GOD'S WAYS ARE NOT OUR WAYS

When man tries to understand God, the result is usually unanswered questions, confusions that may eventually lead one to either doubt God's promises and to the extreme may be doubt His very existence.
I sat in the usual Monday evening meetings of the Precious Vessels of Virtue and heard a visiting minister make some insightful statements concerning they way God deals with men.

• Joseph the 11th son of Jacob had had dreams that foretold his great future. His righteousness landed him in prison and the bible says, “But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the prison keeper”. Genesis 39:20-21.
• After the death of James, Peter’s zeal for the gospel got him imprisoned and as the church made intercession for him, an angel was sent to specifically deliver him. (Acts 12:5-11.
• Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned for supposedly “These men, being jews, exceedingly trouble our city”. Praying and singing hymns to God the prison doors opened and chains were loosed and that meant escape for all the prisoners. However, Paul was restrained no to leave immediately only to save the life of the keeper who supposing that prisoners under his watch had fled drew his sword to kill himself. The instant delay saved the keeper and his household and also disallowe labeling the church of Jesus as murders (Acts 16:19-31)

Indeed, God’s Ways Are Not Our Ways (Isaiah 55:8-9)

From the above, God is with all His children. All that is required is trust and believe that the savior is mighty to save. I left the meeting that evening of 20th June,2011 with one thing remained with me and that is , God has a way of dealing with us all.
Remember Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth were righteous but no children. Noah was the only righteous man in his day yet he had three sons. Again, why will God tell the Israelites that the they will see the Egyptians no more and yet when Herod sought the life of baby Jesus, God commanded Joseph to take the child and the mother to Egypt?

As I pondered, all I came to see is this hymn by John H. Sammis (1887) come alive:

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!

And with all who will trust and obey.

Refrain

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.


Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.


Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.


But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.


Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet.
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.


I know this was not meant for me alone. Feel free to share this and to you whom this is meant for, “Never fear, only trust and obey.” SHALOM!!!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,

THE JOURNEY IS AN “ADD” TRIP

2 PETER 1:5-8
Cooking is a very exciting and interesting art. Why?
There are meals that will taste delicious when ingredients are put together and cooked at a go whiles others will equally taste delicious when ingredients are put in at calculated intervals. To have the best of tastes for any food you intend to cook, it’s important to know which of the two skills above is appropriate for the meal.

When we had the privilege to hear the message of salvation, our faith rose and we were convicted by the powerful force of the Holy spirit and then we acted by faith in the word; making the most important decision in life, than begins the journey to eternal life. Yes! We “begin a journey….

This journey, I must state, is characterized by the “add” arithmetic. Therefore, the scripture “…add to faith virtue,(add) to virtue knowledge, (add) to knowledge self control, (add) to self control perseverance, (add) to perseverance godliness, (add) to godliness brotherly kindness, (add) to brotherly kindness love…” is not accidental, but a purposeful command.
The journey will require growth that will cause us to be fruitful. Day by day, we walk the earth with an unspoken aim, to become the best that our translation from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light offers us. So, to work our salvation calls for a gradual adding of the important ingredients including the 7 in the above verse. Conscious effort, trusting and taking the necessary steps will gain us the victory. Mind you, the subtractions will be exposed and deleted in the long run if we do the additions. (lol….that’s Kingdom arithmetic)
Remember, when the sower went to sleep, the enemy came to sow tares that will slow down the growth journey of the plants. If you’re born again, it’s important we understand that, receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and personal Saviour does not mean “now, I can rest…”, rather it means “be sober, vigilant…” to make complete additions. Now hear the results,
“…for if you do these things <span>you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

When we fail to add any important ingredient at the opportune time, the taste of food will not meet our expectation and we disappoint the cloud of witnesses and eventually, God. The “add”-itions are vital pills (bitter or sweet) and ingredients (whether we like their smell/taste or not). Let’s not fail to take and “add” them daily for, Our Father will present us with very unusual opportunities to do so.