The Folly In Anger

Apostle Grace Lubega

Numbers 20:10-12(KJV); And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also. And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

The distance between some people and their success is anger.

Some cling to their temper like it is some sort of virtue.

I have heard Christians boast about what a great temper they have. No one should dare to cross them because they will “change colour.”

Beloved saint, what other colour do you have that is not the colour of love?

It was out of anger that Moses killed an Egyptian man and buried him in the sand (Exodus 2:11).

The result?

For forty years, he never heard the voice of God again. Forty years!

It was out of anger that Moses broke the stone tablets(Exodus 32:19).

The result?

He had to rewrite them yet what was done before had been written by the very finger of God.

In our theme scripture, it is out of anger that Moses struck the rock twice.

The result?

God refused him to enter the Promised Land.

What a sad thing!

The Bible says, never let the sun go down on your anger (Ephesians 4:26).

This means you should never allow it to eat up your spirit.

It is ungodly to keep anger.

Let go. Allow God through His grace to heal your heart. He is our balm; there is no hurt He cannot soothe.

His name be praised.

FURTHER STUDY: Colossians 3:8, Ephesians 4:26

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The distance between some people and their success is anger. It is ungodly to keep anger. Let go. Allow God through His grace to heal your heart.

PRAYER: My God, I am grateful for Your Word. I refuse to keep anger in my spirit because it is not Your nature and neither is it mine. You are not a God of wrath but of mercy. I know the colour of love and it lives inside of me. Your love has been shed abroad in my heart and it is by this love that I function every day: to forgive, let go and to turn the other cheek. To the glory of Your name. Amen.

Of Spiritual Maturity

Apostle Grace Lubega

Mark 4:17(AMP); And they have no real root in themselves, and so they endure for a little while; then when trouble or persecution arises on account of the Word, they immediately are offended (become displeased, indignant, resentful) and they stumble and fall away.

Every Word of God that you hear seeks to mature you.

That is why our theme scripture explains that there are troubles and persecutions that arise on ACCOUNT OF THE WORD: they do not seek to destroy you but merely to test your strength in that very Word.

Sadly, some Christians fail in this requirement of maturity when the things that attack them seek to only test how mature they are.

How do you respond when you lack? How do you respond when things are not working the way you feel they should? How do you respond when everything seems to be against you yet you are truly a man or woman of God?

Maturity is when everything in you is ready to give in to what is not godly and you choose to do the good that the Word requires of you.

Spiritual babies fall for anything.

However, when you continue to grow, you get to the point where you always choose the path of the Word of God.

It is saying ‘I believe’, when the winds of life are contrary to your faith.

It is loving when you are hated.

It is choosing to forgive when you are ill-treated especially by fellow brethren.

It is refusing to observe lying vanities when they seem to speak louder than the truth you know.

That is maturity and God finds it honourable!

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Timothy 2:3, 1 Peter 5:8-9

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Maturity is when everything in you is ready to give in to what is not godly and you choose to do the good that the Word of God requires of you. It is saying ‘I believe’, when the winds of life are contrary to your faith. It is loving when you are hated. It is choosing to forgive when you are ill-treated especially by fellow brethren. It is refusing to observe lying vanities when they seem to speak louder than the truth you know.

PRAYER: My loving God, thank You for Your Word. It grows me every day! I am yielded to it. I refuse to be a leaking vessel. My reflex responses are Word responses. In every place and circumstance, I look to it because it is my strength, shield and buckler. I choose to walk the way of the Word in all that I do. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Generation That Seeks His Face

Apostle Grace Lubega

Psalms 24:6(KJV); This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

We are a generation that seeks the face of God.

We do not seek God as those that have never been found by Him; we seek as those who know that He sought for us and found us.

He says, knock and the door shall be opened (Matthew 7:7).

We are knocking that the door be opened but we do not forget that the door is Christ. He is the access to everything that we need.

We are not seeking God because we have not seen Him; we seek God because we have seen Him.

It is the glory we behold that sends us back to the closet because nothing on the earth can match it.

It is the treasures of wisdom that we receive in our spirits that cause us to tarry in His presence.

It is the answers that we find to the questions we never asked that keep us in His presence.

Child of God, we are a generation that prays but you must have this understanding of how we seek Him.

Seek Him with a vision of the FINISHED WORK.

Seek Him with a vision of the end of the very things we seek.

His name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: Matthew 7:7-8, Psalms 27:4

GOLDEN NUGGET:

We are a generation that seeks the face of God. We do not seek God as those that have never been found by Him; we seek as those who know that He sought us and found us.

PRAYER: My Lord, I thank You for this great wisdom. I seek Your face in this understanding. I know that I am found. I go to Your presence as one responding to an invitation. You have not called Jacob to seek You in vain. I bask in the endless treasures and pleasures of abiding in You. To the glory of Your name. Amen.

The Net On The Right Side

Apostle Grace Lubega

John 21:5-6(KJV); Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.

The first question Jesus asked the disciples the morning He met them was, “Children, have you any meat?”

The disciples had been at sea toiling the whole night with no single catch of fish and the reason was because they had no MEAT.

“MEAT” is an allegory of “doing the will of God.”

Our Lord once told them, “My meat is to do the will of my Father.”(John 4:34).

The Christ had told these men that He would make them fishers of men. This was the will of the father for their lives.

Child of God, it does not matter how hard you toil, if you are labouring outside God’s divine assignment for your life, you will never catch “fish”.

When you labour outside the will of God, you can never produce the fruit God desires from you.

The blessed news is that He has made known unto us the mystery of His will (Ephesians 1:9).

We are not like them that labour without fruit. Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: John 4:34, Hebrews 5:14

GOLDEN NUGGET:

When you labour outside the will of God, you can never produce the fruit God desires from you.

PRAYER: My God, I thank You for this truth. I have a great understanding of Your will and it is the starting place of all my labours in the gospel. I am not merely in the permissible will but the perfect will You have for my life. That is why whatsoever I touch prospers; that is why I am increasing on every side; that is why I abound in blessings. To the glory of Your name. Amen

Keilah The Fortress

Apostle Grace Lubega

1 Samuel 23:12(KJV); Then said David, Will the men of Keilah deliver me and my men into the hand of Saul? And the LORD said, They will deliver [thee] up.

In the days of David, Keilah was a city found in the lowlands of Judah.

The name Keilah means Fortress, a garrison for military purposes to defend cities and towns.

In 1Samuel 23:1-5; David and his men went to Keilah and helped it smite the Philistines that had attacked its inhabitants.

In 1Samuel 23:7-8; King Saul planned an attack on David who had taken refuge at Keilah.

When David inquired from the Lord about what he should do, God clearly told him that the people of Keilah would deliver him up to King Saul from whom he was fleeing.

It was human wisdom that the men of Keilah extend the same gesture toward David and his men in case King Saul attacked but this was not so.

David would have relied on Keilah-the fortress for defence and protection, but the mind of God proved otherwise.

This is the folly of relying on the arm of flesh.

Sometimes, the arm of flesh seems like the most obvious choice; it spells strength and protection yet in fact it is a snare.

It is wisdom to seek the mind of God when life offers you colourful options.

It is God that knows the secrets of the hearts of men.

Child of God; amidst any attacks and threats on your life, marriage or ministry before looking to men as the most appealing choice, look to God.

He must always be the first option.

FURTHER STUDY: Jeremiah 17:5(AMP), Proverbs 24:10

GOLDEN NUGGET:
It is wisdom to seek the mind of God when life offers you colourful options. It is God that knows the secrets of the hearts of men. Amidst any attacks and threats on your life, marriage or ministry before looking to men as the most appealing choice, look to God.

PRAYER: Thank you Lord for Your Word. I listen for Your voice every time and in every place. You are not just an option, You are my only option. I am instructed by You in all that I do. Your Word lights my path and paves my way. In Jesus name! Amen

Things That Make Ministers: The Travails Of Gesthemene

Apostle Grace Lubega

Luke 22:41-44(KJV); And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Success in ministry is not by mistake; no one automatically becomes a great man of God.

Sometimes, people admire the manifestations of the anointing, the increase in numbers of congregants, the opportunities to stand before thousands and minister Christ but they never ask how the man or woman of God got to that place in the first place.

There are tests child of God.

Christ is our true pattern in all of this.

His travails in Gethsemane point to the groans, travails and the bleeding that makes men true ministers of the gospel.

Our Lord and master cried unto God, “if thou be willing, take this cup from me….”

It means that there are times when you will be pushed to give up. Things may come against you that will make you want to throw in the towel but God will always strengthen you like he sent the angels to strengthen the Christ.

In Gethsemane, our Lord bled. This is the bleeding of the minister that aligns him or her to divine assignment.

There are men who merely sweat; they labour greatly for the sake of the gospel; they are faithful servants in the Kingdom of God and have given their all for the furtherance of the gospel.

However, it is one thing to merely sweat but it is another thing when a man does not merely sweat but he bleeds in his sweating.

The man who bleeds in his sweating has laid his very life at the altar of ministry and service to God.

This bleeding shows us that the price of ministry is not just sweat; it is blood.

The transition from merely a believer to being a minister requires that you understand this experience.

His name be praised!

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Corinthians 6:3-10, 2 Timothy 2:3

GOLDEN NUGGET:

The price of ministry is not just sweat; it is blood. The man who bleeds in his sweating has laid his very life at the altar of ministry and service to God. The transition from merely a believer to being a minister requires that you understand this experience.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for this Word. God, I am available as one You have equipped and trained for ministry. If there be tests, trials and travails, I choose to yield my spirit to Your will and not mine. I understand the cup and the blood of the minister and like Paul, I choose to endure hardness like a good soldier with my eyes set on the prize of heaven. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Personal Journey

Apostle Grace Lubega

Genesis 32:24(KJV); And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day

There are battles you cannot fight with the crowd.

In such instances, even those who love you deeply are limited in how far they can go in fighting for and with you.

It is a good thing to have prayer partners, people you meet with to share your pain and to have them stand with you in prayer; this is scriptural. The Bible says that when two or three agree concerning anything they ask, the same shall be granted them (Matthew 18:19).

Corporate prayer has its place but it also has its limits when it comes to the things of warfare and to the places you as an individual must go with God.

In our theme scripture, Jacob, could only walk this part of his journey alone. The scriptures speak of a time when our Lord Jesus took Peter, James and John to join Him in His time of great travail.

The events of that day revealed how personal some journeys are.

Regardless of how much Christ asked the disciples to watch and pray, they were overtaken by the demands of the body for physical rest (Matthew 26:37-46).

Blessed saint, there is a price of prayer that can only be paid for individually.

As a Christian, you must know that in certain places in God, you can only journey alone. At specific points in your life, you must be able to identify the fact that you can only fight that part alone with your God.

FURTHER STUDY: Mark 14:32-42, Luke 21:36

GOLDEN NUGGET:

There is a price of prayer that can only be paid for individually.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for this wisdom. I understand the place of personal prayer as a necessity for growth in the things of the Spirit. Today I make the choice to take this journey in the knowledge that it is not by power not by might but by Your Spirit. I yield to the grace that causes me to pray and the spirit that enables me to tarry in these places of solitude. To the glory of Your name. Amen.

Submit To Righteousness – 2

Apostle Grace Lubega

Romans 6:17-18(KJV); But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.

Our theme scripture speaks of how we have obeyed the form of doctrine delivered to us.

Obedience to the doctrine as used in this scripture does not mean that you set out to do that which you have been told to do; it is not about works.

The Greek Word used in our theme scripture for “obeyed” is “hupakouo” which is translated to mean, “to hearken” or “to listen obediently.”

This kind of listening is that of an attentive student.

When you obey the doctrine of righteousness, it means that you submit to its reality as an eager student.

The grace message and the doctrine of righteousness is not one you listen to as though you are simply acquiring information.

Rather, you study it, give heed to it, and sit under it as one who submits to its instructions.

The more you listen to it according to this understanding, the more you respond to what you listen to.

And as you continue to submit to the truth, the truth by its inherent power MAKES you free.

FURTHER STUDY: Romans 10:3, Galatians 3:1-3

GOLDEN NUGGET:

When you obey the doctrine of righteousness, it means that you submit to its reality as an eager student. The more you listen to it according to this understanding, the more you respond to what you listen to.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for Your Word. I thank You for the grace and for Your mercies that defines how we relate with You. I submit to the message as one who deeply heeds to its instructions. I am a student of grace and a servant of righteousness. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Spirit Of Religion

Apostle Grace Lubega

Matthew 12:6-7(MSG); There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this scripture meant, ‘I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’ ; you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this.

Religion is a spirit; it is not merely the structured institutions that we see in our world today.

One of the most intriguing deceptions of the spirit of religion is that men would die for the “temple” or institution because they think the institution is the person of God.

Men under religion can even die for the artefacts of the “temple” because they are “convinced” of their powers.

The spirit of religion takes men back into bondage by denying the power of the truth that makes them free.

It frustrates and withholds the keys of revelation, which is the knowledge that men need for deliverance.

I have learnt over the years that religion is not a spirit that you cast out like any other demon.

You can only teach religion out of men. That is how the Christ dealt with it. The more the Pharisees of His day fought Him; the more He taught.

The more they accused Him of blasphemy against their beloved temple, the deeper He preached.

Never be intimidated by the dictates of religion. Preach truth in love and its purity.

Praise God!

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Corinthians 13:5; Galatians 5:1

GOLDEN NUGGET:
The spirit of religion takes men back into bondage by denying the power of the truth that makes them free. Never be intimidated by the dictates of religion. Preach truth in love and its purity.

PRAYER: Loving Father, I thank You for this great day. Thank You for the blessedness of Your Word. Today I submit myself to the truth wrapped up in Your Word. I refuse to subject myself to the bondage of religion. I walk under the light of revelation every day. To the glory of Your name. Amen.

The Language Of God

Apostle Grace Lubega

Romans 4:17(KJV); (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.

There are people who in the guise of repentance to God pray in this manner, “Lord, forgive me because I am a thief…”

Why do you refer to yourself as a thief?!

Study the language of the Spirit with regard to the new creature in Christ.

You will learn that God has never defined men by the state they found themselves. He was deliberate in separating the state from the person in that state.

For example, for the woman caught in adultery, the Bible says, “A woman taken in adultery…”(John 8:3).

God did not call her an adulterous woman.

A Born Again Christian cannot be an alcoholic; he or she is simply a man or woman struggling with alcoholism.

A Born Again Christian cannot be a prostitute; she is simply a woman struggling with prostitution.

God doesn’t call them alcoholics, thieves or prostitutes.

So as a believer, approach God in the same wisdom regardless of the weakness you are struggling with in the flesh. Go to Him and say, “I am the righteousness of God. I am the healed of the Lord. I am a victor.”

Speak the God-language. And that’s how you walk out of any weakness in the flesh. Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Philemon 1:6, Joel 3:10

GOLEN NUGGET:

God has never defined men by the state they found themselves. He was deliberate in separating the state from the person in that state. A Born Again Christian cannot be an alcoholic; he or she is simply a man or woman struggling with alcoholism. A Born Again Christian cannot be a prostitute; she is simply a woman struggling with prostitution. God doesn’t use such language.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for this Word. I choose to speak Your language in all that I say. The confessions of my lips are aligned to Your Word. I refuse to regard weakness in the flesh but behold the perfection in Christ. Oh, I am the righteousness of God. I am holy and sanctified by Christ. I am healthy in my body, divinely blessed and prosperous because of what Christ has done. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The Big Difference

Apostle Grace Lubega

Romans 8:13(KJV); For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

There is a great, deep and fathomless difference between a believer and a non-believer; a Born Again Christian and one who is not.

Don’t be deceived.

Whereas believers and non-believers might all be of the same skin colour, have the same jobs and drive the same cars they are different!

God went so far as to draw this line of distinction by telling us that when we dare to compare ourselves to those of this world, we are UNEQUALLY yoking (2 Corinthians 6:14).

And this is how God thinks towards us. Take the example of sickness. If disease is to attack both a believer and a non-believer, to God, one of them is sick and the other is not. The believer is not sick because the Bible says, non in Zion shall say, “I am sick.”(Isaiah 33:24).

How about instances to do with money? If both a believer and a non-believer are having financial challenges, to God, one of them is poor and the other is not. The believer is not poor because the Bible has said that this is the grace of God that He became poor that you may be rich (2 Corinthians 8:9).

This is the mind of God!

He consistently looks at who you are in the spirit and it is solely on that basis that he seeks to relate with you as a Born Again Christian.

He requires us to always look to the testimony of who we are in the spirit. Our advantage over the non-believer is that by the spirit, we mortify the deeds of the flesh and live.

Yes, we might both “lack money” but I have the ability to destroy the works of poverty in the flesh that I may walk in the fullness of the riches of Christ.

Yes, sickness may come but I have the advantage of mortifying sickness in the flesh to live in the fullness of divine health.

We are different!

That’s why in our teaching, we never breach the spirit by ministering as though what is in the flesh defines what is in the spirit. If you breach the spirit, what hope is there for the body?

Look to what God has done in you. What is in the flesh is only temporary. Never compare yourself to the men of this world—you are a class apart; distinctive, unique and peculiar. Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: 2 Corinthians 6:14, 1 Peter 2:9

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Look to what God has done in you. What is in the flesh is only temporary. Never compare yourself to the men of this world—you are a class apart; distinctive, unique and peculiar.

PRAYER: My loving God, I thank You for this Word. What a truth! To know that I am different! I am peculiar, distinctive and set apart by You! I walk in this understanding and look at life through the lens of this wisdom. Nothing in the flesh shakes me because I have the authority to mortify the transactions of the flesh. I manifest that which Christ has vested in me. To the glory of Your name. Amen!

Courting Wisdom

Apostle Grace Lubega

Proverbs 4:5-7 (KJV); Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

Wisdom is a Spirit.

However, there is a reason why the Bible uses the feminine to refer to it. Wisdom is spoken of as “she” and God is deliberate about this language.

In our theme scripture, it says, “she shall preserve thee…” In proverbs 1:20, it says, “she raises her voice in the square…”

God in all this is telling us that wisdom ought to be treated like a man would treat a woman.

She must be courted, pursued and wooed.

He says, “Love her and she shall keep thee…”

When you understand this, you will know what it means to pay the price for wisdom. You will pursue her like your life depends on it, because it does.

A man in love will do anything for the woman he wants. Christ, in love with His bride, the church, went so far as to die for it.

And so it is with wisdom. You must be ready to seek her out, listen to her and break for her. Pay every price for wisdom. Hallelujah!

FURTHER STUDY: Isaiah 11:2, Ephesians 1:17

GOLDEN NUGGET:

Pay every price for wisdom. A man in love will do anything for the woman he wants. Christ, in love with His bride, the church, went so far as to die for it. You must be ready to seek out wisdom, listen to her and break for her.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for the priceless gift of wisdom; it overflows out of my spirit and touches everything that I do. Oh, I am wise in all that I do because I have understood what it means to court her. I invest in knowledge and continually drink from its deep treasures. To the glory of Your name. Amen.