The Presbytery

22/12/2025

God Understands - A Christmas Message

“And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” Luke 2:7 (NIV)

Mary was not a careless or unloving mother for placing her newborn, the precious Messiah, in a manger - an unhygienic feeding trough for animals in a draught stable in the strength of winter. She simply had no alternative.

God did not judge her harshly for this. In fact, He had foreseen it and spoken of it long before. As in, from millenia past. He did not condemn Joseph and Mary for not welcoming the Saviour in a palace. God does not need palaces for this most special of His works. If he did, The One Who raised Moses in the Palace of the Pharaoh can make a palace of any place, or have any earthly palace He wished.

This Christmas, my heart is inditing a good matter. The Lord wants me to tell us that what matters most is not what was done, but why.

The ‘because’ is often where true blame or justification lies. Unfortunately, it is often the last thing humans look for, often because we have no way of finding it or we're too disinclined to look for it. We're usually too besotted with the deed itself to have time for the imperatives that confront the person.

What is striking is how deliberately Scripture explains why the Messiah was born that way. God did not leave history to speculate or posterity to accuse. He recorded the reason Himself and, in doing so, shielded the holy family from judgment for all time.

They did their best under difficult circumstances, God acknowledges that - and that is all He has ever required of us humans. This is the nature of God. He understands our contexts and He weighs human capacity. Heaven will be full of surprise because He is not impressed by our earthly appearances, but the verdict of eternity.

He does not demand what is beyond us:

“For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” 2 Corinthians 8:12

Christ carried this same divine empathy into His earthly life. He did not remain distant from human limitation.

“Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Hebrews 2:14

And again:

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
Hebrews 4:15

This does not mean God excuses sin or celebrates willful failure. It means He distinguishes between rebellion and limitation, between negligence and necessity, between unwillingness and inability - even impossibility.

This is therefore the message this Christmas:

God understands -
He understands your peculiar situation.
He understands the weight you are carrying.
He understands the obstacles before you.
He understands your weaknesses.
He understands your limitations.
And He understands the things you cannot change, right now or forever.

He's understood from the beginning of the genesis.
He's understood from the very first moment He stepped physically into human history. And He still does.

This Christmas therefore, be ye followers of Christ.

Extend God’s empathy to your neighbours, those around you. Not just those who look like you, think like you, worship like you or agree with you - but also the inconvenient neighbour, the struggling neighbour, and even the misunderstood neighbour.

Then, of course, there's the one who fell by the roadside in life - bruised by circumstance and left behind by others. Also, the stranger, the poor, the wounded and the rejected.

Christ was clear in His teaching that a neighbour is not defined by proximity or preference, but by need, and by our willingness to respond to it.

This Christmas, come let's be Christlike. Show more understanding, less judgment and greater forgiveness where it is called for. Christ came to seek and to save the lost. How about you make this Christmas even more special and do the same, beginning the search in the depths of your own heart, where some are unfairly imprisoned, where empathy is born and grace is learned.

It is above all, where love becomes Godly action -

“And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love.” Romans 5:5

14/12/2025

Conscientiousness - The Missing Link

Conscientiousness is the inward law that governs how a person handles responsibility when no one is watching. It is the discipline of faithfulness - doing what must be done, because it must be done, regardless of applause, convenience or immediate reward. It is not mere diligence - it is moral seriousness applied to duty.

It answers the question, Can God trust you with work, time, truth and people?

Our Master, is our Perfect Model. He did not stumble into conscientiousness - He lived by it deliberately.

When He said, “I must do the work of Him that sent me while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work” (John 9:4), He revealed a consciousness of assignment. His life was governed by a sense of mandate.

He worked with urgency, not anxiety, with focus, not frenzy. Even when tired, tempted, hungry, misunderstood or opposed - He remained faithful to the task given Him.

Conscientiousness, in Christ, was obedience anchored in His identity. He knew Who sent Him, and what He was sent here to accomplish - and that settled how He lived.

The apostles, especially Paul, remain human exemplars of conscientiousness. Paul’s testified, “I laboured more than they all” (1 Corinthians 15:10). He was not being arrogant too. He was taking, and expressing, accountability.

Paul understood grace not as exemption from effort but as empowerment for it: "But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; BUT I LABOURED MORE ABUNDANTLY THAN THEY ALL: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." 1 Corinthians 15:10

In other words, Grace made him work harder, not slacker - stronger, not lazier.

When he taught that “it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful”, in 1 Corinthians 4:2, he established the standard by which God measures service - faithfulness. Brilliance, popularity and speed of ex*****on are useful, but only as components enabled by faithfulness.

Conscientiousness is stewardship lived honestly - a concept which everyone charged with a mandate must understand and practice because it is the enrollment for, and bedrock of, receiving the remuneration promised under God’s Reward System.

Scripture is clear - conscientiousness attracts divine increase.

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant… thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many” (Matthew 25:21).

God promotes on the basis of trust and He makes growth and capacity to expand where faithfulness is proven. This is reflected in the consistent principle that, “To him that hath shall (more) be given...”

In fact, there is a divine reverse osmosis that deploys once God has given gifts unto men and thereby given them a mandate. What you do with what you have determines what you will receive next:

"Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him." Matthew 13:2

Clearly, with God conscientious people are safe containers for His enlargement.

The Bible does not treat lack of conscientiousness lightly. Lack of conscientiousness brings the moral weight of neglect to bear on the lackadaisical and negligent.

Negligence is a moral failure, not a neutral weakness. “To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” James 4:17.

Knowing and not doing is not innocence - it is disobedience. Jesus adds the sober warning: “Even that which he hath shall be taken away” (Matthew 25:29).

The deeper lesson here is clear: Loss is not always the result of wickedness - sometimes it is the consequence of unfaithfulness.

Conscientiousness is not optional for believers. It is the bridge between a calling and its fulfillment. Gifts may open doors, but only conscientiousness keeps them open. Vision may inspire, but only conscientiousness sustains progress.

God entrusts weighty matters to those who take small matters seriously.

In the end, conscientiousness is love expressed through faithfulness - love for God, care for humanity (especially the spiritually perishing), respect for responsibility and reverence for assignment.

Conscientiousness is the silent virtue that heaven rewards loudly. It is how we finish our course with joy, like Paul who said at the end of his service life here on earth:

"As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Conscientiousness is the missing link between many of God's children and success in the calling which God has entrusted into their hands. If we want to be able to affirm with Paul in the inspired words above when our own service in any capacity ends here on earth then we must look earnestly to our level of conscientiousness.

If your service is scrutinised by the Maker, would you be found conscientious?

09/12/2025

GARMENTS FOR SWORDS

On the sober night before His betrayal and crucifixion, Jesus said to His disciples, _"...he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one”_ (Luke 22:36). In other words, if anyone had to choose, in those last days of spiritual contentions, like ours, between weapons and outer clothes, one should choose weapons, even if that meant foregoing clothes.

Unfortunately, the reverse is the case in these last days. Men are _"lovers of their own selves” and "lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God”_ (2 Timothy 3:2,4). They would rather sell their sword to buy an additional garment than sell their garment for a sword. The implication is that men are more carnal than spiritual; more comfort-loving than battle-ready. The market for garments thrives, even Babylonish garments that bring a curse upon families and upon the entire army of the Lord, such that those who yesterday had celebrated a victory over mighty Jericho are today routed by little Ai (Joshua 7:21). Meanwhile, the foundries for swords have diminished out of the land. Some have closed shop and fled, others are adapting to beating swords into spindles and needles.

There is a mighty contention in our days, these last days, between ‘swords’ and ‘garments.’ Even in the church, we see more garments than we see swords, with worshippers who are more experienced with clothes than with the sword. They can give you the name and address of every designer in the world; they can tell the ‘good’ product and the ‘designer,’ to the very thread and shoe latchet; yet if you should ask them to open to Hebrews, they would fumble through the Old Testament where the Hebrews are. Alas, the day you send them to Philemon or Habakkuk, they could spend the rest of the service ‘researching,’ or close their Bibles altogether in pretended concentration.

I was told that, a few days ago, while Sunday service was on, a visitor outside spotted a woman he knew, arriving late, conspicuously and gorgeously decked out for church. He greeted her but could not restrain himself from asking, “Are you coming to church to worship God or to show your clothes?” “Both,” she said curtly, and strode on stiffly into the church.

There is another group of young soldiers in our ranks. They have no Bibles. They hop from one General to the other Captain, begging a Bible, a free Bible, or else money for one. Yet many of them have garments and gadgets, one of which they could sell for many swords. Besides, many a ‘free’ Bible that we get was the precious sacrifice of someone else’s garment.

To continue reading, please click on the link below:

https://thepreacherdiary.com/garments-for-swords/

©️The Preacher

09/12/2025

11 Years

Celebrating our 11th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. We could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉 Let us know how the Lord has blessed you through this page.

Glory!

26/11/2025

A Second Look at the Story of the Prodigal Son

People often miss the weight of what Jesus was saying in the Prodigal Son story.

It was told against the backdrop of ancient Jewish customs. If you disgraced your family or wasted your inheritance among outsiders, the village would meet you at the border, smash a clay pot at your feet, and declare you cut off. The shattered pieces said Your relationship was broken. You were finished. No coming back. It wasn’t dignified. It was cold and final.
This was the ceremony of kezazah. Your people publicly declared you “cut off.”

That’s the long, lonely walk the prodigal was taking.
Dirty. Empty. Rehearsing a speech he knew wouldn’t fix anything.
Bracing himself for judgment, he knew he deserved.

But Jesus...
He says the father saw the boy while he was still far away… and ran. He ran! Love ran.

In this culture. Older men didn’t run. It wasn’t dignified. It required the lifting of the robes and exposing the ankles. Immodest.
But this father wasn’t worried about dignity.
He likely wasn’t racing because of sentiment alone.
He was racing to get there before anyone else could.
Before a pot could shatter.
Before the village could declare the boy cut off.
Before justice could step in with its list of accusations.
Before kezazah.

He ran to intercede. To throw his arms around a son who thought he’d burned every bridge.
To make it clear that mercy would speak first.
And mercy would speak louder than kezazah.

Jesus is the Father who moves toward you faster than your failures move against you.

When you finally come to yourself…
When you turn around and start the long walk back…
You may expect harsh words.
You may rehearse your apology.
But the Father cuts you off...

You are not a servant trying to earn your way home.
You are a son or daughter being restored.
Robe. Ring. Shoes.
Full welcome. Full belonging.
No shame. Only transformation.
Dead to alive
Lost to found
Broken to restored

This is who Jesus is.
The God who runs.

©️Baron Carson

26/11/2025

When Exile Becomes Exit: A Charge to the Church

“I am not overstating it when I say that the man who caused all the trouble hurt all of you more than he hurt me. Most of you opposed him, and that was punishment enough. Now, however, it is time to forgive and comfort him. Otherwise he may be overcome by discouragement. So I urge you now to reaffirm your love for him.” - 2 Corinthians 2:5–8

Church discipline is meant to be a redemptive wound, not a terminal sentence. Scripture presents discipline as a tool in the hands of a loving community: corrective, measured, and always aimed at restoration. But too often, what begins as discipline devolves into distance, coolness, suspicion, and social exile. And once exile settles in, exit is never far behind.

The greatest dangers to a repentant sinner are not always the memories of their failure—but the prolonged coldness of the brethren who refuse to let grace finish what God has already begun.

1. Discipline Without Love Becomes Destruction

Paul tells the church that the offender "was punished by the majority,” and that this was enough. Sadly, many churches forget the stop point of discipline. When correction outlives repentance, it ceases to be correction and becomes cruelty. A disciplined sheep may limp. A shamed sheep may bow its head, but an unloved sheep will run.

2. Forgiveness Must Not Trail Behind God’s Grace

Where God has forgiven, the church must not withhold embrace. When confession has been made, repentance borne, tears shed, and humility shown, the church has no warrant to stretch the distance further. If we forgive reluctantly we misrepresent the God who forgives eagerly.

3. The Wounded Are Not to Be Left Wounded

Paul warns that the repentant man might be “overcome by excessive sorrow.” He understood human frailty - how shame can metastasize into despair when community refuses to restore. A sinner restored to God but not restored to His people becomes spiritually homeless.

4. Restoration Requires More Than Words

“Reaffirm your love for him,” Paul urges. Not reassess him. Not keep him at the margins. Not let him earn his way back by silent probation. Reaffirm your love - visibly, intentionally, verbally and relationally. The ministry of restoration begins with open arms, not folded ones.

A Charge to Churches and Believers

"Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven." Psalm 85:10-11

It is only when truth travels with mercy that peace and righteousness ensues - and faith and community ensues.

Beloved Church, hear this - When discipline has accomplished its work, restoration must swiftly follow.

Do not let your caution overshadow Christ’s compassion.

Do not let a sinner sit forgiven by God and forgotten by His people.

Do not let the place meant to be a refuge become a barrier.

Let your correction be firm and your forgiveness fast - but let your love be stronger still.

Churches should be a community where confession finds compassion, where repentance finds brothers and sisters, and where discipline always concludes with healing. Let no repentant soul say, 'I found more grace in my sin than in the fellowship of saints.'

For exile is not God’s goal with discipline, but accountability. Restoration is the target, not excommunication.

When the church refuses restoration, exile becomes exit. May we be a people who do not drive the chastened sheep away, but run to bind its wounds, walk beside it, and rejoice when it is restored to the fold.

Let love lead - both in discipline and in forgiveness.

20/11/2025

Refined in a Crucible!

I was going through my Bible one quiet morning when I stumbled on a verse that stopped me in my tracks.
It was Malachi 3:3:

“He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

For some reason, that verse hit differently that day.
I paused and whispered to myself, “Why does He sit? Why does the Bible describe Him specifically as a refiner of silver?”

I couldn’t shake it off.

So later that week, out of pure curiosity, I decided to visit a blacksmith, not to buy anything, but to watch him work. I didn’t tell him my real reason. I simply said, “Sir, I just want to see how silver is refined.”

He nodded and invited me in.

I watched as he placed a piece of raw silver into the fire. The flames rose, hot and angry, but he didn’t flinch. He positioned the silver right in the center of the fire, the hottest part.

My heart skipped.
This is exactly how life feels sometimes… like the heat is too much.

The blacksmith noticed my quietness and explained,
“For silver to be purified, it must stay exactly where the fire is hottest. That’s where all the impurities melt away.”

I swallowed hard. It felt like God was talking to me right there in that workshop.

Then I asked him the question that had been burning in my heart:
“Do you really have to sit here the whole time the silver is in the fire?”

He smiled gently and said,
“Oh yes. I must keep my eyes on it. If I leave it for even one extra moment, the silver will be destroyed.”

I felt something tighten in my chest.
God doesn’t walk away when my life feels hot. He doesn’t leave me in the fire unattended.

After a quiet moment, I finally asked the last question:
“How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”

He looked at me, still smiling, and said words I will never forget:

“That’s easy… when I can see my own image in it.”

I almost cried.

And right there, the message sank deeply into my soul:

If you feel the heat of life’s fire right now, pressure, challenges, heartbreak and confusion, just remember:
God is not punishing you.
He is refining you.
And He never takes His eyes off you, not even for a second.

When His character starts showing in your reactions, your decisions, your words, your kindness and in your strength, He smiles… because He can finally see His IMAGE in you.

You are predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ.

Fully refined. Fully loved. Fully watched over.

Amen. 🙌

©️ Ayosam Mayowa Evelyn

20/11/2025

Great Glorious God

“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” Proverbs 6:6

Every design must have a designer - and Creation, from top to bottom, has a Creator.

Scientists recently uncovered a remarkable strategy hidden in the tiny world of ants. After gathering seeds and grains for food, ants carry them underground and deliberately split them in two. Why? Because a seed cut in half cannot sprout, even under perfect growing conditions. The ants are preventing their food supply from turning into plants.

But the real shock came with coriander seeds. Researchers watched ants break them, not into two pieces, but into four. Further testing revealed why. Coriander can still germinate if divided in half, but it cannot sprout once split into four parts. The ants somehow “knew” exactly what was required for that specific seed.

No trial and error. No evolutionary guesswork. No blind chance. This is precise, purposeful behavior built into these creatures from the beginning.

Even the smallest creatures testify of their Creator’s wisdom.

https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=871453288873403&id=100080262193282&post_id=100080262193282_871453288873403&mibextid=CDWPTG

Scientists recently uncovered a remarkable strategy hidden in the tiny world of ants. After gathering seeds and grains for food, ants carry them underground and deliberately split them in two. Why? Because a seed cut in half cannot sprout, even under perfect growing conditions. The ants are preventing their food supply from turning into plants.

But the real shock came with coriander seeds. Researchers watched ants break them, not into two pieces, but into four. Further testing revealed why. Coriander can still germinate if divided in half, but it cannot sprout once split into four parts. The ants somehow “knew” exactly what was required for that specific seed.

No trial and error. No evolutionary guesswork. No blind chance. This is precise, purposeful behavior built into these creatures from the beginning.

As Proverbs 6:6 declares, “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” Even the smallest creatures testify of their Creator’s wisdom.

11/11/2025

GOD’S POWER IS VOICE-ACTIVATED

"But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim..." Romans 10:8

Beloved, one of the deepest mysteries of the Kingdom is that God’s power is voice-activated. Power responds to speech. The Spirit moves when the Word is released!

From the very beginning, creation was triggered by divine utterance.

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” Genesis 1:3

Nothing moved until God spoke. The earth was without form and void, darkness covered the deep - but when God said, power went to work!

You are made in His image and likeness, so the same law governs your world. The Word in your mouth is not empty - it carries creative authority!

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.” Proverbs 18:21

When you speak faith-filled words, you activate divine energy. Heaven partners with your confession. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead responds to spoken truth.

"For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith." Mark 11:23 (KJV)

Your voice is the ignition key of divine power. Jesus didn’t say, “whosoever shall think,” but “whosoever shall say.”

Even salvation itself is voice-activated:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9

The Kingdom runs on spoken faith. Silence keeps power dormant but declaration sets it in motion. The Spirit of God hovers, waiting for the sound of the Word!

Today, open your mouth and decree the Word of the Lord over your life, your home, your nation.

“Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.” Job 22:28 (KJV)

Just remember: When God spoke in the Beginning to kick-start The Creation, He had already taken out sufficient time to brood on the matter thoroughly, to align what was coming with His principles and to have a Blueprint to work by.

So, speak, but speak life. Speak peace. Speak victory.

God’s power is waiting for your voice.

CHARGE:
From today, don’t let your atmosphere be wordless. Speak like your Heavenly Father. Frame your world with your words. Prophesy until power answers.

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God…” Hebrews 11:3 (KJV)

Start now with this Declaration:

“The Word of God in my mouth is power! I speak life, I speak light, I speak victory - and it manifests now, in Jesus’ Name!”

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08/11/2025

"And now these three remain:
faith, hope and love.
But the greatest of these is LOVE" 1Corinthians 13:14

08/11/2025

Holy Anticipation! "And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:8

08/11/2025

Ride on, Pastor! "Likewise ye also reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord". Romans 6:11