THE GRACE FOR VICTORY

2 Kings 13:18-19 Then he said, ‘Take the arrows,’ and the king took them. Elisha told him, ‘Strike the ground.’ He struck it three times and stopped. The man of God was angry with him and said, ‘You should have struck the ground FIVE OR SIX TIMES; then you would have defeated Aram and COMPLETELY DESTROYED IT. But now you will defeat it only three times.

Everyone who enters into a fight…hopes always to win. But there is always a WINNER and a loser. However, there is another different angle to any kind of fight. Sometimes, you might win by default or sheer luck. Thankfully, as a child of God…who is constantly faced with different kinds of battles…our perspective in a fight is…or ought to be that one of a victor. Yet…in spite of this awesome knowledge, we at times enter into our fight UNARMED and UNPREPARED to endure through to the end. At other times, we have no strength to keep our hands on the WEAPON for too long. That’s what happened to the King of Israel.

Israel was ever fighting different kinds of enemies. Before each battle, according to the instructions, each king was required to inquire from the Lord through the prophet. In the account from 2 Kings 13, we see Jehoash, King of Israel consulting Prophet Elisha before going to fight the Arameans. And this was Elisha’s instruction to him.

2 King 13:15-17 Elisha said, “Get a bow and some arrows,” and he did so. “Take the bow in your hands,” he said to the king of Israel. When he had taken it, Elisha put HIS HANDS ON THE KING’S HANDS. ‘Open the east window,’ he said, and he opened it. “Shoot!” Elisha said, and he shot. THE LORD’S ARROW OF VICTORY, the arrow of victory over Aram!” Elisha declared. ‘YOU WILL COMPLETELY destroy the Arameans at Aphek.”

FATAL ATTRACTION

2 Samuel 13:15 Then Amnon hated her with INTENSE HATRED. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, ‘Get up and get out!’

The stories in the bible are not always what we would like them to be. Of all things, we hate to read the possibility of RAPE or INCEST among those who were chosen of God. But…truth be told. The bible stories are the very same stories we read in our modern newspapers or watch in our television screens in the safety of our homes. Everyone…wants to be loved and appreciated for the right reasons, and by the right person in different ways. No-one wants to be loved by a brother…not as a sister but as a lover! NO-ONE. Absolutely, no-one. But that’s exactly what happened to Tamar, King David’s daughter. David had several wives…hence, Tamar and Amnon had different mothers, but the same father. So in reality, they shared the same blood.

But that fact did not stop Amnon from falling in love with his half-sister, Tamar. Moreover, long before this, God has issued instructions about how to behave towards blood relatives in the book of Leviticus of which Amnon was fully aware.

Leviticus 18:6, 9 ‘No-one is to approach any close relative to have sexual relations. I am the Lord.
‘Do not have sexual relations with your SISTER, either your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter, whether she was born in the same house or elsewhere.

However, Amnon was too much in love…to think rationally. He was so much into HIS FEELINGS… that he never once stopped to consider the consequences of following after his own heart. Yes…that’s what FATAL ATTRACTION

THE WIND OF CHANGE

John 3:8 The WIND blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of THE SPIRIT.

Last night, as I put my head down to sleep, I heard the Lord speak gently into my spirit. “THE WIND IS CHANGING.” Let me explain a bit. You see, sometime at the end of November last year, our landlady came with this unexpected announcement. Our house…where we moved in on our wedding night…and where our daughter has called home was soon going to be sold. Suddenly, our lives were turned upside down. For one…renting a house in our town is almost an impossible affair. Most houses are built for sale…and rarely do you find a house for rent. Secondly, because of the scarcity of rental houses, those available are at exaggerated rates.

But earlier in September, we had began thinking of looking for our own house to buy and settle down. We had an eye on a particular house…and the excitement was getting on as we prepared to get things moving in the right direction. Then…again, quite unexpectedly, the plans to relocate were soon interrupted. God closed the doors on us. Yes…the time for CHANGE was here but THE WIND OF CHANGE was not. Finally, when our landlady gave us notice of three months to move out…something happened to both of us, my husband and I at the same time. It was as if God had been waiting for this ONE MOMENT in time for a long time. Without a a long discussion or compromise, we knew that NOW…was the time for us to move out. Not out of our house…but rather to move on with THE WIND OF CHANGE.

BUILD YOUR HOUSE LAST

Proverbs 24:27 Finish your outdoor work and get your fields ready; AFTER THAT, BUILD YOUR HOUSE.

I remember reading the above Proverb sometime last month…and it left me pondering for days. I had even considered posting from it…but nothing concrete seemed to come to me. No revelation whatsoever was forthcoming! Then this morning, I woke up feeling as if I have suddenly lost foot. Our plans as a family almost seems threatened. After some thought, the words of Proverbs 24:27 came rushing back. It was as if God wanted to reassure me about MY HOUSE! Yes…OUR HOUSE.

Before I explain where I am heading with this, let me first remind you what a HOUSE represents for each one of us:

SECURITY: That means a roof over your head gives you a sense of being protected from danger or harm.
STABILITY: That means you have somewhere to go back to every time and all the time. It gives you a sense of continuity.
SETTLEMENT: That means you are now rested and your roots are put down. It gives you a sense of permanency.

With these three points in mind, it may seem more practical and normal for each one of us to desire to have or BUILD OUR HOUSE FIRST…and not as the Proverbs puts it…AFTER doing all the other things. But then again, when I read Proverbs 24;27 I realised I was reading my own life story. In fact, MY GOD STORY.

While I have desired for so long to reach that place of SETTLEMENT, the Lord had other plans for my life. He is the One who gave me…and you, I suppose the outdoor assignment. You and I have been busy preparing the fields for the harvest of the nations. And in the same way, after we have done our bit, He will bring us to the place of BUILDING OUR HOUSE. Just because your house will be BUILD LAST doesn’t mean you will loss out on the best. In fact, since your HOUSE WILL BE BUILD LAST…you will be surprised at what God has in store for you. Remember, He is still the God who SAVES THE BEST WINE FOR THE LAST John 2:10

SOW YOUR SEED WELL

Ecclesiastes 11:6 SOW YOUR SEED in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.

For those who read my blog regularly, you might be aware that I have complied a manuscript…which someday I hope to find a publisher and yes…my memoir will finally hit the bookshelves. But meanwhile as I wait and trust God for the opportunity to get published…I want to share and rejoice with one of my blogger friends, Elaine Olsen.

Although I don’t know Elaine personally, I met her through the blogging world sometime in December 2009 and my heart was hooked to her writing ever since. May I say, she has a passion for the Lord, her family…and yes, the written word. Every time, I visit her blog….PEACE FOR THE JOURNEY, my heart is always stirred by the passion in her words…words which cut through and bring at times relieve, at times a radical change of heart but at most, I feel her heart…and my own lost in the things and purpose of God for her life. She is a LISTENER...and God is speaking into her heart…and she in turn, writes it out for you and me, to help us along our journey towards our heavenly dwellings.

She has SOWN HER SEED WELL….and the Lord has made a way for her. A few weeks ago, she got her first book published and I truly recommend it for reading! The book title is;

PEACE FOR THE JOURNEY:in the pleasure of his company
~f elaine olsen~

For the details on how to purchase your copy, please click on the link above! SOW YOUR SEED WELL…God is faithful.

2 Corinthians 9:10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

God bless you!

A TIME TO REMEMBER AND CELEBRATE!

Tomorrow is my husband’s birthday. It will be the 8th birthday we will be CELEBRATING together…as a couple and now, as a family. His birthday is made up of many fine and treasured memories of our times together. The Lord has been gracious…oh, yes…too gracious. Like David, I REMEMBER and in prayer I ask;

‘WHO AM I, LORD GOD, AND WHAT IS MY FAMILY, that You have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in Your sight, O GOD, You have spoken about the future of the house of Your servant. You have looked on me as though I was the most exalted of me, O God. 1 Chronicles 17:16-17

Our past….has been MEMORABLE
Our present...is PALATABLE
Our future…will be INCREDIBLE

I met my husband almost 8 years ago while he was a missionary brother in the Catholic congregation of the CONVENTUAL FRANCISCANS FRIARS...whose founder was ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI in the 12th Century. On that first birthday together, I gave him a little book with beautiful proverbs and sayings unaware that 8 years down the road…some of the words in that little book who come to pass…in ways unimaginable.

GOD IS THEIR ADVOCATE

Zechariah 7:8-10 And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the WIDOW or the FATHERLESS, the ALIEN or the POOR. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.’

An ADVOCATE according to my Collins dictionary is defined as: to support or recommend publicly; a person who upholds or defends a cause; a person WHO INTERCEDES ON BEHALF OF ANOTHER; a person who pleads his client’s cause in the court of law etc.

Is God your advocate? Do you believe God is well able to intercede or intervene on your behalf against the injustice you are facing? You might not know this….but GOD IS A PROFESSIONAL ADVOCATE! He longs for justice more than you can ever imagine. Long before the professional advocate become a prestigious job…God had made it clear to the children of Israel that He would intercede anytime, and every time when injustice was shown to the four kinds of people in their midst: THE WIDOW, THE FATHERLESS, THE ALIEN AND THE POOR.

In the book of Deuteronomy, we see God commanding the children of Israel on how to deal with these four kinds of people. And in most cases, it was evident that how they dealt with them influenced the outcome of the future events in their lives.

THE DEBT OF LOVE

Romans 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing DEBT TO LOVE one another, for he who loves his fellow-man has fulfilled the law.

By nature right from birth, the human baby has the desire to love and to be loved! The family home, i.e mother and father…and in other cases, siblings are the first contact where the baby begins to understand and function in love. In receiving and giving love, the child develops an emotional bond with the family which gives the child a sense of security and being needed!

Well, as a child, I never had that complete sense of security…because my parents divorced when I was hardly 3 years old. My mother remarried soon after that…and my stepfather substituted the place of my biological father. Over the years, even though I didn’t know it…I held back my love. THE LOVE THAT WAS DUE TO MY NATURAL FATHER. My relationship with my stepfather was more of a formal kind with no particular emotional bond, while I was too much emotionally attached to my mother. But something else was also missing. As a teenage and in my early adulthood, I didn’t care much about men. And even when I got into a relationship…I never came close to surrendering my heart to any man. There was always a safe emotional distance between us.

DO YOU HAVE PEACE?

John 16:32-33 “But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. I have told you these things, SO THAT IN ME YOU MAY HAVE PEACE. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Do you have peace? You may say that is a broad question…and I admit it is. What does peace have to do with you? Most definitions of the word peace…are derived from the state from the outside which defines what happens on the inside. For example, when someone is mean and unfriendly to you, you may feel uncomfortable or restless in their presence. Or when there are chaos around, you tend also to lose focus and a sense of harmony.

In the above scripture verses is hidden wisdom in the words of Jesus to his disciples. Yes…Jesus was about to go to the cross. It was going to be the climax of events that had unfolded 3 years earlier. But…it wasn’t going to be the climax the disciples were anticipating. It was about to be very ugly….in fact, very CHAOTIC and VIOLENT. Oh yes…their world was about to be turned upside down. And Jesus was preparing them for it. So…when He was talking to them about HAVING PEACE, they had no slighted clue what was ahead.

SHATTERED DREAMS: DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT

2 Samuel 12:19-20 David noticed that his servants were whispering among themselves and he realised that the child was dead. “Is the child dead?” he asked. “Yes,” they replied, ‘HE IS DEAD.” Then David got up from the ground. After he has washed, put on lotions and changed his clothes, he went into the house of the Lord and WORSHIPPED. Then he went to his own house, and at his request they served him food, and he ate.

SHATTERED DREAMS: How do you deal with the disappointment? Truth be told. There is no easy way to deal with the disappointment of broken dreams? But there is always a way…THE WAY! Every time I go back to read about David’s encounter in 2 Samuel 12, my heart is deeply stirred. Why? Because I see an attitude which is so rare today…yet is badly needed especially when all hope seems lost! Let me give you a little background on King David’s encounter. We all know about David’s extramarital affair with Bathsheba, Uriah’s wife. A baby is conceived…and a husband who has no idea about it…gets killed on the front-line to cover up for the King’s sin. But God cannot be mocked. He sends Nathan the Prophet to David…and uncovers his sin…and with it, the consequences which includes the death of that child conceived in an act of adultery. Of course, it would have been worse. But God spared King David’s life in exchange for his baby’s.

For seven full days and nights…David touched no food as He PLEADS with God to spare his son’s life to no avail. His whole household is also deeply affected by the unfolding events in the King’s house. On the seventh day, his child dies.