Sunday POST : Door.

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A door could be a real nuisance; yes even one’s own door! I remember distinctly, two times in the recent past when the door to my own house spoke to me in no unclear terms; NO ACCESS! Frustrating…

I had gone through a “hell of a day” and had been virtually day-dreaming about barging in, hitting the refrigerator and kitchen, and helping myself to something cold and refreshing; Alas!

It so happened that I wasn’t with my key and there was nobody else home to bail me in!

No matter how exquisitely crafted or elegantly framed, a door usually serves two basic purposes; to let (some)one in or to keep (some)one out.

Now most doors involve a key; and as such, knocking. It is widely considered a great rudeness to pass through a door without knocking; whether the door be physically present or not!

I remember with humorous admiration, villages in the more rural areas of Delta state, Nigeria, where I hail from. Many houses didn’t have any physical doors; and you could see right through, to the inhabitants therein. Yet you dare not take license and enter without a verbal “knock”! Laughs…

It is mandatory for the would-be guest to “utter a knock”, and WAIT, till the inhabitants explicitly invite them in. Only THEN could they pass through this “invisible iron door” and be treated with (sometimes) lavish entertainment! …Oh, those luscious, therapeutically spicy fresh-fish soups; yummy!

A door tells me there is something you value behind it. A keyhole on a door informs me access is conditional.

My knock shows you my respect for the boundary which you have created, even with my desire to be admitted.

I even utter my voice, I hail, subtly identifying myself in a way only us both (and a few around) could understand; I wait, hoping for an answer.

Now, if I happened to be your creditor, ermm, well events could take an unsavourily dramatic turn from there on; but well, I’m not!

I’m just a friend, maybe even an acquaintance. And so I get the answer I desire; that’s a good thing.

Or after waiting to no avail, I quietly turn back and leave. Maybe never to return again.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
Revelation 3:20

Some “Gods” bash in through your door. They hold a sword to your throat; or these days, a bomb! Accept me, or be massacred! Habba!!!

“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 6:44

Will you open readily to one whose voice you know not? He could as well be a thief! Or assassin.

What do you hear whenever you hear Jesus’ voice? What do you hear when you hear some “strange guy” preaching Jesus Christ? Listen well. …And again.

What do you perceive? What voice do you hear, when you read the Bible? Is it familiar? Does it sound like someone you would want to welcome in? Sup with? Consider.

My friend, the Bible says the “…kingdom of God is within you…” Luke 17:21.
This was Jesus’ answer to those extremist Pharisees who asked for a sign that He truly is from God. And it remains His answer today. The Father in Heaven has given you an ear to hear His voice. No matter how still, no matter how small. He trusts, I believe, that you’ll hear all the same.

The “soul that sinneth shall die”, and “without holiness, no man shall see God”. Also “we are all clay in the Potters’ Hands” and “God is in Heaven and does as He pleases”.

Because ALL men have sinned, God divinely conceived His son, Jesus Christ through a woman, Mary, to suffer, though He is righteous, as though he had sinned, on our behalf. He thereby took all punishment for mankind’s sin. It is finished.

Jesus Christ has been given the power to give Life to whosoever believes in God the Father, through Him.

He has told me to tell you that He is coming back, NOW, to judge the world into hell and take all those who believe in His Name and obey His commandments into Eternal Life.

I pray that He grants you the Grace to follow Him, even to the end, in Jesus Christ’s Name. Amen.

does God not exist!

I have re-arranged these words from a popular phrase amongst some most bereaved of fellows; for what a great misfortune it is indeed upon he who has NOthing to say about Jesus Christ! What a hollowness of life.

Colossians 1:12(Ed.) – Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;

 Thank You, Jesus Christ!

I do NOT attempt to “prove” that God Is. I am NOT going to beg anyone to believe that they themselves exist; because any sincere one would consider, that the mere existence of oneself is testimony enough that God Is. Such an attempt would be an exercise in emptiness, of no spiritual value, of zero intellectual merit; a folly.

But “does God not exISt!” is the very essence of my journey back Home. And the tools for this task are nothing but Consider-ation, and Sincerity to Truth. Ever asked yourself WHY God actually decided to be physically invisible to you? …Let me show you something;

Psalms 8:3,7,8 (Ed.) – …when I consider the works of Your fingers, …moon, stars… sheep, oxen… beasts of the field,… birds of the air …fish of the sea …which thou have ordained…

Man is not the strongest of the creation. Not the wisest; not the biggest. Not the one with the best memory, not the fastest. Not the most resilient, not the most colorful, or beautiful. Or the most lawful, cheerful, or honest.

Psalms 8:4 – What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you visit him?

Psalms 8:5 – For thou hath made Him a little lower than the angels and have crowned him with glory and honour;

Psalms 8:6 – Thou made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hath put all things under his feet

Why?

The entire creation is speaking to me that God Is! Even the ground on which I am standing is telling me that God Is!

King David was “a man after God’s own heart”. And so it is little wonder his Psalms are full of Life and prophecy. If one does not pick anything at all from the Psalms, one should notice just how to worship God in “Spirit and truth”; as “God is looking for just such”; John 4:23.

A key mood in the Psalms’ worship and praise is “considering” in “awe”.

And God Himself has left us some to chew on; given to a man who found himself with questions along the lines of ours; Job 38-40.

Consider. Consider. Consider! I myself am immersed steep in considering! Let me leave you alone and go and consider, please.

Job 38:33 – Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven? canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?

Job 39:13 – Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathers unto the ostrich?

Job 39:14 – Which leaveth her eggs in the earth, and warmeth them in dust,

Job 39:15 – And forgetteth that the foot may crush them, or that the wild beast may break them.

Job 39:17 – Because God hath deprived her of wisdom, neither hath he imparted to her understanding.

Before I leave you, let’s consider this together;

I spend an hour alone speaking to someone I cannot see with my physical eyes. In worship. In thanks. Sometimes with a heavy heart. Sometimes in tears. In praise. Then I come out joyous. Relieved. With a heart filled with PEACE. From where did that come? Could I have been speaking with someOne? Hmmm.

Jesus Christ is the Truth and has left us the Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth; John 16:13. Guide; we have to be moving! And Consider-ing is the vehicle.

Jesus Christ is coming back NOW. The end is not near; it is HERE! Hell is real. And it is for ALL those who do not believe in Jesus Christ as God and Savior. Believe in Jesus Christ in your heart today and confess Him with your mouth. And let Life come into you. THEN you can access Heaven and be saved.

Begin to attend a Bible following church today. You are welcome to the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

Psalms 8:9 – O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

SUNDAY POST : PET : SHEEP.

A pet is a household animal kept for companionship and a person’s enjoyment.

As opposed to wild animals or to livestock, laboratory animals, working animals or sport animals, which are kept for economic or productive reasons.

The most popular pets are noted for their loyal or playful characteristics, for their attractive appearance, and/or for their song. Pets also generally seem to provide their owners with non-trivial health benefits; keeping pets has been shown to help relieve stress to those who like having animals around.
Feature Picture courtesy:
http://www.pagog.com/2007/11/11/rocks-that-rock/

Why would anyOne want to have a sheep as pet?

SHEEP PROFILE:
Uniformity – Asian, American, African sheep are ALL the same in character, if not in appearance!

IQ (1-100) – well, very loW. They are so irrational. Its possible to know very little, and yet be wise; you only have to observe the ant, yet this is not the case with sheep. When faced with a stream, they know they can’t jump over it or swim it, so what do they do? Walk right in!

Appearance – NOT attractive. Real sheep are EuuglY, and smelly too! And awkward gait! Even goats have a somewhat more “elegant” gait than sheep!

Feeding – Insatiable; bleat cacophonously when hungry! Right from when a lamb is born it begins violently (you need to see this) “sucking at” its mothers udders! And this demand never leaves them as they grow. They barely even sleep; 3am, 5am, 7pm, noon; grass, grass, more grass! Sheep also have little or no discretion in choosing safe food or water. Their best water source is the morning dew.

Personality – Densely stubborn! Try getting an errant sheep out of your compound! It doesn’t like to be sheared, yet too much wool can cause sheep to be easily “cast”! Also, it won’t listen to instructions from anyone but shepherd; and even he sometimes has to use special tactics he’s learnt over time. For example, among the Hausa herdsmen in Nigeria, a shepherd sometimes has to break the leg of an errant sheep and then mount it on his shoulders to where he wants it to go. Afterwards he dresses the fracture which heals over time.

Physique – Surprisingly strong; you don’t want to get in a fist fight with any of ‘em ooO! Also very dangerous en mass on a stampede.

Pet peeve – Straying! Unpredictable. You only have to take a look at my feature picture above. It is like warped into sheep DNA to stray! And yet they canNOT survive in the wild, without a shepherd. It is not unusual to see decaying remains of a strayed sheep in some remote area.

Sociology – Strong Mob Mentality; ALL follow ONE arbitrary leader; today it can be the most senior male, tomorrow an exuberant rebel lamb! Watching them can be really funny whenever their “lead sheep” is taken away and they’re released to graze, they all begin to look at one another in stark bewilderment! Like someone just turned out the lights! Then usually a senior ewe begins to go her way, somewhat saying; “I’m going to feed, you sheep could as well stay here” and then they all follow frantically, in their Mob Psych!

Temperament – Restless. Love to be on the move. Also fearful and timid. And very vulnerable to frustration (e.g. “casting”), hunger. They also hardly relax enough to sleep as they need no friction with other sheep, no fear, no pests bugging them and no hunger to sleep; a rare combination of conditions.

Point of affection – Helpless; absolutely dependent on their shepherd; they can’t survive alone in the wild. They have no weapon of attack and not much defense so they are very vulnerable to their enemies. When “cast” i.e flipped over on their back, they can’t right
themselves, and will die of starvation if not turned over by the shepherd. A sheep lost would most likely not live till the next day.

So I ask again; why would anybody want to have a sheep as pet? More specific, Who would have a sheep as pet?

Well I know of One Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep.

But His sheep has strayed, and there is none to save.

Foolish as sheep are, they know one thing well! Without the shepherd, they are dead. And so they bother the shepherd for their every need. And that is what the Shepherd is there for!

The Good Shepherd is looking for one (1) strayed sheep. He is sounding His voice Now. Would the sheep bleat in answer to the voice of Him?

“The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10.

“Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you”Ed. 1 Peter 5:7

“Not one sparrow falls without the Father…even the very hairs of your head are numbered…fear not therefore; you are of more value than sparrows”Ed. Matthew 10:29-31

“…I was once on a plane and God showed me birds and livestock and trees and flowers down below; then He told me; son, I feed ALL these EVERYday; so don’t ever doubt that I will take care of you again!” PST. E.A. Adeboye, RCCG.

The Lord God Jesus Christ has told me to tell you that He is coming back NOW. Believe Him TODAY and you will not be among those thrown into Hell fire with satan and his angels. Begin to attend a Bible following church today. Amen.

Is it settled in your heart?

I had just come back home from Saturday work; what a silly idea! I was all tired and fatigued! I went straight for my bunk and dived in. Somewhere between the junctions between sleep and the dream world, my roommate Papa, called me; informing me that we’d been invited to worship with the Lamingo prisoners. How Now??!…

Come Sunday morning, all the other housemates refused to go this time, so me and papa left. Now there was a REAL conundrum. We didn’t know the directions to the prison. The lady who invited us said to meet her at some junction at 9.00am; but her phone number wasn’t going through. We had absolutely no means of going because we wud surely not be allowed into the prison without an appointment or pass. We waited at a junction for 30 mins, even though we had no idea from what direction she’d be coming. We didn’t even know the Color of her car let alone the make. And I honestly could not really remember her face, because we’d only met her once at a prior visit to another prison.

Change of mind. Let’s go and worship at our parish jOoor. Afterall its not our fault. Maybe she’s even passed by already; and time’s far spent… THEN the small still voice. “Do you REALLY want to go and visit my children, your brothers, at the prisons?” I first tried to ignore; Thank God He asked AGAIN! I said, Lord, you know I want to. He said; then Why is it that a part of your heart is still fixed on worshipping at your local parish instead?

Hmmm. In all truth, I was a tad bit reluctant to go because I had looked forward to worshipping at my local parish; seeing familiar faces, coming back home early for lunch; before the sudden change of plan! The Holy Spirit really knows our iNNermost imaginations. That is HIS forte!

There are some revelations I’ve received which have made me really scared; words I’d only thought (in my most innermost mind) about He’d bring out and use in revelations to me!:O It made me realise why Jesus Christ said in Rev. 2:23, Rev. 3:17; He actually searches our hearts and we really are naked to Him. We need not hide anything from Him; just surrender and beg for mercy. More on that in another episode!

Back to our episode. I said, Lord, I’m sorry, we will go. A minute later, The Holy Spirit instructed; go back about a few yards and get a commercial bike. Where will we tell them we’re going to? We don’t know the place Lord? Just go, and tell them Lamingo Prisons. I said, yes Lord. I told papa the instruction, half-expecting him to question my sanity!

God had obviously spoken to him too; he said immediately, let’s go then. On getting to the bikes junction; a Warm Surprise! Papa, who was ahead, said look; its the woman! She had parked her car in front of the commercial bikes junction and was patiently waiting for us and other members. My heart fell down in reverent worship to our awe-inspiring God! I said, Lord… I thank You!

Many-a-time, we receive promptings and instructions from the Lord; but our hearts are not really settled about the matter. We still have “other commitments” butterfly-ing in our hearts. And hence we fall short of our tasks; and the overwhelming joy that our Lord has in-store for us.

Do you know that the first step to working/receiving a major miracle is obeying “small” instructions? The LORD said in Deut. 32:2 that His speech shall “distil as the dew” on the “tender herbs”! He expects our hearts to be tender; and sensitive to our Good Shepherd. May God give me Grace. Amen.

Jesus Christ has told me in Very Clear words; “His ‘army’ of Christians on earth are on vacation!” and “The end of the world is NoT near; it is HERE.” This is ReaL! Let us no more be sleeping and drunk servants; let’s be alert and faithful with what Jesus has so lovingly entrusted to us; Luke 12:34-48. He is coming with His reward.

…rocks in right places!

Deuteronomy 32:4,15,18,30,31!

In just one chapter of one book of the Bible, the word Rock appears five (5) times.

As I studied this chapter of the Bible, the Holy Spirit began to inspire me. He asked me a question, what is a “rock”? “Simple now”! Ermmm… And I really couldn’t satisfy myself with an answer.

A rock. Rock. What really is a “rock”?? As you’d have considered already, “Rock” appears in several other chapters of several other books of the Bible; describing the LORD. Certainly then, it is an important and definitely pertinent word to understand. Rock.

I took a trip, the next day, down to the secretariat areas of Ibadan, to get some business done; turned out to be interesting; another story for some other day. On my way back, to my uttermost disbelief I saw something that I honestly haven’t even heard about in Nigeria before. And, make no mistake, in Nigeria; hearing about shocking tales is one of our national mascots; again, yet some more stories for another day.

Well, its to my utmost literary embarrassment that I have yet to discover the optimal linguistic set to accurately define what happened; or what I saw. So I’ll put it in a sentence; a Major Road Decided Over the Night to Split into Two! You promised you’d ask NO questions, didn’t you? They say a picture speaks a thousand words so…

BaffleS! Anyway, I wound up faced with an unseemly task. How do I cross over? …Behold, a path! A miry clayed path. A water logged and miry clayed path. Into the cataclysm!!! Yet again, I’ll take the option of the “thousand words”…

…And therein lies our Beauty! A rock! Rocks! The only way to pass through the catastrophe without getting soiled was by carefully hopping on these rocks away to the “other side”; the safe haven… So the Holy Spirit asked me again; what then is a “rock”? Hmmm.

My own answer? Well definitely, they were a relief; imagine if those rocks were not there?! Also, a hope for escape. An only “sure” in so much catastrophe. A means to get to the other side. A help for all, strong enough for all, not going anywhere. I’m still answering…

And I encourage you to do too; who is the Rock to you?

Jesus Christ is our “Rock”, 1 Corinthians 10:4! He died for your sins and mine on Calvary. Only He could do this because only He is without sin. Believe in Him and be counted among His sheep TODAY!

Jesus is coming back NOW to judge the whole world. Please don’t let yourself follow the enemy into hell. Jesus Christ loves YOU. Amen.

…beer, hemp and sheep. ;)

I always enjoyed ‘highness’! Intoxication seemed to bring out a new side of me; a side that I enjoyed better; a boldness to enjoy the real me. So I involved myself in ALL manner of intoxication; from beer to rum to Indian hemp…

This fact in itself speaks a LOT about the evil of the ways of the devil, he identifies something good from God, and seeks to use it to destroy a child of God! He’s a wise thief; John 10:10! He owns NOTHING! Ps. 24:1, Isa. 66:1.

To battle out of intoxication addiction and hard drugs use is no small matter oOO! In the house of Grace, I found me another High. Praising God “without bounds”, felt like my very nature; I didn’t learn it, neither did I conform to any norm; I just did it the way I enjoyed it and it made sense! And felt REAL good.

But there is a subtle difference between these two contrasting highs. The Spirit of God has taught me as “the push-pull/follow” contrast. Its is not a bodily manifestation; neither a feeling or sensations-set, or even an urge. John 6:63; “It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing”. It goes down to the innermost recesses of the soul and spirit. And herein lies the soul of Christianity; following Jesus.

In the spirit, the activities of the devil manifest as a push, or a pull! The devil can’t rely on him leading and you following because nobody (sane) wants to go to fire! So he has to push. He pushed Adam via Eve into death. That’s why he’s always in such a hurry; do you know that if Adam or Eve had waited till evening that (most fateful) day they would not have died?! Hmmm…

God showed this to us starkly in the temptation of our Lord Jesus Himself; in Matt. 4:1, we see the Spirit “lead” Jesus into the wilderness while in Matt. 4:5 and Matt 4:8 the devil “takes” Jesus to the temple pinnacle and an exceeding high mountain. Selah!

Back to praise. We are to follow Jesus into Heaven Matt. 10:38; not be pulled by Him; or be forced into Him. Indeed a veritable test for those who will enter Him is “…following” His lead! So this is critical! His “sheep” hear Him! And follow. …this is a leading into Higher Ground; and that is Praise, I believe.

First, praise comes (or bursts) forth out of the heart. Intoxication was an urge; Praise, a longing. Intoxication was a pull into conforming with the crowd. Praise, a yearning, a panting from within; to phone Home.

Please feel free to post your comments

…does Jesus Christ still have friends on earth!

This is to those who pray to the Living God and receive answers. “if you are ashamed of me…” Luke 12:8

The Lord revealed to me in a vision that His workers are on vacation. The workers of the enemy, who has no power over us, are having a feast, showing off with your own treasures! Yet our God has assured us that no matter how impudent and hardened d world gets, He will harden us even MORE; Ezekiel 3:7-9 But we are more interested in being spectators in our own game?!

Jesus Christ has died and WON victory for all His children John 16:33; all that is left is for us to gather our spoil! And won’t we do that? I warn you while its still day, those neither hot nor cold would be spat out! Rev 3:16. Come Rapture or Judgement/death some would beg for just one second to witness about Christ.

Don’t be neutral! Be not afraid to say Jesus Christ ONLY is salvation, gays cannot make heaven, corruption at any level is sin, lewd music is unacceptable; no matter who the artiste is, making ANY graven image is idolatry! Jesus is ready to reward ALL who witness to Him both here on earth and in Heaven. Mark 10:30 May God give you the Grace to forward this.