At peace with the wearer.

So the other other day I bumped into an old dress that I had bought two years ago. Surprising enough when I bought this dress, i thought I would look nice in it.

Well to my shock the first time I wore it, I knew it was a no no go zone! I looked horrible and ridiculous in it.  However it has survived in some wardrobe since then and I only managed to see it last week. My first thought was, I need to give it away, what on earth is it still doing in my house, but then a quick thought ran through my mind-what if  i try and see how it looks for the last time before I give it away?

A good Sunday morning and I decide to just try it out and to my utter shock, I look great in it….and now I love it, I love it and I love it. Then I had one of those Holy Ghost aha moments and I heard Him say to me.

“That dress has not changed, but you have changed. You like yourself a lot better than you did two years ago!”

What? Did I hear that right? Yes. I had an absolute conviction in my heart that yes, the dress had not changed, but I had changed. Two years ago, I may not have been so confident about myself partly due to baby weight and useless issues but I have been on a journey with the Lord, I am more grateful to God for the person I am right now, I have learned to like what I see in the mirror…may be not 100% but I am doing way much better guys! By the way, I am talking about the same me in size and weight over the two years duration.  

I had my good lesson then-Well, the next time you buy yourself a dress…you are likely to love it better if you are at peace with the wearer.

Free things

I recently attended a wonderful biblical seminar that brought to my attention a few things. I will be sharing as we progress.

But one of the things that caught my attention was a statement that said

“One of the reason as to what Africa is poor is because we want free things”

And I thought! How true! So I have had a personal talk to myself that I am going to avoid free things to the best of my knowledge.

Tell me. How can such a rich continent like Africa be begging? Well, first – our minds are crazy poor and the systems of the world help us to remain so and we have chosen to remain so.…we call it famine or even drought-sub Saharan Africa! Let me share with you a quick snapshot of how Joseph dealt with famine in Egypt and that’s how God economy works.

 Nothing is for free.  Salvation is not for free either, someone died (Jesus) for you to have it! So my dear African….quit the free stuff, the bible says, you better be poor with some level of integrity Proverbs 19:1! 

Please read this carefully!

 In the course of time there was no food in all the land, for the famine was distressingly severe, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan hung in doubt and wavered by reason of the hunger (destitution, starvation) of the famine.

And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan in payment for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

 And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For we have no money left. (Wanting free things)

 Joseph said, Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for them if your money is gone. ( They had livestock, so how could they say they have nothing?)

So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses, flocks, cattle of the herds, and the donkeys; and he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. 
 When that year was ended, they came to Joseph the second year and said to him, We will not hide from my lord the fact that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of livestock; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.

Why should we perish before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed [to plant that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate. (At this point they had known you don’t get free things from Joseph)

And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field because of the overwhelming severity of the famine upon them. The land became Pharaoh’s, And as for the people, he removed them to cities and practically made slaves of them at their own request, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other.Only the priests’ land he did not buy, for the priests had a fixed pension from Pharaoh and lived on the amount Pharaoh gave them. So they did not sell their land.

 Then Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Now here is seed for you and you shall sow the land. (You empower people by giving them seeds)

At harvest time when you reap the increase, you shall give one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own to use for seed for the field and as food for you and those of your households and for your little ones. (They need to learn to pay their taxes)

 And they said, You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord; and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt—to this day—that Pharaoh should have the fifth part [of the crops]; it was the priests’ land only which did not become Pharaoh’s.

And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they gained possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly. (One big happy family)

Was Joseph fair? No. But he was JUST!

It starts with you...

 When i read this. I am reminded that i was born for such a time as this.

My daily work involves helping the poor of the poor. I love doing this and i count it as a privileged to do so. I have met people who have reminded me over and over again that Africa is cursed and they have shown me texts in the bible to calm my nerves.  I do not have much to say about it for now, but i have a simple question. What are you doing about it?

Many times i have also heard people say or threaten God-ha! - "When i get to heaven i will ask God...blaa..bla..blaa..."the questions are more related  to why.....well, i know for sure we will have nothing to ask because then, we shall know in full. I on the other hand, i think we will be so embarrassed that we did nothing with all the hours that God will have given us breath on earth. Actually we shall be hiding with embarrassment, yes we made it to heaven but have nothing to show for it. Just in case you did not know. The message is simple.

It starts with you! Period.