Category Archives: Lifestyle

March 9, 2018 · 9:37 pm

WHO HAS YOUR EARS?

Growing up, we often had some artistes and magicians set up makeshift stages on busy street corners to show off their skills and make some quick buck. Crowds of spectators easily formed around those acts the way ants are drawn to sugar. Such crowds had a way of bringing together the good, the bad and the ugly.

My mum told me never to mingle with such crowds and I obeyed for a while, until one of those days, when the pull of the crowd was more than my resolve. I could not resist the temptation of catching just a glimpse of the performance. I really can’t remember what the show was about on that day, but one thing I will never forget about that day is that my wrist watch ‘disappeared’ from my hand on that spot. Obviously, the guy that took it from me was a professional as I was oblivious of the fact that the ownership of my watch had changed until I got home and couldn’t find it on my wrist. Needless to say that I never went near any of such crowds again…thereafter, heeding my mum’s counsel became something very vital to me.

That was the way that I lost my first wrist watch. As a matter of fact, many victories and failures we experience in life depend on who we listen to and what we do with the counsel we receive from different sources. In a way, it could be viewed as a matter of life and death because lives have been made or destroyed based on different types of counsel.

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The dethronement of Vashti as Xerxes’ queen was a product of the counsel that the king received from Memucan. If any other person other than Memucan had spoken up on that day, the outcome might have been different.

 Memucan answered the king and his nobles, “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also every noble and citizen throughout your empire. Women everywhere will begin to despise their husbands when they learn that Queen Vashti has refused to appear before the king. Before this day is out, the wives of all the king’s nobles throughout Persia and Media will hear what the queen did and will start treating their husbands the same way. There will be no end to their contempt and anger. Esther 1: 16 – 18 (NLT)

Esther’s ascension to the throne was in part because she listened to all that the king’s eunuch told her. She did not trivialize Hegai’s advice.

Esther was the daughter of Abihail, who was Mordecai’s uncle. When it was Esther’s turn to go to the king, she accepted the advice of Hegai, the eunuch in charge of the harem. She asked for nothing except what he suggested, and she was admired by everyone who saw her. Esther 2:15 (NLT)

After the death of King Solomon, his son Rehobaom lost 10 of the 12 tribes of Israel because of wrong counsel.

But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. 1Kings 12:8 (NLT)

David destroyed the Ammonites in a needless war because their king listened to wrong counsel from his commanders,

Some time after this, King Nahash[a] of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun became king.  David said, “I am going to show loyalty to Hanun just as his father, Nahash, was always loyal to me.” So David sent ambassadors to express sympathy to Hanun about his father’s death. But when David’s ambassadors arrived in the land of Ammon, the Ammonite commanders said to Hanun, their master, “Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! David has sent them to spy out the city so they can come in and conquer it!”  So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame. 2 Samuel 10: 1 – 4

If you take stock in retrospect, I’m sure you’ll have your own tales of wise and unwise counsel, wise counsel heeded and otherwise. Most times, we are in total control of who we listen to and what we do with whatever advice we receive. So, we can choose who we give our ears to. Words are like seeds sown into our hearts through our ears, we can’t just afford to give all manner of people unfettered access to plant different things in our hearts. On the flip side, we need to make every effort to ensure that our paths are lined with wise counsel.

As we prudently seek out wise counsel and shut out destructive advice, we can be sure of one source of wisdom that never fails – the WORD!

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Proverbs 3: 1 – 2

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January 14, 2018 · 8:21 pm

ADAM’S APPLE

For some reason, I grew up believing that Adam was not at home when Eve ate the forbidden fruit; he was probably at work or just taking a routine walk around the garden. The version of the story that was in my mind was that Eve was alone when she was conned and convinced by the serpent to take that bite that changed everything. She took the fruit, enjoyed the first bite and then kept the remaining portion to be shared with Adam on his return. When Adam came home, he took a bite and behold, their eyes were suddenly opened…and we know how the story develops from there.

You can imagine how shocked I was when I realized that I was wrong:

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. Genesis 3:6 (NLT)

So, Adam was standing there, practically watching his beloved wife going off on the wrong trail and he could not intervene and correct her. Remember that he had earlier on described her as “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” (Gen 2: 23), yet that extravagant display of affection did not translate to any modicum of correction.

Why is it that Adam could not correct Eve? I don’t know the answer, but I know that the answer will be similar to the reason why Sapphira could not challenge Ananias when he suggested that they should keep some of the money from the sale of their property to themselves and tell the apostles that they brought 100%:

But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property.  He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Acts 5: 1-2 (NLT)

One of the best things that can happen to us is to have friends or associates that can tell us every shade of truth that we need to hear at every point in time, especially when we are going off track. We need such people, not willing accomplices that always want to make us look good and feel good. If we don’t have such associates, one of the probable reasons is that we may not have handled past corrections or criticisms well and they are now scared of offending us. It’s also possible that we have created a shield of defence around ourselves that sends a message to people that we are irreproachable and beyond correction.

We need to make every effort to surround ourselves with people that will bluntly refuse to be willing accomplices; people that will not be clapping for us as we’re going off track at full throttle. We need people that can look us in the face and tell us the plain truth, no matter how we feel. We can consciously create the environment that will make that happen. It’s all in our hands.

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January 4, 2018 · 10:19 am

HORSE BLINDERS

I once watched a very hilarious video of a race for babies that were expected to crawl to their mums at the end of the race track. Expectedly, the babies just wanted to have fun and did everything but remain in their race tracks. Some of them even turned around and went the wrong way, driven by where they felt they would get more excitement. If anyone of them made it to the end of the race track, it would be a miracle 😊.

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That’s just so similar to putting a horse on the race track without Blinders and expecting the horse to finish the race. Horses have peripheral vision and are able to see things happening beside them and to some extent behind them. As a result of this, they are easily distracted or spooked. It’s so easy for them to run off course unless they are made to remain focussed. That’s where the blinders come in. The blinders are carefully crafted to shut out every distraction for the horses, leaving enough space for them to be able to only look forward.

Horse blinder

We just got off the mark for 2018 and we have a long race track ahead of us – There’s no limit to what we can achieve in this year! The extent to which we will achieve our set goals depends greatly on our ability to remain focussed on staying on the race track and consistently moving in the right direction. Distractions will never be in short supply, we will have to develop our own blinders that will help us to remain focussed on the finishing line. It is a definitive conscious choice that we have to make.

No one sets goals with plans to fail in hitting the target. However, we easily get distracted and side-tracked by so many other little things and ultimately set ourselves up for spectacular failure. In 1 Kings 20: 39 – 40, a man was given a simple unambiguous task of guarding a man, but he got busy with other nice things, failed at the primary task.

As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds[c] of silver!’  But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!” “Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied. “You have brought the judgment on yourself.” (1Kings 20: 39-40)

If we will successfully hit our 2018 targets, we cannot afford get ourselves occupied doing this and that. Prioritization and focus will remain key to the goals we have set for ourselves this year. Without this, goal setting for 2018 will just end up being another tick in the box – it does not have to be so and the power is in our hands to make it not to be so. Let’s make this an unforgettable year. God’s grace abounds for us.

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August 3, 2017 · 9:10 pm

WHILE WAITING…

I got up pretty early, packed my bags and set out for the airport. The traffic could be unpredictable sometimes, so I did not want to risk getting stuck in traffic and making it late to the airport. On that day however, the road was unusually free and I got to the airport before check-in time and the check-in counter was not going to open a minute before the set time. I had some waiting to do.

The check-in was smooth and uneventful. While waiting for the boarding time, I got myself occupied by reading a book – Start With Why by Simon Sinek. In my head, I had calculated when I was going to get home and how I was going to spend the rest of the day. As the boarding time approached, I heard the dreaded announcement. The weather at our destination was bad and we would not take off as scheduled. I had more waiting to do.

Waiting is not exactly my forte and soon enough I got tired of reading my book and tried starting a conversation with a fellow passenger. A few other passengers facing the same dilemma with me were ‘gisting’, a few were sleeping and others were just there. I ended up pacing about the waiting area till the boarding announcement was made and away we flew.

This airport waiting experience was transient, lasting only a few hours and I was glad for that. However, in reality we often get to wait much longer for the things that life presents to us. These ‘presents’ come in various forms like waiting for that dream job, waiting for a spouse, waiting to have a child after marriage, waiting for a promotion, waiting for a clear direction and waiting for that big break after years of faithful sowing.

While waiting as Christians, we have some sure words of promise in the Bible such as:

…All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (MSG)

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for the child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! Isaiah 49:15 (NLT)

We often find ourselves tempted to think that God has not been fair to us, because in our own estimation, we have done everything that we ought to do and there is no rational explanation to our predicament.

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If we yield to the temptation and follow that thought trail, we often end up with depression and many questions in our hearts for God. The more we think and dwell on the issues, the bigger they begin to appear and the promises of God begin to diminish in our minds.

Joseph had no rational explanation for being in prison in a foreign land,…… we know how the story ends. Job could also not explain the terrible loss and pain he had to go through, but in the end, God came through for him. We will not always be able to explain why God allows somethings to come our way, but one thing is sure: He will neither leave us nor forsake us in the midst of those things.

I won’t claim to be an expert in knowing the best posture to take while waiting, but one thing I know that works is holding tenaciously and stubbornly to God’s word concerning whatever it is that we are waiting for. Meditate on it day and night until we have it permanently ingrained in our minds and it becomes indelible in spite of what the circumstances say.

While waiting, we can also draw strength from the little victories that God has given us in the past. Keep them fresh on our minds and know that the One who came through for us in the past is still the same and that He will still come through this time. His calendar may be different from ours, but He will come through.

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While waiting, we also need to continue steadfastly and consistently in prayers. God will always show up and make all things beautiful because failure is not part of His attributes. He is faithful and never changes. He KNOWS that we are waiting and His eyes are on us. Most of all, His grace is sufficient for us while waiting.

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February 19, 2017 · 10:19 pm

IT’S IN THE SMALL STEPS

Joseph had his great dreams, which got him into some trouble with his brothers. He also had his integrity and the fear of the Lord while in Potiphar’s house and he got into even bigger trouble because of that. At the eventful end of all the trouble, I am sure Joseph would have sat back and appreciated God for all he had gone through on the road to occupying a greatly esteemed office.

When Joseph started dreaming, he did not fully understand what the fulfilment of his dreams would be. He did not know that he was going to become next to Pharaoh in authority someday. He did not know there would be a great famine and that he would be the one to save Israel. He did not know that his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh would be the only second generation people to receive allotments like the other sons of Jacob in the Promised Land. One thing he knew for sure was that he feared the Lord and he was not going to do anything to jeopardize that relationship.

In spite of the big dreams, he followed God one step at a time or indeed one phase at a time – from Pit to Potiphar’s house, to Prison and eventually to Pharaoh’s Palace. He was faithful at each stop over on the journey. When the purpose of each phase had been accomplished, he was moved on to the next phase by God.

Abraham’s life followed a similar plot. God told him to leave his father’s house and hit the road. He didn’t ask for the final destination. He allowed God to lead him one step at a time. He just had unshakable faith that God could not lead him astray. He stayed connected to God and we know the rest of the story.

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We have infallible promises in the Bible that tell us that God is committed to answering our prayers from the following verses among so many other verses:

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Matt 7: 7 – 8 (NLT)

You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it. Matt 21:22(NLT)

At that time you won’t need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the Father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name.  You haven’t done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy. John 16: 23 – 24 (NLT)

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1John 5:14 (NIV)

God’s word is true and He has promised to bring us to that expected end. However, whatever happens between our current position and our expected end is part of the whole package. The key to getting to that expected end is staying connected to the source, like Joseph and Abraham did. For some people, it may be a very smooth journey. For others, the package may come with different kinds of pain. If you have a clear picture of your destination and the path to that destination, Congratulations! However, if you don’t understand all the things you experience on your way, just follow the Lord one step at a time… you will eventually get there. God is too faithful to fail and in the words of Nathaniel Bassey; “This God is too good o!”

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April 25, 2016 · 9:11 pm

IN RETROSPECT

A while ago, I was going down memory lane with a few friends that I have come a long way with. Having known each other for almost 20 years, we reminisced about the days when we had little or nothing to call our own. We collectively shared the little that anyone had and no one complained about the proportion of individual contributions. The common denominator was that we were all students and we were all Christians. We talked about the years immediately after graduation, remembering how we walked long distances not because we wanted to exercise, but because we could not afford the transport fare. We also survived on meager rations and lived in shared accommodation, all in our bid to become independent men. Looking back at those years together, we all came to one conclusion: God has been good.

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With those memories safely in the recesses of our hearts, we can always look back at how we overcame with God’s help and develop an unshakeable resolve that the same God who has not changed will always come through in whatever present challenge we may have. Little wonder the Israelites were always commanded to tell their Children of their past victories:

Then your children will ask, ‘What does this ceremony mean?’  And you will reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for he passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. And though he struck the Egyptians, he spared our families.’” When Moses had finished speaking, all the people bowed down to the ground and worshiped.                     Exodus 12: 26 – 27 (NLT)

In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?’ “Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand. The Lord did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people.  He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had sworn to give our ancestors.                               Deuteronomy 6: 20 – 23 (NLT)

We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”                                            Joshua 4 : 6 – 7 (NLT)

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Challenges will always come our way; however meditating on the problems will only magnify the problems at the expense of our faith. When next the feeling of being overwhelmed by the challenges of life comes, just take a thought down the memory lane and like the ageless song goes, it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Strive to keep the memories of those past victories ever fresh on your mind and

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February 23, 2016 · 11:18 am

FAITH IS NOW

I got the picture below from one of Strive Masiyiwa’s recent posts on Facebook (By the way, I strongly recommend that you follow Strive if you are not already doing so). If you don’t know the story behind the picture, it will pass for just any other nice picture. The photographer’s goal was to get a shot of the eaglet and he had to wait 8 hours to get that shot. 8 hours! It took that long because the mother eagle had the eaglet under wraps for the entire period. His lucky break only came when the father eagle came around and the eaglet popped up to say hello to dad for a few seconds.

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I can only imagine what that wait would have been like. The photographer could not afford to be distracted because the eaglet’s appearance was only going to last a few seconds. It was not just a casual and relaxing wait. He had to maintain absolute focus for the entire period. I’m sure that would have required a lot of patience to pull off. This is similar to the kind of patience that Joseph had to learn while spending time as Potiphar’s chief servant as well as a prisoner, after having those dreams that caused his troubles. David also displayed this scale of patience when running from King Saul, despite the fact that he had been anointed as King of Israel by Prophet Samuel. Abraham received the promise that he would have a son when he was 75 and he had to wait with faith and patience for the promise to be fulfilled 25 years down the line.

Today, how do we begin to speak about this kind of patience when we have been taught that “Faith is NOW…” This is a popular adaptation of Hebrews 11:1, which has been sold to many of us and we have gladly bought into it. We pray now and place God under obligation to answer us immediately or He would no longer be God. The answer must come NOW!

If Abraham lived in our days, he would have ‘travailed’ and demanded that God gave him Isaac at 76 years and David would have had to pray King Saul out of the palace immediately after being anointed by Samuel. The truth is that God still answers prayers like He always did, but on His terms as the sovereign God. My thought is that there is a place for patience when we pray in faith. When the answer does not come as fast as we expect, He is still God. When it appears as if our prayers will not get the expected response, He is still God. When the answer comes faster than we expect, of course He is still God.

Please think on the verses below:

Hebrews 6:12 – 15 (NLT):  13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:14 “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” 15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.

Hebrews 10: 36 (NLT):  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

James 1: 3 – 4 (KJV): 3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

2 Peter 1 : 5 – 7 (KJV): 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.

Patience is still a priceless virtue.

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January 7, 2015 · 11:59 am

MY FATHER’S GOD

While waiting for my car to get washed on a sunny day, I sat under a tropical almond tree for a shade. After sitting for a while, I decided to ease off the boredom by walking around the tree. As I was doing this, I observed that all the leaves on the tree were not looking exactly the same. Some of the leaves were complete, while some had been turned into beautiful works of art by some leaf-eating insects. The insects had created exquisite patterns on some of the leaves by eating portions of the leaves in a creative way.

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Interestingly, both sets of leaves were still green and they appeared to co-exist happily together and the tree was still producing fruits as expected. I suspect that those half eaten leaves did not know that they had some problems. In fact, they could actually remain in that form for years if the insects choose to move on to greener pastures. This reminded me of what was written about Samson on the day that he was converted from a conqueror to a blind captive: He was ‘dead’, without actually knowing it.

Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!” When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. (Judges 16: 20 NLT)

Moving over from the Bible times to our present day; it is possible to exist in a church, where each service is indeed a wonderful fellowship with the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit and not be part of that fellowship. We may busy ourselves with countless church activities and still end up as outsiders where it really matters. That fellowship is what God really wants from us and it is also what we need to fulfil our calling as per the new covenant:

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. (1Peter 2:9 NLT)

We can never know him personally, understand our place in Him, grasp the immensity of the glorious life he has planned for us and realize the utter extravagance of His work in us if we do not have that personal touch in our relationship with Him. The veil has been torn and we have unlimited access to the throne of our Father.

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It is becoming increasingly popular to pray to the God of our Bishop or the God of our Pastor or the God of our Father-in-the-Lord. This is not what our father desires. He wants to be my own God. He wants to be your own God. After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the term “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” was no longer commonly used. It was used just once by Peter at his fist sermon, where he had to introduce God to the Jews.The apostles all understood the kind of relationship that God wants to have with us and related with Him accordingly. He was the God of Peter, God of John, God of James, God of Timothy, God of Silas. Each person had a personal relationship with Him. This is evident in Paul’s declaration in Acts 27:23 – 25

Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’  So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. (NIV)

From the highlighted words, it is very clear that God was his God. That personal touch in the above declaration is unmistakeable. God does not just want to be my father’s God; He wants to be my God. A good starting point is a consistent personal Bible study and a good start time is now. His grace is sufficient for you and the door is open.

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September 9, 2014 · 11:29 am

ROWING WITH THE ANCHOR

I heard a funny story over the radio recently. A group of rowers wanted to undertake a challenge of rowing to another town in record time. The twist was that they would start the task at midnight with minimal illumination. They rowed as fast as they could all night, without stopping for a break. They had their minds set on the goal and they were not going to let a break cost them the record. At the break of dawn, with the first ray of light, they realized the unimaginable: they had not moved an inch. They were rowing with the anchor still firmly in place. 100% effort, but no productivity. Illumination makes a world of difference. It can indeed magnify your efforts.

By your words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path. (Psalms 119:105 MSG)

During the days of the stock market boom, quite a number of people that I know had fancy spreadsheets and charts for monitoring stock portfolios. That did not stop their fingers from getting burnt when the bubble burst. Many of the people did not really know the “way” of the stock market. It was just a fun bandwagon to join and everyone got on board blindly.

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With benefit of hindsight, there are many wrong steps we’ve taken that we never would have taken if only we sought answers from the One that knows it all before taking the first wrong step . Many of us are stuck with the wrong partner, wrong job, wrong investments and I dare say many ministers have no business being ministers in the first place. Just becuase of failure to enquire of the Lord.

There are so many pointers in the Bible that encourage us to draw near and ask before leaping, but somehow we always contrive not to.

There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death. Prov 16 25 (NIV)

Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30 21 (NIV)

“I am God, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go. If you had listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from the sea. Isaiah 48: 17 -18 (MSG)

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Borrowing the words of the ageless hymn; “…Oh what things we often forfeit and Oh what needless pains we bear…” because we simply fail to ask in prayer and seek out the way from the Word. No matter what height we may climb to in life, we can never do without studying our Bibles and praying every day, with a view to becoming more like Christ. If this is not your normal way of life, I can boldly tell you that you are missing and you are most likely going to miss that ‘still, small voice’ when it comes to tell you which way to turn at the junction. There is so much light in the Word.

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July 15, 2014 · 10:18 am

THE THREE WORDS

I was in a Church service recently, where the minister said that the main portion of his message was going to be on three words that are difficult to say. As he went on with his prelude, he kept us guessing what those three words would be. I ran through my thoughts and concluded it was going to be either “I Am Sorry” or “I Love You”. I was way way off the mark.

                            3 words

He finally came out with the three words: “Jesus Is Lord”. I didn’t get it because I believed you could even teach a smart parrot how to say those words. How difficult could that be? The verse of scripture in focus was the second part of 1 Corinthians 12:3:

“…and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”

To speak those words from the lips alone is as easy as easy can be. However to say them from the heart is very very far from easy and it can only be by the help of the Holy Spirit. It means handing over all controls – ALL – to Jesus. Withholding nothing; letting Him lead the way in EVERY decision; pleasing Him as a lifestyle, not only when it is convenient.

Most times, we say this and think we mean it. When in truth, we actually don’t. We only get to know that we didn’t really mean it all the while when our LORD tries to touch some no go areas of our lives. We call Him Lord, but somehow, we still manage to set limits for Him, which implies that He is not really in charge. If Jesus is Lord indeed, He should be in charge, with no limits.

The fact is that it’s not easy to realize that we have not made Him Lord indeed. That’s why we need the help of the Holy Spirit to say these three words. Like King David prayed, we need God to try our hearts and point out to us, the areas that we have reserved for ourselves. With this, we can hand over everything to Him and make Him Lord indeed.

“Put me on trial, Lord, and cross-examine me. Test my motives and my heart.” Psalms 26:2 (NLT)

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalms 139: 23 – 24 (NLT)

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