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Week of December 23 - December
29, 2007
I will bless the LORD at all times: His
praise shall continually be in my mouth Psalm 34:1
(KJV).
This week I am sharing my family's
testimonies for 2007. To view the newsletter format with
pictures in PDF format, please
click here.
HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A WONDERFUL
NEW YEAR.
Dear family and friends,
We bless God for each and every one of
you. We give God the praise that we have not had to
sorrow or mourn over you.
This year has been a blessed one for us
as a family and we have so much to give thanks to God
for. As a family, we make our boast in the Lord, for He
is good and His mercies endure forever.
At the beginning of this year, we moved
into our own house in Thornhill, Ontario, just north of
Toronto. It was a very exciting time for all of us. The
fun part was unpacking and arranging stuff all over the
house. Within the first week, every box was unpacked and
we had friends come over the following week for Super
Bowl party at our home. Bimisayo and Bimisola started
new schools, both walking distances from the house.
With the move to our new home, Bimisola
enrolled in her
fourth Middle
School in three years! On the up side, the school was
just behind the house, so she could afford to leave home
at first bell and still get to school before the final
bell 5 minutes later. She participated in the track and
field events in the school and won 5 awards.
In the summer, she volunteered with her
brother at the Vacation Bible School as a youth
counsellor. At the end of summer, she got to be the maid
of honour at her aunt’s wedding in New York City. Very
exciting experience for her! This fall, she entered High
School and is doing very well in her studies. Hopefully,
this will be her only High School. At church, she serves
in the children church and actively participates at the
youth group. At home, even though she is the worst funny
story narrator ever, her vibrant personality injects the
much needed excitement or else our family would be
extremely boring. And she is also a big help when it
comes to doing chores around the house.
This year, Bimisayo has added a few
inches in height and he is now 6 feet 3 inches tall.
Over the summer, he also volunteered for the second year
as a youth counsellor at the Vacation Bible School. At
school, he is doing well in his studies and continues to
be on the Honour Roll. He was the goal keeper for his
school soccer team this season. He has now enrolled
in the school weight club, watch out for
the biceps! At church, he serves at the sound booth and
participates actively at the Youth group. At home, he
has joined the handy people’s team of Bisi and Bimisola,
and has actually taken on solo do-it-yourself projects.
He still enjoys reading, devouring books by the pages.
Due to the move, Dele has had to drive
part of the way and take the subway the rest of the way
to work. This has really worked out well because he has
longer time for his daily bible reading on the train. At
work, he has fully settled into his busy job schedule.
He managed to submit some abstracts for medical
conferences and got a few accepted for publication.
Early this year, he passed the Canadian Pathology board
exam to become a Fellow, Royal College of Physicians and
Surgeons of Canada, praise to God. Throughout the year,
he made some work related trips within North America. At
church, he and I were made deacons. He still heads the
Christian Education department and teaches the
discipleship class which is always a fulfilling
experience for him. His favourite past time is hanging
out with the family while playing a game of scrabble on
his PDA.
This year started with a much needed
weight loss for me. To God’s glory, my official weight
and my actual weight are now the same. It gave me the
much needed excuse to have a guilt-free shopping spree
for new clothes and the impetus to dress more stylishly.
Being the Editor of Destiny Connection (our church
magazine) brought out amazing creative skills of
graphics design I never imagined I had. Over the summer,
I developed a passion for photography. Also, I launched
my personal website (formerly
www.olabisiadeyi.com, now
www.bisiadeyi.com) to share the great treasures God
is depositing into my heart on a weekly basis. As a
result of all these, I ventured into the business of
selling inspirational digital art (www.olabisiadeyi.com)
and web and graphic design services (www.zoeideas.com).
I have come to the conclusion that I need some serious
marketing skills to promote these businesses. By God’s
grace, I will get my acts together sooner or later.
After turning my back on the nursing profession since
coming to
Canada, lately, there has been a stirring
in my heart to go back to nursing school and get the
much needed BSN degree.
Recently, at church, I was appointed to
be the Children Church coordinator. The on going
re-organizational process has kept me so occupied that
my sisters termed me “the busiest unemployed person”
they know. All in all, serving in the children church is
a very satisfying experience. I love cooking, and it is
one of the relaxing things I do.
In July, we went to Atlanta for Dele’s 20th
year medical school reunion. It was so much fun for the
whole family meeting Dele’s classmates and their
families. At the end of summer, we drove to
New York City for my sister’s wedding.
Seeing so many family members in attendance was pretty
exciting. And my parents came back to Canada with us to
spend a few days. In the fall, we all became Permanent
Residents of Canada.
This year, we have hosted numerous
gathering at our home. We have had guests stay over
practically every month. We love having people in our
home (hint, hint: come over and spend some time with
us). Our favourite activity as a family is hanging out
in our living room and enjoying each other’s company.
Throughout the year, God has been working
in us, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. It
has really been exciting and rewarding finding out God’s
plans for us and walking in them. Sometimes, we have
lagged behind, and at other times, we have run ahead.
But, glory to God; He has worked all things out for our
good.
You see, God has indeed been very
gracious to us. The year 2007 has been very exciting. We
look forward to an even more exciting 2008.
Have a merry Christmas and an exciting
New Year. God bless you.
The ADEYIs
December 2007
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Week of December 16 - December
22, 2007
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the
habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and
all the more as you see the Day approaching – Hebrews
10:25.
During the week, I purchased 2 set of boxed Christmas
cards for all the present and past workers in my
church’s children ministry which comprises of about 40
people. Since all the cards were the same, I decided to
personalize each one by writing something personal, and
it seemed like such a daunting task. Yet I was
determined to find something complementary about each
person and also share a word of encouragement for the
coming year.
God was gracious. As I pictured each individual in my
mind, and recalled my interactions with them and their
service in the children church, it was with great
delight that I wrote down what I appreciated about them.
And God gave me a word of encouragement for each of
them. It was so much fun! I got such a kick out of
blessing each worker with my words. I realized the truth
in Jesus’ Words, “It is more blessed to give than to
receive – Acts
20:35”
During the Christmas season, it is traditional to give
gifts and celebrate, this is good. But sometimes we go
over board and allow ourselves to get stressed out with
all the shopping. I don’t believe Christmas should be
about giving gifts, it is all about Jesus: sharing His
love. Instead of letting ourselves be stressed out with
gift giving, let us make every effort to encourage each
other. That can be and is a lot of fun.
Dearly beloved, be a channel of encouragement this
season and always.
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Week of December 9 - December 15, 2007
For it is God who works in you to will and to act
according to his good purpose - Philippians 2:13.
As I sat down at my computer to share from my heart, I
remembered the word of encouragement that I shared with
my church family in September of 2003. Please read and
be blessed.
After the last song the Lord was ministering some things
to my heart and I believe that it's not just for me but
for some of us here as well. When I hear of somebody in
need the first thought that goes through my mind is, do
I want to get involved? Do I have the time for such a
commitment? And when I think of how I might need to be
with that person or I'll need to pray through whatever,
I get scared and back off. And because of that most of
the time I don't do anything because even before I step
out I am so overwhelmed with what I think will be
expected of me. And the Lord was rebuking me of this
and saying, when you look at Jesus He never turned His
back on anybody. And there was no account that the
majority of the people that Jesus ministered to ever met
Him again. The situation was there, He reached out, and
that was it. They may never have come across Jesus
again in their life, but Jesus touched them. And He
expects the same of us. When there is a need, don't
think that in two years you might still be committed to
this person. Just reach out at that moment, whatever it
is, be with prayer or smile, do it and move on. And if
the Lord wants you to come back again, He will provide
the opportunity. But we shouldn't let the fear of
commitment stop us from reaching out to people. I pray
that the Lord will help all of us.
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Week of December 2 - December 8, 2007
Do
not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I
will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my
light. Micah 7:8
As I
continue reading the Book of Jeremiah, I read about
Baruch, whom God instructed through Jeremiah to write
down the prophecies on a scroll. So Jeremiah called
Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all
the words the LORD had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them
on the scroll – Jeremiah 36:4. After the scroll was
completed, it was read to the people in the temple.
Later, when it was read to King Jehoiakim, the king
burnt the scroll in the fire.
Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the
scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe's knife and
threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was
burned in the fire - Jeremiah 36:23.
How very discouraging Baruch must have
felt when King burnt the scroll. Now he had to start all
over again! At a point in time, according to the
commentary in my bible, Baruch expresses his weariness
to Jeremiah, but God encouraged him.
Jeremiah 45:1-5 - This is what Jeremiah the prophet told
Baruch son of Neriah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son
of Josiah king of Judah, after Baruch had written on a
scroll the words Jeremiah was then dictating: "This is
what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch:
You said, `Woe to me! The LORD has added sorrow to my
pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.'
"The LORD said, "Say this to him: `This is what the LORD
says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what
I have planted, throughout the land. Should you then
seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I
will bring disaster on all people, declares the LORD,
but wherever you go I will let you escape with your
life.'”
As I read this passage, I thought about
my Associate Degree in Nursing that I worked very hard
for and all the sacrifices I had to make to become a
Registered Nurse in the US. Only to get to Ontario,
Canada and discover that I had to have a Bachelor of
Science in Nursing (BSN) to continue my nursing
profession as a Registered Nurse. For a long time, the
thought of going back to school just to achieve the same
level got me down. I even decided I was not going to
practice nursing again.
Thank God, recently, Cod has been
stirring up that desire to go back to school. This
scripture is yet another confirmation to me along that
line.
Baruch
wrote the scroll all over again. So Jeremiah took
another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of
Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all
the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of
Judah had burned in
the fire. And many similar words were added to them –
Jeremiah 36:32.
Due to Baruch perseverance, we have the Book of
Jeremiah today.
I am
realizing that I should not let negative circumstances
discourage me. Like Micah said, “Do not gloat over
me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though
I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light (Micah
7:8);” I will not stay down. I am in the process of
applying to a Nursing
School to get my BSN.
Dearly
beloved, no matter what curve life throws at you, take
heed to Hebrews 10:35-39.
So do
not throw away your confidence; it will be richly
rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have
done the will of God, you will receive what he has
promised.
For in just a very little while,
"He who is coming will come and will not delay.
But my righteous one will live by faith.
And if he shrinks back,
I will not be pleased with him."
But we are not of those who shrink back and are
destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
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Week of November 25 - December 1, 2007
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy,
to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and
pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship –
Romans 12:1.
For some months, I have been reading the Chronological
Bible in addition to my daily Bible reading. In recent
times, I had been reading the Book of Jeremiah about
God’s anger against the people of Judah due to their
idolatry. And this morning, I was reading about King
Josiah: his reformation in cleaning up the temple after
the Book of the Law was found.
The king ordered Hilkiah the high priest, the priests
next in rank and the doorkeepers to remove from the
temple of the LORD all the articles made for Baal and
Asherah and all the starry hosts. He burned them outside
Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron Valley and took
the ashes to Bethel… He took the Asherah pole from the
temple of the LORD to the Kidron Valley outside
Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder
and scattered the dust over the graves of the common
people. He also tore down the quarters of the male
shrine prostitutes, which were in the temple of the LORD
and where women did weaving for Asherah – 2Kings 23:4,
6-7.
Wow, those idols and pagan practices were in the temple
of the Lord! That was a shocker to me. Yes, I knew about
the Israelites worshipping idols and doing those pagan
practices, but I had always thought they had separate
temples in which they had the idols and did those
horrible stuffs. No wonder God was hard upon them.
It
got me thinking about our lives in Christ, how we tend
to mix a lot of culture and traditions of men into
Christianity. Jesus replied, "And why do you break
the command of God for the sake of your tradition?
- Matthew 15:2”
After reading about the idols in the temple of God, I am
looking into my life to see what idols I may have
erected.
Do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?
You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body – 1Corinthians
6:19-20.
I pray that as God opens my eyes to see these idols that
I will be like King Josiah and get rid of them.
Dearly beloved, I encourage you to do the same.
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Week of November 18 - November
24, 2007
I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave
himself for me
Galatians 2:20.
This Saturday, during our family devotion, my husband
shared a powerful revelation with us which greatly
blessed me. I asked him to summarize it and he wrote the
excerpt below. Dearly beloved, read and be blessed.
HE DIED OUR DEATH, WE LIVE HIS LIFE!
There was an exchange on the cross: His life for mine,
which was doomed anyway. He died and gave me the right
to now live as He would if He did not choose to die for
me. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the righteousness,
the heir of God, the nature of God, the love of God, the
Word of God. But now it is I who lives His life – that
was the deal on the cross.
So when I accepted the exchange, He gave me the power
(the rights, privileges, ability,) to become everything
he is (Yet
to all who received him, to those who believed in his
name, he gave the right to become children of God
- John 1:12)
– son, righteousness, heir of God. I even become the
epistle of God to the world.
You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result
of our ministry, written not with ink but with the
Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on
tablets of human hearts
2Corinthians 3:3.
This means I have His mind (…we
have the mind of Christ
1Corinthians 2:16a);
His Spirit (We
have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit
who is from God, that we may understand what God has
freely given us
1Corinthians 2:12).
Living the life of Christ is what we are all about, and
anything we do different from the way He would have
should bring conviction (not condemnation) and instantly
lead to repentance. As we learn to live this life, we
stumble occasionally, but the aim is to ultimately get
used to being whom He has empowered us to be (John
1:12),
and achieve the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians
4:13).
I hope this helps you everyday as you live, knowing you
are called to a higher calling, continuing where Jesus
left off. You don’t need help to achieve this (remember
you died…), but you need to know what has been deposited
and made available to you and draw on it – this is what
Christian maturity is all about. The world should see in
us what it saw in Christ 2000 years ago, if it looked
close enough, because we died and now live as someone
else – the sons of God. No wonder the world is waiting
for us to manifest (The
creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God
to be revealed
Romans 8:19).
Back to top
Week of November 11 - November 17, 2007
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has
anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of
sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to
proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Luke 4:18-19
I
was recently entrusted with a new responsibility at
church. And last Sunday during worship, I asked God for
the anointing to carry out this service. The initial
phrase of this responsibility involves establishing an
excellent organizational foundation and it is a lot of
work. God is simply gracious. Through out the week, God
ministered great ideas, granted me the grace and zeal to
start developing them, and brought willing helpers to
assist me.
This reminded me of a sermon one of our pastors taught
on true worship using the story of the woman with the
alabaster jar of very expensive perfume in Mark
14:3-9. While he was in
Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man
known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster
jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She
broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head Mark
14:3.
He
likened the perfume to the anointing and said it had no
spiritual value until it was poured on Jesus. He then
made a statement that had stay with me ever since:
anointing is for service.
I
realize it is not uncommon to hear people pray for
anointing for breakthrough in their personal situations.
Right or wrong, Jesus declared in Luke 4:18-19, "The
Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to
proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight
for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the
year of the Lord's favor." There was a reason why
the Spirit of God anointed Jesus as seen in Luke
4:18-19. This was confirmed in Acts 10:38 - how
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
power, and how he went around doing good and healing all
who were under the power of the devil, because God was
with him.
Dearly beloved, do you have a task or service to render?
Ask God for the anointing to serve today.
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Week of November 4 - November 10, 2007
“I
am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in
me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me
you can do nothing”
John 15:5.
This week as I pondered on what to share, God dropped in
my heart the passage below.
I
planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it
grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is
anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man
who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and
each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we
are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's
building.
By
the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an
expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But
each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can
lay any foundation other than the one already laid,
which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this
foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay
or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because
the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with
fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's
work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his
reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he
himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through
the flames. 1Corinthians 3:6-15
In
doing God’s work, we need to realize that we have to be
diligent in doing our part and we leave the rest to God
for Him to prosper. And even in doing our part, we need
God’s help. And this will happen if we follow Jesus’
words in John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the
branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will
bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Dearly beloved, let us abide in Christ as we do our part
so that we can “…go and bear fruit--fruit that will
last” John
15:16.
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Week of October 28 - November 3, 2007
This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against
you that I have set before you life and death, blessings
and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your
children may live. Deuteronomy 30:19
In
my chronological bible daily reading, I read about
Manasseh, the king who led Judah into sin through idol
worship. And the same day in my devotional bible
reading, I read about Barnabas, a follower of Jesus who
was a great encouragement to fellow believers. The stark
contrast between these two made me realize that our
lives can have either a positive or negative effect on
people around us.
Few years back, when I took a Leadership course at a
bible school, I learned that even the most passive
individual still have some form of influence on those
around him. In other words, by doing nothing, we can
actually have either a positive or negative influence on
those around us.
Daily we need to make a choice what kind of influence we
want to be. Joshua encouraged the Israelites to make
this choice in serving the Lord. "Now fear the LORD
and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods
your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in
Egypt, and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems
undesirable to you, then choose
for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the
gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the
gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But
as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD"
Joshua 24:14-15.
Joshua made the choice that he and his family will serve
the Lord.
Talking about the dual purpose of our tongue, James said,
“With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with
it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness.
Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My
brothers, this should not be.” James 3:9-10. This
shows that if we do not take heed, our tongue which we
use to praise God can in the next minute be use to curse
men.
Dearly beloved, choose to be a blessing to other: the
choice is yours.
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Week of October 21 - October 27, 2007
Now you
are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of
it. 1Corinthians 12:27
At the beginning of my son’s soccer
season, I went to watch their first game and I learned a
great spiritual lesson about team effort. During the
match, I observed that the players on his team were
yelling blames at each other; the reserved just stood at
the sidelines looking disinterested; and the coach
watched the match passively. Also, I noticed that they
had a really good player but he was a “ball-hugger” and
they did not score a single goal. On the other hand, the
other team were communicating with each other as they
made passes; their reserves were enthusiastically
cheering them on; and their coach was busy shouting
instructions and encouraging remarks to his boys. You
could really see team play at work and the opposing team
end up winning the match 5-0. At the end of the game, my
son’s team members left the field looking sad and angry,
while the other team looked like they had fun.
As I walked to my car after the game, I
thought my son's soccer team depicted how service in the
house of God is if we do not work as a team. When each
one is busying doing solo work or passing blame on to
others about why things are not right, then it makes for
a frustrating service. In 1Corinthians 12, Paul
instructed us how we should operate as a body in serving
God.
The
body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and
though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it
is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit
into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or
free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
Now
the body is not made up of one part but of many. If the
foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not
belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease
to be part of the body. And if the ear should say,
"Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,"
it would not for that reason cease to be part of the
body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the
sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear,
where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has
arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just
as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part,
where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts,
but one body – 1Corinthians 12:12-20.
Just
like a soccer team, each of us has our unique talents
and gifting. We are planted in the house of God for a
purpose and we need each other. Solo efforts can only go
so far and at the end of the day, it will not achieve
much.
The
eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the
head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" On the
contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker
are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less
honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts
that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty,
while our presentable parts need no special treatment.
But God has combined the members of the body and has
given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that
there should be no division in the body, but that its
parts should have equal concern for each other –
1Corinthians 12:21-25.
Dearly
beloved, I believe we need to be like opposing team that
played with my son’s soccer team. Each of us should do
our part and encourage others as they do theirs. We
should realize that we are all working toward the same
goal – glorifying God as we further the Kingdom of
God on
the earth. Only by working as a team can we achieve that
goal and enjoy our service in the kingdom.
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Week of October 14 - October 20, 2007
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O
LORD, endures forever—Psalm 138:8a
Last week, I travelled with my husband on a business
trip to Ohio State. While he was busy doing stuff on his
laptop in the hotel room, I was watching a TV show,
“What Not To WEAR.” In this show, the hair stylist has
done a marvellous make-over on the Show’s recipient and
it was time for the facial makeup. The make-up artist
commented, “What a beautiful skin tone you have, I only
have to do very little to enhance it.” The recipient
replied, “Oh my skin is so dry and ugly.” Almost
immediately, my husband looked up and said, “That is how
most Christians behave. God says that we are ‘fearfully
and wonderfully made – Psalm 139:14’
and we object and tell God how wrong this or that is.”
When my husband made this statement, I remembered how
earlier that week during the mid week service at church,
my mind was preoccupied with thoughts of obstacles on
the path of a project I was to embark on. Then my pastor
exhorted us with Psalm 138:8a, The LORD will fulfill
his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever.
At that point, I really was not paying attention, I
continued with my thoughts until the sister leading
worship admonished us not to focus on our problems but
on Jesus. Then it struck me, yes, yes, YES! God will
perfect everything that concerns me. I need not worry.
After all, Jesus says, “...Do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day
has enough trouble of its own - Matthew 6:34.”
In
God’s Word, there are many promises and proclamation God
has made concerning us. But we allow our situations and
experiences to dictate otherwise. Dearly beloved,
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter
of our faith… - Hebrews 12:2”
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Week of October 7 - October 13, 2007
Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is
good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 106:1
This is the Canadian Thanksgiving week and I perceive in
my heart that I should share about giving thanks to the
Lord. Last year, we invited friends over to celebrate
Thanksgiving with us. As we ate, I had people share what
they were thankful for that they felt comfortable
sharing. About half of them shared their stories of how
God made it possible for them to immigrate to Canada and
their experiences since they have been in this country.
One testimony stood out for me: it was about how this
friend came to Canada with her son as refugees, their
experiences in the shelter home, how she found
employment and now finally have an apartment of her own.
As she talked, she kept on saying how thankful she was
for this and that thing that happened. Even in the
seemly difficult situations, she saw the Hand of God and
she freely gave thanks for such.
David said in Psalm 103:1-2, “Praise
the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his
holy name. Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not
all his benefits.”
I believe that the Lord would have us be thankful in
whatever circumstances we are in. Give thanks in all
circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ
Jesus – 1Thessalonians
5:18.
If we focus on our circumstances, we will find it very
difficult to be thankful. But if we focus on the
goodness of God, then thanksgiving will flow. That is
why David said, “Give
thanks to the LORD, for he is good… Psalm 106:1.”
Dearly beloved, focus on the goodness of God and you
will definitely have reasons to celebrate this
Thanksgiving Day and have a lifestyle of giving thanks
to God in all circumstances. Happy Thanksgiving!
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Week of
September 30 - October 6, 2007
If
any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be
given to him. James 1:5
A few weeks ago, I was feeling uneasy and down about
certain aspects about my home-based business and I
shared this with a friend during a visit. This became
one of the prayer requests at the end of my visit. In
praying for me, my friend quoted James 1:5
If
any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be
given to him;
and asked God to grant me wisdom concerning the
business.
This scripture stayed with me all through my drive home.
I was expecting a sudden understanding of the next step
I should take concerning the business. I wanted answers
right there and then. When that did not happen, I
started to feel disappointed. But God encouraged my
heart with the next verses: James 1:6-8 But when he
asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who
doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by
the wind. That man should not think he will receive
anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all he does. I knew that I must believe
that God’s wisdom will come. So I thanked God and cast
aside the disappointment.
To
the glory of God, yesterday morning as I was doing my
daily tidy up around the house, ideas about my business
started dropping into my mind. These set of ideas got me
excited and I felt so peaceful and free about the new
direction I should take. I was even more excited when I
realized that it was a fulfillment of the ‘wisdom
prayer.’
Dear brethren, God is indeed faithful. Like James said,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who
gives generously to all without finding fault, and it
will be given to him.”
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Week of September 23 - September
29, 2007
"Have faith in God," Jesus answered - Mark 11:22.
During the week, I read a quote from Our Daily Bread by
Hudson Taylor (http://www.rbc.org/odb/odb-09-19-07.shtml).
He said that Jesus’ words in Mark 11:22, “Have
faith in God,” could be translated, “Hold on to the
faithfulness of God.” When I read that, I thought to
myself, what a simplification of faith! Tonight my mind
went to the next verse v23:
I
tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain,
`Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in
his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it
will be done for him.
I remembered that years ago I thought
it was almost impossible for me to have this kind of
mountain-moving faith and I would always pray that God
would increase my faith to this level.
Then on a walk about 5 years back, an understanding of
Mark
11:22
dawned on me: trust in God. Trust in God was
something I could easily relate to. I already was
convinced that God is good, no matter what; so I had no
problem whatsoever in trusting Him. I realised that if I
trust in God, in His faithfulness, in His might and
power, etc, then I can easily believe Him for anything.
By changing the verse, “Have faith in God” to
“Trust in God,” the mountain-moving faith was attainable
after all. Since then I had have no problem with the
mountain-moving faith.
Dearly beloved, if you are still at the point where the
mountain-moving faith is still mind boggling, I
encourage you to ask God for a personalised
understanding. For Hudson Taylor, it was “Hold on to the
faithfulness of God.” For me, it is “Trust in God.” What
will yours be?
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Week of September 16 - September
22, 2007
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is
in heaven - Matthew 6:10.
Earlier
in the week, I was asked to design a bunch of flyers for
my church and I was wondering about being able to have
unique designs for each one. Then I stumbled upon a
revelation based on Matthew
6:10
Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is
in heaven.
And the thought came into my heart that every thing that
happens in the physical realm has a replica in the
spiritual realm as seen in Hebrews 8:5
They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of
what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he
was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you
make everything according to the pattern shown you on
the mountain." Also, David in Psalm 139 talks about how intimately God know
us:
All the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16).
And I thought to myself there must be flyers already in
existence in the spiritual realm for these programs. So
I prayed that God would drop the designs in my spirit.
So far, I have completed one already and I do believe
God guided me all the way through.
With
this revelation, I have started to pray that my life
will line up with God’s ordained will for me.
Ephesians 4:14 says
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth
by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of
teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in
their deceitful scheming.
This should not only apply to the issue of doctrine, but
to our every day life and the decisions we make. In
James 1:5, God’s Word enjoins us, “If any of you
lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to
all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
I really do believe that God desires us not to be
confused, but to do His “will
here on earth as it is in heaven.”
This is kind of a new concept for me. I
am learning to pray daily that my day be align to God’s
ordained will for me. I encourage you, dear brethren, to
do same.
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Week of September 9 - September
15, 2007
God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man,
that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then
not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19
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Week of September 2 - September
8, 2007
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I
will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
In
John 6:16-21 is a popular account of Jesus walking
on water. Apparently, the disciples got on a boat for
Capernaum without Jesus. Many times, we embark on a project
without seeking the Lord’s direction. I know that I am
guilty of this. I get all excited about a project or
venture, and without taking the time to pray about it
and wait for God’s go ahead, I embark on it.
The
bible records in John 6:18-19: A strong wind was
blowing and the waters grew rough. When they had rowed
three or three and a half miles… The disciples were
rowing the boat in the midst of difficulty and they had
made some progress. I have never rowed a boat in my life
but I assume that it takes some energy to do so. With
the storm they found themselves in, the disciples must
have had to exert more strength to get the boat moving
in the direction they were headed. Yet it is interesting
to note that they did made some progress, albeit, slow.
But
when Jesus appeared, “they were willing to take him
into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the
shore where they were heading – John
6:21.”
See the contrast: as soon as Jesus got on the boat with
them, the bible records,
“immediately the boat reached the shore where they were
heading.”
Many
times, after I have embarked on projects in haste
without the Lord’s direction and when I realized my
mistake, I wondered, why do I keep doing this? I think
there is something in us that tells us that we just have
to be busy doing this or that. And unfortunately, we
have also bought into the lie that it always has
to the rough before it gets smooth.
See, I
am not trying to paint a rosy, idly life in Jesus.
Success requires handwork and persistence and sometimes
the going may indeed be rough. What I am saying is that
if whatever project or venture we are doing is from God,
we will have peace even in the midst of the storm. Also,
when we take time to wait on the Lord, we get the way
cleared out for us in the spiritual realm; we receive
renewed strength and walk in God’s grace and favor.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “But
they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall
run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not
faint.”
If you
have already embarked on a project and you are not sure
that is what God wants you to do, it is not too late to
find out what God wants you do. The disciples were
already in the boat and when “they were willing to
take him [Jesus] into the boat,” they got to their
destination “immediately.” Hebrews 4:9-11
enjoins us, “There remains,
then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone
who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just
as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every
effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by
following their example of disobedience.”
Dearly
beloved, in life without God’s leading, the going is
rough even if we seem to be making progress. Let us take
up Jesus offer: Come to me, all
you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest. Matthew 11:28
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Week of August 26 - September 1, 2007
Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in
vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the
watchmen stand guard in vain. Psalm 127:1
Many times, life gets so busy and so many
urgent things pop up that demand our attention. We get
so caught up in the mundane stuff day in, day out. Once
in a while we need to just stop and take stock. What I
am doing with my life? Am I fulfilling God’s plan for my
life? What am I doing that is wasting my time? These and
questions like these are what we should ask ourselves.
But I have to do this or that to survive,
we say. God knows this and yet He says, “So do not
worry, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we
drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the pagans run
after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows
that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you
as well – Matthew
6:31-33.”
Take God at His Word and put His kingdom first and watch
Him fulfill His Word in your life.
Now many of us in trying to put God’s
kingdom first, we encumber ourselves with many religious
activities. It is a good thing to serve the Lord; yet we
need to know that, as my Pastor back in
Nigeria
used to say, “Not all good ideas are God’s ideas.” It is
not in everything that we get involved in the name of
God that God is glorified.
Psalm
127:1 says, “Unless the LORD builds the house, its
builders labor in vain…” A house is a good thing and
to build a house is definitely a good investment in the
financial sense. There are many things we are doing in
our lives that represent building houses. Yet God’s Word
is admonishing us that “Unless
the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain…”
Since I read Psalm 127:1, I have
been taking stock of my life. I am trying to distinguish
what is important and what is not important. I am
praying that God would help me focus on what is
important to Him.
Dearly beloved, I pray that this week as
you read this that you will slow down and take stock of
your life. Ask yourself, am I laboring in vain? What
houses should I be building?
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do
this: He will make your righteousness shine like the
dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be
still before the LORD and wait patiently for him… -
Psalm 37:5-7.
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Week of August 19 - August 25, 2007
"Wake up, O sleeper,
Rise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you
- Ephesians 5:14."
During the week, it came up as a subject of discussion
that North American Christians are lacking in zeal,
unlike Christians in countries where there are
persecutions and hardships. I realized that due to the
persecutions and hardships, Christians in those
countries are on the spiritual alert and very much aware
of the spiritual atmosphere. But in North America with
all the technological advancements, modern conveniences,
and easy labeling of every behavioral abnormality; the
level of spiritual alertness is so low and the spiritual
realm seems intangible.
Why is this, I asked myself? As I thought about the
spiritual state of Christians in North America, the
answer came to me when the Lord led me to Ephesians
5:8-20. "Wake up, O sleeper…,” says Ephesians
5:14.
It seems to me that there is a spirit of slumber upon
the believers, such that trying to be spiritually alert
takes practically every ounce of spiritual strength. So
while spiritually alert believers in those other
countries have the strength to do spiritual warfare,
believers in North America have exhausted their energy
just being spiritually alert that there is no strength
left for spiritual battles.
Reading the passage, I learned that we need to “Be
very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as
wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the
days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but
understand what the Lord's will is - Ephesians 5:15-17.”
To accomplish this, we need to “be filled with
the Spirit – Ephesians
5:18.”
And the next two verses show us how to be filled with
the spirit: Speak to one another with psalms, hymns
and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart
to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for
everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ –
Ephesians 5:19-20.
Do
you realize that when you praise God and give thanks to
Him from your heart that you experience the presence of
God? I think of when I participate in worship at a
service, I am so filled with the Spirit of God at that
moment. I believe the Lord would have us in this
Spirit-filled state at all times. In our private
moments, we can praise the Lord, make melody in our
hearts and give thanks to God. We should endeavor to do
these continuously, so that we can stay filled with the Holy
Spirit and, in turn, stay spiritually alert. As
spiritually alert believers, we would definitely not be
lacking in zeal. Dearly beloved brethren, when we are
filled with the Spirit of God on a continual basis, we
will be on the alert spiritual and be able to do
spiritual warfare as needed.
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Week of August 12 - August 18, 2007
You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your
decrees – Psalm 119:68.
I
came across this scripture some weeks ago and it has
been in and out of my mind. Of all the attributes of God
that I am so sure of, His grace and His goodness are the
ones which stand out.
About six years ago, when a lady speaker ministered in
my church, she said if you know only one thing about
God, let it be this: God is good. She quoted Acts
14:17
Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in
that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and
fruitful seasons, filing our hearts with food and
gladness [KJV].
She went through the bible highlighting examples of
God’s goodness to people; Jews and Gentiles alike, the
righteous and the unrighteous, the deserving and the
undeserving.
I
caught the revelation that God is good! So when I read
Psalm 119:69 You are good, and what you do is good;
I was excited. James 1:17 says Every good and perfect
gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the
heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting
shadows. Not only is God good and give good gifts,
also, what He does is good. This means I can always
expect God to do good things in my life, for it is
God who works in you to will and to act according to his
good purpose – Philippians 2:13.
Ephesians 2:10
says For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance
for us to do. I knew God created me to do good
works. Yet, in the past when I have done good works, I
sometimes question my motives. Am I doing this good
thing because I am good? I ask myself. More oft than
not, because I derived some form of satisfaction and
feel good about the deed, I think I am not really good
and I feel deflated.
So
the other thing which got me excited about this
scripture was that it made me realize that I am actually
good. If God is good and He does good things, that means
He does good things because He is good. I am a child of
God with the attributes of God in me. Like the love of
God is shed abroad my heart by the Holy Spirit, so is
the goodness of God in my heart and this goodness is not
based upon my good works. Rather the good works that I
do is a reflection of the goodness of God in my heart, a
manifestation of one of the attributes of the fruit of
the Spirit.
My
brethren, be encouraged today to step out and do good
works. Not only have you been created to do good works,
know that you are doing such from the goodness of God in
your heart.
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Week of August 5 - August 11, 2007
He has
taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me is
love
- Song of Songs 2:4
This morning as I was meditating upon the scripture in
Song of Songs 2:4
He
has taken me to the banquet hall, and his banner over me
is love;
I thought of a recent gala night I went with my husband.
We were both dressed up, had great food and
conversation, danced together, and had lots of fun. It
was a very special night. I started to imagine going to
a banquet hall with the Lord Almighty Whose banner over
me is love; I will feel so special being the center of
attention and being waited on hand and foot. I realized
that is exactly the way we should feel anytime we think
about the love of God towards us.
This scripture also made me think about my most
favourite song which is the Ron
Kenoly song - HIS BANNER
OVER US IS LOVE. I took time to listen to the song over
and over again (see the words below). The blood of Jesus
proves the love of God for us.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved
us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins
1John 4:10.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down
his life for his friends John 15:13.
His banner over us is love; it bears the seal of His
goodness, the stains of His blood… – Ron Kenoly.
Yes, God does love us. Is His love for us just for us to
feel special alone? I believe that the words of the song
sum up the ultimate reason why God’s banner over us is
love.
Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to
love one another 1John 4:11.
Our response should be
So with the message of the cross we carry on
To declare on earth His Kingdom has come
Till every tribe and every nation
Has received His plan of salvation
We will carry His banner of love
So we go to each and every nation
Teaching and preaching about His goodness
And His banner over us is love
– Ron Kenoly.
This seems to be such a daunting task if you think about
going to the nations. I believe God intends for us to
start with our families, friends and neighbours. A smile
to someone we walk by on the street, a kind word to a
sales associate at the store, praying for a lost soul or
needy person, donating stuff to a local charity, etc;
those are some of the ways we can carry His banner of
love. Dearly beloved, know that God’s banner over you is
love and carry this love banner across to each person
you come across today.
HIS BANNER OVER
US IS LOVE - Ron Kenoly
© 2003 Ron Kenoly Music/ASCAP
Until the gospel of His Kingdom
Has been preached
And every heart and every soul
Has been reached
Till every tribe and every nation
Has received His plan of salvation
We will carry His banner of love
To every city every township and every ville
To every hedge every highway and every hill
Until His plan of salvation
Has been heard in every nation
We will carry His banner of love
His banner over us is love
His banner over us is love
His banner over us is love
It bears the seal of His goodness
The stains of His blood
His banner over us is love
His banner over us is love
His banner over us is love
His banner over us is love
The cross of His suffering
The stains of His blood
His banner over us is love
So with the message of the cross we carry on
To declare on earth His Kingdom has come
Till every tribe and every nation
Has received His plan of salvation
We will carry His banner of love
So we go to each and every nation
Teaching and preaching about His goodness
And His banner over us is love
Back to top
Week of July 29 - August 4, 2007
Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him
Exodus 40:16.
In Exodus 40:1-15, God gave Moses instructions on how to
set up the tabernacle. As you read on after verse 15,
the bible recorded frequently that Moses did this or did
that as the Lord commanded.
Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him
Exodus 40:16.
When the tabernacle was completed as the Lord commanded,
the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. In the
scripture wherever the glory of the Lord is, there is
power.
In Luke 5:1-7, after a long night of unsuccessful
fishing expenditure, Jesus instructed Simon,
"Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a
catch Luke 5:4."
Simon’s initial statement was to tell Jesus how
unfruitful their fishing night had been. Many of us do
that when we receive direction from God’s Word that does
not seem to make sense. We look at the circumstances
around and based on our limited reasoning abilities or
available resources, we focus on the magnitude of the
situation. We forget the infinite power of our God and
His willingness to be
an
ever-present help in trouble
(Psalm 46:1).
Yet like Simon, we should go further than that. We
should respond to the Word of the Lord, “Nevertheless
at thy word I will… Luke 5:5 (KJV).” In obedience to
the Word of Jesus, regardless of the fact that Simon did
not comprehend the reasonableness of it, he obeyed. And
the result was amazing.
When they had done so, they caught such a large number
of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled
their partners in the other boat to come and help them,
and they came and filled both boats so full that they
began to sink
Luke 5:6-7. When we step out in faith and act upon the Word of
the Lord, we can be sure of great outcomes even much
more than expected. For God “is
able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,
according to his power that is at work within us
Ephesians 3:20.”
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Week of July 22 - 28, 2007
I
am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in
me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me
you can do nothing John 15:5.
As
I read through the bible, I am amazed with the level of
intimacy some of the Old Testament saints have with God
and the greatness of the sign and wonders God
accomplished through them. And I think, these are the
days of the Holy Spirit indwelling, yet why do we not
see such? After some pondering on this issue, I came to
three conclusions.
First conclusion: we can and do have a much better level
of intimacy with God. God’s Word says, “Yet a time is
coming and has now come when the true worshipers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the
kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and
his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth John
4:23-24.” This is the time. We may not hear audible
voices or see angels bring us messages from God, but we
do have the Word of God and the Holy Spirit who grants
us revelation knowledge of God. In the Psalms, I wonder
why David would be praise God for His protection in one
verse and the next make a statement that make you think,
is he really sure of God’s protection? As New Testament
saints, we walk in the assurance of God’s Word and, as
such, are sure of God’s protection over us.
Second conclusion: the spectacular is not better than
the supernatural. Most of the signs and wonders in the
Old Testament are spectacular PHYSICAL manifestation of
God’s power. However in these days, God is moving in the
spiritual realm powerfully. No miracle is greater than
the new birth in Christ. After this I looked and
there before me was a great multitude that no one could
count, from every nation, tribe, people and language,
standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.
They were wearing white robes and were holding palm
branches in their hands Revelation 7:9. All over the
world, this scripture is getting fulfilled: lives are
being changed and sinners are becoming saints. You can’t
get more supernatural miracles than that.
Third conclusion: we are not experiencing the higher
level of intimacy with God or the wonders of the
supernatural because we are not abiding. I am the
vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I
in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can
do nothing John 15:5. If we are not consistent in
our fellowship with God, how can we develop the intimacy
with God? Also, it is by abiding in Jesus that we can
bear fruits. You want to experience the wonders of the
supernatural and the spectacular, remain in Jesus and
allow him to remain in you.
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Week of July 15 - 21, 2007
May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us-- yes, establish
the work of our hands Psalm 90:17.
Recently as I was thinking of my design skills, I said
this prayer, “Lord, make me one of the best designers in
the world.” Minutes later after giving the desire some
thoughts, I modified the prayer, “Lord, help me to
design products that will minister life and
encouragement.” I realized that no matter how fantastic
a graphic, website, layout or any product for that
matter may appear if it is dead, then it is useless.
God’s favor is very essential in our lives. When we are
surrounded with God’s favor as with a shield Psalm
5:12,
the way people will perceive us or our work will be
favorable. I think of so many competition shows on TV,
it is usually the favorite contestant who wins, not the
most competent contestant.
We
need God to establish the work of our hands for us.
God’s Word says, “The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the
wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned…
Ecclesiastes 9:11.”
I love to cook and like to experiment with different
ways of cooking the same dish (following recipes bore
me). Some times when we are expecting guests, my
experiments have gone haywire and it is too late to
start afresh. I send up a prayer, “Dear Lord, over to
you.” Always, I end up getting great compliments on the
food. I know it is just God; He establishes my cooking
for me.
In whatever we do, we need to commit it into God’s hand
and pray like Moses, “May
the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish
the work of our hands for us-- yes, establish the work
of our hands Psalm 90:17.”
You will be amazed at the outcome.
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Week of July 8 - 14, 2007
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter
of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the
cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
At
a conference I attended over the weekend, I learned that
as children of God we need to make sacrifices to the
pursuit of our knowledge of God. As I reflect over my
life in this regard, I realize that I had not been
diligent in setting aside for my daily quiet time with
the Lord. I also remember a conversation I had with a
sister last year who shared that to go deeper in her
walk with God she makes the sacrifice of waking up very
early in the morning. I recall that I argued with this
sister that if busy, irregular work schedules interfered
with a consistent time of fellowship with the Lord, it
was ok.
How wrong I was. Now I believe that if I place much
value on knowing God, then I need to make whatever
sacrifices are necessary to achieve this goal. Jesus is
our example; many times in the gospel, it was recorded
that he went to a solitary place alone to pray. Paul
said he “…consider everything a loss compared to the
surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…
Philippians 3:8.”
Unfortunately, though it is so easy to get distracted;
yet we need to realize that our very sustenance is in
knowing God. We need to “…throw off everything that
hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and… fix
our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our
faith… Hebrews 12:1-2.”
In
fixing our eyes on Jesus, we will always remember why
the sacrifices we are making to know God is essential.
Make a decision today to put knowing God above all else.
Ask God for the grace and strength to pay the price. Be
encouraged, dearly beloved, “for it is God who works
in you to will and to act according to his good purpose
Philippians 2:13.”
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Week of July 1 - 7, 2007
Over the past few days, I had been reading about the
life of David. And this morning as I read Psalm 32:10
Many are the woes of the wicked, but the LORD's
unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him;
I was struck by how true this is in the life of David.
David went through his share of hardship and even woes,
yet through them all, God’s unfailing love (or like the
King James Version puts it God’s mercy)
encompassed him. Why? Because David trusted in the Lord.
How wonderful this is.
As
God’s children, I believe when we trust the Lord, we
will indeed be surrounded by His unfailing love. If you
think this is untrue, just take time to count your
blessings. The mere fact that you are still alive
testifies to the goodness of our God.
No
matter the circumstances confronting you at this time,
cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you
1Peter 5:7. Trust in God, know that His unfailing
love surround you and you are bound to experience the
goodness of God in your life. For though
“…weeping
may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the
morning Psalm 30:5.”
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Week 2 of June 24
- 30, 2007
I will bless the LORD
at all times:
his praise shall
continually be
in my mouth.
Psalm 34:1 (KJV)
In 1Samuel 7, David made known to
Prophet Nathan his desire to build a place of dwelling
for the Ark of the Lord. God’s reply was that David’s
son will be the one to build the place of worship. Then
God promised David, “Your house
and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your
throne will be established forever.”
The bible records in 1Samuel
7:18, “Then King David
went in and sat before the LORD…”
to offer prayer of thanksgiving to the Lord. What
ministered to my heart was that David took time to offer
thanksgiving and praises to God in response to the
promises he received from the Lord. Many times when God
gives me His promise concerning my life or any petition
I bring before Him, I do a quick ‘thank you, God’ and
move on to the next thing. Most of the time when I set
aside time to offer prayer of thanksgiving is after the
physical manifestation of the promise.
In David’s case, he took time to thank
the Lord for the promise. I believe this is what God
desires us His children to do. When God give a promise,
it is as good as done regardless of the timing of the
physical manifestation.
Let us begin to get very excited about
God’s promises to us and take time to offer thanksgiving
and praises to Him for them.
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Week 1 of June 17 -
23, 2007
See, I
am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
God's Word for us this week is
Isaiah 43:19.
See,
I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Last week, we went through an experience
that shook us as a family. Despite the fact that we were
praying about it, it loomed largely on my mind. During
this Sunday worship, the Spirit of God reminded me of a
scripture He gave me last year. As I read this
scripture, I realized I had to stand on this Word NOW.
Even though, I had received this Word last year, it was
still very much application in the situation. At that
moment, the peace of God flooded my soul. I knew that
all was well.
God is set to do a new thing in your
life. You do not have to wait for a special occasion.
His mercies are new every morning. It is of the
LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his
compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great
is thy faithfulness. Lamentations
3:23
(KJV).
With
God, every day is a new day to show you His mercies.
Every moment is an opportunity to do a new thing in your
life.
Dearly beloved, it is a new day; it is a
new season. Seize the moment and see the new things God
will do in your life.
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