God’s design, strategy and great wisdom for overcoming offenses is LOVE. This divine wisdom is revealed in the Spirit’s prayer through apostle Paul for the Philippine church:
“I continue to pray for your love to grow and increase beyond measure, bringing you into the rich revelation of spiritual insight in all things.
This will enable you to choose the most excellent way of all—becoming pure and without offense until the unveiling of Christ.”
(Philippians 1: 9-10, TPT)

LOVE isn’t just a divine imperative to be obeyed. No! It is THE VERY FORMULA FOR THE PROSPERITY OF YOUR HEART AND SOUL AND BODY!
Love alone can protect the wellbeing or sanity of the heart and soul. This is because only love has what it takes to overcome offenses. LOVE FORGIVES!
“Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them.” (Colossians 3:13, TPT)

When God commands us to love and forgive one another, He is giving us His wisdom and design for the protection of our emotional and physical wellbeing. He asks us to draw strength and wisdom from the forgiveness we all have received from Him; to forgive AS He has forgiven us. His love for us should become the motivation for our forgiving others. We forgive others from out of the abundance of forgiveness we have received from God. Apostle Paul counsels us here:

“But instead be kind and affectionate toward one another. Has God graciously forgiven you? Then graciously forgive one another in the depths of Christ’s love.”
(Ephesians 4:32, TPT)

What FORGIVENESS does for us is this, it takes our FOCUS or ATTENTION away from a suffered wrong. And severs the emotional ATTACHMENT we have established with the hurt. Hence, removes the poison or sting of the offenses from our heart and soul!

LOVE COVERS OFFENSES. Love isn’t only a connector but also a Defender and a Shelter for the soul from offenses and hurts.
This is because LOVE FORGIVES and let’s go. Hence, protects the spirit and soul from the poisoning effect of UNFORGIVENESS.
Hear what the Bible says:
“Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others].” (1Peter 4:8, AMP)

Love doesn’t focus on a suffered wrong. Because the wrong you focus on for long grows, becomes strong and controls your thoughts, emotions and attitudes. This is where the danger is.

In Conclusion
Let this superior understanding guide your relationships and associations with others. Your heart and soul need vital, meaningful and thriving relationships to prosper and function properly! And the wellbeing of your entire person and your outcomes in life, in turn, depend on the wellbeing of your heart and soul!

It’s my prayer that you would allow God’s wisdom protect you from offenses, and that you would remain prosperous in every aspect of your life, even as your soul prospers. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

God does heal broken hearts!

The Bible portrays God as a healer, not just of the body, but also of the innerman – heart and soul. He is a God Who heals and mends broken hearts. He heals our hurting emotions, and pained memories.
Jesus declared that He had come to heal and mend the brokenhearted. This is Great News!

God heals us by comforting our hearts. Isn’t it amazing that of all the names there are, Jesus chose to call the Holy Spirit “the Comforter”? Observe that Jesus didn’t say “a comforter”. He is the Comforter. That means there ain’t any other comforter in the earth. He took the place of Jesus Christ. He is the One Who comforts us in our brokenness.

The word “comfort” is a compound word from the words “com-” and “fortis.” Com is a word forming element usually meaning “with, together, together with, in combination.” Fortis is a Latin, which means “strong, brave.” Our word fortitude also came from the same root. Putting the two together, the word comfort gives a picture of a union or relationship, which brings strength, solace, help, bravery. So the Comforter is One Who comes alongside or walks together with us, to help, aid, assist, solace and strengthen us, especially in our down moments.

The beautiful thing about this picture is the relationship aspect. True and lasting comfort comes only from the vital relationship we have with the Holy Spirit. He doesn’t offer us help from a distance. No! He’s already come to live within us. He has made Himself one with us. In this way, He feels what we feel. In our pain and affliction, He is also pained and afflicted. He understands perfectly our hard-to-describe struggles. He knows our thoughts before we think them, and our words before we utter them. He is never disconnected from our realities.

Not only does the Comforter share in our own pains and sufferings, He helps us to also share in His strength, comfort, joy, peace and healing. He binds up the brokenhearted; strengthens the weak with much strength in their inner man. To the despairing, He imparts hope for a brighter future. He helps us conquer our shame and disappointment. He gives the ability to rise above our hurt, to forgive and to let go of the painful past.

The dear Holy Spirit comforts hearts that are grieving and mourning the loss of loved ones. How He does it amazes me. Gradually but surely He brings in His peace and restores joy. I have been privileged to experience this myself. When I lost my wife, I couldn’t imagine I would be whole again. I was devastated beyond words. I felt torn apart. My pain was indescribable. It’s been a little over a year now, and looking back, I am so grateful for His healing and inner strength, even though He still has alot of mending to do on my heart.

In the midst of the hurt, the fear, the loneliness, the so many unanswered questions and emotions I couldn’t identify, one thing stood tall for me – the ever-abiding Presence of the Helper deep within me. I was not left alone. He was right there with me in it all. That was so reassuring and took care of my fears. And knowing that He was hurting as much as I was, gave me strength beyond measure. I felt loved and valued. And there were times I could even feel His soothing embrace. His voice is both life and healing to me.

I also found out that, not only does the Comforter relieve our pains and gives us the strength to pull through them, He also changes us in the process. He makes us into comforters. He makes our hearts tender and sensitive to the pains of others. We become more compassionate towards those hurting, especially those who are going through the same thing we have come through.

Apostle Paul aptly captures this amazing transformation when he said this about the Comforter:

“He always comes alongside us to comfort us in every suffering so that we can come alongside those who are in any painful trial. We can bring them this same comfort that God has poured out upon us.” (2 Corinthians 1:4, TPT)

Receive the healing comfort of the Divine Comforter today. In Jesus Name

The God Who Chose Love Over Life

He died to prove that He loves you beyond His life. And that even death would not come between Him and you.

God had a choice. He could have decided to give us up to destruction. He could have chosen to preserve His Life. But He chose not to. He took the path that would cost Him everything.

God chose LOVE over LIFE.

And was crushed beyond recognition, that you might be made whole and beautiful.

He had put upon Himself your weaknesses, wounds and sores and, carried away your diseases, that you might be well.

Jesus wore a crown of thorns, pierced His head with briars, that you might be made whole in your emotions and mind.

Though He was infinitely rich, He impoverished Himself, that you might become rich beyond measure.

He laid down His life for you, that you might be forgiven. And was raised from the dead, to justify, prove that you were “Not guilty.”

Now, “Who could separate us from the endless love of God’s Anointed One?
Absolutely no one!
For nothing in the universe has the the power to diminish His love for us. Troubles, pressures, and problems are unable to come between us and heaven’s love. What about persecutions, deprivations, dangers, and death threats?
No, for they are all impotent to hinder omnipotent love.”

We triumph over all these things.
For the One Who loves us enough to go to hell for us has made us partners of His endless triumph.
We are more than conquerors. We are larger than life. His reckless and passionate love is our sure victory over everything!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

THE NAMES OF GOD.

The God Who is present.

You may be wondering, why study the Names of God?
Jesus let us in on the relevance of knowing the Names of God.
In John 17:26, He said, in a conversation with the Father:
“And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, THAT THE LOVE WITH WHICH YOU LOVED ME MAY BE IN THEM, AND I IN THEM.”

So we are learning about the names of God, that our hearts may be established in His love, the very love with which He loved Jesus Christ, the Son of His love!

What does a name tell us? What’s in a name that gives it such power?
Do names have any more significance besides identification?

Names are revealing. Names, especially in the Eastern cultures carried far more significance than they do in the Western world.

In the ancient civilization, names were thought to reveal the essential nature and character of a person – the way he/she reasons and does things.

With this background insight, it becomes easier to understand the Names of God and how they give us a revelation of Who He is and what He does. Studying the Names of God would reveal His love nature. And you could never know of His love without falling head-over-heels in love with Him. ?

We shall start with the name JEHOVAH SHAMMAH, which means the-Lord-is-present.

“The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. “And the name of the city from that time on will be: the Lord is there.”
~ Ezekiel 48:35

This Name speaks of the relational nature of God. We see Him in the Garden of Eden, having intimacies with man and His wife. He cherished His communion with them. Then sin comes in and destroys that beautiful relationship.
But that’s not all. Next, we see God sacrificing His very own Son, to reconcile man back to Himself and restore that precious relationship He once had with humanity.

God is a Father Who loves to have a vital relationship with His children. He wants to be present in your life. He longs to be involved with every detail of your life. He doesn’t want to be distant. No!
He is not an absentee Father. No!
He yearns to live, not just with you, but in you, in your heart… To dance with you, sing over you, cry with you, and rejoice with you… To comfort, guide, strengthen and watch over you.

He’s engraved you on the palm of His hands. Your face is ever before Him. He would never leave nor forsake you.

“…for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]”
~Hebrews 13:5, AMP

This truth should be a shield, to protect your heart from the feeling of loneliness and helplessness.
For you’re NEVER ALONE!

He is the God Who is present!

When God says “I love you,” He meant that He has ACCEPTED YOU. So go right on ahead and accept yourself for who you are, irrespective of whether someone else accepts you or not.

We are all driven by the need for acceptance. It’s a God-given need built deep into everyone of us.

The world is more starved of unconditional love and acceptance than it is of food and safe drinking water. This famine isn’t only in the ghettoes of the world, but also in the palaces. It’s a plaque of both the rich and the poor; the young and the old; the weak and the strong alike; the civilized and the primitive.

God designed your soul to thrive and flourish in love and acceptance. Without these, the soul is diseased and infirmed. And can’t function effectively. We can see the effects of rejection in the soul in our relationships, marriages, careers, ministries, etc

When we don’t have meaningful acceptance, we feel rejection. This could come from our own parents, friends, colleagues, teachers or any other authority figure in our lives.

For instance, a child who is born into a family at a time it’s not wanted, for whatever reasons, may feel rejected. Or may be the child isn’t the sex the parents were expecting. Their disappointment communicates rejection to the child’s mind.

Rejection can result to all kinds of disorders, such as poor self-image, low self-worth, self-rejection, depression, lesbianism, etc

There are varying degrees of rejection. And this depends on the level of closeness or intimacy with the person that rejected you.

You may have been carrying rejection in your soul all your life, but there’s a good news. The good news is this: God have accepted you, and unconditionally too!

God’s love has no rejection. His love is patient with your weaknesses. His love is eternally bent on doing you the highest good. God’s love for you isn’t dependent on your goodness. Hence, your failures can never turn Him away.

God’s love never keeps a record of your wrongs. He had already forgiven them in Christ Jesus. And if you will only yield to His immeasurable love for you, you will lead such a triumphant life.

Live life loved of God and watch your soul prosper. Because your entire life is tied to the well-being of your soul.

“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers.”
(3John 2, AMP)

You’re only as prosperous as your soul. Nothing less. Nothing more. Your success at relationships, marriage, career, business depends a lot on whether or not your soul feels secure. Accepting Father God’s unconditional love, drives out rejection and the fear of it from our minds.

Receive the Father’s unconditional acceptance today and prosper in your soul!
Let His incredibly lavish love wash over your soul, cleansing and healing it from the wounds of rejection.

When Daddy God declares over you, “This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life,”
He is saying, “I CHERISH you, My Child.”

To cherish is to treat with tenderness and affection; to nurture with care; to protect and aid. God regards you with such tender affection. He cares about you deeply. His everlasting arms are always stretched over you, to keep you safe from harm. He is so deeply moved at the thought of you. For you’re the Son of His love, the offspring of the sacred sacrifice of God’s only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ.

When God sees you, He remembers all that went into the redemption of your soul. The excruciating pain that His Son endured. The shame. The mockery. The sweat-turned blood. The indescribable agony in Gethsemane.

Father God holds you very dear to His heart. You’re His most precious treasure, the trophy of His Son’s obedience, and triumph over Satan, sin and death.

You may be thinking, “how could God love someone like me, who isn’t doing everything right?”
His incredible love is greater than your failures. God loves you in spite of your slips and falls. He loves you because of Christ’s sacrifice for your soul. And if you will rest in His boundless love for you, sin will loosen its grip on your soul.
The truth of His love will make you free. When you know Him, that He is love and He loves you with all that He is, you will invariably love Him in return.

Daddy God yearns for you with such deep cravings. He yearns to hear your voice. He longs for your fellowship. He desires for you to, not lose sight of Him, while you go through the activities of the day. He loves to hear your heart think about Him, and your voice offer up worship. He adores every moment with you. All because of what Christ has done for you.
You’re forever CHERISHED!

The Lord shouts over you:

“The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.”

You’re CHERISHED!

In the next couple of days we shall be considering what God really means when He says to you, “I love you.”

Matthew gave us the account of Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan river, how that He was baptised by John the Baptist. And how there came a voice out of heaven, declaring:
“… This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I delight!”
(Matthew 3:17,AMP)

I can imagine the holy reverence and awe that filled the hearts of those who heard those sacred and blessed words.
Those words came straight from the Father’s heart, declaring His never-endind love for the Son of His love. The Son in whom His soul delighted. And the good news is this, those words didn’t stop with Christ.

“And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is My Son, My Beloved, in Whom I delight!”
Those same sacred Words were said about you, the moment you submitted to the lordship of Christ. They were declared from heaven, and heard on earth and beneath the earth, in the spirit realm.

God says you are His Beloved Child, in whom He delights.
When God says, “I love you,” He means that He DELIGHTS in you. I take a peculiar delight in you.

See how the Message translation renders this verse:
“This is my Son, chosen and marked by my love, delight of my life.”

God says you’re His Child, chosen and marked by His love, and the delight of His heart. He is saying, “I like you!” God likes you down to your toes.

Isn’t it amazing to know that God likes, delights, and finds pleasure in you?
Oh, how He loves you! There ain’t limit to how He cherishes you. God takes pride in you. As a matter of fact, He wants to flaunt His beauty and magnificence to the whole creation, through you. Apostle Peter attests to this, when he said:

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
(1Peter 2:9, AMP)

Imagine waking up and going to bed with the thought that God delights in you; that He isn’t displeased with you.

God is greatly pleased with you.
He isn’t angry with you. You are not disgusting to Him. No! Rather, God derives great pleasure in you, because of Christ’s sacrifice for you.
When God sees you, He sees the offspring of His Son’s death on the cross. And that gives Him great pleasure.

Start each day with this truth, and watch everything change.

Your entire life revolves around the revelation of God’s unending and unconditional love for you. Whether you fail or succeed with people, the reason won’t be far fetched from your understanding or non-understanding of God’s love for you.

There are a few thoughts I wish to explore in this post.
First, God’s love for you is unconditional. What that means is that, His love for you has no strings attached. His love isn’t premised on what you have or haven’t done or said. God loves you, not because you’re lovable. No! He loves you because He is love, and decided to love you. He loves you because it’s His nature to share His life and goodness. God loves you because love is His very essence.
Apostle John the beloved says that God first loved us.

“We love because he first loved us.”
(1John 4:19, ESV)

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
(1John 4:10, NIV)

And Apostle Paul said that, not only does God first loved us, but He loved us when we were of no use to Him whatsoever. He loved us when we were still sinners and satan-ruled.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
(Romans 5:8, NIV)

That’s unconditional love!

Second, you have to LET God love you.
No matter how much you want to show love to someone, if they won’t let you, you just can’t. It’s the same with God. While He loves you so much, He can’t force you to accept His love for you. No! He is gracious and never forceful. He would never force His love on you. It’s strictly your responsibility, to accept His love. You either believe that He loves you or you don’t. You either open your heart to understand the depth of His love for you or you don’t. It’s strictly up to you, dear one. It all begins with changing your perception or picture of who God is. If your picture of God is wrong, there is no way you will want to be intimate with such a God. So you will subconsciously shut your mind against His love. God is good. He isn’t evil. God is gracious and merciful. He is not easily angered. He is readily forgiving. As a matter of fact, He has forgiven you all your sins – past, present and future. He isn’t imputing your wrong doings in your account. No! He had put all your sins to Christ’s account. And had made Him suffer the full punishment for them.
Neither is He keeping a record of your failures. He blotted them out with His blood. God loves and values you enough to die for you. That’s something very big!

Open your heart, my friend , and let God love you the way only He can. Believe His love for you. Study to grow in your knowledge of His great love for you. Only then will you be energized to face the world, triumphantly.

God’s Love Suffers Long!

Today we continue looking at the nature of God’s love for us. Let’s begin right here:

“O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.”
(Psalm 136:1,AMP)

When I was meditating on this Scripture, the word “endure” attracted my attention. So I looked it up in the dictionary, and this is what I found:

“To experience and deal with something that is painful or unpleasant, especially without complaining.”

God’s love suffers along with us. When we go through unpleasant times, and life no longer makes sense, He is right there with us, feeling our pains and bearing up under the weight of our struggles. And even when His love for us no longer makes sense to us, He never gets angry and gives up on us. No! He sticks with us, gently soothing our hurt and bringing us to a place, where we sense His tangible love again in our heart. He never gives up on us. No, not even when we seem to be on the run from Him.

In another sense, God’s love suffers, bearing with us in our weaknesses. Our indifference towards Him makes Him suffer in His deep love for us. Since it’s the nature of love to give, when love’s affection and kindness is rejected, love suffers. God bears with all our failures, complacency, lukewarmness, and never gives up on us. He forgives us when we reach out in faith for it. And never ever fails or denies us. He says in Hosea 11:8, that He can’t give up on you, because His compassions for you are unlocked. This is the power of love!

“Love bears up under anything and everything that comes…and it endures everything [without weakening].”
(1Corinthians13:7, AMP)

God’s love for us never grows weak or stale. No!
His love for us is ever new. And there’s nothing anybody can do yo change this fact. There’s nothing His love can’t bear.

The psalmist said the Lord is compassionate, full of mercy and gracious toward us.

“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy and loving-kindness.”
(Psalm 103:8,AMP)

The Lord is merciful. That is, He is readily forgiving. He is gracious. That is, He is leaning toward us with great favor and regard for us. The Lord is slow to anger. He is not easily angered. He is not irritable. Because He is full of mercy and love for us. And His love endures forever. His love suffers long.

This truth that God’s love endures forever is such an important truth, that you need to ingest it in your spirit. Because your relationships, responses and attitudes toward others largely depend on your understanding of the truth. Your understanding of God’s love directly affects your love life. For instance, if you understand that God’s love for you is enduring, you will be able to freely, without fear, reach out in faith and receive His forgiveness, and also forgive yourself, when you sin against Him. For you can only love yourself and others to the degree that you know you have been loved. And the quality of your love for others can only reflect what you believe is the depth of God’s love for you. You will bear with yours and others’ failures only if you know that God bears with yours. Else, you will have a critical, judgmental and condemning attitude towards yourself and others, in moments of failure.

Do you have a dream to live a life that’s reckless in acts of love for others?
Do you want to live a triumphant life, devoid of defeats?
If YES, then you need to be grounded and settled in your conviction of the unthinkable depths of God’s boundless and unconditional love for you.

“O give thanks to the God of heaven, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!”
(Psalm 136:26,AMP)

Have you ever been to a place in your life, where it seemed like God had turned His back on you?
Or the idea of His love didn’t make sense any longer?
I have been there.

The death of my father ripped such a deep wound in my heart. It wasn’t only in my heart, but in our home generally. It was such a tough time for us. And for me, especially, since I was beginning to experience a deep, meaningful relationship with my father. It happened at a time when I was pursuing my University admission. And worst still, he passed on right before my eyes, in a hospital. That’s so much for a seventeen year old.
The thought of having to face the future without my dad was simply terrifying. While I was doing my best to put myself together, like everyone expected me to, deep down my heart, I had troubling questions. Hard questions that demanded answers.
“If God really loved me, like I thought He did, why would He let that happen to me?”

“Would my father have lived, if I had prayed more?”

“How was I going to face life, feeling so weak and vulnerable?”

I really struggled with the idea of a loving Father, letting me go through such grief. However, in spite of all my struggles, somehow, God helped me to go through that difficult time of my life. And in spite of my questions, I noticed a quiet in my heart that I couldn’t explain.

The Psalmist tells us something pivotal about the true nature of God. He says,
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
(Psalm 136:1, ESV)

God is good. He is the superlative of goodness. He is no evil. God is light, and there’s not a trace of darkness in Him. God never sends evil our way. Neither does He punish us with evil. He is intrinsically good. And eternally bent on doing us good only. While we may not be able to always explain why bad things happen to us, whom God loves, we know for sure that He is not the author of evil. And His heart grieves when we hurt. Not only that, but He also helps us rise above the pains and the hurt. He comforts us, when we are afflicted. And builds His comfort within us, so that we can also comfort others who may be going through similar ordeals. Evil is never God-sent, however, when it befalls us, God forges it into a greater good for us. By His divine power, He turns things around for our good.

One of the things I noticed after I had healed from the loss of my father, was a deep feeling for those who lost their fathers. I could connect with their fears and concerns. And I noticed that I could easily talk to them. I feel compassion for them.