In His silence...

There have been a number of preachers talking about a shift that is about to take place soon. Not necessarily a physical, but most definitely a spiritual shift. It got me so excited, and I kept talking to God asking "Father what should I do, as I wait for this shift to occur?" I felt like I didn't get answer.

Not hearing His voice got me worried; my mind began to wonder causing me to question if I was doing something wrong, which could have caused Him to hide His face from me. I found myself constantly asking "Father didn't you say in Your word that if i seek You i will find You?" It got to a point that i subconsciously started spending less time reading my bible, worshiping and praying. Now we all know that when we get to our lowest points the devil starts meddling with our minds, and could cause us to reevaluate our relationship with God. Although he tampers with our minds we cannot blame the enemy entirely, because most times we leave ourselves prey to his attack. When our inner man (Spirit) is empty our vessels are prey to the enemies attack, and we become extra “sin sensitive” so much that we start wondering if old sins have even been forgiven. The word of God (Bible) is food for our spirit, and when we don't nurture our inner man it causes us to get weak spiritually. It’s easier for the devil to attack someone whose inner man is empty than someone whose inner man is loaded and ready to go!

(http://thebookofcornelius.blogspot.com/2012/08/pouring-out-my-heart-to-you.html)  

                             

Recently i read on the blog above that sometimes we read our bible's, and spend time with God as if we are doing Him a favor when it’s really for our benefit. If our inner man is always fed, and ready to go even when we experience God's silence it wouldn't break us down or cause us to drift, because we have His word in us to reassure us of His promises.

Being loaded means that when those doubts come, we can silence the voice of the enemy immediately reminding him of what the word says in Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Silence doesn't mean God isn't listening to us, but rather He might just be helping us to understand where we are in our relationship with Him. It’s easy to think we have faith in God when we are constantly hearing Him speak to us, or feel His presence surround us. On the other hand true faith is when despite the fact that we cannot see or feel God's presence we remain established!

Established means to be settled securely, unconditionally, convinced, or shown to be valid beyond a reasonable doubt.

Hence when we are established in His presence the little things won't shake us. Take for example when the cold season comes it tears down all the leafs  from the trees leaving it bare, and even the wind causes it to waver back and forth but it remains planted. During the dry season, it gets the food it needs to survive from the nutrients which were stored up prior the drought.  As the trees remain firm and planted in the soil regardless of what season they are in, let our faith in God also remain solid! 

To accomplish this we as believers need to have God's word established in us, so that when we find ourselves in such situations we will have the right words to lose the hold of the enemy on our minds and life.

Matthew 12:34 "...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh"

Ever felt lonely?

Most times we never want to admit our true feelings, so we try to hide behind the mask of self-Independence and this notion that we don’t care what anyone else thinks. We should know by now that others might believe in our facade, but God knows all things. 

A couple of days ago a friend of mine asked how my journey with the Lord had been going so far, and it really got me thinking about the lessons I have learnt. There have been sometimes in my life when I felt like something was missing, but just didn't know what exactly. The feeling of loneliness for me first started off slowly so I would brush it off, but it eventually seemed to overtake the standard I thought I had set against it. It caused my heart to ache, and sometimes even made me weep in my quiet places with God. I am sure a lot of people have felt that way before, when it’s like no one understands your pains or the people you thought you could count on seem to have drifted away. You're trying to see the bigger picture, but it seems like there's a wall in front of you; it feels like you are stuck!

GOOD NEWS! The devil is a liar, because the word says in Colossians 2:10 " and in Christ you have been brought to fullness, He is the head over every power and authority"

The devil always tries to blind us with our apparent circumstance, so much that we can't see or hear God’s voice. We often even attempt to fill that void with earthly things such as money, relationships, partying, shopping, sleep, and so on. Some might think God has forgotten them, and doesn't feel their pain when rather He has been speaking to them all along. Occasionally He allows us be stripped of everything we had or thought we had so we can see the truth, which is that everything in our life can be taken away but God will always be there.

The word says in Deuteronomy 31:8 (CEB) "But the Lord is the one who is marching before you! He is the one who will be with you! He won't let you down. He won't abandon you. So don't be afraid or scared!"

We place so much trust, and cling to these temporary things, and we forget that all of it WILL surely pass! God however, is the same as He was before, as He is now, and will be forever more. Loneliness might seem rough at times, but it draws us closer to God and teaches us what’s really important. See by getting closer to God we will start finding ourselves which brings about peace, and totality which is something this world can NEVER give us. So I urge that next time we find ourselves in that lonely place we take it as God trying to speak, and we listen as we go to Him in prayer.

Who do you trust?

To "trust" means to have faith, or believe in the reliability of someone or something

Personally "trust" is a very startling word. It usually takes a lot to trust someone, because disappointment seems inevitable in this world we inhabit presently. Therefore people have consciously or unconsciously chosen to "trust" no one else expect themselves. But that isn't always the case, since sometimes we place our trust in idols. Because of this misplaced trust we find ourselves getting disappointed.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight" 

Let me ask a question, and I want us all to do an honest "reality check", even if you have heard this question time and time again. Now the question is what have we placed our trust in? Is it school, friends, family, validation from social media sites, food, clothing, attention, sleep, compliments, parties, or even your significant other?  Anything we put above or trust in more than God is an idol. Sometimes we trust in the pleasure of things/people, or seek validation from others to make us feel better or dare I say to tell us the difference between "right" and "wrong". When really we need to refer back to the bible to get our answers, because worldly advice and validation can only go so far but the word of God is everlasting. 

Numbers 23:19 says "God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being that He should change His mind. Does He speak and then not act? Does He promise and then not fulfill? 

Then Isaiah 55:10-11 goes on to reassure us saying "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater. So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it."

 Let’s take a poll, how many people including you make promises and keep them 100% of the time? NONE except God! Sometimes we get scared to trust God but if we genuinely examine the reasoning behind that we would find nothing valid. Why? Because even if we evaluate God's track record, from the beginning of the world till today He has kept His promise every single time. In God’s timing we have the victory in EVERY obstacle we face. So I ask that we pray to God to show us those things we have placed above Him and to draw us closer so we can walk in the purpose He has spoken over our lives.  

Sprung on God!

Honestly I wasn't going to post tonight, but I just couldn't stay away. Usually I always have fazes when it comes to songs, and one of the songs that has been on repeat is "Loving me" by Jonathan McReynolds.
(There's the link below if you want to listen)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUUqXjbx6Bw&feature=related

Now at first I didn't really pay attention to the lyrics, but when i listened carefully it brought me to this revelation.

God's love exceeds both the heavens and earth 

It’s as pure as water,

But it runs deeper than an ocean

Cleansing to the very core of our souls,

Replacing the void within with the fruits of the spirit

Not just any spirit but the Holy Spirit!

The restlessness is traded for peace

Brokenness for joy

Anger for Love

Arrogance for gentleness

How great is our God?

His ability to love us in our filth is impeccable

Remarkable I tell you!

Even in the midst of faithlessness,

He looks past our façade

And you know what He sees?

 A vessel worth fighting for!

My mind cannot comprehend such love, but hey if we could understand God fully we wouldn't be amazed. Life may not always go the way we think, but with a God as wonderful as this it doesn't even matter. His love fills, and replenishes so what more can we ask for? All we can do is worship, and tell Him every day how magnificent He is.

Set apart..

I heard the title "Set apart" when I woke up this morning, and I was absolutely excited! For the most part writing comes to me almost naturally, but this time I really had to dig deeper in order to understand what the spirit was saying. So I looked up the definitions of "set" and "apart".

Set means to put, lay, or stand something in a specific position. A group or collection of things that belong together or resemble one another

Apart means to be separated by distance. 

In other words to be "set apart" means to be detached from things that have no resemblance to one's grouping/category. 

So what should this mean to us as Christians? Let’s go back to the beginning Genesis 1:27 (NIRV) says "So God created man in His own likeness; He created him in the likeness of God; He created them as male and female." 

This means that right from the beginning we had been set apart, because we were the only ones created with "resemblance" to the Lord. Hence, we ought to walk life with the mindset that we are holy, why? Because we have been created with the competency to do so. 

Now let’s not get it twisted! Yes we have the ability to be holy, but God has given us the free will to decide whether or not we want to live a holy life. Most of us don't really understand what it means to live a holy life, so we just shove the idea to the side never to be revisited. Being holy doesn't mean we don't fall short, even the bible says "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, NIV) 

What matters is that we make up minds to live a holy life, and ask God to help us. Look at it this way God's plan for us will ensure we are provided for; His plan is perfect, so why should we chose to live life with less when He wants to give us more? The enemy will always try to penetrate our minds, and swindle us with the fact that we are not worthy but don't be deceived! When Jesus died on the cross He paid in full. The blood that was shed on our behalf has erased those sins done, and that which is yet to be done. I don't know about you, but God has to be extremely mighty to see the end before the beginning and make preparations to have us taken care of even before the fact.

To live a holy life is to surrender your will to God, and let Him take total control. Sometimes we are so hidden in the things of the world that we forget this isn't our final stop. The bible says that the things we see are temporary, but the things unseen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV) 

Trust me I understand the constant pressure to fit in, but why bother when it’s only temporary? We have a much greater purpose which will reward us with eternity in a land filled with milk and honey, where there is no pain or sorrow. Not to forget we get to spend it with God. Therefore I encourage us all to heed the words from Romans 12:2 (NKJV) "And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God"

Got gifts?

Now here's a question for everyone including myself to honestly answer. Have you ever felt the spirit press, or whisper to your heart to awaken a talent or gift that has been bundled up? 

*Raises hand*

   

 I won't lie, because the only person I can continue to deceive is myself. My name is Michelle Ziregbe, and I have decided to answer to my calling as the Spirit leads. Just a short story about myself that most people probably don't know. When I was a little girl I loved to write! I wrote songs, poetry, and I loved to perform in general. Somewhere along the line I let myself get so caught up with everything else that I neglected the gift God gave me- writing. 

  

 In reference to the Book of Matthew 25:14-28 (NIV) "The parable about the bags of gold". For those who haven't read or can't remember the story here is a brief summary. A man was travelling, and before he left some of his wealth was allotted among three of his servants. To one he gave five bags of gold, to the second he gave two bags of gold, and to the third he gave one bag. The first two servants invested the wealth, and multiplied but the third hid it until the master returned because he was lazy and afraid. The master was not pleased with the servant, so he gave the gold to one of the other servants. 

    

 Nearly all my life this story was told to me time after time, but I finally understand the real message behind the story. God has placed in each and every one of us different gifts but we hide them just like the lazy/scared servant. But you know what’s worse than being scared to use your gifts? God taking those gifts away, and giving it to another person who is willing to use them.

And yes I know the plans God has for us sometimes seem big, and petrifying. It often might even cause some to question whether or not they have enough vigor in them to accomplish such enormous tasks. Don’t forget 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV) "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness'. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." 

Therefore I urge every one of us to be like the two servants who took the gifts their master gave them, and multiplied it. Fear as we know isn't of the Lord, so let us gather courage and trust that if the Lord gave us a gift then the harvest will be prosperous.