Remember me

And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. I Cor. 11 : 24-25 (KJV)

To remember is to have in the mind an idea which had been in the mind before, and which recurs to the mind without effort. We are said to remember anything, when the idea of it arises in the mind with the consciousness that we have had this idea before. Remember is often used as synonymous with recollect, that is, to call to mind. (Websters). It is a natural tendency for us to forget, but not all things should be forgotten. The sacrifice of Jesus to secure a place for us in eternity through his body and to grant us access by His precious blood is historic. The aura of life He brings has the capacity to eclipse whatever we’ve been through in life. As the Israelites were leaving Egypt, God told them not to forget the Lord in those pagan lands, but they did. Hence, when He came for the ultimate sacrifice, He instituted the ritual of the communion and said “this do in remembrance of me”. He doesn’t want us to forget Him again like the Israel of old.

Remembering Him reminds us of the finished work on the cross. It will keep our life in check as we sojourn this earth, with all the pitfalls. Thus, in the midst of all the delays, sicknesses, pains, lacks, suffering, etc, He said, remember Me. It doesn’t matter what hell is throwing at us, making us feel that life is over and that it will never get better, He said remember Me.

Remember Me, because-

it is what I said that matters.

everything ends and starts afresh in My death

as I live in you, your life maintains the true flavor.

when you forget Me, your adversary will gloat over you.

If you desire to remain on the winning side of life, always remember Me.

For Me

He is the reason why everything exists,

but He risked the loss of that status and

came, for me.

Nothing appealing could have been

an attraction for Him here, but He

came, for me.

He could have garnered the command

of all by His appearance but He hid it

 and became like me, just for me.

Though He had all the authority to alter

anything to His taste, but He gave it

all up, for me.

His breath alone could put everything

out of balance but He submitted to shame ,

for me.

They even made a sport of Him as if

 He was nobody, but he allowed it

just , for me.

He could have existed happily without

 me but for love, He came,  for me.

Even when I was lost in my wanton

and riotous propensity, clad in sheer

 religious ritual in disguise for a quest

 for God, He broke the veil and reached

out, for me.   

His body could have been a wonder

 to behold. The texture of His skin would

 have made anyone to turn and look again,

 but He let it broken, for me.

Having given up all, for me, He deserves my all.

What about you?

When Fiery Trials Are Hot on Our Heels …

As I peer out the window of my home just outside Colorado Springs, I can see majestic Pikes Peak standing tall overlooking our city. I love the fact that every morning when I open the blinds, there it is. Barring some cataclysmic event, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, and that is comforting to me. Last summer as I witnessed wildfire explode across the canyon into our city, consuming trees and homes in its path, the mountain itself wasn’t consumed. Even when I couldn’t see it through the smoke, I knew it was there. In a similar way, the trials of daily living feel like they might consume us at times. We strain to see through the smoke, eyes squinting across the canyon of our circumstances. We’re hoping the fire won’t jump the ridge. But then it does. What we thought was manageable is now out of control and the thing we once dreaded is now a reality. What do we do then, when what is dear to us is being consumed before our very eyes? In John 16, Jesus is spending some final moments with His disciples prior to His arrest and crucifixion. These disciples left everything behind to follow and love Jesus for the last several years. They are His beloved friends. In the chapters prior, Jesus revealed to them that very soon He would suffer greatly, die, be resurrected, and then leave them. On top of that, He let them know the world would hate and persecute them. I imagine their minds may have skimmed over the part about the resurrection and highlighted in bold the fact that they were about to be without their Savior and best friend! The fire had just jumped the ridge. In those moments, everything they lived for must’ve seemed like it was about to be consumed. But then Jesus says some of the most compelling and compassionate words in verse 33: “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.” I imagine Jesus saw their panic and grief-stricken faces and felt compelled to give them this encouraging word, reassuring His friends that, while a lot of terribly difficult and painful situations were about to unfold, He had already made provision. No matter what lay ahead, death and tragedy would not have the last word in their lives. Essentially, Jesus was asking them to gain new perspective on what was about to come in light of what He was offering them—peace and certain victory. As I was writing for my new album, Jesus’ words “Take Heart” echoed through the depths of my spirit. In my own life, I have felt fiery trials hot on my heels, and all too often I have become weary of the struggle of this world, even heartsick. I’m guessing it’s safe to say you have felt that way too. But an amazing thing happens when we lift our eyes from the chaos of the canyon up to the face of our victorious Rock who is Christ Jesus. Our perspective is transformed. Our gaze steadied. Our vision clearer. We are able to reach out and take hold of the peace Jesus extends to us as we endure the fire. We no longer have to cower in fear—we can stand in Jesus’ sure and certain victory. My friends, let us lift our eyes to Him and take heart together! For, indeed, He has overcome the world. Source: RBC Ministries

When God’s Name is Unpalatable

While all this was going on, Peter was down in the courtyard. One of the Chief Priest's servant girls came in and, seeing Peter warming himself there, looked hard at him and said, "You were with the Nazarene, Jesus." He denied it: "I don't know what you're talking about." He went out on the porch. A rooster crowed. The girl spotted him and began telling the people standing around, "He's one of them." He denied it again. After a little while, the bystanders brought it up again. "You've got to be one of them. You've got 'Galilean' written all over you." Now Peter got really nervous and swore, "I never laid eyes on this man you're talking about." Just then the rooster crowed a second time. Peter remembered how Jesus had said, "Before a rooster crows twice, you'll deny me three times." He collapsed in tears. Mark 14:66-72(MSG)

It is no coincident or surprise that sometimes we do not find it palatable to identify with Jesus. The natural man cannot but repel any affiliation with a holy God because such will confront and seek to dethrone the authority is has always enjoyed. Anytime an enclosure with the natural man seems comfortable, the name of Jesus often tastes bland. We all know those times when the object of our lust seem to present an occasion for us to take a bite, those times when licking the honey that was forbidden seem to have the greatest attraction for us, those times when our company looks so impeccable that the mention of the name of Jesus could seem to tarnish our personality, those times when a little lie to strike the next deal stands between us and the profession of our faith, those times when the sweetest note in seraphs song appear to be a out of tune in our melodies. At such times, God’s name is unpalatable.

 Peter came to this same point and did what many of us have done, is doing and will do. He denied his Master. How do you think it's that simple to identify with the man who everyone is set to crucify? How many people will stand at such times? Really, there are times when the name of Jesus tastes unpalatable. What is the way out at this crossroad? Maybe, he shouldn't have been there in the first place after all he couldn't have preached to anyone at such environment and he was not ready to die with the Master. These are times when our feet surreptitiously drag us to our death. Peter's presumptuousness gagged his testimony. It will always pay to give up on self and follow Divine wisdom. Jesus went to eat with sinners when He had time to be their physician and not when they sought to take His life before the appointed time, though He is the Son of God. Wisdom is profitable to direct. It is more profitable to avoid these near-death scenarios than to fall headlong especially when we know the possible outcome. It takes a Daniel to fall into the lions’ den and not eaten up as well as it takes the three Hebrew boys to go into the furnace and not burnt. They were moments of Divine manifestation and a season of national revival. Unless, we are bidden for such end, it will be very foolish to enter the enemy's courtyard and expect to profess the name of God freely. While you still have time, retrieve your feet from the atmosphere that makes the name of Jesus taste unpalatable, that company where you cannot boldly declare that you belong to Jesus. When Peter became a victim, he collapsed in tears. I guess not before the people he had denied Jesus. Should you not as well leave that environment now and go cry bitterly for mercy? Even when we are faithless (and treated His name as soured), God remains faithful. Welcome home.

After three days

    [Saying], Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be turned over to the chief priests and the scribes; and they will condemn and sentence Him to death and turn Him over to the Gentiles.And they will mock Him and spit on Him, and whip Him and put Him to death; but after three days He will rise again [from death].Mark 10:33-34(AMP)

    

     It sounds totally absurd and perhaps even ironical that the Son of Man will be turned over to the chief priests and the scribes and they will condemn and sentence Him to death.....what an abnormality! However, the fact that the statement is coming from the Master, Himself calls for a rethink. In our self exalted position of our base nature, we often think it out of context to imagine a sour situation trailing our paths. We normally assume that the vicissitudes of life are the bane of the unrefined, uncultured and down-trodden. It will be alright if the publicly acclaimed ‘nobodies’ suffer, but for us, it can only be an attack of the devil and his cohorts and so must go back to the sender. How then is the Son of Man announcing His own death at the peak of His fame? No wonder Peter had to take Him aside to caution Him (Mark 8: 32). Oh! the depravity of our vision.

     They will mock and spit on Him and whip Him and put Him to death; but after three days He will rise again (from death).It is interesting to note here that He did not only announce His death, but also his resurrection, after three days. We cannot put up a proper attitude for the death we must die if we cannot see the glorious end. The fact remains that we cannot escape this humiliation and death on the path to glory on our sojourn here on earth. We must pass through the waters and fires of delays, losses, betrayals, etc that lies on our path. Prayer cannot avert it, the best it can do is to supply the necessary grace to pass through it. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Cor 12: 8-9.Paul's attitude changed when he understood the divine locus on his seeming death situation. There is a circle you must complete for your resurrection to come. Don't be too eager to extricate yourself from the scourge, because you did not put yourself there in the first place so you don't even know how to come out. Just wait for the three days. Jonah did not stay beyond three days in the belly of the fish neither did the Son of Man stay beyond three days in the belly of the earth and so yours cannot but last for just three days. It cannot be before, but after three days, you will rise again from the death. Remember, how you'll rise is not certain. Jonah rose to go to Nineveh while the Son of Man rose to glory. It doesn't matter what you will rise into, but one thing is sure, that after three days, you will not remain the same. Your life will have taken the right course to the fulfillment of destiny. Wait till after three days.

He Speaketh

Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.

Put them in fear [make them realize their frail nature], O Lord, that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]! -Psalm 9:19-20(AMP)

Up, GOD! Aren't you fed up with their empty strutting? Expose these grand pretensions!

Shake them up, GOD! Show them how silly they look-Psalm 9:19-20(MSG).

     The different renditions of this verse from these two versions of the bible shades more light to the meaning. Sometimes, we need certain experiences to show us our true nature. What we think about ourselves can only be born out of pride in our paraphernalia. But that doesn't define who we are. Sometimes also, the glory of these things makes us to consider ourselves gods of a sort, fit to be worshiped by others. With this attitude, we position ourselves to be opposed by God, because "God opposes the proud". No matter how great we become in life, we must not forget that ".......by strength shall no man prevail-1 Sam. 2:9.

     God did not design us to live outside His help and anytime we tend to do that, God will arise, for He "will let not man prevail". Man here is our sinful nature and tendencies that opposes the will of God in our lives. Just like it happened to Nebuchadnezzar, God will always make us realize our frail nature, that we may know ourselves to be men. All our facades are “grand pretensions”. What God resists is who we are by nature that tends to oppose Him and take His Glory. Therefore whenever, we are shaken by God or face situations that puts us in fear, God only uses them to humble us. It is not a time to fret, fight or prove smartness. It is a time of deep contrition and repentance. When we recognize that we are men, limited in all ramifications, we should let God be God. God cannot help but continually shake us till we know that it is hard for us to kick against the pricks and seek for His guidance.

     Check the events surrounding your life and recognize if it is not God trying to bring you to His Lordship. Don't wait to be transformed into an animal and sent to the forest to eat grass before you confess like Nebuchadnezzar said " And at the end of the days [seven years], I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding and the right use of my mind returned to me; and I blessed the Most High [God] and I praised and honored and glorified Him Who lives forever, Whose dominion is an everlasting dominion; and His kingdom endures from generation to generation.

And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing. And He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand or say to Him, What are You doing............. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, Whose works are all faithful and right and Whose ways are just. And those who walk in pride He is able to abase and humble-Dan. 4:34-35,37

God bless you.

                                                                                                                                          

Fit to Worship

And he went on to say, "It is what comes out of you that makes you unclean.

For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill, commit adultery, be greedy, and do all sorts of evil things; deceit, indecency, jealousy, slander, pride, and folly- Mark 7: 20-22 (GNB)

All of these come from your heart, and they are what make you unfit to worship God-Mark 7: 23 (CEV)

   

     The controversy that led to this teaching by the Lord is from the law concerning outward cleansing which the Pharisees pointed out that His disciples did not obey before eating. Hence, claiming that the food will make them unclean before God. A closer look will quickly decipher that a constant to all mankind is the desire to be clean before God. Man will do everything he can, to be clean before God. It is a quiet cry of every heart to be at peace with the Maker, though many, unfortunately, deny this fact. Man believes that his physical activities can make him stand clean before a Holy God, what a deception! We often presume that our tact, panache and rituals can guarantee us a clean standing in His Presence. That is to say cleanliness from outside to inside. This can at best make us to “honor Him with our words, while  our hearts are really far away from Him”-Mark 7: 6 (paraphrased).Unfortunately, this trend has continued even to our days. In response to this, Jesus said, "it is what comes out of you that makes you unclean. For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil desires.......".Our heart is the center of our personality, whatever we project on the outside is a reflection of what we have first become on the inside. Our inside controls our outside, not the other way round. God is a Spirit and cannot be deceived by our rituals. He judges us from who we are on the inside rather than who we are on the outside. Jesus said in essence that every negative attitude we exhibit is first of all an evil idea which comes from the heart. This is an excellent diagnosis that cannot be faulted. Ideas are mental images of what we expect. Therefore, when we are busy painting the image in our hearts, God already knows and that makes us unfit to worship Him. The problem is that many are busy hacking at the branches of the real problem of man, while a few are the ones striking at the root. We cannot assume to be fit just by mere physical man-made rituals when we all know about the riots going on in our hearts. We all know about the carefulness we take to appear impeccable even after perpetrating the worst of all crimes. The only person we can deceive is man, not God. Already, we stand disqualified by mere trying to appear clean when we should be crying out for mercy, no wonder many of us come to God's presence and go back without His loving touch.(Luk 18: 9-14).God wants to reach our hearts and change it, for until we are changed from the inside we can never experience the freedom we so much long for. Only a change, not amendment, of heart can suffice for this malady. And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:

     That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God-Ezek. 11: 19-20(KJV).God's prescription for our woe is a change of heart. It is the only panacea to be fit to worship Him. However, because of the strongholds already existing in our hearts, it is often difficult to subscribe for this divine surgery. But how long can we hold up if we really want to be fit for this worship? It doesn't matter how long or how much we put in our rituals, it can never make us clean before Him, because "....we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags;..."(Isa 64:6).God's verdict cannot be changed, it is us that must be changed. Until our hearts are changed by the Lord, the best we can do is but a lip service. Men can applaud us but, heaven does not recognize such worship.

I pray that the Lord will give you this change as you give up your heart for His surgery. God bless you.