Steadfast – Fresh Inspiration

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Fola Komolafe

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” 1 Peter 5:8-9 KJVS

It is said that when lions hunt, they look for weak, young, isolated, unguarded animals. They are the ones marked out for attack. Believers have an enemy, an adversary called the devil and his ultimate agenda is to destroy us, not merely to hurt, maim, or discourage, but to devour and destroy us. He goes around like a roaring lion making a lot of noise, threatening to bring upon believers things that God has delivered us from. One translation says he goes around like a fiercely hungry lion seeking someone to devour. He does that when he gets us to bow to circumstances, pressures, or forces of his evil design, hoping to make us yield to him.

Fola Komolafe

For His divine power has bestowed upon us all things that [are requisite and suited] to life and godliness, through the [full, personal] knowledge of Him Who called us by and to His own glory and excellence (virtue). 2 Peter 1:3 (AMPC)

Have you been the guest of somebody very important where before you wake up breakfast has already been served, lunch was on the table before you asked and dinner was laid out extravagantly in front of you before you even knew you were hungry. Such extravagance and such generosity lavished upon you not because you asked but because you came to visit. God does even much more than this for you everyday because you dwell permanently in Him, you are always in His house, in His presence, in His Kingdom. He has provided everything you need before you even realised that you needed it.

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Fola Komolafe

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)

I am steadfast, I am not moving, I am staying in the Lord because I know that all I do in Him is not in vain. I say this so many times to remind myself that I have chosen to be steadfast in God and in His word. How about you? I hope you have made a decision to be steadfast, a decision that you make now before situations and circumstances that may try to cause you to move comes, things that try to cause you to move from a position of stand you are taking because of the word of God firmly fixed in your heart. It is so important because it takes an attitude of steadfastness to fully see all the promises of God evidenced in your life, an attitude that says I am not giving up until I see the goodness of God manifested exactly as God promised it to me. I am staying in the word of God, believing it and declaring it because God said so!

Fola Komolafe

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:57 (KJV)

God want us to win always and the truth is that He has done everything He needs to do to ensure that no matter what we face, no matter what we go through we can always win as long as we keep believing and looking to Him. I was watching a football game recently in which one of the teams had come from behind to win. They did not win in the ninety minutes allocated to the game nor did they win during the extra time but they won eventually during the penalty shoot out.

Fola Komolafe

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. John 8:36 (KJV)

Freedom is something that is so valued and appreciated by anyone who has been held bondage, captive and in a position where their will, opinion and thoughts did not matter. They were under the rule of one who exercised power, dominance over them and subjected them sometimes in the most inhuman way to their bidding. It is such a terrible place to be that we see the Israelites crying out to God in the old testament to be set free from the bondage in which the Egyptians held them. Jesus died to set us free and the bible says, “So if the Son liberates you (makes you free men), then you are really and unquestionably free.”

Uzo Nwuga

Every gift God freely gives is good and perfect, streaming down from the Father of lights, who shines from the heavens with no shadow or darkness and is never subject to change. – James 1:17 (TPT)

Dictionary meaning of ‘match’ – correspond, or cause to correspond in some essential respect, be harmonious. Synonym: harmonise with, blend with, complement

In order to change an old system, an organisation needs to understand what they require for the future (this is usually quantified and qualified), what the system can do and how they fit together. And the business functions in the organisation must be able to work with these criteria even if in most cases this would be changing their ways of working to ensure the progress, growth, effectiveness and efficiency of the organisation.

Fola Komolafe

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Colossians 4:5 (NKJV)

Time is our most irreplaceable possession, once gone you cannot get it back! I would usually say to young people that there is a season of life that is best to do certain things, so let’s endeavour to be doing the right things especially by God in the right season of our lives. Solomon said it better in Ecclesiastes 3:1 when he said, ‘To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven.’

Fola Komolafe

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Isaiah 53:1 (NKJV)

I want to emphasise the importance of believing God’s word, and before you say, “of course I believe,” I want you to really think about whether you do believe or whether you merely agree in your mind quite casually with who God is and His word / report. You will remember when the Bible said in Gen 15:6 that Abraham believed in the Lord, and He (the Lord) counted it to him (Abraham) as righteousness. You see all the promises of God belong to the righteous and so the original translation of the conversation with Abraham gives the impression that God considered, thought about and added up everything that Abraham’s belief meant – and then determined that it was equal to righteousness, that is right standing with God.

Kayode Komolafe

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world…our faith 1 John 5:4

Have you ever taken thought of what success or victory means to you? Some of us gauge our daily joy meter with results and achievements, how much of our “To Do List” is ticked off and how close are we to our strategic goals. Whether it is in our work life, our home life, or our Christian walk, it’s easy to become overly interested in results, goals and performance. We can become caught up in measuring success by cultural standards. We turn to gimmicks and fads to get “results” when living the Christian life seems difficult or when the gospel seems to fail us in the here and now. We easily forget how Christ measures success in this life.

Kayode Komolafe

“I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. …” (Ezekiel 37:26)

When we go through life’s trials and challenges, struggle with finances, debt, health, unemployment, bad relationships, issues with children behaviours, living in war torn region and faltering fellowship with God, our hearts get troubled, and we become anxious and fearful of what is and what could be. We say we are not at peace. This is man’s definition of peace; we define peace as absence of war or hostilities with ourselves or absence of disturbance within oneself. In contrast, God’s peace is not the absence of all the trials and tribulations in the world, because Jesus said they will happen as longs as we are on this earth, but we can take comfort in the fact that He has overcome the world, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in Me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Fola Komolafe

But against any of the Israelites shall not so much as a dog move his tongue against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between the Egyptians and Israel. Exodus 11:7 (AMPC)

God makes a distinction between His people and the world. There is so much mess going on in the world right now that it is possible for the children of God to think that the same things that happen to people in the world will happen to them. It is a lie of the devil so do not be afraid! For throughout the history of the Bible God Almighty has always looked after His own, protected His own and distinguished them from experiencing the same fate as the rest of the world. Satan is the god of this world and he is behind all the evil in the world. BUT we belong to God, in the world but not of the world and called citizens of heaven and members of the household of God (Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 3:19).

Fola Komolafe

Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. Romans 15:13 (KJV)

Hope comes from God and His word! Hope is a confident expectation of good.

How do you know someone who is full of hope? You see joy and peace all around them not because of the situation they are in or anything in the natural but because of their faith, their belief in God and in the power of the Holy Ghost that is on the inside of them. The opposite is true of people who are said to be hopeless – around them you sense a heaviness and a restlessness because they can’t see beyond their eyes. In a way they have defined their reality by what they see rather than what they believe and who they believe. Hope for us as Christians comes from God, He is the source of hope and it fills our hearts bubbling over every time we choose to believe God and His word.

Fola Komolafe

For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart. Ecclesiastes 5:20 (ESV)

I read this scripture, smiled broadly, and prayed that God would occupy our hearts continually with His Joy.

In life there are so may things trying to occupy our hearts which is why we are encouraged to guard our hearts diligently. However Solomon on reflecting on the vanity of life and the good things which come to us as a gift from God then makes this awesome statement about God occupying or making our hearts so busy and active with Joy that this is the significant thing we remember about our life.

Fola Komolafe

Also, no one ever pours new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would break them. The wine would spill out, and the wineskins would be ruined. You always put new wine into new wineskins. Luke 5:37-38 Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

I remember being in the Girls Guide and our motto was ‘Be Prepared.’ At the time I did not fully understand what it meant being quite young but as I have grown up I have come to realise the importance of preparation for the things we desire to do well and to be successful at. People prepare for exams so that they can pass and do well. People prepare for job interviews, house moves and so many things because they aspire for success and don’t want to miss out. I believe that as Christians we also need to be prepared for a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives and walk with God for this season and this day in which we live. It is usually said that success comes when preparation meets opportunity.

Fola Komolafe

And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. Exodus 33:18

Moses prayed and pleaded with God to show him His glory. At this time Moses had already seen the fulfilment of God’s promise to deliver Israel from the Egyptians. He had already seen the power of God demonstrated and He had experienced the presence of God so much so that He had received the assurance from God that His presence would go with him. However Moses wanted more, so much more that He pleaded with God to show him His glory.

Fola Komolafe

Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. Deuteronomy 31:6

Courage is defined as the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger and pain, without fear. It takes courage to live according to the word of God, to live everyday by faith refusing to compromise your beliefs for anything less. It is not unusual as a believer to be faced with situations where we constantly need to make choices on what to do – do we go God’s way and refuse to fear, or do we allow fear to rob us of the strength and courage God gives us to see His will accomplished in our lives.

Fola Komolafe

What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us? Romans 8:31 (AMP)

God has always been in your corner. Since creation when God decided to make man in His image and likeness, He was making an eternal declaration, a covenant with man to always be in his corner. You can see this reflected throughout the old and new covenant where we see God fighting battles for His people and defeating the enemies for them. The people would show up and the battle was already won by God, so all they had to do was gather the rewards of the victory. In the new covenant the bible says that we are more than conquerors (Romans 8:37) because God is the one who conquered all things for us and we rest in His victory declaring it over all areas of our life.

Fola Komolafe

Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:12

Have you ever been on one of those rollercoasters at a theme park? Once you are on the ride, they go so fast and no matter how scared you are, you know that you cannot let go of the handle bars. You hold on fast! In some ways this is what the word is telling us. It is saying that no matter what comes our way we should hold on fast and not let go of the eternal life to which we have been called and about which we made a good confession. However we don’t hold on in fear, we hold on in faith, we hold on believing the word of faith which is the word of God.

Fola Komolafe

Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments. Deuteronomy 7:9

How you see God and what you know about God is important as this will determine how you live out your life of faith in God. It will determine whether you are mostly up or down, and form the basis of how much you trust him. This kind of knowledge is not intellectual rather it is a deep knowledge in our heart based on a choice to believe God and His word. It comes by meditating on the word of God, which is the word of truth.

Fola Komolafe

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:6 (KJV)

It is such a wise thing to acknowledge God in all of our ways – big or small, easy or difficult, simple or complex, familiar or unfamiliar. Have you ever started something you thought was going to be quick and simple…and then it suddenly becomes drawn out and more complicated than you bargained for? I have, and know that I should not be deceived by my perception or human understanding of things. I need God in everything because simple can become complex, easy can become difficult, and familiar can suddenly become unfamiliar.

Fola Komolafe

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. Proverbs 17:22

I was on a plane one day when this scripture came to my mind and I started meditating on it both as an encouragement knowing the value of good medicine, but also as a challenge thinking of how to maintain a merry heart when there are so many things trying to affect the condition of your heart. Proverbs 4: 23 says we should keep and guard our heart with all vigilance and above all that you guard, for out of it flow the springs of life. So, as I thought about this some more, I realised that there are some things we can do to maintain a merry heart.

Kayode Komolafe

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” James 1:22

As a believer in Jesus Christ understanding the authority of His word, I have been challenged in many areas of my life by situations and circumstances that appeared to be either beyond my control or self-inflicted. However, I always recognise the grace of God that has sustained me through those situations and given me the victory. Faith in God’s word and promises has always given me hope and confidence that it will be alright, no matter what.

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