We often wonder at why some people are the way they are till we get closer to them.
It is not just enough to say you are a friend, i believe every friend needs to earn the right to be called such...a friend.
Let's look at the definition:
A personattachedtoanotherbyfeelingsofaffectionorpersonal regard.
A person who is not hostile.
A person who is in good terms with another.
Hmmm, good terms hey....that is relative. What exactly does good terms mean?
I'll leave you to meditate on that to arrive at your own conclusion
I like the Urban dictionary's definition better.....lols, here goes:
b)you don't mind talking to on the bus for atleast 20 minutes.
c)can borrow $5 and never has to pay it back
d)you'll actually call up do stuff
My own definition will go along this lines...
A friend is the person who can look you straight in th face and tell you the truth.
A friend will actually take charge when things are falling apart all around you and wont take advantage of the situation to fleece you or disgrace you for a past hurt.
A real friend wont abandon you.
A friend will tell you to cut the crap and shut the hell up when your mouth is outta control.
A friend wont babysit you, but will kick you in the butt and tell you to sit up....hence helping you to develop some back-bone.
Celebrate your friends and the friendship you have with them whilst you still have the time.
Dont ever take your friendship for granted, be considerate always.
We often take for granted that all we do is by our power or how briliant we are.
Even our brilliance we attribute to nurture.
You hear some say things along the lines of owing their brilliance or rather success to how smart they are and the way they were raised.
We mostly forget about the invisible hand, the hand of God that made all that possible.
The hand that formed us and set our path before our parents conceived us.
The word of God said in the book of Jer 1:5...'before i formed you in the womb, i knew you'. That shows that you didnt get your brilliance all by yourself but from God almighty who knew you and purposed that you will turn out the way you are.
You were sanctified, you were equipped with all you will need before you came out of your mother's womb.
God already knows what you will become and was even aware of those rough patches, he was aware of all the good and bad things.......
Isaiah 45:1-3 is an interesting one.... 45 1 Thus saith theLordto his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;
2 I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron:
3 And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.
Only the hand of God could have perfected and done the above.
Did you notice the hand of God at work in the three verses.....awesome.
Now back to the book of Jeremiah 1:9...."Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, i have put my words in thy mouth".
Can you see what his hand did again and keeps doing again and again?
There are so many bible passages about the hand of God, the finger of God...search and do more reading, digest and run with the revelations/rhema you receive from them
I remember being a toddler and cant remember how i was as a baby except what i was told by my parents.
I wasnt the sort of baby that is easy to feed as i didnt have much appetite for food and it was quite a challenge to keep me healthy or rather within the normal growth weight as each time i go to see the Pediatrician for follow ups and immunization there was always a sort of concern around my growth or lack of it.
I was taken round the missionary hospitals then in the northern part of Nigeria, as i wasnt feeding well.
I was on Lactogen and breast milk, mom later decided to leave me on breast milk to see if my appetite will pick up, it didnt till they tried Abidec, a multi-vitamin after several others.
Abidec then became the magic formula to redirecting my development.
The scrawny baby later became healthy robust looking and could eat up a house.
I told the above story as a prequel to what i want to discuss or rather open our eyes to today.
I remember when i was a new believer and what you will call a baby Christian, everything seemed attractive to me and i was sucking up all materials that i could lay my hands on.
Anything written by Psts Billy Graham , Kenneth Copeland, Joyce etc was it for me, and then locally Psts Enoch Adejare Adeboye, Dr Olukoya, Pst Nuhu Kure and a host of others till i started loosing my baby fat.
I realised that the older i became in God's Vineyard the lighter my spirit got, but then it's so easy to get carried away by an expected outcome. You could go from lighter back to heavy, fluctuating, growing cold and back to hot again but better progressive than retrogressive. ...Rev 3:16, "so because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, i will spit you out of my mouth.".
I feel old at 50+ physically but lighter in my thinking and what i want to do, it's the creaks that reminds me that am too old for some of the things i venture out or attempt to do...i.e go kayaking or leap through several flight of stairs rather than one at a time, back flips or dance the twist.
I've got a Volkswagen body and daily aspire towards a Cadillac spirit. I dont know if you've heard how both vehicles rev?
You need to listen to the sound to know that the difference is clear.
Are you still a baby Christian inspite of haven known the Lord for several years or you've grown and so into him that you find yourself in his presence within secs....if not, about time you do a bit of house-cleaning to get you to where you should be.
You need to feed your spirit with the word of God that will prepare you to soar higher.
Honor and majesty are found in his presence; strength and joy are found in his sanctuary...1 Chronicles 16:27.
You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; At your right hand are pleasures forevermore..Psalm 16:11.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth...Psalm 97:5.
The title look simple but the topic is not that simple.
Marriage like we often hear is honorable and some will add ....and the bed undefiled.
How many people actually meditate on the marriage vows before making it official before man and God?
Definition: : a solemn promise or assertion; specifically: one by which a person is bound to an act, service, or condition
The bride and groom exchanged vows.
Marriage vows are promises each partner in a couple makes to the other during a wedding ceremony.
Couples wedding in the Roman Catholic Church essentially make the same pledge to one another. According to the Rite of Marriage (#25) the customary text in English is:[1]
I, ____, take you, ____, to be my (husband/wife). I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.
In the United States, Catholic wedding vows may also take the following form:[1]
I, ____, take you, ____, to be my lawfully wedded(husband/wife), to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.
The priest will then say aloud "You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide. Amen.
If married, did you meditate on the vow you took?
Do you now know or knew then that it was taken in the presence of God and men?
You had a cloud of witnesses.
Have you since broken the vow?
Let's take a closer look at some of the wordings..something like" For better for worse"
Are you still in the for better stage? Do you know that for better can also be interpreted to mean make the life of your partner better by supporting his or her chosen career? Or is it improvement in terms of upgrading educational qualifications.
And now for worse. Is your partner misbehaving and you have given up on him or her as you only want to be around when the relationship is going smoothly as you have no time for foolishness.
Has your marriage gone south and you're now left with very sour grapes?
Are you busy complaining to everyone and everybody instead of telling your partner what's gwan?
About time you take a step back and take a closer look at what is causiing friction or the source of sourness.
How old is your marriage?
Did you marry just for the sake of it, to get your family off your back? If you did, then the vows you took were in vain.
Why make a vow that you dont intend to keep?
Some get married so they can have children in a legitimate marriage or have someone just to keep their bed warm, and perhaps to show they also have a family and home. But do they step up the plate in terms of actually loving their partner?
If you are yet to take the marriage vow or preparing to, there's real need for you to meditate on it before going ahead. Dont make a selfish vow.
Marriage is honorable but not for everyone. It is for grownups. It is for people who are spiritually, mentally and physically ready for a future with someone who has same vision with them. It is not for opposites.
It is for people who are ready to honor and protect their partner come what may.
It is for people who are trustworthy and ready to be submissive.
The tomb, that tomb, which tomb......aha, you're wondering what am on about.
Get yourself a comfortable stool, and if possible a bible or just a notebook, or just relax and read.
A unique Tomb, One victorious Tomb that is now empty and has been since then.
The book of John 20:1-8
The Empty Tomb
20 Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.2 So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb.4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in.6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there,7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen.8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.
What do you think was going through Mary Magdalene's and the other women 's mind when they saw the empty tomb?
Try and take yourself back in time to that era, what do you think will be going through your mind if you had the opportunity to follow the master and listened to his teachings?
He made mention of what to expect, remember where he said..destroy this temple and i will raise it up within 3days? John 3:19....pls study
They made sure that the tomb was secured by a huge stone and set guards over it. It wasn't a stone that anyone could easily roll away, no man born of a woman would have had the audacity to approach that tomb that was heavily guarded and disarm those roman guards.
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men (Matthew 28:2-4).
It took an angel to even roll away the stone so that when people get there they can see that it's empty.
You might even wonder at how is it's possible for Jesus to unwrap his own body that was heavily bounded/swathed with rolls and rolls of linen. His body must have even fallen apart on the third day, but hey there was no body, just the linen. The tomb didnt even smell of death.
For you to understand the full import of what Jesus did you need to study his word. Take time out to study and pray for more undertanding.
If he did not die for our sins we would have been stuck in the the old testament era of offering animal sacrifices for the cleansing of our sin and would have suffered a lot of afflictions.
Jesus gave us victory through his death and resurrection. It wasnt easy and should never be taken for granted.
There are so many gods in the world and none other than Jesus died and rose from the dead hence gave us victory over sin and death.
Are you afflicted spiritually, physically and materially? May the power that raised Jesus from the grave restore you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
I stand in the authority i have in Christ Jesus to confess and declare you free from the spirit of the grave. no longer shall you worry about all those hinderances again in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps you are yet to enter his rest and wondering how to.
Just say this simple pray in Jesus name and be restored....
Father i come to you today just as i am, a sinner. I ask that you forgive me of all my sins, have mercy on me and accept me as one of yours, your child.
I acknowledge that Jesus died on the cross of calvary for my justification. I accept him as my Lord and Saviour because i believe that he died that i might be saved, he died that i might receive forgiveness and cleansing and be restored.
Have mercy on me to save and restore me and write my name in the Lamb's book of life.
If you said the above prayer, please look for a Bible believing church to fellowship with other believers and grow.
If you dont know where to go, get yourself a Christian bible...King James version for a start and start from the beginning, taking baby steps or at your own pace, dont read it like a literature or magazine but with understanding.
There are daily devotionals online like the followings:
Matthew 26:39
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
God in Christ came from his Palace in Heaven to a little straw manger to go a little further because of his love for you and me.
Oh the sacrifice of glory, a great sacrifice.
Matthew 27:11-26
11 And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest.
12 And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
13 Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
14 And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
15 Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.
16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.
17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ?
18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.
19 When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.
20 But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.
21 The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.
22 Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified.
23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
25 Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.
26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
end of quote.......
The justice of mankind then is still real today. Pilate found no fault in him, yet scourged him.
And from verse 50-51.....
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
end of quote...
Let us reflect on this great sacrifice everyday and not just today.
I believe in the Jesus Christ who died and rose again. Only him has power over death.
Combine the apricot nectar, cinnamon sticks, orange and lemon peels in a saucepan and simmer over low heat for 1-2 min, stirring occasionally. Add the tea and stir to mix all the ingredients together.
Remove the cinnamon sticks and the orange and lemon peels and pour the mixture into a long glass after it has cooled down. Add some brown sugar, if desired. and same with some ice cubes.
What is your quiet time like? Distracted? Do you understand the bible that you open everyday?
It is so easy to become blind to the word of God.
Why not bow your head in prayer this minute to receive understanding, pray for understanding before reading your bible so you dont end up just reading it like a novel.
Blind Bartimaeus realized he was blind and called out to the master: That was physical blindess but immediately he heard Jesus was around what did he do? He shouted because he perceived and received in his heart an understanding a real understanding and he didnt allow that moment to pass him by.
Mark 10: 46-52
Jesus Heals Blind Bartimaeus46 Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, they were followed by a large crowd. A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus son of Timaeus was sitting beside the road. 47 When he heard that it was Jesus from Nazareth, he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David,[a] have pity on me!” 48 Many people told the man to stop, but he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!”49 Jesus stopped and said, “Call him over!”They called out to the blind man and said, “Don’t be afraid! Come on! He is calling for you.” 50 The man threw off his coat as he jumped up and ran to Jesus.51 Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”The blind man answered, “Master,[b] I want to see!”52 Jesus told him, “You may go. Your eyes are healed because of your faith.”Right away the man could see, and he went down the road with Jesus.
How about the woman with the issue of blood in the bible. Had she not understood her healing would have passed her by.
Most of us this days wait for our Pastors or Bishops to urge us on before we see..why is that so?
Mark 5:25-34:
25 Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”29 Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”31 But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”32 And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”
I pray that you have an ephiphany of what your calling is and your hope in Christ Jesus.
I pray that you come to a realization of what gifts lies in the inside of you.
I pray you experience the presence of God from now on.
I pray that above all only Christ will be your source and you will stop depending on man that is falliable.
I got this story am about to share through email more than 3years ago and is still very relevant today:
Boiled Seeds Does Not Sprout..Never An aging king woke up one day to the realization that should he drop dead, there would be no male in the royal family to take his place.
He was the last male in the royal family in a culture where only a male could succeed to the throne - and he was aging.
He decided that if he could not give birth to a male, he would adopt a son who then could take his place but he insisted that such an adopted son must be extraordinary in every sense of the word.
So he launched a competition in his kingdom, open to all boys, no matter what their background. Ten boys made it to the very top.
There was little to separate these boys in terms of intelligence and physical attributes and capabilities.
The king said to them, "I have one last test and whoever comes top will become my adopted son and heir to my throne." Then he said, "This kingdom depends solely on agriculture.
So the king must know how to cultivate plants. So here is a seed of corn for each of you.
Take it home and plant and nurture it for three weeks. At the end of three weeks, we shall see who has done the best job of cultivating the seed.
That person will be my heir-apparent."
The boys took their seeds and hurried home. They each got a flower pot and planted the seed as soon as they got home.
There was much excitement in the kingdom as the people waited with bated breath to see who was destined to be their next king.
In one home, the boy and his parents were almost heartbroken when after days of intense care, the seed failed to sprout.
He did not know what had gone wrong with his. He had selected the soil carefully, he had applied the right quantity and type of fertilizer, he had been very dutiful in watering it at the right intervals, he had even prayed over it day and night and yet his seed had turned out to be unproductive.
Some of his friends advised him to go and buy a seed from the market and plant that.
"After all," they said, "how can anyone tell one seed of corn from another?" But his parents who had always taught him the value of integrity reminded him that if the king wanted them to plant any corn, he would have asked them to go for their own seed. "If you take anything different from what the king gave you that would be dishonesty.
Maybe we are not destined for the throne.
If so, let it be but don't be found to have deceived the king," they told him.
The d-day came and the boys returned to the palace each of them proudly exhibiting a very fine corn seedling.
It was obvious that the other nine boys had had great success with their seeds.
The king began making his way down the line of eager boys and asked each of them, "Is this what came out of the seed I gave you?" And each boy responded, "Yes, your majesty." And the king would nod and move down the line.
The king finally got to the last boy in the line-up.
The boy was shaking with fear. He knew that the king was going to have him thrown into prison for wasting his seed.
"What did you do with the seed I gave you?" the king asked.
"I planted it and cared for it diligently, your majesty, but alas it failed to sprout." the boy said tearfully as the crowd booed him.
But the king raised his hands and signaled for silence. Then he said, "My people, behold your next king." The people were confused. "Why that one?" many asked.
"How can he be the right choice?" The king took his place on his throne with the boy by his side and said, "I gave these boys boiled seeds. This test was not for cultivating corn.
It was the test of character; a test of integrity. It was the ultimate test.
If a king must have one quality, it must be that he should be above dishonesty.
Only this boy passed the test. A boiled seed cannot sprout." Never!!
We live in a society that has become obsessed with success and many show success at any cost. We say the end justifies the means. It is the tragedy of life.
You see, failure often is an invitation to God to show that he is all powerful and does not need help to make us great or to bless us.
You know, sometimes God looks for people who will trust him completely no matter what so he could show the world that it is not by might or by power but by his spirit.
God sometimes ordains failure?.
But many seek to circumvent divinely ordained failure by resorting to dubious means.
When a civil servant builds a big house and sends his five children to expensive schools when he does not have a second source of income, is that not a case of a boiled seed sprouting?
When a minister of state is able to sustain a lavish mistress and at the same time put up houses from his income as minister, is that not a case of a boiled seed coming to life?
Or a Former President of millions of poverty stricken people can build up world class private secondary school and university, within a short time, able to sustain numerous wives/concubines and fathered and educated about 45 children, own vast farm lands all over the country, travel round the world at an average of one trip per month, while the people of his country remain the poorest in the world! That is a case of boiled seed yielding hundred folds We should stop cheering rogues in WORLD!.
I believe that we have all been given lives to lead according to God's plan and if we are living faithfully, we should all have different results.
The Bible says the race is not for the swift and the battle is not for the strong. So how come, that in the WORLD the swift wins the race and the strong the battle?
It is because we are refusing to remain faithful to God and refusing to allow God to be God in all things and in our affairs.
Boiled seed does not sprout. Never!!!
Next time you see a successful person, find out what kind of seed he was given and ask him, "how come your boiled seed has sprouted?"
