Constant and Continous is He: even in the midst of famine

And I will put a division and a

sign of deliverance between

My people and your people.

By tomorrow shall this sign be in evidence.

Exodus 8:23

... and the story continues to be delivered through all forms of media; television, radio, newspapers, the Internet, even on bill boards. Tales about the devastating blows of the doom and gloom of the world's recession is never ending, it seems

The constant barrage of the state of the recession is a repackaged tactic of the devil. A tactic to instill fear into the minds of those taking it all in. However, as children of God, who firmly reside within His Economy, we know that because He is good, we are going to be okay.

Over time and throughout the Bible, God has shown us His continuous and constant desire to proposer his children, even in the times of famine (recession). His aim is to prosper us in wealth, health, relationships, influence and affluence and so much more; so that we in turn can be a blessing to others, bringing glory to His name.

God spoke the verse above when he was about to bring the plague of 'the Plague of Flies' upon the Egyptians, (please read the Exodus chapter 6 - 9 for completion). In the midst of all the havoc that was to be evident in the land, God promised to 'protect, set aside, mark and treat different' the Israelites, showing that He is their all powerful, knowing and protecting God.

As I mused over that verse, I realised that, even in the middle of this world's crisis, it is still God's constant and continuous desire to "set us apart, mark us with his blood, make it evident that we have and serve a living God, who is more than able to rise us well above the recession". After all, He is a God that changes not, He did it before and He will do it again; only if we let him through our obedience.

Some encouraging stories of how God showed his constant and continuous desire for his children to prosper in the times of famine are:

• Isaac became prosperous - Genesis 25 - 26 (please read for completion): Isaac was a diligent and obedient man and he moved as instructed by God to Gerar, the land of the philistines. In response to his obedience God blessed him in the land of Gerar, he reaped in the same year of famine (recession) a hundred fold. We must note that God blessed Issac because he was obedient. Also, we learn that Isaac did not follow the ways of the world and go to Egypt like everyone did, or as his father Abraham did. He obtained instructions for his own victory, in the times of famine. What is God telling you to do, physically or spiritually? Are you following God's or the world's pathway to your victory in this recession?

• God saves the Israelites in the wilderness - In Deuteronomy 8 (please read for completion): Here, we learn how God fed the Israelites on their journey through the wilderness. God supernaturally fed them through manna (bread) from heaven. This bread was to be gathered together by specific instructions from God. The Israelites lived the reality of Matthew 4: 4 which reads "But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God". God did more than feed them, he made their clothing (clothes and shoes) last on them throughout their time in the desert, forty years. Imagine that? They never outgrew their clothes or shoes. The Israelites ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan. This is proof that God saw them through the wilderness. As he did it for the Israelites, He can and will see us through the hard times, if we let him and are obedient.
  


• Elijah fed by Ravens - 1 Kings 17 (please read for completion): In verse 2 and 3 of this chapter, we see how God told Elijah to move from where he was to the brook of Cherith , the east of Jordan. In this place God provided water to drink and ravens to feed him food. The awesomeness of this is that Raven birds, are scavengers in nature, and they do not discriminate between humans and animals, they will eat it all. However, this is the same bird that God commanded to feed Elijah. God can use the same wave and instigator of this recession to feed, take care and increase His children.
  

• The Widow of Zarephath - 1 Kings 17 (please read for completion): This is another wonderful example of how God provided for his own, through obedience; and also how the obedience of one person, led to the saving of another life. The widow of Zarephath and her son were down to their last meal and close to death by starvation. God commanded Elijah to move from the brook Cherith, (where he had initially hidden and provided for him), to go to Zarephath, where he will meet this widow. On getting to Zarephath, he did see the widow. He asked her for some water to drink and some bread to eat - on which the woman replied in 1 Kings 17 11 - 12, which reads "11As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. 12And she said, As the Lord your God lives, I have not a loaf baked but only a handful of meal in the jar and a little oil in the bottle. See, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it--and die."
  
  Elijah heard her plight, but because he knew God was onto something, encouraged her. The widow obeyed the prophet and the result of both of their obedience was that she, her house hold and Elijah, ate for many days throughout the famine. They never lacked. From this we must understand that the ramifications of obedience to God is usually bigger than us. In this case, Elijah's obedience saved the widow and her household. The widow's obedience, gave room for God to do his work and provide for both of them.
  

• The favoured man called Joseph - Genesis 40 - 41 (please read for completion): The favour of God was on Joseph, for God gave him the wisdom and ability to govern and administer the house of Pharaoh and his people. God gave him the wisdom, ability and skills to know where, how to and when to gather up all the [surplus] food that will be required to help Egypt survive the times of famine. We must ask God for His wisdom to know where the opportunities are in this season; when, where and how to invest and sow our time, resources and skills and gifts.



• Famine during the reign of King Claudius - Acts 11 (please read chapter for complete ion): There was a famine in the land of Antioch during the reign of King Claudius. At this time, God provided for the disciples living in Antioch, however, they in turn, provided and helped each other according to their capability and how God blessed them. verse 29 - 30 reads "29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 30 This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul". We must learn that when God prospers us in this recession, we should not embrace a selfish nature and hold onto it all. We are blessed to be a blessing, thus we should reach out to others and help them to rise above the waves of recession. In doing so, the true nature and colours of God's love will come shining through, bringing glory to His holy name.

On that note, I encourage us all not to be carried away on the waves of fear because of the continuous news about the world's global recession. Declare and decree that "you are NOT participating in the world's recession", for you reside in God's economy. In doing so, you are hiding yourself under God's rock, under his wings and in the shelter of the name of Jesus Christ, where he will not only provide for you and your family but prosper you until you become extremely prosperous.

However, when God prospers you, do not forget to be a blessing to those around you, helping them rise above tides recession; making God famous along your way.


Much Love
Remi Banjo

***Pictures by photobucket***

The Eyes Of Your Heart...

Peter, is a man who loves God. He loves God with all his heart, mind and soul. Every morning upon rising, Peter diligently reads his bible, makes notes and throughout the day tries to make a conscious effort to meditated that which he has read. He especially liked the book of Psalms and did his best to memorise at least a few verses from it. In all aspects of life, Peter experiences trials and tribulations of life just like you and I.

There came a time when Peter became unwell. He got sick and needed to be admitted into a hospital for several operations. His family and friends gathered around him daily and they fasted and prayed. They interceded for him, asking God to please take away the sickness and the pain. Despite all their prayers, Peter did not get any better, in fact, he got worse and began drifting in and out of consciousness. However, all through his ordeal, in his mind Peter was alive and well. He kept telling himself, "I need to get up and read my bible, I need to find those words and verses to pray for healing and encouragement".

Whenever he was conscious and strong for a short time, he struggled to physically pick up his Bible. When he did, he struggled to read it. As soon as he opened the pages, the words became a blur and because he was weak, his body got tired of trying to focus and he drifted either to sleep or un-consciousness. He tried this a few times and then he realised that no matter how hard he tried, it was just physically impossible.

Then during one of his conscious bouts, he thought, "my mind is still conscious and able" which means I can still speak to God, I can still pray. Ah! He was excited, and so with all the strength he could muster within his mind, he opened the eyes of his heart, the pathway to the richness that lies deep within its walls.

Heart now open, Peter starts to read with the eyes of his heart. He starts to read the words he had so diligently and patiently memorised over the years; words of healing, comfort, peace, deliverance and victory. As he reads, Peter started to speak to God. He whispered and presented God's words and promises to him, bringing them to His remembrance; all on the wings of a prayer.

========================================================

When trouble comes knocking at your door and you find yourself in situations such as Peter's or even worse, what is your first reaction, what do you do?

Do you rush to get your hands on the nearest bible you can find, flick through the pages (or index) and find passages relevant to your situation and start to read and declare the word? Or do you kneel down, or encourage your mind, spirit and soul to bring to remembrance the words of God hidden within the walls of your heart and start to pray them into your reality?

Psalm 119:11 reads "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

From this verse, we see that when we keep God's words within our hearts, it helps us to know when we are about to or are sinning against God; for the truth of the word will be a witness.

It will be mighty difficult to guess if we are sinning or have sinned against God if we don't know what the Bible says about what is right or wrong. Imagine this with me: Remi wants to take a piece of candy that does not belong to her, this will be stealing. Before she does this, she wonders, "is this a sin"? She is not sure, so she picks up her bible, and rumages through the pages to find out what it says about taking candy that does not belong to her. :-).

Well that approach is will not be a practical way to live from day to day. However, if Remi has the words of God (along with the understanding of it) stored within her heart, she WILL know that taking candy that does not belong to her is a sin, so therefore, she will leave it. (I hope - for she has a choice!).

When we are deligent to keep Gods word within our hearts, we are able to live out the reality of Philippians 4:8, which reads "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."

We will know what is true, honorable, right, pure and lovely and admirable to think and meditate on, daily and constantly.

The act of storing the bible within our hearts, is not an easy task. It takes practice, diligence and perseverance. However here are a few tips that might help:

Using visual aids: example Index Cards:

• Get a pack of Index cards such as used for presentation. Example below:
  
  

• Find the Bible verse or verses you would like to memorise
  
  
• Decide how many verses you would like to memorise a day, a few days or a week
  
  
• Date the index card and write the Bible verses on it.
  
  
• Every night, mid-day and night (or night and morning) read the bible verses
  
  
• Every other night, write from memory as much as you can remember of that verse
  
  
• Do that until you can write the verse as it should be, then move on to another verse

Using Technology Devices:

Technology is a beautiful thing, it has many usages and advantages. You can do the same as using an index card, with a few alterations such as:

• Find the Bible verse or verses you would like to memorise

• Decide how many verses you would like to memorise - a day, a few days or a week



• Open a task or note reminder on your technology device and write and store the Bible verses to be memorised on it



• Save the task or note reminder for each day or duration required



• Every night, mid-day and night (or night and morning) read the bible verses (tip, you could programme reminders into your technology device)



• Every other night, open a note book on your technology device and write from memory as much as you can remember of that verse.



• Do that until you can write the verse as it should be, then move on to another verse

"1MY SON, forget not my law or teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of a life [worth living] and tranquility [inward and outward and continuing through old age till death], these shall they add to you."

Proverbs 3: 1-2

Here is me encouraging us all to be diligent in the reading and storing up the word of God within the walls of our hearts. Storing up its meaning, wisdom, understanding and power. There will surely come a time when we will need these words, but will not be able to physically pick up our Bibles to read them from. The next thing for us to do is open the eyes of our heart, and read from what we have stored therein, within its very walls.

However, the beauty and power of God's word is that, if it already resides within us, we can call upon and declare it any time, into any situation, giving us the victory and making God famous along the way.

Much Love

Remi Banjo

***pictures by photobucket***

...And Then He Is Risen!!!

"But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from

the dead, why are some of you saying there will be

no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no

resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been

raised either. And if Christ has not been raised,

then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless".

1 Corinthians 15:12-14

But as we know and believe, Jesus Christ died, and on the third day, He rose from death, to live forevermore, as he declares in Revelation 1:18, which reads “I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave" Hallelujah!

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ proves that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. It proves the truthfulness of the Word of God, that was spoken by the Prophets of old. It proves his deity as the son of God and proves the completion of the salvation of God.

For us to be justified before God, we MUST receive eternal life. This is the only way. Thus, if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, He will not be alive today, to give us eternal life. However, praise be to the powerful Almighty God, He did rise as declared in John 11:25, which reads “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.” ...And because he has risen, we have ETERNAL LIFE!!

If Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, the gospel of the Holy Spirit will not be alive, and with us today. If there is no Holy Spirit, then there is no church. The gift and presence of the Holy Spirit is dependant on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which Jesus also acknowledges in John 16:7, which reads “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.”

Finally, if Jesus Christ did not rise from the dead, he will not be seated at the right hand of the Father INTERCEDING (pleading) for us, as explained in Romans 8: 31 – 34, which reads "31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us".

The scriptures says it all.

Through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Christian life is GUARANTEED

as explained in Romans 6:4, which reads:

"For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism.

And just as Christ was raised from the dead by

the glorious power of the Father,

now we also may live new lives".

There is nothing to add or take away from these. Jesus Christ lived and died to save humanity, to give us back dominion (after the fall of man, in the garden of Eden) and ultimately, to reconcile us back to God. Simply beautiful...

Dear Lord, to say 'thank you' can never be remotely close enough, to express my gratitude for changing my pathway from hell to heaven, through the awesome power of your resurrection.

I pray that you help us all, by your grace to understand and live out the ramifications of your resurrection, all for your glory.

And I leave you with this...

"And the Ever-living One

[I am living in the eternity of the eternities].

I died, but see, I am alive forevermore; and

I possess the keys of death

and Hades (the realm of the dead)".

Revelation 1:18

For that verse alone, we should NEVER be afraid of anything that comes our way. Jesus Christ has the keys, means we have dominion- OVER EVERYTHING. Praise God.

Have a Happy and wonderful Easter celebrating the awesomeness of the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and what it means for all humanity.

Much love

Remi Banjo

***Pictures by photobucket***

THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE

He came
He lived

He died
For you and me

He changed our paths from hell

Bought us a one way ticket to heaven

To reign and dwell with Him for eternity

In His mighty haven

Today, many years ago, God gave the ultimate gift, He scarified His one and only Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He was killed for the elevation of you and I, as confirmed in 1 John 4: 9 - 10, which reads "9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins".

This sacrifice epic's the meaning of LOVE AND IT'S WORTH. It writes a story of "A love that surpasses all understanding" as further explained in John 3:16, which reads "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life"

The death of Jesus Christ, on this very day, inverted our pathway to Hell, it changed our course from eternal death to eternal life. It changed our course to heaven.

Today, wonderful Lord, I thank you for the ramifications of what you did today, for me, so many years ago. I thank you that because of your love for me and the sacrifice of your one and only son, by your grace, I am heaven bound, to reign with you for eternity. Hallelujah!

I thank you Papa that you find me worthy (even in my dysfunctional state) of an awesome sacrifice. Words cannot express my gratitude and the word 'thank you' is not even close enough, to sum up my appreciation for today.

However, in my attempt to show gratitude, from the depths of my heart and soul, and with every fibre of my being, I say a BIG THANK YOU LORD, for the beautiful gift that you gave me today. The gift of Jesus Christ.

I do not take this for granted. You died for me, and so I live for you. I live to praise you, love you and by your grace walk steadfastly in your will, declaring your awesomeness, your glory and never-ending love; making you ever so famous along my way.

Thank you Jesus for everything.

How about you? How do you feel about the glorious gift of today?

Much Love

Remi Banjo

***Pictures by Photobucket***

THE SCRIPTWRITER

Brethren, I do not consider that I have made it my own;

But one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind

and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the prize

of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13 - 14

Following my last post First Quarter Review I was diligent enough to go through the plan I had mapped out in January. Looking back, I realised that even though I knew what I wanted to achieve, I did not understand fully, the pathway, resources, or some actions I needed to engage in, to make this happen.

That plan from January onwards, became the movie script for me up onto the point of review. However, along with maturity in the understanding of God's will and mandate for us, comes Wisdom, insight and further clarity of what is required on this journey called life.

Well after review with renewed understanding, wisdom and insight, I realised that I did not like the script I was living out and needed to do something about it.

So what did I do, I hear you ask. I TORE THE THE SCRIPT.

Yes, like a Hollywood writer tears up a script, so many times, before he/she writes up that perfect movie, I did the same to my plans, the script I had been living out and directing, since the onset of this year. I realised that if I did not like where my life was going, the power is in my hands to change it. And the way I can do that is to simply re-write the script with renewed wisdom. There is no point waking up everyday, complaining about the same issues, and problems, wishing for things to change, but not do anything about it. It is quite silly, and even more so, when I know the power and responsibility to change things lies within the very palm of my hands. So, like the NIKE Slogan encourages, "JUST DO IT"... and so I did.

I envisage our lives to be a 'movie in motion', of which we are the main character, the main actors. Our lives, whether consciously or unconsciously, is living out a script, written and directed by someone or something.

At this point, I must ask, "whose script are you living out? The one you wrote through God's wisdom, or the one the world presented you?" . Who is your director? You or the world at large?

Lamentations 3:22-23 reads "22It is because of the Lord's mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassion's fail not. 23They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.

Everyday by God's grace, we wake up with the ability to write a new script, if we don't like the one we lived out the previous day. The unfortunate thing is most of us don't take this advantage, of this gift, of our ability or responsibility to change our lives around. Instead, we keep our attention tuned to the same old stuff, hence every new day becomes a replica of the last.


So, I don't like the script I am acting out right now, I would like to change it, what do I do? I hear you ask.

Here are a few things we can all do:

• Change our thinking and outlook from the present to the desired state: The desired state we want our lives to be. We must focus our mind and eyes on the future we want for ourselves. What life movie do we want our lives to be about? Conjure it up and shape it within our minds.
  


• Create the life we want on paper: Write what you imagine your life to be on paper. Write the script, starting with the present state of things. If we want to experience changes in our lives, we must make a conscious effort (thinking and acting) to make this happen. Introduce the main character & actor (the current you) to yourself. What I do is to write my script by thinking in the 'third person', thus separating the perspective away from myself. This helps me not to be biased by what I am putting together. I make it read like I am observing my life from another person's perspective. After all, it will eventually become a movie (I will live it out daily) and I would also like to think, if it became a feature length movie, it will be come a Block Buster hit! An example of such writing is thus: "Elizabeth, is a single beautiful woman, that lives in London, England. She is a qualified Architect and works in one of the middle sized firms in the city. Elizabeth has a normal life; she works, goes out with the little friends she has. On the surface, she looks like she is okay, but he reality is that she is bored, tired and fed up of where her life is going - nowhere. Everyday seems to be one long and endless day of boring similarities. She desires, wants and hungers for change, but she is unsure of how to instigate this." I tell you, when you put this on paper, you will realise how well or how bad your current life script is!
  

• Move beyond the introduction: Take the main character & actor (yourself) beyond the now. Start adding future dreams, ambitions that the character desires. Make the character interesting, successful, an achiever and a go-getter. In line with the dreams and desires God has given you, add a huge dose of imagination. With God nothing is impossible, so when going beyond the now, let there be no impossibilities within the realities of your script! Dream Big, Write your script Big.
  


• Define Emotions: Start to define the character's emotions, in view of achieving all these dreams and ambitions. For example, "Elizabeth felt encouraged when she thought about finally putting that book together and having it published. She was having butterflies in her tummy, just thinking about walking into one of the main bookshops in the country and seeing her book on display for all to see. The more she thought about it, the more she expanded the script and the more she got excited by it all. "
  

As scriptwriters of our lives, we must understand that the words we put together, are powerful and life changing when played (lived) out for real. To have a good movie script is to have further encouragement to live a life beyond limitations.

I also believe having a script supported by a plan, further helps to keep us on track, to keep our eyes and actions focused on the task at hand and ultimately the purpose for it all, for God's glory.
James 4:4 reads "For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away".

In as much as we don't hold tomorrow in our hands, and it is only by God's grace that we are gifted with the beauty of a new day to start anew; It would be a joy to know that for the little time we are here, our lives was a block buster hit movie, it meant something to someone, it encouraged someone, it left a legacy and ultimately it glorified God.

Have an awesome time, writing your life script, making you the best actor, director and producer of your life, with God's help and according to his will for you. I pray as you write, you are further encouraged to be all that God wants you to be; whilst making him famous along the way.

A big thank you to Simeon for inspiring this post. "Yes the actor /actress does not die!"

Much love

Remi Banjo

***Picture by photobucket***