Emmanuel Okoro (aka MrLift)

"In many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the Truth] and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in and by the prophets, (Heb.1.1 AMP) Every prophet has an area to which they have been called. And with the call comes how the "prophet" manifest his calling. Now we know that God does not speak to the church only through prophets. In Ephesians 4 we see the fivefold ministry gifts - The apostle, the prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and the Teachers. And verse 12 says these ministry gifts are for the perfecting of the saints "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" (Eph.4.11-12) Going back to our text, we can see what was meant by "each of which set forth a portion of the Truth. The pastor will do his bit just as the Teacher does his. And it i

"And if he has done you any wrong in any way or owes anything [to you], charge that to my account."(Phlm.1.18 AMP) The concept of a debtor being freed from his debt while his debt is charged to another's account is not a strange one, especially to the Apostle Paul. Neither was it alien to the recipient of the letter.  His concept of our right standing with God is built entirely on this.  In 2 Cor:5;21 we see this concept very clearly.  "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." (2Cor.5.21) Our sins were charged to Christ's account hence we are free from whatever debt we owe.  In Rom.5.17 we see this same concept: "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)" So the Apostle Paul says to Philemon, whatever Onesimus owes you charge it to m

"Maybe it's all for the best that you lost him for a while. You're getting him back now for good" (Phlm.1.15 MSB) It has been said that life is lived forward but understood backward. Most times it is only with the benefit of hindsight that we understand that some seeming losses were a blessing in disguise.  That was what the Apostle Paul was saying in our text. He says maybe it was all for the best that you lost him for a while. Here he was talking to Philemon and by extension every one of us.  How could losing something or someone be for the best? We may not see it at the time it happened but with the benefit of hindsight, we may be able to.  Jacob had "lost" his sons and he concluded all these things were against him.  "And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me." (Gen.42.36) But you and I know that nothing

"But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly." (Phlm.1.14) The Apostle Paul taught a lot of salient lessons in this short letter to Philemon. He stressed the importance of an agreed-upon action before it is carried out.  He called it the meeting of the minds. He says to Philemon that he does not want the action to take place without first getting his consent. This says a lot. It says you respect the person enough to alert him and respect him further by waiting to get his buy-in.  He said without your mind in this matter, I will do nothing. This way, the person likely will put out his all. He wasn't trying to lord it over him even though we have seen him say he had that option. We must learn to lead with a human face. Better still, with the Father's heart.  He says this is so that your profiting or benefit will not be of necessity but willingly. Do not be a brute leader but one who is consid

  Dialogue is a two-way street. It resolves problems better than force would. A smiling sun is indeed much stronger than a whirling tornado. Jesus the greatest Victor of all times, was led like a sheep before the slaughter, and like a sheep, he opened not His mouth. In His meekness is the strength that conquered sin, sickness, and satan.  Yet for love's sake, I prefer to appeal to you just for what I am - I, Paul, an ambassador [of Christ Jesus] and an old man and now a prisoner for His sake also" (Phlm.1.9 AMP) People in a position of power and leadership must not only understand the power they wield but also how to use it. Paul here says I have power but I prefer to appeal to you for low sake.  For love's sake - I am not doing this because it is the most convenient thing to do but for love's sake.  In other words, I love you so much that I would rather appeal to you than wield that power in demand for what I need you to do. I am a firm believer that peopl

"Therefore, though I have abundant boldness in Christ to charge you to do what is fitting and required and your duty to do, (Phil.1.8 AMP) When you do what your duties are, you do not deserve a pat on the back. You only get a pat when you have done more than is required.  Everyone, okay not everyone; most people do what is required but what stands a person out is doing the extra. The extra on top of the ordinary is what produces the extraordinary. Whether you are outstanding or not is dependent on whether you are willing to do the extra.   Duty is normal, extraordinary is uncommon. Not everyone is willing to go the extra. Be willing to do a little bit extra. That is what makes you different, if you keep living up to people's ideas, then you will not continue to be different but if you put in the extra you will stand out, and be outstanding Paul says to Philemon, go the extra mile, and do more than is required. Read a little more, study a little more, pray a little

"Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints." (Phlm.1.7 NIV) There is so much ado about hate speech in this day and age. But give love a chance and let love lead the way.  Love is a many-sided emotion, it is a many-splendor thing. When love leads, hate is non-existent. Love gives great joy and encouragement. Where love lives, hate is absent. Where love stays, sadness is alien. Where love thrives, everyone is refreshed.  Without love, we are lost. We must consciously practice loving by loving. Go out of your way to do a kind deed for someone who cannot pay you back. If that is a long stretch, then begin with those around you. But practice loving someone today. Put a smile on someone's face. Do whatever you can to make someone smile.  We cannot end the cycle of violence and hate by retaliation but we can start by refreshing someone. It is not your place to determine how people will react but

"That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus."  (Phlm.1. 6 ) I once pointed to a girl in a classroom full of students and said, "you are the brightest student in this class". She looked at me with unimaginable disbelief in her eyes and said "who, me? And I replied you do not even believe that you could be the brightest student in this class. Our text says that every good thing becomes effectual by the acknowledgment of that thing. There is no way you can be your best except you acknowledge that you are the best. Our greatest fear is not that we are incapable but that we are capable beyond measure. Peter did not sink only because he took his eyes off the Master but also because he did not believe he could walk on water. "And Peter answered him and said, Lord, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down

"This letter is from Paul, in prison for preaching the Good News about Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. It is written to Philemon, our much loved co-worker, (Phlm.1.1 NLT) If you were to be accused of doing good works, would there be enough evidence to convict you? If you were accused of preaching, will there be enough evidence to send you to prison? The reason the Apostle Paul was in prison was that he was preaching the gospel. And he wore this badge so well. One reason he wore this so well was so that others could follow in this example. Some of us do not take persecution well enough. We ask where is God in our difficult moments. But like Paul, we must understand that God is always with us. And once that is our attitude, we will begin to see the positive in the seeming difficulties. God will never allow anything, persecution included, to come our way except if it works for us an exceeding weight of glory "For our light affliction, which is but fo

"All who are with me wish to be remembered to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace (God 's favor and blessing) be with you all. Amen (so be it)." (Titus.3.15 AMP) People are very important in the grand scheme of things. Without people, dreams are not actualized and without people, visions do not materialize. We need people. Jesus called twelve people to help him in His ministry and that number grew over time. From twelve to seventy-two and then to one hundred and twenty that was recorded in the upper room.  In our text, the Apostle Paul was writing to Titus and he says, "All who are with me wish to be remembered to you..."  And this got me thinking and asking the question: What am I doing that will make people remember me?" Am I making enough impact? Am I making the right impact? Or am I just coasting through town? Who am I impacting? Given the way I spend my day, what will I be remembered for? And the truth is if you do not step out

"And let our own [people really] learn to apply themselves to good deeds (to honest labor and honorable employment), so that they may be able to meet necessary demands whenever the occasion may require and not be living idle and uncultivated and unfruitful lives. (Titus.3.14 AMP) You must learn to apply yourself - in the place of prayer, in the place of the study of the word of God, and most especially in the area of gifts and callings.  Laziness is one of the greatest threat to fulfilling your destiny. There is no one who is doing something great in their chosen field that got there by chance. And I dare say it was not by grace - because grace is available to all - but not everyone is making the necessary impact. Greece is not partial, it cannot help some and despise others. The simple truth is that those making success our of themselves are those that have learned to apply themselves.  Our text says it can be learned - let our people learn to apply themselves to good

"This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men." (Titus.3.8) Consistency is the hallmark of maturity. When you can do something repeatedly, it is only because you have been trained and have practiced it long enough to remain consistent. Consistency comes as a result of practice. Little wonder you see musicians rehearse over and over again. And when they come on stage, you wonder why they are that good. It is because they are so well practiced. Our text says we must affirm constantly and that in so doing we might be careful to maintain good works. No one consistently gives himself to good works that will not get better at it. Give yourself to good works, and look for small ways you can be a blessing to others. Start small and maintain it. It could just be helping someone, or just being there - a gift of yo

" he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit. (Titus.3.5 MSB) We were saved not by anything we had done . He gave us a good bath and we came out of it new people, washed inside out. When we got saved, it was our spirit that was reborn. Jesus told Nicodemus that a man must be born again to experience God. And when we did we became new creatures in Christ Jesus. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2Cor.5.17) That means our spirit now has a relationship with the Godhead. Our text says this relationship is inside out. From our spirit to our soul - mind, will, and emotions. And then our body. Though our spirit is saved, our soul needs to be saved through the engrafted word that can save our soul. "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness an

"For we also were once thoughtless and senseless, obstinate and disobedient, deluded and misled; [we too were once] slaves to all sorts of cravings and pleasures, wasting our days in malice and jealousy and envy, hateful (hated, detestable) and hating one another. (Titus.3.3 AMP) Let us try and touch each of the powerful nuggets in this verse.  Thoughtlessness produces senselessness. If you do not know how to think productively, you'll end up senseless.  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD." (Isa.55.8)  If we can think like God we can act like Him.  Being obstinate leads to disobedience. Obstinate means stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion or course of action. That is simply because one was thoughtless and as a result, became senseless. And that led to being obstinate which then ended up disobedient.  We were also told that malice, jealousy, envy, and hate are a waste of one's time. If you engage

"To slander or abuse or speak evil of no one, to avoid being contentious, to be forbearing (yielding, gentle, and conciliatory), and to show unqualified courtesy toward everybody." (Titus.3.2 AMP) One of the most difficult things to do as one who grew up in Warri is to not back down easily. To be conciliatory was and is still one of my biggest challenges. But now I check myself with the word of God. I am learning to put all that aside because the word of God says so.  If you talk to me I talk back at you. It didn't matter who you were. I remember this got me into a fight with my cousin way back because I talked back at my uncle. Now this was years ago and in as much as a lot of that has been brought under control by the help of the Holy Spirit, I now use that trait to speak up for the underdogs.  But this verse right here brings everything into perspective. It says to not slander, abuse, or speak evil of anyone. Much more, to avoid being contentious.  Really?

"Remind the people to respect the government and be law-abiding, always ready to lend a helping hand (Titus.3.1 MSB) This is a gentle reminder to you to respect the government and be law-abiding. And most importantly, the verse ends with, "always ready to lend a helping hand" and this reminded me of something I heard. That is, "Do not be a person who is happy to do the right thing only if it is convenient...If we wait for our leaders to show us honour we will be waiting too long. We need to make them follow us." I wondered how we can make our leaders follow us. Every leader is gotten from the people and if that is the case and it is, then what we should really be worried about is the quality of followership. If the followership is great and a leader emerges from there, that leader will also be great. As the poet rightly said, "A leader who knows how to follow, and followers mindful of their right to lead." Do not forget, this is just

"Tell [them all] these things. Urge (advise, encourage, warn) and rebuke with full authority. Let no one despise or disregard or think little of you [conduct yourself and your teaching so as to command respect]." (Titus.2.15 AMP) We have heard it said, whatever you do people will talk about you, whether you do the right thing or the wrong thing. It also appears true that you can't help what people think about you but this verse says otherwise.  Though it addresses the leader of the church in Crete we can apply the lesson to our lives. It began by saying, "let no one despise or disregard or think little of you". But we have heard it said that we can't help what others think of us. Here he suggests a way to help others think rightly of you. He says to conduct yourself and your teaching so as to command respect.  Respect is not given, it is not taken, it is earned. And the way to earn it is to conduct yourself in such a way that you command it.  Whe

How excited are you when your share of good works for the day is done? There is so much reward associated with doing a good deed. It is more than any monetary reward can equate.  Jesus says that the world awaits our good works. They will get the chance to see our good works and our God gets the opportunity to be glorified.  "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matt.5.16) Jesus tells us that the way men see our light shining is by seeing our good works. They see our good works when we let our lights shine.  He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness." (Titus.2.14 MSB) The Apostle Paul says the reason Jesus sacrificed himself to free us is so that we might be energetic in goodness. That means being excited to do good things. The mental and psychological rewards are secon

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age" (Titus.2.11 - 12 NIV) The first thing that struck me in our text is the fact that the grace that brings salvation to all men, teaches. It says that grace teaches us - the question is whether we are learning.  The grace teaches us to say NO! Let's pause there.  A lot of people do not know how to say no. Some think that saying no is a bad thing. But saying no may mean not right now, not this option, not this way but that. We have been taught to find our yeses and that is a good thing but finding our yeses may mean we have to say no to some things.  We must learn as grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions but say yes to self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.  Yes, we can be self-controlled, we can be upri

"your words solid and sane. Then anyone who is dead set against us, when he finds nothing weird or misguided, might eventually come around. (Titus.2.8 MSB) Your words should be solid and sane. We live in insane times, the Bible calls it "perilous times", times that can change your lexicon, your words. If you are not deliberate you'll begin to speak according to the lexicon of the times.  Your words can make or mar you. Watch what you say because what you say is a part of you. Your words could tell where you are coming from and they are windows to where you want to go. They leave your mouth but do not live your life. They go into your future. Jesus said out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  What are solid and sane words? They are sound words.  "Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach; good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.  Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit--you choose." (Prov.1

"But mostly, show them all this by doing it yourself, incorruptible in your teaching, (Titus.2.7 MSB) Christianity is a relationship that you "do" for yourself, so it is a DIY (Do It Yourself) Christianity is a belief, but it is much more. It is a relationship; yes, it is not passive, but active. It is not a name you bear or a religion you fill out on a form. It is a relationship that you not only cultivate but also maintain through the help of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another. To love is a do-it-yourself activity. No one can "Love" for you. No one can "Pray" for you, no one can "Praise" for you, no one can "Do it for you". You have to do it yourself. God is waiting for you to cultivate the fellowship. He wants a relationship with you. James tells us "draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. "Draw nigh to God, and he will dra

Disciplined lif"Also, guide the young men to live disciplined lives." (Titus.2.7 MSB) I checked the meaning of the word guide as used in our text. It is a verb and means "to show or indicate the way to someone" or to direct or influence the behaviour or development of someone." These are powerful words.  When inputted into our text, it will read "Also, direct or influence the behaviour of young men to live disciplined lives"  It is not unbecoming of young men to be unruly and uncoordinated but you can show them how to live a disciplined life. I dare say our young men haven't seen enough guidance that comes from the place of influence as far as discipline is concerned. Role models are far and in between. For young men to be guided, they have to see it long enough to be influenced by it and then developed.  How are you modeling disciples? It has to be seventy percent action and thirty percent words.  An undisciplined life is not worth li