sOphroEsate - Be Clear Minded - Keep Your Mind Safe

Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 1 Peter 4:7

sOphroEsate is the word translated to be alert, scripture4all.org literal translation translates as - be ye sane!

Another translation explains the two words that make up sOphroEsate as 'to keep safe' and 'the mind' which we can interpret as keep safe the mind.nEpstate translated as of sober mind is translated as be ye sober! - on scripture4all.org literal translation from Greek

I found that the enemy likes to attack the mind and if our minds are distracted, it will make praying difficult. When you find things going awry around you, the goal of the enemy is not just to make things challenging for you but to keep your mind so preoccupied and distracted, that you are overwhelmed with worry so that you cannot pray. It's the relationship that he is really after...

Therefore let us guard our minds and be sober & vigilant so that we can pray.

"He who is too busy to pray will be too busy to live a holy life. Satan had rather we let the grass grow on the path to our prayer chamber than anything else." E.M.Bounds

"No man is greater than his prayer life" - Leonard RavenHill

"When a Christian shuns fellowship with other Christians, the devil smiles. When he stops studying the Bible, the devil laughs. When he stops praying, the devil shouts for joy." Corrie Ten Boom

"Satan is not really after your money or your success, he is after something far greater - your relationship with God! DISAPPOINT him!" Lara Allan Balogun

“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” Job 1:9-11

What are you fighting for?

People will often fight for a cause that they think is greater than them.

Christian, there is a cause bigger than you, its not only bigger than you, it is also about you.

It is time to come up higher, it's time for our prayer points to be bigger than our individual needs.

Jesus is asking you today, do you care about My bride?

This is a follow on to my last post. I ask you the question that Jesus would like to ask you today, what will your contribution be in this battle to get The Lord's bride ready for Him?

That getting ready is also individual and corporate.

Guys, it's time to clean up our act. It is time to be your brother's keeper - fight for a cause that is greater than you and a cause that includes you.

Have you come to Jesus to be a spectator or have you come to be counted?

God has hidden His treasure in us earthen vessels - in His children. Every Christian has a great treasure within them, every Christian is a superstar, none is a celebrity. We may have leaders but we do not have mega stars among us. Each of us is carrying something of tremendous value on the inside of us as long as the Holy Spirit is within us.

Jesus has sent me to ask you today, if you will fight for His bride, His church.

We do not fight as men fight for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty to the pulling down of strongholds. I pray that you will catch the fire of God and the rain of revival will fall on you. And that as people cross your path you will set them on fire for Jesus.

The good news in this battle is we already know the outcome - the war has been won but the battle will be fought, and each warrior will determine for themselves if they choose to be swept away in the battle or if they will stand with the winning side.

Arise, shine for your light has come and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the people, but the Lord arises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to the light and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

It is at the time of great darkness that the light shines brighter and brighter. The Bible says that the light shines out of the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.

Where can you start from you might ask, start from prayer and start from a place of repentance. Start making intercession for the body of Christ. Start interceding for yourself.

This is the call.

We meet on our prayer line at 8.30PM GMT on Thursdays. We have UK, US, Norway, Canada dial in numbers as well as other countries (Nigeria we do not have a dial in for at the moment). If you would like to join us as we make intercession for the body of Christ on Thursdays and as the Spirit of God leads us to pray The Father's will, send me a message with your email address, country and time zone; so that we can add your email to our invite list & include dial in details for your location. We would like to invite those of you that have decided to answer His call to say yes, I will stand up and be counted. I am going to place my needs on the shelf for a while and sow this time into the Lord's burden and as I behold Him - I will be transformed.

Some of you may feel led to get your own group of friends - believers together to start the same thing, I encourage you to do so. Some will feel led to gather together in a place to do the same thing - I encourage you to do so.

When you start to make intercession, you can start from praying in the Holy Spirit - in tongues if you don't know what particular point to start from and He will lead you as you should pray in English or your local dialect.

We also try to commit our meetings and our worship in advance to the Lord that we may do all of the Father's will. Whoever will be facilitating the line and worship, we come together in advance before we start to commit to God.

I pray that as you heed the call, the lesser things will no longer consume you and hold you ransom and that your love for each other - the body of Christ will cover a multitude of sins that we may dwell in unity and harmony as the Father intended & go on to fulfill the call of God as each one becomes a champion for the Father & Son's heart.

Thank you and God Bless.

For the friends of The Bridegroom...

Grandma asked me to go help my brother find a job. I said to my friend standing next to me 'not sure this woman knows that I have my own problems; with all of the issues on my plate now, she wants me to help him find a job?'

Nevertheless, I went looking for him...

I was surprised when I found him living in the servants quarters, I found him in a room that wasn't so nice, his physical condition was really bad, he was pencil skinny, he looked malnourished, his clothes were in tatters, he had on a pair of shorts and top, they looked like rags. He had someone with him, which I came to understand was his personal assistant. My brother, who looked like a famine and a tsunami had walked through his life, had a personal assistant. This personal assistant was robust, he had on a nice looking print shirt and a pair of trousers - he was well dressed - definitely very healthy looking. He spoke very flamboyantly, I guess you could say that he pontificated... He had a lot of confidence in himself, he boasted and put himself forward, it was kind of like - he beat on his chest saying 'I am PA, hear me roar!' Whilst I was still getting my head around why my brother who looked like he hadn't eaten in a year or changed his clothes in six or have two pennies to rub together had a PA?! I saw sadly that he seemed to have a lot of trust in this PA of his, had a lot of confidence in the PA's abilities and saddest was that he couldn't see himself. My brother couldn't see that he was wretched...

You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. Rev 3:17

I woke up and my first thought was - what's going on, is my brother Moby alright? But as I shared with In God's Company on the prayer line, I knew it couldn't be Moby- first Moby is not skinny - he would have a go at me for saying that, plus it didn't even look like him. And then it hit me (I have had a series of dreams about this person) I realised who it was and when I realised what God was asking - my next thought was fear! Fear, because I didn't think I was up to the task but you know what, I may not be, In God's Company members may not be but Christ is and it is He who lives and works in us to do according to all of His good pleasure.

If the revelation of God's plan produces fear then the revelation of God's power produces FAITH.

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves; 2 Corinthians 4:7

Jesus has a bride and her name is called the Church. He is The Bridegroom and He needs His friends to get her ready.

Luke 1:17 'And he will go before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous - TO MAKE READY A PEOPLE PREPARED FOR THE LORD.'

The above was written about John the Baptist, he was a true friend of The Bridegroom. My question to you today, if you are christian and reading this, what is your position? Are you a friend of The Bridegroom?

The friend of The Brigegroom is one who attends to the Bridegroom, he waits and listens for Him and is full of joy when he hears The Bridegroom's voice. He says my joy is complete when I hear The Bridegroom's voice. The friend says He must be greater, I MUST become less. John 3: 29-20

The friend has no agenda of His own at the wedding, the bride belongs to The bridegroom and his job is to prepare the way for The Bridegroom. Get things ready for His arrival, sets the stage and gets the bride ready for her Groom.

The dream I had was about the Church, the man in tattered clothes is the Church, the PA are the add ons, the lesser things - tools to assist, aid in some way - which have taken over the weightier things. Majoring on the minor, we have minored on the major...

Some of us know these things - we know things are not as they should be, we know things are not right but we say: well, what can we really do?

Well, here is what we can do. We can do what they did in Barvas on the Island of Lewis during the Lewis awakening; we can do what Daniel did in Daniel 9:4-19.

The answer to the question of what they did is: they prayed, they interceded, they called on The One greater than them. Daniel stood in the gap for Israel, confessed her sins and petitioned God in fasting. In Barvas, they turned to prayer, two old ladies (one blind) 82 and 84 years old were some of those people who took the call of God to heart - what is your excuse? what is my excuse?

With our ministry In God's Company, we recognise that this is our primary assignment for now - intercession for the body of Christ. We are a group of friends who come together on the telephone lines once every week to pray, we belong to different churches, we live across different countries, some of us have never met each other and we are few in number BUT CHRIST IS MIGHTY IN US.

I ask you today as the local presbytery did on the Island of Lewis: Consider now the low estate of the church - the body of Christ. And ask yourself if you truly love Him, what will your contribution be?

Let me tell you one thing, when we stand on behalf of the body of Christ before God, we are standing for OURSELVES, we are not doing anyone any favours. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We do not presume to be holy, we stand on the blood of Jesus and we say Bridegroom - we are here to do Your will. Judgement will begin with the household of God, if revival & harvest in the greater public must come, God will clean up His bride first. I pray that we will not get swept away in the clean up. The Bible says to us to judge ourselves so that we are not judged. The Bible also says God disciplines the one that He loves and chastises the one that He receives. He must chastise you if He is to receive you. Do not allow the chastening of the Lord to be grievous to your soul because that can be a sister to pride. And we know where pride leads to...

I have told you what I saw & heard and I know that it is true.

I personally believe that the body of Christ needs to return to proper & regular corporate prayer - serious worship & tarrying before the Lord. We are always in a hurry, everything is scripted, I pray we don't write God out of our scripts. We need prayer meetings where people are on their faces on the floor before God, not the one where you walk in and out leisurely - chew gum, buy drink, text a friend, go out, come back. There is a place for conferences & corporate meetings so please don't get me wrong but there is another place for tarrying before the Lord, and there ain't nothing old school about it. God responds to hunger. See, I went to a boarding school where at the time, students were not allowed to have their own Christian meetings. Yes, we suffered persecution and we were only between the ages of approximately 12 to 17 years old. Let me tell you how we met sometimes (somebody got the key for the home economics room from a teacher and we would sneak off at night), we could not turn on the lights in the room so as not to get caught, we met to worship, pray & share testimonies to encourage each other - we couldn't see ourselves in the dark - so pls tell me if you can text your friend in there or really if you can chew gum? We met in the dining room after people were done eating late at night sometimes, we used the choir practice meetings which we were allowed to have as an opportunity for also tarrying before the Lord. I had some friends, we were prayer partners, we would go into the wooded areas of the school, very quiet, to pray - especially to intercede and we did not just go for a few minutes. I would do you a disservice not to tell you the truth. We were children but we paid a price for His glory. In many of those meetings, we would feel the tangible presence of God, nobody laid hands on me when we put on a tape of a preacher preaching in one of those meetings and as soon as the man's voice boomed from the tape, I blacked out under His glory. When His glory hoovers over a place, no one needs to lay hands much for people to know God is there. I would do the new Christians today a disservice if I did not share these things because I am not sure how much opportunity they have been given in recent times to truly experience God for themselves within corporate settings. The individual walk & tarrying is extremely important and so is the corporate one.

Jesus said 'my house shall be called a house of prayer' See Matthew 21:13 M

In beholding His glory - herein we are being transformed - that is what the presence of the Lord does, it changes you. That is why prayer & worship are important. We have lambs among us, that the sheep must lead into the Shepherd's presence. I don't think it is good enough that we pray individually only, just as it is not good enough that we only pray corporately.

There are divers gifts within each of us, that when we come together like that, the Lord speaks and we bless one another, we miss out when we can not come together. Do not forsake the assembling of the saints - this  also means an assembling of the gifts God has placed in each of us - the gifts need to come together to form one whole so we can truly function as a wholesome body.

Thank you for reading and God bless you.

ONE TABERNACLE - ONE BODY!

"Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many." 1 Corinthians 12 vs 12-14

Rewind to Exodus 26 vs 1-6
"Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine woven linen and blue, purple, and scarlet thread; with artistic designs of cherubim you shall weave them. The length of each curtain shall be twenty-eight cubits, and the width of each curtain four cubits. And every one of the curtains shall have the same measurements. Five curtains shall be coupled to one another, and the other five curtains shall be coupled to one another. And you shall make loops of blue yarn on the edge of the curtain on the selvedge of one set, and likewise you shall do on the outer edge of the other curtain of the second set. Fifty loops you shall make in the one curtain, and fifty loops you shall make on the edge of the curtain that is on the end of the second set, that the loops may be clasped to one another. And you shall make fifty clasps of gold, and couple the curtains together with the clasps, so that it may be ONE TABERNACLE."

I encourage you to read the entire chapter of Exodus 26 and you will see the pattern across the tabernacle structure as being made up of:

1. Many Parts 
2. Same/Equal Measurements 
3. Coupled/Joint Together to Make ONE WHOLE 

The Holy Spirit opened my understanding to see that the pattern of the tabernacle represents the body of Christ - the intricacy of multiples, equality and joining. It was a shadow of you & I to come.

Colossians 2:17 'These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ'
Hebrews 10:1 'The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves'

Like the tabernacle, we are made of many parts and we must be careful to understand that though many parts, we are of equal importance just as the curtains were made up of the equal measurements; and that it is only when joined together (unity) - just as the various bits of the tabernacle were joined together, can we make one whole and be as truly effective as we should be.

The Lord said to Moses in Exodus 25 vs 8-9 "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you." Hebrews 8:5b This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."

For God to have a sanctuary that He will dwell in and carry out His work according to His pattern, there must be UNITY and there must be LOVE. It is the love that will bind us together. Sometimes we wonder why we are not making as much impact as we ought? Then we should ask ourselves the question is the tabernacle according to His pattern?

On unity, the Lord says in Psalm 133: How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity! It is like precious oil poured on the head, running down on the beard, running down on Aaron’s beard, down on the collar of his robe. It is as if the dew of Hermon were falling on Mount Zion. For there the Lord bestows His blessing, even life forevermore.

I once heard Francis Frangipane aptly say: Hell came out of a split in Heaven!!

Does that bring it home to you? If so, then why do we have so many church splits - why do we so easily divide, why do we have divisions among ourselves - divisions such that we don't care about the other anymore, divisions so great that we stop relating to one another, divisions so wide that we can no longer bear each other, even though we say we profess the same Lordship of Jesus? I am not referring to when a member leaves a ministry to focus on functioning under another ministry umbrella as they are instructed by God, that is different - we should bless them, send them on their way & let them flow in the calling to which God has called them.

Lack of unity is evident when we see the attitude Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians 12: 21-24

When we can say to each other 'I don't need you', when we don't give any honor to certain members because we feel they don't hold an important enough office - what do they know? They don't know anything - so we treat them shabbily, when we have no concern for or about other members because well, we don't really know them that well, when we are not concerned when one of us is suffering. When one of us falls, we should all be concerned, when one of us is dishonored - it is not the time to pull them down, join the world and scorn them but we must be concerned for them, because if one of us suffers dishonor then we all suffer dishonor!

It is like a mother teaching her children a simple rule - drumming it into their ears saying that 'you must be one', such that they are not easily disposed to back bite each other, they do not encourage people to tattletale on them to each other - it's just not how they roll in their family. When they have disagreements  - people outside the family do not hear about it, if they ever were to hear - it would be a close friend to the family whom they know genuinely loves the family & is able to call the other to order if at all necessary. If one of them has a problem, they all rally round, make contributions & help. They do not compete against each other, for them life is not a competition - they have a logic that says if one of us does well - then we have all done well and if we all do well - then life will be easier for us all around - so they rally, they support; And because they love, they want to see the other succeed and smile. That is what a close knit family looks like, we need to look at ourselves & at the body of Christ and ask the question 'Is that what we look like? Is that what I look like?' How do I get myself to look like that? What is my contribution to the body of Christ to get us looking like that?

"The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."

On Love, Paul says at the end of 1 Corinthians 12: 31b 'And yet I will show you a MORE excellent way' After which he went on to teach in chapter 13,on what love is - the AGAPE kind of love. It is not a love which is based on the touchy feely, it is a love which values - that is the value that you place on the other. A value which says because I value you and this relationship - therefore I will not behave or react in a way that will risk our relationship because you are valuable to me.

Proverbs 19:11 "A man's wisdom gives him patience and it is his glory to overlook an offence."
1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

God is looking for a tabernacle (BODY) in which to dwell which is unified, He is looking for a tabernacle (BODY) that is closely knit together in love to function through. "Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me;" Hebrews 10:7

We as Christians want to reach the world and the Lord is saying if we love each other, the world will know that He sent us - that we are His disciples. Charity begins at home. How well do we love each other?

The Lord has been speaking to me about us - about His body, He wants unity, let it become a thing of the past where we crucify each other, where we stand with the world and satan to pull each other down, fighting and biting each other.

He wants us to learn to love one another - not with a superficial kind of love but an agape love. It is interesting to note that when the Lord spoke to Peter in John 21, He asked do you AGAPE me, Peter at the time replied I PHILEO you. Phileo is not the same as agape, Phileo is affection/tenderness, whilst the strength of agape is in DEMONSTRATION, Agape is a love which is demonstrated - that's why when Peter said he loved Him - the Lord said feed my sheep, feed my lambs, shepherd my sheep - invariably he was saying demonstrate your love. If you take care of them (each other) (minister to each other) then you love me

How do you demonstrate your love to God through His body?

One of the ways that God has been encouraging us to show our love for each other in recent times in our ministry In God's Company - on the prayer line is to pray for each other by praying for our pastors, interceding for the body of Christ, you can set aside as a start a day in the week where you focus on these two prayer points - for the body of Christ to grow in love and unity and as God lays on your heart, for your local Church/fellowship leadership, knowing that their success is your success, their shame is your shame.

I remember the brownie guide law: a guide thinks of others before herself and does a good turn every day. It was drilled down into us so much as children such that if you were offered cakes, you would usually take the smallest piece, you would ask others to make their choice before you, you would share your piece of cake easily if you had just the one, you would not eat without offering some of your food to others if they didn't have something on their plates. We sought opportunities to do a good turn, we went on what we called 'bob-a-job' round the estate where my brownie club was, asking to clean and do some house chores.

When is the last time you sought an opportunity to be of service to another? Your friend who is out of work or business not doing good and you know things are really tight for them - have you considered slipping them a tenner or topping up their oyster travel card, your single friend - when was the last time you called them just because - to make sure they are not entirely on their own or invited them over for dinner, your single mother friend - when have you offered your services to babysit so she could have a night out, the elderly grandma whose kids are abroad - when did you last check in on her? When was the last time someone came to you with the hottest gossip about the sister in Church who wears the really short skirts and you excused yourself or simply said 'you've got to learn to love her just as she is'. When was the last time a man of God was accused of something, embarrassed, mocked and vilified by the world and you wept?

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. Matthew 24:12

Let's think about these things, is our love waxing cold?

Best,
L.

How do we get to the EXCEL Center??

I had a dream which I wanted to share: I was given a choice between my 5 year old daughter and myself getting us to the Excel center. Of course I did not choose my 5 year old daughter, except well if I did not really want to get to the Excel center.

The Lord has been speaking to me a lot lately using this type - a young daughter.

The Lord helped me to understand that it is just as pointless in life taking over the issues of life instead of letting and trusting Him, that would be the same as choosing a five year old girl to lead me to a destination over myself - an adult who knows where the Excel center is and understands that I need the DLR train or a car or bus to get there, not a plastic scooter, helicopter or fairy wings :))

He let me see the disparity between my point of view and His. Mostly He wanted me to be aware of His competence, He came to reassure, to give understanding and clarity of vision.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so My ways are higher than your ways and My thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:9

It is not that the Lord needs to stamp and roar, it is basically a statement of the fact. It is a statement sent to give perspective. JESUS said learn of Me for I am meek and lowly in heart so I know my Lord enough to understand that He wasn't trying to stamp and roar but that rather He was pointing me to a basic truth using an example that I could understand. He knew that if I could get hold of this truth, the picture of life would be clearer.

I believe God wants somebody out there reading this to understand this truth: God's wisdom is as far removed from yours as much as a five year old's in getting you to the Excel center in comparison to yours and as high as the heavens to the earth.

God does not do things randomly, he does them because He is wise and has an understanding which we don't have.

It is a simple analogy but the Lord was very clear - I didn't just dream of having to make the choice, He clearly told me: well, this is the difference between me and You - it is that simple.

Selah - pause and think about it.

I will be...

When He sent leanness to their souls...

They soon forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel,
But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
And tested God in the desert.
And He gave them their request, But sent leanness into their soul.  
Psalm 106 vs 13-15

Rewind to Numbers 11 and Exodus 16, we see a lot of grumbling, we see a group of people who seem to have forgotten how God had delivered them mightly not too long before, we see the children of Israel wishing they were back in Egypt! Egypt!! where they had been enslaved - crying out for deliverance and now that deliverance had come - they seemed unable to wait for the full out working  of the same deliverance. Talk about not seeing the wood for the trees.

But before we castigate them, we need to examine and constantly examine ourselves that we are not drawing parrallels with this behaviour.

We should be mindful that we don't carry the sort of attitude and behaviour that will attract leanness to our souls. It is not enough only - to get what you want, the end does not always justify the means, it should be about entering into God's blessing with His favour & prosperity. That is that our soul prospers... as well as our hands.

Numbers 16 vs 18-20 "Tell the people: ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for tomorrow, when you will eat meat. The Lord heard you when you wailed, “If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!” Now the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days,  but for a whole month until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it because you have rejected the Lord, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?"

God's hand was never too short to provide the meat or to provide bread. Let us settle it in our minds now that that is not in question. Remind yourself of His works in times past, encourage yourself in the Lord; Wait for His counsel - wait for His plan to unfold - NIV translates verse 13 of Psalm 106 to say "But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold." Are you waiting for God's plan to unfold? Do you wait for His plan to unfold?

Father, you are faithful, you came through for me in times past, it's kind of tough out here but You brought me here to bring me through, there is a plan which you are working out and have strategically, lovingly, in all of Your wisdom designed that at this hour and point I should be here. So I am going to wait on You. You wrote Psalm 106 with me in mind, because You knew that I would come to this hour with all the questions. I heard that You were in the South Side River Church last night - healing the sick, giving out jobs and I hopped on the street car but by the time I got there, it seems You had left - did You really leave? On Wednesday too, I heard You would be at Eko Inn doing the same thing, I was there but my situation is still kind of the same as it was Tuesday. Hey! But You know Lord - the God of the universe - Omnipotente - All Powerful - All Seeing God - You KNOW THE WAY THAT I TAKE. The same way you came through for me in 2007, you will come through again for me! How can I forget that, how You moved things around to accomodate me, You will do it again. I am going to stick with the program - Your program - I am not going to detach myself from your process and build my agenda. I am going to be careful to hear and do all that you say to me, I refuse to be directed by the dictates of my flesh or any other flesh for that matter, I am staying on The Lord's agenda, I am going to come out of this process more refined - like gold.

Now see below:

“But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside. I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread." Job 23 vs 8-12

We will have leanness of soul when we take our eyes off the Lord and focus on our circumstances, when we are quick to forget all what He has done and how far He has brought us to date, when we can not be still and wait for his plans to unfold... constantly trying to work things out for ourselves...

I sometimes call it the spirit of the ITK - I too know and in good english - I know too much.

Grumbling is a fast track to leanness, so is being ungrateful and not drawing nearer to the Lord. For most of the children of Israel in the wilderness, they were happy just experiencing the acts of God but perhaps the story for them would have been different- if they had spent more time knowing the God of the act. Joshua did...

Joshua
Exodus 33 verse 11: The LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.

The majority of Israel in the wilderness
Exodus 20 verse 18: They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.”

Understanding God backwards...

Psalm 131
My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore. 

I love I love this Psalm... Can I say again how I love this Psalm!

Let me tell you why I love it, I love it because it stills me; it steadies me, like a lullaby sung over a baby in a rocking chair soothing the baby to sleep - this is a lullaby to my soul. When things don't seem to be working the way I expect them to, when impatience comes knocking at my door - I am learning to let Psalm 131 get the door for me.

There are times when you know you are in the right place, on the right track, on course of the plan which God gave you but the territory to which which you have been sent is tough.

Exodus 5 vs 22-23 "So Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me?  For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all"

That was Moses with the Lord, after Pharoah had heaped even more hardship on the people of Israel because they had asked to go and sacrifice to the Lord. Sound familiar anyone? You have just arrived in the city where God sent you, it's your first month on the job He gave you or your first day on the ministry He asked you to begin - and all of a sudden they've cut the lights in the new church office, there's a colleague that has just been transferred to your department who doesn't seem to like you very much and the new neighbours did not roll out the drums to welcome you, actually they seemed rather put out to have a new face about.

The Lord continues the conversation with Moses and this is what He says:

Exodus 6 vs 1 -3 "Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land." And God spoke to Moses and said to him: “I am the LORD.   I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them"

Now you will see what I shall do with you in this new city... you will see what I shall do on your new job... you will see what I shall do with you in the new ministry.

What I have just done in the last sentence is apply Exodus 6 to "your" circumstance. That, I believe is what God wants to do, if He has sent you - there are times where that requires for you to be still - to place your hope in the Lord, to stand and remain standing to see God's salvation in your situation despite what appears to be opposition and resistance to your success in what He has sent you to do.

There is one simple thing which I have learnt to do and this was something Pastor Patrick taught me, He asked me once "what was the last thing God said to you? Go back to that..." If God has not said something new, go back to the last thing He said to you, didn't He tell you this was it and has He said its time to leave yet? If the answer is no, then friend where are you going, who are you going with??

God is not wishy washy, willy nilly, He doesn't change His mind on a whim or as per circumstance, He is very focused on His assignment. If you read further - Exodus 3 vs 4 - 8, you will see how God refers over and over again to His convenant with Abraham, Isaac & Jacob. The Lord had not changed the last thing that He said, He made a convenant, had an assignment and He was committed to keeping it, same way He is committed to keeping every promise and fulfilling every assignment He has given us.

God said something in Exodus 6:3 - He said they knew me as their sufficiency - God Almighty - the literal translation from Hebrew is "in-El Who sufficies". He is saying you have known me up on till now as the Great Provider, the Strong One, the One sufficient to provide, but now again you will see another dimension of Me as The Lord that is Master of all - Jehovah - Yahweh.

In Nigerian Pidgin English there is a term we use called "Oga". It is a term which depicts the one in charge - in control. There is also a song that we sing which goes "Jesus na You be Oga" translates "Jesus it is You that is Master". I woke up this morning with that song on my heart...

They say hind sight is 20/20. I remember coming to a point in my life and reflecting back on some experiences I had some ten years ago and saying 'now I see why God let me walk through that path, if I had gone the other way I wouldn't have learnt this or learnt that, I had to go through A so I could get to B... I had to go through C so I could handle Y' I got a sense of understanding what God had been doing from the beginning of the matter - only when I got to the end of the matter; Sometimes you will only understand Him backwards....

He has the blue print of life so He can see what you can not see - so don't concern yourself with matters too great for you. Don't suppose to know more than Him because ermm... you don't.

Wean yourself, train yourself to be content with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God as your guide. God is it time to move on - we move, is it time to chill here - we chill.

Lamentations 3:24 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

Be content in this "But He knows the way that I take..." Job 23:10a. God is not oblivous to our challenges, struggles or the paths that we take.

We used the following analogy on our prayerline: God's vision is like a "helicopter" vision compared to our "foot-wagon" vision, His ways are higher than your ways and so He can see much further than you.

God was saying in Exodus 6 that He is Lord of Pharoah, Lord over circumstances, Lord over cities, governments, neighbours, colleagues, jobs - He is the God who fulfills mandates. God who keeps convenants, God who completes assignments. The God to whom everything will bow, as He lines things up to work together for your good & to fulfill His purpose.

God allowed Pharoah's heart to be hardened so that He could judge Egypt with great judgements for all the wickedness they had exacted on Israel, that Israel would come out with great spoil from the Egyptians, that He would glorify His name Yahweh and that Israel would know Him as THE LORD.

There are times when you wonder but Lord You could do this in a twinkling of an eye - If we look at Exodus 9: 15-16 - we realise that God is also aware of that fact and He makes a note of it. The Lord's ways are not our ways - He wanted to bring Israel out with great judgement on their hard task master, He wanted to show His power and proclaim His name through that experience. He made Moses great amongst the Egyptians, causing them to fear the God of the Israelites which made Egypt to be favourably disposed toward Israel such that Israel could spoil them. Checkmate! 

Exodus 9: 15-16 "For by now I could have stretched out my hand and struck you and your people with a plague that would have wiped you off the earth. But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. You still set yourself against my people and will not let them go."  

God is the Master Chess Player and He has all the best moves!

Exodus 7: 4-5 “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart that I may multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt.“When Pharaoh does not listen to you, then I will lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts, My people the sons of Israel, from the land of Egypt by great judgments.“The  Egyptians shall know that I am THE LORD, when I stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.”

Exodus 11:3 The LORD made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and Moses himself was highly regarded in Egypt by Pharaoh's officials and by the people.

Exodus 12:36 And the Lord had given the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they granted them what they requested. Thus they plundered the Egyptians.

Exodus 3: 21-22 “And I will make the Egyptians favourably disposed toward this people, so that when you leave you will not go empty-handed. Every woman is to ask her neighbour and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.”

My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content. Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

I find it soothing just reading Psalm 131 and meditating on it - when anxities threathen, when impatience comes calling, when circumstances disappoint...

The Labourer

John 21 vs 15- 19 "When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.”Jesus said, “Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” "

The Lord asked Peter these three times in order to emphasis the importance of ministry; ministry is an expression of your love for God. If you love Him - you will take care of what belongs to Him, if you love Him you will feed both the sheep and the lamb - minister to both the mature and the immature -  the well behaved and non well behaved - the thankful and the unthankful - like Your Father in heaven.

"that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous." Mathew 5 vs 45

The command in John 21 is to follow Christ. Sometimes following Christ means giving up your time or something of yourself in order to glorify God. When the Lord asked Peter if he loved Him all of three times, I understand why Peter felt hurt but I also understand why the Lord asked thrice - because in all the hustle, bustle and challenges of life - it becomes so very easy to forget that there is a direct correlation between our love for God and our ministry to others.

1 John 4: 19 - 21 " We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen.  And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. "

As I struggled with my own limitations, my incovenience, my physicality - I heard the Lord say to me - do you love me more than these?

Brother, Sister - do you love God more than these?

Matthew 9 vs 36 - 38 "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

The labourer is one who loves God more than these...

The Lord looks with compassion on the harassed and helpless, on the sheep without a shepherd and He is calling for you brother and sister who "loves Him more than these" What part will you play in His harvest? The Bible tells us to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest - what this means is that the Lord knows where the harrassed and the helpless are, He knows the exact location of the harvest and we are to pray to Him to send us there. When we go out and minister it is Christ working through us, what He needs is our availabilty - He will do the drawing, He will do the ministering. He is THE LORD OF THE HARVEST and He will not send you out into the harvest alone without Him.

John 6 vs 44a “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him"
Matthew 16:17  "Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven"

For me it took a load off when I understood the above scriptures that it is God who does the drawing, He does the revealing, my job is to pray and my job is to go! I don't need to think up convincing words to touch or draw anyone, I just need to open my mouth and trust God to touch hearts and changes lives - doesn't that put things in perspective?

As Pastor Patrick would say "there is no other person better qualified than you"

Look I am about to die... what's this birthright to me!

That was Esau...

Let's take a look at the text in Genesis 25 vs 29 - 33:

Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary.  And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.” Therefore his name was called Edom. But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright as of this day.” And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?” Then Jacob said, “Swear to me as of this day.” So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.  And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

It has been my experience that just like Esau, there are forces pulling at us in today's world to despise our birthright - to despise the promises of God. They come in "oh so" subtle ways but we need to be focused, clear on what our mandate from God is. 

There can be enormous pressure to exchange your promise of tomorrow for a momentary comfort in today - a comfort which will never carry you into your tomorrow.

You might be believing God for something being steadfast in your waiting but there is pressure on you saying look you are just about ready to dry up - what good is this promise when by the time it comes you are as good as dead, compromise and live, take a short cut and get on with it, cut corners - lie & cheat & get a living for yourself lest you perish from poverty being Mr Honest.

Remember somebody was as good as dead once when God gave him a son, that man was Abraham. Hebrews 11:12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

When we look at the life of Abraham Genesis 12 till 25, in particular at chapter 17, we see how clear God was about his covenant with Abraham being established IN ISAAC. God has a plan for your life and His blessing will rest only that plan and that plan alone, when we move outside of the plan of God for our lives - don't expect God to bless it. God could have established His covenant with Ishmael but He DID NOT.

Genesis 17 vs 18 - 21b
And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” Then God said: “NO, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. But My covenant I will establish WITH ISAAC,