A Royal Priesthood

Hiiii ..


It feels weird being back here. I haven't blogged here in over a year. I've just had too much going on with me, but thankfully God placed it on my heart that i really need to get back to doing this.. I'm hoping to enlighten and encourage others.


Anyway, today I'm going to share a sermon from church. I took some notes, which i have copied below. I hope you learn a thing or two. I'll get back to blogging full swing really soon, sharing my opinion and going on and on about my thoughts ;), but for now  ......enjoy.




Bible Readings:
1. Exodus 19:3-8
2.  1 Peter 2: 4-10

Sermon : A Royal Priesthood

Basically, as God's children we have been called by God. Hence we are a royal priesthood meant to serve Him in spirit and in truth and with all our hearts and might. We serve Him:
- by bringing him our worship,
- by bringing him our sacrifices (going out of your way for Him)
         * 4 kinds of sacrifices we offer to God:
                                     Our bodies are living sacrifices.
                                     Sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
                                     Sacrifices of our substance
                                     Doing good and sharing with others- by acting as a bridge between Him and the rest of the world. He has called us to "serve God with praise .. making known God's desires and works to the nations."
( Do you do that? Personally, I am not sure I do. In order to do we really need to give Him our all. Sorta like acknowledging that He is the one who gave us life and provides everything we have. We must always strive to be good stewards, because we will be accountable)

Ok, now that being said, we take the word of God for granted. We have the word of God is at our disposal, we can read it whenever we want to, but do we? How then do we expect God to speak to us and through us? Now you can find hard copies of Bibles almost everywhere in the world, you can find a Bible online by using your computer, phone, IPad, tablet etc, so really, what the hold up? As people who claim to be led by the spirit of God, we need to read and study His word. It's just another way of communication and having fellowship with God because He speaks to us through his word, so we need to read it and go HAM like we are studying for an exam.It's God's word and we take it for granted (I am so guilty. Even when I did my morning devotion, I would sometimes read the commentary and ignore the actual passage..idk, laziness, complacency..sigh) . 


Did you know that as a royal priesthood we have immediate access to God? We don't necessarily need a pastor or priest to talk to God for us, we can have our own personal convos with God. We can pray directly to him and he will answer our prayers. If we need direction and we ask His Spirit to do so, he will someway, somehow give us the answers, lead and direct us (it's just that sometimes because we are stubborn and want things to go our way we ignore His voice and His signs) Plus, since every child of God has something to offer, we can also minister to other people, share his word, and share the gifts He has given us. 

Okay now we need to realize that we do not have this great opportunity to know God just be chance. God chose us out of his own initiative and because he is merciful not because we deserve anything from him. So, you best recognize. God really didn't need to send his son to come die for us so we could be saved but hey, He did it anyway, because He is kind, loving and merciful. God chose us (Exodus 19: 5b), we are His treasured possessions, and we must downright act accordingly (John 15:16).



So, let's not forget that we have been chosen by God, as a royal priesthood, called for privilege, obedience and service (Hebrews 10:19-20). Let's all strive to be what God wants us to be and act in ways that are pleasing in His sight then.


Ok, so I hope this has been a blessing. 


xoxo

Dreaming The Second Coming

Every year I have at least one unique dream about the second coming. Each one has its own highlights and no two are ever the same. For one of them last year or two, the sun actually turned black and the moon was blood-red. I woke up just when the stars were about to fall on earth... All these dreams had one thing in common, besides their theme; they felt so REAL!

Yesterday when I went to bed I had my first Second Coming-dream for 2011. In this one, a huge huge massive ball mass rolled across the earth's centre like someone had thrown a bowling ball, creating a path for all on the planet to see. Next the moon drew closer to the earth and It became so clear in the sky like a huge huge tent! it finally went past the earth and gave way for something spectacular! The earth had become sorta spacey dark and out of no where I saw giant enormous iron/brass feet stomping along the path created by the ball mass. The whole earth shook! I was afraid but expectant. Finally I saw the face of the mighty one with the iron/brass feet. There and then I knew he was God/His Son/some heavenly being. He was attached to a beast (I didn't get to see its face) at his lower part. But unlike mythical centaurs who have their bodies attached to the front of their animal feature, this being had his attached to the hind legs of the beast, kinda like he was riding a chariot. His hair was fierce and his face glowed with an immortal masculinity. He was neither black nor white nor Hispanic nor Asian nor from the Middle East. His race seemed unknown, his skin color kinda like some precious metal (grey silver-ish iron-ish brownish... I don't know).
And as he traversed the path that was cleared for him, he gathered smoke and bronze dust behind him and the souls of the righteous ascended in the bronze smokey-dust.
Where was I? Was I taken along?... Well no. If I was taken along then I wouldn't be here would I? I was just an observer as usual. Kinda like John during the Revelations, except there was no angel to do any narrations.
So that's Second Coming Dream number 1 for this year. Meaningful or meaningless, I'm still putting my act together. You?

Thanks for Happiness

Dear God,

It's me again. I haven't really been faithful to you and my new year doesn't really feel like it has you in it anymore. Sorry, really I am.... But I want to thank you for all that you continue to be to me, even though I'm not exactly on your righteous list. Makes me miss all the possibilities of your abundant love and blessings.

My weekend began really well. I had a beautiful feeling on Friday. At first I thought it was because I had been listening to all that Coldplay, Kano and really good music on my ipod but just a couple of hours ago I realized it was a premise to something you were about to show me.
This morning's you taught me to lay back and enjoy the simple pleasures. I thought I would go out and hang with friends but nooooo! you cancelled all my plans and showed me the art of fine living, the abundant blessings you have surrounded me with: cable tv, fresh air, quiet and solitude, a couch and my adorable rottweiler Karma.

In the end you blessed me with that beautiful idea that is so ingenious it could only come from heaven. I'm forever grateful, my Father, my God, my King.

Yours,
Me

P.S. Shirley says hi.

THANKFUL

It's Thanksgiving!!! Yayy!! Can't wait for the turkey dinner!!

But on a much more serious note.. what are you thankful for this year? Let's give God the praise He deserves.

I dunno about you, but after I graduated, life just became a battlefield. Everything oh, my future was jus all over the place (it still is, actually, but things are coming together slowly), my summer was just not that great (though from the outside one will think I had the best summer ever), but I've had a lot on my mind.. life is just hard. lol

But alas, I've also learnt a lot..

- When you find yourself in hell, the best way out is to go THROUGH it.

- At some point you just need to cast your burdens unto God. Get on that 'Jesus, take the wheel, step on the gas, and get me the hell outta here' swag..and trust that He will cos he totally will.

- Don't worry too much. Just pray, do you and leave the rest to God. (I realize now, that if I knew what would have happened to me this week, I would have spent the time i spent worrying on productive things like studying, cos now God has sorted out that aspect of my life and now I am here stressing about all the crap I have to study within the next 3weeks and I honestly dunno how I'm going to do it. sigh... )

- Some people are just in your life to stress you out and give you pimples. lol. Don't let them get the best of you.

- Some people don't know you but feel the need to discuss you over vodka and ice. lol. Eventually, they will bite their tongues and stop.

- When you reach the lowest point in your life, that's when you know your friends. The people who still checked up on u etc, basically showed that you matter to them, keep those people close to your heart. They are the friends worth having.

- Everybody talks about everybody. Get used to it. Its not always with malicious intent, so you can't always take these things too seriously or else you are worrying yourself.

- Give everybody second and third chances, God did the same for you. However, once you know someone's character, just be careful.

- NOT EVERYBODY WANTS GOOD THINGS FOR YOU. DON'T PUT YOUR BUSINESS OUT THERE!

- Fasting is very effective. lol, like joke, it always works for me. Like when I 'gyiga' and I fast seriously, things fall into place.

- Life is hard, but don't fuck it quite yet.. hehe, i dun even know why I said that.

I'm not sure I had a point when I started typing , cos I'm not quite sure I'm making any point... I'm jus typing chao..so I'm going..

todoloooo!!!

Give Thanks with a grateful heart!!

The Will Of God

Hi lovely people!!

So I went to church today, and the sermon was on The Will Of God. I hope God's Will comes to pass in everyone's lives, Amen. That being said, I'd like to share an analogy the pastor gave, which I thought was interesting.

Imagine there is a stream, and kids try to create a dam in the middle somewhere, ok. What happens? The dam might keep the water for a while, but after a while the water either finds its way around the stones or pushes the stones away with a greater force, right? Especially if there's a storm or something. Well, its the same with God's Will - sometimes there are circumstances, internal and/or external forces, bad decisions, wrong choices, indecision, errors, temporary failures, enemies trying to just hinder your progress (like joke), and all these things try to block the God's Will from coming to pass in your life. However, His Will always comes to pass, one way or the other, there is always a way.. it might take a different form, change drastically or ever so slightly, you may go through through all sorts of hell, but like the water behind the dam, with persistence (prayer, fasting, hope, endurance, hard work etc).. there is always a way. It may be mad slow, but it always comes... that is, if its His Will.

Best Wishes,
Shels

Helloooo...

Hellooooo....

Hellooooo....

Can you hear me?






Silence?

Hellooooooo....

I feel like I'm having a one sided conversation. I'm always talking, always ranting, always complaining, and You don't say anything. I want You to talk to me. I wish You would just talk to me. I guess You can call me lazy, for not trying to understand through the little things You do. Maybe its human nature, or again, maybe I'm just lazy. I really just want You to talk to me. I want to have some form of dialogue, like when I chat with my friends and family. I want you to say something funny, and I want to be able to get the joke. I want to say something funny, and know if You feel disrespected or You also find it funny. I want to be able to ask the difficult questions, without being judged by others who might be listening. I want to be able to tell You about my ideas and theories without being afraid that I might get struck my lightening. Is it alright if I talk to You about issues like homosexuality? Is it okay if I have a discussion with you? Will you give me an instant heart attack if I said something like 'Well, God realized human beings need to learn to live with and understand people who are different, so there are people who are non-conformists, like lesbians and gay guys. Live with them, respect them and do not judge.' or 'Is that just some evil strain of who-knows-what that we need to fight', 'sin or no sin, is it in the Bible, i must have seen it somewhere, but I'm not too sure'? I wish I could just have a conversation with You. One that didn't involve me doing all the talking. One that didn't involve me waiting for answers. Like the one you had with Abraham, Isaac, Elijah, Paul etc..

Can I handle it though, or will it blow my mind right into insanity?

Sigh. I get frustrated sometimes. I just thought I'd let You know. Please show me what I'm looking for, before I really go insane.

FYI Lord....

Dear God,

It would interest you to know that you may have put a psychic power in the brain of a German sea animal. Yes Lord, I'm sure news has reached heaven about Octopsychic Paul. He's doing wonders and making a name for himself by predicting World Cup results and so far he's had all predictions right. Today if he doesn't get his prediction right, he'll be 'dinner for 8' by 9pm tonight (personally I think they'll eat him anyway).
So what should we expect next, an election outcome predicting crab? That should be interesting. I'm probably going to get me a pet that can tell future outcomes (an edible one just in case it predicts wrongly).

Rock of Ages

In my solemn times I've always found myself singing this particular hymn. It never bores, it never tarries to surface in my mind. It's the one song that draws me back into the loving arms of God whenever I go very astray. The one hymn that gives me good rest when I'm so very tired. The

I'm a difficult man, but I break down and weep bitterly when I sing:

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.

Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to the cross I cling;
naked, come to thee for dress;
helpless, look to thee for grace;
foul, I to the fountain fly;
wash me, Savior, or I die.

Close to Us

What a Might God we serve indeed
A thundering splendour, yet a loving Father
His Grace is free for all in need
His Glory from one other to another

His watchful eye is always over us
Our mortal bodies he keeps in his embrace
Whether we walk, glide, or ride in a bus
He lead the way to the next place

Our God is ever so near, yes he is
Through our valley and fear, his word still is
"I will never leave nor forsake you, my child
Only let your heart be trusting and true"

Broken Toys :)

I'd like to share a song that my grandpa and mum really liked when I was younger. Back then the only lines that caught my attention were 'chasing pretty rainbows' and 'broken toys'. lol

Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows?

Are you tired of spinning round and round?

Wrap up all the shattered dreams of your life

And at the feet of Jesus lay them down.

Give them all, Give them all,

Give them all to Jesus

Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys

Give them all, Give them all,

Give them all to Jesus

And he will turn your sorrow into joy

He never said you would only see sunshine

He never said there would be no rain

He only promised us a heart full of singing

For the very thing that once brought pain.

Give them all, Give them all,

Give them all to Jesus

Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, broken toys

Give them all, Give them all,

Give them all to Jesus

And he will turn your sorrow into joy

Give Them all to Jesus

At the feet of Jesus lay them Down

By Christy Lane- Give 'em all to Jesus

Sending a 'pick me up' your way. Whenever you feel down, depressed, tired, unloved, and ready to give up.. whenever you feel like the whole world must definitely be against you .. whenever you feel like everything is too heavy for you to bear, just remember that you can just lay them down at His feet. He will always be there. He will always make a way. Sometimes we go through down phases in order to grow spiritually, emotionally and mentally. So always look at these down times -- the shattered dreams, the wounded hearts, the broken toys ... ya, the broken toys :) -- as opportunities to learn something new (perhaps how to mend a toy? haha, or a sign that its time to play in the sandbox instead :). Don't fret about anything, just LET GO & LET HIM. :) xoxo

Latent Questions - Creation

Dear God,


What were you up to before you created the universe?

How did you come about the Adam and Eve (man meets woman) concept?

If we were created in your image and likeness, do you have a penis?

If Adam hadn't shown signs of loneliness, would you have created woman?

What were the other alternatives you considered before settled for woman?

So the other planets are just hanging there, just for show? Were you being creative or were you just showing off?

Why so vast a universe? You seem to like confusing us.

If you didn't want us to know good and evil, why did you plant that tree - especially right in the middle of the garden??

So I don't quite understand how Adam could just name so many animals; what kinda name is hippopotamus??!!

If we were still in the garden of Eden, what would procreation be like: where would it take place (randomly like dogs?), how would we pair up? Would there be such a thing as polygamy?

If Adam and Eve were the first of mankind, how did their son, Cain, find a woman in another town to marry? Did Adam and Eve procreate sporadically or were you busily moulding more clay on some other part of the earth?.... WAIT! now I've got it! You WERE busy moulding clay, that's how you appeared in the garden after they had sinned. I've always known that if you had been watching, you'd have prevented that sinful act in some way.

What's the big deal in eating a fruit anyway? You could have hidden the knowledge of good and evil on another planet instead. Maybe man would've been naive for a longer time until we discovered how to space-travel. Now you see, since Eden, the world had had to got through a lot of issues. You like the drama, don't you?
How did Adam know what to 'do' with Eve? Did she come with a manual?

So let's get this straight: Out of eternal boredom or something else you made the world, put unblemished humans in a garden, planted a very tempting tree right in the middle and let a 'serpent' loose on them?... Something is definitely wrong here. Either you are a puppet master who experiments with his toys or the Author of Genesis was NUTS!

I'll settle for the latter because I've known you for a while now and you're no puppet master. My questions still hold but I'll wait till I see you so we discuss them over a heavenly brunch? Do you have sushi or Chinese food in heaven?

INNER PEACE

Sometimes its hard to understand

Why things are the way they are

Why good things happen to bad people

And bad things happen to good people

Sometimes its hard to comprehend

How the world ended up so cruel

Why people act selfishly and shamelessly

Why people seek the downfall of others

Sometimes its hard to understand

Why the good people die

And why God asks you to forgive

When we will never see our loved ones again

Sometimes its hard to comprehend

Sometimes its hard to Forgive

Always its hard to forget

Always its harder to talk to God about it

But when you do

Oh, when you do

Sigh... such relief

Sigh... inner peace

For He calms our fears

For He soothes our aches

Though we refuse to understand

That He sorts out all in due time

Once we ask, When we ask

He grants us peace

He calms our fears

He soothes our aches

Would I?

Dear God,

What if you actually lived among us? Would we be more obedient knowing that you are with us or would we sin more knowing that you'll be visibly ready to forgive? It's something I'm thinking about this very moment. What would you look like? What would you wear? Would you live on top of an 'Olympian' mountain in all your bellowing splendour, with thick fiery clouds surrounding your abode, or live like an ordinary human, picking the bus with us? Or would you live as King of the world (I think not)? Would you visit us from time to time and actually have fellowship with us? Would you perform miracles overtly? Would you behold a woman and conceive a demi-god (I think you've done that already but with style)?

Would I love you more? Yearn for you more? Pray more (or less)? Speak of you more? Bask in your glory? Climb to 'Olympus' in search for you, the truth, answers? Would I ask for too much or less; or nothing at all?

Would you be black? White? Asian? Hispanic? Caucasian? Blonde? Red neck?

Would the devil have to live with us too, you know, for balance? Would hell be just around the corner?

Would I still have to work or school? I hope that's a NO.

Conviction

Dear God,

I was having a discussion with a friend about faith, religion and belief. First of all let me say that he's willing to believe in You if only he gets logical answers to his questions. He's just very technical and doesn't want to believe that there are some things that cannot be logically explained... Before I continue, let me just say THANKS for seeing me through last year and letting me smell 2010. I'm sure for you the year passed within the blink of an eye. That must've been a very LOOOOONG blink!!

So this guy thinks religion is just a hoax that has influenced the whole world and created some sort of stereotypical behaviour that's supposed to create and maintain social order. Truthfully Lord, he made a lot of logical sense. He also made sense when he said that when we're socialised in a family that practises a particular faith then that's what we'll automatically believe is the right one and what shows Christianity is the true worship of God and not Islam or Buddhism. After all they are all worshipping a higher being and your justification for one religion is as good as for the other. Or yet still, is there a God that is so all-knowing that he could predict the future and didn't do anything to stop the devil from causing so much chaos in the world?

Lord, I almost doubted your existence one but I jumped right back into your arms. While I was wondering and trying to lose my faith, these exact same question came to mind and oh my God, they were so strong and logical. But for grace I would've concluded there's no You and life is just a big mystery that would be figured out sooner or later. But then I began to consider the things no one has been able to explain, things that are obviously not hallucinations or tricks of the mind. How the firmaments are beautifully formed and how no one can ever figure out how the universe came to be and how far it stretches. I remembered the days that I knelt down and prayed and had instant amazing breakthroughs. I recalled the joy that I feel when I'm in your presence, the indescribable serenity and security that engulfs me when I cry out to heaven for help. All these little things that the scientists and atheists can't explain are proof enough that you are Alpha and Omega.

I admit, there are things I cannot even attempt to explain. But that's my logical basis for believing in a Supreme Being. What makes me believe in You, my dear Father is the conviction of your Spirit - that conviction that is the source of my faith and love for you. So if I ever incline towards atheism or an ounce of doubt, Lord, convict me!

Faithfully,
Ananse

Dear YOU

Dear You,

     How are You? I know I never bother to ask. Well that's because I am sure you are doing just great! I'm the one with issues. Today, however, I have not come to rant and rave about my issues, and what You are doing about them, or why You are being super slow about it all. Nope! Today, I'm really just saying, Hi! Wassup! I love YOU. You've been good to me, and all my loved ones. I love You because You created me. I love You because You love me, and I love You because even though the rest of the world may have lost all hope in me, You never have. I love You because You cared enough to sacrifice your son for me, and I love You because even though I can be such an ungrateful naughty kid sometimes, You have not disowned me. I wonder why it hasn't crossed your mind though. I wonder about a lot of things actually. Like why I have never seen your face, or why I have never heard your voice. Then I realize that You do talk to me. You do show me your face. All I need to do is listen to that still voice. I must admit its very hard, because there is so much noise. I can barely hear You. How do I work on that? Please help me.
     I thank you for your kindness. I thank you for your mercies. I thank You for your comfort, and I thank You for the wonderful plans You have for me. I thank You for the opportunities, as well. Now all I need to do is learn how to recognize them and make the most out of them.. but yeah, thank You for providing them in the first place. Thank You for all the good things around me, and all the tiny little things that bring me so much happiness and joy. Thank You for protecting me from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence as well. Thank You for good health and loved ones. Thank You for miracles! Thank You for unexpected amazingly awesome miracles! Gosh, I'm so glad that I'm alive... so in everything I give Thanks to You. For my myopic vision cannot be compared to your absolutely perfect one. So I trust You totally and completely, and give You my life, my heart, my soul, my being... not just because You own them in the first place, and can take them just as easily as You gave them to me, but because You care for them better than anyone else, even me!

                                                                                                                                 Yours, Me

Who do you look to?

'I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made Heaven and earth. He will not let my foot be moved. He who keeps me will not slumber.......' Psalm 121

For some reason, I have been so vimless these days. It's really crazy. I don't know if any of you have ever gotten to a point in your life where for some reason you feel too lazy to read your Bible. Too lazy to have your quiet time and meditate, and too lazy to pray for yourself. Funny thing is I found time to stop in the middle of the day and say a short prayer for other people that I cared about. Yet I couldn't pray for myself. I dunno why. Maybe I thought my problems where so many and if i started praying, it would end up praying for like 30 minutes or something. Or maybe I just didn't want to deal with my problems, because in order to pray about something, I would have to think about it first, and I didn't want to have to deal with that. Ok, now I'm sure you think I have some pleeeeeeeenty problems. I probably don't. Hmmm... But life after college seems to be a big one. Extended family issues seems to be another one. Just those two are enough to give me a headache. I guess another thing is that somehow I figured that God would always be there for me, and He knows my needs, my dreams, my aspirations, my musings and my confusion .... or maybe I was just being lazy and stupid. Who knows. Anyway, I prayed yesterday.. it took a lot for me to pray. Yet after I finished I felt so relieved. I felt like I had just spoken to my long lost friend. My friend who was always 1 step behind me and 2 steps ahead of me at the same time. The friend who protected me from 'the snare of the fowler' and who 'sent his angels to take charge of me and guard me in all my ways ... ' (Psalm 91).  I felt so relieved yesterday, because I felt like I had properly poured my heart out. I even prayed for all my friends that I was worried about. Those who were sick, those who were looking for jobs, those with relationship problems etc.. Felt so much better than my random one minute 'Oh God, How are You? I know You are well. I'm also well. Please guide me through the day. Amen' or 'God, you said by your stripes we are healed. Please heal so and so person. aMEN'. Not that there's anything wrong with those short hurried prayers on the tube. However, its always good to spend more time with God, have a conversation with him, and pour your heart out. Trust me, when you are done, you'll feel so much better.

So here's my question for the day.
When you are in need, when your friends are in need, who do you look to? For who you look to will greatly affect your mood, your perspective, and the result you get!

Peace and Love ppl!

I Look To You - Whitney Houston

Then what?

I had a discussion with a relative some years ago which brought back something I had wondered about since childhood. I hear bereaved people say things like "I know he's in a better place now", or "I'm not worried because I know she's in Heaven now" and I used to wonder why they thought that. My relative was saying how she does believe there are such things as ghosts but she doesn't believe that everyone who dies becomes a ghost because otherwise her father (who passed when she was a teenager) would have intervened in her life in some way and prevented past misfortunes from befalling her.

Before we had this discussion, I thought of ghosts as a useless topic. I never thought of a ghost as something that could actually offer comfort to someone. My relative would have felt better knowing that her father's ghost was with her, looking out for her. She made me realise that people don't always see ghosts as scary. At the same time, I realised how focused human beings, even Christians, can become on the here and now.

How do you know what happens to people when they die? The Bible really is sufficient and as I grew up and fell a little more in love with searching the scriptures, the answer became so clear.

According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven...and the dead in Christ will rise first...And so we will be with the Lord forever (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17)

So if I'm reading this right, when people die, they don't go anywhere. They neither go to heaven nor hell, that's for sure. Like the living, they must first face Judgement Day. We may know this but choose to comfort ourselves with the thought of our loved ones sitting up in heaven already, smiling down at us. But so then what happens to our spirits while we wait for Judgement Day?

Is it possible that we become ghosts then? No, because the author of Hebrews says that "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement"(9:27). We're not doing anything. We're not watching over our loved ones or protecting them because we don't become angels when we die. We're only waiting. It figures because for God, a day is like a 1000 years and a 1000 years like a day (2 Peter 3:8) so we're probably not waiting very long.

It's important that Christians are realistic about physical death and what happens after because it's inevitable; and by realistic, I mean Bible-informed. One thing we know for sure is that whether our bodies are alive or dead, our spirits and souls are conscious and we can find true comfort in knowing that "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints"(Ps. 116:15). Dead or alive, God cherishes His children.

Thankful 102

Dear God,

Thanks for the other night: family time with you is refreshing.
Thanks for my job and all my colleagues at work. They are painful and wonderful at the same time.
Thanks a lot for allowing me to understand and love my work. I already see myself shining like you promised. Tell Mr. Ghost to keep me humble even when I make it to the top.
Lord thanks for transportation forth and back every day...When do I get my own ride?? My legs almost always don't fit in the darn commercial buses.
I'm also grateful for the stunt you pulled the other day. I was shocked but glad you did.
Thanks because you alone give me the strength to work as much as I do. I hope this blessing comes without gray hair. I'm still young.
Thanks for UPS Ghana. They're timely and reliable and without them I never would've been able to get a copy of Sherri Shepherd's Permission Slips.
Thanks for letting the reader of this post understamd that although the book targets women, there are some interesting things everyone can learn from it therefore reading it doesn't make me sissy. Plus it's enjoyable to say the least.
Thanks because I was wrong about the dude who I thought was gay. It would've been a shame.
Thanks for all those ideas you keep pushing into my head but good God! slow down....ok so will you add that to my swearing list? I hope not because really, I AM talking to YOU.
Thanks for understanding.
...Thanks for listening to all my prayers and answering some. Try email sometime, it's really good. You could have your own Gmail (GodMail) account.
Thanks for small mercies. I was thinking, instead of giving them bit by bit why don't you put them all together and gimme a HUGE blessing? Never mind me Lord, you know what's best for me and I thank you for not making me figure everything out myself. To have your job would be just impossible for mortal me. Your multi-tasking is off the hook! Yea, I watched Bruce Almighty. I think you were great and you made your point. Now I know for sure that you're black. lol.

Sincerely yours,

Ananse

We live to see...

Young as we are we all have needs and wants, most of which as children of God we channel to Him. Our prayers and life in general are about what He can do for us and sometimes (which should not be the case) what we can do for Him, so to speak. But have you ever wondered what your needs would be when you grow old and may have fulfilled most of your earthly requirements?
Yesterday at church a group of well aged men and women gave me insight into and a glimpse of what life ends up being all about in old age. An elderly man from the group said a couple of things I couldn't hear but their song re-emphasized it all. In a nutshell, the end is all about God's glory filling the earth and the universe thereof. Elderly people don't worry much about wants and needs as much as they wallow in great expectation of the Second Coming, when all evil and earthly desires will fade away and the Glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Then I remembered what serving God is all about. It's not about the 'going to heaven' aspect, rather, it's about the eternal glory of God and us being a part of it. Throughout our lives we hear about God in all his splendor and might and glory, and only experience a microcosm of it. Serving God is more satisfying when we hold and press on towards the goal of seeing the fullness of the His glory.

AGAIN

Here is a song by Donnie McClurkin that always lifts up my spirits, makes me happy and makes me thankful... here are the lyrics.


Again I call You, and again You answer
Again I need You, and again You're there
Again I reach out, and again You hold me
You console me once more, and again

When I needed company, someone
just to sit with me
When I need a helping hand, someone
to understand me
When I need someone who cares,
someone to wipe away my tears
Reach out and calm my fears,
I know that You'll be there

Again I call You, and again You answer
Again I need You, and again You're there
Again I reach out, and again You hold me
You console me once more, and again

Every time I turn around, the most
amazing thing I've found
You're there to pick me up each time
When I fall down
You never seem to mind and
You're always treating me so kind
Time after every time, You've proven once again

Again I call You, and again You answer
Again I need You, and again You're there
Again I reach out, and again You hold me
You console me once more, and again

... And again, You will come through once again



:-)  :-)  :-)
God is always there for you... sometimes his answers seem slow, sometimes its not what you quite expected... BUT ITS ALWAYS GOOD... ALWAYS ALWAYS GOOD!! He Loves You.