#PrayDontPrey: Search Me O God and…help me…lead me

It was David. David, the shepherd, the poet, the man after God’s heart. David, the adulterer and murderer. David, the warrior. David, the musician. David, the anointed. Yes, that David, the king.

It was that David who woke up one day and prayed:

“Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart; Test me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.”

That is a posture of repentance and humility worth emulating.

Search me O God and see if there is any seed of wickedness or bitterness hiding in my heart. Uproot it, save me from myself, and help me walk in your love. Always.

Shalom!

🙏

#Okaima #WordsToLiveBy #forgiveness #hallelujah #ThereIsaGod #PrayDontPrey

Dig. Don’t quarrel. Genesis 26

Dig (Esek at Gerar), Dig (Sitnah), and Dig (Rehoboth). Then, dig again (Shebah) because after Rehoboth (after God made room), another digging happened in Beersheba.

Genesis 26 is my current inspiration.

Forgive and make peace with those who quarrel over what is rightfully yours or who envy you (not the same as making permanency what is meant to be a “reconcile and move on” situation)… Oh the good news is coming. Beersheba will bring forth water too! God is merciful and kind. He is a covenant keeper and a restorer. Trust Him and obey.

Stay strong and dig, dig, and dig. Then, dig again!

Oh blessed of the Lord, sow that seed and prosper! Grace to it!

Image credit: Biblical Hermeneutics

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!"