Personal Demons

Patricia, an excellent lead vocal in church, knew the blackness in her soul was beyond measure. The world has been unfair; life has been wicked. No parents, no money, no education, practicing corporate prostitution, a typical Lagos chic, a survivor: the Philosophy books only emphasized it as a temperamental default, bile; the 'darkness' in her soul was adjudged normal. Her heart wanted something else, something pure, lovely, true .She was through, her soul yearning for peace. Her personal demons of unforgiveness, despair, revenge, anger had to go! She chose to end it all, Yes Suicide was the answer.

Then the radio preacher started his usual Sunday sermon, his teaching from Psalm 85, A Prayer for Mercy...

                                     

"...Because of great mercy, God forgives the sins of those who call on him. The Book of Psalms, contains a collection of poetry, songs, and hymns primarily devoted to the worship and praise of God. Often reflecting the moral and spiritual challenges of human experience, the Psalms present numerous prayers for mercy, forgiveness, strength, and guidance. Among these, Psalm 85 presents a prayer for mercy against the backdrop of God’s forgiveness of past wrongs, concluding with a view toward His blessing that can provide assurance for believers and sinners alike.

                                   

Psalm 85 describes the spiritual journey taken by many believers, after which each man should be able to do the following:

1.                  Acknowledge the extent of God’s grace to forgive them for past wrongs.

2.                  Realize their dependence on God’s mercy and forgiveness.

3.                  Commit to a life of righteousness in order to receive God’s favour and blessing.

In the chorus of one the old hymns, the songwriter declared, “such love, such wondrous love, that God should love a sinner such as I; How wonderful is love like this!’’ There is no greater or higher expression of love than God’s willingness to forgive our sins and give us His blessings of grace, love, and favour. Such love is beyond understanding.

            Are you in deed, for the first time, of asking forgiveness of sins committed and being brought into a right relationship with God? Or is there need to be brought back to right relationship with Him? The beauty of grace is that He is ready to forgive you in this moment and bring you into right standing with Him.

            If you already know the Lord, be sure to take time this week to thank Him for His mercy toward you in the past and for the wonderful blessings of salvation that you enjoy…”

Patrica broke down in tears, knelt by her bed a read aloud the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-13), asked for forgiveness & revival from Jesus (Ps 85:6)…indeed He answered. Oh what peace she felt. Great is His Mercy, it endureth forever.

MOST WANTED???

If you could spend a day with anyone you wanted, who would it be? A music star, world leader, family or who??? According famecount.com, Eminem has surpassed Lady Gaga as the most-liked living artist on Facebook with 28,905,721 fans.

Just like the frenzied fans above, some of you might pick a famous person from the past they admire, family, anyone. We’d have varied responses, the actuality of which might be exhilarating, bittersweet or unforgettable.

But as Christians, do we ever consider the wonderful opportunity we have to spend everyday Abiding with God? Even my blackberry contests with Him for my time #sadly so#.  I still hear him yearning, desiring to have intimate communion with each of us. He’d really like us to conclude as the psalmist did, that a day in God’s courts is better than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84:10)

Who is the Most Wanted in your life? What’s the importance of meeting with God? From personal experience, I’d say that God’s presence brings me Joy & strength. I simply download my thoughts, worries, queries, burdens, needs etc to his site and HE promptly sorts them out. He no doubt has the password & content management system codes to my life…#sounds great doesn’t#

Friends, we are pilgrims on planet earth, and whilst we traverse the difficult terrain (life’s issues), let the difficulties & discomfort turn-on your zeal & enthusiasm for God’s house/presence. Afterwards, you’d see how the dry places of your life will become springs.

Today I’ve decided to cut-down my time spent to movies, sleeping & pinging on my blackberry, rating myself on the following areas:

·       I desire to spend time in worshipping God both corporately and personally

·       My relationship with God is growing stronger. I find joy strength for living from God

·       I live each day with a sense of God’s presence with me and my greatest desire is to spend time with him   

JOIN ME ON THIS RESOLVE TO ABIDE WITH GOD.

MR WORRY

As i studied for sunday school this morning, my mind flashed back to certain days i had contemplated Suicide because of the worries of life. i even went ahead to write a suicide note http://berylehondor.blogspot.com/2011/06/my-suicide-note.html

In dealing with doubts , times of personal crisis. and praying through your troubles the book of psalms is often a place where people turn.These musical poems often put into words emotions we sometimes hesitate to admit we have or find difficult to express to God in prayer. DOUBT is one of these.

In Psalm 77, we can explore how to deal with doubt when we troubled. We can battle doubt through prayers by reminding ourselves of God’s goodness and desire for what is best for us. Like the psalmist, we can come to realize that we can have confidence that God loves us and is in control during our troubling times.

This week’s lesson explores the process of praying through our troubles leading us eventually to achieve the following:

1.       Recognize the importance of calling on God during times of trouble

2.       Confess their doubts to God without worrying that God will reject them

3.       Experience for themselves the blessing of meditating on God’s redemptive works

You can apply the principles learned in this lesson in three ways.

   1.       Call on God when you find yourself in trouble. Like the psalmist pray and keep on praying until you are sure

        God has heard you. Do not grow weary in seeking God’s help.

   2.       Don not be afraid to confess your doubt to God when you feel puzzled by your situation. He wants to hear from you

  3.       During the process, remember to meditate on God’s redemptive works in the past. Thininking about the good things God has done for believers through the ages can do a great deal to reas your doubts about God’s faithfulness

Remember God loves you and want what is best for you. Encourage yourself in the Lord by spending time in prayer, confessing your doubts and remembering all the things God has done, is doing, and will do in your life. That  is truly the way to to pray through your troubles.