music monday// give me Your eyes

after i confessed with my mouth that Jesus is my Savior and believed it in my heart of hearts, i was transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the brilliant Kingdom of Jesus. and that was the cue for Holy Spirit to come into my heart and take me through the process of sanctification. i have been saved by grace [undeserved favor] alone. God expected me from then to gradually start bearing the fruit of Holy Spirit.  

via

"He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His 

mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life." titus 3:5-7

now, out of Daddy's great measure of love for me, i'm compelled to bear fruit, good fruit. and this is seen through the actions i take, what i do. so, i do not work for grace, but i work from grace. God's love, His salvation compels me to die to my selfish nature and get out of my little world even when i don't feel like it and display His love- share the Good News of the salvation of Jesus, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, support projects that provide clean water to people who walk miles and miles for water which isn't even that clean...His love within me compels me to be empathetic to the plight of people and be moved to action.

our prayer should be that our hearts break for what breaks His, to see and hear the people in despair and be His hands and feet to them by doing something to help. how wonderful it'll be if we ask Him to show us how people are really feeling deep down, beneath the facade so we can speak Truth into them. i bet many suicides, self-abuse and horrible choices would be avoided. are you paying attention to that friend, that co-worker, that stranger in the coffee shop? is there something God is showing you? i hope you see and move to action.

give me Your eyes ~ brandon heath

look down from a broken sky, traced out by the city lights

my world from a mile high, best seat in the house tonight.

touch down on the cold black top, hold on for the sudden stop

breathe in the familiar shock of confusion and chaos,

all those people going somewhere. why have i never cared?

give me Your eyes for just one second

give me Your eyes so i can see everything that i keep missing

give me Your love for humanity 

give me Your arms for the broken-hearted the ones  that are far beyond my reach

give me Your heart for the ones forgotten

give me Your eyes so i can see.

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

step out on a busy street, see a girl and our eyes meet,

does her best to smile at me to hide what's underneath.

there's a man just to her right, black suit and a bright red tie,

too ashamed to tell his wife he's out of work, he's buying time.

i've been here a million times, a couple of million eyes

just move and pass me by i swear i never thought that i was wrong.

i need a second glance, give me a second chance

to see the way You see the people all along.

"suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. if one of you says to them, 'go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? in the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." james 2:15-17

"you see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone...as the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." james 2:24,26

"but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." galatians 5:22-23

"and whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." colossians 3:17

i hope you see what God shows you, i hope you hear the silent cries of many wounded people around you, i hope you put yourself in the shoes of others and try to feel what they go through, feel the desperation in their hearts. but it doesn't end there. i hope you are compelled to do something. 

let's bear the fruit of Holy Spirit. :)

xoxo, gen delali.

Our Little Worlds

We all have our own little worlds, right? Or at least most of us do. You know, the world you keep yourself locked in, the one that keeps you from seeing the pain of others, from reaching out to offer a kind word or a helping hand or even a prayer for a hurting soul.

Sometimes I stay in my own little world to escape the harsh realities of this life. I know there’s a big world out there but I just shut it out. Why? Because sometimes when it’s hard for me to deal with issues I have it’s easier to just tune everything out and then it’s just me and things that help me cope- the Word, inspirational music, writing or just immersing myself in an imaginary world of people in novels. 

Other times I refuse to leave my little world not because I’m necessarily dealing with a personal issue but because it’s too painful to look people in the eye, feel their pain and help...because I don’t want to destroy the little piece of heaven I have created for myself...or because feeling the pain of someone will prompt me to take an action to help and well, I may be feeling too comfortable in my little world to be bothered. So sometimes I avoid them...the little pleading eyes, the outstretched hands desperately needing a touch, the forlorn voice calling out...and I just walk hurriedly on, shrugging off the need to help even in the smallest way.

Stepping out of our little worlds makes us see the anguish, the fear, the despair in people and really, nobody likes to feel all of these emotions because happiness and peace do not dwell in them. But I’m realizing that if we’re all to stay in our little world’s those who are hurting real bad and need help will be left all alone in their misery.  How sad. :( I have realized life is not just about me or what I may be dealing with or my feelings.

These days I’m finding happiness in helping others even when my life is shattering into a million pieces. I’m learning that God reaches out to me when I reach out to someone else hurting. You can image how gloomy and sad life would be if we all decided to keep locked inside... No one will reach out to another person, everyone will be nursing their deep cut wounds...imagine. That is not the kind of life God wants us to live. He wants us to help heal each other through the pain, the sorrow, the hurt, our fears. 

 We need to reach out for help to heal ourselves, and reach out to others hurting. That’s the way we learn to love and accept people as they are. And God’s Word is constantly teaching me how to be better. I don’t have to wait for someone to reach out to me before I offer some help. The condition of the person alone should speak to me, break my heart and touch my heart. And if I have nothing material to offer, I’ll be sure to say a prayer for that hurting soul.

Matthew West’s song “My own little world” hits the nail deeply on the head. Do take time to listen to it. It conveys my personal thoughts and feelings.

 I constantly pray to God to break my heart for what breaks His, to give me the courage to grant the silent requests of people going through hell, people who may be in far worse situations than I am in. I may not feel comfortable helping at that particular time but I know it’s the right thing to do. What better way to love people as God wants us to than to help them out when they’re troubled and feel helpless? That’s the way of love...putting someone else’s need before yours... not being selfish. But we also have to remember that God says we should love our neighbor as ourselves, not more than ourselves.

  

“And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30,31

Let’s remember some verses on helping others:

“For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in the land.” Deuteronomy 15:11

“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” 1 John 3:17

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27

“Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Luke 12:33,34

 

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:12,13

“Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality.” Romans 12:13

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

“Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3

I pray God gives us the strength to leave our little worlds and reach out to the hurting.

Have a lovely weekend! xoxo

Delali.

Beautiful Acts Of Kindness

Being kind is not just an attribute of a Christian. Kindness is something every soul needs to show. First off, kindness is found naturally in love. 1 Corinthians 13:4 says “love is patient and kind, love is not jealous or boastful.” So we find that if you have the ultimate thing which is love, kindness comes naturally to you. There are times when we find ourselves in certain situations where we have to be kind to even our enemies, yes, and we know it’s the right thing to do but our carnal sides try to win us over and serve our enemies hard, cold revenge. This eats our humanity away and does us no good.

So you’re thinking, but there’s no way I’m going to be kind to that guy who lied to me and did me in or that girl who called me fat and ugly. Relax. Being kind to people who hurt you does not mean you buy them a whole gift shop or you should go knocking on their door every morning to fix them snacks and lunch in their homes(unless of course they end up being very ill and you have to be the one to help out) and neither does it mean to pass them fake, forced compliments, no. What it means is that you’re stronger enough to forgive them of those horrible things they did or said to you. It means you don’t curse (even under your breath) at them when you walk pass them on the sidewalk or when you see them at the supermarket. It means looking them in the eye and civilly exchanging greetings with them. It simply means that you are kind because God, our Father, is kind, so much to the extent that He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to come and die for the sins of you and I.

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish. Luke 6:35 So you see, God is kind enough to give breath to both the good and the bad guys in this world. So why won’t you be kind? Let’s also remember this verse “And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”Ephesians 4:32

As a child of this wonderfully kind Father, it’s our duty to show off all of His essence. This is sometimes not naturally easy to do but we can’t submit to our own will and live according to our desires. 2 Corinthians 5:15 says “And He died for all, that those who live might live no longer for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.”

Do you see people genuinely in need of your help but you turn a blind eye to them? If yes, then that’s sadly unkind of you because sometimes God places into our hands more blessings than we need and we become the bad guys when we tightly clasp our God-given blessings in our hands and refuse to release them to bless others and show kindness. “One man gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. A liberal man will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” Proverbs 11:24,25

“And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8  Does every good work in this verse mean to you supporting someone struggling with their tuition fees, or simply smiling at that girl who looks troubled and sits by herself all the time in the cafeteria? Then go ahead and be a blessing. Showing kindness doesn’t necessarily have to be in huge, sweeping acts but can be in the very little things... a smile, a genuine compliment, giving your seat up for that old lady on the bus who couldn’t catch a seat... No amount of little kind gestures go to waste.

I was on the bus some days ago and this woman in the seat beside me had a baby and another little girl with her. Because she couldn’t carry both children on her laps, the little girl had to stand so I decided to carry her till I got off the bus. It escaped me to even ask the permission of the young woman before carrying her little girl. I just did it. But she was so glad I helped, she even offered to pay my bus fare which I insisted she shouldn’t. Why? Because I didn’t want to feel like she was paying me for my kindness. You shouldn’t be kind with the intention of receiving some sort of reward back. Be kind and love just because.

She had a confused look momentarily cross her face when I turned down her offer to pay but she gave in after my insistent “Oh, no, I’ll pay myself.” ...So I paid my own fare. The little girl was sleepy and had her head dangling back and forth as she dozed off in the hot weather so I did what was the best to do by placing her head against my bosom. I’m very particular about not having sweaty people rubbing against me but that afternoon it didn’t matter. It didn’t matter that the many beads of sweat around her head temporarily stained my silky shirt or that she was actually heavy and my thighs ached a little. (No lie.) LOL. I held her like I would my very own child, arms firmly wound around her so she wouldn’t fall from the ever swaying bus on the pothole-clad road. (The streets of Accra can be one bumpy ride, it can literally cause headache. SMH)  The Good Book says “Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Hebrews 13:1,2

Let’s get something straight. I didn’t help out because I wanted to feel good about myself and neither did I do it just because I didn’t want to look bad. I helped because the tired-looking little girl needed a place to sit her little frame and have some good ol’ sleep too. And since nothing was stopping me from offering a helping hand, I stretched it out. We should be kind not because it’s something on our to-do list but because we really want to lessen someone’s discomfort and bring a smile on their face. Kindness should come from a genuine place. It shouldn’t be forced.

We should not get tired of being kind to others who don’t even appreciate our efforts. The good ol’ Bible says “And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household faith.” Galatians 6:9,10

Let’s however be cautious in offering kindness in order not to get duped by people who go about in life thinking it’s fun to take advantage of kind hearts.

Be kind to yourself of course but don’t catch the “me me me” syndrome because life is not only about you. Open your hands and heart and practice some random acts of kindness today! God sees you and He smiles down at you when you make someone smile. So go on and be a kind soul, will ya?! Surprise someone with kindness! And know that your kindness permits others to also be kind to other people, creating one beautiful chain of kindness around and within us. Let’s be sweet, kindred souls on this temporary, earthly journey on our way to eternal life.

Jesus loves you. xoxo

Delali.