The Grace of God

In 2 Kings chapter 5 we find the story of Naaman who was a great general in the Syrian army. He had secured victory for Syria against her enemies and as a result had become the king’s favorite commander. Naaman had it all but good health. In the prime of his success, leprosy, a deadly killer disease then, checked in, threatening to nip his life in the bud. Luckily for him, in one of his army’s military expeditions against Israel, had captured a girl who knew about the prophet Elisha’s miracle working ability, at the time, the girl was his wife’s maid, hence Naaman having learnt about the prophet set out to Israel to secure his healing. He carried a lot of gold, silver and expensive clothes which he intended to give in exchange for his healing.

Freed

Lust dangled her attractive tentacles

Passion got lured, he became lust

He who walked on sacred grounds

Became enslaved  in the dungeons

Hungry as hell, passion is now lust

The End Times

 King Solomon in his wisdom stated that "there is a season and time for everything under the sun, a time to be born and a time to die" (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2).. Time is one of the greatest mysteries that has baffled scientists and philosophers for centuries. The Oxford English dictionary describes time as "a period of minutes, hours, days etc."  This description does not explain what actually time is but rather how time is measured. You cannot stop time, neither can you invest time nor lend time in order to get more of it in the future, the best you can do is to spend time wisely. Time without God in the full picture is very troubling, it is meaningless, as Solomon would have it.

The Power Of Pain

I recently watched a Nigerian movie and in the movie, the main character, who happened to be a young man, full of life and vigor, announced to his parents, who were stereotypically poor, that he had won a scholarship to a prestigious university abroad. The movie ended in a common cliche where after returning from his studies abroad, poverty was replaced by affluence and the young man was spoiled for choice on who to marry, because every girl was after him, of course he married the best and they lived happily ever after.

The common thought that flies through most individuals in developing nations is that if one got a chance to go abroad, and especially to western nations, they no longer will be associated with poverty, that poverty will be a by gone case. In reality life gets messed up at times. What we plan for at in most cases gets reversed and we end up in a worse state than we were at in the beginning or vice versa. There are people who left their countries in search of greener pastures abroad who are currently sleeping under bridges, no home, begging for food, desperate, ashamed and depressed. Who gets the blame in such a case? Statistics has it that most people blame God for their problems.

Daniel, He Purposed in His Heart

Daniel is a perfect example of someone who determines to walk with God and keeps on that lane throughout. There is no mention of any failure in the character and walk with God in Daniel which I find a bit strange because most of the great men and women who God used had one or few issues that waylaid them, but for Daniel all we see is excellence portrayed by a godly character. This flawless portrayal of Daniel at times makes it hard for many people to relate with him but a careful study of the book shows that the focal point is not Daniel’s character or details of his life and how he conducted his life but rather the sovereignty of God over all nations.

Jonah, The Prophet who fled from the Call

When we think of Jonah, what comes to mind is a rebellious and disobedient prophet who rather than going towards the direction ordered by God, chose to march to the opposite direction. Have you ever wondered why Jonah fled the call? What might have gone through his mind when he made that fateful decision?

Jonah prophesied in a time when the Assyrians were the super power of the then known world. They were a cruel nation to any opposing kingdom. They are accredited for the invention of a form of torture to death whereby one was skinned alive and left to die.

Moses, The Most Humble Man

Through Moses we see the redemptive plan of God. Through this man we see Jesus Christ, for Christ claims that Moses wrote of Him John 5:46, Deut 18:15 and Deut 18:18, so who was Moses?

Moses was born a short while after Egypt in order to curb the growth of the Jews in the land, decided that all male Hebrew babies born should be killed. He was born when all survival odds were against him. Seems like the enemy had caught wind of the arrival of a deliverer and just like in the time of Christ, he chose to exterminate all male children. Moses like Christ, escaped the dragnet of the enemy and lived to accomplish what he was born to.

Esther, If I Die I Die

She is touted for her beauty in the old testament. Her beauty captivated the love of the king, one with the king redefined her destiny.

Not only was Esther obedient to her uncle, she had a noble character. Her beauty was accompanied by sound mind and good judgement, these made her a star, for that is what her name means.

Jacob ,The Man Who Wrestled With God

Jacob is a unique character through whom the desire in man’s heart to accelerate the hand of destiny is clearly seen. Before Jacob was born God declared that he had chosen him to be greater than his brother. That his elder brother will serve him, Gen 25:2. The promise of Jacob’s election was given to his mother and chances are that Isaac might not have known about it. Chances are that Rebecca told Jacob about it hence planting the desire in him to accelerate the hand of destiny, a decision that culminates in him being a fugitive for 20 years.

I strongly believe that if Jacob could have waited on God to fulfil his promise to him, God would have done it differently and without any regrets just as he did with David.

Gideon, The weak Mighty Warrior

The story of Gideon clearly paints the picture of the manifestation of God's grace to and through a weak and undeserving human vessel. This story is found in Judges chapter 6 through 8, Israel had sinned again, years after Deborah and Barrack had rescued the nation from bondage, are now in another bondage.

The Lord had subjected the Israelites to the Midianites for 7 years, a period of anguish and suffering. The Midianites were so cruel  to Israel that they were forced to live in mountain clefts for security purposes. There was no harvest in Israel during that time because at the time of harvest, the Amalekites, the Midianites and other tribes invaded the land and pillaged it. This suffering made Israel to cry to God for help, as a result Gideon enters the records of the great men of God.

David, The man After God's own Heart

After God’s Own Heart

But now your kingdom will not endure, the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him ruler of his people because you have not kept the Lord’s command. 1 Samuel 13:14.

As Saul’s zeal and passion towards God was waning, when his heart was no longer inclined towards God, God already had someone else ready to take over from him. At the time that God said that David was a man after his own heart, David was not even aware that God had selected him for royalty at that tender age, while still a boy, God called David a man.

Moses and the Call

Moses..
A man of God,
Once moved with a flaming zeal to pursue God's will and calling,
A man ready to bury for the sake of the call
A man ready to act prematurely out of anger,
.....a man zealous for God.

40 years later...
Under the scorching desert sun, all hopes gone,
all fancy desires of being in command gone,
the zeal that once stirred him faded into oblivion,
Simplicity and no future are now the new norm,
The man no longer has the fire of youth to pursue and be all that he thought he would be,