Killing The Root Of Bitterness

Killing The Root of Bitterness
“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,just as God through Christ has fogiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT)

Christians are supposed to forgive but many of us behave like there are exceptions to this rule. How could one get rid and forgive a betrayal of ‘first class’ order, or a hurt that caused an irreparable damage? The natural response is bitterness, but the Bible clearly paints the danger of this natural response. Hebrews 12:15 says, ” …Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.” The root of bitterness grows in the soil of hurt and produces fruit unforgiveness.

Once unfogiveness takes hold of a believer, it leads to the following: unremitted sins, separation from God (Isaiah 59:2), unanswered prayers (Mark 11:25) and exposure to satanic attack (2 Cor. 2:11). If the price is so much, it is important to constantly ask the Holy Spirit to daily reveal to us people or issues we haven’t completely forgiven and uproot the weed of bitterness out of the ground of once life, so that it won’t rear its head again. Ask for the grace to let go and release those who’ve wronged us as the passage instructs. It will, no doubt take the power of God to bring one to a place of being willing to forgive but when the power comes, you will be able to pray (Luke 6:28) and love (Matt. 5:45) our enemies and release.

Forgiveness is the best revenge. It not only sets our minds free from the prison of hatred but it releases our offenders to God for Him to deal with (Proverbs 20:22). Faith is what moves God but only forgiveness releases His power.

I pray that we will find in God the sheer strength to battle through the feelings of anger, hatred, and bitterness, and fight our way back to the cross. That’s where Christ forgave us. And that’s where, by faith, we can find the ability to forgive those who’ve wronged us.

KILLING THE ROOT OF BITTERNESS
 
Do you have questions regarding this week’s issue of “In His Presence”? Please contact me via the email address below.
pastor@rccggoldenarena.org
Ranti Orioke

Do You Believe This?

DO YOU BELIEVE THIS?
Jesus said to her [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”  (John 11:25-26)
Questions of faith are answered in times of uncertainty, when there is confusion all around one.
“Do you believe this?” It’s a question Jesus asked Martha which demanded an answer. It’s a question we can fairly assume God asks all of us. Do we believe?  All of our eternity changes by the answer to this question.
To refuse belief is to cast our lot with ourselves. It’s to commit our eternal destiny to chance or to our own ability to earn whatever we desire. It’s to go our own way believing we know better than Jesus and His teachings.
To believe, is to admit we are not in control except Jesus. It’s to confess a need for God’s forgiveness and admit our limitations to handle life on our own. It’s more than just accepting the facts about Jesus but a life-altering change of attitudes and actions attempting to respond to the way which Jesus calls. Every person answers the question, “Do you believe this?”
Curiously, it’s the timing of Jesus’ asking Martha the question that is fascinating. Jesus asked Martha this question on one of her darkest days. Her brother, Lazarus  had died despite her efforts to save him. Martha had sent word to Jesus in hopes that Jesus would be able to get to the side of Lazarus before it was too late. Jesus responded slower than Martha had hoped and didn’t arrive until Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died,” Martha told him. They are words of bitterness for the slow response of Jesus but equally, they are words of tremendous faith. She knew Jesus held a power no one else had. Had Jesus been earlier in coming, she believed that He could have changed the outcome for Lazarus. Her statement was one of sorrow over timing, not anger over inability.
In the midst of her pain, Jesus reveals himself as being even more powerful than Martha realized. The finality of death didn’t apply to Jesus. When He is around, time never runs out. Jesus explained to Martha what he could do. Yet before he did anything, he questioned Martha’s faith. He didn’t ask the question after he raised Lazarus from the dead. He didn’t wait until the story was complete. Right in the middle of the situation when the outcome looked the most bleak was Jesus’ timing to ask the question.
It was true for Martha and, so often, it’s true for us. Questions of faith are most often answered in times of uncertainty. We always want more information. We would like to delay until we have a greater understanding. We want to know the rest of the story. But before the outcome is revealed, before the details fully unfold, we are asked to make our decision-do you believe this?
 

The Life Of Faith

THE LIFE OF FAITH
“Just my luck,” I said. “The Most High God goes out of business just the moment I need him.”   (Psalm 77:10)
This is a case of a man at his wits end. Everything seems not to be working, no help  unlike in the past. All that once has been such a comfort to him, that which has strengthened him, given him character and power, what hitherto has been his bedrock – the foundation of his faith is fast given way.  It’s like God has withdrawn His support and the door permanently shut. Why is this, he probably asked. Have I been having wrong impression about God? Is God like man that cannot be depended upon? All these questions are probably going on in his head and yet cannot find answer to them. This writer’s faith is in crisis. Could this not be the hidden problem with many of us? When we have tried all we know – prayer, fasting, deliverance and all spiritual stuffs but nothing seems to be working!
God seeming silence is not unusual. It happened in the lives of Abraham, David the king and many others. David says in Psalm 10:1 “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” All around him were not add Ming up and God seemed to be uninterested and unconcerned. But in retrospect, one could see that the silence of God could part of His divine program that He has for disciplining and training His own. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13a). The faithfulness of God is deliberately put into contrast with this passage, because every one of us tends to suffer from the feeling that what is happening to us is unique. But many have experienced similar temptations if they are seeking to live the life of faith.
Isaiah reveals what God says. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” (Isaiah 55:8). That is, God’s reason is above ours. We understand so little of life compared to what we see in it. My thoughts are not your thoughts; therefore, you can expect there will come times when you will not understand but will be perplexed. If we are limited then to the tiny section of life that we can grasp with our puny understanding, it is only to be expected that there will come times when we do not understand what God is doing. So do not be troubled by these times of perplexity. They are normal experiences coming to all in the life of faith. Remember, “……. all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to 
his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Do you have questions regarding this week’s issue of “In His Presence” ? Please Contact me via the email address below.
pastor@rccggoldenarena.org
“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13a).
Ranti Orioke

While Waiting

“WHILE WAITING”
“I will stand at my watch and station myself on the ramparts; I will look to see what he will say to me, and what answer I am to give to this complaint.”  Habakkuk 2:1 
How do we react to delayed or unanswered prayers? When you face a problem where you do not understand what God is doing, what do you do? Do you throw down your hand in resignation and say, “Oh, I’ve tried faith, and it doesn’t work,” or “I’ve tried God but that doesn’t work,” or, “I’ve tried prayer and it doesn’t work.” When you go via this route, all you are saying is that God is a liar, unreliable, a fraud and the Word of God has no basis. 
Habakkuk in this passage, shows what we ought to do – get out on the watchtower (prayer), pour out our complaints and requests before Him, and wait to see what God is going to say. In other words, having made our ‘points’ before God, we must wait to observe the answers God gives by His word, His Spirit and providences.  Habakkuk says he is going to wait and be expectant because he knows that God speaks and that He is never too busy to answer. God has never and will not disappoint the believing expectations of those who wait to hear what he will say unto them.
While waiting, I want to suggest what we can do using the acronym of ‘wait’:
W – Worship God for who He is, His faithfulness, past deeds in your lives. David said of God’s credibility, “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).
A – Acknowledge God as the Lord of your life, trusting in Him with all our hearts, believing he is able and wise to do what is best (Proverbs 3:6)
I – Keep inquiring from Him as to what to do. Don’t think your way through the situation, He is the answer to it (1 Chronicles 14:10 &14).
T – Be thankful even in the very situation you have found yourself. “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Are we responding as Habakkuk did, waiting expectantly for more complete understanding? While waiting, are we content to trust God, realizing he has the complete picture while ours is limited? Remember, Jesus lives and because He does, you can face your tomorrow with certainty. 

“WHILE WAITING”
Do you have questions regarding this week’s issue of “In His Presence” ? Please Contact me via the email address below.
pastor@rccggoldenarena.org
David said of God’s credibility, “The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine” (1 Samuel 17:37).
Ranti Orioke

When You Pray

WHEN YOU PRAY
“But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:6 NIV)
 
Over the years even in the church, prayer has not received the recognition that it deserves. Many people feel since God already knows about our needs, there isn’t any need to tell God about them. This could turn out to be a very costly mistake! While it’s true God knows about and is involved in every area of our life, it’s also true God will not intervene in man’s issue until He is given the legal right to. By praying, we give Him full control of a situation, we acknowledge His ability to bring about a change in that area of our or someone else’s life. 
Prayer is the key to improving our lives and our relationship with God. By praying, we offer whatever we’re thinking and feeling to the Lord. Whatever you bring, is the starting point. As you pray more regularly or more often, the usual experience is that you start being more truthful in prayer, your attitude becomes more confident, you start taking the time to listen, you start looking for the signs of divine response in your daily life, you start hungering to read the Scriptures, you start wanting to pray with others and you think less and less about yourself.
 
When we come in prayer we come as we are, sometimes scared, sometimes needy, sometimes empty, sometimes bored, sometimes furious, but we come. We come trusting that through prayer God can change us, and can change the things that happen in our life. We come trusting that God is with us and builds us up, that the Holy Spirit prays with us and for us.
Today, if you feel like a victim, you can pray to God, instead of allowing the circumstances of life to overwhelm you. You can begin to take charge of your life by asking God for the power to make changes. Or maybe you live with unchangeable circumstances that affects your life in a major way, you can pray. From finding a partner, to finding a job, from building a business, to building a life, pray, prayer changes things. In a success driven society that we find ourselves, where people of faith often struggle in pursuit of success, you can pray for God to bless your efforts with success
Paul to the church in Ephesus says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18 NIV)  God is more than ready to hear our complaints, appeals, desires and frustrations if only we dare to pray. Nothing is too big or too small for the Lord not to take into consideration. Paul advises,
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6)

“WHEN YOU PRAY”
Do you have questions regarding this week’s issue of “In His Presence” ? Please Contact me via the email address below.
pastor@rccggoldenarena.org
Paul to the church in Ephesus says, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. (Ephesians 6:18 NIV)
Ranti Orioke

Hanging on to the character of God

HANGING ON TO THE CHARACTER OF GOD.
“For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. (Hebrews 6:13-15 NKJV)”
God appeared to Abraham and made him a promise: “Through your seed shall all people of the earth be blessed,” (Genesis 22:17-18). This promise was later confirmed by an oath, God swearing by himself that he would fulfill what he had said. The above passage says Abraham believed God’s promise and his oath.
For twenty five years this promise was not fulfilled, and to make the matter worse Abraham and Sarah his wife were growing older and had expired the time of life when it was possible to have children. Despite this, Abraham did not give up, he believed that God had told the truth about Himself, and that God must be true to his own character which he had expressed through both the promise and the oath. He saw nothing, yet he believed.
Abraham hung on to the character of God, believing and following God regardless of the situation and circumstance.  This is the secret of faith and upon this lies where we stand with Jesus. Either he is telling us the truth, and we can trust what this One who is like no one else who ever appeared in human history says to us, or we must reject him and repudiate him as a self-deceived impostor who attempted to foist some crude and foolish ideas upon the human race. That is where faith rests. From that ground everything must follow.

“HANGING ON TO THE CHARACTER OF GOD”
Do you have questions regarding this week’s issue of “In His Presence” ? Please Contact me via the email address below.
pastor@rccggoldenarena.org
Either he is telling us the truth, and we can trust what this One who is like no one else who ever appeared in human history says to us, or we must reject him and repudiate him as a self-deceived impostor
Ranti Orioke

IN HIS PRESENCE

 

“The OBEDIENCE, Key to the            Miraculous”

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking.

Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, Stand up on your feet! At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. Acts 14:8-10

   

Faith or obedience, which comes first and what is the significance of the order? Obedience to what? Faith in what or whom? The combination of the two describe our daily walk with God.

The passage tells of Paul preaching in Lystra along with Barnabas, we are not told how long or the number of days this has been. There seated in the marketplace was a man who had been lame from his birth, who had never walked. He heard what Paul said, and believed what Paul declared about the power of Jesus, the mighty Son of God. Paul looked at him and saw in that man’s eyes the faith to believe. Suddenly he said to him, Stand up on your feet. And the lame man, though he had never walked in his life, made the effort to obey. He had faith enough to try, and the moment he began to obey, the power to obey was given.

 

I believe this is exactly the way the Christian life works. It does not make any difference whether the problem is physical, emotional, or spiritual; it does not matter who puts there and for how long, you are going to be held in its bondage until you begin to obey the Word of God about it. When you make the effort to obey, God will set you free. But he will never move until you obey. That is the way faith works. Most people are kept from seeing God at work in their lives because they keep waiting for God to do something, in order for them to believe. No, God has already done all that he is going to do in the realm of the spirit. When you believe what he says, then he will give you the power to be free.

 

Obedience is the fruit of ones decisions. It makes way for the miraculous. When Joshua was faced with an impassible barrier, the floodwaters of the Jordan River receded only after the leaders stepped into the rushing current in obedience and faith. Obedience unlocks God’s power. The Bible says Jesus Christ learnt obedience by the things He went through, no wonder, everything answer unto Him. As you go through the Christian race, learn obedience. Once you learn obedience, your life becomes easier.

 

 
 

 

 

 

 


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The OBEDIENCE, Key to the  Miraculous”

  

 Do you have questions regarding this week’s issue of “In His Presence” ? Please Contact me via the email address below.

 

pastor@rccggoldenarena.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bible says Jesus Christ learnt obedience by the things He went through, no wonder, everything answer unto Him.

DESTINY CONNECTION PRAYERS

I will start with a story in 1 Samuel 10: 1-2. Saul went in search of Prophet Samuel because of the loss of his father’s donkey. After Samuel anointed Saul, the higher anointing restored his loss and he said to Saul “When you leave me today, you will meet two men near Rachel’s tomb, at Zelzah on the border of Benjamin. They will say to you, ‘The donkeys you set out to look for have been found.” By divine arrangement, after leaving the presence of the Prophet, two strangers were strategically positioned to give Saul good news.

Life is about God linking you up with your destiny helpers. In life there are 2 kinds of people you will ever meet – Destiny helpers and destiny killers.

When God links you up with your destiny helpers your tears will be converted to joy, your torment to peace, your labour to favour, your pain to gain and your Goliath becomes your stepping stone to the place of celebration.

Destiny killers are those who always wonder can anything good come out of this life? they say this with their mouth, their attitude and their actions. Destiny killers always see the negative side of you and are always out to discourage your efforts.

No man can by himself fulfil his destiny. Everyone needs a destiny helper. Jesus did not walk alone. He had 12 helpers who promoted his destiny.

  • Power of God hook me to my destiny helpers in Jesus name.
  • Lord Jesus hook my destiny helpers to my destiny in Jesus name.
  • Blood of Jesus link me up with my helpers in Jesus name.
  • Every witchcraft gathering assigned against my good news scatter in Jesus name.
  • My stolen crown be returned and be restored by fire in Jesus name.
  • If I be a child of God let my helpers locate me in Jesus name.
  • My manifestation cannot be stopped. I decree that my star shall shine, my voice will be heard, my enemies shall bow, I shall dance, I shall sing, I shall move forward and I shall breakthrough in Jesus name.

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Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.