TimeOut With The Lord: Recent Episodes
Dr. Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs
Time Out With The Lord invites you to do just that: take a break from our busy, self-focused lives to enter into God's presence. Every evening, people from all over the world log in to study the Word with a desire for understanding. These one-hour sessions have touched on topics from 'good works' to 'intimacy with God' and even the correct attitude towards money. Members of this burgeoning group can testify to daily revelations and a profound impact on their lives. The goal is to provide a practical and relevant platform that will encourage growth in every aspect of our life.
Dr. Seinye Lulu-Briggs ministers on today's episode of TimeOut With The Lord
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Dr. Seinye Lulu-Briggs ministers on today's episode of TimeOut With The Lord.
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/timeoutwiththelord/message
God, our Creator, has given a severe warning to the rich and influential to desist from robbing the poor and oppressing the afflicted and downtrodden.
The plight of man is to exploit the weak, poor, and ignorant folks around him and reduce them to puppets, serving only his interest. The strong and mighty in almost all human societies have often violated the rights and reduced the privileges of those who cannot challenge them.
The result of this unjust treatment is attendant upheavals such as strife, agitations, protests, conflicts and wars which have become common occurrences around the globe today.
Social injustice is the root cause of many catastrophes known in human history. Its spiritual effect is more devastating in time and eternity for those who delight in the oppression of the poor and the lowly members of society.
The God of truth and justice hates oppression and turns His hands and attention against wicked oppressors of His children. Indeed, “…the way of the wicked he turneth upside down” (Psalm 146:9).
Prophet Isaiah made more scathing remarks about those oppressors, “Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!” (Isaiah 10:1, 2).
God hates oppression and we should not overtly or covertly use it on others – whether rich or poor. Honor should be given to all.
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Charles Spurgeon once said, “Obedience which is not voluntary is disobedience, for the Lord looketh at the heart, and if He seeth that we serve Him from force, and not because we love Him, He will reject our offering.”
Obedience is a key to success for the Christian. It must be prompt and real as it brings blessings. Disobedience on the other hand brings judgment, destruction, damnation, and death to the disobedient.
Today’s passage is a pronouncement of judgment on the disobedient and mockers of God’s prophets. God sent Prophet Jeremiah to pronounce judgment on the children of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Over the years, the Lord had raised up several prophets who had spoken God’s mind to them; urging them to turn from their evil ways and not serve the gods of the land. Despite all the warnings and pleadings, the children of Judah had scorned God’s words and even mocked His prophets, thereby, provoking Him to anger with the works of their hands.
For being incorrigible, God sent His prophet, Jeremiah, to pronounce judgment on them. Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, would invade Judah and utterly destroy the land and its inhabitants. The land will become a perpetual desolation and the voice of joy, gladness, and celebrations shall cease. Darkness and hissings shall take over the land of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. The consummation of the judgment was that the entire nation would be brought under the captivity of Babylon for seventy years.
Obedience to God’s word, will and way, is the only pathway to life’s bliss, joy and happiness. Disobedience, on the other hand, leads to loss, destruction and damnation. To receive God’s favour, we must obey His word and reverence His prophets
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Dr. Benjamin Spock was an American pediatrician and political activist who was most noted for his book Baby and Child Care. The book significantly changed widely held attitudes toward the raising of infants and children, championing the cause for no cane or spanking of children even when they misbehave. Several years after, his grandson Peter, committed suicide by jumping off the roof of the children's museum in Boston where he was working. What a tragedy! God’s principle for raising children remains the best for all time and disproves all others.
Our text for today harps on the importance of child training in the family. The verses contain various moral and spiritual virtues which parents must imbibe in their children. It also identifies vices to shun. It begins with the importance of possessing a good name. This is a price far above riches, silver and gold. The virtues of prudence, foresight, humility and the fear of God must be instilled in our children to guarantee them riches, honor and good life.
Parents must inculcate in their children the art of generosity. They must be taught how to give for God’s work. Also, emphasis must be placed on the need for purity of heart as well as possessing gracious lips in order to be a friend of God. Children must be taught to shun vices such as borrowing and they should learn to be content with what they have. They should be taught to avoid sin, anger and slothfulness as well as how not to fall into the trap of immoral people lurking for their souls.
The text concludes that foolishness naturally abounds in the heart of children but the rod of correction, applied with love, when and where necessary, will eject such foolishness and rebellion. Children must be trained and corrected to bring out the best in them.
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For a decade now, the global media has been focused on a lot of bad news. There is no doubt that positive news inspires and uplifts millions to become more optimistic. Today’s text captures the good provisions that Joshua made for the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher and Naphtali according to their families.
For the children of Asher, the portion of their inheritance spanned from Helkath to Rehob. In all, twenty-two cities with their villages were allotted to them as their inheritance. On the other hand, the children of Naphtali had nineteen cities with their villages as their inheritance. Their coast was from Heleph to Bethshemesh.
These two tribes are little known until we come to the New Testament. “And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity” (Luke 2:36). This heroine of faith welcomed and announced the prophetic significance of the baby Jesus.
Naphtali equally played a significant role in the story of the birth of the Messiah. It was in reference to Naphtali that Prophet Isaiah said, “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined” (Isaiah 9:2). That ‘light’ heralded the birth of Christ, the Saviour of the world.
The smallness of the tribes did not deprive them of being useful in the scheme of things. Not only were they given their own inheritance; but even after they had obtained it, they also played positive roles in the plan of God for humanity. You too must key into His plan and program for your life today so that you will ultimately be relevant in His plan for time and all of eternity.
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There is absolutely nothing that happens in the universe that is outside of God’s influence and authority. To say that He is Sovereign is to declare that He is the Most High, doing things according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, so that none can stay His hand or say unto Him, “What doest Thou?” He is the Almighty, the Possessor of all power in heaven and earth; none can defeat His counsels, thwart His purpose, or resist His will. The verses in our text remind us of God’s power to control the affairs of men. Kings, whether great or small and all those in authority are subject to His rule. He has the absolute power to direct their hearts to whichever path He wills. Though man may want to prove that his ways are right in his own eyes, God, who ponders the heart in His Sovereignty, looks beyond the outward appearance. He, therefore, demands justice and judgment.
God hates pride, lying, theft and robbery. Wealth obtained through these means is described as vanity and leads to death. The text reiterates that dwelling in a small cubicle with peace of mind is far better than a state of unrest. God, in His Sovereignty, will certainly overthrow the wicked and their riches because of their wickedness. The rich are admonished to lift up the poor if they themselves would have their prayers answered by God. In order to have a peaceful society, we must strive to pacify anger and wrath by being generous to all. We must be just in our actions and judgments to all. We must remain in the congregation of the righteous and not be found among those who live carelessly and lack the understanding of the sovereignty of God over all things.
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Our passage today highlights the inheritance of the children of Zebulun. The verses particularly spell out the borders of their territories and clearly demarcating it from others. The border of their territories from Sarid went up toward the sea. It passed through several cities and villages before reaching down to Bethlehem. In all, twelve cities with their villages were allotted to the tribe of Zebulun, Jacob’s tenth child, and Leah’s last born. That their father was the last born did not deprive them of their inheritance in the Promised Land. Their territories were clearly mapped out with the borders expressly stated. In the same way, as believers, our inheritance is the sum total of all that the Lord has promised us. Besides, He has gone to prepare a place for us. He said, “I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also”.
We have been redeemed from the works of darkness and the old life of sin, and are set apart unto God and must, therefore, possess our possession in Him. To claim our inheritance, we must live a holy and righteous life. Scriptural boundaries must not be trespassed in the course of our daily living. Our actions and reactions, from time to time, must be based on scriptural premises. We must remain grateful to God for giving us an inheritance and make sure we get the best of its available blessings.
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On December 25th, 1908, a newspaper published in Messina printed a parody against God, daring Him to make Himself known by sending an earthquake. Three days later, the city and its surrounding district were devastated by a terrible quake that killed 84,000 people! Payday is coming someday for all. It is the duty of the Christian to prepare for God’s judgment.
The passage under consideration unveils the decision of God against Babylon. Babylon would be destroyed for her wickedness and cruelty, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Jeremiah was to warn of this impending judgment. He was also assigned by God to inform people that the cup of His wrath was soon to be poured on Israel and other nations like Egypt, Edom, and the Philistines.
Judgment is coming. God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world for her sins. The present world system will not escape the judgment of God. All human deeds are on record and there would be no room for falsification of facts. Every action of man will be judged. Every thought (good or bad) will be brought to light. Boys and girls, and all adults of every race and in every continent, will face the consequences of their professions.
The treatment we give to the word of God will determine our destiny. Therefore, believers should not relax in their evangelistic outreaches because the judgment of God remains unchanging for all unrepentant souls from generation to generation. Persecutors of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ will not escape the wrath of God except they repent. The train of God’s judgment is coming slowly but surely, and it is important for all and sundry to be prepared.
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In this episode, Dr. Seinye Xrays the authority a believer has over the works of the enemy using Queen Esther and Mordecai as examples.
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A man decided one day to play a joke on 12 of his friends; he sent them each a note that read as follows: “flee at once, all has been discovered about you”. To his shock, he discovered that 7 had fled the country within 24 hours of receiving that note, while the other 5 proved adamant, awaiting whatever betides. With this, he achieved a purpose: reaction of a heart willing to perish despite a way out, and a heart willing to escape from the wrath to come.
In our passage, God gave Prophet Jeremiah a message of warning to all the inhabitants of Judah of His impending judgment. Through him, the Lord pleaded with them to turn away from their evil ways so that He would avert the evil which He purposed to do unto them. But instead of repenting to receive God’s mercy, the people of Judah and their princes arrested and decided to kill the prophet.
The unconcerned attitude of the people of Judah to the warning of the impending doom for the godless and wicked is not new. From time immemorial, man has always trifled with the warning to escape God’s wrath and receive His mercy. The people suffered terrible consequences for neglecting repentance and refusing God’s mercy.
One would think that with all the tragic historical examples, things would be different in our time. Unfortunately, the story is still the same, if not worse. Yet, God keeps watching, warning and waiting. He is merciful to those who come to Him in repentance no matter how heavy their sins are. He is against the sinner who refuses to repent (Psalm 7:11). “Today if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your heart”. Be wise; take advantage of God’s provision of salvation in order to gain eternal life.
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One minister of God explains the importance of the family. “It is here (within the family) that human life begins and often closes its earthly pilgrimage. Here it is trained for this world and disciplined for the world that is to come…” Our text today reveals the inheritance of the children of Issachar: sixteen cities with their villages. This inheritance was shared according to their families, signifying the importance of the family.
Joshua, the servant of God, knew the importance of serving God with the whole of his family. He decided, “And if it seems evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). One thing is sure about the resolution of Joshua: his attention was majorly on his family. He knew that he might not be able to influence all the Israelites as he desired, but he was sure he could do so much more in his own family. Thus, he was determined that whatever perversion might be going on among the Israelites as a whole, his family would remain consecrated to God.
Most times, we bemoan the state of our society and the state of the universal Church without giving much thought to the family – that pivotal fountain from which the society and the Church spring. It is never God’s desire that a member of a family be saved while others are lost in sin. His ultimate desire is that we and our entire household are preserved in His salvation.
Thus, we must be concerned about the salvation of our entire family and as many as are under our roofs. We must, therefore, make genuine efforts to win them over to Christ by demonstrating godly lives before them at all times and ensuring they attend church services and programmes.
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A Christian preacher once said that the Spirit of God in a true Christian is a bulb in His presence. It is full of light anywhere it is, chasing away darkness all around it.
There are sundry lessons in this episode. It talks about our relationship and how to treat others. It also cautions us to respect our parents so that our lamps are not put out in obscure darkness. It further instructs us to avoid the get-rich-quick syndrome that has pervaded our society. It likewise enjoins us not to recompense evil but to wait on the Lord. There is also a warning about using “divers weights”. Cheating is an abomination in the sight of the Lord. It is established that only through the spirit -the candle of the Lord- can we hear and obey His precepts.
In modern-day terms, we can say the spirit of man is the bulb of the Lord. It gives illumination. When a bulb is turned on, darkness is dispelled. In the same way, when you become a new creature in Christ, your spirit is made alive unto God. When God dwells within you, communication with Him through your spirit is made possible.
Unfortunately, many believers today have become careless with their devotional lives. They hurry off to work every morning, thereby, having little or no time for God and His Word.
To sustain the presence of the Spirit of God, one must read, study and meditate on the word of God regularly. We must let God give us more light on the Scriptures and expound on their meaning until the Word becomes a living reality in our spirit. By so doing, we will brighten the corner where we are and illuminate the dark world.
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Adolf Hitler, with solemnity, paraphrased the Bible when encouraging his generals. He said, “A nation in which there is…one righteous man will not perish”. No doubt, he regarded himself as this one righteous man in spite of the death of thousands of people recorded daily during the Second World War, which was to a greater extent, by his own making.
The passage today provides us with warnings for our learning and instruction. It condemns wine and strong drinks and corrects heaven-bound Christians on sundry issues of life that centre on godly living. The text equally cautions against the practice of proclaiming our own goodness and highlights the delusion and destruction that come to those who are deceived thereby.
There is an incredible famine of perfectness in these last days, even in the assembly of Christians. Too many people are rejecting, rewriting and reconstructing the word of God to suit their unbelief. Commonly accompanied with unbelief is self-righteousness. For some odd reasons, the majority of people today believe they are good people, not according to God’s righteousness but to the good of “self”. A self-righteous individual is a hypocrite.
Doing good does not make a man good. No one in the world can claim that he is good because every man has sinned. Some may seem good in their own eyes but before God, they are filthy rags. Our goodness and righteousness are only weighed through the sacrifice of Christ at Calvary. A sinner can only be good when he repents and believes in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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The ability of man to speak and express himself is one of the greatest gifts he has received from God. This gift distinguishes man from other creatures and gives him a tremendous potential for both good and evil. Our words have the ability to determine the future, either for good or bad. Our words are life-giving. They have creative abilities. God used words to create everything we see around us. He only said “Let there be…” and there came into reality everything he spoke.
The psalmist knew the effect of the spoken words. He declared that the voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tabernacle of the righteous. He had suffered the Lord’s sore chastisement, but with faith and the spoken word, declared life and not death. There is certainly great blessedness in the proper use of the tongue. Over the ages, men with their tongues have changed the direction of their lives from trials to triumphs, sourness to sweetness, and bitterness to betterness as in the case of Jabez in 1Chronicles 4:10. Man, therefore, is the determinant of his lot through the use of his tongue and not the devil. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Proverbs 18:21).
The Scriptures reveal the account of heroes and heroines of faith who despite tough situations, maintained a positive outlook and confessed positively. Some of such people are Caleb and Joshua; the Shunammite woman, and the woman with the issue of blood.
You may be going through tough times; all the odds may just be against you and things may not be working out in your favour. But you can determine today to hold out. Let your confessions remain positive and you will emerge triumphant.
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A medical doctor turned missionary shared his experience as a medical doctor. According to him, he had a number of patients who complained about their physical ills. They were never positive about themselves. It was from one complaint to another. But on the other hand, he also came across patients who gave thanks to God for every aspect of their lives, including the medications. And he discovered that such patients got healed faster than their complaining counterparts. In fact, it was in the course of the investigation that he became saved.
This is what the psalmist emphasised in our text today. God has shown us the light of salvation through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. He is our God and we must give praise due to Him. As we sing praises to God either in joint congregational worship or during personal worships and devotions, we must do it with a good understanding of who He is. His greatness and majesty, whose Kingdom is everlasting and spans through the length and breadth of the entire universe.
Many people know how to ask and receive but do not know how to show appreciation. Yet, there are many things for which you need to be grateful to God. First, God brought you into existence; gave up His only begotten Son so that your soul will not be lost. He keeps protecting you day and night. He provides you with food, clothing and shelter. He fights your battles and heals you when you are sick.
Today and always, you have a reason to praise God. Develop the habit of praising Him; and as you do this always, His glory and power will be revealed in your circumstances.
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Some students of the Bible are often confused by the Old Testament laws regulating uncleanness. They do not understand the purpose of the laws and often wonder how they impact the New Testament Christian. The concept of uncleanness is certainly an old one. It dates back to the days of Noah when animals were categorised as clean and unclean.
God wanted the Israelites to distinguish between holy and unholy, and between clean and unclean. From our text, those that were under any ceremonial uncleanness, made possible by their own fault, were forbidden to eat of the holy things while they continued in their pollution. Those that had a natural blemish, though they were forbidden to do the priests’ work, were yet allowed to eat of the holy things. This obliged the priests to carefully preserve their purity and to dread every thing that would defile them.
Uncleanness means physical or moral impurity. Sinners are unclean and cannot offer worship to God. Their offerings are abominations unto Him.
To appear qualified before Him, we must flee from all impurities because He is too holy to behold iniquity. Nothing defiling will enter heaven. Though the Lord has graciously made adequate provision for our holiness, we cannot possess it without our willingness. We must then resolve to be holy both in our secret and public lives. Remember, the key to heaven’s gate remains, “holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).
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Most times, many people think that those who go into the service of the Lord as pastors, missionaries, etc. are those who do not have the prospect of doing well in other fields or those who have failed either in their careers or businesses. They think it is a waste of human resources when those who appear to possess great intellectual ability and have the prospect of doing excellently well in other fields devote their whole lives to the ministry.
As we look at the passage, however, the Lord clearly declares that He wants only the best in the work of the ministry. He does not want those who can be described as “left-overs” that have failed to find a place of usefulness in the world to turn to the ministry as a last option. Those who must get into the ministry and those we send to serve the Lord must be people who are bringing their best to His service.
Whether we are getting into the ministry or we are bringing our gifts and offerings to the Lord, we must give Him only our best. It will be offensive to Him and a great insult when we decide to give to Him what we think is no longer useful to us. Other times, some people ignore the call of the Lord to the ministry and only respond when they have satisfied themselves in their chosen career and have now retired. God does not want your “left-over”; He wants your best.
Don’t wait until you have used up your best. Remember, God’s service is the highest and most sublime kind of service a mortal has the privilege of getting into; it, therefore, deserves nothing but the very best.
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The fall of Judah and the destruction of Jerusalem had brought untold suffering upon the people. Their sorrow, the direct consequences of their sins and rebellion against God’s word, was boundless. Yet, the prophet who personally witnessed it urged them to repent and rely on the sure mercies of God.
Israel had turned sin into a habit that appeared to give them immeasurable pleasure. Ceaselessly, the Lord warned them through His prophets and messengers. They would only repent by turning to Him in the face of imminent danger or oppression in the hands of heathen enemy nations. Prophet Jeremiah fearlessly prophesied about their seventy-year captivity as a result of their sin, but they never bothered.
The prophet in our text had felt personal sorrow over the tragedy of the destructions and attendant sufferings of the people. However, he was quick to remember that God will not always chide neither will He keep His anger forever. He told them that though they were in such sorrow, yet, it was of the Lord’s mercies they were not consumed.
Many people take God’s mercy for a licence. They are quick to claim that if He did not approve of their sinful lifestyle, they would have been destroyed. But they are ignorant of God’s attribute of long-suffering.
Have you ever pondered on the magnitude of God’s judgment? It is wise to ask for His mercy than wait for His sentence. There is danger in waiting until the door of mercy is shut. Repent and be reconciled unto the Lord.
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