened to you. You were told by people whose minds were still in Adam that you are far away from God; that you are an abomination to him. That he would have nothing to do with you until you did this or did that. Maybe you believed that there is no God. Or you believed that there are many ways to God. Until one day, you came to realize one way or the other that Jesus is the Way to the one true God and that he loves you. At that point you acknowledged him in your heart; you decided to follow him, you prayed the prayer, you cried or whatever other ritual you engaged in, bottom line: you acknowledged him. You changed your mind about God and made a positive U-turn. This is what Jesus has to say about moments like that:

“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy IN THE PRESENCE of God’s angels over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10 NET)  

There is an important point here. Growing up, I was told that the angels had joy over the sinner’s repentance. That is not what he said; the joy is in the PRESENCE of the angels. My friend, the day you repented of your false vision of God, God rejoiced. He rejoiced that you were getting one step closer to understanding his heart towards you. He is not disappointed in you. He is pleased to have you. He has waited for over two thousand years to have you brought into existence and be in his presence, he wants you to enjoy him as much as he enjoys you. Neither is he surprised at your mistakes and pitfalls. Your sins are not coming as a shock to him. He knows all about it and he is working at making you shed off the skin that Adam has put you in and put on the image of his first born, Jesus; which is your true image (1 John 4:17)

He enjoys watching you play. He loves to watch you do your little hobbies. He loves it when you kiss your wife or hug your friends or relish a good meal. He has waited a long time to have you and he is happy that you are here. It is a joy to have you, and as you repent even more by reading this blog and realizing that the Father is happy to have you, you will feel joy in your heart. That joy is a reflection of the joy the Trinity feels about your mere presence and about your repentance; it is the Holy Spirit giving you a glimpse of how they feel about you.

Thank you Father, Son and Holy Spirit for loving us before we existed and making sure your love plan for us did not fail- Even when we tried to abort it

THE SNARE OF LEGALISM PT II: GIVING

One of the best parts of a Church gathering to me is the testimonies. I love to hear how God is helping people in their health, finances, families and so on; I love it when a couple who have been expecting a baby for years finally get pregnant. I love when families get reunited after years of estrangement. I love it when people come and testify about getting a promotion in their jobs. While all these things do not prove God’s love for us- the cross is our proof, it does feel good to know that our father takes delight in the prosperity of his children.

However, a trend I find disturbing amongst many of these testimonies is the emphasis of what they gave as a form of ‘seed’ that then germinated into an ‘harvest’ of the breakthrough they were seeking. This to me is one of the most prevalent forms of legalism in Christian circles. I must confess that I fall for this sometimes, especially when it comes to finances. I personally believe that this is because money is so important in human dealings that once a shortage occurs in our pockets; we automatically go into panic mode and immediately begin to tell ourselves something must be done. In such panic moments, we will latch on to any teaching or encouragement that seems to suggest that by giving something, “God will let go of our blessings”. Why? It affirms our sense of responsibility. Plus I honestly think many of us don’t believe God is good enough to give us things freely. We believe he requires some sacrifice.

 “What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also, along with him GRACIOUSLY give us all things…..” Romans 8: 31-32(NIV) (emphasis mine)

Brethren, God is irrevocably and unrepentantly for us. He demonstrated that eternal support for you when he sent his only Son; the only one who pleased him thoroughly and eternally, to become a man, live for you, suffer untold anguish for you and ultimately die for you. God has got your back unconditionally; he is not waiting for you to release what is in your hands before he releases what in his hands. In fact, the verses quoted above tell us that God has already graciously given us all things along with Jesus. In other words, when he sent Jesus, he sent everything.  The word ‘graciously’ can be translated ‘freely’. He freely at no charge gave us everything. He freely included us in the fellowship of the Father, Son and the Holy SpiritH

Holy Spirit; to partake of the Divine nature and to freely experience the unlimited self-sufficiency in Christ’s sufficiency

At this juncture I must state clearly that I believe in giving. I believe a Christian has received the same generous spirit that God has; thus a Christian who is not willing to give to the local Assembly and the community at large has not grasped of what spirit he is. We are to give spiritually, emotionally, AND FINANCIALLY. As we grow in all aspects of Grace, we are instructed to also grow in the Grace of supporting our ministers and brothers in need (2 Cor. 8 and 9). My argument is that the motive for our giving must change in charismatic circles. Our giving is not supposed to be a way of buying miracles, security, or warding off curses. It is an act from a pure regenerated heart that has become as generous as our father in heaven. If you are being blessed at your local assembly, then it behooves you to support that assembly in any way. We do not need to be manipulated by fear or pity to give. Neither do we need to engage in any giving in order to access or qualify for the blessing

The idea that God needs something from us as a form of sacrifice makes God no different from the idols and demons our ancestors used to worship. They always demanded a price to be paid for their favours; and after giving the favours, they would still inflict damage on them and their descendants.

“and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^[ to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. ¹³ For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins….” (Colossians 1: 12-14 NIV) (Emphasis mine)

The whole point of this series is to point out that the Father has already qualified us; How? He rescued us from darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In other words, the Father loves and approves of the Son, and by the Holy Spirit has put us in the Son. Therefore, the Father is fully approved of us and requires no spiritual exercise on our part to bless us.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ...” (Ephesians 1:3 NIV) (Emphasis mine)

In Christ, we are blessed. We are not going to be blessed, we are not waiting to be blessed, and we sure as heaven are not meant to strive or give ‘X” amount of money in order to qualify for God’s blessing. So rejoice and give out of love, not out of fear or compulsion. Give what you can, when you can. Most especially, DO NOT let ANYBODY guilt you into giving.

Grace be with you and continue to bask in the Love of God

The Snare of Legalism

Before we continue with today's post, I want to give my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of Victims of the 9/11 attacks. May the God and father of all comfort, comfort them as we remember this horrendous event

In the next set of blogs, I will begin a series tagged “the snare of legalism”. My hope with these series of blogs is that it will open us up to allow the Holy Spirit make some crucial changes in our thought processes when it comes to our relationship with God.

In my years of fellowshipping with believers of various kinds and various denominations; I have noticed a common thread amongst us all (myself included) i.e. the need to participate, to be somehow involved in the process of our salvation. This takes many shades but the bottom line is we want to be able to say something to the effect that “I did this, and that happened as a result”. Although most Christians would not want to say “I am a self-made man”, deep down inside, on some level, we would all love to comment that we “played our part AND THEN AND ONLY THEN did God play his part”.

Unfortunately, this kind of attitude is nothing short of legalism. The idea that there is some principle we must adhere to; some rule we must keep; books we must balance; some sort of Spiritual exercise we must do in order to be in Gods good graces. This is not only antithetical to the Gospel, it is the very snare that tricked Adam and Eve and pulled them down into Sin.

“For by Grace you are saved through faith, and this is not form yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not form works, so that no one can boast” …Ephesians 2:8-9(NET Version)

 “You were saved by faith in God who treats us much better than we deserve. This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about”...Ephesians 2: 8-9 (CEV)

The Bible clearly states here that our salvation is not a product of our efforts; we only participate in it through faith. Some scholars would even contend (and I align myself with them) that even the faith with which we partake of this wonderful grace of God is not our own, even that is God’s gift to us through the representative nature of Jesus Christ.

Some of you may argue that salvation here refers to being saved from the power of Sin; that Jesus delivered us from Sin at the Cross, so there is nothing for us to do about that; but we must do certain things to maintain our salvation. But you must understand that Jesus did not just die on the Cross, he resurrected and ascended into heaven, carrying humanity along with him (Ephesians 2: 1-8). There is nothing we did to deserve these things (this union with the Godhead) and there is nothing, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING we can do to maintain that relationship.

“…For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Now to him who works, the wages are not COUNTED AS GRACE BUT AS DEBT”… Romans 4:2-4 (NKJV)(emphasis mine)

The point being made here is that when it comes to the grace of God, there is no work involved. Just like Abraham did nothing to deserve the blessing of God other than to believe in God. He goes further to state that the promise is for us who believe with the faith of Abraham (Romans 4:16). Abraham was declared righteous because he believed, not because he took “12 steps to living in prosperity”. It was by reason of this unmerited righteousness that he became the great man we know and call our father in faith.

“You foolish Galatians! Who has cast a spell on you? Before your eyes Jesus Christ was vividly portrayed among you as crucified! The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you trying to finish by human effort? Have you suffered so many things for nothing?-if indeed it was for nothing. DOES GOD THEN GIVE YOU THE SPIRIT AND WORK MIRACLES AMONG YOU BY YOUR DOING THE WORKS OF THE LAW OR BY YOUR BELIEVEING WHAT YOU HEARD? Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, so then, understand that those who believe are the sons of Abraham… Galatians 3:1-6 (NET Version) emphasis mine)

Notice in the verses above that Paul clearly states that we cannot switch from being saved by faith to maintaining our Christianity through legalism. God does not give us the Spirit or work miracles among us, even now through our works but by our faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I believe when legalists see results in life “through” their works, what happened was that they were finally able to rest and receive from God having satisfied their conscience that they deserved to be blessed. It had nothing to do with God, he has always been supplying, and they just couldn’t receive it because they couldn’t rest. However, I believe that those who receive from God based on their works and spiritual exercises will never be able to experience God blessings in the fullness of its glory. (2 Corinthians 3: 7-11).

Legalism is a snare, a trap by the enemy. It appeals to our ego. The sad part is that we can never do enough; there is no standard by which we know that we have arrived; we must always do more in terms of quantity and quality. What is even sadder is that this kind of thinking feeds the ego even more; it drives us to engage in these exercises to the point of exhaustion. I’ve been there so I know. At that point, we are left with two general reactions. We either lash out in frustration; forsaking the whole God thing altogether, or we get inflated egos and believe we have done something worth commending; we become self righteous. It leads to people being susceptible to all sorts of manipulation, fear, condemnation and guilt; all of which make us draw back from our loving father. When he stretches out his arms to embrace us in love, we run away thinking that he wants to draw us near in order to reach us with his whip and punish us.

There is nothing he requires because there is nothing we can do to qualify for God’s blessing, he has done everything and qualified us to partake of the inheritance of the Saints in the light (Colossians 1:12). Believe that and let your mind be at rest. Let him love you

Grace be unto you

The Center of All Things

William Paul Young made a statement to the effect that it is a Testament to God’s love and patience with us all, that He did not smite his abusive father; he wanted him to repent and embrace his love. This got me thinking all day yesterday

One of the most destructive consequences of Adam eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil is that it put man in the center of his existence. In our eyes, WE became the custodian of Good and Evil; we determine what is good and what is evil in relation to us.  As a result, our minds tend to view life like a movie where everything revolves around us; “I am the Protagonist”, “I am the good guy”, “I am the one getting a raw deal”, “everybody is against me”, “this person hurt ME”, “he's been good to ME” and the list goes on. This leads to the inevitable conflicts, disappointments and countless evils when people’s interests clash (as they always do).

However, this is just a flawed reality created by the fall of man, what is the true reality?

“We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God's original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

He was supreme in the beginning and—leading the resurrection parade—he is supreme in the end. From beginning to end he's there, towering far above everything, everyone. So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe—people and things, animals and atoms—get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the cross.”(Col. 1:15-20,The Message Translation)

The centre of all things is Christ, he is the Supreme Being, the one in whom we can find purpose, meaning and rest. Without him we will never be satisfied for he is the reason we are all here; to be in perfect union with him and to live from that union. Christ is the good guy of this Movie!!!! We all revolve around him. And you know the good news? He’s madly in love with us all. This thought bears serious implications in our relationships and our view of others. We are to renew our minds to this true reality and view ourselves, people, events and life in general in relation to Christ and his love for us. If we do, then we will begin to see the world the way it really is; the way God sees it.

Below are Paul Young's fantastic Novel and another precious book by Frank Viola that I highly recommend.

Grace and Peace be multiplied to you

Bask in His Love

My good friend Seun Idowu wrote a fantastic article on his blog. Please find the link below

The Wayfarer: The Final Destination

Because I want you to read his blog, I will not belabor the points he made; I think a brief summary will be enough on this platform: He makes a valid point that God is Love and the attributes of love as expressed in 1Corinthians 13 are attributes that belong only to God. God has however enabled us to have this love; he has in fact “poured out” his love into our hearts (Romans 5:5). He then concludes with the imperative that we ought to love like God loves (because in fact we can)

But how do we get to the point where we willingly and unconsciously walk in the unconditional love that the Trinity has shown towards us? My friend gives the only solution; it is in experiencing the love of God first hand. In 1 John 4: 19, John discloses to us a startling discovery:  “we love because he loved us first”. This means the only reason we love God or people is because we were first recipients of his love. This also means the more we enjoy his love and bask in his love for us, the more loving we become. This of course leads to the next question, how do I experience God’s love?

It is at this point that I believe I must speak, for unfortunately my friend did not expressly tell us how to experience the Father’s love. The danger in that kind of open-ended instruction is that people tend to look for love in all the wrong places. In my years I have noticed people who have created yardsticks for whether or not God loves them- and by extension everybody else. They either use their personal circumstances (financial, Health, relationships) as evidence of God’s love or the peace and serenity of their immediate environment

Let me just be direct with you and say that nothing on this earth can truly prove the kind of love the Bible tells us God has. If we look to our physical world as evidence of God’s love, all we will be left with is a “God” whose love is fluctuating; We could look to nature and all its beauties and this great universe that God made in order to accommodate Human life, we can be in awe, but what about earthquakes and disasters, diseases, terrorism and all these other things. The moment we witness any of these, we might conclude that God has somehow stopped loving the unfortunate victims. If we look at our lives and all the good things he has done and use that as a yardstick for God’s love for us, we will definitely be encountering a fluctuating God. Nobody’s life is perfect, and sometimes in our minds the bad occurrences in our lives far outweigh the good. We could lose a loved one, go into debt, and experience untold hardship. Times like those will give you the impression that God is punishing some sin or is one way or the other displeased with you. No!!!! The Godly love we read in the Bible contradicts the conclusions we make when we look to our environment for an experience of His love.

God is not displeased with us under the New Covenant neither is he any longer the author of Natural disasters. We live in a fallen world, where Adam has dragged all of creation into death. Christ came to conquer death thereby transferring us from death to life. However, the earth is still groaning for us to begin to manifest that son ship by pulling the earth out of its dying state (Romans 8: 18-22). Furthermore, not all men have come to believe in this great work that has been accomplished on our behalf by God. As such we have several people who are still living with an Adamic state of mind. They still take stupid actions and these actions ripple into horrible consequences for themselves and people all around them. All around us are people who are not living out of a relationship with our savior; bosses, colleagues, friends, enemies, and even ourselves sometimes, people whose decisions whether good or bad will affect our personal well being. That is not God!!! That is us being victims of the poor decisions we make. So what is the answer? How can we experience this love? What is the yardstick for quantifying how much he really loves us?

I got the answer from John.

John 3:16 makes a radical statement that sums up the whole topic succinctly; the Father so loved us that he sent his only begotten son that as many as believe in him will not perish. “God so loved the world” is a great phrase. Unfortunately we say it so much that it has kind of lost its power in our minds. We must understand that the father sending the Son to incarnate is a very big deal, the Son went from being the second person of the Godhead, in a realm untainted by sin and death, with omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence, to becoming a Human being; limited by time and space, surrounded by sin, going hungry, thirsty and tired (even though he never ceased being God at any time, he lived like a man at all times during his stay on earth)and ultimately dying a most horrendous death on the Cross. Why? So that whosoever believes in him will partake of the life that He shares with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 1 John 4:9-11 (NIV)

The only barometer for God’s love is the Atoning work of Jesus Christ on the Cross, whenever we doubt or our circumstances seem contrary, this is the anchor for our souls. Whether we are in a pit or on the highest mountain, this is the one event in all of History that assures of the love of the incomparable God. Nothing changes the fact that God did what he did for us when we were totally unworthy

^“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)

I love the message translation:

 ^{6 -8}Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

It is only when we begin to bask in this great love that we can in anyway begin to express love and Grace to others. Joseph Prince puts it this way “Boast not of your Love for God rather boast of God’s Love for you”. The aim of the Christian life is not for you to keep examining yourself and your actions. It is the constant beholding of the Love of God as expressed in the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Grace be multiplied unto you.

p.s: I did not exhaust the riches of this mans blog, there is more to it than this, so check it out

THE SONG SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

We sang this hymn this morning at our meeting, and while we sang it I began to realize how much truth is embedded in it. I wonder if people really ponder on what they say when they sing songs full of so much revelation on the Grace of God, of course not all of songs are; many hymns also perpetuate unbelief and religion but this one doesn’t. I feel like giving an exposition on this hymn, but I will resist the temptation, I believe the song speaks for itself.

Let me just say that this was written in the form of the Contemporary sound of the day. I have nothing against Hymns. I think they are lovely; they have really nice melodies and many speak great truths, but I don’t think it should hold the high spiritual sense that some of my peers give it, as though these are the melodies that the Angels sing and we need to sing in Hymn form alone. That is rubbish!! I get as much truth from Hymns as the youngsters (and the eternally young like me) get from listening to Bands like Hillsong United, Delirious? or Kirk Franklin. Hymns were not composed by Angels in the music style of Angels or the Heavenly Style. All songs are inspired by God given to his children who interpret it in the medium they understand.

With that being said here’s the wonderful hymn that got me so happy and inspired, I was ecstatic while reciting it:

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.


When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.


His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.


When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.


Hymn #370 
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: 1 Timothy 1:1
Author: Edward Mote, c. 1834, cento
Composer: John Stainer, 1873, arr.
Tune: "Magdalen"

Now please, indulge me and read that hymn once again. Now ask yourself, do I really stand on the Solid Rock alone or am I trying to hold this rock up with some sinking sand? You can’t mix the two you know?  Secondly, always reflect on the songs you sing, if the melodies of Hymns do not appeal to you, I can assure you there’s good Christian Music in the style YOU like, go find it and listen to it and let your mind be renewed to the realities of the New Creation.

May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you forever.

p.s next week we will be looking at the Poverty Theology

Grace is not a spare Tyre

“………when we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.  And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation…” Romans 5: 6-9(New Living Translation)

In Nigeria, people see the Grace of God as this force with which we get by. When you are broke and manage to get a scrap for lunch, people make statements like “it’s just by the grace of God that I found something to eat” or “it’s just by the grace of God that I’m surviving” or “if not for the Grace of God, I would have died”.

Please do not misunderstand; it is by his grace and mercy that we are not consumed. We LIVE by faith in the Grace of God. Christ is our life; so we are what we are by grace. However, like Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo would say, grace is not a spare Tyre we pick up only we are down. It is not the thing that just holds us up at our point of despair to our breakthrough and then leaves us. The Grace of God towards us is radical; it is the proof of the extent to which the Godhead will go to reconcile us back to himself. It is the barometer by which we weigh how much God loves us.

When Adam fell, he dragged all his descendants into a cesspool of Sin, resulting in a life of defeat and despair through death. We were doomed to sow in sweat and reap thorns and thistles. To cap it all up, we were separated from our relationship with God; our perspective of God had been obscured. We could no longer call him father.

However, God never loses, he wanted a family (Ephesians 1:5; 2:19), a bride (Ephesians 5: 25-27) and a dwelling place (1 Peter 2:4-5); and he would have it. And so he sent his only begotten son, that while we were under this curse and unable to save ourselves; he would absorb all of our Sin and sins (these are two different things) into himself and die a most horrendous death on a tree thereby serving our punishment. In that one moment, he rescued us from the power of Sin and Death. In the words of Brett Roberts, “Adam has been undone”. When the Son, Jesus the Christ died, his body was laid in a tomb for three days, his Spirit caged in hell and tormented. But on the third day, the Holy Spirit rose him up from the dead and gave him a resurrected body. This proves that his sacrifice was much more than adequate for Sin (1 Corinthians 15: 17). He arose and ascended into heaven to assume his role as the Second Person of the Trinity and he was given a name that is above every other name (Philippians 2:5-11). Since he did what he did for us, we died with him and having died with him; we resurrected with him on the third day, ascended with him and are seated at God’s right hand forever. This is the grace of God towards us!!

It is from this premise that we live and walk in constant victory, it is based on this premise that we do not look at our surroundings to discover whether or not God loves us, we look at that cross and see what he has done.

Grace is not a topic or a doctrine; it is not one of the things we teach in the Church amongst many other things and it definitely is NOT a spare Tyre for when we are in lack. Grace is the personality of Jesus Christ, it is the whole point of Christianity, and it is the source of our Faith. It is the violent expression of God’s love for us through the Crucifixion and death of his only begotten Son.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you,

Mayowa

Welcome

Welcome to reflections on his love, (I got a blog!!! I got a blog!!!!) The reason I put up this blog stems from my need for an avenue to express my heart,  my views, and sometimes vent my frustrations at all the religious legalism going on around.

I will be sharing resources of friends and mentors and my views on anything, it will not all be Christian, sometimes it could just be about music or romance or whatever.

I intend to make my blogs short and sweet, and by God's grace very graceful. As much as I might write on personal experiences, we will not be doing much introspection here. I believe it is counterproductive to show people all that is messed up with their lives. The message we have been sent to deliver is the message of God's unconditional love for all mankind.

Ultimately, the goal is that when you leave you leave this blog, you will feel comforted, justified and confident in a God who justifies the ungodly and cleans us white as snow, to present us as holy and blameless for all eternity.

Once again, welcome to reflections on his love