When heaven seems silent.

Have you ever stared blankly or muttered unintelligible words when someone asks you of your future plans?
Have you ever felt weird when you sat and listened to motivational speakers talk about planning and goal setting? And then, you looked around and saw everyone drafting out their future plans… Everyone but you, and you begin to wonder where the root of your problem lies…?
You’ve prayed and prayed, but all you saw were very long term visions, and you’re lost on how to get there from here?
Yes, right? You’re not alone. I’ve been there and it really is a very frustrating place to be.

While praying, God showed me two men: a Governor and a Prime minister. These two were once in our shoes as well. They were Zaphenath-paneah and Belteshazzar aka Joseph and Daniel.

Joseph was given a long term vision by God concerning his future.(Genesis 37:7) It was revealed that he would rule over his brothers, but specifics on the “how” wasn’t given to him. Joseph never knew that he would end up as the prime minister of Egypt, a country a long way from home.
I believe that if God had told him about this, he would have bought a ticket to Egypt and tried to scheme and plot his way into the palace. He, very much like you and I, would have done, tried to take matters into his hands by asking the cup bearer to remember him before the king. As God would have it, the cup bearer forgot. Had he remembered, Joseph would have been released much earlier and he would have been a long way gone. Long before before Pharaoh would have a dream to be interpreted. Hence, his appointment would have eluded him.

[[Heb 11:15]]
And indeed if they had remembered that land from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to turn back.

Now, let’s look at Daniel. He, also wasn’t told by God of his governorship & ministerial appointment. He came to Babylon under similar conditions as Joseph. They were both captives, slaves of another country’s government. A very large possibility exists that if while in Babylon, Daniel got to know he would become a Governor, he might have started “helping God”. Maybe by creating the right political ties and trying to edge his way into the courts of the king, consequently distancing himself from the position.
But heaven shut out Revelation of these things to both men.

How then did they survive, and enter into the place God ordained for them?

*[[Gen 39:9]] NHEB*
He isn’t greater in this house than I, neither has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”

*[[Dan 1:8]] KJV*
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

Both men had deep rooted convictions of their belief in God. These convictions sustained them when troubles arose.
In addition, their visions of the future were vague, so they couldn’t scheme, and get in God’s way, yet greatness was birthed without their efforts and planning. They had no penned down 5-year, 10-year plans on how to ascend. ( PS: goal setting is good). All they had was a daily walk with God, like Abraham and a resolute desire not to sin against Him.

Sometimes when the heavens are shut concerning your future, it is simply to save you from scheming and destroying God’s plans. God is not slack concerning his promises.

Wedding bands and Heaven’s bells

Jesus said that in heaven we would be like angels, not marrying and given to marriage.
      Marriage is usually a function of a deep love bond between a man and a woman. It was instituted in Genesis 2 after Adam met Eve, there, the institution of marriage was  prophesied, and formed. Marriage, according to Paul symbolises the union between Christ and His  bride; which is the church, and that union is based also on a strong love bond.
     Here on earth, our love for God is limited. Limited because of the level of knowledge we have and our imperfect nature. Due to this imperfection, the concept of bowing down to God regularly like the 24 elders strikes us as weird. And then, there’s the question of ‘What we would do in heaven apart from Worship?”
    Two people at the “peak of  love” never get tired or weary of being in the other person’s presence, they relish each other’s company. They virtually live to be with each other. This is a typification of worship.
     A song writer wrote “when we see Him as He is, we’ll love Him as we ought”. Hence, there’s a level of loving we ought to get to that we are yet to attain because we haven’t caught a full revelation of Christ. However, in heaven, we shall know all things.

*[[1Co 13:9]] BBE* For our knowledge is only in part, and the prophet’s word gives only a part of what is true:
*[[1Co 13:12]] BBE* For now we see things in a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now my knowledge is in part; then it will be complete, even as God’s knowledge of me.

The above scripture was written with love as its subject. Our knowledge of love is in part but when the incomplete nature of our knowledge of love is done away with, we’ll know and love God in full.
That’s why the wedding feast of the lamb is for the marriage of Christ with the church: “two love birds”. For in heaven our love for God would know no bounds and supersede all the love we have ever felt for anyone we’ve ever loved, put together.

*[[Rom 7:3]] KJV* So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

To get to heaven we must leave this earth( hence death or its forms). Hence, we are all legally single and by the reason of love or the strength of love bonds, our only possible marriage partner would be Christ, because our love for Him would surpass every other possible love relationship including that of our earthly spouse. We would be fully His and Him, ours.

Here’s an example:
If a poor and hungry man is given Ten Thousand Naira, he’d clutch it like gold and thank you like you’re God’s incarnate. But if while he’s still holding on to the money, someone else comes with a billion naira, He’d quickly discard the 10, 000 for the billion when he’s asked to choose. This is because the lesser is contained in the greater. The satisfaction derivable from owning the initial sum would be met by the billion naira and a greater satisfaction which he may not have ever known would also be gained. The satisfaction derivable in loving Christ would supersede any other love relationship we have experienced.

I think this may be a reason why marriage is not obtainable in heaven. Nevertheless I know in parT.

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They chased after Utopia only to find out that it was a mirage

TRUE TO ME

Here is a simple Sonnet I wrote two years ago… It’s one of my first poems. Hope it speaks to you too 🙂

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naTurally eVil

Something remarkable occurred last week at the school where I teach. A student who was flogged amongst others as punishment for misbehaviour, complained of body pains when he got back home, and eventually died. He was buried two days later; on a school day. His classmates who stubbornly went for the ceremony, returned for classes and all hell broke loose; a riot was started.
I watched in awe, the students’ hysteria, but what struck me most was the changed mien of this usually well-mannered, always happy chap- for whom I would have defended to the latter if he were accused of killing a fly. His face was grotesque as he ran around throwing sticks and stones.  How could someone so sweet and calm suddenly turn vile and violent?

PS. I have no intention of judging his actions due to the circumstances of the event.

“The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is” -Jeremiah 17:9 (NLT).

Every being; man, woman, boy or girl, has an inherent ability to do evil. Evil lurks in our hearts, waiting for an opportunity to manifest. We need not learn it, we are naturals at it. This makes it not so difficult to understand why a courteous man would walk into a store, bring out a gun and shoot sporadically without any apparent provocation, killing many. No warning signs, no prior actions prophetic of future behaviour and many times, no motive(s); except that evil is sit in his heart- in our hearts.
“And be watchful, lest anyone among you be found lacking the grace of God, or lest the root of bitterness produce vines and harm you, and many be defiled by it”-Hebrews 12:15 (Aramaic Bible in Plain English).

Paul shows in the above scripture, how the root of bitterness-like the roots of a tree- remains hidden, until the right conditions needed to bring forth the shoot and branches are established. So is evil.

“For a tree there is always hope. Chop it down and it still has a chance- its roots can put out fresh sprouts. Even if its roots are old and gnarled, its stump long dormant, at the first whiff of water it comes to life, buds and grows like a sapling.” Job 14:7-9 (MSG)

Evil never dies, it waits for us to be vulnerable, and our hearts condition at that point give it the scent of water it needs to rise.  Apostle Paul  said in 1 Corinthians 15:28, “I die daily” implying that he constantly checked the status of his roots, to ensure no vines sprang up and destroyed all in its path.
Never underestimate the power of evil, for it is PATIENT.
Watch out!!!

STEEL AND VELVET

Soft, smooth, delicate

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MARRED IN HIS HANDS – Laura Brightson

We are the clay,
He is the potter.
Each and every day,
He tries to make us better.

He wants us to be a jar,
We want to be a pot;
Rebellion makes us mar,
But give up, He does not.

He crushes us,
But not to harm us
He patiently keeps spinning His wheel,
To make us become that which is His will.

Though we be broken,
We are not forsaken;
Though now, we look pitiful,
We soon become beautiful.

All we need do is stay in His hands,
For we’re better off marred in his hands;
Because, therein is no despair,
For His work is to repair.

Jer. 18:3-4(NLT):  So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.  But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.

The Hiding

“Adam, where are you?” God asked.
Adam replied, “I  heard your voice walking in the garden and I hid myself”.
Adam just snitched himself, why didn’t he keep quiet and allow God to keep asking, maybe He’d get tried of looking and eventually go back to heaven. Then Adam would quietly elope with Eve. Instead, he shouted from the bush “Here I am!!!”. That’s weird.
I believe Adam knew of God’s Omniscient nature, and hence understood that God knew where he was hiding…Which leads to the question, “Why bother hiding when you know you’ll be caught?” (Typical childish behavior).

6000 years later, (depending on who you ask), man really hasn’t changed much. We still have the reflex action of running and hiding from God once we do wrong. But the question remains “Why bother hiding?” He knows, why can’t we boldly take a walk with him in prayer and tell him about it?

We’ve been taught over the years to hide stuff (especially our bad actions and thoughts) and we learnt to hide them from everyone including God. So when we feel the throng of sin on the inside of us, instead of running to God and telling Him how we feel and asking for help, we run to the bush, sew a fig dress, put it on and act all holy. So that no one, including God knows our state. How laughable!!!
I believe its time we did some relearning. Jesus said “cast your cares upon me for I care… “. Your cares include your urges, the dark uncommentable thoughts that lurk around,  the strange cravings, the lusts, everything that causes pain/discomfort in some way constitutes a care.
Give it to Jesus, for He cares.Stop running, stop hiding, give up. Take off the fig gown, come to God as you are and bare your heart.
A problem shared, they say, is a  problem half solved. Share with God for He holds the power to solve the remaining half.

So, before God says “Adam, where are you?”. We’ve already run to him saying, “God, I’m right here, I’ve really messed up. Help me”.

Twilight and Dawn

The subtly cooling wind kissed my charred face,
Soothing the lines carved into my face by a constant grimace.
The day had been particularly hot,
So hot, I could feel blood boil in my gut.

“I refuse to get sad
Things aren’t completely bad
Yes, I won’t give up the fight
The intense red and yellow colours of the sunset is still light…”

Then, the sun began setting…
Ahead loomed the night, uncertain
The previously cool wind turned cold,
Making me feel even less bold.

Dusk arrived, marking the end of twilight
Bringing with it absolutely no sliver of light
Darkness engulfed me like a wet blanket
Snuffing out the faintest light, piercing my hope through like a lancet.

Fear of the past,
Fear of the present,
Fear of the future,
Fear of having fears…

Shadows of guilt,
Shadows of disappointments,
Shadows of dissatisfaction,
Shadows of despair,

All linked together to form a chain;
They treated me with such disdain
Their cold touch making me freeze
Yet my misery was in no way alleviated by the cold night breeze

So, began I to sink into resignation,
“Oh, well”, sighed I with feigned indifference…
Meanwhile, deep down, I was melting with trepidation,
Filled with the absence of confidence.

“Can this get any worse?”, I thought
This is really no battle that can be fought.
Yes, it was actually getting worse…
The surrounding darkness seemed to have been gaining some kind of force.

It was getting thicker, darker,
More intense, much denser,
It even seemed to have gained a life of its own
And, in no time, how it had grown!

Through the darkness, I could see absolutely nothing,
Not even my chain
But I definitely could feel something:
Intense pain.

The night crawled on endlessly.
Even time was unwilling to show some mercy…
I was in this state; dead, yet living,
When it seemed like something had started moving…

It was coming closer and closer..
As it advanced, Darkness was getting weaker, weaker…
“What is happening?”, I started to ponder
As I looked on in wonder…

Then, I recognised this new force!
It was a subtle but powerful sliver of light, having the Sun as its source.
As it kept advancing, I looked down at my shackles..
I discovered that they had no buckles!!!

As darkness kept fading…
I realised that my shackles too were fading.
I’d created them with my mind; they never were real!
Just surreal.

Then, I heard it! Oh, How beautiful the noise!
It sliced through the night’s stillness
Like the mighty sword of the Black Knight,
Giving me the promise of future joys

This noise was the beautiful sound of the cock’s crow,
The more it crowed, the more the sliver seemed to grow…
It grew till it became a ray, and then a beam of light.
It enveloped me, filling me with fresh might.

I got to my feet
No more shackles on my hands and feet!!!
As a powerful surge of hope coursed through me, I thought, “It’s Dawn”!
And with steady and sure feet, began I to walk towards the Sun…

John 1:5 (KJV)
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not…
Malachi 4:2… (AMP)
But unto you who revere and worshipfully fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings and His beams, and you shall go forth and gambol like calves [released] from the stall and leap for joy.

55 years Bound with Freedom

55 years ago, with a shout of joy and great rejoicing a new country was added to the world. Streets were filled with ecstatic people waving flags coloured green and white, simple yet stuffed with meaning, “fertility and peace”. A nation filled with hope, the horizon bright with endless possibilities, ” Nigeria” the giant of Africa was “born”.

Though we’ve faced endless troubles, fightings within and fightings without. We’ve waxed stronger, we’ve smiled through our problems, we’ve praised through troubles, we’ve danced in turmoil.
Ever hoping, ever expecting good. When we are knocked down, like the righteous man we rise up again, and we’ll keep rising. For we can’t stay down, we stand, doggedly chasing and creating a better Nigeria of today.

Nigeria we hail thee, I am blessed to be born into thee.
I would sing your anthem with pride in my heart and loyalty in my soul. Nigeria I hail thee.

Arise, O compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey
To serve our fatherland
With love and strength and faith
The labour of our heroes past
Shall never be in vain
To serve with heart and might
One nation bound in freedom, peace and unity.