Emmanuel Okoro (aka MrLift)

Drink deep of God's word  "Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God's pure kindness. Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God. (1Pet.2.2 MSB) The Bible uses the analogy of an infant child at the mother's breast to show us that if we are to grow we must drink deep of God's word. God's word is food for your spirit. Feed on it daily, morning and evening then you will grow to maturity.  I remember a few years back, I took my son, stood him by the sofa, and measured him against the armrest. And his head was bearly up to the top of the armrest of the sofa. But he continued feeding and today, he is well over six feet.  Constantly and consistently feed on the word of God and your growth will be evident to all. The other part of that verse says: "Then you'll grow up mature and whole in God". The growth process is not always evident, that is, you wake up, eat, go about your day, and sleep and this process is repeated. And not before long yo

Don't just pretend to be good, be good! "So get rid of all malicious behavior and deceit. Don't just pretend to be good! Be done with hypocrisy and jealousy and backstabbing." (1Pet.2.1 NLT) Social media has created a world of its own. A world of make-believe where dreams become reality. A virtual reality, independent of the natural world. Today we have virtual money that can buy you a natural, tangible reality. Believe it or not, we have a spiritual world, a virtual world, and a natural world.  For some people, these world blurs into one another. But for most others, these worlds cannot be reconciled and as a result, they pretend to be what they are not. For, some are one thing online but another in the natural world. Some only do good to be seen in the virtual world. It should be noted that there is nothing wrong with being seen to give but everything's wrong with giving to be seen.  Our text says do not pretend to be good. Those who pretend to be good do it jus

A case for responsibility "You call out to God for help and he helps--he's a good Father that way. But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living. Your life is a journey you must travel with a deep consciousness of God." ( 1Pet.1.17 MSB) God is more concerned with our character than He is with our convenience. So if He has to push us beyond our convenience to achieve our character that is what He will do. Character is everything. When a character is lost, everything is truly lost.  Our text says that God is a responsible Father and that when we call for help, He graciously provides it as the good Father that He is. But then added that He will not, as a responsible Father, let us get by with sloppy living. How we live our lives is important to God. Jesus came that we may have a life...so get a life. God is not willing to let us get by with sloppy living. He wants us to get the best out of life. So He allows some ch

Be holy "for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1Pet.1.16 NIV) I am because He is. Because He is, I am. One is not holy because one does right, one is holy because God is holy. Holiness is the nature of God and when one is born again, one takes on this nature and becomes holy even before he does anything right. Holiness is first a nature before it is an act. It is nature that gives birth to the holy acts.  Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3 that except a man be...  "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." (John 3.3) So that the emphasis is on being, not doing. Doing comes after being. Don't get me wrong, what I am saying is that your doing sterns from your being. One can only do what one is. A sinner sins because he is a sinner. Sin is also a nature. It is the nature of the devil. When one has that nature, one sins. Holiness is a nature that gives bi

Fashion yourself  "As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: (1Pet.1.14) This is very instructive for the obedient children of God. It says to not fashion yourself after your former lust. That is, not to live by, not to think, or govern your way of life by what you were delivered from as obedient children.  But it did not stop there, it went ahead and told us how to fashion our lives: As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God's life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. (1Pet.1.15 MSB) Surround yourself with people and things that pull you into the way of life shaped by God's life. So your life is a reflection of what God's life is about. Let your mind, your thinking be governed by the word of God. Think the thoughts of God, fashion your life by the word of God.  Finally, it says that the life of God is a life energetic and blazing with holiness. Holiness is

Prepare your mind for action "Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1Pet.1.13 NIV) When you begin a sentence with therefore, it shows that there was a precedent, a premise that gives right to the therefore. The premise for the therefore in our text is found in verse 12. "Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." (1Pet.1.12) And it is that the gospel was preached through the Holy Spirit as it now preaches to us. And because it is preached to us therefore prepare your mind for action.  Another way to say this would be, "Be prepared". Set your hope fully on the grace. So my preparation as adequate as it may seem, is to fully hope on

First the suffering, then the glory "Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." (1Pet.1.11) First the suffering, then comes the glory. It has been said no pain, no gain but unless the pain is in the right place and for the right time and right reason, one would suffer in vain. When the pain you suffer is attached to purpose, then you can be sure to gain.  There is such suffering or pain that is for the wrong reason. Peter calls it suffering for your faults, but he says if you suffer for doing well, this is acceptable with God, in other words, it is a down payment for glory.  "For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God." (1Pet.2.20) I remember being slapped for preaching the gospe

Salvation of your soul "Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls." (1Pet.1.9) The Apostle Peter speaks of the salvation of the soul. It should be noted that the spirit of man was saved but the soul needed saving. Man is a spirit, he has a soul and lives in a body. When a person becomes born again it is the spirit that is saved but the soul needs a constant renewal with the word of God to be saved.  "Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." (Jas.1.21) It is the engrafted word that can save your soul. The soul comprises the will, emotion, and the mind. The Apostle Paul says we should constantly renew the mind.  "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." (Rom:12:2) When we constantly feed on th

Sight and love   "Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" (1Pet.1.8) Wanted to title this episode, love at first sight. Some have argued that there is nothing as love at first sight, others say they have experienced it. Who can argue against experience? Reading through this text, one thing stands out and that is the fact that at first glance you could draw a faulty conclusion that for you to love, you must have seen the person. Because it says, "Whom having not see, ye love..." What then begs the question, do I need to see to be able to love? The text like the opening paragraph says that some love even though they have not seen Him.  Do you love God? The way you show you love God is by how you love your fellow man. Hence, John asked, how can you say you love God Whom you haven't seen, and hate your brother whom you see? "If a man say, I love God, and hat

The trials of your faith "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:" (1Pet.1.6 - 7) Our present rejoicing is short-lived due to the present trials of our faith, even if it's but a while. The Bible calls it manifold temptations but it encourages us to look beyond it.  The Bible likened our faith to gold and the process of purification that gold goes through to the process our faith has to go through, which is passing through fire for it to be precious.  Trials and temptation in themselves do not grow us but act as opportunities for our faith to grow. How we act in the face of trials will determine whether we grow or not.  Joseph got a promotion after his temptation. The Bible says: "He sent a

Kept by the power of God  "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1Pet.1.5) Wow! We are kept by the power of God. If no power can compete against God's, then we know that we are in good hands.  In verses three and four we were assured that because Christ was raised from the dead, we not only have eternal life but also that we have everything to live for. And here in verse five, we see that God has gone all out to make sure you fully inherit all that his death procured for us "Who are being guarded (garrisoned) by God's power through [your] faith [till you fully inherit that final] salvation that is ready to be revealed [for you] in the last time. (1Pet.1.5 AMP) Christ did not just die for you, God did not just raise him for you, his power is all out to garrison you until you come into all God as for you.  "Then said the Lord to me, You have seen well, for I am alert and active, watch

The future starts now  "What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven--and the future starts now! ((1Pet.1.3 - 4MSB) God has so much in stock for you that you do not have enough life to fully enjoy it all. Little wonder you best start now. Many make the mistake of thinking that all that God intends for his children to enjoy is all in the sweet by and by. But the future starts now.  There is indeed a future in heaven our text assures us but the future starts right now. Jesus said it best when he said "he came so we can have real and eternal life, more and better life than we ever dreamed of" "A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." (John.10.10 MSB) Does this not remind you

Everything to live for  "What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for," (1Pet.1.3 MSB) We have everything to live for just because we have a brand-new life in Christ. Having God as our Father is a privilege many of us do not take advantage of. If you understand the Father's heart of God, you will embrace every moment with Him.  God is not just God to the believer, He is Abba, that is 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 Father, he is nothing like your earthly father. He is much more. In many instances, God is portrayed as our Father. He is shown as a Father who gives good things to His children.  "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in

Elect according to foreknowledge "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied." (1Pet.1.2) We are the elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. There is a way one behaves when one has superior knowledge that others do not have. If you were watching your favourite show and you were watching it with someone who had already seen that episode when it appears that your favourite character would be eliminated, you become frantic, and you wonder why the other person with whom you were watching wasn't frantic as well. It was because he had a foreknowledge that nothing untoward happened to your favourite character.  God is at peace because he has been in your tomorrow and knows that though today may look gloomy and cloudy, the sun will shine tomorrow. This was the same thing that happened in John 11. When Jesus was tol

Leave no one behind "Peter, am an apostle on assignment by Jesus, the Messiah, writing to exiles scattered to the four winds. Not one is missing, not one forgotten." (1Pet.1.1 MSB) I can imagine Peter rehearsing the words of the Master in John 10:28 as he opened his epistle to the Gentiles.  "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John.10.28) I see him recalling his trance in the upper room as he awaited his meal. And how that led him to speak to Cornilus' household. He says he is on assignment for the master and this assignment is to reach all that are scattered to the ends of the world.  Why do you want to reach them, Peter? He says so that no one is missing, not one forgotten. Peter reiterated the heartbeat of the master, that not one that the Father has given him will be plucked out of his hands. You are in God's hands -no matter how fallen you think you are, if you keep looking up to

No write-offs in God "My dear friends, if you know people who have wandered off from God's truth, don't write them off. Go after them. Get them back (Jas.5.19 MSB) The way some Christians act towards others in the body of Christ, how they antiagonize, criticize and badmouth other believers, It Is either they have not read this text, or they chose to ignore it. If you hear some of us speak you would think that the people they speak about are total write-offs. Our text says to not write-off anyone, especially those who have wandered off from God's truth. When a person falls, fails or faulters that is not the time to isolate them, make them feel unworthy and unwanted. Rather, that is the time to draw them closer. It is the sick that has need for a physician.  Our text says, Go after them, get them back. Little wonder Paul kept praying that Christ be formed in the Galatians.  "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you" (Ga

The power of continued prayers  "Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. (Jas.5.16 AMP) There are all these axioms about the last strike of the hammer breaking the rock or the last key in the bunch opening the door, all pointing to the effect of continuous effort and the result of it.  The story of Elijah which the Apostle James referenced here shows Elijah praying seven different times with an expectation. He told his servant to go be on the lookout.  "So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked,

Prayer of faith "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. (Jas.5.15 NIV) One of the byproducts of sin is sickness. It appears where sin abounds, sickness is bound to follow sooner than later. If sin was the door, sickness was the living room. Jesus healed the lame man and afterward said to him "Go and sin no more".  Sin opens the door. The Bible says he who breaks the hedge the serpent world bite. Eccl.10.8 - He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. From Acts:10:38 we see that sickness is an oppression from the devil and that Jesus came to undo the works of the devil.  "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him." (Acts.10.38) The Apostle James shows us how to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

In trouble? Pray "Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise." (Jas.5.13 NIV) Prayer is a panacea for trouble. It does not only keep trouble away, it helps one in and through trouble. Little wonder then, that we are encouraged to pray when in trouble. And to pray without ceasing. Jesus told his disciples to pray so that they would not fall in tempting times.  Prayer does not always keep trouble away. It, however, helps the believer when in trouble. Sometimes, God allows trouble to come because He wants to promote you. So when the trouble comes despite the prayers, it is because God trusts you and He is setting you up for a promotion.  Prayer is a substance for the believer. The more you pray, the more manifest the presence of God you will experience. Pray always Good day, Have a great day today,  EmmA (aka Mr. Lift)  @Liftemma

Staying power "What a gift life is to those who stay the course! You've heard, of course, of Job's staying power, and you know how God brought it all together for him at the end. That's because God cares, cares right down to the last detail." (Jas.5.11 MSB) When the Apostle James talks about the gift of life enjoyed by those who stay the course, one would not think of people who had something to do with suffering but surprisingly, the example of Job is what he gives.    We can attest to Job's staying power, how he did not let go of God even though he suffered greatly. We saw how God brought him through it all at last.  When we look at Job's life, we would not say that God cares. Our text says that God brought it all together at the end because He cares right down to the last detail. And that should encourage you. Knowing that He is not only aware and concerned about the minute details of your life but that He cares and because He cares, He is working it al

Crying wages "Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty." (Jas.5.4 NIV) How we treat those who work with and for us is important to God. Our staff are extensions of us, without them we cannot fulfill all that God has in mind for us.  Imagine Moses without his staff, imagine David without his sling. Imagine Jesus Christ without his disciples. The first two examples were indeed instruments in the hands of the users but they were not anything less than tools in God's hand in accomplishing God's purpose through these individuals in the earth.  When you fail to treat your employees properly, you fail to appreciate their contribution, it is nothing compared to not paying them their wages. Their wages are not a favour, it is a debt. When you do not pay their wages, the Apostle James says their wages cry out against you.  "Thou shalt not oppress an

No lack of evidence "Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh in hell. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment. (Jas.5.3 NLT) As look at this verse of scripture, I see several truths dripping from it. God is omniscient and his wisdom is past finding out. God in His wisdom can speak all languages and to all creatures alike.  In Exodus, we see him command flies, grasshoppers, hail and even the river turned to blood at His command. He spoke to Balaam's donkey and to the fish that swallowed Jonah.  Our text tells us that even the treasures that we accumulated will stand as evidence against us on judgement day. That phone in your hands will speak up against you if you use it to do what you are not supposed to. The furniture in your home, your offices. The clothes on your back and the shoes on your feet. That is why nothing is hidden before our God. There will not be

Human Destiny  "God is in charge of deciding human destiny. Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others?" (Jas.4.12 MSB) This verse clearly states that God is in charge of deciding human destiny. If God decides human destiny, does that mean that humans have no say in it? If humans have no say in it, why then do we blame humans for the destines that God decides? Humans have a part to play in this decision-making process.  "No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. (Eph.2.10 MSB) What the Apostle James is saying is that God set the perimeters of human possibilities and this is very wide. And if man cooperates with God, man's decision activates God's possibilities in that man's life.  We know this from the scriptures. Phil.2.13 It is God that is at work i