Your Operational Manual (Part 1)

Luke 4:4

Most manufactured products are sold with a user manual for easy understanding of the components, functions, and usage by the users. And the more complex a product is, the more detailed its accompanying manual will be to help the end users make the most of it.

We, humans, are of higher stock in terms of things manufactured, as we are formed by God through an intricate biological process that eventually results in our birth. Whereas the birth does not signify the end of our production process, it only signals a fresh round of making, which is called the formation process.

From the moment we are born, we require food in various forms for survival, and if we are deprived of it for a length of time, we may die.

Jesus, having fasted for 40 whole days without food, knew what it was like to feel tired and hungry. Naturally, after completed the fasting, the next thing on His mind should be food. But, when the devil appeared and tempted Him with food – the very thing that should be uppermost in His hierarchy of needs at that time – Jesus did not hesitate before declaring, literally, ‘humans need more than food to live; most importantly, humans need the word of God to live.’

By so saying, He affirmed that in the hierarchy of things required to live, the Word of God comes before food. So, when Satan tempted Him with food, He replied that He needed something more than food to be. The word of God is the manual for human survival. God does not expect us to live or do anything in the absence of it.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Your Operational Manual (Part 1)

Your Operational Manual (Part 1)

INSIGHTS FROM PSALM 23 (PART 2)

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me [Instead of bludgeoning and intimidating me, even when I get presumptuous and behave wrongly, as I tend to do from time to time, You only use Your shepherd’s rod to gently guide me back to the right course, without any mark of harm or injury on my body].

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies [Without them being able to do anything to stop me from enjoying the delicacies. Why? Because you are right there standing watch over me to ensure that I’m safe. While my enemies were only confined to a distance, glaring at me morosely without their being able to do anything to harm me. And they dare not move near otherwise they will have to contend with You, the Mighty Man in battle].

You anoint my head with oil [Of gladness and ability to do all that you have reared me to do],

My cup runs over [Because you simply did not stop pouring on me until I am overflowed by the abundance of your goodness].

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me [Not sorrow, not sadness, not gloom, not mourning, not fear, not evil, not grief, not poverty, not frustration, not failure, nor pain, but the goodness and the mercy of the LORD shall be my experience]

All the days of my life [All the Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays that I live!],

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord [Since that is where He will always lead me to for resort. For He will never leave me in the house of a stranger. Therefore, I am certain of always being in His pleasurable presence during the day (Psalm 16:11) and the secret place of His fortress, which is my dwelling place, in the night (Psalm 31:20)]

Forever [And ever. That is as long as I am here on earth, and even when I transit to heaven above. Amen].

I hope you find this helpful.

INSIGHTS FROM PSALM 23 (PART 1)

A LINE-BY-LINE ANALYSIS

The Lord is my Shepherd [Who purchased me at a very high price – the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son. And as a Shepherd, He is the One responsible for my feeding, guidance, protection and general well being. Since, as a sheep, I know nothing of myself, nor can take any independent action on my own, outside of my Shepherd, that will do me much good (Psalm 95:7, 100:3)];

I shall not want [Because my Shepherd, Who is the Owner of all wealth and abundance, ‘supplies all my needs, as they arise from time to time, according to His riches in glory (Philippians 4:13)].

He makes me to lie down in green pastures [He locates and establishes me in fresh, tender and conducive environment- in my house, my business, my church, my ministry, and my world in general);

He leads me beside the still waters [He gives me restful means of sustenance that are without stress, pain or any trouble to draw from].

He restores my soul [He renews and refreshes my spirit, soul and body with all the good things they need for health and maximum performance).

He leads me in the paths of righteousness [(Psalm 78:52) So that I do not stray from the right course in my exuberance and ignorance, not because I merit it, but]

For His name’s sake [Because He has the reputation of being The Good Shepherd, who can never abscond His responsibilities or change His nature from good to bad (John 14:1). That is the reason I am assured that I am in good hand and that…]

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death [Even when I find myself in dangerous or life-threatening situations that portend evil or great calamity] I will fear no evil [Why?]

THE PROCESS OF CREATION

Genesis 1:2-5

2. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep... 3. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

EXPOSITION

The above passage captures the process of creation. For there to be a creation or production of something, there must first be a CONCEPTION of its image (imagination) in the mind of the creator/producer. It takes an imaginative mind to create. God is the Father of all dreamers, that was why He could see the light in the confusion, the formlessness, the voids and the darkness that was upon the deep.

The second step in the creative process is SPEAKING IT FORTH. Words are substance. And the creative power of the spoken word cannot be over-emphasised. APPRAISAL is also one of the processes of creation. God didn’t just stop at the appearance of the light. He appraised it, saw that it was good. But He did not stop there, He went ahead to DIVIDE the light from the darkness, thus FINE-TUNING even the good product He had created to make it better.

Another creative step derived from the above passage is IDENTIFICATION. After "refining" Light from darkness (that was the first refinery activity in the book!), God gave each a name or an identity, calling the light Day and the darkness, Night.

What makes a day? According to the last part of verse 5, the evening and the morning made the very first day in world history. Surely that calls for some meditation and, perhaps, re-orientation if you believe otherwise.

Shalom!

WHAT I'M LEARNING IN THE BIBLE.... (PART 5)

NUMBERS 27 Vs 1-4: The bravery of the DAUGHTERS OF ZELOPHEHAD; they did not keep to themselves, mourn their lot, nor resort to murmuring and castigating the injustice of God and men in silence. On the contrary, they took their case, on the inheritance of their father, to Moses and the whole congregation of Israel and presented their case dispassionately.

Vs 1-5: A lesson in LEADERSHIP: Moses did not make out to have the answer to the question of the daughters of Zelophehad. He simply took the matter to God to know what He had to say about it. This is a show of humility, it requires humility on the part of a leader not to try and show/prove to his people that he has all the answers to their questions at his fingertips.

Vs 6-11: What came out of Moses’ session with God was the LAW OF INHERITANCE, a body of regulations which state who can inherit someone’s inheritance after his death.

Vs 12-14: God’s grouse against Moses, that prevented him from getting to the Promised Land, was that he allowed the strife of the congregation to get to him and so rebelled against the command of God by not hallowing Him in the eyes of the people.

Vs 15-20: THE HEART OF A LEADER: Moses knowing his time had come to die asked God to give the people someone else who would lead them to the Promised Land, and not leave them without a shepherd. Note that Joshua had been Moses’ PA for some time, but that did not make him the automatic choice for the leadership position until God Himself chose him.

Vs 18-23: The INAUGURATION OF JOSHUA as the successor of Moses.

Vs 18: Joshua was one of the few individuals in the Old Testament who had the HOLY SPIRIT

Vs 20: it was not all the AUTHORITY OF MOSES that was passed on to Joshua at the time of his inauguration. The Bible records that it was some of Moses’ authority that was transferred to him.

Vs 20: AUTHORITY is needed for a leader to command the obedience of his people. Joshua was conferred with it in order for him to command the respect of the people of Israel.