It is finished

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.”

Beloved, I want to wish you a happy Ester celebration. It is a significant celebration because it is about the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. Paul said in 1 Cor 15:17-19, “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” But thank God, Christ was raised from the dead so our faith is alive and working, our hope is beyond this limited world, the power of resurrection is quickening our mortal body. We have power to overcome in all situations we find ourselves. Amen.

Jesus spoke seven words on the cross of calvary which have significant meanings and interpretations but I want to briefly say something about the last word: It is finished. You will notice that Jesus received the vinegar, then declared that it is finished before giving up the ghost. The Lord dealt the last blow on all the troubles we would go through in life before giving up the ghost on the cross of calvary. The vinegar He received stands for our troubles, our challenges, and attacks that the enemy would bring to us. But beloved I am happy to tell you that Jesus received and swallowed them, then declared it is finished so that you and I can be surely sure that no matter what we go through our victory was determined over 2000 years ago.

Beloved, I don’t care to know what you are presently going through but I care to announce to you that you will come out victoriously because of what Jesus did and said last before dying on the cross of Calvary. Don’t give up, keep on pushing, your victory is sure.

Handling offences (2)

“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglects to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.” Mathew 18:15-17

God works in an atmosphere of love and unity, offence is an obstruction to the move of God. When you are offended, God requires you to forgive so that you too can be forgiven (Mathew 6:15). Actually unforgiveness is one of the major barriers to divine intervention in the life of a person. This implies that when you are offended, apart from the pain you experience as a result of the offence, you can also suffer spiritually if you don’t forgive.

With the above detail in mind what do you do when someone offends you? This becomes more difficult if the person that offended you did not admit it. The bible says you must first try to let the person see what he has done. But if he refuses to admit it you can let one or two more people get involved. If that still fail you can get the church involved but if the church cannot settle it then you must take the person as an unbeliever. This means that we as believers cannot actually count anything against the heathen or unbelievers. This is why you must ask for wisdom in dealing with men and when there is an offence you must ask for grace to forgive.

It may not be easy to forgive but my beloved when you are offended, forgive. It is your sacrifice for you to have God moving in your life at all times.

Have a blessed week.

Handling offences (1)

“Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” Mathew 18:7

Relationship is the building block of a family, a community and a Nation but offences are enemies of relationship. One of the key evidences of maturity (physical and spiritual) is the wisdom in handling offences. What do you do when you offend someone? What do you do when someone offends you? How do you avoid being an offence to someone? The world is in problem today because of offences but you must not be part of the origin of the offence (Mathew 18:7)

When you offend someone, the best thing to do is to apologise. Someone said that to apologise is a sign that you value relationship above your ego. Jesus said in Mathew 5:23-24, “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.” Sometimes it may be difficult to apologise but you can make a decision to do it because it is what God wants you to do, ask God to give you grace to do it, and take the step to do it immediately.

I ask God to give you grace, you will not be an offence to anyone in Jesus name.