Tag: spiritual songs

Posted in GIVING, GLORIFY GOD, My Little Story, SOUL FOOD, Uplifting Christ

My Little Story: Honor Your Vows To God

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

I got a surprise from my parents after my high school days. I will mention it briefly but it was before the laptop I mentioned in the 2013 post “My Little Story: It Pays to Wait”. I am now realizing that God was using the simple things I cherished to help me understand His Word. I felt some years ago that He was being hard on me but now I understand that it was part of His Love toward me.

The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own.

(Hebrews 12:6, CEV)

So this was what happened: My parents got me Nokia 6111. It was a latest trend and cheaper than the Nokia N series. I loved that phone partly because it was an upgrade from the phones I previously used; Siemens A50 and A65. Again, it could play mp3 and supported mp4. The camera was also great at the time because I had to buy external camera for my Siemens A65.

Nokia 6111

As young as I was, I decided to dedicate the phone to God. Initially, I had copied all sort of music on it but I made a vow that I was going to delete all songs apart from gospel. I thought since this was my best ever, I should have worship and praise kind of music on it: Don Moen, Ron Kenoly, Cece Winans, Hillsong, Darlene Zschech, Fred Hammond, Bishop TD Jakes, Women of Faith, Andrae Crouch, etc with some local songs. This started well and the phone was just amazing.

However, it wasn’t long until I started sliding to some hip-hop. I remember the first song; J Lo with Fat Joe’s Hold you down. Then to Sean Paul’s Get Busy, 50 Cent’s In da Club, Many Men, Nelly’s Delimma, G-Unit, Snoop, Lil Wayne, Ashanti, Busta Rhymes, Ja Rule, Birdman, etc. I kinda like the songs but they conflicted with my stance on Colossians 3:16 which says that “…Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts“.

Fast forward>>: Within a week of going against my commitment, the phone’s speaker broke. I think that I was listening to Like Glue or Get Busy by Sean Paul when the speaker went off. I took it to the shop to have it fixed but it went off again. Frustrated by what I was going through, I decided to delete all songs but gospel. And then without taking it to the shop, it came suddenly with rattling noise. Well, I didn’t enjoy using the phone from that day and lessons were learnt. I made a firm stance that my future phones would only accommodate gospel songs. That has been the case since.

Lesson:

The scripture says that It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. (Ecclesiastes 5:5). Often times we are tickled by sudden blessings that prompt us to quickly open the mouth to make commitment to God. Other times too the uncertainties surrounding the future propel us to make a vow which is dependent on what we expect from God. Either ways, the scripture admonishes that “It is far better not to say you’ll do something than to say you will and then not do it.” (TLB)

Once you make a vow to God, it becomes binding and God expects you to honor your what you promise. We see that in the case of Jacob, Hannah, Jephthah, David, etc. These people kept their vow. In the case of Hannah and Jephthah, it was their only child yet they kept their promise to God.

It’s easy for us to think that “God will understand, bla bla bla….” but the consequences is well written in the scripture:

Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.

(Ecclesiastes 5:6, NLT)

Don’t be in a haste to make a vow. Some preachers would encourage you to make it as an act of faith. There is nothing wrong with that but know that it’s God you are making the vow to and not the preacher. Vows require discipline and sometimes it will cost you for a moment before the period of harvest. For instance if you make a vow of $1000/month for the next 3 months. It’s possible that your inflow for these month will be $1100 or $1000. In this instance, it’s not a matter of God will understand but you honoring Him for Who He is. Jephthah’s only daughter came to meet him yet He said “For I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.” (Judges 11:35, NLT). There is also one overlooked vow; Marriage vow. You can’t make a vow and later think it was a mistake.

I learnt my lessons with my Nokia 6111 and also from other stories I will share in the future. I have learnt that making vow to God should be a carefully thought through personal decision. It shouldn’t be imposed by any person. And when you have made the vow, have the discipline to honor it because God can’t be fooled.

If there is an unfulfilled vow in your life, as far back as you could remember, you can get back to God on it. Know that God knows the heart and He forgives sins. I believe that He is generous enough to welcome you, to have you talk things through. He is able to equip you with what you need to come clean and be careful when next you open your mouth to make a promise to God.

Posted in CONTROLLING SELF, HOLY SPIRIT, SOUL FOOD

YOUR BODY, GOD’S TEMPLE

Posted on by Uplifting Christ

  “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.” Genesis 2:7

God has designed your body to be His temple; a place where He lives. So often we go to church to worship God, praise His holy name, adore Him, etc. All is good but we should also remember that God doesn’t live in physical structures. “…the Most High does not live in houses made by men” Acts 7:48  He lives in us. Most Ministers of the Gospel spend millions designing the church but pay little or no attention to how members of the church live their lives. My body is His temple, so is yours. the bible says “for we are the temple of the living God. As God has said; “I will live in them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.”

Friends, God lives in us. He is with us everywhere we go. He feels our pains. He knows our sorrows. He sees our cry, and it isn’t as if He can’t perform the miracles we need. He wants us to communicate with Him every minute and second. The truth is most of us were brought up to believe that the church is the best place to pour our needs to God. Some of us go to church almost 7 days just to tell God what they need. “My people perish for lack of knowledge.”  I am not against church going. In fact, I love going to church. David said “I was glad when they said unto me let us go to the house of the Lord”

Today, know that God is within you and He wants to have one-on-one relationship with you. He wants you to ask, seek and knock personally. He is your Heavenly Father and knows what you need before you even ask. See Him as a loving Father who is ready to give you what you want.

If you see God as a God, He will be a God to you. However, if you see Him as a loving father, He will be a father to you. As He lives in you, and works in you, He expects you to keep the temple clean. God is neat. He wants to live in a clean environment. He wants you to present your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to  Him. He considers that as your spiritual act of worship.

Its easy to say “this place is dirty. I can’t sleep here, eat here, and entertain visitors here”. We love decent and clean surroundings. God wants the same from us. Where would He live if we destroy His temple with sin? God is holy. On the cross of Calvary, He couldn’t look at Jesus because of our sins. He hates sin. And if we continue to destroy His temple, He will destroy us. In 1 cor 3:17 “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; For God’s temple is Sacred, and you are that temple.” Satan knows this that is why he makes us sin conscious to keep us sinning. If you are sin conscious, you become a slave to sin.

In these last days, among the things satan uses to destroy God’s temple is sexual immorality, worldly songs, and lying on phone. On the internet, tv, magazines, radio, our communication, etc. Everything is corrupt. Hollywood has painted the picture that one way to show our love is through intimacy. It has also design clothes that show almost every  part of the body. Music has power. God loves music and lucifer is aware. Instead of using our potentials to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in our hearts to God, we do the opposite which hurt the Father when He sees from above. Lastly, lying on phone is the order of the day. Some of us, including Ministers of God lie on phone all the time. “The lips of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” Proverbs 12:19. “The Lord detests lying lips.” Proverbs 12:22. The scripture encourages us to “come out from them and be separate”1 cor 6:17. we don’t have to live like the rest of the world because God lives in us.

Friends, since we know that God is our father and He lives in us, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. God loves you. When your fellow human breaks your heart, the pain is so intense that you find it hard to forgive. God loves you. He gave His only son to demonstrate His love for you and me. We have broken His heart so many times in our ignorance. Now we know. If you continue to destroy His temple, your body, He will destroy you in the eternal lake of fire