A Friend Of God

Apostle Grace Lubega

Luke 1:3(AMP); It seemed good and desirable to me, [and so I have determined] also after having searched out diligently and followed all things closely and traced accurately the course from the highest to the minutest detail from the very first, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus.

Luke, the author in our theme scripture reveals a great truth about relating to God. He addresses his letter to Theophilus. The name Theophilus is translated to mean “Friend of God.” 

In writing to the “Friend of God”, he seeks to do so while following a perfect order, tracing accurately the course of events from the highest to the minutest detail. 

Luke’s account of the gospel teaches us that there is an order to everything in the realm of God. 

For example, there is an order in service to God, an order in submission to spiritual authority, an order in prophecy, an order in healing and an order in impartation. 

This order dictates why somethings have pre-eminence over others. 

When the Bible says that wisdom is the principal thing(Proverbs 4:7), this shows the pre-eminence of wisdom. When the scriptures say, “In the beginning was the Word”(John 1:1), this reveals the pre-eminence of the Word of God.

Friends of God are intimately acquainted with the divine order of things. 

Often, some people wonder why the power and presence of God manifest more strongly in other people’s lives than in theirs. It is not because God plays favourites. These men and women who see results understand the order of things. 

Think about it. 

A man who understands the pre-eminence of the Word and therefore gives it attention and priority in everything he does will most definitely have different results from one who is indifferent to this order spending more time on personal entertainment than in the Word of God. 

A woman who consistently applies her heart to the wisdom of God because she knows it is the principal thing cannot be compared to one who is not bothered to seek wisdom. 

The wonderful news is that Christ calls you His friend (John 15:15). The divine order of things is not alien to you!

He says in 1John 2:20 that you know all things. Believe it! 

He said it and it is the truth! You know the order of building ministry; you know the order of spiritual growth; you know the order of communion and fellowship with the Holy Spirit. 

You know the divine order because you are a friend of God.

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: John 15:15, 1 John 2:20

GOLDEN NUGGET: Friends of God are intimately acquainted with the divine order of things. You know the divine order because you are a friend of God.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for this great word. What a privilege to be called a friend of God. My spirit understands how You work and is intimately acquainted with Your ways. Because I know the divine order of things, I continually see the manifestation of the God-life in me. To the glory of Your name, Amen.

My Service Is An Altar

Apostle Grace Lubega

Psalms 5:3(TPT); At each and every sunrise you will hear my voice as I prepare my sacrifice of prayer to you. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.

Your responsibility in the ministry is an altar. 

Are you a pianist serving your local church? That is your altar. Are you a backup singer in the choir? That is your altar. Are you an usher? That is your altar. Are you an administrator, a pastor, part of the church’s sports team or serving in the married’s ministry? That is your altar.

Do you know why some Christians take their ministry responsibilities for granted? Do you know why some behave like they are doing their pastors a favour by volunteering? Do you know why they will habitually come late for choir practice or do the bare minimum when it comes to their duties?

Many of them do not know that these opportunities for service are altars, they think of them simply as things to be done to keep a church running.

What a shame! 

That is your altar, dear Christian. 

Because it is an altar, it is worthy of great respect. From it, you will receive favour, glory, and grace. You cannot afford to defile it with indifference, mediocrity, and sloppiness. 

Do you know that the reason you may be struggling for a breakthrough in certain areas of your life is that you degrade and disregard the altar of service? How do you seek the hand of God expecting answers, yet abuse this altar? 

Rethink how you serve God. 

Consider how you handle ministry responsibilities. Are you zealous? Are you excellent? Are you diligent? Are you proactive? 

Serve God with your whole heart in the knowledge that your service is an altar.

FURTHER STUDY: Galatians 6:9, 2 Thessalonians 3:13

GOLDEN NUGGET: Your responsibility in the ministry is an altar. Serve God with your whole heart in the knowledge that your service is an altar.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for Your Word. It is a great and immense privilege and honour to serve You. I do so with diligence and zeal. Your work is my priority and Your agenda is my agenda. To the glory of Your name, Amen.

My God, My Pattern – 2

Apostle Grace Lubega 

1 Corinthians 11:1(NKJV); Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

The human heart perpetually seeks to worship something or someone. 

Have no illusions about this; if a man is not worshipping the true God, he has an object of worship somewhere in his life. This could be money, a job, a car, a mobile phone and even one’s spouse. 

If we take this understanding into the Church of Christ, you will see why we have personality cults in the Christendom.

How do men and women of God become objects of worship? 

If a man or woman of God desires to be imitated but doesn’t imitate Christ, he becomes the object of worship. If he or she is a pattern unto himself instead of God being his pattern, he will attract hero-worship.

I put this question to you minister of God. Is your life truly patterned after Christ? 

Is His humility reflected in your lifestyle? Is His compassion your heartbeat? Is His kindness your brand of kindness? Are you pointing men to Christ or to yourself?

If not, it is possible that your ego is ‘wedged into the door to the throne room.’ It is possible that people cannot see past you to the God you claim to represent. 

I put this to you follower of Christ. Is your pastor on a pedestal or do you see past him to Christ the Lord? 

Are you more obsessed with having the favour of your spiritual authority or the favour of God? 

Do you seek God with the same zeal in the absence of your man or woman of God? Do you serve with passion when there is no spiritual authority to notice your endeavours?

Examine yourself, ask critical questions about your devotion and why you do the things that you do. 

Let true humility lead your way to deep soul-searching and let wisdom supply the answer to whether you worship God or worship men.

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Corinthians 4:16, Ephesians 5:1

GOLDEN NUGGET: Examine yourself, ask critical questions about your devotion and why you do the things that you do. Let true humility lead your way to deep soul-searching and let wisdom supply the answer to whether you worship God or worship men.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank You for this Word. I receive it with humility and examine myself against the scriptures. In all things, You are the standard. Even in my honour of spiritual authority, I look to You. My submission starts with You. My allegiance to the gospel starts with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

My God, My Pattern

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Corinthians 11:1(NKJV); Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

God is a pattern.

If God is a pattern, why then is it that when people look at the lives of some Christians, they do not see the life of God manifested through them?

The answer is that some Christians have not regarded God as a pattern. He is their emergency appeal in times of need; He is their absentee landlord showing up only when situations turn distressing; He comes to their minds only when it is convenient for them. They have not patterned their lives after Him.

Think about it deeply, why would Christ confidently say, “if you have seen me, you have seen the Father?” (John 14:9).

God was a pattern to Him in every way.

He said, “Whatever the Father does, the son also does.”(John 5:19). Every miracle, every act of compassion and every word He spoke was an imitation of the Father.

Paul understood the power of understanding God as a pattern. Because He did, Christ too became His pattern. If this was not the case, Paul would have no authority to ask the Church at Corinth to imitate him.

If there is nothing worth admiring about your life, you may want to question who your pattern is. Is it a mere man? Is it a TV show? Is it a book? or is it God?

Do you ask yourself while going about your day to day tasks whether they are the God-way of doing it? Is your relationship with your parents the God-way of relating? Is your attitude towards your boss a God-attitude? Is the way you run your ministry a God-way to build ministry? What about your financial disciplines, are they the God-way of handling finances?

Surely, if people examine your life and question the God you seek, ask yourself if God is indeed your pattern. You might think He is because you assume so. Set aside your assumptions and do some serious soul searching.

The truth of the matter is that the God-way of doing things rings with admirable beauty and it always has great results. If God is indeed your pattern, the world around you will know it.

FURTHER STUDY: John 5:19, John 14:9

GOLDEN NUGGET: God is a pattern. The God-way of doing things rings with admirable beauty and it always has great results. If God is indeed your pattern, the world around you will know it.

PRAYER: Father, You are great. Your ways are excellent and in them is the path of life. I dedicate my life to understanding the God-way of doing things: of ministry, building a career, financial growth, marriage, parenting and all the other things pertaining to my life. When men see me, they see You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Rags In His Eyes

Apostle Grace Lubega

Isaiah 64:6(KJV); But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Imagine a life that you have mapped out to perfection: your discipline in controlling your habits is enviable. Your early morning routine with its twenty-minute prayer slot which has never been breached and your character that you have worked at with rigorous discipline is commendable. To you, these are the yardsticks for righteousness.

By all standards, you are a very good person. You are in perfect company with Saul before his conversion, “a Hebrew of Hebrews, as touching the law, a Pharisee, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.”(Philippians 3:5-6).

Straight as a ruler, you are.

But how does God view all these near-heroic efforts at perfection?

The Almighty One says they are filthy rags.

Filthy rags! He did not spare His words by suggesting that they are carelessly discarded clothes in the corner of a bedroom; He did not suggest that they are unironed worn-out clothes. No. To Him, they are RAGS and they are FILTHY.

To heaven, your efforts at perfection have an ungodly stench, and this is the stench of dead works (Hebrews 6:1). They may be glossy to you but to God, their odour is repulsive. The apostle Paul was not any kinder in his language either. He called them “dung” (Philippians 3:8).

If God has such an unattractive view of your righteous works, what then must you do as a child of God?

Well, put your ‘precious’ righteousness aside and embrace the imputed righteousness of God (Romans 4:22-23).

You will never be right and perfect before God until you are right HIS WAY. This righteousness is received by faith and is the only gateway into a life of true perfection.

If you desire self-mastery, start with the understanding that you have the imputed righteousness of God. If you are striving for self-discipline and self-control, start with this knowledge of God’s imputed righteousness.

FURTHER STUDY: Romans 4:22-23, Philippians 3:8

GOLDEN NUGGET: You will never be right and perfect before God until you are right HIS WAY. This righteousness is received by faith and is the only gateway into a life of true perfection. If you desire self-mastery, start with the understanding that you have the imputed righteousness of God. If you are striving for self-discipline and self-control, start with this knowledge of God’s imputed righteousness.

PRAYER: Father, You are a gracious God. Your mercy knows no bounds and Your Compassion never fails. I have embraced the imputed righteousness of Christ, it is my garment and my nature. My justification and perfection is in You alone and not in what I do. Every day, I dance cheerfully to the rhythms of Your grace.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

My Life On The Altar – 2

Apostle Grace Lubega

Romans 12:1(KJV); I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

In the New Testament dispensation in which you and I live, sacrifices are not placed on the altar so that they die. Rather,
they are placed on the altar so that they may live. 

We are living sacrifices. Dead sacrifices are not acceptable to God, only living sacrifices are.

How then do you live on the altar of God? 

Firstly, you must understand that no true altar of God does not burn with the fires of His Spirit. In Psalms 5:3(TPT), the Bible says “Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.”

This fire consumes all that you are so that what remains is only of God. At the altar, we cease to live and Christ lives. The life of Christ in you and I is what makes us living sacrifices unto God.

Examine your life. Is it truly about God or is it about you and your desires? How much of yourself do others see in your service, your giving, your submission or your ministry of the gospel? 

If truly, you know in your heart of hearts that your desires take the front seat when it comes to service to God, that you seek Him solely for what His hand can give and not what His heart can reveal, then like the Psalmist, lay the pieces of your life on the altar. 

Purpose in your heart that all you do starts with Him. Give Him your attention. Let Him not just be one on a list of priorities, let Him be THE priority.

His name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: Psalms 5:3, Galatians 2:20

GOLDEN NUGGET: At the altar of God, we cease to live and Christ lives. The life of Christ in you and I is what makes us living sacrifices unto God.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for Your precious Word. I am crucified with Christ and yet I live but the life I live is by the faith of the son of God. You are the Alpha and Omega of my life: my ministry starts with You, my dedication to service starts with You and all that I am starts with You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

My Life On The Altar – 1

Apostle Grace Lubega

Psalms 5:3(TPT); At each and every sunrise you will hear my voice as I prepare my sacrifice of prayer to you. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on the altar and wait for your fire to fall upon my heart.

Every Christian sacrifice must be a sacrifice on the altar of God. This may be the sacrifice of praise, the sacrifice of service, the sacrifice of giving, or even the sacrifice of submission.

As an usher diligently welcoming people into the presence of God, is your sacrifice on the altar? As a passionate member of your local church who gives continuously to the cause of the gospel, is your giving on the altar? As a spiritual son or daughter in a ministry, is your submission on the altar?

If your sacrifice of praise is on the altar, your lips ring with thanksgiving even when nothing around you gives you a reason to be thankful.

If your sacrifice of service is on the altar, you embrace responsibility with zeal and passion no matter how small your duty because you know what a privilege it is to serve the Most High God.

If your sacrifice of submission is on the altar, you respect and honour your spiritual authorities, not out of obligation but because you understand the anointing.

With your life on the altar, everything you do for God ceases to be a mere duty, it becomes an act of worship.

Let your giving be in reverent awe of God. Let your submission be in worship to Him. Let your service be from a heart firstly given to Him before it is given to any man you serve.

FURTHER STUDY: Romans 12:1, Hebrews 13:15-16

GOLDEN NUGGET: With your life on the altar, everything you do for God ceases to be a mere duty, it becomes an act of worship.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for Your Word. I receive it as wisdom that matures me. This day, I lay the pieces of my life on Your altar. Everything that I do is in worship to You. Receive my sacrifice of praise; receive my sacrifice of service; receive my sacrifice of giving. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Arise To A Glorious Morning

Apostle Grace Lubega 

Lamentations 3:21-23(KJV); This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Every new day is a gate and with its dawn is the constant reminder that God’s compassions fail not and are new every morning. 

How easily some people forget such precious grace! 

The writer in our theme scripture says, “This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.” 

The Message Bible Version says, “But there’s one other thing I remember, and remembering, I keep a grip on hope.”

If you go to bed burdened by the weight of failure or twisted into knots by the shackles of weakness, God expects you to awaken to the blessed assurance that compassion awaits you. 

Every Christian must start his or her day with the expectation of God’s faithfulness.

Was yesterday tainted by struggle? It is a new day–great is His faithfulness.

Do you feel like you fell short the previous day? It is a new day–great is His faithfulness.

Let His faithfulness be the first thought that awakens you in the morning. Throughout the day, may it be your constant meditation. May the expectation of His faithfulness anchor your soul in hope.

Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 30:5, Zephaniah 3:5

GOLDEN NUGGET: Every Christian must start his or her day with the expectation of God’s faithfulness. Let His faithfulness be the first thought that awakens you in the morning. Throughout the day, may it be your constant meditation. May the expectation of His faithfulness anchor your soul in hope.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for Your eternal mercies towards me. Your love is bottomless and Your grace is boundless. Every day, I choose to awaken to the consciousness of Your faithfulness toward me. Because of Your faithfulness, I will never fail. Because of Your faithfulness, favour is mine. Because of Your faithfulness, I live to see Your goodness in the land of the living. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

When Love Rules The Day

Apostle Grace Lubega 

2 Corinthians 5:21(KJV); For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

The Christian who understands the imputed righteousness of God upon their lives can never refuse to forgive another person. 

He who knows that he has been forgiven much will love much. This is not only the love he will have for God but love for his fellow brethren. 

If you understand that God does not count your sins upon you; that He does not condemn you; that He considers you guiltless, you cease to be a judgmental- finger-pointing moral policeman. 

Surely, the Christian brother on social media painting it black with another man’s mistake has forgotten that he too has been forgiven much. The Christian sister making her rounds in the gossip circles spreading rumours about another has conveniently forgotten that she has been forgiven much.

Because of the imputed righteousness of God, you must live as one who has learned compassion; one who has been loved thereby risking to love another too. As one who has been so greatly pardoned, you must forgive your brother and gladly obey the law of love.

This is what the imputed righteousness of Christ does. Hallelujah! 

FURTHER STUDY: 1 Corinthians 13, 1 Peter 4:8

GOLDEN NUGGET: The Christian who understands the imputed righteousness of God upon their lives can never refuse to forgive another person. He who knows that he has been forgiven much will love much.

PRAYER: Abba Father, I thank You for this Word. You have loved me with an unconditional love and shown me the paths of mercy. Because I am forgiven, I choose to forgive. Because I am loved, I choose to love. I choose to see another’s point of view, to cover my brethren and never to expose them to ridicule because love rules my day. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

God, My Habit – 2

Apostle Grace Lubega 

2 Corinthians 5:14(KJV); For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

There are people who are caught up in a bitter dance with ungodly habits. They never stray too far from the fires of temptation and the devil is rarely moved when they have a period of relief from the torment of addiction. He knows that he can take them captive at his own will because they are fluent in the language of opposing themselves (2 Timothy 2:25-26).

Why do they never walk out of these habits?

Contrary to scripture and to how God deals with us, they are constantly constraining themselves. Their diaries are littered with frustrated resolutions. January–stop drinking by avoiding my worldly friends. February–stop drinking by not taking the route with the bar. March–stop drinking by acquiring a new habit of taking only soft drinks at functions. In December, they will still be trying to stop drinking.

They are trying to constrain themselves. Our theme scripture reveals to us that it is the love of God that constrains us. We do not have the ability in ourselves to break away from these invisible chains. Until you understand and fully embrace God’s love and how He regards you, you will never walk out of sin. 

What is it about His love that breaks the chains of addiction? 

His love has the unparalleled ability to look at a man at his filthiest moment and see the treasure in earthen vessels; it sees the strength in your backbone when you feel spineless. 

Most importantly, His love is ever-present. Willpower may abandon you at critical moments. A resolution can be forgotten in the moment you needed to remember it the most. But even in the times when you feel like you are slipping into the slimy pit of a bad habit, love is always there ready to haul you out. 

You have tried self-help programs and failed. You have attended “Alcoholics Anonymous” sessions and have found no relief. For a short while, the rehab centre seemed to have changed you but you still feel like you are hovering over the abyss of temptation. Remember this, many things may fail but His love never fails.

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Timothy 2:25-26, 1 Corinthians 13

GOLDEN NUGGET: God’s love is ever-present. Willpower may abandon you at critical moments. A resolution can be forgotten when it most needs to be remembered. But even in the times when you feel like you are slipping into the slimy pit of a bad habit, love is always there ready to haul you out. 

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for loving me so unconditionally. I can never explain the depth of Your love towards me; the newness of Your mercy every day and the strength of Your spirit in me. Every day I choose to embrace Your loving grace because in you is victory. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Good Spouse, A Godly Spouse

Apostle Grace Lubega

2 Corinthians 6:14(KJV); Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

In every Christian marriage, a relationship with God is central.

As such, a good spouse is not necessarily a godly spouse. Goodness is not Godliness. What makes a person Godly is the covenant they have with the Most High God.

There are Christians whose benchmark for choosing a spouse is only goodness. As much as goodness is very admirable and important, it is not enough if both of you must fulfill God’s vision for your marriage. He may be a good man but if he does not have a covenant with God, you are setting yourself up for disappointment.

In the eyes of God, it is of no consequence how outwardly good a person is. By the standard of our theme scripture, if they are not in a covenant with God, they are of the darkness. Like the Psalmist says, every man at his best is vanity (Psalm 39:5). You as a child of light should not yoke yourself with him or her.

Why is all this so important?

Take the example of Abraham and Sarah. She asked her husband to get rid of her Egyptian maid and her son Ishmael. Abraham refused. God came to Abraham and said, “whatever Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice.” (Genesis 21:12)

How about Rebecca and Isaac? When Isaac wanted to bless his son Esau, he did not realise that he was frustrating God’s will because the Lord had said to Rebecca when she was pregnant with her sons that the elder would serve the younger(Genesis 25:23). Because she had a covenant with God, she set in motion a series of events that ensured that Jacob, the younger received his father’s blessing in Esau’s stead(Genesis 27).

Godliness in a marriage is what will keep a spouse from straying off the track of divine purpose. If your spouse truly hears God, Godliness will ensure that in those dark moments when he or she neglects to listen to you, they will listen to God. If you fail to convince them in important matters, you have the assurance that God will convince them Himself.

Commit yourself to someone who fears God. 

FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 39:5, Genesis 21:12

GOLDEN NUGGET: Godliness in a marriage is what will keep a spouse from straying off the track of divine purpose. If your spouse truly hears God, Godliness will ensure that in those dark moments when he or she neglects to listen to you, they will listen to God. Commit yourself to someone who fears God. 

PRAYER: Abba Father, I thank You for this wisdom. Marriage is honourable because you are at the centre of it. I heed to this counsel in humility because it is Your will. My marriage and my children are blessed. Today, I choose obedience over mere emotions; I choose what the Word says over mere feelings, to the glory of your name, Amen.

God, My Habit

Apostle Grace Lubega 

Colossians 2:20-23(AMPC); If then you have died with Christ to material ways of looking at things and have escaped from the world’s crude and elemental notions and teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? [Why do you submit to rules and regulations?—such as] Do not handle [this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them]…Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance [that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of devotion and delight in self-humiliation and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.]

Negative habits and addictions usually plague people in vicious cycles that are characterised by episodes of intermittent progress followed by regression. 

Have you ever asked yourself why some habits are like slippery rabbit holes out of which some people attempt to climb only to be plunged right back in after a temporary period of success? Have you wondered why an alcoholic survives withdrawal symptoms, keeps away from the bottle for a time only to find himself one wretched day, drinking himself into oblivion as if his obsession was only mocking him with a reprieve?

The answer is in how people try to fight habits. They erroneously assume that fighting with mere willpower what you crave in the flesh strengthens your resistance against it. 

This is what our theme scripture calls self-imposed rigor and the severity of discipline against the body. Such an approach to bad habits places you in similar company with those saying “do not handle, do not taste, do not touch this or that.” Like the Bible has revealed, this has absolutely no value in checking the indulgence of the flesh. 

You may avoid what your body wants for a season. That desire will only jump in hot pursuit of you and soon enough, it will drag you right back into the mire of your carnal craving.

This world, with its opportunistic media and advertisements, is a true bonfire of temptations. Therefore, God deals with habits, not by taking away the habit or its temptation but by introducing you to a higher and far more superior source of pleasure. His Spirit is a higher pleasure. His Word is a higher pleasure. His presence is a higher pleasure. 

When you immerse yourself in these higher pleasures, you can walk away from that bottle or narcotic drug even if it danced before your eyes with all the allure of an enchantress. His higher pleasures are what fortify your resistance in the face of temptation. 

Never fight a habit by trying, in your own strength, not to do it. Allow God to make Himself your habit. Every negative habit will bow to Him who is the most pleasurable habit.

Hallelujah! 

FURTHER STUDY: Psalm 16:11, Ephesians 5:18

GOLDEN NUGGET: Never fight a habit by trying, in your own strength, not to do it. Allow God to make Himself your habit. Every negative habit will bow to Him who is the most pleasurable habit.

PRAYER: Loving Father, thank you for this great and marvelous Word. Your Word says that in your presence is fullness of joy and on your right hand are pleasures forevermore. I embrace Christ my ultimate pleasure. You indulge me with wisdom, I am intoxicated by Your Spirit and high on Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.