Father we love You.  We praise You.  We adore You.  Glorify Thy name in all the earth. Glorify Thy name. Glorify Thy name. Glorify Thy name in all the earth.

I wonder why Jesus said these words:

“I am the way, the truth and the life…”
John 14:6

Jesus said many things during His ministry on earth. He told the world that He had come as a Savior in order to make the Father known. He also made one of the most profound statements that would ever be uttered; that He is the way, the truth and the life. I want us to dissect the text a little bit.

First, take note of the use of the definitive pronoun. “I” in the statement. In a world where pronouns are starting to lose their meanings and any standard definition is begginning to lose firm ground, this word, “I” is important. It was and is not meant for just anyone. It did not refer to a random person. Not you. Not me. Not they-them. Not any of the disciples with Jesus Christ. Not a group of people. Not the religious leaders. Jesus was referring to Himself. As what? As the way, the truth and the life. Now, the emphasized word “the” is another important use of reference. It is a definite article, and also notable. According to the dictionary, is denotes that there is *only one*. Just one!

Considering these words Jesus uttered, anyone listening to Him must have thought “Whoa! This man is crazy”. No wonder the Bible says that some of His sayings were so hard to accept that many abandoned Him (John 6:60). What audacity must cause a man to claim not only to be the way, but the truth and then the life. So what about every other way people knew of? What about their personal perceptions of truth? What about ways they had carved out for themselves? What about their human lives? Did it matter at all? Jesus was essentially saying to them that all of that was nothing. “I am the embodiment of life”

What discussion led to Jesus make this statement? Jesus was telling those who followed Him about a place beyond the existence of the earth (John 14:1-5). He was telling them that life after death existed, and that life after death was controlled by God. He was telling them that after death, there was a reward for His followers. He informed His followers that there was life after death for them.  However, His followers at the time wondered how they could go where Jesus spoke of to collect the rewards that He had mentioned. They asked Jesus to show them the way. Jesus told them that they knew the way because He was the way.

Interestingly throughout this discourse, the use of the definitive article is used. This leaves one wondering why Jesus and His disciples spoke as they did? As though nothing else matters but this end. Jesus called God the Father. Meaning there is truly only one Father. He continued then declaring who He is. Although the conversation with His followers was about going somewhere it ended up being about who Jesus is. Jesus did not end by saying He is the way leading to the place He had spoken of. He continued further to say two other things. That He is the truth. And that He is also the life. The way, the truth, and the life is a person.

Why go a step further? I always believe that Jesus is always a step ahead. I want to zoom onto His second statement that He is the truth.

We live in a world now where truth is pushed into subjectivity. Now more than ever, these statements are common: ‘This is my truth’. ‘Know your truth’. ‘My truth is what I think about me’. ‘You determine your truth’. ‘No one can tell you what your truth should be’. ‘Speak out your truth’. ‘I determine what is true’. Truth has become fickle.

Truth according to the world is now subject to everyone’s whim and desire. The world wants a fluid truth. ‘Don’t tell me what is right or wrong. I determine that for myself’. ‘I am my own truth’ is the gospel of the world to itself as it continually elevates self-worship, self-adoration and self-glory over God. ‘The man sitting in the sky cannot come and tell me how to live my life’. ‘If He loves me or even exists, then He has to love what I do, support all my sins, and handle my truth’. ‘Who has the right to say that what I do is a sin anyway?’

There’s is a part is the passion of Christ movie that is unforgettable to me. In a discourse between Jesus and Pontius Pilate, Pilate had qualms about crucifying Jesus. He asked Jesus, “What is truth?” The people who wanted Jesus Christ crucified had said so many things about Him. And Pilate wondered what the truth was.

Today, that is the critical question of this age. What is truth? What is the truth that transcends all generations no matter the shifting shapes of time? Jesus makes it clear. It is Him. Truth is a person. And that person is Jesus Christ.

Jesus reveals to His disciples something so critical to life. Which is, despite the many ways of the world, there is one way that really matters. It is the one that leads to the Father. There are many good and bad fathers. There are many relationships that exist but the one that is important is the one with the only true Father and only that really matters. There is only one truth. And that is Him because He leads to the Father. There is only one life to live and that is His life (Galatians 2:20).

Taking us down history, we learn that centuries ago in a world of polytheists the Israelites believed in one God. They were what we call monotheistic.  They were hated for that. All the nations that surrounded them were polytheists.  Believers of many ways. Many gods. Many truths. And even many lives. No definite standard.

Christians today are hated and rejected for believing in one way, one truth, one life. One God. One salvation. One faith. One baptism. One way to heaven. Rejected for saying Jesus is the truth like He said. The world wants a polytheist many ways to many gods where their personal truth leads them to themselves. And they have crowned themselves as their owns gods. They do not want to be confronted with accountability to someone who demands a higher standard. They do not want a definite place after death to be held accountable. They would rather turn into a plant or dirt when they die.

Truth, subject to the world has changed so much.  In a world where stability is almost non-existent, Jesus is the truth. He brings stability. He is the life. The only life worth living is the life of Christ. One would ask how? Jesus said said it, “Believe in Me.” When you believe in Him, He prepares a place for you in the House of His Father. When you believe in Him, you begin to live His life. Because you give up yours for His.

Do you have your truth? Your own standard? It is unwise to measure yourself by your own self and your own standard.

Yes, you can ask me, “how do you know that what Jesus said is true?” History testifies. Truth endures. I believe it to be so. I believe that He came from God and that He is God And when I believed, He has by many ways confirmed to me that I have chosen the truth.

I cannot defend God. He needs no  defender. But I can testify of Him. And that is what I can offer you.

We all believe in something. Some believe in God. Some also believe in self. Our own standards. Our own good works. Our own abilities. Our own truths. Some believe that we are our own gods. Our own masters. But even though that may present itself as true, it is grossly false. It is so interesting that in Genesis 3, the only time man by his judgement considered something to be good was right before eating the fruit in the garden. He judged the fruit by how pleasant it looked to his eyes and the godhood it promised him. But his own judgement led to his fall.  He moved from God’s higher standard to create His own standard.  His own concept of what was good in direct contradiction to the direction of God. A wrong one. How does the creation determine good and bad?

We all came from someone. None of us made ourselves. We were born. There is no one in the world right now who was not born. We do not pre-exist and that proves our inherent weakness. Our inherent shortcoming. We are created. And where there is a creation, then there is a creator who cannot be denied. And the creator sets the standards. The creator determines the truth. The way. And the life. Submit yourselves to God and be saved. Seek the truth while He may still be found. The truth will set you free from yourself.

The path to the truth is the knowledge of Jesus. The knowledge of the truth through belief gives you life. The life you receive is Jesus Christ who is the eternal God. The eternal life you’ll live is Christ. So many things have been said about Jesus but believe what He says about Himself. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Veritas. Jesus is the objective Veritas.

The post The Objective Veritas – Jesus Christ first appeared on .

Matthew 4:1-11 or Luke 4:1-13.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. ² For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry. ³ During that time the devil came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’
⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, ⁶ and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,‘He will order his angels to protect you. And they will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’
⁷ Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’
⁸ Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”
¹⁰ “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’
¹¹ Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus

As I lay on my bed and mulled this over, I compared the temptation of Jesus with another temptation story in the Bible that some of us may know well. The infamous fall of Adam and Eve (See Genesis 3). For those who do not know the story, satan, disguised as a serpent, deceived Adam and Eve to eat a forbidden fruit God had instructed them not to eat. Therefore, they sinned.

With this background, I decided to explore the two scenarios.

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:45 that Jesus is the last Adam. The perfect Adam. A life-giving Spirit. I compared these two Adams and their temptations. I have, on one hand, ‘first Adam’. First Adam was living in a beautiful and perfect garden. It had everything good. A beautiful woman (in my opinion, everything God made was good so I believe Eve was beautiful). In the garden, there were trees that produced all kinds of fruit which he could eat to his fill. He was in a fruitful green blossoming garden. Birds chirping. A beautiful breeze. A gentle brook. Colorful swimming fish wiggling their fins. Every kind of animal you can think of living in harmony and eating plants. No predators or prey. Perfection. (See Genesis 2).

Then I take a look at Second Adam (Jesus). He was in the wilderness. Dry, hot, and dusty. Barely any green trees to be seen for miles not to talk of fruits. No pretty birds chirping. No harmless plant-eating wild animals. Rather there were probably those who would readily have him for breakfast, lunch or supper. A blazing hot sun. Buzzing flies and biting bugs. Thorns and thistles. Snakes and scorpions. And hunger. His cousin John had previously been eating locusts from the same wilderness.

These two Adams find themselves in divergent circumstances. One (the first Adam) was in a place of plenty and the other (Jesus) in a place of want. The first was in a very comfortable place, and the other in a place you and I wouldn’t go for a holiday vacation.

We also have a third person in both pictures, “the snake” (the devil), who comes to tempt them. Now, something we need to take note of is that the snake is very deceptive (Genesis 3:1). His job is to twist the true picture of any circumstance as long as it makes God look like the bad guy. He is good at it. We have a multitude of people in the world today who have fallen for that deception. The Bible tells us not to be ignorant of his wiles (2 Corinthians 2:11).

The first Adam had so much! You and I can agree on that. He lived in plenty but in the garden of all that abundance, the snake deceived him so well that he overlooked all the plenty he had. He saw what He did not have. He only saw the one thing he could not have among the others that were readily his to enjoy. This picture was a lie. A fraud. A hoax. The first Adam had God as his father. He had everything because God is the source of everything. Yet God was transformed in first Adam’s eyes. Transformed into a wicked God who did not want to give him the best he deserved. So first Adam believed and accepted the lie and fell from his place of sonship because he trusted in the words of the devil over the word of God. He failed a test that ideally should have been easy to pass.

Now, this crafty serpent again shows up in a completely different scenario and this time around changes his narrative. He doesn’t show up as a lying snake this time. He comes as himself. For forty days he was on ‘Mission Temptation’. For forty days he attempted to get Jesus Christ to repeat the mistake of the first Adam. In his temptations, he tried to make Jesus, the last Adam believe another lie. Using the same modus operandi. The falsehood he was perpetuating was that even though Jesus had the right to plenty, God was making Him live in lack. Therefore, he incited Jesus to do something about the situation. Just as he did in the garden, he again comes with his word (a lie) to challenge the word of God (the truth). Luke 4:1-13.

Satan’s wiles:

a. Why was Jesus hungry from unnecessary fasting when He already had the power to turn stone into bread. I mean God was asking too much wasn’t He?

b. You are the Son of God. Why have you allowed yourself to be limited and belittled as a mere man here? Show God that as His Son you deserve better. you don’t deserve to be treated this way.

c. If your Father won’t give you what you truly deserve, I will. Just turn Your allegiance to me. Make me your god. I have what it takes to make you rule.

These are the same lies he sells to man over and over again and many fall for it.

But where the first Adam failed, the second did not. Where the first Adam was weak, the second was strong. Where the first Adam was deceived, the second Adam untangled the web of lies.

Jesus could see the value of God’s word beyond the present circumstances. That God would not withhold any good thing from him. Because as the Bible says in the same chapter, the Spirit of God led Him to that place of hardship. For Jesus, it was the will of God, and if it was God’s will, then it was good. He saw God’s love and faithfulness in lack and hunger. In a dry place. In a difficult place. He saw a garden of goodness in the word of God which He had heard and absolutely believed. He was sure of His place as the Son of God. He had nothing to prove of Himself except to trust His Father’s word and to do only what the Father had asked Him to do. Where the first Adam chose to live by the bread (the forbidden fruit) rather than the words that had proceeded from God’s mouth, the second Adam made a better, higher choice which set the pace for the redemption of mankind. Redemption towards a place where we can see plenty in the driest wilderness. He established Himself as one who gives life by upholding the truth unconditionally. Where God’s word is enough to sustain us whether we are in plenty or in want. For the word of God is what we need to live.

Jesus made a choice for truth. He believed in God’s word. His circumstances gave Him every reason to doubt, yet He trusted God in spite of it. He overcame the devil by the word of His testimony of who He believed God to be. True about His words.

So dear reader, it is not about plenty or the want. It is not about the circumstances you find yourself in. It is all about whom you believe. There is the truth, and there is the lie. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. He alone knows it, and it is through Him that we know it too. In this world full of falsehoods and deception. We need truth to hang on to. A foundation that does not quiver so that we can build our existence. Just like the two Adams, a choice is always available. And whether we like it or not, it is either truth or lies.

My fervent hope and prayer is that you would choose the one who is able to lead you into all truth. Jesus Christ, the saviour of the world.

The post Not By Bread Alone first appeared on .

Calling me, calling me.

Voices in that far off somewhere calling me
One of these days I’ll off and fly, then I can answer here am I
I hear voices, up in glory, calling me.

The voices.

In my head. Turning my mind around. Tying my stomach in knots. Twirling my focus in circles. Confusing the thoughts of my heart oh…

The voices.

To which do I listen? In which do I believe? Can I ignore the sound of…

The voices?

The ones within? The ones without? Inescapable at every turn. Asleep or awake I cannot deny…

The voices.

A confusing labyrinth of highs and lows. Harsh and mellow. All of sorts. Intertwined in a confusing web of truths and lies and half-truths. Confronted with all..

The voices.

How do I decipher the good from the bad, when there are no clear-cut boundaries in? …

The voices.

An amphetamine to feed the addiction of my indecisiveness; attempting a mental breakdown; further making incoherent the ever-increasing din of…

The voices.

Letter after letter. Word upon word. Consonants and vowels. Note after note. La ti do re mi fa so without melody are…

The voices.

I can’t seem to keep them out. The better won’t sink in. The worse find the hidden crevices into the subconscious. I wish I didn’t have to deal with..

The voices.

But the world is no mute. Each creature its voice. Though some with no sound but still a voice is found.

So rather than hide from…

The voices.

I will sit still. Alone. And listen. I will listen until I hear above the noises. The silent one. He speaks not like anyone. He doesn’t shout. He doesn’t crowd. He whispers in the innermost part of my heart. He will run a fine toothed comb through the messy tresses of my mind and take out the kinks until the strands hang fine. My consciousness at peace. So…

The voices.

I cannot keep at bay. Try as I may. I cannot “unhear” the lies. So with truth I fight by and by. I thank God for…

The voices.

They pushed me toward The Voice of the True One. My Jesus…

Your voice, in spirit I sense. Your whispering provides a fence. The world shall scream till hoarse. But far above the throng. Speak Lord. This heart is Yours.

Awaken.

This one is a very old one I discovered. Made me think of Heaven and being with Jesus. Pay close attention to the words. When we are assured of where we are destined to be. We embrace the voice that calls us home to glory. Enjoy.

I want to hear from you. Please comment, share, like and subscribe to spirit awakenings. Be the first to hear and share!

The post Voices (When pressed on all sides, from all the noise around me, from whence shall I find calm?) first appeared on .

My hope is built on nothing less but Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale, My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood; When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound, Oh, may I then in Him be found; In Him, my righteousness, alone. Faultless to stand before the throne.

On Christ the sold rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand. All other ground is sinking sand.

Before I begin this post, I would want to put forward that none of the words I speak are intended to condemn anyone, it is definitely not to vilify the subject of my write-up or others who may be in a position such as his. It is to encourage soldiers in the faith battle. A poke at the enemy because he has to know we are not shaken by his machinations. And a morale boost for those at the precipice of doubt. Hang in there, please.

Now to the issue at hand. I have recently discovered the proliferate news of Christians falling away from the Faith. This is even observable among those considered to be active Christians in the eyes of the public. It may possibly be that due to the age of technology and social media, such news are easy to find or easy to hype. Perhaps, faith falling believers are losing the battle to doubt and unbelief. It is however worthy to note that the many Christians still holding on to Faith hardly makes the headlines, which leaves me wondering about the news. That would be another subject for another bright day. The news I mean.

Anyway, the bible tells us in 1 Timothy 4 that in the last days, many shall fall away from the faith, chasing after the false doctrines of demons (paraphrased). I am inclined therefore, to believe that the fulfillment of scripture is the phenomena playing out before our eyes. And Jesus tells us in Matthew 24 that it is only going to get worse as lawlessness increases and love for Him grows cold.

A quite recent and sad fall away is bestselling author Joshua Harris. If the name sounds familiar to you, it’s probably because you may have read one of his very popular bestselling books. “I Kissed Dating Goodbye”. I recall getting a copy of this book in the university but unfortunately, I never went beyond chapter one (1). (Very typical of me and books in the university. Aside my textbooks of course) Anyway, now I wish I did make time to complete the book because, he has completely renounced that book and the doctrines espoused in it, leaving my curiosity at its peak!

Joshua, as the media puts it, has kissed Christianity goodbye. Definitely not a bestseller if you ask me. Although saddening, it is not surprising as well. Why do I say this? Joshua was a baaaad guy in school……. lol. Just kidding. Gotchu. Didn’t I?

In the wake of the news on his departure from the Faith, I have encountered various articles and thoughts on his actions. Some have lauded it (mostly unbelievers) and others condemned it (often time Christians). There are also those trying to answer questions like I am doing right now.

What sucked about the whole situation was how the people of the world rejoiced and wrote articles to celebrate his falling away. And for many such breakaways similar to Joshua, the world happily welcomes such into their fold. This is expected even though it sucks.

In a battle between two very opposing sides, a win over of a defector is a glorious celebration. Christians are joyful when a soul is won from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Christ and in the same reaction, the world is too. The world feels a justification in the win of a Christian who has lost faith. Technically, we don’t consider a loss, what was never ours, but let me not get ahead of myself.

For the Kingdom of Christ, anyone who falls away from the faith presents no surprise to the brethren. Although, the world finds it an extraordinary feat, the Faith community takes it in stride through prayer and the word. We look to Jesus Christ, our Head, to find answers. In prayer, we do our part to rein in that person to whom Faith is seemingly lost.

Christ always gives answers through His trusted word and I found the answer in this.

Jesus had with Him twelve disciples. The famous Peter, James and John, among others, and the infamous Judas Iscariot. Now mind you, by this scenario I am about to expatiate, I am in no way making Joshua Harris a Judas character nor am I condemning him to the fate of Judas. No way. I am rather drawing your attention to an expected reality of which the world is surprised, but the Christian should not. Certain Christians get surprised or shocked into unbelief when such things happen. But let us be of the mind not to question our faith based on seeming ardent believers who fall away.

In fact, in some years from now, if you find that I have fallen from the faith (which by God’s grace I hope never to) it should in no way cause you to question whom you have believed in. I recall hearing Dag Heward Mills (Founder of Light House Chapel International Church) say in one of his sermons, a statement that stuck with me. He said (paraphrased) that if he falls sick and even dies from it, it will not stop him from believing that God is a healer. It goes with the bible text in Job 13:15(a) that says, though He slay me, yet still shall I trust Him. Our faith should be  uncompromising in the face of all circumstances. We should not practice conditional faith. It is expedient to build a rock solid faith. That solid rock to build on is Jesus Christ.

Sand building believers find their faith collapsing in the storm of world events, personal tragedy, worldly desires, false doctrines etc. For some, the next point of call becomes the denouncement of the Lord Jesus Christ and the existence of His Father. Unfortunately, this happens out of overlooking the rock solid foundation freely given in Jesus Christ.

So please follow me with this illustration as we try to place a right block on a right foundation. Now, back to Jesus Christ and His disciples. 

Judas (is carrot as we say in jest) was a disciple of Jesus. Note that by disciple, he was not just a part of the throng that followed Jesus. He was neither a part of the seventy extended discipleship team Jesus sent out. Nor was he even just a random self appointed follower of Jesus. Judas was a member of the Twelve. Carefully, handpicked by Jesus. He walked with Jesus throughout His three-year  tenure of ministry. He went where Jesus went. He heard what Jesus taught. He ate and drank with Jesus. He slept where Jesus slept. He had an important role in the team as a money keeper. The minister of finance if I might say. He was friends with the other eleven disciples. They had fellowship together with Jesus. All of them.

But Judas kissed Jesus goodbye in the Garden (lool. sorry, I couldn’t resist the pun). He invented the metaphor “kiss of death” when he offered his Rabbi to be murdered for crimes He did not commit at a bribe of 30 silver pieces. Contrary to what everyone may have seen of Judas ardently following Jesus, his secret foundation on which he was building was money. Someone whom he had called Master and Teacher for three years, he gave up for some coins.

Look. There are so many people who are seemingly walking with Jesus but have hearts far away from Him. They may seem to be doing the works, singing the songs, writing the books, going to church, hanging out with other Christians but have hearts far way from Him. Judas literally followed Jesus everywhere He went but figuratively followed his selfish desires.

When Judas betrayed Jesus, it did not in anyway undermine Jesus or the work He came to do. On the contrary, Jesus had the upper hand all along. He did what He came to do on earth and that was to save mankind from eternal damnation through his death on the cross. Even if Judas chose to exclude himself or not, Jesus’ work for which He was sent by the Father got done. For as the one (1) chose to perish, remember the other eleven (11) chose to live. Jesus was not surprised at Judas’ antics. Christ has always had the victory and the upper hand.

The world feels justified in its standpoint of faithlessness simply because a Christian has lost faith. But, the thought that a believer falling away from the Faith undermines it is flawed thinking. The Gospel of  Jesus Christ is built on no other foundation but Himself. The firm foundation. Unshakable and immovable in its purpose to save the souls of men. A win for the world  it may seemingly be but not in the greater scheme of things.  Who knows? The apostate may never have been Jesus’ in the first place. Why? Jesus said that anyone given Him by the Father, He shall never lose. And I tend to believe what Jesus says. Check out John 6:39.

Are we apathetic to the fallen one, not at all.  For even as that soul remains on this earth he or she may very well belong to the Lord. He alone knows those that are His. What we do is pray. 

The truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom is singular and unshakable in spite of those who truly believe and those who do not. The very gates of hell cannot contend with it. Why? Hell cannot contend in a war already decided. Jesus won. If you must know.

What are my sentiments toward Joshua because he really got be putting my thinking cap on. I pray he would search for truth. When we lose our way, it doesn’t spell doom for us. When we have doubts, it doesn’t align us to condemnation. Rather, it begs us to really find that which is true. Re-affirm faith. It begs us to dig even deeper.

Someone else failed Jesus too. Peter did. He swore and cursed himself in denial of any relation to Jesus. Three solid confident times, he said in no same words, “Who the heck is Jesus. I have no idea who He is. I have not even seen Him before.” But the difference between denier (who even swore to Jesus he would not deny him) and  betrayer, was repentance. Peter made a choice not to entirely give up on whom he first believed, leading him to become the legendary Peter we know. The story was not so for Judas. He only saw his mistake. His way out; a noose by no other hand but his own.

The reality is that the Lord knows those that are His. I don’t. No one knows but He who searches the heart. No one can be forced to believe in Him as Truth. Joshua cannot be forced, I cannot be forced. You cannot be forced. Nobody can be forced. We are only graciously chosen to choose Him.

As you read this, if you feel a nudge in your heart to surrender to this truth, at this moment, forget about the extraneous factors of who does or does not believe in Him. Focus on this.

Jesus is the only Way, the real Truth and the real Life. Absolutely, no one comes into reconciliation and eternal fellowship with the Father except by believing in Him and His finished works on the cross. He loves & calls you.

That is the Unshakable Foundational Truth of the FAITH.

The post I Kissed Christianity Goodbye…(When encumbered with doubts in the Faith, is it aurevoir to the Savior) first appeared on .