IT PAYS TO BE FAITHFUL

Proverbs 28:20
“A faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent”

Whenever you are faithful you attract God’s attention for a blessing. Proverbs 28:20 says “a faithful man shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent” God always blesses the faithful. This is the more reason why you must be faithful to the Lord in all things

Faithfulness demands that you remain committed to God without wavering. Faithful people never make room for excuses when it comes to doing something for God. They thrive hard to be consistent and to meet the desired expectation. For instance, Joseph, the son of Jacob remained faithful to God even in the face of unfavourable circumstances. Joseph was sold by his brothers, he went into slavery, falsely accused and was finally cast into prison but he never became unfaithful to the Lord. (Genesis 39:1-3).

You see, serving God or the purpose of God will sometimes stretch you. But you must be determined to still go the extra mile or sacrifice to emerge victoriously. This is what faithfulness is all about. Faithfulness is not starting something never to finish. It’s about reaching the finishing line in the face of hostile opposition.

Don’t forget that being faithful will sometimes take away your comfort and convenience for a season but will pay off at the end of the day. Be emboldened to finish what you started.

Never remain uncommitted at any point in your life. Be faithful in all things. You have to be faithful in attending Church services, tithing, studying the word, and helping in the Church. Be known for your faithfulness.

Read: Proverbs 28:20

NOTHING IS HIDDEN BEFORE GOD

Hebrews 4:13 “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account”

The life of the believer is an “open field” before God. He sees all that we do and knows the motive behind every action of ours. Hebrews 4:13 says “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account”.

You see, you can’t be a mystery before God. He knows you very well. Knowing this truth must make you go about your Christian life with all sincerity. To proclaim and profess one thing in public and do something awkward from the “truth” you profess is nothing but hypocrisy and insincerity.

You see, God wants you to uphold the truth in all sincerity. Don’t be good on the outside when with people and throw away your innocence when alone.

Don’t deceive yourself. Be sincere in your faith so as to not use God and the Church as a cover-up for any evil deeds. The truth is that no man can be smarter than God. No! Very impossible. You can only deceive your pastor and your Christian brothers and sisters but not God.

Job 23:10 says “But he knows the way that I take…’. Friend, God knows the way you are taking. You can’t keep him in the dark. You can only do that to men. It is very interesting how people deceive pastors these days, but God is watching

Rather than covering up evil, confess your faults to another to be helped and be healed. Never be a Christian with “dead bones” in your cupboard, but rather do awesome and great things for God in secret.

Read: Luke 8:17

DON’T LABOR FOR THE WRONG THINGS

1 Timothy 6:9-16
“9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
11 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.”

Folks who want to make it in this world and God’s eternal kingdom must know what to spend their energies on. This is because you can mislead yourself into chasing after
something with “temporary” reward at the expense of an eternal reward

Jesus once said “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God
the Father sealed” (John 6:27). There is a “meat” or a “reward” that has no eternal value. In fact, this world’s riches and wealth have no eternal value. They can’t go beyond the
grave

It will therefore be unwise on your part to spend all your energy and time “chasing” after these uncertain riches. Many Christians don’t understand this very truth, therefore they worry and weary themselves with things that can’t add to their eternal destiny. Some are very much concerned with money and want to just do anything for it without regarding the eternal consequences associated with it. But see what the Bible says in Proverbs 23:4-5 “Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but
a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle”

Earthly riches are uncertain. They can leave you anytime. Rather than laboring all your life time for this to the neglect of God and even sometimes disobeying God’s word because of the way you want to get money, labor for the things of God.

Seek God first and he will give you both riches and eternal life.

Read: 1Timothy 6:9-16

WALK IN THE SPIRIT

Galatians 5:16
“This I say then, Walk in the spirit and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.”

Walking or living by the spirit is one of the best choices a believer must make. You must be determined to live a spirit filled and a spirit led life. That is how you can manifest God’s
glory.

Living by the spirit demands that you live solely by God’s word. The believer that is governed by the word of God is simply walking in the spirit. One preacher puts this truth like this, “living a scriptural life is living a spirit filled life”.

Jesus said in John 6:63 “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are full of the Spirit and life”. Also, living in the spirit is associated with manifesting the fruits of the recreated human spirit.

Galatians 5:22-24 says “But the fruit of the spirit (born again spirit or recreated human spirit) is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” Those who are in Christ actually walk in the spirit and are full of love, joy, peace, self-control and the like.

Remember that you will always be a great blessing in the body of Christ when you walk in the spirit. Never allow the flesh to hinder you from walking in the spirit. Let go of
“bitterness”, “hatred”, “offence”, and any pain that others might have caused you.

Allow your “spirit life” to take over so that God can use you to manifest his goodness to our world.

Read: Galatians 5:16-26

DON’T FORGET TO KEEP YOUR VOWS

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5
“When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.”

A vow is a solemn promise to do a specific thing. As Christians we must come to the point of faithfully keeping our vows that we make to the Lord. You see, after making a vow, nothing must make you go back on your own words to do something different.
Keeping your vows tells how serious you are and how serious you take God.

There are many folks who make vows in Church and after some few days and months break the vows. But the truth is that, irrespective of your status or level in life a vow to God is a “vow”, and all you can do is to keep it.

You can’t make a vow to God and start doing something different. There are many Christians who have failed God in this area. Some have thrown away their vow to live a holy life, others have also thrown away their vows to sacrifice for the things of God, in fact
there are many vows pending in the Church too that demand the obedience and execution of believers.

You see, when things were tough and rough you made vows and conditioned them to the blessings of God. But now that you are abounding in the goodness of God, you have
failed to keep your vows.

Have you kept all your vows to the Lord? Have you kept all your vows you made in Church? Have you kept the vows you made to your pastor because he stood in the place as God’s servant? Answer yourself. Don’t skip it.

Vows have power. You either keep them or face the consequences for not keeping them. God’s word on vows is explicit. See it in Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.”

Get up and pay your vows. You can’t say God should consider it as a “bad debt” or something irrecoverable.
God takes vows seriously.

Read: Psalm 15:4

CONTEND FOR THE FAITH

Jude 1:3
“Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share,
I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was
once for all entrusted to God’s holy people”.

Contending for the faith is fighting to preserve the faith for what it truly means and stands
for. One thing you must know is that your faith in God or your salvation is worth fighting
for. It needs to be preserved until it brings you the ” final reward” of stepping into the
eternal home of the saints- heaven.

You see, many anti-Christianity and God debasing things have entered into our world and
if nothing is done to maintain the “faith” that we carry, generations after us stand no
chance of making it.

Faith in God or salvation must make us God and more eternity conscious. This faith
which is an act of God’s grace must not be stretched unnecessarily. It is not cheap. Many
have been deceived to take the faith as a cheap thing on the tenets of grace.
Nonetheless, Grace is not cheap.

This understanding must make you stand up and contend for faith. It is worth fighting for.
Timothy was admonished to fight the good fight of faith and to lay hold on eternal life
(1Timothy 6:12).

Never comprise the values and virtues that the Christian faith demands. You may be odd
in your stand because of the times we are living in. But God will be “proud” of you for
standing for your faith.

Fight to preserve the faith, keep the Christian values alive and let posterity benefit from
you.

Read: Jude 1:1-5

MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO BE HOLY

Hebrews 12:14
“Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy;
without holiness no one will see the Lord”

Every Christian has what it takes to be holy because God’s very nature which is holiness is imparted to everyone who gets born again. This divine nature helps us to live a
consecrated life.

All you have to do is to “work it out”. You must put in an effort to let the ” holy impartation” you received at salvation manifest. Hebrews 12:14 says “Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord”.

You see, we are living in an era that when you don’t put in an effort you will simply not do the right thing. You need “great effort” to make holiness part of your life. Holiness teaches
us to be separated from evil or anything that does not bring glory to God.

Hebrews 12:15-16 explains it further by saying “See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his
inheritance rights as the oldest son.

People who allow bitterness and sexual immorality into their life can’t go with the holiness order of God. In fact, treating “precious things” that you receive from God carelessly also is an unholy act.

No matter the excuse that this “sin compromising” generation will give, dare to be Holy. It is possible. It is possible to avoid bitterness, it is possible to respect the things of God,
it is possible to avoid sexual immorality.

Don’t use carnal thinking and earthly assumptions to relax or reject God’s call for you to be holy. Holiness is a must, unless you are not born again.

Read: Hebrews 12:14

BE STRATEGIC IN YOUR PRAYER LIFE

Ephesians 6:18-19
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people”.

“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel”

Prayer is a great ministry that brings great blessings. It is a divine relationship developed by communication. But until you become strategic in your prayer life, you will never make any progress in your endeavors.

You see, being strategic in your prayer life has to do with knowing the kind of prayer to make. The Bible reveals that there are kinds of prayer. Ephesians 6:18 says “And pray in
the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people”.

You must know the kind of prayer to make at any point in life. This truth will not fall on you like ripe mangoes from a tree. You have to search the word for it. You must maintain an
open spirit for the Holy Spirit to guide you. Many miss it in this area. They just go about praying. But you must know that the kind of prayer you employ must be the right kind
before you can have results. Don’t expect to succeed by opening the locks of your door with your car key. The fact that they are all keys doesn’t mean you can use them
interchangeably. Knowing the kind of prayer to make is what makes you effective in your prayer life. You must know when the situation you are faced with demands intercession, you must also know which situation demands a prayer of faith, a prayer of dedication and
the like.

Learn to pray well and effectively.

Read: Ephesians 6:18-19

GET RID OF ANGER

Ecclesiastes 7:9
“Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry:
for anger rests in the bosom of fools”

Anger is one thing you must learn to get rid of as a child of God. You must never let anger have the best of you. Anytime you are engrossed with anger you do nothing meaningful
or sensible because anger is an expression of emotions and emotions have no intellect.

Anger is a tool of destruction which displays foolishness. Our opening text in Ecclesiastes mentioned that it rests in the bosom of fools.

Anger according to some dictionaries is a strong feeling of being upset, or being annoyed about something. It is also a feeling that makes you want to hurt another person or shout
at someone. Anger is not something you must entertain in your life. Ephesians 4:31 says “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from
you, with all malice”.

No matter what people will do to you, put your heart and spirit above being angry. You must learn not to be controlled by it. Gain control over your spirit. Proverbs 25:28 says,
“He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls”.

Never join the ship of folks who pride themselves in getting angry easily. Such people say things like “I am a quick tempered” etc. Others get angry and decide not to either talk or
work with anyone either at home, at their workplaces or in the church.
You see, being easily angered is not something you should celebrate, but something you must get rid of. Anger will only heat you up to display unlawful deeds that lead to regrets.

Be swift in dealing with any anger issue you have before it takes you off your course and purpose in life. Can you imagine Jesus refusing to die on the cross, just because the Pharisees and Sadducees got him angry? You see, your purpose in life is bigger than the matter that is keeping you angry.

Read: Ecclesiastes 7:9 | James 1:19

THINK RIGHT

Proverbs 23:7a
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”

Thinking right is one of the great practices that will bless your life. When you make it a practice to think right or focus on the right things, you will get great results in life. You see,
when your thinking is right, it will affect what you believe and also influence what you will confess.

The importance of “thinking right” can’t be overemphasized. In your quest to think right you must get rid of negative thoughts. Negative thoughts produce negative results,
whereas a positive thought produces positive results. Many great things we see in our world today just emerged in a form of a thought. As little as your thought could be, it has
the power to grow to become a mountain. That is why you must guard your thinking or keep your thoughts on the right things.

As Christians, God’s word has been made available for you to help you think right. Meaning that you must study the word and let it dominate your thinking. Anything not
consistent with the word of God is not worth thinking about, no matter who is saying it.

The Bible says that as man thinks in his heart so is he. That is to mean that your thinking
“makes you” in that you will finally become or have whatever you are thinking in your
heart.

Philippians 4:8 says “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything
is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things”. Don’t allow just anything to get into
your heart. You must keep your heart and mind on the right things. Only think on
whatever is pure, lovely, admirable and excellent.

No matter the situation, always make your thinking right. How noble and truthful are your
thoughts, is it uplifting or weighing you down? Is it praiseworthy and admirable?

Read: Proverbs 23:7a

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