Discover Jesus Christ’s Response To Persecutors

Have you ever wondered what should be your right response to your persecutors? Do you wonder what Christ would do in your position? The good news is that you don’t need to guess the answer, Christ in the scriptures mentioned what your response to persecutors should be. He also lived examples for you to follow. This post aims at helping you discover Christ’s response to persecutors.

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 – Matthew 5:44 (NKJV)

So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the Lord of hosts – Zechariah 4:6 (NKJV)

Many people face persecutors often if not daily and they are getting weary of them; they are wondering what should be the right response to them without disobeying God. The scriptures say that you should look unto Jesus the author and finisher of your faith – Hebrews 12:2. Follow His steps and you will not miss it at all.

Christ’s response

Jesus had so many persecutors while on earth and even now, but he had one response to them. And that was to pray for them. What! Yes, Christ said that you should pray for those that spitefully use you and persecute you – Matthew 5:44 and He also showed you examples to follow.

For instance, at Gethsemane, when the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, following the order of His persecutors, He didn’t support one of His disciples who struck off the ear of a servant of the high priest, instead He rebuked him. He told him that if He wanted He could have asked His Father to give Him more than twelve legions of angels to take care of His enemies – Matthew 26:51-53. After all the angels excel in strength (Psalm 103:20) and when the devil and his angels fought them in heaven, they prevailed not and were thrown out of heaven, never to return there again (Revelations 12:7-8).

The climax of Christ’s response to His persecutors came when He prayed for them on the cross. Instead of calling down fire to devour His enemies, He asked God to forgive them; that they didn’t know what they were doing! Read more..

How To Enjoy Heaven On Earth

Have you ever imagined how it would be like if you can start living on earth as if you were in heaven? Heaven being a beautiful place is paved with gold and is a pain and sorrow free place; you have only joy and peace. Is it possible to have heaven on earth you may ask? I have good news for you- yes you can enjoy heaven on earth. This post aims at showing you how to enjoy heaven while you are on earth.

And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” – Revelations 21:3-4 (NKJV)

In this manner, therefore, pray: our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven – Matthew 6:9-10 (NKJV)

Heaven is a place to be indeed! But why wait until you die or the end of the world before enjoying what heaven has to offer, when you can have it now on earth?

Revelations 21:3-4 tell us that God will later come and dwell with men, and at that time He will wipe away tears and there will be no more death, sorrow, crying or pain. So heaven will be a reality on earth later. But you can start enjoying it right now. I will tell you how.

How to enjoy heaven on earth

Jesus Christ while teaching how to pray showed us how to enjoy heaven on earth (Matthew 6:9-10):

1.       Through prayer.

Christ said you should pray for God’s kingdom to come and that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Therefore, anything you see happening around you that does not look like what happens in heaven, you have the power to change through prayers. You are to pray for heaven (God’s kingdom) to come down. And until you see it happen as it is in heaven, you don’t stop praying. Read more...

Key To Open Heaven

Open heaven is the answer to all human needs. Whatever you need: wealth, power, good health, success, fulfillment or all round blessings, the Lord in heaven can supply them to you. However, the question is, "how do you get the heavens to open and pour out these supplies to you?" This article is aimed at answering this question and more.

And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit - James 5:18 (KJV)

When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened - Luke 3:21 (NKJV)

And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, "Go up now, look toward the sea."... And seven times he said, "Go again." Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!"... Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain - 1 Kings 18: 42 -45 (NKJV)

God, the creator of the whole universe, is able to rain down supplies to as many as are able to open heaven. And as often as you are able to open the heaven, even so will heaven rain down your desires.

And prayer is the key to open the heavens over you. As simple as it sounds, any time you pray unto God in the name of Jesus in faith, the windows of heaven will open for you and rain down whatever you have asked for.
Christ encouraged you in Matthew 7:7-11 to knock and ask for whatever you desire, for it will be opened to you and you will receive what you asked for; that if men can give good gifts to their children just because they asked, then your Father in heaven will give much more good things to you because you asked Him.
Jesus also said in John 16:23-24, that whatever you ask the Father in His name He will give you; that you should ask and you will receive so that your joy may be full. And James, in James 4:2, agreed with Christ by saying that you do not have because you do not ask. Read more...

Preparing For A Successful New Year

Do you desire a better new year? Every New Year comes with new things attached to it, both challenges and success. But if you desire to see more of success then you need to earnestly prepare for it. A wise man said, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”. This article talks about an important aspect of preparing for a fruitful and successful New Year.

‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’ – Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him – 1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV)

How you start this year will, to a great extent, determine how you will end it, and what you do with the first month of the year will determine what you will get by the end of the year. It’s all about foundation. If the foundation is faulty what can the righteous do? – Psalm 11:3

Every product is best fixed by the manufacturer, so also a new year is best fixed by the creator. Therefore to have a most fruitful and successful year, you need to consult the Almighty God through prayer and fasting. Leaving the year to chance is an invitation to the enemy to do with you as he likes.

God says you should commit your ways to Him, trust also in Him and He will bring it to pass – Psalm 37:5. It is great wisdom to commit the year into the hands of God in prayer so that He will bring it to pass. God, being the Alpha and the Omega, knows the end from the very beginning and so is in the best position to guide and direct you throughout the year, but not without your permission.

It is through prayer that you give God the permission to guide and direct you. And because it is for the whole year, it is very important that you set out some time to seek God’s face concerning the year. And it’s best when you couple your prayers with fasting. Fasting certainly doesn’t change God but it does prepare you to hear and receive more clearly and accurately all that God has for you. Allow the Holy Spirit to direct you on how long you should fast. 
Read more...

Perfect Daily Prayers For Continuous Spiritual Growth

I discovered in the scriptures that the apostles especially Paul had consistent prayers he was praying for the disciples in his epistles to them. I started praying these prayers for myself and after some months, people (including myself) noticed the changes in my life. Since then, any time I have the opportunity I share it with people.

Below are the ones I pray more often with:

1. Prayer for Wisdom, Revelation and Understanding

• Ephesians 1:16-21 (NKJV)

¹⁶      do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers:
¹⁷      that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
¹⁸      the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
¹⁹      and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power
²⁰      which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
²¹      far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

• Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)

¹⁶      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. Read more...

Recommended Biblical Greetings

Checking through the New Testament, I discovered that there were two major prayer greetings that the disciples always used amongst themselves. These are greetings of peace and grace.

The scriptures say that we will have what we say, and that life and death lie on our tongues

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. (Mark 11:23 NKJV)

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit. (Proverbs 18:21 NKJV).

One important inheritance Christ left for us was His peace and the gospel of Christ is the gospel of grace.  Grace came from Christ (John 1:17) and Jesus encouraged the peace greeting by using it Himself:

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27 NKJV)

Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” (John 20:19, 21 NKJV)

Earlier when Jesus sent the disciples to go and preach the gospel, He instructed them to salute the household of any house they entered, and that if it is worthy, their peace would come upon it. But if it is not, their peace would return to them - Matthew 10:13. Read more...

 

The Miracles Of Jesus And Their Lessons (Part 2)

What miracles wrought by Jesus Christ can you tell? And what lessons from these miracles have you applied in your life? Every miracle is purely by the finger of God for no one can explain it; even so the miracles performed by Jesus Christ were purely the finger of God. This post gives the continuation of some of the miracles of Christ and the lessons drawn from them which you can apply to your life to experience multiply miracles too.

And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! – Mark 6:2 (NKJV)

I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me – John 5:30 (NKJV)

Now, let’s continue with Christ’s mighty works and what lessons we can learn from them:

6. The woman with issue of blood healed – Mark 5:25-34

A certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years. She had suffered many things from many physicians, spent all she had but never got better. When she heard about Jesus, she went behind Him and touched His garment. For she said, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made whole.”

Immediately she touched Him she was healed. Jesus knowing that power had gone out of Him, turned around and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” The disciples said to Him that the multitude was thronging Him and He was still asking who touched Him. Then the woman came and gave her testimony and Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed of your affliction.

Lessons:

• Jesus is the last bus stop for your challenge, for God will never refer you to another physician. He has the answer to that problem.
• Your mouth is the gateway to your salvation. You shall have what you say.
• Christ is the cheapest consultant for He charges nothing to help you. But He loves it when you receive Him as your lord and savior.
• You need to take action with the message of Christ that you hear so that you can access your blessings from God.
• Your faith makes you well.  Read more...