Christianity is not a religion.

According to the bible, you can determine a man’s spiritual state or maturity when he or she speaks. Words reveal who you are within. Those things about you that aren’t vivid are manifested by your words. Basically, what you say is who you are. Your words locate you. Your words can make or break you. Words are powerful. Never utter careless words. Like seeds, they will grow and become in your life what you said.

I heard a young girl say to her mum, “I am not religious; I don’t want to go to church.” I turned and looked straight into her eyes thinking: “how dare you bring religion and Church under the same umbrella.” Then, it dawned on me she is just a young girl who spoke without any comprehension of what she said. This is actually the experience of many people. 

I know Christians go to church but Christianity is NOT a religion. A lot of folks think Christianity is a religion, sadly it’s not. Religion is man’s yearning or continuous attempt to reach a supreme being; a god they don’t even know nor have fellowship with. Christianity is very different; it’s God Himself coming to have fellowship with man. Quit trying to reach out to God; that’s religion. He has already reached out to men through Jesus. Just accept his Lordship today and everything about your life will change.

Christianity is the life and nature of God in a human person.  Christianity is DIVINITY at work in HUMANITY. Christianity is not a way of life but life in itself. This was what Jesus brought into the world. Jesus brought us into fellowship with the father. Most people think it’s a religion because they understand with their minds. Christianity cannot be understood with the mind. Christianity is spiritual and that’s the reason many struggle with it. Simply put, Christianity is Christ in you.

The Person of Jesus -3

Where did Jesus come from?

I am aware this question has generated more questions than answers in the hearts of men. The problem with a lot of folks is that they lack the commitment to finding out the truth about what they really believe. The bible to a lot of people is a story book and nothing more. The bible is much more than a story book. It's an inspired documentation of spiritual realities by men of faith. Its the written revelation of the personality of  God. It's important you understand this because what I am about to share is more than a story, it's the truth. Jesus said, "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32  KJV). It's time to know the truth about where Jesus came from.

According to John 20:30-31, Apostle John shows us Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that were not documented in his gospel but then he said, "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God; and that believing ye might have life through his name". If it's true that Jesus is the Son of God, then, it must mean God is his father. Is it possible for a Spiritual God to have a physical child? Emphatically yes! Remember he is God. 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men". In verse 14 of the same chapter, John shows us where Jesus came from when he said "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father,) full of grace and truth". 

I need not say much, the scripture above is clear and straight forward. God is the same as his Words. God's Word reveals who He is. It's impossible to know God without knowing his Word. To know the Word of God is to know God. This truth makes the Word as spiritual as God is.  One time in the book of the beginnings (Genesis), the bible says, "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the Garden in the cool of the day" (Genesis 3:8). This verse did not say the voice of God was flying or moving but walking. It must mean that the Word is a person. Adam and Eve heard the Voice (the Word) of God walking in the garden. They didn't see the Voice of God but they heard his steps in the garden walking. This is remarkable. I will stop here but watch out for part 4.

The Person of Jesus -2

Who is Jesus?

I know there are different ideas out there about who Jesus really is. This is why you should be careful to research every information available to you. Different people from different cultures and geographical location seem to have different views about who Jesus really is. Even the Jews had issues with Jesus when he revealed his identity them. To know who Jesus really is is to know who you really are in him. If your knowledge of him is inaccurate, you will never experience the real Jesus of Nazareth. Your mind cannot comprehend him but your spirit can. So, open up your spirit for a change. And I pray the Holy Spirit will help you understand the person of Jesus.

Many around the world think he is a prophet, some think he is a religious leader and others think he is a martyr. He is non of the above. Jesus himself clearly revealed his identity to the people of his day but he got in trouble for it many times. People in his day had huge problems believing who he said he was and the story is the same for a lot of people today. One time according to the bible, he went to his home town and the bible has it that Jesus could not do any mighty work but only healed a few sick people (Mark 6:1-6).  

I believe Jesus came to bless them but they saw him as a man. They said " ...is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joses and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him" (Mark 6:3). His own people saw him as a mere man even though they acknowledged he spoke with Wisdom and did mighty works (Mark 6:2) but their unbelief short-circuited the power of God in their midst.  Jesus certainly came to bless them but they could not receive because of their unbelief. To some, Jesus appeared to be powerless here but the bible stated clearly unbelief was their problem. That was why he went about teaching them the Word in the villages.

What others call him don't matter right now. Who is he to you? Peter in John 6:69 referred to Jesus as the Christ and the Son of the Living God. The prophets of old way before Peter showed up referred to him as "everlasting Father and The Mighty God" (Isaiah 9:6). What about Jesus? What did he say about himself? One time he told the Jews, "before Abraham was I AM"(John 8:58). This verse of scripture is awesome but to many, a stumbling block. Many have misunderstood this part of scripture. Some think Jesus made a grammatical error and others think the interpreters made the error.  They think the verse should have read "I WAS" instead of "I AM". No, it's was not an error neither by Jesus nor the interpreters. He knew exactly what he was saying and the Jews knew exactly what he meant. The following verse (59) shows the Jews understood him clearly. They wanted to stone him because the statement implied he is co-equal with God and they could not swallow it but it's the simple truth.

The bible holds a clear and accurate documentation of who Jesus really is. Jesus said to Philip one time, "...he that hath seen me hath seen the Father.." ( John 14:9). Awesome words! He didn't say when you come to me I will show you the Father, but seeing me is as good as seeing the father. No one ever spoke like Jesus. He is letting us know he is co-equal with God. I know men don't like to hear this but it's the truth. Jesus is the Son of The living God. He is the Word of God made flesh. No one has seen God but he is the express image of the Father ( Hebrews 1:3 & Colossians 1:15)   If you understand this, you will understand who you really are in him. Watch out for part 3.

The Person of Jesus -1

The inspiration to share on The Person of Jesus came like a burden in my spirit after my son came back from school one day and made a statement that shook me to my bones. His mum had earlier asked him why he hasn't spoken to his friends about Jesus. He responded saying "my friends at school said Jesus does not exist". My wife and I were so shocked to hear that grade one kids have already been programmed to think and talk about Jesus as one who is not real.

It's bad enough to hear adults say there is no God but when kids 4, 5, 6 years old open their mouth and say Jesus does not exist, then, the devil has decided to start catching them young. I was comforted by what my son said when he saw the shock on our faces. He turned to his mum and said "mummy, I don't believe them. I know Jesus is real". What does the future holds for kids who already think Jesus does not exist. To be without Jesus is a sad story already but to say he does not exist is the blackness of darkness.

Who is Jesus? Where is he from? Did he really come to this world? If it's true he came to this world, what exactly did he come to do?  Was he really condemned  and crucified for sinners? Is He the Son of the living God? Was he really born of a virgin? Where is Jesus now? Is he coming back again? Watch out for biblical truths and answers to all these questions in this new series- The Person of Jesus. 

Live by the truth and not by assumptions - 2

The truth you know is what you live by. If what you know is someone's assumption, then, it is important to investigate if the source of their knowledge is consistent with the body of knowledge or truth. Some people will miss God in this life not because God did not do something about their salvation but because they believed a lie.  You have to understand there is a difference between "the truth" and "perverted truth". I will explain the difference in the next post after this.

Most people live their lives by information they haven't verified. Have you ever tried to figure out the source of the information or knowledge you live by? For example, I see people received advice about marriage or their relationship from people who have had one or several divorces. Can you give what you don't have? If someone has had one or more divorces, it means they failed to make their marriage work. Listening to such people will not help you. I can hear someone saying , "well, I will learn from their mistakes". Well, if they had the answer or have learnt from the previous marriage, they won't be divorced in the first place.

The quality of life you will live is dependent on the truth you know and live by. If all you know and live by are the assumptions of men, then, you are of all men most miserable. People live their lives only to find out years later they have lived a lie all their lives. If you test the whole world with that question, "how many wise men visited Jesus when he was born"? I can confidently tell you that 95 percent of the world's population will go with the answer three. You know why?  People just don't want to go the extra mile to verify the source of the information their knowledge is based on. That's ignorance, but remember ignorance is not an excuse. 

To be continued...

Live by the truth and not by assumptions. Part 1

I was on the plane traveling to the UK on a business trip just a couple of  days before Christmas a couple of years ago. I sat close to a middle aged man who sounded very excited about the fact that Christmas was only a few days away, and he was going to celebrate with his wife and three kids. At a point inflight, we started talking about Christmas and he said something that caught my attention. He was actually narrating the story about the birth of Jesus. He spoke passionately about the 'three wise men', and how they visited Jesus. At that point, I interrupted sharply but politely and said, "Sir, did you just say the three wise men visited Jesus?" He answered boldly,  "yes, the three wise men from the east gave baby Jesus Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh."

I tried explaining to him that the bible didn't  say anything about the three wise men (I'm sure you probably have the same expression the man had on his face on yours right now but wait and let me explain). I said "Sir, have you ever read this portion of the bible your self?" He answered with a harsh tone: "what do you mean by that? I'm well over 50 years old and you are asking if I have read that portion of the Bible. Even a child in kindergarten know the three wise men." He felt insulted by the question I asked him. I apologized immediately and made him understand my intention wasn't to be rude but if I came across as being rude in my communication, I asked him to pardon me.

I kept to myself for a while but I was restless within me because I was concerned he had believed a lie for 50 long years and must have taught his children accordingly. It dawned on me that age necessarily doesn't equal accurate knowledge. I sat there thinking about how to approach this 50 year old man with an explanation of the truth without getting him upset again.  I thought about what will happen when he finds out he was wrong and he had believed a lie all these years?

Just before landing into the UK, I made up my mind to show him the truth from the bible. I said, "Sir, I hope you're not upset with me anymore?" He answered, "it's ok now". Then I said, "Sir, if I show you from the bible the wise men are not three in number, will it make any difference to you?" He replied angrily, "go ahead and show me". I quickly pulled out my phone and asked him  to read from Matthew 2:1. He opened his eyes, removed his glasses and read the verse a couple of times to be sure he saw what he just saw. He was shocked to see for the first time the bible never had the information as three wise men but wise men from the east. What about you? What are you thinking now? I think you should verify by looking into your own bible. Assumptions can mislead you.

To be continued...

Wisdom - The Principal Thing

Happy New Year to you and your family and welcome to 2014, the year of Greatness. Greatness is a function of Wisdom through the Word of God working in your human spirit. Let the wisdom of God lead and guide you in 2014.

Programming Your Spirit with God's Word is something you must do this year if you want to win all the way. In 2 Timothy 3:15, God shows us that the Word is able to make us wise. In other words, the Word has the ability and capacity to make a man walk, speak and act wisely.

Wisdom is a force in your spirit through the conscious programming of your spirit by the Word. Foolishness is the absence of wisdom. People who lack wisdom lack the Word of God. Their faith will be small and weak if they have any. They will surely make wrong choices because the wisdom to make the right choice is absent.

In this new year, you can make a difference. You can improve the quality of your words by changing your thinking. Your thinking can be transformed as you re-program your spirit with the Word of God. Wisdom at work in your Spirit will speak through you, work in you and change your life. Success, victory and excellence will be your experience if you let wisdom into your heart.

Remember the words of Solomon; the wisest man that ever lived before Jesus, " wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all thy getting, get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7, KJV). Get wisdom today by studying your bible, listen to the messages over and over again, fellowship with the brethren and stay away from worldly information capable of polluting or programming you negatively. Don't wait, start now!