Grace and Glory ministries

God cannot be mocked

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” – NIV

Yesterday we discussed about deception that goes with flattery.There is a deception that makes people think they can live their lives the way they wish in the pleasures of the flesh, and somehow impress God with some good deeds. To God, one reaps what they sow. That is justice and righteousness on which His throne is founded. He cannot be mocked and arm twisted to go contrary to His principles. Those who flatter Him with their lips but with hearts far away can only expect what they rightfully deserve from the just Judge of the universe.

This self reflection should be guided by the questions; ‘why am I doing what I am doing’? Am I responding to please my selfish desires or to please God? The Holy Spirit is always guiding us into paths of righteousness that glorify God. But at times, many disobey His instructions and do what appeals to their senses or public opinion. They live in disobedience to God and yet expect His full blessings.

The fruit of our lives is a reflection of who we have chosen to yield to in our hearts, the flesh or to the Spirit. Each has its consequences; destruction for following after the flesh, and eternal life for obedience to the Spirit. The choice is yours. But God cannot be mocked. We reap from Him only what we have sown. How and what are you presently sowing?

Galatians 5:16 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Shalom children of God.

Exhausted, yet pursuing!

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Judges 8:4-5 “Gideon and his three hundred men, exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit, came to the Jordan and crossed it. He said to the men of Sukkoth, “Give my troops some bread; they are worn out, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.””

Gideon and his men were pursuing the Midianites. They had largely defeated them. But they needed to complete the victory by capturing the two Midianite kings who had escaped. It had been an intensive battle and they were physically exhausted. They needed food to replenish their strength. Despite the exhaustion, they kept pursuing to the end.

Such is a common occurrence in life. Some of the battles, plans and dreams we encounter and pursue in life leave us tired. The temptation to give up is so real. After spending all the abilities and energies we have, we will feel like giving it up. The body gives way, the mind stagnates and the will to go on fades. This is the point that separates those who reach their full potential and the partial achievers.

That God is behind what we do does not mean it will be a smooth ride all the way. Obstacles and resistances will be there. The enemy will attempt to use discouragement that comes with burn out and exhaustion to knock us us off the journey. Sometimes this happens when complete victory is just at the door. We are urged not to give up. God is committed to renew our strength and to keep us going till the end. Wait on Him. Keep going. Hold on to Him and His unfailing promises.

Isaiah 40:29-31 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Shalom children of God.

Change when seasons demand it!

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Isaiah 43:18 “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? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." - NIV

Israel was to go to exile following their rebellion. But God promised to bring them back. In the new season of restoration, they were to forget the former things and watch out for the new. The wilderness would team with life again. Those whose minds stuck to the past, the former things, would not perceive, nor respond to the changes. This speaks of so many today stuck in the past and have resigned to fate.

God created and operates in seasons and times. He expects us to discern and respond to them for our benefit. Under the sun, He set times and seasons for every activity. When Israelites were coming from Egypt, they were to be guided by the cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Ex 13:21-22). Whenever it shifted, they were to shift and move along. When it stopped they were to stop. If we could learn to move along with God in all we do, our lives would be wonderfully productive all the time.

When we move according to the seasons set by God, we move by His will and benefit maximally. In His seasons, everything has been set. But this requires that we accept to forsake the status quo, our comfort zone and sometimes move to unfamiliar ground. Many miss God’s blessings and opportunities because they fear to change, take risks and move along with God. Trust the Lord leading you. He is in charge and never misleads.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is a time for everything,  and a season for every activity under the heavens…"

Shalom children of God.

Growing in the Lord (i)

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo.

Desire is key

1 Peter 2:1-3 “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” – NIV

Growth is a natural phenomenon. We grow in stature, knowledge, wisdom, experience, relationships, skill and everything else in life. When one ceases to grow, it is abnormal. Peter notes that there are things that one used to do, but should do them no more when they are in God. These include malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander which characterizes the old life as on grows in salvation. This means we outgrow certain things as other godly behaviours take root in our lives.

Taking an analogy of a little baby who must take milk to grow, we too are to desire with a craving level the spiritual milk of God’s word if we must grow. Craving has an element of want with all ones being like an addiction. To crave is to do anything to get what you want. God expects us to desire spiritual food passionately and continuously. Milk should graduate to solid food as growth progresses.

Such desire is inspired by a taste experience of God’s goodness one gets after coming to the Lord. Surely the Lord is good all the time. It causes worry to a parent whose child has lost appetite. Immediate actions are undertaken because it means trouble. Do you still have desire of a craving nature for spiritual food? Without it no spiritual grows happens. We should not lose that desire throughout our lives. If we do, death follows.

2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

Shalom children of God. Peaceful week

God cannot be mocked! (8/7/2021)

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” – NIV

Yesterday we discussed about deception that goes with flattery.There is a deception that makes people think they can live their lives the way they wish in the pleasures of the flesh, and somehow impress God with some good deeds. To God, one reaps what they sow. That is justice and righteousness on which His throne is founded. He cannot be mocked and arm twisted to go contrary to His principles. Those who flatter Him with their lips but with hearts far away can only expect what they rightfully deserve from the just Judge of the universe.

This self reflection should be guided by the questions; ‘why am I doing what I am doing’? Am I responding to please my selfish desires or to please God? The Holy Spirit is always guiding us into paths of righteousness that glorify God. But at times, many disobey His instructions and do what appeals to their senses or public opinion. They live in disobedience to God and yet expect His full blessings.

The fruit of our lives is a reflection of who we have chosen to yield to in our hearts, the flesh or to the Spirit. Each has its consequences; destruction for following after the flesh, and eternal life for obedience to the Spirit. The choice is yours. But God cannot be mocked. We reap from Him only what we have sown. How and what are you presently sowing?

Galatians 5:16 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Shalom children of God.

*WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY? (R)**SERIOUS FOOD FOR THOUGHT!

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Matthew 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” – NIV

Have you ever thought about eternity? This is a period of time beyond measure, or simply time without end. One can’t even talk in terms of known units of measurement like billions, trillions, quadrillions  of years, because that’s already measurable, however unfathomable it is to our little limited human minds.

To enable some slight understanding of eternity, someone once illustrated it this way: Consider the smallest ant, on a mission to move the whole earth to the farthest star in the universe. The farthest star so far known is 9 billion light years away from earth. A light year is the distance light travels in one year. In one second, light travels at 299,792KMs. One year has over 31.5 million seconds. So in one year, light moves over 9.4trillion KMs. To the farthest star, it’s that distance multiplied 9billion times. That’s already beyond the range of our computations and numbering.

Even with modern supersonic jets, traveling at thousands of KMs per hour, such a  journey is endless. How much more a little ant? And knowing how much the ant carries, when will it complete shifting the entire 6×10^24Kg mass of planet earth? Mission impossible! And yet one day it will complete it. But eternity would have just began!

God’s word teaches that all of us will spend eternity somewhere. Everyone created will live somewhere and never disappear. There are only two destinies, determined by our decisions here on earth: heaven or hell. Heaven is a place of great joy and peace for those to whom Jesus is Savior and Lord. Their names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Hell is a place of extreme torment for those who have rejected the Savior and Lord Jesus in their lives. I invite you to give serious thought to the question of where you will spend eternity. Choose to spend it in heaven by choosing Jesus the way. That’s God’s will for all of us.

1 Thessalonians 4:17-18 “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”

Shalom children of God. 

Change as you focus on the goal

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF THE BOOK ARISE WOUNDED SOLDIER
Philippians 3:7-9 "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things…." - NIV

Paul lived a life he considered very successful from human point of view. But when he met Christ in His glory, whatever he thought was great became like rubbish. From then on, he wanted nothing else but Christ. He discovered there was something far greater, a better treasure and more glorious experience in Christ than what he thought was the best until then. He was a zealous religious scholar. His aim now was to know, live for and even die for Him.

Every change has an objective; to leave the less or none useful, what doesn’t work any more, and embrace what is beneficial. We always want to profit from whatever we do. Sticking to a tradition or custom which isn’t beneficial to one’s life, development and progress is counterproductive. People resist change because they think what they have now is good. But there is always something better which we can only benefit from if we are willing and open to change.

One trigger to change is to ask whether this is all there or the best to what you aim for. God always has something better. In Him, there is moving from infancy to adulthood, glory to glory, faith to faith. Every next level is better. The Israelites settled too long in Horeb until God told them to break camp and move. Horeb may be good, but Canaan is better. Horeb isn’t the destination. Canaan is. And God’s aim is to take you to Canaan.

Deuteronomy 1:6-8 "The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites…See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.”

Shalom children of God.

Growing in the Lord (ii)

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Growth is a process (22/6/2021)*

Colossians 1:9-10 “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God…”

Growth is not an event but a process which is progressive. At every step, one is becoming better. To the Christian, this process starts the day they receive Christ as Lord and Savior and goes on throughout their lives. For the Colossian Christians, Paul’s prayer was continuous, that they would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will through all wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives. That would enable them live lives worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way.

As this was happening, they will be bearing fruit and growing in the knowledge of God. This is continuous and incremental over time. One time you think you really got it. The next time the Spirit teaches you more and you discover you hadn’t known much before. Part of the reason for this is that we may perpetually remain humbly dependent on God and other people. The other is that we can never fully know God.

Progressive growth requires a continuous thirst, hunger, humility and searching after God on our part. The moment you think you have arrived, you stop growing, because you block the Spirit who enables our growth. A tree bears fruit increasingly over the years until full maturity when it bears much fruit. That’s how we are as we grow in the Lord. Let’s cooperate in humilty with an attitude of continuous learning and growth. Continually yearn after Him!

Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.”

Shalom children of God.

Faith and feelings

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” – NIV

Faith has to do with what is not yet felt, seen or touched but believed to be existing and true. It goes beyond the five senses of the body. Some have described it as the sixth sense. In comparison, feelings are based on what is seen, felt, or thought about. Feelings mainly derived from the body senses can be false or misleading.
Likewise, faith based on anything or anyone else apart from God may fail.

We are called to live by faith in God. Jesus told His disciples to have faith in God. The just are to live by faith, not feelings. When faith is focused on God and His word, it never fails, because God never fails those who hope in Him. Not all feelings are bad, but only when they destroy instead of strengthen faith. Believe what God says despite the feelings. So much goes on in our environment that affects and influences our faith and feelings. We respond according to what is in us.

Its important that we feed on God’s word so much so that faith is strengthened. When faith is stronger than feelings, one is able to persevere in God despite external happenings. When one is full of God’s word, every feeling is weighed against what the word says and actions are accordingly influenced by what the word says, not the feelings. Feelings are susceptible to manipulation by the enemy the devil, but faith is a shield against him. Live and walk by faith.

Mark 11:22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.”
Hebrews 10:38 “And, “But my righteous one will live by faith.  And I take no pleasure  in the one who shrinks back.”

Shalom. Have a blessed Sunday.

Behold, I am coming!

By Pastor Dr. Aggrey Soyekwo

Revelation 22:12-13 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” – NIV

The last book of the Bible was coming to a close as John heard in the ending part of the revelation at the island of Patmos. Alot had been shown to John of the events that would mark and characterise the end of the age. And then the emphatic words with absolute clarity, from the highest authority in the universe came forth, “Behold, I am coming soon!”

The ‘soon’ Jesus talked about has been misinterpreted, from human perspective, to mean delay 2000 years later. But God’s timing is not our timing, as we understand time. The bible also gives the reason for the seeming delay as God giving everyone opportunity to come to Him and be saved(2 Peter 3:9). The Scriptures also give us signs that point to the end of the age and the imminent return of Jesus. We would do well to study these signs by looking at what is happening in our world today and comparing with Bible prophecy.

As we watch these signs today, it’s no doubt that we are closer than we can imagine to the coming of Jesus. We may not know the day or hour, but the signs will show us how close it is. And the warning to all is to be ready! Jesus said He is coming with rewards to give to each one according to their works. He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and Last, the Beginning and the End. We can therefore rely on His words and take them seriously and live with this awareness every moment.

It won’t be long before we hear the trumpet sound. Jesus is coming back! Are you ready if He came now?

Matthew 25:13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.”
Revelation 22:7,20 “Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book…”He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.”

Shalom children of God.