Broken But Restored By The Great Repairer

It was nice to be on vacation for the last 2 weeks, while Mysses Lafunky (I’m sure you’ve all noticed that she’s no longer a Myss) took charge and taught us valuable lessons on been a forgiver and a giver and also admonishing us to accept the invitation to God’s kingdom lest we be left behind. The thought of being left behind is the scariest thought that has ever come to my mind. Why? The book of Revelations paints a very dark picture of what the world will look like when rapture occurs. Alternatively, you can watch the movie: Left Behind. Oddly enough when I started typing this opening paragraph I thought I was going off course but in reality it actually ties in to what was laid into my heart a few weeks ago. How did I get this inspiration? I’m imagining you’re already curious. Well, it came from a broken piece of wrist-watch I’d worn for the better part of the last 6 months. Imagine wearing a watch that is not working and also has a cracked screen. Initially, it was laziness that stopped me from fixing it and eventually I got used to the watch as it was. Little did I know that the Holy Spirit would use it to send a word to the world. I should also mention that this will be the last article I would type on this laptop as the original owner will be collecting it a few hours after we publish this. So farewell to my trustworthy Dell (rugged yet smooth, old yet timeless, a great partner in all my travels) you’ll be missed. To the matter at hand then.

My Broken Wrist Watch

While thinking of the article, I asked myself how much the most expensive wrist-watch in the world would cost. Thanks to the great people at Forbes, I got an answer in the click of a google search icon. The most expensive watch in the world costs $3.98m. That’s a lot of money for a watch, yet someone out there paid for it. Just a little check I did, thanks again to the wonderful people at Forbes, and the most expensive watch in the world is more expensive that the most expensive car in the world. There must be something about wrist-watches.

Are you like a Broken Watch

Earlier, I talked about my broken wrist-watch and I’m sure there are a lot of us that can connect to this watch. We’ve all gone through situations in life that has definitely broken either our will or our spirit. It could be a heartbreak caused by the death of a loved one or a heartbreak caused by a text from a loved one saying goodbye or been dumped at the altar. It could be as a result of a job loss. I’ve heard stories of people that were broken as a result of sexual assault or having to abort an unwanted pregnancy for fear of society or parental rejection.

We’ve all gone through situations that left us broken and weak. I have been in so many of these situations and yet almost no one has ever known the pains I’ve felt. So many times, I’ve been broken and weak to the point that I could barely muster the will to pray. This is definitely not unique to only me, there are definitely a lot of us out there that have been in such situations.

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Is. 41:10, NKJV).

When we are faced with such situations, God says fear not. He even went further to remind us that He is our God and He will help us. That is what David did when he got back home and found that his city had been attacked (1Sam. 30:6).

Are you like a Designer Watch

From a young age, I’d heard of great watch makers like Rolex and how Swiss watches were the best. There are so many great designer watches but only one model has the highest value. The Patek Phillipe 5004T sold for $3.98m at an auction in 2013. What makes this watch so unique? How does this relate to me as a human being?

Well, like these designer wrist-watches, we were all created uniquely by God and specially crafted by Him but as time passed, things happened that have either broken us or scarred us. The great news however is that just as these watches can be repaired by a watch repairer, we can be repaired by the master repairer. Who is this master repairer? Jesus Christ, the son of God. So when we are broken, what do we do? We go to the master repairer (Matt:11:28) and cast all our anxiety on him (1Pet. 5:7). Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

When we are in Christ, all the old things that broke us down and left us weak pass away. Behold we become new. Just as a hefty price was paid for the watch, so was a hefty price paid for our lives. John 3:16 spells out exactly what the price was that God paid for each and every one of us. A price so great that the great Apostle Paul in Romans 5:7-8 could not find an earthly comparison. However as Christians, there will always be trials and tribulations that will hit us. The charge therefore is:

• To remember that God loved us so much that He sent His son to pay the ultimate price
• Go back to Him in prayers.
• Fear not and strengthen and encourage yourself in Him (1Sam. 30:6) and
• Trust in Him to make you new and whole again.

Always remember, the best is yet to come and as God is in it, it’s not over. Listen and enjoy:

- Sage

ALL the Wedding Guests Didn't Turn Up - Find Out What Happened Next

There's a beautiful island called Lanziland, a breathtaking island with beautiful scenery and beautiful people. The people of Lanziland are usually described as happy people. The island is located near the Indian Ocean and is off the coast of East Africa. The island was governed by King Kambua who was highly regarded and respected by his people.

It was announced on various TV stations that the King's only son recently proposed to his girlfriend. This became the main news on various media channels and Lanziland people could not wait for the wedding day to be announced as they had a feeling that the King may grant public holidays for the whole island.

The royal family began the wedding preparation and the wedding was expected to last for three days as part of the culture of Lanzians. When the wedding dates were announced on television and various media platforms, the people celebrated as though it was the member of their families getting married. As predicted by the people, the King declared three days of public holidays to celebrate the wedding ceremony.

The King invited the nobles of the island and respected celebrities for this wedding. Several guesses were made by news reporters about the guests lists; news reporters said it was a great honour for anyone to be invited for the royal wedding. Many journalists strove to ensure their organisation got selected to be part of the official ceremony media in order to get first hand scoops of the wedding. Who wouldn't want to be at such a wedding?

On the first day of the wedding, something took the King by surprise. Despite it being a honour to have been invited to the royal wedding, the expected guests did not turn up for the first day of the wedding. The King was concerned about this and sent his officials to contact the guests to establish why they were not at the wedding. The officials reported to the king that the expected guests were verbally abusive towards them when they made contact with them. The King extended his gracious arm to them and asked his officials to contact his guests again to find out exactly what had happened and to remind them that they are welcome to attend the second and third day of the wedding. How nice of the king to have sent out the invitation again. Despite this, the people ignored the officials.

Since the guests that were invited refused to come for the wedding, the King sent out his officials to the streets to invite all the people that they could find, whether they were known to be good or bad and whether they were famous or not. Surprisingly, the random people turned up for the wedding and they were received well by the royals. Members of the royal palace including the King welcomed them and they explained the order of the day to them, they even clothed the ones that were not suitable dressed for the occasion. The celebration continued and the media described the wedding as phenomenal.

This story can be likened to God's invitation to you. On a daily basis, many are being invited to be part of God's Kingdom (heaven) but only a very few are responding to this special invitation. If Jesus Christ asks you, why should I let you into My heaven and give you eternal life despite your refusal of my invitation. What would you say to Jesus?

God wants you to think of your life after this earth as only those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their saviour and those that follow His teachings will be with Him in Heaven and live forevermore. 

The Bible says:

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:9-13 ESV)

Are you going to be part of God's Kingdom or reject His kingdom?  To reject the invitation of God is to reject God’s only provision for eternal life and it is to choose death and hell.

Are you taking a conscious effort to invite those around you to be part of God's kingdom? Are you praying for those around you to be part of God's Kingdom?

Feel free to share this post with others.

Have a great week ahead. See you next week Monday for another post.

A Generous Giver but Rejected by God

Let's meet Liz. Liz was a chronic giver, she was liberal in giving and sharing. She was always ready to help those less fortunate than her and those in need. Liz is still a generous giver. Friends, colleagues and family were inspired by her generosity. Liz was inspired to give as she learned this from her parents; both her parents were known to be very generous in giving to everyone irrespective of their own low income. Liz strategically planned how her monthly salary was spent such as giving to her local church as well as to different people in need around her.

Are you inspired by Liz's lifestyle of giving? Something happened to Liz that she will never forget. In the year 2015, Liz had an encounter with God through a dream. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and told her that while her giving was commendable and that she would receive the rewards of reaping and sowing (the law of harvest) but her giving was not acceptable to God. Liz was indignant and questioned the angel as she believed she was following the word of God in respects of giving to others and giving in the house of God.

The angel told her that she holds offences, holds grudges, she does not forgive people when they offend her; the angel of the Lord reminded her of different people that she is yet to forgive. The angel of the Lord also reminded her of the scripture in Matthew 5:23-24 which says:

“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” Matthew 5:23-24 NKJV.

In addition,  the angel of the Lord also reminded her of the scripture in the same book of Matthew 5:44-48 which says:

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Liz became very tearful, she told the angel of the Lord that she does not know why she struggles to forgive those that offend her. She said even when her family and church family offend her, she takes everything to heart including when her children offend her. The angel of the Lord told Liz that she had to forgive other people in order to receive God's forgiveness for any wrong she does as in the story of the unforgiving servant that Jesus Christ told Peter in Matthew 18:21-35

Jesus Christ also said: "Blessed (content, sheltered by God's promises) are the people that are merciful, for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5:7).

Are you a giver but struggles to let go of offences? Or are you someone that easily let go of offences but struggles to give? Ask God to help you. Are you thinking this post does not apply to you at all? Can I kindly suggest that you ask God to show you the area of your life where you need to improve.

Have a great week ahead. See you next week Monday for another post from us.

Calling All Christian Authors | Publicise Your Christian Books for free

There's a new initiative on the blog. Myss Lafunky has noticed that there are limited avenues for Christian authors to freely promote their Christian books. With 1,500 viewers that view Myss Lafunky's blogspot on a monthly basis, Myss Lafunky would like you to take this free offer to publicise your Christian book(s) to our audience and to those that arrive on our blog via various search engines.  

What do you have to do to ensure your books are publicised on the blog? See below:  

1) Notify us of your interest by sending an email to trulymakingadifference@gmail.com

2) A member of Myss Lafunky's blogspot will interview you about your book(s) and to know more about you

3) The interview will be published on our blog site including details of where your book(s) can be purchased

4) You will be notified of the date when the interview will be published on the blog site.

Please share with friends, families, Christian authors and your church family. Let's help one another. Sharing is caring.

Please don't forget to contact us via our email for further questions: trulymakingadifference@gmail.com 

Give Thanks

For those of us that grew up in the 90’s, I’m sure we’ll all be familiar with one of the greatest gospel musicians the world has ever known; Don Moen. His songs are still evergreen so many years after. One of my favourites of his songs goes thus:

Give thanks, with a grateful heart

Give thanks, to the Holy one

Give thanks because He’s given, Jesus Christ His son

Last week we read about hope and the importance of been prisoners of hope in 2017. In this second week of 2017, it's time to give thanks. I remember those days as a young child, I doubt I ever saw any of my friends say thank you to their parents for making them eat something they didn’t like, in my case; fish. But when they brought home "Mr. Biggs" (still the best eatery in Nigeria by the way; don’t ask me why) or Gala (the most famous sausage roll in Nigeria) or Chupa Chups, we would be overflowing with thanks for the gifts. But God doesn’t want us to give thanks only when He gives us gifts but also when we’re going through situations that make it seem like the world is collapsing around us.

Why is it important to give thanks to God in all situations? 1 Thessalonians 5:18 tells us that it is the will of God. He wants us to thank Him even when we don’t feel like it. Are you going through a heartbreak? Thank Him! Are you going through a job loss? Thank Him! Are you going through a sickness like cancer? Thank Him! Why? Because it is the will of God for us to be thankful in every situation.

But as we all know, it isn’t exactly easy to say: "God I thank you" just after losing that pregnancy or after losing a job you’ve worked so hard to get and to maintain. So how then do we go about doing what the bible says is the will of God?

Practical Steps to Give Thanks

• Thank Him for the little things. Remember that time you woke up and your lungs filled with oxygen? No? For those of us in Nigeria or places similar, remember that time you walked into your house and turned the light switch and the light came on? No? Or that morning you woke and the beautiful rays of the Sun greeted you? These are little things that happen in our daily lives. Thank God for them! I remember once upon a time, I went to withdraw money at the ATM and suddenly as the cash came out of the machine I said: "Thank you God." Weird? If you haven’t had to chase a bank to refund your money or racing to the bank first thing in the morning so they don’t destroy the card, you won’t understand the stress levels. The point is this, thank God no matter how little the situation is.

• Thank Him in faith. Are you expecting a miracle or a door to open in your life? Thank Him! Why? Because you’re letting God know that you have absolute trust in His ability to deliver as He promised in Philippians 4:19; that verse says all your needs, keyword is all. Remember the incident of the five loaves of bread and two fishes? 

Mark 6:41 (NIV): Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.

Jesus didn’t call down fire and brimstone. He didn’t summon the angels in the higher places. He simply said, father, thank you and that was it.

There’s a lot of power in giving thanks to God and do not let any situation stop you from giving thanks no matter how tough or discouraging it may be. The charge to each and everyone of us as we continue in 2017 is to give thanks with a grateful heart; start with the little things. Thank God for the gift of breath. When you see the Sun rise, thank God for the ability to see such a beautiful scene. Little by little, you will be able to cultivate the habit of giving thanks and before you know it, you’ll be thanking him for walking or like I do for withdrawal from the ATM.

Stay blessed and look out for our post next week from the wonderful Mysses Lafunky

- Sage

Photo credit: https://lonewolflibrarian.wordpress.com & http://urbanmommyinc.com/

Happy New Year | Starting with Hope

Happy New Year to our dear Readers and Followers! We made it… Phew. How was 2016? 

Great? The deal on climate change was signed, Iran nuclear deal was signed, I was promoted from guest writer to full time writer; next stop… Reverend Sage :)

Rough? Brexit? Lost the opportunity of a first female American president? Petrol going to N145/l in Nigeria?

Well it doesn’t matter because we have a chance of a New Year and much to look forward to with hope of greater things to come.

But let’s take a second to pause and ask ourselves, what is so special about starting afresh? What is so special about been able to say "right, I made a mess of things but that was so last year?" Or the most popular: New Year New Me; does a New Year really make us new? I would say what makes a New Year so special is the hope of things to come. The belief that we've learnt our lessons and are going to make good use of those experiences to make better decisions.

Now let’s dissect hope. What is hope? The dictionary on my phone defines hope as: "to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence." (I remember those days when I had to go around with a big oxford dictionary). Hope is the happy anticipation that something good is going to happen. According to a great man: hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.

Hope is so strong that Obama, coolest President the world has ever had :), wrote a whole book on the Audacity of Hope (please read it … awesome book). Hope is so strong that it forms the foundation of faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen. Heb. 11:1 (KJV)

No matter how bad our circumstances are, as humans, one of the most powerful emotions we have is hope. Move into 1 Thessalonians 5:8 (KJV) and you will realise that we are told to put on the helmet of the hope of salvation.

Practical Steps for a Great 2017

So as we move into 2017, regardless of the circumstance this is the charge to each and everyone of us, myself included:

• Step out of the tent (circumstance): Abraham had to do this in order to see the promise of God (Gen. 15:5, KJV).
• Put on the helmet of the hope of salvation to protect your mind: the devil will do his best to attack your mind in order to bring hopelessness into your life (IThess. 5:8, KJV). Once you lose hope, how can you have faith? Don’t let the devil cause you to lose hope and in turn lose faith. Hope costs nothing but hopelessness costs a lot.
• Hold onto your anchor of hope (Hebrews 6:18 – 19) and
• Become a prisoner of hope: Abraham and all the great men and women in the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 were prisoners of hope. They never gave up despite the fact their circumstances stated otherwise. Zechariah 9:12, NIV states: Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

Get up and with hope, write out your goals and aspirations for 2017 and don’t let the devil or his agents allow you to feel hopeless. Happy New Year from Sage.

Watch out for the next blog post next Monday!

Photo Credit: www.searchquotes.com and www.nascar.com