TODAY’S NUGGET: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH “DEATH”?

TODAY’S NUGGET: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH “DEATH”?

While still sipping from the refreshing and reassuring cup of God’s comfort over the death of a church member that passed away shortly after the delivery of a new born baby, another tragedy hits—world class!

Perhaps you have not heard, but Dr Myles Munroe, his wife, his daughter and 6 other people died in a plane crash just yesterday. Very sad.

The man, I must say, influenced my life in many ways, especially in radically transforming my relationship mentality by giving me a paradigm shift—by his message titled “The Myth of Singleness”.

The rather interesting thing is that he was supposed to be hosting a Global Leadership Forum starting today. (He was about landing in the city for the conference when the crash occurred). On his website, he uploaded a one-minute video advert which he recorded in his own voice, and the advert ended with these words: “...COME, I’LL SEE YOU THERE”.

Yes, the Leadership forum is still going to hold as I saw on his official facebook page minutes ago (because that’s what he would have wanted), BUT HE WON’T BE SEEN THERE.

I shared a picture nugget from a message I preached last Sunday in which I said “One of the most painful realities of God’s Sovereignty is that NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE PRAY, NOT EVERYONE WILL LIVE LONG!” How true!

But what do we do with death?

YOU CAN CHOOSE TO BE AFRAID OF IT. Pray all you can against it and transfer your fears to the next generation by letting your children watch you grieve hopelessly about the departed ones (and I can bet you, as long as Jesus tarries, that prayer will not be answered one last time).

YOU CAN CHOOSE TO IGNORE THE REALITY. Live like there is no tomorrow.

Or YOU CAN CHOOSE TO CELEBRATE THE DEATH OF DEATH IN YOUR LIFE. That, I did.

How, you ask? I WROTE MY OWN OBITUARY...7 years ago! I came to a point where I MADE A DECISION!

·        I made a decision that assured me that death will not be my end, but the beginning of my very best!

·        I made a decision that assured me that heaven awaits!

·        I made a decision that gave me the confidence that the angels that had been given charge to keep me in all my ways will never fail—at best, they will carry me to the waiting embrace of my dad...at the appointed time.

·        I made a decision to make my death day, in fact, a birth date!

·        I made a decision that got me sealed...with the assurance that Jesus is coming back for me—and He has got the keys of death and hades.

Have you made that decision? Dr Myles did. His countless works will outlive him! 69 books, and countless contributions to other printed works will outlive him. He made his life count!

Make your life count. Embrace Jesus!

“It's IN CHRIST that you, once you HEARD the truth and BELIEVED it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves HOME FREE—SIGNED, SEALED, and DELIVERED by the Holy Spirit…the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that WE'LL GET EVERYTHING God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 MSG)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myles_Munroe

Adieu, Dr Myles Munroe.

With love, a protégé 

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What You Might Have Been Missing...

These quotes are excerpts from yesterday's Message in Church titled "WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN MISSING".
It's a message that focused on rediscovering and living the pentecostal experience, focusing on the Great Advantages the Holy Spirit brings to the life of the believer and stir up a willingness to give expression to them...maximising the power IN us.
Feel free to share...

Have a blessed week!

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TODAY’S NUGGET: the FIRST DAY of the ELEVENTH MONTH… (Deut 1:3~)

Deuteronomy 1:3,6-8,11,21,33

“And it came to pass in the fortieth year, IN THE ELEVENTH MONTH, ON THE FIRST [DAY] OF THE MONTH, [that] … The LORD our God spake … saying, YE HAVE DWELT LONG ENOUGH IN THIS MOUNT: … take your journey, and GO … TO THE LAND OF THE CANAANITES … Behold, I have set the land before you: GO IN AND POSSESS THE LAND … (The LORD God of your fathers make you A THOUSAND TIMES SO MANY MORE as ye [are], and BLESS YOU, as he hath promised you!) Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: GO UP [AND] POSSESS [IT] … FEAR NOT, neither be discouraged. (For GOD HAS GONE) … IN THE WAY BEFORE YOU, to search you out a place to pitch your tents [in], … to shew you by what way ye should go …

The message is clear, right?

You’ve dwelt long enough at this juncture. Embrace God’s fulfillment season by stepping into your promised land!

~Take the leap!

~Start the trade.

~Record the single.

~Publish the book.

~Join that assembly.

~Say yes to that brother.

~Attend Daystar’s 2014 ELC.

Do whatever it takes to step into your promised land. And while you are at it, embrace these two advantages:

1.      GO WITH GOD. When you carry His presence, the red sea will flee and even Jordan will be driven back (Psalm 114:3).

2.      DO NOT REJECT THE COMFORT OFFERED. Don’t be another stupid entity like that Pharaoh … His whole land had been covered with frogs—their cooking pots and beds were not spared—yet, when offered to fix the date of relief, he prefers to spend ONE MORE NIGHT with the frogs!

Don’t be dense. If there’s any such frogs that need be evacuated from your life, tonight is a good time. In fact, NOW is the best time. Sorry for sounding urgent, but why not deal with those frogs NOW, before you scroll on?

Don’t know how? I’ll help you. Let’s pray. You and me. I’ll show you the way; you fill in the blanks.

Precious Father, I praise your name. You have reclaimed so much in my life. I was lost, and you found me. I was confused, and you guided me. I had nothing to offer, but still you loved me.

I confess that I still need help. My life needs your touch. Satan has brought frogs to saturate a room in my heart with discomfort … and the morbidity is fast spreading. Don’t let him win. Make my heart come alive again! I’ll give you the glory.

Father, specifically, here are the frogs I need you to evacuate from my life TONIGHT __________________.

(And this is the place where I step out. I’ll leave you and God to talk over the details).

Where there is pain, I wish you peace and mercy.

Where there is self-doubting, I wish you a renewed confidence in your ability to walk through it.

Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I wish you understanding, patience, and renewed strength.

Where there is fear, I wish you love and courage.

Welcome to your month of #Fulfillment.

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The EVER-PRESENTNESS of God

***Not less than ten people had invited me to a Praise/Gratitude challenge at different times in the last couple of months. Even though I hadn’t responded to any of the challenge the way the invitees expected, this post seeks to fulfill a part of the Praise Challenge.

Chief on my #ReasonsForPraise list is the “ever-presentness” of God!

The psalmist chanted it… “God is … a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).

I discovered it two mornings ago as I stood in a cemetery, flanked on either sides by countless tombs…

“God, in all of these, where are You”, I asked. “I AM!” He responded. Just two words “I AM!” Moses heard it first… “tell them that I AM sent you” (Exodus 3:14).

What a response! Think about it. When we say “I am,” we always add another word.

“I am clean.”

“I am happy.”

“I am strong.”

“I am Joseph.” 

God, however, starkly states, “I am” and adds nothing else. Jesus came and continued the mystery. "Before Abraham was born, 'I AM'." (John 8:58 GNB).

“You are what?” we want to ask. “I am,” He replies. God needs no descriptive word because He never changes. Yet, Jesus offered few descriptions for our simile-programmed minds:

·“I am God’s Son.” — John 10:36

·“I am the resurrection and the life.” — John 11:25

·“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” — John 14:6

·“I am the true vine.” — John 15:1

He is what He has always been. He speaks of Himself ONLY in the PRESENT TENSE! The “present-tense” God. He NEVER says, "I was." Never. His immutability motivated the psalmist to declare, “But thou art THE SAME” (Psalm 102:27 KJV).

Unlike us. We WERE younger, faster and prettier. We WERE less indebted and more innocent. We are proned to be a people of the past tense.

Not God. Health changes. The weather changes. Relationship status changes. But the Yahweh who ruled the earth last night is the same Yahweh who rules it today.

Same love.

Same plan.

Same mood.

Same convictions.

He never changes—a still point in a turning world.

He sleeps through storms and calms the winds with a word. Cancer does not trouble Him, and cemeteries—yes—cemeteries do not disturb Him. He’s here before they came. He’ll be here after they are gone.

From the center of each storm, the unwavering Jesus shouts, "I Am!" He’s bold against the Galilean waves…why not invite Him into yours?

ICU.

Ebola.

Debts.

UTME.

Battlefield.

Prison cell.

Boardroom.

Heartbreak.

Post UTME.

Boko Haram.

2015 elections.

Maternity ward—

…whatever your storms, He remains the "I am!"

Give Him praise—for there is His address!

***Your turn: what’s topmost on your #ReasonsForPraise list? (Drop it as a comment…let’s saturate this page with His praise!)

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THE TOILET MINISTRY (2 of 2)

THE TOILET MINISTRY (2 of 2)

Remember where we started from in the first part? With a joke about a man that found himself in a females’ toilet and started pressing “the buttons he had sworn not to press”…and you remembered where he landed? “Yeah! You remembered. On the hospital bed!”
(If you did not read the first part of this piece, U can check it out on my notes on my profile page).

Let me start this second part with a true life story. This happened years back (over a decade actually) so don’t crucify me.

There was this day that my Dad was taking bread and tea in the afternoon (back then, those were really rare delicacies. Especially the tea…the family takes that once in a week thereabout). So I was expecting my Dad to call me like he always did to come and finish the remaining tea in his cup…but alas! He didn’t! But there was a part of me that was dying to have a taste of the brownish thing in whatever form—powdery or liquid. Covetousness, you may choose to call it. Or “hunger”—perhaps, that was what I thought it was. But whatever it was, the thing led me to do what I shouldn’t have done but which many of you would also have done if you were in my shoes.

I thought to myself “I will go and take some of the Bournvita…scoop as much as my tiny little hand can contain…then rush to the toilet—the place where nobody sees me—the place where everyone respects my privacy. Then when I enter, rather than do what the toilet was meant for—I will satisfy my throat with the sweet sensation the powder as it journeys down my oesophagus to my alimentary canal…” Those were thoughts—the “innocent thoughts of a 7-yr old.

And that was just what I did. Went into the room where the beverages were kept…climbed on a stool to carry the tin from the shelf…opened the tin with my metallic belt tip…then…dipped my innocent little hand in…and scooped a handful of bournvita…then rushed to close the tin with the lid…then I heard some foot steps approaching…so I took the other exit (without returning the tin back to where I picked it from)…and I hurried towards the toilet. 

But as I was reaching for the knob to the toilet door from outside (with the second hand), the toilet door was opened (from inside) and my Mum came out of it. (We lived back then in a house with only one toilet!...but now, we live in a house with three!) Shocked…I quickly hid my second hand behind my back and displayed a restlessness that was too obvious to be hidden. Mummy asked “what’s that?” “what’s what?” I replied. “What are you hiding?...bring me your hand…”…the rest was “history”. I was given a “beating I will never forget”.

Don’t just laugh…because I’m sure you’ve been there before too. Haven’t you?

You know, as I was typing this note, it dawned on me that the “toilet” literarily has its own function. But some people go there to do other things besides the function it was meant for. So let me remind you of what “toilet” means as far as this write-up is concerned:

"Toilet" in the context of this write-up is taken to mean "that place where no one else goes with you to"..."that place where (as it were) no one sees you"..."where nobody is there, except you...alone." and like I said in the first part, “toilet ministry” means…what you do…when nobody is there!

So what’s the danger in “going to the toilet”…as in “going to those places where nobody sees us…?”. I have come to understand that going to such places is not the problem. The problem is from what you go there…to do! Fine, people will always “respect” your privacy when you enter the “toilet” but a day is coming when the unforeseen will happen and you will need the help of people that are “outside the toilet” but because they “respect your toilet privacy”, nobody will come to your rescue! I SPEAK IN PARABLES…

I said in the last write-up that I was going to tell you of a King in the Scriptures that died like that. An enemy came and smartly gained entrance to his presence to stab him. The security guards were expecting him to come out, but on assumption that he was in the toilet, they respected his “toilet privacy” and decided not to check. But after a while, by the time they broke the door in to check, behold…the king is dead.

I am not formulating stories. Let me quote the scriptures and you will see what I’m saying:

Judges 3:20-25 God’s Word Version(20) Ehud came up to him as he sat alone in his room on the roof. He said to the king, "I have a message from God for you." As the king rose from his throne,(21) Ehud reached with his left hand, took the dagger from his right side, and plunged it into Eglon's belly.(24) After Ehud went out, Eglon's advisers came in. They were surprised that the doors were locked. "HE MUST BE USING THE TOILET," they said.(25) They waited and waited, but Eglon didn't open the doors. So they took the key and opened the door. They were shocked to see their ruler lying on the floor, dead.

That’s why I wish you could see the “foolishness” of the “toilet ministry”. Think twice when no man is watching. Ask yourself, “can I do this if my Dad was here?” “or if my Mum was here?” “or if my fiancé(e) was here?” “or if my best friend was here?”….and most importantly…“If God was here?”…AND HE IS! YES! He’s right there with you everytime.

So when next you want to rush to those hiding places to do the “ungodly”, just remember…GOD IS WATCHING!

I actually planned writing something entirely different for this second part…but as I started typing this note, the flow changed. This is yet a reinforcement to the first part. If God permits, there will yet be a part three, where I will show you the “concept” behind why you act the way you do…especially in the toilet!

God loves you Sweetheart…and so do I.

Enjoy!
/jeuzIf/
© Feb, 2010

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THE TOILET MINISTRY (1 of 2)

THE TOILET MINISTRY (1 of 2)

Let's start it all with a riddle. A riddle with an obvious answer. 

Take me for a country. Every "normal" human being comes into that country at least once in three days. As a matter of fact, some even come to that country as frequently as everyday. And one unique thing about this country is that once you enter the country, you automatically become the president of the country. Everything you do in the country cannot be challenged by anybody. And what's more? You can choose to even stay in this country for as long as you want! You are—simply put—in charge! So which country do I represent? 

Yeah! You got it. I am "The Federal Republic of Toilet!"

"Toilet" in the context of this write-up will therefore be taken to mean "that place where no one else goes with you to"..."that place where (as it were) no one sees you"..."where nobody is there, except you...alone."

So what does the phrase “toilet ministry” mean? That will depend on what you think ministry really means. From my own extensively simplified dictionary, ministry simply means “what you do!” I guess that sounds too simple. Right? That’s why I called it an extensively simplified dictionary. In any case, it can therefore be inferred that the phrase “toilet ministry” means…what you do…when nobody is there!

I have come to understand that the struggles every Christian youth carry in their hearts are majorly about things they did when nobody was there. The reason why many people suffer from different addictions is simply because the things they did when nobody was there had overcome their innocence…taking over it completely, and placing a heavy load of guilt in their tender loving heart!

That’s the power of the toilet at work. The power of secrecy.


Let me share this little joke with you.

There was this man on a flight who tried to use the men’s toilet in the airplane but discovered it was always occupied. In a bid to help matters, one of the attendants told the man that he could use the ladies’ toilet in as much as he would not press any of the buttons on the wall of the ladies toilet. The man agreed to the deal and entered into the ladies’ toilet…
He did what he needed to do and as he sat there, he noticed the buttons he had promised not to touch. Each button was identified by letters; there were four—labeled WW, WA, PP and a red one labeled ATR. “Who would know if I touched them?”—he thought to himself. He couldn’t resist. So he pushed the WW button. Warm water was sprayed gently upon his bom-bom from beneath. Wow! What a nice feeling! He thought to himself. Men’s toilets don’t have all these nice things??? Anticipating greater pleasure, he pushed the WA button. Warm air replaced the warm water, gently drying his underside. 
When that stopped, he pushed the PP button. A large powder puff caressed his bom-bom adding a fragile scent of spring flowers to this unbelievable pleasure. The ladies’ toilet was more than just a restroom; it is a place of tender loving pleasure. When the powder puff completed its pleasure, the man couldn’t wait to push the ATR button which he knew would bring him the supreme ecstasy. 
But alas! The next thing he knew was that he was in a hospital as soon as he opened his eyes. Then he saw a nurse starring down at him with a smirk on her face…“What happened?” He asked. “You pressed too many buttons” the nurse said. The last button marked ATR was an automatic tampon remover. You can imagine what the ATR will do to a man who wasn’t wearing any tampon in the first instance. The ATR will just assume that a tampon was where it was meant to be and as expected of it, it will do all he can to “remove” the “tampon” which for a man, will be equivalent to what part of his body? Fill in the gap.

What do you think gave this man the unnecessary “castration” he gave himself? The enticement of the deceit of the “toilet ministry”. This man simply thought to himself—who would know if he pressed any buttons? And that’s just the same foolishness that has gotten many people entrapped in addictions they were never meant to be in...

...Who will know if I smartly asked my friend the answer to question 2 during the mock test? Who will know if I was the one who actually took the money? Who will know if I went into the toilet to masturbate? Who will know if I’m facebooking in church while the Pastor is preaching? Who will know if I went to the party with the guys? Who will know if I visited a pornographic site while browsing on my phone? Who will know if I was the source of the backbiting? Who will know if I slept with my boyfriend in town? Who will know what we did together in Roots Hotel? Who will know that I didn’t have my bath this morning? Who will know if I wear clothes I can’t wear at home in school? Who will know….???

But how I wish we could see the foolishness in those assumptions together? Listen to this foolish woman—“She sits in front of her house and on the highest hills in the town. She shouts to everyone who passes by, "If you are stupid, come on inside!" And to every fool she says, "Stolen water tastes best, and the food you eat in secret tastes best of all." (Proverbs 9:14-17 CEV). Jokes apart, isn’t it a fool that will say that stolen waters tastes best? Or how can the food you eat in secret with the fear of being caught be the food that tastes delicious the most? Obviously, something is wrong with such a person that believes that. But unfortunately, that’s our status each time we choose to think the “who-will-know-thoughts”. We suddenly suffer from short sightedness.

But have you ever thought about what could make Joseph keep his own integrity even when none of the men of the house was there within? (Gen 39:2b) Obviously, he saw something we’ve not been seeing each time we give in. he said “shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” That tells me that he was aware of one thing though—GOD SEES IT ALL! See how Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message Bible— Can anyone hide out in a corner where I can't see him?"…"Am I not present everywhere, whether seen or unseen?"…Jeremiah 23:24 MSG.

Maybe David had better words for that. He said: Is there any place I can go to avoid your Spirit? To be out of your sight? If I climb to the sky, you're there! If I go underground, you're there! If I flew on morning's wings to the far western horizon, You'd find me in a minute-- you're already there waiting! Then I said to myself, "Oh, he even sees me in the dark! At night I'm immersed in the light!" It's a fact: darkness isn't dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they're all the same to you. Psalms 139:7-12 MSG

So when next you want to “enter into those places you go alone”, do well to remind yourself that even if all eyes are off what we do, some eyes can’t just stop seeing what we do. The eyes of the Master. He’s already waiting for you there.

In the next edition of this write up, I will enlighten us more on the “foolishness” in the idea of a toilet ministry. And I will show you a king in the scripture that “died because of the power of the privacy of the toilet”. Watch out.


Much love to you all…

(a message preached on Jan 17, 2010 @ TACSFON OAU)

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