Love and Valentine: on Valentine

So I spoke to my teenagers today (as the spirit led) first about Valentine and then about love. I told them about the origin of the celebration and its progression to what we have now (you all should know that by now, but they didn't!). I went further to tell them about the types as popularly peddled and also written about but one of my all time favourite apologetic C.S Lewis. You know them: Agape, Phillos, Storge, and Eros.
Naturally, I began with the perfect prototype; Agape. I narrated to the sacrifice Agape was willing to take according to 1 Corinthians 13, and knowing that that relationship is based on little or no reciprocation from the recipients, yet keeps on giving. This is a losing love.
I briefly talked about Storge and Phillos both being strong but based heavily on relationships.
And then "ghen ghen" (Nigerian Movie sound track) came Eros, and the crowd went wild. But in my jovial but stern voice I calmed them down. Love based on the senses. As temporal as the essence that created them, this is the base and lowest form of love. It is not evil in itself as several acts of love were triggered by our base senses. Jesus for example "saw" people and was moved with compassion, so who am i not to see... However, dwelling on eros will never lead to a lasting union. I gave relevant examples that suited their sensibility and got an acknowledgement flush; you guys don't have to remember your secondary school crushes and crutches.
To end this talk, I contrasted between Agape and Eros to let them see why priority need to be set and why they need a refined mind to see beyond the temporal things that is typical of their age bracket and go for enduring over exciting. It was an awesome talk. Lets Gods word Impart (as it should #inspired)

Let true Love flow...

Romans 8

Alright; in my perusal of Facebook i came across a great read by an awesome bible teacher Richard Murray. With his permission i share his recent draft of Romans 8.
Whenever self-awareness grips me, self-doubt and self-condemnation follow - - I have just entered the Romans 7 “zone.”
The good news is that Romans 8 is nearby, ready to save me from all condemnation through the life of the Spirit. Romans 8 tells me that in Christ there is no condemnation (v.1), no sin (v.2), no death (v.2), no carnal mindedness (v.6), and no defeat (v.37). In Christ, there is only life (v.2), righteousness (v.4), spiritual mindedness (v.6), peace (v.6), physical quickenings (v.11), continual leading by the Holy Spirit (v.14), Abba intimacy (v.15), Holy Spirit witness (v.16), Holy Spirit strengthening (v.26) and the inseparable love of Christ (v.35-39).

Let me give an allegory about living in Romans 8.
Once, years ago, I entered a Ryan's Steakhouse Buffet for the first time. As was my custom at steak houses, I planned on ordering a ground chuck steak. But, when I passed the hostess she told me I could only get the buffet. I had no choice but to trust that there was something better awaiting me on the other side of the cashier station than my self-willed chopped steak. Since I had one of my theological buddies with me, I jokingly told the host, "You just violated my freewill!"

Well, when I entered the buffet, I saw that what I was was being offered was NOT a restriction of my freedom, but an EXPANSION of it. There were mouthwatering mountains of food of various types, from Italian to Mexican to Oriental, from steak to chicken to seafood, from salad to dessert to pasta. I could have as much as I wanted of anything I wanted (including a chopped steak).

So, when we trade in our freedom of myopic Romans 7 self-will for entrance into the limitless Romans 8 buffet of the mind of Christ, we aren't legalistically restricting our freedom but exponentially enlarging it. We are trading one loaf of self-willed bread for instantaneous access to a thousand better leavens. We are not losing freedom when we put on the mind of Christ, but truly finding it!

So the next time Satanic suggestion tries to convince you of what you are giving up to follow Jesus, smack that devilish lie flush on its jaw. "Therefore let no man glory in men. For ALL things are yours; Whether Paul , or Apollos, or Cephas , or the world , or life , or death, or things present, or things to come; ALL are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s." 1 Corinthians 3:21-23.

Woman

I have always had questions in my heart about being a woman and all that expected of us and how our society sees us. I have always disagreed on many popular beliefs but did not know how to voice my opinion because I did not want to be misunderstood. It is really not easy to be a woman especially in this part of the world. We all insult girls whom we perceive as gold diggers but forget that the society actually made her that way. Where a girl grows in a family and most times is not encouraged to be successful but instead is encouraged to get a husband and leave. I have had cases where I see people praying for ladies both young girls and ladies and they don't pray that they be fulfill Gods plan or achieve anything in life, all they pray for is that they get married.

People who have only males are praised but if u have only females you'll be told you've given birth to prostitutes and most times by fellow women. I had a recent experience which made me believe women are really their worst enemies. If we can come together and be supportive of one another we'll be taken more seriously and be better respected. Why do we tend to wipe off every trace of our existence and identity because of marriage. We are created for a higher purpose.‪#‎womenarise‬

This are the words of a friend of mine; calling on women folk to live. The limitation that we face is often self-inflicted.

My Birthday

As this hand and Mouth that has been taken over by an older purposeful mind turns a quarter of a century, in my well lit Conner i worship. Typically in songs and tongues but now in reflections, deep silence and prayer. With the screen in front of me and a keyboard that won't run out of ink. Hear my Heart.
In my days i have seen several days, much more than those coming after me. i have been in need and abounding in all. i have lost, been given and been taken from. i know pain also in ways you may never know. This is why as the year flips over i can write that in my lowest state i have mustered up a smile, i have laughed at serious things where people expected me to cry. i have had the cause to hold back people from getting into fights on my behalf. Because i don't just believe God, but i also know when he is at work, waiting or showing me a brighter path. i want to be beside him at all times. These decades and a half have been most meaningful since you came into the picture.

This is what worship should sound and look like. i tell you of how circumstances lose their meaning and i can rewrite my reality. Sleep in a boat with the storms raging. Experience Peace and do that smile i do with my left upper lip. It's going to come out right. He said it would i not only believe it i am too lazy to worry about it.  
If i write a memoir for my birthday and you are expecting to hear me talk about me, then it won't be this one. Because i am very sure that if He wrote his it will mostly be about me.        

Courage

Its was almost 2016, I woke up this morning in my story telling mood. So i decided to share a story that involves a lot of my friends. Shared and mutual experiences make the best of stories.

One day (actually one night, probably around 1am) in the city of Gwagwalada. In the year 2011 (I guess! please correct me if I am wrong). This was the period before school properly resumes, when committed folks like us came back earlier than others to things we normally can only do earlier than others. From different locations across Gwagwalada we got a call. Get to the house where your Sisters reside! Run! They are been Robbed! (I guess that’s how the call sounded, not sure i was the one who picked it) We got up! With exclamation marks and I woke up the team who camped at Oluwafemi (not the restaurant o! But a compound close by) this guys were Ani, Ay (where you there?), Myke, Olaitan, and Me. We actually got up put on clothes and began to run. The call came from Dagiri, where Papa Ik, Odims, John, Henry and Moses were camping. We were closer to Obanna so we hoped to get there first. We didn’t stop jogging there (sorry Running) with no thought at all, just get there! It was not until we were close that my brain fully woke up. And i stopped running. Kai! What are we going to do? Where are we Going? Armed robbers or just Robbers? How on earth are we able to stop a robbery in process? My courage took a break and let reason mixed with a little fear prevail. But when I remembered they were sisters. Blind courage Resumed and i barked to my guys “Hold something” and we all sighted different sizes of weapons, I had a plank. At least i had something to defend my blind courage. I have no idea what the others were thinking just mine.

We eventually got there with our adrenaline fully pumped with even a reasonable amount on reserve in case Fight changed to Flight. We busted into the compound like the avengers, you know? When everyone passes through one door at the same time without touching each other and take their picture perfect pose before the final showdown. Only to find some of the Boys from Dagiri with folded arms looking at us. Now this is weird we came here to stop a robbery or at least try. Odims in his normal sarcastic tone “What is this” (that’s how it sounded in my head).  That was how we converted from being the Expendables to being Sherlock Holmes such a waste of adrenaline. Even Ik came in first to save the victims before he tells us that Henry had been arrested by the police as they couldn’t comprehend two guys on a bike in the middle of the night. I won’t tell you what they did Ik except he decides to share it himself.

It was a false alarm as we wrapped up the investigation; it was a story of a rat and a funny security guard (who is not from Benue) who loves to chase rats at night.

As we slept in the open of their compound as we couldn’t risk going back on our depleted adrenaline plus the police... I looked up as I laid down and let my mind wonder. What if it was a robbery? What would that have made of us? Would we have defeated them and saved our friends. Well those questions are not relevant. It’s over now. Toba couldn’t make it down that night

It is love that overrides common sense. I know I would react like that over and over again. The love of Christ compels us... That is the spirit that gave us life. It is not just for a season, its forever. I still love you all.

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To all Writers of Truth

Dedicated to all my friends who write.

The world is a beautiful and well thought out master piece. It’s unfortunate a lot of people have lost their perception of beauty. If they cannot see what is in front of them now, how can they perceive what is in the times to come. Beauty has been robbed from the heart of Man, just as innocence and purity has been given in trade to the culture of commercialism. When my thoughts only come for a price and for a price I think. How then can all things pure and perfect be seen?

For you who have eyes to see and have also learnt the patience to write. To those who grew up and were not robbed or have not yet being robbed of the sanity of humanity and the eyes of a child backed with the diligence of a sage. Turn the pages that once used to be your escape from reality to your weapon of reformation, to rebirth the humanity from whence we were created in union with the divine. To educate and cause all men to see the creator beyond the created, to see the origin of society and economics to tell the inhabitants of the world that the grounds were made to sustain all and not some. Tell him that leads that everything made is the answer and not just the artificial price of one.

While you can still see tell it all, so if you lose your sight you would have a comfort that you have indeed seen it all, even beyond those who still have eyes. This is why you exist. No one comprehends what you see. You have been magnanimous to share your eyes with the world. For a while I have battled with the relevance of us, until recently. The world needs us to heal them by showing them the colours in the Black and white text, the harmony in the life they ought to live, the freedom of Grace and the humility of virtue and the power to redesign our reality to the utopia in our heart. I have been enriched seeing the world through your eyes.  Do not ever *ever stop writing. They might only miss you when you are gone.

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