But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins 1 Peter 4:5-8

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 peter 4:11

In my line of work, I meet various kinds of people with different beliefs. Some have defined perspectives on God and others have questions. Yet still others have assumptions of how religion should work and others are afraid to admit that there’s a higher power bigger than them. Our societies have defined what’s “right” for us, so much that we are blinded by it’s lies. Before we were born, and before our society came to have intellectual ideas and new toys to play with, God already existed. How then should God evolve with the dynamics of the society, when he had already  established rules of our society? 

For example, I had an encounter with a man yesterday and we got talking. I asked him if he was a Christian and he said ‘I am not interested in religion’. Why? I asked ‘Because religion does not accept people for who they are’. What do you mean? ‘Well I am a member of the gay society and other gender related organizations, but there are people who do not advocate for these movements’. What does that have to do with God and the Bible? ‘Religion has not moved at all and the society has changed’. Do you think something written over thousands of years ago should change because we as humans have defined what we think is right for us? ‘I think the society is changing and religion too has to accept people the way they are.’ You know that the things we belief in today are not new. ‘Yes i know, but things have to change.’ So do you mean we should tell God what is right for us? 

Our conversation was cut short when some people needed my attention. Somehow the questions kept coming out of me, and we didn’t feel awkward or judgmental at all. As he had his coffee and we chatted, a sad feeling came over me. I kept going over the part where ‘RELIGION HAS NOT CAUGHT UP WITH SOCIETY’. I was also taken back to my RET 321 course  at Daystar University, where we were talking about Culture and the Bible. Should culture be above the Bible or should the Bible be above culture? Who do we report to? Do we report to the teachings of God or the teachings of our society? If you shy away from God because he will tell you what you don’t want to hear, how will you know what he wanted to tell you to decide if that was what you had expected him to tell you? So many times we have preconceived ideas of what we think someone is thinking till you actually listen to them to understand that you had a poor imagination.

I simply told the man that God wants to know him and wants to have a relationship with him. When he has met God and knows what God wants from him, then both of them can decide how to move on together. Just because the society has allow you to go a certain way and others have shun you, it does not mean God has abandon you. You meet him and if you still think God should change his views, then that will be up to you after meeting him and talking to him. God love you and simply wants you to get to know him without thinking he is religious. 

I asked  two other guys if they went to church and one said, I am an atheist. I don’t believe in anything. I have to see to believe. Religion is not for me. The other man said, I have done too many bad things in my life and see no return. I felt like cracking their heads and shoving down John 3:16 and all the Bible passages to do with God’s forgiveness and wisdom. But that would not have glorified God, So I just smiled and said ‘you have no idea’. I still invited them to our church. Sometimes some show up and sometimes they don’t. 

I have many more examples, but in relation to the verses above, should we abandon these people who are lost or don’t think they are lost? Should we judge them and think them helpless? Peter suggest two things to us. In as much as these things are hard to accept, we need to remember that ‘The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.’ vs 7. When speaking to these people, we should be clear minded and self-controlled. When we are settled, the Holy Spirit will lead us with the right words. We shall speak as if God is the one speaking those words. vs 11. We also need to have a clear mind, so we are able to pray, especially when we do not know what to do. The second thing is that we should ‘above all love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins’. vs 8. In churches we shun people who have gone astray and condemn them rather than helping them get back on the right path. We gossip behind their backs and snicker when when they walk pass us, so that they feel unloved and unwanted. To us, we are telling them ‘How could you do such a thing? If it was me, I would not have gone that far. What were you thinking? Stay away from me and my family. You are a bad influence’. Our attitudes towards them, heap up enough sins on our part. When we show love and concern from our hearts, we cover up those multitudes of sins that would arise if we deny them forgiveness. 

Think about what has been said above, and I will leave you with this quote by Gerald Way 

“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching”

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake 1 Peter 1:18-20

How many of us have heard people say ‘I am a good person. I go to church on Sundays, give to the poor and don’t do bad things. I am faithful‘? In the countries that I have lived in and visited, I have seen a number of good deeds and a great number of church goers. I have had complains of Christianity within the church from various numbers of people. Within the church, you will find very ‘spiritual’ people, who are also ‘busy-bodies’ always ready to serve and give an answer to all your problems. Yet deep down, they are hallow and void. Others have tend to put their material things first, always ready with gifts for the church and anyone in need. However, when you look at their lives, hairs stand at the back of your neck. I am not exaggerating anything here. We have pastors extorting money from the people. Rather than serving the people, they give conditions as to how they people should pay them for their services, such as building them a house, buying them a car or providing them with something extravagant. Is this really what it means to be a Christian? 

My heart aches for our churches these days. Christianity is being turned into a profitable market. When Jesus flocked the sellers in the temple, he didn’t flock them because they were doing the wrong thing. They off course were doing the right thing, but with the wrong motives. They were selling animals for sacrifice, but they had turned that goal for profit. That offended Jesus. 

Now if we as Christ’s followers who are called to love start exchanging the reason for Christ’s coming for money, what becomes of our mission then? Our salvation was not bought with gold nor through good deeds, but was because of ‘his great mercy that he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time‘ 1 Pet 1:3-5.

We are called to be Holy in all we do, because God is Holy. Our salvation is seen through faith. Understanding your salvation enables you to carry out deeds of love, not material deeds. Your faith and actions need to be in accordance with each other. Abraham’s faith went with his actions James 2:21-22. 

You might be the best person that everyone loves and adores, because you feed the poor, give clothes to the naked and take care of the sick. If you have no love of the father, you toil in vain. You cannot buy your way to heaven through good deeds. As hard as this is hard to believe, Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you, Away from me, you evil-doer!’ Do not become a good deed person and lose out on your salvation. 

Many people enter mission work not because they have been called into it. A pastor is paid by the church, and it is the congregation that maintains his upkeep. Who would not want such a life? We see many false preachers without an ounce of salvation or spiritual led sermons that stand on the pulpit and give words rather than wisdom. A person called by God to serve in that line of duty, will not need his Bible to preach, but the Holy Spirit within him will give the words. When God calls you to do your work, he goes with you and leads you. You are connected with him and people can feel the spirit moving in the service. Speaking to people rather than with people will tell you who you are. Let your actions be in accordance with your faith in Christ Jesus. It doesn’t matter whether you do good, but if you have no salvation you toil in vain. Even if you have salvation and work as if you are forced into it, you toil in vain. Your service should be to God alone not for men to see it.

“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective” James 5:16

It is not always easy to come out and be vulnerable. Many people have developed the ‘I know what’s right, so you can’t tell me anything’ attitude. You might be one of them or you might have someone in your family that has that attitude. 

As I was growing up, i realized that having such an attitude, not only hurt those around me, but also hurt me since it will leave me lonely. I would do wrong things and try to justify my actions. Although most often it was the right things, it was in the wrong context. People would blame me for stuff, do me wrong and not say they were sorry. I wanted acknowledgement of the wrong deeds. When that didn’t come, i figured i could also get away without saying i was sorry. But thank God the Holy Spirit would not have it any other way. He would push and push my buttons till i felt too guilty and would admit to the wrong I did. That became my song over the years, and it was often from the heart. 

However, one may change who they are, but the world around them will still be the same. You might have the temptation to settle back in that old self. Just a few months ago, I had a misunderstanding with a friend. He did something wrong and as a friend, I rebuked him because I knew he knew better. He took it the wrong way and accused me of shouting at him and being difficult. I let that slip, because that was not what happened at all, but then he dug up old trespasses that had been forgiven in the past and added to the list. That took me by surprise, because I always made sure we reconciled in our arguments before moving on with life, rather than shoving things under the carpet. 

I then refused to settle our misunderstanding, because i was hurt that he could do such a thing. I waited for him to apologize, but he cut off communication for 4 weeks. I felt the voice inside of me telling me to settle the issue, because it was hurting me so much. So I called him up to straighten things out, but he would not respond to emails or answer my calls. 4 months went by, and I opened my emails one evening and found one from him. Tears came to my eyes and I cried out to God in happiness. Unknown to him, i had forgiven him the first few weeks of our misunderstanding and had just been waiting for him to apologize for what he did. 

When I saw his email, i just cried for joy, because i thought for months that i had lost a good friend over a silly misunderstanding. He apologized for the decision he made and for hurting me. That was all I wanted to hear. I love settling things and parting ways on a good note with everyone. If I hurt someone or meet an acquaintance and made them awkward, I would go back and make things right by putting them at ease. I had been praying for him and he had been praying for me. 

It is good to confess one’s sins and reconcile. Right now I am praying for certain members of my family, to let go off their pride and accept responsibility for their sins. People who never recognize their wrong doings hurt those they claim to care for more than someone from outside. How can you make things right if you are not willing to admit to the wrong you have done? 

Come near to God and he will come near to you James 4:8

I always feel like reaching out to you God. I don’t need to reach out too far because he is right next to me. God’s home is in you. Hebrews 5:6 “I will never forsake you nor leave you”. god is the center of our whole being. God does not want a 30-45 minute time with you on Sunday. He wants everyday, hour and second with you. 

I and my father are one: I only say what my father says, I only do what my father does. Do you do what God does? We often say, I want to know God, I want to be one with him, but why don’t you/we? John 17:10: “All I have is yours and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them”. I don’t want to be half way with whom I used to be. I want to go all the way with God.  

Jesus can only be at one place at one time, but the Holy Spirit can be everywhere. If the Holy Spirit is not there to teach you, you will not understand or know the world. John 16: 7 “But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”

It is better that i go away so that the Holy Spirit can come. Stand by intercessor: HELP ME Holy Spirit. Learn to say HELP ME with a Sincere hear. Be utterly sincere about it. The intercessor wants close fellowship with you. God wants to be involve in your everyday life. You are always in an emergency with God. YOu are always in the emergency room. When the Holy Spirit convicts you of sin, be grateful. it means he loves you too much to leave you alone. 

sometimes people jump into your problems, but the Holy Spirit waits for the right time. We need to trust God to help us. We need to ask God to help us get through the problem. As helpers and comforters to others, we do not need to try and make them change, but pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal a way to the person with a problem. 

Christ has a magnetic attraction: Spirit and soul will live forever. You should respect your body for it is God’s home. God is not mad at you. The spiritual part of you is more important than the parts you see. you connect yourself with your soul. the World should see God through you. Instead of telling God that we want to feel, think like him, we should tell him how we want to think, how we want to feel. God wants the soul to be connected with the spirit that’s in you. I WANT, I THINK, I FEEL.

There are obstacles in the soul, but I can do whatever I want through Christ who strengthens me. Lord when i ask you for something that you don’t want me to have, then don’t give it to me. We start things in the flesh and blame the devil for it. The worst thing is being in a place where you don’t want to be. Greatest lessons I have learnt in life is doing the wrong thing and learning not to do them again. 

God said in Isaiah, My ways are above your ways, my thous are above your thoughts. I Corinthians 13:11 “when i was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When i became a man, i put childish ways behind me.”

I WANT: Sometimes we give god advice on how to hand us. It is one thing to be a child and another to act childish. A mature Christian should be happy even when they don’t get their way. He/she should be quick to forgive as well. Galatians 4:1-2 “What i am say is that as the hier is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. He is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father.” You are not justified in your anger. Everything God has is mine and I will transfer it to you (said Jesus). Everything the Father has is yours. In reality it won’t come to us unless we show responsibility. Do you know how hard it is for God to find someone who will give him all the glory? We all want a lot of stuff, that we are not ready to have them. If we are not faithful over little, we wont’ be faithful over much. Help the believer grow up the way God has called them to be. 

IT IS TIME TO GROW UP. LOVE even if they don’t DESERVE IT. You can’t help the way you feel, but you can help how you deal with it. John 3:30 ‘He must become greater, I must become less.”

A few years back, on my way to becoming a better Christian, I realized I was a bitter, judgmental, critical and angered woman. For years I had watched Christians hurt one another, yet expecting the very people they have hurt to give them respect and obedience. Having watched this for 8 years, I wanted nothing to do with God. I could not stand injustices and the ways people trample over others. However, my life was never mine to begin with. I asked God to be my father at the age of 16. For two years, I saw no change in who I was. I was still bitter, judgmental and angry. Went through anger management and finally felt ready at 18. I worked hard at how i saw other people’s attitudes and how i responded to them. It was not a sweet ride, but over the last 7 years, God has been teaching me more about who I was, am and the person I should be in him. The results of who I have become in the last 7 years came to pass on Saturday 5th July.

I was collecting food in front of TESCO on behalf of Bradford Central Foodbank. As people streamed in and we gave them leaflets, some people showed interest, others just grabbed the leaflets as they quickly walked passed, some said “not interested” and others said “I gave in London” and others surprised you with anger over how a donations box was taken away and it made them really cross. When they came back out with their shopping, they will look at you to see if you noticed them, especially those who did not buy anything to donate. Others came out and remembered, so they would donate money instead and others came out with one or two of the items that was on the leaflet. Yet again, others gave bags of food that just blew you away. At the time, I just smiled, thank those who gave, acknowledge those who had taken the leaflet yet bought nothing and said goodbye to others. 

When I first came on the scene and was rejected the first time i extended my hand with a leaflet, I felt hurt. I took it personally and just asked myself as to why would you not even take a leaflet. I had a downcast moment and didn’t know what to do if they kept rejecting my leaflets. I said a little prayer and had a sense of peace. Instead of thinking they were just selfish, I began telling myself not to be angry at them or be judgmental for i don’t know how life at home is for them. I have watched people come into Foodbank, and couldn’t believe that this person need food. However, when they start sharing about their situation, you realize how much we often judge a book by its cover. Back to TESCO. 

I told myself i was going to be happy, accepting the people’s decisions and being the me that i have become. Children came along smiling, which made my day. People came that spoke no English yet were interested, so i was stuck with language barrier not knowing how to explain to them what we were doing. So we just smiled at each other and nodded our heads in acknowledgement. A few business men came in, but refused to take the leaflets and I unconsciously asked myself if they have never been in a bad situation. However, I didn’t push them or anything, but I kept praying that people will be moved.

Monday at work, we reflected on the weekend’s work. I realized that everyone that volunteered on the weekend, had the same experience. Having people say no, yes, walk away or avoided the entrance that we were standing at. Our Coordinator simply asked about our attitudes towards these people. Provoking me to reflect on my attitudes towards their attitudes, enabled me to see how much i grew in 7 years. When things seemed a little blurry at the beginning, I ran to the one person that could make me see clearer. God gave me a sense of peace and wisdom to pray for the hearts and souls that came in. 

We were reminded in Colossians 3:23 that: Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Our attitudes at work, should represent Christ. We should serve people, because it is our purpose for the job we have. We shouldn’t serve because we want others to see, but because we are doing it for God. I made a decision to smile, dance and encourage people’s day even if they were not willing to give. I put myself in their shoes. I rejoiced when people donated food, and I prayed for those who didn’t. In all honesty, I would have preferred to play with the little girls and boys that came through. They were more exciting, but i had a job to do and that was encourage people to give.

How do you respond to people with difficult attitudes?

The flower blooms in the morning and its beauty draws your attention. Its fragrance smell lifts your spirits high. As the day goes by, the harshness of the heat turns it brown and it dies. When two people are attracted to each other, the illusion of love is the flower. When the harshness of life kicks in and the reality of who each of you is opens up, the blossoming love begins to die out because you have seen the real version of the person.  You are unsure of the one standing before you, because they look the same to you, yet have another personality that you had not dictated. That person has not changed. You have just realized you are getting to know them better. Now it’s up to you to deal with this new revelation. Love is built and grown. You just don’t happen to find it lying around.

I would like to highlight certain things about a relationship. The first and foremost is God. Leaning on him for guidance and purity of mind and action. Secondly, it needs personal love. Loving oneself, understanding oneself (strengths and weaknesses), and accepting them, before loving the other party. 3. Friendship. Being able to appreciate one another as friends (knowing each other’s likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses) 4. Trust. Passing the point of friendship to courting, which means looking toward marriage. In here, you are able to share your secrets and seeing each other as humans and not as superhuman. No one is perfect, but we do not need to control one another with emotions, anger or conditions to make them show their love to us. 5. Being appreciative of the little things that the other party does, and letting them know how much they mean to us. 6. Sacrifice. Being able to let go of your pride and time, and think of the other party as well. It’s not always about you. 7. Communication: Learn to find topics that interests both of you, that will enable you both to grow in knowledge, wisdom and mind. 8. Forget about sex. It is not listed in a relationship, till the time that God ordained for it to happened, which is your married bed, with the vows said before God. These are the things I appreciated in my relationship and have learned from others and what God has been teaching me.

Facebook is very public and there’s no privacy on your wall. When you care for someone, you would want to protect them and protect their privacy. You consider their feelings based on what you post on your wall for your friends. You may not know it, but it might hurt them.

Why do you want to create unnecessary feelings on your wall? What would your friends and relatives think of your relationship? Worse. What would they think of the person you are with? When you write about your relationship, write about what God has been teaching you through the issue you went through together. How did you resolve the problem? Did you think you made the right decision together? Will this uplift God’s name and encourage someone else?

As a girlfriend/boyfriend, you should be willing to sit down and be a friend and listen to him/her and ask each other questions that are bugging you. If someone wrote things about me on their wall I would be hurt as well, because I would expect some privacy, especially if I know I did something stupid and regret it. Not all your friends need to know. Who are your closest friends?? Are they uplifting your spiritual walk and your personal life? Are they there to encourage you or just make you feel good? Do you learn from them as well as they from you? These are questions we often forget to ask ourselves? The world has taught us that others revolve around us, forgetting to teach us that we need each other to revolve.

Have your own principles that govern your actions. Once you learn to put down your principles and stand by them, those who will not appreciate those principles will disappear. It will not matter if you have only one true friend in the world who will appreciate you. You might have too many friends, but might be your friends for the wrong reasons.  I can attest to all that I have written above, and I will continue in the path I have chosen. I built a better relationship with God

We make choices based on what we want our futures to look like. You won’t want your life to be beautiful when you make someone’s miserable. You won’t want blessings when you don’t bless others and look down on them. Your happiness comes from within. When you evaluate yourself and are proud, knowing God will be proud, then you can put a smile on your face knowing all is well. With this, you can carry a relationship a long way until God decides your purpose is over.

Thank you Lord for the gift of love. Without your everlasting love, we humans would not know how to love our brothers, sisters, friends, fiancées, husbands and wives unconditionally. The example you set for us leaves us no room to boast about our powers, but enables us to humble ourselves and remember that if it was not for your unfailing love, we would have almost been paid for the wages of Sin. Hence we cannot condemn one another and think we are too righteous and they are the worst sinners. We are unworthy to pass judgment on anyone, because their sin might not be close to half of what we did. To this I thank you for saving me from the person I would have become. Now I can love because of your grace and mercy.

How many times have you heard the word ‘WAIT’ said to you? Think of an office setting, where you are told the manager will see you in a moment. A moment turns to 10mins, 20mins, 30mins an hour and you are still waiting. How about a job application which you sent in 2 months ago, and no reply and you are still waiting? Fine. You asked God for something and he never answered you? Did i hit the spot yet? 

I am not toiling with your emotions, but just helping you reflect on your questions and thoughts. How did you respond to the long periods of waiting? Were you frustrated? Were you heartbroken? Were you angry? Did that frustration and anger lead you anywhere?

In the book of Habakkuk chapter 1, it starts off with Habakkuk asking God questions: 

2 How long, Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
    there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice is perverted.

God answers him, by saying:

“Look at the nations and watch—
    and be utterly amazed.
For I am going to do something in your days
    that you would not believe,
    even if you were told.

God is basically telling him to wait. However, God’s answer as it follows, is not Habakkuk had expected. God said wait and see what i will do to the wicked. God however, will use people more wicked than the wicked people Habakkuk is questioning God about. Then Habakkuk starts questioning God’s method of punishment. How can God use more treacherous people, especially a God who hates evil and can’t stand the wicked. 

Chapter two: Habakkuk learns to wait on God and his methods. God tells him that he will accomplish what he has revealed to him. Habakkuk learns to listen to God’s reply although it is not what he had expected. Prayer encourages us to wait on God to carry out his work in us. He renews the strength of the weary (Isaiah 40:31). Everything has an appointed time when God is involved. God’s answer changed Habakkuk’s perspective about his circumstance. Chapter three demonstrate that prayer gives birth to assurance. Had Habakkuk not prayed to God and ask God the questions, he would not have understood God’s ways. He listened to God’s answer, which didn’t come the way he expected, and after God explains to him his reasons, he assures God’s superiority. His perspective about the whole situation changed, and he gained assurance that God was in control of the situation. All he had to do now was wait for what God had promised to happen. 

God hears our prayers and his timing is the best. When he tells us to wait, we should be willing to sit quietly without talking, yet holding on to faith that he will do what is right. My life has not been filled with sweet honey, but God has been faithful to me, because in every circumstance, I learnt that he knew what was best for me. Sometimes you don’t need words, but to sit quietly for a few minutes and reflect on all that’s been happening, turning it all to him. My perspective about my life and family was set a new again in church this morning. Be blessed as i have been. 

I am not sure how many times i have read the book of Hebrews. As i was reading chapter 9 this morning, this song kept going through my mind. Before i finished reading, i was already singing it. It is a very catchy song. However, that’s not the importance of the song. Take a good look at the lyrics.

“Nothing But The Blood”
Your blood speaks a better word

Than all the empty claims I’ve heard upon this earth

Speaks righteousness for me