With All Your Heart

With All Your Heart

The heart is the connecting point, the meeting place between any two persons. The kind of deep soul intimacy we crave with God and with others can be experienced only from the heart. I know a man who took his daughter to dinner; she was surprised, delighted. For years she had been hoping he would pursue her. When they had been seated, he pulled out his Day Timer and began to review the goals he had set for her that year. “I wanted to burst into tears and run out of the restaurant,” she said. We don’t want to be someone’s project; we want to be the desire of their heart. Gerald May laments, “By worshiping efficiency, the human race has achieved the highest level of efficiency in history, but how much have we grown in love?”

We’ve done the same to our relationship with God. Christians have spent their whole lives mastering all sorts of principles, done their duty, carried on the programs of their church . . . and never known God intimately, heart to heart. The point is not an efficient life of activity—the point is intimacy with God. “You will find me,” God says, “when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13). As Oswald Chambers said, “So that is what faith is—God perceived by the heart.”

What more can be said, what greater case could be made than this: to find God, you must look with all your heart. To remain present to God, you must remain present to your heart. To hear his voice, you must listen with your heart. To love him, you must love with all your heart. You cannot be the person God meant you to be, and you cannot live the life he meant you to live, unless you live from the heart.

(Waking the Dead , 48–49)

New Year, New Beginnings....

Welcome to 2010.

As Pastor Olutayo of Good Tidings Bible Church Int'l put it, this is our year of Marvellous Helps. May we all have great help from the Lord in this new year.
Have you thought about what the Lord is saying to you this new year? What direction do you sense that He wants you to go in? I can't say I've got it all penned down but one thing I'm purposing to do this year is seek Him more.

This new year we need insight, we need revelation. There's just so much going on in the world that we need His wisdom to help us navigate through. Let's start this year strong so that we can finish strong. Let's get Heaven's priorities and begin to work on the things that our King has called us to do.

Yes, at times it may seem that answers are not forthcoming as we would like. Let us not lose heart. If we faint not, we will reap a harvest. As we remain standing on the Word of God in every area of our lives this year, the Lord will send us marvellous helps.
So, I say all this to say, get in His presence and forge ahead this year!

Have a great 2010!

All In God's Timing (Part 6)

***

Labake had an exhausted look on her face. First Prince Osa just asked her out on an impromptu date now her mom is questioning her about who she was on the phone with.
"It was no one mom. Gosh!"
"Okay o, I won't be the nosy mom, but I know you have a date." Her mother smiled.
"Yea yea... you always figure things out." Labake smiled and shook her head.
With that they put aside the topic and talked about people back home and how the nation was doing all the way to her house. Labake was always interested in discussing the progress of the nation so much that people teased that she should run for office in Nigeria.

---

Prince Osa couldn't believe it. He had just made dinner plans with Labake. Now he was really going to find out if a relationship is worth pursuing between the two of them. At least this last conversation wasn't too bad even though she still pulled the "not interested in you" move which is every Nigerian girl's M.O. Should he buy her a gift or would that be too much? Especially since he's not yet familiar with her personality. She may not appreciate his gift and think he is just showing off. The last time he did that the lady accepted the gift but eventually walked out on him. Just at that moment, his cell phone rang.

"Hello?" He realized he hadn't looked at the caller ID and that his voice sounded gruff.

"My guy are you alright? Na sleep you dey sleep?"

It was Obinna his friend from his university days at Oxford.

"Obinna it's you. Abeg no vex. How you dey now?"

"I dey o. Body dey inside clothe. What's going on now? It's been a while since we spoke."

"Yes it has. I'm just trying to wrap up business on this end."

"Are those people really on board to invest in Naija?"

"My guy, dem get choice?" They both laughed.

"So we must celebrate then. When are you getting back to this side?"

"It'll be in another week. Got some personal business to take care of."

"Hmmm I trust you. You don find a babe no be so?"

"You should know now. Actually, I'll be flying down to see her. It was Toke that told me about her."

"Cool cool. Anyhow let me know how it goes with the babe o. But we're still on for celebrating right?"

"Definitely."

"Alright my guy, make we talk later."

"Later."

Prince Osa shook his head and smiled as he hung with Obinna. He really needs to get back to work.

Excerpt: The Sacred Romance

Her Heart Is Captured
12/14/2009

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In our psychological age, we have come to call our affairs “addictions,” but God calls them “adultery.” Listen again to his words to the Israelites through Jeremiah:

You are a swift she-camel
running here and there, a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in [your] craving—
in [your] heat [how can I] restrain [you]?
Any males that pursue [you] need not tire themselves;
at mating time they will find [you]. Do not run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry. (Jer. 2:23–25)

God is saying, “I love you, and yet you betray me at the drop of a hat. I feel so much pain. Can’t you see we’re made for each other? I want you to come back to me.” And Israel’s answer, like that of any addict or adulterer, is: “It’s no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them” (Jer. 2:25).

Perhaps we can empathize with the ache God experienced as Israel’s “husband” (and ours when we are living indulgently). Having raised Israel from childhood to a woman of grace and beauty, he astonishingly cannot win her heart from her adulterous lovers. The living God of the universe cannot win the only one he loves, not due to any lack on his part, but because her heart is captured by her addictions, which is to say, her adulterous lovers.

(The Sacred Romance , 134–35)

Encounter with Jesus

Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda[a] and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. 3Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.[b] 5One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. 6When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?"
7"Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

8Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." 9At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked.
The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, 10and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, "It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat."

11But he replied, "The man who made me well said to me, 'Pick up your mat and walk.' "

-John 5:2-11

I love this!

A man who had been sick, disabled by illness was just healed by Jesus. You would think that the people around him would join him in celebrating the wonderful thing that God has done in his life. But instead they begin to find fault in him. "How dare you pick up your mat?" "Don't you know it's the Sabbath?"

However, the man said something that struck me. He said, "The man who made me well said to me, Pick up yout mat and walk." Simple. I'm sure in his mind the man struggled with who to obey. The law of Moses or the One who just healed him. I'm sure being a Jew he knew the implications of picking up his mat on the Sabbath. Nevertheless he defied all that because something bigger than the law had happened to him. He had just had an encounter with Jesus Christ!

Our God doesn't want our empty formalities. He doesn't want us obeying because it is law. Rather He wants us obeying because we've experienced Him. Our obedience should come from a place of love and respect for a great King that we have encountered. Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe not because he read in the law that it is good to tithe, but because he had just encountered the King of Righteousness.

Folks let us stop our empty formalities and let us really begin to encounter Jesus. Then will our obedience be true.

THEREFORE LET us go on and get past the elementary stage in the teachings and doctrine of Christ (the Messiah), advancing steadily toward the completeness and perfection that belong to spiritual maturity. Let us not again be laying the foundation of repentance and abandonment of dead works (dead formalism) and of the faith [by which you turned] to God,

-Heb 6:1

All In God's Timing (Part 5)

***

Saturday finally came. Labake's mom would be arriving in about 2 hours and she was yet to finish cleaning her house. She had woken up that morning with a long list of things to do on her mind. She had to go to the bank, run to the post office, pay her bills online, and clean her house. Her mother makes a big deal out of an untidy house even if it's a speck of dust. It's two hours to her mom's arrival and she just finished cleaning her kitchen. Now the question is should she continue cleaning or should she take her shower and start heading out considering she has an hour's drive to the airport. Making up her mind, she hopped into the shower.

As Labake stood by the railing in the arrivals area, she noticed her mother pushing her baggage cart searching for her. Labake stood and watched her mother, amazed at how although her mom is in her late 50's she still looks stunning. Her mother looked fit and her outfit was very chic. When her mom drew closer, she walked up to the "No entry" door and called for her mom. Her mother turned to her right and waved. Quickly, Labake walked over and they hugged. How long had it been since the two of them held each other like this. She truly had missed her mother.

"Mom, I'm so glad you're here."

Her mom pulled back and looked into her eyes, "oko mi, it's good to see you."

"Ah let me push your cart mom." She takes the baggage cart from her mother. "How was your flight?"

"My dear it was okay. I still can't get used to that flight food. They need to do something about it. Can you imagine these oyinbo people trying to serve us yam poridge because we're coming from Nigeria?"

Labake laughed. "Ah mommy! I hope you didn't give them a hard time."

"At all my dear."

They got to the car and put her mom's bags in the trunk.

"Eya mommy, how is everyone back home? What about Daddy agba?"

"They're all fine o, they send their love. Daddy agba is as healthy as ever. He really misses you."

"Eya. I miss him too. What about your friends?"

"They're good o. Iya alaso's daughter even got married last Saturday. You should have seen the wedding. Trust my friend she went all out."

Labake smiled and shook her head.

"Yes o, that little girl has gotten married and she's only 22. What about you oko mi, is there anyone in your life?"

"Ah mommy, what do you mean anyone in my life?"

"Omolabake you know what I mean. Any man?"

Again Labake laughed. "Mommy you're funny o. We haven't even gotten to the house and you're already asking about a man. Can this wait?"

"Hmmm Okay o."

At that moment, Labake's phone started ringing. She picked up her phone from the cup holder and looked at the caller ID; it was Prince Osa. She paused not sure what to do. she didn't want her mum knowing she was talking to any man. Not yet anyway.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

"Umm yea."

She rolls her eyes and answers the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey... I hope I'm not catching you at a bad time. How are you?"

"I'm good and you?" She sounded almost impatient. Should she tell him she's with her mom?

"I'm okay. I'm actually rounding up business up here and I was thinking of coming down to your area. Hopefully we can meet up?"

"Umm suuure... When were you thinking of coming?"

"I should be in by Monday night. So Tuesday evening dinner?"

Who does he think he is? She hadn't said it was okay to come down to see her.

"Okay yea that works. Give me a call to let me know where to meet you."

"Actually I'll be coming to pick you up. If that is okay with you?"

"Ok yea. That works." What was she doing agreeing to let him pick her up from her house? Has this guy jazzed her?

"Then Tuesday it is! So I'll talk to you soon?"

"Yea sure. Alright take care."

"Yea you do the same."

She hung up.

"Who was that?" Her mother asked.

All In God's Timing (Part 4)

Throughout the next day, Labake made a conscious decision not to return Prince Osa's call. She didn't want him to think she was desperate, besides she really didn't know what to say. Okay so they would go through the usual introductions and after that what next? How could she hope for a relationship with a guy that was royalty, so much responsibility rests on his shoulders. Would he really be interested in the little things she's involved in when he rubs shoulders with movers and shakers. Really she just couldn't muster up the courage. And she definitely doesn't want to tell Toke about the call. Her friend would only make her more nervous by pressuring her to call him. She just needs to clear her head and take her time. If he's really interested, he might call again.

As the thought settled in her mind, her phone vibrated in her cup holder in her car. She picked up her phone and looked at the caller ID. It was his number! Out of panic she pushed the answer button while her mouth hung open; speechless. How is it that as she was thinking of him calling her again he calls?
"Hello?" His voice souded tentative.
"uh uh hello..." Her voice sounded panicky.
"Is this a bad time? I was just following up on my call last night. I can..."
"Oh um yes.... yea.... it's a bad time. I'm in traffic. Can I call you back when I get home?"
"Oh sure. I'm sorry for catching you off guard. I'll be looking forward to your call."
"Okay thanks. Bye!"
And without even waiting for him to reply, she hung up. This is just too much for her. She couldn't even handle herself properly on the phone. She wanted to jump over all the cars ahead of her and speed home so she could redeem herself. Now what's he going to think of her?

As Labake hung up, Osa was a bit amused. He didn't know what to make of the conversation he just had. Should he bother pursuing Labake or should he just let her go? His decision wouldn't be based on any emotions since he's just getting to know her. Really it was curiousity that was driving him. He really wanted to know what made Labake tick, and why Toke called her a sight to behold. If he lets go he may never get the answers he wants, and if he did pursue her further, he could be disappointed by the outcome. It really was a gamble. But what if he called Toke and asked her a bit more about Labake, that would help decide his next course of action. He picked up his phone and dialed her number. On the third ring she answered.
"Ossy! How are you?"
"Hey babe. I dey o. You?"
"I'm alright... trying to fix something for dinner. Long day.. long story. So What's good?"
"I called your friend o, left her a message last night, she didn't call me back. I just called her again and she sounded a bit flustered on the phone, almost like she wanted to get me off the phone. Is that how she normally is?"
Toke laughed. "Osa... please don't mind her o. She was probably panicking. Give her some time to come around. After all it's not every day that a prince calls her phone."
"Is she a shy person?" Osa had to know.
"She could be shy especially around guys. She's also very churchy... she was sheltered growing up. She dated once but it didn't work out and I think it's left her a bit suspicious of men. Even though she won't admit it."
"Wow... okay... hmm interesting. I have a lot of thinking to do. I'm not sure she's what I'll call my type."
"Aaah Osa.. you want to give up? You have to show her you're serious and make her feel comfortable engough to trust you. What is it with all you men? Y'all want the easy way out."
"Like I've been doing with you and you keep refusing me? Let's just say I know you women."
soft chuckle. "Look Osa for real I think you should go after Labake. I have to run now... got a hot date with my egusi and rice."
"Alright... we won't go there. Save egusi for me o!"
"Yea I will silly... talk to you later!"
"Yea later! Bye Tokes!"
"Bye!"