Full of consciousness

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” – 1 Corinthians 2:12

You are probably familiar with the story of how David, with a sling and a stone, slew Goliath, a 10-feet-tall Philistine warrior. But have you ever wondered why David succeeded while the others in the army of Israel did not even dare to face Goliath? David’s secret was that he was only conscious of victory and not defeat, because he knew a God who had rescued him time and again.

You can just imagine him saying, “One day, I was taking care of my sheep when a lion came and took one of them. I was not willing to settle for that, I went after the lion, caught it by its beard and smote it. The Lord delivered me from the lion’s mouth. On another occasion, a bear came and took one of my flock. I went after the bear and smote it. So the Lord delivered me from the bear too. This same God, who delivered me from the paws of the lion and bear, will also deliver me from this Philistine.” (1 Samuel 17:34–37) David was conscious of what God had done for him. He knew that God was for him, loved him, favored him and would give him victory again.

You can also remind yourself that the same God, who did tremendous things for you in the past, will do the same for you again. Be like David, who was conscious only of God’s goodness and faithfulness. Don’t be like the army of Israel. The men were conscious of the negative words of Goliath. I believe that they must have talked about his threats, repeating his words to one another, and as a result, filled their hearts with fear. (1 Samuel 17:11, 24) Do not water the seed of fear in your heart, rather uproot it. Pump yourself up with God’s Word until you are full of the Spirit and consciousness of God, so that you might know the things that have been freely given to you by God.

Christ the power and wisdom of God

“To those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” – 1 Corinthians 1:24.

People today run after two things: miraculous signs and wonders, and knowledge. It was no different in Bible times. The apostle Paul acknowledged that “Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom”. (1 Corinthians 1:22). So when Paul preached Christ crucified as God’s solution to them, the message was “to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness”. (1 Corinthians 1:23) They didn’t understand how getting a revelation of Jesus and His death could give them the miracles they needed or the wisdom they wanted.

Beloved, we don’t have to run after miracles or wisdom today. We just need to run after Jesus because He is “the power of God and the wisdom of God”. The more we know Christ and Christ crucified, the more we will have the power and wisdom of God. Several church members have shared how they have seen the power of God blast financial debts out of their lives. Not knowing what to do about their debts, they looked to the Lord to deliver them. And the Lord was able to do so mightily because He is indeed the power of God. So if you are facing a financial debt, Christ has the power to remove the debt. And because He is also the wisdom of God, He will show you where you went wrong and teach you how to stay out of debt.

My friend, Christ is both the power and wisdom of God to us. As the power of God, He removes obstacles in our paths. As the wisdom of God, He continually directs our paths.

Believe and Declare

“It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak.” – 2 Corinthians 4:13.

I know a man who was believing to pay his house off. It was a standard 15 year mortgage, and he had 10 years left. In the natural, there was no way he could do it. But he was bold enough to say, “Father, I want to thank you that You are Jehovah Jireh; the Lord my provider. I know my job is not my source. You are my source. It may look impossible, but I know You can do the impossible.”

A years later, he received an inheritance from a family member that he had never met before. He didn’t even know they were related. He was able to not only pay his house off, but he paid a friend’s house off as well. What was that? Friend, when you believe God, you position yourself for a miracle. When you obey His commands, you set yourself under the open windows of heaven. When you declare His Word, you activate His power. Keep standing, keep believing, keep speaking and see the victory and blessing He has in store for you.

Characteristics of love

“Now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13.

Spiritual maturity isn’t measured by how long you’ve been a Christian, how much you know, or how often you go to church. Spiritual maturity is measured by the way you treat other people. It’s measured by the love you allow to operate through you. First Corinthians 13 tells us about the characteristics of love. One characteristic is that it is not rude. That means, when we are walking in love, we treat other people with courtesy and respect. Are you courteous to other people? Are you kind to the person at the checkout counter that may be moving too slowly for you? Are you gentle when you are driving down the highway and someone cuts you off? Are you patient with your family and coworkers? These are all ways we show love.

Scripture also tells us that love is patient. It is kind. It does not envy; it is not proud. It is not rude. Love is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love never fails. Notice that these characteristics don’t have anything to do with feelings. That’s because love is a choice. You can choose to walk in love toward people even when you don’t feel like it. Today, make the choice to do what is right. Choose today to show kindness and be courteous to others. Look for ways to cultivate the greatest thing in your life, which is love. As you do, you’ll move forward into the life of blessing God has in store for you.

He Multiplies Our Resources

“Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness” – 2 Corinthians 9:10.

We serve a faithful God, He is the God of more than enough. Not only does He promise to meet your needs, He promises to give you enough to meet the needs of others, too.

When you are a sower, when you give of your resources, your time, talent, finances and possessions, God promises to multiply those resources so that you can continue to be a blessing to the people around you. You might look at what you have in your hand today and think, “This doesn’t look like much.” But understand that when you give God what you have, He’ll turn it into more than enough! The Bible tells us that Jesus fed a crowd of over 5,000 people by multiplying the lunch of a small boy, and He can multiply whatever you have in your hand, too.

Today, dedicate what you have to the Lord by faith. Ask Him where you should sow your seed so that you can be a blessing to others. As you do, He’ll continue to pour out His blessing and abundance on you, and you will live fulfilled and satisfied all the days of your life.