“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say,`Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. (Isaiah 58:6-10 NKJ)

When it comes to fasting, many believers are quite reserved. When a fast is called or when led to fast and pray, people begin to ask questions like; Do I have to fast? Will God not hear me if I don’t fast? I don’t have much time to pray. Is it still necessary to fast?

The scripture shows to us, that when we humble ourselves before the Lord, when we confess our weakness, our need for help, when we put food aside and focus on the will of God, when we are honest enough to confess that we have been bound, that we have been selfish or self-centered, when we are able to confess our inability to help ourselves we will see the power of God manifest in our lives.

I know from personal experience that whenever I take time out to wait upon the Lord in fasting and prayer, the Lord shows me truths in His word that literally break limiting thought and ignorance. I have been encouraged by this verse today to continue to incoparate seasons of fasting and prayers into my life and ministry.

I remember the first time I joined a group of christian brothers and sisters from Evangelical Christian Union in Obafemi Awolowo University in 3 days fasting (water only - 1 cup per day) and prayer. Oh I thought I was going to die, but then I thought I cant just go through this pain without coming out with something powerful. I prayed, I studied scriptures and I can tell you my faith in God increased. I developed a much greater desire to see God move in our days. This passion that was birthed in me back in university has not left me till today. Chains were indeed broken. I have had many more seasons of prayer and fasting since then and they have been quite rewarding.  Dear brother or sister, Fast and Pray. You will be greatly blessed.

My first book has finally been published.  In YOU CAN BE LIKE JESUS, I  present in simple and easily applicable terms, steps required of every Christian to ensure a steady growth in their walk with God. This book is beneficial to those who have recently begun an active relationship with Christ, or those who have gotten into a rut in their walk with God. It is also a very handy tool for those who are mentoring new believers. You can get a hard copy by clicking on the book cover below or get an electronic Kindle version.

It is my desire that everyone that needs this gets a copy of it. So if you cannot afford to buy this book and you really need it, please let me know. We can find a way to get you a copy. You are blessed.

This is a question that I am pondering right now. Grace is God reaching out to us and giving us full access to Himself and ALL His resources. This Grace is made available through the coming, death and resurrection of Jesus. So here we are, natural beings try to do things in our own strength and making a mess of it (yes some make more mess that others); and simply because of what God chose to do through Jesus, we are now free to operate in the power of God on the earth.

My question then is, can we abuse this grace? Or maybe more appropriately can we take this grace for granted? To the second question I say yes. We can forget the cost of grace because we receive it freely. We can also continue to live far below God’s ideal for us because we do not recognise what has been done for us. When you do not know the value of what you have, the tendency to abuse it is greatly increased.

Am I abusing the grace of God? Am I really making use of all that God has given to me in him? These are some of the questions that I believe the Holy Spirit is posing to me these days. I believe there is so much more in God than I am making use of. As the apostle Paul urges in 2 Cor 6:1 - We must endeavor not to receive the grace of God in vain or (ignore it). I think this is another wake up call to me.

I got this call once when I was in university - I was always spending time studying scriptures and praying at the expense of studying my school materials. Needless to say, I did very poorly at school that year. The following year however, I got this wake-up call that I can tap into the grace of God to do well at school and still excel in spiritual things. Specifically I was led to spend an extra one or two hours studying my school materials after my loong meetings and bible studies. In this short period of time, I was able to understand what I was being taught in my engineering classes and I did very well in my exams.

What am I learning today? There is a need for me and for all believers to tap into the grace of God to do what needs to be done rather than thinking that what needs to be done can be neglected because we are “doing the work of God”. So I think I need to take a look at my schedule and my life and see things that I have thought I did not have time for or strength for and see how God will lead me to do them not by my strength but with his Grace.

If you are reading this, maybe you can look at your life and schedule and see if there are things that you have abandoned because you were spending more time doing ministry. Did God ask you to drop those things? Or maybe there are things that God has been asking you to take up (like me) that you think you cannot do because your plate is full. If He is asking you to do it, remember to tap into God’s strength (Grace). You will be amazed at how much God can do through a man or woman who is willing to take an extra hour every now and then to do what God has placed on their heart.

Lets not ignore the grace of God.

Lately I have been thinking about the apparent difference that exist between what we profess as Christians and what many of us experience. The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that our apparent lack of power, victory or joy is caused by our blatant ignorance of the character, ways, and will of God.

As a young Christian, I discovered that although the scriptures does not promise an easy ride all the time, it does not assure us of an escape from the results of sin in our world, it promises a victorious, joyful life. I am a strong believer in the fact that regardless of persecution, lack, trouble and challenges, a child of God can live in absolute peace and unexplainable joy.

Dear brother or sister, you do not need to live a defeated or dejected life. Provision has been made for us to live joyfully. Personally, the one thing that has given me peace is that God is infinitely wiser than I am or can ever be. This same God has committed himself to being my father and my God as long as I am committed and submissive to his love. How can one be troubled when in the hands of the most powerful, most wise and most loving being? Surely there is no room for worry or fear if only we could believe that our God is all these and that we are really in His hands.

Do you believe that God is all powerful? Do you believe that He loves you? Do you believes that He lives in you and speaks to you? Do you believe that He speaks and is speaking to you all the time? You may say yes to all these questions and find that you are still worried and afraid and feeling down? Mentally assenting to these questions does not make a difference, what matters is really being sure of these truth.

So how can I be sure of God’s Faithfulness and Love? -We are encouraged in scriptures to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. We also read that, faith comes by hearing… And so on. I find that the more time I spend meditating on and applying the word of God, the more I am able to believe in God’s Love. Here are a few pointers. You will need to figure out a way for you to spend time with your heavenly father. The first list of things will help you begin to spend some time with God and the latter list will help with personal times with God. I must remind you that it is the personal times with God that is most beneficial. However the group or corporate experiences are also indespensible.

1) Attend Fellowship meeting with other believers in a worship service so that you can learn how to worship. Watching others and sharing in coporate worship helps you to experience God’s love without really knowing a whole lot about God. This should create a desire in you: 1) For more of God’s experience  and 2) for the ability to get this fellowship with God on your own.

2) Join others to study scripture - This will help to build a foundation to build your relationship on. This will also help you to learn and be inspired to do more personal studies

3)Spend time alone talking to God, listening to God, singing to God, just staying in God’s presence. This is the key to really knowing God. Simply believe that God is with you, around you and in you and relate to him like that. Speak word to him that signify your surrender and submission and trust and ask Him to guide you. God guides us in many ways. However even before you get a leading from God, you can make up your mind that whatever God tells you to do you will do it.

4) Obey every thought that comes to your mind, that aligns with the Bible, that comes out of Love, that moves the world forward or towards God. If in doubt, share with other believers.

5) Maintain an attitude of gratitude and speak words of gratitude to God at all times. I have learnt to always say thank you Jesus. Thank your God. Thank you Holy Spirit many times in a day as the Lord reminds me of His love and goodness in my life.

The more we do these things, the more of God that we know and experience. Try these things and let me know your experience. You are blessed.

And there will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth nations will be in distress, anxious over the roaring of the sea and the surging waves. People will be fainting from fear and from the expectation of what is coming on the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

(Luke 21:25-26 NET)

When you read the headlines these days, one gets the sense that lots of people are beginning to be so afraid. They are wondering what is happening to the planet earth. If one takes these things to heart, indeed there is a reason to fear. However, these disasters should not come as a surprise. The text that is quoted above was written thousands of years ago. Although the earth quakes and Tsunamis are scary and terrible, they do not come as a surprise. We have been warned about them.

So what do we do? Well we continue to walk in the love of God, be attentive to the direction of God, be rest assured that God knows us and knows where we are, be ready to help those affected by the disasters and share the good news with as many people as possible.

What is the good news? That although there is disaster on the earth, life does not end on earth. There is a new life that can be initiated on earth but continues even after physical death. The good news is that we can have peace in the face of all these disasters because we are sure that we have been reconciled with God.

Let us keep praying for more opportunities and avenues to share the love of God with the people arounds. And the grace to take these opportunities and use them. 

Many people get uncomfortable when they hear the word Repent. However when I think of this word, I am always very happy. To repent is to turn around. To stop doing the things that hurt you and others and begin to do things that build you and others. We are not to point fingers at others when they sin, we should simply encourage them to repent. To turn around and stay on the right path.

I know that many people would agree that staying on the right path can be very difficult. That is why we have the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guides us and teaches what we should do. And when we fail to do the right things, the Holy Spirit also convicts us of our sins. It is the Holy Spirit also that reminds us that through Christ Jesus, all our sins are forgiven and we can repent and enjoy the peace of God.

I am always happy when I repent because I know that from that moment, things will get better. Things will move in the right direction and God’s will in my life will be done. Although it does not feel good many time to find out that one is wrong but once we know that we are doing the wrong things, we should repent immediately and keep a very tender conscience.

He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.(Luke 10:2NET)

How I wish we all could believe this truth. We need to believe that there are indeed millions of people in the world today who are ready and willing to receive the good news. Their circumstances have prepared their hearts, the Holy Spirit has drawn them and they are willing to surrender, however there are no workers to tell them the good news. Some are in far away places where there is limited civilization, but many are living right next to us. They have heard things about the good news. They have seen movies that ridicule the good news. They have even heard some form of the good news but for the past couple of weeks and even months since they got ready, no one has given them the authentic good news. 

In this chapter and the preceeding one, we see Jesus encouraging his disciple to go and spread the news of the Kingdom. He told them that they would be taken care of. I am sure that anyone called to serve the Lord will be taken care off. I remember in Jan 2007 when the Lord told me to go full-time into the ministry. God has been faithful. God has provided for us. Yes It has been tough. There have been days when we had no money at all and we had bills to pay that were in the thousands. There have been weeks and even not too long ago when we have not been able to do what we wanted to do because we had no money. But I can say also that God has provided.

We have received $5, $10, $100 and $1000. God has sent people to us from all over the world. I really encourage you to support the one who ministers to you. When you do so, you receive the reward just like the person would receive. There is a lady that supports our ministry. She gives 5% of whatever she gets. It’s not a lot but It has been very helpful and I know that she will never lack. You don’t support the work of God and lack. It can never happen. Regular support is the best way to support your ministers. However if you don’t have a lot, prayer is an even more powerful way. And you can give the little that you have. Remember that if everyone give a little, it goes a long way.

I look forward to the harvest in Kingston. I know that the harvest is plentiful. Oh Lord please send us more workers. If God is calling you to the field. Please respond because God will take care of you.

Some time afterward he went on through towns and villages, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The twelve were with him,

(Luke?8:1?NET)

There are a few things that make us shy away from sharing the good news regularly. Here is a list of some that comes to mind. I am sure I have experience each one at one point or the other.

1) We really do not know that the message of the kingdom is good news because we have not yet experienced it at good news. I believe that anyone who does not see salvation and relationship with God as good news, awesome news really will not be able to share the message regularly

2) We think that it is our responsibility to make the people receive it with gladness. A look at the parable of the sower (Luke 8: 4-15) will show to us that we are only responsible for casting the seed every where. Different people will respond to the message in different ways at different points in their life. Someone who is hostile today can be very receptive tomorrow. I am reminded and encouraged to keep studying, keep sharing and keep watching to see the result of the sharing.

3) We are discouraged by the hostile reactions of some of the people - I agree that some people may respond with hostility, or some may simply reject the message and we assume that they are rejecting us or that we don’t know how to share the good news. Well the parable reminds us also that when people respond negatively (just like we did at first), it is because of what we are going through right now and the words sown can bring about a big change when next we meet this same people.

4) We think we are not good speakers and we assume that preaching from the Bible is the only authentic sharing of the gospel - Well I have since learnt that, the most powerful way to share the gospel is to read it, have compassion on people and tell them the secret of our “success” - JESUS.

Well my prayer is that I will take hold of every opportunity that opens up to make someone’s day or life by introducing them to the singular most powerful human that ever walked on earth. The one who surely will change their lives if they take the time to get to know Him.

This chapter reminds amongst many other things that sharing the good news of the kingdom of God is a natural and automatic response to our knowing and experiencing this kingdom. I find that I am usually unable to stop myself from sharing the good news of the kingdom in one way or the other. However, this verse reminds me once again that this was Jesus primary assignment and it should be ours also.

There are three different miracle stories in Luke chapter 7. In two of these stories, those who received from Jesus asked for or acted in a way to receive their miracles. A centurion sent the elders to Jesus to ask Jesus to pray for his servant (1-10) and A woman received forgiveness (more like approval and assurance of salvation) by weeping at the feet of Jesus and wiping his feet with her tears and so on (36 -50). In both cases Jesus commented about the faith of the recipients - The Centurion (verse 9) and the forgiven woman (V. 50).

The third recipient of a miracle was a widow who had lost her only son. She did not call on Jesus, but Jesus took the initiative to raise her son from the dead. We are told that when Jesus saw her,he had compassion on her (13). In this case, it was Jesus who initiated the whole process - The widow was only a recipient and a partaker of the blessing as Jesus displayed the glory of God.

It is therefore important to note that there are different ways of receiving from God. We could receive as a result of God’s sovereign action - this is unexplainable, unpredictable and usually infrequent. However on the other hand we could call on God, knowing that God is willing and able to cause a change in our situation.

We are also encouraged by God to pray - We are instructed to ask because there is an abundance prepared for the children of God. I choose to ask in faith believing that all that I need is available in God. I feel very blessed to know that I can ask and be sure to receive. I know that these blessings are available to anyone that asks. Let’s all keep asking in Faith.
Glory to GOD.

Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all te surrounding region. Luke 4:14 NKJV

I find it quite interesting once again to note that in Luke, the writer by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is drawing our attention to the fact that Jesus was able to do what he did as a result of being filled with the Holy Spirit. In Luke 3:16 we are told that Jesus is the one that baptizes with the Holy Spirit and Fire and in verse 22, after the water baptism of Jesus, the Holy Spirit descended on him. In Luke 4:1 we are told again that Jesus being filled with the Holy Spirit was led by the spirit into the wilderness. Again in 4:18 Jesus reading from Isaiah says that the Spirit of the Lord is upon him and has anointed him.

Wow.. It is this same Holy Spirit that was operational in Jesus that is in us today. The power with which Jesus operated is available to us today through the operation of the Holy Spirit. Just like Jesus allowed the Holy Spirit to lead him (sometimes to the wilderness and other times to dinner parties) we must also be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us. The secret of Jesus powerful ministry on earth was his submission to the control and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In the Holy Spirit there is :

• Power to overcome temptations (Luke 4:1-13)
• Power to teach the words of God with authority (Luke 4:13-20)
• Power to cast out demons (Luke 4:33-37)
• Power to heal the sick and command sickness to leave (Luke 4:38-42)
• Power to know what to do at the right moment even in business (Luke 5: 4 -

There are so many other examples of what the Lord Jesus did as a result of the power of the Holy Spirit that he received at Baptism and after he returned from the wilderness. The message is that, there is nothing impossible for a person that is filled with the Holy Spirit. However we must realise that it is still the Holy Spirit that chooses what needs to be done.

It is important to note that it was only after Jesus returned from the wilderness and after fasting for 40days that we are told the “he returned in the power of the Holy Spirit”.