Sunday 29 September 2019

49: It's Time to S--T--R--E--T--C--H!



Take My Hand Inspirations

 
Stretch has several different meanings:

1) (verb-action) to go as far as or beyond the usual limit;
2) (verb-action) to spread over a large area or distance;
3) (noun-something) a continuous period of time.

All these meanings add up to one thing: pushing yourself beyond what you normally say, think or do into saying, thinking or doing it differently, but in a better way with more souls over a period of your lifetime.

As humans, we are creatures of habit.  Once a habit—a routine pattern of actions—is established in one’s life, especially a bad one, it’s very hard to break it unless a hammer comes crashing down on it and shatters all your sensibilities waking them up to what’s really going on around you.

Take Stanley for instance, a guy of 22 years who, by nature, is happy-go-lucky.  Nothing really bothers him.  He’s easily forgiving; overlooks offenses, even apologizes first when he’s not wrong—a peaceful, well-mannered brother everyone loves to hang around.  But one day, he lost it, and killed his best friend.  Now, locked away in prison, another dear friend visited and asked: “So what happened, dude; didn’t take you for the violent type?”  Stanley stared absently with no remorse into his buddy’s empathetic eyes and simply said: “He touched my girlfriend.”  “What do you mean by ‘touched’? Did he rape her?” “She was not his, but mine.  He had no right to take what’s mine.” “What did she have to say about it?” Silence.

Stanley was a creature of a bad habit.  As long as things were going well for him in terms of relationships, he could thrive as a person who seemed pleasant and fun-loving.  But the instant the slightest rejection presented itself—the girl he loved actually not loving him but loving someone else—it broke something in him.  So he snapped.  We all have our breaking points, that end where all you know is tested and you must make a clear decision—either accept the change that is coming and find a way to adjust to it; or to simply break into pieces, fall apart.

This is the State of Adolescence today.  Today’s youth between the ages of 10 and 30 years are so stretched in the wrong direction, that their choices are causing them to break into pieces as they try to establish their identity and where they “fit” in their microcosm (small) social groups while facing the blaring ideologies of their parents and grandparents, both liberal and conservative.  And the bridge over which youth and elders communicate has turned into a cracked chasm where neither the youth nor their elders—parents and grandparents and other older generational mentors--can talk to each other.

The Results are Devastating.  It appears that statistics out there concern American or European youth, but African youth are equally troubled with their own statistics of suicides, teen pregnancies and abortions, alcohol and drug abuse, poverty, prostitution, armed-robbery and identity issues creating a whole “secret” gay and transgender community whose members end up committing suicide due to lack of counseling and care by concerned elders they themselves reject and refuse to listen to.  For lack of knowledge and for lack of hope, our youth are perishing.                 

 DOES ANYBODY CARE?

Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good (Genesis 1:31).

Creation is an action propelled (fueled) by vision using the tools of mind (thought), word (Let there be), and hands (picking, sewing, nailing, molding, and shaping).  Our Creator God used all these tools—His mind, His word, even His hands—to bring forth you and me and everything natural we see.

Good and goodness have so many different definitions.  Both can be described as a condition of the quality of something (very satisfactory, of high quality, pleasant, interesting).  It can also be used to express how morally right a person is by religious principles (i.e., setting a good example for children). It also conveys the status of our health (to be in good health).  It can also emphasis a large number, amount or level of something (a good-sized crowd, a good chance of something happening, or having a good day).

Lastly, goodness can be an exclamation of graciousness (thankfulness) or surprise at how well something has turned out.

It’s time elders stretch beyond their comfort zone and become a mentor to our youth, even if it’s just one.  It’s also time for the youth to stop running away from elders who genuinely love them and sit down and tell at least one elder how they feel and work together to find godly solutions to their problems.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER (Hebrews 13:8).  THE WORD OF GOD IS JESUS CHRIST (John 1:1). DON’T BE AFRAID TO PICK UP THE BIBLE AND DO WHAT IT SAYS.  LIVES ARE AT STAKE; AND WE HAVE THE ANSWER.

Let’s get into the GOOD HABIT OF SHARING GOD’S LOVING WORD which shouts to the youth how good they are.


TAKE MY HAND INSPIRATIONS “TEEN TALK” Series
are conversations  involving Youth and “Parents”.  We must take time to examine and heal our own souls to be able to bring other souls with us to our heavenly home. This requires talking to each other in a teachable environment: the church, school, community at home; or wherever you find yourselves together.


In each series, there are 10 lessons, or conversations, for parents, teachers, mentors and leaders prepared by the Holy Spirit to talk with the children and teens they care about.  Each series is designed for a group of 10 participants.  At the end of the Steps to Salvation and Armor of God series, a certificate is available for our young people to graduate onto the next series.  The Fruit of the Spirit series includes colouring pages for a group of 10 participants. 

At the end of the Fruit of the Spirit series, the participants perform in a choreography or drama to demonstrate how to bear and use these fruits in our daily lives.  Training is available upon request for each series.  We can come to your church, school, club or community to train Adults who want to train up Children and Teens in the way they should go .... (Proverbs 22:6).  

To purchase your series and to schedule training, call or whatsapp us at +233-(0)54-763-0369; email: jesuspatience@gmail.com; or visit Take My Hand Inspirations on Facebook @preciouslordleadme.

What does every person that comes in contact with you take away with them after they have left your presence?  Did you make that person—small or big, young or old, Black or White, rich or poor, etc.—feel or become better?  If yes, your Fruit of Goodness is singing a song of sunshine.

But if a person feels worse after leaving your presence, take a time out! Forgive yourself for troubling their soul with your personal trauma or insulting or ignoring them or violating their integrity or rights in some way.  Forgive yourself and try harder—STRETCH--again the next time or with the next person.  Oh, learn this lesson quickly, Dear Christian.  Christ is coming soon!

The Fruit of Goodness is brought forth by your words.  What you think about yourself are your silent words privately talking to you. And Satan goes to war in the silent zone. Be careful! What you say about yourself are your spoken words talking about you, describing who you are.  And the principalities (Satanic elements) in the air will snatch those words and make them a reality in your life.  Be careful!



So right now take one child or teen and with him or her together proclaim: I am gorgeous.  I am a very good creation of Almighty God.  As the Trinity God is alive in me, I hold the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in my soul—and we are bold and beautiful!  Watch out world, I am coming to shine!  Satan, move out of my way!  My Fruit of Goodness is busting loose and bursting out!  It shall follow me all the days of my life.  And it tastes so good!

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in Him! (Psalm 34:8).





© 2019 by Take My Hand Inspirations, a division of PepParadise Society Ltd Publishers.  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior written permission of the publisher.  The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.  Used by permission. All rights reserved.


Take My Hand Inspirations

Thursday 20 June 2019

48: The Great Commission



Take My Hand Inspirations

Commission means to formally [publicly or officially] choose someone to do a special piece of work.  And Great means big, or famous, or very good; extreme.  Therefore, a Great Commission has to be given by a Greater Authority to the ones He trusts to carry out the task.  That’s exactly what Jesus—the Great Authority—gave to us, the ones who believe in Him.  He publicly and officially told His disciples in:

Matthew 28:18-20: All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.

Mark 16:15-18: Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.  He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. . . .

Luke 24:46-49: Thus it is written; and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things.

These verses constitute The GREAT COMMISSION and they were spoken by Jesus himself to His disciples after He rose the third day and appeared to them.  That means, without the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there would be no Great Commission for us, His disciples.  There would be no purpose for our being or living.  There would be no hope to live for tomorrow.  And without hope, there would be no One to look up to, to get guidance or consolation when we are sad, angry, dismayed and disappointed by all the evil Satan and our ungodly choices are wreaking upon this earth.

Why are you alive today?  The Great  Commission.  How can you get comfort and succeed in this unruly world?  By breathing and doing The Great Commission.   What is this Great Commission?  It is simply speaking to lost souls about the Good News of Jesus Christ and confirming how only He can remove the record of past sins and make the repentant soul into a new creature, holy and special, like you who is doing the speaking [preaching or teaching]; and also be commissioned to go out and to do the same so that His Kingdom in heaven multiplies exponentially—becoming extremely big, or GREAT!

Observe that Jesus gave His followers this Great Commission after His resurrection so that His excruciating crucifixion would not be in vain (for nothing).  He carried out His part of God’s plan through tears of blood on a blood-stained cross; and expects us to do our part of God’s plan as an expression of gratitude, reverence and awe, demonstrating fierce loyalty as  for a Friend; for now we are no longer condemned to hell, but today’s unbelievers are now at the status of condemnation. 


THEREFORE NOW THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION TO THOSE WHO HAVE TAKEN JESUS AS THEIR LORD AND SAVIOUR (Romans 8:1), who do not walk according to the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), but according to the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), who were once not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy (1 Peter 2:10).  Mercy is forgiving someone who deserves to be punished for the crime/sin he’s done and giving that person a second chance to change and to do what is right.  Don’t you want that same mercy for your family members, your friends and neighbours, your classmates and co-workers, your community at large, your nation, the world?

You’ve got to love Jesus so much that you live the purpose for His dying; that you breathe and move in His resurrection power; and that you never quit spreading the Good News no matter what is happening on the inside, on the outside or all around you.

We, the disciples of Christ, are the Chosen Ones for our generation and beyond.  But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim [preach and teach] the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).

You are the light in this dark world.  LET IT SHINE!  You carry God’s mercy for Him in this world, SPREAD IT ALL OVER!  It’s that simple.  One soul at a time is all that is required.  And it’s totally between you and God how you carry out your Great Commission, your divine assignment.  That is why we have the five-fold ministry (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers) and the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Read 1 Corinthians 12:8-11), the greatest being LOVE for God, for yourself, and for humanity.  Each of us has a ministry and gift(s) given to us to complete our Commission. 
 

You can only carry out The Great Commission by working on yourself and your relationship with God—the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit.  Your success will be evident by the Fruit of the Spirit you bear.  While you are working on yourself and your relationship with God, you must also work on saving souls (making disciples) of all nations, beginning at your “Jerusalem”, the  community in which you live, go to school, work, and worship.  You do this by wearing the Whole Armor of God.

**************************************************************
To succeed at your commission:
1 Take your Bible and simply start at the Book of John; or follow a daily Bible reading plan starting at Genesis. You can read one verse a day or a chapter every day; and what you do not understand, ask questions to your Pastor and/or other mature Christians.  Pray—talk to God honestly—about what you’ve read and ask how it can be applied to your life—that is called the washing of the Word to keep the soul clean because the world will surely soil your sanctified soul if you are not washed every day in the Water (Ephesians 5:26-27; John 4:10-14). 

2 Then STEP OUT! with your beautiful feet and let those in your “Jerusalem”—your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, anyone you can touch with your testimony—hear about the power of Christ through someone they know who is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes . . . . (Romans 1:16).

3 Support other Christians who are working in prisons, hospitals, orphanages and distant villages all over the world by praying for their success in winning souls and by giving them whatever aid they need to bring others to Christ.  This is my plea to you, fellow Christian. 


A student at Edwenase Rehab. and Vocational Training Center
who participated in Light In Me Productions: Let It Shine!
Children and teens form the Performing, Visual & Vocational
Arts ensemble for Light in Me Productions
I truly want to share the gospel of Jesus Christ unto salvation for the souls of children and teens; for we know without guidance our children suffer most, especially as they reach adolescence.  Help me to save them now by purchasing TAKE MY HAND INSPIRATIONS TEACHING TRACTS SERIES which includes The Steps to Salvation series, Armor of God series, Fruit of the Spirit series, Easter Etiquette Ensemble and Christmas Cantata Collection; and book publication of The Lion Is In the Way: A Message to the Naked Church.

Your generous financial donations of any amount will help us produce, publish and deliver our Books, Teaching Tracts Series, and Light In Me Productions Performing, Visual and Vocational Arts Community Outreach projects.  Proceeds go to our Gifts Promised Fund to help intelligent and able young people to start and to complete their education.


Please send your donations by Mobile Money to +233-(0)54-763-0369 (MTN) or +233-(0)50-338-3738 (VODAFONE).  God bless you!


© 2017 by Take My Hand Inspirations, a division of PepParadise Society Ltd Publishers.  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior written permission of the publisher.  The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.  Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Most of the Artwork selected is retrieved from Greg Olson search engine.


Take My Hand Inspirations

Monday 13 May 2019

47: Conclusion - What’s Got My Back?



Take My Hand Inspirations

ARMOR OF GOD SERIES


There is one more essential component, or piece, which completes God’s Armor.  As a young Christian, I often asked myself, “God tells us to gird our waist, put on a covering for our heart, shod our feet, take a helmet for our head, take a sword and shield to cover our front.  But what about my back?  Can’t the enemy also come at me from behind?  Sneak up on me without my noticing, like a surprise attack?  Where is the covering for my back?”

I would meditate on this obvious exposure, this ‘hole’ in God’s Armor, till one day, when the pain in my heart was too much to bear, I got on my knees and just cried to the Lord.  Sometimes the pain we experience in our lives is so ‘big’ that we can’t even speak.  We want to speak, but just can’t because we don’t want more pain to be piled up on us until we break.  For, in Christ, our breaking point comes when we lose all hope for the good to come out of our pain.




And as I was on my knees praying like Hannah, in utterances and tongues without sound because I was in a place too deep in depression like a spiritual black hole, then I felt the presence of God moving all around me, hovering over me, and AT MY BACK!  The Lord God Almighty was holding me up so I would not fall out of faith.  He wiped away my tears (I stopped crying), put a burning my heart, and told me to “forgive.”  GOD HAD MY BACK!  That’s why the Armor of God scriptures tell us that after we’ve girded, shod, taken and put on the whole armor, we must keep praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18).

Prayer is the saint’s—we believers in Christ Jesus—back
covering, side covering, above and below covering.  So as we go out into the world, what we can see ahead of us, God is seeing all around and behind us.  And, if we are truly watchful for our Christian brothers and sisters, we can see their backs for them as they are also watching our backs.  Perseverance means to never give up when the pain seems unbearable; never quit on looking for the goodness in people who hurt you; never lose faith or hope for a better today and tomorrow; never to let your dreams die under the wearying weight of rejection.

AND NEVER, EVER TAKE OFF OR PUT AWAY YOUR ARMOR! Stay determined on staying on your Christian narrow way as you carry out your Great Commission (Mark 16:15) retrieving lost souls from the broad way (Matthew 7:13-14), despite the problems we may encounter that weigh down our souls, challenge our faith, cause us to cry.  That’s the wrestling against evil.  And that’s why we wear God’s Armor—to win that wrestling match by snatching back more lost souls from hell’s grip and becoming stronger in the Spirit as we trust Him to have our back in this battle.

. . . that you may be able to stand against the wiles [evil attacks] of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness . . . (Ephesians 6:11-12).

The Armor of God makes you more than conquerors through
Him who loved us . . .that neither tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or sword; death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:35-39).


JESUS LOVES YOU AND HE’S GOT YOUR BACK!

CHEER UP, CONQUERING CHRISTIAN; IT’S TIME TO GET UP OFF YOUR KNEES OF DESPAIR AND DANCE TO THE SONG OF YOUR SUCCESS AND VICTORY.  LET ALL THE SAINTS SHOUT, “AMEN!”



© 2019 by Take My Hand Inspirations, a division of PepParadise Society Ltd Publishers.  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprodukced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—without the prior written permission of the publisher.  The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Unless otherwise stated, all scripture quotations are from The New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.  Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Most of the paintings selected for this blog are retrieved from “Black Art” search engine:www.itsablackthang.com.


Take My Hand Inspirations