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Global Christian Resource Centre, 2, Oweh Street, Jibowu, Yaba, Lagos (2026)

16/07/2023

WALKING IN THE PATH OF RIGHTEOUSNESS.
By Francis Taylor.

Ref. Isaiah 26:7-9.
If we are to die to self, as we reflected upon yesterday, then we must seek the way of the just. This is the path that is pleasing to God.

As I write this, we are preparing to once more remember the destruction of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center in New York, the attack on the Pentagon and the flight that ended in a field in Pennsylvania. The thousands of people that died came from many different countries, and traditions. It doesn't matter what the motivation was that brought about such destruction, it was not just.

Hatred and violence are not just. God created a world that was good, and we were given the responsibility to take care of it and that requires love not hate, peace not war.
I am saddened by the fact that almost twenty years after this event people still hate and destroy one another. For a few weeks following September 11, 2001, people gathered together and prayed for peace and a more just world. But, just like the Israelites that Isaiah was speaking to, we don't learn.

I don't know where the next attack will come from, but I do know that unless we have a change of mind and heart and work for justice, it will come. The Israelites would turn back to God and repent for a short time. Their kings would get rid of the idols and tear down their altars and only worship God. But it wouldn't last, and they would once again be under attack and complain that God had abandoned them.

When bad things happen to us, we, too, complain that God has abandoned us. The reality is that the Israelites and we have both abandoned God. I pray that we will not see another September 11 massacre, but God can only prevent it if we are willing to do the work and act with justice and righteousness.

16/07/2023

This passage in Peter shows up nicely an idea that has been raised many times by Christ before, that the true value of a man is measured not by what he has, but by what he may do without.
When all is burned up, when all possessions and vainglories are dissolved, when all but our body remains, who amongst us can truly claim to be able find comfort only in God?
Who amongst us, could claim still, to be able to stand before the Lord, thankful and glad?

The question thrown up by Peter is not a command to cast off our worldly goods and comfort, but rather it is a challenge to Christians, to challenge us to look within ourselves and ask who we truly are, and what is truly necessary in front of our Lord.

15/07/2023

LIVING IN THE LORD.
By Francis Taylor.

Ref. Romans 6:3-5.
A few weeks ago, we were reflecting on this passage at my Monday night Bible Study and one of the women was disturbed by it. She didn't like the image of being baptized into Christ's death and wondered what it meant.
I can understand why she was upset by it as one of her grandchildren as well as her brother had recently died.
These words are often included in funeral rite so I told her that it was meant to be a reassurance of our resurrection as well as the reality of living as a Christian.

If we are baptized into Christ's death then we need to put to death all those parts of ourselves that are not according to God's will. Just as Jesus subjected his will to that of the Father's by accepting his death on the cross, we need to subject ourselves to his will. We need to root out those bad habits that lead us to sin. We need to put God and others before ourselves. We need to reach out to others who are in need, even if it means going out of our comfort zone.

Dying to self, leads us to a life of love which brings us a happiness that is richer for its simplicity. When we die to self, we're not concerned with what we don't have, we feel blessed for what we do have. And the reward is eternal life with Christ in the heavenly Kingdom.

15/07/2023

Between the lines of thousands of verses within the Bible, one may find the joy and exultation of celebrating the name of the Lord.
Ours is not as some might claim, a God of pure vengeance. He is as a Father unto us, endowing us with the gift of light, love, and even laughter. David's Psalms particularly details this joy, of celebration, recommending we sing our thanks and praises to our God in whatever manner we see fit.
In David's time, literally singing was a popular activity, owing to how affordable it was. Whilst this method is still available to all –even the tone deaf-, many more ways of praising his name is open to us today, 'singing' here need not be literal; what matters is the sentiment.

14/07/2023

WE KNOW, WE BELIEVE.
By Francis Taylor.

What would it take for the people to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ? It turns out, that it would take his resurrection. His miracles were not enough. His teachings were not enough. In spite of everything he had done, they would allow themselves to call for his death. Only his resurrection made at least some of them see the error of their ways and repent.
In many ways, the spread of Christianity is a miracle. Only because of the preaching of the apostles who were witnesses of the resurrection and believed in the teachings and the promises of Christ, did the Good News of salvation reach into all areas of the known world. It is only because of the wisdom of those who realized that future generations needed to know about Jesus and wrote down his works and his teachings that we are aware of all that he did for us.

But knowledge is not enough. Belief is not enough. What we need is repentance and a lifestyle change that goes along with that knowledge and belief. This is not always easy, and usually goes in stages. The more we learn about Jesus and his promises, the more we want to know. As our knowledge of Jesus' teachings grows, we realize the areas of our lives where repentance is necessary. As we grow in faith, we understand where we have failed.

We see that gossip can harm. Our eyes are open to those who are suffering and need our help. No more can we ignore those bad habits that lead us into sin. Let's work on repenting so that we will be acceptable on the Day of Judgment.

14/07/2023

Looking back there may seem to be mistakes and sins we've committed we may never be forgiven for. Even if, somehow, one is absolved by others, the shame of having committed them may cause such intense guilt that it turns to self-hatred, of feeling unworthy in the eyes of others.
Yet, in front of the eyes of our Heavenly Father, we were and always will be naked. Our nature is sin, whilst Gods' is forgiveness. We cannot hide our misdeeds from Him; we can only be forgiven in confessing them.
Only if we have the courage to trust in the mercy of our Lord, in admitting to our darkest wrongs, can we be made pure again.

13/07/2023

Today, temptation and the false path is often confused with salvation, which comes in many forms and guises. This 'salvation' may for some include the diversions of drugs, s*x, idolatries, consumption, or in the form of false prophets offering quick fixes.
Often, the worst perpetrator may even be ourselves once we forget God is in the driving seat. Thus, it is only through Christ's divination that we may understand true and everlasting salvation in the eyes of our heavenly father.
It is only with our faith in the Lord, and not in oneself or other false prophets, that we may find grace.

11/07/2023

GOD WILL ALWAYS BRING YOU BACK.
By Francis Taylor.

This prophecy from Ezekiel will come to fruition when Cyrus invades and conquers Babylon and allows those in exile to return with money and the sacred vessels, seed and flocks so that they can rebuild Jerusalem. And they were secure and might have remained secure if they had remained faithful to God.

We know that they did not and suffered again from the Greeks and then the Romans. When will Jerusalem rest secure? At this point, no one has the answer to that. The question is for everyone though; when will any of us rest secure? The answer stays the same today as it was then: when justice reigns; peace will reign.

Although it might seem like an impossible task, there are steps that we can take. The first step is to end violent speech. It is important that we show respect to everyone, whether we know them or not. No one needs to be yelled at, called names, bullied or subjected to any other kind of verbal abuse. Then we need to follow that up with no violence in the home. Just as we need to show respect to those outside the home, we need to do the same to our spouses, parents and children. Children learn from how they see their parents act.
Then we move to the workplace, the school, and the neighborhood. Each act of respect or kindness leads to another, just as each act of violence often leads to another.

We need to be those who are working to spread peace so that we might rest secure.

11/07/2023

I honestly believe that the world is in a state of crisis right now. There are more and more people turning away from God, and because of this, the hero that has sustained peace and love for thousands of years does not have the same reach that he once did.
There is a hero vacuum, and people are looking for other places to live vicariously, wishing that they could be more like a superhero or a celebrity. We should all already have our superhero. He lived and died for our sins; he bore a cross in shame; he sits at the right hand of his Father, God in heaven. Do not look for other heroes when the mightiest of all already exists!

10/07/2023

GOD GIVE US COURAGE.
By Francis Taylor.

Yesterday we considered the role of a disciple, and today we are warned against the challenges. Christianity today is under attack from many different sources and some of those sources are from people or organizations who consider themselves Christian.
Sometimes the most difficult enemies to see are the ones that look and sound like us!

A few years ago, a minister declared "war" on members of a certain religion and disrespected both the members of that religion and the religion itself by burning their sacred books. This is an atrocity! An organization to which I belong collected money to replace those sacred books to anyone who asked.

This is the Christian way of behaving. There are so many people who are more concerned about themselves than the welfare of others, that anyone who preaches justice or mercy is suspect. The same goes for anyone who would like us to protest the current moral state of affairs.

Get rich quick, no matter who gets stepped on; take all the pleasure you can, no matter who gets hurt; lie, cheat or steal, if it gets you what you want! These are the wolves we must overcome. Jesus was right to tell us to be wise as well as harmless because the only way change can come is if we can see trouble and injustice coming and be able to recognize it for what it is.
We also must figure out how to do no harm as we work to make the changes that God wants.

As we continue our mission of discipleship, we need to be careful not to injure others in our pursuit of justice. Remember the wheat and the weeds, it's God's job to judge and we don't want to destroy any wheat by pulling up the weeds.

10/07/2023

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All of us have experienced severe tests of our faith. Many Christians have also had to endure persecution for their beliefs.
James explains the importance of keeping faith, standing strong, and holding onto your beliefs.

This lesson from James was perhaps given with some foresight into the coming trials for early Christians, who were persecuted and killed for believing in Christ. It still happens today in some parts of the world, but strengthen your faith in difficult times! Do this and reap the ultimate reward.

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