AT THE TIME OF HIS BIRTH

At the time of the Lord’s birth, there was no room at the inn for the Lord to be delivered.
At the time of His birth, people did not understand that Christ was about to be born into the world.
At the time of His birth, no hospital was alerted.
At the time of His birth, He was wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.
It is written, “So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:6-7) Jesus, the King of kings, was born in a manger.
The Eternal Shepherd of all shepherds could have declared the inn to be open-up for His arrival while He was still in the womb. He came silently and was wrapped in swaddling clothes. The inn was filled up when Joseph and Mary got to the inn. The inn which matters to Him is our inn. It does not matter the kind of gift that occupies your inn waiting to be delivered. If you do not have a place for Him in your inn it becomes a meaning less gift. He spoke in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” Jesus came to have a place in our inn so that we can overcome and be granted a seat with Him on His throne. To deny Him access into our inn is the evidence of having been filled with self. Jesus is knocking at the door of your inn. Will you grant Him full access and engage the privileges of having Jesus in your inn?
When the knock came at the door of the inn, the imminent birth of the Lord was met with a lock-out. Many are filled with things that will deprive them of eternal happiness when the trumpet sounds. Some are filled with desires that will not bring salvation. The opportunity for the inn to become the most well-known inn in all of creation came knocking but it was too full to be used for the Lord’s birth. What are you filled with? It is about time for you to prepare your inn for His coming back. Send off lying, deception and manipulation which will keep Him from coming to your inn and create room for Him. He is coming back again so be ready for Him.
His coming as a gift from God is the reason for hope. His coming as a gift is the reason for joy. The gift of God to man is unconditional love. Jesus is a sacrificial gift which God sent so we do not miss eternal life. In return for His love, we are to love Him just as He loves us. The kind of love He wants from us is identified in the Parable of the Good Samaritan. A young lawyer approached Jesus asking what to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus asked him what was written in the law and he responded, “…You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (Luke 10:27) The lawyer prompted Jesus to tell the parable when he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) Jesus identified who his neighbor is in the parable. A certain man that fell in the hands of thieves lost everything to thieves and was left helplessly wounded. A priest and a Levite who were supposed to know better about compassion crossed over to other side of the wounded man but a certain Samaritan (a supposedly unbeliever) showed compassion where the religious leaders did not. Jesus answered the lawyer’s question of what needs to be done not to miss eternal life by asking the lawyer to go and do just as the Good Samaritan did.
The Good Samaritan is a measure of the gift we should be giving back to God who gave us the best gift in His begotten Son. A yearly glamorous celebration of the gift of God to us is far from enough as a measure of our giving back to God if loving our neighbor is out of place in how we live life.
1 John 4:7-11 admonishes us, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
The picture of loving others is clear in the parable of the Good Samaritan: Loving our neighbor perfects loving God. Celebrate Jesus, the gift of God, by giving yourself to living life in having compassion for all your neighbors.

THE WORD IS COMPLETELY COMPLETE

The word of God is His law, the word is His instruction and it is His command. Those who allow their hearts to keep the word of God shall have length of days, long life and peace. Those who are able to keep the word of God are the ones who make God their confidence. Those who keep the word of God will know to do good when the chance to do good calls. Those who keep the Word of God do not stumble where others are stumbling. The word of God does not mark one or exempt man from afflictions but in the word there is an assured promise for deliverance out of all manner of affliction. (Proverbs 34:19) Above all, those who keep the word in their heart will know not to lean on their own understanding.
Life is a race that is set before us. Hebrew 12:1 buttressed, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” In the race of life, all we need to run and be able to possess what God has for us is by the word of His grace.
In the race of life, all we need is to be able to possess what God is having for us by the word of His grace. God spoke to Joshua, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8) Going by the word of God, it is evident that the only track in the race of life is the word of God. Jesus, the Living word of God buttressed in His speech, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” (John 14:6) Meditating on the word as directed by God will cause man to observe. Observing the word is investigating the word. Investigating can be described as searching out and examining the word in an attempt to learn the truth about what is hidden in the word that can make a difference in a man’s life. Without any iota of doubt, it is the word of God which you investigate that will navigate for you in the race of life.
Paul identified it in Acts 20:32, “So now, brethren, I commend you to the God and the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among the sanctified.” The word of God is power and it is to a believer what gasoline is to a car. Without it any move that you make will not endure. John the Baptist’s birth was announced by the angel of the Lord who gave him the name John. In order to begin his ministry, John needed the word to move out of the wilderness of waiting.  Luke 3:2 recorded, “While Annas and Caiaphaas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son Zacharias in the wilderness. And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” John waited in the wilderness until he received the word. When the word came to him, he went out into the entire region and began the purpose of his calling. Have you taken a step before you received the word? It is never too late for you to go back to where you have been waiting. Allow the word to come and get you to where He is taking you. Do you know for sure if He has called you? If He has called you, all you need is the word which will carry you to the next level in life. Be patient, the word is coming for you to take your rightful place in the business of God by His grace. It will not come rushing in so do not go out in a hurry. God has a set time; His word will come at the appointed season.
Without any doubt, by the efficacy of the word of God, the ones who have the word have found wisdom. As the Lord lives, the wise shall inherit glory and shame will not be their legacy. With the word of God, when we roam the word will lead us, when we sleep the word will keep us and when we are awake the word will speak with us. (Proverbs 6:22) Evidently, the word of God is completely complete and will see man through in the race of life.

FAITH CAPSULE: The word of God is power and it is to a believer what gasoline is to a car.

                                                      HIS WAY IS HIS PRESENCE

It is written, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God.  All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” (John 1:1-3) The scriptural verse above clearly identifies that there is no need for a theologian’s interpretation to get the understanding that the Word of God is God.
Moses asked from God, “Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” (Exodus 33:13) He wanted direction by asking for the way of God. God responded back to Moses, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” (Exodus 33:14) Obviously, God’s response to Moses’ request for the way of God indicates that God’s presence is God’s way. The way of God is the word of God and the word of God is His presence. Every God-fearing man like Moses should know better not to make a move outside of His way (word).
Once, He revealed His way to King Saul through His Prophet Samuel. “Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.” (1 Samuel 15:3) King Saul moved in response to the word of God. It is written, “But Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.” (1 Samuel 15:9) Saul moved in a way that seemed right to him; not according to the way of God. No matter how much the way seems right to you, if it is not the way of God, it is the way of man. Proverbs 14:12 warned, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Do not be wise in your own eyes to ever mistake your way for the way of God; regardless of how that way is pleasing to man. Heaven withdrew King Saul from retaining the royal crown as the King of the Israelites. People saw him to be king while God had already packed him up. He went the way which seemed right to him.
In God’s way, there is direction and grace to live to the fulfillment of divine assignment. His way is the revealer of His act. In His acts, there is power confirmation, deliverance and there is total victory. Psalm 103:7, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.” It is absolutely impossible to follow the ways of the Lord and not arrive at a final destination. Likewise, one cannot see His acts and not tremble at the awesomeness of His power. The acts of God are the invention of His word and His word encased His way. The children of Israel were privileged to see His actions. They saw the move of God’s power so many times during their days in the wilderness. They saw the Red Sea open up for them to provide dry land as a passage. They saw how the firstborn of all the Egyptian masters died while their firstborns were safe. However, despite all that they witnessed, those Israelites who left Egypt and whose age was twenty and above never arrived at their expected end. The Israelites despised the word of God and they were destroyed. The word of God warns, “He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” (Proverbs 13:13) Caleb and Joshua were the only ones who did not despise the word of God. Both Caleb and Joshua did not fail to keep their faith in His acts which gave them direction. In the past days, weeks, months, and years, if you have seen the wonderwork of His hand, rest and be assure that you have seen His way. However, your title or position is not a license to foolishness Fools says there is no God by their action or by word of confession. Avoid foolishness! Fear Him and trust Him to lead you through in His way.
Moses, a giant in the hand of the Lord, could not get to the expected end because he failed to fully obey God. When he was commanded by God to speak to a rock for water provision he struck the rock twice. (Numbers 20:11-12) Moses saw the Land of Promise but could not set foot on the land. Are you paying attention to the Word of God? It has never changed and it will remain the same. The unchanging Changer will change your situation if you will engage His Word for a favorable lifting in the days, weeks, months and years ahead of you. Commit to the word of God and it will lead you in the way of God. Will you commit your way to His ways and trust in Him?

FAITH CAPSULE: The way of God is the word of God and the word of God is His presence.

SEE THE WORD AS YOU HEAR

It is written, “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;  For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.” (Proverbs 4:20-22). In regard to the scriptural verses above, it is thoughtful to say that the word of God that one hears with ears and not able to see with eyes will not stay in one’s heart. Information that does not stay in the heart does not bring transformation. Word that gains position in the heart becomes an agent of manifestation. The word of God is meant to be retained in the heart because out of the heart comes forth the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). The Bible makes us realize that the words of God are life and not just letters. John 6:63 declared, “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” 2 Corinthians 3:6, “…For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

How much does it require of you to begin to receive the word of God as life and not just letters? It is how you receive the word of God that will determine how it answers for you in this wicked world. If the word is received as life, just like you receive a direction to navigate your way to a destination, life will be straight forward at every juncture and void of getting lost. Citing an example of how you receive the word with your ear and see it with your eyes: If to get to point “A”, direction is being laid down for you by the one directing you, and you are also able to hear with your ears when and where to turn. Having heard with your ear, you begin to see in the midst of your heart where and when to turn. Your response to the one giving you direction will be “oh yes I see, I see”. When you begin to see before getting to the location of direction, then it means that the word of direction has entered your ears. Your eyes have seen it (before getting to the location directed) and it is already programmed in the midst of your heart.

What is making it difficult for man to receive the word of God as direction to engage the journey of life? A film director or producer that presented the movie, Passion of Christ was not alive when Jesus went to Calvary. However, he was able to receive the word with his ears and it became a picture which could be seen as if he was there. The picture that he produced was fitting and almost true to life because he must have seen the word which he heard. When word is communicated through reading or preaching, heart must receive and retain it to become see-able.

After the separation of Abraham from Lot, God told Abraham to see. Abraham must have seen it for it to become real for Him. “For all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever.” (Genesis 13:15) The word that you receive and are able to see as being there will determine what you become. Job was repeatedly described by God as blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. (Job 1:1) He heard from God number of times but the striking difference was not made in his life until he was able to see the word spoken to him. He testified in Job 42:5-6, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” There is a need for the grace of having the eyes of the heart to open. When the eye of the heart is opened, word will begin to give a clear direction to navigate or engage the challenges of this world by the power encased in the word of God. Give attention to the word you receive, let your heart retain it and you will keep His command and have life abundantly.

FAITH CAPSULEThere is a need for the grace of having the eyes of the heart to open.

KEEP YOUR DESTINY IN SHAPE

To keep your destiny in shape and not miss God’s promise for your life, it is important that your thinking and spoken word are right before God.
What are you thinking?
The engagement of Jesus with a paralytic man teaches the need to pay attention to how we think.
A paralytic man was brought to Jesus for healing. The Bible documents that when Jesus saw the faith of those who brought the paralytic man, Jesus declared that his sins were forgiven. Just as Jesus made His declaration, some of the scribes said within them, “This man blasphemes!” (Matthew 9:3) It was not an outspoken statement but a statement in their inside; it was their thought. Jesus heard them despite the fact that it was in the in the heart. The Bible records Jesus’ response to their thinking. “But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘why do you think evil in your hearts?’” (Matthew 9:4) What are you thinking? As a creation that cannot hide from the Creator, are you shaping your destiny by thinking what is right and not evil? As a believer who trusts in God, in the face of challenges, are you thinking positive instead of negative? God sees and hears our thought clearly. In your thinking, let Him know that nothing is impossible and He shall be provoked to move on your behalf for a positive result. Our thoughts are not hidden from God and that’s why we should abstain from thinking anything evil but rather think good at all time. The Bible warned in Zechariah 8:17 “Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor…”
Before God, thinking negative is the same as thinking evil and God hates evil. Whatever we think is the evidence of how we keep our heart. This is the reason why the Bible warned us in Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. The Bible points out for us, know it that as a man thinks in his heart so he is (Proverbs 23:7) Think right and it becomes right for you.

KEEP YOUR HEART AND AVOID NEGATIVE THINKING
Among the ways to keep the heart is documented in Joshua 1:8, God spoke to Joshua after the death of Moses, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” The word of God that is power will not depart from your mouth only when it becomes what you think (meditate) on day and night. Meditate on His word day and night so that the word you meditate will flow out of your mouth. Occupy your thoughts with the word of God and your ways shall be prosperous with good success.

What are you saying?
What you say is your confession and it will find you out.
It is very important that you know and pay attention to what comes out of your mouth. When thinking right becomes of one, speaking right will become one’s portion. The Israelites could not think right enough to remember how God brought them out of the bondage of over four hundred years. They forget all the miracles before Pharaoh in Egypt. Pharaoh and his forces could not stop them; the Red Sea failed to trap them. However, the words of their mouth which they spoke to their life terminated them from getting to their Promised Land. They said, “’If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!  Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’  So they said to one another, ‘Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.’” (Numbers 14:2-3) Imagine those who had seen great miracles but yet could not fashion their thinking and their spoken word to be a positive one? Are you shaping your destiny right with right thinking and right communication? How you think and what you say determines how God will respond to you.
God responded to the Israelites negative confession (word). “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you:  The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.” (Numbers 14:28-30)
God is a good God. Without faith we cannot please God. If without faith we displease Him, with faith we shall surely please Him. It is lack of faith for a believer to be thinking negative or to be speaking (confessing) negative in the face of impossible challenges. God promised that with Him, all things are possible. At all times and in all situations, we should know not to confess negative but rather positive. Indeed, we should constantly keep our heart with all diligence for out of our heart springs forth every issue we engage in living life.

FAITH CAPSULE:
How you think and what you say determines how God will respond to you.