JUST DO IT - 2

What’s ‘Doing’ all about anyway?
When I read about the Access Bank Lagos City Marathon, I really did nurse hopes of participating. I never did and I’ll tell you why later. After the marathon though, I became obsessed with stories of those who did as I scoured the Internet for experiences of people who had actually come out to run or walk on the day.

In searching for those stories, I found an overwhelming number of critics – people like me who never participate in anything but always have a word to say about those who do. And many times our words aren’t gracious – how can they be when we are just plain jealous that somebody is doing something and we are doing nothing? Talk is very cheap, action is costly and many do not want to pay!

I believe that when it comes to doing – everyone is doing, we are all actively engaged. Some are engaged in activities that produce results; others are engaged in activities that deplete! On some good days some of us are productive and depletive on bad days – on the average we would be on the plus or minus side. Where would you place yourself if we mapped a spectrum for your actions?

If you find yourself mostly on the depletive side then note that someone somewhere (near or far) is subsidizing you. Other people are carrying the weight of contributions you should make on earth. People are bearing responsibilities that you should bear. People are enjoying rewards you should have enjoyed and one day you may be completely displaced even while alive!

Just get so angry now and take back your place. Resolve to matter. Resolve to be counted. I have.

I have resolved to be healthier, slimmer…
I have resolved to be wealthier, richer…
I have resolved to work harder and earn a promotion…
I have resolved to learn a new language…
I have resolved to learn to play a musical instrument…
I have resolved to go back to school…
I have resolved to give back to community…
I resolved not to fail at my resolutions like I did last year…
But without a strategy, I fear I may just be deceiving myself again!

I hear having a strategy can help make my dreams and resolutions come through. But strategy cannot just be another unexecuted plan by itself. Can we have a plan for military action and refuse to go to war?

For really, I will not be slimmer, richer, promoted, multilingual, dexterous in music, educated and generous without action backing my resolution or execution embedded in strategy. Neither will you!

And that’s the whole noise about doing…

Just Do It!

Enjoy,
ID






idogufere@gmail.com
08098102216
@idogufere

tweets & retweets highly encouraged. Responses & comments very welcome!

where are you?

Where Are You?

‘Where are you?’
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.”
And so we hide…
And we’ve been hiding since then.
I’ve often asked myself if God were to unveil the real me, would people like what they see? Would I still be popular? Accepted? Would I still have family and friends? Would you?
We all hide. Some of us hide because of sin; we don’t want to be identified by our wrongdoings. Others hide because of shame, we feel we don’t measure up and would like to be someone else. Some of us are so scarred, we can’t help but hide. All of us hide because of fear; we are afraid of the consequences of our sins, our shame, our scars and our secrets.
One of my very first impressions of Lagos was the people here – how beneath the polished veneer everyone was aching for real friendships, but no one looked like they cared. Lagos people (to my mind) had perfected the “don’t you dare come near enough to say hello” look. The look was scary, but if you were brave enough to persist and delve in, you would find another lonely scarred person, crying out for companionship, for love and for healing.
What gets us from here to there? I mean who transformed me from the starry-eyed, hopeful , happy little girl who believed in romance, endless love and eternal friendships to this person who’s hiding somewhere; afraid to love, afraid to trust, afraid of life. What changed me? What changed you?
Life. The psalmist said in chapter 90 verse 10, ‘the years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone and we fly away.’  Our experiences change us; the blows life deals us and how we respond to them take us from here to there.
It’s like dressing up in winter – we put on layers and layers of clothes to keep the cold away. Let me explain it a bit more.
A boyfriend or girlfriend breaks your heart, so you vow not to fall in love so recklessly any more, that’s one layer put on.
Your friend has an affair with your husband, what a shocking betrayal; you vow never to have women friends anymore – there goes on another layer.
The organisation you’ve worked for all these years suddenly hires a younger, better, cheaper you and lays you off – you curse them every morning you get up, additional layers.
A business partner swindles you – pulls the comfy rug of the business you’ve both slaved to build, you are out in the cold, destitute, penniless. At least now you know – man or woman no one can be trusted!
Layers and layers and layers….
You are covered in layers till no one can find you anymore, your smile is gone, your laughter dead, your joy extinct. No one looking at you today can see the former smiling hopeful you filled with dreams of tomorrow. You’ve successfully hidden yourself in layers of hurt, pain and shame.
Jesus is walking in the garden and calling out to you – where are you?
Perhaps it’s time to unlayer ourselves – to peel away the familiar shield of fear that covers us and helps us cope albeit sub-optimally... Like Adam, we hide because we are afraid…, like Adam, perhaps it’s also time to say, “Lord, I am in hiding because I am afraid”. Perhaps it’s time to let God cover us with Himself, for in His presence is fullness of joy and all who hide in Him rejoice. And we really need that joy to dream again, believe again, forgive again, trust again, go back to here and start all over again.
Perhaps it’s time to let go and let God.
A friend once told me that when you shut your fingers (make a fist) nothing can come out of it, but you need to realize that nothing can go in either. That’s life. Embrace it or lose it. Stop hiding.
Stephen Curtis Chapman summed it up in his song:
‘It doesn’t matter who you are
It doesn’t matter where you’ve been
It doesn’t matter what the scar
It doesn’t matter what the sin
It doesn’t matter if you fell
Somewhere along the way
There is healing for your life today
There’s a river that flows
From the fountain of God
And it heals everything along the way
I have tasted and know
That for every broken heart
There is healing for your life today’

ID Ogufere – June 2013

The Message of the Blood

The Message of the Blood
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than the blood of Abel.”
I love this scripture!It draws me quite frequently and I have such a compelling need to turn to Hebrews chapter 12 verse 22 – 24 to read it time and time again. I would love to cram it so that each time it drew me, I would just smile and recite it in my head and mull over it, but I haven’t been able to cram it. My mind has recorded different versions of it; the NIV part I like says ‘to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly,’ and I like the way the KJV puts the last part of it ‘to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel.’ Whatever version I read, this scripture is just lively and simply beautiful.
I find myself drawn to it again today. This time to the very last part, to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than the blood of Abel. I had an amazing time just basking in it, enjoying the speaking of the blood, hearing its voice, loving its message.
How does blood speak, you say? Follow me then, share my amazing journey…
In Genesis chapter 4 verse 10, I realize for the very first time that blood has a voice. That scripture says “…the voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground…” I say to myself that if the blood has a voice then it can do everything my voice does – it can speak, it can cry, it can make declarations… The blood has a message!
In going through scripture, I recognize the importance of blood. The bible tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Israel as a nation offered countless sacrifices shedding the blood of bulls and goats to make atonement for sin. This was what God commanded and yet, God sometimes rejected their blood offerings; in Isaiah 1 verse 11, He says “to what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me? I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.”
I found that this happened several times up until when a different sacrifice was made. Hebrews chapter 10 explains it in detail; verse 4 talks about the impossibility of the blood of bulls and goats to take away sin and then exposes a stronger blood, the one which the scripture says is no common thing. That’s the one which speaks a better thing – the blood of Jesus! He says ‘sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, You had no pleasure. Then I said, ‘behold I have come – in the volume of the book it is written of Me – to do Your will, O God.’
This blood of the covenant which is no common thing, what does it say? What’s its message?
Where the blood of Abel cried for vengeance, the blood of Jesus speaks forgiveness. Where the blood of bulls and goats cover sin for a season, the blood of Jesus exposes it and triumphs over it and speaks of my ability to live above sin.
The blood tells me that I have eternal life; for whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.
The blood assures me that ancestral curses and genealogical traits will not be allotted to me, for by the blood, I have been translated from death to a newness of life; for in those days they shall no longer say ‘the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
The blood speaks of my healing…for He was wounded for my transgressions, He was bruised for my iniquities; the chastisement for my peace was upon Him and by His stripes I am healed.
The blood speaks of my inheritance – it tells me that I can enter into the holy place and come boldly to the throne of grace to find much needed mercy and much needed grace to help me in my time of need. In Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought nearby His blood.
The blood says therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Beloved and most precious child of the Most High God, hear the blood speak over you today. And join the voice of the blood to declare God’s message over you - We are complete in Him!
ID Ogufere, January 2012

The Mannequin

The Mannequin
I’ve always been fascinated by mannequins – those life sized dolls that grace the display windows of high fashion stores. My fascination began in 1987 (that’s a really long time!) when I watched Mannequin, the romantic movie in which a life sized doll came to life and helped save the career of the stylist that dressed her up for display every morning.
In reality, mannequins are lifeless, breathless, emotionless dolls. Their central purpose is to stay put and be beautiful. The aim is that their beauty would attract passers-by who would then wander into the stores and buy the clothes the mannequins are wearing so that they too can be beautiful. The most popular fashion retail outlets have fanciful displays which attract many customers. It’s like the more stylish the mannequins, the more profitable the business.
My own fascination with mannequins actually stems from the very notion that they may come alive at night! After watching that movie, I would lay in my bed imagining that I could be a mannequin – beautiful and lifeless by day; adventurous and vivacious by night. Could I be dressed in the best and beautiful clothes? Made up expertly and perfectly coiffed? Poised to attract with a permanent smile? No pain, no worries, no tears? Could I be so attractive that others would desire to be like me? And then when everyone had gone to bed, could the real me then surface? Could I throw off those beautiful clothes and wear something unpresentable? Face scrubbed clean and hair in disarray? Examine my fears and inspect my emotions? Could I cry? Could I laugh? Could I feel? Could I be real? Could I still be loved even then?
It’s one of those eating your cake and having it moments. Every little girl grows up longing to be the girl – the most beautiful girl in school, the one with the coolest clique and dishiest boys. Personal recognition is an important factor of life whether we admit it or not, and attraction is the major factor in garnering a following. Ultimately, being attractive becomes an important everyday ingredient in our lives. As we grow from boyhood to manhood, girlhood to womanhood, attracting and retaining relationships become more important; some of us have developed skills and tools that help us very quickly attract people to us, but can we keep them? When they get past the form, do they stay?
Human nature is different from mannequin nature. When God created us, the bible says He made us by His spirit (form-like) and transformed us by His breath (life-like). We started out mannequins, but ended up alive! We can therefore never be satisfied nor attract and maintain relationships by tucking our God-breathe personalities beneath the façade of a lifeless and beautiful form. He came to give us life and that life in abundance - that’s a lot of life – and life in any dose can be messy!
Some people like me because they really know me and others don’t like me for the exact same reason, but God really, really loves me. He is the one constant that I can count on to see who I really am – form or spirit - and love me always. And He’s taught me that groomed or not, tears will stream down my face – from joy or pain. I’ve learned to laugh out loud in high heels and dance until sweat ruins the expensive hairstyle I just fixed. I’ve learnt that the really red lipstick suits me but it doesn’t make me more truthful and expensive designer clothes are really beautiful but don’t give me a compassionate heart. I am attractive in a fitting buttoned down suit, but is He pleased with the condition of my heart while the world looks on the outside and applauds?
So, because time is racing by and I’ve only got this life to live – I am going to live abundantly and authentically. I am going to be me! I am by-passing mannequin nature and human nature. I am seeking God’s nature.
He is the One who really matters. He is the One who can change my soul. Isn’t He the Potter? If I am messy, can He not mould me into a beautiful vessel and one with a purpose? If I gaze at Him each day, He assures me that He will transform my form and spirit. If His light shines in my heart will I not be beautiful inside and out?
Tell me, what can be more attractive than this?
…that whenever we turn to God, He removes the veil from our eyes and suddenly we are face to face with Him and recognise that God is a living, personal presence and not a chiselled stone. And when God is personally present there is no longer a constricting legislation between us. Our face shines with the brightness of His face and so we are transformed, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him… (2 Corinthians 3:18 message version rephrased)
IDO – March 2015

now about breakthroughs...

I am believing God for a breakthrough…again!

And as I approach the throne, a bit shame-faced at my incessant requests, I am amazed to see that my Father is expecting, even excitedly welcoming me. He is not irritated as man is wont to be; rather He is ready to hear me and to show me everything that has been done to give me the breakthrough I seek again.

So I am thinking…

Perhaps heaven’s community does not regard breakthroughs the way we do. When we pray to God for breakthroughs what does He decrypt in our pleas?

The word itself is not in the Bible …I searched. That search however showed that there are many scriptures that infer breakthrough because of the meaning of the word. If I combine all the dictionary descriptions of the word, I can confidently define breakthrough as an ‘act of overcoming or overpowering an obstacle or restriction’.

What really is a breakthrough in the life and walk of a Christian? Why do we seem to always need breakthroughs? Will we ever get to that point in our lives when we can run on cruise control and never need another breakthrough?

I recently acquired understanding by looking at the life and development of a child:

Just picture for a few minutes, how a crawling child views the ability to walk; to that child its an amazing feat – a challenge as he watches other children, walk, run and play effortlessly.  Then one day, that baby pulls himself up, stands, takes a step and then another and discovers the joy of walking. At that point, the baby has broken through and crawling and watching others walk from the sidelines is a pastime that he will never purposefully engage in anymore.

However as that child enjoys walking, starts running even, he realizes that people around are communicating in words he cannot understand nor produce. Communication then becomes the next feat that requires a breakthrough!

This is how breakthroughs become developmental milestones in our spiritual lives as we transform from carnal men to men who have the mind of Christ – it is no simple feat. First, it signifies complete victory over one phase and a preparedness to move to the next and secondly, it is a continuous, progressive process.

A breakthrough in itself is complete; when a child walks he needs never resort to crawling again to move from one place to another. Breakthroughs are complete like that – when a Christian learns to rely daily on God’s grace to live above sin, then purity becomes a way of life everyday, it is no longer a struggle. When we find like that the proverbial dog that we keep returning to our vomit, then clearly in that situation we have not had a breakthrough.

As we celebrate breakthroughs in certain areas of our lives, we must rejoice with a preparedness to meet the next phase or challenge ahead of us. Our rejoicing is two-fold; that breakthrough and the next challenge is a testament to our progress and the God who gave us the breakthrough before is ready, more than willing and quite able to give us the next!

Still many of us are not where we should be. We are still grappling – crawling when we should be walking, running even!

Several things can slow our development, but I am only going to write about 3  generic hindrances to our breakthroughs. These 3 are: (i) Fear & Doubt (ii) Sin and (iii) Adversaries.

PAIN & PRAYER

I am now convinced that pain brings great benefits… if you survive it. There are depths of prayer and personal connection to God that only deep pain can bring you to. I am convinced, not because I have experienced either great pain or a terrific prayer life, but I am convinced. I have had my fair share of grief, pain, abuse, torment and betrayal. You know the kind that reminds you that you are human and that you need God every day. Just that kind…
But as I yearn and yearn for more of Him, I’m beginning to see a frightening correlation between pain and prayer. That kind of pain that just drives you into His presence because frankly there’s no where else to go and that kind of prayer that scales thresh holds and breaks fallow grounds, the kind that changes your relationship with God forever.
As I examine my thoughts, I am more convinced by the minute. I am convinced as I struggle with my here today absent tomorrow prayer life that there are aspects of God, I will not see if I do not seek Him consistently. And my conviction just keeps growing as I walk through the bible’s hall of heroes:
• Imagine Abraham - after such intense longing for a child of his loins - strolling with the same child to sacrifice him simply because God said so. And on that say so alone he hung his destiny. So sure that his relationship with God was worth more than his desire for a 1000 sons!
• Noah maniacally building a huge warehouse of a ship on dry land no less, just because God said so. And on that say so alone, he gambled his reputation and sanity. So sure that his relationship with God was by far more enduring than the jeering and ostracization of his community!
• Moses taking off his shoes and approaching a burning bush unprotected only because God said so. And on that say so alone, he gave up his right to plan his own future but instead accepted a responsibility for God’s people so large, so seemingly unrewarding because He reckoned that seeing God face to face was a once in a lifetime untradeable opportunity.
Hebrews 11 comprehensively and impressively lists many more…
Abel, Sarah, Enoch, Isaac, Joseph, Gideon, Barack, Samson, Jephthah. Do we remember their story? Their pain? Their victory?
Do we remember David when we read any of his many hymns? Do we sense his yearning for God as he battled for his life over and over again? In one breath, David would cry in pain and in another give God praise. Check this out (from Psalm 55):
‘my heart is severely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me and horror has overwhelmed me…
I will pray and cry aloud and He shall hear my voice’
My thoughts of Shedrach Meshach & Abednego have also changed. When I think of these 3 little boys stolen from the only home they knew and thrust into new traditions that threaten to take their faith in God away, I wonder what my own 3 little children would do in the same circumstance. Would they like these boys stand firm in the face of death? Only an experience of such intimate pain brings such tenacious clinging to God…
For some odd reason this morning, I watched the funeral of Malinda Sapp, the late wife of Pastor and Worshipper – Marvin Sapp and the experience solidifies my conviction! I have been an admirer of Pastor Marvin Sapp and an ardent collector of his music for many years. I am convinced that only a man who has gone through such deep grief can release a song like ‘Deeper’ from the album I win. I’ve been so blessed by this song as it expresses my inner yearnings and gives me hope, but again there’s such a painful story behind it.
I do not even want to go near Job! His grief and pain is palpable and still, he prayed. He had the most authentic and intimate discussions with God anyone has ever had. Deep pain took him there. But deep pain brings great rewards, if we can just hold on!
Whatever pain we go through today, tomorrow, whenever, may it cause us to run into Him, for His name is a strong and a mighty tower and when we run to Him, we are safe and we are strengthened. Of this I am definitely convinced.
I am also convinced, that when we are prayerless – when we go about our lives like God isn’t a part of who we are, we cause him pain. Deep pain. Since He is God and there is no one higher or greater than He is, to whom should He then turn? This is a conviction to be examined on another day. Think about it…

IMPRISONED

So these guys were thrown in jail for something they swore they didn’t do, their jailor on the other hand was convinced they did. In spite of their innocence and how it all went down, they ended in jail anyway. Someone bigger and stronger and with way more authority had them shackled and on lock down. One minute they were free, traversing the streets – going about their business and the next minute, their freedom was gone. The ability to make choices; the very thing that defined their individuality was gone! They could no longer choose. Someone else defined what they should do, how they should do it, and controlled their when, where and why. Their rights were handed over to the jailor of the 2x4 cell that imprisoned them.

I don’t know of anyone who’d rather be jailed, no matter our current predicaments. And yet many of us are jailed – if not physically, perhaps spiritually or emotionally. Some of us are jailed financially, others mentally. In certain aspects of our lives, we’ve lost the freedom to choose what to do, how to do it. We’ve lost our when, where and why.

Who’s your jailor? What has imprisoned you and seized from you the ability to dream, to define and reach for your purpose?
It could be wealth or the lack of it
It could be family and friends, perhaps what they’d think of you
It could be flailing health or unfit bodies
It could be blackmail that threatens to rock the stability of our world
It could be work that’s increasingly becoming depressing
It could be spiritual oppression, depression or a complete lack of spirituality
It could be restlessness of soul and spirit – that place where nothing fulfills you
It could be that image that’s just so…the one you’ve worked so hard to project to the public.
It could be a painful past that won’t just let go no matter how hard you try…
It could be the way your mind processes things – shaped by antecedents we are unaware of or unable to shake off.
It could be a myriad of a million things – single jail, multiple jails, no matter. Lock down steals our liberty.

So just like those men, we are imprisoned, our very essence – our what, how, where, when and why handed over to something or someone else.  The jailor who from then on makes choices we unwittingly live by.

I followed up the story of those guys in jail. I wanted to know how they got out – so I could get out too. It bothered me to realize that I am saved but still shackled. I need every aspect of my life – spirit, soul and body – free.

So when I met them again in Acts 16 verse 25 – 28, they told me a riveting tale. So there they were locked down, not knowing what the future would bring, pondering, reframing their steps, wondering if there was something they could have done another which way. Nothing brought relief or hope. So they resorted to the only comforting activity they knew. An activity no jail can bar you from.

Praise…
At Midnight…

I think they were actually just praising Him to find inner peace, not physical release. They got both. Imagine how the foundations of the prison were shaken, the jailor holding the key wasn’t even there when their shackles were broken and the prison doors open!

Praise invites God’s presence and God’s presence restores liberty.
Didn’t He sacrifice His son for our liberty?
He can release you
He can restore you
Just one midnight praise will do it.

Cause when the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.
When the Lord turned again the captivity of ID, wow!!! Am I dreaming?
When the Lord turned again your captivity, wow!!! Are you dreaming?
IDO, Nov 2015

LIKEWISE

Love is a spirit…

I know this because the bible says God is love and God is a spirit. So I have only recently come to the conclusion that love is a spirit. In researching love, I found out that the phrase “what is love” is the most searched phrase on Google – I believe it is, I am part of that statistic.

Many of us fail at love because we approach it by way of our senses; we depend on the racing of our heart to confirm that we are truly in love and for the lack of feelings to confirm that we are not.  We enter into relationships when it feels right and walk out when it no longer does. I have come to the conclusion that our capacity to love one another is directly proportional to the extent we allow our spirit man rule us.

Because love is a spirit…

Galatians 5: 22 – 25 says ‘But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against things like that. Those who belong to Christ have crucified their corrupt nature along with its passions and desires. If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature.’

It is impossible to express love without a spiritual nature! It is that spiritual nature that allowed Jesus to love Judas in spite of knowing Judas would very soon betray Him. If we then understand that our spirituality is directly proportional to the way we love, then maybe we can change the way we relate with the different people God has put in our lives – spouses, parents, siblings, children, and friends. Love has nothing to do with how we feel, but everything to do with our walk in the spirit.

Does this mean we will not be hurt? Betrayed? Disappointed? Oh no! I am sure this understanding will expose us to more pain than we’ve ever known. Jesus remains our example. But Love reaches out regardless, because that is who God is.

Which one of us would deny that we need love in our lives? Like a seed draws water from the soil, we all need love to survive and that is why when we perceive that we are not receiving love from the ones closest to us, we search elsewhere. Everyone needs love to survive. Some of us think that we don’t want to give or receive love anymore because we’ve been devastated in our relationships, but despite our thoughts, it’s a need that just won’t go away and before we know it, we find ourselves in different relationships. No one can survive on a relationship with himself alone – so quit pretending that you can! Everybody needs love.

Sometimes God’s response to our complaints of not being loved is just the word – likewise. Many of us are hurting from not being loved but we forget that we are also guilty of not showing love. We proclaim that we love God – and we do, deeply. But more often than not, we do not show Him that we do. God very often is a superstore for meeting our needs, not a lover, not one who’s waiting for us to come to Him, not one who desires our fellowship. So we are guilty too. We praise Him with our lips but our hearts?.... we keep very far from Him! Like He said – likewise.

God desires our worship. Worship from the heart is a deep expression of our love for Him. Worship is not a song; it is not a fast song slowed down, neither is it the rendition of powerful songs in perfect harmony.  When we worship from our hearts as He desires, we join our spirits with His. Worship becomes a very deep, and intimate connection with God our Lover – that moment when it’s just you and Him and you are naked before Him and He touches you in places you didn’t even know you had and gives you ecstasy that nothing you’ve ever experienced has given you. That experience that keeps you addicted to Him and going back for more, because from the moment He touched you, you finally understood satisfaction. That is worship. That is an expression of our love for Him.

God is a spirit and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

And then we can leave His presence and love someone else irrespective of hurts, reciprocity and disappointment. Love is a spirit.

So go do likewise…
Show Him how much you love Him, He is your lover and greatly desires your beauty. Because He is your Lord, worship Him – Psalm 45 verse 11.

IDO

The Sex Talk January, 2016

So lets talk about sex for a minute.
Especially if you are a parent..
More especially if you are a believer…

I got my first sex talk at thirteen – it was the requisite ‘rite of passage’ talk for teenagers. My mum, obviously embarrassed told me I would get pregnant if a boy touched me! Today, children get the sex talk at 4 years, because they are extremely vulnerable in today’s world. Sexual predators are everywhere – some within the very homes that should protect the innocence of our children’s souls. Some predators invited in by the very guardians God put in place to protect these children – yes, us parents!!!

I recently read the story of a high court judge in America who hung himself when he was caught as a paedophile – his victims ranged from 5 to 12 years. He was an upstanding member of the community – married with 3 children himself. But he couldn’t help himself.

I’ve also listened to a child counselor speak at my children’s school here in Lagos. His statistics were startling - most young children from 8 years old are sexually active – if not involved in penetrative sex, they are involved in oral sex. When we hear we act shocked, wounded, feel like we have gravelly failed our children and maybe we have.

But think for a minute…
What can a parent do to help children when we are ourselves trapped in cycles of illicit sexual adventures? How do we expect our children to live whole, healthy lives when we do not? No sexual offender ever dreamt of becoming one. Those girls on porn sites never dreamt of a day when they would be porn stars. Where did it come from? How did they start? We need to find answers to these questions if only to prevent our children from walking down the wrong road.

Take the judge who hung himself. He started looking at pictures of nude women when he was fourteen – they were his father’s magazines. Then when the pictures weren’t enough, he went online and was exposed to images beyond his imagination. He became addicted to pornography and from then on having normal sex was never satisfying. He couldn’t stop himself going back no matter how hard he tried.

How do we prevent our children from pornographic addiction when many of us parents are addicts ourselves? Many Christian men and women are actively engaged in pornography. We daily indulge our sexual appetites primarily because we can hide our addiction very well and secondly, the sin of pornography is usually not a Sunday morning message.

But contrary to what our flesh tells us…
Pornography is deadly! There is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is destruction, (Proverbs 16 verse 25). Next time you log on to a porn site, in your mind fast forward to the future – pornography will first of all expose you and eventually destroy.
Pornography is addictive! There’s no such thing as soft or hard porn. No matter how you start out, pornography will progressively control you until it completely destroys your God-given sexual sensitivity.
Pornography is a demonic trap! It is fully promoted by the devil. In Romans 1, we read about the depravity of man – each time we log onto a pornographic site, we deny the Lordship of Christ over our lives. Like the Romans, we submit to a depraved mind and to lust, to vile passions the bible says. And more and more, we dig ourselves deeper into the enemy’s pit until he buries us completely.
Pornography is a door to moral depravity! Do not ever for one moment think that pornography in any form is harmless. It is spiritual and therefore opens spiritual doors – wicked ones. Before long, it takes control of your vision, then your mind and next your actions. Indulging in it gives demons permission to enter your home and leaves your family vulnerable to attacks. It destroys marriages and families because these are symbols of Christ and the church. Trust me, the devil is not interested in your sexual enjoyment, he is about bringing reproach to everything Christ died for.
Refuse to be that tool the devil will use.

In Acts chapter 8, we are introduced to Saul before he became Apostle Paul. At that time he was on the pathway of destruction; Saul was going to kill all the apostles and he had the support of the mob. People who are doing the same thing will off course applaud you on your way to destruction. Only Jesus.

Jesus stopped him and turned him around. Jesus can turn you around if you recognize today how destructive pornographic habits are and seek His deliverance. He saves! He Heals! He Restores!

So…
Ask God to save you
Repent from this sin of pornography
Seek Help – wounds heal faster when they are exposed
Fill up on God – Prayer, Worship, His Word, Fellowship until there is no room for the devil in your life.
Do not go back – fight!!!!
Luke 11: 24 – 26 says ‘when an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none he says, “I will return to my house from which I came”. And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of the man is worse than the first’.

Do not be empty! Give no room to the devil (Ephesians 4 verse 27).
Our children are watching us and learning…


 IDO

JUST DO IT - 1

JUST DO IT – Series 1

I had thought ‘Just Do It’ was the preserve of the Nike Company until I came across Actor Shia LeBoeuf’s ‘Just Do It’ video campaign while doing research for my article.

In the video, LeBeouf is screaming furiously and contorting his body into several positions. His aim I gather is motivational, to get his audience to Just Do It! I understand the video was made in May Last year and is only a segment from a collaborative video project by Central Saint Martins Fine Arts 2015 students. LeBeouf was just a generous happy camper willing to help.

Nike however uses JUST DO IT as its trademark and one of the core components of its brand. Since 1988 when the phrase was coined and launched as part of its ad campaign, Nike’s identity has been firmly entrenched in that phrase. Just mentioning it pops up the Nike Logo in my mind. Nike owns it completely.

And that leaves me at a loss for what to call this series of articles. I realize that I too may get buried beneath the millions of JUST DO IT paraphernalia on the www. But that’s the phrase that thoroughly captures everything I want to say in this series. I’m taking my chances alongside the thousands of movies, books, poems, articles, motivational speeches that we barely get to find beneath the powerful Nike JUST DO IT.

I really wish the sum total of my inability to get things done could be resolved by buying and wearing another pair of NIKEs. I wish continuous replay of LeBoeuf’s video would force me to get up and do the things I know need to be done.

Doing is one of the hardest things ever!

And so I totally understand Apostle Paul when he says “I do not understand myself for that which I ought to do, I do not...”

I also do not understand myself when at the end of the day, my TO DO list remains undone only to be transferred to a new day with its own list of things to do.

If I evaluate my actions on a daily basis, I realize that I often barely earn my keep. To be honest there are some days I am indebted to the company; days when I have done absolutely nothing but utilized available resources.

Is it just me or do Apostle Paul and I have company?

This 3-part series will explore why we end up not doing what we ought to do and hopefully provide suggestions to enable us achieve our goals.

Enjoy,

ID

idogufere@gmail.com

08098102216

@idogufere

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