Is it really dead?

August 11, 2022 ~ bohlajee123 ~ 2 Comments

John 11 starts off with information about Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha being sick and the sisters sending for Jesus. Verse 4 tells us, “When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Yet Jesus stays 2 more days in the place he was (Vs 5 – 6 “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was”) and by vs 14, He tells His disciples that Lazarus is already dead “Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.”

One minute, Jesus is saying Lazarus won’t die and a few days later, He’s confirming he is dead. We know from the story that by the time Jesus got there, Lazarus had been in the tomb 4 days and Jesus was just 2 miles (3.2km) from where Lazarus was.

All of these seem like a paradox at this point and begs a few questions. So, indulge me for a moment. Try and forget you know how this story ends but you’re in Bethany hearing and experiencing all that is going on. At this point, some of the thoughts that might cross your mind could include the following:

Jesus had lied when in verse 4 He said the sickness wasn’t unto death.
Jesus’ love for Mary, Martha and Lazarus is questionable since He could surely have journeyed the 2 miles in less than 4 days to prevent Lazarus from dying in the first place and save them from 4 days of heartache. Besides, how do you intentionally wait 2 days because you love them (vs 5-6)?
Jesus is not to be trusted and is bound to disappoint.

Fast forward to the later part of the chapter and we see Jesus weep in vs 35 after He saw Mary and all the Jews who were with her weeping. At this point, the people obviously figured He loved Lazarus but wondered why He didn’t get there on time to heal him before he died (vs 36-37). By vs 44, Lazarus is raised and Jesus commands to lose the clothes he was bound with and let him go. Subsequently, many people came to believe Jesus because of the raising of Lazarus from the dead (the son of man was glorified).

So, what do we do with all this information?

See, many of us are in the ‘tomb’ phase in one area of our lives or the other. God said something to you about a matter or a situation. There seemed to be a time where it looked plausible, but now that window has closed and you’re in that phase when everything ‘is’ dead. You analyze the situation and you can’t see how that word is going to be fulfilled. Yet, this story suggests that sometimes, because of God’s love for us, He allows things (hopes, dreams etc.) to ‘die’ around us and even mourns with us when we mourn those things. Doesn’t make much sense to the natural mind but isn’t that how it is with God? His ways are not our ways nor His thoughts our thoughts.

So, during the 4 days (yours could be hours, days, months or years) of ‘death’, what should we be doing? Job 14 vs 7-9 and Habakkuk 3 vs 17 – 18 gives us an idea “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Though its root may grow old in the earth, and its stump may die in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and bring forth branches like a plant.” (Job 14:7-9) “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; Though the labor of the olive may fail, And the fields yield no food; Though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Hab 3: 17-18.

Therefore, HOPE in the Lord, hold on to His WORD which is what brings back life to that dead situation and REJOICE in the Lord not in your situation. These are not easy to do but as you ask the Holy Spirit for help to act in faith, may you experience the resurrection power of God in your situation and may your story draw men to God and bring Him all the glory in Jesus’ name.

Remain connected to the vine,

Bolaji Ajayi

What impact is your sight having on your life?

July 22, 2022July 23, 2022 ~ bohlajee123 ~ 3 Comments

In Numbers 13, God asked Moses to send one leader from each tribe of Israel to explore the land He had promised them. Moses did as he was commanded, selected the 12 men and gave them the assignment to “assess the goodness” of the land. His instructions were simple. Are the people weak or strong, few or many, is the land good or bad to dwell in, is the land rich or poor, bring back some fruit of the land (evidence) etc. (Numbers 13:17-20).

The 12 men left as they were instructed, explored the land and returned after 40 days. They confirmed that indeed the land was ‘flowing with milk and honey’ – in essence it was a very good land, and they showed the fruit which had to be carried on branches because of its size. They also gave a report about the land and the people as instructed stating how fortified the city was and how big, numerous and strong the people were. (Numbers 13: 27 – 29). In effect, they did a good job bring back a factual report of the land they explored. If only they had stopped there…but they didn’t.

Caleb, one of the twelve spies obviously got very excited about the good he saw in the land that he motioned that they go forward and take the land immediately. He was not one to delay enjoying God’s promise to him. Enough of the wilderness experience. It was fun while it lasted but now that he had seen the possibility that existed in what God had promised, he was ready to lay hold of it immediately. This is when the trouble begins.

The remaining ten (excluding Joshua), immediately changes the narrative and focus solely on the ‘seeming’ challenge to the point where the challenge was all they saw. All the good no longer mattered even though they still had the evidence of the fruit. They magnified the challenge and the fear that came with that did what it knows to do best … ‘engulf your mind and stop you dead in your track’ and fear sure got its way in their lives. There was no moving forward for these ten. These men seemed to totally forget the good they had seen which was what God wanted to help boost their faith. All they saw was their inability to overcome the challenge ahead based on their evaluation of their physical and mental abilities. They sunk so deep to the point where they even imagined and concluded about what the people of the land thought of them – “we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight”. The same people that initially gave a good report of the land, turned around and gave a bad report of the same land (Numbers 13:31–33). How ironic!

Many of us know how this story ends. Even though God had promised the land to them, in fact given it to them, destined it for them, and they had also seen it, they did not partake of that destiny. The lost out on the blessing God had in store for them in the land because of what they chose to focus on and allow drive their actions.

Fast forward to the book of Joshua chapters 1 – 6. The Israelites are back at the same point but this time, they obey God’s instructions like ‘clockwork’. As they obeyed each instruction, they got another, and another and another until in Chapter 5 v 13, we see a man appear to Joshua but he’s not just a man, He’s ‘Commander of the army of the Lord’. God was so impressed with their faith demonstrated through obedience to His instructions that He had to make an appearance with sword drawn to demonstrate that He’s with those who trust Him and the battle was His. (As a side note, this reminds me of Abraham when he was about to offer Isaac and at that point God stepped in and swore to Abraham. From that point, and till today, we are beneficiaries of the blessing of Abraham. One man’s obedience to God, regardless of how ridiculous, unpleasant, unfamiliar or undesirable it looked is still blessing us today). At this point, chapter 6 then opens with the instructions on how to take over the city. Hold on, is this not what the ten spies were concerned about in Numbers 13? Yet, by the time the Israelites focused on God and His promise, and promptly obeyed His every instruction, the solution to the challenge appears. All they had to do was walk and shout. It had nothing to do with their strength, the number of their army, how they looked, their abilities or capabilities … none of that. The people of the land had already been paralyzed by fear and the wall was going to ‘come down’. God already had a way out. This was His promise to them and He knew how He was going to get it to them. All He needed was for them to believe. All they had to do was have faith demonstrated not in words, wishful thinking or prayer, but in actions of obedience to His directions. Their obedience led not only to the inheritance of the promised land, but also to seeing the hand of God move on their behalf every step of the way. They experienced miracles, divine favours, divine interceptions … Rahab hiding, Jordan parting, Walls coming down.

You see, God knows that we are mortals and our physical senses, environment, past experiences etc., typically get in the way of our trusting and believing Him (especially since most of the time what God promises seem impossible to the natural mind and even when it seems plausible, there just seems to be no way to get there). So, what does He do with us sometimes? As an act of love and benevolence to help our unbelief, He gives us a glimpse in any way He chooses (visions, dreams, words, our imagination etc.), like Abraham looking to the sky and being asked to count the stars (Gen 15:4-5), Jacob dreaming of a new breeding method (Gen 31: 10-13), An angel of the Lord visiting Gideon (Judges 6: 11-40), Mary getting a visit from Angel Gabriel about divine conception and the purpose of the child (Luke 1: 26-38), and the list goes on. And for you and I, He still gives us those glimpses. In visions, in dreams, through His word, through a message, through a prophecy, through our thoughts etc., if only we can truly pause to stay in His presence so He can reveal His plans to us. He wants to show us the vision for our lives but can we take the first step of “watching and waiting” in His presence? “I will stand my watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me, and what I will answer when I am corrected. 2 Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision and make it plain on tablets, that he may run who reads it. 3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry.” Hab 2:1-3

Could it be that the challenge you see about what God is leading you to is only an obedience away from evaporating? Could that vision already be at the birthing stage and all that is left is that one final push of obedience to bring forth its delivery? Are you at the point of delivery and not even aware of it because just like the ten spies you are so focused on the challenges that you don’t see the miracle of the “new thing” that God is about to birth in and through your life?

God’s ways are surely not our ways, nor His thoughts our thoughts. So, if you’re waiting for things to make sense, trust me, you’re in for a long wait and risk missing out of God’s will for your life even though He destined it. Walking into it is by choice not by force and the vehicle to laying hold of it is faith, demonstrated through actions of obedience even when it does not make sense. One generation of the Israelites missed it. Do you want to repeat their mistake?

As we evaluate our lives, if there is anything that we know that God has shown us or any promise in His word that we are trusting him for a physical manifestation of, I pray first and foremost that the eyes of our understanding be enlightened that we will truly know what the will of God is for our lives; that in every area that doubt has blurred our vision, that Jesus will help our unbelief and intercede for a second chance on our behalf; that we repent of our unbelief and cry out to the Holy Spirit for courage and wisdom to take the necessary steps in obedience even when we don’t see the full picture of how it will work out; and as we do this, I pray that our lives shall be a living witness that God indeed is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him because we shall be true expressions of His grace and glory even as those promises come to pass in our lives in Jesus name.

Remain connected to the vine,
Bolaji Ajayi

Steps

May 8, 2021 ~ bohlajee123 ~ Leave a comment

Imagine for a moment that you have to walk across a field with hidden landmines to get to your destination on the other side and there was no other route. I’m guessing one of your thoughts will be “I’ll just stay where I am” (lol) until you realize you can’t stay put. Then it would likely become “I definitely need to find a guide who knows the exact spots to avoid”.

Now you finally get the guide, and he says to you ‘follow me and walk in my steps’. How would you walk? Would you walk beside him, somewhere alongside him, maybe a few feets behind, somewhere on the field where you can see him as long as you’re still trailing behind? I seriously doubt you would do any of those. The most likely thing is that you will be very focused on where his feet lands (his steps) and how he’s walking just so you walk the same way and truly walk in his steps. For example, you might change your gait to ensure your steps align with his or even put your hands on his shoulder to make sure he’s not too far off and you don’t loose track especially when it gets dark or visibility is poor for any reason.

This is a representation of life. There are ‘landmines’ along the way (while men slept the enemy sowed tares) but God loves us soo much and wants to make sure we get to the other side (home with Him) that Jesus agreed to become man, walk this earth to leave us an example so we can walk like He walked. Then to crown it all up and make sure we don’t get sidetracked, the Holy Spirit is constantly present (our helper) to ‘walk alongside us’ and ensure our steps are aligned to that of Jesus. Isn’t this just amazing? He helps us make the “necessary adjustment” to our walk so we can get home. When we are misaligned, we could step on mines. If we are fortunate, they could be little ones that only leave bruises and scars. Others could result in “a blown out limb” and you can’t tell one from the other before you step on it. Even in those times, the Holy Spirit still comes to help if we will have him… Selah.

How deep the father’s love for us, that He will go all out to ensure you and I get home to him safely and in one piece as long as we follow in the steps of Jesus, and trust and obey the leading of the Holy Spirit. At the end of the day, it’s up to you and I. May we truly walk in His steps.
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, Ephesians 5:15 NKJV”

Stay connected,
Bolaji