The Secret of the Shut Door!

To be set on fire, you must get close to God. When you feel cold, distant, and "out of it" spiritually, it's time to retreat to the closet, place yourself before the fireplace of His word, and allow the intensity of His face to restore your fervency.”

― Bob Sorge,

His Word

⁵ And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. ⁶ But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. Matthew 6:5-6

From my heart to yours

I really love Psalm 91 and the blessed assurance that accompanies dwelling in the secret place of the Lord; The guarantee of those who make the Lord their habitation to enjoy the protection of abiding under the shelter of His tabernacle. The Lord has been teaching me on the secrets of dwelling in His presence to behold His splendor, Beauty and Majestic glory.  He taught me about the blessedness of the shut door! The place of communion with the Father with everything else shut out. No TV, phone, Instagram, Facebook…etc. Just a simple girl, with my Bible, journal, highlighter, and the Lord who abides in the secret place. Occasionally the Lord through His Spirit will beckon me to go to His secret place because He has missed me. I would be still, sometimes standing amd ministering to the Lord, listen, pray, cry, meditate etc.

In here, the Lord teaches us on the blessedness and joy of cultivating a secret life of communion with Him. It is in the secret place that we can experience Him simply yet powerfully. The sheer delight of being tucked away in a nook, your door shut, you are curled up in a comfortable position, quiet, the word of God laid bare before thine eyes, Jesus present, the Holy Spirit gently washing your heart and the love of God is awakened in those silent moments of meditation of His amazing grace. At that place, your spirit is ignited and your mind renewed. You become aware of the presence of the Father. Here, you talk to your Father and He talks to you in an intimate language of laugh. He makes you laugh in the Holy Ghost-I love when this happens a lot!

Jesus teaches about the secret place of the Lord and when we shut ourselves off the world and lock our doors(figuratively), we automatically enter into  the presence of the Lord and the Father is already in the secret place. It is His habitation. Matthew 6:18… but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.

When you shut your door, you enter the presence of your father regardless of how you feel. At the secret place, you experience the taste of Heaven. When you know that you are in His presence and don’t even feel it, the knowledge of His presence will cause your soul to be inclined to the presence of the Lord.

You need to shut that door!

Journal

·         Have you ever desired to experience a taste of Heaven?

·         Have you ever experienced God in His secret place?

·         You need to shut that door! Retreat somewhere and shut off the world and have communion with your Father. He is already at the secret place waiting for you darling.

Let’s Pray

Father, I choose to dwell in Your secret place this day and I pray for grace to say no the world and shut the door of distractions to seek You. Lord because I have made the choice to abide in the secret place of the Most High and make these declarations with my mouth, I am not afraid of  terror of the night nor the arrows of the wicked that flies by day.  I have no fear or dread or worry of the pestilence that stalks in the darkness.  I am not at all fearful of the destruction and sudden death that surprise and lay waste at noonday. A thousand of my enemies may fall at my side and ten thousand at my right hand but it never comes near me but with mine eyes will thine see the reward of the wicked. 

Because Lord You are my Refuge and the Most High my dwelling place no evil shall befall me nor any plague or calamity come near my house. Thank you that You will command  Your angels special charge over me to accompany me and to defend me and to preserve me in all my ways of obedience and service. The angels assigned to me will bear me up on their hands lest I should dash my foot against a stone.  I will tread upon the lion and the adder, the young lion and the serpent will I trample underfoot.  I am always above and never beneath. Amen, and because I have set my love upon the Lord, He will deliver me, the Lord will set me on high, because I know His name and massive will be  the overflow of His mercy, love and kindness.  With a long, happy, healthy, peaceful and prosperous life He is satisfying me and showing me His salvation. Amen

Daughter of the Covenant (Chiddy)

#35

What is in a Name? Everything!

The Name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. David.

His Word

³⁵ …“And the name of the city from that time on will be:the Lord is there.” Ezekiel 48:35 b
 ¹⁵ He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. 2 Chronicles 20:15
¹³ Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13-14
¹⁸ That men may know that thou, whose name alone is Jehovah, art the most high over all the earth. Psalm 83:18
 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord Our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6

From my heart to yours

For a while, I have been researching the meaning of my maiden name Adisa in our local dialect. Unfortunately, I have never been lucky to find the exact meaning even from grandma. My name originates from Yoruba. The meaning of Adisa in Yoruba, Nigeria is One who makes himself clear. Elizabeth on the other hand means the Lord has Redeemed.—turned my life around and gave me double honor instead of shame. Not long ago, I was found in a dangerous place that saw me have an experience with my Maker and had to be baptized with a new name Chidimma because of the testament of the experience. Chidimma means God is good. Well, let’s switch from my names escapade and go to what’s important naming remains a significant thing.

What is there in a name? You ask, Everything. Absolutely everything! When Moses is sent to Pharaoh, he asks…And whom shall I say has sent me? The Lord responded and said, it is I, The Great  I AM THAT I AM. I have been thinking about God and all His names and I must say there is something about Nigerian culture that I love. They have a name for God for everything the Bible says about Him. They call Him names like:
Olugbala -(Our saviour)
Olorun ajinde-(The resurrected Lord)
Olugbega-(The lifter of our head
Awamaridi-(Unsearchable God)
Olowogbogboro-(God whose hand is long enough to reach at any length) and I found that to be really powerful.

From the readings shared, the psalmist makes a prayer to God concerning the enemies of Israel and he says, Lord, confound them in their wickedness that they (enemies of Israel) may know thy Name; that thou art Jehovah! There is something about knowing the Name of God and experiencing the power behind the name of God that means absolutely everything. Jehovah was known in Israel as the Incommunicable inexplicable, the Self-existing One, the I AM, Immortal, Invisible and Unsearchable God.

When Abraham was about to sacrifice his son and Gods providence met him, he called Him Jehovah Jire, the Lord will provide.
Moses with the Israelites when they realized God was fighting for them like He did later with Jehoshaphat, he called Him Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our banner.
Gideon, when they were up against the Midianites and the Lord gave them peace; he called Him Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our Peace.
Jeremiah too had to remind the Israelites about a name of the Lord they had forgotten. That actually, we only have access to the LORD because of Christ.  He called Him Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness.
Ezekiel also called Him, Jehovah Shammah, the Lord who is already there!
Yes, there is everything in a name and especially the Name of the Lord.

Journal

• Do you know God by His Names?
• Do you just know thousands of God’s Names and have never experienced the power of the very Names?

There is everything in the Name. God wants us to not only know His Names but experience His Names. That when we call Him Alagbada Ina, the one whose clothed with fire, then we can sing the song Consuming Fire by D Psalmist with a revelation that actually, it is not vain words we are repeating. We are calling Him for who He is and He is arising to consume evil works.
Let’s Pray
Father, this week we pray that we will not only know Your Name Lord but we will experience You in the power of Your Name. Allow us to experience You Father as we seek you in Your Word and in Communion. Let Your daughters testify that we have seen the Lord. Amen

Daughter of the Covenant (Chiddy)
#34

A Faith like No Other:Tested through the Fire

When we learn how to battle with the sword of the Spirit, with its two edges of the Word and God’s Holy Spirit, the enemy will flee before us.”
― Linda Evans Shepherd,

His Word

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Hebrews 11: 1,6
 “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. ³² But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31


From my heart to yours
A while back, I was doing a study of Luke and when I got to chapter 22, there were profound lessons I drew; and a major one to strengthen my spiritual walk from a conversation Jesus has with Peter before His arrest. This is the same Simon who was given a new name Peter which means rock. Simon means weakness. At this time before he betrays Jesus, Jesus calls him two times, Simon, Simon- weakness, weakness and what does Jesus say, Satan our adversary has desired to sift Simon like wheat but the Lord Jesus prayed that he’d be strengthen and that his faith fails not so that after that, Simon will be His ambassador and be used to strengthen others.

Literally speaking, the process of wheat sifting is not easy, you first have to cut down the wheat, tie it down and crush and shake it off. Such a painful sifting process that the enemy has desired to work on not only to Peter but to all believers. The biggest encouragement though was that Jesus has already prayed that we be strengthen when we go through this fire so that we can testify and strengthen others with the testimony of our victory in the name of the Lord. In winning such kind of battles, faith becomes a critical component of our armor.

In letter to Ephesians, Paul admonishes the believers to put on the full armor of God and that shield of faith is to be used to extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one that flies by day. Ephesians 6:10-18, Psalms 91:5-8. The past few months have been a time of refinery for me and sifting but in all this I have continued to see the strong arm of the Lord contending with my contenders, Psalms 35. Faith then helps us to see and behold that which is not as if it is because we know whom we have believeth and are persuaded that His Word is true and is spirit and life to us who believe.
Faith does not see, it just believes before seeing the tangible. It believes in God and takes Him at His Word.
It is such faith that conquers battles, withstands adversity, it’s not ordinary, transforms people, its irresistible, it resists Satan, it’s not staggering, unwavering, it’s a faith that thrives through rough seasons, it’s a winning faith that travels with confidence and trust on the Lord  through a route it has never treaded before. It’s an Elijah kind of faith that commands the heaven and calls fire from heaven. It is that faith that pleases God. It is the apostolic faith that quenches the fiery darts of evil. God wants such faith in His Solders!

Journal

Has your faith ever been tried through fire?
What lessons did you draw during that season and how has it built your faith in the Lord?
Faith believes God when the physical eyes can’t see. Faiths comes by hearing the Word of God, are you taking time to study, practice and teach the Word of God like Ezra devoted himself so that your faith is unshaken?

Let’s Pray
Father, this week we ask for one thing, help us build our faith in You and the power in Your Word. Release Your grace of faith that cannot fizzle out in the midst of adversity Lord upon Your Daughters; That we will have unquenchable fire of the Lord in our lives to quench the arrows of enemy and resist him in Jesus Name. And if there be any unbelief in us, Lord help our unbelief. Amen.

Daughter of the Covenant

#33

Fear of Singlehood…

Calvary greetings after a long while of silence, 

You see, I was one of those girls who grew up knowing that by mid 20s, I will be married and begin making my family. Well, it didn’t happen. Sometimes I would wonder whether it was because I was too smart and strong-willed, too shy, too conservative, too strict, not so good enough, not hippie or just not beautiful enough to bowl a man over. I thought of many things; that maybe I will not be able to experience the gift of marriage. I fell in love too. Not once but a few times. I thought to myself finally, the curtains are down and our happily ever after is here. But somehow, things happened and here we are. I found myself into some few wrong ones too, mostly, wanting to feel special and also have someone to talk to late into the night and argue about who is to hang up first. You know those little things that make dating really exciting. 

There were days of feeling sorry, sad and confused. Fear crept in too sometimes. “Will I be married someday? Will I even meet a good man out here? They were seasons with dozens of question; questions that drove one to entertain the strangest of a male who will show an ounce of attention. A wrong move if you ask me. But I have come to appreciate one truth; the season of singlehood is one of the sweetest joys one can have. You get to enjoy a perfect Father –Daughter moment without distractions. 

You know, there are times I would pack my bags and travel to a new city or place, I wish I would make those memories with someone special and it broke my heart that the only thing I could do was journal. He can’t share the moments with me, but I can only share through my journals. I stared at the beautiful sunset, cruised to some quiet island in the early morning orange glare of the rising sun, the reflection on my face and the cool breeze flipping my hair messily. I kept every memory safely tucked in my journal. Sometimes I would look down and feign a smile when the water boat guy will ask why I am going to some island alone. Then I would face him, smile lightly as I adjust my hair and mumble something like, “He has phobia for water, he couldn’t join me,” Then he would say something like, “I wouldn’t let my woman out here alone with a group of strange men ,” in that Giriama accent. “I will swim the ocean just to show her that I got her back.”  I would smile and adjust my camera lens and capture the scene around. 

Back then it was difficult. I had fears that ate my esteem. But when I realized how precious those moments were, I think my single season is the most beautiful phase of my life. You get to have a great opportunity of bonding with the Father. You talk to him about your secrets; you tell Him even how you don’t understand His sons’ behavior.  You engage Him like the little princess you are to help you understand our brothers, you even tell him of a stupid crush you have and know it is not right and how they drive you crazy. You know, just the kind of stuff that goes on between daddy and her daughter. The season affirms to you through friendship about your worth, value and how your father looks to you. A princess you are, with your identity pegged on your Father. He helps you to put your heart in Him, and like in the movie” Courageous” He softly and tenderly asks  you to give Him your heart, That He will guard it and entrust it to a man after His heart.

“Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.” Proverbs 31: 29

Yeah, my Father –Daughter time has taught me that, my worth.  I am a daughter of my Father, who is dearly loved. Daddy’s girl; He hides me. He shares my joy, my pain, my laughter; He tells me am beautiful, fearfully and wonderfully made.

He reminds me that even in that vacation, I was not alone. In the quiet island, I was never alone. He was there, He shared my memories. He was there kissing my forehead with the rays of the sunset, singing me beautiful songs with the chirping of the birds, excited with me as I got thrilled observing the marine life in the massive ocean. 

He was there when I sat across my bed reminding myself that someday he will be here, the three of us together. That he will be worth the wait. And even though my Father will be right in our midst, it will be special but different. It will be me with my moochie but my Father will be there. As for now, I will enjoy the time with my Father, I will dance with Him, I will watch my favorite movie with Him, I will travel places with Him and one day, I will share these memories with my father to my darling. I will keep my journal and gladly share my memories with him, so that he will know about my Father too.

For now, enjoy your father –daughter time darling!

Wont you?

PS: The website is now on…   www.lizzieadisawrites.com

  check out…our stories will be posted there from now hence fourth. Thank you!

Love

The sisters Keeper

#TrippleS122

Is it that bad that you marry late in life?

I sometimes get shocked about how careless some of us are in our conversation. Words either break or make. They either heal or destroy. No one can ever return the words spoken out. Sometimes we hurt others badly when we utter careless words and no matter how we try to undo, the results are there to stay.

So, the other day, I am having this long phone call with a good friend. As usual, his first lament is that he wants to really meet this man and give him a hard buddy fist. Then he says that it is important to get married and have children when I am still young. He even does the breakdown of the children growing up and suggest that  if you are over 30 years with no child yet, that implies that your child will be in form one while you are at 50 years. His argument is that there will be a difficulty in raising the child because they will be thinking of you as their ‘ancestor’. We had a long conversation. Mainly trying to bring a few things into perspective…

First of all, as girl in my late twenties, I can bet you I have heard a lot of annoying stuff. Sometimes scary as far as matters getting children is concerned. First, it was, ooh, “you should bring up your child when you are still young. Children born later in life are normally intellectual dwarfs; that staying too long may cause fibroids etc.” So many things have been pegged negatively on a woman’s life and everyone in the world is always screaming at you. then."Get a man. If it’s too hard, then just get a baby and forget marriage."

 

But today, I write to encourage one who has heard those sentiments like a gazillion times.

First of all, no one should give you pressure to settle or the just have a baby kind of thing. I believe that children are a heritage from the Lord. Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him (Psalms 127:3) No one is guaranteed to have them. You see, the irony of life is that today:

•   A teenager will indulge in unplanned sex on her way to school. Without realizing it, she begins spewing saliva and insisting on wearing her mother’s oversize jumper even when the sun is up the sky.
•   Another girl will just have a single one night and lo and behold, she is pregnant.
•  Yet another will get married at 24 years and stay for years only to conceive at 40 year.
•    Another will be married at 33 and conceive in honey moon.
• And another will use FP, have protected sex but still conceive.

So what am I saying, nobody knows when the other will really get a child or whether that will be because, they are a blessing that most certainly not all are guaranteed. Sometimes people don’t decide to have children 15 years after their last child had been born. It just happens. The same way no one plans to have a child with disability or who needs special care.

Let no one ever tell you that getting married later will give you a hard time raising your children. It is pure nonsense. You can marry early and still wait forever to have the bundles of joy but the Joy of the Lord will still be your strength. Equally, you can marry old and get a baby a.s.a.p. All we need is to have the wisdom to discern the voice of God in all the situations we are in. Either of the extreme doesn’t imply that there is something wrong with you. There could be yes but also, like with the story of the man born blind, Jesus is asked by the crowd on why he is blind. They ask, “Is it because of his sins or his parent’s sins” Jesus replies and says, no, “It was so, so that the name of God will be known and glorified”. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him(John 9:2-3).

As one Nadira writes https://nadirahangail.com/2016/05/25/mind-your-own-womb/  here, just leave people’s stomach alone. And yes, even if one marries and conceives early or late, your child will be handsome and beautiful to behold like it was said of baby Moses by the Egyptian midwives.

There is nothing wrong in marrying later in life or earlier in life. The beauty is in beginning marriage life with the right person. A right person that together you will built your home and raise godly offspring’s who will not only be a blessing to your home and the body of Christ, but a blessing to the nations and a gift to humanity. 15 But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring.( Malachi 2:15)

Love 

Sisters Keeper.

Tripples121

Dating a younger man,Should age matter?

I couldn’t do this write up for obvious reasons that someone might think I am speaking about them. I asked a friend to do it for me instead.  What is the fuss about dating a younger guy? Based on my experiences, I would have taken a totally different stand altogether. So he looks me in the eye and says, Babe, Falling for you was like taking an afternoon nap. I had promised myself that it will just be a brief sleep with one coffee we had but as soon as I fell, I was dreaming.  I know I’m not supposed to love you. I’m not supposed to care, living my life wishing you were here. I am not supposed to wonder where you are and what you are up to. But I can’t help it. I fell in love with you.” Sweet words, heart melting but still, it were a no. Was it because of age? 30 % yes and 70% No. why? There is more to saying yes to a proposal than just age. Anyway, my good friend Stella Rop shares some interesting thoughts on the subject here for triple S Series

“A

ge ain’t nothin’but a number...” an old song I used to like goes.

But is it?

I don’t know why it is that most of us ladies hope to end up with an older man. Perhaps we imagine the extra years on this earth will have helped him gain some wisdom (not a bad thing!) or ‘get serious’ with his life and career so that he can be that Provider when the time comes for us to say ‘I do’. 

So here comes a chap you well know is younger than you, chasing you, calling you, looking for excuses to meet with you and hinting at a courtship and you’re asking yourself, “Haka kako serious lakini?!”  (Is this little one even serious?) He could be two or three or even five years younger than you. Maybe his older siblings were your classmates in school and you fear being labelled a ‘cradle snatcher’. Maybe your over-active imagination has already shown you a future where, when he is fifty, people will be mistaking you for his mother! Maybe you keep telling him things like “You remind me of my little brother” or even “Why don’t you find someone your own age to disturb?” in a bid to discourage him. Perhaps you and your girlfriends have enjoyed endless rounds of laughter making fun of this young man, even though you’re secretly flattered by his interest. But why dismiss someone because of his age? 

The primary thing to look out for is a man who is walking with the Lord- and remember God can save one at age 8, 28 or 88. Salvation is not like the KCSE exam, which can only be done in Form Four! Supposing the younger man pursuing you is already walking with the Lord and growing in his faith, bearing visible fruits of this relationship with God, then ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is he mature?

Maturity is not a direct result of age. There are young, mature people out there, just as there are older, immature people. Look at his speech, his thoughts, the people he associates with and the way he lives his life. Does he have direction in his life? Is he ready and able to bring someone else into his life? Before you dismiss him so fast, realize that he may have a thing or two to teach you. After all, though wisdom increases with age, it is not necessarily withheld from the young: If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. (James 1:5)

2. Are we pursuing the same things in life?

Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?  (Amos 3:3)

This is a far more important question to answer than someone’s age. You hear of many couples who break up saying, “We drifted apart” or “We don’t want the same things any more,” which means each was pulling in the opposite direction. If the two of you generally have goals for your lives that align, your relationship stands a far better chance of surviving and thriving.   

3. Can we be friends?

Of course, you cannot marry your enemy! Any good relationship is built on the foundation of friendship. Sister, if this young man shows some promise in the ‘potential mate’ department, why not give him a chance? You may not agree to date him straight away but you could start by becoming his friend. Take the chance to get to know him in a non-romantic way, and you will learn a lot about him. It’s always refreshing to hang out with someone who has a different perspective of life from yours. Get to know his inner circle of friends, his hobbies and so on, as he learns the same about you. You could end up gaining a friend— and mate—for life, or on the other hand you could discover the two of you are about as compatible as oil and water. Either way, you won’t have wasted your time.

We ask God to give us good spouses, and indeed He does, because He is the provider of every good gift (James 1:17). However, we cannot dictate the terms and conditions of these gifts, because our Father gives us what He knows is best for us. Before you dismiss him, look twice at that younger man. Are you shying away from him because it is ungodly, or are you worried about what people will think? Reflect on that and remember, Watasema sana, lakini usiku watalala.”

Piece by Stella Rop,

For Tripple S 120