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

The following letter is from a dear sister of mine, who gave me the permission to share her thoughts about God and her relationship. Reading this letter filled me with encouragement as it reminded me of God’s love and Godly relationships. Sometimes we forget who the author of relationships is, and we think we can define what a relationship should look like. This woman reminded me that I cannot shape a man, and only God can shape that man. 

Dearest Mishael,

I really do appreciate the time you took to reflect on your actions. I praise God and thank him for the maturity, you are gaining. I really want to say congratulations. Those are the first steps in becoming God’s servant. You are getting the full meaning of what it means to serve him and adhere to all his ways.

I just want to let you know that I make friends easily, but I make them at a distance. I do appreciate people’s freedom and I don’t want to hold too tight to someone, especially if I know they have the opportunity to find other friends or have had friends before they met me. I don’t like making someone feel like a prisoner around me. When they have searched enough and are satisfied, I will let them know that my door is always open for them. I won’t hate them or push them away. I will remember them and keep them close to my heart. I am have learnt to forgive and reconcile with people, and I keep learning every day. That’s just how I am with friends. Don’t worry too much. I make friends very easily, but I just need to be very open and alert with the friends I have.

When we make decisions, we need to be open to other’s perspectives and not just our own. We need to allow room for other ideas to fit in, or be compatible with our decisions. Above all, we need to allow our hearts to be open to God’s calling. We might make a decision, we believe is the best decision, but do we often stop to ask God “Is this you want from me?” Is this what I should be doing? When I accepted to court you, I was taking responsibility into my own hands. I was at the same time letting God know that I was not ready, but that I would trust him to lead me and guide me. One thing I would not do in our courtship was to let myself get ahead of him. In as much as situations got thick and heavy, and I felt like I do not need this pain, I told him, “Thank you Lord for this chance for me to grow and exercise your love. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to know what true love is, so that I can be able to tell others that it’s not easy.” The only one who can break through a relationship is the author of relationships. There were times that Jesus said “father, take this cup from me.” Again, he would say “not my will be done, but yours alone”. This is the reason I was able to love you.

When I first saw you and said a simple prayer to God, he heard it and I was not going to disappoint him. That is why, I loved you through all the pain you put me through. I learnt how to forgive you and was given the strength to help you grow in your faith. The only way we are to survive as a couple and become a testimony to the world is for you to grow in your faith. Is for you to strengthen your relationship with God and know who he is.

When you are strong enough to take in others under your wing, to nurture them, you will fully understand your calling. You will understand that you do not live for yourself, nor for me, but for God alone. He is a jealous God and does not like when people come to him, when they have personal goals in mind. He wants us to serve him because he is our Lord and saviour. He wants us to give everything to him. He wants us to give up everything that we hold dear, and focus solely on building a firm relationship with him. That is the kind of God we serve. He is not selfish, for if he was, he would not have sent his one and only son to die for our sins.

God knows the plans he has for each and every individual, and he usually prefers us to search for those plans than to start making plans of our own. He would rather we ask him what he wants us to do than for us to be telling him what we want him to do for us. For example, this is what you said: because every day I pray to Him so that he may protect you and mold you to the woman I deserve to have in life, and promised myself to take in charge, protect you and to be there whenever you needed me.” You are telling God what he should do for you. You are not asking God the right questions. For you to grow with God, you will need to ask him what he wants from you. Seek his glory, not him to fix things up for you. Ask him how you can serve him, how you can be a voice for him. When those become your burdens, then you will find that your relationship with him will be stronger, as he begins to reveal himself to you. In return, he will show you how to love me and treat me. I can’t tell you how to treat me. You are not alone in this. He is here always ready for you. When you begin to spend more time with him, in prayer, in his word and meditation, you will fully understand his ways.

I am so glad that you are taking this two weeks to talk to him. I am supporting you in prayer and continued faith, mind, strength and heart to his will. May he reveal to you, your mission. Once you have figured out what he wants from you, you will begin to see things in so many different ways and at different levels. Your focus will be widening his kingdom. I am praying and seeking for God’s favor in your life. That you two will become best of friends and that your joy will be complete in him, as you begin to uncover the mystery he has for you.

You are growing so much and all I can do is praise God every day and thank him. If you find yourself in a situation where the language is not of God, walk away and don’t feel like a coward. It is not the big things that count in following Christ. It is the small things. Make use of your Bible. It is the only defining authority. Go to your pastor and ask him questions. Go ask him to pray with you and pray for you. If you are ashamed of Christ, he will be ashamed of you too before his father. If you want to strengthen your relationship, find someone you can talk to.

I will leave you with these 11 things. If you want you can print them out and put them up on your wall in the house.

A SERVANT OF GOD MUST

1. ENDURE HARDSHIPS
2. NOT INVOLVE IN GOSSIP
3. REMAIN FAITHFUL
4. AVOID GODLESS CHATTER
5. FLEE THE DSIRES OF YOUR YOUTH
6. HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH FOOLISH/STUPID ARGUMENTS
7. NOT QUARREL
8. BE KIND TO EVERYONE
9. BE ABLE TO TEACH
10. NOT BE RESENTFUL
11. INSTRUCT WITH GENTLENESS

This is from 2 Timothy 2.

I do pray that you will take comfort in him and let him lead your every step to the place where he needs you to be. May your bond with him increase so much so that you won’t have space for yourself or me. It is called SACRIFICE. Sacrificing all your wants so that he can have his way in you. Be blessed and take comfort in him.

Love you always 

There people. You have it now. Let me know your thoughts

When I think about a movement, I think about people coming together because they believe in something bigger than themselves. A movement can be political, social, artistic, or spiritual, but at the centre of every true movement is a message that people are willing to carry. Martin Luther King Jr. carried a message of justice, equality, and unity during the fight against racism in America. Other people throughout history have also stood up against oppression, violence, and injustice. But as I think about all these movements, one question stays with me: what about the movement of grace?

The movement of grace did not begin yesterday. It began thousands of years ago, and many people have carried it forward in different ways. People like Mother Teresa showed grace through service, compassion, and love for those who were often forgotten. But the clearest picture of grace is found in Jesus. The Bible tells us about a Saviour who would come, love us, restore us, and make all things new. When I read the New Testament, I see that Jesus did not only teach grace; he lived it. One chapter that really speaks to me is Luke chapter 15.

Luke 15 begins with tax collectors and sinners gathering around Jesus to listen to him. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were not happy about this. They complained and said, “This man welcomes sinners, and eats with them.” Every time I read that, I think about how many times we still act like the Pharisees today. We say we want people to be saved, but sometimes we do not want to be close to the people who need saving. We pray for people, but we also judge them. We talk about love, but we keep our distance. And I have to ask myself honestly: where is grace in that?

Jesus responded to their complaints by telling three parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. In the first story, a shepherd leaves the ninety-nine sheep to go after the one that is lost. That one sheep mattered enough for the shepherd to search for it. Then Jesus tells the story of a woman who loses one of her ten coins and searches carefully until she finds it. Finally, he tells the story of the son who takes his inheritance, wastes everything, and ends up with nothing. When that son finally comes back home, his father does not reject him or remind him of every mistake he made. Instead, he runs to him, embraces him, celebrates him, and restores him as his son. That is grace.

What I love about Luke 15 is that Jesus shows us how God sees the lost. He does not see them as people to throw away. He sees them as people worth searching for, welcoming, and restoring. That makes me think about my own life. How many times has God given me another chance when I did not deserve it? How many times has he forgiven me before I even knew how to ask properly? How many times has he brought me back when I was lost, confused, proud, or far from him? When I think about that, I cannot pretend that grace is only something I receive. It is also something I must learn to give.

This is where it becomes personal for me. It is easy to talk about grace in church. It is easy to sing about it, preach about it, and say that God is good. But it is harder to show grace to someone who hurt me, disappointed me, misunderstood me, or broke my trust. I know I am guilty of holding on to pain and allowing pride to decide how I treat people. But Jesus keeps reminding me that if I have received grace, I cannot keep it to myself. I am learning that forgiveness is not always easy, but it is part of the life Jesus calls me to live. I am learning to lay down my pride, release grudges, and ask God to help the Jesus in me be stronger than the human nature in me.

The movement of grace is not just about words. It is about how we live, how we forgive, how we welcome, and how we treat people when they fall. The apology I am waiting for may never come, but that does not change who Jesus has called me to be. If he loved me before I deserved it, then I must ask myself how I can show that same love to others. How can I speak about grace if I refuse to forgive? How can I tell people about the love of Jesus if I cannot show love to the person next to me? Grace is a gift I did not earn, yet God gave it to me freely through Jesus. So now, the movement of grace must continue through me. It must be seen in the way I forgive, the way I love, the way I welcome the lost, and the way I choose mercy over judgment. If grace found me, restored me, and gave me another chance, then I want my life to help someone else experience that same grace too.

Prostrating before God and letting go everything is one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had in worship. When we seek God with all our hearts, do we go down on our knees; lay flat on our stomachs or do we sit on comfortable beds, sit on cushioned seats (not that anything is wrong with them)? If you have never had the experiences of lowering yourself like a dog, then I suggest you should try sometime. In the Old Testament (OT), we are told stories of people like Esther, Daniel, Ezekiel, David and many others, who took off their clothes and wore torn sack clothes, to go before God. This was in situations beyond their control, and they went to seek for his intervention. I was fascinated with David, who after understanding the full impact of his sin with Bethsheba, prostrated before God for three days without food or drink. When the child died, he got up and ate. PUZZLING. I was fascinated with him, because he laid flat on his stomach with his face to the floor, praying and I am guessing asking for God’s forgiveness for the atrocity he has committed, along with the crime of adultery. He should his hopelessness and inability to fix the damage he has done. God heard him and forgave him, at a price.

As I prostrated myself before God with the heaviness on my heart for the things I could not understand, tears from nowhere came rushing like a fountain that has been blocked for years. I was surprised to find tears and pain swelling up inside of me, because a few minutes earlier, I had been listening to music, dancing around my room and thinking over my life. The moment, I laid on my side, the tears started without me evoking them. When I turned flat on my stomach on the floor, not caring what was on that floor, they floods could not stop. I then realized what was happening. My inability to fix what was going on in my life, was being laid before God, because no one would know that this was the burden I was carrying, when all they ever see is smiles on my face.

I asked God to make my path straight, because I was confused in my walk. I was lost and feeling alone in dealing with my relationships in my personal life. In all honesty, I just wanted to give up everything and cut everyone out of my life, especially when it comes to the man I love. As I laid there before God pouring out my heart to him, God reminded me that he is also hurting and lost just as I am. I really didn’t want to hear it, because I have been hurt so many times and have forgiven so many times. When God reminded me over and over that he was also hurting, that made me realized that he too is struggling just like me. He has been telling me to give him time, but I didn’t understanding how much time, because I was thinking of all that we have been through and it looks like I was the only one who learnt much from our struggles.

I told God that I won’t stop prostrating before him every day till he has given me an answer to what I need to do next. This man did not come into my life because I wanted him, but because he fulfilled a promised I made with God at the age of 18. After laying there for close to 30 minutes, I got up and took my Bible out. I have been reading through the book of Luke, and yesterday morning I read chapter 12. So after praying last night, I took out my Bible and opened chapter 13. As I read the chapter, Verse 6-9 stood out to me. Jesus told the parable of a fig tree that wasn’t bearing fruit after 3 years and the man wanted to cut it down. So he told the man who took care of it to cut it down, but the man said “Sir… leave it alone for one more year and I will dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.” This to me was my leading answer that I believe Jesus has given me. I felt like I was the man who owns the fig tree and wants to cut it down. Jesus however is telling me to give it one more year.

You might take it as a coincidence, but I take it as an answer because people in the Bible got their prayers answered. My next question was, ‘how will I go about this LORD? I need you to show me the right path to follow. I don’t want to mess up your plan with my emotions and feelings. Now that you have told me to wait, how am I supposed to wait without getting too impatient?’ God is the same yesterday in the OT and today and forevermore. 

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin… But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.” (Galatians 1:10–11, 15–17, NIV)

The hardest thing about being a Christian is living for the One who brought you salvation. I mention this because, when you make a declaration of faith, it can feel as though it becomes almost every Christian’s business to tell you what they think you should or should not do. Remember, I said almost. In many cases, they are rightly trying to help you understand what it means to live as a Christian. My concern, however, is that we all have different ways of practising our Christian faith, especially when it comes to applying the Word to our daily lives.

What I would like to say is this: we become followers of Christ because we have seen His life and understood the importance of His mission, which was to save us. It is a beautiful thing for every person to recognise the sacrifice that was made for them. However, that does not mean you need man’s approval to confirm that you are a Christian. Paul himself spoke openly about all he had done before he was converted by our Lord Jesus. He did not seek the apostles’ opinion to know whether he was qualified to be God’s servant. His actions spoke for themselves. Sometimes, as Christians, we fail to see that it is not our duty to create a list of dos and don’ts. God Himself has already given us guidance in the sixty-six books of Scripture. I do not mean that we cannot gently guide a brother or sister back into the Word, but we are not the judges of their character.

If your aim as a Christian is to seek the approval of people rather than the approval of the One who sent you, then, like Paul, I can only pray that God strengthens and redirects your heart. When God called me, before I even knew Him or understood how much He loved me, I heard His voice, but I did not recognise it. From a very young age, I tried not to live to please people. I disliked being used by others, being placed between people who had misunderstandings, and being expected to tell on others. I once came across a story of a young Christian man who had witnessed something a student had done. He did not report it, and when he was asked why, he said, “I was not enrolled in this university to tell on my friends. Besides, you did not ask me, so I had no obligation to tell you anything.” His boldness stayed with me. It reminded me that I did not have to follow the majority or do what everyone else considered acceptable. When I finally came to understand the full implications of what it means to be saved, I decided to run to the source itself, which is the Bible. The more time I spent in God’s presence and in His Word, the more He gave me wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. When I walk down the street and see the pain on the faces of those I pass, I pray for them because they may not yet know how much Jesus loves them.

What I am emphasising here is that your Bible is the best teacher you will ever have. Your fellow Christians may be experienced and may have much advice to give, but they should not be your only source of knowledge. You have eyes, a mind, and hands that God gave you. Read your Bible and seek direction on how to live your life. God has given you all the material you need for your mission. Like Paul, I will listen to my brothers and sisters, but the voice inside me, which I know is from the Holy Spirit, shall be my counsellor and intercessor. My decisions are not made by people, and I do not have to please people to know that I am accepted. I do not need a vision that others approve of, or one that earns enough money for everyone to benefit. My mission is not for man’s approval, but for God’s approval, and for the joy and peace that come from following Him. I would like to encourage each and every one of you to pursue a vision and mission that do not depend on people’s approval, but on what God has placed on your heart. Not everyone will go with you, and that is okay. When Jesus said, “Take up your cross and follow me,” He did not say, “Carry a truckload of other people’s opinions as well.” He called us to put everything else behind us and follow Him. Please do not misunderstand me: God used prophets to speak to His people, and it is good to listen to the wisdom around you. But wisdom should lead you closer to God, not replace His voice. You do not need everyone’s approval to obey what God has called you to do. Not everyone will understand it, and not everyone will support it. Still, all the answers you need lie with the One who called you in the first place. When you take the time to sit with Him, instead of rushing from one appointment to another, you will begin to understand the letters He has written to your heart. Live from that place. Seek His approval first. Follow His voice with courage, and let your life become the evidence of the One who sent you.

What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall he teach the way he shall choose… The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him… Psalm 25:12, 14 KJV

When God sets out to teach man, He chooses His students on the basis of character- not intellectual ability, or academic degrees, or social standing. He looks for an inner attitude of the heart toward Himself: Reverent submission and respect.

Furthermore, God sets the curriculum. He teaches such a man “in the way that he (God) shall choose.” Often this is not the way we would choose for ourselves. We might incline toward themes of prophecy or revelation that seems profound, whereas God’s curriculum might focus on what is humble and down-to-earth: service, sacrifice, faithfulness.

For those who submit to God’s instruction, there is a wonderful reward: “The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him.” In human relationships, we share our secrets only with those we trust. Likewise, when God shares His secrets with us, it is proof we have earned His trust. It is our certificate of graduation.

This is beautifully illustrated in the relationship of Jesus to His Disciples. After He had put them through three years of rigorous discipline, He told them: “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” ( John 15:15). First, Jesus Himself learned from the Father through perfect submission to Him. Then He in turn passed on all He had learned from the Father to those who submitted in like manner to Him.

God still chooses His students on the same basis. Neither His requirements nor His curriculum have changed.

Faith’s Response

Lord, I desire to be such a student that in your time you will share your secrets with me.

PS: I want to be a student that does what my Father in heaven teaches me. I know my mission like Paul knew his and I shall go after it, with God as my only sense of direction. No man or woman can stop the rhythm of my heart that has been beating since the day I was called and set apart by God.

There I was, walking along, drenched and cold, wishing for the beautiful warm bed I had just left and the lovely mug of tea I would have been enjoying if I had stayed home and decided it was too wet to go to church.

My shoes were already wet, the wind was blowing in my face, and I was beginning to wonder whether I would survive the journey. I turned to my friend and said, “We need to go shopping.” Mind you, this is England.

For those of you who know nothing about this place, let me enlighten you about the weather. It is unpredictable. That is the short version. The longer version is that it can be “wet,” “very wet,” or the kind of wet that makes you question why you left the house in the first place.

On a serious note, the weather here has a mind of its own. It can be so wet that if, by chance, you put on the wrong pair of shoes in the morning, as I did, you may end up spending money you did not budget for. It is almost as if you have to be bonded with the weather to know which shoes to wear and which ones to avoid. You may ask about the forecast, and I can tell you they had been predicting snow for months, yet we had not seen a single flake. But back to me and my shoes.

There we were, trying not to be blown away by the wind, not to mention the rain that came with it. My shoes were soaked, and we were not even halfway to church. The umbrella did no good; in fact, we had to protect it from the unpredictable winds that destroy umbrellas so badly that you look up to heaven and thank God you were created human and not umbrella.

If I were an umbrella living in Britain, I would hide behind the shelves and pray nobody chose me for the rain. The winds rip them apart without mercy, and I wince on their behalf. But I digress. Shoes.

So we stopped at a supermarket, where I bought a pair of gumboots. You are probably wondering why I did not just go back home and skip church, or why a little rain and wind required an emergency shoe purchase.

If you live in Africa and love the rich, warm rain and the coolness it brings after a hot day, then I envy you right now. However, if you plan on moving over here, I shall make it my mission to educate you on British weather, which I myself am still trying to comprehend. English weather is on another level. When it rains in winter, people somehow call it warm. When the sun shines in winter, do not be deceived and think it is a good day for the beach. On the contrary, my friend, find your warmest coat, hat, and gloves, and prepare yourself. OK. I am done rambling.

As I was saying, my feet had frozen from that little rain and wind. I had to get out of those cold, wet shoes, take off my socks, and step into the boots. I had been told to prepare for winter, not for rain in winter, so I prepared for snow—which, of course, never came.

We finally got to church 20 minutes late and found two seats. As I put my things down and tried to preserve what little body heat I had left, a tiny little hand slipped into my cold one. I glanced down and saw a little boy looking up at me. I cannot remember the colour of his eyes, only the sweetness of his smile. I was so taken aback that it took me a few seconds to respond.

He was a darling. He let go of my hand, then took it again, smiling up at me all the while. For those of you who do not fancy children, this little angel would have melted the walls around your heart. His gleeful little smile took my breath away, and the frustration of being wet seemed to fly out the window.

I did become conscious of his parents looking at me with smiles on their faces. My hands were cold—I mean very cold—even though they had just come out of my warm gloves. So, now you are getting the picture: do not play in the rain over here if you are used to dancing in it like someone I know.

At that moment, I thought I should let go of his little hand, but his fingers clasped around mine so firmly that I could do nothing but hold on. I looked up to heaven and silently asked God, “Is this your way of apologising?” I laughed, smiled down at him, and nudged my friend beside me.

All the while, he was sitting on his daddy’s lap. He looked up at both parents with a beautiful smile, as if to say, “She needs me, and I think I am doing something right.” Then he turned back cheerfully, as if to say, “They said it’s OK.”

That little gesture from a sweet, loving child—one and a half years old, at least by my guess—felt like a special gift to me. I had arrived cold, wet, and slightly frustrated, but that tiny hand and gleeful smile warmed my heart. I made him my little angel.