Overcoming the Evil One

How do you win over the schemes of an enemy that has a file on you as far back as your lineage goes? How do you deal with enemy who has studied your bloodline for generations and knows what your next step is? Or one who has set the script of your fallen life so that you just fit that script? How can you ever get out of the clutch of such a vicious enemy who has sworn to destroy you and deter you from ever moving into your God-ordained destiny? Is it even possible?

I am writing to you, little children,

because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.

I am writing to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I am writing to you, young men,

because you have overcome the evil one.

I write to you, children,

because you know the Father.

I write to you, fathers,

because you know him who is from the beginning.

I write to you, young men,

because you are strong,

and the word of God abides in you,

and you have overcome the evil one.

1 John 2:12-14, Holy Bible – English Standard Version

John tells all again. He is writing to all believers whom he refers to as children (1 Jn 2:1, 12, 28; 2:8, 3:7, 8; 4:4; 5:21). He seems to further classify them as “fathers”, may be those that are older in the faith; and as “young men”, perhaps those that are younger in the faith. It is the last group that holds the answer to our crisis with this seemingly all-powerful enemy because the “young men” have overcome the evil one. How? They are strong and the word of God abides in them. This strength must be spiritual strength that comes about by abiding or remaining in God’s powerful words of protection and promise.  

Here are some words of protection and promise:

“Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself [Jesus] likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery” – Hebrews 2:14-15, Holy Bible – English Standard Version, emphasis mine.

“And they have conquered him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for the loved not their lives even unto death” – Revelation 12:11, Holy Bible – English Standard Version, emphasis mine.

Victory is yours today! Be strong and stand on God’s great promises that are in His word. Don’t let any voice of doubt from the enemy lie to you about God’s goodness and His everlasting love for you. Stand on God’s word and be an overcomer today! May you move into the destiny God has for you today!

If It’s True, It Ain’t New; If It’s New, It Ain’t True

I don’t know if you have seen the Samsung Galaxy S-V adverts. You can pour water on it, immerse it in water, and do all sorts of things that really show it’s a really smart phone. It is supposed to be the envy of all who have stupid-phones (I’m thinking if one’s phone is not a smart-phone, then it must be ...). Even thought our stupid-phones may be doing all that we bought them to do, we still fell like dinosaurs in an video-game arcade just because we don’t have a smart-phone (half of whose features we won’t even use, by the way).

Many of us have imported this attitude to our faith. We think the latest is the greatest. So the most “powerful” ministry where unusual miracles are happening must be the place where the Spirit is “moving.” For some, it’s the latest innovative doctrine; for others, it’s the latest worship music style. 

But all these scenarios are not necessarily true. Here’s what the Book says:

“Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.” 1 John 2:7-8

May you not be carried away by the greatest and latest teaching you hear or watch today! May you be solidly grounded in the Truth as found in the God’s infallible word, the 66 books of the Bible! May you have confidence in God’s word and its ability to change your life than in a visiting “man of God”! May you have the discernment to compare what us preachers teach with what God actually say! More word-power to you!

How Can You Be Sure You are Going to Heaven When You Die?

One of the spiritual reality checks the Lord used to wake me up to the fact that I was headed for hell was the death of my God-loving grandfather, Mr. Edward K. Chiuye. On the night that he died, he had been singing hymns from the Nkhoma Synod of the CCAP’s book late into the night. My grandmother went to tell him that it was really late  – he had suffered some kidney problems about a year before this but was back to his usual vibrancy – though he answered to say, “Where we are going, we will be singing like this.” When she realized later into the night that the singing had stopped and he wasn’t in bed, she went to check on him. She found his sprawled on the floor. They took him to the hospital only to learn that he had passed on. 

There was no doubt in my sin-darkened, iniquity-loving, and conflict-ridden heart that he had been referring to heaven and was now actually there. My big question when I heard this story was, “How did he know that he was going to heaven?” How could he be so sure? I knew he was a God-fearing man but is it possible to really know if you are going to heaven? The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” When a person has a faith relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit changes that person’s life to become one that seeks to do the will of God in keeping God’s commandments. A disclaimer is in order here: no one is saved by keeping God’s commandments; however, the Holy Spirit enables the believer in Christ, who has been saved by faith in the Christ who has kept all of God’s commandments, to live a life of growing obedience to God’s commandments. It is in keeping God’s commandments that this assurance of salvation grows and is matured in the believer. There begins to grow such a love for God in the believer that living outside of Christ’s commandments becomes unthinkable so that the true believer perseveres in obedient faith till the end (“But the one who endures to the end will be saved” – Matthew 24:13). This then is the source of a deep assurance of his/her salvation.

Apostle John helps us with a proper understanding of whence this assurance comes from:

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. 1 John 2:3-6

May you cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work today by walking in obedience! May the assurance that you are a child of God grow as you obey today! May your assurance be founded on the solid foundation of God’s grace and your cooperation with the Holy Spirit as you obey His commandments! May you rest assured that you too are going to heaven, not because you have obeyed perfectly, but because you lean wholly on His grace that works marvelously in your life to bring you to obedience. Walk in confidence that you serve a God who will bring you into the destiny He has for you!

A Fake or the Genuine Article?

Everybody hates fake things. A fake Rolex watch that didn’t last three months on your wrist; a car spare-part that took only a month before it outlived its usefulness; or, that cheap DVD player with a familiar sounding name that worked as badly as its name sounds (the manuals usually come with very bad English too). The worst fakes are humans who pretend to be something they are but are not. Like the one who pretended to love you but did not. Yes, the one who said he/she loves you if you only could do “a little something” for them, you know. And the moment you did “a little something” for them and they got what they wanted, you were no longer high on their priority list. Fake!

Needless to say, there are fake Christians: those who come to God because all they need is their healing, their financial breakthrough, their marriage to work, or to be delivered from their addictions. And so they act like friends of God until their “blessing” comes and they no longer have a need for God. Then they proceed to pick and choose, buffet-style, the things that they will do for God and God no longer is high on their priority list. They want what God has but not who God is; they seek His hand but not His face. Fake!

Are you a fake?  John, Jesus’ homie, tells us how we may know if we are fakes:

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 John 2:3-6, English Standard Version

Don’t be a fake today. Orient your life towards keeping his commandments to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and to “love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:34). May you be the genuine Christian article that your world desperately needs today! May people around you know that they are standing in the presence of the salt of the earth and the light of the world today! May you exude the rich sweet-smelling fragrance of genuine faith in Christ!

The Danger of Believing Your Own PR

Let’s face it, PR (public relations) is all about positive image, that is, how we want others to perceive us. An enhanced image means more opportunities, more affection, and just about more of all the good things in life. Therein lies the problem: we are not always as good as we make ourselves out to be. So what do we do? We fake it in the hope that we will make it.

And so we put on a mask of self-righteousness in the hope that others will not catch on to the rotten greed, pride, and lust that make up our inner core. At times, we get away with the deception when our PR works; sometimes, our deception is seen for what it is and we are exposed. But PR brings with it an inner toll, a turmoil of the soul that experiences the incongruity of actions that do not match motives. Deep inside we feel our sin for what it actually is but we carry on with our self-righteous charade with others and, worse still, with God. What to do?

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” 1 John1:8-10, English Standard Bible.

It’s time to stop the charade today. It’s time for your inner peace that only comes with walking in the light of God’s truth. Come clean with God on your sin. Then you will experience freedom and joy inside you. This is the kind of stuff money can’t buy. The world can’t give you this and the world can’t take this away from you. May you walk in the light today!