Resonance

Category: Christianity

  • A Good Example of a Bad Example

    Life is a paradox and so is truth. The only person who can step on your feet is the one closest to you. The only constant is change. The truth is, we can’t avoid all the mishaps in life even if we made all the right choices. Every choice we make, regardless of the motive, has both good and bad repercussions.

    There IS right and wrong. But they are not necessarily at both extremes. There is actually a thin line between them. In our world today, it is increasingly becoming difficult for people to define right and wrong. What was generally considered to be wrong 50 years ago can easily become an acceptable norm 5 years from now. Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe right and wrong are not meant to be defined. Maybe they are meant to define themselves.

    We are not powerful enough to control the balance of ups and downs, highs and lows or even foreknow if the good will outweigh the bad in any decision we make. However, we are powerful enough to choose right over wrong and good over bad with our limited discretion.

    Most often than not, the decision is not necessarily between right and wrong. It’s between good and best. But wait, what if we make the wrong decisions because we cannot foretell which one would be a better decision in retrospect?

    Assuredly, the more bad decisions we make the better the chances of making the right decisions in future. We make good decisions from the experiences we gained, and we gained those experiences from making bad decisions. Failure can surely lead to success. Nothing and no one can be utterly useless. If anything at all, it can be used as a good example of a bad example.

    We are all not perfect, not because perfection doesn’t exist, but because we are too imperfect to understand how paradoxical true perfection is. Nature is perfect because of its many imperfections. Even bull shit fertilizes the soil.

    At the end of the day, we are well able to appreciate the effects of our decisions and know for sure if we made the right decisions or the wrong one in retrospect. But even with the wrong decisions we made, there is no need to regret. “For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

    Don’t be afraid to be wrong. Be rather cautious of thinking you’re always right, because you definitely shouldn’t be. So live life, being rest assured in the fact that God can take our mess and make it His masterpiece.

    I love you ❤️

  • Remember Your First Love

    Remember Your First Love

    “But this is what I have against you: you do not love me now as you did at first.” Rev 2:4‬ ‭GNB‬‬

    The most difficult thing to overcome in our walk with God is not the temptations of the devil, the world or the flesh. It’s not the weakness of our soul but the weakness of our spirit. The flesh is weak and cannot thrive in spiritual things unless the spirit is willing. But what if the spirit is no longer willing?

    There’s a fiery passion in any strong believer who dwells in the secret place of the Most High. I’m not talking about a display of spiritual gifts, a good grasp of theology or being regularly part of church activities. If you’re not intimate with God, you’re not walking with Him.

    There are three dark nights: testing of the flesh, soul and spirit by the Lord Himself. The test of the spirit is certainly the most difficult. The test of the spirit is when God asks us personally, “do you love me?”, a question that will bring you to tears.

    What do you love more than God? Has that fire within you died out? Where’s that passion you had to obey His voice and do His will? Where’s that desire to seek God? Is that even your priority anymore? Are you indifferent toward God?

    “Remember how far you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first”. Rev‬ ‭2:5‬ CJB

    He loves you ❤️. Do you love Him?

  • When God Became Man

    When God Became Man

    “But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son. He came as the son of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law,”

    ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭4:4‬ ‭GNB‬‬

    Jesus is the Son of God. Unlike us, Jesus chose the time He would be born; the perfect time ( Gal 4:4). But to us, God’s perfect time is usually not what we think it is.

    Jesus wasn’t born in the golden era of King Solomon, when there was so much peace and gold that even silver was considered worthless (1 Kings 10:21). No! He was born at the time of the Roman Empire, when Israel was still under the rule of the Romans.

    Julius Caesar is considered the most famous emperor of all time. When he died, he was canonized as a god. His son was enthroned and made Augustus Caesar, the emperor at the time Jesus was born (Luke 2:1).

    Augustus Caesar went by the title, the son of god (his father Julius Caesar) and he himself was also made a living god. He was popularly called our lord and master. Sounds familiar? These titles are what Jesus is popularly known by in our world today. But at the time he was born, it was popularly known to be the titles of Caesar across the entire world.

    By Jesus (popularly known to be a carpenter’s son) claiming to be the Son of God and God Himself, the Lord and Master, he was placing Himself in direct opposition with the emperor, the ruler of the world at the time.

    Jesus didn’t oppose Caesar but accepted his lordship in that world by claiming that His Kingdom is not of this world.

    What do we learn here? The fullness of God’s appointed time comes with the fullness of adversity. The more detailed the vision, the more entailed the opposition.

    Don’t ever think that because God has promised it, everything is going to run smooth. God can do it without promising, but the reason why He is promising you is because a rough road is coming. He gives you His promise so you have something to hold on to when the hard times come your way.

    Thus, the saying; He never promised an easy road but a safe landing. Hold on. God’s time is still the best!

    I love you ❤️

  • The Mystery of Revelation: Whatever Doesn’t Change You Unmakes You

    The Mystery of Revelation: Whatever Doesn’t Change You Unmakes You

    The purpose of revelation is not to get us all hyper and enthused of how deep it is. The purpose of revelation is for transformation. Whatever revelational knowledge that doesn’t change you makes you religious.

    It’s not that there are two sides of the same truth, but there’s the complementary side of it that makes the whole truth look contradictory. For example, Grace gives us what we don’t deserve and Mercy doesn’t give us the demise we deserve. Yet, we ought not to be deceived, for we reap whatever we sow. Contradictory? Not! Complementary.

    Truth is One, but not all truths are the same. Some truths are greater than the others. Therefore, it is necessary what we emphasize. The truth is One, but within truth, there’s an order. This order of Truth is as important as the entire Truth itself. For example, prosperity is important but not as important as salvation. Therefore, if prosperity becomes the foundation upon which salvation is built, the essence of the Truth of both salvation and prosperity is lost.

    Always remember that there’s no bigger revelation than the Cross, for every new revelation emanates from there. The Truth must be laid brick by brick, precept upon precept; built on the right solid foundation. Otherwise, any deeper revelation would rather destroy us and lead us astray rather than take us deeper.

    Selah ❤️

  • The Revelation of Mystery: There Are More Questions than Answers

    The Revelation of Mystery: There Are More Questions than Answers

    It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

    Mystery is not the opposite of revelation. It is the complement of it. What leaves us in awe of the God we serve is both the Revelation of Himself and the Mystery of Himself. God is an open secretive person. The more He reveals Himself to you, the more mysterious you’ll find Him. The hidden things of God in Christ are not hidden from us. They are hidden for us.

    It’s easy to have the notion that when we go to heaven, we’ll ask God a lot of questions. Because, yes, this realm limits our capacity to fully grasp anything of God although we have received the FULLNESS of the Spirit to know ALL truth. As Paul rightly said, we know in part and see but in a dim reflection as in a mirror (1 Cor 13:9,12).

    Going to Heaven will not automatically put in us the full knowledge of God. That is NOT the problem since this full knowledge of God, which is Christ, has been fully revealed and given. What it will do is increase our capacity to fully grasp, though we may never fully grasp.

    God is an unchanging dynamic God. Every day is a new day to understand something different about Him that He has always been and will always be. Heaven will not mark the end of Mystery, for there will always be more questions for more understanding. It’s an unending learning experience about a Mysterious God who loves to reveal Himself to us.

    The more God reveals Himself to us, the more we conform to His likeness. For when we see Him, we shall be like Him. It’s not just an eternal learning experience; it’s God’s Love story of how He draws His Lover into a matrimonial oneness.

    He’s intentional ❤️

  • A Great Mystery

    A Great Mystery

    When a young Jewish man had his eye on a bright-eyed Jewish girl, he went with his father to her father. At that meeting, the groom-to-be was expected to present some sort of payment for the bride. A cow or two, some currency of the day, or a promise of labor. If the father of the girl found the payment acceptable, he agreed that the young man could have his precious daughter if he first prepared a home for her.

    Off the young man went to grab his hammer and some lumber. He built a separate home if he could afford it. If not, he added a special section to his father’s home for himself and his new bride. During the time that this young man was building, the bride had a special job to do; she was expected to wait. Oh, not just going about her everyday chores and thinking about her groom-to-be. No, she was expected to be waiting.

    She was expected to have as lovely a dress as she could make. She was to be cleaned and covered in aromatic oils. She was to be telling friends of her groom’s one-day arrival. At night, she was expected to have an oil lamp burning as a sign that was faithfully waiting. The lamp should never go out.

    Her groom returned the moment he finished their home. There would be no delay; if it was 3:00 in the morning, so be it. He would sneak into her home with his friends, first checking to see if the oil lamp was burning. Then he awoke her and carried her through the streets shouting and rejoicing that she was ready and he could provide for her. That night would be one of solitude for the new couple to consecrate their marriage, and then the weeklong celebrations began.

    “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”

    ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭5:32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

    He loves you ❤️

  • Can Goodness Be Taken Advantage of?

    Can Goodness Be Taken Advantage of?

    But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
    Galatians 5:22 NKJV

    Goodness cannot be taken advantage of. What people take advantage of is insecurities. When you are insecure about doing good to others, you basically care about your public image, the show you’re putting up, how people will see you and praise you, how you can use your goodness now for a favor later. True goodness is not ignorant or blind. People take advantage of whatever that is ignorant and blind. True goodness understands the situation, sees the need, has the resources and is willing to help.

    True goodness is not forced or coerced. True goodness is a decision to help when you are willing and able. True goodness is not to the benefit of others and a detriment to yourself. That is a dualistic thinking. Not every situation is dualistic. Giving someone an advantage does not necessarily put you at a disadvantage. Your parents spending huge sums of money on you is not to their disadvantage.

    Sacrifice is not detrimental, how much more goodness. Don’t be shortsighted. Look at the big picture. Yes! Sacrifice is costly. But we choose the value we place on anything, including ourselves. If it’s worth it, it’s worth sacrificing for. If we don’t learn to prioritise what really matters in the long run and sacrifice for it, we would hold on to everything there is and eventually lose everything. Laying down your life for someone is not necessarily killing yourself. Every parent understands this perfectly.

    Goodness is not only giving what we have materially. Sometimes all the other person needs is not the amount of money they are asking from you and will be unable to pay. Sometimes they just need the peace of mind you’re not willing to give away. That will mean not giving them what they think they need in the short term but what you know would be beneficial in the long term

    Goodness from time immemorial has been a coverup for a hidden motive or evil deeds that need not be seen. That is the kind of goodness that can be taken advantage of. Why? Because such a goodness has to be put up to cover up. There are top businesses in the world that grant auditors huge sums of money to shut up concerning their fraudulent transactions.

    When you’re insecure about goodness, you do good out of convenience and pity. Perhaps, it’s your way of putting people under you. Or a sure way to avoid controversy. Or even a way of pleasing the public eye. Insecure goodness can be blackmailed. Anyone can do good. Even some serial killers in history have donated parts of the bodies of their victims for the good of science. But truly doing good emanates from being truly good.

    It is absurd to think goodness can be abused. Can you abuse your mom’s love for you? Can you abuse the sun’s energy? Can you abuse the oxygen you breathe? Can you abuse the grace of God? Certainly not! Whatever goodness we abuse affects us more than the source of goodness. If you have a friend who is willing to support you no matter what, and you think you can abuse them and you indeed do, you lose their trust but they never lose their kindness. Think about it.

    Sometimes I wonder if Mother Theresa would have remained Mother Theresa in this system of ours. I believe she would. In fact, there are more people with her heart now than ever before. Don’t let the system fool you. Those who linger close to the top and abuse whatever goodness there is never make it for long. Everyone at the top is a philanthropist. Whoever wants to make it to the top must have the mindset of giving back to society.

    There is a kind of goodness that emanates from empathy and compassion. It causes us to do good because we ARE good. We are the epitome of goodness when the reason for our goodness is because we have seen a need that we can address. True goodness is a response to the call of the universe to address the needs of our fellow selves. True goodness does not take advantage of. True goodness gives advantage to.

    So, don’t stop doing good because people did you bad. Do good because you are good. The world has been changed and will change a thousand times by the littlest of goodness shown. Think about all the people and works that came to stay throughout history from the first civilisation to date. Don’t fear your goodness will be taken advantage of. Be glad that you’re the vessel being used to make a positive impact in the lives of the people around you.

    I love you ❤

  • God’s Sovereignty & Man’s Responsibility

    God’s Sovereignty & Man’s Responsibility

    God’s sovereignty goes hand-in-hand with man’s responsibility. It’s not that God is incapacitated. He desires partnership. Therefore, he leaves certain decisions to a man that has an everlasting effect. He ordains man’s actions and establishes it.

    “Now the Lord God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭2:19‬ ‭NIV‬

    One of such ordinances is marriage. Inasmuch as God knows the end from the beginning, no one is predestined to be your spouse. Aside from God’s Sovereignty, God allows for your choice and ordains it.

    “No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.” ‭‭Genesis‬ ‭17:5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

    Another of such ordinances is your name. Our names aren’t just for this life. It’s forever. No one calls Abraham Abram anymore. His name was changed and established forever. The names we place on people are ordained up until another ordinance is made. A king can only change a decree by making another decree.

    Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

    What Jesus said is an ancient, old mystery; that man has a God-given partnership deal to establish everlasting decrees and have them ordained by God. Now my question is, what are you going to do with it?

    I love you ❤️

  • If God Is Real, Why Does Evil Exist?

    Why does evil exist? Saying God doesn’t exist because the world isn’t perfect is like saying doctors aren’t real because diseases still exist. It’s a fallen world. Everything inclines to the negative. Put one sick person in a room with healthy people and everyone will eventually get sick. Put one good apple in a basket with bad apples and none will turn good. It is what it is!

    It’s so easy to blame God for all the evil things that happen in our world because He foreknew and did nothing about it. It is easier to blame God than to live with our own failures.

    “Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then blame the LORD.” Proverbs‬ ‭19:3‬ ‭GNB‬‬

    Why does evil exist? Evil doesn’t happen because God permits it. No thief needs permission to steal something that isn’t theirs. The enemy doesn’t ask for permission to kill, steal and destroy. He didn’t ask for permission to sow weeds among the tares.

    He doesn’t need permission, he needs submission. Submission of the human tendency to lie, be greedy, lustful, slothful, envious, wrathful and proud.

    It boils down to us. God has prevented more evil than it has ever occurred, but we’d never know or even believe. The little we could do is blame him for our mistakes and irresponsibilities, ironically.

    “But I did find this: God created people to be virtuous, but they have each turned to follow their own downward path.” ‭‭Eccl‬ ‭7:29‬ ‭NLT‬‬

    If evil exists, it’s because WE have allowed it. God will always give us a choice. Where there is no love, there’s no choice. The human will is greater than the strongest evil. It’s about time we took responsibility for our own choices and actions and fought evil with good.

    I love you ❤️

  • Is Jesus The Only Way To God?

    Is Jesus The Only Way To God?

    If God wanted everyone to come to Him, why would he create a narrow path that only a few can thread on? Why won’t He make Himself more accessible?

    The problem is not God. Man failed and fell short. We broke our partnership with the divine and tried so hard to be God. We have each turned to follow our own downward path. Each time God tried to establish a way back to Himself through one man or the other, they failed Him and directed everyone to themselves.
    So guess what? God decided to do it Himself. Since through one man – Adam – man fell, it was only through another “Adam” that man could be reconciled with His Creator. So the Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men will become the sons of God.

    Jesus was the only man who fully walked with God and obeyed every ordained Word of God, thereby establishing the path back to God. By reconciling everyone to Himself, He had reconciled everyone back to God, for He is God Himself.
    But hei…this is the Good News; there’s only one way to God: Jesus, but there are many ways to Jesus through the Holy Spirit.
    I love you ❤️

  • Exploring the Kingdom

    Exploring the Kingdom

    Man has a natural inherent and incumbent desire to increase. Our brain has been modeled in such a way that it gets tired of stagnation, doldrums and boredom. So the next time someone complains that something is “one-way”, realise that we have the natural desire to increase in everything we do.

    Embrace this natural and pure desire and use to explore the goodness of God inside of you, inside of nature and inside of the Kingdom. When Jesus said “seek ye first the Kingdom…”, He wasn’t talking about something you do just once. The word “seek” is the Greek word zeeteite which means desire, enquire, marinate, discover.

    Jesus was saying discover the many things in the Kingdom; righteousness, peace, joy, prosperity, wisdom, riches, power, blessings, authority, honor, glory, revelations, miracles, signs, wonders, manifestations, success, strength, laughter, happiness and many many more. There’s always more in the Kingdom. Abundance. Increase. Growth. Development. Infinite. Unending. Everlasting. Eternal.

    A. A. Allen, who God used to perform many creative and dramatic miracles in his day, said and i paraphrase; don’t be afraid to go as far as impossible with God. No Christian has walked with God as far as God wants us to.

    When we discover, marinate, seek His Kingdom within you (Luke 17:21) and His Righteousness which is you (2 Corinthians 5:21); allllllllllllllll these things shall be added unto us.

    Tune your inherent desire to the Kingdom, and the things of the Kingdom which the world seeks shall naturally be yours.

  • The Faith Of God

    The Faith Of God

    “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith…”
    Hebrews 12:2

    Faith in the Greek world basically means “God’s persuasion”. Faith isn’t man’s work. It is God’s. He’s the author and perfecter of your faith. He believes in you and that’s how you’re able to believe in him.

    And also, everywhere that says “faith in God” actually translates as “faith of God” in the Greek (Mark 11:22). Not that God needs faith but that your faith in God is sourced from His faith in you.

    This is why Paul says there’s “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph 4:5) and that’s because it’s Christ’s faith we all have. You don’t take part in perfecting or puffing up your faith. Christ does it for you in you. Remember, He is the author (He gave you a measure of faith: Romans 12:3) and finisher (perfecter, completer: Phil 1:6) of Faith.

    “…even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not (visible yet) as though they were”.
    Romans 4:17

    Faith isn’t a magical substance. What we understand as faith is merely waking up to a reality that has always been here.