FOOD FOR THOUGHT

I was attending to somebody today at work and from no where the man began to preach the gospel to me. I! Child of God! I!who reads my bible everyday, pray every night (asides from my 'before I go to bed prayer'), I! who is always conscious about doing some things etc. He asked me some questions and it got me thinking. I asked myself what is the essence of my being? Why am I where I am? who are you in Christ? and I discovered that my answers were not substantial enough. His message was my coming back to basics.

...and then it hit me! 

 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Matthew 6:33

So I meditated...and the holy spirit repeated it to me again. Everyday, we are so engrossed in our daily life that we forget the most important thing. GOD. We are so busy that we don't even notice when we are committing sins that easily beset us. We are busy asking and asking, daydreaming and planning.(it happens to me a lot) that we forget that the whole essence of our existence is because of GOD. Along the way we drop our identity.

Now let me break down this scripture for you the way illumination came;

1.Another word for 'seeking' is 'searching'. When we search for the kingdom of God, we are invariably looking for God and in the process of searching for God, we are steadily transformed . We are transformed in our journey of seeking and consciously are changing our lives. For instance, if we want to look nice to a very important event, we take our time to patiently shop for the outfit of our choice.  If it is an order that we would have to book for, we would take our time to find it, book the order and  wait for its delivery. This is how searching for God is. We have to consciously and patiently seek him daily.

2. How do we search for God? If you are interested in someone, you get to know the person. Its the same with God. You get to know him through his word search the scripture. Joshua1:8.  As we do this daily, we shed our old nature and are renewed by his word. 'And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.' Colossians 3:10. We derive strength to become better people. We know who God is '...but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits'. Daniel 11:32b We see what he likes, what displeases him and how expects us to be.'Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee'.1Timothy;16

The key to searching for God is the willingness to forsake all that we deem important and search for him restlessly and courageously. We must hunger and thirst for the knowledge of him.  Searching for God is a never ending journey but once we muster the courage and decide to seek him, then our we embark on a journey of transformation. Searching for God cannot be alienated from also searching for his righteousness. It is inseparable that is why in our journey to finding him we shed our old nature to a new nature( the nature of God). Transformation begins when we acknowledge him, accept him, study and meditate on his word. 'Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee'.Psalm 119:11. 

Finally, you will see that in the daily walk with God, he would bless you. You would receive things that you don't even expect because you are on a walk with God. 'If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you'.   John 15;7. There will be bumps along the way but you will see that you will become stronger and more confident because you are on a walk with God and because you know him.   'They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever'. Psalms 125:1.

This message is as much for me as it is for you. I pray for you that as you walk daily with God, may you exude his aura, may you find him in the very places that you need him and may he give you the grace to walk right in the journey of life.'And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me'. 2 Corinthians 12:9

Also remember you are where you are because God wants to use you to touch someone's life. 

Jesus loves you. Mwah! 

THE ADVOCATE

                                                                                                        CHARLES






It was like a breathe of fresh air when he realized that she was the one he had bumped into even though at the moment it felt like the wind had been knocked out of his sails. The girl from the bus that morning. He didn't expect to see her so soon again but what the heck! Here she was and he was going to make the most out of it.

'Hi...wow! what a surprise!'

'Hi...yes it is a surprise. I am very sorry ...I was so preoccupied...I wasn't looking ...'

'Its okay...you don't look so good...' He had been observing her keenly and he noticed the tear marks on her face. ' Would you like a cup of coffee?'.

'I am fine...I am sure that once I get home and relax the spell would pass. Thanks for the offer...' she was searching for his name in her mind.

'You are welcome Judy...I am Charles...again, pleased to meet you'. he stretched out his hand for a hand shake

'Oh! sorry... so many things on my mind...pleased to meet you again.' she shook him and smiled up at him. Charles was momentarily taken aback in awe. She had the most beautiful pair of eyes and perfect white teeth. For what seemed to be like forever, Charles seemed to be momentarily lost just  looking at her.

'Nice to see you again. do you work around here?'

'No I don't...actually, a friend of mine is on admission here...'

'May I have your email address, if its OK by you...I'd like to keep in touch'

'Oh! its OK..'

She scribbled down her email address on a piece of paper and was soon on her way. Charles was in another world of his own filled with excitement. He couldn't get the smile off his face and even his dentist commented that he was in high spirits compared to his other visits.

He emailed her that night and it was a conversation he didn't want to stop. it was as if they had always known each other. Their flow was impeccable. Charles resumed work the next day in high spirits.

'Good morning Lucy. please cancel my appointment for one o'clock. I am going to see the dentist again.'

'OK sir but didn't you see him yesterday?'

'I did. I need to visit him again'.

"OK. I will cancel your appointment for four pm and schedule a visit with the dentist for you'. With that he walked into his office.

His secretary eyed him suspiciously as she picked up the office phone. Her boss seemed to be in such high spirits today.

Charles settled down for the business of the day but his attention was always on the wall clock. Judy had mentioned that she would be in the hospital to visit her friend again by four. They didn't plan to see that day but he couldn't wait to see her again.He would bump into her again and this time invite her to have a cup of coffee with him. He didn't want to scare her off by telling her that he wanted to see her so soon after their meeting but he just wanted to see her again

Charles ran his own construction  company. It was a company that his father started and now was in his leadership. He was wealthy by all standards but very modest in his ways. he had been in relationships in the past but all of them never worked out. He just needed to be appreciated for himself and not the wealth that came along with his name because that seemed to be what was his most attractive feature to the opposite sex. He had fairly good looks and the built of an athlete. He was surprised that Judy didn't recognize him and he was glad for it. that way, He would have the chance to get to know her better and her him without the shimmering background of his wealth. He would tell her in the long run but for now he would withhold that aspect of his life.

Four o'clock came with Charles dashing out of the office like a whirlwind. He couldn't wait to get to the hospital. He was there by four thirty pm and within minutes he was done with his dentist appointment, so he decided to wait at the reception. At about five thirty pm, he saw Judy walking out of the ER, so he stood up and walked over to the vending machine. The vending machine was in her line of vision so there was no way she wasn't going to see him and that she did.

'Hey you! what a nice surprise!'

'Hi. good to see you again. I was just on my way out.. i just wanted to get a bar of chocolate before i leave. so how are you.'

'I am fine and you?'

'Fine too. So who did you come to visit?

'A friend of mine is here..she had a bout of asthma attack.'

'Hope she is doing well now?'

'Yes she is better than when I brought her in at least'

'That's good. Do you pray for her?'

'Yes I do.' She answered laughingly

'So where are you going from here?...I was wondering if you wouldn't mind having a cup of coffee with me'

'OK.'

They choose a coffee shop not so far from the hospital.they talked past time and then decided to visit the theater two days later. Charles decided hat he would tell her how he felt about her then and hope for the best. The had the time of their lives. Charles discovered that they had similar interests and best of all she loved football. After the movie in a diner across the theater, he told her of  his feelings and who he was.

'I knew there was something oddly familiar about you but I just couldn't place my finger on it.'

'I didn't want to tell you because... well...you are different and I really find you very attractive and would like to get to know you better.' he said watching for her reaction.

'OK. we could start from there...We should start from there.' she replied looking directly at him. 'but why did you take the bus the day I met you? have you been stalking me?' she teased.

'He laughed and told her when and where he first saw her. 'so as you can see, I am your biggest fan. Stalker sounds kind of harsh don't you think?' they both laughed

'Next time Charles, come clean. As you have discovered I don't bite.'

Just then Judy's phone rang. It was the hospital. Gwen was missing again!

'