Oluwafemi .The Word of God is a light to my Path.

  “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” Isaiah 43:18–19 Something New Is Coming Isaiah’s prophecy in today’s Scripture was directed to the Israelites when they had been in captivity in Babylon for many years. I’m sure they thought, “Have you seen how powerful our enemies are? We’re stuck. We’ll never be free, never own our own houses, never live an abundant life.” But God says that if you’re dwelling on the past, you won’t see the new thing. If you’re focused on who hurt you and what wasn’t fair, you’ll miss your destiny. Living in regrets for former things will keep you from new opportunities. Reliving your mistakes will stop the new favor from springing up. If you’re looking back at the old, you won’t see the new.  When you drive your car, there’s a big windshield in front of you and a very small rearview mirror. The reason it’s so small is because what’s behind you is not nearly as impor...

          God’s Plans and Purposes Plan and purpose are concepts that flow beautifully through the entire Bible. There is nothing random or spontaneous about our God and his works. He is purposeful in all things. God’s kingdom is increased by men and women who tap into the purpose that God has for them. They understand that their story is part of a much bigger story, his story, and this great insight becomes their guiding light. Perhaps the greatest verse in the Bible on the subject of God’s will is this one: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). Consider what that one verse means for your life: God has a plan perfectly formulated with your name on it. It’s a good plan. He didn’t create you to be miserable, but to be fruitful. God has reserved for you a future filled with hope. Further, we can venture certain conclusions from this plan: God’s pla...

  “The second most important commandment says: ‘Love others as much as you love yourself.’” Mark 12:31 Your Most Important Relationship The most important relationship you have is the relationship with yourself. Too many people don’t like who they are. They focus on their faults, weaknesses, mistakes, and failures. They wish they were taller, had a better personality, and looked like their cousin instead of accepting themselves as a masterpiece, made in the image of God. Then they wonder why they’re not happy, and why they don’t have good relationships. It’s because they don’t like themselves. If you don’t get along with you, you’re not going to get along with other people. You can’t love others if you don’t first love yourself. The best thing you can do for your family and friends is to be good to you, be kind to you, be merciful to you, be forgiving to you, be loving to you. You’re good to others, so why aren’t you good to you? You don’t criticize your friend, so why are you crit...

                                                                                                               God’s Toolbox “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Corinthians 12: 4–7) When you look in a regular toolbox, you find many different kinds of tools, each one designed for a specific purpose. Inside a typical toolbox you may find a hammer, screwdriver, small saw, tape measure, or even a level of some kind. Each tool h...

  God of glory, I stand on your Word, trusting in your promises. You alone are the God of my salvation, and I thank and praise you for your steadfast love. Amen.

                                                                               Experiencing the Holy Spirit’s Power “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.”  (Acts 1:8). When we flow with the Spirit, we experience his power as we navigate our way through everyday decisions and experiences: It is the Holy Spirit that guides our lives daily: “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25). The person who practices  soak, sow, and flow  is an empowered Converterlator, ready to perform their assigned tasks! When we fail to follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, we need to confess our sin and ask the Holy Spirit to again assume control. The Bible tells us, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our s...

Almighty God, grant me a spirit of boldness to proclaim the Good News of your salvation. May the message of your love and grace continue to spread throughout the world. In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.

                                                                      he Holy Spirit Seals, Reveals, and Deals “For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”  (Philippians 2:13) It is the Holy Spirit who seals, reveals, and deals with us in order that we may become more like Jesus. The Holy Spirit first  seals  us at the point of our spiritual birth, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were  sealed  with the promised Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 1:13). In Bible times, a seal was a type of security. It was typically used to guarantee a document or letter, indicate ownership, or protect against tampering. The Holy Spirit is our seal in every sense of this word; we are guaranteed, owned, an...

  David asked the men standing near him, “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” 1 Samuel 17:26 Seek the Kingdom When David went out to face Goliath, his brothers made fun of him, his father didn’t think he had what it takes, and King Saul said he was too young and inexperienced. No one believed in him, but he didn’t go out to prove to them who he was. It wasn’t about proving; it was about fulfilling his purpose. He saw a giant defying the armies of the living God. If David had gone out just to prove himself to people, to show them he was a giant killer, to feed his ego, he wouldn’t have seen God’s favor. His motives were to advance the kingdom. He wasn’t doing it for people’s applause, for fame, for influence, for a position. It was about honoring God. When you have the right motives in life, God will take your slingshot and cause you to defeat a giant. He’ll open doors you couldn’t open. He’ll cause you to look good, to be honored,...

                                                                                          Encountering the Holy Spirit “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”  (Galatians 5:16) We  soak,  we  sow , and then the Spirit  flows ! This is how we experience God’s power in our lives. The Holy Spirit works in us and through us to accomplish God’s purposes. It is through the Spirit’s power that we obtain the wisdom and ability to be Converterlators. When we spend time in God’s Word, we experience what I like to call a  flowback  from the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit working in us and through us in a variety of ways. As a child I was taken to an amusement park from time to time and we would al...

  I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.” Nehemiah 4:14 The Greatness Will Come Out Nehemiah was the cupbearer to the king of Persia before he took up the cause of rebuilding the broken down walls of Jerusalem. He didn’t have wealth, experience, or resources, and when he got to Jerusalem, he faced all kinds of opposition. It was one thing after another. But when you’re cause-driven, when you have a mission, and you stay focused on it, the greatness God put on you is going to come out as it did in Nehemiah. Rather than take years to finish rebuilding the walls, he inspired the people to do it in just fifty-two days. You can’t make sacrifices to help those around you without God helping you. You’re going to see favor that you’ve never seen. You’re going to come out of ordinary into the uncomm...

                                                                                             Activating God’s Word “For  out   of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34) After spending a lot of time in the Word, and spending time reflecting on it, I came upon a verse that has become a favorite of mine: “My heart is stirred by a noble theme  as I recite my verses for the king ; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer” (Psalm 45:1). This verse helped me to develop the concept of  sowing  to the Spirit. The Word of God is living and powerful, and it works in the life of the believer who receives it. Our tongue is the pen of a skillful writer because we are reciting the Word of God  back  to the one wh...

  Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. 1 Peter 3:9, How You Handle the Blessing God’s favor on your life means that He will release greater blessings, greater influence, and greater resources. But you have to realize that as others see you succeed, some smallminded people will get jealous and start criticizing, finding fault, trying to make you look bad. You have to be able to handle the negative that comes with the blessing. If you’re going to be offended and upset, if you allow it to bring you into conflict with people, then the blessing won’t be a blessing. You don’t have to respond to the negative comments and people who don’t like or understand you. Keep your heart pure and don’t try to repay them. Be good to those who aren’t good to you. Overlook what they say or do. The sooner you quit giving the negative your time and ...

                                                                                               The Power of God’s Word “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11, NIV). When we dig into God’s Word, we learn about his indescribable power and greatness. God can create whatever he wants, even out of nothing! God’s counsel and his plans stand forever. We can either place ourselves in a position to receive his blessing or not. God’s Word is powerful. Active. It accomplishes. Wherever it is sent, it prospers. To fulfill God’s purposes, we need to absorb all that is contained in God’s Word. As we do so, we learn more about the mind o...

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” Genesis 50:20   No Deficit For thirteen years it seemed as though Joseph’s life would end in a deep deficit. He was sold into slavery by brothers who should have loved him, falsely accused of a crime and put in prison by someone who should have trusted him, had a promise broken and was forgotten. Despite all these unfair things, and all the odds against him, Joseph suddenly went from prisoner to the prime minister of Egypt in a single day. God gave Joseph a payback and used it all to work out His plan for Joseph’s life. You may be in a deficit now. Life hasn’t been fair, people left you out, a family member turned on you, the sickness set you back. You’re tempted to lose your passion, to give up on your dreams. But stay in peace and be your best, for your time is coming. God is about to do something unusual, something extraordinary. Sudde...