Words To Live By.....

She said....He said

I yearn to sing songs that speak of my love for you

Yes… But when was the last time you sang a love song to me ?

I’m a preacher sent to spread ‘The Word’

OK…..But have you sat in the pew of your soul and let my ‘Word’ preach to you ?

Lord use me to transform lives !

Daughter YOU be transformed by the renewing of YOUR mind, then…..

Then please send me to the mission field, the harvest is ripe

Child… Your neighbor is rotting and grieving on the inside, THAT harvest is long overdue

I want to walk with you, talk with you

Hey I’d rather you listened to me, hearkened to me….

THEY just don’t know what a treasure I am; If they did….

YOU just don’t understand that these treasures are stored in earthen vessels; If you did….

You have zeal for me, but my zeal is not in you…

If you have zeal FOR me like Saul, others are consumed.... death ensues

But if you have zeal IN me like Paul, YOU are consumed ..... a new life reborn

Let my zeal consume you and not others…. Let YOUR light so shine..

OK Lord I’m done, you have shown me that it’s all about you

I worship only you…..

Speak to me, show me, fill me, work in me, change me, till I am totally undone

Yes you will come undone, and when you do,

I will work in you both to will and to do of my good pleasure….

You will walk with me and I will show you where to go

You will listen, and I will speak for you to follow

I will show you, and you will do it as I have done it

A step, a stride, a journey complete

My will ultimate, fulfilled in you…..

THAT.... Is what I have to say…..





The Encourager: Isaiah 40:27-31, Psalm 42:11 (The Message Bible), Psalm 40:2-4 (New Living Translation)

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or whine Israel, saying "God has lost track of me. He doesn't care what happens to me"? Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening? God doesn't come and go. God lasts.... He's Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath, and he knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles,They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind.

Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues? Fix your eyes on God - soon you'll be praising again. He puts a smile on your face. He's your God!

He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.

Now faith is....

What is truth? Can you handle the truth? Is your confession based on perception or the truth that can change perception? Does your perception point you to the truth or to some Neverland state? The Just shall live by his faith? What does this mean? What is faith? This was the end point of my barrage of thought missiles…. What is faith? …. Yeah yeah I can hear folks starting to quote Hebrews 11:1 …. Faith is …. Yada yada yada…. But what does it mean…. I ask? What IS faith? ….. I was asked in return … my answer was: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…..Yeah yeah…. Back at ya… Is substance perceptible? Yes I answered…. Is evidence tangible? Yes it is…. So my dear why do you think that you have faith, when you base it on what YOU believe will happen or some nebulous belief that things will be ‘OK’? that you will ‘make it’, ‘break through’ or whatever it’s called these days.
Now Faith is ….. Faith is …. It is in the now it is always in the now and has a physically perceptible presence that serves as the earnest of that which is promised…. Do you know that this principle holds true for everyone that I have ever given a promise? To Abraham it was the stars in the sky and the sand on the beach that pointed to how numerous his seed would be; To the children of Israel it was the pillar of cloud by day, the pillar of fire by night and the tablets of stone that showed them that God was in their midst and pointed to the promise, and the promised land they were heading towards; To Joseph it was his coat of many colors that marked him out as favored; To Jacob it was the poplar bark with holes that pointed to the promise of the speckled and dappled herd soon to be produced and so on and so forth He marched me through the old testament…. Now one stumped me…. Sarah Lord, what was Sarah’s substance and evidence…. The answer came to me a few days later out of the blue….. LAUGHTER ….. yeah laughter… which is what Sarah did - laughed when God told her she would soon have a child. I used to think that God was merely scolding her …. No I was establishing a set point so that every time she laughed or heard laughter her heart would catch !!! Oooooh God said I would have a child …. Who knew whether this was the laughter shared between Abraham and Sarah in remembrance of the word God spoke that led to the ‘awakening’ and the ‘magic moment’ that Isaac was conceived (Our God Is an awesome God!). Little wonder that when the son, the promise was born he was called Isaac which means laughter…. A testament to the fulfillment of promise….
For by faith the elders obtained a good report…. Yes they pleased you right…. Yep that they did but I also say that by faith, they received the good news (report) that I relayed to their perceptive senses …. The promise to come, and they followed after it faithfully and for those who endured, got to the Promised Land. Remember Caleb and Joshua…. They brought back a good report… Ohhhh ….. So what is faith? Faith is..... Tangibility pointing to the infallibility and immutability of the intangible..... Now what do I describe as being infallible and immutable? The Word of God I answered according to the book of Hebrews…. Now does my Word have substance? Yeeaaah I said…. Is my Word evident?

Let’s take a look…
Hebrews 6: 13-20
13For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
17Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

The Two immutable mentioned here: Himself and His Word… His Word confirming his promise….
In the old testament God made a promise He swore by Himself to confirm the word He gave and gave perceptible substance pointing to the promise: The Word was not yet manifest…
Hebrews 6:13, 14
13For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.

But to us the heirs of salvation who have obtained the promise, that is the Word (Jesus Christ made flesh) He confirms it by that which makes it impossible for Him to lie: Himself and His Word…. That His counsel be established.

Hebrews 6:18-20

18That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
20Whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made an high priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec.

Yes that is what takes us within the veil. Faith…. no longer a human high priest, no longer the ark of the covenant, no longer fleeces, no longer clouds or pillars of fire which appointed for that dispensation of time: the shadow of things to come, but NOW faith is the perceptible, immutable, infallible promise of God – the Word, spoken by God of things hoped for and not yet seen… (The secret of faith…. His word He will not break)…that takes us from without beyond the veil, to the glory. No longer covered like it was when Moses beheld it, but now open for all to see and enter in to….

What do you base your perception on The Word of God, spoken by God or ……
NOW FAITH IS….
Shalom….

© OluperoMettabel, October 2010

What about worship?

This was a comment I made on an article that a friend wrote...Food for thought indeed....

In worship we can bow, lift our hands, dance, shake, boogie, strut, whatever we want to do, as long as our hearts are upward and our performance is before the audience of 'One' .... That's where we miss Him and right there is where we miss it.... We try to put God in a box, rather than (like David) dancing right out of our boxers before Him, regardless of who we are... Pastor, teacher, evangelist, minister, performer, or congregant .... The dangerous thing about all this is that we have not recognized that the 'Lucifer' spirit has entered into the church.... the desire to be worshipped like God....why else would a pastor not be in praise at the time of praise, jumping and leaping and praising God.... it's probably because such a pastor/minister/ etc has grown too big for their britches... they'd better watch out or those britches just might split open one of these days, and it won't be pretty .... These are dangerous times....Open the eyes of our heart Lord that we may see.... Thank you my brother for pointing out the the 'Emperor' is not wearing any clothes.... a lot of "nakedisms" one may say, but let us remember... we are all open and naked before Him with whom we have to do... Selah.....

Because he didn't, I can...

He could have liberated himself, but he didn't

Though I did not know Him,

He knew me

He loved me and went through torture

and a horrific death so that I may live

He died for me !

I am liberated because He was bound

I am clothed because He was stripped naked

My flesh is healed because His was ripped and stripped

My spirit is alive because He gave his up....

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so....

I am the redeemed and I say so!

Thank you Jesus... You could have stepped down from the cross

Separated yourself from me, you didn't and because you didn't I now can .....

Yes I can...

... cry abba father

... do all things through Christ who strengthens me

... come boldly to the throne of grace, so that I may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need

Because I am.....

...Forgiven

... Made clean by the blood of the Lamb

... the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus

... blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places

... loved with an everlasting love

.... and I am complete in Him

Yes I am ! and all in favor say aye !

Are you a 'Biter' or a 'Ruminator'?

'Biter' or 'Ruminator'? This is the question I have for you and I today – ‘Biter’ or ‘Ruminator’?

Who is a biter? A biter is one who (in this context), takes an excerpt or fragment from something larger leaving the majority of the substance behind, and in the same vein of context a ruminator is someone who turns a matter over and over in the mind usually to reach a decision that will produce results.

This question arose in my mind a few months ago and got me thinking about my ’Word life’. I have been a Pentecostal Christian for a few years now, but recently the Lord began bringing it to my attention that although I heard and regurgitated a lot of bible verses and promises I had heard from pastors, teachers, etc over the years, I have been for most of my Christian life, a biter and not a ruminator. What do I mean by this? Well let’s take a little walk down the hall of faith …..

A soundbite is an audiolinguistic and social communications phenomenon whose nature was recognized in the late 20th century. It is characterized by a short phrase or sentence that deftly captures the essence of what the speaker is trying to say. Such key moments in dialogue (or monologue) stand out better in the audience's memory and thus become the "taste" that ‘best’ (in the mind of the communicator) represents the entire "meal" of the larger message or conversation. Unfortunately a soundbite being an excerpt of the larger message is often subject to manipulation, misinterpretation or even an unintentional neutralization of impact, or reversal of meaning to the point of rendering the root statement impotent or worse still outright wrong, producing no result, an altered result, or the opposite effect than was intended.

An example of a soundbite might be:

Mr. B has no longer has money.... Now if this was a statement that was repeated enough times it would convey that Mr. B was now a poor man and if he were a business man his investors would be getting nervous right about that time…

Contrast this to the full statement – Mr. B no longer has money in his offshore bank accounts in ...... , because of the economic instability in that country….. Wow! totally different huh? Well the Lord told me I had become- a spiritual ‘soundbiter’ who after having heard the Word would run off with the ‘teaser’ and not take the time to consider the whole of the scripture, and would then start wondering why my confessions and prayers were not having the desired effect or producing the results I desired.

Take for example a soundbite of scripture could be:

…. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus….. Phil 4:19 Do I hear an amen?!

If however one were to just run with this scripture ‘as is’ it may likely produce no effect even if one quoted it from now till the hens come home to roost, because it is only a taste of the whole which is:

Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.

Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.

But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Phil 4:15-19

Showing that the prayer for the supplying of the need came after the commendation that the Philippians gave to the necessity of the saints… which brings me to the ‘ruminator’ part – as previously defined would be the Christian who would:

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15.

This Christian would also follow the instruction from the Word that states:

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

So when things are not going the way you and I want them to go or we are not getting the desired results, maybe it’s time to ask ourselves am I ‘Ruminating’ or ‘Biting’?

Shalom.

PS As a matter of fact not only when things are not going right, but all the time and for all of our days

Shalom again…..

© OluperoMettabel, October 2010



Words to live by....

Everyone dreams of greatness, but greatness just does not come to where one is, one has to rise up to meet it.....

Words to live by....

The degree to which true greatness can be achieved is dependent on one’s willingness to serve ….. Having a servant’s heart with the Master’s resources at one’s disposal, sets the stage for powerful things to happen….

Bless the Lord with me....

These are a collection of beautiful worship songs.... be blessed..... and bless the Lord with me....

Words to live by....

Life is strange in the things that it brings you..... some seem good and end up being not so good for you ....but some seem not so good and end up being the best thing that could ever have happened......

Words to live by....

Once the log in one's eye is taken away, one will see that the speck in the other's is just that.... a speck... selah.....

Words to live by....

A rich life like a musical score, is a symphony composed...... not about the melody, but about the message..... A few notes do not an anthem make.....

Words to live by....

A friend made is a good thing..... A friend kept is better still.....A friend loved.....the best of all.......

KEEP OFF THE GRASS !!!

Many of us have undoubtedly seen this sign somewhere or the other and gone right ahead and walked on the grass (myself included), without any regard for the carefully posted signs, or the labor and service that had gone into the maintenance of the lawn… shame on me for doing this in the past…
My article today centers round an important part of our daily interaction that is slowly dying and that I fear will not be able to be resuscitated unless we apply ourselves to keeping it alive…
We all know that as Christians who have been ‘born again’ we have been translated into God’s Kingdom and have become citizens of ‘The Commonwealth of Israel'. We are well aware of the rights and promises that become ours by virtue of this adoption but sometimes we do not measure up when it comes to the responsibilities that come with ‘Citizenship’. Now what does this have to do with ‘keeping off the grass’ Ahhh… here comes illumination…..
It has to do with this quaint French inspired word called ETIQUETTE, please read on….

ETIQUETTE:

The word ‘etiquette’ originally meant, "Keep off the grass". Louis XIV’s gardener noticed that the aristocrats were walking through his gardens on their way to court and he therefore put up signs, or étiquets, to ward them off. The dukes and duchesses however walked right past these signs! Due to this blatant disregard, the King of Versailles decreed that no individual was to go beyond the bounds of the étiquets. The meaning of etiquette would later include the ticket to court functions that LISTED THE INSTRUCTIONS ON WHERE A PERSON WOULD STAND AND WHAT WAS TO BE DONE, and had to be adhered to, or the person that breached these codes of conduct would be in danger of being excluded from polite society. Etiquette, like language, has evolved, but it still means literally "keep off the grass".

Until the 1960’s, the importance of good manners were taught without question, but with the liberated 70’s came a decline in the popularity of teaching proper etiquette. Recently, a new emphasis has been placed on returning to traditional values that once were, and made society the more ordered and civilized milieu that it once was.

(Excerpted and modified from an article written by Dorothea Johnson, Protocol School of Washington)

Keeping off the grass….. Over the last few years I have noted this same decline in polite behavior in Christendom and I have heard various ‘pitiful platitudes’ excusing this unacceptable behavior e.g. Oh that’s how we are in. …(Whatever the culprit nationality is….), Oh I am stressed…. Well she/he had it coming to him/her…. etc BUT THESE ARE NOT A LICENSE FOR UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR…. I am sure some us have started replaying certain scenes in our minds and are right now saying: mm hmm…mm hmm…. But before we start ‘mm hmming’ let’s pay attention not to the speck, but the moat…. Like is said by Christian preachers ….. “Some of y’all didn’t get that“ ….. I am saying if this article does not point you inward it, would have failed in it’s intent as there needs to be a new standard set and I am getting ready to call that standard ‘KINGDOM ETIQUETTE’ i.e. the standard MINIMUM of acceptable behavior in God’s Kingdom and amongst God’s people that will set us apart as being unique and of a different breed…. This is not something that has not been laid out and exemplified in the Bible; It has been repeatedly lived out by God’s people… His Royal Dukes and Duchesses, from Genesis to Revelation….. Stay with me as we go to the book of Romans 12: 9-11….

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; (NKJV)

Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. (The Message)

THIS is the standard set by God himself and knowing our God, He does not set us standards that we will be able to keep…. Except wait! …. By his Spirit …..so I admit freely to you that it’s not easy to walk this walk, BUT as we desire to ‘Keep off the grass’ God has promised that He will help us…


I found some humorous (at least to me) and deeply insightful scenarios of this in the bible as outlined below:

God; Being open and sincere: Gen 18:17 (He does practice double standards)

…. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do ?


Abraham; Being polite with God: Gen 18: 27,28

And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes:
Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.


Abraham; Knowing the boundaries of polite conversation: Gen 18: 32,33

And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I WILL SPEAK YET BUT THIS ONCE: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.
And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and ABRAHAM RETURNED UNTO HIS PLACE.


JESUS; Preferring his disciples and serving those whom He had Lordship over John 13:5

After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.


What awesome examples of ‘Kingdom Etiquette’! Let’s contrast this with one of our dear friends who might very well have been me….

Peter; Zealous violence: (e.g. The usher with a mission…. lol I’m truly sorry…. Not) John 18:10

Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus…. (Like I said that could be me… but I’m learning…)

… And we see how Jesus sets the standard beautifully: Luke 22:51

And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him.

Demonstrating what He came to do …. To serve and not be served, To be Lord but not to Lord over, To be spit on and speak not a word…. Pretty high standard huh.… but with God ALL things are possible…. As we go about our day and are tempted to walk across the lawn or cut someone’s ear off, Let’s remember to ask for grace and the help of the Spirit to..... KEEP OFF THE GRASS!


Shalom

Let's say 'Grace'....

Yesterday was Sunday and on Sunday I go to church..... :-)........Service was wonderful as it always is and during worship, we sang a song that spoke of the grace of God finding us just as we are..... My mind naturally drifted to the word 'grace' and what it means to me, and of course what I'd heard over the years - grace is the unmerited favor of God, the prayer said over our meals, the blanket that protects us from God's wrath, etc..... was what came to mind.... and just like the Holy Spirit always does he kind of gently prodded me into thinking about this word a bit more, and so I decided to research that word a little and came up with a few other definitions... Despite this prayer being probably one of the most said prayers (apart from The Lord's prayer) it has been said by myself and I daresay countless other people without actually letting the meaning register, sink in and impact our lives...I looked for definitions of grace and was pleasantly surprised by the other definitions I found.... I then expanded this little prayer that we so often say sometimes by rote, sometimes absentmindedly, sometimes religiously and sometimes as the benediction in a church service.... by inserting these definitions and this is what I came up with...

“May the freely given favor or good-will, effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, and proportion, the divine assistance and power given to man, of the Lord Jesus Christ, AND the love of God, AND the friendship; comradeship, and habitual companionship of the Holy Spirit be with you all”

This blessing not only speaks of a covering, but also the divine empowerment 'to be' and 'to do', freely given to us by God through the Lord Jesus Christ, but also of the constancy of that supply given by the Holy Spirit who lives in us, dwells in us and is our habitual companion …… always

Truly the Word says that the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwells in our souls and we are complete in him. So the next time you say ‘Grace’, remember that you are invoking the fullness of the Godhead’s covering, provision and power to bear in your life and your circumstance…. And with that in mind, let’s say ‘ The Grace’…

IN THE LAST DAYS......

Joel 2:28,29

"And afterward,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams;
Your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days”.


Joel the prophet spoke these words about the last days…. The days that many Christians believe we are living out RIGHT NOW, a day when the people of God who have declared their allegiance to the Lord and aligned themselves with Him in spirit and in truth will stand out as the chosen of the Lord…
I had always looked at these verses in the spiritual sense with the thought that the words referred solely to spiritual signs and wonders, but the Lord also caused me to see another dimension that I hope will bless and energize you to pursue LIFE like never before… It has oft been preached in the church that the wealth of the gentiles is laid up for the righteous and many of us are sadly and I dare say in futility hoping that these riches will ‘drop’ in our laps as long as we believe. This is however not borne out by scripture… I believe that the verses above may give a blueprint as to how this wealth transfer will occur, always remembering that this transfer is for the building of God’s (not man’s) kingdom, here on earth and anyone who is not ‘Kingdom’ oriented should not have any hope in partaking of this outpouring.

Let us examine some of the key words above and then look at the verses again in this light:

1. Spirit:
• The vital principle or animating force within living beings
• Incorporeal consciousness
• The Holy Spirit
• The part of a human associated with the mind, will, and feelings
• The essential nature of a person or group
• A person as characterized by a stated quality
• An inclination or tendency of a specified kind
• A causative, activating, or essential principle
• Strong loyalty or dedication
• The predominant mood of an occasion or a period
• The actual though unstated sense or significance of something
• To impart courage, animation, or determination to; inspirit

2. Prophesy:
• To reveal by divine inspiration
• To predict with certainty as if by divine inspiration
• To foretell - To tell of or indicate beforehand; predict
• To prefigure; foreshow
• To reveal the will or message of God
• To predict the future as if by divine inspiration


3. Dreams:
• A series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep
• Wild fancy or hope
• A condition or achievement that is longed for; an aspiration: a dream of ownership
• Idea that is exceptionally gratifying, excellent, or beautiful
• To have a deep aspiration
• To regard something as feasible or practical
• To conceive of; imagine.


4.Visions:
• The faculty of inner sight
• Something that is or has been seen
• Unusual competence in discernment or perception
• Intelligent foresight: a leader of vision.
• The manner in which one sees or conceives of something as yet unseen
• A mental image produced by the imagination
• The mystical experience of seeing as if with the eyes, the supernatural or a supernatural being
• To see in or as if in a vision; envision


So these verses could actually read thus…

"And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit: The Holy Spirit - The vital principle or animating force within living beings on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy: predict the future with certainty as if by divine inspiration, prefigure; foreshow events to come.

Your old men will dream dreams: Have a series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep, ideas that are exceptionally gratifying, excellent, or beautiful.

Your young men will see visions: Have the faculty of inner sight, unusual competence in discernment or perception, have mental images produced by the imagination to see or conceive something great”.


So in essence what I believe the Lord is saying is that not only will we see an outpouring of His spirit in the spiritual arena but also in the creative, financial, entrepreneurial, sociological, environmental, technological etc.. you name it arenas that will result in a catapulting of God’s people to unprecedented and lofty successes almost overnight…. (Joseph started his day as a prisoner and ended it in the palace as second-in-command only to Pharaoh with God-given dreams/revelations as his springboard to greatness) Not by power nor by might but by His Spirit, and only for the building of His great and mighty army and to bless His people – The spiritual Commonwealth of Israel amongst whom we are named…. We see this phenomenon at work in the lives of Jacob, Daniel, Hezekiah to name a few… who by reason of divinely imparted dreams, knowledge, insight, wisdom and entrepreneurial skills had meteoric rises to the top of governmental, financial and national responsibility and success in their times – THIS IS POSSIBLE IN OUR DISPENSATION ALSO…. Let us not limit ourselves… let’s dream big and let us allow God to inspire us to greatness and to fulfilling our God-given destinies

So now that we’ve stated the goal, in the weeks to come I’ll be trusting God to help me share what he has taught me about the ‘how’ of this process, but remember begin to ‘dream’ big and ask God by His Spirit to help you ‘see’, and also begin to declare boldly that which he has placed in your heart because we are of the stock of Him who declares those things which be not as though they were and THEY ARE…


FEAR NOT…DREAM BIG, SEE DEEP, DECLARE BOLDLY AND IT SHALL BE SO…..

Words To Live By.....

When you love who you are and are passionate about what you do, you will not need a daily alarm clock to propel you to start your day…. Your passion will awaken you, Your passion will move you, Your passion will motivate you, Your passion will drive you, Your passion will propel you, Your passion will define you, fulfill you, strengthen, establish, satisfy and settle you……You never get weary…. A fire always burns within.

Discover your passion and live it ….. it’s what you were born to do and epitomizes the essence of you…..

Words to live by....

The thoughts of the heart like a maze, are understood by none but the originator, and the blueprints accessible to none other except to the one whom the rights are released to..... To attempt to navigate them or force a way through, would be an exercise in utter futility, until the that heart finds a place of comfort to rest, breathe and release.........

Words to live by....

'Always let at least one night pass over a hurt or major issue ..... It might not seem so bad after all in the light of a new day, and you would have refocused on destiny, by turning within.....'

 Mettabel

If you are a christian, you are a minister... I thought this was interesting.....

If you are a Christian, you are a minister
by Rick Warren

It is God himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus; and long ages ago he planned that we should spend these lives in helping others. Ephesians 2:10 (LB)
"You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants you to give something back."

God calls you to a service far beyond anything you could ever imagine. You were put on earth to make a contribution.

You weren't created just to consume resources—to eat, breathe, and take up space. God designed you to make a difference with your life. You were created to add to life on earth, not just take from it. God wants you to give something back.

The Bible says, "God . . . has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10 TEV) These "good deeds" are your service to the world. Whenever you serve others in any way, you are actually serving God. (Colossians 3:23-24; Matthew 25:34-45; Ephesians 6:7)

What God told Jeremiah is also true for you: "Before I made you in your mother's womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work." (Jeremiah 1:5 NCV)

When most people think of this "special work," they think of pastors, priests, and professional clergy, but God says every member of his family is to minister. In the Bible, the words servant and minister are synonyms, as are service and ministry. If you are a Christian, you are a minister, and when you're serving, you're ministering.

Have you ever wondered why God doesn't just immediately take us to heaven the moment we accept his grace? Why does he leave us in a fallen world? He leaves us here to fulfill his purposes. Once you are saved, God intends to use you for his goals. God has a ministry for you in his church and a mission for you in the world.

Is there anything holding you back from accepting God's call to serve him?



Pastor Rick Warren, Saddleback Church

Thank you.

I would like to say a big thank you to all the members of BethElRuach for taking the time to join, participate and invite others to join the group(which I know that every member has done whether I see it or know about it or not).

BethElRuach is truly of God; As I know that with looking forward to it being a year since this group was formed, I know that everything (though little) that has been accomplished, and what everyone has been able to contribute, that it could not have been anything but....

I am actually amazed when I look at the the varied locations of the members from The UK, to Africa to Australia and I just thank God that even though I do not know everyone personally, we are still bonded together in the unity of the Spirit...

I appreciate those of us that have gotten people on board, and would ask that we all continue to spread the word and encourage your friends, family and acquaintances, anybody, to join BethElRuach both on and outside of FB, as it cannot become what it's meant to be, and grow into the fullness of itself without you and I, and all the members to be....

I pray that everyone will continue to look for ways to be more involved... and wish y'all would just lose the shyness or somethin' and just jump right in partcipatin'..... I am still waiting......

As we approach Mother's day....I honor and appreciate all mothers... and Thank God for His ability that He has given us to be able to reproduce after our likeness.... we are all truly miracles of His Glory...

Thank you all once again, and hope to bump into you at BethElRuach....



Mettabel.

What is your real name ?

Still speaking of names, quite an illuminating response I got there with my last note...BUT like one of the commentators said, it's not the changing or not changing, or adding or not adding of names that's the point...It is who the Word reveals us to be by His Word.


When He calls us, we change….. Mark my words however; whatever the Lord calls you will not go unchallenged. It may actually become one of the greatest 'thorns' in our flesh that will cause us to cry out to God continually, and depend on Him more than we would have……. but when we hold fast to what He has told us, it is certain that we WILL live out and live up to the name He has called us by…


Take my name Mettabel for instance - It is the only Hebrew female name that means - 'Favored of God'.... It was not a name I was christened by at the time of my birth, but now I consider it the name that embodies all that is my destiny, and encompasses all that I have been blessed with….. The Lord christened me with this name by speaking these words to my heart...."call yourself favored for 'I' have called you favored" and that's exactly what I did.... I called myself Mettabel.


Now one would think that with this name in my armamentarium it would be smooth sailing all around and favor everywhere I go….. Yes it has been that way sometimes in almost hair-raisingly phenomenal proportions.... BUT... I also have never been challenged as much in this area by life events as I have over to the past few months…. It has almost been enough to make me wonder if I had heard the ‘little people’ in my head rather than God speaking to me...but ALWAYS just before I go over the edge He speaks that name again to me and whispers it in my ear, speaks it to me through the many beautiful and gracious people around me, or roars it out by causing something absolutely gasp-worthy to happen to me….. or He quickens His Word in my heart so that I am the one slinging the pebbles… and down he goes…. How many of us are identifying here? ...... He IS good….

The first time God ever opened my eyes to this truth of Him calling us a name or names according our destiny and purpose by His Spirit waaayyyyy before it manifests, I just went into ‘paroxysms of elation’ or as they would have called it in Victorian times …. ‘The flutters’….. oooooohhhhh….


It was where Jesus asked his disciples who men thought He was …. They all had varied answers (If you want the details, you know where to go ☺)….. Then He asked them in particular…. This time only Peter answered and said, “ You are the Christ, Son of the living God”. Jesus then answered “ Simon Bar Jonah, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father which is in heaven”……


All my Christian life this is where I would stop, the train of speech and then I would jump to the carriage of “And upon this rock ….” etc….. BUT at this point, Jesus made a statement pivotal to his destiny, to Peter …. He said - “And I say ALSO unto you that you are PETER”….. Simon Bar Jonah’s REAL IDENTITY was PETER! …. Not the impulsive boaster, or whatever PEOPLE called him, but Peter - solid, dependable, unmovable….


We see that by the self-same Spirit of Revelation that Peter called Jesus by His ‘real’ name, Jesus too called Simon by his ‘real’ name….. Then He said upon this ROCK not the stone - Peter, but the on Rock solid platform of DIVINE REVELATION He the Lord would build His Church, and the gates of hell would not prevail against it ……

From then on I note that the Lord NEVER did call Simon Peter again……


We cannot receive from Him the revelation of who we are, until His spirit reveals Him, that is Jesus to us, THEN our eyes are opened to see ourselves as we really are…. But it is He who opens our eyes……


Ephesians 1:18… Note Paul’s prayer:

The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints….


Stay with me a bit there’s more…. Now Jesus knew who he was and knew His purpose and was so fully persuaded of it that when a little while later, when the devil attempted to use Peter to derail Jesus from His destiny by trying to inveigle the idea that someone else might die in his place….. He would have none of it, because the name he was attempting to call Jesus – ‘ Unsavior’ was diametrically opposed to who he really was !!! and what His destiny dictated that He must do…. Hence the almost violent “Get thee behind me Satan!!” Noting that He did not say get the behind me Peter… HHe was not calling Peter the devil, but he was dealing with the SOURCE…..


Much in the same way, when the devil starts using circumstances, people or just ‘stuff’ to ‘un-seat’ or ‘un-name’ us, (like I was alluding to earlier with regards to my name), we don’t attack the people or the circumstances, we attack the real enemy…. And when we tell him where to get off, WITH AUTHORITY, FULL KNOWLEDGE OF WHO WE ARE AND WHO IS BACKING US, he has no choice but to GO TO HELL (pardon the pun)…..


So let’s begin to see some name-calling – good, bad and ugly.... the latter two, for the ones who deserve it...... Let us pray that the eyes of our understanding be enlightened….. That we may see Him and in Him see who we really are


…… And JUST WHO IS HE???



WHY HE IS THE LIVING WORD OF GOD!!!……. In HIM we have life….. Let there be light…. And there was ……AND THAT'S THE DIVINE NAME REGISTRY..... that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints….


What is your real name? ……

What is in a name????

DESTINY, PURPOSE, PROSPERITY.... elements and a state to which we all want, but few of us have satisfied ourselves that we have gotten to... This state though we all struggle daily to get 'there', cannot truly be attained to, I'm discovering, until we come to the end of 'ourselves', or be made to 'lean' - like Jacob did, after struggling with God... when we come to a place where we give up and surrender, crying out to God that we will not let Him go until he blesses us.
Much like Jacob (whose hip had been put out by the angel at that time) we must realize that we cannot 'prevail' in our own 'natural' strength - for Jacob could not have the physical agility that he once had with a dislocated hip could he ?  AT THIS POINT Jacob was changed physically and brought to a place where he either had to lean on the new name that God had given him and what God now called him, or spend the rest of his days limping through life trying to 'make it' using his old supplanting tricks... He had gotten to the bottom of his 'trick hat'.
THIS is the place we must come to so that God can change us and call us by a new name...forever setting the seal on His promises concerning us. AT THIS POINT something must be taken away by God but this is not to disable us, but to serve as 'break point' so that we always have a reminder that WE CANNOT GO BACK.... Jacob limped for the rest of his life, but till this day HE LEGACY is unbroken.... The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob ...

This is not peculiar to Jacob alone, and even in our world today, people are still given names that give meaning to circumstances surrounding their births or hope for their future.

Let's take a look at some of the name changes in the scriptures, we will note that when these name changes occurred, flawed men and women, who held on to God after they had 'come to the end of themselves', rose up to the status of the destinies they were called unto, and their lives were forever changed.....To name a few,

ABRAM (Exalted father - a self aggrandizing title) TO ABRAHAM (Father of many nations -The 'h' - 'I am' i.e. "Yhwh" element was added)

SARAI (Woman of power - self sufficiency) TO SARAH (Princess - from 'I' to 'ah' which depicts breath of God - the 'Ruach' or the "Yhwh" element added - God sufficiency) Interestingly this name occurred after Sarai had given her maid Hagar to Abraham to bear a child with disastrous consequences - Her own attempt at 'playing God'

JACOB (supplanter, cheat) TO ISRAEL (Prince)

SIMON (to hear, to be heard; reputation depicting a boaster, impulsive) TO PETER (Rock, Solid, dependable)

SAUL (One that was prayed for - mortal savior) TO PAUL (the little one - through whom God did great things). Little wonder that Paul wrote that God has chosen the foolish things of this world, to confound the wisdom of the wise.

LO AMMI or LO RUHAMAH (Not my loved one) TO AMMI or RUHAMAH (You are my people) - note the Lo: meaning without the ‘H’, which depicts the breath of God, the 'Yhwh' element...

Sometimes the world will try to change the name that God has given us, or even rename us - usually in a demeaning way, but also sometimes in a self-inflating way.... we must not be sucked into these 'ego building' or 'soul bashing' labels, no matter how benign they sound because these are underhanded attempts to deceive us into conforming to a 'self-promoting' or 'self-pitying' agenda designed to abort our destinies, but let us, like DANIEL (God is my Judge) who was called BELTESHAZZAR ("Bel's prince"), by the Babylonian eunuchs, Bel being one their heathen Gods and JOSEPH (May Jehovah add or increase) whose name was changed by Pharaoh to ZAPHNATH-PAANEAH (Revealer of secrets or Savior of the land), refuse to be called by any other name than that which HE has called us...

The thought may come to mind... 'So how will I get to know this name that he has called me by?' let me assure you He WILL speak to your heart if you quieten yourself and LISTEN to the voice within and even if there is a dearth of God's Word in the land as it was in the time of Samuel, He WILL continue to call you, no matter how many times it takes (with Samuel it was the third time) until you are able to say 'Speak Lord for thy servant heareth' and He WILL speak and you will hear... Shhhhh.......


...And upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it....

Words to live by.... Right Thinking.....

Take this approach your life, so that you may live
the life you were meant to:

Forget the past...He is doing a new thing today...
Don't obscure your view with yesterday's 'stuff'

Take no thought for tomorrow......
What you shall eat, or wear...
The great chef and designer 'extraordinaire'
Is cooking up something fabulous for you...
Prepare to be shocked out of your socks......


Rejoice in your today!!!! ......Be glad in it.....
Embrace all the good things coming your way.....,
Open up your mouth and He will fill it.....with words, food,
Something to chew on (for pleasure of course)
Gird up the loins of your mind and
Get ready for groundbreaking, income generating,
and life impacting ideas.........
See your life as a blessing to be enjoyed
and not a curse to be endured.....
See ! Things are changing already....
Have a fabulous, God destined TODAY.....


Based on excerpts from a sermon by Mac Hammond,
Pastor, LWCC ..... check it out...

http://www.lwcc.org/MEDIA/onDemandPlayer.cfm?lwlID=581

We are adopted....

Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another who is not kin and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents......This is the standard for earthly adoption.....All this and more is what we get as God's children..... He has assured us that when we come to Him we are adopted by Him and become heirs in the Household of Faith.......Soooo.....No more cowering, no more condemnation,no more fear, no more caution, no more insecurity.....We BELONG.....


For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

All those led by God's Spirit are God's sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, " Abba, Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God's children,

Porque todos los que son guiados por el Espíritu de Dios son hijos de Dios. Y ustedes no recibieron un espíritu que de nuevo los esclavice al miedo, sino el Espíritu que los adopta como hijos y les permite clamar: «¡*Abba! ¡Padre!» El Espíritu mismo le asegura a nuestro espíritu que somos hijos de Dios.

Alle, die sich vom Geist Gottes regieren lassen, sind Kinder Gottes. 15 [b]Denn der Geist Gottes, den ihr empfangen habt, führt euch nicht in eine neue Sklaverei, in der ihr wieder Angst haben müsstet. Er macht euch vielmehr zu Gottes Kindern. Jetzt können wir zu Gott kommen und zu ihm sagen: »Vater, lieber Vater!« 16 [c]Gottes Geist selbst gibt uns die innere Gewissheit, dass wir Gottes Kinder sind.

Car ceux qui sont conduits par l'Esprit de Dieu sont fils de Dieu.
En effet, vous n'avez pas reçu un Esprit qui fait de vous des esclaves et vous ramène à la crainte: non, vous avez reçu l'Esprit qui fait de vous des fils adoptifs[a] de Dieu. Car c'est par cet Esprit que nous crions: Abba[b], c'est-à-dire Père!
L'Esprit Saint lui-même et notre esprit nous témoignent ensemble[c] que nous sommes enfants de Dieu.

Poiché tutti quelli che sono condotti dallo Spirito di Dio sono figli di Dio.
Voi infatti non avete ricevuto uno spirito di schiavitú per cadere nuovamente nella paura, ma avete ricevuto lo Spirito di adozione per il quale gridiamo: «Abba, Padre»
Lo Spirito stesso rende testimonianza al nostro spirito che noi siamo figli di Dio.


Kwa maana wote wanaoongozwa na Roho wa Mungu ni wana wa Mungu. Hamkupewa Roho anayewafanya kuwa tena watumwa wa hofu. Lakini mmepokea Roho anayewafanya kuwa wana. Na kwa Roho huyo tunaweza kumwita Mungu, ``Abba! Baba!'' Ni Roho mwenyewe anayeshuhudia pamoja na roho zetu kwamba sisi ni wana wa Mungu.


Want allen die door de Geest van God geleid worden, zijn zonen van God.
Wij hoeven dus geen slaven van de angst meer te zijn. Nee, God heeft ons een andere geest gegeven. Wij zijn door Hem aangenomen als zonen. En doordat Zijn Geest in ons woont, roepen wij: "Abba! Vader!"
Want in ons diepste wezen overtuigt Gods Geest ons ervan dat wij kinderen van God zijn.


Unlike guardianship or other systems designed for the care of the young, adoption is intended to effect a PERMANENT CHANGE IN STATUS..... and we are are changed when we call God Abba.........However you say it, whenever you say it know that by His grace He has opened to us all that He is and all that He has and has changed our status from stranger and illegal aliens to sons and daughters and Citizens of the Commonwealth of Israel.....


Love in any language, straight from the heart
Pulls us all together
And never apart
And once we learn to speak it
All the world will hear
Love in any language
Fluently spoken here


Say it aloud !..... I'M ADOPTED AND PROUD OF IT .....

Anybody second the motion?

Words To Live by...

We are who He says we are, whether we are or not, is a matter of where, in the continuum of time and morphogenesis, but remains unchanged even if as yet undiscovered......We are who we are.....

David, David..... A man like David.

David, David, David...... A great man, a flawed man, a shepherd, a king, a lover, a father, a priest, a warrior, a repentant man, a dynasty, a sinner, a murderer, a liar, an adulterer, a musician, a poet, a friend, a leader, a visionary, a worshipper, an unashamed chaser after God, a mentor, a brother ..... yes, yes and yes he was all these things and more.... Many have thought and said: How can God love such a man so ?.... a man so imperfect, with so many shortcomings.... yet this man, THIS MAN, God has loved and has chosen to establish his throne forever...... what qualifies him so to be so special? You see, yes he sinned.... and was a sinner, he messed up royally (pardon the pun) ...... but this man David as many as his sins were..... when he did repent...... did so with sorrow.... Godly sorrow... He then never looked back and always turned back to God and embraced him boldly and fully and without shame JUST AS IF HE'D NEVER SINNED ! .... What awesome trust in God's forgiving grace and unending love .... how can a father not love such a son who implicitly trusts in his sonship and who honors his father thus..... that he NEVER committed the same sin twice.... NEVER..... and he NEVER looked back.... NEVER.... and once forgiven, he NEVER cowered never hid himself from God..... NEVER...... but rather laid himself bare, and trusted Him who had said..... to do what He said.... What have you done? sinned, lied, stolen, cheated, hurt, abused?.... call God Father, repent, and receive his love, THEN.... don't look back, hold your head up high, NEVER let anyone or anything, convince you that you are anything less than loved... absolutely, totally, crazily, as only God can....... You see I've been there and done that too ...... but no more.... no more.... I am the redeemed, the beloved, the covered, the forgiven, and so are you..... YES YOU ! so join with me today to celebrate Papa's love.... old things have passed away and behold all things have become new...... I am my beloved's and He is mine... His banner over me is love.

Mettabel

What Time Is It ?

It's 'now' o'clock.... Yes 'NOW' o'clock.... The time is coming and 'NOW' is when the true worshippers of God......

God is right NOW calling His people.... What is the call? It is a call to arms and the call of DESTINY. He is calling and assembling his people, His mighty 'end-time' army.... It is 'NOW' o'clock.....

This is not JUST about the next 'church building project', or the next next 'anniversary celebration', or the next choir cantata....It is about the MANIFESTATION OF THE SONS OF GOD, IN SIGNS AND WONDERS....

This generation will not believe unless they see a sign.....
It is 'NOW' o'clock' - Time to demonstrate and establish Kingdom Authority here on earth .... to prepare the way of the Lord, who is coming back for a church that is spotless and without blemish, not justified through works, but cleansed and accepted in the beloved by the Blood of The Lamb who was slain, and empowered to be dynamic witnesses by the Spirit of the Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.

It is time for us to turn fully back to the basics, to return to our first love, back to the lover of our souls....

It is time to sit at the master's feet.... to have 'hearing' ears and 'seeing' eyes so that we may see as He sees and that we may do, as we hear....

It is NOW time to heal the sick, raise the dead (spiritual and physical), to bind up the broken hearted, to declare the acceptable year of The Lord...

Freely have we received... Lord grant NOW thy servants boldness....

IT IS 'NOW' o'clock, The time is NOW......

THE EXPERIENCE

A girl failed her test today - My instructor told after giving me the same excuse of how and why he was late which was becoming rather usual nowadays. How? I asked sitting in the driver's seat and preparing to move off. What happened? Well, she was told to perform a reverse turn around the corner and she hit the curb…twice. If you hit it once you might be pardoned but twice is unforgivable. I became nervous. I had been driving for almost fifteen years and one and the half years in the UK particularly but that was not self convincing enough. Do you think I'm ready? I asked. Yeah…you'll do fine. We just need to practice your manoeuvres more. Your parallel parking is your trump card so we don’t need to really practice it but we could practice a turn in the road and around the corner if its ok with you. "Perfect." I replied. Ok, good. Move when you are ready…

It's Olamide right? he asked. Yes sir I replied….. This does not usually take more than 30 mins he beamed - This was my driving test instructor speaking with me on the bright morning of my test. He was a chubby man with a wide friendly grin on his face. Chei!, so this is the man that would determine my fate this morning. So what would you like me to call you? "Ola". I replied. This was much easier for the Scottish man to pronounce as it sounded like hello in Spanish (Hola). "I would like my instructor to be in the car during the test…he's my trump card." I said trying to act enthused. "No problem", he replied. "Can we go to the car?". We all walked to the car. The instructor stood in front of the car and asked me rather unexpectedly, "Can you tell me what you need to check on the tyres of a car before you move off?". This was an easy one. "You make sure there are no tears or bumps on its side and also make sure that the thread depth is no less than 1.6 in the central ¾ of the tyre." I said in a rather gregarious manner hoping he would not ask me, "1.6 what?", because I truly had no idea!. He nodded his head and signalled I enter the driver side. "I don’t bite", he said probably noticing how tremulous I was. I tried to smile and adjusted the seat to fit me… as if it was my first time in the car, even though I had driven the car to the center earlier. "Move off when you are ready", he said. I silently hoped this was the last time I was going to hear that command…

The drive was going rather smoothly, or at least I had hoped. He seemed to tick his paper a couple of times but I wasn’t sure if it was a score or minus. I just kept driving. "Stop a few car lengths behind that car", he instructed. I did as I was told. "We are now going to perform the parallel parking manoeuvre". It was a bittersweet moment. It was my practice driving strength, but I had messed up a bit when I had practiced it that same morning. I started moving, I did the first step…success. I did the second step…chei! I hit the curb. My heart skipped four beats. I moved forward and attempted it again. I hit the curb the second time. I was demoralized. I never imagined this could happen to me – with all my “oft touted” experience. At the third attempt, I managed not to hit the curb but I was sure I had failed the test. He ticked his paper and told me to move off when I was ready. I did but in a nonchalant manner. He noticed this and started asking me about my work. I babbled a few words. He then informed me we were to perform another manoeuvre. I might still have hope, I thought. I managed to do without any glitches. "Take the next left" he said. I did and noticed he was leading me back to the test center. We had been driving for over 40 minutes and I was getting tired. I automatically assumed I knew the way he wanted me to go. "We are going to remain on this dual carriage way for a while after which we would exit in just over half a mile he said. Now, I had a major problem, measurements are not exactly my strongest attributes as you might have noticed earlier and I had no idea how far a yard was not to talk of a mile. I saw broken lines on the road shortly which might also have indicated an exit and went for it. It was too late. I noticed it was a slip lane and quickly swerved back onto the dual carriageway. He glanced at my instructor who had been sitting quietly in the back, and then the side mirrors. When we got to the center, he said don’t bother about parking curbside, just stop the car …. I was visibly shaken. Would you like me to tell you the outcome of your test with your instructor present or would you like him to excuse us? Of course, al already knew the outcome, I thought. ‘Nah, its ok’. I replied. ‘Well, on this occasion sir, you have failed to pass your test’. Really ??!!! No!! He then went a step further and asked why do you think you failed the test? Well, I hit the curb oh that ?!, he interrupted. I didn’t fail you for that. I just gave you a minor fault. I was stunned!! I couldn’t think of any other time he could have failed me. So where did I fail? I asked. When you went into the slip lane, he replied. I was further amazed. You mean I had passed the test till just about five minutes ago? Yep, he said. In fact, you had just five minor faults. I needed fifteen to fail the test. I wanted to cry. I needed to cry…. I was deeply hurt. I thought of all the money and time I had spent on lessons and it all went down the drain all because I had given up too early thinking I had already failed…. Well, I guess your instructor will explain the rest to you.
He was rather nice to you, my instructor said. I knew… I didn’t need to be told that but didn’t realize to what extent …... I would soon find out… "Do you know there was a time he said turn left. You indicated for a right turn , moved into the right lane and went right …. Oh, that’s why he told me to keep going …. I wondered why he did that. He also told you to turn left. You indicated left, looked left and turned right!!!! I was amazed. Did I do that? (Urkel imitation) I said. Yep! He replied. I have seen you drive better, what happened? I don’t know I said. I know, he replies. I looked at him. You were not listening to your examiner he said. was, I replied defiantly. No you weren't, you could hear him but you were not listening…


THE REVELATION

Now, when anything goes wrong with me, even if it is my fault, I always try to console myself that God wanted my attention. That he was speaking with me…to me through the process or experience. Something kept prompting me to give thanks to God for the experience even though I failed the test, which I did, but I just could fathom why he wont just let me pass it. After all, He was God and He was my God and He could make anything possible. It was in His power. If you are a discerning reader, you would have picked out all the messages God sent to me through that simple test but I don’t blame you if you don’t because it took me, that it happened to, almost 3 weeks to finally get the message or revelation…in a shower!

The words…"you could hear him but you were not listening" kept replaying in my mind and the whole process played out in my mind and BAM! The jigsaw puzzle fitted! Everything fell into place. The previous girl was someone that had tried to live the “Christian” way and had failed at it. My instructor was Holy Spirit and the test instructor was God. The car represented life or the process of going through life and the mistakes made were sins.
The whole play out made me appreciate God more cause it taught me a lot of lessons. First of all, if God says go left and you turn right because you think you heard to turn to turn right or more realistically, you assume He wanted you to turn right, he still leads you on till He gets you back on the right track. Secondly, if you do not listen to God well enough, a lesson that should take 30 minutes might take 50 minutes gulp…Replace that with years…. it took my mind back to the Israelites who kept wandering in the desert forty years for a forty day journey… Thirdly, what we focus on as our greatest weaknesses might be considered ‘minor faults’, as long as we truly are sorry for them, keep listening and not give up just 5 minutes away from the “Promised Land” And finally, even though we fail Him, He sometimes always gives us a second, a third, a fourth chance ….. till you ‘get’ it

These lessons were far more precious than not getting a UK driver’s license at this time and believe me… the next time, I WILL listen…..


Olamide

Mobile blogs are the way to go .... no pun intended :-)

Words to live by...

The Great Chess master is moving His chessmen, be where you need to be, so that you can be moved to where you need to be.....

Back down memory lane...

Those of us who used to watch musical videos waaaay back may remember this song - and may actually remember the vocalist singing the song bemoaningly with tears streaming down her face - "Back down memory lane"........ but that not what this story is about (no Dear Abby here) - it's about walking down a road so old old that it has become unfamiliar, and it's about becoming so intelligent that you almost verge on being stupid.... This is a true account.... and I lie not. It actually came back to me whilst conversing with a dear friend.... enough perambulating...here goes.... A few years ago I bought my first SUV - The Volkswagen Touareg .....and I tell you this vehicle was so chock full of gadgets that the interior looked like the inside of a cockpit and I loved it! This car was so "techie-maxed" that the glove box was designed to also function as a refrigerator (for those who would use it as one - tongue-in-cheek).... Wellllll one day I walked out of the office at the end of my day anticipating the drive home in my 'dream car' and behold my door would not open, no matter how many times I pressed on the remote door lock! What ! how dare it ! I finally figured it out that I had probably left the headlights on all day and the battery was flat... I was in a quandary.... I frantically called the support line and told my story to the tech support guy and said at the end of my monologue.... ' and so I am stuck out here and I can't even get into my car to see if I can get a jump start'..... and the guy calmly said to me.... well ma'am have you tried using the key to open the door? Wha..... I just burst out laughing and the guy and I laughed so hard that I almost had tears streaming down my face... you see my key had to be flipped out using a spring release system and since I didn't really need it out most of the time I had forgotten that it actually existed at that time AND that it actually had a function to serve.....so in all my intelligence I was caught staring at the door lock, it not even crossing my mind that I could have used MY KEY TO OPEN THE DOOR.....so I finally used the key to open the door and THEN started looking for where the battery, and the battery terminals were, so I could get a jump-start.... and we looked and looked, and looked, and looked..... but hey that's another story for another time.... we did finally get the car jump started and I finally got to drive my car home now having a new respect for "THE KEY" and filing this episode away under the 'lessons learnt' tab, I thought all the way home, about other situations that I had been in ...... and found a common thread to string them all together to make a piece of jewelry to beautify my soul ....... when things don't work in the 'usual' way it may be a nudge to let one know that one probably needs to go back to the basics, to make the simplest and for that situation, perhaps the most intelligent decision that will bring about resolution...... I had been staring at the darned lock the whole time I was locked out of the car, and all I needed was the key turning in the lock to open the door ..... go figure!!!!!

Well y'all have a nice day and take the time to tell your key how much you appreciate it, and for those who have remote door locks please TRYYYYY to use your keys to open the car door and for those who have the functionality of keyless engine start.... use your key (gasp !) to start the car today... if only to remind yourself how to ....... ha ha ha .......love y'all... Ciao!

Words To Live By.....

The mark of one who will apprehend destiny is one who will allow God to interrupt the routine of life, and be willing to press on, following God whenever, wherever.... and doing whatever He asks, however He wants it done...... selah

Are you 'WUI' (pronounced OUI) fit ?

As we all know the economy, the economy, the economy, has been the phrase on every one's lips especially so over the the past year or so and especially here in The U S of A, the proclamations of 'doom and gloom' have sometimes reached frenzied proportions and have been borne out by real life personal and corporate disasters - job losses, home foreclosures, bankruptcies you name it !

Many of God's children have been hit really hard during these times..... and if you think that nobody you know has been affected, think again because as my father would often say to me when I was a little girl - Just because something looks good on the outside does not mean that all is well - A gentleman's 'agbada' ( Djellaba, Flowing African robe) may appear rich, opulent and even kingly, and the gentleman may dance and walk like he has not a care in the world, but his kingly robes may be hiding a groin hernia so big you would wonder how he could carry all that weight around.... yes - you never know until you know..... So how do we deal with these 'new times' we have never before experienced ? and how do we help others do the same ?

I was reading an oldish edition of time magazine showcasing the design 'greats' of 2008 (which is why I would have been reading Time magazine anyway!) - some of you may have read this issue: It was filled with unique, some may even say frivolous pieces of frippery, that had sold at unheard of prices (at least to me....), AND some people had clamored, fought, bid and achieved acquisition of these 'one-of-a- kind' objects, sometimes just to satisfy a whim !


While I was reading this article with the 'mind boggling' money numbers in amazement, the Holy Spirit nudged asking me what I thought made these people eligible to appear on the pages I just perused, and made their products so desirable ? - Their talent certainly I said, but talent is a dime a dozen He said. What else ? and while I still thinking on His question..... The Holy Spirit whispered in my ear these words - Wisdom, Understanding and Insight - and said to me that these above all (pertaining to their trade) had elevated these people to places of distinction. He said to me that talent was but a small part and that Wisdom,Understanding, and Insight have the ability to multiply many times over, the measure of a talent - No wonder all Solomon asked for was wisdom, and also no wonder The servant's master was so angry with the servant that hid his talent....selah.

Wisdom, Understanding and Insight - WUI (oui, kinda like Wii -the acronym I gave it).... Yes we all need to not only to be physically - Wii -fit, we also need to be WUI-fit to survive these times that we are in... We need wisdom to know where to go, when to go, we need understanding what is needed for the now moment, not only for ourselves and our families, but the families in 'The Kingdom' ie The Kingdom of God, and we need insight to make those perceived needs a reality so that we can and will not only be able to weather and emerge victorious during these times, but that (linking it to the allegory above) we would also be able to discern and address the needs around us that could never have been discerned, but by divinely imparted insight.


So brothers and sisters let's make it our prayer this week and beyond, that the Holy Spirit would help us to be 'WUI-fit' through our study of The Word, our worship, exercising ourselves to hear what the Spirit is saying for the NOW, whether it be "Join this chariot" or "Go to the potter's house", and obedience to whatever instruction we hear.... Then and only then can we attain the dreams that we have dreamt, the hopes that we have nurtured and the heights that we have aspired to........ As the book of Proverbs rightly states:

Proverbs 4:7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.

For......Proverbs 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.



Y'all have a great week and remember - Let's get WUI-fit !!! We ARE more than conquerors !

Celebrate YOU !

I posted this piece about a year ago originally, and came across it today as I was going through my writings, and felt compelled to share it again.

The other day I wrote about us celebrating our families ... today I would like us to celebrate our own selves...... so after reading this piece, please take the time to write something that YOU celebrate in YOURSELF and we all will celebrate ourselves together.....

Quotes:
We all become the composite of the places we’ve been and the people we’ve met. Wherever you grow up, will always remain with you. You can go somewhere else but you never really leave that place, it goes with you, the good and the bad…..
Bill Withers.

All we can do, the best we can achieve is to not let these moments and people define who we are, or who we will become, but to let them enrich the texture and the hues of the tapestry of our lives, building character and beauty - the hallmarks of growth and maturity …..
Mettabel.

Wherever you go, you always take yourself with you…….
Bill Withers.

Learn to treasure and appreciate that person……. your life will be the best for doing so...
Mettabel.

How may I serve you?

Good morning Lord
What would you have me do for you today?
What will bring you pleasure?
Is it a song of praise
Or just to sit at your feet
My heart, my ears open, ready for your word
Lord, How may I serve you?

Good morning Lord
What would you have me say today?
To that faithful child who's waiting on you
A word of hope, a helping hand ?
A meal for the hungry, a drink to quench thirst ?
Hands laid to heal the sick? I ask again
Lord, How may I serve you?

Good morning Lord
I'm really tired today
Don't feel much like praying, or singing a song
Pressed on every side
Oh how I feel the burden of life

But then I hear a whisper in my ear,
'Oh child how I love you!'
Your voice in my heart
Bringing to remembrance how much you care
And how you sacrificed
To give life to this soul
That now cannot help but cry:
Good morning Lord!
How may I serve you today?

Mettabel

For B and J with love...

Hi Sis P This is B…. Just calling to let you know that we’ll be passing thorough Minneapolis and we would like to stop and visit with you on our way to Chicago…. This was the message I retrieved from my voicemail sometime close to the end of summer ’09. Just your typical ‘passing through your neck of the woods message’ right? No… You see when I heard that message a myriad spectrum of emotions ran a gamut through my mind, and I will be totally honest here… Fear (yeah – pathetic isn’t it?), anxiety, anticipation, gladness that my cousin would actually be visiting me and last but not least, curiosity…. How would this so called stopover unfold? Hmm…
I had not seen B in quite a while - approximately 8 yrs to be precise and what I remembered of her was that she was a typical bratty teenager whom I was related (quite closely) to but had not much else in common with, except that she was my ‘friend’ on FB…
Bbrring…… bring… I picked up the phone …… Sis P hiiiiiii….. Did you get my message…? We’ll be arriving on…. (Talking a mile a minute). Who is “we”? Oh it’s J he’s my boyfriend. Hmm I said… Why did you say hmm she said, is it because he’s not Nigerian? What does that have to do with the price of Fish in the market? I asked. Is he nice? … She giggles. …Yeah well then… By the way I like your hair I said after a few minutes of cousinly conversation… REALLY!!! She said, (she happens to be sporting some fiiiine locs) yeah really… (You see B remembered me as her “SU” cousin who would never have approved nor gasp…. Liked her hairstyle…) I am surprised she said but thank you…. After a while we ended the conversation and I got off the phone actually now beginning to look forward to her visit as I had a glimmer of hope from that conversation that we would at least be able to relate on some level.
On the day of their arrival, after numerous ‘we’re nearly there calls’, the bell rings and I go to the door and upon opening the door I saw a gorgeous couple both quite tall to my 5 feet you got it… almost zippo… THIS was my bratty cousin? Sis P she yelled OMG it’s been forever… This is J and the motor started – yada yada yada … from the start I had quite a lot to digest… This was not who or what I expected, I had expected to do my cousinly duty and chalk the weekend to “familingtropy” but after just a few minutes into the visit I realized that this visit would not go as I imagined. You see … upon setting sight on B I felt a certain warmth rise up within me…. This was my baby ‘aburo’ all grown up gracious, beautiful and Godly (the latter I had begun to realize during my phone conversation with her….
Now J where can I start? He totally impressed me and won me over immediately. (He got me at hello…) He was polite, charming ( not in a smarmy way) and very calm the kind of guy that you would want your sister to bring home….
Without taking too much of your time I’d like to say that B and J’s visit was a delight to me – despite our differences, we all got on like a house on fire…. I couldn’t look at them without feeling mushy inside…. Not because of the ‘romance’ that was obviously in the air but because during the time we all spent together during this visit – the laughing, listening to music, the ‘fooding’, the shopping (of course), the late night profound conversations (they are both Ivy- league scholars with deep minds -lol), them going on a 5 mile jog early in the morning (Pas moi s’il vous plait….quelle horreur !!!!), I was developing a bond with my B and J based not on the fact (obviously) that I was related but B, but on a new platform of seeing her as work of progress in The Fathers hands and a young lady with much to offer….. Living out this phase of her life with a Godly man at her side and looking forward to great things,…. with big dreams – I was happy..
Sunday morning arrived too soon – there stood a teary eyed me, after they had given me a HUGE sweatshirt from their alma mater and ANOTHER gift (I told you they were gracious) waving them off saying ‘why can’t you stay another night’ go figure! After numerous hugs and kisses and them saying ‘We’ll be back! –Bye Sis P then B and J were gone.....
I walked back into the house with mixed emotions – a sense of melancholy, poignancy, mixed in with a good dose of love and joy… We were family you see – both in the natural and in the spirit…. And despite our differences – ethnicity, age, sex, locs, ‘fros and specs WE WERE FAMILY! bonded by love… I can truly say that I was deeply enriched by their passing through my life, and grateful to God for allowing us to touch each other’s hearts…. AND I am still waiting for you both to fulfill your promise to come back….
And as Se-un – my cousin, is on his way back to Chicago, after spending Christmas with me (OMG! …) and Sola – my brother is IM-ing me and Deolu and Bukky are calling me and Olumae – my mom is texting me, and you know…. I got 5 sibs… I am reminded about how truly BLESSED I am to have FAMILY….
Let’s take the time to appreciate both our natural and spiritual families today….. WE ARE BLESSED!
So to B and J with much love…. And you know I mean it….

Mettabel