Monday, December 27, 2021

Imitating Christ's Compassion

The Fruit of Our Faith is Obedience to God in Service to Others

Greetings Dear Brethren, as a Ministry we would like to wish all our loyal and prayer partners here a BLESSED CHRISTMAS and a Christ invited NEW YEAR! 

As we celebrate this season of giving, let's not forget those in need around us including some people in our fellowship groups. And as for those brethren who daily leads a giving lifestyle we encourage you, do not neglect the gift of God in your life knowing that the JOY (that you use in giving) is from the LORD which is operating in you and upon you (2 Corinthians 9:7; Psalm 28:7; Nehemiah 8:10). May our God Almighty and our Lord Jesus Christ BLESS you all as we also extend our true love to you!

Caring can be defined as “showing kindness to others who are unable to care for themselves.” In this article, we would look at the practical application of caring and from a Scriptural perspective. There are many fine theories out there about caring. Sadly, most of the approaches are academic and they lack in many respects the emotional appeal. There is a vast difference between helping someone who comes to us for help and truly being caring proactively. In my understanding, caring conveys the emotional connection and we care for the well-being of others.

Personally the year 2009 was the most trying time for me and my family. As a father and breadwinner, I was unemployed for a full year. Our bond or mortgage repayments ran high and we lived on hand-outs and the care of others. During this time, we learned that human care is selective and always wants something back in return. I had God in my life, but things were going tough. We were members of a local church, but the help of the church was invisible even though they knew about our situation. Please note, I am not mentioning this to discredit any ministry; instead, I am using this to provoke you to action as an individual member of the body.

As it is, things became so bad that I even thought this was going to adversely affect my marriage and my children. I pondered many options including selling our house. I praise the Lord those sleepless nights made me pray continuously. Some people avoided us because of our problem and this made us determined not to go bother them for help. My father, my sisters and brethren in the Lord turned their backs on us. The Lord was showing us that reliance on the arm of flesh instead of Him was a curse: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe” (Proverbs 29:25); “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:5-8).This led me to turn to God. My wife and I committed to fast for seven (7) days for a job for me. By the third day into our fasting, the Lord Jesus Christ not only blessed me with a job, but He blessed us with the best and greatest gift: His message through my daughter Charis. He opened her spiritual eyes so that she may see His form and then He took care of all our problems (1 Peter 5:7). I briefly mentioned our full testimony in an article, Prayer: The Key to All Problems”. After our physical needs were met, He established this ministry as evidence of our testimony. In my experience with the Lord, if we show care to others, the Lord Himself will show care to us. As a Kingdom principle, God provides as we sow (Matthew 5:7).

In our recent article of helpfulness we pointed out that believers should practice open-handedness (Deuteronomy 15:7-11). This is a different Christian experience altogether; we sometimes help with little care, and sometimes to ease our guilt. This is not entirely wrong; remember helping is a Christian ministry to support the body and the needy around us (1 Corinthians 12:28). Caring mainly involves our emotional connection through some physical contact (Matthew 25:35-36; Luke 10:25-37). This is the Lord’s message of love to the person being cared for, if a believer acted from the heart. The recipient will feel it and give back love through appreciation, thanksgiving and praise to our Heavenly Father (2 Corinthians 9:11).

Caring: A Gift of God Through The Holy Spirit

The Lord once gave me a word through Charis to preach about the Holy Spirit. As I was preaching, I felt the fire on my tongue. I became totally controlled by the Holy Spirit as He spoke through me. During this sermon, the Lord revealed to me that His work is authenticated or proven truthful through the Holy Spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ was identified as the Son of God with Power through the Holy Spirit (John 1:33; John 10:37). Therefore, if a gift is performed and it is from God, it has to be through the Holy Spirit and Christ must be glorified as God’s salvation to mankind (John 15:26). In addition, before the believers were sent out to preach, they were instructed to wait for the promised Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

While this is not a complete teaching on the Holy Spirit, it is necessary to point to the Source of our ministry. The gifts and fruit of the Holy Spirit is identified by those who have the Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14-15). Thus, caring being an outward manifestation of the fruit of kindness gives meaning to the Christian message. The receiver of our care would in return like to acknowledge the Giver through thanksgiving and praise (2 Corinthians 9:10-15). Our Lord Jesus Christ, pointed to God’s glory and character by saying: “If I am not doing My Father’s works, don’t believe Me. But if I am doing them and you don’t believe Me, believe the works. This way you will know and understand that the Father is in me and I in the Father” (John 10:37-38).

Having said so, our Lord was referring to the outward manifestation of God’s care for mankind. The evidence of God’s love was demonstrated through various miracles, caring and healing of people (Acts 10:38). It was easy for people to identify love and the Source of it. The disobedient believer does not care about others; he is blinded by his own selfishness and what he can get. The Lord Jesus pointed to the evidence of His message, His works coming from Someone – God. Does your work reflect the fruit of obedience or are you just a talker? Is there evidence of God’s message in you through your fruit [works?] (Galatians 5:22). Does your care originate from self-praise or are we able to identify the Source who sends you so that we may honour Him? (John 9:36-38).

Experiences of Caring

In the Bible, we read the account of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). Great parable! It is often good to hear some heart-warming stories and experiences about others; but can others tell a story about us? Also, when our Lord considered His future return with rewards for the obedient and punishment for the wicked (Matthew 25:31-46), He pointed to our works as individuals. The Lord is being referred to as having compassion on the needy, sick and the forgotten outcast of society (Matthew 9:36, 14:14, 15:32; Luke 15:20, 7:13). He did not just have compassion, but He actually addressed their plight. Christ, being the Creator of man, (Colossians 1:15-19) knew that people need an emotional experience, which is evidence of love and care. When a message has long been preached, the emotional touch remains. This is what people hold on to, something that appealed to an inner need. This gives people great peace and comfort and life is being celebrated in thanksgiving to God.

I always become emotional when I read this account, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, for he did not believe them. BUT when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he SAW the WAGONS that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. Then Israel said, “ENOUGH! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go to see him before I die.” (Genesis 45:26-28 Holman CSB).

Evidently, Jacob was moved emotionally when he said ‘Enough!’ He accepted the testimony of his sons concerning Joseph as truthful when he ‘SAW the WAGONS’ (witness to experience). In other words, Jacobs’s sons’ witness to their father that Joseph was alive and in testimony they produce evidence (works as witness). A question for you: when you bring your Christian message to people, do you bring something they can relate to emotionally?

Brethren, while I am aware that our message is filled with emotion to evoke guilt, compassion and care, I am referring to us giving ourselves over in service to others through our emotions in response to their situation. Similarly, we are aware that some people fake care through false emotions to fool and deceive. This can be easily recognised when we perceive that someone suddenly acts caring. They help because they have some personal interest and not the well-being of the cared person. When we care we give without expecting anything back in return, instead we carry the cost (Luke 10:35; Philemon 1:18). In a magnified way, Christ carried all our guilt at the cost of His life (John 10:15).

Does your work reflect the fruit of obedience or are you just a talker? Is there evidence of God’s message in you through your fruit [works?]. Does your care originate from self-praise or are we able to identify the Source? Who sends you so that we may honour Him? Here is a Prayer of Sincere Repentance. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Blessed Grace in His Care
Brother Glenn.

Monday, December 20, 2021

Leaning On God For Everything

Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:5-8 ESV).

Again, we read words of faith from King Asa saying: “Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You" (2 Chronicles 14:11 NASB).


Brethren, this teaching that the Lord gave us to share with you this week has been well proclaimed by distinguished men and women of God. We will not take a different approach; we will, however, share with you how God delivered us from dependence on man. The Lord revealed to us that here are truly God-fearing and obedient people following His teachings on this website. He further said, many are impatient concerning His coming and that we should just pray, study His word for fruit bearing and witness. In addition, the Lord said many people despise these basic teachings which are aimed to build and foster a relationship with Him. When I asked the Lord in prayer why some people only focus on the visions He gives us on this website, He said it’s because they think they have nothing to learn from the teachings, but there is always room in each person to learn about Him. Furthermore, we shared with you in the past what the Lord said: that any message from Him, whether through us or others, should be appreciated and it is given for the benefit of mankind in obedience to Him. Let me hasten to clarify that I am not preaching dependence on man’s teaching; like the Lord, I strongly encourage Bible reading.

Anyhow, today’s message is intended to put your focus on God. The man of God Nehemiah acted on his faith in God when he decided to approach King Artaxerxes to grant him permission to go rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1; 2). He prayed, knowing that the God of his fathers is forever faithful, and after prayer God granted his request. Without going into much detail, every request Nehemiah asked of the King was given. He went to Judah and work began and even against strong opposition they completed their work (Nehemiah 2; 6).

Likewise, the apostle Paul, when he was attacked and challenged by the Jewish authorities (Acts 21:27-40), did not forsake his faith and run to the brethren for help. He trusted in God and defended the message God gave him to deliver. The Lord promised to be with him (Acts 18:9-10). These examples and many others are proof to show that God is faithful and trustable in ALL circumstances.

Faith and Obedience Are Key to God’s Deliverance

I am going to turn to some personal experiences I and others had with the Lord. The years 2007 and 2009 were the most challenging times of my life. In a nutshell, I was unemployed in both these years and naturally, when we are unemployed, our dependence shifts to men. I praise the Lord that I went through this unpleasant experience. It was bitter in every respect and frustration briefly separated me from my family. During this time, all doors seemed to have been locked for me. I tried everything including the Lord. As I briefly allude in a previous article, Prayer is the Key to Solving All Problems – Part I, we stood on the verge of losing our house, I attended a Bible school course and because I could not pay, the pastor had me work at his church painting and cleaning, and my compensation was used to pay my tuition. Brethren, I don’t mean this with evil motives; I simply want to highlight how serious my problem was. Before the pastor decided to give me chores at his church, I came to Bible school as usual and just before the evening’s lecture, the pastor handed out text books to the rest of the class and I was skipped. Almost immediately, everybody looked at me. They knew I was not employed and had no income to pay for my tuition. I sat motionless not knowing where to hide myself. I felt rejected and I quipped under my breath, “Lord, is this really happening?” During all this time the pastor avoided eye contact with me. After sitting through the lecture for a few minutes, I could not contain myself, so I took my bag and left.

When I got home my wife asked why I was early, so I related my experience to her. She was stunned and added this experience to our existing sorrows. Later that night, my wife advised that we pray and ask the Lord for help because she knew I really wanted to complete my Bible school training. The following day I contacted the pastor asking him if I could at least take the semester exams, which were due in a week’s time. I praise the Lord; this midnight prayer worked on the pastor and he called me and suggested I do some work to compensate for my studies. If we did not pray and trust in the Lord, the humiliating experience I had would have kept me back, but God sent me right back, and I humbled myself and went.

In a separate situation, my pastor who knew I was unemployed, promised to speak to someone she knew and who could arrange for me to get a job. I took her word and I started trusting God for a job through the promise she gave me. I am still waiting; this promise never materialised until I realized I trusted in the pastor’s promise, and not on God. When we don’t have faith, it is easy to trust in people more than God. In the Bible school incident, and prior to us praying, I trusted on the pastor’s compassion of which he didn’t have, until we prayed and the Lord moved him (Proverbs 29:25). Glory to the Lord Jesus Christ!

In yet another situation, we turned to many other people for help including our parents; they all deserted us. Not only did we struggle to put food before our children, but we lived in fear of losing our house at any time. The greatest fear that tormented me was not just losing our house, but losing my family. Brethren, if we trust in people God cannot help us; these experiences resulted in some bitter feuds with my wife. As it is, since I had nowhere to go and no one to turn to for help. I went into my room and I called upon my God in bitterness of spirit. I cried, “Lord, if You are there, then only you can help me!” I sought the Lord earnestly in prayer and this even led me to take Charis, who was only nine (9) years old at the time, as a prayer partner. This experience is very sacred to us and it makes me emotional; for many nights we prayed and read the scriptures, making God our only hope for survival until the Lord’s surprise visit to us on January 25, 2010. Although, this did not mean now our problems disappeared; we still lived in want. The Lord wanted us to trust in Him and as our focus turned from trusting in human compassion, He taught us to trust in Him. Gradually, we learned and prayed trusting Him personally for all our needs. We don’t have earthly riches, nor do we desire it. We are rich in Christ and He supplies all our daily basic needs; this is our simple trust in God.

In conclusion, do you trust in people using your faith in men? Or do you only have faith in a religion, but not in God? If you trust in religion, then you are trusting in man and are dependent on man. If this is the case, you will be controlled by man. This is disobedience folks; the above scriptures warn us not to trust in the arm of flesh, but in the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5-8). I am not suggesting we should not ask for help when there is a need; habitual help is dependence on man. I need to clarify another point here; the Lord told us that He assigned people in the body to provide for the needs of His children as a right from Him. These He assigned to the work of the “altar”, so they must live from the fruit of their ministry and service to Him and man (1 Corinthians 9:11-14). This is by no means dependence on man; it is God’s command.

Finally, our salvation should not depend on people, a ministry or some priest; if we have surrendered to all these in disobedience to the written word of God and the Holy Spirit, then we becomes slaves of man. The truly God-trusting person will first listen and follow God’s counsel more than what man says (Acts 5:29).

Holy Regards,

Brother Glenn.


Monday, December 13, 2021

How To Overcome The Flesh


Ministering To The Body Of Believers

“For you need endurance, so that after you have done God's will, you may receive what was promised” (Hebrews 10:36 HCSB).

This week’s article is an encouragement to the brethren to persevere in this race of faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). The Lord led me to write this message and use a brother’s testimony to encourage the brethren who are overwhelmed by sin, falsehood, and weaknesses to cleanse through the Blood of the Lord their filth garments and persevere to inherit God’s Kingdom. As a ministry, we often received some emails from folk around the world who details their struggles against sin and various stumbling blocks. While listening with a sympathetic ear, we would offer prayers and encouragement, and being encouraged too by our fellow brethren’s struggles we shared the unity in faith and spirit (2 Corinthians 1:4). It is true; the body of believers is strengthened by the struggles others endure in the name of the Lord Jesus as the above scripture declares.

Sin Hinders Perseverance

In all God’s dealings with humans, He laid down two paths (Deuteronomy 30:19; Matthew 7:13-14; 24-27; Romans 6:23; Matthew 25:46) and to obey or disobey (Genesis 3:2). Similarly, we could choose to follow the Lord and endure or we could choose to abandon our walk with God. I would also like to add when we all first came to the Lord, and like the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, we each received a unique load of troubles that we should either persevere and endure or live the wrong and solve our problems through worldly means (Acts 9:16; 2 Timothy 3:12; James 4:4).

We are going to share an experience a God-fearing man shared with us recently and we could all learn from some of his experiences. The brother explained how the sinful desires he had after giving his life to the Lord started leading him away from the Lord. He further explained how a burning desire to sin became addictive and uncontrollable and this particular sin opened the door for many other serious sins that left the brother completely powerless.

In other words, the dominion of sin in his life (Brother Fred, not real name) made him a slave to the dictates of sin (Genesis 4:7). By baring his soul, Brother Fred explained how he lost his appetite for prayer, witnessing, and Church services. While he still has a fear for God, his heart like King Solomon was driven to the pleasures of sin (1 Kings 11:3-8). In his distress, our Brother Fred has turned to the Church of God and he is appealing to all of us for prayer. As he explained his faith has been rocked and he lost all his spiritual weaponry that is why he said that he has been operating between sinning and repenting without any commitment and back again to sinning. In his own words, he explains that he is basically backslidden with a thin layer of faith remaining.

Fight The Good Fight Of Faith

Brethren, our intent is not to ridicule but to encourage others who reached this level of spiritual weakness in their faith, to turn to a trusted brother or sister in Christ for encouragement and counseling like our dear brother Fred has done. It could be easy for him to simply just give up and be lost (Hebrews 10:39) but he is concerned about his soul and eternal destiny. Being determined not to give up but to persevere, our brother Fred feels that he still have a fighting chance to reclaim his honor in Christ, not by his strength which failed him but by the grace he will receive from the Lord like Joshua and the prodigal son (Zechariah 3:2-7; Luke 15:11-32). In a confident statement, our brother Fred vowed to ask the Lord to help him endure one day at a time (Matthew 6:34).

In conclusion and given to brother Fred’s experience, we prayerfully hope to encourage our fellow brethren to pray, endure the pressure of our share of sufferings, minimize complaining as it displeases the Lord and leads us into sinning and to speak to a trusted, Spirit-led child of God to encourage and pray with you and share the pain of your burden (Numbers 11:17; Galatians 6:2). So then, if we preserve in our faith and the pain of our load we will emerge as more than conquerors (Romans 8:31-39).

If you would like to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, please start by praying this Prayer of Sincere Repentance. For any questions or comments on this article or our ministry, please contact us.

Blessed Regards

Brother Glenn