Why Did Jesus Come?

'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.' (John 10:10 NIV)

The culmination of the redemptive work of Christ is His death, resurrection and glorification; but His redemptive work started at incarnation. 

He was not born to establish a earthly Kingdom (John 6:15), neither did He come just to get people healed, give riches, nor forgive sins though all these and much more are given in the redemptive package.

If all He came to do is to forgive sins and heal sick bodies; apart. from the fact that He wouldn't have done anything new because people were getting healed and sins were being forgiven before He came (Psalm 103:1-3); human would still have helplessly continued in sin and sickness.

The ultimate need of human is RIGHTEOUSNESS - ability to stand before God unashamed; having a close communion with God; being in perfect spiritual union with God.

It was man's estrangement from God that gave way to the oppression of the devil in which sickness is inclusive.

Hence if man would be delivered from sin and satan He must be brought back into union with God, If man must be useful in fulfilling God's will on earth, then he must be brought back to God.

And then, we saw the ultimate demonstration of the manifold wisdom of God and His love in that God became man so that man can partake of the VERY NATURE of the Almighty God and become ONE with Him. 

Consider these:

'The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.' (John 10:10 NIV)

"His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may PARTICIPATE in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires." (2Peter 1:3-4 NIV)

"But whoever is united with the Lord is ONE with him in spirit." (1Cor.6:17)

He came to bring us to God, He came to make us righteous, He came to make us partakers of the nature of God, He came to make us children of God.

Now we are righteous, now we are God's children (Gal. 3:26) and now we are partakers of the nature of God - we are the trophies of His triumph. 

Lazarus who was raised from death, blind Bartimeus whose eyes He openned miraculously and the healing of the woman with the issue of blood among all others, are not the perfect proofs of His coming.

We who have partaken of His nature are the real proofs of His coming - we are the trophies of His triumph.

Aint you grateful to God that He came?

3 Thing To Do When The Light Goes Dim (3)

"Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works..."(Rev.2:5)
Could you please cast your mind back to the days when you were following hard after God, days of sharp sensitivity to the Spirit of God, when soul-winning was the major preoccupation of your soul; days when you were flowing in the gift and power of the Spirit while you stood as an encouragement to fellow saints. You had a great vision for the work of Ministry and you were ready to go all-out for it at all cost ...you were a vibrant gospel ambassador until distraction sets in!
How do you get back to where you fell from; where is the way-out?
You may wish to read through my last two posts wherein I explained the first two points: Number One, GOD DOES NOT FEEL THE WAY YOU FEEL, and Two

SHED THE WEIGHTS
and lastly, THOSE SPIRITUAL EXERCISES YOU WERE DOING, START DOING THEM AGAIN.
Ardent study of the word, constant and consistent labour in prayers and at times in solitude, association with men of like minds, attendance at Bible seminars and prayer conferences - these are some of the things you were doing and gradually you started making progress, passion was building-up in your heart, you were getting more and more intimate with God, revelation in the word was abounding and your love for the Lord was growing.
The idea 'here' is to make you see that the progress you made was not a mere coincidence, and even if you think it is, can't you see now that the coincidence has stopped since you wane in your commitment? The progress was actually a result of laborious and relentless input you made.
God has not changed His mind about His purpose for your life (Rom.11:29), He still want to use you for a great exploit and so you have to "Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and DO THE FIRST WORK..."(Rev.2:5) blessed?

3 Things To Do When The light Goes Dim (2)

" Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us" (Heb.12:1)

This is not an admonition for people who have never been down-to-earth with God; people who take Christianity as one of those things and have never been committed to Jesus in absolute surrender.

It is on the other hand meant for people who once had fervent love for the lord and was serving the Lord unreservedly until the light went dim. One thing led to the other, and consequently, passion and drive to walk with God and to do His will at all cost has waned. Am referring to people who were running well until they were distracted and their christian walk has turn-out to be a shadow of what it used to be.

Having stated in my previous post that the FIRST THING to do in such situation a

s this is to realize that GOD DOES NOT FEEL THE WAY YOU FEEL;

The SECOND THING to do is to SHED THE WEIGHTS - and weight 'here' does not mean sin only but everything that could obstruct progress in the christian course.

The word that readily came to mind is "preoccupation". Things that occupy your attention, things you spend time doing.

Your work/career could be a weight, sport, association with friends, internet, pinging, soap opera, novel, gratification of the flesh, sin and other legitimate things like sleep among others.

Once you place premium and priority over a particular activity or activities in your life above your commitment to the Lord, you are already carrying weight(s) and that will not only hinder your spiritual progress but it has the potential of short-changing your destiny if you bear it/them long enough.

In case, you are wondering why your love and passion for God is waning, then I charge you to check the 'weights' you are carrying because until you shed them there is no way forward.

I admonish you to first IDENTIFY the weights and then SHED them.

Why should you loose-out on God's best because of the fleeting affairs of this world ...think on these things!

3 Things To Do When The Light Goes Dim (1)

"But when he came to himself, he said... I will arise and go to my father" (Luke 15:17-18)

On the note of fervent and burning love for the Lord many started out the Christian life; but somewhere along the line 'the light got dim' due to such things as cares of this world, crave for riches, pleasures of life and  lust of other things.

Many in this state of waning fervency have resorted to self-condemnation and are wallowing in guilt which has led them deeper and deeper into sin.

In such a situation as this, the FIRST THING you must realize is that GOD DOES NOT FEEL THE WAY YOU FEEL.The love of God does not fluctuate with the attitude of men.Even when you are faithless, He still remains faithful because He cannot deny Himself. You are the one that is feeling guilty, God is not condemning you... He sure doesn't like your sin but yet He is not condemning you (Rom.8:1).

Harboring guilt and self-condemnation in your heart thinking you could impress God by so doing is nothing but self-righteousness and that wont get you anywhere.
You will do well to study the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32).

One of the reason the New testament is far better than the old is because the new replaces human's sense of guilt with a strong sense of boldness and righteousness through faith in Christ (Heb. 9:6-9; 10:1-4,18-22).

Hence, it is not enough to feel bad about your backsliding state; you must 'arise' like the prodigal son did and turn back to the father. Even if you think you have blown many opportunities, yet He has not given up on you; that great mission is still Possible, that purpose can still be accomplished, that dream can still come to reality, you can still write those books, you can still compose those songs, you can still reach the world, you are still needed for the expansion of His Kingdom - YOU STILL MATTER TO GOD!  ...to be continued subsequently

Persistence in Evangelism (Spurgeon, Charles)

"If we do not see souls saved today or tomorrow, we will still work... We are labouring for eternity, and we count not our work by each day's advance, as men measure theirs; it is God's work and must be measured by His standard" - Charles Spurgeon

Persistence in Evangelism (Spurgeon, Charles)

"If we do not see souls saved today or tomorrow, we will still work... We are labouring for eternity, and we count not our work by each day's advance, as men measure theirs; it is God's work and must be measured by His standard" - Charles Spurgeon

Trust the Word!

"The LORD said to me, "You have seen correctly, for I am watching to see that my word is fulfilled."(Jer.1:12 NIV)
Human mind cannot possibly fathom the extent to which God can express himself in and through someone who is totally dependent on His word - someone who takes Him at His word without wavering (Rom.4:19-21).
Once the heart is committed to totally believing His word, God makes Himself responsible for the performance/fulfillment of His word (Jer.1:12).
Once we do the trusting, He does the performance (John.11:40)
He is a performer of His word: He cannot deny His word - ever faithful, ever sure!