Friday, February 27, 2009

Can I open my Gift Now?

Have you been in a situation when you know something is yours, but you can’t just go and take it but you have to wait until it’s been given to you - this is not the bit where you might have to apply the verse of the bible where it says yes, you know: And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force – Matthew 11:12; no this is more on the area where the Lord has said to you I have heard your prayers you just now have to wait for it. In other words, you can see it, you can sense it, you can just about touch it, but you can’t have it just yet.

But you say, how do you know He has answered your prayer, the word of the Lord said in Daniel 10:12 - "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. He says whatsoever you ask in the Name of Jesus (John 14:13), shall be given unto us (Matthew 7:7), BUT we must have the right motive and not asking for things that will feed our selfish nature (James 3:16; 4:2-3).

But you might ask like what? Have you forgotten His promises in His word? The word of God says that since God’s spirit testifies with our spirit that we are His children (Romans 8:16), and through Jesus we are now co-heirs (Romans 8:17), then He is our Great inheritance. I mean He owns the whole world right, and He has made promises to us that He is more able to fulfill. That is to say that SINCE God is our portion and is all-sufficient, then this is an all-sufficient inheritance. God is eternal and unchangeable, and therefore our inheritance is incorruptible, undefiled and can never fade away.

Can I have some examples you may ask, well think about the Lords prayer for example, that is just loaded with promises. Because the Lord is your shepherd, YOU SHALL NEVER BE IN WANT (Psalm 23:1). So you know that whatever is happening in and around the world’s economy can NEVER affect you and so if for example you are that someone looking for a permanent position you don’t need to worry if God will make a way FOR YOU, because Just there tells you why HE WILL make a way FOR YOU. And if you are struggling with some kind of infirmity, He said you will be in good health and prosper as you soul prospers (3 John 1:2) and with long life He will satisfy you (Psalm 91:16; Deuteronomy 30:19-20) – therefore that sickness has got to go, and you don’t have to worry about untimely death. Don’t let the enemy tell you about the examples of others that did not reach their potential, because your case is different, you are not like the others you are different (1 Peter 2:9). Peter and James were faced with the exact same problem (they faced death in Jail), James died (Acts 12:2) and Peter survived (Acts 12:5-11), because He already had a word from God upon his life, so hold on to the word of God on your life (John 21:18-19).

So going back to the title, I’m sure this is a common dilemma for many of us who are impatient with the Lord, and the Lord is having to teach us on the lessons of waiting joyfully. Yep you heard it. You know the Lord SAID He has blessed you with this awesome gift, You desire it, You crave it, You want it, You dream of it, but it’s as if like a naughty school child you are told to wait until the time when He hands it to you, not that you should go and take it yourself. I have to be very honest with you all, but this is the dilemma I have found myself in. Ma per che? I have said to the Lord, many times, why Lord? Then He said to me, that there is a purpose in the waiting and there is a consequence of action. That I should not be concerned about the way the Lord will bring about the promises or the duration but the fact that He will do it, because He said he would. And since our ways and thoughts are CLEARLY different from His, God does not do anything without a reason (Isaiah 55:8).

He showed me the example of Abraham’s 25years wait (Genesis 21:1-5) and the 40yrs that the children of Israel spent in the waiting – for what reason DISOBEDIENCE. Twenty five years previous in Genesis 12:1-5, Abraham had heard the word of God, believed the promises of God and set out with his possessions for the Land the Lord would show him. And even though throughout the time, the Lord always visited him and reminded him of His promises to him (except of course the thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael), and we know that nothing is too hard for the Lord (Gen. 18:14), Did you notice that by time the young man came (Isaac), Abraham had to part with Lot (you know God did say leave your country, your people, your father’s household and go to the Land I will show you – He did not say take Lot with you Genesis 13, 14). Did I detect a hint of disobedience? oh and we shan’t forget the Ishmael debacle (that extended it by thirteen more years). And then there was Sodom and Gomorrah just near by, and you just know they “gats” to go, it won’t make for a good surrounding environment to raise up a proper child (afterall we are supposed to be at peace with our neighbours – could you imagine having them as your neighbourhood). And we already KNOW the story of the Israelites.

So after weighing all this very significant discoveries, I didn’t need to be a genius to figure out that disobedience is proportional to the delay in promise. And so I thought to myself, if I want to open my present this time next year, I had just better sit and wait and do as God has told me to do. Cause I for one have wasted already enough time, just by carrying on with my disobedient ways.

So there it is, I should not be concerned as to when I can unwrap my gift, I just have to believe it is there and just have to keep on praying (you know praying is also a way of communicating with God, its not all about give me, give me, give me), until the day He will say to me, go right ahead Life of a stranger and open it. I am so excited right now, just the thought of all the wonderful things the Lord has stored up for me just gives me goose pimples, and BELIEVE ME, I know this God to be faithful and true. The Kind of things He does, truly takes my breath away. I just don’t have enough words to say it all; all I know is GOD RAWKS my world. He truly is an awesome God, and NEVER have I known Him to be late. Oh yeah, He’s always on Time too. So dear family, DO NOT FOCUS ON YOUR AGE; God doesn’t care how old you are. Don’t let the waiting get the better of you, or even the problems, cause they too are a sort of transition period, for the Lord uses them to build our characters and imperfection. If I were you, I’ll just start bursting out into songs of joy, rejoicing in the Lord, because if you knew the kind of BIG BOY you’re dealing with, you will never ever again loose sleep over gibrishhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. I have started to imagine for myself... , well don’t ask me mine go right ahead and start imagining for yourself.

And don’t forget to search your life and rid your selves of anything that you know may be hindering the promise of God being fulfilled in your life. The Lot, Ishmael and Sodom Factor are gone Lord, and I have found for myself a very comfortable sit. Surely it is Now!!

Friday, February 20, 2009

A Return to Sender

“Spurred on by the king's command, the couriers went out, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered”Esther 3:15

I remember a time not too distant now when the negative and hurtful things that people did, or do affected me. But when I realised it was to my detriment and the effect it had in my life didn’t in any way reverberate back to them, I realised it was an exercise in futility. We all remember the story of Mordecai and Haman, one a Jew who refused to bow down in fear or reverence of the other. And how this burned Haman, for he was a man of so much wealth and decorated by the king (who was ruler over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush – Esther 1:1; 3:1). And for this single reason hatched a plan not just to destroy him, but also all the people of his race (Esther 3:1-15). It is interesting to read that when he thought he had succeeded in wining over the king and effecting his plan, that was indeed the time that the Lord had raised help, for her steps had previously been ordered of the Lord to find favour with the King and the palace people for such a time (Esther 4:14b). It’s even more interesting how the plans of destruction that Haman planned for Mordecai was visited upon Haman.

My story today will indeed be a short one, but should serve as a reminder why we ought not to loose sleep, over any situation or circumstance we find ourselves in. And as we have read, that it’s imperative that we know that yet before we encounter such situations and oppositions, that the Lord has already made provisions for the solution. And He has shown us that the solution to our problems is already resident and present in our lives even before the problem arises (Esther 2:1-23; 3:1). Is anyone of us going through something right now, I am here to encourage you that your solution is with you, and that this problem is not worth loosing you joy over. Never to forget the purpose for which the problem was sent; to steal, kill and destroy your Joy (John 10:10) which the Lord Jesus came to give you to the full. Don’t let that happen.

And if we have in anyway been engaged in dispersing unwholesome behaviour towards others, let us repent of it and seek the forgiveness of God. Dear Lord, I ask thee to forgive me merciful saviour for all the times that I have knowingly and unknowingly hurt the lives of the people around me. Dear Lord, have mercy upon my life and please remove from my life the punishment that the consequence of my action incurred. Thank you Lord for forgiving me in the wonderful name of Jesus I have prayed Amen.

Friday, February 13, 2009

GEMSTONE

Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly - Proverbs 3:18

I knew of a man who inherited a precious stone, sought after by many given only to a few, he neither worked for it, or deserving of it. And because He had no knowledge of its price less worth or cared for it, he threw it away as if it were a pebble and watched it flip through the stream that flowed beside his abode.

I knew also a man that was shown a mine rich with unimaginable glory. A fertile ground that required very little effort to dig up the valuables that laid underneath. After He was handed over a shovel to dig up for himself to his heart content, he sat on it instead for a while. Then he thought to himself, surely I have seen richer grounds with greener pastures. No, I shall move on to a ground that requires no digging, a ground that is seen from afar of unimaginable worth.

Oh how I remember that man, yes that man that bequeathed to me that precious stone and showed me pastures green. A Man so rich He owned the whole world.

For a while then I had no idea of His worth, and threw Him away as I moved away from Him. I will never forget the way that Lead to the truth and life everlasting which He showed me. How I thought there must be an easier way that didn’t have to be His. I had no idea that His way was a path filled with unimaginable riches, and because I was only interested in the things that “was seen” I saw no value in “working” it out through believing in Him. I had no idea that I had to first recognize that He is “the way, the truth and life”; Oh how I have suffered for lack of knowledge. I had no idea that I had to work out my salvation with fear and trembling; and that as I delved into Him, by building my relationship with Him, this got me closer to Him, oh how He longed to show me all the unsearchable things I knew not.

Dearest Lord what price less gift YOUR SAVING GRACE is; what can I compare such a gift to. Thank You Lord for on countless occasions, Your repeated refusal to give up on me, even with all of my disobedient ways. Thank You Lord for everything You did for me.

Dear Lord, if I were to make sacrifices in the same magnitude as Solomon and David did, it will not be enough to show how much You mean to me. And if I were to dance without restraint from now, even to the end of the world, it would still not fully show how much Lord I adore you. Lord sometimes I forget and limit you, but Lord thank you for loving me in spite of me. Yes Lord, You have been my God even when I didn’t care to know you, and gently you have always stood by me, even after I rejected you. Lord God You are indeed my pride, and my one true Love. You Lord mean EVERYTHING to me. I may not show it Lord sometimes, but just incase I pass through “those” days Lord, I just want to tell the Whole World that I will bless you forever for You are more than Life to me. Yes Lord You have been my Rock of ages, and I will never again throw away the priceless gift You’ve given to me. You Lord I cannot compare, and no rock or gemstone will ever be able to make me leap for joy when compared to the leap at the thought of You.

You Lord make my heart skip a beat………… And I love you dear Lord.

Anything of value takes time to form (thank you Lord for taking your time to mold me) – I just never realized I was a collector’s item (I don’t know about ya’ll, but Wow, who could imagine me God’s Collector’s item) …….

Friday, February 06, 2009

Fresh Start

I’m pretty excited this week. I feel like someone who has just won tons and tons of money from the lottery and I’m even more reassured now that my life is wonderful. I am wonderful, and I feel good. Well that’s because of what “onu chukwu – the mouth of God” spoke concerning me, and it is written in Psalm 18 vs. 43 -46: "Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me. As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places".

This week I was supposed to spend it away from the office, in Cambridge town, but because of the wonderful weather in the south of England I was stranded in a fine airport in Bologna waiting for a delayed flight which was later cancelled. I came back so late at night, cold, tired and a little grumpy. It was snowing too here but we seem to have a better way of handling this sort of weather. Well I guess all this whether Good or bad works together for my good.

I was reading the book of 1Kings and my attention was drawn to 1Kings:1-3: When King David was old and well advanced in years, he could not keep warm even when they put covers over him. 2 So his servants said to him, "Let us look for a young virgin to attend the king and take care of him. She can lie beside him so that our lord the king may keep warm." Then I remembered the story of Zechariah and His wife Elizabeth, which my wonderful pastor preached on Sunday – Luke 1:5-7 - Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years. I also went back to the book of Genesis 2:18“The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” - It was because God saw that Adam was lonely that was why He made eve so that she will help take that loneliness away by doing “stuff” together with him.

So I started to wonder, here are two old men, David and Zechariah, two wonderful men whom God called his priests (one by calling, one by birth). One in his old age after marrying so many women (for different reasons), still had no one to help keep him warm at night (even if he was a king and the queens have separate rooms, but we are told they needed someone to keep him warm, whatever happened to one of the wives doing this?); and the other married only one, both of whom were faithfully serving God in their old age even with their inability to bear children. And this just struck me. It was indeed that first decision that paved the way for the end. Choosing to marry an individual is one of the most important decisions a person can ever make. Then I thought of a very long road, with the middle coated with tar, the sides untouched, red sandy gravel, next to a deep ditch; and then I thought, imagine walking on this road with someone who’s a bit temperamental and could accidently push you off.. alarm bells. Ok so this is not such a good example, but it gives an idea of how important that one decision really is. Think about it? And the same applies in every area of our lives. Do the decisions we make have longevity? Will it stand the test of time? Are we one when faced with difficultly we feel the need to abandon project and search for another? Have we chosen to decide that come what may we are sticking with God?

I have started to see so many things so clearly, and they have all started to make sense now. It makes sense that a life of purpose is by far better than a life of existence. That my decision to choose to stand in readiness of what comes my way is harder than choosing to sit and settle for what I see around me. Sometimes I think back to the beginning, where it all started, and think of where I am now, which makes me realise how busy the Lord has been working in my life; and each day, month, year have been better than the previous. I don’t know about you but I feel a sense of urgency to make up my mind to choose to see God in every aspect of my life, regardless; because I know that because God is always by my side, my future can only get better. And even more outstanding that no weapons forged against me will prosper, so why should I settle for what is seen. And with this, my once unsteady feet, is no longer afraid. Because now I know without a shadow of a doubt that everything that “seems” to be crawling around me, was allowed to bring about the fulfilment of my promise.

So today everyone I have made that decision YET AGAIN, NEVER to fear the shadows of my past failures. I am super confident, and thus I have resolved never again to be afraid. I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, but what a walk. The sounds of a violent waterfall surrounded me, the walk even steeper than imagined and the path more dangerous and rocky than envisaged, and who would speak of the darkness that shielded the path. But wow I came out. I came out injury free, I came out victorious. And I came out stronger than I went in. I came out and was led unto the straight path, I came out and immediately He directed me unto my carefully planned out path. Wow Lord I made it. I made it. Thank you Lord for being by my side. Zechariah and Elizabeth made it, and even though like the parable of the labourers in the vineyard (Matt. 20:1-16) they might have been likened to those who may have worked from the 6th hour since their promise came about in their old age, mine would be like those that came in the 11th hour and I know I will get the same reward but sooner.

So dear Lord lead the way, I will be a fool not to follow. Dear Lord help me take off these high heeled shoes that may be getting in the way, so that my toes won’t pinch as I try to run after you….

Mehn this path is the bunz ...........