Simple Truths on Godly Living for the Simple Hearted

by Natalie Okoro

  (9) Mathew 7:1 - “Judge not, that you be not judged.

  (10) 1Corinthians 3:3-4 - But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court.[a] In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord

  (11) Romans 8:27 - Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

  (12) 1Samuel 16:7 - But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees;[a] for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

 

  6. Open the Gift

  Imagine this; there is a man who has a life threatening illness. There is no cure to be found anywhere in the world. The man has run from pillar to post, spent all their wealth but no one can offer a cure. Then one evening a stranger comes and knocks on the door and the man opens the door. The stranger gives the man a box and says your healing is inside this and the stranger disappears. The man is baffled that a stranger would give him something so valuable for free and he takes it and keeps it under the bed. He is happy that he has received healing in a box but continues to suffer in vain simply because he hasn’t opened the box.

  Although it probably sounds quite silly most of us believers never actually open the box. We continue to suffer even after we receive free access to all that Jesus won for us on the cross. We who are children of the most-high God live like losers(1). I have lived like this and have entertained this mentality in my life for many years.

  Jesus is the gift of God’s love to us. In Jesus is every possible thing we need in order to be victorious. In Jesus is healing. In Jesus is provision. In Jesus is freedom from sin, addiction and captivity. In Jesus is love and belonging. In Jesus is self-control and righteousness. In Jesus is victory, skill and ability. In Jesus is wisdom and confidence. In Jesus is restoration. In Jesus is opportunity, instruction and direction. In Jesus is will-power and determination. In Jesus is everything that we lost due to our spiritual death. So in every sense, Jesus is the solution to every issue that we face during our time on earth. The righteousness that we need in order to be able to be blessed by God is in Jesus Christ. Therefore what we must do is to put on Jesus Christ(2).

  Think of it as wearing a veil. When one wears a veil, others only see the veil and not the person who is wearing it. When we put on Jesus, others only see Jesus who is perfect and not you and me who are imperfect. When you put on Christ, Christ’s righteousness becomes your righteousness. This is something that you must test and see for yourself. I tried it too. All you have to do is pray every morning along the lines of; ‘I put on Jesus. Lord Jesus increase in me and let me decrease. I want to be just like You. I want You to be in control of my every thought, every word, every action and every intention and live through me. Let me live for the glory of my Father God. In Jesus name I ask. Amen.” You will be amazed at the transformation that will take place. You will see your weaknesses gradually diminish and righteousness takeover. Where you were weak, you will become strong and you will begin to transform into the character of Jesus Christ – just believe(3).

  If it is healing that you require, it is available in Jesus. All you have to do is ask(4). Say “Jesus take my illness and give me the healing that you won on the cross for me”. And tell your sickness, “(name of illness), I command you in the name of Jesus, leave me now because you have no right to be in me. I belong to Jesus and He has paid the price. I am healed in Jesus name.” and believe. Don’t wait until you see healing physically, to believe that you are healed(5). Know and believe that when you ask Jesus, He will do it for you and praise God. Jesus Himself says that God will do whatever you ask of Him in the name of Jesus(6). It is important to note here that God’s intentions towards you are the very best and are for good(7). It is easy to think that God does not care for you when you are facing a tough situation. God’s intentions towards us are the very best. He makes all things work for your good(8). So, when you pray believe that God wants you to be healed. When you ask according to God’s will and not amiss, you will receive your answer(9).

  Wisdom is not far away from us either. In fact wisdom is something that God gives freely to anyone who asks(10). Godly wisdom helps us in two ways; first, it helps us to understand the things of God and second, it helps us to identify the strategies and traps of the devil. Note here that education and qualifications do not equal Godly wisdom. It is something beyond what can be found in the world. Therefore ask God for wisdom so that you can honor Him with your decisions on a daily basis.

  Another gift that you will find inside the box is authority. The authority with which Jesus commanded the storm to cease, the authority with which Jesus commanded people to be healed, the authority with which Jesus commanded the evil spirits to leave and the authority with which Jesus raised the dead is available for those who believe and accept Jesus. However, it is important to note that in order to exercise this authority, one has to pick-up their cross and follow Jesus(11). What this means is that there is sacrifice involved. Sacrifice in terms of time where one would sit at the feet of the Lord and wait to be refreshed, filled by His Spirit and empowered. Sacrifice in terms of fasting and prayer where the physical body is disciplined through fasting but the spiritual body is fed and strengthened with the word. The spirit must grow and become strong before authority could be exercised. God will never give you and me anything that we are not ready to handle. When we exercise authority, we confront evil forces directly and evil forces do retaliate. However if we are deeply connected to God, God will expose satan’s plans and inform us of the strategy that we should employ to defeat enemy forces. Only those who have a walking-talking relationship with God, and who are attuned to Him will hear His voice. To hear God’s voice, we must be like sheep who obey every command of the shepherd(12). It takes great humility and sacrifice to be able to let go of our will and surrender to God’s and to grow enough to a point where one can surrender takes much time in the presence of the Lord. So in short, if you and I want to exercise the authority of Jesus, we have to be ready to make sacrifices in terms of time and comfort in order to grow in the Lord and surrender to His will.

 

  One of the greatest problems that we face in the world today is uncertainty. We don’t know what will happen in the future and making decisions can be pretty tough. God knows the future and He is in control of it. He has a strategy for you for each day. When King David was preparing to go to battle with the Philistines on one occasion, he waited upon the Lord for a strategy. God honored his faith and trust and gave King David a strategy. God told King David that he should advance for battle only when he heard the sound of marching atop the mulberry trees.(13) Who could possibly be marching on top of the mulberry trees other than angels? God was sending re-enforcements and He wanted David to wait until then. So God has a plan for your every situation too. The key is to wait at the feet of God to receive the strategy and move when God tells you to move. If you open the box, you have access to God’s plan for your life and the future is no longer uncertain.

 

  Most of us have all this at hand but still live out our lives in great distress. I must admit that as I write this very chapter, God is speaking to me too. I am work-in-progress and God wants me to open the box and take all that He has won for me. Don’t put this off. Open the box today.

  Notes & Bible Verses

  (1) Ecclesiastes 10:7 - I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants

  (2) Romans 13:14 - But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts

  (3) Roman 3:21-22 - But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all[a] who beli
eve. For there is no difference;

  (4) Mathew 7:7-11 - Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

  (5) 2Corinthians 5:7 - For we walk by faith, not by sight

  (6) John 14:13-14 - And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask[a] anything in My name, I will do it.

  (7) Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

  (8) Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

  (9) James 3:3 - you ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

  (10) James 1:5-6 - If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.

  (11) Luke 9:23 - Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

  (12) John 10:27 - My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

  (13) 2Samuel 5:24-25 - And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you shall advance quickly. For then the Lord will go out before you to strike the camp of the Philistines.” And David did so, as the Lord commanded him; and he drove back the Philistines from Geba as far as Gezer.

 

  7. Miracle Blood

  Once someone accepts Jesus, into their hearts and chose to walk with God, the forces of evil wage war almost on a daily basis(1) in order to claim back that soul that they have now lost. The forces of evil do not accept defeat easily. They will seek out weak spots to attack. For example, they may attack someone with an addiction, with temptation(2) and try to drag away that soul from God. It is important therefore to ensure that we are well covered away from the fiery darts of the devil. But, how can we do that?

  The answer is; through the Blood of Jesus. There is power in the Blood of Jesus. When Jesus was on the cross and the centurion who was blind in one eye thrust his spear to Jesus’ side, the blood and water that came from that wound went into his eye and he could see again(3). Ordinary blood can’t do that but the Blood of Jesus can because it was the currency that God used to pay the price for sin. Each one of us had to pay this price but God sacrificed Himself once and for all and paid the price.

 

  Let’s look at the importance of blood in the Bible. In the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve had committed the first sin and they realized that they were naked, an animal had to be slain (and blood shed) in order for coverings to be made for them. In order for their sin to be covered, blood had to be shed. The first occasion in which blood is mentioned in the Bible is in the book of Genesis when Cain has slain his brother Abel. God says that Abel’s blood cried out to Him(4). The life is in the blood. This is why God prohibits his people to eat or drink blood(5). You will find that today there are many ungodly cults in the world where drinking blood is a form of ritual. This is something that God has prohibited because life is in the blood.

  During the time of Moses, the blood of a lamb saved the Hebrew people from the Angel of Death. The only thing that stood between the Angel of Death and the Hebrew people was the blood of the lamb that was applied on the lintels of their homes(6). When the Angel of Death saw the blood of the lamb, he passed over them.

  In the Old Testament, the people used the blood of an animal but in the New Testament, Jesus is the Lamb and He paid for our sins with His blood. There is no need for any further shedding of blood. The Blood of Jesus is sufficient. All we have to do is cover ourselves daily with the blood of Jesus because it is the indication that our sins have been paid for and that evil forces have no further right to claim any form of payment. Note here that the Blood of Jesus can cover you and me, only if we are clean and in order to be clean, we have to be first washed by the blood of Jesus where we go before Him and confess our sins and are washed clean. So if you want to be covered by the blood of Jesus, first confess your sins to Jesus and then request to be covered by His blood.

  When you pray to be covered under the Blood of Jesus, don’t only stop that praying for yourself. You see, the devil will try to attack you and everything that is important and precious to you. When you read the book of Job in the Bible, you see a pattern used by the devil in is attack against Job and it did not involve only attacking Job. Job lost his family and possessions as well. Therefore, when pray for the covering of the Blood of Jesus, cover yourself, your family, your household and or/business/employment, your pets, assets and finances, health and relationships. This kind of activity may seem like it is too simple a strategy against the devil but remember that the wisdom of God seems like foolishness to the world(7) therefore cover yourself with the Miracle Blood of Jesus every day.

  Notes & Bible Verses

  (1) Ephesians 6:12 - For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

  (2) Mathew 26:41 - Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

  (3) John 19:31-37 - Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones shall be broken.” And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.

  (4) Genesis 4:6-12 - So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” Now Cain talked with Abel his brother;[a] and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”He said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” And He said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. So now you are cursed from the earth, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth.”

  (5) Leviticus 17:11 - For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

  (6) Exodus 12:23 - For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you.

  (7) 1Corinthians 1:20-21 - Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased G
od through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

  8. Keep the Temple Clean

  Now let’s talk about our physical bodies. The Bible says that our earthly body is the temple of the Holy Spirit(1). We have to keep our physical bodies pure in order for the Holy Spirit to dwell. Why is it important that the Holy Spirit dwell in us? It is because no one can recognize the Lordship of Jesus without the working of the Holy Spirit (2). If we cannot recognize the Lordship of Jesus, we reject God’s gift of eternal life and we lose everything good. It all comes down to the temple.