Do You Believe In Miracles? Part 1

Some claim that miracles ended with the apostles and that any supernatural work today must be a deception of Satan. Others maintain that God continues to perform miracles as He always has, (Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever—Hebrews 13:8).

In the early days of my ministry, while I was still in Bible school, I had a profound spiritual encounter that marked my walk with God. One afternoon, between noon and 1 p.m., during a time of fasting and prayer, as I lay on my bed, Jesus revealed Himself to me. He stretched out His hand toward me and said, “Come.” Immediately, I felt my spirit leave my body and stand beside Him.

As I stood in His presence, Jesus instructed me to speak to my physical body—still lying motionless on the bed—and command it to recite Acts 17:28. I spoke to the body, but it could not respond. Then the Lord said, “Assist it.” At that moment, my spirit re-entered my body, my mouth opened, and I recited the Scripture aloud:“For in Him we live, and move, and have our being…”

The vision lifted. I rose from the bed, took my Bible, and read the passage again— this time including the verse before it, “That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us,” (verse 27; KJV). Through this encounter, Jesus imparted a profound spiritual truth: a child of God is never distant from God. Our entire existence—our life, our movement, our very being—is rooted in Him.

Jesus taught that signs, miracles, and healings will accompany those who believe (Mark 16:17-18). Neither He nor the Apostles ever suggested a timeline for when these works of God would cease within the life of the Church. Some, however, appeal to 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 and interpret Paul’s words to mean that miracles are no longer necessary because we now possess the completed Scriptures. Yet the passage does not explicitly state that miracles have ceased; its focus lies elsewhere, and we will examine this text more closely in a later section.

These differing interpretations point to a deeper question: “What does Scripture actually teach about the continuation of God’s power in the world today?”

Spirit is life. We live in Him—in spirit. We move in Him—in spirit. And our being is sustained by His presence—in spirit. This is the spiritual reality of every believer united with Christ.

This truth is affirmed in 1 Corinthians 6:17, which declares that the one who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him. God has repeatedly confirmed to me that He is faithful to His Word and that He never disappoints those who walk with Him in obedience and in the Spirit. His Word is still living and active, his Spirit still moves with strength, and His presence is nearer than we often realize.

Challenges and sicknesses that resist every form of treatment continue to persist, and new and strange afflictions arise. In such moments, only God’s intervention can confront what human strength and knowledge cannot. Those living in extreme poverty—unable to afford life-saving surgeries—cling to the hope of God’s miraculous provision. Parents who have not eaten for days, and unsure how to feed their starving children, still lift their eyes to a miracle-working God.

When a person seeks help and none is forthcoming as expected, the heart instinctively turns upward, trusting the God who hears the cries of the desperate. And those who have already tasted God’s miraculous power stand as living witnesses that He has not changed. They remain confident that He still works wonders today—bringing relief to those who languish in unbearable pain, lifting those crushed by need and proving once again that His compassion and his power are never out of reach.

Many times, when I cannot see any path forward or imagine how my situation could ever be resolved, I lift my eyes to God, the only One who sees what I cannot see. When circumstances offer no visible solution, I look up to God for a miracle—because what is impossible to me is never impossible to Him

God sees the full weight of what you are walking through. No one understands you as deeply or as accurately as He does. Scripture reminds us that the Lord looks beyond outward appearances and searches the heart (1 Samuel 16:7), examines the inner motives (Jeremiah 17:10), and knows all things perfectly (Acts 15:8). Even the sincerest people in your life—family, friends, mentors—can only understand in part. Their compassion is real, but their knowledge is limited. Even trained professionals, with all their skill and experience, cannot grasp your pain with perfect clarity.

But God can! He created you. He knows your frame. He sees every hidden burden and feels the weight of every unspoken sorrow.

People may stand with you, pray for you, and genuinely attempt to share in your suffering. Yet the ultimate healer and the ultimate provider is God. Those who help you are not the source of your deliverance; they are channels through whom God chooses to extend His grace and provision.

There are moments when those around you are unable to offer the help you need. There are moments when medical experts, having exhausted every available intervention, conclude that nothing further can be done. Yet God is never limited! Where human capacity reaches its boundary, the sphere of divine power begins. This is the point at which faith recognizes that resolution of the crisis no longer rests in human ability but in God’s sovereign intervention.

There are moments when, deep within your heart and spirit, you are fully convinced that your faith is right, and that God Himself has affirmed your conviction—but others may believe you are not thinking clearly. Remember Job and his three friends. Job stood upright and truthful before God, yet Satan was turning everything upside down. God saw every detail, even though He did not intervene immediately.

When you find yourself in a similar situation, your task is simple but not easy: wait for God. Hold your ground. Fix your hope on Him. And trust that He will work the miracle your situation requires.

Some lose their faith in the waiting. But those who truly know God—and believe that He still works miracles—anchor their hope in Jesus Christ, not in shifting circumstances. When the hand that could lift you out of your financial quagmire seems absent, look steadfastly to Jesus Christ, the One who never withholds His help. When you believe in God’s intervention, yet everything around you is hostile, only a miracle will suffice.

Consider the woman with the issue of blood. After twelve long years, she had exhausted her strength, her resources, and perhaps even her hope (Luke 8:43). Friends and family who once tried to help may have quietly stepped back when nothing changed. Her final remaining expectation was a miracle—nothing less.

And then Jesus came with the miracle! But the thick crowd pressed in from every side, making it seem impossible for her to reach Jesus. Yet she knew this was her moment—the miracle was passing by. Summoning the last of her strength, she whispered with conviction: “If I can only touch the hem of His garment, I will be healed.”

With trembling hands, she reached out, her fingers brushed the edge of His robe, and Jesus felt her faith. Though many hands crowded against Jesus, hers alone drew power from Him. Others pressed upon Him, but only her touch released virtue. She actuated her faith, and faith made the difference. Perhaps that is why miracles seem rare in our day: many make contact, but few make contact by faith.

Many may lose confidence in you or in the path God has set before you. People may grow tired, misunderstand you, or even give up on you—but do not lose hope. Jesus is still beckoning you, and He will answer your prayer.

I believe in miracles. I believe God still works wonders. And if you believe that Jesus performed miracles in the Scriptures, then you must also believe that He will perform miracles in your life today. His Power has not diminished. His compassion has not changed. His willingness to help has not expired.

Hold on to your faith. Let your touch—your prayers, your cry, your persistence—be the one that Jesus feels.

Miracles have not ceased. In our next discussion, we will examine this reality with clarity and with Scripture.

Syncretism Defeats Faith

The Christian faith has weakened for many reasons, but one of the most damaging is syncretism. One major reason we do not witness the power of the Holy Spirit today as in the New Testament is that many believers have blended the pure teachings of Christ with ideas and practices from other religions.

Some Christians adopt strange teachings, while others mix New Testament doctrines with elements from traditional African religions, Eastern religions, or cultural spirituality. This blending – whether intentional or unconscious – dilutes the purity and authority of the gospel.

A particular challenge arises when leaders who previously held positions in other religions convert to Christianity. Many of them retain the mindset and practices of their former roles. Without proper grounding in Christian doctrine, they often cannot discern where Christian spirituality ends, and where other religious practices begin. Assuming that “all spirituality is the same,” they incorporate rituals, beliefs, and methods from their former religions into their new faith. The result is a syncretized Christianity that looks Christian on the surface but is mixed at the core.

This confusion weakens the church, misleads believers, and undermines the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 15, the Apostles decisively resisted every form of syncretism – and we must do the same.

Today, some Christians, in their sincere desire to walk in the apostolic and Pentecostal path, mistakenly import rituals from the Levitical priesthood – rites that Christ has annulled through His finished work and the establishment of the New Testament (Judaic) priesthood. Others go even further, introducing entirely new concepts and practices that merely resemble Levitical rites but are adaptations of rituals from their former religions. These practices are then presented as divinely inspired, even though they have no grounding in the teachings of the New Testament.

The Christian faith cannot be mixed with teachings or practices the Apostles did not hand down to us. We are “built on the foundation of the Apostles, with Jesus Christ Himself as the Chief Cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:19-20).

Jesus commanded His followers to teach everything He had taught them (Matthew 28:18-20), and the early Church obeyed – shaping its life, worship, and doctrine around apostolic instruction (Acts 2:41-43). This is the pattern we must continue: a faith rooted in Jesus Christ, guarded by apostolic truth, and kept free from foreign doctrines.

The Apostles, in Acts 15, firmly opposed every attempt to syncretize the Christian doctrine when certain men from Judea insisted that Gentile believers must submit to the Mosaic Law – especially the ceremonial rites tied to the Levitical priesthood – before their salvation could be considered complete. Such teaching implied that Christ’s finished work was insufficient unless supplemented by Old Testament ceremonial requirements, thereby undermining the very foundation of the gospel.

Today, similar errors persist. Some leaders claim that miracles can be activated through rituals modeled after Old Testament practices. Many of these rituals are outdated Levitical forms, while others are blended with practices from non-Christian religions that only resemble Old Testament symbolism. But Scripture is unmistakably clear: the Levitical system was temporary, limited, and intentionally replaced.

Hebrews 7:11-12, 18-19 and 8:6-13 affirm that God set aside the former priesthood and its rituals because they could not bring perfection. In their place, Christ established a better priesthood, a better covenant, and a better way – one not grounded in ceremonial rites but in His finished work and the power of the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament consistently grounds the manifestation of divine power, healing, and miraculous activity in the authoritative Name of Jesus rather than in the performance of ritual actions (Mark 16:17-18; Acts 3:16). This theological orientation reflects a decisive shift from the ritual-centered structures of the Old Covenant to a Christocentric framework in which faith in the risen Lord constitutes the primary locus of divine agency.

The Apostolic community’s rejection of syncretistic tendencies – whether the reintroduction of Levitical rites or the blending of Christian faith with surrounding religious practices – functions as a normative precedent for contemporary Christian theology. Maintaining this distinction is essential for preserving the integrity of Christian doctrine and ensuring that the source of spiritual authority remains anchored in Christ rather than in ritual systems that obscure or displace His centrality.

A church in Ghana split after its leaders attempted to introduce traditional religious concepts and rituals into the church’s doctrine, blending them with Christian teaching. Among the practices being introduced were elements drawn from indigenous snake-related ritual systems and other traditional worship forms. A portion of the congregation strongly disagreed with this direction and resisted the syncretization. Although other issues also contributed to the tension, the central conflict was doctrinal.

After a prolonged disagreement, the group that opposed the blending of Christian doctrine with traditional religious practices chose to separate. They eventually formed a new congregation and now operate under a new name.

This situation mirrors the warning Christ gave to the church in Thyatira. In Revelation, the Son of God commended the church for her love, faith, service, and perseverance. Yet despite these virtues, He rebuked her sharply for tolerating “the woman Jezebel,” who claimed prophetic authority while leading believers into immorality, idolatry, and practices rooted in satanic ritualism. Christ declared that unless they repented, He would judge both her and all who participated in her teachings.

Paul confronted this doctrinal drift in his epistle to the Galatians. He reminded the believers that they received the Spirit and witnessed miracles not through ceremonial observances or ritual performances, but through hearing the gospel and responding in faith (Galatians 3:2-5).

The power of God flows through Christ alone, by faith alone, apart from any ritualistic system that Christ has already fulfilled and set aside or abolished.

When the Name of Jesus Christ is invoked, the Holy Spirit who indwells within the believer moves, and miracles follow – not because of human effort, but because heaven responds to the authority vested in Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:9-11). The source of power is not the ritual, not the individual performing it, but the exalted Christ whose Name carries divine authority.

Don’t Give Up When the Odds are Against You!

We read in Nehemiah 4:6,

So, we built the wall, and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work. (NKJV)

Your resolution determines whether you will achieve success or not. Failing to reach a goal often brings disappointment, and for some people that disappointment even transforms into anger and hopelessness.

Your mindset shapes what you believe, and your beliefs determine how you act. Change your mindset, and you change your actions. Change your actions, and you change your life.

God did not make a mistake in placing you where you are now.

What God did for others He will do for you, too. If you obey God, and follow His directions, God will protect you and lead you to success despite the challenges that you may encounter. God is always ahead of us, clearing obstacles, so that the obstacles cannot prevent us from becoming successful.

You will succeed in what you do if you walk closely with God.

God declares that He goes with us and gives us victory; He will never fail or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). And when we live with integrity – honest, upright, and free from covetousness – His promise stands firm: He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

The path to success is hard, winding, rough and long. It has never been an easy road. The journey has always been difficult. Faith does not remove the difficulty of the journey. So, don’t assume it will be easy for you simply because you have faith. Success requires endurance, and the process can be exhausting, discouraging, and sometimes overwhelming. There will be moments when you cannot see how you will make it. And when progress seems slow, the delay can shake your confidence and make you feel like giving up.

We read in Proverbs 13:12,

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (ESV)

As we have seen, the road to success is rough and difficult. That is why only a few people reach the pinnacle of success. The journey is marked by pain, uncertainty, and moments when the future feels completely unclear. You cannot always know whether your efforts will succeed or fail.

Yet anyone who desires success must keep working, keep improving, and keep believing in God and in themselves. And as you press forward, you must continually correct your mistakes and grow from them.

Many people wish, speak, and hope for success, but true success is built through hard, diligent work. It takes focused effort, disciplined thinking, and unwavering perseverance. Scripture affirms this truth: “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men,” (Proverbs 22:29; NKJV).

Where the unsuccessful see obstacles as barriers, the successful see them as steppingstones. To the unsuccessful, challenges are hindrances that stop progress; to the successful, they are necessary stages that build strength, develop character, and elevate them toward success.

The successful respond to challenges with a question: “How can I turn this obstacle into an opportunity?”

The unsuccessful respond with excuses, convincing themselves that their circumstances will never allow them to succeed.

Winning the prize is not easy. Only a few people endure the storms and defy the odds long enough to keep climbing toward success. The journey can feel lonely, heavy, and exhausting – and without faith, the weight becomes unbearable. But success belongs to those who continue believing and working, even when rejection, isolation, and failure confront them. Jesus calls us to have faith in God and trust that God answers prayer (Mark 11:22-24). Challenges touch every life. Matthew 5:45 teaches that God’s blessings – sunlight and rain – are given without partiality to the just and the unjust.

God told Cain, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”

Loneliness can feel overwhelming when people turn away from you, but God never abandons us. When you call on God, He responds (Psalm 50:15).

Remember – God is present, God is powerful, and God is faithful. He does not abandon those who seek Him (Deuteronomy 31:6).

Persevere with Faith: Achieve Your Goals Today

Keep going … don’t stop… stay determined. Move confidently toward your vision and goals, keeping your focus on what lies ahead. Maintain a positive mindset; treat setbacks as motivation to push harder.

Many quit when difficulties arise or when others belittle them. Their hope fades, and they stop moving forward – and because of that, they never reach their goals.

Learn from mistakes that slowed you down or set you back; improve where needed and keep moving forward. Avoid being influenced by the perceptions of others. Use negative feedback to identify specific mistakes, make targeted corrections, and steadily develop your skills.

Paul writes in Philippians 3:13-14,

Brothers, I do not consider myself to have embraced it yet. But this one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I keep pursuing the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly call in the Messiah Jesus. (ISV)

You will face challenges, but if you believe in yourself and place your faith in God, you will witness miracles unfold in your life. Success is never for those who merely wish; it belongs to those who carry a deep desire to rise, no matter what the obstacles.

Scripture says, “You shall decree a thing, and it shall be established for you,” (Job 22:28).

This means your words carry spiritual authority. The Spirit of God within you is the One who empowers your declarations, aligning them with your actions. Faith is never passive – your decisions must be accompanied by steps that reflect what you believe.

Action is the spirit of faith. Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26). When faith speaks, action must follow. Every declaration of faith demands the work that proves it.

So, act out your faith. Let your words, your decisions, and your actions work together to bring your God-given desires into reality.

If you give up, you gain nothing. But if you persevere through challenges, your resilience and persistence will lift you to the top.

Confidence in your success does not mean you will avoid challenges. Even Jacob, in Genesis 28:10-16, received a powerful promise from God: that God would bless him and be with him in all his endeavors. Yet God did not reveal the specific trials Jacob would face or how intense they would be.

What sustained Jacob was not the absence of challenges, but the assurance of God’s presence. That promise carried him through every hardship he encountered in his uncle Laban’s house.

In the same way, God’s assurance over your life is meant to strengthen you – not to remove the challenges, but to empower you to overcome them. When you hold fast to God’s promise, perseverance can lead you to places that quitting cannot. By being persistent, diligent, honest, and focused, you will find yourself rewarded. These qualities must walk with you as you continue pursuing your goals.

Do not allow your age to become a limiting factor. Jacob’s twin brother, Esau, married at forty (Genesis 26:34), yet Jacob remained unmarried at that age. After Jacob outwitted Esau for his birthright and received Isaac’s blessings, Esau planned to kill him once their father died. Scripture does not specify how long it took before their mother advised Jacob to flee to her brother Laban (Genesis 27:41-46). It could have been months, or even a year. If we add that possibility, Jacob may have been around forty-one when he left for Laban’s house – still unmarried and not yet wealthy.

On his journey, Jacob encountered God, who promised to bless him and be with him (Genesis 28:10-22). At Laban’s house, Jacob likely served for some time before requesting Rachel’s hand in marriage. He worked for seven years for Rachel but was given Leah instead. He then worked another seven years before finally marrying Rachel. Adding fourteen to forty-one brings Jacob to about fifty-five.

Jacob continued working for additional six years, making a total of twenty years in Laban’s service (Genesis 31:38-41). Adding those twenty years to his departure age places Jacob at roughly sixty-one when he finally became wealthy.

The lesson is simple but powerful. Age did not disqualify Jacob. Delay did not diminish God’s promise. Hardship did not cancel his destiny. What mattered was God’s presence and Jacob’s perseverance.

When God promised to bless Jacob, He didn’t reveal that Jacob’s own uncle would deceive him (Genesis 31:40-41). God simply assured Jacob of His presence. In the same way, challenges do not mean God has abandoned you. His promise still stands – He is with you.

Many people feel defeated because they lack self-awareness and confidence in what God has already placed within them. Doubt quietly steals their courage and keeps them from acting on their faith. But when you trust God’s presence and recognize who you are in Him, you can face any challenge with hope and resilience.

When you act on your conviction, you step forward. Your faith prepares your mind and body to receive what you hope for. It functions like a key – unlocking the power that brings possibilities into reality. This is why Jesus often asked, “Do you believe I can heal you?” When they answered, “Yes,” He responded, “According to your faith be it unto you,” and healing followed.

Therefore, press on toward your goal! You can achieve it, regardless of what others think. With God beside you, you are not a victim of circumstances – you are equipped to shape your destiny!

People are free to hold their own opinions, but their opinions do not define you. You are defined by what God says about you. So, keep moving, keep pushing forward. Hold on to hope. Do not give up!

Stepping Into The Reality Of God’s Word Ignites God’s Power

When we understand how the Word of God brings God’s power to life within us, we begin to experience miracles firsthand. The power of the Word is set in motion through belief and obedience.

Moving beyond intellectual recognition of Scripture involves integrating its principles into one’s worldview, decision-making, and daily conduct. When an individual’s actions reflect these values, God’s Spirit contributes to transformation by bringing strength, wisdom, healing, and spiritual authority. Such alignment grants access to spiritual resources, as the activation of divine power is associated with obedience and faith.

When a believer embraces God’s Word and Spirit, the mind is renewed, the heart purified, and the spirit strengthened (Ephesians 4:22-24; Romans 12:1-2). Entering this reality opens the door to divine possibilities and ushers the believer into the realm of God’s Kingdom, where spiritual principles transcends earthly limitations. In this dimension, believers become living channels of God’s power, bearing witness to His goodness, kindness, compassion, and miracles (1 Corinthians 3:9; 1 Corinthians 6:17). From such a life, qualities like courage, resilience, and spiritual authority flow naturally, springing forth as the fruit of walking in harmony with God’s Word and Spirit.

I was invited by a church in Accra to conduct a spiritual revival service. During the third day of the five-day event, the church leadership informed me about a former member who had distanced herself from the congregation following a distressing experience. Her son, who was critically ill, collapsed unexpectedly. She sought assistance from her pastor, located approximately four kilometers away, but learned that he was unavailable due to travel commitments. Consequently, she approached a nearby prophetess for help; however, the child unfortunately passed away while prayers were being offered. This incident led her to feel disillusioned, resulting in her withdrawal from church activities and a diminishing confidence in both Christianity and its ministers.

I helped her explore the Scriptures, teaching her how to use faith and embrace God’s promises. As she experienced miracles, her faith revived, leading her to recommit to Jesus and return to serving the church with new enthusiasm.

God’s Word—A Source of Spiritual Power

While I was guiding her, her younger son, about six years old, fell seriously ill one day. He collapsed just as his older brother had done years before. Recalling my advice that God empowers us through Jesus Christ, she laid hands on her son, prayed for him, and quickly took him to the hospital.

Doctors and nurses tried to help the boy in the emergency room, but he wasn’t responding. When an even more critical patient arrived, the medical staff hurried away to attend to them.

Alone, the woman went to a corner of the ward, knelt down, and prayed earnestly for her son’s life. After a while, she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see a nurse, who told her that the doctor had returned to check on her son. Still praying, she followed the nurse to his bedside.

Eventually, her son began to recover, and after several hours, he felt strong enough to ask to go home, though the doctor insisted on observing him for another day.

News of her prayers and the remarkable recovery spread throughout the hospital. When I visited, several nurses approached me, offering money so I could provide Bibles for them. Later that day, I brought a box of Bibles to the hospital for those who requested one.

Our purpose is to guide people in connecting with the Spirit of God, so they can receive healing and miracles from Jesus directly. Miracles come from Jesus, not us, and are possible through faith in His Name.

I taught the woman to seek her miracle through prayer and faith; she received it when I wasn’t there. Her experience inspired the nurses to buy Bibles. Her son was discharged from the hospital the following day.

Faith enables miracles by aligning our actions with God’s power. Jesus illustrated this in Matthew 9:28–30, emphasizing belief as the foundation for receiving healing. Remember, the outcome of a miracle is based on personal faith, not the actions of the church or pastor.

A woman who had experienced a chronic issue of blood for twelve years believed internally that touching the garment of Jesus would result in her healing. Acting upon this conviction, she reached out and touched His garment. Subsequently, Jesus addressed her, stating, “Daughter, be of good comfort; your faith has made you whole” (Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48).

The woman believed that just touching His garment would heal her. Her faith readied her to receive what she hoped for.

How Faith Works

Faith is a key: when activated in Jesus and God’s Word, it unlocks the Spirit’s power and brings miracles. A key initiates a vehicle’s ignition; similarly, faith engages the mind and motivates behavioral responses. Faith cultivates trust, providing vital energy for life. Faith sharpens the mind and strengthens the inner expectation. It prepares individuals to embrace what they believe, creating openness to receive the fulfillment of that hope. By anchoring thought and spirit in trust, faith aligns the heart with anticipation, enabling the believer to accept and actualize what they expect.

Authority for miracles is rooted in the Name of Jesus, with testimonies of signs and wonders manifesting through faith in His Name. The New Testament consistently affirms that healing and miraculous works are accomplished by invoking the Name of Jesus (Acts 3:6-9; Acts 4:29-30). His Name is presented not merely as a title, but as the divine source of power through which God’s Spirit operates, bringing transformation, restoration, and supernatural intervention.

Therefore, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father, (Philippians 2:9-11; ESV).

Build a relationship with God for peace and goodness (Job 22:21-29). Studying brings understanding. Spiritual growth comes from learning and practicing God’s Word.

Faith brings miracles into reality by aligning our trust and actions with God’s power. This unwavering confidence influences our thoughts and reactions, enabling us to accept and internalize truth, which in turn fortifies our beliefs. With such deep assurance, we can receive and witness the transformative power of God’s Word in our lives.

The Word of God releases supernatural transformative power into the realities of everyday life. When His Word becomes living truth within you, the indwelling Spirit of God ushers you into the realm of divine possibilities, where natural limitations give way to the supernatural (Acts 1:8; 1 Samuel 10:6-7). In this dimension, the believer is not only strengthened, but empowered to walk in the fullness of God’s purposes, manifesting His presence and power in practical situations.

How to Become a New Personality Through Spiritual Transformation

Do you struggle to manage anger?

When provoked, do you feel an impulse to slap the person upsetting you?

When you feel angry, do you experience urges to fight or break things? Does your anger ever make you want to hit someone or damage property?

Do you ever feel tempted to hit your spouse or child when you’re angry?

How do you respond when people reject your religious beliefs?

When others verbally attack you and refuse to let you share your perspective, how do you handle the situation?

After you have explained yourself, if people still accuse you unfairly and refuse to accept your explanation – no matter how valid it is – how do you react?

Some people live as though they are enslaved by their anger. They feel helpless, unable to control their emotions. When things don’t go their way, instead of calming down, reflecting, and considering how to resolve their situation, they erupt in rage.

Horace said that anger is a momentary madness, and that we ought to control our passions, otherwise our passions will control us.

If you do not learn to control your emotions, your anger will eventually drive you to react in ways you will later regret. Instead of training the mind toward patience and non-violence, some people condition themselves to think violently. And every time we justify or emphasize violent responses –whether in words, thoughts, or actions – we are reinforcing violent behavior. Over time, this shapes us into more aggressive individuals and contributes to the creation of harsh, unforgiving societies.

Angry people often lack patience. They react before they think, because anger clouds judgment. In many ways, anger behaves like a form of temporary madness – it shuts down reasoning, and in that state, people can do terrible things without considering the consequences.

 A striking example was reported by the Ghanaian weekly, The Spectator, on April 30, 2011. The paper published a story about a Chinese man who, on Mar 15, smashed his brand-new one-million-dollar sports car in public while onlookers and media recorded the scene. He claimed the dealer had sold him a faulty car and was too slow in fixing the problem. Losing whatever patience he had – if he had any at all – he picked up a heavy metal hammer and destroyed the expensive vehicle in a fit of rage.

Robert Green Ingersoll asserted that, “Anger is a wind which blows out the lamp of the mind.”

That Chinese man had lost control – his anger had extinguished the lamp of his mind and left him unable to reason.

Angry people rarely show patience. Had he simply exercised a little restraining, the dealer would eventually have fixed the problem. He also had other options: he could have donated the vehicle to charity or sold it and used the money to support a worthy cause. A village school, an orphanage, or a widows’ support group could have benefited greatly. In that case, he would have been remembered as hero rather than what he became.

Anger does not allow room for patience. People controlled by anger often lack both patience and tolerance. Sadly, many societies today are missing these virtues. Proverbs 25:15 reminds us, “By long patience is a prince persuaded, and a gentle tongue breaks the bone.” (KJ2000)

Brian Tracy said, “You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you.”

Anger does not consider the innocent. It is inherently selfish. When angry terrorists strike, they do not limit their attacks to those they claim to oppose; they harm countless innocent people who have no connection to their grievances. On September 11, 2001, coordinated terrorist attacks in the United States killed nearly 3,000 people across multiple locations. The greatest loss of life occurred at the Twin Towers. Except for 55 military personnel killed at the Pentagon, all the victims were civilians.

According to reports, including those summarized by Wikipedia, approximately 2,996 people died in the attacks (including the 19 hijackers), representing individuals from roughly 77 to 93 different countries.

These victims had no quarrel with the attackers or the organization behind the violence. They were ordinary people going about their daily lives. Yet the attackers claimed to be worshipers of the Supreme God – the One known for compassion, justice, and truth. They claimed they were acting on behalf of the Holy God, and that their violence was a response to His supposed enemies. But in doing so, they targeted innocent people who had no part in their conflict and no power to influence the issues that angered them.

This is the nature of uncontrolled anger. It lashes out blindly. And tragically, even after causing destruction, pain, and suffering, terrorists often do not achieve the outcomes they desire. They kill innocent people, devastate families, destroy properties – and still fail to obtain what they sought.

We can move toward positive thinking and healthy actions only when we intentionally remove negative patterns from our daily lives. This includes eliminating destructive anger – the kind that pushes us toward violent reactions. Instead, we must cultivate love and self-discipline within ourselves.

When we allow God’s Spirit to work in our hearts, He transforms our inner character. The Spirit of God empowers us to resist temptation and guides us toward divine truth and love. Scripture says that when we unite ourselves with God, we become “one spirit with Him,” (1 Corinthians 6:17). And Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God,” (Matthew 5:9; KJ2000).

Self-discipline must be nurtured deliberately. Whenever we slip back into old habits of anger, we should quickly remind ourselves that we are walking a new path – a path marked by calmness, patience, and love. As we repeat this way of thinking and consistently practice it, our brains begin to accept the new pattern. Over time, the mind reshapes itself to align with the renewed behavior we are training it to adopt.

The Holy Spirit transforms our human spirits to reflect God’s holiness and compassion by renewing our minds and shaping us into the image of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. As He works in us, we are empowered to walk in the good works God prepared beforehand (Ephesians 2:10). Our desires begin to align with His will, enabling us to live in righteousness, compassion, forgiveness and true spiritual maturity.

Furthermore, God’s Spirit changes us by shifting our thinking from worldly patterns to divine alignment (Romans 12:2). This renewal produces a new self – one that is “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness,” (Ephesians 4:22-32).

Have Faith In God — He Will Make It Happen

Hold fast to your faith in Jesus. Whatever situation you face and whatever burden rests on your heart, trust that God will never fail you.

You may look at your situation and feel as though there is no hope. You may not see or understand how God is working on your behalf, but His purpose will always prevail. He will open the way before you, for He is the ultimate provider who already knows exactly how He will bring His promise to pass in your life. And even when we fail to respond to the promptings of His Spirit, God’s purpose will still prevail.

When you can no longer see a way forward, don’t lose hope. Trust that God will make a way for you. He sees you, He knows what you are facing, and nothing in your life lies beyond His power to restore or redeem.

Elisha told the three kings, “You will not see rain, you will not see the wind, but this valley shall be filled with water. And you and your animals shall drink.” (2 Kings 3:17).

So, even when you don’t fully understand what is happening, God does. Don’t lose hope. Remember that God sees you, He understands every need you carry, and He cares for you deeply.

Do what is right in every situation. God sees what is in your heart, and He honors those who walk in integrity. His ears are always open to the prayers of the righteous (1 Peter 3:12; Psalm 34:15).

God will not fail you; His answer may be delayed, but it will not be denied (Habakkuk 2:3; Luke 18:7). God’s timing may be different, but His faithfulness is sure.

In seasons of waiting upon the Lord, remain steadfast in faithfulness. Joseph exemplified unwavering devotion despite the injustices he endured; he chose righteousness and refused to sin against God, even when wronged. Likewise, David exercised remarkable restraint when presented with opportunities to avenge himself against Saul. Rather than acting out of anger or seeking retribution, he entrusted his cause entirely to the Lord.

Faithful Endurance Is Seen and Rewarded by God

The experiences of Joseph and David illustrate that maintaining perseverance and faithfulness during periods of waiting and uncertainty is acknowledged by God. When we choose integrity in the face of injustice or refrain from seeking our own vindication, we demonstrate trust in God’s perfect timing and justice. The Lord observes our faithfulness during these trials and honors those who persevere, knowing that His answers and rewards come at the right moment and in the right way. In every circumstance, our faithful endurance is recognized by God, whose wisdom and sense of justice are unfailing.

Enduring Faithfulness in Uncertain Times

In the midst of darkness and uncertainty, it is essential to hold firmly to the truth. Even when circumstances appear overwhelming and hope seems distant, remember that God is attentive to every act of faithfulness. He understands the deepest thoughts and intentions within our hearts, and in His perfect wisdom, He will reward those who remain steadfast — choosing the right moment and the right way to do so.

The waiting may sometimes feel prolonged, and the journey can be burdensome. During these times, it is important to pray for the Spirit of God to provide strength and guidance. Seeking His presence brings a renewed sense of patience, comfort, and quiet assurance as you continue to wait upon the Lord.

Trust that God is working behind the scenes, even when you cannot perceive the full picture. His faithfulness is unwavering, and His timing is always perfect. As Scripture reminds us, “For you have the need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what was promised,” (Hebrews 10:36, ESV). Through endurance and unwavering faith, the promises of God will be fulfilled in your life, just as He has declared.

Imitate those who through faith inherited God’s promise (Hebrews 6:12).

Believe in God. Be confident that, in His perfect timing, He will make things happen for you. As the Scripture says, “With God, nothing is impossible,” (Luke 1:37).

Faith Activated In Jesus’ Name Unlocks Spiritual Power

Faith, when activated in Jesus and God’s Word, unlocks spiritual power and actualizes miracles. Faith, therefore, is a spiritual key.

A key starts a vehicle by turning the ignition, just as faith activates our minds and prompts our bodies to respond to motivation. Faith inspires us to be receptive and fosters the trust that gives life energy. It invigorates our thinking and readies us to embrace possibilities.

The authority for miracles, according to Acts 3:16, is attributed to the Name of Jesus rather than rituals. Signs and wonders are reported to occur through faith in His name. The Name of Jesus is identified as the source of healing and miraculous events (Acts 3:6–9; Acts 4:29–30).

David — who was only about 15 to 19 years old — defeated Goliath and helped save Israel. David’s older brothers and the other soldiers, though considered capable, feared Goliath and avoided him, while still holding him in contempt. And it is possible that you may encounter disapproval from others, much like how Joseph’s siblings regarded him. Yet years later, Joseph rose from rejection to become Egypt’s second most powerful leader. God enabled him to rescue several nations from famine, including his siblings who had rejected him.

Faith And Dependence On God Achieve Impossible Goals

He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint, (Isaiah 40:29-31; ESV).

Moses demonstrated leadership qualities at age 40, a stage many people find comfortable. He was full of enthusiasm and keen to show his abilities. However, the prevailing spiritual climate was unfavorable, so he escaped to Midian.

Forty years later, at eighty, Moses was called by God to return to Egypt and lead Israel out of bondage. Abraham was called at age 75, proving that age is no barrier to being chosen for important purposes.

The Bible encourages praying for both spiritual and material prosperity, as long as financial gain doesn’t outweigh spiritual priorities. Wealth can help support others and further spiritual goals.

Peter stated, “We have left everything to follow you.” In response, Jesus affirmed that those who make sacrifices for the sake of God’s kingdom will be rewarded abundantly in the present life and will receive eternal life in the future (see Mark 10:28-30; Luke 18:28-30).

Several passages in the Bible refer to promises of prosperity and health afforded to followers. For example, Deuteronomy 28:1-14 enumerates blessings and riches granted to those who earnestly follow God’s guidance, while Deuteronomy 8:18 indicates that God provides individuals with the ability to acquire wealth. Additionally, Proverbs 10:22 and 3 John 1:2 offer assurances regarding both wealth and health. Accordingly, discussing prosperity within a theological context is appropriate when approached with accuracy and adherence to biblical principles.

When we acknowledge that Jesus Christ is the everlasting key to our problems we will hold onto Him to unlock our miracles every time.

A friend once said Jesus is the source of miracles, not the other way around. I agree — studying the Bible shows that Jesus’ Name brings about healing, miracles, and prosperity. Thus, it is incorrect to preach prosperity as the source of Jesus.

Prosperity should not serve as an incentive for individuals to follow Jesus. If it does, their faith may lack sincerity or resilience, and they may discontinue their commitment upon receiving blessings or healing. Similarly, patients typically do not revisit a physician after their recovery is complete.

Jesus first said, “As you go into all the world proclaim the gospel to everyone. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever doesn’t believe will be condemned,” (Mark 16:15-16; ISV). Salvation was first before miracles.

After that He said, “These are the signs that will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak in new languages, and they will pick up snakes with their hands. Even if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; and they’ll place their hands on the sick, and they’ll recover,” (Mark 16:17-18; ISV).

Miracles do not make Jesus. Rather, we find miracles in Jesus, for by His Name the miracles happen, (Acts 3:16).

How Faith Works

How does faith contribute to actualizing miracles? Faith is a firm belief that builds confidence in someone or something. It encourages us to accept and reflect on ideas, making belief stronger. This deep confidence enables us to receive and experience the effects of God’s Word in our lives. Thus, God employs faith to bring about miracles.

So, Jesus asked, “Do you believe I can do this?” They replied, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it unto you.” And their eyes were opened, (Matthew 9:28-30). Belief prepared them for Jesus’ actions, while faith primed their minds and bodies to expect healing. And God watches over His Word (promise) to perform it (Jeremiah 1:12).

A woman who had experienced a chronic issue of blood for twelve years believed internally that touching the garment of Jesus would result in her healing. Acting upon this conviction, she reached out and touched His garment. Subsequently, Jesus addressed her, stating, “Daughter, be of good comfort; your faith has made you whole,” (Matthew 9:20-22; Mark 5:25-34; Luke 8:43-48).

The woman believed that just touching His garment would heal her. Her faith readied her to receive what she hoped for.

Maintain your spiritual union with God

Our spiritual union with God, through Jesus Christ, enables us to have a direct access to God. And God answers our prayers and grants us our requests because we do what is right, (Proverbs 15:29; 1 Peter 3:11-13). Therefore, maintain your spiritual walk with God, (Galatians 5:25) and continue doing what is pleasing in His sight, and God will continue to work miracles in your life (1 John 3:22).

Do Not Lose Hope, Since It Holds Great Reward For You

There will be many lonely days when help is unavailable. But God will always be there for you even though you may not see or know He is right beside you.

Sometimes you just want to give up because you can’t see how you could succeed. Your confidence breaks down and you want to give up.

We read in Proverbs 13:12,

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.” (ESV)

The results may not be as you anticipate. And nothing seems to be happening. And so, your spirit breaks down. Yet you must not give up hope. Continue to believe and continue climbing the steep mountain even as failure seems to stare you in the face.

There are discouragements along the way, but your faith in God will take you through. Righteous living, despite the hardships, and your steadfast faith in God will provide the strength to press on. For God promises to give us strength if we walk in His presence.

The journey may be long and weary, but God promises that He will not let us down. Circumstances may become hard, and help may seem far away, or may even appear not to be available. But God is always near us.

Continue in prayer and service to God and others. Even when darkness engulfs you. God knows what is in your heart (1 Samuel 16:7; Jeremiah 17:10). He will provide the way and the means. Maintain a steadfast integrity before God, and He will give you the power to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:18; Deuteronomy 28:1-13).

Joseph had dreams, or visions, that God was going to make him great. Yet Joseph went through difficult times. His own siblings could not believe him and even plotted against him. He was sold into slavery, falsely accused of attempted rape and imprisoned. Yet he maintained his integrity before God and would not sin against God (Genesis 39:9).

And God brought him out of prison to become a prominent person in Egypt. It took thirteen years for him to achieve the vision (Genesis 39:1 through Genesis 41:57).

Joseph did not understand why God appeared to be silent when he was treated unfairly. He did not know that was the path that God was taking him through to attain the vision. Yet he continued to believe in God and in himself.

Challenges will come, but you will be stronger than them if God’s Spirit indwells you.

Neuroscience proves that if you truly believe you’ll die, you will eventually end up dying. Because there would be no motivation in you to want to live. Your entire system would surrender to your negative or positive thoughts.

You can train your mind to accept positive or negative thoughts. By serious contemplation — thinking on anything in your mind — you can use the mind to train yourself to achieve a purpose.

The God-Spirit in you is greater than all the challenges in the world (1 John 4:4). The God-Spirit in you can turn you into a new person (I Samuel 10:6).

So, discard negative thoughts from your mind. Reject hate, anger, fear and doubt from your mind.

We read in Ephesians 4:22-23,

22 … to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds. (ESV)

Let your faith lead you to believe Jesus and God’s Word. You are what you are because of your mindset.

If you do not achieve it today, expect it tomorrow for tomorrow will come. That is Mañana (in Spanish). Tomorrow will always come. Mañana in Spanish is an indefinite time in the future. So, in Spanish it means‘tomorrow.’

I know a man (whom I shall name Mañana) who was scorned by some people, including his wife. Just as Joseph and David were slighted by others (including their siblings). His dream of ‘mañana’ became his song.

He resolved in his mind that he would become successful no matter how long it would take. He had no money, but that did not stop him from believing. Though he knew that lack of financial resources would delay his achievements, he believed that the lack of financial resources would not be an insurmountable impediment to his success.

Don’t lose hope. Don’t be angry even when you do not readily get help from others. Take your complaints to God. Remember that tomorrow will come, and when it comes it will bring help. Joseph relied on God. God remembered him and took him out of prison to become a prominent person in Egypt.

You might not have achieved success when you were younger. You can still achieve great laurels. Do not give up even if you are past 60. George Mueller did not perceive age as a barrier to continue achieving great things for Jesus. At 70, after he retired from the orphanage, George Mueller believed he was still relevant and so decided to embark on a worldwide ministry of preaching and teaching.

For a seventeen-year period, he toured the USA three times, India twice, Australia and other British colonies three times. He preached in 42 countries, including China and Japan. He addressed meetings up to 5,000 people at a time. He estimated that during that 17-year period he had addressed more than 3,000,000 people.

He ended his travels when he was eighty-eight and died at 92. He was still active in his church. On the evening of March 9, 1898, he led a prayer meeting at the church. The next day a cup of tea was taken to him at 7 in the morning. But no answer came to the knock on the door. When the door was opened, he was found dead on the floor beside his bed.

God did not make a mistake for creating you or in placing you where you are now. Wherever you are, and whatever honest work you are doing, the Lord says He shall bless the work of your hand, (Deuteronomy 28:12-13). So, our friend Mañana believed he could become successful if he resolved in his mind to become successful. And God blessed him.

Your decision will change your situation. It may not be immediate, but it will come – mañana (tomorrow) will come.

Carry through with your decisions despite the challenges, mocking and discouragements you encounter.

Success depends on the mind. We read in Mark 11:22-24,

So, Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God.  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (NKJV)

But you must act on your belief. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead, (James 2:26). Mañana’s friends, relatives and wife could not comprehend how he was going to succeed, just as people slighted Joseph and David. Yet Mañana achieved his goal for God blessed the work of his hands.

Overcoming negative habits like fear, laziness and procrastination requires conscious efforts. The brain accepts and adapts to the information that we feed it. After some time, the information is imprinted as a pattern of behavior and becomes a habit.

Our beliefs make us act. Our positive actions lead us to success.

Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. (Hebrews 10:35-36; ESV).

Renew the spirit of your mind to achieve your vision

The mind can visualize what you want to become. The mind can also visualize the challenges that you might encounter as you work towards achieving your vision. Furthermore, your mind might suggest that you could or could not overcome the challenges.  In most cases, the suggestion might be that the challenges are overwhelming, and that you would not overcome them.

But deep inside you the voice of faith would also be telling you that you could achieve your aim. The voice could be telling you, “Don’t give up! Press on! Be resilient! You will achieve your aim!”

Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.” (Mark 9:23; KJ2000). “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” (Luke 1:37; KJ2000)

Faith is not just uttering words. Faith is not mere wishful declaration. If you have faith, you work towards your vision. Nothing can convince you to stop. And no matter how many times you fall, you will rise again, because you believe you can make it (Proverbs 24:16; Micah 7:8).

Some people give up when they don’t see how they can succeed. When the journey becomes wearier, and strength drains away, they become discouraged and give up.

The great men and women of history that you admire today were ordinary people. They were like you. Some of them were discouraged by people and almost gave up because of lack of encouragement. But vision and the passion to achieve their aim carried them through. They believed in their vision when others could not see what they saw.

They were not extraordinary people when they began. Their achievements made them become extraordinary people. We learn and grow as we practice. A Buganda proverb says, “By trying often, the monkey learns to jump from the tree.” Your mental rehearsal primes your mind and your body for the execution of what you want to do and what you want to become.

You can actualize your vision if you align your thoughts, emotions and actions. Remember Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Faith ignites confidence and spurs the mind to accept what we hear. Faith makes our minds to operate the ability to receive the operation of God’s Word in our lives. Faith creates expectations and motivates us to continue despite challenges.

Research in neuroscience, particularly discovery of neuroplasticity, aligns with the teaching in Ephesians 4:22-24 that we can renew our thinking (our mindset). Studies in neuroscience corroborate Ephesians 4:25-32 that we can change our characteristics and form new habits by feeding the mind with good thoughts.

In Ephesians 4:25-32 we read how we train the mind by feeding the mind with new actions over the old actions and repeating them until they become habits, (replacing the old habits). Neuroscience calls that retraining and reframing the mind. The Bible calls that renewing the spirit of the mind (Ephesians 4:23). Neuroscience explains that when we repeat a new action, new cell-to-cell connection pathways (known in medical language as synapses) take place in the brain.

Whether the repetitions are done covertly in our mental imagery or overtly through actions, the brain recognizes them, and patterns of behaviors are created.

Therefore, the Ephesians 4:25-32 passage tells us to replace the old ways or actions with new and good (or correct) ones. And research in neuroscience confirms that, by repeating the scenario several times, we establish new patterns of thoughts and behaviors.

Thus, Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (ESV)

We are, therefore, transformed by the renewing of the spirit of the mind. We become new personalities by feeding our minds with new thoughts and actions. Repeating them eventually forms new habits and characteristics.

Belief can be positive or negative. If it is positive, it will produce positive results. If it is negative, it will produce negative results. If you believe you can do something, you will get what you want. If you believe you cannot do anything or you can’t achieve your goals, you will not achieve them.

Patience is endurance. Without patience, you cannot endure the challenges and the heartbreaks that confront you. If you believe in what you are doing, though it takes time, you will achieve what you want. Patience, perseverance, persistence, faith, and endurance will take you through to achieve your vision.

But faith without works is dead (James 2:20). As the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead (James 2:26). It simply means that if you think of something, and you act on it, you will eventually become or make it happen. But if you do not act, nothing will happen.

Resist the temptation to give up. Keep on doing it when it feels like quitting. Correct the mistakes when they arise and continue.

Learning a new thing will not come easily. Work diligently against the challenges. The new actions will create patterns of new behaviors in your brain and register them in the mind (the brain). The actions become easier to perform as you repeat them. Repeating them etches them on the brain. These become ingrained as the neurons and the synapses wire together to form behavioral patterns. Anytime signals are sent, the neurons correspond to each other, the synapses engage, and action is performed.

The Bible affirms that you need a strong spirit, an unyielding will, to become successful. Proverbs 18:14 says, “The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” (NKJV)

After several repetitions, the pain becomes less and less until you do not feel it anymore. So, discipline your body and make it endure the challenges. You cannot succeed if your mind disagrees with your body. Your mind and body must agree.

Your body acts according to the suggestions of the mind. Wishing and thinking alone will not produce results.

Success may seem slow in coming, but it will surely happen if you persevere and press on. Time appears to go slowly, in fact very slowly, when you need something desperately. Paradoxically, at the same time, the years appear to be flying speedily past you, and you feel you are losing time. It is a dilemma when you are caught in that situation. When years seem to be flying speedily past you while success seems to be taking long in coming.

This takes us to the word ‘willpower’. Willpower is about self-control. Willpower is about endurance. Willpower is about power of the will. Willpower is the ability to resist something in order to attain something else. Jesus said in Matthew 26:41 that the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

By practicing and repeating, we nurture willpower. And while enduring, we must also conform to God’s will and principles. For when we are far from God, the influence of His Spirit is also far from us. Our relationship with the Spirit of God then becomes strained.

Willpower links with your spirit to act. When you pray sincerely and are attentive, you will hear the Voice of God directing you, whether to take to the left or to the right. The Spirit speaks to your spirit, and you hear a word (or voice) saying, “This is the way, walk in it, whenever you turn to the right hand, or whenever you turn to the left.” (Isaiah 30:21; NKJV)

Depending on your relationship with God’s Spirit, you may be close or far from His immediate influence and help. 1 Corinthians 6:17 says, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit” with God.

The spirit works in or through the mind. Therefore, in Romans 12:2 we are told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. If you keep repeating the new behaviors, they will eventually be registered on your mind and become automatic behaviors.

When Friends Become Angels Chosen By God

The word angel ccomes from the Greek word angelos, which means messenger. In the Bible we read of messengers sent by God (Michael and Gabriel, etc.) who brought messages from God to people. Messengers may be divine or human.

Friends are always with you throughout the time you spend on earth. Friends are around when you are struggling in life. Some will pray for you even when you do not know that they are doing so. Those who pray may or may not tell you that they are praying for you. Some may also not pray for you. Some will care and some may not care. But be assured that the ones that God added for you will always care and pray for you even if they are not able to support you physically or financially.

And surely, God will always select some of your friends as angels for you. They are sensitive to God’s promptings and guidance. God uses them as channels to bless you when He provides or grants the answers to your requests. So, do not disregard any of your friends. God may use any to provide His blessings upon you.

Some will want to help but may not have the capacity. And so, not every friend will be able to assist you as you expect. But God will surely make a way for assistance to be available at His appointed time.

You may be the one choosing your friends. But some of them will include the ones whose spirits align with God’s Spirit towards you in areas of your dealings with God. These are the ones God will use when granting your needs in the form of answered prayers. For God does not send assistance (or the answers to our prayer requests) direct from heaven to us. He uses friends (and sometimes, strangers) when granting answers. So, do not lose hope. Do not disregard your friends. And have faith in God.

Some friends feel urged by the Holy Spirit to pray for you. Some will encourage you to continue moving forward when you are overwhelmed by challenges.

Friends are the angels that God uses when He answers our prayers or when He grants our prayer requests. They carry God’s gifts or answers to us.

Friends are with you throughout the years of your struggles. Some share your sadness, sorrows, pains, and also your joys and happiness. They celebrate with you when you achieve your goals. They feel the pains that you feel, and they feel the joy and the happiness you feel.

Every good friend that comes into our lives is chosen by God for good reasons and good purposes.

Friends contributed to what you have been able to achieve. They are the channels or the instruments that God used to help you reach your goal in life. Therefore, we must be grateful for the friends we have. And we must pray for them.

Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away, (Proverbs 27:10; ESV).

Human friends who stay with you during challenging times are the angels that God, in His wisdom, selected and added to the friends you were making.

While you were getting acquainted with people and making some of them your friends, God was also choosing those He would be using as special channels or as His angels. They are the ones who are always there with you when you do not know how to deal with a situation. They are the ones who are sensitive to God’s promptings and miraculously respond to your needs even when you do not tell them directly to do that. They always respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

My friends have walked with me throughout the years of my struggles in the ministry. They stayed with me in trying times, prayed with me, supported and encouraged me to continue moving forward whenever I was overwhelmed by challenges.

These friends are the angels that God added to the group of friends I made. I cannot, and will not, forsake them.

Without my friends I would not have achieved most of my goals. Therefore, I see them as the angels that God sends to me whenever He answers my prayers.

God does not come down Himself to help us. God helps us through people. And mostly through our friends, though He sometimes uses strangers.

As I look back, I see how God has granted my prayer requests by using friends. Sometimes, when the situation looked so gloomy or frightening that I could not see how I could climb out of the pit, then a friend would stretch forth a helping hand and pull me out of the pit.

Ninety (90) per cent of these assistances happen spontaneously without me telling them myself. God somehow speaks to their hearts, and they know in that instant that I need assistance.

Friends like that are chosen by God for us, and we must do well to keep them very close.

You Are Not Alone And You Can Make It

Sometimes, in life, you may feel you are alone, and you feel no one cares about you. However, you are not alone and you can make it. God is with you even when it does not seem so to you.

Waiting for results is not easy. Especially in difficult situations when you are starving for quick response (or help). God assures us that “When we pass through the waters, He will be with us; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow us: when we walk through the fire, we shall not be burned; neither shall the flame scorch us,” (Isaiah 43:2).

Your faith will be tested by negativity, failures, sicknesses and evil. Not by God, but by Satan, to sway you away from God and from victory. Remember Job? God Himself acknowledged Job’s righteousness. Yet Satan tempted Job to make him renounce his faith in God. Even Job’s three friends believed Job was not completely sincere. But Job proved God right by his faithfulness. And God blessed Job for standing firm in his faith.

“If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small,” (Proverbs 24:10; NKJV).

Someone said that God does not promise us a smooth flight, but He promises us a safe landing. (I don’t know who said that, but my experiences make me to agree with the person who said that). No matter how rough the storms you encounter, you will land safely at the harbor. God is in the midst of the winds that stir the storms to prevent the winds from destroying you. If you can see Jesus amid the storms, then you will see that you are actually riding on the shoulders of Jesus who will take you safely to the shore.

Not all the runners in the race make it to the finishing point. And in your endeavors, you, too, may consider giving up when the challenges become too many.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 says, “I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.”

Someone, referring to this passage in Ecclesiastes 9:11, on “the race is not to the swift,” wrote,“The race is not always to the swift but to those who keep on running.”

We all have time and space to work with the resources that God has bestowed upon us. You may have limited resources, or you may not have the financial and physical resources to begin with at all. But you have the desire to make it in life. Your desire to succeed may be the only resource that you have. And that, though limited, can be the springboard that you can use to launch out and manifest your success.

Many remain the same, without succeeding in life because, though they believe that God is always ready to bless, they give up when the going gets tougher as they climb the ladder of success.

Correct your mistakes and create new plans when you fail. Fight back the feelings of discouragement that get in your way. Though circumstances can make it difficult for you to progress smoothly, circumstances should not make it impossible for you to progress in life.

Some people have risen from grass to grace even when people doubted that they could succeed. Some started with nothing, but they worked hard and saved the little they made and eventually became rich. Some were considered too young or too old, but they proved the skeptics wrong. Though they encountered challenges, discouragements, and delay, they pressed on to achieve their visions.

Circumstances may slow you down, but you can still climb. When you cannot run, you walk. And if you cannot walk, you crawl. And you will still be moving toward your goal.

Many are waiting to get money before they start. Those people are still waiting. And they will continue to wait. Start something now. That will make anyone you want to help you have confidence in you. If you are doing nothing now, how will anyone trust you with money?

Pursue your goal and strive towards excellence. You will eventually succeed. No matter how long it takes you, you will eventually realize your vision. Like Joseph did.

People who persevere accomplish great things.

Success does not come easily. You will encounter challenges and rejections. Even though you pray that you will not encounter them. You may have worked diligently, prayed and believed in what you are doing. You know you are sincere in your endeavors. And you are honest in your dealings with people. Yet sometimes you feel alone and forsaken. You feel rejected by some of the people you place your hope on and only a few believe or help you. Besides, the more you try to convince people, the more you feel that some of them are skeptical about your intentions. And you feel that Jesus knows how sincere you are and why you will succeed.

Despite the fears and challenges, if you believe in yourself, you will achieve your goals. If you have faith in God, and you are diligent in your work, you will rise when you fall, (Micah 7:8), and you will stand among successful people, (Proverbs 22:29).

God knows you well. God will not forsake you. And God will not deny you success, if you are right with Him, (1 John 3:21-22). God promises you that, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you: when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; neither shall the flame scorch you,” (Isaiah 43:12; KJ2000).

Be like the Cushite Joab sent to deliver the victory message to King David, (2 Samuel 18:19-21). After Joab had sent him, Ahimaaz came again to persuade Joab to let him also go. Joab had earlier refused Ahimaaz’s request. But this time, he yielded to Ahimaaz’s pressure and allowed Ahimaaz to also take the message to the King, (2 Samuel 18:22-23).

Ahimaaz was a faster runner than the Cushite. So, though the Cushite took off earlier, Ahimaaz passed him and reached David first with the message. The Cushite knew that Ahimaaz would deliver the message to King David before him. Yet he did not stop running! (Read the whole account in 2 Samuel 18.) People who are well resourced will always be ahead of you. But do not quit the race. God called you, and He has not given up on you.

Ahimaaz reached David first and delivered the message. But when David asked about the fate of Absalom, Ahimaaz had no information. That information was critical to King David. So, the King had to wait for another messenger to bring that information. And when the Cushite eventually arrived, he provided that part of the information. So, though you are still behind, do not stop running. You have an important part to play.

Achievers do not give up. Even when others have passed them and they are left alone, they continue running. When they are in hostile environments, or situations, they do not lose their composure and confidence, and they do not react violently or negatively.

They envision success, no matter the circumstances. They go to sleep thinking of success despite challenges.  Even when they think some people do not believe them, they feed their minds with hope, visions and ideas of success. And they know that there are other people who believe them and will come to their aid. When they fall (or fail), they know it is temporary. They quickly rise and continue running the race.

When they don’t immediately attain their visions, they maintain the confidence that they are still relevant and that they will succeed. They continue renewing their minds to adapt to present situations and environments.

Moses was 40 years old when he first exhibited his vision of leadership qualities. But the environment was not conducive for him then, and he fled to the land of Midian. Forty years later, at the age of eighty (80), God called him and sent him back to Egypt. Fitted for the role that God had for him, even in that advanced age, Moses led the nation of Israel out of bondage. And he led them forty years, with Aaron as the High Priest.

Achievers are constantly transforming themselves into new personalities, allowing God’s Spirit to change them and adapt to the ways of God, (Romans 12:2).

Lack of adequate financial resources make it difficult to get the ideal (or the requisite) tools to work effectively. And so, what may take five years to achieve results may take as long as fifteen (15) years or more for you to obtain optimum success. Often, extended waiting periods delayed my work. You may be compelled to work with substandard tools (or work with tools that were not what you originally hoped for).

You may have limited resources. Or you may not even have resources to begin with at all. Your desire and determination to succeed may be the resources that you have to start with. And though limited, that can be the springboard for you to launch out and manifest success.

God is the one who calls us. Let us focus on Jesus.

God Still Works Miracles Through Us

Knowledge is power! And spiritual knowledge is spiritual power!!

In most religions, the individual goes to the spiritualist, (the mallam (teacher) – mu ‘alim) or the fetish priest, and tells the spiritualist his or her problem (or need). The spiritualist then prays and performs rituals to get the answer or the miracle.

In Christianity, God indwells the individual and performs His miracles through the individual. And so, in emergencies God is always nearby.

Yet sadly, many Christians are not aware of this privilege that God has bestowed upon them. “They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, ‘You are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.” (Psalm 82:5-7; KJ2000).

In John 10:34-35, Jesus referred to this passage.

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods, unto whom the Word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; Say you of Him, whom the Father has sanctified, and sent into the world, ‘You blaspheme,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God?’”

Jesus quoted the words literally. He did not water down their meanings. He quoted the words just as the Holy Spirit inspired the Psalmist to say them. The word ‘eloheem’ is used in Psalm 82:6, and ‘theos’ used in the passage in John 10:34. However, the Psalmist clarifies what he says by the statement, “And all of you are children of the most High.” Meaning they are not Almighty God, but children of the Almighty God. So, how are they the children of the Almighty God?

Some words and statements in the Bible are difficult to accept by ordinary human minds. But God chose those words and made those statements. If God intended differently, He would have chosen the appropriate words. Therefore, we do not have the right to reinterpret them to agree with our way of thinking. God is the originator of His words. And they mean what God says. We cannot vary God’s Words and intentions. Otherwise, each of us would then be proffering our own meanings. Then there would be confusion as to who is right.

Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:20-21 that no prophecy in Scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation. Because no prophecy ever originated through human decision. Instead, people spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. And in 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul writes that “All Scripture is God-breathed.” Meaning that the Holy Spirit breathed the words into the prophets and the writers. And they wrote or said exactly what they were inspired to write or say. They uttered the words that God intended. So, until God Himself varies the meanings, we have no right to vary the primary meanings of the words we read in the Scriptures.

The Bible advises us to acquaint ourselves with God, thereby good shall come upon us, (Job 22:21-29). We accumulate knowledge by studying. Furthermore, we learn the mysteries of God by delving deeper into the Bible.

The Holy Spirit baptism transforms us into God’s spiritual children, (Mark 1:8; Act 1:5; Romans 8:14-17). Then God’s Spirit infuses our spirits with His Spirit and makes us become one spirit with Him, (1 Corinthians 6:17). Even if this seems difficult to accept by our human minds, we must accept it by faith. Many of the disciples who followed Jesus also found some of His statements difficult to accept, (John 6:60-61).

God’s Spirit, indwelling the individual’s spirit, unites the believer’s spirit with God’s Spirit, and performs the spiritual renewal in the individual’s spirit. The individual is then transformed, and he or she receives empowerment by the Holy Spirit.

But we grieve the Holy Spirit if we indulge in sins and do negative things, (Ephesians 4:30). Therefore, Paul advises us not to quench the Spirit, (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22).

God uses our faith to actuate the miracles He performs in us. Therefore, Jesus asked, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” And they answered, “Yes, Lord.” Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it unto you.” And their eyes were opened, (Matthew 9:28-30).

Belief prepared their minds to receive what Jesus was about to do. Faith (belief) sent signals to the appropriate parts of their brains to coordinate the appropriate parts of their bodies to receive the anticipated miracle of healing.

A key turns the ignition and makes the engine of a car start. In the same manner faith acts in our minds and makes our bodies respond to motivation. Faith, therefore, motivates our reception and creates the trust that animates our lives, and prepares the body to accept the possibility of something happening.

Power for miracle is in the Name of Jesus, not in rituals, (Acts 3:16). Signs and wonders happen by faith in the Name of Jesus. The name of Jesus is the power that heals and makes miracles happen, (Acts 3:6-9; Acts 4:29-30).

God hears and answers our prayers because we do what is right, (Proverbs 15:29; 1 Peter 3:11-13). Therefore, Paul in Galatians 5:25 admonishes us to maintain our spiritual life with God, and God will continue to work miracles in our lives.

“Are You Calvinist Or Arminian?” … Interpretations and Denominationalism Dividing Christians

Interpretations and denominationalism, rather than the belief in the core tenets of the Christian salvation, are now used by some Christians to determine salvation in Christ. The thief on the cross who accepted Jesus had no denominational leanings. He just believed Jesus and that earned him salvation.

On many occasions I have been asked, “Are you Calvinist or Arminian?” People don’t ask me if I believe in the triune God, (God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit).

They don’t ask me if I believe Jesus is God, (John 10:30; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3), and if I believe that Jesus is the Savior, and the only way to God, (John 14:6). They don’t ask me whether a person can or cannot be saved and become a child of God if that person does not believe that Jesus is God and the Savior. They don’t ask me if I believe and practice the Apostles’ doctrine, (Acts 2:42; Matthew 28:19-20).

Rather they are concerned whether I believe in Arminianism, Calvinism, or other denominational doctrines.

These doctrines that have torn Christians apart were not promulgated by Jesus nor by the Apostles. Jesus did not say they are the basis of our salvation. Calvinism and Arminianism, for example, were formulated by people in the 16th and the 17th centuries.

My response is always that I believe in the triune God (i.e., the trinity: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit). I believe that God is One divine Essence in the Godhead. I believe the teachings that Jesus and the Apostles disseminated. I believe that Jesus is God, Jesus died for me and resurrected on the third day and will judge the living and the dead.

Denominational doctrines do not define our salvation, yet if you take one side the other will alienate you. This is unfortunate.

Interpretations of Biblical words, statements or contexts have torn Christians apart. Even though the interpretations do not define our salvation. Some Christians will have nothing to do with fellow Christians who disagree with their denominational doctrines. I have been sidelined before by some Christians because I did not share their beliefs. Some even decided to alienate me because of my views.

Yet these disagreements have nothing to do with our salvation.

The Apostle Paul addressed some problems at their time in Colossians 2:8-23, Romans 14:4-6, and Galatians 3:1-6.

The Bible is clear as to what makes us Christians or how we become Christians (passages include Matthew 28:19; Mark 16:16-20; John 3:16; John 15:4-16; Acts 2:38).  How we interpret or misinterpret some words of the Bible does not define our Christianity, unless our doctrines and practices disagree with the basic pillars or the core tenets of Christianity.

The true Christian must believe in the triune God (the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit). The true Christian believes that God is one Divine Essence (substance) in three persons, not three Gods (deities). The person of the Father, the person of the Son, and the person of the Holy Spirit are separate. But the Godhead of the Father, the Godhead of the Son, and the Godhead of the Holy Spirit is ONE, (Colossians 2:9). The Godhead is one in essence and Jesus is the only Lord and Savior of the world. God speaks through His Son, who is the express image of God’s person, (Hebrews 1:1-3).

These were tenets Jesus Christ taught the Apostles and commanded the Apostles to disseminate throughout the world, (Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:44-51; Acts 1:8; John 10:30 – God and Jesus are one in essence or substance).

Most of the doctrines that have become the pillars of various denominations were formulated many years after the core tenets of Christianity had been laid out in the Bible. The founders of these new doctrines interpreted the passages of the Bible according to their own personal understanding of what they read.

As I said earlier, the thief on the cross who accepted Jesus had no denominational learnings. He just believed in Jesus and that earned him salvation. We must, therefore, not alienate fellow Christians who do not share our denominational beliefs. We must not alienate a person who believes in the core tenets of Christianity, in the Lordship of Jesus, in the triune God, and what Jesus and the Apostles taught.

Mostly, we use biased lenses to see and interpret what we read. And so, we give our own interpretations and views and alienate other Christians who do not belong to our denominations, or who do not share our interpretations and views. Even within the denominations we encounter differences of interpretations and doctrines. Many denominations have split further because of further disagreements in interpretations within them as they refuse to consider each other’s views.

Even leading theologians have their biases. Martin Luther, for instance, expressed personal opinions and doubts about the authority of Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation. He called the Epistle of James “an epistle of straw.” He said its teaching on good works conflicted with his personal theology of justification by faith alone. Martin Luther did not ask the Holy Spirit to explain to him why the Holy Spirit inspired James to write on faith and works in the manner he did.

The early church believed that the books, (including the epistle of James), were authentic and inspired by the Holy Spirit. Our inability to understand some words or passages in the Bible, therefore, does not diminish the genuineness of such words or passages. Martin Luther, by his statement, implied that the Holy Spirit inspired James to write ‘an epistle of straw’. (Or he believed that James was not inspired to write that epistle.)  Despite that, Christians still hold Martin Luther in high esteem. Yet these same Christians will alienate fellow Christians who do not agree with what they believe.

But as I indicated, the words and beliefs we fight about do not define our salvation. Our salvation depends on the belief that Jesus is the only Lord and Savior, He died and resurrected, and that Jesus is God. True Christians believe in the triune God (God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit), and that God is One divine Essence in the Godhead. True Christians believe and practice the Apostles doctrine, (Acts 2:42; Matthew 28:18-20).

I believe that the words and the statements the writers and prophets used in the Bible are the words and statements that God (the Holy Spirit) intended. God speaks to us in the simple language that we can understand Him. He does not use obscure language.

Unfortunately, Satan has succeeded in tearing us apart by using insignificant doctrines. The doctrines we argue on and fight each other against do not determine our salvation. Yet Satan has managed to engage us in fighting against each other on them. And some of us do not want to have anything to do with people who disagree with us.

We often take a portion of the Bible, a statement or verse, and make a doctrine out of that. We neglect other passages that may contradict the passages that we choose to make our doctrines.

Denominations develop their fundamental doctrines using only a portion or some portions of the Bible, and neglecting others. They don’t consider that there are other words and statements that may seem to contradict those words and statements they rely on as the basis for their doctrinal beliefs.

My lecturer, Ms. Eunson, taught us in class, in my first year in Bible Seminary, that we must always carefully analyze the words and statements when they seem to contradict. If two words or statements seem to contradict, we must always search further to see if there are other words or statements that might contradict the ones we are reading. If there are other words and statements that seem to contradict the ones we are reading or that seem to be neutral, then we must ask why it is so. That introduces us to contextualization. Most of the words or statements were made in context.

We Are Fellow-Workers and Co-Healers with God, (Part 4, Final Instalment)

“I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing. If a man abides not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you,” (John 15:5-7; KJ2000).

The Holy Spirit living in you is God living in you. Therefore, you are not a weakling. You are mighty in God’s estimation.

Joseph was 17 years old when he told his brothers and father that he dreamed he was destined for greatness, (Genesis 37:1-11). His brothers derided him. But 13 years later, after he was sold into slavery, falsely accused and imprisoned, God brought him out of prison and elevated him, (Genesis 41:39-46). God called Abraham when he was 75 years old (Genesis 12:1-4). Jesus began His ministry at 30, (Luke 3:21-23), and Moses had the vision that propelled him to his leadership role at 80, (Exodus 7:7). And, what’s more, some of the disciples of Jesus did not attain higher education, yet Jesus believed in them. And God used them mightily to confound the learned and popular people, (Acts 4:13-19).

We accept these accounts when we read them in the Bible. And we believe that they are true and possible because God is involved. Yet we find it difficult to believe and accept it when we are in similar situations and when they are happening to us or to people we know. Why can’t what happened in the Bible happen to us in our day? Is it not the same God that we serve?

Obstacles cannot break you. Obstacles or challenges should rather motivate you to go higher. Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world, (1 John 4:4).

But Jesus said, “He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5). We cannot do anything on our own. God’s Spirit gives us the power. Just as the milk transforms the water to become whitish, milky or creamy, so the Spirit of God in us transforms our spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit when God pours His Spirit into our spirit, (Joel 2:28-29; Romans 8:9-17), and we receive power because the Holy Spirit is in us, (Acts 1:8). Then we become one spirit with Him, (1 Corinthians 6:17).

However, as stated earlier, God does not leave all His powers into our hands to use as we want. His Spirit continues to regulate and supervise us in accordance with the Mind of God. So, we ask, and He performs according to His will, (Job 22:28; 1 John 5:14).

Jesus said, “You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give you,” (John 15:16). However, there is a warning in verse 6 that anyone who does not “abide in me, is cast forth as a branch and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned,” (KJ2000).

God made you a partaker of the divine nature, (2 Peter 1:3-4). So, despite your educational background, your physical strength or age, you are destined for greatness. You are a champion! I speak from personal experience, not from theories.

You are a conqueror because God lives in you, (1 John 4:4). If you allow God to actuate His power in your spirit, He will make you the conqueror that He created you to be.

Do not worry when people fail to readily accept you. There are people ready to recognize your worth elsewhere. God will use you to bless people where people welcome and accept you. And those who did not believe in you will hear about your success story. Some may then invite you when they hear what God is doing with you.

God has made you His co-worker to proclaim Jesus to the world.

We Are Fellow-Workers And Co-Healers With God, Part 3

Salvation is a gift from God. We do not earn it through work. However, sin can separate us from God. And if we continue living in sin we could die in sin, separated from God. When a righteous person turns away from righteousness, commits iniquities and dies in them, God will punish him or her for his or her deeds. All the righteousness that he or she did shall not be remembered, so says God in Ezekiel 18:21-28 (and other passages in Ezekiel).

When the prodigal son went away from his father, he was still the son of his father. However, he was no longer enjoying the benefits in his father’s house. But when he returned home, his father received him back. He did not have to be conceived again in his mother’s womb and be born physically again to regain his status as his father’s son. When he renounced the life that he was living, he was automatically restored to his position in his father’s house.

So is the salvation that God gives to us. If we stray away and return, God receives us. We do not have to be baptized again for God to take us back. However, if we remain in sin, and die in sin, then we die in sin away from God. If the Prodigal Son had remained in the foreign land, and died there, he would have died away from his father.

Some Christians hold the view that a Christian cannot fall into a similar situation. They believe that no Christian can lose his or her salvation. That is true to some extent. However, a Christian can reject salvation after receiving it. The Apostle Paul indicated the possibility of Christians apostatizing. In 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3, he wrote that, before the Day of the Lord, apostasy will first occur among believers in the Church, and the man of sin, who is destined for destruction, be revealed.

Furthermore, in Hebrews 6:4-6, we read that it is impossible to renew people who were once enlightened, have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were partakers of the Holy Spirit. The passage says that such people are crucifying to themselves the Son of God afresh and putting Him to an open shame. These people were believers who have tasted the heavenly gift and were partakers of the Holy Spirit. That means they were genuine believers. For only genuine believers can partake of the Holy Spirit and taste the heavenly gift. They were believers at some time in their lives before forsaking their faith in Jesus. They abandoned their faith in Jesus Christ and became unbelievers.

And in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 the Apostle Paul tells us that a falling away – apostasy – of believers in the church will occur first before Jesus Christ returns. The Greek word used is apostasia, which means a departure, a rebellion. The word apostasia according to Thayer’s Definition, is a falling away, defection, apostasy. Strong’s Definitions include defection from truth – falling away, forsake.

The Holy Spirit chose the word for Paul. Whatever explanation we may give apart from what the Apostle Paul wrote will be our own uninspired reinterpretation of what the Apostle wrote. Paul was intelligent enough, and was inspired by the Holy Spirit, to choose the word apostasia.

You may not be happy with what Paul wrote or the word he chose. Yet you cannot change the meaning of what he intended. He chose the word under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Apostasia, as stated, means rebellion, departure. It means a falling away or departure from what one had or believed.

Paul said people will turn away from God. In 1 Timothy 4:1 Paul warns that the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times, some people shall depart from the faith. Departing from the faith means they first believed and held to the faith. And then decided to forsake or depart from the faith they believed and held to. The Greek word used is aphistemi. Thayer’s Definitions include cause to withdraw, to remove, to go away, to desert, to fall away. And Strong’s Definitions include to remove, instigate to revolt, desert, depart, draw (fall) away, withdraw self.

Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 10:12 Paul advises, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he falls.” The word used is pipto, to descend from a higher place to a lower, to be thrust down, to fall from a state of uprightness, to perish, etc., (Thayer).

For this reason, we must constantly remind ourselves to remain steadfast in our lives with God. As co-workers with God, we must constantly examine our lives to see if we are on the right path with God. We must be guided by the Holy Spirit in all that we do. Because we are the channels that God uses. We are God’s ambassadors. And the Holy Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, (Ephesians 1:13-14). Ponder over this statement in Ephesians 1:13-14. We are marked or sealed for Christ until the final day that we shall be caught up to be with Him. Once we are saved, we are saved forever. We can’t lose it and go back another time to become born again the second time.

However, as we have seen from the Bible, we can, if we want to, walk away from God. Our deeds can lead us away from God. We may slowly drift away from God, and eventually drift out of the Kingdom of God completely. An individual can also intentionally reject God, as Paul says some will do in the latter times in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and 1 Timothy 4:1.

God will not compel us to remain believers if we choose to apostatize, rebel or depart from the faith. However, God prefers that we remain faithful believers. This is one of the hard facts in the Bible. And we cannot change it because it is not our word. Peter writes in 2 Peter 1:20 that no prophecy of the scripture is of one’s own interpretation. And Paul says, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2Timothy 3:16; KJ2000).

Passages in the New Testament, inluding those written by the Apostles Paul and Peter, indicate that Christians can apostatize and fall out of God’s Kingdom. As I mentioned earlier, we may find some statements hard to accept. But we have no right to change their meanings. Else there would be confusion as each of us would be providing our own interpretations to suit what we want.

The Holy Spirit knew the words He chose.The Holy Spirit will not say white if He means black.

Therefore, Paul warns that there will be a falling away (apostasy) by some Christians, (2 Thessalonians 2:3). Paul again warns the young Timothy that the Spirit says clearly that in the last times some people will abandon the faith by following deceitful spirits, the teaching of demons, and the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences have been burned by a hot iron, (1 Timothy 4:1-2).

So, while God’s salvation is meant to be permanent, the individual, by his deeds and will, can walk away. God will not compel the individual if he or she chooses to walk away from the salvation that he or she received from God.

The unrighteous cannot live with God unless he or she discards his or her sinful life. So, if you decide, you can rebel against God and drift away into Satan’s kingdom. However, there is no salvation in Satan’s kingdom.

Paul’s warning that some will become apostates – (that they will rebel, they will abandon, they walk away from the true faith they had, they will reject the faith they had received) – indicates that they will make a conscious abandonment of their faith in Christ.

Some believe that such were never true believers in the first place. Well, Paul did not say that in his writing. And I do not want to go into that argument. But what I know is that Peter and Paul, in their writings, warn true believers of the possibility of apostasy occurring among believers.

The epistles were written to guide us (and warn us) on how to live righteously to complement our faith in God.

The Bible does not say that regardless of one’s actions, one will be saved and remain saved. The Bible says we are saved once, and we do not need another act to obtain salvation again. Salvation is a gift from God. However, we are saved unto good works. We do good works and live according to God’s will as proof that we have been saved from unrighteousness, (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Therefore, Paul asks, “Shall we continue to sin so that grace may abound. God forbid…” (Romans 6:1-2). If you drift way from God, you are walking away and abandoning God.

Though the gift of God is free and eternal, you can apostatize and forsake the gift (as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 and 1 Timothy 4:1-2). Satan has a subtle way of deceiving and seducing people. He makes people to focus on once saved, forever saved, taking their minds away from the other passages in the Bible that warn of the possibility of apostatizing. So that they may indulge in sinful acts and subtly be led away from God.

To be continued…

We are Fellow Workers and Co-Healers with God, Part 2

Our union with God, by His Spirit, gives us direct access to God. The individual is connected to God by God’s Spirit. “He that is joined (kollao – to join oneself to, to glue together, etc.,) unto the Lord is one spirit with Him,” (1 Corinthians 6:17). He communicates to the individual through His Spirit. We relate to God and worship Him by the Spirit, (John 4:24; Philippians 3:3). And God gives us dominion (radah, to rule – to dominate) over His creation (Genesis 1:26).

This is not so in other religions. In Christ Jesus, we have a better and direct way to God. The Old Testament covenant contained faults (Hebrews 8:6-9). So, the new was given which made the old obsolete, (Hebrews 8:13).

The Bible advises us to acquaint ourselves with God (Job 22:21). Therefore, cultivate the habit of reading and learning the truth to empower yourself. People who study accumulate knowledge and become enlightened.

The Holy Spirit should have free access to the spirit of the believer. As mentioned earlier, (in Part 1), the human being is a spirit living in the body of flesh. And so, God, in pouring His Spirit upon an individual, is pouring His Spirit upon (into) that individual’s spirit. The human body is, therefore, the temple for both the human spirit and God’s Spirit.

But the person must be open to receiving the Holy Spirit into his or her spirit. Because the Holy Spirit will not force His operation on an individual. The Holy Spirit will work in the person’s spirit if the individual opens and receives the Spirit of God.

Belief (faith) enables us to accept or receive God’s Spirit into our spirit. The 120 disciples first believed, accepted the Holy Spirit, and then prepared themselves as they waited for the actuation of the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-5). On the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell upon them. The Spirit actuated the Power of God and enabled them to speak in tongues, (Acts 2:1-4).

The Holy Spirit Himself actuates His power in our spirits. But we must first prepare ourselves and allow for the actuation.

Miracles are manifestations of the Power of the Holy Spirit (God). God’s Spirit, working together with your spirit, (1 Corinthians 6:17) makes them happen. God’s Spirit makes them possible because of your faith in Him. As illustrated earlier, the milk transforms the water. The water does not transform itself. The transforming power, in our case, is the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, Paul asserts categorically that if you connect your spirit to God’s Spirit, you become one spirit with God. God, by His Spirit, indwells you, and your spirit and God’s Spirit become one, (1 Corinthians 6:17).

As stated earlier, this is a hard saying. But delving deeper into the Bible enables us to understand this mystery and truth. Remember that even many of the disciples of Jesus could not accept some of His statements.

When we pray, God’s Spirit synchronizes events and our declarations to make realities occur, (Job 22:28). Your desires become realities (Mark 11:24) because God’s Spirit turns them into realities, (John 14:10).

Being co-workers with God, (and his Spirit indwelling us), we must also live holy lives.

The Transformation

We are transformed by the Holy Spirit working in our spirits, as I illustrated earlier using water and milk. Transformation does not automatically happen just because an individual believes. You must first initiate the process by renewing your mind, changing your mental attitude, and allowing your thoughts and actions to align with God’s will, (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:22). Discard your former behavior or conduct and be not conformed to the world. If you do not yield your body as an instrument of unrighteousness, (Romans 6:13), the Spirit will work with you to reshape your thoughts and perspectives to align with God’s ways.

The desire and the plan start with you, and God directs your steps, (Proverbs 16:9). So, God helps you to complete what you started, if it agrees with God’s will.

If we believe, but do not allow the actuation of the Spirit, the Holy spirit will not actively be involved in our lives or in our spirits in what we do. We will be acting in the flesh and not in the spirit. Though we may not lose our salvation yet. Even though we are God’s spiritual children, if we do not allow for the actuation of the power of the Spirit in our lives, we will be powerless Christians. We may still be God’s children but spiritually powerless. However, we may drift away from God and eventually may lose our salvation. (Detailed discussion on this in Part 3).

We read in Job 22:21-23 that we will know God, and know how we relate to Him, if we acquaint ourselves with Him. For those who know their God are strong and they accomplish great things, (Daniel 11:32).

The Christian is a member of a holy priesthood offering acceptable spiritual sacrifice to God through Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 2:5). The Christian is an instrument or a channel God uses to perform miracles or answer prayers.

God Works Miracles Through Us.

A church in Accra invited me to hold a spiritual revival for them. Three days into the five-day revival service, the leaders of the church told me about a woman who used to be one of their staunch members but backslid because of an unfortunate occurrence.

Her son was critically ill and at the point of death. She ran to her pastor who lived about five kilometers away only to learn that the pastor had traveled to the northern part of the country.

So, she took her dying child to a prophetess who lived close by her pastor’s home. As the prophetess held the boy praying, the child died.

The woman was angry that God had failed her despite her faith in God and all that she had done for God. She did not understand why God would forsake her and let her son die. She vowed not to go to church again. He faith in Jesus and Christianity died.

I explained to her how God had given her the power in the name of Jesus. I made her understand that while she was running and seeking for someone to pray for her son, she could also have used the name of Jesus to pray and Jesus would have saved her son from dying.

I took her through the pages of the Bible and made her know why and how God had not failed her. The Pastor feeds the congregation the Word and prays for them. The individual must take in the Word and digest it to actualize his or her miracles.

Your faith remains dormant or dead if you do not activate it. When a mother feeds her child, and the child eats and digests what the mother feeds him or her, the child will live and grow. If the child does not eat what the mother feeds him or her, the child will not grow well and may even die.

To help actuate the faith of the individual, Jesus would ask, “You believe that I am able to do this?” And they answered, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith be it unto you,” (Matthew 9:28). In Mark 9:23-28, Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him that believes.” The father of the child cried, and said with tears, “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” Jesus rebuked the foul spirit and cast it out of the child.

I taught her to actuate faith and actualize miracles. The woman’s faith was restored, and she became a strong believer in Christ again.

While we seek the help of people who are spiritually elevated, we should also know that God is with us and will hear us when we cry to Him, (Jeremiah 33:3). God has made it possible for the Christian to call upon Him any time in the name of Jesus Christ, (John 14:13-14).

At the time I was visiting her, she had another son, who was about six years old, also sick. I told her that, though she could seek help from me and others, if she also prayed and exercised her faith, God would answer. I taught her to exercise her faith and pray. Miracles started happening in her life. She became more committed to Jesus and resumed her good works for the church.

One day, her other son went into a crisis and collapsed. The boy collapsed in the same manner as the other one had years earlier. But this time, she determined she was not going to let that son go. She remembered that I said God has given us power in the name of Jesus Christ to help us in times of need. She put her hand on the boy and prayed. Afterwards she rushed the boy to the Hospital.

They took the boy to the emergency ward. The doctor and nurses worked to revive him. But the boy was not responding. Then the doctor and the nurses had to rush to a new emergency.

The woman refused to yield. She went to a corner in the ward, kneeled and prayed to God to let her son live. She told God that she was not ready to let that son go.

She felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned and saw a nurse telling her the doctor had returned to her son. They were hoping the boy would now respond. She stood up and walked with the nurse to the bed, still praying and asking God for the life of her son.

A while later, the boy responded and moved a little. Eventually, he regained full consciousness and opened his eyes. Some hours later the boy was strong and told the mother he wanted to go home. But the doctor said they had to monitor him for at least a day. The following day the boy was discharged from the hospital and his mother took him home.

The woman, like Jabez, (1 Chronicles 4:9-10) realized that she could change the situation by calling upon God to save her son. She prayed like King Hezekiah prayed and asked God to heal him and reverse the death that God had pronounced upon him. God heard him and granted him fifteen years more to live, (2 Kings 20:1-7). The boy grew up and became a young man.

God has given us the power, in the name of Jesus Christ, to change our situations.

Do not say your church is not spiritual. You are a living stone, adding to other living stones building up into God’s spiritual house. Collectively the members are a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices to God, through Jesus Christ. If your Church is not spiritual it is because you are not spiritual.

To be continued…

We Are Fellow Workers And Co-Healers With God, Part1

We Are Fellow workers and co-healers with God.

“For we are God’s co-workers. You are God’s farmland and God’s building.” (1 Corinthians 3:9; ISV)

What does that make us? We are God’s co-workers. Therefore, are we also co-healers with God? We become fellow workers with God when we accept to be God’s ambassadors, proclaiming God’s grace to the world. Jesus commanded us to go into the world and proclaim the gospel to all people. To be effective, Jesus provides us with protection and power against the onslaughts of Satan and evil forces, (Luke 10:19; Mark 16:17-18).

In our present discussion we are delving into hard-to-accept statements of the scriptures and into deeper areas in the spiritual realm. Some of the words and statements in the Bible may be hard to accept, but they are God’s Words. And God knows why He chose those words to make such statements.

The Bible advises us to acquaint ourselves with God and know Him properly so that we can understand how God works in our lives, (Job 22:21-29). People who study accumulate knowledge, become enlightened, and are strengthened spiritually.

It is not strange to hear that some people find some statements in the Bible hard to accept. Even some of the disciples of Jesus found some of Jesus’ statements hard to accept, (John 6:60-63). But we do not have the right to vary the meaning of God’s Word or statements. We must accept them as the Holy Spirit chose them for us. God is the originator of His Words, and they mean what God says. We cannot vary God’s Words and intentions. If God intended differently, He would have chosen the appropriate words. So, let us delve into the Bible, and with the help of etymology, we shall discover who and what we are.

If we are co-workers with God, then we are also co-healers with God! That stance might sound too audacious for us to assume. But God’s Words in the Bible seem to tell us so. God works miracles and heals through us. We are the instruments and the channels of blessing that God uses to express His love and sovereignty to the world.

The Christian is referred to as a living stone, adding unto other living stones building up God’s spiritual house. Collectively Christians are a holy (or a royal) priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices to God, through Jesus Christ, (1 Peter 2:5, 9; Revelation 1:5-6).

God will never allow the enemy to cause havoc on His field or destroy His building. So, He empowers us with the Holy Spirit, (Acts 1:8). And nothing can destroy or harm us, (Luke 10:19).

Sin broke our relationship with God, and we lost our God-given power. God restored that by sending Jesus. And through Jesus Christ we become co-workers with God, (1 Corinthians 3:9), and Jesus’ ambassadors (or representatives). Furthermore, if we are faithful, His divine Spirit co-ordinates with our spirits to make us effective as His co-workers.

How do we become one spirit with God?

We cannot share in God’s essence. So, how does God make us to partake in the divine nature and be members of His divine body? (1 Corinthians 12:27; 2 Peter 1:4). How does God share His divine nature with us, (2 Peter 1:4)? How does God pour His Spirit upon us, (Joel 2:28)?

God is Spirit and we can relate to Him only in the spirit, (John 4:24). We, too, are spirits in the bodies of flesh. God created the human body from the earth and then breathed His Spirit into the body and the person became a living soul, (Genesis 2:7; Ecclesiastes 12:7).

The Bible says, “… the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him,” (1 Corinthians 6:17; ISV).

So, how does an individual become one spirit with the Lord?

As we cannot join our human bodies to God we are, therefore, joined to Him in the spirit. And in the spirit, we become one with the Lord, (1 Corinthians 6:17). As indicated, the human being is a spirit indwelling the body of flesh. God’s Spirit also indwells our human bodies. So, God pours his Spirit upon us, (Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17), that is, into our spirits. And both spirits, (God’s Spirit and our human spirit), become one spirit indwelling the human body. That was still hard to comprehend until God illustrated to me using milk and water.

Many years back, I was pondering and struggling to understand this wonderful act and mystery of God in the believer, and God used milk and water to illustrate.

Both are liquids. But milk is whitish (or creamy) while water is colorless and transparent. If the milk is poured into the water, the water changes color. The water does not change itself. The milk transforms the water, and the water becomes milky in color and in taste. The more you pour the milk into the water, the more whitish or creamy the water becomes. The water loses its color and its taste and now looks and tastes milky.

In the same manner, the Spirit of God transforms the human spirit. Just as the water becomes milky when the milk is poured into it, so also the Spirit of God transforms the human spirit into becoming God’s spiritual child (Romans 8:9, 14-17). The more the Spirit of God is poured into the human spirit, the godlier he or she becomes.

The body remains flesh, but the spirit of the person in the body now becomes God’s child in the spirit, or God’s spiritual child. The same way the vessel (or container) that the water is in remains the same vessel without changing. The human being, who is spirit in the body of flesh, becomes the child of God by spiritual adoption. Though the body remains the normal body.

The Holy Spirit baptism transforms the human spirits into God’s spiritual children, (Mark 1:8; Acts 1:5; Romans 8:14-17). Before then we are just spirits inhabiting the human body. But through baptism God’s Spirit infuses our spirits with Himself to become one spirit with the Lord, (1 Corinthians 6:17). And as God’s children we are to live holy lives as our Heavenly Father is holy, (1 Peter 1:16).

We are, therefore, made spiritual, or transformed spiritually, by God’s Spirit working in our spirits.  And we must remain godly, living holy lives because God is holy. We must avoid all forms of unrighteousness, (1 Peter 1:16).

If filth (or dirty water) is poured into the transformed water, the water will change color and lose the purity that the milk infused into it. In the same manner, if a transformed person indulges in sinful acts, that person’s spirit will become contaminated. And the individual will lose the infusion of purity of the Holy Spirit.

The Christian is a child of God and can approach God directly. The Bible confirms that God relates to us in the same manner we relate to our children.

According to the New Testament doctrine, the Holy Spirit indwells the individual who truly accepts Jesus Christ as personal Savior and Lord, (Mark 16:17-18; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:37-39). The gift of the Holy Spirit is given to those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, (Acts 2:37-39; Joel 2:28-29; John 14:12-16).

Non-Christians go to spiritualists (fetish-priests, juju men, juju women, Islamic clerics or teachers, – the mu’alims – popularly known as mallams in Ghana and Nigeria). They tell the spiritualists their problems or needs and the spiritualists speak to their juju divinities or deities and receive the answers or perform rituals for answers.

But Christian spirituality does not require us to go to a spiritualist for spiritual power. Because God pours His Spirit into the spirit of the Christian, and the Christian’s body becomes the dwelling place of the Spirit of God, (Ephesians 2:22).

In Christianity, the individual’s body is the temple or the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, God Himself indwells the believer and is near to the believer at any time. And so, the Christian is elevated higher than ordinary people. God’s Spirit indwelling the Christian transforms the Christian to become God’s spiritual child, (Romans 8:14-17). Psalm 82:6 states that they are the children of elohim.

People felt Jesus blasphemed when He said He was the Son of God. But “Jesus answered them, ‘Is it not written in your Law, “I said, you are gods”? If he called them gods to whom the word of God came — and Scripture cannot be broken — do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?” (John 10:34-36; ESV).

Similarly, some people today think people blaspheme when they interpret some scripture passages literally and believe that they are actually what the words say they are.  And so, they attempt to water down the meanings of some of the words or statements in the Bible by providing their own interpretations. But the Scripture cannot be broken. What God says means exactly that.

The word used in Psalm 82:6 for ‘gods’ is ‘elohim’, (sometimes spelt eloheem). The word means divine ones, gods, rulers, judges, and is also the word used to refer to the true God. And in John 10:35 the word theos was used. The Greek word theos means a god or goddess.

Jesus quoted the passage and interpreted it as it is. Indicating that we must always interpret the Word of God as it is written or as it is used in the scriptures. We must not change the meaning even if we find it hard to accept. God will choose the appropriate words if He means otherwise. We create confusion with the different interpretations that we give. Such interpretations are mostly according to our individual whims. But we cannot teach God what to say and the words He should use.

The Spirit of God is comfortable living in us if we cleanse our spirits (inner being, the inner self) of sins, (Matthew 5:8; 2 Timothy 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:14-15; 1 Peter 1:15-17).

If we indulge in sins as worldly people do, we make God’s Spirit uncomfortable. And He cannot perform His work in our lives as He would. Then we become spiritually unproductive, though we may still be God’s children. Eventually, we may lose our standing with God’s Spirit.

Though He gives us power when we receive His Spirit (Acts 1:8), His Spirit regulates and supervises us in accordance with the Mind of God. God cannot leave all His powers into our hands to use as we want. So, we ask, and He performs, (Job 22:28). He does so by His Spirit indwelling us, (John 14;10).

God’s Spirit defines us. We are what the Spirit of God says. So, the Bible says, “Let the weak say, ‘I am strong,’” (Joel 3:10). And the poor can declare he or she is rich because God’s Spirit will create the wealth. If you focus your mind on God’s Spirit, and obey Him, you shall ask what you want, and God shall do it for you, (John 14:12-15; John 16:23-24).

By His Spirit, He created all things out of nothing. And by His Spirit He will make things happen. He works through us to perform His grace upon people. He chooses us according to His divine wisdom and not because we are perfect.

God created the universe and put us on this planet earth to enjoy what He created, (Genesis 1:26-31). Therefore, be happy. Do not feel depressed. Nothing can suppress you unless you allow it. Your body is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit. And He lives in you if you let Him, (1 Corinthians 6:19).

So, before you say your church is not spiritually strong, ask yourself if you are strong spiritually. The individuals make the church. Therefore, if the church is not spiritual, it is because the individuals are not spiritual.

My new book, ‘Actualizing The Holy Spirit Power’, which is coming out soon, delves extensively into how God’s Spirit harmonizes with our human spirit to perform miracles. The book also discusses how sin grieves the Holy Spirit, interfering with the free flow of God’s Spirit in our lives, thus, hindering the miracles in our lives.

To be continued…

The Road To Success

Success does not come easily no matter how sincere, hardworking, and diligent you are.

Patience, loneliness and endurance will be your companions on your journey to become successful.

It is in fairy tales that people become rich instantly. In real life the road is hard and lonely. In fairy tales, good luck comes around in the form of a fairy who makes things work out easily and smoothly when people despise you.

However, in real life, the road to success is hard. It takes a conscious effort and determination to attain success. Sincerity alone does not guarantee success. That is why many people with sincere motives do not get to the finishing point on their journey to success.

People see only the negative and think you cannot achieve what you set your mind on.

While I was doing research on success and failure, I read a statement on the internet. The statement did not add the source. It stated that “a successful businessman was asked, ‘How have you done so much in your lifetime?’ He replied, ‘I grow great by dreams. I turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I went to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dreamed about my dreams. And when I awoke in the morning, I saw a way to make my dreams come true. While other people were saying, ‘You can’t do that, it is impossible’, I was well on my way to achieving what I wanted.” (Emphasis mine.)

That is what people go through to achieve success. People may not see how you can achieve your vision. You and God are the only ones who know how you really feel about the vision.  And only Jesus can tell if you will succeed or not. If God believes in you then press on and God will take you through.

God told Gideon, “Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites,” (Judges 6:14). People may not have rated Gideon highly. However, God knew that Gideon was the one he would use to save Israel. Even Gideon himself did not think he was the right person to save Israel, and gave excuses, (Judges 6:36-40). But God used him to save Israel.

Joseph was 17 years old when he announced that he dreamed he was destined to be a leader, (Genesis 37:1-11). His family found it hard to believe him. But God used him to save the world (including his family). God called Abraham when he was 75 years old (Genesis 12:1-4), and Moses had the vision that propelled him to his leadership role at 80, (Exodus 7:7).

God sees what people don’t see.

Some of the disciples of Jesus did not attain higher education, yet Jesus believed in them. And God used them mightily to confound the so-called learned and popular people, (Acts 4:13-19).

When we read these accounts in the Bible, we accept them as true. We believe that they are possible because God is involved. Yet we find it difficult to believe and accept them when we are in similar situations and when they are happening to people we know. We find it hard to believe that what happened in the Bible can happen to us in our day. Yet it is the same God that we serve.

Jesus is with you on your journey to success. His invisible hands are directing your steps as you take each step, (Isaiah 30:21). Just don’t give up. Even if it takes longer than you expected.

Moses, fearing for his life, escaped to Midian. He was adopted by Jethro’s family and married his daughter. However, God still had him in mind. Forty years passed, then God suddenly appeared to Moses one day and said he had chosen Moses to lead the Children of Israel out of bondage.

Joseph went through thirteen years of slavery, including imprisonment. But he was the one God chose to save the world from famine, including his own family who could not believe him when he told them of his dreams.

David was regarded as a shepherd. His brothers were enlisted in the king’s army, but he was sent to look after the sheep. Yet he was the one God chose to save Israel from Goliath and the Philistines.

Jesus is your helper. Those who believe in God do not get disappointed. He provides support and guidance for people who believe in him. Though the road will be hard and rough to travel on, God will always be beside you to lead you gradually to your goal.

It is a lonely road, but God will be your companion in your journey.

With Jesus by your side, nothing will be impossible for you to achieve.

In Mark 10:27 Jesus said,

“With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.” (NKJV)

As a young Christian, I heard people saying, “If by 45 you have not made it in life then forget it because you will not make it.”

I believed them until I studied the Bible deeper and read the accounts of successful people, including Harland Sanders, founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, who became successful after he had gone into formal retirement.

Age is not a barrier to you if you are determined to become successful. In old age, your strength will not be as when you were young. And some people, observing that they have advanced in age, think they might die soon. So, they become discouraged.

Life does not begin at 45 as people say. Life begins when you decide. Moses was 80 when his ministry started, and he lived forty more years and led a whole nation.

If you have faith in God, and you believe in yourself, you can achieve your vision even at an advanced age. You may also live longer if you take care of yourself and maintain a healthy diet.

You are also not too young to achieve success. I mentioned Joseph earlier. He was only 17 when he dreamed of becoming a great person. After 13 years of challenges, Joseph became second to the ruler of Egypt. He was taken out of prison and made the vice Emperor of Egypt at age 30.

People may despise you and leave you behind. But don’t give up. Keep on running until you reach the goal.

The Cushite might have felt lonely and discouraged after Ahimaaz passed him. Joab had chosen him over Ahimaaz, a faster runner than the Cushite. However, Joab later allowed Ahimaaz to also run with the message. And though the Cushite took off first, Ahimaaz, being a faster runner, passed him.

How did the Cushite feel when Ahimaaz passed him? What kept the Cushite running still? He knew that Ahimaaz would reach King David first and give him the message he was also carrying. So, why was he still running? It turned out that though Ahimaaz reached the King first, and delivered the message, there was something special that only the Cushite could provide.

Winners win because even when discouraged they keep running. They know there are disappointments along the way. They know they may not get all the help they need.

But they believe in themselves, and they have faith in God.

Though they may find themselves in hostile environments, (or situations), they do not lose their composure. They maintain their confidence, and they do not react negatively or violently.

They go to bed thinking of success. And when they sleep, they dream of success.

They feed their minds with ideas of success. They train their minds to focus on success. They renew their minds daily and adapt to positive mentality and actions.

Their minds are transformed to accept only success and not failure. They may fail or fall. But they know it is temporary, and they will rise and continue running.

They are transforming themselves into new personalities daily. They do not conform to the world… they allow God’s Spirit to change them and adapt to God’s ways (Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-32).

Aim to prove skeptics wrong.

Do not be angry when things don’t go the way you expect. Correct the mistakes and move on.

People may not see you as a winner. However, you can prove them wrong.

Controlling anger and adverse situations

Seneca said, “The greatest remedy for anger is delay.”

And Proverbs 16:32 says,

“He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” (NKJV)

Attitude defines our happiness. We are the architects of peace in our communities.

Evil attitudes create unhealthy relationships, disturbing the peace in our communities. The UNESCO Constitution preamble states, “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.”

William James said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes.”

Our attitudes, therefore, are important to how we live in our societies.

We reap what we sow. We receive back whatever we give out. “For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you,” (Luke 6:38b; ESV). If you give out hate, you receive back hate. If you give out love, you receive love back. Give out kindness and respect and you will receive the same back.

An angry person will argue and sometimes yell when he or she does not get what he or she wants. In the home, it can create hurt feelings and hinder the resolution of problems.

Do not react immediately when you are angry. Delay your reaction briefly. Analyze how your response might affect the situation. Though you must not compromise the truth, your reaction should contribute to maintaining the existing peace.

In Ecclesiastes 7:9 we read, “Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, for anger rests in the bosom of fools.” (NKJV)

Anger leads to bitterness. And bitterness clouds our minds, causing us to misinterpret what others say.

Friends sometimes contribute to our negative behaviors. Instead of telling us the truth when we are wrong, they encourage us to hate people we perceive have wronged us. They stoke the fire of anger in us by encouraging us to get angrier, instead of helping us to calm down.

Friends make matters worse if they listen only to one side and give advice that does not take account of the whole matter. We may be encouraged then to become more antagonistic and continue to nurture hatred of the persons we disagree with. Eventually, the hatred can turn into bitterness.

You might have been accused of something you were innocent of. And the more you tried to prove your innocence, the more you were accused! False accusations by your spouse imply that your spouse distrusts you.

People may accuse you of dishonesty when you are doing your best to be honest. But don’t hang on to anger. If you hold on to anger, you may end up becoming bitter and wanting to hit back. Revenge is not the answer. Unfortunately, however, many resort to revenge. Francis Bacon said, “A man that studieth revenge keeps his own wounds green.”

And William Blake said, “The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.”

Jesus advises us in Matthew chapter 5,

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.  For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?  Therefore, you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:43-48; NKJV)

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Your own mind is a sacred enclosure into which nothing harmful can enter except by your permission.”

If you do not permit anger and evil thoughts to linger inside your mind, they cannot stay in your mind. And if evil thoughts and anger do not linger in your mind, they cannot make you think or do what is evil. Therefore, I do not allow anger and evil thoughts to enter and linger in my mind. I kick them out when I sense them. I allow only positive and constructive ideas in my mind. I refuse to concentrate on negative ideas. I work out the positive ideas into useful plans and projects that will benefit me and the community.   

Paul, writing to the Philippians, said, 

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.” (Philippians 4:8; NKJV)

Therefore, I allow only positive and healthy thoughts into my mind. I think of the help I can give to people and how I can help sustain peace. I do not focus on the untruths people say about me or other people. I know that with time the lies will dissipate, and people will see the good that I do.

A quote that is sometimes attributed to John Wesley, but which some dispute it was Wesley who said it, states,

“Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.”

Despite the argument about who said it, the truth of the quote is significant. When people say untruths, boldly, firmly, and in a loving manner, tell them that what they say is not true. Do not try to convince them. Just tell them they are wrong. And do not attack them.

Most people who say negative things about others do not accept corrections. If people decide that they will believe only what they want to believe, there is little you can do to make them see the truth. They might become angrier if you try to make them agree that they are wrong.

Some people never forgive or forget an argument against them. But the Bible advises in Ephesians 4:31-32, “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

Learn to control your anger, and discard it entirely, otherwise, it can hurt you. The story of Mordecai and Haman is found in the Book of Esther. It tells how anger, bitterness, and resentment eventually led to the hanging of an angry and bitter man, Haman.

Mordecai was good, industrious, and faithful. And Haman was a leading figure in society who loved to see people bow before him. Mordecai, however, would not bow to a fellow human because it was against his faith. His religion taught that he must bow only to God.

Haman, therefore, hated him for that. He nurtured hatred against Mordecai until it transformed his entire personality.

Hatred can make a person narrow his perception of other people. And Haman became so consumed in his anger that he hated, not only Mordecai but all Jews. He turned his energies to victimizing his perceived enemy, Mordecai. He extended that resentment and treatment to all Jews, even though the Jews had not done anything to him personally.

His resentment rose to an uncontrollable level, and he began nurturing the idea of getting rid of Mordecai and the Jews. He meticulously worked out a plan and eventually succeeded in convincing King Ahasuerus to eliminate all the Jews living in the land.

Haman became angrier as Mordecai appeared not to be agitated. Haman could not stand the coolness of Mordecai against his hatred. Mordecai was, however, praying and seeking God’s solution to the problem.

Alexandre Dumas said, “There is nothing more galling to angry people than the coolness of those on whom they wish to vent their spleen.”

While Haman was plotting evil, God caused it to be brought to the notice of King Ahasuerus that Mordecai had thwarted the plans of some people who planned to assassinate the king some years back. And that Mordecai was not rewarded for that heroic deed. The King, therefore, decided to reward Mordecai. And Haman was the man King Ahasuerus told to dress and honor Mordecai. Moreover, the king made Haman lead Mordecai around the city, while Mordecai rode on a horse.

Haman became angrier, went home, and told his wife and friends. They advised him to let the matter die. They told Haman that it was apparent that someone mightier was fighting on behalf of Mordecai against him. And if that was the case, then he would not prevail against Mordecai.

Haman refused to heed the advice. Finally, Haman was hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai.

Ann Landers said, “Hanging onto resentment is letting someone you despise live rent-free in your head.”

That person is always on your mind, living as a tenant in your head, and not paying rent. Why not eject that person out of your head?

Angry people respond angrily and act out angrily when people disagree with them. Some scream or break things in venting their anger.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:9, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God.”

Finally, let us hear what the Bible says in James 1:19-20,

19 “My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. 20 Your anger can never make things right in God’s sight,” (NLT).