Category Archives: Relationship
Sweet Perfume
Ex.20:4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” [with emphasis]
Idolatry suggests that God can be at man’s disposal. Worship on the other hand is putting myself at God’s disposal. The worship state of mind is I am here to worship You! Why have you come into God’s Presence today? I am not saying it is wrong to show up in God’s Presence with a prayer list or a need you want God to meet. But is worship of the Living God on the top of your list in His Presence? If it is not, then you need to repent of idolatry. I pray that your worship state of mind will be renewed today and it will be “I want to worship God – my service is to worship God.” Worship is not a waste of time. Read the rest of this entry
Heart Check
Ps.100:3 “Know this: God is God, and God, God. He made us; we didn’t make him. We’re his people, his well-tended sheep. 4 Enter with the password: “Thank you!” Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.”
Augustine of Hippo says, “Idolatry is worshiping what should be used or using what should be worshipped.” Attempting to use The One to be worshipped is the second dimension of idolatry. It is natural for us human beings to want to leverage on the influence in our networks to get ahead, get out of trouble, or to get an advantage. For instance, you are bidding for a contract in an organization where the CEO was your childhood friend. What a lot of people will do is place a call to the CEO and leverage on that relationship. We tend to leverage on the influence of powerful people Read the rest of this entry
God’s Heritage
Ps.127:3 “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him. 4 Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands. 5 How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them…”
God has blessed us with families but our families become idols when we forget what they are for. Your family is a representation of God’s Kingdom on earth where righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit is saturated. Read the rest of this entry
Get Wisdom
Prov.1:5 [ERV] “Even the wise could become wiser by listening… They gain understanding and learn to solve difficult problems. 7 Knowledge begins with fear and respect for the Lord, but stubborn fools hate wisdom and refuse to learn.”
C. S. Lewis in his book, The Screwtape Letters described the concept of “My”. He explained how we misuse or are misled by the concept of “My.” Read the rest of this entry
Worship
Ex.20:4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God…” [with emphasis]
The second commandment is, “You shall not make idols”, and it is The Battle with Worship. Over the next couple of days, we will be looking closely at the second commandment- our struggle with worship. Read the rest of this entry
Enjoyment
Ps.63:4 “I will praise you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. 5 You satisfy me more than the richest feast. I will praise you with songs of joy. 6 I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.”
People that actively engage in sports –soccer for instance can attest to the fact that a little rain or a lot of rain, does not affect your passion or the game as the case may be. People that play soccer are familiar with the term “Rain-ball”. Read the rest of this entry
Grow Up!
1 Cor.13:11 (TLB) “It’s like this: when I was a child I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child does. But when I became a man my thoughts grew far beyond those of my childhood, and now I have put away the childish things.”
A lot of Christians want to remain infants and that is a problem. For some, as soon as they feel they are no longer infants, then it means something is wrong. God wants you to grow up. A spiritual infant for instance is mostly concerned about ‘me’. Read the rest of this entry
Likewise
1 John 4:7 [NKJV] “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love” [with emphasis].
Loving one another as our Scripture reference highlights is otherwise known as horizontal love. In Jesus’ response to the question, “…what should I do to inherit eternal life?”, the first part of Jesus’ response was, Read the rest of this entry
Love Connection
Rom.8:14 [NKJV] “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 …you received the Spirit of adoption… 16 That Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God 17 and if children, then heirs –heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…”
When you are in God’s house, you need to relate as a child of God and as a child of His house. So, you attend to the Father’s house not out of duty but in response to His heart and out of a desire to please Him. Read the rest of this entry
Son vs. Servant
Gal.4:7 [NKJV] “Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”
A servant feels accepted and appreciated based on what he does. A child on the other hand, is accepted and appreciated based on who he is. A servant is accepted and appreciated based on his workmanship. A son is accepted and appreciated based on his relationship. Read the rest of this entry
