It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us.  Rom 10:8  The Message

This is particularly important, because the Christian life is a walk of faith from beginning to the end.  Everything the child of God does, must be done in faith.  For without faith, it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6)

It is essential therefore, for the believer, whenever he may be confronted with a seemingly adverse situation, to align his or her utterances with what God’s word says about that particular situation; and keep declaring God’s word regarding that situation, until a change is realized.  I like the way the Living Bible captures this:

We boldly say what we believe [trusting God to care for us], just as the psalm writer did when he said, “I believe and therefore I speak.  2 Cor 4:13  TLB

So we exercise our faith in God, when we call into existence the things that do not exist. (Rom 4:17)  One may ask: Is not the practice of declaring what one is yet to see manifested a mere denial of the facts of life?  Is the believer who makes such utterances not living in denial?  Not at all.  In the natural and to the carnal mind, this practice may seem foolish, but not so in the eyes of God.  No doubt, God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.

To exercise your mouth as an organ of faith is not to deny the situation you may be confronted with, but rather, to superimpose what God’s word says regarding such situations to that particular challenge you may be confronted with.

For example you may feel physically weak and admit to that fact, but deliberately and regularly confess in tandem with God’s word that you are strong: let the weak say, I am strong (Joel 2:8) As you keep doing this, with time you will begin to receive strength in your body.  For as children of God, the words that we speak, are life and spirit!

A careful read of the Bible, also reveals that our utterances are also a weapon of warfare.

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, Rev 12:11 NKJV

The eternal blood of Jesus, no doubt has redeemed us from the kingdom of darkness into God’s perfect light.  When we align our words with what God’s word says about our lives and the specific situations in our lives, our words assume power and become like a light that dispels whatever darkness we may have been surrounded with.  As the Scriptures put it:

You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways.  Job 22:28 NKJV

Our mouth is certainly an organ of our faith and there is the need for each child of God to come to terms with this truth and accordingly, exercise his or her tongue rightly.  The word of God should not only be in our hearts, but also on our lips. We should speak out what we believe in our hearts; and never underestimate the power in our words, realizing that we create our future with the words we speak.  The Scripture below explicitly captures this point:

As for Me,” says the Lord, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the Lord, “from this time and forevermore.”   Isa 59:21  NKJV Emphasis mine

Let each of us endeavour not to speak carelessly but align our words and utterances in any situation, with what God says in His word regarding such matters.  For the believer in Christ Jesus, our bodies are the containers of God’s presence; His Spirit dwells in us and His word should not depart from our mouths! Remember the Word and Spirit is what created the whole universe.

God bless you!

The post Organs of our Faith – The Mouth (II) appeared first on Fragrance of Love.

In our previous posts, we looked extensively at what the Scriptures refer to as our heart, and how important the maintenance of our spiritual heart is, for the sustenance of our faith in God.  In this post and the subsequent one, we will look at the mouth, as an organ of our faith.

Our future is carved by the words we speak.  We read from the book of Genesis that even though the Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the earth, there was darkness all over, until God commanded the light into being:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.  Then God said,”Let there be light”; and there was light. Gen 1:1-4 NKJV

Similarly, one may be born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in tongues and even manifest the fruit of the Spirit, but without employing the use of our mouths, by speaking out in faith what we desire to see manifested in our lives, we may not see the realization of that which we hope for, in the physical realm.

No doubt, the mouth is an important organ of our faith! If this organ must be exercised in the realization of our salvation through Christ Jesus, then its importance in our entire walk of faith cannot be underestimated. As the Scriptures say:

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.  Prov 18:21 NKJV

The Apostle Paul also puts it this way:

The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);  Rom 10:8 ESV

So our faith in God should not only be in our hearts, but must be expressed with the words that proceed from our mouths.  We must speak out in faith, what we trust God for in our hearts. For as we confess into being, what we are yet to see in the natural world, our future will be carved out to conform to our utterances. Our declarations of faith will thus be like a light dispelling whatever dark situation we may be confronted with. I like the way this biblical truth is expressed in the book of Job:

You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. Job 22:28 NKJV

There is also a story in the Bible that depicts the veracity of this Scripture. In Numbers chapters 13 and 14, we read that Moses sent 12 men, leaders from each of the twelve tribes of Israel to spy out the land of Canaan, the land that God had promised to give to His people Israel. The mandate given to these spies were as follows: to see what the land was like: whether the people who dwelt in it were strong or weak, few or many; whether the land was good or bad; whether the cities they inhabited were like camps or strongholds; whether the land was rich or poor; and whether there were forests there or not; and to bring some of the fruit of the land.

All the twelve spies returned from the trip, brought fruit from the land and reported that the land flows with milk and honey, the cities were fortified and the people who dwelt there were strong and mighty.

However, Joshua and Caleb gave voice to the faith they had in God, by publicly declaring that in spite of the apparent advantage the inhabitants of Canaan seemed to have over them in respect of their physical strength, they were certain that, with God on their side, they would surely overcome those inhabitants.  The other ten spies however instilled fear in the Israelites by the report they gave, for they said to the people of Israel:

We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we…. The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature..…. and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” Num 13:31-33 NKJV

By these words, almost all the people lost their faith in God and cried out to Moses, complaining that they would have been better off dying in Egypt than the current predicament they found themselves in, with Moses as their leader.  God considered those utterances as an expression of their lack of faith in Him and made a profound statement:

‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you….  Num 14:28 NKJV

Consequently, the ten spies, along with all those who stood with them perished in the wilderness, whereas Joshua, Caleb and all those who also stood with these two men in faith, were able to make it into the Promised Land!

God’s word never falls to the ground.  He will do for you and me, just what He hears us declare with our mouths. If we claim to have faith in Him, let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, with the assurance that He is faithful; and will do according to what He has promised us in His Word. (Heb 10:23).

To be continued in the next blog.

God bless you!

The post Organs of our Faith – The Mouth (1) appeared first on Fragrance of Love.

Just as a sharp object is required to circumcise the male reproductive organ, so also does the new testament circumcision, require our spiritual hearts to be circumcised with God’s word, the sword of the Spirit, which is sharper than any two edged sword and discerns the soul and spirit, exposing our innermost thoughts and desires to us in the light of God’s word (Hebrews 4).

Could it not be the case that the reason why a change is often not seen in the lifestyles of many who profess to be Christians, and who may even have actually accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, is probably because many of us do not allow the Word of God to prune our lives?

We stated earlier, that the circumcision of the male sexual organ, according to experts, not only shapes the organ, but also prevents it from attracting diseases.  Similarly, once we allow the Word of God to trim our hearts, and we align our thoughts, emotions, will power and decisions with God’s Word, we become more like Christ in character and ultimately become more fruitful in our walk with the Lord.  Indeed Christ Himself taught his followers extensively that his true disciples will be recognized by their fruits. (John 15)

You will recognize them by their fruits….. So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Matt 7:16-19 ESV

A holistic study of the Scriptures show that the manifestation of this fruit in our lives is evidenced in how we relate with one another and in how we react to the issues and trials that confront us in our individual lives. (1 Pet 1:22)

God’s intent for man is to be fruitful and multiply, and a productive heart yields the fruit of the Spirit outlined below:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Gal 5:22-23 NKJV

This is only possible when by the Spirit of God, we subdue the works of the flesh.   As we regularly examine ourselves carefully in the mirror of God’s Word, our weaknesses and flaws are exposed to us.  Our thoughts and desires, actions, inactions and motives among others that mar and taint us in God’s sight, are revealed to us, by the power of His Word. The more exposed we are to God’s word, the more our individual attitudes and actions that conflict with His word are laid bare before us.

It is important therefore, for every child of God to routinely submit him or herself to pruning by the spiritual sword – God’s Word.  This process may sometimes hurt our pride, and at other times make us seem foolish, in the eyes of others; nonetheless as we persevere in pleasing God in all our ways, a transformation in our lifestyles is seen by all.

For example, in the books of Romans and Hebrews, we read:

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Rom 12:18

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Heb 12:14 ESV

When we are awakened to our weaknesses in the light of these Scriptures, and learn that our holiness before God is linked to our relationships with one another; we will, in seeking to please God, choose not to insist on our individual rights, whenever we find ourselves in a potentially contentious situation, but rather submit to the other party’s notion or alternative, for the purpose of avoiding conflicts and animosity, so long as it would not be harmful to any of the persons concerned.

As we continually seek to please God and allow His word to shape us, we will gradually be transformed in our thoughts and actions to become more Christ-like.  We will realize that with time, our actions are subsequently not motivated by self-interest, but rather by an earnest desire to consider the interests of others above ours. (Philipp. 2)

Similarly, the joy of the Lord will bubble from within us at all times, as we take delight in fulfilling God’s will for our lives.

Peace floods our hearts as we trust God with the issues in our lives; and we become more patient as we take inspiration from the trials and triumphs of the heroes of faith (Rom 15:4).

All this however begins when you believe with your heart that Jesus Christ has paid the penalty for your sin and confess Him as the Lord and Saviour of your life (John 3:16-18).  If you have not done this, I encourage you to do so.  Only when this is done, can our hearts be circumcised with the spiritual sword of God’ Sword, and we become more like Christ.  For He says:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.  John 15:1-3   NKJV

God richly bless you!

The post The Heart As A Reproductive Organ – 2 appeared first on Fragrance of Love.

We concluded from our study that the biblical heart is the intangible part of man, comprising our minds, emotions, will power, decisions we take and our thoughts; and it is what is referred to as “the hidden man of the heart” (1 Pet 3:4).  In effect, our speech and everything we do, stems from our heart. Our biblical heart therefore, is the lens through which our Creator, God Almighty identifies who we really are.

The choice of the word heart, as earlier stated, is to better enable us relate to it as humans, and understand that, the condition of our spiritual heart is just as important for the sustenance of our faith in God, as the condition of our physical heart is, to the sustenance of our lives here on earth.  In today’s blog, we will examine the heart as the reproductive organ of our spiritual life and begin with God’s covenant with Abraham.

Abraham is the father of promise.  God divinely elected him and determined that through Abraham, He would establish His promise with mankind.  So that when God manifested Himself in human form through Christ Jesus, He made sure that our Saviour was born from the lineage of Abraham.  (Matt 1:1)

We read from the book of Genesis that God first appeared to Abraham and promised to bless him, make him “exceedingly fruitful”, make nations out of him, and ensure that through him, all the families of the earth would be blessed. God again appeared to Abraham when the latter was 99 years old, not only re-echoing the earlier blessing pronounced but also establishing a covenant of blessing with him.

Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations…. and I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. Gen 17:3-5;7-8 NKJV

This is the promise, that every believer in Christ Jesus has become a partaker of, by virtue of God’s grace.  In this same discourse with Abraham, God continued by stating clearly what the sign of that covenant between Him and Abraham’s descendants thereafter would be: the circumcision of every male child of his.

This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. Gen 17:10-12 Emphasis mine NKJV

So in the Israelite culture and many other cultures in the world to date, circumcision is widely practised. Circumcision is the cutting of the foreskin of the male sexual organ with a sharp object. This male sexual organ is also part of the reproductive organs of a man, and experts say that the cutting of the foreskin not only shapes that organ, but also prevents it from attracting diseases.

Fruitfulness and productivity come from the reproductive organ.  A productive sexual organ is able to produce the life of another human being.

In our study of Scripture, it is important for us to understand that the Old Testament is a shadow of the New Testament. (Col 2:17) Everything we read in the Old Testament, is thus a pointer to the new covenant we have with God through Christ Jesus, and which is revealed in the New Testament.  Consequently, every believer in Christ Jesus, is a partaker of the promises made to Abraham.

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus ….and if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Gal 3:26-27; 29 NKJV

No doubt, Abraham’s promises are ours.

….that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, Eph 3:6

If the sign of the covenant God made with Abraham of which we are partakers, is one of circumcision, how does that translate into the New Testament covenant that we have with God through Christ Jesus, in this era of Grace?

Well, it is interesting to note that circumcision is also mentioned in the New Testament as a sign of our covenant with God.

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.  Romans 2:28-29 NKJV Emphasis mine

This time around, as born again believers, the organ to be circumcised for fruitfulness in our walk with the Lord, is not the male sexual organ, but the heart, our spiritual heart – the ruling centre of our whole being. Indeed, New Testament circumcision has to do with the heart.   Why?  Because the heart is the productive organ of the spirit, “out of it are the issues of life”.  (Prov 4:23)

The sign of our covenant with God, as beneficiaries of His grace, is therefore the circumcision of our hearts!  Just as the act of circumcision in the old covenant involves a sharp object which is used to trim the reproductive organ, so also is provision made in the new covenant for the heart to be trimmed with a sharp spiritual weapon – the Word of God!

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.  Heb 4:12-13 NLT

God’s intent for man is to be fruitful and multiply, and the heart is the spiritual reproductive organ of our spirit man.  It is only when this heart is circumcised with the sword of the Spirit – God’s word, that we can bear fruit as children of God. (Gal 5: 22-23)

To be continued in the next blog.

God bless you!

The post The Heart As A Reproductive Organ – 1 appeared first on Fragrance of Love.

In the Scriptures we see several mentions of some parts of our human bodies so to speak, in the exercise of our faith in God.  Are these mere analogies? Why is the mention of these organs replete in Scripture?  I have identified two of such organs, which the Scriptures portray as integral in our Christian walk: the heart and the mouth; and in the next few weeks God willing, we will be studying tit bits under what I have captioned as the Organs of our Faith. 

In this first blog, we will look at a few Scriptural references where the heart of man is portrayed as an important organ of our faith in God and then explain what the Bible refers to as the heart of man.

It is important to note that in the realization of the salvation that God Himself has worked out for mankind through His Son Jesus Christ, these two organs of faith are involved: the heart and the mouth. In other words, you and I can only become partakers of God’s gift of Salvation to us by engaging our hearts and our mouths: by believing in our hearts, Christ’s redemptive work for us, and by confessing with our mouths, Jesus Christ, as our Lord and Saviour.

…that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  Rom 10:9-10 NKJV

We also read from (Genesis 6), that what compelled God to destroy mankind and indeed the whole earth in the lifetime of Noah, was when He saw the wickedness that was continually conceived in the heart of man.

Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them. Gen 6:5-7 NKJV Emphasis mine

Against the backdrop of this story, and other instances in Scripture where the heart of man is referred to, the saying of our Lord Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 is very insightful:

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matt 5:8)

One of the most profound stories in the Bible where we see God’s consideration of the state of the heart of man, as His focus of attention, has to do with His election of David as a replacement for king Saul.  When God rejected Saul as king (1 Samuel 16), He sent the prophet Samuel to the house of Jesse to anoint one of his sons as His chosen king:

So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before Him!”  But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  1 Sam 16:6-7 NKJV Emphasis mine

It is interesting to note that the prophet Samuel, was limited in his ability to discern the right person that God had chosen.  Glaringly, even though he was a prophet and could sometimes speak the mind of God, he was unable to see beyond the outward appearance of Eliab to discern his heart and its intent thereof; for the prophet’s judgement of God’s chosen one was wrong; and but for God’s promptings, prophet Samuel would probably have anointed Eliab as the chosen king.

Just like Samuel, we all, mortal as we are, are unable to see the heart of man and only reckon believers and non-believers alike by what we see of them on the outward.

God however, does not see as man sees; but looks beyond what man looks at.  He looks beyond the physical body and its demeanour, to look at the condition of our hearts. So when God sees us as individuals, He does not consider our physique, beauty or otherwise, our wealth; neither does he consider our level of education, nor even how much knowledge of His word that we may be privy to; but rather, what is within our hearts! When God sees you and me, He sees the intangible person within us – our hearts!

For as water reflects face, so a man’s heart reveals a man. (Proverbs 27:19).

So what does the Bible refer to as the heart?   Surely, the several references to the heart in the Scriptures; do not refer to the organ we know as the heart in the physical body, but rather, to the ruling centre of the whole person, the intangible person, the spiritual man within our physical body!

The choice of the word heart, I believe, is to enable us better relate to it as humans, and to make us better understand that, the condition of our spiritual heart is just as important for the sustenance of our faith in God, as the condition of our physical heart is, to the sustenance of our lives here on earth.  No wonder we are admonished to “guard our hearts with all diligence” since out of it comes the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

Indeed, the heart is the centre of spiritual activity and all the operations of life.  All decisions we take and emotions we display emanate from the heart; and it is that which makes us who we are.  Let us look at some Scriptures to confirm that the heart encompasses all these areas.  We will begin with the words of Jesus.

But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.  Matt 15:18-20 NKJV

From this Scripture, we gather that our speech reflects what is harboured in our hearts. Bearing false witness and speaking blasphemies both have to do with utterances a person makes, and Scripture says, all these emanate from the heart.  Similarly everything we think about or do, stems from our hearts. Murder, adultery, fornication and thefts are all actions from the heart.  Once we nurture the thought in our heart, it is tantamount to doing it.

But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? Matthew 9:4 NKJV

From this second Scripture, also words from Jesus, we deduce that the biblical heart comprises our thoughts; for we think with our hearts.  If this is so, then it is important for us as believers, to guard our thoughts and imaginations.

Again, from the texts below, we read that the biblical heart also comprises our emotions. Joy is an emotion, likewise sorrow.  So then, the emotions we express, also spring from our hearts.

The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. Psalm 19:8

But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. John 16:6-7 NKJV

Our will power and the decisions we take, also stem from the heart.  We read that:

… Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies,  Dan 1:8  NKJV

So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.  2 Cor 9:7  NKJV

The verses above indicate that we decide with our hearts.  Consequently, every decision we take, including our decision to surrender our lives to Christ, emanates from the heart. For we become recipients of God’s salvation, when we believe the Gospel in our hearts and confess Christ, with our mouths.  Similarly, backsliding in the life of the believer, begins from the heart. The biblical heart therefore comprises our will power and the decisions we take.

Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.  Heb 3:13   NKJV

The biblical heart also embraces our conscience. For we read that:

For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. 1 John 3:20-21 NKJV

Typically, it is our conscience that condemns us when we err or stray off from doing the right thing.  In the Scripture above however, we read that it is our heart that condemns us.  This implies therefore that our conscience forms part of our biblical heart.

One can deduce from all the above discourse that the biblical heart is intangible.  It is a spirit, comprising our minds, emotions, will power culminating in the decisions we take and our thoughts; and it is what is referred to as “the hidden man of the heart” (1 Pet 3:4).  Our biblical heart, is the lens through which our Creator, God Almighty identifies who we really are.

No doubt, the heart is a vital organ of our faith as children of God; and its health, central to the sustenance of our Christian life!  So the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, seeking hearts that are loyal to Him. (2 Chron 16:9)

Stand by for more tit bits on the organs of faith in our subsequent blogs!

God bless you!

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