BLESSINGS MEANS GOOD THINGS

“The blessing of the LORD, it makes rich... and he adds no sorrow with it.” – Pro 10:22

I don’t know how you can scheme your way out of this one. It is kind of unequivocal and clear, innit? If you want to be a child of God, and still be destitute, then you’re going to need a good lawyer to stop the blessings from coming...

All through this week we’ve been talking about blessings, (and a little about curses, too). And we established from the outset that blessings are an intrinsic part of the life of the child of God.

Our opening verse unambiguously states that God’s blessings make rich. And it isn’t talking about some vague, indistinct ‘spiritual’ kind of blessing that doesn’t change your situations. No, it’s talking about REAL blessings. The “Beloved” Apostle, writing at the culmination of the New Testament said, “Beloved, I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health, even as your soul prospers.” (3Jn1:2).

If John distinguished soul prosperity from physical wealth and health, we mustn’t presume we know better.

Beloved, while it is true that the Christian life is not one of pleasure and self-comfort, it is wrong to assume that means it is one of pain, suffering and misery, (this mindset can even be spiritually dangerous). As a child of God, you qualify for God’s continuous blessing every day, in every area of your life. And the blessings are real, the blessings are tangible, the blessings are for your benefit.

Therefore, live with a blessing mentality. You are too blessed to be stressed; too defended to be offended, too lifted to be defeated.

I pray the blessings we talked about this week be part of you now and always in Jesus’ Name.

 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might be rich;”– 2Co 8:9.

“And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work;”– 2Co 9:8.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

ABOUT THOSE 'ANCESTRAL CURSES'

Today, we intend to meditate on the sensitive issue of whether Christians need deliverance from their so-called “evil roots” and “ancestral curses”.

Let me state from the outset that, as an African, I know of several cases of some real weird happenings in the lives of Believers that can be traced through their generations. However, we don't use life experiences to define scriptural truths; rather, we are meant to impose scriptural truths on reality.

For Believes who feel they're still  have an “evil root” to deal with, I’ll like to state the following.

Firstly, an “ancestral curse” is only valid for the descendants of the cursed person. But a Believer is the son of the living God and is spiritually a NEW person with no ties to his previous past, (Jn 1:12; 2 Cor 5:17).

Secondly, “Ancestral curses” are meant to follow through families. The curse on the Joneses cannot be placed on the McCartys  A believer belongs to Jesus’ family, (Jn 1:12; 1 Jn 3:1; etc.) and the only ‘curse’ that he/she can be party to is that of those on Jesus and His family. (except you don’t know the meaning of the New Birth)

Sometimes, in an attempt to encourage us into fervent prayers, we amplify the legitimacy of such curses by noting that something that has been in a family for generations cannot simply be wished away by a simple ‘Sinner’s Prayer’.

Well, if time is indicative of legitimacy and potency, then a Believer needs to know that the slaying of the Lamb of God that gives them the New Birth predates any “evil roots” by several millennia – to BEFORE the foundation of the world to be precise! (See Jn 1:29; Rev 13:8; Eph 1:4; 1Pe 1:19,20; etc.).

Therefore, “Ancestral curses” are a spiritual illegality. Note, however, that this does not stop Satan from exploiting any loophole we give him to try to foist imaginary curses on us under the guise of various terminologies because of our ignorance. It’s time therefore, for us to rise up and resist him with the whole armour of God in every area of our lives.

 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” –2Co 5:17

 “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel”  –Num 23:23.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

YOUR QUALIFICATION FOR THE BLESSING

When I was a teenager, a visiting preacher at our church said Christians are not entitled to pray the blessings of Deut. 24:1-14 (“I shall be the head, and not the tail”, or “I am blessed in my going out and coming in” etc.)

Like a clever lawyer, he drew our attention to the opening clause of that chapter, which said,

And it shall come to pass, if you shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD your God, to observe and to do ALL his commandments which I command you this day... (Deu 28:1)

“See?” he exclaimed. “You have no right to seek those blessings unless you’re obeying every one of Moses’ specific laws – which of course you don’t”.

I felt downcast after hearing that. So all those our “You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the field.” was all for nothing.

However, I kept wondering, of what good then were those blessings in the Bible if they were  not available to us? Indeed, they were not even available to the original Jewish audience themselves because NO ONE of them, Moses included, could claim to have obeyed “all” the commandments.

It seems then, that it would have been better for God to just let us be ignorant of the blessings seeing that they will be unattainable.

Then I saw Mat 5:17, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.” I saw then that Christ was the ONLY man who perfectly fulfilled the demands of the Mosaic Law.

But who is Christ? Christ is God in the flesh (John 1:1,14). Why would God go all the way to fulfil His own stringent laws? The answer is found in Rom 5:19, For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

Jesus is the one who qualifies us for every single blessing because He has kept all of God’s commandments. And now we have been made the righteousness of God IN HIM (2Co 5:21).

God does not need those blessings in Deut 28:1-14, yet He came as a man to earn those blessings so that He can qualify US for them. On the Cross, He took ALL the curses of Deut 28 (see Gal 3:13) and qualified us for ALL the blessings.

Today, as you read the list of blessings in Deut 28, Know with full confidence in your heart that YOU QUALIFY for them BECAUSE OF JESUS.

They’ve all been paid for by the precious blood of Christ, so rise up and take them all by faith!

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN



YOUR BLESSINGS ARE MORE THAN YOUR CURSES

It’s unfortunate that human beings tend to amplify evil things over good. We take curses seriously but treat blessings as mere ‘wishes’.

Blessings and curses may look like just two sides of the same coin but they weigh differently spiritually.

The Bible places more premium on blessings than on curses. When Moses listed out the blessings and curses of the law in Deut. 28, he listed 54 verses of curses for just 14 for blessings!

Not only are your blessings more in quality, they are also more in quantity.

When God blessed our father Abram, he said “I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you” (Gen 12:3). That means Abram was to expect more people blessing him than cursing him.

In a typical church service, a believer may be told “God bless you” (or any of its variations) not less than a dozen times; yet if on their way back home an angry woman shouts “it will not be well with you”, they’ll become agitated and disturbed in their spirit.

Why?

Whatever happened to the 12 blessings? Or is the woman’s wicked curse more than your pastor’s blessing? Even if you think it is, he blessed you 12 times, she cursed you once (I’m intentionally being ridiculous with the analysis for you to see the point).

The world of an average Christian is covered with blessings. The Bible you read is full of blessings. The devotionals you read will mention and bless you one way or the other. When you go to church, speaker after speaker will speak blessings to you. So why allow one person’s curse to haunt you and spoil your day?

If that Christian now follows a devotional like The Word For Today, you have an additional blessing every weekday because it always ends with a blessing J. Beloved, the number of your blessings is so overwhelming, the devil has to work full time just to catch up.

Indeed, You will live, and not die; the LORD will hear your voice in the day of trouble; and be a help to you from your enemies.

The LORD Bless everything you have and everything you do.

May the LORD bless your land with rain and your ground with rich harvest. May you find cause to rejoice all the days of your life.

May you be satisfied with favour, and full with the blessing of the LORD.

(... the blessings continue in Deuteronomy 33)  

AMEN.

More Blessings (see what I mean?) await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

BLESSINGS AND CURSES

“Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;” – Deu 11:26.

A blessing can be defined as an act of invoking the bestowal of good on someone or something; while a curse is the invoking of evil on same.

Blessings and curses are spiritual realties that are not to be taken lightly; both possess inherent powers of carrying themselves into effect in the lives of people.

  

Blessings are intrinsically connected to scripture.

From the very first chapter of Genesis, we see God blessing His creation (Gen 1:22, 28). In the era of the Patriarchs, the “blessing” was something they strove aggressively for. Under the mosaic covenant, the priest was required to “bless” the people. And in the New Testament, the Apostolic writers typically begin and end their epistles with a blessing.

Unfortunately, today, people do not place that much premium on the blessing. “Bless You” is now nothing more than Christian jargon, or something you tell someone when they sneeze. Children go to college/university or even get married without care for their parents’ blessing. And even believers leave services just after the sermon because what’s left is “only the pastor’s blessing.”

However, the Bible, both in the Old and New Testaments, places high value on blessings and sees blessings as an empowerment to prosper.

Things happen when the righteous bless one another. If you check the priestly blessing of Numbers 6:22-2, you’ll see that God says He will bless His covenant people only after Aaron has uttered the blessing.

In other words, Jehovah blesses His people, but it is the priest who enumerates and outlines the path of that blessing. His words paint the picture of the blessing.

As a trivial example, God may decide to bless you with a house, but the words of the priest outlines the type of house, the things in it, the furniture, the environment, the kind of protection it enjoys, etc.

Today, we as believers have been made priests, (1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6; 5:10, etc.) and not only is it important for us to intentionally bless each other; we should also be conscious when the blessings come forth and receive them in faith over our lives.

Furthermore, we shouldn’t just pray for our children, we should bless them, in their hearing. Let them hear the words that we wish to come to pass in their lives. And as you do these in faith, grace will be multiplied to them as they go into the world.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

CONTEXT IS KEY (BE CAREFUL V)

We’re all probably familiar with the joke about the man who randomly opened a page in the Bible because he wanted guidance on an issue. Unfortunately, the place he opened was Matthew 27:5, which said Judas “went and hanged himself.” Realising this was definitely not what he was looking for, he slammed the Bible shut and opened it again to another random page. This time, it was Luke 10:37, which read “Go, and do you likewise.”

On a more serious note, however, many of us Christians are guilty of this cherry-picking practice when it comes to scripture. We quote a single verse and base our theology and life principle on it without regard to the context: who is talking? To whom was he talking? When was it said? Why was it said? Was the speaker speaking under inspiration? etc.

A common example is the phrase, “the LORD giveth, and the LORD taketh; blessed be the name of the LORD.” We sing it in songs, quote it in sermons, and admonish bereaved people with it... even though the book in which it was originally quoted from was trying to say the exact opposite.

The context of a cited passage in a sermon is key.

It’s been wisely noted that when you take a TEXT out of its conTEXT, you’ll be left with a CON! Many cults and false groups like the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Gay Church Movement claim their legitimacy from scriptures using this method. And so do sleek false teachers as well, which are more dangerous because they’re not overtly heretical.

Therefore, the onus is on us as listeners (or readers) of preaching, to make sure the messages we imbibe are truly the whole counsel of God, and not the “enticing words of man's wisdom”, or “cunningly devised myths”. (1Co 2:4 2Pe 1:16).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

IT’S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY (BE CAREFUL IV)

*Humans swallow an average of 8 spiders each year while they sleep.

*Eight glasses of water a day are needed to maintain health.

*If you slowly heat a toad in a pan of cold water, it'll  stay there till it Boils to death.

*The average person uses only 10% of their brains.

*Lightening never strikes the same spot twice.

*Computers running Mac OS X (Apple) are immune to viruses.

The above are just a few out of myriad of ‘FACTS’ that people accept and quote often, yet which are simply untrue.

For example, the odds of swallowing a spider while sleeping is practically zero; lightning is regularly known to strike the same spot over and over again; and viruses written for Mac OS X computers will infect Mac OS X computers.

It’s not that complicated.

When it comes to false claims posing as “facts”, no field of knowledge is exempt. Whether it’s history, biology, medicine, astronomy, psychology, etc. there’re always misconceptions that people pander about, but which have no basis in reality.

Unfortunately, one field where this is most prevalent (and most consequential) is in biblical doctrine.

In today’s Internet Age, anybody with a laptop and a modem can claim to be a “Theologian” or a “Bible Scholar”. Some of the most damning and heretic statements I’ve heard in my entire life came from such “theologians”, and some of them even hold a doctorate in Theology.

They are the types whom Paul talks about when he said, “They want to be teachers of God's law, but they do not understand their own words or the matters about which they speak with so much confidence.” (1Ti 1:7 GNB)

Someone once pointed out that Wikipedia has trained us to believe anything followed by “little blue numbers in brackets”. In the same vein, the church culture has trained us to accept any doctrinal claim followed by a string of verses.

Brethren, it's our responsibility to ascertain the veracity of every biblical claim that people make. We must return to the discipline of the Berean Christians in Acts 17:11. They didn’t just listen to Paul and Silas, “they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

LISTEN TO THE VOICE (BE CAREFUL III)

And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau. – Gen 27:22 

In trying to ascertain which minister is preaching the Gospel Truth, many believers take the Isaac­ approach, to their mental and spiritual ruin.

The Isaac­ approach is gotten from the episode of Jacob’s scheme to get the patriarchal blessing from blind Isaac instead of Esau.

Jacob had put on Esau’s clothes while Esau was away. He then covered the smooth part of his hands and neck with goatskins, (because Esau was hairy). However, there was nothing he could do about changing his voice.

When Jacob approached Isaac for the blessing, it was clear Isaac suspected some foul play. But Isaac made a mistake. In order to confirm the identity of Esau, he tried to FEEL the person. He ignored the VOICE, and went by his FEELING. The rest, as they say, is history.

One recurring excuse that people give when confronted about wrong heretical ministers is that they “feel good deep down inside” about the message. Beloved, since the Fall of Adam, “feeling” has never been a good compass to sail through life by.

Many young persons have been traumatized and scarred by relationships that they entered based on feelings.

Many pilots have crashed their planes into mountains because they “felt” they were flying too high even though their on-board instruments told them otherwise?

Beloved, we don’t judge the authenticity of a message by the feeling; we judge it by the voice. There was a time Peter told Jesus to stop talking about being crucified. Our Lord saw the face of Peter, but heard the voice of Satan.

Satan speaks through a million voices today. How can we know when he’s speaking? It’s by being familiar with the voice of God Himself as revealed in scripture. You don’t even need to have read from Genesis to Revelation to detect a heretic message. As long as you’re constantly reading the Word, any strange message will speak with a strange voice in your inner ear.

You may not be able to put your finger on it at first (that may require further Bible study on your part), but you’ll detect something about it that just doesn’t fit into the Word of God that you’re familiar with.

 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” – Jn 10:27.

 “... And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers”. – Jn 10:4-5.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

THE SOURCE MATTERS (BE CAREFUL II)

Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and know not that you are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked – Rev 3:17

And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you that you should not eat?  – Gen 3:11

When it comes to spiritual nourishment, the source of the information we’re imbibing matters. However, it is sometimes difficult to ascertain inspiration of a message simply by listening to the words alone.

In Rev 3:17, Jesus told the Laodiceans that they were naked. Yet in Gen 3:11 God quizzed Adam on who told him he was naked.

What’s the difference?

It was the source of the information. There’s nothing heretical per se about pointing out someone’s nakedness. But we know from Adam’s case that he got his sermon from the wrong source... and paid dearly for it.

The source of the message we listen to for spiritual nourishment matters. That is why we need the spirit of discernment, especially in these last days.

2Co 11:14,15 says, “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.”

I’ve seen charlatans, and in one occasion, an actual diabolic man preaching the Gospel. When you listen to such people, you’ll find it hard to spot the heresy in their teaching, but with time, you’ll begin to notice some subtle irregularities.

So, while it’s important to check if a message is biblical, it’s also important to check whether it’s the Spirit of God that’s actually saying those things and not an “Angel of Light”.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

BE CAREFUL WHAT AND HOW YOU HEAR

All through this week, we shall be considering the very important exercise which we have been doing for most of lives that few pay any attention to: listening to preaching.

When it comes to sermons, the focus is all on the pastor, the preacher, the evangelist, etc. people don’t really think they have any part to play in the sermon process, but the part of the listener is equally important.

Our Lord once said to His disciples, “Take heed WHAT you hear” (Mar 4:24) and in another occasion He said, “Take heed therefore HOW you hear”. (Luk 8:18).

This shows that what you hear in a sermon and how you hear it is important.

Your mind is not a garbage heap. You mustn’t, in the name of politeness, humility or tradition, allow just about any message to be constantly dumped into it.

Proverbs 4:23 says you should “Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”. and 23:19  says “Hear you, my son, and be wise, and guide your heart in the way.”  

The mind is also not meant to be idle during the preaching (or reading) process. We’re to maintain constant consciousness of what is being taught, what is being required of us, what part of the message is applicable to us, etc.

When we do that, our Lord’s promise to us is that “whosoever has, to him shall be given... and unto you that hear shall more be given.” (Luk 8:18, Mk 4:24).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus’ Name.

GREG ELKAN

IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT IN THE END (MARANATHA 5)

Now we wait to receive the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be ruined or be destroyed or lose their beauty. – 1Pe 1:4 (ERV)

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, since you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. – 1Co 15:57,58.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1Th 4:16,17.

And there shall be no night there; and they need no lamp, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign forever and ever. – Rev 22:5

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. – Rev 21:4.

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. – 1Co 15:26

And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him – Rev 22:3.

Therefore comfort one another with these words. – 1Th 4:18

Greetings beloved, and MARANATHA!

GREG ELKAN

THE FEAR OF THE END (MARANATHA IV)

“Therefore comfort one another with these words.” –1Th 4:18

There’re two main reasons the early believers greeted one another with “MARANATHA”. The first is as an admonition to live godly lives in this evil world. Phi 4:5  says, Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. and Rev 3:11 says, Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man take your crown.

The second reason is as an encouragement to each other.

Unfortunately, this second aspect of the Rapture is all but lost in today’s Church. The subject of the “Rapture” is taught with fear and threatening. Christians are told Jesus would leave them behind, and the message is then buttressed with extra-biblical ‘testimonies’ of people who claimed they saw visions of so-and-so Man of God in Hell, etc.

But the End-of-Days is meant to inspire hope, not dread. In the Old Testament, the coming of the Messiah was something the covenant nation of Israel looked forward to. When the prophets spoke of the last days, it was to encourage them that a time of national glory lay ahead.

The same is true of the New Testament authors. Indeed, the book of Revelations, the same book that many Christians are scared to open, was primarily written to encourage the believers in Asia minor who were undergoing sever persecution.

If the end of the world is being seen as bad news by both believers and unbelievers alike, what then is the hope of our salvation?

Our Lord, speaking on the Mount of Olives about the signs of the end times, said, “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near.”

In 1 Thessalonians, the most eschatological of Paul’s letters, he says, TWICE, “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1Th 4:18 and 1Th 5:11). Those “words” were prophecies about the rapture and the end times. In fact, he adds, as though understanding the hearts of modern-day believers, that “God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ”.

If over 2 decades of Left Behind teaching has taught us anything, it is that scare tactics does not produce lasting holiness. Biblical salvation is what qualifies for the Rapture. If a pastor spends his time grounding his congregation in that, then the Last Day would be something they would look forward to – along with the rest of the believers worldwide.

MARANATHA

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

AT LEAST ONE CROWN, GUARANTEED (MARANATHA 3)

The scripture speaks severally of the righteous being rewarded with “Crowns” because of the feats and achievements they effected while they were on earth, (e.g. 1Co 9:25; Jam 1:12; 1Pe 5:4; Rev 2:10; 3:11).

Some of the crowns are even specifically mentioned; like the Crown of Life, the Crown of Glory, and the subject of today’s devotional: the CROWN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.

I used to worry if I would be worthy of any crown in heaven (it’s ridiculous, I know) but one day I stumbled on Paul’s final charge to Timothy, and I realised that at least I can share in one crown that Paul has. He says:

Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. – 2Ti 4:8.

Do you realise that not many believers are looking forward to Jesus’ return? Anytime you mention the Rapture, their hearts skip a beat. Shout on the rooftops that “Jesus is coming soon” and they look at you like a fanatic. It bothers me why anybody would be afraid that this mess we live in is about to end.

Maybe it’s because they have their spiritual priorities mixed up, or because they have a wrong understanding of salvation. But whatever it is, it’s not really a good sign that you’re scared that your LORD is coming back.

Paul says there is a Crown of Righteousness waiting for  those who eagerly long for Christ’s appearance. That is why the ancient believers used to greet each other with Maranatha. They wanted the Lord to return.

Beloved, do not join those who mock songs like “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through...” It really is NOT your home!

A time is coming when all the things we are striving for daily would amount to dust.

When the trumpet sounds, will the first thing that comes out of your mouth be

“Oh No!” or will it be

“YES!!!”

The response can't be faked. How we’ll respond that day is determined by our living philosophy right now.

My prayer is that ours will be the latter response. And to think that God is so gracious as to reward us with a crown, just for that alone.

Halleluyah. Maranatha.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

SEE THE ACTION, NOT THE REACTION (Maranatha 2)

ISIS, Boko Haram, Same-Sex Marriage, over 50 Million legally murdered babies, global financial meltdown, sexual slavery of children, climate change, resurgent viruses, militant liberalism/atheism, historic slaughter of Christians ... the list definitely goes on. And these are just the mild ones that the average news consumer can stomach.

Evil seems to be working on overdrive. “Where is God in all this?” is the unuttered fear of Christians around the world. But if we despair and lose faith, then we have fallen for the trick of the devil.

There’s a marked difference between the work of the Holy Spirit and that of an evil spirit. God is gentle and unobtrusive; the devil will always go for dramatics and attention.

Satan is the consummate showman, the master illusionist, the skilled magician. For him it’s all about the optics, the control of the narrative, the sleek prestidigitation. Have you ever seen a magician in modest dressing? Does he perform tricks without lots of shouting, smoke and fanfare?

No!

Anytime you hear the devil shouting, ask yourself what is he trying drown out. Anytime you see evil trying too hard to grab your attention, ask yourself, “What is God doing on this planet that the devil wants to distract me from?”

Do you remember what happened at the birth of Christ? When Herod realized that the visitors from the East had tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its neighbourhood who were two years old and younger ... (Mat 2:16 GNB).

Can you imagine the carnage and sorrow in Bethlehem then? “Where is God in all this?” the people would scream. But they’re expecting God to REACT to the evil, not knowing that the evil is the reaction to what God already did (in this case, sending the Messiah into the world).

Beloved, the kingdom of God is making giant strides in these endtimes; in the Middle East, in China, and yes, even in the West. Just look at the places the devil is striking – whether violently or ideologically – and you’ll have an idea where God is working.

There’re no shortages of things to worry about; if it’s not Al-Qaeda then it’s ISIS, if it’s not Ebola then its Zika, if it’s not Communism sending believers to the Gulag, then its liberalism persecuting them with the power of the State... how long are we going to keep looking at the distraction?

Our Lord is coming.  Let us spend our energies in working for the King.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2Pe 3:9).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

MARANATHA

I pray that God will put a curse on everyone who doesn't love the Lord. And may the Lord come soon,  – 1Co 16:22 (CEV).

This week, we shall divert from our usual devotionals to meditate on the next most important event in the calendar of the cosmos: the 2nd coming of Christ.

The phrase “may the Lord come soon,” in our opening verse is left untranslated in the KJV as “Maranatha”. It is an Aramaic word that has several connotations and import based on how one divides the word.

It could be an injunction to the Lord, asking Him to come soon, Our Lord, Come (marana-tha); just as the Apostle John prayed in Rev. 22:20).

It could also be read as a declaration that “Our Lord has already come” (maran-atha). This is used in the evangelical sense,  declaring the first advent of Christ when He came as a man to die for our sins. It is the proclamation to the world that their expected Messiah or Christ isn’t in the future, but has already come in the past.

The 3rd understanding of Maranatha, (and seemingly most popular), is “Our Lord is coming”. This declaration is seen as both a motive for Christian service and an encouragement for believers in every age.

Regardless of the reading, one thing is certain; we have a Saviour who is intimately involved with the affairs of humanity. That is why we should not relent on the work of the Great Commission. We have a message for the world, and every man, woman, boy and girl needs to hear it: THE LORD HAS COME (to die for our sins). THE LORD IS COMING (to judge all who reject His offer of salvation).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

HE'LL “REMEMBER TO FORGET”, NOT “FORGET TO REMEMBER”

For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. – Heb. 8:12.

I sure am glad the Bible didn’t say that God will “forget” our sins, but that He will “remember them no more”. Some modern versions render this verse as, “God will forget their sins”. But that is inaccurate translation, and dangerous theology.

Even if we’re to somehow accommodate the possibility that an omniscient being can “forget” something, our human experience tells us that people don’t really forget things forever. Just one trigger, one word, one experience, one smell... and memories you thought were long gone into oblivion will start flooding back into your mind. This is especially true of painful memories: events that we consciously suppressed because they hurt us badly in the past.

And nothing could be more hurting to God than our sins and transgressions. If we now say that God forgot our sins, what is the guarantee that it will not pop up in His mind one day during our stay with Him in eternity. Forever is a long time to try to forget something, especially something that hurt you deeply.

The Greek word “remember” (mnaomai) in this verse means “to bear in mind, that is, recollect; by implication to reward or punish”. Indeed, the negation of it in the original is double, that is (ou me), which means “by no means, or by no way”. It is the same phrase used in Rev 21:27 where John, referring to the New Jerusalem says, “there shall in no wise (ou me) enter into it any thing that defileth...”

Beloved, God did not say He will forget to remember our sins, He is saying that, because you have accepted the substitutionary sacrifice of His Son Jesus on the Cross, He will by no means (ou me) bring up your past sins against you.

So when you get to heaven, while all the other saints are singing and rejoicing, you won’t have to sit at the edge of your seat, worried that He will one day recall your disqualification. You have His word: “I, I am the one who wipes away all your sins. I do this to please Myself. I will not remember your sins.” (Is 43:25 ERV).

His acceptance of you today is not based on a concussion He has, it is based on the precious blood of His Son Jesus. Have you gone to that blood for cleansing?

Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. – Isa 1:18.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

A LESSON FROM MANASSEH

And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he...And he blessed them that day... saying, God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. – Gen 48:19,20.

The boy Manasseh was the first son of Joseph, born to him by his Egyptian wife Asenath. His 2nd son was Ephraim. Both were adopted by the patriarch Jacob as his own sons when he was about to die.

But the strange thing about this event was that in blessing them, Jacob placed the younger Ephraim over Manasseh! This is similar to him being placed over his elder brother Esau, and of Isaac being placed over Ishmael, etc. The Bible is replete with cases like this.

However, there’s something striking about this action; it was Joseph, their father, and not Manasseh that complained about this upset of tradition. All through the episode, and for generations to come, neither Manasseh, nor his descendants ever tried to reassert their seniority over Ephraim. (Indeed, it was Ephraim who started having ego-tussles with Judah, the 4th son of Jacob, but that’s another story).

Manasseh shows a maturity and wisdom that many of his elders lacked. Take Ishmael, for example. Sure, Isaac was made the sole heir to Abraham’s covenant blessings. But he didn’t appreciate the fact that he was a son of Abraham, heir or not; that was a big deal. Even the Almighty God factored this when blessing him. In Gen 21:13, God says, “And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is your descendant. Was Ishmael content with that? No, he wanted what was rightfully Isaac’s.

This subtle truth also eluded Esau. Before he and his brother Jacob were born, the prophecy went out that “the elder shall serve the younger”. (Gen 25:23). But notice that it didn’t say that “the Elder shall be poor”, or the “Elder shall be a nobody in the land”. Indeed, the LORD said, “Two nations are in your womb...” Not two boys, or two men. Esau was declared a nation before he was even born, but he let Jacob’s blessing blind him to that fact, and struggled with the covenant heir to his own ruin.

Manasseh was not that unwise. He knew that it was better to be a lesser son of Jacob, than to be a Senior GRANDSON of Jacob! Rueben had 4 sons, Simeon had 6, in all, Jacob had 53 grandsons. Now which of these grandsons do you know by name? But every Bible reader is familiar with Manasseh.

That’s the lesson from Manasseh: be content with your blessing. That someone else’s blessing seems to be greater doesn’t mean God blessed you with less. You are blessed with your blessing.

Now, check this out: If you study the map of the 12 Tribes of Israel after they were settled in the land of Canaan, you’ll notice that about a quarter of all the land of Israel belongs to Manasseh alone!

Not bad for a so-called lesser tribe, innit?

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

BE NOT AS THE MULE

This era of the New Testament is the realisation of God’s vision of the kind of relationship He wants to have with man.

In Heb 8:10,11 He declares, “This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.”

This is God’s relationship today with every believer who has accepted the substitutionary work of Christ on the Cross. This is the blessed kind of life that the believers of the Old Testament longed for and which their prophets prophesied about (1 Pt 1:10-12). It is a relationship of Fatherhood and sonship, and not of fear and dread. John said, “Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the children of God” (1 Jn 3:1) and Paul says we “have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Abba, Father.”

It is therefore unfortunate that some believers are not living in this paradigm. Observe the striking promise of God to us in Ps 32:8,9,

I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go: I will guide you with my eye.

Be you not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, else they come not near unto you. – Psa 32:9

The LORD says His wish is to guide you with the “eye”; not as one trying to lead a stubborn donkey. Some believers say, “God gave me this sickness to HUMBLE me”, or “God made me lose everything in order to squash my pride”.

This sends me reeling anytime I hear this. If you obviously know you’re proud, what have you been waiting for all this while? James 4:10 says “Humble YOURSELVES in the sight of the Lord...” not wait for God to do it for you.

I hear others say, “Him whom God will USE mightily, God will HURT deeply”. Really? They speak as though God is like our African (and Caribbean) deities who enjoy inflicting pain on their priests before they can function as their spokesmen.

Are you a mule or a son? Do you need a kick from God to obey Him or a word? When God wants you to stop, does He just tell you, or do you need Him to break your legs first?

Beloved, God wants to lead us with His eye and not with a stick. We’re sons and daughters, not horses and mules.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN 

‘ARRIVAL’ MENTALITY

The Philistine army had a hero named Goliath who was from the town of Gath and was over nine feet tall. He wore a bronze helmet and had bronze armour to protect his chest and legs. The chest armour alone weighed about one hundred twenty-five pounds. He carried a bronze sword strapped on his back... A soldier always walked in front of Goliath to carry his shield. – 1Sa 17:4-7 (CEV)

Many years ago, I saw the theatrical poster of the 1998 movie, GODZILLA; the fascinating tagline of the movie was “Size DOES Matter”. I couldn’t agree more. Especially with respect to the philistine champion Goliath.

Towering at over 9 feet, he is easily the largest man known to history. Everything about him was mega: from his helmet to his shin guards. His body armour alone weighed more than a normal man, but would have felt like a broomstick to his large body.

Not only that, he had earned his reputation through years of experience in warfare since his youth. He was in one word: The Champ.

And moving up from being a warrior to a champ, comes with its benefits, like having someone to carry your shield for you while you strut around. But what Goliath forgot was that it was the shield that kept him alive to be a champ in the first place; now that he has ‘ARRIVED’, he now needed someone else to carry it for him.

Isn’t it interesting that when Goliath was killed, it was from a stone to his head? How could a stone hit your head Goliath? With just one movement of your hand, any projectile would have bounced easily off your shield.  But wait! You were not with your shield, it was still with your sidekick when the stone came. Alas!

Beloved, whatever grace took us to the top, is the same that will keep us there. An “I have arrived” mentality is a quick way to fall back down. That was the error of “the rich fool” in our Lord’s parable (Lk 12:16-21); and that’s an error we must all avoid.

Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. – 1Co 10:12.

For I say to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. – Rom 12:3.

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

GOD IS YOUR SUN

Then God commanded, “Let lights appear in the sky to separate day from night and to show the time when days, years, and religious festivals begin; they will shine in the sky to give light to the earth” – and it was done. So God made the two larger lights, the sun to rule over the day and the moon to rule over the night... Evening passed and morning came – that was the fourth day. – Gen 1:14-19 (GNB)

The creation of the Sun and the Moon took place on the fourth day out of God’s 6-day creation timetable. This is of significance to us because one of the primary functions God gave the Sun and Moon is to separate day from night. So if the Sun came on Day 4, what parameter determined the duration of the first 3 days?

We can see here, even at the onset of creation, that it is God Himself that controls the times and seasons and not really the celestial elements.

Beloved, do not look at the parameters of this physical universe: the climate, the economy, the policies, the doctor’s prognosis, etc. to determine the outcome of your state. Look to Elohim, the Creator of all and hear His own version of things.

He spoke through the prophet Elisha to the 3 kings of Israel, Judah and Edom, this dry riverbed will be filled with water. You won't feel any wind or see any rain, but there will be plenty of water for you and your animals. That simple thing isn't all the LORD is going to do. He will also help you defeat Moab's army. (2Ki 3:16-19 CEV).

Did you get that? He called filling a valley with water without natural causes a “simple thing”. May your life from henceforth be determined by God’s opinion and not man’s in Jesus name.

Idolaters make the Sun their god, we make God our Sun. If God says “it’s day”, it doesn’t matter if the Sun is up or not, it will be day for us – after all, the Sun wasn’t even around when “the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Gen 1:5).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

GOD’S JONAH II

And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone am escaped to tell you. – Job 1:15

Jonah is a unique prophet; that much we have observed throughout this week. But he seems to be also one-of-a-kind in a literal sense of the word.

Elijah was undoubtedly one of the greatest prophets of Israel; but one day, his achievements apparently went to his head. When Jezebel tried to kill him, he brashly cried out, “ It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” (1Ki 19:4)

When the LORD  inquired of him, he replied, TWICE “I have been absolutely loyal to the LORD, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life.” (1Ki 19:10, 14 NET).

In response, the LORD instructed him to anoint 3 persons, one of whom would be his successor. And as a subtle rebuke, told him there were 7,000 other men who were also faithful like him: he was NOT the only one.

Compare the LORD’s response to Elijah with that of Jonah. When God sent Jonah, he didn’t even respond but went in the opposite direction. But observe that the LORD didn’t turn to the remnant “7,000” that was undoubtedly always available to be sent. Instead, the LORD went through hell and high water (“sheol”  and “floods”) to make sure Jonah was available to do the job (Jon 2:2,3).

I call this phenomenon, the Jonah Grace or the Jonah Anointing. It is the grace of being irreplaceable no matter what because of the unique favour you have in God’s sight.

Jonah should have been dead after been thrown into the sea; but a whale swallowed him, and deposited him at the shores of Nineveh. Why? Because he had a message to deliver.

Even Satan, in a twisted way, showed this principle when he destroyed all of Job’s resources, (Job 1:13-19). We observe that no matter the level of devastation and carnage, there was always one servant that was spared. Because that servant had a message to deliver, no evil could touch him (Job 1:15,16,17,19).

Beloved, the work of God in your hands will not be cut short in Jesus name. Regardless of the storms and the raging all around you, the LORD Himself shall preserve you. You shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD (Ps 117:18). You shall not be dumped halfway; you shall remain relevant to your generation and even much longer in Jesus name.

You shall stand out among your peers the way Jonah stands out from amidst an obscure part of the Bible.

You’re not a general worker in God’s vineyard, you’re a special one-of-a-kind Jonah; and your message, no matter how brief it is, will be heeded to by nations.

  

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN

GOD’S JONAH

Jonah does not fit the typical picture of an Old Testament prophet. Indeed, he looks like one who needs a prophet himself: to rebuke his selfishness, hypocrisy, ingratitude and anger.

Yet, like the prophet Hosea and his adulterous wife, if we focus solely on the outward actions of the prophet, we’re likely going to miss the profundity that lies beneath.

When we listen in on the conversation between Jonah and the LORD, we’ll observe a certain intimacy and familiarity that would have been considered strange for an Old Testament believer: we listen to his brash talk with Jehovah and wonder how come he didn’t turn into a pile of ash. Like John “the Beloved” in the New Testament, he was the type who wasn’t afraid to lay his head on the LORD’s chest to talk.

The dialogue between him and the Lord in chapter 4 was more like a Father and an obstinate son that of God and a prophet. The people of Israel were familiar with the “acts” of God, but apparently Jonah, like the great prophet Moses before him, knew His “ways” (Ps 103:7).

When you know the true nature of God’s love to you, it affords you the boldness to interact with Him freely and experience levels of communion that would have been unthinkable to believers in the Old Covenant.

This is the vision God had always had for His people. Repeatedly throughout the Old Testament, the prophets prophesied of the day when YAHWEH will be the people’s God, and they will be His people (Jer 31:33; 24:7; 31:1,33; 32:38; Eze 11:20; 36:28; 37:27; Hos 1:10; 2:23; Zec 8:8; 13:9; etc.)

And according to Hebrews 8:10, this desire of God was eventually achieved in the New Testament through the relationship we have with God because of the Blood of Jesus.

Today, even much more than Jonah, we can come boldly unto the throne of grace; because we have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but have received the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry, Abba, Father. (Heb 4:16; Rom 8:15).

AMEN.

More Blessings await you today; you’ll not miss them in Jesus Name.

GREG ELKAN