The Flawed Iron

Welcome to a new year! Am I the only one wondering how many months are in January? Last week was January, this week is still January, biko January come and be going! For those of us in Nigeria, January welcomed us and fuel scarcity like two old friends that have not seen each other in a decade. Last last, February is here, and the month of love will not disappoint us.

I’m sure you’re wondering about the topic of this week’s post, right? Well, I wanted to title the post 'Flaws' but as I was getting ready for work and listening to a message, I got the inspiration for this title and the verse; you can be sure that I messaged my writing mentor, Mysses Lafunky, immediately. 

As individuals, we all have our different flaws and while some are easy to fix, others are much more difficult. Some are basic and common flaws like forgetfulness, some are sensitive like not guarding your heart properly (Prov. 4:23) and others are very scary like anger (which is what I deal with). But despite all these flaws (we expect others to love us) the bible commands us to love our neighbours as ourselves (Mark 12:31). When you mess up, do you run away from yourself? No! So, what is expected of us when a friend’s flaw comes to the surface? Well there is a verse somewhere in the bible for it (let me ask google 😊):

"As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend" Prov. 27:17, NKJV.

"You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another" Prov. 27:17, MSG

If you’re a fan of movies, especially the ones set in the olden days, you never see a warrior sharpen his sword with wood or foam. They take another metal and sharpen the sword till it can cut a person in half with minimal effort. This is exactly what is expected of us as children of God (I like how the bible refers to us as iron because we are expected to be strong, agile, malleable and yet sharp enough to dissect the plans of the devil and cut through the plans of the enemy, after all the word of the Lord is like a double-edged sword (Heb. 4:12)).

However, even though we are described as iron we all come with our individual flaws and it is our duty to constantly sharpen not just ourselves but those we consider as friends. How do we do this? By running away or abandoning our friends when their flaws come up? No! Just like every metal has its flaws and needs to go through a purification process, so do we. How do we help our friends go through the purification process? We pray for them, engage them about their flaws honestly (Prov. 27:5) and with love and show them the mistakes they made and how best to correct those mistakes to ensure they are not repeated. It is not an easy task to do, neither is it a task that will be filled with thanks, but if you’re that friend (Prov. 18:24), you will carry out the responsibility with love and all manner of diligence. If you don’t know how to go about it, take it to God in prayer and ask Him for wisdom, understanding and strength before you go ahead in 'sharpening' the friend.

As we go into this week, the charge is for us to evaluate those we call friends and consider the areas in which they have flaws, pray for them and approach them about it in wisdom and understanding, not finger-pointing, in order that they may be sharpened.

Let's talk, I’d like to hear your thoughts on what you believe is the best way to engage a friend about their flaws.

• How will you handle their criticism when they get defensive and start calling yours out or insulting you?
• Have you had an experience, either positive or negative, of a time you sharpened a friend?

We’d love to hear from you and who knows, if we like your experience enough and you give us permission, we just might share it for others to learn from. Stay blessed! Stay intentional!

Sage

Photo Credit: www.etsy.com

Everyone Loses in the Sin Game

Have you ever taken something that wasn't yours and thought, "it's no big deal?" Have you ever told a very little lie and thought, "it's no big deal?" Have you ever done something you knew was wrong and thought, "it's no big deal, no one saw me anyway?"

See what the Bible says in Ezekiel:

"The person who sins is the one who will die. The child will not be punished for the parent’s sins, and the parent will not be punished for the child’s sins. Righteous people will be rewarded for their own righteous behaviour, and wicked people will be punished for their own wickedness."

Ezekiel 18:20

Meet Achan . . .

Achan committed a sin that led to the destruction of all his family members, his children and all his animals; they were burned by the people in his community.

Are you wondering what Achan did that led to these atrocities? Why Achan? Why his children? Why his family? Why his animals? Why??? Keep reading to find out...

Achan thought it was not a big deal to take some items from his trip. He kept those items without the knowledge of anyone. Although Achan knew God's instructions with regards to this but he chose to disregard God's instructions.

Does Achan's story connect with you in anyway? Have you ever taken away items from your hotel room back to your house? Or are there some of God's instructions or the laws of the land that you have chosen or planned to disregard? 

Back to Achan's story...

Achan took some of the items God had instructed the children of Israel to destroy when they attacked Jericho and because of this single action, God's presence departed from Israel, they were defeated in the battle against the country Ai and 36 Israelite soldiers lost their lives. It wasn't until Joshua inquired of God about why they lost the battle against the very small country of Ai that Achan's action was revealed. As Achan had stolen the items God marked out for destruction, he also marked himself and everything he owned for destruction; Achan, his entire family and all his belongings were destroyed. (See Joshua 7 for the full details of the story)

8 Lessons from the Story of Achan

1. Consequences of our sins can affect those around us. Achan's sin led to the death of 36 soldiers in Israel, and it also led to the death of his children.
2. No sins can be hidden forever. Your sins cannot be concealed from God. God knows everything about you even if others don't.
3. Whoever conceals and continue in sins can never be successful (Proverbs 28:13).
4. One’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he or she possesses or the country that you reside (Luke 12:15).
5. What seemed of great worth can eventually be worthless.
6. Do not take any sins with levity. Even if those around you are praising you for your actions or perhaps you have not experienced the consequences of your wrong actions, do not mock God by thinking His mercy will triumph. God cannot tolerate sins (Habakkuk 1:13).
7. Don't covet wrong things; real blessings come from God not through sins.
8. There are consequences for every sin; everyone loses in the sin game.

Sin is a One Way Street to Destruction

Let's talk...

• What sins are you overlooking in your life and in your home?
• Are there sins that you don't believe are important to God?
• Ask God to open your eyes to sins that you do not take seriously. 
• Ask God for His mercy for every little and big sins that you have committed. Remember to confess, forsake and live a life that is pleasing to God. 
• Are you ready to pay the price to live for God?

As you go into this week, I'd like you to share this post with your friends or any group that you are part of on various social media platforms.

See you next week Monday for another post from Myss Lafunky's blog. Sage will be writing the next two weeks' posts.

Have a lovely week!

Speak of Future Events with Certainty

Hello Readers & Followers, 

Wherever you are in the world, I trust that you are now in Year 2018. I use this medium to wish you a Happy New Year. Have a beautiful year ahead!

As you start this new week, I'd like to encourage you with this short message about speaking positive of future events with as much certainty as though they were already past (Romans 4:17b).

Did you know that speaking of future events as much certainty is a statement of faith that you are making?

Did you also know that speaking of future events with certainty requires you to rely, trust and have confidence in God through Jesus Christ? 

There was a time that I had spoken positive (both in the secret and publicly) about my future job to everyone that had asked me of when I was starting work; I said the month that I was planning to start work; all this was shared in faith. I had full confidence in God and I knew God was in a position to perfect everything that pertained to my job.

As I regularly spoke positive about my job and my start date, my faith in my declaration became stronger and my thoughts remained positive, I did not panic. Not only did I declare positively about my future job, I ensured that I participated in fasting and prayers and I asked my husband to pray alongside. Jesus Christ said that some prayers cannot be answered except we fast and pray, thus, I embarked on prayer and fasting. Did you know that you can fast and pray to God about anything and everything? Did you know that it also strengthens your faith when you ask others including your spouse to pray alongside you?

In this whole period, I was not idle and I did my part through doing the right WORKS by applying for jobs. To cut the long story short, God chose to honour my dependence on Him and He brought to pass all the confessions that I had made. What a faithful God! No wonder God said that His blessings are on the people that rely, hope and trust on Him. What a beautiful assurance.

"My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me."

(Jeremiah 17:7) 

Are you reading this and you are trusting God for something? Please do not give up, keep speaking positives of those things with certainty and believe that God will do it. 

Don't forget to implement all the necessary works that the Lord wants you to undertake while you are waiting for your answers. I pray that the Lord God will direct your steps unto every good works that you need to implement for your blessings to come in Jesus' name. 

As you go into this week, I'd like you to share this post with one of your friends or any group that you are part of on various social media platforms.

Let's talk...

1. Are there requests that God granted you when you had spoken positive about those things?
2. What will make God not to answer some of the requests that you have spoken positives about?
3. Or would He always answer all your requests that you speak of with certainty in His Word?

See you next week Monday for another post from Myss Lafunky's blog.

Have a lovely week!

Editor's Comment for the New Year I Help Me to Forget

Dear Readers and Followers,

I would like to specially welcome you to this new year 2018. Thank you for being a part of Myss Lafunky's Blog in 2017 and we hope that you'll keep reading, interacting and following through this new year. 

A new year means different things to various people and for us at Myss Lafunky's Blog, the new year marks the beginning of new things; new inspirational posts, new life-transforming discussions, new expedition into the scriptures etc. 

In this year, we would like to "forget" the achievements of the past and launch out into the deep of the uncharted wilderness because God is set to do new things in this new year. I don't literally mean forgetting those achievements and acting as though they didn't happen, No! I actually mean being thankful for those achievements but not being complacent with them but striving for a greater and deeper level in all we do. I am also confident that God has already gone ahead into the new year to put a road into that wilderness so that we have a path to follow.

So, I would like to encourage you to join us in this new year as we "forget" the successes and achievements of the past like Apostle Paul and press towards the mark of the higher calling of God in Jesus. For you, this may be regarding your career, business, ministry etc., just make that decision to "forget" the past and move forward to the new thing God has for you.

To contact Myss Lafunky's blog, please send an email to trulymakingadifference@gmail.com

Have a wonderful year 2018.

Editor