AN UNFORGIVING SPIRIT…SIN IS LURKING AT YOUR DOOR (SEASON 2 EPISODE 7)

"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift"-. Matthew 5:23-24

Today is the 11th July, 2015. At about 7am in the morning, my mother called Justina. She had tried reaching my phone but I have a habit of switching off my phones before going to bed. Justina had told her about the swab test she was supposed to do and my mother needed to confirm if it had been done. The test had not been done. Justina and I were low on cash and as such, we couldn't afford the test at this time.

Daddy came to the rescue…

Now daddy told me that he would provide the funds we required for the swab test as well as Prof’s consultation fees at our next appointment. (See Episode 2 of season 2) so he needed Justina and I to ensure that the swab test was done early so that we could see the doctor on the 19th, July, 2015. (It takes about two days to have a swab test result ready and the Prof consults mostly on Sundays).

Now I told Justina to call the diagnostic centre (Echo Scan Services Limited) to inquire about the cost and procedure for the swab test so we could plan accordingly for it.

WE HAD DECIDED THAT Justina would call the diagnostic centre today the 11th July, 2015. WE HAD DECIDED!

On the night of the 11th July, 2015, I snapped!

You remember Justina and I decided that she was going to call the diagnostic centre? Well she didn't!

Her excuse for this lapse was that she didn't think she would have time to do the swab test the following week (That’s from the 13th July up until the 16th since it takes two days to have the result ready and we needed it before the 19th) She explained that she had an audit exercise on Monday the 13th and a training program from Tuesday to Thursday(15th-16th).

I was having none of that. I believed that even if the world would cease spinning, anything aimed at the fulfilment of the June 7 covenant must be priority! In annoyance, Justina tried to defend herself and then she angrily said she had other things on her mind and that made me even more irritated….what could be more important for us at this stage than having children???

Now I am not a woman beater. Never laid hands on my wife and by his grace, I never shall. But I had my way of dealing with such issues; I switch off. My demeanour becomes cold and I avoid conversations except when it is very important.

My attitude continued till the next day…my own brand of emotional abuse (such a shame right?)

On the 12th July, 2015, in church, (The Latter Rain Assembly) Pastor Uche was taking the SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES segment (It runs from 9am to 10am and it is a bible study session) Guess what the topic was? The essence of forgiveness.

The first bombshell hit me… “Forgiveness is important for the answering of prayers. Without us letting go of hurt, it is difficult to pray in agreement”

“For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20

How can Uzoma and Justina then offer acceptable sacrifice of praise to God when they do not agree?

The second bombshell: “YOU CANNOT BE OFFENDED AND ANOINTED AT THE SAME TIME!”

“Do not hasten in your spirit to be angry, For anger rests in the bosom of fools”. Ecclesiastes 7:9

The third bombshell hit: “When we pray, we say “forgive us our trespasses even as we forgive those who trespass against us” this is a direct directive to Christians, you have to carry on the nature of Christ by forgiving others so that you can become a bonafide recipient for forgiveness”.

And yet another bombshell: “Manasseh precedes Ephraim…one must forget past hurts and toils before one can be fruitful”.

“Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” Genesis 41: 51

Since we are Christians and we are expected to be Christlike, what does it mean when we pray “Give us this day, our daily bread…”

When we ask for our daily bread, God expects us to likewise be in a position to give daily bread to those he has entrusted in our care. Bread represents more than just food or material needs…bread is everything necessary for life.

In Mark 7:27, we read about Christ’s conversation with the Syro-Phoenician woman…in that situation, bread represented divine healing.

“But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” Mark 7:27

In Numbers 14:9, Bread represented victory against enemies.

“Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” Numbers 14:9

Daily, your spouse requires love, care, kindness, protection and attention from you…

And then the final bombshell landed on my head in church that day: “There is a place for discipline but do not punish anyone with their daily bread”.

OUCH!

The Holy Spirit directed me to make peace with my wife. All through the drive home, I fought within my spirit concerning how I was to go about the peace making process. The Holy Spirit directed me to call my wife when we got home, apologise to her, forgive her and then join hands in prayer; the Devil told me to punish her a little longer so that next time, she will know better than to challenge my authority…

And so I hardened my heart.

“And they said, “That is hopeless! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.” Jeremiah 18:12

Follow on twitter @june7project and do drop a comment to share your thoughts.

AN OPPORTUNITY TO WITNESS…OUR HEAVENLY MANDATE (SEASON 2 EPISODE 6)

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven”. Matthew 5:16

Now Ima was the Best Man at my wedding, a fine gentleman. He is also a Christian. We both lived decadent lives in the past and even now, Christian living was a struggle everyday…maybe more for me though.

Ima came around on the evening of 10th July, 2015. We have this project we are working on (I’ll brief you guys about this subsequently) we discussed for about 30 minutes about the way forward and then Justina prepared a wonderful dinner of jollof rice, plantain and turkey. Now Justina is a wonderful cook and she always loved to spoil me with food (this is story for another day) after a sumptuous meal, Justina and I escorted Ima to his car.

Now since I started the Christian race, I have never witnessed to a close friend. Different factors are responsible for this. One of such factors is the likely embarrassment that comes with evangelizing to someone who was a part of your past. Such a person would likely see you as a clown who is merely fooling around. It’s hard for most to accept that some can actually change so sometimes, we are forced to live with the earlier labels thrust upon us.

In my own case, most of my friends saw me as the classic hedonist… preaching Christ to such friends seemed almost impossible. I understood this limitation and so whenever I prayed, I asked God for the grace to evangelise. I asked him for choice words and timely courage. If he commanded that we evangelise, then I must do so.

I invited Ima for our fellowship which held every Saturday between the hours of 6pm to 7pm. I then spent a view minutes sharing with him the word and the need to Christians to attain a new level of biblical literacy. He promised to join us for fellowship on the 11th July, 2015…perfect!

That night, Justina and I remembered Ima in our prayer as we committed his physical and spiritual well-being to God.

The Holy Spirit dwells in us in order for us to live the life of Christ on earth and bring multitudes into the kingdom. Evangelism is something we should readily engage in all the time. God bless us even as we ask the Holy Spirit for strength and direction. It is the Holy Spirit that convicts a sinner and not our efforts. Go out, preach the good news and let’s win souls for Christ!

“Go back to the purity of the first hour you knew Jesus—when you wanted everyone in the world to have a chance to feel what you felt and know what you knew. Keep that hunger and that purity that reaches out a hand and says, "I'll pray for you. I'll believe God for your miracle." We are the only hope to evangelize this world. We are the generation destined to reach out in this last hour to the depraved and the destitute with the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ. From the uttermost to the guttermost, take a stand and declare, "This is the Bible, and it is the answer for everything!"- charismamag.com

“But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear” 1 Peter 3:15

Follow on twitter @june7project and do drop a comment to share your thoughts.

WHERE DO ALL THE FLOWERS GO? ...UNQUESTIONABLE GOD PART 2 (SEASON 2 EPISODE 5)

When do you know a child has hit the age of understanding? It’s simple. For me, the test is still the same we see in the bible. When the child becomes aware of his own nakedness…

“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings”. Genesis 3:7

Then you know the child understands. At this stage, he has a personal will and the dedication at birth no longer exempts him from sin. At this point, you need to begin to instruct the child in Christian living and ensure that he doesn't stray away from the presence of the lord.

You still think children cannot go to hell? Let’s dig into scripture:

“Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in the ways of his father David; he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left”. 2 Chronicles 34:1-2

Josiah was eight years old when he became king. Still a child you would say, but old enough to have the responsibility of leading a kingdom thrust upon him. Even at that age, accountability was necessary. The bible records that he DID right in God’s sight. This means that even as a child, he was capable of doing wrong!

Juxtapose this with another King who was just a few years older…

“Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah. And he did evil in the sight of the Lord, according to the abominations of the nations whom the Lord had cast out before the children of Israel”. 2 Kings 21:1-2

These two examples lead to one conclusion, children can do right and wrong in the sight of God. Therefore, no matter the age of your child, as long as such child has reached the age of understanding, it is important that you bring such a child to Christ. Don’t take this for granted and assume that your child knows no evil. As long as a child can understand, he can become prey for the Devil and you as a parent have the moral and spiritual obligation to turn that child away from evil.

Do you know what happens when we fail to lead our children to Christ?

“ Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, speak to the children of your people, and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword upon a land, and the people of the land take a man from their territory and make him their watchman,  when he sees the sword coming upon the land, if he blows the trumpet and warns the people,  then whoever hears the sound of the trumpet and does not take warning, if the sword comes and takes him away, his blood shall be on his own head.  He heard the sound of the trumpet, but did not take warning; his blood shall be upon himself. But he who takes warning will save his life.  But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman’s hand.” Ezekiel 33:1-6

And there you have it. You become guilty if you fail to preach to that child.

Need even more?

“And I say unto thee, let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, a bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision”. Exodus 4:23-26

In the bible passage above, Moses had failed to circumcise his son. Circumcision in many respects is similar to a new covenant with God and claiming a new heritage under Abraham as opposed to Adam. The failure of Moses in ensuring that his own son was within God’s catchment area almost led to God slaying him.

Bible history tells us that Samuel was about 12 years old when God called him, Jesus started preaching in the temple as a young boy. This presupposes that when a child has reached the age of understanding, he can be used by God and conversely, by the devil. Do not let the devil have a stronghold in the life of the choice child God has given you, dedicate that child to God. To make assurances doubly sure, re-dedicate that child to God today. And as the child hits the age of understanding, help him, guide him and direct him so that he never wanders off from the presence of God.

Ify was a teen. However, because of his condition, he was barely able to do anything. One could have assumed that such a boy was not capable of sin, however, two things are constant in Ify’s case:

• He was already at an age of understanding and as such, he could sin in thoughts, words and deeds.
•   The grace of salvation is only given freely to those who claim it.

Ify could claim it and my father made sure that Ify did. VICTORY!

In moving forward…

Sometimes I ask myself, what is the meaning of life? Why should such a child suffer all the days God gives him only to die in a miserable and painful way?

I have the biblical perspectives to these questions but sometimes, humanity creeps in and I break. The best response I could find to this question that hurts a good number of us was gotten from www.chabad.org:

“But as long as the pain of innocents remains a burning question, we are bothered by its existence. And as long as we can't explain pain, we must alleviate it. If innocent people suffering does not fit into our worldview, we must eradicate it. Rather than justifying their pain, we need to get rid of it.

So keep asking the question, why do bad things happen to good people. But stop looking for answers. Start formulating a response. Take your righteous anger and turn it into a force for doing good. Redirect your frustration with injustice and unfairness and channel it into a drive to fight injustice and unfairness. Let your outrage propel you into action. When you see innocent people suffering, help them. Combat the pain in the world with goodness. Alleviate suffering wherever you can.

We don't want answers, we don't want explanations, and we don't want closure. We want an end to suffering. And we dare not leave it up to God to alleviate suffering. He is waiting for us to do it. That's what we are here for.

Friends, I have seen pain. I have lost loved ones and I still have several unanswered questions for God. Sometimes I have such heaviness in my heart that it hurts...But one thing I have learnt is true “When you cannot trace him, just learn to trust him” All things work together for good to those who love God. The end is all that matters. We cannot fully determine the conditions life will throw in our path, we cannot question God’s decision to allow certain things be. In all, what should concern us is simple: God has left us with one choice “How we shall spend eternity” and this my friends, is all that should count.

Take a step of faith…gather the choice children God has given you...

The ones who have not reached the age of understanding, rededicate them to Christ and the ones who have reached the age, take them through the sinner’s prayer and let them give their lives to Jesus Christ.

And then nurture them, love them and let God’s work begin to manifest in them.

That’s really all we can do. That’s really all we can do.

Rest in peace Ify. I bless God for the lessons he teaches us through our sorrows and pain.

Follow on twitter @june7project and do drop a comment to share your thoughts.

WHERE DO ALL THE FLOWERS GO? ...UNQUESTIONABLE GOD (SEASON 2 EPISODE 4)

On July 7^th 2015, I woke up to a bright day. I called my mum to wish her a happy birthday and then I proceeded to the Lagos State House of Assembly to meet with the Honourable Speaker. (He was a colleague back in the University and he had requested that I come see him) as I sat in his waiting room dreaming of the June7project, I got a call from my dad and he said: “Ify is dead”

Now Ify is my cousin. He is the son of my father’s elder brother and he was 19 years old. Ify was born with Sickle Cell Anaemia and he spent all his years in pain and almost emptiness. At the tender age of 5 and after battling numerous crises, Ify suffered a debilitating stroke which rendered half his body almost unresponsive. Ify could however still walk, although he had a limp. Along the years, his condition worsened and soon after, Ify became confined to a wheel chair. More painful was the fact that Ify stopped growing.  At his death, Ify still had the mind of a child and the body of a 7 year old. He was not able to comprehend things children half his age could handle. It was always agonizing watching Ify sit in that wheel chair, smiling and uttering gibberish. Why should this child have to suffer so much?

In the weeks leading to his death, Ify suffered another stroke, this time, he couldn't sit up straight. On the 7^th July 2005, after years of battling Sickle Cell Anaemia, Ify gave up the fight.

I got to my uncle’s house at about 1pm that day; all my siblings were already there. Ify laid upstairs on his bed; his eyes and mouth opened (attempts to close them didn't work) Even in death, his appearance showed that his last minutes were spent in excruciating pain and torment. His face wore the expression of someone who had suffered a gruelling defeat in battle. What is the meaning of life?

We procured a coffin and buried Ify in an unmarked grave in a cemetery in Agege area of Lagos State.

As my father prayed before we moved to the cemetery… (My parents, my uncle and elderly relatives couldn't follow us to the cemetery as this is contrary to our native custom) he revealed something. Apparently, he had visited Ify a week before and he had the leading in the spirit to pray with him and preach the gospel of salvation to him. Despite the fact that Ify could barely speak, he was coherent enough to repeat the sinner’s prayer and accept Christ as his personal lord and saviour…Victory!

Now the lesson…

Are children automatic candidates of heaven or are they also subject to a will, choices and judgement???

By virtue of our being descendants of Adam and Eve, humanity was born into sin. We all WERE born guilty of the original sin..

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me”. Psalm 51:5

Now, just as sinned entered into the world through one man: Adam, salvation also entered the world through one man: Jesus Christ:

“For if by the one man’s offence death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as through one man’s offence judgement came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous”. Romans 5:17-19

By virtue of our covenant with Christ, we are can be exempt from the ORIGINAL SIN which all are guilty of from birth. We can tap into the life source of Christ and claim exclusion from the original sin. This way, we only become guilty of our own personal sins:

“The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? “As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine; the soul who sins shall die”. Ezekiel 18:1-4

Let me explain the import of this…

In the old dispensation, every man born was automatically born into sin and if such a man died in that sin, he would certainly not be eligible for eternal life. This is why even when someone lives a pious life without accepting Christ as his personal lord and saviour, he excludes himself from eternal life. The gift of righteousness, eternal life and exemption from the original sin is freely given to those who claim it.

The process of claiming a heritage different from the heritage of Adam is why it is necessary to dedicate a child at birth. The essence of the dedication is pretty simple, you are claiming the heritage of Christ for the child and thus bringing the child into righteousness. Baby dedication is not just a religious exercise, during dedication, you are actually claiming for the new born, a life in Christ as opposed to the life of sin through Adam. And if such a child dies before the age of understanding, then I believe eternal life is assured since he has already been dedicated to Christ.

Failure to dedicate a child to Christ at birth and exempt him from the original sin means such a child is still trapped in the old order emanating from Adam and susceptible to the original sin. When Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed, I am sure children also perished there. When God destroyed the world with water, I am sure children were also destroyed. Such children obviously couldn't be saved because they were born to parents who were still trapped under the old order of sin.

However, the moment the child has reached the age of understanding, then he becomes free to chart his own destiny. He either does right or does wrong and by his choices, he becomes a candidate for either eternal life or eternal damnation. When a child reaches the age of understanding, he then has a will. Based on this will, he has the ability to do wrong or do right. 

If children have not reached the maturity by which they can make this decision and they have been dedicated to Christ at birth, they have not broken their relationship with God. From the bible, I believe that once you are saved, (either by dedication to Christ as a new born or accepting him as your lord and personal saviour when you have reached the age of understanding) your name enters into God's "book of life," only to be blotted out when you fall into iniquity:

“And the Lord said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book”. Exodus 32:33

Note the word “SINNED” in the passage above. The bible didn't say “WHOEVER SINS AGAINST ME” this presupposes to me that you don’t have your name in the book when you are saved and then blotted when you sin and added again when you repent: no. When you are saved, by being dedicated to him at birth and accepting Christ when you reach the age of understanding, then your name is in the book of life. It is at the point of judgement that your name would either remain or be blotted out “if you have sinned against God”

Where such a child has not reached the age of understanding, and he has been dedicated to Christ, then he is in a state similar to Adam and Eve before the fall. Blameless and sinless. It is this state before the fall that the second Adam (Christ) gives us when we claim him. However, with maturity, (this maturity came to the first Adam after he ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and he understood right from wrong) the sinful nature creeps in and as such, the child becomes responsible for his actions. At this stage, it behoves us as parents to ensure that such a child never leaves the presence of God.

(The concluding part of this piece comes in shortly in Episode 5. Stay blessed)

TRIBUTE TO UNCLE CY…I CHOOSE LIFE (SEASON 2 EPISODE 3)

“And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life”. 1 John 2:25

Now you remember my father’s friend who passed away in Episode 2 of Season 2? I had known him all my life. His name is Cyprian Emenyonu, we called him uncle CY. His death hit us hard. Uncle CY was a friend indeed to my father. I remember the day my mother died, that night, my father, uncle CY and I all slept in the same room. Such was the bond.

On the day Uncle CY passed away, I was at the prayer meeting of the Legal Department of my church somewhere around Ojodu in Lagos State when my sister called me…”Uncle CY is dead, I am taking dad and mum to Gbagada General Hospital”

I left Ojodu around 7.30pm and I drove straight to Gbagada General Hospital. I called Justina to inform her of the situation and to let her know that I would be home late. When I got to the hospital, I met with Uncle CY’s wife and son…it was heartbreaking.

Now let me say something about Uncle CY’s son.

Chisom Emeyonu should be no older than 25 years old by my calculations (uncle CY got married in 1990) yet he displayed an unusual calm and maturity. He was everywhere that night and he held his own…he didn’t break down.

I joined a team of men to lift uncle CY’s lifeless body from the stretcher, into a body bag. My dad had broken down in tears and seeing my father cry brought so many painful memories of the ones we lost…my heart broke.

When my father told me to put up a tribute on behalf of my siblings for Uncle CY, there was no better way to do so than to use it as an avenue to evangelise. Christian living is something I take seriously and the salvation of souls is a task I engage in daily…if Christ expects me to preach the good news, then any avenue I get would be another opportunity to do so. Uncle CY was born-again. He attended the Deeper Life Bible Church and everything about him radiated holiness and Christian living. What better way to celebrate such a man than to use his demise as an opportunity to do that which he spent his entire life doing?

While my uncle’s death has nothing to do with children nor is it directly related to those in God’s waiting room, it has everything to do with God and the gospel of our lord Jesus Christ. It is based on this that it has found its way into this blog. The timely message in the tribute is also for someone reading this post today, Uncle CY is gone and yet we believe in our hearts that he has gone to a better place. Where would you go when death comes? Would you be translated to eternal life with Christ or would your soul be damned for eternity in hell? This is a choice only you can make.

For we cannot choose when or how we are born, we cannot even choose the day we shall depart this earth, however, we can choose how to spend eternity and I believe this in the last analysis should make the difference.

“And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15

Below is the tribute to my uncle…

 

I CHOOSE LIFE

“But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God” –Luke 9:27

Is this humanly possible? That a man born of flesh and blood shall live on this earth from the time of Christ till the resurrection? Probably not. What then did Jesus Christ mean when he spoke these words? The interpretation of scripture lies in scripture so we shall look closely at another bible verse to understand what kind of death Christ referred to.

“Therefore we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in the newness of life….for he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe we shall also live with him, knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once and for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God”-Romans 6 4-10.

The death Christ referred to was sin and the corruption of the spirit. For as many who yield to sin, they are subject to the death and corruption that follows sin. But just as Christ assured, there are some who shall rise above sin (death) and sin shall not have dominion over them.

The Christian life is interesting and at the same time confusing to those who do not catch the vision. Why do we celebrate at a time such as this?

I have known uncle CY since I was a little child and one thing is constant about his lifestyle: holiness. Some may even say he brought a new dimension to the concept of holiness and in his exemplary lifestyle, he showed us how everything and anything is secondary to the primary objective of righteous living and eternal life. It is a hard line to tow especially in this age of materialism when most people are caught up in the acquisition frenzy. Being able to remain simple, focused and dead to worldly things is testimony to the vision my Uncle CY ran with. He saw the bigger picture and in this simplicity of living and pursuit of righteousness, he was indeed wealthier than most.

Would this be a time to recount the times spent together? The role he played in my family when our mother went to be with the lord? The times spent in prayers and sweet communion? The support and courage my father was able to draw from his company in those dark days? No. this is not the time. That’s a story I shall save for my children even as I charge them to continue in the way of holiness and never get caught up in the world so much that they lose the final destination of heaven. This is rather the time to celebrate and use the exemplary life my uncle CY lived to teach others about holiness and Jesus Christ. What a man.

As many as remain in the valley of indecision, let the life of this man teach us, what would you be remembered for when you are no more? How many lives have you touched? How many people have you led to Christ? Christian living is one that we must master and live daily until it becomes the air we breathe and it is imbibed in all we do. That when we open our mouths, we speak Christ, when we open our eyes, we see Christ, when we open our ears, we hear Christ and in every touch, we feel Christ. That we may be worthy ambassadors of the kingdom chosen by God to stand in his place even for a moment and cause a change in our environment. If your environment doesn't recognize the Christ in you, then it is indeed time to check yourself and re-align your ways.

Christian living is a lifestyle we must keep in constant movement and activity, a little sleep and dragging of feet and we fall to sin. The Bible explains this succinctly in Genesis…

“….and if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And it desires you, but you should rule over it”

As many as read this tribute and are not sure where they would spend eternity, this is the day of salvation and God is calling out to you, he desires to bring you into his rest and give you power over death and the grave. Just as the time of his second coming is not known to man, so also, the day you shall depart this sinful world. The only currency acceptable at heaven’s gate is holiness and righteous living. Every other currency, or possession or achievement would perish in the grave.

This is how Uncle CY would have wanted it to be. No regrets, peace, eternal life. Living behind in faith to continue from where he stopped, a wife who also knows the God for herself and children who are ready tools for kingdom activity. It is a wonderful destiny, it is a sweet end to life on this sinful planet.

Despite all these, mortality still creeps in once every now and then and we mourn the departing of one whom we would have loved to run this Christian race alongside a little longer. What then is our consolation? What then shall we hold on to in time of grief and a heavy heart?

“The righteous perishes and no one takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away while no one considers that the righteous is taken away from evil. He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness” – Isaiah 57 1-2

This is the promise and assurance of rest, of escape from evil and of hope. It is well.