Positioning yourself- preparation

Rth 3:3 NET So bathe yourself, rub on some perfumed oil, and get dressed up. Then go down to the threshing floor. But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal.

This is a well thought-out process and carefully crafted to achieve the end result. 

“Bathe yourself” suggest clean up yourself. Be clean! Be ready for your bride/spouse/fiance by showing how neat you are.  Remove the filthy attitude or despicable behavior if any.

How can we expect acceptance when we are too proud to realize how incapable, incompetent, incomplete and fallible we are so we can receive help and grace from the saving Savior?

Careful preparation and planning prove to work effectively if executed appropriately. 

Jesus watched the feet of His disciples to show an example. A woman rubbed and wiped the feet of Jesus Christ to demonstrate humility, death preparedness, passion and love. Smell good and look good so you can stand in the high place.

Jesus Christ and His disciples were known for their unique way of dressing. So, stand out! 

Go ahead and plan the visit, make the call, arrange the place, make use of the precious God-given mind to explore all your options, and God will give you the winning ideas.

I pray that God of heaven will endow us with distinct wisdom to act right in all our ways.

Positioning yourself- finding a place

One of the most essential things in life is finding a place you can call home.

It is essential to secure a place and to secure a place, you must search. After you search, then you find your location.

This process is not limited only to finding a place. 

Someone looking for a life partner must search until he/she finds one.

A scholar must search for programs and educational curricula suitable to the line of study. The same goes for friendships, jobs, business partners, vacations, etc.

Rth 3:1- NET 1 At that time, Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure.
You derive security and satisfaction after your findings adventure. 

The quest continues until you find your place. Seek your place in life just like Ruth.

Do not shy away from little obstacles. your place (home) is where you can rest and enjoy peace of mind.

Find your place; find your rest.

Wisdom for this time

Every man has the power to create because of his god-like nature in them.

Generally, when the light comes, darkness must disappear.

Darkness always gives way for light to shine, but darkness often enjoys a slight moment of time.

Most times, it appears that darkness is too prevalent, but in no time, light always finds ways to shine, and darkness must disappear.

As long as darkness cannot last long before the light shines, so evil cannot last long before good overtakes it.

One thing is certain concerning evil people– they will surely be punished for their wickedness.

Truly, the power of creation is in the tongue. This is why truth is powerful, but lies can be deadly.

God, also, is constantly looking for where to shine. He can not operate in a vacuum. He needs a vessel.

Even in the dark, God can still perform. So, where the odds are significantly stacked against Him, He is capable of working wonders. This is why we have what is called a “miracle.”

God experienced darkness too when He (Jesus) was on earth in the form of man.

It is true that whatever you have to do, do it quickly. Truer is the fact that you also tend to forget the needful when you don’t do it at the right time, thereby losing momentum.

How the devil uses good people

The devil uses good people. It’s all about availability.

If you give yourself to the devil and the devil sees an opening, he’ll enter and take advantage.

and give no opportunity to the devil. Ephesians 4:27

A good example is King Saul. The Bible says an evil spirit possessed him, and the evil spirit made him try and kill David.

Now the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a harmful spirit from the LORD tormented him. 1 Samuel 16:14

But one day when Saul was sitting at home, with spear in hand, the tormenting spirit from the LORD suddenly came upon him again. As David played his harp, 1 Samuel 19:9

Saul hurled his spear at David. But David dodged out of the way, and leaving the spear stuck in the wall, he fled and escaped into the night. 1 Samuel 19:10

Another example is Peter.

Jesus told Peter to pray so the devil won’t have power over him.

Peter couldn’t stand the test of time because he didn’t spend time praying.

The lack of prayer allowed the devil to use him to deny Jesus. He denied Jesus three times.

The devil still uses good people today. The devil can use Christians who are careless and not prayerful.

The devil uses Christians to disrupt God’s plan and purpose. He uses them to create discord and confusion among people.

The devil likes to use overzealous and hypocritical Christians to cause havoc among God’s people.

Therefore, Christians should be watchful at all times by praying regularly so that the devil does not have power over them.

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

True Love

True love is all about giving.

True love is giving when you don’t expect anything in return.

True love does not makes demands. Love is about making sacrifices for loved ones.

True love is when you give your best to help or support others.

God loves us and has planted the seeds of love in each of us. We should deliberately learn to demonstrate love for others.

If we love more, there will be less hatred and less pandemonium in our world.

Love is the greatest of all abstract gifts.

Let your love speaks in actions and not just by mere words.

The life of man on earth 21.0 (the past, the present, and the future)

For Job, he encountered crises. 

He could not control the events. The past we cannot control. 

How we respond to the past determines the future.

Our attitude to life demonstrates our current actions. 

Job believed he didn’t do anything to warrant his current condition, but he never cursed God. He trusted God. 

When bad things happen to good people, it is part of the cruelty of life.

Joh 16:33 NET I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world, you have trouble and suffering, but take courage – I have conquered the world.”

Under the Oppressor — risk and reward

The enemy intends to make you suffer. 

Every action comes with bad motives. If the devil gives you a gift, it is for a bad purpose, and if he does not give any gift, he is making one of his bad moves on you. 

Either way, the enemy is out to get you!

If you are successful, the enemy is not happy about it. He is sad seeing that you are doing fine.

Exo 1:12 NET But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread. As a result, the Egyptians loathed the Israelites,

We must take every step that counters the enemies’ onslaught. The reward of doing this far outweighs the risk. 

Psa 118:6 NET The LORD is on my side, I am not afraid! What can people do to me?

The Bible also says Mat 10:28 NET Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Faith in God (to take a worthy risk), under the Oppressor, is the killer of fear.

God will reward you for the good you do.

Exo 1:17-21 NET 17 But the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. 18 Then the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women – for the Hebrew women are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!” 20 So God treated the midwives well, and the people multiplied and became very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, he made households for them.

The three Hebrew children refused to bow to a god. 

They risk their lives, but God rewarded them with His glorious presence. 

Daniel chose to pray to the sovereign God. They threw Daniel into a lion’s den. The lions could not touch him because God shut their mouth.

Job said, Job 13:15 NET Even if he slays me, I will hope in him; I will surely defend my ways to his face!

And Paul said, 2Ti 1:12 NET Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set and I am convinced that he is able to protect what has been entrusted to me until that day.

We know that faithful is He who had promised, who also will do it.

Amen!

The life of man on earth 19.0 (tested and tried)

Everyone goes through a test.

A test is a trying period in any man’s life. 

Also, a test is an examination of your stance.

You don’t need to be a believer or an unbeliever to determine whether you will be tested or not tested. 

Job is an example of what I am discussing. 

I am talking about what it is like living in this world. 

Although I believe Jesus is Omniscience, He had a life experience too. So, He knows. 

Heb 4:15-16 NET 15 For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. 16 Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help.

So, when you go through a challenging time, be strong! 

Respond positively, and in the end, you will win.

One great lesson I learned from Job is that he prayed during challenging moments.

Abraham prayed when he faced a dilemma.

David cried out to God even after committing a sin.

Jesus prayed during the most challenging situation of His ministry.

So, I would pray even when I think I am unworthy, or I am a sinner, or when I feel that God may not hear me. Then, I will pray again.

Remember, “Tough times never last; tough people do!”

Under the Oppressor — back to vomit

The Oppressor does not give up on its victims. Its satisfaction is in the suffering of its victims. Does it care? No!

Slave masters do not like to lose their slaves. 

History told us that after the Emancipation Act, some slave masters still kept their act of slavery and did not let go of the slaves. The devil does the same thing. 

After your deliverance, the devil keeps trying day and night to get you compromised and lose hope so that you go back to your vomit.

The Bible refers to those who give up and return to the old lifestyle as fools.

Pro 26:11 NET Like a dog that returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

Don’t be a fool!

Jesus gave a perfect illustration of this. The evil one does not easily give up on its prey.

Luk 11:24-27 NET 24 “When an unclean spirit goes out of a person, it passes through waterless places looking for rest but not finding any. Then it says, ‘I will return to the home I left.’ 25 When it returns, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. 26 Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there, so the last state of that person is worse than the first.” 27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd spoke out to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts at which you nursed!”

You must rescue yourself like a gazelle. 

Pro 6:5 NET Deliver yourself like a gazelle from a snare, and like a bird from the trap of the fowler.

Fight hard to rescue your “gates” from the clutches of darkness. The devil wants to get in but do not give him the opportunity.

1Jn 2:15-16 NET 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, 16 because all that is in the world (the desire of the flesh and the desire of the eyes and the arrogance produced by material possessions) is not from the Father, but is from the world.

Pray for us, oh Lord Jesus!

 

Note: the use of certain words reflects the potency of the meaning.