Posted on by zeevacawford

Grace Notes in a Noisy World

The world is loud. Not just with sounds, but with pressures, expectations, distractions, and endless noise vying for our attention. From the moment we wake up to the time our heads hit the pillow, we’re bombarded—by news, notifications, opinions, and to-do lists. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, be stretched thin, or feel spiritually numb.

But amidst all the noise, there are grace notes.

In music, a grace note is a small note—quick and delicate—that doesn’t carry the melody but adds something beautiful and subtle to the piece. It’s not essential to the structure, yet its presence enhances the music in ways that are almost hard to describe. It adds dimension, softness, and feeling.

And God? He fills our noisy days with grace notes too.

The Whisper of His Presence

In 1 Kings 19, we find Elijah standing on the mountain, weary and desperate to hear from God. A mighty wind comes—but God isn’t in the wind. Then an earthquake—still, no God. Then a fire—but again, no sign of Him. Finally, a gentle whisper… and that’s where God speaks.

Like Elijah, we often expect God to show up in big, dramatic ways. But more often, He speaks through quiet moments:

  • The warmth of sunlight through the window.
  • A kind word from a friend when you needed it most.
  • A verse that suddenly jumps off the page.
  • The unexpected peace in the middle of a storm.

These are the grace notes—soft, sacred moments that remind us He’s near.

Listening Differently

In a world that encourages us to hustle, prove ourselves, and always “stay in the loop,” it takes intention to pause and listen for grace. We must tune our hearts to hear what the noise often drowns out.

Jesus often withdrew to quiet places—not because He was escaping, but because He was connecting. He knew the value of silence, of margin, of soul space. We need that too.

Practicing this might look like:

  • Waking up a few minutes earlier to sit in stillness with God.
  • Putting your phone away while taking a walk.
  • Journaling the small blessings of your day.
  • Taking a deep breath before responding in frustration.

These small habits open up space to hear the grace notes that are always playing underneath the noise.

Grace for Today

Sometimes, the grace note is simply this: You’re not alone.

You don’t have to keep up with the pace of the world to stay in step with the Spirit. God’s grace doesn’t shout over the chaos—it sings quietly in the background, inviting us back to peace.

When the world feels loud, ask God to help you hear His melody again. It may not always come with trumpets or a spotlight, but it will come—in whispers of love, reminders of truth, and moments of rest.

Final Thought

May we become people who not only recognize the grace notes in our noisy world, but who also create them—in our words, our kindness, our presence. Because sometimes, the gentlest note carries the greatest weight.

Post by Zeeva

Author Bio: Zeeva Usman is an experienced content manager at Christian Marketing Experts and a content specialist at Salt of Heaven, where she uses her expertise to create impactful, faith-centered content. When she’s not crafting words, Zeeva finds joy in worshiping and singing for the Lord Jesus, drawing inspiration from her faith to encourage others.

Posted on by intentional4christ

May we never lose the wonder!

Growing up I looked forward to Palm Sunday with so much excitement. I was excited about finding the perfect palm branch that would be woven by my uncle into an intricate pattern to prepare for our hosanna march through the streets. You see, on Palm Sunday, it was not uncommon to hear kids from every corner of the city singing songs of adoration and waving intricately woven palm branches to Jesus, our King and Saviour.

Over the past few years and particularly this year, Palm Sunday and the Easter season has caught me by surprise. This is not because I did not know it was coming, I just have not felt as prepared for it as I have in my younger years. Whether I chock it up to the busyness of this past couple weeks or the sheer familiarity of the season, I recognize that over time, the magnificence of the season has been lost on me. I have forgotten how truly deep and overwhelming the story behind Easter is. And I am not alone in this.

There are some people who attend Easter services as their once-a-year “fulfill all righteousness” obligation. There are still many others who attend because that is what they have done for many decades of their lives. You attend Easter service. period. no questions asked. Many Christians have heard the Easter story so many times that the novelty has worn off. They know what is coming next in the story and there are no surprises there. This reminds me of the two men on the road to Emmaus. Here is their story:

That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. But God kept them from recognizing him. He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago…Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself… By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem… Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.

Luke 24: 13-21, 27-33a, 35 NLT

I intentionally did not paraphrase this story because there are a few things I want you to note. On the way to Emmaus, these two men rehashed the events that had happened over the past three days over and over again. They kept at this conversation for a while until Jesus disrupted the monotony of the narrative by explaining to them the significance of the three-day event. This ignited something within them that they had never experienced before. They described it as a “burning in their hearts” but I describe it as WONDER! They experienced the wonder and depth of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

This story can be likened to many Christian traditions that will recount the events of those historic three-day period we have now come to know as Easter. And like those two men, perhaps many of us, even though we have heard the story over and over again, have never been caught up in the wonder and profoundness of it all. As we go into the Easter season this year, I pray that your eyes will be open to behold the beauty and the wonder of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I also pray that as you hear the same “old” story being re-told that something new will be (re)kindled in you. May your heart burn within you as your eyes are open to the wonder of it all. May we never lose the wonder of the Easter story.

Yours Truly.

 

Posted on by intentional4christ · 2 Comments

The Joy of Salvation: Shame & Guilt

For a long time in my life I have not felt joy. Desperate to feel joyful, I asked my counsellor, “How can I have more joy in my life?” For the next twelve months, we went through a series of exercises that would help me to be joyful. And after a year do I feel joyful? Well, the therapeutic exercises were eye-opening and helpful. I am certainly less stressed and less depressed. But joyful, I am not quite there yet. This is not because my therapist failed me or counselling did not work. Truth is, joy cannot be found through human undertakings.

One day last week, I heard God whisper to my heart that I am not joyful for three reasons: shame, guilt, and fear. God reminded me that because I have held on tightly to the shame and guilt of my past wrongs I am unable to enjoy His manifold blessings in my life. I feel undeserving of every good thing in my life because at some point in my life I decided that “if only people knew me, the real me, and the things I have done, they would not think so highly of me.” I have no joy because I live in bondage to shame, guilt, and fear.

Fortunately, God did not just drop this bombshell on me and leave me to wrestle with it alone. As God always does, He has also filled me with His encouragement on how to overcome guilt and shame so I can live a life full of joy. For the past few days, every scripture I have read has been a weapon to counteract the voices that scream “guilty,” “undeserving,” and “unworthy.” I will share one with you. Let this scripture wash over you:

Let all that I am praise the LORD; may I never forget the good things he does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases… The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The LORD is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. For he knows how weak we are; he remembers we are only dust. Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here. But the love of the LORD remains forever with those who fear him. His salvation extends to the children’s children of those who are faithful to his covenant, of those who obey his commandments!

Psalm 103: 3, 8-18 NLT

God’s voice of truth reminds me that I am forgiven by a loving father who understands that I am only human. God does not accuse me, and neither is He angry or disappointed. My sins and missteps and associated guilt are removed as far as the east is from the west. In place of guilt and shame, God offers His love and salvation.

When we accept His free gift of salvation, God deposits His Spirit in us (2 Corinthians 1:22). The Holy Spirit fills us with His fruit which is joy, love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22 – 23). This gift of joy is also known as the joy of salvation: the Holy Spirit is the conduit and joy is the fruit. Let me contextualize this with another scripture. When David was convicted of his sin after he had slept with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife, and killed him to cover up the ensuring pregnancy, he prayed (Psalm 51: 10-12 NLT):

Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me.
Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

The joy I speak of is not just the feeling of intense happiness; neither does it propose a state free of suffering and sorrow. It is that quiet confidence that I have knowing that regardless of whatever is going on around me I have found something of value: God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever (Psalm 73:26). This is the joy of salvation. Jesus described this joy with many parables, one of my favourites being the parable of the treasure: “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field…” Matthew 13: 44 NIV

Recognizing that in our salvation we have gained everything and then some (eternal life in glory) ought to fill us with great joy. But shame and guilt rob us of the privilege of experiencing this. Instead of appreciating the gift of salvation and all it brings, we shy away, and like our first parents Adam and Eve, we hide from God. Even though I know cerebrally that God loves me something fierce and unconditionally, shame tells me I am unworthy of this love that He so freely gives. What a sad way to live! However, this is not our reality at all. Our reality is more like this:

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. The Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?” Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, “Take off his filthy clothes.” Then he said to Joshua, “See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put fine garments on you.”

Zechariah 3:1- 4 NIV

Jesus takes away our filthy rags and exchanges them for His righteousness. Shame and guilt do not stand a chance when we stand in God’s love. With his nail-pierced hands, He points to the accuser and rebukes him for your sake. “Forgiven” ,“Redeemed” and “Loved” that is who you are. Now scroll back up and read Psalm 103: 3, 8-18. This ought to fill you with joy, the joy of salvation.

So what am I going to do with truth? I am going to spend sometime chatting with God about every thing from my past that brings me shame and guilt. I am going to speak God’s forgiveness over all of those situations and give myself permission to be forgiven. I am going to visualize God removing those sins as far away from me as the east is from the west and hold on to that visualization. This is so I can recall this image the next time shame or guilt comes calling. I am going to meditate on Psalm 103 until it sinks in. Finally, I am going to revel in the fact that God is my portion forever come what may! What a blessed assurance!

I may have to do every time guilt and shame rear their ugly heads. But soon it will get easier, and the process will be less onerous and less frequent as I lean in to the Holy Spirit and allow my heart to be overwhelmed by the joy of my salvation. I pray this for you too.

Yours truly.

p.s. I will deal with the topic of fear in another post. Stay tuned.

Posted on by intentional4christ

Monuments

For the past few weeks, I have been thinking about something I read about in the story of the Israelites as they crossed the Jordan into Jericho. Let’s read the scripture together:

So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Cross over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of Israel, to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ you are to tell them, ‘The waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters were cut off.’ Therefore these stones will be a memorial to the Israelites forever.” Thus the Israelites did as Joshua had commanded them. They took up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, one for each tribe of Israel, just as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them to the camp, where they set them down. Joshua also set up twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, in the place where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant stood. And the stones are there to this day.

Joshua 4: 4-9 BSB

Joshua, Israel’s new leader loved to erect monuments as reminders to Israelites. He erected two monuments, one in the Jordan River and one in their camp site after they crossed the Jordan River, as memorials of God’s faithfulness in keeping a longstanding promise to the Israelites. Later on we see that when Achan sinned against God, Joshua erected monument of stones over his grave to remind the Israelites to fear and obey God (Joshua 6). Whether as reminders of God’s faithfulness or His holiness, these monuments were important to Joshua. And every time he erected them, they were meant to point people back to God.

Now fast forward to the New Testament in Mark 13 and we see one of Jesus’ disciples describe the temple of Jerusalem. He said “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!”  (vs. 1). But Jesus’ response was rather astonishing: “Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (vs. 2).

The temple of that day was a magnificent edifice, a monument, that had become significant to the Israelites. Unfortunately, the majesty that was accorded to the temple far surpassed that which was accorded to the God who inhabited the temple. Jesus pointed out to the disciple and anyone else who was listening that the manmade magnificent monument was going to come crashing down.

Let’s backtrack to Gen 11 where the early human race decided to erect a monument, a tower that reached up to the heavens.

“Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”

Gen 11:4 BSB

Their aim for erecting a monument could not have been more different from Joshua’s. The purpose of Tower of Babel was to make a name for themselves. As we go about our lives on a daily basis, our accomplishments and achievement become monuments and memorials that signal that we walked this earth and left a mark. Monuments are very important because they remind us of how far we have come (1 Samuel 7: 12). Monuments only become problematic when they do not point us and others towards God. When we begin to ascribe more majesty and glory to ourselves than the God who inhabits the temple of our bodies, then we are setting ourselves up for a great fall, where not one stone will be left on another!

Almost a year ago, one of our pastors in church preached a sermon from Gen 11 and she asked us to consider two important questions:

  1. What have I built in my own strength for my own fame that needs to be deconstructed?
  2. What towers have I built that shine a spotlight on my self instead of God?

Today, as you go about your life’s activities and work towards leaving a legacy behind, I ask you to consider these two questions above. If the stones of remembrance that you are erecting do not point you or others to God, then I encourage you to reorient your accomplishments back to the Source and Giver of good gifts. Jesus encouraged us that our works, our accomplishments, our fame, should always be for the glory of our Great God.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 BSB

This word is timely for me and hopefully for you as well. I leave you with the lyrics of this song:

All the glory must be to the Lord, Only He is worthy of our praise;

No one on earth should claim glory for Himself;

The glory must be to the Lord.

Yours Truly

Posted on by intentional4christ

Give us this day our daily bread

Manna. The bible describes manna as a white flaky substance that looked like coriander seeds, and tasted like wafers made with honey. Manna was the heavenly food that God provided for the Israelites during their forty-year sojourn through the wilderness. God spoke manna into being, and for 6 days/week, this food from heaven never failed to appear with the morning dew. Manna sustained the Israelites for decades, providing them with all the nutrition they needed on their pilgrimage to Canaan, their promised land.

Manna was physical evidence of the word of God that was manifest daily for the Israelites. They literally lived and survived on the words that had proceeded from the mouth of God- fresh manna almost every morning. That was the lesson of manna for the Israelites: that their daily survival depended on God’s word being activated as physical food (manna) to feed them.

Yes, he humbled you by letting you go hungry and then feeding you with manna, a food previously unknown to you and your ancestors. He did it to teach you that people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. 

Deuteronomy 8:3 NLT

You see, in the desert, God cautioned the Israelites not to save manna overnight but to expect a new batch everyday (except for day 6 where they would have to take extra to account for not working on the sabbath). Those who did not believe God’s word stocked up and the next day the manna became maggot-ridden. Those who also went out to gather manna on the sabbath were sorely disappointed. The Israelites had to rely on the very word that came out of the mouth of God. Any deviation from those words led to epic disappointments in their daily sustenance.

Fast-forward to the New Testament and we see Jesus teaching the disciples to pray. He taught them to pray thus:

Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6: 9-11 NLT

This statement would have resonated with the disciples who would have been familiar with the story of their ancestors eating manna in the desert. Jesus was teaching the disciples that just as the Israelites depended on God then for their daily bread (manna), so were they to depend on God for their daily sustenance. Manna was not about physical food only; it was about learning to trust in the word of God as what sustains life.

When we pray, “give us this day our daily bread,” we should not only be concerned about our physical and material needs. We need to be asking God for his life giving word, our manna, for the day. We ought to be praying, “God, what word do I need to survive the day?” We should be connecting to the source of life, which is the word of God. Jesus reminds us that the words he spoke (and continues to speak over us) are spirit and they are life (John 6:63 KJV).

So instead of only making a barrage of requests to God to meet our physical and material needs, would you consider thinking of your daily bread as a life-sustaining word from God? If so, then next time when you pray, ask God to give you a word for the day: one that would not only nourish your body but will also feed your soul. Perhaps you might want to pray:

My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word!

Psalm 119:25 ESV

Now lets take this a little deeper. John 1:1 tells us in no uncertain terms that Jesus is the word of God personified. And if Jesus is God’s word, then He is the manna I have been talking about so far. Jesus is the life sustaining word we need on a daily basis. Jesus Himself confirmed this to over 5000 people who had just witnessed Him perform an epic miracle of providing food for them. They said:

Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 

John 6:31-35 NIV

Jesus is our Manna and our daily bread. So when Jesus was teaching the disciples to pray “give us today our daily bread,” He was essentially saying to them just ask for more of him. Earlier I challenged you to pray for a word from God everyday. Well, if you are unsure how to pray for this, then just pray for more of Jesus everyday. He is the word of God, and your daily bread of life.

I encourage you to pray “give us our daily bread” every day throughout the month of March and see how God answers that prayer. I can guarantee that you notice a difference in your month: You will experience more of Jesus!

Yours truly.

Posted on by intentional4christ

Your Kingdom Come

Over the past month, I have been following the journey of the Israelites from Egypt to Canaan, the Promised Land. And I have been intrigued and awestruck by God’s mighty power among the Israelites. From parting the Red Sea to opening up the earth to swallow up Korah, and everything and everyone associated with him, the Israelites experienced a raw demonstration of God’s power. This week, I am in the book of Deuteronomy and here, Moses is nearing the end of his tenure of leadership and time on earth. In one of his final speeches to the Israelites, he summarizes their experience of God’s rule and authority thus:

“Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? Has any nation ever heard the voice of God speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes. “He showed you these things so you would know that the LORD is God and there is no other. He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it. Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession, as it is today. “So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other… Deuteronomy 4: 32-39 NLT

If you rushed through reading these verses, I encourage you to go back and read slowly and picture what is happening in the texts. Allow yourself to be amazed by what these Israelites experienced with their own eyes! God demonstrated to the Israelites that He was truly a God both in heaven and on earth! Now lets fast forward to the New Testament where the disciples ask Jesus how to pray and make some connections. Jesus teaches his disciples (and us) to pray:

Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10 BSB

As the Israelites sojourned through the desert and into the Promised Land, they experienced the Kingdom of God among them. For them, the Kingdom of God may have looked like rolls of thunder, flashes of lightning, the voice of God amidst clouds of fire and billowing smoke- the sheer terror of it all! But they also experienced the providence and provision of God- food, water, shelter, protection from wild animals and other nations. More importantly, they had the tangible presence of God with them day and night. God sat as a cloud over the Tabernacle:

Then the cloud covered the Tabernacle, and the glory of the LORD filled the Tabernacle…Now whenever the cloud lifted from the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would set out on their journey, following it. But if the cloud did not rise, they remained where they were until it lifted. The cloud of the LORD hovered over the Tabernacle during the day, and at night fire glowed inside the cloud so the whole family of Israel could see it. This continued throughout all their journeys. Exodus 40: 34, 35-38 NLT

The Israelites were constantly reminded that God was with them and for as long as they let Him, He was their King and Captain of their army. His kingdom “had come” for them. In light of the experiences of the Israelites in the wilderness, I ask myself, “What does it mean for us today when we pray God’s Kingdom come?”

In the current dispensation in which we live, it is easy to forget that God is still as powerful as He was back then. We do not see Him like they did or hear Him amidst the billowing smoke like they did. In fact, for many of us, praying His Kingdom come is asking for something we presume to be metaphorical. But let me challenge this presumption: God’s Kingdom is not a metaphor.

He is still doing the miraculous among us on a daily basis, In fact, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and by the workings of His Holy Spirit, He is more accessible to us and even more so present with us than He was then. We seldom see his Kingdom here on earth not because it is not here, but because His Kingdom has been reduced to commonplace in our lives. Scientific and evidence-based discoveries have taken more pre-eminence in our world. The abilities that God gave humankind through the Adamic blessings in the garden of Eden- the ability to create and multiply knowledge, till the knowledge of God fills the whole earth have become perverted (then and even more so now), that we no longer see God’s Kingdom at work among us. The Kingdom of God is still manifest in the clouds, in the seas, in the mountains just as the Israelites experienced. We just do not see it anymore.

When we pray His Kingdom come, I believe we are asking to see manifestations of His power at work in our lives. We are asking for the intangible to be made tangible. We are asking for that which is hidden or has become taken-for-granted to be revealed in our everyday world. We are asking for the God of Heaven to be revealed on earth in palpable ways. We are asking to be awestruck by His power and presence among us. We are asking not just to be known by God but to know Him enough that we can see Him at work in the ordinary things as well as the complex ones. That is what I believe we pray for when we say “Your Kingdom come.” We are acknowledging that The LORD is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other (Deuteronomy 4: 39). God’s Kingdom is all around us, and more importantly in each of us who have come to know Him as our King (I will pick this up in another post soon).

I conclude with a hymn I learned as a child to remind us all of God’s kingdom among us (If you know this hymn belt it out as you reflect on God’s Kingdom come):

1. I sing the almighty power of God, that made the mountains rise, that spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day; the moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey.

2. I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food, who formed the creatures thru the Word, and then pronounced them good. Lord, how thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye, if I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.

3. There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes thy glories known, and clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from thy throne; while all that borrows life from thee is ever in thy care; and everywhere that we can be, thou, God, art present there.

Yours Truly.

Posted on by intentional4christ

Our Father who art in heaven…

In my readings this week, the Israelites have journeyed from Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai where God was to meet with them. They spent three days consecrating themselves and preparing for this moment of meeting with God. Finally, the day arrived and Mount Sinai was covered in smoke and fire. God descended onto the mountain amidst thunder and lightning and the blast of a ram’s horn. However, the anticipation and maybe excitement the Israelites were feeling very quickly turned to fear.

When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!”

Exodus 20:18-19 NLT

So terrified were they of God and so fearful were they for their lives that the Israelites did not want to have a personal relationship with God. They were content to know God from afar, through Moses as a mediator. Earlier on, God had revealed Himself to Moses in Exodus 3:14 as YHWH- I AM. This name was the most revered name of God that the Israelites would not even dare speak this name out loud (There remains some Jews to this day who replace YHWH or any proposed transcription forms of the word, such as Yahweh or Yehovah, with other names of God rather than say that name aloud). Psalm 103:7 tells us what kind of relationship God had with the Israelites: He made known His ways to Moses, His deeds to the people of Israel (BSB). The Israelites knew God by the things they saw Him do: their deliverance from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea so they could walk across, the provision of food and water in the desert, and keeping their neighbours at bay while they sojourned to their Promised Land. But Moses, on the other hand, knew God’s ways and His character.

As generations came and went, God continued to show the Israelites that He was the I AM: Anything and Anyone they needed Him to be. Now fast forward to the New Testament and one day Jesus is approached by one of His disciples who says, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus opens up with what would have been the most unheard of phrase: Our Father…

Our Father? Are we talking about the same God whose very name simultaneously evoked fear and deep reverence? You mean that God? Even though the Lord’s prayer is so commonplace now that sometimes we miss the power in the words, to the disciples hearing this for the first time this would have been a shocking and novel concept. Jesus, through his miracles, was showing the people of that time the deed of God but was also steering them towards knowing Him beyond the deeds. He was introducing them to the concept of God as ABBA FATHER, a concept that would sweep through the early church and be passed down through faithful stewards to us today. In fact, we do not even need the Lord’s prayer to remind us that God is our father. That is one of the workings of the Holy Spirit: to tell us that we have a Heavenly Father.

Now that we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. And his Spirit tells us that God is our Father.

Galatians 4:6 CEV

Did you know that it was not only Moses that saw God’s face? Although the Israelites were afraid to approach God and Mount Sinai for that matter, there were at least 73 other people who went up the mountain to see God but did not die as the Israelites had feared.

Then Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel climbed up the mountain. There they saw the God of Israel. Under his feet there seemed to be a surface of brilliant blue lapis lazuli, as clear as the sky itself. And though these nobles of Israel gazed upon God, he did not destroy them. In fact, they ate a covenant meal, eating and drinking in his presence!

Exodus 24:9-11 NLT

The rest of the Israelites had nothing to fear at all. They also could have approached God just like the other 73 to eat and drink in God’s presence and have fellowship with Him. The same thing applies to us today who have come to hear about the character of God as our Father. We have no excuse. Others are enjoying this side of God: I AM FATHER. So if you are not, why not? What is standing in your way? What are you afraid of?

Join me today as we proclaim:

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Yours Truly

Posted on by intentional4christ

The lifter of my head

For the past few months, I have been following the Israelites journey from Abraham’s loins to becoming an independent nation in my bible studies. And a few days ago, something caught my attention in Joseph’s story.

Joseph had been sold into slavery by his brothers because they were jealous of him. While in slavery, his master’s wife tried to force herself on him which landed him in jail. Through all his woes, the favour of God continued to rest on him and distinguished him even in the jail cell. One night, two people in the jail had dreams and woke up quite disturbed because they did not understand what their dreams meant. And Joseph through God’s power, interpreted their dreams. Lets read together:

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me; and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes. “Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer. [Genesis 40:9-13 NASB]

This is a long passage so lets pause for a second and pay attention to the bolded words: Pharoah will lift up your head. Got it? Ok let’s continue:

When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head; and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.” [Genesis 40 :16- 19]

This time, pay attention to the bolded statement: Pharoah will lift up your head from you. Same guy, Pharoah; same kind of dream for the butler and the baker; but very different outcomes. One’s head was lifted up and the other’s head was lifted up from his body. This is what God was drawing my attention to this week.

There is a psalm that I pray over myself every time I need to experience God’s supernatural favour in my dealings with people. And it is this:

But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

Psalm 3:3 ESV

And although I pray this prayer very often, I sometimes find myself seeking personal recognition and honour from people or find myself trying to curry favour with people using my own efforts. This week, I found myself in such a position and as I was walking away from that situation, I heard God’s rebuke as the scripture Psalm 3:3 came to mind. God was reminding me from His word that He alone is and should be the lifter of my head.

The baker thought that because the butler had received favorable news about Pharoah lifting the butler’s head, that he would receive the same news. However, his interpretation was rather grave (no pun intended): Pharaoh would lift up his head right off his body! You see, human beings are fickle. The bible tells us that the arm of flesh (human beings) will fail us but the One who created the arm is mighty to save (2 Chronicles 32:8). We are encouraged to not put our hope in any human being.

Looking to people to bestow honour on us, that is not God-sanctioned, can only lead to trouble. When we look to mere humans for our elevation and promotion, you never know what you will get: either your head will be lifted up or it will be lifted up from your body! But God’s promises are yes and amen: to be the lifter of your head.

This week, God reminded me that instead of praying this psalm as a request of Him, that I confess it as my positionality. GOD is my Shield. GOD is my Glory. GOD is the Lifter of my head. This confession delimits my tendencies and desires to chase after promotions and recognition. If God wants honour and elevation for me, it will happen. I do not need to chase after them. After all, God’s goodness and His mercies have been designed to follow me all the days of my life (Psalm 23: 6) and not the other way around.

Today’s post is a message for me. It is deeply personal. However, it might be a word of caution or a sweet reminder of God’s tender love for you. Which ever the case, God is always and forever for us, guarding jealously and fiercely our inheritance in Christ Jesus. He is a shield about us, our glory, and the lifter up of our heads. Amen.

Yours Truly

Posted on by intentional4christ

The adventure of a lifetime

For the past few weeks at church, we have been going through a series on spiritual formation. This series is anchored in Galatians 4, especially verse 19 which says “Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives” (NLT). Whenever I think spiritual formation, the image that comes to my mind is a river; and not just any river. I think of the river described in Ezekiel 47. Lets read together:

In my vision, the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing east from beneath the door of the Temple and passing to the right of the altar on its south side. The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the water flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.

Ezekiel 47:1-5 NLT [Emphasis mine]

In the scripture, I flag for your attention the progression from ankle-deep water to knee-deep water to waist-deep water to water that is too deep to stand in. I love this scripture because it signals to me the kind of relationship God wants from me. In the context of a river, the progression from ankle-deep water to water that you cannot swim in suggests a deepening relationship with God and an increasing experience of His power and presence. For me, this is the life that God has called us to: an adventure of a lifetime.

As someone who does not swim, this image conjures for me an ultimate dependence and reliance on God as I adventure with him through the days of my life here on earth. I was recently “swimming” in beautiful turquoise waters out in the Caribbean sea. First I got into the water and after overcoming my initial fear and I loved the feel of the waves as they lapped around my ankles. So I decided to walk further into the ocean and now the water was knee deep. It was unnerving at first but I got comfortable very quickly and so decided to venture even farther. Soon, the water was waist deep and my footing was not firmly planted in the soil. Next thing, a big strong wave covered me and swept me right off my feet and into the water. Luckily there was someone close by and I grabbed on to their feet to stand.

This imagery can be likened to the spiritual growth of believers, as they move from initial faith to deeper commitment and understanding of who God is. There comes a time in the life of every believer where we must make a decision to commit more deeply to following Jesus Christ. As Paul so aptly says,

You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.

Hebrews 5:12-14; 6:1 NLT

God calls us to a deeper life in Him. And as we get deeper, we get to know Him more and more. This is the adventure of which I speak: the adventure of a lifetime.

Back to my story: After getting back to the safety of the shore, I watched surfers in the water get covered by these huge waves, only to emerge from them seconds later and ride the waves. As you get deeper with God, it is inevitable that you get to a point where the water gets too deep and you simply cannot stand in the water. The bible says in Psalm 47, “Deep calls to deep in the roar of Your waterfalls; all Your breakers and waves have rolled over me” (NIV). In order to not get swept away by the waves of God’s presence and power, it is important to practice the spiritual disciplines. These keep you grounded- planted firm and deep in the Savior’s love. Spiritual disciplines are habits or practices that teach us and help us grow in our spiritual walk with Christ (Eboni, 2020). Although there are about a dozen of them, some of the common spiritual disciplines are:

  • Reading & studying the Word of God
  • Prayer
  • Fasting
  • Praise and Worship
  • Fellowship
  • Service
  • Evangelism
  • Discipleship

Just as we need to learn to walk first before we can run, so it is with going deeper in God. The spiritual disciplines prepare us for the knee-deep water, the waist-deep water, and the water that is too deep to stand in. They help us to move to “solid food”- maturity in Christ so that we can experience the fullness of God.

As I close, my question to you is simple: Are you ready for the adventure of a life time?

I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. (Ephesians 3:16-19 NLT)

Yours Truly.

Posted on by intentional4christ

Promises…Promises

Have you ever heard the phrase, “God of Abraham?” Have you ever sang this phrase in a song or used it in a prayer? If your answer was yes to any of those three questions, then you, my friend, have fulfilled an everlasting promise God made to Abraham. In Genesis 7:17, God said to Abraham:

I will confirm my covenant with you and your descendants after you, from generation to generation. This is the everlasting covenant: I will always be your God and the God of your descendants after you. NLT

And guess what? Every time we say “God of Abraham,” we are affirming God’s everlasting promise to be a God to Abraham always. Even thousands of years after Abraham has been dead, the promise still remains. For this to happen, Abraham had to fulfill his part of the covenant, which was circumcision of each male in his household and lineage.

Do you know that God has made the same promise to you? By faith, we share in the inheritance of Abraham and have become part of his household. And as members of Abraham’s household, this is what God says of us:

Listen to me, descendants of Jacob, all you who remain in Israel. I have cared for you since you were born. Yes, I carried you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.

Isaiah 46:3-4 NLT

God promises to be our God throughout our lifetime just as he promised Abraham. We too, just like Abraham have a part to play: circumcision. Unlike Abraham though, this circumcision is not one of the foreskin but of the heart (Jeremiah 4:4, Romans 2:29). Circumcision of the heart is a metaphor for changing your heart and this can only be achieved by the help of God’s spirit.

…true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.

Romans 2:29 NLT

God’s spirit changes us to be conformed to the image and likeness of God (2 Cor 3:18)- if we let Him. For Abraham, a big part of circumcision was about obedience and it is same for us. Though our daily obedience to God, and the Spirit’s leading and nudging our hearts are changed. We are transformed into the image of Christ and can fully enjoy God’s promise to be our God throughout our lifetime.

Such reassuring words: to have God be our portion for a lifetime- and even forever! This week, I leave you with a scripture to remind you of God’s everlasting promise to you:

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 73:26 NIV

Yours Truly.