Saturday, August 28, 2010

The Man and The Shirt

A man was ironing his shirt when the shirt spoke up:

Shirt: Sir, why are you trying to burn me up?

Man: No, I’m only removing the wrinkles from you

Shirt: But the heat is too much, it will soon burn me

Man: That’s not possible

Shirt: Why are you so sure?

Man: Because before I began, I looked at your label and noticed the right heat for you. I do not intend to exceed that temperature

(Author unknown)

1 Corinthians 10:13 – No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it. (The Message Translation)

Peeps, promotion in every area of life usually comes after examination. God follows the same principle. The first thing that happened to Jesus Christ after God proclaimed Him as His Son was temptation (examination) by the devil!

Let’s rest in this assurance: Your maker knows you more than you know yourself and will NEVER allow anything that is stronger than you to destroy you.

(This write-up was culled from the book “Watch Out World, I’m coming Out” – A collection of short inspiring Christian messages by Mike Kalu Ogba…. Send him a mail at michael.ogbaa@gtbank.com if you want a copy.)

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Some mind programming isshh

I woke up thinking these thoughts and since I’m one who believes that nothing happens by chance, I was sure these thoughts were an answer to someone’s questions and so I have decided to share.

Here goes…...

Your mindset will determine what you believe and what you believe will determine the quality of life you live.

Your mindset is how you’ve been programmed… Knowingly or unknowingly we are programmed everyday by the things we expose ourselves to… TV, music, books.. e.t.c

Someone sits somewhere in their studio, house, out in the garden or wherever the inspiration came and scribbles down a couple of words probably from their experience and make it into a song. I hear this song and all of a sudden it becomes the template of what my life should be. I nod to it because it probably tells the story of what my life is at the moment. There I sit, being programmed.

I'm watching a movie/TV series (Grey’s anatomy don scatter my head, kai kai kai *giggles*), this is the handwork of some great script writer, but, here I am matching the scenes to my life and trying to connect the results on screen to what I’m experiencing at the moment. That’s some programming issh going on... again.

Every day we wake up there are a thousand and one things fighting for our attention, its either the internet, TV, work… there’s just something there that requires our time… but there’s ever this little something that also wants our attention… it’s the Bible.

The Bible... the blueprint of life. Our maker, the creator of the universe, the reason we are all here in the first place (the one who can answer #IsThatWhyWeAreHere), did not leave us without guidelines, he gave us an instruction manual…

But, how often do we stay around the bible to get programmed by it, to have our mindsets formed by the content?

In this manual are guidelines on how to live an effective life…

- For when you’ve got no money in your pocket Psalm 23 reminds you that “the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want… he makes me lie down in green pastures

- For when you can’t seem to understand that course in school he says in John 14:26 “the HolySpirit will teach you all things” and you’ll know more than your teachers”

- For when you are ill he says in 1 Peter 2:21-24 “by his stripes you were healed”

- For when you keep doing wrong he says in Romans 6:14 “Sin shall not have dominion over you” and in 1 John 1:9 “he is faithful and just to forgive you”

- For when you need a business idea he says in Proverbs 8:12 “you’ll have knowledge of witty inventions”

- For when you start up a business and you require contacts he says in Psalm 37:23 “your steps are ordered of God” he’ll lead you to be in the right place and at the right time to meet the right people

Wouldn’t you rather be programmed by this?

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Where is God?........... Is Life a Gift?

Questions where asked on a certain Blog:-

- Is life is a Gift?

- Why is God seemingly doing nothing about the wrong in this world?

Below was my response and I thot to share.....

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I was impressed while reading the introduction to this blog : "...we are a group of people who don’t just follow the crowd in their beliefs…"

there’s no better way than to experience stuff for yourself and come to your own conclusions, that way the TRUTH that you’ve found stays deeply rooted in you, come hell or high water.

And it's in the light of this that I choose to make my contribution here, it comes from my conviction of who I’ve come to know God to be, and goes beyond what I heard he was or is :)

I’ve come to know that NOTHING happens by chance, everything that happens here is a reflection of something that has happened in the spiritual and everything is related to something.

So, I would have to trace a lot of today’s event to ze very beginning…

In the beginning when God created everything, he meant well. However, he also realized that it wasn’t just enough to have subjects who worshipped him and did his bidding; a perfect scenario would be when they did it by their choice. SO he added the “CHOICE” factor and we all know what Adam and Eve did with that CHOICE.

The world is in a mess because of the CHOICES we humans make on a day to day basis. The world was created to be good, that was the original design but what we have now is what we have CHOSEN.

This life is governed by rules and God is a God of order. When the world was created he put everything in MAN’s hand, he gave him dominion over everything, but man handed that dominion over to the devil, and the devil became the Prince of this world. God could have just stepped in at this time to put everything back into how it was, but he can’t break his own set rules, Man had to take this dominion back but couldn’t and that is why God in his mercy gave us Jesus, who still had to come AS a MAN, to take back that authority. And he did. So to REIGN in this life, and live in the original order that things were created to be in, enjoying its glorious benefits you would need to have the life of Christ in you.

Why does it look like God is doing nothing in our world today? :-

God acts in our world through you and me, he can’t bypass the order. So where you can make a change, be the hand of God and make that change, where you can’t, pray that God will send someone to be that change and he will put the need in someone’s heart in that place and he’ll use someone else.

Is Life a Gift? :-

Life is a gift from God. He had great things in mind for us and still does. We didn’t ask to be here, we just found ourselves here. But then, if the life you’ve come to know is not worth ringing the bell for, there is remedy. You might not have a hand in where you find yourself today, but once you realize it, seek the originator of the whole process and let him show you how to live the life as he intended it to be. And when you have found the way out, lead someone else to the one who showed you the way.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

#ForJos - May Love chase away the strife!

Out there lay the Golden cloth, visible to any who passed by. On it lived two families, half-aware of the treasure that lay beneath them, but, they shared a deep love for it all the same. They communed with each other, lived with mutual respect, diverse as two families would be but united by their love for their Golden cloth.

Strangers came by from time to time, telling them how beautiful and valuable their cloth was. Some stayed to feel the warmth of it and left with memorable stories to tell, each story attracted more visits from even more strangers. As was expected too, most envied it and wished it theirs.

With each visit from strangers came a greater awareness of the treasure that lay beneath them, and so did the love and desire to protect it too. "Can we have a piece of it?" the strangers would ask, but each time they would get the same protective reply, "This Golden cloth is ours to love and protect, we have been blessed by it by our forefathers and we seek to pass this blessing on to our children’s children yet unborn”.

Then one day, along comes this stranger, with one thing in mind, "what a valuable cloth, I’ve seen a lot of treasures on my many journeys, but none have captivated my heart as this. I must have it!” Beaming with seemingly warm but pretentious smiles he came, begged to live amongst them and stayed awhile learning their ways, their values. He saw the depth of their love for their Golden cloth yet sought only to take their cloth from beneath them and make it his own. The more he tried, the more he discovered, that as strong as the Love for their precious cloth was, even stronger was the desire to protect it.

How do you take a treasure off someone he thought to himself, without making yourself an obvious enemy? How do I take this precious Golden Cloth without drawing attention to myself, seeing that these people are truly protective of their treasure?

Seed by seed, he started to plant; little by little it began to grow…

Words began to fly, were it all came from no one tried to find out, but every morning each family woke to a new reason why the precious Golden cloth was theirs alone to own. The common love was forgotten; the once friendly neighbor who would normally look after the kids when the adult neighbor went to the farm suddenly grew invisible horns and could not be trusted.

Suspicions began to spread everywhere. The cooking pot is missing; it must be the neighbor who took it. Yams are missing from the barn; look! over there, the neighbors’ yams have increased! My child is ill! It must be water from the neighbors’ pot.

And then, one morning, a neighbors’ son lay on the field. Yes, out there he was, on that same field where the children used to play together, where heads of the two families would each take turns to tell the little ones stories of how they came to find the Golden cloth, the children would laugh at the jokes that laced the stories, mothers would bring the food and water to wash the stories down, out on that very field he lay, cold… in the pool of his blood.

From then on, each family woke up to one less member and slept seeking to avenge the loss. One by one they fell, till there was no one left to love and protect the Golden cloth.

Alas! Along came the stranger, to reap the reward of the words he planted, and with him now resides... The Golden Cloth.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Accepting the "Adoption" option in Nigeria...

One of the thoughts that came to my mind when I was reading the book "Dear Eliza" was the way the concept of ADOPTION is treated in this part of the world. It’s sad to see the pain and agony couples go through trying to have their own babies.

As a young girl I always fantasized getting rich so I could have more than enough for me, adopt a child and then marry someday but as I grew and got to understand my environment more, I realized that I would have to get married first and then discuss the adoption with my husband . I never shared the thought with my mum anyway, I can imagine the look on her face if I did, she would have flipped hahahahah.

My point of view on adoption is this; I believe the true test of love comes from loving a child you didn’t naturally give birth to than one you are bound to love because of the natural link. I also believe that there is more to fatherhood/motherhood than the mere birthing of a child by a man/woman; it’s a process that is attained as you go in life. Why would a couple try endlessly to have children naturally when there are babies thrown into thrash bins almost everyday, you can give meaning to the lives of any of these babies and all that love you have in your heart for your unborn child would make plenty of sense because it is unconditional.

I will not deny the “extended family” factor in this issue but I believe that once the couple in question understand what they want and the MAN stands his grounds ( na him people dey like give plenty wahala ) and they take advantage of God’s grace it will work. We have been adopted by God who is the author of the whole concept and I know he will give the wisdom and love required to whoever wants to take that path if we ask. I see God’s blessing being in that home every second of the way.

Like I said, this is my point of view, what’s urs?

Friday, March 26, 2010

Do you ever wonder? Cos I wonda.... I just wonda

Ever wondered what Jesus was like before 30?

What kind of teenager was he? What sort of young adult was he?

We know very little of his childhood, the last we heard of him before 30 was when his parents went to the temple and lost him (even *GOD's* parent's had challenges with parenting, who then are you not to have ur share, Loll). Anyway, they found him having a chat with scholars of the temple and when he was asked where he had been all this while he said “Why are you looking for me? I’m busy with my father’s business” and his mother bought that? He sure was an interestingly bold kid. Tell that to my mother after getting her all worked up with worry looking for you, you'll explain to her with letters written with your tears what that “business” is.

Did he ever get scolded for not cleaning his room, messing up the house? I can imagine Mary screaming “Jesus, go and clean up your room, where do you think this is, a barn?” and Jesus thinking “Duuuuh (ok Jew kids those days wouldn’t sat duuuuh hehe), I was born in a manger, how dirty can this room get”.

How come no one thought of writing down anything from those vital years? C’mon people, GOD is in the building, somebody pleeeease keep a journal!

Interestingly, the next thing we hear - after the temptation (see its not just u that has to go thru temptations) - he’s at a wedding, turning WATER into WINE, can u beat that? Grooovieee Christi.

I wonder, when he was young did he fall in love with anyone (girl of course), but knowing he couldn’t encourage any such feelings because he knew he was going to die soon, how did he have to deal with loving someone he couldn’t be with? Did he get upset? What was his response as a young person to annoying situations? Seeing he died at 35, no wife, no kids what was life for him like when he wasn’t busy being GOD?

We know from the bible that he was 100% MAN and 100% GOD meaning that for him to be the perfect sacrifice he had to go through every sort of emotion, joy, love, anger, pain e.t.c.

I’ll always keep wondering but one thing I know is that it only makes me love him more knowing that derz nothing I will go through in life that he didn’t experience and he STILL came out TOPZ, meaning? I most definitely will come TOPZ too, cos he lives in me and his ability has become my abinibi (yeah, LoL, my ability).




thoughts inspired by Mark Lowry's presentation of *Mary did you know...* at the 50th NQC anniversary

HEROES – IRON MAN – HANCOCK – BATMAN – SUPERMAN – THE CHRISTIAN?

Could all these Super hero action stories be try'na tell us something?


Yeah yeah, call me crazy or extreme but watevaaaaa, I’m still gonna write wats in my head now…

I’m watching the series “Heroes” now, just started Season 1 (Yes, I know you’re watching Season (x) now but like the adage says, it’s when you wake up that is your morning) and I paused it to write this because loads of thoughts are going through my mind and I just thought it best to write them down as they come.

I’ve been listening to a sermon series in church on “Christ consciousness” where my pastor has been explaining to us on what it really means to be a Christian, being aware of who you are and what you are. Who is Christ? What is Christ? He goes on to say the who – Jesus and the what – the Church.

Chiiiilll, I’ll tell you where HEROES comes in, lol

Now the first Christians did not call themselves Christians, they were called Christians by others who saw them TALK and ACT like Jesus. They spoke with authority, did miracles just like Jesus.

Ooooookkkk, how does all this connect to HEROES and every other Super-hero character we know?

The series starts with each character noticing something different about them and trying to find out what it was. It drove some to want to commit suicide cos they didn’t understand what was happening to them or why it was happening to them but as they searched for answers they began to realize their reason for being here.

Note the path to them coming to their full potential –

- They asked questions – desire to know what this whole EXISTENCE is about, who I am? Why am I here?

- They searched for answers – you have to take out time to search the scriptures to KNOW WHO you are and WHY you are here

- There was someone to guide them through – we have the bible that tells us who we are

SEEK AND YOU WILL FIND - you don’t seek, you don’t find

When Jesus was on earth he wasn’t just here as GOD, he was here as a MAN cos that was the only way he could be the PERFECT SACRIFICE (no ojoro – cheating…hehe), but he didn’t have the NATURE of MAN, he had the NATURE of GOD (that is what happens to you when you become BORN AGAIN, you take on the nature of GOD cos that is the only way you can overcome), so he was 100% man and 100% God. He came to prove that we too could be 100% Man and 100% God by him coming to live in us.

He was conscious of who he was and what he could do with who he was, so he turned water into wine, healed the sick, raised the dead, WALKED ON WATER and so on. Point being, HE KNEW WHO HE WAS.

NOTHING extraordinary can happen through until you DISCOVER WHO YOU ARE.

We have the life of CHRIST in us, what does this mean to you? Is it just a religious saying?

Hollywood script writers seem to know better about this SUPER NATURE than the Christians do, the bible says that the earnest expectation waits for the manifestation of the SONS OF GOD, earth is waiting for Christians to come to their FULL potential.

Do you know that rapture won’t happen until the CHURCH (The Body of Christ) comes to full maturity? Jesus is not coming back for a mediocre or weak minded Church, he is coming back for people who have activated the power within them and done mighty things on earth with the power of God deposited in them when they received Christ into their spirits. Remember he said – these signs shall follow those who believe, they shall speak in new tongues, cast out devils, heal the sick, if they eat any deadly thing it won’t harm them. So its automatic, if I believe then I can do the EXTRAORDINARY.

Ok, ok, another thing the HEROES learnt was that there is no selfishness with the POWERS (lol), it has to be used for the good of mankind and that is the WHY AM I HERE part, so don’t go thinking to rob a bank like THE TRANSPORTER, lol.

Let’s take a look at some of the things Jesus did when he was here AS A MAN and it will give you an idea of WHAT YOU CAN DO

- Turned water into wine

- Multiplied fish and bread to feed thousands

- He opened blind eyes

- Took coin from a fish’s mouth to pay his tax

- Walked on water

- Told Peter to go back to the water where he had fished and got nothing and at his word Peter went back there and needed help to bring in the catch

- RAISED THE DEAD

Now think back on all the things YOU can do with the LIFE OF CHRIST in you

Think of the many hungry people you wished you could feed?

Think of that blind friend you wished could see?

Think of the homeless children you wish you could make their lives better.

Think of that sick person you know and wished you could do more for than just say sorry?

Think of that person who died and you knew they shouldn’t have, they were so young, they could have lived and brought joy to this world.

Think of the day you saw someone getting robbed but couldn’t do anything cos you where scared the robber had a gun and you know what bullets do to humans right? Lol, now imagine if you realized that NOTHING COULD HURT YOU, what would you do the next time you saw something like that happening?

Think of the many ways you could affect humanity for the better if only you could overcome those limitations?

Think?

You can actually cause that change u so earnestly desire?

The life of Christ in me, what does this mean?

So just like in HEROES, you can join me on this journey of discovery; it would be a journey of seemingly ordinary people discovering we have extraordinary abilities

Cos' I'm thinking, hmmmmm, SuperMAYNE or what?