The New Life In Christ Jesus

   “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father; but by me. If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, have seen him” John 14:6-7.   “Is Jesus really God?”   This is one question many still ask today. They believe He was a great prophet and teacher, but find it difficult to accept that He is Himself God, but He is. The Bible says “In the beginning was the Word, and the word was with God, and the Word was God ” John 1:1. That “Word” that the Bible says “was God” became flesh-Jesus- and dwelt among us: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” John 1:14.     Now, the prophecy that came forth before the birth of Jesus also foretold His divinity: “Behold, a virgin shall be with a child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanue...

     “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small” proverbs 24:10.    Christianity is a bed of roses, with tests, trials and challenging times are what the bible refers to as “the evil day” Ephesian 6:13, or “the day of adversity” as read in our opening verse. Some believers dread such periods and specifically pray to    God never to allow them go through trials and challenges. To avoid situations that challenge your faith is to checkmate your chances of promotion.   James 1:2 says, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” Why would God admonish you to rejoice when tests and challenges come at you on all sides? It’s because He knows that victory is your spirit. Having been born again, you’ve become an overcomer and more than a conqueror. Consequently, no situation that you face should overwhelm you.     God knows what stuff you’re made of, that’s why He said, “There hath no tempta...

     Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the   God of all comfort… 2 Corinthians 1:3. What a beautiful description of our heavenly Father; He’s the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. It reminds of the beautiful description of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter John 14:16-17. Thus, it doesn’t matter what situation you’re in right now, our God is Father of mercies,  and God of all comfort; he’ll comfort you.     God comforts you with the Word, by reminding you of who you are, your inheritance in Christ, the special place you occupy in   Him, your abilities in Christ and the glorious victories you’ve won in the past. He never likes it when you’re forlorn or downcast. He wants you happy all the time. That’s why He never condemns you, even when you’ve blown it, or done something wrong. He corrects you in love, and urges you on. Always, He assures you of His love for you and H...

  Did you know that a man could believe that Jesus died and was raised from the dead for his justification, and still end up in hell? “ For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words shalt be condemned” Matthew 12:37. That’s because to merely believe that He died and was raise from the dead isn’t enough to guarantee salvation. The Bible says even the devils believe and tremble James 2:19, but that doesn’t make them saved. There’s more required for salvation than just believing. We must confess the Lordship of Jesus over our lives to be saved!    The word “confess” is the Greek “Homologia” which means to declare openly by way of speaking out freely a deep conviction of facts.  Thus when we make confessions, we’re proclaiming that which God has said concerning us in His Word. Romans 10:9-10 says: “…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him form the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with ...

     Some people have asked if Christians could intercede on behalf of a person who died without receiving Christ, so such a person could go to heaven instead of hell. The answer is No. “For the grave cannot praise thee, death cannot celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth” Isaiah 38:18-19. Anyone who didn’t receive Christ while on earth stands condemned. In John 3:18, Jesus said, “… but he that believeth not is condemned already….”   So, the one who dies without knowing Christ, died in condemnation, and it would be of no use praying for such a one to go to heaven because the choice of whether to make heaven or not is personal one.   It’s important to realize that the salvation message is for the living and not the dead. You can only receive Christ as Lord and Saviour in response to the Gospel while you’re s...

     Society may place limits on you; your family background, the nation where you live, your education, job description, business, or finances could place limits on you. But there’s a life without limits; that’s the life Jesus brought to us; it’s the transcendent life of glory where there are no limitations. And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life 1 John 5:11-12.   Many know nothing about this kind of life, and so they think it doesn’t exist. That they know nothing about it doesn’t make it unreal; after all, there was a time people thought it was impossible to fly an airplane, but that, however, has become common thing today. The word teaches of a life without limits, and that’s the life to which everyone who’s born again has been called. A, life unlimited by sickness, disease, failure, the devil or anything!    Jesus ...

        “ Watch ye, stand fast, quit you like men, be strong” 1 Corinthians 16:13. Some people are unfruitful in their faith-walk because they’re burdened by the cares and desires of this life, and these choke God’s word in their hearts Mark 4:18-19. The first thing you must do to stand firm in the faith is to set your heart on the Lord; give Him your undivided attention. Proverbs 23:26 says, “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”         This is akin to what the Lord said in Proverbs 4:20: “My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.” Remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God Romans 10:17. For your faith to grow and prevail you have to attend to God’s Word and incline your ears to His sayings. That means you focus and give prime attention to the Word in your life. The necessary result of this is that your thoughts, words and actions will be in sync with the Word. Tha...

    Confess your faults one to another; and pray one for another; that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much James 5:16.    Many often chastise themselves for not being able to pray long hours. What is the significance of long prayer times? You might want to ask. Well, God never said we must spend long hours in prayers for Him to hear us. He never told us how long our prayers should be and doesn’t demand from us many hours of prayers as the definition of time by some is. But if you spend long hours, that’s great. Remember, He lives in eternity; therefore, He’s not regulated by minutes and hours as we are in the earth. So, in a sense, the significance or essence of prayer is not in it protraction in terms of the number of hours spent praying. It’s not “how long” you pray that really makes an impact; it’s “how right” you pray. For more information on how to pray right, get the book praying the right way by Pastor Chris Oyak...

     If you’re born again you belong in a spiritual Kingdom; the Kingdom of God’s dear Son: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” Colossians1:13.   You became a part of this spiritual kingdom the moment you gave your heart to Christ. “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever: Amen 2 timothy 4:18.     The spiritual controls the physical. So as a Christian you can’t afford to live by the principles of this physical world. You can’t achieve meaningful success with the principles of this world, for success is spiritual. True success has nothing to do with your education, family name, or what nation you hail from. True and lasting success is spiritual and it’s based on spiritual princ...

  “And the inhabitant shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity” Isaiah 33:24.    Some people have a hard time accepting the supernatural life Christ has made available for everyone who believes in Him. They find it strange to think and accept that it’s actually possible to live on earth without being sick. Some even buttress their claims with what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9: “…there was given to me, a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”   Many have interpreted Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” to  be a kind of  sickness, and  use it as an excuse to say, “if  Pau...

          Back in the Old    Testament, the Lord said to Moses, “Take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office…” Exodus28:1. By that directive, God instituted the priesthood, with Aaron as the first high priest. He and his sons were ordained by God to receive the sacrifices and gifts offered to God. However, God wasn’t satisfied with those sacrifices of animals, because true sacrifice is spiritual, as man is a spirit and God is a spirit.    “Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High priest of our profession, Christ Jesus” Hebrews 3:1. From this scripture, we see that under the New Testament, Jesus is our High   Priest, meaning He   is the one ordained by God to receive the sacrifices we have offer: “By him(Jesus) therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise   to God contin...

     As a new creation in Christ Jesus, you’re peculiar; you’re the first fruits, that means, the first and the best of God’s creatures: “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” James 1:18. You’re the crowning beauty, and the highest of everything God made. You’re even higher than the angels. What is man that you are mindful of him {and} think him important? And that you should set your mind upon him? Job7:17 AMP.    That’s why it’s the new man, not the angels, that God gave dominion over all things: “For unto the angels hath he put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, what is a man, that thou art mindful of him? Or son of man, that thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedest him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: thou hast put all things in subjection under...

       God’s love for you is unconditional, eternal and perfect. He’s not going to love you more when you get to heaven than He already does today. The Bible says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8.   Consequently, there’s nothing you could do today, having been born again, that will make God love you more or less, for His love for you is perfect, and you can’t improve on perfect.   Why am I sharing this with you today? It’s so you can have faith and confidence in the father’s unconditional love for you.   He didn’t love you because you were so holy and never did anything wrong; He loves you because that’s His nature! When you’re conscious and confident of the Father’s love for you, your faith will be more productive, for faith works by love Galatians 5:6. More so, there’s no fear in love, for perfect love casts out fear 1John 4:18.   When some Christians make mistakes t...

     “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” John 10:27. One question many Christians have sought answer for is “How do I know when the Holy Spirit is talking to me?” the first and most important thing is to receive the Holy Spirit into your heart. When this happens the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within you and mingles with your spirit. The Bible says, “He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit…” 1 Corinthians 6:17, thus you become one with Him. Soon, you’ll hear His voice talking to you from your spirit. Romans 8:16 says the Spirit, “beareth witness with our spirit”; so you’ll have the witness in your spirit that He’s the one talking to you. He is the best one to teach you how to know His voice, so first you receive Him, then He’ll be the One to talk to you and teach you to recognize His voice      Another important thing to do in knowing the voice of the Spirit is to learn the word of God, for His voice bears witness with th...

     “And be not confirmed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” Romans 12:2. The word “transformed” used in Romans 12:2 is from the Greek “metamorphoo” which means to metamorphose or to transfigure. It connotes a change in state. Think about the complete metamorphosis of an insect, like a butterfly. It starts a little butterfly egg, laid on a plant, hatches into a larva. The larva, now free of the confines of the shell, creeps about, feeding voraciously until something very fascinating happens to it. It undergoes a dramatic change in state and wraps itself in a cocoon, forming into pupa. Finally, when the change is completed, the cocoon splits and a butterfly forces its way out, stretches out its wings, and flies away.       Now, there are some insects, for example, the cicada, that for some reason, live most of their lives in the larva stage...

         “When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understanding as a child, I thought as a child: but when I become a man, I put away childish things” 1 Corinthians 13:11. From verse we just read, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul explains the order of communication of the babe in Christ. First he “spoke,” ahead of understanding and thinking. The spiritually mature would rather think, before speaking.       As long as a believer remains at the babyhood level of communication, where his words are at variance with the realities of the new creation, he’ll not experience the best of his inheritance in Christ. The Bible says in Galatians 4:1, “Now I say, that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all.”   King Solomon alludes to this in Ecclesiastes 10:5-7; he calls it an error that proceeds from the ruler: “Folly is set in great dignity, and the rich sit in lo...

     If you’re born again you belong in a spiritual Kingdom; the Kingdom of God’s dear Son: “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” Colossians1:13.   You became a part of this spiritual kingdom the moment you gave your heart to Christ. “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever: Amen 2 timothy 4:18.     The spiritual controls the physical. So as a Christian you can’t afford to live by the principles of this physical world. You can’t achieve meaningful success with the principles of this world, for success is spiritual. True success has nothing to do with your education, family name, or what nation you hail from. True and lasting success is spiritual and it’s based on spiritual pr...