Wages of Sin is Death

I have been meditating on this Bible verse for a week now, Romans 6:23: “For the wages (payment) of sin (disobedience or rebellion) is death (the end of)…..” Emphasis are mine through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit

I used to think the ‘death’ in Romans 6:23 was merely about physical death until the Holy Spirit drew my attention to a lot of depths that comes with the ‘death’ in the verse. Sin puts to death or brings about the end of a lot of things in all aspects of our life.

Sin first of all puts to death our innocence like it did to Adam, Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭10-11‬: He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?……” Sin always strips you off your innocence, remember the first time you had sex, and how nervous, weird and shy it was for you? Now you don’t even feel shy or nervous anymore, because your innocence has been stolen!

Sin puts to death or brings about the end of our Godly conscience. Do you remember the first time you lied, stole, cheated in a relationship, shot someone, etc. and was so scared and nervous you will be caught and regretted your actions so much you vowed never to do that again? But now, you feel no remorse doing the same thing because, you’ve been doing it continually for quite sometime. It has killed your Godly conscience now you don’t even feel bad doing it anymore.

Sin puts to death or brings about the end of our happiness and peace of mind. Has anything you’ve ever done in your past come back to bite you in your future even though you’re no more the person you used to be in the past? Have you lost your job, your reputation, respect or status because of someone using something you did in the past against you? Have you ever been scared a past secret of yours might ruin your life now if it gets exposed? That is the kind of things sin does to you, it steals your joy and peace of mind.

Sin also puts to death or brings about the end to our relationship with God. Don’t ever be fooled thinking sin doesn’t draw God away from you, it does, but the good news is, we now have an advocate called Jesus Christ who pleads on our behalf anytime we sin against God (1 John 2:1). Christ acts as a bridge between us and God, so God looks at Christ’s plea, then draws near to us again.

The only way we can abstain from sin (disobedience to the perfect will of God) is to not be Sin-Conscious but Grace-Conscious. Let me explain this two concepts to eliminate ambiguity.

Sin-Consciousness: When a person tries not to sin by trying to obey the law to every last letter of it. But that breeds self-righteousness and if not, frustration. James 2:10: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” Being conscious of sin brings about guilt whenever you sin and it even makes you sin more; feeling inadequate to approach God so you keep on in your sins, thinking ‘after all what!?’

Grace-Consciousness: When a person accepts that they’re not perfect and can’t meet the standards of God’s law so they need help from God himself to live according to His own standards. That means, you accepts that your righteousness is an underserved gift from God. It’s not you living but rather Christ living through you. Such consciousness eliminates guilt and since you know it’s not by your might, but by the spirit, you don’t get frustrated when you sin, you run to God’s mercy seat knowing His Grace is abundant and sufficient for you.

Let’s stop focusing on Sin and start focusing on Grace, if we really want to put sin to death in our lives before it puts to death things in our lives.

God bless you for your reading time. Stay blessed and live that victorious life through Christ our Lord.

John 3:16

Let me share this story I once heard with you.

In the city of Chicago one cold, dark night, a blizzard was setting in. A little boy was selling newspapers on the corner. People were inside out of the cold, and the little boy was so cold that he really wasn’t trying to sell many papers. He walked up to a policeman and said, “Mister, you wouldn’t happen to know where a poor boy could find a warm place to sleep tonight, would you? You see, I sleep in a box up around the corner there and down the alley, and it is awful cold. It sure would be nice to have a warm place to stay.”

The policeman looked down at the little boy and said, “Well, I’ll tell you what to do, you go down the street to that big white house and knock on the door. When they come out of the door, just say, ‘John 3:16’ and they will let you in.”

So the boy did. He walked up the steps to the door and knocked, and a lady answered. He looked up and said, “John 3:16.” The lady said, “Come on in.”

She took him in, sat him down in a split-bottom rocker in front of a great big fireplace, and left. He sat there for a while and thought to himself, John 3:16 – I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a cold boy warm.

Later, she came back and asked him, “Are you hungry?” He said, “Well, just a little. I haven’t eaten in a couple of days, and I guess I could stand a little bit of food.” The lady took him into the kitchen and sat him down at a table full of wonderful food, and he sat there and he ate and ate until he couldn’t eat anymore. Then he thought to himself, John 3:16 – I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a hungry boy full.

She took him upstairs to a bathroom with a huge bathtub filled with warm water. He sat there and soaked for a while. As he soaked, he thought to himself, John 3:16 – I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a dirty boy clean. The lady came in and got him, took him to a room, tucked him into an old feather bed, pulled the covers up around his neck, and kissed him good night. She turned out the lights. As he lay there in the darkness, he looked out of the window and saw the snow coming down on that cold night. He thought to himself, John 3:16 – I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a tired boy rested.

The next morning she took him down again to the same big table full of food. After he ate, she took him back to the same old split-bottom rocker in front of the fireplace. She got a Bible, sat down, and asked, “Do you understand John 3:16?” He answered, “No, madam, I don’t. The first time I ever heard it was last night when the policeman said to use it.”

She opened the Bible to John 3:16 and began to explain to him about Jesus. Right there in front of that fireplace, he gave his heart and life to Jesus. He sat there and thought, John 3:16 – I don’t understand it, but it sure makes a lost boy feel safe. – (Anonymous)

This is what John 3:16 is all about: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Have you accepted Jesus as your Lord and personal savior? If not, then please do, because he wants to give you eternal life; life without sorrows, pain, struggles, shame, regrets, had I knowns, etc.

God bless you for your reading time. You’re blessed and highly favored…

Stir Up the Gift

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. (‭2 Timothy‬ ‭1‬:‭6‬)

In your spiritual life, you are either aggressively moving forward or slipping backward. Either you grow, or you start to die. There is no such thing as dormant Christianity. It is vital and essential to keep pressing on.

In this passage of Scripture Timothy needed some encouragement. Paul strongly encouraged him to get back on track, remember the call on his life, resist fear, and remember that God had not given him “the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1: 7). If you find you are feeling stagnant or slipping back into old patterns of thought and behavior, stir up the gift that is within you today and press forward in Him.

God bless you for your reading time.

Post was based on an extract from @JoyceMeyer’s book: Ending Your Day Right.

Words Are Food For The Soul

I am sure you have heard someone say, “You are going to eat those words.” It may sound like a mere phrase to us, but in reality we do eat our words. What we say not only affects others, but it also affects us.

Words are wonderful when used in a proper way. They can encourage, edify and give confidence to the hearer. A right word spoken at the right time can actually be life-changing. (See Proverbs 15:23.)

We can literally increase our own joy by speaking right words. We can also upset ourselves by talking unnecessarily about our problems or things that have hurt us in relationships.

Not too long ago I had a disappointing situation take place with someone I considered to be a close friend. I noticed that each time I talked about it, I would have a difficult time getting it off of my mind for the remainder of the day. I finally realized that if I wanted to get over it, I was going to have to stop mentally and verbally going over it again and again. People kept asking me about the situation out of genuine concern, but I ultimately realized that I had to answer, “It is better for me if I just don’t talk about it.”

What Happens When We Speak? The words that come out of our mouth go into our own ears as well as other people’s, and then they drop down into our soul where they give us either joy or sadness, peace or upset, depending on the types of words we have spoken.

God desires that our spirit be light and free so it can function properly, not heavy and oppressed. We can learn to choose our thoughts, to resist wrong ones and think on good, healthy, and right ones. I have often said, “Where the mind goes, the man follows.” And it could also be said that where the mind goes, the mouth follows!

When we understand the power of words and realize that we can choose what we think and speak, our lives can be transformed.

Always plan to say something positive. God has given His children a new nature, and we are taught to daily renew our mind and attitude. Having a positive outlook on life and speaking positive words based on God’s Word is one of the most wholesome things we can do.

When you get up in the morning, if there is something you need to attend to that day that you’re not looking forward to, you can say, “I dread this day,” or you can say, “God will give me strength today to do whatever I need to do and to do it with joy.” Which of these two statements do you think would better prepare you for the day?

As we have seen, we eat our words, and we can rightfully say that they are food for our souls. Anyone who wants to be healthy is careful to choose quality food that will provide good nutrition. If we want to be healthy in our soul and spirit, we should also choose to take in words that will build us up and increase our peace and joy.

God bless you for your reading time and may blessings, favor, grace, mercy, love, peace and joy be faithful servants of yours this month of October, Amen!!

This post was based on an extract from @JoyceMeyer’s book: Change Your Words, Change Your Life.

Seek God’s Presence, Not His Presents

I want to share my morning devotion with you all this morning. I think it’s something really worth sharing.

God wants to do good things for us. He wants to give us many blessings, but it is important that we seek Him for who He is and not merely what He can do for us. God is wonderful beyond comparison, and being in His presence is amazing. As we seek His face, we will find that His hand is always open. If we only seek His hand it will insult Him. No one, not even God, wants to be used for someone’s personal advantage.

We should ask God for anything we want or need and if it is best for us, in His timing, He will give it to us. But always remember that, more than anything else, we need more of Him in our lives. More of His presence, His ways, His character, His wisdom, His understanding, His power, etc.

And as Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭31-33‬ puts it, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

God isn’t wicked to deny us of our wants and need, but sometimes He knows these things can draw us away from Him when given to us, if we’re not that rooted in Him. So He wants us to seek Him first and get rooted in Him, so his provisions will just enhance our love and devotion towards Him.

God is everything and we are nothing without Him. Jesus said, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5) and also in Romans 11:36: “For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.”

God bless you for your reading time, and may He cause your interest in His presence be more than that of His presents. God richly bless you and keep you safe through the day. Amen!!

Hold No Grudge

I remember sometime back in basic school when a friend of mine got slapped and he turned his other cheek and urged the slapper on for another slap. We all were so mad at him he did that, then he told us he was taught in Sunday School: when someone slaps you on one cheek; you give them the other to slap also. Since that day, as kids in love with God and in total obedience to Him, we wasted no time in turning over the other cheek when we got slapped.

Luke‬ ‭6‬:‭29-31‬: If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.

Has anyone hurt you so bad you wished hell to break lose on them? Are you still holding onto bitterness in your heart for someone who hurt you? Are you planning vengeance to get even with someone? Then I’m here to tell you, there’s no need for that.

I believe the only man who ever had the right, tangible, legitimate reason to hold grudges was Jesus Christ. But even he on the cross, prayed God to forgive us for we knew not what we were doing. How many of us Christians are living like Christ did? Can you pray the same prayer for someone who caused you so much pain and grief?

I now perfectly understand why Jesus said this in Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭44-45:‬ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

Jesus Christ is the best example of someone who practiced what he preached. Do you practice what you preach as a Christian? Do you hold grudges when you’ve been forgiven by Jesus Christ; someone who was blameless but yet still we crucified him for crimes he never committed and still forgave us.

I know it’s never easy to forgive someone who really hurt you so bad, or let go of your bitterness towards someone, but as Christians (Christ Like) we should learn to follow in the footsteps and examples of Christ. Holding a grudge against someone hurts you even more than what they did to hurt you does. You keep feeding the pain, feeding your anger, feeding bitterness and above all killing your peace of mind and your joy.

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. (‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭19‬)

Bitterness and grudges are breeding grounds for the devil to lay regrets and had I knowns in your life. Vengeance is always of the Lord my dear Christians. Pray to God about your hurts and bitterness then move on with your life. He will act on your behalf.

God bless you for your reading time and I pray this post will heal someone of their pain and hurt. Reach out to people who hurt you and be a blessing to them. God bless you!!

Is It Wrong For Pastors To Make Money Off Their Anointing

Earlier today, I was reading 1 Corinthians 9:1-18 and I started asking the Holy Spirit for a deeper elaboration on what I read. Had some discussions also with my friends over the issue and we conclusively agreed it wasn’t wrong. Men of God are also bread winners; who need to feed and fend for their families, so why not?

I know some are of the view that, God didn’t charge you anything for the anointing you have so why would you charge another for it? Well, I think that’s the same way with talent. Whatever talent you’re making money off was also given to you freely by God, right? You may argue that some pay money to nurture their talents into something worthy of making money off, so is it with Pastors. Most pastors also pay their way through Bible Colleges and Pastoral Schools.

Let’s read what Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:1-18 so you can also make your own judgments: “Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast. For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.”

If you’ve any comments, disagreements or discussions to make about this topic, please I’ll be ever ready to listen. God richly bless you for your reading time.

Masturbation Is Fornication

Have you ever wondered what kind of sin masturbation was? Well, after having some discussions with the Holy Spirit, I found out masturbation could be categorized under fornication.

What is masturbation? Masturbation is the stimulation or manipulation of one’s own genitals, especially to orgasm; sexual self-gratification.

Masturbation usually begins with lusting over a lady, a sexual image of a lady or watching pornography. These images we don’t restrict ourselves from viewing gradually build up sexual thoughts in our subconscious mind even without our knowing. With time, the urges becomes so strong, and it’s either you get a lady to have sex with or you satisfy your own sexual needs by masturbating.

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (‭Matthew‬ ‭5‬:‭28‬)

In the process of masturbation, it’s either you build up imaginary sexual thoughts or actually imagine a sexy image of a lady or a sexual scene involving one, or watch pornography and imagine yourself in the scene. And from Matthew 5:28 as quoted above, just looking at a woman lustfully alone makes you commit adultery (fornication) in your heart.

So even watching porn and wishing you were having sex with the person in that video, magazine or looking at a woman’s breast, buttocks or hips in real life and lusting for sex with them causes you to fornicate. Mostly since the person you’re lusting over isn’t available for you to have sex with, it leads you to masturbate. Which causes you to sin against God; just 5 minutes of pleasure leads you into disobedience.

My brothers in Christ, let us in unison with Job make this covenant he made in Job‬ ‭31‬:‭1‬ “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.”

My sisters in Christ, do your possible best to dress in a descent manner so as not to lead our brothers into lust over you, because as Jesus said in Luke 17:1 “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come.”

Jesus can save you from masturbation if you’re addicted to it, surrender your weaknesses to him and let him strengthen you to overcome them.

God bless you for your reading time. Let’s keep our faith and obedience in God intact. Let us not allow anything separate us from the love of God. Amen!!!

Sex After Marriage Is A Myth?

It sure takes great sex to keep marriage alive. Sex is a beautiful gift from God, and those who have had a taste of it will definitely join me thank God for it, I know they will. But from the Christian point of view, sex has it’s boundaries, rules and restrictions.

God never had, has or will ever have a hush-hush attitude towards sex; it’s a beautiful gift of intimate pleasure he gave to a man and woman not only to produced offsprings and fill the surface of the earth, but to also create a bond of sacred unity between them. But the issue is, God hates any sexual interaction that isn’t done under the covenant of marriage, that’s what He, God, is against.

A Youth Church ministry once organized a survey to find out if our generation of youth really believed in Sex Before Marriage with this questionnaire :

Please Tick Your Answers In All Sincerity.

AGE: (15-18) (19-25) (26-35) (36+)

ARE YOU A VIRGIN: (Yes) (No)

ARE YOU HAVING SEX: (Yes) (No)

ARE YOU MARRIED: (Yes) (No)

WHICH WILL YOU RECOMMEND:
(Sex Before Marriage) (Sex After Marriage)

With a population size of 279, the findings were as follows:

273 youth members recommended Sex After Marriage, representing 98% of the population.

6 youth members recommended Sex Before Marriage, representing 2% of the population.

Out of the 273 who recommended Sex After Marriage, only 11 were Virgins.

All 11 Virgins were aged between 15-18years

71 youth members aged between 15-18years were not Virgins

7 youth members were not Virgins but are not having sex currently.

25 youth members were married.

So the question here is, why would 237 youth members recommend Sex After Marriage but will be indulging in sex before they get married? Could this be a case of, I wish I could wait to get married before I’ve sex but I can’t say no to my lustful desires? Or could it be a case of, obedience to God is far more difficult than the obedience of satisfying the momentarily pleasures of my fleshly desires?

I’m one of those who isn’t a virgin but isn’t having sex lately because, I’ve come to see the reason why Paul told the people of Corinth to “Flee from sexual immorality (fornication, prostitution and adultery)…” in (1 Corinthians 6:18). For every connection you made or make with the person you’re not married to but had or have sex with; is a connection that will fight against your marriage when you finally get married. Where do you think the phrase ‘Body Count’ (Number of people you’ve slept with) originated from? Every person you have sex with becomes one flesh with you for life and deposit a part of their spirit in you too for life.

If you marry someone who has slept with 3 people, then it basically means you’re getting married not only to them, but 3 other people as well. Reason divorce is a commonplace with any sexual immoral generation. But the grace of God is still abundant for us all if only we will repent and flee from sexual immorality.

Let me conclude this with these two verses from the Bible to let you know sex isn’t a bad thing, but it needs to be done under the covenant of marriage.

1 Corinthians 7:1-2: Now about the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to live a celibate life. But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

1 Corinthians 7:8-9: Now I say to those who aren’t married and to widows it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.

God bless you for your reading time, and may he touch your hearts to stay pure till marriage.

Love That Thrills

How often has love failed me. Like a vague whisper I’m still yet to grasp it. Desperately in search for someone to make me feel loved, but anytime I found one, my insecurities were too strong it defeated my belief system. Initially thought I had trust issues, but I later realized I rather doubted the possibility of me ever being truly loved; loved unconditionally and not for convenience sake.

Living a lie trying to impress people who were never going to sail with me to the port of ‘And they lived happily ever after.’ Those lies cost me my conscience towards my God, my savior Jesus and the Holy Spirit. With time I asked myself, “For how long can I hide the true me, the real person I’m?”

The only time I really feel happy about myself or completely secure and confident in my skin is when I devote my all to my Lord, Jesus Christ! That safety I feel in love whenever I’m totally sold out in love for Him. No fear of been cheated on, been taken for granted or disrespected. That Jesus love, got me giving up on fickle human love to hold onto unconditional love.

That John 3:16 love, that Romans 5:8 love, that Acts 8:32 love, Philippians 4:19 love, that Psalm 23:1 love, that Isaiah 53:5 love, etc. that love that thrills……I’ve now come to the realization that, my true identity is found in Christ, who I’m in Christ, because any other lifestyle I tried to live was a lie. I only get real with myself and people when I really get down for the Lord.

I’m glad all things worked together for my good. I no longer need to try and fit into society’s perverse rules to look ‘cool’ and feel good about myself. Living to fit my Daddy’s image, who cares about what men say or think of me? Loving Jesus has never been difficult for me because, he first loved me even when I despised him…

I want to recommend this love to you, are you desperately in search for love or want to be loved? Jesus Christ is calling out to you with his unconditional love; nobody’s love can thrill you as much as that of Jesus’. If he could love a wretch like me and deliver me from my neediness for human love and acceptance, you can also be loved.

If you want to experience this love I’m talking about, just open up your heart and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior, get a Bible believing church and join, and start your journey to true happiness and unconditional love…

God bless you and I pray to hear your testimony soon!!!