God wants us to be people of strong character, operating with the character of Christ

Welcome, dear readers to the column of our “Daily word for spiritual strength”! I give thanks to God for each of you and pray that you stay thirsty for the word of God and His wisdom. I pray that you remain hungry for fellowship with God who is the source of our life. As we discussed last time, God wants us to be people of strong character, operating with the character of Christ. Without such character the gifts of the Holy Spirit bear no fruits in and through us, neither does it delivers any satisfaction to us personally. God wants us to have more than anything else a continuous desire to be like Jesus. If God’s desire becomes ours, it will urge us to discover the gifts God has hidden inside of us. These gifts, in turn, will prompt us to serve other people for the purpose of extending His Kingdom with the gifts we received from the Lord. Our gifts grow and develop only when we put them into service. 

• The desire to be like Jesus urges me to seek God’s will in everything. If I only do what I am interested in, then I the Lord and a master of my own life and not Jesus Christ.

Remember, Jesus went to the cross not according to His own will, instead He submitted Himself to God’s will as He follows the instructions from the Father. That is why Jesus said in the garden of Gethsemane as He prayed:”not my will but your will be done”. Jesus said that those who want to fulfil God’s will know what that will is. We cannot manifest or reveal God to others in our body without the Holy Spirit. 

• If I want to be like Jesus, that will lead me to take up my cross and follow Jesus.

 The word “Cross” is telling us about the price we have to pay so that God’s will and not ours will be fulfilled. We pay this price when we step on our flesh, on our ego and submit ourselves to the will of God. A person, who avoids pain while looking for an easy way or short cuts, will never fulfil his or her calling in life. Meanwhile, it’s also important to know it’s impossible to accomplish your calling without the Holy Spirit. The Spirit helps us to pay that price and carry the cross. Having set an eternal goal for yourself you will use all the material things you possess to achieve your goal. Then your life on this Earth will be meaningful and valuable. When I need help I should seek it from the best helper in the world – the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is always waiting for us to ask for His help, because He always has a solution in every situation. This Holy Spirit dwells within us and is with us always. All I need to do is to learn to lean on Him in all situations. Turn to the Holy Spirit with every question you have, He will help you and your life will never be barren. More so, by the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to forgive and love our enemies and manifest Christ in our life. The Holy Spirit also strengthens us in our weakness when we turn to Him for help. He is our Counsellor. The Holy Spirit can manifest His power through us, but we have to be aware of our need of Him. How do you do that? o You must constantly realise the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life – He is with you, He lives in you, because you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. o Always talk to the Holy Spirit, ask Him questions do these things every day. Let not there be a single day in your life without fellowship with the Holy Spirit. o Obey the Holy Spirit and follow His instructions and guidance instantly. o Pray in the Holy Spirit, – in tongues. Allow the Holy Spirit to pray through your spirit. The wonderful results of that is information exchange from Him to your spirit. He will deposit vital information in your spirit. There are few reasons why it’s so important to pray in the Holy Spirit and here are some of them: 

1. My spirit knows more than my mind does, because the Spirit of God lives in my spirit. My spirit can pray for many situations that my mind is not aware of. 
2. Because of the prayer in spirit information exchange takes place – valuable information is deposited in you then comes out as a revelation at the right moment. 
3. By praying in tongues we edify ourselves and strengthen our inner man. 

The bible states that “The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; but a wounded spirit who can bear?” (Prov.18: 14). If your spirit is weak, then you won’t be able to get over your weakness and sorrows. The bible says “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small” (Prov.24: 10). However, when I pray in the spirit, I am strengthening myself and my spirit, and by through that I can go through or bear anything that life throws at me, because then I will be able to hear the voice of God, Who knows everything and is able to do all things! God bless each of you! Rufus Ajiboye, pastor