Tag: In His Presence

By Oke Chinye

Read: Ecclesiastes 11:1-6

Meditation verse:

“As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything” (Ecclesiastes 11:5).

Stories are liberating; they teach valuable lessons and fire our emotions. I believe so much in the power of stories because they inspire us into action. The story is told of a monk who embarked on a long journey on foot. He came across a river and wondered how he would cross over. He tried walking across, but it was too deep; he couldn’t swim either. Eventually, he built a raft and successfully crossed to the other side of the river. He then said to himself “this must be very useful to me; I have to hold on to it”. He strapped it to his back and continued his journey. A short while later, he came across a very thick forest, with rows of trees. As he attempted to walk through, the raft behind his back kept getting stuck between the trees, making it impossible to go through. After several attempts, he realized that the raft was now the obstacle holding him back, so he took it off. The Monk’s story teaches us some valuable life lessons:

• Firstly, life is an uncharted course; what you meet at one stage is not what you may meet at the next. So, preparation is key in the journey of life. Be proactive, keep an open mind and be discerning of times and circumstances.

• To every problem, there is a solution which may be easier than we think. Most things are not as difficult as they seem if we give it some thought. Our imaginations always make things seem difficult. The Monk dissipated so much energy trying to navigate the trees, before realizing that the raft behind his back was the stumbling block.

• In many situations of our lives, God has already made a way of provision, we just need to ask Him to show us.

• Unnecessary baggage will slow you down in life. The Monk did not come across another ocean, so strapping the raft on his back was a wasted effort. What are you still lugging around that no longer serves your best interest? As the year rolls to an end, lay aside every weight. “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7).

By Oke Chinye

Read: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Meditation verse:

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2Timothy 1:7).

Some other weights to get rid of as you prepare to enter the new year include:

Debts of any kind: Be sure to clear all debts, whether financial debts, forgiveness of an offence or restoration of a broken relationship. Romans 13:8-10 says “owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbour as yourself”. Love does no harm to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilment of the law”.

Wrong mindset: “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7). Your mind is powerful. It is the seat of your emotions, moods, thoughts, and beliefs. If the mind is skewed or unhealthy, you have a big problem at hand. Your thoughts influence your emotions, your emotions decisions, and your decisions influence your actions. Your actions influence your outcomes in life. Be careful how you think because your life is shaped by your thoughts. Bet rid of fear, self-doubt, low self-esteem, and other limiting beliefs.

Excuses: If you want an excuse for not doing something, especially the things that will build our faith and help us grow in our walk with God, it is so easy to find one. We can come up with so many excuses for not doing our personal devotions and bible studies each day or not fellowshipping with others, and these excuses will sound genuine. But truth be told, people always make them for what they consider most important. The apostle Paul said, “but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I should become disqualified” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Lack of clarity: Without a clear idea of where you are going, how can you even speak of travelling? “If you do not know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else” (Yogi Berra). Write down your vision for the new year, make it plain, lay aside the weight and travel light.

By Oke Chinye

Read: Romans 12:1-17

Meditation verse:

“Examine yourself as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Christ is in you? – unless indeed you are disqualified” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

It is about two weeks to the end of this year. As 2020 comes to an end and we prepare to enter a new year, it is a good time to do some self-evaluation. How did you fare in your walk with God this year? Are you satisfied with your progress in the areas of personal devotion, worship, thanksgiving, bible study, fellowship, service and giving? If not, what things do you think hindered you and how can you ensure that you do not carry the same baggage(s) into the new year? Romans 12:1 says “therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”. What weight do you need to toss aside to ensure that you travel light into the new year? Here are a few suggestions:

Sin: Romans 6:1-2 says, “what shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”. Sin in any form is a weight that not only has the power to slow down your progress but can also waste your life. “Therefore, strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed” (Romans 12:12-13).

Wrong association: If you continue to hang out with the wrong crowd you will eventually end up in the wrong place. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? …Therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:14-17).

Laziness: Lazy people want much but get little. But those who work hard will prosper” (Proverbs 13:4, NLT). If you desire worthy accomplishments, you cannot travel with this baggage. There is a price to pay for success, the price is hard work. “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration” (Thomas Edison).

By Oke Chinye

Read: 1 Cor 12: 17-20

Meditation verse:

“If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling” (1 Corinthians 12:17)

A winning team consists of members who do not have similar skills, abilities, or temperament, but diverse talents. Leadership expert John Maxwell said: “Great things happen when all the players on the team take the role that maximizes their strengths”. Research shows that the most successful teams are made up of a diverse mix of behaviours. Each member respects the other’s uniqueness, whilst playing in his/her own strength. In a marriage team, the man and woman have different strengths, and none is inferior to the other.

Everyone is a valuable member and contributes towards the accomplishment of the goal. When one fails to do its part, the whole team suffers because there is a vacuum. For instance, in a football team, if the attacker or goalkeeper is absent, there is a problem. Ephesians 4:16 says “from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love”. And it’s always about teamwork. The language is ‘our’, not ‘me’ or ‘my’. When one person wins, everyone wins, and when one person loses, everyone loses. Benefits are also to be shared just as responsibilities are shared.

A winning team must have a leader. A ship without a captain is a rudderless one.

The leader determines the climate, culture, and vision of the team. He or she ensures that the vision is followed and that tasks are carried out, and sees to the wellbeing of everyone. In a marriage, the leader is the husband, in a church, the leader is the pastor, in a work setting, the leader maybe the manager or CEO.

Lastly, a winning team is progressive and not stagnant. Yesterday’s wins are not today’s victories. A winning team always looks for new grounds to conquer. The reason why some marriages are dead is the lack of a vision. As a husband/leader in your home, what are you working towards? What is your vision for your wife and your family? Where there is no vision, there is decline and eventually death – dead marriages, dead churches, dead communities, and dead nations.

By Oke Chinye

Read: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Meditation verse:

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor” (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

Humans were not created to live or work in isolation, but for companionship. They were created for fellowship, integration, communication, and productivity. They were created to live and work as a team. The bible says two are better than one. Whether in marriage, work, social relationships or networks. Wherever humans do life, they are not meant to do it in isolation. We’ve all heard the phrase, ‘no man is an island’. Team or team working is not just a management and business term, it is scriptural. Psalm 133:1 says “How wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony”.

A winning team will not happen by default, whether it is a husband / wife, work, football, church department or government team. Certain characteristics must be in place. There must be a goal, or vision for the team: There must be a clear goal that every member is committed to. In the marriage team, the goal is to build a home and raise excellent children who will excel in life. The vision is to live together for better or worse, support and nurture each other. A team in the office may have the goal of completing a project, for example a sales or marketing team working to meet a set target.

There must be singleness of purpose with no hidden agenda or selfish interest. When a man goes out to have an affair with another woman, he is pursuing a different agenda from the goal of the husband-and-wife team. When a man beats his wife or makes her feel less than she is, he is pursuing a different vision. When a woman keeps back some proceeds from housekeeping to buy a handbag, she is pursuing a different agenda.

Team members must be united in purpose: “Can two work together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3). A house divided against itself will not stand. Jesus Christ understood the importance of this unity, so in praying for His team (disciples and believers), He said, “Lord make them one as you and I are one” John 17:21. In Genesis 11: 6, God said that because the people spoke one language, nothing they set their heart to do will be restrained from them.

By Oke Chinye

Read: Colossians 3:1-4

Meditation verse:

“Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2).

Do you ever think about Heaven and how wonderful it would be to live there? In John 14:2, Jesus Christ said “in my Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you”. We get a sneak peek into what this place will look like in the book of Revelations. “A great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass” (Revelations 21:10,18-21).

If someone comes to you today and says, “I have a mansion in France with six large bedrooms, overlooking the beautiful French Mountains and I have decided to give you the keys as your birthday present, next month”. What would your reaction be? Would you be able to contain your excitement? I bet you would tell everyone you know about it. You would keep counting the days as you eagerly look forward to when you would hold the keys in your hands.

Someday, when your time on earth is done, you will take ownership of a mansion much more exquisite than a French mountain home. How excited are you about this? Who have you told? What are you doing in anticipation of owning a mansion in Heaven? Do you even think about this? We are all pilgrims on earth; our time here is limited whilst our time in Heaven is for eternity. If this is the case, why do we not live-in anticipation of this great occurrence? Why are we so focused on earthly things? The bible clearly states “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:1-4).

By Oke Chinye

Read: Galatians 5:16-26

Meditation verse:

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city (Proverbs 16:32).

An emotion is an instinctive or intuitive feeling, distinguished from reasoning and knowledge. It is a sentiment which is not necessarily based on fact. The dictionary puts out the opposite of emotions as ‘intellect’. Emotions are transient, fleeting, and contagious. They are therefore not a true representation of your reality. The fact that you feel afraid does not necessarily mean that there are very dreadful events in your life. Similarly, your current feelings of hopelessness do not in any way translate to a hopeless life or future.

In Psychology, the ABC model of behavior says that it is not so much the activating event (A) that affects our emotions and actions (C). It is our belief (B) about the event that causes us stress. Your thoughts about your life’s circumstances affect how you feel, and this affects how you react, which by extension determines the outcomes you get in life. Consider this; two ladies lose their jobs at the same time. The first one thinks excitedly to herself “well this gives me an opportunity to set up that business I have always wanted”. The second hunches her shoulders and thinks to herself “I am a total failure and loser; this is the end of the road for me”. Which one of them is more likely to succeed in her future endeavor?

It is dangerous to judge your circumstances based on how you feel about an event. Proverbs 19:11 says “The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, and his glory is to overlook a transgression”. Ecclesiastes 7:10 says “Do not say, why were the former days better than these? For you do not inquire [think] wisely concerning this”. The bible says “A man’s steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?” (Proverbs 20:24). “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). So, watch your emotions and stop short-changing yourself!

By Oke Chinye

Read: Isaiah 54:11-14

Meditation verse:

“O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires” (Isaiah 54:11).

“In the event of loss of pressure, an oxygen mask will be released from the panel above your head. Pull mask down sharply; the acting of pulling releases the flow of oxygen. Place mask over your nose and mouth, pull straps tightly and breathe normally. Be sure to put your mask on before helping others”.

I bet you cannot recall how many times you have heard the above instructions during your air travels. An oxygen mask provides a method to transfer breathing oxygen gas from a storage tank to the lungs. When you inhale through the mask, you breathe in oxygen from the reservoir bag. Your exhaled air escapes through vents in the side of the mask and goes back into the atmosphere. Simply put, an oxygen mask is a device for assisting you when you cannot breathe on your own. Since it covers your mouth and nose, it is unlikely that you would be speaking to anyone. In fact, if you have ever been in an aircraft where you needed to put on your oxygen mask, you would notice how still and quiet everyone is.

There may come a time in your life, when you have tried all, you know how to do to navigate a particular issue, but nothing seems to be working and you have reached the end of the tunnel. You have nowhere else to go, nothing else to try and nobody else to ask for help. At such times, it is okay to pause and put on your oxygen mask. What does this mean? When you have done all that you can do and do not know what else to do, then be still and simply do nothing.

Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”. Isaiah 30:15 says, “for thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and confidence shall be your strength…”. Psalm 23:1-3 says “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake”. In these scriptures, God is extending an oxygen mask to you. So, be still, pull sharply on the mask, put it over your mouth and nose and breathe normally.

By Oke Chinye

Read: 2 Peter 1:5-11

Meditation verse:

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12).

We have been saved by grace through faith, and not of yourselves. Our salvation is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, faith works together with, and is perfected by works. James 2:26 says “as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead”.

You grow in your faith after salvation by the works that you do, and today’s reading highlights some of the works:

“But also, for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. 2 Peter 1:5-8

• Virtue implies behaving in a way that shows high moral standards.
• Knowledge is the practical understanding of something, in this case the word of God.
• Self-control is the ability to regulate your responses to avoid undesirable behaviours and increase desirable ones.
• Perseverance is doing something despite difficulty in achieving success.
• Godliness is the practice of conforming to laws of God’s kingdom.
• Brotherly kindness is the extension of the natural affection associated with a loved one to others not related to you.
• Love is more than feeling. It is sacrificial and giving whilst expecting nothing in return.

Working out your salvation by developing the above traits will enable you remain productive and fruitful in your walk with God. But if you lack these works, then your faith is dead. “For he who lacks these things is short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things, you will never stumble”. (2 Peter 1:9-10).

By Oke Chinye

Read: Proverbs 4:5-9

Meditation verse:

“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding” (Proverbs 4:7)

By the time you get to your middle years, you will have gone through several experiences and learnt some valuable lessons. Psalm 90:12 says, “so, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom”. In my journey so far, I have learnt some lessons and I am sharing a few, referring to the word of God. Life has taught me:

• To be self-assured and true to myself always. I find I am more at peace and achieve more when I walk in this consciousness of authenticity. You need to believe in who you are and act confidently. Philippians 4:13 says “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”.

• To be competitive in my pursuits but avoid comparing myself with others or judging myself by their standards. 2 Corinthians 10:12 says “comparing themselves with themselves, they are not wise”. Don’t compare yourself with anyone. Appearances are deceptive. The person you are comparing yourself with has plenty issues that you are unaware of.

• That being overly sensitive to what people say or think about me puts me in a vulnerable position. Ecclesiastes 7:21-22 says “do not pay attention to every word people say or you may hear your servant causing you. You yourself know how in your heart how many times you have cursed others”.

• That focusing on what I can’t change about my life is a losing strategy for my peace of mind. Psalm 139:14 says ‘I am fearfully and wonderfully made”. So, change what you can about yourself, but accept what you can’t change.

• That if I commit my plans to God and do my best in any endeavour, I am more likely to succeed in my endeavours. Proverbs 16:3 says “commit your thoughts to the Lord and your plans will succeed”.

• Life has taught me that I can start from where I am and make use of what I have, no matter how insignificant it may seem. And if I stay focused, I will achieve growth. Zechariah 4:10 says “who has despised the day of small beginnings”.

• Life has taught me not take myself too seriously all the time. You must learn to ease up and laugh at yourself sometimes. Proverbs 17:22 says “a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones”. Keeping up a good attitude in times of adversity is therapeutic.

• Not to bottle up issues. I politely let others know if I find their actions offensive. We teach people how to treat us. Mathew 18:15 says “if your brother or sister offends you, politely point out their actions”.

• Not to sweat the small stuff. I am better off if I am willing to let go of little things and forgive easily. Colossians 3:13 says “bear with each other and forgive one another”.

• Lastly, that each day is a gift from God. I need to be grateful to Him and expect the best. Psalm 118:24 says “this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it”.

Ease up and enjoy your life’s journey.