I used to believe there was no urgency to our tasks here on earth, but a verse in John seems to say otherwise.

The idea that we have all the time or no need to start on time may not be entirely accurate.

Yes, I do not suggest that we should be in a hurry to do anything, but we should not be complacent either. We should take things seriously, knowing we may have to translate out of this body someday, probably for other tasks elsewhere.

Jesus gave this reply when the disciples asked him whose fault a blind man was born that way. Jesus told them that it wasn’t anyone's fault but that his situation serves as an occasion for God to display his power. Then he went on immediately to talk about ‘working while it is day.’

I believe Jesus wanted his disciples to see that a lot had to be done and that there were many blind and deaf people out there who needed healing as well, so they had to be quick to work while he was still with them.

If verse 4 means ‘the time is coming when we won’t be able to work’, verse 5 gives us more explanation.

Verse 5 begins with a “BUT,” and we know what a BUT means in a sentence.

So, in verse 5, Jesus says, “But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

This suggests that as long as he was present with them, the “night” described in verse 4—when no one can work—had not yet come in that context of his mission.

Believers today are the LIGHT of the world (Matthew 5.14), and because we are the light of the world, that night (where we cannot work, John 9.4) can also NEVER come.

In other words, verse 4b is pending as long as we are in the world.

This means that there is no NIGHT while we are in the world. Therefore, we MUST ALWAYS be working. There is no stopping, resting, or retreat, and there is no end. We were made to work the Father’s works, and the night will only come when we leave the world.

In summary, as long as we are in the world, we are SUPPOSED to constantly be engaged in doing the works of the Father, ALWAYS. This gives us our job description on earth. It is first and foremost to DO THE WORK of the Kingdom of God — Preaching, healing, teaching, etc...

So stop looking for meaning in any other earthly achievements. Your achievements and preoccupations, destiny, purpose, etc., are to do the works of the Father. Instead of looking for what else to engage yourself with at any point in time, settle it in your heart that at any given time, we are to be doing the work of the Kingdom — EVERY TIME.

When you wake up in the morning and ask yourself what to do for the day, the answer is always the same: The work of the Kingdom.

And if you think this idea sounds monotonous, no, it isn’t. Humans are created to work. Our design is such that we must be actively engaged in doing something.

My friend told me a few days ago about a man who was transferred from his department in an institution to another department where he does nothing daily, yet his salary came in constantly. This has been going on for years, and all these years, the man has been lamenting. He says he can’t sit idle daily. He wants to work!

As a freelancer, I sometimes get frustrated being indoors most of my week, especially when there isn’t much work to do. I get tired and long to get busy always.

I’m saying we are designed always to work or be engaged in something, or else we may even lose our minds. And the primary work we were designed to do that will give us fulfillment is that of the kingdom.

Maybe religiously following a growth routine isn’t bad after all.

Maybe it is better to have a supposed ‘religious’ growth routine than to have none at all. Also, at this time, I no longer think that a growth system where anything goes will produce the desired results.

I do not think routine is the problem.

I think losing the routine's purpose is the problem. It becomes mere repetitive tasks when we no longer do them intentionally but for the sake of doing them.

And that’s one of my fears: doing things for the sake of it.

So how do I maintain consciousness in my routines and make sure I always do what I do from a place of intentionality? ALWAYS? I don’t like to do things just because they should be done or because that’s what we all should be doing. I like to know WHY I should do the things I do. I’d rather not do anything than do something without understanding the WHY.

I believe that’s a true growth process. It doesn’t make sense to me if I don’t have an understanding of the WHY of what I’m doing. That’s the same way some religious routines don’t make sense to me.

Then something called “God’s word,” written in a book called the Bible, comes to tell us to do this and that because of this and that.

Now there is something called belief. We all submit to the Bible because we believe it, not because at first we even understood all the WHYs. Maybe we didn’t understand at first, but we believed all the same, and we began following the book.

Now this is where our trouble begins. We heard what the book said, and it went to our heads, just the same way we heard that 2+2 is 4 and it went to our heads. Does anyone ask WHY 2+2 has to be 4?

Oh well, we also heard a lot of things that we simply believed, not because we understood them. But while the effects of the educational information we heard and head-believed may not have much impact on our well-being, the same cannot be said about the information we heard about our life, emotions, needs, etc. These things have a greater effect on our well-being than the outcome of a mathematical equation.

So when we heard that someone called “God” loved us and wanted to take care of us and be with us and save us. Our head received this information, but we didn’t really understand what they meant, and because these things (love, peace, needs, emotions, etc.) have a greater impact on our lives here on earth, we begin to suffer when we don’t get or receive what we have been promised.

And from this point, the search for meaning and peace and joy begins …

If what we have been told is not forthcoming, we must find them somehow, somewhere, anywhere. And for those who still somehow trust in this God, we begin to look for understanding more in the book. We begin to listen to those who say they have found answers. And it is often a long and difficult journey. And I have no idea WHY it should be hard.

It is this continuous learning for the purpose of understanding that forms our routine. Seeing how much ground is left to cover and how we want to be “free” so quickly, we cannot but follow a religious routine.

It’s a long journey.

Maybe religiously following a growth routine isn’t bad after all. Maybe it is better to have a supposed religious growth routine than to have none at all. Also, at this time, I no longer think that a growth system where anything goes will produce the desired results.

So, as you keep at it. Don’t lose sight of the purpose of your routines.

If you find out that you no longer seek understanding but the emotions and shouts and amens and reels of the moment, then you should revisit the purpose.

Maybe you didn’t have a purpose initially. Then you haven’t begun your journey yet. Yours will come. Don’t push it.

The summary of my long talk is that routines are not bad; only be sure that you don’t lose sight of the purpose. And if you don’t have a purpose for doing what you’re doing....

I don’t know what to say to you.

A friend sent me a YouTube video of a woman debating Dr. Zakir Naik on the deity of Jesus and asked for my opinion. The following is part of my response.

The woman did not appear to engage sincerely; the argument felt ungrounded. Dr. Zakir, in my view, effectively dismantled her points. However, the central issue, as I see it, is the challenge of translation—Greek and Aramaic renderings of the biblical texts. I often wish I could read Greek and Aramaic directly and access the original manuscripts myself.

The reality is that we cannot be absolutely certain that every translation we rely on is fully accurate. We are dependent on texts that have passed through linguistic and historical filters, and those filters introduce uncertainty.

At present, I cannot confidently assert absolute certainty about the Bible’s textual accuracy. And when pressed to prove the Bible without using the Bible itself, there is no external standard that can fully validate it independently. In that sense, much of this rests on faith.

There was a time I wrestled deeply with this. I could not externally prove the accuracy of Scripture. All I had was the text itself affirming its own authority.

At this point, the only thing I can personally affirm with certainty is a sense of oneness with the Father—what I understand as oneness with God.

This is not something I can empirically prove to another person. It is something understood through what I describe as the concept of essence.

Over time, I arrived at a position where I had to simply accept, by faith, that the Bible is reliable until proven otherwise. Otherwise, we are left in perpetual uncertainty.

Greek, translation, and key texts

My reference to learning Greek and Aramaic stems from passages such as John 1:1:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

In the Bible app I use, “Word” is rendered as Logos, and “God” as Theos.

This gives the reading:

In the beginning was the Logos, and the Logos was with Theos, and the Logos was Theos.

From this interpretation, the Logos (understood as Jesus) is identified with Theos (God).

However, I have also encountered arguments suggesting that the second usage of “God” may carry a qualitative sense—“divine” or “godly.” If that is the case, the meaning shifts significantly. The difficulty is that without direct access to the original linguistic and grammatical context, certainty becomes elusive.

It is possible that translators introduced nuance, or alternatively, that modern interpretations are misreading the original intent. There are multiple plausible outcomes, which makes absolute certainty difficult.

“One” and the question of unity

Another frequently cited passage is John 10:30:

“I and my Father are one.”

The Greek word used for “one” is heis. Even here, interpretation is not straightforward. The term may not imply numerical identity in the way modern English suggests.

What is clear, however, is the reaction of the Jewish audience:

“He not only broke the Sabbath but was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” (John 5:18)

This indicates that the claim “God is Father” was understood as an assertion of equality with God.

The Greek term translated “equal” is isos, which can carry the sense of being alike, comparable, or sharing the same qualities.

From this perspective, the argument becomes one of shared essence or shared attributes rather than simplistic identity.

Sonship and shared nature

Jesus referring to God as Father carries significant theological weight. In essence language, a son shares the nature of the father.

John 3:16 states:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…”

If sonship implies shared nature, then the Son participates in the same category or essence as the Father.

An analogy often used is that of a lion and its offspring: both belong to the same category, though differing in maturity. In the same way, distinction may exist in role or expression, while nature remains shared.

From this perspective, the concept of believers being “sons” introduces another layer of participation in divine relationship, though not necessarily equivalence in function or maturity.

Unity in prayer and glory

John 17:3 states:

“That they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

The structure of this statement raises interpretive questions about distinction and unity between “God” and “Jesus Christ.”

Similarly, John 17:5 adds:

“Glorify Me in Your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.”

This suggests a shared glory prior to creation, which raises further questions about pre-existence and identity.

John 17:22 continues:

“The glory You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one as We are one.”

Here, unity is extended further—not only between Father and Son but also between believers and that same unity.

Conclusion

Ultimately, much of this discussion returns to a central tension:

We can construct strong internal arguments for the deity of Jesus from the biblical text itself. However, absolute certainty about meaning is complicated by translation, linguistic nuance, and historical transmission.

Without direct access to original manuscripts and full linguistic mastery of Greek and Hebrew, there remains an interpretive gap.

For that reason, faith becomes unavoidable.

At the same time, belief should remain flexible and open. It is possible to hold conviction based on current understanding while remaining willing to revise that understanding if clearer insight emerges.

Until then, belief rests on what is presently understood, not on final certainty.

Your frustration

Your tiredness

Your despair

Your confusions

Your uncertainties

Are all part of the way of discovery.

Imagine what humans spend their time doing on this planet.

Imagine all the money and resources and innovations and discoveries that go on around you.

Imagine all the times you could just surrender to the way things have been made to be and just allow your heart to rest.

You pass through several routes till you discover your unique identity.

While they may not look like it, you’d still need to pass through them to find just you.

And when you reach that point where nothing else makes sense, you’ll realize that most humans are just trying to stay busy, masking the real questions in their hearts.

A preacher once said, “Humans marry, humans work, and humans do business.”

If you look at that from a certain perspective—especially when you step out of the matrix—you’d see it as if a giant genie, with all the power and time in his hands, just wanted to have some fun, so he created all of this for his amusement.

Delayed gratification now looks like a key ingredient that keeps us pursuing something. The rule is simple: “Keep the end goal out of reach so they remain occupied.”

Have you ever visited a prison?

Why do you think prisoners are often given labor and work shifts during their sentences?

Some reasons are to instill discipline, but many are simply to help the prisoners remain sane. If they woke up daily to just stare at their cell walls, they could lose their minds—go rogue, fight, cause trouble, and disturb the warders.

So, they give them tasks to keep them busy.

This world is like our cell.

We are trapped if you really think about it.

I mean, can you leave this reality to see what lies beyond it? Of course not. So, we’re trapped in the maze, and all we have is our mind.

We work, eat, survive, and pray to avoid losing our sanity.

That’s why even the super-rich never stop chasing money, despite having more than enough.

If you think you’ll stop chasing money once you have plenty, you’d be surprised. One breakthrough motivates the next. One achievement pushes you to climb even higher.

Until you become so wealthy that you start seeking other realms beyond Earth. It’s not really about caring for Earth’s extinction—you simply need something to keep doing because you can’t wake up every day and stare at the ceiling.

So, if you hear someone say they want to pause certain things in life until they make lots of money, advise them that that point never comes.

This is why God was equated with Mammon—because money and achievement can perfectly substitute for God in our lives.

The constant pursuit will keep you so engaged that you won’t realize life is slipping away until you’re on your deathbed, reflecting that you spent your life chasing money without truly understanding why.

Imagine if you didn’t have to work for money—what would you be engaged in?

Life becomes meaningless when we pause and think outside of the maze.

Only the One who created all of this can give it meaning.

Think solution always.

Life responds to solutions, not problems. Yes, everything is solution-based. You’re getting paid because you’re offering a solution to a problem somewhere.

Nobody is getting it easier; if you see anyone who seems to have things working for them “easily,” it is because they have done something you’re not doing or you have not done.

How well do you step out of yourself and analyze situations and things?

Practice self-projection. Project your thoughts and issues, and view them as another person, then ask, if you were to advise someone in your shoes, what would you tell them?

People want to live without stress; that’s why intentional living is hard

Let’s understand what intentional living is.

That’s what Wikipedia says.

I simply call it living consciously.

That’s why anyone who says they stopped all sinning the instant they got born again is not being sincere.

When you get born again, your consciousness that sin is wrong is heightened and empowered, not awakened. Man has always known what was right or wrong.

So, from this empowered consciousness, you begin to edit your subconscious. Removing what is wrong and inserting what is right with your already

Humans don’t actively live from their consciousness but from their subconscious. Our steps, actions, behavior, etc., most of the time stem from what has been stored in our subconscious.

That’s why it’s easy for us to retaliate, do bad, curse, or do other negative things that humans do. Even for believers, we still have these negative things in our subconscious.

This is what is called transformation. And because the system of the world is against our belief as believers, the Bible is the only healthy book that should be used.

It is not only the Bible that transforms. Transformation can occur positively or negatively.

When you consistently expose your mind to the wrong things, with time you’d experience “transformation” in the direction of those negative ideas and thought patterns.

He doesn’t act well “consciously” because in his “subconscious” a reprogramming, that is, transformation, has taken place.

So he “discovers” that his first responses to things are not planned, yet they are positive and godly responses.

So, a believer truly begins to bear the fruits of the spirit, in other words, live out the life of the spirit effortlessly when he has been transformed “in his subconscious.”

This way, he doesn’t premeditate to act well before he acts. His mind has been trained and taught to act out good.

And since we are wired to live from our subconscious, this becomes his “natural” state of living, and we can look at him and say he’s living like Chris, and we can call him Christlike. This is truly who a Christian should be.

Not just someone who goes to church or is born again, but someone whose mind has been transformed and who subconsciously lives like Christ.

In its truest sense, someone who just got born again today, in reality, is not yet a Christian because the word “Christian” is NOT a description of a destination but of a journey.

It is when such a one journeys in his newfound faith and begins to “live like Christ” that he is truly a Christian.

Before the disciples were called Christians, what were they referred to as? They were called believers because they believed in Jesus. That was their “name.” But it was the way they lived their lives that made people refer to them as Christians.

So back to intentional living.

Remember how we started this talk, living a solution-based life? Dwelling on what should be the solution to a particular issue and not on the issue itself.

Then I said, you should train your subconscious to always think of a solution and not dwell on a problem.

Intentionally push, beat, pull, and drag yourself to not worry or dwell on problems, but always ask and focus on what the solution should be.

This way you’d live above making excuses. You’d be more solution-oriented than excuse-oriented. And you’ll see more results in your life.

As I said earlier, nobody is getting it easier. Learning to live this way may seem difficult, but that’s the only way to make sense. Cos these excuses people give here and there, if you carefully examine them and yourself, you’d see that, honestly, we don’t really make sense.

So, as you continue living intentionally, that is consciously, you’re actually training your subconscious. A time would come when you’d stop intentionally trying to think of solutions instead of excuses; it would come naturally.

This is where those who have paid the price of intentional living currently are, and we envy them and think they’re having it easy. When we train ourselves through intentional living, the goal is usually subconscious living.

And until this point, it never comes easily.

It’s why most people who have results may not be able to understand why people are lazy.

They’ve left that state of mind for so long that they no longer have the record of what it means.

So, in all, stop complaining about the economy, your family, your body, your weakness, academics, etc., and begin to think, “How do I study better? How do I earn better? How do I ensure I’m always strong and healthy?”

It is only when you begin to ask these questions and shift your mind to these things that you’d begin to see suggestions, tips, counsel, etc., on how to better your life; for as long as you keep whining and crying, you’d always be blind to solutions.

Humans are intrinsically masters at masking.

A baby cries when he is hungry or wants to sleep. Crying serves as a means of communicating this desire. Crying “masks” the baby’s true intentions. I am using this analogy strictly for this context. There are medical studies to show why a baby has to cry to communicate intentions.

Someone who doesn’t understand the cries of a baby may begin to pet or probably try to sing the child to sleep when, in reality, the child needs to suck. But the baby doesn’t stop crying, no matter how soothing the pet or sweet the lullaby is.

It takes a skilled mother to look beyond the cry and understand what the baby truly wants.

In the same way, humans communicate their intentions through various masks.

A victim of rape or other cruel forms of trauma may communicate their need for healing by becoming abusive themselves. They may develop hatred for the other gender and believe this is how they get closure. But in essence, they’re saying they need help and want to be loved and healed from their past traumas.

Some people may be pursuing money; you would think they really want to help people so that they could live better lives. If we genuinely JUST want to live better lives, why do we not STOP when we already have enough?

They told us in primary school that the needs of man are INSATIABLE.

The question is, WHY? Why can’t man be satisfied? Why do we KEEP seeking power, fame, wealth, and influence, such that no matter how much we have, we are never satisfied?

WHAT ARE WE REALLY LOOKING FOR?

Why do politicians hoard money that their 5th generation may not even be able to exhaust?

What was the quest for money really?

You want to become a millionaire; you achieve that, and next, you want to become a billionaire. You achieve that and then don’t even know what else to do with your life.

What were you really pursuing?

Someone might want money so badly; meanwhile, what they are really looking for is a way to mask the inferiority and the hollowness they feel in their soul.

If you give money to such a person, you’ve not solved their problems. You’ve only removed one of the masks.

And guess what? He will replace it with another mask. And the search CONTINUES.

This is often the point where religious people say, JESUS is enough for me.

Come on, stop lying. We both know you don’t even UNDERSTAND what you’re saying.

Jesus CANNOT be enough for you because you’re a Christian. He can only be enough for you when you learn and grow in knowledge and control of your human INSATIABLE desires. It’s not a confession.

Someone can build a whole company, start a big business, begin a huge platform or brand, or even learn a skill just to mask a feeling. This is how powerful our feelings are.

ANYTHING YOU DON’T DO FROM A PLACE OF PEACE AND TRANQUILITY IS A MASK OF SOMETHING ELSE UNDERNEATH THAT ACTION.

It is not the action itself that may be wrong; it is what’s driving it.

Money and wealth are not wrong, but what is sponsoring your craving and energy to get wealth? What drives you so madly to learn that skill and begin that brand?

In this kingdom, intentions are EVERYTHING.

In the real sense, none of these external things can give us the peace that we seek within. We can only live from the inside-out when we discover US.

It is in discovering YOU that you live from your SOURCE, where there is no mask.

To tell the identity of a thing, you have to look at its origin or source.

You don’t know YOU because you’re a Christian. You don’t know yourself because you’re intelligent, smart, successful, or influential.

You can be all of those and yet have no CLUE who you are.

To begin the journey of knowing YOU is to travel to your SOURCE.

For instance, to better understand what a word means, we often go to its etymology.

As a case study to understand the word “philosophy,” we need to know that it is a Greek word coined from two words, “philos,” meaning “loving,” and “sophos,” meaning “wise.”

These two Greek words were combined to give “philosophy” its meaning.

These two words are the SOURCE of the word “philosophy.”

You can’t talk about philosophy in isolation from its source.

“Philosophy is its source. Its source is philosophy.”

You had to get the “identity” of this word by going back to its origin or source or ESSENCE.

This same rule applies to everything else. To understand a human’s identity, you must go back to his origin or ESSENCE.

Everything functions from its ESSENCE.

And plugging back to your SOURCE does not mean to be born again or to be a Christian.

There is a reason why I’m always saying this. Because many believers just like deceiving themselves. They are content to think that just believing in Jesus is ALL THAT THERE IS. Farrrrr from it. You can be a dutiful believer and yet not “PLUGGED to your SOURCE.”

For us humans, our source is our creator, God.

You CANNOT understand your essence outside of God.

Rich, poor, president, Asian, Black, red, white, celebrity, politicians, Christians, Muslims, Hindus—you CANNOT understand YOU outside of your SOURCE, unless you believe you fell out of nowhere, and even nowhere is in itself “something” and still has an essence.

Understanding your identity through your SOURCE is the only way to do this.

Doing this is easy. Jesus told us we could directly go to the Father (our source) through him.

So, for the believer, we can go directly to the Father and understand him.

Things have even become more effortless. God has moved men to document the knowledge about him in the Bible.

Reading God’s word naturally helps us understand the Father, and understanding the Father is understanding ourselves because he is our ESSENCE.

He is us. We are Him. When we read about him, in truth, we are reading about OURSELVES!

Yes, “we are God” because of ESSENCE!

A cup of water fetched from the ocean is NOT less water than the ocean itself. They’re both WATER!

You may argue this because of the limitation of our minds and, yes, our results versus our expectations. But remember that knowing God as God will take several layers of transformation in our thoughts, minds, and beings.

It only takes longer for this reality to crystallize in our minds depending on our commitment to our transformation.

If we spend more time in his word, in meditation, studying, and understanding the Father, then the whole process becomes faster for us.

Do you remember the story of the eaglet who lived among the chickens and one day realized it wasn’t a chicken? The eaglet then begins to understand that she is not a chick but an eagle, and therefore she is designed to be high in the air and not on land.

Of course, she won’t automatically begin to fly upon that realization. She has to reject and unlearn all the chicken mentality she has had for years and begin to learn how powerful her wings are.

As she keeps practicing, soon, she will leave the chickens and begin to soar in the sky. She will then begin to learn not to feed as the chickens do. It will take time for her feeding habits to change to what they should be originally.

It is this period of transformation, of waiting, that most believers can’t sit through. Their impatience drives them to begin to mask who they are through several desires and cravings.

The process is always painful, but the end is worth all the wait.

Romans 8:18 — “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will give us later.”

That peace and glory you seek are all found in your identity as you journey in transformation to discover the God in you and the you in God.

No amount of physical achievement or success can give this.

I grew up in a local assembly that practiced huge segregation to a fault.

We learned isolation both by indirect and direct indoctrination. We always saw ourselves as better than people from other churches, not to mention unbelievers.

It is not clear if the church intentionally taught this or if this segregation spirit was an offshoot of wrong teaching. A lot can be learned when you hear wrongly.

It was so bad that this isolation mentality trailed me everywhere. Even in my days in the higher institution, I barely made any friends. Even among fellow believers, it was difficult to mingle.

Some people know how to remain in the middle—not here, not there. For someone like me, I’m only in fully or totally out. So my experience may differ from some other people who also had a similar background to mine.

Well, things have changed a lot today.

Most young people from the church now care very little about isolation and segregation from other believers. No, I don’t think they blur the lines on their convictions, but I will say they’re beginning to understand the gift of the body more. This should not be a surprise, though. The founder himself has broken out of some very age-long segregating mindsets.

But that’s not the reason for this write-up.

While studying Colossians 1 today, I found something very interesting.

Paul commended the Colossian believers because of their faith in Christ Jesus and LOVE for ALL of God’s people (Colossians 1:4).

On a random reading, this verse wouldn’t pass for much, but in meditation, I began to see the carefulness in those words.

‘LOVE for ALL of God’s people.’

Didn’t Paul know that among this ‘ALL of God’s people,’ there might be some people who may not understand God’s word perfectly and hence should have warned the Colossians to separate themselves?

We know Paul was big on falsehood and those who peddled errors in the body. He taught extensively what should be the believer’s response to such persons.

We should not shy away from correcting errors when we see them. It is a collective duty for every member of the body.

But the belief that you’re better than everyone else and that you have no need of them, thus separating yourself from them, will never make sense to me.

A true proof that you’re learning accurately and also growing rightly is a deep love for ALL of God’s people.

If you find yourself in a place where you have little regard for other people not from your denomination, I think and believe that you have a very serious problem.

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. Romans 8:18

This chapter opens with a hopeful statement about the reality of the believer’s life - because of the work of Christ, there is no penalty for sin to the believer (vs. 1).

Further in the chapter, Paul explains the conflicts between the believer whose mind is not yet transformed, and so he still thinks from his “natural” consciousness. He does not yet have the consciousness of the holy spirit dwelling in him, so he lives below his true state.

Paul says such a one will experience death or ruin or corruption. This is not a physical death (though I’m not sure if it is excluded because when the mind feeds from the natural, he can make wrong choices that can result in physical death), but it is a decline in fellowship with the father.

The more you let your limited senses rule you, the more you see less of your true self and identity in Christ.

Towards the 17th verse, there is a promise that as heirs of God’s glory, we will share in Christ’s glory, but not only that, we will also share in his suffering.

Verse 18 assures us that this suffering we will share in is in no way comparable to the glory that we will receive!

Do you realize your suffering and weaknesses are not out of place?

The same way the created universe is in pain and misery from the fall, that’s the same way the believer is in pain, hoping to be free (vs. 22-25).

Yes, God knows this, and he understands us when we don’t even understand ourselves anymore.

When we have tried everything and are tired, he understands what we feel.

He didn’t leave us without help.

And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

(vs. 26).

The part where the Holy Spirit helps us in prayers is just AN EXAMPLE of the many ways the Spirit helps our weaknesses.

What are the other ways?

You’d find out as you rely upon and trust him in your walk with him.

If we don’t retain this consciousness and turn to the Spirit that dwells IN US, we won’t know how to get help.

Stop looking above or outside for help.

Stop looking at the world and the news for help.

All you need is right there within you!

Your belief is your reality.

This means a person’s life is what he believes.

You cannot separate people from their beliefs. Their beliefs are not a part of them. It is them.

You are your belief.

You cannot be someone having this other belief. Your you is actually the same as your belief.

Your you is in “existence” because of your belief.

People’s beliefs are their life, the type of work they do, the type of friends they have, the type of place they live, the type of dress they wear, what they say, how they act, where they live, what they eat, their moods, their successes and failures.

People are their beliefs.

So when Abraham believed God, he became righteous not really because he was “given” the nature of righteousness as a consequence of believing, no, he became righteous because he BELIEVED God.

In other sense, his life became God.

Remember, your belief is your life. So believing in God means God is now your life, and since the nature of God is righteousness, it is normal for him to have the same nature.

This is the same thing that happened to us.

When we believe in God, we don’t “have” God’s nature as an added thing to our lives, but our very life itself is God.

You can imagine how strange it is for us to think we are any different or less righteous, holy, or powerful than God is.

We are the same as God in all respects.

We are not different from him.

You become in all respects what you believe.

Now, belief is not a mental confession.

You don’t believe because you say I believe.

It is a conviction that you can die for. It is far deeper than mere confession.

It took Abraham a lot of convincing before he could really believe in God, and that was when he became God.

The same applies to us today.

We are all in the process of believing.

As we keep learning more about God, our belief becomes deeper, and more conviction is born. This is what transformation is - a deeper level of belief.

You can verbally say you believe in God, but the true state of our belief shows in how we trust and obey him.

As we journey, we will get to that place as Abraham did, where he concluded in his heart that even if he killed his son Isaac, God could raise him from the dead.

Why?

Because God had already told him previously that Isaac is the son of promise.

At that point of belief, Abraham knew Isaac could NEVER DIE.

It wasn’t a mental confession. He had already been persuaded beyond doubt.

So, is it really true that you believe in God?

Only your life (which is the same as your true belief, not the one you say with your mouth) can answer that.

We are all just at different levels of belief.

Canonisation is still ongoing today.

Scriptures are still being written. Doctrines are still being formulated today.

The apostles formulated what we call Doctrines from the Old Testament and from the life of Jesus. Others, like the apostle Paul, got some of their teachings from the Old Testament and also by ‘revelation.’

The practice of men writing God’s will and laws has not stopped.

This is being done today in the form of books and materials.

The apostles wrote letters to churches and to believers, and these were what were selected and canonised to be called the Bible today.

Today, men are still writing (not letters now), but books. Today, we read the Bible and draw out inspiration and document it.

This was the same way men of old read the Old Testament and drew out doctrines.

The only difference now is that there may not be another canonisation today by a group of select few.

But every believer would practice personal canonisation, group canonisation, and even collective canonisation as a local church or community.

This is already ongoing even if a label has not been attached to it.

When you read the book of a man, it’s as though the early believers were reading apostle Paul’s letters.

You can know if what was written was an error or truth from the foundation that has already been laid in the written scriptures.

How do you think the typical Jew will feel when the apostles of old wrote letters containing God’s instructions, and it wasn’t the scrolls or the Old Testament texts?

The words of the prophets were their guide for years. It was such an error for anyone to bring something else that was not Moses’ law.

You can wonder how they felt Jesus was crazy when he taught something new that they hadn’t heard before.

Jesus was committing treason in their eyes.

How dare anyone say something other than what was written in the law?

Imagine how they felt. If you can’t imagine, then think about how you would feel if someone came today and said he or she wrote some other scriptures apart from the New and Old Testaments.

How do you see such a person?

Even if what he wrote is in accordance with the scriptures, by calling it scriptures, you’re already put off.

Because to you, there can’t be any other scriptures today except those that we already have.

That was the same way the Jews felt when Jesus and the apostles taught something not directly the same as Moses’ law.

Were the Jews wrong? Yes.

Apostolic scribes would rise. Men will (and are already) still read the old and new texts and formulate doctrines for the growth and edification of the body, today and in years to come.

No, all that we have is not all that there is.

The wolf we sometimes cry about people taking our values or worth for granted is not really our value or worth that is being threatened, but our pride and ego.

Most value-centric statements that argue that people should value us are a subtle way of trying, by all means, to protect our pride and feel secure.

Why should anyone not want their ego or pride protected in the first place?

There is one big reason: unending validation.

Unending validation is when we constantly look outside to feel better and act better.

If we pursue ego and pride protection at all costs, then we are terribly insecure.

When we are insecure, we feel constantly miserable, and to feel better, we look for external validation to help us save face.

But one validation cannot suffice for the myriad insecurities we feel on a daily basis. So we keep seeking validation so that we can keep feeling good about ourselves.

This is what I termed unending validation.

Why is unending validation bad?

One reason unending validation is bad is that it makes us unnecessarily vulnerable and exploitable.

If we fall into the hands of manipulative people who get wind that we feed on external validation to feel right, they can exploit this weakness in so many ways.

For instance, they can give us what we are dying for (the validation) and turn leeches.

You won’t be able to push them away because they make you feel good, even if you don’t like how parasitic they are.

They make you feel good, and in return, milk you dry. An unnecessary ‘win-win’ situation if you ask me.

They can milk your resources, your ideas, your emotions, etc. And rightly so, after all, they’re meeting your most important, albeit unnecessary, need.

So, if you are very value-conscious and you’re always sticking out your nose to fish out those around you who do not discern your value, maybe, just maybe, you’re very insecure, and you’re trying to protect your pride and ego at all costs.

Those who are very valuable do not have time to recognise who doesn’t see their value. They just keep churning out value, for in getting to that height of value, they have learnt that their emotions and feelings are not based on who recognises their value or not.

In other words, their value first of all changed them.

I live in the city.

There are always moving cars, horn blasts, and crazy people.

Ọgọ always said, “I wonder why anyone would want to stay amid such chaos.”

Now that I remember her wrinkled face, staring deeply into mine with peace and tranquility, I could feel her pulse rise and fall beneath my hands.

It was like I was there with her again, holding hands, staring into each other’s faces, and talking.

The day she was buried, Tanke cried his eyes out. It was as though she had left an indelible imprint on him.

Even when we were ready to head back to the city, Tanke unpacked his bags and silently carried them back inside the creaking house. He wouldn’t return to the city with us.

Ọgọ not only left an imprint on him; she went with his mind and gave him hers.

He walked quietly, spoke slowly to himself, and nodded in affirmation. At first, we were afraid he was going crazy. But with time, we realized that something had happened to his mind.

He fell in love with the peace and quiet of the village. The smell of dried leaves and fresh water from the streams made him glow.

The fine sand, singing birds, and playing dogs always left a nostalgic feeling in him, one he would never get over anytime soon.

Who chooses a village over a city? Well, Tanke did.

But he was the only brave one among us. He loved his roots. He never called anyone evil. He had a pure heart and an innocent look. He smiled when you abused him, and he never took things to heart.

I don’t know if it was his closeness to home that made him so natural or his fondness for family and roots.

Twenty years later, many of us in the city had lost ourselves.

The struggle to survive had ripped the good away from us. We cursed more than we blessed. We defrauded, cheated, and lied.

As the sun beat down on us, it took not just our sweat; it took our hearts as well.

So once in a while, I would go home to Tanke. I would sit with him in the shade and listen as he spoke.

His soul was untouched by the myriad debris the city offers.

His words were pure, kind, and wise.

He didn’t have the big houses and cars we had, but he was truly happy. He always looked fresh and calm. His smiles were genuine, and like early morning palm wine, they never ceased to refresh my soul.

We had what we wanted, but we lost our naturalness and simple human values—the very things Tanke drank and dined with.

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What price are you paying for the things you’re chasing?

When your smiles become a means to get something.

When your affections are no longer genuine but tools for access.

What price are we paying for the kind of life we want to live?

When “hello, dear” is no longer a term of affection but something to scrutinize and suspect.

Culture is rapidly giving us definitions and, taking along with it our souls, and we are applauding.

What have we turned into?

What have we become?

When relationships are about what is there for you, not what you can give to another.

Humans, what have we done to God’s earth?