To My Dear Friend As We Enter 2017

I don’t know about you but I thank God for everyone who made it into this year 2017 and that includes you and I. I know several people don’t understand the fact that I am so grateful because it would seem like there is hardly anything good happening in the world right now. Indeed everything appears to be upside down such that sad news is no more shocking. It is almost as if peace is eluding the Countries of the world as almost no day passes without one horrible thing happening in one Country or the other; people are killed just like they are mere animals and the wicked seem to be having the best of life whilst those whose hearts are toward God seem to struggle. Indeed, in my own part of the World, apart from all the ungodly killing going on, the economic climate is extremely challenging; we face times that we were ill prepared for. It is almost like we woke up one day and everything was upside down. We were completely taken by surprise at the seemingly unending downward slide of our economy but through it all, we must admit that God has been with us otherwise how did we come through tough as it has been?

 

Psalm 23: 4 “Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.”

 

At this point, I know that you may have settled in these present times making adjustments in your mind that make it easy for you to live in these present evil times because as we often say, we must accept our reality and then move forward from there; but the problem is that we don’t move forward. I have found that we don’t move forward from there because we not only accept it as reality, it also becomes our focus. We live and breathe this reality. I also discovered that our minds like to focus on what we consider reality. It is a struggle to keep our eyes on God if He is not our reality. No wonder a number of people I meet have no good thing to say about God right now though they are believers. Without meaning to, such persons blame God for every terrible thing going on. Though some accept that it may not have been instigated by Him they still blame Him for doing nothing about it. This misplacement of focus has made many murmurers and complainers; they forget that murmuring and complaining only serves to keep God whom they need, away from them which is the desire of the devil who is the mastermind of all this pain.

 

1 Corinthians 10: 10 - 11 “And don’t grumble as some of them did, and then were destroyed by the angel of death. These things happened to them as examples for us.”

 

I understand that it is easy to settle. Indeed, it is like telling one’s self the truth because it does not make sense to deceive one’s self. Recently though, I have really started to question my reality – what really is my reality? This has brought me to the realization that I have things a little muddled up myself. My reality is not what is going on around me; it is what the Word of God says which I like sometimes and find really difficult to accept at other times.  That is my reality. I have to keep reminding myself that what we currently experience is a distortion of our reality which is God’s truth concerning us and our circumstance. We have to realize and accept that we are not living our reality for us to desire to do so; if we think we are, then why desire another? I have decided that I must not “dummy down” just so that I can live happily. It is like accepting sickness and disease because the doctor said so; we have to fight and our fight is based on what God says about us. It takes a deliberateness to keep our eyes on our reality which is God’s word. It is a decision to live on earth but by a different set of rules or indeed a completely different lifestyle which is not “earth like.” It is a lifestyle that takes one above the circumstances that exist around them and they live that lifestyle that only exist in heavenly places on earth. It is lifestyle that only The Good shepherd can provide.

 

Psalm 23: 1 “The Lord is my Shepherd; I have all that I need.”

 

John 14: 6 “Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

 

I must leave you with this word as we begin this New Year - it is time to, like the man Job, trust God again despite all the difficulties we may be going through and also watch our words carefully just like he did. We must be careful not to directly or indirectly curse God. The accuser of the brethren makes it tougher and tougher whilst he watches for our words just to see if we will curse our God. We have to ensure that the things we say are not controlled by our circumstances or our feelings; they must be what we want to say which I believe would be guided by the word of God. I know, my dear friend, that you are a believer in Christ so if you think your words through, they will be so right that they will only annoy satan and give God glory because we are what we think in our hearts. You are not just a believer outwardly but one inwardly so please be careful for these difficulties too shall pass and has indeed passed.

Give Thanks With A Joyful Heart

Please let us thank God for bringing us this far and also because He will take us into 2017. Despite all the trials and afflictions we go through, we can say for certain that His mercies are definitely unending. No doubt the righteous suffers endless afflictions but God delivers him from every one of them.

Life throws us endless surprises and some utterly shocking but there is a deliverer who is also a big buffer in times of intense trouble and pain; no wonder He says to cast all our cares on Him. His name is Jesus.

As we go from 2016 to 2017, let us ensure that we have Him in us so that we enter the New Year with Him. We need that peace and also joy that only He can give. Please determine to seek Him now whilst He may be found.

See you in 2017.

HUMILITY BIRTHS MIRACLES - ONE OF CHRISTMAS MANY LESSONS

It took God so much to come down to earth that we may be saved. The Son of God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords came down very humbly. Humility saved the world.

                             

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity…” – Isaiah 9: 6 – 7

 

“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a across. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” Philippians 2: 6 - 7

"Even though Jesus was God's son, He learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey." Hebrews 5: 8 - 9

“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity…” – Isaiah 9: 6 – 7

 

“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a across. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on His shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of His ancestor David for all eternity…” – Isaiah 9: 6 – 7

 

 

“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a across. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”

                    

 

The Birth Of Jesus – Mary’s Encounter & Sacrifice

It is worthy of note that the Christmas miracle, Jesus Christ, was conceived like every miracle of God. Of a truth, God does not circumvent His process. If it is going to be permanent then it has to be done properly. So, God sent His word as a seed in the womb of Mary who was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit whilst the seed was planted, making God the Father, Holy Spirit and The Word of God (God the Son) active participants in this miracle as with any life transforming or enduring miracle. There is no doubt that God is painstaking with everything He does. He works and then checks to ensure that everything is done properly. He was involved in the miracle all the way, speaking to Joseph, leading Mary, preparing Elizabeth and ensuring that everyone else, including Simon and Anna, who had a part knew what to do. God surely knows how to and guards whatever He conceives until it is birth as long as we stay in line. His miracles in our lives only get aborted when we, the carriers of the miracle, get out of line. Satan cannot abort God’s miracle. He can’t even reach it because God guards His seed jealously but we must then be careful to ensure that we remain in line.

Jeremiah 1: 12AMP “Then said the Lord to me, you have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over my word to perform it.”

Isn’t it wonderful how Mary heard and believed all that the angel said to her? Though nothing like what the angel described had ever happened on earth, Mary was willing to participate as long as it was of God. She allowed God make a demand on her yielding absolutely that His pleasure may be done. The angel’s story was so strange that Mary asked how all he had said would happen. I would have been shocked if his response made sense to her; it did not but she believed God enough to yield to His will. From the number of times the bible records that Mary pondered things in her heart, she was certainly a deep thinker; but when it came to accepting the will of God, she just yielded. She trusted God enough to yield without thinking it through. Anyone who always wants to understand and explain God’s instructions to them and/or workings in their life, may never work in the miraculous. It is impossible to attain to the heights that God ordained for us if everything always has to make sense to us for us to engage. God does what he does and that notwithstanding how His method is perceived. Faith is relying on Him with even when we don’t understand; being confident that He is in control and will accomplish that which He has spoken and starts.   

Luke 1: 38AMP “Then Mary said, Behold, I am the handmaiden of the Lord; let it be done to me according to what you have said.”

Isaiah 55: 11AMP “So shall My word be that goes forth out of My mouth; it shall not return to Me void 9without producing any effect, useless), but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

God makes promises and then time seems to pass and nothing happens; the wait then begins to seem endless and then when we have almost lost faith, God without warning, brings it to pass. The coming of Jesus had been spoken of by different prophets and for a long time He did not appear. Israel had been looking out for the Messiah to the point where they started to feel that their hope was going to be disappointed. They had even gone for years without a word from God but then Jesus Christ shows up on the scene suddenly. There was no re-announcing to remind the people of His coming; He just showed up. Unfortunately, many of us lose our miracles because it did not come at the right time (i.e. that time that man decides it should come) when God has His own timing and we often do not check for His timing when He makes promises to us. God is the Master of the Universe and the Governor amongst nations; He is in full control and determiner of times and seasons. He decides what time is best for a miracle. We cannot afford to be weary. We must continue to renew our hope and strength so that we don’t kill the miracle like the Jews who were tired of waiting and thought He wasn’t coming anymore. Isn’t it amazing how they searched so hard for Him and yet missed Him? The miracle that is Jesus happened suddenly and without warning. That may be God’s way of giving you your miracle which is too costly to lose. We need every miracle that is ours and we can’t afford to lose any.

Genesis 18: 14 “Is anything too hard or too wonderful for the Lord? At the appointed time, when the season (for her delivery) comes around, I will return to you and Sarah shall have borne a son.”

Genesis 21: 1 “The Lord visited Sarah as He said, and the Lord did for her as He had promised.”

The Joy Of The World - Announcing The Birth Of Jesus PT 2

Christmas! That season when we commemorate the birth of our Lord and Savior – Jesus Christ. Of course we don’t know for certain that He was born on that day but it is the chosen day for celebrating His birth; that the world may know that our Saviour not only lived on earth but was so humble that He was born of a woman and in a manger. He certainly was an unusual Savior. How does a personality so big show up in such a lowly way? We thank Him for accepting to come in “fragile clay vessel” and also for completing His assignment which earned us the right to total liberty. Humility obviously works with confidence. Becoming a baby totally subject to the control of man not knowing what would happen while one was still too young to actually do anything if something where to go wrong, is humility that requires a lot of confidence. It could only have been Jesus Christ our Saviour who would take such risks for us. Indeed there is a lot of humbling and risk taking for a miracle to be fully manifest. Thank God also for Mary who endured such shame and John the Baptist who accepted his role as our Savior’s forerunner even when it seemed painful and when he was taunted by men. This is an example that should enlighten us about God’s mode of operation in, through and for man.   

2 Corinthians 4: 6 – 7 “For God, who said, ‘let there be light in the darkness,’ has made the light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not ourselves.”

Even today, Godly miracles still require humility which start with God who has to come down that we may have these miracles. Every time God does something for man or in a man’s life, heaven touches earth; God comes down. For God is not “the thief who comes in through the back door;” He always comes legitimately which suggests that at least one person will have to be humble enough to be the vessel yielded to Him for the accomplishment of His purpose. It was once Mary; can it be you today? In this season, God still desires vessels He can use that someone else may have a miracle. Could that be you? I believe earth may have missed some “miracles” because there was none willing who would, like Mary, declare “be it unto me according to thy will.” I wish God would do it according to our will but He insist that it has to be done according to His will if it must be done. The interesting thing about God is the request to yield oneself a vessel for His use is often done directly and quietly. It is often a conversation between God and a man. As the process unfolds, God does not proffer any explanation to onlookers and often, not even to direct participants in the making of the miracle yet He is there strengthening and walking with one. However, the result and/or honour that accompanies that “secret service” is seen unlike the process. God knows how to really announce us so that we don’t need to fight to do that. For Heaven announced the birth of Jesus Christ and pointed Him out when it was time for Him to be revealed.

Mathew 6: 4KJV “That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.”

Acts 11: 23amp “and he continuously exhorted (warned, urged, and encouraged) them all to cleave unto and remain faithful to and devoted to the Lord with (resolute and steady) purpose of heart.”

How can we do His work if we have to also work at announcing ourselves? He demands our entire attention. He wants our spirit soul and body. God is to be pursued with singleness of mind. There is no way one can be busy announcing oneself as well as accomplishing His purpose effectively. So God gets busy with the announcing and also lets us know who we need to be spending time with because some relationships will never facilitate the birthing of one’s miracle; instead they may actually help to abort the miracle. At times like this, we must allow the Holy Spirit guide us into the right company and/or relationships. If God would take Mary all the way to Elizabeth and allow her spend a few months with her at the early stages of her pregnancy, I believe it must be important who we are with when our miracle begins to be birth. Much as Mary loved God and was willingly committed or yielded to God’s purpose, she had to be in a certain atmosphere at the initial stage of God working the miracle. No matter how “strong” we may think people are, words can sometimes wear them out so that God needs to shield them from contrary words and people so they don’t get weak and suffer abortion, premature or still birth of their miracles. It is never God’s plan for us to lack strength to birth our miracles when the times comes to do so. If however, we find ourselves lacking strength then we must remember that “He gives strength to the humble.”

The Joy Of The World - Announcing The Birth Of Jesus

Here we are again in that last month of the year which confirms that life is truly revolving like Solomon said - whatever is, will be and has been. So very soon it will be January, the beginning of another year which will yet get to December and it goes on and on. Sometimes the thought that it’s December makes me sober; I start to wonder if I accomplished all I was meant to and then I wonder if the unaccomplished ones remain unaccomplished because of an act or omission on my part or because God delayed it. There was also the fact that as a little girl, I worked so hard on Christmas day clearing up after guests that I didn’t enjoy the day. Ah! I forgot the weather, especially in the Northern part of my Country where I grew up; it was terrible around Christmas. So, December was not always the most exciting month of the year until I encountered The Son of God in a real way. Only then did I begin to understand that at Christmas we celebrate the miracle of all miracles; the miracle that is joy and hope of mankind - Jesus Christ. Of course, it is no longer that sober time it used to be.

Luke 2: 10 “But the angel reassured them. ‘Don’t be afraid!’ he said. ‘I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior-yes, the Messiah, the Lord- has been born today in Bethlehem.”

There is so much to learn about God and His ways from this miracle that may help us ensure that we never lose our own miracles. Though there are times when God moves to do things in our lives inspite of us, there are other times when knowledge of Him plays a major role in the manifestation of that which He does in our lives that our joy may be full. For example, it remains puzzling to me why God would elect to come down to earth and in such a humbling way just because He wanted to give us the miracle of salvation. I am almost certain He could have found tidier and easier ways to save us but he chose to get entangled with the reality of the lives we live here on earth. He would rather follow due process and ensure that He meets all His obligations so that on all fronts, He fulfilled “all righteousness.” Obviously, He does not feel the need to throw His “weight around” nor does He upturn process even if he could easily do so. Tedious as a process may be, He honors it. It is then worrisome that in ministry, we feel the need to have due process upturned for us because we have attained unto a certain office. This attitude of mind may have caused some of us to unknowingly abort our miracles ourselves. When God puts a man in an office, the unction that follows the office commands the required honor. If you demand honor for a man made office, you will one day leave that office, how do you then cope without the honor which is only upon that man made office. It is best to wait on God’s honor.

Luke 4: 14 & 18a “Then Jesus returned to Galilee, filled with the Holy Spirit’s power…The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to ….”

God carefully searched for the right vessel; one who was fit and ready for what was on His mind unlike we often think He does.  If God took the time to search for this vessel that was “fit and ready for His use, then we must know that He would not use just any vessel so that we make ourselves unusable by God, slowing down our own lives when we insist that God must use us just the way we are refusing to be vessels “fit and ready” for His use. Our God would not have come down to earth through just any vessel, the same way He will not birth anything precious through just anyone. If our desire is for Him to work wonders through us, then we must make ourselves “fit” for His use. It is the responsibility of each vessel to make themselves fit and ready and God’s job to choose the particular one required for an assignment. A vessel does not choose His assignment, that is The Master’s job; but the vessel accepts the responsibility and runs with the God given vision just like Mary did. I don’t think anyone ever fully understands the extent of an assignment until it begins to unfold as they run with it. The Holy Spirit is like the guiding compass showing us which way to go but the decision to go is always ours.

2 Timothy 2: 21 “If you keep yourself pure, you will be a special utensil for honorable use. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work.”

Since God would Himself follow process, then we must know that with every assignment, He would be very interested in the means and not just the end. He defines the way we are to carry out this assignment and expects us to follow that path. We don’t please God when we do it our way and expect Him to accept it because we completed the assignment. We are to give Him acceptable service and the standard of acceptability is set by Him. It is our job to find out “the how” and do it. The Holy Spirit is given as our helper as we navigate our God given assignments. No matter how difficult or burdensome God given assignments may be, God is available to help us through. He often does not resolve the difficulties before we encounter them but if we choose to press forward when we encounter them, He goes ahead of us to resolve them. He did not speak to Joseph about Mary’s pregnancy until Mary had the difficult conversation with Joseph and went through the pain of thinking her engagement had been called off. He could have stepped before that happened. Don’t abort your miracle because of the difficulties you encounter; God will come through.

I Don’t Have It Together Yet; But I Am On My Way

This past Sunday, I had another opportunity to be in church as our choir rehearsed. I enjoy spending time with these young people I love so much, often having fun at their expense as they work so hard at putting songs together that God may be glorified; which they do because they love God. Our choir is not paid. Every time I watch them rehearse, I see the beauty of God’s handiwork. Every one of them is as unique as their voices are unique. The personalities are so different that it is visible in the way they sing, stand or even respond when they are corrected. It is so beautiful to see the different voices and personalities come together to produce a symphony when the song eventually comes together; but there is so much chaos on different levels before it comes together. The more they work on a song, the more the confusion seems to increase; sometimes to the point where I need to be reassured that they will eventually get it together. Then, it gets even more confusing and then suddenly, symphony/masterpiece.

Ecclesiastes 3: 11 “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.”

Sometimes, as I watch the seeming chaos, I wonder - isn’t this indicative of how God often works in our lives? There are times when one’s life is so mixed up that one wonders – is God confused or has He lost control of this? He seems to start a good work which begins by unfolding nicely and in a way that’s understandable. Then just as one begins to think how great life is, everything begins to go in a troubling direction. Before long, it is going in so many directions that one is confused and struggling to get a grip whilst also trying to keep the chaos, a secret. By this time, you are certain satan has taken over. Then suddenly! The manifestation of God’s word and everything is beautiful. Of course, the secret you struggled so hard to hide isn’t a secret because God has permitted for it “to be shouted on the roof top” and not because it makes Him happy to make you look silly, confused, forsaken, dejected; it is all part of the process. It is evidence that it is God, who works from the inside out, at work. Pride makes us see the process as demeaning so we put all our energy into acting like we have it together and miss responding appropriately. Unfortunately, we don’t realize that it is impossible to demean what/who God has made valuable but God is mindful of that. He knows as He works that our value is not tied to what we are going through; but to the price He paid for us which is the blood of Jesus. Just like the choir puts the chaos behind them when the song is finally done publicly, we must be confident that “rehearsal and/or chaos’ will pass and our lives put on display, as we worship God daily, until we need to “rehearse for another program.” Remember - every rehearsal takes one higher.

Lamentations 3: 31 – 33 “For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.”

Philippians 3: 12 – 13 “I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection…no, dear brothers and sister, I have not achieved it.”

As the choir members position for the hard work of rehearsing the songs, I see all the beauty waiting to be tapped; voices with tremendous possibilities, yet some will never be tapped and for the silliest reasons. Some just hate to be corrected because they feel demeaned when corrected all because they feel worthless since they have tied their worth to performance as singers. Some feel embarrassed when people laugh as they sing funny and this is again because they don’t understand the reality of their worth. Do it right or wrong, people laugh or don’t, none of these impact on our worth. Indeed, it is our worth that gives us the standing to do these things we do. Sadly, many believers will never fulfill their destiny because “they feel the need to act like they know it all.” Unlike Paul, we count ourselves to have or desire to be perceived as having “apprehended.” This is a trait we acquired from the world which we must die to. It is pride and pride in any form, destroys. We don’t know everything otherwise we will be God. Indeed, you look silly when you pretend like you do and it is a trick of the devil to make you look silly. Our value was predetermined by God when He paid for our lives with the blood of Jesus Christ. We are not valuable because of what we do or can’t do and gifts we have or don’t have or how knowledgeable we are, but because God made us so. So it is okay to be wrong and everyone laugh as long as you are teachable. It is great to be taught and to accept correction. The confidence that knowing one’s worth brings to their life is amazing; it is beautiful and makes it easy to be teachable.  

Ephesians 2: 10 “We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Your process is meant to bless someone else. We read all Paul went through including his fears and they encourage us today; please let God make you a blessing as He promised. If your pain encourages someone else and gives them hope, then you are a blessing. Your process does not devalue you; nothing and no one but you can. If Paul said he didn’t know it all at that point in His life, we know you don’t so don’t bother. God is looking for openness and sincerity. Just keep working at it as often as you fail. You are a winner nonetheless. Moreover, if you find that what you are working at isn’t for you, don’t be ashamed to change. Keep working at whatever your hands find to do. One person sings beautifully and other doesn’t but they are all valuable; maybe one person just needs to work harder. Do not envy those doing better please; just work at it.