Factory Rejects

When we were much younger, my family lived in London for a short while. It was a long time ago, but I still have many beautiful memories of our stay there. While we were there, my mom spent a lot of time and money buying us girls really pretty clothes. I think that’s when I knew how much mom loved clothes. She hasn’t changed much. Lol. Anyway, she got some of them at costly prices from big stores, and she got some really cheap. Something my sisters and I definitely noticed was that some of the cheap clothes had their labels slit in half or even cut off in half. Of course, we asked why. My mom told us that she got them from a factory-rejects store. Surely, we wanted to know more, “Why are they called factory rejects, mommy. They look good.” Mom was patient enough to explain that sometimes, while the clothes were being made, they ran a double stitch over some spots that required just one stitch, or a button may’ve been missing, or just something, anything may have gone wrong; and so big clothing lines like Marks & Spencer, Next, and bhs did not want those “substandard” clothes associated with their products. As a result, they sold them off really cheap. I never went any further to find out if that was indeed why they were called such. All I remember was that the clothes momma got us – pricey or cheap factory rejects – fit us really well and were very beautiful. What the manufacturers considered below standard was very well accepted by mom and us girls. Interesting, isn’t it?

You know, as I read the Bible every time, I come across a number of human factory rejects too. The only difference is that these people who are considered substandard aren’t considered so by their Creator, but by fellow creations. Isn’t it funny that while we – non-manufacturers, non-creators, non-inventors – consider fellow human beings imperfect or inferior, the One who created everyone deems each person good, really good – Genesis 1:31. If you don’t mind, let’s take a look at some of these factory rejects in the Bible. Perhaps, you may relate somehow.

I think my best one so far is the leper Jesus touched. It was such a “hit”, all the synoptic gospel writers thought it very important to share the news (Matthew 8:1-3; Mark 1:40-41; Luke 5:13). Jesus touched a leper? Impossible! No way! Unacceptable! The leper was unclean. Banished. Should be quarantined. Not allowed in public. Should not be touched by any clean person. It wasn’t the people’s fault; the law of Moses said so – Leviticus 5:1,3. Funny thing is that Jesus could have healed that man without touching him. Jesus touched him to make a point. Like the leper, aren’t we going to accept His unconditional love and compassion and begin to see ourselves through His perfect eyes, rather than through the world’s eye? Can’t we also be like Him and reach out to the “substandards” around us too?

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Samaritans are just not acceptable. A little history: they started out as full Israelites, but intermarried with “heathens”, and so became “less of human beings” to the Jews (2 Kings 17:24-29). They were settled in Northern Israel; and that’s where Jesus encountered one – on His way to Galilee (John 4:1-42). Jesus met this Samaritan woman at the well, and asked for some water. So I already mentioned one problem – she was Samaritan. A Jew should not be relating with a Samaritan – no, and not in public (John 4:9_b). Number two problem is that she was a woman. I’m not very sure why that was a problem, but I see in verse 27 that the disciples probably did see a problem there. Third, she was an experienced divorcee still living in adultery. What a lonely, unacceptable life! I read somewhere that in those days, women usually gathered themselves in groups of twenties or thirties to go fetch water in the early hours of the morning or in the evenings. But John records here that this lady was alone at the well. Is it possible that she was rejected by fellow women because she didn’t fit in? Her sinful life didn’t bother our Master, though. He offered her salvation, which she gladly accepted. And Jesus was so excited she got saved that He quickly lost His appetite for food and water (John 4:31-34). What a Savior!

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Zacchaeus, the publican and sinner (Luke 19:1-10); Mary Magdalene, the woman possessed with several demons (Luke 8:1-3); Bartimaeus, the blind man told to shut his yap (Mark 10:46-52); Little children, who Jesus insisted should come to Him (Mark 10:13-14); the lonely impotent man by Bethesda’s pool (John 5:1-16); the adulteress woman condemned to death by stoning (John 8:1-11); the Gadarene demoniac (Luke 8:26-39); and several others more – all these societal rejects enjoyed compassion and acceptance from a faultless, loving, and gracious Savior.

Jesus began to show grace long long before He was born. We saw very unlikely people in His genealogy (Matthew 1:1-17) – Tamar, Judah’s deceptive daughter-in-law who did the abominable just to have children (Genesis 38); Rahab, the Harlot from Jericho (Joshua 2-6); Ruth, the Moabite lady – (wait! A Moabite in Jesus’ lineage? Inconceivable! – Deuteronomy 23:3-6); and Bathsheba, David’s concubine and an adulteress. I believe this was intentional; a perfect way for GOD to introduce Christ’s mission on earth.

I don’t know where or how you may’ve belittled yourself, or how society may’ve considered you less-than-acceptable. I’d like to tell you that your Manufacturer knows that you’re perfect (Hebrews 10:14). He formed & knit you flawlessly in your mother’s womb (Psalm 139:13). He loves you personally to know how many hair strands are on your head (Luke 12:7). He will care for you until your hair is white with age (Isaiah 46:4). His grace covers you. You may be factory rejects to the entire world; to Him, you fit perfectly in the show glass’ mannequin. He showcases you for the world to see. On a signpost right beside you, He writes –

SEE MY WORKMANSHIP (Ephesians 2:10)
SEE MY WONDER (Psalm 139:14)
SEE MY GLORY (2nd Corinthians 3:18)
SEE MY RIGHTEOUSNESS (2nd Corinthians 5:21)
SEE MY BEAUTY (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Isn’t that exhilarating? So, if anyone dares to tell you how not-up-to-standard you are, raise your head and like the ex-impotent man made whole in John 5:11, tell them boldly, “He that made me whole; He that saved me; He that created me, the same said to me, I am of very high value (Luke 12:7; 1^st Corinthians 6:20a). I am accepted in Him (Ephesians 1:6), and that is enough for me!”

Dear Readers

Dear Readers,

I don’t know how many of y’all are out there. I previously [and mistakenly] judged the number of readers this blog had by the number of comments and Google pluses (which are usually very few) per post. I know you’re not very many, but I now know that you’re a lot more than I thought. I just want to say I appreciate you, and I hope my blog posts have been inspiring. Anyway, to avoid being too formal and being too mushy, lemme go straight to the point. I have invited my friend, Kunle, to be a writer on this blog too. Kunle’s being a blessing to me since the day I met him. He taught me how to study the Bible, and if I have to credit any human being for my spiritual growth, he’s the only one who deserves such credit. But no, I won’t credit any human, for it is God who worked in him for God’s own good pleasure in my life. All glory to Him alone. You are going to enjoy Kunle’s posts. I can assure you that. So, keep reading, keep on supporting. Thank you. And if we never get to see on this side of life, we should not fail to meet on the other side. God bless you.

Temi

It's All In You!

On Wednesday, my pastor’s wife was delivered of a beautiful baby girl. OK. I don’t mean the kind of newborn that you don’t think is really cute, but you just have to say something nice; and then you go something like, “Awww. She looks adorable,” Or “Oh, doesn’t he look so peaceful?!” NO, I mean a really really cute, adorable, peaceful looking baby – For real!!!...

Anyway, while I was with them in the hospital hours after her birth, waiting for her & momma to be discharged, I sorta mentioned to my pastor that I’d never held a newborn before, out of fear of dropping the little angel. So, after they were discharged, as we got set to take her home, he insisted that I be the one to hold her in the car all the way home. Trust me, carrying a newborn isn’t that easy, but it’s marvelous. I just kept staring at her all the way home. I looked at her shut eyes, her slender and long fingers, and it amazed me as she moved her tiny body and stretched herself for comfort – this little wonder marveled me. Looking at her reminded me of something my Sunday School teacher told us back when I was still a teenager. She said that when she had her male child, she looked at him and saw that God had put in him all that he needed to grow into a full adult man. They weren’t fully developed at the time of birth, but they were all there. He had eyes, ears, legs, a brain, a heart, liver, kidneys, etc. – it was all in him. If you think about this a little deeper, wouldn’t you agree that at the time of our New Birth, God also put in us all we need to grow from baby believers into ground-shaking, continent-moving, world-changing believers? It’s all in us. 2 Peter 1:3 says, “According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.” What makes the difference between a stagnant, ever-remaining-a-baby kinda believer and a mature one is, just as a physical person, what we feed on, how much we are cared for, who will interact with, etc.

So, going a bit deeper, let’s take a look at some of the things that God put in or gave us at the time of our new birth:

1.      The Holy Spirit: – The moment you accepted Christ into your heart, the Spirit of God came in to be resident in your life. Your body became His temple – 1 Corinthians 6:19. And His presence in your life is to make you live a Christ-like, holy life. Unfortunately, many believers who have the Holy Spirit in them have refused to tap into His limitless abilities, thereby living in carnality, as if they were never saved. God has given us the Holy Spirit. It is left to us to yield to Him so that we are instruments of righteousness unto God, and not instruments of unrighteousness unto death – Romans 6:13.

Another important truth in us having the Holy Spirit of God available to us is that He helps us to serve. What I mean is that the Holy Spirit within us is for our own self-character and personal Christian living. But the Holy Spirit can do beyond that. He can come upon us too. We can yield ourselves to Him completely – in and out – so that He works in and through us for His good pleasure – Philippians 2:13; so that our lives won’t be just for us anymore, but for others as well. The Lord Jesus makes this distinction of the Holy Spirit’s dual work in us clearly in the book of John. When Jesus told the Samaritan woman by the well that He can give her a well of water that will make her never thirst again, and that springs up into everlasting life, He was talking about the Holy Spirit at work IN us – John 4:14. But when he spoke out on the last day of the feast, in John 7:37-39, about rivers of living water that flows out of one’s belly, He was referring to the Holy Spirit at work THROUGH us. A well of water can’t serve many, but rivers of water can. A Christian’s goal should be to become a vessel by which Christ’s rivers of living water can flow to serve the whole world. We have the Holy Spirit of the Most High God available to us. How much of Him do you drink in (Ephesians 5:18) everyday to produce God-like characters, and to reach the world for Him? It’s all in you. It depends on you!

2.      The Fruit of the Regenerated Spirit: – It shouldn’t be hard to figure that when the Holy Spirit came into us at the moment of conversion, He deposited His own characters in us as well. These characters that we now possess are referred to in Galatians 5:22-23 as the fruit of the spirit. They are the fruit of man’s regenerated spirit. Meaning that as believers, if God’s Spirit dwells in us (and He does), we undoubtedly have love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and temperance in us. As we outwardly express these God-characters in us, we become identified with Christ and we grow into the mature adults that God intends for us to be. Just as a child experiences retarded growth if he/she isn’t given the proper vitamins in their right proportions, a believer who refuses to express these characters will not grow right; because the more you express it, the more you grow.

3.     Spiritual & Physical Blessings: – A believer is blessed. Simple! Ephesians 1:3; 2^nd Peter 1:3; Proverbs 10:22. If you’re not experiencing blessings (of all kinds) as a believer, my advice to you is this: start claiming them! Believe God for His word, and enjoy your blessings. This is important because through His blessings upon your life, you can enjoy a more fulfilled Christian life, and reach out to others for Him. Spiritual blessings make you meet the spiritual needs of others, and physical blessings make you meet the physical needs of others. Although, apart from believing God for your blessings, other things are important. If you are a carnally-minded, carnally-behaved Christian, you automatically give the devil access into your life – to tamper with your spiritual, as well as, physical blessings. So, before you begin claiming what’s rightfully yours, check yourself. Please, see Psalm 24:3-5; Deuteronomy 28:1-14; Malachi 3:8-12; Proverbs 3:9; Luke 6:38. I can sense some of you will grunt at this point. The truth is a bitter pill. Take it anyway; it’ll heal you.

4.    The Word: – The phrase, “You are what you eat,” is a valid point even in a spiritual context. My goodness! I cannot overemphasize with words the importance of studying & meditating on God’s Word. It is awesome beyond belief. Trust me; I’ve never being able to express it enough. It’s liberating. It makes you grow into a sturdy Christian so quickly that you begin to wonder, “How come?” I was born again for twelve whole years before I began taking God’s word very seriously; and after I did, it’s not even close to two years yet, and I can’t believe the difference. You are indeed what you eat. Feed on God’s word and have life unimaginable, or feed on the world’s garbage, and anticipate death that’d surely come. God’s given it to you. It all depends on you!

5.      Our Church Family: – This is the truth – Your church family is as important as your biological family. You cannot do without the other. I know there are some folks out there who say, “What’s the use of going to church? As long as your relationship with God is alright, who needs to listen to somebody’s boring preaching?” I getcha! I used to say that before – before I understood that not having a church family is like living in an uncompleted house without a roof over your head. Although, the church family is not instilled inside of us at new birth, it is an essential part of our spiritual growth. If you do not have a “specific” church where you worship and fellowship, please, prayerfully seek one. It is very important. As a newborn isn’t just left alone to care for him/herself – but enjoys the nourishment and love from a mother, the guidance of a father, and the friendship of siblings; so should spiritual babes not be left alone. Even the Bible tells us not to forsake the gathering together of our brethren – Hebrews 10:25. Of course, like every normal family, our spiritual families will hurt us sometimes. But those hurts don’t kill us. They make us stronger and help us to grow. For the first time in my life, I am super active in a church where my mom or dad aren’t the head pastors; and I can tell you for certain that I have grown tremendously in the nine months since I’ve been there. Not because all has been rosy rosy. In fact, there were sometimes when there were more thorns than roses. But even in those times, I sought God, and in seeking God, I found new truths about myself, prayed/worked to deal with the unpleasant parts of me, and I grew. My church family show me who I really am, and each time, remind me of my need for God. To those who are already spiritually strong, you need to nurture your young converts so they can grow healthy and be spiritually mature too.

There are definitely more things God has deposited in us or given to us that will help us grow into maturity. But something to note here before I close is that as even properly nourished/cared-for babies don’t grow into adults in a day, so won’t spiritual babes grow into maturity at once. Constantly feeding on the word, tapping into the Holy Spirit, accessing spiritual blessings, expressing the fruit of the spirit, and fellowshipping with the saints will eventually accrue to produce a strong, well-grounded man or woman of God.

Welcome Baby Orungbe. You’ve come into a great home; and I know you’ll grow to be an amazing, strong woman of God someday. Aunt Temi Loves You.

Exercise Your Faith! - Part 2

To all who read my blog, I say thank you very much for your comments, messages, and emails. It’s has been really encouraging. Last week’s post on exercising your faith attracted some nice personal comments, best of which I consider from those that were inspired to begin exercising their faith. My friend, Opeyemi, said, “I’m learning to exercise my faith… take it for a run! Give it a good insanity workout. Get it to work.” To that, I say, you go girlfriend! Like, Ope, I hope we all can do that everyday with our relationship with God J

Well, as the title suggests, I broke up the entire article into two simply because a reader once told me that long articles put him off. So, here is just the concluding part to my last Tuesday’s bible study teaching:

So How Big Should Your Faith Be For It To Work?

Not so big. A mustard seed size is enough to speak to a mountain or a tree to be uprooted and be cast/planted into the sea, and it will be done. Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6. Of course, the bigger your faith is the better. Just as a mustard seed grows to become a mighty tree (Matthew 13:31-32), God expects that our faith grows bigger and bigger as we put it to work.

When Will Your Faith Not Work?

1.      When you don’t forgive those who have offended you: How do I know this? See the next verse after Mark 11:24 – “²⁴ Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. ²⁵ And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” Mark 11:24-25. If you don’t forgive men their trespasses, your faith will not have a place to function the way it should to produce your expected results.

2.      When you don’t walk in love: Every person who desires to exercise his faith in order to produce results should know this important truth, “Faith works only by love.” Galatians 5:6. If you like, let your faith be as big as a mountain, if you don’t walk in love with the brethren, your faith is as good as dead. 1 John 3:14 says that, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loves not his brother abides in death.” A dead man cannot exercise his faith. Your faith cannot produce results without love.

3.      When your belief is not in line with God’s word: Your faith has to be completely based on the Word of God. If not, it will not work. You cannot exercise faith to have someone else’s husband or wife as your own and expect that it would work. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 according to the Amplified Bible says, “And we also [especially] thank God continually for this, that when you received the message of God [which you heard] from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the Word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe exercising its superhuman power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it].” Your faith will work only when it is in line with the word of God. James puts it this way, “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” – James 4:3.

4.      When you have too many options: Yesterday, I got to work and received the following message from my cousin, “Faith is closing all other alternatives and holding unto one.” How true is that? Faith is saying, “This is what God has promised me through His Son, Jesus, and this is what I will receive, and I don’t care the obstacles facing me. It belongs to me. God says so, and so it is.” The bible says anyone who is double minded when he’s asking from God cannot receive anything from the Lord – James 1:6-8.

Lord, Increase Our Faith!

Luke 17:5