Tag: Hope

The Power in Testimonies

Lately I have wondered why we do not  have slots for testimonies in the house of the Lord.  I am very positive it is one of the reasons why we have many anxious believers. The bible says, ‘And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the words of their testimonies and they did not love their lives to the death’ Rev.12:11.

The recent very much publicised marriage of Gifty Anti at the age of 45 confirmed to me why there is so much unbelief in the body of Christ. The fact that she went public with something so personal has renewed hope in the lives of a lot of women. Social media was bursting at the seems with a lot of comments and one that I can remember so well is ‘What if she had rushed to have a child just because she felt she was growing old’

I observed that a lot of people saw her marriage as a rare occurrence because of her age; honestly the reaction of the public to this beautiful news was a great eye-opener for me.  I remember commenting to a friend that ‘what is the bruhaha about, why are people shocked to see her getting married, she is a beautiful, intelligent, accomplished woman with a strong faith in Christ so as for me I knew it was just a matter of time before the right man identified that’; then my friend responded ‘Emefa, the circle you move in is different oh, such stories are common place for you but for many people, this is a miracle’  That set me thinking hard because many of these Ghanaians are church goers, yet the church has scheduled out testimony time from their programs. Even in churches where this is the practice, very little time is allocated to it making people, to rush through the testimonies. I understand that some people just come and wind long tales but a system can be put in place to cut that out and allow really genuine people who have testimonies to share enough time to share them because sometimes the miracle is not necessarily the end story but the whole journey.

As I thought about the reaction to Oheneyire Gifty Anti’s news, I became even more burdened that the church needs to bring back testimony time to encourage the brethren in their walk with God.  God has been doing a lot for His people, it is just that the platform is not given to share these testimonies. The result is many people are discouraged in the Body thinking God is not able to do what He has promised, when people are sitting on their testimonies in those same congregations.

Another reason why we should encourage testimonies in Christian gatherings today is so we can leave a good legacy for the next generation. Already we have a new generation of women who have believed the lie that they have to go through cesarean section to birth their babies. Some have been fed with so much fear from the doctors that, they elect to have surgery to take the baby out, especially among the educated elite in the cities. Meanwhile, I have heard many stories where doctors predict that women cannot give birth naturally due to age and they have given birth, in fact some women rush to marry for the fear that once they hit their thirties, childbirth will be difficult.

There is so much fear, anxiety about marriage, late marriage, not finding the right one, not having a child, spouses not changing, etc etc. The latest in the fear/anxiety/panic series is that you must give birth in the 1st year of your marriage for the fear that you might not have a child soon enough. Many people have murdered their marriages on the alter of fear as they rush to have children without really having fun and getting to know each other well for at least a year (What happened to and the just shall live by faith?). Then children set in with responsibilities and then those whose foundations were already shaky start giving way under the pressure that having young children brings into a marriage.

The issue of not having testimony time in our churches is gone beyond, ‘we don’t have time’ we need to make the time because many people are compromising God’s standards because they have lost hope.  For those of us who have been sitting on our testimonies, lets repent from today and share them when the time comes so God’s children can find hope.  We have to be conscious of the fact that it is not about us. It is about the larger picture; the Christian journey is not easy at all and who knows, perhaps it is your testimony that will make a difference in someone’s life.

Let us together from today pray that the doors of our Christian gatherings will open once again to testimonies and also that people will be bold to share their testimonies to glorify God and to strengthen the brethren.

Have a blessed week!

Emefa Gadze

An Inheritance or a Paycheck: Which one do you prefer?

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward and that master you are serving is Christ. Col. 3:23-24 (NLT)

Whatever maybe your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as (something done for the Lord not for men; knowing (with certainty) that is from the Lord (and not from men) that you will receive the inheritance which is your (real) reward. (The one whom) you are actually serving (is) the Lord Christ (the Messiah). Col. 3:23-24 (AMP)

Servants, do what you’re told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God, confident that you’ll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you’re serving is Christ. The sullen servant who does shoddy work will be held responsible. Being a follower of Jesus doesn’t cover up bad work. Col. 3:23-24 (MSG)

My favorite is the MSG version, phew God’s standards are sure high! Sometimes when I read the bible I say to myself, this is a hard saying, who can bear J but I remember that God is the one who gives us power to become children of God. Which means we are unable to obey His word by our own strength unless we are willing and surrendered, then he empowers us to obey Him.

That being said, the reality is some work environments are just toxic. The in-thing in most places is most businesses and organisations are more concerned about the bottom line than the people who work for them. This leaves room for abuse because whoever can work the system by ‘whatever’ means gets to win.

This message is for those who have done their homework well. You are abreast with happenings in your area of expertise and then some.  You have upgraded yourself such that the only thing you have not done yet is a PhD! You are diligent in your work, working well with the right attitude and excellently. You have prayed, fasted, sent out several applications, attended interviews in the hope to change jobs yet nothing positive comes up.  It looks like your life sentence is just working smart and hard whiles watching other people who seem not to be putting in much effort reap the rewards.  You have spoken up several times about this to your supervisors and HR and you get full assurance that you will be sorted yet you keep being overlooked all the time for promotion.

Interestingly, you have become an institution J (no pun intended!) for training people who are strategically placed and eventually move into more rewarding positions.  In the meantime, your 40ft containers full of prophesies of your impending breakthroughs are exploding at the seams.  God has even confirmed to you personally several times that He will do it.  Amazingly, you stand in the gap for other people regarding the same issue and like magic things fall into pleasant places for them.

In my Christian walk I have come to believe that even though the word of God sounds FOOLISH most times, when you brace yourself and obey, the rewards are mind-blowing. A sister-friend of mine always says that God is a show-man and I have personally experienced that truth in my life; He is indeed a showman. I can say without reservation that if you are an obedient Christian, there is no way you will lose out. Even if what you believed God for does not materialize in your lifetime, generations after you in your bloodline will enjoy the good seeds you are sowing today.

I know generational thinking is not very popular in this era, we want everything and we want it now but really when you think about it which one is better, great paycheck with super position and benefits or a lovely inheritance from our Lord Jesus Christ who has the whole world with its riches in His hands? You be the judge.

He might even choose to pleasantly surprise you with both the great paycheck with super position and benefits and a lovely inheritance. He is God and sovereign so after you have done all my brothers and sisters just stand. Your labour will NEVER be in vain. He is super faithful.

Hugs to all who are feeling unappreciated/unrewarded/invincible/ in the workplace.

Have a rewarding day!

Emefa Gadze

The Definition of a Miracle

Thinking about a miracle reminds me of videos I watched showcasing this incredible little boy, Ethan Bortnick play the piano and it was amazing the kind of complicated pieces he was doing so effortlessly and he can read music upside down. Yes you read right, upside down! He started playing at age 3, all he needs to do is listen to the music just once, oh yes he memorises it in a minute or two and then plays it. By six years he could play more than 200 pieces of music from memory! He’s been interviewed many times and the puzzle in the eyes of interviewers trying to wrap their heads around what they are experiencing with this child just tells you that they cannot comprehend how humanly possible it is to do what he was doing.
 
Miracles are like that, they are out of the human realm, only the supernatural can induce a miracle. What am I saying, in this journey called life, like many of you, I have been faced time and time again with situations that are just completely out of control which will take only a miracle for what I am working towards to be realised. And there were times where I am pleasantly surprised because I truly experience a miracle as things turn around at the nick of time.
 
And this is to encourage anyone who is in the rut and feel like all their efforts are hitting a brick wall. Once you are sure you have done your best and held your part of the bargain, then you are sure a candidate for a miracle. You see, you dont get a miracle until the stage is set for it. This means that things have to look like all hope is lost and nothing can be done about the situation, then and only then do you qualify for a miracle :-)).
 
God shares His glory with no one so as much us it might be crazy for you right now, if you really, really have done your best and things are not happening the way you expect, then you just have become a God case. And trust me He will do only what He can.
 
Now sit back and enjoy Ethan Bortnick’s videos from his earlier days.
 
May the Lord remember us when we find ourselves at the end of road looking up to Him for a miracle..
 
Have a blessed weekend.
 
Emefa