WHY CHALLENGE

Why Challenge? Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God… (Hebrews 12:1-14) My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, (Galatians 4:19) When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” (Genesis 17:1-2) Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. (2 Corinthians 13:11) Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. (Philippians 3:1). My beloved, I have chosen to write to you again, stuff that you must have heard me say many times. It may have been at times when we gist or when we were deliberating on matters of life and death. Seeing that we have not been on this journey before, we will be wise if we follow the paths set by the ones who have gone before. We only have one life; all our dreams and aspirations, our hopes, our visions all have a limited time to manifest. Many seek to explain this existence of ours, but only one has stood the test of time. Only the account of the Bible is credible enough for us to follow. How does one explain the fact that the Bible was inspired, written by many authors; people who lived in different generations and yet, all have the same message? God loves us enough to send His Son to die and redeem us back to Himself after we have all fallen short. Many people have gone before us and their account of whom Jesus remains the same. They tell us, no matter what, how or where one day, we will have to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord over all creation. Problem is if we wait till it is too late, we will find ourselves on the wrong side of the divide. I have discovered that this faith in Jesus is the only examination that provides you with victory before you even begin to write. In my high school days, we called it " kronje". Jesus tells you, you will write an exam, but do not fear, He is already preparing the ground. All you have to do is glide through. The Bible provides us with many examples of people like us. They lived like us, faced the same issues, some goofed, and others sailed. Jesus, being the ultimate, comes on the scene and lets us into the secrets of making mincemeat of the devil. He shows us that being perfect is an attainable exercise, even leaves us the Holy Spirit (in my side of the hood, we will refer to him as "amebo") to help us into stuff that we obviously cannot do by ourselves. The best part of the deal is that we have ourselves; we can cheer each other on, hold each other up and compare notes. Truly, life in Christ is a glorious life. Who else provides all that His followers will ever need before they even know about the need. My dear, Jesus is simply too much! As we fellowship with other believers today, know this, you are not alone. Many are walking the same road. Do not let the devil isolate you. Your issues are common. Your God is special; He is all-mighty, all-seeing and all-knowing. Picture Him wrapping His mighty arms around you and telling you: It's ok all will be well. Allow Him to pat you on the back and tell you, well done. Listen to Him; tell you how proud He is of you. Like Him, I love you, and I pray that we will all make Him proud of us. We will arrive as gallant soldiers. Victorious!