THE KINGDOM OF GOD SERIES: IN YOUR HANDS...

"My life is in your hands..."

Psalm 31:15

 

I give myself away 

so you can use me
Have your way with me
you created and moulded me

A vessel to impact generations

present and those to come
your kingdom, manifest it through me

Make this a tangible testimony

for the world to see and truly glorify thee

Let my life declare that your

ears are not deaf that you cannot hear

eyes are not blind that you cannot see
hands are not short, that you cannot save

mercy is true and love eternally sure

Let my very existence declare

You alone are God

and you are God alone
selah...

I believe with every fibre of my being that there is only ONE GOD.  He is the creator of heaven and earth, my maker,father I am His. Without and outside of Him there is nothing - no life, only death through the darkness that resides in this world.

It is a beautiful thing to know God. His presence brings absolute peace. Regardless of what one might be going through, the knowledge and assurance that you are in God's hands, makes it all okay.  Whatever it is, that assurance tells and gives the peace that "this too shall pass" and when it does, I will be stronger, wiser and more dangerous to the kingdom of darkness! Now that is power!

DO YOU KNOW HIM?

The first step to knowing (have  personal relationship with) God, is to acknowledge His son, Jesus Christ. The one who came to live amongst us as man, who died and rose on the third day to heaven and is right now seated at the right hand of God. The one who died to give us salvation, who died to give us back dominion and victory over the devil. The one who came to give us access to the Kingdom of God - Heaven.   He is the ONLY way to know God, as declared in John 14:16, which reads "Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me."

In the times we live in now, the world is confused and on a slippery downwards slope to hell. Most are wondering where we go from here, consulting the news and all sorts of mediums on how to live their lives, how to prosper, how to put food on the table for their family, how to get a job and so on.   However, the answer to all we seek in this life cannot be found in this world. It can only be found in God.

If you are worried, fed up and frustrated about your today and what the future for you and your family  holds, and have tried everything  you know how to, I invite you to give Jesus Christ a try.  I promise you, it will be a decision you will NEVER regret.  I echo the words of David the Psalmist and I invite you to taste the Lord and see that He is GOOD.  Psalm 34:8 reads "O taste and see that the Lord [our God] is good! Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man who trusts and takes refuge in Him.".  I invite you to taste Jesus Christ as your Lord as saviour.

How I hear you ask?  By the renewing of your mind (changing the way you think) as Jesus declared in Matthew 4:17, it reads "From that time Jesus began to preach, [a]crying out, Repent ([b]change your mind for the better, heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand".

I encourage you to give your life, in total surrender to Jesus Christ. Ask Him to forgive you for all your sins and ask Him to come into your heart and life and take total control.  He will wash away all your reproach, wrong doings, your sin. He will wash them all away His  precious blood and give you new life, eternal life and access to the kingdom of God, heaven.

You will experience the best of Him and what He has to offer, which includes, peace, joy, happiness, faithfulness, prosperity, everlasting love, and your name in the book of life.


Have a great rest of the week precious people.

Much love, Remi
***picture by google***

BECOME ENDLESS PRAISE....!

"But thou art holy, O thou
that inhabitest the praises of Israel".

Psalm 22:3

To INHABIT means to live or dwell in, to exist or be situated within.
To PRAISE means to offer grateful homage to someone.

Whenever I read the opening verse I tend to make it mine and personalise it to read "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Remi". I make it mine.

The verse explains to us that God lives in the praises of His people which means that whenever we praise, God is present. Praise is God's address.  This tells me that if I want God to continually be live in my life, I must always praise. 

However, we must understand that praise is not a one time event, that happens at the beginning of Sunday service or a prayer meeting, or indeed in a particular place. Praise is a continuous daily living event. There is no beginning or end to it.  The operative word here is 'continuous'.   CONTINUOUS means 'to go on with a particular action or in a particular condition; to be persistent in it'

Praise should happen from the minute we open our eyes to when we go back to bed.  Praise should be in our hearts, minds, actions, thoughts, which eventually spills over from our lips.

A life of praise is lived through thoughts and actions that demonstrate the nature of God, such as compassion and humility as 1 Peter 3:8 encourages us to. It reads "Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble".

When we live a life of praise, it means we acknowledge God's greatness and declare like David in Psalm 48:1 , "Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised In the city of our God, In His holy mountain".

A life that represents an act of seamless praise and thanksgiving, will experience the ramifications of God's dwelling, such as:

Ability

Blessings

Courage

Excellence

Diligence

Faith

Goodness

Holiness

Irresistible influence

Joy

Knighthood

Love

Mercy

Newness

Obedience

Quality

Rest

Salvation

Triumph

Understanding

Victory

Wisdom

Xanadu

Yahweh

Zealousness

Whatever you do,with whom ever and wherever you do it, let your thoughts and actions be a continuous expression of praise to God.  Let them show the intricacies of who Jesus Christ is - Love, compassion, humility, faithful and much more.  

Some will never read the Bible or hear a moving sermon to bring them to Christ.  It will  the very expressions of praise we emit, that will minister to them.

I encourage you to let continuous praise flow from your very essence; making God famous along your way.


Much Love, Remi
***pictures by google***

COURAGE, CONFIDENCE AND SURETY

 And my righteous ones will live by faith.

But I will take no pleasure in anyone

who turns away

Hebrews 10:38

 
 
To believe is to have confidence in the truth, the existence, or the reliability of something, although without absolute proof that one is right in doing so: Only if one believes in something can one act purposefully.


To have confidence is to be in a state or quality of being certain (free from doubt or reservation, to be confident and sure).
This confidence is the assurance, that one is sure, without a doubt in whatever we believe in. This assurance and surety gives one the courage and determination to do whatever is required to bring that which we seek to manifestation.


Surety is the condition of being sure, especially of oneself, to have self-assurance.


This, my beautiful people is what faith is all about. It is about stepping out, walking, working and acting in confidence, courage and surety. It is the springboard to the manifestation of our believe in God and His abilities. This is what it means when we talk about exercising our faith.
 


It is important to understand the element of courage, confidence and surety in its entirety because:

• Without faith (confidence, courage and surety) it is impossible to please God   Hebrews 11:6, it reads "And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him."  We have the great example of faith through the 'father of Faith' Abraham. He displayed his faith, not in abject of his existence, but by walking and working in confidence, courage and surety in God.  Think of it, it must take unshakable confidence  and assurance in God to be willing and obedient to sacrifice his only son at the alter! (Genesis 22:1-12). I mean he was so sure that God will provide the offering for the sacrifice - verse 8 "8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together".   Bearing in mind that God had told Abraham he will be the 'father of nations', now under normal, human logic, if the son is sacrificed, how will this happen?  However, Abraham was sure of God displayed this in his obedience. 

• The way which we as believers are to display our faith in God is through courage, Confidence and surety as declared right here in Hebrews 10:38, which reads "But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him."  Remember, we established that to be courage, confidence and surety. I am more scared of the second part of that verse "God will not be pleased" ...!

• Faith (courage, confidence and surety) turns our weakness into strength. When we act in faith we don't think of the consequences (which is what holds most of us back - such as the 'why, how and what ifs' . We keep ourselves grounded by being severely consumed with questions such as "what will people say, they will think I have lost my mind, or call me foolish!".  We forget that it was God's word or prompt to act in faith and obedience.

When move daily in faith, we bring about PURPOSEFUL ACTIONS. 

"Purposeful action can be defined as a series of events or steps motivated by commitment to a mission. In order to be purposeful, the mission for the action must be derived from inner conviction, and the action must benefit others beyond self".

Nothing will faze us, because we will be purposefully intentional on all our actions and behaviour. Thus, no matter how long or how difficult, we will keep at it because of the inner conviction and surety we posses.  Are you still with me so far?

So my question today is thus: 

Are you purposeful in your actions, behaviour in your everyday living? 

When you get out of bed, are you intentional in all that you have planned to do, or are you just moving with the flow, like pollen carried aimlessly by the wind?

Do you want a happy marriage or relationships? Are you purposeful in the investment of time, effort and yes money into it?

Do you want wisdom, understanding and insight to what you are doing? Are you purposeful in your prayers to God? Is it a shopping list you present to Him or a desire to be in the presence of the King?

Beloved, today, I encourage you to call forth the courage, confidence and surety you have in God and His abilities; in the words He has spoken to you, in His very promises to you.  They are already within you for it is in your bloodline and heritage as I wrote previously (READ MORE  HERE)

Do you want to have financial freedom? Are you purposeful in your spending, and tithing and giving habits?
Do you want a new job or career? Are you purposeful in seeking out and completing those application forms, even though it is the 100th one?

I encourage you impregnate your daily living with purposeful actions, through courage, confidence and unshakable assurance in God's word, His very power at work within you; making God famous along your way. 

Much love, Remi,
***pictures by photobucket***

BREAKING THROUGH 'THE WALL'

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.

They spread their wings and soar like eagles,

They run and don't get tired,

they walk and don't lag behind

Isaiah 40:31

 
 
Almost two months ago, in London, United Kingdom, we watched the Yearly Marathon runners pound the streets. We cheered them on towards the finished line. In the midst of the runners were all types of people, running for different causes. Some were tall, short, round or slim. Some wore banners, costumes and name tags, representing the charity or cause they were running for.


I thought to myself, well I love running, why not sign up for next year’s (2011) marathon race? ... and so I did, and managed to rope about 3 friends into doing so too. God help us. You all have to pray for me eh?  However, before we ventured out in our spandex and shiny new trainers, attempting to run the whole 26 miles in one go, we decided to carry out some research on how best to run; combining nutrition, skill, science and good common sense!


What I found and have experienced so far, is quite interesting.  Let me share.


Through my research I read and learnt about something a lot of runners come against at least once in their running career. This formidable force is called ‘THE WALL’.    Apparently, when one encounters ‘The Wall’ it cannot be explained, however, you will know it when you see , or rather hit it.


One marathon runner – Dick Beardsley, explains how he felt when he hit ‘the wall. He said, “It felt like an elephant had jumped out of a tree onto his shoulders and was making him carry it the rest of the way in the race”. Now that's quite scary! After reading this I pondered on 'what I was thinking or possessed by when I clicked the 'register now' button!


Research also shows that runners encounter ‘the wall’ around the 20+ miles of a marathon race. The symptoms are slowness of pace, sometimes quite considerably too. 

However, all is not lost to the runner if he or she hits the wall. The key to overcoming 'the wall' is quite simple. It is to  'TAKE ANOTHER STEP'.  Yes, that is it. Take another step, and then another and again another. Even though every fibre in the runner’s being is screaming “I can’t go on”, the runner is encouraged and trained to focus on the goal ahead (crossing the finished line) and WILL him/her self to keep going.


Now, when the runner keeps the process of taking one step after another going, research and those who have experienced this tell us that something phenomenal happens.  They encounter what is called the  'SECOND WIND'.  This is when the runner suddenly finds within himself the strength to press on, at the top of performance with less exertion (less energy, force, strength). The feeling is likened to having renewed energy, to be free, and like the runner is no longer running with his or her own strength.  It is like being invaded with the strength of another to carry on the race.


Why am I writing about running and hitting and un-seemingly invisible wall and getting acquainted with something called 'second wind'?  

The reason being, if this analogy is applied to our walk and work in God, it can help us in so many ways, and challenge us to keep going. 

In most areas of our lives, I believe most of us would have experienced 'the wall'.  This will be when we are convinced that under no circumstances, we cannot go on; go on with the same job, with the marriage, with the family fights, with the children, with the endless bills, exams or even waiting on God to manifest that promise. 


Also, if we look closely or look back after having overcome, we realise that we encounter this wall when we were almost at the point of victory or breakthrough (even though we did not know it then). If we had given up, we won't have experienced the victory we can now testify to.

Now, because we serve a good God, who is our perfect shepherd, and who has given us the precious Holy Spirit, to guide and teach us, we are assured of victory and our 'second wind'. 

The beauty of the Holy Spirit is that He does some of His best work when we are in this state of mind, when we are broken.  If we let Him, for instance, He will remind us that our God is a God of hope and with Him (the Holy Spirit) in us, we should be overflowing with hope as declared in Romans 15:3, which reads "May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope."


The Holy Spirit will also reminds of us, if we let Him, of the word of David the Psalmist who encourages us to Cast our burdens unto the Lord, in Psalm 55:22. It reads "Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you.He will not permit the godly to slip and fall".

When we say 'hello' to 'the wall' the Holy Spirit reminds us to hold fast onto our 'second wind' the one God has already provided for us. This is the opening verse of this post, Isaiah 40:31 and it reads “But those who trust the LORD will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired".


To be strong like an eagle means we have the abundance of :

• Strength: To carry on regardless.
• Keenness:  Eagle Eye - to see the way God sees, through His wisdom
• Swiftness: To run faster and smarter than those in the world
• Courage: To take the next step, even though we feel we cannot.
• Freedom: To be all that we have been created to be

Likened to an eagle we are created to really live and fly in high places, not live on the ground. We are created to reign and rule and exercise dominion over all situations and circumstances, through God's strength.


Like an eagle, when we fall, all we need to do is stretch out our wings and we will lift up again. When we feel like we are falling and think we cannot take another step, all we need to do is take hold of God's strength be lifted up. 


This dear beloved is our 'second wind'. When we feel or think we cannot carry on, when we feel we cannot put one foot in front of another, God is calling us to embrace His strength.  When we do, we will no longer be running in our own strength or wisdom, but God's. 

The tremendous beauty of our 'second wind' from God, is that we can take hold if it, again, again and yet again; as many times as w need to.

So, what area in your life have you come face to face with 'the wall' ? What are you going through or dealing with that you are convinced you cannot possibly go on? What is that burden or yoke that is keeping you restrained and keeping you down?


Whatever it is, today, I encourage you to cast your burdens and cares on God, lay them down at the masters feet.  I encourage you to "be still and let God".  I encourage you to embrace your 'second wind', found in the God's presence, through His word and through a relationship with Him. 

I encourage you to continue to run, not in yours, but God's strength, wisdom and power. Run towards your goal and price, whilst making God famous along the way. 


Happy new month, and may God give you strength, wisdom, understanding and abundance peace, even in the eye of the storm.

Ps... Thank you everyone who checked up on me. I am well in Jesus name. The fool tried to mess with my health... He was messing with the wrong chick!



Much Love, Remi
Be Uplifted and Inspired

***pictures by google***