When I read and mediate on the scripture above, fear grips my heart. This happens out of reverential fear to God and the fear I have that I am not doing as much as I can to be an obedient child of God.
Many people including me have been through gruesome hurt and pain and most of the time this is perpetuated by some one close. Some of these hurts range from rape, molestation, grievous body harm and many more. In some cases the emotional molestation is so much worse.
Hence, comes today's topic. The scripture above advises us to exhort one another which means we ought to encourage or uplift one another. Forgiveness is hard. Forgiveness is a decision.
No body forgives because it is easy, but we forgive because for peace to reign in us so that we can and must live at peace with all men. Romans 12:18- If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.
And yes that includes our abusers. I was beaten to a pulp and almost killed by my blood brother. I held onto that hurt so hard like a clenched fist in my heart hoping that by doing so it would punish him, make him bleed even. He wasn’t punished, he went on to live his live and I stayed there in that quagmire sinking deeper and deeper into bitterness.
This happened 10 years ago, and I was only able to let the hurt go after a conversation I had.
I approached my Bishop (God bless his soul), 10 years after the fact, and I had already decided how I wanted him to respond. Many times we approach people for counselling or advice, but we have already decided how we want them to respond.
By telling him this, I wanted him to help me vilify my brother, I wanted him to baby me and cry with me but what he said astounded me and for the first 10 minutes I was in a state of shock and affront and standing so high on the rock of offence.
He said to me, “my daughter, you did not die you are here talking to me, let him go.” I said no that is unfair. What happens to all these feelings in me, why does he have to get away with it? He responded, “he will not get away with it, but your healing is your responsibility, handle your business and protect yourself.”
He then took me to different scriptures like Romans 12:17-21- Repay no one evil for evil. Have[a] regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
And how David refused to kill King Saul because he couldn’t and wouldn’t lift his hands against the Lord’s anointed. 1st Samuel 26:9- But David said to Abishai, “Do not destroy him; for who can stretch out his hand against the LORD’s anointed, and be guiltless?” David said furthermore, “As the LORD lives, the LORD shall strike him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall go out to battle and perish.
By no means am I saying my brother should be cut or struck down or that he is the Lords anointed but I was chastened to not hold him in my heart and leave him to his maker.
So, after I left my Bishops office (in a blaze of fury btw) I sat down and allowed his counsel to do its work in me.
When I had realised, I went on my knees to God in repentance and asked God to release me and release my brother.
And He did!
All in all my healing never came because I never took the responsibility for it instead my healing was contingent upon my brother asking for my forgiveness but God does not do things that way, I was meant to forgive, release and heal from him without ever receiving the apology.
When I did do it, I felt a boulder leave my shoulders and feel free and I was able to think of him and only remember the good times.
The journey was hard but oh so worth it!!!
Matthew 6:14- “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
]]>SOLEMN- formal and dignified characterized by deep sincerity.
So, when we say we are praying, we are in essence saying we are in a formal and dignified manner characterised by deep sincerity requesting for help or giving thanks to God.
So how do we pray effectively? We must be intelligent and sincere.
The request that is in actuality the title, was asked to Jesus by His disciples. And He taught them how to pray. We can find this prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:1-4.
The Bible in Isaiah makes it clear how God expects us to bring our petitions and requests to Him.
Like a lawyer who studies for years and graduates and even after graduation still studies up on the various case studies and the laws backing them to present the post possible defence for his/her client (case) is how a person should approach God in prayer.
The Word tell us in Hebrews 4:14a that- For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, so in my interpretation that means that yes, Jesus will cry with us, pat our back and shush us when we cry out to Him, but to make a request and get an answer we must do away with all gormlessness and employ intelligence, planning and sincerity.
There are 2 verses in Isaiah that provoked me, and I inquired of the Lord.
One of them is Isaiah 41:21 which states- “Present your case,” says the LORD. “Bring forth your strong reasons,” says the King of Jacob.
Another is Isaiah 43:26 (NKJV) states- Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.
The HCSB version states- Take Me to court; let us argue our case together. State your case, so that you may be vindicated.
Now the statement, take me to court, the words, acquitted and vindicated all denote we must approach this as a lawyer approaches the Judges bench with God being the Judge. Nobody goes before the judge with a half-baked case but must have a combination of high intelligence, strong analytical and advocacy skills, and an ability to effectively communicate the objectives and advocate on that basis.
So, how much do you know of your case, the law and your judge?
With the Grace of God and by revelation power I learnt 4 mysteries that will help with the prayer life of any believer. I am sure there are more, but I have only 4.
*BEFORE YOUR PRAYER TOUCHES THE THRONE ROOM IT MUST BE HEARTFELT.
Think of it in this way: before your prayer moves heaven, it must move you. James 5:16b reads- The effective, [k]fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Hannah prayed in this way and the throne room was moved. Elijah also prayed in this way and fire came down from heaven and consumed his sacrifice. To date when we sing we say “the God of Elijah, send down fire,” clearly that is the God we want in that moment but he has to be called down in a specific way.
*ACTIVATE THE LEGAL DIMENSION OF PRAYER.
This must be done in the name of Jesus and as a lawyer goes before the judge confident in the law, the Judge and his abilities so, must we come before the throne boldly. John 14:13 states- And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. And John 16:23 says- “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.
So, how much of the word of God do you know, that particular case you are bringing before the throne, how much do you know about it and what does God say about it? Who are you in Christ Jesus? All these matter especially establishing your identity in Christ Jesus because once that is sorted, you will approach God with confidence and boldness.
*YOUR PRAYER MUST BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE WILL OF GOD
What is the will of God in your case or prayer? The Word says and David inquired of the Lord. Inquire of the Lord and pray accordingly, James 4:2-3 says- You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and [a]war. [b]Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
John 15:7 says- 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you[a] will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. The key here is we must be in Him for any prayer of ours to have the desired result.
*ALWAYS WRAP UP YOUR PRAYER WITH THANKGIVING
2nd Corinthians 1:20- For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.
HCSB version- For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Him. Therefore, the “Amen” is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory.
And so, if we know this and we have employed our arsenal of wisdom regarding prayer, thanksgiving is the perfect ending to this sacrifice and worship.
Last but not the least we must sustain the intelligence to pray as Daniel did. We must pray with the consciousness of the covenant that governs the spiritual house, tribe, Man/ woman of God that supplies Grace and Faith for us.
Ishmael in Genesis 21 prayed in this way, yes, he might not have spoken but his voice was heard in heaven- Genesis 21:17- And God heard the voice of the lad. Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.
His mother, Hagar, mourned and lamented and she was right to do so but it was not her cry God responded to. Abraham’s grace and faith supplied this provision for Ishmael and when he cried Heaven stood at attention.
It is true when the Word says For, we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, I am sure our High Priest felt her pain but there was nothing in her prayer that would inspire the move of heaven on her behalf.
Everything is impossible until faith brings it!!!!
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Last Sunday morning, as I was preparing for church and ruminating over this week’s blog post, the Holy Spirit took me down this vortex of thoughts and scenarios.
Of everything I got, one question stood out, if God does not do what you want, when you want or what He has done before, WILL YOUR SONG CHANGE? This is under the pretext you have already had a testimony in that thing.
Imagine a scenario where you have been working faithfully and putting all arrogance aside; you have proven yourself and deserve that promotion but they just seem to have always overlooked you and one day after 12 years of faithfulness, the Lord glorifies you and that promotion you never seemed to quite get comes to you and not only that it comes with unexpected benefits and it’s like the windows of heaven have opened and poured out such a blessing.
Now, this is where we as believers give our testimony which in itself is beautiful, wonderful and biblical, the book of Revelations 12:11 says and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
But then again as believers and this is the part, I find humorous, we utter these bodacious statements loudly and to anybody who will listen about the goodness/ faithfulness of God, and we do not realise heaven and hell are not only listening but taking notes. I am convinced that God is good and faithful.
And so, like Job, there is a discourse between God our Father and our enemy Satan, God is pleased we love him so and the enemy is saying to God, “but, there is a hedge of protection and provision around that person,” and then comes the test.
After this it seems again like overnight you are back to where you started, it is even worse off this time because now humiliation is an added component of that. Your loved ones are saying you did something wrong to God and curse God so that you can die. When this happens, does your song change?
Remember, a few paragraphs above you were singing ‘How Great Thou Art’ and “thank you Lord- my God is good to me” now that your fortunes have changed what is your song?
Heaven and hell are watching how you respond in this season, this is where track records are built. Before you were speaking out of excitement but now, we will see if your word means anything. Are you singing, “does God really exist, or did I imagine Him,” or are you singing, “I know my redeemer liveth and in Christ alone the solid rock I stand?”
We must be conscious of the songs we sing because the onus is really on us to come through this victorious, like Abraham let God say about you, “now I know so and so truly loves me.” We all know what happened to Abraham, Job and even Jesus after God said a statement about them. They took hold of the promise of God.
Abraham was the father of the nations, Job had everything restored to Him and Jesus was exalted above every name so that every knee bows in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confesses that He is our Lord and Saviour.
]]>Some of the questions I had were.
❖ What is to throw away the young?
❖ What does to throw away the young in this dispensation look like?
❖ What does The Word say about the young or youth?
❖ Do we have instances in the Bible where the young were especially sought out?
❖ What causes the gap between the older and younger generation today?
To throw the young away is to exclude them from the decision making that affects the functions of society.
The functions of society include satisfaction of basic needs, preservation of order, management of education, management of the economy, power management, division of labour, communication management, preservation and transmission of culture and so many more. So, whenever the young are not allowed to have a sit at the decision-making table they are being thrown away. Now, there is a possibility that its unintentional but its about time people became intentional about this topic.
This trend is especially common on the continent of Africa where you hardly if ever find the youth in top positions even when they are qualified and have the experience.
Most African nations have leaders who are well past the retirement age and yes, there is something to be said for the wisdom that comes with age but a lot of where society is going is doing away with the old way of doing things.
The youth of today have popularised what I like to call the “the microwave effect.” What this is, is the production or creating a solution in the shortest time possible.
This obviously has its drawbacks, but the merits far outweigh them. Whereas 25 years ago, our elders had to personally write a job application form now we have online application forms that make the process faster, easier and convenient.
Taking the spiritual route, I questioned myself on what God says about the youth and I found some scriptures that do well to brighten the light and value the elders must place on their youth.
1 Timothy 4:12- Let no one [a]despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, [b] in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Jeremiah 1:4-8 - Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified[a] you; I [b]ordained you a prophet to the nations.” 6 Then said I: “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.” 7 But the LORD said to me: “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ For you shall go to all to whom I send you, And whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, For I am with you to deliver you,” says the LORD.
Ecclesiastes 12:1 - Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, Before the [a]difficult days come, And the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them”:
Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Lamentations 3:27- It is good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth. These are just a few of the thoughts God has towards the youth.
There is a host of other scriptures that are implicit and explicit in nature to the value of the youth in the Church and society.
When we read the Book of Daniel in chapter 1:3-4 - Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, 4 young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and [a] literature of the Chaldeans.
Even a worldly King with the world at his feet at the time that is; looked for youth first then excellence because he knew that the minds of the young are mouldable and excellent. He did not ask for the old men and women who had already lived out their youth and were filled with wisdom.
Nebuchadnezzar was awfully specific in his request because he knew that a young mind would bring something new, and this is a man who was trying to set himself up as the greatest King on earth. You may ask, but why would he need young people to achieve this? It is because only the young can talk and convince the young. At any given time in any dispensation the age range is that you have the youth in greater proportion hence, you need a voice that speaks the same language.
He knew that he would be able to institute laws that would hold him favourable and in power with his people if he could have the wishes and thoughts of his people in his hands. I am by no means saying pick the youth haphazardly and without regard and place them in positions of power, what I am saying is, like King Nebuchadnezzar- first acknowledge that the youth have something to bring to the table, incorporate their ideas and when you have sufficiently passed on your mantle; GIVE THEM THE TABLE or pass on the baton.
There is a visible chasm between the elders and the youth, I believe this is caused by pride and selfishness and power. Power is probably the most addictive drug a person can be endowed with especially when they have not had any power. Care must be taken when endowing people with power; a process of training, mentorship and responsibility must be put in place for all people seen to be moving in this sphere of influence.
Most of our elders in positions of power today and we see them not wanting to step down this is either because they grew up in circumstances where they were extremely powerless and suddenly, they have this great regard from their peers, and it gets to their head, this is not to vilify them but to contextualise the situation for the youth.
The pride and selfishness are interlinked because one does preclude the other. At the point at which they are in these positions as earlier stated they are now highly esteemed, and they do not want to lose that regard. By no means is this an excuse for the disrespect we see them receive from the youth.
The Bible in Ephesians 6:2-3 encourages us to honour them. This is not something the youth must do sometimes but all the time. Ephesians 6:2-3 - “Honour your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with promise: 3 “that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.” The Word is very clear in 1 Timothy 5:1a it states,
Do not rebuke an older man. All this may seem very one sided but it does have an addendum, and this is directed to the elders. Ephesians 6:4 states; and you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. The youth feel cheated and in them managing their frustration, disrespect and dishonour creep in, which in turn is a curse to them.
We know that where there is lack of honour, favour is absent. A lot of the youth have clothed themselves with arrogance and dishonour which makes it difficult and almost impossible for their promoters or destiny helpers to look past their attitude to their grace. The youth need to have a seat at the table and to disapprove and despise them because of it is not only unfair but unbiblical.
In conclusion, the last question is: how do we bridge the gap? One word: Reconciliation. Reconciliation is not easy even in born-again, tongue talking Christian circles because ego is still rampant and pride the order of the day. But the Kingdom is ruled by principles and in this case the principle that rules is Hebrews 7:7- Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. The youth must make the first step since its them that require the blessing.
Any nation that throws away its young perishes
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