Artos Zaho Global Vigil Christian Church

09/07/2023

10/01/2023

BE STRONG IN THE LORD (PT4)
..Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11 NLT)

Beloved, FAITH is the next thing the Holy Spirit wants to strengthen within us. The Bible says... hold up the SHIELD OF FAITH to stop the fiery arrows of the devil (Ephesians 6:16 NLT).

The Living Bible Translation says... In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan.

Well, towards the end of last year, I remember having a dream about this particular armor. The Lord was warning about... the fiery arrows aimed at my faith, and I’m immediately thinking of how Jesus told Peter... “Simon, Simon (Peter), listen! Satan has demanded permission to sift [all of] you like grain; but I have prayed [especially] for you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail; and you, once you have turned back again [to Me], strengthen and support your brothers [in the faith].” (Luke 22:31‭-‬32 AMP).‬‬

Well, the enemy had specifically targeted Peter’s faith. He had some fiery weapons formed and Peter needed to... lift up the [PROTECTIVE] shield of faith (AMP) to protect him from the attack.

I can imagine that just hearing Jesus say... I have prayed [especially] for you [Peter], that your faith [and confidence in Me] may not fail... is enough to quench the fiery arrows aimed at him.

The Bible says... faith comes by hearing... the word of God (Romans 10:17 NKJV). So, Peter needed to hear Jesus say that; “Concerning what’s coming, I’ve already prayed for you”. He also needed to hear that the reason why he was going through it was so he was equipped to help someone else go through it.

Peter would need to be reminded of this, and I like how Jesus says... “I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends... the Holy Spirit—He will teach you much, as well as remind you of everything I Myself have told you (John TLB 14:25-26)

The Passion Translation says... But He will inspire you to remember every word that I’ve told you.

Beloved, the enemy is very intentional about sending fiery arrows our way to cause us to doubt God and give up, but we must be strong in the Lord. Hence, the Holy Spirit is doing a work in us to strengthen our ability to hold up the PROTECTIVE shield of faith. That work involves helping with our unbelief (Mark 9:24), and building the confidence we need even when we can’t see anything yet (Hebrews 11:1).

God bless you in Jesus Christ name

09/01/2023

BE STRONG IN THE LORD (PT3)
..Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11 NLT).

Beloved, the next thing the Holy Spirit wants to strengthen within us is our ability to effectively spread the Good News of PEACE to others. The Bible says... For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared (Ephesians 6:15 NLT).

Amongst other things, Peace (eiréné) here means “wholeness”. According to the HELPS Word-studies, it is “God’s gift of wholeness” and what immediately comes to mind is when Jesus says... “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; He has appointed Me to PREACH GOOD NEWS to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted and to announce that captives shall be released and the blind shall see, that the downtrodden shall be freed from their oppressors (Luke 4:18-19 TLB).

Well, the truth is that you can’t give what you don’t have. You can’t effectively preach the Good New of “wholeness” when you are now whole yourself. You can’t effectively heal the broken-hearted, set the captives free, heal the blind when you are still broken, bound and blind.

The next thing that comes to mind is a question I was asked when some of my dad’s neighbours found out that I was a Christian; “If God is good why has He allowed this happen to your dad?

Well, the Bible says... Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15 AMP).

So, let’s just be clear. I’m still going to serve the Lord! The devil is evil, yet some people still serve him, right?

Then, Jesus never promised a trouble-free journey. Rather, He was real. He said... I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [BE CONFIDENT, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.”... (John 16:33 AMP)

Then, He says... “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid (John 14:27 NLT).

The Expanded Bible Translation says... [Jesus’ peace, in the sense of wholeness, is also a characteristic of the messianic kingdom]...

Beloved, the enemy wants us to think that telling others about the Good News is worthless and hopeless. One way he does this is to attack our confidence. However, “wholeness” is an essential work that the Holy Spirit must do within us so we can be strong and effectively spread the Good New of peace (wholeness) to others.

God bless you in Jesus Christ name

08/01/2023

BE STRONG IN THE LORD (PT2)
..Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11 NLT).

Beloved, the next armor that the Holy Spirit wants to strengthen within us is the... armor of God’s righteousness (Ephesians 6:14 NLT)

Other translations say “the breastplate of righteousness” and just as the breastplate covers the heart/chest area of a Roman Soldier, this is really about protecting our heart because like one source says; “Satan attacks our hearts, emotions, self-worth, trust etc. He accuses us of being guilty and unworthy”.

Well, as I study this, I’m thinking of the time I used to be so afraid that I was going to hell for every wrong thought or deed. As a result, I was always in front of the altar rededicating my life to Christ.

Then, I just couldn’t see how I was going to make heaven, but that was because I was relying on my own self-righteousness, and it caused me to live in fear. However, the Bible says... You have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God (Romans 8:15‭-‬16 AMP)

The Passion Translation says... you have received the “Spirit of FULL ACCEPTANCE,” enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as He rises up within us, our spirits join Him in saying the words of tender affection, “Beloved Father!” For the Holy Spirit makes God’s fatherhood real to us as He whispers into our innermost being, “You are God’s beloved child!”

This is about our right standing with God and knowing that it is as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ and not by our works.

Beloved, this is closely linked to the Helmet of salvation which we must also put on (Ephesians 6:17) because the enemy wants us to doubt our salvation. However, we must allow the Holy Spirit testify, confirm and assure us from deep in our innermost being that we are truly saved.

That said, this isn’t an excuse to live any kind of life. I like how the Amplified Bible, Classic Edition says... and having put on the breastplate of INTEGRITY and of MORAL RECTITUDE and right standing with God.

According to the Collins Dictionary, “Rectitude is a quality or attitude that is shown by people who behave honestly and morally according to accepted standards”.

Well, you will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16). Let’s allow the Holy Spirit produce good fruit in us.

God bless you in Jesus Christ name

07/01/2023

'BibleCafe2023' is the brainchild of Pastor Beverley. The idea is to go through the Bible, starting from Genesis and loving it.
We intend to study, discuss, highlight, and share information about Scriptures, over coffee (or tea, or hot chocolate, or herbal, or whatever drinks you like: compliments of Pastor Beverley😉).
For those who are driving, meet at the office gate at 12 noon, then we can walk over to Centrale.
'BibleCafe' is not just limited to those who are able to meet but for anyone who wants to go through the Bible and needs someone to journey with.

07/01/2023

BE STRONG IN THE LORD (PT1)
..Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-11 NLT).

Beloved, over the past few days, I’ve been led to write about the need to be strengthened by the Holy Spirit in our inner self. Now, our feature text is also talking about being... STRONG IN THE LORD and in His MIGHTY POWER... and that word “strong” (endunamoó) means to be “empowered” or “to fill with power”. The HELPS Word-studies says it is that “which intensifies”, “sharing power-ability”. It is “to impart ability (make able)”.

So, the Lord wants to intensify our strength... He wants to impart in us the ability to be strong in His MIGHTY POWER. He wants to share His power-ability with us.

The Passion Translation says... Be supernaturally infused with strength... and I like how the Message Translation says... God is strong, and He wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way...

So, these well-made weapons that we must put on are what I feel led to write about over the next few days as they are areas the Holy Spirit wants to strengthen within us.

The first is to... Put on TRUTH as a belt to strengthen you to stand in triumph... (Ephesians 6:14 TPT)

Well, the devil is the father of all lies and he fights us with lies about our true identity, freedom, inheritance, God’s love for us etc. He fights us with all sort of lies and the only way to win this battle is to fight back with the truth.

A few days ago, I said I was meditating on the song “Be Magnified” by Don Moen with lyrics that say; “I have believed in a lie... That You were unable to help me... But now, O Lord, I see my wrong... Heal my heart and show Yourself strong”.

Well, the Lord wants to show Himself strong in our lives, but the Holy Spirit must first do a work within us to expose every lie that we have believed in and then to replace it with the truth.

Jesus promised that... When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth... (John 16:13 NLT)

We must allow Him guide us into all truth. This may mean revisiting some stuff we may not want to revisit. Yes, it may be painful, but we must accept that this is a work that must be done. The Holy Spirit has to expose those lies we have bought into that the enemy keeps using as weapon to defeat us.

We must also be prepared to demolish some of our human reasoning/defences that have now become strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Well, that’s if we truly want to be strong in the Lord!

God bless you in Jesus Christ name

06/01/2023

EXPERIENCING THE FULLNESS OF GOD (PT 2)

And I pray that... the resting place of His love will become the very source and root of your life. Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is His love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God! (Ephesians 3:16‭-‬17 TPT)

Beloved, the next part of Paul’s prayer is that... the resting place of His love will become the very source and root of your life.

The Living Bible Translation says... May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love.

This is about being rooted in God’s love to the point that you are unshakeable and unmovable because you are fully convinced of God’s love.

Hence, the thought-provoking question... Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble...? ...No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am CONVINCED that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love... not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power... indeed... will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35‭-‬39 NLT)

Here, Paul is convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love and the Oxford Languages Dictionary says “convinced” is to be “completely certain about something”. However, this is an area that needs to be strengthened in our inner self by the Holy Spirit especially for those that have questions; “If God really loves me, why all this?”

Well, the final part of Paul’s prayer is about being empowered to discover... the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions.

The Living Bible Translation says... may you be able to feel and understand, as all God’s children should, how long, how wide, how deep, and how high His love really is; and to experience this love for yourselves, though it is so great that you will never see the end of it or fully know or understand it. And so at last you will be filled up with God Himself.

Here, Paul is saying that all God’s children ought to understand the extent of God’s love for them though it transcends our understanding. Hence, our imagination needs to be stretched in order to make room to really be filled up with God Himself.

So, the Holy Spirit must do a work within us so we can rise above our limited understanding of God’s love and personally experience it to its fullness.

The Amplified Bible Translation says... that you may be filled up [THROUGHOUT YOUR BEING] to all the fullness of God [so that you may have the RICHEST EXPERIENCE OF GOD’S PRESENCE IN YOUR LIVES, completely filled and flooded with God Himself].

God bless you in Jesus Christ name

05/01/2023

EXPERIENCING THE FULLNESS OF GOD (PT 1)

And I pray that... by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, and the resting place of His love will become the very source and root of your life. Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is His love! How enduring and inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God! (Ephesians 3:16‭-‬17 TPT)

Beloved, yesterday we saw how Apostle Paul prayed that the Holy Spirit works within us to strengthen our inner self.

Well, according to our feature text, the next thing he prays for is that... by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you.

The Living Bible Translation says... that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts, living within you as you trust in Him.

This means that the more you exercise your faith and trust Him, the more He is at home in your heart living within you.

According to the Oxford Languages Dictionary, “Trust” is “firm belief in the reliability, truth, or ability of someone or something” and this is something that the Holy Spirit has to work within us to strengthen our inner self.

Only yesterday, I was meditating on the song “Be Magnified” by Don Moen with lyrics that say; “I have made You too small in my eyes... O Lord, forgive me... I have believed in a lie... That You were unable to help me... But now, O Lord, I see my wrong... Heal my heart and show Yourself strong”.

Well, the Lord... is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream... (Ephesians 3:20 TLB). However, His mighty power at work within us has to heal our hearts which has become sick from hope deferred (Proverbs 13:12).

Unfortunately, many have believed in a lie that He is unable to help us. Many are no longer confident in praying bold prayers or dreaming big because our faith has been shaken so bad. However, to experience the fullness of God, Christ must dwell in our hearts through our faith/ trust in Him.

The word used here is “pístis” which means “faith, belief, trust, confidence; fidelity, faithfulness”. The HELPS Word-studies says is to “be persuaded, come to trust”. It goes on to say that “the Lord continuously births faith in the yielded believer so they can know what He prefers, i.e. the persuasion of His will”.

Beloved, this same faith is a fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in us (Galatians 5:22). So, let’s ask that He does a work within us so that we can experience the fullness of God.

Tomorrow, let’s explore the next thing Paul prays about.

God bless you in Jesus Christ name

04/01/2023

THE WORK WITHIN US

Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20 AMP)

Beloved, our feature text says the Lord is able to carry out His purpose in our lives. This is according to His power that is at work within us and as I read this, I’m immediately thinking of the Holy Spirit as the power that works in us. However, what’s this work that He’s doing within us?

Well, I was led to meditate on Apostle Paul’s prayer in the verses prior to our feature text. The first thing he prays to the Father for is that... He will give you the mighty INNER strengthening of His Holy Spirit (Ephesians 3:16 TLB).

The Amplified Bible Translation says... to be strengthened and SPIRITUALLY ENERGIZED with power through His Spirit in your INNER SELF, [indwelling your INNERMOST BEING and PERSONALITY]...

The Merriam Webster Dictionary describes “one’s inner self as the emotional and spiritual part of someone”. The Macmillan Dictionary says it’s “your thoughts and emotions”.

That’s why I like how the Voice Translation says... Fill their SOULS with the power of Your Spirit...

This is because your soul is made up of your passion, desires, appetite/hunger, longing, will, emotions, feelings etc. So, imagine how these would be upgraded when the Holy Spirit does His work within your soul.

The Bible says... For it is [not your strength, but it is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work [that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13 AMP).

The Passion Translation says... God will continually revitalize you, implanting within you the passion to do what pleases Him.

Hence, the Holy Spirit has to do a work within us to align our will, longings and passion to match His. That's probably why our feature text goes on to say that the Lord is able to do way more than our ability to imagine, according to His power that’s at work within us.

The Living Translation says... God... by His MIGHTY POWER AT WORK WITHIN us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.

Well, I recently wrote about “GIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT CONTROL OF YOUR MIND” and our feature text talks about the Holy Spirit... indwelling your INNERMOST BEING and PERSONALITY...

The Oxford Languages Dictionary says “indwelling” is to be permanently present in someone’s soul or mind”. It also says it is to “possess spiritually”.

Beloved, just imagine what the Lord can achieve through you when His Spirit is permanently present in your soul or mind.

God bless you in Jesus Christ name