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 ...