Challenges one faces in the days of Adversity.

Days of adversity are days of pain, days of loss and days of troubles. Oftentimes they are circumstances one never bargained for. Listed below are some of the challenges that accompany them.

Ø You suddenly seem irrelevant to people around you
Ø Men that used to celebrate you despise you
Ø Friends will suddenly find reasons to desert you. You may lose some of them eventually
Ø You seem to be alone and abandoned
Ø You lose respect
Ø Most of your genuine contributions are despised
Ø People who ordinarily should come to you or call will wait for you to come to them
Ø The vehicle of life seems to be moving leaving you behind
Ø People can easily misunderstand your life
Ø The little effort you make to exercise your faith is often termed pride
Ø You are seen as being faithless, lazy, and prayerless. People accuse you that you are not doing enough, even when you are struggling at your best.
Ø People easily pick offence at you, even what ordinarily they should ignore

I don’t know what you are going through right now, but bear this in mind: when you are on the brink of adversity, you are equally on the brink of a miracle.

“A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all”
Ps 34:19 (NIV)

“And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans.”
Rom 8:28 (TLB)

“No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”1Thes 5:18 (NLT)

JUSTIFICATION by FAITH

But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law (Romans 3:21-31)

The word justify and justification occur some thirty times in Romans and are concentrated in 2:13-5:1. The word justification comes from the Greek word "righteous" and means "to declare righteous". This verdict includes: pardon from the guilt and penalty of sin, and the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the believer's account, which provides for the positive righteousness man needs to be accepted by God. God declares a sinner righteous solely on the basis of the merits of Christ's righteousness. God imputed believer's sin to Christ account in His sacrifical death. The sinner receives this gift of God's grace by faith alone. Justification is a gracious gift God extends to the repentant, believing sinner, wholly apart from human merit or work.

Paul used the model of Abraham to prove justification by faith alone because the Jews held him up as the supreme example of a righteous man (John 8:39), and because it clearly showed that Judaism with its work-righteousness ave deviated from the faith of the Jew's patriarchial ancestors.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

As in the case of Abraham, Abraham did nothing to accumulate it; God simply credited it to him. God took His own righteousness and credited it to Abraham as if it were actually his. God did this because Abraham believed in Him. This is the heart of the doctrine of justification, whereby God declares the repentant sinner righteous the moment he places wholehearted faith in Christ and His sacrificial death. Christ made atonment by shedding his own Blood on the Cross. This provides forgiveness. And just as our sins were put to His account when He bore them on the Cross, so now His righteousness is reckoned as our own. His perfect righteousness thus becomes the ground on which we stand before God.

The Lord is mightier than them all.

“The mighty oceans have roared, O Lord, The mighty oceans roar like thunder, The mighty oceans roar as they pound the shore. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas, mightier than the breakers of the shore. The Lord above is mightier than these” Psalm 93: 3-4

In most of our mission fields and what we know African Traditional Religion (ATR) to be, people seem to ascribe spirituality and reverence to things that they cannot understand. Trees like the Iroko are worshipped as a wonder of the gods. In fact, issues of life are divided between the gods and humans. The roaring of the mighty oceans is one of the things that the ‘gods’ do, hence the worship of the gods/goddesses of the seas. This is because they cannot comprehensively understand the issue of the oceans.

However, a lot of these things are superstitious while demons have taken advantage of people’s ignorance to exploit them and receive worship from them.

The Lord above is mightier than them all.

God is eternal. He has no beginning and no end. He has always existed and dwells from eternity past. He created the universe and the host we know and the ones we don’t know, even the seas. The Lord above is mightier than them all.

He deserves our worship and reverence। In the arena called “time” where human beings live, we go through all kinds of troubles। The idea here is that even if your troubles are like the ‘violent raging of the seas’, the Lord above is mightier than them all and is able to bring you deliverance।
This morning i heard my wife singing the old Scripture Union Spiritual:

"No man can walk upon the sea"
"No man can walk upon the sea"
"No man can walk upon the sea"
"Only Jesus can walk upon the sea"

It's well with you.

Joseph: His God-given Dreams

This is part of a series of studies we are doing on the life of Joseph. Joseph indeed is a challenge both to the young and the old today. He is a model to servants and those who are going through difficult times in their lives. We hope that it is going to be a blessing to you. Remember you are free to comment and/or write us.

Gen 37:19-20 “And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” (KJV) If you can, try and read the whole of that chapter in Genesis here. The brothers of Joseph hated him because of envy. Firstly, their father loved and favoured him. Secondly, he had dreams about his life which suggested that he would be greater than all of them sometime in the future. In fact, their hatred increased because of his dreams. Look at the list: “…they hated him…” (Gen.37: 4) “…they hated him all the more…” (vs 5) “…and they hated him all the more because of his dream…” (vs 8) “His brothers were jealous of him…” (vs 11) The result of all these dreams was that in the course of doing his job and obeying his father, the brothers took him and would have killed him, but for the intervention of Reuben. They decided to sell him. Joseph was sold from one hand to another until he landed in the house of Potiphar in Egypt. If you examine carefully, it seems to me as if Joseph was sold naked or semi naked. This is because, Vs 31-33 says that they took his robe and dipped it in blood and took to their father so as to deceive him that a wild animal killed him. Joseph was mourned by his father and forgotten. Let’s take of these: Joseph lost the affection of his father, he lost the affection of his moderate brothers, he lost the company of all the people he was familiar with, he lost his freedom forever because he was sold as a slave. In Egypt, because of his fear of God, he ended up in prison and was disappointed and abandoned by pharaoh’s chief cupbearer. He had traumatic experiences. However, in spite of all these, there is one thing that Joseph did not lose – his relationship with God. A lot of people lose their relationship with God in the face of adversities. You may have lost ‘all’ in your adversities – relationships, material things, loved one, tragedies and you are like forgotten and abandoned in life by those who used to celebrate you. You may actually have forgotten all the dreams God gave you about your life and all you care about now is just how to have a relief. Please, do not lose your relationship with God. That is what is going to bring to pass your God-given dreams. The way Joseph took was the only way God had designed for his dreams to come to pass. He suffered but he was faithful in his relationship with God and in his service. At last, his God-given dreams came true. Your God-given dreams will eventually come true! Only continue in your love relationship with God and in your faithfulness.

SINGING & MAKING MELODY ON THE LORD

And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever (Revelation 5:13).

According to this verse in Revelation, every creature – which includes you and me – will be singing to the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. “But I can’t sing,” we say. However, one day we not only can sing, but will sing.

Now that you know that in the future you will be singing, there is no reason to wait until then. You can sing now. You can sing today! All of us might not be able to make melodies and sing like King David, but we can all make joyful noise onto the Lord. So what are you waiting for….go ahead and bring the sacrifice of praise onto our Lord.

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord (Ephesians 5:19).

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord (Colossians 3:16)

Joseph: A child of God can say no to sin

This is part of a series of studies we are doing on the life of Joseph. Joseph indeed is a challenge both to the young and the old today. He is a model to servants and those who are going through difficult times in their lives. We hope that it is going to be a blessing to you. Remember you are free to comment and write us.

Gen 39:6-9 “…Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he refused…How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" (NIV) Joseph was a very successful servant and was well favoured by his master, Potiphar. Also, he “was a very handsome and well-built young man” Vs 6. Soon his master’s wife began to desire him. She was bold and invited Joseph to bed with her, but Joseph said no. Now imagine the favours he would probably have enjoyed from the madam of the house assuming he conceded to her request, though we know, just like any gain or pleasure of sin, it would have been short-lived. Off course saying no to the woman was a risk in itself and eventually landed him into trouble. However, if you love God and you are a responsible son, you should be able to say no to sin even when it seems ‘risky’. Better land into ‘trouble’ with man and be at peace with God rather than the other way round. Most people are able to say no once but succumbs when under pressure. Potiphar’s wife “kept putting pressure on him day after day, but he refused to sleep with her, and kept out of her way as much as possible” Vs 10(NLT). Joseph devised ways of avoiding the woman. Why was he taking all the pains? He was determined in his refusal to sin against God. Often times, opportunity comes for us to prove our decisions. I don’t call it opportunity to sin but opportunity to test our decisions. Joseph was alone in the house doing his house cores. The desperate woman grabbed him on his cloth begging him to sleep with her. Joseph left his clothes with her and ran. God has not asked us to stand and resist temptation. He asked us to resist the devil but urged us to “flee from every appearance of evil” (1 Thess.5: 22). Temptation can come in several ways: in the course of discharging your duties in your workplace like Joseph, in your school, in house among neighbours, or even in the course of rendering service to God, like helping others etc. But one thing is clear, “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. (I Jn 3:9 NIV). If you are born of God, you have the capability to say no to sin and live a victorious Christian life.

Don’t Be Like A Horse Or A Mule

Today, there are a lot of people who are like horses and mules, wandering in and out of God’s will. Strong and zealous but cannot carry eternal secrets. Gullible Children who have refused to grow and cannot take responsibilities as sons. Read this piece and be blessed. Remember, we entertain questions as God helps us.

Ps 32:8-9 “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.” (NIV) The horse or mule has to be guided by bits and bridle in order to keep it under control. You beat it and charge it before it can respond to what you want it to do. There is no reasonable relationship between the rider and the horse. That is not the way God wants us to relate to Him. God wants us to walk with Him in love and intimate relationship. He wants us to respond to Him in obedience willingly without Him applying force or coercion on us. He wants us to be responsible sons committed to Him as our Father and Lord. He wants us to learn to walk with Him and understand His ways – men and women He can trust and entrust responsibilities into their hands. He can say of them like He said of Abraham “I know him…” We come to some level of trust with Him where He can ‘confide’ in us and share His heart with us and use us. You may be undergoing a ‘bit and bridle’ experience right now under God’s discipline. This is because God loves you and wants to keep you in His way. It is because He still has a plan for your life. He doesn’t want you to go far away before He starts looking for you. However, God wants you to grow and be trained in His ways so that you willingly follow and serve Him in His kingdom advance without ‘bits and bridle’. Children can be distracted by anything and cannot take responsibilities. Sons can. God does not want men and women that will be like a ‘senseless horse and mule’ (NLT) who will stop following Him but divert into some ‘bypasses’ because of the lusts and the pride of this life. He looks behind only to discover that something else has distracted them and turned them away from following. God will ask, “where is my son/daughter?” He will be told that he has gone to “play”. What God will do is that He will look for him, bring him back and try to put ‘bits and bridle’ on him so as to keep him within focus until such a time when the child has grown and He can entrust him with eternal secrets. God wants partners.

ERITREA: CHRISTIAN DIES IN MILITARY JAIL

Many have died and yet more are suffering because of their faith. This is a story from here Rev 7:14 14 "And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (KJV)
	Torture, illness claim life of believer denied medical treatment unless he recanted. LOS ANGELES, February 22 (Compass Direct News) – An Eritrean Christian died in prison last week, four and a half years after the Eritrean regime jailed him for worshipping in a banned Protestant church. From the southern port city of Assab, local Christians confirmed the death of Magos Solomon Semere on Thursday (February 15) at the Adi-Nefase Military Confinement facility just outside Assab. According to one source, Semere, 30, died “due to physical torture and persistent pneumonia, for which he was forbidden proper medical treatment.” He had reportedly endured a long period of severe illness in the months prior to his death.
Read it all and keep praying for the persecuted saints around the world.

Joseph: Humanly forgotten but divinely remembered.

This is part of a series of studies we will do on the life of Joseph. Joseph indeed is a challenge both to the young and the old today. He is a model to servants and those who are going through difficult times in their lives. We hope that it is going to be a blessing to you.

Gen 40:8-22 “And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph…And Joseph said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days: Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee unto thy place: and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon…And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand… Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.” (KJV) Here we see Joseph interpret a dream to Pharaoh’s Butler who was in the prison with him at that point in time and had a dream. According to Joseph’s interpretation of his dream, the Butler would soon be restored to service in the presence of Pharaoh and again be close to the corridors of power. What is moving is the request he made to the Butler: “But think on me when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon” For the first time we saw Joseph’s emotion poured out. He was feeling abandoned. He was in anguish. He felt injustice and oppression. Like Job, he felt he was being treated unfairly. So he saw the moment with the Butler an opportunity. He asked the Butler to remember him before Pharaoh. However, the Butler forgot and abandoned him in the prison. “Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him.” How many times have you felt abandoned in this life because friends and those you trust so much have failed you? You may be struggling right now with a feeling of shattered dreams, wondering what happened that you have found yourself in the present condition you are in. you may have suffered tragedy in your life, standing bewildered in the middle of a broken, you don’t know what to do. You are asking the question, what went wrong? Why is it that all the people you felt would be of help to you, all forgot you at the time you trusted them? Not just that these were friends, you have done them good at one time or the other and even aided in their being to the position were they are today. Unfortunately, all they could do to you is to forget you in your troubles. You may even have more questions than these. No matter your questions, you may not have answers to any of them. However, there is good news for your situation. Thank God the Butler didn’t remember Joseph. Thank God he forgot Joseph. If he had remembered him and pressed his case well, perhaps Pharaoh would have released Joseph but he would have remained a servant forever. The disappointments you are seeing today will come to an end. Thank God for all that have happened to you. They will all work together for your good. And we know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans. Rom 8:28(TLB) God had a plan for Joseph’s life. He wanted to come out of his troubles anyhow, but God said, ‘I have a better plan for your life though it would mean your staying in prison longer. Though the Butler abandoned you, I knew about it and I’ve been in control all this while so as to bring to pass my plan for your life. I’ve not abandoned you in spite of your feelings’. Joseph continued to trust God and He restored him in due time. Friends and people may forget you but God has not abandoned you.

Bible Study -Prayer

Topic: Prayer

Text: 1Tim.2: 1-4, 8

Memory Verse: "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing." 1 Tim.2:8.

Introduction:

Most a times when we mention prayer, people’s minds go to the stereotyped ways we have developed over time and the rituals we engage ourselves in, in our denominations. Actually, prayer is an expression of our relationship with God which includes calling upon Him, intercession, confession and thanksgiving. Because it is born out of relationship, there is no particular posture or mode that is holier than the other. Prayer can be made anywhere and anytime. The aim of this study is to encourage us to pray because God still answers prayer.

Discussion Questions:

1. What is prayer?
2. What promises do we have from these passages concerning our prayers? Jer.33:2,3; Mat.7:7-11; John 14:13-14; Rom.10:13.
3. How can these affect our prayers as individuals, families and a church? Love/Hatred, Unity/Division/Strife, Forgiveness/Un-forgiveness, Compassion/Indifference/Self-centeredness? Mat.18:18-19; 1Pet.3:7, Jas.4:2-3; Mat.5:7; 6:14-15; 1 Tim.2:8.
4. When prayers are delayed, what should be our attitude? Hab.3: 17-19; Lk.18: 1,7-8.
5. Read Acts 14: 3-5. What can we learn as a church from this passage?

Conclusion

God still answers prayers. His promises still hold true today. He is committedly involved in the things that concern you. He rules in the affairs of men. Call upon Him, keep calling upon Him and He will answer you.

Welcome!

This blog is an attempt to gather people of like minds to study the Word of God - The Bible.
We will dedicate ourselves to Research, Bible Study, Reports, Sharing Prayer Issues and Answer Questions from all our bloggers from around the world.
Troubled souls can equally receive counsel. I and my friend Emman will be praying for you. Be free to share your views no matter how diverse from ours.
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