This is a question that touches our hearts, because every human being is controlled by something.  Many times, when people examine their lifestyle, they realise that they have the power to make something happen – they have the power to make good decisions, power to change, etc.

However, too often, we want to be in control of our lives or we allow ourselves to be controlled.  Someone may say, ‘I’m the master of my destiny, the captain of my ship, in other words, I control my life, because I have a free will.

Person B – My kids are controlling me, and I spend a big chunk of my life thinking about them, worrying about them, and so forth.

Person C – My spouse controls me, and it is making me uncomfortable.

Person D – I’m controlled by my job, my company, money issues – that takes a   big chunk of my life.

Person E – I’m controlled by the government, politics – so, I spend a lot time thinking about how they disappoint us in a lot of issues, and then I think about what they should and shouldn’t do.

Person F – As for me, my time is consumed by my pets – they are my life; plus, I think about conservation projects all the time.

Person G – For me, farming is my life 24 -7; yea, that takes a big chunk of my life more than anything else, but I’m also worried about the environment.

Person H – For me, I’m in the army; I’m a fighter; yea, that’s my life – it consumes me.

Person I – Well, for me, the drugs control me – I’m addicted 24-7.

Person J – For me, I’m controlled by my desires – I don’t feel good about it, not proud of it, and it seems like my life is spiralling out of control.

Person K – I’m controlled by traditions, set up by generations before me; I’m talking about culture, and witch-craft – so a big chunk of my life is consumed by it.

Person L – I’m controlled by fame; I’m self-observed entertainer – I need to please people, show them my talents – a big chunk of my life is consumed by this. 24 -7

Person M – Well, for me, I’m consumed by my religion, passed on by my generation; it has its ups and downs; negatives and positives; I think about it more than anything else.

Person N – Nowadays, we live in a world of computers, gargets, phones, cars, television, etc. so, my life is consumed by all that. 24-7

Person O – Well, for me, I’m controlled by problems; problem here, problem there – I get depressed – it’s like 24-7.

Person P – I’m controlled by poverty; I can’t find a job, I tried so many times; you see, we live in a poor country; opportunities are few; sometimes, I don’t know where the next meal is going to come from; sometimes, I feel like a failure, it consumes me 24 -7.

Person P – Look at the world now; it seems like we are being controlled by fear of Covid-19; it is unbelievable, unprecedented, no wonder, we are going down.

Finally, the last person stands up, and says, ‘For me, I’m controlled by Jesus; you see, I’ve been where you are, trying to control my life anyhow, leaning on my own understanding, did a lot of things, thinking they’ll be my fulfilment, not knowing I was chasing after the wind.  I needed my life to be meaningful – so when I understood that I need a saviour in this corrupt world, I made an important decision to save my life – I became born again, had to repent of my sins, got baptised fully immersed in water, and then entered into God’s Kingdom. You see, the Bible has all the answers to life.  It is very empowering – a safe plan, which heals our broken hearts, and gives us an incredible hope.  And when I read the Bible, I feel God’s love, peace, and power; nowadays, I live my life on the word of God, for there is no other way that can save us from this corrupt broken world, which is controlled by Satan.’

The scripture says, ‘A man is slave to whatever has mastered him.’ (2 Peter 2:20)

And, ‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.’ (Acts 4:12)

You see, a lot of people don’t understand the message but some of us do…God has given us the greatest gift, ever given to man (Salvation), and we must grab it. This is the only way we can be victorious, and besides everyman has to prepare for judgement. God Bless You!!

God Almighty wants all human beings to understand that he is the creator and so much in control.  When you read the bible, it exposes the characteristics of God. We learn from the bible, that he gets upset, because of wickedness, for when he examines the whole world, he sees the bad attitudes, the pride, the sins, etc. The scripture says, ‘The arrogance of man (humans) will be brought low, and the pride of men will be humbled…’ Isaiah 2:17

What’s happening now is biblical;  God has paralysed the world many times before right from the days of Noah; (Genesis 6:5-6)  Years later, when the Prophet Daniel saw that the Israelites at that time were brought down to their knees, because of the bad things they were doing, including idol worship, he prayed, ‘Father God, you are great and awesome, you keep your covenant of love with all who love you, and obey your commands; we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled;  we have turned away from your commands and laws; we have not listened…please have mercy on us and forgive us… Daniel 9:4-23…Daniel understood that he had to confess his sins and the sins of his people (the Israelites), in order for God to turn things around.  Eventually, while he was praying the Angel Gabriel appeared to him, and said, ‘An answer has been given…’ he then showed him a vision about Christ.

The bible speaks to generations of mankind, forever deliberate and urgently; sometimes, people think Yahweh God is silent (that’s also part of his character).  But God has a way of using his people to awaken those who are sleeping.  But, sometimes when you try to wake somebody up, and they still don’t want to wake up, in the end, what do you do?  You guessed it – you leave them alone.  When I was living in the village, a rooster would call around six in the morning, and then would repeat it again at different times during the day; a calling so loud that it makes you go alert.  We learn that, God used a rooster’s call to remind Apostle Peter of his sin.

Moreover, when God shakes our personal lives or the world, it is his way of waking us up – to think about salvation.  The scripture says, ‘God is our refuge and strength, always helping in times of trouble… Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall.  He makes wars cease to the ends of the world. Psalm 46

And then it goes on to say, ‘God says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth,’ then in (psalm 50:10-11) He says, ‘Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.  I know every bird in the mountains, and the creatures of the field are mine…for the whole world is mine and all that is in it.’

Nowadays nations are brought to their knees with fear and uncertainty, while other creatures are getting on with their lives, doing what they are supposed to do. The scripture says, ‘God Almighty planned it, to bring low the pride … and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.’ Isaiah 23:9

God knows many have gone astray, engrossed in their pride to pursue their own plans; man-kind has built pillars of pride – personal achievements, economic system, false beliefs, high education, scientific resolutions, disobedience, etc.  So, what does God do?  He shakes all the pillars. The scriptures God says, ‘I have cut off nations; their strongholds are demolished; I have left their streets deserted… (Zephaniah 3:6).  He stood, and shook the earth; he looked and made the nations tremble; (Habakkuk 3:6 NIV)  

We are definitely experiencing a warning sign from God – a humbling process; that means a person has to sit down and do some self-examination before God; are you on His side or Satan’s side?  And those who go to church – are you pursuing righteousness or a hypocrite?  Are you living a life God approves?  This is definitely a time of reflection and changing. The scr. says, ‘Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, (love of God, Jesus and your neighbour) and break up your useless ground (sin); for it is time to seek the Lord…’ Hosea 10:12

God says, ‘I created you in your mother’s womb, I put a spirit in you.’ (Psalm 104:30, 139:13 & Jeremiah 1:5)

God does things with good intentions; he wants people to turn to Jesus for he established eternal life in his Son, in him we gain forgiveness and eternal life. And he wants us to change our crooked thinking and ways; for many have moved away from the biblical guidance – now he wants us to go back to the Bible; God Almighty purifies a human being through Jesus and the Bible. Jesus is the Word of God; (John 1:1) the script. says, ‘He commands all people everywhere to repent.  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed (Jesus).  He has given proof to all men by raising him from the dead.’

I was reading the conversation between the Jesus and the Jews; I have to tell you – it is intense; the Jews/Israelites, as you are aware, came from one family (Jacob and his sons) and expanded into twelve tribes;  in the end, God chose to teach them righteousness based on his commandments;  so, they thought they knew about God, but in this passage Jesus is telling them that they needed to know more, that without his sacrifice for our sins, and the shading of his blood there is no forgiveness.  (John 6:26-55)  In addition, they had put his words into practice.

God wants us to understand, the old Testament represents the beginning of His plan and the New Testament is the end of his plan.  Jesus said, ‘I’m the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 22:12-13) – telling us, that the message of God ends with him, and there is no other plan a human being can gain the forgiveness of God. For God (Yahweh) uses the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse us from sins. Apostle Paul explained how God commanded Moses to use the blood of sacrificed animals, and when Jesus came, all that stopped – God Almighty established a new covenant through Jesus Christ based on his mercy. (Hebrews 9)

We are going through a storm, but we have to remember storms are temporary; every problem is designed to last a short time or vice versa; life is a journey and a learning experience; mankind has gone through a lot of storms – wars, diseases, hunger, etc.  And Jesus said, ‘Nation will rise against nation; kingdom against kingdom; there will be famines and earthquakes in various places; all these are the beginning of birth pains.’  But what else do we learn from the Bible?  When people humble themselves, God calms down the storms; for He is very compassionate and knows that, we are just human beings, we get scared easily, and without his help, we are helpless. (Psalm 145 :9)  We also learn from the Bible that, God disciplines everyone – to teach us righteousness. And that’s His way of helping us to gain salvation. Heb. 12:7-12.

God Almighty is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made, and He is near to all who call on him in truth (through Jesus).  He fulfils the desires of those who fear him, he hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:17-19

Apostle Paul preached the gospel extensively, going from one region to another, urging people to turn from darkness to light (Jesus), and from the power of the devil to God. He loved and served God and Jesus Christ with all his heart, mind, soul and strength. He is an inspiration. (Acts 26:15-18) May God bless you with peace.

I have to tell you, all the questions in here are put in my mind by the Holy spirit (Jesus) and are connected to the Bible; for there is no way I would be able to do this without God’s help.

Here is the issue, there is pride in every human being, who is capable of sinning willingly.  I’m talking about the pride, which limits someone to understand the things of God.  How did we get pride?  We got it from Satan; Rev. 13:5

Before we go any further, we need to look in the Bible: (Genesis 11:1)  Now the whole world had one language and common speech. As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.  They said to each other, ‘Let’s make bricks and bake them…They used bricks instead of stone, and tar for mortar.  Then they said, ‘Come let’s build ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens so that we make a name for ourselves (pride, a Babylon attitude) and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth. (rebellion) – but we all know man cannot build a tower of bricks to the heavens; it is literally impossible, but what has man done thousands of years later?  I’ll leave it to your imagination. 

But God decided to use the angels …to confuse their language, so that they will not understand each other. (that was the beginning of so many languages) Then God scattered people all over the face of the earth.

So, when a person hardens their hearts, they become very proud – it is a character of Satan.

It is manifested in beauty – when a person becomes obsessed by the way the look.  It is embedded in materialism/money – sometimes, the more a person has, the more they praise themselves.  It is manifested in man-made titles or authority or personal achievements – when a person thinks they’ve done something by their personal effort, and think they’re better than the subordinates.

It is manifested in false beliefs – false religions, evolution theory, medium, etc. It also goes into languages – when a person thinks their language or accent is better than others.  It is manifested in tribalism and racism – when a person thinks their tribe or race is better than others.  It goes into powerful countries – when a person thinks their country is better than others, just because they have a strong economic system.

Unfortunately, it has also penetrated church organisations – causing damage to someone’s faith, in the end they don’t even bother to read the bible and put it into practice; it also causes believers to become very judgemental, when they think their church is the only truth, etc.

The majority of mankind are proud especially when it comes to entering the Kingdom of God – when you evangelize on the streets and mention God or Jesus, the majority react negatively (Satan’s trap).  That’s why Jesus said, only a few people will be saved – ‘enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road (distraction, unbelief, disobedience, pride) to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow that leads to life, (obedience to Jesus) and only a few find it.’ Matt. 6:13-14 

The scripture says, ‘God hates pride.’ Proverbs 18:13. (You can understand why God almighty hates every sin, for it creates disgrace; also, as you are aware the majority of humans hate evil behaviours – it is wisdom of God.)

So, what does God do to deal with our pride?  He diminishes it; before you know it, your beauty disappears slowly; your energy is decreased by aging; your confidence goes down; things you rely on suddenly disappear; job gone; money disappears; your country is riddled by problems, and the list goes on.

When we become a born-again Christians, God Almighty helps us to deal with pride;  After embarking on the beautiful journey of Christianity, we feed ourselves with the word of God; and the more we do it, the more we gain;  for the scripture says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’  When a person humbles themselves, they believe in God (YHWH) as our Creator, they believe in Jesus as our saviour, they believe the Biblical scriptures as the true word of God, and they don’t rationalize their own false beliefs.

So, if you want to get rid of a pride attitude, you have to acknowledge that without God, it is impossible to do anything; and without him it is impossible to be happy, for he provides food, health, weather, good relationships, etc.  And for many of us who have made the biggest decision of all, we acknowledge that without the Holy Spirit (connected to God and Jesus Christ) we wouldn’t be in the Kingdom of God.  Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the Kingdom of God unless he/she is born again (a spiritual transformation in Jesus Christ).’  John 3

Jesus also said, ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him or her and I will raise them the last day. (John 6:44).  So, that means we cannot gain salvation by our own effort.  For when God examines us and sees that we are responsive and are willing to be obedient to his word, he helps us to understand and unites us to Himself, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ.

We also learn from Jesus who humbled himself before God and man-kind; the scripture says, ‘Who being in very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but humbled himself, taking the very nature of a servant…. therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.’ (Philippians 1:6-11)

As I mentioned at the beginning readers, I’m not going to beat about the bush, I have to say it as it is – the truth. Find other questions in this blog, to help you understand our God almighty.

God Almighty who created us, watches the things we do, and he knows we don’t like uncleanness. But how did we know that uncleanness is not good? He put that conscious in us; in the end, what do we do? We clean our dirty clothes; we clean our houses, some of us do it better than others, and it all depends on our state of mind.

We also don’t like eating with dirty hands, due to hygienic reasons; nowadays, as you know, the inventions of folk, knives and chopsticks have taken over our lives; not bad, so long as, they do the job to our satisfaction. In the end, this has been added to our chores of cleaning, plus all the dishes we have to do; so, we have become experts in following human traditions. Another thing before I forget, we like taking a bath or a shower, so we scrub ourselves to get the dirt off our skins, for we like to be refreshed and to smell good, don’t we?  The market system is playing on our minds even more, giving us different options of perfumes, soaps, etc. because we like the good things of life.

We also like being smart most of the time, don’t we? Many of us have a way of working things out, mostly to our advantage; but we also get into a habit of pleasing people, in the way we dress, act, talk, for we don’t like to be seen as weaklings. We also view uncleanness as a weakness, don’t we? Most of us do!

So, the question Jesus may ask, ‘Are you clean?’ 

This is an interesting question connected to all of us; when we examine our sinful nature, sometimes we get disgusted by our actions. For after doing something bad, you feel guilty or bad, and then often wonder why you behaved that way.

When God Almighty created man, he came to a point where he had to teach us how to behave in a good way. And if you want to know the condition of your sinful nature, you have to read the bible, which advises us what to do and not to do.

A human being sins in three different ways – and this means, you sin in your mind (bad thoughts), you sin in your heart (feelings), and in your actions.

So, the biggest problem for a human being is when they get separated from God. The bible says, ‘Sin separates us from God.’ (Isaiah 59:2).

When Jesus spoke, he tackled the issues that affect our hearts; he mentioned how human traditions have taken over our minds. He challenged the Pharisees and asked, ‘Why do you break the commandment of God, for the sake of your tradition?’  He wanted them to see where they were going wrong; (nowadays, the majority of mankind are focusing on false beliefs and human traditions, like Santa, decorations, films, instead of focusing on the message of God) and afterwards, when he spoke to the crowd, he had to raise his voice; ‘Listen and understand. What goes into a person’s mouth does not make him ‘unclean’ but what comes of their mouth.’  In the scripture, he indicates that it is not the food or eating with unclean hands that makes you unclean, but what comes out of your mouth – thus, when we say and do bad things, that makes us unclean before God. Matt. 15:10

Matthew 15:16. He then says, ‘What comes out of the mouth comes from the heart; evil thoughts, false beliefs, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander, hatred, jealousy, racism, tribalism, selfishness, idolatry, witchcraft, medium practices, drunkenness, orgies, impurity, fits of rage, etc. makes a person unclean.’ (Galatians 5:19-21)

Jesus came to save us and to help us understand the things of God. The scripture says, ‘Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to man-kind by which we must be saved. Therefore, we have to celebrate, that through him we have salvation. (Happy Christmas****)

One of my favourite scriptures is Matthew 11.28: Jesus says, ‘Come to me all of you who are weary and burdened…

God Almighty allows problems of all angles to come to us; I know I’ve said this before but I will say it again; some of them are initiated by Satan; to understand this, you have to read a conversation between Father God and Satan; Job 1:6-22, and then chapter 2:1-10

How many times are we bombarded with problems? What it a burden? As you know, it is an occurrence that is hard to bear or something that makes you uncomfortable, thus it takes your joy or makes you frustrated; something that makes you feel trapped or makes you live in fear; something that you are addicted to and you know it is ruining your life; something that brings you pain, and makes you feel insecure and uncertain, etc.

I’ve only mentioned a few but there are many of them you can think of in your own life.  God Almighty knows all the details of our problems; he also knows people are burdened by false religions, false ideas, bad governments, economic problems, bad relationships, poverty, etc.

God is drawing people to Jesus Christ, that’s why Jesus says, ‘Come to me, and I’ll give you rest and peace.’

And then he says, ‘Take my yoke upon you….’

What does he mean?

Think about it; what is a yoke in Jesus? English is my second language, but I can explain it as the Holy Spirit leads me;  I believe a yoke is when you attach yourself to somebody; so, he is saying, ‘Attach yourself to me; don’t handle problems on your own; have faith in God.’

Jesus knew a human being in detail; and he knew most of our problems are caused by our sinful nature or other people sinning against us.

I have to tell you most of my problems have been brought about by those two dimensions; so, our lives can be like a vicious circle, you do something to someone or vice versa.

He also says, ‘Learn from me…he means, I have all the guidance you need to sort out your damaged life. I’m the way, the truth and the life… I’m also your councillor for no prophet or an angel or another human being is going to help you like me.

Paul said, ‘I’m astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all; Galatians 1:6

He was very concerned; because you have to remember that he was from a different religion (Judaism), and persecuted Christians; after his conversation he went to Asia, Syria and so many other places, preaching the gospel of Christ. So, what he saw, shocked him, people were turning to new religions.

And then he went on to say; evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. How many people are confused by ideas created by man? I can name a few; evolution, politics, secular ideology, false religions, etc.

When you look into the history of religions they were all started by one person; that person, whoever it was, would take bits from the bible and then add on their own theories, and this has spread around the world like fire; with that in mind a person has to be careful when they preach about God – it has to be from the Bible.

Paul goes on to say, ‘Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one, we preached to you, let him be condemned;

So, when you have Jesus in your life, he becomes your solution, your comfort, and your friend. He says, I’m gentle and humble in heart; he means, he looks at your life with compassion; he wants to help you, because you’re weak.

Many people seem to be in control of their lives; they are quite successful in their endeavours, and seem to be happy on the outside, but the inside is full of uncertainty and weaknesses; so, when they face problems, that’s when the reality kicks in, that they need a helping hand. And without God it is impossible for a human being to be happy, for he provides the needs we stand on.

Sometimes those in in less developed countries may think that those in much more developed ones are sorted! Who said so? That’s a fantasy! The pressure of life is all around us – it can get you wherever you are.

Jesus says, ‘In me you’ll find rest; it is true, when your life is in him, you’ll find peace; and when you focus your mind on him, don’t focus on the problems.

He says, ‘My yoke is easy; meaning life becomes easier when we turn away from bad things; in him we feel secure in our salvation; in him, we have a fulfilment of life.

He says, ‘My burden is light.’ It is true, when we are in Jesus, we learn to simplify our lives, for his guidance is not burdensome – it is good for us; so, when we focus on the Bible our mind becomes lighter; also, in Jesus we sing happy songs of praise and dance, because God is on our side.

We have a wonderful God, for he has allowed us to study what he created; and that’s what we call science; everything he created portrays his power. When you read the bible, you get to understand, that he created the world in a short time. I believe, before he created, he thought about all the details, and then said, that’s good.

Everything God Almighty created has a message to convey; Palms 24:1; the planet earth belongs to God Almighty and everything in it, and all who live in it.

Sometimes, when I see the beautiful animals, fish of all colours, birds in their beautiful colours and shapes, I’m like ‘Wow, God is amazing!’ You get the feeling that God thought about beauty, when he created.

I like the fact that when he created the greatest of all (mankind); he gave us the skin, so that we can choose to wear clothes of different colours. It is amazing that we walk on his planet, eat what he created, drink what he created, breathe the air he created, and enjoy the sun shine he created. And even with all that, some people don’t appreciate.

Someone may ask; what do you mean they don’t appreciate? When you appreciate what someone has done for you, what do you do? You guessed it; you say thank you and praise them, and then end up loving them. It is exactly the same scenario with God.

One thing about me, I love sharing my faith; why do I do it? Because I love God and Jesus; also, this has enabled me to love people; for love compels us to do good things; when you care for people, you help them by reminding them about God’s plan – that they need to be saved. It is God’s will that we help each other.

Even though it gives me much pleasure to share the message here, I also love talking to people on the street. I spoke to a young man, and explained salvation by using the analogy of a sinking ship; imagine yourself on a sinking ship, and then you see a rescue boat; what comes into your mind first? ‘My first reaction is to save myself, and then save someone else,’ he said. Almost nine out of ten people agreed. One lady said she would save someone else before she saves herself; maybe she was only saying it. But with salvation, you have to save yourself first.

The world as you know it, is spinning in space, travelling thousands of miles per hour; according to some scientific research, they say that, by the end of the year, we have travelled millions of miles around the sun; no wonder, we grow some wrinkles as the years go by.

So, who makes sure that our planet doesn’t bump into the moon, or other planets in the orbit; you guessed it – God Almighty; He is very busy working; maintaining that every planet stays in its position as he planned; but one day, he will change things.

Jesus said, ‘The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies (all the planets) will be shaken; and the people living at that time will see Jesus coming on the clouds. (Matthew 24:29-31)

The bible also says, ‘God will create a new heaven and a new earth.’ (2 Peter 3: 8-13) You can understand why God will renew things; look at the world we are living in, many will agree it is getting worse; God examines everything in detail. I know I’ve said this before, but I’ll say it again; He examines mankind more than anything else; for we are more important to him than any other creature. He created us in his own image. (Genesis 1:27)

Back to the young man; I said to him, almost 98% of what you have is God given, and only 2% is man given; when we started counting, the eyes, the hearing, the nose to smell, the energy, the legs, the hands, the food, the mouth, the hair, and the list went on; and then we talked about the man made things; all these little things we have in our houses, but even those are made out of the raw materials.

When you think about what God has done for us, he has a right to judge us; the scripture says, he is going to judge us according to what we have done on his planet; As you know, he has given us time to decide which side we want to be on. His side or Satan’s side.

Jesus wants us to keep on preaching; God knows human beings need to be told again and again; for we have a weakness called ‘forgetting.’ And that’s why Christians are required to read their bibles again and again, scripture by scripture; we feed our minds with the word of God to remind ourselves to do the right thing; because God has given us the rescue boat which is connected to Noah’s Ark. (Jesus)

So, when I explained to some people on the street that Jesus is the rescue plan, about three out of nine people said, they will make sure, that they jump in it; someone asked, ‘how can I get into it?’ I said, ‘The bible is your passport to the promised land; (John 3:1-21, Nicodemus will always be remembered for asking this question; how can a person be born again when he is old?) – a person has to be born again by believing every word Jesus says; repent of your sins; get baptized (fully immersed) – which means the bad guy goes and a good guy emerges from the water; so living life in Jesus, also means to focus on doing good; acting righteously; and your love for God and people expands, as you live your life through the biblical guidance. (Acts 2: 38-40)

I like what the French guy said, ‘Oh, so I have to do some cleaning; clean my life; that makes so much sense; I’ll do it!’

Many people are making a good decision to turn to God through Jesus Christ; because they understand that they need to be forgiven for the wrong things they’ve done – they don’t want to face the punishment of God. Also, they want to experience what God has promised – total happiness of living forever. (Revelation 21:4)

There is something we have come to learn, that in order to get to the top of the mountain you have to climb. And if you want to overcome insecurities, you need to aim higher in your thinking and actions.

Many of us have to go through stages of insecurities; as you know, it starts at an early age, but as a young kid, you ignore them because you have a lot of wisdom.

But as we get older, we realise that we need to take steps to get to where we need to be, so we start climbing by using our skills and intelligence. While doing all these things, we start to feel insecure about our inadequacies, and then the comparison comes in when we start judging wrongly, thinking just because somebody is got high grades, is better than those who missed the mark, or if someone is in a top managerial position, they are better than the subordinates; and then you get those actors who are put in ‘A or B list,’ etc.

The world system is operating on the ups and downs of changing circumstances, and many of our insecurities are brought about by Satan, for instance, bad governments, racism, tribalism, terrorism, etc. However, we also have to deal with the inside factors – the struggles within syndrome. As you know, when a person looks at themselves and others in a negative way, it affects them and those around them.

So, what is the pinnacle of life? Someone may ask! Hang on, I’ll explain! In life, as you know, you can operate at the top or at the bottom. Many times, people aim higher in terms of family establishments, carriers, businesses, government positions or world kingdoms, to make themselves feel better. You may say, ‘We know that!’

However, as a human being, you need to go to the pinnacle; someone may say, ‘Okay, tell me more, I’m listening!’  But another person may say, ‘I think I know what you mean, and still others may say, ‘For me, I don’t get it.’ Jesus was right – people will respond differently.

Let me explain a bit more; Yahweh God said to his people, ‘I’ll make you the head not the tail, if you pay attention to the commandments and follow them carefully, you will always be at the top not the bottom.’  (Deuteronomy 28:13)   The bible goes on to mention two sections of life – the top one, made by God and the bottom one, made by man. To understand this, you have to read the book of Daniel chapter 2, where the prophet Daniel interprets a dream and mentions, ‘the rock that became a huge mountain (Zion connected to church of God or Christ) and filled the earth – Jesus.  And he then went on to explain another vision; he mentioned the kingdoms that will be set by man – these we call countries and their governments; some of them will make items of iron and steel to make themselves powerful. How many countries have established themselves through this process? (I’ll leave that to your imagination)

Back to the mountain; when you get on the top of the mountain you feel great; Right? Of course! After all the hard work of getting there, you feel like you’ve triumphed. This carries a message, where many of us come to a point in our lives when we have to start from the bottom and work our way up – meaning most of our endeavours are progressed by information and actions. So, once we acquire the knowledge and understanding we start climbing. For there’s something in our human nature, that wants to aim higher whereby we use the skills and talents God had instilled in us, but once we do that, the worldly system (Babylon) pushes and judges us by virtue, looks, and abilities; they say, for a person to have value in themselves, they have to acquire a certain standard where money is involved as well.

Moreover, as we try to reach our goals in life, many of us can only go so far, for our human establishments can’t get a person to the pinnacle of life, and that means a person can be an actor, a musician, a president, a king, a billionaire, etc. but are still not there.  The kingdom of God is the highest a person can get to. Once you’re in it, everything else is below you. At the pinnacle your mind changes, and then you start looking down on the sins in your life, in the end, you get rid of them. I’ll explain this from a different angle, you start seeing things the way Jesus did.

The worldly system is nothing compared to the kingdom of God, where Jesus is reigning as King. Manmade systems lack greatest substance, and have less value; as you are aware, everything God made has more value than manmade things; that’s why after a person achieves something, they will ultimately feel a sense of emptiness; why? Because worldly positions will disappear, including manmade religions – false religions; but when you gain salvation, you’ll have Jesus with you forever.

Once, I was watching a documentary about an actress who was very famous in the sixties (forgotten her name); she said, ‘After getting things I  wanted, the fame, marriage and children, I came to a point where I felt it wasn’t enough, in the end, I got very bored and sad.’ And another politician said, ‘I have worked very hard all my life; I gained one of the top positions in the government; I have money and a loving family around me, but when I’m on my own, I get very depressed, I don’t know why.’

So, the kingdom of God makes a person bigger than worldly achievements and systems; it makes their happiness and peace expand if they put the bible into practice; (and when problems come, Jesus says, ‘Don’t worry about it; don’t do bad things, and don’t even think about it.’) I’ve seen it in myself and other peoples’ lives; a person who is in the village somewhere will feel like they are on top of the world. So, when a person belongs to Jesus, they are given higher titles, e.g. princesses, royal priesthood, children of God, God’s people, the conquerors of the world, the chosen ones. However, when you are on the top, you have to behave with a sense of dignity – avoiding the shameful behaviours of sin. (sin is shameful, it makes a person feel bad and small) Thus, when God seals you with the holy spirit, that’s when you know you’re on the top – it takes obedience.

However, I have to tell you this, the higher you go, the more the humility; that means, the pride has to go – (people on the left need to see that we practice what we preach).  Look at Jesus! He was the most powerful man on planet earth; he had the power of God, yet he humbled himself before God and made himself to be a servant to mankind; (Philippians 2:6-11) So, the good news is anyone can get to the pinnacle, and all you have to do is feed yourself with the word of God – and do your best to work on your salvation. Jesus said, ‘Make every effort to enter the narrow door (the kingdom of God), because many, I tell you will try to enter and will not be able to.’ (Luke 13:24)  He means, if you are a hypocrite you’ll be disqualified or if you’re in a wrong religion.

Jesus also said, ‘For everyone who exalts himself will humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’ (Luke 14:11)

That’s what it is people, we need to understand these things; when we appreciate what Jesus did for us, Father God is pleased. Jesus said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.’  Matt. 28:16-20 (NIV)

When you read the bible, you get to understand that God almighty tackles every angle of our lives.  For example, He asks, ‘Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your panelled houses, while this house remains in ruin?’ (Haggai chapter 1)

So, it is an interesting question and it goes straight to the heart of a human being. God almighty has given the worshipers instructions, and one of them is to prepare a place where people can worship.

When you look around in some countries like Britain, you get the feeling, that there was a time when people took their faith seriously, that’s why church buildings are everywhere. And when you look into Britain’s history, you could see, that life was hard due to food shortages, poverty, etc. so, many would go to church on Sunday to have peace of mind.

Sadly, nowadays going to church on Sunday is seen as a rare occasion for some people, thus, some churches are dying as a result. Some people, on the other hand, go to church to experience a few minutes of peace. And if you want to read the bible, you wouldn’t find it in many Cathedrals. I asked a lady steward once, ‘How come you don’t have bibles in here?’ She shrugged her shoulders and said, ‘We used to, years ago, but we decided to get rid of them because people were stealing them.’ Hmm…that’s a bit strange…why would someone go to church and steal the Holy Bible?  

God examines things in detail, and wants people to respond to his message through Jesus. So that question goes beyond church buildings, it is about repentance – for the problem comes, when a person is only focussing on their human desires, other than focussing on God’s kingdom, to seek salvation.

However, some churches have emerged from the ashes (false teachings), and are carrying the bibles with them, and are taking the scriptures seriously, for they understand the importance of obedience.  So, while some churches are dying out spiritually others are prospering.  The scripture says, ‘People perish because of lack of knowledge.’  (Hosea 4:6) Jesus teaches us that, if you want to survive you have to get into the bible and live in it.

When God spoke to the Israelites at that time, the message goes to all mankind. So, while you are busy running after this and that, time is flying as well. Then Jehovah God says, ‘Give careful thoughts to your ways.’ Now you see, he wants us to examine our lives.

When I explained to my brother, he understood; I said to him, ‘All these years you’ve been chasing after things you want.’ He said, ‘Now, I feel like I’m in the valley, because things are not working out as I expected.’ I said, ‘But there is something else you need to work on, which will uplift you, to get you out of the valley – work on your faith.’ He said, ‘Thank you for telling me; your words are so encouraging; I’ll do it.’ That put a smile on my face.

Then God said, ‘You have planted much, but harvested little; aargh, now he targets a sensitive part of us; we all get those moments; How many people work hard to get something, and the end result is little?  For example, businesses, jobs, marriages and so many other plans. So, stress here!

Then He says, ‘You eat, but never have enough.’ Some one may say, ‘When I eat, I have enough,’ but a person in another country may say, ‘Oh yes, that relates to me.’ However, this affects all of us; it means less satisfaction in some of our endeavours. Stress!

Then He says, ‘You put on clothes, but are not warm.’ When you’re in a cold country, as you know, however much we try to cover up we still feel the coldness. What does this mean? Stress again!

Then He says, ‘You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.’ Ooh… it is the money thing. We get money, and it flies away like an eagle. It happens so much in utility bills, (we have to pay for the water God created) business losses, etc. Everybody has to lose money in one or the other. Someone may say, ‘That’s life!’ But, as you know, the rich gain a lot from the poor, as they keep on putting the prices up in computers, phones, designer labels, etc. making them big profits. So, more stress! And many are feeling it.

Then He says it again, ‘Consider your ways.’ Now He is telling us to think again, to make changes in our lives, get rid of the bad stuff, and work on our faith. Then He says, ‘You expected much, but see, it turned out little.’ Ouch, that hurts! You know how it goes with so many people, ‘I’m looking for the one, my other half to complete me.’ When they get the one, they get married; after a while, they start questioning whether that person was the one, when they start feeling the blues – the unhappiness, boredom, disappointments, etc. What’s that? Aha, you guessed it – stress! The same goes with the job, and so many other things.

Then He says, ‘You see what you brought home, I blew away.’ Ouch… that hurts! But that’s how it is! For we get what we want and then we lose it. Why?  It is because of sin, which started in Eden; sin is poisonous, dangerous, destroys people’s lives and it causes a curse called stress!  Stress, as you know, comes from all angles; it comes from our own sins, from other people sins, etc. People try to beat stress with all kind of ideas – a bit of smoking, drinking, exercise, etc.  Hmmm… does it work?

God Almighty who created us, knows us in detail and targets the issues of our hearts, which means after getting this and that, we still get to the point when we feel frustrated.

But He has given us the cure for stress – prayer and wisdom from the Bible. Every time I get stressed out, I pray and then I use the bible to sort me out. Christian life is beautiful – a blessing from God. Some people think it is hard, but it is easy, if you have faith and the right attitude. God knows a human being cannot be perfect without Jesus. So, in Jesus we have security, peace and hope.

Jesus said, ‘The kingdom of God is like a person who found treasure in the garden, went back home and sold everything he had in order to gain it.’ (Matt. 13:44) So, once you have it, you’re on the winning side. Hooray!! Happy days.

As you’ve noticed reader, I’m trying to deliver this message to you, the way God wants me to do it; by using the Bible; sometimes, I make a typing mistake, but that doesn’t matter so long as you understand the message. So, my prayer is, may God help you. Amen!

God has been helping to me to understand more about the bible. Where did the Israelites come from?

To understand this, you have to go to Gen 32. Jacob, the son of Isaac has been blessed by God. He now has two wives, eleven sons, and many domestic animals. He then decides to flee from his Uncle Laban (Genesis 31) whose attitude towards him has changed. You can see Jacob is not happy, he is scared; he then asks him, ‘What is my crime? What sin have I committed that you hunt me down?

God (Yahweh) says to him, ‘Go back to your country; a land of your father and relatives, and I’ll be with you.’

When you read the whole the story, you get to understand that before Jacob came to live with his Uncle Laban, he was running away from problems at home, for he had an issue with his brother who didn’t like him.

I think every human being can relate to this. For we all try to run from problems; in many cases, people move from one place to another. Many people run away from marriages, and they give a reason why. Some run away from their countries, (I can relate to this) and give a reason why they’re doing it.

As mentioned in the previous posts, God Almighty sees all our reasonings in everything we do. So, Jacob has given his reason why he didn’t want to go back, for his scared of his brother; he says, ‘I’m afraid he’ll attack me.’

God who has been watching him all along, wants him to deal with his brother; so, he makes sure that Jacob meets his brother Esau. God knew his brother was not going to attack him, for he wanted to reconcile and put matters behind him.

Before this happens, Jacob had to deal with his faith. He prays a lot, and then gets scared. He thinks the worst is going to happen, even though God has told him, if he goes back, he’ll bless him.

He still struggles, he talks to his servants, wives and children; once they sense his fears and distress, they get scared too. He then sends his messengers to his brother to somehow do a bit of spying on him. They came back with a message, that his brother is on his way with four hundred men to meet him (vs 6). When Jacob heard this, he is all over the place. He gets scared even more, and prays again, ‘Please God save me from my brother.’ After that, he decides to divide the people who were with him into two groups, and the animals as well; he then sends them in different directions, for he thinks, if his brother attacks one group, at least the other one will be saved. Soon afterwards, he sends his herds men, and flocks ahead of him, after instructing the leader what to say.

At night, he sets up another plan; took his possessions, including his family, the maid and servants, and sent them across the river. After sending them he is left alone. When he was on his own, and it is dark, he reflects even more about his life and faith. The more he thinks, the more worried he became.

God, on the other hand, after giving him time to think, he intervenes and acts, to get him out of his self-pity. He then sends a man (maybe an angel, I don’t know) to wrestle with him physically. I can imagine this wrestling match, which probably involved being pinned down on the ground, arms and legs twisted. (normally a wrestling match doesn’t involve punches) Anyway, this goes on for the rest of the night; Jacob gets an injury on his hip in the end. When the morning appears, the man says, ‘Let me go, it is day break.’ (day break means a new beginning, the struggle is gone, and wrestling means, the struggle of life, or problems) After that, he gives him a new name, ‘Israel’ which means an overcomer. (people of God) Gen. 32:8

This name is significant to people of God, as you know, Jesus was a Jew, from the tribe of Judah, which is part of Israel clan. Jesus overcame a huddle, and it was painful. When a person develops faith through Jesus Christ, they also become spiritual Israelites – and that means they become overcomers, so they don’t face the wrath of God. The bible mentions the natural Israelites – these are descendants of Jacob; (from the twelve sons of Jacob, a race of people was formed – God used them though out the Old Testament) However, those who are not connected to Jacob naturally are called Gentiles. But God Almighty is now only interested in those who are saved through Christ, for through Jesus, people of God are formed. Why through Jesus Christ? Because a human cannot attain purity (blameless) God requires without Jesus Christ. The scripture says, ‘Salvation is found in one one else, for there’s no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.’ Acts 4:12

The story ends happily; after the wrestling match his faith gains strength, he was more positive, his fears subsided, he had courage and his mind was at peace. On his way back he met his brother, who offered peace and wished him well. And when he went back to his country, he was blessed even more. God who created us knows every detail of our being. He allows a problem to get our attention.

The story of Jacob has a message behind it, which every Christian (children of God) will encounter to test their faith.  Wrestling with God affects all true Christians, sometimes a person may feel stressed out about a problem. But a person who perseveres through trials, when they keep their faith and righteousness in Christ will be saved.

But what about those who are not in Christ; the bible says, they will wrestle with Satan. As we all know, no one is exempt from problems (physical pain, spiritual pain – heart break, disappoints, betrayals, rejection, persecutions; financial pain, family problems, war zones, depression, bereavement, etc; but problems are designed to help us think, for God wants us to examine our lives. My experience of hardships has helped me to grow in my faith and to share the message of God. The bible says, ‘God wants everyone to be saved through Jesus,’ because he is very compassionate, loving and just. So, it is very important to know the questions of God, which started in Eden. As you know, every human being is a product of Adam and Eve. So that means every human being is subjected to questioning and to judgement.

Someone asked, what about the animals? Animals don’t know have a conscience of knowing right and wrong, but what happened in Eden affected all them too. When God gave Adam and Eve to rule over all animals, and that meant the decisions they made would affect the whole world.

There you go readers; the truth has to be told.