Grace and Goodness Ooze from You ( by Fenny West)

They Think It’s All Over! (by Fenny West).

Acts5:15-16

They think it’s all over for you: This man showed up at his funeral

This man had a look alike in the same trade who was shot dead in an incident and was taken to the mortuary. Incidentally news reached the mother of the man you‘re looking at that her son was dead. The mother was devastated and funeral arrangements were made and he showed up!

They think it’s all over for you? But they ain’t seen nothing yet.

SAO PAULO – A 41-year-old car washer shocked his family when he interrupted a funeral being held for him at his mother’s home in the town of Alagoinhas in northeastern Brazil, police said Tuesday.

Police inspector Roberto Lima said by telephone that on Sunday Jose Marcos Araujo identified a body at the city morgue as being that of his brother, Gilberto.

Lima said that Jose Marcos took the body to his mother’s home where a wake was held.

“The confusion started when news started circulating that a car washer had been shot dead,” Jose Marcos’ wife, Ana Paula, told the UOL Internet news portal. “Police called my husband and told him that his brother had been killed and his body was at the morgue.”

Lima said the confusion was “understandable.”

“The two men closely resembled each other and both worked as car washers,” Lima said adding that the man whose body was in the morgue was named Genivaldo Santos Gama. He said further information on Gama was not immediately available.

A few hours before the Monday burial “a friend of Gilberto’s saw him walking down the street and told him that his family was mourning him,” he said.

“So he went to his mother’s home to let everyone know he was very much alive.”

When Araujo showed up at his wake “some people fainted and others were so scared they ran away. It was a big shock,” family friend Maria Menezes told the G1 online news site.

Gilberto’s mother Marina Santana told reporters “I am overjoyed. What mother wouldn’t be after being told that her son is dead and then sees him alive.”

Your Dream Will Be Challenged

The woman in Shunem was barren

God gave her a pleasant surprise

Rewarded her generosity

At old age she became fruitful

Carried a baby like Sarah

But then came a death knell

It was sudden like a bad spell.

Her husband resign his faith

But she set her face like flint

And ran to the man of God.

He asked her, ‘Is it well?’

She answered, ‘It is well!’

‘You must come, I will not go.’

Prophet Elisha saw the fire

Etched clearly in her eyes.

He followed her and saw

Her son stone cold dead.

He stretched himself

On the boy, eye on eye

And mouth on mouth

and he became warm

Sneezed seven times and woke up.

The dead dream came back to life.

Why did the boy die?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Your dream will be challenged

Your dream will be opposed

Your dream will be sorely tried

And when it happens, remain resolute

Go to the Dream-Giver in faith

Know that it is not over until He says so

Do not throw in the towel for the foe.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2Kings4:8-37&version=AMP

Roll Away the Stone!

Lazarus was sick to the core.

Death knocked on the door.

Jesus was quickly informed.

But he took His time to come.

When He arrived it was over

Lazarus was dead and gone.

Mary and Martha were cross

Disappointed, despondent.

He said: ‘Your brother shall rise again.

I am the Resurrection and the Life.’

Where have you laid him?’

He prayed: ’Father I thank You…

Because you have heard Me…’

They thought it was all over

But Jesus did not think so.

Roll away the stone.

Lazarus, come forth!

And Lazarus came forth

So has your dream died?

Is that dream from God?

If so take to Him in prayer.

There is no need to despair.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=john11:1-44&version=AMP

No Need to Despair

Widow of Nain met her waterloo

Her only son cruelly taken away

By the cold hand of sudden death.

She was in great distraught- all was gone!

Jesus was not far away and saw her.

Compassion flowed ceaseless out of Him.

Do not weep He consoled her;

He touched the funeral bier

Pallbearers stood still.

Young man, I say to you arise

And the man rose, came back to life.

So has your dream died?

Is that dream from God?

If so take to Him in prayer.

There is no need to despair

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke7:11-15&version=AMP

Luke7:11-15

Tabitha (Dorcas) abounding in good works

Fell ill and surprisingly was snatched by death

It came like a wicked thief in the night

So quickly it snuffed out the light.

Darkness fell as the curtain fell

Why it happened no one could tell.

Peter was not far from the scene

And they begged him to come

Showing him her handiwork

Crying, pleading, sobbing

Peter, put them out

to avoid doubt.

‘Tabitha, get up!’ He commanded

Her eyes were opened and she rose

And so were the drooping spirits raised.

Great joy greeted the house.

Elation emotion erupted

Dead dream had come alive!

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%209:36-42&version=AMP

Jesus came to save the sin-sick

Abandoned His seat in glory

To do the Father’s will

‘Here I come, send Me’ He said.

He came to His own but they disdained Him

They vilified Him and crucified Him

He was dead and buried, it seemed all over.

But on the third day He rose again

Defeating death just like He said.

He remains, the Resurrection and the Life

And holds the keys of death and Hades.

He has the final say about your dream

And about my dream and His will shall be done.

They think it’s all over for you? But they ain’t seen nothing yet.

©Fenny West2012

Maintaning the Good in You ( Fenny West)

God has great good stored in us through Christ- the exceeding riches of His grace. These good things are precious- pearls that should not be thrown to pigs. We need to know how to maintain these good things in us. We have an enemy who wants to steal, kill and destroy these good things.

First and foremost, we need to know what these good things are before we can protect them. (see my articles on ‘ in Christ’: What we are and have in Him.

As a summary I have listed how you can maintain the good in us. I counsel you to search the scriptures yourself and note how to maintain the good I you.

Maintaining the Good in You comes with:

Knowing the good in youHosea4:6

Accepting the good, acknowledging the goodPhil1:6, Eph1:3-6

Believing the good, boasting in the Lord about the good; being bold about it; being good because of the good in you ; being a blessing Matt5:13-15, Eph5:1, 1John4:17, Gen12:2

Be an imitator of God Eph5:1

Doing the good that you are and believing it; Be a doer of the word and not a hearer only James1:22-23, Matt7:24-27

Confessing the good in you Eph4:23, testify of who God is- faithful, merciful, ever-present, good, healer, provider, protector, His integrity, His love etc; what He has done for you and of His promises

James1:22-23, Matt5:13-15

Enduring hardness in regard to the good that you are and have and promised and hoping for 2Tim2:3

Repaying those who treat you badly with good Ro12:21

Watch your association 1Cor15:33

Mind your mind, renew your mind Ro12:2, Eph4:23, Prov23:7

Maintain fellowship with the saints Heb10:25

Love the Lord with all your heart, mind and strength, Mat4:10

Love your neighbour as yourself1Cor13:4-8,13, John13:34-35

Live by faith and not by sight Ro1:17, 2Cor5:7, Ro4:17

Water it with prayers 1Thess5:17, Luke 18:1

Live by the Spirit Gal5:16

He Made Me Marvellously (by Fenny West)

He Made Me Marvellously

¹³For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb.

¹⁴I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well.

¹⁵My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.

¹⁶Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in Your book they all were written, The days fashioned for me, When as yet there were none of them.

¹⁷How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!

¹⁸If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; When I awake, I am still with You.

Ps139:13-18 NKJV

New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 139:13-18

¹³For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
¹⁷How precious to me are your thoughts,God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.

New living Translation

The Message

Psalm 139:13-18

The Message (MSG)

^13-16Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out;
you formed me in my mother’s womb.
I thank you, High God—you’re breathtaking!
Body and soul, I am marvelously made!
I worship in adoration—what a creation!
You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I’d even lived one day.

^17-18Your thoughts—how rare, how beautiful!
God, I’ll never comprehend them!
I couldn’t even begin to count them—
any more than I could count the sand of the sea.
Oh, let me rise in the morning and live always with you!

He Made Me Marvellously

So intricately, wove me

Like a magnificent tapestry

Fashion me so carefully,

And so wonderfully

And His Mind is so full of me.

Therefore, I will praise Him

Glorify Him and adore Him

Because everything in me

Will work for me -not against me.

Every ability He has endowed

Will work to the perfection

He has made it and ordained it.

Every seeming disability

Will work together for good

with the other endowments in me.

Therefore, I can do all things

He purposed for me to do

Not by my might or my power,

But through Christ, my strength

Nothing can stop me, but me.

I need not fear any evil

Because He is with me

He is for me and with me

He is always here by me.

He knew my end

Even before I began

So I can relax, chill out

And trust Him

All the days of my life.

When the cupboard is bare, remember that He is Jehovah Jireh, – the supplier of all your needs:

He is the Good Shepherd. He will provide where He presides. Put your trust in Him and not in man or even your job. Phil4:19, Ps23, Ps37:25

When you’re sick, do not despair. Look to Him for your healing. He is the great Physician, Jehovah Rophe. Plead the promises; stand on the word. Put your faith to work. In your weakness His strength will be made perfect. You can do all things through Christ. (Phil4:13, Isa53:4, 1Pet2:24)

Is it old age? Never mind. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God.

They will bring forth fruit even in their old age. They will remain fresh and flourishing. That is your portion. Stand on the word. Ps92

Oaks of righteousness shall stand in the fierce wind.

Through His great faithfulness,

abounding grace they will find.

They will grow tall and strong

like cedars of Lebanon.

At night they will have a song

to cheer those that mourn.

They are the tree of righteousness

His treasured possession.

They will never perish

but always flourish .

They will be watered by the Lord.

In times of famine or recession.

Are you facing persecution or spiritual warfare?

Never mind. No weapon fashioned against you will prosper. Every tongue that rises against you in judgement, you will show to be in the wrong. You are more than a conqueror in Christ. Isa54:17,-59:19,Rom8:37-39, 2Cor2:14, 1John4:4, 1John5:4

Are you in a lion’s den? God is always there. He is Jehovah Shammah- the ever-present Lord. Call on Him. Look to Him. Trust Him at ALL times.

He shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel and can do the same for YOU! Dan6

Peace, Be still! Jesus is your peace

Praise Him in the Storm!

Are you facing bereavement?

He is always there and He cares.

Death is not an end but a glorious beginning of a New Dawn. So mourn, but let your mourning have scope. Absent in the body, present with the Lord. Paul said it would be far better for him to depart and be with the Lord than remain in the body. Because He lives, you can face tomorrow.

Just know that you are in good hands, because they are God’s Hands. So wallow in the word. Let it saturate you and comfort you and speak peace to you.

No matter the cross you are carrying, so long as it is the cross He ordained for you , you can bear it and die on it and resurrect because you died on it. It will not overpower you.

Keep your focus on

your God-given assignment-

Your dream and
Promised Land.

Focus on Your Goal

Even when you face the Red sea and behind you are the Egyptians in hot pursuit and you seem to be sandwiched, it’s not over until God says so.

He Who parted the Red sea remains the same, yesterday, today and forever.

Even when your drream seems dead, know that Jesus is the resurrection and the life.

John11:25,39-44, Rev1:17-18

Even if you’re facing a mental problem, know that God’s mind is full of you. Do not throw in the towel. Throw yourself on Him.

Is your life hanging in the balance? Trust in the Lord. Have faith in God. He is able to do exceeding abundantly, far beyond your wildest dream. If you can think it, He can exceed it.

They may be jealous of your dream and throw you into the pit, but they are only playing into God’s hands. Like it was for Joseph, David and Jesus, so it shall be for you.

Gen37,39,41, 1Sam17

They may even take your coat and make you a scapegoat, but they cannot steal your anointing.

Has love flown away? Remain resolute and assured that the love of God is always there. Nothing shall separate you from His love. No tribulation or distress or famine or nakedness or peril or sword shall separate you from God’s love.

Remember what Christ did for you on the cross.

Let that be your confidence. Let that boost your faith in Him. Remember, “It is finished.”

God’s eyes are on you.

You are the apple of the eyes

of the Most High.

Say what God has said in His word concerning you. Focus on his promises- not how you feel. Feelings are deceptive and can blind you to the purpose and nearness of God.

Pray without ceasing. Call upon the Lord.

He said call upon Me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will glorify Me.

Call upon Me and I will show you great and mighty things which you know not yet of.

He shall call upon Me and I will answer him. I will deliver him. I will be with him in trouble.

Ask of me and I will give you the nations for your inheritance; the uttermost part of the earth for your possession.

Ps50:15,Ps91:15,Jer33:3, Ps2:8

So no mattter what you ‘re facing:

Sing, O barren. You who has not borne fruit. Shout, cry aloud, praise God with every fibre of your being. Enlarge the place of your dwelling. Stretch out, spare not. Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For more will be the children of the desolate than the married woman. Isa54:1-2

Your time will come. Your Pay Day will come.

Weeping may endure for the night, but joy is coming in the morning.

In His time, He makes everything beautiful and sweet beyond our imagination.

You too will finish well, so long as you keep your eyes on Jesus- the Author and Finisher of your faith.

God is ever faithful.

Worship the King

Now reflect on this once more and may the Lord put springs in your steps to go for gold.

©Fenny West2013

https://inspiration4generations.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/in-this-brand-new-year-2/

20/4/13

©Fenny West2013

https://inspiration4generations.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/in-this-brand-new-year-2/

Guard Well Your Brand

Guard well your Brand

Guard well your brand

The Jesus brand

Though in the world

Not of the world.

Stand out for good

Eat God’s food.

Rise after a fall

And press on like Paul.

Let His word rule

Let His Spirit rule

Ooze His fragrance

In His remembrance.

Let out the love

In all your move

Let your light shine

Be not full of wine

Let Jesus reign

Sunshine or rain.

Be Spirit led

And Spirit fed

Think God’s thought

Guard your mouth.

Speak God’s mind

Mind your mind.

Go where He leads

Do what He bids.

Praying always

Even in a maze.

Reach for the lost

Out in the frost

Out in the cold

Go. Go. Be bold!

Shine your light

In His might.

Stand in the fire

Get off the mire

Be separate

And considerate.

Know you’re different

So make a difference

Be excellent

Not repellent.

Be passionate

And compassionate.

Believers Are Salt and Light

¹³“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

¹⁴“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

¹⁵Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

Matt5:13-16

Colossians 3: Not Carnality but Christ

¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

²Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

³For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

⁴When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

⁵Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

⁶Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,

⁷in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.

⁸But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

⁹Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,

¹⁰and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,

Character of the New Man

¹²Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;

¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

¹⁴But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.

¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

¹⁷And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Col3

Walking in the Spirit

¹⁶I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

¹⁷For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,

²⁰idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

²¹envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

²³gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Gal5:16-23

Romans 12: Living Sacrifices to God

¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.Rom12:1-2

Ephesians 5: Walk in Love

¹Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.

²And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.

³But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;

⁴neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.

¹⁴I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.John17:14

¹⁵Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!

¹⁶Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”

¹⁷But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.

¹⁸Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.

¹⁹Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

²⁰For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1Cor6:15-20

Be Holy

¹⁴Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?

¹⁵And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?

¹⁶And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ” I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”

¹⁷Therefore ” Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.”

¹⁸” I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD *Almighty.”***

2Cor6:14-18

https://inspiration4generations.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/in-this-brand-new-year-2/

Measure of a Man

The Measure of a Man

is not where he stands

in moments of comfort

or convenience but

in moments of challenge

and controversy.

God is not interested in your comfort but in your character.

So stand out for good reasons. Be a salt of the earth and a city on a hill; a light in darkness. Never follow the crowd. Dare to be different to make a difference. Evil prevail when good people are silent. Rosa Parks sat to make a stand. If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything. Stand by your convictions no matter how inconvenient.