Peace not like the world

What a start of 2021. 

If I were to look at it purely from a standpoint without any spirituality, one would say its been busy and relatively stressful.

However, I cannot say it is the same for me, I have a peace within that cannot be explained, its not the same kind that you have after stress has left and you're relieved... its very much existing through all the stress, load and stuff that is happening.

At the start of this year, I somehow or another knew this year will be good. Since then everything seems to coming or looking otherwise, but I don't feel too shaken about it(perhaps physically lol after all our body does have its limits) but with this peace, and conviction, it is still going to be a good year(I say this on a personal level not global). I am thankful to God for this peace, I firmly know and believe that His foundations and love has become a bedrock to my life, no matter what is happening I simply feel at peace about it, stable. Its not to say I don't get frustrated, I do, but I don't feel like I am drowning or crawling, beaten or distraught. I simply feel at peace.

Thank you Father, for the Spirit, thank you for your peace, your love and your kindness in my life. Though things may seem stressful I know I am not shaken because of you! Thank you for this joy.

Praise be to your holy name! 

For yours is the kingdom the power and glory forever and ever!

Amen.

A Hunger satisfied and a Thirst quenched.

Hi all,

I know 2020 has been insane one incident after another, and it's only just the first quarter of the year. But I know that no matter what may come, it isn't the end, there will always be more, but nothing and I say nothing can compare to what will come when this period of grace disappears, and when we all stand face to face to a Holy God, who will judge each of us according to our works. But good news, and it WILL always be the Good News as long as He has not come. Is Jesus Christ His son came, DID A LOT OF THINGS besides die, Died, and rose again, FOR THE PURPOSE THAT WE MAY BE SAVED from this judgement, but also from our sinful selves, which never brings satisfaction, but continuous hunger, continuous seeking of pleasure, like a fire needing its fuel. But, that's not what God wants for us or intended for us and His Son came and said, I am the bread of life if any one eats of me, he will not hunger if any one drinks the drink I give him he will not thirst:

35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.  - English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 6:35).

 He satisfies where greed consumes, he quenches your thirst, where lust calls out for more and more, to drink more to want more. There is no other satisfaction but that, of which came from Christ, to deliver you, to rescue you, because even if you did not know it, there is a judgement, or maybe you have always known it, and accepted your fate that hell is the only way for you. But I am here to tell you. Change is possible, and new life is real, Christ can and will restore you to what you are intended to be. The father of lies feeds you with more lies, to keep you hungry, you can reign in hell with me, but the truth is, hell is the end for him and to reign with him means to meet the same end as him. Oh Please do not do that! Find Christ, Find Christ! He calls to you through this message. Is it a coincidence? I think not, if you read all of this, perhaps there's a hunger that could never been satiated, something that kept on drawing you down, you say you cannot defeat it, the father of lies says it's who you are supposed to be, in fact he is also full of deceitful wisdom, giving you half lies, a false purpose and satisfaction, which you cannot seem to satisfy. But Christ, He has given Himself over, no self preservation, so that you might find life, and find it more abundantly.


Please friend. If you are reading this, eternity is real, salvation is true, death is not the end. Christ desires you and wants to be with you. So, hear my news, this is it, heaven's doors have been open, a satisfied life is attainable, a new life, thirst quenched and hunger settled.  All that is required, is that you invite Christ into your heart as not only your saviour but your Lord, then I am sure, and certain when you do, He will fill you with His life, for this is the kind of Lord he is, not one who lauds over you, but one who bends his knees and washes your feet for you. One who rebukes, but rescues at an instant full of love and compassion. The one who sees you in a storm and can calm it, or even call you out to walk on it, the one who provides, who heals, who sets free those under oppression, who set the captives free. This is the kind of Lord He is, and so, if you would accept Him into your heart, as both Lord and Saviour, you will learn that He is tenderhearted, and learn of the His ways, the way of truth, that will finally set you free from this insatiable hunger that is taking its podium in this world..

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” - English Standard Version. (2016). (Jn 8:31–32).

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. - New Living Translation (Jn 14:6–7).

Find a Christian friend, a trustworthy one and tell him that you want to know Jesus, so that they can lead you on the way. If you do not have any reach out to me here in the comments! If you are shy, I know God can also open up your heart. Say this:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for sending your Son Jesus Christ to die for me, that I may be able to find the truth, to be set free from this hunger and thirst I have in life, that I may be set free from sin, that I invite you, Jesus Christ, to be the Lord and Saviour of my life, thank you.
Amen.

And that's it, welcome to the family, I really encourage you to find a church to settle in, to pick up your bible and read the any of the gospels, Matthew, Mark, John or Luke. May God lead you the way, deliver you from deceit and may the truth always be settled in your heart!

Blessings
Chris

The Man of God

There once was a man of God, yes one who heard from God.

Obediently did he go forth, did exactly what he was set to do, with the instructions of what not to do, did he also obey. 

Yet, came another man of God, well a prophet! and told him otherwise, with deception did he bring the man of God astray, then at the moment when the man of God disobey, did the prophet start being as a prophet, and rebuked the man, telling him of his fate.

So off he went after breaking the rule, and on the way met with a lion, that killed but not consume.

Who is this man of God you say? Even I do not know, I only know he was from Judah. You can read the story of this Man of God in 1 Kings 13.

When I read this story I had 3 main take aways.

1. The Man of God really was a Man of God, when he set out to do what he was told to do, even the sign he spoke of happened! Even the healing of the hand of King Jeraboam did he perform. He was obedient to the Lord with the instructions that was set with him, a simple one. Not to eat or drink or return the same way he came.

It's amazing what happens when you follow God, this man of God was definitely one who had God with him. And when you obey you will see the things of God come to pass.

2. Even a man of God can be deceived by reputable prophet.

Following everything the man knew, and had done, here came an old prophet, lied to him in his face saying that God spoke to him and made the man of God walk in disobedience. Now when a reputable prophet, or any one in that matter of fact comes to you, and says something country to what God has already spoken to you. TEST this spirit, or TEST the word that has been spoken. It's easy to look at credentials and say, oh look, this man is a holy man, surely what he says is the truth. But here's the truth, not everything you hear from others that stand contrary of what God has already said is true, is of God. False prophets, well intending ones who think they are right too, can sway you in the wrong direction. Seek out God for advice, and TEST the word of the so called prophet!

This is not something unknown at least to us, John has warned this before: 

"Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world." - 1 John 4:1 (or Jacob depending if you use English or another language).

How about Jesus?:

Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you beforehand. 26So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.28Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

- Matthew 24:23-28

I used to think what is meant by Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. It has just come to me, Jesus is speaking of the dead.(something like when he said let the dead bury the dead). Anyway this is just a side note/revelation 

Any way, there's ample of warning in the new testament about false prophets. So if you want to know more, just read the bible, it's all there!

But it's good to note, that the man of God was deceived (just like Joshua with the Gibeonites). Though the man of God started well, due to his disobedience, he ended up dead.

3. When God calls you out on your fault. REPENT!

Now this is not exactly how it went, and they do not say if the man of God repented or not, but looking at the text in verse 23, it seems like he just ate and left. If you know you are in the wrong, just repent, and the Lord will surely heal you. What surprises me in this sense is the man of God actually saw how a wicked man like Jeroboam, was healed of his withered hand when he simply asked for forgiveness through the man of God. Surely the Man of God could have done the same. We have seen many times in the old testament, of how God showed mercy when one repents with a true repentance. Yet even so this Man of God went on his way back to his town knowing the prophet said you won't make it. So again, there's no consultation of God, or repentance(normally you see them tear their clothes and put ash on their heads in deep repentance to God in the past), this did not happen. Instead he walked into his death as the prophet has prophesied. And died in his disobedience. 

Friends, brothers, sisters, let us not be of a stubborn heart, if we know we have done wrong by the Lord, ask for forgiveness, for we know our God is a God of mercy, and will forgive us. In fact it's written. 

"8If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts." - 1 John 1:8-10

Now be alert! For the enemy is not clothed in bright colours that you may be warned, nor is he one that is lazy and not active. But he seeks to kill, destroy,and steal. But in Christ may you find life and life more abundantly. Stay on the narrow path! 

NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE SAY, GO BACK TO THE WORD, GO BACK TO GOD, AND HEAR FROM HIM!

Where you WILL find rest for your soul.

Matthew 11:28–30 (ESV)

28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

When you labour for the Lord, do you feel as though the burden is too great? is it too heavy? have you felt the weight of the world on your shoulders when trying to go through this journey of being a Christian?

The Yoke of Christ is EASY, not hard, and the burden of Christ is LIGHT and not supposed to be heavy. Perhaps we have being doing it wrong all this while, striving our hardest(through our own efforts) and not going to Christ, not listening to His instruction of coming to him. OR perhaps we are so occupied like Martha? (Luke 10:38-42) that we forget to sit and hear His word? to learn from him?

The Lord is not one who holds a whip, and harshly moves you forward, HE is not like a slave driver as one who will force you on. But He has clearly stated, he is gentle, and lowly in heart, he does not puff up in pride, but lowers himself. Have you then perhaps been fearful in the wrong aspect? thinking the Lord is one who will whip you to drive you forward? to perhaps teach you in this manner of way so that you will "learn", Far be it form that. He says I am gentle and lowly in heart - This is the one you learn from. 

So perhaps, if you find yourself in a place where there seems to be nothing but stress and turmoil, where you find much disturbance, unrest, and uneasiness, in this case, turn to the Lord, and realize who he is, For He did not say for I am harsh, and proud in my heart, and you will find much stress... NO on the contrary, HE has said, and guaranteed it, since it is a WILL find rest and not MIGHT find rest.

For His Yoke is easy not hard, not with much effort, but easy peasy lemon squeezy. His burden is light, not heavy, it's so light, that you probably don't even know that it's there, like your clothes.

In the Message translation I love how it's put, the unforced rhythms of grace! and I think it describes it perfectly. When we choose Jesus's was it's not supposed to be burdensome, heavy, and difficult. It's easy, light, and restful!

So today, my friend, are you feeling the weight on your shoulders? perhaps it's time to take a step back, turn to Jesus, and say, hey, I want to learn from you, I want rest for my soul. To many this may seem like the most illogical path, because it consists of living in faith, by the Spirit, trusting in God and dying to yourself. Yet if you truly, do it, you will be more than surprised how unenforced the Lord is, how things flow, so gracefully, inexplicably! 

Come to the Lord why don't you my dear friend, there's nothing to fear, come!

Who is my neighbour?

Walking down a dark alley, a man of a society, was journeying his way towards a place where he could find more opportunities, to settle down, and provide for his family. He set his path through the alley as it was the fastest way towards the destination, and he wished not to make it a longer journey than necessary. However, half way through the alley, a mob came out of now where and mugged him!  robbing him of all his belongings, they smashed his knee caps with a metal pipe and left him to bleed out.  

"This is it" he thought to himself, "I am gone, my family I have failed you..".

The environment began to blur to him and he saw a figure, in the dark, he stretched out his hands as to seek help. It was a man of God! Reputable, many of which knew of him as a righteous and pious person. He glimpsed over and walked passed him as far as he could be, ignoring him as one who would ignore a beggar on the road.

Barely holding on, another came by chance, this time it was a prophet, oh how many have heard his prophecies, many a times has he encouraged the masses, he came right up to the man in the ally, looked at him from 2 steps away, and then launched backwards keeping his distance. Paced off as fast as he could.

"It is hopeless, I am doomed" with that the man fainted.

There came a third man, rugged, with an unkept beard, full of tattoos and piercing, with a skull top, and a leather jacket, walking down the alley. He was wheeling down some goods that he was delivering. When he saw the man, he dropped his things and rushed down to check on the man who was left for dead. This third man was looked down on, and despised by the society of which the robbed man lived. Yet, despite that fact, this rough looking man, holstered the man on his shoulders and put him inside the wheeler. carrying the items by hand, and brought him to a hospital to be patched up, after spending a night to make sure the man was okay, this third man walked up to the counter and paid for the treatment, on top of that he gave an advanced payment to the hospital to keep the man in for another 2 weeks if need be and told them, the next time he had a delivery if the man still owed anything, he would cover it. 

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A Neighbour is one who looks beyond society, and shows compassion beyond all else. A neighbour is someone we should strive to be. To love our neighbour as our selves.

36 So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”37 And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”Luke 10:36-37, New King James Version