The Power of His Presence

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

It is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of the Lord.

The population of Ai was small and was really no match for Israel yet Israel suffered defeat in the hands of Ai because the Presence of God was not with them. They had lost the Presence of God because Achan transgressed the covenant of God and took for himself what belonged to God; thereby arousing the anger of God against Israel. Please read Joshua Chapter 7; please note verses 1 and 11 to 13 and Joshua Chapters 1 verses 2 to 10.

Significantly and this is very instructive. Israel regained strength and defeated Ai after they repented of their transgression and the accursed thing was removed from their midst. Please read Joshua Chapter 8 for details. Also quite instructive is the fact that it is not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of God. Israel gained the entire land of Canaan; not by numerical strength, military prowess, economic power or intellectual power or even physical might or even craftiness; but they got the land by the power of God; the great awesome, sanctifying, powerful, cleansing Presence of God in their midst. Please read Psalm 105 verses 37 to 45, Exodus Chapters 33 verses 12 to 17; 13 verses 1 to 22.

The Presence of God is so important in the life of a child of God that no one should really toy with the Presence of God or do things which grieve the Holy Spirit to the point where He takes His leave from the life of a child of God. Every one actually needs the Presence of God. King David begged God not to take His Holy Presence from his life. Please read Psalm 51 verse 11. This is because over time, time and time again, David realized the importance of the Presence of God in his life. The Presence of God kept him alive, safe and secure from all his enemies, increased him on all sides, protected him and gave him all the victories he got in warfare. Please read 2^nd Samuel Chapters 5 verse 10, 8 verses 6 and ; 1^st Samuel Chapters 17 verses 30 to 54, 16 verses 13 and 18; 18 verses 12, 14 and 28 and 1^st Chronicles Chapter 18 verse 6.

Leadership Calls for Discipline

Written by Uyoyou Christiana Charles-Iyoha

One of the hallmarks of leadership is discipline; the ability to subject certain desires, needs and wants to the goals of leadership. A leader should be able to subject certain needs, desires and wants to the goals of providing leadership.

Jesus Christ came to planet earth to manifest God as well as reconcile lost humanity to God as well as show humanity the way to the Father. To do this successfully, Jesus Christ subjected himself to great personal discipline. The Bible records that He humbled Himself to take on human flesh and though God; Jesus Christ subjected Himself to God and died on the cross, carrying the sins of estranged and lost humanity in order to reconcile humans back to God. As painful and shameful as that death on the cross was (considering that Jesus prayed about it in pains); He still went ahead to the cross so the will of God for Him and humanity would be done. To God alone be all the glory. Jesus Christ is indeed Lord.

Secondly, the Bible also records that Jesus Christ rose a great while before dawn to pray, significantly not even in His house but in the wilderness – solitary places where he could be alone with God; where He would not be distracted and He could be alone with God. He also chose the right time of the day when no one would be looking for Him or He would have people milling around Him to be attended to. Jesus sure knew how to invest time but such time investment calls for great discipline. The early hours of the day, especially what the Bible describes as a great while before dawn are actually the hours when sleep, I mean real physical sleep is really sweet. I can confidently say this because I love sleep. I really love to sleep but I am learning to like sleep because too much sleep is not good for anyone. I pray that God will help me to sleep when I should sleep and be awake when I should be awake in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.

For Jesus Christ to sacrifice sleep at that time of the day is a pointer to how disciplined He was. Also, the fact that He went to solitary places speaks of far greater discipline, the discipline to separate Himself from the crowd to invest time to achieve God’s highest plans and purposes for both His life and humanity.