QUITTING IS EASY

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:7-9)

Quitting is easy. It is the path of least resistance. All it takes for one to capitulate is simply to stop trying - just walk away, throw away your confidence in the Lord which has a great reward. Quitting begins simply with giving up in your mind and losing enthusiasm emotionally. The rest of you soon follows. However, it's not over yet until you say it is, for failure, no matter how often, is never a done deal until one gives up.

You will face challenges and oppositions, that's the reality of life. As our scripture text suggests, you will be troubled, you will be perplexed, persecuted and even knocked down, perhaps several times, but as long as you don't stay down, you will never be counted out. 

Are you on a just path, living a life of faithful obedience? Then trust the Lord for the grace to persevere in times of trials. Trust God for the strength and courage to deal with the challenges each new day brings. Determine to "press" ahead, looking unto Jesus, who is the source of your strength (Philippians 4:13).

Quitting is easy, but quitters never win. Those who are counted as winners are in the company of those who didn't quit. Winners do get knocked down as often and as hard as everyone else, sometimes even more, but the difference is that they never stay knocked down. They always get back up again and continued to run the race set before them. "...cast down but not destroyed," they persevere!

So, be sure that you are running your own race not another's and be assured that, in Christ, the grace of God is sufficient for you to run you own race, whatever the hand life deals you. "Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward" (Hebrews 10:35), so that by the excellency of God's mighty power at work in you, you may run your life's race with endurance and finish your course triumphantly!

Grace & peace to you!

Pastor Victor

REMAIN WITH CHRIST

"The truth is in Jesus" (Ephesians 4:21).

In this changing world of rapidly changing appetites where the bounds of propriety and acceptability are redrawn daily according to the whims of men - men who reject the knowledge of God, Christ is your "True North"! Follow Christ and remain with Him!

Russian Orthodox believer and novelist, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, was a man whose life could be described as a strange mix of paradoxes, a man in whom an internal conflict between the believer and the sceptic raged. 

Despite appearing conflicted, however, Dostoyevsky uniquely summed up the strength and depth of his Christian conviction and devoutness with the following profound expression of his faith in Christ: “If someone proved to me that Christ is outside the truth and that in reality the truth were outside of Christ, then I should prefer to remain with Christ rather than with the truth.”

Friend, whatever the rest of the world decides today's version of truth is, only REMAIN WITH CHRIST - for "Truth" that ultimately matters is to be found in Him who alone is able to say "I am the way and the truth and the life" (John 14:6). Only on the strength of this conviction will you find true meaning and discover the courage for the next step to the next level in your life. 

Press on in the Spirit of Christ.

Pastor Victor Ubani

Sufficient Grace

"God's grace is sufficient for you, for His power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9)

The undeserved and undue attention you give to your opposers and detractors, energizes them but slows you down and wears you down. It eventually wears you out; incapacitates you, it halts your progress altogether. 

So be determined to turn away and move on from the stumbling blocks and unfair criticisms. Move forward with the purpose of God for your life, "looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith" who endured even worse, but finished His race all the same.

Paul, unsderstanding the power of the word that God had just spoken to Him, joyfully and boldly declared: "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10). There is power in the word of God!

In the uniqueness of your personal experiences today, I pray that you will encounter the power of God's word and find that His grace is indeed sufficient. 

May the power of Christ always rest upon you as you activate His word in every situation!

#ActivateTheWord!

Pastor Victor Ubani

TO LIVE IS CHRIST

“For me to live is Christ…” (Philippians 1:21)

This simple statement expresses most powerfully the reality of the Christian’s relationship with Christ. This thought cannot be fuzzy in the mind of the one who believes. Without equivocation, every true believer knows the meaning of and holds dear to his heart this elegant expression of devotion, “For me to live is Christ…”

Christianity is not a mere religious creed, but a life-transforming relationship with Christ Jesus. It is a radically transformed life and manner of life which acknowledges Christ’s death on the cross for the remission of mankind’s sin. And recognises also His subsequent resurrection in complete display of His pre-eminence and His power over sin and death. These signify the believer’s personal death to sin and resurrection to life in Christ.

In another place Paul expressed the thought in our text in a less cryptic fashion, saying –

“My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20, NLT) 

 Such transformation is accomplished by the grace of God which enables us to consciously “Put to death therefore what is earthly..." namely, "sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry”, putting away “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth” (Col 3:5, 8). 

On the other hand, "to live is Christ" means that we learn to actively “seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God…Setting our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Col 3:1-2).

What it boils down to is that the believer must put away certain ways and put on others if they are to truly live a Christlike life. The exhortation to "live is Chirst" challenges the genuinely save person to “put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:9-10).

So how closely would you say that your life mirrors the image of Christ? “Likeness” gets increasingly better the more one insists on living the transformed life by permitting one's mind to be renewed in the knowledge of God.

To be a Christian is hardly about what you say you are, for “what good is faith without works?” If Christ is your life, then let the life of Christ grow in you and be displayed through your conduct and behaviour.

God bless you faithful doer of the Word who understands that "to live is Christ!"

~ Pastor Victor Ubani

THE LORD WILL PROVIDE

“And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, “The Lord will provide”” (Genesis 22:13-14)

There is nothing too hard for the Lord. There is no situation so challenging as to deny the Lord’s provision. The day Abraham took his son and went up the mountain according to the commandment he received from God, I can imagine that he was quite distressed, if only for a moment, by the thought that he was to offer Isaac on the altar of sacrifice as a consequence of the command of God.

Yet during the course of the journey, Abraham’s faith for a different outcome was revealed when Isaac ventured to point out the obvious, saying, “Behold, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7). To this, Abraham responded, “God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son” (Genesis 22:8), and in this we see Abraham’s faith in God as His provider.

Being fully persuaded of God’s faithfulness, Abraham received Isaac, the son God promised him and Sarah and accomplished at a time when such outcome was hopeless and naturally impossible (Romans 4:19-21). And here he was again facing a test of faith, but one in which what God required of him must have seemed very strange and almost impossible to contemplate.

Yet Abraham faced this even sterner challenge buoyed only by his strong and unwavering confidence in the providence of God. The prospect of losing Isaac loomed but, by faith Abraham pressed ahead trusting God for a solution that would neither rob him of the joy of this son for whom he and Sarah waited 25 years nor in any way break the promises God had made.

When the time came for Abraham to complete the task, God showed up and supplied that which was lacking – "the lamb for the burnt offering"! Be reminded, therefore, that though you have needs today that are challenging and pressing, they cannot resist the power of God’s solution. God is able to supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

God in His Wisdom and Goodness has an infinite variety of means by which He can meet your needs. So learn to follow in Abraham’s footsteps of faith today and trust that “the Lord will provide” (i.e., Jehovah Jireh).

God bless you!

Pastor Victor Ubani

HELP IS NEAR

“But when he noticed how strong the wind was, he became afraid and started to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”” (Matthew 14:30, GW)

It is easier to give up and give in to destructive forces than it is to hold on by faith and fight back for a life worth living. To live, you have to overcome your fears, your doubts, your feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness, and resist every force intent on pulling you down and under.

Life sometimes does feel like Peter must have felt as he walked on water in Matthew 14:28-32. He started out full of confidence and enthusiasm, but before long his steps began to be tentative as his attention shifted and he became aware of the strength of the wind around him. By focusing on what the wind was doing his fear was fed, his faith starved, and he began to sink.

GOD ALL THE TIME

“And the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Their gods are gods of the hills, and so they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.” (1 Kings 20:23)

Tough situations can sometimes cause the believer to imagine God as the enemies of Israel perceived Him. But Jehovah, the God you serve, is not a territorial god, strong in some things but weak and incapable in others. He is not the local deity of the mountain people who is ineffectual in the valley.

THE GOOD FIGHT

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” (1 Timothy 6:12)

Anyone who is alive today has one, two, or more battles confronting them at any given time, and not all of them deserve the attention many of us give them. There is a good fight to be fought!

If one is to live a joyful and accomplished life it is vitally important that one considers carefully and wisely the battles to fight and those to let go. The art of warfare itself demands such consideration if there is to be effective use of resources, and for one to be in a sound state of preparedness. Many people live a life of daily regret because they have failed to master this basic life truth that there are some fights not worth fighting and there are those that we must at all times be ready to undertake.

How many marriages have been derailed because spouses are constantly fighting the wrong fight with each other? Fight the good fight to develop and preserve love, trust, good communication, faithfulness, tolerance, mutual support, and patience in the marriage – this is the good fight necessary for holding on to the benefits of the companionship and partnership that marriage promises. Fight the good fight of building on and celebrating the 80% of the time your relationship is everything you desire it to be and resist the temptation to magnify the 20% of the time that it is not. No one can sincerely consider it a good fight when you have to wreck the 80% you already have because you want obtain the 20% you think you deserve.

Careers have been unsettled and talents wasted because the good fight of integrity, honesty, diligence, self-discipline, self-development and the like have not been fought. Fight the good fight against laziness, against making excuses, against procrastination. The good fight would be any just fight against such things that will keep you from maximizing your God-given potential.

And then there is the good fight of faith! The good fight of the faith is standing firm in the faith and perfecting holiness in the fear of God, earnestly contending for the faith which God has entrusted once for all time to His people . The good fight of the faith is putting on the whole armour of God, standing your ground, refusing to compromise or yield to the appetites and desires of the sin nature, and so putting the flesh and all its deeds under. The good fight of the faith is resisting the lies, deception and seduction of the devil but drawing near to God instead and embracing the truth – His living word and perfect law of liberty! The good fight of the faith is simply to insist on the Word no matter what the rest of the world insist on or which way they choose to go!

Child of God, one who is really fighting the good fight of faith will also be equipped to fight the good fight in their marriages or in the use of their time and talent because the wisdom of God is available to the faithful to live wisely in every aspect of life without exception.

Being a Christian is not a concept that is separate from being married, being a parent or labouring for livelihood with the time, skills and talents God has given you. As a Christian you live out your faith toward God in the context of your relationships with others and you fight the fight of faith in every aspect of your life and relationships – on the job, in your home, and everywhere else. So, “Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you...”

STAND STRONG AND CONTINUE

“so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” (Hebrews 6:12)

The life of faith is not free of challenges. Indeed it is full of oppositions and difficulties that must be overcome by grace through faith.

In choosing to live by faith we implicitly choose a spiritual life – a life which progress at the pace and along the path that our obedience to the word of God takes us according to the will of God. It should not come as a surprise then that the believer will always face a temptation of the flesh to stray from God’s word.

At no time is the challenge stronger than when we are going through difficult time, but God has given the Christian grace to be strong in faith and continue patiently. You can do what God says you can do because God who is faithful has given you His Word, the Holy Spirit, the blood of Jesus, and the Name of Jesus, and called you to overcome.

Your faith is proven when you come up against life’s challenges and you seek a way out of the discomfort you experience as a result; and the doubts and questions that then enter seek to drown out the voice of your confidence in God. Our text for this reflection challenges us to be “imitators” not of those who became sluggish in faith and fell into all kinds of compromises, but of those who by remaining strong in faith and continuing patiently in the Word have received the promise of God.

Understand that those whose faith and patience we have been called to imitate did also face difficult challenges and tests, but they remained steadfast in faith and endured patiently. We are told that “No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face” (1 Cor 10:13).

As compelling and strong as the temptation to compromise your faith may be, you must remember that “God will never let you down or allow any test that will push you past your limit. So learn to look past the present seductions of the flesh and see that there is definitely a far better and enduring reason in Christ to stand strong and continue patiently in faith.

“Our suffering is light and temporary and is producing for us an eternal glory that is greater than anything we can imagine. We don’t look for things that can be seen but for things that can’t be seen. Things that can be seen are only temporary. But things that can’t be seen last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:17–18)

God is always there to help you come through your tests and trials and difficult times. Be strong in faith and continue patiently. There is a promise to inherit!

NOT BY SIGHT

“For we live by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7, NET)

The preferred way for a Christian to live cannot be stated in a more obvious fashion than as emphatically expressed in our text.

There are two ways a person can live his life: either “by faith” or “by sight”; and there is a world of difference between both. Indeed our text compels us first of all to acknowledge the obvious, that is, that “Faith” is not “Sight”. Secondly, it challenges us to persist in living life by faith.

The original word translated “Sight” implies “External or outward appearance, form, figure, or shape”. In other words, “sight” speaks of things that exist in the realm of physical senses, things that we can experience physically.

Consequently, Christian, you are here exhorted not to allow the evidence of your senses, what you see and feel, to determine your estimation of your own worth and dictate how you conduct of your life. The things your physical sense can experience (i.e., “sight”) are, according to scriptures, changeable, temporary, and limited. So, “we live by faith”!

Faith is not sight! To be precise, the Bible defines faith as “...the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). The things that exist in the realm of faith are “things not seen”, and we are told to live by faith, live by the things not seen.

You may have heard people say, “What you see is what you get”, and that may sounds really intelligent, but such acceptance that evidence revealed by the senses is final is no doubt the inevitable conclusion of the carnal mind, and indeed a barrier to change. Thomas famously attracted the Lord’s rebuke because he insisted on seeing before he believed. Jesus then used that encounter to teach us the fundamental Christian truth that those who would live a blessed life “are those who have not seen and yet have believed” what God's word reveals to be true (John 20:29).

Faith that will change things eternally, and transform and restore situations in your life cannot be effectual if based on what you can see, touch and feel. It must be based only on the realities revealed by God’s unchanging and eternal Word, and we know that “Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom 10:17).

Faith gives the believer an assurance of that which is “not seen” so that a certainty of the things hoped for can be apprehended now, and the substance of the invisible grasped as being more real than anything the senses can contact. “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

To “Live by faith” is to be spiritually minded and be guided by divine purpose - the things that God have set before you, who God says you are, what God says you can do, the things that give God delight! Don’t limit yourself by basing your life on the evidence of your sense.

Let your life be based today on the truth and realities that flows from God’s unchanging Word. Live by faith, not by sight; unlock all your life's potentials and breakthrough every barrier and limitations forever!