Miki Hardy

It is always easy to start a race but never easy to complete it. Paul encourages us by sharing how to run in such a way as to win the prize and how he beats his body, fearing to be disqualified. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. He was determined not to allow the desires of his flesh control his life because it would handicap him in finishing the race. At the end of his ministry he said to Timothy how he fought the good fight, finished the race and kept the faith. 2 Timothy 4:7. If we are faithful to the Lord, He will certainly give us the necessary grace to complete the race. Peter said that the God of all grace, will perfect us Himself, will strengthen us and will make us firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10.

Jesus has come to save humanity from under the power of the devil and under the power of sin. All those who have believed in Jesus and His sacrifice for their sins have become His children and many are yet to believe and be saved. The day is fast approaching when Jesus will come back to fetch His children, His church. On that day, those who have died in Christ will resurrect first and all born again christians living on that day, will  be caught up to meet Jesus Christ in the air. He is coming back soon, the signs are indicating that it won’t be long before that great day. Many will be left behind on that day. It will be a day of rejoicing for those who will be taken away but a day of mourning for those who will be left behind.

The bible says that we should keep our hearts with all diligence, for out of it flows the issues of life. Proverbs 4:23. No wonder christians are in a bad shape spiritually when they carry bitterness in their hearts. In the book of Hebrews, we are called to watch that no root of bitterness be found in our hearts because not only it troubles us but many can be defiled (infected) by it. Hebrews 12:15. In other words it is a poison to us and to those in our company. It is our responsibility to make sure that our hearts are free from bitterness if we are going to serve the Lord. Our life is affected by the state of our hearts.

Many christians remain sick, bound, bitter and defeated, the simple reason is that they are unable to forgive others. Unforgiveness is a trap of the devil, because he causes us to see the sin of others and not our own. The result is that we develop self righteousness because we do not see our own state of heart but the state of others. The next step is that we become blind to the truth that forgiveness does not depend on how others act or wherever they repent or not, but is our sole responsibility.  As much as unforgiveness is a sure way to remain in prison, forgiveness is the way to freedom and peace. Jesus said in Mark 11:25, that whenever we pray, if we have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive us our trespassers. Forgiveness is the key to healing, freedom, peace and victory.

When David became the servant of King Saul, he was loved by all the people of Israel. Saul became jealous of him and decided to get rid of him. Saul tried many times to kill him but David always managed to hide from him. In return, David twice had the opportunity to kill Saul but he did not want to kill the one God had anointed.  In 1 Samuel 26:23, David said to Saul that God will judge everyone according to his righteousness and faithfulness.  David knew he could not take this situation into his hands and understood that God would bring the necessary judgment Himself. So are we to act when there is injustice or persecution against us. We should never put ourselves in the position of God, who is the ultimate judge.

We all, christians, believe in the whole Bible but do we dare to believe every word that is written in it? We can believe that the whole Bible is the truth, but many times we do not have faith in it as we go through tests and trials. The difficulties are so great that we do not have faith in  God to give us the miracle we need. The apostle James declares in his epistle that our faith will be tested. We are called to build our faith on the truth of God’s word. Paul prays that God may give us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Ephesians 1:17. The psalmist says ” The revelation of your word gives light”. Psalm 119:130. When the word of God becomes a revelation to our hearts, it brings faith for us to believe.

So often we do not realize that we can stop God’s plan to come to pass by the negative words that we say. We can be denied God’s blessings, spiritual, physical or material, by speaking against the word of God and God’s will for our lives and those around us.. On one side we believe God in prayer and on the other side we speak the contrary of our prayers. Don’t we believe in the negative or positive effect of our words on our lives? Certainly we can be builders in God’s Kingdom by believing and speaking what God says or we can be destroyers in God’s Kingdom by speaking against the truth of God’s word. We must watch our words because we can chose to bring life or death. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21.

Reading and meditating the word of God is a sure way to hear from the lord. When Jesus was brought in the desert and tempted by the devil, He resisted the devil by the word of God in three occasions. The devil had no option but to flee. Jesus spoke the word given to Him by the Father and faith was released to counter attack the enemy. Paul instructs us to have the faith that will quench all the fiery darts of the enemy. Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. Men and women of faith are men and women of the Word. By faith we can do exploits. Let us believe every word of the Bible. Persevere in reading and meditating the Bible and God will make faith to rise up in your heart.

The Bible is the spiritual food of the Christian. Jesus even said that no man can live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God. No christian can pretend to walk victoriously without constantly reading and meditating the word of God. Ignorance of the word of God is detrimental to the christian and he should not dare believe that he can live without it, it would be mere deception. There is no substitute for the word of God. It is a way for God to speak to us, to encourage us, to confront us, to revive our faith, to remind us of His plan etc. We need to constantly hear from God, our Father through His word.

Every christian should answer the following question: ” How many minutes do I pray everyday”? His answer will give him the confirmation why he walks in victory or defeat. A praying christian is a victorious one  and a non praying christian is a defeated one. Prayer cultivates our hearts and put many things in the right frame of mind. Prayer is a time to hear from God, our Father. Prayer is a time to be restored in the faith. Prayer is a time to renew our strength in Jesus. Prayer is a time to keep the vision of the Kingdom of God alive in our hearts. If the devil or our flesh can keep us far from the throne of God, we will be a defeated christian. There is no substitute for what prayer can bring to our spiritual lives.