Month: June 2015

Hello Friends, I hope you are all well 🙂  June has seen many events and perhaps it is a time for the body of christ to be more vigilant than ever and war against the enemy’s taunting with the shield of faith and cast down strongholds by fervent prayer.

Walk fearlessly in his power and know that Love is the greatest weapon. 

 

Today i want to continue on the “Long-suffering” blog post. Specifically, I want to look at how long-suffering can develop compassion in us.

 

 What is  long-suffering teaching cultivating in me?

• LONG-SUFFERING IS PRODUCING COMPASSION IN YOU: Every situation  carries the potential to develop in you compassion for others. Compassion breeds miracles. Every miracle Jesus did was birthed from the bowels of compassion ( Matt. 14:4,  Matt 9:36, Mark 6:34). By God’s grace, sometimes I am able to help folks who come see me about several issues from academics, to relationships, to conflict resolution, to  financial hardships to family to sicknesses to private struggles etc and because I have “borne long” with these situations before, and God gave me wisdom and carried me through the process, I am able to reach out to others. These situations developed compassion in me for others, renewed my strength and actually promoted me to new heights in the Lord and life in general. And that is what people out there need: Compassion and solutions; and not mere sympathy with head knowledge. The situation you are bearing long with is sometimes a sign of the very ministry God is probably birthing in you to help others. Ask yourself “What is this situating cultivating in me?”. Instead of letting the situation make your bitter, see it as an opportunity to engage a new assignment, an opportunity to overcome and an opportunity to now bless others.

     

•  YOUR EXPERIENCE IS A SOLUTION TO A PROBLEM: If you have not failed a test before, how can you feel the burden of someone complaining to you about school? If you have not been betrayed, rejected or taken advantage of before, how can you empathize fully with someone? If you have not experienced the pressures of building a business, ministry, brand etc, how can you help someone else traveling the same path? Friend, this is why Jesus can empathize with us because what you are experiencing right now is something he has faced before; he patiently endured and overcome! He made a public ridicule of the enemy tormenting your life. Right now in Christ, you have been equipped to manifest that overcoming nature and exercise authority over the enemy! (luke 10:19, Col 1 ). Because Jesus tasted the suffering, he is able to empathize  with you in every affliction and bring you to a wealthy place.

 

“….we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.”- Psalm 66:12

 

• EMBRACING THE PROCESS WILL MATURE & PROMOTE YOU: I hear many people say “God has called me to do XYZ” but they do not embrace the whole process of it. Remember that if we are to know the Lord in his victorious resurrection, then we are also to know him in his death & suffering (see Phil. 3:10, Romans 8:17). It is essential in cultivating the fruit of Long-suffering.  If we want to experience the fullness of life, then we ought to understand that the fullness of life is not only in life’s “highs”  but also its “lows”; The process of long-suffering  develops humility in us, compassion in us for others and above all growth & maturity. Honestly, there are crushing and betraying experiences I have had over the course of time which served me many purposes: some  matured me, some made me wiser and the best part is this: some humbled me and reminded me to depend on Jesus and not my own understanding! But eventually, as I went through the process, the Lord brought me to a place of honor , favor and blessing. And that is exactly what long-suffering is producing in YOU right now as you go through the process healthily.

 

 

• STRENGTH, MIGHT, RADIANCE & GLORY IS LOCKED UP IN LONGSUFFERING: The situation you are bearing long with is perhaps a miracle birthing and you might not know. Ask the Lord to give you strength to go through the process healthily and develop whatever virtues he wants you to have. Do not despair but rather allow the holy spirit to birth that beautiful work in you. There is so much power, might, strength,radiance and blessing that begins to flow on you and out of you as you partake of the fellowship with Christ in his ‘suffering’ and in his resurrection. 

 

As I wrap up for tonight’s post, I am reminded of a statement G. Cooke made which echoes these sentiments ever so deeply. He said ” It is absolutely essential that you are wounded in ministry and that you know the fellowship of His sufferings. It is such an essential part of the call, that we get wounded in the house of our friends, we get wounded by the people that we really thought we could trust, that we feel that kiss of betrayal that Jesus felt in the garden. Being betrayed and wounded is just a part of your development. If you want all the fullness of God, you have to experience all the fullness of life!”

Remember, There is so much power, might, strength,radiance and blessing that begins to flow on you and out of you as you partake of the fellowship with Christ in his ‘suffering’ and in his resurrection. 

You are blessed in Christ!

Stay Compassionate

R

Next blog post: #Gentleness……..gently wait for it 😉

NB: Are these posts blessing you? Is something not clear? Do you have particular questions? Feel free to drop them and as I am able to, I will do well to provide a response. Share this blog with someone and bless them. 🙂

Hello friends, this is a raw cut right here. Just got this word released and impressed so strong on my heart at this hour as I was communing with the father and soaking in his presence.I am posting this word here:

 

“Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.Blessings crown the head of the righteous, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.”– Proverbs 10:4-6

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“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”– Proverbs 14:23

Greetings my friends, last weekend i released a heartfelt message on “Long suffering: The Real Meaning, the Real Purpose & the Real Reward”. I covered the first two parts and today I want to cover the last part which is : the Reward of Long- suffering I am not insensitive to the fact that at times it can be hard to bear long with an unchanging situation. I have been there; In fact, I am there right now. But more importantly, I have learned how to use patience to my advantage and I will share some of it, backed by God’s word.

• The Real Reward of Long-suffering

The reward of “bearing-long/patience” is that you can receive NEW STRENGTH & PROMOTION through the process. Scripture says “They that WAIT ON the Lord shall RE-NEW their STRENGTH. They will SOAR on wings LIKE Eagles” (Isaiah 40:31). Hold on! I know you have heard this scripture many times but I’m going to break it down for you to catch two revelations here. They that WAIT on the Lord will renew their strength. Someone is probably thinking this doesn’t make sense. How can waiting to pass a standardized test give me new strength? How can waiting for a good relationship renew my strength? How can waiting for a thriving ministry renew my strength? How can waiting on a pending case renew my strength? How can waiting for restoration in my family renew my strength? How can re-taking a class i failed renew my strength? How can patiently going through the process of emotional healing and wholeness renew my strength? All these situations should be breaking you down, you would imagine right? It can, but it doesn’t have to!

I have learned that adversity can be disguised opportunity.

• There is a secret Opportunity in your life for you to exploit right now

Do you realize that the same sun that can burn you, is the same sun whose heat can be harnessed to produce energy? Do you realize the same water body which can drown someone is the same water which can be re-channeled to steer turbines to produce electricity? Do you realize the same storm which can destroy lives is the same storm the eagles use to soar higher? I was doing some research on birds and found out that Eagles fly to very high altitudes and when storms occur, they actually ride on the winds of the storm in order to soar higher; so with much less effort– they use the storms  to launch to higher altitudes. They are not “flock birds”; you don’t see them one flocking together. It means if you are looking to others for pity and company before you “fly” out of your situation, then you are holding yourself back; you are going to have to ruffle your wings and boldly take flight. Unlike smaller birds who are overshadowed by the storm, eagles  live on top of the storm; They are not consumed by situations. YOU– in Christ– are an eagle because you carry the God-given capacity; Situations don’t overshadow you. Even if they have, you can come out. You overshadow situations by riding on the wings of the spirit and using situations to your advantage to rise above!

“He rode upon a storm and flew; And He sped upon the wings of the wind. “-  Psalm 18:10

“He lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters; He makes the clouds His chariot; He walks upon the wings of the wind;”– Psalm 104:3

Not all situations are the same, i understand. But the God that solves the problems is the same. Perhaps, in your situation, you should be asking some questions in order to navigate yourself to the desired solution: You may want to ask yourself:

• What am I bearing-long/being patient with? Be acquainted with what you are dealing with. The first step to dealing with problems is first identifying the problem. Please understand that if you are in an abusive situation that is undermining your potential, your abilities, your self-esteem, your time etc or being oppressed by a demon, don’t blindly subject yourself to it and call it “patience”. That is self-destruction and the Lord would desire that you add to your faith, wisdom. Perhaps, in your current situation, you may need deliverance by prayer, perhaps wise counsel from spirit-filled mentors/leaders/friends who themselves are under authority;  certainly, guidance from the word of God & direction from holy spirit etc. My good friend, you may have to let down your ego and develop a teachable spirit because in the multitude of counsel, there is safety. There are certain advice, if i heeded to from my spiritual parents at the time they gave it, I would have saved myself a lot of headache in life but thanks be to Jesus who is an ever-present help. Always be acquainted with what you are dealing with, acknowledge it and get help. Freedom feels sooo good and Jesus wants you to experience it.

•  How do we “WAIT ON” the Lord? Is it about time? The scripture we read says “they that Wait ON the Lord shall renew their strength”. What does this scripture actually mean to me and you? Don’t miss this revelation the Lord released. Let me tell you: Waiting on God has little to do with “time” the way we think about the concept of time because time actually serves God. (2 Pet. 3:8). RATHER, waiting on God is about Disposition! Meaning, ALIGNING ourselves  to what we are waiting for; Positioning ourselves such that we live from the knowledge of the end which has been promised. For example, if you are going to meet business partners next week to negotiate a deal and you are “waiting on” that time to come, do you just sleep everyday and be idle and wait for next week to come? Or do you align yourself— thinking & doing— to the expected end by preparing to meet that time point? You do the latter! “Waiting on” something means serving and properly engaging with the process that leads to your expectation.

The Word “Waiter” comes from the term  to “wait on”, meaning “to serve”. In a restaurant, a waiter WAITS ON  tables; It means the waiter SERVES the customer. Buffalo, our town, is known for fine cuisine actually. Good restaurants  have EXCELLENT service. Their waiters KNOW how to properly WAIT ON tables (i.e. serve the customers). They SERVE the interest of their customers; They come around to check how they are doing by communicating and ENGAGING with them. They are not harsh; and very often, good waiters get a good tip. Isaiah says if we “WAIT ON” the Lord, we will receive Strength and Soar to greater heights. So “Waiting On” God is not about checking your watch to see when you will get the loan, get married, get into some leadership position you are not even ready for etc; but WAITING ON the Lord is about ENGAGING & SERVING the heart of the father towards the promise you are bound to inherit! All the patriarchs and matriarchs of old had to WAIT ON the Lord to inherit the promise ((Acts 1:4, Hebrews 6:15) ) so engage the heart of the father through prayer, the word and worship; serve the Lord with gladness of heart for great is your reward here on this earth and in heaven! Amen   Isn’t it humbling and filling what the Lord is teaching us all? It gladdens my heart and I hope it gladdens yours too! I will release another revelation of “long-suffering” the Lord taught me this evening. It has to with “Splankna” (how long-suffering produces compassion and how compassion releases miracles for you & others). Godwilling, Later this week I will release it. Pray for me as I pour out all these in words so they can continue to be life-transforming messages to many. As always, I’m glad for your feedback, questions, comments, prayers, etc so keep them coming. Love you all Wait on the Lord. R.

Hello Friends, how is it going? I trust you are pressing  past all obstacles, and abounding in Gods grace. I pray even now that his peace will overshadow you wherever you are in Jesus name amen. As I have been patiently waiting on the Lord in study and prayer, my heart is full and glad to continue this blog series on cultivating the “Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22). Since April I’ve blogged on #Love, #Joy #Peace and today, I want to release this heartfelt message of #Long-suffering in several parts. This piece is much more dense with different layers of it and it will open your eyes to a whole level of understanding of what it means to “suffer long”, why God “suffers long with us”, what his long-suffering is meant to produce in us and how we reap the reward of long-suffering(patience).

• The Real Meaning: Does Long-Suffering Mean God wants you to suffer?

          Plainly, the word “long-suffering” means to ‘bear (or suffer) long”. BUT hold on a minute, it doesn’t mean “to make you suffer as in purposed pain”. The original word “long-suffering” in Greek is a compound word consisting of two words: “long” and “temper”. Thus, “long suffering” actually means an “enduring temper”. The word “temper” further translates as “passion [as in indignation or wrath; the kind which could lead to slaughter or sacrifice to appease one’s anger]. In other words, “long suffering” means a temper that is patient with others, patient in situations, slow in avenging wrong or— borrowing electrical terms, having a “long-fuse” so that one’s temper doesn’t “blow too quickly”.

When your heart is filled with rage, welled up in anger or feeling tired of waiting or anticipating a change in a situation, you find yourself tempted to “blow up”, hastily speak your mind, cut someone off or perhaps become physically, emotionally or physically aggressive and abusive. But these exhibitions are not the fruit of the spirit; they are the workings of the fleshly nature, whose desires are contrary to that of the spirit (Galatians 5:17).

          In helping people who presented certain situations to me, I have heard some heatedly and angrily use phrases like: “As for me, I don’t have any patience to deal with this! I cannot do anything about my anger!”. Have you experienced these situations before? Or are you experiencing them now? And are you wrestling with how to navigate your way around it or hating yourself for being short-tempered or inpatient? Don’t hate yourself! There is good news for you: God is bearing long with you…for a reason….to turn this thing you are struggling with around!

• The Real Purpose: Why God is “suffering(bearing) long with you NOW AND His expectation of you.

God himself suffers long with you. (Exodus 34:6, Psalm 86:15) .He patiently bears with you and he is very moved by your weakness BUT if you are willing to partner with him through the holy spirit, you will see yourself making progress and developing a long-suffering (enduring, patient) character with good attitude. I know this because the Lord has taken me through that process and is continually bringing me to a much better and mature place in him so I know it is very possible for every believer led by the spirit to walk in this victory. God is “suffering long” so that many come to repentance! Repentance is not just for the unbeliever; There are certain things we believers also need to repent from: habits we need to break away from, and subsequently a christ-like disposition we have to grow into. Scripture says:

“..we were disobedient when God’s Patience  WAITED….” (1 Peter 3:20).

Take a moment and read this scripture. It says God’s patience waited. The word “waited” in the scripture means, “TO expect or await something”. So there is a purpose for the “waiting of God’s patience” with mankind. (see Romans 2): God’s patience is waiting on mankind TO repent and turn to him ( 2 Peter 3:9). God’s patience is waiting for you TO surrender and return to him with your whole heart and mind. God’s patience is waiting for you TO let go of every heaviness and weight that is weighing you down ( Hebrews 12:1); TO let go of unhealthy covenants and attachments that are drawing you back to old way; TO let go of revelings and destructive lifestyles that mean you no good, TO let go of self-destructive thought patterns, TO yield that hard-heartedness to the gospel of salvation, TO yield to reproof and correction in love ( 2 Tim 3:16); TO break free from people, places and possessions that have become idols in your life and rather embrace a better promise in Christ. Perhaps you are hooked to an addiction of the past; a soulish engagement that is wrecking your soul, etc. O But the power of God can break every addiction, shatter every idol and lose you from every bondage right now (Colossians 1:13, John 8:36). Return to Jesus; his arm is wide open; ALL you ever need is in him; I tell you without a shadow of doubt

Friend, while you have time this very moment, please get to know (intimately) Jesus.Do not store up wrath and indignation for yourself by callous stubbornness and impenitent heart as Romans 4:5 warns, because at the end of time, he will judge and reward all things. So even now, while his patience waits, I beckon you to respond and run to this loving father, Jesus. He is ready to receive you today if you will confess him as Lord and accept him (Romans 10:13). And to the believer, he will rekindle that fire in you, revive you again and empower you to cultivate long-suffering(patience) because there is a great reward for you!

• The Real Reward: They that WAIT ON the Lord shall RENEW their STRENGTH

What does it to “wait on” someone? Hint: I was at a Japanese restaurant today with a couple of my science research colleagues. At a restaurant, a waiter “waits on” you right? With attitude? or with poise & rapt attention? so “waiting on God” (patience) is more than just standing in line waiting for your turn……right? Well, friends, its late here…almost 3am. So..I’ll finish this later with some mind-blowing nuggets God is teaching me. Check back here by Monday night for it

Be patient 😉

R.

Hello Friends, Hope you are doing well and trusting God to fulfill his promises towards you even as we have entered into this new month of June! Today…I am wrapping up with the final post which is…..

3. The Kind of Peace God wants to FLOW OUT of you

“And LET the PEACE of God RULE in your Hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state]…”- Colossians 3: 15a

“Guard your heart, OUT of it FLOWS the springs of Life” – Proverbs 4:23

  

               Now, the first scripture says “LET Peace RULE in your heart”. Now, If there’s a knock on your door and you say “LET that person come in”, it means you are willingly extending an invitation to that visitor to come in & join you. So God is saying, “allow Peace to come in and RULE in your hearts. In other words, let Peace be like an umpire in your heart to arbitrate on any arising matters in this changing world we live in. Continue reading Your World is Waiting For you To Unblock This Flow

Hello Friends, before I continue the last blog on Peace, I had to intercept with this strong message that literally still sitting and echoing in the depths of my spirit. Today after church service when i came home, i was just in prayer and the word just enjoying the presence of the Lord and i felt this so strong. The “trigger” had actually began from a prophetic revelation I had between saturday night into sunday dawn before I woke from it, and then prophetically confirmed at the sunday morning service message my father preached. The word was still bubbling in my spirit with a glorious aura of his indescribable presence at home after service and in my afternoon nap so i’m releasing the message again  here on blog:

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The realm of blessing the Lord wants us to enter into is the Overflowing blessing. The kind of blessing that enables us to be a blessing to others in great ways and dimensions. The kind of blessing that does not only meet your needs but is abundant enough to bless many; Limitless wells of abundance whose waters refresh masses. That is what being blessed is all about. Abraham was blessed to be a blessing to generations to come. Lydia of Thyatira was a successful blessed business woman who sold fine purple and blessed the apostles on assignment. Queen Candace of Ethiopia was a wealthy influential woman in authority and oversaw the vast wealth of the region and came to bless King Solomon, who himself was blessed too. Joseph of Arimatheus and Nicodemus — It was these two wealthy and influential counselor and ruler respectively— who partnered to sponsor the Myrrh & Aloe embalming of Jesus’ body. Barnabas was called a “son of consolation/encouragement” by the apostles because he was literally a blessing to the Antioch ministry, the needy and so on.

Today, I was reminded of all these and more, and the list goes on; we could write on and on, but here we are in the now. And above all things, Christ desires that You will be Prosperous and be in good health even as your soul prospers. In other words we have been divinely wired to proposer; Some are equipped with creative ground-breaking ideas that need to hit implementation. Some are naturally gifted in certain things which will serve as open doors to prosperity for the glory of God. Some are carrying major scientific breakthroughs that will redistribute the wealth of nations to the kingdom. Some are carrying gifts that will bless and make ample room for masses. Some have strong business, media, linguistic and artistic inclinations that will set them up for a wealth transfer if they will go ahead and work with it and break these “religious boxes” that have caged and stifled people for so long, and convinced them that mediocrity is noble spirituality.

You may think your idea is “too simple”, O but don’t underestimate it as commonplace because Moses only had a rod in his hand and perhaps nothing is as “simple” as a rod! In fact, you in the now dispensation are so much wired to be blessed that in 1 Pet 1:11 it says the prophets sought intently to know who would be inheriting the salvation they had prophesied. The word “salvation” there does not just mean receiving Christ and feeling cool. The word “salvation” is translated “soteria” meaning the “SUM total of Benefits AND BLESSINGS which the believer– you and I– should be walking in. We are already halfway through the year and in a new month: Still, God so desperately wants you and I to prosper and be blessed so go ahead: think, plan, build, re-build, implement, walk, live in the Overflow Blessing. Amen

I’ll release the last Peace blog message Godwilling tomorrow

Walk in the Overflow!

R.