Emmanuel Okoro (aka MrLift)

It is said that freedom is not given, it has to be taken. This is so because the oppressor enjoys certain privileges that he doesn't want to forfeit. The oppressed on the other hand have to fight if they must be freed. But this was not the case for the believers, for Christ Jesus bought our freedom with his shed blood on Calvary. But we know from scripture that when a person is freed from the powers of the enemy, the demon responsible for that person comes back seeking readmittance into where he was driven or cast out of. If he finds it free and vacant, he goes and invites seven more deadly demons to join him. (See Luke:11:24-28) Little wonder the Apostle Paul reaffirms our freedom but went further to admonish us to "stand our ground" "Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you." (Gal.5.1 MSG) Take your stand - This suggests that you have to fight to stay free. And you fi

Humans have always tried to find a way to invent stuff that suggests that they were better. Better than their neighbours, better than the animals, and even better than God. Cain tried to outsmart God, Abraham tried to come about God's promise to him in a way rather than how God intended. His wife Sarah gave her maid to Abraham and here is referred to as the slave-wife. "The son of the slave-wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God's promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God's own fulfillment of his promise". (Gal.4.23 NLT) This is an attempt of human effort to bring about the fulfillment of God's promise. It was an attempt by man to come about God's promise. It was a human attempt at playing the divine. The story of Uzzah, the priest who tried to help the stumbling cart and support God from falling still rings true. And he died on the spot. "And when they came to Nacon's threshing floor, Uz

Children are only small while they are still in the womb; once they are born, they start growing, and before you know it they are adults and they are thinking for themselves. So you only have so much time with them. Make the best of it. Just as we don't see children growing; one day you wake up and they are taller than you are, so also we do not see our impact on them -positive or negative - until they are out there on their own and need to make a decision. Will they make the right decision? I know most times parents worry whether that decision will reflect on them in a good way; what we should rather worry about is if that decision will lead them to make the next right decision. We shouldn't worry too much if we have deposited the right stuff in them. "How I wish I were there with you right now, so that I could be more gentle with you. But at this distance I frankly don't know what else to do." (Gal.4.20) Like Paul, we will wish we were there with

We live in critical and difficult times, the bible instructs us that in the last days perilous times shall come. And then listed all the things that will follow these perilous times. I wonder if we understand the import of that statement. "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy," (2Tim.3.1-2) It says self absolved, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, and the list goes on. Why then do we wonder when we see these happenings? When we see people treat people in such manners described above, we should be reminded that these are difficult times. So the Apostle Paul says: "My dear friends, what I would really like you to do is try to put yourselves in my shoes to the same extent that I, when I was with you, put myself in yours. You were very sensitive and kind the

I am not a woman and may never experience the pain an expecting mother goes through but I have seen and just watching my wife go through it, helped me decide against having another child when she said no more. This pain came as a result of the disobedience in the garden of Eden. God said to the woman: "To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."(Gen.3.16) But it is interesting what comes after the pain. The cry of the baby puts a smile on the faces of the parent that the initial pain seems to fade into oblivion. This was the pain that the Apostle Paul described in this verse: "My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you," (Gal.4.19) He says he is in labour pain all over again and the purpose this time was not so that they will be born but that Christ is fo

Do you know the Lord? Is a popular question that the old folks asked to elicit a response that gave them a reason to bring you to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But can we really know the Lord? Paul, the Apostle seems to be minded on this thought that he remarked: "But now that you know God--or rather are known by God--how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?"(Gal.4.9) In other words, there was a time that you did not know God, and God did not know you. Now that you know God; but no, that you are known by God. In a sense, we can say that God knows everyone because He is all-knowing- the Omniscient God. But let me explain It like this. You may have the telephone number of a prominent individual saved on your phone and brag to your friends that you know that individual. But if you get on your phone and place a call to this prominent individual, he may not

I like the step-by-step logical rendition of the reasons given of how everything came to belong to you. First, he reminded us that we are no longer slaves. This is significant because slaves do not have the right to own things, his very life does not belong to him. So he says, you are no longer slaves. Meaning you now have the right to own things.  "Now you are no longer a slave but God's own child. And since you are his child, everything he has belongs to you." (Gal.4.7) Furthermore, he tells us that we are now children of God. And when you follow the train of thought from verse one, you will understand that he said that as children, though heirs, we cannot get into our inheritance because we are children put under tutors and governors (see Gal:4:2) But when we grow to become sons, he released us on the spirit of township whereby we cry, abba father.  And finally, he says because you are now children of God, everything God has now belonged to you.  His re

Abba has been defined as a father but one is left wondering why the word, if meaning father, as in this verse would be rendered to mean "father father". It is a word that signifies intimacy to imply " My Father". Showing closeness and personal relationship. Abba has also been seen to mean holy. So it would mean, "holy father". "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (Gal.4.6) As a double appellation, "my father my father" can be seen as used by Elisha addressing Elijah when the latter was been taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire. "And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces."(2Kgs.2.12) Paul the Apostle tells us that it is sons that qualify to address God as " My Father". Showing

It is only those who are sons that can call God Abba Father and enjoy the benefits. And only those who can call God Abba Father have the spirit of sonship. What is the spirit of sonship? John:1:12 says that as many as received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God. The power to become is the right to call God Abba Father. "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." (Gal.4.6) Sonship speaks to maturity. In the preceding verses, Paul spoke of inheritance; that though belonging to a child, that child not being able to access the inheritance because the child is still under tutors and governors. "But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father."(Gal.4.2) Furthermore, Isaiah the prophet told us that a child is born but sons are given. (See Isaiah:9:6) The story of the prodigal son demonstrates to us who a child is and who a son is. When the prodigal went and

Time is a very important ingredient in the fulfillment of purpose. Without time nothing worthwhile can be accomplished. Not until you embrace and collaborate with time, you will not accomplish your God-given purpose. The good preacher tells us that to everything there is a time allotted. A time to be born and a time to die, a time to smile and a time to weep, a time to love and a time to hate (see Eccl:3) So time is allotted for the fulfillment of any purpose. "But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father."(Gal.4.2) What then is time? Time is a measured part of eternity. So God looked at all the possibilities and earmarked the amount of time required to accomplish them. It is now up to man to properly accord the necessary time to fulfill the vision. Our text says a child though an heir cannot come into his own because he is a child - said in another way, because the right time has not yet come. He is required to grow up in preparati

A child is vested with the same muscles the strongest person is vested with. A young male child, for example, has as many muscles as Arnold Schwarzenegger -a five-time Mr. Universe titles and six Mr. Olympia crowns during his bodybuilding career- the only difference is that Schwarzenegger has had his muscles developed through exercise and use so much so that he was champion several years in a row, back to back. But the child, even though has the same muscles as Arnold Schwarzenegger, has not developed them and as such, they cannot help him. So that it is not so much about what you have but what you do with what you have. The Bible says though the child is the heir, he is not any different from a slave. "Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;"(Gal.4.1) Is it possible that the only reason you have not come into your own is that you are still a child? That you have not exercised your senses t

Class is created to favour or discriminate against one another in society. Even in the Bible, we are told that women were not entitled to inheritance until the daughters of one Zelophehad in Numbers 27 wrecked tradition "Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father." (Num.27.4) Traditions have largely remained the same because we have not asked why long enough. Why should corruption be the order of the day? Why shouldn't we have a performing government? Why shouldn't leaders be accountable? Yet there remains a lot of tradition that has held countless individuals back from becoming all they could become. Some are slaves and are therefore not entitled to freedom, some are Gentiles, etc. The Apostle Paul here tells us that that restriction is broken "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither mal

God may be the God of the whole world but is He the Father of all? By implication, can we all lay claim to God as our Father? There are even those who do not believe in the existence of a God, there are those who believe in several other gods, can we all lay claim to being children of God? "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." (Gal.3.26) Paul says we are all the children of God - all, no exception. Now, this may be in a sense where one addresses a group of people and says to them "you are all" - meaning everyone being addressed. But we also know what was said to one can also apply to all. He went on to say we are all children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Meaning if you do not have faith in Christ Jesus you are not a child of God. It is believed that when you received Christ your name will be written in the book of life. But the scripture does not support that. But rather suggest that everyone's name is already written

The all-knowing, all-wise, and all-powerful God knows the potential that is encapsulated in a seed. A seed is a powerful thing. Every seed is a journey in potential realization. One seed may differ from another in its genetic makeup and every seed has the potential to be a forest. God had made a promise to Abraham and the promise was that he was going to be a father of many nations. Remember, Abraham was 75 years at this time and he does not have a child. "Now the promises (covenants, agreements) were decreed and made to Abraham and his Seed (his Offspring, his Heir). He [God] does not say, And to seeds (descendants, heirs), as if referring to many persons, but, And to your Seed (your Descendant, your Heir), obviously referring to one individual, Who is [none other than] Christ (the Messiah). (Gal.3.16 Amp) Now Abraham was the biological father of the Jewish people but for him to be the father of every nation, the seed is required. Because it is in the seed that the

Many people sing the song "Abraham's blessings are mine" but very few understand what Abraham's blessings are. Abraham's blessing is not money, riches, or wealth. The blessing of Abraham is much more than riches, more than wealth, more than money, and what money cannot buy. The blessing of Abraham is the very life of God. Notice it did not say the blessings of Abraham but the blessing; as in singular, not plural. And we know that the blessing is Christ. "And now, because of that, the air is cleared and we can see that Abraham's blessing is present and available for non-Jews, too. We are all able to receive God's life, his Spirit, in and with us by believing--just the way Abraham received it. [JC] (Gal.3.14 MSG) This passage says because of what Jesus did, the air is now cleared and we are all now able to receive God's life. So the life of God is the blessing Abraham was blessed with. Now what you do with the life of God that you h

"Christ purchased our freedom [redeeming us] from the curse (doom) of the Law [and its condemnation] by [Himself] becoming a curse for us, for it is written [in the Scriptures], Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree (is crucified); (Gal.3.13 Amp.) That a convict was hung on the cross beam now and again in Jesus' days was no news. A typical example would be the two thieves that were hung alongside when Jesus Christ was hung. It, therefore, begs the question of why Jesus' death was of unique consequence. This is why: Pontius Pilate, Governor and one who sat in judgement over the accusation brought against Christ Jesus found Him not guilty. In other words, he was free to go but yet was still hung. "Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him." (John.19.4) Secondly, Jesus declared that no man takes his life from him but that he lays it down of his own accord t

We do not fully and truly understand what the Bible means when it says that, 'God declares the end from the beginning. "Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:(Isa. 46.10) If we did, we would understand that before the gospel was according to Matthew, Mark Luke, and John, the gospel was first according to Father Abraham. "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify (declare righteous, put in right standing with Himself) the Gentiles in consequence of faith, proclaimed the Gospel [foretelling the glad tidings of a Savior long beforehand] to Abraham in the promise, saying, In you shall all the nations [of the earth] be blessed." (Gal.3.8 Amp) God knew beforehand that the gentiles would be conscripted and weaved into the divine agenda, as, that was the original plan as preached to Abraham. That, "in him all nations of the wo

On our way back from church the other day, my teenage son asked everyone in the car, the question he was asked in church. And that question was, "Which would you rather experience, Jesus, walking on water or Moses parting the red sea?  I responded that I would have loved to see the red sea parted with all the razzmatazz, the roaring of the sea splashing against itself, the fishes and all other sea creatures having their lives on pause because God paid attention to His children or because His children acted in faith. I thought that was a rather interesting question to ponder. Both were great acts of faith. But looking closely at this verse, I saw something interesting "Is it not obvious to you that persons who put their trust in Christ (not persons who put their trust in the law!) are like Abraham: children of faith?" (Gal.3.7 MSG) While Moses represented the law, Jesus represent grace. And they both have their place but it says here that it shou

"Thus Abraham believed in and adhered to and trusted in and relied on God, and it was reckoned and placed to his account and credited as righteousness (as conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action)." (Gal.3.6 Amp.) What does it mean to count as righteousness with God? To believe in, adhered to, trust in and rely on God. Righteous living was credited as believing in, adhering to, trusting in, and relying on God It is noteworthy that what started as an act of belief was turned into a lifestyle of faith. "Don't these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God." (Gal.3.6 MSG) Until your belief become your lifestyle you will not see much-needed change. You must act out your belief in your daily routine. Incorporate your confession into your conversation, make your activities align with your prayers, make the words of the Bible

The Apostle Paul tells us in the book of Romans that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Rom.10.17) What does it mean to hear by the word of God? It is to hear according to the word of God. To hear what God's word is saying instead of the voice of your situation, your feelings, or your circumstance. I am reminded of the song we use to sing, "I'm not moved by what people say, hallelujah...I'm only moved by the word of God, hallelujah". That is what it means to hear by the word of God This is also what was referenced in our text: "He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?" (Gal.3.5) Here, he called it the hearing of faith. Faith does not hear according to your feelings, but according to the tested and tried word of God. The hearing of faith

It boggles the mind when we think or say that we have found Christ. We couldn't find Him even in a thousand years. Isaiah the Prophet makes us understand that God is a God Who hides Himself. "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour." (Isa.45.15) So we really did not find Him, He found us. If at all you found Him, it is only because He revealed Himself to you. The Bible says we love him because He first loved us. "We love him, because he first loved us." (1John.4.19) Said in another way, we couldn't love God even if we tried except He loved us first and as a result we then love Him. His love provokes a reciprocation from us. You know, as they say, if you smile at someone you get a smile back. Hmm🤔 "Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do

Your mind is one of the greatest assets God gave you. Not using it as you ought leaves you lagging in the scheme of things. A well-rounded mind is a powerful instrument in the hand of God. Little wonder lawyerly Apostle Paul wrote almost half of the New Testament. His mind was able to process concepts. Moses was another person; he is credited with writing the first five books of the Bible and several other Psalms. This is what Luke the Physician has to say about him.  "Moses was educated in the best schools in Egypt. He was equally impressive as a thinker and an athlete." (Acts.7.22) So the Apostle Paul told the Galatians that they were not properly processing the message that they once received. So he says to them: "You crazy Galatians! Did someone put a hex on you? Have you taken leave of your senses? Something crazy has happened, for it's obvious that you no longer have the crucified Jesus in clear focus in your lives. His sacrifice on the Cross wa