Heavenly Father, I just want to appreciate you for making me so much more capable than you.
Remember that issue I prayed about and placed in your hands? The one you asked me to trust you?
Well, I have taken it out of your hands because…
well, you are …sorta slow
…and I had to exercise my free will…
And place it where it rightly belongs.
Where it will meet true resolution:
My Hands.
Thank you Lord. Amen
A friend of mine was crying profusely as she narrated to me a recent experience she had about a so-called self acclaimed man of God (I call them self acclaimed, because , well, one can see from their hypocrisy that they are not). Her story, coupled with some observations I myself have witnessed brought me to the following conclusion:
There are people who will seek to exploit your passion and devotion to God to build an empire for themselves in the name of God. They will lure you to think your hard Labor is a collaborative effort with them to build a kingdom for God; meanwhile they are using your sweat to build a name and empire for themselves. Once they get a little comfortable, you’re relegated to ‘servant’, where you will need to seek approval before you do anything for your Heavenly Father. If and when you raise a little concern, you’ll be seen as rebellious, and word will go around that you are planning to rebel against authority. You’ll find yourself suddenly caught in a wild net of confusion, anger, and guilt. And if you surrender by refusing to fight the wrongness of the situation you’ve found yourself in, (because, well, you don’t want to be an outsider- after all, everyone craves to belong, right?) You end up selling your soul to becoming a man-worshipper, a ‘yes Papa’ and ‘Yes Mama’ kind of Christian, and you forget the one true God you are meant to fear, serve and worship- all because you just don’t want to be the odd one out in the herd. Please note that these type of men and women do NOT exist only in Pentecostal churches; they are in all denominations: orthodox and nonorthodox. They have permeated EVERY denomination possible; so please, don’t go pointing fingers only at new generation churches.
Watch out for them. Do not let anyone make you a slave as you go about seeking how you may please your Heavenly Father. And please him you must.
One more thing: do not confuse church for church business. Do not confuse religion for church. You see, the church is God’s people, where there is no ambition or striving. The goal of the church is a constant seeking to please the one true Master- his name is Jesus. Forever and ever. The church business aka religion, on the other hand is worse than working in Coporate America. It’s full of striving and politics and strategizing, and characterized by the quest for position and power and authority. Full of all sorts of hard hearts. These are latter day Pharisees whose goal is to dominate and exercise authority over others.
In your work for God, be sure not to entangle yourself in the latter, and you will have peace and clarity of mind to seek how you may continue pleasing your Heavenly Father. Continue going to church but just be sure you delineate yourself from the fuzziness of religion.
And this is what I told my dear sister: Stop crying. See, the field is wide. The harvest, plentiful.
Cast your net!
Please your King!
Humans including me, I’m perplexed by us.
I read a strange story a while back; I’ll like to share it with you.
A flock of very much abused and diseased sheep were being prepped by their shepherds to be slaughtered. A man called Zechariah came along, took pity on the animals, and bought them from their owners. He decided he was going to love them and take good care of them.
Some time later, the sheep he had rescued and loved began to take him for granted. They eventually began to despise him. Their lack of appreciation brought this man to a state of burn-out, so much that he became apathetic and eventually decided to quit his job as their shepherd.
This is a man who had done nothing but provide love and care, perhaps, for years, for a group of diseased animals, and at the end of the day, he was tossed aside like the first slice of bread.
And is that not how we can sometimes be ourselves? We tend to walk all over people who truly care for us, who desire nothing but the best for us; but those people who use us to build their empires and their resumes, and buy flashy cars, and walk all over our rights as they grow more and more powerful – we fear and love and serve and applaud those people.
Case in point: Nigerian Politicians and the self acclaimed Nigerian men of God.
If you’d like to read the story for yourself, you can check it out in the Bible: it’s in Zechariah 11:4-13.
Be sure to show great kindness and honor to those who care for you. Don’t take their concerns and love for you for granted.
Have a great weekend.
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The Officer's Bride Trailer
Romance meets Life
Lara Daniels 