Knock

Day 7

Success Marathon Series

Scripture Reading:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7, ESV

The principle of knocking is very interesting, when we speak about knocking we are indirectly referring to the presence of a door. On the marathon of success one will be faced by many doors that need to be opened. Doors are a point of entrance and exit. When we walk through a door we exit one system and enter into another. For instance, graduation is a door which allows one to exit a training establishment in order to enter a working environment. Promotion is a door which permits for one to leave a certain level of performance that is naturally lower, to enter a higher level. From the following examples we realise that doors are not an everyday thing and they happen at certain reference points in our lifetime, they are like the bus stops of our lives.

It is very common for people to find themselves faced with the mystery of “closed doors” that is, they are unable to exit one level of knowledge, thinking, understanding and expression in order to enter another level. This becomes a point of frustration and dissatisfaction. We see that God is able to break through at this level; He says “I have opened a door that no one can close…” (Revelation 3: 8a, para).  It is clear from this scripture that doors are really closed and we need God’s intervention to unlock things. Indeed God can unlock things within us and around us. We see Jesus victorious from the grave and making a bold statement, “…I have the keys of death and hades…” (revelation 1:18b, para). from this we can infer that Satan does not release his prisoners (See Isaiah 14). When we speak about prisons, it is none other than the mystery of closed doors. However, glory in the highest because Jesus says he has the keys! Yes, brother and sisters, this is a reality. There will be no success without unlocking of doors. We encourage the children to continue praying as Daniel prayed 21 days. These days signify persistence as revealed by the scripture spoken to him, “And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, and it called, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision” (Daniel 8:16, ESV)

May this scripture also be fulfilled as you continue to persistently to knock on the doors of spiritual, material and intellectual things until they open before you.

Prayer and Meditation:

Lord,

May you open for me doors that no man can shut.

May I be liberated in my mind and emotions so that I see through the eyes of the Spirit.

Amen

_______________________________

For your questions contact

Pastor Ebenezer  kilubaeben2000@gmail.com 

Pastor Joshua joshkiluba@gmail.com

For comments visit our blog at https://jtlvoice.wordpress.com/home/

Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JTLinternational

Follow us on twitter @JTLMinistries

Visit our website at http://jtlministries.org/

 

The Treasure Hunt

Success Marathon Series

Day 5

Scripture Reading:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7, ESV

“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”

Luke 18:1, ESV

In our previous post we discovered that the TREASURES of knowledge and wisdom are HIDDEN in Christ  (Colossians 2:2-3). This reveals the need for a treasure hunt. All success marathons can be compared to a treasure hunt so one needs to know the principles or the rules to finish the race effectively. In our theme verse Jesus speaks of prayer in 3 aspects, the first aspect is ask, the second is seek and the third is knock. In this post we are interested in the seeking aspect of prayer as we are speaking of a treasure. Knowledge and wisdom are hidden not for the purpose of being spiteful but rather to build an attitude of seeking, or a spirit of research. Indeed behind an attitude of seeking or a spirit of research lies an opportunity for discovery that brings glory to the researcher.

The few things we have spoken about may be uninteresting to some people who would rather have God deposit knowledge in their minds without any seeking on their part. We believe this is possible as the Lord Jesus Christ spoke about seeking, and him being the ideal model for human existence means we should engage in the path of research which  is filled with divine assistance with true manifestation of the super natural. This may seem contradictory to what we said earlier on regarding an effortless deposition of knowledge into one’s mind. Not at all! God wants us to be co-workers with him (See 1 Corinthians 3: 9).  This is the case of Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego  who were not excluded from the learning duties of all those who were admitted to the Babylonian learning institutions; however, they proved to be ten times more proficient in their fields of expertise (See Daniel 3).

It is important to mention that this aspect of prayer – seeking –  may be discouraging at times but let us be encouraged by the words of Jesus in Luke 18:1 who speaks about the need to not give up seeking in prayer. Jesus speaks in this manner not as non-specific motivational advice but as one who is assuring that all prayer made in accordance to God’s will is guaranteed a favourable answer. This brings us to the question; is academic research God’s will? Our answer is yes! As it is written in Proverbs 25:2  “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings”(NIV). Furthermore, God gave man the mandate to work the earth, or to develop it ( See Genesis 1: 28). Thus, all development has a conceptual phase which involves research. We also know that Jesus died to erase the shame of man as it is written “…all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23, NKJV) . If there is any glory in discovery it is only made possible by the death of Christ on the cross. We should therefore approach our success marathon with an attitude of seeking or a spirit of research that will enable us to find the hidden treasures which are our glory. Doing this is a sign of our gratitude to The Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross who restored our position of glory

Prayer and Meditation:

Lord,

May I have the glory of Kings, to search out matters.

May I never grow discouraged in my treasure hunt  for it is my success marathon.

Amen

 

__________________________________________

For your questions contact

Pastor Ebenezer  kilubaeben2000@gmail.com 

Pastor Joshua joshkiluba@gmail.com

For comments visit our blog at https://jtlvoice.wordpress.com/home/

Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JTLinternational

Follow us on twitter @JTLMinistries

Visit our website at http://jtlministries.org/

 

The treasures of wisdom and knowledge

Success Marathon 

Day 3

Scripture Reading:

“…God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

Colossians 2:2b-3, ESV

“And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us WISDOM from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption”

1 Corinthians 1:30, ESV, emphasis added

It is commonly perceived that knowledge is for a select few or at least the perfection in an area of study. It is also thought that the unbelievers are more knowledgeable or wise. There seems to be an association between advanced learning and atheism. All these stereotypes may make the world of knowledge  attractive to young, zealous and committed Christians. We would like to contradict these ideas by the above scriptures placing Christ at the center of all academic advancement. Although some people may overtly or openly give the glory of their academic achievement to themselves or to different practices of man, they are unaware that the Lord pours his rain or shines his light on both the believer and the non-believer (See Matthew 5:45).

Christ becomes relevant to us by virtue of his crucifixion in the sense that we obtain salvation by his death; additionally,  our theme scripture speaks of another important benefit, wisdom. Wisdom is considered to be the application of knowledge. Therefore, we should not despise knowledge as that would be despising the death of Jesus on the cross. In addition, we should trust God with an equal amount of conviction for him to intervene in the area of knowledge such as expertise or  academics as he would in cleansing us of our sins. It is important to note that the death of Christ gives us the fullness of life and the fullness of life includes knowledge as it is written “my people perish because they lack knowledge” (Hosea 4:6, para) .

We should approach the world of knowledge –  academics or institutions of higher learning,  with a measure of reverence because Christ gave his life that we may acquire knowledge.

Prayer and Meditation:

Lord,

May this success marathon prove to be an opportunity for me to display wisdom and knowledge.

I trust you to see me through this darkness, or lack of knowledge.

Amen

__________________________________________

For your questions contact

Pastor Ebenezer  kilubaeben2000@gmail.com 

Pastor Joshua joshkiluba@gmail.com

For comments visit our blog at https://jtlvoice.wordpress.com/home/

Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JTLinternational

Follow us on twitter @JTLMinistries

Visit our website at http://jtlministries.org/

 

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Quietness

Success Marathon

Day 2

Scripture Reading:

“…in quietness and trust is your strength…”

Isaiah 30:15, NIV

In this post we will focus on quietness,  an important aspect of rest when one is faced with challenges on the success marathon.  In general, we do not associate noise with rest, maybe when we are rejoicing we can make that exception.  Noise is a violation of the state of rest as per definition: “a sound, especially one that is loud or unpleasant or that causes disturbance” by Oxford dictionary. We would like to focus on  undesired noise that takes place in the mind and the heart (spirit and soul).

Trust is a principle that may be easy to understand, however quietness in the context of our post may be a challenging concept. For example,  in encouraging the Israelites not to fear the pursuit of pharoah, Moses says, “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent” (Exodus 14:14, ESV) Does this quietness literally mean silence that is the cessation of speech when faced with a challenge? Absolutely not! Does quietness mean a character of timidity? Absolutely not! Does quietness mean giving up hope and leaving the events to chance?  Absolutely not! Instead, quietness reaffirms our trust in God’s word regarding the particular task we are carrying out. For instance, Job  in the spirit of quietness did not curse God in his troubles but rather provided us with an inspired word which is a source of strength for many when he declared “my redeemer lives…” (see Job 19:25). Therefore, we should approach the success marathon with the realization that it will always be faced with opposition. This helps us walk with God in trust so we declare as the Hebrew young men did in their time of trial, “…our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king” (Daniel 3:17, ESV). Yes, quietness and trust become an unwavering commitment to rather fear God rather than circumstances.

However there is a group of people who may be visited by doubts arising from their own or prevailing ideas of predestination. In the day of challenges these people question whether they are meant for the destination for which they have engaged on the success marathon. Our answer for them is clear in the words of the Apostle Paul “… each of you should remain as you were when God called you” (1 Corinthians 7:20, NLT). There is no need to fear when this type of noise comes, let it not unsettle you. We believe that God is a good shepherd and when we sincerely don’t know our destiny and enquire from him in prayer He is able to redirect our steps. As it is written “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives” (Psalms 37:23, NLT)

In conclusion, may our ideas or the general ideas of predestination NOT halt our participation in the success marathon. We should journey in the spirit of rest, reaffirming our trust (being quiet) in challenges and resolved to reach our destination. If these principles are carefully observed, it is impossible for one to fall away or miss their destiny.

Prayer and Meditation:

Lord,

Help us to rely on you, in quietness and trust.

May what you aim to attain in us through trust be achieved this success marathon.

Amen

__________________________________________

For your questions contact

Pastor Ebenezer  kilubaeben2000@gmail.com 

Pastor Joshua joshkiluba@gmail.com

For comments visit our blog at https://jtlvoice.wordpress.com/home/

Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JTLinternational

Follow us on twitter @JTLMinistries

Visit our website at http://jtlministries.org/

 

Rest

Success Marathon Series

Day 1

Scripture Reading

“Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

Psalms 91, NIV

All true success marathons should be done in the spirit of rest. We would like to introduce you to the idea of working at rest. God is seated on his throne regardless of any challenges or spiritual battles that may be taking place – this should inspire us. From the beginning we see God’s work that spanned over 6 days and on the 7th day he rested. Scriptures tells us clearly, “On the seventh day God had finished his work of creation, so he rested from all his work.And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because it was the day when he rested from all his work of creation” (Genesis 2:2-3, NLT). Interestingly, God blessed the rest and not the days of work. From this we learn that to live life without rest is a curse irrespective of our productivity and therefore we are in need of this discussion.

When Mary received the task of bearing or conceiving our saviour Lord Jesus Christ, the arch angel Gabriel promised that the shadow of the Almighty would cover her,  or assist her in this task, as it reads, “the power of the Most High will overshadow you” (Luke 1:35 a, partly quoted). Therefore, we see the same shadow of the Almighty spoken about in our theme verse to be a place of rest. Irrespective of the greatness or toughness of a task, God sees us performing this task under his shadow therefore in the spirit of rest. We would like to highlight that this shadow made a supernatural conception possible; it preserved Mary’s engagement and the safety of the baby Jesus. Therefore, Mary was at rest she had nothing to worry about.

Ultimately, we are all running a race, whether you are in ministry business, a profession or you are a student. Your ability to attain set goals and find fulfillment as you run is your success marathon. It is not just about finishing, but finishing well. Approaching our success marathons In the spirit of rest is imperative as notably, of all the ten commandments nine are prohibitions and only one is a prescription that  after every labour there should be rest (See Exodus 20:10).

Furthermore, all work should produce rest therefore all workers should work with an intention to rest in the spirit and  attitude of rest.

Prayer and Meditation:

Lord,

May I value rest, and may I learn true rest, one that comes from you, not me.

Lord, may you break the curse of restlessness in my active life (profession, academics, ministry and calling).

Amen

__________________________________________

For your questions contact

Pastor Ebenezer  kilubaeben2000@gmail.com 

Pastor Joshua joshkiluba@gmail.com

For comments visit our blog at https://jtlvoice.wordpress.com/home/

Visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JTLinternational

Follow us on twitter @JTLMinistries

Visit our website at http://jtlministries.org/