The Cross of Christ

“We don’t have to worry about what is not, we just have to be faithful with what is.”

This Word came to me when I found myself particularly worried about the doors that weren’t opening, the opportunities that weren’t manifesting and the platforms that were not surfacing. Rather anxious and perhaps, a bit frantic; The Lord stilled me with His gentle whisper as is usually His custom.

“We don’t have to worry about what is not, we just have to be faithful with what is.”

What is, is this: the all sufficient Cross of Christ. Let me break this down.

I have always found that when circumstances are a bit awry and not necessarily as we had hoped they would be, the wisest thing to do is to remind ourselves of what God says as opposed to what our circumstances seem to be dictating. The Word of God is living and active. It possesses the power to set into motion a chain of events that will eventually watch our circumstances crumble, change and come into alignment with what HE has decreed over our lives and families. One of the most soul saving truths that I personally hold dear is that God is not peripheral to the world, the world is peripheral to God.

As such, we never have to be daunted with what is not happening, but try and remain sensitive to what IS happening and what we DO have. Christine Caine always says that the ingredients to a miracle are always in our midst. God is all powerful and all knowing. We may feel inadequate with what we have, but God is never intimidated. He is only waiting for us to join the party.

As we make the firm and wise decision to cast aside any and every form of intimidation, I believe we have come into divine alignment and are now well positioned to watch His plans and purposes burst forth in our lives. When Jesus had to feed the multitudes (John 6:1-14), He was not unnerved when all they had was a small boy’s lunch that carried five small barley loaves and two small fish. He knew who He was and what He was able to accomplish. Instead of lamenting over lack, He gave thanks. Miraculously multiplying the food till not only was everyone fed, but they even had evidence of abundance in the form of twelve baskets of pieces left clearly points to the fact that when we do entrust what we think is not enough to The One who IS, the trajectory of our lives is about to change.

Our faith is about to be fortified. Our character is about to be refined. Our outcomes are about to be defined.

Friends, what I’m learning on this journey is that instead of focusing on the externals that seem out of alignment, we need to seek to get our inner world into alignment, and watch the rest manifest as a natural result of it. The Message Translation of Matthew 5:8 puts it exquisitely,

“You’re blessed when you get your inside world – your mind and heart- put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”

This gives us the courage to lovingly and gratefully embrace the beauty of each day which is a glorious gift from God. We begin to look forward to encountering His Presence in the process which is the only thing that produces true life. We begin to trust that as we walk out this journey with The Lord, we can expect to see tiny graces and tender mercies waiting to be unwrapped around each bend of the road. We can let go and let Him.

Let Him guide. Let Him speak. Let Him direct. Let Him course correct.

Let Him go before us and orchestrate events, relationships, and circumstances in a way that will ultimately work for our good and His Glory. Let Him take what we think is not enough and supernaturally bless it till it becomes more than enough, leaving us not only feeling blessed, but even rendered a blessing unto the world. Let Him do what ONLY He can do when we come to Him with child-like faith and wait in eager expectation to witness yet again, The Father’s Goodness.

All traced back to the all sufficient Cross of Christ. When we view our broken pieces through the lens of the promises of God that we have access to in and through a relationship with Jesus, the tide of the battle begins to turn. First, in our hearts, minds and souls. Then, in what we are contending for. Where we once saw lack, we now see more than enough. Where we once saw despair, we now see hope. Where we once saw dead ends, we now see new beginnings. Where we once saw death, we now see life. And it remains only a matter of time before what we see in the Spirit begins to manifest in the natural.

In the meantime, it is our commitment to remaining faithful that will see us through. Faithful with stewarding The Promises of God. Faithful with sharing the love of Christ. Faithful with our mandate to be the hands and feet, the salt and light. Faithful.

We will stumble. We will fall, but The Word says that even though a righteous man falls down seven times, he rises again. I believe it’s because the resurrection power flowing in our veins enables us to. Again pointing to the all sufficient Cross of Christ.

As I hasten to a close, I hope and pray that we will make the choice to hand over what we do have to Him who asks us to not fix our eyes on what is seen, but what is unseen; because what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen remains eternal.

The rest will speak for itself.

Selah.

Perfect Love!

“Your understanding no one can fathom because it is grounded in Love.”

I have come to a revelation lately. I believe we are always in a rush to make things happen because of several reasons, but one of the most glaring yet subtle realities is the fact that we, perhaps, don’t love ourselves enough. I don’t mean in a narcissistic way, but in a healthy, like God-would-have-it kind of way. His Commandments to love say that we must love our neighbor AS ourselves. This must definitely mean that if we don’t love ourselves sufficiently, then do we really have it in us to extend what He says we must to the world that is around and about us?

None of us are perfect. Only Jesus is, but as partners in crime, we do have access to His Spirit to help us see ourselves the way Heaven does. Healed, redeemed, set free. Highly valued and esteemed. Precious and honored. And as we slowly let these Truths wash over our souls, I believe we will be able to see ourselves the way He does, value ourselves the way He would find great delight in, cherish ourselves as one of a kind; treasure ourselves as The Designer’s Original.

Let that sink in for a bit.

As the magnitude with which God has demonstrated His Love towards us begins to dawn on us, we will begin to sense courage well up on the inside of us. Courage to love and accept ourselves JUST the way He has made us. Psalm 139 is one of my favorite, highly recommended portions of Scripture. Why, you ask? Well, among many other reasons and revelations that it brings to light, the one that I personally love the most is the healthy self-love confessed by the Psalmist David as He candidly and endearingly says to God,

“For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14, NIV)

Not only does he admit that God has done a marvelously breath-taking job of creating him, but also goes on to give Him all the honor and praise that is due His Name. I believe this moves the Heart of God.

Friends, we were created in the image of God to bring Him all the Glory. Minimizing ourselves, comparing ourselves to others, focusing on our lack and limitations seems to convey to God that perhaps, He really didn’t do a good enough job with us. The truth is that nothing could be further from The Truth. Genesis 1:31 tells us that when God had finished His work of Creation, He saw it and thought that it wasn’t just good, it was, “very good.”

Yes, sin entered the world and disrupted the norm of perfection. But as surely as the crafty serpent tried his best to kill, steal and destroy; God already had established Jesus as The Lamb who was slain for the redemption of our sins, in order that we may be restored into right standing with God, so that through a right relationship with Him through Christ Jesus, we may also enter into a right relationship with ourselves, and consequently, the rest of the world.

A right relationship with ourselves means a lot of things, friends; but the one that supersedes all is the value we begin to cultivate for ourselves. We slowly begin to believe that we ARE the righteousness of God in Christ who have been created, called and chosen to do “good works” from a place of healthy Identity, and not a place that seeks to build Identity.

As we begin to value ourselves, we also begin to learn the value of waiting upon The Lord, not because it seems like there is no other option, but because we know that if He calls us to wait upon Him, it is only because He has something far greater on the other side. Left to our own understanding, we could quite possibly discount ourselves and sell ourselves short. But where a revelation of God’s Love has gone deep enough, it changes the game.

Knowing that we are indeed the apple of His eye, we begin to cultivate the kind of trust that comes only when we are fully assured of how much we are loved by The Creator of The Universe, Our Father. We begin to understand that He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. We begin to see that His thoughts and ways are higher because His Love for us is deeper. He loves us more than we do, and thus we find it easier to align ourselves with His will, timing and understanding of our lives. Isaiah 40:12-14 (NIV) inevitably comes to mind,

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
    or weighed the mountains on the scales
    and the hills in a balance?
 Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
    and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
    or showed him the path of understanding?”

It is interesting to note that the last verse of this Scripture implores us to “wait upon The Lord.” Let me share it,

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31, KJV)

Threading the truth of His incomprehensible understanding with our need to wait upon Him, this portion of Scripture beautifully illustrates what is my intention to convey.

Whether we are waiting upon Him for a job, a house, a spouse; the truth is that we will receive what we wait for, and not rush towards. With God constantly working on our behalf behind the scenes, we can be rest assured that as long as our decisions are in line with His Spirit, we no longer have to second guess ourselves. A sound revelation of our worth and value as God’s children will not only give us the courage, but even the desire to wait upon The Lord to receive God’s best for our life. The fear of missing out will cease, as we allow His Perfect Love to permeate every crevice of our being, still our restless souls and guide our every step.

Friends, He loves us too much to give us less than what He has in mind for our lives, lives that have had an original intention and design even before the foundations of the Earth were laid, lives that are a response of Love and consequently, can respond with enough love that says to The Father,

“Your understanding no one can fathom because it is grounded in Love. May we taste it and may we trust it.”

Amen.




And the crown belongs to Him👑

It’s only been a about a quarter that The Lord had me start this blog. All I had was two fish and five loaves of bread, but in the Hands of the one who can multiply our broken pieces into abundance and overflow, I can testify that friends, if that’s all we have, then that IS enough.

On that note, let me share some GOOD NEWS! Today, a highly committed organisation called, “Feedspot,” has featured this blog as one of the “Top 100 Christian Women blogs.” Founded by Anuj Agarwal, I would like to thank each and every one of you who have ever taken the time to read a post, leave a comment or enrich me with your encouragement. I am sharing the link as follows, in order that you may have access to more blogs if they capture your interest:

https://blog.feedspot.com/christian_women_blogs/

Food for the soul and manna from Heaven!

To The One and Only whose Love remains unrelenting and Promises unyielding,

Jesus Christ👑

A bit of both!

“You have both, my awe and affection.”

I found myself saying this to The Lord yesterday. The season He is walking me through is stirring within me an awe of The Lord that I believe He will be cultivating further.

We all who have experienced the Love of God through a Christ encounter naturally love God. He has our affections because they are now tethered to Eternity. The Word says that where your treasure is, there will your heart be also, and in my Bible, I seem to have written, “my heart is Home.”

That speaks to a love of God; a Father of unending Love, Grace and Mercy. But lately, I have sensed a reverential awe of Him, not a fear, but a reverential awe in a way that says,

“Your thoughts are higher. Your ways are loftier, and with You, ANYTHING is possible.”

Yes, friends. With God on our side, literally anything can happen that works for our good and brings Him all the Glory. If He promised it, He will do it. If He spoke it, then well, it has already been created. I have thus, realized that when He does give us His promises, we might as well receive His help with our unbelief, repent of it and continue to believe what He has spoken over the current state of our circumstances. We might as well pray in accord with The Father’s Heart and in time, see His Purposes manifest for not just ourselves, but even those that are connected to us. We might as well decree and declare His Word and watch circumstances change and come into alignment with Heaven’s mandate.

At times, I feel, it is our sense of not feeling worthy or adequate enough that can come in the way of His Promises seeing full manifestation. It is precisely at such times that we need to remind ourselves of Grace. Grace, which is a free gift and an undeserved favor of God. Grace, which chased us down even when we were dead in our transgressions. Grace, which finds us one way but leaves us, quite another. Grace, which by its very nature, upends us for His Glory. Grace which can never be earned or deserved, because it is just that: Grace.

It is Grace that calls us, “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.” It is Grace that says we are the righteousness of God in Christ. It is Grace that says we are forgiven and are now heirs to an inheritance that is fully ours through Christ’s sacrifice and God’s magnanimity. It is Grace that ultimately renders us worthy by The Blood of The Lamb and the word of our testimony in order that we may fully lay claim to all the promises of God that, in Christ Jesus, are “Yes” and “Amen.” It is Grace that has set us free.

Will we use this freedom to gratify the desires of the flesh or The Spirit? I believe that a reasonable revelation of God’s Love will propel us into the things of God, simply because our motivations are now anchored in love, not fear. We know how passionately He has loved us, and our corresponding response to that is not something I need to even write. But the awe of God is what will temper us. It will teach us to partner with Him for His Purposes. It will show us where our part ends, and His begins. It will reveal to us that He will contend with those that contend with us. It will etch out the Truth that wherever God calls you, He sustains you. It will illuminate within us a desire to forgive, let go and let Him.

Let Him provide. Let Him fight. Let Him win, because He already has the Victory.

All we have to do is walk in the freedom and victory that He has already purchased for us at Calvary which is something that we get to do with a hybrid of both, an awe and an affection towards Him.

Personally, I am beginning to experience an awe of who He is as He is slowly revealing to me that He is who He says He is. INVINCIBLE! And He will do what He says He will do. UNDEFEATED!

In the midst of our brokenness, He is wholeness. In the midst of our darkness, He is Light. In the midst of despair, He is Hope. In the midst of chaos, He is peace. In the midst of confusion, He is promise. In the midst of famine, He is provision. In the midst of death, He is Life. In the midst of life, He is Eternity.

He may take His time in the process, because the fulfillment of promise has more to do with who we are becoming than the intended outcome. God always honors our obedience. So as we steadfastly continue to believe Him for things that seem exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond what we could ever dream, imagine or think, I hope and pray that we will do so with a mixture of both:

Awe and affection.

So be it.

Nothing left to lose!

“On the other side of our pain is purpose, and passion paves the way.”

While googling the etymology of the word, “passion,” I learned that it points straight to the sufferings of Christ Jesus on The Cross. The image of the Invisible God wrapped Himself up in flesh, descended from Eternity and tabernacled with us. After three highly effective years in ministry, He took that Cross with a relentless passion, so that we may take ours too. There is nothing that He asks us to do which He hasn’t already modeled out for us. And that includes the crucifixion of the flesh.

So, when I use the term, “passion,” in this context, I’m referring to Jesus’s crucifixion. I’m thinking what could possibly give our Savior the zeal to do what He did for us, if not to leave an incontestable evidence of God’s Agape Love towards us. The Bible says He did it for the joy set before Him. Clearly, rewards are important but I believe passion remains the driving force.

Life is anything but a bed of roses. In sharp contrast, it actually is a battlefield between the forces that are for us and those that are not. Loss, grief, disappointment, betrayal, failure happen to all of us, leaving us a bit broken, a bit marred, a bit scarred. The passion of Christ however, assures us that even though things may happen to us, they do not get to define us. Only the Truth of God’s Word does, and His Word says that our brokenness in His Careful Hand produces a wholeness that can only point to His Highest Name. Our pain, when entrusted to The Only One who is wholly trustworthy, finds a purpose in ways that are uncanny, mysterious, glorious. It is a purpose that when discerned through Heaven’s perspective, fetches us an Eternal Glory. This is why The Bible says,

“For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,  as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Pain is temporary, but what we do with it can be Eternal. Pain can make us bitter or better. With God’s help, we can forgive, let go of things that are behind us and press on towards a purpose that is so saturated with love, grace, mercy, kindness and a sincere desire to help our brethren so much so that it makes the kingdom of darkness tremble. Things won’t always go our way, but when we realize that God can take our mess and make it into a message, our test into a testimony, and translate our pain into a purpose for His Glory, it truly changes the game.

Pain looks different for everyone. It can look like a teenage pregnancy, a background of abuse, a child gone astray, a marriage on the rocks, a vision that came plummeting down, a dysfunctional family and the list can go on. It can look like a struggle to make ends meet or take the form of generational curses that only the Power of God can break. It could be anything, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that with the help of God, we find the purpose behind our pain and go on an ardent quest to see it come to full manifestation, for our good and His Glory.

In my experience through life thus far, I can say that passion will bridge the gap. Passion that has been demonstrated by our King and points straight to the crucifixion of the flesh.

Why do I say this?

I say this because when we have endured all that life has hurled our way, there will be toxic waste and residue such as bitterness, anger, malice, unforgiveness, self pity, blame and shame. Such things have no place in our lives that have been bought with a price too heavy to even comprehend. Through the price that was paid, we have access to Heaven’s resources. All we have to do is simply activate that which has already been entrusted to us. We have The Holy Spirit to help us realize how God, in Christ, has forgiven us of our very many sins, that we may learn to forgive too. That perhaps is the most important thing in the life of a believer, and something we all struggle with.That is why it a part of the crucifixion of our flesh. The Word informs us that the Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. But I have realized that it is only when we make a decision between God and us to freely forgive that we permit God to create a healthy, life giving environment on the inside of us that can serve as an invigorating womb to birth all the dreams that God had in His mind for us, even before He laid the foundations of the Earth, even before the beginning of time. I like the way Christine Caine puts it,

“We are a product of Eternity, positioned in time, and given gifts and talents to serve our generation.”

However, in order to be in a position to serve, we simply must come to a point where we allow God to deal with the issues of our heart, to sanctify us, and to honestly confess to Him as Psalmist David did,

“create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

Once we have confessed, committed to a cleansing process, allowed God to create within us something new, we will be in a position to answer our calling and manifest our purpose in the Earth. Passion, the crucifixion of our flesh, will embark us upon a journey of evolving into the highest and best version of ourselves. Hate will give way to love. Self pity will give way to self worth. Anger will give way to compassion. Shame will give way to freedom. Fear will give way to faith. Death will give way to life. As Jesus says,

“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.”

Jesus is the Way to The Father’s Heart, and what He would have us become as a result of being transformed and conformed to the image of His Son, a process that can take us from the pit to the palace, creating within us a story that will point many in the same direction. That is our Purpose, friends.

Having said what I believe He revealed, it is my earnest exhortation that instead of despising our pain, we will learn to embrace it, release it and transform it into a Purpose so gigantic in its scope that there will be a day on Earth as it is in Heaven when we will look back and thank God that He allowed us to walk through what we thought would be the end only to find that it was, in fact, only a divine invitation into another new beginning, a fresh start, a grand adventure that sees our pain seamlessly morph into Purpose; while passion serves as the bridge between the two.

Simply because there is nothing left to lose, but everything to gain and everything to give.

Selah.

Courageous Love

“Love gives courage, and it takes courage to love.”

Before moving base, I think I was reading from the Book of Romans. The Passion Translation does a phenomenal job of revealing The Father’s Love towards us. I wasn’t particularly feeling like a mighty woman of valor that day. But as I kept reading, He started working. The words dripped like honey over my soul, healing and strengthening that which needed The Potter’s Touch. By the end of it, I found myself saying to The Lord,

“Love gives courage.”

God is Love. He loves us with no strings attached. His unconditional acceptance of us, with all of our flaws, limitations, weaknesses and shortcomings, is the very thing that gives us the courage to accept ourselves too. Slowly, we also begin to develop the courage to love ourselves in a healthy way, and as we do? We begin to want to extend that same love to others as well. The Word says,

“Love your neighbor AS yourself.”

This is why a Revelation of God’s Agape Love was revolutionary for me. As He began to reveal that one can never earn The Father’s Love because that is simply who He is, I recognized that I did not have “perform” to be valued, loved, cherished, accepted and treasured. The Cross has already accomplished that for me. It is not my work that gives me value. It is The Blood of Jesus that He shed for me and as me, in order that I may know who I am and whose I am, that defines me and gives me all the value I need to walk into the fullness of who I am called to be.

Once this dawned on me friends, it left me completely changed, wanting daily doses of The Father’s Love which empowers me to love others and see others the way Heaven does. I now no longer have to hold people hostage to their mistakes because Jesus never did. He gave me Grace. He gave me Mercy. He gave me Love.

And Love, in turn, is slowly giving me the courage to love myself and others, just the way God has made them. Not perfect, but precious.

1 John 3:16 puts it like this,

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.”

This verse encourages us to put others first. Needless to say, that is something which requires a large heart and a courageous soul. The Bible always tells us to be strong and very courageous. I think, in part, it is because our journey is very relational. It is an intricate web of being reached by Love, and as result, reaching out in love. A quote by Bob Goff comes to mind,

“When you love people like Jesus, you get messy. But messy looks good on you!”

Begs the question.

Why do we get messy? Do we need to fear that? Do we need to live in self preservation when Jesus says,

“Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.”

Putting others first is always a sacrifice, but it’s always worth it. It is something which not only produces life for the ones we are engaged with, but also for ourselves. Hurt, disappointment and loss will inevitably come our way, but will we let such mishaps keep us from experiencing the life that is found in loving others the way Jesus has loved us? Or will we allow His Spirit to embolden us in such a way that no matter what it costs us, we will be a people that are willing to pay it and watch it pay off.

We may get messy, but only with the assurance that The One who is able to sort through the worst messes and transform them into messages of faith, hope and love; will come through. Running towards people will always result in finding ourselves back in the arms of Jesus, with conversation rich in tales of adventure. Our talks won’t be self-focused anymore. Rather, they will be other-centered.

I think that is a conversation Our Father finds supreme joy in. As He watches over the process of our transformation and obedience, we can be rest assured that being an extension of Love in this round, blue-green planet we call Earth, it is a pure privilege to reach the people God has ordained to be a part of our lives. We will have to develop the resilience and the courage it takes to love without borders and trust that irrespective of what seems to be at stake, the satisfaction that we will have found in walking in the ways of God, is a reward in itself. Money can’t buy it. The world can’t take it. And that works well, simply because we didn’t come to be served, but rather, to serve.

Serve with love. Serve with courage.

And watch the two connect.

Selah.

The Move!

We have recently moved base. Same city, new location.

The freshness of a new season and the infinite possibilities that it may entail has brought a renewed sense of gratitude for God’s provision and faithfulness in our lives. Our much awaited move is finally here!

Setting up my room, bit by bit, was a detailed conversation with God. I spoke to Him about EVERYTHING – the chairs, the cartons, the closet. We even spoke of carpenters, plumbers and electricians. We spoke of internet connections. We spoke of grace, mercy, kindness, peace and shalom. We spoke of how a spiritual shift can have physical ramifications, but how everything first manifests in The Spirit. We spoke of how He chooses the times and the exact places that He would have us inhabit to sing the praises of His Glory and continue to seek Him. We spoke of how the shadow of a Cross appears on the ceiling of my bedroom at night, and the warmth that it brings to my heart. We spoke of literally everything, friends.

This simple shift in the past few days has served to shape my faith even more. Earlier, I would be quite skeptical about bringing God into tiny details of my life. Somewhere subconsciously and at times overtly, I would think that if only we sought God for the so called “big” things, the little things would take care of themselves, perhaps not realizing that everything to Him is, in fact, little. This time, however, my experience with God was a tad bit different. I brought Him into everything I needed His favor for, which has led me to another revelation. When we seek Him in the so called “little” things, and we experience His Faithful Hand, we will also begin to organically, cultivate a faith that begins to believe Him to move things on our behalf in order to accomplish the so called “big” things of life.

Nothing in our lives is an accident, friends but a beautiful, intricate part of a grand Divine Design. Every move, every shift, every breakthrough is an opportunity to seek Him further. What does this mean to me and my family, Lord? Give me a Word.

So He did. I believe that when we take Him at His Word, He launches us into a prophetic journey where we get to partner with His Spirit and watch His Glory manifest. It’s an invitation to walk with Him deeper still, and expectantly await the fulfillment of our Promises, while simultaneously finding contentment in the role we get to play in the circumstances we currently find ourselves in. I don’t know what you are believing for friends, but as I share what He shared with me, it is my hope and prayer that it encourages you as it encouraged me. So here goes,

“Arise, my dearest. Hurry, my darling.
Come away with me!
I have come as you have asked
to draw you to my heart and lead you out.
For now is the time, my beautiful one.
 The season has changed,
the bondage of your barren winter has ended,
and the season of hiding is over and gone.
The rains have soaked the earth
 and left it bright with blossoming flowers.
The season for singing and pruning the vines has arrived.
I hear the cooing of doves in our land,
filling the air with songs to awaken you
and guide you forth.
 Can you not discern this new day of destiny
breaking forth around you?
The early signs of my purposes and plans
are bursting forth.
The budding vines of new life
are now blooming everywhere.
The fragrance of their flowers whispers,
“There is change in the air.”
Arise, my love, my beautiful companion,
and run with me to the higher place.
For now is the time to arise and come away with me.”

(Song of Songs 2:10-13, The Passion Translation)

This Word points to harvest. It will mean different things to all of us, depending on where we are on our journey with The Lord. But this Word also summons us into a place of deeper intimacy with Him, where we allow Him to reveal whatever it is that He wants to in order that we may find supreme joy and soul satisfaction in partnering with the purposes emanating from The Father Heart of God, and in time, seeing His Mighty Hand bring forth that which ONLY He can.

As I draw to a close, I would urge you to ponder on how you think He is moving in your life right now? Who are the people He is highlighting for you to reach? What are the projects that He wants you to initiate? What are the unresolved issues of the heart that are holding you back? What are some of the concerns in your community that you can bring a redemptive solution to?

How do you think He is moving in order that you may too?

I’m with you on this quest, friends. We will do it together.


What really matters?

“Life is but a vapour. It’s not about the things we accomplish. It’s about the people we love.”

The brevity of our life leaves me to conclude simply this: What really matters?

Our life in Christ is quite sublime. One of my favorite Bible verses goes like this,

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

This freedom in spirit sets us totally free, friends. I love how The Passion Translation quotes Galatians 5:1,

“Let me be clear, the Anointed One has set us free—not partially, but completely and wonderfully free! We must always cherish this truth and stubbornly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past.”

As Jesus took that Cross at Calvary, He took the sin of humanity upon Himself and nailed it to The Cross. He suffered in our place, died, but then three days later, He rose again! Free and victorious. As we receive Him into our hearts, He makes His Home in our midst and tabernacles with us. Slowly, as we are grafted into a life-union with Jesus, the allure of the world seems to fall away, simply because we have been exposed to something greater and more real. He is invisible, but very tangible, friends. As The Holy Spirit works His way into our inmost beings, we begin to experience the true riches of life. We begin to understand what the battle really is about, and our focus shifts from merely amassing wealth to build a personal empire to believing for a life that is abundant, prosperous and blessed in order that it may be a blessing and extend the reach of The Kingdom that we ourselves have been graciously welcomed into.

At this point, I would like to affirm that The Holy Spirit is a creative being and will flood our lives with ideas, visions and dreams that we know deep down, are not from us but Someone greater. At times, the magnitude of such dreams and initiatives may seem daunting and find us questioning our potential to fulfill that which has been revealed, but I think God does that on purpose so that we will intentionally seek Him and rely on His Strength, not ours to accomplish that which has been extended from His Heart to ours.

I write this simply to say that Our Father is too good to leave us wanting. He promises to prosper us and to bless us with “good success.” But when He does promote us to the levels that He has for us, what is our response going to be?

In the short life that has found us saved, will we leverage the platforms we have been given to reach those that are still seeking? Will we use the opportunities that find their way into our lives to be the hands and feet of Christ? Will we saturate our relationships with love, compassion and understanding; as opposed to judgement, prejudice and hate? Will we say “Yes” to being the hands and feet He needs us to be in a lost and hurting world that we are a part of for just a little bit more?

Friends, we do not have to chase after the things of this world when God promises to supply all of our needs according to His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus. He hasn’t failed yet, and He won’t start now. We may have to go after our dreams to make them a reality, and that’s terrific! Heaven cheers us on. But I pray that the motives of our heart would remain pure. We would build His Name, not ours; and we would let all that He does for us point people to the fact that the same God who did it for us, can and will do it for them. Grace is the great equalizer.

It’s safe to say that as pilgrims on a sacred journey, let us always hold fast to the Truth that life is a mist. What we do with it flows from what our affections are tethered to. I once found myself saying to The Lord,

“The best way to give You a piece of my heart is to go after a piece of yours.”

The world today has approximately 7.7 billion pieces of God’s Heart. They are a response of Love, and as such, respond TO love. Every touch of compassion, nurturing care, empathy and understanding will serve to call forth gold from within them and leave an indelible mark in their hearts. After all, that’s what Jesus does when He finds us. He looks past our failures and mistakes, and embraces us with an everlasting Love. He separates our “do” from our “who,” our worth and value firmly tethered to the Truth that God created us in His own image, breathed His very life into us and unleashed us into this world to manifest a piece of His in our midst.

Maya Angelou’s timeless words come to mind, friends. Allow me to share,

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Trace your own memory and bring back those times you failed at something and your mother held you close, you couldn’t find the words to articulate the hurt you were feeling and your friend simply hugged you, you had resigned to the monotony of life and your significant other surprised you, you were simply walking down the street and a stranger gave you the kind of greeting that just made the rest of your day. These all seem like small things, but are rather significant. They make us, mark us, mold us so that we too can do the same for another. It’s in those tiny acts of kindness that I believe history is made. That is what I feel God delights in the most. He loves it when we go past the barriers that stand in our way, and choose to build bridges instead. He loves it when we talk to the lonely widow across, witness to the one who needs hope, cover a homeless man with a warm blanket in the thick of winter, donate the clothes we no longer need to kids who would be thrilled to wear them, send a hand written letter across to a parent that affirms them of our love towards them. I could ramble on, but I’m sure you get the point. We all do. That’s what keeps hope alive, after all.

Having written thus far in this post, I feel a bit of a marshmallow myself. But I’m guessing that’s a good thing. We can allow ourselves to be both, vulnerable and brave when it comes to loving people because it does take a lot. It takes courage to go beyond our differences and embrace them instead. It takes humility to lay aside our own belief systems for a bit and receive people right where they are, on their own unique journey of becoming. It takes maturity to recognize that we aren’t called to change people, but simply love them. It takes understanding to see that no one is perfect, but they are precious nonetheless. Simply put, it takes us becoming a little bit more like Jesus.

Suffice to say, that we can climb the highest mountains and reach heights that even we perhaps never fathomed possible. But as we do, let us not miss out on those opportunities that Heaven sends our way each day to be a beacon of light in the midst of someone else’s darkness. Let us find and savor the joy of becoming love in the midst of a world that does need to see it lived and not only preached. Let us pray for the courage it takes to stand tall to this mandate which will see us stumble several times over, but only to tap into the resilience that will see us rise again.

It is my hope that as we let such love flow through us freely and seamlessly, touching and transforming lives in our respective spheres of influence, we will no longer have to chase down blessings. Blessings will come and find us simply because we have committed ourselves to being one.

As I come to a close, it is on my heart to share a quote by Bob Goff that really spoke to me, and I hope that it really speaks to you too;

“No one expects us to love them flawlessly, but we can love them fearlessly, furiously, and unreasonably.”

Let’s do this together, friends because when it’s all said and done, what will really last is what really matters. Perhaps not the riches of this world, but those of another.

Amen.

Why?

“God is never intimidated. If He isn’t, why should we be?”

Years back, I made a note on the side of Psalm 139 – “God is never intimidated.” Needless to say, I was.

In the midst of unexpected challenge and difficulty, The Holy Spirit affirmed me and I will forever treasure the truth of the statement He whispered. Except that today, I felt the need to extend it, because the truth of the matter is that we are God’s very own. He is both, The King of the Universe, as well as our Father. So, no matter what seems to be going awry in our lives; circumstantially, relationally, financially, socially, morally, politically; He is still Sovereign over us. As well known worship leader, Steffany Gretzinger sings in one of her songs,

“He doesn’t fall off of His Throne.”

God has written our story in Eternity, and we get to play it out in time. He knows the end from the beginning. Before we ever made the poor choice, the broken decision, the wrong turn; He already knew it and had a plan of redemption in place. If you find this hard to believe, simply trace The Bible. You will discover that The Lamb of God was slain before the very foundations of The Earth, before The Fall ever happened, before the first man, Adam sinned. God, in His foreknowledge, was well aware of how things were going to turn out and in His incomparable Love and Wisdom, He had a plan to redeem our story through Jesus Christ, The Son of God.

It is our relationship with Jesus that is our confidence in the midst of storms, tempests, trials, and tests. Through The Holy Spirit, He has sealed us and brought us into an Eternal Covenant with Him. This means that all our failures and dead ends are now redeemed. He has plans to prosper us. Not one, but multiple because He is a God of Purpose, to accomplish which, He is well able to rend The Heavens open and shower us with the favor, blessings, protection and resources that we will inevitably need in our lifetime to be all that we are called to be and do all that we are called to do.

Wise words by Lisa Bevere that have always blessed my soul come to mind,

“If you think you’ve blown God’s plan for your life, rest in this. You, my friend, are not that powerful.”

There is no mistake that God cannot redeem. There is no sin that God cannot forgive. There is no pit that God cannot reach into. There is no disease God cannot heal. There is no soul God cannot save. There is NOTHING that God cannot do.

“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Let this Promise speak to all of today, friends. Our God is Faithful, and the unexpected detours of life that the enemy may use to breed fear in our midst are the very places that God uses to build trust. It is these places that seem dark and obscure that often possess the potential of having the greatest encounters with The Lord. The Bible says that God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. The season may be dark, but it is His Presence that brings light. And guess who carries that Presence?

You and me.

We are the light of the world, friends. Jesus calls us so. We may feel intimidated, but let us be quick to remind ourselves that it is only a part of the process. Our flaws, limitations and shortcomings do not take God by surprise. Psalm 139 says that He created our “inmost being.” He is well acquainted with our most intimate details, and still loves us with no strings attached, still has plans to use us and still is Faithful to complete that which He has begun.

A business may have shut down, a friendship may have ended, a marriage may have hit the rocks, a financial deal may have fallen through. Whatever the circumstance that we may find ourselves confronting today was already a part of His Sovereign Plan. He has not caused it, but if He has allowed it, He will use it for our good and His Glory. He isn’t freaking out. He knows. And if you read the end of Revelation, you will know too.

We win.

Amen.