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SPIRITUAL DISTANCE

  “… They honour me with their lips but their hearts are far from me.” Isaiah 29:13 Why would a miniser’s relation be downtrodden while this same minister ably delivers others outside his family? Why would a virtual participant be positively touched while those in his physical presence are left unimpacted? Could it be that one’s faith is stronger than the other’s? If ” YES “, how possible is it that those that are rather physically far from God’s servant can have stronger faith than those present in his immediate circle? Beloved, the simple reason for all these oddies lies in ” SPIRITUAL DISTANCE “. Whereas PHYSICAL DISTANCE has to do with the space between physical bodies, SPIRITUAL DISTANCE refers to the distance between Spirits. The two do not yield same profit(s). One that is physically close but Spiritually far accesses only physical benefits from the other; the person that is spiritually close, whether physically present or not, stakeholds all things from his or her partner. ...
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TAMAR

Tamar was David's daughter whom King David so protected from evil till the unexpected happened. Amnon, David's eldest son that was about inheriting the throne suddenly began to show strange demeanor every morning. Now, a cousin of His ( Amnon ) advised him to consciously lay sick under his cloth in order to lure Tamar. David, his father, who was successfully tricked by this scheme allowed Tamar to serve her eldest; Amnon forcefully slept with Tamar. When Absalom later chanced upon a crying Tamar he consoled her. Their father too heard the news yet never served Amnon any punishment; Absalom's hatred for Amnon grew more and more over the years.Two years after, Absalom killed Amnon.  SCRIPTURE REFERENCES: 2 Sam uel 13:1 – 22, 
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EZEKIEL

  MEANING OF NAME: God is strong or The Man God strengthens STORY IN BRIEF: Ezekiel, son of Buzzi, like Jeremiah, started first as a priest, but later had the calling of a Prophet at age thirty. He served in the Temple of Jerusalem that was later destroyed by the Babylonians. In the midst of events, God warned that the desire of his eye would die. And after his wife died, he was disallowed from publicly wailing - a sign of how Israel would suffer in the hands of their captivators without lamenting.  While in exile ( in Babylon by the River Chebar), the Prophet, also an artist, made a model of Jerusalem city, laid prostate and always prophesied over it. He either used symbols or demonstrations to deliver his messages. Ezekiel acted strangely because of the strange nature of his visions; he would either cut his hair and burn it, or he totally went dumb for a period of time. He had two major metaphorical visions where God - Israel's husband, was betayed by his wife after He had g...
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THE SHUNAMITE WOMAN

  She lived in Jezreel, specifically along a road that links Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Being a generous woman, she agreed with her husband and made a resting place on the top of their building for Elisha who mostly plied that road. One day, when the shunamite saw Elisha travelling the road again with his servant she invited them over into her house and showed her kindness so much to the Prophet's satisfaction. Thus, Elisha sought through his servant, Geharzi, to reward her gesture but the woman sharply objected to it. The Prophet then asked his servant if there was any favour he could use his influence with the King of Israel to offer her but the woman would still reject that offer. So he asked Geharzi to suggest a reward for the woman. When the servant mentioned that the woman had no child, Elisha declared that they would have one a year's time from then, which the Lord also fulfilled. When this child died some years later, the woman went laid him in Elisha's room. But God r...
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THE GREATEST WEAPON ( Part 2))


And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 15:22 KJV .

Our preliminary article has established that of all the weapons, including prayer, praise/worship, knowledge and faith, obedience is the greatest. Faith is proved by obedience. As the popular adage is, ” practice makes perfect.”, so knowledge itself is also not complete without obedience. Prayer, praise and worship are all forms of sacrifices, yet God says obedience is better than them all. Today’s piece reveals why Obedience is God’s number one !

As quiet as obedience is, it remains the loudest tone of faith amongst prayer, praise and worship. The three Hebrew boys had not even the slightest hint of deliverance from God if they disobeyed the king’s orders.But their faith-oriented obedience was voiceferous in the ears of God ! How about Daniel, Job and Joseph? They equally had no tangible sign of God’s presence yet their continued obedience saved them ! Beloved, faith is expressive but obedience is not because it is powerful in itself; what fast or prayers could not offer, obedience would. However, the extent to which we obey God determines the amount of POWER we wield !

Now, obedience is not only powerful but also fiery – it is a good servant but a bad master. Same Power that enthroned Saul dethroned him when he disobeyed ! If Ananias and his wife obeyed they would enjoy. But for disobedience, they were killed by God’s Power contained in Peter. Prophet Isaiah says, ” If ye be willing and obedient,you shall eat the good of the land. But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.” Isaiah 1:19-20(KJV). Apparently, obedience serves right but when we do not obey, it ( our disobedience) becomes a troubling master !

By strength no man prevails – 1 Samuel 2:9; God does not expect us to excel in obedience by our physical strength. He rather suggests that we constantly ponder over His Words. Then, His Spirit whom He has already deposited in us would help us live them out. And to keep obeying, there is the need for a prayerful, praiseful life as well; prayer and praise are preservatives of obedience. They require purity, and as such serve as checks to obedience. Remember Daniel? His prayerfulness helped him obey God to the end ! Likewise Jesus ! – Joshua 1:8, 1 Timothy 4:15, Ezekiel 36:27 & Matthew 26:41.

Moses would overcome his fear of being attacked for murdering, obeying God’s instructions to go back and lead His people out of Egypt. Naman, a proud military officer, decided to rather humbly obey so he could be healed of leprosy. Isaac shunned his starving belly to obey God when he was asked never to step in Egypt during the farmine. Beloved, like these elders, let us chose obedience over the quests of the flesh. what great honour await us who follow these elders ! Glory to God ! ( 1 Samuel 2:30 ).

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