One of the ways we maintain intimacy with God is by letting our hearts remain tender before Him. When He beckons us into the place of prayer and fellowship, we must respond. We need to learn to allow Him to interrupt our schedules. We need to give Him the front seat in our affairs.
I remember one time the Holy Spirit said to me, “Don’t try to fit God into your schedule. Let your schedule revolve around Me because I am bigger than your schedule.”
Fellowship with God is not restricted to a particular time or place. You could be on the road, in the car, in the office, and even in the midst of your daily activities.
I remember a few days ago, I was preparing to step out to take care of something when He told me to hold on because He wanted to spend time with me. In that moment, nothing else mattered but being with Him. I obeyed, laid aside my plans, and went to pray. Little did I know, He had already taken care of what I wanted to sort out.
Intimacy with God is built as we learn to continually respond to His beckoning.
If you have faithful, godly friends, please ensure they aren't afraid to warn you when you err.
Do everything within your power to encourage their free expression.
Reply to their texts, ask their opinion, and don't make them feel ashamed for asking for your help.
There are very few things that can substitute for faithful friends.
You're so blessed if you can afford such a luxury.
The first man ever to lose his standing with God was Adam. (Greatest Lesson)
Esau lost his birthright to his younger brother. (Lesson)
Samson lost his hair. (Lesson)
Eli lost his priesthood. (Lesson)
Saul lost his kingship. (Lesson)
Judas lost his apostleship. (Lesson)
The list is unending.
Satan also tried to make Peter lose his Apostleship, thank God Jesus prayed for him.
Guard your Salvation with due diligence, don't listen to the lies of that old serpent.
Some of us need to start praying this prayer intentionally, especially those who desire to have a global influence:
“Lord, if fame and influence will draw me away from You, then please don’t give them to me.”
Nothing is worth losing You over.
One of the painful things about a country like Nigeria is the fact that people can work hard and still have nothing to show for it.
This country deserves better.
In my itineraries, I've observed how difficult it is to sustain moments of sobriety for reflection and repentance.
You can preach the heart of God and get people weeping on their seats, and then as you close your session, a moderator comes up and with a clownish "Plaise tha lord, Now its time to give God a dance offering"....
Every bit of repentance you were trying to build collapses because the showbiz schedule is more important than the burdens of God.
So hear this:
In the gospels there are multiple events recorded where Jesus publicly identifies with notable sinners.
And there is something consistent across board.
Matthew was a tax collector.
To be a tax collector for the Roman Government in Jesus’s Israel you’d have to possess a very weak moral code.
Tax collectors were called publicans and were seen as among the worst of sinners.
Jesus went to Matthew’s stand and called him from there.
Matthew in response threw a party and invited his fellow publicans, Jesus went to that party too.
Zacchaeus was not just a publican, he was the kind of Publican that someone like Matthew would want to become like.
He was very established in fraud and he also knew how to multiply gains gotten from fraud that he made for himself so much wealth so even if he was to be convicted and asked to return all he stole, he would still have at least four times that value to live on.
He was the kind of sinner that other people knew was a sinner and thanked God that they were not sinners like him.
Jesus publicly announced to the hearing of others that he was going to follow this sinner home.
The third person I want to mention wasn’t even named.
The only description we have about her is “the woman in the city, which was a sinner”.
She was a notable sinner in the city.
Come to think about it. Many sinners today are closet sinners so nobody really knows who they really are or what they do, but a sinner that the city knows is no small sinner.
She approached Jesus in gratitude, washing his feet with her hair and anointing his feet with ointment.
Jesus publicly identified with sinners, but one consistent thing across the board was that these people did not retain their previous reputation as sinners.
Matthew and Zacchaeus weren’t known to go back to defraud people.
Matthew followed Jesus until the death and we have his account of Jesus’s life and ministry.
Zacchaeus was the one who volunteered to restitute his sins.
He turned his back on his sins.
The woman in the city who was a sinner, was grateful for her forgiven sins. The gratitude is what is shown in the washing and kissing of the feet of Jesus.
The public sinners were no longer publicly known to be sinners.
Could they have had personal occasional struggles after that?
Of course, that’s not unexpected, but one thing is consistent, the public sinners were no longer publicly known to be sinners.
If a public sinner has encountered Jesus truly the first drastic thing that will happen is they will distance themselves publicly from their sinful life.
We have had instances where former worldly celebrities have been said to give their lives to Christ.
What we mostly see is that they immediately begin to publicly do ministry. You can question that model, but what I have never seen is what I’m seeing today.
There’s only one thing that seems obvious to me.
If someone is said to have met Jesus and we don’t see the same thing in other people who have met Jesus then it means they have not met Jesus.
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.
The first group that should be arrested are the foolish fundamentalists in Oyo State who invited Sheikh Gumi there. Furthermore, anyone in Oyo State who demands Sharia law should be arrested.
facts.
this is why we all must invest in the biggest real estate ever, heavenly mansions. "In my father's house, are many mansions..."
it will be so beautiful to be in a place richer than Monaco, better than Abu Dhabi, more serene than Japan.
Saying "Holy, Holy is the Lord"...
Being Apostles of old.
"Good morrow Apostle Peter, how were you feeling before you denied Christ the third time?"... and we laugh!
Heaven... a place of no pain, no hustle again!... I want to be there.
Hi Maliq,
When Christians talk about needing the Holy Spirit to understand the Bible, we're not saying the text itself is locked or impossible to read on a basic level.
Far from it. You can pick up the Bible, read it literally, and understand what's being said by using good exegesis and proper hermeneutics—paying attention to the historical background, the context of each passage, and the specific genre of each book.
The Bible isn't one single-style book. It contains history, poetry, letters, prophecy, parables, wisdom literature, and more.
Each part has its own purpose and literary style, so approaching it thoughtfully helps you grasp what the author was communicating in its original setting.
That's something anyone can do with careful reading, just like you'd approach any ancient document.
Where the Holy Spirit comes in is at a deeper level—when we move from simply understanding the words to truly applying them to our lives.
The Scripture is living and active, and the Spirit helps illuminate it personally, convict us, and show us how to live it out in our own situations. It's about relationship and transformation, not just information.
Also important: the Bible has both descriptive and prescriptive parts.
Some passages simply describe what happened (like historical events or people's mistakes), while others clearly prescribe what God commands us to do.
We're not meant to copy every action described in the Bible—many are examples, good or bad—but we do follow what is explicitly taught for us as believers.
The Quran may claim to be clear and self-explanatory, but in practice, every scripture from that era benefits from context and careful study.
The real difference is that Christianity emphasizes the living God who actively helps His people understand and walk in His word, not just a standalone text.