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Human beings do not have control over their own lives. However, most of us live under the illusion that we do. No one can determine by themselves when they will be born, and neither can anyone determine when they will die. Well critics will immediately point out that in cases of suicide and euthanasia that individuals do determine when they die. The flaw in such scenario is that the individual with hindsight will certainly not choose to put themselves in such hopeless or fatal disease/illness, condition that results in either the loss of the will to continue to live or the physical shutdown of the human body.

Right from Adam, the first man, in whose case, God paraded all living things before him to give them names, to the earliest scientist who identified, classified and organized living and non-living things existing in nature, and down to the modern day scientist, man has always and still preoccupied with bringing order and control to the natural environment in which he finds itself. It is a delusion to think we can control ourselves or our destiny, not to think that we can control others, be they family, friends or strangers, not to talk of controlling or manipulating God. Yes, the preceding sentence is true, we do try to manipulate God, otherwise, why do we make promises or take oaths or vows towards God that if He does something for us, we will do something in return for Him. The case of Jephthah the Gileadite and his daughter, his only child, in the book of Judges chapter 11, is an example of making vows to God. There is nothing we can give the owner of all things, even if we withhold praises and acknowledgement that He is God, Jesus Christ pointed out that stones will shout out His praises, Luke 19:37-40; When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

God is the One who is in control of our destiny, He is the One who determines when we are born and when we exit this physical realm. He knows the end from the beginning, just as the Holy Spirit stated in Psalm 139:15-16; My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Matthew 22:36-40

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

How do you show or demonstrate that you love God? This is a conundrum.

Conundrum can be described as an intricate and difficult problem or a question or problem having only a conjectural answer. It can also be described as a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun. The issue of the greatest commandment being a conundrum lies in the following text from 1 John 4:20-21; Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

Furthermore, Jesus Christ pointed out how this conundrum could rear its head in Matthew 5:43-48; “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Therefore, our neighbour includes and could be our enemy. For somebody to be our enemy, we have to have met them or know about them. Obviously, somebody could be our enemy without us knowing them or having ever met them before, such as on the basis of bias or prejudice. And this could be projected onto anybody that matches our preconceived profile.

Well, even in the case of such strangers, Jesus Christ had something to say about that in Matthew 25:37-48; “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ 40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ 41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ 44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ 45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

In the parable of the good Samaritan, Jesus Christ showed us that religious devotion or working in the “House of God” or temple does not constitute loving God, when a stranger needing help is neglected, in order to go to your house of worship. Luke 10:25-37; On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” 29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[e] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ 36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” 37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

The greatest commandment which is to love God with our heart, mind, soul and body, the God that we can not see, the execution or the practice of this commandment lies in the obedience to or the carrying out of the second most important commandment, that is love your neighbour, even if your neighbour happens to be your enemy. To summarise it all, love everybody, because God is love.

Matthew 6:33;

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

The study of this text spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ, lends to it, the posing of two or three questions, such as:

1. Where is His kingdom?
2. What and or Who is the righteousness of God?

In an attempt to answer the first question, the Scriptures tell us in Luke 17:21; nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst(Or is within you).” An understanding of this could mean that the kingdom of God is in our heart. A further look at the scriptures lends credence to this. In the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 3 verse 11, reads; He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. The Kingdom of God is forever. 1 Corinthians 13:8; Love never fails (NIV). Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! (NLT). God created everything out of love, rescued the works of His Hand because of love, brings life out of death because of love. God’s kingdom or love is forever. And is located in the human heart but is beyond our perception from the beginning of our life to the end of it, and yet this kingdom is forever. An indication of life after death.

The book of Ezekiel, chapter 11, verses 17-20; “Therefore say: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.’ 18 “They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols. 19 I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. 20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. Here we are being informed that getting to the kingdom of God entails certain entry requirements that lies in God’s Hands. God is the One that grants entry, and it is not such that just as every human being having a heart can get to the location of the kingdom of God, there are preconditions and the location is not existing in everyone, it has to be created by God afresh, that is a new heart. This is corroborated in Ephesians 2:8-10; For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Furthermore, John 3:3;5-8; Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So, it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” And in Matthew 22:37; Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ And finally, on the issue of location, Colossians 3:15; Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts (see Isaiah 32:17), since as members of one body you were called to peace. The King reigns or rules in His Kingdom, which is located in new hearts given by Him to men.

This brings us to the next question, which is; what is the righteousness of God? Righteousness means a right relationship with God as a result of justification from sin. What kind of righteousness are we talking about and where does it come from, Paul writes in Philippians 1:11; filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God. And he expounds on this in Philippians 3:9; and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. Being made right with God through Christ enables us to live rightly before Him. The context of this comes from Philippians 3:7-15; But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently that too God will make clear to you.

This brings us to the phrase, “fruit (or harvest) of righteousness”. Proverbs 11:30; The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise saves lives (Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God). Furthermore, in Isaiah 32:17; The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence forever. Part of the preconditions of the kingdom of God is the moulding or training or discipline of the citizens, such as stated in Hebrews 12:11; No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. This is corroborated in James 3:18; Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. However, we have in Amos 6:12; Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plough the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness. The phrase “fruit of righteousness” refers to the righteousness of God implanted in us “through Jesus Christ”, causing acts of practical righteousness to flow out of us.

No man is able to produce fruit by his own unaided efforts. They are fruits that come “through Jesus Christ, for apart from him the disciple can do nothing (John 15:5; “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.) and the end result of the fruit produced is good. This is guaranteed and confirmed by Jesus Christ in Matthew 7:17-18; Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

The Christian life is a supplied life, not a produced life. The Christian life must be supplied by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We cannot manufacture, compose or produce the Christian life for ourselves. Our Lord told us this in John 10:10; The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full. And in John 10:15; just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. After which, the presence of the Holy Spirit in a Christian brings about the continuous experiencing of love which Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19; And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. And in Ephesians 3:17-19; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Such infilling and the results revealed as fruit in people’s life are always to the Glory of and praise of God. Believers’ lives ought to glorify and praise God, for it is by His Grace alone that sinful human beings can obtain righteousness. Believers are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). God is the ultimate purpose of all. Everything mentioned must be to the Glory and praise of God. Philippians 4:20; To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Romans 11:36; For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

The circle must be completed. Fruits descending from heaven must lift their fragrance back to heaven again. The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Matthew 5:16; In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. John 15:8; This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. And John 17:4; I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

Finally, attempting to answer the question: who is the righteousness of God? That is Jesus Christ. This answer is laid out in Romans 3:22-26; This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Furthermore, we were informed in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that; God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. In addition, this understanding goes further in 1 Corinthians 1:30-31; It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” Jesus is the only human being who has ever had perfect faith in God. the faith the Lord demands from us is real faith, not perfect faith, and faith can be real even if it is imperfect faith, still, we are never to be satisfied with imperfect faith but are to seek growth in our willingness to trust God over the course of our lives (2 Thessalonians 1:3; We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.) We can grow our faith through the study of Scriptures, prayer, and the diligent use of God’s other means of Grace.

References: https://sermons.faithlife.com/sermons/36961-fruit-of-righteousness

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/christ-our-righteousness/

There is a question that should be asked, and that is: Why does God loves a cheerful giver?

2 Corinthians:6-11

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”[a] 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

There are times when we ask God for things in prayer and meditation, however when there are delays in answer to our requests, we doubt God, His existence, His ability to hear us, His ability to give us what we ask for and whether He will give us what we ask for, since most, if not all our requests are from our desires which are per definition selfish or from self-interests.

Any true giver gets pleasure and satisfaction in giving, this gives us an insight into the possible answer to the question: why God loves a cheerful giver? Because God Himself gets pleasure in giving to His true children, the ones that seek Him in truth and in Spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ explained in Matthew 7:7-12; “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

There are times when there are delays in answer to our prayers, this may be due to one of the fundamental principles of God’s way of working or operating, such as expressed in the scriptures in Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. Therefore since only God Himself that determines the times and the seasons for everything, including showering of His favours and blessings, not us, we are not the ones who determine when we should get what we ask for, it is the Giver that determines the time of giving, which is then when the receiver gets the gift.

One thing is certain, the Lord hears us when we talk to Him in prayer, this is evident in Psalm 94:9; Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? Obviously, God does hear and see us. Just as our Lord Jesus Christ taught us in Matthew 6:7-8; And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

There is a guaranty that when God decides that something is good for us, then when we ask for it, He will surely give it to us, it is a question of time of materialization or manifestation of the gift or request. According to the scriptures in James 1:17; Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Since God is a giver of good and perfect gifts, therefore when we ask and do not receive, this may be due to the fact that what we are asking is not good for us, or what we are asking for, is based on wrong motives or selfish desires, according to the book of James, chapter 4 verse 3; When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

Given the above considerations, why then were we advised to be persistent or consistent in prayer in Romans 12:12; Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Well this may be due, aside from God’s timing which is perfect, to resistance from spiritual entities that are ineffectively trying to abort God’s plan. Case in point, is that of Daniel when he was trying to figure out how long he and his people would remain in captivity what he was asking from God was information (information is power), not only for himself but also for his people (therefore not entirely selfish, but also for the benefit of others and most important of all for the Glory of God). When we are in a negative territory, or lack or denial of something such as freedom, fruitfulness or material possession; the most crucial commodity in such circumstances is hope, hope in when the reversal of fortunes will take place. In the case here, of Daniel, see the book of Daniel, chapter 10, having the information about the reversal of fortunes gives or is a source of hope. Well, God answered immediately when Daniel started the twenty-one days fasting, however Daniel didn’t receive the answer immediately because of some spiritual entit-y(-ies) who delight in fighting, was thereby delaying Angel Gabriel. Well what did God do, as a result of the faithfulness in prayer of Daniel, God sent a General, whose speciality is warfare, that is Angel Michael, to keep the Principality (who delights in fighting and was delaying Angel Gabriel, since one angel cannot vanquish another spiritual entity, only the Creator can give and take) busy or take him on, while Gabriel can then go and deliver his message to Daniel. God hear us when we call on Him and He answers.

The most important issue or concept is that everything belongs to God, all powers belong to God (Psalm 62:11-12), all gifts are expressions of His power. And He does not literally or metaphorically give then to us, but He lends us, and the temporary “possession” means that they are not ours, how can we possess ephemeral things that belongs to our Creator? The only gift that is permanent or eternal is the Love of God (see Psalm 136), that is in Christ Jesus, which has already been given for the redemption of our sins. Therefore, another question is, who is the Cheerful Giver? And the answer is God.

“Olorun ko ni gbe ebi fun alare, Ki yio si gbe are fun elebi”, “Olorun ko roro”

“Alanu ni Olorun”

God is just and is not wicked (Psalm 5:4). God is merciful.

The concept of just is from Latin: Justus, from jus (right), law and is synonymous with, objective, which means free from favour toward either or any side; fair, which implies a proper balance of conflicting interests; equitable, implies a less rigorous standard than just and usually suggests equal treatment of all concerned (like the parable of the labourers hired at different times of the day receiving same remuneration at the end of the day, Matthew 20:1-16); impartial, stresses an absence of favour or prejudice (while Grace can be defined as unmerited favour); dispassionate, suggests freedom from the influence of strong feeling and often implies cool or cold judgement; objective, stresses a tendency to view events or persons as apart from oneself and one’s own interest or feelings; just, stresses conscientious choice and regular practice of what is right or equitable.

The Yoruba have a saying that goes thus:”Olorun ko roro“, which roughly translated means: ”God is not wicked”

Exploring from the working assumption that God knows Himself, the uttering of this statement by His creations renders an insight into the work of creation in question. When the man is the recipient of the virtuousness and love of God, this is an obvious validation of the fact that God is not wicked. This is the case through a personal relationship with God. However, when this is considered in the perspective of religion, the water does get muddied. There are religious denominations that demand strict rules and method of worship, that goes into the experiencing or the involvement of physical discomfort, pain and denial. Some congregants in such religious sects have used the expression “God is not wicked”, to excuse their lust of the flesh or unwillingness to comply with the perceived strict or severe edicts, rules and regulations.

Jesus Christ listed two major commandments, upon which all other commandments hang, these are Love God and Love your neighbour (including your enemies) as yourself. Doing these is all that is required, rather than self-inflicting of physical pain or discomfort. When man seeks to fellowship with God on the basis of Law (such as strict regulations that involve pain and discomfort and has nothing to do with Love) and not Love as Paul espoused in Galatians 5:22-23; But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law; then man enters into the realm of Justness and not that of Grace and Mercy which are based on or are as a result of Love. Just implies an exact following of a standard of what is right and proper. In Romans 3:23; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, therefore appealing to the justness of God is calling for the guilty verdict on oneself. Just can be defined as, having a basis in or conforming to fact or reason; conforming to a standard of correctness; faithful to an original; acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good (righteous); being what is merited, deserved; legally correct; lawful.

Doing what Jesus Christ advocated, which is only possible for those that He had chosen, predestined and anointed, makes us citizens of His kingdom, true believers, adopted sons of God. The Blood of Christ qualifies us, and we are thus not qualified by our works. This is Grace, unmerited favour. As reiterated in Ephesians 2:8-9; For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. It is evident that Justness brings into question, one’s actions/works being weighed against a set of standards. Religious groups with sets of rules and regulations, other than the two major commandments prescribed by Jesus Christ, that has to be observed in order to belong (membership) or for the members to obtain penance or ablutions, set themselves up for failure, in the sense that their working assumption is that they could achieve righteousness through their works. The scriptures say that nobody is righteous before God, well in such cases, they believe what is contrary to the scriptures. Pharisees were the teachers of the Law of Moses from before first century BC to the contextual period of Jesus and His disciples and apostles. John 12 v 42-49; Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved human praise more than praise from God. 44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So, whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

John 15 v 22-24; If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. 24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.

All of us believers are going to fail. All of us who love and follow Jesus are going to go through temptation, and trials, and exhaustion, and we’ll all have questions that go without answers. Jesus prays for us! Isn’t that so encouraging? We can rest today in our insufficiency that He is praying for us and that His grace is bigger than our failures.

Talking about the justness of God and His Grace, as evident in the fact that He did not even spare His Own Begotten Son. In Matthew 26 v 31-32 and Zechariah 13:7; Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: “‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’[c] 32 But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn my hand against the little ones.

Jesus Christ has prayed for us; this was recorded in the scriptures in John 17 verses 11 and 20; I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father protect them by the power of[b] your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. – “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message. Here Jesus Christ prays for the disciples and all believers. On the night before Jesus Christ was murdered. He made the announcement, the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah: the striking of the Shepherd and the scattering of the sheep.

The Advocate: John 16 v 8; When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: and Zechariah 12 v 10; “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit[a] of grace and supplication. They will look on[b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. Often times when individuals are recipient of perceived injustice, they request or demand justice, rarely anyone who benefits from unmerited favour after a catalogue of error, calls for justice. However, the one thing that is universal in its application and available to all, is the mercy of God, for those who are truly repentant. This nature or character of God, that is His Grace should be appealed unto, rather than His Justness.