JOYFULL, THANKFULL and PRAISEFULL

Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully
to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come to him with thanksgiving.
Let us sing psalms of praise to him.For the Lord is a great God,
a great King above all gods.
Psalm 95: 1- 3

It is easy to live everyday through the eyes of negativity; never seeing the good in anything, nor having the reason or need to be thankful. It is easy to look at certain milestones in life from the view point of “half empty” as opposed to “half full”. However, the bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 to “Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus”.

Thankful is defined as: the feeling or expression of gratitude. It means to be appreciative
To be expressive means to: put thoughts into words and actions
To show gratitude means to: display the quality of being grateful and thankful
To be appreciative means to: show clear insight, intuition and knowledge. For example, to show insight and knowledge of the reasons and ramifications of being thankful.

Today, many years ago, the Almighty God blessed my wonderful parents with my very presence in their lives! My very name explains what my manifestation in their lives meant and still means to them. Remi (short version for Oluwaremilekun - yes I know, quite long huh?) means “The Lord has relieved me of my tears”. Now how awesome is that! I am glad I was and am and pray I continue to be this for my parents and everyone I come across by God's grace and power! Amen.

Today, I am thankful to God for choosing them as my parents. It probably has not been an easy task being parents to an “ultra inquisitive, bossy and super-hyper-active child” ( I can just see my friends agreeing with this one! lol), but by God’s grace, they have done a good job. (*smile*) Thank you papa & mama.

I am thankful to you Almighty God for the very essence of LIFE I have found in you. I will have it no other way. From my last birthday to this one, what you have done and how far forward you have brought me in the knowledge and understanding of who you are, is truly awesome.

It is a testimony that, if we continuously seek you, we will find and know you! Yes, sometimes it does feel like I might be on the ‘slowest train to Georgia’, but to wait on you, is to see your perfect promises in my life established, fulfilled and manifested the way you have ordained them to be, giving you the glory. I am giddy with excitement for the next phase!

In my thankfulness I remember the song I was taught as a child, it goes like this:

Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your blessings and see what God has done
Count your blessings, name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

So yes, today, as I count my blessings, my wonderful father, saviour, my king, the lifter of my head, my redeemer, my best friend, my one and only father, my one and only God; from the bottom of my heart and depths of my soul, Papa, I say THANK YOU for LIFE and for EVERYTHING!

• I thank you because you have shown and keep showing me the beauty of who you are.
• I thank you because you have indeed picked me up and turned me completely around, and placed my feet on solid, immovable ground!
• I thank you because you have thought me to put my trust, hope and faith in you and in so doing you have made me like mount Zion; even in times of terrible tribulations!
• I thank you because you have made me wiser in you.
• I thank you that 'HE' is finally here. Thank you for the work you did and are doing with and through Him. Your gifts to your children are really 'second to none'. He is perfect in shape, form and growing in spirit. Thank you!!!**smile***
• I thank you because I can testify; that “I have seen that you don’t do good, but that you ARE good!
  

As I celebrate today, I declare that no one, and nothing, not now or ever, will share your glory in my life. You, I continue to crown as my God and king.

In my thanksgiving like David the Psalmist, I will sing and dance with ALL my MIGHT (my spirit, soul, heart, mind and body) for your very pleasure, for your glory.

KABIYESI MODUPE

Eyes fluttering open to
the rising of the sun, my
soul leaps with joy in realisation
that it has been gifted with a new day

Last night, numerous souls lay down to sleep
The beauty of this morning’s light, they are no more to see
Yet, once again, my faithful ‘Baba’ has kept me safe
‘Oba awon oba’, has been good to me

'Kabiyesi modupe o'
I thank you for the
beauty of a new dawn

'Ore ti baba se ninu aye me
O jo mi loju, Oya mi lenu
Baba olore, Ope lo ye o
Halleluja meta ko kpo rara
Halleluja maje ko kpa poju'

Full dance now in swing, face heavenwards
my grateful soul rejoices and sings...

'Baba mi, Osuba re re o
Oba taori, tan'rise owo re
Olorun le o ma je,
Èsé o, modupe, mojuba o
Eledami modupe'

May your Kingdom come

and your will be done today
From the rising of the sun

till the going down of the same

May I live forever to declare

your majesty and praise the

essence and beauty of

your powerful and Holy name.

Much Love
Remi
***Pictures by Photobucket***

Translation - words in BOLD :

Kabiyesi Modupe: My king I am thankful
'Oba awon oba': The king of kings
Baba: Father
Osuba re re o: I worship you Lord
Èsé o – Thank you
Oba taori, tan'rise owo re: The God that we don’t see physically, but see the work of His hands
Olorun le o ma je: You will always be God
Hallelujah meta o to rara: To sing Hallelujah three time is not enough at all
Haleluja meje o kpa poju: To sing Hallelujah seven times, however is not too much
Ore ti baba se: The good that God has done
O jo mi loju: Surprises me
Oya mi lenu: Amazes me
Ninu aye mi: In my life

Product Of Your Environment?

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"!

Mathew 3:2

A short while ago, a few friends and I were discussing fashion; what the world of fashion expresses as the appropriate way to put an ensemble together. The argument was that apparently, there is a 'general rule of fashion', which states for example, that it is forbidden to wear white socks with sandals and a pair of shorts!

I replied with the question "who made this so called ‘general rule of fashion' and how did it come about? The way an individual chooses to put together clothing items to make an outfit, isn't this dependant on what that individual is exposed to, their environment?

... and thus the question:

"what is the nature, shape, form and very essence of the environments that we are exposed to"?

The dictionary describes Environment as thus: the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings or the social and cultural forces that shape the life of a person or a population.

Every environment we find ourselves in produces knowledge; good or bad. We acquire knowledge from our environment. The experiences within our environment plays a vital part in the formation of our knowledge, such as pain, love, or compassion.

The knowledge obtained from our environment is eventually transformed into belief. Belief is defined as 'the mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in another'. Belief is what we accept as the truth, and this is greatly influenced from the knowledge we are exposed to.

Our belief shapes our values. For instance, we will place a high value on what we think is important and not readily exchange it for what is not.


Going further, our values influence the choices we make in life. When we are presented with options, the values that has been instilled within us, from our beliefs, will inform the choices we make. For example, if a believer is faced with a choice of going to church on Sunday morning as opposed to watching a movie, he/she will most likely choose to go to Church. It is safe to say that the individual will place more value on going to church than watching a movie.

And finally our choices determine the actions we make. Such as wearing white socks with sandals and a pair of shorts! For whoever wears such believes that is sensible fashion and has made the choice to wear it as so, based on the fashion experiences that individual has been exposed to, within their environment.

In Mathew 3:2 John the baptist, whilst preaching in the wilderness of Judea said “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” To repent means to turn from sin and evil towards God. Repentance means to change our environment from a sinful one to a godly one. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and saviour we don't add Him to our sinful environment. We move from our sinful environment into His environment. We change our heart from sin, to one that is open towards God's word of truth. We change our environment from Darkness to Light.

True repentance should and will change our actions, as we are taught in Luke 3: 8 - 14 and in Acts 26:20 , not forgetting that our actions is a result of our choices, values, beliefs and knowledge, all originating from our environment. To have a change of actions when we repent, means we have had a change of environment.

What is the nature, shape and form of your environment? What knowledge are you getting from it? What beliefs are you forming from it? What values are you developing from it? What choices are you making, based on it, and what actions is being manifested because of it?

If your actions are not helping you live out the realities of the salt of the earth (Mathew 5:13), or the the Light of the world (Mathew 5:14) that God has declared you to be, I encourage you to change the very nature, shape and form of your environment. This is so that your good deeds (actions) and not 'the general rule of manifesting from the wrong environment' shines out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly father; making Him famous along the way.

Much Love
Remi

***pictures by photobucket***

The Salt Of Your Environment

  You are the salt of the earth.

But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour?

Can you make it salty again?

It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.

Mathew 5:13

  

The dictionary defines salt as: An element that gives flavor or zest. A sharp lively wit

The usage of salt in the Biblical times:  

• As a symbol of covenants and good will. Salt used as a symbol of covenant is described in Numbers 18:19 ... a covenant of salt forever before the Lord with you and your descendants with you. It's usage in covenant with God is also shown in Leviticus 2:13b, it reads ”Season all your grain offerings with salt to remind you of God’s eternal covenant. Never forget to add salt to your grain offerings". In Colossians 4:6, salt is used as a symbol of good will, and it reads "Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one".

• Adding flavour to food: This we see in job describing in Job 6:6, it reads "Don’t people complain about unsalted food? Does anyone want the tasteless white of an egg"?. 

• As a disinfectant: Salt was used to protect wounds from being infected. Ezekiel 16:4 explains this and it reads “On the day you were born, no one cared about you. Your umbilical cord was not cut, and you were never washed, rubbed with salt, and wrapped in cloth". It is also used to disinfect or heal the land of evil as we read in 2 Kings 2:20-21. which reads "20 Elisha said, “Bring me a new bowl with salt in it.” So they brought it to him. 21 Then he went out to the spring that supplied the town with water and threw the salt into it. And he said, “This is what the Lord says: I have purified this water. It will no longer cause death or infertility.

The usage of salt in the New Testament:

• The main usage of salt according to the New Testament is to influence (make sweet, enrich, heal or make right), its immediate environment. Jesus explains this in Luke 14:34, which it reads "Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavour, how do you make it salty again?" In Mathew 5:13, Jesus call us 'The Salt of the Earth'. Mathew 5:13 reads "You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavour? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless".

From all these, what does it mean to be 'The salt of the earth, I hear you ask?'.   This means as salt we are meant to impart the characteristics of salt to our immediate environment, such as love, healing, sweetness, solutions, compassion and direction.  

As salt, we are to make have a positive effect to our environment; to infuse the flavor of God's living word into its very centre.   As salt we are to add the intricate flavor of God's word into homes, schools, work places, businesses, youth centres, hospitals and on the streets.

As salt, we are to transform our cities, countries and continents; healing the land from sickness, disease barrenness and strongholds.

With all these in mind, my question to today is thus: 

Are we the salt of the earth that Jesus confirmed us to be?
Are we living out the intricacies of the salt, or are we the opposite, a pollutant to our environments?

Do you arrive on the scene, and mood swings, bitterness, complaints and unfriendliness trail in after you, or does relief, peace and love, displays the presence of God in you?

Salts of the earth are solution implementers

Today, I encourage you all, that wherever you find yourself in life; on the bus, train, home, work or a station, let the characteristics of the 'Salt of the earth that you are' be evident for all to see. Live it out and let the benefits be manifested in that environment. Do all you can to stay in God's presence and will, thus, not loosing your flavour, but living to dispel out its realities; whilst making God famous along the way.

Much Love

Remi Banjo 

 ***Pictures by photobucet ***

Final Quarter - Gather Momentum, Gain speed

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do,
and your plans will succeed".

Proverbs 16:3

… and then the senior Pastor at my church, last Sunday, reminded us of when the next Prayer meeting will be; encouraging us to attend. He told us that it will soon be September, which will mark the beginning of the last quarter of the year. Well I don’t know about everyone else in the meeting, but that hit me square in the face! POW! We were about to step into the final Quarter of the year 2009, and by today that I write this, we have indeed moved into it. Praise God!

Quickly, I did a mental assessment of what I had accomplished in the previous quarters and what I still needed to do. After my mental analysis all I could do was scream... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrggggghhhh!!! all in my head of course.

To you all my wonderful readers, I welcome you into the FINAL QUARTER of 2009!

I’m almost tempted to add suspense music at this point…

• Momentum is defined as: moving power of pulling everything together.
• Gain is defined as: to get something desired as a result of one’s effort.
• Speed is defined as: Rapidity in proceeding or performing; it is swiftness like the speed of light.

How many of us remember the first of January 2009 and all the excitement we felt at the onset of a brand new year? I want to see a show of hands! There is usually something about the first of January that gets our adrenaline rising through the roof. There is something about the beginning and the start of things. There is hope and tremendous expectations, and the believe that "there are no impossibilities within our realities". We are able to visualise the future, we can hear God’s voice loud and clear, we are less confused and more focused and determined to succeed at every single plan, action or agenda.

Alas, here we are now, a the onset of the final quarter of the year? Now, how many of us can look back and say we still have that same adrenalin rushing through our veins, the same excitement, zeal and hope?. How many of us can say we can still hear God’s voice loud and clear as it was on January 01 2009? How many of us can say were still focused and weighed down with the daily mundane things of life? How many of us can say we have achieved all we set out to do by this time of the year. I would like to see a show of hands please. Yes we are showing and telling our red faces in this post.

Well, I am here to encourage everyone, (myself included) that, all hope is not lost! . You might not have accomplished one line on your plan till date, but we serve a God that specialises in impossible situations, which includes what seems like impossible time lines! As long as we are WILLING AND OBEDIENT to do all that we has been entrusted to us, will EAT THE BEST OF THE LAND, as confirmed in Isaiah 1:19. This means, we will see progress in all our work. But we HAVE TO WORK THE PLAN.

What can we possibly do if we find ourselves far behind the plan, that we can’t even see our own behinds I hear you ask? Here are a few things (not all) that we could do as a starting point:

• Repent of our sin: Acts 3:19 reads “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, those times of refreshing may come from the Lord, (NIV)”. We must repent of our sins of not being responsible and diligent to work on our God given dreams and aspirations. Also, for probably not managing our time or resources properly.

• Go back to our first love – God: When we rekindle our love back with God, we set ablaze the desire and excitement we should always feel about achieving our purpose in God’s kingdom.

• Encourage ourselves in God: 1 chronicles 22:13 b reads “… do not be afraid or discouraged”. It is easy to get discouraged and look at the year, and count it as a loss. But we still have some time to make right. One second is enough for God to work miracles in our lives, but we must be willing. We must encourage ourselves in God and in His abilities to help us with our plans.

• Seek God’s path: Psalm 25: 4 – 5 encourages us to seek God’s guidance in all things. It reads “4 Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; 5 guide me in your truth and teach me, or you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long”. When you work with God’s plan and guidance, He will lead you to success.

• Review and Revise the plan: It is wise to review the plans we are working with to make sure that it is updated with your renewed understating and wisdom of God's plans for you. I wrote about how we could possibly do this in "AS YOU MEAN TO GO ALONG” and FIRST QUARTER REVIEW and ARE YOU AN ANT .

• Pray Over the Plans: Proverbs 16:3 says it all, it reads "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed".

• Take Action: Gather together your mind and body, spirit and soul and focus on the task at hand. Put your mind and hands to work. You must physically work that plan, so that you will have works to show for the faith and hope you have in God to manifest the results. Faith without works as we are taught in James 2: 26, which reads “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead”.

So here I am encouraging us all to ‘GATHER SPEED AND GAIN MOMENTUM' as you journey through the final quarter of this year.

Keep the fire of your God given vision burning as it was on the day God revealed it to you. Be aware of the importance and urgency of your actions, remember, it is all about the advancement of God’s kingdom. Time is of the essence when it comes to our work for and in God’s kingdom.

Do all you can and have to do to REIGN in accomplishment and victory. I pray that come December 31 2009, we can all confidently declare like Paul and say “in 2009, I ran my race and I won the price” and I made God famous along my way.

Much Love

Remi Banjo

***pictures by photobucket***