Grace Abounds Ministries

You’re welcome to today’s article reading. By God’s grace, I shall be continuing from where we stopped in the last article. I have been sharing on the Helmet of Salvation as an armour we need to put on to keep winning in life and ministry. And in the last article, I shared how the Holy Spirit, through the instrumentality of the saving grace we have received, teaches and trains us to live soberly, godly, and righteously in this world. In today's article, we will be looking at the helmet of Salvation viewed eschatologically. “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8 NKJV) When we view salvation eschatologically, which means salvation is not only about the present protection as I have shared previously, but it is also about our future assurance.  There are three dimensions we view salvation from: we have been saved (from the penalty of sin), we are being saved (from the power of s...

I welcome everyone to today’s article, and it is my sincere prayer that the Lord will encounter you in His word. For quite a while now, I have been sharing on the victor’s mentality, while we consider various equipping the Lord has provided as we see them in Ephesians chapter 6. Presently, we are at the Helmet of Salvation . “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” (Ephesians 6:17 NKJV) I started sharing from Titus 2:11-12 in the last article , and we saw that the saving grace of Christ didn’t only save us from this present evil world, but also trains and teaches us in order to keep winning in this present evil world. You know, as a believer, you need to keep winning; you need to keep winning in your spiritual life, health, finances, career, marriage, relationships, and the like. And this is what salvation does, it teaches you how to keep winning. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, den...

I want to welcome everyone to today’s article. I am trusting God that He will speak to you expressly and that every heart will be blessed as you read in Jesus’ name. Amen. Last week, I started sharing on the Helmet of Salvation as a continuation of our series on the victor’s mentality. We saw in Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV): “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” We saw how beautiful and great our salvation is, as Apostle Paul has described it. That it is not only positional, but that it is experiential; it is active in defending us against the different attacks of the devil on our minds. I shared on the use of the word from the Greek translation that Paul used here, which is soterion, not the popular use of the word with which many are familiar, which is soteria. Even though both are describing this same great salvation we have received from Christ, they come from different contexts. Soteria functions as an abstract noun, viewing salvation ...

I welcome everyone to today’s article reading, and I am so sure in my heart that the Holy Spirit will meet everyone reading it in Jesus’ name. In today’s article, I shall continue to share on the theme subject: The Victor’s Mentality. And God has given us a text in Ephesians chapter 6 which has guided our discussion and also made us aware of the weapon and armor God has equipped us with to keep winning as believers. One thing we must know is that Jesus has won the victory over sin, this present evil world, the devil, and everything associated with it on our behalf and gave us the victory and all the benefits that come with it. So then we must carry that victory won for us and wear it like an armor to the world so that we can keep winning, thereby manifesting the victory. Beloved, don’t go to the world like a loser. No matter what happens, we always win. The worst that can happen to a man here on this earth is death, but for a believer, we die by winning. Don’t allow whatever is happeni...

In today’s article, I will be closing on the Shield of Faith. Just a reminder that we have been sharing on the victor’s mentality. For a believer to triumph, they need to go with the mentality of Christ’s victory. When we check Romans 8:37, the Bible refers to us as more than conquerors, that is, we are more than victors. You know why? Because the starting point was not on the battlefield with the enemy. Rather, our starting position is from the victory Christ has won for us on the cross. For you to be called a victor, you need to start from a position where you battle with your enemy on the battleground, then after you have defeated him, they declare you a victor. But that is not the case for us believers; our starting point was not on the battlefield because Jesus has already won the battle for us over the devil, sin, and all its consequences. Now our position is from a victor’s position. That’s why Paul said we are more than conquerors. We are more than victors. We didn’t fight but ...

We have been looking at different phases of faith while we have been considering the victor’s mentality as our broad theme. As we can see from our grand text in Ephesians 6:16: “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” The shield of faith is one of the armour God has given us as a victor so that we can keep winning. And I remember I shared that the shield covers and protects the other armour. That’s why you would see in the text that the Scripture says, “above all.” That informs you that the shield of faith is a covering over all the other armour. That is, if every other armour will not be exposed to attack, then we need to always take up our shield of faith. That has led us to begin to see what faith is and the different phases of faith. We have touched on five phases, which are saving faith, justifying faith, living faith, overcoming faith, and defensive faith. In this article, I will share the last phase, whi...

For the past two articles, we have been discussing the different phases of faith. We have seen three so far: we have seen that the faith we received at salvation, which is the saving faith, must continuously be applied so it also generates into justifying faith and then living (daily) faith. Today, we shall see another progression, which is the protective (defensive) faith. As you go into this new year, you will always need to flow in this phase of faith. “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” (Ephesians 6:16 NKJV) The Bible tells us that with the shield of faith, you are able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. So what are the fiery darts that the wicked one throws at you? Basically, it’s a thought—a demonic conception or perception and temptation to shift your gaze from Christ and His word. When we look at Adam and Eve, the devil didn’t come with a physical weapon to harm them. He came with an ...

By God’s grace, we shall continue from where we stopped in the last article. In the previous two articles, I have shared the different phases of faith. We have seen three so far: we have seen that the faith we received at salvation, which is the saving faith, must continuously be applied so it also generates into justifying faith and then living (daily) faith. Today, we shall see another progression, which is the overcoming (victorious) faith. First thing I want you to know is that faith is victorious in itself. It is this faith that brought us into the victory that Christ has won for us. So I would say faith is not just a tool, but it is a means and proof of victory for everyone born of God. What do I mean? What I am saying is that when the gospel breaks through a person’s heart, the Holy Spirit works inwardly and enables such a person to believe. At salvation, when the gospel prevails in a person’s heart, the Holy Spirit impacts faith. That faith is the means by which the person rece...

 Glory to Jesus! I welcome you all to another wonderful time of gleaning from the Word through this series. It is my prayer that the Lord will encounter you in a tremendous way as you read, in Jesus’ name. By God’s grace, we’ll continue from where we stopped in the last article. We’ve been considering the victor’s mentality, taking our insight from Ephesians 6. “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” (Ephesians 6:16) Currently, we’re looking at the shield of faith. We’ve seen what it means for faith to be a shield, and recently, we started looking at the encounters of faith. I said that Christian faith starts at salvation—what we call saving faith—and this same saving faith becomes justifying faith if we continue on the path of faith we began our Christian journey with. I also said in the last article that justifying faith is that faith that receives Christ and His finished work on the cross as the only ba...

My beloved readers, you’re welcome to today’s article. Since the beginning of this year, we’ve been looking at the victor’s mentality. This subject is very important to understand because the main problem of believers is their mentality and perspectives. The real battle is the battle to see things in the correct light. Because the devil will always try to paint a picture that’s not consistent with Christ. If we go with the picture the devil paints, then we become victims. But it’s important for you to know that you are a victor… and there is a mentality you’re expected to do life with so as to keep winning in life and ministry. That’s why we’ve been considering Ephesians chapter 6. The Bible has been opening our eyes to the perspective we ought to have and the mentality we ought to carry so we keep winning. Currently, we’re looking at the shield of faith. Last week, we started examining the different manifestations of faith, beginning with saving faith. We experience the dimension of f...

It’s a pleasure and a privilege to share God’s Word with you here, and I believe the Lord will meet with you deeply through this article. In the previous article , I started laying the foundation of what faith is, and one of the things I said is that faith is confidence in the character and nature of God as revealed in Christ. When we know who Jesus is, then faith will lean on the person of Christ and His finished work—that He is our Savior, Redeemer, Sanctifier, Provider, Healer, Lord, King, and more. So that tells you that the shield of faith will never be activated in us without revelation knowledge of who Christ is. Because it is Christ that we know we can lean on. That’s why the Bible says in Romans 10:17: “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” In today's article, we’ll be looking at phases of biblical faith. I’m a bit skeptical about using the word “type,” because I’m not presenting faith as though it’s fragmented. But there are phases in which the ...

In the previous article , I began sharing about the shield of faith and provided an introduction to it. One of the things we saw from the verse in Ephesians 6 is that the Bible says “above all,” meaning our faith covers all other armour. We saw that without faith, all other armour will be under attack. Faith is required to enable this armour to work effectively. In today's article, I’ll continue with the introduction. As I’ve always said, every one of these armours is not a performance we do. They are the life we inherit in Christ. And this shield of faith is one of them. So, faith is not a struggle, not striving, not forcing things to happen. Faith is confidence in the character and nature of God revealed in Christ. We have seen in Christ that He is our Saviour, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier, our Healer, our Wisdom, our Righteousness, and more. Therefore, when we now talk about faith as a shield, which every soldier is expected to hide behind, we are saying that faith is resting be...

My beloved readers, you’re welcome to this article. By God’s grace, we will begin to explore another phase in our series on the victor’s mentality. We’ve been using Ephesians 6 from verse 13 to see what it truly means to have a victor’s mentality. We’ve also been looking at the different pieces of armour God expects us to put on so we can keep winning. So far, we have seen: Belt of truth Breastplate of righteousness Shoes of the gospel of peace And in this article, we will start sharing about an armour that is so vital. We speak a lot about it—and trust me, we cannot overemphasise how important this armour is if we are to keep winning. It is: The shield of faith We’ll only consider the introductory part in this article, and go deeper in the subsequent ones. “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”(Ephesians 6:16 NKJV) As a way of introducing the verse, notice that the Bible says “above all.” Let me present what...

I welcome everyone to today’s article. It is my prayer that the Lord will encounter you with His Word. Today is the last session on this particular piece of armour: the shoes of the gospel of peace. We have shared the three inward applications of the peace the gospel gives: •  Peace in the conscience • Tranquillity of the mind •  Peace in the midst of challenges In this article, I will conclude the teaching on the gospel of peace as I discuss  the Gospel of Peace that we preach. Having talked about peace of conscience, tranquillity of the mind, and peace over circumstances and situations, it is only right that we conclude by looking at how this peace expresses itself outwardly. When Paul calls it “the preparation of the gospel of peace,” he uses a word that signifies readiness—a state of being ever prepared. That means the believer, having been firmly grounded in the peace of God, becomes a carrier of that peace wherever they go. Before you can be effective in preaching t...

My beloved readers, you’re welcome to today’s article. I have been sharing about the application of the peace the gospel brings—how it applies to our lives and everyday walk. In the previous articles, ai have conveyed two of them: peace in the conscience and tranquillity of the mind. In today’s article, we’ll look at the third application: peace in circumstances and situations.  Peace in circumstances is the manifestation of our inner peace in outward realities. There’s no way we can manifest peace in the face of difficulties and challenges when there’s no settled peace within us. Having peace in circumstances is the expression of a settled heart in an unsettled world. Let’s look at John 16:33 to see the word of our Savior: “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”  The believer shouldn’t try to look for peace in the world or anything it offers. Peace and calmness...

My beloved readers, you’re welcome to today’s article. I’m sure you’ll be mightily blessed. We’ve been sharing on the victor’s mentality, with our grand text from Ephesians 6:13.  We’ve been looking at the armor God expects us to put on so we can keep winning in life and ministry. Presently, we’re in verse 15: “And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”  We’ve been considering the shoes of the gospel of peace. Last week, we started looking at the application of the peace the gospel produces. We began with the first one: peace of the conscience.  Today, we’ll move to the second: tranquility of the mind. The peace the gospel gives doesn’t only reconcile our position before God; it also governs the condition of our inner life. The peace that justifies us before God now extends to calm and stabilize our thought realm, bringing tranquility to the mind. The thought realm is crucial. The mind is the battlefield where most unrest begins.  In the ...

In today’s article, we’ll talk about the application of the gospel of peace, which includes: Peace of the conscience Tranquility of the mind Peace in circumstances and situations Today, we’ll focus on the first one: peace of the conscience. When Apostle Paul speaks of the “gospel of peace” in Ephesians 6:15, the first expression of that peace is inward—the peace that settles in your conscience because you know the issue between you and God has been resolved at the cross. Peace of conscience is the inner rest that comes from knowing nothing stands between you and God anymore. Before salvation, your conscience was so actively aware of guilt, judgment, and condemnation. It testified against you, as we see in Romans 2:15: “Who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them).”  But now, the blood of Jesus didn’t just forgive your sins—it has purged your conscience if you’re a b...

My beloved readers, you’re welcome to today’s article. In the article, I started sharing about the shoes of the gospel of peace, part of the armor God expects us to put on to keep winning and reigning in life. We saw what the shoes do for us by looking at what they did for the Roman soldier, including stability, firm mobility, protection, among others.   We also saw that the gospel of peace we put on as a shoe is a heavenly peace which is Peace with God, Peace in Christ’s body, and The peace of God that rules and steadies our hearts.   To get the full message from last week, check it on our blog site. ( Link )   In this article, I’ll continue introducing this topic: the shoes of the gospel of peace. “And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” (Ephesians 6:15 NKJV)   When we look at the location of this armor—the gospel of peace, we’ll see it’s worn on the feet. And of course, the feet are primarily for mobility. What does that tell us? It...

It’s a pleasure and privilege to present the gospel to you, my beloved readers. I’m confident in the Lord that He will bless your hearts, in Jesus’ name. By God’s grace, we’ve been talking about the victor’s mentality, with our text from Ephesians 6:13-18 . In this article, we’ll focus on verse 15: “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6:15 NKJV) We’ve already discussed the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. You can access these teachings on our blog site. So in this article, we’ll talk about the shoes of the gospel of peace. I’ll introduce the topic today, and in the subsequent articles, we’ll build on it as the Holy Spirit inspires. Paul says in Ephesians 6:15, “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Paul’s inspiration for this imagery came from a Roman soldier’s armour. To understand the spiritual truth he’s communicating, we must first understand what the shoe represented in the soldier’...