A BEAUTIFUL LOVE STORY

A lot of people do not understand what it means when you tell them God loves them, God's  love cannot be measured but here is the most powerful story of all time, that which is the love story between you and God.

When Christ came to the earth, he came in our nature, to know what it meant to be you and I living on earth, to show us that because he could conquer sin, that through him we can also conquer sin. While on earth, He taught us how our relationship with God should be like, by learning from his relationship with the father. He taught us that signs and wonders follow his gospel. The life of Jesus literally taught us everything we needed for life. Christ is like that friend that comes into your life and at that very moment, you are upgraded. That friend who goes through thick and thin with you just so he would understand you better and to show you how much love he has for you.

After his work on earth was done, the time came for him to die for you and me. Salvation  means deliverance, and the reason for this death is so you and I might be saved forever. ( Hebrews 10 vs 10 : For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.). As long as you believe in the saving grace of Jesus ALL your sins are forgiven, I mean the sins which you would have committed your entire lifetime. (1 John 2 vs 12 12: I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus, Hebrews 10 vs 17  i will never again remember  their sins and lawless deeds). When you believe in Jesus Christ, you are being made perfect in Christ, you are made righteous because an exchange was made and the gift of righteousness was given to you (Hebrews 10 vs 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. Ephesians 2 vs 8-9 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it). Righteousness is a gift from God, not given to us based on how we have been or based on how well we've behaved or based on what we've done for God, we didn't work for it. He freely gave it to those believe in Jesus. This is hard for many to believe, but it's how this works, it's the word of God.

It doesn't matter how your past has been, God is earnestly waiting for you to come to him.

You may have been saved but you see yourself still involved in one or more things that may make it seem like you are not really God's own. First of all, understand that you've been delivered from the power of sin and you are no longer a slave to sin, live in this reality (Romans 8 vs 1  So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death). Stop condemning yourself and hold on to the grace of God made abundant unto you, because when God sees you, he sees Jesus(righteousness) as a result of that exchange that was made when Christ died. You remain God's own because nothing can snatch you out of God's hands. You've been made righteous and the Holy spirit is at work in you so you will live like the righteous person that you are, just trust God. The Holy spirit is the seal God has placed over you to claim you as his own. Hence, the devil no longer has power over you.

If you dont believe in Jesus Christ, you are not saved and now is an opportunity to be saved. (Romans 3 vs 22: We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.) This is beyond being a regular church goer, being religious or just being a good person. You have to acknowledge the finished works of Christ by believing in Jesus Christ. Say this prayer of salvation to be saved. "Lord Jesus, I believe in my heart that you are the son of God who died for all my sins, I declare you Lord over my life, I believe that I have been made righteous by your finished works" Amen. You've been saved! God is happy to receive you. Welcome to the family. I encourage you to read the bible which will constantly renew your mind, you can contact me personally : kekenyeubulom@gmail.com.

WHAT GRUDGES DO

Today's scriptural reference is from the book of Genesis 33. Jacob committed  the gravest offence towards Esau, he took Esau's birthright. If you read what happened in the scriptures, Esau forgave Jacob and accepted him and his family. Aside forgiving and accepting Jacob, he even offered to helpand protect Jacob.

If God can be gracious to us despite how much and deep our sins were, we can be gracious to other people who offend us. Why? Because we have God in us and he is our mirror. It may not be easy but it's very possible with the help of God to forgive offences and let go of grudges.  A particular day, it was revealed to me how grudges can be a hindrance to so many things. Holding grudges against people has never been worth it. People may offend you in several ways but it doesn't make them less of value than any other person.

When you hold grudges against people, it blinds your eyes from seeing them as God sees them and as a result you can't relate with them how God wants you to relate with them. A grudge is like blindness that prevents one from seeing clearly. So many times we are made aware of how grudges are not healthy for us, which is very true but my emphasis today is to let you know how keeping a grudge will not be beneficial to the other person, because we are meant to love one another as we love ourselves.

If you hold a grudge against somebody, it's hard to get revelations from the spirit concerning this person which obviously wont be of good to this person or one may not get a clear revelation and even when things are revealed concerning that person to you, you may not be able to pray wholeheartedly for them. When you pray, what they have done to you keeps flooding your mind and it becomes a distraction and an hindrance, because you are not able to pray in love. As Christians our actions towards one another if not done in love, is useless(1 Corinthians 13). Grudges have a way of dampening people spiritually generally, it doesn't necessarily have to be in relation to the offender.

Do not wait to learn things the hard way. People will offend us, sometimes it will be unbearable, one may get angry, but dont stay in that anger. People who have lost someone they held grudges for will tell you when this person was taken away from them, they realised all the anger, grudge and hate  wasn't worth it. Some of them wished they could have reached out to this person more, some wished they could  have been there for that person. Some people even then see that the person's faults wasn't significant anyway after they passed.

No wonder the bible says pray for your enemies and do good to people who hurt you. You never know what someone is going through, so dont let a grudge be an hindrance to reaching out, forgiveness or walking in love towards another person. Infact, they dont have to go through something to deserve your love.

If you feel being close with this people can cause you to fall or isn't good for your soul, it's okay but let your hearts towards them be that of forgiveness and love and never stop praying for their souls and overall wellbeing.

This message has been laid in my heart to reach out to people with it, I dont know who it's for but do not take it likely.

HE CARES

You ever been through so much in a short while that it seems everything is just piling up and one of these days you are going to reach your breaking point. It has happened to me before, the most severe was three years ago, I wasn't in such a good place. I was smiling fine, trying so hard not to get on the bad side of people and just living, but I wasn't  really happy, by God's grace I overcame it and God opened my eyes to learn from that situation.

Life can be challenging, especially when it feels like you are under so much pressure to do your best for something. Or it could be you just merely facing one problem, and before you are out of one you've entered another and then it becomes so much that you feel choked. You wanna cry, you may even want to cry in public but something holds you back, maybe your pride. You may even be one to not talk to people alot, so its worse because you keep it all in. Sometimes you sleep and wake and just want everything to be over.

I came to realise something, the first time you are hit by a storm and instead of talking it out in prayer, but choose to stay right there to make sense of it and keep being gloomy about it, it will to pile up. Then another one comes and same thing and then another comes and they just keep piling up. You keep arranging burdens to bear for yourself on your back.

The reason why this happens is because we let go of the place of trusting God and letting him bear our burdens, even when we know he handles them well. The devil lies that we are more capable to carry our own problems but as a Christian you are no longer of yourself but of God. You feel that particular care is too humane for God to handle or we trust God for a minute and let go the next. I have also come to realise that most burdens we chose to carry are based on us forgetting who we are in Christ. What's in the world or what the world has to say about you is not true, deep down we know it's not true but we believe it and keep a grudge that it was said. Greater is the one you have in you and what he has given to you in him.

We forget peace is what God has freely given us. Happiness is what God has given us but we still have to choose it. God has given us the free will to choose what we want. While we are still in our perishable bodies, we will face so many trials. But then the've become God's yoke to bear not ours. Sometimes what's pushing you is right under your nose that you can't seem to get past it. But have you prayed for wisdom on how to go about it? Have you left it onto God. Have you poured out your heart to the person God wants you to pour it out to? Are you letting go and forgiving who ever offends you?

You are free to cry but after those tears understand that God can never leave you.

Things happen that may want to take away our happiness, in fact, you may even become unhappy but realizing that you are not holding on to your happiness in Christ and choosing to be happy is all that matters.

Sometimes we are so used to worrying that even the little things that never made you worry now have your attention. Take a moment to breath and pray. If you need to talk to somebody do so. I may not be able to solve your problem with this writeup but talking to God about it will help you.

Are you fruitful?

^{Galatians 15 vs 22-23}
 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruits in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Reading through Galatians 5 down to verse 22, I was drawn by that verse, not that I hadn't seen before, but it felt different this time. To show how familiar I am with this verse, I remember a time my mother taught it in children's sunday school when I was a child. She made it into a song for us. I remember clearly how she took her time to make sure we were able to memorise that verse as a song. I liked that song so much that it stuck with me till adulthood.

As a teenager, those days I thought the law to be the way. When I wanted to reprimand myself to be sure I was still the holy child of God who kept the commandments, i would remember this verse sometimes, it was more like an obligation for me to conform to it, like things I needed to possess to be a true child of God. After i had the revelation of the gospel of Christ  it made me realise, I had all of it in me. It was who I was. So yesterday,  evening, I came across this verse again. The question I asked myself was, Was I bearing these fruits? even though the seed have been planted in me. He has given me love, joy, peace, patience, kindness and goodness but i had to be intentional/conscious about bearing this fruits. This fruits are signs that the seed planted in us are being watered (by the word, it is also a sign of our deligent walk with God or our yield to the Holyspirit) and that its springs forth to bear fruits.

Are you letting yourself bear fruits of what has been planted in you? It's already in you. The reason we bear this fruits is because they are beneficial or I should say they are edible to people God has brought us in contact with. We also reap for ourselves the benefits of bearing this fruits, it's a yardstick to see how much we've grown spiritually.

  Lastly, because you went astray or distant doesn't disqualify you. We are his own and even when we go astray, he upholds us with his right hand and prunes us so we may bear good fruits, but you have to be willing to let him.

John 15

1“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

AMAZING GOD

2019 has been a year! One of the toughest journeys for me. I was initially tempted to look just at how tough it was, then I thought about it and realised that though the journey was tough, God fought the battles. More like big battles and a bigger God. God has taught me so much this year, I came to realise  that indeed i can't do anything by myself and i needed God more than I thought.

When i tried  to do things alone, allowing my human wisdom to control some situations, i failed woefully. Those days when it seemed like God coming through for me may not happen or was unrealistic, he actually came through. I learnt that God was more powerful than I could ever know and that I could never measure the power of God. He works beyond our own imaginations. He knows the end from the beginning. Our wisdom alone can't take us anywhere, we always fail at it. We may find our selves in certain situations and trails but God is the one on the battle field and all we have to do is trust him with all our hearts.

I have written about my experiences above but then, I'm just trying to let you know that you shouldn't go anywhere at all without God. Sometimes you may feel you know better, sometimes fear may guard our decisions, sometimes it may feel like involving God is unrealistic, sometimes  it may feel like everything is already set to not work in our favour or it may seem like it's too late but all these are lies of the devil. God never leaves our side and he always comes through, even after we have displayed our highest level of insecurities and foolishness.

Studying the book of Exodus, I learnt so much. Most important lesson was that God orders our steps. Moses was sent by God to deliver the Israelites from their sufferings under Pharaoh. It was magnificent to see that everything worked out just as God had planned. Moses told God he wasn't going without him, he insisted he wasn't qualified to deliver his people, he nagged at God at every slightest opportunity, he was afraid, it was tough for him but when it was time for God's plans to come through, he worked mightily through Moses. God had Pharaoh's heart in his hands. What we forget sometimes is that as much as God is on our side, he is also in control of things on the opposing side, regardless of who or what is involved. Pharaoh must have thought himself to be wise. At every step of the journey, God made everything required available at the right time. It's all about trust.

I also want to remind you that God loves you wholeheartedly.
Regardless of your qualifications, actions, family prestige, accomplishments, your service in his vineyard etc. Put all of this aside and God still loves you. His love is totally unconditional and undeserving. By the reason of the death and resurrection of Christ, you've been found worthy and qualified by God so never put yourself down for any reason. Only in Christ can you find your worth not in the face of man. Please don't end 2019 without God and don't  start and go through 2020 without him, have the consciousness that he is always there even when things don't make sense to you. Praise God!

REFLECTION
How has this year been?
What are your testimonies?
What were your struggles?
Do you still have present struggles?
Do you feel God is with you through it?
Have you allowed God teach you this year?
Have you been submissive to God's leadings?
Have you let God take over your heart?
Have you let God unconditionally love others through you?

WALKING CLOSELY

There are times in our Christian walk with God when we don’t feel that fire burning like before. I mean, its as if your spiritual life isn't blazing. One may go or not go to church but deep down, they know they are not where they should be in their relationship with God or they just feel distant from God for whatever reason.
You wake up in the morning to pray, and it just seems like the energy to pray isn't there. It's time to go to church but then it's  like you would rather embrace your bed or go some other place. It’s quite embarrassing to admit it but it does happen.

The question is, why is it happening? I may not know all the reasons why but I can list and talk about some. This is not to judge and condemn you, but to open your eyes to see.

1. Sheer Laziness: You’ve made yourself too comfortable by continuously postponing your time with God. it has happened so much that it becomes a habit and now you see yourself making excuses not to spend time with God for no particular reason. You are in a relationship with your father and you should understand that he wants a communion with you, he wants to have a companion in you. Solving this is about building self discipline also by yielding to and obeying the voice of the Holy spirit. My last paragraph will emphasised more.

2. Distractions: This could in different forms like that interesting movie series taking all your time that you keep pushing your time with God forward. For example, you’ve spent time on that series, now its 11pm and you are tired and very stressed. Then you are like " I don’t think I have the strength to study the word and pray anymore". So you sleep or you mumble a few words of prayer and sleep off.
Distractions can come from the type of company you keep, there are friends who may not be in one accord with you. What they are after is different from what you are after and before you realise it, your priority changes because they keep coming in the way of your time with God and fellowship with the saints. You may also be too embarrassed to pray before them because you feel they will judge you for being "too spiritual " or you think they may feel judged because you are too spiritual. Your friends should know who you are from the very beginning. Strive to be a light to them instead of dimming your light to fit in. If you can’t influence their lives as a believer, stay away and with love from your heart, pray for them. The bible says in the book of acts, that the disciples  were in one accord. When you are in one accord, your aim is same. Some may keep you busy doing what is actually of no use to you while some may just be in your face all the time giving you no room to spend time with God. Are your relationships distracting you instead of encouraging you to get closer to God?

3. Trials: This one can hit one so hard that sometimes it makes you wonder if there is any need to pray. The devil may make you feel God has disappointed you and you may be so pained that you don’t want to talk to God at all. Sometimes you may face situations that may make you think prayer can’t help you, which  is an obvious lie from the devil. You may also face situations that tend to occupy you all the time that you unintentionally  forget to spend time with God.
If you are facing trials, it's tempting to keep God far but that's when you should hold him closer. We are in this body and will face trials but you should know God is with you through it, even if the trial you are facing seems like the world  is crumbling at your feet. God wants the best for you and he always will. Romans 8 says that we may face whatever we face but nothing  can separate us from the love God has towards us and in all of it, in him, we are more than conquerors. God has a way of giving us peace despite the presence of turbulence around us.

4. Schedule: You may feel your  schedule is too tight that putting prayer or time with God in it will disrupt things. It may be you just realising halfway into your day or when it's almost over that you haven't spent time with God. If you feel you are busy, God wants to be a part of that busy life. When you involve God in your life, you walk in his wisdom and by his grace. Your strength renewed in him too.

5. Condemnation: The bible says there's  therefore now no condemnation for them that are in Christ Jesus - Roman's 8 vs 1. God has the power to forgive sins, no matter how bad you think it is, he has forgiven you. Forgive yourself  and move on.


There could be several other reasons which I may not know about, but your time with God is above this reasons.

As much as we shouldn't make spending time with God a religious and forced act or something you just have to do to get it done with. Understand that spending time with God is intentional. I may not know exactly what everybody’s reason who is going through this phase is but I know you have to be intentional about your time with God. Your knowledge of God opens your eyes to see more than just the ordinary or beyond what an unbeliever can see.
 As much as you pray, spend time with God in his word. Spending time with God aligns you with the purpose to which he has called you and then you know why you are here and how to fulfil that purpose with God by yourside. God is your maker, he's planned your life and ignorantly living off God's plan or will for you isn't  ideal. A product manufacturer knows why he's  made a product and if he/she doesn't  state the function of it or if the users don't work closely with the product manual and abide by its rules, that product can't  accomplish  it's  purpose. This is a mere product or a mere machine but then you are made in the image of God, to be like him and to live like him. If you don’t walk closely with him, you may never know who you are and how you ought to live. Our lives as Christians is centered around God and if you are not making God the center of your living, then you are not actually living. The bible says, in him we live and move and have our being. Please don’t miss out on fellowship with God.  I may not have stated that reason of yours but consider it, pray about it, study the word and allow God lead you right on what to do but then you have to be intentional about it. Aside going close to God just for what we want from him or when we need something, let’s get close to be filled with the knowledge of him and of who he is.

AGAINST ALL ODDS, GIVE THANKS

Sometime last week, one evening while taking a nap, I had a wonderful dream. It was a personal experience of God opening my eyes to realise something I apparently took for granted recently but i want to share because so many of us can relate to this. In the dream, the first scene, a gospel song video was being played. Its was a praise song by an artise who was rejoicing greatly, the song video showed several scenes of averted bikes and car crashes.  I watched and saw many careless actions or decisions made by the people in the video that could have resulted in a crash but were averted. This made me realise how often we are careless, loose control, loose our directions, go astray but God still finds a way to bring us back or save us from those circumstances. This song video doesn't  exist as a video in real life but maybe the experiences are real to some of us. Sometimes it may not be carelessness but one may just happen to find themselves in such circumstances.

Then later on still in that dream after the song video, the next scene was that of a helpless person who looked sick and was at the verge of giving up on life. Made me realise how several times we wanted to give up or we even gave up but grace was made available.

The next scene was of me going for our family yearly gathering, in the dream it was like i hadn't seen my family in over a year. I walked into the place, sat down, i was almost getting distracted by the act of my sister playfully pulling my hair, when God made me look beyond my distractions. He made me see what he wanted me to see, that we were all complete and healthy. This brought tears to eyes in the dream.  Yes all this was a dream. But then i woke up with reflection in my heart.

My reflection took me back to how much I have been complaining about things lately. How much I have been ungrateful and forgetful. I was even cranky about several things before I slept off that afternoon.  I got answered prayers to several requests, I was thankful but i still went on to point out the imperfections in them, that's what so many of us do when we receive from God instead of wholly thanking.

Sometimes things happen to us and sometimes we get so carried away that  we don't  see what God is doing for us and what he has done already. Think about it, how many things has God saved you from  this year? The ones you know about and the ones you don't  know about.
This may not be a perfect example but it is a common problem of many single people. For instance, you may be unhappy about not being in a relationship and the year is almost gone or you may be cranky about not getting what you wanted but you don't know what God has saved you from. Everything happens as God wills. Perhaps, he is trying to groom you for these things but you are not seeing it, be thankful to be groomed/taught by God, it's a previllege.

 You've  been through alot I guess, but how many times has God pulled you through it? that now you look back and wonder how it was possible to come out of it. It was all God. How many times has God been there through it all with you? Counting it may not be everything right now because it is more than you know but being forgetful is unacceptable.  Don't Get too carried away with what's happening around you that you forget all that God has done for you and your family. Remember  and be grateful. The fact that you are  reading this now says you are alive in September, be grateful to God. You are stressed, tired, depressed etc, God's got  you and this too shall pass with a testimony. Just don't stop being thankful. Complaining never solves anything.

Remembering God's faithfulness helps you remember that God has always been there for you, don't let the devil trick you into thinking otherwise. This message is not a reminder to only thank God at month ends or beginnings but to have a heart of thanksgiving at all times and seasons, when things seem to be going well or wrong.

Just take a moment to thank God today or even now with a joyous heart of gratitude.

WHEN IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE

I once saw a movie named ‘’Marshall’, it was about a white man, Mr Friedman. He found himself in a situation were he was left without a choice but to be the attorney for a black man accused of a crime in the era of strong racism and discrimination of blacks. He was an insurance lawyer but somehow was coerced into being the defending lawyer of the case. The original attorney Mr Marshall, who was black was unfairly disqualified from defending the case. Mr Friedman had his family to protect from the society that will later turn against him, a reputation (as a white to protect), and a law firm to protect. He was confused initially and he wanted to back out so many times, but he later accepted it. Against all odds (he was threatened, beaten, mocked and insulted, the presiding judge was a friend of the prosecutor’s father and seemed to favour the prosecutor somehow), and with the help of Mr Marshall who didn’t leave his side, he fought for the black man’s innocence. He tediously convinced a jury made up of just whites to rule in favour of the accused. After all of this, a life was saved and this was part of what stirred a revolution in the judiciary system to be fair when handling cases involving the blacks. He allowed himself to be led to make impact on a lot of people. Truth is, even if it was just the black man he saved, it made a difference. The movie is based on a true life story. This movie kind of reminded me of medical school, how the emotional, physical and mental stress has made so many of us wish we were studying something else instead and sometimes you may want to give up. Its indeed exhausting, but you must understand that there’s a reason why you are where you are right now.

If God wants you somewhere, he wants you there even when it doesn’t make sense to you. Unless you are certain it’s not God’s plan for you because he told you so. Currently, you may not impact a thousand souls but the ten souls you impact every step of the way counts so much. One soul is precious to God and this soul has to be precious to you too.

Even with God’s assurance, we still question if God is with us at all. Mr Marshall the black attorney wasn't allowed to say a word in court, the best he could do was write on a note for the defending lawyer on directions to take and instructions to follow in handling the case. It was fustrating for Mr Friedman to pause for instructions, take breaks, make mistakes for missing out something and for trying to do it his way but the end was good. Here we have a God who speaks to us in many ways but we still don't have faith in him because just like the defending lawyer who was the one to do the talking in court and was afraid for that despite being guided by the other attorney, we tend to get frightened because physically, all we see is ourselves going through it all. You have to understand that no matter what happens in life, you matter to God, God is with us every step of the way and he wants the best for you and that he gives. Sometimes, the preparation phase is the hardest and it may seem like you are breaking a lot but you are only getting stronger.

Let’s say it’s a different scenario where you made a wrong decision in life and the consequences come, God won’t still scrap you out of his plan, he will make something out of you with it and use it to make you better at what he called you to do.

Sometimes, because of being shaken, stressed, confused or broken, we either lose our passion, throw it away or bury it. Or we let our passion out only when everything seems to be working fine. God wants you to keep your passion burning. Passion reminds you of why you are where you are regardless of what happens, Passion helps you see what’s ahead, it’s a reminder that you are not wasting your time, but you are where you are for a reason. Passion goes a long way in making you have faith in something. Passion keeps you focused.

Always look forward to making the best out of situations, learn from things that happen, observe, listen to what God has to say about it and rise, knowing God wants the best for you. The most important thing is understanding that God is with you every single step of the way. God hasn’t looked away from you even for a second. Drop your burden at God's feet and trust his guidance. 

When it was a day to the end of this case, Mr Marshall had other duties to attend to, so he left. But before that he spoke with the defending attorney, Mr Freidman. He told him that having come this far, he has trust in him to close the case on his own and then guided him to write a good closing argument. The defending lawyer was able to do that and they won. You may be progressing from a phase to another phase and it scares you so much because you are afraid of how you’re going to fare in the next phase or you are tempted to doubt yourself. The end of a phase means something has been built or established for use for another phase.  Let me remind you that God made you and he knows every single thing about what’s ahead and where you are going. Though this black lawyer left to attend to other duties, God is there to watch over you knowing fully well that he's put something in you. lean on him and go talk to him right now.

Hebrews 13 vs 5: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.