Looking at that tree, you don’t need a rocket scientist to tell you it’s an apple tree. A friend put up a tweet and I’ll quote him “I judge people by their tweets” and I replied “An apple tree doesn’t produce orange, even if it was grafted, an apple-orange fruit will be produced.
Back in my days in the university, there was this lady I respected so much you know, the type we call Spirit-filled, tongue-blasting, demon exterminator. Yea she was all that but something happened and I lost some form of respect. We had a meeting and there was a disagreement between her and someone and the things she said didn’t go down well with me. I had placed her way above, but in a few minutes all that came crashing down because of her attitude.
We’ve heard so much of the importance of “making a first impression”. She may have been having a bad day and reacted in that way, but the problem here is, everyone present that day won’t sit around and wait for her explanations. When you’re pushed to the wall, how do you react? There have been countless stories of rape occurring as a result of alcohol and I ask one simple question, who’s to be blamed for the rape: the lady, guy or the alcohol? Here’s my opinion and like I said MY OPINION (I’ll like to hear yours). I feel alcohol is like a body to enable the thoughts on the inside come alive. Anyone who commits rape and blames it on alcohol is committing another offense of lying. My dear, you’ve nursed the idea ( even if it wasn’t going to be forceful), long before that day.
The greatest Book of all time has this to say “As a man thinks, so is he” Prov. 23 vs 7, “Guard your heart, for out of it flows the issues of life” Prov. 4 vs 23. I’m going to ask a few questions and it’s for everyone regardless of religion. What’s the content of your heart? Beyond your beautiful/handsome face, what lies beneath? Who are you when your door is closed to the world?
I remember speaking to someone on watching pornography. *Takes a deep breath*. You know, we’ve heard there’s always a good side of everything. Newsflash!!! There’s no good side to porn. You only end up having unattainable expectations from your partner. If you want to stay sane, sever yourself from it.
What do we occupy our minds with daily? When the Israelites were beaten by snakes, God asked Moses to erect a staff, anyone who looked at it received healing. Note the word LOOKED. We can’t take in junk and expect to produce anything different.
Truth is, we may not express all the nasty stuff we have on the inside, but it’ll definitely show up one way or the other. We can only succeed in pretending for a while but we can never be consistent if the root of our old way of doing things is still receiving nutrient from the same soil. You can’t truly change by just saying it or temporarily putting off the little vices. Our change comes from a renewal of our minds. It’s a continuous exercise.
Can we take out time to unveil the contents of our hearts? When something good happens to a friend and we send our congratulations; if our hearts our ripped into two, will it be the same report? Has jealousy eaten you up? No one may know because you are always smiling and you’re always in the picture for every celebration. I learnt something a while ago and I’ll share it with you. You may have a friend who’s got everything going: good job/business, amazing relationship/marriage and all that and somehow whenever you hear another good news a tinge of jealousy wells up on the inside. Here’s what you can do, speak a word of blessing over the person, thank God for the person. This is the secret, whatever you wish someone has a way of coming back to you, and unconsciously you are getting rid of jealousy.
There you go. I’m hopeful you’ll start working on the contents of your heart. May your heart be filled with love till there is an overflow.
LOADS OF LOVE.
JMAD.