Constant and Continous is He: even in the midst of famine

And I will put a division and a

sign of deliverance between

My people and your people.

By tomorrow shall this sign be in evidence.

Exodus 8:23

... and the story continues to be delivered through all forms of media; television, radio, newspapers, the Internet, even on bill boards. Tales about the devastating blows of the doom and gloom of the world's recession is never ending, it seems

The constant barrage of the state of the recession is a repackaged tactic of the devil. A tactic to instill fear into the minds of those taking it all in. However, as children of God, who firmly reside within His Economy, we know that because He is good, we are going to be okay.

Over time and throughout the Bible, God has shown us His continuous and constant desire to proposer his children, even in the times of famine (recession). His aim is to prosper us in wealth, health, relationships, influence and affluence and so much more; so that we in turn can be a blessing to others, bringing glory to His name.

God spoke the verse above when he was about to bring the plague of 'the Plague of Flies' upon the Egyptians, (please read the Exodus chapter 6 - 9 for completion). In the midst of all the havoc that was to be evident in the land, God promised to 'protect, set aside, mark and treat different' the Israelites, showing that He is their all powerful, knowing and protecting God.

As I mused over that verse, I realised that, even in the middle of this world's crisis, it is still God's constant and continuous desire to "set us apart, mark us with his blood, make it evident that we have and serve a living God, who is more than able to rise us well above the recession". After all, He is a God that changes not, He did it before and He will do it again; only if we let him through our obedience.

Some encouraging stories of how God showed his constant and continuous desire for his children to prosper in the times of famine are:

• Isaac became prosperous - Genesis 25 - 26 (please read for completion): Isaac was a diligent and obedient man and he moved as instructed by God to Gerar, the land of the philistines. In response to his obedience God blessed him in the land of Gerar, he reaped in the same year of famine (recession) a hundred fold. We must note that God blessed Issac because he was obedient. Also, we learn that Isaac did not follow the ways of the world and go to Egypt like everyone did, or as his father Abraham did. He obtained instructions for his own victory, in the times of famine. What is God telling you to do, physically or spiritually? Are you following God's or the world's pathway to your victory in this recession?

• God saves the Israelites in the wilderness - In Deuteronomy 8 (please read for completion): Here, we learn how God fed the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness. God supernaturally fed them through manna (bread) from heaven. This bread was to be gathered together by specific instructions from God. The Israelites lived the reality of Matthew 4: 4 which reads "But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". God did more than feed them, he made their clothing (clothes and shoes) last on them throughout their time in the desert, forty years. Imagine that? They never outgrew their clothes or shoes. The Israelites ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. This is proof that God saw them through the wilderness. As he did it for the Israelites, He can and will see us through the hard times, if we let him and are obedient.
  


• Elijah fed by Ravens - 1 Kings 17 (please read for completion): In verse 2 and 3 of this chapter, we see how God told Elijah to move from where he was to the brook of Cherith , the east of Jordan. In this place God provided water to drink and ravens to feed him food. The awesomeness of this is that Raven birds, are scavengers in nature, and they do not discriminate between humans and animals, they will eat it all. However, this is the same bird that God commanded to feed Elijah. God can use the same wave and instigator of this recession to feed, take care and increase His children.
  

• The Widow of Zarephath - 1 Kings 17 (please read for completion): This is another wonderful example of how God provided for his own, through obedience; and also how the obedience of one person, led to the saving of another life. The widow of Zarephath and her son were down to their last meal and close to death by starvation. God commanded Elijah to move from the brook Cherith, (where he had initially hidden and provided for him), to go to Zarephath, where he will meet this widow. On getting to Zarephath, he did see the widow. He asked her for some water to drink and some bread to eat - on which the woman replied in 1 Kings 17 11 - 12, which reads "11As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. 12And she said, As the Lord your God lives, I have not a loaf baked but only a handful of meal in the jar and a little oil in the bottle. See, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it--and die."
  
  Elijah heard her plight, but because he knew God was onto something, encouraged her. The widow obeyed the prophet and the result of both of their obedience was that she, her house hold and Elijah, ate for many days throughout the famine. They never lacked. From this we must understand that the ramifications of obedience to God is usually bigger than us. In this case, Elijah's obedience saved the widow and her household. The widow's obedience, gave room for God to do his work and provide for both of them.
  

• The favoured man called Joseph - Genesis 40 - 41 (please read for completion): The favour of God was on Joseph, for God gave him the wisdom and ability to govern and administer the house of Pharaoh and his people. God gave him the wisdom, ability and skills to know where, how to and when to gather up all the [surplus] food that will be required to help Egypt survive the times of famine. We must ask God for His wisdom to know where the opportunities are in this season; when, where and how to invest and sow our time, resources and skills and gifts.



• Famine during the reign of King Claudius - Acts 11 (please read chapter for complete ion): There was a famine in the land of Antioch during the reign of King Claudius. At this time, God provided for the disciples living in Antioch, however, they in turn, provided and helped each other according to their capability and how God blessed them. verse 29 - 30 reads "29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 30 This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul". We must learn that when God prospers us in this recession, we should not embrace a selfish nature and hold onto it all. We are blessed to be a blessing, thus we should reach out to others and help them to rise above the waves of recession. In doing so, the true nature and colours of God's love will come shining through, bringing glory to His holy name.

On that note, I encourage us all not to be carried away on the waves of fear because of the continuous news about the world's global recession. Declare and decree that "you are NOT participating in the world's recession", for you reside in God's economy. In doing so, you are hiding yourself under God's rock, under his wings and in the shelter of the name of Jesus Christ, where he will not only provide for you and your family but prosper you until you become extremely prosperous.

However, when God prospers you, do not forget to be a blessing to those around you, helping them rise above tides recession; making God famous along your way.


Much Love
Remi Banjo

***Pictures by photobucket***

Lessons from Isaac

"He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and
he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap"

Ecclesiastes 11:4

Back in the day, a long time ago, there was a great famine in the land. During this time, there was severe lack of a lot of things, one of the main things being water and seed. At that time, the world’s reaction to the lack in the land was to leave their dwelling and move to Egypt for the famine was not severe in Egypt. People responded in the natural and with natural inclination to the problem which they were facing.

However, there was a certain man named Isaac. During this time, he went down from the land of the philistines, to an area called Gerar, which belonged to the kingdom of Abimelec. In Gerar also, the famine was great. Like everyone else, Isaac, thought about moving to Egypt, but
God intervened and told Isaac not to go, but to stay in the land of Gerar. Isaac obeyed and set himself and his family up in Gerar. Through God’s guidance he started a farm and in the very first season he reaped 100 fold harvests. Through the blessings of God, Isaac becomes very wealthy.

However, because of his wealth residents of Gerar, became jealous and wanted him out. Isaac had dug up wells to help maintain and grow his livestock and families, and because of their jealousy, they destroyed his wells. The repercussions of this will mean no water for Isaac's farm, and livestock.

Isaac shrugged this off and moved himself, family and livestock, a few miles closer to the valley of Gerar, but still in the land of Gerar. Here he started all over again and dug yet another well. As soon as he did this, the philistines came round and seized this also. I can only imagine they were hoping that this would provoke Isaac to finally move out of Gerar completely. But Isaac was not going anywhere.

In response to this attack, Isaac moved over a few more miles to the left, still in the land of Gerar and set up camp there, and guess what he did?! Yes you got it, he dug another well. However, this time, the philistines, did not bother him, they simply left him alone. I personally think they must have thought, "we don’t have the time or the manpower to keep chasing this man across the land of Gerar, closing up every single wells he will end digging up"!

After they left him alone God spoke to Isaac and reminded him of the promises and the blessings of the land, that he had given to him, and the descendants God had given his father Abraham.
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Genesis 26 chapter starts as thus: "AND THERE WAS FAMINE IN THE LAND… "

Fast forward to today…. And I can start this economic chapter we are in as thus... "AND THERE IS RECESSION (FAMINE) in the land"...

Isaac did survived recession and he became very prosperous, through God’s intervention. As we are in the same economic situation Isaac found himself in, many years ago, we really must look into how he not only survived these hard times, but thrived tremendously in them.

Some things we must learn from Isaac:

• We should not move in the direction of the world: we should not follow the world's doctrines and ways of living, or respond to the natural events we face with natural instincts. We should not be easily swayed or get caught up in the winds of the world as we are taught in Ecclesiastes 11:4

• We should seek God’s plan for our lives, which is relevant to each generation: Isaac’s father went to Egypt and God blessed him there. However, God did not want Isaac to go to Egypt, the plan God had for blessing Isaac was completely different from that of his fathers’. When we seek God’s plan for our lives he will give us the wisdom to come up with solutions and the ability and resources to implement them, even in the middle of recessions. We are assured of this in Proverbs 18:12, which reads “I dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions”.


• We must stay faithful to God’s commands: The Lord blessed and brought to pass his promises to Isaac because he was obedient. When we are obedient to God, we will eat the good of the land, as we are assured in Isaiah 1:19 which reads "If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land"


• We must sow generously during the time of recession (famine): Isaac followed God’s instruction and he sowed his precious seed as we read in Genesis 26:12, which reads "12Then Isaac sowed seed in that land and received in the same year a hundred times as much as he had planted, and the Lord favored him with blessings" when we sow precious seeds according to God's instructions, we must be rest assured that we will reap the rewards.


• He did something he, or no one had ever done before: He dug up a well. In those days, that was never heard of, for they had streams of water, which they used, but this became dry due to the famine. However God bestowed unto Isaac the wisdom to dig up a well; a whole new invention (like inventing a new form of technology in our day), a whole new way of providing water for sustenance. What has God shown you that is lacking in this season that you are in? What has he told you to do? To the world's eye does it seem foolish, or as a good friend will say, "illogically insane" ? Trust God, it might just be the perfect plan to get you and your family moving towards his promised increase.


• Isaac overcame resistance to his progress: The philistines fought him for the wells he dug, but he never gave up. Isaac kept pressing forward, he was persistent in doing what God has asked him to do, where God asked him to do it. Is God telling you to do something and you are coming against tremendous resistance? Do you feel like throwing your hands up and giving in? Well don’t!! If God has given you a plan, be assured it will work; persevere, be diligent and persistent.


• Isaac did not strife with those opposing him: Finally, this is one of the hardest lessons we must learn from Isaac, more so during this season we are in. (personally, I am going through a learning curve on this very point, and no, its not an easy task!) Isaac did not get into any argument or quarrels or debate with those that were opposing him, that were making his life difficult as he was trying to obey God's instructions. You see, as long as we are moving forward with God’s plan, we will come across opposition. The enemy will do his best to distract and discourage us by throwing all sorts of stumbling blocks in our way. He will use people or situations. Why? This is because it is easier for him to attack a seed than a bountiful harvest! How we choose to respond to this opposition, will tell whether we keep walking and moving towards God's plan and indeed victory, or loose focus by being distracted.

So, I encourage us all today, whatever we do this season, we should remember not to get caught up in the spirit of panic to the news of recession the media is presenting to us, from all angles. We must not get swayed into 'trying out' all the ways the world's economy prescribing to overcome the recession of of the land.

We must remember that: God's way is the only assured way to rise and not just survive but thrive during times of recession.

Nothing is luck with God, its all about walking in obedience to his instructions. When we walk closely with God, he will tell us what actions to take; for example where to sow our precious seeds (remember we must sow on fertile ground Mark 4:8), where to reside and much more. And when he speaks, we must obey (remember, delayed obedience is still disobedience) . We must do what he tells us to do, no matter, how insane it might sound or seem in the natural, obey him we must do, all the same.

When we measure out our best to God, he will measure out his best to us, making us prosperous, even the middle of recession, showing the world that his ways are pure and sure. We in turn will use the blessing he bestows upon us to be a blessing to others, making him famous along our way.

***Pictures by photobucket***

Remi

NOT A JOB, BUT YOUR EDEN...

Browsing online the other day, and I came across a headline which read “Bank X will be cutting a further 1,200 jobs this month, car maker B has declared losses of £xxxx million and the effect will be 2,000 job losses. I thought wow, that is sure a lot of people to be out of a Job.

A couple of days later, I was speaking with a very good friend of mine and she explained how some friends lost their jobs and how they were distraught and complained that they had never-ending bills to pay, children and family to look after – car loans to service, mortgages to pay and the lot.

After the conversation, I mused and thought back to last year, 2008, when I was out of a job for almost seven months. However, without a job, I was fed, able to pay my bills, bless others and much more. The invaluable lesson I learnt, which God drummed into my heart, spirit, mind and soul was that, "my job was never intended to replace him as my source, he is my source". This is where most of us, at some point in this life, get it wrong. We use and see our daily job – (which by the way for most people), they hate, as our source.

As my friend put it, "most people live, pay cheque to pay cheque". This means they are solely dependant on that job for sustenance, increase, joy, importance, and the key to establishing realising that dream or that vision. This is and has NEVER been God’s will, intention or plan for us.

Whatever we find ourselves, our hands busy doing, it should be because:

• We enjoy it: deriving the sense of enjoyment from one’s job means that we are aligned or being aligned with God’s will for us.



• It helps us to release the creativity that God has placed within us: You see, we have to work because it is part of God’s divine nature in us. After all he worked 6 days to create the heavens and earth, thus, bringing to forth the beauty of his creativity – heaven and earth – the trees, fishes, seas, land, clouds and much more. Thus, we must work, but the work must be aligned to bring out the creative spirit that is within us. When this happens, it brings forth joy and creates solutions to problems around us.



• It is what we have been designed to do: when we work doing what we are born to do… Joy is evident, even when we are tired, we will still get up and go to work, and we will not have the cause to moan or complain about “the job” and so on.



• It gives room for God’s glory to shine through us, through our creativity, through the solution it brings, hence helping people, and thus advancing the kingdom of God.

Yes, God expects us to work (not have a Job), because that is part of his nature in us. However, we are not meant to be tied to and reside within virtual prison walls of a JOB, of a 9:00am – 5:00pm routine for a living. Why you ask? It is because God wants us to prosper through him.

I call it a virtual prison because for most people, the reality is this:

Wake up, get to work at 9:00am or thereabout, leave work at 5:00pm, get home, make dinner, watch some TV, chat with some friends, go to bed, then start the pattern all over again the next day. For some, this pattern repeats itself five times a week, for some it is seven. And then comes the weekend, because of being in the 9-5 prison all week, all the individual does is ‘relax’ or ‘catch up with ‘house chores’ – laundry, dishes, watch TV, eat, chat with friends and that is it.

Outside of this routine, nothing else it seems, happens! Sometimes the individual might get really fed up with the current job (at this point I sometimes imagine our angels telling us, yes that is it, the master wants you to go this way, embrace that gift or talent) and then, decides to get another job! Okay, a better paid job, but still within the same virtual prison. The difference might be that, the job is in a different company, a different city, town or even continent, but the routine and constraints continue to abound.

For every single one of us, God has an EDEN planned for us. We just need to align our vision and thoughts with his, walk in his will and he will lead us there. God’s desire is for his children is to prosper, not get stuck in the confinement of a job.

When we put all we have, hope and expect for (sometimes unknowingly) in a job, then we limit ourselves and we limit God to work on our behalf and deliver us into our destiny.

When we read Genesis 2: 8 – 12; 15 , it teaches us that:

• The Lord God PLANTED (CREATED) a Garden Eastward in EDEN


• then he put the man he had formed in it to TEND the garden


• And he made everything pleasant to the sight and pleasant for food

Genesis 2: 8 reads "8And the Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden [delight]; and there He put the man whom He had formed (framed, constituted)."

Genesis 2: 15 reads "15And the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and guard and keep it."

Eden is the place where Adam and Eve lived before the Fall. Gen. 2:8–24. The dictionary defines Eden as a state of perfect happiness or bliss and a delightful place; a paradise.

So see, before God created us, he already established a place of abundance for us – OUR EDEN
And I believe that is not in the virtual walls of a job that we sometimes imprison ourselves in. God wants us to walk in a state of perpetual blessing – and in turn to be a blessing to others. In God’s Eden for us, there is no lack, no loss of job, no hunger.

A Job, will not provide the best of God’s Eden for us. We can all have the best of this land, of our Eden, as long as we come to the conclusion that:

• Jobs is not meant to be our Source, the Almighty God is.


• our expectations are not tied into a job, but in God


• A job, at best is just an enabler, to bring out the creativity and goodness God has placed within us, bringing forth his beauty, solutions and hence working to the advancement of his kingdom.

So, have you lost your job and in great despair? Well don’t loose hope! Take it all to God in prayer. Remember everything works together for your good. Even a job loss, sometimes this is what we need to bring us closer to God and use the gifts, talents and abilities that resides within us. Besides, what stops you from being a competitor to the company that laid you off? Selah.

Do you still have a job, be thankful to God, but DO NOT embrace the job as your source. Break free from the 9-5 virtual prison walls, walk and work into the very Eden God has created just for you, making you prosperous to be a blessing to others, whilst making him famous along the way.

Much Love

Remi Banjo

***Pictures by Photobucket***