Category: The believer’s walk

Posted on

The battle with sin

When we get saved,the Bible says that we are no longer under the control of the prince of the power of the air. We are delivered from darkness into the kingdom of the son of his love. We have the Holy Spirit and we have grace to live right. So why is there a culture of sinning among the saints?

When we get saved we receive a “fight” between us and what once enslaved us. We can resist or are called to resist what we once easily yielded to without question. We are called to pluck out our eyes when they cause us to sin or cut off our hand which causes us to sin. All this denotes a  severe confrontational uprooting of sin. We are not to take it lightly. Sometimes we battle with sin due to not being cognizant of the fact that we are cutting off the fruit which proceeds to rear its head instead of addressing the root.

The snare of sin

We communicate the dangers of sin and why we should not sin and we should. However, wholeness and inner healing should be spoken of equally. Our broken childhoods, unmet needs, wounds in our souls, fears, and hidden issues in our hearts make us susceptible and vulnerable to sin. We are a three part being namely spirit, soul and body thus, things  are not always as they seem. Consider the following illustrations;

-The command from the Lord is to not fornicate yet a man who has rejection issues coupled with idolatry falls prey to a counterfeit love interest who threatens to end the relationship unless they engage in sexual relations.They find themselves in a cycle of fornication due to not standing up for the truth and remaining single until the Lord sends them a Godfearing partner.This is a multi layered situation and conundrum which arises from being on the throne of our lives instead of giving that place to the Lord. The enemy’s wiles will possess greater sting and potency on such a one.  

-Gluttony thwarts the efforts of one who is overweight because they find comfort in food. Without addressing the emotional aspect of this dynamic they remain in a pool of defeat.

-The man who oversteps on his marriage due to soul ties they failed to break ahead of getting married.

The list is neverending. Our needs and brokenness give expression to sin in our lives not because we want to, but due to the fact that we are seeking to have our needs met. Unmet needs when not addressed and identified lead many on a voyage of bondage to sin. Many attempt to fast and be delivered from demons to no avail. Frustration accompanies many on their walk with the Lord not by virtue of a deficiency in effort but due to unresolved issues that lie behind the veil, maneuvering them with subtle tyranny like a puppeteer. Until the issue is addressed, bondage will persist. 

Mind renewal as a tool to overcome 

 We act according to what we believe. The dangers of not addressing issues in our lives and seeking healing from past or even present hurts is that they serve as data for our subconscious to utilize in order to “protect us” . Our minds and soul seek to protect us from threats and will ensure that we are faithfully acting according to the script it has for us. For instance, when we have a belief that no one can be trusted, we will act according to that belief by not trusting anyone. We need not exert much effort, the action will automatically align with that belief. We will even find ourselves sabotaging healthy relationships to remain faithful to the script in our minds. This is why the Lord tells us to renew our minds because we are wired to act according to what our minds believe. 

Conversely, we may have knowledge of the truth and still fall into sin! 

When this occurs, we are required to confront a lie we are believing. Lies lead to bondage which prohibits truth from being implanted in us. They cause us to come into agreement with the enemy, leading to a formation of strongholds. Effort is required to dismatle them. We have to apply the word repeatedly and implant truth that will take root.We do not put on new clothes without taking a shower or a bath first, yet many attempt to put on Christ without washing themselves with the water of the word. 

For those who are exposed to prophetic environments, the solution presented is mainly deliverance and prayer. However, that is a power encounter that will uproot the entity. Many experience deliverance only for bondage to return on their way home. The issue needs to be severed at the root. At times counselling is required to ensure long lasting freedom. When the root is unknown, deliverance is ministered and the person fills up with the Word in general and not according to how they were bound. This will lead to frustration. 

Sometimes, issues in our lives make it seem as though the weapons of the enemy are exceedingly potent when in actual fact, he just walked in on a situation that was compromised and precarious, giving him an advantage. He wins victories he should not be winning because he is after all a defeated foe. when two individuals, one who has a robust immune system and one who is immunosuppressed are exposed to the same germ, the former can walk away from that encounter unharmed while the latter can be hospitalized. It’s not that the germ suddenly increased its potency when it entered the immunocompromised individual. It is uncomplicated for the spirit of rejection to oppress an individual who has wounds of rejection. It is facile for self pity to oppress one who is compromised in this area with a victim mentality. Little is required to establish agreement and achieve torment. It is not that the spirit was vicious, but the battle was lost before it commenced.

Ultimately, many forgo the discomfort of freedom because of the solace they experience in bondage. The process of liberation often necessitates the agonizing severance of ties that, while  dear to us, serve as the life giving force to our confinement. When we are in love with our chains, we won’t seek to be free. The Israelites moaned concerning the manna. They longed for the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic they ate in Egypt. They forgot that they cried out to the Lord to set them free and began to long for slavery when they were confronted with the price and challenges connected to their freedom. Unfortunately, this is the reality that some choose for themselves. 

Posted on

Living right does not exempt us from testing, it invites it

God strips us for various reasons. He can even strip us of what we have to get our attention and pull us to Himself when we have wandered off. 

One of the reasons God exposed Job to the devil was to increase him. Contrary to popular belief, misfortune does befall the obedient.

Job was proceeding well in his Christian walk because he wasn’t being tested. When he was, he questioned God and sinned. Sometimes we are “good believers” due to the Lord not permitting any tests our way. We spend time with the Lord blissfully and once we interact with the world, we find ourselves getting offended at a snarky remark or hastily giving into anger when the Word instructs us to be slow to it.

Job felt that so long as he lived right, no testing should befall him. He trusted in his righteousness instead of the Lord. He felt that God was being unjust (Job 9 :22-24) Joseph on the contrary,  fled  Portipher’s wife’s seduction and yet was incarcerated. God left him there for yrs even though he was innocent, however, he dared not question or complain against  God. Living right does not exempt us from testing, it invites it. 

Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego(The three Hebrew boys) uttered the famous words “our God will deliver us but even if he doesn’t we will not bow” ( Daniel 3 : 17-18) This is what Job lacked. He felt that his righteousness should exempt and disqualify him for testing but the 3 Hebrew boys said “even if he doesn’t deliver us, we won’t bow”. They trusted in the Lord regardless of the outcome.

Testing shows where our trust lies. It exposes us.

Some people upon witnessing how the Lord took us through the fire and brought us out unscathed, or at least hear that He did, believe in His existence. Our testimonies are potent in giving people a taste of the reality of our God. The Lord calls us to be His witnesses. What is a witness? According to Merriam-webster disctionary it is:

  • 1  attestation of a fact or event : testimony
  • 2
  • : one that gives evidence
  • specifically : one who testifies in a cause or before a judicial tribunal
  • 3
  • : one asked to be present at a transaction so as to be able to testify to its having taken place
  • 4
  • : one who has personal knowledge of something

As it pertains to believers, we share about the Lord, our testimonies and how we have seen that the “God of the Bible” is truly who He says He is. He performed this in my life or so and so’s life.I saw it.

King Darius recognized that Daniel’s God is the true living God when he survived the lions. 

Sometimes, issues that the Lord permits are typically enduring due to the Lord having an end goal. He is seeking to accomplish something.The capacity of the Lord to utilize a life surrendered in faith is beyond human comprehension. The Bible says those that know their God shall do exploits(Dan 11:32), not those who believe in the Lord. Consider Daniel. His faith in God changed the worship of an entire kingdom! ( Daniel 6: 26).No church, nor group of believers were present.The Lord accomplished this through one man . Additionally, we observe this in Paul’s life as well.When he was on the island of Malta he was bitten by a venomous serpent that should have ended his life. The Lord permitted this because the inhabitants of that island knew the type of species the serpent was.Needless to say, it opened the door for the gospel to be preached and for souls to be won. Such narratives are replete in the body of Christ.

Furthermore, Paul and Barnabas were scourged and through that painful, agonizing encounter, the jailer and his family were saved. On the tv program, The 700 club, a story was narrated of a group of young men who travelled to an island where the Word had never been preached before. Lamentably, the men were killed by the inhabitants of that island. However, today, the descendants of those martyrs are preaching on that island. The people who murdered the young men received salvation; however, what paved way for this salvation were the valiant young men who were on fire for God and wanted to take the Gospel where it had not been heard. I can recall the story of a prominent pastor in the body of Christ who took the gospel to an Islamic state. He and his team were severely battered anand bruised and he inquired of the Lord if they should depart and go home. The Lord exhorted them to stay and today, they have been able to establish a church there. 

 Misunderstanding the ways of the Lord yields errors in judgment. Unbeknownst to Job, he was being prepared to receive a deeper revelation of the Lord. He concluded after the Lord questioned him “ truly I spoke of things I have not known”(Job 42:3). Some revelations and increases do not come through fasting or praying but through overcoming testing. Job is  testament of this. 

Posted on

Trials, tribulation and afflictions

The life of the believer is one that is not without trials, afflictions and tribulations. The Lord even guaranteed that we will face trouble in this world(John 16:33). Sometimes we make the error of telling the unsaved that if they follow Jesus Christ then all trouble will cease in their lives; that everything in their lives will go smoothly. We even have church songs that validate this fallacy saying, “there are no troubles when God is near”. However, scripture states otherwise. The Lord has not promised to keep us from trouble. He thrusts us into it, knowing that He has overcome the world. He has called us to overcome. The Bible says He has given us an overwhelming victory(Rom 8:37) however that is our spiritual standing. We have to walk it out. 

We are called overcomers, yet in the book of Revelations we are told repeatedly that “he who overcomes…” and a reward will be given such a one. So we are to overcome whatever that we face to win the reward. 

The pursuit of a righteous lifestyle is not a mechanism for the avoidance of trials, nor should it be utilized as such, for such an endeavor shall prove futile. One must adhere to a path of rectitude solely to honor the Lord and to submit fully to His divine Lordship. Trials remain a distinct and inevitable phenomenon that shall manifest regardless of one’s personal conduct

​It is profoundly distressing to encounter adversity despite having exhausted every effort to prevent its occurrence

This may be the believer suffering from lung cancer yet they haven’t smoked a day in their life. Or the married couple struggling to conceive yet walked in purity in the days of courtship and  have honored their marital vows. Nevertheless, the grace of the Lord is sufficient for us.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all(Psa 34:19). The Lord desires us to have experiential knowledge of His Word and not to merely quote scripture. When we face trials and see the Word cause a shift, a resolve is forged in us. Our faith in the Word deepens. It is an error to think that living right and walking in obedience exempts us from trials. Job received a good report from the Lord yet he was sifted by the enemy. 

With that said, the enemy goes about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour(1 Peter 5:8). He cannot devour everybody. As believers we will face the enemy until the day we leave this earth. We don’t even have to do anything for him to attack us; we are to trust that whatever attack the Lord permits will be used for our good.

Some benefits of trials and tribulations

  • They produce patience
  • They bring us closer to the Lord
  • We can be anointed by what we go through so that others can be set free through us
  • They bring us closer to the Lord
  • They strengthen our trust in God
  • We grow through them
  • They make us unshakeable and not easily moved 
  • The Lord can use them to prepare us for our destiny
  • They can equip us with compassion for those going through what we went through
  • The Lord can expose the enemy’s wiles and strategies to us
  • Our testimony of overcoming them can encourage others going through the same thing
  • Overcoming them brings promotion from the Lord and He can entrust us with more responsibility

It is imperative to know the Lord’s role and ours when going through trials. Who has the Lord promised to be for us while we go through trials? Here’s a few:

  • A refuge and  stronghold ( Psa 9:9)
  • Our confidence( Proverbs 3:25-26)
  • The One who will fight for us and we are to be still(Exo 14:14)
  • He will uphold and strengthen us( Isa 41:10)
  • He will be with us in trouble, deliver and honor us (Psa 91:15
  • Cause our enemies to be defeated before our face and scatter in 7 directions
  • Our strength(Psa 37:39)
  • Hide us in His pavillion, in the secret place of His tabernacle and set us upon a rock. He will cause our head to be lifted above our enemies( Psa 27:5-6)

Our role is:

  • To take refuge in Him(Nahum 1:7)
  • Trust in Him
  • Cast our burden upon Him(Psa 55:22)
  • Submit ourselves to Him, resist the devil(James 4:7)
  • Stand(Eph 6:13)
  • Fight the good fight of faith(1 Tim 6:12)
  • Cry out to Him(Ps 34:17)
  • Maintain our gaze on Him(25:15)
  • Remain in His presence
  • Know that we are kept(Ps 121:5)
  • Know that He will make it work for our good(Rom 8:28)
  • Seek His face, remind Him of His promises and who He promised to be for us while in it

There are moments where we can barely hold on to Him and our hope is shattered. The Lord is called the author and finisher of our faith. He has promised to uphold us. It is written: The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in his way. Though he fall he shall not be utterly cast down for he will uphold him with his hand(Psa 37:24). He is called the lifter of our heads(Psa 3:3). So we should never feel that if we fail then it will be our demise. The responsibility for our spiritual sustenance does not reside within ourselves; rather, even within the specific roles we are ordained to fulfill, our absolute reliance must be placed upon the Lord.

 We are required to remain steadfast in His presence because that’s where our safety resides. We encounter superfluous adversity when we abandon the bounds of His presence and attempt to resolve the problem on our own and risk losing the “adding” that was connected to the trial . Additionally, God ordained trouble can beget more ungodly trouble, leading to a plentitude of issues God never intended for us to experience. When the Lord leads us through adversity, we are to trust that He has already provided means to sustain us. We may not be made privy to this and so we are required to walk by faith. Consider Elijah who was fed by a raven and Paul who was provided for in prison by the Philippian church. The trial is not to merely discomfit; it is always for a purpose. There is grace when we go through trials that but that grace is only in His presence. Trials add to the believer, and if they ever take anything away, it was a hindrance or He excised it to ensure more fruitfulness. Psalm 138:7 says Though I walk through the midst of trouble you will revive me. You will stretch your hand against the wrath of my enemies and your right hand will revive me. 

Revive according to Strong’s concordance means: keep, give promise, nourish, preserve, quicken, repair, restore, save, be whole…

Those are the benefits of walking through the midst of trouble! He promises to keep us. That means we will not be lost to Him while in trouble. He will give us a promise and we certainly require it so that we do not despair. 

To nourish according to the English dictionary means

  • To nurture , rear
  • To promote the growth of
  • To furnish or sustain with nutriment: to feed
  • Maintain, support

So the Lord utilizes trouble as breeding ground for our growth. He takes on the role likened to that of a mother towards her newborn babe or the role of a committed gardener. He is steadfastly committed to our growth and He provides the necessary nutriment and scaffolding. When we do not know that, we fall into resentment, offense and get angry at Him. Regrettably, due to our myopic view, we may walk away from Him.

Additionally, we may pray to the Lord and He might answer the prayer with a trial. Why? Because it adds to us. One of the definitions for revive is restoration. When we are not acquainted with how He sometimes answers prayer we may be tempted to be offended at Him. We may feel that He is not answering our prayers due to falling into endless trials. However it is written that we are to rejoice when that transpires

Sometimes the deliverance is in the fire. Believers often petition the Lord with the expectation that He shall prohibit the occurrence of trouble. Nevertheless, the Sovereignty of God occasionally permits such hardships to transpire, recognizing that the most sscaffolding. Salvation is often achieved through the experience of the trial rather than the avoidance of it.Although Daniel prayed to the Lord ahead of time, he was saved through immersion in the Den.

Myles Munroe: Daniel’s quality of Kingdom faith is very rare today in the religious community as many of our contemporary doctrines and belief systems promote a shallow version of faith that focuses more on “avoidance faith” than enduring and overcoming faith. It is a faith built on avoiding troubles, trials, and tests rather than enduring and overcoming these temporary opportunities to prove the eternal power of our Kingdom. We need the faith of Daniel to be restored to our world today.

It is written when you go through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, the flames will not set you ablaze ( Isa 43:2)

Posted on

Dying to self

We are called to die to self. Paul says I count the things I left behind as dung so that I may gain Christ(Phil 3:8). The Lord gives us commands that we are to follow however we need to rely on the Spirit to do so. Many are defeated by sin due to relying on themselves. The Holy Spirit is called the Helper for a reason. Paul says to the Galatians; You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh ( Gal 3:1-3)This is the reality of many. We want to overcome without ever leaning on the Spirit thus we weary ourselves and wallow in sin, feeling utterly defeated. 

Dying to self includes dying to our own will, ways and desires. The Lord places a demand on us to leave what is misaligned with His will for us. This is challenging as we have our own will and desires however, we are to permit the Lord to actually be our Lord, which means owner.What do we do when we are enamored with what He demands we relinquish? 

  • We can ask Him to give us the desire to let it go
  • We can ask Him to take away the love we have for the item or person
  • We can ask to be fortified to obey His command
  • We can ask Him to show us the truth about what we love

We are to plant ourselves in His presence, lean on Him so that we receive His strength and obey. We are then to count that item as “dung” and cease yearning for it. If we keep looking at it, our affection will never die. We are to stand with the Lord in agreement and not with our hearts. When we stand with the Lord,our will, will die. This is also a helpful strategy in overcoming sin. We can never overcome what we yearn for. 

Dying to self is a daily choice, an unceasing commitment. The Apostle Paul said I die daily(1Cor 15:31) When we stop dying, we commence to live in sin. 

Amy Klutinoty: Die to self.

Die to your ego. Die to what you think you deserve. Die to the fear that holds you back. Die to materialism. Die to greed. Die to worldly accolades. Die to the addiction of seeking attention and validation. Die to fleshly lusts and addictions. Die to the desire to always be understood and accepted. Die to false expectations. Die to worldly reputation. Die to your vanity, your pride…Die to self and live for Christ

Benefits of dying to self

Dying to self empowers our christian walk. It ensures our forward movement and loosens the grip of entanglements that hold us back. We are liberated to be consumed by the will of the Father. Jesus, who had no sin was born for the sole purpose of living for the Father’s will. He even said “ the prince of this world is coming but he has nothing in Me. He has nothing in common with Me”(John 14:30). He had nothing in common with the enemy and thus He proceeded to make strides and progress in His personal growth, growing in favor with God and with people(Luke 2:52) and fulfilling His ultimate purpose of dying for our sin. 

Additionally, He was unnerved by people’s rejection, preferences, mockings, hatred and when He was misunderstood. We stand to gain this and more when we die to self. 

King Saul was not dead to self and this caused a plethora of issues that disqualified him as a king. He was controlled by people, lived to please his followers and sought their approval more than God’s. The Bible says fear of man brings a snare but those that trust in the Lord shall be kept safe(Prov 29:25). Everything that serves as oxygen and a necessity for the survival of self will serve as a chain and a hindrance to us. It is an unnecessary weight we don’t require. 

Other things that inflate self that are required to die are 

  • Our timing
  • Our preference and how we think our lives should be
  • How we feel the Lord should speak to us

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:20)

Because we were crucified with Christ, there should be a marked difference in how we live now. The old us was living without any faith in the Lord. We could face life without Him however,  now that we are saved, we should not be able to do life without Him. Even the Lord said He lived because of the Father(John 6:57

Posted on

The narrow and wide gates

The way of destruction accommodates many individuals; however, the way that leads to life is selective.The way of destruction has a low standard and is low maintenance. Minimal effort and exertion are required and it is accessible. The wide gate places no demand on the one going through it. Many companions are found in the  destructive way, ensuring that solitude is a foreign concept. The difficult way is challenging, not impossible to find. The narrow gate selects and determines what can come along with us on the journey to the difficult way. It requires one to be lightweight. This is why the Lord purges our conscience of dead works and repentance is a way of life in this way. Agreements with the enemy are shut out and we walk circumspectly to avoid getting entangled with anything that will make us lose our footing.Heb 12:1 says we are to lay aside every weight which means burden (weight). If it hinders us it is weight that should be set aside. 

Only the Holy Spirit can determine what this weight is. Many may say what they are accommodating in their life is not necessarily “weight” because they find it pleasurable and even destressing. Nevertheless, it is an observable fact that sin offers a transient pleasure. It is often most difficult to relinquish those elements which the Holy Spirit must excise, for they are frequently rooted in our affections.

We are naturally inclined or predisposed to love what the Lord hates. It is only when the Holy Spirit works in us to hate what He hates do we come into agreement with Him. The narrow gate makes it difficult to find the way that leads to life on account of many wanting to find it without going through the selection process; nevertheless, Jesus told us that there are requirements to following Him. We must deny ourselves, pick up our cross and follow him. Many want to follow Him without meeting His requirements and by doing so, close off the way to the path that leads to life in their own faces. Many want to bring forbidden items on the journey thereby making it even more arduous, laborious and impossible to find this path leading to life. Paul said he counted everything as dung so that he may gain Christ(Phil 3:8). This path cannot be stumbled upon nor be found arbitrarily. There needs to be a conscious and deliberate effort towards finding it. It is meant to be found-”few find it”. It must be sought after. It must be desired.Once found, it leads to life. We will experience life on this side of eternity and in the next. It is life for your soul, spirit and body. We may lie to ourselves and claim to be on this path but the absence of life will testify against us. It will prove us to be liars. 

Strive to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able(Luke 13:24)

Consider the rich young ruler, who was told to divest himself of all possessions and give the poor to gain eternal life; however, he was unwilling. He wanted to do things his way and still enter through the narrow gate. He was barred out. Isaiah 1 chronicles how Israel was in rebellion. They were covered with wounds from head to toe with no healthy spot on their body. Their wounds had not been dressed yet. They brought sheep to be burned as sacrifices and the fat of fine animals. Yet the Lord said it was useless to bring Him offerings and when they lift their hands in prayer, He will not look at them. He wanted to wash their sin away; however, they were unwilling ( Isa 1:1-20). They wanted to serve Him according to their terms;however, He would not have it. He rejected them. He has not changed. If we persist to carve out our own way of worshipping Him we will not enter through the narrow gate.

How can we enter through the narrow gate?

-Living a life of repentance

-Dying daily

-Walking daily in His light where His Word determines our steps

-Seeking the Lord on His terms

-Allowing the Spirit to lead us

-Submitting to the sanctification process

– Avoiding compromise

-Not conforming to the ways of this world

– Putting on Christ which is putting on His character

-Ensuring to seek Him daily with hearts that genuinely desire to know Him

– Loving what the Lord loves and a hatred for what He abhors

Posted on

How we live matters

As children of God we will stand out from the crowd. We must accept this truth and not recoil from it. The Lord’s ways expose us, we are lights set on a hill. So long as we live according to His Word, it will be apparent whose we are. This causes us to be labelled as weird or “taking this God thing too seriously” as they say, thus mistaking our devotion for religious fanatism.We will be the object of scorn and ridicule.So for fear of standing out, some succumb to compromise, conforming to worldly ways in attempts to fit in. We should not refuse to be transformed because we fear being seen as odd for we are strangers and sojourners in this world.

The cost of standing out

Some believers fear that they will be unrelatable and will face a lonely path and thus settle for surface level sanctification if ever. They fear the cost that is attached to truly following the Lord. Therefore, they choose to have one foot in the world and the other in the Lord, attenuating the potency of their devotion and witness. The Lord said to the church in Laodicea that He will spew it out of His mouth because it was neither hot or cold(Rev 3:15-16). This area of compromise feels safe and comforting. It does not threaten the way we order our lives nor our preferences. Many will look at us bewildered at how we are not engaging in sinful activities as they are. The Word says to not envy the sinner(Prov 23:17). It is written that faith made Moses when he was grown up, refuse to be called the son of the king’s daughter. He preferred to suffer with Gods people rather than enjoy sin for a little while. He reckoned that to suffer scorn for the Messiah was worth far more than all the treasures of Egypt…(Heb 11:24-26). He chose to stand on the side of righteousness even when it caused him due to valuing the Lord above worldly treasure.

What standing out entails

Standing out entails more than preaching the Word. It is how we conduct our lives on a daily basis, for the purpose of making Him known. We are living epistles. People look at us and get a glimpse of who the Lord is, His standard and His ways. But you are the chosen race, the King’s priests, the holy nation, God’s own people, chosen to proclaim the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his own marvelous light(1Peter 2:9). We usually celebrate the fact that we are a chosen race, His priests, a holy nation, his own chosen people however the reason why He made us that was for the purpose of proclaiming his wonderful acts. The Lord created us for His renown;For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear( Jer 13:11) How we live matters and serves as a witness to a dark world.By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith(Heb 11:7) When we walk by faith and obedience instead of hiding it we, like Noah, condemn the world. We show that it is possible to obey the Lord and their disobedience and rejection of the Lord is a choice. Why? because we are proof of it. Furthermore, the Word says that people suppress the truth in unrighteousness. When we live the way they do we do the same and the truth concerning the Lord does not reign.We are likened to billboards that echo Gods existence and that is why we cannot conform to the standard of this world. We will silence our witness, lose our light and lose our saltiness, which gives people a taste of who the Lord is.

The ever increasing light of the believer

When we get saved, our lives cease to be our own. We are connected to the Kingdom of Heaven and the will of the Lord. Salvation commences with the believer. The Lord transforms the believer and he or she is fortified to take responsibility over their own life and live deliberately in light of the principle and laws of the Lord which govern this realm below and His Kingdom. The light extends and is introduced into our families. With our presence and spiritual alertness and watchfulness, darkness and patterns that persisted or even seek to enter are thwarted or resisted. The light extends to the lost. Some individuals will not follow Christ because we evangelized, but on account of how they experienced the love of God through us. This testimony of Riaan Swiegelaar, a former South African Satanist( Satanic church co-founder)exemplifies this. He was shown love by a Christian woman, a poignant experience which marked his life: In mid-May, Swiegelaar gave his last interview as a member of the SASC on the CapeTalk radio station. Following the interview, a woman working for the station, whose name he would not reveal, came to him and demonstrated God’s love in an unexpected way.

“I told her, ‘I don’t believe in Jesus and I don’t believe Jesus Christ exists’ because I didn’t. She came to me after the interview, after I said that and she hugged me and she held me in a way that I’ve never been loved,” Swiegelaar said.

Therefore, the way we live has ramifications that are far reaching beyond ourselves. Failure to commit to the Lord in our actions means all that is stated in this piece is thwarted.

The last call by Charles Finney: Every christian makes an impression by his conduct and witnesses either for one side or the other. His looks, dress, whole demeanor, make a constant impression on one side or the other. He cant help testifying for or against religion He is either gathering with Christ or scattering abroad. At every step you tread on chords that will vibrate to all eternity. Every time you move, you touch keys whose sound will re-echo all over dark caverns and vaults of hell. Every movement of your lives, you are exerting a tremendous influence that will tell on the immortal interests of souls all around you