PRAISING GOD FOR DELIVERANCE

Good morning guys... It's 4am in the morning in England just now and today is officially my birthday. Thank God for the many blessings He's blessed me with and the wonderful people He's placed in my life. I just finished watching a video on Facebook of a 22 yr old recent graduate known as lauralee patrika who escaped an accident today on the motorway in America and gave a testimony of how God delivered her when her tyres had span around and her car was facing the opposite direction on the motorway so that she found herself directly facing big trucks when suddenly she said to God, "Lord  help me please" and her car, without touching the steering moved straight away from the road unto the side in safety.

This reminded me of a few weeks back in January when my friend, sister and I were heading for church in our friend's brand new car and I was telling her about a car accident that occurred when I was driving with my cousin to the shopping centre to get groceries on the 30th of December 2013. Whiles explaining the incident our car started overspeeding. I began to think the driver (my friend) should slow down but before I realised the car had gone so fast in a bid to enter the roundabout that it nearly spun off the bridge we were on... I sat there quietly for a few mins reminiscing on the many  ways this could have turned out fatal and praying to God and thanking him for deliverance from this very clear and fatal accident that it could have been had it not been for Him who had delivered us that day. 

God has spared my life and your life but many at times we forget and moan to God about the things that we don't have, but if we are dead, what does it matter then if we have everything... Like the bible says, what shall it profit a man if he gains the WHOLE world and LOSES his soul?...Mark 8:36- Clearly NOTHING...

Let us start being more thankful for our lives and for what God has given us. The girl in the video was on her way to choir practice when it happened and she stated how she had praised God right after and  was going to praise God like never before when she went to church on Sunday and no one would stop her. This reminded me of a video I was watching of Bruno Mars at the Super Bowl  yesterday, and I thought to myself, "look how these people are just jumping with ALL their strength and are so excited for mere songs that a mere man has sang yet when we go to church, we find ourselves being so diplomatic and not praising God with all our might like David did. Imagine if we had the same attitude as these people at the Super Bowl but in the presence of God. What a terribly mighty breakthrough we would experience just because we praised. And so henceforth, let us all including myself practice an attitude of thanksgiving and praise to God because He sure does deserve more than many including myself give Him

Adios!!!

WAITING UPON THE LORD

Patience brings endurance to run the race. It is a manifestation of our faith in God!

Patience is a virtue which is more than many treasures when developed. Just recently, my friend got married and I learnt a few things in the process. One of them is the spirit of patience. When we were young it was the norm for people to get married before having children. But as I grew up, I realised that this had changed. It seemed even more normal to have kids before marriage, hence break once virginity.

It was not on my agenda to get married before having my own children but all I knew was that I wanted to have kids roughly in my mid to late twenties as at some point, my "biological clock" might start ticking.

But then things changed when I went to university and I found out that there were another group of young people who were planning on keeping themselves till marriage. This became the norm for me and my ideas changed. I'm glad they did yet I'm also aware that sometimes it is a bit challenging in this present day.

My reason for first mentioning my friend is that, she's one of those young people at university who waited before marriage.

I haven't had the chance to ask her but when I do, I'm sure she'll say that it was worth the wait. All those times when she was faced with compromising the standards in God which she believed to be sure and true and yet did not give up but stood her ground in God's word and decided to wait have become fruitful.

I recently read the book of proverbs (The message bible) and each time, "righteousness" showed up, the word "uncompromisingly" was written before it.

AMP version says in Psalm 92:12 that "The uncompromisingly righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, upright, useful and fruitful]; They shall grow like a cedar in lebanon [ majestic, stable, durable and incorruptible]

Therefore if this promise has been made regarding the standards in God which we decide to keep in the process of dating, then I'm sure it is a blessing

Regarding adulthood and relationships, sometimes when things are not going the way we planned them as little children, we tend to get frustrated and if not careful we rush into things that set us back and make our journeys to our destinations even longer- This has been my feeling for sometime now but God help me. For instance, certain people assume that at a specific age, they are supposed to at least own a car, be in a relationship and have good jobs (Myself included). But sometimes it happens differently. What should we then do if we find that the plans which we made for ourselves are not coming out the way we wanted them to? This is when we need to develop a patient spirit. For in doing so, we will come to find that things will fall into place as they ought to.

I learnt from one of our fellowships at university that patience involves "waiting, trusting and holding tight" with anticipation. God expects us to be alert as we wait in patience. It involves expectation based on knowledge and trust and sometimes not waiting is a sign of arrogance. We should not go ahead of God but rather allow Him to lead us. One of the final things we need to participate in in our process of waiting is to spend time with God in prayer, be still and build our relationship with Him. God will always show up at the right time and give us that which we need. Let us not be bitter as it sometimes happens when the issues in our lives have not been attended to by God. Neither should we give God time to do things but rather wait upon Him because at the time when we are tired and seeking alternatives to Him, it is our own issues that are before Him which He is sorting out.

Psalm 145:15 says "The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season"

Psalm 130:5-6 also says "I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth on the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning"

You might ask after such a long essay that why should you wait. Well a few reasons would be because of who God is, who we are and what we are not capable of doing.

Here's another favourite verse of mine in the bible on waiting.

Isaiah 40:30-31

"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." 

Stay focused on the destination as you run the race of endurance and STAY BLESSED AS YOU LEARN TO WAIT UPON THE LORD IN THIS NEW YEAR!!!

Adios!

AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

A week ago, I visited my sister and a friend after going to town to sort out a couple of things. The previous day, I had been reading a book on starting a new business. One of the topics in the book talked about facing one's fears and so the book requested that we list the things that we are afraid of and what we thought would happen if we attempted them. I listed quite a few and put up the positive things that could happen if I decided to take a chance on them. The following morning, I realised that for some reason I was getting a bit unhappy with my circumstance. I was getting worried about the things I was looking forward to and didn't seem to be happening. I felt a tad bit sad and I think I shed a few tears when some results I was waiting for returned and they weren't the ones I was hoping for. Mind you, they were the wrong results which I was given ( I found out the following day) but because worry had overshadowed me, it added salt to injury.

So I decided to go and see my friend and sister and when I got there, we were having random conversations and the topic of "worrying" popped up. My sister stated that she had noticed that I had lost weight and my friend commented on the fact that I looked worried and asked if I was worrying too much. She spoke about the things that she had gone through at certain points in her life and how she had tried to keep her head held high and have the right attitude in those circumstances

Today, I watched one of Creflo dollars' messages entitiled "The attitude of affection" and he placed an emphasis on the fact that as Christians we need to have the right attitude towards God in every circumstance. That our attitude in life determines our altitude (i.e. how high we go).One phrase that stuck out to me was "You will arrive at the place of your attitude". This was evident in my case when I began to worry because, I forgot about all the brilliant things occurring in my life for a second and decided to direct my focus on those that had not happened as well as worry about the "potential wrongs" that could happen essentially causing me to be overwhelmed and depressed.

The other few things I learnt were that 

1. My attitude determines whether things will work out

2. With an attitude of Gratitude, I should serve God

3. My position of affection towards God will determine my success in everything I do in line with God's word

To emphasise on no. 2, I'm gradually learning that my service to God does not only include me working for God in church but also the way I react in various circumstances.

So e.g. If I find that I have no money and I continuously murmur and complain about it, that is indirectly a "disservice" to God. In exodus 15 and 16, the Israelites had been set free from captivity in Egypt and God had provided so much for them yet when they wanted something else and had not received it, they murmured against Moses and essentially against God and God heard these murmurings.

Numbers 11:1

"And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed them that were in uttermost parts of the camp"

From this verse, it is clear that God is not cool with murmurings and complains. Therefore it is important that we have the right attitude towards Him in all circumstances and that our position in those circumstances include being APPRECIATIVE, GRATEFUL, THANKFUL and HONOURABLE as in the end these will create a FRUITFUL disposition. But a contrary attitude will cause us to serve LACK as written in Deuteronomy 28:47

"Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things; Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee"

So I guess all I'm saying is that I should learn to be more thankful in my circumstances as this is God's will for my Life [1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything, give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you"]

Gracias a Dios por esta palabras- Thank you God for this word

The burden of Guilt!!!- Thank God for Jesus

Lately I've been burdened with sin and guilt over the things which I've done yet wish I never did. Most of the time, its to do with what I said, or the way I reacted in a certain situation and often I judge myself based on what I think other people might have thought of me in that instant. I've felt frustrated and upset and heavy hearted at times but sometimes it goes away and it seems like all is ok again but then I find myself once again being bombarded with these thoughts once more. Earlier this week I had to say to the devil speaking in the back of my mind to literally "F- off" (apologies for the language) because he himself wasn't perfect anyway so I don't know why he's talking. I know as a christian, I'm supposed to speak so that my speech brings grace to hearers. In this case it was in my head lol... not to make an excuse or anything but anyway I'll get straight to the point.

I watched this preacher on a Hillsong tv program and he basically talked about the rooster that crowed 3 times for Peter to finally realise that he had denied Jesus and confirm what Jesus had told him earlier.
The preacher compared this rooster's crow to the voice of the enemy that constantly accuses us when we've faltered as christians and time and time again, the rooster constantly crows to remind us of our mistakes which only ties us down and prevents us from fully going for what God has promised us.

In the end, the preacher spoke about the day of pentecost after the resurrection of Christ which meant that the disciples; Peter in this case was filled with the Holy spirit and at this time, when the enemy's voice might have showed up again to bring him down, the Power of the Holy spirit was there to combat every accusation so that Peter was able to go on and achieve the goal which Christ had set i.e. to build His church.

Revelation 12:10 says "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his christ: FOR THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN IS CAST DOWN, WHICH ACCUSED THEM BEFORE OUR GOD DAY AND NIGHT"

Thank God for this reminder. He knew I'd need it today

vs 11 says "And they overcame them by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death"

So this is what I am doing now. I declare that I am a child of God. I am no longer a servant of sin. I am a servant of God and I am more than a conquerer through Him that loved me

Romans 7vs 19 For the good that I would, I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do
vs 24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
vs 25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh, the law of sin

So when I am burdened with sin I'll remember...

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit"
vs 2: For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death"


My sins have been washed away by the blood of Jesus.  I no longer heed to the voice of the enemy that constantly points at my mistakes and causes me to be burdened because I am free from his accusations .. After all he himself is not perfect! God has saved me and my response today is to fully recieve the true gift of salvation which He has offered me by believing what He has said about me. I was never "perfect" yet He called me and so I will not try to be because now, God calls me His child. I am His righteousness and so I stand no longer ashamed because God forgives my sins and remembers them no more (Hebrews 8:12). I belong to Jesus. Sin no longer has dominion over me for I am not under the law but under GRACE (Romans 6:14). Thank you Jesus!!!

I know that time and time again the enemy will try to burden me with guilt but thank God for the holy spirit for He will bring to remembrance what I have learnt today about freedom in Christ and so I declare that I am an overcomer in Jesus name Amen!!!

Finding oneself- confidence

1."God has not called us to look down on ourselves"

2."God personally forms and shapes us for a purpose and that purpose is for the Potter's Glory"

I was speaking to my friend today and the topic of "Confidence" popped up. She told me about the fact that she felt confident the previous year but all of a sudden, she seemed to have lost it all.
I remembered the time in high school when we used to talk about this issue and I figured that this hadn't been dealt with properly by both of us even up until now (i.e. about 6years later).

I asked her about this and posed the question "How long is it going to take for you to be confident in yourself? Is it when you are 50 or maybe  80years? This made me realise that the more we dwell on the issue of not being confident, the more we spend our lives not really going for what we want.

Our perception of ourselves is projected out whether we like it or not and this causes others to either respond in a negative or positive way towards us and in turn, our own spirits are either lifted or dampened.

"Clay sculpture...representing me, i'm in a fetal position, small and alone, crying and completely self-focused, feeling rejected, this is what it looks like for me when i've allowed myself to be consumed by all my insecurities, fears, & hurts."


God has not called us to look down on ourselves; His creation.

He said to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous" when He chose him to lead the people of Israel after the death of Moses, their leader. God repeated this several times and we should be aware that each time a particular verse is repeated, it suggests its importance and thus should be taken note of.

Fear is the consequence of a lie. The same applies to having a low self esteem. We have been told that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God (Psalm 139:14) so listening to any other voice contrary to this makes us wonder, whose voice are we listening to? Are we paying attention to the lie we have told ourselves constantly or the truth that God has clearly spoken about our identities.

"My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me" (John 10:27). Do you know the voice of the one who has spoken truthfully about you, and do you know what He has said?

Let us find our identities in God and always remember that He has called us His own and has made us in His image and likeness regardless of our "flaws" (Genesis 1:27).

It is important that when we find ourselves losing confidence, we remember that we have been fearfully and wonderfully made. Even if it doesn't seem real, meditate upon it until it becomes a part of you. Let it be like a silent prayer in your head at all times and remember you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. (Philipians 4:13)

Let us not try to find ourselves in achievements, aquisitions (i.e. material things), relationships, appearance or any other thing that might temporarily fill that Gap. Only God can fill it. Find the truth in His word and walk in that Truth daily.

"This is my second clay sculpture...representing me, i'm part of a friendly clay coffee mug that is meant for daily use to be filled up and poured out in relationship, i've got my arms outstretched looking outward ready to dive deep, it's no longer all about me and i'm standing with courage knowing & trusting that the Potter is the one who will take the mug in his hands to use as He desires. Here Am I Lord, Send Me. Have Your Way."

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path" (Psalm 119:105)

What issue of confidence have you had and how have you dealt with it? Care to share!

MY QUIET TIME WITH GOD

So I just commented on FunTo's post on "Read the bible...Part of a check-list? and I figured I'd take my own advice so I thought I'd share with you guys...

"I admit sometimes my quiet time becomes a "to do" list in my head which I have to tick and I feel guilty when its not done so I've found myself sometimes doing it just for the sake of it. But I realise that the moment I take my time, relax and just enjoy reading and praying, it becomes more of a genuine way to spend time with God. So I guess all I'm saying is, just make time for God in your relationship. It might take some time to set up a specific time but God is always there and we just have to enjoy being in His presence and not make it seem a duty.. (wow I think I'll take my own advice lol)"

So yh, do you guys ever feel that way sometimes and how have you gone about dealing with it?

"Marriage- Faith & Forgiveness"

1. Marriage is a journey of Faith.
2. To err is human, but to forgive is divine

I recently attended my friend's (kea) wedding and during the service, the pastor quoted "Marriage is a journey of faith"- This touched me because it made me realise that even though people get married mostly because they love each other, none of them know what they will face along the journey. Neither do they know the outcome. All they dwell on is the "love" they have for each other in that moment as well as "hope" that all things will work for good in their marriage. Hence indirectly they are exercising Faith- (A substance of things "hoped" for and the evidence of things unseen"....Hebrews 11: 1) in their journey together as a couple.

The second lesson I learnt was "To err is human but to forgive is divine".
I had heard this quote many times yet did not really understand it until the preacher set an example in the case of married couples who because of the amount of time they spend together are bound to offend each other. In certain cases, the offence would be so much (Jesus says, blessed is he who shall not be offended in me... Matthew 11:6) so that, the foundations of the marriage could be shaken and if this happens, a marriage that has been built on a strong foundation with its entirety entrenched in Christ would find that the only thing they can do is to go back to the founder and ask for strength and this would be the definition of the divinity in forgiveness.
You see, when we are offended, we don't forgive because we are perfect and it's so easy rather we forgive because, we were once sinners deemed to perish except for the forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Jesus

Therefore as humans we are bound to err, but when we offend others, their ability to forgive us is only due to the fact that, they themselves have been forgiven hence they are able to do the same to others i.e. divine forgiveness. God alone can help us to forgive. We cannot give what we do not have. We can only forgive because we have received forgiveness from God. Hence he has shown us an example and is only asking that we do the same with others.

May God help us all to practice forgiveness in our relationships and allow us to abide in faith and love in our marriages in Jesus name Amen.

FREEDOM!

 Let go of the constant need for people's approval. Once you do, you realise that you are able to experience the complete freedom which God intends for you to have.
Christ has come to set the captives free. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Freedom: "The power or right to speak, act or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint"

INTERNAL PRAYER

"The Art of the internal prayer to God can keep us on track when opportunity opens itself"

Nehemiah 2: 4-5 "The King asked, "well how can I help you?" With a prayer to the God of heaven, I replied, "If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried"

Nehemiah has been praying to God about a particular issue but when the opportunity comes that it be answered through the King, he does not in haste reply but rather says a prayer first!.

-Daily Bible Verse-

Happy Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!
I hope you are feeling blessed...May Jesus continue to be the reason for the season in each of your lives and may you find in the coming year that you relate to Him more than ever...God replenish and sustain your strength this upcoming year and may you come out as courageous overcomers by the blood of the lamb in Jesus Name Amen...God inspire you...
stay blessed!

Matthew 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins

vs 23 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us"

Isaiah 9:6 it says "For unto us a Child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be wonderful counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace"

My Father's business

Here I am thinking almost 100% of the time about myself and forgetting that it was never about me in the 1st place.

I came across this video on one of my friend's Facebook updates. It didn't hit me the 1st time I watched it but after a 2nd look, I realised it. 

Kunle, a guy from Coventry university went to Brazil to do the work of God, but died a few days later after drowning in the amazon river. It's really sad but the one thing that struck me was the fact that throughout his days, he chose to be about Christ. 

Luke 2: 41-49 talks about Jesus at the age of 12 staying behind in the temple to teach and to learn more about his Father through communicating with the doctors. 

Stressing on vs 49, "....How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?".

 I find that this is connected to Kunle indirectly, for as a young man, he could have chosen to go to Brazil for so many reasons, e.g just to have "fun", yet he chose to be there for the sole purpose of doing God's work. 

Christ said in Mark 16:15 "And He said unto them, Go ye into the world, and preach the gospel to every creature".

Matthew 28:19 refers to the same message "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost"

Just recently, I've been thinking about wanting to travel to many places, yet in none of those thoughts did it occur in my mind that I would go there for the work of God. This comes back to me thinking about myself and my needs almost 100% of the time. Rather selfish but Thank God my eyes are Opened now. I will go when God says I should go. That way it won't be a vain reason. Now I know that I'd want to die doing the work of God than for anything else as recorded in Philipians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

 Bless you Jesus

"Not By Might"

So i wz thinkn of ideas 4 my next update & i asked a friend 4 ideas. He suggested dat i talk about Zechariah 4:6 "then he answered and spake unto me saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord" ....a conversation between an angel of the Lord and Joshua....

I learnt earlier dat as a christian I need to apply the word of God to my life in a practical way. So here goes

Recently went 4 a job interview. Had tried previously 2 get a job but it never worked. So dis time, i jst assumed it wz 1 of da random applications.  Got a call back & b4 i knew it, i had done a phone interview & just finished a face-to-face interview last friday. Still waiting 4 da final response. Although certain things seem a bit blurry, I know that through it all God is my Guide

And here is where Zechariah 4:6 applies...dat through it all, it's never been by my strength nor by my power but by the spirit of the Lord that is able to sustain.

I am grateful dat these past few weeks God has been my help in every thing...He is always behind the scenes working even when I forget to acknowledge His presence at times..

THANK YOU GOD.... :-)