Posts tagged faith

A Fresh Perspective of Heaven!

The Christian Faith

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.

Sleeping Jesus, Bleeding Professional.

The Christian Faith 10 Comments


Matt 8:24-27 CJB
Then, without warning, a furious storm arose on the lake, so that waves were sweeping over the boat. But Yeshua was sleeping. 25 So they came and roused him, saying, “Sir! Help! We’re about to die!” 26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? So little trust you have!” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and there was a dead calm. 27 The men were astounded. They asked, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?”
Mark 4:37-41 KJV And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
It was a big boat we sailed in this time around on our way to Gadarenes, east of the sea of galilee. Peter was in charge. We had gone some distance when the storm hit. From my years of experience on the sea of galilee as a fisherman and with the grit I saw on peter’s face, it was evident we needed Yaweh’s help.
We could all sense from some signs even as we set off earlier that there would be a storm, but we thought it would be as all other times. Moreover, we knew how desperately Jesus needed to rest, so we got away. With the violent rocking of the boat, Jesus stayed unshaken, he definitely needed the rest. I glanced at him and watched the steady rise and fall of his chest and the wind lifting his hair as though in a stage play.
With the increasing persistence of the storm, we’d all at different times glanced at where he lay and left him undisturbed, no one did the waking. He deserved the rest. He’d taught the beatitudes to the large crowd, taught on vows, adultery, anger and others; As we descended from the mountain certain that we were going to rest, a leprous man who couldn’t interact with people according to the law, and which prevented him from listening on the mountain, came beseeching Jesus; A Roman officer had followed immediately; We had also been to Peter’s house and Jesus healed his mother-in-law, it was only there in Peter’s house he was able to eat his first meal of the day; next, the sick people came en-masse; not to forget the numerous people who had questions about following him. It was late evening now and he had taught and healed the whole day.
I snapped from my line of thought as I saw a high wave heading our way. It was hard to not envision the miraculous yet dreadful walls of water the Israelites passed through when Moses led them. ”Yaweh” I breathed in a rush. Andrew, who was beside me, knelt in fearful awe. The boat rocked and all the vessels in the boat rolled, their content spilling. Peter barked out some orders and we all hurried to stabilize the boat. The flood of water washed over us, drenching everything that wasn’t already dripping wet from the massive outpouring of rain. Now in the boat, was enough water to wade past our ankles. I shared a look with Andrew: this was all bad. In the sky, lightening kept flashing, and the thunders didn’t cease. Peter’s commanding cries were drowned in the noise of it all, we all just did what we thought we should do, and frantically.
The storm remained fierce.
The waves began to rock the boat off direction completely, and it spun on its axis till we couldn’t keep up with our direction in the middle of the sea anymore. My hands were bleeding from holding the sheet tight and I wasn’t conscious that someone had gone to wake Jesus until I heard his voice right behind me. As I jerked from the surprise of hearing his voice, the sheet slapped in the wind. ”About time Lord. We are going to perish” Bartholomew Said ”Save us lord!” ”we are about to die!” He stood resting one hand on the boat’s halyard, his cloak was flying revealing his woolen tunic. He gazed at each one of us in the eye, his face straight but the warmth of it could not be denied. ”why are you so frightened?” he answered to all pleas. As though in answer to his question, another wave rose, this one extremely high and it approached with the loudest of howling sounds, crushing the smaller waves which lay before it. All eyes darted to Jesus and back to the wave. ”what little faith you have!”
I wasn’t sure if I was the only one who heard him because he stood right by my side, or if his voice was loud enough to carry over the thunder to the others. What little faith? Jesus fixed his gaze on the approaching wave. Eager faces, trade-marked with worry-lines looked at him when he opened his mouth to speak, and this time, Jesus’ voice carried louder than all noise. That authority which we never could deny erupted, as he looked straight at the wave about to crush us and said ” Peace. Be still” Instantly, the wave slept. SLEPT. I’m always right back on that boat when what was to be the tool of our destruction became a pet before us. The water hissed and fell. Everything around responded. The thunders and lightening stopped, the rain reduced to a drizzle then ceased, the sun rose slowly over the once overcast sky. The boat rocked like it was a baby cradled by the arms of its mother, all violence gone. ”ah” I gasped, I couldn’t otherwise be persuaded of what had just happened before my eyes. It transcends description. Everyone was amazed.
”what kind of man is this? ” I said And one after the other, we all dropped to our knees; and this time, we did so not in fear of the waves, but out of a deep seated realization that nothing defers Jesus. ”even the wind and waves obey him” I muttered. I began to shiver: not from cold but from the power of the man who slept through the storm while we frenzied with bleeding hands. I shivered at the sight of the one who quieted looming death with a sentence.
On that day, I decided I would never again let him sleep while I bleed. It’s either of two things; we sleep together, or we bleed together, and I think he prefers sleeping in the storms of life. I believe him because I may be a professional fisherman, but even on the sea, he is the king.
Hello. Phew! Let me know your thoughts on this post. I was a little excited creating this blogpost. And boy, did it task me. I did a bit of reading on boats, storm etc, particularly how it operated over 2000 years ago. Not to mention reading that bible passage in different translations and in different gospel books. In other words, I must know your thoughts. And you must share. Hope you’re well. Also, do share your plans for the weekend. I’m mostly reading books and setting up my new phone. I plan to type up some blog posts this coming week too. Take care!
Peace and Warmth,
Debby.

Fiction: Patient Shoulders

Fiction 4 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.

Teachings: FAITH

The Christian Faith

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Not having faith is like saying “God hasn’t done it”
Faith is acting on God’s word. It’s the second thing after you’re convinced  something else has taken place. In this case, it’s the second thing after God has spoken his word. 
Not claiming” by his stripes I am healed”, shows misunderstanding of the truth of God perfecting my healing already. I don’t know it has happened. 
Faith is a function of “I know whom I have believed in and I’m persuaded… “1 Tim1:12
Faith means not believing your senses only. It’s dropping your intellect for God’s word. It’s unlearning all you have grown up to know,  because it doesn’t conform to God’s word. That’s why it’s hard for the best of us to have faith. You grew up believing contrary to what you must now believe to have faith.
“but I put my body under, I bring my body under subjection…” 
This is because it is no longer I that live but Christ that lives in me” Gal2:20
Knowing that my old man has been crucified with Christ, the life I live I live through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who loves me and gave himself for me
Thus my body can’t rule me. Physical senses can’t dictate. My body is ‘it’.
I have a new ancestry. For whoever is in Christ Jesus is a new creature, old things have passed away and behold all things have become new 1cor5:17
Jn3:13 “if I have told you of earthly things and ye believe not, how then shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man has ascended up to heaven except he that came down from heaven, even the son of God”
Even things Christ considers earthly, we find it hard to trust him on those subjects, how much more greater things he wants to relay. Most of these things we have difficulty with,  are things that have actually happened before and we know it. Healing; we know all divers kinds of miracles have happened but we just find it hard to key in. How much more the great and mighty things he wants to show in jer33:3? 
Noah for example had never seen an Ark built. Had never witnessed rain nor heard of it. What’s my excuse? I say I’ve never been to a big healing revival of hundreds of thousands of people, only read of it. Noah read, heard, saw, dreamt nothing. God spoke.
And Go is still speaking today. To me. To you. Through his word. “If only ye believe, ye shall see the glory of God” John 11:40
Faith affirms the integrity of God’s word. Faith is based on the word of God and if God hasn’t spoken there is absolutely no basis for faith.
God, I thank you for your word.
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Dear Fearful Christian,

The Christian Faith 3 Comments

Sweep the ocean floors
will you?
I will do so with you
We need little water
little
Just up to our necks
Every once in a while
Watch the fireworks at night
Will you?
Let nature perform it’s wonders
and your eyes the gazing
Your mouth the laughing
Let your mind be awed
Let your skirt like mine sweep the sand of the beach
Flutter in the wind
Try it
Loose the bands on your hair
You won’t be unholy
Just the wind. A little wind
Call out to the God of zion
He loves air just like you do
Don’t be afraid.
You’re still holy
Let it echo when u find out
What holiness really means
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