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Tag: God

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Before God will use you (1)

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Before God will use you (1)

    Read: Psalm 105: 17-24

    Meditation verse:

    “They bruised his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar. Until the  time came to fulfil his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character” (Psalm  105:18-19, NLT).

    Before God uses you, He will take you through a period of preparation. The  greater the assignment, the longer and more strenuous the preparation will be. Biblical characters like David, Joseph, Paul and even our Lord Jesus Christ did not  start their ministries immediately. They all went through periods of preparation.  Joseph moved from his dream to the pit, from the pit to Potiphar’s house, from  Potiphar’s house to prison, before he was exalted to the palace. Every step of  the way, in character and competence, he was being prepared for his dream.  Saul had a 3- year gap before he began his ministry as Paul, the Apostle. Between  ages 12 and 30, Jesus immersed himself in scripture, worked with his father,  Joseph on his trade and looked after his mother, before He began His ministry  at age 30. There are three main areas of preparation: Preparation of Character,  Preparation of Competence and Preparation of Circumstances. We will be  looking at each in the next couple of days. 

    Preparation of Character: Certain character flaws need to be dealt with before  God will use you. Character is often shaped by trials and suffering. In every trial  you face in life, God is teaching you something. James 1:2-4 says “my brethren,  count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your  faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be  perfect and complete, lacking nothing”. If God is going to prepare your  character, He may allow you to pass through some not so pleasant experiences  and you must cooperate with Him.  

    Character is also prepared as you mature in your relationship to God. “When I  was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but  when I became a man, I put away childish things” (1 Cor 13:11). Character is  shaped in the place of solitude and stillness. “In returning and rest, you shall be  saved, in quietness and confidence, shall be your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • There is nothing we can do for God – By Femi Aribisala

    There is nothing we can do for God – By Femi Aribisala

    “Man cannot please God. Only God pleases God”.

    The Bible implies that those endowed with the Holy Spirit can please God. (Romans 8:8).Paul says: “As we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).

    How do we please men? We please men by doing things for men. However, we do not please God by doing things for Him. Those who presume to do things for God provoke the wrath of God.

    God killed Uzzah because he presumed to do something for God. The Ark of God was about to fall as it was being carried into Jerusalem. Out of the goodness of his heart, Uzzah reached out to steady the ark and God killed him on the spot. (2 Samuel 6:5-7).

    A god that needs our help cannot be God. God must have been asleep when the ark was falling. Or he must have been distracted. If so, he cannot be the Lord God Almighty. But God Himself toppled the Ark because it was not being carried according to His instructions. (1 Chronicles 15:12-14).

    Elijah derided the blind, deaf, and dumb gods of the Baal worshippers: “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” (1 Kings 18:27).

    Therefore, we must not make the mistake of presuming how to please God”: “Find out what pleases the Lord.” (Ephesians 5:10). Paul says: “Brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1).

    Pleasing God

    We do not please God by doing things for Him. We glorify God by needing Him to do things for us. God does not want us to do anything for Him. He is God. He wants to do everything for us.

    Jesus says we should lay down our lives for Him: “He who loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39). But then He seemingly contradicts this by maintaining we cannot lay down our lives for His sake:

    “Peter said to Him, ‘Lord, why can I not follow You now? I will lay down my life for Your sake.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.’” (John 13:37-38).

    The reason is simple: without Jesus, we can do nothing. (John 15:5).

    Faith determines works

    Works do not determine faith. Faith determines works. Jesus says we will know true believers by their fruits. (Matthew 7:20). John the Baptists says the same thing: “Every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Luke 3:9).

    But John the Baptist is stomped when they ask him what they should do. He offers ineffective prescriptions:

    “So the people asked him, saying, ‘What shall we do then?’ He answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.’ Then tax collectors also came to be baptized, and said to him, ‘Teacher, what shall we do?’ And he said to them, ‘Collect no more than what is appointed for you.’” (Luke 3:10-13).

    All this is balderdash! It does not work. The works of man does not commend the righteousness of God. The works of men do not please God. “All our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6).

    Moses prays to God in the psalms: “Establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.” (Psalm 90:17).

    God does not establish the work of men’s hands. He only establishes the work of His own hands. Indeed, man cannot please God. Only God pleases God.

    Man is not good, and he cannot be good. Jesus says: “No one is good but One, that is, God.” (Matthew 19:17). “When you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants.’” (Luke 17:10).

    How can a perfect God be satisfied with the works of an imperfect man? God cannot be pleased with anybody outside of Himself because nobody, but God is perfect. God cannot be pleased with imperfect. To be pleased with a man is to give glory to a man. But all the glory must belong to God and to God alone.

    God is only pleased with the works of Jesus. He says of Jesus: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17).

    But even the works of Jesus are not the works of Jesus. They are the works of God the Father. Jesus says to His disciples: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.” (John 14:10).

    The Bible says: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.” (Acts 10:38).

    Jesus only did good works because He was anointed by the Holy Spirit. The principle should be clear: “‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.” (Zechariah 4:6). Jesus tells us: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” (Acts 1:8).

    Division of labour

    What work then are we supposed to do that can be pleasing to God? The work God wants us to do is no work at all. The work God wants is for us to believe in Him.

    “Then they said to (Jesus), ‘What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.’” (John 6:28-29).

    God is only pleased with what God Himself has wrought in a man. God equips us not by giving us the tools to do the work, but by taking up residence in us to do the work.

    “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13). The work that pleases God is the work that He does in us. So, “let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16).

    If a man does what God asks Him to do, it is still God that does the work, and it is only God that gets the glory. So, if God gives you an assignment, do not do it before receiving the power to do it from God.

    “May the God of peace make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21).

  • Why God didn’t stop INEC – By Evaristus Bassey

    Why God didn’t stop INEC – By Evaristus Bassey

    In this write up, I want to reflect on a point made by the Archbishop of Calabar, Most Rev Joseph Ekuwem to the effect that Nigerians like saying “God help us” when they themselves do nothing to help themselves. This was during the funeral of the Emeritus Archbishop of Calabar Joseph Edra Ukpo who died on the 1st of March and was buried on the 23rd of March 2023.

    The funeral would have been sooner, but allowance had to be made for relatives who were overseas, to attend. The occasion was attended by twenty-four Bishops, including the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, Lucius Ugorji; the retired Archbishop of Abuja, John Cardinal Onaiyekan; former president of the CBCN and Archbishop of Abuja, Ignatius Kaigama and of course Bishop Kukah of Sokoto Diocese.

    The beautiful ceremony including the internment was under two hours. It was for many people the first time of seeing a Bishop buried. The grave was on the right edge of the sanctuary, and so the interment was under the view of all the worshippers. The grave was immediately covered with a slab. Traditionally Bishops are buried in their cathedrals. Some have a crypt in the basement of their cathedrals with capacity for several bodies. As the church in Nigeria grows mature, there is envisaged a gradual turnover of Bishops, therefore many cathedrals will have to prepare adequately for the burial of Bishops who become late.

    At the end of the interment, Joseph Ekuwem the Archbishop of Calabar mounted the rostrum and challenged Nigerians to wake up from a mindset of depending on God without corresponding responsibility. According to him, “Nigerians like saying, ‘God help us,’ and they do nothing else to help themselves but wait on God to help them.” Let us briefly interrogate this assertion.

    In the aftermath of the presidential elections, at least two young people were bold enough to tell me that they would stop praying, because prayer was a useless endeavour. They pointed out to me that they did all they could; they got their permanent voter cards (PVC), they queued to vote, they even waited for the results to be announced only for INEC to do abracadabra; that all their prayer and effort became useless, and does it mean that God could not stamp his foot and neutralize the plans of the wicked?

    I have sometimes wondered myself, the place of God in such human affairs like football, the lottery, elections. Take the case of the world cup. I imagine that citizens of many countries would be praying for their countries to win the trophy, and all of them would be praying to God! Which team should God favour? Or the case of the mega millions’ lottery in the UK or US or the Euro millions in Europe.

    I imagine that some players would want to ask God for help to win the jackpot! If one million persons pray to win the jackpot who should God favour? It boils down to the fact that some things are purely in the realm of our choices as human beings. This does not mean that God is not present. But certain affairs have been delegated to be our responsibility and there are consequences for the choices we make.

    Take the matter of competing for offices. In Nigeria, the supporters of a candidate, apart from campaigning seriously, would want to pray as well. Even the candidates may visit various places of worship. Now if supporters of all parties pray, who should God listen to? For instance, the 2023 presidential election may have been seen in some quarters as a competition between the power of Christianity and the power of Islam.

    For certain Muslims, the failure of the Muslim/Muslim ticket would have been seen as defeat to the religion, and so everything possible was done to make it succeed. On the other hand Peter Obi was propagated in some quarters as the Christian candidate even when he has a Muslim as deputy!

    Islamic ethics allow them to do anything if it promotes the religion, whereas Christians are bound by an ethic that condemns foul play in any form. This is not to say that a person who is a Christian cannot commit foul play, after all stories abound even in the recent elections. But no Christian does so as an advancement of the faith because it would be a contradiction in terms. It would be a sin.

    A lie in Christianity is a lie whether told to a non-believer or a believer. But in Islam, there is taqiyya which ordinarily permits a Muslim to temporarily deny his faith if he is facing persecution. By extension it enables a Muslim to do something sinful for a pious outcome, a kind of situation ethics where the end justifies the means.

    If ‘adjusting’ the results of an election might help a Muslim to emerge as governor, as in Nasarawa State where women are currently protesting naked, and knowing that a Muslim governor will promote Islam, then it would be conscientiously done as a religious duty. A Christian who rigs an election commits a sin and he answers for it before God.

    This pragmatism in Islamic ethics gives Muslims the upper hand in many temporal affairs in Nigeria because the Christian sense of justice is applicable no matter who is injured. A Christian is not allowed to discriminate against anyone no matter their faith, but a Muslim would presumably favour a member of the Umma against others and see nothing wrong with it.

    Even for charity, Christian charity organizations would target people in need no matter the creed but most Muslim charities target only Muslims. The unfavourable experiences of indigenous Christians in the core north can testify to these things.

    As to God intervening in human affairs, God certainly does, but not in the way of interference. God is the Lord of history and ultimately everything is directed towards God’s purposes. Apart from angels, humankind is the only specie gifted with consciousness which entails intelligence and a free will. God does not clog our will.

    We either use our intellect and will for good or for selfish purposes. We had a legislature that struggled after many years to come up with an electoral act that was canvassed as technology driven. Everyone believed that INEC would keep to its set standards. Did anyone expect God to come and force INEC to keep to its rules? And did anyone expect God to come and force people to accept the result?

    Our leaders know that we like outsourcing to God what we can do by ourselves, so they take advantage and use their intelligence and will for their selfish ends while we use our intelligence and will to find ways to cope and move on.

    The good news is that the last time I checked, God is still God and has ways of fulfilling his purposes even when he doesn’t have to force us. God is not mocked! The best way is to always act as if all success depends entirely on us, and to believe that all success depends on God. It is not to do a little and leave the rest to God but to do everything and yet leave everything to God.

    This is where the man of faith differs. The man of faith works as hard as the unbeliever but knows and believes that he wouldn’t achieve success without God, because even the very strength comes from God. Let us stop blaming God and blame ourselves for shirking the responsibilities God has delegated to us.

  • Salvation from life (2) – By Femi Aribisala

    Salvation from life (2) – By Femi Aribisala

    Are you saved from life or death? Would you like to be saved from happiness? Would you like to be saved from riches? Would you like to be saved from the pride of life?

    Have you ever seen a man who was saved from happiness before? Men are usually saved from adversity. But in his case they said please save him because happiness is going to kill him.

    What exactly does he need? He needs a little bit of suffering. He needs a little bit of affliction. And so, many are the afflictions of the righteous. (Psalm 34:19).

    Solomon says: Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.” (Ecclesiastes 7:3-4).

    If we want to live, we first must die.

    Life of death

    Jesus asks the man at the pool of Bethesda: “Do you want to be made whole?” (John 5:6). This is tantamount to asking: “Do you want to stop lusting?” “Do you want to stop fighting? Stop quarreling? Stop promoting yourself? Stop defending yourself? Stop justifying yourself?”

    In Christ, you no longer exist. You are one with Him.

    Something terrible happened to Mr. Job. Something happened that made him despair for life. Most people celebrate their birthdays, but Job cursed the day of his birth.

    He wished he had never been born. Job longed for the peace of death. He said: “Let the day of my birth be cursed,” he said, “and the night when I was conceived. Let that day be forever forgotten. Let it be lost even to God, shrouded in eternal darkness.” (Job 3:2).

    How did Job come to this predicament?

    Endangered life

    Life happened to Job. The life Jesus came to deliver us from happened to him. The life that many people cling to tenaciously and rapaciously happened to him.

    Imagine you are suffering from a terminal sickness and when you consult your doctor, he simply tells you: “You are suffering from life.” How can you be cured of life?

    Jesus is in that business. He is in the business of delivering men from counterfeit life to eternal life.

    Life became deadly to Job. Life became a sickness to him. Solomon, in his wisdom, reached the same conclusion. He lamented: “I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.” (Ecclesiastes 2:17).

    Job too hated life. At that stage, Job was ready for Christ. Job was a prime candidate for death, and for the resurrection to the newness of life by Jesus Christ.

    Job is everyman and he is every believer. But the dynamics of the kingdom of God indicate that God needs to take us to that place where we despair for life. He needs to take us to that place where we are convinced that it is better to die than to live. Only when He does this are we likely to relinquish counterfeit life.

    Sudden adversity

    Have you ever reached a point where you despaired for life? That is what life does. Life suddenly comes up with a problem for which you have no solution. Life suddenly throws you a curve.

    Everything was smooth sailing, and you were blessing God and giving Him thanks and then, “straightaway,” a major crisis of insoluble proportions shows up unannounced out of nowhere, and it completely changes your theology.

    Suddenly somebody close and dear dies. It might be a husband, it might be a wife, it might be a child, it might be a relative, and it might be a friend. Suddenly, there is a catastrophic accident, and somebody is hospitalized. Suddenly, there is a business failure, a failed bank, or an armed robbery. Suddenly you lose your job.

    It has nothing to do with how righteous you are. It has nothing to do with how faithful to God you are. God himself testified that Job was righteous. And yet in one day, Job lost all his children, lost all his business, and all his wealth, and then he lost his health.

    Then we are faced with the million-dollar question: will Job lose his faith as well?

    Why does this happen?

    Good and evil

    It happens because we live in a fallen world. We live in a world that God was determined to shield man from. It is a world built with knowledge from the tree of good and evil. It ensures that everything man-made combines the good with the bad.

    We live in a world under the sway of the evil one where the good, the bad, and the ugly are intertwined. All are exposed to calamity.  It is only in the future world that the good will be happy and the wicked will be punished. In the world to come, all that is irregular on earth will be regularized.

    Then: “Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low.” (Isaiah 40:4). But here on earth, the sun shines on the good and the evil. The wind blows, the rain falls, and the storms come on the good and the evil.

    Appointed to suffer

    The righteous obtain fewer blessings from God than the wicked in this world. The wicked are happier and more prosperous:

    “The truth is that the wicked live on to a good old age and become great and powerful. They live to see their children grow to maturity around them, and their grandchildren too. Their homes are safe from every fear, and God does not punish them… They are prosperous to the end.” (Job 21:7-12).

    The psalmist concurs: “Behold, these are the ungodly who prosper in the world; they increase in riches.” (Psalm 73:12).

    Killing to make alive

    God called Moses to deliver the children of Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. But on the way, the same God met him and wanted to kill him: “It came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him.” (Exodus 4:24).

    Does God want you dead? Do not ask me. Ask David.

    He was promised a kingdom and anointed as king. But instead of going straight to the throne, he spent years running for his life. I know you thought he was running from Saul, but David was in no doubt it was God he was running from. He knew Saul could not succeed unless God allowed him. He knew only God could take his life.

    Therefore, David pleaded: “What will you gain, O Lord, from killing me? How can I praise You then to all my friends? How can my dust in the grave speak out and tell the world about Your faithfulness? Hear me, Lord; oh, have pity and help me.” (Psalm 30:9-10).

    The Lord wants us dead. He wants us to surrender and, like Jesus, lay down our life. Then, and only then, can we receive the abundant life he has in store for us. Protestations will not change God’s will.

    If we want to live, we first must die. God kills before He makes alive. (1 Samuel 2:6).

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Increase comes from God

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Increase comes from God

    Read: 1 Corinthians 3:1-15

    Meditation verse:

    “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase”. (1 Corinthians 3:6).

    We were created to work and not to be idle. Ephesians 2:10 says, “we are His  workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared  beforehand that we should walk in them”. As soon as God created the first man,  he gave him an assignment; to till the garden, be fruitful and dominate the earth.  You were put on this earth to fulfill your own assignment and take dominion  over the earth. There will always be work for you to do. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says  that whatever your hand finds to do, do it well. The size of a task is immaterial,  your responsibility is to always give it your best. The outcomes and results you  get whilst accomplishing a task are up to God.  

    The Apostle Paul said he planted, and Apollos watered but God was the one who  gave the increase. In order words, the results of their efforts were in God’s  hands. This is an important insight for anyone feeling discouraged by the  outcomes of their efforts in whatever task they are doing. If you have toiled in a  particular endeavor but have seen minimal results, keep toiling. Proverbs 16:33  (NLT) says “we may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall”  Ecclesiastes 11:5 says as we do understand the path of the wind or how the  bones grow in a woman with a child, so we do not understand the working of  God. Psalm 75:6 says that promotion does not come from the East, West, or  South. Romans 9:16 says that it does not therefore depend on man’s efforts. 

    Increase comes from God. Keep working at the tasks you have been given.  Commit to whatever your hand finds to do. Stay faithful and do not relent. “Now  the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in  him” (Hebrews 10:38). Do not cast away your confidence, for in due season, you  will reap if you do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9). Be rest assured that whatever  God is involved in must grow. So, commit your work to Him and you will succeed.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: God knows what you need ahead of time

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: God knows what you need ahead of time

    Read: Mathew 6:25-34

    Meditation verse:

    “Therefore, do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need  of before you ask Him”. (Mathew 6:8).

    My fingernails are soft and break easily. So, every now and then, I add acrylic stick-on nails to protect them. Recently, I was scheduled for a medical  procedure. A few days to the procedure, the stick-on nail on my right thumb fell  off. I recall feeling slightly irritated and saying to myself, “now my nails will look  odd, with the stick-on missing in one finger”. Little did I know that my Father in  heaven was going ahead of me. 

    I arrived the hospital on the morning of my procedure and the nurse came over  to take my vitals. Measuring my oxygen level, required me to insert my  forefinger in a little device. It turned out that the machine could not get any  reading because of the acrylic stick-on on my nails. The only way my oxygen level  could be measured was through the thumb with the missing artificial nail. How  on earth could I have known this? I probably would have had to forcefully pull  out the artificial nail that morning to get the required reading. 

    God knows what you need ahead of time. Luke 6:26-30 says “Look at the birds  of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly  Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by  worrying can add one cubit to his stature? “So why do you worry about clothing?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet  I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is  thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” 

    Irrespective of what is going on in your life right now, relax in the knowledge  that your Father in heaven knows what you need and exactly when you need it.  That little inconvenience is working out something good for you.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: God is always at work for your good

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: God is always at work for your good

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: Acts 7: 1-57

    Meditation verse:

    “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose”. (Romans 8:28).

    When faced with a confusing array of challenges, it may be worth your while to remember that God is in control of all things and in all things, He is working out His perfect plan. Though it may not seem like that to you at that moment. Look at the summary of the sufferings of the patriarchs and the nation of Israel in today’s reading and see how God was working out His perfect plan all the time. 

    Vs 2: God called out Abraham to a foreign land

    Vs 6-8: God told Abraham about the promise and gave him the covenant of circumcision, then he begot Isaac and Isaac begot Jacob and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs amongst whom was Joseph

    Vs 9: Joseph was sold to slavery into Egypt by his envious brothers

    Vs 10: But God was with him and he found favour with Pharoah who made him governor over all.

    Vs 11: A great famine came over all Egypt and Canaan. 

    Vs 13: Jacob sent his sons to Egypt for food

    Vs 14: Joseph was revealed to them and he sent for his father and all his relatives

    Vs 17: When the time of God’s promise drew near, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt

    Vs 18: A king who did not know Joseph arose and dealt treacherously with them 

    Vs 20: Moses was born and got raised by Pharoah’s daughter

    Vs 29: Moses fled after killing the Egyptian and dwelt in Midian

    Vs 30: After 40years, God appeared to him in a burning bush and commissioned him to go set His people free

    Vs 37: He led them out of Egypt through the wilderness and after 40 years, they eventually got to the promised land. And God’s promise was fulfilled.

    God is never late with His promises “for a thousand years in His sight are like yesterday when it is past” (Psalm 90:4). Irrespective of what you are going through today, do not give up. God is at work in your life and in the fullness of time, His perfect plan and promises over your life will surely come to pass.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: The different dimensions of God’s mercy

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: The different dimensions of God’s mercy

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: PSALMS 145:8-9

    Meditation verse:

    “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy” (Psalms 145:8).

    God is merciful and compassionate. Psalms 89:14 says, “righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne. Mercy and truth go before Your face”. What this implies is that it is in God’s nature to be merciful. He cannot but be this way. God’s mercy is a resource, you can depend on for every situation in your life. There are different dimensions of His mercy which are expressed in different ways.

    His mercy can bring favour and promotion upon your life. Psalms 102:13 says, “You will arise and have mercy on Zion; for the time to favour her, yes the set time has come”. 

    By His mercy, you receive blessings you do not qualify for. “So, then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy (Romans 9:16). 

    By His mercy, you are preserved each day of your life. “Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23).

    By His mercy, you receive what you do not even know you need. “And Jesus, when He came out, saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So, He began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34).

    By His mercy, all your sins are pardoned. Because of his mercy, you do not get the punishment you deserve. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Psalms 103:8-10).

    By His mercy, you are comforted. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

    God’s mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:13). It can deliver answers to difficult and long-term issues. His mercy can make up for your weaknesses. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16). Have you boldly approached His throne of mercy for that difficult situation?

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Increase comes from God

    [Devotional] IN HIS PRESENCE: Increase comes from God

    By Oke Chinye

    Read: 1 Corinthians 3:1-15

    Meditation verse:

    “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase”. (1 Corinthians 3:6).

    We were created to work and not to be idle. Ephesians 2:10 says, “we are His  workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared  beforehand that we should walk in them”. As soon as God created the first man,  he gave him an assignment; to till the garden, be fruitful and dominate the earth.  You were put on this earth to fulfill your own assignment and take dominion  over the earth. There will always be work for you to do. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says  that whatever your hand finds to do, do it well. The size of a task is immaterial,  your responsibility is to always give it your best. The outcomes and results you  get whilst accomplishing a task are up to God.  

    The Apostle Paul said he planted, and Apollos watered but God was the one who  gave the increase. In order words, the results of their efforts were in God’s  hands. This is an important insight for anyone feeling discouraged by the  outcomes of their efforts in whatever task they are doing. If you have toiled in a  particular endeavor but have seen minimal results, keep toiling. Proverbs 16:33  (NLT) says “we may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall”  Ecclesiastes 11:5 says as we do understand the path of the wind or how the  bones grow in a woman with a child, so we do not understand the working of  God. Psalm 75:6 says that promotion does not come from the East, West, or  South. Romans 9:16 says that it does not therefore depend on man’s efforts. 

    Increase comes from God. Keep working at the tasks you have been given.  Commit to whatever your hand finds to do. Stay faithful and do not relent. “Now  the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in  him” (Hebrews 10:38). Do not cast away your confidence, for in due season, you  will reap if you do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9). Be rest assured that whatever  God is involved in must grow. So, commit your work to Him and you will succeed.

     

    IN HIS PRESENCE is written by Pst (Mrs) Oke Chinye, Founder of The Rock Teaching Ministry (TRTM).

    For Prayers and Counseling email rockteachingministry@gmail.com

    or call +2348155525555

    For more enquiries, visit: www.rockteachingministry.org.

  • All things are of God – By Femi Aribisala

    All things are of God – By Femi Aribisala

    “While Moses judged men by their actions, Jesus reveals we shall be judged by our thoughts”.

    Solomon says: “Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6). 

    Therefore, when Femi-Kevin was a little boy, I asked him to memorise one scripture.  It was the only scripture I ever told him to cram, and it says everything about Almighty God: “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36).

    This scripture challenges our faith by the assertion that everything, without exception, is of God.  Do you believe that?  I know it is hard to believe, but you need to believe it in order to see it plainly.  Jesus told the Sadducees: “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29).  Therefore, let us start with the scriptures and then link them with the power of God.

    The position of Romans 11:36 that all things are of God is repeated six times in scripture.  The other five times are as follows: “To us there is but one God, the Father, OF WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, and we by Him. (1 Corinthians 8:6).  “For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but ALL THINGS OF GOD. (1 Corinthians 11:12).

    “ALL THINGS ARE OF GOD, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5:18). “Being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who WORKS ALL THINGS ACCORDING TO THE COUNSEL OF HIS OWN WILL.” (Ephesians 1:11).  “It became Him, FOR WHOM ARE ALL THINGS AND BY WHOM ARE ALL THINGS, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.” (Hebrews 2:10).

    God is responsible

    Let me spell this out so you can see its amazing implications.  It means God is responsible for everything.  He is responsible for the good, the bad and the ugly.  If someone slaps you, know God is behind it.  If a Boko Haram suicide bomber kills himself and 80 others, know it is of God. 

    Amos asks rhetorically: “If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? (Amos 3:6).  Yes indeed!  If anything good or bad happens, God is behind it. 

    Armed robbers attacked me and shot me in the leg.  Later on, God specifically told me He sent them.  He said He orchestrated it because He wanted me to see myself using crutches: “Who gave up Jacob to those who took away his goods, and Israel to his attackers? Did not the Lord? He against whom they did wrong, and in whose ways they would not go, turning away from His teaching.” (Isaiah 42:24).

    Therefore, take every injury as being from God and not from men.  Do not be offended at the postman: the offender is the letter–writer.  God is the letter writer.  Human beings and situations and circumstances are just God’s postmen.

    Jesus, indeed, is a rock of offense. (1 Peter 2:8).  But when and if God offends you, do not be offended.  Jesus says: “Blessed is anyone who is not offended by Me!” (Matthew 11:6).

    No second causes

    According to Jesus, there are no second causes.  Nothing happens without God’s permission: “Aren’t two sparrows sold for only a penny? But your Father knows when any one of them falls to the ground. Even the hairs on your head are counted.” (Matthew 10:29-30). 

    Great men pay great attention to big issues.  But God pays punctilious attention to even the smallest of things.

    Solomon says God determines even the most seemingly random things: “We may throw the dice, but the Lord determines how they fall. (Proverbs 16:33).  Jeremiah insists nothing happens without God’s say-so: “Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come? (Lamentations 3:37-38). 

    Job concurs.  He asks his doubting wife in the day of calamity: “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10).  God himself confirms this: “I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create calamity; I, the Lord, do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7). 

    As a matter of fact, God takes issues with those who would limit Him, perhaps seeing Him as a one-dimensional goody-goody God: “It shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will He do evil.’” (Zephaniah 1:12).

    The restrainer

    Life is at God’s discretion.  God did not allow Abimelech to take Sarah, Abraham’s wife.  But He allowed David to take Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife.  He then judged David for this sin.  When David understood the supremacy of God, he prayed a remarkable prayer.  He said: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Jehovah, my Rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14).

    In effect, David relinquished the control of his thoughts and his words to God.  He did this because he finally recognised that they are all under God’s control in any case.  According to scripture, man’s purposes, his determinations, his attitudes, and his thoughts may be controlled by man.  However, man’s actions are completely ruled and overruled by God.

    Take a look at the following scriptures: “We make our own plans, but the LORD decides where we will go.” (Proverbs 16:9). “We may make a lot of plans, but the LORD will do what He has decided.” (Proverbs 19:21). “A man’s steps are established by the LORD, and the LORD delights in his way.” (Psalm 37:23).   Even the wrath of man praises God, what does not suit God’s divine purposes He then restrains. (Psalm 76:10).

    Indeed, God puts all men under restraint ensuring we are unable to do what we want to do and can only do what God allows or permits.  Thus, Joseph’s brothers planned to kill him, but God restrained them.  The devil wanted to deal with Peter, but Jesus restrained him. (Luke 22:31).

    Accordingly, we will not be judged by our actions and inactions.  We will be judged by our thoughts, which are the intents of the actions we want to take.  God is the God of the heart, and it is our heart (or our thoughts) that determine who we are.  Solomon says of man: “As he thinks in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7).  But whether he will carry out his thoughts and plans will entirely depend on whether God allows him to do so.

    Thus, while Moses judged men by their actions, Jesus reveals we shall be judged by our thoughts: “You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks on a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28).