Archive for August, 2020


Although entry into the Kingdom of Heaven is free, there are several requirements to enter. Entry is difficult, and only a few will inherit it (Matt. 22:14). To enter, it requires persecutions, sacrifices, sufferings and many tribulations (Matt. 5:10; 7:13-14; Luke 18:29-30; Acts 14:21-22).

What Is It Like?

The Kingdom is of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). It is powerful and has authority over sicknesses, diseases, demonic spirits, and evil (1 Cor. 4:20; Matt. 4:23-24; 9:35; 10: 6; 12:28).

Who Can Enter?

In John 3, Jesus taught Nicodemus, a great ruler of the Jews about entry into the Kingdom of Heaven. Except a man is born of the water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (v.3). Sinners will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-11; John 3:1-36; Matt. 3:2; Eph. 5:5). God loved sinners so much, that he sent his only son into the world to die, so that whosoever believes in him, will not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). Jesus was sent to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God to the people (Luke 4:43). No one will enter the Kingdom, except through Jesus (John 3:16; 11:25-26; 14:6).

The Kingdom is for those who rank it to be the most important in their lives (Matt. 6:33). It is for the poor in spirit, the pure in heart, and those who display humbleness like children (Matt. 5:3-8; 19:14; Mark 10:14-15; Luke 18:16-17).

Those who are righteous and follow Jesus will know the secrets of the Kingdom of God; but to others, it will be in parables (Luke 8:10). Not everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will enter, but those who do the will of the Lord (Matt. 7:21).

The total amount of people who will inherit the Kingdom of God, will not be made known, until the day of harvest (Matt. 13:24-30).

Keep your heart pure for out of it are the important things of life (Proverbs 4:23). Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). Let your heart bear the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

A Pure Heart With Fruit Of The Spirit

It contains love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

 

An Impure Heart Without Fruit Of The Spirit

It contains hate, jealousy, bitterness, adultery, fornication, hostility, impatience, unfaithfulness, among other evilness.

If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you can repent, by asking Jesus to forgive your sins and transform your heart. If you have been saved, but still struggling to maintain a pure heart, you can ask the Lord to help you to keep your heart pure, by filling it up with the fruit of the Spirit.

You are reminded that you should set your mind on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). As the world continues to experience the devastating effect of COVID-19, it is clear that your mind should not be placed on earthly things. This is because the things on this earth are not stable or lasting. The joy of the Lord should be your strength (Nehemiah 8:10). Therefore, when earthly things are shaken, you will still have your strength, because your joy is in the Lord, not the things on this earth.

 

You are reminded not to store up treasures on this earth, as they can be destroyed or stolen. But you should store up your treasures in Heaven, where they cannot be destroyed or stolen. For where your treasures are, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).

In this world, there will always be trials and tribulations (John 16:33). The world will not be able to give you peace; however, Jesus has left peace with you, so let not your heart be troubled and do not be afraid (John 14:27).

It does not matter what is going on in this world; God is always in control. For the kingdom is the Lord’s, and he rules over the nations (Psalm 22:28).

Do you feel that you are facing the darkest time of your life right now? If so, who is facing it with you? Do you have the support of your family, friends or church folks? You may be going through various trials and tribulations, which may include anything from sicknesses, addictions, financial setbacks, barrenness, joblessness, hopelessness, demonic oppression, business failure, ministry failure, marriage problems, singleness, or you may have lost your salvation, because you are not where you are with God right now. Alternatively, you may also have never been saved, and struggling to find out who God really is, and if He exists, or even care about you. Whatever your circumstances are today, you will need to know that no matter what you are going through, there is a God who sits high on the throne. As a result, your tears are not going unnoticed today, as He loves and cares for you more than you ever can think of. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

When the very people who you think should have your back, turn against you while you are facing your darkness, God never will. However, what you need to understand is this, “Weeping may last only for a night, but joy comes in the morning” (Psalms 30:5). With that being said, sometimes you have to face the darkness, before you can face the light. Notwithstanding, the very same people who disregarded you, and isolated you while you were facing your darkness alone, are the same people who will run back to you when your troubles are over, and you are now facing the light. God sometimes isolates you because of where He is taking you. He has a greater plan and purpose for your life that will bring Him greater glory, and elevates you to your destiny. Consequently, He has to place you in the darkness to see how you will handle yourself, and also for you to see who will go through the darkness with you. Some people will want to revel in your blessings when your tribulations are over, and you have passed your test, but they did not want to bear the burden with you. Therefore, God will use your darkness to let some fake and toxic people leave your life for good. You need to just ride through the darkness now, as your light is coming soon. However, remember that the people who left while you were going through your darkness, God does not want them to come with you in the light, as they weren’t good for you in the first place.

Accordingly, you may be walking through the valley of the shadow of death right now, but you should fear no evil, because God is with you. It is not what the devil or people decide will happen to your life, it is what God decides will happen. The devil or people will spread rumors and wish bad things for you, but they cannot override God’s purpose for your life. God is supreme over all the elements in the world, and no one cannot prevent God from blessing you, unless you allow them to. You need to hold your head up high today, and focus on where God is taking you. Additionally, you need to also understand that the same power that raised Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11) is the same power that can heal and deliver you today. He still have that power, as He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). God does not change; therefore, He can still do anything, because nothing is impossible for Him. So when people think it is over for you, God’s power will set you free from whatever you are facing today, if you only have a little faith to persevere through your darkness. He will justly reward you when He sees your faith and perseverance (Hebrews 11:6).

As stated, people today who are of the devil will rejoice and spread rumors, lies, and gossip when someone is going through their darkness, not understanding that God is getting ready to bless them in the light. However, because those people are of the devil, they don’t understand that what goes around also comes around. Their darkness is coming, as everyone has to go through tribulations (John 16:33), and hopefully when their darkness comes, they are able to handle it. Consequently, they too will need help and support, but if they did not provide it to others, they may find themselves isolated throughout their tribulations.

Let us pray one for another, and be supportive of each other, as today will be someone’s darkness, but tomorrow will be yours.

People who live in affluence for all of life (such as many people in North America and Western Europe) can easily become so accustomed to wealth, blessings, and prosperity that they can easily forget what blessings they actually have. However, if those possessions are taken away, those people will certainly look at life with a new perspective, realizing how much they really had.

You don’t realize how much you have until you don’t have it anymore.

God knows the importance of balance; that is, the importance of having both blessings and difficulties. There are several scriptures that speak about this balance. For example in 1 Peter 4:13, we are told: Rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. Notice how we participate both in suffering and in joy.

Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 1:7, Paul wrote this to the church in Corinth: And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. They experienced both suffering and comfort.

Don’t become too comfortable with what you have, because when you forget that the things you have are a blessing from God and when you start to assume that they are guaranteed possessions, it is quite possible that God will take them away from you in order to teach you that you need both blessings and difficulties, because one without the other is neither.

Contributed: Christ Notes

Do you fear that life will be a constant struggle and you will continue to live in poverty for the rest of your life? Have you been trying different methods to obtain a financial breakthrough, but kept failing?

Lonely-man

Have you been worried that you might get sick, lose your home, lose your job, lose your spouse, get a divorce, lose your profit in a business, and be stabbed in the back by whom you trust? Or that you won’t get married, have children and fulfill your dream of a career? Or you or your children will not amount to any success? The list of scenarios could be much longer than this; nevertheless, let’s get to the matter at hand.

Life is short, you need to enjoy it while it last. God does not want you to walk by fear, but by faith. I used to be in that situation years ago, where I was looking about a specific business, and instead of trusting God, I got worried. Conversely, I realized that ‘worry’ only caused me to get sick and weak, and disallowed me to move forward in the path that God has laid out for me.

Over the years, God has put me through several severe test, which allowed me to prove Him and increased my faith in Him. In fact, while here on earth, Jesus could not do any mighty work, if the people did not have faith in Him. It doesn’t matter what God has promised you, you have got to believe to receive!

In recent time, for reasons I cannot specifically disclose at this time, I was working towards a major project that God has already promised me two years before. I have seen this project materialized in a dream, and God has shown me that He will help me to accomplish this dream. For the same reason, when I got to the point where everything would be materialized, the enemy reared its ugly head. You see, when you get to a point in your life when you will accomplish something great, and Satan knows that your breakthrough is imminent, that’s the time when he works the hardest to plant lies and seeds of doubt in your mind. Why? Satan knows if he plants lies and seeds of doubt in your mind, then your faith will be weakened, and you won’t please God for Him to reward you.

There are certain dreams that you have to accomplish in your life, that God sometimes require your physical help here on earth, while He works supernaturally in heaven. Although this may be true, if you become weak, fearful and doubtful, then you won’t be able to carry through effectively, hence thwarting the plans that God is helping you to accomplish.

All things considered, I again proved what I need to do, in order to have the blessings and plans of God accomplished in my life.  In the final stage of this major project when the enemy reared its ugly head, I was getting weak and contemplating what to do. Granted this, I have a picture frame that I bought sometime earlier, because it contains a scripture that I gave my mother-in-law on her death-bed, minutes before she departed this earth. This picture frame has been hanging in my house for about two years untouched. Admittedly, the very day when this major project would be materialized, and I was getting weak and in contemplation from all the exhaustion of working towards the fruition of this project, I cried out to God, and I heard a loud thud! I hurried out to the living room to see what it was, and lo and behold, I saw the picture frame flat on the floor, unbroken! The scripture on the picture frame is:

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Well, seeing this, I said, “Lord, I hear you.” I persisted and pressed through by faith, and this major project finally came to fruition that very day!

Given these points, what I have learned through my years as a Christian, if you do not have faith, it is impossible to please God, and if you can’t please Him, then He can’t reward you. For you to get any breakthrough in your life right now, you have got to act through faith, and not only so, because faith without work is useless. You will have to play your part. At the same token, you have got to press!

With that being said, stop believing the lies of the enemy today. There’s something that you have to accomplish, of which you believe won’t be materialized, because you are doubting God. I am not sure who I am speaking to, today. To put it briefly, stop doubting God, and step out in faith right now, to claim that which the Lord has promised!

Amen!

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