Tag: Apostle Paul

Posted in Motivation, Safe with Jesus, Uplifting Christ, Wait for the Lord

You’re Not Late

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

No one wants to get behind schedule for an important meeting, work, service, etc yet it’s probable that you would find yourself having to chase after a bus, train, or plane one way or the other. It’s part of life.

When you feel/think/know that you are late and jump on public transport, your lateness or urgency doesn’t cause the driver to move faster. The machine will move according to plan and your only option is to wait patiently till you get to your destination.

In the same way, you may feel/think/know that you are late in life. No one wants to be caught at this spot yet we find ourselves there almost all the time. We want things to move or happen more quickly. However, man’s sense of urgency doesn’t move God. He works according to plan and He is never late. And while you wait, He prepares you.

Think about Jesus Christ. He knew his purpose but He waited till the appointed time. Could John the Baptist have baptized Him earlier? Could Jesus’ temptation have happened sooner than it did? Could He have started His ministries in His twenties? There are tonnes of questions one could ask about why Jesus Christ waited till age 30 to start His ministry when He knew His purpose before birth.

A closer look at Apostle Paul’s ministry reveals that after his encounter with Jesus Christ on Damascus road, it took three years (in preparation) before he went to Jerusalem to meet Peter and James (Galatians 1:18).

Thus when you hear that God works according to His time, don’t assume that everything stays passive. He actively works behind the scene to prepare you for the assignment. It’s said that new levels come with new devils. Every miracle you need has a test/challenge/temptation component so God prepares you for both. And your miracles and testimonies are your toolkits for evangelism. Your set time is coming so allow yourself to be taught and prepared by God. It won’t be late because God is always on time.

Posted in HOPE, Uplifting Christ

Say No to the Past

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. (Philippians 3:13, NLT)

So often, we focus on what we have done; our past successes, challenges, mistakes, relationships, etc. The past is good because you are where you are today because of the way you programmed yourself in the past. Although your past has a connection to the future, you don’t have to focus on the past. The past retards growth. When you rely on your past achievements, they prevent you from moving forward. Yesterday’s achievements belong to history. Holding onto the past mistakes, sins, hurts, relationships, memories, etc consumes the strength you could have used to plan for the future.

Your past is an enemy that can prevent you from moving forward. Be encouraged today to Say NO to the PAST.

Have you created comfort zone beyond which you don’t want to take any risk?

Apostle Paul said that “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” (Philippians 3:14, NLT). Paul was determined to move beyond boundaries to reach the end of the race where he would be rewarded. He forgot about his past achievements and challenges and was focused on what was ahead. You do not have to stay at a point, always refreshing yourself with past memories.Press on because your best days are ahead of you.

Have you considered why you take a step forward when you have a destination to reach despite the fact that you stumble or fall? This should be an encouragement that no matter what happens in your life, you have to move forward because your best days (or destination) are ahead of you.

Friend prepare yourself for something better because nothing you have done in the past can be compared to what God has prepared for your future. Spend time getting materials that will make you prepare you for the future. Do not waste time repairing what went wrong in your past. Repairing wastes time and energy, and it pulls you from moving forward. Whatever happened in the past belongs to the past. You cannot do anything about it. The most important thing is to pray and ask God for His divine guidance, which would enable you make appropriate decisions toward the future.

Think about this for a moment; Great men we see today don’t stop at their first success or breakthrough. They always push forward. Even software has an update which erases its past. How much more you, a child of the Most High?

Can we do these little exercises?

If someone hurt you in the past, forgive and let it go. Go to that brother or sister and live together again.

If something went wrong in your life, stop blaming yourself. Whatever it is that happened did happen. Nothing can be done to restore that. Just PUSH FORWARD.

If you caused someone pains, or destroyed something that was so dear to him/her, it is time to live again. Let the guilt go. The Bible says Resist the devil and he will flee. Resist whatever had held you for years, and it will flee.

If a friend left you, quit worrying and sobbing about that. Today is a new day. God has aligned right people in your future.

If you won a golden cup yesterday, do not let it dominate your life because your best is yet to come.

Anytime thoughts about the past life come to worry or destroy your happiness, tune in to something new. Let me tell you what you should think about; “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable” (Philippians 4:8).

IT IS WELL

Posted in DIVINE PROTECTION, DO NOT WORRY, GOD'S KINGDOM

A STRANGER IN THE LAND

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

As a tourist on that land, I knew all I had to do, and those the law doesn’t permit me to. I walked around, visited places, made friends, ate at different restaurants, dressed like them, talked like them, etc,. One day I was walking on the streets when I saw some youth forcing themselves through the windows onto a bus. At that moment, the Spirit of God spoke to me. He said “son, although you try to make yourself like them, you can’t do everything they do. You are not one of them. You belong to a different country. Don’t forget your visa would expire soon and you would have to return. You are a stranger in this land.”

Do you know how to sing this song?

Guide me, O thou great Jehovah, 
pilgrim through this barren land. 
I am weak, but thou art mighty; 
hold me with thy powerful hand. 
Bread of heaven, bread of heaven, 
feed me till I want no more; 
feed me till I want no more

When I returned home that evening, I opened my Bible to the place where Jesus said “ye are not of the world”. (John 15:19 KJV). I am in this world but I don’t belong to the world. Jesus has called me out of the World. I no longer have live or think like the rest of the world. My neighbour may not see what I see, he may not think like I do. All because Christ has given me a new hope, and a new citizenship.

Friends, we are on transit and very soon, we would depart to the Holy City. To see the King of kings. The Alpha and Omega. The Great I AM. Heaven and earth will pass away, including everything we are struggling for; the cars, houses, gadgets, clothes, fame, etc,. All would be destroyed. Let us not be like Lot’s wife, for she loved her world so much that she perished with it. Please let nothing hold you back. We came naked, and we would leave naked. Anytime I watch what happened in Japan, and see how people were running away leaving their houses, cars, clothes, etc, I conclude that the most important thing on earth is our lives. If this is true, then we have to run away from the wrath of God on the last day. We have to strive hard to enter through the Narrow way. We have to know that nothing in this world would guarantee eternal life than Jesus. We are stranger on this world.

Apostle Paul advises that Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after

and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by

the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that

you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of

God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect

[in His sight for you]. (Romans 12:2 AMP)

When you turn on your TV, what do you see? Broad is the way that leads to destruction yet many, including Christians, are trooping in that direction.

Jesus knows the world is the not a safe place for us. In his prayer, He said “I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name–the name you gave me–so that they may be one as we are one. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:9-11, 15-17 NIV84). We see plane crash, terrorist attack, war, earthquake, tsunami, motor accident, etc,. These things are happening but God is a shield around His children. He protects His own. Don’t live in fear like any ordinary person. You are God’s masterpiece. Think differently, talk differently, let the world of God dwell in you richly.

I will close with this:

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
[or Guide me, O Thou great Redeemer…]
Pilgrim through this barren land.
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand.
Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,
Feed me till I want no more;
Feed me till I want no more.

Open now the crystal fountain,
Whence the healing stream doth flow;
Let the fire and cloudy pillar
Lead me all my journey through.
Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield;
Be Thou still my Strength and Shield.

Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,
Wondrous are Thy works of old;
Thou deliver’st Thine from thralldom,
Who for naught themselves had sold:
Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer,
Sin, and Satan and the grave,
Sin, and Satan and the grave.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan’s side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee;
I will ever give to Thee.

Musing on my habitation,
Musing on my heav’nly home,
Fills my soul with holy longings:
Come, my Jesus, quickly come;
Vanity is all I see;
Lord, I long to be with Thee!
Lord, I long to be with Thee!

Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. (1 John 2:15-17 NLT)