Free lunch and handouts?

Knowing when to say no to free lunch and handouts:

Lessons from Abraham and David— Genesis 23:1-16 and 1 Chronicle 21:18-25.

--

Jennifer Ehidiamen 

M.A Arts; Business and Economics

Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism

Website: www.about.me/jennifer.ehidiamen

Twitter: @DisGeneration     LinkedIn: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"Empowered to lead by serving!"

Do not settle!

When I hear "do not settle", here is what comes to mind:

According to Genesis 11:31-32, Terah was heading to Canaan with his family. But he got to Haran and settled. Terah never made it out of Haran. He lived for 205 years and died there. Why did Terah settle?

--

Jennifer Ehidiamen 

M.A Arts; Business and Economics

Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism

About Me: www.about.me/jennifer.ehidiamen

Twitter: @DisGeneration     LinkedIn: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"Empowered to lead by serving!"

Lauren Daigle: Come Alive (Dry Bones)

Lauren Daigle – Come Alive (Dry Bones) Lyrics

Through the eyes of man it seems there's so much we have lost,
As we look down the road where all the prodigals have walked,
One by one the enemy has whispered lies and led them off as slaves

But we know that you are God,
Yours is the victory
We know there is more to come
That we may not yet see

So with the faith you've given us,
We step into the valley, unafraid *Yeah*

As we call out to dry bones
Come Alive, Come Alive
As we call out to dead hearts
Come Alive, Come Alive
Up out of the ashes let us see an army rise,
We call out to dry bones, Come Alive

God of endless mercy, God of unrelenting love
Rescue every daughter, bring us back to wayward sons

Then by your spirit breath upon 'em, show the world that you alone can save, You alone can save

As we call out to dry bones
Come Alive, Come Alive
As we call out to dead hearts
Come Alive, Come Alive
Up out of the ashes let us see an army rise
We call out to dry bones, Come Alive

So breath, Oh breath of God, Now Breath, Oh breath of God.
Breath oh Breath of God, now breath. Breath oh breath of God, Now breath oh breath of God, breath oh breath of God
Now breath.

As we call out to dry bones
Come Alive, Come Alive
As we call out to dead hearts
Come Alive, Come Alive
Up out of the ashes let us see an army rise,
We call out to dry bones, Come Alive (x2)

Oh, come alive

--

Jennifer Ehidiamen 

M.A Arts; Business and Economics

Columbia University - Graduate School of Journalism

About Me: www.about.me/jennifer.ehidiamen

Twitter: @DisGeneration     LinkedIn: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"Empowered to lead by serving!"

Katy Perry - By The Grace of God

"By the grace of God (there was no other way)
I picked myself back up (I knew I had to stay)
I put one foot in front of the other
and I Looked in the mirror
and decided to stay
Wasn't gonna let love take me out that way"

Read more: Katy Perry - By The Grace Of God Lyrics | MetroLyrics 

Be kind to yourself. Manage expectations well.

Image via artofhomage

I took a sweet nap in Church last Sunday. So wrong, yeah? I shamelessly rested my head and just allowed myself doze off. My neighbour (the young man who sat beside me) nudged me once to wake up but I gave him a power-nod. You know, one of those nods that confuses even the guy trying to wake you up-- is she sleeping or in the spirit?

As a child I used to hear that when you feel drowsy in church it meant that the devil was beside you fanning you to sleep in order to steal your blessings. That memory must have been one of the things that jolted me back to reality. The nap was for like five minutes but it felt way longer.

The message for that day was about managing expectations in order to reduce the amount of disappointments we experience in life. As the passion of the preacher roared through the hall, I took some notes.

The jenniferized version:

Most times disappointment comes when we are the ones engineering things...we set goals with a now-now attitude. And so when things don't happen as we "engineered", we hit the rock bottom. Disappointed. 

He also said something about the risk of comparing ourselves with others. You know. We sometimes forget that we all have our times and seasons. Living by another person's timing is risky. A big catalyst for disappointment.

It is okay to fail. Life is about winning some and loosing some. But the latter can be better managed to become a stepping stone for something greater. 

The preacher man pointed out a few examples from the Bible to back each point he made. I caught some: 

2 Kings 5 -- Naaman who almost missed the opportunity to be healed because he was expecting the Prophet to give him a VIP treatment. His high expectation did not match the simple instruction that he was given. If not that he tucked away his pride, God knows...  Some of us have lost so many things because of pride. 

Psalm 38- But God is merciful. David understood that so well. 

Psalm 37:4- that key!

Yo! Have a fantastic Friday! Manage your expectations well and be kind to yourself. I am learning too.

Shalom!

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

Death was arrested!

"Death Was Arrested"

Artist: Laura Story

Album: Open Hands

Released: 2017

Genre: Christian/gospel

Alone in my sorrow and dead in my sin
Lost without hope with no place to begin
Your love made a way to let mercy come in
When death was arrested and my life began

Ash was redeemed only beauty remains
My orphan heart, was given a name
My mourning grew quiet, my feet rose to dance
When death was arrested and my life began

Oh Your grace, so free
Washes over me
You have made me new
Now life begins with You

Released from my chains I'm a prisoner no more
My shame was a ransom He faithfully bore
He cancelled my debt and He called me His friend
When death was arrested and my life began

Oh Your grace, so free
Washes over me
You have made me new
Now life begins with You

It's Your endless love
Pouring down on us
You have made us new
Now life begins with You
Ohh with You

Our Saviour displayed on a criminal's cross
Darkness rejoiced as though Heaven had lost
But then Jesus arose with our freedom in hand
That's when death was arrested and my life began, ohhh!

Oh Your grace, so free
Washes over me
You have made me new
Now life begins with You

Ohh, it's Your endless love
Pouring down on us
You have made us new
Now life begins with You

Oh we're free, free
Forever we're free
Come join the song
Of all the redeemed

Yes we're free, free
Forever amen
When death was arrested and my life began

We're free, free
Forever we're free
Come join the song
Of all the redeemed

Yes we're free, free
Forever amen
When death was arrested and my life began
When death was arrested and my life, began.

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

Relationship over religion: The message from an old man...

Had a sweet conversation with an old man in a bus yesterday (Sunday). Learnt a lot from him! He said that I would tell people about our meeting. He was right 😁.

Summary: 

Stop making noise that you are a christian. Let them see the LORD reflected in you. Context: the early apostles did not call themselves christians. The people saw them model everything Jesus taught and called them "christians". They were like Christ. Are you? Am I? 🤔 Are we?

Shalom!

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

Queen Esther (the movie)

Trying to watch at least one movie per month. I've just seen Queen Esther... one of my favorite scenes is the tête–à–tête the king had with Esther after Vashti lost her throne due to "rebellion". The king fearing that Esther might rise up to become another activist within his palace asked, "Will you be an obedient queen?". Esther's response included, "Will you be a faithful king?". I liked that she had a very "strong voice" (confidence and wisdom) in the presence of the king. Any royalty will be attracted to that. The rest of the discussion is pure poetry. You 'll enjoy it. But I still prefer the book as it is recorded in the Bible 😊. I guess I'm just a bookaholic.

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

Tongue-Power: How do you use your tongue?

 "An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered," Proverbs 11:9

"There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health," Proverbs 12:18

"A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit," Proverbs 15:4

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof," Proverbs 18:21

Speak life! 

Shalom.

Photo Credit: Emmanuella C.

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

Pay Attention: Hebrew 12:1 - 2

"Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times..."

Luke 22:54-62

I heard something profound during communion service last night that I would like to share...

The message that was preached was drawn from Hebrew 12:1-2. 

Pastor Ghandi explained how we as christians need to let go of some weights slowing us down from running the race set before us effectively... 

Jesus Christ endured all manners of things in order to fulfill His calling and finish His race. He endured the shame, loneliness and pain that came with the cross. His follower, Peter, who was always quick to pledge his loyalty even denied Him during the most trying period of His life. So basically, in this race, don't expect everything to go smoothly. 

We have to learn to focus and not compare our journey and experiences with other's. Sometimes people will think that you are crazy and all that. They will not understand because the blue-print that you are following is eternal and different from the world system. 

Sometimes we falter, other times we stumble. But the key is to shed the weight and press on towards the mark of high calling. Somewhere along the line, the preacher used Peter's experience as an example. 

You see, when the cock crowed the third time, everyone else heard an ordinary cock crow but for Peter it was a confirmation of something deeper that made him weep bitterly. 

Any way, we all know that Peter later got a chance to publicly proclaim his love for our Lord Jesus three times to replace his earlier denial. It is a good thing to know that we have the hope of redemption. 

Back to the point, the message spoke to me personally. With all the happenings in the world today, we need to be more conscious of our connections and remember that our journeys are different. While some may hear an ordinary cock crow today or tomorrow, for you or me it might be a message that should not be ignored. Your cock crow could come in different forms. Pay attention.

You might need to study Luke 22:54-62 and John 21:15-18 to get the full picture.

Shalom!

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

2,000 demons in one man?

"So Jesus allowed them to do this. The evil spirits left the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of pigs ran down the hill and into the lake. They were all drowned. There were about 2000 pigs in that herd," Mark 5:13

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

8 effects of God's word in our lives

Eight effects of God's word in our lives:

1. It produces faith. Faith comes when we hear God's word. (Romans 10:17)

2. It is the seed of the new birth (produces incorruptible life). James 1:18, 1 Peter 1:22-23

3. It produces spiritual nourishment and keeps us healthy. 1 Peter 2:2, Hebrews 5:12

4. It gives mental illumination (not same as worldly education). Psalm 119:130

5. It provides physical healing. Psalm 107:17-20; Prov 4:20-22 (God saves, heals and delivers)

6. Makes it possible to have victory over sin and satan. Psalm 119:9,11; 

7. It sanctifies and cleanses us (holiness). Ephesians 5:25-27

8. It is a spiritual mirror. James 1:23-25 

Notes from "Laying the foundation: part 2 (Authority & Power of God's Word)"

by Derek Prince.

Shalom!

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

Called to worship!! The act of worship!

Today, I got to listen to the message, "worship" by Derek Prince. He talked about how we can use our body to worship God. Yes, yes, we as believers must worship God almighty in spirit and in truth. But our spirit cannot worship in isolation. 

"To get your whole personality in tune with God, and respond to God as He desires, your spirit has to work through your soul to move your body."

Some examples of the activities of the whole body during the act of worship:

1. Head: bow your head

Genesis 24:26; Ex 4:31

2. Hands- Lift up your hands in God's name Psalm 141:2

- Clap your hands

Psalm 47:1

- Stretch out your hands in longing, ready to receive

2 Chron 6:12-13

3. Knees: bow your knees

Ephesians 3:14 - an act of total submission

Isaiah 45:23

Phil 2:9-10

4. Falling prostrate on your face before God. It means total submissions to God.

Gen 17:3; 15-17

5. Dance with all your might

2 Samuel 6:14; 20-23; 

Psalm 103:1

1 cor 6:17

1 cor 15:44

Relationship between thanksgiving, praise and worship:

1. Thanksgiving - Acknowledge God's goodness and kindness

2. Praise - Acknowledge God's greatness

Psalm 100:4: praise gives secure access to God

3. Worship - Acknowledge God's holiness.

Through worship your spirit makes contact with God.

Psalm 95:1-7

Worship is only to God. Be totally involved during worship. God speaks during worship!

What are you currently going through? Come join in let us worship through the storm! 

Shalom!

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

Psalm 23: who is God to you?

Thanks for the tag @afolayanesther 😊. Here is my version of the #psalm23challenge:

1. The Lord is my Warrior and has made available to me ALL that I will ever need.

 

2. He makes me, trains me and leads me - through low fields, high mountains, raging storms and calm seasons of life. We bear good fruits together.

3. He knows when I run off sometimes and run on empty or in error. Nothing catches Him by surprise. But still He takes me back and refuels my inner-man so that I can honor Him and not bring shame to His name.

4. Sometimes it gets really dark and I walk through the corridor of death itself. But I come out alive because of this living God who is forever the life of my light and light of my life. 

5. Thank you Lord for always being my sufficiency and showing me off as a living example of your amazingness. Because of your love, I have more than enough.

6. Your presence excites me. Everything about it is good. Plus I really like gathering with others to worship You. Keep me humble. Keep me solid and holy. As long as I breath, use me as a channel to express your great love to others, especially the unreached. 

***

Take the challenge 😁 Did I change the rules 🤔 Well, well... what is your story?

#psalm23 #HolyBible #takethischallenge #impassioned #prayitforward #lightofmylife #lifeofmylight #iamnotashamed

--

Jennifer 

Twitter: @DisGeneration     FaceBook: Jennifer.Ehidiamen

"I'm empowered to lead by serving!"

Standing in the gap: The ministry of intercession

“God calls us to the ongoing ministry of intercession...I believe that worship and intercession are perhaps the two highest ministries of which christians are capable...intercession means coming in between God and somebody who needs God…Jesus is the perfect intercessor.
Intercession is not thinking about what you should pray about…it is opening yourself to the Lord through the Holy Spirit and letting Him share His burden with you…”

Derek Prince, “His Power in Your Hands”

Intercession is being so related to Jesus that He places His burden on you…you have to be sensitive because it can happen at anytime. You might be cooking lunch and feel the urge to intercede/pray for someone. You have to stop at that moment and pray.

Watch the full message: His power in your hands

2017: Full Armour On

2014 was the year,
No, make it two years before that,
and then three years before that,
when I started to run on reserve
until I ran the race on empty.

I depended on kinsmen’s prayers
said amen to pastor’s blessings.
But I never took the pain to seek I AM’s face
or feed on His word
until I came crashing,
flat on my back.

Still, He was there to catch my fall,
healed my brokenness - spirit, soul, and body;
and put a new song in my heart.

Today I say:
Never let me go, Ishi,
fill me up with your Word, that brings life,
so that I can propagate the gospel of truth
 and birth life with every breath.

Let 2017 be the year,
where my root will grow deep
and bloom anew!

***


"For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief." Proverbs 24:16 (KJV)

"When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, Lord, will I seek." Psalm 27:8King James Version (KJV)

I'm waiting on God. Really? How are you waiting?

Image via IoT

Are you waiting on God? How are you waiting? Do you know there is a foolish way of waiting? It came alive to me last week. I played a major character in the encrypted script.

So we had an office party, and I invited our "new" roommate. The evening was lovely. And we left early so that our roomie can go pack up her things to her new home - our place.

We both agreed that she would text/call me once she arrives at the building so that I could meet her and let her in and also help her with some of the things. It will take her like 45 minutes or so she said.

Then I got home, changed out of my work clothes and all that. Placed the phone by my pillow and dozed off. I remember waking up now and then to check my phone. But no sign of text or call from her. I slept off again.

After a while, I woke up from my slumber and checked my phone. Alas! It was past midnight. I had about 14 or so missed calls and 3 SMS from our new roomie. Oh boy, I jumped out of bed. But I didn't have to go far because I saw bags and someone else cuddled on a bed at the other end of a room.

She got in. Our other roommate [our host] let her in...

To cut a long story short, as I reflected on how everything had played out, I realized that in a way the event that night reflects how I might have been waiting on God too.

You know, even if my roommate did not arrive at the time we both agreed, knowing that she was going to return, I should have actively kept watch and waited for her call instead of cuddling comfortable in bed. I could have sat at the table, read a book, stayed on the computer. Or do something other than snuggling comfortably in bed that made me sleep off on the watch.

Fellow soldiers in Christ, are you waiting for the Lord's return? How are we waiting? Are we expectant but tired out? Knocked out of breath? Or waiting while actively reflecting the ways of our Lord, preaching the gospel, reaching out to lost souls with love and compassion?

Are we watching and praying?

Remember the parable of the wise and foolish virgins? God forbid that we miss the mark!

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Matthew 25:13

Are we waiting on God for the manifestation of what He has spoken concerning our lives? How are we waiting? With high expectation, while feeding our faith or just chilling and NetFlix?

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31 KJV

How are we waiting? May the Holy Spirit, our wonderful counsellor, empower us to keep watch and not slip off or sleep off on duty.

Shalom!

The god of this world hates you...

"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." John 15:18. 

You can't be of God and expect to be loved by the world! 

Jonathan and David: Notes on love and friendship

"...Jonathan became David's closest friend. He loved David as much as he loved himself."

Another passage describes it as, "...the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." 1 Samuel 18:1.

And David's felt the same way. Here is how he described his feelings after Jonathan passed on:

 "I am distressed for you, my brother, Jonathan; greatly beloved were you to me; your love to me was wonderful; surpassing the love of women" (2 Sam 1:26).

Their friendship didn't just happen though. It was intentional and it was nurtured. See 1 Samuel 18:3-4. They didn't just connect on social media and left the rest to become history. They actually connected and made a pledge of loyalty of sort.

Some people joy in being alone...but woe to him who has no friends! What will he do in the day of adversity? Two can get each other's back and keep eachother warm in this sokewhat cold world.

Some people joy in being a social butterfly and cheerleader of people's party...but how many of these people are really reliable? So woe to him who has too many unreliable friends...lol...that too will bring too much trouble:

"One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
    but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24 

On love and friendship, here is the standard to be copied:

 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

John 3:16

Friendship is love...

Love is giving...love is also receiving...Love is a verb. 

When you read Jonathan and David's story, you will see that it was not all mushy-mushy. The men risked their lives for eachother. The bond was even transgenerational! Jonathan's grandson, Mephibosheth, was impacted positively by this friendship. (2 Samuel 9:1).

It is the end of the year and I am thankful for the friends and family that God has blessed me with. But I'm thinking, Lord how can I improve the quality of my friendship? How can I love intentionally and selflessly like You do? How can I be passionately in love (not just by feeling) and allow my soul knit to another's like David and Jonathan?

Teach me Lord! Take me to a higher level of this love that is your nature (1 John 4:7-8)! God is love!

Words to live by:

1 Corinthians 13:1-10

The Message (MSG)

The Way of Love

13 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate.

2 If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing.

3-7 If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.


Love cares more for others than for self.


Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.


Love doesn't strut,


Doesn't have a swelled head,


Doesn't force itself on others,


Isn't always "me first,"


Doesn't fly off the handle,


Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,


Doesn't revel when others grovel,


Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,


Puts up with anything,


Trusts God always,


Always looks for the best,


Never looks back,


But keeps going to the end.

8-10 Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled."

So help me God. Amen.

Shalom!

Life Interrupted: Navigating the Unexpected

Back to Eden.
Dreams.
Schemes.
Worship.
Life.
Submission.
Ministry.
Battles.
Protect your calling...
Obedience.
Lost in His will.
Grow.

Reading a book and seeing yourself in the pages leaves you wondering, "did God create us in twos?"

Currently on my reading list: