Don't Land Ahead of Time

We are made in the image and likeness of God but we are greatly marred and dented by our sin nature so, we do not know as He knows, we do not understand like He does and we do not see like He sees. As a result, when God speaks to us, we understand in bits, know in bits and see in fragments instead of the big picture.

When God spoke to Abraham about being a father of many nations; in his limited understanding, he thought the performance will be immediate. When his patience wore thin and transparent, he took a decision based on his understanding and the consequence lives with us till this day.

Moses possibly knew from the moment he realized he was adopted that he was meant to deliver the Israelites. At the first rush of real testosterone, he committed murder. This sent him on exile for 40 years. I guess it is safe to assume that he delayed the deliverance of the Israelites by 40 years.

Joseph was kind of special and he knew it. God confirmed this to him through dreams and he couldn’t wait to brag about it. The consequence was a free and fast ride to jail with stopover at a deep, dry pit and Potiphar's wife’s clutches.

Even though Jacob knew that the birth right was his not by order of birth but based on the word of God (Esau have I hated, Jacob have I loved). When he felt God was slow concerning His word, he schemed, maneuvered and manipulated to get it. He got the birthright but with lean soul… he was a fugitive for 40 years.

In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, the word was God; through Him all things were made and there was nothing that was made that was made without Him. In other words, Jesus knew before the foundation of the earth that He was God even though He came to the earth as a poor baby.

When Herod wanted to murder him as an Infant, the God in Him knew and had the power to eliminate him but he spoke not a word.
When the old and learned were marveling at His teachings at age 12, he did not brag but received their complements gracefully.
Mary, I believe, was a mummy-copter (hovering mum) and wanted to rush Jesus into his ministry but He called her to order immediately; He did not address her as mother He actually said “woman, my time has not come”.
He could have escaped the cross and made the mockers and the soldiers evaporate and condense in the North Pole but He went through it.

A lot of us are driven and there is nothing wrong with that but there are times “driven” doesn’t cut it, you must follow God’s lead. In such situations, it’s either His way or the highway (yes ke, He can be tough like that).

Like a pilot you have to pay attention to the control Tower and until you have the permission to land, doing so will have long term consequences. Hover for as long as it takes; God will give you fuel. Panic to the point of peeing on yourself; God is not panicking, He is in control. Weep until your strength is gone; Jesus wept too. Feel forsaken, unloved, dejected and all the depressing feelings; Jesus felt them too.

Whatever the crises may be, let God talk you through it and make sure you have his permission before you land.

P.S.
If you landed without permission and you are dealing with the consequences, the God of Abraham, Joseph, Jacob and Moses will give you a fresh start and enough time to enjoy it.

Stop Looking at the Rear View Mirrow

If you made it to 2012 then, you are not walking backwards…congratulations!
If your eyes are not at the back of your head and your toes are still pointing forward … congratulation; you are not working backwards.

It is a new year so; God will do new things, in new ways and at the right time for you and your family. You will smell the rain and bud again. The sound of abundance of rain you heard was not mere imagination, blessings will rain in your home. You will have a manner experience in your derserts and your dry places will bring forth water.

You knocked, seeked, asked and waited ; God of Abraham, Sarah, Hanna and Elizabeth will come through for you. You prayed, hoped, trusted and believed in a God who is able; He will do exceedingly abundantly above your imagination.

God’s plan for 2012 is mutually exclusive of the events of 2011 so:

Rise again

Dream again

Hope again
Believe again
Walk again

And as you do so let your light shine and the glory of God be seen in your life.
It is a new dawn and a new season so God will turn the book of your life to the pages of thrill, joy and excitement.

You are laminated in God’s palm and your walls are continually before Him so He will take care of you.Take a joy ride into 2012 and do not look at 2011 through your rear view mirror…notin dey happen... od’eshi :).

Be blessed, be fruitful, multiply and have dominion.

I leave you in God’s hands. Happy New Year!

Show Me Where You Laid Him

Excuse me Jesus…I, Mary should show you where we laid him?

You came to our house without invitation; you went as far as bringing along an entourage whenever it caught your fancy and each time, we gave you five-star treatment. I sat at your feet and soaked in every word you said even when others thought you were old school and boring. Obviously you forgot my alabaster box and the day I wiped your feet with my hair.

For the first time I needed you…Jesus I mean, I needed you and what did you do? You bailed out on me! I saw you come through for others; you healed the blind, the deaf, the lame and most of them didn’t have any meaningful relationship with you. When it was my turn for a miracle you pulled a disappearing act.

Seriously Jesus…I don’t believe we are even having this conversation. My brother, who you claimed you loved, was ill and I sent an SOS to you …what did you do? You wondered off to God-knows- where then wondered in after an eternity and expect me to pretend that you are concerned.

Seated by his sick bed, I looked up each time I heard foot falls hoping it was you. Gradually, my brother slipped into a coma but I still hoped that you would come befor it was too late. The worst finally happed…he died!

With all your love talk, I thought his death would stir your milk of compassion but who am I kidding? A condolence visit was too much to ask for. At the wake keep, I kept looking at the entrance, expecting you to walk in at any moment and raise my brother but of course I was setting up myself for another round of disappointment.

If there were one person I was very certain would be holding my hand by the grave side; I would have sworn it would be you. I wept, lamented, wished I were dead but received no comfort. As if my loss were not bad enough, I had to deal with the sniggers and mockery of neighbors, who were asking where my Jesus was in all this.

You did not come for a hospital visit, you did not pay me a condolence visit, you did not honour my brother at the wake keep and you did not as much as dignify him with a good bye during the internment and now you want to know where we buried him? Seriously Jesus; are you for real?

Above would have been my reaction if I were Mary because; given the incidence, Jesus appeared super insensitive but, things are not always the way they seem. Jesus simply wanted to show Mary, through a first-hand experience, a side of Him that she was not acquainted with.

She knew Him as a carpenter, a friend, a healer, a comforter and a teacher but had not experienced Him as the One with resurrection power.

He doesn’t resurrect cold-blue issues only; He also resurrects cold-blue, tied-up, nailed-down- in- a- casket, buried and stinking ones. Just show Him where you buried it.
John 11

The Flip Side of Love

Love is the most popular four-letter word. Everybody is in search of love yet it eludes most of us...young, old, married, single, rich, poor, famous, nobodies, short, tall, ugly, pretty and what have you.

We all desire to be loved and we all deserve to be loved. Some people have survived because of love; others have died for lack of love

"I love you" is the most abused sentence of all time because, in most cases, the proclamation is not backed with the required actions. Love in my opinion is more of responsibility than emotions.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 has these to say about love:
Love is patient and kind.
Love is not jealous, boastful or proud.
Love does not demand its own way.
It is not irritable and it does not keep record of wrongs.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

We all have loved ones either by blood or by bond. Is the love we profess to them backed with the necessary level of responsibility?

Going by the book of Corinthians, when I say "I love you", I am inadvertently saying that...
There will definitely be times when you will try my patience but I will stick by you.
I owe you kindness whether I think you deserve it or not.
When good things happen to you, I will rejoice with you and when good things happen to me, I will not show off to you to the point of arrogance.
There will definitely be times we will disagree but if need be, I will be big enough to stoop and I will act selflessly.
If it happens to be a day, week or season when you are grating on my last nerve, I will keep my cool, I will have selective amnesia and not allow lack of forgiveness breed the seed of bitterness in my heart.
Even when I think you deserve it, I will not treat you unjustly and I will be upset if someone else treats you so.
In pain and in tears, through thick and thin, through storms and hurricanes, I will not only stick by you; I will also believe in you.

In a nutshell, "I love you" simply means that I know that you are imperfect but I choose to stick with you and forgive your imperfections.


"I love you" to me, means I forgive you in advance and at this point, I guess it's safe to say that the flip side of love is not hate; the flip side of love is forgiveness.

Love is not a destination; it is a journey...what a responsibility!

They Called Him Names...God Called Him Son

The date was 07 February 2010. I walked out of the church looking like a raccoon. I had cried so much that my eyeliner, mascara and tears were having a fellowship. I was not crying out of pain but out of joy unspeakable. I have had uncountable happy days but none of them holds a candle to this day. I dare say that this is the happiest day of my life, so far. Please don’t jump into conclusion; it was not my wedding, I was not dedicating a baby and I did not win a lottery. If these three things were to happen in one they, they will never compare to the miracle I witnessed on the day in question.

Let me say at this point that I took part in the most glorious church service, mind you; I’ve been to thousands of services. It was not TD Jakes or Paula White preaching. The service was not in the US or the UK; it was at Asapa right here in Lagos. There were less than 50 people in the congregation. The venue was nothing classy by any standard… a canopy with white plastic chairs, over-decorated podium and basic public address system.

What made the service super special to me was the preacher. He is someone that the world gave up on…friends, family friends and enemies alike. He was called names to my hearing. Some called him useless, others called him good-for-nothing and hopeless. I have heard people say he will never amount to anything. Based on his riotous lifestyle, maybe these people’s perception of him was justified.

God’s extravagant mercy never stops to amaze me. The same person who was called good- for-nothing, He called perfect-for-my-vineyard. The person that the world called useless, He anointed and called useful. This same person who the world considered foolish, He has used to confound the wise. Even though he was called hopeless, God said “I believe in you”.

On the 07 February 2010, I witnessed what God meant when He said, “is anything too hard for me?” I can stand up right now, look God in the eye and answer “no Lord, there is nothing too hard for you, I am the one with a challenge; my faith wavers when you appear out of sight”. If I were to have a baby right now, I won’t hesitate to name him/her Ifeanyichukwu meaning, “there is nothing impossible for God”.

The best part of this gist is that the person in question is my younger brother, Dede. He didn’t just preach, he ministered the word of God in spirit and truth…he didn’t interpret the bible into what people want to hear, he spoke without doing injustice to the word of God.

I wish Mum and Dad were here to witness God’s answer to their years of prayers. I love you Bros and may God keep you and keep the oil on your head fresh and flowing.
I lift one request up to God; I ask that the same way He came through for my family that He comes through for yours and touch any issue of prodigality you may be dealing with at this time IJN…Amen

To My Big Sister, Mrs. Nimi Akinkugbe

My first encounter with you was in the pages of the “May Concert” brochure in April 2003 and my first impression was ... “oh she’s a very beautiful woman”. We eventually met vey briefly at the ground floor of the then Investment Banking & Trust Company when you came back from vacation. I must say you made a very good and lasting impression. After then, we occasionally ran into each other at the corridors of the bank and we exchanged brief pleasantries.

Sometime in the course of 2003, I disappeared from work to nurse my brother, who was very ill. It was meant to be a 4-day trip but the four days turned into four weeks. You were one of the very few people who asked for my where about. You called me at the hospital and you made efforts to facilitate my brother’s treatment at UCH, Ibadan.

When I came back to work sometime in December 2003, I found a cheque, a note and a Christmas card, which you left in my drawer for me. You will never know how far that went.

Between November 2003 and December 2009 (precisely 6 years), my life was a cocktail of dramas, which I did not orchestrate and would never have been a part of if I had a say in the matter. You were one of the people who held my hands as I went through the trying period.

Thank you for being very thoughtful towards me and my siblings.
Thank you for those text messages you sent just to check on me.
Thank you for the cash gifts.
Thank you for the material gifts.
Thank you for the times you made your shoulders available for me to cry on.
Thank you for standing up for me at work when occasions called for it.
Thank you for believing in me.
Thank you for stretching the hand of love, “ big sistership” and friendship to me.

You are one of the very few women who are confident enough to recognize, appreciate and acknowledge the good in other women and I salute you for that. You are beautiful on the outside but most importantly you are very beautiful on the inside.

The most I can do is to appreciate you but I know that all you’ve done for me is like a loan to God so He will definitely reward you with interest.

Remember, you have what it takes to give Suzzy Oman (not sure of the spelling) real run for her money so bring it on!

I love you deeply and may God guide your steps and hold your hands as you start this new phase of your fabulous life.

For All the Right Reasons

As I chewed on the real meaning of Christmas, I made up my mind that I will have a fabulous Christmas. As we “speak”, my Christmas tree (all 19 inches of it) is up and standing as well as other bits and pieces that spell Christmas. My desk is housing a 3-inch Christmas tree plus a jar of chocolates in Christmas colours. My Christmas carol is subtly serenading me from my desk top. The whole idea is that Christmas is a very special gift from God and I will receive it with both hands and with one million megawatts smile.

The real reason for Christmas is; Love, Hope, Joy and Peace.

God looked down at the deep-seated hatred in the hearts of His children and He figured that the only way out is to send true love. He sent it in the person of Jesus Christ.

The hopelessness He saw in our eyes broke His heart because, He feels what we feel and hurts when we hurt so He sent us hope in the person of Jesus.

The broken hearted, the sick, the needy, the bereaved etc are striped of their joy because of all the wrongs in their lives. God chose not to ignore the situations so, He sent Joy in the person of Jesus.

There was chaos and tumult in our hearts, homes, neighbourhood, towns and nations. Positive thought, conferences and summits could not bring the needed peace. God sent us peace in the person of Jesus so that peace in our hearts will crystallize to peace in our homes and cascade down to peace in our neighbourhoods, towns, nations and ultimately peace in our world.

Love, hope, joy and peace are not destinations; they are ways of life and continuous journey till we meet God in eternity.

To the unloved, I say…may the love of Jesus be shed abroad in your hearts.
To the hopeless, I say…for this reason, the Son of God was made manifest; to destroy the works of the enemy.
To the joyless I say…rejoice in the Lord your God, again I say, rejoice.
To those who feel drowned by the storms of life, I say…may the peace of God that passes all understanding dwell in your heart.

To all those who life has given reasons to think that tomorrow is not worth it, may I remind you that Jesus came to ensure that your tomorrow is worth it. He came to give your life a meaning, He came for all the right reasons. He came so you can give your tomorrow a chance.

Rise from your ashes, wipe your tears, believe again, hope again, dream again, laugh again, and rejoice again.

Merry Christmas!