Transformation__February_2018

Transformation
BE YE TRANSFORMED BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND
Issue 004
Greater love
Understanding the love of God for us
Laying
down
your life
for
another
The key to
overcoming
insecurity
Why you can't
just ignore the
word of God
Eve:
A woman who acted out
of her own free will
Understanding the good,
acceptable and perfect will of God

Editor's note
Hurray! It's a month of love, and
who doesn't want to be loved?
People love for dierent reasons
and they show their love in
dierent ways. Either way it's still
love, right? Well, in our
#LoveIssue this month, we
introduce you to another kind of
love maybe you don't know
exists. It's called Agape love. This
is the kind of love that shows
itself in action. It's sacrificial love.
Love that devotes total
commitment to seek highest best
no matter how anyone may
respond. It's giving love - giving
without taking. Still on that, have
you ever loved someone someone
so much to an extent of laying
down your life for them? This is
what Christ Jesus did and you
can too. Learn more about God's
unconditional love for us, laying
down your life for another, the
three types of God's will and how
each can aect your life and
relationship with God and much
more.
I wish you a Happy Valentine.
God bless you!
Ashlly Ruth
For inquiries, feedback, questions or suggestions
Email: ashllyruth@gmail.com
Website: ashllyruthsite.wordpress.com
Facebook: @ashllyruth18
Twitter: @ashllyruth
Phone: +254736131843

In this issue
Greater love:
Understanding the love
of God for us....Pg 4
The key to overcoming
insecurity ...Pg 12
Eve: a woman who
acted out of her free
will ...Pg 15
Understanding the
good, acceptable and
perfect will of God
...Pg 21
The word of God: why
you can't just ignore it
...Pg 29
For inquiries, feedback or questions please feel free to contact us
Email: ashllyruth@gmail.com
Phone: +254736131843
Website: ashllyruthsite.wordpress.com

I can't drink
Unless am drinking from your cup
I can't eat
Unless am eating from your plate
I can't rest
Unless am resting in your arms
I can't think
Unless am thinking about you
I can't hear
Unless am hearing from you
I can't look
Unless am looking at you
You are the air that I breathe
You fill every moment of my life with much joy
You are my inspiration
The very reason for my existence
When I think of you
I think of you with love
And my life is meaningless without you
I love and adore you ....
Ashlly Ruth

Greater love:
Understanding the love of God for us
And so we know and rely on the
love God has for us. God is love.
Whoever lives in love lives in
God, and God in them (1 John
4:16).
God is love and His love towards us is
unconditional. Love has its origin and
source in God. Everything that God
does flows from His love for us. His
love towards us is not triggered by our
actions. It is unconditional, perfect,
sacrificial, and selfless. He loves us
whether we reciprocate it or not. He
loves us whether we respond to Him or
not – He loves us despite.
The love of God towards us
is everlasting.
This is how we know
what love is: Jesus
Christ laid down his
life for us. And we
ought to lay down
our lives for our
brothers and sisters
(1 John 3:16).

Transformation 5
Jesus loves us not because we
are special or we have done
something good but because He
is love. This is why He made
the ultimate sacrifice, giving up
everything – all His glory, His
life – to serve us. The Greek
word for this sacrificial love is
the Agape love. It devotes total
commitment to seek the highest
best no matter how anyone may
respond. God does not expect
anything in return from us – He
loves us whether we mess up or
not, serve Him or not, worship
Him or not. This kind of love is
a giving love – it gives without
taking. Its the kind of love
that shows itself in action.
Agape love has the good of the
other at heart. It has a pure
motivation to alleviate the
suffering of others. Its suffering
love, love that requires
involvement in the problems of
this cruel world, love that bears
with the failings and
weaknesses of others, love that
is committed to helping others
regardless of the cost. God
has loved and accepted us
because we are His children.
He calls us His own. This one
may be hard to get your mind
around, but its true, God
loves us with the same kind of
love that He has towards Jesus
Himself.
en the world will
know that you sent me
and have loved them
even as you have loved
me (John 17:23b).
Jesus said that the greatest
love a man can show for his
friends is when he lays down
his life for them John
1513. He laid his life
down for us and thats how
valuable we are to God. As a
matter of fact, if we do not

Transformation 6
realize who we are and the love of
God towards us, we will not be
filled with the fullness of God. We
will lack his fullness in our lives
until we come to know his deep
love for us. Knowing the love of
Christ towards us will enable us to
act a lot more different than we
do.
We fail for lack of knowledge.
Many of us have been deceived
into believing that God loves us for
our works and so to gain His love
or to be loved more, we
concentrate on the works. Yet we
forget that even before we came to
Christ, He still loved us. We are
already loved and accepted and we
ought to love God as He has loved
us. When we love God
unconditionally, we serve Him out
of love. True service to God and
humanity must be borne out of
love. God comes first and so our
love for Him must be a priority.
Understanding who we are in Christ
and His love for us will help us do
with religion and perfection
even as we serve Him. It
will also keep us grounded
no matter what happens.
This life can throw anything
our way and when this
happens, we are bound to
doubt God and His love for
us, but when we are secure
in Christ and have been
made perfect in His love,
nothing will prevail against
us.
That is why I am
suffering as I am.
Yet this is no
cause for shame,
because I know
whom I have
believed, and am
convinced that
he is able to
guard what I
have entrusted to
him until that
day (2 Timothy
1:12).

Follow God’s example,
therefore, as dearly loved
children and walk in the way
of love, just as Christ loved us
and gave himself up for us as a
fragrant offering and sacrifice
to God (Ephesians 5:1 - 2).
Greater love has no one than
this: to lay down one’s life for
one’s friends (John 15:13).
Someone once said that the
position of love can be
established when one sacrifices
oneself and gives oneself for
others. This means that
sacrifice accompanies love.
The essence of agape love is
self sacrifice. Sacrificial love is
not based on a feeling, but a
determined act of the will, a
joyful resolve to put the
welfare of others above our
own. This kind of love does
not come naturally to us – due to
our fallen nature, we cannot give
such love. It can only come from
its true source – God Himself.
This is the love that is poured
out in our hearts through the
B y J a s o n P a r k e r
Holy Spirit given to us when we
become His children Romans
55. And because that love is
now in our hearts, we can obey
Jesus who said
A new command I give
you: Love one another. As I
have loved you, so you
must love one another
(John 13:34).
Our love for one another must be
rooted on the fact that God loves us
unconditionally and if God has loved
us unconditionally, the number one
thing we must do is to love Him
back – unconditionally – or rather
sacrificially. We cannot love one

Transformation 8
with the love of God if we do
not love God first. Watch this
One of the teachers of the law
came and heard them
debating. Noticing that Jesus
had given them a good
answer, he asked him, “Of all
the commandments, which is
the most important?” “The
most important one,”
answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear,
O Israel: The Lord our God, the
Lord is one. Love the Lord
your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and
with all your mind and with
all your strength.’ The second
is this: ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.’ There is no
commandment greater than
these”(Mark 12:28-31).
According to the above
scripture, we are to love God
first and then our neighbors as
ourselves. Our love for one
another therefore, must stem
out of our love for God. Thus, our
service to God and one another must
be borne out of love – love for
God, oneself and others.
Loving God is a sacrifice we all
have to make. It is about giving
yourself up for Him and to Him. It
is about loving God with your
whole being – all that you are and
have. Your whole being must be
dedicated to Him.
Therefore, I urge you,
brothers and sisters, in view
of God’s mercy, to offer your
bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to
God—this is your true and
proper worship (Romans
12:1).
This is not an easy thing to do; it
is a price we must pay. The
sacrifice that is acceptable to God
is a whole sacrifice and Agape
love and sacrifice go together.
Some of us claim to love to love
God but we only do it partly. >>>

Transformation 9
We do not give Him the whole of
us, instead we end up withholding
a whole lot of us from Him. Yet
this is not enough. Others love
God for what He can give them.
This is not the kind of love God
wants from us, we must love Him
in and out of season – whether we
are blessed or not, whether we are
mourning or celebrating. Our love
for God must be concrete,
steadfast and unconditional. It
means forsaking all lovers to
love Him only. Loving God is not
something we do in one day, it is
a lifestyle
And this is love: that
we walk in obedience
to his commands. As
you have heard from
the beginning, his
command is that you
walk in love (2 John
1:6).
Whoever has my commands and
keeps them is the one who loves me.
The one who loves me will be loved
by my Father, and I too will love
them and show myself to
them”(John 14:21).
It must be evident in our walk
with Him. We cannot claim to
love Him when we live like He
does not exist. Our words, actions
and lifestyle must be in line with
the word of God. Our hearts must
be totally sold out to God. The
heart is the core of our being and
they must throb for God. Loving
God with all our hearts makes
Him our treasured treasure. We
are expected to love God with all
our souls by pursuing obedience in
His word. And one of those
commandments is as given by
Jesus – loving one another as He
has loved us.

Newsletter
Laying down your life for another
It's the life that with wholehearted devotion,
gives up all for God, that can claim all from God ~
Andrew Murray
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all
your soul, and with all
your strength
(Deuteronomy 6:5) GNT.
No one gives up all for and
to someone else without
love - unconditional love.
When you give up yourself
for someone, and to
someone wholeheartedly
and willingly, it means you
lay your life down. Your
entire being and heart is
fully devoted and dedicated
to the service of that
particular cause or person and this
simply means dying to self. A
huge price is paid.
I am looking at Ruth. She was a
Moabite. This means she was an
idolater because Moab was a land
of Idolatry. They did not know or
worship the true God. After losing
her both sons and husband, Naomi
decided to go back to Bethlehem,
her hometown. This was after
learning that God had remembered
His people. Ruth made a decision
to go with Naomi, her
mother-in-law, to her land. She
was so serious that she made a

Transformation 11
commitment. This was a clear indication that she was done
with her land, culture, people, gods or whatever it is that Moab
had to offer. Whatever happens after that, she would take it as
long as she is with Naomi. This was pure devotion. Her heart
was totally sold out to Naomi. She willingly gave herself up
for Naomi, and to Naomi. This, I believe, is why she did not
find it hard to submit to her authority.
Giving yourself up for someone or to someone does not
necessarily mean dying for them. In contrast, it's living for
them. It's dedicating yourself to them and for them and this
requires actions. It means doing what the other person wants as
well as putting them before yourself. They simply become your
priority. If we look at the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, we
will realize that Jesus lived a life of sacrifice. He gave Himself
up to His Father and for His Father. He lived the kind of life
that God wanted Him to live and did what He wanted Him to
do. This is why it was not hard for Him to submit to the will
of God. He was obedient to His Father's will, even when it
was hard to do so. Three times Jesus went and prayed, "not
my will, but Yours" Matthew 2639-44.
Laying down your life is not ending it; it's giving your life,
committing or ordaining your life to God alone. T

Transformation 12
The key to
overcoming
insecurity
The thief comes only in
order to steal, kill and
destroy. I have come in
order that you might
have life-life in all its
fullness (John 10:10) GNT.
Whether its self doubt, negative
thoughts, or fear of what others
think of us, insecurity is real and
it holds us back from becoming
the people who God created us to
be. We need freedom – freedom
of Christ – to be able to live
victoriously and live the kind of
life Jesus died to give us. The
enemy knows that the most
powerful person on earth is a free
person; the person who has been
set free by the death and
resurrection of Christ Jesus. This
kind of person is able to rise
above the lies of the enemy and
walk in truth because it is truth that
sets us free and Jesus is the
truth that leads to life.
Therefore, one of the most
powerful weapons the enemy
uses to keep us in bondage is
called insecurity. Insecurity has
been and still is a disaster in the
generations past and also in our
own generation. It is an
underlying emotion that
overwhelmingly shapes our self
image and influences our
behavior. It is a deception of
who we are in Christ Jesus; a
deception that seeks to rob us of
our true identity in Christ Jesus.
Websters dictionary defines
insecurity as not confident or
sure, uncertain, not adequately
guarded or sustained, not firmly
fastened or fixed. It causes us to
belittle ourselves and to believe
in self fabricated lies as far as
our identity is concerned. There
are so many of us who are
living in constant fear, anxiety
and worry because of
insecurity. It causes us to get >>

Transformation 13
lost in our own small worlds and
to become a shadow of ourselves.
It also causes us to limit ourselves
and put ourselves down to a level
that is close to nothing if not
nothing. It is a level that the
enemy loves most because he
knows it will be easy for him to
manipulate oppress and destroy us.
Insecurity is a type of personal
prison which we allow ourselves
to grow up in. It is like building
a wall around us, literally closing
ourselves in and choosing to live
in our own world where we feel
"secure". It causes us to isolate
ourselves from healthy
relationships believing that we are
alone and that no one cares about
us, making us feel unloved and
unappreciated. Looking from the
outside, someone might think that
we are fine but deep within us, we
are dying. Worry, timidity, fear
and anxiety become a part of our
inner being and as a result we
become unable to remove the
It causes us to
isolate ourselves
from healthy
relationships
believing that
we are alone
and that no one
cares about us,
making us feel
unloved and
unappreciated.
mask. Insecurity ruins
relationships and deters us
from accomplishing our
dreams and visions. It keeps
us doubting thereby cutting all
our aspirations short.
The lies we believe since the
beginning of time form a
foundation of our insecurities.
The enemy uses his lies to
steal one thing that he knows
would give us power and a
firm ground to stand on –
identity. Many people have
found themselves in the >>>>

Transformation 14
midst of identity crisis. To our generation,
it is more of a disaster than just a mere
problem. If we dont have a firm grasp on
who we are, and to whom we belong, then
it becomes a major issue which causes us
to become vulnerable to the lies of the
enemy. This is why many of us live our
lives trying to please others, so that we
may be accepted and validated. Its
because we are trying to find ourselves and
in the process we get lost even more.
What we are trying to search for is our
identity and the confidence from knowing
who we really are but unknowingly, we
search for it in the wrong places. Our true
identity can only be found in Christ Jesus.
It cannot be found in our accomplishments,
the kind of cars we drive, money, status or
our lifestyle. It can only be found in our
true source – God Himself. He created us
and He knows us too well.
The key to overcoming insecurity is truth.
If we do not know the truth, we do not
know freedom. In John 146 Jesus says;
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
Getting saved is not
enough, neither is
attending services
every Sunday or
weekday but having a
personal relationship
with Jesus. It is and
must be the starting
point. Your
relationship with Jesus
matters above
everything else. The
ability to believe in
the word of God and
what He says about
you is closely related
to how well you know
Him. If He is a
stranger to you or you
only have a casual
relationship with Him,
then its going to be
hard on your part to
believe what He says
about you.

Eve:
A woman who acted
out of her own free will
She was the first woman, wife and mother on the face of
the earth. She is known as the mother of all living. Little
is known about her but much can be learnt from her.
In Genesis 2, God decided it
would be good for Adam to have
a companion and a helper. He
made Adam to fall into a deep
sleep and God took one of his
ribs and used it to create Eve.
She became Adams helper, the
one who would complete him and
together accomplish the purposes
of God on earth. Through Eve,
God brought human relationship,
friendship, companionship and
marriage into the world.
Eve and her husband lived in the
garden of Eden. She was the one
the serpent approached and
deceived. The scriptures tells us
that the enemy comes to steal,
kill and destroy. He has been on
this mission since the beginning.
He approached Eve ready with a
perfect B y J a splan o n P ato r k eexecute r his mission.
Sin did not exist during this time
and Adam and Eve enjoyed closer
and intimate relationship with God.
He had given them instructions on
how to make their stay in the
Garden worthwhile and as long as
they obeyed, everything was in
perfect order.
The serpent in its craftiness came
in and deceived Eve through
manipulating the word of God. He
convinced Eve that God did not
really mean what He said thus
portraying God as a liar and
causing her to think twice and in
the end doubt God. He deviated
her from the truth of God and
made her focus on one thing she

Transformation 16
couldn't have. She failed to count her
blessings and within her an evil desire
to be like God took over. The solution,
according to the serpent, lay in eating
the forbidden fruit. She must have been
one woman who did not know what to
do with the kind of information she got
at that time and despite having a close
relationship with God and her husband,
she never consulted any of them. I
guess she wanted to surprise them but
whatever her reasons, she acted
independently and out of her own free
will.
When the woman saw that
the fruit of the tree was
good for food and pleasing
to the eye, and also
desirable for gaining
wisdom, she took some and
ate it. She also gave some to
her husband, who was with
her, and he ate it, then the
eyes of both of them were
opened, and they realised
they were naked; so they
sewed fig leaves together
and made coverings for
themselves (Genesis 3:6-7).
There are several key lessons
we can learn from Eve. Just
like any other woman out
there, she had her own
shortcomings, weaknesses and
strengths. But at the end of
it all, we realize that God is
always merciful and has great
plans for each one of us.
So God created mankind
in his own image, in the
image of God he created
them. God blessed them
and said to them, “ Be
fruitful and increase in
number; fill the earth and
subdue it. Rule over the
fish in the sea and the
birds in the sky and over
every living creature that
moves on the ground
(Genesis 1:27-28).
First and foremost, we learn
from the above scripture that in
Gods image and likeness, a
woman, just like a man, was
and is created. It does not
matter where you come from>>

Transformation 17
Your color, status, origin, tribe or
physical appearance, does not
discriminate you before God. You
are his own masterpiece and when
He looks at you, He sees His own
beautiful creation. We are all equal
before God. No one is inferior or
superior than the other. All of us
are Gods children and yes, just
like the man, a woman is primary
not secondary. God issued the
same command to both of them.
He did not give it separately. This
means that women also have the
same role to play in Gods
creation. You were created to
minister to God and for God and
this qualifies each one of us to be
representatives of God on earth.
This means that your reason for
creation is to be an instrument of
God in accomplishing His divine
plan on earth. You are supposed to
work in unity with your Creator to
release, establish and implement
His kingdom on earth. Everything
you do as a woman must
demonstrate the greatness of the
Lord and everything about you
should reflect the glory of His
kingdom.
Accomplishing this plan will
require you, as a woman to pay a
price. First, it will mean defying
the world and its way of doing
things and raising against its
standards which are limiting,
oppressive, manipulative. This
means you must put on Jesus
Christ and allow yourself to be
ruled by the spirit of God.
Discover your gifts and
understand your purpose. This is
the only way you will know your
area of calling and ambassadorial
position.
Secondly I will briefly address a
womans influence and her
position in the society which
cannot be under-estimated. There
are so many instances in the
scriptures where a woman, just

y acting, turned situations
around. A woman, no doubt, is
powerful. Her capacity to
influence is beyond measure.
She is a leader and unlike men
who lead by power of position,
a woman leads by power of
influence. Her influence is so
powerful that the enemy even
knows it. This is why he
approached Eve, not Adam. He
must have known that she was
the right person to use.
Through her, the man also
came down and sin was born.
A womans influence when
used in a negative way can be
real poison. Its actually a very
dangerous and deadly venom.
She is able to bring someone
down without much effort.
Sometimes she doesnt have to
say anything, her actions can be
enough to ruin everything.
Remember Queen Vashti in the
book of Esther? Her actions were
enough to throw the whole
kingdom into tension. Other
women, it was feared, were going
to mimic her behavior and
disrespect their husbands because
of her actions towards the king.
To discourage this, she had to be
thrown out of the palace and
ripped off her crown and position
as the queen. This is how
powerful it can be.
In a positive way,
we can be the
best thing that
has ever happened
to the world.
We are not given such power to
manipulate or intimidate others or
use it for our own selfish gains.
God wills for us to use it for His
own glory – to serve Him and >>>

Transformation 19
humanity. A woman is the
strongest weapon that God has in
His arsenal and if we can position
ourselves to be used of God, then
we can influence in the right
direction.
The enemy succeeded in deceiving
Eve because he aroused within her
an evil and selfish desire – the
desire to want more. God had
given her everything, whatever she
needed she could get. Everything
was in perfect order and
harmony. The fellowship was
flowing, unhindered and
unbroken. The enemy, however,
was not happy about this. He had
ill motives to separate God and
man. He made sure not to arouse
any suspicion and he began
questioning her. Its through this
that he managed to plant doubts
in her mind. He gave her a new
selfish reasoning which led her to
sin against God. She came to the
realization that all this while,
there was something important she
was missing. And it was not far,
infact the solution was always
right before her. How could she
have been so foolish and blind
not to have realized it all this
while? The scriptures record that
she 'saw that the fruit of the tree
was good for food and pleasing
to the eye'. This had now gone
from spiritual to natural.
Everytime the enemy wants to
deviate us or remove our focus
from God, he uses what our
fleshly eyes can see. He uses
facts and reality of our situations
to seduce us from the love of
God and if our faith is not strong
enough or if our foundations are
faulty and arent stable in Christ
Jesus, we can easily fall. Much
A woman is the strongest
weapon that God has in
His arsenal and if we
can position ourselves to be
used of God, then we can
influence in the right
direction.
of his suggested solutions are
meant to satisfy the flesh. >>>

Transformation 20
We need to be very careful of
the enemy and his tactics because
when you become a friend of the
world, you become Gods enemy.
Eve chose to ignore the word of
God. She knew too well that the
moment she eats the forbidden
fruit, death would follow but she
still went ahead and did it. This
in most cases s borne out of
familiarity. The spirit of
familiarity is very dangerous.
Many of us have entered into
deep trouble because of being
familiar with God, people and
circumstances too. Shake
familiarity out of your life.
We must also learn to take
personal responsibility of our
actions and stop blame games.
Sin has consequences. The
moment Eve and Adam
committed sin, they realised they
were naked. Initially, they were
naked but not ashamed but this
time round, they were too
ashamed they had to hide
themselves from God. Not only
that, they attempted to cover their
own nakedness by using the
garments they made for
themselves. But God in His
infinite mercies made garments of
skin for them. Initially, they
were covered with Gods glory.
Being in His presence and
communing with Him daily
meant that they were in perfect
security. There was nothing to
hide. They were united and had
one common agenda but sin
divided them. Sin exposes us.
The agenda of the enemy is to
expose us and bring shame to
our lives but the will of God for
us is to cover us with his glory
and give us honor. While the
enemy wants us to be insecure,
God wants us to enjoy perfect
security and remain in His love.
While the enemy wants us to live
in fear and separate us from
God, God wants to embrace us
and enjoy unhindered and
unbroken fellowship with Him.

21
Understanding the good,
acceptable and perfect will
of God
Not everyone who says to
me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but
only the one who does the
will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that
day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name? Did
we not drive out demons in
your name? Did we not do
mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them
solemnly, ‘I never knew you.
Depart from me, you
evildoers’ (Matthew 7:21-23).
Each and every one of us, as
children of God, must be conscious
of the will of God. In whatever we
do or wherever we go, we must be
conscious of His will. If Jesus
came to this world to fulfill His
Father's will, then we must
position ourselves to do the
same. We weren't created to
do our own things or to live
as we wish, we are meant to
work and live according to
Gods perfect will. Before
we become born again, our
lives are guided by our own
selfish and fleshly desires.
We do whatever we want
without thinking twice but
when we get saved, we are
expected to submit to Gods
perfect will concerning our
lives.
From now on, you must live the rest of your
earthly lives controlled by God’s will and not
by human desires. You have spent enough
time in the past doing what the heathen like
to do. Your lives were spent in indecency,
lust, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties,
and the disgusting worship of idols (1 Peter
4:2-3).

Transformation 22
Do not conform
yourselves to this age
but be transformed by
the renewal of your
mind, that you may
discern what is the will
of God, what is good
and pleasing and
perfect (Romans 12:2).
In her book, Matters of the heart,
Juanita Bynum says It is our old
minds that keeps us from functioning
out of the will of God. Our minds need
to be transformed constantly by a
process of renewing according to the
above scripture. Whatever we do now,
should not conform to this worlds way
of thinking. In order to be transformed,
we must renew our minds every day.
When the renewed mind lines up with
conversion that is in our hearts, we
become new creatures inside out. The
only way our renewed minds can fail to
come into harmony with our new hearts
is by our choice. We must choose
whether to follow the stubborn habits
that are stored in our memories or to
submit to the wisdom that flows out of
our new hearts."
Though in the world, we are
not of the world, and are not
supposed to agree with the
worlds way of doing things.
We must renew our minds so
that we can be in a position
to discern what is good,
acceptable and the perfect will
of God.
The Good Will
Now the serpent was more subtle than any
other wild creature that the Lord God had
made. He said to the woman, “Did God say,
‘you shall not eat of any tree of the
garden?’” And the woman said to the
serpent, “we may eat of the fruit of the trees
of the garden; but God said, ‘you shall not
eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the
midst of the garden, neither shall you
touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said
to the woman, “you will not die, for God
knows that when you eat of it your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God,
knowing good and evil.” So when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was a delight to the eyes, and
that the tree was to be desired to make one
wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she
also gave some to her husband, and he ate.
Then the eyes of both were opened, and
they knew that they were naked; and they
sewed fig leaves together and made
themselves aprons (Genesis 3:1-7).

We have been given freewill, power
to make choices without Gods
interference or involvement. God has
given us instructions in form of His
word and we choose whether or not to
obey. Whichever way we choose, God
does not come in between a man and
his decisions. Good will occurs when
we decide, based on our own
judgment, knowledge, wisdom and
understanding, to do something
without involving God. The goodwill
is based on deception which comes in
as a result of our own ignorance and
foolishness. It is very dangerous as it
has destroyed churches, believers,
relationships, marriages and so on.
Jesus, in the book of Matthew 2229
says
you are misled because you
do not know
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the scriptures
HERE
or
the power of God
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It is because of erratic messages,
false beliefs and ignorance, that
many of us end up practicing
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the good will. Eve knew too
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even knew the consequences –
death awaited her and her
husband if they disobeyed but
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she foolishly chose to ignore it
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altogether. In dummy most text cases, of the the printing
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path of ignorance is chosen due
to familiarity. Becoming familiar
with God and the things of God
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is very dangerous. >>>>
Lorem Ipsum is simply
dummy text of the printing
and typesetting industry.

Transformation 24
Goodwill always has
consequences. No matter how
good a deal is or how much we
desire something, we must be
careful to involve God first
because the moment we choose
to deviate, God always steps
aside. We must guard our
hearts against every kind of
distraction. Also, opt to read
the word of God yourself,
meditate on it and know the
truth for it will set you free.
The opposite of truth is false
beliefs and half truths which are
a good fuel to deception.
Trust in the Lord with
all your heart and do
not rely on your own
insight. In all your
ways acknowledge him
and he will make
straight your paths. Be
not wise in your own
eyes; fear the Lord, and
turn away from evil
(Proverbs 3:5-7).
Acceptable will
The acceptable, permissive or pleasing
will happens when we force God to
do something for us. It happens when
we press God so much that He has no
choice but to let us have our way.
The acceptable will is borne out of a
rebellious and disobedient heart.
Therefore all the elders
of Israel came in a body
to Samuel at Ramah and
said to him, “Now that
you are old, and your
sons do not follow your
example, appoint a king
over us, as other nations
have, to judge us.”
Samuel was displeased
when they asked for a
king to judge them. He
prayed to the Lord,
however who said in
answer: Grant the
people’s every request. It
is not you they reject,
they are rejecting me as
their king (1 Samuel
8:4-7).

Transformation 25
It was not the will of God for the
nation of Israel to have a human
king. God was their King, but they
rebelled against Him and rejected
Him. They not only rejected Him
but also demanded for a king to
rule over them so that they could
be like other nations and He had
to let them have their way. This
was the acceptable will of God.
You should be very careful not to
allow God to let you have your
own way; it is going to be
regrettable. God will always
oppose those who oppose Him.
The reason why some people are
frustrated in life and have not been
able to achieve anything significant
is because they have insisted so
much on going their own way to a
point that God has no choice but
to let them be. Sometimes we
enter into the trap of the enemy
and meet with disaster because of
the acceptable will. We must
guard our hearts above everything
else and not allow them to reject
God or depart from him, otherwise
When the time comes, you
will complain bitterly
because of your king,
whom you yourselves
chose, but the Lord will not
listen to your complaints.
(1 Samuel 8:18)
So when you get into
trouble, I will laugh at
you. I will make fun of
you when terror
strikes—when it comes
on you like a storm,
bringing fierce winds of
trouble, and you are in
pain and misery. Then
you will call for wisdom,
but I will not answer.
You may look for me
everywhere, but you will
not find me. You have
never had any use for
knowledge and have
always refused to obey
the Lord. You have never
wanted my advice or
paid any attention when
I corrected you. So then,
you will get what you
deserve, and your own
actions will make you
sick ~ Proverbs 1:26-31

Transformation 26
The moment your heart rejects
God, you dethrone Him literally
from your life and when this
happens, you invite trouble to
take over. Whatever it is you
allow your heart to honor other
than God, will bring you hell on
earth. God will prove you wrong
and He will show you that you
were never after Him – your
heart was really very far from
Him, you rejected Him, His ways
and teachings and instead chose
to follow your own path. We
must let God be God and let Him
have His way.
‘Sometimes a way seems right to a
man, but the end of it leads to death’
(Proverbs 14:12).
The perfect will
This is the decreed, unchangeable,
foreordained will that God has for
us. It cannot be changed, neither
can it be altered. This is the kind
of Gods will we are all called to
allow to control our lives. The
perfect will of God is not a walk
in the park. Its painful, the road
is full of ups and downs but it is
the best for us. In the end, it
brings us joy and victory to our
lives and glory to the name of
God. This, as a child of God, is
the kind of will you must seek to
live in. Your calling and your
entire life must be under Gods
perfect will. This means knowing
the mind of God for you - what
He wants from you and what He
wants you to do. The only way
out of this will is through
submission and obedience.
King David sinned against the
Lord when he slept with
Bathsheba and let her husband
Uriah killed in battle. God
became angry and He sent Nathan
to the king to deliver a message;
David was repentant and Nathan
said,; “The Lord forgives you; you
will not die. But because you
have shown such contempt for
the Lord in doing this, your child
will die” (2 Samuel 12:13-14).

Transformation 27
The child that Uriahs wife had
borne to David became sick and
David decided to fast and pray about
it but the child ended up dying. This
was Gods perfect will. No matter
how much we may negotiate with
the Lord, or even pray and fast or
give towards changing the mind of
God, His perfect will must prevail.
No one can avert the perfect will of
God. Only a transformed mind and
a new heart can totally surrender
and submit to the perfect will of
God. This is because we are able to
understand that its not about us but
God himself.
It was Gods perfect will for Jesus
to die on the cross in order to save
the world. It was painful for Him
because He suffered so much but
Jesus understood that He was not
here for His own. He was in the
world to fulfill the will of His
Father in Heaven as He says in John
1227;
“I am troubled now. Yet what
should I say? ‘Father, save
me from this hour’? But it
was for this purpose that I
came to this hour.”
His life was all about fulfilling
Gods perfect will and Jesus was
satisfied by just that. Watch
this;
But sed, “I
ha od a
ta y ow
non ot.” S
te sle td
asg og
tess, “Col
sod av
boh m o?”
“My o”, Jsu
sa te, “Is o
ob h il h
on se m
an fin te
wo h e m
do” (Jh 4:32-34).

It is only through the word of God that we are
able to know what He wants us to do. The
perfect will requires total submission and
surrender, no matter how hard the situation
may become. Jesus knew that the hour of
suffering had come but He could not back out
just at that time. He knew he will suffer at
the hands of the Jewish authorities and He will
end up dying on the cross but He surrendered;
“Father,” He said, “If you will, take this cup of
suffering away from me, not my will however but
your will be done” (Luke 22:42).
When it comes to Gods perfect will, there is
nothing we can do about it. It cannot be averted.
You must surrender and let God accomplish his
divine purpose through you. Understanding what
God wants us to do will help us to embrace the
whole thing knowing that God will do whatever He
wants but it is always for the best. We may suffer
and we are bound to suffer as long as we are in the
world but when we know that God wants to teach
us and bring the best out of us, we will embrace it
and make the best use of the opportunity we have.
So be careful how
you live. Don’t live
like ignorant
people, but like
wise people. Make
good use of every
opportunity you
have, because
these are evil days.
Don’t be fools,
then, but try to
find out what the
Lord wants you to
do (Ephesians
5:15-17).
We know that
in all things
God works
for good with
those who
love him,
those whom
he has called
to his purpose
(Romans
8:28).

The word of God:
Why you can't just ignore it
SUBTITLE HERE
Among many believers in the world, many will admit that
they don't love the word of God. For some, it's time
consuming, for others, irrelevant, while for others,
understanding it is their problem. These are some of the
Lorem Ipsum is simply
dummy text of the printing
and typesetting industry.
SUBTITLE HERE
reasons we give to stay away from reading the word of God.
While it's true that we don't like reading it, it's also true that
ignorance has become our daily companion just because of
choosing to stay away from the Bible. Many of us lack
wisdom in our daily decisions because of ignoring the word
of God. Stagnation, cycles of failure, deception and lies of
who God really is and who we really are in Him continue to
haunt us day and night simply because of choosing to ignore
the word of God. Yet it is the most powerful tool for every
child of God. >>>
Lorem Ipsum is simply
dummy text of the printing
and typesetting industry.
SUBTITLE HERE
Lorem Ipsum is simply
dummy text of the printing
and typesetting industry.
SUBTITLE HERE
Lorem Ipsum is simply
dummy text of the printing
and typesetting industry.

Transformation 30
God created the universe through His
word. Infact, His word is as powerful
as Himself. The scriptures say that
God has exalted His word above His
own name. It is alive, sharp as a two
double edged sword and it cannot be
altered. This means that it's
permanent, forever enduring.
Yes, grass withers and flowers fade,
but the word of our God endures
forever ~ Isaiah 40:8
God has practically given us
everything we need to live
victorious lives. His word is His
mind. Our victory cannot be
achieved until we understand what
God says about our situations. It
has taken care of everything and
every area of our lives; it is the
most beautiful thing we have as
believers. Your greatness, victory,
success, achievements,
corrections, rebukes,
encouragements and everything
you need is in the word of
God. We fail for lack of
knowledge. Ignorance is
something most of us have
embraced and made peace
with, but what we dont
realize is that, it destroys our
dreams, visions as well as our
lives.
God commands us in the book
of Joshua 18 to keep the
book of law His word on
our lips, to recite it day and
night, to observe all thats
written in there carefully and
we will successfully attain our
goals. We do not need to
keep on hopping from one
church to another or running
helter skelter looking for
answers to our problems or for

Transformation 31
people to prophesy to us, we
need the word of God. It's the
key to our problems and real
identity in Christ Jesus.
If you want to discover who you
are and what God says about
you, just dig deeper to the word
of God. It will give you all the
answers you seek. One of the
things the enemy fights with all
his might in the life of a believer
is the truth – the truth about God,
you and himself – and he knows
that all this can be found in the
word of God. He does not want
you to know because he knows
that you will become your
authentic self, and discover the
truth which will set you free.
One of his tricks therefore, is to
hinder you from studying the
word and to keep you in
ignorance and constant defeat. He
also knows how to steal the
Our victory
cannot be
achieved
until we
understand
what God
says about
our situations.
word from you for he has the
capacity to dig it out and
trample it with worries and other
worldly things. When God sows
a seed His word in your heart,
the enemy can snatch it away
from you. But this also depends
on the kind of soil heart you
have according to the parable of
the sower. He can manipulate the
environment within you to suit
him and when he succeeds, he
takes over your life and when

Transformation 32
he is in control, nothing good
can come out of it. If he
succeeds in snatching God's
word from your heart, he
succeeds in limiting your
spiritual growth and maturity.
This therefore means that the
word of God is our heavenly
diet. Failure to feed on it
regularly is failing as a
believer because
transformation, which is the
key to our spiritual maturity
and growth, cannot take place
without the word. When we
get transformed, we qualify for
more blessings. There are
things God cannot release to
us if we remain 'babies
spiritually.
It also empowers us, meaning
that even though we may be
saved in the eternal sense, if
we ignore the word, we
remain powerless before the
the enemy. The devil fears a person
who is grounded on the word so you
can imagine if you are not. It also
makes us grounded, strong and firm
even during the hardest times.
Anyone who comes
to me and listens to
my words and obeys
them—I will show
you what he is like.
He is like a man
who, in building his
house, dug deep and
laid the foundation
on rock. The river
flooded over and hit
that house but could
not shake it, because
it was well built. But
anyone who hears
my words and does
not obey them is like
a man who built his
house without laying
a foundation; when
the flood hit that
house it fell at
once—and what a
terrible crash that
was!” (Luke 6:47 - 49)
GNT

Transformation 33
Do not conform
yourselves to the
standards of this world,
but let God transform you
inwardly by a complete
change of your mind.
Then you will be able to
know the will of God -
what is good and is
pleasing to him and is
perfect ~ Romans 12:2.
Through the word, our minds are
renewed. God uses the word to
transform us which in turn helps us to
become the people He created us to
be. We cannot rediscover ourselves
with our carnal minds. If our minds
are carnal, or worldly, then everything
about us follows that same worldly
pattern. The ways of the world are
limiting, manipulative, oppressive and
deceptive. This means unless our
minds are transformed, our lives
remain the same. We keep gauging
ourselves with the standards of the
world, seeing ourselves through the
eyes of the world and doing things the
worldly way. Our minds remain
focused on the world. This is
because the carnal mind always
assumes control as long as it
remains unchanged. Our minds
are the battlefield and when they
are filled with the wrong stuff, it
becomes a loophole for the
enemy to attack us. The only
way to counterattack him is
through meditating on the word
of God.
Gods word is true knowledge of
Him, His ways and character. It's
through the word that we learn
more about Him, His great plans
and His perfect will for us. He
has the best interest at heart for
all of us. He loves us and always
wants to give us the best, but
how can He manifest His plans
for us when we dont even want
to know His mind? It is going to
be hard for us if we continue to
ignore His word. Through this
same word, we receive God's
instructions. It's a revelation of
who really God is and who we
are in Him. It's like water that

Transformation 34
cleanses us of all worldly stuff
- every form of deception,
unbelief, doubts and wrong
perception about God and us.
We must therefore love the
word, study and learn it
because it is a precious treasure
and should always be respected
and honored.
For, although we are
in the flesh, we do not
battle according to
the flesh, for the
weapons of our battle
are not of flesh but
are enormously
powerful, capable of
destroying fortresses.
We destroy arguments
and every pretension
raising itself against
the knowledge of God,
and take every
thought captive in
obedience to Christ ...
(2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
According to the above scripture,
Satan seeks to build strongholds in
our minds – strongholds are lies that
are believed. A person who believes
a lie is deceived. When an
individual believes that wrong is
right, he has fallen into deception.
Satan works through deception, but
the knowledge of the Word is the
believers defense and victory.
According to Joyce Meyer in her
book The Word, the Name, the
Blood, a believer who knows the
truth is a major defeat to Satan.
The Devils work in the life of a
believer is based upon deception.
Deception is as a result of lies that
are believed. The Bible calls Him
the father of lies and so you can be
sure that whatever he comes telling
you is a lie. Jesus says in John
that if you remain in my word,
you will truly be my disciples and
you will know the truth and the
truth will set you free. >>>
We must therefore love
the word, study and
learn it because it is a
precious treasure and
should always be
respected and honored.

Transformation 35
You will be set free from guilt,
condemnation, self rejection, self
hatred, works of the flesh, deception
will be uncovered and your greatness
will be unveiled. It will position you
and restore you to your rightful
position. If we must walk in full
dominion, authority, power and be the
people we were created to be, the
word of God is the secret.
No person will ever live a truly
victorious life without being a sincere
student of the word of God. Every
day you should speak the Word, pray
the Word, love the Word and honor
the Word. The Word of God is the
two – edged sword; that is your
weapon of defense which you are
supposed to use to oppose the enemy.
You should not allow your mind and
your tongue to wander and go
wherever they want. Make use of the
word of God. Write some scriptures
somewhere and carry them along with
you wherever you go. Think the word
and confess it with your mouth. If
you love the word of God, your life
will change. When you read and
meditate on it, you are interacting
with God and the truth is that
you cannot interact with the
Almighty God and remain the
same. Things that don't make
sense to you will begin to make
sense, you will get a clear sense
of direction for your life, your
eyes will be opened to see what
you couldn't see, darkness will be
dispelled, your focus will be
sharpened and your understanding
will get deeper. If in the past
Jesus opened the eyes of the
blind - physically and spiritually,
even today, He is in the business
of doing so because He is the
word of God.
So get rid of your old self,
which made you live as you
used to—the old self that
was being destroyed by its
deceitful desires. Your hearts
and minds must be made
completely new, and you
must put on the new self,
which is created in God's
likeness and reveals itself in
the true life that is upright
and holy ~ Ephesians
4:22 - 24