The Serial Killer You Should Flee From

Some years back, God revealed something to me in my dream one night. I saw a young plant growing in my heart. I asked God what that meant and He told me it was the fruit of unforgiveness- Bitterness (that i harboured against someone).

This bitterness was standing in the way of my relationship with God. I had bottled up my anger which kept my soul under siege. I was suffering from incessant headaches too without knowing the source until God revealed it to me.

I begged God to forgive me and that He would help me forgive the person in question. I had assumed that I had forgiven the person but in actual fact I had not released this person completely from the prison of my heart for the wrong done against me.

Practising sin cultivates the fruit of sin- emptiness, bitterness, foolishness and a sense of meaningless activity. If you refuse to uproot the planting of wrong done you by forgiving, it grows into bitterness and bears several fruits of the flesh.

Here's what Job and Solomon had to say about bitterness:

The foolishness of man subverts his way [ruins his affairs]; then his heart is resentful and frets against the Lord. Prov 19vs3

“I am disgusted with my life.
Let me complain freely. My bitter soul must complain. Job 10vs1

So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind. Eccl 2vs17

Unresolved bitterness is deadly. It is a serial killer. It affects not only your spirit but also your soul and body. Your relationship with God is jeopardised and your body suffers from different kinds of illnesses like headaches, hypertension, etc.

Where the spirit of The Lord is, there is liberty. The joy of the Lord is a valid source of strength.

Are you bitter (at yourself, life or someone else)? Check out for the root cause (lack of a sense of purpose, unforgiveness, etc).

God is not a God of bitterness but of joy. Don't let the devil rob you of that precious asset- Joy!

~ OMOSEBI Mary Omolola
© 2016

¤ Apple crumble cake ¤

Making this cake is so easy compared to how delicious it is. The first time I tried this recipe, the while cake finished in just a few minutes. It makes for an excellent dessert. I think you should try it too.

Ingredients
- 2/3 cup Self-raising flour
- 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsp Butter
- 2 tbsp superfine Sugar

For the base
-1/4 cup Butter (softened)
- 6 tbsp superfine Sugar
- 1 egg (beaten)
- 1 cup self raising flour (sifted)
- 2 red apples (peeled, cored and sliced.
- 1/3 cup Raisins

To decorate
- 1 red apple (cored, thinly sliced and tossed in lemon juice)
- 2 tbsp sugar (superfi/sifted)
- pinch of ground cinnamon

MARY'S Method
* Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.

* Grease a deep 8 inch pan. Line with baking parchment and grease.

* To make the topping, sift the flour and cinnamon into a mixing bowl. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips or a pastry cutter until it resembles breadcrumbs, then stir in the sugar. Set aside.

* To make the base, put the butter, sugar, egg and flour into a bowl and beat for 1-2 minutes or until smooth. Spoon into the prepared pan.

* Mix together the apple slices and raisins, and spread them evenly over the top. Sprinkle with the topping.

* Bake for about 1 hour. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out on a wire rack an peeling off the lining paper. Serve warm or cool, decorated with slices of red apple and sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon.

> Enjoy

~ MARY's Kitchen

Travelling on the Fast Lane?

Travelling on the Fast Lane?

Waiting is no longer in the dictionary of many. They want everything NOW! Fast everything! Ranging from fast money to fast husbands/ wives. Sadly, the fast lives leads to the many fast crashes.

People want to look for short courses in a bid to reach the destination they have pictured for themselves very quickly. These so - called man - made short courses lead to destruction.

Focusing more on our own agenda than God's will births impatience. We must wait patiently for God to work His work in us and bring His promise to pass in our lives. God knows what's best for you and what time is best for you to enter into the fulfillment of the promise.

We develop patience as we learn to live with an eternal perspective. Patience is a product of the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in our heart. Patience is one of the evidences of love.

Patience in difficulty looks forward with hope in God's eternal glory. The Lord is wonderfully good to those who wait for Him and seek Him.

 Wait for Him!

~ Omosebi Mary Omolola

Resist The Urge to Fight for Yourself

In my first year in the university, all year one students had to take the same courses and the lecture theatres/halls were always jam packed.

At that time, I lived in a hostel very close to the school. My roommates and I took to the advice given us by our seniors. They told us to wake up very early, go to the lecture hall and keep seats for ourselves by placing books on the writing slabs. That was exactly what we did. We would wake up as early as 4.30 am and rush down to school to keep seats and return to the hostel to prepare for the 8 or 9 a.m class. Despite the fact that we have kept spaces for ourselves, we still had to make sure we were in the hall before 7 a.m.

On a particular morning, I had kept a space for myself, returned to the hostel to get dressed for the day only to get back to the hall and the seat I had kept for myself was already occupied. I approached the guy who now sat on the seat that was supposed to be mine but he denied seeing any book on the seat. I decided to let him be. I later found my book several rows away from that place.

I squeezed myself into my room mate's seat right beside the guy. Something then happened which I can never forget. This guy slept from the first minute of the class till the class ended.

At the end of the class, this guy actually came to apologise and confessed that he had  removed my book. Then I asked him why he decided to confess to me. And his response left me in shock at the time and made a permanent mark on my heart. He told me he believed that he slept through the class because he had cheated me. He said it must be God's way of dealing with him for acting wrongly. He then asked if I had some super powers to which I replied that Jesus is the only power I know. Weird right?

Well, he joined my church sometimes later and we got along well.

The lesson the Lord taught me that day is to allow Him fight for me. I have been asked many times why I refuse to avenge myself and I tell them no one can do it better than God. That incidence, as simple as it seems keeps ringing in my heart all the time.

I know that many Christians in our day are no - nonsense people. They would not take rubbish from anyone. They are quick to speak in defence of themselves or raise their fists in fight against their enemies.

God tells me to remind you that vengeance belongs to Him and not you. Stop investing your energy in doing another person's job.

A Christian must take nonsense for peace' sake else why did Jesus say we should turn the other cheek to the one who strikes us on one?

I want you to see Apostle Paul's admonition to the Christians in Corinth:

Even to have such lawsuits with one another is a defeat for you. Why not just accept the injustice and leave it at that? Why not let yourselves be cheated? (1 Corinthians 6:7 NLT)

I think you should see this too:

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:14, 17-19 NLT)

When Jesus' enemies came to capture Him and one of His disciples cut off the ear of one of these enemies, what did Jesus do? He placed the ear back in its place and healed the man.

How much "nonsense" have you even taken that you always just want to fight against it?

The Prince of peace is a Christian's master. It is the devil that is against peace. God expects his children to be peace loving peace makers.

Let God fight for you.

May the Lord increase your understanding and mine!

~ OMOSEBI Mary Omolola
© 2016

Encourage Your Encourager

How would you feel if you bought an expensive gift for someone and on getting to the person's house sometime later, you meet the gift you bought this person outside under the rain and it didn't look like that was the first time it would be under the rain? I guess you will feel unappreciated and discouraged because if it was me, that’s how I would feel.

When you refuse to give due thanks, you discourage the person who has blessed you in one way or another.

Appreciation is a form of encouragement.

When someone does you some good and you refuse to appreciate the person, it is tantamount to throwing what you have been given into the trash can.

It is very important that every child of God learns to be appreciative of God and man.

One thing you need to rid yourself of is the act of belittling the good done us.

Many of us overlook the goodness of God under the guise that what He has done is too little to warrant 'excessive' thanksgiving.

This is the same attitude we put up towards people who have done us well. Because what that person has done for you is not commensurate to your expectation of him/her, you believe he/she does not deserve your thanks.

The weight of a gift should not determine whether you give thanks or not. What matters is that you have been given something- big or small.

You must put in mind the fact that the one who has given you something could have chosen not to give you in the first instance. Therefore, that person's decision to share some good stuff with you qualifies him/her to receive your gratitude.

Appreciate your parents for the little they can afford to give you. Appreciate your spouse for that gift or act of kindness no matter how small or insignificant you think it is. Appreciate your Pastor for ministering life to your spirit.

When someone encourages you with a gift(tangible or intangible), it is just appropriate that you encourage that person by giving thanks.

#EYE (Encourage Your Encourager)

~ OMOSEBI Mary Omolola
© 2016

Free Them and Let Them Be

The subject matter of this post was ministered to me some months ago. Although I just found the highlight in my journal and felt a release to write on it today.

Last night, I was reminded of something a close friend of mine told me sometime ago about a particular woman who is highly placed in a federal government parastatal. With her influence, a number of people secured well paying jobs both in the parastatal she worked in and other strategic places.

You must say, "Wow, how nice of her." Well I said the same thing until I heard the remaining part of the story which made me give a deep thought to my life and drives home the point I'm trying to make with this post.

Well, when her daughter was going to get married, she obviously made a list of her beneficiaries and assigned every single one of them specific obligations. She called each person to inform them about what she expected them to contribute towards the wedding. She picked who was to buy the cow and told him how big the cow must be. She picked the person to pay the caterers, who was to be in charge of the event decoration and so on.

Okay, before we judge this woman, how many of us are guilty of something similar to this? It does not matter the extent to which you have or are taking the captivity. For instance, you help someone and you secretly in your heart expect the person to call you to say "Thank you" everyday.

I have seen many people who practically hold the people they have rendered help captive. I have seen where a benefactor asks the person he helped to report in his house every morning to wash his car. I tell you that the list of the absurd cases is endless.

I know what it means to be a victim. . . so much so you wish that person never was the one who rendered you the assistance.

Please, remember that whatever position you find yourself is simply The Lord's doing. You are simply a vessel in God's hands and He could have chosen to use someone other than you.

Don’t turn yourself to a god in the life of a fellow human being because God gave you the opportunity to be capable of lending a helping hand to that person.

I believe that you being in a position to help someone should be humbling for you. When you help the poor, you lend to God and He will definitely reward you.

Whatever you do, do it as unto the Lord and not because you want something back as a form of payment for what you have done!

I usually pray that God will not allow anyone who will try to share God’s glory to help me and I mean it with all my heart. I guess I should pray the same for you too.

And in case you are in a position where someone is rubbing the help he/she has rendered you in your face, be encouraged.

The Lord will lift your head up high like the horn of a unicorn. For your shame the Lord shall give you double honour in Jesus' name!

~ OMOSEBI Mary Omolola
© 2016

How to Know a Child of God

The desire to always please and obey God is a proof that you belong to God. Obeying God is a reflection of our love for Him and belief in Him. Don't be confused anymore about whether you belong to God or not. He has received you, and made you His child. Remain connected to Him by obeying Him. That's all!

So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. 1Jn 3vs10

And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 1Jn 2vs3-5

When It Seems That God Does Not Make Sense

I stepped into the banking hall to make a deposit some days ago. However, I had an appointment just a few minutes from the time I got to the bank so I really hoped that the transaction would be completed as quickly as possible.

There were four queues before me. I said a quick prayer about which queue to join as people kept trooping into the bank. One of the queues was particularly very long but to my surprise, my spirit was led to join that queue. Funnily I didn't ask questions (I like to ask a lot of questions).

Well, before I could say jack, everyone before me had been attended to and it was my turn. It was as if the people with all the problematic cases had had a meeting about which queue to stay on and it was definitely the other three. I made my appointment in record time.

Then the Lord ministered to my heart about that incidence.

"You can never go wrong with me" He said.

His moves may not make sense to you but His way is always the way to victory.

God is ALWAYS right.

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. (1 Corinthians 1:25 NLT)

And the Message Translation puts it this way:

Human wisdom is so tinny, so impotent, next to the seeming absurdity of God. Human strength can’t begin to compete with God’s “weakness.” (1 Corinthians 1:25)

Trust God’s wisdom. And His 'foolish' instructions without questioning Him. All you need is His Word. Hold God by His unfailing word. Pray to God for grace to have unwavering faith in Him.

And when unbelief or doubt knocks your door, seek refuge in God. Cry out to Him to help your unbelief.

Shalom!

~ OMOSEBI Mary Omolola
© 2016

Go and Do Likewise!

The story of a religious expert who stood up to Jesus with the aim of testing Him is recorded in Luke 10:25-36.

This man asked Jesus what he needed to do to inherit eternal life.

Jesus prescribed the two broad commands- love God; love your neighbour as yourself.

But he still was not satisfied. He asked Jesus who his neighbour was.

Then Jesus narrated the parable of the good Samaritan to Him and left him to figure out who a neighbour is.

Now to the purpose of this post:

Jesus asked the religious law expert to go and act like the good Samaritan to earn himself a ticket to eternal life.

Here's what Apostle Paul told the Corinthians-

PATTERN YOURSELVES after me [follow my example], as I imitate and follow Christ (the Messiah). (1 Corinthians 11:1 AMP)

Apostle Paul's admonition was in line with Jesus' prescription to the religious law expert.

Imitate godly virtues you see in others.

Above all, imitate Christ. Strive to behave like God your Father.

God is love and loves unconditionally. . . Love like God loves.

God is merciful. . . Go and show mercy.

God is good. . . Be good

God is kind. . . Be kind

God is holy. . . Be ye holy.

In short,

Let Jesus be your mentor.

Always ask what Jesus would do at every instance, then go and do thou likewise!

~ OMOSEBI Mary Omolola
© 2016

When the Word of God Comes Forth. . .

Some days back, I remembered something very important that my mother always told my siblings and I as we grew up, back in the days.

While we studied the Bible during morning devotions then, you will sometimes see one person looking at another in the eyes (more like beating the words that were being shared into the person through your eyes) once an issue was raised which that person thought was the dose for the other. We were sometimes bold enough to give contributions to the lesson which were actually specifically directed at a certain person(s).

The sad thing is that the person giving contributions to the lesson is oftentimes guilty of the same thing he/she is reprimanding the other person for.

Here's what she would say,

"When God speaks to you, apply it to yourself first before recommending it to others."

She would also say that "God’s Words are like mud which when it pours, splashes on everyone around in different measures. It is left for each person to pick the segment of the Word that applies to him/her and apply it to their lives."

It is important to focus on utilizing the Word of God for the moulding of your life in holiness at every opportunity you have the Word being dished out.

If you are fond of always looking for the person that every message applies to, and you NEVER see any reason to examine yourself,  you might just need a diagnosis because something might be wrong with you.

And I'm almost positive the diagnosis will be pride and foolishness.

Or what wisdom is in showing others the way to the doctor when you yourself are sick and have refused to seek help?

Clear out the log of wrongdoings in your eyes first so that you can see clearly the speck of wrong in other people's lives.

Be the first to submit yourself to the Great Physician- Jesus, for cleansing before referring someone else to Him.

May God grant you and I willing hearts to receive His instructions to us in good faith at all times in Jesus' name.

✌

~ OMOSEBI Mary Omolola
© 2016