Monday, November 21, 2011
I know now...!
Found out that I read up a lot on history and get so engrossed I forget that time is gone. I pray I get that much enthusiastic about reading the bible! :( ...pray for me, ok? Will be back soon... :-)
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
If I had written it...
I visited Port Harcourt in June/ July this year and if I had not killed the muse and gone ahead to write a note about my experiences there, the title of the note would have been, ''Of A Hyped City and Other Things!"
Friday, October 14, 2011
''29 Is Legal But Not Grown''
''We can only live our days wisely when we see God clearly''- Josh Harris
"Every wrinkle is but a notch in the quiet calendar of a well spent life''- Dickens
It's my birthday, so I write...!:-)
This year, I feel entirely different from all the other birthdays I have been privileged to. Good different and bad different all at the same time! I guess I'll give myself away as you read on as to why that is.
I remember some of my low- key birthdays because something went awry and grown ups deemed it was inappropriate to celebrate that much or even at all while my childish excitement was been hampered! Oh, being a child has its own troubles, I tell you!:-D Little selfish me just wouldn’t get it! I recall other times when I actually got a cake and the excitement of carrying it from the vendor’s to the house ruined the thing! Unlit candles fell off/ experimented the edibility of same, icing and decor on cake came off! Lol. Potholes aided the ‘death’ of a particular one...lol! I had insisted I was going to carry MY CAKE on my laps as we journeyed home from the vendor’s and each time the driver manoeuvered albeit tactlessly because of the car holes sorry, potholes, the poor cake was chipped till it looked really ‘cakey’ on arrival! Lol! Talk about literally ''having your cake and eating it too''. Children can be som'thing!
I’ve found spiritual benefit in the timing of my birthday been quite close to the end of the year because it helps me to feel more acutely the passing of time. And that’s very good for my soul because I need to be reminded that I’m getting older and that I have a limited amount of time on this earth.
You had better listen to birthday gal!:-)
...
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom but fools despise wisdom and discipline."- Proverbs 1:7
If we could take in and remember the teachings of the Good Book, we would be so shrewd! No situation would ever catch us out and no temptation take us by surprise. Seldom would we be deceived or beguiled by subtlety or cunning, because in them, we are prepared for the vicissitudes of life. The Truth sting a little and almost taunt in order to jolt us into recognizing that we are heading in some wrong direction. Most of us young people are completely ignorant of the storms, currents and quicksands that would come from the sea of life.
Thankfully, the timeless Truth of God's word equip us so that we immediately recognize different ‘characters’ or human situations, and are able to categorize them, and know precisely what to expect from them. Incidentally, no one is grounded or prepared for life in this way and everything has to be learned by bitter experience- personal and otherwise. We stumble into harmful situations and down we fall, headlong! And we are still stumbling through life and burning our fingers in our thirties, forties, fifties and sixties. If only we had given more shrewdness and insight into human nature at an early stage!
It is worth noting that the modern world is deeply prejudiced against the kind of character analysis found in the Bible, because it is offensive to human pride. People like to think of their lives as personal voyages of discovery and accomplishment. We like to think of themselves as totally one –off individuals who possess a very unique blend of views and abilities. We shudder at the idea that our character can be predicted accordingly. Human pride wants to think that we are vastly more sophisticated than this. People recoil from the reality – that ‘fallen’ human nature is insubstantial, and dominated by its many flaws.
In the Good Book, God has compressed a vast quantity of profound insights. Talk about the Truth being handy as a bottle of aspirin and we can call them to mind in so many of life’s situations. This present society is cruelly unkind to the young, treating us virtually as experimental laboratory animals. Millions of young people are being thrown to the wolves of drink, drugs, illicit sex and so on and our parents?! Most of them imagine that this is the modern, liberated, reasonable thing to do! Almost the entire younger generation is delivered into the clutches of the millionaire barons of pop, porn and dope, and nobody cares what happens to us. The young are encouraged to accept as legitimate and even necessary, youthful, pre-marital sexual adventures and are taught through magazines techniques for getting maximum satisfaction. The writers of these pieces of junk don’t bother to look into the future and consider the emotional and physical consequences of all these and the untold suffering to be reaped by thousands over many years! Not like they care about the human lives they hurl into the experimental cauldron!!
Here is hope...
God’s love is tender and protective and He has faithfully put instructions for daily living in His word in readiness for this sin- sick and chaotic world. Young people must be aware that whatever gifts and strengths we possess and however knowledgeable we are, there is always a degree of susceptibility connected with the early years of life. When young, we are vulnerable to ambush by false ideas and claims and the Good Book sets out to reveal the morass of deception in this world, and to give shrewdness and discernment.
‘’My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother’’- Solomon in Proverbs 1:8.
These words are intended as a miniature parable in which father and mother represents the human tendency to rebel against God early in life. It applies particularly to younger people, especially up to the age of thirty. The idea is that self determination and rebellion surface in the human character in the early years of life when most people experience a powerful inclination to stop respecting God. This has little to do with the chemistry of adolescence as some people imagine. It is chiefly moral and spiritual! Because we are members of a ‘fallen’ human race, personal rebellion will soon express itself in an urge to consider ‘number one’, and resent all restrictive spiritual and moral values. Rebellion is the ‘model defect’ of human beings brought upon us by guess who ...us! Even non – religious people frequently come to see this as they get older. They come to accept that human beings are by nature cantankerous, rebellious, ambitious, covetous and lustful.
The trouble is that in early life we do not always realise that our strong, rebellious desires for earthly fulfillment arise from the ‘model defect’ of the human race. We do not know ourselves! We begin to want our own way constantly and strongly, and to seek our own gratification. We begin to pursue leisure and pleasure as if they were the greatest essentials of life; and to seek the applause and approval of others. But we do not understand what is happening within us, namely, that this is all part of the process of rebellion against the Creator and His standards. If as a young adult, I fail to understand that I have rebellious nature which is bound to assert itself, I will probably assume that my desires to strike out on my own and abandon the training of childhood are my more mature thoughts! I will foolishly assume that my earlier beliefs were simpler and less sophisticated than my present ideas.
The appeal of acceptance and approval - of liberty from all restrictions -of an easy time- of safety from consequence- of pleasure and wealth up to the appeal of solidarity... phew! I pause here and shudder even as my mind ponders...
We are constantly being lied to by the world about the painlessness of sin, and the absence of consequences –truth be told, its assurances are attractive, but are utterly false. Sin must be paid for! *Lordhavemercy*
...
As I turn 29 , I am aware that most friends are married and more would get married, and er... So will I! ;-) I understand I’ll lose touch with many more of them and our 'circle' gets smaller and our burdens become greater and truth is, what other people think becomes less important to us. But in early years, it can seem so important that we may sacrifice even our morals and our belief in God to keep in with the 'the crowd'. Solidarity or 'fitting in’ is an appealing fraud to which countless people surrender!
...
OK, am done preaching for now...
I solicit for your prayers:
Please pray along that God will save me from naive unawareness of my vulnerability and that I will recognize the stirrings and the tantrums of the fallen human nature within me. Since it is in understanding me and what causes me to be the way I am that aids this, please pray that I will be graced to approach the Lord in the right spirit, and seek forgiveness and conversion as I journey in this life. Also, am aware that our rebellious inner nature does not excuse our sins but draws us down an unbelieving, selfish, sinful pathway and that there is no greater tragedy than a young (wo) man who thinks that those urgings are the product of their free minds!
I have already yielded my life to the Lord Jesus Christ and I walk with Him,I only ask that you pray along that I won't be swept away when the old nature tries to reassert itself. After all, from the foregoing, 29 is legal but not grown!:-)
And talking about that, I honestly do not want to be fully-grown especially if that means a grinding halt on my dire need of a Saviour!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!:-)
"Every wrinkle is but a notch in the quiet calendar of a well spent life''- Dickens
It's my birthday, so I write...!:-)
This year, I feel entirely different from all the other birthdays I have been privileged to. Good different and bad different all at the same time! I guess I'll give myself away as you read on as to why that is.
I remember some of my low- key birthdays because something went awry and grown ups deemed it was inappropriate to celebrate that much or even at all while my childish excitement was been hampered! Oh, being a child has its own troubles, I tell you!:-D Little selfish me just wouldn’t get it! I recall other times when I actually got a cake and the excitement of carrying it from the vendor’s to the house ruined the thing! Unlit candles fell off/ experimented the edibility of same, icing and decor on cake came off! Lol. Potholes aided the ‘death’ of a particular one...lol! I had insisted I was going to carry MY CAKE on my laps as we journeyed home from the vendor’s and each time the driver manoeuvered albeit tactlessly because of the car holes sorry, potholes, the poor cake was chipped till it looked really ‘cakey’ on arrival! Lol! Talk about literally ''having your cake and eating it too''. Children can be som'thing!
I’ve found spiritual benefit in the timing of my birthday been quite close to the end of the year because it helps me to feel more acutely the passing of time. And that’s very good for my soul because I need to be reminded that I’m getting older and that I have a limited amount of time on this earth.
You had better listen to birthday gal!:-)
...
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom but fools despise wisdom and discipline."- Proverbs 1:7
If we could take in and remember the teachings of the Good Book, we would be so shrewd! No situation would ever catch us out and no temptation take us by surprise. Seldom would we be deceived or beguiled by subtlety or cunning, because in them, we are prepared for the vicissitudes of life. The Truth sting a little and almost taunt in order to jolt us into recognizing that we are heading in some wrong direction. Most of us young people are completely ignorant of the storms, currents and quicksands that would come from the sea of life.
Thankfully, the timeless Truth of God's word equip us so that we immediately recognize different ‘characters’ or human situations, and are able to categorize them, and know precisely what to expect from them. Incidentally, no one is grounded or prepared for life in this way and everything has to be learned by bitter experience- personal and otherwise. We stumble into harmful situations and down we fall, headlong! And we are still stumbling through life and burning our fingers in our thirties, forties, fifties and sixties. If only we had given more shrewdness and insight into human nature at an early stage!
It is worth noting that the modern world is deeply prejudiced against the kind of character analysis found in the Bible, because it is offensive to human pride. People like to think of their lives as personal voyages of discovery and accomplishment. We like to think of themselves as totally one –off individuals who possess a very unique blend of views and abilities. We shudder at the idea that our character can be predicted accordingly. Human pride wants to think that we are vastly more sophisticated than this. People recoil from the reality – that ‘fallen’ human nature is insubstantial, and dominated by its many flaws.
In the Good Book, God has compressed a vast quantity of profound insights. Talk about the Truth being handy as a bottle of aspirin and we can call them to mind in so many of life’s situations. This present society is cruelly unkind to the young, treating us virtually as experimental laboratory animals. Millions of young people are being thrown to the wolves of drink, drugs, illicit sex and so on and our parents?! Most of them imagine that this is the modern, liberated, reasonable thing to do! Almost the entire younger generation is delivered into the clutches of the millionaire barons of pop, porn and dope, and nobody cares what happens to us. The young are encouraged to accept as legitimate and even necessary, youthful, pre-marital sexual adventures and are taught through magazines techniques for getting maximum satisfaction. The writers of these pieces of junk don’t bother to look into the future and consider the emotional and physical consequences of all these and the untold suffering to be reaped by thousands over many years! Not like they care about the human lives they hurl into the experimental cauldron!!
Here is hope...
God’s love is tender and protective and He has faithfully put instructions for daily living in His word in readiness for this sin- sick and chaotic world. Young people must be aware that whatever gifts and strengths we possess and however knowledgeable we are, there is always a degree of susceptibility connected with the early years of life. When young, we are vulnerable to ambush by false ideas and claims and the Good Book sets out to reveal the morass of deception in this world, and to give shrewdness and discernment.
‘’My son, hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the law of thy mother’’- Solomon in Proverbs 1:8.
These words are intended as a miniature parable in which father and mother represents the human tendency to rebel against God early in life. It applies particularly to younger people, especially up to the age of thirty. The idea is that self determination and rebellion surface in the human character in the early years of life when most people experience a powerful inclination to stop respecting God. This has little to do with the chemistry of adolescence as some people imagine. It is chiefly moral and spiritual! Because we are members of a ‘fallen’ human race, personal rebellion will soon express itself in an urge to consider ‘number one’, and resent all restrictive spiritual and moral values. Rebellion is the ‘model defect’ of human beings brought upon us by guess who ...us! Even non – religious people frequently come to see this as they get older. They come to accept that human beings are by nature cantankerous, rebellious, ambitious, covetous and lustful.
The trouble is that in early life we do not always realise that our strong, rebellious desires for earthly fulfillment arise from the ‘model defect’ of the human race. We do not know ourselves! We begin to want our own way constantly and strongly, and to seek our own gratification. We begin to pursue leisure and pleasure as if they were the greatest essentials of life; and to seek the applause and approval of others. But we do not understand what is happening within us, namely, that this is all part of the process of rebellion against the Creator and His standards. If as a young adult, I fail to understand that I have rebellious nature which is bound to assert itself, I will probably assume that my desires to strike out on my own and abandon the training of childhood are my more mature thoughts! I will foolishly assume that my earlier beliefs were simpler and less sophisticated than my present ideas.
The appeal of acceptance and approval - of liberty from all restrictions -of an easy time- of safety from consequence- of pleasure and wealth up to the appeal of solidarity... phew! I pause here and shudder even as my mind ponders...
We are constantly being lied to by the world about the painlessness of sin, and the absence of consequences –truth be told, its assurances are attractive, but are utterly false. Sin must be paid for! *Lordhavemercy*
...
As I turn 29 , I am aware that most friends are married and more would get married, and er... So will I! ;-) I understand I’ll lose touch with many more of them and our 'circle' gets smaller and our burdens become greater and truth is, what other people think becomes less important to us. But in early years, it can seem so important that we may sacrifice even our morals and our belief in God to keep in with the 'the crowd'. Solidarity or 'fitting in’ is an appealing fraud to which countless people surrender!
...
OK, am done preaching for now...
I solicit for your prayers:
Please pray along that God will save me from naive unawareness of my vulnerability and that I will recognize the stirrings and the tantrums of the fallen human nature within me. Since it is in understanding me and what causes me to be the way I am that aids this, please pray that I will be graced to approach the Lord in the right spirit, and seek forgiveness and conversion as I journey in this life. Also, am aware that our rebellious inner nature does not excuse our sins but draws us down an unbelieving, selfish, sinful pathway and that there is no greater tragedy than a young (wo) man who thinks that those urgings are the product of their free minds!
I have already yielded my life to the Lord Jesus Christ and I walk with Him,I only ask that you pray along that I won't be swept away when the old nature tries to reassert itself. After all, from the foregoing, 29 is legal but not grown!:-)
And talking about that, I honestly do not want to be fully-grown especially if that means a grinding halt on my dire need of a Saviour!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!:-)
Friday, August 26, 2011
Exactly two years ago that I...
...Put this up on Facebook
''...is musing sadly on the congenital hypocrisy of the Yorubas,the congenital cynicism of the Hausas, the congenital aggressiveness of the Ibos,the congenital inferior/superiority/persecution complex of the other tribes someone called,'Minority'! Plus the objectivity of Awemoreborelanlay(Omobolanle in "English") :-) that you,yes you, will call judgmental! YOU,WE,US are the problem with Nigeria! You can't see it? Swallow your pride, hunch down and launch yourself FOR A LOOK-SEE!!!''
A reply to it, unedited:
''1 is a loud & boisterous trombone, d other, a shrill whistle, another, a sober flute, yet another an intimately melodic violin, & another, a loudly crashing cymbal, another a harmonious acoustic box guitar, & another an upright piano. All these combined under d leadership of an expert conductor wit a wand of integrity & charisma would b a great orchestra, producin such ethereal harmonic music dat would engage d watchin world's attention as they hum & tap their feet 2 d music of a new Nigeria, "One Nation Bound In Freedom, Peace And Unity!"
Mine to it:
...Shall we ask the Heavenly Symphony Orchestra to send us or raise from among us the expert conductor In Jesus Name! Destiny is at stake here o! Bless ur heart.
The reply to mine:
Heavenly Symphony Orchestra"? U cldn't hav been any more succinct. Amen, darlin. Amen. Lord, send help.
''...is musing sadly on the congenital hypocrisy of the Yorubas,the congenital cynicism of the Hausas, the congenital aggressiveness of the Ibos,the congenital inferior/superiority/persecution complex of the other tribes someone called,'Minority'! Plus the objectivity of Awemoreborelanlay(Omobolanle in "English") :-) that you,yes you, will call judgmental! YOU,WE,US are the problem with Nigeria! You can't see it? Swallow your pride, hunch down and launch yourself FOR A LOOK-SEE!!!''
A reply to it, unedited:
''1 is a loud & boisterous trombone, d other, a shrill whistle, another, a sober flute, yet another an intimately melodic violin, & another, a loudly crashing cymbal, another a harmonious acoustic box guitar, & another an upright piano. All these combined under d leadership of an expert conductor wit a wand of integrity & charisma would b a great orchestra, producin such ethereal harmonic music dat would engage d watchin world's attention as they hum & tap their feet 2 d music of a new Nigeria, "One Nation Bound In Freedom, Peace And Unity!"
Mine to it:
...Shall we ask the Heavenly Symphony Orchestra to send us or raise from among us the expert conductor In Jesus Name! Destiny is at stake here o! Bless ur heart.
The reply to mine:
Heavenly Symphony Orchestra"? U cldn't hav been any more succinct. Amen, darlin. Amen. Lord, send help.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Curtis said I could share! :-)
My friend (Curtis Snead) granted me permission to share with you! I pray this blesses you too!
A Heart Wholly Devoted...
But the high places were not taken away; nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all His days. 1 Kings 15:14
For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God. 1 Kings 11:4
The book of Kings in the bible is a telling of the stories of the Kings of God’s people. Solomon was the son of David and after his death became the second King of Israel. God had given Solomon wisdom beyond measure after he requested for God to give him discernment to lead His people. God also gave Solomon great wealth and earthly power and authority. Yet for all of the blessings of God, in summing up Solomon’s life, the author of Kings says, “his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God. What a tragic description of a life lived before God. Solomon had been blessed greatly by God and he was used of God to do many good things for His people. But when he was old, his heart was not wholly devoted to God. The ironic thing is that Solomon even prayed for Israel that God would,“incline our hearts to Himself” (1 Kings 9:58). He also told the congregation, “Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in all His ways..”(1 Kings 9:61). Yet in his later years, Solomon’s heart was divided so God divided his Kingdom in judgment.
Fast forward a few years in history. We read of Asa, the great grandson of Solomon. He became king over the southern Kingdom of Judah. Though he was the son and grandson of men who “did evil in the sight of the Lord” Asa did right in the sight of the Lord. Asa was not perfect in his behavior. He did not do everything right, yet the comment on his life was that his heart was wholly devoted to the Lord.
The contrast has made me think. I don’t want to be a man like Solomon. For all his money and wisdom he became foolish and poor. Instead I want to be like Asa who though not perfect in behavior he possessed the greatest treasure. I want so much to be a man who it can be said that “his heart was wholly devoted to God”, but I know my heart. I know and can feel all to well that my heart has an illness common to man, it is “more deceitful than all else and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9). I long for and crave this wholly devoted heart more than anything. More than ministry, more than obedience, more than worship, I want a wholly devoted heart to the Lord my God. I know that somehow, all of life, whether it’s the day to day grind of work, raising kids, and grass cutting or the “spiritual” things of worship, prayer, and ministry, all of it is useless if my heart is turned away to other gods, and all of it is eternally valuable and satisfying if I have a wholly devoted heart to my God.
Our hearts are the core of who we are. It is the center of our affections and feelings. It is the thoughts we naturally have as opposed to the ones we try to have. It is much like our tastes. We may like broccoli while others do not. We don’t know why we do, we just do. Or it’s like love. What is it about your wife or your husband or girlfriend or boyfriend that draws you to them. You may be able to point out certain characteristics that you like about them but what is it that draws you to them above all others. That feeling that compels you to be with them and drives you crazy when you are apart. It’s those things that just happen in your feelings. It’s not so much a matter of trying to have feelings or trying to conform our tastes to what we think is right, it is the natural appeal of certain things or certain people. So to have a heart wholly devoted to God would be a natural affection for Him and a desire for His ways. This devotion goes farther than duty and obligation. It is the inclination to love God where duty is a joy and obligation is a delight.
We may decide in our minds that we like God and value His ways. We then try with our efforts and our strength to go about pleasing Him. This is a noble thing of course but it all can be done without our hearts being wholly devoted to Him. We may follow Him because of His benefits but do we really love Him from our very core, the very heart of our affection and emotion? Think of broccoli again. You may hear of it’s health benefits and decide that you should really eat it, but all the while you hate it’s taste. You like the benefits but you don’t like the broccoli. Or how about relationships. We may see a person who is attractive, rich, and in many different ways able to benefit you and your life but there is no spark of feeling or affection. We again may love the benefits of what they do for us but not love them from the heart.
So we are in a dilemma If we like what we like and love what we love naturally without trying, what if we don’t like God or His ways? What if we only like what He gives like peace and respectability and prosperity and even heaven but we don’t like Him or His demands? What do we do when we want to want God but being really honest we know that sometimes our hearts are hostile to Him?
I see two things that can help us. Two points that stretched out will hold us in tension and lead us on the path of a wholly devoted heart.
The first is to repent of and confess that our hearts are not wholly devoted to Him. We must stop trying to fool others and God into thinking that all is well in us. That there is no shadow of turning within our hearts. We should not say that goes for others, but not us. We all need to be honest with that feeling we all have that the great hymn describes, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love…”. We need to confess the sickness of our hearts and the deception that is deep within them. Hosea puts it this way, “Break up your fallow ground, for it’s time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.” (vs. 10:12) Or in Ezekiel we are told even more boldly, “Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord. Therefore repent and live!” (vs18:31-32) Do you desire to live a holy life fully devoted to the Lord that comes not from what benefits you but from a heart that loves and treasures God above all else? Then first break up the hard ground of your heart and repent!
The second point that holds the first in tension is not something that we do but an understanding of what God has promised to do in us if we are willing. Let’s go back to 1 Kings. Solomon says in his benediction after dedicating the temple, “May the Lord our God be with us…. that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments.”(9:57-58) then He says in vs. 61, “Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in all His ways….” Solomon understood that in order to rightly and effectively walk in Gods ways our hearts must be inclined to God by God Himself. He also understood that the people were responsible for allowing God to do this work in them. Tragically, Solomon did not heed his own advice. God loved Solomon and surely would have inclined his heart to whole devotion to Himself, but Solomon allowed his heart to be turned away to other gods.
On the other hand, David, Solomon’s father, was a sinner. He was a murderer and an adulterer, but 1 Kings 11:4 says that David’s heart was wholly devoted to God. He said in repentance and confession to God, “Create in me a clean heart, O God“…(Psalm 51:10a) and, “a broken heart you will not despise”(vs17).Like Solomon, David knew that the key to his devotion to God was the condition of his heart. In spite of his terrible sins, David sincerely sought his God through repentance and confession. He knew that only God could give him the heart of devotion that he desperately wanted. Solomon said similar things early in life but wandered away from the desiring of God to the desiring of detestable idols. We must be persistent in our wanting of God and our appealing to Him, or we like Solomon can allow our hearts to turn away. Only God can give us hearts of whole devotion to Himself but we must be willing for Him to do His work in us.
So let us all go to God with this request. That He would incline our hearts to Himself. Let us be willing to turn from our sin and rebellion and our detestable idols and turn to our great God and His promises. He will be faithful to hear and He will be faithful to His words. Listen to God in Ezekiel 36:25-27. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” Oh, stop your self righteousness! Stop walking according to your own strength! Come to our great God through Jesus Christ for a new heart! He will give one to you. Come to Christ and he will give you His Spirit. With His Spirit comes power! Then you will see Him working in you. Then you will delight to do His commands and walk in His ways. Then with all your heart you will serve Him. With all your heart you will love Him. The righteousness that you then do will not be from you but instead will come from a heart given by God and wholly devoted to Him!
A Heart Wholly Devoted...
But the high places were not taken away; nevertheless the heart of Asa was wholly devoted to the Lord all His days. 1 Kings 15:14
For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God. 1 Kings 11:4
The book of Kings in the bible is a telling of the stories of the Kings of God’s people. Solomon was the son of David and after his death became the second King of Israel. God had given Solomon wisdom beyond measure after he requested for God to give him discernment to lead His people. God also gave Solomon great wealth and earthly power and authority. Yet for all of the blessings of God, in summing up Solomon’s life, the author of Kings says, “his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God. What a tragic description of a life lived before God. Solomon had been blessed greatly by God and he was used of God to do many good things for His people. But when he was old, his heart was not wholly devoted to God. The ironic thing is that Solomon even prayed for Israel that God would,“incline our hearts to Himself” (1 Kings 9:58). He also told the congregation, “Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in all His ways..”(1 Kings 9:61). Yet in his later years, Solomon’s heart was divided so God divided his Kingdom in judgment.
Fast forward a few years in history. We read of Asa, the great grandson of Solomon. He became king over the southern Kingdom of Judah. Though he was the son and grandson of men who “did evil in the sight of the Lord” Asa did right in the sight of the Lord. Asa was not perfect in his behavior. He did not do everything right, yet the comment on his life was that his heart was wholly devoted to the Lord.
The contrast has made me think. I don’t want to be a man like Solomon. For all his money and wisdom he became foolish and poor. Instead I want to be like Asa who though not perfect in behavior he possessed the greatest treasure. I want so much to be a man who it can be said that “his heart was wholly devoted to God”, but I know my heart. I know and can feel all to well that my heart has an illness common to man, it is “more deceitful than all else and desperately sick” (Jeremiah 17:9). I long for and crave this wholly devoted heart more than anything. More than ministry, more than obedience, more than worship, I want a wholly devoted heart to the Lord my God. I know that somehow, all of life, whether it’s the day to day grind of work, raising kids, and grass cutting or the “spiritual” things of worship, prayer, and ministry, all of it is useless if my heart is turned away to other gods, and all of it is eternally valuable and satisfying if I have a wholly devoted heart to my God.
Our hearts are the core of who we are. It is the center of our affections and feelings. It is the thoughts we naturally have as opposed to the ones we try to have. It is much like our tastes. We may like broccoli while others do not. We don’t know why we do, we just do. Or it’s like love. What is it about your wife or your husband or girlfriend or boyfriend that draws you to them. You may be able to point out certain characteristics that you like about them but what is it that draws you to them above all others. That feeling that compels you to be with them and drives you crazy when you are apart. It’s those things that just happen in your feelings. It’s not so much a matter of trying to have feelings or trying to conform our tastes to what we think is right, it is the natural appeal of certain things or certain people. So to have a heart wholly devoted to God would be a natural affection for Him and a desire for His ways. This devotion goes farther than duty and obligation. It is the inclination to love God where duty is a joy and obligation is a delight.
We may decide in our minds that we like God and value His ways. We then try with our efforts and our strength to go about pleasing Him. This is a noble thing of course but it all can be done without our hearts being wholly devoted to Him. We may follow Him because of His benefits but do we really love Him from our very core, the very heart of our affection and emotion? Think of broccoli again. You may hear of it’s health benefits and decide that you should really eat it, but all the while you hate it’s taste. You like the benefits but you don’t like the broccoli. Or how about relationships. We may see a person who is attractive, rich, and in many different ways able to benefit you and your life but there is no spark of feeling or affection. We again may love the benefits of what they do for us but not love them from the heart.
So we are in a dilemma If we like what we like and love what we love naturally without trying, what if we don’t like God or His ways? What if we only like what He gives like peace and respectability and prosperity and even heaven but we don’t like Him or His demands? What do we do when we want to want God but being really honest we know that sometimes our hearts are hostile to Him?
I see two things that can help us. Two points that stretched out will hold us in tension and lead us on the path of a wholly devoted heart.
The first is to repent of and confess that our hearts are not wholly devoted to Him. We must stop trying to fool others and God into thinking that all is well in us. That there is no shadow of turning within our hearts. We should not say that goes for others, but not us. We all need to be honest with that feeling we all have that the great hymn describes, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love…”. We need to confess the sickness of our hearts and the deception that is deep within them. Hosea puts it this way, “Break up your fallow ground, for it’s time to seek the Lord until He comes to rain righteousness on you.” (vs. 10:12) Or in Ezekiel we are told even more boldly, “Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, declares the Lord. Therefore repent and live!” (vs18:31-32) Do you desire to live a holy life fully devoted to the Lord that comes not from what benefits you but from a heart that loves and treasures God above all else? Then first break up the hard ground of your heart and repent!
The second point that holds the first in tension is not something that we do but an understanding of what God has promised to do in us if we are willing. Let’s go back to 1 Kings. Solomon says in his benediction after dedicating the temple, “May the Lord our God be with us…. that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments.”(9:57-58) then He says in vs. 61, “Let your heart therefore be wholly devoted to the Lord our God, to walk in all His ways….” Solomon understood that in order to rightly and effectively walk in Gods ways our hearts must be inclined to God by God Himself. He also understood that the people were responsible for allowing God to do this work in them. Tragically, Solomon did not heed his own advice. God loved Solomon and surely would have inclined his heart to whole devotion to Himself, but Solomon allowed his heart to be turned away to other gods.
On the other hand, David, Solomon’s father, was a sinner. He was a murderer and an adulterer, but 1 Kings 11:4 says that David’s heart was wholly devoted to God. He said in repentance and confession to God, “Create in me a clean heart, O God“…(Psalm 51:10a) and, “a broken heart you will not despise”(vs17).Like Solomon, David knew that the key to his devotion to God was the condition of his heart. In spite of his terrible sins, David sincerely sought his God through repentance and confession. He knew that only God could give him the heart of devotion that he desperately wanted. Solomon said similar things early in life but wandered away from the desiring of God to the desiring of detestable idols. We must be persistent in our wanting of God and our appealing to Him, or we like Solomon can allow our hearts to turn away. Only God can give us hearts of whole devotion to Himself but we must be willing for Him to do His work in us.
So let us all go to God with this request. That He would incline our hearts to Himself. Let us be willing to turn from our sin and rebellion and our detestable idols and turn to our great God and His promises. He will be faithful to hear and He will be faithful to His words. Listen to God in Ezekiel 36:25-27. “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” Oh, stop your self righteousness! Stop walking according to your own strength! Come to our great God through Jesus Christ for a new heart! He will give one to you. Come to Christ and he will give you His Spirit. With His Spirit comes power! Then you will see Him working in you. Then you will delight to do His commands and walk in His ways. Then with all your heart you will serve Him. With all your heart you will love Him. The righteousness that you then do will not be from you but instead will come from a heart given by God and wholly devoted to Him!
Ayomi asked me to post this here... ;-)
Ok, this is random,I know! :-) I commented on a friend's note and another fantastic friend( wink!) asked that I share with you'll here! So here goes:
Christianity is not a mechanical device that comes off the assembly line, every motor working exactly the way that every other motor does. We are not mechanical beings — we are human beings, and that makes the job much harder, more challenging. It requires more skill to work with people than with machines.
Machines can be frustrating, but people are even harder to figure out. We cannot be programmed to give the right results every time. We cannot plug in a half hour of prayer and an hour of Bible study and setting up chairs every week and passing out hymnals as any sort of spiritual assembly line that gives a predictable result. Humans are much more complicated than that...
Most times, I can't even figure myself out, and I certainly can't prescribe a formula for anyone else! We have multiple commitments- we want to be committed to family, to church, to personal growth, to community, and to worship. All these commitments are good, but they are not equally good. Sometimes our commitment to family comes before church and sometimes our commitment to the church comes before family. Sometimes we have to set aside our Bible study to take care of community concerns; sometimes we have to skip the community thing and spend time in the Bible. The balance is constantly changing and needs constant monitoring to see what we need to do at each particular moment...
But there is one commitment that always takes priority, that should never be compromised, that should never be relativized — and that is commitment to God. This comes before all other commitments — and in fact it is because we are committed to God that we also want to keep our commitments in all the other areas. Commitment to God is the foundation for all the others, for why we do them - and how we (do) can be successful in managing our multiple commitments. Put God first
The way we serve God is by desiring God, by wanting Him. We see Him as the answer to our innermost needs. We spend our time seeking Him, obeying Him, wrapping our lives around Him and not seeking the stuff that He gives. We are seeking God Himself — not to possess Him, but to be with Him. Our ultimate desire is not material stuff that will someday rot away — our ultimate desire is a friendship with the eternal God. Matthew 6:33 —'' seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be given to you''.
This idea is also found in John 4, where Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well, and he says, "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst." He is talking about a thirst, an internal desire, that is fully satisfied in Jesus Christ.
We all have an inner desire for something and that something is Jesus Christ, and our thirst can be satisified in no other way than through Him, and in Him it can be fully satisfied. God satisfies in a way that nothing else does.
And until we find our satisfaction in Him, our souls will thirst and we will be on a never-ending quest to fill a void in our lives! We might try to fill it with cars, or with careers, or with money, all to no avail. When it is God that we need, nothing else can substitute.
And that is what commitment to God is. It is a recognition that He is what we need. He is the power — the only power — that can help us with our deepest and most permanent needs. God wants us to desire Him, to seek Him, to look for ultimate satisfaction in Him. It doesn't get any better than Him! With Him, we can be content. With Him, our souls have rest. That is what we were made for and that is what we need.
We can chase the wind, or we can seek the Spirit of God!
We are to be content with God, and to trust Him with our lives, to trust Him to take care of everything else, to trust His instructions for how we ought to live, to trust Him for guiding us in work and in church and in family.
Now, when our innermost desire finds its satisfaction in God, we will not be racing around for other thrills. We will not be driven by money, or driven by career success, or driven by public opinion. We will have no other gods before God.Everything else will be brought into subordination to God. Life will have a stable order and structure to it because it will have the right foundation
— and the key to that foundation is desire!
Commitment to God boils down to a desire for God. He is our treasure, our hope, our value, our supreme goal. He is our God — and there is no competitor. The book of Hebrews(my favorite Book of the Bible, by the way!:-) ), talks a lot about faith, often in the sense of being faithful. The whole book was written to a people who were on the verge of apostasy, of falling away from the faith. The whole book is written to encourage (us) them to remain committed to faith in Jesus Christ. The book is a manual for commitment to God.
*Do not drift away, he says. Fix your thoughts on Jesus. Don't fall short. Make every effort. Hold firmly to the faith. Approach the throne with confidence. Go on to maturity. Draw near to God. Hold on to the faith. Encourage one another. Meet together. Throw off the sin and run with perseverance. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Strengthen yourself. Worship God.*
The positive exhortations outnumber the negative ones four to one. There is a lot more said about seeking God, than about stopping sin. For example, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. " Hebrews 4:14. ...I want to stop here and thank you for this reminder to seek God! I pray not to wanna stop! I pray I don't get 'mechanical' about it while at it as well! I just wanna be commited to God! Thank you and God bless you for ...
N.B: If I get his permission to post the note here, I will gladly do so. But for now, enjoy this and God bless you! Guys, it has been quite some time , you know? Hmmm. I will write soon! Loads! Stay here. Love.
Christianity is not a mechanical device that comes off the assembly line, every motor working exactly the way that every other motor does. We are not mechanical beings — we are human beings, and that makes the job much harder, more challenging. It requires more skill to work with people than with machines.
Machines can be frustrating, but people are even harder to figure out. We cannot be programmed to give the right results every time. We cannot plug in a half hour of prayer and an hour of Bible study and setting up chairs every week and passing out hymnals as any sort of spiritual assembly line that gives a predictable result. Humans are much more complicated than that...
Most times, I can't even figure myself out, and I certainly can't prescribe a formula for anyone else! We have multiple commitments- we want to be committed to family, to church, to personal growth, to community, and to worship. All these commitments are good, but they are not equally good. Sometimes our commitment to family comes before church and sometimes our commitment to the church comes before family. Sometimes we have to set aside our Bible study to take care of community concerns; sometimes we have to skip the community thing and spend time in the Bible. The balance is constantly changing and needs constant monitoring to see what we need to do at each particular moment...
But there is one commitment that always takes priority, that should never be compromised, that should never be relativized — and that is commitment to God. This comes before all other commitments — and in fact it is because we are committed to God that we also want to keep our commitments in all the other areas. Commitment to God is the foundation for all the others, for why we do them - and how we (do) can be successful in managing our multiple commitments. Put God first
The way we serve God is by desiring God, by wanting Him. We see Him as the answer to our innermost needs. We spend our time seeking Him, obeying Him, wrapping our lives around Him and not seeking the stuff that He gives. We are seeking God Himself — not to possess Him, but to be with Him. Our ultimate desire is not material stuff that will someday rot away — our ultimate desire is a friendship with the eternal God. Matthew 6:33 —'' seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all other things will be given to you''.
This idea is also found in John 4, where Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well, and he says, "Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst." He is talking about a thirst, an internal desire, that is fully satisfied in Jesus Christ.
We all have an inner desire for something and that something is Jesus Christ, and our thirst can be satisified in no other way than through Him, and in Him it can be fully satisfied. God satisfies in a way that nothing else does.
And until we find our satisfaction in Him, our souls will thirst and we will be on a never-ending quest to fill a void in our lives! We might try to fill it with cars, or with careers, or with money, all to no avail. When it is God that we need, nothing else can substitute.
And that is what commitment to God is. It is a recognition that He is what we need. He is the power — the only power — that can help us with our deepest and most permanent needs. God wants us to desire Him, to seek Him, to look for ultimate satisfaction in Him. It doesn't get any better than Him! With Him, we can be content. With Him, our souls have rest. That is what we were made for and that is what we need.
We can chase the wind, or we can seek the Spirit of God!
We are to be content with God, and to trust Him with our lives, to trust Him to take care of everything else, to trust His instructions for how we ought to live, to trust Him for guiding us in work and in church and in family.
Now, when our innermost desire finds its satisfaction in God, we will not be racing around for other thrills. We will not be driven by money, or driven by career success, or driven by public opinion. We will have no other gods before God.Everything else will be brought into subordination to God. Life will have a stable order and structure to it because it will have the right foundation
— and the key to that foundation is desire!
Commitment to God boils down to a desire for God. He is our treasure, our hope, our value, our supreme goal. He is our God — and there is no competitor. The book of Hebrews(my favorite Book of the Bible, by the way!:-) ), talks a lot about faith, often in the sense of being faithful. The whole book was written to a people who were on the verge of apostasy, of falling away from the faith. The whole book is written to encourage (us) them to remain committed to faith in Jesus Christ. The book is a manual for commitment to God.
*Do not drift away, he says. Fix your thoughts on Jesus. Don't fall short. Make every effort. Hold firmly to the faith. Approach the throne with confidence. Go on to maturity. Draw near to God. Hold on to the faith. Encourage one another. Meet together. Throw off the sin and run with perseverance. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Strengthen yourself. Worship God.*
The positive exhortations outnumber the negative ones four to one. There is a lot more said about seeking God, than about stopping sin. For example, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. " Hebrews 4:14. ...I want to stop here and thank you for this reminder to seek God! I pray not to wanna stop! I pray I don't get 'mechanical' about it while at it as well! I just wanna be commited to God! Thank you and God bless you for ...
N.B: If I get his permission to post the note here, I will gladly do so. But for now, enjoy this and God bless you! Guys, it has been quite some time , you know? Hmmm. I will write soon! Loads! Stay here. Love.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
The Cross of Christ.
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our trangressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. For when we were yet without strength , in due time Christ died for the ungodly. God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God , and the wisdom of God. - Isaiah 53: 4-6; Romans 5:6,8 ; 2Corinthians 5:21 ; 1Peter1:18- 19; 1Corinthians 1:18, 23- 24.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
'Bolanle is Thinking Aloud Again.
In no particular order and or degree of importance ...
1. Please indulge me , I know you (some of you) care, but that you ask me nothing else but marriage and or its plans can really be boring! Please, I am not anti- marriage, but can it be more like you asking me about my health, my job, my walk with God, my finances. Something as little as enquiring about if I have eaten will be really appreciated...! I mean some other life shaping issues that one needs to get right before marriage and well, afterit! Phew!
2. That thing used for the protection of the head when on a bike is called helmet and not element . To think that it is a teacher who doesn't know this. Are we still wondering what it means when it's said that the standard of education has fallen?
Perphaps the dude driving this bike can safely call his own,''element'' lol!
3. Whenever someone tells you the lines,'' I love you more than I do myself'' or lines of the nature, run and don’t stop running till you are in a 'safe' zone! I mean how can anyone have the capability to do that when the only ability is to love others as yourself?! Again, I say, ''RUN''.
Keep running!
4. That the person to be feared is that one who constantly asks at each dose of life's vicissitudes,''why me?'' Pray tell, who he is expecting to be served his trouble?
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof
Those of u(s) who go to cry with him should berra watch y(our) backs! That he thinks it is actually his call to determine when and how,why and who trouble(s) comes to is suspicious...hmmm. Since when did a mere mortal think it his place to determine? If you don't think this is a slap on God's sovereignty, then think again!
''Niger area''-The trouble started with the name!
5.In Chinua Achebe's The Trouble with Nigeria, he rightly submits '' Nothing in Nigeria's political history captures her problem of national integration more graphically than the chequered fortune of the word tribe in her vocabulary.Tribe has been accepted at one time as a friend, rejected as an enemy at another, and finally smuggled in through the back-door as an accomplice...Prejudice against ''outsiders'' or ''strangers'' is an attitude one finds everywhere. But no modern state can lend its support to such prejudice without undermining its own progress and civilization. America , which we copy when it suits us, should provide an excellent example to us in this connection: that although we may not be able to legislate prejudice and bigotry out of the hearts and minds of individual citizens, the state itself and all its institutions must not practice , endorse or condone such habits...''
I think Plumbline was right the other day when he submitted that,''Unfortunately, Nigeria is not as simple as Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo''. I am not entirely sure what his other sentiments are but it helps drive home the reality! The 'everyday' tribalistic bias really hurts! I mean... Please don’t get me started on this ‘think aloud’. But why this has succeeded in getting a dignified thought from me is because of the hypocrisy we display when foreigners serve us our own medicine! Who exactly are we deceiving? ...
The accuser is at fault, right?
6. That the society indeed dictates the pace most of us run with in this life!
This in itself is sad, but sadder is that it also dictates how we are to express our regrets, show our grievances and lick our sores! They (society) dictate how and how long an estranged lover has to mourn and or heal over the same lover the society probably forced on him, how the one who lost the 'well paying' job he took up to impress them, how she can walk 'comfy' in the high heels that clearly hurts...! Another addition to this dictation, is the patronising way the society addresses a 'marriageable' lady as Mrs. and ask her about her children even when she is CLEARLY single! It is this same society that asks a married woman why she doesn't have children after 5 years of marriage! Candidly, I see the society as a meddlesome nuisance! *Society women/ men, creme de la creme of the society, society wedding, societal values, society churches/ mosques ! * Phew! How I dislike all the 'name tags' by now! I recommend the Aesop's Fables titled, ''The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey'' to those of us who are just too concerned about what others will say!
7. I understand the complexity of the English Language and how it can be challenging at times to convey thoughts.
Signs and notices in a Tokyo Hotel: ''Is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not a person to do such a thing is please not to read notis.''. Talk about 'Lingua Fracas!' lol
It is no news that we as a people are subtly compelled to use it as a lingua franca. But it becomes really worrisome when a private primary school owner with a population of about 500 pupils, sends in a proposal for partnership with a publishing firm with the subject that read,''we humbled request for donation on prize - given day!'' Am wondering if writing it in the native language of that school proprietor would not have made a world of difference! :-)
8. Ok. At the risk of sounding jealous, I will 'think' this next one yet aloud! May I please ask that all those who have deemed it fit to extend invitations to me to 'church programmes' that have one valentine event or the other at the weekend should please cease from it! The smses are enough and the flyers too, phuless! ''I aint coming!'' I am just wondering when the church will stop struggling with the world in the bid to stay relevant! I think meddling with such ''world affairs'' is frivolous! Valentine isn't anywhere near one of those ceremonies that the church is called to celebrate! See, even the commercialisation of Christmas and Easter hasn't and will never take away the truth of their essence to christianity but valentine?! From whence cometh that?! Well, er... ahem... and the fact that red stuff becomes more expensive during this time!
Even the paper clip - just because it's red!
What is it sef gan?! :-P
9. I agree but sadly announce the alarming increase of 'christian sycophants' in my generation!
See, that we think our pastors are infallible and then take all they say in even when it is clearly contrary to the bible, is indeed heart breaking. If these ''touch nots'' can be secured enough to teach the flock accurately, am sure we will reduce the annoying obsequious manner of we'll! These days, thank goodness for social networks, we can vent to the mockery of ourselves, what our church leaders have erroneously taught us and still think we are on track! Lord have mercy indeed! Please don't get me wrong, I respect church leadership and God clearly put that in place but .. Some one said it may be God's punishment on those of us who will not read our bibles! Having said that, I look forward to when we will be taught more seriously on the intergrity of God's word alongside its being no respecter of persons! *In all of these and more, Maranatha!*
10. Ladies, this thought is for us. I trust we will be guided accordingly:
'' But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.'' 2 Timothy 3 : 1-9.
So, when we are tempted and ultimately lured , it is strongly likely because we are haters of the truth! Am sure the person who 'invented' the saying, '' women appreciate being lied to'' isnt wrong afterwards! Hear me closely, ma'ams, ''wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares''... SELAH!
Not all frogs turn to the prince!
...My brothers, take caution too!
11. That the hypocrisy of this present government is pretty unbearable for me. How can anyone convince me that he who said zoning isn't allowed is the same one who came into power through the same means? Who can pacify me and tell that it's not the sheer desire to buy 'cheap' popularity and appeal to the senses of ''non deep thinkers'' that while many killings and maimings of innocent and helpless people in some parts of Nigeria is been given little or no attention , some were evacuated from Egypt! Is it just me that thinks something is amiss? I wonder if the ones back home who have died and are still dying are foreigners!
Jos!
I think that the guy who handles the fellow's FB page does a better job than when we hear the 'real' one speak on TV! That if we then say, speaking aint a thing but doing is the real deal, pray tell, ''what has changed by now?'' How I wish we can think again before we punch the 'like button' on his statuses and make comments that don't tell it as it is! Or, are we paid to...? Hmmm... My apolitical side says to stop here!
12. I have also been thinking how that in my earnest desire and ''near anger'' to see changes in these areas and more, I am quickly guided by the word of God in James 1:20 ,''for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God'' Hence, am humbled and I can only just trust God to fight His battles and my raging thoughts!
Omobolanle.
11022011
1. Please indulge me , I know you (some of you) care, but that you ask me nothing else but marriage and or its plans can really be boring! Please, I am not anti- marriage, but can it be more like you asking me about my health, my job, my walk with God, my finances. Something as little as enquiring about if I have eaten will be really appreciated...! I mean some other life shaping issues that one needs to get right before marriage and well, afterit! Phew!
2. That thing used for the protection of the head when on a bike is called helmet and not element . To think that it is a teacher who doesn't know this. Are we still wondering what it means when it's said that the standard of education has fallen?
Perphaps the dude driving this bike can safely call his own,''element'' lol!
3. Whenever someone tells you the lines,'' I love you more than I do myself'' or lines of the nature, run and don’t stop running till you are in a 'safe' zone! I mean how can anyone have the capability to do that when the only ability is to love others as yourself?! Again, I say, ''RUN''.
Keep running!
4. That the person to be feared is that one who constantly asks at each dose of life's vicissitudes,''why me?'' Pray tell, who he is expecting to be served his trouble?
Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof
Those of u(s) who go to cry with him should berra watch y(our) backs! That he thinks it is actually his call to determine when and how,why and who trouble(s) comes to is suspicious...hmmm. Since when did a mere mortal think it his place to determine? If you don't think this is a slap on God's sovereignty, then think again!
''Niger area''-The trouble started with the name!
5.In Chinua Achebe's The Trouble with Nigeria, he rightly submits '' Nothing in Nigeria's political history captures her problem of national integration more graphically than the chequered fortune of the word tribe in her vocabulary.Tribe has been accepted at one time as a friend, rejected as an enemy at another, and finally smuggled in through the back-door as an accomplice...Prejudice against ''outsiders'' or ''strangers'' is an attitude one finds everywhere. But no modern state can lend its support to such prejudice without undermining its own progress and civilization. America , which we copy when it suits us, should provide an excellent example to us in this connection: that although we may not be able to legislate prejudice and bigotry out of the hearts and minds of individual citizens, the state itself and all its institutions must not practice , endorse or condone such habits...''
I think Plumbline was right the other day when he submitted that,''Unfortunately, Nigeria is not as simple as Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo''. I am not entirely sure what his other sentiments are but it helps drive home the reality! The 'everyday' tribalistic bias really hurts! I mean... Please don’t get me started on this ‘think aloud’. But why this has succeeded in getting a dignified thought from me is because of the hypocrisy we display when foreigners serve us our own medicine! Who exactly are we deceiving? ...
The accuser is at fault, right?
6. That the society indeed dictates the pace most of us run with in this life!
This in itself is sad, but sadder is that it also dictates how we are to express our regrets, show our grievances and lick our sores! They (society) dictate how and how long an estranged lover has to mourn and or heal over the same lover the society probably forced on him, how the one who lost the 'well paying' job he took up to impress them, how she can walk 'comfy' in the high heels that clearly hurts...! Another addition to this dictation, is the patronising way the society addresses a 'marriageable' lady as Mrs. and ask her about her children even when she is CLEARLY single! It is this same society that asks a married woman why she doesn't have children after 5 years of marriage! Candidly, I see the society as a meddlesome nuisance! *Society women/ men, creme de la creme of the society, society wedding, societal values, society churches/ mosques ! * Phew! How I dislike all the 'name tags' by now! I recommend the Aesop's Fables titled, ''The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey'' to those of us who are just too concerned about what others will say!
7. I understand the complexity of the English Language and how it can be challenging at times to convey thoughts.
Signs and notices in a Tokyo Hotel: ''Is forbidden to steal hotel towels please. If you are not a person to do such a thing is please not to read notis.''. Talk about 'Lingua Fracas!' lol
It is no news that we as a people are subtly compelled to use it as a lingua franca. But it becomes really worrisome when a private primary school owner with a population of about 500 pupils, sends in a proposal for partnership with a publishing firm with the subject that read,''we humbled request for donation on prize - given day!'' Am wondering if writing it in the native language of that school proprietor would not have made a world of difference! :-)
8. Ok. At the risk of sounding jealous, I will 'think' this next one yet aloud! May I please ask that all those who have deemed it fit to extend invitations to me to 'church programmes' that have one valentine event or the other at the weekend should please cease from it! The smses are enough and the flyers too, phuless! ''I aint coming!'' I am just wondering when the church will stop struggling with the world in the bid to stay relevant! I think meddling with such ''world affairs'' is frivolous! Valentine isn't anywhere near one of those ceremonies that the church is called to celebrate! See, even the commercialisation of Christmas and Easter hasn't and will never take away the truth of their essence to christianity but valentine?! From whence cometh that?! Well, er... ahem... and the fact that red stuff becomes more expensive during this time!
Even the paper clip - just because it's red!
What is it sef gan?! :-P
9. I agree but sadly announce the alarming increase of 'christian sycophants' in my generation!
See, that we think our pastors are infallible and then take all they say in even when it is clearly contrary to the bible, is indeed heart breaking. If these ''touch nots'' can be secured enough to teach the flock accurately, am sure we will reduce the annoying obsequious manner of we'll! These days, thank goodness for social networks, we can vent to the mockery of ourselves, what our church leaders have erroneously taught us and still think we are on track! Lord have mercy indeed! Please don't get me wrong, I respect church leadership and God clearly put that in place but .. Some one said it may be God's punishment on those of us who will not read our bibles! Having said that, I look forward to when we will be taught more seriously on the intergrity of God's word alongside its being no respecter of persons! *In all of these and more, Maranatha!*
10. Ladies, this thought is for us. I trust we will be guided accordingly:
'' But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.'' 2 Timothy 3 : 1-9.
So, when we are tempted and ultimately lured , it is strongly likely because we are haters of the truth! Am sure the person who 'invented' the saying, '' women appreciate being lied to'' isnt wrong afterwards! Hear me closely, ma'ams, ''wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares''... SELAH!
Not all frogs turn to the prince!
...My brothers, take caution too!
11. That the hypocrisy of this present government is pretty unbearable for me. How can anyone convince me that he who said zoning isn't allowed is the same one who came into power through the same means? Who can pacify me and tell that it's not the sheer desire to buy 'cheap' popularity and appeal to the senses of ''non deep thinkers'' that while many killings and maimings of innocent and helpless people in some parts of Nigeria is been given little or no attention , some were evacuated from Egypt! Is it just me that thinks something is amiss? I wonder if the ones back home who have died and are still dying are foreigners!
Jos!
I think that the guy who handles the fellow's FB page does a better job than when we hear the 'real' one speak on TV! That if we then say, speaking aint a thing but doing is the real deal, pray tell, ''what has changed by now?'' How I wish we can think again before we punch the 'like button' on his statuses and make comments that don't tell it as it is! Or, are we paid to...? Hmmm... My apolitical side says to stop here!
12. I have also been thinking how that in my earnest desire and ''near anger'' to see changes in these areas and more, I am quickly guided by the word of God in James 1:20 ,''for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God'' Hence, am humbled and I can only just trust God to fight His battles and my raging thoughts!
Omobolanle.
11022011
Another Learning Year!!
My 28th birthday 'tale'. lol...
This year, I have asked myself honestly, 'why another lease of life?’' Attempting to answer that may be pretending to know it all, so I won’t dwell on it.
Distinguished friends, it's my birthday and I write...This has been another learning year for me: Please permit me to share a few:
* This year, unlike 50 cent who is godfather to a rhinoceros?! Because they were both shot nine times and survived, I, on the other hand, nearly became godmother to a goat because I kept going to a particular trouble zone! But thank goodness, the Good Shepherd got me recruited back into His divine sheepfold! Amen!
Moral: Stay in God and with God! Some of the troubles we face are self inflicted! Selah.
* This year, I learnt that you have got to be careful what you ask God for. Sometimes, it could be your worst nightmare that you are fussing over! And if He isn’t giving you that which you consider ‘good’ for you , it is only because of either two things:
-It isn’t yours and so, you won’t get it!
-God is getting you something better after you have learnt to wait on Him when He’s ready and don't ever think it’s about you and or when you want it!
Moral: God knows and wants the best for you, He is in charge of your life and hence, He won’t play games with it! Trust Him! Selah.
* This year, I learnt over and over again that my experiences no matter how PERSONAL I take them, can not nullify God’s word. In fact, the good experiences tell me of His sovereignty and yeah! The bad ones too! It’s all about Him!
Moral: Your experiences no matter what they are, or whose they are, can never nullify God’s word or who He is! Selah.
* This year, I knew my friends better and got to know the ones who were never one! This has made the job easier...
Moral: Appreciate the friends that will remain! After all, it isn’t about those who came, it is about those who never left your side! And er... do not ever take them for granted, because they have a choice! Selah.
This year, I made newer friends.
Moral: Old friends are diamonds. New ones? The gold is worth digging! Selah!
This year, I humbly acknowledge that it was a miracle still being here. Because, I have been on transit like never before! It is no surprise that my birthday found me yet outside dad’s apartment. Lord, am grateful for all the journeys.
Moral: Am not any better, any (more) righteous than those who lost theirs in transit! After all, two near death experiences tell me it was simply G R A C E! Selah!
This year, I have asked myself honestly, 'why another lease of life?’' Attempting to answer that may be pretending to know it all, so I won’t dwell on it.
Distinguished friends, it's my birthday and I write...This has been another learning year for me: Please permit me to share a few:
* This year, unlike 50 cent who is godfather to a rhinoceros?! Because they were both shot nine times and survived, I, on the other hand, nearly became godmother to a goat because I kept going to a particular trouble zone! But thank goodness, the Good Shepherd got me recruited back into His divine sheepfold! Amen!
Moral: Stay in God and with God! Some of the troubles we face are self inflicted! Selah.
* This year, I learnt that you have got to be careful what you ask God for. Sometimes, it could be your worst nightmare that you are fussing over! And if He isn’t giving you that which you consider ‘good’ for you , it is only because of either two things:
-It isn’t yours and so, you won’t get it!
-God is getting you something better after you have learnt to wait on Him when He’s ready and don't ever think it’s about you and or when you want it!
Moral: God knows and wants the best for you, He is in charge of your life and hence, He won’t play games with it! Trust Him! Selah.
* This year, I learnt over and over again that my experiences no matter how PERSONAL I take them, can not nullify God’s word. In fact, the good experiences tell me of His sovereignty and yeah! The bad ones too! It’s all about Him!
Moral: Your experiences no matter what they are, or whose they are, can never nullify God’s word or who He is! Selah.
* This year, I knew my friends better and got to know the ones who were never one! This has made the job easier...
Moral: Appreciate the friends that will remain! After all, it isn’t about those who came, it is about those who never left your side! And er... do not ever take them for granted, because they have a choice! Selah.
This year, I made newer friends.
Moral: Old friends are diamonds. New ones? The gold is worth digging! Selah!
This year, I humbly acknowledge that it was a miracle still being here. Because, I have been on transit like never before! It is no surprise that my birthday found me yet outside dad’s apartment. Lord, am grateful for all the journeys.
Moral: Am not any better, any (more) righteous than those who lost theirs in transit! After all, two near death experiences tell me it was simply G R A C E! Selah!