Author: inhiscourtsblog

The Journey to the other Side!

At times the journey to the other side can be so intense if you dare to embark on it by yourself. From one side of the tunnel to the other may look straightforward but what you don’t know or see is the hidden forces and battle in the ‘in-between’ stage of the journey which may disguise themselves as ‘okay’ until when you start the journey and find yourself halfway through. In most cases, the centre part of the journey seems to be the hardest experience that can push you to back-off and return to base. However, your decision at this point is when people will know whether your heart is wholly on the journey and whether you’re serious about your destiny.

In the heat of that centre point, what do you do?

When the raging storm arises, and the turbulence hits you hard. When the battle becomes fierce and ideas escape your mind, and nothing seems reachable. When you’ve lost all hope, and your boat is on its way to capsize. What do you do when you find yourself in this dark and lonely nightmare?
When turning back is the same distance and effort as moving forward to your destined place.

Halfway through finishing my degree, I decided to call it quit and start the same course at another University because I thought the road was too rough and bumpy to continue the journey of my degree. I was not making any progress in my studies. I was just hitting unmoveable brick walls anytime I try to move forward, and these walls were always pushing me back leaving me helpless and desperate, so I thought changing University might be the best choice.

Sleepless nights, headaches, constant nervousness and nightmares were the only friendly allies I had then; I call them that because they were the friends I could reach for without fail or disappointment when every other University I called were turning me back with one excuse or the other.
What I didn’t realise was that God wanted me to go back to my previous University and finish that degree journey I tried to abandon. In my mind, it was a battle I couldn’t win but little did I know that God was there right through the storm. From the beginning of the journey right through the terrible centre point. All He was waiting for was an invitation into my sinking boat and be ‘The Captain Sailor,’ who would not just calm the storm, but silence the turbulence, defeat the battle and sail me to the end point, my destined place on the other side. I was later able to use my story to encourage a few people and assure them that the journey is worth it when God is in it.

The other side I could see from far but thought impossible to reach.

Mark 4:35-41 and Mark 5:1-15. When the storm raged and the waves beat hard on their boat, they thought that was it. Death has arrived, and there was nothing they could do to escape it. They tried all they knew to do, but the storm was uncontrollable. In the midst of all they were facing, Jesus (The Storm Stiller) was right there in the boat waiting for an invitation. I don’t think He was sleeping, because He knows all things and also no one sleeps in a situation like that, when the waves were filling their boat, with water splashing everyone in the boat. But He was lying down still to see how far the disciples could go trying to face and manoeuvre the storm by themselves.
I don’t get it, why would you nurture a headache when you have painkiller medication in your house. Why would you go hungry when your kitchen pantry has sufficient food to feed you? But the disciples were perishing when Jesus was right there in their midst. Don’t we always do the same? We let every battle we face beat us down and almost wreck us into pieces before we remember God’s promises ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you,’ and ‘Call on Me and I will answer.’
The disciples later beckoned Jesus, and He calmed the storm and silenced the waves instantly.

When they got to the other side, there was a man needing healing and deliverance.
So the storm wasn’t really for them but was an obstacle trying to stop them from reaching out to someone who desperately needs their help on the other side. At times the situation you’re going through now, might not be for you, but for that one person or hundreds of people waiting on the other side to hear your story and through it find restoration, hope, healing and courage. So go through the journey and let Him take you to the other side of your destiny. You got to get there because people are waiting to hear your experiences through the storm and the waves that will encourage, heal and move them to the next phase of their life. You can’t afford to take this journey lightly because somebody’s destiny is attached to your other side (your finish line).

Is the other side of your destiny proofing impossible to reach? Let The Captain Sailor (Jesus) take you through the storm and into your future.

Comments are welcome.

Where is your Treasure?

My post this week is going to be short and brief.

Matthew 6:20a ‘But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.’ Verse 21a ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’. That means if you keep your treasure in Heaven, surely that is what will be on your mind and in your heart.
How scary is it to live this life and do everything you think you can and get to heaven just to find out you were totally out of God’s will or have not accomplished half of what He has carved and apportioned for you?

Question, how do I know for sure what I am doing now or about to do is God’s plan for me? We live in a world full of different types of noises. There is the noise of the battle going on in our mind. The Spirit against the flesh. The soul is torn in a struggle for survival. The spirit is fighting to feed the soul with godly desires, but the flesh is also fighting to feed the soul with worldly desires. Who fills the soul is a decision you and I have to take. We have to make up our mind, take the step of faith in God ‘to stand up strong,’ reject and push out of our minds any nourishment and feeding coming from the flesh to our soul. How do we fight this you asked? I am also on this raging battlefield. But we need to take deliberate action by desiring, reading, studying and practising the Word of God as a daily lifestyle to win.

Where is your treasure in these last days?

Some of us cannot do without social media. It occupies our whole day. I was a victim too you know. We wake up in the morning, and the first thing we do is check who post what or said what on Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat. Before going to bed, we want to know the latest post on social media.
Question, is social media watching over you at night while you sleep? Or is it the thing waking you up in the morning? I just need somebody to help me with this here, because I don’t get it. We are in an era where everyone is driven by how many likes, hands up or down, love hearts, comments and followers you have when you post something. Social Media is stealing our time on a daily basis, and everyone seems busy looking for affirmation. I am not saying that you cut if off, because I know it has its benefit sometimes, but don’t let it steal your whole time. Control your social media appetite! Don’t allow it control you.

Meanwhile, Purpose is waiting to get accomplished! Your destiny awaits you.

Social Media is becoming like what coffee is to some of us. We get a headache if we don’t drink coffee. It starts with a little sip and a small drink, and gradually we can’t do without it. If it is hindering and distracting you from fulfilling your purpose, then CUT IT OFF, because your purpose is more important than social media.

Let’s get busy maximising our potentials and fulfilling purpose. Be productive with your time. Some of us have so much greatness stored in us if only we turn inwards and utilise every opportunity that comes our way. The clock is ticking; time is on a race and every day gone cannot be redeemed. You can’t jump back into yesterday to accomplish what you were supposed to do but fail to carry it out. Make use of your time, carry out the work God gave you and be diligent because a reward awaits you.

Where is your treasure? Who and What is feeding your soul?

Comments are welcome.

The Battle of the ‘Unfamiliar’ (Re-visited)

I posted something about this topic over a year ago, but I felt it’s relevant to share my view about the unfamiliar.

How do you find purpose in the unfamiliar when you have to battle with a lot of obstacles?
Acceptance and adapting are the major obstacles in the unfamiliar especially if there are communication barriers. My, my, my…that’s hard.

These were my questions:
How do I adapt to the language norm in the first place and overcome culture shock? How do I modernise my attitude and character to avoid being misunderstood? Why do I look like an intruder? Everyone seems different, and I can’t find anyone to understand the language of my heart that yearns so much to belong if given a chance. Why would God bring me in such a place where I can’t locate anyone from my clique? Everything was different, so very different that it frightened me to take a step.

So I learnt these three lessons:

The unfamiliar threatens your ability to speak and interact with people. It limits you from connecting with the community. It pulls you back anytime you want to take the step forward in meeting new people and reminds you that you don’t belong. It restricts you from socialising with the unknown environment. It holds you back and keeps you in a cabin called ‘fear and insecurity’. It goes like this, ‘will I be accepted? Will they understand my accent? What if I get rejected? But I don’t look like them. What if they don’t like me?’

Can I tell you something? ‘What ifs’ questions will always hold you back from setting initiatives and taking actions. Whether you get liked or not is not a reason for you to worry. It’s how do I make use of this season and fulfil God’s purpose for my life. How do I maximise myself and my God-given talents to impact this environment? How do I break off the limitations that surround me, and pull down every barrier that seems to lock me up in this space call fear and insecurity?

The egg and cocoon stage may look uncomfortable and limiting, but there is no way the caterpillar can turn into a butterfly if she skips those trends.
The cocoon period is the development and transformation stage; it is when the caterpillar gets isolated in an unfamiliar environment, looking strange and limited. That is how we feel when we find ourselves in the unknown, away from comfortable. But instead of throwing tantrums and getting all worked up, the caterpillar knows within her, that the only way she can get to the butterfly stage where she can fly without limit and fulfil her purpose, is to accept the new setting. She learns how to adapt to her new cocoon environment and go through the process of growth, development and expansion that will transform her into a butterfly in the not too far future. However, she will never turn into a caterpillar if she stays in the egg. And she will never discover the potential hidden in her to become a beautiful butterfly if she remains in the cocoon trying to reason why she finds herself in that space and refusing to break out at the right time.

In my situation, I had to push myself out in the open, force my entire being to break off the shell of fear and pierce into the very depth of this unfamiliarity. Otherwise, the obstacles were going to dim my vision and paralyse my purpose. I figured out that my situation was not going to change unless I get up, step out and take action. It doesn’t matter what people say or think. Whether people understand you or not, you are already there, and there’s no turning back. You’ve come too far to turn back and give up. That’s not part of God’s plan for you. You’ve gone through a lot of sacrifice in the process of getting there, so it’s not the time to call it quit. The caterpillar didn’t halt in the egg or the cocoon; she went all the way to become a butterfly.

God brought you to that environment for a reason, and He will surely make a way. You don’t have to worry about what people say or how they’ll react to you because people will always have something to say. Whether you’re accepted or not, that’s irrelevant, because you are in a place to fulfil your purpose for that season. Hence, let nothing move or distract you. Stay focus and be ON COURSE! You are in line with destiny.

The caterpillar Metamorphoses into a butterfly by going through the developmental process in the cocoon. Your unfamiliar might be the cocoon environment that will metamorphose you into that glorious future God has beautifully chiselled for you.

So I challenge you to arise out of fear and insecurity, and take-off into the wings of your destiny, discover and work on your talents and let them blossom into greatness as you fulfil your God-ordained purpose in that unfamiliar place.
See with the eyes of FAITH and let that obstacle be an opportunity to propel you into achieving outstanding accomplishments.
You are a child of purpose!

How do you see yourself in that unfamiliar environment?

Comments are welcome.

Believe in your Dreams!

I spoke about daring for more and daring to dream in my last post. Today I want to talk about believing in those dreams.
Nobody will believe in them if you don’t because you are not going to convince people when you have not convinced yourself.

At times we feel our dreams are too big and begin to worry how they will finally evolve into reality. Can I encourage you to not just look at the magnitude but also focus on the driver of those dreams? God will and can drive to fruition if we trust them to Him. Who would have thought a King like Solomon will emerge in Israel in those days with such wisdom and wealth that became an envy to nations and kings around? But that’s what God does. He does the never heard or seen, and impossible in human understanding.

Don’t just leave your dreams in your mind, Habakkuk 2:2 tells us to write the vision, make it plain on tablets that they may run with it. So take it off your mind and write it down and hang it where you can see it every day. Let it be well detailed and run with it. It didn’t say sit with it but run. Put it to action! This may require some major ladders to climb for the fulfilment of the dreams. For some, it may be upgrading your career and skills, enhancing your personality and developing a humble character. For others, it might be letting go of the past failures, disappointments and heartbreaks and pressing towards the future having your gaze on the Author and Finisher of our faith Jesus Christ.

Let the written dream be your daily mirror, where you look and reflect every day as you picture the future. Look into that mirror and see how the different plots play out. Check out and visualise the authenticity of the dream for when it will finally unfold to the world, and how it will daze and capture people when they see it manifest. Look into that mirror and tell yourself IT IS TIME FOR ACTION!

Keep the dream alive, don’t let it die, feed it daily with words of faith, words of life and speak the promises of God over it. Jeremiah 29:11 & Luke 11:9-10 are great scriptures to adopt. Ask God to help you lay the foundation and start the building process, and allow Him to put the puzzle together. At the meantime work on yourself and everything, you may need to birth that dream.

There are a lot of recipes you will need along the way, but there are few you need to avoid, so you don’t have a tasteless future. Recipes are great, but when you put together the wrong ones, it will give you an unpleasant and flavourless outcome.
Doubt, fear and procrastination are the major in the list of ‘do not touch recipes,’ because these will cripple your dreams, paralyse your vision, knock off your ideas and render them disabled for life. And you know something, they are free and won’t cost you anything to add them to your shopping basket. But the good recipes will cost you something. The first one is BELIEVE. You have to work on your mind purposefully and your heart to believe in The Almighty and Powerful God, and believe in yourself that He will and can make it happen through you. As you believe in Him, the next one is TRUST. You got to trust Him with all of your heart. The book of Proverbs helps us to understand this better. Chapter 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” So in all your plans acknowledge God, and He will direct you to the right route to establish and implement your dreams.
The last one is HEED to His voice and direction when He orders you to do things in a certain way. This here, we miss almost every time because we are not attentive enough to follow His leading in this busy world we find ourselves. Competition, emotions and the drive to stardom influence and lead most of us, which can be a route heading for a crash. Do not let the hunger for success drive your dreams. Let God be The DRIVER!

Let nothing scare you from believing in your dreams! The God we serve is All-Powerful, Almighty and Able to birth them through you.

It’s not too big when God is in it!

Believe, Trust and Heed!

Comments are welcome

Dare for MORE! Dare to Dream!

Have you ever had that feeling, knowing there is more? More to life than we see. More of God than we have ever experienced. More of His Love, Overflowing Generous Spirit, Goodness, Grace and Mercy.
I just believe this and my spirit knows it well, but I can’t find the way to pierce into this abundance of more calling me. I can hear Him calling me into more, closer and further, but my mind is so distracted that I am trying to find Him in the midst of all these distractions. I know He’s calling, but there’s too much noise in my soul and they are all crying out for my attention. They seem to overcrowd His Still Small Voice. But I challenge myself to arise out of the noise and into the dark silence where I can hear Him. One of my dark silence is my dreams.

I used to dream, or I still dream and they are one of the things that draw me closer to Him, knowing only He can bring those ideas to fruition. But at times my dreams are so scary that my lips tremble to say it out. They are out of the ordinary, nothing like what someone will dream about, and it makes me wonder if I am the only dreamer around. Well, I know people have big dreams, but you know how you can get lost in your dreams that you are reciting it like a movie and seeing the different characters play their roles. That is what happens to me sometimes. So the next time you see me talking to myself acting different personas by either laughing, smiling and having a sober facial appearance at distinct intervals and muttering words in my mouth, please don’t tag me insane, I am just acting out my already inscribed dream manuscript in my head.

Joseph was tagged the dreamer, and he dreamt of things that his family thought will never happen because the dreams were way bigger than him and people around. It has never happened. Even his father had to rebuke him upon hearing it. History has not recorded all family members bowing and paying homage to one of the youngest siblings in those days. So the sound of hearing such dreams was so scary and impossible that only God can unfold it to reality.

What are you dreaming about, or are you putting your dreams to sleep because they look too big and impossible? Remember, God is The Only One that can change the impossible into possible. And He is calling you to dream big and hunger and thirst for MORE.

Dare to dream, and dare to dream big. I mean so big that it will scare you and everyone that hears it. Let the dream scare your mind, your intellect and even your destiny helpers. If your dream has ever happened before my princess, then that means you haven’t started dreaming yet. I mean there is so much more with God than we can ever imagine. He’s not in lack of resources nor does His Provision Barn go down. He is the Super Abundant Provider. So go on and ask Him, ask Him for what eyes have not seen nor ears heard. Ask Him for what you have never seen.

There is more in store for you princess, and that MORE is calling you and me to seep into the never seen nor heard Overflowing Nature of God and experience His Extravagant Provision for our purpose. Now, if I tell you my dream, you’re going to look at me and say ‘are you okay? That has never happened before.’ Yeah, you’re right, why should I dream of something that has already happened? Why should I say I want what he or she has? No, no, no, I want what no one has ever done or experienced. And I know I serve The God who does exceedingly, abundantly far above what we can ask or think according to His power that works in us. Ephesians 3:20. This scripture here just concludes it all for me. If my God does exceedingly, abundantly and far above what I can ask or think, that means He can do things beyond what my mind cannot even grasp or comprehend. So why do I have to ask for what the eyes have ever beheld or what the mind can utter?

I dare to dream what the mind cannot master or clasp. I dare to ask and pray for a dream so dynamic that it will blow you off your seat when you hear it.
And I challenge you, to dream and ask for MORE! MORE is waiting for an invitation! MORE is calling your name! MORE is knocking at the door of your heart. How long are you going to keep her at the door and not dare to invite her into your life?

Your God-given purpose is not small. Do not diminish it to ‘that’s all I can do because I don’t have time.’ We all have 24 hours a day, so it’s our choice to make sacrificial time in that 24 hours and dedicate it to our dreams and purpose.

I dare you. No, no, no, instead I DOUBLE DARE YOU.
Dare to dream and allow your purpose expand into greatness!

1 Corinthians 2:9 “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor has it entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

Comments are welcome!

Pouring out Everything!

I know you might get tired of me talking about purpose, talents and calling, but I don’t know why I keep on lingering around purpose and God’s calling for our lives. All I can say is that God created us for a purpose and fulfilling it is the most satisfying achievement in life. Perhaps it is more for me than it is for you.

In 2 Timothy 4:6 Paul says “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near.” Paul has emptied his life and used every talent, skill, assignment and gifting in him to reproduce as expected by God. In preaching, he poured out what The Lord entrusted to him, in teaching he taught as lead by the Spirit, in witnessing he preached, confessed and declared The Word of God in power and authority without fear. In discipling, Paul brought up his disciples in the ways of the Lord and mentor and charge them to do the same. In writing, he allowed himself to be used by God and carefully lean on the Holy Spirit as He inspired him to write more than half of the New Testament. In living for Christ, Paul demonstrated how to live a Christ-like life in holiness, righteousness and truth as an example for people to see and imitate. In serving, he gave his all for the sake of the expansion and spreading of the Good News. In areas of leading, he has demonstrated what the qualities of a God-fearing Christian leader are and how we can exercise them as a lifestyle and has also taught the expectations of a Christian leader and follower of Jesus Christ.
So when Paul said in chapter 4:6 that he has already been poured out, he knew what he was saying. He has freely given back, holding nothing, but emptying his life from one assignment to the other. He was bold enough to say he was going to meet his Lord empty, not taking back the talents given to him. Not like the servant who hid his talent not wanting to make use of it for the prolongation of God’s Kingdom. Paul was ready to die empty, taking nothing with him.

In the calling and assignment God gave each of us, are we able to say as the Apostle Paul, or are we still trying to figure out when and how to use them? And please don’t give the excuse of ‘that was Paul an Apostle, and I am not.’ God just didn’t give talents and callings to the Apostles only. Everyone He created has a purpose and a talent/calling to accomplish.

So you have the capacity, and all you need is the audacity to undertake and achieve your assignment. Be tenacious to fulfil your God-given purpose.

My beloved princess, pour it all out for the King, don’t hold back on anything He has given you. Like the late Myles Munroe said ‘die empty’. Do not take anything to the grave with you when you die, because as the saying goes ‘the grave is the richest place on earth’ all the unaccomplished projects, assignments, purposes, talents and businesses are buried in the grave. And no one knows when their time is up to leave planet Earth. So while you’re still here, empty those talents and giftings God placed in you to use for His Kingdom. Make use of them, nourish and prune them. Develop and let them bring forth a mighty success.

The scripture tells us of a woman in the Bible who break her alabaster flask and pour out the expensive oil on Jesus. She made history at the end, fulfil her purpose for that season and opened the door to a closer fellowship with her King. Occupy yourself and use up every blessing, opportunity and privilege God gave you in a godly way so that you can also testify and say boldly as the Apostle Paul said in verse 7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Not everyone who starts the race gets to the finish line. But we can encourage each other to keep at it no matter the stage you’re in on the race track. Know that God is right there with you as your Coach, asking you to give it one more shot, another push, a bit harder, give it your best, take the sacrifice and execute your mission here on earth. He is there to strengthen you through the journey.

I am not writing this article as if I’ve got all the time in the world and am ahead living my purpose. No, I seriously need God to help me re-schedule myself and my routine because I haven’t started walking into purpose yet as I have different things all calling for my attention and am trying to prioritise, but I kept on failing all the time. So I am tired of trying it myself and learning to trust God to guide and take me through the journey of walking into, and living His purpose.

Are you holding back the gifts and talents He gave you? Pour it all out for Him, hold nothing back and do not postpone, because tomorrow might be too late.

Comments are welcome.

Stock-Taking!

You’ll have to forgive me for this long post, but this is a chapter of my life story.

Over a year ago, I found myself in a situation where I had to do stock-taking of my life, and how I have spent the past years in my service for my King. Most times we just rush and engage into different services for God and wanting to occupy ourselves all the way in His service. In all that, wisdom requires we stop and take stock of what we have been doing and measure how far we have been tracking either positively or negatively. There is also need for refilling because after you have spent most of your time pouring out, at a point, you become half empty and finally all empty if you keep on going.

Most of us think that getting overly busy always having no time to rest or fellowship with people is the best way to live. Even God rested after six days of creating the earth. And remember God made us for fellowship. There should be time for recess and refilling, to avoid getting burn out half way through or towards the very end. I have been so busy in almost every other department in my church for the past five and the half years, serving in more than two departments every Sunday continuously for over three years. Don’t get me wrong, I love serving in the church, but at a point, I had to ask myself if I am giving myself entirely and faithful to all three departments. But the answer was no. I was surprised but deep down within me, I know I wasn’t faithful because, with all that, I find myself convicted most times at the end.

While in that situation a phrase came to my mind which I heard from a Pastor about three years ago. He said something that is still alive in my heart. He was so full on busy with different services for God that he barely had spare time. He said a friend told him one day, “you are burning the candle at both ends.” That was a turning point for him. That’s when his eyes were open to the truth of what he was busy doing. He then had to do some stock-taking and evaluate his life and service for God.
Where am I going you ask? I have also asked myself something similar when I felt the urge to pause and stock-take my life. I told myself so many times that I don’t know what am doing. It’s a place of vulnerability where you can sit back and see yourself at that point. No one outside needs to tell you this. Because when God starts convicting you about your ‘works’ you’ll do better to fall at His feet asking for mercy and guidance rather than proving stubborn. When I now look at all those ‘services’ and ‘works’ I was involved in, I can tell without a doubt that 75% or more wasn’t for God but rather to please people so not to be in their bad books. I wanted to be ‘Miss please everybody’ and see me ‘I can do it’ attitude, rather than surrendering sincere devotion to God. I was more into eye service than God service. I am honest here. As much as I want to cover it up, I can’t anymore, because I am on a journey where am learning how to be open and vulnerable, laying everything out to God.

God is just so loving beyond our imagination of what He can do. Because of His love for us, He tries in most cases to get our attention, to correct the wrongs we are doing, so not to hinder our relationship with Him. Remember God cannot behold iniquity. He loves us so much that He will warn us when we are about drifting away and getting cold in our relationship with Him. He doesn’t come out with a rod of punishment at our backs anytime we mess up like our earthly fathers do most times. I grew up in an environment where the rod corrects a child every time, so I know how it feels.

Going back to my story of God taking me through this stock-taking journey, I wish it happened earlier on, but I guess I was too busy to hearken to the signs and signals. It’s always good to step back and evaluate. Sometimes for you to have a good view of the situation requires you walking away from it and then looking at it from a far angle. This way you see bigger, brighter and clearer than when you were in the centre of it. So I got to the point that I had to step down from a ministry I loved so much. It wasn’t easy for me to step down, but I got to a point where the very instrument required for that department was falling apart I meant breaking down. But I will tell myself that I needed some rest, and that will fix it. So I have been gradually doing that for over two years until when finally I realised that wasn’t helping to recover fully. I prayed and trusted God for healing but not sure what was happening, so I felt helpless.

Tears filled my eyes when I see people stirring and singing beautifully with their voices while I was struggling with mine. I’ve asked the question so many times, what have I done? Was it my fault or something I did to get to this point? I cried and sobbed so hard that it hurts my head. No one seems to understand me. The Only Person who knew me seems quiet in my judgment. I felt then God was not doing anything about it, and the situation was unbearable. I could feel the ache in my heart. In the still of the night, I had to cry myself to sleep. I can’t seem to find the missing puzzle. Where else do I go from here? I asked myself. Who can see beyond my physical appearance into my hurting soul?

Stepping down from this ministry opened my eyes to so many things that I wasn’t ready to see and admit. I saw how ‘human pleasing’ I was rather than God-pleasing because I didn’t want to offend people. I see how manipulative I’ve become rather than just surrendering to God. I saw the ugliness of my character and how judgemental I have been. I just saw an ugly soul that needs God’s mercy, grace, and healing. Oh, how I thank God for showing me myself and the person I’ve become in those past years. I had stood on the altar singing praises to my King while my heart was busy judging someone else in the same place. I have been in the depth of worshipping while condemning someone in the congregation who seems to have not been participating in the worship session. I got to a point where I couldn’t do it anymore. I had to ask God to change me, to take away the ugliness of my soul and give me a clean heart and a right spirit.

It doesn’t work my dear princesses. You can’t serve two masters at the same time, even Jesus said it. You can’t sit on the fence, you’re either in for God or not. My heart couldn’t handle the situation anymore. I can’t be standing to worship God when I had jealousy for the sister right next to me or hatred. I am not making this up love; it happened, and I got to a point where I couldn’t contain it any longer. It was piercing my soul. I had no idea when my spirit became that ugly. I had opened a door carelessly or unknowingly which gave the devil access in my life so much so that I got blinded at some point.
Today I am so grateful to God that He has started changing me from the inside.

I know that I am a ‘work-in-progress’ and that God is still working in me, but girl, believe me, that the outcome is going to be glorious and beautiful by the time God is finished working in me. My life is still a clay in the Potter’s hands, and He is remoulding me for a greater glory.

My point is this; stock-taking is very essential; you can ask the accountants. Without stock-taking, a lot of businesses are doom to fail or lost count of their progress in the marketplace. Using the analogy of the balance sheet calculation, which most accountants use in stocking-taking, let’s see how it relates to us. The balance sheet consists of three parts. The statement of assets, owner’s capital/equity and liabilities.

Assets: These are your resources.
What are the resources God has given and deposited in you? The resources could be our God-given talents, and skills. The giftings, the career, and the great ideas He has given you. Identify all of them; they are your assets.
Liabilities: These are your accountabilities/responsibilities. The assignments apportion for you to execute.
Owner’s equity: This is your balance/left over after you have used your resources trade with them to carry out your accountabilities and come back with an additional surplus. The Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25:14 -30 is the best illustration.

Applying the balance sheet to our Christian life, how balance is our relationship with God, the career He gave us, the talents and gifts and with the relationship between our fellow brothers and sisters? If we calculate the balance sheet of our lives now, will we be found on the surplus profit or the loss scale? Will you and I be found balancing, in excess, running over with the fruits of the Spirit or will we be considered short and in a loss?
This principle can also help in our work with God, and to evaluate and examine if we are still in tune with Him or what remedy is required. It will help us to know how far we have gone in our relationship with Him, How much of His character and conduct we have in us, as a result of spending more time with Him.

Dear princess, how balanced is your relationship with God and the resources He has given you?

Comments are welcome!

Letting Down Your Net! Part 2 & Launching into the Deep

Giving excuses, don’t we all do that?
In part 1 we highlighted that the nets could be ‘anything we hold dear to our hearts and not wanting to let go. It can be a profession, a career, a habit or a way of life that we regard so comfortable, and will do anything to preserve and protect.’

Going through certain situations in life that threaten us from letting down our nets, can be very challenging. They may be residues of past broken relationships, friendships, habits, attitudes, broken hearts, bitterness, anger, abuse and whatever we have emotionally, physically or psychologically suffered from in the past. We allow these to hold us bound in our little self-made cells refusing to loose and free ourselves. And we get so connected to them that they block us from hearing God’s voice. They distract us from discerning the real voice of The Holy Spirit to our emotions.

Peter knew it all, and has studied his boat and can distinguish when to launch his net in the water or not. Like you and I, we think we know all about our nets and how to handle each of them, so they don’t go out of control. These nets get engraved into our hearts and form part of our daily life activities that they become routine to us and eventually proves okay as a lifestyle. They become so familiar to us that they begin to block our eyes, developing as cataracts and gradually causing blindness, dimming our vision, and preventing us from fulfilling our purpose.
But as Jesus beckons Peter to launch into the deep and let down his net, He is also calling you and me to do the same. Jesus wants to board our boats and dive into the depth of that anger, bitterness, abuse, unforgiveness, physical, emotional or psychological trauma, pain or brokenness, and minister healing. The deep might be our cold and dark place, the depth in which the nets operate. The deep we so much want to control and won’t share or reveal.
However, God is calling us to come as we are, we don’t need to give excuses or cover up, He knows it all.

Peter just didn’t let down his net anywhere, but he launched it into the deep. He could just have thrown his net few meters away from the seashore, but why the deep, and why did Jesus wants to travel the journey with him to that place. Jesus doesn’t want us to let down our nets just anywhere and walk away. No, He also desires to ride to the depth and origin of the issue, remove the obstacles, dig out everything that is not like Him, cast them away and cleanse us from all the debris of our nets, while offering healing, mending, and a deep-rooted peace.

Allowing Jesus to journey down the deep with us, opens an opportunity to be transformed into a new vessel having godly perspectives in living a purposeful and God-ordained lifestyle.

Would you launch out into the deep with Him?

Comments are welcome!

Letting Down Your Net! Part 1

Come on, let down that Net!
This topic is one of those that may sound absurd, especially when taking it from what it means. However, I want to talk about it from a different perspective.
In Luke 5: 4-11 Jesus asked Simon Peter to let down his net, Simon Peter was then trying to justify why he couldn’t let it down, and why it was of no use to do that. To Peter, the net signifies his profession, his career, his talent, his skills. He was such an expert at what he does that he thinks no one can tell him otherwise. He tries to explain in other words that he knows the job and he’s been doing it for years. He has gone through the storms, the waves, the tempestuous seas and oceans, and experienced what it is like letting down those nets in such situations. It was risky, life threatening and dangerous letting down the nets in those circumstances where there is a possibility of either catching nothing or getting the wrong things in the net.

Letting down your net in trouble waters can be unpredictable because the results of that action manifest after the net is hauled back up to yourself for a closer view.
After the hesitant, Peter ended up letting down his nets. He has just forgotten that this is not the same old Peter talking himself into letting those nets, but rather the Master of the oceans, the King of the storms, the One who knows all situations and holds the key to every answer. He realised the One who is asking him to let it down knows better than him.

The net for you and I can be anything we hold dear to our hearts and not wanting to let go. It can be a profession, a career, a habit or a way of life that we regard so comfortable, and will do anything to preserve and protect. We will defend it at all cost because it has become part of us and we think no one can tell us how to go about it. It becomes a struggle to let go when the command comes asking us to do so. But you know what, sometimes the very thing we are fighting to protect becomes the hindrance to our blessings and deliverance. Maybe it is because of self-protection that is why we don’t want to let go and feel vulnerable.
The profession, career or lifestyle may be the thing where we get our self-esteem from, and without it, we feel left out in the open. It gives us a title of who we are and what we are worth (in our own eyes). However, it may also be the very thing denying us of God’s presence. Some of them produce bad fruits in us which only gets revealed when the nets are down. So the net becomes the cover to those rotten fruits hidden under the umbrella of our profession, career and lifestyle. But Jesus is calling you and me to let them down. He wants to deliver us from them and set us free wholly.

Some of our nets are so weighty that they can cause internal damages in our lives. Surprisingly, they may look so beautiful and glossy from the outside, but completely different from the inside. Hidden behind the nets of our lives can be ‘anger, hatred, bitterness, immorality, idolatry, gossip, lying, cheating, selfishness, jealousy, malice, unforgiveness, hypocrisy’ and so much more. But we still hold them close to our hearts not willing to let them down. Some are due to past experiences and encounters. So we now decided to keep them as guards just in case any of those scenarios present themselves again, this way we can be reminded to stand our grounds and prevent them by all means from re-occurring.
However, Jesus is calling you and me to let down those nets; we don’t have to give Him all the excuses and reasons why we can’t. He sure knows before He asks us to do so. But because He can see how those nets have blinded our eyes and prevented us from having an encounter with Him, and also seeing the damages they do to our souls; He gently reaches out His compassionate hands asking to let down at His word.

We all know those things in our lives that are preventing us from coming closer to God. Why not let them down at His word and watch Him do miracles in our lives?
I pray we all learn to surrender to His feet and at His word by the help of The Holy Spirit.

Comments are welcome.