Which is how even I (Grace Obomanu) became light. I Am liGHT!
And you too are light (having been born of God).
A city set on a hill that brings illumination to the world around. A light that cannot be hidden nor put under a basket nor extinguished by darkness (John 1:5, Luke 11:33). No!
You bring hope to your environment and beyond. You are an embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, counsel, might, and understanding. You have the Spirit of God, imputed and imparted in you by the life of light.

We are born of God, God is love and so we are love. Love is an enduring attribute of God (1 John 4:7-8). We are made of love! and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can love as God loves. We are born of God, we have His nature and Spirit within us and so we can express love as God does.

I was in a couples’ meeting not too long ago where the following question was asked; ‘what will you do if your spouse forgets your birthday?’ ……   My response was; ‘It’s complicated!!?

Let me quickly say that, that is not the kind of ‘forgetting’ this write-up is about? . Staying committed to celebrating one another, especially our loved ones, is one of the ways we express our love for them.

I hear people sometimes say….”I forgive you, but I cannot forget”. Well, I personally used to think that it is difficult to easily get rid of bad memories (not that I am harbouring any hurt) but to just forget?….hmm..?

First Corinthians 13:5 has been popping up on my mind of late and this verse of scripture says (referring to LOVE)….

“…. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.“
1 Corinthians 13:5 NLT

“It is not rude; it is not self-seeking, it is not provoked [nor overly sensitive and easily angered]; it does not take into account a wrong endured.“
1 Corinthians 13:5 AMP

If love keeps no record of evil or wrong done, it means love forgets such things.

Here is the thing, if people close to us never hurt us, chances are that they’re not being their best selves while around us. Meaning also that we don’t know such people so well, and so, we are not enjoying the best possible relationship with them?. Trust me, you don’t want total clones all around you….(kind of boring) 

There is no doubt that our encounters with people is what helps us understand them better. Becoming offended or hurt is still part of the process (we’re getting to know people). My thought is that First Corinthians 13:5 is not necessarily saying we should not remember past experiences from relationships, if that were the case we would be making same mistakes over and over again and hurting people over and over again of same issues (selah). We will never learn how best to relate with different people and enjoy the best of relationships with them.

I believe that this portion of scripture is saying….. we are not to make a habit of recounting  or rehashing negative experiences either to ourselves or to those who hurt us. We should not dwell on them because such practice could stir up impure thoughts, strife and hatred in us.

Love forgets. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love is not overly-sensitive. Love is not easily hurt.

Brethren, we are of God (Galatians 3:26). God is love (I John 4:8), we should also declare same of ourselves.

Romans 5:5 says God’s love has been lavishly poured in our hearts… .it’s there, within us, let’s draw from it. …

“….. God’s love has been abundantly poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Romans 5:5 AMP

God forgives and forgets….and so should we.

“bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive.”
Colossians 3:13 AMP

Help us Lord!

Stand by the blood of Jesus

Jesus delivered on His mandate. That’s why we can enjoy all the rights and privileges of being God’s sons. And like the great leader that He is, Jesus committed the same mandate He came down to earth to accomplish to His followers (Mathew 28:18-20, Luke 10:17-21). We have authority in the name of Jesus to get the job done (Mark 16:16-17).

Starting a new venture can be exciting and doubtless risky. Exciting because it is something new and seemingly promising. Risky because of the fear of failure, resource constraints amongst other uncertainties. Sometimes people handle the uncertainties of new ventures by proactively focusing on project purpose and objectives, ensuring tact and discipline in mobilising and utilizing resources, sticking to proven successful models and practice.

My youngest daughter communicates very clearly; a lot of people say this about her. Some weeks ago, we were in the kitchen together when I noticed from the corner of my eyes that she was rubbing her eyes somewhat profusely. Just as I was about to turn and ask her to stop, she said; ‘mummy, I just had a vision- a someone was standing behind you.’ Ordinarily I would have panicked, but I just looked at her in smiles and responded he’s my angel’. I believe the Father opened her eyes to see this as a confirmation of Psalm 34:7.

God doesn’t give SMALL visions.
So sometimes it can be almost overwhelming thinking about how to accomplish God-given visions. This is where we can start feeling challenged and overwhelmed; when we start thinking of ourselves in light of God’s Big visions. It is not about us, but ALL about God. We are simply tools in the Master’s hands and so we must trust Him fully all the way and let Him use us as He wills.

Be UNDAUNTED

Think about the Great God in you acomplishing His Great plans and purpose through you. He cannot fail and if you let Him work fully through you, you cannot fail.

Be UNDAUNTED

Write down the vision, missing nothing. God’s visions may start small but they always unfold. Be sensitive and careful to know when God expands these visions in your heart.

Be UNDAUNTED

Run with the vision; one thing after the other as led by the Spirit of God. Don’t try to do it all at once, you can’t. Follow God every step of the way.

Be UNDAUNTED

Start from where are, take little steps of faith every time. Speak into existence the visions as you see them. You have to create the visions, bring them into tangibility by the Spirit, Wisdom & Power of God. Start from where you are, open your mouth wide and speak! Trust that your words will get to the right people by the Spirit of God.

Be UNDAUNTED

God is not a man.
He does not lie
He does not change.
He does not change His mind about His calling.
Trust God, walk with Him and it shall come to pass.

Shalom!

……………..

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Jesus enjoyed Favor with God and Man. He had unreserved access to the Father and the men that needed to favor Him and move Him towards His destiny were in His corner. When you have Jesus, you already have Favor with God, you can approach God anytime. You can ask and receive anything in the name of Jesus. You are loved with an everlasting love.

Lisa is in her early 50″s and a single mom. She lives in Ghana with her only daughter and child Becky. Becky is almost done with high school, she hopes to become a lawyer someday.

Lisa is looking forward to seeing Becky’s dream of becoming a lawyer fulfilled. But in recent times she’s had some concerns. She’s uncomfortable with the kind of association her teenage daughter has been keeping of late. These new group of friends seem to occupy most of Becky’s time. When they’re not in school, they’re out partying or visiting with another group of friends. Lisa is very troubled. These associations could ruin her daughter’s future, but the young lady doesn’t seem to see it that way. The more Lisa tried to caution Becky the farther she seemed to be driving her away and more towards her friends. Lisa needed to talk with someone, and she needs to do that fast too. She came across ‘Talk with Grace Obomanu‘ (TWGO), an online Christian counseling group, and she decided to drop a message asking for help.

At TWGO, first we needed to get Becky’s opinion on her mom’s concerns. So we put a call across to her, and it was a different story altogether. Becky feels her mother is overbearing, wouldn’t let her socialize with her peers, wouldn’t let her visit them or them her. Becky said her mom shouts all the time and seldom listens to what she has to say. Becky says she makes deliberate efforts to stay away from her mom because of her behavior. She said she wishes her mom could be more understanding and friendly.

Apparently, daughter and child were seeing things from their different perspectives. Lisa doesn’t want to lose her only child to teenage deliquency and Becky doesn’t want to remain a baby forever.

This observation was communicated to both of them. Becky was thankful that TWGO intervened. She promised to be more understanding of her mom and to relate more with her to allay her fears. And Lisa accepted her mistakes promising to engage her daughter more rather than control her. Their relationship would heal and become better with time especially as they both also learn to fellowship more with God.

Praise God!

First published on Grace Obomanu Blog 10/12/2018.