OBEYING GOD NOT FOR PERSONAL GAIN

To obey God is to submit to His command and do things His way,
whether or not we understand His reasoning. It takes faith to obey
God. Which one of us will give his or her child stone in place of
bread or snake instead of a piece of fish? So then, as evil as we are,
if we can give good things to our children, we can be assured that
God will not give us anything bad. (see Matthew 7:9-10). Therefore, it is safe
to trust and obey Him! When God commands, He does not have
to explain, but quite often He does. For instance, He said to the
Israelites (and us of course), “Honor your father and your mother,
so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving
you” (see Exodus 20:12).

Daniel’s friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, when
threatened with the hot furnace could have come up with
some excuse, bowed and worshiped that ugly image set up by
Nebuchadnezzar, and saved their lives. However, they stood their
ground and refused to worship the image; God was enough. Good
for them! They knew what the king’s decree was, but they also
knew the power of God and His command that said, “You shall
have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an
idol in the form of anything in heaven or on earth . . . You shall not
bow down to them or worship them” (Exodus 20:3-5 NIV).

They said to the king, “If we are thrown into the blazing
furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will
rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we
want you to know, O king that we will not serve your gods or
worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:17-18 NIV).

Obeying God does not guarantee the outcome we want or
desire in any given situation. God could have chosen to let these
men perish in the furnace, even though they were determined
to trust and obey Him. It would simply have meant that He had
better plans for them. Like the Apostle Paul said, going to be with
the Lord is better by far (see Philippians 1:23).

Abraham believed God could bring Isaac back to life even if
he killed him in sacrifice, but that was not the reason he took Isaac
to the mountain. It was because God asked him to. He was being
obedient and leaving the outcome in God’s hands. When we obey
God, our focus should not be on any particular benefit to us. We
need to understand that the outcome could be very different
from our expectations.

Our reasons for obeying should be:

• He commanded (He said so!)
• We trust His wisdom, even when we don’t understand
• He has the right and power to do anything the way He
wants (He is sovereign)
• He has plans for us, and they are plans for our welfare,
not for evil, to give us a hope and a future (see Jeremiah 29:11).
• In all things He works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

(The good in question will not always be what we have in
mind, but good all the same, even better.)
The Hymnist says, “There is no other way to be happy in Jesus
but to trust and obey.”

BE A SAINT

Who is a saint, and when does one become a saint? There are
people who think sainthood is pronounced upon a person after
their death, based on how good/holy they lived. According to the
Scriptures, saint is another name for Christian. The apostle Paul
addressing the Church at Ephesus called them saints; “Paul, an
apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus,
the faithful in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:1 NIV). These addressees were alive,
so one does not need to be dead to be called a saint. Hence those
of us who are in the body of Christ Jesus are saints, whether we
are in or out of our individual earthly bodies.

Having established that we are saints, we should also establish
that unless the Lord draws us we cannot come to Him (see John 6:44),
and therefore sainthood is a calling. Paul writing to the Church
in Rome addressed them this way, “To all in Rome who are loved
by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:1 NIV). The online dictionary
defines Call as: 1) Making a request or demand, 2) Speaking
in a loud distinct voice so as to be heard at a distance, and one
of the definitions for to be: is to become. So CALLED TO BE
SAINTS means, God requested/demanded that we become
saints. To become something different from what we are requires
a transformation from one state of being to another (Example:
going from a cocoon to a butterfly). We are transformed from a
state of unbelief/ungodliness to belief/faith in Christ, resulting in
the newness of life and the renewal of the mind. We are not called
to act like saints; we are called to be saints.

Sainthood is not a cloak we put on and take off when we feel
like it. We are to be saints around the clock, 24/7. It should be
our new nature, our state of being. We are to be saints at home,
away from home, when we are awake and when we are asleep. We
should be saints at all times; in the company of believers as well
as in the company of unbelievers, no matter what. ‘Saint’ should be
our identity; the identity by which we are known.

How can we vibrantly maintain our sainthood? Let’s compare
sainthood to professions in the circular world. We need to have the
mindset that we are saints. We need to learn all we can about being
saints, by studying the manual for saints, by attending in-services,
seminars, and training sessions about saints. This will equip us to
get better at being saints. The word says we should not neglect the
assembling together of the saints, as some are in the habit of doing,
but we should encourage one another (see Hebrews 10:25). It also says we
should correctly handle the word of truth (see 2 Timothy 2:15) Every so
often, professionals go through certification and re-certification
to ensure their skills and knowledge are up to date. We receive
our certifications and re-certifications through the trials we go
through to confirm that we are applying the lessons we learn on
how to maintain our sainthood.

Sainthood is ongoing, and takes perseverance. We should get
better at being saints with the passage of time as we keep our gaze
on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2).

TIGHT SECURITY

Why has air travel become so frustrating? Why do we have to be
at the airport hours before departure time? Why do we have to
remove our shoes, hats and so forth when going through airport
security? And why can’t we take drinks or food through security?
The answer is simple. The government is trying to ensure that
no individual with evil intentions (terrorists) is allowed on an
airplane. In short, it is a way of securing our safety. I am sure the
bad guys have not given up yet; they are still trying, and hoping
that one of these days, they’d succeed.

Recently, at a White House Dinner Party, an uninvited couple
was able to get through security, and mingle with guests. When
questioned they made up stories like, they had forgotten to bring
their invitation, etc. They posed for pictures with dignitaries, and
had a good time. So apparently, tight security in places does not
guarantee that the uninvited would be kept out. It is still possible
for the uninvited to go through security without being stopped or
identified as uninvited guests, regardless of their intentions, until
it is too late.

There is one place though that a guest without the proper
credentials cannot bypass security, unnoticed. Look at this verse
with me, “If anyone’s name was not found in the book of life, he
was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15). No one can sneak into
heaven! There’s not going to be an issue of oversight, mix ups, or
excuses. Either your name is, or is not in the book of life. This is
a very crucial issue.

How does one get his or her name in the Book of life? No
name will get there by chance, or by being God’s favorite. God
is not in the business of playing favoritism. Jesus said to his
disciples, “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my
brother, and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50 NIV). Also, Jesus promised
to acknowledge before the Father, those who acknowledge Him
before men; likewise, to disown before the Father, those who
disown Him before men (see Matthew 10:32-33).

Names are placed in the Book of life intentionally, for
one reason only. “I tell you the truth; whoever hears my word
and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be
condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24 NIV). So as
you see, it is by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ that one
is saved. It is also important to note that the Book of life does not
have names of groups. Hence no one can be written in the Book
of life because they belong to a particular Church, family, school
or denomination. Each one is on his or her own. Each one has to
come to Christ as an individual. No one can wish himself/herself
into heaven; no one can do enough good deeds to qualify getting
into heaven.

This is the assurance the believer has that his/her name is in
the Book of life, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the
law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death”
(Romans 8:1-2 NIV); “I write these things to you who believe in the name of
the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13 NIV).

Would you like to get into heaven? Did you say, “Yes”? How
do you plan to get there? Are you hoping to sneak by security
somehow? That will not work. The only thing that will work is
repentance and faith in Jesus. Accept Jesus as your personal Savior
today. Jesus Christ is the only Way! Guaranteed!

MISERY LOVES COMPANY

Satan was a lead angel in heaven. He was beautiful, referred to
as the morning star, son of the dawn! (see Isaiah 14:12). But he rebelled
against God when he said in his heart, “I will ascend to heaven; I
will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned
on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred
mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make
myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14 NIV). What was the result of
his pride, ambition, arrogance and rebellion? He was thrown out
of heaven! “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son
of the dawn!” (Isaiah 14:12 NIV). His doom was sealed. There was no hope
of redemption for him, Ever!

Satan does not have the privilege that humans have; the
privilege to be saved from sin and death, and he knows it. Hell
was prepared for him, his demons and all those who will follow in
his footsteps, through disobedience to God (see Matthew 25:41). Desiring
to defy God and also make sure he will not be the only resident
in hell, the devil embarked on a journey to lie and deceive men so
they will disobey God, one way or the other. He uses different
strategies with different people. He makes different sins appeal
to different people and suggests to them why these sins are okay.
He doesn’t really care which sin is committed, just as long as it is
committed. Any sin will do, because he knows sin is lawlessness,
(see 1 John 3:4).

When we sin, we break God’s law, and that constitutes
disobedience, and nothing makes the devil happier. He considers
God his competitor; so any time we disobey God; I think he goes
to his imaginary scoreboard to mark it down, and to keep count of
how many people obeyed him rather than God. He even dared to
get Jesus to obey him rather than God. How sad! In Deuteronomy
6:16, God clearly commanded the Israelites “Do not test the Lord
your God.” But what did the devil do? He tempted Jesus to do
exactly what God had forbidden. He wanted Jesus to jump off a
cliff , to display His power as the Son of God, and to see if God
would really charge His angels to ensure His safety (see Matthew 4:5-8).
Jesus didn’t even have to think about His response. Immediately,
He quoted Scripture to silence the devil; “It is also written ‘Do not put
the Lord your God to the test’” (Matthew 4:7 NIV).

The devil’s campaign to lure men to sin against God started in
the Garden of Eden. He deceived Eve by sowing doubt in her mind
about what God had said, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat
from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1 NIV). After Eve responded, he
refuted by saying, “You will not surely die . . . you will be like God,
knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5 NIV). As a result, Adam and Eve
disobeyed God; hence sin entered the world, and has since then
passed on from generation to generation. Cain killed Abel out of
envy and jealousy. Sin had come to stay, but “Thanks be to God
for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15 NIV), Christ Jesus).

Satan made a number of attempts to foil the plan of salvation,
but failed. He has not given up; he is still working, fiercely, to
deceive as many as he can, to bring them to hell. He is working
harder now than ever, knowing that his doom is near. Armed
with the knowledge of his doom, he wants to ensure he will not
be the only resident in hell. How does he hope to achieve his
goal? He hopes to achieve his goal by using his old tricks of: lying,
twisting the truth, misquoting Scripture, etc. to entice humans
to sin against God.

He knows that, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of
God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23 NIV). So he
knows that succeeding in turning people against God translates
into having lots of company in hell. He must be thinking, if he
can’t escape hell, he should at least take others with him. (see Matthew 25:41).
Like they say, “Misery loves company.” It is sad to think
the devil’s hard work and intentions are going to succeed. His
success is being made possible by those who have turned their
backs on Jesus, thinking and saying there is nothing after death.
They continue to use arguments like, “Jesus is not the only way”, “I
am not as bad as . . .”, “I am a nice person" etc. etc. When it comes
to salvation, nothing can and nothing will alter God’s plan; it is
faith in Jesus plus nothing else!! Jesus’ death will not be in vain. It
will accomplish what it was planned to accomplish, and that is the
salvation of people who repent, calling on Jesus for forgiveness.

The devil knows his future; whether he likes it or not, he
cannot change it. He is on his way to hell for interfering with
God’s plans. People who have not repented are also on their way
to hell, but they still have the opportunity to be saved if they will
repent in this life, and believe in the name of Jesus. This is the
only time they have and it is running out. Don’t be company for
the devil in hell; he has nothing good to offer, except weeping and
gnashing of teeth (see Matthew 8:12).