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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.

Hello Friends, Today i am continuing with the second level of Peace and I share some heartfelt and deep insights from the Lord as well as from my spiritual guides which will bless you immensely.

The second level of Peace is:

2. The kind of peace God wants YOU to PURSUE WITH OTHERS

• “Let Him who wants to enjoy life and see good days, keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from [treachery, deceit]. Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it and let him do right. Let him SEARCH for PEACE (harmony) and SEEK it EAGERLY (Do not merely desire peaceful relationship with God, with your fellow men and with yourself but PURSUE after [peace]!”— 1 Peter 3:12 (AMP)

God wants you to go after “Earnest Pursuit of Peace” with others. Because we don’t physically see God, sometimes its “easy” to affirm our affection for him but perhaps harder for us to affirm that same connection with our fellow human beings. But our relationship with God and our understanding of his nature should translate into our relationship with others. Christ says, he wants you to go beyond seeking peace with him, and EARNESTLY pursue PEACE with your mother, father, sister, brother, ex, professor, work supervisor, choir leader, pastor, Elder, best friend, husband, wife, ministry partners, younger friends, older friends and your own self too. Live peacefully with others because by so doing you yourself get to enjoy life! Do you realize the energy it takes to keep a grudge or conflict going? Today, lay down this weight that is drawing you back and commit to not only living peacefully with others but EARNESTLY SEEKING peace with them even if it means letting down your ego and pride to make amends, restore a friendship which went sour, returning to your parents, guardians or spiritual leads to make peace about certain situations.

• “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”- Romans 12:18

I understand that some situations are tempting for you to react in a conflictive manner. You know why? Because it gratifies the flesh and mankind’s natural disposition is to feed the flesh. But the man under the influence and constant leading of the holy spirit handles such situations better. Trust me, I used to be very ferocious and hot-headed but the work of the holy spirit wrecked that nature in me and matured me and still is. Does it mean I am perfect and better than everyone else? Of course not! But does it mean I wont earnestly do all I can to live in peace with brethren? Come on! And I encourage you to do same. Christ says, as much as possible live peacefully with everyone. You CAN do it with the help of the holy spirit. Tell your flesh it cannot be master over you and live it out.

• How to respond to conflict in a manner that releases Peace

Holy spirit is a helper; meaning he seeks to help you. Help you DO what? It means you and I also have a role to play by cooperating with him. In any conflict, take authority of your emotions and choose how you will react. It is a form of powerlessness to actually let another person’s actions control your reaction when you have been gifted with the liberty of choice! Physics asserts that “there is an equal and opposite reaction for every action” but in the Kingdom, there is a spirit-led reaction to every action and it is YOUR choice. You are not of the world, you are of Christ!

Sometimes you  respond by taking time out to “cool off” that hot temper;

sometimes you respond by being delivered of that spirit.

Sometimes you respond by petitioning the father in fervent prayer.

Sometimes you respond by telling the contender the truth love.

Sometimes you respond by letting go and trusting God to vindicate.

You will have to grow into this whole process by disciplining yourself daily so don’t be hard on yourself if you feel like you keep “missing the mark”. You are growing through the process but aim to keep on pursuing peace….earnestly.

 

• “ Blessed (enjoying and happy and enviably fortunate and spiritually prosperous ( in the state in which the born-again child of God enjoys and finds satisfaction in Gods favor and salvation regardless of his outward conditions) are the peacemakers (makers and maintainers of peace) for they shall be called sons of God!”—Matthew 5: 10 AMP

Let me share this personal advice from one of my spiritual fathers. He told me “ Daughter, you will last long in ministry if you cultivate the fruit of being a peacemaker” and this wisdom stays with me. I understand it hurts when someone purposely imagines or ochestrates conflicts or contention and isn’t even humble enough to make amends. Or worse, makes it difficult when you are rather the one trying to bring peace and restore the relationship. But that is where the real nature of Christ is birthed! Peacemaking makes you free because you know your spirit holds nothing antagonistic. It is the contender and proud person who is always uneasy if you notice, BUT we are called to release Peace because we are sons of God. By doing so, we are blessed and enjoy the favor and satisfaction of the Lord even if our case suffers ( see 1 Peter 3:11-16) . By pursuing peace, we could win the contending soul to christ or help that believer- wether young or old- grow into  better Christ-like character. For the sake of Proverbs 6:16, if you are the one propagating conflict and sowing discord among brethren, I want you encourage you to stop okay. Make that confession to Jesus and ask him to forgive you and trust that he does. If you have to go and make peace with some fellows, go for it. And if someone is trying to draw you back by telling you “it will make you look weak”, tell that person, real weakness is allowing someone’s unpeaceful behaviour to dictate your reaction, stifle and control you. Break free from that in Jesus name! You are blessed.

Will you choose to be peaceful? I hope you do 🙂 . Check back here by the end of the weekend for the final part 3 and bless a friend by sharing this blog post with them.

Stay peaceful

R.

Hello Friends, I am continuing with the “fruit of the spirit” blog posts. In the past weeks, I blogged on Love and Joy. Today, I want to share on Peace. It is a three-fold revelation God gave me over the past weeks about this fruit of “Peace” and I’m so excited to release them in three different blog posts.

The three levels are:

 

First, the kind of peace God wants to GIVE YOU.

Second, the kind of peace God wants YOU to PURSUE WITH OTHERS

Third, The kind of peace God wants to FLOW OUT OF YOU into the world.

 

Today I will post on the first.

 

 

1. The Kind of Peace God Wants to GIVE You

“I am leaving you with a gift–peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” – John 14:27

 

The Kind of peace God wants to give you is harmony, undisturbedness from fears or agitating passions or moral conflicts.

It is almost laughable to put “peace” and “moral conflict” in the same sentence, isn’t it? Because to the world, peace is when there is no trouble but the reality is that there are indeed many “troubles” in this world! But that is why Jesus told us not to be troubled. Well, one might say “it is easy for Jesus to say we should not be troubled because he himself is going to Heaven and leaving the rest of us down here by ourselves”. Oh Friend, not so! Jesus could not possibly be so unfeeling as to leave the work of finding peace as a solo-project for you. He is too touched by your weaknesses (Hebrews 4:5) to leave you by yourself to go find your own peace.

 

 

• When There Is a War Against Your Peace 

On your own, it may be hard for your mind to experience peace amidst trouble. I have been there many times. And that is why I became desperate for something that is out of this world; something more. Something that embodies the full ramifications of Peace. I need peace because I don’t necessarily always hear good news. Sometimes, I am on my way to take an exam and ‘bad news’ comes in a message or call etc. Sometimes I’m juggling school and rectifying unexpected school-related occurrences which are critical to my finishing. Sometimes, an arrangement is going well and the enemy rises up in opposition. Sometimes, even in family, school, work or in some relationships, one party tries to avidly contend for your peace! And I’m sure there are more complex situations than I have described here. Nevertheless, no situation is King. Instead, it is the peace IN that situation that rules and that is why peace frustrates the enemy because he would love for you to be constantly agitated and easily moved. But Jesus says he is giving you the kind of peace that the world has nothing on!

 

 

•  Where is Peace and Can I actually have Peace even in my circumstance?

So where is the peace? Is it in the safety of our homes? In a nice relationship? In a great degree or school? In a comfortable church? In having just enough to live? In a stress-free and war-free environment? Perhaps not so much, although the aforementioned settings could indeed have elements of peace, of which it is perfectly fine! The real question is, what if you don’t have all those “perfect” circumstances? Would that mean there will be no peace for you forever? O how unfair it would be for “peace” to be absent in troubled times! Paradoxically, troubled times is INDEED when we actually need “peace”! So if you find yourself troubled, know that you are a candidate for Christ’s Peace! And if you have already found his peace, know that you can abound even more! It is the sick who need a doctor, not the healed; the afflicted who need peace, not the merry. In science, don’t opposite charges attract? So in any negative circumstance, shouldn’t the positive be attracted? That is why in every “bad” circumstance, there is an opportunity for the very opposite to happen right there! In conflict— be it mental, relational, emotional, spiritual, financial, academic, ministerial- that is when Peace should even abound to you the more!

 

 

•  “PEACE” is a Person and He embodies all other things You Need

  

When Jesus was leaving the earth, he made arrangements for his “absence”. He said he will leave a representation of himself and that representation of himself is the very embodiment of peace and that is the HOLY SPIRIT! (John 14: 26- 27). So peace is not necessarily a time we arrive at, or a location we get to at some time in the future. Peace is a PERSON in the form of the Holy spirit whom Jesus “left” for us. Believer, the holy spirit is in you and with you and if you allow him to do his work, he will release a sense of contentment, wholeness and fullness out of you regardless of your outward circumstances. He will enable you to exhibit more peace

 

 

• If you are feeling troubled today, know that the holy spirit wants to help you have the fathers’ peace so ask him to help you. (John 15:13)

 

• If you are feeling uneasy about a situation, know that as you earnestly communicate with the father, he will give you clarity (Psalm 71:17).

 

• If you are anxious about a pending situation, know that the antidote is to anchor your mind on his word and supplicate your needs to the father and his peace, which transcends all understanding, will be your portion. (Phillipians 4:6-7)

 

• If you are entertaining engagements that threaten your ability to have peace, then honey its time to say goodbye to that. (Hebrews 12:1)

 

 

• If you are struggling with disobedience and that disobedience is breeding confusion in any area of your life, know that Jesus wants to give you his peace even as you submit to the holy spirit and his lordship. (James 4:1-8)

I earnestly pray that you receive the kind of Peace God gives which is like no other because it will preserve you in these times and that which is to come. Now, just as God has given us His peace, tHe also wants us to earnestly pursue peace peace with Others. And that brings me to the second level of peace which is….

 

2. The kind of peace God wants YOU to PURSUE WITH OTHERS

Godwilling by tomorrow, I will post it…… Look out for it 🙂

 

Stay peaceful

R.

 

Hello friends, continuing from yesterdays post on “Joy: The fruit of the spirit” (Gal. 5:22) This subject of fruit bearing has been pressing on my heart a lot this season. Last couple weeks, I blogged on “love” (The christ kind of love) and then yesterday, I started “Joy” and today I’m continuing; specifically identifying the things that steal our joy and how to deal with these so that our joy will remain and be complete! Also, there is a revelation about joy being a bucket which I’m going to share at the end….

WATCH OUT FOR JOY-STEALERS

• Disobedience: Its quite challenging to be completely joyful when you are walking in disobedience because you are constantly looking over your shoulder to see what’s coming; because you know you are not walking in the light of his word. This is why David cried out to the Lord and said “RESTORE to me the JOY of Salvation” (Psalm 51:12). Salvation is a complete package but in David’s disobedience, he veered off into his own thing and when he realized that it was not as satisfying as he hoped, he yearned for the true joy he once had in the Lord. He cried out for restoration of that completion he had while in fellowship with the Lord. And the good news is when he did, the Lord heard his cry! And he will hear yours and mine too if we call on him. As you call on the Lord for restoration of this joy, I believe that out of his love he will restore HIS joy to you (Jeremiah 33:3)

• The enemy & Temporary Challenges: If I  gift you with say a cake, and you come back and realize half of the cake has been eaten and you know very well I gave you a complete cake but you came to find only half left, then you should know that someone is illegally partaking of the gift; and you must cut off their access to your gift! In other words, if you are opening your eyes, ears, heart and soul to  misery, depression, low self-esteem etc i, you should be cutting those things off before they eat from your wells of joy. The struggles of life can try to steal your joy, I understand. Waiting on things that never seem to happen can try to eat your joy but as I tarried in Lord over a big case that had been pending since January, the Lord broke through for me in an OVERNIGHT miracle just like that and I thank God that while I was going through the process I allowed myself to experience His joy instead of waiting for the answer before being joyful. Does it mean I wasn’t worried sometimes? Of course I was on several occasions but I refused to allow the enemy to cause me to recoil or refuse to preach the word of the Lord or be joyful; the deep-seated joy of the Lord in my spirit is what sustained me. Joy is not a thing you wait for on Friday or 25^th June or 31^st July or spring 2016 (random dates). Joy is a gift for the NOW and we should stop anticipating to have joy in a mysterious future to come! Don’t let the enemy and temporary challenges steal your NOW joy in Christ. There is an end for all the struggles and your expectation will not be cut off (Prov. 23:18) so hold fast to the Gift of Joy okay.

• Lack of Spiritual discernment: You have to be very discerning in this life, if the enemy is launching something to steal your joy he first tries to distract you from your focus on Christ and then give you a new focus; the new thing you are focused on gives your mind reason to exchange Christ’s joy for that thing. But not on my turf! When I discern such things coming, I just block it one time! I wont even give it attention; I will intentionally avoid it and cut the cues that lead me to it altogether. It will not have my ear, neither will it have my eye or my heart. I’m telling you. Pray in the Holy Spirit or in the understanding and build your most holy faith. Shut the door to every joy stealer—be it words, sights, thoughts, the enemy, insecurity, pain, hurt, delays, frustrations etc and remember that Christ has been commissioned to give YOU the OIL of JOY especially if you MOURN even in a good place, Zion. Am I saying troubles will not come? Nah. Am I saying there will be no afflictions? Nah. What am I saying? That there is an oil of Joy that never runs dry and the paradoxical thing is its reserved for you! (see Isaiah 61:1-3)

God has made provision in Christ for your joy. When people have not first established their joy in the Lord, other forms of joy easily become idolatory: relationships, degrees, titles, flimsy temporal passing of life etc. Again, there is no problem with any of these. In fact, I would want you to even have all of it and more. My point is, if your joy is tied to “things” and not flowing from the deep-seated wells of your fellowship with Jesus, I am concerned about the longevity of your joy. Finally…. Joy is like a bucket…..

• KEEP FETCHING MORE ABUNDANCE WITH YOUR JOY!

…..Bible says Joy is essentially like a bucket with which you draw water from wells of salvation (completeness and wholeness). Because Christ is committed to appoint you with the oil of Joy, anything that causes you to “mourn” in life, your walk with the Lord, school, family, relationships, life assignment, etc there is an antidote called: Joy for you today. And the joy doesn’t only satisfy you but it serves as reservoir to access deep wells of abundance of water (life)! The Joy is in Christ, it’s in your fellowship with him, its in his love for you, it’s in his word and ordinances, it’s in his presence and its in the deliverance and triumphs he has won for you. Receive this antidote of Joy! As always feel free to send questions, comments over. In the coming weeks….will blog on #PEACE. Anyone need Peace? May you have peace in the Lord now and always amen! Look out for “Whats #Peace Got To do With it” in the coming week(s). Stay in Love ( and joy too) R.

Praise the Lord. A couple weeks back, I started a blog on “The Fruit of the Spirit” Galatians 5:22  starting off with “Love”  “Whats Love Got To Do With It” and I want to continue with #Joy. I’m really excited about this because holy spirit gave me such prophetic revelations, insights and confirmation regarding this fruit of joy as I was going around my house preparing and when I even sat down this evening for a couple hours to write it all down. It was a glorious outpouring from holy spirit and I trust this is going to bless you. This post on #Joy is also in two parts….

• JOY IS A GIFT FROM GOD

Joy is a gift from the Holy Spirit. Joy is not to be confused with “happy” although happiness is a component of Joy. Several translations of “Joy” I was studying this evening relates to “reigning in triumph, loud (as in glad, leaping, even dancing)”.

Jesus says the spirit of the Lord is upon him to carry out several assignments one of which is to GRANT YOU the “OIL of JOY” even to those who MOURN in Zion and give You a garment of praise for any heaviness you feel in your spirit (Please read Isaiah 61:1-3)

Oil is reference to the holy spirit, oil is reference is something that is thick and heavy and he wants us to be glowing with this oil of joy! You are not supposed to be laboring to create your own form of joy— how much of it can you create anyways and how long will it last and satisfy you? You are to be receiving the joy of the Lord and working with and from that well of divine joy.

• GOD WANTS YOUR JOY TO REMAIN AND BE COMPLETE

It will surprise you to learn that God actually wants your joy to 1. REMAIN and 2. BE complete in Him; not in things. Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong in being happy for what you have or been blessed with. In fact, you should be happy! Me, I make sure I am happy in the Lord because that is my father’s good pleasure for me (and YOU) in ALL things. And if you are not, I pray you receive the joy of the Lord, which is more than happiness but rather triumph over all things!

• JOY THAT REMAINS

Jesus told us that “He is telling us these things, so that HIS Joy will REMAIN in us and be full” (Please read John 15). Have you realized sometimes your “joy” fluctuates? Today its on a high and tomorrow it hits the valley down low. Whenever that happens you ought to be reminded that your joy is not meant to go on vacations but meant to REMAIN and you have to make a conscious effort to identify what is contending with Christ’s joy in you and choose to walk in the Joy of the Lord; refusing to let the enemy steal your joy through the things you allow yourself to see, hear and think. Pull down every thought that tries to steal your joy, demolish every pretension that sets itself up against Gods ordinances for you and bring it under subjection to Christ because Jesus wants HIS Joy in YOU to REMAIN.

• JOY THAT IS COMPLETE

Have you realized that things that are partially done can be irritating sometimes? Because naturally, we all seek for completeness in life and because God knows our nature, he is not in the business of giving us “half” things. Instead, out of the abundance of his wells of joy, he gives us without measure COMPLETE Joy through Christ. That’s why…

….Jesus said, “ I am telling you all these things so that MY joy may be made COMPLETE and PERFECT in YOU. That you may experience MY DELIGHT FULFILLED in you and that ENJOYMENT may be PERFECTED in your SOULS, that you may have GLADNESS FILLING your HEART” ( John 17:13 Amplified Version)

The promise above is a promise of Complete—not half– Joy from Jesus. Which of you wraps HALF gifts for your friends on their birthdays or weddings or graduations? You are either giving it completely or not. You are either in or out; there is no halfway business. Do you gift someone half of a pair of earrings or half a shoe or half a birthday cake? The good news is Christ definitely gifts us with COMPLETE joy in HIM. If you are going to give me the thing, then you might as well give it completely! And he has. Likewise, if you are going to receive Christs’ joy, you might as well receive it completely too! Receive his joy in Jesus name! amen

• FINALLY……..

God has made provision in Christ for your joy. When people have not first established their joy in the Lord, other forms of joy could potentially become idolatory: clothing, money,relationships, degrees, titles, flimsy temporal passing of life etc. Again, there is no problem with having any of the good things. In fact, I would want you to even have all of it and more. My point is, if your joy is tied to “things” and not flowing from the deep-seated wells of your fellowship with Jesus, I am concerned about the longevity of your joy. But God being so good, he is ready to give you this deep-seated everlasting joy, which is a free gift in your fellowship with Christ. Because Christ is committed to appoint you with the oil of Joy, anything that causes you to “mourn” in life, your walk with the Lord, school, family, relationships, life assignment, etc there is an antidote called: Joy for you today.

The Joy is in Christ, it’s in your fellowship with him, its in his love for you, it’s in his word and ordinances, it’s in his presence and its in the deliverance and triumphs he has won for you. Receive this antidote of Joy!

• TOMORROW…..WATCH OUT FOR….

Godwilling, by tomorrow evening I will post the remaining part titled  Watching out for the things that “steal your joy” and how to deal with them as  well as a revelation the Lord gave me tonight about Joy being a bucket to access deep wells of limitless blessing

Stay in Love (and joy too),

R.

Hello Friends, I am continuing the “What has #Love Got to Do with it” blog I started yesterday exploring the issue of #TheBaitOfOffense which threatens agape, and also #How to  Love each other! Im going to share some great insights from the holy spirit, the word, personal experiences and life lessons and I pray it challenges you to choose #Love

• I AM OFFENDED. I AM HURT. SO WHY SHOULD I LOVE?

I completely emphathise with you that you might be justifiably offended but in this world offenses will come as Jesus warns in Luke 17:1. Even John the Baptist was offended when after he had preached a saving Jesus, he himself was arrested. But Christ warned against the bait of offense by saying “BLESSED are those who are not OFFENDED in me” (Matt 11:6)! Because offense gets you worked up and can put bitterness in your heart and distract you and rob you of your joyful countenance and fullness in Christ. I know it because I have allowed offense to victimize me before and i am telling you how I came out of it into a better place. In this flesh, we will surely rub each other in the wrong way. My spiritual mentors tell me that even married couples do sometimes rub each the wrong way. In school when we work in teams, there is bound to be conflict, contention and conspiracy. In relationships, sometimes there might be disappointments or one party taking advantage of another or failing to meet his/her responsibility or honor their commitment etc BUT…

• GOOD NEWS FOR THOSE WHO LOVE

….. the GOOD NEWS is: every difficult situation/person you meet is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your love! Otherwise of what benefit is the fruit of the spirit you are bearing?

“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them!”- Luke 6:32

There is little credit- if any- in loving only those you can reciprocate your love. Then that would be conditional love and if you only love on condition, then why should you get credit for that kind of “cheap love”? What effort does it take to love people who love you? Do you know where the REAL credit lies? It is in loving those who actually don’t deserve your love! And that is exactly what Christ did by laying down his own life for us. Because there is Blessing honour, Glory and even power in it! ((See 2 Tim 1:17, Luke 6:35). Your demonstration of love even in hard places is an OPEN DOOR to you being blessed, receiving honor and even walking in power!

Honestly, I am NO longer moved by the GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT ( 1 Cor. 12:8-10) IF the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT (Gal 5:22) is lacking in someone because “if I prophesy and speak in divers tongues and I don’t have LOVE…..Ah, then what exactly should I be so enthused about here? Listen, the spirit of the Lord can COME UPON anyone and they can surely prophesy etc (1 Sam 19:23), no doubt. But Love is an ACTION. It does fall on you like rain; YOU actually have to CHOOSE to receive love and GIVE love…And not many make that choice! But today, I trust that as you lay your head down to sleep, go to work, school or wherever,  you will make that choice to walk in Love 🙂 .

 

SO HOW DO I LOVE OTHERS AS CHRIST LOVED?

1. SEE PEOPLE AS CHRIST SEES THEM: This might surprise you but do you know Christ even loves the one that has hurt you? I am not saying he loves the fact that a brother or sister is hurting you; but he loves the offender enough to change his/her heart. (2 Peter 3:9) and this truth was a bitter pill for me to swallow prior to maturing in the Lord. Some of you are wondering why God is blessing that brother/sister you are mad at. You see, the love of God is demonstrated in justice but in mercy TOO. Now, if you really have been legitimately untreated fairly, taken advantage of, abused etc why don’t you let the Lord judge your case and restore you and help the offender come to an awareness of the right way? (Joel 2:25, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14) In the natural world actually, the proper legal way to make your case is to present it to a judge and with the advocate of a lawyer. You don’t go and aggressively battle the other person in front of the judge lest you lose your case so please stop fighting people with subtle cues on social media! God is a loving father and because of his love, he is moved by your concerns and equally moved by the repentance of the offender too. He will sort it out fairly….in LOVE. so instead of getting worked up, ask the Lord to give you eyes to see the way he does and a heart to love the way he does.

 

2. BE SELFLESS: Love in itself is a spiritual force that seeks the welfare of another. Now this is different from parasitic and abusive relational dynamics in family, church, relationship, etc. The Christ-kind of BROTHERLY love is first loving oneself and then giving that love although Love is not self-engrossed and self-gratifying. Anything contrary to this is the lust of the flesh and the pride of life ( 1 John 2:16) and it does not come from God. Selfishness is a form of pride because it authorizes you to only see situations and problems in your own eyes and not through the perspective of Christ. By so doing you get easily engrossed with the offense instead of the solution. Now selflessness does not mean you should not set HEALTHY boundaries in order to avoid offense traps. Remember, Love protects ( 1 Cor. 13:7) so being selfless does not mean exposing yourself to harm on purpose or entertaining emotional, verbal and physical abuses so that you can be called a “loving person”. Please don’t be deceived. Love is kind and it protects! Be kind to yourself also! In fact if you don’t, then it equates to you not loving yourself because Bible said LOVE OTHERS the WAY you LOVE yourself. If you are just exposing yourself to unhealthy situations that threaten your capacity to love properly then that is unwise. But I trust the you will make a wiser choice because as much as Love is selfless, it also protects.

 

3. BE Led by the SPIRIT & Not RULED by the FLESH: Whenever someone offends me, treats me badly or hurts me, I make a conscious effort to avoid feeding into my flesh: i.e. reacting in order to feel self-gratification or equality. Does that mean I don’t feel the pain of it? Of course I do! I am not only spirit but body and soul too. But just because I feel something in the flesh doesn’t mean I should be ruled by it. Otherwise, we are in trouble because in this flesh– at least mine and Pauls- there is no good thing! (Romans 7:18). Rather, the Christ-like way is to communicate love by seeking to understand the perpetuator. What is going on with him/her? Do they need help themselves? Are they bitter or misled? Where can I help them and pull out their true Christ-like potential out of them? By so doing I remove myself from a victimized position and take control of my emotions and I exercise my will-power and Christ-like maturity to free myself from the bait of offense lest I get entangled! Tell yourself, “I will be led by the spirit and not governed by my flesh”, Amen.

 

 

4. BY EXERCISING YOUR FREEDOM TO CHOOSE LOVE OVER HATE: People don’t realize that they have the power to CHOOSE their REACTIONS and so they have cheaply sold off their will- power by carrying a victimized mentality and hoping for an apology to be comforted. What if the offender never apologizes? Will you carry the burden of a grudge forever and yet trumpet Christ? I hope not. May you break free from that in Jesus name! Pray for the offender and yourself too! My friends, while we make choices, let us also remember to own up to the RESPONSIBILITY that comes with the CHOICES we make. How I have matured in Christ is by being yielded to the holy spirit, depending on him and dieing to this unreliable thing called flesh.  I have had to mature through my Christian walk by CONSCIOUSLY making a DAILY DECISION to do so; I talk to the Lord about it and allow him to help me anytime I face a problem and ask him to give me his perspective on any situation I face which threatens true agape and connection. Will you talk to the Lord tonight? Because he will hear you whenever you call on him…

FINALLY..

Love is important. Love is Christ-like. Love is all that matters because If we have all the gifts but not Love, our faith has no substance. I challenge you to accept Jesus, submit to him and receive his love so that you can demonstrate it because I know you can do it by the help of the holy spirit. Why don’t you go ahead and just speak to the Lord right now and ask him to enable you to #love as Christ did. He is helping you even right now! Amen

Send questions and thoughts over via comment section. I gladly welcome them…in love 😉 lol

Next post: What has #Joy Got to Do with it #FruitOfTheSpirit

Stay in Love,

Raheal

..Everything! Love has everything to do with our Christian faith. The whole embodiment of the Christian faith is Love (agape)!

This whole season, the Lord has been echoing the importance of bearing the Fruit of the spirit( see Galatians 5:22) and several experiences, counsel and life lessons have confirmed the message so strongly. Today, I want to start off with the first component of the Fruit of the Spirit, which is #Love. Christ wants us to manifest the Fruit of Love (agape: defined as compassion, forgiveness, charity; the love of God for man and of man for God). See 1 Cor. 13:4-8

 

• YOUR CHRIST-LIKE LOVE IS A LETTER TO ALL

Apostle Paul says “The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your life is a written letter…. everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. “- 2 Corinthians 3:2

This means our demonstration of Christ-like character (fruit) is a “letter” and the world “reads” it and what they see in there testifies (hopefully) to the Lordship of Christ IN US! How are we relating with each other in the body of Christ and with those in the world? Are we quick to forgive? Are we easily offended? Are we too proud to make ammends? or do we demonstrate the selfless and sacrificial love that Christ himself first demonstrated by loving those who would eventually betray him, defending those who despitefully used him and sacrificing for those who still would reject him? (Matt. 26:21)

Conversely, do we take advantage of the grace extended to us by others by just hurting them the more just because we know they are loving people? (Romans 6:1). Friends, I am deeply concerned that perhaps we have misunderstood what it means to actually WALK in TRUE Christ-like love and I want to challenge us to practice the fruit of Love in our daily walk because we can totally do it! Yes, YOU can! Please read on…..

BUT WHY SHOULD I LOVE?

1. LOVE is A COMMAND FROM JESUS

Jesus said in John 13:34- 35 “….I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will PROVE to the world that you are my disciples.” Honestly, it is hard for one to obey this commandment if one has not first died to themselves and submitted themselves fully to the Lord. Because if I confess Jesus as my Lord and profess to be led by the holy spirit, then out of my love for him, I obey his command to love! Do you know that after loving Jesus the next command is for us to love our neighbours as ourselves? (see Luke 10:27). In fact Bible says it impossible to claim to love God (who you cannot see) and yet not love a brother (who you see everyday). God wants us to manifest the fruit of agape and his spirit will help us do that if we yield. (1 John 4:20). Will you die to self and love sacrificially?

2.LOVE IS THE GREATEST PROOF OF YOUR FAITH   

In my dealings with people and experiences in life, school, church, relationships, family, I have realized many at times, people who cant demonstrate Christ-like love, are more often than not struggling to love an aspect of they themselves, struggling with receiving the love of the Lord and subsequently the love of others or simply frustrated with where they are in life in the first place. If you love your own self, and have understood the grace and mercy Christ has demonstrated in dieing for you, you will extend that same grace to your neighbor. You can’t give something you don’t have: If you have freely received love, then freely you give also. 

1 John 3:16 says “We KNOW love BY this: that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren”

The scripture above is essentially saying our STANDARD for loving others is Christ. This is serious!

Christ is a serious lover-man! And he is your father. Do you take after him?

3. LOVE is A WEAPON

Granted, in the flesh, it may not always be easy to love others. I do recognize people have been wounded by institutions that should have protected them, rewarded with ingratitude from people they poured into and so on. But see, your father Jesus went through it and came out victorious and assured you that all things will work out for you. He still wants you to love because he Christ has loved you also. Actually if you feel so inclined to “revenge”, your best so-called revenge is actually “Love”. Because Love is a weapon (see 1 Thes 5:8) that wins even the hardest heart and the most wretched soul and brings them also to the knowledge of the same Christ you serve!

God willing tomorrow, I am going to post the remaining  post which will look at this title: “I am offended. Why should I love” and “how to Love”

Stay in love 🙂

R.