He Shall Laugh at Them

Hi friends,

This pilgrimage heavenward is a continuous and intentional one, we cannot but remind ourselves of the provision for victory made by the Lord Jesus Christ through the shedding of His precious blood at Calvary.

This was expressly stated in Psalms 2:4:

He that sitteh in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall

have them in derision.

The Psalmist introduced this particular chapter by asking the question, ‘why do the heathens rage?’ As we embark on this pilgrimage, the enemy of our soul cannot but rage in different forms and dimensions so as to devour or derail the Christian pilgrim.  

Little wonder, the Bible describes and likens the devil to a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour. We are further admonished to resist him steadfastly not because we have the ability in ourselves but because there is assurance from the Almighty God to laugh at him and hold him in derision.

The scripture is so assuring and reassuring that the author of this psalm said he will declare the decree what the Lord has said to him. Heaven has put a seal of son ship on you and I which must be continuously acknowledged in other to live a victorious Christian life.

Are you spiritually embattled? Facing opposition at work and at home? Is your career being challenged? Are you despised and relegated? Are you in trouble with men? Is your business or finances in shambles? Is your academics delayed and denied?

I want to admonish you to read through the above chapter meditatively and your hope will come alive again. Your expectations shall never be cut short as long as Jesus is at the center of it.

Your mountains are bound to move, the crocked paths will straighten, the evil gang up will scatter, the mockers will become objects of mockery and joy will come in your morning as long as Jesus is the one leading all the way.

Each time I read through the pages of the scriptures and remember that I have the seal of sonship and I am adopted into the lineage of Christ by rebirth, I cannot but appreciate the gift of eternal salvation and that someday, I will be like Jesus and live with God forever.

We wrestle against the evil one on this pilgrimage but not in our strength but in the strength of Jehovah Shammah and the victory that Christ Himself has fought and won for us through the finished work.

Beloved, may God keep you strong, courageous and triumphant by His mighty hands until we meet at the gates of the golden city on the eternal shores where we will tell the story of how we overcame all our battles!

 

Your friend and fellow Pilgrim in the Kingdom Race,

Pastor Janet

 

                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

Create in Me a Clean Heart!

 Hi friends,

As we continue on this pilgrimage heavenward, there is need to continually examine our hearts because the Lord of this highway relates with pilgrims based on the contents and intents of the heart.

Psalms 51:10 says:

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

 

Prophet Jeremiah who had insight into the state of the heart of the carnal man vividly describes it as deceitful and desperately wicked and ended that verse by saying who can know it?

The state of a man’s heart determines his stand with God in the place of sanctity and spiritual authority. The heart is the seat of power and emotions that propels the well-being of every man. It is where battles of life are fought and won.

The Preacher further admonishes us to guard our hearts with all diligence because out of it are the issues of life. As a man thinks in his heart so is he. In essence a man’s accomplishment in life is a result of his thinking!

Little wonder, our Lord Jesus Christ told His disciples that out of the abundance of what is in their hearts, the mouth speaks and further warns that every idle word spoken by any man shall be accounted for.

In the above scriptures, we saw David pleading for God’s mercy when he was in soberness of heart. I am sure if anyone had told him earlier that he a king and the man after God’s heart will become a murder and an adulterer, he would have argued it.

Lo and behold, that was where he found himself after being confronted by Prophet Nathan. A thorough self- examination exposed the true state of his heart and that made him sober!

The Pilgrimage heavenward continues until we meet God in glory but what is the state of your heart? As we relate with each other within God’s kingdom and with the world around, what is the state of your heart?

As we daily walk with God and seek His kingdom and look forward to His glorious appearing, fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit and the brethren alike, what is in your heart?  

As you set goals and ambitions for greatness. As you aspire for lofty heights, make wealth, aspire for fame and power, what is in your heart? As you even make Jesus the Lord of your life and journey on this pilgrimage, what is in your heart?

If we don’t want to fall into the snare of the devil and become a prey in His hands, we cannot but examine our hearts and most importantly ask God to give us a clean heart and steadfast spirit.

The only man who will ascend the hill of the Lord is the man who has a clean hands and a pure heart. The man who will make heaven at last is the man who daily ask for God’s mercy and loving-kindness like David.

Beloved, God keep you blameless and spotless in His mighty hands until we meet at the gates of the golden city on the eternal shores! 

Your friend and fellow Pilgrim in the Kingdom Race,

Pastor Janet

 

                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

                      

God is Great and Greatly!

 Hi friends,

As we journey this eternal highway heavenward, there are incidences and situations that tend to want to make us forget the greatness of God and how beautiful He is for every situation.

It is therefore imperative that we remind ourselves so we do not forget to praise God greatly.

Psalms 48:1-2 says:

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God,

 in the mountain of His holiness. Beautiful for situation, the joy

of the whole earth, is mount Zion on the sides of the north, the

 city of the great King.

 There is every need to praise God not just any how but greatly because He is great and also does great things. He proves Himself beautiful for every situation of the pilgrim’s life no matter how ugly men may classify it.

As pilgrims, we need to come to the realization that praise is all we owe the Lord God Almighty who is lord of this kingdom highway. Praise is also our weapon to fight the devil- our arch enemy.

Praise to this great God grants us access to His divine presence and angelic assistance. It also brings speedy answers to prayers and supplication. Praise moves God and brings down His divine presence.

When we praise God greatly as He deserves, He gives beauty for every ashes and turns disgrace to grace. He gives the oil of gladness and joy which protects the soul.

When Jehovah Saboath is greatly praised, mountains move of their own accord and enemies are thrown into outright confusion like in the war between Jehoshaphat and the three nations that encamped against Judah as recorded in 2Chronicles 20.

There might be thistles and thorns of affliction on this journey heavenward but praising God as greatly as He deserves brings joy to the pilgrim which is a weapon of both defense and for the believer.

Praise is said to be the plural of prayer. Prayer moves the hand of God but praise moves God Himself and imagine when it is done greatly! Little, wonder Psalms 50 tells us that whoever praises God honors Him and paves way for his salvation. 

Keep praising God greatly and blessing the Almighty God who has times and seasons in His mighty hands until we meet at the gates of the golden city on the eternal shores!

Your friend and fellow Pilgrim in the Kingdom Race,

Pastor Janet

Be Thankful and Bless His name

 

Hi friends,

On this eternal highway, there is a possibility to forget the many good things God has done and focus on the one or two things He has not done yet thereby refusing to give thanks.

To remind us of the need to always give thanks and bless God, the Psalmist shouted in Psalms 100: 4

Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,

And into his courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him and bless His name.

Thanksgiving is the act of emphasizing gratitude and praise to God for His many blessings.

To bless the name of the Lord is to declare that the name of the Lord is blessed.

These two acts of thanking God and blessing His name should be the attitude of every pilgrim as we live our day to day lives with Jesus in focus and as our eternal reward.

These two ways of living will not only give us continuous access to God’s presence but will also make our pilgrimage a worthy venture and a miracle packed one.

Each time we cultivate the attitude of appreciating God for His doings we are simply saying, ‘God come and do more’. Little wonder Psalms 50 ends by telling us that when we offer praise to God, we honour God and pave way for our salvation.

A life of praise is evidenced by divine presence with angelic assistance. A life of thanksgiving is a fulfilled life because that is the reason why you are created in the first place. A life that calls God blessed gives God pleasure and of course such a one is preserved come what may. 

There is a common expression in our Christian cycle that says when praises rise up, blessings come down. Another said praise is the plural of prayer. Any issue you engage God with gratitude and blessings will come through successfully.

Keep thanking, blessing and praising the Almighty God from whom all blessings flow. Who also in His magnanimity daily loads us with heavenly blessings until we meet at the gates of the golden city on the eternal shores!

Your friend and fellow Pilgrim in the Kingdom Race,

Pastor Janet

We Are Glad!

 

Hi friends,

On this eternal pilgrimage heavenward, there are a lot of ups and downs such that the emphasis has been so much on the challenges that we seem to forget that there are moments of rejoicing.

The Psalmist says in Psalms 126: 3

The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

The implication of this testimony is that despite how narrow and strait the way heavenward is, God still turns captivity around and does great things for His children to put His enemies and foes to shame and gladden the faithful pilgrim.

As much as this journey is full of toils and turmoil as it were, God does great things to build faith in the believer and make them know that they have a God who is big enough to handle all situations and meet all of their needs according to His riches in glory.  

The omnipotent God will turn captivities around so that He could silence all His enemies and avenger.  He will do incredible things so that the heathens may come to the realization that he alone is the God of all the earth.

Jesus during his earthly ministry went into the temple and read from the scroll that the reason why God anointed Him was to bring the captivities out of prison, to loosen those that are bound, to give the oil of gladness for the spirit of heaviness, to comfort mourners, to preach to the meek, heal the broken hearted and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

What a great ministry and consolation to the weak and weary pilgrim!

May I submit to you that the Lord has your interest at heart come what may. The supposed toils and turmoil are just ploys from the evil one to make you loose focus of this heavenly kingdom and turn back from the pursuit of God.

There is a God in heaven who is the God of all comfort and comforts us continually in every of our afflictions and sorrows. He bears our grieves and sorrows. He heals all our wounds and diseases. He cares too much to leave us all alone.

I pray for you, dear friends, that you will not be like them that turn back to perdition and the destruction of their souls in Jesus name, amen.

In closing join your voice with mine as we sing this melodious song;

By and by, when the morning comes;

When the saints of God are gathered home’

We will tell the story how we overcame;

We will understand it better by and by. 

Keep singing and rejoicing until we meet at the gates of the golden city in the New Jerusalem!

Your friend and fellow Pilgrim in the Kingdom Race,

Pastor Janet

Pleasant Pilgrimage!

Hi friends,

On this eternal pilgrimage, there is every need to make it as godly and pleasurably as possible so we can achieve heaven’s purpose and make it to be with the Lord and master of our soul ultimately.

Psalms 133:1

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell

 together in unity!

The word pleasant simply means friendly and considerate manner; likeable.

This feat of continuous unity is only achievable when we make deliberate and conscious effort to work in unity with the brethren irrespectively of offences and character flaws. We must also be willing to make sacrifices too.

I had a discussion with a friend who said his reason for not working for God and choosing to be a bench warmer in the church was because of his former pastor’s injustice and an elder’s misconduct.

As good and reasonably as this may look, it is still not a good enough reason for any Christian pilgrim to abscond from duty post or refuse to labour for the Master who is also the Lord of the harvest.

The meat of the matter is that because the devil does not want the work of God to prosper or want you to achieve divine purpose he will use anything and everything possible including using those very close to you.

You must chose to persevere, pray and be intentional to walk in unity with the brethren. Let’s us put our individual differences and character flaws aside. No excuse is good enough to walk in disunity.

The Bible further predicts that surely offences would come but woe unto that man by whom offence come. God has His way of dealing with all men irrespective of their class or status so let us look away from men unto our judge and rewarder.

Let us pray to overcome the evil one with all his devices so that unity can be attainable. You don’t need to be a friend to walk in unity. Intimacy is not needed either but focusing on the ultimate goal set by our dear Lord and saviour to whom we will give an account of ourselves.

Why the kingdom of the devil accomplishes irrespective of the fact that there is no love or any fruit of the spirit is because they focus on their mission. Apostle Paul admonishes us to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.   

Beloved Pilgrim, may the good Lord keep you, preserve you blameless, safe and in unity with other Christian pilgrims until we meet at the golden city of the New Jerusalem! 

Your friend and fellow Pilgrim in the Kingdom Race,

Pastor Janet 

He Will Cover You!

 

Hi friends,

As pilgrims, we cannot but remind ourselves of the security we have in Christ Jesus which is both eternal and earthly so that our hearts will not fail us for fear of insecurity from the devil and his cohorts.

The scriptures has given several assurances of divine presence but there was one which struck me expressly as I watched a mother hen spread out her wings to protect her chicks from cold.

Psalms 91:4 expressly declares;

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt

 thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

The whole of  Psalm 91 is an assurance of the security we have in Christ Jesus as we focus on Him alone on this pilgrimage but the verse above was an eye opener to me that if a hen would do such for her chicks how much more the Almighty God!

Remember how he loved you so much that he sacrificed His only begotten son just to reconcile you to Himself. He even promised that He was going to sacrifice the heathens for you.

The reality of your importance to this all powerful and sovereign God should put your mind to rest that He can never leave you nor forsake you come what may.

Prominent men pay body guards who would be armed to protect them from unexpected attacks of the enemies but He even promised that His truth shall be your shield and buckler!

This implies that attacks would come but because you have the shield of faith on you and the belt of truth, you shall be preserved from the fiery darts of the wicked.

Because, Jesus is right by your side you shall not be burnt by fire, drowned by the rivers of life or the sudden attacks of the wicked. He said when the enemy shall come like a flood, He by Himself would raise a standard against him.

All you need do to attain this divine security is to abide in the shadows of the Almighty and in the secret place of his tabernacle. All you need do is to stay true to the profession of your faith as you contend for the faith. Hold relentlessly to the one and only true God who is also the Lord of the way!

Have you suddenly forgotten His promise that no evil shall come near your dwelling and that He shall give His angels charge over you? Did you suddenly forget that He who watches over you never sleeps nor slumber?  Why is your heart so fearful with so much unrest within?

Beloved, I have come to remind you that God cannot fail nor lie so hold Him firmly and tenaciously because He wants to cover you with His feathers keeping you forever safe in His Almighty and everlasting arms.

Dear Pilgrim, may the good Lord keep you, preserve you blameless and safe in the hollow of His arms until we meet at the golden city of the New Jerusalem! 

 

Your friend and fellow Pilgrim in the Kingdom Race,

Pastor Janet