All posts by : Simbo Odunaiya

One of the most important words in the Bible is beautifully captured in one theological word—Redemption. The redemption of the man following his fall from grace to grass is a major Biblical theme that runs through the pages of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. The fall of man was set in motion when Adam (Man’s Federal headship) disobeyed the commandment of God when he listened to the voice of an outlaw spirit, Satan, who is God’s major adversary on earth.

The Lord had created Adam, a free moral agent with the authority to make his own decisions and choices and to obey or disobey the voice of God. To be sure, God did not create Adam a robot that is programmed and ordered around the beautiful garden of Eden. Indeed, He created Adam with his own free will. More importantly, Adam was also created in the image and likeness of God – Gen. 1:26.

The Lord had commanded Adam, saying, “of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but the tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat for in the day that you shall eat of it, you shall surely die.” – Gen. 2:16-17. As said earlier, Adam had full authority to obey or disobey God having been created as a free moral agent by God. Unfortunately, Adam and his wife, Eve, opted to disobey the commandment of God and ate from the Tree of Knowledge of good and evil following Satan’s deception.

Adam and Eve lost their authority in the garden and became slaves of Satan following their disobedience. God came and sent them away from the beautiful Garden of Eden. God also pronounced judgment on the man, the woman, and the devil who deceived them. By his disobedience, Adam also ushered into man’s bloodline the reign of sin and physical and spiritual death. Apostle Paul captures Adam’s fall thus: “Therefore just as through one man sin entered the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all have sinned” – Romans 5:12.

However, the gracious God had a plan for man’s redemption even before the foundation of the world. Immediately after the fall, God disclosed His redemption plan for man in Genesis 3:15 which says, “And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between her seed and your seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.” God’s redemption plan will be actualized through the seed of a woman (Jesus) who will be man’s substitutionary sacrifice. Jesus, the second Adam will undo the harm that the first Adam caused humanity.

According to Amos, the Lord does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants, the prophets. It is on this note that the Lord revealed His detailed plan for man’s redemption through Prophet Isaiah. God gave Isaiah detailed prophetic revelation concerning His suffering son who will be man’s substitutionary sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. Isaiah writes, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him and by His stripe, we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5.

Isaiah’s prophetic revelation was actualized on the cross of Calvary where the Son of God Jesus became the substitutionary sacrifice for man’s redemption. According to Apostle Paul, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the son of His love in whom we have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins.” – Colossians 1:13-14. The Lord Jesus was born into the world for one purpose – to die on the cross of Calvary for man’s redemption. This was necessary to satisfy God’s justice because without the shedding of blood there is no remission of our sins. – Heb. 9:22.

In all, we need to continually thank God for our redemption and the indescribable gift of His glorious Son Jesus Christ – the rock of our salvation. Following our redemption, Jesus has made us “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people that we may proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

Our words are powerful and that is the idea that the Word of God teaches us in the book of proverbs 18:21, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”  Which fruit are we set to eat?  The power of life or the power of death.  Our words are so powerful they can be used to kill or give life.  In the same vein that our words can encourage or discourage someone, so also it can cause deep trouble for the speaker.  Proverbs 21:23 says “Those who guard their mouths and their tongues keep themselves from calamity.”  We can avoid a whole lot of calamities for ourselves when we watch our tongues.  While not condoning violence, one can easily conclude that the commotion that happened at the Oscars was instigated by words of mouth.  James (3:6) calls the tongue a fire and a world of evil among the body parts.  It corrupts the whole body.  There is no gain saying that whatever we can do to curb the excesses of the tongue must be done.  “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.”  When we allow our tongue to be corrupt by speaking evil, we also become invariably evil.  We must tame our tongues. We must control our words.

As desirable as it is to tame the tongue, the Bible tells us that it is not an easy task.  “All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison” – James 3:7-8.  This is to say that without the grace of God it is difficult to tame one’s tongue.  We must begin by surrendering our hearts and our whole being completely to God.  “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” – Matthew 15:19.  If we must tame our tongues we must then first and foremost surrender our hearts to God.  It is by so doing that we can guard our hearts with the peace that only God gives.  Our best efforts will not cut, but our total surrender to the God of all creation will do it.  We must learn to dedicate our heart, our mind, and our tongue to the Lord in total surrender.

We must also practice speaking edifying words.  We must pray that God himself will make us consciously aware of the words we speak, so we can make the efforts to speak right all the time.  The Word of God says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen” – Ephesians 4:29. You know that story about a man who owns two wolves that are always fighting. The question is, which wolf wins? “The one that is fed”. The power of the tongue to subdue and destroy can be tamed if we refuse to feed it, while the power of the tongue to uplift and edify can be strengthened by feeding it.  God has given us the freedom to choose between good and evil.  When we follow Apostle Paul’s exhortation to the Philippian Church in Philippians 4:8, choosing to think of things that are true, things that are noble, things that are right, things that are pure, things that are lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy and then verbalize those things, we are making conscious efforts to feed the power of the tongue to uplift.  Philippians 4:9 says “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”  Whenever we put into practice the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, which Apostle Paul also embraced, we are feeding the power of good in us, and when we verbalize them, we are feeding the power of good in our tongue.

My brothers and sisters, there is nothing that is too hard for God to do.  Taming our tongues begin with trusting God as a change agent and surrendering our hearts and mind to Him.  We get better at it by making sure we pray and stay focused so we do not get distracted by the enemy.  Whenever we must say things that are important and can affect other people, always THINK about it first. T – is it True? H – is it Helpful? I – is it Inspiring? N – is it Necessary? K – is it Kind? “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” – Colossians 4:6.  Remember also that “when words are many, sin is unavoidable, but he who restrains his lips is wise” – Proverbs 10:19.  May the good Lord help us to restrain our tongues.

Gratitude is a positive emotion that involves being thankful and appreciative of what is given to us or done for us.  It is also a feeling that spontaneously emerges from within, not simply an emotional response but a choice that we make to be appreciative. Gratitude sometimes does not come easy because there are many times, we look at what we are lacking and think our prayers are not yet answered while ignoring the treasures in front of us. There are also times we think we know what is best for us, and we try to achieve it with our own strength. However, when the time is right, the miracle worker, the unchangeable changer, the “Alagbada Ina”, steps into the situation and begins to align circumstances to favor us, His children. Then we are amazed and our heart leaps with joy and suddenly we cannot stop showing gratitude or appreciating God. This is when we know we do not have what it takes to make things happen unless the Lord works through us and with us. We will become like them who dream dreams because things have started falling in pleasant places (Psalms 126:1).

Our God is good and greatly to be praised. The psalmist said: “We bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the Lord as we offer onto Him the sacrifices of thanksgiving and of praise”.  Personally, when I think of the goodness of God in my life, I shake my head and wonder why the Lord is so mindful of me. Therefore, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, month by month, year by year, until the lord tarries, I will forever be grateful for His grace, mercy and love over me and my family.

How do we show our gratitude to the almighty? By being grateful every second of our life, by not bickering, murmuring, or complaining, by appreciating each new day as it comes.  Thanksgiving is also a way to show gratitude, because when we thank God about His goodness in our lives, it shows that we cherish or appreciate what we have received from the Lord.  Telling people of what the Lord has done in the form of testimonies is another way of showing our gratitude to God. Listing so many things we are grateful for, like counting our blessings and naming them one by one and seeing what the Lord has done, helps us keep focus and keep things in perspective.

Serving one another and lending a helping hand is another way of showing gratitude. At a toll booth in West Virginia, there is a slogan “Paying it forward”. There are times the car in front of you will pay your toll fee and when it is your turn to pay, the attendant lets you know your fee has been paid by the person who was in front of you. Even though it is a small token, it still gladdens the heart knowing a stranger who does not know you can pay your toll.  I have also tried to emulate that stranger occasionally when I go through the toll booth and pay for the car coming behind me. We are all called one way or the other to serve one another; the stranger did his part, and moved on and I believe the Lord who is a rewarder of good, blessed that person. Sometimes we should try to look for ways to alleviate others’ burden if possible. Everybody can do a little of something. We are called to love one another and share each other’s burden.  Every time we do this, it shows that we also appreciate the good deeds that have been directed at us. In Philippians 2:17, the Bible lets us know that “our faithful service is an offering unto the Lord”. Christ himself said “the son of man has come not to be served but to serve” – Matthew 20:28. 

There was a woman in the Bible named Dorcas. The Bible tells us that she was so faithful. Helping the poor, serving wherever the need may be, to the point that when she died the people called unto Peter, interceding for the dead woman, telling Peter what good she had done while she was alive, and the Lord brought her back to life through Peter. I will say her works spoke for her.  Brethren, what can people say about you today? We need to serve wherever we find ourselves. While at work, let us serve as unto the Lord. At home, let us serve as unto the Lord. At Church let us serve as unto the Lord. Serving people is serving God, and we serve God because of His mercies towards us.  It is a form of gratitude. So, my brothers and sisters, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” – Galatians 6:9. God bless you all.

The Webster dictionary defines character as one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual.  It also calls character moral excellence and firmness.  So, in a lot of ways character can be a choice. It is also something that develops in ways that transcend education, training, or position. You cannot acquire character by reading a book.  As a matter of fact, it is built rather than acquired.  Character is many times used in place of integrity and moral uprightness. People of character are admired because they consistently do the right things for the right reasons.  We can learn what it means to have good character but that does not necessarily translate into having good character.  We know character is built and not learned; but how do we build character?  In Romans 5:3-4 the Bible tells us that we glory in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  This seems to be telling us that our character is built through adversities. These two verses reveal that the building of your character begins with God’s instruction to rejoice in our sufferings. God is definitely not telling us to be happy because we are suffering, instead, He is telling us to rejoice in the assurance of His grace and provision in the midst of our sufferings.

James 1:2 says we should consider it pure joy whenever we face different kinds of trials.  It added in verses 3 and 4 that this is because we know that the testing of our faith produces perseverance which is a precursor to becoming mature and complete.  I have personally learned that the way I respond to trials can have a great effect on whether they become roadblocks in my life or opportunities to learn and grow. When I agonize over difficulties, the experiences only serve to weigh me down, but when I remember that these trials are part of the great plan of God for me to build my character then I can actually see them as opportunities to grow and learn.  This is a guarantee that God has given us, that our God-trusting perseverance will ultimately build our character.

Just as victory requires fighting a battle, the development of character requires persevering through our trials. God is the author of our character and the object of our hope and He does not disappoint. Trials give us opportunities to show the Lord and ourselves that we will be faithful. So, we can choose to feel sorry for ourselves and ask, “Why me?” or we can grow from our trials and increase our faith in the Lord.  We can let adversity break us down and make us bitter, or we can let it refine us and make us stronger. We can allow adversity to lead us to drift away from the things that matter most, or we can use it as a stepping-stone to grow closer to things that have eternal worth.  Often, Spiritual growth happens because we have been through some trials, whereas comfort and peace tend to lead us into self-reliance and wrong attribution of power and ability.  We must learn to bear whatever comes our way knowing that God’s grace is sufficient for us and “our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” – 2 Corinthians 4:17.  So, how can we pull through when adversities come knocking?

First rely on Christ.  In fact, one of the purposes of trials is to help us come to know Christ, understand His teachings in our minds, feel them in our hearts, and live them in our lives.  I believe that the challenges I have faced in my life were very instrumental in learning the lessons I needed to learn. I believe I am whatever I am today because of the trials I have experienced, not in spite of them. Also, when faced with seemingly insurmountable challenges, be patient because as we patiently endure in righteousness, He may reveal to us greater understanding about our trials and the purpose of them in our lives. Finally, always keep an eternal perspective.  Always think, this is happening now as part of God’s eternal plan. In our circumstances, let us always look forward with hope and not at our circumstances with despair.  That is the plan of God for us.  May His plans be perfected in our lives.

From birth to death there is a journey in between and one we all cannot avoid though some walk it longer than others. I will start off on this topic by defining and explaining some basic but very essential steps that will serve as the bedrock to the subject.

IT IS FAITH-BASED

The Christian journey is not just another trip in life, it is a “faith-based” journey and therefore primarily designed for those whose are referred to as “Christians”; but who really is a Christian and how can one become a Christian? In general terms, a Christian is someone who on their own volition (freewill), decides to believe and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior from their sins. (Romans 10: 9-10). In other words, a Christian is one who responds to God’s calling into His (God’s) family (John 1:12), repents of their sins, (and in most cases), willingly gets baptized, receive God’s Holy Spirit, and decides to follow the footsteps of Jesus Christ. (Matthew 5: 13-16).

Darrell W. Robinson in his statement wrote that a Christian is a “slave” …. (Greek “ianos”), an adherent and a committed follower of Christ. Three times in the New Testament (NT), the “Believers” were referred to as “Christians”. In Antioch, (Acts 11:26), by Agrippa, (Romans 26:28), and by Paul in 1 Peter 4:16. Robinson concluded that a Christian is one who becomes an adherent of Christ, and whose daily life and behavior facing adversity is like Christ. In short, you must whole heartedly adopt this faith to be part of this journey.

YOU MUST BE BORN INTO THE FAMILY – (John1:12, 3:3-8)

The only way to become part of God’s family… (The Christian /Church Family), is by birth into that family. In a similar way we must be physically born into our earthly family before we can belong to that family. The miracle of a spiritual birth is the only way we can enter the Heavenly family. Jesus said ‘…you must be born again…” (John 3:3-8). This birth only takes place through personal faith in Christ (1 Peter 1:3, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:8-9).

CALLED OUT AND SEPARATED

Below are a few definitions for the term “Called Out” according to Merriam Webster:

• An act, or an instance of calling out.
• To summon into action (e.g. Troops into action)
• To challenge to a duel
• To order on a strike
• To be separated, set apart, identify self.

(1 Peter 2:9-10), (NKJV) Also read: Romans 8:28-30

Below are instances of God calling people:

• Genesis 6: 5-end – Noah was called out to start a new generation.
• Genesis 12: 1-8 – Abraham was called out from his home country to an unknown land.
• Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, all were called out at different times for different missions.

Do you Know your calling? Are you faithfully fulfilling that calling? Something to ponder on.

THE CHURCH ON A JOURNEY – (Read John 15:16)

Here are few familiar quotes about the journey of life:

• “The journey, not the destination matters” – (T.S.  Elliott)
• “I made up my mind not to care so much about the destination, and simply enjoy the journey” – (David Archuleta)

As stated earlier, from birth to death, there is a journey in between and the Church likewise has been called out and set on a journey to teach, preach and heal, a journey to be the salt and light of the world. From personal experience here are few lessons and “take-aways” from this journey; these are our survival steps:

1. You are part of a family, not an island, therefore stay in the family – (Heb.10:25, Matt. 18:20)
2. The Journey can be very dangerous and treacherous – (Acts 27)
3. No guarantees that we can make it alive; many have fallen asleep, that started with us.
4. Enjoy the journey and keep on keeping on – (1Thessalonians 5:24, 1 Cor. 15:58)
5. Stay focused, committed and humble; the battle is the Lords – (2 Chron. 20:15)

We are the Lord’s Church moving on triumphantly and we are not serving in vain.

The call to serve, as we have seen in Romans 12:1, is also a call to faithfulness. To give our acceptable and reasonable service, faithfulness is required. Faithfulness is total trust and loyalty to God. It means complete surrender and unwavering faith in God as we know that He so loves us that everything He does or allows in our lives will ultimately work out for His glory and for our good. A faithful servant is ready to take any step in obeying his Master for he knows that his Master has no other motive but love for him.  In 1 Corinth 4:2, we read, “Moreover, it is required in stewardship that a man be found faithful.”

It is important to know that faithfulness is not something we can just decide to have by our own might. Faithfulness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. In Galatians 5:22, we see faithfulness is listed as a fruit of the Spirit.  One cannot develop in faithfulness except he or she has a deep personal relationship with the Holy Spirit and consistently meditates on the Word of God. The Spirit is the one that enables us to have a deep commitment and unflinching loyalty to God no matter what comes our way, and we’ll need to continue to ask for His help to grow in faithfulness to God.

Faithfulness is required in our service to the Lord. It is needful because there will be times on this Christian journey when we will go through trials, and fiery trials sometimes, and the only thing that will sustain us in His service at such times is faithfulness.  Job said “though He slays me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15). Job resolved in his heart that God is good and that there is no unrighteousness in Him. Job knew God’s goodness and love which enabled him to trust Him even when calamity struck. There will be times when obeying the Lord will be very hard and risky. Sometimes, our bodies may be tired, but our Master can ask us to do work that may not be easy. The only thing that will keep us in such moments is our faithfulness to the Lord.

We can see in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 that to please the Master, the servants who received the talents had to take some risks in doing business till the Master returned. This means taking the step of faith required to obey the master. He commanded the servants to “Occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13).  The two servants went and did that. Their steps of faith were rewarded with success as they made 100 percent profit when they obeyed their Master. The one servant was afraid and did not obey. “He played it safe,” and did not use the talent he was given. So while the other servants heard “Well done, good and faithful servant,” he was rebuked and was cast out into outer darkness. His problem was in his heart. He was not faithful to his Master—he had doubts in his heart about his Master’s character and intentions.

Faithfulness is a quality that should be in the life of every follower of Christ. Apostle Paul urged Timothy in 2 Timothy 2: 2 to commit the teachings he had received from Paul to faithful men who will be able to teach others. When we are faithful, the Lord will make us able. In the Kingdom of God, faithfulness is esteemed above competence.  God is looking for faithful men and women and I pray that He will find us faithful in all His house!

Many great men of God have described the Church as a team that has great similarities to team sports.  This is because many characteristics of sports teams are also present in the Church team.  We have a goal, we work together, there is great energy, and there must also be energy for the Church to win just like sports teams must do to win.  Again, just like in team sports, members of the team participate in different ways.  Many Christians choose to play the role of bystanders while at the same time being part of the team.  They never get in the game and do not make any effort to get in the game.  They are satisfied staying in the stands.  They come to Church, they join the worship, and they go home.  They forget they are part of the team, they come the same way as spectators will come, stay in the stands and watch.  They are not part of any ministry, and the idea of sharing Christ is completely alien to them.  They cannot be bothered to do any Church work, after all the Pastors and Lay Leaders are there to do whatever needs to be done. These folks are in the team but not in the game.

We have often heard the phrase, “we are stronger together”, which has the same meaning as the African proverb about the resiliency of the broom not being in the power of a broom stick but the unity of several sticks.  When we all get active in the Christian ministries, we have the advantage of synergy where our combined efforts are greater or better than the addition of our individual efforts. God has blessed each of us with talents, but our talents are different from each other.  When we come together as in a Church team or ministry the combined effect of our different talents applied synergistically will avail much more than each of us using our talents as individuals.  A sports team, a Church, or Christian ministry for that matter, will only be effective when they work together as a team, a team in synergy.  It must be clear to all of us then that a team where more than half the team members are either on the sideline or in the stands cannot be in synergy because synergy presupposes that everyone is giving their best effort.  When God established this team, His plan was for the Church to work in a team where everyone plays.

Anyone of us who is interested in accomplishing God’s divine purpose in this world, must understand the need to be part of God’s team, and once in the team, must understand that the action is in the game, not on the sidelines and not in the stands.  How do you get in the game? The nature of Church, the nature of Christian ministries, creates a lot of opportunities for everyone to get in the game.  We must know that our goal is to win souls for Christ and help them to become matured Christians who can turn around and disciple others for Christ.  In this endeavor, there are ample opportunities.  There is teamwork in praying, there is teamwork in praising God, there is teamwork, in the evangelism, there is teamwork in the children ministry, there is teamwork in ushering, media, Christian education, hospitality, welfare, membership, mentoring, etc. To get in the game be a member of any of these ministries and more.  Understand the vision and be active so your team can be effective.  Help to recruit and mentor people in these ministries. Disciple them.  Remember you are fruitful when you reproduce.  Do not put one leg in and one leg out, because that is akin to being on the sidelines.  You are in the game, but you have taken yourself out.

Remember, in our game everyone on the team plays.  We are not limited by numbers.  No one should be in the stand, and we do not expect anyone to stay on the sidelines either.  There are no bench warmers in this our game of winning souls for Christ.  The more of us that are playing, the more successful we shall be.  The more playing time we get, the better we also become.  In our team all roles are important because whatever your role is, it is because the Lord has called you specially for that role.  So, my brothers and sisters, take your position in your team, take pride in your God-given role, get in the game.  In our game, winning is when we have made disciples of all nations, and the only way to win is when everyone on our team is playing.  Are you in the game?

The last instruction our Lord Jesus Christ left for the disciples was to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20).  When it is read in the English language, it is a very straight forward directive about what He wanted the disciples to do when they do not have Him anymore. There have however been controversies over whether the “Go” in this imperative command was properly translated from the Greek word.  Scholars have said that the word used in the Greek version could have been translated as “go” or “as you are going” or even “being already on the go”.  The idea then is, the statement should have been to the effect that “since we are already going somewhere, we should make disciples as we go”. Sounds reasonable, but several people of God have said that it is an attempt to change the Word of God.  How about we leave the Greek interpretation aside for a minute and just think about the modern-day Christian.

The modern-day Christian typically has a 9 to 5 job.  Some modern-day Christians have two or more jobs they do just to be able to put food on the table.  It is therefore becoming more and more difficult for Christians to be able to make special time to go out there and evangelize or make time to disciple those who have already been converted.  In any case, in our daily lives, we come across different folks, believers and unbelievers alike.  It stands to reason then that rather than plan to set time aside to evangelize or disciple, why don’t we plan to make disciples as we go about our daily lives?  Why don’t we make discipling or evangelizing an integral part of our daily routines?  Making disciples as we go means that making disciples will become a way of life for us. Whether we are going to work, to school, to shop or to play, we are to be making disciples. This changes the way we look at our lives. We become aware that every relationship is a potential opportunity to talk to them about Jesus and invite them to respond to Him by becoming one of His disciples.

No matter how busy our lives may be, we can obey the instructions to go and make disciples by recognizing that we have become Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20) anywhere we go.  Making disciples as we go is akin to being an everyday missionary. This mindset of being a missionary on the go is not new, in fact, it is like the mindset Apostle Paul had when he lived among the Thessalonians and ministered to them at the same time.  “Because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake” (1 Thessalonians 1:5–7).  So, our mindset must change from compartmentalizing, into knowing fully well that wherever we are, we are there for the Kingdom of God.  The confession that we are wherever we are for a reason garners more meaning when we have this kind of mindset.  The making disciples as we go perspective on mission work now brings up the realization, we can also be missionaries without the need to move to another country.

There is no doubt that some folks have some special call on their lives to travel the world and reach more people for Christ.  Some others might just be short trips here and there.  It is a special calling.  However, for the rest of us, we can make converts as we go, we can make disciples as we go, we can be part of that great commission even as we go.  Just remember that reaching people for Christ is not only done with words, it is a kind of life we also have to model.  Jesus Christ lives a model life for the disciples; Apostle Paul modeled Christian living for the Thessalonians.  That is what we are called to do.  We must live the Christian life by putting truth in action and when our paths cross those of some unbelievers as we go, let our lives, our words, our truths glorify the Lord in their presence.  That is how we pass on the truth of the gospel and that is what it means to make disciples as we go.  So go out there, and as you are going, make disciples for the Lord.  Be blessed as you do the work of the Father.

Deuteronomy 30:19 “This day, I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings, and curses. Now choose life so that you and your children may live.

The difference between us in life is our choices. We make so many choices every day. Every choice we make has responsibilities and consequences. Your choice may bless you or it may hurt you.  When we get up in the morning, the act of making choices begins as follows; should I pray or study, should I eat today or fast, should I go to work or call off and rest etc. God created us with potentials, free-will, and abilities to make choices.

He gave us free will to choose and decide what to do for ourselves, for God, and for others because He is not a dictator. In the Bible passage above, God said “choose life”; He did not impose His choice on us. God loves everybody but it is our choice to love Him back or to accept His love or not. When we make choices outside or against His will, and it turns out not favorable, we play the blame game. Adam blamed Eve, Whites blame blacks, husbands blame wives, and verse versa. God allows us to choose between good and evil; it is up to us to choose good; it is up to us to repent and be winners or continue in sin and remain losers. Our choices affect people, even our children, so as Christians let us make good and godly choices like Joshua did in Joshua 24:15. He said, “for me and my household, we will serve the lord”. He made a good choice for himself and his children.

Just as there was the tree of good and evil in the garden of Eden, so we have good and evil, narrow and broadways, to choose from. We have good and bad characters, good and bad lives, good and bad fruits etc. My prayer is for God to help us to make good and right choices in 2022. Right choices are hard to make but right choices lead to success. Our choices determine our destiny, and our choices determine our future. Before making choices consider the following: does it please God? Is it the will of God? Is it profitable? Is there any reward or blessings, not just profit? Will it bring honor to my family, my church, and myself? This choice that I am about to make, will it hurt me or others, does it fit?

Let us avoid making decisions or choices when we are hungry, angry, lonely, or tired. Each of these conditions causes us to experience emotions that change how we think. Finally, choose to serve the Lord; choose to change from better to best. The call for discipleship in Matthew 28:19-20 is not optional and I pray that we all will obey. It is my prayer that our choices will not hurt us in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.