Jesus – Page 2 – The Storytela

Feb 27, 2014Feb 27, 2014

Triumphant & Thankful!!!

Wow! It pays to serve Jesus.

My entire life I have lived for him.

From a tender age, I said ‘Yes’

Yes to his call, to surrender, to follow.

Even when it was unpopular

Even when it seemed awkward

Even when it was uncomfortable…

Truly, God has been taking care of me,

He has made my life sooooo beautiful

He has blessed me with every spiritual and physical blessing

He has placed my feet on the Solid Rock.

I just want to say ‘Thank you Lord’

For being there for me always

For honouring my faith and my trust in you.

Thank you my dear Lord.

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If today, you are still undecided

Or you keep slipping in and out,

Now is the time to surrender,

Give it all to Jesus.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart

And lean not on your own understanding

He makes all things beautiful in His time.

Praise ye the Lord!

Aug 31, 2013Aug 31, 2013

Did He say it?

If He said it. Then you don’t have a problem.

If God has told you something about your life, be very certain that He would make it happen. Maybe it’s been ten years or more and you are beginning to wonder if it’s ever going to happen. Check out this verse;

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ”

Philippians 1:6 KJV

God is not slow in delivering his promises. Sometimes we try to help him do his work and that’s when we get into trouble. Let’s look at the story of Abraham and Sarah. In Genesis 15, God told Abraham (then he was still Abram) that he would have an heir. However, ten years down the line, the heir was yet to show up so Sarah (still known as Sarai) decided to help out.

Pause…

Question: What is the difference between helping God and being proactive?

Answer: Your motive! What you do (your actions) and your attitude will align with your motive.

Are you motivated by fear? or are you being led by the Holy Spirit to take that line of action?

Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham out of fear. In her own words

“… behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing…”

But God had promised Abraham an heir and Sarah knew it. The Holy Spirit would not lead you outside of God’s word.

When God speaks to you, it is usually in line with his grand plan/master plan for your life. You need to have an understanding of that plan, when you do, you will not waste time on things that don’t matter, you will live with a purpose.

Abraham on his own part could have asked God if Hagar was the woman who would give birth to the heir. He also could have asked God if that was the time, he could have asked God how the heir would come, when the heir would come and where the heir would be born and God would have answered him.

Did God stop Abraham from sleeping with Hagar? No! Because man has a free will.

You see, don’t assume that God will stop you from walking outside his will for you, if you insist on doing so. It is your duty to follow God’s plan for your life, God doesn’t force people.

Now, ten years later, God speaks to Abraham and tells him when the heir would be born, who would bear the heir (his wife of course) and what the heir would be called (Genesis 17: 15-19). He also seals of his Covenant with him with Circumcision and then changes his name and Sarah’s name. Amazing!

Question: Why did it take God ten long years?!

Answer: There was an appointed time for the heir to be born.

” Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son” Genesis 18:14

Now, there was a master plan for Abraham’s life as shown in all God told him. His seed Isaac had a crucial role to play, all through to Jesus Christ and the Church (we are the seed of Abraham) so God had a particular time that he needed Isaac to come on the scene, just like there was a timing to the birth of Jesus and a timing for his ministry and his death. Not just spiritually but physically and politically too. There had to be somethings going on in the world to create the right atmosphere for the birth, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Now back to you, understand that you are not an ordinary person, you are important to God and that’s why he has taken time to make a specific plan for your life. You need to find out what it is by asking him. Don’t assume. If he has told you what, then trust him on the how and the when.

“And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken! For Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him” Genesis 21: 1-2

Do you know that God actually came to remind Abraham nine months before Isaac was born that he needed to spend some time with his wife? (Genesis 18:10, my interpretation. Lol!) They were rather old at this time but the timing was right and the setting was right.

As human beings, we are usually in a hurry but no matter how much we hurry, we know that it takes nine months for a baby to grow and be born and because we have that understanding, we wait for the baby to fully develop and be born.

The same applies to what God has said to you or about you, there is an appointed time, a set time. It is important that you constantly renew your mind with God’s word so that you would know what is his good and acceptable and perfect will for you.

God bless you.

*Excerpts taken from Rhapsody of Realities Daily Devotional, www.rhapsodyofrealities.org

Jun 8, 2013Jun 8, 2013

When you wake up by 3pm…

There’s this popular adage in Igbo language that goes;

‘A man’s morning begins whenever he wakes up’

And that’s the way it is. A dream morning routine for me would be: Brush, Pray, Work-out, help everyone get ready for the day and then head to work. But sometimes I skip the workouts (oops!).

Now imagine if I woke up late, like say 7am and instead of rushing through all my routines and dashing out of the house, I start lamenting:

‘Oh! I just woke up late. Why did I wake up late?’

And then I pick up my phone, go through my chat list and I see different updates from different friends: example a friend might write;

‘Wow! Great morning, early start’

Then I start feeling bad and instead of getting ready for the day, I decide to visit my online fitness group page and read the various workout logs and I see different exercise logs from different people who woke up earlier and again I feel terrible and I continue my lamentation

‘What made me wake up late sef?’

And 30minutes later, I finally drag myself and start off. I get to work and attribute everything that goes wrong to waking up late. In summary; I get to have a bad day just because I woke up late!

Now, compare this to people who feel that they ‘started out late in life’ maybe you are one of them. You probably didn’t finish school early,

Or maybe you didn’t get a job when others did,

Or maybe you didn’t get married when you expected to

Or maybe you did get married but didn’t have kids on time

Or maybe you are yet to have kids.

The examples are endless…

Whatever your case is, one thing you must NOT do is to waste time comparing where you would have been if ‘it’ had happened earlier to where you are presently.

Instead, invest the time and energy is making the best of the moment and preparing for a greater future. Thank God for his blessings in your life, including the ones you cannot see with your physical eyes.

AND GUESS WHAT?

God is never late! (2Peter 3:8-9) It is human beings that are time bound, counting days and years and trying to ‘catch up’ but the bible says that God makes everything beautiful in HIS time (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Does that mean that God is inconsiderate? Absolutely not!

Let’s take a look at Jesus; he didn’t begin his ministry until he was THIRTY! Like seriously? I mean in today’s world people expect you to have achieved so much at the age of thirty! But the truth is that Jesus took time to prepare for his ministry and when it was the right time for him to launch out, he did and in three and a half years, he made the kind of impact that is still being felt more than 2,000 years later.

Have you read the story of Mark Kay Ash? That would be in another article.

What does this tell you? What really counts is doing what God wants you to do, when He wants you to do it, where he wants you to be and how he wants it done.

So, quit comparing yourself with anyone. Rather seek God! What does God want you to do now?

A successful person is not just someone that has loads of money and fame. A successful person is someone who is doing what he was created to do, thereby making a success out of others around him.

The lives and destinies of men are intertwined with yours; you’ve got to fulfill your destiny, so that they can fulfill theirs. It doesn’t matter what obstacles that have come your way, greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.

God says ‘I know the thoughts that I think towards you, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

What are your expectations? What are your desires? What are you saying to yourself about your life? Or are you still wallowing in self-pity?

Just in case you are still feeling bad, then this bible verse is for you:

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Romans 8:28- Amplified Bible.

If you really believe that, you will never be discouraged or feel bad for one more second in your life. Rather, you will smile, think positive thoughts and find a way to encourage someone around you.

God bless you.

Photo credit: http://www.buzberry.com

May 22, 2013

This is for Frustrated Dreamers…

Hey guys,

I was driving in to work this morning and I started thinking about all the days I dreaded going to work. I was so sick of it… the job, my boss, the people I worked with, the traffic… I would wake up angry every morning. I didn’t want to deal with the crap of the job, but I was forced to go. I had been homeless, I was broke, living paycheck to hopefully the next paycheck. I couldn’t take a day off for fear I would get fired. I was just frustrated. I thought I hated my life and the job.

It was so aggravating because God had placed all these dreams and hopes in my soul and mind and I had no idea how they were going to come to pass. To have a dream of being something better and living better than the way I was at that moment and to not see a way of getting there felt like death to me. I thought, “Dear God, why would you give me so much hope and not make a way?” But what I learned through prayer was, with no path in front of you and no road map… this is where true faith begins. With faith I realized that I wasn’t frustrated with my life or the job, I was frustrated because I was a person who had dreams for myself, a person who had visions for my life and I wasn’t living it. Have you ever been there, where you felt so strongly that there was more to this life than what you see in front of you?

One of the most difficult things about being a dreamer is the fear that the dream will never happen. I’m here as a living witness to tell you your dreams can come true. You can’t give up. And I am here to let you know that everything can work together for your good. The time that you are spending on that job that you think is a dead end is not. You’re being prepared just like I was. I was a shoeshine boy, I worked as a bill collector, a used car salesman, in housekeeping in a hotel, and they all were preparation for where I am now.

What do these things have to do with where I am now? I’m glad you asked. I am able to use skills that I learned. I shined shoes, so I know how to shine my shoes if I need them to look nice. Selling used cars was a great way to learn how to close a deal. Bill collecting taught me great negotiation skills. Working at that 5-star hotel taught me a lot about travel. Every experience in your life is here to teach you something.

Today, while you’re at work, don’t be frustrated. Look around you and ask God what are you there to learn and how will it be a part of your future dream. Honor that job, do the best you can at it, because God will bless you for honoring something that belongs to another.

I hope this inspires you today. If you need a little more inspiration then watch my first sit-down interview in years with Oprah on Oprah’s Next Chapter. It airs this Sunday on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network at 9/8c. I talk a little about not giving up. I know it will move you.

Here’s a prayer for today: “God help me hold on, help me to get to what I dream of, help me to honor where I am today so that I can appreciate where I will be tomorrow. In Jesus’ name.”

Excerpt from Tylerperry.com