The leprosy test week 22, 2011

Listen, I’d like to share with you some thoughts on determining if a course of action is proper; those not explicitly written in scripture. For instance a lie is a lie and remains a lie. No need to judge it further. Jesus never lied and neither should we (white, black or other lie): and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless Rev 14:5(ESV). This guide comes from the test found in Lev 13 about determining if someone has leprosy; the leprosy test in short. If we agree sin (or any course of action unacceptable to God) is represented here by leprosy then applying the same principles help us accept or avoid such.
First, any suspicious behaviour, style of life or what you call it has to come before God. When a man has a rising in the skin of his flesh, or a scab or bright spot, and it is in the skin of his flesh like the plague of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests Lev 13:2(MKJV). The priests represent God. Check out the example of Moses: Moses brought their case before the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses Num 27:5, 6(ESV). With all sincerity take it to God. Sincerity unlike some who came to inquire of God through Jeremiah: make sure you have not decided on a course of action and just want God’s rubber stamp in the name of spirituality. When Jeremiah finished speaking to all the people all these words of the LORD their God, with which the LORD their God had sent him to them … all the insolent men said, "You are telling a lie. The LORD our God did not send you to say… Jer 43:1, 2 (ESV).
After thorough examination we can make immediate decisions. If it is causing a raw wound in the body of Christ, there is no need to wait further: if there is a white swelling in the skin that has turned the hair white, and there is raw flesh in the swelling, it is a chronic leprous disease in the skin of his body, and the priest shall pronounce him unclean. He shall not shut him up, for he is unclean Lev 13:10, 11(ESV). If it grieves the spirit within, wounding your relationship with the Lord, wounding other sincere believers, why wait further? Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ1Co 8:12(ESV). How will I know it is wounding me? Is the conscience still sensitive? The goal of this instruction is love that flows from a pure heart, from a clear conscience, and from a sincere faith. Some people have left these qualities behind and have turned to fruitless discussion1Ti 1:5, 6(ISV).

Judge it first week 21, 2011

“Look I was fasting and praying when this dream came to me, I am supposed to do things this way; God has spoken!” Bro take it easy and judge it, don’t be in a rush. We must judge all things and test every spirit. Dear friends, stop believing every spirit. Instead, test the spirits to see whether they are from God 1Jn 4:1(ISV). “Are you suggesting I have an evil spirit? How dare you. I am a tongue-talking spirit filled believer.” Please don’t look at it that way, are you not like Jesus? Even He who was filled with the Spirit without measure was given visions in the wilderness but not by God; the Devil took Jesus to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in all their greatness Mat 4:8(GNB) He used the word to judge it and had His victory: Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan! For it is written, 'You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"Mat 4:10(ISV).
“What’s wrong with doing it? Evangelist does it, and God is using him mightily. He must have tested it and found it is from God.” He is not the standard of conduct my dear. “You mean he is not your standard, jealous human being.” Of course he is not my standard, and I am NOT jealous of him at all. The standard of conduct and revelation is not who received it, or who is doing it, but the word of God. Even I speaking to you am not the standard. “How could you be the standard? Clearly you have forgotten not all things are written in scripture.” Agreed, but the standard of judgement in all is Jesus, the living word: on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus Rom 2:16(ISV). Does this fit in with His life and teachings? Your hesitation to subject things you want to do to the test of scripture is unbiblical and dangerous. Are you more spiritual than Peter who subjected his revelations to unnamed brethren? Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. When they heard this, they quieted down, and praised God, saying, "So God has given even the gentiles the repentance that leads to life." Act 11:4, 18 (ISV).
“And you can judge apostles now, eh?” Stop this spitefulness. Error takes root when men are no longer open to correction. God expects us to judge even prophetic utterances, how much more dreams. Two or three people should speak what God has revealed. Everyone else should decide whether what each person said is right or wrong 1Co 14:29(GW).

The vision is for an appointed time; wait for it Week 20, 2011

I was not interested in US immigrant visa lottery and told her exactly that. The lady disturbed me to put in for 2006 visa lottery. She offered to do all the applications for me and family. But as she kept pressing, just to get my peace I agreed but then kept forgetting the pictures. Four days to the end of the program, she came again to ask for the information and photographs. I then gave them to her just so she could leave me alone. At least I could now get some peace.
With a B.Sc in economics and an MBA in banking and finance, I was unemployed for 4 years. God had, in 1988, promised taking me to the USA. With the help of my brothers in the USA, I made several efforts to leave the country, to no avail. Eventually I got a visa to travel to Trinidad and Tobago in February 1996. I was excited! Unfortunately I was denied entry into the country for no clear reason. All efforts to explain myself and my itinerary with necessary documents fell on deaf ears. Instead, I was bundled into the next plane back to Nigeria. Deported! How humiliating. I wondered how God could allow that to happen to me. Devastated, I quietly decided to leave God. But no, I found myself continuing my service to the Lord steadfastly – God’s hand sustaining me. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end--it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay Hab 2:3(ESV).
I began producing and hawking popcorn for a living. I did this for 4 years and actually got married doing it. I also started making and selling ice cream, but the business became unsustainable a year after. God readily provided a job for me, allowing a seamless transition. Thus, I got my first formal employment 9 years after my MBA. Four and half years later, I headed a branch of an international IT company, where I was made to put in the US visa lottery. Two and half years after, I became the Managing Director of a micro finance bank. I felt settled.
Amazingly the visa lottery results came in 2007: I had been selected. I was stunned. The struggles came: why pull up and go to another land? My wife and I were both well established and starting anew was not a welcoming thought. By now (2008) the family had become comfortable, living in Trans-Ekulu a reputable part of Enugu. About that time, my wife was made a senior nursing officer. We turned to God. He reminded me that He foretold taking me to the United States 20 years ago. He arranged the application and ensured I put in; the lady who pressurized me so much had forgotten all about what she did! Initially, I wanted to take a leave of absence so I could retain my job and return to Nigeria until my wife passes her Board exams and gets a job, but God prevailed on me to trust Him absolutely and not look back. God provided funds and flew us on eagle’s wings to the United States in February 2009. "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?” 2Sa 7:18. That is how, 21 years after God spoke, the promise manifested.
Greg now lives and works in Patterson, USA with his family

At Gunpoint Week 19, 2011

It was no fake gun being pointed at me, and the man pointing it was no stranger. It was my own very father in broad daylight. He was so angry I would not agree to marry any of his approved suitors. That I claimed none of them was born again. Born again; I think that upset him even more. We were brought up in a religious home and my parents had church titles. This concept of born again was offensive to them. I no longer attended the same church as my parents. Were we saying they were no more Christians?
God said honour your father and mother; but that does not include marriage to an unbeliever! She is free to be married to any man she wishes, but only if he is a Christian 1Co 7:39(GNB). I was engaged to this fine brother who loves me and is zealous for Jesus. My mother was disappointed in my choice as he was from Enugu State...and he sold pop corn for a living. Yes pop corn, though he had a Masters from University of Nigeria. I had rich suitors that lived in USA but I refused them. To my mother it was foolish, and my father was enraged. In this confrontation he ordered me at gunpoint “Pack your things and leave my house!”
I was determined to marry with parental consent, both parents. But I was never going to submit to any unbeliever 2Cor 6:14. I went straight to a prayer meeting in my church. The brethren prayed for me that my father would receive me back into the house, and that my husband from the Lord would find favour in their eyes. The leader urged me not to stay on at the prayer meeting. The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will Pro 21:1(ESV). This Enugu State pop corn seller began to find favour before my parents’ eyes, my mother leading. He was encouraged to bring his people for marriage rites!
My father handed me away in our wedding; in a church he did not attend. Of course my mother was there. At the reception Dad said something like “Parents should respect the wishes of their children about marriage and not insist”. God had certainly done His bit. The story does not end here. He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD Pro 18:22(ESV). I held on to this scripture. I worked in a private hospital that did not pay too well, and he still sold pop corn; but we trusted God. His job began to change, after his pHD an information technology firm hired him to manage their operations at Nsukka. It meant he was away from home and the work schedule was very tasking. We decided he should give it up. He was called for a new job: managing director of a micro credit bank! I was also given employment in a federal hospital when I was close to delivery. Over a thousand nurses applied but I was taken even though I could not start immediately but had to deliver and nurse the baby. Who did I know to secure this job, who was my godfather: God almighty! He alone has been moving us up. Child of God hold on to the word of God. It can never fail. What more? We got a USA visa lottery in 2007. Ifeoma now lives and works in Patterson, USA with her family

Don't let it quench! Week 18,2011

“I don’t know; how do I keep the fire burning? I still read my Bible daily and pray, but the kind of zeal to serve you talk about goes up and down. It’s inconsistent.” You and I have the responsibility to keep the fire on: Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out Lev 6:13(ESV). Did something happen? Were you going through a difficult time? “Actually at a point it looked as though God turned His back on me. I wasn’t getting answers to some prayers. Even getting meaning from the Bible was not easy.” Dark days huh, like you were in the night? “Yes, why do you ask?” A burnt offering is to be left on the altar all night long, and the fire is to be kept burning Lev 6:9(GNB).
At such times of night when you cannot see your way through, and you ask “God why?” do like Jesus. He also experienced darkness at noon; He also asked God why and apparently got no answer. “Is that true?” At noon the whole country was covered with darkness… Jesus cried out with a loud shout, "My God, my God, why did you abandon me?" Mat 27:45-46(GNB). “Yes, so what do I do? How did He handle it?” He drew nearer, called God father. Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice and said, "Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit."Lk 23:46(ISV). Get closer, move with the same shout from “My God” to “My Father”. Refuse to stop loving Him, refuse to reduce giving to God and serving Him.
“But it hurts a lot.” Though it hurts don’t allow the burnt offering (that is presenting yourself as a living sacrifice) to be removed because you don’t understand. "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life. Besides, we have believed and remain convinced that you are the Holy One of God." Jn 6:68, 69 (ISV).
“But sometimes after a spiritual “high”, when I am not going through a dark patch it still happens.” Times of victory can be a challenge too. David’s fall from grace followed victories; see that you remove the ashes of yesterday’s victories and put fresh wood, fresh commitment on the fire. The next morning … clean away the ashes left by the sacrifices and pile them beside the altar. The fire must never go out, so put wood on it each morning. After this, you are to lay an animal on the altar Lev 6:10, 12(CEV). “As well as ashes of yesterday’s failures?” Exactly, exactly: one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead Philp 3:13(ESV).

The Christian's hope Week 17, 2011

“Dad, why is it called hope? I was taught hope is something you are not sure of, and we are expected to walk by faith. Saying hope seems to imply it might not happen!” Is that what you understand about hope? The reference to hope in Christ isn’t with uncertainty of the event but with time element. “What do you mean?” Do you hope you were in church yesterday? “Of course not; you don’t hope about the past!” Exactly: nor can you hope for what you see in the present: For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Rom 8:24, 25(ESV), hope has to do with a future event.
“Hope to me has some kind of uncertainty built around it. Is the Christian hope an uncertain event? Is there a chance it might not happen?” Not at all my child, not at all: We have this hope as an anchor for our lives. It is safe and sure, and goes through the curtain of the heavenly temple into the inner sanctuary Heb 6:19(GNB). Our hope is safe and sure, however for our own good No one knows when that day or hour will come-not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father Mt 24:36(ISV).
“So what is the hope of believers?” Tit 2:13(ESV) says: waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. “Well what about us, what happens to us?” But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is. Everyone who has this hope in Christ keeps himself pure, just as Christ is pure 1Jn 3:2, 3(GNB). “Wow that’s neat you mean we’ll be like he is, with glory and able to pass through walls and all that?” Definitely He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body Php 3:21(GNB)
“Alright , so our hope is an event that will certainly come up in the future but whose timing we don’t yet know, but the Father does?” We-ell, we won’t ever know the time, God will never release that: The times and occasions are set by my Father's own authority, and it is not for you to know when they will be Act 1:7(GNB) so never accept any date predictions of this.
Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised 1Co 15:20(GNB). Now this is the one hope Christians have Eph 4:4. If this hope is not in you...

It doesn't happen suddenly Week16, 2011

“It’s amazing how people change.” How do you mean? “See how people that were shouting hosanna on Sunday were either silenced or cried “Crucify Him” on Friday.” You think people fall like that suddenly? “Yes, it’s strange.” Well I have a different idea, it may not be apparent to people but decline often starts unnoticed, with uncorrected “errors” in the private life leading to eventual so called “sudden” collapse. Consider apostle Judas Iscariot. He was part of this crowd that cried hosanna, had performed miracles in the name of Jesus but Judas did not really care about the poor. He asked this because he carried the moneybag and sometimes would steal from it. Jn 12:6(CEV). Whilst Peter’s faults were glaring and openly rebuked he never was reported as bringing this to Jesus, no wonder Satan was able to put it into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him Jn 13:2(ISV).
Did you notice it was right after he attacked Mary Magdalene that he went to the high priests and said, "What are you willing to give me if I betray him to you?" They placed before him thirty pieces of silver, and from then on he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus Mt 26:14-16(ISV). “Why did no one warn him?” Jesus did, but he parried it (Mat 26:24-25) instead of confessing, even privately. So as soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him Jn 13:27(GNB). “Game over.”
Do you think David’s Bathsheba incident was out of the blues, without warning? David knew that the LORD had made him king of Israel and that he had made him a powerful ruler ... After David left Hebron and moved to Jerusalem, he married many women from Jerusalem 2Sa 5:12-13(CEV). “What was dangerous about that?” God had clearly warned the king must not have a lot of wives--they might tempt him to be unfaithful to the LORD Dt 17:17(CEV). I think this act was a flaw in David which went uncorrected. In the wilderness you could argue (wrongly) his wife Michal had been taken from him, but she had been restored by now. Multiple women and marriage do not eliminate the danger of adultery. “Lust for women got Solomon too:1Kg 11:3.” Often when a man is still connecting with heaven, being used of God for exploits, and people are being blessed we ignore imminent danger. Are you ignoring any?
“You like warnings a lot.” I like to think I enjoy freedom. Ever heard the saying “eternal vigilance is the price of liberty”? Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be brave, be strong.1Co 16:13(GNB). Do you take money entrusted to you saying “After I will return it”? Beware. “You too!”