Emmanuel Okoro (aka MrLift)

Your reward will be grand  "After all these things, this word of GOD came to Abram in a vision: "Don't be afraid, Abram. I'm your shield. Your reward will be grand!" (Gen.15.1)  Abraham had just won a great victory over four Kings and captured a great spoil from which he refuses to take anything saying "I'm not going to have you go around saying, "I made Abram rich.'' (Gen.14.23)  This shows to us that Abraham had complete and absolute trust in God. And we know that God will not let him down. So in our text God says to him: "Don't be afraid, Abram. I'm your shield. Your reward will be grand!" (Gen.15.1) After all these things - which things? After the wars in which Abraham took nothing, God comes along and assures him that He is his shield and that his reward will be grand.  If you trust God, God will not let you down. He told Abraham that because Abraham trusted him, his reward will be grand. This new month, your reward wi...

I made Abraham rich "That I'll take nothing from you, not so much as a thread or a shoestring. I'm not going to have you go around saying, "I made Abram rich.'' (Gen.14.23)  Riches are a byproduct of the blessings of God. Riches themselves are not the blessings, if they were, then every person who's rich could claim to have been blessed by God. But we know this is not the case. That's why, riches alone should not be used to judge the success or otherwise of a person.  Proverbs tells us that it is the blessing of the Lord that makes a person rich. And to know that it is from the Lord, it does not add sorrow to it. It brings peace of mind along with it.  The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it. (Prov.10.22 KJV) Deuteronomy tells us that God gives us the power to make wealth. That power that Moses talks about in Deuteronomy is what Solomon referred to as the Blessing.  " But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for ...

Open your mouth "So--on your feet, get moving! Walk through the country, its length and breadth; I'm giving it all to you." ( Gen.13.17)  What Abraham's legs were to him in the Old Testament, is what your mouth is to you is the New Testament. The New Testament instructs us that it is in believing in our heart and confessing with our mouth that we possess the promises of God.  In the Old Testament, Abraham was required to walk and wherever the soles of his feet treaded, God promised to give him for a possession.  " Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be. (Deut.11.24)  But for the Christian, the Apostle Paul showed us how to come into our possession.  "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with th...

Open your eyes "After Lot separated from him, GOD said to Abram, "Open your eyes, look around. Look north, south, east, and west. Everything you see, the whole land spread out before you, I will give to you and your children forever." (Gen.13.14-15) God had told Abraham from the onset to leave every other family member before embarking on the journey but Abraham had taken Lot his nephew with him. And this singular decision had blocked and blinded him from seeing all the possibilities that God had in store for him.  As soon as he had the courage to release Lot, God said to him, "Open your eyes...". This suggests to us that Abraham's eyes  were not open. That means Abraham was not seeing what God was seeing. And God wanted him to align with Him, so that the possibilities that He was seeing for him would come to fruition. Not until you see as God sees, you cannot have what God have for you.  That was also the case with Gideon whom God saw as a mighty man of va...

You will arrive  "He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there." (Gen.12.5 NIV) Most times people want God to endorse their dreams and put His blessing as a   stamp of approval. But when it is God that gives you the vision, that vision will already have God stamp of approval and therefore blessed and endorsed.  This is the case with Abraham in our text. It says that they arrived there. There being the destination they set out for. It is therefore instructive to seek God and get His plan for our lives. Why? Because this plan would already be blessed by God.  That's why one of the prayers that the Apostle Paul prayed constantly for the believers is that they will be in the center of God's will by being filled with knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding  "For this cause we also, since the day we...

Dispensing good to others "And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you [with abundant increase of favors] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a blessing [dispensing good to others]. (Gen.12.2 AMP) God came to Abraham and said to him in a nutshell that if you follow Me I will make of you a great nation, and I will make your name famous. These are great promises premised on Abraham following God.  We know that these promises are based on Abraham following God because in verse one of chapter 12 God had said to him to go to a land that He will to show to him. So if God will show Abraham the land, it means Abraham does not know the land but for him to get there he has to follow God  We see a similar scenario played out in the New Testament, Jesus told his disciples to follow him and that in following, He will make them... "Jesus said to them, "Come with me. I'll make a new kind of fisherman out of you. I'll show you how to catc...

Go for your own advantage  "Now [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your relatives and your father 's house, to the land that I will show you. (Gen.12.1 AMP) In the matters of destiny there are no collective decision except it is a collective destiny. Terah Abraham's father took his family members with the aim of reaching and achieving destiny but he soon found out that in matters of destiny there are no collective decisions.  So in our text God says to Abraham, "Go for yourself, for your own advantage". And he is to do this away from his country, relatives, and father's house. You do not need everyone to make that dream a reality.  You see, when we do not have the courage to cut out those we need to cut out, life forces them out. See Jesus on his way to the cross, when the disciples couldn't pray with him even though he requested them to. And when the D-day came, they all forsook him.  ...

Don't settle yet... "Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran's son), and Sarai his daughter-in-law (his son Abram's wife) and set out with them from Ur of the Chaldees for the land of Canaan. But when they got as far as Haran, they settled down there." (Gen.11.31)  The story of Terah, the father of Abraham teaches us to not settle for less than God has in store for us. The Bible say he took Abraham, Sarai and Lot his grandson with the sole purpose of going to the land of Canaan but when he got to Haran, he settled there.  Verse 28 of Genesis 11 gave us an interesting information. It says that Haran the third child of Terah died before his father.  "Haran died before his father, Terah, in the country of his family, Ur of the Chaldees." (Gen.11.28)  It is no coincidence that Terah settled in a place named after his dead son. He got stock in the past, in his pain, so that he could not go any further. I like the diction of our text, it say he ...

The Power of unity  "Then GOD scattered them from there all over the world. And they had to quit building the city." (Gen.11.8 We can all agree on the power of purpose, but where there is no unity, purpose has no power. You cannot build anything worthwhile, where there is no unity.  They had to quit building the city. It was not that there was no vision, not that there were no resources, not that there was no manpower but because there was no unity, for God had scattered them, so they had to quit building the city.  You need unity to build your home. Many homes are in shambles not because there is no love, not because there is no care but because there is no unity. You cannot build without unity.  Hence the Bible warms us to mark those who cause division and avoid them.  "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them." (Rom.16.17)  In another place still, warming agai...

Different language  "Come, let's go down and give them different languages. Then they won't be able to understand each other." (Gen.11.7 NLT) Language is a fundamental factor required for development, understanding and progress. Without language understanding is hampered and with that comes limited progress.  If a people speak one language, they can think same thoughts or at least think along same line and if they can think alike and think the same thoughts, then they can achieve similar goals.  Our text shows us that for there to be understanding, language must be the same, or at least, communication must be possible.  Imagine then that we think the thoughts of God, or think as God thinks because we have God's language - His word. That means we will be able to understand and achieve as God would. This makes the case for us to imbibe God's word, hide them in our heart, speak them when we walk the street, when we lie down or sit down. You want to achieve what G...

After the flood...  "This is the family tree of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth. After the flood, they themselves had sons." ( Gen.10.1)  Life is full of ups and downs, low times and high times, battles and victories. What you take out is dependent on you - what you see, how you see and what you are able to make out of the troubles that assail you. Most times, the miracle is not what most people will term a miracle. Most times, the miracle is that you survived the storm.  The story of the lunatic boy who was brought to Jesus is a case in point. The father says; "often, the boy falls into the fire and often into the river." "Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water." (Matt.17.15 KJV) That the boy survived those attacks is the real miracle. He survived long enough to get to Jesus.  "And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cure...

Covered their father's nakedness  "Shem and Japheth took a cloak, held it between them from their shoulders, walked backwards and covered their father's nakedness, keeping their faces turned away so they did not see their father's exposed body." (Gen:9:23) We must commend Sham and Japheth who covered their father's nakedness. Covering is a metaphor for care, protection, support, structure and provision. It should be noted that it is not the responsibility of children to cover their parents, especially their fathers. A father is a covering for his family.  "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him. (Gen.18.19 KJV) But in our text, we see the irresponsibility of the father, resulted in the children having to cover their father. And to do that they had to walk backward, when we are al...

Nakedness of the parents "He drank from its wine, got drunk and passed out, naked in his tent. Ham, the father of Canaan, saw that his father was naked and told his two brothers who were outside the tent." (Gen.9.21-22) There is something specially important about our nakedness. It is private and should be kept as such. It is so important we walk about covering it. God showed us this example in Genesis when he covered Adam and Eve. When a person exposes himself or herself, we ask if they are okay.  "GOD made leather clothing for Adam and his wife and dressed them." (Gen.3.21)  The story of Ham seeing his father's nakedness makes the point for us. I believe when the Bible says that Ham saw his farmer's nakedness and told his brothers, it was not casual. We know this because when the news got back to his sobered father, he placed a curse on him.  "When Noah woke up with his hangover, he learned what his youngest son had done. He said, Cursed be Canaan! A ...

God of Covenant "I'm setting up my covenant with you including your children who will come after you." (Gen.9.9)  The token of God's covenant with Noah was the rainbow." (see Gen:9:14) Every time God see the rainbow, He remembers the covenant. Why does God need to see the the token of the covenant to remember?  "When the rainbow appears in the cloud, I'll see it and remember the eternal covenant between God and everything living, every last living creature on Earth." (Gen.9.16)  The token or sign of God's covenant with Abraham was circumcision. God's token of covenant with Moses was the law. So every time this sign or taken appears before God, God invoke the benefits of that covenant.  The covenant that God entered into with the church is in the blood of Jesus Christ. So every time we invoke the blood, we call God to remembrance regarding the benefits of His covenant with us "And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blo...

Why am I here?  "You're here to bear fruit, reproduce, lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!" (Gen.9.7)  One of the existential questions we must but answer is, Why am I here?  Our text answers this question succinctly. It says you are here to bear fruit, reproduce, lavish life on the earth and live bountifully.  Ask yourself what fruit are you bearing?  We are expected to bear fruit in every area of our lives - spirit, soul and body.  Man is essentially a spirit. So expectedly, that's is the first area you need to bear fruit. Paul showed us what the fruit of the spirit is.  "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Gal.5.22-23 KJV) These are spiritual fruits that you should bear in your life.  You have a soul, as a result we expect fruits to be borne in this area also.  "Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest y...

Understanding your seasons  "For as long as Earth lasts, planting and harvest, cold and heat, Summer and winter, day and night will never stop." (Gen.8.22)  Seasons are different and come with their perks and disadvantages and if you do not understand your season, you would not know, for example, when to plant and when to reap or harvest what was planted.  Imagine a farmer who is trying to plant when he is supposed to be harvesting. How do you expect it to not rain when it is in its season to? God created times and seasons but it is in our place to understand them and align our reasons to our seasons. You may not be able to adjust the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sail so that no matter the direction of the wind, it works in your favour.  This also is true with seasons of our lives. Understanding them helps us align our lives and actions. There is a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to harvest, a time to ... (see Eccl:3:1-...

Everyone has this bent but not everyone is slanted  "GOD smelled the sweet fragrance and thought to himself, "I'll never again curse the ground because of people. I know they have this bent toward evil from an early age, but I'll never again kill off everything living as I've just done." (Gen.8.21)  We could talk about the sacrifice that made God think to himself. When he smelled it, he said, I will never again, curse the ground because of man. What kind of sacrifice could that be? That was the kind of sacrifice that made God make request from Solomon. "What can I do for you?"  "That night, there in Gibeon, GOD appeared to Solomon in a dream: God said, "What can I give you? Ask." (1Kgs.3.5)  Are your sacrifice getting God's attention?  But I want to draw our attention to the fact that God says man has a bent toward evil from an early age. It is this bent that create the void that man wants to fill by all means, running up and down...

And God spoke to Noah  And God spake unto Noah, saying, (Gen.8.15 KJV) From out text it becomes clear that through out the storm God was silent. He did not say anything to Noah while it rained cats and dogs. Neither did He speak to him while he waited for the waters of the flood to abate.  This is a lesson for us to learn. Noah ran on the word he had received from God. And when God seem silent, he did not fold his hands, he did the next beat things - he sent out the raven, he waited. He sent out the dove, he waited, then again and he wait and again and he waited.  Verse one of Chapter 8 tells us that God fully turned His attention to Noah and in that instance, the water began to recede but Noah did not know this.  " Then God turned his attention to Noah and all the wild animals and farm animals with him on the ship. God caused the wind to blow and the floodwaters began to go down." (Gen.8.1)  All these while God hasn't said a word to Noah. But he lived on what h...

Healing can be instantaneous or gradual  "By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the Earth was completely dry." (Gen.8.14)  God is still in the healing business. Let no man fool you. But healing can be in an instant or it can be gradual. I believe this will help somebody who has a struggle in this area.  Noah saw dried ground on the first day of the first month of his six hundred and one birthday but the ground was not completely dried until twenty-seventh day of the second month. (see Gen:8:13) The workings of God do not always happen in an instant. Sometimes, it is gradual. The story of the man who came to Jesus on behalf of his son is a case in point "Jesus simply replied, "Go home. Your son lives." The man believed the bare word Jesus spoke and headed home.On his way back, his servants intercepted him and announced, "Your son lives!"He asked them what time he began to get better. They said, "The fever broke yesterday afternoon at one ...

Wait for it "He waited another seven days and sent the dove out a third time. This time it didn't come back." (Gen.8.13)  The after-effect of the storm are most times worse than the storm itself. Prevention indeed is better than cure. But how does one prevent the storms of life? Especially one that God allows to come into one's lives?  Noah survived the storm that brought the flood. Noah sent forth a raven and then sent a dove out three times. And our text says he waited another seven days after the second time and sent the dove out again and the dove did not return, then he knew that the dove had found resting place. And he opened the doors to the ark and saw dry ground.  It rained for just forty days and forty nights but Noah had to wait for one full year (including the days it rained) to be able to see dey ground again "In the six-hundred-first year of Noah's life, on the first day of the first month, the flood had dried up. Noah opened the hatch of the sh...

The worse is over "Inch by inch the water lowered. After 150 days the worst was over." (Gen.8.3)  The song writer wrote, "the storm is over", but you must realize that there are attended consequences after the storm ceases. For Noah and all that were in the ark, the rain had stopped but they still could not come out from the ship. And in our text, God tells Noah as well as He tells you: the worse is over.  It may not appear so when you look around you. Things may not have change according to your five senses but God who sees around the bend and above and beyond the mountains, says the worse is over. When God says something, it is because it has happened in His realm even if it hasn't yet manifesed in ours - or so we think. Imagine Jesus cursing the fig tree. It died. But it did not look dead until the next day as they walked passed the tree, Peter observed: "And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter call...

The ship kept afloat "The flood continued forty days and the waters rose and lifted the ship high over the Earth.The waters kept rising, the flood deepened on the Earth, the ship floated on the surface." (Gen.7.17-18) The waters continued rising, the flood continues deepening but the ship kept afloat on the surface. Tell yourself, by God, I will keep rising above the floods of life.  God knows better. That is why we should obey God, even when it does not seem to make sense. When God asked Noah to build a ship, not only was there nothing like rain, but also that, the problem that was coming, only a ship would have been the solution. That is, as the problem grew worse, the solution became even better. As the water rises, drowning everything in its wake, and the flood deepens covering even the highest mountains, the ship kept afloat on the surface.  God through Isaiah the prophet tells us that : "When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When yo...

Shut doors are behind you  "Male and female of every creature came just as God had commanded Noah. Then GOD shut the door behind him. (MSB) The first thing I want to say to you is that shut doors are behind you. And what do we do with the things that are behind you? You forget the things that are behind.  "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, (Phil.3.13 KJV) Why?  Because before us God has placed an open door. (see Rev:3:8) There may appear to be doors that you intended to get into, but note that, as soon as they are shut, they are behind you or at least, should be put behind you.  God says He has set an open door before you. The question is whether you can see these open doors - doors of opportunities. Not until you see as God sees, you may not see these open doors. They seem like problems but if you see as God sees, challenges will ...