(Nehemiah 6:16) “And when all our enemies
heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their
own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the
help of our God.”
Exploits done in the name of their
Lord must drive every Christian to learn a valuable lesson, which is less of us
and more of Him! It’s not as if we are called to be uninvolved, we must be very
active participants within our daily activities, after all we are the ones that
carry out what happens, if I am hungry I pick up an apple and put it to my
mouth, etc. but there must be an obvious shift in our mentality. WE MUST
BELIEVE THAT GOD IS ABLE!
Let’s strip down the simplest of
actions, like walking. When a child takes their first step we always account
the glory to the child. I have heard people boast about how good their child
was as they outdid the next and walked from an earlier age. It’s never a blatant
gloat, and yet there is always a hint of pride that accompanies their glee.
Apart from the handicapped, every child eventually learns to walk. God has
equipped them with that capability. Period! God has enabled them! And yet how
often does He get the praise when a child takes their first step?
Believing that God is able cannot just
be a distant though we uncover when we are alone and meditating, it must be our
actuality! Every true Christian believes that God spoke the creation into
being; I am not talking about that kind of belief; that could almost be
construed as objective faith. It is a fact in accordance with God’s Word,
therefore it cannot be argued by the Christian. “God said” and the land brought
forth its abundance. What is argued is whether the world is 6000 years old or
millions of years old. Both are right by the way! God created man with age and
therefore when scientists tells us that rock faces are millions of years old,
so be it! What prevented God from creating creation with age? Absolutely
nothing I would suggest! It is only time that handicaps our thinking! God is
sovereign and therefore must have the ability to move in and out of any realm;
therefore time has no hold on him! The Apostle Peter has this to say; “But
do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2Peter 3:8)
Now back to my point; we all say we
believe the Bible, many uses it with a twisted set of rules, which is
manipulation and all, will have to give an account of that type of trickery; those
false prophets and teachers that use God’s Word for their own gain.
Christianity is all about God extending His helping hand to a lost world;
offering His favour to people who had transgressed His laws. God showed mercy,
it’s all about what God was able to do, but more than that, What He was willing
to do by choosing to show mercy. He had it in His power to forgive and chose to
extend grace, and every Christian can bear witness to this marvelous act of
God’s mercy. But if that message gets skewed, then we need our sails trimmed;
we must always place “GOD FIRST” in everything we do, He must receive all the
glory. This is not negotiable! By projecting this message we will shift
people’s attentions from what may appears to be our achievements, helping them
understand that it is rather God’s gracious work in our lives that empowers us.
The only thing that will ever silence
the enemy is the brilliance of God. When they actually witness His majestic
power! The grandiose miracle of the Rea Sea swallowing up the Egyptian army was
heard far and wide; in fact even Rahab the harlot had this to say about that
event; “For we have heard how the LORD dried up the
water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to
the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom
you devoted to destruction. And as soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and
there was no spirit left in any man because of you, for the LORD your God, he
is God in the heavens above and on the earth beneath.” A(Joshua 2:10-11) – Unfortunately for many they
will have to see to believe, but then it will be too late as the bounds of
God’s grace will eventually have run its course.
It is imperative that we must make every effort
to point people to the finished work of Calvary and learn to be quick with what
come out of our mouths. Comments like, “by God’s grace”, “if the Lord wills”
and “Lord willing” we will do this or that! It is up to us to at the very least
to let people know that we believe in the only true God, the God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob! And with everything we achieve in live it is only because of
the grace of God in our lives. Sure we all have differing abilities, but that
is also only because of the grace of God! Everything must be given back to Him!
This must be our resolve, wherever possible and whenever an opportunity
presents itself to glorify God with our mouths. We will suffer persecution for
it, but some may see the light and we know that if one sinner repents, the
whole of heaven rejoices. Not all of us have the gift of the Evangelist but we
all are capable of opening our mouths and glorifying God for who He is and for
what He has done for us.
Let us be slow to curse but may God give us all
boldness to be sharp with our tongues in praise of Him! To God be the glory now
and forever more, Amen!
A man’s self-esteem must be crushed for Him to
realise that he is in need of a Saviour! Until we understand our need we will
never call for help! It is the sick man that seeks out the aid of a physician!
Signing off
Tyrone
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