Jesus prayed a lot while he was in His body on earth. We don’t have a lot of His prayers recorded. So you can imagine how precious the few we have would be. Jesus prayed that all His disciples would be united.
““I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20-21 NKJV)
As we in Canada celebrate the unity of the country, I think about the unity of the body of Christ and unity in general.
Unity is the by-product of unconditional love. It is what happens when God’s Kingdom comes on a community! Any time we move toward unity, it means that we are choosing to love. Although naturally our love is polluted with pride and selfish tendencies.
Unity starts from the individual. If I unite with Christ and allow Christ to live through me, then I am able to love those who are different from me and pray for those who hurt me.
Unity is not uniformity! When United we see each other’s differences and we celebrate them and use them to make the bond stronger!
As a disciple of Jesus, I must always pray and allow Jesus to use me to unite His body. This includes the multitudes who are yet to be added to the body! And continue to love and pray for those who choose not believe at this time. Jesus is available for all to enjoy!
Is the church in trouble? Will the lockdowns and accompanying restrictions cripple the church? I don’t think so. I believe God is reviving His church. The church of God is getting stronger. The body of Christ is being renewed! I see all this as a world-wide revival in the making.
What are your thoughts? Please share in the comments section below.
Yes you read it right! Following Jesus is not for everyone that say that they like His teachings! Not everyone that applies is accepted! To follow Jesus, there is a condition. Do you know what the condition for acceptance is?
The condition for acceptance by Jesus has many names but they all point to the same thing! Here are a few names:
Repent
Believe
Call on the Lord
Confess the Lord Jesus
All these terms mean that a disciple chooses willingly to abandon his or her life of self rulership to receive the supernatural and righteous life of Jesus. Which means that the disciple lives a life of unconditional love powered by the Holy Spirit and activated through simple obedience to Jesus! To be saved is to agree that you need a new life and that you accept the life and rulership of God through Jesus Christ.
Here is how Jesus puts it:
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. (Luke 14:33)
Forsake ALL: what does that mean for you daily? For me it means going out of my way to express the love of Jesus to people around me by meeting their needs and sharing the good news of the kingdom! It’s unconditional love no matter how you spin it. This love is expressed differently in each disciple but it must always lead to an invitation for them to receive this life as well!
Many times theses days it’s just being a true friend to people around me, come rain come shine!
Please let me know how forsaking all that you have looks for you daily! Use the comments section below!
Have you ever wondered why the servant with one talent in the parable of the talents was called wicked and lazy? I get lazy or foolish but wicked? (Matthew 25:14-30).
These days I sense the Lord saying to me that a wicked servant is not really a servant! A wicked servant is one who is not interested in the progress of his master. I sense from this that anyone who is not interested is sharing the good news of God’s kingdom with others is not in the kingdom!
If the servant with one talent had given the money to the bankers he would have been a lazy servant! There are many lazy servants in the kingdom of God!
This particular servant was an outsider! He did not see himself as part of the kingdom. The same applies to anyone who is not interested in the salvation of others! Anyone who doesn’t wish that everyone would be saved is not saved themselves!
Please check your heart. Are you a wicked servant? Maybe you are not saved. Then repent of your sins and receive the salvation purchased by the blood of Jesus and Jesus Christ will receive you!
Are you a lazy servant? You are doing very little to share the gospel of the kingdom of God! Wake up now and begin to invest! There is nothing on earth that is better than leading a lost soul to the savior! NOTHING!
I really felt that someone needed this message! Maybe it’s you! Don’t wait until everything is “right”. Step up now when God says go. Connect with spiritual people around you. Start small. Stay Steady and Finish Strong.
Eternal life! The very life of God! The love of God! The light and wisdom of God! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! Unspeakable Joy! A loving family! Forgiveness of sins and deliverance from the bondage to sin! All these and more are available to you and I curtesy of Jesus Christ!
Wow! What did we do to deserve all these? Nothing. All these are available because God loves us!
So how do we access this? You must be born again! It’s an exchange! Our messed up life for His eternal life!
You cannot have His eternal life if you think your present unregenerate life has some value!
Unless you see your life without Jesus as useless in comparison to what God has for you in union with Jesus, you will not see the Kingdom of God! You will not appreciate the kingdom of God and you will not accept the kingdom of God!
Now that you see what making disciples involves, you can see that for anyone to be born again, a miracle must occur! The good news is that there are miracles already prepared by the Holy Spirit for you and I to discover!
I’m on the lookout for a miracle as I share the invaluable blessings of the Kingdom of God with all the people around me!
Share your thoughts! What made you give up your useless life for eternal life? For me. Jesus opened my spiritual eyes to see and desire the unconditional love of God that was revealed in Jesus. It took some years though for me to fully accept that my life without Jesus is completely useless in the context of eternity! Your turn!
It’s really easy to see other people’s faults! It’s even sometimes easier to see their faults when you have a version of the same problem! These days everyone has a reason to call another person a fool, a bigot, proud, immoral, devilish, idol worshippers and the list goes on! My question is this! As disciples of Jesus, how do we bring a balance? What is the kingdom approach?
At one point Jesus says we are to first take out the plank from our own eyes before attempting to take out the speck from another person’s eyes (Matt 7:5) . At another point he says that the person who has no sin should be the first to throw a stone at the sinner (John 8:7)
Negative criticisms makes people want to defend themselves! It doesn’t open them up to correction. I remember reading in a book titled – How to make friends and influence people that even criminals see themselves in a positive light!
So what do we learn from Jesus? How can this truth help us to make disciples for Jesus? We choose not to criticize people even in our hearts! We make up our minds to always be prepared to be part of the solution as long as the people are open to discussion.
I’m not saying that we should not speak out against evil or sin! What I believe the scriptures is saying is that if we are ever going to be the light to a dark world, we must be willing to accept first that without Jesus we would be as lost and as wicked as any wicked person!
Jesus is the solution to the moral problem of the human heart! The immoral behavior of people or sin is the problem of the world! Jesus therefore must be introduced to everyone so that we can have progress in our fight against all the terrible things going on in our world.
If you know that the reason you are kind is because you got help, you would be less inclined to criticize someone else who doesn’t have the same help!
Preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God and Jesus as the only way is an urgent and very important task! Let’s not delay by point fingers at the people we should be serving!
How much is your relationship with Jesus worth? What is it that is so valuable to you that you cannot let go so that you can follow Jesus? Judas chose 30 pieces of silver (Matt 26:15).
The more valuable your relationship with Jesus is to you, the more enthusiastic you will be to share it! The more shocked and amazed you will be when people reject the relationship. And the more you will invest in new ways to communicate the value of this relationship to the people you love.
If you have anything that is more valuable to you than your relationship with Jesus, you will not have the boldness or compassion to share with anyone that has those things!
Sometimes when we are not willing to be shamed, rejected, persecuted, looked down upon or taken advantage of, we may not be willing to stand for the truth and sacrifice which would make it easier to share the gospel.
Is there a price for which I would be willing to trade in my relationship with Jesus? Would I do it for money, health, a spouse, children, fame, promotion etc. My answer is nothing on earth is valuable enough! I know that it easy to say, but I join my faith with Paul to say that nothing shall separate me from the love of Christ! (Rom 8:35-39).
I wish everyone on earth would know the love of Jesus and receive salvation. I know it cost a lot to share the gospel but I am willing to pay the price and I trust you are willing as well.
Share your thoughts! How much are you willing to sacrifice to share this good news with the people?
My dad has thought me a lot! For a while he was both father and mother to us! Today I am sharing a few of the things I learnt by observing my dad over the years! I am so glad my dad is alive today as a great mentor to me and my family!
I learned that there are people out there who are just waiting for someone to love them and lead them to Jesus! I saw how my dad became a disciple of Jesus Christ because someone shared the good news with him at their home! And so many other people have been saved because my dad always shares the gospel with others.
I learned never to give up but trust God because I have seen my dad go down and get back up a few times. He lost his wife, lost a lot of money and businesses, almost died and yet with faith in God, he recovered all that was lost. Today he is still going strong by the grace of God.
I learnt that the sacrifice involved in being excellent is worth it because he found a way to motivate me to push myself even when I was satisfied with playing as a little boy in primary school. He and my mom promised me a bicycle if I was one of the top 3 students in my class. I enjoyed the result of working a little harder so much so that I’ve made it part of life ever since! Yes! I got the bike!
I learned how to run a business by seeing him and my mom do business ever since I was able to understand what was going on around me! I saw the challenges and the benefits or being a creator of opportunities for others and I loved it and followed in his footsteps.
I learned to pray a lot more because I saw him pray and get answers to prayers.
I learned to read a lot because my dad has books everywhere around the house. Books in every room! And I love books so much as a result.
I learned publishing and business in general because my dad allowed me to run his publishing company with him many years ago as a teenager!
I learned to love and honor my wife because I never saw my dad fight with my mom! I know they had their differences but it was never so serious that it would become obvious to us the children.
I learned to give and I am still learning because my dad is a world class generous giver.
I have learned to support my children in whatever they love to do because of the tremendous support I have received from my dad all my life. This continues till this very day!
Dr Adebola Olubanjo
I am so grateful to God for all the things my dad has thought me. In this post I focused more on the things I learned mostly by watching him or by the actions he took. I still learn from my dad each time we talk. There are things my dad said many years ago that I am just getting to understand now!
It’s such a blessing to have my dad still alive as a mentor to me today! I pray that God gives him many more years in great health in Jesus Name!
Happy Father’s Day to my dad, Dr Adebola Olubanjo!
Do you have some fond memories of your dad? Please share with me in the comments section below.
We are all busy! Running from one meeting to the other or from one task to the other. Being busy does not necessarily mean that you are making the most of your time!
The question I have for you today is this! Are you too busy to spend time with God? Or are you too busy to spend time with the people of God who are lost? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you are TOO BUSY!
All creations of God should always have time or make time for God! If we think our projects, children’s programs, business meetings, educational activities or religious activities are so much that we can’t make time to connect with the people that Jesus died for! Then we have to think again! No one should ever be too busy to stop for the one who is lost. Remember the good Samaritan and all the other neighbors (Luke 10:25-37). Go and do likewise!
What are your best tips for being available for God and your neighbors? Pls share in the comments section below.
