Tag: Holy Spirit

Ode to the Holy Spirit

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Come Holy Spirit, walk with me and talk to me.

Where you are there is liberty because you are the strong Arm that guides and protects me.

In your presence I am released from bondage and the armies of hell cannot prevail
against me, nor can the hordes of Satan arise and oppress me.

Come Holy Spirit, walk with me and talk to me.

You show me how and what to pray and as swords of deliverance are the songs of
worship you put in my mouth.

Where you are, there is liberty because you empower me, not just to live for Christ but to be like him in thought, word and deed.

“…The LORD is Spirit and where the Spirit of the LORD is there is Liberty” (2 Corinth. 3:17)

Other Scriptural inspirations: 2 Corinthians 3:18, Gal 5:22 Gal 4:19

Copyright 2020DENyamekye

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Verse (Luke 4:32) & Exhortation


Prioritising the Word of God personified

As New Covenant believers, our priority is the Word of God, the only way to God is through Yeshua (Jesus) who is the Word that came to dwell among us (John chapter 1).

Indeed as a youth, Yeshua manifested the wisdom and stature of God as he discussed with the religious leaders and as we read in Luke 4:32, he astonished the hearers of His teachings. While he performed miracles, Yeshua consistently taught and he is therefore the only source of Elohim God’s truth that sets free (John 8:31-32) for his disciples.

May we live lives meditating on the Word, the scriptures that is, and the life of Yeshua himself who is the Word personified, doing our best to live as he lived in humble obedience to Father.

In addition, let us not forsake fellowship with the Spirit of God for He is God, His power that guides, guards us and reminds us of the teachings of Yeshua, our Messiah and LORD.

Blessings to you and yours,
Deborah x 

Part 2: Honouring the Holy Spirit: Pray, Declare Spiritual gifts,Spirits of God, Fruit of the Spirit over your life.

 

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Holy Spirit We honour You!

I.A SUMMARY – WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?
II.DECLARING & PRAYING THE NINE-FOLD SPIRITUAL GIFTS, SEVEN-FOLD SPIRITS OF GOD (ATTRIBUTES OF CHRIST) AND THE NINE-FOLD FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT OVER YOUR LIFE.

 

I.A SUMMARY – WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God and was sent by God at the request of Jesus. This is because Jesus knew he would no longer be physically present with his disciples, following his death, burial, resurrection and ascension to Father. He desired that anyone who believed in him would have the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God dwelling in their hearts so that they will not be as orphans (without parents) in his physical absence (John 14:16/Acts 1:8/Acts 2).

The Holy Spirit is the power of God indwelling the believer in Jesus Christ and endows them with the anointing or power of God to be Christ-like and therefore able to live a life in reconciliation with God (Col 1:20), thus in essence being restored to the image of God in which human beings were created by Him (Genesis 1:26-27).

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, reminds the believer of the teachings of Jesus (John 14:26) and therefore testifies of him (John 15:26-27). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Prophecy; the testimony of Jesus (Rev 19:10), for Jesus embodies prophetic fulfillment. The Holy Spirit, who is Spirit of God, knows His thoughts and reveals them to mankind (1 Corinthians Chapter 2:9-12).

Thus the function of the Holy Spirit, also known as Spirit of Truth who guides believers into all truth (John 16:13) is the same as that of Christ Jesus in that he enables reconciliation of mankind to God.

The planting of God’s word in one’s heart therefore happens in this manner; A knowing of who Jesus and God are, is made possible by the Holy Spirit as the partaker of the New Covenant is constantly taught according to the Word of God and reminded of the teachings of Jesus. Inevitably this means the Word or scriptural truths are understood by revelation for those who are in fellowship with the Holy Spirit.

In the last days, the true worshipers will worship God in Spirit and in His truth as according to John 4:24. The era following the ascension of Jesus and the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured mightily upon numerous people of different nationalities and races was the era of commencement of the Apostolic Prophetic church of the last days. Therefore the term ‘Last days’ is applied from that time and thereafter until the Second Coming of Jesus and Joel 2:28-30 KJV is being fulfilled:

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: 29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” 

(Excerpt from Teaching: THE NEW COVENANT:  Jesus, The Holy Spirit & Partakers of the New Covenant by Deborah E. Nyamekye)

II.DECLARING & PRAYING THE NINE-FOLD SPIRITUAL GIFTS, SEVEN-FOLD SPIRITS OF GOD (ATTRIBUTES OF CHRIST) AND THE NINE-FOLD FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT OVER YOUR LIFE.

Develop the art of declaring and praying for an impartation of the nine-fold spiritual gifts, seven-fold (attributes of Christ) Spirits of God and the nine-fold Fruit of the Spirit of God (listed below). If you feel you have all or some of them praise the LORD! but you can pray for an increased measure or to excel in them for God’s purposes. Be honest. Ask the Lord Jesus for He wants us to ask Him for our needs and believe we have received them when we ask (Phil.4:6-7, Mark 11:24).

Many believers in Jesus are conditioned to ask him for certain things and not others. I realised this about myself a long time ago; I developed the habit of asking for material things, basically things I wanted. However the Lord revealed to me that there were things I was not asking for which are actually things I need and were vital to my spiritual development into maturity. I began to realise that spending quality time praying for gifts of the Spirit and the fruit meant I was partnering with God in His sanctification process of my soul and the process would be accelerated because I was consciously partnering with Him. This delights the Lord!

The act of partnering with God for his purpose to come to pass in your life (starting with partnering to be more like Him through Christ and be spiritually empowered), is actually seeking first the kingdom of God which delights Him. The result? All things are added to us (Matthew 6:33). In other words God is able to bring to pass His predestined purposes for our lives. We receive all answers to our prayers according to God’s will. What does the bible say is the reward for delighting in God?

“Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4 KJV)

The beginning of the year is as the beginning of the day. As our attitude and mindset at the beginning of the day sets the course of the day, so too does our attitude and mindset at the beginning of the year sets the course of the year.

Remember God “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…” (Eph. 3:20 KJV)

And also that “eye hath not seen, nor ears heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed (them) unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (1 Corinth. 2:9-10)

It is therefore up to us to position ourselves to receive all that God has for us, and the first step is daily cultivating the attitude or mind-set that says “I am one with Father God through Christ Jesus” or “I am Christ-like”. Setting time aside to seek God’s face and pray fervently, even including fasting is vital to the sustenance of our “spiritual health” or Christian walk throughout the year.

Brethren, as you know the Holy Spirit is the means by whom we are transformed, so developing the habit of declaring and praying the nine-fold Spiritual gifts, seven-fold Spiritual attributes of Jesus Christ and the nine-fold Fruit (aspects of God’s nature) of the Holy Spirit over ourselves is indirectly declaring who you are and want to continue to be (a fruitful child of God) which is crucial to a sustained victorious Christian life.

It is proclaiming in the atmosphere who you are in allegiance with or who is the master over your life, identity and destiny. It is very powerful!

In my experience as I start praying or making these declarations, I sense the Holy Spirit who intercedes on our behalf literally taking over and the words and sentences formulated are clearly divinely inspired. This is not surprising because I am calling on the Holy Spirit and He comes!

What better time to start having one of the best habits in the world than at the beginning of the year?

1.The Nine-fold Gifts of the Spirit: (1 Corinth. 12: 1-31)

  • The Word of Knowledge
  • The Word of Wisdom
  • The Gift of Prophecy (1 Corinth. 14:5/14:39/1 Thess. 5:19-21)
  • The Gift of Faith (Eph. 2:8)
  • The Gifts of Healings
  • The Working of Miracles
  • The Discerning of spirits
  • Different Kinds of Tongues(1 Corinth. 13:1/14:2, 5/14:14,39-40)
  • The interpretation of Tongues (1 Corinth. 14:13-14/14:5)
  1. The Seven-fold Spirits of God (attributes of Jesus Christ) (Isaiah 11:1-2)
  • Spirit of theLord (encompassing other six)
  • Spirit of wisdom
  • Spirit of understanding
  • Spirit of Counsel
  • Spirit of Might
  • Spirit of Knowledge
  • Spirit of the Fear of the Lord

3.The Nine-fold Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

  •  Love
  • Joy
  • Peace
  • Long-suffering
  • Gentleness
  • Goodness
  • Faith
  • Meekness
  • Temperance

Dear Father,

Hallowed be your mighty name. Thank you for your grace and mercy bestowed upon us. We also give you thanks and praise for your powerful Holy Spirit within us working to fulfill your will in our lives. We humbly ask that you teach us how to effectively partner with your Spirit this year so that we will hear from you and know your will for our lives. In so doing, will be transformed and able to receive the fullness of our inheritance in Jesus Christ.

Forgive us when we have not been in fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Help us in our weakness. We trust you because you said in your word that your strength is made perfect in our weakness.

We also ask that you help us to remember that when we pray the Spiritual gifts (nine), seven Spirits of God and Fruit of the Spirit (nine) over our lives we will be empowered daily to live a fruitful Christ-like life and overcome the power of Satan and the lusts of the flesh.

Revive us daily by your Spirit, Oh LORD, as we surrender every area of our lives to you. In Jesus name Amen.

You are blessed, determine to stay blessed!

Deborah Esther

©Deborah E. Nyamekye 03/01/2016

 

A Chosen vessel to utter God’s prophetic words and will to bless others – three biblical case studies

For your encouragement as one called and chosen by God to carry His vision and purpose to be birthed for the glory of God, it is worth remembering the following biblical personalities who were also God’s instruments. As in their case, you also have the ability to prophecy, or be God’s vessel for uttering His words or will to bless others:

1.Elizabeth – when she heard Mary’s voice the baby (John the Baptist; a child conceived for the purposes of God) leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41), as a result
42she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb.43And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?…45And blessed [is] she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. (Luke 1:4243,45)

2.Mary, pregnant with Jesus having visited Elizabeth and heard her speak under the unction of the Holy Spirit, was also given utterance by the Spirit to sing a prophetic song
unto God, glorifying Him for choosing her and His mighty works on earth (Luke 1: 46-55).

3.Zacharias, a High Priest and John the Baptist’s father, after his son’s birth was full of the Holy Ghost and prophesied the destiny of Jesus Christ and that of John the Baptist (Luke 1:67-79).

As is confirmed by these biblical characters, when God chooses you as His, you become His instrument to conceive His plans and purposes as an anointed vessel of God, your lifestyle and words should therefore testify of who you are to God. You do not need to be a prophet to be a vessel of prophetic utterance by the LORD.

As a born again believer you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you and the more you fellowship with Him as one in Christ the more He will flow as “living waters” out of your “belly” (John 7:38)….

©️2018DENyamekye

Excerpt from Part 1 “Honouring the Holy Spirit. You shall receive utterance & empowerment to be a blessing

From Manna From On High Blog

http://www.readywriterps451.org

One on one with the Holy Spirit..be expectant for creative prophetic expression.

“Seek God for your desired expressions of His Spirit within you. Most have never thought of doing so. What are your gifts and talents? How can the Holy Spirit assist you?

When you have a quiet time and have done your bible study, prayed and sang to the LORD, acknowledging the presence of the Holy Spirit, pause for a moment for the Holy Spirit may want to speak through you, praise or sing to God about His goodness or who He is through you…

As a born again believer you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you and the more you fellowship with Him as one in Christ the more He will flow as “living waters” out of your “belly” (John 7:38).

At times the utterance will be straight forward prophecies as words to be written, songs or psalms to be sang and can be set to music. Whether written or sang they may also have poetic expression.

Always have your journal ready to write and even a sound recorder to record. Be expectant and prepared to receive from the “living waters” or Holy Spirit flowing out of you as a believer in Jesus Christ, the “last Adam a Life giving Spirit” (1 Corinth. 15:45)…

Excerpt from Part 1 “Honouring the Holy Spirit. You shall receive utterance & empowerment to be a blessing

Part 1: Honouring the Holy Spirit – You Shall receive utterance & empowerment to be a blessing

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Holy Spirit we honour You!

As born again Christians we all have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, a life abiding in God is an exciting life in which the Holy Spirit manifests as God’s power and testifies of our creative God through our lives in all His functions. He is the Spirit of God and therefore God Himself for God is Spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24).

As you can see the importance of the Holy Spirit in you, a born again believer cannot be under-estimated.

Seek God for your desired expressions of His Spirit within you. Most have never thought of doing so. What are your gifts and talents? How can the Holy Spirit assist you?

When you have a quiet time and have done your bible study, prayed and sang to the LORD, acknowledging the presence of the Holy Spirit, pause for a moment for the Holy Spirit may want to speak through you, praise or sing to God about His goodness or who He is through you.

For your encouragement as one called and chosen by God to carry His vision and purpose to be birthed for the glory of God, it is worth remembering the following biblical personalities who were also God’s instruments. As in their case, you also have the ability to prophecy, or be His vessel for uttering His words or will to bless others:

1.Elizabeth – when she heard Mary’s voice the baby (John the Baptist; a child conceived for the purposes of God) leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was full of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41), as a result
42she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb.43And whence [is] this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?…45And blessed [is] she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. (Luke 1:4243,45)

2.Mary, pregnant with Jesus having visited Elizabeth and heard her speak under the unction of the Holy Spirit, was also given utterance by the Spirit to sing a prophetic song
unto God, glorifying Him for choosing her and His mighty works on earth (Luke 1: 46-55).

3.Zacharias, a High Priest and John the Baptist’s father, after his son’s birth was full of the Holy Ghost and prophesied
the destiny of Jesus Christ and that of John the Baptist (Luke 1:67-79).

As is confirmed by these biblical characters, when God chooses you as His, you become His instrument to conceive His plans and purposes as an anointed vessel of God, your lifestyle and words should therefore testify of who you are to God. You do not need to be a prophet to be a vessel of prophetic utterance by the LORD.

As a born again believer you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you and the more you fellowship with Him as one in Christ the more He will flow as “living waters” out of your “belly” (John 7:38).

At times the utterance will be straight forward prophecies as words to be written, songs or psalms to be sang and can be set to music. Whether written or sang they may also have poetic expression.

Always have your journal ready to write and even sound recorder to record. Be expectant and prepared to receive from the “living waters” or Holy Spirit flowing out of you as a believer in Jesus Christ, the “last Adam a Life giving Spirit” (1 Corinth. 15:45).

In addition we often think more of the Holy Spirit as a doer, One with many functions, which is true, but He is fundamentally the power of God. POWER! DUNAMIS! The Holy Spirit’s act of being powerful is rooted in His function as a helper. He brings forth tremendous and evident transformation of lives. How do you want to be transformed personally? How do you want your situation to be changed? All for God’s glory! It is only possible by abiding in the powerful Holy Spirit.

In this way you allow God to express Himself powerfully through you by

1. Using you for the sake of others – Holy Spirit will empower you and activate your giftings and callings. This is the life of God within you at work (Roman 8:11).

2. Teaching you His ways, so that you can teach others under the anointing of the Holy Spirit.
-You shall be a true teacher by the enabling of the Spirit of truth (another name for Holy Spirit), the anointing of God which teaches you. (1 John 2:27/John 8:32/John 16:13).
Therefore as Timothy you shall be taught to teach (2 Tim. 2:2).

You shall be someone multitudes can trust amidst false teachers in these last days before the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

3. Imparting spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6-8, 1 Peter 4:10-11, 1 Corinth. 12:1-31, Eph. 4:11-16) and the fruit of the Spirit (Gal…) so that you live a Christlike life and able to do all things because we have God’s strength or power (Phil 4:13)

May we live a supernaturally natural life unto God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ remembering that this is only possible when we are in daily fellowship with His powerful Holy Spirit.

Prayer:

Most High God, worthy of all honour and praise, I praise you for your goodness and miraculous works in all the earth and in my personal life.

I ask that as I live in fellowship with your Holy Spirit, you would activate praise in my heart whatever I am doing and wherever I am.

LORD, I also ask that I would burst forth into song at any given moment and opportunity. May your living waters flow through me so that I am given prophetic utterance  to bless individuals, families, churches and nations.

Dear Father,  I also pray for the expression of these utterances by your Spirit as new songs and psalms as well as direct prophecies that glorify you by bringing hope, encouragement and healing to multitudes.

This is my desire LORD as I live a worshipful life unto you. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

You are blessed, determine to stay blessed!

Deborah Esther
©Deborah E. Nyamekye 2/01/2016

“Truth in the inward parts”, the highway to God of Truth’s Conditional Promises

Key scriptures: Romans 8:31-32, Psalm 51:6, John 14:21,23

Joshua said to the Israelites

“Deep in your hearts you know that every promise of the LORD your God has come true. Not a single one has failed!”(Joshua 23:14 NLT).

Joshua’s words affirm what is true, we serve a God who does not lie period!

“he who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!”(Isa.15:29 NLT).

He is a God of Truth, this is why His Spirit is also named by Christ as the Spirit of Truth.

“He is the Spirit of Truth who leads into all truth…” (John 14:17 NLT).

The fact that He is a God of Truth is a delight to the ears of the believer in Christ as myself and a spring in our step when we focus on scriptures that speak of His blessed promises to us. These includes His faithfulness to provide for and protect us.

“Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.” (James 1:17 NLT).

Caution! His truth is not only demonstrated when He fulfils His blessed promises as Joshua articulated so well when he said to the Israelites:

“But as surely as the LORD your God has given you the good things he promised, he will also bring disaster on you if you disobey him. He will completely destroy you from this good land he has given you. (Joshua 23:15 NLT).

There are those among believers in Christ who subconsciously as well as consciously do not serve the God of Truth wholeheartedly.

Consciously, some profess to be God’s children but pick and choose which of His scriptures to obey or disobey. In addition, they would interpret certain scriptures to suit their carnal longings and desires deceiving themselves and others but certainly not God.

Despite the aforementioned, such people require God to serve them wholeheartedly and in fact demand it! They pray and quote scriptures back at Him expecting Him to fulfil their every wish and command! If they do not receive answers to their prayers and in their timing, they become angry with God and often times people around them become victims of their wrath.

As a believer in Christ, I confess to haven been among the subconscious category of people who did not serve God wholeheartedly. I use the past tense because I hope I have overcome that tendency, if not, may God continue to help me do so.

I recall I would be recurrently engaging in sinful acts whether large or small based on my mindset and decisions (I later realised that some were rooted in not only personal sins but generational iniquities) I would take unaware that despite a consciously fervent life in Christ, such acts were contrary to God’s will and were therefore the reasons why blockages to sustained peace and answers to prayers were taking place.

In fact I blamed the devil, but while evil was certainly involved, evil can only have its way in the life of a Christian if they become self reliant and collude with Satan by disobeying God. Satan and his demonic army cannot have a foothold or an “entry pass” in our lives without our assistance.

“Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse will not land on its intended victim.” (Prov. 26:2 NLT).

Yes, some sins are glaringly obvious to us but from experience I know that there are some that we commit on a recurring basis that if but for living a life in fellowship with the Holy Spirit who convicts us of sin and reveals hidden sins and iniquities, exposes God’s truth contrasting it with our self deception and Satan’s lies, they would remain hidden. I thank God for His powerful Holy Spirit in my life.

Satan and the flesh nature under satanic control majors in hiddenness, meaning they scheme to ensure people, including Christians stay in darkness and are never enlightened to Elohim’s truth.

This is how the kingdom of darkness (Satan’s) founded and built on lies about humanity and the world advances.

“God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.” (John 3:19 NLT).

David, the son of Jesse who become king of Israel knew about his own personal fragility and valued his relationship with God to the point that he did not want his sinful ways, pretensions and presumptions that would be exposed as lies to serve as obstacles to his intimate relationship with God. Therefore He prayed in this manner which certainly appeals to me:

“How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults.

Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me.

Then I will be free of guilt

and innocent of great sin.

May the words of my mouth

and the meditation of my heart

be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

(Ps. 19:12-14 NLT)

And also

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” (Ps. 139:23-24 NLT).

I state that this manner of praying appeals to me because I feel led to pray in the same way as it gets the job done! In other words as long as it is from a sincere heart, the Holy Spirit who abides in the heart of every believer in Christ is activated to answer by convicting the one who prayed if need be and enlightening them to the sinful acts, thoughts or decisions they are making.

I can testify that as one who is eager to make peace and so sustain intimacy with God by refusing to bow to my flesh and Satan through denial, pretence and presumption, I have noticed many times that the Holy Spirit has unveil to me my erroneous thought patterns, decisions and actions which I would not have otherwise been enlightened to.

This has caused me to exclaim in horror and feel the conviction and sorrow necessary to bring me to repentance and a resolve to change my ways with God’s help.

As God desires His truth in the inward parts of humanity, anyone who desires the same opens their hearts to receive revelation of His wisdom or the knowledge of his ways required to live a victorious Christian life (Ps. 51:6).

The Apostle Paul writes about God’s Spirit as follows:

“For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit..” (1 Corinth. 2:10-11 NLT).

Indeed we serve a God who reveals His thoughts or will by His Spirit so as to redeem us. His love is everlasting and He is dedicated to rebuilding our lives. As He said to the ancient Israelites so He says to us;

“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines.” (Jeremiah 31: 3-4 NLT).

It pleases God that we His children would want to sustain our relationship with Him by desiring to know whether we are in sin and if so to confess our sins and ask God to cleans us from all unrighteousness; This is indeed what we are commanded to do according to His Word of truth (1 John 1:9).

God’s promises are true, however their manifestation is only possible within an intimate relationship with Him where we revere Him to the point of receiving His Word of truth as well as demonstrating it in every area of our lives.

“All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.” (John 14:23 NLT).

When obedience to God’s Word of truth results in God’s glorious presence in one’s life, it also means that all that God has predestined for the person is available to them. God’s promises are therefore conditional to our obedience.

Satan is crafty and will never leave the children of God alone, if it is not one scheme to blindfold us so as to deceive us, it is another; Satan will use every opportunity in this materialistic world to attempt to make us self-reliant or self-sufficient and think that we do not need to rely or depend on God.

This is why as believers in Christ fellowship with the Holy Spirit is absolutely crucial to us living Victorious Christian lives. By the enabling of the Holy Spirit, the disciples of Christ, who is the light (John 8:12) in a dark world, are able to have the “light of life” or know the truth of Elohim God and be set free by it (John 8:31-32).

Those who truly abide in God are therefore unable to live in denial or pretence because the Spirit of Truth has the liberty to teach them and remind them of the teachings of Jesus (John 14:26/15:26).

They have a choice either to obey or disobey the Word of Truth. If they decide to disobey, then the status of their relationship with God changes to their detriment. The Israelites knew this as they suffered punishment when they disobeyed God. Even an individual’s disobedience (Achan’s) resulted in the entire nation of Israel suffering defeat in the battle at Ai because of God’s anger (Joshua 7).

In Joshua’s final message (Joshua 24) to the Israelites before he died, he reminded them of their ancestral inheritance starting from Abraham and how God had delivered them from Egypt and given them victory over their enemies and the land of Canaan, then he implored them to throw away the gods of their forefathers and not to forsake the LORD their God. If they forsook Him, they would suffer the consequences:

“If you abandon the LORD and serve other gods, he will turn against you and destroy you, even though he has been so good to you.” (Joshua 24:20 NLT). Again we note that God is truthful in his plan to punish as He is in his plan to bless.

The Israelites then assured Joshua repetitively that they will not forsake the LORD, but would serve Him (Josh. 24:21-24). Joshua put a large stone under an oak tree near the holy place of the LORD and said that the stone “It will be a witness to testify against you if you go back on your word to God.”(Joshua 24:27 NLT)

As God will not tolerate compromise in worship because “…he is a holy and jealous God” (Josh. 24:19 NLT) so too He will not tolerate a lying people. This is because God desires: “truth in the inward parts” (Ps. 51:6 KJV).

In the New Living Translation version Psalm 51:6 a) is expressed as follows “But you desire honesty from the womb..”.

Honesty before God and men is synonymous with being a Christian and can be expressed as a cloak of honesty that is supposed to be a permanent attire of a believer in Christ because it is woven from God’s Word of truth and reflects the nature of God.

In human terms it does not mean one is perfect because no one but Elohim God is perfect, it means one has integrity of the highest order borne out of a heart that is constantly quick to confess and acknowledge Satan’s lies, self-deception and also quick to repent and embrace God’s truth according to His unadulterated Word.

©️7-Oct.2018 DENyamekye