A Letter from Kabwata: Nigerian Religious Junk!

A Letter from Kabwata: Nigerian Religious Junk!: "“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fru..."

Why the Change of Name and Theme?

Blogging is a very interesting activity and a demanding one at the same time!
I have so far enjoyed everything involved in setting up, getting things started and writing the first posting. But as days have gone by, I have come to both, respect and appreciate those who are daily working on their blogs and postings almost every two days. This has proven to be a challenge to me. therefore, having come thus far, I have decided not to give up on blogging but to re-visit my blogspot by changing the name and theme.

My earlier blog spot name (Guard Your Heart) and theme (It's your Life's treasure) was very catch and good, but it has left me locked up and limited. I had pushed myself into a very tight sport. I just couldn't  keep up with the demand for writing only on heart issues. not only me but you my audience inclusive would have sooner or later been frustrated, burned out and finally died.

The idea of changing the name and theme to "EXTRA  Peruse it all and sprout" seems to accommodate all I intend to share with you. I feel this will cause me to get over the hedge and talk about a vast of issues that both interest me and you; to fly across rivers and mountains of life, and tap where it may matter most. No matter what the case may be I pray and trust the blog will forever remain Christ-centered, God-glorifying, Saint-edifying and Sinner-provoking.

I hope to be writing on a number of topics such as my church life, theology, Christian challenges, events, sport, animals, weather etc. anything morally upright that I think would be EXTRA information for every Christian to feed upon in their walk with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Please forgive me for taking valid time from you to read about what I intend to do. nonetheless, I hope you will come and dine with me from time to time as I bring to you EXTRA to peruse it all and sprout. I thought I should not leave some of you in suspense with the whole change of name and theme even when it does not matter to you that much.
That's all!

Sometimes God Says "No!" (2/5)

Though the Lord answers all my prayers, he does not always say "YES". I thank God that he has said yes in countless times. But if yes was all he said them he would not be a good God. Just like a parent who is always saying yes to all the children's demands is not a good parent. As a Christian I must always be learning that God knows and understands my entire life more than myself. He knows my yesterday, today and forever. Therefore every time I get engaged in prayer, my heart must be fully convinced that God already knows and will answer me accordingly. It may be yes, but sometimes God says "No".

Just like little junior, we all do not so much appreciate "NO" for an answer. "NO" has caused many Christians to say unrighteous things about God. Even mature believers at times through tantrums, distract their minister of the gospel and fail to magnify the Lord. Whether we like it or not, let's face it; the Lord will always say "NO" to us in a lot of things. Therefore we must learn to accept both positive and negative answers as from the loving God who cares for us and wouldn't like to see any one of us perish. You response and reaction to God when He says "No" suggests the nature of your walk with Him and describes your maturity level!

Let me put in perspective. Observe God's dealings with Paul. It is not clearly known what the problem was with the apostle Paul. Whatever it was, it must have been painful or difficult to bear. In 2 Corinthians 12:7- 10, Paul prayed and pleaded with the Lord three times that a thorn in his flesh may be taken away. But the Lord said "No!" I have no idea why the Lord refused (who are we to question God), but the Lord found it needful for Paul's sanctification. God said that His grace was sufficient (enough) for Paul to live with a thorn in the flesh. Friends, Paul in a very mature way accepted the answer as from the Lord.

As though that is not enough, observe another more surprising occurrence. A night leading to the crucifixion, the Lord Jesus Christ was in the garden of Gethsemane praying (Matt 26:36- 44). The scriptures relate that He prayed three times for the Father to take away the cup of suffering. But the Father said "No!" Can you believe that even the Lord Himself received "NO" for answer? Unlike us, He acknowledged that it was the Father's will that He should drink it. Had God the father said "YES" history would have gone on a very sad detour. Jesus Christ would have failed to redeem us; we would have been the most hopeless creatures. I thank My Lord daily that He drunk that bitter and excruciating cup of crucifixion. What a joy to learn that sometimes God says "NO!"

Dear friends, please keep this in mind and heart that when the answer is "NO" it is still from God. God is sovereign, infinite and all-knowing. He knows why He says "No" to a number of our prayers. Therefore, be thankful to the Lord when He denies you the desires of your hearts and your endless prayer requests. Not only does He answer with an emphatic "YES" sometimes God simple says "NO!"

 

Answered My Prayer (1/5)

 

There are many times in my life when I felt like giving up on God because He didn't answer my prayers. I really did struggle and scuffle with how God answers my prayers. I had often times wondered why God never answers in the very ways I pray when He is Who He is; promised to never leave me nor forsake me; and will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory?

I have, for some time now, learnt that this is not unique to me. Majority of believers from time to time do fall in this predicament again and again. I wouldn't be surprised that as you read this article, you are already aligning yourself to it. Hope this will help you understand why you should never give up praying even when God seems not to answer your prayers in the way you would like Him to. Though we can claim that He will grant as the desires of our hearts, our desires must first be found in line with his will. Therefore, hold your arguments back for a moment and just read on, you will be blessed.

Whenever I go before the Lord in prayer, two things always accompany me; first to make request from the Lord by presenting before Him my petitions, and second because I have come to him, believing who He is; the promises He has made in His word, and my strong faith, that by all means, He will give me a positive answer. I am always anticipating His goodwill to meet my needs. But as I do so, never at one time do I meditate on what the Lord's answer will be. In fact in some quarters they insist that if you did so, then you doubt God. There are no two ways about it, God just has to answer me here and now and according to my request, will and desire. Unfortunately that is not always the case with the Lord; He is not a son of Adam to reason like me.

As I share with you how the Lord answers my prayers, first and foremost I want you to know that God has always answered every prayer I have ever prayed in my Christian life. "But pastor…" you may be thinking "I have a list of a thousand things that God has never answered me, and how come he has answered all your prayers?" well the problem is that you only conclude that the Lord has answered you if the answer is either according to your requests and/or if it is a "YES" answer.

Have you ever heard of a man who thanked God for not saying "YES" to all his prayers for a marriage partner? Had God said "YES", he says, "I would have been polygamy of a hundred wives today". There are a number of ways in which God answers your prayers dear friend. Just stop being stiff necked in the name of faith and know the truth about God.

Let me bring to your attention five ways in which God answers my prayers.

When God says "YES"

What a glorious experience it is when God says yes! Every believer leaps for joy! At times we even lose sight of God, and like our friends in other camps, we give credit to our faith. As if it is our believing that twisted the arm of God. The Lord answers yes simply because we have prayed according to His will. Please don't get me wrong, I do not reject the fact that God would have us exercise great faith and belief, however the ultimate truth is that you prayed according to His will. I guess the next question would be "how can I know God's will before I pray so that I can pray with direction?" well that's for later.

The Lord in the book of James (Jam 5:13- 16) gives us a very practical example of the Old Testament prophet, Elijah, who had learnt to pray according to God's will. And every time he did, God answered with an emphatic yes! In fact the answers were not simply cloudy, but specific to the request. For that reason God would have us always praying and never to loose heart (Luk 18:1- 8) until we know His answer.

Today I can recount from one request to another of the things I have prayed for and God had said "Yes!" A clear and sure sign that I prayed according to His will. It was not because I had a strong belief or faith in Him but simply because I had enquired for what His will was and asked in that accord. And that's just one of the ways in which God answers my prayers.

In case you have something upon your heart and you think God will not answer you with a yes, please seek His will first. For God is able to answer you according to the need at hand. If you don't hear from Him today don't give up, keep on praying.

Watch this space for the remaining ways in which God answers my prayers…