Be Strengthened in Christ: A Guide to Overcoming Life's Challenges

Are you a Christian, is there anything going on in your life that is threatning your faith in Christ? Be encouraged and strengthened my dear sisters and brothers. The bible says "For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do" (Hebrew 6:10 NLT). He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Refuse to bow to that voice trying to make you doubt if God really exist, don't think about the fall of someone you have known who was strong in faith and you feel yours is about to happen. Don't accept devil strategy who constantly accuse you of whatever wrong or mistake you have done in the past, remember the bible calls him "the Accuser of the Brethren" in Revelation 12:10 "..........for the accuser of our [believing] brothers and sisters has been thrown down [at last], he who accuses them and keeps bringing charges [of sinful behavior] against them before our God day and night. Don't let him cheat you or rob you of the right you have in Christ. My man of God told us this year that we should turn in our Vouchers/Coupon for actual value in this year 2024. Please my dearest Sisters and brothers in Christ, this is the time to enjoy your right in Christ. Refuse to be brought down or destroyed.

You May Ask: Why Are My Going Through Difficulties?

These might have come into your life through things that you may know or not aware of, but in all of it; Take solace in Christ, draw strength from His word and remember that He is able to save to the uttermost. My man of God always say something, "Challenges are bread for us" I have also heard these many times from pastors and leaders of faith in the ministry that I have passed through their tutelage. Whatever has a beginning will definitely come to an end, the trouble entered one day and will definitely check out or be destroyed one day. How soon are you ready or able or willing to come out of whatever situation that challenges your faith? Please meditate on this scripture for about 5minutes before you continue to read the remaining article: 1 Peter 1:6-9 " Keep your mind clear, and be alert. Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion as he looks for someone to devour. Be firm in the faith and resist him, knowing that other believers throughout the world are going through the same kind of suffering. Challenges are bread for us as Christians and should not be allowed to destroy us. I may not know the wall that you are facing in your life: it may be wall of difficulties in your health, finances, academics, or marriage, please remember that the weapons of our warfare are not canal and our strategies are different. Please meditate Joshua 6:1–27, it talks about how the walls of Jericho fell after the Israelites marched around the city walls once a day for six days, seven times on the seventh day. Could you also picture how God parted the red sea, how He has power to make the impossible possible. He is God almigthy! So, refuse to dwell on the situation that you are going through. Take your mind off it and focus on the author and finisher of your faith. Don't worry about your imagination of fear and doubt, drown them with the word; " We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments (2 Corinthians 10:4 NLT). So, it is not about what the issue is but How to get rid of it.

How do I stay Strong and Overcome?

Firstly we need to understand who we are, Pastor Chris in the new year message explained to us what it means to be born again. He explains and I quote " When Jesus died, He died in our place. He was crucified in the place of sinners. He paid the penalty for Sin. Because He paid, you don’t have to pay again. There is no such thing as Penance. No man could ever pay for his sin.

Justified doesn’t suggest that He paid for you. Imagine that you were owing a debt and they are trying to pay the debt but you couldn’t pay. A man comes to pay your debt for you… You paid, even though you didn’t pay by yourself! Think about it…you actually paid for your sins in Jesus Christ.

But Justification means to be declared Not guilty. It’s something completely different from what Jesus did. The payment does not make you Justified.

In Justification you are said to be without guilt. You are discharged and acquitted. Why? Because the resurrection gave you a new life. It made you a new creature. One that never existed before. That’s why you are Justified. You are Not the same man who committed the sin that was remitted. His resurrection gave you a new nature. That’s what it means to be born again. (Please read and meditate on the whole chapter of Romans 5). Please contact us if you will like to be born againor read prayer of salvation on the Flourishing Family blog.

Secondly, we were taught on how to turn in vouchers or coupons for actual value. He asked us a question and I quote " Did you know the scriptures that talk of Jesus vicarious death and resurrection are vouchers for redemption? Did you know that those verse are vouchers/coupons? You can take those coupons and present them for actual value." So what do we need to do after meditating on this question, to say yes/no, or to delve into the bible and search these scriptures and use them to make war or to read them as newspapers and confirm they are true? My dear brothers and sisters, please make claim on the true blessings of Christ. Lets fight a good fight of faith and help someone else to do the same. Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, my man of God taught us that Faith Is For Now,Hope Is For The Future,Love Is Always. Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see. He explains that faith is not the denial of fact but denying the fact the ability or the authority to control the circumstances of our existence. Please get more of these teachings from Pastor Chris Digital Library. Please listen to "The Mystery Of Priesthood and Sacrifice, Part 1" by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome. We have to be aware of our ministry as a Christians; the bible says we have been made Kings and Priest (Revelation 1:6; 5:10). We need to know that our priestly ministry comes first, we cannot reign as kings on this earth if we don't carry out our priestly ministry. So get to the word, study your bible and know what is available for you. Faith is based on the word, the word of God is a revelation.

In Conclusion, set out time to minister to the Lord, that is our number 1 priority. Praise Him, worship Him, Sing new songs, worship him in spirit and in truth and serve God with gladness of heart "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them” (Acts 13:2) . I have so many things to tell you but I encourage you to study the word for yourself, get connected to us and let us grow together, lets join our faith together to reign here on earth, let us make war together and live a victorious life. Let us join our forces to take this gospel to the ends of the earth without being distracted with the challenges and heaviness that set in to distract us.