Restoration- Part II

Humility and Repentance

Every believer is exhorted to clothe herself in humility; it’s like a command - I Peter 5.5;
Why? Because of the example of our Lord Jesus Christ and what He said in Matthew 11.29. Although He was humble, yet He was strong. As believers, Jesus is our role model; we are supposed to walk in His steps. Philipians 2.3-8.

We are also expected to walk in humility because our God resists the proud- I Peter 5.5. Who can oppose God when He opposes you? God demands humility from each and everyone of us because that is the way to the kingdom. This is what Jesus told us in Matthew 18.1-4.

Reason: Man is proud and never admits his faults. That’s why many are not giving their lives to Christ but the one who accepts God’s verdict of being a sinner, is the humble one and God loves such a person because the opposite of this is pride which is the epitome of Satan.
How many accept God’s judgement in Romans 3.23? The main ingredient or the main channel to God is through repentance which is the result of humility. So the two go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. A humble heart easily forgives another person whether they themselves are 1% wrong in any situation. Matthew 5.23-24. A humble heart takes the initiative to make peace because this person will remember the Word of God on forgiveness and OBEY her Master! In so doing, she repents of whatever happened before.
Repentance is 180 degree turn around from the direction one was going before. It takes humility to repent of any sin. Pride is the opposite of humility. It is the source of un-forgiveness so be careful ‘cos it’s destroying relationships. Humility will accept the hurts but will forgive not in its own power but in the strength of God.

Doug Britton puts it this way:
“Many people have the wrong idea about God, the Bible and humility, or being humble. They think being humble means grovelling in front of others or thinking we're no good and others are good.
God says when you are humble, you are free from pride and arrogance.
You don't need to defend yourself when you understand the Bible's picture of humility, for you know who you are in Christ. You are able to be a peacemaker without needing to fight for your rights. You are able to walk humbly in the power of God’s Holy Spirit, not your own personal power.
Godly humility is being comfortable with who you are in the Lord and therefore putting others first. The meaning of humility in the Bible is one of loving others, not being a wimp!”

Advantages of walking in humility and repentance:
1. God’s power and love rests on you - II Corinthians 12.9-10
2. Always a peacemaker and you know the reward of a peace maker -Matthew 5.5 & 9; Ephesians 4.29. You have kind and gracious words for everybody even when correcting them
3. It keeps a believer focused on making it to heaven - you search yourself daily, if not moment by moment using David’s cry in Psalm 139.23 -24
4. Gives you peace of mind because you can handle unfair treatment without being overcome with bitterness
Ephesians 4. 31-32

Conclusion: Bible-based humility isn't being unaware of your gifts or calling.
Although we should avoid self-pride, godly humility does not mean we should pretend we are unaware of the gifts God has given us. The key is to remember that they are from God. Ephesians 3:8 ; 2 Corinthians 12:11.
Bible-based humility does not mean never speaking directly.
When God says to be humble, he it lets us know we must examine our motives and attitudes. We also must examine how we take action. But there are times when we need to take strong actions. Here are two examples of taking strong actions while maintaining a humble spirit: Jesus was meek of spirit, yet he chased the moneychangers

Restoration Time

RESTORATION TIME

INTRODUCTION:

“come apart and rest awhile: Mark 6.31. This is what Jesus said whenever he felt His disciples needed time to renew, their strengths, their minds and receive fresh anointing for the work they were doing. It is a necessary activity for every believer who wants her lamp to continue burning until ’that day.’

Why? Because we do not want to be like the 5 foolish virgins Jesus told us about in Matthew 25.1-13.

What is Restoration?
I look at it in several ways:

1. It is a deliberate act of setting aside quality time to be with the Lord for self examination to check whether our walk with the Lord is in accordance with the perfect pattern of the Word of God. Psalm 139.23 & 24.

2. It is an act of submission. There can be no restoration without humility. Matthew 11.28-29; James 4.6-7. Remember the two men who went to pray? Luke 18.10-14.

3. It is the act of renewing our minds with the word of God. Romans 12.1-2. This is the greatest requirement for restoration; The word of God.

Why?

1. It is our mirror -James 1.22-24
2. It is our guide - Psalm 119.105
3. It cleanses us - Psalm 119.9, John 15.3
4. It gives us success in our walk with the Lord - Joshua 1.8
5. It gives us knowledge and the consequences of the lack there of-Hosea 4.6; 2 Timothy 3.16
6. It sets us free - play on words; Jesus is the Living Word -John 8.32 & 36.

Etc. etc.
So we have to stand on the Word of God, the Bible in order for us to be restored. We need restoration ‘cos of the busy activities of daily living; we become so busy that we even forget to pray or even read the Bible.

“When talking of restoration, it is important to rely on God’s Word rather than man’s word. Since this is something so very important to our soul’s salvation it is of utmost importance to make sure beyond any shadow of a doubt that the pattern that we use is the true one. The doctrines of men have changed countless times throughout history and will continue to change, but if we follow the Bible in its inspired form, we can rest assured that we are being restored to the pattern that God Himself created and has preserved in spite of countless attacks regarding its authenticity.”

We need restoration periods ‘cos as humans, desiring to live to please our God, we often do the opposite ‘cos of Romans 3.23 and yet God has said in Isaiah 43.21 “This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.” See I Peter 2.9.

Our restoration time therefore will take the following pattern:

1. The necessity and importance of standing on the Word of God during restoration time

2. Humility and repentance

3. Instruction in righteousness

4. Abiding in the Lord in order to avoid future mishaps or mistakes.

Winds of Change!! Power to the people!!!

First it was Tunisia, then Egypt and now who will be the next dictator to run for his dear life?

As I write now, there are rumours that Libya's leader Gaddafi has fled his country even though unsubstantiated, I will not be surprised if he has. How long did these dictators think their one man rule would continue? I say "More power to the people!"

When will African leaders learn that the position they hold is only temporary and not a life time career? When will they see the proverbial writing on the wall? How long do they think the people of Africa will continue to stand and watch their resources including oil, gold and other minerals end up in the bulging pockets of these greedy leaders?

Did you hear about what is happening in Uganda now? Just like Gbagbo of Cote D'IVoire,he is claiming victory after a sham election whose outcome had already been determined by these despots and their cronies. Gbagbo has refused to leave the position he is holding onto as if it is his birth right despite the cry of 'foul' to the outcome of the recent elections. Musevini of Uganda has been there for ages despite major opposition to his rule. What are these leaders waiting for? Are they waiting for the blood of their own people to flow before they relinguish power from their evil grasping hands? How about Mugabe of Zimbabwe under whose rule inflation has outpaced every document in the financial world?

If these leaders would learn from history what their predecessors like Mobutu of the then Zaire and Nkrumah of Ghana learnt the hard way that dictatorships are only temporary and that no matter how long it takes, when the people rise, dictatorships topple!

People, Africans, let us rise to this challenge and show our leaders that they stay in power only at our own convenience and that whenever we declare that we've had enough of their bumbling rule, they better sit up and listen!!!
Power to the People!!!

Long time!!!

It has been a hectic year for me. I have written two books (manuscripts) but where to publish them has become a dilemma for me. This time, the books are not for children but one is about the way christian women are to live within the confines of the church in order not to encourage infidelity among married couples. The other one is about my work with ActionAid and my frustrations about African leaders.

I worry about how Africans would survive this economic meltdown going on in the world when our leaders are busy consolidating their positions and their little dictatorships instead of helping the people who gave them the mandate to lead.

As it is now, it's like every country is struggling to survive, perhaps except China! So if we Africans are counting on foreign aid to see us through, I think it will only be in our dreams. Some people say "God help those who help themselves" (even though it's not categorically written in the Bible) the idea behind it is very sound. How can someone who does not care very much for your plight (except if they have something to gain from you like oil and raw materials to feed their own industries)if you do not really care about putting structures in place yourself to lift your country out of the doldrums?

Africa is being left behind; those who are succeeding in their economies continue to plunder our rich resources for only peanuts. Others are using the "carrot and stick" approach whereby if you do not tow their line of thinking, the carrot is brutally snatched from your mouth!

Who is going to help Africa? It has to be we the people ourselves. I wonder if there are anymore ideas out there to help Africa. If you do, let me hear from you.

Cheers!

HIV and AIDS is Deadly

It is known in some quarters that there is a difference between having AIDS and being infected with the AIDS virus.
My work with a non-profit organization for 7 years confirmed this. As I worked with 100s of infected and affected people with the virus, I arrived at the same conclusion as well. As I travelled to many countries to interview and work with people living with the virus, I came to the conclusion that no one should die because of this pandemic in this time and age.

The key here is to know your status when in doubt. If you go to www.hivtest.org where many people have gone to take this step, your life may be saved. The sooner the better because when one is infected with the virus, you may not know and live normally and could be weighing as much as 500lbs. But after the virus has stayed within your system for a long time , after it has broken down your immune system, then will you have the full blown AIDS; a condition which can be reversed with medication if caught in time.

Contact and help resources:

I worked with ActionAid Ghana, an Affiliate of ActionAid International, a non-profit organization with offices in over 50 countries world wide including the United States where I live now. I travelled widely to many of these countires to interview, collate and publish our work on HIV and AIDS among others.

I coordinated and brought to Ghana and West Africa for the first time, the world renowned Positive Lives Exhibiton which shows pictures of normal looking people with normal body weight living with the virus. The purpose was to prove to people that everyone is at risk.

The following is the summary of the work I did while working for ActionAid on this issue:

• Worked directly with people living with AIDS (PLWHAs) through training, counselling and interviews for our newsletters and website to create awareness of their situation for funding.
• Gave talks to schools and organizations and at exhibitions about how the pandemic is contracted; how to prevent it and encouraged people to do the test to find out their status.
• Taught people on how to inter-act and live with PLWHAs.
• Attended the annual World AIDS Day representing my organization by setting up an informational booth showcasing our work through videos, brochures, posters and books.
• Designed and published several promotional materials like brochures, pamphlets and books for distribution to schools and organizations

I have videos and materials to share. I am available to share, teach and collaborate with schools and organizations about this issue.

Please contact me through this blog for further information.

Meanwhile stay safe!

The Graduate!

At last, my baby has graduated from high school. If you have been picking and dropping your child to and from school, you'll understand the huge sigh of relief my husband and I expressed a few weeks before her graduation.

I remember my husband one night just before he fell asleep whispering "Oh I can't wait for her to graduate then I'll be able to sleep longer every morning." I burst out laughing knowing how stressful it had been.

Talking about stress, mine was worse. My daughter is a very active girl and participated in many extra curricular activities, namely TRi-M (the Honor society for Music), Scholastic Bowl, Mosaic, Chamber Choir and the like. I had to be picking her up on activity days, bring her home and then take her back in the evening or at night depending on whatever activity she was involved with.

The worse part is knowing she closes at 2.24 pm and whiles I'm halfway to the school, I receive a text "Mom, can you please come at 4?"

Hmm! So what do I do? Our home is far from the school and because I do not want to waste gas returning home and then having to go back, at times I'll just go to the Mall and whiles walking around whiling away the time, I shop against my best judgment and spend money on un-budgeted items!

Or at times, I would just go and park at the school, read, listen to the radio or just fall asleep. This happened during winter as well so I had my little red blanket at the back of the car and covered myself to keep warm.

What wouldn't a mother do for her child? But now, it's all over. The baby of the house is about to enter college and may be, just may be, my husband and I will be able to take the needed break from running her up and down to and from school.

But it was all worth it when we saw her as one the few out of 900 students wearing a gold cord, honoring her as an Indian Prairie Scholar (having a GPA over 3.8) and also a pink cord honoring her as a member of the Music Honor Society of Tri M, walking to go and receive her diploma as part of Class of 2010 from Waubonsie Valley High School; The Warriors!!! It was a great day!!!

Have you ever gone through such a thing? How did you feel? Just share your 'frustrations' with me and everyone.

Cheers!!!

Sophie is One month old today! Hurray!

My grandbaby Sophie is exactly one month old today. As I opened my eyes today at 6.30 am, my mind went back to that day in April when she made her debut into this world of ours and into our lives. I started thinking about how tired I had been on that day because I had hardly had a wink of sleep due to the excitement.

You can see her with her grandparents from her dad's side on the left and her grandparents from the mom's side on the right.

But look at her. Isn't she lovely hmm, do you remember Stevie Wonder's song?

She has really proved to be a spunky little gal like her grandmama and I believe we are going to have a very grand time when she and her Mama come to visit us here in Chicago next weekend. They are coming to attend the high school graduation ceremony of my last child.

Speaking about my last child, have you noticed how stressful it is to get your child into the university these days? Hm! She had to be coached to excel in her SAT and ACT tests. After this came the applications to the many schools who kept sending tons of materials to her to persuade her to choose their school. Well I kinda felt proud that among the schools were the Ivy League schools like Columbia, Yale and Brown. It was like a competition; all because my girl had scored very high marks in both the SAT and ACT tests! Whew!

Of course I didn't want my baby going off to school on the east coast because it is too far from home and I will not be able to visit whenever I missed her. So you know what, I prayed and the schools closer to home offered her more scholarship which we couldn't afford to reject. So, she will be going off to a school in the very next State where her older sister, Sophie's mom is an alumni. Infact, they can't wait to see her 'cos Sophie's mom did so well there and graduated from there with a Magna Cum Laude! Yes, man! She excelled and is now in medical school. I thank God for His merciful kindness to me. I always pray that He will continue to keep me and my family safe from the storms of this life.

Do you pray at all? If you don't then you are one of the few people on this earth without any problems but I won't go into it now; another time.

Cheers!