Be Repositioned

 Ephesians 1:7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that He purchased our freedom with the blood of His Son and forgave our sins. The freedom we enjoy today, didn't come cheap. Somebody paid the price and that is Jesus. Which is why, we ought to remember that, recognize Him as our living sacrifice, appreciate and celebrate Him. The main objective for God sending Jesus to the cross for our regard, was mainly  to have our sins cleansed and flushed away. Which is why living in bondage of the wrongs of the past, is an insult  to Him, who already paid the price for us to live in freedom from condemnation and guilt. The least we can do, is show gratitude by taking hold of the freedom He gives us and stop living in fear. Fear and freedom do not co-exist. Fear keeps you bound and in a frozen state, stuck and unable to move. However, freedom gives us the assurance that we need not have to fear, we are covered, no matter what; hence we may be able to express  our freedom in th...

 Proverbs 18:24 There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother. This bible verse reminds me of the saying that the company you keep, can either make or break you! Which is all so true, you tend to adopt tendencies of those you spend most of your time with. Also, their words and action may influence you in one way or the other; meaning, if they tend to be negative about everything in life, you may start having a negative view of the world. Complaining and seeing only bad things. However,  the opposite is true, when you associate with people who have a positive outlook in life, you may feel inspired and encouraged on certain things, simply because they look on the bright  side of things (most of the time).  You find good friends, keep them. This verse is warning us that some friends can destroy each other; this would be those fake friends, who only love you when you are down and out. When you are at the lowest in their rankin...

 Romans 12:21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. Evil could make you jealous  of another person, wishing them bad, gossiping about them etc. But we are told not to allow evil to overcome us, instead, when you see someone with the things you like and wish for, there is no need to be jealous  but to be inspired that if they can have such, it is possible for you too to have, if you stay focused and pursue that. It could mean that you can even chat to them about that, finding out how they did it and follow that. By you appreciating them, you are doing good, who knows they may be going through a rough patch and your kind words lifted their spirit? Which is why God needs us to overcome evil by doing good. This will need us to be intentional, to at times tell yourself you are going to bless someone with something or  say something kind randomly. Or provide help where it hasn't been asked of you. It also takes being intentional not to take things in ...

 Hebrews 12:2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. In this case, Jesus is teaching us the tunnel-vision; where we keep our eyes on the prize, forgetting the noises and distractions on either side. Had Jesus been destructed and allowed His flesh to control Him, He would've stopped everything and never went ahead with the plan of God (of being crucified for our regard). In the same way, God has called each one of us, to play a particular role, that will bring relief to others, in one way or the other. We all have an assignment to fulfill in His kingdom. What I'm learning is that, when God gives you a vision, it is you who will understand it and have it clear. Everybody else won't because it wasn't placed in them. Hence, it is imperative  that you keep it to yourself , not allowing ...

 John 8:31-32 Jesus said to the people who believed in Him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to My teachings.  And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Life with Christ is so much easier, compared to life of the world. The life of the world is full of rules and regulations, which is called the religion (vs relationship with God). This includes do's and don'ts like the uniform, what you can and can't eat, and all the other burdens we put on ourselves honouring those who have passed from the earth. When you follow Christ and believe in Him, you get to build a solid relationship with Him, where He is able to reveal things in your life, through His word. You get better insight on what's important to God and what makes Him angry. This is the kind of truth that Jesus was referring to here that  the moment you remain in Him, and more is revealed  to you, the truth He brings us, sets us free. We feel a heavy burden lifted off of our sh...

 Joel 2:12-13 (NLT) That is why the LORD says, “ Turn to Me now, while there is time . Give Me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.  Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the LORD your God, for He is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish. This verse is loaded and it a call to action. The Lord is merciful and forgiving, that is in His nature. Which is why He gave up His Son for this reason, so that we may find forgiveness through Jesus and mend our relationship with Him. However, this will not happen unless we repent, see our wrongs and go before Him to ask for forgiveness. He wants us to turn away from our sinful, wicked ways and humble ourselves before Him. People normally postpone getting  the salvation with a reason that there's still time to do so, and then focus on worldly things. But in reality as God says, we may be fooling ourse...

 Psalm 51:11-12 Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and  make me willing to obey you. It is our plea indeed to always be in the presence of the Lord and have the Holy Spirit as our Guide, always. Before Jesus ascended, you could hope to be in His presence to access what He had to offer, including peace, joy, healing etc. only physically. However, in the times we live in, we are blessed as wherever we may be, we have the Holy Spirit with us, helping us, guiding us, comforting us and more. We also have an advantage that we do not have to worry about our loved ones, as we know they have the Holy Spirit with them wherever they may be. This has allowed me an opportunity to be free and continue with what I need to, knowing  that my loved ones are well taken care of, regardless  of where they may be. All because of His Omnipresence ! Powerful! What is left for us then, is to obey Him. It...

 Matthew 10:16 (ESV) “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. One thing is for sure, is that God is sending us out to do His will. This can be in different fields, different environment, different people  but as His disciples, we are sent to be His hands and feet for His glory. However, this serves as a warning that we are being sent as sheep and that doesn't  mean we are going to encounter sheep like us, but people who are ruthless and cunning; hence we need to be very wise to see  their motives and not be naive. However, that doesn't mean we need to be mean like them, but to remain innocent as doves. What a task! But the Lord will help us, the Holy Spirit our Helper will be there... Matthew 5:13 says: “You are the salt of the earth..." With so much darkness in the world (with evidence we see every day ), God is entrusting us to be the light in the darkness. To show the way and draw more people to ...

 Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. This is one of the verses to remember, when you start doubting yourself, or the world doubts or questions your abilities. The Holy Spirit lives in us and this is explained in 1 John 4:4 and it says: " You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One (Holy Spirit) who is in you is greater than the one (devil) who is in the world." So, basically you have greatness in you, which is the one that empowers, equips and helps you with everything that you are assigned. With such power (same one that raised Jesus from the dead), we are fully able to do ALL things, because of Christ who is behind this ability. This verse gives us the courage that we can do that which God has assigned us, He pre-installed the gifts and talents in us, that may be laying  dormant  but can be activated when the time is right. So, should God deposit an idea, vision or dream in you, that seems way too ...

 Psalm 42:1 As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. The moment you realize that God is our everything, it is when we long for Him more. God as our Creator, is everything, He is our Source. When you read the bible and realize the heart of God, you get to see that we are because of Him. He is our Provider, Protector, Helper, Healer, Peace. He is the reason that we live and breathe . He cares and loves us so much. He is compassionate towards us, kind and gracious. All He wants, is a close relationship with us, which is why He let Jesus be crucified so He can make things right for us, to have that intimate relationship (which was affected in the garden of Eden). When you have surrendered your life to Him, for every need, challenge, wish or desire, you go to Him because  you know He is faithful and is a present help in time of need. Which is why, we long for Him. What I have experienced, is that this was not always like this, this dependency on Him grew as...

 Galatians 5:16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. As humans, we don't have the power, we are weak; this weakness can lead us astray and get us into trouble. However, as children of God, we are blessed to have the Holy Spirit living in us, as our Comforter, Helper and Guide. This verse puts emphasis on the Holy Spirit being our guide, that He will help us not fall back into our sinful nature, but to remain in control of every situation  and even our being. The aim of the enemy is to create temptations for the children of God, as a trap, to make them stumble and fall. However, our Father is our protector,  and He is able to shield us from such traps, through the Holy Spirit who will continue to guide us on the path we should take. When Jesus was about to ascend to heaven, the disciples were very saddened and troubled that their Shepherd , whom has been guiding them, leading them, protecting them, prosperi...

 Jeremiah 31:25 "For I have given rest to the weary and joy to the sorrowing." God is so merciful, He allows us to go through painful and unpleasant experiences, to strengthen us, equip and prepare us for what He has for us in the future. The beauty about it, is that the seasons do change. When He deems us ready, He allows us to go into a new season, where He refreshes us, give us our strength back and turn our mourning into dancing/ joy. Psalm 30:11 says: " You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing . You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,". In life, we go through difficult situations but there is always hope at the end of the tunnel. It so happen that someone very dear to me that I've recently lost, happened to be their birthday today and that brough some emotions. But this verse is encouraging  me that God, my Comforter is going to turn the rough season I'm going through into joy. He will turn the sorrow I feel into joy. ...

 Psalm 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  Point out anything in me that offends You, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. In life, we may have blind spots, which may lead us astray. But with God, we are able to have an advantage of those things that are not alright, to be brought to the forefront in our lives, so that we may deal with them. Not realizing that there's a problem, is dangerous as nothing will be done to fix that as it's assumed that all is well. But with God, we have the Holy Spirit that is able to convict us of our wrongdoing and improvement areas, so that through the grace of God, we may be able to correct them. I now find myself wanting the assurance that in everything that I do, I'm in alignment with God, walking on His path for my life and are pleasing Him (and no longer aiming to please humans).This comes at the realization that we live in "borrowed-time", that God can call us...

 Romans 12:10 Love each other with genuine affection and  take delight in honoring each other. On this beautiful day, where many choose to honour love, which is a good thing. There is so much hatred, hurt and bitterness out there. So atleast for a day, we get to remind one another about our essence, love. The bible tells us that God is love in 1 John 4:8. So, if God is love, then we are to exhibit the similar characteristics of our heavenly Father (this can be work-in progress). Hence the verse today reminds us that we are to love one another an honour each other. Remember when Jesus summed-up the 10 commandments that were written by Moses, into 2 commands. The first one was to love God with all our our heart, mind and soul and the second one was to love our neighbours as we love ourselves. This is found in Mark 12:30-31. This shows how important love is. God wants us to love Him, the people around us and ourselves.  These verses show how serious God takes ...

 Proverbs 16:3 Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed. This is one of the basic principles, that in whatever we do, may it be aligned with God's will and plans for our lives, so that our plans may succeed. At times we may have plans for our lives, which may be mis-aligned with God's plans; as always, God's will will prevail. This may leave us with disappointed , bitter, with lack of cooperation from our side in God's plans. Hence, we are urged to bring the plans we have in our hearts to God, present to Him and ask Him to bless them, IF it's in His will. This is important that we give His priority. In this case, should our plans not be aligned with His, and He takes us in an opposite direction, though we would be disappointed , we will cooperate and still trust that He knows what's best (Jeremiah 29:11) and that He is still in control. This will put us at ease, knowing that whatever happens, we win (Romans 8:28)! Let this be a reminder, to t...

 Jude 1:20-21 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,  keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. Keeping a close relationship with God, is the ultimate answer. Through prayer, scripture readign, praise and worship are some  of the key elements of mainting and strengthening the  relationship with God. By so doing, He is able to release His mercy and grace. Furthermre, these acts, help us believe in the One that we don't see in the natural state but by faith; subsequently this secures us an eternal life. We are because of our Father, He is our Creator, the One who gave us the breath we breathe every single day. He is in control of everything, because the world and everything in it, belongs to Him (Psalm 24:1). He is the One whom by His mercy, we get to see another day. May we never take it for granted but in all things, acknowledge Him and prais...

 Ephesians 4:29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. Words and actions, the way we treat each other, can make someone's day or ruin it. This bible verse puts an emphasis on the things we speak with our mouth, that it must not be foul or abusive. We must not curse anybody, not only because it is wrong to wish anyone bad, but when we read in Genesis 12, where God was speaking to Abraham, we get to realize that what we speak over  people can bless us or harm us. In that chapter, God indicated to Abraham that He will bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him. Now, we may never know who a child of God is  and who isn't. Should you say something foul about someone, who happens to be a child of God, not only have you insulted that person but God as well. Psalm 105:15 says: “Do not touch my anointed ones; do my prophets no harm.” This shows that what you sp...

 Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. To show how powerful the word of the Lord is, look at everything all around us, even the sky and the stars, everything. God created everything by His word, He spoke a word and everything came into existence  (Genesis 1); how awesome is that  it shows that His word is alive and powerful! His word continues to be active and powerful in our lives. We see evidence of this in the bible stories, where God spoke a word and the Red Sea parted for example. He spoke a word and the dead came back to life! We connect ourselves to God through His word. In the bible, which reveals to us who God is, who we are in Him, what God's plans are, what pleases God and what makes Him angry. We learn His desires and purposes for our lives, in His word. His word gives us protection, healin...

 Romans 5:5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. The hope of salvation  will not disappoint . Our hope that is anchored in the Lord, is not in vain, for God loves us; He dearly loves us. He loves us so much that He gives us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. This means, when we have the Holy Spirit in us, we are filled with God's love, which is so great we cannot even explain. One bible verse that  seeks to show how much He loves us, is in the book of John 3:16 that tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son  to die for our  sins. Another description of His great love is in the book of Romans 5:8 and it says: " But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." This means His love for us didn't begin  when we found salvation, but whilst we were still sinne...

 John 10:10 (NIV) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and  have it to the full. This verse shows us the contrast  between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. The devil only came to mess people's lives, by destroying, stealing from and even killing them. The devil came to cause destruction. Whilst Jesus is clear that He came to give us life and life more abundantly! Life in abundance is a balanced life that doesn't include lack, oppression, chains or "just getting-by". He came to give us a fruitful life, blessed life and impactful life. Life full of purpose, joy, peace, laughter and more. Life that knows no lack! This life is accessible to us, as children of God. God wants to show His glory through His children which includes you and I. He wants His children to live a life that displays His goodness. Let us allow God to prepare us for this life that Jesus died to give us; by not fighting the process, God...

 2 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. The walk of life, with God, deals with the fear we  may have from time to time. Through the Holy Spirit that lives in us, we are able to access the power, sound mind and love that replaces fear. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says: " Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." Fear and freedom cannot co-exist; hence, when the Spirit of the Lord dwells in us, as we receive Jesus into our lives, we get the benefit of dealing with fear. We know that fear keeps us bound, limited and unable to move forward. This is not part of God's plans for our lives. When He says He's got great plans for our lives in the book of Jeremiah 29:11, He means He's got big plans that would require us to step-up, take bold steps and embrace risk. Doing this in partnership with Him, to achieve those great things. Hence, fear cannot feature anywhere, as it will limit and sto...

 Proverbs 29:25 (GNT) It is dangerous to be concerned with what others think of you, but if you trust the LORD, you are safe. This is a problem we suffer from, as humans. We always concern ourselves on what people think about us, which is wrong! They are not our creator, our provider, nor are they having a final say about us. People will always have something to talk about, good or bad. Also, it's impossible to please people all the time. They may be happy with something  you do now, but the very next week, they may be displeased about what you do. In this case, we need to ask ourselves, is pleasing  these people having any impact on us or it's just fiction? The danger about it, is if we live to please people, we will miss the love from God, because in most cases, we may not please them both at the same time; and if pleasing people is the order of the day, then it means we will sacrifice the relationship with God. People may not understand you, your life or even your life...

 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. When the Lord has assigned you or positioned you in a particular place, for a particular purpose, the enemy may try to stop you from doing that which God has told you. In this case, there could be attacks in a form of unfriendly environment, where certain people make it difficult to perform your duties, there may be distractions that suddenly demands your attention and calls for you to divert from what you needed to do. It could even be sickness that distracts you altogether. Any of these or even other distractions, could lead to almost quitting  that which you set your heart to do. But the Lord, according to this bible verse, is urging us to be immovable, persistent and to stand firm. Keep pressing on the thing we are assigned, in one way or the other. Also, we are ur...

 James 1:2-3 (NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. As humans, we don't want troubles, trials. A smooth-sailing life would do. However , in reality, we can never run away from trials, as God allows them to build our characters. He allows them to also remind us that we need Him, where we can find shelter and refuge. In this verse, they even take it one-notch up and say we must consider it pure joy when we face any sort of trial, because testing of our faith produces perseverance . We become individuals that  are resilient, who will be able to withstand any obstacle/trouble, as this particular trait will be developed in us.  What helps us to hold on and not throw-in the towel, is knowing that even in that trial, God is still with us; helping us and holding us with His righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). This gives us a sense of security and bol...

 Psalm 40:1-2 I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and He turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. Amen, amen! God is able and willing to pull us out of sticky situations, whether we put ourselves  in there or not. As we cry out  to Him, praying day and night, He hears us and when the time is right, He makes a way. In this scripture, we see a testimony that the Lord heard the cry and came to rescue. The  same thing is possible for us.  God is able to lift us out of a pit (this pit can be any circumstance that you may find yourself in). It could be a pit of fear, disappointment , anger, hurt, condemnation, situation at work, in marriage, health, no matter the pit, God is able to pull you out of it. Similar to Joseph, when his brother threw  him inside a pit and God sent Ishmaelites who rescued  him (Genesis 37); God i...