Enlarge your territory!
“Sing, barren woman, who has never had a baby. Fill the air with song, you who’ve never experienced childbirth! You’re ending up with far more children than all those childbearing women.” God says so! “Clear lots of ground for your tents! Make your tents large. Spread out! Think big! Use plenty of rope, drive the tent pegs deep. You’re going to need lots of elbow room for your growing family. You’re going to take over whole nations; you’re going to resettle abandoned cities. Don’t be afraid – you’re not going to be embarrassed. Don’t hold back – you’re not going to come up short. You’ll forget all about the humiliations of your youth, and the indignities of being a widow will fade from memory.”Isaiah 54: 1-4
What else in this world that can be so fulfilling and brings happiness to a woman better than when she gives birth and she is called a Mother at last. This means a lot to the family. A child adds joy, brings happiness and as if not enough, it brings along the promise of the continuity of the family lineage. Take look at your family today, you are an offspring of your parents who are also from another family and so on… and so shall be your children. God Spoke to Abraham in the book of Genesis 12 and promised to bless him and make his descendants so many like the sand of the sea and the stars of heaven. His lineage has been continued and you and I have been grafted into the family lineage of Abraham trough Jesus Christ’s death on the cross.
After the promise of blessings, God told Abraham to leave his home land simply because it would not be able to accommodate the blessing that God had in store for him. He led Abraham to the land of Canaan which would be able to cater for his descendants and their needs too. God speaks to the children of Israel and he reminds them of the promise that he had given to their forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He tells them “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen our stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left and your descendants will dispossess nationsand settle in their desolate cities.” (Isaiah 54:2) The children of Israel were in slavery and they had lost hope in themselves of ever going back to their promised land, but God here speaks to them and tells them to prepare themselves for another season that is coming and for what He is about to do in their lives.
He (God) likens them to a window. They had been disgraced and discouraged, dishonoured name them but God promises them of a whole new season that He was bringing them to. In verse 4 he tells them “Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.” As I started by saying, bearing a child brings joy to a mother and honour too. When Sarah bore Isaac, she was filled with joy. That’s why even angels in heaven are happy when a soul comes into the kingdom. Have you suffered reproach, dishonour, disgrace, ashamed? Fear no more, God is speaking and bringing hope back to your life where you have lost life in Jesus name.
First, Israel was like a barren woman. Verse1 begins, “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child…” He compares Israel o a barren woman, a fruitless woman with no children, a woman who married young, but who was rejected and abandoned by her husband, a woman with a sorrowful past and no future. The Israelites had been unfaithful to God. He seemed to have abandoned them, sending them into captivity. But he had not. He was waiting for them to repent and return to him. In spite of you current situation, God has a vision and hope for you. He is challenging you to sing for joy, to enlarge the place of your tent, to reach out to draw the whole world into the tent of God. When the promises of God come into your hearts, hope takes root. Fear, despair, grudges and bitterness go out.
Second, God spoke his word to the hopeless people of Israel. Read verse 1a. “Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy…” What an uncomfortable encouragement to a sorrowful barren woman! How could the people of Israel bust into song and shout for joy when their lives were so desolate and fruitless and they seemed to have no meaning or purpose? But verse 1b says “…because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.” The sorrowful woman Israel could rejoice because God had hope for her and he gave her his word of promise. He promised the fruitless, desolate woman that she would be fruitful. He promised to take away Israel’s sorrow and give them his blessing. God’s promises give us hope. We who have God’s word and his promise can also rejoice. There is a way back to God; there is a way back to a meaningful and fruitful life. Jesus is God’s promised Messiah. He promised that the truth will set us free we are free. He promised that when the Son sets us free we are free indeed. He sets us free when we hold to his word and become his disciples (John 8:31-32, 36). When we repent, he forgives and wipes away our sins. He gives us the refreshing of the Holy Spirit, eternal life and the kingdom of God. This is his promise. God sent Jesus to fulfill God’s promises.
Third, “Enlarge the place of your tent” (2, 3). God had a surprising command for these desolate people. He did not sympathize with them. He said “Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess the nations and settle in their desolate cities.” What an amazing command and impossible promise! What does it mean to “Enlarge the place of your tent?” It means widen your heart. God does not want his people to sit around feeling sorry for themselves. He does not want them to be selfish. Jesus summed up God’s command by saying, “Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt22:37-39). We must open our hearts to the people around us who need Jesus. He calls us to love our neighbors, our brothers, and even our enemies. Even if we have many personal problems, we cannot ignore God’s calling. “Each of us must hear God’s command from where we are right now. “Enlarge the place of your tent; stretch your tent curtains wide.” means to have God’s vision. A barren woman has no need for a bigger tent. But God says, Enlarge the place of your tent. He is telling his sorrowful people to have God’s vision. Many years later Jesus told his fearful, unbelieving disciples to “Go into the entire world and preach the good news to all creation (Mark 16:15). He wanted them to see the world and other people from God’s point of view. He wanted them to have God’s vision. God’s vision is rooted in his love. For Good so loved the world he sent his Son. He sent Jesus to be the Savior of the world. When we know him, God’s vision comes to our hearts.
Fourth, “lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes.” If one makes the place of his tent larger, he must have longer tent ropes and he must hammer the tent stakes deeper into the ground. We have longer tent ropes when we pray. Our prayer reaches as high as the heavens, to our Father God and our prayer reaches to the far places of the earth. We strengthen our stakes when we study the Bible. We must put down deep roots in the word of God by daily Bible reading and study. We cannot do God’s work with human zeal. Even if we catch a glimpse of God’s vision for the world, we cannot do anything unless we learn to depend on God in prayer and learn to listen to and obey his word.
Fifth, God’s promise. Verse 3 says, “For you will spread out to the right and to the left; your descendants will dispossess the nations and settle in their desolate cities.” This reminds us of God’s promise to Abraham, “Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (Genesis 22:17-18). We must believe God’s promises and share God’s hope. God has hope to evangelize the whole world through his people in every generation, too. “Your descendants will dispossess the nations and settle in their desolate cities.” This is his great, long-term plan, which he is working out on the stage of human history. He will finish when Jesus comes again.
Sixth, God’s love. Then, how can we have hope for ourselves and our world when the problems seem so insurmountable? Verse 5 says, “For your Maker is your husband-the Lord Almighty is his name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” God, the Lord of all the earth can make the barren woman fruitful. He is the source of life. In him is life and his life is the light of men (John 1:4). When Jesus met a broken, despised, hopeless, love-thirsty Samaritan woman, he gave her the water of eternal life. He could do this because he is the Christ, the Holy One of Israel, our Redeemer and the Lord of all the earth. He became her true husband, the source of her forgiveness, her new life, her love. It is this Jesus whom we must meet and worship and to whom we must commit our lives.
May God restore your peace and give you Hope today!!
Amen!!!
Tuesday, 28th, April 2009
Rejection doesn’t mean God can’t use you!
Judges 11:1-11
Jephthah was a mighty warrior before the Lord. God had blessed him just as he has blessed you and me, but his brethren hated him and sent him away simply because he was born of a prostitute mother. Being a warrior, God blessed him in the land of Tob and some other people came and joined him and made him their leader. They trusted in his leadership and submitted to him. After sometime, there was war between the Israelite’s and the Ammonites; and it is at this time that they remembered Jephthah and called him to come and lead them into war against the Ammonites. They agreed to make him their ruler and king.
Sometimes in our lives, we are chased away by situations and needs. The situations seem to tell us all negative things about us, but we need to stand strong. Apparently, most of us we fall prey of these discouraging and we give in rather than proving them wrong. Jephthah didn’t fight with his brothers; he left them and went away. God blessed him and extended his territory while away. What is that thing, situation or issue in your life that is besetting you and making you feel so out of place? Is it debts, discouragement, distress, work, friends, name them; you don’t have to be put down by these things, all you need is stand firm on your ground and be bold and remind the devil that this is just but a starting point of your blessings and remind him that you will have a bright future than now.
During such times, you need to have courage in the Lord and ask him to fight for you. You need to remember this:
a) Know who is your father (God)– Jephthah after he had been chased away from home, he had no one else to cling to; all he had was God and that’s where he turned to. He trusted him and we see God establishing him.1 Samuel 22:1-2 David was in a similar position and while at his lowest point, others who were also at their lowest points came and joined him and he became their leader. When you know your God, it doesn’t matter at what point you are in your life, God will always use you and make you accomplish his purpose. People will be coming to you to be uplifted by you despite what you are going through and when they stick around you, you shall form a great army for God to use.
b) Everybody destined for greatness has to undergo some times or things that are hard. – Take a look at Moses, from a prince to a shepherd. He would have thought that he wasn’t destined to be. After God spoke to him and he knew his calling, God decides to send him to the wilderness and there he almost forgot about his calling and God too, but God had a plan for that. Jephthah was also being forgotten until war broke out. While in the wilderness, don’t think that God has forgotten you, remember or know his will about you and know that he is preparing you for something great.
Are you passing through such an experience? Get encouraged today and know that God has big plans for you today. No matter how hard the situation is, there is one thing that God will never leave you. He will be there for you and will remain your stronghold and tower. Moses understood this and he wrote in Deuteronomy 33:27“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” With this in mind, you don’t have to struggle at all. May God help us to cling to him and know him more that he will always be there for us; no matter what we go through.
Amen!!!
Monday 27th, April 2009
Sunday 26th, April 2009.
Holding on for your blessing as we reminded ourselves last Sunday can sometimes so discouraging and you find yourself giving up on the way before you receive your miracle or promise. It reaches a point and you ask yourself, is God really faithful in this? Will he fulfill his word?
Peter, having been with Jesus for three and half years in his ministry, he had heard all Jesus spoke and he believed. But the minute Jesus dies and on the third day when he arose, Peter had already given up and went back fishing with his colleagues. He had forgotten the promises Jesus had given unto him and the other disciples.
This is how we behave at times. We hold on firmly onto God but when He delays in fulfilling his purpose, prayer or promised in our lives we move away from him to go and find our own solutions to help us out. Just like Peter, every time that you move away from the will of God, things won’t work out for you. I am not threatening you, it is a fact. Peter tried it and it didn’t work.
When we reach such points, all we need is one word from God and we will be restored. Peter had spent all his energy the whole night fishing without catching anything, but just a single word from Jesus, made him have a catch of a lifetime. There are three things that a word from God will do to our lives: (John 21:7-19)
a) Restore us – After Peter realized it was Jesus, spoke to him and he restored his faith and was given the charge to take care of others.
b) It elevates us – Peter was elevated from being just a disciple to head the church.
c) Brings fulfillment/provides for us – Peter had laboured the whole night without catching anything, but at Jesus’ word, he had more than enough.
My prayer for you today is that you will be able to hold on till the end; and be careful to listen and hear God speaking to you.
“All happenings, great and small, are parables whereby God speaks. The art of life is to get the message”. – Malcolm Muggeridge
Friday 24th, April 2009 Devotion
The end of the matter is better than the beginning.
Job 1:1-21; Job 42:10-17
Life! Life! Life! … It is a mix of all types of people, things and events that happen to us each and everyday. When God grants us another we all wake up with expectations for a bright and a blessed day. We have targets that we want to achieve and accomplish before the sun sets. King Solomon writing in the book of proverbs says that “Many are the plans of a man but the Lord has he final word” I have expectations for today and I also know that you do, but at the end of the day, God has the final word for all this.
This is the account of Job, he woke up one day as you and I do each day and he offered sacrifices to God for himself and his children as it was his custom. Little did he know that his day would not end up with joy as he was expecting it to be. The devil comes up before God and asks for permission to test Job and he was granted. The reports that Job got at the end of the day were so discouraging. He lost his whole empire, wealth and children in a twinkling of an eye. You know some things catch up on us when we are not aware and we all react in a different manner.
Job, despite getting all these reports that were so discouraging, he was at peace and he could afford to bow down and worship the Lord and give him all the praise and honour (Job 1:21) The question is this, how many of us would react like Job did? The first thing that we all remember to do at such moments is to start asking God questions; but Job is so careful to acknowledge that it is God who gave him all that he had and when he came to the earth he had nothing. Leave alone tribulations, test and trials, I believe neither you nor I has passed so much as Job did. In our day to day quest to see things run well and to our expectations, we may loose a footing here and there and at the end we may end up thinking that things wont work out to be as we had hoped for.
Let me encourage you, just at Job did, this is the high time that you should be more thankful to God than ever and praise him for his deeds. In all the time of tribulation, Job did not utter any word against God; instead, he was so much thankful. Your start of things may not work as you expect but holding on and having a positive mind knowing that God is in control will make you have peace and see light at the end of the tunnel. Looking at the scriptures, we have people who things started out in an unfriendly manner and at the end of it, the end was better than the start of everything.
a) Joseph – Looking at Joseph’s life and his journey, with his dreams, he could have thought that he would have been a ruler of his brothers the next day; but; but little did he know that know that he had to go through Prison, be a slave in a foreign country before his dream/destiny was fulfilled.
b) Jephthah – (Judges 11:1-10) Being born of a prostitute, his brothers rejected him and chased him away. He went away and where he went and pitched his tent, God was with him and made him prosper. When the enemies came against them, they sent a quick word to him so that he could come and help them fight against the Moabites. It is at this point that they made him the ruler over them.
c) Job – Job went through what no man on earth has experienced. Deserted by his own wife, friends came and discouraged him day after day and him having lost all his wealth and possessions but as we see, at the end of it all, we see God restoring all that he had in two fold. God blessed him with double of what he had before. He had the most beautiful daughters in the land of East as the bible tells us.
We can not exhaust all the examples that we get in the word of God… Paul tells the Hebrew, “Now that we are surrounded by such a crowd of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrew 12: 1) Things may not work for you and for me, but having people who have gone through the same, we have no option to be discouraged or give up. All we need to have is patience. Job serves as the best example that we have. He endured all the trials and tribulations and at the end, God blessed him. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith and at the end of this journey, we will have something to rejoice and give God praise for. There is some light at the end of the tunnel; keep your faith and trust on Jesus Christ and all things will fall in place.
Amen!!!
Sunday 19th, April 2009
Hold on for your blessing!!
Genesis 32:22-30
Last Sunday, I talked about having an agenda in your life. It doesn’t matter what you are going through, what you are doing or who you are; you ought to have an agenda in your life else you will live a purposeless life and you will leave this world having not made any impact.
I know you might or you have resolved to have an agenda in your life as from Sunday; and if you have not, it’s not late, you can do it… don’t give up even if you have tried so many times to remain onto to what you have purposed to do.
Taking a look at today’s scripture, Jacob had stayed in Alban’s house for 20 years and now he was returning home to make up with his brother Esau, but on his way, he is still afraid to meet his brother and thus he divides his family into bands; nevertheless, God had another plan for him. It is at this point when he is left alone that God meets with him and his destiny changes. He wrestles with the angel of God and he received his blessing; his name was changed from Jacob which means Deceiver to Israel which means Prince of God
When it was almost dawning, the angel told Jacob to let him go but Jacob refuse. Many of us give up on our blessings when they are at our doorstep. If Jacob had let go the angel, he wouldn’t have received his blessing and his destiny changed; so hold on too till you get what is rightfully yours and what you are trusting God to do for you.
By God keeping quiet on you doesn’t mean He will not answer your prayers, he will answer you in due time… all you need to do is exercise your Patience, full trust and Faith in God.
“Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding on to”
Amen.
Sunday 12th, April 2009
What is your agenda today?
2 Kings 2:1-10
Agenda!! Agenda!! This in simple means… the purpose I have in doing something that I am doing.. What am I anticipating to get, what motivates me to do what I do… That’s your Agenda.
Let me take it a little bit closer… Why did you come to the service today? Is it because you had nothing to do in the house? Is it because it is a routine that you are used to since you were born? Is it because you are avoiding to be caused at? If this is the case, I am sorry because you are in the wrong place; but if you came with an agenda to meet God, then you will absolutely meet with him.
Elisha had an agenda with Elijah. He wasn’t a servant just for the sake, he had more in heart than just being a servant of the prophet. He wanted to inherit a double portion of the anointing that was in Elijah. Jesus who is the reason of the Easter season that we are in, also came with an agenda… To liberate you and set you free from the slavery of sin, and his death on the cross accomplished his agenda on earth.
You are not saved to just be there and enjoy God’s grace and salvation; you need to live a life with an agenda. John Maxwell said “If you have nothing that you can die for, then you aren’t worth living” Ask yourself this question today; What on earth am I here for? When you answer this question, you will live a life with an agenda and you will strive each day to fulfill/attain your agenda.
Jesus is the reason of the season… if he fulfilled his mission and lived to hi purpose in life here on earth, why not you?
“Let the resurrection Joy lift us from loneliness, weakness and despair, to strength, Beauty and happiness” – Floyd W. Tomkins
Amen.
Sunday 29th, March 2009
Are you ready?
Matthew 25:1-13
Who would like to be caught off guard by a thief? Would you be happy if you missed an event that you had anticipated for long? As human beings we always prepare in advance for an event that we are invited for. You plan ahead of time for the clothes that you will wear (children call them Sunday best) and even you extend the invitation to a few friends though they are not invited to the function so that you have company to the function.
Jesus knowing the signs of age and the season, he starts to prepare his disciples so that get prepared for the mission ahead of them when he leaves. Matt 24: Jesus tells his disciples about the signs of the age, what will happen before the second coming of Christ. Matt 24:36-51- Jesus tells his disciples that the hour of the return of the Son of man is not known even to Himself except the father himself, thus he warned them of being caught off guard. He goes ahead and gives them the parable of the ten virgins, they were all anticipating for the wedding but the bride was late. Some ran out of oil and they rushed to get some but the bride came while they were away.
The same way, Jesus will appear. The question is, are you ready? Do you have enough oil in your lamp?
We are living in the last days and unless we keep watch just as Jesus said, we will be caught unaware. We are entangled so much with the cares of this world till sometimes we forget to nourish our spiritual man and keep him ready and with enough oil to keep on burning till the bride comes. I was listening to a song that said “sometimes we are not able to read God’s word or even pray and when we are faced with temptations, we are unable to win because we don’t have the power in us to do so” Psalms 119:10-11, David prays gives us a principle that will keep us running till the end of time. The word of God is the oil that will keep our hearts burning till Christ returns.
When we have hidden the word of God in us, we will be able to overcome temptations and sin in our lives. Remember God will never take you where his Grace will not protect you. Remember, being tempted is not a sin, yielding to the temptation is the sin. For every temptation, God will always provide a way of escape. Sin is the only thing that drains our oil (word) that we have in our lamps (hearts). The devil will always try all means and ways to make us loose our steps, but God is there to bring us back on track.
Remember, he who holds on and runs this race to the end faithfully, a crown and the reward of eternal life will he get (Rev 21:7) My fellow brothers and sisters, I know that this walk of faith is hard and its becoming harder each day, but lets persevere like Paul so that at the end of the day we shall echo his words; I have fought a good fight, I have ran the race and kept the faith.
Let’s keep our hearts on fire and let’s wait for the second coming of Christ when we are holy. Let’s keep our garments clean all the time.
Amen.
Sunday 22nd, March 2009
Breaking the yoke:
Genesis 27:40
Blessing and curses always lay in our tongue. There is so much power in the words that we pronounce. Every word that you utter, know that it has impact either to your life, someone’s life, situation or circumstance. Esau was the 1st son of Isaac but Jacob was the beloved son of Rebecca. With her help, he was able to get Esau’s blessings from the father through cheating. In place of blessing, Isaac places bondage on Esau but with a way out. He tells him “… and it shall come to pass that when you grow restless, you will break the yoke off your neck” (NIV)
Sometimes, the devil holds us hostage to bondage but we get used to it and we are comfortable and thus we become slaves of the same. Esau’s descendants (Arabs n the rest) are always in fight with Israel because they want their freedom. 2 Kings 7:3-10 Gives us a story of four lepers who got restless of their state and decided to act. The country was starving because the Aramean’s had decided to keep all the food to themselves. Listen to what they said “why stay here till we die? If we go to the city, there is famine and we will die, if we stay here, we will die too, so lets go to the Arameans camp and surrender, if they kill us, we die and if they spare us, we will live.” vs3
These lepers took a risky step of faith that all of us aught to take in our lives. The reason why we live in bondage is because we get used to our surrounding environment and in the long run, we get solutions to the challenges that may arise around us. It is until we get restless and tired of our current situation, and then deliverance will come our way.
When I look at the four lepers, I see some insights that can help us overcome our bondages too:
Risk – Sometimes as Christians we don’t want to put our faith at stake. We ask ourselves, if I do this and it fails, what will people think about me, what will they say? These and many more questions don’t have any other business, but the are there to make us Doubt what God can do in our lives. The only way to overcome doubts is doubt the doubt. These lepers knew what stood ahead of them if they went either way, but they decided to go to the enemies’ camp. I pray that we will all be like Esther and say “I will go to the King, if I die, let me die” (Esther 4:16)
Confidence – These men had confidence that when they go to the camp, they will be spared and if not, they were willing to die. Look at them when they are in the enemies camp, they are at ease because they knew no one could frighten them then. Again remember God had amplified their footsteps and they sounded like a great army. Do you have confidence in God? Then go ahead and advance ahead.
Minded their fellow brothers – When you get you get your breakthrough, don’t think that you are now free and you live your own world, and remember that there are other people who are also passing through what you have been delivered from. So take an initiative to help them also get their freedom. These men took an initiative and they informed the gatekeepers who in turn informed the King.
When you take a step of faith and you risk, God will be by your side. Remember He used the limbs of the lepers to sound like a vast army thus the Arameans escaped from the camp. So take a step of faith and God will replenish and lead you to victory over your bondage.
Amen.
Sunday 15th, March 2009
Why Worry??
Matthew 6:25-31; John 14:1-3:
I was in a matatu and as I sat on the front seat, I was arguing with the driver to change the radio station to a station of my choice. I somehow thought that everyone was not comfortable as I was with the music that was playing in the station that was on. To kill all this off, the driver decided to play a CD instead. It happened to be a reggae CD and the first song’s lyrics were “Why worry about them, when you can pray them off” These lyrics got me thinking of how much we worry about ourselves, circumstances that engulf us, why did things happen the way they did, what will happen tomorrow, etc and God was challenging me that in all this, I can’t change anything by worrying.
If anything, there are two days in a year that we are not meant to worry about. Yesterday and Tomorrow. Jesus in Mathew 6:27 asks a very simple question that I want you to answer yourself. How many times have you worried over something and it has changed??Jesus said, your worry won’t add even a single day to your life. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow is just but a dream of hope. Don’t worry and get yourself worked up for the mistakes that you did yesterday. What could happen if I didn’t do that? What could happen if I could have done this or that?? If anything, you won’t add or reduce anything that happened. It’s all done and past. All the same, don’t worry about tomorrow, what will happen, what will…….?? All these won’t help in any way.
Today is your day. Live it to the fullest glorifying God in everything. Matt 6:33 “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all its righteousness, and all other things will be added unto you” Many of us just read the first part of this scripture, seek ye first … and jump and all its righteousness. We all remember the promise but not the condition that we have to fulfill to get the promise. Part of the things that will be added unto us is being free away from any worries for our lives.
Let’s learn to leave all our cares at the feet of Jesus because he understands us and cares for us knowing that he will perfect all that concerns us.
Amen!!!!
Sunday 8th, March 2009
What is dead in your life??
John 11:1-44:
Lazarus, Mary and Martha happen to be one of the best friends of Jesus and he used to frequent their home very much. They had offered themselves to open their house fro him to come and rest after a hard day out there preaching the Gospel. And this time round, the brother is sick and they know that it is Jesus alone who can heal him. Mary having spent some time with Jesus and remembering where Jesus had saved him from, she sends out a message to him to let him know that his friend and brother Lazarus is sick.
Amazingly, when Jesus gets the news, he is not in a hurry to go to their home. Instead, he tarries 4 more days and by this time, Laza6rus dies and he is buried and even his body starts to rot and this is the time that Jesus and his disciples show up. Mary rushes and falls at the feet of Jesus and she cries out saying “if only you were here, a little earlier, my brother would not have died”. This was all Mary could think of and she was a little bit not happy with Jesus’ delay. But Jesus tells her not to worry because her brother would live again. Martha having been transformed and she had understood who Jesus was; she has faith that she will be able to see her brother again during the resurrection after the coming of Jesus.
Later on, Jesus is shown the tomb where they had laid him and he orders the tomb stone to be rolled away. It is at this point that we see Jesus weeping and later on, we see the miracle that happened and Lazarus came back to life again. The weeping that Jesus wept shows us that he is a God who understands us and he feels what we also feel. That is why, he was born as a human being so that he could also go through what we go through in order for him to indentify with us. I don’t know what is dead in you6r life and at this point in time it is rotting and stinking. You might be saying as Mary was saying… if only you were here a little earlier. Remember, God is never late nor is he early. He comes at his appointed time and He does what pleases him and what he has planned. Remember, your ways are not his ways, thus why the time you want him to appear at your situation and rescue you or save you, he tarries because he knows what he has in store for you.
When He comes at his appointed time, it doesn’t matter whether whatever is dead in your life; may it be your morals, your faith, your family, your job, children name them; whether is rotten and stinking, He doesn’t mind the stench, all he cares is to bring back what has been dead to life again. All you need to do is trust him and open the tomb for him where you have buried whatever is dead in your life and it will come back to life. After Lazarus was back to life, Jesus ordered the people to remove the saddle that was wrapped round him and let him go. This means, when Jesus brings you back to life, He won’t leave of a captive of death, He will set you free and free in deed.
What is that that is dead in your life? Or maybe it is not yet dead it is sick and ailing and you really want Jesus to come over and heal you? All you have to do is send a message to him and let him know what is ailing you and at his appointed time, he will come. Remember, the distance between your problem now and your answer is the distance between the ground and your knees.
Amen!!!
The Word…
"May my life always Radiate thy Glory oh Lord!"
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and Lo! I am with you always till the end of the world.” AMEN!
Matthew 20:19-20
This is the greatest commandment that we have ever been given. “Go ye therefore…” When you got saved, you were not taken to heaven directly, that’s why you are here so that you can help someone else know the truth just as someone else helped you and you came to the light. Many of us think that this call is just for the people in the five-fold ministry just as I used to think, but Jesus was speaking to you and Me. We have no excuse of not going out there to share the love of Christ to the nations. Jesus said, the fields are white and ready for harvest, but the labourers are few. Once you and I avail ourselves to go and be part of the labourers, we will fill out the empty pews in the church and the devils kingdom will be on the losing end.
Word of Life is a site whose aim and agenda is to equip you daily with the word of God and encourage you to fulfill the mission and purpose that God has called you to do here on earth. I don’t want us when we reach heaven to be told that… you had this soul to bring to the kingdom and now it is perishing…. NO!!! I want a situation whereby, we will all be commended by God for a work well done “Good and faithful servant….” That will be my joy when we will all be gathered together to celebrate our Victory.
This is a call I am making to you who is reading this blog, don’t just benefit, inform your friends, family and everyone else and let us help each other in this journey of faith till we reach our heavenly home.
Yours in Christ’s vineyard,
Dennis.
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