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Witness Testimony

​But when you are arrested and stand trial, don’t worry in advance about what to say. Just say what God tells you at that time, for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. “A brother will betray his brother to death, a father will betray his own child, and children will rebel against their parents and cause them to be killed.  And everyone will hate you because you are my followers. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. – Mark 13:11‭-‬13 


I wonder how many of us at times stand ready to provide evidence against the very ones that we are supposed to love?

Have we ever been upset enough at our “loved ones” to keep a record of their wrongs (contrary to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8)?

Or complain to others about our spouse like a dripping faucet in Proverbs 27:15-17?(Husbands, don’t be tempted to use it as a weapon, or you will see yourself emasculated. Wives, don’t be tempted to not believe it is truth.)

I wonder how many pretend to love us to our faces, but underneath the mask hate us, and hate everything that is truth and light?

I wonder how many are right in their demanding something from us because they feel we have wronged them in some way – that we have not given them their due – that we have short changed them from what they deserve?

And I wonder how many might be deceived and how many might be right in their accusations that we have wronged them?

But haven’t we all wronged someone at some point? I don’t say that to justify the wrong doing, but to point out that if we cannot forgive others, then how can we expect to be forgiven ourselves? 

Or are you (in your own eyes) in the right and standing high enough by your own loving service to others that you can accuse another? If so, how deep does the darkness of your emptiness go?

So if you see me standing ready to speak against anything other than sin and death — if you see me testifying against a brother or sister, pray that I will remember who is the accuser of the brethren and how slippery his ways truly are to trick us into division instead of unity. And pray that I will forgive my brother and sister and that they will turn from their wicked ways and I from mine to see the enemy defeated and powerless against Christ who is in us. 

We are a witness to His glory, to His grace, to His mercy, to His love, to His righteousness,  to His holiness — not witnesses against the flesh of pour brothers and sisters. Lift your eyes up, children of God, lift your eyes up, and be in awe of perfect God who has washed you clean and restored you to fellowship with a heavenly family of saints. Rejoice! Sing His praises! Amen.

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Somebody Prayed

[Setting: Morning, living room, heated discussion between parents.]
Daughter: “What’s wrong?”
Daddy: “Mommy is mad at daddy. It’s okay, sometimes adults disagree, but we love each other and everything is going to be alright.”
[Daddy hugs and kisses daughter, trusting the Lord to make his last six words not be a lie. Then daddy hugs and kisses mommy and heads off late to work.]
[Setting: Later, at work, phone buzzes. Copious texting.]
Mommy and Daddy: “I’m sorry. I love you.”
[Setting: Daughter joyfully laughing and playing]
Daughter: “Thank you, Jesus. I knew you heard my prayer.”

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Insufficient, More than Sufficient

I’ve FELT like a rickety old row boat tossed by the waves, 
and I’ve SEEN things around me being smashed on the rocks, 
and I’ve HEARD all the evidence that says that I am weak and insufficient to lead my household or counsel anyone else by my imperfect life’s evidence,  
but I BELIEVE that even in the midst of this trial I can REJOICE 
because MY STRENGTH COMES FROM GOD 
and I do not live by feelings or sight or senses, 
but by FAITH in the one who can 
break the chains of bondage and deliver to freedom, 
Cast mountains into the sea and bring the valleys level and plain,
Calm the raging seas with a spoken word, 
Heal, restore, save, deliver and lead. 
So if it comes from my mouth let it be His Word, His Truth, His Love, let it be LIFE breathed out by the Holy Spirit. 
If it comes from my hands, let it be His Word in action, His Truth in deeds, His Love in good works, and SERVICE to my brothers and sisters in need. 
If it enters my mind,  let it be His Word and meditating on the things above.
Lead me Lord, in case any follow along this path, so that it bet is your path, and not one I have picked out for myself.
Do not allow my many imperfections and weaknesses to stumble even the least of your little ones,  Lord, because by your Word, it is better that I be cast into the sea with a millstone tied around my neck.
Lord, I come to you,  destitute,  with no excuse, with no worthy payment, with no cross that I can claim by my own works to lay at your feet. I have failed you so many times. I have fallen, but I continue to get up. I only have your promise. I only have my faith in your faithfulness and in the truth of your Word.
Please, Lord, have mercy on your servant who has delighted in the work you’ve set before me, to follow you, to share the Good News, to praise you in the storms. I have not always been humble, but you have humbled me. I have not always been strong but you have strengthened me. I have not always been right but you have corrected and disciplined me. And I have always been loved because you have chosen me. 
What might be impossible for man, you have made true.
Please forgive me any who read this who are religious or quick to judge like I have been before (for praying publicly in the square), He knows my heart and will judge me according to His righteousness, because I am washed in the Blood of the Lamb, and because there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. 
Thank you, Lord. 
Amen.

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Great Joy

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. – James 1:2‭-‬6 NLT

The Lord is my shepherd; 

I have all that I need. 

He lets me rest in green meadows; 

he leads me beside peaceful streams. 

He renews my strength. 

He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. 

Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. 

You honor me by anointing my head with oil. 

My cup overflows with blessings. 

Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalms 23:1‭-‬6 NLT

Are we fully trusting in the Lord to be faithful and true? Are we fully trusting that even this trial is meant for our good and for His glory? Yes, these questions,  this examining our hearts to see if faith and belief really lives there — it either brings us to the garden to rest humbly and trusting in His arms — or is has us far from Him and grumbling about not getting our own way right now. 
Surrender, and return to the garden, and be still and know that He is God. He is mighty.  Trust in Him. Follow Him. He went through hardships. He was wrongly accused and hated by those he pleaded for on their behalf. He faced opposition repeatedly from the enemy that wanted to hinder his work going forth and seeing many bright into freedom and belief and life abundant no longer bound by sin and death. Don’t think that you should escape the trials, but realize that the trials are the refining fires that purify your heart and that service as your living testimony that He lives in you.

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[Mia, Daddy & Friends] “A Birth”

When it was time for Elizabeth’s baby to be born, she gave birth to a son. And when her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had been very merciful to her, everyone rejoiced with her. 

When the baby was eight days old, they all came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. But Elizabeth said, “No! His name is John!” “What?” they exclaimed. “There is no one in all your family by that name.” So they used gestures to ask the baby’s father what he wanted to name him. He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s surprise he wrote, “His name is John.” Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God. 

Awe fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, “What will this child turn out to be?” For the hand of the Lord was surely upon him in a special way. 

Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy: “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has visited and redeemed his people. He has sent us a mighty Savior from the royal line of his servant David, just as he promised through his holy prophets long ago. Now we will be saved from our enemies and from all who hate us. He has been merciful to our ancestors by remembering his sacred covenant— the covenant he swore with an oath to our ancestor Abraham. We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live. “And you, my little son, will be called the prophet of the Most High, because you will prepare the way for the Lord. You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace.” 

John grew up and became strong in spirit. And he lived in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel. – Luke 1:57‭-‬80 NLT

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New Kingdom

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” – Revelation 21:5‭-‬9 ESV


Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. – 2 Corinthians 5:17‭-‬21 ESV


Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. – Ephesians 4:17‭-‬32 ESV


Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” – 2 Corinthians 6:14‭-‬18 ESV


Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home; for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him. Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked, for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out. My son, fear the Lord and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise, for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both? – Proverbs 24:15‭-‬22 ESV


And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;  therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:35‭-‬38 ESV

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[Mia, Daddy & Friends] “Mary’s Song”

A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Mary responded, “Oh, how my soul praises the Lord. How my spirit rejoices in God my Savior! For he took notice of his lowly servant girl, and from now on all generations will call me blessed. For the Mighty One is holy, and he has done great things for me. He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. His mighty arm has done tremendous things! He has scattered the proud and haughty ones. He has brought down princes from their thrones and exalted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped his servant Israel and remembered to be merciful. For he made this promise to our ancestors, to Abraham and his children forever.” Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

Luke 1:39‭-‬56 NLT

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[Mia, Daddy & Friends] “2 Births 4 Told”

Introduction
Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us.  They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. [Greek from those who from the beginning were servants of the word.] Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught.
The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old.
One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.
While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. [Or even from birth.] And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, [See Mal 4:5-6.] and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.”
Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”
Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”
Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary.
When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, [Or Rejoice.] favored woman! The Lord is with you! [Some manuscripts add Blessed are you among women.”]
Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel [Greek over the house of Jacob.] forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.[Some manuscripts read For nothing is impossible with God.”]
Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

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Circumstances? Works? Or Blood and Saving Faith?


Qualified by the Blood of the Lamb, called and chosen, loved and forgiven, growing from faith to faith, gifted this Grace that is undeserved,  but that wells up inside of me an overcoming fountain of life and grateful obedience where there was an emptiness of sin and death.

#Romans8 #HeCallsMeHisOwn #IBelieve 

Are you His?

Then your past circumstances don’t define you (so let go of guilt and shame)  —

and your works don’t qualify you (so let go of foolish pride, poisonous hypocrisy, and dead religious traditions).

Be honest with yourself about who you love most and who you will serve today — will it be the one true God or will it be self?

Humble yourself before God, acknowledging that it is He who paid the price for you.

Walk in awe and grateful submission as His grace lifts you up to walk on the very waters that you thought might drown you.

Be amazed when He brings into the light those secrets you have hidden that were once did shameful you wouldn’t dare let them out, and rejoice when He overcomes and turns to good what you once thought was evil and shameful and was a chain that bound you.

If Christ has set you free, you are free indeed. Not free to sin and death —  but free to grateful obedience and life abundant & eternal.

So know today, He is faithful to forgive those who will come back to Him. He is faithful to teach and lead and empower those who love and obey Him to walk the narrow path. He opposes the proud hypocrite and lifts up the humble servant.

And He does all of this for His glory, not yours. So rejoice and sing peptides to the only one who is truly worthy of all praise and honor.

Thank you Jesus!

Please consider reading a beautifully related article here: 

http://kellyshorwrites.blogspot.com.ng/2016/07/dont-live-as-slave.html?m=0 


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The smell of death lingers, but not for long… (yes, there’s a poop joke)

Lol. Check this out.
I come back in from my morning run,  my stomach telling me that it is time to shed some weight…

I walk into the master bathroom and hear the fan running in the water closet, so I ask my wife,  “Did you just use the bathroom?” To which she replies, “It’s not bad, just give it a…” — I didn’t hear the rest and went straight to the hall bathroom.


You know —

Eve said, “It’s not bad, just give it a…” too — and Adam died because he listened to her. 
Love you, but I’ll just use the hall bathroom. Death is lingering in that other bathroom, and I’ll wait until it has departed. Love you, honey!

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 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 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to  be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” So the Lord God said to the serpent: “Because you have done this, You are cursed more than all cattle, And more than every beast of the field; On your belly you shall go, And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel.” To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall  be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.” Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: “Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.” – Genesis 3:1‭-‬19 NKJV

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. – Romans 5:12‭-‬21 NLT