LOVE & FRIENDSHIP

Friendship should be a natural component of love. Yet,it's shocking the number of married couples who are lovers but not friends.
    To be your spouse's friend requires an openness and familiarity that some aren't willing to risk. Those who open their hearts to one another in this way find a special treasure.
  The late author Tom Marshall wrote, "One of my most wonderful memories is the day my wife said to me, 'Do you know that you are my best friend? ' It is wonderful because i can think of the early years of our married life when she could not & would not have said that of me. It took me far longer than it should have to learn that besides a husband and a lover and a provider, my wife also needed me to be her friend. Tom Marshall had this verse from the song of songs written on her wife's grave stone: 'THIS IS MY BELOVED AND THIS IS MY FRIEND '"
   Consider your relationships with those you love the most, particularly spouse or family members. Are there steps you can take to become a better friend to your spouse?
I pray this day, that each and everyone of us Will get to that level where we can confidently say "WE ARE FRIENDS WITH OUR SPOUSES " IJN. Amen.
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

WORKING THROUGH OUR FEARS.

Jesus was afraid. He talked about his fears to his staff. He wrestled with his fears to the point of sweating blood in the garden. Without fear, Jesus could not have been an example to us. He would have been just another man.
    Many years ago my neighbour's son who practically adores me, looked up at me, and said you always look confident in whatever you wear (referring to me). I thanked him for the complement and geared him to grow up to be better than me someday, he looked up at me solemnly and said, "I'm not afraid".
   Jesus was not afraid to grow up either, but he did have to face some painful and gruesome events in his life. He felt fear.
   S.Jeffers,PhD, wrote a book called: Feel the fear ...and do it anyway.
she tells us that we will probably always have to deal with fear anyway! If we wait for our fears to disappear before we start, we will never even begin. The book of proverbs mentions the foolish farmer who waits for a cloudless sky before he plants his field. There is almost always a cloud somewhere in the sky, and those who are trained to look will probably see more than one. "Waiting for the perfect time is a great excuse & rationalization to stay stuck where you are".
Jesus knew that the best way to conquer fear was to face forward. The master did not shrink from going to Jerusalem, he boldly announced his identity to his executioners. My saviour got sick to his stomach, wept till sweat became blood - but he went through it anyway! Although he felt fear, he faced it anyway!
        Fear is an ever-present fact of life. This point became clear to us (my partner & i) a few weeks back when we finally put aside our fears to embark on a project that fear has been disallowing us to start for over two years, though fears shouted, and distractions hooted and waved their arms, and stood in our view. Fear did all sorts of fearful stuffs, but because we knew that fear is bogus and unreal, we kept moving forward till fear as usual, disappears and we were able to move on. Jesus worked through his fears, and so should we.
I pray today, that every single fear that has been keeping you from your goals should disappear by you having the courage to face them IJN. Amen.
-Olu Akpata
     (Zûr)

TIME ALONE WITH GOD.

Whenever Moses wanted some intimate conversation with the Lord, he went up to the tent of meeting. In that quiet place, away from the clamour of the camp of the Israelites, they spoke face to face, just like two friends.
       We all need a place where we can go to get close to God. Jesus often withdrew to a mountain to pray (Luke 5:16 & Luke 6:12) and in teaching about how to commune with God he said, "when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your father ..." (Mathew 6:6)
  In our quiet place we can focus our attention totally on God. "Enter the secret place, and right in the center you'll find God, " -wrote Oswald Chambers. When we live in that secret place, then it becomes impossible for us to doubt God.
In Moses' secret place, he was able to tell the Lord about his concerns and receive the faith & courage he needed to lead the unfaithful people. Sometimes the Israelites were amazed at how long Moses spent in communion with God, but Moses wanted to know God so that he could obey him. The people of Israel got to see God's mighty acts, but because he spent time alone with God, Moses got to know God's ways. Where do you go to be alone with God?
Have you developed a friendship with God? I pray today that your relationship with God will begin to take a fruit bearing turn IJN. Amen.
-Olu Akpata (Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

THE GOD BEYOND COMPARE.

Isiah was terrified. Smoke began to swirl around the trembling pillars, the floor beneath him shook. God's presence filled the temple. Suddenly voices rang out: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty ....." (Isiah 6:1-8)
   Whenever Scripture gives us a glimpse of the worship in heaven, multitude are praising God's holiness. Why? To be holy means to be set apart, to be different from all the rest. Pick any attribute of God. Take love for example. No one loves like our God. No one is as just, or as kind, or as righteous, or as powerful. God is beyond comparison. He is without any flaw that would weaken any aspect of his character.
The beings that Isiah saw are awestruck in the presence of this God. In essence, they were saying to God, "You're incredible! There is no one and nothing like you! "
What a magnificent God! What a wonder that this holy God chooses to dwell in us (1Corinthians 3:16-17).
Because he does, he asks us to set ourselves apart from sin. His very being is incompatible will evil.
So let's determine to keep our "temple" in order for our God.
Take time to think about who God is -and worship him, remember that he is on your side. Draw strength from him & resist evil today!
Olu Akpata (Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

DO NOT DESPISE THE LITTLE THINGS!

In the old testament a verse reads, "A day of little things, no doubt, but who would dare despise it? " Jesus did not despise the little things. When he set out to change the world, he chose only a dozen people to work with - not a cast of thousands.
The more i study our lord's ways of networking the more convinced i am that he is and still the greatest network -er. Now, Jesus could have gone ahead and recruited himself a battalion of disciples for his mission on earth, but what did he do? He sponsored  just a few teachable dozen & packed value into every minute, every glance, every question & every encounter he had with them because he knew that out of this teachable few will eventually come the "CHRISTIANDOM " that we have today!
        I see such an impatience with & disregard for little things in business that it disturbs me. Only yesterday, we were at a meeting with Monica Ross (our lovely sponsor) and the McDermids (the founder of our team, THE VISION GROUP) where they pointed out to Gugu & i the importance of having one on one meetings and mini meetings before going into the halls and churches. (Thank God for their wisdom & experience in our lives) .
I worked once with a boss who didn't want me to spend so much time with clients. "Go after the big clients"he said to me. "Leave the peanuts to the others. " And yet when the numbers were totalled, my combination of small sales outtotaled his few big ones. I thought to myself (as i resigned to start my own company), "Dinosaurs became extinct -yet rabbits still abound "
Aren't many of us hounded by a sense that only the big things count? I personally have had to battle a mindset that said whatever i did had to be the biggest and the best.  I couldn't just write a simple piece, it had to be a masterpiece & that wasted my time and resources as a journalist. Every creative person should know not to despise the little things -
* The first brush stroke
* The first word on paper
* The first phone call to a prospective client or friend .... they all count!
    My Lord and my saviour did not spend his time creating operations manuals that could be franchised and duplicated by the millions. He hurried to see a little girl who was sick, focusing on getting her well;he knew that one boy's loaf of bread had all the necessary ingredients to feed thousands. Jesus kept it simple! & so should we! After all, he is our sponsor, indirectly as it may be.
Olu Akpata (Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com

IT'S GOOD KNOWING THAT YOU'RE NOT ALONE.

Have you ever had a sense of companionship with the devine source of your being? A source that not only knows you intimately but also cares for you as well.
    Jesus spoke about God as father not to perpetuate the image of a patriarchal power chain so much as to imply a birthing from, a presence of nurturing and intense watchfulness, a deep pride of creation. An immutable connection. Love.
       As much as i appreciate the power we each have within ourselves to create our destinies, i cannot escape the notion that above us hovers a benevolent, all knowing, and intensely kind-full presence ..... a personality of good.
I cannot be comfortable by the thought of some vast neutral overseer that regards me as merely a speck of light on a diamond-studded ocean, nor will i put my hopes, faith and trust in a god who doesn't talk back to me. As much as i desire & cherish my freedom and  pride myself in being an independent soul, capable to stretch my wings, i still want to know that someone is watching and cares about every move i make. I want a God who knows my middle name.
Jesus had this sense of life. In fact, if you looked at what drove him-especially on his darker days-it was his desire to please his father .....a desire to return to this very intense and personal embrace again. God invites us to join the movement, the swaying, the feeling of being in harmony with something larger than ourselves.
  "It is a rare group that can stand linked arm in arm in a circle & not begin to sway. "
  Author Lewis Thomas in his book "THE LIVES OF A CELL" informs us that all of earlier is continually humming ....... that even earthworms make drumming sounds, and termites hit a staccato note that no one can find reason for even after years of observation.
Jesus head the humming, too. He said the rocks and the trees can sing-that they will do so & have been. All of this for one simple reason: "WE ARE NOT ALONE"
Jesus knew he was not alone & we should as Christians too, know that we are not alone!
Olu Akpata (Zûr).

IGNORE THE HOLDUP & HOLD-ON!

A quick errand takes two hours because of unexpected traffic, an important letter gets lost in the mail, a long awaited job promotion goes to a less-experienced co-worker. When unexpected delays frustrate our plans, we sometimes want to make things happen. We also may start to question God or completely give up on our goals.
     This delaying process, however, can be part of God's discipline. He wants our desires to be motivated by the prodding & empowering of the  holy spirit, not by our own efforts or our need for significance and achievement.
An angel reminded Zerubbabel to look to God's spirit, not his own resources, to build the temple.  God promised to remove the obstacles, to bless his work and complete it. Zerubbabel was then faced with the challenge to trust God's words to him and to accept his timing & ways to accomplish this task.
  How do you respond when your plans are delayed? Can we learn something from Zerubbabel's example? I pray, that as from this day, may we begin to trust more in  Jehovah, accepting his timing and ways so that we can accomplish any task and fulfill our purpose here on earth IJN. Amen.
-Olu Akpata (Zûr)
www.prayerlinez.blogspot.com