The little death it is called
An event, which I am yet to experience
It is a spiritual dance of the soul
An event in which a dance is played
The sole participant, the dancers
The beat the rhythm to the song
Making an age old song
And singing it the only way they can
It occurs again and again
Taking you to another orbit
One of which is difficult to explain
An understatement when you say
Wonderful, marvelous or otherwise
The little death an event
Which words cannot quantify
And is celebrated world over
By the rich and powerless share in it
Tell everybody to explain to you
Their experience of the little death
Their narration would forever be different
For those in love it gets better
And the value never diminishes
For others the little death is different
And for some who have not yet
Experienced and been privileged to know
The thrill of the little death
They wonder what is this ecstasy
Why can some get ultimate satisfaction?
When I get nothing to enjoy in this they think
But then eventually when they know
They would realize and see
Never knowing that days are numbered
He lives every day for itself
A perfect and separate individual
To be nurtured and cherished
In his illegitimate child he find
Everlasting joy
One that would never be equaled
He shield his loves from hurt
Lavishing on them presents and love
But never been able to give them
That which they cherish most
Legitimacy and a right to his name
And up till the day he passes on
He fights for this
But we know this time out of time
Are the best and happiest of his life?
A life in which he was a
Constant traveler
But in which he ultimately found peace
God bless Perry
The essence of the little death
And we realize that tribute
Are made to toast this event
In our lives
That heralds the reproduction of self
That has continued from time in memorial
And to you out there
Reach out and know that
In the little death you share
What is known to all as a feel of heaven?
Coming back to earth
You live for those times
When you can be carried out of yourself
And experience again that simple joy
That would never fail to amaze mankind
From generation to generation
It is an assurance of sharing
Souls joining and coming together
In the briefest of time
To form an eclipse that surpasses all else
The little death
Is an event to be remembered by all
An occasion that would never cease
To occur but still remain fresh
And untarnished
So that for every new experience of it
It will remain fresh
In the heart of every worshiper
Of what is generally called
“The little death”
© Campbell Mariam Oluwatoyin
Training
Saturday, March 20
BE PREPARED
I heard a story once of a guy who was very ready to be married and every time he would wake up and pray telling God that “You are God, I need a wife, Send me my wife”. One day he stood outside his house and saw a very beautiful lady passing by and he said to his friend that will be my wife! His friend asked him “how come?” His response? “Oh God will speak to her for me!” Very funny isn’t it?
Well that is the way we are most times we find it difficult to actually get down and do the work, most of us have become so dependent that living our own lives has become a burden of sort for others to carry. Everyone is blessed with the gift to make choices and to live but in most cases we fail to do so, instead so many people will live our lives for us. We grow up as dependents and graduate from one level of dependency to another.
I’d like to tell you a story.
A young lady grew up having everything she ever wanted, from having the best parents in the world who were willing to give her all she needs and to respond to all her calls, to a husband who was willing to carry on been a parent to the lovely lady. She left the decision making to those in her life. So much so that when misfortune stuck she was not prepared. She went to the best schools but was never a student; she was born to money but never knew where it came from or how to work for it, she was a wife who actually was still a daughter to her husband and parent, she was loved but saw it as a right of privilege.
In one single year, the grim reaper came calling; it took away the parents, the parents who had been the main reason for the husband been loving and nice. Suddenly the husband became who he really was, an opportunist. At the end she was out in the cold with no skills and no way to fend for herself.
Her story is common to a lot of beautiful ladies in our society. They are young and beautiful and they come with a high income as enticement for marriage, yet they have failed to equip themselves for the rainy day and leaving the choices to parents and or their husbands. They have become dependent on the people around them not giving themselves the opportunity to live.
With life we ought to be prepared for whatever might come out way, you never know it might not be a pleasant surprise! The lady was not prepared the man with whom we open the story? He was not either. Preparation is not praying, not at all. Preparation entails much more. It means you have to be ready, been ready does not mean something bad will happen but it means if it does you would have the resources to overcome and pull through. Preparing means that you have to provide yourself with the necessary equipment or skills for any phase of your life. It means in the case of the man above that he should have had the confidence to meet with the lady and get to know her, and maybe they would have truly gotten married. It means that the lady even though she was born into wealth, she should have equipped herself with skill that would enable her survive in the outside world.
In both instances they left for last what should have come first. What is that thing that you should have done a long time ago? That equipping that would have prepared you for this stage of your life? Should you have read more, learnt a trade, learnt how to cook and keep house, maybe you should have worked for a while before getting married, or you probably should have gone to school like you were told? It is quite something you can still make up for. Remember that second chances will continue to come until it becomes impossible to make use of them. It is never too late to prepare. Don’t be left out in the march to responsibility.
Finally, put yourself in that position where you are of use to not just yourself but your society at every given point in time. This puts you at an advantage, a place where you have a say because you know where you are coming from and where you are going to.
Well that is the way we are most times we find it difficult to actually get down and do the work, most of us have become so dependent that living our own lives has become a burden of sort for others to carry. Everyone is blessed with the gift to make choices and to live but in most cases we fail to do so, instead so many people will live our lives for us. We grow up as dependents and graduate from one level of dependency to another.
I’d like to tell you a story.
A young lady grew up having everything she ever wanted, from having the best parents in the world who were willing to give her all she needs and to respond to all her calls, to a husband who was willing to carry on been a parent to the lovely lady. She left the decision making to those in her life. So much so that when misfortune stuck she was not prepared. She went to the best schools but was never a student; she was born to money but never knew where it came from or how to work for it, she was a wife who actually was still a daughter to her husband and parent, she was loved but saw it as a right of privilege.
In one single year, the grim reaper came calling; it took away the parents, the parents who had been the main reason for the husband been loving and nice. Suddenly the husband became who he really was, an opportunist. At the end she was out in the cold with no skills and no way to fend for herself.
Her story is common to a lot of beautiful ladies in our society. They are young and beautiful and they come with a high income as enticement for marriage, yet they have failed to equip themselves for the rainy day and leaving the choices to parents and or their husbands. They have become dependent on the people around them not giving themselves the opportunity to live.
With life we ought to be prepared for whatever might come out way, you never know it might not be a pleasant surprise! The lady was not prepared the man with whom we open the story? He was not either. Preparation is not praying, not at all. Preparation entails much more. It means you have to be ready, been ready does not mean something bad will happen but it means if it does you would have the resources to overcome and pull through. Preparing means that you have to provide yourself with the necessary equipment or skills for any phase of your life. It means in the case of the man above that he should have had the confidence to meet with the lady and get to know her, and maybe they would have truly gotten married. It means that the lady even though she was born into wealth, she should have equipped herself with skill that would enable her survive in the outside world.
In both instances they left for last what should have come first. What is that thing that you should have done a long time ago? That equipping that would have prepared you for this stage of your life? Should you have read more, learnt a trade, learnt how to cook and keep house, maybe you should have worked for a while before getting married, or you probably should have gone to school like you were told? It is quite something you can still make up for. Remember that second chances will continue to come until it becomes impossible to make use of them. It is never too late to prepare. Don’t be left out in the march to responsibility.
Finally, put yourself in that position where you are of use to not just yourself but your society at every given point in time. This puts you at an advantage, a place where you have a say because you know where you are coming from and where you are going to.
Saturday, March 13
PAWNS IN A GAME
Life was a game at first
All you have to do was bellow
And they all fall at your feet
Ready to please
To do everything you wanted
You never cared, were unfeeling
Didn’t want to know who was hurt
As long as you had your way
They were all instruments
Pawn in a game---------- your life
With your words you played them
That’s all you cared about
You.
They were all hurt
You ruined a lot
Women, yes women
Toys to be discarded when no more in use
Is this what fame did to you
Superstar who got all he wanted
They fell over each other to serve you
And ----------------------------
She thought things would never get better
A ruined life
Even before it began
Imminent destruction
The toy they liked playing with
But never really wanted
It was always quickly discarded
Life was rough on her
A nobody that wanted to be somebody
But out there in the jungle
Were wolves ready to eat her up
They would not give her a chance
The chance to be somebody
She fought her way through
They had no choice
And just then ----------------
He meets her
And thinks she’s another of his toy
She refuses to fall over him
She cares about life while he doesn’t
But ---------------------
Suddenly things changes
And because they both gambled
Most part of their lives
They win a battle and found love
Against all odds, obstacles and evil devices
They finally find each other
But for that same reason
Everybody had been hurt
And all around the jungle is death
The death of loved ones
Life ruined and souls shattered
Too much tears and sorrow
Too much blood
But through it all love prevails
And then life seems worth living
No more using, no more discarding
At the edge of the jungle
Is the road to survival
For love, what can one not overcome?
© Campbell Mariam Oluwatoyin
All you have to do was bellow
And they all fall at your feet
Ready to please
To do everything you wanted
You never cared, were unfeeling
Didn’t want to know who was hurt
As long as you had your way
They were all instruments
Pawn in a game---------- your life
With your words you played them
That’s all you cared about
You.
They were all hurt
You ruined a lot
Women, yes women
Toys to be discarded when no more in use
Is this what fame did to you
Superstar who got all he wanted
They fell over each other to serve you
And ----------------------------
She thought things would never get better
A ruined life
Even before it began
Imminent destruction
The toy they liked playing with
But never really wanted
It was always quickly discarded
Life was rough on her
A nobody that wanted to be somebody
But out there in the jungle
Were wolves ready to eat her up
They would not give her a chance
The chance to be somebody
She fought her way through
They had no choice
And just then ----------------
He meets her
And thinks she’s another of his toy
She refuses to fall over him
She cares about life while he doesn’t
But ---------------------
Suddenly things changes
And because they both gambled
Most part of their lives
They win a battle and found love
Against all odds, obstacles and evil devices
They finally find each other
But for that same reason
Everybody had been hurt
And all around the jungle is death
The death of loved ones
Life ruined and souls shattered
Too much tears and sorrow
Too much blood
But through it all love prevails
And then life seems worth living
No more using, no more discarding
At the edge of the jungle
Is the road to survival
For love, what can one not overcome?
© Campbell Mariam Oluwatoyin
THE MONTH OF PURIM
Hello everyone! I believe that we have enjoyed the year so far and that we have all made use of the opportunities that God has brought our way this year bearing mind that, “we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to [his] purpose”. So shall it be for us all in that we are fully grounded in the love of God and his mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ!
We are now in the third month and as we know that the tri-unity of God gives us an all round protection and victory through his grace and mercy bestowed on us all. In this month we shall begin our journey to that place where we have victory over every form of captivity holding us down. THIS IS THE TIME IN THE THIRD MONTH just as we read in the book of Esther 8:9; “Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that [is], the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth [day] thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which [are] from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language”. In this month the letters has been written in the blood of the Lamb and signed with the name of God as its seal, that in 2010 we shall rise together like a great army and stand against those devices and habits that want to destroy our joy even in that land that we have been held captive.
For the children of Israel were slaves in a strange land, a land in which they had no right to live as they will, with no say and no will of their own. They had left Egypt centuries back and now here they were in Persia and Medes, and even in captivity the enemy was not satisfied, he wanted them totally annihilated because he had put himself in the position where he had complete authority over them. So he bought a race so that they could be destroyed in the first month; “Esth 3:12 Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that [were] over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and [to] every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring”. The enemy wrote his letters and sent it out in the first month however in this third month you shall begin your journey to Purim a place of victory.
Let us remember that captivity is not just on the physical it has more to do with the spiritual, in every way that we have been slaves and been captive to alcohol, sex, lust, power, money, procrastination, pain, sickness, poverty, lies, and any form of vices or habits known to man that has not enabled you to move to your place of glory, hear today; GET READY TO STAND UP AGAINST THEM!!
We must be able to do 2 things to in preparation of this victory; first we must join Esther in prayer and fasting which we have done or else Mordecai would not have been remembered nor would he have been able to write the letter, second we must get ready to stand up against anyone that would lay their hands upon us. “Esth 9:2 The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.” We must gather together against anyone or vice that might want to lay hold of us to seek our hurt.
With the grace of God none shall be able to rise against us for the fear that would take hold of them would be great. In that place that we have been thought to be held captive we shall rule as Kings and Queens and have control.
PURIM IS ROUND THE CORNER, GET READY!!
We are now in the third month and as we know that the tri-unity of God gives us an all round protection and victory through his grace and mercy bestowed on us all. In this month we shall begin our journey to that place where we have victory over every form of captivity holding us down. THIS IS THE TIME IN THE THIRD MONTH just as we read in the book of Esther 8:9; “Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that [is], the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth [day] thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which [are] from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language”. In this month the letters has been written in the blood of the Lamb and signed with the name of God as its seal, that in 2010 we shall rise together like a great army and stand against those devices and habits that want to destroy our joy even in that land that we have been held captive.
For the children of Israel were slaves in a strange land, a land in which they had no right to live as they will, with no say and no will of their own. They had left Egypt centuries back and now here they were in Persia and Medes, and even in captivity the enemy was not satisfied, he wanted them totally annihilated because he had put himself in the position where he had complete authority over them. So he bought a race so that they could be destroyed in the first month; “Esth 3:12 Then were the king's scribes called on the thirteenth day of the first month, and there was written according to all that Haman had commanded unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors that [were] over every province, and to the rulers of every people of every province according to the writing thereof, and [to] every people after their language; in the name of king Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring”. The enemy wrote his letters and sent it out in the first month however in this third month you shall begin your journey to Purim a place of victory.
Let us remember that captivity is not just on the physical it has more to do with the spiritual, in every way that we have been slaves and been captive to alcohol, sex, lust, power, money, procrastination, pain, sickness, poverty, lies, and any form of vices or habits known to man that has not enabled you to move to your place of glory, hear today; GET READY TO STAND UP AGAINST THEM!!
We must be able to do 2 things to in preparation of this victory; first we must join Esther in prayer and fasting which we have done or else Mordecai would not have been remembered nor would he have been able to write the letter, second we must get ready to stand up against anyone that would lay their hands upon us. “Esth 9:2 The Jews gathered themselves together in their cities throughout all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus, to lay hand on such as sought their hurt: and no man could withstand them; for the fear of them fell upon all people.” We must gather together against anyone or vice that might want to lay hold of us to seek our hurt.
With the grace of God none shall be able to rise against us for the fear that would take hold of them would be great. In that place that we have been thought to be held captive we shall rule as Kings and Queens and have control.
PURIM IS ROUND THE CORNER, GET READY!!
Sunday, March 7
BE NOT A STRANGE WOMAN!!
“To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words” proverb 2:16. The book of proverb gives us some of the attributes of a strange woman.
1. She is a flatterer and liar Proverb 6:24
2. She is an adulteress proverb 6:26
3. She is loud and stubborn proverb 7:11
4. She gossips (her feet abide not in her house)
5. She is conniving proverb 7:12
6. She is impudent and leads to other gods proverb 7: 13,16
7. She is evil proverb 6:24
8. She is disobedient proverb 2:17
At all times God have warned his children against strange women but unfortunately, in this present world the strange women are also found in the church (the house of God) amongst those that call themselves Christians.
There has never been a record of any man that went unto a strange woman that did not meet with destruction. Let us as women, especially us that are yet single to refrain from exhibiting the characters of the strange woman. A woman was created for one reason, to be a help meet for the man Genesis 2:18.
A woman, single or married, apart from being submissive must follow the rules in proverb 31:10-31. Remember that when the devil wanted to tempt mankind he went through the woman. Let us choose like Mary (Lazarus sister) to listen to God and to do his will, so that when the tempter comes we shall overcome.
At certain times in the bible we read the result of the works of the strange woman; job 2:9-10, judges 14-16, 1Kings 11, 1Kings 16:29-33, and 1kings 21. In all the passages above we see the havoc done by been yoked with a strange woman.
Be not a strange woman because God will ask you what you spent your time on earth doing and when the cat is out of the bag the end will not be a good one. The end of a strange is:
1. As bitter as worm wood
2. As sharp as a two edged sword
3. Her feet go down to death
4. Her steps take hold on hell
5. Her days are numbered
6. She finds no peace
7. She has a dishonourable end
Let us all repent and change from our ways, cleave unto the Lord the author and finisher of our faith!!
1. She is a flatterer and liar Proverb 6:24
2. She is an adulteress proverb 6:26
3. She is loud and stubborn proverb 7:11
4. She gossips (her feet abide not in her house)
5. She is conniving proverb 7:12
6. She is impudent and leads to other gods proverb 7: 13,16
7. She is evil proverb 6:24
8. She is disobedient proverb 2:17
At all times God have warned his children against strange women but unfortunately, in this present world the strange women are also found in the church (the house of God) amongst those that call themselves Christians.
There has never been a record of any man that went unto a strange woman that did not meet with destruction. Let us as women, especially us that are yet single to refrain from exhibiting the characters of the strange woman. A woman was created for one reason, to be a help meet for the man Genesis 2:18.
A woman, single or married, apart from being submissive must follow the rules in proverb 31:10-31. Remember that when the devil wanted to tempt mankind he went through the woman. Let us choose like Mary (Lazarus sister) to listen to God and to do his will, so that when the tempter comes we shall overcome.
At certain times in the bible we read the result of the works of the strange woman; job 2:9-10, judges 14-16, 1Kings 11, 1Kings 16:29-33, and 1kings 21. In all the passages above we see the havoc done by been yoked with a strange woman.
Be not a strange woman because God will ask you what you spent your time on earth doing and when the cat is out of the bag the end will not be a good one. The end of a strange is:
1. As bitter as worm wood
2. As sharp as a two edged sword
3. Her feet go down to death
4. Her steps take hold on hell
5. Her days are numbered
6. She finds no peace
7. She has a dishonourable end
Let us all repent and change from our ways, cleave unto the Lord the author and finisher of our faith!!
Saturday, March 6
THE PURSUIT OF EMPTINESS
Taking an in-depth look at the creation of man two wonderful things come to mind. One is the fact that says “out of dust was man created” just like a clay toy made by a child. He plays with the sand / clay and moulds a toy baby but the truth is that this toy human at this point is lifeless and cannot perform any function. The second fact is that not until God breathe into man did he become a living being. THAT, my dear friends, is what makes us a man after God’s likeness and in his image. Our body been filled with apart of God which gives us the attributes to be fruitful, multiply, replenish the earth, subdue and dominate. Without this we become like the toy that children make with their sand while they play, “clay man or sand man”.
After King Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel was divided into 2; i.e. Judah (eternal throne of King David) and Israel. After him also the children of Israel began to go after the ways of the people who they had disposed from the land of Canaan. 2Kings 17: 7-23, gives us a rundown of how thee Israelite sinned. How they gradually backslid and completely forgot God. In verse 15, it says “ And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them”. They went after things and ways that do not give life and in doing this they lost themselves in the process. When we take a path that is not of God, the spirit of God which is His breathe in us departs from our lives and we become empty vessels fit only for play like a toy. When you give a toy to a child, he not only plays with it but kicks it around, chews it, tear it if possible, and do all sorts to it. Why? Because that is what a toy is for. The toy can’t complain because it is not meant to.
The Holy Spirit of God in us is what makes us a living being; it fills up the emptiness in us, so that we do not become a toy handed over to the enemy for play. Situations in our lives occur because we have continually dedicated our lives to run after emptiness, things that do not fill up the empty part of our spirit and soul. Our life has been focused on the physical and the world; we strive with our puny effort to empty out the skills, strength, and life of God in us on a daily basis for a lot of unimportant reasons. Some are the pursuit of money, marriage, wealth, power, fame, health, love, even happiness and neglect the most important of all the life that makes us to be in God’s likeness. This life makes us to be like God and so gives us the ability, through the Holy Spirit, to do exploit.
Genesis 1:2 says, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. A formless void means something that is empty, and it is not only that, it is also dark. That is the way the life of everyone without Christ is. Every life without the presence of God in it is without form or shape, a life on a journey to nowhere. It is empty and without weight and so can easily be blown about by trials of the world. Not only this it is also like a shapeless liquid which will take any shape, when one trial comes it shapes you one way another comes it shapes you in another way because that life is empty and has no substance in it at all.
So let us be careful as we strive, that we do not strive after emptiness. That we don’t empty our lives by the kind of friends we keep, or by the type of life we live. Some even empty themselves as a result of the work they do because this job or business is the excuse for not having time for God, for not praying, for not reading and studying the word of God, even it is an excuse for not having enough time for the family. Anything that will not get you closer to God will take you away from him, and anything that takes you away from God will empty out His breathe in you.
As children of Israel pursued after emptiness, they became empty. They went after other gods, worshipped idols, did wicked things, provoked God to anger and made him jealous by rejecting all his command which he had laid out for them. The relegated God into an area of unimportance and shamed Him. Therefore, God cut short man’s life on earth Gen 6:3. Every empty vessel shall ultimately be cast into the fire and destroyed, or maybe it shall be used as a dustbin. Let us return to our first love and strengthen the part of life which remains in us. Let us pursue life in God, a filling that can enrich not only our spiritual life but also every other area of our life. A life without Christ Jesus as its Lord and personal savior is an empty life so surrender your life to him today so that he can fill you and make you a living being.
After King Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel was divided into 2; i.e. Judah (eternal throne of King David) and Israel. After him also the children of Israel began to go after the ways of the people who they had disposed from the land of Canaan. 2Kings 17: 7-23, gives us a rundown of how thee Israelite sinned. How they gradually backslid and completely forgot God. In verse 15, it says “ And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified against them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen that were round about them, concerning whom the LORD had charged them, that they should not do like them”. They went after things and ways that do not give life and in doing this they lost themselves in the process. When we take a path that is not of God, the spirit of God which is His breathe in us departs from our lives and we become empty vessels fit only for play like a toy. When you give a toy to a child, he not only plays with it but kicks it around, chews it, tear it if possible, and do all sorts to it. Why? Because that is what a toy is for. The toy can’t complain because it is not meant to.
The Holy Spirit of God in us is what makes us a living being; it fills up the emptiness in us, so that we do not become a toy handed over to the enemy for play. Situations in our lives occur because we have continually dedicated our lives to run after emptiness, things that do not fill up the empty part of our spirit and soul. Our life has been focused on the physical and the world; we strive with our puny effort to empty out the skills, strength, and life of God in us on a daily basis for a lot of unimportant reasons. Some are the pursuit of money, marriage, wealth, power, fame, health, love, even happiness and neglect the most important of all the life that makes us to be in God’s likeness. This life makes us to be like God and so gives us the ability, through the Holy Spirit, to do exploit.
Genesis 1:2 says, “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters”. A formless void means something that is empty, and it is not only that, it is also dark. That is the way the life of everyone without Christ is. Every life without the presence of God in it is without form or shape, a life on a journey to nowhere. It is empty and without weight and so can easily be blown about by trials of the world. Not only this it is also like a shapeless liquid which will take any shape, when one trial comes it shapes you one way another comes it shapes you in another way because that life is empty and has no substance in it at all.
So let us be careful as we strive, that we do not strive after emptiness. That we don’t empty our lives by the kind of friends we keep, or by the type of life we live. Some even empty themselves as a result of the work they do because this job or business is the excuse for not having time for God, for not praying, for not reading and studying the word of God, even it is an excuse for not having enough time for the family. Anything that will not get you closer to God will take you away from him, and anything that takes you away from God will empty out His breathe in you.
As children of Israel pursued after emptiness, they became empty. They went after other gods, worshipped idols, did wicked things, provoked God to anger and made him jealous by rejecting all his command which he had laid out for them. The relegated God into an area of unimportance and shamed Him. Therefore, God cut short man’s life on earth Gen 6:3. Every empty vessel shall ultimately be cast into the fire and destroyed, or maybe it shall be used as a dustbin. Let us return to our first love and strengthen the part of life which remains in us. Let us pursue life in God, a filling that can enrich not only our spiritual life but also every other area of our life. A life without Christ Jesus as its Lord and personal savior is an empty life so surrender your life to him today so that he can fill you and make you a living being.
REDEMPTION TO REALITY
For too long in a dream/You have lived and existed
Never understanding that your dreams
Of not facing reality destroys
Dreams centered around your self
Bringing about self-centeredness
You have lived a dream so long
That you’ve forgotten what reality is
Not knowing that you do not know/Living in a dream
You are never touched by life
For so long life passed you by
And you are encompassed by imagination
Seeing fragments as if through
The lens of a Kaleidoscope
The only thing that has brought you back
Is this love that cures all /But where is this love
Your dreams to shelter you from pain
And rose coloured glasses from hurt
To push pain and hurt away
You cover them up, never looking back
Never believing that they exist
Rather than remember /you choose to forget
But for how long
Until the noose is already round your neck
Where is your redemption to reality?
For how long would you dream?
Standing at the edge and looking in
Never participating or feeling
Now the dream is over /you want to take a chance to feel
Behold the gift of living /But no reality is evading you
Return to your dream it says /not knowing how to say no
You do return to your dream /until finally you are hit on the head
But your redemption to reality /has come the most difficult way
And you persevere /you have learned that to live
One must be a part of life /this you have learnt
And this you would never forget /because dreams can’t amount
To anything /unless reality is allowed
To pay its own part.
© Campbell Mariam Oluwatoyin
Never understanding that your dreams
Of not facing reality destroys
Dreams centered around your self
Bringing about self-centeredness
You have lived a dream so long
That you’ve forgotten what reality is
Not knowing that you do not know/Living in a dream
You are never touched by life
For so long life passed you by
And you are encompassed by imagination
Seeing fragments as if through
The lens of a Kaleidoscope
The only thing that has brought you back
Is this love that cures all /But where is this love
Your dreams to shelter you from pain
And rose coloured glasses from hurt
To push pain and hurt away
You cover them up, never looking back
Never believing that they exist
Rather than remember /you choose to forget
But for how long
Until the noose is already round your neck
Where is your redemption to reality?
For how long would you dream?
Standing at the edge and looking in
Never participating or feeling
Now the dream is over /you want to take a chance to feel
Behold the gift of living /But no reality is evading you
Return to your dream it says /not knowing how to say no
You do return to your dream /until finally you are hit on the head
But your redemption to reality /has come the most difficult way
And you persevere /you have learned that to live
One must be a part of life /this you have learnt
And this you would never forget /because dreams can’t amount
To anything /unless reality is allowed
To pay its own part.
© Campbell Mariam Oluwatoyin
Friday, March 5
THE HEAVY BURDEN OF SIN
Two evenings ago I watched a film about a man who carried a great burden that kept weighing him down. Before I continue let me say this, we find meaning even in the most meaningless of things and what I am about to retell is one of them.
I was watching a film on cable (I do not recall the name) about a couple who just married. They both found out that in all the wedding and honeymoon pictures, a third person always appeared in the background. The wife was curious and started researching and finding out what happened and why the picture of that particular person kept appearing. As the search went on she realized the lady who was the third wheel was her husband’s ex and she found out the terrible thing he and his friends did to the lady. It was a terrible thing that the lady killed herself and her ghost killed the friends but could not kill the guy. However what the husband and friends did a long time ago in hiding came into the open and the wife got to know, when she did she left him.
The husband in retaliation for his wife leaving was taking pictures and searching for the ghost and found out the ghost lady was sitting on his head. Then he remembered all the times he went to the clinic to do weight test and he was always overweight and his medical check showing a strain on his heart. He tried getting rid of the weight but it never left. Eventually he was put in a mental home where we were shown that the weight was still their hanging round his neck.
This film for me brought to mind the strain from a Yoruba song, “Temi teru ese mi ni mo wa sodo re Oluwa” which means I have come unto you with my burden of sin, O Lord. It also took me into the bible Mathew 11:27-30 were Jesus was telling the world to come to him with their heavy burden. At the end He tells us that in place of the burden of our sin He would give us his, one that is easy to bear and not hard to carry Matt 11:30.
Now let us come home, if that film where to be a Yoruba film something would have been done because they would have bothered to find out from the spirit why it was haunting and killing the living and given a solution to the problem. They probably would have told the guy to appease the dead if he went the traditional way, or to pray for forgiveness if he were a Christian or Muslim. The thing is he would have been free of the burden of sin. A sin he committed by default in a bid of getting rid of a lady he did not love who refused to take no for an answer. A sin he committed by listening to the advice of friends who wanted to satisfy their own sexual urge and who paid for it with their lives. This burden would have been taken off him and he would have been able to go on.
However, it is a quiet unfortunate that many in our world are like the husband who commit a sin and carry the burden of it to our death. We never seek out to find a solution or a way of easing the burden. We fail to remember that there is someone willing to take that burden off of us and give us his in replacement. In most cases we fear to give up the freedom that we feel this burden grants us, but fail to understand that not only does this burden make us overweight, it results in sickness (take the example of the guy’s heart problem) and in some cases we end up mentally challenged even if we do not appear so to the world.
What is that burden of sin you carry? Have you bothered to find out why you feel the weight of the world is on your shoulders? The reason why you have no cause to smile, or be happy is because you have a weight pulling you down. Or maybe your weight is suffocating you? Don’t try to get rid of the weight on your own there is an expat that is qualified to do that job. Just employ him for the job and his payment? His payment is you accepting that He is the only one that can get the job done. Without the weight we can dance and run and do all the thing we were meant to do. Let’s work to shedding the weight together.
I was watching a film on cable (I do not recall the name) about a couple who just married. They both found out that in all the wedding and honeymoon pictures, a third person always appeared in the background. The wife was curious and started researching and finding out what happened and why the picture of that particular person kept appearing. As the search went on she realized the lady who was the third wheel was her husband’s ex and she found out the terrible thing he and his friends did to the lady. It was a terrible thing that the lady killed herself and her ghost killed the friends but could not kill the guy. However what the husband and friends did a long time ago in hiding came into the open and the wife got to know, when she did she left him.
The husband in retaliation for his wife leaving was taking pictures and searching for the ghost and found out the ghost lady was sitting on his head. Then he remembered all the times he went to the clinic to do weight test and he was always overweight and his medical check showing a strain on his heart. He tried getting rid of the weight but it never left. Eventually he was put in a mental home where we were shown that the weight was still their hanging round his neck.
This film for me brought to mind the strain from a Yoruba song, “Temi teru ese mi ni mo wa sodo re Oluwa” which means I have come unto you with my burden of sin, O Lord. It also took me into the bible Mathew 11:27-30 were Jesus was telling the world to come to him with their heavy burden. At the end He tells us that in place of the burden of our sin He would give us his, one that is easy to bear and not hard to carry Matt 11:30.
Now let us come home, if that film where to be a Yoruba film something would have been done because they would have bothered to find out from the spirit why it was haunting and killing the living and given a solution to the problem. They probably would have told the guy to appease the dead if he went the traditional way, or to pray for forgiveness if he were a Christian or Muslim. The thing is he would have been free of the burden of sin. A sin he committed by default in a bid of getting rid of a lady he did not love who refused to take no for an answer. A sin he committed by listening to the advice of friends who wanted to satisfy their own sexual urge and who paid for it with their lives. This burden would have been taken off him and he would have been able to go on.
However, it is a quiet unfortunate that many in our world are like the husband who commit a sin and carry the burden of it to our death. We never seek out to find a solution or a way of easing the burden. We fail to remember that there is someone willing to take that burden off of us and give us his in replacement. In most cases we fear to give up the freedom that we feel this burden grants us, but fail to understand that not only does this burden make us overweight, it results in sickness (take the example of the guy’s heart problem) and in some cases we end up mentally challenged even if we do not appear so to the world.
What is that burden of sin you carry? Have you bothered to find out why you feel the weight of the world is on your shoulders? The reason why you have no cause to smile, or be happy is because you have a weight pulling you down. Or maybe your weight is suffocating you? Don’t try to get rid of the weight on your own there is an expat that is qualified to do that job. Just employ him for the job and his payment? His payment is you accepting that He is the only one that can get the job done. Without the weight we can dance and run and do all the thing we were meant to do. Let’s work to shedding the weight together.
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