Bringing grace home.

I remember this fancy carving we had in the dinning room of our house years ago now, you know those ones that say "Jesus is Lord', 'God bless this house.' type; anyway, the one we had was a verse of scripture which says:

'Dear brothers since God so loves us we ought to Love one another'

i remember this frame so much because during lessons when the maths becomes too much for my brain I would just stare at this frame and read it taking out letters e.g " take out D and read it as ear brothers..." and no don't ask me how old i was, i wont tell. lol!

God loves us so we love others. he reached out to touch you and I so that those around us would be touched. Apostle paul puts it like this "God comforts us to comfort others" (I paraphrase).

God made a promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob about their generation getting into a land flowing with milk and honey, literally the people of Israel were going to reap where they did not sow. God made a promise and he intended to keep it even when the Israelites kicked and screamed against God, when they rebelled, when they chose an idol over him. God made a promise and was going to keep it. why? because his love, because his grace knows no other way.

bringing grace home, is all about loving the people in our lives, in our world even when they seem most undeserving, even when it logically impossible Max Lucado puts it this way:

"What is grace? it is what someone gives us out of the goodness of his/her heart, not out of the perfection of ours."

to put it simply, love should not be based on performance or even feelings(which are down today , up tomorrow) walking in Love is a choice, a conscious lifestyle.

It is one thing to be benefactors of grace, that is great, beautiful, a testimony in its own right. But to go farther in sharing and showing that love, is the end in itself. Max Lucado says on this:

"When someone really tastes the forgiving and liberating grace of God... Someone who tastes God's grace is the hardest worker, the most morally pure individual and the person most willing to forgive."

you and I are not just meant to recieve grace, we are called to bring it home.

John 13:34:

"So now I am giving you a commandment :Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other."

As we rely on God to enable us walk in Love, lets have ever before us that when love is behind an action, its never too small, it never goes unrecognized, or unrewarded.

keep surviving on his grace. chichi

the choice the price.

as i lay in bed unwilling to arise from my slumber and begin my day, a scripture was wisphered into my spirit-Exoduos 8 vs 1-10.

it happens to me like that sometimes; God just 'wisphers' a word to me. anyway i jumped out from bed, reached for my bible, opened to the passage and began to study.

the gist of it: Moses had been sent to pharaoh with a message from God "let my people go, so they can worship me" that was the message the instruction; the command. however God added "...IF you refuse.... i will send vast hordes of frogs across your entire land...."

pharaoh refused- and payed the price; ' .... frogs covered the WHOLE land of Egypt..." vs6

time passed- and pharoah sent for Moses and Aaron and begged "plead with the Lord to take the frogs away from me and my people...."

Moses replied that it was Pharoah who decided when he will pray for the Land to be rid of the plaugue of frogs.

pharoah's answer: "do it tomorrow.

i personally have wondered why pharoah said 'tomorrow' but it was a choice HE MADE and once again he paid the price "another day of frogs!"

then the Lord said to me: THE CHOICES WE{i} MAKE AFFECT NOT JUST US BUT THOSE WHO ARE AROUND US-THOSE WHO MEET WITH US.

it's not just us who 'suffer' or 'gain' from the choices we make in our personal lifes but every other person we know or would meet.

IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT YOU- and that is the coffee you need to wake up to meaning-this is the truth you have to accept.

the choices we make in 'our' lifes either ENRICHES the lives of those we come across or makes them the 'POORER'-.

it was pharoah's choice that got the entire land of Egypt into a horrible situation- and instead of him to LEARN from that and correct himself he repeated the same FOLLY.

we leave in a 'self-obsessed' world; we want to constantly have our way-do as we like thta we make the CHOICES we eventually would regret; the CHOICES those around join to pay the price for.

• the husband/father who CHOOSES not to break free from his addiction to alcohol- he is NOT the only one who suffers his entire family suffers as well.

• the man/woman whose REFUSES to abandon a pessimistic outlook on life is NOT the only one to suffer; but those who surround him/her.

the thng baout choices , is that conciously or unconciously, we are MAKING them- we either choose life or death; and have the consequence of our choices to look forward to.

the bible says in James 'he who lacks wisdom should ask God who gives generously.' you and I NEED wisdom for choice- once we understand that it does not END with us, but BEGINS with us; we become more dependent on the Lord's leading for direction {as it should be anyway.}.

so yea : 'THE CHOICE THE PRICE'; remember its NOT just us who reap from our choices BUT those around us. this is a message on selflessness in a way- becos once you are out to do right by God and by those around you {like paul admnishes us in one of the epistles to do our best to live at peace with those around us} you cease to live for self, and if that is not christ-like, then i wonder which christ we talking about here.

his peace. chichi

I CHOOSE DEATH...

i do; i really do.

on sunday evening i setteled to study the word of God; and my devotional lead me to this verse in 1peter4:19:

"so if you are suffering according to God's will,

keep doing what is right and trust yourself

to the God who made you, for he never fails."

what struck me the most was "suffering acording to God's will" my mind threw this sentnece around; something in me was not to 'YAY!' about it; then Jesus came into my mind... his death, was a perfect example of suffering according to God's will.

some minutes ago i listened to T.D JAKES on line and he read from the scripture where Jesus said he did not come to bring peace.... and i thought 'WOW!'

we do not become christ-like/ like christ if life is without the challenges and battles, and oppositons! in the beatitudes Jesus said "blessed are you when you are persecuted for my sake..."

TD JAKES talked about "death to your/ my will", "death to sin."

and then this is the TRUTH i got; we who profess and confess christ have to choose death!!

death to our flesh, death to the world... choose a new world a new life where everything about us revolves around Jesus christ our Lord.

some of us do NOT want to die, some of us are HALF dead.... for some reason; we do not want to be LOST in him-JESUS.

for some reason we delay change that makes us better sons and daughters...

for some reason the LIGHT is going out and we are TOO slow to fan it into flame...

for some reason trying... now has no point, makes no sense.

but until you and i are completely dead to self... we will NEVER come alive in Christ; for the bible does say only the pure of heart will see God...

'death' is a scary thing; it is something we rebuke, we refuse, we do not want to think or talk about.

spiritual death is the BEST thing... peter says in his first book chapter 4 vs 13:

instead be VERY glad-because these trials,

will make you partners with christ...

when we live for christ; the trials will come... when we choose death; the devil begins to see us as people he has to bring down... we become a threat to him just as jesus was, as jesus is...

but will the fear of trials unknown stop you and i from choosing death?

his peace. chichi.

there is just sumthin about it....

i am one those people .... or rather used to be one of those people who say "well enough about me ... what do you think about me?" you get; i just do that... unconciosly i must add.
i waant to talk bout my problems, my relationship horrors, my dreams , my fears.... "me,me, me" like an opera singer {mmh}.
even before God in prayer as of last year, i was so "hung-up" on ME, when will I? I want.... I neeed... yes i pray 4 family and friends and christians but i just somehow get back to me{more}!
recently i have begun to change that... as of last year{late} the holy spirit told me to pray for the people in my class by name every day.... I began to do it.
i also have begun to pray for "abused women" after reading the blog of confused naija girl. i have begun to pray for countries i just may never visit....
today i spent over and hour helping someone decide her next step... counselling her, advising her.... I did not try to "do" me into the conversation, i listened and shared whatever wisdom within me.
and i realize "there is just something about.... being selfless". i feel like im doing something good, i feel like am making an impact by investing time, prayer and wisdom into someone else.

i pray for others and i get encouraged that : if I am so confident that This God can and will help these people... he can and will help me.

it just feels right... i cn't explain... i just know there is something about being selfless.

his peace.chichi.