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Your future is within you

Today I was privileged to listen to a sermon by Dr. Myles Munroe and he made this statement that really struck me – “your future is not a distant thing that is to come; it is within you”. He described this using an apple: within an apple are seeds and within each seed is an apple tree. The future of that apple is within itself. In a similar concept, the future of a chicken is within an egg. It just has to undergo a process.

Within each of us is the future that God has predestined for us. He declares that he knows the plans that he has for us and it is one that brings us to our predestined future (Jer 29:11 NIV).  God establishes in His word that what distinguishes Him from any other god is that he makes known (declares) the [expected] end from the beginning (Isaiah 46:9-10 NIV).  Long before we are born, our future is decided by God. God chooses our destinies but the fulfilment of such destinies is entirely decided by us. As Dr. Munroe suggested it is like a parent paying for college for their child. That parent sees a degree ahead and yet if the child does not apply themselves to study while in college and ends up with the wrong crowd, they will flunk out completely and not attain that degree.

So this is how it works:

God declares your expected end which is your future or your destiny –> then he backtracks to the beginning and creates you –> and he lays out the plan for how you will get to your expected end according to His will.

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will. Eph 1:11 NIV

Many times God makes known to us our future. The caveat is that God seldomly tell us the plan but neither does he leave us to figure it out all on our own.  He orders and directs our steps along the lines of those plans so long as we let Him.

The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Psalm 37:27 NLT

Case in point… Joseph. God showed Joseph in a dream that his family would one day bow down to him but God never showed him how he will get there. God never showed him the pit or prison. But God was with him ordering His steps along the way as long as Joseph was in step with God. The pit and prison were all part of God’s plan to prepare him for his future. Many times the things we go through in life are all a part of God’s plan to bring us to that future he predestined us for.

So how can we ensure that we come to the expected end and future God has laid out for us? What if we mess up along the way or deviate from the plan, then what? Well… we will explore these questions in Part II of this series. Stay tuned!

Yours Truly.

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The depressed Christian

There are many opinions out there about whether or not a Christian can be depressed. There are some that believe that depression is a spiritual attack and lie from the devil, others believe it is a physical/psychological phenomenon in reaction to life’s events, and yet others believe it is a medical condition just like any physical ailment. For many years now I have been thinking about this topic based on my experiences of how Christians react to the topic of depression which I will share in subsequent posts. Recently a passage of scripture caught my attention. This scripture accurately captures the old age saying “easier said than done”. This is one of Job’s friend Eliphaz speaking to Job:

In the past you have encouraged many people; you have strengthened those who were weak. Your words have supported those who were falling; you encouraged those with shaky knees. But now when trouble strikes, you lose heart. You are terrified when it touches you. Job 4:3-5 NLT

It is my personal experience that it is easy to give advice to others about what they should do in a given situation but usually when we have to cast a gaze inward at ourselves, the advice we give often becomes a bitter pill to swallow. For this next blog, I will like to compile some data before I write and I need your help.

The task is simple. Send me a brief message back sharing your experience of dealing with depression in your own life or in that of a loved one. How did you or your loved one get out of the rut? What helped you or your loved one cope? Or what advice did you give or has someone given you regarding depression?

I eagerly look forward to your participation and I hope all your responses come together into a lovely piece on the topic of the depression. Together let’s be healthy in body, mind, and spirit.

Yours truly.

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Chosen

Many times as a christian I feel the burden of having to live a righteous life, to live up to this standard of having Jesus as my Lord and personal savior on a daily basis. Sometimes it feels like I carry the responsibility for maintaining a relationship with God; like God is this ever loving Father whose arms of forgiveness and welcome are always open and I am the one who keeps rejecting his love and so I need to keep running into His arms daily. Well… isn’t that how the gospel of salvation is presented to many?

This week I read something from scripture that has been nagging at my core:

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit–fruit that will last–and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. John 15:16 NIV

This paints a different picture of God than what I am used to: a passive God waiting for his errant children to come home like the prodigal son. Speaking of the prodigal son, lets take a brief look at the character of the father in that story.

So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:20 NIV

The father was not passively waiting for the son’s return. He had been actively watching  out for his son on the daily, anticipating his son’s return. And when he returned, the father run to him  and embraced him. There was no passiveness in the father’s actions at all. The son was going to ask to be reinstated not as a son but as a servant in the father’s household and yet the father demonstrated John 15: 16 with his actions “you did not choose me but I, your father, chose you when you were still a long way off”

This is what God does for each and everyone of us his children everyday. He chooses us each and every day. We do not carry the responsibility for living out our salvation by ourselves or have to make the first move all the time. Everyday when God renews his steadfast love and mercies over you, He has chosen you; he has made the first move by running to you with open arms. When the sun kisses your face in the morning, God himself has kissed you with his mercy and he says “today I have chosen you and appointed you to bear fruits- to show the world what it means to have a heavenly father  who runs up to you while you are a long way off”

Here’s my encouragement: Sometimes the responsibility for living right and godly feels tedious. Many times I feel like a fraud because I  do not feel like I measure up to the standards that I so boldly blog about. I feel like I am always running to God with my inadequacies. Today, I am encouraged that even when I run to God on a daily, the distance I run is shorter than I should be running because God beats me to the punch and starts running towards me  with his renewed love and mercy the moment I open my eyes! Even when I was a long way off… he started running.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 2:22-23 ESV

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Circumspection

This morning I was reading a passage of scripture and I read a note I had written to myself  a while back. The note said: “Did God encourage a lie”? This made me really focus on that scripture and I will share my thoughts with you as an encouragement for this new week and new month.

1 Samuel 16 is the text. So for context: God has just rejected  Saul as king over the Israelites and has commanded Samuel to go an anoint someone else in Bethlehem as king. Samuel then says to God that he is afraid that when Saul learns of his mission in Bethlehem he would be killed and this was God’s response:

The LORD said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” 1 Sam 16:2-3 NIV

The lesson from this story is not that is it OK to lie or embellish the truth. The lesson is one of circumspection.  Circumspection is being  wary, cautious, and prudent. Circumspection has many applications but in this story, it presents as being careful about what you say and to whom about the plans of God. Samuel, who carried the authority and presence of God as the prophet of God could have very easily just told Saul his intentions for coming into Bethlehem! After all, he had confronted Saul several times but circumspection dictated that this time he be cautious, discreet and wise.

Earlier this week I read about how Saul exercised similar circumspection when he had just been anointed as king. His uncle came to him and asked him to tell him everything that Samuel had told him and all Saul said was that Samuel told him the donkeys had been found and omitted to include the part about being anointed as king (1 Sam 10:16 NIV).

As you go into this month, you may be asked  through casual or intentional conversations about your plans for the future, about God’s intentions for your life, about your progress/ status in life etc. Before your respond, ask God what you should do and listen for direction. In many cases, it may be OK to share but not in every case. Because circumspection is not about lying or embellishing the truth, you want to ask God how to proceed with an answer. Perhaps like Samuel, you want to start this month by asking God what answer to give if you are asked about His plans for your life so that you are prepared even before you are asked. You will see in the story in 1 Sam 16 that because Samuel already had an answer before he set off on his journey to Bethlehem, he had an answer for the elders of Bethlehem when they asked what his mission was and why he had come.

Circumspection , described in the book of proverbs as prudence will preserve your life from evil and wicked machinations many times over!  God wants to do something big in your life so be prudent in February 2020 and don’t be an over-sharer unless directed by God to share!

A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences. Prov 22:3 NLT

Enjoy this new month as we explore God together and be circumspect especially in telling others about the things God is about to do in your life. You are blessed beyond measure.

Yours truly.

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Awakening to God part I

This week, a verse from the story of Jacob and Esau caught my attention. To give context, Jacob and his mother had just connived to steal Esau’s firstborn blessing by dressing Jacob up in sheep skin so that he felt like and smelled like Esau. So Isaac his father thinking it was Esau asks how come he has returned from hunting so quickly and this was Jacob’s response:

Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” “The Lord your God gave me success,” he replied. Gen 27: 20 NIV

Note that Jacob responds by saying, “The lord your God…” now fast forward a few days after. Jacob is running away for his life because his twin brother Esau has figured out that he has stolen his firstborn blessing. As he is journeying it gets dark and so he settles down to sleep and God visits him in a dream. In the dream God introduces himself as such: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac…” Gen 28:13.

Jacob has a personal encounter with God and that changes his view of God. When he wakes up he says: “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord  will be my God…” God was no longer just your God to Jacob but was now taking on a new identity as my God. What a difference a personal encounter with God made!

Dear readers, there is so much value in a personal relationship with God and in knowing him for yourself. It is such a blessed experience that no one can take away from you. This week my sister posted something which I leave with you as a parting thought:

A philosopher once said “Christianity started out in Palestine as a fellowship-a relationship..Moved to Greece and became a philosophy-a way of thinking…Moved to Rome and became an institution-a place to go…Moved to Europe and became a culture-a way of life…Moved to the rest of the world and became an enterprise-a business…Now it’s just “what we do.” What if we went back to what Christianity really is- a relationship with Jesus, the High and Lifted One who yearns for our friendship?  S.T. 

Have  you had a personal encounter with God or are your experiences of God based on the stories of others? Is he your God or the God of your pastor or some other great man of God?  We know that Jacob indeed made God his God because going forward God has been known as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Is he your God too? Think about it.

Yours Truly.

 

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Purpose fatigue

So these past weeks I have invested myself in praying for something in particular and when I say invested I mean prayer, fasting, the whole works. Sometime last week I thought God had answered my prayers and I was relieved and ecstatic that now I could finally rest easy until I realized the answer had still not come. And boy was I deflated. The thought of praying for the same thing for even just another day when  I  thought that battle was over just sank my spirit. Have you ever been in a situation where you thought something was over: you thought the healing was going to happen that day, or you were so sure that you were going to get a particular job, or you were convinced in your spirit that this was your month to get pregnant… and it simply did not happen?

This week I read the parable of Jesus turning water into wine and something caught my attention. To give context, Jesus is at a wedding with his mum and the wine runs out. Mary, his mother, tells Jesus of the situation and advises the servants to do whatever Jesus tells them to do.

Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. John 2:6-7 NIV

What caught my attention was the fact that the jars of water held 20-30 gallons of water and the servants filled each of them to the brim with a total of 120-180 gallons of water! What tiring work that must have been!  It must have looked like a futile job considering that with each gallon, they did not see any change to the water in the jars, it was still water. But they persevered and filled them all to the brim in obedience.

Have you ever gotten fatigued doing something you know God wants you to do or is right for you to do because results/ rewards are not immediately apparent? Have you wanted to throw in the towel, just stop hoping or waiting and say God just do your thing whenever you are ready? Well, there is a lesson to be learned in a sunday school song:

Don’t stop praying the Lord is nigh; don’t stop praying He hears your cry. God has promised and He will do; Don’t stop praying He’ll answer you!

Be encouraged! Keep filling the jars with water (keep praying, keep hoping, keep trusting, keep serving, keep applying for jobs) and when you have filled them all to the brim, wait for God’s move. It will surely come.

Yours truly.

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Let’s talk about Jesus for a minute

So this week I read something in the book of Judges that caught me off guard:

After a while the people of Joshua’s generation died, and the next generation did not know the LORD or any of the things he had done for Israel. Judges 2:10 CEV

How is it possible that a whole generation did not know anything about God or what he had done? Up until that point in the lives of the Israelites it had been one miracle after another. The most  incredible stories in the bible are seen in the redemption of Israel from slavery and settling them in the promised land. From angelic visitations, burning bushes, golden snakes, the ten plaques,  pillars of fire, light and darkness happening simultaneously in the sky, seas parting so people could walk on dry land, walls falling at the sound of trumpets, to mention a few…. I mean how could these stories get lost and a whole generation did not know about them?

As I reflected on this, I had the opportunity to examine my life. I realized that I almost never talk to my kids about the awesome things that God is doing in our lives. My husband and I share these wonderful stories between us and spend time thanking God  for his many benefits but we never include our young kids in these discussions or offer them the opportunity to join us to thank God. I know they are very young and probably would not understand any of it and perhaps that is what the Israelite parents thought too and before long a whole generation did not know God! This week I have come to see why it is important to include them so early in their formative years so it becomes a part of them. This scripture still holds true:

And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:7-9 BSB

This week I challenge you to talk to your kids about the things you are appreciating God for and encourage them to join you in thanking God. If you don’t have kids, I encourage you to include a total stranger in your praise break. Together lets be intentional in raising a generation that knows God or at the very least has heard of His awesomeness!

Yours Truly.

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On the eleventh day of Christmas…

On the eleventh day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me A thousand songs to sing, Streets of pure gold, Mansions above, A Robe and a Crown, A body glorified, Power from on high, Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD. Psalm 40:3 NASB

Someone recently said to me, “I can’t wait for 2019 to be over! This is one year I will not miss!” She was lamenting to me about her woes and struggles of 2019. When I look back at 2019, I can pinpoint many times I too was filled with uncertainty. Sometimes  I felt like I was stuck on a hamster wheel called life and I questioned my very purpose on this earth. A few times I had full-blown anxiety attacks.  But one thing I know for sure is that the blessings of the LORD upon my life in 2019 were incredible; some of them utterly unbelievable!

If I were to count those blessings, words would not be enough to thank God. For starters,  He has woken me up for 357 days in a row. I am on this side of eternity and I am ending the year with a heart of gratitude in spite of everything that went down in the year. That is enough to burst out into songs of praise.

O for a thousand tongues to sing my great Redeemer’s praise!

Yours truly.

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On the tenth day of Christmas…

On the tenth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Streets of pure gold, Mansions above, A Robe and a Crown, A Body Glorified, Power from on high, Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.  Revelations 21:21 ESV

God promises us the pleasure of living in a heavenly city someday whose street is made of pure gold.  Gold in its purest form can be beaten down to very thin sheets that it appears transparent. Do you know how much refining the gold would have to endure to be that flawless? While we look forward to walking on the streets of gold, there is something very close to that here on earth: the words and promises of God.

And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. Psalm 12:6 NIV

The words of God found in his holy scriptures are as flawless as the gold that makes the street of gold and it is right within our grasp.

But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may obey it. Deut 30:14

The promises of God are sure and give us hope and so in this season, as you merry and eat and drink, feed your mouth and heart with the word of God. let it be near you and let it refine you so that someday you are fit to walk on the streets of gold.

Yours truly.

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On the ninth day of Christmas…

On the ninth day of Christmas, JESUS gave to me Mansions above, A Robe and a Crown, A body glorified, Power from on high, Joy for my soul, Love for all men, Peace in my heart, Everlasting Life, and Salvation full and free.

In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. John 14:2 KJV

I learnt this scripture many years ago in Sunday school but this week I took some time to think about the words. A mansion is a large impressive house according to dictionary.com. Interestingly, Jesus is saying here that His father’s house (singular), comprises many large houses. This caught my attention! My mind went back to the story of when Jesus was driving away those selling in the temple. He said “my house will be a house of prayer” again singular use of the word house.

In this season, I am reminded that there are many Christians from all over the world that are celebrating the birth of Jesus into the world;  not all of them belong to the same denomination. Some are Catholics, Protestants, Pentecostals, Apostolics and what have you.  God’s expectation of all Christians all over the world is that they together, regardless of race and creed form one house. The scripture from John above is true of our eternal home in heaven but even more so true of how we live on earth: On earth as it is in heaven!!

You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:5 NIV

Together, all denominations that truly call upon the name of the Lord build a spiritual house: the house of prayer where acceptable sacrifices are offered unto God. So in this season, let’s not be divided by which church or which faith one belongs to. We are many mansions in God’s house.

Yours truly.