Bonds

If Christians are back-biting, back-stabbing, and brewing unforgiveness in their hearts towards each other, then, how are we to influence the world, where all this and more is being done? We are to be the light - the way out - the solution to the problem, yet we are also a problem on its own. It is no wonder the world looks down on us and condemns us because we have the nerve to teach forgiveness and then turn around and hate each other! For a group of people who are to be imitators and then ambassadors of Jesus Christ... we sure are doing a bang-up job of it. The most powerful force in this evil world is LOVE (charity) and it can make possible the impossible, but rather than practice this... we choose to hate and fight each other. This is sad - The solution becomes the problem. Then does Jesus have to come down again and teach us how it's done? ...probably die on the cross again?? Well... that's NOT gonna happen! It was done once and for all, and then The Word and The Holy Spirit were provided for help. We just need to learn to use our resources right. Loving is by far the easiest thing to do in this world. Holding on to hate and grudges is such a weight to carry along with the hidden pride that comes with it. A proud Levite? ...unforgiving, back-biting and stabbing?? God Is Love! We cannot come into His presence with anything but that world-changing feeling of love!

It is either we learn to live with all of men as Jesus wants us to, or... not, but the consequences are on you and you alone. No one held your hand and led you to choose anything else over love. There is power in accepting others for who they are, learning to accept their annoying flaws (we all have them) and then finding a way to bond with them such that when the world sees the unlikely hood of two "strangers" becoming "friends" their interest is peaked and are then drawn to know what this difference is between the Christian and everyone else. This is the point where Jesus is so easily elevated.

This does not go so far out beyond our very own groups - choir, usher, pastor, teacher, evangelist, cleaner... etc. A chorister for example... standing on the stage with, i assume, what is the intention  to worship God, and yet... rather than be a team and share the microphone the way it should be in order to project a UNISON of voices and not just yours, you choose to not sing at all or stand back rather than share. To share does not go down well with you so you take hold of the microphone and it is yours and yours alone leaving your fellow part singer(s) to sing into the air, which by the way tends to cause a strain on their throat muscles as well as their voices. This is so very sad!

There's the vocalist and then there's the skillful instrumentalist who would rather overshadow the rest of the instrumentalists because he or she has got the skill and must be heard above all. How is that acceptance of your fellow brother who is also playing a role to bring beauty to worship, praise and ministration?? The pastors who horde the pulpit because they can preach best or the teacher who shows off his wisdom to demean his fellows, the cleaner who does his part and does it really well but will not help his fellow who needs the help in getting rid of some dirt lodged somewhere... these behaviors and more show a lack of Jesus living in us. This in turn draws, well... rather, pushes men away from Him. This therefore defeats the purpose of Christianity which is to draw men to God via Jesus using us as the light for direction through the darkness. If we are become darkness, then who leads who? ...and, where??

Jesus said in Matthew 22 : 37 - 39, KJV - "...thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." I believe Jesus was saying that the way you would care for yourself is the way you should care for your neighbor. The things you would do for yourself, do for the other and the things you wouldn't, do not do to that other. Romans 15 : 2, KJV affirms this - "Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification." We see here why we are to accept our neighbors and be fair to them in treatment; the one who does such good is edified. The same Romans chapter 15 and its verse 6 and 7 say; "That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God." This is the aim of Christianity - to bond with each other regardless of race, cultural and ethnic background... whether Jew or Gentile in order to glorify God as ONE PEOPLE!

My advice... put aside all pettiness and mature to this well-needed point of bonding with as many persons as is possible, friend or stranger, with the aim to bring glory to God as one body. #Selah

~ yoyo

 ~ inspiredw0rdz

~ September 28, 2015 ; 8 : 33 am

Killed It??

A thought run through my head of a comment passed by a fellow on a part of the worship night program my church choir holds each year - Touching The Father's Heart In Worship (TTFH). The comment got me thinking about man's perspective on things regarding "efficiency" of delivery. The guest choir did a number of songs while we, the host choir, prayed at the back as we waited for the second session of our program to commence. I listened intently as they sang and honestly i enjoyed what i was hearing, as i focused on the various vocal parts and the instrumentation that run in sync with them. I was focused on this most probably because i play an instrument and anyone who plays an instrument is normally unintentionally drawn to the part of music that he's involved with. Usually, it would be me and my team (choir) up there praising and worshipping with voices and instruments but i took the time to also enjoy being down there (backstage) to enjoy the music as one not on the stage creating it.

As is usual, at the end of the program many went round sharing greetings and taking photographs either alone or with family and friends, while smiles were shared abroad. Vaguely, i remembered that either at some point during that night or the next morning the comment that got me thinking was passed. Ill paraphrase; "...the guest choir did well but the 'Every Praise'... they didn't kill it." To a point, i understand why that comment was made. It is simply due to the fact that we are musicians. You see, the thing is, many times we tend to forget not to be so technical and judgmental, and thus rather than focusing on the reason for lifting up holy hands to God we focus on the execution of a musical piece - how good the sound was, how fine the voices were, how "on point" the instrumentation was, and... even, at times, the lighting.

So here's the thing. In our quest for perfection, do we lose sight of the reason for our doings? How do we know that that choir didn't sing out and play their best that night? How do we know whether God accepted or denied their worship? How do we know if He was very pleased with what they presented? ...and yet, here we stand as judges of sound-and-execution when even our (my choir's) very own presentation of praise and worship may be questionable in His sight. Is the aim of praise and worship supposed to be focused on being "On Point!"?? ....or, is it focused on Touching God's Heart, i wonder?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving your best to God; with being "On Point". In fact, we are admonished to give our very best to God always. It is why in the story of Cain and Abel, Cain's offering was rejected while his brother's was accepted. This was simply because Abel gave off his very best to God while Cain gave off his very worst! This can be found in the book of Genesis chapter four verses one through to seven. Personally, i feel that Cain's choice of offering (worship) was insulting to God (as ours can be, at times), and thus there was even a consequence in Cain not giving off his best which we all need to note down - God rejected his offering! So, it definitely is a must that we focus on giving God our best in all things, especially in praising and worshipping Him, while bearing in mind to do it the right way. Getting judgmental or "showy" in our execution of service to God is a wrong decision to make. It is of a far greater and better consequence that while you focus on Him you give Him your best and yet leave the rest to Him seeing as He is the Omniscient One, and... not you! He can read the hearts of men to know truth, and we cannot. What we think may be our best and acceptable to Him might actually be our worst and most unacceptable! ...while what we think may be our worst and completely unacceptable is what may actually be accepted as our best.

Going before God with as pure a heart as one can muster is key. This is because, if we happen to make mistakes in our execution of service but do it while focused on Him with the right kind of heart then He is definitely going to accept the offering offered. Why? Well, because... God looks on the inside of man (the heart) rather than on the deceptive outside, and a pure heart certainly catches His attention. In Psalms 24 : 4 - 5, KJV it says; "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." and in Matthew 5 : 8, KJV it also says; "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." and then there's also 1 Samuel 6 : 7, KJV that says; "...the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

Regardless of what we are doing for God, it is important to note that with God "the end (or outcome) doesn't really justify the means".  Singing, dancing or playing an instrument and doing so in an attempt to show off how good you are is quite the recipe for disaster! Remember Saul's disobedience to God's directive to wipe out everything involving the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15 : 1 - 23? How did that turn out for him?? God REJECTED him from being King! The funny thing was he simply thought that he was doing what was best for God. 1 Samuel 13 : 1 - 14 is an example of an attempt to do what we think is right before God which He, God rejects and rewards with punishment. Saul and all of Israel were afraid of the Philistines because of the number that had gathered to attack them and thus Saul thought it wise to offer a sacrifice to God in the absence of the prophet Samuel. The result was God cutting Saul's ENTIRE lineage off from being Kings! By the many examples in The Word of God, it is notably prudent to focus more on the heart with which you do what you do; to focus ENTIRELY on God and FORGET man! If only Saul had simply paid God obeisance and destroyed everything regarding the Amalekites, and also in waiting patiently for Samuel to arrive in order to do his duty before the war, i am entirely positive that things would have turned out very differently for him.

Give God your very best! ...and, whatever you find yourself doing for Him, "kill it!", but... in all your doings do this - revere God.

 ~ yoyo

~ inspiredw0rdz

~ September 24, 2015 ; 5 : 46 am

The_Inside

It is said that, 'All that glitters is not Gold.', and as well that, 'Looking upon the countenance of a man, one may be deceived into believing a truth that may actually not be the true one.', and my inclination lies in that direction. Seeing is not always believing, in fact, for the most part... seeing can lead to deception. That being said, let's back this up with some scripture. In the first book of Samuel, the sixth chapter and the seventh verse it is written; "...the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." It is clear from this text that God definitely does not look on the outside of things but rather on the inside.

On my way to work or town (i don't really remember) recently i witnessed something that gave me the idea to write this piece. The journey was about halfway through when the bus conductor started to collect the fares from us the passengers. As was the norm, he collected the money in rows of seats, and when he got to a particular passenger, the one stretched out an arm with the note squeezed up nice and tight in the palm. Now, my first thought was; "Seriously?!!", and then i turned to look at the countenance of the conductor (commonly called 'mate') to see his reaction. To my amazement, he just took the note out of the person's palm, straightened it up and added it to the notes he had already collected and then gave the passenger the required change. I sat and thought about the occurrence for a while wondering why the mate did not retort to the passenger handing him a 'messed-up' note. Right then a voice whispered; "It is not the outside of the note that matters, but rather its value." A little smile flashed across my face as i realised the folly of my wonderings. Then this part of I Samuel 6:7 run through my mind; "...for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

You see, the thing is, we have really come to rely upon our senses especially the one that is sight, and this causes us to sometimes fall into ignorance or hypocrisy. If that note handed the mate were shiny and fresh, had that fresh smell of air about it, and were handed to any one person as a gift there'd be no hesitation in grabbing it out of the hand of the one offering it, but the minute it starts to look all raggedy and nasty then we IMMEDIATELY fail to see its value. Truth is... it holds the same value! If only we'd wipe off that ignorance and look closely, we'd see clearly what truly is. Unfortunately, we repeat this behavior with our fellow man. Put a man in a suit and tie and give him a set of “expensive” car keys… he automatically becomes a millionaire worth something, but strip him of all of that and he's nothing but a beggar on the street! The funny thing is the brain in the being remains the same and unchanged, or... i should say, unedited.

Ignorance makes the majority of people look on the outer shell that can simply be polished rather than on the inner contents that remain naturally intact regardless of any changes wrought to the outer body. Rip or tear a currency note with a value of a one (1) and it still remains a currency note with a value of a one (1), but change its value from a 1 to a 1000 and now there's a difference. The same is true of man. He only changes in value when his mind and spirit learn and grow, and this can only be achieved by Prayer and the Study of The Word of God. A person may look like he has and knows it all but may actually be an empty barrel! ...while another may not look like much (in terms of looks) and may seem to know nothing but may have a world of knowledge embedded deep within. It is this we must learn to embrace - The_Inside.

It is necessary to emulate God on this one - looking on the inside rather than the obvious and deceptive outside. Truth always lies deep within. Searching the countenance of man for a truth or a lie would be a vain decision if the holder of said truth or lie decided not to reveal it. Prayer for discernment and the wisdom to grow are very necessary in this situation. Luckily for us, God made provision in His Word and in James 1:5, KJV said this; "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." All you have to do is simply ASK.

David certainly did not look like much on the outside - a ruddy boy born of a harlot left to watch over cattle - but on his inside, sitting ever comfortably and waiting for the opportune time to come out, was a King! His own father did not know this and had relegated him to the task of a servant, but God who looks upon the heart (the inside) knew this and thus when it was time to anoint His appointed, Samuel was led to skip ALL of David's brothers in order to find him. Thus, regardless of his brothers' structures being thought of by Samuel as the right one to fit the position, God who ignored the outward and focused on the inward saw what none else could see in this ruddy boy - A King! - and thus, David was sought for and called upon from wherever he was in the fields to be anointed.

The outside can be deceptive, but whatever lies on the inside... remains true. You are certainly NOT defined by your outside, but by what God defines you to be! He, in His own Word said; "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5, KJV. This applies to all sons of God. He knew us before birth and what we were ordained to do, and thus... the outside of us can NEVER be our definition but merely a marker of the processes God is taking us through.

I'd like to share a quote on something an inspiring man of God said a little while back today. He said;

"Your treasure is not in the shoes and clothes you wear...

Your worth is on your inside... the invisible gift and purposes of God which human eyes can't see...

It may be masked by a lanky body...

It may be disguised in a poor home...

It may be miscontrued by the value of the car you drive...

But make no mistake... the Lord said...

Before you were formed in your mother's womb... where you had no clothes education... money and fame, I already knew you and ordained you a minstrel... a preacher... a prophet... an encourager... a lecturer... a Ceo.

Now why do you wait to wear and appear a certain way before you believe I have called you to greatness?

Leave men to think what they want to. You need not look like wat you will become in order to get there. For our present and momentary afflictions and looks works for us a FAR Exceeding Weight of glory... May we enter our glorious destiny!

May our tomorrow make men doubt our today when they look back in Jesus' name! Amen." - Pastor Jonas Mensah

This declaration is pointing to all sons of God, and... I believe has said it all.

 ~ yoyo

~ inspiredw0rdz

~ September 15, 2015 ; 16:46 pm