How God teaches us to love

Marriage can be a very stressful experience. From almost the moment when the knot is tied, the new couple starts to realize the difficulty in two people with different backgrounds and mindsets coming together to form a single unit. Oftentimes this "unit" feels like one only in name.

In the  book of Genesis (3:16) during the time of Adam and Eve, God alluded to the woman's desire to always seek control of the man in her relationship, while countless researches have confirmed the man's greatest desire in marriage is respect. And it always seems respect is the last thing a man's wife accords him.

I recently got thinking though, what is God's desire for us in marriage? The clearest indication of this is in Ephesians 5:25. Husbands are commanded to love their wives.

Why?

In my walk with God I've severally been tempted just to "make do" with a right standing with God, and any other addition with my wife. In other words I (rightly) felt my relationship with God is all that matters. However I've felt more lethargic about the importance of my relationship with my wife. For those who are married this isn't too hard to understand.

But I got thinking, could part of the reason for God's creation of the institution of marriage be to teach us how to love? Think about it from God's point of view. Man is an exasperating creature. With all our character inconsistencies, negative behavior, consistent misdemeanors, and other mental and emotional flaws, God still loves us and never abandons us.

Could he be teaching us how to do the same through marriage? It's so easy just to disconnect from our wives when misunderstandings arise, and "face"  God, rather than thrash things out with them. But God never disconnects from us even when he doesn't approve of our direction.

When we offend him, he still looks out for us. This is love! God please give me the strength to love my wife, for love is the most difficult gift to give.

The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 4)

The reality is that an alarming percentage of Christians today aren't fulfilling their God - given potential in prosperity and abundance due to their ignorance of the power of covenants.

Firstly, what are God's children entitled to through Christ's covenant with God the Father?

Galatians 3:14 (NLT) "Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith."

In Genesis 12:2-3, God began laying out a comprehensive covenant with Abraham and his descendants Israel. Collectively known as "the blessing of Abraham" , it encompassed abundant fruitfulness in descendants, productivity, influence and spiritual authority. It also promised the descendants of Abraham, ownership of the "Promised" land of Canaan.

Jesus Christ's covenant connected all mankind with this blessing as an inheritance through faith. Interestingly, Jesus also spoke of the arrival of the "Kingdom of God" (Matthew 12:28).

In other words, the prosperity of Abraham, his influence, spiritual authority, divine health, and virility are our inheritance by faith.

We will take an in-depth look at one of the most rampant causes of poverty amongst God's children today.

I will first lay a background to my analysis.

1. Firstly, Jesus, as the only begotten Son of God, existed from the beginning of time. (John 1:1,14, 29)

2. Jesus came to earth in form of a man at some point roughly 2050 years ago or thereabouts

3. Human Jesus, though flesh and blood, was conceived not as a product of Joseph' sperm and Mary's egg, but by a supernatural invitro fertilization (i.e.  A sperm and egg combination not from earthly origin)

4. Therefore Jesus, not an actual blood descendant of Adam, though grafted in through his earthly parents Mary and Joseph, was not legally subject to the curse of Adam (spiritual death) and all Adam's generations.

5. Because Jesus was spiritually alive, this gave him the power to prevail over sin and enabled him to live a perfect life.

6. Having this unique advantage, it thus enabled him to negotiate a covenant with God the Father to be a substitute for all who are under Adam's curse

7. Therefore, Jesus paid the penalty every sinner is required to pay, so that sinners no longer need to pay it.

8. He therefore connected us to the initial edict God gave man in Gen 1:28 (i. be fruitful, ii. multiply iii. fill the earth iv. subdue it v. have dominion)

9. The new covenant negotiated by Christ upon His death at calvary is so comprehensive that it covers every aspect of life a human being lives on earth, and enables us to subdue the earth and reign in it, just as God commanded man in the beginning.

10. The new covenant of salvation through Christ's Jesus is superior to any other covenant we can ever have, as it connects us with the past, to several covenants God made with His chosen people centuries ago as recorded in the old testament, and it also connects us with the future, of everlasting life in eternity.

To be continued

The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 3)

The covenant of man's salvation from sin and death is not made between man and God. Otherwise our salvation would always be subject to our unreliable fulfilment of its terms.

No, our salvation is governed by a covenant between Christ our Saviour and God the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The terms pertaining to Christ in this covenant have already been fulfilled. Christ's sojourn on earth and subsequent torture and death marked his fulfilment of the covenant.

Isn't this wonderful? This means nothing we do or don't do can terminate our salvation bought by Christ once we accept it through faith, and signify it through baptism!

It is now the turn of God the Eternal Judge to fulfill his own part of the covenant.

This means that we are removed from under the curse brought by Adam's sin. It also means our spirits are born anew into eternal life and will never again experience death though our physical bodies may wither and die.

The Bible says there is nothing impossible for God to do, but I can tell you a few things God CANNOT do.

1. God cannot go back on His word
2. God cannot lie
3. God cannot stop loving us.

Since we are therefore sure that our future is secure in the covenant between Christ and our Creator, we must be careful not to desecrate the sacred covenant of which we are partakers.

We bring curses on ourselves when we despise our birthright purchased for us through Christ,  in committing the abomination of entering into covenants with spiritual forces of evil.

The biggest lie the enemy tries to sell us is that acceptance of Christ could remand us to a life of poverty, ill health and ultimately unfulfilled dreams in our sojourn on earth.

An alarming percentage of Christians are not fulfilling their destiny as concerning a life of abundance because of their ignorance of the power of covenants!

Hosea 4:6 (NIV)
my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. "Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.

To be continued

The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 2)

The rewards of a covenant bestow a blessing, while its breach bestows a curse. Also,  covenants can be be made such that, based on fulfilled conditions, certain benefits accrue perpetually.

This is why the Bible says, God (sic) ". . . keeps his covenant. . . to a thousand generations" (Deuteronomy 7:9)

Likewise, similar covenants are administered by the spiritual forces of evil.

The spiritual world (which is unseen) cannot be engaged physically by humans. This is where symbolism comes in. We demonstrate our spiritual statements through physical actions here. This is why God stipulated the killing of sheep and other animals to Moses In the books of the law.

The physical demonstration of sacrifice for sin by the slaughter of animals, confirmed the spiritual process of atonement for sin in the old testament.

We emphasized this in our article  on faith (read faith) that Christ's death on the cross (after a sinless life on earth) was a physical demonstration of his eternal sacrifice for sin pointing to atonement and redemption from the curse of mankind's fall through the sin of the first man, Adam.

Accepting Christ's sacrifice and atonement, removes us from under Adam's curse. Demonstrating it physically through baptism makes a spiritual statement that we have died and risen with Christ. (Everyone who has accepted Christ needs to undergo baptism by immersion immediately. I cannot emphasize how important this is).

Therefore, since covenants can be obtained from both God and the forces of evil, why should we choose God?

The Bible says of Jesus Christ in Ephesians 1:20b-22a (sic), "he is seated on the right of God in the heavenlies, far above principalities and powers, and above every name that is named, both in this world and the world to come, and hath set all things under his feet".

In other words the covenant of salvation which Christ negotiated on our behalf with God, transforming us from being mere creatures to being God's children, is superior to any covenant made with a lesser power.

Therefore, why make a covenant with an underling when you can make a covenant with the Most High?

To be continued

The mystery of covenants unveiled (part 1)

God is a God of covenants.

Deuteronomy 7:9 (NIV) " Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments".

All over the Old testament He is making one covenant after the other.

He does not joke with his promises.

Psalm 138:2b (KJV)  "for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name"

The spiritual world, which controls the physical, is governed by covenants. This is why a lot of people today find it easy to meet diabolical entities represented by their agents such as dibias, native doctors,   white garment prophets, and even pastors. What happens is that these people are submitted into covenants with various powers which bestow them with various pecuniary gains such as wealth, health,  and other gains as well as negative projections to perceived enemies. 
If these acts did not bring results, there wouldn't be so many people partaking in them.

In the spiritual, there are both the forces of darkness, which have disowned God, and the heavenly armies of God.

Sadly most people have decided to channel the covenants that govern their lives through the former.

A covenant is a conditional contract. It means the two parties engaging in it have defined responsibilities to carry out. This is why in nollywood movies, usually, the dibia requests a painful sacrifice such as an offspring or spouse in return for wealth.
Continued

A man after God's heart

One of the earliest recorded coup d'etats in history took place in Israel during king David's reign. His son Absalom, assessing his father's gentle and God-fearing nature and labelling it weakness, had schemed his way into a position of immense influence in Israel.

He then consolidated this power and made a bold play for the throne.

David's reaction is curious. The mighty David who slew the giant Goliath, and had won countless deadly battles against more bloodthirsty foes, decided to flee.

He refused to take the Ark of the Covenant with him though, (even though the Ark was an unmistakable talisman of power, being the symbolic dwelling of God) and instead told the Levites who had carried the Ark in accompaniment with him to return it to Jerusalem.

He told them "if God wants me to remain king, he'll bring me back".

He was spat on stoned and abused, but he refused to be offended. He knew his power derived from God, and any misfortune he faced was authorized by Him. He focused on penitence for his sins and directed his frustrations solely to God. Many psalms were written by David during David's travails against his son and through it all David kept his heart pure towards God. He was wise enough to know that Nathan's prophesy against him was coming to pass.

In due course Absalom was killed (without David having a hand in it) and David was restored to the throne.

It is his reaction to various chastisements from God that proves David's timeless epithet as "a man after God's heart".