Welcome back!

In “At Crossroads.. :Blogpost 1“, we established that crossroads are a part of life. Crossroads are not bad in themselves but because we often would need to make crucial life-changing decisions at such points, crossroads must be managed carefully and delicately.

But how delicate is good enough? How do you delicately handle the decision of who to marry for instance? Are there guidelines for a Christian in making life decisions?

A portion of my children’s daily confession reads; “I have the spirit of the Lord; the spirit of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, might and the spirit of the fear of the Lord”

And honestly, they already astound me with some of their decisions and outlook on issues that impact on their young life.

I was recently at a crossroad and needed to make a life-changing decision. So I prayed and waited for a response from The Lord, but got none. Then I started trying to work things out for myself. Again, nothing worked. I knelt down another morning and prayed again; and The Lord gave me an answer of peace which am gonna share here.

We did not drop down to earth from nowhere. I am certainly not an outcome of some evolutionary process. I am made by Jehovah, in His image and according to His likeness. I am fearfully and wonderfully made to fulfill a specific purpose in a specific space and location (Psalm 139: 14-16).

So if I am made by Jehovah, who has my plan and purpose completely figured out from when I was in my mother’s womb, if I ever get to a point in life where I do not know which direction to turn, who should I turn to?

Jesus boasts of Himself as ‘The Good Shepherd’. A shepherd with an awesome sense of responsibility. A shepherd who is committed to leading us in the path of life and righteousness (Psalm 23, John…) .

Additionally, the Lord Jesus Christ promised and sent us the Holy Spirit; the Teacher of all truths, to guide and lead us according to God’s will, plan and purpose.

So beloved when at Crossroads realize:

1. That you have a Good Shepherd (John 10: 11-15, Psalm 23).
2. That you have a dependable Teacher (The Holy Spirit) {John 16:7}
3. That you have the Word of Life, which is a lamp to your feet and a light to your path (Psalm 119:105)
4. That you have the Spirit of The Lord (of counsel, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, might and fear of The Lord) {Isaiah 11:2}. So you are fully equipped to know what to do, how to do it, when to do it and do it well. Halleluyah.

Quickly, I share with you a scripture The Good Lord gave to me at my recent crossroad; Hebrews 10: 36

“For you have need of patient endurance {to bear up under difficult circumstances without compromising}, so that when you have carried out the Will of God, you may receive and enjoy to the full what is promised.”

So imagine being in a difficult situation where the only thing that makes sense is to RUN and The Lord sends you Hebrews 10:36 or 1 Peter 2:19!!

“For this finds favor, if a person endures the sorrow of suffering unjustly because of an awareness of the will of God.” 1 Peter 2:19

Look at Hebrews 10:36 again, what do you see? I see 3 important things;

(i) The Will of God

(ii) The Promise

(iii) Patient endurance.

And I can tell you, this part isn’t interesting! Naaa. But then, what I find with patient endurance is Maturity and great resilience. And I truly love those 2 attributes.

Who knows the Will of God? Can anyone know the Will of The Lord? How do I know if am doing the Will of God?

Let me show you how to know the Will of God….

“For whoever does the will of God (by believing in Me and following Me), he is My brother and Sister and Mother.” Mark 3:35

So as a Christian, if you believe in the Lord Jesus and follow His teachings, you are unlikely to be out of God’s will. And again, you have the spirit of The Lord and His Word always. So Always, you can know the Will of God if you just seek it.

The question then is not ‘can anyone know the Will of The Lord?’ The question should be; ‘Do I accept and do the Will of God?’

I can tell you that the Will of God may not always seem glamorous, nice, attractive or trendy. For so many months, I held discussions with The Lord arguing about how I wouldn’t marry my hubby many years ago. My reasons? He wasn’t good-looking enough! {By the way, my hubby brags himself as very handsome 🙂 }. But I can tell you now, that we are the best pair God ever put together! And someone recently stopped both of us and innocently remarked that my hubby is now good-looking than I 🙂

So the Will of God may not make sense to us, but remember, no one is Wiser than God is. So trust and Obey. 🙂

Matthew 13;43 tells us;

“Then the Righteous (those who seek the will of God) will Shine Forth (radiating the new life) like the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father. ”

My prayer for you today is that you would seek God’s Will at the Crossroads of your life. For only then will you truly experience peace and be fulfilled.

Remember that God created you for purpose, find His Will and trust Him to accomplish it. He is committed to it. He is a Good Shepherd. Follow Him, practice patient endurance and you will not miss the Promise.

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=7

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.

A young man called me some day. Someone I knew from way back. We belonged to same fellowship sometime ago and I was priviledge to be fellowship head at the time. He left us after a while; proceeded on a divinely provided internship training to Europe. A few years later he returned to Nigeria and was employed by a multinational company.

We kept in touch, but only when he called or buzzed. We’d talk a little about his faith which he always said was fine. But you know how it is now; social media readily give people away! His pictures on Facebook didn’t suggest a spiritually healthy brother to me. So when he called me, sounding rather too desperate to hold a discussion with me; I knew everything wasn’t right, he needed help!

He was at a crossroad! He’d gotten himself entangled with 2 young women. He must marry only one and I have to help him decide!

In my earlier blogpost; “Pet or Companion“, I narrate how Adam single-handedly  identified his life partner, chose her and named her.  So ‘hello’ young man, ‘go catch your bride yourself’!!

No!, you’re wrong; I didn’t tell him that.  🙂  Neither did I choose a wife for him. So what did I do? I spent about 30-45 minutes listening to his stories. I scolded him for sinning against our Father 🙂  (He was truly sorry). And then told him I’d get back to him in tops, 48 hours.

Ofcourse I wasn’t in any way confused about which of the ladies would make a good wife. But it wasn’t my place to tell him.  The thing is, I believe he also knew the right decision. But his passions and feelings were trying to misguide him. Happens!   🙂

When I called him 48 hours later, having prayed about his issue and also prayed for him, I simply listed out to him, the attributes of a wife, making a clear contrast between his 2 women without calling names. Next, we agreed it was best to end both relationships and start over {Solomon’s wisdom  }. I expect the rightful owner of the husband not to give up 🙂 and she didn’t.

Some months later, I received another call from my brother; he was ready to marry. He’s made a decision! Halleluyah. Please believe me when I tell you that all these time, I never asked him which of the ladies he decided on. I didn’t ask him. Facebook didn’t help me either. No pictures and besides, I couldn’t even differentiate the women physically. I trusted the Holy Spirit to sort him out and He did.

Life happens. Crossroads happens. Crossroads are not necessarily death traps. Crossroads don’t have to be negative. Crossroads should be opportunities. Crossroads should bring good change. Crossroads should lead us as Christians to a better place; God destined place.

Some well-meaning secular authors try to tell us how to manage crossroads;  (i) accept uncertainties. (ii) watch out for possibilities. (iii) Pray the Serenity prayer. (iv)  Pick a rising tide.  (v) Be open-minded; not having a goal is a goal.   (vi) Practice solitude.  etc

But should a Christian go on accepting uncertainties? Should he/She not have a goal; being tossed back and forth by every wind/doctrine? It’s great to expect and watch out for possibilities, but possibilities are everywhere! Which of the many possibilities that stare us in the face as Christians should we accept?

This is where crossroads can seem a challenge or a hard nut to crack because at the intersection of two or more roads, we must make a decision, most times, a crucial decision with far-reaching consequences.

What should a Christian do at crossroads? How do you know which way to turn? How do you know God’s will?

We’ll answer these and more questions in “At Crossroads…: Blogpost 2″. 

Stay blessed.

My love always.

I know Him! I know Him!! I know Him!!!

I hear you ask me; who? what? how? when? where?

And I reply…..

I know Him!

I hear Him call my name from my sleep; ‘Grace‘,  I awake and know He was at my bedside.  I know His voice; soft, distinct, laden with warmth and love. (Been awhile since He did that, and I long to hear that again).

I know Him! I see Him any time I choose, Yes! in His Word. His acts are full of compassion and love.  His words are divine, full of wisdom and life.  His miracles are miracles, simple and supernatural, bringing hope and peace to those who receive Him. He chastises and corrects purely from a Fatherly heart, seeking to make me just as He is.

He teaches me His ways. He charts my course and directs me in the path of life and righteousness for His name’ sake.  I have full access to wisdom which He liberally lavishes on me daily without reproach.

I know Him! I see Him in my life. He changed everything by one single, utmost sacrifice. Took my feet off the miry clay and placed them on His; the Solid Rock that never gives way.

No one believes my past; because He erased it!                                  Giving me a future of hope and abundance. Surely, He is in my life, otherwise my present and future doesn’t make sense.  He changed my story, No! He turned a new page and wrote a brand new story of me.  Halleluyah.  And He gives me a new day loaded with mercy and grace to live out His script and praise Him.

I know Him! Supplier of my Seed and Bread.  Provider of all that pertains to my life and godliness. The one that satisfies my mouth with only GOOD things, heals all my diseases and renews my youth like the eagles.

I know Him! Jesus Christ, Son of The Living God. The only sacrifice that effectively and everlastingly remitted sins, striping death of its powers, making a public display and disgrace of Satan and his agents.  He lives forever more, Yes! He lives in me.

Oh Yes! I know Him and I love Him; Jesus Christ the Son of God.  You too can know Him today. Make a decision for Jesus Christ. Choose Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal savior. Don’t spend another day of your life not knowing Him because he makes living meaningful, joyful and fulfilling.

 

 

Remember you can subscribe to receive every new blogpost from Graceobomanu’s blog by simply checking the box at the bottom of this article that says “Notify me of new posts by email.”  Please note: that we’ll need your email to be able to do that.  Thank you. 

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Welcome back, …. again.

It’s been such a blessing doing this blogpost series on “When the Doctor says ‘No‘”. Personally, my faith has been further built up (sometimes amidst tears as I remember the faithfulness of God to me, passing through a health challenge myself).

Very quick wrap up now; …….

In part 1, we looked at how medicine helps restore and maintain health. However, I arrived at an illogical conclusion that medicine is limited. The Bible tells us that every grass withers and fades away and man is grass (Isaiah 40:6). I therefore posit that medicine is man-made, is grass and so can fail (sometimes against the best intentions of those who administer it). But Jehovah and His Word can be trusted fully (Proverbs 3:5) . Jesus Christ tells us in Matthew 24:35;

“Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will by no means pass away” .

I think it’s wisdom then to be plugged into an immortal life source.

In part 2, we looked at 10 awesomely fundamental knowledge to getting a ‘Yes’ out of a doctor’s ‘No’. I urge you to follow these series sequentially without skipping any. So if you missed part 1 and/or 2, just spare 5-10 minutes to get a good background and then do a detailed study later.

So we have built up our faith going from part 1 to 2 of this blogpost series, but the Bible tells us;

“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:17

If you are reading this and thinking; ‘Oh! what ‘works’ again? ‘Did Jesus not do all the work?’ ‘Didn’t the Bible say we were saved by grace and not works?’ or you say; ‘I am incapable of doing any work as am immobile, too weak, etc’.

Imagine if when Jesus got to Lazarus’ grave with all His faith, that He just stood looking at the tomb…..I tell you, dead Lazarus wouldn’t even turn in his grave. Imagine again, that God Almighty (Jehovah) left the earth with all its emptiness and formlessness, I am pretty sure we wouldn’t have the earth we’re living in right now. Jesus Christ had to do some work Himself to save us. Try carrying a 300+ pounds (136Kg) crafted cross! ……..ain’t no joke.

So, we’ll now begin to consider some works we need to do to continue living against odds. I’ll try to summarize them into 10 sub-themes.

1. Make a paradigm shift. This is the purpose of the 10 fundamental knowledge discussed in part 2. Change your mindset, your outlook on life and change your health and life experience. Put the report of The Lord concerning your health/life, above any other; a doctor, a hireling pastor, relation, etc. His word says we were healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ. Q.E.D.

Think life. Never consider dying an option. Banish every thought about dying as swiftly as it crosses your mind. Do not brood over dying.

I find that when I think that I am strong even if feeling physically weak, strength begins to build up in me. So think like God your Father and call the things that be not as though they were.

2. Put together a Faith Confession and say it regularly: Based on your new understanding of your identity, the will of God for your health, what Christ did for you to stay in health, etc, write down a word-of-God-based faith confession. Resist the temptation to be emotional and write only things that are founded on God’s word.

My confession was something like this;

I Grace Obomanu, I am born of God. Therefore, I am a citizen of Heaven. There is no sickness or disease in Heaven none can stay in my body. My body is the temple of the living God and not a den for sickness. I belong to Jesus Christ. Bought by His precious blood. Healed and saved. The Same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is alive in me and it quickens my mortal body. Resurrection power is alive in me. Jesus Christ lives in me and He is life, so I have the life of God in me. The Lord is my Strength, my Song and my Salvation. I am victorious. I am born of God and I overcome the world including sickness and disease. etc etc

It took me at least 30 minutes daily to read through my faith confession. Many times, I did it more than once a day. And then I would recite Psalm 91 over and over again in addition to reading a few other healing scriptures.

In addition, God may just give you one word that will be an anchor through your challenge. Mine was Psalm 118:14.

“The Lord is my Strength and Song, and He has become my Salvation.”

For every feeling of weakness= I drew Strength from The Lord

For every scary symptom= I believed The Lord would save me from it.

And overall, The Lord is my Song (Victory).

Essentially, all I needed to overcome is in The Lord and He already made it available to me.

My role? = Believe and keep moving. This season would pass.

Now, I have to say this; ‘don’t be too weak to say your faith confession because spurs your faith‘. There were times that all I could say was; ‘Father, I call you faithful’, and His faithfulness would carry through the darkest night.

3. Put on the whole armor of God: You may also consider writing this up as a faith confession (with your name in it) and read it out loud daily. Doing this always made me feel like a well-armored soldier 🙂

Mine read something like;

I put on the whole armor of God; The helmet of Salvation; and I declare that I am saved by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Breastplate of righteousness: and I declare that I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. There’s no wrong in me. I have right standing with God my Father. So no accusation against me is valid. I guard my waist with the truth of God’s word: declaring that God’s word is true. I am Healed. I am victorious. I am Strong. I am perfect and complete. I shod my feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace and with the sword of the spirit; I pull down every imagination of darkness condemning every tongue that has risen against me in judgment. And I have my shield of faith in the faithfulness of my Father to deliver.

The armor of God is actually meant to be protective (that you may stand in the day of trouble). But God won’t penalize anyone for putting them on in crisis 🙂

4. Expose Yourself to eternal life: We already established that the word of God is LIFE and it is immutable. So, you do not let a day go by without exposing yourself to this life. Study your bible and listen to good messages on God’s word. For me, I love to study the word directly myself. I open my Bible and expect God to speak to me and He does. He always gave a reassuring word every time. And sometimes, He sent me word through my Pastors. God always sent me a word that kept me going. But to get that word, I needed to expose myself to it.

5. Remember the Lord’s covenant-Break Bread Regularly: Some people have become quite religious about the communion. They believe the communion is sacred and should be administered by only certain persons. Of course the communion is sacred, but Jesus Christ commands us to do it as often as, in remembrance of Him.

“..This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 1 Corinthians 11:25

Personally, I remind the Lord about His covenant of health, deliverance, salvation, peace, wealth, fulfillment of purpose and every good thing He has promised me in His word.

Jehovah is careful to keep His covenant.

“My covenant I will not break , nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.” Psalm 89:34

6. Get Moving, Go to church: My Pastor often used to say, ‘if you say you are healed, get off your bed’. And you know, that can be some work of faith…..

You may want to flip that and consider what you get……days, weeks, months, and maybe years (if you are still alive) of lying sick on a bed!

For me, there were 3 important things about going to church;

a. I expose myself again to God’s word. And God always sent a word, halleluyah.

b. I plug myself into life. Meet and relate with the living.

c. I am forced to give someone a smile. Sometimes it may be someone who had no idea about my health challenge that needs help. I make efforts to help and by so doing exert myself.

Again, my Pastor taught me, that the devil tend to isolate brethren going through a health challenge, selling them a lie that they are weak, tired and cannot move. That gives him more time to continue keeping you down. Naaaaa! Get up and get moving in Jesus Christ name!

Now, I recognize that there may be times when getting up and moving may truly be difficult or maybe your body really needs rest. Point here is; take a step every day towards getting yourself off a sick bed. You are not sick, you are healed! Your body is simply challenged, and thank God it’s your body because you are a spirit and you are healed. So move!.

7. Lay hands on your body. The day I got the revelation that I (a spirit) has been saved, healed and made rich, my excitement knew no bounds. I remember we’d just finished evening fellowship and I was practically skipping round my house celebrating this new revelation. So if I am a healed spirit and my body is diseased, I simply lay my hands on my body and command sickness to leave. And did I really do that? Many times! And it did bring some relief all the time.

I recently took advantage of this awesome provision by our Father. One of the strange symptoms I had was difficulty remembering things. Attempts at forcing myself to remember would seem like pushing against a wall. Like a brain block. So few weeks ago, I remembered to use my hands! I laid my hands on my head and declared that my brain works perfectly. It’s amazing how this has worked so well. I no longer feel like my head would burst because I am trying to remember something. Praise God.

8. Identify a Faith/Prayer Support Group and keep in touch: This can be your Pastor, leader, or fellow brethren in Church. The Bible tells us in James 5:14

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”

It’s really encouraging to know that some group of persons are praying for you in your time of challenge.

9. Identify your purpose in life and invest in it: There’s a God-given purpose for everyone. Find it and instead of spending your time crying over your health, get going. Help someone, help a group of persons, start blogging on God’s word, visit a homeless children home, go to work, even if it means explaining to your boss that it is just a step of faith so you are not overloaded or overworked. For me, this step gives you a focus on the future. How then will you die when you are thinking about the future with God and people in the centre of it.

Something I realize about God that encouraged me to take this path. God kept showing me things in my future! In fact, initially I didn’t get it. I was almost furious with Him. I thought; ‘Father just show me things about overcoming this challenge.’ But when I understood what God was saying, which I understood as; ‘I have a plan and a future for you, Grace, you are victorious over this challenge, in fact, this is nothing‘, my hope for the future increased.

10. Modify your lifestyle: Reconsider the impact of your life choices on your health.

a. Rest: I heard God clearly say to me; ‘Grace, I created the world in 6 days and Rested on the 7th!’ 🙂

Recently, I was listening over a discussion and I heard a young single lady planning a restful weekend considering that she’d had a busy week!

Huh? I rarely make such plans! I just keep going. 🙂

Rest is so vital to well-being and it’s an investment everyone should make.

b. Choose healthy habits: Certain habits (alcoholism, smoking, etc) may further compromise your health. Ditch them.

c. Choose healthy diet: I keep telling myself; ‘Grace, your Father recommended a diet regimen for you, switch to it.’ I have not! 🙂 But it’s right there in the Bible;

“And The Lord God commanded the man, saying, “of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; ” Genesis 2:16

“and out of the ground the Lord God made every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” Genesis 2:9

“...and vegetation for the service of man, that he may bring forth food from the earth.” Psalms 104:14

“…please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance be examined before you……..And at the end of ten days their feature appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies…” Daniel 1: 12-15

Re-evaluate your preferred diet plan and make a healthy choice always.

d. Clothing: The purpose of clothing is to cover up one’s nakedness. So stay covered and warm. I published an interesting article on God’s idea of clothing, as I understood it. You may wish to read at: http://www.graceobomanu.com/blogsite/?s=fig+leaves

e. Exercise: The Bible tells us bodily exercise profits little (1 Timothy 4:8). It’s probably this ‘little’ that has been shown, medically, to contribute to health and well-being. I think everybody should incorporate some form of exercise into their daily program.

Of course if you’re ill, you may want to talk it over with your doctor before starting. Start little and aim to shift the goalpost (target) with time.

f. Take your Medications if you need to: If you feel you have not built up your faith to the point you can go without prescribed medications, please take them. But do not give up on enjoying God’s best provision of Life and Health for you.

So, here we are!

We have some work to do to enjoy what God has already provided for us. The 10 fundamental knowledge help build up our faith but then we must act based on what we believe; that we are healed.

Keep a date with the concluding part of this blogpost series; “When the Doctor says ‘No’ : Blogpost 4.

Stay healed and blessed. Don’t give up on God because He is counting on you to overcome whatever challenge you are experiencing presently and then become a support for others.

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.

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=7

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.

Remember you can subscribe to receive every new blogpost from Graceobomanu’s blog by simply checking the box at the bottom of this article that says “Notify me of new posts by email.” Please note: that we’ll need your email to be able to do that.

And you can email me privately via: talkwithgraceobomanu@gmail.com

Welcome back!

In the first part of this blogpost we looked at how medicine contributes to well-being and also provided examples of situations when a Doctor can say ‘No’, meaning; that the Doctor can’t help with your presenting medical complaints. I also mentioned, very importantly, the only source of LIFE I know that is sure and unfailing…. the Word of God. The Word of God is immutable.

I did say then, that in part 2, we will begin to look at what you MUST DO to get a ‘YES’, if ever a Doctor says ‘No’. But before we get into the doing bit, let us to consider 10 fundamental knowledge to getting a “YES” out of a Doctor’s “NO”.

1. You Must know that God is.

“.…for whoever comes (near) to God must (necessarily) believe that God exists and that He rewards those who (earnestly and diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6 AMP.

I see in this scripture 2 necessities forgetting a reward/benefit from God (including healing);

(a) To believe that God exists and ;

(b) To seek and follow Him wholeheartedly (not partially).

I have shared in the past how one of my senior colleagues tried to engage me in a fruitless discussion; asking who the God I so passionately profess is? Whether God is male or female? Whether I can see Him? And that I should explain my response of “God is my Father” to an innocent little child!

Believe it or not, there are people who do not believe in the existence of God. And for some others, God means different things (that’s a big lesson I learnt recently and I have more often now, identify my God as “JEHOVAH“).

So there are gods of love, gods of war, gods of the sun etc, and I recently came across ‘Hollywood gods’. If you have any problems identifying with the God described in John 17:3; I am not sure how you can get a ‘Yes’ if and when a doctor gives you a ‘No’.

“…. the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

Now, after accepting that God exists, next, you need to seek Him earnestly and diligently.

Simply put; do not come seeking help from God with a plan B(in case God fails). Because when you do that, you so very easily fit into the doubter described in James 1: 6a-8;

“…for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

2. You Must know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

After you recognize the existence of Jehovah, then you must know Him. And the only way to know the Father-JEHOVAH, is to know His Son Jesus Christ.

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6.

“Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus Christ is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:5

If you need guidance on how to know Jehovah through Jesus Christ, simply copy and paste the url addresses provided below in a new tab to get going. These are my earlier blogposts that would guide you into making a decision for Christ.

(a) http://www.graceobomanu.com/blogsite/dead-man-walking/

(b) http://www.graceobomanu.com/blogsite/could-it-have-been-a-surrogate-birth/

3. You Must know the Word of God.

The Word of God is life.

“The words that I speak to you are spirit and they are life.” John 6:63

“For the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword…” Hebrews 4:12

“all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life …” John 1:3-4

So every time you read the Word of God, you are exposing yourself to life. Meaning that, you cannot be sick, needing healing and not expose yourself to the Word of God. You will die!

4. You Must know your New Identity in Christ Jesus

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:20

Brethren, our citizenship is of Heaven, where there is no sickness or disease. Therefore any sickness or disease in our bodies is alien and should expect an end of tenancy. Our bodies are temples of the living God. Not a storehouse for all kinds of strange symptoms. Knowing this therefore, we command every visiting symptom to vacate our bodies in the name of Jesus Christ. We are citizens of Heaven. There is no sickness in Heaven and none should stay in our bodies. Amen.

5. You Must know that Sickness and Disease were settled at Calvary

“..who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness- by whose stripes you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

“..that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying; He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses..” Matthew 8:17

Brethren, the only reason Christ bore our sicknesses and infirmities in His own body, is so that we do not have to bear any of them ourselves. Selah.

Therefore we must see every sickness in our bodies as illegal occupants. They have no right to be on our bodies because Jesus Christ took them all on Himself. Halleluyah.

6. You Must know God’s Will concerning your health

Of course from the foregoing, we already know that God wants us Healed. That’s the only reason He would die Himself to get us healed. In John 10:10b, we read why Jesus Christ came;

“…I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.”

Beloved, Jesus Christ came to give us life, spiritual life, yes, and physical life too, to its fullness.

God wants us in health and prosperity.

7. You Must know that you were healed at Calvary

God didn’t leave us in a ‘wishlist’. He Willed for us to be healed and He ensured it.

Peter tells us we were healed by the stripes of Jesus Christ. That is the result of Christ bearing our sickness and disease on Himself. He took them away and gave us health. Halleluyah.

8. You Must know that sickness is not from God.

In “Satan demystified” (http://www.graceobomanu.com/blogsite/satan-demystified/), another of my earlier blogposts, I demystify Satan and show him as the source of all evil. Satan is the thief described in John 10:10a

“the thief has come to steal, kill and destroy..”

In fact, John 10:10 gives a beautiful contrast of the person of Satan and Jesus Christ. Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy but Jesus Christ came to give us life and life more abundantly.

As long as you buy the lie that God is trying to subdue you with a sickness or disease, you will not be healed from it.

Pause, have you ever considered, why God would Himself die to take away our sickness and disease, and yet send it back on us to teach us a lesson or subdue us? It doesn’t make any sense. Neither does it make sense that someone would be sick and then seek help from a place where the devil is served and worshiped. That is absolute foolishness. Selah.

God is GOOD and there is no Evil in Him. And everything God made is GOOD.

“..the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” Psalm 92:15

“Surely God will never do wickedly, nor will the Almighty pervert justice.” Job 8:20

“So Jesus said to him, “why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is God.” Mark 10:18

God is GOOD.

9. You Must know that Death has no power over you

I have written in the past how my grandma would often tell us about times Death stood by her door, in fact, many times. And all those times, she rebuked him and he fled 🙂

I watched my mother die about 2 years ago. I was privilege to take care of her in her last days and I learnt a very good lesson doing that; death is a spirit.

The Bible tells us how a godly man should die;

“Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age.” Genesis 15:15

“You shall come to the grave at a full age, as a sheaf of grain ripens in its season.” Job 5:26

“…and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace; …” 2 Kings 22:20

Good story my Grandma told us, because she lived a good long life. In fact she started planning her death at least one year before it happened. She told me specifically to avoid expensive and meaningless ceremonies and simply bury her well. My Grandma loved God, although she didn’t even have as much revelations about God as I do know. And she also knew that untimely death was not her part and she resisted it.

10. You Must know that God cannot lie.

So we’ve listed all these beautiful things we need to know. But you see, sometimes, doubt tries to steal our faith. We cannot lose grip of the FAITHFULNESS of God. God cannot lie and God is faithful.

“that by two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation,…” Hebrews 6:18

“God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son of man that He should repent: hath He said and shall He not do it? or hath He spoken and shall He not make it good?” Numbers 23:19

“And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent; for he is not a man that He should repent.” 1 Samuel 15:29

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.” Titus 1:2

Beloved, God’s Will is for us to be in Health. He didn’t just wish it, He made certain that we have health by dying Himself on the cross, bearing our sicknesses and infirmities in His own body.

These things are TRUE.

We must believe them and hold fast to them irrespective of our present circumstances or state of health. Because God is FAITHFUL and He CANNOT LIE.

If Jesus Christ, many times raised a dead body (after all the systems and organs shut down), He can handle the disease or deadness of any one part of your body or body system, heal it and give life back to it.

Don’t give up on yourself and do not give up on God. God is counting on you NOT to give up. He is expecting you to win this trial of your faith and be strong enough to support another.

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=7

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.

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.

 

 

A few days ago, a senior colleague engaged me in an interesting discussion. He thinks I am a ‘really nice person‘ but he’s concerned that I might struggle in big leadership positions in the future if I continue being so nice.    Hmmm.

My response didn’t help him at all. I tried to remind him of times (in the recent past) when I have been described as high-handed by people in our organization. I have tried being autocratic, being democratic, and I think am finding a balance. He didn’t think I’ve found any balance. In his opinion, I am tilted too much towards democratic leadership.

Reminds me of something someone said to me in my university days; ‘don’t be too sweet or you’ll be leaked out of existence’. Another person made me pull out my dictionary when she said; Grace you’re unassuming/ you have no airs’.

Not too long ago, it was my birthday, and of all the many calls and goodwill messages I received, a particular phone call did touch me deeply. A colleague called and said to me; ‘wow! you’re being celebrated everywhere.I just had to call you today. You are such a nice person and all these celebration of your birthday is simply a response to all the love and care you give out’.

I have to say that apart from my husband’s birthday message to me this year, and yes, my little 5+year old spent the night making different birthday cards for me, 🙂 , this lady’s message was God’s special gift to me. Why so?

There was a time in my life, not too long ago, when I would recite Galatians 5:22, that; “The fruit of the spirit is fully evident in my life; I have love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, gentleness and self-control”.    I so much wanted to communicate God’s love to others through my decisions, actions and interactions.

My husband tells me I have grown/matured   🙂

Yeah, I can see areas where more changes must happen in my life, but I am so glad that God’s spirit is at work in me and the fruit of the spirit is becoming evident for others to see and testify.

So I have chosen to see the positives in what my senior colleague said. I’ll continue to love and show kindness. I’ll be firm when I need to be but still do it in love. I’ll make greater progress (by the Spirit of God) in exercising self-control, patience and gentleness. But I do not want to be anything else than what God wants me to be.

I believe the word of God in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8, which says; that love conquers all things and love never fails (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8).

I can never be too nice for the Spirit.

I will be considerate, sensitive, show empathy and still be courageous, brave and confident. #Nice/Tough.

 

 

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.