The sun and the rain show that the Father is gracious!

Recently, I was pondering about this, “why does God allow evil people to enjoy the same nature as us?” The rich dictators have all the money to visit the best natural habitats in the world. Their houses are built on strategic geographical locations with all the best scenery. They love to live at places where they would have the best view of nature. Some love to build on the mountain overlooking the beautiful vegetation and the rich waters. They live around lush vegetation and their environments are always well-watered. They have the best summer experiences because they have a good view of the sun and their warm pools or the water bodies around their houses give them a good swimming experience. Meanwhile, they keep oppressing the poor, the widow, the orphans and some even kill others just to remain at the top. Some are heartless, ruthless and selfish. All they desire is their self-gratification. So why does God still allow them to live to enjoy the sun, the rain and all the beauty of nature?

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5: 44-45)

God’s grace is indeed revealed through nature. God doesn’t love the sinner less. The truth is, God’s love for the sinner caused the death of His only begotten Son, and whoever turns from their sin and comes to God is saved (John 3:16). Similarly, nature is not meant for the righteous alone. Matthew 5:45 states that: “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” The Father does not hide nature from evil men but through creation, He makes known Himself to sinners (Romans 1:20). If you go to the house of the wicked, the sun is not darkened there. The rain is not hindered from falling on evil men. So whenever we see the sun shining or the rain falling, we should remember that God’s grace is being shared with all people.

The understanding that both good and evil people are recipients of God’s grace revealed through nature, should make us compassionate for the soul of the sinner. We should not rain curses on our enemies but shower them with God’s love. Jesus said that we should love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, so that we may be children of your Father in heaven (Matthew 5:44). Sin is what separates human beings from God. So we should pray for the wicked to turn away from their sin. The truth is, if we fail to pray for the sinner to turn from their wickedness, their actions could directly or indirectly affect us. If God does not stop the rain from falling on the compound of the wicked, then we shouldn’t stop praying for the wicked to turn from their sins. The sun shines brightly on the good and the bad, so must we show the love of God on all people. Maybe, our prayers, love and care will cause them to change. The Father is gracious and so must we!

God so loved the world!

Easter is a very significant Christian celebration. The journey to the cross is the reason for our redemption. Jesus Christ came on earth purposely to bridge the gap that was created by the sin of Adam and Eve. From Genesis until the death of Jesus, sacrifices were made to atone for the sins of humanity. However, none of the sacrifices could permanently blot away our sins. No blood was strong enough to permanently clear us from guilt, shame and condemnation. Day after day, week after week, month after month and year after year, the people of God carried different sacrificial animals to the altar. But the process had to be repeated all over again because the blood of animals did not blot away our iniquities.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

God had already made a promise in Genesis that “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” (Genesis 3:15). Thus, the permanent blow to the devil (represented as a serpent in the Garden of Eden) was the seed of the woman. Out of His great love for us, God sent His own Son born by a woman to pay for our sins. Jesus told the Pharisee teacher of the law that “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Even in our sinful state, God sent His only Son to die for us. This is love!

Our response to this great sacrifice is to come in all humility and repentance. We were undeserving of this love. Romans 5:8 states that “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We should demonstrate this love to other people. This Easter season, share God’s love with someone. Tell them of the salvation we have in Jesus Christ. Tell them that sin’s wages is death but God’s gift is eternal life. Tell it on the mountain, whisper it in the valley, use all available platforms to be an evangelist. Remember, those who believe in Jesus have eternal life.

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). Salvation is found in no other name but the name of Jesus. Listen to this song written and sung by my husband Michael Agronah and be blessed.

Christlikeness: Love each other as I have loved you.

Valentine’s Day is one day in a year dedicated to showing love to one another. The day is also called Saint Valentine’s Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine. It originated as a Catholic feast honoring Saint Valentine. Now, it has become a commercial celebration of romance and love in many countries. I celebrated an early Valentine’s Day this year with my family. Whether you celebrate Valentine’s Day or not, loving one another is not just an event that is meant for only February 14th. In fact, Jesus has commanded us to love one another as He has loved us. Loving one another is Christlike.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.(John 15:12)

Paul summarized the attributes of love:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
(1 Corinthians 13:4‭-‬8)
The value of love we have for one another is not based on emotions and feelings but on the basis that Christ demonstrated to us and commanded us to love one another.

Until we come to the level of demonstrating real love irrespective of what we might have been through in the past, we are not fully obeying the word of God. Loving one another is a new commandment from Jesus. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34‭-‬35). Love covers a multitude of wrongs. In Christ, each day is a Love Day. As we celebrate today, remember that Jesus has demonstrated by His life that it is possible to love one another.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Happy Valentine’s Day to you.

Grace meet Koinonia

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)

Critics of the Christian doctrine of trinity usually posit that the Bible does not explicitly mention trinity. However, the infallible word of God has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the Godhead is made of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The three are co-equal with distinguishing roles. All were involved in creation and in the regeneration of the sinful man. As believers, we experience the grace of Jesus, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

The Fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

‘Koinonia’, the Greek word for fellowship implies an intimate unity. When we have koinonia with the Holy Spirit, we have a personal relationship with Him. We interact with Him. We speak to Him and we hear Him. The Holy Spirit is a person and any relationship with Him must consider His personality. We should be aware that we can grieve Him, make Him angry and even quench His presence in our lives.

Only born again believers can have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. Of course the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin but His residence is in the regenerated man. We should seek daily to commune with Him and hear from Him. The Holy Spirit teaches, leads, guides, gives illumination into scriptures, etc. To develop a personal relationship with Him, we need to spend time with Him in prayer, in word and make a conscious effort to hear His voice each day.

The Grace of God

But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:10a KJV)

I can not claim anything I have which was not by the grace of God and I know many believers share similar conviction. Whatever we have now, it is just by the grace of God. The Father in his great love for us sent His begotten Son to die for our sins. If not for love, why will a just God send His Son to die for an unjust people? But, mercy spoke for us. God didn’t let us go like a sheep without a shepherd. Jesus’ atoning sacrifice on the cross has paid for our sins once and forever. That is GRACE.

Every believer has been bestowed upon with grace to do exploits, to influence your world and to bring men to the saving knowledge of Christ. We have been saved to save others. We should be loving enough to share with our friends and family who do not know the Lord. Don’t hesitate to tell the world of God’s grace and how He redeemed you from the kingdom of darkness to His glorious light. We should appropriate the grace on us to rescue the perishing, care for the dying and snatch people from the highway to hell.

Let us remember to appreciate God for His grace unto us. Let us use every opportunity to tell someone of this grace. We might not be at our destination in life, but we should not be ashamed to share with the world what God has done, what He is doing and what He will do. When God places you on a bicycle, don’t ask how I will paddle since my feet are high up. He will make grace available for you to get to your destination without paddling. Be thankful for His GRACE.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8)

Imagine if we were to buy our way to salvation; what would have been your payment to God for Salvation? Few years ago, an East African millionaire commanded that his family bury him with 1000s of dollars to be able to pay for access to heaven. As funny as this sounds, the family heeded to his commands. When images of his dollar cladded corpse surfaced in the media, the government of his country ordered the excavation of the coffin to remove the money and it was done! He couldn’t even bribe his local government and he wanted to bribe God. What a joke!

The entire process of salvation is grace. We have been saved by grace through faith. It is not from ourselves. How do I know if I am saved? Have you genuinely accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have you forsaken your past sins and put on the new life that comes from Christ? As born again Christians, we have the assurance of salvation. You should have the confidence that you are saved. When you do, it influences your way of life and your thinking. Our salvation is not by our works so we do not boast of securing our way to Heaven.

The exciting part is, when we are saved, we live daily to reflect Christ. As Ephesians 2:10 put it; “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” We are saved by grace. After we are saved, God expects us to do good works. If good works alone could save, then Cornelius would have made it to Heaven without the Gospel being preached to him (Acts 10). So, doing good works should come naturally to us because we have been saved to show forth the nature of Christ.

When the Grace of God meet Koinonia, the body of Christ is transformed and made ready for the Lord. We will focus on the Love of God in another post.

Pray with me
Dear Lord, thanks for Your love for mankind that has brought us salvation through grace. May I be a blessing to another person today. May the Christ in me be reflected by the works I do in Jesus’ name. Amen