Brighter Life Ministry

Daniel  6:3 Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.  6:4 Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.  Having an excellent spirit is to be the outstanding and extraordinary person that God has created you to be Daniel’s story begins in scripture when King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded and conquered Judah and captured Jerusalem, taking part of the vessels of gold and silver that belonged to the temple and placed those same sacred vessels in the temple of his own idol gods.  As a young teenager,  Daniel and many of his friends were all taken to Babylon as captives, to be trained in the ways of the Babylonians and become personal servants to the King. Right from the start of the story we are giv

Malachi  3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. According to the law, a tenth of the produce and livestock was to be given to God for the sustenance of the levites. Levites are the tribe which the Lord commanded never to work but but to be priest to him continually. In other to provide for their  sustenance   God commanded all other tribe to feed them through the tenth of their proceeds. The people were robbing God in that they were not giving that which was required by the law. During the days of Haggai, the land was suffering from drought because the people were being indifferent concerning the reconstruction of the temple. The same situation prevailed because the people were being stingy in their offerings. They were consuming the tithes and the offerings on themselves, rather than bringing it to the temple for the priest. God did not and do not demand tithes and offering from those who do not work, neither

1 Corinthians  3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?  3:17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. A temple is a religious building that's meant for worshipping or praying. God's temple is a place of God's dwelling, a place that house the presence of God where worship is done.  Tabernacles were the first place of sacrifice to God, where a priest would conduct sacrifice and offerings on behalf of the people. But latter in their journey with God, He instructed Solomon to build a temple where people can gather for worship where God himself will dwell.  As Christ has sacrificed himself through the unconditional love of God which brings us salvation, the temple of the living God is then  extended from temples made with hands to the heart of men.  Isn’t it very wonderful to think that God’s presence is in each of us? It is the most marvelous reality of the

Ephesians  5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. God's action toward man was the result of love, therefore we love Him because He first loved us. No love can any man give to another greater than the love that made God to offer His only son as a sacrifice for the redemption of humans. Whatever God establishes, Satan will counterfeit. Where God establishes true love, Satan produces counterfeit love. Counterfeit love characterizes Satan’s children, those who are of the world, just as true love characterizes God’s children, those who are citizens of heaven.  In contrast to godly, unselfish, forgiving love, the world’s love is lustful and self–indulgent. It loves because the object of love is attractive, enjoyable, pleasant, satisfying, appreciative, loves in return, produces desired feelings, or is likely to repay in some way.  It is always based on the other person’s fulfilling o

Joel  2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.  Sometimes, we as believers in Christ go through difficult years. It’s a period where it looks like nothing much is happening and sometimes as if nothing at all is happening!! It can be a very trying period. We sometimes call them the ‘lost years’. Nevertheless, If we walk close to God during such trying times, He is still in the business of restoring disappointed and damaged periods of our lives and He can bring restoration to our ‘lost years’! The ‘lost years’ would need never to be ‘wasted years’, if we allow God’s restoration and purposes to be accomplished in us. The restoration of God can bring back all that seems lost during the ‘lost years’. Some years we spend with less of no productivity, a time to be engaged and married passes us by, a time to study and earn a degree was lost because if financial in capabili

Isaiah  59:21 As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. Our God is a covenant making God. His covenants are given through his great love for man that was created in God’s own image. From the very beginning we see that God is ever reaching out to draw rebellious people back to right relationship with him. It is never God’s will that anyone should perish. It is God’s perfect will that every man, woman and child, that would ever; and will ever; be conceived into this world should be saved. With God’s love in mind, and his great desire to see all men saved, we can begin to understand God’s covenants and why they were made. The thing that we must always remember is that these covenants were initiated by God and not by man. Sinful man has no power

2 Timothy  2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.  2:4 No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. Without war or  threat from the outside, there won't be a need for a nation to have the services of soldiers to secure its domain. Soldiers are known for  keeping peace, fighting against the enemy and ensuring the security of the citizens.  As a believer in Christ, we are employed as the soldiers of Christ, fighting against the powers of evil and principalities that exist in darkness and higher places. Ephesians  6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Christians are in a spiritual warfare. The devil, the world, and the flesh are real enemies. These spiritual enemies are out to destroy the testimony and effectiveness of the

Philippians  3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; Whenever a celebrity is being talked about, many people would sort to know who the personality is, some people might even carryout a detailed study about the person's life just for the purpose of knowing who he/she is.  Christ is our model, our celebrity whom we Christians chose to believe in, if so then He is what He claims to be, being the saviour, deliverer, powerful and miracle working God, then our greatest desire is to know Him. Every other desire pales insignificance to this one. What is the greatest desire of a Christian? Throughout Scripture, the great men and women of God say that their passion is to truly know Him. Moses says to God: "I pray You show me Your glory" (Exodus 33:18). David prays: "As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God" (Psalm 42:1). And Paul says that his

Ephesians  4:13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: Apostle  Paul says that Christ gave us the apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to build up the body of Christ until we attain the “fullness of Christ.” Scripture uses the word “fullness” to describe a sense of completeness. So the “fullness of Christ” represents growth into the maturity and wholeness of Christ. Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ In talking about the church (the body of Christ), Paul points out that Jesus has equipped people with unique gifts to help the church. And when each of them use

Jeremiah  1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. Before Jeremiah was born, God had chosen him for a special ministry to His people. We assume that he was brought forth for this special ministry to which God set him apart and commissioned him. God formed Jeremiah in the womb; that means he also set the time of his birth. But God goes back before his conception and says, “I knew you even before I formed you.” So, when did God first know him? Even before the foundations of the earth were laid, God knew all about him. God knit him together with just the right ingredients so he would be a vessel that could endure persecution, hardship, and abuse. Just as the creation of Adam was first in the divine plan of God, to be an extension of God's kingdom, to have dominion and rule over all creations He would made. So also God had purposed for you and I even before we w

Isaiah  40:29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.  40:30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:  40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. The strength of man is the state or quality of being physically or mentally strong,  the ability to withstand or exert great force, stress, or pressure.  Some people derive their strength from wealth, riches, wisdom, academic qualification, and some others love affections. But in most situations of life, these sources of strength fail and man becomes weak, and feeble  Joy  becomes sadness, wisdom becomes foolishness, wealth and riches fly away, someone with good health falls sick and bedridden, love becomes shattered and man becomes broken hearted,  And above all spiritually, many fall and become prey in the hands of the devil

Ezekiel  11: 19-20 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:  20. That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. The Children of Israel found themselves in captivity due to their dissonance to God by worshiping idols. Out of God's loving kindness, He promised their return through prophet Ezekiel Upon their return God promised  they would never again give themselves to idols. The spiritual character of the returnees would be different than the rebellious heart of their fathers. They would be totally dedicated to the one God. Their loyalty would never be divided between Him and idols. It would never again be divided between King of the earth and King of the heaven. Part of God's promise to the returnee is the giving of A New Heart “I will give you a new heart ... I will take th

2 Timothy  2:6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. Harvest time is the most joyful time for any farmer who has laboured in the time of planting. It is a time to reap all what has be sowed.  In the same view, God's harvest time is the moment when He reward everyone according to what everyone has planted, be it good or evil.  It is a principle of life that one reaps what he sows. One must not deceive himself into thinking that he can escape the consequences of his behaviour. To think one is to mock God, for God says that we will reap what we sow, not only in this life, but also in that which is to come.  Galatians  6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Men may deceive themselves and one another, however, no one can deceive God. If one sows to spiritual things, he will reap from such. If he sows to the flesh, he will reap what the flesh produces.  A man can sow Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, l

1 Samuel  16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. David was just a little boy and a shepherd overseeing the flock of his father when God's grace located him. Little did he and his brothers know that he would be anointed that faithful day. No one is born by mistake, God has a divine plan for everyone, it is obvious that God already anointed him to be His choice even when Ruth was still  working on Boaz's field.  David was not the only one that's worthy  But he was chosen and anointed for an assignment, he was anointed among his brethren,  Grace and his pure heart  single him out After the anointing done by Samuel comes the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit endued him with wisdom and power, he was not just ordinary shepherd boy, he became an anointed boy full of the spirit of God. It was this spirit that gave him the confidence and

Luke  9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Discipleship in the light of faith is an integral part of the growth of any believer in Christ. It is the process of leading others by example to follow Jesus Christ through obedience to God’s word and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus speaks about counting the cost to be his disciple, he made it clear that following him would cost us our life of ease, our money and our time. To be a disciple of Jesus means we are the salt, the preserving force in this world in which we live in. If we fail to preserve our society for the Kingdom of Heaven then what good are we? No one can ever be self sufficient without going through the tutelage of Christ made available in His words and His servants. the key to success in Christ is the discipline that the Scriptures bring to center every believer in the victorious abundant life that sets you free from the evils

James  1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.  1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:  1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. As we have been saved in Christ Jesus, not by our works but by the grace of God the Father, we become jointed in the fellowship with Him. However, after we believe, God wants us to do many good things. He demands we have more understanding of Him and also to become the doer of His words and commandment One's relationship with God must  pass from an intellectual knowledge of God and His word to behavioural obedience to His instructions Being a doer of the word is the manifestation of one's humble acceptance of God's direction in his life because of the grace of God.  In other words, if there is no obedience, then there is no manifestation of gratitude on the part

Colossians 2:6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 2:7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.  The relationship with God is the most important relationship that any man should desire, God in His mercy desire this too. It made Him create man in His own image, for the purpose of intimacy. As much as satan brought separation between man and God, God never gave up in creating a medium to bridge the gap of friendship between Him and man, this He does by sacrificing His only son to bring man into the state of Spirituality which guarantees an intimate relationship.  Spiritual growth is God's will for our life. But for us to grow, we must first go deep in Christ. There is no short cut to this spiritual growth.  Everything revolves around it. It is the relationship that anchors all other relationships. It is the relationship that affects all of life. It is the only relati

James  4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Literally,  submission is the action of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will and authority of another person.  Submission to God means saying no to your own  purposes, letting go of your desires  and accepting God's  will without question. It may be quite difficult. but submission to God is the best way one can enjoy the fullness of His grace, power and blessings. At the creation of man, God being a supreme being and most powerful demands respect, honour and submission from us whom He has created in His own image. So He gave laws of love to follow so as to remain in His will and Purpose.  These laws were overruled by the devil through Eve and ever since then satan has become our slave master. Since then we have been navigating in the darkness of this world, He took over our thoughts and actions and drives us towards the path of Hell.  But for anyone to be free from the bo

Proverbs  28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression of divine law, it is  any action, feeling, or thought that goes against God's standards. Adam and Eve were the first creation to commit sin against God by disobeying His order.  Sin made them  hide away thinking God would not see them, but God who sees all and knows all prove them wrong when He came down for a visit.  Ever since, man has been struggling with one sin or the other, rising and falling., trying to cover up the wrongs, this was the result of fear, shame of what people will say, the stigma and pride.  Concealing your sin has devastating and dangerous  effects. Any sin that is not confessed or that is excused will certainly invite the anger of a righteous and holy God against such person. The Bible says; “He that covereth his sin shall not prosper.”  Many people do not understand what it means to cove

Ecclesiastes  3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: God in His sovereignty has created everything in this world according to its time and season, the verses in Ecclesiastes  3 express a divine order of things into which one must plug his life in order to enjoy the contentment that comes from knowing that God has all things under control.  Apart from the natural process which God has established in this world  that coordinate man's life which are, a time to be born, a time to die, a time to plant, and a time to harvest etc, so also God  establish spiritual processes which coordinates our life towards His will.  Out of His infinite benevolence after the fall of man, He sent His only son to die for our sin, and by this, man became redeemed back to God from the world of sin.  Anyone who has identified with Christ, to them, God revealed His will to guide and  direct their path according to time and season. As a believer, God  occasionally pr

Matthew  5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. In many years there has been a debate on the stand of the Christians and their relationship with the world. Many are of the opinion Christians who carries the light of God must not have anything to do with the world Others  seek to mimic the world in order to influence it. Church services play secular music,  believers enjoy the same entertainment and wear the same clothes as the world. In this community, it is often hard to tell the difference between Christians and nonbelievers. This is frequently all done in the name of being “seeker sensitive.” But Jesus Christ in His word describes the position and relationship of the church, the believers in the world in. Matthew  5:13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thencef

1 Peter  4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. Christ our saviour had ascended to heaven many years ago, with a promise of coming back to rapture the saint who would remain in the world. His second coming will put an end to this timed world and the begining of eternity  As much as He promised of coming back, no one knows the day or the hour of his coming, not even the angels in heaven, except God the Father himself.  In a way to keep the believers prepared and ready for the day of the Lord, there will be signs of the end of days. This will help believers to keep themselves in checked so as not be found unprepared.  Christ preached about the signs of the end of time to His disciples in Matthew  24:4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.  24:5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  24:6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for

Romans  8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Sometimes we may not see the good that comes from immediate trials and sufferings. Therefore, we must assume  the good that God brings withing our lifetime. God views things from His eternal perspective and it doesn't have to conform with our own sense of reasoning. In fact, it some times  negates our natural understanding about life. everything God created in this world is for His glory and thus, uses them to direct, redirect and channel man's life towards his blessings, glory, destiny, redemption and eternal glory in His kingdom. The promise in the verse above  means that no matter the circumstance, there are only two qualifiers for God to be working all things together for our good. First, He works for “the good of those who love Him.” If you love God, you can trust that He is working for your good. He loves you back, and when we lo

Philippians  2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: Grumbling is the action or fact of complaining in a bad-tempered way, maybe we are not happy in our job. Maybe we are not happy with our marriage. Maybe we are not happy about our family.  Maybe we are not happy with where we live. Maybe we are not happy with how much money we make or how many possessions we have. But listen to what the apostle Paul says. “Do all things without grumbling or disputing.” That is a straight forward command. Everything we do must be done without complaining.  Grumbling is complaining. It is probably one of  most tolerated sin  by Christians. In fact, many of us do not even think of it as sinful because so many people do it. But it is directly disobeying God when we grumble.  When we grumble, we are being like the children of Israel when Moses led them into the wilderness out of Egypt. God judged them severely for their grumbling and complaining. 1 Corinthians 10:9-11 says 9 We must not put

Romans  5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: Justification  means to be made just, right or righteous. That is not man's natu­ral state, as we all know. The Bible says: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). It is  impossible for anybody to be justified by works or by obedience to the commandments or by doing  good.  Apostle Paul said  “Knowing that a man is not justified [declared righteous] by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified” (Galatians 2:16). Grace is God’s part and the ground of justification, Blood is Christ’s part and the means of justification, Faith is our part and the how of justification The result of our justification through our faith is peace with God. Our peace was once lost in the gar

Isaiah  62:4 Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married. Identity can be said to be  the distinguishing character or personality of an individual, it makes people different from a whole.   All men and women are created in God’s image. Humankind was created to reflect some of God’s attributes. You can look for your identity anywhere, but followers of Jesus are called to find their identity in Him. As man experience the fall through the deceit of Satan in the garden, man has no choice to chose either to be with God, or satan, this then defines identity in this world.  Your true identity is ultimately based on what God has done for you. In the Bible, God tells us often about how He views His people God declares His love for anyone who accept His lordship, never to be far away from the person and even, such be given a new na