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Interceding in Pain

By
Oma Ogban
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“Oma, you need to come home.”

“Why? What is it? Is it….Mummy?”

“You need to come home. An ambulance is on its way to take Mummy to the mortuary.”

It’s funny how a three-lined conversation holds so much significance. I remember it… every single bit of this conversation – even the not-so-rhythmic beating of my heart.

My world changed in that instant. My precious mother was dead! How was I supposed to accept it? How did this happen? God had finally done it; He had turned his back on me. He had taken one of His most precious gifts to me.

Grief is hard. It isn’t the subject of this conversation; I just thought to slip that in. But we will have this conversation some other time – hopefully soon.

It’s been three months since the dreadful conversation. A hard three months I must say. Let me just write again, grief is HARD. But I survived it. No, I didn’t just survive it – I grew in it all.

Grief is HARD but God is awesome. I mean how can I ever say it has all been on my strength….it’s been God’s peace that has kept me. But more than that, my testimony is that my mother’s death brought God into better focus.

So the other morning, by say 4 a.m., I felt particularly heavyhearted and thought..”Oh well, best to talk to my Strength and Comfort about this heaviness I feel” and after a while, the words just slipped…”Father, I pray for Brother A and Sister B”. Where did that come from? It wasn’t time to bother with the origin then…so I kept the prayer flowing.

You see I have known Brother A and Sister B from my “younger” days….

…Oh! They are siblings..forgot to mention that (just in case it isn’t deducible from the text before).

Yes! I have known them from kindergarten days, I think. At some point in primary school, their father passed. I don’t have the details of the events that transpired after that. But it seems a lot did. They lost everything in some hassle with their bereaved father’s relatives following his death. Their mother was a single parent dealing with the struggles of raising two kids on her own in what seemed to be the best way she knew how. Then, she died. Then Sister B had a number of rumored psychological issues. And Brother A…well, no one particularly had a good story to tell about him either. Like I noted, I don’t know the details but I did hear some rumors.

I didn’t care much though – better I mind my business. I didn’t want to be bothered with other people’s pain. But now, my mother is dead and I FINALLY understand. So I prayed for them – I prayed for clarity of purpose, for strength, for success, but mostly for God’s grace.

And then I realized….

Tribulation often throws opportunities for intercession.

To get to the point, I’ll draw from the best case study for this – the Chief Intercessor, Jesus Christ…

My study of the book of Hebrews throws light on Jesus Christ as the Chief Priest, the one not from the Levitical line of priesthood…but like Melchizedek.

Chief priests originally were ordained by God (Heb 5:4). They were (or are) intercessors – they prayed for the people and offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.

But Jesus. Jesus was special. He didn’t sacrifice with the blood of bulls and goats. No, He sacrificed himself. And while sacrifices of old required repetitions, his was a once-and-for-all sacrifice. What strikes me most is that one of the many reasons why Jesus is a PERFECT intercessor is…as the Bible puts it:

Although He was a Son, He learned [active,special] obedience through what He suffered and, [His completed experience] making Him perfectly [equipped], He became the Author and Source of eternal salvation to all those who give heed and obey Him.
– Hebrews 5:8-9 (AMP)

He understood the issues we had living in the flesh. And it wasn’t that kind of shallow “oh I have heard about that” kind of understanding – it was experiential. So his knowledge of His Father, his Father’s will for AND most significantly, our struggles put him in the best position to intercede.

When you go through trials, you suffer, you fight, you learn….yes, you gain experiential knowledge. Thus, when you meet another with a similar struggle, you can say convincingly to self and other “I understand”….cause you really do. You understands those feelings, those struggles that cannot be expressed cause of fear, pain or sheer lack of words.

And so you know just what to pray. God blesses you with the grace and the burden to know what to pray. And when you feel not the words, the Spirit continues in this intercession.

You’ll be wrong to think that struggle, that pain is all about you. It isn’t. God’s glory has got to be the result of it all. And one way that can be is, with God’s help, you being the anchor for someone else – through actioned love, encouragement, and prayer.

So, while I grieve, I choose to be God’s instrument. I choose to love people through their grief as well. From now on, I’ll mourn when others mourn…cause I am blessed with the wisdom of what grief does and how God still works through it all.

WHEN GOD GIVES YOU A WORD…

By
Chinyere Anoke
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0

“Trust me and everything will play out well”

The above were God’s words to me in April 2017 when I was about to start writing my fast-selling book – “SINGLE, FRUITFUL, FULFILLED”, popularly known as the SFF book. Prior to this, I had struggled so hard to kick-start the writing of the book; even coming up with a workable sketch outline was tough. So on this particular night in April, in despair, I cried out to God to please help me birth this book He had placed in my heart, as it was crystal clear that I couldn’t do it on my own; and He answered. That was the night He spoke these words to my spirit: “Trust me and everything will play out well”. I am where I am today because God kept His promise.

Now, this does not mean that everything went on smoothly after that night. Far from it. There were still some tough challenges – physical, mental, financial and emotional. However whenever each came, I went back to God to remind Him of His promise. On 30th June 2017 when my fears and doubts were almost swallowing up my faith, I went back to God with lots of questions and He re-assured me with this: “trust me and everything will fall in place.” And I just rested on it, amidst the pending things that wanted to overwhelm my trust in God. Today, I testify that everything He promised, He made it come true. Some of them are still panning out even as I continue to listen and obey Him.

You see, when God gives us a word, as the Promise Keeper, He is set to keep His word.

However, we have an active role to play, for God’s word to come to pass – be it to birth a dream, solve a problem, lead an army, or whatever it is that God has given us a word for.
Below, I share applicable steps to take, to make God’s word come true for you.
When God gives you a word:

1. Believe it! I know this sounds like common sense, but often when God gives us a word, it doesn’t sound like a logical thing to do, so we doubt Him. However, the first step to seeing the manifestation of God’s word in your life is to BELIEVE HIM TOTALLY. Just like Mary, let our sincere reply be: “Be it unto me according to your word” (Luke 1:38)

2. Pray with the word. God watches over His word to perform them and He loves it when we remind Him of His word. Find scriptures that back up the promise and pray with them as well. In the case of the SFF book, I used Proverbs 3:5-6 and Psalm 25:1-3.

3. As often as possible, confess God’s word to you in the present (continuous) tense. Here is my example, using the SFF book: The SFF book is a reality. Its message is spreading to the ends of the earth. It is renewing minds about what singlehood and marriage is really about. It is bringing me before kings and nobles, and ultimately, it is bringing Glory to my Father in heaven and establishing His Kingdom here on earth.

4. When doubts assail, don’t relent. Understand that it is the devil’s tactics to distract you and prevent you from receiving the manifestation of God’s word. Hence, rebuke the voice of the devil, continuously remind God of His word and thank Him that it is settled in Heaven already. And yes, continuously remind yourself of God’s word and dance to its fulfilment in faith.

5. Don’t go alone. This is one of the best advice I’ve ever received and I got it from my sister-friend, Hephzibah Frances. Always have Christian friends who are praying along with you, who you can share the vision and idea with and be encouraged. Remember, one will chase a thousand, but two will chase ten thousands. This is not applicable only in marriage, it is an everyday life principle. When you go alone, you will weary easily and achieve very little.

6. Thank God in advance. I know I have mentioned thanksgiving in one of the points above, but this is very critical. When God gives you a word, thank Him in advance that it is done, and if you can, attach a thanksgiving seed to it. I did that for the birthing of the SFF book and for the SFF live Masterclass held in Abuja in February 2018. No, I didn’t have all the funds. As a matter of fact, I didn’t have upto 10% of the funds needed. But I sowed a Thanksgiving seed and through it, the rest fell in place.

7. Obey divine instructions. I think this is where a lot of Christians sleep on a long thing. When God gives you a word, it is often followed up with instructions which He requires you to obey for His word to come true. A lot of us are good with the prayers, confessions, faith and thanksgiving part, but we are so lazy to put in the required work. Sorry to burst your bubble if you expect me not to mention work. The work aspect cannot be overlooked.
When God gives you a word, WORK is required. You will put in spiritual work, physical work, mental work, social work and every other work that that assignment requires. So it is not enough to remind God of His word, if you are not prepared to obey His instructions to work.
In writing and promoting the SFF Book, I had to take courses to help me write better, become more informed and influential in my use of Social media; I had to take courses on Emotional Intelligence, financial wisdom etc.; I had to go out and interact more with people, left to me, I can stay in my room a whole month without going out, but that had to change. More importantly, I had to learn to sit and listen to what God would have me do per time.

So there you have it, the secrets behind the success of the SFF Movement – the SFF Vision, the SFF book, the SFF Masterclasses, the SFF Community and every other area of my life.

Beauty….

By
Yeiwoman Ministries
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0

I rushed into the auditorium. I was late by almost one hour. I hate missing ‘Praise and Worship’. For me, that’s the pivotal part of a church service. It gets you prepared for the message.

I caught the last bit of the testimonies and that was very okay. After exchanging a quick hello with the lady beside me, I brought out my Bible and got ready for the word. Then I felt someone poke me on my left arm. The lady beside me. She said; “Oh my goodness! You’re so very beautiful.” I was taken aback. I was confused and if I was white, I bet I’ll have turned three shades of red. I responded gracefully with a smile and a ‘Thank you’. Did I feel beautiful? At that moment, maybe a little if I consider the imaginary size of my head. Humpty Dumpty doesn’t even come close. Lol.

Okay, I admit, I did enjoy the compliment…a lot. But right after that, we got into worship and I was teary-eyed and lost in the heavenly zone. I was thinking of God’s overwhelming love for me and how His grace has held me up all these time.

Rewind to two weeks after I gave my life to Christ, one of my friends was shocked and said, “You’re going to let all that beauty go to waste?” I nodded. “No party, no nice clothes, no booze and boys?” I was amused at the horrified look on his face. He looked as though someone just gave him my obituary.

Although I was amused, I felt a little trepidation as he reminded me too vividly of what I would be missing dare I choose the path of the Cross. I look back 27 years in the Lord and I have not had one day of regret. In fact, my only regret is that I didn’t know Christ earlier. I wish I had. I wish I could have avoided the romance with the world. There’s nothing to it. It’s all vanity.

My life has been beautiful with Christ and the physical beauty is just a shell, an added bonus. I have never felt more beautiful than being in Christ and knowing my Saviour looks at me tenderly with the eyes of love. Knowing that I was worth dying for makes me feel absolutely stunningly more beautiful everyday. He made my life so beautiful and… I don’t know any other definition of beauty comparable to this.

He Gave The Dream Back

By
Hephzibah Frances
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0

“Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said
to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and
go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of
the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two
of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the
burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.”
-Genesis 22:1‭-‬3 (NKJV)

The year was 2014. I heard Him say to me “you have no idea about the things
I would use you to do for me”.

I heard Him say again at a time when the thought of death came to me: “you
have not spoken to the people in Spain and Italy that I want you to speak
to. You are not going anywhere”.

The year was 2015. I saw Him send lots of confirmations to me: “Frances,
God is taking you to the nations!”.

I believed and then I waited. And waited. And waited.

And then He said “Let it die. Let the dream die”.

But you gave me these dreams. I didn’t ask for it!

He said “Frances, let it die”.

The years 2015 till 2017 were deep dark days for me. I couldn’t understand
what God was doing. I had not heard of anyone preaching on this except
Joyce Meyer in a message I later found on “pruning”.

I was pained and lived like someone in a cave – living dead. I was alive in
God but dead in visions, dead in dreams and dead in hope.

He pruned me. Boy! He pruned me!!

He tested me. He tested my heart. He tested my motives.

He made me okay with little and thankful for the scraps the ravens brought
my way.

He made me thankful for little platforms even though He said “TO THE NATIONS!”

He made me desire His kingdom and ministry to every soul whether it was a
soul in a crowd or not.

And all the while, the dream remained dead.

I thought about our Father Abraham during this time of my life. I wondered
“God, why would you do something like that to Him? You promised him Isaac
and you also wanted to take Isaac away from Him? Why would you let Him go
through so much heartache?

But you promised him Isaac. You promised! Why would you want to kill the
dream? Why would you want to take away the promise?”

And in the stillness of a pruned heart, He answered: “so I can resurrect
the dream in the way that I want it to be”.

I wept when I heard that in 2017.

It was a new year. I thought it would be a new good year but again this
year He said “kill it so I can resurrect it in the way that it should be”.

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the
ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much
fruit.”
-John 12:24 KJV

I had to die so I could live in Him.

It was a painful death. He had given me this grand dream and now I had to
give it back to Him.

Just like Joseph I was being tried.

“Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him.”
Psalms 105:19 NKJV

“Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.”
Psalms 105:19 NLT

My character was being refined. Who I was could not have carried the glory and my heart could not have sustained His purpose at the time.

So the Lord took me through fiery trials of lack, pain and wilderness seasons to test my character and heart motives.

“The Lord ’s promise tested him through fiery trials until his prediction came true.”
Psalms 105:19 GW

And towards the end of 2017 He began to resurrect the dream again and this time I was scared. I had accepted that God may not fulfill His word to me. I had accepted that I loved Him whether He does so or not and then He began to say “I want to be good to you. Here is your dream, you can have it back”.

But the dream wasn’t the same.

“When they came to the place that God had told him about, Abraham built the altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied up his son Isaac and laid him on top of the wood on the altar. Next, Abraham picked up the knife and took it in his hand to sacrifice his son. But the Messenger of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Yes?” he answered. “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you did not refuse to give me your son, your only son.”
-Genesis 22:9‭-‬12 GW
 

It was a test from the beginning. THE LORD REALLY WANT HIS SON DEAD (OF WHAT USE WOULD THAT BE TO HIM?); HE WANTED HIS HEART – FULLY, UNRESERVEDLY.

Now in 2018, He has given the dream back to me but the person He gave the dream back to isn’t the same. I am not the same Frances. This Frances indeed died so she could live in Him.

And the dream itself isn’t the same..the dream is now His, through and through.

****

Have you ever felt like God gave you a dream and then took it away from you
again?

Be encouraged.

God is not a wicked Father.

He doesn’t break His children’s hearts.

But He kills to ressurect aright.

He prunes to make anew.

He uproots to replant.

He makes us ready to carry His glory.

Give Him back HIS DREAM if He asks you to submit it right back to Him.

He knows what He is doing. He wants to make you a better you; a vessel of Christ’s character who can carry the glory.

***

“Then the Messenger of the Lord called to Abraham from heaven a second time and said, “I am taking an oath on my own name, declares the Lord , that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son, I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies’ cities. Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”
– Genesis 22:15‭-‬18 GW

Yeisings- Reckless Love by Cory Asbury (Bethel Music)

By
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0

Rekless
/ˈrek·ləs/ adjective. us
showing a lack of care about risks or danger, and acting without thinking about the results of your actions

The Love of God is indescribable, it’s soothing, refreshing, re-assuring, above all its reckless.
It does not give a care in the world for the consequences of taking on a heavily flawed person and completely committing to them.
It’s a love that nothing can separate you from and it’s a love that will fight for you, chase you until you are found!

Romans 8:38-39 (The passion translation)
So now I live with the confidence that there is nothing in the universe with the power to separate us from God’s love. I’m convinced that his love will triumph over death, life’s troubles,[a] fallen angels, or dark rulers in the heavens. There is nothing in our present or future circumstances that can weaken his love. There is no power above us or beneath us—no power that could ever be found in the universe that can distance us from God’s passionate love, which is lavished upon us through our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One!
Most times we tend to forget it…

We fall into temptations and think God will stop fighting for us

We say the wrong things and think God will stop fighting for us

Never forget that God will always leave the “99” to chase the “1”!

Listen and be Blessed.

Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Before I spoke a word
You were singing over me
You have been so, so
Good to me
Before I took a breath
You breathed Your life in me
You have been so, so
Kind to me

[Chorus]
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it
I don’t deserve it
Still You give yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

[Verse 2]
When I was your foe, still Your love fought for me
You have been so, so
Good to me
When I felt no worth
You paid it all for me
You have been so, so
Kind to me

[Chorus]
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it
I don’t deserve it
Still You give yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

[Bridge]
There’s no shadow You won’t light up
Mountain You won’t climb up
Coming after me
There’s no wall You won’t kick down
No lie You won’t tear down
Coming after me

[Chorus]
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
I couldn’t earn it
I don’t deserve it
Still You give yourself away
Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Guest Post: The Bathroom by Sola Macaulay

By
Yeiwoman Ministries
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0

I stared at the filthy bathroom.

It needed a good intense scrub. I desired to clean it. I felt uncomfortable with the filth, the stench. Plus that bacterium multiplies a million per minute, I needed to dive in and salvage it. Though willing and enthusiastic, I stopped. I looked at around, at what I needed to tackle and where I ought to start. A daunting task. What could I do? I checked the cabinets and found them empty. How should I clean the bathroom? Should I pour water everywhere with the hopes the water will wash the filth away? Water will make the place wet, but not clean. I had nothing but water to use to get the place clean and that alone does not get the job done.
Tools. Yes. I needed work tools.

I strolled out of the bathroom, went to the kitchen to get a drink and a snack. I settled in front of the TV to take a wee break, and hours later I questioned my earlier wish to clean the bathroom.

The next day as I dashed into the supermarket, I got to the cleaning aisle and I got excited. I grabbed the needed cleaning products. I even got a pair of gloves, apron and scarf to go with it.

When I got home, I got even more excited. The filth remained the same. The wish to clean remained unchanged. What gave me the extra gusto were the tools I had gained. I could clean and achieve a fragrant and sparkling clean bathroom. I had the gloves, the apron, the scarf and a bucket full of cleaning tools. I was ready and equipped to destroy the dirt.

I cleaned. A simple detergent and a sponge cleaned most surfaces, but I needed bleach for the tougher stains. I enjoyed the sweaty task because of the result I achieved. I hit the mark. Pun intended. Without the correct cleaning tools I could never achieve my desired result.

Imagine if I love/need to pray but I never read the word. It might be okay, for a while. But without the right tools, the word of God, prayer will be emotional babbles.

“We equip ourselves with the word of God to pray on target. The applied knowledge and understanding of the bible is what sets us free; not the multitude of words we utter in prayer.”

We pray amiss when we don’t pray the will of God, that is, God’s word. The word of God, expressed, in prayers works wonders. Any other type of prayer is mere religious rhetoric . The devil doesn’t quake at religious activities. He loves it because he understand how futile they are against his activities. He hates it when we know the truth; that it is the word of God that delivers answers, demolishes strongholds and creates those things that be not as though they are:

 “…God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;
Romans 4:17b NKJV

The most effective tool for answered prayer is the word of God. It is the arsenal of offense against troubles and issues. Prayer is the vehicle that carries the word of God to its desired end. We need both prayer and the word. They go hand in hand.

The power of prayer is the word of God.

The content of prayer should be the word of God. The enemy of our soul fears the word of God, because of its potency. No matter how much water I pour on a dirty bathroom, it will be wet but not clean. Bacteria will still thrive and multiply. I stop the dirt when I scrub with a sponge and detergent. That’s how it works in prayer. You apply the word of God. When the dirt is deep, I apply bleach or a stronger detergent and leave it to soak for some time. Some issues need longer periods of prayer and an added fast before we can see the result.

When you pray, find the scripture that is appropriate for what you want to pray for and release the trigger. God responds to His word. He has a high regard for His word:

 “I will worship toward Your holy temple, And praise Your name For Your loving kindness and Your truth; FOR YOU HAVE MAGNIFIED YOUR WORD ABOVE ALL YOUR NAME.” Psalm 138:2

Let the Bells Ring

By
Mfoniso Urua
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0

Let the bell ring
Let the truth dance in our hearts
The difference between success and failure are the echoes of what we know or fail to know
let the bell ring…………
Our zero to adults are not sex toys
Neither instruments for depraved minds.

What if we tell our sons that true strength lies in integrity?
What if we tell our daughters beauty transcends beyond the outward adornment?
What if we tell them about treating their precious bodies with dignity?
What if we tell them the future is now?
Every decision and action will breathe into the future.
Let the bell ring
Let the drums of truth be rolled out
Can we hold their hands as the cross the highway of youthfulness
Our young should not be neglected to the piercing embrace of the media nor the banging lure of peer pressure.
Have we sowed the seeds in our garden that will blossom into credible adults tommorow?
Can we let our daughters know that their bodies are not laboratories for sexual escapades
Can we help the abused, the molested, the raped, instead of hush them to silence.

When are young are molested
Society is molested
When our young are raped society is raped of decency and modesty
Let’s change the narrative
For us
For our seed
For if our young are hurting then society hurts real bad.
Let the bell ring
Let the drums of truth be rolled out.

Guest Post: Pearls in the Rough by Sola Macaulay

By
Yeiwoman Ministries
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0

Iwoke up one morning a few weeks ago and decided to do house cleaning.
I don’t mean just cleaning, I mean intense shifting of things around. I never knew that that decision would be one of the best decision I would ever make this year.

At first, I looked at the things I needed to clear and I felt so overwhelmed. I’m talking about a room filled with stuff gathered over ten years. That stuff we hold on to with sentiment believing that one day we would put them to good use. The room had a musty damp smell, filled with many boxes of things we moved from house to house. I had to think strategically of ways to sort through the items. Some things would definitely go in the trash, some will be recycled whilst others will be repacked and relocated. I had tons of baby stuff things, but books took about 75% of everything.

On the first day I started, I had to battle dust and a stuffy room, but then that was to be expected. I soon settled down to the task ahead of me. All I saw was a whole lot of junk and I wondered what I was doing keeping so much junk and letting it take up so much space in my house. Armed with gloves and cleaning products I began to tackle the dirt.
I dusted, swept, scrubbed, wiped, moped and polished. On the first day, I found a nest of baby mice, about a dozen or more. Their mama ran out the moment we opened the box. I shrieked with disgust and was annoyed that I had rodents living with me in the house while everything looked good on the outside. I turned the baby mice out of the box and our dog found them to be sport to play with. No, she never ate any of them or else I would have slapped her upside down. Lol. However, I cringed as she played with the baby mice.

I went back inside the house and searched for possible places where the mama mouse could be hiding but no such luck. The presence of mama mouse means more babies in the future and more dirt and bacteria. That’s a battle I would have to engage in another day. Getting back to my cleaning, I cleared out space to store some of the sorted items. It took me about three days, and I kid you not, to eventually clean the room enough to see what I could sort or not.

Whilst my plan was to clean out the room and convert it for use, I didn’t realize the treasure I would find in the midst of all the rubble and chaos.

First came some family mementos and memorabilia. Lots of memories embedded in some pictures. Unfortunately, most of the pictures were damaged from dampness and humidity. Next came baby things and furniture that could be traded in for a tidy sum. In fact, some of the items were still in their boxes, neat and very new. They would definitely fetch a handsome sum. When I finished with the baby items, I tackled documents most of which had to go.

The final frontier was the books. We have a lot of them. The books were equally damp but I was able to clean and salvage all of them. As I went through the books one after the other, I realised just how much we invested in books and I found books that I didn’t even remember we had. Books on leadership, business, discipleship and just about every topic we were interested in. I was excited to see books that many people vouch for and recommend to others. I was excited that I didn’t have to buy these books, that I already had them in my possession. It was like excavating a gold mine. Books that helped me grow in my early Christian life. Books that are out of print. I stopped in my tracks and started picking the books that I would immediately revisit. I also noticed notes I had written from messages I listened to as well as notes from my thoughts and observation and I was amazed again at stuff I wrote years ago- full of wisdom.

I looked at everything I dug out and it was like being surrounded by treasure. From the spare room, I moved to the kitchen and I uncovered a whole lot of kitchen wares that I hadn’t touched because I was waiting for that special occasion. At this point, I was getting too excited. I dashed around the house like a mad person and started going through stuff. I found clothes I hadn’t worn in ages or never worn before still in perfect condition. I moved stuff that were in the back to the front. Then the Spirit of the Lord stopped me in my tracks and said to me, “You see how much stuff you have? And you were asking me to bless you with more things when what you already have, had you taken the time to look around, is sufficient for you.” That, in a nutshell, spells contentment.

In the process of shifting things around, I found many things I’d been looking for including things I was thinking I needed to buy.

“I had everything I needed all around me. I didn’t need anything more.”

God is never wasteful. He is not prodigal with His resources. He doesn’t give us something just because we WANT it. He gives us what we NEED per time.

I took a moment to search through all my stuff and realized that I didn’t even have room for anything more. In fact, I needed to start giving things away rather hoarding them believing I would need them another time. In the middle of what I thought was a whole pile of junk were pearls that were needed and relevant for my current situation. Had I gone to get more things, I would have shoved some semi-old things into my store room and added more junk and more comfortable accommodation for mice and other rodents.

If we take time to appreciate and look closely at what God has already blessed us with we won’t look over the fence at what seems to spell ‘abundance’ in another person’s garden. We also need to check the motive behind our petition for blessings. Do we really need the things we ask for or are we trying to scratch a fashion trending itch? Remember that God can see our hearts and read our minds so He can see through all our facade. Also, God knows what we need at every point in time and He ‘promised’ to meet our needs.

 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:19 KJV
Romans 5:17

 

Let’s look at it another way:

Everything we need to function at the optimal capacity, God has already embedded in us.

Though we look at ourselves and think that we’re nothing or that someone else is more capable of achieving more than we can ever achieve. The truth is that growth of any kind is in stages and when we work with God we come to our full capacity in time. Before then, it is possible to berate ourselves and think we are nothing.

Remember that though you may look rough now, there’s a pearl on the inside of you. It is simply a matter of time and excavation (preparation) and the wonderful nugget will be revealed.

Conversations with Aunt Salt: What Kind of ‘Yeiwoman’ Are You?

By
Yeiwoman Ministries
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0

Hello there! My name is Salt and it is a pleasure to be here with you today.

I waited for about five days to hear a word for you all and I was so excited when, today, I got it. I pray it blesses you by getting you to think.

May I ask you a simple question about your Faith Status? Looking at your Christian walk as a Yeiwoman. Do you think you are operating with Head Faith or Heart Faith?

It’s OK, you don’t need to answer right away. Let me try to draw a simple picture of both kinds of faith then you can see where you stand.

A Yeiwoman with ‘Head Faith’ will be one that:

  • Has the seed of the Word of God because she reads her Bible; she knows God’s promises and keeps God’s word close to her mouth. The seeds of the Word are in her hand.Knows God’s promises and believes His word but still tries to figure out how He will do what He has promised to do; she tries to make sense of his plans. To reason things out.
  • Is always fine and on ‘Jesus High’ as long as everything is going well but the moment it appears like ‘the storm is blowing hard’ again or plans are not working out, she stumbles.
  • Has a Faith that has no staying power. The longer the manifestation of God’s promises take, the weaker her faith becomes.

On the other hand, a Yeiwoman who possesses ‘Heart Faith’ :

  • Also has the seed of God’s Word in her hands because she reads her Bible but she has taken the time to think on them, meditate on them thereby pushing them deep into the soil of her heart.
  • Embraces and claims God’s Word for her situation 100%.
  • Casts down any thought that tries to undermine God’s promises to her.
  • Operates with a faith that is constant, steadfast and resolute regardless of how long the promise takes. She keeps her eyes firmly fixed on Jesus Christ and never on the ‘winds and waves’ all around.

Now, the question is not which one are you? It is which one would you rather be? A Yeiwoman with Heart Faith, right? Me too. Because, as basic as this seems, it is a fundamental building block for all our PapaGod is calling us to be. For, only with Heart Faith can we truly say ‘Yei’ to Him as he beckons to us to come walk on water.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you have any practical, tried and tested ways we can move from Head to Heart Faith?

The God Who Cares

By
Mfoniso Urua
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0

Many words racing on the inside
Reaching out to touch the shadows
But touching the wind.
Amen seems so hard to say,
Why! An unending anthem.
Just thought to remind you of the God who cares.

With promises of the year still fresh as flowers.
Pierces our hearts as we watch loved ones
Dance to the land of the great beyond,
Just thought to remind you to of the God who cares.

Questions unanswered racing through the mind
Why? If not? When? How?
Just thought to remind you of the one who hears the deepest sighs of our hearts.

Days of pain and joy greet us unexpectedly
He knows, he sees, he hears…..
Can’t seem to imagine why it was you.
Just thought to send whispers from the God who will hold us through it all
An unchanging Father and Friend.

The year will swing with seasons,
But his love is firm as the rocks
Friends may kiss us goodbye,He will kiss us welcome.
Just thought to sing into Your ears about the God who cares!

Unsung Heroes will still emerge….

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