IS GOD EVEN LISTENING?

(From Left - Right: Ezekiel Azonwu, Jackie Hill Perry, ME!, Janette...Ikz and Preston Perry at "THE EXCISION" on Saturday, 11th June, 2016)

So, a lot of people have been asking me, 'Who are the people in the picture?". To answer your questions, They are Contemporary Christian Poets (You can Google P4CM for more details).

Today's message is centred on the shirt, I was wearing.
You know, there are days when it seems like praying, Fasting and crying to God does not bring any form of response or Probably, at this moment, you are going through dark times and the constant question in your heart is "God, are you up there at all? Can you see what I am passing through? Won't you come and help out? Are you even listening at all?"

Check this out:
"And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him.
   And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for." (1 John 5:14-15,NLT)

A man came up to the stage and gave this announcement: "If you want to take a selfie with the poets, you have to buy a shirt or anything relating to them outside at the sales stand."

When the program was over, I headed outside to purchase a shirt. When I got there, the first question I was asked was: "How much do you have?", I asked why the question, the reply was: "All the 1,700 naira shirts are finished, only 3,700 &5,500 naira shirts were available", that was a terrible blow to me because in my hands was just 2,000 naira, where in this place was I supposed to find any additional money.

I went back inside the hall, feeling dejected, but I really wanted a shirt, not even because of the selfie but to show them souvenir at home. "How will I come for a great event like this and go home empty-handed?(NEVER)

I took the nearest seat, looked up to the ceiling and said:
"Lord, I know you are here and I know you are listening. I really want the 3,700 shirt, but I only have 2,000 naira. I don't want to leave this place without a shirt.
Lord, please, I need 1,700 naira extra. I don't know how you are going to do it, You can send someone to give me the money or maybe, someone can just buy it for me.....
Lord, you know I can not go home empty-handed. Please, if you give the money, I will wear the shirt to church tomorrow."

I really believed, I told myself that even if I am already going and almost at the exit gate, God would still get me the shirt, I don't know how.

So, while, I was still hoping, praying and believing, My Neighbour at home saw me from afar and then, walked up to me.
We talked for a while and then, somehow, the conversations drifted to him telling me how he wanted to buy a shirt before but the 1700 naira shirts were finished.

1,700, This must definitely be God's answer to my prayer. I didn't waste time, Kai, kai, I asked him to borrow me the 1,700 and and quickly, I went to buy the shirt...GOD ANSWERED MY PRAYER.
(Trust me, I wore it to church the next day...fulfilling your vows, that's a topic for another day)

God is still in the business of answering prayers. Yes, God is listening to you. Yes, God can see what you are going through and Yes, God cares for you.

  If right now, you have run short of faith and patience in waiting for God concerning an issue, then, I want you to have this word of encouragement from GOD.

He Says:
"This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed." (Habakkuk 2:3, NLT)

What will I eat tomorrow?

I was trying to adjust the curtains over the windows, when, I decided to look out....and what I saw, I did not expect.

Staring back at me from afar, were two chickens bom bom, sitting on our water pipe, comfortably, looking so carefree, like nothing could just sneak up on them.
   All I could do, was shake my head in total wonder and amusement...

This is how we, as Christians, are to live our lives, carefree, not worrying about the next thing that could sneak up on us and steal our joy or shake us from our comfort.

Trust me, this is definitely not easy, neither does it make sense and this is why the Bible says:
  "Live Carefree before God, for he cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7(MSG,NLT)

Now, it doesn't just stop there; I want to ask you:
"Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" Matthew 6:27, NLT

If you agree with me and your answer is NO, then, I am pleased to tell you this:
  "....So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’...
  Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs." Matthew 6:31,32(NLT)

Instead, you are advised to:
   "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you EVERYTHING you need."(like, seriously, EVERYTHING!!!) Matthew 6:33,NLT

Since, you already have this promise and we know that God does not lie(Check Numbers 23:19, if you think I am lying).
Then, take this little piece of advice from Master JESUS, himself.
 He says:
  "So, don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.
  Today’s trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:34,NLT (as per, you can say that again)

So, Chill out! Relax in the arms of your Heavenly Father.
  I hope you know that I am talking to You, Yes, YOU...*smiles* #Shalom!

The TRUTH!

"To differentiate between the truth and lies coated as the truth, Focus more on the Author of the Truth, JESUS.

Focus intently on him; learn His ways, His patterns, His outlook, so that when the imposter of the truth comes to trick you, you can see the perfect imperfections written all over CLEARLY, because you know exactly how The Truth is....."

Meditate deeply on this....I ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten your understanding. #Shalom!!!

THE PASS...

"I was standing in front of this majestic tower, so beautiful, classy and complex (It's an office building).
  I was waiting for someone, who was in the building. I could go in, Right? Wrong, and this is because to go in, to gain access to any floor in the building, You need a pass.

  This pass is quite electronic in nature, it encodes every information about you while at work; your bio data, the records of the time you resumed at the office, your location at certain times, it's like a mini-tracking device.

  Back to the point, I couldn't go into the building because I didn't have a pass, I could only wait outside, admiring the beauty of the exterior view of the building, nothing else."

This can be likened to that day: THE JUDGEMENT DAY, this is the day after you take your final breath,
"Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" (Heb. 9:27, NIV)

On that day, when a man passes on and gets to the BOOKS, the life and works of the man represents his "pass". In this world called ETERNITY, You determine your pass.

If the man's pass is "kudo-ed" and recognised, He gets to go into the place of Glory with saints up there waiting to welcome him with large smiles and wide open arms, patting him on the shoulder, saying,"Well done, you made it, All Glory to God in the highest".

  However, if the pass gets denied and rejected, he gets to view and admire the gates of heaven but does not get to peek at whatever is going on inside and Yes, the Devil and his co-hosts(rather, his crew members) would also be waiting eagerly for the next companion to show up, to welcome him with wide open arms of calamity, hatred, pain, anguish, every evil you can think of, HELL, the never dying worms and the bottomless pit, the list goes on and on.

Right now, if you were to examine yourself, your life(Please, be sincere to yourself), Where do you stand, I mean, if you were to drop dead now, In whose arms would you end up in?

  Death doesn't call you over the phone to inform you that He'll be dropping by....So, Don't postpone your Salvation or Repentance, You never know what's going to happen the next second.

It's better to be prepared than "Sorry", Do you have a working pass?

GRATEFUL!!!

It was raining heavily, the breeze was sparing no one either...
  Out in the cold, one could see a red branded umbrella sticking out like a Tomato in the middle of the lagoon; however, under that umbrella was ME!

  Remember those umbrellas, where half of the irons have bent into very awkward positions, so, it's hard for you to close them without having to struggle, and when you open them, it's only one side that looks normal, the other half looks quite epileptic, so, if that bad side is at your back side, your whole back would be soaked....This was my predicament.
  Then, to worsen the case, I am trying to close the main gate, with the wind pulling the gates and the umbrella, all at the same time... trust me, it was not a funny one.

I finally close the gate, and I am walking into the house when I hear "Pim, pim" outside the gate, I can pretend not to hear, but it seems the driver doesn't want to let go of the horn, so, I hear it in a more consistent pattern, "Pim pim", "Pim pim pim"....
  Well, do I have a choice? I walk back to the gates(NOTE: with my jallopy umbrella), back to the struggle: Wind vs ME(Round Two), I win *yaay*...The gates open, the vehicle comes in, I close the gates.

She needs an umbrella, well, the house is not far, I can run in the rain, so I hand over my jallopy umbrella(it's not like it was even useful), and this is when I know it was indeed useful.
  It was as if, someone was beating me, especially, my head...Suddenly, it looked like the house was far, by the time I got into the house, I was wet(it was like all the cold in the world decided to enter my body).
   I did not wait for anyone to tell me; the next minute, I was wearing gloves, a thick pink sweater, a long thick muffler...You would think I was going for war......

  Then, this thought struck me like lightning, I had to pen it down immediately... and here it is:
"THANK GOD FOR THE LITTLE YOU HAVE", it's better than nothing.
  For, I did not value my jallopy umbrella,(even though, it was covering my head and some parts of my body) until, I was left with nothing...

When you are not appreciative of the little you have, it would be taken from you.
  It could be that #15,000 naira job(at least, there's something coming in at the end of the month) or it could be your annoying spouse(some have lost theirs while some died without getting to meet theirs, you still have yours) or your poor grades(I know of some first class persons that are dead, some died during NYSC, others died few days to graduation)...

I don't know the little you have, that you are still complaining about, EVERY DAY....GOD is saying "STOP IT"!
   Start to give him thanks for "it", it's definitely better than nothing(at least, from experience), somehow, it's still covering you from some form of shame.

So, the next time, you are about to start complaining or asking God "Why, It's so small", turn your complaints to Thanksgiving, it would do you so much good than harm....#Shalom!!!!

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus..(1 Thess. 5 vs 18,NLT)

CONSECRATION!!!

In the world, we hear, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"
In the kingdom, you are asked: "Where do you want to serve?"
   To maximise our God-given potentials to the fullest capacity in our lives, our homes, in the kingdom, in our churches, in service to God, then, we ought to live a consecrated life...

A consecrated life is a step higher than the general level of salvation.

God excepts everyone of us to live a consecrated life, however, most of we christians, prefer to live below that expectation because of several limiting factors(some of which are myths,i.e, not true) that we have built up....the popular ones: I don't want to be called "Spiri Coco", I don't want people to say "Your own is too much, when you are not the pastor of your church/parish", "I would be missing out on life(imagine, if God says, I should stop going to certain places, abeg, this life is once and short, Mo fe jaiye"), then, there are other unpopular ones like "What if God now calls me into Full time ministry, ah, someone's knowing at the door: Poverty, Poverty is at the door", "What will my family members say?", "When God did not call me, why should I call myself", "Those little tips I get at work nko", the list goes on and on....

Allow me to extinguish your fears and debunk certain myths(i.e false beliefs) that have been circulated about "Consecration"

Let's take a look at this:
   "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you.
   Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.

   Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
  Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Rom. 12 vs 1-2

Q: What is Consecration?
This is consciously & deliberately giving God your body: Physical & Spiritual
"Physical includes the following:
Your Outward appearance
Your Habits
Your Lifestyle
Your Manners, the way you talk
Your Health
Your Finances
Your Job
Your Relationships
Your Material possessions....etc.

Spiritual:
Your Quiet time
Your Prayer life
Your Giving(Tithes, Offerings, giving to the needy)....etc."

because of all He has done for you (Salvation, the gift of life, the gift of time, the gift of Sleep, the gift of protection, the gift of provision, etc...), daily(not only on Sundays or Mid-week services in Church), from the moment you wake up till you close your eyes for the day, in such a way that He(God) would find your life pleasing, recommendable and acceptable...

   Then, when you do all these, God, in turn would cause a transformation of your mind which would take effect on everything else (for the mind is the power horse of your soul).

Then, you would learn to know & walk in God's will per time and guess what?
God's will for you is always good, pleasing and PERFECT, so, you would basically be on top of the world.

Isn't that awesome?

I would love to show you people who made this decision:
- Daniel (Dan. 1:8)
- Paul (Gal. 2:20)
- Jesus (John 14:10, John 8:28b)
- Joseph (Gen 39:9)
The list is countless, even down to ourration.

Consecration is not a burden as some see it to be, but daily putting aside your "self" and making God first and the Center of your existence.

You can do that, Can't you?

ARE YOU FOR REAL? In this 21st Century

We were gisting, chit-chatting, walking towards the bus stop, by the time we got to the junction of the bus stop, probably, she was carried away, so I pulled at her , getting her attention, I pointed towards a black calabash supposedly filled with sacrifice(èbo, as yorubas would call it), I can still picture it vividly.

She cancelled whatever mission it was supposed to carry out in the name of Jesus and we crossed to the other side of the road to board a vehicle (bus).

From then till now, I am still shocked, yes, I know things like this exist bit I thought it was only in movies or in the forest, not outside on tarred roads, in the midst of civilisation.

In some minutes of reflection, I started to pity the individuals involved in that unbecoming act because obviously, the devil's hold on them is so strong and his deception, so deep.

Deception, this is the greatest instrument of the Devil, it is his checkmate move and the oldest tricks in his books, as it dates back to the time of creation in the Garden of Eden to the time in the wilderness with Jesus and up to the future that's yet to come....

Q: What is Deception?
A: It is intentionally managing verbal and /or nonverbal messages so that the message receiver will believe in a way that the message sender knows is false.(Wikipedia, 2016)

The Issue now is "How do we overcome this old, yet dangerous and effective tool of our adverse enemy, the Old Serpent, Satan"?

1. You need to have a relationship with your maker through Jesus.

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me."(John 14 vs 6, NLT)

2. Deepen your relationship by reading the word, for there is nothing greater than the word, even, God is bound by his words(i.e The Bible)

"No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back a single word I said." (Psalms 89 vs 34, NLT)

"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1:1, NLT).

3. Strengthen and keep your Spiritual man fit by taking part in spiritual exercises, like praying, Fasting(as the Spirit gives you grace), memorising Bible verses, speaking in tongues(if you have not experienced the Baptism of The Holy Spirit, simply ask him; it's a wonderful experience)

4. Spend time meditating on the word of God, and learn to be still and sensitive to the voice/leading of the Holy Spirit.

5. Attend a Bible-believing church, attend the services as regularly as possible.
"Iron sharpens Iron, so a man sharpens another and let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, bit encourage one another... (Psalms 27:17, NIV & Heb. 10:25,NLT)

6. Finally, put on the whole armour of God:
The Helmet of SALVATION
The Body Armour of RIGHTEOUSNESS
The Belt of TRUTH
The Shoes of PEACE
The Shield of FAITH
The Sword of THE SPIRIT(i.e, THE WORD OF GOD) Eph. 6:13-17, NLT

The Lord will help YOU & Me, for by our own strenght, we are like chickens in the hands of the devil about to be slaughtered but with GOD in us, the devil is like a grasshopper to a Giant because the Bible says:
"Greater is He that is in me, than he, that is in the world"... 1 John 4:4, KJV

The Lord is Our Strenght!!!