December 13
Good morning merciful Father, Hallow be Thou Name, thank You for another bright day You have made us to be part of. We grateful for Your protection and preservation from the dangers of night. You fight all our secret battle and make us victorious over the kingdom of darkness, glory, glory be to You, Lord.
Friday is here again and someone is excited, I am too. Behold the long awaited day is here and by the grace of God the promised message is coming our way today, praise God! Alleluia.
The period we are in called us to be more careful especially about the way we live. Before you fall into any temptation, the Holy Spirit will not only warn you but will keep reminding you to avoid it but often times due to our overzealousness we race ahead of Him, get into trouble than turn round to either blame God or go to pity party.
When temptation comes it does not present itself as sin but when you step into it, one thing leads another and here you are helpless against all the warnings of the Holy Spirit. Beloved, if I may asked, who is your Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy in your journey of life? We all need them for a successful and victorious life at the end.
Beware beloved, for sin is crouching at your door and the need for mentors of various classes cannot be over emphasis.
If you do right, won’t you be accepted? But if you do not do right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.”—Genesis 4:7
When temptation enters our hearts and minds, we either deal with it and gain mastery over it, or it eventually leads us to sinful actions. The time between the initial temptation and the chosen response is critical. Much hangs in the balance.
Cain knew that God was displeased with him but pleased with Abel. Feelings of jealous anger crept into Cain’s heart, and thoughts of murder pervaded his mind. As Cain considered what to do, God’s word came to him. God warned him that sin was waiting at the door of his life, looking for an opportunity to enter. Now was not the time to treat temptation lightly, not the time to assume sin would never cause any harm. Now was the time to master the sin and renounce it before it overcame him. Tragically, Cain did not master his sin; instead, sin overtook him and destroyed his life.
Temptations come at unexpected moments. Sinful thoughts may cross your mind. Selfish feelings may begin to invade your heart. The promptings of the Holy Spirit will warn you that God is not pleased with the direction your thoughts and feelings are taking you. At that moment of conviction, you must master the sin that crouches at the door of your life. Sin destroys. Sin brings death. Sin is not something to toy with or take lightly. God’s word to you is the same warning He gave to Cain: Master the sin at the door of your life before it brings its inevitable and disastrous consequences. Heed His caution, and you will avoid unnecessary hardship for yourself and others.
Once again as the yuletide season approaches, my dearly beloved watch out that you fall not into temptation. Be careful where you visit and the kind of foods and drinks you take into your system to avoid had I know which usually come last, always at last my beloved. Some of us, a little wine gets us tipsy, why gets into it?
Away from that, we need responsible people around us, those you will be accountable to; this will save you a lot of trouble and help you in your journey of life:
Everyone Needs A Paul, A Barnabas, And A Timothy In His Life
PAUL: Yesterday, I had coffee with an old friend who set out a decade ago to affect the business community of his city for Christ. God graciously granted him a reasonably fruitful ministry. Along the way, however, his marriage fell apart. He recounted to me that if I had had a Paul in my life, my marriage would not have failed.” As he spoke, I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 4:14:
“Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me.“ (See 1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1; Philippians 3:7; 4:9)
QUESTION: Do you currently have a Paul in your life? Someone who knows the real you? Someone who challenges you? Someone who models godly character and discipline, and builds them into your life? Someone who lends a more mature perspective to your life? Someone who has earned your trust enough to probe the sensitive and hidden areas of your life? Someone who is committed to walking with you through the difficult times? In a word, a Paul. A spiritual father.
BARNABAS (“Encourager” – Acts 4:36) was used of God to bring Paul out of Antioch and into a fruitful ministry where the two of them teamed up. (Acts 11:25, 26) (See Acts 11:30; 12:25; 13:1, 2, 14, 43, 46, 50; 14:1-3, 23; 15:12, 22, 34)
QUESTION: Do you have a Barnabas in your life? A buddy with whom you can freely share the good, the bad, and the ugly? Someone who will tell it like it is when you don’t want to hear it? (Proverbs 27:6) Someone who is committed to hanging in there with you through thick and thin? (Proverbs 17:17; 18:24)
TIMOTHY: In his travels, Paul ran into a young follower of Christ named Timothy (Acts 16:1-4). For the next decade or so, the Apostle invested deeply into his life. Reflecting back on their friendship, Paul wrote,
“You… know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me… the persecutions I endured… “ (2 Timothy 3:10, 11a,c) (See Acts 20:18)
In similar fashion, Paul encouraged Timothy to also invest his life into others: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.“ (2 Timothy 2:2) (See 1 Thessalonians 1:5, 6)
QUESTION: Do you have a Timothy in your life? Someone into whose life you are currently investing?
Having a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy in our life will indeed play a significant role in (1) fostering our growth toward spiritual maturity, and (2) helping us fulfill Christ’s Great Commission. (Adapted from FOTM)
So if you don’t have any of these classes of mentors mentioned above, start today it is never late to begin. Is not meant those in the ministry only even in your career and business you need them. Have a lovely weekend ahead while meditating on the above.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
Evang. Ifeoma Ohondu
