ARCHIVE – Page 21 – Promise Tewogbola

Dubbers United

During my early years in high school, I remember having to adapt to a whole lot of things. And at a fast rate too. Previously, in elementary school, we had just one classroom teacher that taught a wide variety of subjects. However, by the time I got to high school, things were more specialized. Everything was mechanically efficient to my young mind. There was a teacher for each subject. And each subject teacher gave his or her own assignments that had to be submitted the next day! THAT was way out of our comfort zones then. Some of us forced ourselves to cope with the increasing number of take home assignments. Others were not able to do that. So, they came very early to school on the day of submission of assignments to plagiarize the work of the diligent ones. Word for word, without any remorse. Back then, we dubbed these students ‘Dubbers United’. Plagiarism was so much ingrained into this bumch, that these guys couldn’t do without it. No matter how simple or straightforward the assignment was.

One fateful day, I needed to complete a classnote, as I was a slow writer during classes. As I settled with the note, one of the chief ‘Dubbers’ spotted me. In a twinkle of an eye, without asking any questions, he started copying out from my note! To say I was bemused, would be an understatement. So, after a little while, I asked him if he knew what he was ‘dubbing’. He replied no. Mercifully, I explained to him that he was rewriting the notes of an earlier class. The shocked look on his face was priceless!

Anyways, what triggered this story was The Message’s translation of Romans 12 vs 2. You need to read this:

‘Don’t become so adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without thinking. Instead, fix your attention to God. You’ll be changed from inside out. Readily recognize what He wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you’

Quit ‘Dubbers United’ now. Team up with the winning team. FC MindOfChrist!!!

Mal a propos: On The LOL Side Of Malaproposms.

He picked up a knife. And continually stabbed the poor lady directly through the heart. She screamed and cried. She begged and pleaded for mercy. Yet, the young man was never going to let up. He kept on stabbing and stabbing, till Lady English gave up the ghost.

I’m not using this to spite anyone, but some people (especially in this part of the world) are really reckless with their use of English. They send poisonous darts and fiery arrows directly to their innocent audiences. But what ‘impresses’ me the most is the ability of these people to carry on with the speech at hand. And they usually go on with this in a gallant fashion, not giving a thought about their reputations or the ears of their listeners.

As I’ve said before, I’m not using this to spite anyone. I just wanted you to see something from another perspective. Things happen in the world out there. A lot of bad reports, as well as sad news here and there. But to the general mind, if you are hell-bent on getting happiness from the happenings around, all you have to do is to look carefully around you. Definitely, there is always at least one thing that would put a smile on your face. Yeah, even if they are Malapropisms.

By the way, we, the Children of The Light, exhibit Joy, which is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit that springs up from within our bellies.

Cheer up, already!

A Rare Flower: A poem

Grrriiinnnggg! It’s morning.
I check the mirror and find myself set
Purposefully, I walk into the Garden where Adam once found himself alone
Taking a meditative stroll in the company of the early morning sun,
I see it
Either by coincidence or by Divine providence, I cannot tell
But it’s right there, in the far corner of the Garden
A young bud sprouting,
A rare species, a jewel in any man’s eyes,
So beautiful and natural,
Intoxicatingly delicate, the pick of them all.
Instantly, I’m in tune with it

Zzzuuuuppp! The Indian music in my ears stop and
I find out that I’m in a fix:
Do I leave it to nature, or do I protect it
from the many non-existent wandering predators of my imagination’s creation,
Who have no other agenda than devouring all in their paths.

For a while, I step back from the garden and withdraw into myself,
Only stepping out occassionally to discuss my plight
with the self-proclaimed elders in the perimeter of my consciousness

Yet, the familiar still small voice lovingly warns me
of all the dangers and perils of nipping a rare scion so soon.
Alas, my conceit captains the suggestions of the ‘know-alls’,
and they all urge me to follow my ‘seat of smartness’

I’m back in the Garden, and I tell my Self, ‘Fish out your bud’
I’m excited and carefully become a wee bit careless
However, with crude expertise, I cut it off,
from whence it knew as home.

I saddle myself
with the responsibility of fending for it.
It is resilient, and with a stubborn desire to survive.
It thrives, but only at its normal rate,
Not less, but I’d never know whether it could have been more

So, what was all my fuss about?
I commune with my heart,
during my pillow-talk at night.
And the intuitive, inner, inspirator interferes once more, saying,
‘The Father in His Nature wills the Perfect rather than the Permissive for His own’

I wake up.

THE PLATINUM GIFT FEATURED ARTICLE: The Gift By Theresa Gabriel

Once upon a time…

There was a girl whose name was Mirabel. Mirabel was one of the most beautiful girls you’d ever lay your eyes on. She had very long, straight, shiny, black hair. You could even see your reflection in it. She had the most captivating and piercing grey eyes you could see on anyone. Here eyes appeared to see through one’s body and soul. As amazing as those grey eyes were, Mirabel was blind! For all the beauty of those eyes, they had never seen the stars or oceans or trees. She lived in darkness. Mirabel had been living in darkness all her life. It was ALMOST all she knew…

But in the midst of it all, there was a glimmer of sushine for her.

His name was Harry.

Harry was the best thing that had ever happened to Mirabel. He loved her so much and could do anything for her. He wanted to marry Mirabel and spend the rest of his life with her. So, he manned up and asked her to marry him.

But Mirabel was relunctant because of her condition. She said to him,
‘Harry…Oh Harry…if only I could see you, if only I could see the world, I’d marry you’

The next day, Mirabel found that a pair of perfectly healthy eyes had been donated to her. She was so happy. Immediately, she called Harry to tell him of the news. Harry was ecstatic. He was happy that Mirabel’s dream had come true, and as a result, his was also in line for fulfilment.

Mirabel underwent surgery. And it was successful. The doctors told her that she’d see after a few weeks of recovery after which the bandage would come off.

The day soon came for her to take the bandages off. As the bandages were peeled off, the first thing Mirabel saw was this angelic face. Nobody had to tell her it was Harry. This was her sunshine in her darkness. The bandages were soon fully off and she saw him. He was magnificient, but….

Well, Harry got down on a knee and asked for Mirabel’s hand. In Marriage.

To his surprise, she said ‘NO!’. You see, Harry was magnificient, but he was blind too! Mirabel didn’t want to marry a blind person. And she said this to Harry’s face.

Harry was devastated. He was heartbroken. Words cannot describe his pain and mental anguish. So, he got up from his knee and turned to find his way out.

But before leaving, without turning his back, Harry said to Mirabel,
‘Take care of MY EYES for me…’

And then, he left.

** THE END **

P.S: Though this is fiction, I was deeply moved, especially when I remember the extent Jesus Christ went for us to redeem us from our sins. Good write-up Theresa. More Grace to you

God WEEDS!

Shocking title, eh? I bet some of you are thinking of a smoke-filled room with a Big Fellow getting High on pot and the like. If that was your line of thought, it goes a long way to tell how much our generation has watered down the meaning of the words in the English Language.

Well, to help you have a better perspective on my ‘shocking’ title, let’s examine the Words of Jesus in Matthew 15 verse 13:

”But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up’ ”

The mind of an individual is like a farmland. The farmland could either be overgrown with weeds of evil immoral thoughts and negative self-talk. On the other hand, the farmland could have the seeds of God’s Word flourishing and blossoming, producing Fruits in their thirties, sixties and hundreds.

Yes, the devil would come. Wanting to sell to us his wares of tares. Sometimes, we resist him and at other times, we buy his tares of worry, fear, negativity and evil thoughts. We sow them on the farmlands of our minds. And water them, till they grow out of our controls. Then, we see them for what they truly are. Weeds. Horrible, stubborn weeds.

But I have Good News for you. God WEEDS. He knows what the seed of His Words should produce in our minds. And when He sees anything contrary to the Fruits like peace, love, joy, faith and so on, He steps into action. He WEEDS out all that He hasn’t planted in our lives. He uproots them and burns them to ashes. He clears our farmland and then plants into us The Seed of His Words which is able to save our souls. He then waters us with His Spirit till we bear Fruits. He even prunes us and we bear more and more of His delightful fruits!

So, where are you today? Overgrowing with weeds of sin, worry, doubt, evil thoughts and fear? God is still in the business of WEEDING. Why don’t you cry out on to Him and let Him step into your situation right now?

Oxygen And Nitrogen Are More Than Gases.

In those days, during elementary school, we were thought that air is a mixture of gases. Oxygen is the most important gas, as all living things need it to survive. Yet, we were told that oxygen only accounts for 21% of air. Nitrogen, which on the other hand, wasn’t necessary for respiration accounts for a whooping 78% of air. I always wondered why this was so. At least, it was only logical for the ‘most important’ gas to be the most abundant by percentage!

But as important as oxygen is, it’s very combustible. If the percentage of oxygen were to be any more than it currently is, every rock that has been heated by the sun would spontaenously go up in flames. And this is where the importance of nitrogen comes into play: Nitrogen, due to its non-combustible nature, slows down the combustible activities of oxygen. Thus, oxygen can support both life and combustion, without things getting out of hand.

In life, we meet people with ‘combustible’ characteristics. They are the bubbly people that like to make things happen. They are usually risk takers. And they are an embodiment of life. I’d call these ones the ‘Oxygen’ people. On the other hand, we meet people who aren’t as charismatic as those aforementioned. They have a cooler approach to life. They could be overly calculative. I’d call these the ‘Nitrogen’ people.

The TRUTH is that God is a God of variety. David, Peter, Barnabas, Paul, John all had different characteristics. He made everyone to be unique and different from others. Imagine how life would have been if everyone were to be of the ‘combustible’ nature. The whole world be on fire. Literally! Conversely, if everybody were to be of the ‘cooler’ nature, the whole world would be dry and colourless. So, does this mean that an ‘Oxygen’ person is better than the ‘Nitrogen’ counterpart or vice versa? No. None of these things makes one category of people to be more important than the other. Instead, we are all required to act to the strengths of our characters and live together in unity.

7 Lessons From The Sons of The Prophets.

Elisha carried a double portion of Elijah’s anointing. He seemed to be involved in every miracle mentioned. However, in a rare moment of scintillating brilliance, the much less heralded sons of the prophets took the limelight in the opening verses of II Kings 6. Their actions are practical and applicable to our everyday living. The 7 lessons are:

1. Don’t be comfortable with your shortcomings: The sons of the prophets found themselves in a tight corner. Literally speaking. They were quite happy to be wining and dining at the feet of Elisha. But they didn’t allow that opportunity to blind their minds to the harrowing problem of limited resources of space they were all facing with Elisha.

2. Speak out: The sons of the prophets spoke their minds out. They didn’t cower in the presence of organized and recognized authority. They weren’t murmuring and grumbling in the background. They presented their thoughts in an orderly and respectful manner.

3. Think Big: The sons of the prophets were not scared of an avant-garde thinking. It is never a sin to think big. You see, it’s only when one thinks big that he’d get big things out of life. The sons of prophets were not afraid of embarking on a large-scale project.

4. Do not procrastinate: It’s nice to have good intentions, but it doesn’t stop there. The sons of the prophets desired to move out of the tight corner they found themselves in. They didn’t wait for good weather conditions. Or when the mood was perfect. They acted immediately.

5. Be willing to progress: The sons of the prophets had identified the problem of limited space. They were ready and had the right mindset to ensure the status quo changed.

6. Plan: The sons of the prophets laid up strategies that would help them attain their goals. They had a good idea of the land to build on. They knew how to get the human and material resources for their assignment. They didn’t have a haphazard approact towards their set goal.

7. Don’t forget the God-Factor: The sons of prophets didn’t assume that their plans, strategies and feasibility studies would get the job done for them. They didn’t think they could do it all. They understood the role God plays in our endeavours. They wisely implored Elisha, whose life oozed with God’s presence, to go with them. And they didn’t regret it.

These very practical lessons would spark a sporadic turnaround in your life. Please pass the knowledge on. Cheers!

THE PLATINUM GIFT FEATURED ARTICLE: ‘Our Days Are Unique Gifts’ – By Natalie Scarberry

‘May you arise each day with a
voice of blessing whispering in your heart
May you find harmony between
your soul and your life
May the mansion of your soul
never become a haunted place
May you know the eternal
longing that lies at the heart of time
May there be kindness in your
gate when you look within’
~ Edited compilation of Blessings by John O’ Donohue.

Our days are unique gifts, new creations of God’s ageless story, and in them is the perennial promise of resurrection. Of the 24 hours in each day, a garden in the early morning is one of the most magical places. While birds call to one another, and bees busily work, ‘fairies’ bless the flowers and sprinkle them with dew. As a result, plants glisten in the first dappled rays of light, while sweet aromas rise from the soil not yet blistered by the sun.

A new day is a blank slate that waits for the mark of each and every one of us. Upon the slate, we have the opportunity to record acts of kindness, deeds of grace, words of truth, utterances of beauty, and thoughts of joy. In order to make the slate worthy of the gift and the Giver, we must keep our eyes wide open so we don’t miss the beauty, the joy and the wonder in our Father’s world. We must be fully awake and aware of the world and the people around us. They are there for a reason. We must remember it is a priviledge to perform daily prayers and an honour to do what should be done in accomplishing God’s will. Finally, we must ”sing, sing, sing and make music with the Heavens” for it is right to come into His courts with singing and words of praise on our lips.

Listen, O Heavens, and I will speak; hear, O Earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teachings fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

*Feel free to check Natalie Scarberry’s great blog here:
www.sacredtouches.com

Don’t Just Charge, Change!

Probably, you’ve heard a teaching or piece of information that tingles your ears and excites your very being. For the next few hours (or days, if you are lucky), you can’t contain yourself. You blow fire and brimstone. You think you’re ready to explode…

But you don’t. Instead, you implode!

So, your excitement drops back to sub-threshold levels. The energy’s gone and your ensuing coldness makes you cool with everything. You aren’t passionate anymore. You’re merely going through the motions…

Then you hear another one. And this one excites you. You are ready. Ready to start the cycle again. And again. And again.

See, you can get all charged up all you want. But if it isn’t backed up with the desire to change, it becomes as the creaking of an old rusty gate. Trust me.

Yes, you pray and read the Bible. And you’re excited when you do this. But don’t you know it is possible to continually abide in that state? Or even make the quantum leap to the next level of change on the spiritual ladder? This has happened to people before and it is still happening. Charging up isn’t the end of the matter. Change is.

What of an eye-opener regarding your career or life? You’ve heard it before. You’re hearing a similar one again. The good intentions are flowing all around you. Don’t let it stop there. Step forward and do something different than just charging up and running down.

Enough with the sinusodial lifestyle! Stop flunctuating between levels of excitement and those of cold indifference. Instead, let each excitement level be the springboard to the next stage of your journey to destiny. Don’t just charge.
Change!