A Shoulder..

“Above all things have intense and

unfailing love for one another,

for love covers a multitude of sins

[forgives and disregards the offenses of others]”

1 Peter 4:8

Like a soulful melody
its every hearts' and soul's eventual remedy

Like the gift of a new day
it's presence is never old never blue
always relevant and ever so true

God's love is profoundly sure
Yield your heart to him
and experience love like never before

Love is a shoulder to lean on

A drop of its essence,

relieves a thirsty and patched soul

Be that love shoulder

offer a sip of love to someone today

show the true nature of God's love

Making him famous as along your way

"Dear children, let us not love with words
or tongue, but with actions and in truth"
1 John 3:18

Have a wonderful time displaying the true colours of God's love, making him more famous than you did yesterday.

Much love
Remi Banjo
***Pictures from Photobucket***

TIME TO GROW UP...

“If racing against mere men makes you tired,

how will you race against horses?

If you stumble and fall on open ground,

what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?

Jeremiah 12:5

To run with horses I believe, means to operate at a higher level in all areas of life. It means to climb up to at a certain level of maturity, both spiritually and physically.

Higher is defined as having a relatively great elevation; extending far upward: a high mountain; a high tower.

To run can be defined as: to move swiftly on foot so that both feet leave the ground during each stride; or to move at a fast gallop, used of a horse, or to move without hindrance or restraint. To run can also mean to move, roll or progress from momentum or from being hurled, kicked or otherwise propelled or to cause to increase; rise.

To operate at a higher level, means to GROW UP physically and spiritually. Spiritually being top priority. To grow up also means that we become responsible and accountable for our lives and actions and indeed our salvation (shock horror! I hear the gasps!). It also means to become mature in the wisdom, knowledge and understanding of the things of God and his will in our lives.

The dictionary describes grow as to: develop or come into existence from; or to increase in amount or degree, or intensify.

Just like children, we must start as a baby in Christ, and then a toddler and a young adult and then a fully grown man / woman. We must eventually grow up and mature in all areas as we grow physically; in mannerism, in speech, in behaviour, responsibility, in wisdom and in accountability.

As believers, we are started off being milk-fed the word of God, such as described in 1 Peter 2:2: which reads "Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for this nourishment"

However, we are NOT meant to stay on this type of liquid foods forever. There comes a time when we HAVE to start eating solid food, to chew on the solid meat that is the word of God; so that we can grow, become mature, in spirit, body (not fat, but healthy as a living temple), and in mind. This we are taught and encouraged to do in Hebrews 5:13-14, which reads: “13For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! 14But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.”

To rise up to a higher level and platform that enables and equips us to run with horses, we must firstly take stock of where we are in God and then make a decision and be willing to go up higher and press much further into the process of maturity.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 gives us a glimpse of what it means when we are still acting and behaving in the realms of immaturity. It reads "1However, brethren I could not talk to you as to spiritual [men], but as to nonspiritual [men of the flesh, in whom the carnal nature predominates], as to mere infants [in the new life] in Christ [unable to talk yet!] 2I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not yet strong enough [to be ready for it]; but even yet you are not strong enough [to be ready for it], 3For you are still [unspiritual, having the nature] of the flesh [under the control of ordinary impulses]. For as long as [there are] envying and jealousy and wrangling and factions among you, are you not unspiritual and of the flesh, behaving yourselves after a human standard and like mere (unchanged) men?".

From the scripture above, immaturity means to operate under the control and influence of the flesh and to emit its fruits which include (amongst others): jealousy, fighting, lying, disobedience and irresponsibility.


To grow and become mature enough to run with horses, we can do so by taking responsibility in the following areas of our lives:

1. Study the word of God as we are taught in 2 Timothy 2:15; 3: 16-17. so that we can:

• Increase in knowledge
• verify the messages we hear and read, making sure it is aligned with God's word. For example, the notes we take in church on Sundays or mid-week services, what have we done with them, have we checked them over, referred to the bible to see if they are true? and the messages we bought on tape, CD and downloaded via podcast, have we verified the authenticity?
• be changed from within, so we can be more like Jesus as described in Romans 8:29

2. Implement the word of God. We must not just be hearers or readers of God's word, but also doers, which means to implement it daily into our lives, as we are taught in James 1:22, which reads "But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves".

3. We must be obedient to God's word. When we implement God's word, it allows us to practice the act of obedience to that which we read, hear and that which he reveals to us, as we are taught in 1 John 2:5-6 . Our obedience to God's word, shows that we love him as Jesus speaks in John14:15.

4. Seek counsel of the Holy spirit before setting into action, or going on about our daily lives, we must take time to seek the counsel of the Holy Spirit for guidance and help to walk in God's will.

5. Respect God's temple. we must strive to treat our bodies (physically, mind and spirit) as the temple of God as we are taught in Romans 8:6 and Philippians 4:8.

6. Focus and keep pressing forward as Paul encourages us in Philippians 3:13&14 which reads "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Doing this helps us to keep striving for what lies ahead, full of faith and hope in God’s word.

7. Love as God loves us as David the Psalmist explains in Psalm 36:7 which reads "How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings".
These are just a few things we can do, to help kick start the process of spiritual and physical maturity in Jesus Christ.

So, do you really mean business with your relationship with God, and not into playing religious games or living a life of meritocracy? Then I invite you to conjure up a deep hunger from within for the meaty word of God. I invite you to press deeper, delve into his very presence with reckless abandon, so you can experience the full ramifications and intricacies of what it means to run with horses; and to be led constantly by God.

I invite you to climb higher to fully experience what it means to work with God and the angels to bring to fruition God’s word for everything concerning you and the advancement of his kingdom.

Have an awesome time learning and growing, and indeed running with horses, whilst making God famous along your way.

Much Love

Remi Banjo
***pictures by photobucket***

Attractive Magnets...

The dictionary describes a magnet as "an object that is surrounded by a magnetic field and that has the property, either natural or induced, of attracting iron or steel.... and a person, a place, an object, or a situation that exerts attraction".

It goes further to describe magnetic as: Endowed with extraordinary personal power to excite the feelings and to win the affections; attractive; inducing attachment, or to exert a strong attractive power or charm: a magnetic personality.

To become a magnetic individual means to heighten the power of attraction within us. As children of God, one of our aims and purpose should be to become a magnetic and attractive individual. Not for our own physical needs and desires, but more so to attract people to the nature of God, that they hopefully see in us; the light of God that shows and emits through us.

We will not have the opportunity to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to all. However, the very nature of God that emits through us will be a catalyst that awakens minds, gets them asking questions and finally bringing to reconciliation to the father.

A great way to become a magnetic and attractive individual is by showing Love through compassion.

The dictionary explains compassion as thus: the humane quality of understanding the suffering of others and wanting to do something about it.

The nature of God's love is indeed wrapped up in compassion. We are taught in John 15:12 to love one another just as God expressed the ultimate act of compassion by sacrificing his only son to save and redeem mankind, reconciling us back to him.

John15:12 reads "This is My commandment: that you love one another [just] as I have loved you".

John 3:16 reads "For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life".

As we know, Love is God and God is love. When we show God’s love, we are effectively giving those at the receiving end, a sample of what it feels and means to be loved by God himself. This is because, if we ourselves walk in love, God who is love is in us as we are taught in 1 John 4:16. This love is what the world will see and experience when we express it through compassion.

1 John 4:16 reads "And we know (understand, recognize, are conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him".

The ultimate expression of love, through compassion is the act of sacrifice, such as we learn from John 3:16. We must learn to sacrifice some of our time, treasures, words, physical comfort and much more, to show the true nature of compassion and to help someone, somewhere along their way.

The world cannot see God, but they surely can see love expressed through acts of compassion and sacrifice.

The act of compassion goes a long way and leaves a deep rooting, lasting impression in the hearts and souls of man. It gets minds thinking and souls wondering the reason by the act and this in itself can provide a pathway for God to get connected to a lost soul.

In this day of the “me” society, it is difficult to stop along our way to show love or indeed compassion as most are striving to “get theirs". (Dreams, goals, desires and much more).

Yes, that's all well and good, but along the way, as we walk and work towards our destiny, we must stop at certain points and actively engage in the act of what it means to truly love our brothers and sisters. We must display the nature of Christ which is love; the curtain rod from where the very essence of life hangs from.

So today, I encourage us all, that as we go along our way, let us actively express the true colours and nature of God’s love, through compassion. Let us remember to love one another as Christ loved us and remember that sometimes sacrifice is required on our part to help make a difference in someones life.

Have a wonderful week, showing and displaying the very colours of love and compassion; making God famous along your way.

Much Love
Remi Banjo

***pictures by photobucket***

A Continous Flow

Its power is infinite
gives the ability to forgive and

the desire to nurture,

healing hurts, pains and much more

It blesses the heart
enriches the very soul
Stands the test of time
unchanged since the days of old

It is an invisible tangibility
to be desired and believed in
a life is incomplete

without the imprints of it

The effortless and continuous flow of its
intricate nature, will forever be evident
and tremendously relevant for all

to visualise, experience and cherish

the beauty within its very essence

1 Peter 4:8 reads “Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and disregards the offenses of others]”.

As the world’s proclaimed day of Love ‘valentines day’ approaches, most will get caught up in the furore of showing love and appreciation to that favorite person; husband, wife, friend, or family member. Most will try and squeeze the entire 'love quota' for that person into a few hours. It will be done with flowers, candy, chocolate, dinners for two, the saying will be around “darling, its just me and you”.

It is a nice warm gesture, but as 1Peter 4:8 above explains, love is a 'CONTINUOUS' action and motion.

The dictionary explains CONTINUOUS as: "Without break, cessation, or interruption; without intervening space or time; uninterrupted; unbroken; continual; unceasing; constant; continued; protracted; extended; such as a continuous current of electricity".


The dictionary also describes ACTION as thus: The state or process of acting or doing.

From that definition and the verse above, it is safe to say that our expressions of love towards one another should be never-ending like the circumference of a ring. Our love towards each other should be fluid, like water running down a stream. It should be a daily occurrence and not packaged and delivered just one day during of the year.

Yes, it good to show even more love on special occasions, such as birthdays and indeed Valentine’s Day, but we are meant to express love, continuously, regardless if we are single, in a courting relationship or married. There is always someone that we can do something to, for or with, expressing the nature of God's love.

So as Valentine’s Day approaches, I would like to encourage us all that to extend this same love beyond February 14, and to other people around us, who are not our husbands, boyfriends, girlfriends or wives. Extend to friends, families. To that single mother with three kids, that old woman or old gentleman who lives alone.

It could be a simple phone call to say hello, an email, a text message, a card or a letter. It could be helping that friend or neighbour with babysitting the kids once a month, while they takes an evening off. It could be picking up the neighbour on our way to work, and yes, dropping them off back at home, after all they leave nearby. It could be inviting someone for dinner, or saying 'hello' (for a change) to that cashier, who serves your morning coffee, at the local coffee shop, en-route to the office, or the security man that greets you with a smile, as you enter the office building.

Seamless and continuous acts of love do not have to be spectacular all the time. To a lonely soul, a simple smile, wave or hello goes so much further than we would ever know.

I wish you all a happy valentine's day and many more 'Seamless and Continuous love days' this year; showing, giving and embracing the intricate nature of God's love as you do so; making him famous along the way.

Much love

Remi Banjo

***Pictures from Photobucket***