C.h.r.i.s.t.m.a.s!

Merry, Merry Christmas to you. Wishing you the peace and joy plus love shared by Christ, Himself. I hope you had a lovely Christmas!!!
Officially, the Count down to the New year has started. See you there, by God's grace.
*smiles*

Our God!

Our God is magnificent.
Praise to man is perfume, and anyone who eats perfume will die
However, Praise to God is his food
So,you can never, we can never be God, never, because his ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts, as far as the heaven is from the earth, that is the how far we would have to cover to understand His ways and thoughts.

Lessons from Family devotion!!!

1. Any work that would not allow one to rest is a bad work.

2. When we go out of the purpose of our lives, that is, do something else apart from what God assigned us, even if what we do seems right, we are out, we are out; nobody sent John the Baptist to talk to Herod about his infidelity, he was sent to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, s'est fini.

3. Never make hasty decisions or oaths, Herod did and regretted it.

4. Herodias had an unforgiving spirit, that's bad.

5. Watch what you say, some troubles are really avoidable.
You don't have to talk all the time.

Christ Jesus

According to Luke 1:31, it was the angel that gave the name of Jesus to his mother, from this I learn that all my children (that is, the ones I ll give birth to) already have their names written down in heaven; so, all I an to do is ask God for their names even before their conception.
This tells me God is in charge of my babies even before I got married and this also teaches me that once I hand them over to God even before conception, God takes full control if their lives regardless of what is happening.

From Luke 1:13, Zechariah, the priest had prayed for so long for a child even till his old age but a funny thing happens in verse 20 of Luke 1, when God finally answers his prayers, he can't believe it and I learnt two(2) things:
1. Whether you believe or not, what God has set to do in your life at a certain time, He would do it.
2. Most times, we wait on God regarding an issue, then, when God rises and answers, we don't believe.
For example, you have been asking God for a car, because its too stressful taking a bus, or your mates are riding and you are still using your 'legedi benz', or your family is drumming its necessity in your ears every blessed day.
   Now, this fateful day, you are on your way to work, this really nice car splashes dirty water on you from yesterday remains of the downpour. 'Whaaat, you are about to go haywire when someone steps out of the car, walking towards your direction, in your mind, you are fuming, 'Imagine, because I don't have a car', a very long hiss is heard.
By the time, the person gets close to you, you are about to rain curses, when you discover this is your long lost friend(lost, I mean contacts, forget the social media), instead of the curses, its inexpressible sounds,' Whaaaat, OMG, Ahhhh, Ohhh' and then, you exchange cards, can't be late for work.   
When you meet at your break time, you find out he's the current managing director of one of your dream cars. Glory be to God, he's a generous giver, for apology sake, you are given a new car, you can't believe it, you ask a billion times, 'Are you sure, is it really mine, you must be joking, please, I hope this is not a joke, please stop, we are no longer kids, no pranks... You are practically dumbstruck, you can't believe it,'Abi, Is this 419? Just like that?' You feel like you are in a dream too good to be true.
Well, that's the way God works my brother, my sister, father and mother, just be grateful(however, don't forget to pay your tithes *smiles*)

From Luke 1:5, I discovered that the birth of John popularly known as John the Baptist was a that of different lineages and personalities
His Father, Zechariah: The priestly line of Abijah
His Mother, Elizabeth: The priestly line of Aaron
He would walk under the spirit and Power of Elijah.

Luke 1:6 shows me that 'And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.' How?
Let's not forget the fact that Elizabeth was considered barren, imagine, the mockery, the shame, the accusations, etc., yet, they were said to be blameless and at that time, Jesus had not come, so still the law, how were they labeled to have walked in ALL of God's commandments?

Luke 1:41 Wait o, just by the baby leaping for joy in the mother's womb, the mother was filled with the Holyspirit, #supernatural...

Verse 80 of Chapter 1, The Book of Luke John had the wilderness experience, what Jesus experienced for 40days was probably a lifestyle for John.
Oh, how Blessed is it to be the cousin, fore runner, light bearer, advertisement of the saviour of the world, JESUS!!!

Superhuman

The most powerful thing given to man, that no one can take away including God is the power of will, that is, Choice. It is extremely powerful...
  It is much powerful than the strength, agility, speed, wisdom, invisibility powers of superheroes;
it's a power that when accompanied with determination, doggedness, focus, you can't imagine the explosive outcome with massive results either in the positive or negative light, you choose.

Jesus had a choice when he said,'Father, please, let this cup pass over me', he could have done whatever he wanted but this is where he made a wise choice by surrendering his will to the right master, lest we forget that every choice has its consequence, that is, with this delicate gift comes a huge weight of responsibility which a great number of people seem ignorant of.
 You can't eat your cake and have it, that is a law of the universe placed by God and it can't be broken because it's no respecter of anyone, neither the poor nor the rich and this is because God is no respecter of man.

The Lord said,"I place before you life and death, however, I advice you, choose life", when God says this, I believe He knows what He's saying because He has been around for a long time, actually, since the inception of the world, besides, He's the all wise knowing God. So, Why don't you give him a chance, lest we forget, it's all for your good.

He says,"My thoughts and plans for you are of good and to bring you to your expected future." So, help yourself out.

Have a Blessed day!

Judge not

"He touched my arm, I gave him a stinker look he won't forget for the rest of his life.
Who does he think he is, does it look like I am in the same class with him? Imagine..."

Meanwhile, all he wanted was a cold satchet of water, he had been working with his men parking the dirt from our house...

The Bible said,"Judge not and you will not be judged; condemn not and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven. " - Luke 6:37

Family!!!

Sincerely, Family is one with no end, instead, it says "I love you" even till the end.   Now, Family is not just a group of people related by blood, nope but by love; so, anyone, you feel and you know you are so close; that "one" that understands you even when you don't seem to have the right words to express your thoughts; that "one" that puts a smile on your face when you don't see the need to; that "one" that can feel the pain as deep as it hurts.
This sounds so much like the Holyspirit & believers, that's the way the family should be.

...The smile on my face was so large, I could feel the pain behind my ears;our joy knew no bounds. He had been away for months, only his voice & the imaginations of our hearts kept our conversations lively.
We didn't know what he looked like, had he added or had he shed some weight? Whenever, he had his dinner and he called a food quite local to us, we could relate to that, however, when an international dish is mentioned, a quick imagination is created of what that would look like, especially, when #Google is not nearby.

Facebook, no; Twitter, no; WhatsApp, no; Skype, Please don't say no.
  At the moment, no social networking sites seemed of good appeal except text messaging over telecommunication networks, however, this was starting to weigh on my pocket account; besides, this was also due to the fact that I had no able-bodied phones.
  Well, I didn't say no to "Skype", the data was low,'We won't be deterred, " Portable Wi-Fi hotspot" to the rescue. "It's working, It's working, but we can't see your face,'We shall not be weighed down. "Put on your front camera", after several tries, let's not forget the fluctuating network, and then: "Oh my God! We can see you, We can see you, you've added weight o, What are you eating?" He opens his mouth, how shall we see? He says "Pounded yam and Vegetable soup".

Our joy knows no bounds.   We are not saying anything, but just grinning & smiling widely at the screen. He says We are behaving like #Teletubbies', we don't care. Our joy knows no bounds. He's my Daddy!
Family...we are one!

Guard your 5 loaves and 2 fishes!

Jesus cares, anyone with Jesus will never go hungry.
He could as well sent the people away, they were in a desert for crying out loud, so where was the food to come from?

However, Jesus displayed a part of himself:
The Great Provider, The Shepherd.
He could not bear to see the sheep go hungry, his humanity side was evident, he cared even more than the disciples that are 100% human.

In the desert, 5 loaves and 2 fishes became the food for the multitude.
In the little you have, will be the much others can never have.
So guard the 5 loaves and 2 fishes in your basket! Matthew 14:14-21.

Have a Blessed day ahead!

Can I have permission over you?

Using Luke 22:31-34, 1 Peter 5:8 as the case study

1. Why did Jesus give Satan the permission to have Peter?

2. What if Jesus had not prayed for Peter?

3. When the Bible said Jesus is our advocate to God, does that also make him an advocate for us when it comes to Satan having us?
  I mean, can Jesus say:'No, Satan,You can't have him'?

4. God gave Satan permission over Job, Jesus over Peter. Is it that when one is enjoying provision and protection from God that Satan asks for a person's life?

5. According to 1 Peter 5:9, does that mean Peter could have resisted the Devil when Jesus prophesied in Luke 22:31-34 that he would betray him?

6. Is Jesus, praying for Peter when Satan requested for his life, an act of advocacy?
  (b.) If yes, does that mean Jesus would never refuse the Devil but would always pray for us?

7. Should we pray that God should decline Satan's request for our lives even though, according to Luke 22:31(GNB)'It is to test the whole of us,separating the good from the bad.'
However, let us not forget that in Psalms 25, David asked God not to allow his enemies triumph over him (i.e God should decline Satan's request)

8. Is there a time we should be expecting the Devil to have permission over our lives or at every time?

Food for thought:
Did you know that Satan was given permission to get at David?
By making him take census of the Israelites? (1 Chronicles 21:9-13)

  Please, anyone out there, feel free to answer any of these questions to help an inquiring mind.
Thank you and God bless!!!

Haggai!

I just realised that Haggai is a book of just two chapters, yet, it is filled with so much goodies and blessings. Meanwhile, books as long as Hosea, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Amos and others are filled with so much controversies, sorrows and unnecessary intrigues.
This just shows that:
1. You don't need to have so much before God can bless you, I mean the blessings of God is not necessarily in the abundance of things you have. You might have little and it is in that little that God would bless you.
You don't have to be extravagant or have surplus or be super rich or have all the qualifications or have the finest spouse or have that mind-blowing job or have excellent super smart, healthy kids or be the philanthropist everyone knows or whatever you count and qualify as necessities of living a good life, before God would stretch out his hand of visitation to you, your family and friends.
  Just with the little you have, You are okay, You are qualified, So stop worrying!!!

2. You don't have to do much, I believe you have heard that slogan that says Work Smart not Hard, this is because if we are to rate our achievements by how hardworking we are, then, farmers, bricklayers, (even beggars) would be the richest in the world.
However, what God is saying is, "just the little you have done is enough for me to glorify myself in".
I went for this concert #theexperience10 and there was a ministration that was extremely short, yet, so powerful, it was not up to 15mins, yet, the evident power of the Lord came down; there I learnt: You don't have to do much before the Lord manifests in his glory, power and mercy. Happy Sunday!:D

The House of Prayer

"... and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer"(Isaiah 56:7a)
God's house is called The House of Prayer and that is what Jesus was saying in Mark 19:46 He said to them,"The Scriptures declare,'My Temple will be a house of prayer', but you have turned it into a den of thieves" and this verse can be found word for word in Jeremiah 7:11.
Does this mean Heaven is all about prayer or is God's house, the Church (I mean the body of Christ); what did Jesus mean? Is that why the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we should never stop praying(NLT) or pray all the the time(MSG) or pray without ceasing(KJV), because if we pray all the time, we become a house of prayer.
Jesus demonstrated his grief in the physical temple in Jerusalem but we know that from Ephesians 2:19-21 that the Apostles and Prophets represent the foundation, Christ Jesus is the Cornerstone, while we are the bricks and stones; all carefully joined together, we become a holy temple for the Lord Almighty, so this indeed means that God wants us to be a mobile house of prayer, indeed praying without ceasing in and out.

Steward or Caretaker!

Most times, we ask God for this and that; then, when God delays that is, according to our time, we start complaining and grumbling, we start to work less and work with little or no dedication in God's vineyard We start to have an "I don't care attitude" to the things of God. However, let me ask you a question : The things God has given you to look after, be it material or spiritual, how have you been taking care of it, infact, have you been taking care of it at all, how has it been faring in your hands, is it thriving or striving, is it struggling or is it diminishing or is it growing or is it been abused or is it fulfilling its purpose? Have you been paying attention to its welfare, are you attentive to its details? Most times, we ask God to bless us, provide for us, take care of us, protect us, however, can we boldly say that we have been doing the same to that which was committed into our hands. It could be money, children, houses, animals, tenants, business, our responsibilities and duties at work or in the church, your family, in-laws, etc., the list is countless. The Bible says "when you take care of the little allotted to you, then, more will be given unto you then(Luke 16:10-13, Luke 19:24-26) and how you take care of it will determine, if you are worthy to have more.. NOTE: Personally, I doubt been a good and worthy care-taker...#Terrible!(Jesus, have mercy!)

Human Complexity!

Why are humans complex? Why can't we have simple lives, one where tomorrow doesn't count and we are free of troubles?

Praises...

I noticed this: If you have been opportune to listen to the way some people give so much praises to God, you would feel like an unbeliever, however, when you check their lives outside the place of worship, you see a different outlook entirely, I realized there are simply two of these: Either the person is still going under spiritual training and the Lord is working on him or he is part of those people that use religion but deny the power within it. Watch it, where do you lie?

Debt!!!

I just realized that if we are to judge ourselves the way we judge other people, we may not even survive our own judgements -30/10/15...Debt!

The Beauty of a Woman.

The Beauty of a woman is not necessarily expressed in the amount of make-up pancaked on her face nor by the jewelry hanging down her neck or the bracelets and earrings dangling at every second, neither is it by the price tag, designer labels or the colors of the shoes, whether heels or flats or the bags in their different sizes or the expensive scents of the perfumes and body sprays or the fashion clothes in their glory arranged in her wardrobe.
  Instead, I realized that the beauty of a woman is beheld through her positive and selfless impact to people around her, either her close circles of loved ones or the larger circle of her community.
Indeed, the beauty is in the eye of the beholder; However, if you are useless or more like a thorn in the flesh to persons around you, no matter how beautiful you may look on the outside, you will look ugly, in fact, you would be better invincible to man than seen.
  The beauty of a woman is appreciated by the family when her presence is powerful, not filled with fear, no, but in love to her husband, understanding to her children, dignity and respect to her in-laws; when discipline is done in love and protection is as keen as a chicken to her chicks to avoid the hawk from picking them.
- As a Commercial trader, through her interpersonal skills, everyone seems at peace trading or interacting with her.
- As a Church member, her works for the Lord are evident, in teaching and correcting brethren going out of line, in love.
  Now, I could go on and on with these instances, however, it would simply sound as a fairy tale to anyone because we know that through the arm of flesh shall no man prevail, so, I found out that for beauty to be properly expressed, the Lady has to be rooted and built up in Christ Jesus.
So, what is beauty, through the help of these acronyms:
B - Be, Blessed
E - Ever, Everlasting
A - At, Attention to details
U - Understanding (Not Concluding or Judging)
T - Talented (More of Industrious, not Lazy)
- Trusted (Confidentiality is the key)
Y - Youthful at heart through the infilling of the HOLY SPIRIT!!!

Defects

Just saw a little primary school girl going to school, the whole of her face was deformed, the cause: Fire For such a girl, we tend to pity her, however, as she grows up, her secondary school peers don't share the same sentiment, instead, they won't mind bullying her, making fun of her can become the order of the day, if there is no order. Most times, this is the sad reality. We, all forget that we share the same deformity with that little girl; we all have defects, its just that some have theirs open to the public while othes have theirs covered up. If all our defects were made public, we would be in a worse position for pity and other sentimental grudges . So the next time, you want to judge or conclude on a matter concerning a person, imagine it's your problem or defect that is made public to judge, you would be fair on yourself, won't you?

Your Shadow

No matter how hard you try, you can't get away from your Shadow...and sometimes, the thought of it can be scary. However, someone dear to me shouted over the roof tops 365 times: Do not be afraid. I guess he knew I would sometime get scared and that's okay. He, also told me that whenever light pops up, darkness seems to be no where to be found...that is simply comforting...

Be Quick

Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19

Be Quick

Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. James 1:19

Faithful

"If we are unfaithful, He remains faithful, for He can not deny who He is. If we deny him, He will deny us." 2 Timothy 2:12b-13!

The Purpose of the Scriptures

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right." (2 Tim 3:16)

Honourable

"If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honourable use." Culled from 2 Timothy 2:21a

Surrendering All

"I surrender all, I surrender all, All to thee, my blessed Jesus, I surrender all" -This should be our earnest cry at every moment of lives spent here on earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting...

Serious Advice!

Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teachng. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

The Widow...

According to 1 Timothy 5:5; A true widow is one who has no one to take care of her; she prays day and night, asking for God's help. - Anyone that does not care for their relatives espeially their household is worse than an unbeliever.(1 Tim5:8)

The Channel

The channel @ which God might decide to take a man through does not matter but as long as he gets to the destination, that is what matters.

Always for our good...

Acts 27:21-26 When all hope is gone and we are at the end of the rope, that is when God steps in with a way and solution, though, it may not favor us at that moment, it is always for our good.

The Bird Series 2

"Do birds have a permanent place of residence?" Yet, sometimes, we go out and come back so late in the night, 10pm, 11pm, 12am, 1am and we are not burdened because we know we have a house and somewhere to place our heads(with the exception of a person owning the house rent fees).

How Possible?

Acts 27:44 "...so everyone escaped safely to shore". Imagine, 276 persons arrived safely to shore, the planks did not lead some astray and no one thought to escape. How possible?

The Birds series 1

Do birds feel cold, how do they keep themselves warm? When am cold, I wear a sweater, socks, head warmer,sometimes, gloves and I still wrap myself with a heavy blanket when am about to sleep.

The Baptism of Jesus

Acts 19:4-5 "John's baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus." 'As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.' - What does it mean to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus?

His life for my life...

Today is a new day but not neccessarily a new you. Each morning still brings its worries, unrests, irritations, temptations and weaknesses. However, as christians, we are not left as victims but are engraced to be overcomers because when we are faced with these, we have the courage to say: - In hours of unrest, 'Thy Peace, Lord' - In hours of irritation, 'Thy Patience, Lord - In hours of temptation, 'Thy Purity, Lord' - In hours of weakness, 'Thy Strenght, Lord'. - F.B Meyer