I am tired of average , This is my Prayer for a Life of Excellence

II have developed a habit of praying before I launch onto something new. This time, I am tired of being average and doing just enough to get through the system. I want to live out the calling God called us to live. As 1st Peter 2:9 ESV Says But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession,
that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light .Or as Isaiah 61 :3 ESV to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord , that he may be glorified.

Well I can't proclaim that which I haven't witnessed and I am certain of. If I am going to proclaim the excellencies of the Lord, I will have to experience them first. If I am going to be an oak of righteousness, to showcase the splendor of the Lord I will have to live a splendid life.
I know that all this is not possible without God, so I start with prayer. Here is my prayer for this journey of excellence.

God thank you for sowing the seeds of excellence in my heart through your wonderful Word. I acknowledge that I would never have desired this kind of excellence without your help. Worldly wisdom is limited and achieving excellence the worldly way requires much sacrifice, energy, concessions, compromise and at the end it's empty and unfulfilling. But your way is enriching and fulfilling at every level. Thank you for creating a way of plugging into your awesome power, wisdom, knowledge, understanding and joy through Jesus Christ (Isaiah 11 :1-6). There couldn’t be a better gift. Forgive me for the wasted years and time I have lived an average lifestyle. For the times I worked the system, doing just enough to get through. Forgive me for not conducting my life affairs as a living sacrifice. I have not offered the best of my ability as a daughter, mother, student, in my work, my academics and in my relationships. I have allowed procrastination, laziness, gossip, movies, blogs, social media, slacking, passive - aggressive tendencies to rob me of the time and opportunities to showcase your splendor. I have let you down by my performance in all spheres that you have granted me influence. Thank you for not judging me by my performance and regardless of my poor performance, you still love me faithfully.

I have set my mind up to live a life of excellence. No more mediocre. I will start by renewing my mind with your Word, studying it and practicing it in my everyday life. I will set my mind on things above and not in pursuit of fleeting desires. I will put my all in everything you give me an opportunity to work on.  I will believe that you came that I may have life and have it in abundance. I will also refuse to be swayed from the belief that you offered your life as a guilty offering, though you were a king, you came here lived a humble life, endured suffering, ridicule, pain, humiliation, and denied yourself a luxurious life so that I may not go through the same.

I pray for bigger opportunities henceforth, I want to fast and pray for wisdom in making big decisions instead of praying and fasting over recurring issues . Give me the opportunity to make the tough decision on choosing a vehicle depending on specifications and performance rather than going for the most affordable. Let me have a tough time deciding the choice of education system and school my daughter will attend depending on their educational theory that guides their system, the kind of extra services they offer and their teaching methods rather than deciding on the basis of school fees affordability. I would also like to spend my weekends visiting homes and property expos to identify a great location for my holiday home, my beach house or even upgrading my own home that you will give me shortly instead of spending the weekend browsing better rental houses to move into. I would like to have the trouble of choosing and having an estate agent on retainer basis rather than a landlord.

I would like to spend a week researching  my masters program depending on the benefits and characteristics of the programs offered by different Universities rather than browsing scholarships and settling for whatever comes my way.

I would like to have a hard time choosing a medical cover on the basis of benefits and services offered and not settling for what my employer offers or on the statutory covers. Not that I plan to get sick, but I would like to have a cover for prudence sake, you know the devil is still prowling around like a lion ready to devour us. I know that by your stripes Jesus I am healed but nevertheless, I want to exercise good planning. In a nutshell, I don't want my decisions to be determined by financial affordability, I prefer to makes decisions based on quality, efficiency, best returns, and value for money. I don't want to buy things things because they are the most expensive, noooo......... , I understand expensive is not always the best and aiming for such is getting into the middle class mentality trap of conspicuous living. I am comfortable with the best value offered.

I know all I have to do to enjoy a great lifestyle is worship you God,(Ecc. 5) so I want to have a prayer room at my house and a flexi-work plan to allow me to go for prayer retreats, hold worship sessions, go for missions as they come up and to just spend quality quite time in your presence. I don't want my lifestyle to be determined by my work, career, employer, my earnings or anything else apart from you God. I want to live surrendered to your will and be lead by the Holy Spirit at each moment of my life rather than have a schedule determined by circumstances.

Lord I ask this boldly because you admonished us to ask for anything in your name and we shall receive. You also said that silver and gold is yours, so I am sure that these are little requests compared to your riches in heaven. I also know that though there are many ways of acquiring wealth, I would rather receive it from you, (Ecc 5:). You alone can grant health, peace, joy, time and wealth whilst blessing me so much that I don't spend time mulling over my past. You said that I will not be the borrower but I will be the lender of nations, that means to have my lifestyle of excellence, I will not get into debt over it. This thing of mortgage facilities, loans, salary advances, charges... I refuse in the name of Jesus. I also promise not to charge interest wherever I lend out so that I can honor you.

You have said that your thoughts are way above mine, and my ways can't match up to yours. Feel free to review upwards this prayer since you are able to do exceeding abundantly above all I can ask. Surprise me Lord, I love surprises. Whatever I have not mentioned here but that I desire and it pleases you, grant it to me according to your grace. I know your grace means that what I don't deserve.

If anything I have asked for displease you by being selfishly motivated convict me for it so that I may reset my heart's desires. Lord I also know that often we fail to receive what we ask because we ask for selfish aspirations like showing off, wanting to rise above our peers, to cause envy and incite jealousy all over, to gloat and have a  reason to look down on those who despised me. Search my heart Lord and if any of these attitudes or any other attitude that is not aligned with glorifying you resides in my heart, convict me and bring me to repentance, purge it with the blood of Jesus and cleanse me. I wouldn't want to miss out on your splendor because of pride.

Lord I also know that when you glorify someone you also send a thorn so that they don't become proud (2 Corinth. 12 ) and though your grace is sufficient to sustain us through the pain of the thorn, I would prefer not having the thorn. So I ask that you may sow seeds of humility as you prepare me for your great blessing. Remove every form of pride and any root of Idolatry so that I will always give you the glory for everything you give do. I will not take credit for anything, but I will attribute my success to you. Whenever I get honor I will pass the credit to you. I am your devoted brand ambassador, I am only a model displaying your splendor. It's never about me, I am just the means of advertising you great and awesome Name  promoting you, creating awareness, bringing traffic to your site (Church) , helping with the conversion from fans to customers (conversion from believers to disciples) you know all things marketing....... I am just a jar of clay filled with wonderful gifts from you for the purpose of your ministry to show that all this all surpassing power in me is from you . (2 Corinthians 4:2)

I will talk to you later in the day , as we go through my performance today, your constant evaluation is much needed and required, it's the air I breath. Keep in touch with me throughout, keep whispering your instructions, comfort, encouragement, counsel and help. I am nothing without you God. Laterz .....

The Ram Caught by its Horns in the Thicket

Gen 22:1-18
Most of us if you grew up Christian know the story of Abraham. The father of the faith, who was called by God to leave his life as he knew it and everything in it to follow God into an unknown place and start a new life complete with a new name. His wife Sarah was barren but God promised them a child and not only that He promised that His descendants will be as many as the stars in the sky or as sand of the ocean. In chapter 22, we see God putting Abraham to the test. He had fulfilled the promise and given them a son, Isaac. So God tells Abraham to go to Mountain in Moriah and sacrifice the son as a burnt offering, Isaac, the only son, the one he loved. And Abraham did just that. The next morning he set out with Isaac, two servants, and wood for the sacrifice.
He didn’t argue with God. It was an extreme instruction but he complied. If it was me I would question God. Is it really you God? Why would you give me a son them ask for him as a sacrifice? You promised to bless me with many descendants through Isaac; you promised that Isaac and not Ishmael would be my sole heir (Gen 21:8-13) so what has changed? But not Abraham. He just woke and did what God asked.
The greatest statement of Faith
Along the way, Isaac got curious. Most probably he had accompanied him several times to offer sacrifice. He knew there must be an animal for the sacrifice, but his time there was none. So he asked Abraham, v7.... ”Here is the fire and the wood...But where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” And Abraham gave the greatest statement of faith...” God will provide”.
Now let us examine that statement. Abraham knew that God had asked him to sacrifice Isaac. He did not want to lie neither did he want to scare Isaac. Either Abraham knew and understood God’s nature very well or he was a masterfully liar. (You remember him asking Sarah to “lie” to the Pharaoh of Egypt that she was a sister, technically were step siblings yes so technically it was not a lie not also a lie because she was more than that and they only said it because he thought they would kill him to take Sarah) It seems like Abraham and his lies always worked out to his benefit as we shall see. God had not said he will provide a sacrifice, Abraham knew very well that he had the sacrifice with him. And it was walking next to him asking him difficult questions and he answered the best way he knew.
The Greatest Pilgrimage Of Faith
So the story continues, at the foot of the mountain, Abraham leaves the servants and climbs up with Isaac, the fire and the wood. I can only imagine Him all this far. The long walk, the climb up the mountain. This guy had several opportunities to change his mind. All this time, did he ever doubt God and his call? Wasn’t it a trial of patience and endurance? If it was me, the test would not have been so much to sacrifice my child but the time- the duration between hearing the call and executing it. I don’t respond well to situations that require waiting, patience is a virtue I am still learning to live out. What was going on in Abraham’s mind? Can you visualize the mental torment, the hot sun, the long distance trek and he was old, the dragging along his son who very much trusted him......
The Greatest Act of Faith
Anyway, this guy Abraham climbs up the mountain, makes an altar, arranges the wood, ties up the Isaac, lays him on the altar,( did Isaac put up a fight, what do you think?) and does the greatest act of faith. Verse 10: Then Abraham reached out his hand, took the knife, and prepared to slaughter/kill his son.
Now wait a minute: Hadn’t he just said that God will provide a sacrifice for Himself earlier? Why didn’t he wait and hang on a bit for it (the sacrifice) to show up? What did he think Isaac think of him? You see why I call it the greatest act of faith? Because in his heart, from the moment he heard God back in Beersheba, when he got up that morning, all the way while walking, climbing the mountain, making the altar, tying him up, placing him on the altar- Isaac was dead- as a sacrifice. In his heart he had sacrificed him. It was done! What was remaining was the physical part. In his heart there was complete obedience.
This complete obedience is what kept him from turning back, from rationalising, from quitting. It’s gave him the strength to trek and climb. The resolve helped him from changing his mind. The attitude of obedience gave him the courage to make the altar and lay Isaac on it. Obedience kept him from delaying in the guise of waiting on the Lord. And to God, obedience was better than sacrifice.
The Ram caught by its horns in the Thicket.
When God saw that Abraham had completely surrendered his most loved thing/person-the only son, he was pleased and sent an angel to stop Abraham from killing Isaac. God had seen that Abraham loved him more than anything else he had. Abraham was all sold out for God. He respected and obeyed God. He did not withhold his only son from God because he feared the Lord.
So Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in the thicket by his horns (ASV, v13). What a story- God is the king of all things, including drama- He’s the ultimate drama King! If it was a movie, you can almost hear the sigh in verse 14.
That’s how God tests us. With the very thing we love. The dearest thing to us, that is what God uses to test us. He wants to see whether we fear, respect and obey him to the end.  He wants to test whether we worship Him- the giver of all things or we worship the gifts He has given us. Are we faithful with what He has given us? What are we withholding from God? What haven’t we surrendered unto him?
Here is a way to examine ourselves:
What is the most important thing in my life in a hierarchal order starting with the most important? Write them down as your mind has them, without thinking about it.
If your list didn’t not start by worshiping God.....you are on the wrong track. Here is what I think should be the hierarchy:
Worshipping God -> Family -> My life’s purpose-> then the rest follow eg social life, gaining wealth, mentorship, community service, etc.....

Which of these things or areas of my life haven’t I surrendered unto God? Which Am I still calling the shots?
Some pointers are that in some areas you completely obey what the Word of God teaches about that topic but in other areas you are compromising. Eg you tithe faithfully, give and offer your money to God’s service generously meaning that you have surrendered the area of finances but you find it hard to maintain sexual purity because you feel it’s the only way the relationship will work which means you have not surrendered the area of relationships in your life. Or you aim at doing everything else right but frequently give bribes or use dishonest means in business.. Look out for recurring sins...
Why am I holding onto these things?
It could be because of trust issues. You don’t trust God that He has the best intentions for you and that if you let go, He will mess it up (most probably He will, so that He can rearrange it into his design). Other reasons would be rebellion, stubbornness, source of identity, form of escapism from past or present trouble/problem etc
After the above exercise pray unto God repenting of any disobedience and wrong priorities in life.
Jehovah Jireh_ God will Provide
On the Mountain God call you to sacrifice at, God will provide. That is his nature. What is the mountain to which you have been called to sacrifice the very thing you hold most dearly? There are about seven mountains of influence: Church, Government, Business, Media, Family, Education, Arts and Entertainment.  You might be called to serve on one but then God asks you to sacrifice on another. Here is how, God calls you to serve in government, but that means you give up the privacy of your family life. Or God calls you to start a business but that means giving up your career that is doing well to run a start up, or leave your career and go into ministry, don’t get married and get into celibate ministry in Kosovo or the interior of South Sudan, or give up your quite life and get into media and arts where your life will be scrutinized, blogged and discussed over twitter hash tags.
But be certain of this, if you are willing to sacrifice God will provide. The attitude of sacrifice is like this ’I know God provides, and He is capable of providing, but even if He does not I will sacrifice anyway just because He asked me’ In Abraham’s case, God intervened and stopped Him from killing Isaac. It could be that it was because God does not accept children sacrifice. In our lives the things we are to sacrifice are not always mortal.  It is not always that God will intervene. We see it with martyrs, God has the ability to rescue them but he does not. God can give you a husband but he does not. Why?
The reward of obedience
When Abraham saw the ram he took it and offered a sacrifice unto God. He named the place Jehovah Jireh- God will provide. God affirmed his promise to Abraham again after that act of faith. It was the reward for obedience. God added further blessings for the descendants of Abraham. He promised that they will conquer the cities of their enemies and through them all nations of the earth will be blessed. And here we are, calming the blessing of the descendants of Abraham through Jesus Christ. But here is the punch line------“All because you have obeyed me”v15.
Imagine the blessing we have missed out on because of our disobedience against God. But more sorrowful, imagine the blessings we have caused other people to lose out on all because of our disobedience. Jonah pointed out that we miss out on the mercy and grace that could be ours when we regard worthless thing as being more valuable than obedience to God.
In the Christian walk, at some point, God will call out to you to sacrifice something. But we don’t have to worry and be perplexed. We know there is a ram caught by its horns in the thicket somewhere. We just have to look up like Abraham and see it. The ram is Jesus, ready to be offered as a sacrifice, 2015 yrs ago he did. And unlike the ram on the mountain that was caught up, He gave himself freely, to die as a sacrifice for whatever you can think of. He willingly took the place of whatever you are called to sacrifice not so that you may not sacrifice, but so that when you sacrifice it in your heart, He will take its place and you don’t have to lose it.
Just like Abraham had in his heart sacrificed Isaac to God, we too should not withhold anything from God. We have a promise from Jesus that even though we will have to sacrifice something in our Christian walk, we shall not lose that which we have sacrificed but we shall find it. In Mark 10:28-30 Jesus promises that whatever we give up for His sake we shall get 100 times in return while still here on earth, plus persecution of course and in the world to come we shall have eternal life. When you are at pains over a sacrifice you have to make, remember that because Jesus came as the sacrificial lamb, you won’t lose that sacrifice but instead you will get 100 % return because of Jesus. And that’s the reward for obedience.

Of Human Approval and God’s Grace: You can’t change people, but YOU can change

Just recently I approached a certain minister in a Church with a view of understanding the church, its programs its various departments. I wanted also for him to guide me and be sort of a patron to my own blogging ministry. I don’t know whether it is the Holy Spirit who lead me to speak to him about it or it was just me and my aggressive personality that wanted just to share with anyone of my new found purpose in life. He was very polite and kind, very pleasant and homely when explaining about the church programs. I started by sharing that God had called me to teach His word through blogging and writing Bible Study work books. I shared on my passion of reaching out to people through blogging, doing Bible study teaching and the likes. He looked impressed and really encouraged me and commended me about it.
But when I started speaking about myself, my past, and my current single-mother Christian situation, I started noticing his ‘Christian prejudices’ coming up. Then the questions started, as in the name of trying to get to know me better. That’s when I began hearing the unsaid words between the said words. He was asking questions like, when did you get saved? And you have a daughter? Are you married? You were living together? So you are just there with your daughter? It must be such a joy… and that entire nice Christian things people say.
But my answers did not please him. You see I got saved quite early in my life at the age of 12 and I had grown up in a Christian background. I went to church on Sundays, went to brigades, church schools and every program in our church. I had been taught about Jesus all my life. I went n to high school and passively participated in C.U. I was the good girl, never got into trouble a lot not because I was all straight up but because I was smart about breaching the laws. I was a relatively good performer academically. In the University, I was a C.U. member and even at some time held a leadership position, and was a member of the intercessory prayer team. From the outside, I had a moderate Christian life. But what people didn’t know was that I lived a double life, I was hot and cold about everything including my Christian walk. In my private life, non-Christian things like alcohol, pre-marital sex, gossip, immodest dressing and other struggles ruled my life. So when I got pregnant in my last year of campus, my real life got exposed. I couldn’t play that ‘nice girl’ card anymore.
But here I was, only one and a half years later speaking of launching my Christian ministry. A not yet 24 single mother of one, wanted guidance on her ministry. Yeah right! You could feel it in his voice, in his tone and his demeanour. He was not comfortable. I left feeling condemned. I left feeling invalidated. I doubted whether really God lead me to speak with him. But more importantly I felt my calling questioned. Like who are you? What qualifies you to do this? Are you good enough? Have you repented well enough to be allowed back into the Christian fellowship? What makes you think you can teach anyone anything? You failed, you slipped, and you messed up! And it’s too soon to get back up. Stay down there for a while, long enough to make as see that you have paid for your sins and you have learnt your lesson. Those were the voices in my mind that evening as I went home.
Maybe he didn’t mean it that way. I can’t blame him anyway, maybe he doesn’t know better. Two hours later after that, I was convinced that he did mean to be condescending. He didn’t know any better. The Christian community in modern times is lost on how to integrate the Christians who fall and try to get back. “Mainstream churches had tried to address it by having a program for teaching that would allow you to fellowship again especially by taking communion. But modern churches rarely know how to deal with such situations. You see the problem is that sin requires repentance, but how do you know someone has repented well enough especially after being involved in the “major” sins like premarital sex, adultery, and misappropriation of funds and in some churches, taking alcohol and clubbing? The church today has no problem accepting the past sinner no matter how bad their story was along as they get saved and move ahead in salvation. Actually they love those conversion stories. But what about the Christian who had been saved but falls into sin?
That afternoon I struggled with these thoughts of condemnation, accusations that were putting me down. Then I received a revelation.....People will always have opinions and will hold beliefs and notions about you. Notions perceptions and opinions that are not based on the teaching of Jesus. You cannot do anything about them. A lot of Christians have been conditioned that way. But it is upon you to change your mind by the renewing power of the Word of God. If you allow God to change your mind, you will change in how you think and feel and these people’s perceptions, opinions and notions will not affect you.
You cannot change them, but you can change yourself such that whatever people say about you will not affect you, When people criticise you or they disapprove of you , your ideas, your work, your dreams.....if you are grounded in God, it won’t affect you. The only reason you feel the sting of peoples’ disapproval and criticism is because you still peg your confidence on approval by humans. If all you cared about was God’s opinion about you, then regardless of what people say, you would not be shaken.
Seeking human approval is dangerous. If they don’t you feel downcast, dejected and depressed. It affects your confidence and self –esteem. You feel not good enough, inadequate and worthless. You miss out on making your influence and touching the lives you would have. If you get the approval, you become proud and aggrogant. The praise from men makes you feel accepted, loved and valuable. It makes you think it’s all me, I achieved all this by myself. When pride and arrogance takes over, God opposes you and your downfall comes next. That’s the danger of seeking the approval of men rather than from God. You life is not a T.V show; God does not love you, bless you or relate to you in any way based on the ratings your life attracts. He loves you, cares for you, and approves of you all the same. It doesn’t matter how well you are performing....He loves you all the same.
Sin is the only thing that separates us from fellowship with God, but even then, while you are in sin, while you are in the thick of it, God still loves you. He loves us so much that 2015 years ago He sent Jesus to be the ultimate sacrifice for our sins so that even though we have fallen, when we sin, and we shall...we need not do anything but come to Him in repentance through Jesus,
That’s all. No more killing of your best lamb, ram, bull, doves or no more sacrifice of silver, no more paying of a penance. Just repent and ask for forgiveness. And just like that, you are back into good terms with God. That’s God’s grace for you.  And that’s all that matters.
From that moment I realized I needed to be firm in my faith, I can’t do what God called me to do if I look to gain the approval of people. But more importantly, if I myself do not affirm myself in God, the devil will always have grounds to tear me down. If I am not confident in whom I am in Christ, then I will get knocked over several times. Knowing who I am in Christ is the most important weapon against any attack by the devil and his agents. So Who Am I In CHRIST?

The Bastard Child: Are Children Born out of Wedlock Cursed?

This is one of the debates that rage on in forums all over social media. Few churches teach on it leaving room for the devil to take a foothold among believers. Out of ignorance many continue to ravage under the curse while others laugh it off. The self righteous use it to condemn others while others reason and rationalise out of it but what does the Bible say?
Deut. 23:2 No one born out of wedlock or any descendant of such a person to the tenth generation may be included among the Lords people.
People read this verse and feel condemned. It makes them question the fairness of God. Most Christians cannot understand how a loving God would punish innocent people that ruthlessly. We need to understand two things, that God hates sin and the consequences of sin have the power to affect not only our lives but also other people around us. The second thing is that God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die on our behalf that we may live without sin having power over us(John 3:16)
Who is a bastard/illegitimate child?
The word implies all those not born in marriage. Even when the parents later marry, the child is still held to have been born out of wedlock because the child was conceived in fornication. Marriage has no power to cover up our sins. Only repentance and forgiveness through the blood of Jesus can undo sin Children born out of adultery relations, lust, rape, incest, are all considered illegitimate.
In the Old Testament, things were tough. If you sinned consequences followed immediately. We see sin affecting not only the sinners but also the family of the sinner like in the case of Achan and stealing of things devoted to God. Both he and his family who had not sinned were condemned to stoning by death. We see David after sinning by adultery with Uriah’s wife and later murder to cover up,    their innocent child died and God explained it as so that His(God’s) name may not be tarnished among  nations that had come to know God through David(2nd Samuel 12:14). The nations knew that a mighty God was with David, if God let that child live God’s name would be desecrated since they would wonder – This God says he is Holy but condones adultery? The consequences of David’s sin were not only to himself but to his family too- yet they had not participated in the sin. God meted out the punishment- the sword shall never depart the house of David, rebellion will rise out against from his own house, and someone will lay with his wives in public...( 2 Samuel 12).
Many of the consequences of sin run through to affect our children and our children’s children and even people we associate with who have nothing to do with it like in the case of Jonah while in the ship running from God, the ship and people in it were exposed to danger and loss all because of the sin of Jonah.
What is the point I am driving at? That sin is real; its consequences are real and detrimental.  One person observed that children born out of wedlock struggle with a lot of things whose roots are spiritual. There is rejection, abandonment, and rebellion against authority. These spiral out of control leading to promiscuity, alcoholism and drunkenness, deception, etc all in a desperate effort to gain acceptance, love, and recognition. In the Bible this is seen in life's of children born illegitimately like Ishamel whom God says will live in hostility just because he was conceived as a result of the sin of Abraham and Sarah,( since Hagar was a mere slave and a victim in this case). We also see it in Tamars life and if we dare examine our lives we will notice the pattern of sexual sin, rebellion, deceit, all stemming from generational sin and also personal sin.
The consequences of their parent’s sins are visible in their lives. You may want to argue that those who end up like that is out of personal their choice and have nothing to do with their past. But the Bible tells us that we do not fight physical battles, but spiritual. Anything physical whether good or bad is a manifestation of something spiritual. Good things are the fruit of the Holy Spirit while bad things are the fruit of the flesh working together with sin.
If you are still in doubt look at how God describes himself: The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Ex.28:43.
So what is the solution? Are all children born out of wedlock condemned to doom? Certainly not! There is hope, there is light! In Ezekiel 18 God annuls the old law and puts in place a new one. “Why do you quote this proverb concerning the land of Israel: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, but their children’s mouths pucker at the taste? As surely as I live, says the Sovereign LORD, you will not quote this proverb anymore in Israel. For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.Ez.18:1-4
In other words God is saying that it shall not be said of his people that the sins of parents affect even their children. God through Ezekiel revealed the new order of punishment of sin.  He opened the door to the end of corporate punishment and gave way to individual responsibility for sin. In verse 30 God says “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign LORD. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die O people of Israel? I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign LORD. Turn back and live!”
This promise is perfected with the coming of Jesus. The promise in Ezekiel only stops the children for paying for the sins of their parents but it does not offer a way out of the curse. But Jesus does. The Good News that Jesus brought is that not only can you be forgiven when you repent of your sins but you can break away from the consequences of sin e.g. curses, death, disease, etc. Jesus enabled full forgiveness of sin and also offers deliverance from the consequences of sin.
The bastard curse exists but we have an option of breaking it through Jesus Christ. But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." Gal3:13. Through the power in the name of Jesus we can break away from any curse in our lives. Including the curse of being born out of wedlock. Through Jesus we are set free from the law of sin and death. Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. We see that Christ has already given us a way out. Let’s take it!
How do we break the Curse? -  By repentance and prayer
Is it automatic that we are free from the curse? No. We have to take hold of the promises and pray over our lives by the authority Christ gives us. Some people argue that the mere fact of Ezekiel 18 that curse is no longer operational. But that is a faulty thinking because it would also mean that since Jesus came to save sinners that we may have everlasting life but just because it is written and He came died and resurrected does not mean that automatically every sinner is headed to heaven. We must profess, accept, believe and take hold of the promises in the Bible personally so that they can come true in our lives. We need to confess our sins and those of our forefathers to receive deliverance and forgiveness.  But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers , with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me … then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember …” (Leviticus 26:40, 42) (emphasis mine)
Parents need to repent and confess their sins. If we confess our sins, God is ready and willing to forgive us. Forgiveness through Jesus denies the devil a legal right and foothold over your life and that of your children. They should also pray over the lives of their children and break the curse. The sooner the better, you don’t want to give the devil a foothold in your life and that of your child any longer. This does not have to be complicated. Just say a simple prayer.
Heavenly Father I repent of my sin of ………(insert the sin eg adultery /prostitution /fornication). I ask for forgiveness in the name of Jesus Christ. Forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness brought by my sin. Cleanse me with the holy blood of Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus I break the curse that came upon me and my child as a result of this sin. In the name of Jesus I deny the curse the right to operate in my family and in generations to come. I deny it the right and opportunity to affect and influence my life and that of my child (name). Cleanse my child from the unrighteousness. In the name of Jesus I break every curse that flows in our family line due to the sins of our family members. Forgive us Lord by your mercy and faithfulness. I proclaim that redeemed us from every curse upon our lives. In the name of Jesus and by the authority given to me over evil spirits I cast out every evil spirit that gained access to my life and that of my family and children through my sins and those of our ancestors. I ask in the name of Jesus that God releases his blessing over our life and set us free from the power of evil. Set us free from any yoke and captivity of bad habits that developed from this sin and from the curse.  In the Name of Jesus I pray and believe.
If you are a child born out of wedlock, you too can pray and break off from the curse. As a believer of Christ you are a partaker of the Kingdom of Heaven. You have the authority of Christ over the devil and his works. The curse of an illegitimate child runs for ten generations! Compared to the curse of idolatry that runs for four generations we can see that its effect is huge and rampant. We cannot be certain of our ancestral history so to be on the safe side we need to break it over our lives. It might be that the curse befell us due to the sins of our ancestors.
Heavenly Father, and Almighty God, we/I come to You humbly in our hearts, letting loose of all the pride of our bloodlines. And we ask You in the name of Jesus Christ to forgive us for our sins and iniquity of our fore fathers. We/I repent for our behavior, and the behavior of our ancestors, going back ten generations. We know that we cannot change their judgment, but we know from Your Word Father, that Jesus died on Calvary’s cross to redeem us from all curses, but especially right now we ask You Father to redeem us from the curse of the child born out of wedlock. We nail the sin, transgressions, and iniquities of ourselves and our ancestors to the Cross, going back ten generations in the name of Jesus Christ. We ask You Father, that You restore the blessings in our lives, that we can come freely into the congregation of the Lord, having sweet fellowship with You Father, with You Lord Jesus, and very importantly, that we can have fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We thank You Father for Your faithfulness. We cast out any evil spirit that got into our lives through this sin. Break any habit we have from living under this heavy curse. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray and thank You for this deliverance, Amen.
Parents who had children out of wedlock should not live in guilty and condemnation. Rise up and take charge by claiming Ez: 18: 1-4. Proclaim over your children “The curse of a child born out of wedlock will not befall you for God promised that it will no longer be said of us, that the sins of the parents affect their children. “ Whenever you see the devil raising his ugly head in the lives of your child through rebellion, deception, bitterness, etc proclaim over your children the promise of God.
You do not have to live under the curse. For when the Son of Man Set you free…..he sets you free indeed. (John 8:36)

You can have it all! A Recipe for the Good Life

Ecc 5:18-20 Even so I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them and to accept their lot in life. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the power/good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life - this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.
In the preceding verses, Solomon expresses his wise counsel on the futility of wealth. And this is his conclusion, the recipe of a good life. It’s one of the few things his critical wisdom approves of. It is the one thing that he noticed that was good about life. Here it is......
Eat and drink/The great lifestyle
Enjoy your work
Accept your lot /portion in life
Receive wealth from God
The ability/power/health to enjoy it
Enjoying a good lifestyle,
Eating and drinking is what we often think as blessings but Solomon had observed that it goes further than just that. If you work so hard to afford a great lifestyle but you hate your job.... you are miserable. Work needs to be more than just a means of meeting your needs. You need to find something you enjoy doing that brings great joy to your heart and enables you to afford the finer things in life. This is what entrepreneurs call fulfilment. If you hate Monday mornings and can't wait for your day off.... Start thinking of a career change. Look for something that brings fulfilment. And fulfilment can only be achieved from realising and working on your own purpose. Find your purpose and figure out a way of meeting your lifestyle needs from it.
Contentment
Contentment is ship missed by many. Accept your lot. Accept your portion as defined by God. There can only be one Bill Gates, one Barrack Obama, one Founder of..... One lead pastor of.... One Innovator of........You get me. Stop coveting what’s not yours. If you know your purpose you will know where the line between contentment and selfish ambition is. Ambition is good, but it should be directed towards achieving your life’s purpose. It should not be directed at fruitless competition, geared at becoming better than someone else but it should be geared at becoming a better version of you. Ambition should not be about keeping up with your peers or overtaking them, but at improving on the realisation/actualisation of your purpose. People are too low a standard to aim for. You want standards? Look to Him, the definer of excellence. Finding your purpose and living it is not enough, you need to accept that it is good enough. Specialize, be the best in it, don't try to be everything and everyone. Focus and accept your life as revealed.
Receive wealth from God.
I wonder why did Solomon phrased it that way. He could have said, create wealth, amass wealth, find wealth, and grow wealth and all those other phrases people use. All those other phrases have an active element suggesting that you have to do something but the advice of Solomon is receive wealth from God. It’s passive. We all want wealth but to really enjoy it, we need to receive. Ask and you shall receive. You can acquire wealth by toiling for it and though you might get it you will be too busy to enjoy it. Stop chasing wealth, find your purpose, work on it and wealth will come to you.  This is called passive wealth. And here I thought that that tip about passive income was an idea from the rich guys... Guess what! It’s Biblical!
Finally the ability to enjoy all these things.
Some versions have it as the power or the health to enjoy the wealth. What a tragedy to have an awesome lifestyle, a great job, wealth but you can’t enjoy it and someone else gets to enjoy what is yours. Illness, oppression, theft, political upheavals, family squabbles, suits in courts, etc steal our ability to enjoy life. The devil is describe as a thief who only comes to steal, kill and destroy, but Jesus came that we may have life and have it in abundance. If there’s something keeping you from enjoying life, it’s not from God. If you can’t enjoy the fruit of your labour, it’s not from God. Look to God for only He can give you the ability to fully enjoy your wealth.
The Gift of God
Solomon emphasised that to have all these is truly a gift of God. God causes you to have so much joy and fulfilment that you are too busy enjoying life to brood over your life. You are too busy enjoying God's gift that you never worry about your life and how it will turn out.... That’s abundance. In short Solomon says.... Unlike common worldly belief.. You can have it all...  Yes you can have it all. But only in Christ Jesus. You can earn a great lifestyle, you can create wealth but to have it all- Only God can give you that. To enjoy life at its fullest, we need God. Only through Jesus can we find that abundance we all long for.
But how?
Jesus already gave us the how: Seek ye First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these will be added unto you.