Month: January 2026

You know for the first time – I was in difficult situation, and I didn’t know what to say, I just thank God for his wisdom. Sometimes, I write and remember the Scripture: “lest ye preach and be guilty of doing the same thing you preach about.” It’s been overwhelming these days. Pray for me.

Now unto today’s message:

Abram (Abraham), our father in the faith—some call him the father of faith.

Genesis 12:1 tells us:

“The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.’”

This was Abram’s first encounter with the God of Israel. It shows that before the nation of Israel was built on Elohim or Adonai as its foundation and principles, God began by slowly building a relationship with their patriarch, Abraham. This relationship was novel—it was not based on any prior relationship Abram had with his father or ancestors. Later generations—Isaac, Jacob, and the nation of Israel—would build their relationship with God based on Abraham’s encounter.

God told Abraham to leave his family. Abram took nothing but trust in God’s word. At this point, the only promise God gave him was that He would show him a land. Abraham believed God’s words and left his country, his people, and his father’s household. In Genesis 12:7, God kept His promise and showed him the land He would give him.

But notice this: Abraham did not yet know God. He had no prior relationship with God to assure him that God would do what He said—yet he trusted Him anyway. This shows us that trust and faith are not the same. I can trust what you say without fully having faith in you. Faith is a prolonged trust, built on truth, for something we have not yet seen but hope for.

Let me give a scenario. When I was young, we went to an ice cream fair with many flavors—coffee, cream, even mango. My mom told me, “Take any ice cream; all ice cream is sweet.” I believed her because my past experiences with vanilla and strawberry ice cream had been sweet. I had a reason to trust her based on experience. But when I chose mango ice cream, I regretted it.

What I’m saying is this: Abram had little or no reason—by experience—to trust God, yet he obeyed God and left everything: his family and his country, for God (Elohim).

By Genesis 12:10, we can tell that trust alone was not enough to build a relationship with God. Abram acted as carnal mankind would—out of fear. Because he did not yet know God was with him, he told Pharaoh that Sarai was his sister. When trust is all we have, faith will be tested.

Why did Abram sin? He feared. He did not know God. He had only heard from Him. Remember Job’s famous saying: “Previously I had heard of You, but now my eyes see You.” To hear from God and to know God are two different things.

Who showed mercy here? God. It was God’s mercy toward Abram that He chastised Pharaoh for Abraham’s mistake. This incident also began a chain of events that would later result in Israel’s bondage in Egypt for 400 years. In fact, the relationship between Egypt and Israel began here.

By Genesis 13, when Abram came out of Egypt, he was rich in cattle, silver, and gold. But where did this wealth come from—trust in God, or because he gave Sarai away as his sister? Notice: Abram first gave his wife to Egypt as his sister before Sarai later gave Abram an Egyptian maid to bear him a child (Genesis 16:1). See the recurring relationship Abram had with Egypt.

In Genesis 15:1, the first words God says to Abram are:
“Fear not; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.”

God reassures Abram because fear was what caused him to lie. There was famine in the land (lack—“exceeding great reward”), and Abram feared he would be killed because his wife was beautiful (need for a “shield”). Abram did not yet know God as his shield or his provider.

In Genesis 15:1–8, God continues speaking to Abram—this time in a vision. Abram begins to see the word of God. Abram tells God he is childless, and God tells him to count the stars, promising him descendants as numerous as them. Genesis 15:6 says Abram believed Adonai, and it was counted to him as righteousness.

Notice: Abram still had not received the land, nor had he received a child—yet he believed God. There was no visible manifestation, yet Abram held on. Truly, he is the father of faith—holding onto nothing but God’s word.

In Genesis 15:8, Abram asks how he will know he will inherit the land, and God instructs him to offer a sacrifice. God also tells him in verse 13 that his descendants would be strangers in a land not their own for 400 years, referring to the Joseph and Moses era. In verse 18, God makes a covenant with Abram to give him land stretching from Egypt to the Euphrates.

Still, it was only words and a covenant.

In Genesis 16, we see again that belief and trust alone were not enough to sustain faith. Abraham took Hagar, an Egyptian. First, the husband gave away his wife out of fear of death and lack. Then, the wife gave her husband to a maid out of fear of barrenness. Despite God’s promise, Abram faltered and had a child outside God’s will.

It seems that every time Abram’s family faced an issue, Egypt appeared as the solution. No wonder Israel later became enslaved to Egypt for 400 years. Yet, we cannot entirely blame Abraham. It would be miraculous for men to hang solely on faith without sight. Many times, humans need physical evidence. The heart fails from time to time.

By Genesis 17:1, God finally appears to Abram and introduces Himself:
“I am El-Shaddai (the Almighty God). Walk before Me and be blameless.”
This echoes Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:48.

Notice how God calms human fear and then reveals who He is. Even in Genesis 22, on Mount Moriah, before providing a ram, God reveals Himself as Jehovah Jireh. God’s actions reveal His nature. After calming Abram’s fears, He shows Himself as all-sufficient; after providing the ram, He reveals Himself as the Provider. It is suffice to say what makes us righteous is not our deeds we do right, its every time we believe God word above all else the world says and even when our heart fails.

It is as if God is saying, “I withhold nothing from you. I even give My Son in place of yours.” We see here the frailty of human nature and the sufficiency of God. Like the widow’s mite, God reminds us that He has given His ALL.

If He has given His ALL for us, why do we still doubt His sufficiency?

El-Shaddai the ALL SUFFICIENT ONE.

Before we start today’s discussion, I will put these 3 terms on view:

Recompense

• Meaning: To make amends or compensate someone for loss, damage, or harm. It’s usually neutral or positive, focusing on fairness or restoration rather than anger. Used by King David in Psalm 18: 20, 24.

Retaliate

• Meaning: To respond to an attack or harm with a similar action. It’s more active and often implies revenge or self-defense. Seen in Exodus 2: 11-12

Revenge

• Meaning: To harm or punish someone intentionally in return for a perceived wrong. It often carries a strong emotional motivation, like anger or hatred. 2 Samuel 13:28–29 (NIV).

So, we notice that retaliation and revenge are almost the same, except that someone can retaliate out of self-defense and anger, whereas revenge is fueled by hatred and anger.

We see the character of God in Proverbs 24:12, where He says He ponders the heart of man and keeps our soul, and that He renders to every man according to his works, not speech—works. Psalm 18:22–23 explains the judgment of Elohim implicitly: with the merciful He shows Himself merciful; with the upright He shows Himself upright; with the pure He shows Himself pure; and with the froward He shows Himself froward. He explains further in Proverbs 24:29 that we should not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his WORK.” Further backing this up is Romans 12:19: “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”

So, even the killing of Jesus means we find it difficult to tell what is good and evil, right and wrong, righteous and what is not.

The Pharisees, when they wanted to trap Jesus by His words, recited Proverbs 24:23, saying to Him in Matthew 22:15–16: “Master, we know that thou art true (very crafty), and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men” (see also Mark 12:14).

Jesus not only fulfilled the Law, but He also lived it. That is why Paul said, “With my mind I serve the law of God.” In the Old Testament, because of incomplete sanctification—before the blood of Jesus came upon man—it was written: “Thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deuteronomy 6:5). In the New Testament it became, as Jesus said: “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind” (Matthew 22:37, echoed in Mark 12:30–31). This is because the Law is now applied to our hearts, no longer on graven stones that require reminders, but written in the heart of man.

If you study Jesus’ response to the Shema, He uses the words “soul, mind, and strength” in Mark 12:30, while the scribe used “understanding, soul, and strength” from Deuteronomy 6:5, as seen in Mark 12:33. Jesus’ response—“You are not far from the kingdom of God”—shows why our understanding may fail, but our mind, as it is being renewed, will not, because it is inscribed on the doorposts of our hearts.

Why am I saying all this? We go to the story of Moses in Exodus 2. Moses saw his people burdened and thought that by his strength—or might—he would deliver them, so he retaliated, thereby causing harm by killing the Egyptian. In doing so, he lost the right to judge his Hebrew brothers. The truth is, none of us are fit to judge, and the Hebrews were right; yet Moses was still sent to lead his people out of slavery—a deliverer, taking the form of Christ delivering us from the bondage of sin. Was it the right action to cause harm for the sake of justice? No. But his intention to save his people was right, and as the psalmist says, God pondered his heart.

Now we look at Joseph in Genesis 43–44, where he planted the silver cup to implicate Benjamin. Why? Genesis 43:16, 30—the heart of human beings cannot be trusted. Was there any harm done? No. Did he reward his brothers as they had done to him? No. But there was a recompense in order to protect Benjamin, even though he knew his father would worry.

Lastly, we look at Absalom and Amnon in 2 Samuel 13:22. Scripture says Amnon neither spoke good nor bad words, for he hated Absalom, because he forced his sister Tamar. In 2 Samuel 13:28–29, Absalom killed Amnon. The ironic thing is that the son David loved most was Absalom. Absalom’s case was a clear case of revenge.

So why am I saying this? At AFCON, as Proverbs 24:29 says, we should not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me.” This is true. As seen in Mark 12:14, was Jesus honest? Yes—true. He was not a respecter of persons. Jesus spoke justice when He said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s.” But then Philippians 4:8 says: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” This aligns with God’s judgment in Psalm 18:25–26 (note: God’s judgment, not our own justice, which may be flawed).

The AFCON final became a fiasco because Senegal attempted a “Moses” moment after watching what happened to their fellow Africans in the semifinal. Was there fighting and violence? Yes. Did anyone die? No. Was it borne out of hatred? From the Senegalese team’s perspective, it was out of self-defense. Was it right? I think not. Could it have been better handled by the referees? Yes.

While bitterness gives birth to retaliation, we must be careful that it does not grow into hatred and give rise to murder. I am not saying what the Moroccans did was right, but two wrongs do not make a right. Either they should have waited for an appeal to FIFA or CAF after the match, if those bodies are credible, or risk-taking matters into their own hands like Moses. It is difficult to judge, after all— “Who made me a prince or a judge over you?” (Exodus 2:14), echoed by Jesus in Luke 12:14: “Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?”

Is it good to retaliate? Yes or no. If it is out of self-defense, I would say yes; otherwise, out of revenge, no—because Jesus clearly said, “Avenge not yourselves.” Is it honest to side with transgressors? No. Is it just to reflect lies? No. Is it pure? No. Is it lovely to watch teams fight? No. Is it of good report? No.

These are the things I think on.

I watched this video yesterday: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJjKoHut7iE&t=2034s.

I also read Matthew 25, and I had the conviction that I had not been spreading the gospel. Today, something happened that required me to be the bigger person, but I did not want to be. I guess this reflects what Paul says in Romans 7:15: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

Matthew 25 begins by showing us how we ought to prepare for the coming of Jesus Christ, through the parable of the five wise virgins who had extra oil for their lamps. In the next story, Jesus explains what this oil looks like by telling the parable of the talents and abilities.

I like to think of the oil as our talents and abilities. In the Old Testament, oil was poured to signify an anointing that carried the presence of the Ruach HaKodesh, which helped people do exploits. Today, we experience this through the gift of the Holy Spirit, which we are to exercise while we wait for Him.

Jesus tells us that this talent is something we can trade with (Matthew 25:16), and it is also something we can bury (Matthew 25:25). Our abilities are what we use to serve God and to help the least among us—by clothing them, feeding them, and caring for them.

He calls those who use their abilities “righteous,” and those who steward their talents well “faithful servants” (Matthew 25:21). This is what we are meant to do while we wait for the return of the Lord: serve Him with our talents and abilities.

That is why I say, “Call me righteous,” but also confess, “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus; I have no righteousness of my own.”