The Dream

I'm not one to dream about things like the rapture or the end times or any of such occurrences, however, God has the will to do as He pleases, and so i believe it is He who just gave me the dream I just had about the rapture.

I'll get right on with it and share what I feel led to. God is a VERY merciful and a VERY loving God, not wishing that any should perish, however, it is becomes out-of-His-hands when we choose to sin. Holding on to stuff like unforgiveness or even a "hidden" sin are two examples out of many that could prevent any person from making it to heaven. In the dream I saw something like a tick and a cross on the heart of a person and the tick got filled with blackness, which I immediately understood to mean that the person had failed at something... what? Unforgiveness. I dunno how I knew, but I instantly knew that that was the reason for the person's "failure".

God takes these things seriously and so should each and every one of us. It is why all we have to do is not implied but written in His word (as evidence). 

ü  Matthew  18:21 - 22 |KJV|

21. Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

22. Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

ü  Colossians  3:13 |KJV|

Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.

ü  1 John  1:8 |KJV|

8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

ü  Leviticus  19:17 |KJV|

17. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.

18. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

ü  Mark  11:25 |KJV|

25. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

26. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

ü  Matthew  5:23 |KJV|

23. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;

24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

ü  Matthew  6:12

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

ü  2 Corinthians  2:10 |KJV|

10. To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;

11. Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

I shared as many scriptures on unforgiveness as I could. Let's not let satan win by having unforgiveness in our hearts, neither by falling prey to any of his other schemes that lead to sin. We need to be vigilant by Watching, Praying, and Studying the Word - the very basics we've all been taught as Christians. In the end, when God says, "...depart from me." there will be no chance of repentance again; it would be too late!

We all need to check ourselves constantly, while doing our best to live right - exhibiting The Fruit of The Spirit. It is not easy but we have the Holy Spirit to help us, and thus, none has any excuse not to live right.

~ inspiredw0rdz

~ November 25, 2017

- 05:50am

The Thorns On The Rose

Any chain that has a weak link suffers because of that weakness. If nothing is done to fix this, the chain itself will eventually break completely.  There are certain who claim to be Christians (I say claim because only God knows if they truly are), yet behave in a manner opposite to one in the most deceptive of ways - hidden judgement. These are those who seem to know what is acceptable to God's standards and what is not. They stand at a distance and "judge" the lives of others with such innocence you would feel they were speaking truths. These so-called honest truths are their feelings about something, yet when did they attain the position of The God-head to decide what is the acceptable will for any one person? This just may be another sign of hidden pride unknown to they themselves or just plain ignorance on their part.

Whichever it maybe, it is sad and it is very destructive. Pouring enough water on a raging fire will eventually put out that fire. The more you dampen the spirit of a Christian doing his best to serve by your personal judgments of the person, for example, a gospel musical artist receiving an award, the more likely you are to kill that person’s reach to other lives that are in dire need of that reach. You cause men who should be smiling at the help being rendered to frown and withdraw from seeking the direction they need to Christ. You become the one that removes the sign board directing the lost souls to The Cross - Jesus, and His salvation. Such persons are just like the thorns on the rose that do not exactly destroy its beauty but cause more harm than good, by throwing off the desire of any who notices them from picking up a rose or two.

This is the behavior of the so-called Christians who feel they have attained enough discernment to know what God values in men and women who serve Him. Their view - a Christian should DEFINITELY not have anything to do with honor or fame or fortune. The idea of the world and certain so-called believers is that a Christian is a person wearing tattered clothing and as pious as a mouse, knowing nothing about wealth, fame or fortune because God is all about the poor and homeless. Thus, anyone who steps into the "light" becomes a questionable soul seeing as being honored is more "worldly" than it is "Godly".

These people are those who forget that it is God who allows any man to create wealth and that the child of a King is honored even by Him. They forget that God allows His own to shine in order to reach to the farthest corners of the world in order to reach ALL lives, rather than self-glory of the individual. Should a Christian lose sight of his calling and start to follow fame and fortune, then that would be a different story, but they that are focused on drawing men to God via their talents and get blessed or honored for it should be supported to reach farther to places that others cannot or have not. This is the team Spirit of Christianity - the support of a fellow laborer in the Kingdom!

A post was shared on my church choir page which led to a few inputs by a few of us, and a few emotions later, this article was born. I have never really been able to stand by and not correct things that require correction. Occasionally, we all turn a blind eye to things we know we should correct, but when something is impressed deeply on your heart you find no freedom till you get done what you must. Thus, here we are.

Rather than throw a cloth over the light source, it makes more sense to clear out the dust that may be hindering the path of the light it is emitting. The body is not one if it is lacking some part like the eye or ear or feet or hand or heart or lung or so. It will not function properly due to the lack of that part. Jesus, Himself, said;

"14. For the body is not one member, but many.  15. If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

16. And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?

17. If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?  18. But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

19. And if they were all one member, where were the body?

20. But now are they many members, yet but one body.

21. And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

22. Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:

23. And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.

24. For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked:

25. That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another." - 1 Corinthians  12:14 - 25 (KJV)

He knew the importance of supporting each other and so He admonished that we do. The work of God is not an easy one, but we make it easier when we help and support each other. So, rather than speak out against those who are honored for using their talents to the best they can with the focus of reaching out far and wide, let us support the work of our fellow servants in Christ. We are all flawed one way or the other, but remember the caliber of people Jesus called to walk beside Him to complete the work He needed to get done - fishermen, tanners, people who couldn't speak well or had some infirmity of some kind and others who were not so "special". He did not call the rich, famous and respected, but those that were looked down upon or even simply overlooked but who ended up becoming the most popular of people the world has ever known, and still talk about even now.

God honors men who serve Him with their talent, so why should men judge men when we, men, do same in honoring such men with the aim to help "boost" and appreciate their efforts?

~ yoyo

~ inspiredw0rdz

~ July 8, 2017 ; 8:20 am

LiFe in ChriSt

So, we are born, we live, we die. To what end, though, one may ask? We walk this earth for our allotted number of years or days, traversing lands and times, dreaming, seeking, and achieving, but for what cause? …for what purpose?? Yes, our life is ours to will, but ultimately, there must be a higher cause, no?

A life - my life, your life, his life, her life, our lives - must speak volumes! It must set an example - the right one - that others may follow in the right stead. The good thing is that this has been made a little easier by Jesus setting the pace. The advantage being the provision and guidance of The Holy Spirit for exactly this cause. Upon accepting Jesus as your Lord and PERSONAL Savior your life starts to have real meaning. Your will starts to mimic that of Christ’s knowing that in all things you do His will is the ultimate focus of achievement. Anything less or different is unacceptable because every “boss” has standards he sets in order to stand out.

Jesus came to die to bring salvation. He did not have to but His love was so deep that “…while we were yet sinners” (Romans 5:8)¹ He came to this very earth He created for His creation to die for that very same creation to save that creation from itself… from its sin! Man had not, and in fact and honestly, did not accept Jesus when He came to live amongst men even after all the good He, who is God, freely demonstrated amongst and for men, yet, knowing what His focus was - obeying the will of God - He stuck firmly to it deviating neither to the left nor the right. Jesus remains THE ONLY PERFECT EXAMPLE men must emulate. His life is one of an exemplary one, demonstrating humility, gentleness, kindness, patience, self-control, love, and forgiveness, all of which men lack in various volumes.

The truth is, yes, we have the will to choose how we wish to live here on this earth, but ultimately where will we end up come the end of time? When this life passes on by and becomes naught but a fading memory, where will your spirit end up? …with God for peaceful eternity, or with the devil for tormented eternity?? We may think we have the right to live “our life” anyway we so please, but the truth is, just because we have the ability to do something does not mean we should actually do it. The consequences of our actions could be devastating, and in most cases causes a rippling effect down the mostly innocent generations to follow. A life of jumping from one partner to another, for example, may seem like fun now, and may even in some ways seem like a rather wise decision, but when the coin finally flips over the result is not one that would be desirable. The “grey” areas, we call it, are actually those within the black or white regions that we men have decided to bend to suit our (ethical / Godly) beliefs simply to have the comforted freedom of carrying out questionable acts without question.

When you give your life to Jesus you automatically become a member of His team – Team Christians. In a team everyone works their very best to build up to the team to achieve the set goals. This is the exact same thing with Christianity; The Will of Christ ALONE must stand in His team – The Church. Confusion arises when believers start to bend the rules, when they start to blend the black and the white to get the grey they so desire. This raises concern as it affects many causing wondering thoughts about decisions and choices to be made. Unfortunately, it is here that majority of believers (who are not properly grounded in the Word of God) are influenced, amidst said confusion, resulting in poor decision-making.

Your life truly is not your own, it belongs to Christ because “you are bought with a price” (1 Corinthians 6:20)² that is light-years beyond priceless – The Blood of Jesus Christ! This simply means Jesus owns you and therefore your will as well. Going back to the question posed at the beginning of this piece: “Yes, our life is ours to will, but ultimately, there must be a higher cause, no?” The answer is a big fat YES! There is a higher cause than self-gratification, and it is service to Jesus Christ The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Obedience to His word is all He requires of you. It may not be an easy task, and honestly, it is not, but He has made provision by sending The Comforter [The Holy Spirit] to “…teach you all things” (John 14:26)³.

The inspiration for me writing this piece is a song titled “The Cause of Christ” written and sang by Kari Jobe. It is a song that made me think back on life and see what kind of a life I have lived. It made we wonder, “For what cause have I been living?” It caused questions and emotions to rise up within me knowing very well I have not done too well. The truth is as human beings we will falter but it is no excuse to fall and remain on the ground. We are to rise up, dust off, learn from our mistakes and move on, all the while focusing on THE CAUSE for our living - Jesus CHRIST!

Hopefully… reading through these lyrics will get you to take a second look at your life as well.

“The Cause of Christ” || Kari Jobe || Worship Together || Hillsong United 2016

Verse 1

The only thing I want in life, is to be known for loving Christ,

To build His church to love His bride and make His name known far and wide

Chorus

For this cause I live for this cause I'd die
I surrender all for the Cause of Christ
All I once held dear I will leave behind
For my joy is this, oh the Cause of Christ

Verse 2

He is all my soul will prize, regardless of the joy or trial
When agonizing questions rise,
In Jesus all my hope abides

Chorus

For this cause I live for this cause I'd die
I surrender all for the Cause of Christ
All I once held dear I will leave behind
For my joy is this, oh the Cause of Christ

Bridge

Jesus my Jesus, for Your glory, for Your name
Jesus my Jesus, I will only sing Your praise x3

Chorus

For this cause I live for this cause I'd die
I surrender all for the Cause of Christ
All I once held dear I will leave behind
For my joy is this, oh the Cause of Christ

For my Joy is this, oh the Cause of Christ

Outro

It is not fame that I desire, nor stature in my brother’s eye.

I pray it's said about my life, that I live more to build Your name than mine.

~ Yohan ODONKOR

~ inspiredw0rdz

~ February 4, 2017

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(1) Romans 5:8 (KJV): “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

(2) 1 Corinthians 6:20 (KJV): “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

(3) john 14:26 (KJV): “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

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