DO YOU KNOW THIS MAN?

As I was studying the book of Proverbs yesterday, I came across these verses in the sixth chapter.  Although I have read the book of Proverbs over a hundred times, the passage suddenly stuck out and got my attention because for the first time, I can relate it to a living person.  Can you also relate it to any living person?

 Let me describe for you a worthless and a wicked man;

first, he is a constant liar;

he signals his true intentions to his friends with eyes and feet and fingers. 

He is always thinking up new schemes to swindle people.

He stirs up trouble everywhere. 

But he will be destroyed suddenly, broken beyond hope of healing.

                                               Proverbs 6:12-15  Living Bible (TLB) 

The end which the Bible predicts for such a man is grim, but ‘the scripture cannot be broken.’   A change of heart is the only way to avert such an outcome. Help us Lord.

 

Dieting is one of the foremost topics of today.  It is the topic of conversations in work places, TV, social media, magazines etc.  The whole essence of the diet fad is that the way you look is determined by what you eat.  The overweight individual can become slimmer by eating differently.  Indeed  you are what you eat.  As it is in the physical, so it is in the spiritual.

The same way the body is nourished by physical food, is the way the spirit is nourished with spiritual food.  The food you furnish your mind determines the state of your mind and consequently the state of your life.  The subjects that you allow your mind to dwell upon make your surroundings what they are.

The Word of God is the most nourishing food you can feed your mind upon.  Everything in your life today (the state of your body, the state of your fortune, the state of your home, the present condition of every phase of your life), is entirely conditioned by the habitual tone of your past thinking.  And the condition of your life next week, and next year, will be conditioned by the thoughts and feelings that you entertain from now onward.  In other words, you choose your life’s outcome.

Thought is the real causative force in life, and there is no other.  You cannot have one kind of mind and another kind of environment.  You cannot change your environment while leaving your mind unchanged.  This is the real key to life.  If you change your mind your conditions must change too – your body, your activities, your home and the general condition of your whole life must change too.

If you change your mind, your condition must change.  This is the Great Cosmic Law.  The Law appears so simple, yet humanity has found it difficult to avail itself of its benefits.  The main difficulty lies in the fact that we are too intimately tied to our own thoughts that we cannot stand back and look objectively at them.  Yet that is exactly what we must do to make the law work for us.  You must choose the subject of your thinking at any given time, and also the emotions that accompany each subject.  Not being able to do this is to lose control of your life or allow other people, things and events to control your life.

You must start now to select, daily, the kind of thoughts  you are going to think, so that you can shape your life into what you want it to be.

Do you know how much your tongue weighs, and why should you care?  The reason is simple.  Your destiny depends on your tongue.  How? You may ask.

The Bible says.  ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue…’  (Prov. 18:21).(KJV) and

‘By your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.’(Matt. 12:37)(KJV)

Death and life represent the two extremes of human experience.  And surprisingly, the determinant is the tongue.

Here’s some related information about the tongue.

The average tongue weighs 70 gm (male) and 60 gm (female.); that’s about 1/6 lb.  (Why the female tongue weighs less than the male’s is a story for another day!)   So, a 150 lb. or even a 300 lb. adult has a tongue that weighs just one sixth of a pound.  That’s a ratio of 1:900 for the 150 lb. adult and 1:1800 for the 300 pounder. In other words, the tongue controls something that is 900-1800 times its own weight. The tongue can therefore be rightly called the governor of the man.

The apostle James rightly points out the ratio of the controller to the controlled in James 3:3-4.  He used the tiny bits used to control the horse and the helm used to control ships as examples.  Modern technology has not dispensed with this trend either.  Airplanes, ocean liners, rocket-propelled engines and missiles are still controlled by devices that are just a minuscule proportion of what they control.

Similarly, destinies are built and destroyed by the tongue, and the scripture is full of examples.  Joshua and Caleb enhanced their destinies by their courageous words.  David’s destiny was enhanced when he tongue-lashed Goliath to death in defense of the Lord’s army.   Blind Bartimeaus, by his tongue attracted Jesus’ attention and received his sight.  On the other hand, Nebuchadnezzar spoke himself into the animal kingdom and  lived among animals for seven years while Herod boasted himself to death with his tongue, and was suddenly eaten up by worms.

Did you notice that on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost came in ‘cloven tongue as of fire’?  This speaks to the power of the tongue, like James, comparing it with fire. Imagine what Peter’s speech accomplished.  One speech and 3,000 souls saved with no microphone or public address system in place!

Conclusion:

Let’s conclude with these two references about the power of the tongue;  repeated for emphasis obviously.

‘If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies.’ 1 Peter 3:10 (NLT) and

‘Does anyone want to live a life that is long and prosperous?  Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies!’  Psalm 34:12-13 (NLT)

This is the Bible yardstick for  judging your tongue.  Ask yourself; ‘Does what I am about to say meet the Bible yardstick?  If you will do this before saying anything weighty, you will save your own life.

 

Your thoughts determine what you experience. But how?  The thought that you impress on a thing will determine your experience of it.  Bless a thing and it will bless you in return.  Curse a thing, and it will curse you.  If you bless a situation, it has no power to hurt you.  Even if it is a troublesome situation, it will be so only for a time, and it will gradually fade out…if you sincerely blessed it.

The Bible says that whatever name Adam gave each animal, that was its name till today.  And we know that the name of a thing denotes its character.  He said to one animal ‘You are tiger, be ferocious’, and so it remained.  He said to another:  You are ‘snake’, the subtle one’ and so it was and acted it out on him.  Remember that Adam does not only denote the historical Adam, but humanity as a whole.   Until we learn to give good names to everything, we shall have enemies of various kinds to deal with.   The Bible also records many name-character matches, such as  Nabal-folly (1 Sam. 25:25),  Emmanuel-God with us (Matthew 1:23).

Application:

To remain healthy  or heal a diseased organ, bless your body or that organ, not the disease.  Bless your home.  Bless your business.  Bless your career/profession.  Bless the weather, your town, your state, your country. Your word is your wand.

TED CRUZ  ‘ANOINTED’  PRESIDENT!! 

Welcome to the Theocratic Republic of America

I came across a ‘You-Tube’ clip titled “Kenneth Copeland Says Ted Cruz Has Been ‘Called & Anointed’ To Be The Next President.”

The clip showed Ted Cruz’ dad (Rafael Cruz) saying his and his son’s families spent six months on their knees seeking ‘God’s face’ for Ted’s run for the presidency; at the end of which ‘the word’ came.  The ‘word’ was further confirmed by a direct quote from God to Heidi (Ted’s wife). We must, of course, discount that ‘word’ from any First lady ambition.

The clip was then linked to another where Rafael Cruz says Obama should be sent back to Chicago, or Kenya, but he (Rafael) would rather send Obama to Indonesia.  In yet another clip, Rafael asserts unequivocally that OBAMA NEVER SAYS ‘Under God’’ whenever reciting the pledge. Obama ALWAYS SKIPS it, Rafael reiterated.  Three video clips were then played in which Obama singly and in a group recites the pledge; clearly seen and heard to say ‘Under God’.

What I just saw was so shocking had to slap my bald head to be sure I wasn’t dreaming.  And it should shock every Bible-believing and practicing Christian.  Apart from the hatred in the voice and tone of this preacher dad of Ted Cruz; pre-meditated lying by a preacher in the name of God is not only disgusting but a disgrace to Christianity. Where’s the conscience, where’s the inner witness and where’s the witness of the Holy Spirit in all this and other lies?  Little wonder Donald Trump keeps calling him ‘Lying Ted’.  That’s one fact the @realDonaldTrump is absolutely right about.

One must wonder if this hate-peddling, lying ‘evangelical’ preacher possesses, much less read the same Bible as everyone else.  The last charge of Jesus Christ’s to His followers before He ascended to heaven was to ‘…go and preach the gospel to all creatures’ and make disciples of all people and nations.  And here is Ted Cruz, who prides himself on being the most hateful and hated senator in Washington, being anointed President by God?

He can’t win even one soul for Christ anywhere on planet earth due to his terrible reputation? Because no one wants the God he and his dad are showcasing. They are not Christ-like; and what does being a Christian mean?  A follower of Christ, the last time I checked the definition.

Secondly, how does the Cruz family and their ‘evangelical Christian’ supporters respond to these Bible verses?  Note the sins lying is lumped with in the scriptures below: murder, prostitution, kidnapping, sorcery/witchcraftry etc.

 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.  Revelation 21:8 (KJV)

 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 1 Tim.1:9-10(KJV)

On Obama.

How does Pastor Rafael Cruz respond to this Bible verse and many more like that?

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 1 Timothy 2:1-2(KJV)

The whole charade about Ted Cruz having been anointed by God is nothing but idiocy, self-deception and aggrandizement, all in the name of God.  He’s family anointed and not God anointed.

For Ted Cruz to become the next president, scripture must be broken, and that’s impossibility. God always means what He says and says what He means.

 ‘Let God be true and all men liars’ Romans 3:4 (KJV)

In conclusion, I can assert that as the Lord lives before whom I and millions of Bible believers stand, ‘Ted ain’t gonna be no POUS.’

P.S.   Looks like Ted and his dad scored one on Papa Copeland!

 

YOUR TIRE MANUFACTURER vs. YOUR GOD

Whom do you trust more; your tire manufacturer or God?  This may sound silly, but think about it this way.

Consider that the speed limit is 75 mph on some highways, which means you can legitimately drive at 80. That’s about 40 yards per second or a mile and a third per minute.  Have you ever thought about what could happen if you lost a tire at that speed?  With four tires, the risk quadruples.  Absent speed cameras and state troopers many people will drive at 100-120 mph. with no worries.

Now, here’s the question:  On whose guarantee do you rely when you take such a risk  with your life?  Your tire manufacturers’ of course.  In other words, just because your tire maker says that if you inflate your tire to a certain pressure and you do not exceed a certain weight; your tires will not fall apart.   So, you believe him and risk your life daily on that basis!

Let’s transfer the scenario to God now. What guarantees and assurances has God given us about different areas of our lives, and how much do we believe Him? Like the tire maker, God has also given us promises and guarantees with stipulated the conditions.

Oh that we can trust in God’s promises the way we trust ‘Firestone’ or ‘Michelin’!   Moreover, God’s reliability record far surpasses that of the tire makers.  For example when God says ‘Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…then all these things shall be added unto you’,(Mt. 6:33) or ‘You shall love the Lord your God and he shall bless your bread and your waters…. ’(Exo 23:25) and several other such promises, do we believe Him enough to act on those promises?  He even said in Malachi 3:10 ‘Prove me now and see if I will not open the windows of heaven’? So He even dares us! What better assurance do we need?

I challenge you brothers and sisters to approach God’s promises with the same mind-set as you do your tire manufacturers’.  As we discover the reliability of God’s  promises, we shall able to take bold steps of faith to change our destiny.    Joy and Peace to all.

RESIST YE NOT EVIL?

“But I say unto you:  That ye resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek; turn to him the other also.”  (Matt 5:39KJV)

What did Jesus mean by this verse?  It is obvious that he was not speaking of literally turning the other cheek.  What then was He teaching?

Good, like light is permanent, omnipresent and all-powerful.  Evil, like darkness is temporary, without a character of its own, and fades when good appears.  What we call ‘evil’ often exists only in the mind when that mind is unoccupied with good.  The secret is not to wrestle with error because the more you wrestle with an idea, the more life you give to it.  The only power an idea has is the one you give it with your thought.  Give it no thought and starve it to death.

Have you noticed that fear, hatred and resentment are often accompanied by strong emotions?  Faster heartbeat, agitation, dry mouth, hoarse and raised voice etc.,  all of which compound the initial cause of the problem.

Going over old grievances and offences recharge them with new life; reopening healed or healing wounds.  By recounting in graphic detail an offence of 25 years ago, you have just renewed what was slowly expiring on its own.  ‘I remember it like yesterday, exactly five minutes after eight, the morning of April 8^th 2005, you said this and that to me…’ you say.

When you resist mentally any undesirable or unwanted circumstance, you give it more power – which it will use against you.  Use the power of your opponent against him instead of resisting him.  This is a principle well understood by wrestlers and martial artists.

So when you meet a difficulty; physical, emotional, financial or whatever it is, don’t hurl yourself at it as most people do.  And don’t stubbornly stand in its way yelling: ‘You shall not pass’.  Instead refuse to feed it with more power.  Feel out for the Presence of God as if feeling for someone in a darkroom.  Fill your thought with the Presence of God and the trouble will fade away into nothingness as His presence gives you ‘light’ in the midst of the darkness.

If you find this piece helpful, please send me an email at jaremu.cole@gmail.com

Remain blessed.

 

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!