The Way of the Lord

Why does God spare the wicked to live longer than good people? Many à times we found ourselves questioning life’s existence each time we lost closed ones. They are not supposed to die when they do. Therefore, we are shocked by learning about their passing away.

The truth is, God, alone, determines who should live and who must die at any particular moment. People who we thought are good may not be as good in Jehovah’s eyes. Remember, He knows all of us more than we do. Therefore, the worst person we had in mind may be a good somebody to the Almighty.

The way of the Lord is hyper complicated and this is why no humans can know it.

Shalom.

What A Christian Should Pray For (4)

Having babies is easy, but raising them is where the big job. Everyone wants to have babies because they feel they are toys. Parenting comes with taking full responsibility to nurture that child up to adulthood until you grow old and death do you all apart.

They say, “Charity begins at home”, and I agree. It is not the duty of your children’s school management or teachers to raise your children for you. Likewise, it is not the job of the Sunday school teachers in the church to help you train your children. Outsiders DO NOT KNOW your babies more than you.

I tell people to never embark on having children if they are not going to care for them. Today, we have lots of unscrupulous leaders and delinquents because their parents failed to raise them the godly way. Lots of them! Money can buy the best education, but it cannot buy common sense.

A Christian should be ready to pray for two things.

First, as a parent; to ask for God’s wisdom to raise their children in the right direction as the Lord instructed.

Second and this is for those who are yet to have any children; search deeply within you to check for two things— (1) Do you truly want to have children? Is it compulsory or are being forced to? (2) If indeed you are ready to raise a child, then pray about it. Let the Holy Spirit guide you. Do not follow the crowd to have babies. Follow God’s instructions, instead.

Shalom.

What A Christian Should Pray For (3)

The likes of Amnon roam our streets, penetrate our lives as they are visible among us. The Amnon of our times which hardly see anything wrong in black being black and white being white. These Amnon of our time are the non-conformist who don’t understand why people go to church or pray to God because to them, and there is no such thing as God.

Putting others ahead of one’s life journey requires careful consideration of their feelings. Amnon failed to see beyond his lust and the consequences of sexual relationships with his biological stepsister. His few minutes actions cost Tamar her dignity and him his life. If he had put the wellbeing of Tamar before his, he would have gotten enough spaces to reflect on this and after that prevent the calamity.

Praying for help to overcome devastating emotions is a prerequisite to preventing temptation. 

Shalom

What A Christian Should Pray For (2)

Should we say God is unjust to have given Leah children and deprived Rachel who waited for fourteen years to become Jacob’s wife?

The message behind the story is not just one but many; one of these is learning to love others genuinely rather than halfway. Jacob has the right to simply say no to having Leah as his wife and instead continues to work for additional seven years to have his Rachel. However, he accepted Leah to be his wife but his heart was not there. This is because Jacob had felt unloved all his life. He tricked his father to get his brother’s blessings because he knew their father loved Esau more than him.

Imagine the silences suffering of Leah and the sense of abandonment? How many of us love one of our children more than the other? Have we ever thought of how they feel or their psychological pain?

A Christian should pray for the grace to love GENUINELY first himself or herself in order to love others.

What a Christian should Pray for (1)

Man: “Dear Lord, I thank you that I am far away from the zone of Cov-19.”

1st Woman: “Heavenly Father, thank you for that my mother-in-law is dead.”

2nd Woman: Sweet darling Jesus, please, drive lots of customers away from my neighbour’s shop and direct them to mine.”

Have you ever heard people’s praying or seen their prayer requests? Or have you been praying about something and all of a sudden you pause because you realise something is wrong with your words?

We are all in it, and it becomes saddened that many of us are not conscious of what we asked for when we prayed. First, prayer is the substantive channel to establishing profound, permanent relationships with God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We are connected to them through our utterances. This is why the Bible cautions in several verses of the Word of God that we ought to watch what comes out of our mouth.

While praying to God is a private business as a Christian, it is likewise the route to intercede on behalf of others. Life is not always about us alone. A full, rich and completed life is when we carry others along even when they are not part of our everyday life. Prayer plays that perfect role for us to include people who we want God to help.

There are friends or strangers who I don’t see anymore. These are friends who have moved on to live somewhere else, and life has taken them off my trajectory. These are strangers I sat with on the same aeroplane to London or met on the Tube, or at the park where I used to run, or in stores, or just waved at each other without actually knowing them. It is not every day I remember every one of them, but when I do, I send out a whispered prayer in their direction. My doing so is because I have realised in many circumstances and occurrences in my life that some people somewhere out there are praying for me. I could sense this in many breakthroughs.

Hence, the happiness we pray to God to give us will only come to us through our contributions to others and how we affect their lives. Like I stated earlier, it is not just about us.

Shalom

The One at the Backstage (3)

The first good thing about life is the to be alive, to breathe in fresh air, sleep nicely, and spend considerable time with our loved ones.

The second good thing is the recognition of the price Christ paid to be there for us at all time. Many people do not recognise this that it was merely the most impressive accomplishment ever that Jesus Christ dies and lived and still alive for us.

Here is why we are fortunate to have this fantastic opportunity to continue the good works of God by extending His love to others. He waited until Christ completed the ultimate sacrifice and then once we are renewed He gives us the Grace to live our lives being there for others. The most substantial accomplishment of a genuine Christian is following in the footsteps of God.

We do so by living our lives away from the limelight of extravagance illusions of life and instead embracing genuine modesty so others can see the presence of God through us.

Shalom.

The One at the Backstage (2)

Be mindful of other people’s feelings. Take time to listen to others when you are in front of them or listening to them over the telephone. Be on your guard when someone is telling you what is disturbing them.

The job of the protector is as described in the book of James 1:19. The Christian as God’s messenger should spread the Word of the Almighty, and part of these is to stand as a shield in-between the troubles someone else is going through and the person. Jesus said, “Go Ye” and that implies spreading the goodness of God. People will only choose to follow Christ if you can be the one standing in the gap for them. Protectors are God’s Angel in human beings. Everyone has a duty. Some are teachers, prophets, givers and et cetera.

Who are you? I think you need to ask whether you are a protector or a Christian who likes to run his or her mouth rather than being sympathetic of others. Do you want to be at the backstage to lift others or do you want to trample them down so you can climb up?

No one will run to the straight to the police station when they are having issues. First, they will look for friends to discuss before they can then decide whether or not they are to call in the police. You could be that friend in the moment of need. You can save a life.

Hence why substantial at any cost to pay attention. Do not be in a hurry to advise because you may end up suggesting something that will aggravate the problem.

Shalom.

The One at the Backstage (1)

John is older than Jesus, and he was already in the ministry before the Lord started. Therefore, John could be said to be qualified and more experienced than Jesus. Instead, John possessed something that is by far more significant than anyone else in his time. Humility. It is a virtue that cannot be bought anywhere, and in as much as it is quickly spoken of, it is complicated to possess it in all totality.

Why does the Bible permanently warn us to watch out if we think we are wise? Part of the reasons is because it takes the precious grace of God and the help of the Holy Spirit for any individual to be humble. Our world is no longer as it used to be. No one can compare the past centuries to this current 21st century where individualism has overtaken collectivism. What we see today is more like; “To your tent, oh dear Christian”, where every individual is for themselves.

Being humble in the face of any conditions does not imply that Christian is a dunce. On the contrary, genuine unpretentiousness set the person apart and differentiate them from others and permit those in their worlds to learn from them.

Shalom.

Taking the Blow

I passed the test of self-humility about two weeks ago. That day was like any others except that I was in a so much a hurry to get tasks done before many of the offices closed for the day. One side of me judged myself for leaving the house late while another part argued favourably that I had been working all day at my desk. The truth is, the mind often has the best answer to one’s situation even when that response is not in the best interest.

My first stop was to be the post office to pick up a parcel they could not deliver while I was away at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. Driving there should be less than 5 minutes, but my small town has lots of traffic lights at unusual tiny places. On turning to the left, I found myself right in front of a truck, whose driver did not trafficate to signal he or she was turning to the right afterwards. As that was where I was going, I put on my right trafficator. Suddenly, this driver did the same. I followed behind wondering how the driver will manoeuvre this narrow road we just entered. Ahead was the next turning where the post office is. I trafficated again, and a few seconds, the driver did the same.

I must divert a bit to say this quickly; many drivers in France, in particular, in all the places where I have driven to have serious issues when it comes to trafficating as majorities jungle between their mobile phones and driving at the same time.

Anyway, back to this day. When this driver entered the tiniest of all the roads, we’ve been driving since I was already losing my patience. The journey of fewer than five minutes has increased to about 12. I was boiling!! Without warning, I hit the horn thrice like a crazy woman. Doing that drew attention than I called for, but I pretend not to notice. But, It becomes a problem when the neighbours are forced to acknowledge your presence anytime you are around.

The truck in front me was not stuck anyway trying to enter the facility of the post office. That’s when I realised the driver was there to pick up all the day’s parcels and whatever.

That day, I collected my parcel and disappeared while ignoring a woman who was asking if I were okay.

Did I learn a lesson here? Absolutely! It took me a week to get over it, and I realised the Holy Spirit was admonishing me until I realised I was wrong. Before then, I never thought I had done anything to justify my fault. To me, everything happened because the driver of that truck was slow in trafficating, and driving.

Oh yeah, I took my blow!

The Waiting Room

The disobedience of King Saul resonated in the Bible. However, his impatience cost him the crown.

God is not fair, but, there are times it appears Jehovah has gone on a journey. At these periods, expectations can transform into desperation. Likewise, the waiting room becomes unbearable and too hot to sit in.

Often, waiting on God teaches us to learn about endurance, trusting Him 100% and being able to transfer our lessons in waiting to others. On the contrary, it could be the Lord stepping aside to watch our reactions in the moments of waiting.

The overall outcome of obtaining what we believe God for will be determined by the proceedings that transpired while in waiting. Remember, God is not far.

Shalom.

Self & Otherness

Dorcas was simply Dorcas. However, what she did in her time spoke for her at a crucial moment.

An in-depth reading of French Philosopher Emmanuel Levinas’s Humanism of the Other and Canadian Philosopher Jean Vanier’s Becoming Human, will aide in understanding life is not all about oneself. Substantial at this point to differentiate between ‘loving oneself’ and ‘being there for others’. These two are not the same. You cannot love people without first loving YOU because it is out of the love within you that you can transfer to others.

Think of Dorcas and what her death at that time would mean for those relying on her. Receivers don’t pray for their givers to die. Anyone who create meaningful existences always upholds the crown of leadership. Some went beyond their comfort zones to create an open theatre and drama classes free of charge for the homeless. Some were forced to established their charities to bring a smile to children admitted in hospitals. These and many more chose to set themselves apart.

The essence of being human is based on the dimensions of choices. R.C. Sproul was not far from the truth when he asked, “Are People Basically Good?” He even said we could not know what it means to be human unless we genuinely appreciate the image of God. The Imago Dei.

Do you still bear the image of God?

Shalom.

The Messengers

“Writers are made, not born.”

I heard that many times. While this has an element of truth to it, it doesn’t mean it is undebatable. Some writers need to put in extra effort to get to the limelight, and some have no difficulty with structuring their words because they have the natural flows. Such distinctions are part of the reasons why some authors remain the best, and some are not?

Well, I will not go there today. I want to discuss the other kind of writers that are barely known because some of them are woven into those mentioned above.

These are the messengers. Apart from being naturally endowed with the ability to create words without much effort, they become messengers by conscientious listening. God speaks. He is the Wonder of all wonders. When Jehovah speaks, He does through the Holy Spirit. The messengers are required to tune in all the times to hear from God. It does not matter whether they Christians or not. However, they are to listen.

How do you know who is a messenger-writer or whether you are one? Let me give you a good example. Have you ever been doing something different in the house or sleeping or wherever and suddenly a complete story plot or topic pop up in your mind? At that moment, you either write it down quickly (which is what I do) or you decide to write it later because you think you will recall the details later on. Then you don’t touch that written idea or even bother to write it down as you intended. Afterwards, about a year later, you come across a book or heard about this book, and when you read it, there’s a sense of déjàvu that overtake you because that details in that book are precisely what popped up in your mind a year ago. However, because you ignored this idea, the Spirit of God searched and found someone else who was wholeheartedly ready to develop the story. Do you know how many people are on earth whose divine beings are waiting daily for people like you to read the message of God through you?

I took from Queen Vashti to make you understand how many messengers of God often take spiritual messages for granted. If you’ve been throwing away any godly ideas that pop up on your mind, then do not expect the fresh anointing to keep coming because one day the well will dry out.

Shalom.