When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ….they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, after opening their chests, they presented to Him gifts. ……And having been warned (by God) in a dream not to go back to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way
Matthew 2:10-12.

Hi there,

Trust you are doing great and enjoying the yuletide season.

I write to make a necessary correction on my last blog post…Time to Bring In The Sheaves https://graceobomanu.com/time-to-bring-in-the-sheaves/

In the opening sentence and on paragraph 12, I mistakenly wrote ‘21st December‘ instead of ‘21st November’.

I think I need an Editor now??. Can’t explain how I reviewed that article several times and still pushed out a wrong date. Happens ?‍♂️.

My very sincere apologies.

We have since corrected and updated this on the blog, unfortunately same cannot be done for our email subscribers.

And many thanks to one of our email subscribers for writing us thus necessitating this short publication.

Thanks always for your understanding and stay blessed. ❤❤❤

Hi there,

Trust you are doing great and enjoying the yuletide season.

I write to make a necessary correction on my last blog post…Time to Bring In The Sheaves https://graceobomanu.com/time-to-bring-in-the-sheaves/

In the opening sentence and on paragraph 12, I mistakenly wrote ‘21st December‘ instead of ‘21st November’.

I think I need an Editor now . Can’t explain how I reviewed that article several times and still pushed out a wrong date. Happens ‍♂️.

My very sincere apologies.

We have since corrected and updated this on the blog, unfortunately same cannot be done for our email subscribers.

And many thanks to one of our email subscribers for writing us thus necessitating this short publication.

Thanks always for your understanding and stay blessed. ❤❤❤

The Bible describes Stephen as a man full of faith, the Holy Spirit and power (Acts 6:5,8). Looking at the event that earned Stephen a mention in the Acts of the Apostles, one can also safely say that Stephen was a man of integrity and he had a good reputation. Stephen was a trustworthy disciple. 

It is only a loving, compassionate and merciful Jesus that would put a dubious untrustworthy Judas Iscariot in charge of the purse. Most organisations (majority actually) will only trust their storehouse and strong room to people whose integrity have been proven beyond every reasonable doubt…like Stephen.  The Apostles applied a similar principle in deciding who took charge of the storehouse. 

Division of labor makes for efficiency and effectiveness. The Apostles understood that a Jack of all trade, ends up mastering none. Having identified their own trade; to minister the Word and to pray (Acts 6:2), it would be a total distraction to engage in serving tables. Serving tables would mean the Apostles distributing food from the storehouse to the teeming multitudes that embraced and followed the Word daily. The Apostles didn’t think it wise to take on that role,  that’s how Stephen (and the other 6) showed up (Acts 6: 1-7)

It is interesting how Stephen stood out from the larger pack and also from the smaller group of 7. Why Stephen?

According to Acts 6:8, Stephen didn’t merely hand out food and goods to people, he served full of faith, the Holy Spirit and power. The Bible records that Stephen performed signs and wonders among the people. He spoke the Word as he served. Some Jews who attempted to challenge Stephen’s confidence and conviction as he discharged his duties collapsed when they came head-on with the untold measure of wisdom which Stephen operated in (Acts 6:10).

Stephen was committed to the good work of the Kingdom; serving the people by the Word. And as a result of the commitment of the Apostles (and Stephen) in serving the Word, the number of disciples increased.

“The word of God was reaching more and more people. The group of followers in Jerusalem became larger and larger. Even a big group of Jewish priests believed and obeyed.“
Acts 6:7 ERV

Now, this is not exactly good news if you are in the opposition. If you are part of the kingdom that Stephen and the Apostles depleted their membership on a daily basis you are unlikely to be happy. The Opposition weren’t. Each passing day, they watched members of their fold drift into Stephen’s fold. Even their Jewish priests and leaders migrated as well, abandoning their traditional clinging to the teachings of Moses and their God. As far as they could see, it wasn’t really that this Stephen (and the Apostles) were powerful, they didn’t seem like powerful men. But somehow, people kept being drawn by what they said and the miracles that followed. Hundreds of people were persuaded and convinced by the words of the disciples of Jesus.

So they thought, ‘if they could stop this word from spreading further, this ugly and embarrassing situation  would be brought under control’. The opposition wasted no more time, they swung into action, falsely accusing and charging Stephen with blasphemy with the intention to kill him, get him off the scene, terrify the rest of the disciples and silence the Word. (Sounds to me like the same setup that got Jesus crucified). 

Oh! They succeeded in their plot against Stephen (Acts chapter 7). They stoned him to death.

Questions:

1. Where were the Apostles and the other Disciples at this time?
2. How did they feel about Stephen’s gruesome murder?
3. Where was Peter the rock? Couldn’t Peter raise Stephen back to life?
4. As a man of the Spirit and power, couldn’t Stephen resist being killed?
5. Oh! and where was Jesus when his faithful servant was being tortured and murdered in cold blood? Where was Jesus?. After all, it’s because of Jesus Stephen got killed. Maybe Stephen would still be alive if he chose to only quietly serve The Lord without being so outspoken and provocative to the Jews? 

Questions, questions and yet more questions…….

Just before Stephen was killed, he located Jesus; standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:56).  In that instant, all the pains Stephen felt through his ordeal were gone. The Heavens were opened and Jesus has been watching over him, the whole of Heaven was with him, nothing else mattered. Romans 14:8 was true….

“For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” NKJV

As Jesus watched Stephen matyred, He knew what it was like to suffer this way for the purpose of the gospel. Heaven had reacted this way when He was crucified.

That day, there was quietness and calm in the disciples’ camp. People cried, wept and grieved for Stephen. There was fear, despair and maybe doubt. Stephen was deeply mourned and buried well (Acts 8:2). The Church at Jerusalem faced persecution after persecution and yes, all the multitudes (excluding the Apostles) were scattered throughout Judea & Samaria. Oh! but they didn’t abandon the Word, in fact the Word spread faster like wildfire. Everywhere the disciples were scattered to, they went with the Word and wouldn’t stop talking about it (Acts 8:4).

So, instead of destroying the Church, the persecutions further propagated the gospel. This reminds me of what Jesus said in John 12:24.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” NKJV

Brethren, what can separate us from the love of God? Persecutions? Hurts? Offence? I hope your response reads….NOTHING. The Word we have received should not stop with us, no, we should stay committed to propagating it everywhere. 

Heaven is open and Jesus Christ is standing at the right hand of the Father watching over us ?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?” 
Romans 8:35 NKJV

Persecution against our belief in Jesus Christ will come. Truth is that “..all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). Persecutions ultimately aim to steal our steal our faith in the Word, cause us to stumble and to scatter. If we don’t even recognize and properly categorize them as persecutions, we’d cave. 

For false christs and false prophets will rise and show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

We’ve all said ‘I love you’ to someone at one point or the other. Personally, I started signing off most of my messages, excluding official ones with ‘Love Always ‘ many years ago….and I love it. But is writing ‘I love you’ or saying it endlessly to someone what love is all about?

Love is not this….

I believe that in many circumstances it takes boldness to say to another ‘I love you’ (not referring to men who use the phrase flippantly to woo women). And that bold step often sets us on a love path, many times, against our natural inclinations. Meaning that saying ‘I love you’ is not such a bad thing.

Another way people try to show love is through gifts. And truly when we love, we give. Giving is an expression of love. But giving in itself is not love anymore than mouthing ‘I love you’ is.

Love is not that….

Preaching, prophesying, walking in faith, praising in angelic tongues, dancing round the auditorium with clanging cymbals is Not love! ?.

Oh! I didn’t say it, 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 did…

“And I will show you a more excellent way. If I speak in human or angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am NOTHING. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship, that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”

…………………………….

Wow!Really wow for me because; Faith is big and it’s spiritual, Prophecy is big and it’s spiritual, Giving (to God and others) is if you ask me, ‘overpreached’ in today’s Christianity, but it is big and spiritual.

The scripture we just read says if we did all this and that, and love not, we are wasting our time.

So what is love?

What is love?

That’s the exact same question I’d have thrown at Apostle Paul if he didn’t provide 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8.

According to Paul, love is reflected in how we RELATE with others, not just what we say to them, not how we do our faith walk or manifest gifts of the Spirit.

Love is choosing to be patient when dealing with people, love is being kind to someone whether they deserve it or not, love is rejoicing with a brother (your peer) who recently graced his garage with the same brand new car you’ve been admiring to have yourself instead of envying him.

Love is deciding to withhold details of a recent feat from someone who is incapable of handling the truth that things are actually going on well for you than it is for them.

Love is dealing with everyone with respect and honor irrespective of your position or status. Love is looking out for the good of all at all times. Love is giving people a benefit of the doubt.

Love is smelling evil from far and turning the opposite direction. Love is being protective of others. Love is enduring some level of discomfort to make another comfortable.

Love is hoping that indeed things will turn around for good for others, not wishing them bad.

Love is forgiving and keeping no record of it instead of setting a trap to catch someone who offended you (knowingly or unknowingly) several months ago and only burying the hatchet when you see them miserable (you satisfy self but then you may lose them).

You know the thing about love?, … people recognize it and respond to it, they do not need to be always told about it?

My first 2 kids are in their teen/preteen age and I can tell you I’ve had to come down really harder on them in recent times, but they’re never in doubt of my love.As at today, I am confident that my husband loves me, it will be nice to hear him say it more often (yeah) but even if he doesn’t, I know it.

Love is the force that pulls people, crowd, multitudes to us, not only because of spoken love but also in the sweet incense of love that permeates well beyond our spheres, in what people hear and know about us. Because love done right, NEVER fails.

Prophecy fades, tongues don’t go on endlessly, knowledge is not the exclusive preserve of a few anymore and in fact it can seize, …….because 1 Corinthians 13:8 says so:

“….but whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.” NKJV.

The greatest Gift of the Spirit is Love.

Love never fails.

What’s the lesson for me?

You know God just has a way of sending us the right word in every circumstance. Really, this word hit me hard this morning because yesterday I held a ‘truth be told’ meeting with a colleague and I thought to declutter my heart. Only to pick up my Bible this morning and hear The Lord say to me, ‘Look Grace, that was not exactly bad, but you need to grow up’. Keeping a record of wrongs is not love, it is behaving like a child.

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” (Verse 11).

Oh yes! blogging has shown me that I am introspective; I look inwards too ? and so I can share my inadequacies even as I draw strength from them by continually renewing my mind with the Word.

I love how Apostle Paul puts it;

“….Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
II Corinthians 12:9 NKJV.

So what is your definition of LOVE?

My prayer:

May I become All of Christ and nothing about me.

Earlier today, I had a very strong impression in my heart to prophesy over my family. The contents of the prophecy were very clear to me, I could clearly see everything I needed to prophesy about, the words to say were running through my mind, I felt a strong sense of confidence in every word.  Arnold my husband was right beside me trying to get some sleep, the urge to start speaking was getting stronger, but then something was missing….and I will tell you what that is in a bit.

Thirty minutes earlier, Arnold and I had agreed we needed to nap….Sunday siesta! 🙂 The sermon today was good; Arnold loves governance and politics so the preacher got his full attention, well almost fully. One time, the preacher gave a rhetoric command; ‘rise up and be the voice of reason’, Arnold jerked up from his head bent position, almost standing to his feet. Only wisdom stopped him from jumping up and screaming ‘yes preacher‘. His slowness in awakening from his short nap gave him sufficient time to look around and find that everyone else was seated.

We both needed to sleep, last night was a business night, we had some sleep deficit to catch up on. Additionally, we’d booked an appointment to listen to a younger chap share his passion about a business idea…this was due in an hour…

But I wasn’t sleeping, the words of the prophecy kept running through my mind as I partly thought, ‘well I can do it during our prayer time’, besides Arnold seemed asleep now. But then I heard in my spirit; ‘the word is nigh thee even in thy mouth, …the word of faith‘

Oh! I thought, ‘word, ….faith….prophecy…….

I quickly grabbed my Bible and located Romans 10:8.

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:8‭-‬9 NKJV.

The first time I heard the concept of faith in Christianity explained was almost 2 decades ago, that would be from Hebrews 11. As you can imagine, there has been countless other times. Today, as I read Romans 10:8-9, my understanding of faith improved.

What do we have in Romans 10:8-9?

This scripture describes the steps for becoming a born-again Christian. But that’s not all. It provides the layout for a victorious Christian living founded on the kingdom principle of faith.

“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:8‭-‬9 NKJV

Becoming born again is simple; you listen to the good news and allow it create a picture in your mind, believe what you heard and believe the picture created in your heart, then confess (with your mouth) that what you have come to believe is so, and hey, you have it! You are born again, Praise God!!! 

Hearing the good news alone is not faith {It’s part of the process}

Conceiving the good news alone is not faith {It’s part of the process}

Speaking about the good news alone without fully believing it, is not faith {It’s just part of the process}.

Faith=Conceive it+ Believe it + Speak it + Receive it. 

This principle of faith is succinctly described in Romans 10: 15

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? NKJV

Let’s flip Romans 10:15 from bottom up;

Send a preacher out to preach so that people can hear the good news, believe it and then call on (confess) Him. 🙂

To say to a mountain ‘move‘ is not enough to make it move. There is a ……..’does not doubt in his heart‘,  a …..’believes what he says will happen‘,  before a ……’he will have what he says‘ (Mark 11: 23).

Faith=Conceive it+ Believe it + Speak it + Receive it. 

“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
James 2:26 NKJV

Hebrews 11:1-3 says;

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Hebrews 11:1‭-‬3 NKJV

A substance is tangible, an evidence is evident, so why does the Bible describe them in Hebrews 11 in future and passive terms? hoped for’….’not seen’….

Because the picture is fully created in a person’s mind, the person already believes it, the person has already confessed it and though not yet visible, the person already has it.

Look at Hebrews 11:1-3 again and this time, let’s see something different and interesting…

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”
Hebrews 11:1‭-‬3 NKJV

‘.…for by it the elders obtained a good testimony‘ in the above scripture can mean: 1. The elders are remembered because of their faith or 2. The elders created a testimony for themselves by operating in faith or 3. Both.

I will choose both.

You can become a faith champion by consistently creating your own testimonies obtained and secured through conceiving a thing, believing it, speaking it {plus acting on it} and having it.

I hear people say ‘faith is the Christian currency‘….is that absolutely correct? …….

Right now, if you are thinking like me, the immediate question to be answered is” what can I buy right now with my faith? I mean now! If faith is really this simple, why waste anymore time?

Can we create anything by faith? I mean anything at all…… 

How did the elders do it?

Three scriptures;

“…but without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11: 6

“…By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” Hebrews 11:2

“….”How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? NKJV

The base, setting under, or substrate of faith is The Word of God.

Hearing the word, believing in the existence of God, knowing and believing the word of God are prerequisites to obtaining a good testimony through faith.

So any believing, conceiving, speaking, acting that is not founded on the Word of God is merely a wishful thinking or a positive thinking. It is not faith.

Faith is based on the Word of God.

Oh! but what happens when the object of your faith does not manifest instantly, what do you do?

That’s where the twin brother of faith comes in; HOPE

Faith says ‘it’s done and I receive it, Hope patiently awaits the physical manifestation of the faith object.

Hope, doesn’t let your faith focus slip. Even though it tarries, it shall surely show forth.

Halleluyah!!!

Now back to my story about that prophecy 

I can have those thoughts and words running through my mind all day (and even into another night), and with all the confidence i feel about them bustling in my heart, but until I open my mouth and actually begin to say them out, and say them based on the word of God, nothing is gonna happen. So the moment Arnold turned a bit in his sleep and I established that he was no longer asleep, he got a full release of the words for the season. 

I leave you with an interesting dialogue between Ezekiel and Jehovah…..

“The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. Then he caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley, and indeed they were very dry. And He said to me, Son of man, can these bones live? So I answered , ‘O Lord God, You know.” Again He said to me, “prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live……..So I prophesied as I was commanded and as I prophesied there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them and the skin covered them over over; but there was no breath in them. Also He said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds , O breath and breathe on these slain that they may live. So I prophesies as He commanded me and breath came into them, and they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.” Ezekiel 37: 1-10. NKJV.

The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth.

What are you waiting for? 🙂 ……..Start putting flesh on those bones…….

…………………..

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Blessings & Love Always.

Grace Obomanu

The title of this blogpost would seem like an oxymoron, consisting of a phrase with conflicting or opposing ideas. It seems to be saying ‘don’t think‘ and yet ‘think‘ 🙂 It is impossible to continue to live and not think 🙂 so what is this blog about?

To guard something means to watch over it in order to protect and control it, to protect something against damage or harm.

The heart (mind) plays a key role in human existence. It is the seat of emotions, locus of thoughts and the centre of intellect.

Science describes the heart as a hollow muscular organ which pumps blood round the circulatory system and around the body. Thus far in human existence, no one has actually seen the heart (mind) as used in the Bible. However, we find from studying the scripture that a person’s personality, character and behavior reveal their heart.

“for as he thinks in his heart, so is he (in behavior -one who manipulates}. He says to you, “Eat and drink, yet his heart is not with you….” {Proverbs 23:7}.

“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” NKJV

Looking at the 2 scriptures above, we immediately see a link between the heart, behaviour (actions) and spoken words.

I was browsing through my last birthday messages from friends and family and I observed something that kept recurring through the messages from different people; “beautiful in and out” that stood out to me (*wink, wink). It’s a good report and I celebrate God’s Word in my heart 🙂

God wants us to guard our heart and by so doing control our actions, reactions and words.

“Keep your heart with all diligence for out of it spring the issues of life”
Proverbs 4:23 NKJV

To keep means to continue or cause to continue in a specified condition, state or course.

This is so important because all issues of life spring from our heart. Emotions of fear, hurt, love, anger, worry all stream from the heart. Our intellect is built and influenced hugely by the things we expose our heart to, thoughts emanate from our heart.

Clearly then we must control what goes into our heart and by so doing automatically control what comes out of it- as thoughts, words or actions.

Truth is, our emotions, thoughts (and actions) can either cripple or energize us.

God wants us to be selective about what we permit or allow access into our heart and we have a reference;

Philippians 4:8

“Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy– meditate on these things. NKJV.

So we should consciously put every thought (from within or without) against true/noble/just/lovely/of virtue/of good report. Any thought/word/action found wanting on this weighing scale must be discarded and ignored. A thought flashes through your mind that does not pass the litmus test? Discard. Somebody says something to you that displaces the balance of the weighing scale? Discard and ignore.

Reminds me of an incidence that took place in my office some years ago; someone became very upset and restless because another colleague referred to him as ‘a rat’ 🙂 The matter escalated to the point that the overall boss had to intervene, he called a meeting. After listening to the two people involved, one of his admonitions to the offended colleague was a question ‘Are you a rat?’ If someone refers to you as a rat, and you are not a rat, you haven’t behaved like a rat, then why are you so upset. 🙂

I believe that the easiest way to align our thoughts according to Philippians 4:8, is to always operate in Godly wisdom. And Godly wisdom flows freely from the Word of God.

In recent times, my most treasured status is that of being at peace. So I purposefully ‘guard my heart to think’ by protecting it from harm and exposing it to the truth sourced directly from the word of God. I consciously resist any attempt by life issues to destabilise this state 🙂 I keep my peace. Sometimes I miss it, but then I chase after it until it returns.

You can do same 🙂

The peace of God is available to us always but we must choose to walk in it.

To have a well-kept heart, a well-guarded heart, there are places we cannot go, there are movies/shows we cannot watch, there are books we cannot afford to read, there are associations and gatherings we must avoid, there are discussions we cannot be part of, there are pleasures we cannot indulge in.

I leave you with the complete words of wisdom from Proverbs 4:23;

“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.”
Proverbs 4:23‭-‬27 KJV

Shalom.