The Divine Marriage Story: To Be Handled in Maturity

I have been thinking a lot today about Covenant, and particularly, the marriage covenant. I believe, that whether we are conscious of it or not, God is The True Writer of EVERY marriage story that is in conformity with His Will. His Will – being the basis of my thoughts. Not legal, not traditional, not consensual…although sometimes these aspects are included – but a marriage that is considered valid of Him. It may be the marriage of two that are hostile to Him even (e.g. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel), or the marriage between His friends (e.g. Sarah and Abraham), but He writes the story. The pressure to conform…to this world’s standards exists, but God is the most creative, engaging, thrilling, comforting, discombobulating, unexpected even disturbing Writer EVER. So, the outcomes are RARELY ‘STANDARD’.

I am humbled by His Mind. Some of our marriage stories include those who got close to getting married, but never did, or got married later perhaps even to other people…or not; those who never had that inclination/desire/etc. to; those still waiting; those whose marriages were interrupted by or ended in widowhood, divorce, separation; those in complex marital situations – the kind that according to our well-earned ‘white wigs’ should be dissolved; some enduring; some happy; some hilarious; some tragic; some miserable; others divinely surreal; others….God writes every story. I wonder if the realization of this, would be grounds for celebration… honoring one’s triumph within and fidelity to God’s true manuscript of our authentically individual lives.

I thought about Abigail and Nabal’s marriage in the Bible – actually been thinking about this particular one a lot in the last few months. I wondered at the fact that God would bring a wise and stunning woman into union with a man that the Bible defines as a fool…an extremely wealthy fool. I thought how this was a masterpiece of a story; how despite what this experience may have meant for Abigail on a breath-by-breath level, God allowed her years of being a fool’s wife to lead her to a situation where she became queen to His most beloved (EVER) canal king. I looked at Abraham and his son Isaac, who were deeply enamored to their chosen brides but denied them promptly when they felt declaring their status would mortally endanger them. (This could comfort those that remain hidden spouses perhaps because of cultural, longitudinal, latitudinal etc. considerations.)

Then there is tradition – I thought about the divine trendsetter Moses, to whom God gave the code for His chosen race regarding everything including who they could and could not marry, ending up with both first and second wives who were not Israelite. I thought about the other scandalous marriages – that of Rahab the prostitute from Jericho who married an Israelite called Salmon, King David’s great-great grandpa. Then there was Hosea the Prophet, whose story revolved around his instructions by God to marry a woman who was given to harlotry. Not that she would be unfaithful once or twice, but totally sold out to being unfaithful to the prophet…. Then there were Zacharias and Elizabeth, John and Mary, Ananias and Saphira…I am still thinking…

God uses everything, even your marriage to write out His story, over His purposes. I wonder if knowing this would turn the shame that clouds our paths over the, sometimes, content and brevity of our espousals, into cause for celebration. That you tried to get married, stay married, gave it your best shot, but it didn’t work the way you planned it to.

Each one of God’s stories is a stand-alone, unique in its details, the combination and compilation of these for a divine purpose. Celebrate today. Yours was NEVER MEANT TO BE LIKE ANYONE ELSE’. Thats an impossibility. You are different. Each of you is a unique phenomenon. Pack the shame and return it to the devil, his agencies and agents that have tried to shame you for conforming to a standard that God never meant for you. FAST. And open yourself up for the adventure that The Writer has for your life…which may or may not include another marriage. And Celebrate. You are truly a hero in your story.

Shalom.

vipslit@yahoo.ca

CONFESSION TIME: WHEN I AM THE BACKUP PLAN a.k.a. LAST OPTION

I used to get very resentful about not being someone’s first choice. First thought. Ahem, ONLY option. For some reason it kind of reminded me of my great-grandfathers 22-pac Harem and my beloved late Grandpa’s 9-2-Pac one. In some ways, this is still a boundary for me. A VERY WELL GUARDED BORDER POINT. One you that for you have to have acquired a Pass for, it has subjected you to an inquisition like no other…many times on my mind and knees.

In the past two years though, I have learnt that God uses people’s thinking of me second…or second-last, to bless me too. For instance, I had a contract where an organization would ONLY call me for their Rapporteuring work if their other rapporteurs were busy and there was absolutely no way they could attend to a particular meeting. But, without fail, EVERY MEETING I SERVICED, I got the feeling that IT COULD ONLY HAVE BEEN SERVICED BY ME. Not because of the work itself – that part anyone can be taught to do – but more the associations He allowed. The work, for those who know, kind of demands solitude in the middle of crowds of people. Writing is one thing that is difficult to do while doing something else. Listening to people speak and then writing what they said as best as possible… focuses you. Makes you the quietest point of any meeting in order to absorb all the sound. And to many in those meetings, the least important. But God.

Many, many, many times in these meetings, I was called upon by my true name – my true role. Extremely different from other experiences. “Vip, could you give a word, and then pray for us this morning/as we end the day?” is not something you hear in secular meetings where you have not introduced yourself as anything other than, “Hi my name is Vip Pamela Ogola, and I am your rapporteur for this meeting.” Moreover, it’s the people that sought me out during breaks, the participants, the hotel staff, my supervisors sometimes, and what we talked about…what I learnt…that was so PERSONALLY TIMELY I shuddered to imagine what I would have missed had I let my ‘principles’ dictate the contractual. (I have 14 plus years of excruciating training on the Truth that any work God allows me to do, is NEVER about the pay, or title/position, but about something, or more appropriately Someone Else. About what He did with me when I surrendered to Him taking me to places I know I would never have accessed without His sovereignty over EVERY PROTOCAL – MAN OR SPIRIT MADE. Priceless.)

When they had team meetings for this particular organization, and I was invited, I proudly referred to myself as the ‘Roving Rapporteur’. It was growth on my part, like they could not imagine. Learning that my importance, my value, my true dignity, does not in any way depend on ANYONE ELSE’ ranking of me, but on what God was doing, is doing, in me. I was learning true humility by being in His waiting area long, and then being called in to glean what the reapers had left behind – and working there as hard as the selected reapers too. These have become my divine moments of Glory. It kind of reminds me of Ruth of Boaz, and especially Queen Esther. In different ways, they were part of a Pool of Resources linked to a man, but in Truth, they were of the armory of God, His True Artillery that when fired from His Hands, would not miss the mark.

In these last two years, I have experienced God through the people He has allowed me to meet when He called me forward, had mirror images of His Scepter extended my way, through opportunities I have experienced as lost and through those that He had me to have, hold and release – forever. As I lean on His Eternal Word, I realize that this Word is THE Pillar I need to make it through. What He has said to, about, AND over me. That is Eternal. Anything or anyone else, has a time and a place in my life, and me in theirs, for His Purposes, and these have a beginning and an ending. So even as I go through the posture of seeking…I know that I cannot enter into any realities that He has not ordained and that He will allow my grieving in front of closed doors, to open my life in the places that seem broken, to experiences that many, many, many times confound human logic but are truly epitomes of His Wisdom. I am a part of His Harem, His indomitable Hosts, His Pool of Resources.

Shalom.

vipslit@yahoo.ca

The Emmanuel Code

“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us).“Joshua 1:9 ESV 

Just sitting here thinking, if God WILL NEITHER STAND with me nor HELP ME THROUGH whatever I am going through; who else could I possibly run to? EVERYONE ELSE is incomparably worse than He is UNTIL HE RAISES THEM to be His vessels for Good.

So… seems I am left with just two choices: ITS EITHER GOD OR GOD FOR ME…AND YOU TOO.

“I Am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me…” Isaiah 45:5

“I WILL strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My RIGHTEOUS RIGHT HAND.” Isaiah 41;10

“…and lo, I Am with you ALWAYS, even to the end of the age.” Amen.” Jesus Christ in Mathew 28:20

#TheEmmanuelCode#Emmanuel#Still#TheLordIsMyShepherd#GodISmyHelp#GodMySalvation#NeverDestitute#IPledgeAllegianceToTheLamb

Your Unrepentant Word in God

‘And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab,

“As The Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not

be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”‘I Kings 17:1

New King James Bible

I wonder, if Elijah was ever tempted to retract his words regarding Israel when the brook dried, or perhaps when he saw that his new divine helper was a widow who also DESPERATELY needed help – and a little rain would have improved situations some… What stood out for me and Leroy tonight, was that he didn’t.

When God speaks His word through us, and we echo it, it has consequences that sometimes touch even us. Sometimes – adversely so. But His words are NEVER idle; they ALWAYS bring a harvest…THE WAY HE INTENDED THEY DO. God’s mouthpieces OFTEN have to stand in faith through all manner of adversity, however long He has set His clock for the manifestation of these.

If God spoke through you, once, and its affecting you in a way you did not foresee it doing; if there is this push for you to step back from these for ‘sanity to prevail‘ over your circumstances; just know, that kind of ‘sanity‘ is UNDERSTOOD by heaven as foolishness. For it stands against the fear of The LORD.

God is writing a beautiful story through your stand in Him – despite what it looks like today, you may get to see your prayers answered by e.g. miraculous provisions and astounding resurrections. Be still.

#JusticeinJune#TheLORDISmyShepherd#1Kings17#BeStillandKnowThatHeISGOD

vipslit@yahoo.ca

In The Image and Likeness of God

When you realize, that you are not defined by what happened, what you did, what they did to you, what you or someone else said, your grades, your job or absence of one, your debts or affluence, your marital status (or statuslessness ), your house (or homelessness), your dress-code (or nakedness), your squares, triangles or circles, your health status, who talks to you or who snubs you, who loves or who hates you, how shabbily or honorably they treated you, etc: you forgive all these because THEY WERE PERCEIVED OUTSIDE THE MIND AND WORD OF GOD.

Sarah laughed when God stated that He saw her as mother of nations. She was old and barren from her perspective and that of others, had even forgotten (sic) the pleasure of the process that proffers hope towards motherhood . But God. He lifted her to that state where she shed her old robes, opened up ‘the ancient gates’, received the seed in pleasure, birthed Laughter (the name ‘Isaac’ means ‘he laughs’) and enjoyed this joy for the rest of her life. Jesus moves legs when we conform to His Mind regarding us…and that’s one true miracle.

Remember the man by the waters. He too lay defined amiss by the illusion of his circumstances – for 38 years. But God. Through Jesus Christ showed up and did not scurry about stirring ANYTHING. He simply told him to pack his stuff and walk. Because He saw the man as he had always been – with legs that moved. And when He raised this man to His perspective, the man realized who he was in his image in God’s Eyes. He stood up knowing that in Christ, those ancient legs would carry him wherever God led him. He wasn’t healed then…it has ALWAYS been so with him. But his un-redeemed mind pointed to the illusion of experience, that was outside The Truth of God.

He raises you to meet His Eyes, and you see yourself as He ALWAYS has AND ALWAYS WILL – HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS. There is no greater triumph – He is not rushing about to remake you or provide for you in panic and distress. He did it from the beginning of time…and Then, He rested. As will you. In Him. Will you believe Him? Will I?

Shalom

vipslit@yahoo.ca

#JusticeinJune#AlwaysinGodsImage#Indefilable#TheLORDISmyShepherd#ConversationsWithMySister#PackupAndLeave#StumbledIntoEternalTruths#HeMovedMyFeet

Eve’s Friend Nahash

There was a time, way back at the beginning, when dangerous predators were an unknown phenomenon. When being a serpent, evoked trust even comfort from Man. When human beings could confide in serpents…and take their counsel…and run with it. Am wondering if much has changed though…

In those days, Eve had a husband. A friend of God. A man like God. A godly man. She also had friends among creation…after all she was Queen. She reigned over all creation along with her husband. Kings and Queens have each other, as spouses; then they have confidants. Sometimes, these are other people – outside their marriages. I don’t know if Eve’s Friend Nahash was male or female – it didn’t really matter. What did, is that Nahash had Eve’s ear, and her trust.

But Nahash secretly hated Mrs. Adam, because both she and her hubby were an embodiment of what s/he wanted to be – God – but could never be. Mr.and Mrs. Adam looked like YHWH…and it went beyond looks, they were like Him. And ooohhhh this gnawed and grated at Nahash. He (the s/he narrative is a bit confusing; let’s just decide Nahash is a ‘he’…because, well…so we can move on with the story…but put your thumb where I said that it had the trust and ear of Eve…because that part matters and holds till now) could have easily eaten them…whole…and satiated his movie hunger with the image of God, at the very least, in his belly. But remember beloved of God, that back then, predators were an unknown phenomena. Right?

So Nahash did what he was best at: he talked. He knew Eve loved to listen. So he indulged her. And she was indulged. Comfortable. Relaxed. But as she listened, she begun to become discontent with her state of affairs. They needed a powerful subject to their conversation…to keep it flowing. And Who could be as Powerful as YHWH. His words alone made things…people. His breathing alone, even when they were not formulating words, sustained her very own life. Her’s and Adam’s. And when this Breath made a word…well, just look around you. Look in the mirror.

But as Nahash spoke, something peculiar begun to happen. It was no longer beautiful to be in the garden. She wanted more. She caught onto Nahash’ vanity…she too wanted to be like God. He chattered on, and as she listened, it slipped her mind that she didn’t need to do anything else to be LIKE GOD. She ALREADY WAS. That’s WHO she was created to be. She both LOOKED and was LIKE God – ALREADY. But gifted speakers have a way of making you one with them – forgetting what you already have, and swindling you into reaching out for it, but THROUGH THEM.

Nahash had shared his decadent wisdom with Eve, and then subsequently with Adam. What was the point of limitations and boundaries if they were truly blessed of YHWH? How could they claim to be privileged, if He kept one thing from them. Yes, they had EVERYTHING else. They were excellent, they had the adoration of God Himself – He LOVED them. They ruled, they reigned, and God established their words (they forgot this too, in that moment. They were like God…so their words…). Nahash dropped his Mic, and with this act, decay, death, destruction, depravity, depression, dissatisfaction, disease, discord… stepped in.. pointing Man’s destiny away from YHWH.. towards the devil. But God.

Back then…there were no predators. Back then…serpents were considered worthy of the trust of Man. Everything could be trusted. Every one. But then came one day; and with that day, a friend called Nahash. And when dusk came, everything changed. Adam and his missus lost their blessed place – became technically homeless to the degree they had until then, understood HOME to be. And Nahash was thrown out along with them.

Let me ask you beloved of God, do you listen to the hissing of serpents to give you guidance on how to live for God? The rest, as they say is history… But God. But for The Grace of God.

Shalom.

#Genesis123

*Na’hash is the Hebrew name for the Serpent…means hisss

vipslit@yahoo.ca

Martha Becoming Mary

“_{Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ Feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”}

_{And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.}””

Luke 10:38-42

I was so tired last night. Finally went to bed at around 11:30pm. Early for a Friday night. Extremely. My Fridays often end on Saturday morning at around 3am. But lately, sleep has been coming earlier, and I oblige it. With understanding. Anyway, my ‘early night’ was short-lived. I was awoken by loud prayer at around 1:30am and could not just go back to sleep. It is well. Once my heart settled to its normal pace, and the slicing pain died down, about two hours later, I begun to look into my own life. To marvel at God’s extreme Patience with me. The ability He has granted me to go to Him, just as I am.

You see, Martha and Mary are often the same person, at different breaths at a time. It is possible to, in one minute, be both people – to be frantic about life, about appearances, about reputation, legacy even, things I have no control over…etc., and then be drawn to the perplexing peace in the wisdom that it is only what I work at with Christ that remains mine to present to Him when this life ends. At the end of each day, or whenever else He requires it. And that with everything else there is always that dread…attached to the possibility of loss. But never Him. Never Him. That my life needs to be more about Mary moments. And that even when I am working at something that is important to me or someone else, it needed to be as Mary, without the anxiety and fretfulness that often underlies my deeds. That as often as I read the story of the two women and wonder how Martha could be that way in the company of The Creator of the Universe, I am often more like her, than I am like Mary. Thinking that there is just one more thing I need to do BEFORE HE CAN FULLY APPROVE OF ME.

Cheapening His Love for me, to something I can afford…. Forgive me LORD.

Shalom.

#kainos#InHisPresence#HisPresenceMyDelight#HisPresenceMyPleasure#ComeAndSee#TheSecretPlace#EnteringRest#RestBeyondSleep#AmazingGrace

vipadhiambo@gmail.com

Why Doesn’t God Do Something? The Power of Covenant

‘Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?‘ Psalm 10:1

“There is only one answer to our title question – GOD DOES NOT WORK OUR WAY. His power is not coercion but constraint. Never does He violate the personalities He has made. It would be easy for Him to intervene, but another purpose is at work – the purpose of constraining love. Hard though it may be, we must have patience with The Patience of God.”

Selywne Hughes in ‘TIME WITH GOD’

This post from about ten years ago, really answers some of the thoughts that ‘troubled’ me last week as I read through Genesis 16.

Why slavery exists…yes, still; why God would allow those already victimized to be re-victimized by others (Hagar was a slave already – bad enough, to use her as a ‘gadget’ to console the visions of an extremely old man was additional abuse…); why its common when we are abusing another – or being ourselves abused – to imagine that we retain the right to dictate how the victim responds/reacts/etc (Hagar’s mistreatment of Sarah when she found out that she could have her mistress’ husband’s child where her mistress couldn’t was probably her finally finding a way to vent the sorrow of her state); why when in need we tend to objectify/dehumanize those ‘who would replace God as Source’ -and justify both sins; why God would have us remain/go back to and continue to endure situations that were inhumane to say the least in the hope a future that was better; and finally why none of the three was condemned, at least not in scripture, for this plan… I think I grieve for every woman and child that was listed in the Bible that endured abuse because it was culturally acceptable. Then.

I wondered also why God would bring a child in this situation. All three people in this mix were wounded…broken…why trust them with a child. It brought me to the power of covenant – agreement and to the words of Jesus Christ later – “Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about ANYTHING you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.’ MATHEW 18:19.

I found out that I cannot out-righteous God. God will not violate covenant, not because He is powerless to do so, but because He cannot go against Himself. In His Time. WHATEVER WE AGREE ON. These three agreed that they would have a baby…and God honored this. BUT THERE WERE CONSEQUENCES, EXTREMELY PAINFUL FOR ALL THREE. And to us in this age.

It’s important to watch what you say ‘Amen’ to [Jeremiah 27:14-15]. I am learning that God punishes, yes that word, PUNISHES, those that walk in agreement to false prophesies/scandals/stories etc. When He says He is going to do something for me, for us, a certain way, a certain time and we go ahead and try help Him by saying or doing something OUTSIDE HIS COUNSEL, there are consequences. Consequences which sometimes seem unrelated to the issue…but are intrinsic to it. It is important to guard what you listen to…especially that- WHAT. Many godly associations, dreams, projects, etc. have been destroyed because we listen, and agree to covenant towards a certain direction. To associate or disassociate. To leave God out of the plan. But as my friend Anne Gichina reminded me earlier today ‘GOD IS IN THE DETAILS’. We imagine Him absent then cry later when He allows us to experience what it would be like if He COULD BE absent…by the way He CANNOT be absent ANYWHERE we go. And we ask ourselves ‘WHY WONT GOD DO SOMETHING TO WORK THIS OUT MY/OUR WAY?’ He remains THE WAY we discarded for this one…

May His Mercy find us in this place.

Shalom.

“Do not listen to and believe the words of the [false] prophets who are saying to you, you shall not serve the king of Babylon, for it is a lie that they prophesy to you. For I have not sent them, says The LORD; but they are prophesying falsely in My Name. [It will only end when] I will drive you out to perish together with the [false] prophets who prophesy to you.“

Jeremiah 27:14-15

vipadhiambo@gmail.com

Circling Your Stubborn Enemies with Focused Worship

_{This is a post I shared on one of my Facebook pages ‘Homes and Nations – House of Prayer’ over ten years ago. I just realized I didn’t share it here. God continues to amaze me by how He uses lessons He taught me years ago, to move me forward in the present. This has also helped me when I read prophecies that at the point in which He spoke them to me, seemed time specific, but actually speak to my now. His Mind is not like ours. May ours rise to become like His. Be blessed as you partake with me.}

First written on March 13, 2012

About two years ago, I visited a church with my friend Roselyn and her mom. I quickly got involved in the worship and God began to minister to me through a vision. [I think I have shared this on my personal profile as Vip Ogola, but God has been speaking new things about that incident.] Let me tell you about the vision.

‘I was standing before a woman, beautiful, though her face was not too clear. Her hair was braided or in dreadlocks, and she seemed kind of elevated, in flowing red robs that constantly seemed to be blowing. I cant remember feeling any wind but it seemed windy just by looking at her. [i know…I am using the word ‘seemed’ a lot here but bear with me]. It seemed to me that she was standing on my pathway…in the way to my destiny. She had this hue of gold around her that seemed to emanate from within her. And that though she seemed fragile even, there was a silently strong power within her that controlled my ability to move forward. I began to declare the Word of God against her, frantically. A fear and pain knotted scratchily within my heart and belly. And I shouted more, she stood confidently and calm on my path. Smiling at me through eyes that seemed gentle but reminded me of a lizard, crocodile or a snake. Dark, loathing. As though she knew that there was nothing I could do to move her. Suddenly I felt in the physical, a pressure in the palm of my hand. A weight almost 2 kilos, and this weight began to lift my hands. My heart lifted beyond my vision of her, and began to worship God. And just like that, she disappeared. My path was clear again.’

I have on several occasions shared this and each time I do, a new revelation is placed, for the season am in. Even now, God is speaking a new thing…connecting this with something that happened in the past but I cannot share until I have His words to do so. Well, this week, my children Leroy and Shukri and I were having our devotions and God led us to the book of Joshua. Which is the theme of this week’s fasting prayer for our homes and nations. Joshua 2: 8-16, 4:1, 5:1 and 6 have been particularly significant. 40 years ago, Israel had opted to die in the desert rather than trust God with regard to conquering the land. They feared the occupants of the land and the land itself, believing themselves to be too small in their eyes. Rahab, and the kings in Canaan however give us a different story; they had heard about God’s exploits in the desert on behalf of His chosen race and it terrified them that this extremely large nation was headed their way. The Israelites, the warriors that had been liberated from Egypt wasted away in a wilderness for 40 years, and it was only after God had ridded His people of the evidence of doubt in Him [which am learning is extremely repugnant to Him] could He now begin again with a new generation – save for the remnant: Joshua and Caleb.

So God again causes His priests to stand in the gap and let Israel pass by. Here I need to say that those few of us, 12 perhaps who will stand in faith of The Living God, and believe Him for the healing and deliverance of our homes and nations would be enough to hold up the waves headed our way to destroy us and keep us from inheriting that which God has lovingly extended our way. Is there anyone who would risk they all to stand in the gap on behalf of your land? On behalf of your home? As I prayed through this passage, the crossing of the Jordan River, I believed that everything, every issue that I had been praying about that concerned others would cross over from slavery to freedom and have a fighting chance to this inheritance if those it concerned would themselves step out in faith.

Then there was the circumcision – the decision to allow ourselves to be indelibly marked by God as His own…before we head to chapter 6 and the saga of Jericho. I don’t know if like me, it looks like God has made you vulnerable in the eyes of your enemies who seemed so safe in their high towers? I am speaking to those of us who have prayed, trusted and yet find themselves again somewhat disadvantaged, having to go through re-consecration, and feeling like this would give the enemy unfair advantage over them? Do not worry, God blesses your choice to obey Him even when you do not understand it. His particular strategy. The kings were in hiding even though Israel did not know it. Do not be afraid – this trial/temptation/discomfort is of God. He is in control even though it seems nothing like it. Many have sent messages to me this week about not being able to pray, and asking me to pray with them. I have been non-committal, because of what God was saying to me about the situation. That we must all bear the circumcision, That we must all re-ally ourselves to Him. That it is He Who has held the stone flint knife against our innermost and most intimate and protected parts. And that He will keep us there for the four days it takes to heal us. Remember Zacharias the friend of Jesus who remained in the tomb four days till all hope was gone? You and I must remain within the will of God, even when it seems to hurt us because He will come, sometimes weeping, but healing and resurrection is within His Nature. He is coming. Just submit to the knife. His Hand is the Hand of the Surgeon not the murderer.

Then I asked Him…what was it about going around Jericho those 7 times…the first 6 silently? I needed a word for the place am in. A word to share with my children, Leroy and Shukri, and the ones who call me Mami about this place…this tall order. We are healed. We are restored to Him. But what He is saying to us belongs to us, is still a big deal. We have been firmly shut out. And the hostility and animosity within the place He has sworn is ours is fact. Yet He says to us, go to that place…and then just begin to circle it. Don’t take a battle stance yet, just blow the vuvuzela/trumpets/shofar and lift up the evidence of your testimony and go round it. One lap. Then go home and rest. Then tomorrow do the same. and the four days after tomorrow. Just obey me. I asked God, what was that about. Nothing changed those six days. The hostile, fearful, deadly enemies were still above us as we took a stroll around them; declaring Whose we are and worshiping Him for Who He is. He said to me. “There are things that still need to be broken in you that are broken only in such circumstances. Your dependence on your intellect. Your pride at what God has done just for you :). Your crowns, victories won. Your knowledge of the enemy, his powers and tactics and how useless yours is against his. Your tendency to rebel against Me when you are afraid, when you have evaluated a situation through your knowledge, experience and the experience of others. Your distrust for My Word and Instruction and your tendency to go to the devil for his opinion of what I have said to you.” God reminded me that I am not focused if there was no internal and external challenge to try it. I would know that the battle is won, when I learnt to focus on worshiping Him, on His revealed nature. By keeping my enemies aware that I had them circled in my worship of Him

I guess by the end of day 6 the worship did not even feel adequate to Israel. They could do it all in one day for the freedom it gave them. Nothing had changed but everything had. They had laid down every earthly shackle that kept them from true worship and had received from God the ability to soar above the challenges that had kept them in submission. And when they worshiped Him in Spirit and in Truth and lifted their voices in victory, they found that the walls, high towers, and the ‘powerful enemies’ had been an illusion before The Truth of the Might of The Almighty God.

This week my counsel to myself and all those seeking prayer is to circle their inheritance with worship. What has God promised you? What has He said is yours? Stop focusing on the hindrance, focus on Your God and worship Him without addressing the issue but calling Him by the Name that covers your need. e.g. Do you need healing – His Name is Jehovah Jireh. Also remember with thankfulness the works He has done in your life before. Sincerely. There are no guarantees [remember Joshua 5:13-14]…except that You will be closer to Him then than you feel now, because you would have pleased God. That alone is a major victory. And that whoever tries to restore in you that which God has destroyed will pay a hefty price for it. Joshua 6:26

s/he who has ears….

shalom.

vipadhiambo@gmail.com

He Spoke But Its Not Showing

Perhaps God spoke over that issue – to you – quite some time ago. You were minding your business, examining the skies, your prospects and HE CAME TO YOU. HIMSELF or sent someone. YOU HAVE EVEN been anointed for it. And TIME, TESTING TROUBLE and TALK has happened on it, but you cannot just let it go. You KNOW GOD SPOKE TO YOU – but there is a little challenge; THERE IS NO EVIDENCE, IMPACT, VISIBLE OUTCOME. No one else heard it. Others claim to have heard or know different. And God has not made manifest what He said over you. And you are now both THE EPITOME OF ‘Suspicious’ and a ‘Suspect’: Targeted for grave harm. It might help a little, to know that YOU ARE IN GREAT COMPANY. Ask Abraham. Ask Noah. Ask Joseph. Ask King David. Ask the Prophets. Ask the Apostles. Ask Jeremiah….ask Jeremiah.

““From the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, even to this day, THIS IS THE TWENTY-THIRD YEAR IN WHICH THE WORD OF THE LORD HAS COME TO ME; and I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, but you have not listened.”

Jeremiah 23:3

The thing is… YOU are responsible for that word. To live it out. To deliver it exactly as you receive it. Not the edited or abridged version. To live it. You won’t go back to God and tell Him that you let go because someone who was not there pushed you greatly to let it go. Live THE WORD. Its BATTLE. And yes, sometimes great harm comes to you because of it. BUT IT IS MORE COSTLY, MUCH MORE, TO SHUN AND DISREGARD WHAT GOD SAID TO YOU, BECAUSE IT WAS NOT WELL RECIEVED BY OTHERS – EVEN THE ONES FOR WHICH IT WAS INTENDED. Remember, GOD IS NOT NERVOUS ABOUT SILENCE – HE DOES NOT JUST SPEAK FOR THE SAKE OF IT. HE IS NOT an idle chatter. HE SPEAKS VERBS (ACTIONS, STATES, OCCURENCES – i.e. Doing Words). In the MEANWHILE, you may just have to take COMFORT IN THE FACT THAT – HE TRUSTED YOU WITH THAT WORD.

P.S. And its VERY NORMAL for others NOT ACCEPT what God has said to you – and MARK YOU AS FOOLISH OR WORSE FOR DOING SO.

Shalom

” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” Jesus Christ in Luke 11:28

#March2023#comeandsee#InHisPresence#BeholdIAmComingSoon

vipadhiambo@gmail.com

Errors in Eras

Its easy to think of life as a series of eras, each having nothing to do with the other. As though huge impenetrable walls and gates stand between one era and another. Yet, even when these barriers exist for us, deluding our minds with a false sense of security against the ills of history, strands breakable only by The Word of God exist.

These link us to the past, sometimes through the same agents, dressed in different Combats. But it’s the same thing, a continuation of the yesteryears, flooding our today, and making us fight with those who had nothing to do with their sources, as the ones that do, ride on. They ride on. Leaving destruction in their wake…and under our watch. We KNOW the real enemy, but its more convenient to fight and destroy the broken, the powerless, the small cities, the innocents. We KNOW how to bring down the real enemy, but keep him/her/it alive, perhaps to serve our own morbid intentions, and learn from the enemy, how to destroy while camouflaged with the flowing gowns of…development. How to rob while knowing the owners stand guard forgetting they had long willingly surrendered their sacred codes to the enemy. And then to us, ourselves. And how to kill while seeming to nurture.

And we stand guard against the gates and walls of the past, sometimes, not knowing that it flowed right in and freely flows through our streets, toxifying everyone and everything it touches, making us increasingly less, The Image and Likeness of God, as we sometimes willingly and/or unwillingly bath in its lifeless depths. We sing; “all things are new, the old is gone.” We revel in the ‘new’, as though discovering a novelty…to be pitied more than all creatures who see our true state, that ancient chains reign in the movement of feet that imagine themselves free to run whenever they choose to. That our hands are chained in gross chains, and controlled to do only what the prison guards bid us to do – while we imagine ourselves free, creative, innovative. But what else can we do…since we forsake the path to true freedom, and The Person Freedom who would lead us truly to a new Era.

Shalom.

vipadhiambo@gmail.com

Prayer and Plea

Come and See

vipadhiambo@gmail.com

The Ancient Chewing Herbivorous Pardoned, Redeemed and Empowered

It’s February 2023 ! And you and I made it! EBENEZER!!! I don’t know what the giant or mountain or valley in your path was or has been; but am so glad you are here this day. God is Faithful.

I was talking to a friend of mine a few minutes ago. An exceptional person, a brilliant writer among her myriad areas of giftedness. She was passing on an opportunity to me and I sought to know if she had attempted it. Anyway, one thing led to another and during this conversation, God reminded me of Joshua…and the validity of his call, and God’s command to him to lead Israel across the Jordan, on the 5th or even 29th of the 40 years after they rebelled in fear of Giants. They had defined themselves as roaches…but God, Joshua and Caleb KNEW that EVEN IF THIS WAS AN APT DEFINITION OF THEM, they had one thing the other guys did not have: They had on their side the VERY MANUFACTURER OF GIANTS. Anyway, my thoughts were about Joshua, not Israel in this. And about my friend, and mostly about me.

All those things we think about ourselves may be FACTUAL. I mean, you have tried…and tried…and spoken…and declared…and even believed God…but that barrier on your path has stayed put. You have considered and become convinced of the possibility that you would NEVER CROSS OVER to the other side – that of FAVOR. We are a company of many on that spot…from time to time. Those that beat laps around other places that they have not been led to, fearing the short sprint across to where they are supposed to be. Were supposed to be decades ago. For those gatekeepers that they would find there, and their antics and shenanigans…and how this would reveal you – to the world – for the ancient chewing herbivorous that you ‘have always known you are’. The unending disgrace and possibly worse. BUT GOD.

Have you considered The Living God? There is NONE like He Who calls you forth. Who tells you that it can be done – and that YOU ARE HIS CHOICE FOR THIS. The CHOICE OF THE ETERNAL AND LIVING GOD. Who has had centuries of experience being God over….EVERYONE that has EVER BEEN CREATED. Not just you. He made them…ALL OF THEM. Even the ones around you that seem better endowed. But although they have their own paths in Him – glorious no less – His Eyes are on you for this one. ‘Warts and all’. So, tear down those garments that previously defined you as incapable and pour ashes on the repulsive glow of reproach by which the forces of darkness identify you as a push-over and take on The Mantle of Christ – The Eternal Conqueror. Go forth in the Strength that you have – The Might of God Himself and conquer.

This February, my prayer for all of us ‘beating laps’, is that we enter into The Presence of God, and look upon Him, KNOW HIM, and within that place of INTIMACY, to HEAR HIM, and THEN without leaving His Presence, just go BE where/who He would have you be. Even if it’s been decades since your call, there was a minute when the floods of Jordan created a path for a whole nation to BECOME. There was an army whose ancestors ‘WERE human GRASSHOPPERS’, but who, when they dared believe that they were who God said they were, INDOMITABLE, they stepped forth, and in doing so, they shook their world. Their God then, is YOUR GOD NOW. There is a loud rattling of the bones of dead armies being spoken into life – and making nothing of the things that stood in relentless defiance of the Word and Might of The Eternal God. You are IN that army. You ARE THAT army.

Have a triumphant month beloved of God.

Shalom.

#InHisPresence#HisPresenceMyPleasure#Overcomers#Conquerors#ArmiesofTheLivingGod#ElGibor#YHWHSaabbaoth#DeadWomanAlive

Minding The Kingdom of God

When you are busy, furtively, in your extensively futile #sidehustle of developing a marking scheme to…errrrr…’weigh’ towards disqualifying …anyone and everyone who doesn’t meet YOUR CRITERIA AND UNDERSTANDING OF BELONGING TO GOD…from their called-out position and God uses just one verse to tell you to mind your own business and let Him handle His children:

“Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” John 21:22

#EnterHisRest#RestFromFutility

And then He adds, just in case I did not fully understand the above – which He knows I did

“‘This is what The LORD says –

the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:

concerning things to come,

do you question me about my children,

or give me orders about the work of my hands?

It is I who made the earth

and created mankind on it.

My own hands stretched out the heavens;

I marshalled their starry hosts.

I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness:

I will make all his ways straight.

He will rebuild my city

and set my exiles free,

but not for a price or reward,

says The LORD Almighty.’”

Isaiah 45:11-13

Ahem…let me just go this way and seek His Mind and Heart about how to be ABSOLUTELY yielded as I follow Him today…and mind my OWN business as He defines it. I rest .

Shalom

#NimepewaShuguliz

vipslit@yahoo.ca