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. 1 Cor 10:13 (MSG)

Of lately, I’ve become more acquainted with the word "issues". It's the word we normally use when we're passing through an experience that is seemingly rather complex. But I have realized however that as long as we live, there will always be issues, things will always happen, things rather beyond our control and it's effect may be even more grievous, leaving us in more pain and confusion. Sometimes these issues may be as a result of our mistakes and the confusion we find ourselves in leave us in an overwhelming state of guilt..... Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that we feel is far beyond us, at other times, we find ourselves in a position where we have to make a decision and the options are already tabled before us and really unpleasing....at such points we ask ourselves...how did I get to this point? To choose becomes impossible and to pray...just can’t utter the words.

So what God's response to all this? YOU CAN HANDLE IT! I'm quickly reminded of one of the greatest leaders of all times. He had just led a revolution and delivered his nation from slavery. He was everyone's hero and the entire populace looked unto him. Some seemed to think that they owed him their life. Sometimes just in the few days of his leadership, an "issue" arose and it occurred to Him that he could not lead the nation to their destination because there was just no way to go about it. On EVERY angle, there was just no way! On realizing this, there entire nation was thrown into a state of panic, the impossibility was just so overwhelming that the people lost every sense of confidence they had in their revolutionary leader (Ex 14: 8-21).

Something interesting occurred here though; Exodus 14: 15-16 records God's response.

"The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to Me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward! Lift up your rod and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the Israelites shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea." (AMP)

Amidst all the panic and uproar and confusion, God commands Moses to part the red sea. God made Moses realize that he had all he needed to handle the matter, he just needed to boldly take action and then God will follow through.

The good news for you is that God has already commanded you to part the red sea! You can handle it because that's how God designed it. If truly you are His child, then trust that he'll never give you more than you can bear, you're experiencing that issue solely because you can handle it. Like Joseph, Job and even Jesus, in each step of their life, overcoming an issue took them to the next level of their life, for Moses, overcoming the red sea took him to lands beyond the red sea and total deliverance from the hand of the Egyptians, never again was he going to doubt the God who he has now so trusted in. I believe so for you also, whatever issue you're facing you is designed to propel you to the next level of your ministry, work...and also to create in you an unflinching trust in God.

You're more than a conqueror, an overcomer in every ramification...So each time you're passing through any "issue", always have this at the back of your mind: "YOU CAN HANDLE IT"

Not Guilty!!

At last, he owned his own slingshot! the whole idea of his whole family spending easter with grandpa and grandma simply exhilarated him and now with his new slingshot that granpa gave him, easter was definitely going to be the bomb!!

Without much time wasted and with his sling in his hand Josh began to practice all his stealth positions and he quickly became a nuisance to all the crawling animals in granpa's neighbourhood especially the ducks. Just two days after their arrival at grannies', Josh went out to continue his usual practice with his slingshot just before lunch.. as he walked quietly in the yard; there it was, a perfect prey, unsuspecting and in a very volatile position. Josh moved stealthily through the little bushes and without much thinking he let the sling go and hit the duck right on the head! Alas, he had for the first time got his target right. After a little excitment and celebration of his triumphant strike the reality quickly dawned on him that he had just killed a duck, on closer inspection of the dead animal, he realised that it wasn't just a duck but it was grandma's favourite pet duck. Now he knew he was in for it! He quickly scanned the area and with no one in sight, he ran away from the scene.

After lunch, Grandpa made an offer to the whole family to follow him for fishing; grandma was the first to opt out and she also took permission for Dolly (Joshs' sister),they had to wash up the dishes and start preparing the dough for dinner. Dolly, very eager to go quickly announced that Josh had promised to take her place in her kitchen chores. Before Josh could utter a word in protest, She quickly whispered in his ears "remember the duck"; Josh who now was put aback just stared into the eyes of Dolly and she said to him "yeah, I saw it all". Grudgingly, Josh obliged and opted to stay with grandma to do the dishes.

The next morning, mum woke up first and started her usual daily routine, she called on Dolly and started to assign to her all she was to do that day, Dolly in turn paced to Joshs' room and informed him of all her chores and she said to him "trust you can handle it".

After about two weeks of blackmail, Josh became fed up, easter holiday had become "disaster holiday" for him. At this point He concluded in his heart that he was going to tell grandma of what he had done. He summoned up enough courage and approached grandma and told her of what he had done. When he had finished with his confession, Grandma looked at Him and with a warm amile She said "I know, I saw it all from the attic window, I just wanted to know how long you were going to let your Sister use you!"

Many of us find ourselves in this situation. We often doubt the mercies of God and choose rather to live under the burden of the guilt of the things that we have done wrong, By so doing we are giving the devil a chance to rule over us by His persistent blackmail over us. At such points, when we realize that we've messed up our first respone should be to open our heart towards God. Remember that the most important Person to God is YOU. If you buy a pair of shoes for $300.00, what you're simply saying is that the shoe worth more to you than the $300.00. What more God, who gave Jesus just for YOU! Always remember that we live by grace and our righteousness is not a function of your abilities but purely based on the grace. We do
not have a high Priest who does not sympathize with our weaknesses!!

"Oluwa ni Oluso Agutan mi" VS "Oluwa ni oluso, emi ni agutan re"

To the non-Yoruba speaking folks, I apologize if you this blog might seem to throw you of the rock but I'll do as much as I can to keep you on track. The header of this post are two translations for the first verse of Psalm 23(The Lord is my Shepherd...) . The first translation is culled from the Yoruba translation of the bible. A lot of controversy has existed in times past about these two interpretations but I never took interest in it until the day i finally decide to give it a thought and it was interesting what i found out.
It's interesting the outcome we get when we take closer look at familiar things around us, we more often than not realize that we don't really know much about what we think we've always known too well. On this issue I decided not to attempt to analyze it with a biased mind because for many, the argument was between one of originality and "modernization". I also decided to carry it in my consciousness that the translator was also human and prone to mistakes..well this was my observation.
The first translation which happens to be culled from the "authentic" version of the Yoruba bible simply reads "The Lord is the Shepherd of my sheep", remember, this is my suggestion!! The second translation on the other hand, which happens to be the proposed translation reads "The Lord is the Shepherd, I am his Sheep". So what do you think??
This blog is open for public comments so you're expected to leave your comments by simply clicking the comment link below this post and I'd love it if you could just let me know who you are by typing your name after your comments.
Thanks

Late Welcome!!

After two posts, i realized that something didn't quite seem right...i guess that i got rather excited about the whole blogging thingy that i forgot to tell you a little about what this blog is all about.
A girl once said to me not to address every situation because i know the truth" , she went on to explain to me the role of wisdom and considering the feeling and opinions of other.. really i found that rather difficult! Well i like it see it as a place where i can express all the burdens the truth places on my heart. There is serious evil under the sun and it seems a lot of peolpe want to remain quiet about it.. well i choose not to. The only weapon to fight darkness is light(truth). The truth must be said at all cost! Jesus paid His life for it so why cant just dedicate this little quota of mine to it. Hello!! and for those of you who think I'm a perfect guy cause of all my writings well i like to say you're wrong but on the other hand i know that I'm on a road heading towards perfection and i must warn you...I'm fast paced!! so watch out

Be sure to visit as often as you can as i'll continue to make it worth the while. not to forget Part II of put some clothes on(my first post) will be out soon. A girlfriend of mine mailed me and asked me when i was going to address the guys too!! let's keep our fingers crossed.

My next series of post'll be slightly different from the first two..they'll be what i'd like to call a breather!!!

Blog On!!!!!

We are tagged!!

We are tagged!
I once composed a text message which i didnt send to anyone, i usually do this when i get an inspiration. The content of the SMS goes thus: "We carry in us the mind and life of a God which the world cannot conceive and sees as practically impossible".At that period of my life(which was just some weeks ago!) leading up to now i was desperately seeking answers to so many questions that were plauging my heart. i wanted to know why my opinions,ideas my general perception of things always seems strange and "excessive"(especially on dressing amd music). time after time i evaluated myself to know what was really wrong, was the problem with me or was it that i was just meeting the wrong set of people? As i basked in that island of thoughts, i was quickly reminded of the the text i composed and never sent to anyone; it was at that point that it dawned on me that it was actually meant for me!!!

We must understand that the day we made a decision for the cross, we indirectly accepted a tag from the world labelled "abnormal", that we were shot out of our then realities which were limited by the extent of our five senses into a dimension where the world will never be able to imagine talk less of understanding. We were tagged abnormal by the world because anything outside the reach of those basic five senses(the God in our inside) cannot be conceived.

NOw thats a personal experience but today, the story seems to be different. I sometimes find it hard to differentiate between a Christian and non Christian; afterall they're all dressed the same, talk the same, have the same passions(funny),love the same music.....some people ask me "are my supposed to carry a tag saying that i'm a Christian?"..my answer..YES!! you are supposed to be carrying a tag remember!!! look, the world is a very Perverse place and it isnt getting any better, there ought to be a clear dstinction between the people of God(you) and those of the world!! Moses stood and mountain and made a clarion call and asked "Who is on the Lord's side?". a clear distinction was made! I strongly know that we are living in a age and time where that call has to be resounded.

Evalute yourself, pick a person that you know that is not a Christian but is morally sound and try to see wat makes you different from him...let me guess..you speak in tongues and he doesnt!!! ha ha ha, even some demon possessed peolpe speak in other tongues!! you realize that there isnt much difference?? You have to understand that the people of Israel were leaving Egypt(the world) to the promise land, a place where they could not imagine because God had told them that it'll be flowing with milk and honey and that each passing day as they journeyed away from Egypt(the world)thy had to leave behind the cultures and traditions of the Egyptians(the world) and pick up a new ones(the commandments of God). these new laws and customs was what was meant to distinct them from every other people of the world.

There has to be some distinction, the kind of music we listen to,the kind of clothes we wear,the kinds of words we use, the kind of parties we go for, the opinions we share..... when they start asking questions show them your tags, when they invite u for that party do well to show them your tag, when they get groovy with that music and thay invite you to join them, let your tag speak for you.

We are tagged!! we choose not to be normal in their eyes because we are sure that greater is He that is in us than He that is in the world!!
We are tagged and we're proud of it!!!!

PUT SOME CLOTHES ON - part 1

PUT SOME CLOTHES ON - part 1

I do pray that this write up will touch your life and open your eyes to see as you ought to. This article is not directly to chastise anyone but it is just a call to order to all those involved in this.

It is now very obvious and glaring that in this part of the world (Nigeria), we are losing every consciousness of our basic life values, this is evident by the fast inward flow of western culture into our system; more often than not, these "imported" values have basically "zero" value but instead they are detrimental to the advancement of the lives of the people and the society at large.

The major problem on our part (receiver) is that we do not value ourselves and we basically do not know what we as individuals stand for, talk less we as a society! It is basically due to this lack of information of self that we let other irrelevant and baseless values fill up the vacuum.

The most glaring phenomenon of this "culture" is the mode of dressing of the affected individuals today (majorly the youth). Today, a lot of ladies love to go about half naked in the name of freedom of expression and some others for "convenience" sake. I really wonder what kind of convenience one can have when basically everyone around you has access to see the restricted parts of your body.

When the use of a thing is not known, abuse is inevitable. The sorry truth is that a lot of people do not know what they're worth and if you know you dress with sensitive parts of your boy exposed, I'm proud to announce to you that you have no understanding of who you are and what you're worth. Don't you know that the way you're dressed is the way you'll be addressed. We’re quick to pass judgments at those prostitutes that flock our street but I really don't see a difference between you and them; after all you all look the same, some of these prostitutes even dress better than you.

It's because you don't know yourself and have no value for your body that you rather abuse it. A lot of girls think by dressing "nude" it draws attraction to them and the reality is that they draw attraction to themselves but what they're seen as is what they don't know. A guy once said that any "girl" dressed that way is basically saying that she' cheap, available and desperate!

THE GOD FACTOR
Enough of basic moral talk. Let’s take a reality check and ask ourselves this question - if God put cloths on man then who do we think is trying to take the cloths off? You didn't see it that way did you. We've let the devil in have his way in our lives for a long time and we were not even aware of it!! pitiful! Do you not know that the recorded manifestation of the demon possessed man in Luke 8:26 was that he tore his clothes off. This was a man who was under the influence of a legion of demons.. Are u making sense of this at all? Are u seeing the bigger picture? Interestingly, the first sign of his healing was that Jesus clothed Him!
PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!! Don't you know that it's not your body; you can’t do with it as you please. Many of us claim to be Christians; I'll rather advice us to call ourselves a church goers because a real Christian is meant to be CHRISTLIKE in all dimensions of His/Her life. I implore you to PUT SOME CLOTHES ON! Do not forget that God is a jealous God and His glory dwells in you and He doesn't Share His glory with any man, but yet we expose the whole thing and the whole "world" enjoys the view. A typical walk down the road of most Nigerian institutions and it dawns on you that pornography has long left the internet and started to walk on our streets. PUT SOME CLOTHES ON! your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It's not your body!
In Luke 19: 45 downward after the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. He stepped into the temple (your body) and he chased out all the robbers in the temple. The word robbers used there simply means robbers of temple from Romans 2:22 which is a phrase used to describe people who rob temples but it is defined in Romans 2:22 as people who appropriate to themselves what has been consecrated to God thus robbing and doing sacrilege (Amp). That’s the raw fact. A lot of us are doing with our bodies (temple) as we wish, we're like the temple robbers, you do what you want with your body which is supposed to be consecrated to God. PUT SOME CLOTHES ON! The whole world is looking at you; you've become a laughing stock to even those who you think esteem you high. They're probably flocking around you because you look like one of the people of their perverted and horny fantasies. YES! That’s just what you are. A lot of you think the devil is far from you and you don't even know that He's using and driving you. Pitiful!

It's so pathetic how many of you think today, if you mentioned to people who lived just about 50 yrs ago that in the near future dressing exposed will become a normal phenomenon they'll probably think you're crazy. For some of you that do it because your friends are doing it, i pity you. Statistics have proven it that 63% of rape cases are caused by indecent dressing. You don't need the school authorities to tell you what to wear and what not to, that’s why God gave you brains; oops, I've forgotten that some people are “unconsciously” driven by the devil. PUT SOME CLOTHES ON!! It’s not cool to look naked.