Hey everyone, how is it going, today was eventful… traveled for almost six hours to a near by town – Lokoja, I just thank God for journey mercies cos I saw some ghastly auto mishaps on my way back that scared the crap outta me… kept wondering if this was the same road I plied few hours earlier. Today, got to the bus park a little late which led to my missing the 7:30am bus, damn! I had to wait for the 9:00am bus… men it was a long wait. Well, I bought a mag to feed my eyes… what can a brother do?
As I was trying to keep my soul busy with the glossy pics, and juicy celebrity gossips… I couldn’t help overhearing two ladies sitting close to me gisting, well it was not that I was eavesdropping, I was minding my bizness when their conversation interrupted my line of thots… madam, sorry if you get to read this… I can’t stand anyone suing me for publicizing her issues… ha ha ha. Well, this lady in her mid thirties, well dressed kept complaining to the other lady how husband was begging to have her back… how the man had been cheating on her … sleeping around… how she was never gonna forgive him….
How she was going to punish him… how she was gonna make him regret the day he was born….wow, well am trying to be polite a bit cos the type of adjectives she used to qualify the poor man showed that she was really bitter and hurt, and if I use the exact words… you might have to classify this blogg as an 18 and above article. The cut was so deep that the poor lady could kill her husband… I felt so sorry, but what can I do? I could get a percentage of the man’s punishments if I don’t mind my bizness.
I couldn’t help thinking about the pain she would have been thru in her marriage, but I know men who have done worse, ask my aunt… some men are worthless, some sons are useless… some wives are whores…yes so what? God knew we were all these and still sent Christ to die for you and me… if God tabled all our sins… meeen! I should be a dead nigga by now but for His love and Grace. Why can’t we learn to totally forgive one another?
Some people just don’t forgive…and that is unchristian-like. Forgiveness is the only balm that can heal a bleeding heart. It comes from within… without it, you become a prisoner of conscience. You have to forgive and let go if you must be free other wise… you could stay miserable all your life for no just course. If people like Nelson Mandela could forgive those who had locked up for 27 years unjustly… who am I? Mind you, Mandela still lives in South Africa, not some dude written of in some history book.
The parable of the prodigal son is one of my favorites parables cos it tells a tale of a son who offended his father and family big time, his father sees him and immediately forgives and accepts him, restoring him to his original place, but his brother who doesn’t own the wealth becomes angry saying “all these years I have served you, you have never given me a small goat to go and make merry with my friends, but my younger brother…… and “ (Luke 15:28 -30), I thot somebody talked about seventy times seven somewhere… how can you harbour such grudge against someone… forgiveness has no substitute. I wish that lady would read this cos I wrote my blog site on a piece of paper and handed it over to her when we got to our destination, am sure she was shocked and surprised, that was all I could do.
Forgiveness is the key to genuine repentance…you have to forgive yourself to move on with life, but you must forgive those who trespass against you too, if I say it’s easy, then I must be lying, cos it’s not easy at all. It takes the grace of God but that is the bitter pill to swallow as a child of God.
Madam, If you are reading this, please forgive your husband and take him back… for the sake of the kids…pleeease. Don’t feel offended I put you biz on the streets, this goes out to all the women who have been hurt by their man, please forgive… and for all you cheating men, it takes a real man to stay committed to your spouse… a real man is a man of his words…and I must confess… the grass seems greener on the other side but it still tastes the same…it seems greener simply because of the reflection of the sun, a reflection is not the real image but representation of the image, reflections could be distorted or deceiving at times. You better stop cheating on your woman before you get yourself into some real deep shit… that might leave a sour taste on your mouth for the rest of your life.
My child hood friend Jamila is an orphan now because her mum got infected with the HIV virus from her dad… who was cheating with Jamila’s friend. It was so disgusting because the poor woman died first (she was anemic), the man committed suicide because he could not take the shame or face his children. Well, jamila’s friend traveled to the UK after her real boyfriend in school was hospitalized and diagnosed to be HIV positive. Jamila and her younger sister now live with an uncle in the city of Jos, who has been abusing them and refused to send them to school. All other relatives won’t take them in because they think jamila and her sister are jinxed. The last time I saw her, I could barely recognize her… looking so haggard and unkempt… I felt so sad.
This is what happens when you don’t let sleeping dogs lie.
On a sad note, I have to take my leave for today, stay hooked, don’t change the dial, and catch you soon….. So long…velli.
Thursday 10 July 2008
WHAT IS YOUR ISAAC?
Hey, my people, hi ya’ll doing? Am good o. well it’s been a while, sorry for the long break, being crazy busy, please forgive uchevelli.
This evening, while coming back from work, at the bustop waiting for a bus ( As I never buy motor), all of a sudden, this new Honda Accord (2008 model) came to my rescue, stopped not far from me, with the driver blaring the horn like someone who knows me, well I stroll towards the “wonder on wheels”, and take a peep, its Mike, an old friend, wow, I just opened the door and jumped in, its been like a year since I saw him last. The fella was looking good… I must confess, but I started by saying “bro, nobody sees you these days, not even in church on Sundays, guy whats happening? He was like” my brother, it’s my job, I work in a bank now, and I am meant to be at work even on Sundays. He kept on explaining how his job has taken over his life. Well, all I could say was “God has really blessed you” he dropped me at my place and promised to keep in touch.
I had already gone to bed but the more I thot of mike, I wondered what had become of this fella… a slave of blessings. What kind of job will make you live in virtual incarceration, a millionaire in a crate (or perhaps living in bondage)? This was a brother who would come to my place to invite me for church programmes, weekly bible study, etc but now the nigga has no time for himself, not to talk about social and religious activities.
The problem that most people are facing today is that they are enslaved to their own blessing or success, the blessing becomes a limitation of some sort thereby hindering your ability to have faith in God, giving you a comfort zone or false sense of rest. What people seem to forget is that the only true rest is found in God, not in your job or your bank account or lousy investments… no disrespect to your investments, but it takes a hurricane from nowhere to blow away your estate, or someone one in an office who makes the wrong choice in policy to have your stocks dropping or probably the price of gas to make cruising your SUV a burden. Anything that occupies the greater percentage of your thots, your time or mind, controls you, anything that controls you is your master, only God should be your master, nothing else.
I have seen married women praying for the fruit of the womb for years, fasted, waited upon God, and immediately they are blessed with a child, they vanish from the source of the blessing (God) with the resource they have received. When you ask them the reason for their absence, they reply that “it’s this child that God gave me, am so busy…. So the blessing is now a hinderance. To some people, it’s their spouse, to some its money, to some, it’s their car or their house, to people like Mike, it’s their job (no disrespect).
When your blessing becomes a hindrance between you and God, it becomes a sin. Nothing should occupy all your time but God. If your job doesn’t allow you to live your life, then you must be “living dead”.
The scriptures talks about Abram praying to God for a heir, when it wasn’t forth coming, he started seeking for alternatives- Ishmael, after God forgave him of that sin, God finally gave him his actual blessing, the covenant child, what happened, Isaac now took the place of God in his (Abraham’s) life, which was why God wanted to see if he (Abraham) would choose his son-Isaac over God, by telling him to sacrifice Isaac on the mount.
May we not get to the stage where God would tell us to choose between some stupid shit and Himself, God forbid….not my job, not my car, not my bank account, not my stocks, not my spouse (when I finally get married), not even my parents, not even my life, not even my health, not even my girlfriend, whatever… so quit giving excuses, its my job, its my wife, its my career, its my baby, it’s the rising price of gas ….watch it ,it is becoming your Isaac, its taking the place of God.
To some people, it’s their car… don’t sit on it, you will scratch it, please don’t touch that, not this car…please don’t park too close, dust your shoes before you come in, don’t litter my interior…can’t you see its leather. To some ladies, their world is built around their husbands, so if anything happens to the man (God Forbid), their world comes tumbling. God should be the author and finisher of your faith, God should be your all in all…not your husband and definitely not your (first class) degree certificate in Harvard, it doesn’t guarantee anything, other wise people like Bill Gates would not be what they are today.
How can you have your life built around your job… which is why if you loose that job because you have a lousy boss, your life ends at that point… that is wrong, life must go on. Some people are living with HIV, they are living a good life, happier than ever, some people are jobless, they are living, some are homeless, some are less fortunate than yourself, but are they not still living. It may shock you to know that the disease with the highest killing rate in Nigeria is not HIV AIDS, no, it’s Malaria. Even plane crashes and autocrashes kill more people that HIV AIDS.
“Some people may be dressed in mean clothing yet they live a merrier life than those clad in silk and velvet.”
The fear of God should be the beginning of wisdom, the measure of the fear of God in a man’s life is paramount in our bid to reverence God and make heaven. It’s only when you don’t fear Him that you disregard His commandments. Am not saying that we don’t make mistakes, but its your attitude of repentance that makes the difference… your ability to retrace your steps back to the Master makes you a better person, makes you experienced like the prodigal son.
I made some lousy mistakes lately, very lousy indeed, and it made me feel so bad, so ashamed, I had to take responsibility and accept that it was my fault, even though I didn’t do the it alone… even though it felt good initially, but I felt so filthy afterwards… can’t tell you how sorry I am for making such a blunder, but I have since gotten over it and promised myself that its not gonna happen again. There are some things we can avoid, or do with moderation. If you have a tasking job, find time for God, squeeze out time for yourself, find time for your family, find time for your spouse, find time for your kids, find time for your friends… its very necessary for you to maintain a balance if you want to live a happy life. Even Bill Gates makes time on a daily basis to reverence God, handle some personal things and be human.
Some marriages are in shreds simply because either one or both partners are too busy for one another. It’s a big problem when both parties lack communication. This is the excuse most men give when their careers start taking the centre stage… am tired, I have been working all day… honey, cant talk now… cant it wait till tomorrow. I have bills to pay…. I have an early meeting tomorrow. You are making so much money with no time to spend it right…. That’s what I call “a rich fool”
Well, you are not the only banker in town, you don’t make the top ten wealthiest men on the planet, and you don’t live in the “white house on 10 downing street”, so how busy can you be… that you can’t create time to have fun, worship God, have a good time with friends, watch the movies with your family, drink with a couple of friends…. You have no excuse, it’s a problem and it’s an Isaac … What is your Isaac?
Till I come your way again, still your boy… velli.
This evening, while coming back from work, at the bustop waiting for a bus ( As I never buy motor), all of a sudden, this new Honda Accord (2008 model) came to my rescue, stopped not far from me, with the driver blaring the horn like someone who knows me, well I stroll towards the “wonder on wheels”, and take a peep, its Mike, an old friend, wow, I just opened the door and jumped in, its been like a year since I saw him last. The fella was looking good… I must confess, but I started by saying “bro, nobody sees you these days, not even in church on Sundays, guy whats happening? He was like” my brother, it’s my job, I work in a bank now, and I am meant to be at work even on Sundays. He kept on explaining how his job has taken over his life. Well, all I could say was “God has really blessed you” he dropped me at my place and promised to keep in touch.
I had already gone to bed but the more I thot of mike, I wondered what had become of this fella… a slave of blessings. What kind of job will make you live in virtual incarceration, a millionaire in a crate (or perhaps living in bondage)? This was a brother who would come to my place to invite me for church programmes, weekly bible study, etc but now the nigga has no time for himself, not to talk about social and religious activities.
The problem that most people are facing today is that they are enslaved to their own blessing or success, the blessing becomes a limitation of some sort thereby hindering your ability to have faith in God, giving you a comfort zone or false sense of rest. What people seem to forget is that the only true rest is found in God, not in your job or your bank account or lousy investments… no disrespect to your investments, but it takes a hurricane from nowhere to blow away your estate, or someone one in an office who makes the wrong choice in policy to have your stocks dropping or probably the price of gas to make cruising your SUV a burden. Anything that occupies the greater percentage of your thots, your time or mind, controls you, anything that controls you is your master, only God should be your master, nothing else.
I have seen married women praying for the fruit of the womb for years, fasted, waited upon God, and immediately they are blessed with a child, they vanish from the source of the blessing (God) with the resource they have received. When you ask them the reason for their absence, they reply that “it’s this child that God gave me, am so busy…. So the blessing is now a hinderance. To some people, it’s their spouse, to some its money, to some, it’s their car or their house, to people like Mike, it’s their job (no disrespect).
When your blessing becomes a hindrance between you and God, it becomes a sin. Nothing should occupy all your time but God. If your job doesn’t allow you to live your life, then you must be “living dead”.
The scriptures talks about Abram praying to God for a heir, when it wasn’t forth coming, he started seeking for alternatives- Ishmael, after God forgave him of that sin, God finally gave him his actual blessing, the covenant child, what happened, Isaac now took the place of God in his (Abraham’s) life, which was why God wanted to see if he (Abraham) would choose his son-Isaac over God, by telling him to sacrifice Isaac on the mount.
May we not get to the stage where God would tell us to choose between some stupid shit and Himself, God forbid….not my job, not my car, not my bank account, not my stocks, not my spouse (when I finally get married), not even my parents, not even my life, not even my health, not even my girlfriend, whatever… so quit giving excuses, its my job, its my wife, its my career, its my baby, it’s the rising price of gas ….watch it ,it is becoming your Isaac, its taking the place of God.
To some people, it’s their car… don’t sit on it, you will scratch it, please don’t touch that, not this car…please don’t park too close, dust your shoes before you come in, don’t litter my interior…can’t you see its leather. To some ladies, their world is built around their husbands, so if anything happens to the man (God Forbid), their world comes tumbling. God should be the author and finisher of your faith, God should be your all in all…not your husband and definitely not your (first class) degree certificate in Harvard, it doesn’t guarantee anything, other wise people like Bill Gates would not be what they are today.
How can you have your life built around your job… which is why if you loose that job because you have a lousy boss, your life ends at that point… that is wrong, life must go on. Some people are living with HIV, they are living a good life, happier than ever, some people are jobless, they are living, some are homeless, some are less fortunate than yourself, but are they not still living. It may shock you to know that the disease with the highest killing rate in Nigeria is not HIV AIDS, no, it’s Malaria. Even plane crashes and autocrashes kill more people that HIV AIDS.
“Some people may be dressed in mean clothing yet they live a merrier life than those clad in silk and velvet.”
The fear of God should be the beginning of wisdom, the measure of the fear of God in a man’s life is paramount in our bid to reverence God and make heaven. It’s only when you don’t fear Him that you disregard His commandments. Am not saying that we don’t make mistakes, but its your attitude of repentance that makes the difference… your ability to retrace your steps back to the Master makes you a better person, makes you experienced like the prodigal son.
I made some lousy mistakes lately, very lousy indeed, and it made me feel so bad, so ashamed, I had to take responsibility and accept that it was my fault, even though I didn’t do the it alone… even though it felt good initially, but I felt so filthy afterwards… can’t tell you how sorry I am for making such a blunder, but I have since gotten over it and promised myself that its not gonna happen again. There are some things we can avoid, or do with moderation. If you have a tasking job, find time for God, squeeze out time for yourself, find time for your family, find time for your spouse, find time for your kids, find time for your friends… its very necessary for you to maintain a balance if you want to live a happy life. Even Bill Gates makes time on a daily basis to reverence God, handle some personal things and be human.
Some marriages are in shreds simply because either one or both partners are too busy for one another. It’s a big problem when both parties lack communication. This is the excuse most men give when their careers start taking the centre stage… am tired, I have been working all day… honey, cant talk now… cant it wait till tomorrow. I have bills to pay…. I have an early meeting tomorrow. You are making so much money with no time to spend it right…. That’s what I call “a rich fool”
Well, you are not the only banker in town, you don’t make the top ten wealthiest men on the planet, and you don’t live in the “white house on 10 downing street”, so how busy can you be… that you can’t create time to have fun, worship God, have a good time with friends, watch the movies with your family, drink with a couple of friends…. You have no excuse, it’s a problem and it’s an Isaac … What is your Isaac?
Till I come your way again, still your boy… velli.
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