Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away

 The weak old lady stood staring pensively at the words written on the wall hanging

Mathew 24:35 CJB

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

“What is it grandma what are you staring at? “ Talia asked

“Nothing dear... those words are resonating with my restless spirit." grandma replied.

"I don’t think I will be able to leave this earth in peace till I take action on this matter which has been eating me up for decades.

 I have never had the courage to fight for what belongs to me

And grandpa and later your father never ever let me to take on the men who have taken the property my father left me

They are the giant in the land we should not mess with them they used to say."

"Obviously grandma! aren’t they the war lords of this place. That’s what I heard from mother." Talia exclaimed.

"Yes dear, their power and influence is so much even the courts of the land are on their side. Grandma replied.

“But before I pass away i want to do this for you and the thousands of villagers who will be saved from starvation from the vegetation which can be harvested from 100 acres of barren land.”

“What's the plan grandma?”

“We will ask the villagers to start working on the land immediately and water to be sourced from the nearby wells and streams.

What about the giants... grandma?

"Let God deal with them .We will work on the land."

His word says

In Zechariah 8:11- 13 CJB

11 but from now on, I will not treat the remnant of this people as I did before,’ says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 12 ‘Now they will sow in peace, the vine will give its fruit, the ground will produce its yield, the sky will give its dew, and I will cause the remnant of this people to possess all these things. 13 House of Y’hudah and house of Isra’el, just as you were formerly a curse among the nations, so now I will save you; and you will be a blessing. Don’t be afraid, but take courage!’

When are you going to start?

 “Tomorrow at dawn”. Grandma replied beaming away in excitement.

Yay! It’s do before i die. attitude ..I love that spirit grandma...c’mon let’s do it. Talia said equally excited.

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The Blood of Jesus

The young seventeen year old was sitting by the window on a hot summer afternoon and staring at the beautiful scenery outside.

It was a year now since mum passed,

"She is in a beautiful place. She did her duty. It was so sudden; God has our days numbered".

pastor said.

A zillion thoughts was whizzing in her head all at once,

The political science class lecture was going on and the class as usual was boring and crowded.

She found her eyelids shutting and before she knew it she was lost in the land of dreams and visions.

Back into time she saw her now deceased mother reading to her younger brother and her stories from the bible when they were little.

It was the story of the Passover where the Israelites were asked to apply the blood of the lamb on the door posts of the house

“Why they did that ma,” her brother had asked.

“To keep them safe from the judgments of God”, their mother had replied.

Exodus 12:13 CJB

13 The blood will serve you as a sign marking the houses where you are; when I see the blood, I will pass over [a] you — when I strike the land of Egypt, the death blow will not strike you.

“Can the blood of the lamb keep us safe in today’s age and time,” she had asked

“Yes, Jesus is the Lamb of God, when we apply the blood of Jesus upon the door posts of our hearts, our minds, our homes, our businesses, our jobs, our families we are keeping ourselves safe from the all evil and dangers that may befall us.

"Jessy! Jessy! , she heard a voice and felt someone nudging her to wake up.

"The dreamer has again fallen asleep in class", she could hear her master’s voice.

"Tell me Jessy, how we can keep our nation safe from the rumor of wars and pestilence that is spreading near us"?

“By applying the blood of the Lamb”! She blurted out.

The whole class laughed, “Not a wrong answer though” the master said

"Since we have no other alternative we can try what Jessy said" he told the class with a smile.

 

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The Lord is my Shepherd

Old Dinah tripped and fell flat on her face

She felt blood in her mouth as tried to shout.

The only sound, she could hear, was the loud noise of the splattering rain.

Help! Lord! Help!

She kept reciting lines from psalms 23 in her head the only thing she knew what to do before she passed out.

  ⁴ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. KJV

Meanwhile, Mary, her neighbor who lived down the road

Found herself getting nudged to the front door.

Copper! It’s raining. It’s not the right time to go out now!” she shouted at her dog.

He just stood still, cocking his ear to the side and then started barking in urgency.

Scratching the door and looking and barking intently at her...

“What is it...is something wrong! OK go! She opened the door.

 Just to see Copper bounding off in the rain with great speed towards Dinah’s house.

Dinah! O God, please don’t tell me something bad happen has happened to her...

Following the dog, soaking wet, she reached Dinah’s house and heard him barking urgently inside the house.

She too jumped in through the open window. Shocked! She saw Dinah lying face down in a pool of blood.

She quickly knelt down and felt for her pulse and heaved a sigh of relief when she finally got one.

She is still breathing, hurry Copper, let’s get some help!

Hearing her cries and the loud barks of the dog the other neighbors too started pouring in and together they got Dinah to the hospital.

After a hip surgery and four weeks in the hospital.

Dinah smiled ready to go home.

“We had contacted your son, Dinah

He couldn’t come but he has asked us to send you

To a nursing home as you are no longer fit to stay on your own, her doctor told her, breaking the news to her as gently as he can.

No worries, doctor, she said continuing to smile.

“Wherever I will be,

My good shepherd will take care of me.

Continuing With a twinkle in eye...she said

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever….Ps 23...

Yes, he said, bending down to give the old woman a hug.

“When the good shepherd is with us there is nothing to worry about “

He said, feeling a tear drop down his cheek as he turned to walk away.

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Life beyond the Roof

The king was a devout man,

A man of immense faith.

He fought the bear and the lion when he was young with his bare hands.

The giant Goliath he killed with just a pebble stone.

A great and mighty warrior

David had a reputation to be after god’s own heart.

He was beloved to his people and he was known to be a true child of God.

But one day, he let his guard down, when he causally looked from his roof top.

He spotted an extremely beautiful woman, bathing herself in the sun.

He found out, she was the wife of one of his soldiers, who was fighting in the battle which was going in.

He had her sent for, and did the unthinkable, when he went and slept with her.

She returned to her house, and they went back to their lives, like it was before.

Everything went as planned, till the woman sent him a message, she was with child.

Panic set in, new plans had to be made.

He sent for the husband Uriah, and asked him to spend some nights at home.

To the king’s dismay, he refused to sleep in his own bed, but rested with the palace guards.

 The king sent him back to the battle ground, with a letter in his hand.

He asked his chief to put him in the battle front and make sure he would die.

Sure enough Uriah died and the king married his wife.

Everything went on as normal, till god sent the prophet Nathan, to confront the king of his wrong.

The king wept, and repented .God had forgiven him. The prophet to him said.

But there was a price; the king had to pay for the cruelty he had showed for killing a man for his own selfish desires and destroying his home.

The king will lose the child conceived out of wedlock and turmoil within his own family will not leave him till the day the king dies.

Dearly beloved live in the fear of God.

And live your life righteous before him always.

2 Samuel 12:7-11 CJB

7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man.

“Here is what Adonai, the God of Isra’el says: ‘I anointed you king over Isra’el. I rescued you from the power of Sha’ul. 8 I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives to embrace. I gave you the house of Isra’el and the house of Y’hudah. And if that had been too little, I would have added to you a lot more.

9 “‘So why have you shown such contempt for the word of Adonai and done what I see as evil? You murdered Uriyah the Hitti with the sword and taken his wife as your own wife; you put him to death with the sword of the people of ‘Amon. 10 Now therefore, the sword will never leave your house — because you have shown contempt for me and taken the wife of Uriyah the Hitti as your own wife.’ 11 Here is what Adonai says: ‘I will generate evil against you out of your own household. I will take your wives before your very eyes and give them to your neighbor; he will go to bed with your wives, and everyone will know about it. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this before all Isra’el in broad daylight.’”

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My Soul Sings

One late evening as a teenager,

I had reached the threshold of despair.

I encountered the Lord and from that day.

There was always a song in my soul. 

For I learnt,

No matter the situation or circumstances,

Or how hopeless everything seems,

Jesus Christ is God.

He is bigger than any problem we will ever have to face.

He always has our back.

There is no reason to be consumed with fear.

The son of God is always near.

Ready to throw His light into our dark world.

He is our provider, he is our comforter.

When He is by our side

Why lose our joy?

So let our soul sing...let our spirit shout,

Jesus Christ is real and He is the son of God.

Keep on praising, to the King of King and the Lord of Lords.

Every fear and threatening situation will walk out of the door.

Grace is built to last forever

"Another year", Hannah thought..

Gone by, without Niki."

The horror of his sudden death and its aftermath.

The agony of sorting out his things and putting life back in order again.

His absence filled the atmosphere and everywhere she looked 

His memory lingered there.

"At such a young age ,you took him, why God why? She often found herself asking

"Emily is barely nine,

What all she will have to face without a father to shield her, "she cried.

It was grace upon grace as family and friends moved in 

To make life easier for her and Emily.

"Why are you crying now, mother ?,

Are you thinking of father"?

"No, my child, father is with Jesus

It's you I'm worried about .

We cannot live off others it’s time, we managed our affairs .

I need to get us a job I have no idea where to look it’s been a long time since I worked.”.Hannah said.

"Ma , see what i found , showing her mum a verse written on the cover of a calendar.

It says 
Grace is built to last forever
In the heavens themselves you established your faithfullness. Ps.89:3 CJB

"Yes , so it does." Hannah muttered.

"Grace hasn’t left us mum,

In the New Year too we can experience God's grace.

She started watching Emily cutting the quote and sticking the verse on her mirror.

Suddenly, Hannah smiled how much like Nikki her little girl was

Always optimistic and positive .

Next day a bunch of ladies had dropped in from the church.

Pastor had sent word wanting to know if she was interested in

An opportunity to work as a counselor at a renowned university.

They have assured free accommodation and to take care of Emily's education.

Hannah and Emily looked at each other in shock

"Grace is built to last forever" they shouted, as they rushed to embrace  each other.

"I will take up the offer my dears. Please inform pastor"  Hannah told them.
After wiping away the tears of joy..
"Hannah said,forgive me father God for my unbelief and thank you, dear Emily,for your faith".
Pulling her daughter towards her , Hannah said, "come what may in the days to come, grace will see us through"!

Beyond the Wall

When we faced in a situation like Moses

A wall or the sea in front of us and an army behind us

With a mission to kill, destroy and annihilate

What do we do?

Sit and weep like the Israelites did.

“This is going to be my burial place!

Why god why did you have to bring us to this place to die”!

But what does God tell  them

God said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.” Ex. 14:15 NIV

To where? To the wall ...or in the Israeli's case the sea

When God leads the way He also tells us what to do

Follow the instruction to the "T"

God asked Moses to do one thing. “Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.” Ex. 14:16 NIV

What is it that God's asking you to do to unleash his mighty power to your situation?

Be assured while he is creating that dry path for you to walk on

Beyond the wall

He is covering you from all sides

“19 Next, the angel of God, who was going ahead of the camp of Isra’el, moved away and went behind them; and the column of cloud moved away from in front of them and stood behind them. 

CJB
”Ex. 14:19 He will hem us in from all sides so the enemy cannot touch us.

How great is our God.

Be Still or Move on. Remember He is the one who is fighting your battles for you.

Shalom