"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God" Rom 8:14
I'm not a New Year resolution person, I don't make resolutions, and I don't keep resolutions. I do however undertake life evaluations periodically to make adjustments to my life. I don't wait for new years to do this; I do it whenever I want.
A few days ago, Christmas day to be exact, I read a publication of my brother's where he mentioned running with the vision. He said it is not enough to see the vision of God for your life, we must run with it to make it a reality in our lives. It got me thinking. I have known God's purpose for my life for a few years now but I am not living it yet.
Why? I found the answer in the above verse FOR AS MANY AS ARE LED BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THESE ARE THE SONS OF GOD. I have not allowed myself to be led by the Holy Spirit. Even when I follow His leading, it has been after doing my own thing and messing it up then I return to Him for 'fixing'.
By refusing to allow God to direct my path I have stunted my own growth spiritually and otherwise. I started this blog as a 'baby' Christian and I would have ended it as one if not for the Holy Spirit opening my eyes to see how I have deprived myself of fellowshipping with God and realizing my vision. In a few days I underwent a 180 degrees change. It was all about 'ME' and that is okay for starters, but maturity is so much about growing out of personal preoccupation to selflessness.
So I find myself on the eve of 2010, making not a resolution but a spiritually conscious decision to be numbered and named amongst the 'Sons of God' from this time on. If I don't allow the Spirit to lead me, I will die seeing my promised land but never reaching it. That is not what I want for myself. That is not what I want to present to my heavenly Father. I am more than who I am right now; I am meant for greater things; I am bigger and larger than the cubby hole I presently occupy. I need to spread my wings and mount up like an eagle. I need to run with the vision. I have made enough mistakes; it's time to hand my life over to the one who never errs. Making Christ my Savior is good but even better is making Him MY LORD.
It is time to be led by the Holy Spirit. It is time to grow from childhood to Sonship. That is my New Life Resolution!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Monday, December 14, 2009
GIVING
“. . . . . . . . . . . . . . It is more blessed to give than to receive” Acts 20:35
It is that time of the year again, that season when we love to give. Whilst giving should not be limited to a particular time, I appreciate the fact that Christmas is associated with giving. It’s a pointer to the fact that we remember and honor the first Giver – God who gave His only Son. Christmas is a wonderful time of love and goodwill and giving. But I want to remind us of three things – The people we give to; The kind of Giving and How we give.
The People We Give To - My brother always says the best kind of giving is the giving that expects nothing in return i.e. giving to people who are in no position to give back to you. Let me paraphrase Christ’s words – “if ye give them that give ye, what reward have ye?” Matt 5:46. It’s good to give our loved ones and it’s wonderful to exchange gifts, but even better is giving to those who might never be able to give you anything in return ever. For in that, God owes you a reward. I’d rather collect from God than man, wouldn’t you? There are many charity and volunteer organizations that need a lot of things to help the less privileged all around the world. Won’t it be great knowing your giving is helping someone hundreds of miles away?
What kind of Giving – My mom says most times the cheapest thing we can give is money, that is why we give it freely. I believe that. Giving money is easier on us than giving ourselves or giving our time. Most times we take the easy route when we give money. How about volunteering your time and energy and service and skills instead of money? Pay a visit to that lonely old woman; help that farmer with his crops; lend a hand to that frazzled overworked widow; teach that child with learning difficulties etc. Opportunities abound for helpful giving, take advantage of one.
How We Give – Do we give only what we can spare or do we give above what is expected?; Do we give out of love or because we want accolades; Do we give joyfully or grudgingly; Do we give to God or to man? A sacrificial giving is a priceless giving. David recognized that “Neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto Jehovah my God which cost me nothing” 2 Sam 24:24. Every time you go out to help someone rather than stay at home to rest, you are sacrificing. Every time you forgo that new bag to donate money to a cause, you are sacrificing. Whenever you deprive yourself of something for another person, you make an invaluable sacrifice. If we have the mind that for everything we do, we do unto God, making sacrifices will not be so difficult for us. Just do it for the Father who first gave His all for you.
For those of you who want to give but don’t know how, let me introduce NABUUR to you. It is an online volunteering site where you have villages all over the world that have need of every kind of skill and profession to make lives better. It doesn’t matter what you do or who you are, NABUUR needs you and it will amaze you to discover how satisfying it is to work in unity with hundreds across the globe and see the results of the seeds you sow. Not only does Nabuur satisfy all the requirements of the three Givings listed above but they are in need of volunteers like you at this time. Just click http://www.nabuur.com and start GIVING!
It is that time of the year again, that season when we love to give. Whilst giving should not be limited to a particular time, I appreciate the fact that Christmas is associated with giving. It’s a pointer to the fact that we remember and honor the first Giver – God who gave His only Son. Christmas is a wonderful time of love and goodwill and giving. But I want to remind us of three things – The people we give to; The kind of Giving and How we give.
The People We Give To - My brother always says the best kind of giving is the giving that expects nothing in return i.e. giving to people who are in no position to give back to you. Let me paraphrase Christ’s words – “if ye give them that give ye, what reward have ye?” Matt 5:46. It’s good to give our loved ones and it’s wonderful to exchange gifts, but even better is giving to those who might never be able to give you anything in return ever. For in that, God owes you a reward. I’d rather collect from God than man, wouldn’t you? There are many charity and volunteer organizations that need a lot of things to help the less privileged all around the world. Won’t it be great knowing your giving is helping someone hundreds of miles away?
What kind of Giving – My mom says most times the cheapest thing we can give is money, that is why we give it freely. I believe that. Giving money is easier on us than giving ourselves or giving our time. Most times we take the easy route when we give money. How about volunteering your time and energy and service and skills instead of money? Pay a visit to that lonely old woman; help that farmer with his crops; lend a hand to that frazzled overworked widow; teach that child with learning difficulties etc. Opportunities abound for helpful giving, take advantage of one.
How We Give – Do we give only what we can spare or do we give above what is expected?; Do we give out of love or because we want accolades; Do we give joyfully or grudgingly; Do we give to God or to man? A sacrificial giving is a priceless giving. David recognized that “Neither will I offer burnt-offerings unto Jehovah my God which cost me nothing” 2 Sam 24:24. Every time you go out to help someone rather than stay at home to rest, you are sacrificing. Every time you forgo that new bag to donate money to a cause, you are sacrificing. Whenever you deprive yourself of something for another person, you make an invaluable sacrifice. If we have the mind that for everything we do, we do unto God, making sacrifices will not be so difficult for us. Just do it for the Father who first gave His all for you.
For those of you who want to give but don’t know how, let me introduce NABUUR to you. It is an online volunteering site where you have villages all over the world that have need of every kind of skill and profession to make lives better. It doesn’t matter what you do or who you are, NABUUR needs you and it will amaze you to discover how satisfying it is to work in unity with hundreds across the globe and see the results of the seeds you sow. Not only does Nabuur satisfy all the requirements of the three Givings listed above but they are in need of volunteers like you at this time. Just click http://www.nabuur.com and start GIVING!
Monday, September 28, 2009
A SOLID FOUNDATION
“Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it” Prov 22:6
Recently, I went to the church my parents have attended all their lives. The same church I was dedicated as a baby and raised as an infant till I grew up and went away to university. It is an old orthodox church founded by the United Missionary Church of Africa so many years ago and it is still alive and vibrant and thriving till today. They have a huge congregation and have a membership base ranging from infants to the elderly. Their fellowships include ones for children, teenagers, singles, young adults, new couples, old couples, ladies, men, pregnant women etc. It is a church where they still preach in that old, stodgy way we pentecostal, charismatic and new apostolic young Christians like to disparage. We have forgotten “Remove not the ancient landmarks which thy fathers have set” Prov 22:28 and we have also forgotten the fact that most of us were raised in this faithfully steady orthodox churches. Many of us even gave our lives to Christ there.
It was a very nostalgic service for me that day. I saw many of my parents’ friends and church members. I saw old friends and age mates who had stayed back in the church; I saw old Sunday school teachers and former pastors. As I sat in the auditorium, my mind went back many years to when I was a kid in one of the numerous children classes behind the main church. I remembered reciting –
“A for Abraham, the father of faith; B for Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob; C for Caleb, one of the two to enter Canaan” etc.
I remembered learning all those bible stories through songs and plays. Many times, my Sunday school teacher, a dear lady who has gone to be with the Lord now, would have us read certain bible stories as homework and then tell the story to the class the following Sunday. That was when my storytelling ability developed. I always won the storytelling prize.
I remember when I grew up and moved to the teen classes and how we use to sneak into the main church because we believed we were already adults and should be there. How the ushers would chase us back to our own class and we would sulk and pout there and generally give our Sunday teachers a tough sullen time but they never gave up teaching us.
And finally when I turned eighteen and was then eligible to sit in church with the adults, only to leave and go off to university a few weeks later. That wasn’t fair!
As my mind wandered in church that day, I suddenly realized that this old church and my family gave me the solid foundation to be who I am today!
I derailed badly in my university days. I left all I had been taught and went my own way but even in all that, something in my heart and spirit was uneasy. I knew I was doing wrong and I hid that part of me from my parents. Why? – Because I had been raised on God’s foundation and I knew right from wrong!
God’s word never fails. When He tells you to raise a child in the path he should go and that in the future when the child is all grown up, he or she will not depart from it, it is a FACT! I am a living testimony of that. That foundation drew me back from the brink of destruction and set me on the path of life. That foundation is what I am still building on today!
Yes, those orthodox churches might bore us and may seem backward because they don’t have demon chasing, miracle working and motivational firebrand preachers like our modern churches but all through the years they have stayed committed and faithful to God’s commission – laying a solid foundation for millions and raising people in “the ancient landmarks of our fathers”.
And you know the funny thing? I will love my children to be raised in that way!
Recently, I went to the church my parents have attended all their lives. The same church I was dedicated as a baby and raised as an infant till I grew up and went away to university. It is an old orthodox church founded by the United Missionary Church of Africa so many years ago and it is still alive and vibrant and thriving till today. They have a huge congregation and have a membership base ranging from infants to the elderly. Their fellowships include ones for children, teenagers, singles, young adults, new couples, old couples, ladies, men, pregnant women etc. It is a church where they still preach in that old, stodgy way we pentecostal, charismatic and new apostolic young Christians like to disparage. We have forgotten “Remove not the ancient landmarks which thy fathers have set” Prov 22:28 and we have also forgotten the fact that most of us were raised in this faithfully steady orthodox churches. Many of us even gave our lives to Christ there.
It was a very nostalgic service for me that day. I saw many of my parents’ friends and church members. I saw old friends and age mates who had stayed back in the church; I saw old Sunday school teachers and former pastors. As I sat in the auditorium, my mind went back many years to when I was a kid in one of the numerous children classes behind the main church. I remembered reciting –
“A for Abraham, the father of faith; B for Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob; C for Caleb, one of the two to enter Canaan” etc.
I remembered learning all those bible stories through songs and plays. Many times, my Sunday school teacher, a dear lady who has gone to be with the Lord now, would have us read certain bible stories as homework and then tell the story to the class the following Sunday. That was when my storytelling ability developed. I always won the storytelling prize.
I remember when I grew up and moved to the teen classes and how we use to sneak into the main church because we believed we were already adults and should be there. How the ushers would chase us back to our own class and we would sulk and pout there and generally give our Sunday teachers a tough sullen time but they never gave up teaching us.
And finally when I turned eighteen and was then eligible to sit in church with the adults, only to leave and go off to university a few weeks later. That wasn’t fair!
As my mind wandered in church that day, I suddenly realized that this old church and my family gave me the solid foundation to be who I am today!
I derailed badly in my university days. I left all I had been taught and went my own way but even in all that, something in my heart and spirit was uneasy. I knew I was doing wrong and I hid that part of me from my parents. Why? – Because I had been raised on God’s foundation and I knew right from wrong!
God’s word never fails. When He tells you to raise a child in the path he should go and that in the future when the child is all grown up, he or she will not depart from it, it is a FACT! I am a living testimony of that. That foundation drew me back from the brink of destruction and set me on the path of life. That foundation is what I am still building on today!
Yes, those orthodox churches might bore us and may seem backward because they don’t have demon chasing, miracle working and motivational firebrand preachers like our modern churches but all through the years they have stayed committed and faithful to God’s commission – laying a solid foundation for millions and raising people in “the ancient landmarks of our fathers”.
And you know the funny thing? I will love my children to be raised in that way!
Monday, September 21, 2009
FAMILY FELLOWSHIP
“Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” – Psalm 133:1
I come from a family of believers. I mean a lineage of believers. I had great grandparents and grandparents who believed in Christ. Some of whom could not read or write and some who could only read the bible in Yoruba but their faith was real and living and obvious. Apart from my maternal grandfather who was of another faith, we have always been believers and I know in my spirit and heart that for generations to come, we will always be.
We were not born believers, even though some of us were born to the Christian religion. It was just that at different times in our lives, we each came to the saving grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
My maternal grandmother came to know Christ early in life through the teachings of her Christian parents and though she was given out in marriage against her wish and her parents’ will to a man not of her faith and belief (he was the king of her village so everyone had to kowtow to his wish), she stuck to Christ and raised her children in the way of the Lord. So obvious was the difference her faith made in her life that her other co-wives and their children soon followed her steps to Christ. Her unbelieving husband saw the peace and unity the faith brought to his formerly riotous polygamous household and prudently refrained from discouraging any of them from the Christian faith. And so they all grew and waxed strong in the Lord.
My Paternal grandparents were also Christians, a faith handed down from their parents. My grandfather was a traditional healer and his practice flourished because of all the traditional healers in his village, he was the only one who made no incantation over his medicinal leaves. He prayed over them instead and God honored his prayers. People flocked to him and he used the opportunity to preach Christ. My Grandmother was a trader and travelled far and wide to buy and sell and preach Christ. God blessed her mightily.
My Grandparents are all gone now. They lived long and blessed lives and are now resting but their legacy lives on. I can still hear my maternal grandmother in my mind exhorting us to go early to church and stay to take the final grace because “God sends three angels with blessings during a church service. One comes during the opening prayers; the second during the sermon and the third during the closing grace. And you should not miss any of the blessings”. That always made us laugh and till now we still laugh when we remember her saying that. But that was how simple and steady their faith was.
My mother though raised in Christ and very moral and believing all her life made a life-changing commitment to Christ when she had her first baby. She said she stared at the baby after birth and became overwhelmed at the thought of being responsible for a LIFE! She realized she couldn’t do it alone so right there on the hospital bed, she made a dedication and covenant with God. Her life changed from then on. And though that child who made her turn to Christ left to be with God at the age of thirteen, his life was amazing! Almost thirty years after his passing on, we still hear testimonies of his life. I met a man about a year ago and when I mentioned my name, he asked if I was related to so-so and when I said yes, he told me how my late brother led him to Christ at the age of ten! I cried that day (I’m actually crying again now).
My Dad's submission took a little longer than my mom’s but by the time I was in my early teens, he had taken his place and position in the Lord and it is wonderful seeing the two of them with their children grown and out of the house, serving their Savior together.
We are a large family. Lots of brothers, sisters, cousins many times removed, aunties & uncles from both sides of the family, nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces and in-laws. But we are all so united. Despite the physical distance and space between us as we settle in different parts of the world, nothing can break the love and unity we have. I believe this is because of Christ.
We not only have earthly kinship but also heavenly brotherhood. And God has been so faithful to my family. No matter how rebellious and misled we might start off as, we always find our way back to Christ. This is because God honors the prayers of our great-grandparents, grandparents and parents. The prayers they offer to God to make “them and their household to serve the Lord”. And the way they raise us in the way of the Lord gives a solid foundation that draws us back to the light.
God has also been faithful in our choice of spouses. We have wonderful God fearing husbands and wives and their families become ours just as ours become theirs and so we grow larger and fuller.
Whenever we get together for a family occasion or holidays, it’s always huge and fun. And when it is time for devotion, I’m sure even the angels pause in their duties to stare in amazement at us!
We have had ups and downs in this my huge extended family, we have lost, we have mourned, we have hungered, we have searched, but through it all God has been our strength and brought us safely through.
I have a wonderful family!
I come from a family of believers. I mean a lineage of believers. I had great grandparents and grandparents who believed in Christ. Some of whom could not read or write and some who could only read the bible in Yoruba but their faith was real and living and obvious. Apart from my maternal grandfather who was of another faith, we have always been believers and I know in my spirit and heart that for generations to come, we will always be.
We were not born believers, even though some of us were born to the Christian religion. It was just that at different times in our lives, we each came to the saving grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
My maternal grandmother came to know Christ early in life through the teachings of her Christian parents and though she was given out in marriage against her wish and her parents’ will to a man not of her faith and belief (he was the king of her village so everyone had to kowtow to his wish), she stuck to Christ and raised her children in the way of the Lord. So obvious was the difference her faith made in her life that her other co-wives and their children soon followed her steps to Christ. Her unbelieving husband saw the peace and unity the faith brought to his formerly riotous polygamous household and prudently refrained from discouraging any of them from the Christian faith. And so they all grew and waxed strong in the Lord.
My Paternal grandparents were also Christians, a faith handed down from their parents. My grandfather was a traditional healer and his practice flourished because of all the traditional healers in his village, he was the only one who made no incantation over his medicinal leaves. He prayed over them instead and God honored his prayers. People flocked to him and he used the opportunity to preach Christ. My Grandmother was a trader and travelled far and wide to buy and sell and preach Christ. God blessed her mightily.
My Grandparents are all gone now. They lived long and blessed lives and are now resting but their legacy lives on. I can still hear my maternal grandmother in my mind exhorting us to go early to church and stay to take the final grace because “God sends three angels with blessings during a church service. One comes during the opening prayers; the second during the sermon and the third during the closing grace. And you should not miss any of the blessings”. That always made us laugh and till now we still laugh when we remember her saying that. But that was how simple and steady their faith was.
My mother though raised in Christ and very moral and believing all her life made a life-changing commitment to Christ when she had her first baby. She said she stared at the baby after birth and became overwhelmed at the thought of being responsible for a LIFE! She realized she couldn’t do it alone so right there on the hospital bed, she made a dedication and covenant with God. Her life changed from then on. And though that child who made her turn to Christ left to be with God at the age of thirteen, his life was amazing! Almost thirty years after his passing on, we still hear testimonies of his life. I met a man about a year ago and when I mentioned my name, he asked if I was related to so-so and when I said yes, he told me how my late brother led him to Christ at the age of ten! I cried that day (I’m actually crying again now).
My Dad's submission took a little longer than my mom’s but by the time I was in my early teens, he had taken his place and position in the Lord and it is wonderful seeing the two of them with their children grown and out of the house, serving their Savior together.
We are a large family. Lots of brothers, sisters, cousins many times removed, aunties & uncles from both sides of the family, nephews, nieces, grandnephews, grandnieces and in-laws. But we are all so united. Despite the physical distance and space between us as we settle in different parts of the world, nothing can break the love and unity we have. I believe this is because of Christ.
We not only have earthly kinship but also heavenly brotherhood. And God has been so faithful to my family. No matter how rebellious and misled we might start off as, we always find our way back to Christ. This is because God honors the prayers of our great-grandparents, grandparents and parents. The prayers they offer to God to make “them and their household to serve the Lord”. And the way they raise us in the way of the Lord gives a solid foundation that draws us back to the light.
God has also been faithful in our choice of spouses. We have wonderful God fearing husbands and wives and their families become ours just as ours become theirs and so we grow larger and fuller.
Whenever we get together for a family occasion or holidays, it’s always huge and fun. And when it is time for devotion, I’m sure even the angels pause in their duties to stare in amazement at us!
We have had ups and downs in this my huge extended family, we have lost, we have mourned, we have hungered, we have searched, but through it all God has been our strength and brought us safely through.
I have a wonderful family!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
THE UNFORCED RHYTHMS OF GRACE
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly” – Matt 11:28-30
The above is a direct quote from Eugene H. Peterson’s THE MESSAGE BIBLE. I love that version of the bible and it is what I use for my daily readings. Today, I came across this popular verse and the way THE MESSAGE BIBLE put it struck me. “LEARN THE UNFORCED RHYTHMS OF GRACE”. I have never thought of ‘living by His grace’ like this before. It reminded me of something that happened to me last year.
Late last year, I had a conversation with a friend. I told him then that I don’t claim my Christ given healing for small things like headache or tummy ache and all the other small aches. According to me then, there are simple over the counter drugs for things like that. I reserved “By His stripes, I am healed” (Isaiah 53:5) for serious illnesses.
A few days later, I had a very bad headache, the kind that is borderline migraine. I took analgesics and laid down for a nap. I woke up and the headache was still there. More analgesics and more naps followed but nothing helped. The headache didn’t get worse but neither did it get better. It just held steady. After four days I was getting desperate. I went to see a doctor. What followed was a whole battery of tests and examinations. Nothing turned up. More drugs, stronger analgesics were prescribed and I took them faithfully. No improvement.
I was referred to another hospital and was already scheduled for a whole new set of tests when my brother suggested praying. So that night, I prayed and reminded God that I have been healed by the stripes of His Son. Without taking any medication, I went to bed and woke up headache free for the first time in more than two weeks. I learnt that day that even if you can do it easily, there is always an easier way through Grace.
That is The Unforced Rhythm of Grace!
And that is a major part of the lesson I have been learning these past weeks. I am a go-getter, driven, passionate overachiever. I have always run the whole mile myself and I’ve always believed in “I can do it. I will do it. I must do it”. I roll under my own steam. But now the Holy Spirit is teaching me that I am in a partnership with Him and my life, career and purpose is a joint venture in which He has an active part and His own contribution is more than pointing out directions, it also includes GRACE!
Yes, I can still do it. Yes, I will still do it. Yes, I must still do it. But allowing myself to trust and rely on His Grace makes it so much easier. Working and walking with the Holy Spirit and learning how Christ does it and leaning on the Grace of God gives every task a naturalness that takes the stress and heaviness out of it all and replaces it with freedom and lightness.
That is The Unforced Rhythm of Grace!
And this Grace we have so freely was given to us at a price. A very costly price! The sweat, blood, pain, suffering and death of Jesus Christ. We might have gotten it free but He didn’t earn it free. The only way we can pay Him back is to make full use of that Grace. That’s what He intended it for. Please don’t do it on your own. For the sake of that precious blood shed on the cross, MAKE USE OF THAT GRACE! It is for your use!
LEARN THE UNFORCED RHYTHMS OF GRACE!
The above is a direct quote from Eugene H. Peterson’s THE MESSAGE BIBLE. I love that version of the bible and it is what I use for my daily readings. Today, I came across this popular verse and the way THE MESSAGE BIBLE put it struck me. “LEARN THE UNFORCED RHYTHMS OF GRACE”. I have never thought of ‘living by His grace’ like this before. It reminded me of something that happened to me last year.
Late last year, I had a conversation with a friend. I told him then that I don’t claim my Christ given healing for small things like headache or tummy ache and all the other small aches. According to me then, there are simple over the counter drugs for things like that. I reserved “By His stripes, I am healed” (Isaiah 53:5) for serious illnesses.
A few days later, I had a very bad headache, the kind that is borderline migraine. I took analgesics and laid down for a nap. I woke up and the headache was still there. More analgesics and more naps followed but nothing helped. The headache didn’t get worse but neither did it get better. It just held steady. After four days I was getting desperate. I went to see a doctor. What followed was a whole battery of tests and examinations. Nothing turned up. More drugs, stronger analgesics were prescribed and I took them faithfully. No improvement.
I was referred to another hospital and was already scheduled for a whole new set of tests when my brother suggested praying. So that night, I prayed and reminded God that I have been healed by the stripes of His Son. Without taking any medication, I went to bed and woke up headache free for the first time in more than two weeks. I learnt that day that even if you can do it easily, there is always an easier way through Grace.
That is The Unforced Rhythm of Grace!
And that is a major part of the lesson I have been learning these past weeks. I am a go-getter, driven, passionate overachiever. I have always run the whole mile myself and I’ve always believed in “I can do it. I will do it. I must do it”. I roll under my own steam. But now the Holy Spirit is teaching me that I am in a partnership with Him and my life, career and purpose is a joint venture in which He has an active part and His own contribution is more than pointing out directions, it also includes GRACE!
Yes, I can still do it. Yes, I will still do it. Yes, I must still do it. But allowing myself to trust and rely on His Grace makes it so much easier. Working and walking with the Holy Spirit and learning how Christ does it and leaning on the Grace of God gives every task a naturalness that takes the stress and heaviness out of it all and replaces it with freedom and lightness.
That is The Unforced Rhythm of Grace!
And this Grace we have so freely was given to us at a price. A very costly price! The sweat, blood, pain, suffering and death of Jesus Christ. We might have gotten it free but He didn’t earn it free. The only way we can pay Him back is to make full use of that Grace. That’s what He intended it for. Please don’t do it on your own. For the sake of that precious blood shed on the cross, MAKE USE OF THAT GRACE! It is for your use!
LEARN THE UNFORCED RHYTHMS OF GRACE!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
LEARNING
"Behold as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand" - Jer 18:6
I'm going through things right now. I'm learning what it means to wait upon the Lord and I'm learning it the hard way.
I have never been a patient person and it has always affected my walk with God. I'm more of the "hit the ground running" type and now God has decided its high time i learn patience.
I HATE IT!
But i have no choice because it seems God is in "I have all the time in the world" mood. And believe me, when someone to whom a thousand years is like a day says that to you, you better toe the line he lays down or you just might be in that same spot FOREVER!
It sucks!
God is dealing with me in ways I've never experienced before and when i get cranky, its as if He just folds His arms and wait for me to get over my mood. He's in no rush. I have to confess, even though i know its for my own good and for the greater good of blah, blah, blah, i still don't like it. And i really don't like the Holy Spirit when he's like this.
I know i sound like a whinny, sulky, petulant child (I feel like one too) but i cannot help it. I've always liked things going exactly the way i want and this is certainly NOT what i want right now.
I've not been a model student so far. Sometimes, when God tells me to do some kinda things i dont wanna do, i feel like yelling "WHO DIED AND MADE YOU GOD?" Except of course, HE IS GOD so i feel like yelling "JESUS DIED AND MADE ME GOD" except of course, submission to God is part of the deal.
So. I'm stuck!
I'm learning though. And even though I really don't want God to know this yet (I don't want to hear His I TOLD YOU SO!), I'm becoming a better person and growing. Just goes to prove - GOD REALLY KNOWS BEST!
After finally realizing the earlier i get my act together and allow Him have His way in my life, the better (and earlier) I will become who i ought to be, I've FINALLY submitted to His will and leading and disciplining.
So when the BIGGER BETTER RAYO emerges from her God-enforced cocoon, you all will be the first to know.
I'm going through things right now. I'm learning what it means to wait upon the Lord and I'm learning it the hard way.
I have never been a patient person and it has always affected my walk with God. I'm more of the "hit the ground running" type and now God has decided its high time i learn patience.
I HATE IT!
But i have no choice because it seems God is in "I have all the time in the world" mood. And believe me, when someone to whom a thousand years is like a day says that to you, you better toe the line he lays down or you just might be in that same spot FOREVER!
It sucks!
God is dealing with me in ways I've never experienced before and when i get cranky, its as if He just folds His arms and wait for me to get over my mood. He's in no rush. I have to confess, even though i know its for my own good and for the greater good of blah, blah, blah, i still don't like it. And i really don't like the Holy Spirit when he's like this.
I know i sound like a whinny, sulky, petulant child (I feel like one too) but i cannot help it. I've always liked things going exactly the way i want and this is certainly NOT what i want right now.
I've not been a model student so far. Sometimes, when God tells me to do some kinda things i dont wanna do, i feel like yelling "WHO DIED AND MADE YOU GOD?" Except of course, HE IS GOD so i feel like yelling "JESUS DIED AND MADE ME GOD" except of course, submission to God is part of the deal.
So. I'm stuck!
I'm learning though. And even though I really don't want God to know this yet (I don't want to hear His I TOLD YOU SO!), I'm becoming a better person and growing. Just goes to prove - GOD REALLY KNOWS BEST!
After finally realizing the earlier i get my act together and allow Him have His way in my life, the better (and earlier) I will become who i ought to be, I've FINALLY submitted to His will and leading and disciplining.
So when the BIGGER BETTER RAYO emerges from her God-enforced cocoon, you all will be the first to know.
Monday, July 20, 2009
HE’S NOT THE ONE
I want to share this article with you. I wrote it a few weeks ago for a Singles magazine and the issue came up with a friend again last week and somehow, this found its way to my blog. I hope it blesses you.
"for God is not [a God] of confusion, but of peace" - 1 Cor 14:33
Tonia and Fred had been dating for six years and now it was crunch time. To marry Fred or not? Or rather the real question was ‘Is he the right man for me or not?’ This was the crux of Tonia’s dilemma. There’s no doubt that she’s in love with Fred but she knows marriage involves so much more and she was scared of making a wrong choice and having an unhappy marriage.
Fred had proposed and Tonia had accaepted his proposal but from that moment she had been disturbed. She could not talk to anybody about how she was feeling. She had not even told anybody about Fred’s proposal and her own acceptance. Not even her family members. Instead she had turned to God. Tonia prayed and prayed for a confirmation from God about her decision but the Holy Spirit was strangely silent.
That was not surprising.
In the six years Tonia had been with Fred, he had done nothing but try to change her to another person. He had systematically cut off all her friends over the years. He had curtailed her outings and shut down the outgoing, fun loving, ever laughing girl in her. He had his own opinion of what a wife should be and he was determined to make Tonia into that image without regard for her God-given nature and personality.
He took complete control of her finances, collecting her salary at the end of each month, leaving her with only the amount he felt she needed for basic purchases. He knew how much she spent on calls and gave her a budget for personal amenities. He planned her life for her, including what to do, when and how to do it.
When her parents expressed their misgivings, Tonia excused Fred saying he was making her into a better Christian and wife material. Her parents kept quiet verbally but raised their voices even louder to God not to let their daughter make the wrong choice. They know true love makes you better but they also know love doesn’t suppress your nature. Rather, it builds it up.
The Holy Spirit didn’t answer Tonia’s question because there was no need to. He knew that Tonia knows, deep in her heart, that Fred is not the man for her but because she loved him, she refused to face up to that fact. Even if Jesus Christ should appear in front of her physically and tell her not to marry Fred, she would find a way to change the message to suit her.
The most telling confirmation of the error of her choice was that she had no peace. Peace of mind is the most important indicator of God’s will. There is no time we walk in his path for our lives that we ever lack peace. Even by human nature, when we receive a marriage proposal from the man of our dreams, what we feel is joy and eager expectation of that D-Day. We go out and tell everybody that we are engaged to HIM!
Tonia had no joy, no peace, no expectation; she could not even tell anybody! And yet she was asking the Holy Spirit to show her if she was making the right choice!!! What other sign does she need? A booming voice of thunder from heaven?!
Like Tonia, many of us know in our hearts that the choices we make are not the right ones and like Tonia, we don’t want to accept that we are wrong. If we, like Tonia, go ahead with that wrong choice, we will end up consigning ourselves to a lifetime of regret.
"for God is not [a God] of confusion, but of peace" - 1 Cor 14:33
Tonia and Fred had been dating for six years and now it was crunch time. To marry Fred or not? Or rather the real question was ‘Is he the right man for me or not?’ This was the crux of Tonia’s dilemma. There’s no doubt that she’s in love with Fred but she knows marriage involves so much more and she was scared of making a wrong choice and having an unhappy marriage.
Fred had proposed and Tonia had accaepted his proposal but from that moment she had been disturbed. She could not talk to anybody about how she was feeling. She had not even told anybody about Fred’s proposal and her own acceptance. Not even her family members. Instead she had turned to God. Tonia prayed and prayed for a confirmation from God about her decision but the Holy Spirit was strangely silent.
That was not surprising.
In the six years Tonia had been with Fred, he had done nothing but try to change her to another person. He had systematically cut off all her friends over the years. He had curtailed her outings and shut down the outgoing, fun loving, ever laughing girl in her. He had his own opinion of what a wife should be and he was determined to make Tonia into that image without regard for her God-given nature and personality.
He took complete control of her finances, collecting her salary at the end of each month, leaving her with only the amount he felt she needed for basic purchases. He knew how much she spent on calls and gave her a budget for personal amenities. He planned her life for her, including what to do, when and how to do it.
When her parents expressed their misgivings, Tonia excused Fred saying he was making her into a better Christian and wife material. Her parents kept quiet verbally but raised their voices even louder to God not to let their daughter make the wrong choice. They know true love makes you better but they also know love doesn’t suppress your nature. Rather, it builds it up.
The Holy Spirit didn’t answer Tonia’s question because there was no need to. He knew that Tonia knows, deep in her heart, that Fred is not the man for her but because she loved him, she refused to face up to that fact. Even if Jesus Christ should appear in front of her physically and tell her not to marry Fred, she would find a way to change the message to suit her.
The most telling confirmation of the error of her choice was that she had no peace. Peace of mind is the most important indicator of God’s will. There is no time we walk in his path for our lives that we ever lack peace. Even by human nature, when we receive a marriage proposal from the man of our dreams, what we feel is joy and eager expectation of that D-Day. We go out and tell everybody that we are engaged to HIM!
Tonia had no joy, no peace, no expectation; she could not even tell anybody! And yet she was asking the Holy Spirit to show her if she was making the right choice!!! What other sign does she need? A booming voice of thunder from heaven?!
Like Tonia, many of us know in our hearts that the choices we make are not the right ones and like Tonia, we don’t want to accept that we are wrong. If we, like Tonia, go ahead with that wrong choice, we will end up consigning ourselves to a lifetime of regret.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
THINGS I NOW KNOW
“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth” John 16:13
There are certain knowledge I now posses since I was baptized with the Holy Spirit that I did not have before. And these truths have changed me from the inside out. Some are general biblical truths, some are personal revelations and life lessons but all have made a difference in my life and recreated me to be the person I am now. Of course, I cannot list them all but I have chosen to write a few.
There are certain knowledge I now posses since I was baptized with the Holy Spirit that I did not have before. And these truths have changed me from the inside out. Some are general biblical truths, some are personal revelations and life lessons but all have made a difference in my life and recreated me to be the person I am now. Of course, I cannot list them all but I have chosen to write a few.
- The number one truth I discovered is that the Holy Spirit is real! He is not a force or a power. He is a person! He is alive and true and spirit and REAL! He is my constant companion, helper, comforter, confidant and friend. He is so very real!
- I am not a human being having a spiritual experience. I am a spirit having a human experience. My spirit is as real as the Holy Spirit and more real than the body which houses me. When all is done and over with, it is my spirit that is left standing.
- Everything we see and touch around us; every physical thing exists because of the spiritual and depends on the spiritual for its very existence. That means the known is made by the unknown. So when Christ tells me to focus on the unseen, He sure knows what He is talking about!
- Since receiving the Holy Spirit, I have grown to know, understand, accept and love myself the way I am. It is only in Christ we can truly discover ourselves and it is only the Holy Spirit who can open our eyes to see US in Christ.
- The meaning of Purpose. I understand now who I am; what I am; why I am; what my part and path is in life; the reason I was created and saved; how I am to walk while on earth; my job as Christ’s co-worker. I know my talents and gifts and how to express them and how they fit into the eternal scheme of life. Now I can answer the question of WHO AM I?
- I am never alone. I have God, my Father; Jesus, my Intercessor and the Holy Spirit, my Helper and teacher.
- I have learnt that I am more than I think I am. I have learnt not to stay with the ME I know but to grow to become the ME God sees.
- I have no limitations. I can do all things and BE all things.
- The battle for life is fought in the mind. If my mind can conceive it, I can achieve it. If I can believe it; I can do it!
- I am as God. I am god. That is what God calls me. When I stand, it is as good as God standing because I am His representative on earth. I am here to do what He wants done. I am here to establish His kingdom. I am light. I am life.
- It is true I am not OF the world but I am still IN the world. And for as long as I am in it, I have to live in it and exist in it and contribute to it and impact it and make it a better place.
- I have learnt beyond any iota of doubt that LOVE truly is the greatest.
- I have learnt that ‘to whom much is given, much is expected’. I have to pass on all Christ gave me. I have to tell of the love of God. I have to give the Spirit to others. Being a Christian is a HUGE responsibility. This humbles me.
- I have learnt that there is still so much to learn and so much to know. The more I know, the more I still have to know. Now I understand that I am still ‘pressing towards the goal’ (Php 3:14). I am just starting.
- Now I know the truth of that statement - “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” 1 Cor 2:9.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES
“For with God, nothing shall be impossible” – Luke 1:37
I believe in miracles. I believe in a God who specializes in the impossible. I have seen and experienced too many things to feel otherwise. God is real and true and above everything.
I’m sitting here talking with my mom and we suddenly realized it is exactly fifteen years ago today that God did an amazing thing to show Himself mighty in our lives. He has done a great many things in our lives on a daily basis but like the Israelites look up to Crossing the Red Sea as a significant milestone so also I look up to that particular event as something wonderful. It is not a miracle like the opening of eyes or the lame walking. No, it is a miracle that shook me more than those have ever done.
There was a door in my parent’s house. It was in the entrance leading from the garage into the house. You can just drive into the garage and enter the house through that side door and you are in the living room. It was a door just like any other door except for one thing, it was loose. Somehow the door didn’t close well and even when you lock it with the key, all you had to do was lean on it and it would swing open. My dad was always planning to fix it or change the door but he always procrastinated and the door was left like that.
Then the unimaginable happened one night.
It was a night like every normal night that day fifteen years ago. My dad was out of the country on an official assignment. It was I, my mom, my grandmother, a female cousin and my little brothers at home. No adult male except an aging unarmed guard. Suddenly the silent night was shattered with the sounds of gunshots.
Armed robbers!
Anyone that has lived or lives in Nigeria will understand what I’m talking about. They had scaled the security fence, tied down our old guard and they were now trying to gain access into the house. We all woke up and panic ensued. Everybody tumbled out of the rooms running in different directions. Somehow we all found ourselves huddled in the little hall in the center of our house. The telephone was in the living room but nobody was going to move one inch away from that little hall.
And then we started hearing thumping sounds! They were ramming all the doors they could find to break inside. As one, we stared into each other’s eyes as the same thought dawned in our minds – THE GARAGE DOOR! Horror paralyzed us and froze our hearts. I clung tightly to my mom. We all did. Including my grandmother. Then I heard her whispering “Jesus, help us. Show yourself faithful!”
The thumping went on for some time and then the shooting resumed. They shot sporadically into the house from every side. They shouted and yelled for us to open the door or they would set fire to the house. My mom just kept repeating those words over and over “Jesus, show yourself faithful”. Then we started hearing sounds of fighting. There was a whole lot of shouting and screaming for a long time.
After what seemed like forever, there was silence. We strained our ears but could hear nothing. Nevertheless, we stayed right where we were till dawn. It was when neighbors started trooping in in the morning and called out to us that we felt safe enough to leave the hall. We opened the door and saw what we could not explain. There was blood everywhere. On the fence, the walls of the house, the grounds all around the compound. Even leading outside the gate, we saw bloody footprints.
Our old guard who had been tied up outside was the only eyewitness and the only thing he could tell us was they were shooting into the house then one of the robbers brought a can of gasoline to pour round the house and suddenly, the man with the gasoline started bleeding and yelling to be left alone and then pandemonium broke out and all the others started struggling and yelling too. They ended up scrambling and running out of the compound like the hordes of hell were after them, leaving most of their weapons and a whole lot of blood.
We walked round the house and the walls were riddled with bullet holes outside but none had penetrated through to the inside The bullets were lodged in the walls. Not even a single window was cracked! But that was not all. We entered the garage and came to that door. That loose, always swinging opening door.
That day, even though I wasn’t yet a Christian and wouldn’t be for many more years, I stood in awed fear of the greatness and faithfulness of the God my parents served. I have never forgotten the dizzying sense of fear and respect and awe I experienced as I gaped in silence at the evidence of the existence and power of God.
The garage has another door now but in our store room we keep that old scarred door as a testimony to that night when “Jesus showed Himself faithful” according to my mother’s prayer. “But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and guard you from the evil one” 2 Thess 3:3
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
GOD IS GOOD
“O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth forever” Psalm 107:1
In all the sad and difficult things that have been happening it is easy to lose sight of the goodness of God. It is so easy to stand back and ask ‘How can a good God allow such bad things?’ Very easy to query the goodness of God in the face of such ‘badness’.
But let us not forget the bible says “God is good” not that “good is God”. What that means is that good deeds do not define God. God defines good. Being good is not an attribute we ascribe to God. Good is God’s nature. That is who He is. Good is not a character, it is a person. IT IS GOD!
We define good by human standards but good can only be defined by God. Whatever God does is good because it is His nature; He cannot do anything but good; He cannot be anything else but good! HE IS GOOD!
Now I’m not saying those deaths are good things or that God killed my uncle and friends. No! Those things happened as a result of the ripple effects of the fall and they will continue to happen until we grow into the fullness of Christ and overcome death.
What I am saying is that no matter what happens, no matter how bad things seem, no matter the pervasive evil in the world, God is a good God and whatever He does is good so the only way to determine the goodness of something is to ask the question – “Did God do it?” if the answer is Yes, then that thing is a good thing.
I am convinced of the goodness of God. In the midst of so much heartache and tears, I have no doubt that my God is good. I serve a good God. I have a good Father. Even when He does things I don’t understand and because of my shortsightedness I cannot see the good right now, I still know it is good because “GOD IS GOOD” and because “we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose” Rom 8:28.
So I worship my God and thank Him for all His goodness. I honor Him and bless His holy name. There is none like Him in all the earth and above and below. He is my God and my Father. My Good God and My Good Father!
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