WHAT IS HE WORTH TO YOU?

There is no doubt in my heart that every professing Christian sees God as the all powerful One. But God’s omnipotence does not necessarily gain Him the most valuable position in people’s lives.

Luke 7:36-38, 44-46, tells us the story of Simon the Pharisee, who had enough faith to invite Jesus into his home but no corresponding actions to support his faith; therefore his faith without works was dead (James 2:17-18).

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven--for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." (Luke 7:44-47 NIV)

It is said that actions speaks louder than words, the woman in the above passage confirms it. Without uttering a word, she was exalted from being a sinner to becoming a saint. Her actions spoke volumes of her faith. Her actions spoke what she could not find the right words to express.

Our actions come before God daily, what are yours saying on your behalf?

Simon had an opportunity of a life time but failed to seize it. He probably offered Jesus a good meal, but that was not what was required of him. If you serve a god who needs you to feed him, you are in big trouble because it means you are greater than your god. Luke 10:38-42, tells a story of Jesus’ visit to Martha’s home and how upset she was that her sister Mary sat at the feet of the Master leaving her to do all the cooking and serving. Jesus rebuked Martha for allowing herself to be distracted by her preparations. Our best gift to God when He comes into our lives is no more than our undivided attention and worship.

The value we place on anything in our lives determines the treatment and attention they get from us. The worth of a thing to us determines what we are willing to give up getting and keeping it. The value we place on our dreams determines who we are willing to become to achieve them.

In the story of Jacob and Esau (Genesis 25:29-34) we are told how Esau sold his birthright for some bread and pottage of lentils, thus demonstrating his God given inheritance was worth nothing to him. By the time he realized what he had done, it was too late.

In Mark 10:17-22, we see a young ruler, who when he heard Jesus was passing through his area, ran with urgency, fell on his knees before the Lord, beseeching Jesus to show him the way to salvation. Jesus loved him and told him what to do. But his wealth was more valuable to him than the Master and His kingdom.

How valuable is God’s indwelling presence in your life to you? What is the kingdom of heaven truly worth to you?

Pursue your dreams, go after your goals, but in the midst of all that, I pray that God is worth more to you than anything else in the whole world. I pray that every step you take can attest to your profession of faith. If you stay faithful to Him, He will be faithful to you.
If He is worth everything to you, He can guarantee your success! If in doubt read 2 Samuel 22.

To your success!
With Love,
Angela

IS HE STILL A GUEST?

When I was in secondary school, Bible Knowledge was a compulsory subject. It was also one of my favorite classes in my third year (ninth grade) for two reasons, I was intrigued by the stories in the Bible and especially because the subject was taught by my favorite teacher - Sister Theresa Okoye. We had about six arms of ninth graders (A-F). I remember checking the other classes’ timetable to see when they had Bible Knowledge and sometimes skipping my classes and sneaking into their class just to be close to Sister Theresa and hear her speak. She was my super star role model! She was worth the whole world to me, I was prepared to give up everything to hang around her and just listen to anything she had to say. I unashamedly sang about her, talked about her, and boasted about her, everyone knew I was her fan.

In one of her classes, she asked a question that revolutionized my life – “Who is the man Jesus Christ to you?” Though she was the one speaking, I felt like it was God the Father asking wanting to know who Jesus was to me personally. It felt like there was silence in heaven awaiting my response. It reminds me of when the angel Gabriel presented God’s proposal to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) and how the inhabitants of heaven may have been silent awaiting Mary’s response and the joy that must have flooded their entire being, when Gabriel returned and announced “her answer was yes!” Sister Theresa was not in a hurry to get past that question. She waited for everyone to give an answer. That day was a defining moment in my life. I remember giving it a deep thought because I felt that whatever I publicly declare that Jesus was to me is what He will remain to me. I could hear my classmates giving their answers, they were saying things like “He is my Savior” “a friend” “the Son of God” “the Savior of the world” “Our provider” “Our protector”. Then it came to my turn, considering all the answers that have already been given, I realized He was all of that and more to me. I found myself declaring “He is my all in all” and He has been that ever since.

Today, I want to ask you the same question I was asked 25 years ago – who is Jesus Christ to you? I don’t want you to base your answer on who you think He should be or who you have been taught He is or even who you have heard other people say He is. Take a deep breath and pause for a moment, look inwards and ask yourself the question.

Jesus will be to us whatever we allow Him to be. He said he stands at the door of our hearts and knocks, if anyone opens to Him, He will come in and dine with the person and the person with Him (Revelation 3:20). This is only the first step to salvation. Sadly, some people do not press in beyond this point. As He dines with us and vice versa, it supposed to bring us to a place of realization of who He truly is and provoke a response in us to worship Him and surrender all to Him.

Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. (Luke 7:36-38, 44-46 NIV)

We see in the above Bible passage, that Simon the Pharisee was fascinated enough about Jesus to open the door of his home (his personal space, his life) and have Jesus come in to dine with him. True to His nature, Jesus accepted the invitation. Simon had an opportunity of a lifetime to transition from an acquaintance to a bond servant of the Lord, but he either failed to see the opportunity or refused to seize it.

Have you made the transition? Is Jesus still a guest in your life?

I’ve heard it said that one man’s test is another man’s testimony, Simon had a chance he passed on, not so for the renown sinful woman. She will not let such an opportunity pass her by. Based on her sinful reputation, I guess she may have forced her way into Simon’s house damning the consequences. She was not seeking to dine with the Lord; her heart was yearning for something deeper. She was wealthy from her trade; she must also have been a very attractive woman to maintain her clients. I also guess she may have been the envy of a lot of women who secretly wondered what it was about her that made the men in town keep paying for her services, sinful as it was.

This woman had fame (though it was through negative publicity being called sinful) and glamour but was sick and tired of her history. I imagine she was a woman that must have wined and dined with all calibers of men. But when she heard about the man from Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth, the one who is able to forgive sin and make you whole once again, the God of a second chance, the one who is able to make all things new and turn your mess into a message, your misery into a ministry, she was not going to be content with merely dining with such a one. She wanted to surrender her life to Him. She longed to worship Him damning the opinion of the people around her.

She did not even count herself worthy enough to stand in His presence, so she stood behind Him, wet His feet with her tears (she must have shed buckets of it!), wiped them with her glory (her hair) and anointed them with her substance. What a demonstration of reverence! She became the hero of the day!

While some people are struggling with how far they want to walk this Christian walk with God, how much of themselves do they want Him to rule over, where do they want to draw the line, there are some people who are laying it all down before Him – their time, pride, ambitions, past, present, and future, not caring what their peers, the media or even their family will think or say concerning them.

If God was grouping people in either category, where will He place you?

This is not all that is laid on my heart concerning this matter, I will continue from here next week. I hope you’ll be back to read the rest of this message?

Until then,

With Love,

Angela

FOCUS ON THE SUNNY SIDE

Hi!
February the month of love is here! This is one of my favorite months of the year because of the theme it represents – love. I enjoy being loved and I’m thankful for God’s amazing love for me. I am also thankful for the people who love me. I am aware there are some people that don’t like this month because of what it stands for. For them it brings back memories that are best buried in the sea of forgetfulness. But you don’t have to stay sad over the past. In life, we will all experience the sweet and the bitter. Life is like a coin, there will always be two sides to it, but what side of the coin you choose to focus on will determine your disposition towards life and ultimately your success, both spiritual and material.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:1-2 NIV)

What does God want to achieve by giving us this command? He wants our focus to be on love because God is Love! (1John 4:8). If we focus on the love side of life – all the good and lovely things and people that God has sent into our lives, we will never stay sad. In fact, we will be happy and thankful all the time!

What does a merry heart do? It is medicine to our bodies and it makes a cheerful countenance! (Proverbs 15:13, 17:22).

A merry heart is an energizer; you will need it to follow through on your goals.

Life is a journey to be savored, go through it focusing on the sunny side!

To your success!

With love,

Angela