Emmanuel Okoro (aka MrLift)

Seeing the invisible "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible." (Heb.11.27) There is something about the eyes that see the invisible. Those with such eyes become invincible. Eyes that look they say are many but the ones that see are few and those that see the invisible are even fewer.  These do not look at what is visible nor are these individuals governed by the things that are seen, felt, or heard because those things are temporal. They have learned to look past the physical to see the eternal things that determine the physical "While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2Cor.4.18) Jesus saw the invisible.  He saw something beyond the physical and temporal and that was what enabled him to endure the pains of the cross.  "Keep your eyes on Jesus,

I called Abraham as one man "And so a whole nation came from this one man, Abraham, who was too old to have any children--a nation with so many people that, like the stars of the sky and the sand on the seashore, there is no way to count them. (Heb.11.12 NLT) I thought of captioning this as the power of one. We do not think that one has so much power until we miss the cutoff by one mark. God began the human race, eight billion people plus and still counting with one man. Our text says God called Abraham as one man.  And when you look at the Abraham story, he wasn't the specimen of men - he was too old - to have had children. That is, he was disqualified according to the standard of men but God chose the foolish things to confound the wise. (see 1 Cor1:27)  "Look to Abraham your father and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him when he was but one, and I blessed him and made him many. (Isa.51.2 AMP) Your little will mean so much when God blesses it. You can ma

Fake it, until you make it? "By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise." (Heb.11.9 MSB) The word fake carries a negative colouration and as a result, it is important to say that it is used on the premise of sacrificing the message on the altar of style. Haven said that, let us replace fake with another word that will carry the intended message. That word would be imitating.  To say that Abraham faked it would not sit well with popular theology. But let's keep an open mind for the sake of discussion.  God made Abraham a promise to give him the land but before that promise became reality, Abraham had to live in that same land "as a stranger camping in tents". This is what I referred to as fake it until you make it. He was rehearsing what the promise called him to be even though in practice he wasn't it yet. He was the owner of the land b

God cares enough to... "It's impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him." (Heb.11.6 MSB) A lot of people believe in the existence of God, in other words, they believe that he exists. But not a lot of people believe that God cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.  There seems to be a lack of knowing that God cares enough to respond if He is sought on the part of those who seek Him. Isaiah the prophet indeed tells us that God is a God that hides Himself  "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour." (Isa.45.15) But it is in the knowledge that if one seeks God, one would find God, that we can talk about the faith that pleases God. It is in this knowing also, that reveals that God cares enough to respond to those who seek Him.  When Jesus died, the curtain was rent from top to bo

Faith is understanding "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear." (Heb.11.3) What does it mean to understand through faith? It is to understand through the word of God. Faith is governed by the word of God.  Faith is understanding, it is the understanding that framed the world. Understanding is not visible unless by our actions. If I say I understand, that understanding will be reflected in my actions. If I want the understanding that framed the world I will keep speaking the word of God. The understanding that frames the world did not keep quiet in the face of daunting contradictions.  God spoke light when darkness prevailed. (See Gen:1:4) He called those things that be not as though they were (Rom:4:17). Understanding faith only understands the situations and circumstances through the eyes or consciousness of the word of God. Don't rehearse your situatio

Acts of faith   "The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. (Heb.11.2 MSB) It was the Apostle James that said, show me your faith by your acts. We cannot claim to have faith and then do nothing with that faith.  "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works." (Jas.2.18) Do you know how it has become fashionable to say I am strong when one is feeling ill? You hear someone say, "I am strong". The whole essence of saying I am strong is for you to do what strong people, do. Do not say you are strong and then act contrary.  James says show me your faith by your acts of faith. Our text concurs. It says it was the acts of faith that distinguished the believers of old and set them apart from the crowd.  Do you have faith? Then act your faith. Jesus said it this way, "my works testify of me" (see John:10:25) Good day, Have a

Faith makes life worth living  "The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. (Heb.11.1 MSB) Faith is the construct of the divine mind to make life worth living. Faith is not the figment of any man's imagination, it is an eternal reality that helps humans to live at the level of the divine.  That is why we cannot please God without faith. Faith operates at the level of God. Little wonder, nothing is impossible to the man who believes.  Our text says that faith is the foundation of everything that makes life worth living. We trust God even if we can't trace Him Romans 12:3 say God has dealt to every man a measure of faith.  "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every

We do not draw back "But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." (Heb.10.39) We do not draw back. The attitude that draws back does not understand the investment made into it. Apostle Paul tells us that we have these treasures in earthen vessels. There is a treasure in you. You can't give up on yourself when the Creator of the universe believes in you.  "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." (2Cor.4.7) We do not draw back to perdition because that will mean eternal misery.  We belong with those who believe in the saving of our souls. Now we know that when a man becomes born again, it is his spirit that is saved. But here, we are speaking of the saving of the soul.  James tells us that it is the engrafted word that saves the soul.  "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with

You need patience "For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." (Heb.10.36) Waiting is one of the most difficult things to do when one is expectant. A second seems like a lifetime. Waiting is easy when there is no expectation. But expectation heightens the waiting period. If you are like most people you keep looking at your watch. But you have need of patience.  Patience is not necessarily the same thing as waiting. Patience is waiting on purpose, it is waiting expectantly.  Our text specifies the reason why you need patience. It says after you have done the will of God, you will receive the promise. So the promise gives expectation to our patience.  What are you expecting? Have you done the will of God?  Then be set to receive the promise. But to receive it, you need patience.  Why? Because it is through faith and patience that the promise Is received.  "That ye be not slothful, but followers of them

Keep your confidence "Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. (Heb.10.35) The reverse of cast away is to keep. Keep your confidence. Confidence is an essential ingredient in approaching God's throne.  The Bible says we should come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace to help in times of need. Another word for bold is confidence. Confidence is necessary.  "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Heb.4.16) Our text says that confidence is ours to cast away or to keep. And that if we keep it, it has great recompense of reward. If you look at those three last words -  great   recompense  of  reward . The best explanation I can give is that it has a double reward system attached to it. But what it actually means is that multiple rewards are attached to your confidence. Case in point, the prodigal son in Luke 15- he

Spiritual enlightenment "But be ever mindful of the days gone by in which, after you were first spiritually enlightened, you endured a great and painful struggle." (Heb.10.32AMP) Have you ever wondered how a man being stoned to death looked at those stoning him and said "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge"?  "And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep." (Acts.7.60) There was something that he knew that those stoning him did not. He was spiritually enlightened.  Our text says to be mindful of your spiritual enlightenment. That is the only way to stay focused in this day and age, when in every twist and turn you take there is a trap of the enemy awaiting you.  It is the mindfulness of your spiritual enlightenment that helps you endure great and painful struggles. Be spiritually alert.  How was it possible for Daniel to face a lion's den without flinch

The lone wolf is an easy prey "And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near. (Heb.10.25 NLT) We will do well to heed the admonition of this verse as the lone wolf becomes an easy target. One of the outcomes of the fall of Man in the Garden of Eden is that it created loneliness.  Isaiah the prophet pointed this out. He says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isa.53.6)  Everyone has gone his own way and does his own thing. We also see a very interesting example with the Prophet Elijah. He was so alone, he told God, everyone else has bowed their knees to Baal and I am the only one left (see 1Kgs.19.14). Little wonder he became an easy target for Jezebel. (1Kgs.19.2-3) Our text admonishes us to fellowship with one another, encourage and warn ea

Stir up one another to love and good deeds  "Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds." (Heb.10.24 NLT) I have heard it said that you can force a horse to the river but you can't force it to drink. But what if there was a way to make the horse want to drink? I understand that if you put salt in its nostril, it will want to drink.  The best way to make anyone do anything is to make one want to do it. When you give a person a compelling reason why the person should do a thing, chances are, they will.  That is what our text encourages us to do today and always. It says we should "think of ways to encourage one another to an outburst of love and good deeds". Another translation says "to stir up, stimulate and incite one another to love and good deeds.  What if all we do as a people were to encourage one another to love and do good deeds? The world will be a better place. Interestingly, it did not tell us how to but

Hold fast to your confession "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. (Heb.10.23 NKJV) We try to differentiate between confession and conversation. But as it relates to our discussion, they are both the same. The same because you are uttering something from your mouth, either to yourself in a confession or to someone in a conversation. Most people are doing okay in their confession but counter their confession with conversation.  As a result, our text admonishes us to hold fast to our confession. To hold fast is to stick to your gun, to hold your ground. Speaking of Abraham, the Bible says he did not waver at the promise of God.  "Abraham never wavered in believing God's promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God." (Rom.4.20 NLT) We cannot confess one thing and converse another. We cannot confess that by his stripe we are healed but say that we are not in our discus

The sin question "Once sins are taken care of for good, there's no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them." (Heb.10.18 MSB) Sin has been said to mean Satan's Identification Number. Sin is the transgression of the law (see 1 John:3:4) But our text tells us that the sin question was dealt with once and for all. A lot of people are afraid to approach the presence of God because they believe they are not "worthy" to because of sin. But God is not afraid of sin. Sin is not powerful enough to keep anyone away from God. God death with the sin question once and for all and through the death of Christ made it eternally possible for man to approach Him any time any day.  When man sinned in the garden, God chased the man from the garden. But Jesus came and died, he took care of the sin.  "By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;" (Heb.10.20) But Satan wants you to be held up at t

I will remember your sins no more  "And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Heb.10.17) God did not mince words, He was not only upfront and personal, He was direct and straightforward: "Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more." God says He will not remember your sins and iniquities. I do not why a lot of people are making frantic efforts to remind God of their sins. We must learn not only to forgive ourselves but also to accept the forgiveness that God through Jesus Christ has provided for us.  The New Covenant makes it possible for God to look at you and not see your sins. Is that to say we can continue in sin? God forbid. But that does not mean it is not true. When God looks at you he sees the blood that was shared on your behalf. That means if we miss it as we sometimes do, there is provision for restoration. And, once you settle it with God, you move on and do not allow the enemy to drag you in the mud and try to suffocate you wi

Series of Perfections   "It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process. (Heb.10.14 MSB) I have heard it said that perfect practice makes perfect. And when something is said to be perfect, it implies nothing could be added to it, that it could not be improved upon. That is exactly what our text today is saying.  And according to our text, there are a series of perfections. The first is the perfect sacrifice. For a sacrifice to be perfect, that means it meets every requirement and fulfills every detail.  The next perfection is that the person that performed this sacrifice was a perfect person. In Old Testament, when the High Priest comes to make atonement for the people, he first makes a sacrifice for himself so that he is now able to stand before God on behalf of the people. Our sacrifice was not only perfect, it

I come to do your will "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."(Heb.10.9) The Message Bible renders this verse thus: "When he added, "I'm here to do it your way," he set aside the first in order to enact the new plan-- (Heb.10.9 MSB) One thing stands out and that's the fact that doing the will of God is doing it God's way. God has a modus operandi. God has an operating system. His ways are not our ways is the way the prophet Isaiah puts it.  "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."(Isa.55.8-9) There is a connection between the ways of God and the thoughts of God. The ways of God are arrived at through the thoughts of God. If I adopt and adapt to the thoughts of God, then my ways will become the w

"But instead of removing awareness of sin, when those animal sacrifices were repeated over and over they actually heightened awareness and guilt." (Heb.10.3 MSB) When we look at man pre-sin, that is, before man fell, the recorded history was brief. However, we see a man that was free with God, communes with God, and names all of God's creatures. He was in a class where he completed what God started -God created, man names.  Then sin entered, man fell and man began to withdraw from God. Where are thou? (See Gen:3:) God began to look for the man. On man's part, he became aware of sin and became sin conscious. "And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Gen.3.10) So God killed a kid to cover man's sin. "And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife. (Gen.3.21 NLT) And this is what our text speaks to. That yearly sacrifice only reminded the man of sin Then Jesus

What's your consciousness?  "For if it were otherwise, would [these sacrifices] not have stopped being offered? Since the worshipers had once for all been cleansed, they would no longer have any guilt or consciousness of sin." (Heb.10.2 AMP) Most people truly either do not believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross or they do not understand the effect of the death. The death of Christ dealt with the sin question and took care of it. Christ settled the requirements of God and freed us to live for Him but most people are more conscious of sin than they are çonscious of the finished work of Christ on the cross.  When we look at the prayers the Apostle Paul prayed for believers in the epistle, it reveals his consciousness, same with Jesus' prayer for the believers in John 17. Paul prayed for believers to be conformed to what the death of Christ has provided for.  I am the righteousness of God in Christ. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who

Dead works or good works? "How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?"(Heb.9.14) The Bible teaches us to do good works. Jesus said let men see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. (See Matt:5:16)  And we are encouraged to do good work. In fact, we are saved to do good works but not saved by good works.  "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."(Eph.2.10) And it is this effort of man that believes that if one is good enough and does enough good works then one can by those good works be saved, this is what the Bible refers to as dead works.  Dead works are human efforts at securing salvation through good work. And it is not until our conscience is purged from dead works can we truly serve the Lord.  Our text says that the