Call to war on Terror?

The profile pictures of many people on Facebook and other social media reflects a new  reality; that the terrorism and wanton inexplicable loss/waste of life that was until now commonplace in the Middle East has made landfall on European soil in a hitherto unprecedented scale. Within the space of less than a week after the events in Paris  the Copenhagen airport was evacuated, a football match was called off and a refugee camp outside Calais evacuated, now some EU countries are considering the possibility of redrawing the the Schengen borders or at the very least introducing border controls which were non existent due to the ease with which the perpetrators of the last weeks tragedies moved through the zone after arriving from the horrors of the conflict/war zones in the Middle East.

The aftermath of these tragedies is a wave of islamophobia and arabophobia (if the word exists) across Europe and the developed world now while this arguably isn't necessarily unfounded it masks the main issue at stake: this is not, has never been a war on terror or Isis for that matter. They (Isis) represents the new mask of an old enemy.

Baudelaire is quoted to have said that the greatest ever trick ever pulled by the devil, was to convince the world that he did/does not exist. And if such a lacuna exists is it filled with mans sophistry and philosophy where the world refusing to accept the malevolent influence of the fallen ones blame such acts of sheer bestial violence on a few disturbed people who have seen religion as a tool or vector for their deplorable inclinations. Jesus said in Mathew 12vs45 that if a demon returns to a place (a mans heart) and finds it clean he brings with him seven others worse than himself and the end of the man is worse than his initial state.(think Lockerbie, then Al-Qaeda now Isis)  In Any article that you read on the subject of this group Isis/daesh you'll see that kind of atrocities committed by these people in the areas under their influence. These are not things done by people with "normal" inhibitions there is something maniacal, demonic even about the gusto with which they commit their heinous acts and delight in them. This kind of behavior for however long we have seen it, isn't normal. People do not cut of the heads of people they do not know and aren't any threat to them and smile or cackle as they do it. The destruction of palmyra and others such places of historical interest would have been understood from a religious or almost puritanical perspective if the same people that destroyed them weren't immediately selling the artifacts gathered from there on the black market.  this isn't normal or human ( greed is human, but can the rest of their acts be explained by greed?) Since there arguably isn't a temporal explanation for it what then are we dealing with? The scriptures in  john 10vs 10 that the thief comes not but to steal kill and destroy it couldn't be more obvious.

To arrive at the point of this writing, Ephesians 6:12 tells us that our warfare isn't against against flesh and blood (metaphorically referring to humans) but it is against spiritual forces and  demonic princes that are wielding great influences over the lives of people and causing them to carry out their macabre biddings. I wish to unambiguously state here that what we are currently facing here isn't a surge in religious consciousness but a massive demonic crusade camouflaging with the cloak of religion. First of all a largely Christian Europe falls into a period overwhelming apostasy, which has seen church attendance drop to hitherto unprecedented levels, an active move by governments all over Europe and the so-called developed world to embrace/cultivate a cosmopolitan appearance shunning aside every appearance of religious fidelity and become a secularist state. Young people whose parents lacking any spiritual depth have let them grow without any sort of firm compass making some of them vulnerable to these new bunch of fanatics. Young people who the light of love of Jesus couldn't reach because their countries, families and society prevented them from this opportunity in the quest to become secular are now streaming in their hundreds to this demonic magnet. In other parts of the world and Africa specifically the opposite approach has been employed an overwhelmingly cloying religiousness (Christian) has pervaded the continent almost every street has a church and every Friday night there is always a church praying or holding a Virgil but when you look at the society where such Christians live you'd expect to see a huge spiritual/biblical/moral influence but no, you see some of the worlds highest levels of corruption, impunity and wickedness. All of this in a largely Christian society or at least one with strong religious influence (Africa doesn't do atheists generally-ain't nobody got time for that madness)

Hosea 4:6 says my people are destroyed/perish because they lack knowledge.  Knowledge here isn't science or logic based it is that which gained from discernment. The understanding that although this war is being fought on different fronts it's still the same enemy we are combating. This collection of radical groups isn't the real threat- if you destroy the puppeteer the puppet show ends instantly!  This is a spiritual war and only spiritual weapons will have any kind of effect on it. Thankfully the church has been given the right weapons II Corinthians 10:4 tells us that we have those weapons as a matter of fact we've always had them.

In his book The Final Quest, (one that I strongly recommend to every one reading this) Rick Joyner states that the big war is coming and hell is calling together its ranks as is the glorious Lord. Even though the hurt that hell and its minions can inflict will be on the physical plane, our counter attacks cannot be on the same plane, recently four whistle blowers in the US intimated that the drone strikes were serving as a recruiting tool for these fanatics- essentially playing into their hands. Our governments whose reluctance to acknowledge the spiritual are bent on finding a military or even political solution are going to be massively disappointed, just as it has failed to yield any significant fruit in Israel it will fail with Isis, even if they succeed in dismantling them something far more evil will take its place (ask the governments if they'd take al-Qaeda over Isis if you're in doubt)

The church must rise up to pray against these principalities and their influences. how is it that the same Europe that sent missionaries to the whole world now has churches that are essentially museums? How is it that with all the churches in Africa some of the most corrupt systems exist there? This is a call to war!!! Not war with bullets, bombs and sanctions but one fought on our knees taking dominion over our countries and the regions where we live in, fighting against influences that turn sweet young men in their prime into remorseless killing machines, that turn the family into something not worth fighting for, that make multitudes of young people grow in single parent homes and force political correctness into a tool to stop the propagation of the gospel and one that muzzles the mouths of those that would speak out against corporate greed. 

Let me state for emphasis that the war against terrorism will not be won by Twitter and Facebook hashtags, military action or political horse trading,it will be fought and won when the sons of God rise up, take their place and fight for the kingdom of their father on their knees and in the place of prayer and by the sharing of the gospel. Let every news you hear force you into your closet to pray, let every conversation be an avenue to show the glorious light and warmth of the love in the gospel. That is the ONLY way this war will be won. Skeptics will claim that this "pacifist" approach will bear no fruits but let me ask; when there is a forest fire do people throw gasoline and bombs into it or water?If in the natural these things are done thusly, why should we attempt to fight fire with fire in the spiritual?

Jesus will return imminently, lets us not be deceived into thinking that rallies hashtags and presidential speeches will stem this tide, this is a battle that will be won on our knees. Love that is from Jesus that compels us to our knees and makes us reach out to the world is still the most potent weapon. If you haven't known Jesus bow your head and invite him in right now. He will come in Revelation 3:20.

Please if this has blessed you or at least presented a different perspective to you, do well to share it. God bless you as you do so.

Lorenzo 

HOW TO FINISH TOO

                

Interesting story, I was introspecting the other day and mused at the ultimate irony of not finishing a post titled how to finish. Now wouldn’t that be something? Hope you had a wonderful week? The Ukrainian ceasefire was called off this week and I pray that a swift solution will be found for this impasse. In football news Brazil won last week and the French were knocked out of the world cup, to the pleasure of Nigerians the world over, I hope your country or your adopted country are doing well in brazil am supporting the hosts and the nationalmannschaft . In other news I got a massive set back in the bid to host a conference this fall, it was immeasurably infuriating but hey, take it on the chin and keep on keeping on. The best things are never handed out but are achieved through consistence and persistence. That’s what separates those that are celebrated from those who are celebrating. That provides an excellent segue to the theme of this post “how to finish too” see how I’m not imitating the “think like a man too”.

On a more germane note, the last post suggested that the way to go out and finish was too look inside because, ultimately our outward expressions are basically a mirror of our inward selves. So if you’re reading this post and you’re lost just read the previous one to get a better hang of what I’m talking about. Finding a way out of a rut is a much a function of acknowledging that one is in a rut as much as it is in identifying how one got there. That is why telling ourselves what the mistakes we made were, is sine qua non. If we must begin to finish the things we have started or the thing which we need to start. In my opinion and from my experience how far we go in anything is as much a consequence of our dedication and persistence in that thing as it is a function of our ulterior motive for embarking on that course of action in the first place.

The question of motives is fundamental to all human action. Intent and purpose is what separates man from all other animals that live on this planet. Many people accord human development to being a product of a higher intellect but I would argue that while that may play a role, it is the fact that those intellectual capacities are all focused towards achieving an aim that is not immediate, is the single factor has enabled us to excel. In a nutshell we have advanced because we do things that facilitate our doing other things we have understood that big tasks can be broken into smaller tasks. If we bring this down back to the subject of motive, we can begin to see that we are increasingly likely to finish something which we have the correct motives for.

But this raises the question what are the wrong motives or more importantly, what are the right or good motives. As I have said earlier the motive is oftentimes of greater importance than the resulting action. It is the motive behind an action that is the fuel that sustains it. Motive specifies how much effort is put into a task it determines how much persistence will accompany an undertaking. So important is motive that people will do the menial of tasks if it brings them closer to their destination. So  all of this talk about motive and motivation will be of no value if we do not see how it leads one to finish a task? Well as it turns out, the motive is the reason we take the first step. As long as the motive is wrong or flawed in some way the chance of abandonment of any project midway goes up exponentially. Consider this, if a person wanted to make a wooden sculpture for instance there are very few people who would view this as a wrong objective but say perhaps that the  desire was borne out of jealousy which they harbored towards a friend or colleague who excelled in that area, or the desire to show that they too could do it. It wouldn’t be hard for frustration to get the better of someone like that when the wood, refused to take the desired shape or form. In no time, no one would be surprised if the said person gave up on this “dream” midstream. For the person whose desire is to be a sculptor because he has the aptitude for it, the difficulties he encounters along the way become not sources of failure, but lessons. There is no better example of this than the story of Thomas Edison the man who invented the light bulb faced with thousands of repeated failures he famously said “i have not failed i have just discovered 10,000 ways that won’t work…” this quote encapsulates how motive significantly determines or shapes perspective. What for one is an “I give up” moment is an source of study for another.

Going back to our central theme of finishing and drawing on the findings from the last post (which I insist you go read again) it won’t be hard seeing how many failures can be linked to starting something for the wrongest possible (forgive me English) reasons. Now if you would go back to the list you already made critically go through those things which you highlighted as failed projects and ask yourself the question why did I actually start this? Question your motives again, look at the preceding circumstances and how they informed your choice to start up on the project that ultimately failed. Now this is in no way suggesting that the reason one venture or the other failed was because the motives were wrong no, in actuality they might have been perfectly good, but perhaps not backed with a strong enough conviction. The lesson here is to understand that finishing is far more important than starting. Before you start consider this; are there some things which made you fail before which are still around you, or that you are yet to deal with? Next, why exactly are you starting this really why is it important that you do this?

At this point I think it pertinent to state that although the title of this writing is to finish what you started, there is no one way to finish what you started, there are several reasons why some things fail and if you know why they failed you will agree with me that you stand a better chance of doing a better job the next time around.

Remember the prizes are given at the end of the race if the prize is not worth the race for you, or the track is not one you’d really want to be running at this time, why start ? your life will be more fulfilled if you finish three things than if you started thirty. Go through your list with this perspective and perhaps you will take the next first step with clearer eyes.

The next post will touch something most of us refuse to acknowledge as a problem.

ciao

How to finish what you started..

Its officially summer again and there are tons of stuff to do; weddings to attend, party invitations, the beach, hiking , travelling the entire works so with more time on my hands i have more time to research and write something that I’m sure will help someone and myself as it turns out become more productive.

Watching any of the talent shows or stories of people who have made some achievement or the other in a field where we feel have some competence, One refrain that is popular with people who watch or read about it is “… I’m sure I could have done it if I could just find the time to sit down and do it…”sounds familiar? Me too. I've been known to spout that line from time to time especially when I have done something that I know I could have done waay  better because I couldn't be bothered to sit down and concentrate or one other convenient reason or another. I was inspired to put something down on this subject following a stirring conversation I had with some friends over the weekend at the beach, the subject was the things that hinder people from succeeding. As it turned out we were almost unanimous in concluding that discipline and application were the single most significant determining factors that separated people who had potential and those who became successful.

For the purpose of this piece I will define discipline as an inner will or force that enables those people who have it, to stay on course and last the distance in spite of any weakness or distractions. Discipline is the ability to know first and UNDERSTAND that you have exactly 24 hours in a day and that each second you spend doing anything that does not get you where you want to go to essentially takes you away from it. This means that if you must get to where you need to get to in whatever sphere of life; academic, career, social and political, there is a need to clear your field of view of the things that can and potentially will derail you.

The Olympics are a very simple yet visceral example of the results of discipline. It comes around every four years and the athletes, who participate and win, all perform at the very peak of human capacity, nothing not even the temperature of the water that they drink is left to chance. They eat precisely measured quantities of food and exercise to specifications for almost two years or even more just so they can run 100 meters in less than 10 seconds. Pause for a second and imagine yourself living under those conditions for a week!

 The thought of it just makes you shudder. But we are all  not going to be an Usain Bolt, nor a Yelena Isinbaeva yet we do need to sit down through some unpleasantness in order to achieve aims and goals that we have set for ourselves. In order to be the best we that we can be, we need to be disciplined and consistent. We cannot however be disciplined if we do not have a focus, an aim or a destination, because discipline is only a means to an end. One cannot be disciplined without a focus or destination, but we all have destinations and dreams and the reason why most people never get there is because the just can’t find it in themselves to be disciplined and consistent. So if you are tired of being a perennial underachiever you need to ask yourself how do I become disciplined?

Let me start by saying that, being disciplined is not a thing, in the sense that it can be done like getting a haircut or a weave no! it is a gradual painstaking process that involves unlearning several behavioral patterns that we have accumulated over time and replacing them with new behavior patterns. The first step in this process is to recognize and define those things which have been distractions for you. This is perhaps the most important step to take. It involves asking yourself the critical questions of why you have not done the things you wanted to do or finished the things that you set out to do. It involves asking yourself what are the reoccurring factors in the narrative about your failures or lack of success because, if you’re honest with yourself there are very few specific obstacles that we all have and as long as they are not treated and dealt with they will reoccur in various aspects of our lives.

So take a book preferably a small one and write on one page all the things you ever tried to do and the things you wanted to achieve up until now giving each of them numbers. When you’re done, on a fresh page write the first aim or objective down and painfully tell yourself the truth about why you couldn't do them. Be honest with yourself and its very important that you write them down because writing many times provides a perspective that introspection(i.e looking into yourself) cannot provide you with, because it enables you to step back and really see the reasons in a very painful but objective way allowing you to really see yourself as you really are. Finally, writing the reasons and explanations for not finishing anything can provide some form of catharsis or healing enabling you to see the failures and knowing that you have taken the very first step in the bid to correct them.

If you do this for all of the things you wrote down earlier, you will begin to see a pattern emerging, it might be the loss of patience, the loss of interest the presence of distractions or something else entirely which appears in each and every one instance when you tried for something and did not finish it. It could be a hobby, or a friend, a place or a pattern of wrong choices which you have consistently made time and again.

The above is an exercise and you will do well to do this as much as you possibly can and be honest with yourself you could do this alone or with a friend ;A journey is always shorter with company, and a friend can provide you with an invaluable support structure. 

The next part of this post on this blog will be available by the weekend there I will talk about what to do with you findings. Remember like the Chinese say the journey of a thousand mile begins with a single step. Hang in there the best is yet to come. Till then

Ciao

If you have questions please put them in the comments section or write to me directly at lorenzodwin@gmail.com.

phew cobwebs...

It’s been a really long time since we were here. Last year presented so many challenges that I had to drop some things in order to find a new balance. Unfortunately this blog suffered. anyway i'm back And boy! were the cobwebs on this page humongous. they’re not here anymore in case you’re an arachnophobe.

Since that time I managed  to fill my days with tons of activities and books, some of which kept me away from this place, anyhow a darling friend told me how much the few articles I put up here were an interesting read so I made I promise that I would resume writing this year just so someone can benefit and be blessed by the articles. Malwi you're my inspiration

Before I post anything, I’d like to give updates on the stuff that has happened since I was last here, I’m now in my fifth year of medical school in the wonderful city of Odessa Ukraine, the students group that I lead, in this city is beginning to show better signs of vitality, and we’ll be hosting the entire country, at the international medical students conference this October 23^rd-25^th(pray for us). Ukraine has in the last few months gone through a bloody upheaval that has led to the loss of over 60 lives, as I write this some calm has returned to the polity, and reports today say that a Baptist pastor has been appointed interim president, and elections are slated for May 25^th. Please don’t stop praying for Ukraine.

In less traumatic news, in the first week of February this year I attended a delegates conference organized by the Christian Medical Fellowship in London. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience it was easily the most unforgettable two weeks of medical school for me, till the time of writing this. There were times of studying the word with a depth and robustness that I have missed since the days of my first degree, then there was the experience of people speaking English in the streets: the only way you will appreciate that is if you live in a place where your mother tongue is heard in snatches on the bus 3 times a year for the first time in a long time I could pick up conversations of people around me while listening passively. The only thing that could come close to that for satisfaction, would probably involve me, immersing my gastronomic proclivities in a celebration of culinary excellence that featured lots of meat and more meat. I had the unique opportunity to meet with young medical students that love the lord, and were sharing the travails of medical school, it was an awesome experience, I made tons of new friends and some special ones too who knows…?

As part of the program, we visited the British museum 

with a Christian archaeologist/theologian or historian (not too sure of his discipline) Jay smith, and I gained an invaluable lesson that even though until then I had accepted the bible as the infallible word of God, there were irrefutable evidences of its veracity that would stand even the most rigorous academic inquest, should the urge to question its accuracy arise.

Several archaeological discoveries like the liitle drum in the picture above,were there that reinforced the truth of the most minute details of the bible (not that it needed reinforcing). The Bible is indeed the infallible word of God, as against other religious holy books without a single piece of physical evidence to back them up even though they were waaay younger that the bible. I took the time to visit my club Arsenal FC's stadium in London. and i took some pics with some of the wonderful people that i met.

In the next few days/posts I will be talking about a lot of the various lessons that I have learnt about life, love, relationships my study of the bible and my opinions about events that are happening around me.

till the next post... ciao

The Real Christmas Story.

It was barely dawn in the forest the birds were breaking into song, the first rays of sunlight were hitting the forest floor which appeared to be moving as the Chico clan of ants were on the move again. it was the time of their cycle when the ants moved to the other side of the forest and their paths crossed different parts of the forest. 

the ants

The mothers told the children of the various scenes they would pass as they went across the forest and the older ants recalled tales of wars with other clans and the young males looked forward to the nuptials when the young females took to flight and the joined them in a celebration of young love and the older men remembered and looked forward to the great anthill’s of their ancestors. The women folk knew their holidays were just ahead for the ancient anthills offered huge underground stores of food and their job would comprise laying the eggs that would ensure the perpetuity of their race and being waited on by the worker class. The young-uns to whom every sight was a new experience watched with surprise and wanted to stop and stare but kept being urged on by the elders behind them as well as their mothers. The pace set by the soldier clan was ferocious and unyielding once the army of ants were on the move there was no force in nature that could stop them, birds whose nests were unfortunately in their path were devoured by the unrelenting red tide torn to pieces by the soldiers and carried by the worker clan. There was no animosity it was just nature taking its course on the forest floor.

Above the ground, the new road was on schedule, the crews had worked night and day now a new single lane road cut through the forest and provided a shorter route to families that traveled across the country. In this forest also lived a family of ant watchers a man and his son who every year watched the migration of the ants unfailingly. But as they went along the route they saw the migration had started earlier than usual but they were aghast at the discovery that the road which ran through the forest ran right across the path of the ant migration.

The ants being ants did not know to stop or look for an alternate route and they were being crushed by the hundreds as they attempted to dash across the road. No matter how fast or strong they were no match for the huge tires that ran over them the elders had no answers for this new threat usually their doggedness and sheer numbers was sufficient to overcome any foe even the occasional fire. they were totally unprepared for this new threat but as creatures of instinct they kept on pouring their numbers into the roads, mothers wailed as infants were crushed and fathers mourned the loss of entire families and were soon promptly crushed themselves the entire army was being decimated in a matter of seconds, but the hordes behind were unaware of the carnage up ahead and poured on to face the same seemingly inevitable fate.

It was to this scene of utter horror and despondency that the ant watcher and his son came and the boy promptly saw that there was a tunnel under the road that the ants could take and avoid the tires that were wreaking such havoc. They decided to stand by the road and scream at the ants but, the ants couldn't hear them, the boy built barriers but the ants promptly climbed over them he put signs but they couldn't read in frustration he tried so many other options all to no avail he cried, howled and threw himself on the floor his beloved ants were marching into a sure death and he couldn't do a thing to save or help them.

Then, out of the blue the thought came to him; the ants can’t understand me because I’m not an ant and I don’t speak ant-tongue but if I can become an ant, I can speak with them in a language they will understand and promptly he decided that he would become an ant. He explained his   decision to become an ant to his father who immediately sat him down and explained to him that this was no easy choice; it would alter his life in a way that he could barely comprehend, he would eat ant food, sleep in ant nests, move with the army of ants, walk about naked be vulnerable like the ants, face the likelihood that he’d be picked off by an anteater and probably die like and ant. All the perks that came with being human would be lost; the warm house, tea, school, friends and adventure were all he would be giving up. Faced with this choice he wept sorely but by dawn his resolve was clear.

Not too long after the workers hatched an egg and a young boy was born as an ant only this ant knew what lay ahead of the army of ants and even more he knew how to get across the road without loss of life. Would other ants believe that he was not just an ordinary ant like them? Those ants that were hatched with him were the most skeptical of his “claims” how can an ant like you know that there is death ahead of us the other ants asked? We know your mother and your brothers… a few of the ants followed him along the new way no knowing what was ahead but trusting in his sure steps. What do we have to lose any way they reasoned as they went with him.

Today as the world over celebrates Christmas many will caught-up in the festivities, the eating and the drinking and the partying forget that the son of God left heaven to become an ant like us. Will we believe in the new way or will we allow logic skepticism and the need for empirical evidence cloud our ability to accept the humbling truth that over 2000 years ago God cast aside his God-hood to become a man like us? The bible says; “…for unto us a child is born and unto us a son is given…” let us remember the greatest expression of love was made when God became man. Let’s not forget this in the fun of Christmas.

Merry Christmas to you and yours. The king is indeed born.

have fun.

BEFORE YOU QUIT.

Remember this line by leonardo di caprio in the movie catch me if you can?

"... two mice fell into a farmers wife's barrel's of milk one of the gave up and drowned the other kept on swimming and stirring the milk that eventually, the milk turned into cheese and it climbed out..." I can't think of any analogy that best describes what i intend to talk about.

Robert H. Schuller a best selling author entitled one of best selling books "tough times don't last tough people do" what was not said by that statement was that tough people where formed in the forge of tough times and character is formed in the crucible of experience. We all hope for a wonderful life in fact we grow up with the notion of a life where, all the things that we desire come to us with minimum fuss and that in those cases where we have to work hard our efforts are met with commensurate success. As we grow older we begin to find that that particular scenario is the exception as against the rule and we are shocked by the vicissitudes of life. Things like death of a loved one, a messy break-up, a divorce, betrayal by a trusted confidante, a child who is going down the wrong path, a career disappointment, a loss of an expected promotion/job are the kind’s of "spanner in the works" circumstances that life presents us with at various points. 

Our world today, is one which is result oriented, people the world over are invariably drawn to results, in fact the moment anyone comes up with any quick fix he almost always guaranteed the perks that come with success. While providing a solution to a problem should be lauded in itself, we should understand/be aware that the innate fault inherent in the quick fix mentality; it negates the importance of the process. Now on the surface that might not be much of a problem but looking closely at it has created a generation of quitters people who are not willing to work out/through tough situations people unwilling to hang in there, unstable and disloyal people who will quit at the slightest sign of trouble in our sitcoms and movies we applaud the "...I QUIT..." line in fact several of them actually build up to and crescendo at that line, today it’s not uncommon to hear people betting huge sums of money on the longevity of a marriage or relationship in show business. Which sadly is a template that today's society attempts to live up to. While I find it imperative to state clearly that there are situations that require us to cut our losses and refocus our energies in places where we can be or are more productive it is pertinent to point that redirecting our efforts should be a last option and not the default setting.

The process is very vital to making stable and dependable people of character

Job 23 vs 10 says; But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold.

We should not become people who look for the exits at the first sign of trouble. The ultimate irony is that although, we tend towards quitting we admire people that have stuck through their tough times and when we are with ourselves we aspire to such strength of character. As a matter of fact as corrupt or deviant  the employers of labor are, they reward people of character and seek after them because a man of character is a rare breed. We should understand that it is those uncomfortable situations are forges and anvils within which we are made. Case in point David in the bible was anointed king as a 16/17 year old boy (I Samuel 16 vs13 )and was crowned king when he was a 30 year old man (II Samuel 5 vs 4 ) 

What happened in the intervening time? Why didn't he assume the throne seeing he was anointed for it? Truth be said in today’s world he would have had saul assassinated in order to “get there” infact we would be maligned for not sticking it to the man.He did not because he needed to be groomed for kingship, he need to have his charcter formed, he needed to determine what his own values, he needed to deal with; his Goliath, Saul's hatred, loss of his family to the amalekites (I Samuel 30 vs 3) and several setbacks he learnt how to make the right choice, he learnt the value of patience, he learnt to guide men to battle, he assembled his team it was only after this that he wrote the psalm "...the lord is my shepherd..." that and other psalms that are and have been a blessing to many people. he was so well forged that at the end of his life he was able to say these words that we've all clung to at some point in our lives;

psalm 37 vs 25 i have been young, and now i'm old; yet have i not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

This trait of patience is one that is increasingly lost in our generation of power suits, power ties and power steering's and the truth is that we are the worse for it. The difference between the floaters and sinkers (no pun intended) in any circumstance is their reaction to the said circumstance. when faced with trying times there are two options available to us all, the first is to bow to and be overwhelmed by it (this is when people say things like i didn't have an option) or stand up and rise above the circumstance this is the true test of character and this can only come by resolving within your self that you will see the end of the situation. because at the very core of it our success or failure to overcome our challenges is a function of how we choose to see our problems; as stumbling blocks/insurmountable obstacles or stepping stones. The truth is that there isn't a one size fits all answer to the question; why does some stuff happen? but one truth that is common to everyone that has toughed it out through a trying time is that we come out stronger, tougher, weathered and confident in our experience that we can tell someone going through the same or similar situation that the light at the end of the tunnel is not a myth. And nothing even close to that self confidence that overcoming gives, that feeling that comes from knowing that at the end we are still standing smiling though scarred.

I'll conclude in the words of 7 consecutive time tour de France winner,testicular cancer survivor, winner of; sports man of the year, male athlete of the year, athlete of the year more than once and author of several books;

"...pain is temporary. it may last a minute, or an hour, or a day, or a year, but eventually it will subside and something will take it's place. If i quit however, it lasts forever..."

Hang in there, this too shall pass. You are a work in progress. have a God-blessed week.

Expectations or Demands?

Picture this; a girl walks into a store with a limited amount of money with the intentions of leaving with a pair of shoes. now while she doesn't have the exact pair in mind, she sure hope that when she eventually leaves the store she'll have a pair of shoes  that'll make her feel really good. now comes the dilemma one which i'm sure all of us have been in several times in the course of our lives; the store has rather appealing options and i'd love to exploit all of them if i could, but i can only go down one path. the question is which one to choose? if you have been there, or you have a choice to make at the moment, read on and see my thoughts on the matter.

 if we carefully consider the dilemma that is decisions making, we find something that we all; race,gender economic and social status irrespective have in common.  in my opinion the crux of the dilemma lies in the question; will this job, proposal, option, person, place and so on give me what i really want? but even bigger than this question is one question that people the world over generally have no answer to, or choose not to be asked for that matter, what do you really want from life? pause for a moment and consider that question do you really have a clear answer to that question? given the choice would your answer be one that you have settled in your heart prior to now? or will it take you down a thought process you'd rather not go at the moment?

Most of us have dreams and wishes that we hope to get to sometime in the future, and sooner or later life presents us with a forked path where we must chose to go in one direction or another. and most often our choices are based on what we think those choices will pay to us by way of satisfaction of one need or another. But, the central thing to note is our out look to life. Do we expect things from life or do we demand things from life? Whats the difference you might ask, when we expect things from life we speak about dreams, hopes and aspirations. But when on the other hand we demand things from life, it comes from clearly stated goals, decisions and actions that we are looking at to yield to us the things they normally/naturally should. 

 Let me explain. A farmer, tills the soil plants seeds (rice for instance) that have been painstakingly selected he does everything that he should do to ensure the plants do well. Then he expects rain (which is out of his power and influence)  let us assume in this case, that doesn't get it. he makes a dam for his farm and irrigates it then he demands a harvest at the end because its his due because, that is the natural course of events. he has has done everything that he should so he places a demand on the crop for a harvest. see the difference?when he hoped for rain/good weather  it was just that; hope. but when he demanded a harvest it went just beyond wishing for it he did things that ensured that he would get what he wanted.

We should not be going through life with just hope. yes, certain things are out of our control and try as we may we cant change the course of some events but, on the other hand there are those that are almost totally in our control and those ones are the ones that our every waking moment should be focused on. How does this affect my decision making process you might be tempted to ask its simple; when we look at every decision in the light of our destination, the choices are easier to make, now instead of looking at them in an A, B or C way we, begin looking at them in a which one takes me from A to B  mode.
When we learn to streamline our decisions in the light of our destinations we make conscious choices instead of guesses and shots in the dark. all of us remember how much time we waste on multiple choice questions when we are not sure what the answers are. In the same way our choices in life are made easier and faster when we make up our minds where we want to get to at the end of our day. the bottom line is, knowing your destination puts you in a position to place demands on life instead of having expectations from life.as Ephesians 6vs 13 says, you need to have done all.


This concept, actually goes beyond only making choices it influences life style, relationships, career choices and even the food's we eat. It streamlines us together with our actions and puts purpose to our lives. When we know where we want to get to, the choice of how to get there, who to go there with, and what to take there and what needs to be done to get there becomes much more easy and less convoluted. Our decision making becomes more efficient Jesus says in Luke 14vs 2, that a man intent on building a tower counts the cost. he knows what a tower needs and he finds out if he has them all, the flip side is that he at the same time knows what building the said tower doesn't need. so ask your self where am i going to and what are the things i'm carrying with me that will not help me get there? discard them, then add those things which you really do need and watch your life get uncluttered.

so just as the girl at the beginning had a hard time choosing shoes, we all have other stuff we have a hard time making a choice over that don't require soul searching. for some of us, some choices have been settled a long time ago for instance, every time there is a choice to be made between strawberry and vanilla flavored ice-cream or in fact any ice-cream for that matter, vanilla wins all the time.

Have fun, its a wonderful summer and you're alive to spend it.


P/S when you're done reading some feedback will be highly appreciated.

how free must you be to be free?

Exams, tests, modules quizzes, pathetic circadian rhythm; its de-rigueur for the kind of life i'm living presently. all so i can tell myself i mattered, probably put a smile on a little kids face or that of their mother what could be better?
I was in church on Sunday and the question of freedom arose in the course of the sermon and two responses caught my attention the first person who i think is a cynic in the making said in a rather heartfelt way that freedom as a state, was impossible to attain as long as responsibilities existed and one had several social conventions to conform to. the other person said freedom was achievable and claimed to have achieved it as it comprised the liberty to do all that one wanted what is most significant about these two definitions or outlooks of freedom is that the people that gave them are essentially in the same age bracket and economic status so it bring into discussion that freedom, is as it appears or as a friend of mine says; freedom is as freedom does.
 It now calls into question what exactly is freedom? what does one do so as to be described as free? to a slave freedom is the  liberty to determine what he does each day, a caged bird defines it as the breaking of the bars and the ability to find out how far the sky goes, to a teenager it is the transfer of prerogative from his parents to him/her self and the free rein to choose what he would do, basically to live a life bereft of "interference", control, restrictions and advice. for some others it could mean the ability to do something they have always wanted to do for example to a housewife it could mean being able to just take a long overdue sleep or just be rid of all the responsibility that she has for one day. it really depends on who is speaking.
Be that as it may the thread that runs through all of these definitions is the word or concept choice; the ability to see the options available to one, and the levity to go after that which enables the person to achieve his/her aims or dreams.
 If its as simple as choice,  why are the views so different? the answer is simple; we all want different things but we all want to able to say this is what i want and i have taken it.
In my opinion freedom is the liberty to pursue ones aims within his available means and maximizing what means he has within sensible restrictions and to understand the responsibilities that come with it. "sensible" is in it self ambiguous enough to elicit another argument of relativity. but i absolutely believe that freedom as an aim cannot be fully appreciated within certain restrictions.

A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.
Bob Dylan

 freedom without any restrictions is slavery of another sort one more insidious that other forms of slavery, as it places the "freed" person in a bondage to  the things he wants or thinks he wants. let me use this analogy to press home my point.
Look at these two insects the butterfly and the bee. ever wondered why despite all the flowers that the butterfly flits from it leaves nothing to enjoy apart from it beauty? the butterfly is the typical example of freedom the liberty to pursue all pleasures a hedonistic lifestyle is if you please. essentially, the butterfly just goes about "loving" this flower and then that one, spends its night thinking of all the other flowers it expects to explore tomorrow and before it knows it, it life time is over and there is nothing to show for it except its beauty and another young butterfly. At the other end of this spectrum in the honey bee which most of us are grateful to for the gift of honey. it lives in a hive and has a rigid hierarchy each bee has a specific task  which it sticks to. you could argue that it is in a bondage of sorts but i will argue that it is not because, it has the liberty to be the best of its kind and contribute ultimately to the production of honey that most of us love. picture this; same environment, probably same flower, clearly not the same aesthetic quality, different amounts of "freedom" but at the end of the day the disparity in end product is beyond question.

As Christians what does the bible have to say about freedom or even choice, it is important to note that man was created as a being with free choice at liberty to do "all"  and have dominion over everything that God created after enjoying the freedom of choice with the restriction of the tree in the center of the garden, when the choose to push his boundaries, the lost everything although you could argue that he possessed the freedom that information or knowledge provided him with, his life wasn't particularly better. this is the bible's perspective on freedom;

Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! 20You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. Thisb is the key to your life. Deut 30vs 19 New Living Translation

again Jesus emphasizes the place of "restrictions" ;

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)

Place my yoke over your shoulders, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble. Then you will find rest for yourselves

God gives us freedom, however its a unique kind that can only be found in him we can achieve all our dreams within him because he is all sufficient.

New International Version (©1984)

'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

 another case in point is the prodigal son in Luke 15vs11 is parable of Jesus that poignantly elucidates that freedom isn't really all that it is made out to be. from all of the above, the question of the need to be free goes without saying, but when we ask how much freedom do we really need is one that brings out all sorts of questions and opinions. these are essentially my opinion's based on my search of the scriptures and personal experience. let me know what you think on the subject of freedom.
have a nice week y'all.




PS.don't forget to let me know what you think i 'll really appreciate it.

excerpts on healing

Another week has passed (two to be exact) the last spent downing all the flu meds i could get my hands on.(it was downright scary truth be told). well we are in another week and 'm feeling much better i can look at the screen of my laptop without feeling the need to down panadol tablets at one point my friend said i actually looked stoned (like she knows what a stoned person looks like). i was thinking on the subject of healing when i stumbled on what i will show you in the next few paragraphs

In her book, A Place of Healing, Joni Eareckson Tada based on her extensive personal study and personal experience provides the answers to several questions frequently asked by those who suffer physical illness.  Does God still heal people miraculously today?  If so, does He want to heal all or just some?  And what am I to think if my prayers for healing go unanswered? She draws four conclusions for us to ponder.

 First, Jesus is just as concerned about our health and healing today as He was when He walked this earth.  She quotes Henry Frost who wrote the following. Christ is the eternal Son of God, and He is in His divine attributes the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).  If therefore He loved in the days of His flesh, He loves now; if He cared then, He cares now; if He healed then, He heals now.  It does not necessarily follow that He will do now all that He did then, or that He will do what He does now in the same way as He did then, for His purposes in some things are different at present from what they were in the past.  Nevertheless, Christ is changeless in character, and we may be sure that He is infinitely interested in us and concerned about us.

 Second, yes, we are healed by His wounds—but not necessarily immediately.  All life, all healing, and all atonement flow from that fountain who is our Lord Jesus Christ.  Where else would it come from?  Joni quotes theologian Richard Mayhue: “Isaiah 53 primarily deals with the spiritual being of man.  Its major emphasis is on sin, not sickness.  It focuses on the moral cause of sickness, which is sin, and not on the immediate removal of one of sin’s results—sickness.”  We should be quick to add that not every sickness is the result of specific personal sin of the one afflicted.

 Third, our Lord Jesus has varied purposes of His own.  In His mercy and in His purposes He will heal immediately.  But at other times His healing will go on at a deeper level in the innermost parts of our being and not be fully realized in our bodies until we step into our new bodies upon our arrival in our Father’s house.  Yes, He has redeemed those who believe in Christ, but He is also continuing that redemptive process in our lives right up until we draw our last breath.  

When the resurrected Christ told Peter how he was going to die to glorify the Lord, Peter looked over his shoulder at John and said, “Lord, what about him?”  Jesus patiently replied, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?  You must follow me?”(John 21:22)  In other words, Jesus has His own purpose for each of us.  And what-ever situation He gives us in life, we are to follow Him in faith and trust.

God has different purposes for His own, and He shows Himself strong and gains glory in different ways throughout each of our life-times.  And if He allows suffering in our lives, He does for very specific, very important reasons, and he does not do so lightly!

 Again she quotes Henry Frost:

Christ has many things to think of in planning for a saint; He must have in mind what is best for the individual; what is the greatest profit in respect to His testimony; what is required in his relationship to many other saints; and what is to make most for God’s present and eternal glory; and He will hold resolutely, in answering prayer, to that course which will combine in bringing the largest and most enduring good to pass.

 Fourth, as with other crucial issues, Satan will seek to push us into nonbiblical extremes on this issue of miraculous healing.  Joni writes, there is one thing that seems to be a common element in those who take extreme positions on divine healing, a lack of humility.

 She continues writing “on the one hand you have people telling God what He must do, and on the other hand you have people telling God what He can’t do.  As clay pots who are we to dictate terms to the master potter and tell Him that he Has to heal me right now?  Who are we to tell God what He can or can’t do in today’s world?  He can do as He likes.  He is God.  As He declares in the book of Isaiah, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please’ (46:10).  As Job asserts, ‘He stands alone, and who can oppose him? He does whatever he pleases’ (23:13).”

Joni concludes, “At times He is willing to heal immediately—and He will perform a miracle that modern medicine can’t begin to explain.  At other times, however—and for reasons we can’t always fathom—He is not willing to heal a particular illness, reverse the course of a disease, or cancel a particular disability.  As with the apostle Paul, who had his request for healing denied, the Lord Jesus will give an extra measure of His presence and grace instead.”  

Indeed, we may say with paul, “your grace is sufficient for us, for your strength is made perfect in our weakness.”(2 Corinthians 12:9)

So in  times of sickness and in fact anytime we particularly need the father to come through for us we can be confident that he will never leave us nor forsake us. This week however, i'm looking forward to the return of the SMURF (yeah i said it!) who I've not missed and i will be writing a couple of rather interesting exams this week if you would pray for me it wouldn't be so bad. have a wonderful week. 

HAPPY WOMENS DAY!!! to all the women and moms every where, moms are the mosdef the best.

 love you mom.

  

Another week has passed and while it was not particularly stressful it has been full of reasons to be thankful. for there are friendships that you have that so important that when you have a little glitch in them things seem to get out of sync in your life (i had such an episode this week lol), there are friends that do not need constant attention to sustain; friends you don't see for years, meet then a couple a years down the line and be like; next page! a friend of mine said something very  profound and i just assumed was one of those cliche's that people read in a book and quote he said;

friends ; is Gods way of taking care of us, making sure that we are not alone

At the time that i first heard this quote, i didn't really fully appreciate the profundity of this statement as i have grown older and seen more Christmases i have come to have a new understanding how much friends contribute (literarily) to our sanity and success. there are friends who cry with us,pray with us, sing with us, stand with us, walk with us, believe with us and maybe be even more importantly believe in us. strange isn't it how we can take flack from just about anybody but crumble when we get even a watered down version of it from those that are close to us.case in point; In Shakespeare's Julius Cesare, we remember the line "...even you Brutus..." i don't think Cesare was hurt by the swords that were mercilessly plunging into his flesh he knew what he was up against in the senate,but to have his closet friend lay one into him probably took the stuffing out of him, at the other end of the friendship line is the biblical story of David and Jonathan, that expresses it depth in the lament of David when he found out about the death of his beloved friend in II Samuel 1vs 25. the friendship survived long after the death of Jonathan revealed in II Samuel 9 vs 1 where he asks if there was anyone who he could show kindness to in loyalty to the love of his friend Jonathan.

looking at all of this,  the question arises; what makes for a good friend?  how do i become a good friend to my own friends? what qualities do people look for in a friend?

A quick survey will reveal that most people consider shared interests and compatibility as boxes that must be ticked, similar social status also is a thing that counts for something in some friendships, a shared world view makes for understanding among peers. from my observation and in my experience, i think the most important quality in a friendship is loyalty and understanding. With both of these qualities in attendance , the aforementioned ones pale into insignificance or rather are placed on the back burner.

Marriage vows have these lines; "...for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health..."  in my opinion, the four of them cover everything that life will throw at you. to have someone who will stick with you or stand by you in either extreme is in itself a blessing of inestimable value. we expects our friends to be there for us in our time of tears, to believe in us in our time of trial, to stand by us through our storms, to root or cheer of us when everyone around us thinks we've lost our marbles. strangely though, although its not something we all admit at first we expect our friends to be able to tell us the truth as hard and hurting as it can turn out to be (with love of course). nothing hurts more than being surrounded by a bunch of sycophants who have no sort of criticism and make huge errors. We would be most deluded if we actively sought out people who would do this for us(check out the kind of people that dictators have around  them). A friend is the one person who will drag you into the mens room and tell you off but come out with his/her hands around you shoulders. thinking about this a line from a movie comes to mind ... this is a totaly stupid idea but if you are sure it'll make you happy i'm with you 100%... it just about sums what a friends position should be. if you have such a friend or are such a friend you are blessed.

 the point i'm trying to make is; we rise and fall based on who our friends are how far we go to a large extent depends on who we have running with us. There are several examples in the scriptures that make clear to us  how we can rise or fall by our associates of friends i'll give a few examples;

I kings21 vs 25 speaks of how king Ahab was urged to evil by his wife

II Samuel 13 tell of how Davids son Ammon lost his life after rather interesting advice from his friend

I kings 12 tells of how the heir to the most financially buoyant kingdom in the worlds history threw it all away

because of his friends

I Samuel 20 tells of how Davids throne was secured because of his friendship with Jonathan.

there are several stories in both the bible and the world we live in today about the triumphs and disasters that have been brought about my friendships, they go a long way to let us know that, friendship is a make or break issue in our lives. let us strive to be better friends to those to whom we are friends. time will fail me to talk about the strength that having a confidant gives us, that is for another blog

I've got a good feeling about this week. lets go out there and give it our best shot.

have fun y'all