#Wordfortheweek Week 31 #Accolade

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 NKJV

A few years ago, a dear friend of mine told me that she had nominated me for an award. I was pleasantly surprised, and it felt good for my work to be acknowledged in that way.  On the day of the award I felt proud and happy. And then I felt myself starting to think about how nice it would be to get more.

There is something self-satisfying about the acknowledgement of man and the accolades accompanying it. Once you had a taste of man-honour you want more.  As we start accumulating awards, there is always the danger of the inflation of our ego with it.

In my journey to spiritual maturity, I have read many times about pride in the holy scriptures. I have realised that there is a fine line between humility and pride.

When you start seeing and thinking about yourself, that is the danger sign for pride. I had to remind myself that I can do nothing without my Elohim God. Whatever accolade or honour I receive from mankind belongs to Him. I am representing Him on earth. Whatever I do is to showcase His praise.

There is nothing wrong with being honoured. It is not our purpose to accumulate awards but to bring glory to our Almighty God.

As you continue in your spiritual journey, keep on the good works but point all to Yeshua and give Elohim all the glory and accolades.

#Prayerfortheweek

Almighty Father, thank You for the gifts and abilities you have put in me. Help me to use it for good works, that all may see You in me and glorify Your Holy name.  In the name of Yeshua Jesus Christ. Amen

I pray that this inspires you to reflect on your relationship with Elohim and be determined to be more and do more for Him each day.

#AdeolaAkintoye©

#ajourneytospiritualmaturity2020

#Wordfortheweek Week 30 #Direction

‘So, he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”’  Acts 9:6 NKJV

As a young Christian, I used to be fearful of praying for the will of Elohim God to be done.  In fact, I resisted giving my life to Him completely because I felt the standard expected as a Christian would be too high for me to meet.

As I grew in faith, I realised that we cannot live as a believer without following the will of Elohim. My desires sometimes take precedent in my prayer request. I want God to affirm my wants rather than His will.

In the battle for Jericho, Joshua sought the Lord and He gave Joshua specific direction on what to do and how. Joshua followed this to the letter and he was victorious. One of the miracles of God at the time.

Sometimes we take God for granted and make assumptions. Joshua did not seek direction from God before he mustered a small number of warriors to battle with the kingdom of Ai. He relied on his previous experience with Elohim. I believe if he had, God would have told Him about the accursed thing and instructed what to do.

Paul’s experience is worth noting. After his extraordinary encounter with Jesus, he asked “Lord, what do You want me to do?” He got it right from the start!

The journey to spiritual maturity is dependent on following the direction of Elohim by His Holy Spirit. Take a pause, ask for direction before you step out.

#Prayerfortheweek

Almighty father order my steps. Guide and lead me in Your righteous path for Your name sake. Show me Your ways by Your words.  Help me not to divert to my own way for my desires. Let Your will be my heart’s desire all the days of my life.  In the name of Yeshua Jesus Christ. Amen

I pray that this inspires you to reflect on your relationship with Elohim and be determined to be more and do more for Him each day.

#AdeolaAkintoye©

#ajourneytospiritualmaturity2020

#Wordfortheweek Week 29 #Excellence (2)

‘He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you. but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.’  Micah 6:8 NKJV

Charles R. Swindon in his book, ‘A life well lived’, asked God in one of the best and worst seasons of his life; ‘What do you expect of me?’ He found his answer in Micah 6:8; ‘He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you. but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.’  

This encapsulates for me what a life of excellence entails;

v Doing what is right, irrespective of the circumstances and challenges. This forms the core of integrity and a virtuous character. Even when you are perceived as ‘holier’ than thou, looked down upon and ridiculed, you know that God approves and rewards your faithfulness.

v Loving and demonstrating kindness to all those that cross your path. Kindness requires us to empathise with others, show compassion, and have a forgiving heart. Cultivating a kind heart is a challenge, yet as Christians we are expected to love our neighbours as ourselves. No matter how cruel people treat us, we must not repay evil with evil.  We must remember that God will judge each of us individually by our actions. We won’t be able to give excuses. Let God be the judge of other people. I learnt so much from King David. He always reports people to God rather than take revenge. Our responsibility is always to show love and kindness.

v Walking humbly with God by submitting our self completely to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allowing Him to teach and transform us inside out. We must be willing and ready to demonstrate humility in all areas of our lives. This requires us to see and treat others as we want to be treated or even better. We must learn to readily accept responsibility for our mistakes, never gloat when we are proved right, never demand our rights, accept constructive criticism, desire and learn to grow from our failures, listen more than be listened to and never respond to anger with anger.

All these might seem like a tall order, but a life of excellence is a process which we must strive for continuously all the days of our life. When we demonstrate these three qualities – justice, love and humility, not only would we bring pleasure to God, but the world would see qualities of excellence in us. And we would then be truly ‘light of the world’ and ‘salt of the earth’.

#Prayerfortheweek

May the Lord grant me the grace to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with my God.  In the name of Yeshua Jesus Christ. Amen

I pray that this inspires you to reflect on your relationship with Elohim and be determined to be more and do more for Him each day.

#AdeolaAkintoye©

#ajourneytospiritualmaturity2020

#Wordfortheweek Week 28 #Excellence (1)

‘He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you. but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.’  Micah 6:8 NKJV

What does a life of excellence entail? I searched dictionaries to understand exactly what excellence is. Some of the definition I came across were; an outstanding feature, of the highest quality, exemplary performance; exceeding normal expectations of performance; performing more than the norm; outperforming most. I was still left with a sense of dis-satisfaction with these definitions. It all seemed to be measuring a person’s performance to a set of human standards.

As a Christian, I wondered if my performance or the quality I exhibit should be measured according to human standard and for what purpose? To feel a sense of achievement? To amass accolades? To feel important?

We are created for God’s pleasure. He had a plan and purpose for us even before we came into this world. He gave us free will yes, but He expects us to willingly worship Him with all our heart, our soul and strength and obey His commandment, only then would we live in line with His plan and purpose for our lives.

We can’t live a life of excellence outside of God. Our excellence is not from the work of our hands but through the gifts that God gave us when He created us and His grace upon our life. A life of excellence is a continuous process of living a life of complete obedience to God, a life of virtue & integrity, a life of service to our fellow human being, a life of humility, a life of demonstrable peace and bringing joy into people’s life.

We might not be in a position of authority, have amassed material wealth or academic achievement. But an excellent life has profound positive impact on the people who enters it at different stages by the content of your character. A life that influence others to give their life to Jesus Christ because they see Him in you.

To be continued...

#Prayerfortheweek

May the Lord grant me the grace to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with my God.  In the name of Yeshua Jesus Christ. Amen

I pray that this inspires you to reflect on your relationship with Elohim and be determined to be more and do more for Him each day.

#AdeolaAkintoye©

#ajourneytospiritualmaturity2020