I CHOOSE TO SERVE 09: QUALITIES OF GOD’S SERVANT 3

“Such a person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all he undertakes” James 1:8 (ISV).

Foundation Text: 1 Tim. 3:1-7

STABILITY (HUSBAND OF ONE WIFE):

I know some theologians will be tempted to attack me now for using this verse of the Bible out of its original context. I also am not a party to quoting the scriptures out of context, but I was amazed when the Holy Spirit took me to this verse as I was preparing to write this episode. I tried to get another scripture to drive home the message of this episode just like the last one, but the Holy Spirit would not let me. So do not take me to the gallows yet, until you read the last word of this episode.

For the records, I am not married as I am writing this. You will agree with me (especially those who are or have been married) that being married to one person is a great piece of work. The challenges marriage bring to table always comes with mixed feelings. To some, it is an interesting experience while to others, it is too much to handle. You can now begin to imagine what happens to a man with more than one wife (whether he is rich or poor).

One of the key attributes of a husband of more than one wife is INSTABILITY. This is because his heart is divided between two or more people (which connotes double mindedness). Marriages of this nature are prone to loss of focus in purpose and destination.

An unstable man lacks focus and ability to do great exploits. He easily gets distracted and loses sight of the goal. This is why stability is a vital quality in our service to God.

This was the problem God had with the Laodicean church of Rev. 3:14-16. They were neither hot nor cold.

You cannot say you want to serve God and yet you allow yourself to be a tool in the hands of the devil. If you are amongst church folks, you present yourself as an inter-ballistic prayer missile. But, when you go back to your neighbourhood, you are hailed as the baddest guy in the hood.

My friend, I do not intend to condemn you because I have had my fair share of the lukewarm experience. On the contrary, I came to challenge you to take that bold decision to stand for God and God alone. There is so much God wants to do with you, but He needs you today to be stable and focused. I pray that instability will not deprive you of your reward for service in Jesus name. Amen!
     
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©TRANSFORMING WORDS SERIES
(Transforming the World through the Word).

PRECIOUS SEEDS 003 By Godwin ‘Captain’ Kalu

When Jesus does not sound like the answer….

It is common to hear phrases like: “I have prayed and prayed yet, nothing is working”. Few people in their quest to finding answers to threatening issues of life have turned open their ears to such mediums that were abominations in yesterday.

“I thought that at the mention of the name of Jesus, every knees will bow! Ironically, the knees on my case gathered reinforcement from more knees and stood up and tall, exerting greater unshakable tendencies over my case”, Someone said!

How do you continue to tell someone to hold on, that Jesus knows about his troubles when he prays more than you do yet sees worst results than you do?

Should you give up on him? Certainly No!

Jesus is the answer, but most times we want to use Him to solve the wrong questions. In some times, we only see Him in prayer and not in work; In other times, we combine Him with outdated methods. In extreme cases, we just try Him for trying sake. In some cases, He waits to see if we love Him more than the answers we seek.

Every need of man does not answer to prayer ; even if it did, our generation have perceived prayer as a shortcut to every answer. We have reduced every line of scripture to a prayer point. I still think that if prayer answers to every need of man, the prayer band of your church would probably pull the highest traffic of committed members.

Am I saying that prayer is not effective? Capital No! Some things goeth not except by prayer and fasting. In the same way, prayer is not the answer to physical hunger.

At the mention of the name of Jesus, food will not appear on your table, money will not appear in your pocket, you will not disappear from Nigeria and reappear in the US, a house will not appear for you to live in. Am I doubting God’s power? Capital No! God has an “I can” nature. He is not a magician anyway. He is a principled God. I am rather confronting a lazy soul who thinks that Jesus is his problem.

Is Jesus silent on your case? He probably has given you what it takes to handle it:

“behold, I give you power to ride on snakes and scorpions”

Use what you have been given!
then, carry yourself like an authority. Power intoxicates. Stop reducing your life to a misery. Jesus is more than your lunch that you are not sure of where it will come from. Stop using Him, Serve Him no matter what happens! He is your God, not your boy! Grow in the Faith and in knowledge. Be convinced that when you can’t hear Him audibly, His presence is with you to help you go through your dark seasons of life without defeat. Some answers don’t come easily. Knowing the right formula to use does not always mean that the answer will just appear without some more work.

In the end, the answer you need will appear, and you will look back and see Jesus in the process.

#justMyThoughts
Write me if need be. WhatsApp /sms: 08067499014

©PRECIOUS SEEDS
CAPTAIN

“Shooting up a healthy generation with inspiring wisdom seed of God’s word”

I SHALL NOT WANT By Aleele Paago

Read: Matt 6:25-34
I shall not want

O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing. Psa 34:9 -10

The Hebrew word “châsêr” that is here translated as “want” has the following meanings according to Strong’s Concordance could also be translated “to fail, to decrease or to make lower” amongst other synonyms.
I shall not Fail:
I shall not fail to become what he expects of me. I shall not fail to reach the targets he has set for me. I may suffer setbacks in my pursuit of the ultimate goal, I may often miss the mark, but when all is said and done, by his guidance and under the tutelage of my  Shepherd, it is impossible for me to fail.

I shall not decrease; I shall not make lower…
There is every possibility that in the face of looming dangers and disappointments, we begin to lower the qualities of our dreams. We begin to let slip from our hands the visions that we have received from God about our mission on earth. We somehow begin to see that we are not worthy of such a high calling. Our background is not right. Our education is not right. The support we need is not available. For these and a thousand other reasons, we begin to decrease. We decrease in our perception of ourselves and call it humility. We shy away from our greatness and say we are being modest. There is no modesty in reducing the dreams and aspirations God has given us.

Consider Psalm 34:9-10
O fear the LORD, ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.  The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing.

The first “Want” here is machsôr; deficiency; hence impoverishment: – lack, need, penury, poor, or poverty.  The word “lack” really means becoming destitute. Young lions may become impoverished and destitute in spite of the great strength of the pride of lions to which they belong. The reason is by strength shall no man prevail.

Now here is the key to not “wanting” it is to seek the Lord. The sheep must seek the shepherd. How? Is it not the shepherd that seeks the sheep? No the responsibility here lies with the sheep.

Seek to know what the shepherd wants you to do. Then do it.

Seek to know what the shepherd says you are. Then  believe it and act it.

Seek to understand where you fit in the larger scheme of the shepherd in relationship to other sheep in the fold. This is where the kingdom principle comes in. The kingdom is far larger than any sheep, and though each individual sheep may have its targets set by the shepherd, each sheep still belongs to a fold (kingdom) whose goals supersede each individual dream. By understanding and participating in this bigger picture, you eventually fulfill the conditions for Matthew 6:33

Mat 6:33  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Activity: What do you think is the kingdom agenda of God for Christians in Nigeria today? How does it differ from the Kingdom agenda for Christians in USA? What are you doing to be a part of that kingdom move?

NO DECREASE! By Aleele Paago

David declares, “I shall not want.”
I may have needs, I may have challenges, I may have desires, but I shall not want.
The Hebrew word, chásér translated as “want” in the King James Bible also means Fail, Diminish, Decrease.
So here are other valid renditions of the verse:
The Shepherd is mine, therefore, I shall not decrease.
The Lord is my shepherd, therefore, I shall not fail.
Implied in these assertions, is the reality that something happened to this lamb, that was challenging his belief in the script God has just shown him. Something happened to challenge the supply and put him in dire need. Something was rising up to put him back in the place of slavery.
Friend, every word of God you hear must be tested. Every revelation you receive, must be challenged. Every prophecy given concerning you will first face a fight before it can become reality.
The question is will you decrease? Will you fail?
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Rom 8:35-37
© THE LAMB OF GOD
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