Tag Archive | Christ

Genesis 10

Oct7

Good morning y’all. Today we in chapter 10. This chapter lists the descendants of Noah. 

After reading the chapter over and over in different versions, with the help of the Holyspirit, I finally found the treasure hidden within 🙂 . Though the chapter is just a list of people and the tribes they belonged to, there was one who stood out from the list. His name is Nimrod.

In the KJV Version, it says Nimrod was a mighty hunter before the Lord
“And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord“. (‭Genesis‬ ‭10‬:‭8-9‬ KJV)

The NLT Version, says he was a heroic warrior, the greatest hunter in the world
Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, who was the first heroic warrior on earth. Since he was the greatest hunter in the world, his name became proverbial. People would say, “This man is like Nimrod, the greatest hunter in the world.” (‭Genesis‬ ‭10‬:‭8-9‬ NLT)

The GNB version, says he was a great hunter by the Lord’s help
Cush had a son named Nimrod, who became the world’s first great conqueror. By the Lord ‘s help he was a great hunter, and that is why people say, “May the Lord make you as great a hunter as Nimrod!” (‭Genesis‬ ‭10‬:‭8-9‬ GNB)

The CEVUS version says he was a mighty warrior whose strength came from the Lord
Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, a mighty warrior whose strength came from the Lord. This is why people say: “You hunt like Nimrod with the strength of the Lord!”  (‭Genesis‬ ‭10‬:‭8-9 CEVUS06)

I particularly like the CEVUS version as it brought things into perspective for me. It made me ask myself the question – in whose strength am I operating? Am I operating in my own strength, in the strength of man or in the strength of the Lord ?
I want you to ask yourself the same question.

The Truth is our strength can only take us so far before it fails. The free dictionary defines strength as
a. A source of power or force.
b. One that is regarded as the embodiment of protective or supportive power; a support or mainstay.

Based on this definition, pls indulge me to ask my question again. Who is the source of your power? In the day of trouble, who do you turn to for support or help. Is it man or God? Scripture says, vain is the help of man.
Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man. (‭Psalms‬ ‭108‬:‭12‬ KJV)

God is not happy when we turn to man instead of him, when we put our absolute trust in what man can do for us instead of what He can do. Jeremiah 17:5 says:
This is what the LORD says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the LORD. (‭Jeremiah‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬ NLT)

God is all powerful, all knowing, the source of it all. He is dependable, reliable, to his wisdom there is no end. Everything we need or want is found in God, it all consists within him. Isaiah 40: 28-31 puts it very well…
Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the LORD will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭28-31‬ NLT)

Nimrods source of power was God and that’s why he was a mighty warrior. He was able to do far above what his peers were doing because he didn’t rely on his ability but rather on Gods ability within him.

Today lets re-evaluate our lives and ask God to be the source of our strength. Let’s ask for his help. We will find that things or tasks that we struggle with become easier because it’s no longer us doing it but God in us through his Holyspirit. He has promised in His word that He will strengthen and help us.

I’ll close with a few of my favourite scriptures on strength 🙂

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. (‭Isaiah‬ ‭41‬:‭10‬ NLT)

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. (‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭1‬ NLT)

Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it’s all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ’s strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. (‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭9 -10‬ MSG)

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ NLT)

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. We thank you so much for your love towards us. We ask for your forgiveness for all the times we have tried to do things in our own strength. Today we humble ourselves and ask that you will be our strength, the source of our power and our ever present help in time of need. We love you Lord. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Thank you for joining today. Pls feel free to leave you thots on the chapter.

Go in the might and Strength of your God today. Remember, nothing is above you because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

1 John Chapter 2

Sep19

Good Morning y’all. We are continuing our study of 1 John and we are in chapter 2 today :). This chapter is full of soooooo many goodies to help us in our walk with Christ 🙂

Holy Spirit we ask you open our eyes to see, our ears to hear and our hearts to percieve the truth in the word today. Without you we can’t understand what we are reading so we ask for your help. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Here we go 🙂

S – Some Scriptures that stood out for me.
1 John 2:5-6 NLT : But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

1 John 2:15 NLT: Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.

1 John 2: 24 NLT : So you must remain faithful to what you have been taught from the beginning. If you do, you will remain in fellowship with the Son and with the Father.

1 John 2:27 NLT: But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.

O – Observations
O1- Jesus is our advocate and he intercedes on our behalf. His blood washes away our sins.

O2 – Our obedience to God, is a measure of how much we know him, how much of him we have on the inside of us. For if we truly know him and love him as we claim, we would obey him at all times even when it’s difficult.

O3- Obedience to God brings assurance that we love him and belong to him.

O4 -Partial obedience doesn’t cut it. God desires complete obedience.

O5- We are to follow the example of Jesus. He was obedient even to the very end.(See Philippians 2:5-11)

O6 – You can’t have Jesus and also have hatred in you. In 1 John Chapter 1,  we established God is light in whom there is no darkness. Hatred is a form of darkness. We can’t belong to the light and darkness at the same time. We have to choose one or the other. Choose this day whom you will serve: Light or darkness.

O7 – When you are in the dark,  you can’t see where you are going cos it’s dark. So it is when we have darkness in us, our judgement becomes clouded and we cant see our way. We make poor decisions and end up hurting people around us. But if we let the light of God into our hearts, it brings illumination and lights our path so we see where we are going.

O8- We shouldn’t love the world and all the things that are associated with it. Verse 16 says “For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world”. As Christians, we are in this world but we are not of it. We are of the Kingdom of Heaven therefore we mustn’t forget ourselves and become too comfortable. Romans 12:2 Message version says “Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you”. We are meant to be examples showing the world the right way to live and not us joining in the craze!

O9 – Obedience to God guarantees us eternal life. Obedience to world guarantees death.

O10- The world and all its evil desires will end one day but those who please God will live forever with him.

O11 – We need to keep reminding ourselves of the Word of God. The more we remind ourselves, the more the Word becomes a part of us. It’s not just enough to remind ourselves though, we must also put into practice what the word tells us to do. By doing this we will always be in fellowship with God.

O12 – We have been blessed with the Holy Spirit. He is the spirit of truth and teaches us everything we need to know.
O13 – Remain in constant fellowship with God.

A – Application
A1 – Obey God’s commands
A2 – Keep our focus on God and not get distracted by what’s going on around us.
A3 – Walk in Love
A4 – Be an example in our speech and conduct

P – Prayer
Dear Lord we thank you for today. Thank you for the privilege to learn at your feet. Thank you for Jesus and for blessing us with your Holy Spirit. Help us be obedient to you. Help us not to love this world but to keep our focus and attention on you. Help us not to walk in darkness but walk in the light you freely offer us. We love you so very much and you will always be the object of our affection. No one will ever take your place in our lives. You are an awesome God. All this we ask and by faith recieve In Jesus Name. Amen

Thank you for joining us today. I encourage you to spend some time reading the chapter for your self as there is so much to glean from the chapter.

Don’t forget to share your thoughts and prayer request 🙂

Stay blessed. Remember, our Obedience is a measure of our love for God.