Opposition: A fine-tuning of Self

Opposition is proof of position; a great one for impact and life transformation. Opposition is part of the Christian race. No one fights the good fight of faith without having oppositions to contend with. It comes in different sizes and shapes; physical,spiritual, mental, emotional etc. It is no respecter of any person. It can be subtle or come as a gigantic tornado. It can be as tiny as an ant or as big as goliath.

It does not care for status, religion, education, thought pattern, height, weight or colour of skin. It is an everyday factor for every living thing; humans and animals. There is no total elimination of oppositions. They come in different phases in one’s life and there is no jumping over of any phase. 

The lessons from a preceding phase are needed for the succeeding of the next phase. It is life’s principle. Appreciating it and seeking to grow in it is what guarantees success in and through it.

My making is in my oppositions, challenges and sometimes delays that I face. In such situations, my character is fine-tuned, my experience is developed to give light to someone else, my faith is increased, my patience tested to know how well I stand and my endurance renewed. What I am made of comes out when oppositions reveals themselves. The real me is revealed and how long I stand is determined.

As humans our main opposition is the devil. He doesn’t want us to progress into the great purpose God had planned for us from the beginning. But our God encouraged that if we choose to believe in him and remain in him, he will by the breath from his mouth, blow the opposition away from us. With this we experience God’s mighty and victorious power over our lives.2 Thess 2:4.

While we face these oppositions which also can come from godless discussions, we must avoid such arguments and speak the truth always no matter the consequences or contrary opinions that might abound. In our world today, information is imperative. Those who influence others are those who frequently give their opinions to people, wanting them to buy in into their thought pattern; of which most of these thoughts are inconsistent with God’s word. In diverse ways, the truth has been misunderstood, misguided and misinterpreted, but we must stand for the truth and speak only the truth that comes from God’s word. 1 Tim 6: 20.

Besides, when we face these oppositions from people, our character must speak. We must be patient with them and gently instruct them while we trust God to direct their heart to the truth. If we contend as they oppose, what will be the proof of our difference and our stand in Christ? 2 Tim 2:25.

Consequently, it’s profiting to have oppositions. Though they can sometimes make us feel weary and weak, we are to hold on to the faith of the son of God who died for us and live by it. Gal 2: 20. As we live by His faith; our trust in God is increased, our experiences of him becomes more real, our character becomes examples to others and more importantly our prayer life becomes entrenched in God. 

We cannot live a life elusive of oppositions or worrying they will come. We must live prepared for them; seeking out for what to gain and how to develop from them because all things( good, bad, ugly, oppositions, challenges, delays, denials etc) works together for our good for as long as our love for God remains.

Today,the first day of the last month of the year 2014; see the challenges you are facing differently; embrace them, pray for open eyes and begin to grow and fine-tune yourself in your oppositions. This will pepare you and will make you over come any challenges you must be facing presently. You will Overcome In Jesus Name. 

Happy New Month!

Love; its real meaning

I thought he loved me?  How could I be so blind?

I asked myself these questions over and over again. No answers came to my head.

All I see is the pain. I am so clouded by it right now. I feel betrayed.

After wallowing in my regrets for some weeks I decided to ask myself more questions.

What did I do wrong? What could I have done better? Why did he just walk away? Couldn’t our written plans and visions for tomorrow keep him no matter our challenges? Why did he give up on us?

Then more questions. Did I really and genuinely love him? Did I express it to him enough for him to be secured in my love? Or was I just selfish thinking about me and not how he feels?

These questions made me seek to understand what love really means and what I have been doing thinking I have loved other people.

My search led me to the true God who alone loves truly; in his expression of love for me, He said he loves me while I was not having the capacity to love him back. He loved me while I blamed him for all the challenges I faced. He loves me faults and all and he showed that love to me withholding nothing.

I could not comprehend why he loved me so much but I believed it. He then led me to what it really means to love. In his book he clearly stated that my eloquences, prophecies and speeches would make no impact except it be from a heart of love. That means no matter my accomplishments if I do not love I am just a vacuum. No relevance, no impact.

That caught my attention, 

Then he went further to just lay down what love is in simple terms.

Love is Kind

Love is Patient

Love is Gentle

Love does not strut

Love cares for others than self

Love endures all things

Love never dies

Love believes

Love takes pleasure in the truth

Love does not keep record of wrongs

Love does not force itself on others

Love hopes

Love lives

Love lays down its life for friends

I could not deny it. I did not love him because I really didn’t understand what love is. 

No wonder it is the greatest commandment.

My feelings got the best of me. Lord help me!

As you have loved me, help me love others and help me love genuinely. As simple as the word looks, it is the root cause for any effect we see. If we are loved genuinely our responses to situations will be different. If we are hated, its result will show.

Can we love differently as our father loved? Our world will be a better place for it.

Please! "LISTEN"

Dan, Dan, Dan! I am speaking with you, are you listening at all?  Titi asked her husband. 

He replied behind his Ipad without looking up, oh honey, I am listening to you. 

He smiled to himself with a boyish grin not to tease his wife but to celebrate his victory for winning the car-race game he was playing. If only he saw the tears in Titi's eyes, maybe he would have attended to her a little more. But he didn't even look up to notice how she feels.

It’s very common amongst couples to have one of them not giving the other the required attention for their emotional and psychological well being. In some worse situations sexual well being and in recent times, it has become one of the major reasons for divorce or lack of commitment between couples. 

Man in itself was created for connection not isolation and when man cannot find who to connect with and vice versa, their wellbeing is threatened. Listening to one another is a skill that must be consciously developed whether in the family, at work between colleagues, in sports between team mates and even in church amongst members. No one wants to find himself or herself ignored as they pour out their hearts; it produces a low sense of self-worth.

How then do you think God feels when He speaks and we don't listen or adhere to his words? We go ahead with our plans when he says something contrary to it. Then when we become confused, we rush to him in prayer expecting him to listen to us. In fairness to God, it would be just for him not to listen since we didn’t listen when he earlier spoke. But in his Mercy, he still listens, hoping we will learn to listen to him later.

He hopes and longs for us to connect with him not only when we want our needs met, but also in allowing him speak to us and reveal to us his plans, will, purpose, dreams, and ideas he had planned for our lives before we were created.

It’s his ultimate purpose that we get to a synergetic connectivity that no trial, temptations, challenges or worries of the earth can ever pull apart. So we can become intimately involved, growing in him, becoming like him and reflecting his image while we are here on earth..

Listen to God today, He speaks everyday and in every way and longs for you to listen to Him.

What did You do to deserve today?

I woke up with a plan in my mind and I was set to go in that direction. But I was intersected by the one who owns my life and He led me through a 2 weeks experience of Him. A part of Him I have never taken cognizance of and I would love to share this with you.

To me, I had thought my daily doses of doing good to others and working in line with God’s will would guarantee some of the fringe benefits He daily bestows.

Until this morning when he led me to search in His word the word “Mercy” and study about it. It seemed insignificant at first until I followed and daily sought in His word the words Mercy, Mercies, Mercies’, Merciful and Mercy seat. Each carrying its own meaning yet displaying a new personality about my God that I knew little of.

These 14 days have been so mind blowing as I daily awake to a fresh perspective of the God I serve and daily experience miracles in all I do. When questions arise in my heart, I get answers to them. I now see people differently because he showed me how his mercy forgave and preserved me and how I must have mercy on others too. Besides, He is merciful ONLY to those who have shown others mercy.

I also realized that I sleep and awake, I go out and come in, I have sound mind and great health, I have a life, a career, I have a purpose and daily He is leading me to its fulfillment. All these and more I couldn’t have achieved on my own nor any man give to me. I only have it because I received it by His mercy, His unfailing love. Nevertheless as the God of mercy He still decides who he wants to pour his mercy on.

He pours it every morning on everyone that is alive giving us a fresh start every day, his mercies covers a multitude of sins, his mercy is tender, loving us Inspite of our faults and falls, his mercy is full making him slow to anger and quick to forgive us, wash and purify us. It restores us, it never quits and it endures forever.

Isn’t His Mercy Awesome?

His mercy brings unprecedented miracles; his mercy shows us the path to take. It guides, helps, redeems, restores and reassures us. Most importantly, when he seats on the Mercy Seat and I draw to him, I receive instructions, revelation, direction and counsel all by his mercy.

Generous, Gracious and Big breasted God pours his mercies on those committed to seek him, acknowledge him and desire his mercy above all else. Also being open to God, never hiding our sins, depending on him in our weaknesses, enquiring of him in all we do, waiting to hear him and treating others with mercy causes God’s light and face to shine upon us. His favour preceding and going with you, his glory overshadowing and you becoming like him.

But Caution! Never get to a time where you never acknowledge God for his mercies. Keep it in mind that having life is by his mercies, tell people about his mercies, wait for it when you are trusting him for a miracle and always let the Holy Spirit help you stay alert. Remember, Man’s greatest challenge is forgetfulness especially when all things are working well. But as someone who Knows His God, Keep abreast his instructions in your heart, tie it about your neck Prv 3:3, let it be on your path Ps 25:10, show mercy to others Matt 5:7 Let it be in your daily walk, talk and work. Be full of God’s mercies everyday Rom 12:1 and always remember you did nothing to be alive today, His mercy gave you life.

Enjoy God’s Mercies day by day and always acknowledge him for it.

Wheeled Will

Isn't it beautiful, the creativity of cars? The way you can turn the wheel and it responds to your commands? Boldly you turn it never doubting it wouldn’t respond as instructed. Hmmm! What about the magnificent airplane, soaring into the air with so much power, navigating through the clouds with just a small rudder controlled by the pilot; or the ship sailing on water?

Similar to all these means of transportation is the "Wheel".

For Man, the wheel of our life is the decision we make. We decide to be doctors, engineers, motivational speaker, pastors, fathers, mothers, etc. We decided. Our decisions came from desires within us that longs to be fulfilled. When we achieve any of these decisions as planned, we are happy, we boast about it, we tell others what we did; we encourage others not to give up and our stories stirs up a desire in them to achieve their plans too.

Nevertheless, when we fall short of any of these decisions, we are dejected, we become sorrowful. Some get overwhelmed by the failed attempt and call themselves failures; others push harder trying to believe; trying never to give up.

In fairness, in truth, our desires come from someone. "Our Creator or Our Self".  When our desires originate from our creator and we choose to go in that direction, we find ourselves doing his will, when it originates from our self, we do our will. There are results for both but one is always superior to the other.

Originally, our existence came from our creator; why are we trying to do anything outside of him? Let's look at it this way;

Let's say you bought a car for mobility and then you tried maneuvering into a street and your car speaks and decides to turn the other way what would you do and how would you feel? The truth is you will be angry and definitely get rid of the car. You would rather get a car that would do as you please or instruct. That is the same way with the "Will".

Our creator ‘God’ has a plan in mind for us and our willingness to do his will is what guarantees our success. When we choose to do our will, the result is always abandonment and a lost purpose. Because we are also made in God's image, He gave us a "Will' just like his but we are meant to submit and align our will to his; just the way the car aligns its wheel and will to your will as the driver.

In reality, the battle and challenge of Man is submitting to God's will. Our desires to do things on our own with our thoughts, plans and knowledge makes us fall short of God's ultimate plan and purpose for our lives. More often, Man contends with questions within; questions that doubts God's will; that wonders if we are in His will or that measures his will with people's opinions.

To overcome such battle is to draw nigh to God and His word; because in His word is His will. As you meditate on them, it wheels us in line with His will. It takes a lot of work for one to yield to him especially if we are already used to doing things our way, but in the end, when we let go, he makes us better. He polishes our character, we become more and more like him and it becomes a lifetime walk and a lifestyle for us.

How would you want your life to be? Wheeled by His Will or deceived by yours?

Let God take the Wheel of your Life.

Thank you for reading.

ciao

The Reason For Living

"Your life is too small to be the purpose of your life"

Pastor Sam Adeyemi.

There is nothing without a purpose. Everything has its purpose embedded in it. When anything is misused it’s because its purpose is not known. There are more discoveries everyday from scientist and researchers about the earth, sun, galaxies, chemicals, plants etc. Some have been misused, some underused.

It’s the same for us as humans. We need to discover who we are to know the reason we are living. It’s dangerous to live life not knowing why you are here. You will be abused, disgraced, shamed, and treated wrongly. You need to deliberately find yourself and your purpose for living. You will discover so many things about yourself when you set out to know why you are here. One of these discoveries common to all men on earth is “GIVING”.

From our Source “God”, through his words in the beginning he proclaimed blessings on Man for fruitfulness and multiplication; for having dominion and replenishing the earth. That blessing still stands today for as many who believe in it. Inspite of sin, that blessing could not be erased out of human existence. It’s the deal that makes us in God’s image and likeness.

However, God’s blessings, needs channels for full expression. If it doesn’t find, it is truncated and God does not like it. In God’s nature and character, He is a God of progress; He remains the same but through every generation He increases his blessings. His son demonstrated it while He was here. He had the habit of blessing, pouring, sharing and giving. He gave and gave and gave until He gave his Life. He couldn’t hoard the blessings God has bestowed on him. He gave and showed us the example we need to follow.

For God’s blessings to have a continuous flow in anyone’s life; we must be a channel in which that blessings flow from God to others. That can only happen if we have a habit of giving…..No, I mean a lifestyle of Giving. Whatever God has blessed us with, no matter how small it seems in our eyes, we are meant to break it and give it out so there is a continuous flow of God’s blessings over our lives.

This secret revealed to us in his word in Acts 20:35 where it says “….it is more blessed to give than to receive”, the devil knows it and blinds us from seeing this even as Christians. Selfishness and self-centeredness prevails and seems to be the right way, but it should not be so.

The cultural patterns and mindset prevalent expresses blessing or wealth as how much you can acquire but in the real picture, to get the blessings that adds no sorrow and makes rich, you must be a giver, someone God can entrust resources in his hands knowing well that you will break the blessings and give to as many in need or he sends you to.

This is the reason for our living; to replenish and multiply the earth with God’s blessing as he pours it on us. Don’t let wrong mindsets distract you; be the channel God wants to use to restore earth to heaven’s view; be the one God can call for any cause because you can be trusted to do the right thing. Let your giving outlive your living. Let what you give speak for you after you are long gone. Let lives be changed and saved by your acts of giving and let earth experience the blessings of God poured on you.

May you live to Give and Give to Outlive You.

Thank you for reading.

Ciao.

Walk, Work, Watch....The Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Introduction

The river flows with ease because it has a direction it goes. When a river is not allowed to flow, it becomes stagnant and stinks. Having a channel to flow through is as important as the water itself, if not everything around it suffers.

It’s the same with God’s Grace;

God pours his Grace, he doesn’t force it. He pours on anyone willing to let the Grace flow through him to others. Someone that yields, someone malleable, correctable; Someone that gives, someone that knows God’s heart.

When that Grace pours, the person flows; it’s not forced.  Its rhythmical like a song reaching within the soul of its hearer. An example of someone who operated in that level of Grace was JESUS. Grace was not a one-off event for him; it was more of a one-size-fit-all in every situation He found himself.

He flowed. Circumstances changed, He didn’t. He knew who he was and what he carried. He was at his place of rest, working his best yet not laboring. He worried about nothing he only gave thanks. His resources were unlimited in a limited world. In the midst of the sophisticated and wise, his simplicity surpassed all their wisdom put together.

His heart of compassion moved all the time when he sees the weak, the poor and the brokenhearted. He was their strength, hope, shield, refuge and comforter. He would fit into any role to make a scenario perfect.

He taught with all he saw; the fig tree, those vying for position never ready to serve. He was a great story teller of the Good Samaritan, Prodigal son and the Landowner. 

He lived. 

He died. 

Unforced by God’s Grace, he just flowed in it like a river. It’s the same he left for us, he told us to enter into his rest; flow in his unforced Grace; live life freely just like he did. He set the example; all we need do is follow.

To follow, it's a lifetime commitment, a forgetting of self, a letting go of selfish gain, but embracing his work, will and his ways. Doing it, following through just as he did. It’s a walk with Christ through the path he took; a work with him to draw men to God and to watch how he did it flowing in Grace.

The cycle must not be cut short. It’s a rhythm that must be allowed to flow through, starting from the WALK with him; a state of learning obedience, submitting to his pace, letting go of self. Then progressing to the WORK with him; a joint force, a synergy, a merging of humanity with divinity to bring victorious saving and living of souls. Then the WATCHING; the observing of his miraculous works done with ease; watch as his will is done on earth as it was set in heaven. Then seeing the joy and light shining from above on us all, and then starting the cycle all over again.

Besides, none of the process stops; it’s a continuous flow of the unforced rhythm of grace from above.

Therefore, Walk, Work, Watch. In every stage, keep flowing.

Welcome to your new level of unforced rhythm of God’s Grace.

Thank you for reading.