sin

Establishing the purpose of a relationship before venturing into it always makes life simpler. Communication is key as everyone says. Understanding the role of each party within an institution makes things easier. Unfortunately, in life, many failed relationships are a result of different labels by the different parties within said relationship. Apart from people, humans have the ability to establish a relationship with anything, honestly.

Misunderstanding what something is in your life will cause you to relate with it poorly and can lead to destruction, unfortunately.

Sin is that one thing that many have poorly labelled and continuously associate with while remaining completely oblivious to its detrimental effects on them.

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If you didn’t know before, sin is bad. Sin is not your friend. Sin does not want the best for you. Sin separates you from your creator, your purpose and your destiny. Sin locks you up and places you on a path of confusion and prevents you from being what you were created for.

Sin: anything that goes against the instructions of God. 

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There are many sins, to be frank, so I cannot create a wordy list stating each but this definition allows one to pinpoint what sin is.

Sin is the devil’s language and lifestyle. This is his area of expertise. You cannot be a born-again citizen of Zion and actively sin. You are grieving the Holy Spirit and walking outside the will of God.

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Because of free will, God cannot act on behalf of those who actively sin. He is a holy God (1 Peter 1:16) so those who seek holiness are the ones He desires to answer and help.

Let’s look at an example of one of the famous promises in the Bible that everyone, including active sinners, wholeheartedly declare.

Romans 8:28

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

All things working together for good are only for those who love (agape: unconditional love) God and who are “the called”, according to His purpose or will. There are many categories here and these categories definitely do not match the description of an active sinner because someone who loves God won’t do what He hates.

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From this, it is evident that sin robs you of the promises of God and causes you to walk outside His will.

Sin also kicks you out of the place of intimacy, just like Adam and Eve had to leave the Garden because they went against God’s commands.

There are many terrible things sin can do to someone but for today, these are the two points that will be highlighted.

I just want Christians to be more aggressive when it comes to not sinning and actively pursue holiness. Unfortunately, the honest truth is that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) so if you continue to actively sin, not feeling any form of remorse or urge to repent, you will end up inheriting eternal death in the lake of fire. Being harsh is never the desired way to communicate but harshness reveals the reality of how urgent certain matters are and where you will spend eternity is of utmost importance.

So I pray that you would begin to label sin as sin and establish a hate relationship with it. You are not meant to befriend sin and enjoy its company. Actively revoke it and flee from it. This is not simple but you have been given the grace to do so and the sweet Holy Spirit is ever ready to aid you. Be blessed. Shalom :)

break out

1 Chronicles 4:10
“And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested."

In 1 Chronicles 4, we are introduced to a man named Jabez. His direct lineage is not stated nevertheless we can decipher that he was a part of the family of Judah. Remember, Christ is the Lion of Judah. In 1 Chronicles 4:9, we are informed that Jabez was more honourable than his brothers and his mother called his name Jabez “Because she bore him in pain”. Jabez understood that his name carried a negative connotation so he went to the Lord in prayer. Jabez’s name can be seen as his label or title and therefore dictates his life. His name sort of placed a limit or cap on his life, thus, his petition.

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Understanding 1 Chronicles 4:10

"And Jabez called”: The Hebrew word for called in this context is 'qara' which means to cry (we meet our good friend desperation again lol).

"The God of Israel": This is Yahweh (YHWH). This was the same name God referred to Himself in Exodus 3, His encounter with Moses. Jabez understood that some form of deliverance had to take place for this title associated with pain to be erased and deemed powerless. He understood that once he consulted Yahweh, the One who delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt, whatever holds him bound to poverty and limitation would lose its hold on him.

“Oh that”: When someone says “Oh”, just know that it’s definitely a groan. His sense of desperation is felt.

“You would greatly bless me”: Jabez asks God directly to bless him, not his possession. Jabez asked God to bless him the individual because the name associated with limitation is on him, the individual, so God has to touch that.

“And enlarge my territory”: The Hebrew word used here for "territory" is synonymous to limit. Jabez asked God to break, extend, enlarge, expand his limit. Many of us are limited in this life. It seems as though there is some sort of cap on our lives. We can never seem to pass a certain level and it is like we are stuck. But today I came to inform you that there is a border-extending, limit-breaking, territory-enlarging God.

“And that Your hand would be with me”: Hand means possession. Jabez could have meant two things here. First, that the Lord’s possession will be with him meaning that his territory will now be unlimited because we serve an unlimited God. Second, hand can signify direction/guidance. Once Jabez has gained said territory, he would need the guidance of the Lord to maintain it.

“You would keep me from evil”: Evil is sin and sin is evil, simple christian fundamentals. Jabez is simply praying that he walks in holiness. Blessings should not cause you to depart ways with holiness.

“That I may not cause pain!”: The exclamation mark finishes this up beautifully. Jabez states that he does not want to live by this title anymore. He is no longer a source of pain.

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After this verse, Jabez seems to leave the picture but I am sure this prayer propelled him to his destiny. Limitations will cause you to walk outside of God’s will for your life. Bear in mind, it was of no fault of Jabez that he was limited the way he was.

Now, it takes two key steps to break out. First, acknowledgement and second prayer.

Let us all sit down and reflect.

Am I not progressing in life? Am I always at a stand still in my life? Can I never go further?

If some of these questions make you go “aye, maybe” then you’ve completed the first step. The next step is to pray. Jabez approached God with some confidence and you can too, if you become born again and accept Christ as your Lord and personal saviour. With approaching God, Jabez presented his request clearly with a side of desperation. Desperation is the like the salt in your stew when it comes to prayer, it upgrades you (read previous post on desperation).

After desperately asking, Jabez asks the Lord to be with him and finally to allow him to walk in holiness.

If you need to break out, just follow our brother Jabez.

You cannot be limited as a Christian. You have been called to move mountains, you cannot be limited. You have been called to lead nations, you cannot be limited.

I sincerely pray that after you read this message, the Holy Spirit will drive you into the place of prayer so you can break out.

Talk to you later xx

What are you filled with?

Being filled with the wrong stuff will weaken the anointing on your life.

A vessel *of God* is only used by God. He alone determines what fills it. Many people are not vessels because God doesn’t have the final say on what fills them.

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Hi there reader, nice to 'see' you again or if you’re a first-timer, heyy!

I am a firm believer in garbage in, garbage out. You cannot expect to feed on rubbish and produce quality, it is just simple wisdom and common sense. Many people have aspirations, especially in the kingdom of God, we all yearn for more power to be able to fully establish the Lord’s kingdom on the earth and to ultimately bring our Father glory. Even in terms of secularity, many of us at least dream of being the best we can be in our respective fields. Nevertheless, we all seem to forget that every product once had reactants (yikes, not the chemistry). And unfortunately, bad produces bad and good produces good.

In light of Christianity and elevating in our walk with Christ, I have come to understand that some things just do not gel with the anointing therefore they must be avoided. In Luke 1:15, an angel of the Lord appears to Zechariah and tells him about his miracle baby John the Baptist, who will prepare the way for the Messiah. The instructions included avoidance of wine and strong drink but rather an infilling of the Holy Spirit. Ephesians 5:18 states the same thing. Being filled with something, which in high concentrations, controls you should definitely be avoided.

Not only what we consume but what we watch and listen to. Excuse me to say but there is a lot of garbage out there nowadays disguised as music or entertainment. As someone who understands the sacrifice Christ paid for you on the cross and the wages of sin being death, we must intentionally feed ourselves correctly. The way you speak is heavily influenced by what you hear. The way you appear to others is also heavily influenced by what you watch. Guarding these ‘gateways’ is vital for someone pursuing Christ.

Even in terms of our daily lives, those who invest in building their skill always end up having the title MD attached to their LinkedIn profile. They understand the benefit of feeding themselves ‘good food’. So from today, my dear brothers and sisters, let us be weary and mindful of what we consume whether orally, visually or audibly.