Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Life Digest - Volume 11

Download the 11th Edition of Life Digest. It is simply inspiring, enriching and uplifting I promise you. Read inspiring articles from Evangelist Bonnke, Dr. E.W Kenyon, Evangelist Daniel Kolenda and lots more! Just Click this link to download: http://www.lifecommissionministry.org/WebPDF/ld11.pdf you can also

copy the link to your browser.

Monday, July 4, 2011

REPORT FROM CATCH THE FLAME CONFERENCE, NIGER STATE.








It is simply just the beginning of something big. Though starting in a little way, it was just an inspiration or a spark up of the continual flow of the Holy Flame from the Lord upon His people all over the world. Tagged “Catch The Flame” Conference, the event is a divine initiative from the Lord to David on 9th December, 2009. The Lord inspired Him to start holding believers’ conferences alongside the ministry crusades he holds with the team. The event is designed to stir up the hearts of the believers towards flowing with the Holy Spirit in the area of evangelism, thereby spreading the influence of the Holy Spirit. “Catch The Flame” Conference, Niger State, Nigeria held on Friday 24th and Saturday 25th of June 2011 was the first step of faith towards carrying out this divine mandate. It is was a 2-Day, 3 sessions event. As it is well known, Life Commission Ministry exists strictly for the purpose of winning the lost and inspiring the saints to do the same. The conference is in line with the vision of the ministry.

On Friday 24th, the first day of the conference, David spoke on the outpouring of the Spirit. According to him, the Holy Spirit instructed him to build an altar of salvation on the first night of the event which he did. He explained the urgent need for men to get saved all over the world and that the Holy Spirit wants to set men aflame to enable them go everywhere and preach the Gospel with power and fervour. Journeying through 1Kings 16 through 18, he explained how the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal relates to the present world situation and the need for more men like Elijah who would challenge the status quo.

On Saturday 25th, during the Ministers and Church Workers’ conference, David taught on the Gifts of the Holy Spirit, explaining why they seem not to be in operation in many Churches today and how we can get them to start operation in our Churches again. It was a moment of insight and revelation as this resulted into a moment of passionate prayer. In the evening, the people came with real expectations to receive the fire of God in their lives. David briefly shared on what he titled: The Supernatural Labourers. Reading from Matthew 9:35-37, he emphasized that God is not looking for just teachers of the Word or just preachers of the Word or just healing ministers. But in order to get the job done properly, God is looking for labourers after the kind of Jesus – Supernatural labourers – who would teach, preach and heal – all three! He challenged the people that all God is looking for is available vessels who would be willing to go and do whatever God wants done. With this he led the people into receiving the Holy Ghost and fire. The fire of God simply fell on the people as they prayed and cried out to the Lord.

Though it was a believers’ conference, we had 14 people make a commitment to Jesus as Saviour and Lord of their lives for the 2 nights. Hallelujah! The Chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the area requested that we returned to repeat the event on a larger scale. We know that the impact of this event will remain in Niger State, Nigeria. The event was immediately followed by Strategic Evangelism Training (SET), a one week training done by the ministry to teach people the basics of soul winning.

ACCORDING TO PATTERN


God has a pattern – a blueprint – for whatever He does. It is our responsibility to enquire of Him the pattern for whatever He asks us to do. This then means that God is not just concerned about getting a task done but also about how the task is accomplished. This is worth considering if you desire to walk with God successfully. Is your life presently according to God’s pattern or first, have you discovered God’s pattern for your life? The reason there seems to be so much confusion and disorder in the body of Christ today is that men and women no longer seek to follow God’s pattern in accomplishing His purposes for their lives. This is unfortunate. It is important we understand that success in any divine task is not determined by how gigantic or glamorous it is but in how much of it fits into God’s pattern. God’s Pattern is His standard.

In giving Moses the blueprint for the construction of the Tabernacle of Witness, the Lord instructed him thus, “And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” (Exodus 25:40, NKJV). God told Moses to see to it that he built the tabernacle according to specifications. It seems to me that God cares about the very details of our lives. You know, some times we are tempted to think that the Lord only cares about the ‘spiritual things’ of our lives. But it is so clear that if by virtue of the New Birth we now belong to the Lord, then it means that He has total possession of us and if He has total possession of us, it then means that He has a pattern on how our lives should be run – physically, spiritually, mentally, financially, academically, socially etc. God is not careless about His property! 1 Corinthians 6:20 says “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.” (NKJV). Think on this for a moment.

Are you building according God’s pattern – God’s standard? One thing is certain, just like a man can reject a building if the builders refuse to build according to his desired plan, pattern or specifications, so also God will reject every building, thing or life that doesn’t correspond with His pattern. God will not accept anything less. He would not be satisfied with sub-standards. 1 Corinthians 3:11 tells us that “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (NKJV). Jesus is our pattern for life. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into the world not just for the salvation of souls but also as a pattern-Son for all other sons of He’s who would be produced by virtue of the finished work of Christ. No wonder Apostle Paul, by the Spirit, tells us in Romans 8:29 that “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” (NKJV). This clearly tells us that God wants us to pattern our lives after His Son, Jesus Christ – not any man! Many people make men their pattern and when those men fall, they also fall. God doesn’t want us to go about making men our pattern. Men are limited and fallible. He wants Jesus alone to be our pattern – our focus! Who are you patterning your life after?

When we start building our lives according to God’s pattern, we’d suddenly discover that there is no need or grounds for competition. Success in life is all about doing the will of God for our lives and being satisfied with it. Please, get this straight: Jesus is God’s pattern for our lives. Also the Word of God is God’s pattern for our lives. But then there is God’s specific pattern for our lives which we can only uncover by revelation or divine encounter. This is very important because, in as much as we are all meant to live according to the Word of God and to look to Jesus as our supreme pattern for life, God has called us to different areas of service which we must particularly ask Him to reveal to us. God has shaped us for a particular assignment. He has designed us to fit into His specific purposes for our lives and until we discover it, we can’t properly build according to His pattern. Hence, the need for prayer!

Just as God said to Moses, “And see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain.” (Exodus 25:40, NKJV), we must understand that the pattern for our lives can only be revealed to us on the mountain. So does it mean that we must go to a mountain to get the pattern for our lives? No! The word ‘mountain’ is a symbol of prayer. It is also a symbol of divine encounter. That is to say that we get the blue print for our lives by enquiring of the Lord in the place of prayer. We get it by revelation. We don’t figure it out with our heads. You see, when we stand before the Lord on that day of judgement, Jesus will only be concerned about what God designed us to do and not just anything. We must all give account to Jesus of our stewardship with regards to what God wanted us to do. So we can see that it is a very serious matter and we must do whatever it takes to get the proper design or pattern for our lives. It is worth spending time in the place of prayer to know and understand God’s pattern for our lives.

The role of the Holy Spirit in helping us know, understand and build according to God’s pattern cannot be over emphasized. We must depend on the Holy Spirit to be sure that we are building according to God’s pattern. It is not enough to know God’s pattern for our lives. It is also important that we walk with the Holy Spirit to ensure that we build daily – everyday! – according to that pattern. That means the Holy Spirit helps us maintain a life that follows God’s pattern consistently. He helps us stay with it. As long as we depend on the Holy Spirit, we can’t get it wrong. God sent the Holy Spirit to us, the saints, to help us know His mind. 1 Corinthians 2: 9-10 says “But as it is written: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” (NKJV). God always reveals His mind to us through the Holy Spirit. That means if you don’t have the Holy Spirit, you are limited in life and there is no way you can know, understand and build according to God’s pattern. The Holy Spirit has come to help us build according to God’s pattern. Jesus, in John 16:13 said “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (NKJV). So if you’re born again and don’t have the Holy Spirit, invite Him into your life by a simple prayer to the Father in the Name of Jesus, asking Him to fill you with the Holy Spirit and He will! Don’t live another day without the Holy Spirit. Let Him help you build according to God’s pattern!

Friday, June 17, 2011

THE SUPERNATURAL VS. THE NATURAL


There is the natural way of doing things. There is equally the Supernatural way of doing things. When we do things in the natural, we do it in the flesh. When we do things in the Supernatural we do it in the Spirit. Man is a spirit being and God designed him to operate in the Supernatural naturally. The distortion of this plan came as a result of the fall but that has been taken care of in the New Creation produced by Christ in His redemptive work. He restored man to the original plan. When we do things through the natural means, we are limited to the human ability. When we do things the Supernatural way, we simply employ the ability of the Omnipotent Father God. It is actually a choice for us to employ the natural or the Supernatural means of getting things done. There is indeed the Supernatural dimension to all aspects of life. We have employed the natural way of doing things for so long that we seem to be aliens to the Supernatural life. Whatever is birthed through the natural means will eventually hunt us. You can verify this from an Abraham who chose a natural option to produce an Ishmael. Today you know as much as I do that the Ishmaelites (hope you understand?) are the greatest human problem we have and it is prophetic. It’s time to start walking in the Supernatural – the realm where we really belong.

To be born again means to be born into the Supernatural realm where everything is ‘of God’! Every New Creature have been dipped into the Supernatural. Just as fishes don’t struggle to swim, we don’t struggle to manifest the Supernatural life. We live in it naturally. Someone may ask “if that is the case, why then is the Supernatural manifestation so scarce?” Well, that is why you are reading this piece. Many Believes don’t know that the Supernatural power of God is already upon them. They have not stepped into it. They have not put it to work. They have not placed a demand on the Anointing. They have not approached it as the way of life. They are surprised when they see a preacher manifest it. If only they can understand, if only they can see it for themselves in the Word, if only they will begin to live in the consciousness of it and put it to work every single day of their lives, they would be amazed at how much power is available to them in Christ. They will simply live the Supernatural life naturally!

The Holy Spirit came to help the Church step into the Supernatural life. One of the major reasons why we seem not to see much of the Supernatural in and through the Church of today is because we have not yielded to the Holy Spirit in the area of world evangelism, especially in reaching those in our neighbourhood, places of work and activities. The power of God will only manifest for the purpose for which it was meant. We don’t work in the Supernatural just to feel spiritually high, get some goose bumps, and go for picnics. It is for serious business. It is for establishing the Kingdom of God in the hearts of men whereever we find ourselves. The Holy Spirit who imparts eternal life to those we minister the Word too is always ready to bring the miracles to manifestation whenever we dare to step into it. It is the most Supernatural thing to have souls saved – become possessors of eternal life. If God can do this through us then there is nothing else that He cannot accomplish through us.

Consider these Scriptural quotes below. These are just few examples of the differences between the natural and Supernatural ways of doing things in our daily walk with God and their consequences:

“Thus says the LORD: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” (Jeremiah. 17:5-8, NKJV),

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-7, NKJV).

“I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16, NKJV).

Simply, walking in the spirit is walking in the Supernatural and walking in the flesh is walking in the natural. The former is unlimited while the latter is limited. You choice where to operate! Choose the Supernatural and flow with the Holy Spirit!

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

REFUSE TO COMPROMISE


One of the greatest challenges of Christianity today is compromise. We live in a time when compromise is just about everywhere. So many believers are wakened by the compromises of those they look up to as ‘Giants of the Faith’. It appears the standard is dropping rapidly. So many things are creeping into the Church today that were previously never to be mentioned in Church. So many things are done in the name of being relevant to the world. The rate at which we compromise on our stand for Christ is so amazing and, I believe, gets Heaven’s attention. Today, many unsaved folks believe that there is no difference between the saved and the unsaved since there is virtually no visible line of demarcation between the both – there seems to be no boundaries. The devil is busy fighting leading ministers, throwing all sort of assaults at them to make sure he lowers the standard of the Christian life and make other saints believe it is impossible to live perfectly before God. The reason the devil fights ministers of the Gospel is because whenever anyone of them falls, the Christian standard drops in the eyes of men and this produces a harvest of compromise among many believers who say things like “if so-and-so will fall into this, then who am I not to fall…” It’s unfortunate.

What is compromise? The word ‘Comprise’ means so many things like agreement, acceptance, exposure to danger or disgrace among others. But for the purpose of this discourse, I go with the Oxford English Dictionary’s definition that says Compromise means “to weaken a belief, standard etc by adapting it.” I want you to understand that before there is ever a compromise, there is first a standard. Compromise is questioning the truth. Compromise is altering the truth. Compromise is dropping the standard of excellence due to prevailing circumstances or difficulties in life. Compromise exists at different levels. The word ‘compromise’ is not negative in itself. It could be negative or positive depending on the direction it goes and what is compromised upon. There are positive compromises and equally negative compromises. Years ago, there was a clear-cut difference between what was a sinful act and what was a righteous act. But today, it seems we have to do some deliberations and discussions to find out what is right and wrong. I believe something is wrong somewhere. There is a need for a restoration to the divine order. It is clear that the devil is releasing his worst missiles of evil upon the earth because he knows his time is short. The most unfortunate thing is that so many Christians who were zealously serving the Lord have simply walked away from the faith, giving heed to deceptive and lying spirits. The Lord Jesus Christ, during His earthly ministry, warned against such things in the last days and here we are in the centre of it.

The Word of God is the Believer’s standard for living. It is our principle for living and anything done to violate what it talks about is termed ‘compromise’. Compromise starts when a person begins to question what he already knows is right. For instance you know it is right to go to Church, but then you begin to ask questions like “does it really matter if I don’t go to Church? After all going to Church doesn’t take one to heaven…” you’re already in the midst of compromise. When the devil aims at destroying a believer, he tries to get him to stand alone – away from other believers. When you compromise on the Word of God, it means you’re trying to reduce God to your human standard. And you know as much as I do that God will not and is not about to drop His standard for any one or any reason. II Timothy 2:19 says “Yet God's solid foundation stands unmoved, bearing this inscription, <"The Lord knows those who really belong to Him."> And this also, <"Let every one who names the Name of the Lord renounce all wickedness."” (WNT). Standard is another word for foundation.

As a believer, every single day, you will face the temptation to compromise in one area or the other of your life. The devil already knows that since you’re born again, you’re determined to stick to the Lord all your life and will never want to consider renouncing your faith, so the only way he tries to come in is by tempting you daily to compromise on what God’s Word declares. The devil hasn’t changed his strategies, he only modifies them. He’d say words like “did God really say…?” You see, it is very important that you understand that one day we shall all stand face to face with God – the Judge of all the earth, He is going to judge us personally. His judgement will not be based on your standard or what you think, but He will judge us according to His own perfect standard. God has a standard. I Corinthians 3:11 says “For no other foundation [standard] can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (NLT). Never make any man or human being your standard because if they fall, you fall too! Making men your standard makes compromise inevitable. Let Jesus be your standard for life. “looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of [our] faith…” (Heb. 12:2, ASV).

The antidote to compromise in these last days is to purpose in your heart not to accept anything less than God’s standard and trust the Holy Spirit to help you remain faithful to the Lord. This is exactly how Daniel handled the wave of compromise in His days. While the other Israelites were saying “How shall we sing the LORD'S song In a foreign land?” (Psalm 137:4; NKJV), the Word of God tells us that “…Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself…” (Daniel1:8; NKJV). In Daniel chapter three, the three Hebrew boys said ‘we will not bow to anything but God.’ So what are you saying today? I believe that no one ever goes to Heaven by mistake. You go to Heaven on purpose. You must be determined to serve the Lord in spite of the opposing trend in the world. In fact we must set a new trend for the world to follow – The Kingdom trend! We are in the world but we don’t belong to its system. The world system is governed by the devil and we dare not bow to his flawed standards. If we bow we burn! We belong to a different system! We can’t be fooled. We know who we are (1John 4:4)! We are only pilgrims and sojourners here on earth. In Christ alone we stand and overcome the world (2 Cor. 4:4, 1John 2:15-17; 1John 5:4,5)!

As I write this, I’m so conscious of the fact that so many people have compromised on their visions and dreams in life because they no longer see the possibility of it coming to pass. It appears as though it will all end in their imaginations and so they have dropped the standard. They now believe God for at least anything that is reasonable enough. They have simply reduced God to their standard. Romans 12:2 tells us “And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, and ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (ASV). Trust is Christ. Refuse to bow!

Monday, May 16, 2011

NO MORE DEPRESSION!


Depression is of the devil, it is a result of the influence of the devil on the mind of an individual. One who is depressed is pessimistic, disheartened and loses value for life even to the point of desiring to end it. I strongly believe that there is a spirit of depression that, if or when given an opportunity, influences the minds of people. I always count it a privilege to share my experience on how the Lord delivered me from depression. You know, I once experienced depression to such an extent that I laid in bed as though I was physically sick. My body was ok but my mind was terribly in trouble because of the war that was raging in there. The devil came with various thoughts of the sins I had committed in the past and started bugging me with them, telling me that my sins were not yet forgiven me and that I had to do something before the Lord could forgive me of them.

Some how I knew the truth about the matter because I grew up hearing that God forgives us our sins through Jesus Christ if we confessed them to Him (1John 1:9). But for some reasons I started considering what the devil was saying to me and that was where my problem started. I never believed that I would one day in my life contemplate suicide. But I did. I thought to myself; why not just end this pain once and for all? But thanks be to God, in the midst of the darkness, Jesus (the Light) walked in! It was a miracle. When I got healed of it, I made up my mind that I would never live another day of my life under the yoke of depression and that I would never watch anybody within my sphere of influence go through the pains and pangs of depression.

I really don’t know what makes you depressed, but one thing is sure, God has a solution for it in His Word. Here are few lessons I learned from my experience:

1. Depression comes when the Word of God is only in the head and not in the heart – when there is no personal conviction.
2. The devil, if allowed, can have a very strong influence on your mind even if you are born again.
3. There’s a spirit responsible for depression and it operates through negative thoughts. When you stop thinking about the things that make you depressed, you stop that depression.
4. Consciously meditating (thinking) on the Word of God keeps you from the path to depression. You don’t just stop thinking about the evil thought but you START thinking the right thoughts (the Word of God) because your mind can never be idle – at every point in time you are thinking about something.
5. Every thought is a seed that would eventually produce a fruit.
6. Whatever you meditate upon is magnified in your life naturally. As a man thinks in his heart so is he.
7. You have the power to choose what to think on – you are responsible for your thought life. You can’t stop evil thoughts from coming to your mind but you can refuse to think (meditate or ponder) on them.
8. When evil thoughts persist, pray in the Holy Ghost – your heaven language (you must be baptised in the Holy Ghost to do this).

Philippians 4:8 tells us exact what kind of thoughts to permit in our lives as Believers. It says: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.” (NKJV). This is powerful! This is how it works. Glory to God!

A PRAYER FOR YOU!
Father in the Name of Jesus, I thank You for these ones who are reading, thank You for Your great plans for their lives. I pray that You strengthen them by Your Spirit to walk in Your Word and be perfected in it. I pray that You empower them to think the right thoughts and be free from the influence of depression. Right now I come against every satanic influence over their lives in form of depression or whatever it may be in the Name of Jesus. I declare them free indeed because Your Son – Jesus Christ – has purchased their freedom and made them free. Thank you Father for this in Jesus’ Name. Amen!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

THE PEACE MAKERS


What you’re about to read has the potency of changing your status eternally. If you read this closely and allow the Holy Spirit to work on your heart, it will be impossible for your life to remain unaltered. In Matthew 5:9 the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.” (NKJV). How I love the New Living Translation’s rendering of this Scripture. It says “God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.” Who was Jesus referring to as the peace makers or those who work for peace? Was He referring to those who go to war in order to establish peace? Was He referring to those who settle fights and quarrels at local level? Or was he referring to those the world give the ‘Peace Ambassador’s award’? Well, Jesus must have had something different in mind. Understanding the kind of peace He was talking about will give us a clue on the kind of peace makers he was referring to.

The Prophet Isaiah, in prophesying the coming of the Messiah, said this about Him: “For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6,7; NKJV). Well, time will fail me to explain this portion of Scripture in details. But I want you to observe the underscored phrases and see that Jesus was actually referring to a peace that had to do with the Kingdom of God (The reign of God on earth and in the hearts of men). The Lord Jesus Christ, in His discourse with Nicodemus in John chapter 3, explains that except a man be born again he cannot experience (see or enter) the Kingdom of God – the reign of God (John 3:3,5). The Book of Luke 2:13,14 tells us that when Jesus was born, Angels and a great heavenly host rocked heaven with these words in singing “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (NKJV). The coming of Jesus Christ to the earth was the arrival of peace and with that peace comes good will. That peace was going to unveil the good will of God for man. Man was going to have a new experience because the peace of God has come to earth. Glory to God!

The Peace Makers Jesus was referring to certainly are not necessarily the police force, the military or quarrel settlers. The peace makers are those saints who have taken on the Great Commission as a life style. They live solely for this cause. They are the soul winners. They have personalized the heavenly vision. They are the true ambassadors of the unshakable Kingdom. Whatever they do in life, they put the heavenly vision at the fore front. They can’t live a day without telling someone about the peace that Jesus brought to the earth. They are the ones the Father considers as mature sons (Matthew 5:9b). They are the ones who understand they have been called to the ministry of reconciliation and have been given the Word of reconciliation! They understand their role in forcefully advancing the Kingdom of God. Unlike what you might think about peace makers, these guys are radical with their message of peace. They may look cool, calm and collected but in reality they are hot, armed and dangerous. They are heaven’s work force – ever pleasing the Father. They are on heaven’s pay role – never can they be paid by men. They understand the demands of the Father and they understand the urgency of the task. These folks never give up in their bid to be obedient to the heavenly vision despite the odds. They pray like warriors – ever fighting for the souls of the lost. They easily get heaven’s attention. They are tough and are terrorists to the kingdom of darkness. The devil aims at these ones – they are his target. They wreck havoc in his kingdom. He wants to get rid of them but the more he tries to destroy them, the more they reproduce themselves – they simply multiply.

The Peace Makers Jesus was referring to are those who live for the sole purpose of connecting men back to God through Jesus Christ by preaching the Gospel of Peace. The Gospel we’re called to preach is the Gospel of peace – the Gospel of reconciliation. Everything about the Gospel is PEACE, PEACE, PEACE. The Book of Ephesians shows us that the redemptive work of Christ was a work of peace. Ephesians 2:12-22 is such a wealth of the Peace work of Christ and what it means to us. Jesus Christ made peace through the cross of His death. Hence, a new definition of peace. Peace is no longer just the absence of wars, calmness of heart and mind or quietness in the home. All these could be the effects of peace but not the main substance. Peace simple means connecting with God through Jesus Christ His Son. In John 14:27 Jesus said something so profound. He said “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (NKJV). The disciples will later discover that the peace Jesus was talking about was not just the calmness of mind but something deeper, something that He was going to die for, letting His blood spill on the evil soil of the earth. “What manner of man is this?” They will say once again.

The Gospel we’ve been called to preach is a peace Gospel. 2 Corinthians 5:17-20 shows us that. It says: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.” (NKJV). Reconciliation speaks of peace. There is something else I want you to observe. Just as the Lord was telling us that we who are in Christ are New Creations, He is simultaneously telling us that we’ve got the ministry and the Word of reconciliation and that we are heaven’s Peace Ambassadors if we engage in this peace mandate. That’s good news for me and you! Ephesians 6:15 tells us that “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” (NKJV). This implies that if you are not an active soul winner, you are not fully equipped for the fight of faith because the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace is a part of the armour of God and the Lord admonishes us to “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (NKJV). Are you a Peace Maker?