Fulfilling Purpose

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Purpose: 1. the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. (Dictionary.com)

Everyone created by God has a purpose to fulfill, some have discovered theirs and are fulfilling it already, while many are not even aware they have a purpose to fulfill and some have deviated or are doing something else they were not designed to do.

Photo credit: https://www.psychologytoday.com

In the parable of the the talents, the Master was pleased with the profitable servants. God has invested a lot in us and expects return.

I believe that everyday, we should seek the Lord to fulfill His purpose on earth, it will help us remain focused on the plan irrespective of the distractions around us.

Jesus was so focused on the assignment, He knew the purpose for which the Father sent Him to earth and was not distracted by the events happening around Him, His disciples actually thought that He had come to restore the kingdom back to Israel, yes but not in the way they thought it would be.

John 20:21 (NKJV) So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.”

As the Father sent Jesus, so also has Jesus sent us, would we fulfill purpose?

Prayer
Heavenly Father, I thank you for creating me, I thank you for sending me into this world with a purpose, please help me to understand it and fulfill it, thereby bringing you pleasure.
Thank you Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Blessed Assurance

Today I want to share a song that's been brewing in my heart for the past one week.
I trust it will bless you.

It reminds me of what my Saviour our Lord Jesus Christ has done for me, the finished work of 
Christ, O! the wonders of His love. I have a blessed assurance!

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine;
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.

This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending, bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.

Perfect submission, all is at rest,
I in my Savior am happy and blest;
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love

He is Coming Back Very Soon - Are We Ready?

How do we make ourselves ready?

Photo credit: http://coachvicki.com/

Being fruitful
Occupy till I come Luke 19:13 – 27; 
While waiting for His return, we get busy with the investments He has deposited in us and be profitable. Our giftings and capacities, our resources – time and money; and earthly possessions, positions in life are all to be used for His glory. Influencing others for the Kingdom. 

Isa 60:1 (NKJV) Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

We are to "let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works; 

Isaiah 2:2 (NKJV) Now it shall come to pass in the latter days; That the mountain of the Lord’s house, Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it.

Being full of the Spirit
The ten virgins; Matthew 25:1-13

Oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit; the presence of God, we are to keep the fire burning on the altar of our lives. In this parable we see that all ten were virgins, but only five were wise. We need to continually stay full of the Holy Spirit. He is the one who preserves us and guides us, He is the seal of God upon our lives. 

It is mentioned in the parable that the oil is to be purchased. Which means that a price is to be paid to obtain the oil. To have a continual presence of God in our life, we are to pay a price, by spending time at the feet of Jesus. Only a substantial presence of God in our life can keep the fire burning through the dark nights. Such a person who has the fire burning in him at the time of the Bride Grooms return, will go in with Him. (Culled from http://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com)

Eph 5:18 NKJV
And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit

Touching lives

Matthew 25:34-36 NKJV
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

Daily we meet people in our communities, social circles, etc, we have to be a blessing to others. God told Abraham I will bless you and make you a blessing. As children of Abraham, I believe this applies to us as well. Reach out and touch someone’s life today.

Preaching the gospel and discipling (Helping others follow Jesus)
This gospel of the kingdom must be preached Matthew 24:14; as Christ’s ambassadors on earth, we must continue that which He began in our lives, reaching out to others. There are unsaved people in the world today, and the Lord does not delight in the soul of a sinner. Preaching the gospel is one of the commands Jesus gave us before left the earth. 

Matthew 28:19 (NKJV)
19 Go therefore[a] and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

2 Tim 4:5 (NKJV)
But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Be Steadfast
2 Peter 3:14 (NKJV)
14 Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless.

We must also remain prayerful

Prayer
Re-ignite our passion for you and give us a fresh desire to see lost souls saved.

I want some bitter kola

Luke 11:11-13 (NKJV)

11 If a son asks for bread[a] from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Last weekend, I had a stomach bug and took some medication, my hubby also got some bitter kola which is medicinal (has antibiotic priorities). My 5 year old son came into the room and said to my hubby “Dad, please can I have some of that?” My hubby and I looked at each other and laughed. He kept on insisting that he wanted some bitter kola.

We had to explain to him that it was bitter and he wouldn’t like the taste.

Garcinia-Bitter-Kola Photo credit: http://supplementpolice.com

Lesson

Sometimes we ask God for things we think are good for us, but in His wisdom He refuses to give us not because He doesn’t love us but He knows what is best for us, depending on our level of maturity. An adult can better handle the taste of bitter kola than a child would.

Prayer

Father please don’t give me what I want, but give me what You know is best for me. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Worship in Spirit and Truth

John 4:23-24 (NKJV)
23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Image courtesy of Daniel Fusco

Worship was first mentioned in the Bible when Abraham was to go sacrifice Isaac, it signified his submission to the will of God, not minding the price he had to pay. It is total surrender to God!

Gen 22:5 (NKJV)
And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.

Worship is a lifestyle of total submission to the will of God in our every day life, it involves our spirit, soul and body.

Rom 12:1 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters,[a] I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

Worship in spirit means engaging our heart and passions, in truth means worshiping God with an understanding of who He is. The greater understanding or revelation of who God is would inspire true worship in us. The Holy Spirit is the one who reveals Christ to us, and also inspires true worship. We can't do without Him, just as Jesus said: "..for without me you can do nothing". John 15:5b (NKJV)

The Father is seeking...
My prayer is that we would become those who the Father is seeking - those who worship in spirit and truth

Prayer
Father, grant me the grace to worship you in spirit and truth. Reveal Christ to me and let my whole being worship you truly as you so desire. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Ask the Holy Spirit

Psalm 46:1 (NKJV)

God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

Last week during the holidays, I wanted to mend some of the curtains in the house with the sewing machine. I fitted the electric motor, threaded the needle and everything appeared ready for me to begin. However, when I started sewing, the stitches were jagged and the thread was breaking intermittently. I tried everything to fix the issue and eventually gave up. 

Two days later I tried again, this time around I called my mum who is an experienced seamstress. In her usual manner she said “Ask the Holy Spirit”, I didn’t even think of that, I began to wonder, hmm it may take sometime for me to get feedback from Him (lol) and I needed to get this job done. Anyhow I prayed and asked the Holy Spirit to help me fix the issue with the sewing machine.

http://www.craftsbee.com

Few minutes later, He reminded me about using youtube – Eureka! I got my tablet and googled “thread keeps breaking on sewing machine” and voila I found out that I didn’t thread the machine properly.

So armed with the knowledge I sat down and re-threaded the machine and it worked. The stitches came out fine and I mended the curtains. I was ecstatic. It was also an opportunity to teach my daughter to always ask the Holy Spirit for help, she was happy that the sewing machine worked and we could mend the curtains!

Thank you Lord!

Counting My Blessings

Last week Thursday, I was driving to church in the evening for Choir rehearsals. It was a smooth ride all the way until about 2.5km to my destination. I was held up in traffic which is usually about 10 minutes delay, I switched off the car engine. When the traffic started moving, I turned on the ignition but there was no response I suspected the terminals of my battery was not properly fitted. I came out of the car, opened my bonnet and with the wheel spanner I tried to fit the terminals properly, started the car again same response. 

Frantically I called out to the driver beside me, asking if she had a jump starter, she didn’t have, asked about two other drivers also, none of them had. A passerby suggested that there was a car mechanic nearby and directed me to the place. The mechanic got a battery, fixed it my car and ran the car engine for a while replaced it with mine and the engine stopped running. Apparently, my car battery had completely discharged! The remedy was to get a new battery immediately; it was getting late 6:40pm in the evening. 

I called my husband and told him what was going on, described the location where I was held up and he told me there are battery shops close by, I asked around and got someone who brought a new battery, however we couldn’t fix the new battery because we had no spanner.

The seller went back to his shop to get a spanner. While I was waiting for him to return, another passerby offered to assist in fixing the new battery without a spanner (I wanted to learn something new), he opened the new battery pack and said “Madam, this is a 65 amps battery ask the seller when he returns to get a higher grade 75 amps battery”. When the seller arrived with the spanner, I told him I’ll prefer a 75amps battery, he agreed and went to get it.

At the end of the day, we got the car moving made a quick stop by an atm machine and paid off the seller, arrived choir rehearsals 20 minutes late.

In all these things I give thanks to God for His goodness. Counting my blessings in the space of 1 hour they are:

1. The car did not stop on the expressway
2. Someone offered to help move the car away from the main road to the side of the road
3. The car stopped at a place close to where I could get a new battery
4. The advice from a passerby on the best battery for the car
5. The Lord provided the resources to buy a new one
6. I got to church though late, but I didn’t miss the rehearsals
7. Safe journey back home
8. The privilege to share this testimony and many more …

Power to Become...

John 1:12(KJV)

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

We become sons of God by divine enablement not by our strength, but by choosing to yield to Him as the Holy Spirit transforms our nature. We are familiar with the transition of the butterfly from the egg stage to larva, to pupa and then the mature butterfly.

God intends for us to mature into sonship, not to remain as children tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. We must have a desire to grow in Him. The riches of God towards us was made accessible by Jesus dying on the cross and God wants us to experience these benefits to the fullest.

However we often choose to settle for less. The enemy of best is good; The Lord wants us to press into Him for more. It’s our birthright as the redeemed.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for me. Create in me a hunger and desire to grow up in Christ and to yield to the power of your Spirit as He transforms me to becoming more like you.

What are you standing or building on?

Matthew 7:24
24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock


Last week, on my way to the car park after closing from work, I had difficulty walking properly with my pointed heeled shoes (lol), the ground was wet because it had rained earlier in the day. I also had to wait for another colleague who had offered to give me a ride home.
As I stood by the gate of the car park, the heels of my shoes sunk into the ground, until I found an area with stones.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com

Immediately, the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to the learning from my experience, standing on the word of God, every other ground is sinking sand. In life, whatever we have put our confidence in will be tested. It is very easy to put confidence in man until when the unexpected happens, unfortunately it would be too late for many of us to realise our folly. 

When the Lord gives us a promise, sometimes we have to wait for a while before the promise would be fulfilled. The period between receiving the promise and the fulfillment is usually a time of testing, but we have to continually believe and confess the word of God until the time of manifestation. We must not give up.

The wise and foolish man both built houses, one of them built upon the rock, the other on sand. When the test came the wise man’s house stood firm. Building our house on the rock refers to our hearing and obeying God’s word, putting our trust and confidence in him, living by the principles of the word of God.


Luke 6: 47- 49 (NKJV)
47 Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: 48 He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.[h] 49 But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it fell.[i] And the ruin of that house was great.”

The right time to build is now! Do not wait until the time of testing or trials come, they definitely will.

Still Doing The Impossible

I'll be sharing posts from my husband's Monday devotion.
Be blessed...

Today I will be sharing with you on what I title, “Still Doing The Impossible.” I want to say boldly to you that God is still in the business of doing the “impossible” even in the midst of seemingly difficult situations as we can see today. If you take a look around, you will observe that people are complaining due to the harsh economic situation in the land. Like the saying goes, “Times are hard these days.” Being able to eat two square meals, not even three, has become a huge challenge for most families today. I was chatting with someone lately, and he said, “Our nation is technically broke”.  

A word dropped into my heart saying, “Heaven is not technically broke.”The negative confessions being spewed out into the atmosphere by people these days are really sickening and infectious. You can’t hang around negative people and expect positive outcome. You may have to change your companions after reading this article. I am writing you this message to let you know that irrespective of what you might be going through, God can still meet and surpass your needs. Philippians 4:19 puts it this way, “But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” There is no lack in heaven. God’s riches are inexhaustible. It is God’s desire that you prosper and live in abundance (3 John 1:2). But you can only access these riches by Faith. You see, faith is to God as fear is to the devil.

The two cannot mix. You cannot operate in fear and expect to receive from God. It is Impossible! “For without faith it is impossible to please God” (Heb.11:6). Today you hear people saying there is famine in the land. Yes, if you look around, you can see the effect on people’s faces. But the word of God says, “In times of famine you shall be satisfied” (Psalm 37:19). The question is: Whose report do you believe?

Famine as the world says or abundance as the word of God says? Listen, if everything in your life fails, but your faith still stands, you have not failed. God is not interested in the size of your faith but in the direction of your faith. Why? You may have a believe (faith) that something good will not come your way. You can equally have the faith that good things are coming to you. They are both faith but in opposite directions. Both directions produces result – positive or negative, life or death, abundance or lack – the choice is yours.

When God says in His word, “Is anything hard for me” (Gen.18:14); it’s either you align with that word and see His saving power or go otherwise. Therefore, no matter how bad your case may be, your faith creates an atmosphere for God to do wonders in your life. Faith chokes Satan as fear shuts down the power of God to operate.

As you go this week, focus on God – not your problems – for He is bigger than anything that comes your way. Remember, “For with God nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37).

Against Deception…

Revelations 12:9 (NKJV)
So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Matthew 24:24-25 (NKJV)
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.

I’ve been reading the book of Revelations in recent times. I discovered that the power of the devil over humanity lies in deception, same way he deceived Eve in the garden of Eden.
As believers we are not to be caught unawares, because God has given us the tools to see through his antics by 

1. The Word of God
Hebrews 4:12  (KJV)  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 

2. The gifts of the Holy Spirit
1 Corinthians 12:10a (KJV) To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits

Ephesians 6:11 (NKJV)
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

Wiles according to dictionary.com: 1.a trick, artifice, or stratagem meant to fool, trap, or entice; device. 2. artful or beguiling behavior. 3. deceitful cunning; trickery.

As we study the Word of God, we get to know our Father better and His expecations of us His children. The life of Jesus is a model for every believer, once we find ourselves thinking thoughts that do not line up with the word of God, we are threading on dangerous ground. Thought begets action.

Proverbs 4:23 (CEV)
23 Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.

We also need to pray at all times, develop a lifestyle of prayer. 
Prayer helps in building up our inner man

Ephesians 6:18 (NKJV) 
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints

Jude 20 (NKJV) 
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit

Love God Passionately

Deut 6:5 (NKJV)
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

God wants us to love Him passionately as He also loves us passionately.
Passion according to learnersdictionary.com means a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something. Some of us are passionate about football, music, telemundos, etc.

When we are passionate about something, thoughts about the object of our passion fills our minds all the time. We create time and spend our energy on what we love passionately. When we are passionate about our Heavenly Father, He is also drawn to us and begins to reveal Himself to us in ways we never know. There’s no way we can spend time with God and not be changed. He is Wisdom, Knowledge, Power and the Source of all virtues.

James 4:8a (NKJV)
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

When Isaiah saw the Lord, he was changed he saw an area of his life that he didn’t know needed transformation prior to having that encounter with God.

Isaiah 6:1-7 (NKJV)
In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!”
4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 So I said:
“Woe is me, for I am undone!
Because I am a man of unclean lips,
And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips;
For my eyes have seen the King,
The Lord of hosts.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said:
“Behold, this has touched your lips;
Your iniquity is taken away,
And your sin purged.”

Prayer
Dear Lord, please help me love you passionately, become the centre of my affections. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Forgetting the Past

Philippians 3:13-14 (NKJV)

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

I just recently joined the choir after a long break from being in any choir. For about 12 years I was doing “other things”, however, I knew strongly that the Lord was leading me back to the choir. For some time I began to ponder on the following, “maybe I should have joined the choir a little earlier”, “I hope I’m not late in this assignment”, I was also relishing the days I had been in the choir in the past and all the joys of fellowshipping with other singers, the adventures, ministrations, flops- yes they do happen and all that.

The Holy Spirit began to tell me that He is doing a new thing in my life. He led me to

Isaiah 43:18-19 (NKJV)

http://www.gcurley.info

¹⁸ “Do not remember the former things,
Nor consider the things of old.
¹⁹ Behold, I will do a new thing,
Now it shall spring forth;
Shall you not know it?
I will even make a road in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert.

So I have decided to walk in step with Him and keep my mind focused on what He is doing, no more clutter of the past, I look forward to the new thing He is doing and expect great things from Him in this season.

The journey has begun!

So if you’re in this space as I am, let’s walk together and trust Him as He unfolds our destiny.

Song

Lord whatever you’re doing in this season, please don’t do it without me

- Bishop Paul S. Morton

Walk in the Spirit….Grace

Hebrews 4:16 (NKJV)
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need

Our walk with our Father, is a walk of grace. 
Every letter Paul wrote, begins and ends with grace. Grace envelops all the teachings of the letters. You could say the Christian life begins with grace and it will end with grace. 
In our gatherings, fellowships, churches, we often say "the grace" at the end of our meetings, to some of us, it is just a way of ending meetings. However, it is much more than that. 

The grace of God is a gift from our Father, it is His divine enablement towards us, to become who He wants us to be and to fulfill His assignment for our lives. When we are confronted with our sinfulness as we approach His throne, His mercy, through His blood, speaks on our behalf as our righteousness is just like filthy rags.

Ephesians 1:7 (NKJV)
7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. 

Ephesians 2:8-10 (MSG)
Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing.

Jesus is full of grace and truth!

photo credit: https://thepassionists.org

John 1:14 (NKJV)
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:17 (NKJV)
"For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ" 

What we are in Him, our skills, intelligence, achievements, etc are a product of His grace, as it’s written.

1 Corinthians 15:10 (NKJV)
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

Let us walk in the consciousness of His grace at all times. It is always available!

Pruning

Prune
1. To cut off or remove dead or living parts or branches of (a plant, for example) to improve shape or growth.

John 15:2 (NKJV)
2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

A gardener tends to his plants by pruning them sometimes. This process involves removing dead or living parts to improve the shape of the plant and stimulate growth.
So does our heavenly Father prunes us from time to time in order that we may bear more fruit, as we abide in Him.

The pruning process is painful, but in the end it is for our good.

http://www.gardeningknowhow.com

Heb 12:6-11(NKJV)
For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.

During times of pruning, our response should be humility and surrender, trusting the able hands of our Father, who works all things for good, for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

Jesus learned obedience even as a Son, through the things he suffered. We should note that as the Lord matures us, we will go through trials, persecutions, seasons of pain, where everything in our lives that does not glorify Him will have to die.

Hebrews 5:8-9 (NKJV)
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him


Prayer
Lord help me surrender to your able hands when I’m going through process. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Walk in the Spirit - My story

John 14:16 (NKJV) And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever

About a month ago, I asked my nanny to make a dress for my daughter. I gave her some instructions on how to make it, and asked her to wait until I give her a sample, before she can go ahead with the cutting and sewing.

Last week, I got the sample ready to give her, but was shocked to discover that she had gone ahead to cut the cloth and was about to start sewing it, the style was completely different from the instructions I had given her and looked like there was no remedy.

I was bewildered and angry, I wanted to scream. I asked her why she had had gone ahead without my consent and she could not give me any concrete reason. I quickly went to my room to ask the Holy Spirit for help. I couldn't get myself to be calm and I really wanted to "walk in the spirit". I prayed out, "Holy Spirit please help me handle this issue". I felt the peace of God, in my soul and the anger dissipated. 

photo credit: http://i.imgur.com/p7HUM7r.png

I went back to see my nanny and I began to correct her calmly and told her that next time when a customer gives her some work to do, she has to get clearance before commencing the work, it turned out to be a counselling session for her on customer service!

The Holy Spirit helped me handle the situation better and at the end of the day, we both found a way of still sewing the style that was originally planned, I couldn't believe it. What the enemy intended for evil, God worked it out for good.

I've learnt that I can only walk in the spirit, by the immeasurable help of the Holy Spirit. 

Prayer

Lord help me remember that you are always there to help me.

 

Walk in the Spirit

Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh (sinful nature).

When a child begins to walk, he/she doesn’t start out perfectly; sometimes he falls but rises up again and keeps taking those little steps until the walk becomes perfect.
As we learn to walk in the spirit, there would be times when we miss it, but we pick up ourselves and by the help of the Holy Spirit, we keep at it until we become perfected.

photo credit: http://cainclusion.org/camap/images/resources/eissblog.png

Walking in the spirit means living our lives daily, the way God expects of us, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, it also means responding to issues of life the way Jesus would respond.

Galatians 5:19-23 (NJKV)
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders,[d] drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

It is either we are walking in the spirit or in the flesh, as there is no middle ground 
One way we can continually walk in the spirit is by being continually filled with the Holy Spirit - Praying in tongues, giving thanks to the Lord, singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to the Lord. 

Acts 2:4 (NKJV)
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Acts 4:31 (NKJV)
31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness.

Acts 13:52 (NKJV)
52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5:18-20 (NKJV)
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, 20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

The apostles were continually filled with the Holy Spirit as seen in the book of Acts.
The Holy Spirit is the one who empowers us in our walk. 

John 6:63 (NKJV)
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.

Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, grant me grace today through the help of your Holy Spirit, to walk in the spirit today, not to fulfill the lust of the flesh. I also ask for a fresh in-filling of your Spirit. Thank you. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Growth - Increase

increase
verb
/ɪnˈkriːs/
1. become or make greater in size, amount, or degree.
Synonym: grow

Happy New Year to everyone, we all have great expectations for the year as usual. And I trust God that our godly expectations would be fulfilled as we walk with Him this year.

Today I want to talk about God’s expectation for us as His children. Just as every parent’s desire is to see their children grow and become mature over time, so does our heavenly Father expect us to grow in Him in all things, the Lord wants us to grow in our knowledge of Him and all that He has done for us through Christ.

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Luke 2:52 (NKJV)

52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

He expects us to grow in faith, wisdom and become more mature in our character. 

1 Peter 1:5-9 (NKJV)

5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.

It is His desire for us to prosper

3 John 2 (NKJV)

2 Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.

How do we grow?

We grow in our knowledge of God as we diligently study and obey the Word of God. The blessing is in obeying and applying what we have studied.

2 Timothy 2:15 (NKJV)

15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

James 1:25

25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

We grow in character as we abide in Him and walk in love always.

John 15:10 and 12 (NKJV)

10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love

12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Ephesians 5:1-2 (NKJV)

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

We grow as we spend time praying in the Spirit.

Jude 20 (NKJV)

20 But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost

We grow as we continuously walk in the Spirit and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 (NKJV)

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

This year, let us commit to growing in Christ.