INSEPARABLE LOVE

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Romans 8:32

A lot of this day believers are faced with one challenge or the other at a point in life and rather than face and fight the real enemy the devil, they begin to withdraw slowly from God and his business/work. They make the challenge a priority. The life of Paul is our perfect example. After he met with God and at the initial stage of his work with God and his work for God, he had his freedom, he was able to travel around the world to make sure the gospel, the good news was heard. And then came a point when he was chained and imprisoned for the sake of the same gospel he preached, he didn’t relent on his mission neither did he grumble which was the case of John the Baptist, he made use of the measure of freedom he had even in the prison cells. He wrote lots of letters and admonition to the Church urging them to carry on the work of Christ he was persecuted and imprisoned for. He did all of this in chains.

Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds. Colossians 4:3

The salutation by the hand of me Paul. Remember my bonds. Grace be with you. Amen. Colossians 4:18

Paul was in chains and still cared about the gospel, he still wanted the Good news to be heard. He wasn’t in chains for some reason connected to his personal life, or for an act he committed or an omission. He was in there for the sake of the Gospel. What then..? What challenges are you facing that should make you turn your back against God? Am most positive the chains or bonds referred to in Colossians 4:3 & 18 is not restricted to being imprisoned, it could be the bonds of poverty, hunger, frustration, lack and want, traumas, sorrow or pain. These chains are inflicted on believers by the devil and in some circumstances these chains are as a result of one’s actions. If Paul could still pant and seek after God, and even continue the work of God in the measure he could , never for once did he blame God for ending up in the prison or did he think about ending his service to God. Then, that sums it all. Neither circumstance nor situation we find ourselves warrants or justifies withdrawal from our fellowship with God and from the things of God, or even judging God. Be it persecution from the preaching and practice of the gospel, the inflictions of the devil or what we bring upon ourselves. NOTHING should separate us from the love of God as well as continuing the work of God.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39…

God’s love for me is unchanging and so is my love for God. Nothing can stand in my way in my love for God.

……And hey!!!

P.S

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Romans 8:37

I AM CHRISTAIN, MOST IMPORTANTLY, I AM A BELIEVER

From the records of Scripture, it is a known fact that we were in no way referred to as “Christians” by Christ himself. Rather, the pagans paused for a moment, analyzed the lifestyle of the apostles of that time, saw undeniable similarity with the lifestyle of Christ and from then on, referred to as Christians. Acts 11:26. The word Christian is translated as Christ like. Have you ever paused to ask why we were so called (Christians) originally by the Pagans? There obviously was a light they saw in Christ and his representations of earth. They also saw his mark being replicated in an outstanding manner and even in a multiplied state.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. John 14:12

So that from his body [Peter] were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Acts 19:12  Emphasis mine.

          Jesus is the most awesome Spirit man ever. He didn’t do the work all alone to gain recognition and a Crown of Glory from our Heavenly Father. If he had wanted to preach to save the entire world and even generations still unborn, it certainly was and is not a difficult thing to do.

                                  Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard                                     for me? Jeremiah 32:27

             He didn’t take up the task all to himself, he wanted us to be partakers of his glory in Heaven. He created a path for us to follow to become just like him and to be partakers of eternal glory. Even here on earth, in a family setting, we like it so much when we get praised by our earthly Father for having participated in something that have overtime yielded great results or something worthwhile. How much more when we are highly recognized to be solely responsible for what we are acknowledged for. Am sure you can relate. But no, Christ was different. He didn’t want to be the only one acknowledged. He really wanted us to be partakers; he wanted for us just what his entitlements were. A Crown, Glory and Eternal Life. The Apostles of the time understood these facts clearly and they began to work in the path created by Jesus. They upheld the gospel transferred to us from many generations to this present day. Any time there was a gathering, people need not be told that the Christians were gathered because of the acts displayed and the results of the gatherings.

            However, this day definition of Christianity is being compromised. A lot of people under the covering and pretence of being Christians have hurt a good number of people who unknowingly have high expectations from Christians. This explains comments like ‘and she claims she’s Christian. I least expected such show of character’. This comment establishes a great deal of expectations from the Christian folks. If you ever mention to someone that you are Christian, the thought that first crosses their minds is perfection, love, charity peace because that is what we preach. Unless of course, you give them a reason to doubt it. In the world today, there are a lot of misrepresentations about the personality of a Christian. It’s so sad that when you identify yourself as Christian, people begin to look out for negative things. Even Christ had a premonition that this time will come and so he warned us to beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

                                                 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's                                                                   clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15

            People now associate this day Christianity with spite, hate, disdain, distrust and many negative things, but that doesn’t dissuade me from having to identify myself as a Christian. I am Christian! I certainly do not want to run away from it, I truly want to represent what the name stands for and it is my responsibility to carry on this legacy passed from the apostolic generation to this present generation and to the world at large. I want to protect that name and bring back its originality and its distinct qualities which include having so much love to give to everyone, peace, charity, perfection, beauty, righteousness, holiness and more. I want that more than anything. I want the world to again see its true meaning.

             I am a Believer because I have total and absolute faith in God. I trust him completely without any reservations whatsoever.  Being a Believer also entails establishing a relationship with God and having an insatiable hunger to know and want more of God.

                                            But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that                                                         cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them                                            that diligently seek him. Hebrew 11:6                                                            

                                          [for my determined purpose is] that I may know Him [that I may                                              progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him,                                          recognizing and understanding the wonders of His person more strongly                                         and more clearly] and that I may in that same way come to know the                                         power outflowing from His resurrection [which it exerts over believers]                                        and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed                                        [in spirit into His likeness even] to His death,[in the hope] that is possible                                       I may attain the[spiritual and moral resurrection [that lifts me] out from                                        among the dead [even while in the body.] Philippians 3:10-11

            So this is it. Cards on the table. I am Christian because it is my responsibility and most importantly I am a Believer.