MESSIANIC PSALMS

Messiah, which is derived from the Hebrew word “Mashiach” has the same meaning of the Greek word “Christos” (Christ) which means “The Anointed One”. And the word Psalms is taken from the Hebrew word “Tehillim” which means “Praise”.

Thus, the Messianic Psalms are those scriptures in the book of Psalms that talked about the coming o the messiah.

It is the tradition of Israel to anoint somebody with oil signifying that the person has been set aside for a special purpose or assignment and so, Jesus being called the Messiah means that He had been set aside for a special, prophetic, redemptive and kingship assignment.

HOW DID JESUS FULFILL THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY?

When the prophet Isaiah prophesied about the coming Messiah, he noted clearly the events that were to happen, that He was to come through a virgin, in a manger, from the linage of David and so on; that the coming of the Messiah was to liberate and set the people of Israel free from their bondage.

He was to be a Prophet because he was to proclaim the word of God. He was to be a Priest (in the old testament the job of a priest is to atone for the sins of the people by sacrificing an animal, but Jesus didn’t have to do that, rather He gave Himself as a sacrificial lamp for the atonement of our sins).

He is also the King because He triumphed over Satan and He will come back to rule the world.

LESSONS FROM THE MESSIANIC STORY

The bible refers to us as priest and kings, just as Jesus who is our High Priest. Subjected to humiliation, He knew no sin; He took our sins upon Him, through the road to Calvary and was crucified because of our sins. He went through it all as a sacrificial lamp, submitted to the will of God to die for the same people who He came to love. As believers, there are times when we will have to make sacrifice by going the extra mile to love, help and care for others, even when we think they don’t deserve it.

From the time, the coming of Jesus was prophesied to the time it became a reality, was about 700 years, yet the people of Israel kept hoping and anticipating His coming, a man like Simeon was told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he has seen The Messiah, though Simeon grew old, he kept believing that his Mashiach expectation would be fulfilled.

We are all believing God for miracles, it is important to note that God will keep His word.





By Sophia

Finding God in the Storm

The psalmist prays: “Why are you cast down, O my soul?   And why are you disquieted within me?” The writer of Psalm 42 was sad and discouraged. The struggles of life threatened to pull him under. But at just the right moment, he made this decision. “Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him…I will remember You from the land of Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon…” There is resolve in those words. “I shall yet praise you…and I will remember You.” The writer made a deliberate decision to treat his downcast soul with thoughts of God. There’s nothing easy about this. Finding God amid the billows will demand every bit of discipline you can muster. But the result is worth the strain. Besides, will reciting your problems turn you into a better person? No, but changing your mind-set will! From God is With You Every Day

The Good in Seeming Wrong

How do somewhat evil things achieve God’s purposes? How do even seemingly very bad things work out God’s ultimate good intentions? God says the thoughts I have towards you, are of good and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Again we know that every good and perfect gift comes from God! But it doesn’t say ONLY Good and perfect gifts comes from God! However, we know that all things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according unto His purpose.

When David was left (behind) to tend for his father’s animal farm, it seemed he had that task simply because he was the last child of the family of Jesse but to God, the very thing which made him always left behind to cater for his father’s flock, became the fact that stood him out! How? By tendering to the sheep, he inculcated the skills and the heart of a leader! Do not complain about the things that your background (family, parents, states; etc.) makes you or exposes you to God is in the business of your predicament to become your advancement.

It is right that God does not look at the appearance of man but at his heart. This is good news! You can become all God wants you to become irrespective of who or what you look like. Your height, your complexion; your handicap etc. worry, if you must, about the quality of your heart or mind not about your physical appearance/disability. Don’t you worry about your present socio-economic status but let your mind consume the right piece of information, and with time, if you persist, your outward realities will conform to your thinking!

Understand this: God’s wisdom guides us even by the most unlikely events. It’s not always the case that “bad news” comes from the Devil! God can “cause” seemingly “evil/bad” in order to make way for his greater Good and perfect purposes! If this were not true, then Jesus would not have died! God gave over his son; putting him through the cross that Christ might become the saviour of the World!

Job was tested so that God may prove a point! Jesus was lead into the wilderness to be tempted of the Devil! Saul was inflicted by “an evil spirit from the Lord” So that David could become the man to play his harp and sooth the Kings melody! God uses the unfavourable to get you to the favourable! So trust his wisdom and do not despair. Oh! That the Lord will teach us the wisdom behind the wisdom of His guidance! Amen!

Integrity Issues

 “Sir, I have a question”, said one of my students “suppose we were visited by armed robbers, who requested for our belongings and I have two phones but hid one and only presented the other as all I had”, Do I have integrity? The student’s question was a very interesting one.

We were discussing the integrity example of Samuel. To buttress the lesson and to show how integrity “is way beyond saying, we will come to your streets and raid and rape and steal by next week. Signed – Armed robbers”. And then, next week, in keeping to their words they came and stole, raped and raided the street. Is that integrity?

The problem of corruption in Nigeria is a problem of lack of integrity! From God’s stand point of view, integrity is a departure from sin and a consistent embrace of God’s righteous words in an individual, public and private life. Can an unbeliever who is naturally careless be a person of integrity? Not impossible. He may conduct his public life and particularly his transparent and accountable ways in a manner that’s praise worthy! That notwithstanding, in other areas of His life, and as far as God is concerned, the man is certainly not a person of integrity! Why? Because “integrity is not subjective; it’s a matter of obedience to God!”

Integrity is a matter of choosing obedience to God’s word, over and above personal gain. Integrity is preferring to be poor rather than to be a liar. Integrity is living blamelessly, and beyond reproach! Integrity is doing all things to the Glory of God. However, in the world we live in today, integrity will cost us, at some points. Though it would pay off on the long run as is usually all God’s ways! We do not always get instantaneous rewards for every obedience to God, but God who cannot lie is always ever a rewarder of them that diligently obey/seek Him.

Integrity would not always be a strait jacket affair in this crooked world. Rehab took the initiative and hid the two Israeli spies and lied that they were not at her place anymore. Samuel was told by God to say that he had come to make sacrifices, though the major/primary business was to anoint David a king?

How does one tick the box of integrity in these situations? Whenever we choose to align ourselves to God’s purposes, and in bid to uphold righteousness, the Holy Spirit will guide us in how to choose to obey & please him in integrity! Rehab acted righteously and so did Samuel because when Human laws/words conflict with God’s, we must prefer the latter. Receive grace for integrity! 

Are you been fair...?

James chapter 5 captures my heart in a very captivating complex reeking of the prophetic – the end of ill-gotten wealth and the vast majority of men whose heart have been lost in the maze of seeking and amassing it at all costs; the corruption that is rife in a world where money is king; the coming doom of the age and the judgment of sinful rich men whose overly bloated riches/wealth is an evidence against them; and lots more.

I can not but  see how James aptly captured the destruction of this world, as he uses words like: “Your gold and silver is cankered and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire”. By the word “fire” he immediately alludes to the destruction of this world (the earth & the heavens) by fire. And to make certain that his Christian audience recognizes this allusion, he adds “ye have heaped pressure together for the last days”. By using the words “lastdays” he again strikes of the inevitable future judgment that would come on the heels of the last days.

I must quickly add that his next line of thought brings to us some of the realities of the unjust and greedy ways riches were being gotten and amassed! He calls with urgency. “Behold!” It was something to strike a point! Hired labourers are not being treated fairly! The situation of the labour market, which leaves a vast majority jobless and small enviable few employed has created a great imbalance which the rich are bent of making the most profit of --an arguably ruthless profit! Taking occasion of the fact that there was no employment the poor would be left with no choice than to accept the excessively meagre pay. Since they had little or no option if they must not die of hunger! Yet at times, the employers devise ways to punish the poor by withholding or slashing their pay at the slightest provocation.

In doing this, while the rich are enjoying themselves living in the pleasure of their ill-gotten riches, they kill and condemn the poor to further poverty so the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

And just before we think we are not guilty ourselves of the “sins” of the “rich” we need to examine ourselves too.

When we have agreed to pay a certain sum to those who have worked for us, do we actually pay? When we know that those who have worked for us, (e.g. our tailors, cobblers etc.) have actually done well, and we know we can pay them better, do we actually pay them in a manner they can turn to their God and thank God for making you one of their customers? Or are you the type that quarrel with those who have worked for you, finding all kinds of faults with their jobs, just so that you can have a reason to pay them less than what has been agreed?

Examine yourself!

James would offer a rather interesting encouragement and advice to the believers whereunto he wrote in the verses to follow: The first thing he urges upon them is this: Be patient therefore brethren unto the coming of the Lord.

This advice interests my heart a lot! We must not fail to take home a big but silent point that comes with it: THE END OF THIS UNJUST SYSTEM OF THIS WORLD IS NEAR! THE LORD IS COMING! HAVE PATIENCE!

The way James deems it fit to encourage, was by pointing them, FIRST, to the coming of the Lord! It pays to reflect on this point, so that we do not miss the implications of what James said: THIS WORLD IS INCURABLY CORRUPT, and can only be SUSTAINED by us – the light & the salt, till the return of Christ! #selah

Next, James proceeds to lay guidelines to how we must live in order to be the change we desperately need to be!! Grudge not one another, learn to suffer* in patience, be happy to endure, just like job, swear not – let your integrity be above board that you don’t have to!

Then he concludes, by telling us to pray for the sick --- not wait for the Lord’s coming (clearly showing that there are certain things we must be able to change for Good, and not just wait till Jesus comes!) Then he tells us about the secret of effective praying – fervency & fellowship with the holy spirit! And he urges us towards, evangelism & soul winning, & restoration of the erring saint!

Womb Alive!

He was from a poor background! He was born with sorrow! But he refused to let His background bury his back on the ground! What did he do? He “called on the God of Israel!” And he cried and said “Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!” And what happened afterwards? “And God granted Him that which he requested!” Do you know this man’s name? JABEZ!!! (1 Chron. 4:9-10).

Never a time do we need men who can “refuse God peace until he hears/answers their prayers” than our day! We need persistent, fervent prayer people who will not take NO for an answer! God is not a father who doesn’t care about His people. But it his principle to be the “rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb. 11:6b).

God seeks for a broken and a contrite heart! The effectual fervent prayer of the righteous still produces incredible results till tomorrow! Our dearth of the miraculous is the shameful evidence of the poverty of our prayer lives! . God not only hears prayers! He answers prayers! And he still speaks to those who care to seek him without care! Hannah was such a believer! She was tired of her barrenness! She was tired of having a very loving husband for whom she can’t even raise a child! His love for her drove her desperate to raise him a child! But rather than seek the men of God, she sought the God of men!

She considered in her heart to vow her yet unborn/un-conceived child to God by faith! What a woman of faith! Maybe we need to identify the areas of our barrenness and move with faith to God to fix us! Until we get tired of our barrenness, we may never get the persevering faith that provokes results from God...

Today’s hardship all around us, the sorry state of our Nations, Families, and church offers us a unique opportunity to seek the God who rewards those that seek him diligently! May our challenges bring us to the point of challenging ourselves to seek God for a change in our lives, nation and generation, like Daniel, Jabez, Hannah, Jacob, and all the faith fore fathers that have gone ahead of us! Amen.

You Are Lost!!!

“If I'm ever given an opportunity to return to the earth, I will never fail to let anyone who is not saved, know that they are as good as lost already!” The man sobbed, as he continued, "I was thinking that ‘Life is beautiful’ because I had virtually everything I needed at my beck and call! I jeered, booed and mocked at them Christians, thinking that they were foolish!

Haa! If anyone had told me that I was suffering, miserable and a living-dead, I would have laughed out at my heart! Alas, I never knew that I was actually suffering indeed!” His audience were busy nursing their pains with screams or gnashing of teeth, or with intense scratching of their bodies, out of pain, despair and anguish of anger at themselves!

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The greatest realization a man awakes to is that life outside of Christ is “condemned already!” When this realization dawns on a man, he is either saved or he is a reprobate! Those who are "lost" are not necessarily the destitute on our street corners and under the bridges of our major roads; Those who are 'lost' are not just those announced in the news or media as wanted and missing. These ones are probably lost but the essential hallmark of “the lost” is simply that they are without a savior and a Lord in Jesus Christ!

This definition of the Lost, which is true, leaves much to be desired! Because ‘the Lost’ are all around us -in the churches, in the markets, in the offices, in politics, in civil services, in government, in schools, in hospitals, on the roads, etc. The only thing God focuses on today is the business of Finding & Saving the lost! On God's priority list, his number – one concern is finding the lost! His second, is finding the lost! His third, is finding the lost!! His fourth is still finding the lost! And by now you should know the fifth up till the last!

If any man be in Christ and has no compassion for lost souls, has no contribution to finding the lost, He is a liar! He's not in Christ! He too is lost! And should be found! God had only one son, and He made Him a soul winner of soul winners! If you are not one of them, You Are Lost!!!

Underwater Ceramic Technician

I read from Our Daily Bread Devotional this morning about job titles. The one I can’t forget in a hurry is the Underwater Ceramic Technician (i.e. a person who washes dishes at a restaurant). Others include Transparency Enhancement Facilitator – person that cleans windows, Media Distribution Officer – newspaper vendor, Environmental Hygienist – a street sweeper. A big name for a not so big role, right?

Most times people don’t think their role/job is good enough until it has the important-sounding title. What is of primary importance is the purpose for the role and what we set out to accomplish. It matters little what title we hold. All the parts of the body are necessary for the body to function properly. No part is better than another though it be prominent or not.

These gifts and abilities are for …the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for edifying the body of Christ, till we all come to the unit of the faith. (Eph. 4;12-13). We should never minimize the importance of our attitude toward temporary, earthly things. It is easy and quit tempting, to spend far too much time and energy pursuing the wealth of this world. In the light of eternity, a life spent on serving material wealth amounts to a wasted life.

How do you view your possessions, money, accesses, knowledge, abilities and pursuits? Consider them closely and honestly, then ask these serious questions: does my attitude about these things place them ahead of my relationship with God? Will my pursuit of these things bring glory or shame to God? Is God applauding my approach to acquiring these possessions? Does my pursuit of material things compromise my pursuit of God? How have I used these …for the edifying of the body of Christ?

For a steward (which everyone alive is), everything we are just caretakers of what has been given to us to look after - possessions, money, accesses, knowledge, abilities, pursuits, etc. We should regard all the resources we possess to be things God allows us to have. God owns everything; we are simply managers in this world. Rather than squared and be selfish with them, faithful stewards seek to use them wisely. We are required to keep in view that this is not our wealth, but God’s.

Make your love for God and pursuit of His kingdom the top priority. And in all other priorities, see yourself not as a possessor of things but as a steward of those things. A commitment to the attitude of a steward will bring us a sense of joy and purpose for our possessions. It should instill a feeling of peace and contentment into our minds. 

Success Secrets of Prayer

I got admitted into the University, I made up my mind that I do not want to accommodate squatters (and of course, I prayed never to be one myself). However, when I got to my third year, it began to dawn on me that keeping up with my “policy of no squatters” was getting increasingly difficult.

The university, generally, had a policy of providing a hostel accommodation to the first and final year students, amongst other special cases. Nevertheless, often times, even the first and final year students don’t get to secure an accommodation space for various reasons.

It was during this time, that one of my very good friends approached me for help. He had been unable to secure an accommodation space. He wanted to put up with me –the very thing I had always dreaded. At this moment, I had to choose between letting my policy to suffer and letting my friendship to suffer. Which was I to choose?

The backbone of prayer is faith and friendship with Jesus! Friendship with Jesus is key! Friends are mindful of pleasing each other. When we ask a favour from a dear friend, we usually expect a positive response—notwithstanding how difficult it might actually be for our friend to please us. Faith, on the other hand, is a function of trust. We trust that our friend, if he is truly one, will not let us down.

When we have such working friendship with Christ, we expect that as long as we are in his will, he hears us when we pray! That’s faith! And also our friendship with Christ compels us to come boldly to God in prayer! In the story of the man who had a late night visitor (Luke 111:5-9), it was his friendship with His neighbour that made the neighbour unable to turn him down! And also his faith (i.e. persistence) made his neighbour, leave the bed where he was, with his wife, to the kitchen to attend to his knocking friend at his door!

Most times, Patience and perseverance in our petition-making to God is the clearest manifestation of faith! Importunity is the verb form of Faith! And of the two lessons, Faith can be more forceful than friendship! It was faith or importunity of the widow, which “coerced” the unjust judge into granting the widow’s petition. Though God is never unjust, our daring faith will often be called upon if we are to get our needs met in prayer!

When my friend made his request to squat with me, I could have easily turned any other person down, but not him! So God is our friend! He is not like the unjust judge. So if I, being evil, but for friendship sake, could drop my policy, how much more God, who is just grant our request especially when we have faith too? ACTION POINT: Become a genuine friend of Jesus and build trust in Him! Then your prayers will get results – every time!!!

Contributed by Bar. David