Acts 9:36-43

Dorcas; a name synonymous to a woman with a large heart.

My biological mother bears this name too.

The name Dorcas was only mentioned in a particular chapter of the bible but the lessons from her life are so great.

The first that was said about this woman after her name was the fact that she was a believer, it wasn’t just about any other thing but about Christ and all that the kingdom represents. It is not enough as being known just by our carrying bibles or being the one who prays the loudest in our flat, but in what ways is our profession as believers benefiting those around.

The scriptures moved on to talk about the fact that she was always doing good things for others, this great woman wasn’t self-centered, she was often times seen going about doing other things for others.

Point of reflection; what are you doing?

In what ways are you concerned about the well-being of the people around you?

She was doing good to the poor. To be able to do this means she saw herself as being blessed, to give to others isn’t just about the things you have or about the wealth you have been able to accumulate for yourself. What really matters in the grand scheme of things is what portion of the things you own that you are willing to give out.

And when we really think of it, we don’t really own anything, as all we have comes from God and out of his own do we give back to him and the people around us.

It was not recorded that Dorcas an extremely wealthy woman but to it is obvious from the account of the story of her life that she had a giving heart. She didn’t only give to the people who had and so would be able to give back to her too when she is in need. She was recorded that she gave to the poor; people who didn't have as much as she did, she went as far as giving to these set of people who had nothing else to give her knowing full well that it was God she was giving to and by so doing she put herself on God’s payroll.

You don’t have to have so much to be able to give to others.

There was an account of when Christ was on earth and he was in the synagogue, he saw how people were giving their offerings and were dropping it in the bowl, but after it all, he made a profound statement that it was a widow (a woman who had dropped just a mite) who have given the most. The rest had brought from their abundance, but she had brought all she had. It isn’t just enough to keep postponing when we will give to others, we can start where we are with what we have.

Back to Dorcas, she became ill and died just as it is the custom of everyone on earth, but what should have been the end of her life started another beautiful story of her life.

It was her friends; the people she had been kind to over time that prepared her body for burial and as a divine arrangement, it happened to be when Apostle Peter was around that town, it was still her friends who set people to Peter for him to come to her house.

The arrival of Peter met with the widows holding the garments that this great woman has made while crying.

Point of reflection; if anything happens to you today, are there people whom you have been kind to within your circle of influence who would go out of their way to see you restored?

What impact are you making in the life of people that will make them cry when you are no longer on this side of eternity.

If Dorcas hasn’t been good to others, her death might have been final. 

Most times, when we do good to others, we think that there are the only ones who have solely gained from we have done but often times, we also gain from the transaction all be it a different way.

Dorcas must have felt she was giving them without expecting anything in return as they didn’t even have anything to give her, but when she died, this people who had seemingly nothing to give her were those instrumental in her being brought back to life.

Many people got saved in that land after she was brought back to life on the basis of a named believer who was devoted enough to her master and it showed in her conduct and show of love towards others.

Dorcas was not a pastor or a great prophet; she was just a plain woman like you and I, someone who can be called a regular girl.

It isn’t everyone who has been called to public ministry or those who would stand in front of thousands of people in a church auditorium as they proclaim the gospel of Christ, but there is one thing we have all been given. We all have people around us who are in distress, people groping in darkness, people in need, and while we might not have access to the life of the millions of people on earth, but we sure have access to the life of one or two people around us, in what way are we faithful stewards of the resources that God has given unto us?

While I am a great advocate of being prudent with our finances and being faithful stewards of the wealth in our custody, but our being faithful stewards shows in the way we care about the people around.

A certain percent of our income should go into the life of others, life isn’t just about us.

Imagine for a moment that Dorcas was not the kind of person she was, she would have lived life, enjoyed it to the fullest, but when she died, there wouldn’t have been any one to go summon the apostle and her death would have been final.

While you might ever have the privilege of holding the microphone and telling a congregation about God, but we all definitely have people within our circle of influence, people whom the lord has brought into our corner at different times of our life, being able to be an ambassador of the kingdom to them is what really matters.

It is not just about fighting for the pulpit, but how far have we stewarded our gifts and talents to the people around?

You might not have everything, but you definitely have something to give.

Let’s live life in such a way that people won’t have to lie at our funeral.

I read my share of romance novels ehn.

I was invited recently to be a guest on an online TV program, and one of the questions I was asked was how romance novels contribute to sexual purity.

I smiled at that question because it brought back many memories of about ten years ago.

Let me give you the full gist…

After my Junior school exam, during the break before I resumed back for the senior school, I suddenly discovered my LOVE for reading, due to the fact that I had a lot of time on my hands with little or nothing to do. After a while, I had read every book that appealed to my eyes that was in the house and I wanted more.

Fast forward to when I finally resumed into senior school, the new love I had discovered while sitting at home soon had me on the lookout for books I could read, not too long after that laid my hands on books that were usually in circulation around that time; romance novels. It wasn't long before I became a confirmed romance novel reader.

Till tomorrow, I still don't know Boyle's law and all those other laws that was taught in chemistry and physics classes, don't blame me, blame it on my using those times I should have used reading my chemistry books but that was used instead to finish a novel I had hijacked at closing time and had to return to the owner the next day.

I was a romance novel addict from Senior Secondary 1{SSS1} till I got to Senior Secondary School 3 {SSS3}. There were days I read 2-3 novels in one day. I was that good (or let me say that bad).

I didn't have a boyfriend, I wasn't sleeping with anyone, so you can imagine the sexual frustration I was taking myself through.

Fast forward till when till when I had to go into the University, during my Post-UTME (This is an exam you write in your tertiary institution of choice after you have passed JAMB), the room of the undergraduate I slept in when I was there for my exam was filled with books, I don't think I slept till about 4-5 in the morning because I was reading.

I was so excited to see so many books.

{I still feel that sort of excitement when I walk into Bible Wonderland at Surulere where I buy books now, I always wish someone will just kindly lock me up in the BIG bookshop and go home}.

In that man's room was where my liberation came, it was then I realized that although I loved reading, but my addiction to romance novels only came to be because that was the only books I had access to at that time.

Thank God I gained admission that year and coupled with the fact that my fellowship campus had a functioning Godly library, I was finally able to overcome that bad habit of reading romance novels.

Is reading novels bad?

Not at all, I still read them, but reading romance novels that is sex film in print is what I have stopped doing. 

Reading those kind of books won't help you at all, it only shows a particular side of life, it paints life as though sex is the ultimate thing which isn't entirely true as there are other aspects of life asides bedroom matters or what goes on behind closed doors.

There are books authored by Christians which talks about relationships but within boundaries which the average romance novel lacks. There are even some principles for life and living that you get to take away from reading those kind of Christian-centered novels. 

I’d write a post on some books which have helped me overtime, do look out for it.

You love to read, but you necessarily don’t have to spend all your time on books painting a woman’s shape or how the man is giving the woman pleasure in bed, you can channel that same vigor you use in reading x-rated magazines into reading books that will add value to your life.

That habit didn't just go away, I had to replace it with other godly alternatives, I can't even remember the story line of some of those romance novels I read back then as more godly books have been stored up in my heart over time. So, with every bad habit you are trying to break, try replacing it with a positive one.

I no longer read romance novel, I can't even remember the last time I read one, probably7-8 years now. 

I never thought I could stop reading it when I was in secondary school, as I was literally addicted to it for about 3 years of my life, but I was able to stop, and so can you. You can stop whatever ungodly habit you have now.

You can’t want to be sexually pure while you consistently keep reading books that are not pure, you’d just end up deceiving yourself.

If you are struggling with any sexual sin, talk it out with God, look for someone you can be accountable to, watch those things you feed your mind with, and be determined.

If there are ungodly things around you that triggers those experiences, begin to deliberately replace them with godly alternatives, we have a lot of godly alternatives now. 

With God on your side, it will only be a matter of time before that bad habit becomes a thing of the past.

I stopped mine, with God’s grace, you can too!

Queen Vashti also gave a banquet for the women in the royal palace of King Xerxes.

On the seventh day, when King Xerxes was in high spirits from wine, he commanded the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar and Karkas  to bring before him Queen Vashti, wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at. But when the attendants delivered the king’s command, Queen Vashti refused to come. Then the king became furious and burned with anger.

Okay, so my second name is Esther.

I was named after the queen Esther herself. But that woman didn’t become a queen overnight, it was due to what happened to the queen before her and how she handled her position when the king was calling her to come and showcase her beauty before the people of the land.

There are so many school of thought about why she didn’t come, some are of the opinion that probably the king was drunk and wanted her to come and parade before other drunk men, others think that she was just full of herself and that is why she didn’t give regard to the invite of the man who had made it possible for her to even have a party to host for the women of the land.

With all that happened that day, the truth still remains that Vashti refused to come out to see her husband the king when he demanded her attention, and by so doing, she lost her position as the queen of the land.

 You might be asking ‘Okay, the story of Vashti’s life is over now, so how does it concern my career?  It actually concerns your career in more ways than you can imagine.

Sometimes back, I was having a hard time with my immediate boss at work, some things were not going right and my heart was not right too. I prayed about it and as I was going about my daily task, the story of Vashti was suddenly impressed upon my heart. I was wondering how Vashti and her being demoted from the exalted place she was as a queen had anything to do with my career, but I was ready to learn.

Vashti signifies that person in the market place who was brought into that place by God through a man here on earth, it is possible that within the space of a little time, that small man or lady that was brought in some months or years ago also rose to the position of  having juniors or other people that begins to report back to you too, and it can be said you now have kingdom of your own too and so the king who made it possible for you to be able to hold a banquet for the women of the land literally speaking no longer holds any water in your eyes.

While God is ultimately the lifter of men and you can’t be lifted except God is the one doing the lifting, but the people he uses are men, you can’t consistently be dishonoring superiors at work and then expect that you will be lifted anyhow anyhow. Remember Vashti, she was demoted in the kingdom and another person was brought into her place.

In today’s world, while some people have it going rough for them on the premises of something that isn’t even their fault, others have it going on so smoothly for them because of the privilege they have of knowing someone.

While this knowing of someone is relative, as there are people who do not know a soul prior to their employment in a particular office, but then, there is someone who adopted you in that office, there is someone ahead of you, there is someone whose experience in relevant tools and applications is helping you not to make the same mistake again, and irrespective of who that person is, they still deserve all the respect you can give them.

A lot of older people help younger colleagues to have a footing in life and career, and most times when they do, the young fellow suddenly feel they have arrived too since they have mouth-watering figures in bank and solid investment portfolios and can do just about anything they want to do since they now have their own space and people who are also saying say yes sir or yes ma’am to them.

While your promotion is ultimately in God’s hands but don’t forget the people on whose shoulder you are climbing or you climbed in time past.

Don’t become so big in your own eyes that you begin to see that person as insignificant.

Remember Vashti, it takes nothing for you to be pulled out of that position and then replaced with someone more worthy.

It’s great you now have your own harem where you are a host too, but don’t look down on those who made it possible.

Don’t make them shut the doors of opportunities on others who will still need them later on in future based on your actions today.

When next you are tempted to look down on the king of your kingdom in that office, remember Vashti.

My name is Sola Peters.

I was an answer to the prayers of my parents who have been praying to God for the gift of a child for the first six years of their marriage.

My birth brought so much joy to her parents and to everyone within my parent’s circle of influence who had prayed and looked forward to the day when God would definitely smile on the Peters.

I grew up seeing my parents pray every morning and night and every time in between. I would see my dad sit down at the dining area bending over books which my young mind didn’t fully understand at that time. As I grew up, I began to understand that the various books I saw my father bending over on the dining table were different versions of the bible.

Like the typical Preacher’s kid, I had my days of waiting for my parents in the car while they would be busy sometimes for hours without end moving from one meeting to another. Last Sundays were the days I dreaded the most as we wouldn’t leave the church premises till far late in the night because of monthly record which needed to be tidied up.

I grew up serving God as that was my only reality, before long, I soon started representing my church in bible quiz competitions within my state and even outside my state. I wasn’t only good in bible quiz but also in school, my parents were always beaming with joy whenever they came for prize giving day. I was indeed an answer to prayers.

Then I met Wale on my 15th birthday.

We met when one of his friends brought him to the tutorial center I attended. The first day he spoke to me was great as I have never felt the way I did while he was talking to me.

Wale came from a broken home, and to him, every girl child is just a fun project whose end is to get them on his bed.

At first, I felt that wale doesn’t belong to the same class as I did. Although he attends a church too but there was just something about him that didn’t really sit down with me. Looking back now, I wonder why I still kept seeing him, or why I still kept letting him sit beside me during classes or why I even allowed him make me sit on his laps in the bus when we were going to his house.

Yes, I followed him to his house, he begged and begged that day at the tutorial center, and I felt there was no crime in following him to his house, although a part of me felt was what I was doing was wrong, I still followed him.

We got to the apartment where he lives with his father, his father had traveled to another city on an official assignment and his sister was residing with their mother, so he had the whole apartment to himself.

He entertained me, and I did enjoy myself.

Soon after, I suddenly felt a hand around me, I looked back to discover that it was wale touching me; I slapped his hands off and told him, ‘I will love to go back home now.’ I said to him.

He told me he didn’t want me to go and that he was really enjoying my company. An alarm ran in my head at that statement but I refused it, I stayed back despite the uneasiness I was feeling.

Lon story cut short, we had sex in his father’s sitting room.

I stood up from that bed and my eyes suddenly became open, I couldn’t believe this just happened to me, a church girl, how was I going to look into the eyes of other ladies in church who were still virgins.

I just stood up from there, thank God I was among the ladies who had thin hymen so I didn’t really have myself stained and in about few minutes, the only evidence that remained after I had lost my virginity was a little pain down there and a little amount of blood on the bed sheet.

I got back home and kept pretending as though all was well, my mom kept looking at me as though something had happened to me, but after a while of asking me questions and I was not coming forth with answers, she left me to be on my own.

What happened between Wale and I must have opened up a side of me that had been lying dormant, because soon, I was the one running after him. One would think the bolts that were used to hold my brain together was also removed alongside my virginity, cos I couldn’t just keep my legs closed any more.

This continued till I got into the Uni.

I started attending the campus fellowship due to my dad’s command, it was there I met other Jesus girls and in my second semester the sisters’ unit paired up different ladies as prayer and accountability partners. That was how Juliet came into my life. Before long, we became close and although I had promised myself I wasn’t going to tell anyone what was wrong with me, but I soon found myself opening up to her.

She was so easy to talk to unlike my sisters’ coordinator in my daddy’s church who used to have an air of holier-than-thou anytime she was walking by. Every thought of telling her about my case flew out of the window when she used an information Esther who is one of my friends shared with her in confidence as a case study during the sisters’ program. 

She had given enough details about the person she was talking about that I didn’t need a prophetess before I knew it was Esther she was referring to. Esther had gone home crying that night while I had gone home deeper into my sins since there was no one I could share my innermost feeling with.

Juliet came through for me, she would call me in the morning and at night, there were days the temptation would be so great that I would feel like grabbing the next man I see, but Juliet wouldn’t let me be, there were days she wouldn’t get off the phone until she was in my room. She helped me get back on my feet.

There were days I felt too weak to continue but Jesus was there for me every step of the way.

I thought I have been sentenced to a life of just getting married to just any good guy, in my mind I felt who would want damaged goods, but God proved himself yet again.

Tomorrow, I will be walking down the aisle with Tobi who thinks I am the next thing since slice bread. I thought he would run away when I told him in few words of the things I have done when I didn’t know better, but he still stayed. 

The words he told me at Ndubuisi Kanu Park at Ikeja still rings in my mind

‘Sola, God has forgiven you and has welcomed you back into his fold; he wants me to be an expression of that love to you on earth.’

To think God loves me this much brings so much joy to my heart.

I’ll be saying yes to him in front of witnesses tomorrow.

You can never be too far gone in your sin.

All you have to do is come back home.

Luke 18:1

'And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;

I remember while growing up , it is common to hear people singing this song in church,

Prayer is the key, prayer is the key, prayer is the master key, Jesus started with prayer and ended with prayer, prayer is the master key.

This song talks about how important praying is, but as I began to grow up, I realized that although prayer is so important, but there are times when I find myself not praying for a long time despite knowing how important it is to pray.

There are times when amidst the hustle bustle of life and living, you suddenly wake up to realize that the last time you prayed alone was three months ago.

Prayerlessness  might be due to a lot of things like a change in environment, a new assignment, a new schedule or even a change in status (from a single to a married individual), but no excuse is ever worth giving. Like every worthwhile project, prayer needs a measure of discipline.

There are times when things we never planned for might just begin to crop into our daily schedules and before we realize it, it has been days, weeks or months since we really pray. While some of us might still be able to whisper some words of prayer as we take our bath, or a plus Jesus minus Satan kind of prayer as we are locking the door of our apartment on our way out. 

It is usually to the devil’s delight when we don’t spend time in prayer, as he knows what we stand to gain by talking to God and what we loose out of when we get too busy to pray. Prayerlessness makes you become more cranky, easily annoyed, more prone to anger and other vices, this is possible because when you don't pray your flesh becomes stronger and your spirit becomes weaker, but to make sure that the devil isn’t wining this battle against your soul, then we must be very disciplined in this regard.

I know how easy it is to pray, it is more easy to listen to songs, listen to messages, and some other times even read the bible than it is to pray.

While some of us enjoy studying the bible to praying, but they must both go hand-in-hand if we will ever be able to fully live the God-kind-of-life here on earth.

So to jump back to praying after a long break;

1.     Admit That You Haven’t Been Faithful

To thy own self be true.

If you haven’t been praying as much as you should, then admit it to yourself that you need to wake up from your slumber.

If you still keep pacifying yourself, saying statements like "I pray for two to three minutes before I sleep every day" that will only keep you under the blanket of prayerlessness but as you admit it, you will feel a certain surge of energy to get of its grip of and begin to talk more with the Father.

2.     Don’t Make Prayer Time An All-me Affair

One of the reasons why people suddenly loose interest in praying is because they see prayer as just something that totally revolves around their lives and families. 

If you keep praying everyday just about you, your parents and siblings, it is only a matter of time before you begin to run out of prayer points. If you come from a small nuclear family like mine which is only four (father and mother inclusive), then you’ll know that just praying just for your family every day of the week is definitely going to be wearying.

But, you can take out time to pray for other people;

Friends

Colleagues at work

Course mates

People trying to conceive (both those you know personally and those you don’t)

People going through one hard time or the other

People on the verge of committing suicide

People whose home are on the verge pf breaking

People whose life aren’t going the way they want

People who are confused and who want clarity

People who are looking to God for spouse

People with stubborn children

Men and women of faith (those men and women whose messages are on your phone and laptops  needs prayer too).

Prayer of intercession is great.

With this type of prayer, you can never run out of people to pray for, and you’ll realize that by praying for these different categories, you will be able to tarry in the place of prayer as against if your prayer was just centered on yourself and everything that revolves around you.

3.     Pray In The Spirit

If you have been baptized in the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues, please as much as often, pray in the spirit. There is an extra energy this gives you.

4.     Know What Works For You

Till tomorrow, I for one will continually envy those who can pray on their knees for hours, one of the best ways to catch me sleeping in the place of prayer is for me to be on my knees. And there are others who can pray for hours without end on their knees. Just know what works for you.

I pray more when I am pacing around or having a prayer walk, the time just goes by. 

If you discover that you feel more tired when you are kneeling to pray, then stand up to pray, pace around, there isn’t any rule that says you must pray on your knees. While kneeling connotes a submission stance, but since you won’t actively be able to talk to God that way, then stand, he is the one heart whom you are praying to and he sees you. The most important thing to do is to pray.

5.     Get Resources To Help

One of the good things God has given us via social media is the ability to be able to access sounds and tunes by gospel minstrels just by the click of a button. 

There are different ministries that have recorded sounds that you can listen to and be energized to pray.

Get books on the subject of prayer too.

6.     Rely On The Help Of The Spirit

There will be times when you will want to pray and your body/flesh has other plans, after you have done all you should, allow yourself to be carried on the wings of the spirit, you’ll find yourself praying more on those days than you normally would have done.

Remember, we do not know how to pray, but it is the Spirit who intercedes for us with groaning that cannot be uttered.

Do you want to force me to church? Kunle asked me as he rolled over on the bed

It was Sunday morning and I was all dressed to go to church with my two daughters, and here is my husband who is still rolling over on the bed.

I looked back at him and the jungle where the hatred in my heart came from is what I don’t think I’ll ever find out.

Who would have thought this was the same man I had a crush on when I was in 300 level, the same man who had traveled all the way from Kano where he was serving to propose to me when I just came out the examination hall after I had written my last paper would ever turn out like this.

I can still remember the day he proposed to me, I had felt it was just the best thing that could ever have happened to me, who would have thought that a two-time fellowship president would ever even look at my side, to think that my leadership position could easily be neglected and I didn’t even come into the leadership position until 400 level when he was already a graduate.

I accepted the proposal because I just felt this man was too good to be true, and coupled with the fact that he was more spiritual than I was, I felt he must have prayed through for both of us and that his own spirituality will just carry us through the whole relationship phase.

I never knew I was making one of the greatest errors I would ever make in my life.

Few months into the relationship, I realized that although Kunle can pray until the ground of the fellowship was almost begging him to stop stamping his feet on them, but the Kunle I now know outside the public eyes is one who can’t pray for fifteen minutes on his own.

I initially thought Kunle was just tired the first time I told him to allow us have a day of the week which we will be praying, before discussing it with him, I had felt he was supposed to be the one initiating that, but probably he forgot na, and being the virtuous lady I was supposed to be, I took the responsibility of initiating it.

We got praying one of those Thursdays, only to discover that Kunle had slept all through the prayer session, this man was busy sleeping while I was praying. He told me he was tired after the day’s job and I also accepted it and helped him put up to tiredness,but by the time my man of God had done this times without number, I knew something was wrong.

I later realized that he was only a fire brand brother outside without having anything solid on the inside.

I kept mute about the whole situation, I was engaged to a fire brand man ke, all my fellowship sisters were all jealous he chose me, the respect people have been giving me sef has increased, I hear the respect in the voice of the current president whenever he called me on the phone, everyone saw me as the fiancee of their two-time president and gave me that honor, who am I then to back out at this point?

The shame will be too much. 

And the bible didn’t even say that the husband must be the higher one spiritually, I can easily fill in the gap too, and it is not like my man was not spiritual o, he only loved praying outside where others can see him than praying on his own.

Kunle is a man that just by looking at him on the altar, you would think he spends hours on his knees, or that his journal will be filled with instruction from the Lord, but that is just a façade, he can’t pray on his own for fifteen minutes, the only time he studies the bible is when he has a ministration. 

I patched it up until we got married, on my wedding day, I sincerely appreciated God that I didn’t call off the relationship, you just have to see the massive crowd that came from the campus fellowship, all the presidents of other campus fellowship nko, that day was simply great!

I was married to the husband of my youth and nothing could ever go wrong!

I never knew I could be so wrong until he just started giving flimsy excuses for not coming to mid-week service in church, he didn’t have any solid excuse because although our local assembly was far but there were other branches of our church he could attend during the week, still he didn't deem it worth his time. 

The part that finally broke the camel’s back was when I started forcing him to church on Sundays. 

I couldn’t believe that a two-time president could ever become that, but here I was living with this night mare of a man, and to think that I only continued our relationship then because of what others will say.

I am stuck with that man now.

I literally have tears in my eyes this morning when my five-year old son said he wants to stay with his father while I go to church on Sunday with our daughters; Arike& Esther. He says he prefers to stay with his dad and he will only go to church if he sees his dad going, that was when I knew I had entered it.

Kunle only looked at me and smiled that morning and I literally felt my heart break into tiny pieces.

***

Dear People of God,

Not everybody you see jumping around or full of activities is real, we have so many people who are only filled with energy when they are in public, but behind the cameras, they have no ongoing relationship with the Father.

They can sound all Christianess even when they have not opened their bible on their own for months. 

I know this is very possible, I grew up in a Pastor’s house and way before I gave my life to Christ I had no challenge sounding all Godly even when I didn’t have any relationship with God, these things just rub off on you when you are in that atmosphere.

Of all things, public life is the easiest to live, but what happens after the lights have gone out, what becomes of you?

If there is any prayer I am praying, it is that I want to be real, I don’t want to be a fake woman.

In fact, I want to be more solid in my private life than what is on display.

It isn’t enough to pray for 12 hours at a meeting, but how many hours do you pray when it’s just you in your room, it’s a great to give great exegesis during Sunday school, but asides that, what happens when it is just you and your master in the room?

Enough of public ministry without depth.

We are to first take roots downwards (within) before bearing fruits upwards (without).

We can be both solid in the public and even more solid in the private.

And if you are still yet to get married, get married to the person on the inside and not just the person who is jumping up and down the alter, sometimes, those two don't match.

Grace is available…

Habakkuk 2:2         

Write the revelation and make it plain on tablets, so that a herald may run with it.

NKJV Reads

Then the Lord answered me and said:

“Write the vision
And make it plain on tablets,
That he may run who reads it.

Writing from ages past has been a way through which people document their thoughts.

Journaling is such a good way to bring all your thoughts to the surface and then go ahead to pour all your thoughts and innermost desires on paper.

I sincerely believe that journaling should be done for every aspect of our life, but we will be focusing on the spiritual life today.

The first time I ever heard the word God-said book the was when I attended a ladies hangout much earlier in the year 2020, and the lady who served as the host for the program was encouraging women to have a book like that.

Having a woman who has gone that far ahead in life and living recommending journaling affirmed that it must really be a big thing.

What Journaling Does For You?

It  Allows You See Things In A Better Light.

Writing sure helps you see things in a better perspective. What you thought was so bad might not look so bad when you finally put it on paper.

It Allows You Track Your Process/Progress

There are times that just by looking at the journal from previous years, you can say how much you have grown and how much progress you have made over the years.

It Helps You Keep Track Of All God Is Doing In Your Life

I have heard some ministers talk about going through the books that they have written down years before now, I even heard of a man who says that he usually goes on his personal retreats with his journals over the years. Imagine if the man didn’t write anything down, what will he have to go through now?

One of the good things about journaling is that as you go through life and you see things playing out as you have heard from God years before; it gives you confidence that the Lord who have accomplished things in the past will also get them done today.

I’ll encourage you get a paper journal as against journaling on phone or your laptop and this is because while laptops and phone can get faulty thereby causing you to lose all you have ever written on them in just an instant, books are a succor against occurrences like that.

Except in the cases of theft of misplacement, it is so much likely that you can still have a journal you used ten years ago than a phone or laptop you used at that time.

While writing comes second nature to some people than most, but do not allow this be an hindrance to your journaling.

Journaling helps you see things in hindsight when you finally pick them up.

Some good writers have almost 5-6 journals for every part of their life, but even if you don’t write so well, that shouldn’t be a challenge; you can get just one journal and begin to document your thoughts and what God tells you.

God is always speaking, but do you write those words down to be able to war with them?

As we go through life every day, as we spend time with God in prayers and meditation every day, there are so many light bulb moments that comes to us, so many impressions are brought into our hearts, and just like vapor, if we are not deliberate about trapping them down, it’s so possible that we might not be able to remember them the next day, the next week, the next month or even the next year.

Even if you don’t write so well, remember that your journal is first for your eyes only except if you want to share it with a larger audience, so write. Just be you while writing. No one is going to scold you for writing wrong grammars, just write!

Have a journal for different aspect of your life; this will help you track happenings in your life, and things that you might otherwise have forgotten will be brought to life through you seeing them where you have them written down.

Write the nudging you have in your spirit, write those imprints you have in your mind, write down that dream you saw at least as much as you can remember, just keep writing! Those words would stand as a testament few years from now. You’d bring those journals out alongside current happenings and you’d be able to measure how far you have grown and how much God has blessed you and increased you.

Have a journal, take it a step further by actually writing in your journal, years from now, they’ll stand as evidence to all you see playing out in your life.

I was in church sometimes last year and my pastor mentioned the fact that if God seems silent on a particular aspect of your life, you might want to bring out your journals and begin to peruse them, because there are high chances that most of those instructions you need for the now has been given to you years back only that at that point you might not understand it.

Imagine if you don’t write those things down those years ago, what will you fall back on now?

Just write, write as those words come to your heart, don’t worry about the grammar, but try to be as detailed as possible cos you’ll need them years from now.

As you journal, don’t just pick any book you see around, pick a great paperback, something that can serve you for years and not just a ten-paged paper anyone might be tempted to thrash.

Things to go into your journal; instruction, dreams/visions, impressions on your heart, and just about anything God is doing in your life at the moment.

Keep journaling, tomorrow looks great!

I believe it is God’s love letter to me that has been given to me to navigate life and all that lies therein.

I love the scriptures and I have been ministered to by several books of the bible over time.

What is there not to love in the bible?

From reading about the creation to reading about Abraham, and the miraculous birth of his son Isaac and then his twin boys Jacob and Esau and how Jacob gave birth to twelve sons who became the twelve tribes of Israel.

Time will fail me to talk about the many life lessons there is to learn from the different bible characters like Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Caleb, Deborah, Samson, Ruth, Esther, Samuel, Saul, David, and the list continues until Jesus’s birth, his twelve disciples, his many miracles, his death, resurrection and ascension and the various signs and miracles his disciples wroth after he had one to be with the Father, and the many others who played a part in the new testament who in one way or the other serves as teachers for us in this generation.

The bible is really a gold mine.

Out of all the sixty-six books of the bible, the many chapters and verses in it, one of the verses of the scriptures that has ministered deeply to my soul is;

Daniel 3:27 NLT

Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisers crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!

How I love that scripture.

The background of that verse is about the three young Hebrew men; Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego who wouldn’t bow down to the statue the king had put in place for everyone to bow to.

These men's refusal to bow to the statue ultimately earned them a visit to the fiery furnace which literally means into the fire.

Prior to the time they were thrown into the furnace, the king asked that the furnace be heated seven times over, so if the fire was hot already, then you can imagine what it would have been when it was heated seven times over. When the king’s aides threw them in, the aides who threw them in were killed by the flames of the fire but something out of the ordinary happened, the king observed that although he had ordered that three men be thrown into the fiery furnace, he could see that he had four men walking in the fire.

He later made a command that the three guys come out of the fiery furnace and these three men walked out of the fire.

I know it’s quite miraculous that these guys were not burnt and came out of the fire unharmed, but what always makes me stand in awe of the majesty of God is the fact that when these four men were brought out of the fire, those guys didn’t even smell of smoke!

Now, this is the main thing for me!

I have had the privilege of cooking with firewood while I was serving my fatherland in Ekiti State, and while a firewood experience is nothing compared to the fiery furnace which these young men were thrown into, permit me to compare both.

As is the habit of the family house where I lived, everyone in the house took a turn in cooking for the house and I was not left out, and although there were days I was spared from the stress of cooking by my lovely roommate but there were days I had to face the heat myself.

On those days when I cooked with the firewood, it was usually a bad sight, and because I wasn’t used to that way of cooking prior to that time, there was almost no time I cooked without an amount of smoke accompanying the fire I was trying to fan to flame.

At the end of such cooking exercise, the cloth I usually wore could not be worn to other places as it carried a strong smell of smoke on it as proof of where I had been.

Now back to the experience of the three Hebrew men, I can’t seem to be able to wrap my head around the fact that these three people entered into FIRE and when they came out of it not only were they not burnt but even the smell of where they had been could not be perceived on them.

This for me is so mind-blowing!

It assures me that despite everything unpleasant I have ever experienced in my life, I would come out of it, and not just only that but by the time people will see me, they wouldn’t be able to match the lady they would see with the lady they used to know and all she has been through.

It really comforts me on my weak days, I go through some things now and I just smile because a few years from now, when people would see me they wouldn’t be able to match the lady they now see with everything she has been through.

This is what has promised me.

And I have begun to see this play out in my life.

You will also come out of that fire you’re in, and people will not be able to smell the smoke on your body.

Until you tell them or they saw you in that fire, no one will know.

He did it then, He sure can do it again, and He will do it for You.

God brought out those Hebrew men from fire, and they didn’t even smell of smoke, the same God who did it for them will also come through for you and do the same and even more for you.

Believe it!