Tag: Faith

The Second Coming of Jesus Christ

by ComeFullCircleblog, posted in Uncategorized
Apostle John’s spiritual encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ


The book of revelation is one many shy away from reading, and others teaching about,yet it is the culmination of the gospel.Christ came the first time to die for our sins, by shedding his blood on the cross. Through his blood we have forgiveness of sins and by believing in him we have the promise of eternal life.

He also promised to return again-  this time in glory, as King to judge the living and the dead and to take his church with him to heaven.

No other being goes out of their way to rescue people and to bring them victoriously to eternal life.No other can save like our God does,no other god ever died for his own people and shed all his blood for his creation, only Jesus the Son of God!

God also love us so much that he sent Jesus Chist his only begotten Son to die for us,so that whoever believes in him would have eternal life – Hallelujah!

Over the next few weeks it is my desire to have an indepth  study of the book of Revelation and will be delighted to  share with you my learnings here.

It is my hope that this will be an encouragement to many and also a valuable resource to help ready the church for the second coming of Christ.

Jesus  said “Behold I am coming soon! My reward is with me and I will give to each person according to what they have done.I am the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, The Beginning and the End” Rev 22:12

We need to be ready.

The best way to do this is to understand what he said about his second coming as well as other  biblical prophecies  and prepare ourselves accordingly. I don’t know about you but I sure do not want to be left behind when he raptures his people to heaven,nor do I want others to be left behind due to lack of knowledge.


Prophecies about the Second Coming of Christ in the Bible and Tanakh (Jewish Bible)

Prophet Daniel saw visions of Jesus,the Son of Man and prophesied of his return and his everlasting dominion.

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Daniel 7:13-14

Prophet  Isaiah also prophesied about Jesus, as the shoot that will come up from the stump of Jesse.Jesus is a direct descendant of Jesse and King David through his earthly Father Joseph, who hailed from Bethlehem. This genealogy is found in the new testament Matthew 1:616.

Here goes Isaiah’s prophecy

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him……He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes,or decide by what he hears with his ears;but with righteousness he will judge the needy,with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth;with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked.Righteousness will be his belt and faithfulness the sash around his waist.”
Isaiah 11:1 & 4-5

“The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light.The rising sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light.I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins.I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless.“
Isaiah 13:10


Prophet Zechariah too gave a prophecy  about the day of the LORD.It depicts the coming of the LORD to  fight against nations and to judge the world.

“On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south……..Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness.  It will be a unique day—a day known only to the Lord—with no distinction between day and night. When evening comes, there will be light.On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it east to the Dead Sea and half of it west to the Mediterranean Sea, in summer and in winter.The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.” Zechariah 14:4,6-9


Jesus spoke of his second coming in the New testament

Our Lord Jesus even warned us about the signs of the end times – this is captured in the gospels that aligns with the prophecies in the old testament and Tanakh.

“Immediately after the distress of those days“‘the sun will be darkened,and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky,and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
Matthew 24:29-31

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
Matthew 24:42- 44

“Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places and fearful events and great signs from heaven” Luke 21:10

“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies you will know that its desolation is near.There will be signs in the sun , moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea….At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.When all these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads because  your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:25,27-28

Now that we have a clear understanding that the coming of Jesus Christ as King is a legitimate prophecy,let’s dive into the Book of Revelation.

I will simply be giving summaries and expounding on the respective verses.I would highly recommend that you go through this next section with your new testament bible in hand.Here is an online NIV version of Revelation.

The Book of Revelation Chapter 1

Rev 1: 1-3

This book was written by Apostle John while he was imprisoned on Island of Patmos. Jesus sent his angel to describe to John the details and had him to write it on a scroll.

There is a promise of blessings to those who read this prophecy aloud and to those who take to heart what is written in it.

Rev 1:4-8

This elaborate greeting is from God the Father ( who is ,was and is to come) the seven  spirits before his throne  and from Jesus Christ his Son.
Jesus is also described as faithful,first born from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

This section also emphasises on Christ’s love for us and  the freedom he gave us through his blood.He made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. Hallelujah!

God, the Alpha and Omega who is ,was and is to come describes the eternal immortal nature of the Living God.


The Seven spirits referenced here is the seven fold Spirit of God.Prophet Isaiah spoke about this in Isaiah 11 when speaking about the Spirit of God upon our Lord Jesus Christ.

“The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
 the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.” Isaiah 11:2-3

Rev 9 -19

Messages to the 7 churches

In this section John narrates how while in Patmos(as prisoner) he had a spiritual encounter , heard a voice like a trumpet speaking to him to write on a scroll  what he sees and send it to seven named churches.

These refer to characteristics of the global church today, the body of Christ. These do not literally relate to cities or locations on the world map, but rather the behaviour,attitudes and characteristics of believers.

To put it in today’s corporate lingo the messages to the churches are akin to receiving emails from a CEO giving performance review feedback to each group, starting with the positives, then the areas of improvement and the subsequent eternal reward for improved performance.

We should be grateful that the Lord is gracious and compassionate enough to share this with us as  he does not want anyone to perish  but for all to come to repentance.He has shown us what we need to do to be ready for his return.

Jesus in his glorified state

John gives a vivid description of the Lord Jesus, he was in awe of his presence and even fell at his feet.

“I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,  and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.  The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.  In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance”
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”Rev 1:12- 17

I love that the word describes how Jesus really looks like today, a far contrast of the Jesus who died on the cross.So many people today still “see”Jesus as he was back then and often wrongfully perceive him as helpless and defeated, yet in reality he is the Sovereign King and Saviour.
John reveals to us his glorious state as the Alpha and Omega, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, this is the image we should now engrave in our hearts, acknowledging his sacrifice on the cross and longing to see him in his glory when he returns.

HONOR THE LORD

by ComeFullCircleblog, posted in Uncategorized

Honour is defined as having great respect or high regard for someone. To treat with great courtesy and esteem. It’s far much simpler to honor someone that you see with your own eyes, as you can immediately read their reaction through body language even before you get a verbal response.

Imagine how much more intriguing it is to honor one who is not visible to the naked eye, yet sees you and knows you inside out! You can’t get away with faking anything in such a case!

 How To Honor The LORD

The Lord our Father is omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient. Hence when it comes to honoring him, I believe it’s not only in word and deed but also in thought.

Jesus said in Matthew 22 regarding the greatest commandment “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” The mind is the realm that harbors thoughts which are intricately connected to your will and emotions.

To honour the Lord, there needs to be alignment of heart, soul and mind which as a result cause you to take actions that are congruent with the word of God. Any attempts to honour God out of this alignment will be deemed unacceptable and a dishonor to the Most High.

This is the reason why the Lord criticized the people of Jerusalem for they behaved in a pious manner and perhaps even prayed the right words, but only to be seen and heard by men – in the Lord’s eyes it was nothing more than lip service.

“These people come near to me with their mouth
    and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught” Isaiah 29:13
 
It is crystal clear that this journey of honour starts from the heart. Your heart needs to be changed, from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh. One that will yield to the Holy Spirit of God and desires to honour the Lord and follow through in word and deed.

In word – by praising the Lord and exalting his name.

In deed –by what you do for God, others and to yourself.

Honor the Lord with your substance – tithes and offerings. Practice hospitality and generosity especially to those who have no means to repay you, and lastly avoid sexual immorality and learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable that pleases the Lord.

“You are worthy, our Lord and God to receive glory, honor and power for you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being.” Revelations 4:11

“Honor the Lord with your wealth; with the first fruits of all your crops; your barns will be filled to overflowing and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9 -10

“Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God” Proverbs 14:31

“Do you not know that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you received from God? You are not your own, you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies” 1Corinthians 6:19-20

Honor Your Parents

God places special emphasis on how to treat parents and even gives promises that can be claimed. Honoring parents also encompasses conduct toward them and offerings/gifts given to them.

“Honor your father and mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you” Exodus 20:12

“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth” Ephesians 6:1

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and teachers of the law for breaking the Lords commands on honoring parents for the sake of their own traditions.
“For God said, “Honor your father and mother”…But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father and mother is ‘devoted to God’ they are not to honor their father and mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your traditions.” Matthew 15:4

Honoring Others

Jesus said that the second greatest commandment is like the first. “To Love your neighbor as yourself.” I’m yet to find a person who loves his right arm and despises the left one, or loves his left ear and despises the other on the right. You are to love yourself and then with that same love apply it to others. This is not to be confused with self-absorbed ‘me, myself and I’ kind of love, but rather a healthy appreciation of who you are in  Christ.

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil and cling to good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the LORD. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:9-13

Who Receives  Honor?

The word shows how one can receive honor from fellow man; by being humble and kind hearted.

“A kindhearted woman gains honor but ruthless men gain only wealth.” Proverbs 11:16

Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, Humility comes before honor” Proverbs 15:33

“Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame, whoever heeds correction is honored” Proverbs 13:18

“The wise inherit honor but fools get only shame” Proverbs 3:35

God Honors His Servants

Scripture tells us that the Lord is wonderfully faithful and also shows honor to his fellow servants.

When King David was settled in his palace he desired to build a  house for the Lord, but the All compassionate Father had other plans. In his infinite wisdom and grace, he  sent word to David  through Prophet Nathan that David’s  son would have this noble task done and that the Lord would never take his love away from him as he did his predecessor (Saul).
As a reward, the Lord declared that he would establish the kingdom within David’s family lineage and it would remain forever. This prophecy came to pass through his son King Solomon and later through Jesus Christ who is King of Kings and his throne reigns to eternity!

In response to this David went in to the tent and sat before the Lord and said:

“Who am I,LORD God and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, my God, you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant. You, LORD God have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men. What more can David say to you for honoring your servant?” 1 Chronicles 17:16-18

Kind David is one of those who honored The Lord faithfully and the Lord in turn also honored him.

The Lord is Holy and Merciful worthy for all honor, he is also righteous and just and gives honour to his servants who are faithful to his word and honor the Lord.

COMPASSION

by ComeFullCircleblog, posted in Faith, Love and Compassion
Cultivate Compassion

The world today seems to be losing compassion; people have become cold and heartless. Hence the increase in violence, wars and atrocities against humanity resulting in human suffering, despair and even death.

It seems as though the more time progresses, the more people loose compassion. The cause of this being exposure to toxic environments, traumas, despair and the inability to heal from such. This really got me thinking.  If compassion can be lost, then the converse is true.

Compassion can be cultivated

If compassion can be lost, then the converse is true.

The most logical place to start is finding compassion. A Deep source of compassion that is true, unending, infinite, and eternal. This cannot be a human, man-made or artificial as human nature in itself is finite.

Our Creator is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in love. His inherent nature is love and holiness. His judgments are just and righteous and He is merciful. His word tells us that He has loved us with an everlasting love. A love that is so deep it is unending, unchanging. That even when we die believing in Him, he provides a way that we may be united with Him in heaven and will dwell in His presence for eternity!

He not only has compassion but He is Love can teach us how to be more compassionate.
How you may ask?
Through the study of his word and meditation of the Holy Scriptures.

 “As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him” and “Because of the LORD’s great love we aren’t consumed, for his compassions never fail they are new every morning.” Psalms 103:4 and Lamentations 3:22-23

The LORD appeared to us in the past saying:
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3

The Lord is so compassionate that he also heals our wounds – all types of wounds; physical, psychological, spiritual.
Whatever wound you have, bring to the Lord for healing.

“But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds, declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 30:17

“Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion.” Psalms 103:2-4

Meditate on Compassion

The essence of studying scripture is to discover who God is, his character and attributes. To learn his ways, so that we can relate to our Lord better. To remember all that you have read, you would need to ponder on and meditate on His word for it is truth, and this truth sanctifies us.

The scriptures are awash with stories depicting the LORD’s compassion. Think of these as Compassion in action stories. The most well-known are drawn from the lives of Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus Christ. They not only share history, but they show the LORD’s compassion in dealing with mankind.

Noah

During the time of Noah the world was full of violence and the Lord decided to put an end to it all. He saved Noah by instructing him to build a wooden ark to protect his family along with all land creatures and birds.

The Lord gave Noah the exact dimensions of what he was to build; this was the first of its kind. Out of his compassion he saved a remnant and one pair of each species of animals. The clean animals however had seven pairs each.

The Lord’s compassion is evident as he sustains them in the ark all during the entire period of the flood (one year).In no instance did we ever hear that the lions and bears decided to gobble up Noah or his family for lunch.
 “The Lord is gracious and compassionate; slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all that he has made” Psalms 145:8-9

He brought them out of the ark only when the earth had dried and new vegetation had sprung up. The Lord made a covenant with Noah and all life on earth, that He would never again destroy the earth and all living creatures with water again. He gave his bow in the clouds as a sign of this eternal agreement. The Rainbow.

Abraham

The Lord blessed Abraham and said that he would bless all the peoples of the earth through him and even grant him an heir. At this point, he was aged 75 and was childless. The Lord made a covenant with him and changed his name from Abram, to Abraham meaning the Father of Nations. Twenty five years later, is when Isaac was born.

During Isaac’s childhood the Lord asked him to offer him as a sacrifice in order to test him. Abraham did not hesitate and obeyed. He took Isaac to Mt.Moriah as directed by the Lord, his son pointed out that the wood and fire were present and inquired about the sacrificial lamb, to which Abraham responded   “The Lord will provide.”

He prepared the altar and placed his only son ready to sacrifice him when the Lord stopped him. Abraham had passed the test of obedience, the Lord provided a ram. The Lord showed Abraham compassion by blessing him to become the Father of Nations even before he had a single child. The Lord made sure that this prophecy came to pass according to his word. Today, many nations cane still trace their ancestry to him.


Moses

Abrahams’ descendants were later enslaved in Egypt for 400 years. The Lord called Moses to go deliver his people by confronting the Pharaoh.

The LORD showed his people compassion by fulfilling the rest of the promise he had made with Abraham, even though they were not in their best behavior. He  lead them out of Egypt in power ,parted the sea for them, fed them for 40 years in the wilderness, went before them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, defeated their enemies before them and got them to the promised land in Canaan.
“Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the wilderness” Nehemiah 9:19

 “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with deep compassion I will bring you back.” Isaiah 54:7

Jesus

Jesus came on earth to reveal more to us about the Father and to reconcile us back to the Father by his sacrificial death on the cross. The law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Jesus performed miracles and healed the sick and delivered those under demonic oppression. The gospel of Luke tells one of the many miracles he performed. Jesus was teaching and crowds came to him bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and he healed them all.
He then called his disciples and said, “I have compassion for these people, they have already been with me for three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry or they will collapse on the way.” Luke 15:32

They only had seven loaves with them and a few small fish. Jesus told the crowd to sit down, he gave thanks for the food, broke them and gave them to his disciples. They all ate and were satisfied, a total four thousand men besides women and children. They even had left overs! Seven basketfuls of broken pieces.

Later a woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus, during that time the punishment was death by stoning. But Jesus in his merciful compassion did not condemn her. “He told go and sin no more”

He also told parables to teach the people. That parable of the prodigal son depicts the Love and Compassion of God.

He is watching and waiting for us to go back to him, he is ready to received us with open arms and restore us to our rightful place as his children.

The death of Jesus on the cross was the ultimate display of love and compassion. He knew it was the only way for his blood to be shed for the forgiveness of sins and gain access to eternal life.
He did not resist but agreed to be the sacrificial Lamb of God. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son to condemn the world but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16-17

Become more compassionate

Now that you have the perfect example of what compassion looks like you can easily emulate that and apply it in your life. You can only give what you have; you can only give what you have experienced. Experiencing the love and compassion of the LORD and receiving it in your heart will enable you to have compassion for others and for yourself.

Jesus taught “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is just like it Love your neighbor as yourself.” Matthew 22:37

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

All this does not come naturally to humans. We need the perfect help. The Holy Spirit of God was sent to us to help and strengthen us.

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control.” Galatians 5:22

Compassion can therefore be cultivated. In summary, in order to become more compassionate;

  • Learn Compassion from God’s example
  • Meditate on Compassion from the Holy Bible
  • Become more compassionate by accepting God’s love and loving God with your all
  •  Love your neighbor as you love yourself
  • The Holy Spirit of God enables you to bear fruit and have compassion

VICTORY AHEAD!

by ComeFullCircleblog, posted in Faith, Hope


Getting a driver’s license is pretty exciting. The promise of freedom on the freeways gives any learner the impetus to sharpen their driving skills and master all the road signs in preparation for the driver’s test.

I had this same excitement in my late teens when I was preparing for my driving test. Back then, the learners handbook was an actual book, loaded with instructions and a ton of road signs (most of which were not on any road in the country) hence making it difficult and almost impossible to recall during the test. This however did not dampen my spirits; I did my best to commit to memory all the road signs in the handbook and ace the test.
 Looking back now, I realize that most of those road signs were warning signs, all geared to alert the driver of the dangers that lay ahead. Hardly any of them give the assurance of hope or the anticipation of Victory Ahead.

The story of Deborah is an interesting tale of trials to triumph that can be applied even in the 21st century and give assurance of victory ahead.

Deborah was a prophetess and judge of Israel at a time when the nation was under oppression by their enemies for twenty long years. Sisera – the face of the adversary was army commander who lead this cruel campaign for decades without facing any opposition. It seems as though the people of Israel had no motivation to fight. In short they were;

Oppressed
Overwhelmed
Overpowered by the enemy.

Enter Deborah.
As a judge she often held court under the Palm of Deborah in a hilly countryside and as she was doing so she received a word from the Lord, specifically to certain man named Barak who was to lead the armies of Israel to victory.

She summoned him and gave him the following message as recorded in Judges 4:6-9

“The Lord, the God of Israel commands you: Go, take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun and lead them up to Mount Tabor. I will lead Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River and give him into your hands.”

Barak said to her, “If you go with me, I will go; but if you don’t go with me I won’t go”
“Certainly I will go with you,” said Deborah. “But because of the course you are taking, the honor will not be yours, for the LORD will deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman.”

Deborah had specific details on how to overcome their oppressors of 20 years. She gave the message as instructed and got the ball rolling, in essence she was telling him “Don’t’ you see the sign? There is Victory Ahead!

The nitty-gritty of the message;

The Who:  Barak, son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali
The Where: To go & position his army at Mount Tabor
The What army? 10,000 men from Naphtali and Zebulun
The Where again? The enemy would be subdued at Kishon River
The How: Sisera would be delivered into the hands of a woman

How did Deborah achieve this feat?

She saw herself as a mother in Israel.

“Villagers in Israel would not fight; they held back until I, Deborah, arose,
 until I arose, a mother in Israel”. Judges 5:7
 Unlike some leaders today, she was not hung up on power, positions and self-promotion. Deborah was completely given to serving the people, and serving them with strength and wisdom drawn from God.

She positioned herself right

 Deborah  held court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her to have their disputes decided.

Ramah:  Means height .It’s literally on a hilly region. It signifies a high spiritual ground like an altar where one would go to encounter God.

Psalms 24:4-5
“Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive vindication from God their Savior.”

Bethel: Means House of God, named so eons ago by one Jacob, who had a dream seeing a stairway to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. Above it stood the LORD who spoke to him. Jacob later raised an altar at that spot, naming it Bethel.

Palm Tree: Sign of triumph – In the Gospel, Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem was celebrated by waving palm branches and laying them on the ground for him.

So learning from Deborah, there is victory ahead, let’s go to higher ground. A higher spiritual plane where we can sit at the feet of our LORD Jesus to pour out our hearts to Him and listen to Him. He is more than ready to pick us up in His arms and engulf us in his love.

Prayer

Our Father, thank you for this day that you have given us. Thank you that you have been the one sustaining us all, our families, our world. Forgive us our sins and wash us clean with your blood and enable us to ascend to your holy mountain where we can worship you in holiness and truth and where we may be in your presence and listen to your guidance.
Thank you Lord for hearing our prayer, we glorify your name and put our hope and trust in you. In Jesus’ name we pray AMEN

ASPECTS OF FAITH

by ComeFullCircleblog, posted in Faith, Walk of Faith

My most recent post was defining what exactly faith is and found just how prevalent it is globally. Figured to delve further to find out why that is so; why do humans tend to gravitate toward faith.
It seems it gave humans “something” an “intangible something”. Out of the myriad faiths out there they have some commonalities. These, we shall refer to as aspects of faith. They are not to be mistaken for the aspects of religion that define the organizational structure that is common in each religion.
The aspects of faith will focus  more on the spiritual, the unseen, the intangible .We often seek these aspects even without knowing it, yet they are all found in faith. I cannot speak for other faiths but will share with you what I have found and therefore now believe.

  • Truth and Holiness
  • Strength and Protection
  • Wisdom and Guidance
  • Grace and Mercy
  • Love and Peace
  • Hope and Joy
  • Forgiveness and Restoration
  • Deliverance and Redemption

Truth and Holiness

Humanity has always been in search of truth. We seek out the truth about our existence, the truth about the world, heavens, the entire universe, nature .We  also desire to also know the truth about our past, the present times and even the truth about our future.
In my quest for all this I can say I had my fair share of wondering about and came full circle when I finally realized all that I needed was right there in Christ.

The most intriguing aspect of the Christian faith is the Triune God;
     God (Yahweh/Jehovah is The Father),
     Jesus Christ (The Son) and
    The Holy Spirit,
    Three Persons in One.
There are various references in the bible that refer to this glorious harmony.
Jesus Christ declared “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father (God) except through me”. John 14:6
Soak that in and let in marinate in your spirit.
Holiness is yet another virtue that is admired by many and often sought after, but is unattainable simply because we are all imperfect. Be we can look to the perfect and holy one to help us in our weakness. God the Father said “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy” Leviticus 19:2
Even his angels have been seen and heard proclaiming the same; “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” Isaiah 6:3

Strength and Protection

No human being is all-powerful, neither can we be able to always protect our selves at all times. Much as me may try, we are limited. Our strength can only go so far before it quickly runs out. True, the medical experts advise us it to eat well, exercise  in order to build endurance and strength, this is great and it does have its benefits. But what I’m talking about goes beyond the physical, I’m talking  spiritual strength.

We need to realize that when our strength fails , we can rely on Him who gives us strength. Strength to work, strength to go through our struggles and suffering. When in danger one can try and hide ,but its better to hide in the one who is the strongest.
“I love you, Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
 Psalms 18:1 -2

Grace and Mercy

Most people believe in merit, this is not wrong at all. The problem is when we believe in it too much that we leave no room for grace. Several other religions encourage their members to uphold these virtues, in fact they are recognized as sign of maturity.

Grace is God’s undeserved, unmerited favour.
Grace is favour from to God that we don’t deserve and Mercy is when he withholds punishment that we do deserve.
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,” Titus  2:11- 13

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. “ Exodus 34:6

Love and Peace

The world seems to be running low on love .Instead of spreading love we spreading animosity as echoed in Black Eyed Peas Grammy award song Where is the love?. Truth is one can’t give what they don’t have. And if you don’t have it, you can’t buy it neither can you can’t fake it till you make it Love cannot be manufactured by humans, I t never has and never will. Despite the numerous songs and poems written about making love, its now only a cliché that has watered down the true essence of love.
True, pure love is from God and is personified in the person of Jesus Christ. By believing in him we rely on his love for us and draw love from Him to give to others. He is the source of love for he is Love.
The Bible says in 1 John 4 “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  And reiterates again that “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”

And how did He show his love to humanity, you may ask?

The same chapter goes on to expound ;“He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” 

We too have a part to play ,we need to resolve in our hearts to love, and in the same way decide to remain in peace. Though no matter how hard we may try ,we cannot do it on our own we need to rely on God to love and to be at peace.
Christ is the Prince of peace. He brings peace within us, around us and among various peoples.

Hope and Joy

According to google , Hope is  an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: “expect with confidence” and “to cherish a desire with anticipation.”
Hope often goes hand in hand with faith. In Apostle Paul’s letter to the Hebrews he wrote “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”.
“Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.” Psalms 62:5

“Even the youth grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall, but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.” Isaiah 40:31
Joy is also from the Lord, there is fullness of joy in his presences and he also makes our joy complete.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
John 15:9
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalms 16:11
“Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his dwelling place.” 1 Chronicles 16:27

Wisdom and Guidance

The Holy Spirit of God imparts “gifts” to those who believe in Christ, two of those gifts are wisdom and knowledge.

“ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit” 1Corinthians 12:7-8
King Solomon who was once a King in Israel centuries ago actually requested God to give him the gift of wisdom to be able to rule  prudently, and indeed God gave him Wisdom along with wealth and prosperity.
“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way” Psalms 25:9

Forgiveness and Restoration

In his compassion the LORD not only forgives but restores. Again we also have a part to play in this ,we need to seek him ,seek his forgiveness ,he never turns away a broken heart. He knows  our inner most thoughts and motives. So don’t even think about faking anything!
He is able to forgive our sins even as we forgive others of their offenses done to us. He goes a step further after forgiving us and even purifies us from all unrighteousness and sanctifies us with his word!

Some faiths believe that there is no forgiveness without shedding blood, and have to make provisions to make sacrifices every now and then. The sacrifice must be pure – without any blemish for the sacrifice to be 100% successful. The Son of God, Jesus Christ  willingly gave his life and was nailed to a cross ,shed his blood – his pure blood- for  he is without sin. The wrath of God was satisfied , no other sacrifice will ever be required .This is what the cross represents, total forgiveness, total redemption, total restoration back to God.
“So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time  not to bear sin but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:28

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. Ephesians 1:7-8

The story of the prodigal son gives a wonderful illustration of forgiveness and restoration. I don’t mean the TV series where the “prodigal son” has to literally “work” for “NYPD”  to be granted absolution for his sins.
The biblical Prodigal son leaves home loaded with cash (inheritance from his Dad) goes to the city and blows it. He squandered his wealth with wild living, ends up working as a servant – feeding pigs and even fantasied about eating their food.

Long story short , he comes to his senses and decides to back home ,apologize and work as a servant in his Dad’s estate as he felt what many of us would in such a situation – unworthy, unwanted and unloved. Yet when his Dad saw him returning ,he felt compassion on him ran to him, embraced and kissed him. He then threw a party to welcome his lost son back home. Catch the true story in the gospel of Luke.

Deliverance and Redemption

We are all in need for deliverance, more than we’d like to admit. Holly wood has raked in billions from creating entertainment centered around this very subject. Super heroes who show up on earth- some arrive as babies in space crafts, others rich folks kids who  do their thing incognito -fight evil forces to save humanity from eternal damnation. Sounds familiar?

Jesus Christ left his Kingdom in heaven came down to earth, born of a virgin, grew up as anormal boy according to Jewish customs. All along he knew his mission, he came to save humanity and bring us back to His Father and in order to do that he had to die. He chose death, shed his precious blood for us. The only way they could get every ounce of his blood was through crucifixion, hence the cross was necessary, and he knew it. He did not escape his destiny but had to face it head on knowing this was the only way his mission could be accomplished.

“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
Colossians 1:13 -14
The digital age band were on point with their hit song Overcome –  You’re all I need, everything I could want is found in Your love.
Everything we need for this life and for eternity is in Jesus Christ. If you don’t believe me feel free to contact Him I’m certain He’d be thrilled to hear from you!!

What is Faith?

by ComeFullCircleblog, posted in Uncategorized

A quick google search will tell you the following about Faith.

  • It is complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
  • It is a strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof

All humans since the creation of the world, the Iron age, the middle ages, to the Industrial ages and to Information age we live in today, all have expressed faith in one way or another.
Faith in a supreme being, faith in another individual, faith in an object, faith in science, faith in an idea /concept, faith in nature, faith in an institution, faith in humanity, faith in celestial beings, faith in money and wealth, even faith in oneself. This is something that has been around for a long while and isn’t about to disappear into thin air.

It proves ultimately that it’s just the way we are wired. Humans were created to have faith; we simply cannot do without it. What differentiates us is what we choose to have faith in and how we live as a result of that.

Science even proves the fact that we are just wired that way. An article from the American Psychological Association quoted Jordan Grafman, PhD, director of the cognitive neuroscience section at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
“Neuroscience research supports the idea that the brain is primed to believe. This tendency is spread throughout the brain, and probably arose from neural circuits developed for other uses”.
Faith today is in some cases used to describe one’s religion or irreligion. It is also seen as the foundation of one’s values and how to make sense of life altogether, hence everyone has some form of faith, only that they vary in what  they believe and how much they believe.

Global representation of various faiths

There has been in depth research done that indicate the various faiths(religion and irreligion) that exist in the world.  
The global map below indicates the main religion in each country in the world.

Prevailing World Religions
Source: Wikipedia LilteK21

Another detailed study  provides the list of religious populations in the world including those who are agnostic or atheist. Click here to view list of religious populations

So, going by the above data, it shows that 15.2% of the global population of 7.79 Billion are non-religious/atheist, while the rest, 84.8% prescribe to at least one religion. Faith is not going to be extinct any time soon. I bet that even for the non-religious, they most certainly have something they put their trust in only its not a supreme being or deity. This proves the point I alluded to earlier that humans are wired to have faith in one form or another, and will continue to have faith until the end of time. If you got a heartbeat, then you do have faith and when your heart is “tested” then the true essence of your faith is determined.

Stages of Faith

James William Fowler III, American Author and Theologian in his book Stages of Faith created the idea of developmental process in human faith. These stages were along the lines of Jean Piaget‘s theory of cognitive development and Lawrence Kohlberg‘s stages of moral development.

Fowler identified 7 stages of faith, with stage 0 being the primal stage that mirrors early learning in childhood development and concludes at stage 6 the universalizing stage that is the highest achievable state.
In my lay man’s understanding, I can conclude that those in stage 0 have little faith compared to the folks in stage 6 and that faith is dynamic, meaning that it can change and grow. One can thus develop from having little faith to having a stronger faith, and as they do should they find they are not convinced by what the faith represents they can adopt a whole new faith altogether.

Testing of One’s Faith

The stages of faith made sense to me as I recall going through somewhat similar changes in my life. The “angst and struggle”, as Fowler put is aptly describes Stage 4 “Individuative-Reflective”.

This affirms my belief that every individual at a certain point in their lives would question what they believe and why they believe it. Certain challenges come our way that shake us to the core and leave us reeling and we look for something to hold us down, to anchor us on a solid foundation. That “thing” is faith. The “shaking” is the testing of our faith to see if we will fall or will stand. This process causes one to reflect deeply and at times embark on rigorous research to understand why they believe what they do especially if what they thought was a solid foundation gave way when they least expected it.

Gold has to undergo various tests ascertain its true value. It is refined by fire at a temperature of over 1000 degrees Celsius, the impurities float to the top and the pure gold, now molten metal, remains at the bottom. Acid test is also used to distinguish gold from other metals.

Just as gold is refined by fire, so must we go through challenges and take the heat – trials, temptations, obstacles and if our faith is true, we too shall remain.
My next post will cover the common aspects of faith, do share your feedback on this article, I’d be happy to hear your thoughts.