Posts Tagged ‘First Epistle to the Thessalonians’

So the 16th of March was Chude’s birthday (his 29th), and he was in London so it was inevitable that my day would revolve around celebrations of some sort. Only snag was, up till a few days to the day, we didn’t quite know what we wanted to do!

Lunch at a friends, lunch at a restaurant, party? We didn’t know. Next thing we knew it was a couple nights before and so we said we’d go to church, thank God for the new year, and then we’d be up for anything that followed.

Sunday morning we all made it to Jesus House (which is like the headquarters for The Redeemed Christian Church of God in London), and it so reminded me of House on The Rock in Abuja, there’s nothing like well-produced music! I mean I know it doesn’t happen that way but sometimes I think the better sounding the production, the further in front your praises are in the line to the Lord!

Then I heard Rev Adeboye was in the service, and it was like the kiss of my life! Daddy G.O was in church? Ahh, and we had planned to go for some other service before? Not sure I would have forgiven myself! I was extra expectant, I just knew God was going to bring a great word of peace to me.

Anyone who knows Daddy Adeboye knows he is soft-spoken, for me it is one of his most endearing qualities – all this ‘noise’’ in churches sometimes sha, SMH – I feel like I listen more when I’m not distracted by the minister yelling.

He said a short prayer, and then he went right into it. Reading from 1 Samuel 7:12, Romans 8:28, and 1 Thessalonians 5: 18, he talked about the ups and downs in our lives as being proof that we were truly living. He said, “when you take a heart test at the hospital, a flat line is never a good thing, it indicates death. A healthy heart has ups and downs”.

There were three questions too, designed to make us reflect on our lives, our walk with God, and generally the things we get up to.

  1. Where am I on this journey? Hebrews 12:1. Am I where God wants me to be?
  2. How much time do I have left? Joshua 13:1
  3. How will I end?

He said two interesting things about pride and the feeling of ‘I have arrived’. He said it takes 3 days to get to the moon but 4 and half years to get to Mars – what have you achieved that’s making your shoulders higher than your head?

Then he prayed, ahh!! Told us to pray for a birthday blessing for ourselves too, and after leading people to Christ, he was gone. Apparently, he stopped over (enroute another country), just for the service. Bless him!

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After the service (and cornering Pastor Agu Irukwu – thanks Yemi – to pray for Chude), it was off for another celebration at Anino’s cousin’s place. Lol, no see waka that day!

My Momma spoke with and prayed for Chude, Anino’s Momma sang and prayed for him too (how/why that reduced me to tears I will never understand but it did) and then it was time to eat!

PS – Anino’s momma is a darling and half! Love her to bits!

So, we ate, drank, literally stuffed our faces with food (while counting calories of course, lol), and then it was time to head home. There was lots of singing in the car as Anino’s momma dropped us at the station, and there were some lovely Ellen-inspired selfies too!

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Amazing day, I got home and literally passed out! Happy birthday Chude!

PS – here’s his account of his day here.

 

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Welcome to church!!

Sorry this category hasn’t been populated in a little while, doesn’t mean I haven’t been going to church. Ok I’ll be honest and say I have missed a few services in the last few weeks, but we’re back on track now!

Message for this week is titled: unveiling the mystery of sanctification and it was sometime in October 2012. Bible and notepad out yet?

He started by saying that the priority of God for everyone is sanctification. I Thessalonians 4:3-4  “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable,”

2 Timothy 2:19-21. If we are of God, we should be like Him in all things, including holiness. How else are we to walk/work with Him? Amos 3:3 says “Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”

Note that the righteousness we get by salvation can only be maintained by sanctification. Isaiah 59:1 Zechariah 3:3

Holiness is an observable trait, not a hidden secret; people should be able to see your righteousness in the way you speak and act. 2 Timothy 2:10

2 Thessalonians 3:3-7 There is a war waged against our righteousness day in, day out; that war is waged against our destiny.

In Luke 22:3, we see that “Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve”  and are reminded of the need to always remain too hot for the devil and his cronies to ‘settle on’. The same way flies never settle on steaming food, we should remain too hot for every appearance of evil!

Instruments The Enemy Uses to ‘Paralyze’ Our Lives

  1. The spirit of this world. 1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.  For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.”
  2. The lust of the flesh; the lust of the eyes
  3. The pride of life. Please read Proverbs 6:16 and  2 Chronicles 6:19. James 4:6 says “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”

What Has God Given Us To Overcome All Three?

1. The spirit of love. Romans 8:37. In order for us to please God our love for Him must never be in doubt. Romans 5:5

The commandments of God are only grievous to those who don’t love Him, and Philippians 2:13 posits that this deep love only comes via an encounter with the Holy Spirit. Next time you get an instruction from God and you feel yourself murmuring or complaining, ask yourself if your love for God is still ‘on point’.

2. Keeping right company. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.” The easiest way to miss it is to follow someone not headed in your direction.

How Do I Engage With This Spirit of God?

  1. Have a hunger and a thirst for pleasing God. Isaiah 55:1-2
  2. Engage your faith. Matthew 11:12

The major reward/result of sanctification is favor. Do you want to enjoy God’s favor? Please Him, by being like Him!

Have a super productive week!