Tag: Jerusalem

Posted in FAITH, OUR WORDS, PRAYER, Safe with Jesus, Uplifting Christ

HOW DID THE FIG TREE WITHER SO QUICKLY?

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

In the morning, as Jesus was returning to Jerusalem, he was hungry, and he noticed a fig tree beside the road. He went over to see if there were any figs, but there were only leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” And immediately the fig tree withered up.
The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”

(Matthew 21:18-20, NLT)

I trust God will use this message to renew your mind in Jesus’ Name.

  • I asked myself these questions yesterday;
    • How long does it take for God to perform the miracles we need?
    • How long does it take for God to grant us our requests?
  • Some people believe it takes time, probably a day, week, month, or even years for God to answer their prayers.
    • How long do we have to wait to see the promise come to pass in our lives?

Jesus’ Example:

Jesus came to show how God works. The miracles He performed and his teachings demonstrated how soon God wants to answer our prayers. An example is what happened in Matthew 21. When Jesus said to the fig tree “May you never bear fruits again!”. The Bible says immediately the fig tree withered up.
It happened so fast that the disciples were amazed at what they saw and probably thought (according to my own words) “wow! how could he do that?“. They asked how did the fig tree wither so quickly? This tells us that our God isn’t interested in wasting our time.

Daniel’s Encounter:

Daniel was a man of prayer. He cherished talking to God so much that even when decree was passed for he shouldn’t pray to his God, he went ahead in prayer. At one point after he had waited for 21 days for answers to his prayers and supplications, Gabriel came with this message “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision: (Daniel 9:22,23 NIV84 Emphasis added)

In this story, Daniel didn’t know that an answer prayer was given as soon as he began to pray.

  • Friend, you may be asking yourself;
    • When am I going to have answers to my prayers?
    • When is God going to get me out of this debt?
    • when is my child going to be saved?
    • When am I going to get better job?
    • When am I going to meet the right person?
  • Asking questions don’t solve problems. Therefore Keep praying and Only Believe

Jesus’ Answers to Disciples’ Question:

Jesus answered the question by saying “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”

(Matthew 21:21-22, NIV84)

I have learnt that it doesn’t take long for God to perform the miracles we need. Instead, we delay in receive God’s best for our lives. God is ready to give but we keep slowing Him down through unbelief. Here is the point: We believe that when we enter God’s restaurant and place order, we (automatically) have to wait (in line) for us to be served. It’s true that sometimes God teaches us discipline to be persistent in making request. That is to help us grow in Faith and to prepare us for the blessings because there are many wolves in the field. Even with that, He is always on time.

Often You Get What You Believe:

When you believe that you could receive answers as soon as you pray, it would be done according to your faith. The Centurion in Matthew 8 knew it would take time before Jesus got to his house, so he said (in my own words) “Lord you don’t have to waste time coming to my house. Just say the Word, and my servant will be healed” If he had waited for Jesus to come to the house, his servant’s healing would have been delayed. He believed it, and received it.

There were others who believed and waited for Jesus to come to them in order for their miracles to be possible. Either ways, the miracles happened and they had answers to their requests.

But if you would live on the higher level of Faith and believe that your Faith can take your miracles in an instant, it shall be possible for you. “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.”

Only Believe.

Posted in FAITH, GLORIFY GOD

CALL UPON THE LORD

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

Psalm 50:15
And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. KJV

Mark 2:17, Jesus said “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick”. The sick needs the doctor. He must recognise the need for someone who can help him. In other words, any person who wants to be saved must first recognise that he needs a saviour. Why do we spend lot of money to equip the Police? We believe they can protect our communities. Everybody wants them to respond fast. My point is we believe those guys can protect us that is why we rely on them for our safety. If we, believers, could trust in the police for our safety and security, then I believe we should trust in God‘s power to deliver us in the day of trouble.

One thing I want us to know is God has infinite power to deliver. He is Jehovah-Mephalti – Lord our Deliverer – Psalm 18:2.
He is the ONLY PERSON who can deliver us. The three Hebrews could face the fire because the saw God as the Only Person who could deliver them. Daniel also saw Him as His Deliverer. The reason, I believe, most believers in our days don’t see God’s power to deliver is that they believe their resources could save them in the day of trouble.

Matthew 14:30-31 says But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

When Peter cried out, “Lord, save me!”, Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him. Here is what I have learnt;
when trouble comes, we don’t have search our senses for solution. Secondly, We don’t have to move around seeking for answers. What we should do is to cry out to our Maker for help. In the movie The Pilgrim’s Progress, when the Pilgrim cried out “Help! Help!!” Help came from an unknown source.

Friends, anytime trouble comes, or we are afraid of the storms of life, we must LOOK UP for help. Let us call upon the Lord and he will deliver us.

I will close with this;
Isaiah 30:19
O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.

Posted in OUR WORDS, SOUL FOOD

Garbage in, Garbage out (GIGO)

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

Garbage in, Garbage out.

What words are you telling yourself?

What is your silent voice telling you?

Are you telling yourself “I am not genius”, “I am not talented”, “I am not handsome”, “I am poor”, “My friends are better than me”, “I am not beautiful”, “This is too much for me, I can’t do…”etc.?

Whatever you tell yourself will come back to you because your words are the seeds you sow into your life. “You will always harvest what you plant” Galatians 6:7 NLT. When you tell yourself by Faith that; “I am blessed, I am rich, I am talented, I can do all things through Christ, I can pass the exam, I will make profit, I can stop that addiction, I have got a wonderful future, etc.”, you would be planting good seeds into your life.

Every morning, before you start your day, tell yourself how you want your day to be. Most often when I get up in the morning, I plant these words into my life for the day “I am so happy to see today. It would be the best day ever in my life. God has given me another opportunity to do those things I couldn’t do the day before. I am stepping out to do my best. I have got the strength of God in me. Greater is He that is in me. And I know the Lord has protected my going out and my coming in. My family is protected. I will have my daily bread today. In Jesus’ Name. Amen” I am not surprise at people reactions when they see me. They wonder why I am always happy. Friends, our words are powerful. And we would reap what sow into our lives.

The next thing you should check out for are words people communicate to your spirit. Never accept words that do not conform to who you are in Christ. It doesn’t matter whether that person is your Dum, Dad, Teacher, Pastor, etc. God knew you before you came to the womb. He knows you better than any other person. So if someone tells you that you are ugly. Just look at the person in the eye and tell him or her that God created you in His image, and everything about Him is perfect. If someone tells you that “you can’t do it”. Tell that person you can do all things through Christ who is your strength. Don’t wait for those words to settle in your spirit. From the scriptures, “Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”  Matthew 16.  I believe there was nothing wrong with what Peter said but Jesus knew those words were not meant for Him at that moment. And He did not wait for those words to gain root in Him. He spoke out. Be careful with the kind of words people tell you.

Let us sow good seeds into our lives for a better future.