A Call to Examine Ourselves.

Some time ago, I got a job as a secondary class tutor. One certain day, I disciplined a student who always brings back his assignment undone. A few days later, the child’s mom came to see me. she was upset that I had disciplined her child. As I thought about how parents are quick to come to their children's aid this story came to mind.

We humans often come to the aid of our friends and families when help is needed. Parents are a solid rock to their children. This made me wonder—what was God actually thinking when He decided to give His only begotten Son? What was running through His mind?

He knew He wanted us, and to show how much He loved us, He gave His only begotten Son. This means there was no "only" after Him. Very often, we focus more on the birth of Jesus because it marks the coming of joy to the earth. This birth had been spoken of by many prophets even before He was born, but when He came, only a few acknowledged that He was the one they had been waiting for.

It is not God’s will that anyone should perish, but that everyone should come to repentance. If He wanted us to continue living in sin, bound by the enemy, He would not have sent His Son. There is a place for us to come to repentance, where we accept the Lord. We should not ask if we deserve His forgiveness and love because, when the Lord forgives us, He remembers our sins no more. As it says in the book: “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him, and in whose spirit, there is no deceit.”

When we give ourselves to Christ, we are made fresh before Him, but we must be honest with Him.

Friend, there is so much the Lord has in store for those who love Him, but we must first seek Him while He can be found. We must call on Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his ways and the evil man his thoughts. When we do this, He comes to our aid. This is a call to examine ourselves.

We are often quick to claim that we are pure and holy, but being sanctified is a question we will answer before the Lord. Yes, many serve Him, and many are in His household, but yet He knows each and every one of us by name. It is time to come boldly before the Lord and seek forgiveness where needed.

Revelation 22:17 says:

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come!’ Let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.” (NIV)

It’s time for us to examine ourselves and see if we are in faith. May the Lord help us, in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Stay revived!

From Oversized to Perfect Fit

As a child, I loved new clothes and shoes, but my mom often bought me oversized items. Nigerian mothers believe children will grow into them. Imagine receiving a new dress in primary school, only for it to fit perfectly in your final year of tertiary education.

Reflecting on this, I am reminded that we often ask God for things we're not yet ready to handle. We request so much, yet fail to manage the blessings He's already entrusted to us.

Luke 12:48 (NIV) says, "For everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." God knows our capacity and doesn’t give us more than we can handle. What He has given, He knows we can manage.

Many times, we haven’t received the blessings we desire because we’ve refused to grow. Too often, we get too comfortable and expect things to come to us, believing we deserve them without working towards them.

Yes, Christianity is free, but to experience its fullness, we must work it out with fear and trembling. God is looking for men and women He can trust with His power—those who are prepared to bear the burdens in His heart. It burdens him that we are not living the way He wants us to, but he cannot come from heaven to do our part for us, we have to be intentional about our spiritual and mental growth.

God withholds certain blessings not because He doesn't want to give them to us, but because He understands we are not yet ready to handle them. He patiently waits for us to grow into the person who can manage those blessings. We must be intentional about our spiritual growth before God can trust us with such responsibility. We cannot simply wish for it to happen. It’s important to recognize that what differentiates you from others is the time you've spent at your prayer altar, investing in your spiritual growth.

So, friend wake up and be intentional about your growth, but these blessings may not manifest until we are spiritually and mentally prepared for them. God wants us to understand that we must grow into the fullness He has for us.

Stay revived!

Can Prayer Be a Highness Drug?

 

I was never a fan of long prayers. I would choose studying or reading my way out of a crisis. Reading was more than just an educational skill to me; it slowly became a form of therapy. Then I came across the scripture that says, "Men ought always to pray and not faint," and another that says, "Pray without ceasing."

Yes, I would pray, but because I didn’t really understand the essence of prayer, it felt more like a chore. However, over the past few months, praying has grown beyond a command for me. Just like God's word has said, it has become a source of strength and a strategy for refreshment.

There were times when I would feel so helpless, trying to grasp for a survival chord. Words, no matter how much I loved them, would fail to comfort me, and reading in those moments felt like a chore. I would end up searching for satisfaction.

There were moments when I intentionally chose not to pray, but even when I wanted to run away, prayer became like a highness drug.

To the lonely and broken hearted, it gives companionship. To the lost and hopeless, it reassures. To the broken hearted, it finds you and gives you meaning. I’ve discovered that strength can be drawn in the place of prayer. A safe haven and a place of peace can be built when we do not faint in our place of prayer.

But to God, it is a means by which He reaches out to us and ultimately connects us to every word and spiritual reality He has for us.

When was the last time you prayed? Not the communal kind, just you and Him. Someone once told me that we might all appear in the secret place together, but when it comes to communion, it becomes a personal transaction.

Today, pray. Not just for a moment, but stay and just pray. Let our conviction be, "Until He sees me, I tarry in the place of prayer." We do not stop praying because we got answers; it is our life support.

Stay revived!

I come in the Volume of the Books.

While growing up, one of the encounters I remember having was seeing a book with my name on it. I picked it up to read, and although I forgot most of what I read, certain things still resonate with me occasionally. This morning, as I put the song Volume of the Book by Moses Akoh on repeat, I felt an atmosphere around me. A picture formed in my mind. Imagine that you are on a mission to discover a treasure, and this treasure is a book that contains your story—everything about you. It holds details from the day you were born and your journey, and though you can see the end, the book doesn't reveal the process or how you’ll get there. Let this image form in your mind.

Psalm 40:7-8 (KJV): "Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book, it is written of me."
"I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart."

What is written about you? What have you discovered that the Lord wants to do with your life? Our existence alone is older than the world itself. Just think about how old the world is, and imagine what the Bible says in...

  Ephesians 1:4 (NIV):
"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight."
This means that your spirit existed before the creation of the world. Life is in the spirit, and the spirit freely relates with the Lord. We exercise this relationship through prayer. As we begin to exercise our spirit, who we were before the existence of the world is gradually awakened.

Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV):
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I set you apart."

It’s time to awaken to our assignment. We must not be tired; we must not grow weary; Awake.

Imagine everything you’ve always desired being handed to you. No, it won’t be easy at first, but there is no David without Goliath. Victory is ahead, but this can only be discovered when we come to the Lord with a hunger to know Him. As He begins to reveal who we are, our lives are transformed into the people we are meant to be in Christ.

I have a saying that I always hold to: “I won’t take what the Lord hasn’t given me. I’ll awaken and take my place.” Remember, God has anointed all His children for different circles. Discover yours, and then you will be able to say, “I have come in the volume of the book. It is written about me to do His will alone.”

Stay revived!