Christian Perspective – Page 4

Of Ebony, Life and Death

Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom – Psalm 90:12

In less than three days, I’ve been forced to think of the whole phenomenon of life, death and life-and-death. First, it was the devastating news of the death a cousin who suffered some complications after delivery. Baby is fine but the mother is gone.

While recovering from this shattering news, three young lives have also been lost in a gory accident. This incident included the 20-year-old musician making waves in the country at the moment – Ebony and her friends.

The news of their death has saddened me tremendously because of their ages and the manner through which they lost their lives. Nobody deserves to die in childbirth nor an accident. Every young person deserves to go through life, age graciously and die after 70 years. Isn’t that supposed to be the case or what we normally say? It is high time we saw our lives as fleeting – it could be taken away from us anyway.

It is our prayer that the good Lord will comfort their families. Let’s not be quick to judge or propound theories (as some of us are so quick to do). The question of their salvation is between them and God since He is the omniscient one. Instead of questioning their deaths and being judges, quick assessments should rather be done in our lives. The Bible says;

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)

Death is a natural process and we will all go through it one day. Just like the second coming of our Lord, we do not know the time and day it will happen, therefore, the need to be more intentional in how we live. Let’s not wait until some ‘future’ to start living out the purpose for which Christ has called us for. We need to see our lives as a loan from God and the loan recoverer (God) may come for His money at any time and of course, with interest. How are you supposed to impact the world?

If our lives are this fleeting, why do we hold grudges against someone/people? What is the point in being so competitive while the world can accommodate all of us? Why do we accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal (Matthew 6:19)? Why do you keep postponing those Godly ambitions to a later date when the loan recoverer can come and take his money (life) at any time?

This post is not to make us fearful but rather designed to put us in a reflective and sombre mood. We need to make each day count, starting now.

NB – Is it possible to convey this message to the recipients of our taxes? Can we show some sense of urgency in our developmental processes? Can there be a responsive ambulance service, dedicated health workers who are enthusiastic about what they are doing because their salaries are sufficient and other systems are working in their facilities? Can the road contractors also be more deliberate in their work?

We will all die someday but the proper systems can slow this process a bit.

The Love of an ‘INVISIBLE’ God

‘God loves you’ is probably one of the most common phrases used by Christians. It is used during church services, when winning souls, to console people in difficult situations, when things are going well and in our daily conversations. These words have become so common that they are gradually becoming a cliché. Have we actually sat down to meditate on the meaning of this simple words? A God, who is unseen, loves me (insert your name)? Is that possible? How does this love manifest?

One of the most common ways of defining the love of God is through the biblical salvation story of Him giving His only Son to come and die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16). There are other scriptures that describe this love that God has for us including:

God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever (Psalm 136:26 )

Apart from what we know from the Bible, the love of this ‘invisible’ God is so ubiquitous. It is expressed in the most simple forms that we are beginning to take them for granted. It is now a normal phenomenon to wake up from bed feeling very healthy and forgetting to say ‘thank you’ to the giver of life. Through our own efforts, we go through days, months and even years of not hearing any bad news. We have worked so hard in school and are gainfully employed, therefore, we are not able to decipher the meaning of God’s love. Everything has become so normal that every gift from God is being seen as results of our hard work.

Before you categorise all of God’s gifts as ‘normal’ things, remember there are people who choked on their food. Some people board buses and are not able to reach their destinations. There are 28-year-olds who are dying of heart attacks but you wake up each morning and are able to go through the day so effortlessly.

You remember the day that guy proposed to you or when the lady accepted your love proposal? The way you heart flipped when you vowed to spend your lives together. You ensured your life and day revolved around each other. It is time to transfer this same measure of love or even more to God, the giver of life and the provider of every gift.

As for the love of this ‘invisible’ God, it is indescribable but it can be seen in the most minute forms. If you haven’t spent some time today to say ‘thank you to God,’ this is your chance to do so.

Pause. Evaluate January

Development experts spend quite a substantial amount of their resources on monitoring and evaluation when executing a project. In fact, they hire officers in charge of this unique area even before the project starts. Why not at the end? This is because they do not underestimate the role of monitoring and evaluation. Measuring their successes and failures as they go through a project ensures they are charting the right course and perhaps, saves them more resources. If we determined to make good use of this new year, we can as well take a cue from the development experts – monitor and evaluate our progress with our various goals monthly.

Pause. Let’s go back to January 1. It’s been 30 amazing days already. How have you fared? Have you started working on your resolutions yet? Are you spending more time in prayer and reading the word? Are you working on acquiring that new skill, reading those books already or building yourself up in a specific capacity? Are you practicing that good saving habit? How about that new business? Have you started working on the proposal? If you haven’t started, it’s not too late to put down some goals, of course, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Don’t allow the year to pass by without you placing some demand on God, the Father.

One practice the Bible encourages is the writing down of our visions as stated in Habakkuk 2:2,

Then the LORD replied: “Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets …

There are certain ideas and dreams that God has laid in our hearts. You may choose to call them resolutions, goals, dreams, ambitions or aspirations, but, take a paper or your phone, state them and include how the Holy Spirit has directed you to work towards them. You can only know the mind of the spirit when you spend time praying quality prayers.

This month, we learnt that the Holy Spirit makes everything possible for believers, hence, it is important to involve God in our plans. We also learned that whatever you ingest is what we bring out as Christians, therefore, we should be wary of what we allow into our senses. Let’s learn to build ourselves up by taking in the right stuff – which will help us achieve our bigger goals. It could be reading more books or watching videos that can build our intellect.

Take some time and cast your mind back to the beginning of the year and take an assessment. Do you like how you’ve spent the month? If you do, keep it up! If not, let’s involve God and work towards the various ministries that God has before us.

It’s been a great start but we trust that God has more in store for us. Let’s hold Him by His word!

New Year Resolutions – Are they relevant to Christians?

Back in Senior High School, a very good friend and I used to joke that our new year resolutions must be more terrible than the previous year. We resolved to be more ‘sly’ with our seniors, ‘cut’ school functions and simply break more rules because to us, in the previous year, we had been good but new year resolutions meant doing things differently.

Even though we were not confident enough to put into practice those resolutions, the perception we had added some excitement to the way we approached our seniors. That was also a wrong mindset and a not-so-good way to start the new year.

New Year resolutions are often defined as a tradition where individuals resolve to achieve certain goals (positive) and quit undesired behaviour.

Some of us, while we grow have stopped believing in new year resolutions because of personal reasons. We used to make lists of things we wish to achieve in a particular year but halfway, we realised we could not achieve them, hence, the decision to do without them.

We’d love to lose weight, continue our education, find better jobs, start our own businesses, find life partners, move out of our parents’ homes among others. These are some examples of new year resolutions.

The new year does not automatically change who we are. We do not become superhumans because the clock struck 12 midnight on 1-1-2018 but as Christians, we believe God’s mercies are new every morning and He’s a faithful God (Lamentations 3:22) who has the interest of His Children at heart. That is the reason He’d like to see us succeed each day and that is the reason we believe in positive new year resolutions.

From a personal experience with this blog, anytime I listed ideas of topics, I realised I was able to follow through proving right Habakkuk 2:2:

“Write down your visions on scrolls…”

Do not just fold your arms and watch the year pass by. Prayerfully seek the face of God on what He’d like to achieve with you in 2018 and list whatever He reveals to you. Go back and ask Him how He’d like you to achieve them. Hold God’s hand every day through quality prayer time and word study and see if you will not achieve what you had on that new year resolutions’ list.

We’ll be here at the end of the year to take your testimonies.

Happy New Year!

Like a Child

Babies are beautiful, delicate and adorable. Their process of formation through to their growth could simply be described as a miracle. Observing their growth process is a way of appreciating the perfect God that we serve. They also exhibit other traits which Christians must adopt.

This attractive feature about babies is their trusting nature, particularly in interacting, with their parents or caregivers. They tend to believe so much in the abilities of their parents or caregivers. In the presence of their caregivers/parents, they will not go hungry or thirsty or cold or experience any form of discomfort. Even when they are treading dangerously by moving on the edge of a couch or bed, they have smiles on their faces because they know with their parents or caregivers would protect them from any form of danger. They simply trust in the abilities of their caregivers making it possible to liken their behaviour to what Jesus Christ wants believers to portray in Matthew 6:25-30:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.

Have you seen a baby getting worried about when or where their next meal is going to come from? They only think of the present – I am hungry, just feed me. After they are fed, they start to smile and jump about, not caring about what is going to happen to them in the next few hours.

This level of trust or faith that babies have in their parents/caregivers is what every believer should have in God. The point where we totally rely on Him for all our needs and supply. When we have no cause to fear or worry. When we know our daily bread would be provided by Him.

As we grow, life seemingly does a number of things to us and our level of trust in God simply depreciates. We begin to look everywhere for assistance except God. A situation which keeps filling us with more fear, worry and anxiety.

Worrying has never added anything to anyone’s life. Praying and listening to the Holy Ghost is the best way to battle everything. Is it barrenness, a disease or poverty – what are you battling with? Is anything too hard for the Lord (Genesis 18:14)?

Let’s take this simple exercise – find a child, preferably below two years and spend a full day with him/her in the presence of their caregivers. It would be a lesson which would greatly impact on your faith.

Do you have questions bothering on your Christian walk or are in need of someone to speak? Are you looking for prayer partners, reach out to us via our email christianblogghana@gmail.com or on any of our social media channels. We’ll be glad to assist.

Pray ‘Quality’ Prayers

It is quite easy to say we have great prayer lives because ‘to pray’ means ‘to communicate with God.’ It is simple to speak with God and whisper something to Him first thing in the morning before jumping to our duties. When we are almost late for work and need to rush to the roadside, we whisper something to Him which we describe as a form of communication. Some of us even have the special ability to shut out people mentally and start talking to God even in noisy places. We can pray to God at any place and time because the Bible has admonished us to pray without this ceasing (I Thessalonians 5: 17).

The above scenarios form the broad definition of communication or at least speaking with God but how about including ‘quality’ to that prayer time? There is nothing wrong with speaking to Him everywhere but it is even more fulfilling to have a quiet place to yourself, away from every form of distraction and tuning your whole being to the Spirit. Such times allow the Holy Spirit to minister to and with you in ways that your body cannot comprehend. How sweet it is to allow the Holy Ghost to take over your prayer time and direct you on how it should go (Romans 8:26). When you do not pray in your own understanding but with that of the Spirit.

There are so many worries in life – work issues, family, academics etc and they can easily overwhelm us into believing we can achieve success by our own strength and intelligence. Prayer times are hurried because we always have deadlines to meet or traffic to beat.

Quality prayer, steered by the Holy Spirit makes the journey through life enjoyable. Prayer meetings are good but having some personal, quality time with your Father is also very important.

The deadline which is preventing you from praying can easily be met when you spend some good time in God’s presence. As for that traffic, it is so basic. The situation you are trying to change, using your own capabilities, has the answer resting with God and it takes just quality prayer time to unlock it.

Let us stop looking everywhere but to God for answers to our lives’ issues. Quality prayer time steered by the Holy Spirit heals wounds, provides directions and answers and, makes the seemingly impossible situations with God possible.

Just give it a try and when your testimonies start to manifest, send an email to your first online Christian magazine in Ghana (christianblogghana@gmail.com) and we’ll celebrate with you.

You are blessed!

The Hard Truth about Marriage

“Marriage is an encounter. How many couples would agree with me?” Pastor Fiifi Otabi Wilson of ICGC Faith Temple asked in his sermon on Sunday, May 28, 2017.

The cheers from the married couples in the auditorium were enough to confirm that marriage is more than a bed of roses but a real ‘encounter.’ Some of us are not too old in this encounter (just a little over a year and a half) but we can attest to the fact that marriage is a lot more than what meets the eye.

Most married couples, when given the opportunity, would definitely not settle for the people they are living with. If there was a petition which allowed them about a year’s orientation of marriage before they finally make the decision, there would be a lot of signatures and I’m sure some people would not even get married after the first year.🤣

Marriage is indeed a classroom on its own. It is a course by itself but a lot of married couples love to show the beautiful aspect of it, especially on social media (that’s fine). Just like every media form, we are selective about how our marriages should be perceived. Nobody would let you see the challenging aspect of marriage but when I am approached by my friends and asked the famous question, “Oh, so how is married life?” I tell you the truth, unlike most Christians who would only smile and say, “Oh, it’s wonderful.”

In my opinion, young people who are yet to sign these agreements deserve some exposition on marriage. When this question is posed to me, I like to be as real as possible. I don’t pretend. I clear my throat and say, “my friend, it isn’t a joke. If you know you love to be by yourself, in love with your sleep and love your simple lifestyle, then marriage is not your thing,” I say to them.

“You better stay in your parents’ house or rent your apartment and be by yourself oo. Do not worry yourself or someone’s child by getting married to them because this institution is hard work,” I add.

Marriage is a period in life where the couples are stretched on all sides – your patience, hard work, Godliness and every aspect is tested. No wonder, the congregation agreed with Pastor Wilson that marriage is an encounter. The institution has its own requirements which include being a manager of resources – money, time, people (yes, your in-laws are waiting for you particularly if you are Ghanaian). This would go a long way in defining how the union turns out.

Seek Godly counsel. It’s very important. Do not write off some counselors because they do not speak your kind of language. Listen to them all and select what is useful before you settle with a partner because, for us Christians, divorce is mostly not an option. It is after you marry, that is when you realize the importance of the premarital counselling (even though during that period, our main concern was the wedding ceremony 😞 ).

All is not gloomy if both of you share the same faith because God is always available to provide us with the help that we need, for He is our shepherd. This is when you begin to understand the importance of marrying someone who is a friend.

Before you go to the altar to say your vows, remember to invest a lot of prayers in the decision you have made for the journey is indeed a long one. And as my mother keeps saying, there is no vacation in marriage 🙂

This post was put together by Delali Sogah.

Personal Dev’t: What the Modern Christian Needs

Christians are supposed to pray for things happen in their lives, right? The Bible even says we should pray without ceasing. It also admonishes us to ask whatever we want in Jesus’ name and things will happen. If that is the case, then why do we keep spending days, months and years on one particular prayer topic?

Christians are supposed to pray for things to happen in their lives, right? The Bible even says we should pray without ceasing. It also admonishes us to ask whatever we want in Jesus’ name and things will happen. If that is the case, then why do we keep spending days, months and years on one particular prayer topic? What are we doing wrong as Christians that the results of our prayers keep prolonging?

Don’t you wish prayer meetings would be praise sessions because the Lord has granted us everything that we need to help build His kingdom? Such prayer meetings will be ones where we come to thank God for all the souls we have won instead of asking God to fix our finances, help us find jobs and scholarship and contracts.

From my little experience in this life and observing trends, I think the modern Christian should find ways of building himself/herself up too. Let’s depend on God, yes but let’s also build ourselves. You want a new job but what extra skill have you learnt that you can boast of in the past ten years. You have been praying for a child but have you visited the fertility clinic to set is wrong with you and what you can do differently? You are searching for a job, how many applications have you written and sent out? Miracles do happen but applying some effort can push miracles to happen faster on our parts. The woman with the issue of the blood had to make an effort to touch Jesus’ garment (Luke 8:40-56).

We have left a lot of good and important things for the unbelievers for too long. We love to sit in our small corners and wait for miracles to find us. Let’s make an effort to be better in whichever fields that we find ourselves. Let us push God to speed our miracles.

What about educating ourselves to the highest point and getting to that point that we will be indispensable? What about us Christians targeting the top position? The parliaments, courts and even the entire nation?

I can imagine how great the world will be when Christians take over important leadership roles because they have developed themselves. Let us start by seeing ourselves as the light of the world and finding ways of spreading our influences throughout the entire universe.

I am waiting for your testimony!

Tips for Planning a Simple but Spectacular Wedding

Planning and pulling off a wedding on a limited budget is very easy. Wrong. It is one of the most challenging things I have done in my life. I know most people reading this will share similar sentiments if only they were on a limited budget 🙂

I had to use the creative juices running in my veins to pull a simple but spectacular event. I first subscribed to Pinterest. It was one of the most important resources I used during that period. From wedding dresses to hairstyles to accessories to decor to ideas on how to cut down on cost in fact, everything can be found on Pinterest. It’s simply awesome. The app also allows you to save the ideas and you can refer to them easily. One vendor was awed at my ideas and I felt I had indeed challenged her.

Another important resource is Instagram. Instagram is quite resourceful too. It gives you the opportunity to view the works of vendors and allows you to connect with them. Although Instagram gives you more ‘local’ ideas, I always felt pressured when I used that app. Why? Because I could feel the silent competition. It looked as if people were ‘battling’ to be featured there. They either copied someone entirely or totally had to come up with something different in order to be featured. I was not surprised at myself when I unfollowed all the wedding vendors and pages immediately after my wedding ceremony. My advice to those who use Instagram for ideas is that you should have your own ideas and not worry whether your photos get featured on these pages or not. Work within your budget and search for vendors who will be willing to work with what you have. You do not necessarily have to go for vendors who have made names in the industry.

Apart from these two social media platforms, I also read a lot. There are several articles, blog posts on the subject of organizing a wedding. Just google them. I did not only depend on what people had to say about weddings or what I knew about weddings but I decided to do things differently and be a source of inspiration to people.

Another resource is using a couple who have gone through the process and done things that you liked when you attended their weddings. These are people we normally take for granted but they have a whole wealth of knowledge you can tap into.

These were what helped me in the planning processes but it’s also very important to pray during the period for direction. Ask God to direct you to the right vendors because during that time, it did look like all the vendors were trying to take their pound of flesh. The terrible ones can really frustrate you therefore, the need to pray.

Don’t be scared to be different. Go against what you are used to and see your wedding as a platform to tell the story about you and your intended spouse. I was amazed at a couple who were getting married and did exactly what their friends had done two months earlier – from their colour theme to their invitation card to the pre-wedding shoot ideas, all was an ‘imitation.’ Don’t do that; there are several things that haven’t been done yet. Explore! Personalize!!

Where did you get your ideas from when you were planning your wedding? Share your thoughts with us.

This post is a continuation of last week’s post. To get in touch with Delali Kumapley-Sogah, send an email to christianblogghana@gmail.com

This is for the PASTORS

“Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.” John 4:48

During Jesus’ ministry on earth, the miracles he performed won him a lot of followers. It is believed that these miracles increased the level of faith people had in him and also, the miracles were an indication of his origin, that Jesus was from the Father (John 3:2).

The miracles he performed ranged from healing the sick, turning water into wine, walking on water and feeding 5000 people etc. These miracles had a role to play in Jesus’ ministry: to show his identity (John 14:11), to win more souls to repentance (John 20:30-31) and also to get the attention of the people (John 7: 2-5).

Christians in our time are becoming more and more like the people of Jesus’ days, in their quest for seeing instant miracles before believing in pastors. Some are even seeking for signs and wonders more than the Word of God. Christians would rather switch from one church to the other looking for miracles than read a simple scripture from the Bible.

Instant miracles in themselves are not negative but it becomes an issue if that is the only thing we desire to see. If we observe a great number of pastors concentrating on conducting miracles than on teaching the congregation then we, Christians, are to be blamed.

As a pastor, you need to ask yourself why you are focusing on performing miracles. Is it the church pushing you to display those powers or you are following the dictates of the Holy Spirit? Do not let your desire to get famous and trend on social media push you into doing ‘wondrous’ things.

While you are going about your work as a man or woman of God, remember that while Jesus was expanding his ministry, the people demanded more miracles from him (John 6:30). A number of them refused to believe him even when he performed those miracles (Matthew 13:54-58) and others who believed through the miracles had a temporal faith (John 6:26).

Miracles alone are not enough. There have been several examples of people who have been healed by men of God and after a while, whatever disease they were healed of attacked them again. This happened because the people who got healed did not know how to remain in good health.

Teach the congregation about the power of God and how they, members of the congregation can chase demons without spoiling the sleep of preachers. Let them know that their lives and their walk with Christ go further than seeing miracles.