Posts tagged Christ

'Ambitious Millennial Christian' Kara

The Christian Faith 7 Comments

Kara as a case study, is a new feature on the blog in 2019. She’s decided to help us in analyzing some matters; she does this by sheer honesty about her life. You’ll be hearing a lot about her ?.
Today, Kara is an ambitious millennial Christian. She has good drive about her professional life. She’s in stride to ensure a good plan up till her retirement years. Kara is a a Christian: she loves the Lord and fellowships at a good bible-believing church. Finally, Kara is a millennial.
Dear Kara is prone to facing a problem that some other ambitious millennial Christians are facing today: using her mind, rather than the Bible, to judge.
She’s curious and often ready to learn; she’s an adherent to the blog post – blow your own mind. For this reason, she reads blogs, books, listens to podcasts and watches documentaries. She’s so used to this that it’s imbibed into her daily routine; she either listens while in transit to work, during her lunch break or as she’s falling asleep. Her mind is growing fertile. We are proud of Kara; she has a growing intellect, emotional perspective and a strengthening will.
Physically: Kara eats well ( we’re so proud of her). Kara goes a notch higher by posting all her healthy eating pictures online (for now, let’s ignore how this is a subtle attempt on her part to flaunt her good outings)
Kara’s body and soul are bouncing. What’s left? Her spirit.
On the mornings Kara doesn’t wake up late, she observes her quiet time. Kara remembers to listen to a message from her bible-believing church every once in a while – once a week. She’s not chanced to go for her mid-week service (except when on leave from work) but she goes on Sundays.
What that does to dear K is make her mind and body more fertile than her spirit. Imagine the daily nourishment on one hand and the average unpredictable nourishment on the other hand.
Consequently, she over-rationalizes homosexuality as a Christian, she permits a level of lasciviousness. She creates ‘Modern Christianity’. Her perspective is but a subjective 21st century skewed lenses.
Kara has an open mind, as it is said, to many matters. She considers the many possible sides and she gives varying worldviews a chance. The trouble here is: Kara’s bible isn’t as open as her mind is.

She judges everything on the basis of her experiences and understanding instead of judging her experiences and understanding on the basis of an unchanging God.
The solution is hidden in the whole exposition. Kara, feed your mind(knowledge-lover? Tick). Feed your body (fit-fam eater? Tick)
Above all, seek God’s Kingdom first and everything would be added unto you(Matthew 6:33).

“For we fix our attention not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever. 2 Corinthians 4:18″

Change your priority Kara.

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With abundant love,
Debby
Do leave your comments below, we’re interested in learning.

Christian Persecution (Asia Bibi's story).

The Christian Faith 11 Comments

For some beautiful reason, of late, my mind has been centered around Christian persecution. I know its to prompt me to pray but I also want to prompt you to pray.
Lots of Christians nominally live each day in a bubble, passive about what is going on to others who call upon the name of the lord like they do.
Very often growing up, I heard my mum lead people to pray for Christians in the persecuted world by saying (paraphrased):

“you wake up on a Sunday morning and tie your colourful headscarves and on your way to church, you see several others in colourful attires, so you think there are many Christians. But it isn’t so. There are many people in various parts of the world who cannot publicly act like you do. When they get courage to hold services, they do it quietly without clapping to draw any attention. when they meet to pray, they do it in ten minutes in a toilet or some other secret unsuspecting places.”

On the contrary to this thought pattern of there being many Christians everywhere, ChrstianityToday, states that approximately 215 million Christians experience high, medium or low levels of persecution, which turns out to be one in twelve Christians.
Did you read that?
Let’s make this clear. In some of these places, its not just forbidden, it is illegal. Its like having cocaine on you. Religious Nationalism is in place. You mostly cannot share your faith with your children, you can only pray that one day they would be touched and turn to the lord. Sharing your faith with your children is risky as they’re terribly indoctrinated at school and other places. For your safety and theirs, its almost best to wait.
And you won’t believe it! – While typing this post, I stood up to get my phone to check a fact. It was then I saw this from someone on Whatsapp – ‘Asia bibi has been released, praise the lord’ . It was unbelievable. It was sent in by 5:10pm. I checked my phone at 6:00pm. how could I have known that when I set out to type this post, this lady had been released? You don’t get ? She was acquitted today – 31st October, 2018(the time of initial blogpost draft). She was freed from the charges of blapsphemy the day I sought to share the need to pray for persecuted Christians. She’s been acquitted, declared innocent by the supreme court of Pakistan after eight years!
Read the abridged version of Asia Bibi’s story on BBC here.
There’s trouble on the horizon though. The acquittal has stemmed lots of protests and now Asia Bibi can’t leave the country yet. In fact, another appeal can now be made against her acquittal (and that might eventually lead to her death depending on the outcome if carried out). All these because of the violent protests. Read on BBC.
Christians are imprisoned, beaten, made to lose properties, molested and even killed for their faith. Christians are one of the most persecuted groups in the world.
“You will be hated by everyone for my sake, but he that endures to the end shall be saved” Mathhew 10:22.
Christian persecution is hostility based on identification with the lord Jesus Christ. Haven’t you heard that “what isn’t worth dying for, isn’t worth living for?” A time comes when you’ve gone beyond basic bread and butter Christianity, a time when you say like Peter when asked to leave the Lord: Lord, to what person could we go? Your words give eternal life. John 6:68.
I’m only afraid that some Chrisitians have never considered the hard questions – really, would you lose a limb for Jesus? Would you stay in jail for him for eight years like Asia Bibi?
Today, would you pray for the faith of those who go through these things that make you tremble? Would you also build your faith beyond fair-weather Christianity?
One Chinese Church leader who spent 23 years in prison, once said to the Christians who did not face persecution:

“I was pushed into a cell, but you have to push yourself into one. You have no time to know God. You need to build yourself a cell, so you can do for yourself what persecution did for me – simplify your life and Know God.”

North Korea consistently ranks top in the world’s most dangerous place to practice the Christian faith(ranked top for 17 years). Afghanistan comes closely behind. Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, Eritrea etc. Pakistan scores highest in violence towards Chrisitans
According to Opendoors USA, Every month:

  • 255 Christians are killed
  • 104 are abducted
  • 180 Christian women are raped, sexually harassed or forced into marriage
  • 66 Churches are attacked
  • 160 Christians are detained without trial and imprisoned.

The website also states:

“There is something about hardship that allows us to know God deeply. When times get really tough, we discover more about who God is and how he really works”

Scripture says in Hebrews 13:3 “Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” .
There are mission resources for praying around the world. As children, my sisters and I used the children edition of Operation World – “you can change the world through prayers“. There are resources everywhere for everyone, you just have to be deliberate about it.
John 15:20:

“Remember what I told you: A servant is not greater than his master. ‘if they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.”

2 Timothy 3: 12

“Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Persecution is seen in all the pages of the Bible, not just with the early church in Acts but right from the start.
The church prayed for Peter. You can pray too. Get specific prayer directions that would help you be accurate in your prayers, you can go beyond repeating “God, I pray for Christians facing persecution” every single day. You can still pray for total protection for Asia Bibi and her family from those still threatening them. You can pray for others too by name or tribe. I knew of Asia Bibi through WOMIG -TKP.
Remember:

1 Corinthians 12:26 “if one part of the body suffers, all the other parts share it’s suffering. If one part is praised, all the others share in its happiness.”

References: Opendoors USA, ChristianityToday
YouTube video on persecution.
Happy New Month.
Love and Light,

Debby.

IVCU 2018 Village Outreach; My perspective in a summary.

Life Diary The Christian Faith 10 Comments

Hello everyone. Quite a number of times, I’ve been asked about my silence over here. My mind has been here but my daily actions haven’t aligned so I couldn’t blog. I apologize.
But by my statistics, I see you keep coming to read and you encourage my heart. ??
I’m back. Where do I start from?
What I really want to do is give you a little gist of one of the events I’ve had in the period I’ve been away.
I guess I’ve never stated it explicitly on here, even though I’ve done so indirectly a number of times: I’m a 500 level Law student of the University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria and I worship at a campus fellowship known as Ibadan varsity Christian Union -NIFES.
My fellowship is under both the auspices of Christian union and NIFES(Nigerian fellowship of evangelical students).
We are very evangelical.

We embarked on a village outreach recently. The village where we had our camp base was called Jarija. We’ve visited the surrounding villages in that location for our outreaches for quite sometime.
Village outreach take off is always on a Thursday and we stay there till Sunday.
Thursday found me at House no 12, Kurunmi road. It’s a residential area for university senior staff, and this one belongs to one of our patrons in fellowship. A number of us were there cooking; mainly sorting out, and frying the fishes to be used for the entire outreach, cooking dinner for that evening + other basics. Someone told me of how the abundance of fish we sorted and cooked, triggered his memory of the Jesus(documentary) film where the portrayal of two fishes becoming an abundance for all was shown. I know right.
Here’s a photo grid of pictures from that thursday:

Everyone had a scheduled take-off time for the village, as printed. Mine was 2:30pm and so at that time, I took off for the chapel within school. At the chapel, myself and the others for my time slot got seated in a bus, the bus was loaded with extra bags of water and we took off.
I led the prayer as the bus took off. I had a book with me which I intended to read the whole journey. However, I couldn’t stop praying once I had started. ? I kept praying on my own.
P.S: why do people always sleep when travelling, even for short trips? I don’t get it. Virtually everyone on the bus slept.
We got to the base, Jarija, circa 4:16pm. We met a team praying on ground, as is always the case every year. We joined and then we prayed, prayed and prayed. And still we prayed. Later in the late evening, we stopped to rest for a while. Before long, we gathered again, and prayed and prayed. That’s the way thursdays go in the village – pray it through.
The final buses were yet to arrive from school. Eventually, the bus bringing our dinner arrived really late, I didn’t take note of the time but I guess it was around 12am already. We ate white rice and stew, then had a camp briefing carried out by the Evangelism secretary and off to sleep.

 Hhhhhhhbvh wait, my unit – prayerband, – had a brief meeting where we were counselled to join the entire prayer chain for the night.
We always have a prayer chain during the outreach. Everyone has an hour prayer slot when they’re woken up at night to pray. That way there’s always a group praying all night till dawn. You can always stay for more than your time slot. As prayer band members we were adviced to stay the whole night praying. Erhm, however, after my duly assigned chain of 12-1am, I strolled back to the hostel like a cartoon character, and there I slept.
The next morning, the camp commandants were at it. It was an experience with these commandants. I’ve been in village outreaches before and had commandants but these ones were indefatigable ?. They wore neon coloured orange vests over their clothes. You wouldn’t imagine how annoying their shouts could get in the mornings but I appreciate their dedication to the work( I’m just being polite). Its exhausting having so much noise around you for the most of the day, and a greater amount of it when you’re just waking up!
I had my personal devotion, then we gathered for general devotion. There was time for us to fetch water and have our bathe – all these, under strict time slot accompanied with loud claps, bells and shouts from these commandants. *Sighs*
We had an exhaustive in-house bible study time. Then we ate our brunch.
Each person falls into an axis as per the norm. We had three axes (OBV, a blog reader pointed out the plural of axis to me; Axes not Axises); A, B, C.
Each axis had about four or five villages underneath it. I was allocated Ladele village but for friday, I was among the group that stayed back to pray through out – remember, prayer band member? We prayed till Axis A members got back from the house-to-house evangelism in the early evening.
The camp base was in Axis A. The format goes thus: after house-to-house evangelism in the villages, the villagers are told about the crusade to hold in a chosen village for each axis. So of the four or five villages in axis B, Omu-Aran was chosen, of the five in C, Akindele was chosen. Ofcourse for A, our camp base, Jarija, was chosen.
At the time we prayer band members paused praying briefly, we quickly broke our fast then gathered to pray again for the crusade about to start.
I soon left the prayers to join those organizing the village children. P.S Flashback – Thursday night after I arrived and we had that mini break inbetween the long hours of prayer, I sat outside with a book (I’m the fresh air + book type of girl). I beckoned to one of the village girls and she came to stay with me. That gave a host of them boldness to draw near me too. But I kept mute mostly because I was a little tired, and more because my yoruba was all over the place. These children spoke expert yoruba, I heard them clearly. I was a little skeptical about speaking the yoruba I tend to speak. I never went to a church where interpretation was made from English to yoruba language so when it comes to words like redemption, repentance, other bible words and general lingua flow, I always stutter. I can however speak household yoruba.
Last year’s outreach, I was going to ask a woman which religion she believed in. Religion in yoruba is ‘Esin’. My people, lo and behold, I asked which ‘aisan’ she worshipped. ‘Aisan’ means illness. That did it. It just did it. Yourubas can be very superstitious. How do I go about explaining that error. Did I mean her harm?
now you get my reluctance to speak yoruba in the face of the expert yoruba these children threw about.

So back to Friday when I joined those organizing the children, I made sure I played the firm aunty’s role. I was telling them I won’t tolerate any noise at all, I made them shout and repeat the memory verses I taught them etc. All theses were done with what we’ll call “bold face*“. When it came to teaching the word though, I gallantly left it to the better yoruba speakers. And yes, I taught them some beautiful songs, I hope they still remember.
The pictures below aren’t capturing even half of them.

P.p.p.s: The children were not as gentle as they appear in the pictures. Take my word for it!
After we were through with teaching the children and giving them gift packs, we helped at the crusade ground where the preaching was going on. We prayed with the villagers that accepted Christ, prayed for their specific needs, and jotted down their address details for follow-up. After that, those from the other axes began to arrive having done same where they were. We had dinner. Then prayer chain began all over.
This night, I couldn’t walk to my hostel like a cartoon character after my 12-1 am prayer chain slot. Why? We prayer and members were no longer adviced to stay all through, but mandated to stay the whole prayer chain so I did. ??. It was amazing. We however had continuous rain showers. Not drizzle. Rain that drenched and soaked us. Rain that caused me to shiver. The involuntary shake shake shiver. But still we prayed prayed inspite of the shake shake shivers.
Saturday went pretty much the same way with routine. By 5pm, the children we had at hand were more in number. The commandants’ claps got louder still, their voices louder. It was almost incredulous.
One thing I always look forward to in our village outreaches is the bible study. We always have lots of time to study under the open heavens. It was a beautiful time again. The only issue was that we had an abundance of sunlight. I mean abundance. Guys, I had sunburn. I’m still recovering from that sunburn(well…, I’ve done really well over these two weeks now). Sunburn so evident, it has been the subject of discussion for almost everyone who’s seen me since then. Like I laughed it off with a friend, the bible doesn’t promise beautiful faces for those who preach, it’s beautiful feet (Isaiah 52:7). But wait, Daniel 12: 3 says those who turn many to righteous shall shine like stars forever more. ?
Another notable fact: on Saturday, I went for house-to-house evangelism and the prayer band members who did so on Friday were the ones who then stayed back to pray all through the day.
.
Saturday night, after the crusades in each axis, and everyone had arrived, each axis leader gave a report on the souls won, challenges faced etc. Then we had thanksgiving praises to God for all the souls that had been won. We danced till day break.
We woke up and had devotion time. Then thorough cleanup of the environment began. We cleared the kitchen equipments, cleared out our hostels which happened to be the primary school for the villagers. I spent time picking charcoal from the ground and underneath my fingernails looked very blessed with black coal.
Then, the photo gallery sessions began, as people filed out of the village in different batches.
.
I doubt I did justice to the experience in this narration, but this is an attempt to encourage someone else who is otherwise very skeptical every time they hear of a village outreach. It is beautiful to serve. And no, no witches will eat your head off if you’re in Christ Jesus.
Added point: It’s a great time doing what Jesus did while he was here on earth. Try it.
.
Urhm, even though they won’t read this, this post is dedicated to those whose names are still carved in my heart from the village experience. To: Idris, Smart, Aminat, Iya wasiu and that loud woman whose husband has packed out. I’m praying for you.
Ivcu 2018 village outreach: Glad tidings of great joy.
Ever been on a village outreach? What was your experience?
*Bold face means false bravado.

Love,
Debby

A Fresh Perspective of Heaven!

The Christian Faith 1 Comment

Hiii Precious people. Debby here again.? I’d love to know some more about my silent blog readers. If you won’t comment, make efforts to say hi by using the ‘get in touch’ option in the drop down menu Enjoy this read on heaven.

Something divinely inspired always leaves a trail in its wake. You know in the subsequent years that it was no ordinary act.
This is my line of thought as regards this song “ijoba orun“. I guess most Nigerians know the song I’m referring to. It’s a Yoruba song which reigned some seven or eight years ago. It was so popular, and almost everywhere you went someone’s phone rang and it was their ringtone.
It was also the cliché choreography music for children and teenagers in every church. It was everywhere. It spoke to us all.
I listened to the song some minutes ago and I still am as I type this. This is a link to it on YouTube to refresh your spirit.
It reminds me wholly of two messages I listened to last week preached by Pastor Sarah Omakwu, Senior pastor of Family worship Center, Abuja (Messages one and two). She emphasised in both messages how the subject of heaven is rarely ever a topic in our Sunday messages anymore. Heaven is a beauty. It’s our reward as faithful chrisrians, its our place. It’s where I aspire to. I don’t just want dominion here on earth, I also want to reign with Jesus in heaven. You know what scripture passage best exemplifies this?

1corinthians 15:19 “if in this world only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men to be pitied”

It means if all our Christianity would do for us is grant us victory down here on earth, we’re the most miserable of all men. We go through so much for that to be all. I don’t just have financial victory and physical health, some unbelievers achieve that. I have hope beyond here! And so do you as a Christian. I have hope beyond here!
A great crown of glory awaits me in heaven. It’s my habour. It’s where I get to have the beautiful and engaging conversations I love to have, and it will be with Abraham, and Daniel and Deborah. It’s the place where I see Jesus.
I think we must never lose touch of home. That’s why it’s home. When you’ve lost touch, it’s no longer home. When it’s no longer the place of your best memories, when you don’t have loved ones there, it’s not home. Heaven is my home. I’m only an ambassador on here, this is temporary and I must not lose sight of that.

Matthew 6:19 (New International Version)

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”

God bless the music artist(Lara George) that composed that song. Listen to it again, will you?
What do you think?
Peace and love,
Debby.

The abolitionists did a good work?

The Christian Faith 9 Comments

He that gathereth not with me, scattereth abroad.
I had just completed viewing the movie – AMAZING GRACE and I couldn’t but think about the countless number of times Christians sing the hymn without knowing it’s history. It’s a song borne in the deep throes of slavery; a song also of bravery; and importantly, a song of surrender to God.
I’d write a recommendation blog post for the movie soon. It’s a true life story.
Wilberforce surrendered to God. ‘Old man’ did too.
The movie inspires the viewer to be better. To do better. To be brave, to fight for the voiceless around them. Most of all, to GIVE for causes worth giving for. I moved to shut down my laptop so I can work on rearranging my books, then I saw my screensaver. On it was displayed a scripture passage. This:

”Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering.” Matthew 12:30.

The great feat accomplished in that movie as regards slave trade was only on account of Wilberforce’s partnership with God.
I once read a book on the abolition of slave trade which has some reflection in that regard. So then when you read of it all, know that some of those who played vital roles did that when they chose to ‘gather’ with God.
No matter what I do friends, no matter what it is, once I do it in my own strength, once I don’t do it with God (even if I’m not deliberately out against him), what I really am doing is against him. If I don’t gather with him, what I’m doing is scattering.
Scattering. I can advocate a million times on this blog for right living in hopes that somehow I’m changing one person’s mind-set, of which if just one person gets changed all of the time I put up a post, we may indeed discover we have a better world. But then, if I advocate for right manners, human compassion, human rights, all outside of the one in whom all things consist, I’m scattering.
Scattering. If I speak the tongues of a thousand angels and have not love I’m like a clanging cymbal*.
Love. What is love? Is it speaking up against slave trade? Talking about genocide?
GOD IS LOVE. His will is that all these things which I want to stop, indeed stop. But if I advocate for all these things(synonymous with having the tongue of angels) without God who is love, it equals to ”clanging cymbal”. And how I’d hate for this blog to be just another source of noise. Screeching, grating, awful noise to the hears of the God of all flesh. Just a clanging cymbal in the grand scheme of things.
Friends, clothe yourself with compassion and seek to be a better person, but any betterment you aim for outside of Christ; you’re scattering the very things he’s gathering. Otherwise put, you’re doing the reverse of your good works because all he does, are good works, and all he’s ever done before you were conceived is good works.
My submission: let everything you do be in him. What does that mean? Let him be the boss of you. If he says no concerning decision A, it’s no. If he says yes to decision B, it’s yes. To know for sure what he says no to and what he says yes to, you need to study the scriptures.
I, for one, am not out to scatter. Nor to be another source of noise. I’m out for real change, and that, through this blog.
I pray none of my blog readers, scatters. Lets gather with him. Team up with him. Follow him.
Let’s continually affirm that ”Jesus, you’re the boss”.
*1 Corinthians 13:1. AMP
If I can speak in the tongues of men and even of angels, but have not love(that reasoning, intentional, spiritual, devotion such as is inspired by God’s love for and in us), I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
With great love,
Debby.
What do you think? Ever read about the abolition? P.S I reviewed a book on slavery in Africa here.

Fiction: Patient Shoulders

Fiction 5 Comments

She felt it would last forever; the imminent separation. She did not want to face the implication of his leaving. She did not want to address the lump in her throat. She sat silently in the back seat of the car as her father drove steadily to the airport.
She’d thought she was certain where they were headed before now. She hated, with a blend of tolerance, the inability to read Sola’s mind at certain moments. He looked on ahead, sitting at the front seat beside her father, his chin lifted, just as the radio in the car droned on.
To think she couldn’t bring herself to stop liking his personality no matter what. She wanted to cry.
She felt the unease occasioned by her defiant silence shift to wrap itself around her father but Sola will seem immune. Her father impulsively tapped the steering wheel as he began to speak again, stopping to clear his throat
” so have you heard any other news about your father?”
“No sir,” Sola replied steadily “it’s the same.”
“ God will intervene” her father said.
“Amen”
She gazed out the window in despair.
At the airport, her father double checked the car security before they walked down to the terminal. Sola checked in his ticket and from where she sat with her father, she saw him speaking to the lady behind the counter in his easy manner. The lady cracked a smile. Walking back to where she sat with her father, he looked at them both and nodded. “I’m set to go”

“Okay then my son. Keep in touch” her father said and patted his back in a brief hug, smiling.
This time her eyes would not be averted. She looked at him, appearing bolder than she felt. She gave a small smile. He didn’t. He stepped closer and put both his hands around her shoulders to hold them in a comforting manner. She did not want comfort, anything but comfort, as her head throbbed with the onset of an headache. His grip was firm but not hard.
” you take care of yourself. You deserve care.”.

Three months later, She was walking down her street having bought soft drinks for the visitors they were to host in the evening.
For no reason at all, it came into her mind what Sola had last said to her: <i>you deserve care.</i>
Inadvertently, she snorted. It had been three 'almost-relationships' in her life and she was fatigued. She was prejudiced about relationships and on a whole, world-weary but she didn't know how to help herself. Her father who knew the level of her closeness to Sola had not known how to either, but he still tried to encourage her gently. Iyanu was past words of encouragement. She wasn't sure she could even enter into any relationship successfully without a nagging fear that it would crash. She felt her own anguish and wished for a motherly advice.

The visitors they were expecting arrived in two cars. A metallic silver honda accord and a white Mercedes benz. She was in the kitchen frying the last round of plantain to go with the jollof rice when Dele, the adopted help, went to open the gate. She took a break to briefly view them from the window at the sitting room before returning to the kitchen.
Her father soon joined the three men and two women. Greetings and laughter followed.
~~~
Iyanu left the door to her room wide open once she’d served them their food and her father had introduced her as his daughter. With the door open, the visitors’ voices carried softly to where she was. The conversation after they’d eaten the food she served wielded itself from the upcoming elections to the issue of politics in the church, and then to Christian virtues. It was on this subject: Christian virtues, that they dwelt the longest.
Iyanu could guess it was the tall woman who was speaking at the moment about Elizabeth, wife of John the Baptist.
“But you see that with all our bible knowledge these days, virtues like patience seem to have taken the backseat. Some people argue that if you have faith everything comes extremely fast. Quite true, but we must know the exceptions.
That wasn’t the case for Zechariah and Elizabeth. Elizabeth was old before she conceived. ‘Stricken in age’, the bible puts it”
The woman’s tempo was going down and Iyanu, very much interested, rose from her bed where she had propped herself against the wall, using her pillow. She took her plastic chair and sat by the door to her room for better audience.
“…Heaven knew the right specifications for the woman who was to birth Jesus on earth. We were waiting for that Mary and so God kept Elizabeth childless for that purpose. Elizabeth had proven she wouldn’t disappoint him. How many could do that?

They were stricken in age but she had come to understand like the three Hebrew boys that Faith is steadfast even if the answer from heaven doesn’t seem favourable at that time. If it doesn’t come from God, I don’t want it.
“Elizabeth was to birth the forerunner of Christ, a very important role and God trusted her well enough that until Mary is ready, she’d wait on him. Until the appointed time. Until Mary hits puberty. Until she’s old enough to be engaged to Joseph, Elizabeth wouldn’t lose faith. He knew she would not stop loving him because the promise was yet to surface. It was a step-by-step leading, one not moved by time and season. The beauty of it all is that God could depend the plan of salvation on her patient shoulders.”

In the distance the wall clock ticked a bit loudly.

In other news, Happy International women’s day.
Do share your thoughts and subscribe.
As always,
Debby.

Touching Lives at Christmas 

The Christian Faith

Hiiiii people.
This post should’ve come up long ago as the registration date for this year’s TLC edition is closed and participation, now impossible. This will however help for subsequent years.

There is a different way to spend your Christmas as a Christian. I assume you’ve been going to church for a long while now, which is really good. Now, how about bringing someone else to church? Not your literal church per se, but to the body of Christ. What better time to do this than on the very anniversary we celebrate? It simplifies a lot of things for you, really. You’ve been having questions about missionaries and their work, you’ve been admiring their dedication and selflessness and probably believed you will never get to do more than pray and give. Here is your chance to evangelize, even for a day.
It’s touching lives at Christmas. It’s been holding for sixteen (16) years under a reputable missionary organization with the headquarters in Ilorin, Kwara state: The Kindgom Project TKP.
This is the concept:

  • You register. Either by filling a form brought to your church or given to you, or by filling it on the website or calling TKP headquarters on +2348088085757 and stating your city.
  • You are available for orientation for 2hrs at the most, on any day of your choice which runs for three, four or five days before Christmas (depending on your center).
  • You get to the converging point in your town or city on that day(Christmas day) as early as 7am.
  •  You’re transported to the villages that have been mapped out and surveyed around your city. In some centers there is hospital visitation, prison visitation and sometimes a visit to a leporasium.
    It’s a way of sharing the good news of Christ with those who haven’t heard it sufficiently well enough to make an informed decision.
    Believers from all walk of life participate and you can be one.
  • There is house to house evangelism after which there is a picnic called brethren’s forum in one of the chosen villages. Medical and welfare services are rendered to the villagers. There is practical study during the brethren’s forum and food is given. 
  • Before dusk falls, everyone is on their way back home.

2016 edition held in 13 countries, 108 centers and there was a total of 6,135 participants.
You can plan towards that of next year and pray for that of this year. It’s a fulfilling way to spend December 25th yearly.
There is also an avenue to give your support financially or release your vehicle to go the field.
Best to check on the website. Www.tkpmission.org.
I pray you have a fulfilling Christmas period this year. One beyond getting a new hairstyle done or new clothes and a good feast at the table. I pray you get to reflect on the meaning of Christmas, experience the joy of it and share it with others.
Merry Christmas and a happy New year in advance.
As always, Debby.
I always love to hear your thoughts. Do comment. And please do not forget to share it with someone.