My hubby’s colleague was relocating to another city and as has become customary, a group of friends and colleagues gathered together to bid him farewell. This isn’t the first time someone will be moving jobs and making a career move, but this particular evening was turning out to be rather too exciting for me.

The group coordinator, as usual, helped people make the best food choices, having been privileged himself to have a first go at most of the delicacies. He would usually be helpful also with people’s choices of drinks. And you can rest assured that if you didn’t want a very sugary drink, then his recommendation would just be fine.

Then came the part that always surprises me. Someone would always ask for a beer or an alcoholic drink. Unlike other outings with this group,  this particular evening was different, I wasn’t going to join the team that would only stifle  at such ‘inappropriate’ orders on a table with only Christians seated.  I lost my usual composure and wifely calmness and out of my mouth spilled; ‘Ha! I thought Jude was a Christian!’  For the rest of the evening, I had to call to action the spirit of wisdom that The Good Lord has generously poured on me  🙂 as someone dug out a Bible from somewhere to buttress a Christian’s choice of alcoholic drinks.

Back home, I knew I needed to study and put together a blogpost on this subject matter; should a Christian drink alcohol? This is a common topic for discussion especially among young Christians with orthodox Christian backgrounds.  Most ‘born-again’ Christian groups abhor even a thought or the slightest suggestion (even as a joke), that a Christian should sip (not gulp) alcohol.

Popular opinions among Christians who drink alcohol include that:

1. Jesus’ first miracle wasn’t only a miracle of luxury. Jesus Christ turned water into wine.  And although the type of wine was not specified, alcohol drinking Christians believe that, considering the class of wedding, the people had no business serving fruit drinks or non-alcoholic wine.
2. Alcohol cannot be harmful because Apostle Paul recommends a ‘little’ alcohol for ‘stomach sake’.

Yes, drinking alcohol is a pretty popular social activity, in fact some persons drink alcohol leisurely.  But are there possible health benefits or risks with alcohol consumption?  And for a Christian, is alcohol a sin?

Well, first, I took a peep into my medical books and dictionary to remind myself what alcohol is and what its possible health benefits could be and this is what I found;

Alcohol is a colourless volatile flammable liquid produced from fermentation of sugars. It is the intoxicating constituent of wine, beer, spirits and other drinks. Alcohol is a drug and has been useful as preservatives, fuel, antiseptic, antifreeze, solvents and often added as psychoactive agents in alcohol beverages .  Alcohol has sedative effects and can influence the way we feel and act. Because of its depressant effect on the brain and nervous system, alcohol is most widely used as a drug in some parts of the world.  In consistently toxic quantities, alcohol has been shown through research to cause damage to most body organs including the brain & nervous system, liver, heart & blood vessels and stomach. Alcohol has also been shown to adversely affect a growing fetus and it can worsen mental health conditions as well as lead to dependency.

So, there you are!

Alcohol! Alcohol!! Alcohol!!! Do you really need it? Yes, I mean Christianity aside, do you really need alcohol?

I will be sharing my thoughts on whether a Christian should drink alcohol or not in “Christianity & Alcohol, Any Mix?: Blogpost 2“.

 

 

I have been dropping my thoughts on this blog post for months now in my notepad. During this period, as you can very well imagine, I have many times substituted one blogpost title for another. This; ….”When the Doctor Says No“……fits just fine and I love it!

I will have to split this blogpost into many parts, because there is just so much to write on it and I want you benefiting maximally.

Let me start you up from the beginning…..

I trained as a Medical Doctor, I prescribe drugs to people who need it, I also take medications sometimes, so this blog post is NOT about whether you should go see a doctor or not; take drugs or not; have that surgery or not. No! “When the Doctor Says No”,  aims to show you a source of life that is superior to medicine, that out lives medicine and is immutable.

Medicine is important to human life. Doctors have devoted their lives to saving the lives of others. Doctors help treat illnesses, they help educate the public on preventive care. Ultimately doctors aim to restore or maintain health.  While it is possible that a lot more understanding of the workings of the highly complex human body and its reactions to disease and disease agents is needed, medicine has helped fitted the very complex human body into books that when picked up helps the understanding of functioning of the human body.  But I have personally come to the illogical conclusion that medicine is limited 🙂

For years my body was challenged with strange symptoms and the more I walked from one specialist colleague to another (at home and beyond), the clearer it became that the doctors had no answers for what I was experiencing. Even more annoying, was the tendency of some of them to suggest, that my mind was playing tricks on me as all my test results have come out okay and the medical examinations yielded nothing significant.  One or two of them said to me; ‘go home and rest, there is nothing wrong with you medically’.

Nothing is wrong with me medically?!!!!  How come a walk from my bed to the toilet seemed like a cross-country race? Why is my heart racing almost uncontrollably? Why the terrible feeling of weakness and dizziness? Why has laughter become a luxury to me for fear that my heart would stop beating? Why can’t I complete a sentence on the phone for lack of strength? Why is the ground spinning and shaking under my feet? Why the churn and frequent visits to the loo in one single day? Why can’t I look into my laptop for 10 minutes without feeling sick? Why has sleep become a scarce commodity to me? Why have I been ‘resting’ on my bed for days,….weeks, ……months as advised by the doctor  without feeling any better? Why are the pulsations from my arteries so loud I can hear them with my ears? Why are they throbbing everywhere?  Why do I struggle to breathe sometimes? Why all these strange feelings?

As annoying as the ‘Nothing is wrong with you medically‘ sounded sometimes, they were right; Nothing was wrong with me! And I say nothing is wrong with me Medically, Spiritually, Mentally and otherwise. I am Perfect & Complete. Healed and made Whole. I have the Life of God in me. Jesus Christ; The Life Giving One is alive in Me! Amen!!!

So this was my experience for many months…years. Doctors can indeed say ‘NO’ when they reach the limits of their learnings and practice experience. They can say ‘NO’; when;

• When the health problem is not specific and does not fit into any medically known disease description.  Doctor genuinely wants to help but does not know exactly what to do as he cannot figure out what the problem is.
• When the prognosis for your health condition is poor ab initio  and it’s not your making (Doctor thinks you are unlucky/unfortunate, but medicine cannot save you).
• When you present to the hospital at an advanced stage of an illness with very bad prognosis (Doctor cannot help you now).

Let me just say here, that I don’t know any doctor that would intentionally want to hurt a patient. I have heard of a few unpalatable occurrences, but these are rare. Doctors are trained to save lives, so they would want to do all they can to achieve that.  When they say ‘NO’, then they must have explored all they know to do.

I bring you good news by this blog post; you can say ‘YES’ when the doctor says ‘NO’.  And the ONLY way I know to end up with a YES when a doctor says NO is found in Isaiah 40:8

“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the Word of our God stands forever“.

Medicine is man-made, made out of man’s dedicated studies and understanding.

But man himself is grass!!!

“The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said; “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field”      Isaiah 40:6

Medicine has limits! Do not put all your hope on medicine.

I introduce to you the Sure, Settled, Immutable and Unfailing Word of God that Stands Forever.

“Trust in The Lord with All Your Heart and lean not on your own understanding”.    Proverbs 3:5

When the doctors say ‘NO’, I dare you to trust in The Lord with All your heart.

Notice that I haven’t said trust in your Pastor/Bishop/Pope/Spouse. These people will all fail you even against their best intentions. No, let me rephrase that; these people help build up your faith, they may even pray for you, cast out devils and demons, but you’ll learn that in the darkest part of the night, when it seems life is leaving your body, that you cannot chain them to yourself. You have to fight your fight of faith drawing from whatsoever they’ve taught you, and be assured that they are praying for you.

Lean on The Lord completely. Plant Yourself in Him. You SHALL live again. I promise you that.

In “When the Doctor Says ‘NO’ : Blog Post 2, we will begin to look at what we must do to get a ‘Yes’ if the doctor says ‘NO’.

My Love always…..

 

Get My Book On Healing; “When The Doctor Says No”

To learn more about our healing benefits in Christ Jesus, follow this link to my book, “When The Doctor Says No” available online at https://www.amazon.com/When-Doctor-Says-No-Word/dp/1704859166/ref=pd_rhf_se_p_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=70RTSM062YD4ZEWJ7TTB

The Book is available in two formats; kindle and paperback. It is also available for order online from all amazon market places, meaning that the Amazon shop in your neighborhood should be able to supply you. 

I walked into a Nigerian children’s shop some days ago; needed to replace my girls’ lunch bags. After picking and fitting a set of lunch boxes into 2 Thermos lunch bags, I was satisfied because the girls have a similar set of lunch boxes at home, or so I thought. I got home about 30 minutes later only to realize that I’d had a memory lapse; I changed to a new set of lunch boxes the previous term. So this new purchase was a misfit. I immediately asked my driver to return them and possibly be refunded because having looked through the shop, there were not many other choices for a swap. All these happened within one hour. Despite my efforts at explaining to the shop owner via phone call that I’d really appreciate a refund, she refused to take the bags back, insisting that I must pick any other thing. To say I was furious and disappointed is to say the least. I have shopped with this lady for as long as 10 years with no record of ugly occurrences!  I was being arm-twisted into making a useless purchase and I didn’t like that.

Why tell this story? Because the title of this blog post seems persuasive and compelling, a little similar to the shopping experience I just narrated.    🙂  Forgive me, but that’s not the intention. This blogpost simply aims to share with you what Talk with Grace Obomanu is all about, how it started and what The Lord Jesus has been doing through TWGO.

Sometime in May, 2014 I’d gone for my monthly spa routine. As I lay on the couch waiting for the skin exfoliation part of my facials, God gave me a vision. It was huge, it was scary and it was unbelievable. I will not burden you with the details ….afterall its My vision from God 🙂  .

Suffice to say however, that ‘Talk with Grace Obomanu’ was a part of that vision. First, as far as I was concerned, it sounded foolish to make and stick signposts with ‘Talk with Grace Obomanu’ on streets around my city, which was part of what I heard in my spirit. Something I have never imagined or thought of doing before!  Not that I was bored and needed something else to do. I was fully employed and serving in a very challenging role at the time (overseeing 350+ health facilities across my State). I was also undertaking a Master’s degree programme with a UK Top University in addition to my family and Church obligations and commitments. I was sufficiently challenged and fully occupied.

It took me approximately 11 months from when I first perceived TWGO in my spirit to go live on Facebook with it! and another 2 years to realize that by going live on Facebook with TWGO, I was actually putting up signposts around the world. All along I would often ‘apologize’ to God to bear with me about the signpost bit, as it wasn’t clear to me at all and actually did sound ridiculous. Nobody knows me, nobody will call me for counsel or trust me with their deepest secrets.

Before going live on Facebook with the TWGO page, I booked an appointment to meet with my Pastor.  No! you’re wrong! It wasn’t to discuss TWGO. In fact at this time, I’d pushed that vision ‘safely’ out of my mind. I went to see my Pastor because I needed counsel and direction about the burden of God’s word constantly popping up in my mind and the sweet and amazing revelations and in-depth understanding they came with. I would type almost unstoppably on my Ipad, just to clear my head. I thought I had a call to preach!  Infact, on the 2nd of January, 2015, I knelt down by my bedside and told God that I receive His call even though it wasn’t exactly clear to me. That brought some peace. Who knows? I may still preach……if The Lord wills and directs.    🙂

The meeting with my Pastor was after ‘I accepted God’s call’.  I am thankful that God gave me an answer of peace through that meeting. I understood that God’s call may not always be to preach and secondly, God will make His call clearer with time.

I started TWGO writing up and sharing questions and problems people contacted me about in the past and the solutions I’d proffered. The whole idea was to guide people about how the page would work. In no time, people were sending in their personal questions and requests. This was awesome! I also got a ‘YES’ response from 2 brethren whom I believe The Lord directed me to invite to become co-publishers on the page. These were 2 well-seasoned believers!  They thankfully accepted my invitation. Again, this was awesome! Let me just say at this point that I deeply appreciate the support of these true lovers of Jesus Christ. We remain united and focused on the vision of TWGO and have by our constant communication become strong and reliable support for one another. Praise God.

The first fallout of starting TWGO is the Graceobomanu’s Blog. As I spend time in God’s word; reading and meditating on Him, I get  so excited and the blogsite provides a structured social-media friendly storehouse for all my thoughts and divine insights which I can readily share with others.  It’s always exciting writing on the blog.

The blogsite went on live on March 2, 2016. So far I have written 69 articles and published 46. The remaining 23 are drafts at different levels of completion.  Statistics on the blog show readers from across the continents of the world. Awesome!

So what is TWGO?

TWGO simply means Talk with Grace Obomanu. You can find an introductory post on Grace Obomanu in the maiden blog post; “This is  Graceobomanu’s blog” (at: http://www.graceobomanu.com /blogsite/this-is-graceobomanus-blog-welcome)

TWGO is an online talk-page that runs presently on Facebook and can be reached at:   https:web.facebook.com/graceobomanu.org .

*Copy and paste any of the url addresses provided to access the materials. 

On TWGO you have access to simple, practical and divinely inspired solutions and insights for everyday real life issues. My 2 contributing writers regularly share easy to read teachings on God’s word.

After turning down a few requests for publication on the page, I recently welcomed ‘Moment with Jesus Org.’ to publish every Wednesday.  I am glad to have them on the page as we work together to spread the good news about Christ’s Kingdom.

TWGO has a total of 4,451 followers presently from around the world.  Most of these are young men and women of African descent, but like I constantly hear in my spirit; ‘Grace, they won’t be so young in the next 10 years’!

Initially we sent out invitations for people to join the community, but we have not needed to do that in recent times. We find that as we share God’s word on the page, people just follow us on their own without any invitation. This is also awesome!

I believe that TWGO is providing positive social change to its community as people receive Godly wisdom and insights for daily living. As a strong believer in the experience of a positive change for anyone who dares to believe, the encouragement, counsel, wisdom and insights provided on TWGO through God’s word are guaranteed to bring about positive change. I know this!

Since inception, TWGO have shared 58 Real Life Issues on the page and attended to many others privately. We have sometimes been led to make phone calls to some of our followers and have received good testimonies of their ability to handle their challenges given the support we provide. We have also occasionally provided financial support to people in one need or the other. This has been more than rewarding!  In addition to sharing articles from Graceobomanu’s blog through the TWGO page, my contributing writers have written and published numerous teachings on God’s word, which have been quite engaging as we regularly receive awesome responses from readers.

Our publications reach thousands of people wherever we choose and even more  🙂    This we are able to do when we ‘boost’ the posts and increase its reach and delivery. We do this FREE of charge, although, altogether we have invoice from Facebook totaling $365 USD as at May 2, 2017. We have fully paid for this and do not owe a dime.

I am thankful for what The Lord Jesus is doing through TWGO. But I am even more excited about the vision God gave me. It’s Big, it’s Great and it’s for the Good of mankind.  Join us on TWGO and become part of God’s great move in these times.

You can pray for us regularly.

You can join us in the TWGO Community. It’s easy! Just like the page and you’re in.

You can invite your friends and acquaintances to follow us.

You can direct people to us for counsel. (We get this often)

You can send us articles based on God’s word. We will publish these if they meet our terms and conditions.

You can also provide us with financial support. $1 is just enough to get a Godly post or counsel to as much as 1,000 persons in different locations.

Whatever you decide to do, contact us by using the ‘Message’ button on the page.

Stay blessed.

My love always.

Grace Obomanu.

 

 

King Solomon’s golden request for wisdom from God, instead of worldly gifts and blessings, often made rounds of sermons in the small local church of my childhood years. And even though the church changed clergymen frequently, sermons based on Second Chronicles Chapter one, remained a regular feature.

Reading through this scripture now, one cannot help but appreciate the depth of Solomon’s gratitude to God and why this passage of scripture was considered suitable for sermons on selfless giving. Solomon was grateful for God’s kindness and goodness to his father David. He was grateful for the kingdom God gave him to be king over;  ‘a nation as full of people as the earth is full of dust‘ (Verse 9). This was Solomon’s greatest desire.

A grateful Solomon wanted so desperately to boast of The Lord’s goodness and display His magnanimous doings towards him and his household. Therefore he assembled all the army officers and judges of Gibeon and all political/religious leaders of Israel at the Old Tabernacle for a showdown!

Did Solomon already plan how many sacrifices would sufficiently convey his gratitude? Probably….      One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, …..100,  …200, ….300, ……500, and  1,000 burnt offerings sacrificed!  Boom, boom, boom.

The bronze altar, Bezaleel built may not have been of the best quality, but on this particular day, it was good enough to hold 1,000 sacrifices. One thousand burnt offerings at once!

This outpouring of gratitude and appreciation was too good for God to keep calm. There was no point waiting for Solomon to present his request (if he had any), and even if Solomon simply wanted to love on God (without any additional motive), God decided Solomon’s 1000 sacrifices earned him more than a gift.  So,that same night, whether Solomon expected a response from God or not, God gave one!  One thousand burnt offerings from a deeply grateful heart attracted a blank cheque. Oh ho!!!

Solomon could ask for ‘anything’ and receive it instantly. Again, Solomon exhibited an unusual request behavior that flawed God’s usual experience with requests from man.  ‘Wisdom!! ???   What happened to the usual request for personal wealth and riches, personal honor, request for an extended/long life and a prayer to curse one’s enemies (2 Chronicles 1:11) …??

Solomon’s desire for wisdom and knowledge to rule God’s  people was an expression of his ultimate ambition as evident in his response in verse 9; “this is all I want!”. No king wants to waste a blank cheque on some flimsy, tactless request. There are wars to fight and win, there are empires to dominate and lands to cease.  So an opportunity to ask for anything called for the most strategic response. ‘Anything‘ for Solomon meant a continuation of God’s faithfulness to him and to his father David (verse 9-10). 

Let’s pause here for a bit ……..

Pretend for a second, that God stretched out His hands and offered you a blank cheque…..ahaaaa……

First question….; What  would your ‘anything‘ be?  Would it conveniently fit into man’s regular request pattern which is often selfish and personal, or would it demonstrate a yearning to help others?

Second question…..;  How many burnt offerings do you think would buy your request?’   1, 2,  ….1,000, …..2,000 or much more?

Third question……; Would you be willing to give 1000 burnt offerings just like Solomon?

And fourth question….; Do you really need 1,000 burnt offerings to receive a blank cheque from God today?

Hebrews 9:13a gives some credence to the value of the blood of animals as used in the old testament for thanksgiving, purification and cleansing of the flesh….

“…..the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh….”

But was that really enough? Did animal sacrifices successfully atone for man’s sins and shortcomings?

Hebrews 10: 4 tells us it didn’t;

“For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins“.

And in Isaiah 1:11, God says He’s had enough of burnt offerings of rams, fat cattle, bulls, lambs, goats, fowl, etc. So, people,  stop wasting animals in ‘sacrifices’! SELAH.

A much more potent, powerful and effective sacrifice is described in Hebrews 9:13;

“….how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

A sacrifice so powerful to buy us eternal (everlasting) redemption (Hebrews 9: 12) and give us life and life more abundantly (John 10:10b). Just in case you didn’t know, ‘life more abundantly’ speaks of immeasurable wealth and affluence that overflows to others. YES! YES!! YES!!!

We can ask the Father for ‘anything‘ in the name of Jesus Christ (John 14:14, John 16:23) and receive our request (in line with His will) because  God the Father gave JESUS a name above every other name (Philippians 2: 5-10) and a name that guarantees ‘anything’. Halleluyah

1,000 burnt sacrifices from a deeply grateful heart was great and awesome enough for God to stretch out a blank cheque. But as we find, we don’t need 1,000 burnt sacrifices to access a blank cheque from The Father anymore. One (1) precious, costly sacrifice sufficed.

He bore our sorrows, pains and griefs. He was smitten, humiliated  and wounded for our transgressions. Bruised and crushed for our iniquities and wickedness. He was punished and chastised so we can have peace. And He hung on the cross to take away every curse (Isaiah 53:4-5, Galatians 3:13).

One precious sacrifice did it all. One sacrifice more than 1,000 burnt offerings was all we needed to earn a blank cheque from God the Father. Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary so you and I can have ‘anything’ through Him.

Take it!

Happy Easter!

Thank You Lord Jesus Christ for your sacrifice.

 

 

 

 

 

Many of us can identify with the statement ‘Christ is Risen!, He is Risen Indeed’. If you were like me, who grew up in an orthodox christian setting, Easter was (and remains) a very exciting season in the Christian faith. We would sing hymns of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection as early as the ‘Good Friday‘.  If I remember clearly, we often held carol nights on Good Fridays; singing around the town with candle lights. And although the songs weren’t particularly joyful, the whole exercise was exciting.  🙂

I also remember the ‘Palm Sunday‘ march around the town; symbolizing Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Question: Why was the triumphant entry important to Jesus Christ? Why did He do it?  We’ll consider that in another blog-post…soon.

Today, I bring you the Good News of the Kingdom of Jehovah and of His dear son, Jesus Christ; ‘Christ is Risen!’ ….He is risen indeed. 

Big brother Apostle Paul narrates the significance of Christ’s resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15.

“But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” 1 Corinthians 15:20

Paul tells us why Easter should be celebrated always;

1. Christ is Not dead, He is alive. God, Jehovah, raised Christ from the dead.
2. We believe that our sins are forgiven, and we testify that we are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus only because Christ is risen. If Christ were still dead, then we would be sinners. But our spirit bears witness with God’s spirit that we are FREE from sin. Halleluyah!
3. So our faith and believe is not futile, for we are living testimonies of God’s great and mighty works which we experience in our daily living.
4. Because Christ is risen, the dead in Christ will resurrect also. For if we only have Hope in this life and in the things which we see and feel, then we are of all men most pitiable and miserable.

I am excited that Christ is Risen! Halleluyah!

This blog post could have been titled; ‘The Second Resurrection’.  We find the First Resurrection in Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:12 and other New Testament Bible portions;

“even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”  Ephesians 2:5

“buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”

We were made alive and raised together with Christ when God raised Him. We were in Him at death, but we didn’t remain dead, no, we were raised together with Christ Jesus.

I recommend one of my favorite and earlier blog posts; “Dead Man Walking” for more clarity on how we were saved.

This is the Good News; that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, He was buried and on the third day, God Almighty raised Him (together with Every Born Again Christian).  After resurrection, Jesus Christ was SEEN by Cephas, by the 12 disciples, by more than 500 hundred brethren at once, by James, by the apostles and then by Paul. (1 Corinthians 15; 3-8).

Paul carefully documented these events for us and for any doubter.

We are not a people without hope. No, our Hope is anchored firmly on the resurrected Christ, the mighty miracles He works daily in our lives and in the conviction within our spirit that we are Christ’s and He is ours.  Halleluyah.

And even if we die physically before the second coming of Christ, our physical bodies will be transformed and we SHALL be Resurrected.

“For The Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”                               1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

Praise God forever.

Jesus said to Martha (Lazarus’ sister);

“I am The Resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 

In case you are still taking your time in surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, Easter is a good season to do it. Make it an Easter to always remember. Give your life to Jesus Christ today and become Born Again (John 3:3).

Simply say this prayer;

Dear God,

I ask in the Name of Jesus Christ that you forgive my sins. I believe in my heart that Christ died for my sins and you raised Him up from the dead just to save me. Lord Jesus Christ, I receive you as my Lord and Saviour today.  I declare today that I belong to Christ and none other. Thank you for hearing  and answering me, in Jesus name. Amen. 

Congratulations if you just said that prayer. And welcome to the family of Jehovah.

You must be baptized by water by immersion and you must be filled with the Holy Ghost.  You can be told how to experience these when you attend a bible-believing church. You may contact me also.

 

My love always…

 

 

 

 

In ‘Revealing ‘Revelations 12 to 20′: Blog Post 1’, we basically gave descriptions of the key subjects in these verses of scripture. And I did promise, that in the second part, we’ll begin to follow the narrations in the book of Revelations and come up with meaningful explanations.

This blog post we’ll begin to study Revelation’s 3 Beasts (Chapter 13 Vs 1-8); the First Beast, the Second Beast and the Scarlet Beast.

We described a ‘Beast’ as used in Revelations as most likely referring to an Alliance or a Coalition. An Alliance being a group of countries, political parties or people who come together for specific purposes, interests of mutual benefit.  And a Coalition refers to an alliance of people, factions, parties or nations; a combination into one body; a union.

The First Beast (Chapter 13)

This Beast came out of the sea, had 10 horns, 7 heads with 10 crowns on its horns; each having a blasphemous name.  It resembled a leopard, with feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the First Beast its power, throne and authority. One of the heads of the Beast was fatally wounded but got healed and the whole world marveled, followed the Beast, worshiped it and worshiped the dragon.

My thoughts

This is an alliance between 7 countries/kingdoms with a common interest and purpose. These 7 countries/kingdoms are located on an island( came out of the sea). The 7 Countries/kingdoms altogether have 10 cities (10 horns) and each city is an authority in itself (10 horns).  The symbol for this alliance has a black and white background,  and the logo on its flag looks like the feet of a bear (like curled worm) while what it speaks, professes or believes in (its mouth) has a hexagonal shaped symbol; like a small black house with 5 sides  over a white background (that’s the shape of a lion’s mouth).  All 7 Kingdoms share the same faith/belief.

One of the 7 countries/kingdoms was almost extinct, but surprisingly recovered and became admired and adored by people from many nations, who visit it often and marvel at its beauty.

In ‘Revealing ‘Revelations 12 to 20′: Blog Post 3’, we’ll consider the Second Beast.

Hope you make sense of these descriptions, they are actually very easy to decipher. You need to pray and you need to think.   🙂

 

I spend at least an hour on week days to get from office to home. Take away the occasional break down of heavy-duty vehicles that may disrupt free flow of traffic, the ride home has become woven into my daily routine that it fleets swiftly away almost without notice.

A few days ago as I rode home my thoughts wandered to how incredibly I’d risen from a very lowly and pitiable childhood to an unfolding enviable future. I seldom talk about my childhood, not that I am ashamed of it, no, but it’s usually too much hassle trying to convince people of my before and now. They constantly struggle to make sense of it. I remember narrating some aspects of my growing up to a senior citizen bosom friend of mine, bewilderment spread all over her. She couldn’t help but ask: “Grace, how did you turn out so right?” My response to her will probably shock you too; “I turned my life over to Jesus Christ at a pretty young age“.  Yeah, a few mistakes here and there just like anybody else (as I think about them now though, all have been certainly part of the building up process), but choosing Christ changed my story and my life   -and He isn’t done with me yet!

Esther was an anonymous Jewish girl, never heard of, never known. She ‘happened’ to have been raised by Mordecai. She ‘happened’ to be among other girls cleansed, pampered, beautified and brought into the King’s harem following Queen Vashti’s ‘dishonor’ of the King’s call (Esther Chapters 1-3). Esther also ‘happened’ to have met the King’s specifications and preferences for a queen. Yes, Esther was chosen and became Queen.

Was Esther’s whole life really a chain of coincidences?

Mordecai vested time and energy getting Esther grounded in the faith. And when the Jews were faced with a life-threatening situation, Mordecai immediately recognized that Esther’s whole life hasn’t been a coincidence but a play out of a master plan.

Esther has been raised for ‘a Time and a People as this’.

So back to this day that I rode home and reminisced on how favored and blessed I am. I also remembered siblings, relations, acquaintances that have been on this life’s journey with me. Of course I have been weighing in on their needs every now and then to help and bring some relief and meaning, but the reality hit me so deeply that I must do more, as led by God’s Spirit.

It is not a coincidence that you’re seated next to a rude, disrespectful, self-centred and highly competitive colleague at work, or that you are living next door to a difficult busy-body individual as a neighbour.

Is it possible that you have an impact to make in that life?

Like Mordecai said to Esther;

“For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise fro the Jews from another place but you and your father’s house will perish.”  Esther 4: 14.

Give it your best shot. Don’t be replaced.

 

 

 

“Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your Kingdom come….” Matthew 6:9-10.

Growing up was adventurous for me in more than one way. A 1000-page book would not successfully capture my experiences and escapades. Specifically today, I remember how it became a family tradition to take a 5-10minutes walk to the evening prayers following the ringing of the 6:00pm church bell. On very few occasions, we would recite ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ at home if my Big Auntie was too tired to make the walk to the Church. And almost every time, I would wonder what ‘thy kingdom come‘ actually meant? What kingdom is this? Where is it? And where on earth would it be located?…..

A few weeks ago, my curiosity about ‘the kingdom of God’ was aroused once again as I read through Mark 4:26;

“And He said, The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how for the earth yields crops by itself: first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come”

As I began studying about ‘the kingdom of God‘, I was convinced that my childhood desire to understand what this really means wasn’t misplaced. Curiosity can indeed make you smarter! 🙂

So what is a Kingdom?

A kingdom describes a realm, country or government whose ruler is a king or a queen. Kingdoms are defined by territories and physical boundaries and every kingdom has its people, values and culture. Citizenship into any kingdom is determined by birth, naturalization, marriage, etc depending on a country’s policies and regulations.

‘The Kingdom of God’ refers to a specific government established by God (Jehovah), having as its king Jesus Christ who is King of many other kings (Matthew 28:18). The Kingdom of God is not of this world (John 18:36) and is not delineated by physical boundaries and landmarks. Citizenship into The Kingdom is by a spiritual rebirth.

I enumerate below 2 fundamental attributes of anyone that may become a citizen of God’s Kingdom;

1. The kingdom of God is for the ‘poor in spirit’ (Matthew 5:1-7). This refers to people who can make just a little space for vulnerability and brokenness. Vulnerable enough to believe the Bible, to pray and believe that God answers prayers. Vulnerable enough to believe in the existence of a Superior Being that made the world and everything in it. And vulnerable enough to confess Jesus Christ with their mouth, believe in their heart that He (Jesus Christ) came down to Earth from Heaven to save man from sin and was killed, buried but raised back to life by Almighty God.

2. The kingdom of God is for persons who can be child-like (Matthew 18:1-5). Those that can HUMBLE themselves. Humble themselves to Trust, Obey and Follow. Humble themselves enough to learn new things and have rich imaginations/creativity. People who forgive easily and keep no record of wrongs (definitely not describing ‘Christians’ who want to ‘honor’ their late mother and so would not welcome a relationship with her living ‘enemies’).

Romans 14:17-18 tells us the prevailing culture in God’s Kingdom. A culture of Righteousness, Peace and Joy in the Holy Ghost (Romans 14: 17-18). Where Righteousness refers to virtue, integrity, uprightness, being justifiable and right. Peace means tranquility, quietness, stillness, calmness or freedom from disturbance or war. And Joy portrays a state or feeling of delight, pleasure, happiness, rejoicing, triumph, radiance or ecstasy.

Jesus Christ is our Peace (Ephesians 2:14, Isaiah 53:5). Jesus Christ became sin so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). And Jesus Christ prayed The Father to send us The Holy Ghost to keep our lives ever flowing with Joy (1 Thessalonians 1:6, John 14:26, Galatians 5:22).

We therefore are Righteous through Christ, have Peace through Christ and overflow with Joy in The Holy Ghost through Christ. Halleluyah!

So we possess all that the Kingdom of God is about;

“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” Romans 14:17

In Mark 4: 26-32, Jesus Christ paints a picture of the Kingdom of God and I love it!

“Then He said, ‘To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth, but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” Mark 4: 30-32.

To put seed in the ground and believe that it will grow requires some level of faith, albeit, latent. To put seed in the ground and go to sleep suggests an absence of fear/anxiety and existence of Peace/Rest. We plant, water, go to sleep and God causes our seed to grow to the point that it yields branches which provides nests for birds.

The Kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. The Kingdom of God is about faith and increase. The Kingdom of God is about the overflow of this increase to others.

Now, there were a group of fully grown men (and maybe women) who apparently remained in my childhood state of wonder and enquiry. They went to Jesus and asked Him when to expect The Kingdom of God……

“Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, The kingdom of God does not come with observation, nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the Kingdom of God is within you.” Luke 17:20-21.

Jesus Christ did not answer them with a parable. He gave a simple and clear response; The Kingdom of God is not a physical structure or a designated land area or visible territory. Rather, The Kingdom of God is Within Me and You!

The Kingdom is in us as integrity, uprightness and Godly virtue. The Kingdom of God is within us as calmness, freedom and stillness. The Kingdom of God is within us as overflowing joy in the Holy Ghost. The Kingdom of God is in us as faith and increase, yielding great harvest that spills over to others.

This is the Kingdom of God.

Thy Kingdom come dear Father, and Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.