A Royal Invite

Have you ever wondered  what it would be like to get a special invite to an exclusive event  especially from someone you truly admired and respected ? Imagine the adrenalin and rush of excitement that would gush through you at the thought that this person did not only consider you fit to attend this exclusive party but  also painstakingly penned the invite themselves.  What an honour you'd think especially when you know you do not qualify for such attention.

I was minding my business the other day when my phone buzzed with a message. It was a WhatsApp message from Caroline Adebayo- Oke, Wife of the Regional Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God Ireland inviting me to the Authentic Woman's Conference 2014. To say I was surprised would be the understatement of the year.

Photo Credit:Petr Kratochivl. www.public domainpictures.net

It was not a general text invite but an actual conversation with the Regional mummy as she is fondly called by all.

Mrs Caroline Adebayo-Oke Regional Cordinator GWF Ireland.

 She asked how Josh and I were doing which made the invite more personal. Till today I never bothered to ask how she got my number but was excited and content to just be in her phone book..lol. Who am I to receive the attention of these highly respected woman? I was determined to find out more. I had heard about the Authentic Woman's conference but had made no concrete plans to attend but my morning chat with the convener changed it all. My curiosity was piqued. 

Photo Credit:www.quickmeme.com

My earlier excuses not to attend the event suddenly seemed trivial in the face of heaven's attention. I felt for the Regional mummy to have taken time out to personally invite little me for this programme then God must have something great in store for me and He sure did. IT WAS AMAZING.   My earlier concerns about getting someone to mind Joshua or how I would manage if I took him along were taken care off. I heeded the voice of the Holy Spirit and took him along. Guess what? My son was the perfect boy barely made a sound(and you still think God didn't orchestrate my invite?)

Photo Credit:www.pinterest.com

I had initially gone out of respect and to honour this amazing woman of God but was blessed beyond words. Infact I'm looking forward to the next conference.

Like me, Saul's grandson Mephibosheth must have wondered when he got the royal invite to David's palace. He must have quakered on his lame feet imagining death for himself after all his grandfather was anything but kind to David. Read 2 Samuel 9. What a surprise he got at the palace. Instead of death he got immeasurable blessings. "for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. i will restore to you all the lands that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table. 

What a surprise! His fears were nothing in comparison with what awaited Him at the palace and so are yours.

The point of this post is that Eternal life with God is an exclusive event and Jesus the special invite that God has personally sent out to you "Look, I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, i will come in and we will share a meal together as friends"  Revelations 3:20. Why not give receive Him today and see the amazing blessings that awaits you. Please don't ignore. you'll be glad you accepted. I am.

Invitation To The Good Life

If you are familiar with African music , you must have heard the song "Chop My Money". It  is a secular hit song by celebrated Nigerian duo artist P-Square which gets good air play and rotes at parties. There is just no avoiding it! The moment the D Jay plays the song "everyone" mechanically jumps to to their feet and do the "Chop My Money dance". Its kindda hilarious to watch the way people jostle to burst "the move".

"Chop My Money" literally means "come and enjoy my wealth". It's an open invitation  from a guy to his girl to enjoy his wealth unchecked and without any reserve. Isn't that every girls dream? Limitless supply and no one checking and constraining how she spends.

 24/7 access and availability. Free with no strings attached? Sounds like the good life. GIMME! GIMME!! GIMME!!

Truth is, as appealing and interesting as P-Square's invitation is I have to decline! I must be crazy abi! You see the money being described here can only buy perishables like cars, clothes, food e.t.c. Material pleasures that are tangible and transient i.e. here today and gone tomorrow and never really satisfying .  

www.friendsoftype.com

Its not really a matter of greed, its simply because  material needs are insatiable. That is why its "natural" to desire a better care, laptop, houses and even a 2. 0 model wife..lol.

www.jeffach.deviantart.com

Moreover  there is only so much that money can buy. Money can buy education but does not guarantee success. It cannot buy happiness, fulfilment, peace, health, safety, trust, love, satisfaction and salvation. These are things that really matter, things of eternal value-Priceless. However, I know an offer that is all encompassing.

www.wisepreneur.com

 This offer covers both the tangible and intangible; to cap it all its INTRANSIENT. Its like wearing clothes that are always in season, not susceptible to passing whims and caprices! Nobody can give you the world as  Man himself is transient "man is like a mere breath; his days are like passing shadow" Psalm 144:4.  A human being can get up one morning and suddenly withdraw privileges earlier given to another just like Pharaoh did in the book of exodus. He told the Israelites they were free to leave only to wake up the next day to renege on his promise and letting all hell break loose.

illustration by IIene Richard on www.raebear.net

  It could be exhausting and nerve wrecking to experience the upheavals of such fickleness. It is only God that is unchanging. His invite is different and addresses the issues that really matter.

"come all who are thirsty 

come to the waters;

and you who have no money

come buy and eat

come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost

why spend money on what is not bread

and your labour what does not satisfy

Listen, listen to me and eat what is good

and you will delight in the riches of fare. 

Isaiah 55:1-2 is the genuine invitation to the good life as it offers the best of both worlds. If you love freebies like me, then you're in the right place. IT IS ABSOLUTELY FREE AND YOU ARE INVITED.

Oh Taste and See

Just by merely looking at the murky concoction that my father was making, I knew without a shadow of doubt that I wanted no part of it. Unfortunately, I got nominated to do the honours of passing verdict on this invention. My father is an ardent cook and is always looking for creative ways to make bland food more interesting. His children were his test victims but this particular food simply did not pass my visual test so I bluntly refused.

 No way on earth's sphere was I going to allow that "muck" down my throat. I had witnessed the making of it and believed it wasn't just safe..lol. Without pushing his luck, my father simply handed over his creation to my younger ones who took it with mush gusto and were gushing about "baba's" latest fad. I was waiting for someone to throw up only to see them smacking their lips and begging for more.

Quietly and out of curiosity, I went to taste the dregs of the concoction  and IT WAS AMAZING. Tail in hand, I crawled to my father and asked for some. "Baba, i tasted the drink and its actually nice. Can I have some", I begged. But it was too late. My Chef Daddy had cleaned up his creative instruments and was done for the day. As a  child, that was the saddest day of my life made worse by my siblings making so much fuss about Baba's power drink. I made up my mind that day many years ago never to bluntly refuse anything that came out from my father's kitchen without at least giving it a trial.  He is my father and would not deliberately harm me. What my father made that night was a healthy jug full of green juice packed with healthy nutrients. I did not appreciate it initially but now I'm an advocate for green juice, call me a "Green Juice Campaigner".

 God has a lot in store for his children only if we will draw nigh unto him and trust His benevolence. How can you know the taste of a thing without making an attempt to put it on your tongue and allow your sense of taste give a verdict.

There is only so much information you can get from other people's review except you have a personal encounter. I love the ministry of the woman at the well with Jesus in John. After her meeting with Jesus, she ran into the village to share the good news. Out of curiosity, the villagers came out to meet the man who had sparked such excitement from this woman. They came out of curiosity but ended up with a personal experience. Their verdict was no longer based on second hand review."They said to the woman, we no longer believe just because of what you said now we have heard for ourselves and we know that this man is truly the Saviour of the world" John 4:1-42. "OH TASTE AND SEE". "The angel of the lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.Oh taste and see that the lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. O fear the lord, you His saint, there is no want to those who fear Him" Psalm 34:7-9.

God is good and desires that everyone should partake of His immense goodness and generosity. "I will satisfy my priests with abundance and my people shall be filled with my bounty", declares the lord. Jeremiah 31:14.  In fact, God oozes goodness.

The lord wants to save, heal, restore, bless etc. Like.Like my glass of green juice, God is full of goodness and wants you to partake in the overflow. O TASTE AND SEE.

P.S. I want to specially celebrate  a dear friend who is a living testimony of what it means to taste and see the goodness, mercy, blessing, healing, favour and joy of the lord. Happy birthday Mildred. I must say you won the weight loss challenge. I bow but ain't giving up. Kindly check out Mildred's blog Here . Yep! She's also a pastor.

Pst Mildred Kingsley Okonkwo. 

Don't blow it.

EDITORS NOTE: A lot of times we blow up opportunities and relationships either knowingly or unknowingly or even through carelessness and misadventure. We sometimes take golden moments for granted thinking we've always got tomorrow to make up or take that bold step. Unfortunately, some of the consequences of our action or inaction can later come to bite us

.  For instance an opportunity you should have said yes to but never did suddenly comes to mock you. Even simple things like giving up the chance to reconcile with a loved one until its too late( been there and it hurts like crazy but NO REGRETS!!). I believe the most painful is the opportunity to share Christ with others directly or indirectly through our words and actions. Whatever you do, don't lose the opportunity to love like today is all you've got. Be blessed with this wonderful articled culled from UCB devotional

Water of Life

Kirstin hates fish! For some reason the mere sight of any fish in whatever manner seems to irk her. I have noticed at several events how she walked past any delicacy that contained fish no matter how it was garnished or presented. This particular day, a meeting was held at my house and my dearest catering crew decided to make a platter of fish the main dish. So guess who turned up her nose at my lovely array of food but I wasn't going to let her get away with it this time-no one turns up their nose at the food I spent good money on even if she's wearing drool worthy shoes! "Are you not eating anything", I asked "innocently. She shrugged her shoulders but I wasn't letting go easy. After much prodding she told me she HATED fish because of the painful memories associated with it in her life.(seriously, I initially found it difficult to believe because food plus+me= very happy memories and I've got my plus size waistline as proof..lol). Kirstin parents were poor and could barely feed their 5 children. A good meal most times consisted of unmentionables with the obligatory Mackerel fish heads that her mum could glean off the market fish monger. So fish in whatever form reminded my dear friend of poverty and shame despite the fact that the memories were over 35 years old. Kirstin now has the privilege of avoiding fish as she could afford to eat whatever she likes but our dearest woman at the well did not have that option. Remember the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:1-40? In her discussion with Jesus she requested for the living water "so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” She wanted that life giving water so she wouldn't be drawing from that "well again". "The well" was a constant reminder of her position in society-a fallen woman, outcast, recluse, fornicator etc. She was tired of quenching her thirst with water drawn in despair, lonliness and shame. It was bad enough that she had to make that endless journey but drawing water from that well was labourious "the well is deep" (John 4:11). Imagine making that painful journey day in, day out, year in, year out; same drugedry yet no new outcome. She always went back thirsty! Imagine her surprise, when she found there is a way out of her present life of shame and that way was just by the well. Like this nameless woman, I had a well I was drawing from for years. It was a well whose water was coloured with pain, regrets, depression,failure until I found another kind of well whose water was refreshing and life giving. All I had to do was exchange one for the other. People in developing countries appreciate pipe borne waters because they've experienced the challenges of drawing water from murky wells and river-its more convenient, healthier and readily available. No more long treks to fetch mostly dirty water. what well have you been drawing from? It may be the aftermath of misadventure, failure, rejection, abortion, divorce, fear you can stop today. You must know by now that drawing from the well of negative actions is never easy. It is painful and dark. When you think of people that hurt you in the past or opportunities lost, you suddenly become infused with anger and pain and the day just roles into despair and depression. Lets chose to drink from the well spring of living waters its REFRESHING, LIFE GIVING AND FREE.

Part of the plan

The book of John 4:1-40 recounts Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman. This was not a chance encounter but incidentally part of his earthly mission. Jesus did not just appear at the well because verse 4 of that chapter tells us "He had to go through Samaria". Jesus was going to Jerusalem but he had to make this "stop" to reconfigure the journey of a woman who was lost. The Samaritan woman was lost emotionally, maritally socially and religiously. Maritally, she'd been with five husband and the sixth man was not even married to her. She was a social recluse as the bible tells us she was at the well during the hottest time of the day-ALONE. Most maidens and women always go to fetch water in groups and mostly in the evenings (Gen 24:11). emotionally, she was an outcast; given the strict religious laws at the time, who would want to be associated with an immoral woman?, better to brave the intense sunlight than endure the condemning stares and gossip of the other village women. Religiously, she still had a warped mindset of true worship,(John 4:19-24) Jesus could not continue to Jerusalem until he met with this woman. He felt the pull of her mess and needed to turn it into a compelling message. That journey into Samaria was not a detour but PART OF THE PLAN. Jesus came to earth with a plan and that lost lady with a whole lot of gabbage was part of that divine plan. What is that plan you may wonder? TO SAVE THE LOST. "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost",Luke 19:10. Salvation met the samaritan woman at the well. She was lost in sin and burdened by religious dogma but Jesus met her right there and then and SHE WAS SET FREE. Her CV did not matter to Jesus and yours does not either. It does not matter how far lost you are, Jesus died for you.Your story like that of the woman at the well can be His Story, if only you'll let him. That nameless woman stands for each and everyone of us who has at one point or the other made very poor choices but its all good because Jesus loves you the way you are. Moreover, there's no hiding from him,He is ALL SEEING. Remember, you are not an after thought no matter what you are going through, YOU ARE PART OF THE PLAN.