STAY ON COURSE
To God be the glory for taking us across the last quarter and bringing us into another one. We all need to appreciate Him and show Him our gratitude for bearing us to this point since all these years, especially this year when darkness seems to be getting darker upon the earth with insecurities, insurgencies, economic woes, tales of calamities all around, family disintegrations, etc. As we watch things generally deteriorate, also as this is in line with the forecast of the events that will precede the Master’s second advent, we must thank Him more for His grace that helps us to live in these times. Remember also that the Lord says that if these days are not shortened even the very elect may not be saved. These are the days when iniquity is abounding and the love of many is waxing cold. So we need to thank Him for the uncommon grace to live in these days.To God be the glory for taking us across the last quarter and bringing us into another one. We all need to appreciate Him and show Him our gratitude for bearing us to this point since all these years, especially this year when darkness seems to be getting darker upon the earth with insecurities, insurgencies, economic woes, tales of calamities all around, family disintegrations, etc. As we watch things generally deteriorate, also as this is in line with the forecast of the events that will precede the Master’s second advent, we must thank Him more for His grace that helps us to live in these times. Remember also that the Lord says that if these days are not shortened even the very elect may not be saved. These are the days when iniquity is abounding and the love of many is waxing cold. So we need to thank Him for the uncommon grace to live in these days. At the beginning of the year He told us He would do a new thing and He has faithfully fulfilled His Word. I have personally seen many new things since January. Please point out those new things you have seen in your life and family and praise Him for each of them. Be deliberate about this because this will help you to pointedly praise Him and trust Him the more for the days ahead.
Stay on Course As the ‘cloud’ lifts, signaling the journey of this quarter, you must also get ready and follow the ‘cloud’ – the Spirit. The journey is not over until you get into your inheritance and fulfill your mandate. Press on with purpose in every step towards the goal of the high calling of God in Christ. As you are getting nearer and nearer your destination and rest, the enemy will be more vicious to distract you, divert you, etc, and if possible stop you in your tracks. May the Lord rebuke him on your behalf, in Jesus Name. Every journey has a destination and your destiny is in your hands. Heaven has predetermined your destination, given you the vehicle and the “Navigator’ – the Holy Spirit. Your Navigator knows the best route for you and is ever true. Do not think that you know better and abandon it (Him) and use your senses or be asking questions from your fellow ignorant travelers so that you use wrong routes and short cuts that will only take you into detours and traffic jams that will cause unnecessary delays and make your journey unnecessarily stressful. If you trust Him, He will take you through the best route (the right path) for your life and bring you to your destination at the shortest possible time.
Let thine eyes look right, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.Turn not to the right hand nor to the left;Remove thy foot from evil. (Prov. 4:25-27).
As you take your journey, hearken to these instructions from wisdom. Concentrate on the journey ahead of you. Keep your eyes on the path. Set your face like a flint and fix your gaze directly before you. As you exercise your sight in this way, insight will come and vision will get sharper. Even then do not be careless but ponder (consider) the path of your feet and you will become more and more established. This will include taking counsel from those who have gone ahead of you and trod the path before you and submitting to all those God has placed over you – parents, teachers, disciplers, pastors, etc. Stop looking here and there. Do not swerve to the left or to the right. Keep your eyes on the ‘Navigator’ and avoid every evil. Stay on course and move on perseveringly and make much progress this quarter. All men that reached the goal set for them in life journeyed steadily into it, they did not ‘fly’ into it. Move on, drawing strength from the Lord and keep moving. You will get there. God speed and safe trip. You are assured of our prayers.
TIME STEALERS IV As we look a little bit more at time stealers, let us continue to appreciate this very precious gift of God without which you cannot live. It must be redeemed (brought back), managed well and utilized to the fullest for maximum profit. As you are learning and practicing how to gain maximally from it, someone is bent on stealing it. The one whose only reason to visit you is to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. Jesus calls him the thief and his job is to steal and ultimately kill and destroy. He wants to steal your joy, money, health, peace, etc. But the one quantity he wants to steal most is time. He does this stealthily in a multitude of ways. Let us look at a few more.
BEING PROACTIVE – If you do not want the enemy to steal away your time then you must set the agenda for your life. You must pray about what you want to achieve and set an agenda on the things to do to achieve it. You should not try to do everything. Allow others to do what they should do and do only what you are charged, by God to do with your time. Jesus talks about working the works of Him that sent me…. Find out the work of Him that sent you and concentrate on it and give it your best time. Everything you will do in your life will be what you decided to do. There will always be contesting and conflicting interests and so you must choose which to do with your time. So you must prayerfully plan your time and set the agenda. Some issues may crop up on the way that appear really urgent and need your attention immediately. Learn to pray about them and press on with the Agenda you have set. Do not be distracted or interrupted. Do not keep responding and reacting to the urgent to the detriment of the important. Set your goals and press on with your time to meet them. Stop attending to issues that crop up and reacting to them, rather be proactive and except there is an emergency, pursue your set agenda. You must have a plan. A person that does not plan is only planning to fail. Pray about this and learn to politely say no to every demand and request that will interrupt your plans. Such will waste and steal your time and ensure you do not meet target on time. Look to God in prayers, plan and set your agenda as far as you can, pray for good health and strength and be a purpose driven person. Be like our Master who sternly refused to be distracted by urgent needs that cropped up as He kept on moving. And in the morning, rising up a great while before day; He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed And Simon and they that were with him followed after him And when they found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, That I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. (Mark 1:35-38) This is one of the episodes that was recorded in the ministry of the Lord when He was here. When He began preaching, teaching and healing people, crowds began to flock after Him. One evening, a great number of needy people besieged Him and He kept healing them until late. Though He must have been tired and probably went to bed late, the next morning, He was up early, as usual, and found a solitary place to commune with the Father. It was His regular daily practice. He started each day early in God’s presence and received instructions for the day, etc. Later, Simon and others also awoke, probably awakened by the crowd who had already started gathering at the same place that it “happened” last night. When Simon and co arose and did not see Him they knew that He had gone to hide in a solitary place to spend time alone with His Father. So they went to look for Him and when they found Him they informed Him that All men – they must have been many – were already looking for Him. His answer must have surprised those disciples. He told them that they needed to proceed into the next towns so that He would preach there too. Notice that He added: for therefore came I forth. What a thing! If He did not know why He came, that crowd would have trapped Him, and no one knows for how long, and He would have reacted to the urgent need on ground and truncated His journey, at least temporarily. No, He would not abandon His Agenda and why He came for some immediate and urgent need. He was not here to be responding to needs but to pursue an Agenda – why He came. Have you discovered why you came? That is what to focus on and pursue and not to be reacting to needs and issues that show up no matter how urgent and important they may look. And note that a man that will stay on course and not be disrupted, distracted and diverted must be connected with Heaven and be in daily private communion with the Father. It is in His presence, in communion, that visions are sharpened, directions received and instructions received for the day. Even if you have discovered your life’s agenda, you still need your steps to be ordered from above if you will go on steadily and achieve the goal. This same Jesus is the one the Bible records that He testified that He had set His face like a flint (adamant and unmovable) being fully confident that He would not suffer shame. This statement was made in Isaiah 50 but, I see that that is how He faced Jerusalem and the cross – His ultimate work that brought salvation to mankind.And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus was before them: and they were amazed: and as they followed they were afraid… This was the last journey to Jerusalem and to the cross. They were in the way (the right path) and He kept moving steadily. He was in front of the disciples and others. The disciples were amazed and others coming behind were afraid. They knew that something ominous was about to happen. Jesus knew all too well what the cross meant but He had set His face to march to the climax of the will of God for His life. Neither fear, nor the opinion of those around, nor any thing made Him waver or contemplate dodging, etc. He kept at it because all that mattered to Him was the Agenda set before Him.
Friend, what is your response to this? Will you set your face like a flint and concentrate on the journey ahead of you unto the climax, like our Master or will you allow yourself to be distracted, delayed and diverted into things that are merely tangential? Have you already lost momentum and struggling or already halted? You must take a retreat, refocus, receive grace and be repositioned for a fresh take off with vigour. Do not allow the enemy to steal you time under any guise.