THE SERVING SON

Many have learnt service

Some have learnt sonship

Some understand neither

But precious few live both

I will serve and be approved, says one

I'm accepted, I need not serve, says another

But hear the serving son's heart

Accepted in the firstborn, I am privileged to serve

The servant will receive his rewards

The son will enjoy his Father's love

But see the serving son's end

By Love's justice, He inherits and rules the earth

The servant, he expects wages

The son, he comes boldly and takes

The serving son, he simply trusts

All that the Father has is mine.

SERVICING YOUR LOVE SOFTWARE

Have you ever met someone who "walked in love" and "walked in love" and "walked in love" until one day they finally "ran out of steam" and decided they'd had enough? That's when you hear things like I've had it up to here or I can't take this anymore or he has gotten on my last nerve etc. Truth is, many times, folks have merely been using their natural ability to endure interpersonal situations they don't like. Sometimes, however, they've actually been walking in love the whole time, but they failed to service their love software, so they got to a point they felt they just couldn't go any further.

For you to CONSISTENTLY walk in love, you've got to servce your love software. If love is a software, your spirit is the hardware. It doesn't matter how many fabulous softwares I have on my laptop, once the battery power runs out, I can't use them. To function consistently in love towards folks, you've got to service your love software by keeping your spirit "in form" like an athlete keeps his body in form. As your body needs feeding and exercise, your spirit does too.

1. Feed (on God's Word): God's word is milk, it's bread, it's meat (1Peter 2:2, Deuteronomy 8:3, Hebrews 5:12). You put those 3 together the right way and it's a balanced diet! LOL! Much like you feed your body with milk, bread, meat and other goodies, you feed your spirit (the real you) with the Word of God by putting it in your mouth. Not the paper but the words! You THINK, SPEAK and ROAR (SHOUT) God's Word to yourself. That's what Joshua 1:8 literally means by "meditate". I believe the "roar" aspect has to do with confession. Meditate and confess God's Word, especially His Word on love. Feed on 1Corinthians 13, eat Romans 5:5, chew Galatians 5:22, feed fat!

2. Build up: The same way a guy takes his body to the gym to build it, you can register and attend the gym of the Spirit by praying in tongues. A combination of 1Corinthians 14:4&14, Jude 20 and 1Timothy 4:8 makes us to understand that when you pray in tongues, you exercise and build your spirit. As you exercise your spirit, everything in your spirit (including love) finds expression more easily and consistently. Loving becomes the easiest thing in the world to do. Pray much in other tongues! Jude 21 actually says you keep yourself in the love of God as you do so. Not only that, as you pray, you also stir up the gift of God (the Spirit of love) that you've received.

3. Use your love: You want to be "in form" in love? You want to love consistently and not give up? Then use your love software! We learnt how to do that over the last 2 posts. Put the things you know to practice. Love and keep loving and don't stop loving!

Your love never fails!

LOVE COPYCATS

If you went to a "normal" school, the word "copycat" probably evokes images of people stretching their necks like giraffes to peep at a benchmate's script, and probably falling over in the process! We were taught and trained never to "copy". Of course, some people failed to imbibe this training (bless their souls!), but thank God most of us did. When it comes to love, however, you may have to do some unlearning and relearning, because "giraffing" is not such a bad thing here. In fact, you've got to be a master copycat!

Using your love software starts with being willing, but it doesn't end there. Please consider Philippians 2:13 again: it is God that works in us both to will and to DO of His good pleasure. There's a WILL-ing and then there's a DO-ing. Now, how do I do the "DO" part? Simple, DO! In Revelations 2:4&5, in order to bring back the Ephesian church to their "first love", Jesus instructed them to REPENT (change your mind, reset your will) and DO the first WORKS. To walk in love, WILL to love, then DO the WORKS (actions) of love!

Ephesians 5:1 instructs us to be IMITATORS (COPYCATS) of God as dear children. You've gotta be a professional giraffe! Watch God (Love) in the bible, see how he loves; watch Him in your spirit, see how he prompts you to love.....and COPY Him! He has not left us to figure out how to love by ourselves. Rather, He has demonstrated His love toward us in Christ Jesus and all through the bible (Romans 5:8, 1John 3:16).

We copy our Father as dear children, we love as we see Him love. We copy Jesus the Firstborn, we love as we see Him love. We copy the Holy Spirit, we love as He stirs us to love. He's the Spirit of our Father, He's the Spirit of love (Matthew 10:20, 2Timothy 1:7). That means that our Father literally gave us the Spirit by whom He loves, so we can love by the same Spirit exactly as He loves! How do I love by the Spirit of love? Stir up! 2Timothy 1:6&7 says to stir up the GIFT of God.....for (or because) God has GIVEN us the Spirit of love. In prayer, you can stir up the gift of God and bring yourself under His influence as a man does with wine.

Observe Love in His Word, then copy Him. Stir up the Spirit of love, then copy Him. Do the actions of love, even when you don't FEEL the feelings of love. Do the actions of love and continue to do them out of this understanding of love that you have. It's based on what you KNOW, not on what you FEEL. DO love and continue to DO love. PRACTISE love and continue to practise love. Continue till you get to where you unconsciously do love, then continuously continue! And when you fail, don't beat yourself up, when you catch yourself not loving, don't sit down there, dust your boots and run on! Your love NEVER fails!

USING YOUR LOVE SOFTWARE

While I was writing the last post, I began to sense in my heart that the anointing on this word is such that it will stretch over a series (albeit short), and not in the usual 2-weekly fashion  but rather in rapid succession. I must admit I have been disobedient about the "rapid succession" part but I have repented, bless God!

I have a young friend, let's call her Conqueror. She loves to say "I hate him" or "I hate her", referring to people around her. Conqueror is born again, the love of God is shed abroad in her heart by the Holy Ghost, yet that's the way she talks and acts. What's the problem here? Simple. She's got the love software but she ain't using it as she ought to. Actually, I'm like her when it comes to my laptop, I've got so many softwares I either don't know I have or haven't learnt to use.

Using your love software starts with a little thing called your WILL. It is God that works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phillipians 2:13). It is His good pleasure that you use your love software, or He would not have given you in the first place. Now, does this verse mean you have no part to play, since it is God that works it in me? A thousand times NO! What Phillipians 2:12-13 actually says is that YOU are to WORK OUT your salvation with fear and trembling, for (or because) it is GOD that WORKS IN you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. God is working IN, you are working OUT, it's an unbeatable partnership!

This truth is so simple, it's very easy to miss. To use your love software, you must first set your will, BE WILLING to walk in love. Folks have lots of reasons they don't want to walk in love, or at least not "a hundred percent". They want to have the privilege of holding on to a grudge, they don't want to be taken for granted, they're afraid of being cheated. Some want to retain the right to retaliate, they want to be free to uphold the "inverse golden rule" (do unto others what they have done unto you), because if they don't, the universe will be "out of balance". Others are wary or just plain afraid of being hurt.

All these things stem from a root of fear, but praise God, we have an assurance in God's Word "there is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear" (1John 4:18a). Halleluyah, there's NO FEAR in love! Perfect love casts out fear! God has NOT given us the spirit of FEAR, but He HAS GIVEN us the Spirit of power and of LOVE and of a sound mind! Fear not, but be bold to walk in God's love! Be willing to be offended by people, be willing to be misunderstood, be willing to be called a weakling, be willing to be misused and taken for granted! But also be willing and ready to win, because love ALWAYS wins, love never fails! (2Timothy 1:7, 1Corinthians 13:8)

When agape is seeking expression through you to another, let it flow, let HIM flow. Don't hold back and switch to your Lagos mentality, your Nigerian mentality, your human mentality, NO! Let love win! Fear not, love much, give much, live much! If you've been unwilling to love, struggling with agape, suppressing your love software, you can repent (change your mind) today, you can reset your will with words....I WILL LOVE, I CHOOSE TO LOVE, I WALK IN LOVE, I AM LOVE, I CANNOT BUT LOVE, I LOVE, I LOVE AND I LOVE SOME MORE.....AND I DON'T STOP LOVING!!!

THE LOVE SOFTWARE

It's been quite a while, friends! I sincerely apologize for the "break in transmission". I had my phones stolen, and it was oh so painful! To my utter amazement, even after getting a new phone, it seemed like a struggle to write a post. But bless God, on Monday morning, after yielding to a nudging in my spirit (as simple as washing a few extra plates stacked on the kitchen sink), a dam broke loose! These words from Romans 5:5 resonated afresh in my heart....the love of God is shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Spirit.....I've got divine capacity to love even as my Father loves!

To hear some folks talk, you would think that God gave us the command to love and left us to figure out how to do it with our limited or non-existent ability! Oh but no, He did not! Rather, God, Himself being Love (1John 4:8), gave us the capacity to love, He gave us the agape software! Love has poured out the Holy Spirit, and now the Holy Spirit pours out love in our hearts.

The Holy Spirit, through Paul in Ephesians 4:32 & 5:2, commands us to love as God loves. If not for the indwelling Holy Spirit, this would be a tall order, better still, an impossible task, but praise God, He dwells in us and pours out His love in our hearts! For you, the new creation man in Christ, loving is no longer a burden but a responsibility, your responsibility. Loving has become as simple as a choice.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:6).....according to the law of life, like begets like, by extension therefore, that which is born of Love must, of necessity, be love. We are born of Love, we are love, our very nature is love. That is why He says, be ye followers of God, as dear children (Ephesians 5:1). He is our love-model, we can follow Him, we can love as He loves.

All that we need to love as He loves, to love with His quality and kind of love, to forgive as He forgives, to forgive the unforgivable, love the undeserving, to be kind when we don't FEEL like being kind, to walk in love when everything in us and around us screams out against it, all that we need to love God-class, He has given unto us..........His nature (love), His Spirit (the Spirit of love) (2Timothy 1:7), and His Word (the love-map to show us how He loves).....all that is needed for God-class living and loving, He has given unto us, and abundantly too (2Peter 1:3).

Beloved, I beseech you by the mercies of God, never say or think to yourself, only God can love that way. Never say, I can't possibly forgive, I can't possibly love that way, he's hurt me so much, she's such a terrible creature, they don't deserve love, they don't deserve my forgiveness. Rather, when the Spirit tugs at your heart, when He prompts you in your spirit to act in love, to be kind, to forgive, to demonstrate agape, let your response be a strong and yielded YES LORD! Say yes, be willing, say yes, because He's not asking you to do it by yourself. Say yes, He's only asking you to do what Himself has done and has enabled you to do.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Like, who does that?! Well, God does that! Bless God, WE do that! I tell you, there is absolutely no limit to your love because there is no limit to God's love. You can love as He loves. Your love bears ALL things, believes ALL things, hopes ALL things, endures ALL things. Your love does not fail, does not fade out, does not become obsolete, does not come to an end (1Corinthians 13:7-8). There's no end, NO LIMIT, no breaking point to your love!

Walk in this love, walk in this light, you will never stumble! SHALOM SHALOM!

HE ROSE FOR ME!

You have heard it said, Jesus died for you

Now I make bold to say, Jesus rose for you

The grave could not hold Him, the stone could not stop Him

Disposing of the burden, He rose again in glory

Vanquishing the enemy, He took the keys of hell and death

Dead indeed He lay, but in three days was raised

Death overcome, sin vanquished, Satan judged, the Victor arose

No longer to die, for He lives forever

The One who died for me, is the One who rose for me

He didn't die and stay dead, NO!

The tomb is empty, the grave is void,

The King arisen, enthroned as Lord

No more condemnation, for I've been justified

No more judgment or wrath, He poured it all on Him

Now I stand emboldened, I can come and say "Abba"

Now I stand forgiven, I can lift my hands in praise

No more condemnation, no more trepidation

Only jubilation, for my King is resurrected

The One who died for me, is the One who conquered for me

The One who died for me, is the One who rose for me

The One who died for me, is the One who lives for me

He lives in me, He lives through me

He ever liveth, to make intercession for me

He didn't just die for me, halleluyah, HE ROSE FOR ME!

Now I rejoice, for my redeemer lives

Now I exalt, for my King is enthroned

Now I am whole, for my healer finished it

Now I am rich, for He was made poor for me

Now I am a son, for the Son made me one

Now I rejoice, the One who died for me is the One who rose for me!

PLUG IN!

This afternoon, I turned on my laptop, intending to plug my blackberry to it for charging, but alas, the laptop itself was only 15% charged! The tragedy here was not that my battery was low or that the Power-holding Company of Nigeria had held back power. The real tragedy was that I had been in the presence of electricity all night long, fully awake, with free sockets all around me, and I did not plug in!

This is also a common tragedy in the Spirit realm. You may have heard the saying "a prayerless Christian is a powerless Christian". While this may not be entirely true, there is some serious truth to it. Every child of God has the Holy Spirit residing in him/her (1Corinthians 3:16), therefore every child of God has the power of God, more so if he/she has been filled with the Holy Spirit as on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:8&2:4). But many beloved saints of God do not make use of this power (for many different reasons), therefore, they live a life devoid of the expressions of God's power (dunamis). God has given them the Spirit of power, but they have failed to stir up or fan into flame the gift of God which is in them (2Timothy 1:6-7), so they are "powerful but powerless".

Son of God, plug in to dunamis, don't be a powerless reservoir of power! The major way to connect yourself to God's power is through the Word and prayer. This was the secret of the early church, especially the apostles. Those folks gave themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word like no man's business! (Acts 2:42&6:4) And when it comes to prayer, there's a reason the Holy Spirit brought a heavenly prayer language with Him when He filled you, it wasn't just to announce His presence. No! When you pray in tongues, you edify yourself, you build up yourself (the real you, spirit). And since your spirit is full of God's power, the stronger your spirit, the more the power that flows through you. Secondly, when you pray in tongues, you bring up the rain of God's Spirit from the rivers of living water flowing from within you (John 7:38, Zechariah 10:1) like they did in Acts 4:31. And finally, when you pray in tongues, you're partnering with the Holy Spirit, or better still, you're allowing Him to partner with you, and what does He bring to the table? He brings all His power, wisdom, might and ability. Oooooh glory! That's massive help!

When the Spirit says to my heart, "child, I am your Help"

Then my soul doth respond, "Father, my Help You are"

His Help I receive, His power I engage

His strength is mine, as I connect to Him

As I yield to Him, as I allow Him

He does all He's come to do

He says all He's come to say

He is all He's come to be

And He makes me all I'm meant to be!

Receive God's help today, engage His power through the Word and through prayer. Plug in to dunamis! Don't be left out!