FineThings

August 3
My Meditations For Today
(Fr. Ray Ikponmwoba)
THE DAYS OF TROUBLES — THE “YOU” IN IT (Part 1)
Psalm 46; Philippians 1:6-11

Quotes
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Humans have never been able to be free of troubles from the day he fell. Man is still falling - Fr. Ray

The moment you step out of line with God, walking on a straight line will be very difficult - Fr. Ray

You need confidence in the help of God to see all things work out for your good - Fr. Ray

Make up your mind now to walk away from the path of sin and evil, you will find peace with and in Christ Jesus - Fr. Ray

The way to be victorious is to come under the care of Christ - Fr. Ray

If you will not be frustrated by what you see and hear, have the mind of Christ and let God be in your heart. You will always be at peace - Fr. Ray

You say you are tired; you say you are confused; but your way down was your doubts about the truth of God. If you will find your way up, bond to the gospel and diligently study it - Fr. Ray

Your readiness to die Is your strength to live - Fr. Ray

I am not only a witness for God to men; God is my witness about the life I live - Fr. Ray

If you can bring yourself to the assurance of what God can do, then He will complete the good work you have started - Fr. Ray

It is God who started the stirring to return back to Him in you, it is God who must also complete it Fr. Ray

His Word
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Psalm‬ ‭46:1, 10‬
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!””

Philippians‬ ‭1:6, 9‬ ‭
“And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.
I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgement,”
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This Is Why Troubles Won’t End
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Troubles don’t just come, something makes it happen. The water will always be clean and calm if nothing stirs it. Man would have continued to enjoy the presence of God and know the peace that goes with the presence if only man would walk in the way of God and trust every command He gives. But this has become difficult for man. Many want it their own way so, there will be trouble. Every time someone ignores the rules of God by doing the contrary, trouble will come. You need to not only learn but pray earnestly to remain in the path of God. “I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgement,” ‭‭(Philippians‬ ‭1:9‬). If not, the trouble won’t end.

The Truth You Should Never Ignore
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Let me tell you this truth: the moment you step out of line with God, walking on a straight line will be very difficult. Don’t ignore what the Holy Spirit is telling you. It is not enough to think that you can easily come back to the way of God whenever you want to. So, as much as you can, fight going astray and preserve your love for Jesus. Hear me! When you chose to come back, it is not going to be a comfortable decision; never a smooth journey; it won’t be that easy but take it. You will be tampering with a system that is already used to a particular order. Indeed, a system has been altered and it will take a persistent, resolute, sincere, unwavering, fervent, committed and faith-driven path of discipline to fully recover yourself. Otherwise, you get frustrated along the way and back out. Unfortunately, the zeal to actualise this recovery is often lacking in many. So, there will still be troubles.

Your Readiness To Die Is Your Strength To Live
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Unless you are willing to die, you can’t end that trouble in your life. This is what I call the ‘death of death’. The admonition of scripture is that for any to return back to God, he must be ready to kill every negative passion that is found in his heart and are feeding on your flesh. “You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry).” ‭‭(Colossians‬ ‭3:5). It calls this process to dying, “a must.” But you see, this is one of the difficult thing to do. Why? No body wants to die. It is a state of the flesh that generates the fear of death. Nevertheless, you must die if your true and real life will be manifested so that you can “share His glory.” (Colossians 3:4). When your sense of true judgment is not under siege, this is what will happen: “You will be able to choose what is best. Then you will be free from all impurity and blame on the Day of Christ.” ‭‭(Philippians‬ ‭1:10).‬ ‭The trouble of the present world or that you are feeling is not anything compared to the troubles of the aftermath. Make up your mind now to walk away from the path of sin and evil. Whatever the troubles of the moment in the world, you will be rest assured of your peace in Christ Jesus. Bury your unbelief now if you don’t want to remain in your trouble.

You Feel Disconnected But Still Want God
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Do you still know Him? Do you believe in Him? Is your heart still beat for Him? It is a big time trouble for you if your answer to any of those questions are in the negative. Have you lost Him? Is hope lost? Is there anything you can still do despite that you go to God but you only feel your body present? Your spirit is not there and that makes it impossible for you to be in control of what you do. You are absent minded and so it is difficult to touch the Spirit of God. Iron sharpens iron. Only the spirit of man can recognise the Spirit of God. Spirit speaks to spirit. You see that because your life is not connecting, you are so helpless, terribly weak and frustrated to do anything about it. You are in trouble and troubled. Loosing God may mean nothing to someone who is completely lost. But if you still feel troubled where you are now, because you are disconnected from God, it is a sign that you are not completely lost but your soul is in danger and your spirit has been incarcerated, confined, imprisoned. You will continue to see your body doing what your spirit repulsed, rebuffed, repelled and reject. Since your spirit that is meant to checkmate the activities of your body and bring them under control is troubled and held captive, there is limit to what you can do. No man can pay the ransom for his own life. Seek counsel and help from those who are spiritually matured. Your troubles are on the way down.
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These Troubles Can Still Work For Your Good
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I have encouraging words to you from the Lord. Your troubles may have succeeded to bring fears into your life and make you doubt God, and like Peter, you find yourself sinking in the waters of troubles, You must not stop praying, praising, worshipping, and reaching out to God. God is the ONLY solution to every trouble whether in the heart or in the world. God is waiting to give you help if you will cry out to Him. He needs your hand to hold. So, don’t be too afraid that you are unwilling to stretch out your little faith to Him. Listen to what Jesus said: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”” ‭‭(John‬ ‭16:33). This is God’s invitation for you to be brave if you will be able to come out of the things that trouble you. Jesus has conquered this same world dragging you down. Make sure you let those troubles work for your good. How? They should make you seek God more, not away from Him. You may look dirty, but He can still wash you up and make you clean. The more you cry out to God for help from the depths of your spirit, the more attention you will get from above.

Please, Do Not End The Way Of The World
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The world and those who love it will never come out of their troubles because they will continue to go contrary to what God wants. They are proud and full of themselves such that in their riches they lack wisdom. Listen to this: “For those who despise wisdom and instruction are miserable. Their hope is vain, their labors are unprofitable, and their works are useless.” ‭‭(Wisdom‬ ‭3:11).‬ ‭ You can be out of trouble if you will learn to unite your little strength to Jesus and follow His instructions. Do not be like the world that even if they receive mercy today, they will be back to evil and then trouble the next day. People like that have the spirit of pigs. Bath them, they go back to the mud. Listen to Proverbs 4:6-7, "Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." All you have are the wrong things and people in your life. Give them all up. That is the cost you have to pay.

It Can Still Work For You Again
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Life can still work for you because we have the testimony of men and women in different generations who were either in your same condition or even worse than you are but became victorious. They have a conviction that they can make it. Read their stories, study their process, be inspired by their courage and take a persistent, consistent, resilient steps towards God — the only source of life and hope for regaining strength and control. Then you will understand that whatever you have been through or may still be passing through, your desire and struggles to get out of the trouble of life will be complemented by God for you. If you can bring yourself to the assurance of what God can do, then I tell you that He will complete the good work you have started. “And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.” ‭‭(Philippians‬ ‭1:6‬). It is God who started the stirring to return back to Him in you, it is God who must also complete it.

PRAYER FOR GRACE TO COMPLEMENT MY EFFORT
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OH PRECIOUS FATHER AND LORD OF MY LIFE
THERE IS NOTHING ABOUT ME THAT IS STRANGE TO YOU
NO SECRET OF MY LIFE IS A SECRET AT ALL WHERE YOU ARE
I FEEL SO HELPLESS AND CONFUSED
I AM TIRED OF THESE STRUGGLES
IT’S AS IF I AM GIVING UP
BUT MY SPIRIT IS NOT WILLING TO GIVE UP
I KNOW AND I HAVE A POWERFUL WITNESS IN ME THAT I CANNOT DISPUTE THAT YOU LIVE
HELP ME, LORD
SAVE ME, MY GOD
DON’T LET ME SINK IN THIS TROUBLE WATER OF LIFE
YOU ARE STILL MY ONLY HOPE, NO MATTER WHAT
ALL I ASK OF YOU, LORD, IS THE SUFFICIENT GRACE TO COMPLEMENT MY LITTLE EFFORTS
I HAVE THE PROMISE OF YOUR WORD: “The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to keep still.” ‭‭(Exodus‬ ‭14:14‬). AGAIN, YOU SAID, ““I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” ‭‭(John‬ ‭14:18)
I STRETCHED OUT MY HANDS AND GIVE THEM TO YOU
COME TO MY AID, O GOD
DO NOT LET ME PERISH IN MY TROUBLES AND STRUGGLES
SET MY SPIRIT FREE FROM ITS IMPRISONMENT
BRING TO JUDGMENT AND CONDEMNATION EVERY POWER HOLDING CAPTIVE MY SPIRIT
KILL EVERY SIN IN MY FLESH
LET ME RISE AGAIN AND I WILL TELL OF YOUR GOODNESS TO MY GENERATION
IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST. AMEN 🙏

My Faith-Stand
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I OPENLY DECLARE BEFORE YOU, O GOD: YOU ARE MY REFUGE AND STRENGTH. YOU ARE GOD WHO LIFTS ME UP FROM THE PIT OF TROUBLES. I WILL SERVE YOU ALONE ALL MY LIFE. AMEN. ALLELUIA!