Author: Victor Obeng-Mensah

“Tunnel vision” is the tendency to think only about one thing, and to ignore everything else. 2 Samuel 13:1-2  “And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.” Your emotions can make you develop a tunnel vision. Amnon fell in love with his sister Tamar, and was “vexed.”...

Jeremiah 7:24 “But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.”  What does it mean to walk backwards? It means to retrogress. For instance, when your marriage is deteriorating, or you are backsliding as a Christian, or you are becoming poorer, or your character is getting worse; you may be walking backwards. Israel “went backward, and not forward.”  What causes this? Four reasons are given in this verse. 1. Ignorance of the Word of God – “They hearkened not.” They refused to listen to messages, sermons or read God’s word. 2. Pride – “Nor inclined their ear.” It...

The fear of God is important if you are to walk in obedience to God. It motivates us to do what is pleasing in the sight of God. The fear of God can be found in an individual, a family or even within a community. Genesis 20:11 “And Abraham said, Because I thought, Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake.” Abraham settled in Gerar briefly and was forced to lie about his relationship with Sarah his wife. He told the King, Abimelech that Sarah was his sister...

The reign of David as king over Israel was more successful than the reign of Saul. One major difference was David was their connection to the lord. 1 Chronicles 13:3 “And let us bring again the ark of our God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul.” The ark of the covenant contained the presence of God. When David became king, one of the first things he did was to bring the ark back to Jerusalem.  One of the things we also need to do is to cultivate the presence of God through prayer, holiness and worship.  The next thing...