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. ❤❤❤

He who goes back and forth weeping, carrying his bag of seed [for planting], Will indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him. 
Psalms 126:6 AMP

Is Kanye for real or yes? I am watching, just as the whole Christendom is. Oh Lord!!

Saul must have given the Apostles some sort of puzzle when he got converted. Peter, John and the rest of the crew must have been intrigued. Dear Lord!

I pray we get another Paul out of Kanye. Jesus my Lord and King, fix Kanye West (and his entire crew) totally and wholly.

I hope you see and watch the Facebook video of his interview at Lakewood Church. I’ve included a link at the bottom of this post to make it easier…

I am thankful to Pastor Joel Osteen for providing the platform for Kanye to share on his new found faith. Pastor Joel may not be the best Bible Teacher, but he’s certainly got something for attracting people to Church. People should be comfortable, glad and excited coming to the house of The Lord, then they can become exposed to the Word. Remember that Psalm…?

“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord .””
Psalms 122:1 NKJV

Every Minister needs to up his/her Emotional Intelligence…just saying…?Besides, ain’t nothing wrong with having them both- the people and the Word ?.

Time will tell who this Kanye West is all about – Jesus Christ, fame or something else. I pray it’s my Lord! I am just watching and no, I will not be tossed to and fro in Jesus Christ name.

While Kanye’s interview was kind of real, I think the songs need to be better defined biblically. Give us some Worded anointed songs Kanye! And some not so eelish dance steps. Ofcourse that would require a sitting at the feet of Jesus to learn foundational tenets of the Christian faith. Will you find that at Lakewood too? ?

This ‘new’ Kanye may be a Superstar elsewhere, but right now, assuming his professions about Jesus are sincere, he is a babe and he needs the right milk to grow.

“as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
I Peter 2:2‭-‬3 NKJV

And I just couldn’t stop wondering if the ‘Jesus is King’ choir got converted too… Who are these guys? Again I am just thinking out loud ?

By the way…’Jesus is King’ or ‘Jesus is Lord’, which is it? Is there a difference??

Naughty me?

Please enjoy the interview, link is right here….

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=437816653584987&id=101306095226

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.