God filled

God-filled

The fullness of Christ is all about the most significant longing any of us can have-a yearning not merely for adventure but for much more than adventure. It is about God's longing for us. He looks at us, knows what he created us for, knows what we are capable of. God wants us to have fullness in our lives, and he brings it about not by filling our schedules but by filling us. But with what does he fill us? The biblical answer, loud and clear, is love. Somehow when God's love is able to flow into our consciousness and experience, it is translated into the muscle tissue of character. And should that surprise us? Are we hungrier for anything more than love?

Listen to the yearning in the words of the apostle Paul as he prayed for fellow believers: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3: 17-19). We need to have the power to grasp the knowledge of the love of Christ, to really own it-to know how wide it is (reaching all around the world), how long it is (stretching from eternity past to eternity future), how high it is (elevating us to the qualities of heaven) and how deep it is (penetrating down to the darkest pits of our lives).

Our lives may be filled with activity (whether important or trivial, urgent or casual) and with people (from those in our inner orbit to the crowds we just bump into along the way), but fullness has to happen within. A person can go on safaris, hunt U-boats, and meet heads of state and still have an empty heart. Now is the time to do something about our emptiness, not when emptiness leads to desperation and hopelessness. The fullness of Christ is available, but it must be "grasped," and to do that we need "power."

-Mel Lawrenz, Patterns

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God filled

God-filled


The fullness of Christ is all about the most significant longing any of us can have-a yearning not merely for adventure but for much more than adventure. It is about God's longing for us. He looks at us, knows what he created us for, knows what we are capable of. God wants us to have fullness in our lives, and he brings it about not by filling our schedules but by filling us. But with what does he fill us? The biblical answer, loud and clear, is love. Somehow when God's love is able to flow into our consciousness and experience, it is translated into the muscle tissue of character. And should that surprise us? Are we hungrier for anything more than love?

Listen to the yearning in the words of the apostle Paul as he prayed for fellow believers: "And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Eph. 3: 17-19). We need to have the power to grasp the knowledge of the love of Christ, to really own it-to know how wide it is (reaching all around the world), how long it is (stretching from eternity past to eternity future), how high it is (elevating us to the qualities of heaven) and how deep it is (penetrating down to the darkest pits of our lives).

Our lives may be filled with activity (whether important or trivial, urgent or casual) and with people (from those in our inner orbit to the crowds we just bump into along the way), but fullness has to happen within. A person can go on safaris, hunt U-boats, and meet heads of state and still have an empty heart. Now is the time to do something about our emptiness, not when emptiness leads to desperation and hopelessness. The fullness of Christ is available, but it must be "grasped," and to do that we need "power."

-Mel Lawrenz, Patterns

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A GOD OF HIS WORD...

We serve a FAITHFUL GOD and there is none like him, on all the earth in heavens above beneath the seas and oceans and anywhere else you can imagine of! Sharply I recall that during my late primary and early high school education,I received a calling from God to bring a form of societal Christian transformation into the lives of other people.

Over the years this vision had sort of faded, due to growing up, challenges, changes, dozens of failures and mistakes, infidelity, being and feeling distant from God, unworthiness amongst many other things.Which I now take as the devil's way of hindering God's will through our lives

But because of God's faithfulness and love which abides forever, his calling kept troubling me for my own good and equally above all FOR HIS GLORY! every single day since the day I received that word from God, I was never the same both in the inside and on the outside. God was working out his wonderful and faithful plan for me and for the glory of his name!

Today I stand a testimony, revived and re-convicted of what God faithfully initiated in me and how God in His appointed time is still going to faithfully fulfil what he started and promised through my humble life! recently the following mail which I received from a prayer friend of mine brought me to a realization that to God a day can be a thousand years and vice versa. I was reminded of the enduring reality that "THE FAITHFULNESS AND ENDURING TRUTH OF WHO GOD, IS IN MY FINITE AND HUMBLE LIFE is more than I can comprehend but can very much TRUST in"

the letter
hi there how are you doing?

Its was good talking to you the other day.I just realised that whenever you have something you really want to achieve in life and that if the thing is good ,God will always provide friends. Friends whom you might not necessarily meet as in the the normal way, but friends in the way that you will be working towards achieving the same thing to fulfil God's will in life. My prayer is that ,may you find your way to fulfilling that desire you have ,I tell you God recognizes those who have a passion to do what is right and He records that.

I'm just happy to know that there is someone who cares about God's people not only those who are in church but also those who haven't known GOD yet.You know what, people come to God in different ways and be happy to be a vessel that God uses in a special way. I also pray that God will help you do the project in the right way and may you be given the strength to continue even when the going gets tough! 'you are worth what God say you are,and not your circumstances'

You know what God's time is the best for everything in life especially to those who love and obey Christ. Trust God in everything you do.



THE FOLLOWING IS ANOTHER ARTICLE WHICH I RECEIVED, THE SAME DAY,I RECIEVED THE LETTER ABOVE:

Let God's Word Get Inside of You

I no longer say, "If only I had a better position...." Instead, I recite the words of Psalm 119:105: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." I don't need a better position to get where I should go. I don't have to figure out my path and jockey to get ahead. I need God's Word to guide me. Only as I follow Him and honor Him step by step can I be assured that I'm right where He wants me to be, and doing what He wants me to be doing and how he desires for me to be doing so.

Whatever "if only I had" statement you are struggling with, you can replace it with solid truths from Scripture that will never leave you empty. It's a bold statement to make and might even sound a bit trite, but it's true. When God's Word gets inside of us, it becomes the new way we process life. It rearranges our thoughts, our motives, our needs, and our desires. Our soul was tailor-made to be filled with God and His truth; therefore, it seeps into every part of us and fills us completely. It is the only perfect fit. And according to Psalm 119:30-32, being filled with God's Word sets our hearts free!

.....fallinG Short....

Our GOD is indeed Adequate for us, all we need do is realize it......

(OUR fullness and victory LAYS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE THAT WITHOUT GOD WE ARE INADEQUATE AND THAT WITH HIM WE ADEQUATE)


Wow, wow, wow wow wow...., something incredible struck me today, "sometimes we miss it by thinking that in our trying so hard and in self condemnation lays our satisfaction and solace, to please God"

I surely do not think so at least not anymore! i was going through an article concerning contrasts between psychology and and christian psychological counseling, i realised that humankind is trying so hard to find adequacy in himself, and psychology seems to be playing a significant role in doing efforts to do so. Hence (humanity is a being in constant trial and error..)

I guess what struck me the most is that, 'we' as humanity THINK WE'VE GOT ALL THE ANSWERS for everything, BUT THE TRUTH IS WE DON'T! at least not for all of the things we experience, for some yeah WE MAY HAVE but WE don't have all of them! the war and debate in the article i was reading was that, IN HUMANITY LAYS ALL THE ANSWERS TO ALL OUR PROBLEMS and that IT'S ONLY IN HOW WE SEE OURSELVES THAT WE BEGIN TO RISE OVER THE SURFACE TOWARDS VICTORY. Well i don't know what to say, in a way the strong belief in this view is that HUMANITY IN ITSELF IS ADEQUATE! If that's the case there is therefore now no room for JESUS CHRIST'S SIGNIFICANCE IN OUR LIVES. Which is where i got a whole lot worried about the reconciliation between PSYCHOLOGY AND CHRISTIANITY.

My stand and opinion however remains that, "UNLESS AND UNTIL MANKIND ENCOUNTERS THE REALITY OF GOD'S BEING HE REMAINS AS RESTLESS AS THE WONDERING WIND" meaning in our own selves lays no answer(s) not even for the simplest situation you may think of.

So what then? i am sure you may be wondering, well i quote St.Augustine to conclude my thought when he said, "When anyone realizes that in himself he is nothing and from himself he has no help, the weapons within him are broken, the wars are over. But all the weapons of impiety must be shattered, broken, and burned; you must remain unarmed, you must have no help in yourself. The weaker you are in yourself, the more readily the Lord will receive you." meaning that unless we seek, realize and desire to know, believe and ultimately encounter the BEING of God we remain unsure of who we are, what we are and how and what we ought to commit our whole existence to.

I wish US ALL the best IN OUR faithfully AND BOLDLY acknowledgment of our INADEQUACY and our DEEP NEED to find FULFILLMENT and adequacy in the LIVING GOD.

PSALM 124....

Psalm 124

A song of ascents, by David.

124:1 “If the Lord had not been on our side” –

let Israel say this! –

124:2 if the Lord had not been on our side,

when men attacked us,3

124:3 they would have swallowed us alive,

when their anger raged against us.

124:4 The water would have overpowered us;

the current4 would have overwhelmed us.

124:5 The raging water

would have overwhelmed us.

124:6 The Lord deserves praise,

for he did not hand us over as prey to their teeth.

124:7 We escaped with our lives,10 like a bird from a hunter’s snare.

The snare broke, and we escaped.

124:8 Our deliverer is the Lord,

the Creator of heaven and earth.

IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE LORD'S ADEQUACY TO US AND IN OUR LIVES; WHERE WOULD WE BE? 'NOWHERE, ABSOLUTELY NOWHERE!'(OUR ADEQUACY LAYS IN OUR KNOWLEDGE THAT WITHOUT GOD WE ARE INADEQUATE AND THAT WITH HIM WE ADEQUATE)

where are you RUNNING to?

Did you know?







As Christians we are not only PILGRIMS of this world but more so are we the most wanted FUGITIVES by the Devil. The question therefore is; where and who are you running to for refuge and solace? And furthermore in whose strength are you also running and doing so?



The two probable answers are either to GOD in Jesus’ strength or to man made reasoning through human strength the later however holds more ROOM to fail us than the earlier!

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.

121:1 I look up3 toward the hills.

From where4 does my help come?

121:2 My help comes from the Lord,

the Creator of heaven and earth!

121:3 May he not allow your foot to slip!

May your protector not sleep!

121:4 Look! Israel’s protector

does not sleep or slumber!

121:5 The Lord is your protector;

the Lord is the shade at your right hand.

121:6 The sun will not harm you by day,

or the moon by night.

121:7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;

he will protect your life.

121:8 The Lord will protect you in all you do,

now and forevermore.

getting CLOSER to God......

how far are you........?















The christian walk is often titled 'a journey' signifying a movement from somewhere ultimately to another worthwhile place, hence it has a beginning and ultimately an end!

The question which stands before us then is? have we embarked on this journey and if not yet, when are going to, or if yes, how far and how well are we progressing? Scary and sobering thought, right there when you come to think of it hey?

An observation which jumps out of this question and though is that, Christianity is a process of disciplining oneself and each other till we eventually get home.

An interesting thought which i heard being emphasized earlier today at church was the practical aspect of God's involvement in our lives. I title it GOD THE DEMONSTRATOR...., or THE DEMONSTRATION OF GOD..... either way would do, reflect with me upon Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" God demonstrate His love in response to our greatest need, deep hey when you really ponder on this part of the chapter and further more on the whole chapter, it just blows you away...., i mean hear we are as Christians on a journey home, and where is our starting point? God's practical demonstration of His love for us through Jesus Christ, furthermore where is our ultimate destination? In him (God) through Jesus Christ yet again!

Eish..... hold on; hold on and hold on.. time for a bit of reflection here, okay let's call this part 'A CALL TO REVISIT OUR HEARTS'
THERE is a problem here, 'we divorce worship and our relationship with God from our daily lifestyles' we musk our existence when it comes to worship as if it's just a show and day of event! yet in actual fact worship ought to be at the core of our hearts and the ultimate informer of our daily lives.

By failing to live out this reality we have faceted our lives to different God's instead of only to God!

our failure to APPRECIATE God as he we ought to, degrades and tarnishes our relationship with Him. we claim God is good, but is it His BEING that we love and regard as good or our desired benefits from Him, i mean it's really not fair on God's part what we do, we claim he is good when we want something from him, not really in our RELATIONAL BEING with him. belive you me I am no less guitty culprit when it comes to this sad reality.

but you know what? enough is enough, i am calling for a transformation here, those up for it come on board and join me. My first warning for those with me on this movement including myself is, "MAY WE NEVER FALL VICTIM OF BEING SEASONAL LOVERS OF GOD" THE NEXT QUESTION WOULD THEN BE, HOW CAN WE BETTER AND PRACTICALLY LOVE GOD? SIMPLE GIVE UP ALL OUR LIFE'S PLEASURES FOR HIM, AND FOLLOW HIM,

WO WO WO WO!!!!!!!!!! SLOW DOWN HERE, that's definitely easier said than done, exactly, which means that we need commitment and consistency to this. We need renewed and focused minds set upon and towards God!

Look closely at the PSALMS; they are an outward expression of a sinner's heart laying bare before the Master, desiring pardon as well as giving the Master his due. The question to you and me is; are we equally PREPARED to expose ourselves before our maker as the Psalmist did?

"We have deceived ourselves for too long, why not we consciously take an excursion back home where we belong, and there shall find solace"

we need to go back to the heart and bottom of true worship.........,
"our worship is heart worship, it springs down beneath the core of our hearts, therefore whence does thou heart standth?"

worship.........
"loving God from WITHIN our hearts describes true worship, it enables us to consciously love and live out, without vain; practical and testifying lifestyles before mankind and ultimately before God"

"Proper and 'informed' worship entails the use of our INTELLECT mind, worshiping God also calls upon our strength in that we need commitment, ability and diligence in the royal field of the Father"

TO GOD BE THE TOTAL GLORY NOW AND FOREVER AND EVER AMEN

who are WE in Christ Jesus?

Mankind's Ultimate destination and achievement is to find CONVICTION in GOD














During this past week, i unfortunately fell ill that i had to go and visit the doctor, it turned out that, i had failed to adequately keep warm, hence it had affected my tender chest resulting in constant evening coughs. Further to that i had overworked myself in the past few weeks and fatigue had triggered in me constant mild headaches and uneasiness within my muscles.

With some tablets i was told sent off by the doctor and encouraged to give myself enough rest and to regularly take in a lot of water. However my fascination through all this came whilst i sat at the clinic bench awaiting my turn to see the doctor, seeing and being surrounded by sick people of all ages, babies crying, sad faces in pain, elderly people being given a hand to walk from point A to point B. Eish i must confess got me wondering of; 'what life really is about and what meaning is it or has whether in sickness or health?'

They say, and we believe that God is the creator, giver, sustainer and ultimately re-possessor of all of life, out of his will and in his appointed time. The question however i shivered at the thought of was, as his creation (humanity) do we really understand the significance he bears upon our every facet of life, either in well-health or ill-health?

With constant reflection upon this thought, i came up with the three following reflective questions, which i desire everyone to honestly reflect upon and personally answer:

1. DO you KNOW GOD?

2. DO you BELIEVE THAT HE EXISTS?

3. ULTIMATELY Are you CONVINCED THAT HE IS ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN every facet of your WHOLE EXISTENCE?

Along the same thought, i realised also that; "only GOD posses the ability to inform my view/understanding of who He is and that our desire to know and encounter Him facilitates OUR everyday existence and relationship with both HIM and other people around us"

"our love and desire for GOD enables us to live GOD conscious lives!"

Ultimately existence ought to be about GOD through our existence, hence another question, "Is your EXISTENCE a title or testimony to others around you as well as to GOD himself"

Indeed as pilgrims of this here world we are restless and inadequate until and unless we personally encounter the Living God..........

I also found the following hymn of encouragement as it pointed me to focus on GOD as my source and ultimate destination...


Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There's light for a look at the Saviour,
And life more abundant and free:

[Chorus:]

Turn you eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face;
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more hath dominion
For more than conqu'rors we are!

[Chorus]

His word shall not fail you He promised;
Believe Him and all will be well.
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

[Chorus]