Bible In One Year-Day 75 (Sunday, March 16, 2014)

Commentary: Mark 10-12. Jesus used the heart of a little child to let us know the criteria for entering the kingdom. To see the kingdom is different from entering into it. To enter, we need the nature and the heart of a little child. The little child is innocent, no record of offenses in the heart and always believing. The little child trusts the parents, depends on them to meet the need, waits on their promises and loves them. The little child is easily forgiving and holds no bitterness against anyone. If two little ones fought, give them 5 minutes, they are back playing together again, completely forgotten the fight and the cause of the fight. And if the cause appears again, they manage it in such a way that they avoid any further fight. The greatest attribute to the heart of a little child which Jesus cherishes most is that they have no place of bitterness and malice in them;

1 Corinthians 14:20 “Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be ye children, but in understanding be men”.

Also we have a clue in Ephesians 4:31 “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:”; the state of the heart matters a lot when standing before God. Blessings are so immeasurable when one stands as a little child before God. The state of your heart determines your entry into God’s kingdom, rest, presence and favor. Imagine the rich man who asked Jesus what to do to enter into the kingdom of God, Mk10:17-19. Obviously, this man was comfortable and quite religious. To him, a good man is somebody who observes religious activities or the principles of the law, not minding the state of the heart; that was his definition of a good man. God relates with the heart and not religious activities. Being in the church or holding a position in the church isn’t a breakthrough before the Lord but a purged heart and a renewed spirit;

Psalms 51:10-11 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me”.

The position you hold in the church could be what is standing between you and God. Your aspiration for a position could be a path of distraction from the journey to the kingdom. For Jesus to say “no one is good” does not mean Jesus was saying He was not good Himself as many ponder over this issue. Jesus knew the state of the heart of this man and for Him to bring quality correction into the life of the man, He had to come to the man’s level of thinking. He first asked Him, “why do you call me good?” In order to address the error in the man’s concept, Jesus talked about the principles of the law, the Ten Commandment. To the man, his observation of these religious activities qualified him as a “GOOD CHRISTIAN” even though he had idolized his possession within his heart. Going by his response to Jesus, he was inconsiderate in his relationship with people. The poor may die, it never mattered to him. Anything done without God’s love towards others in your heart and the leading of the Spirit is to yourself and not to God; this is what Jesus meant by no one is good. Goodness comes only when the deed is in good faith and for God alone without you desiring any acceptance, encomium or expecting appraisal from men. When you get involved in the activities of the church in order to be known, it is an error. You don’t need a position to carry out any spiritual responsibility. Any position or opportunity offered you should be used with God’s love in your heart. If the love of God isn’t in your heart, there is no way you could use such opportunity judiciously. In essence, God’s love leads any action or religious activity that could be considered as “GOOD” before God; it may be considered good in the sight of men, but God’s approval is what matters and His approval is based on the motive behind the action you take. Man can give you position but God gives the power and grace. He gives you power to get done what He has given you to do. To be rich is not a sin or the problem, but according to Jesus in Mk10:24, “… trust in riches …”

In essence, there are two problems the man had; being good in the flesh (i.e. living by the principles of the law and not by yielding to the leading of the Holy Spirit, His help and direction) and trust in riches. These two things still mark the life of a failing and falling Christian till today. Beloved, to enter the kingdom of heaven is not by works of righteousness but by the special grace. Grace, as we defined it before now, is the presence and leading of God, i.e. the Holy Spirit in our sinful body so that the righteousness of God could be evident. What are we saying? Our righteousness or self effort cannot by any means take us anywhere, only the righteousness of God which is the nature of the Holy Spirit, is able to take us into God’s kingdom. And whoever has the Holy Spirit is born of God;

1 John 5:18 “We know that whoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not”.

Also in 1 John 3:6 “Whoever abideth in him sinneth not: whoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him”.

The nature of God does not sin and this is what it means to be born again. Living by the principles of the law amounts to trusting in self righteousness rather than allowing the Remedy (Promise) of God that helps to fulfill the law to dwell in us, i.e. the Holy Spirit. Therefore, any good that comes from the flesh, like the one the rich man was talking about, is not accepted by God because the flesh profits nothing;

Romans 3:20-21 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;”

John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak to you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Jesus is saying, in essence, that those who believe in the concept of that man in terms of being good are not good as far as God is concerned; and that “no one is good but One, that is God” means the goodness born of God. What is this goodness born of God? Jesus made us to know it in Mk10:21.

Mark 10:21 “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said to him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”

The man found it hard to do that, we are made to understand that the man was very sad at this word and he left the presence of Jesus sorrowfully. Whatever you find difficult to do away with for the word of God has become the god you trust, and it will only bring sadness and sorrow with time. It could be habit, position, material possessions, money, fame etc. You may pretend to be good to men, only God knows and weighs the heart;

Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

The state of the heart of the widow in Mk12:41-44, justified her giving before the Lord. How good it will be for us to consider our ways like the Psalmist did and cry for help; Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting”

A good Christian is not the one who receives revelations (because it could be warnings) but that Christian who nurtures and conserves his or her relationship with God in the heart and in love towards others to the glory of God. He is not the one with the gifts of the Spirit but that with the fruit of the Spirit, Galatians5:22-23. The fruit of the Spirit (LOVE) must lead any gift of the Spirit. For instance, if someone has the gift of healing but full of pride, such is just like the man we have just discussed. But if love leads you to use the gift without waiting for recognition, but leads the recipient to Christ Jesus, you are the one Jesus intended to bring out of that man. Take the pain to read 1 Corinthians 13. The “GOOD” in the flesh cannot last and always end in wounded heart. That which is to the glory of God will last and it is always done in cheerfulness of the heart. To see the kingdom of heaven is not the same as to enter; STRIVE TO ENTER!!! Our next reading is to round up the book of Mark, by reading Mk13-16. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 74 (Saturday, March 15, 2014)

Commentary: Mark7-9. Chapter6 revealed a great truth to have in mind;

Mark 6:7 “And he called to him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;”

John the Baptist states concerning Jesus in Mark 1:8 “I indeed have baptized you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit”.

And Jesus also compliments John The Baptist in Matthew 11:11 “Verily, I say to you, among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”.

Going by these two verses, we deduct that man is only allowed to do water Baptism; only Jesus could Baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire; no man can do that ordination, only Jesus. The privilege to serve in the vineyard could be given by a man, but the power for service is only given by Jesus. The condition for receiving this power is as He says in Mk8:34-38; you must not be ashamed of Jesus and His word, self denial, not putting value over your life more than the work or assignment of God and with no distracted focus. The power is not given to the lazy man, physically or spiritually. Chapter9 actually tells what it takes; specifically, verse29. What that simply means is that, it is not when they bring problem to you that you start fasting, the power is accumulated through constant and regular fasting.

Talking about Mark8:33, at a point the Spirit of revelation manifested by the mouth of Peter, at another point, Satan manifested as the spirit of discouragement by the same mouth. This evil spirit of discouragement is the greatest weapon in the hand of Satan when it comes to the will of God. This is why we have to be vigilant in our dealings with people around us. Peter had a good intention for rebuking the Lord, but Satan took advantage of that to speak against the things of God, i.e. the will of God. Satan will not discourage you when you are out of the will of God, but the moment you discover that will and ready to go for it, he comes in form of discouragement and fear, and usually through those close to you. This is how many have been diverted from the right path; friends could come to tell you they had a dream or the spirit impressed it on them concerning you, you have to be careful. Parents have discouraged their children in this wise and spouses have friends which have been instrument for this spirit at one time or the other. Prayerfully inquire from God if you are not certain and wait patiently for answer from Him. You must seek to know the spirit behind every piece of advice and counsel, especially from close ones;

1 John 4:1 “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.”

Through the book of Mark, faith is spoken of mostly when it comes to healing and deliverance. May the Spirit of divine direction shine His light on our path in the name of Jesus. Our reading for today is Mark10-12. Keep the fire burning and alive. ALL ABOUT JESUS!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 73 (Friday, March 14, 2014)

Commentary: Mark4-6. Jesus took time to expound the purpose of His coming by using different parables. The uses of these parables made His teachings leave positive impressions in the heart of the hearers, whether they agree with Him or not.

Mark 4:33-34 “And with many such parables spoke He the word to them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spoke He not to them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.”

In yesterday’s commentary, we concluded that JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD, can change your story to the glory of God. This was demonstrated in Mk5. This man living among the tombs was under a government hidden from the understanding of the inhabitants of Gadarenes. Because they never knew what was going on with the man, their supposed solution multiplied the problems of the man;

Mark 5:4 “Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, …”

This is the experience of a lot Christians today. When there is no insight to problems, people add to it, which eventually leads into deeper bondages, pains and frustrations. Such “chains and fetters” could come in the form of fake prophecies, spiritual sacrifices which are not scriptural, unrealistic visions, deceit, lies and woes, bad counsels and evil suggestions; purposely to remove their victims from the land of solution or promise;

Jeremiah 27:10 “For they prophesy a lie unto you, to remove you far from your land; and that I should drive you out, and ye should perish.”

Jeremiah 14:14 “Then the LORD said unto me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, neither have I commanded them, neither spake unto them: they prophesy unto you a false vision and divination, and a thing of nought, and the deceit of their heart.”

Many, through such prophets, have been deceived out of blessings and purpose in life and the life they live now is no different from one living among the tombs, crying on daily basis and thinking of suicide (personal destruction). Marriages have been broken by such prophecies; frustrations have become the necklace of such victims. There is a government in place that is not of God and the only way out is for Master Jesus to come into such situation and overthrow such government. Jesus, the great Deliverer, was able to identify the problem of the man. Before then inhabitants thought the man was the problem. The scenario revealed Jesus talked with the head of the evil government in the man’s life. The enemy hates being exposed, but Jesus takes no nonsense from the enemy either. Wherever the enemy wants to go does not matter to Jesus, all He wanted was for the story of the man to change. The first thing that happened to the man was that his mind, i.e. his soul which was stolen by the enemy was restored;

Mark 5:15 “And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the demon, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.”

I pray that your testimony will shake the doubts of a lot who knew you before you met Jesus. They may be going about with a bad report of you, it doesn’t matter, what matters is for Jesus to walk into your life and situation and be glorified. People who carry bad report after your restoration are actually those not in their right mind and so, I don’t see the reason why you should be bordered. Jesus’ testimony in your life is far more important. The woman with the issue of blood had her testimony. One funny thing about Jairus was that while he was still talking to Jesus about his plight, they came to tell him his daughter was dead, Mk5:35; what do you think? For the devil to be speaking to you while praying “do you think this can be done, better forget about it, it’s all over, give up etc”. Jairus left his problem for the presence of God, and his only concern was what God has to say in his situation and not what people say. Do you know that people gathered to help Jairus to cry, but never prayed with him? They discouraged him from continuing his prayer to Jesus. Even when Jesus spoke they still made mockery of Jesus. This is why we need to abstain from sharing with friends having discouraging spirit. God does not like them at all (he dealt with such people who discouraged the Israelites after spying the Promised Land in the book of Numbers). Jesus said those discouragers should be locked out while He went in to raise the killed joy of Jairus. You don’t make mockery of whoever is still on the knees praying, because at the rising up, it is with the wings of testimonies. Your testimony will not miss your address in the name of Jesus. The only thing Jesus went to do in the land of Gadarenes was to go and change the story of the man living among the tombs; that man became an Evangelist instantly (though was bound but set free by Jesus to set others free). And when that story changed, people had to listen to him because he was a living testimony to what he was saying.

Mark 5:19-20 “Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith to him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to PUBLISH in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.”

DO you think your case cannot become a testimony to the amazement of people? I want to assure that no matter how horrible it is, JESUS CHRIST never changes, Heb13:8, but He changes stories. Trust Him for the restoration of the stolen destiny of your child, spouse or loved ones. Once you tender your case with Him, you are no longer by yourself. He walked Peter back into the threatened boat, Matt14:28-32. He walked Jarius back into the testimony of his request while Jarius kept his peace despite the tongues of detractors. He will walk you into the center of your destiny and the fullness of your testimony. However, you need to war against these enemies that resists divine change; DOUBT, DISCOURAGEMENT, DISTRACTION and DETRACTION. When your story changes, you become a testimony personified. You become relevant and a figure to identify with. You become a pointer and a signboard of encouragement. You become admirable and accepted. And above all, God is glorified. Our reading for today is Mk7-9. Keep the fire burning and alive. JESUS NEVER FAILS!!!

Bible In One Year-Day 72 (Thursday, March 13, 2014)

Comment: Mark1-3. The gospel of Mark started by introducing Jesus as the Son of God. There are two basic ways to know who Jesus is; knowledge (i.e. teaching and signs and wonders) and revelation (i.e. seeing beyond the physical into the spiritual). People were astonished at Jesus’ teachings, preaching and exercising authority over demons, Mk1:22. Because of what they saw, they followed Him; they needed life and not eloquence. John the Baptist and demons (Mk3:11) recognized Him beyond the physical;

Mark 1:23-24 “And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, Saying, Let us alone; what have we to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God.”

John the Baptist came in fulfillment of the scripture, Mal3:1-3/4:6. His message was repentance for the kingdom of God that is at hand. He was so honest to stay within his ministry; his pulpit was in the wilderness, his food was locust and wild (unrefined) honey and his best cloth was Camel’s hair. People trooped to him. A man must have been dead before he could be buried; in the same manner, you must have repented from all known sin before the water Baptism. Water Baptism is for repented sinner and not for a sinning sinner. This is the simple message of John the Baptist, Mk1:4&8. A sinning sinner who goes into the water just because others are doing it or because of problems, will only go in with his/ her sins and come out with his/ her sins. Therefore, for one to receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Jesus duty), you must have been convicted of your sin, seen that you are guilty of it, soberly repented and decided to forsake it; all these is within you, i.e. internal battle that must have been won, and this is expressed in the Baptism of John. When you have done this, then you must open up to the gospel, i.e. accept Jesus’ work, message and purpose;

Mark 1:15 “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel”.

Without the Holy Spirit there is no knowing the deep things of God, i.e. one stays on the surface, the shallow place in the knowledge of Jesus and such are easily carried away by diverse teachings and deceits. Those who shouted crucify Him, were on the surface, the shallow part, even though they saw the signs and wonders. To believe is not good enough, to have faith is the utmost. Signs and wonders could make you believe (still on the shallow part, not rooted), but the Holy Spirit takes you deeper and thereby establish your belief on the power of God. When your believing is established on the power of God (which is confirmation of His words by the Holy Spirit), faith is built. Hence, faith, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit, is an evidence that the Holy Spirit has taken you (what you believe) beyond the physical into the reality (that which you believe and being fed or watered from the spiritual, not minding what is going on around you. That which is going on around you, of course, will not reflect what you have received in the spirit through faith) and when this happens you don’t need anybody to confuse you any longer because you have seen the real thing. You could read the bible and still be confused especially if you read it with a reprobate mind; you need the Holy Spirit to guide you into the truth, i.e. His thought, because He inspired it. The letters lovers write to each other are easily understood because of the spirit of love binding them together, but the letters written by two enemies will carry a lot of misinterpretations because they have different spirits. The Holy Bible is God’s letter to man and you need the Spirit of God to enter God’s thought as you read it;

John 16:13 “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come”.

1 Corinthians 2:10 “But God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yes, the deep things of God.”

This is the problem with those who regard the Bible as unrealistic, incomplete, and full of errors and lies; it is because the light of the Holy Spirit isn’t in them. To read the Bible you must be full of the Spirit and without this you remain a natural man;

1 Corinthians 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

To be ordained is not to be in the spirit, to go to Bible school does not mean you are not a natural man, church position has not made you spiritual either; to be spiritual is to operate under the authority of the Holy Spirit. You approach the Bible with the mind of receiving, because the Bible is the only book that reads you as you read it, i.e. the light in it shines into your soul if you open up to the Spirit behind it.

Psalms 119:130 “The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”

It will be good, therefore, to prayerfully read this gospel of Mark. Where you experience a certain light, you need to pause there and pray for the Spirit to speak to you on that part; He has something to say. This is how to open up and enjoy the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In chapter2, we could see two set of people sitting before Jesus; those with faith who uncovered the roof (they enjoyed the grace in Jesus) and those who foolishly reasoned in verse6, they queried Jesus on grounds based on the principles of the law they had been taught.  These ones did not enjoy grace in Jesus. Grace is calling the sinners to repentance, Mk2:5&17, while the law condemns. When we were reading Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers, we saw the power of the law, but in the gospel, we could see the power of grace (life and truth). In these first three chapters, those who lived by the principles of the law never enjoyed Jesus, while those who lived by faith enjoyed Him to the fullest. Only those with faith do the will of God and this is how Jesus rounded up the third chapter, Mk3:32-35;

Hebrew 11:6 “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.”

JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD, can change your story to the glory of God. Prayer: Lord Jesus, show me more of you. Our reading for today shall be Mark4-6. Keep the fire burning and alive.

Bible In One Year-Day 71 (Wednesday, March 12, 2014)

Commentary: Num34-36. At the border of the Promised Land, God gave Moses an assignment to map out the land as their inheritance. Meanwhile, the instruction included each tribe to provide cities out of their inheritance to the Levites; which means that each tribe has a priest to maintain the ordinance of God. Chapter 35 also was about interpersonal relationship in the Promised Land. There should be no killings, but peace everlasting. We are moving to read the Book of Mark. So far, we have been switching between the first five books of the Old Testament and the first four of the New Testament. This is to help us understand Law and Grace; the punishment in the law being removed through grace. The weakness of the law is being removed by the power of grace. The law is a trap to sin while grace is the power to overcome sin; grace is not for you to sin but to overcome sin. The power of death is effective through the law, but the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus breaks the power and sets us free from the cleave of the grave.

Romans 8: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.”

This is the gospel and the expression of God’s love provided in Christ Jesus. The letter kills, but through Jesus we have life in abundance. Our reading for today is Mark1-3. May the Spirit of Christ shine His light on our souls as we read through. Keep the fire burning and alive. HE IS ABLE TO CALM THE STORM IN YOUR LIFE, He did it before.