For real...

Everyone who has achieved the monumental and seemingly impossible has done so because they saw, dreamt, lived and breathed, that which no one else could perceive. They “saw” with their “other eye”, and, what they saw, they believed possible. That which they believed possible, they pursued passionately (most of the time against all odds); That which they pursued passionately, they executed brilliantly, giving rise to the rhetorical question: Who would have thunk it?

"Princi-pearls"

To conclude that only my ideals, my opinions and my personal philosophies comprise the totality of all that there is to know, understand and experience without concession to another, would be the greatest folly of all and the summation of all foolishness...

A Tribute To Lilly...

I stood across the room, quietly taking in the scene. Anyone seeing me would think that I looked serenely beautiful in my lovely, gown, with my exquisite necklace hanging “just so”…  ‘Looking fabulous as usual’ Nene trilled as she walked by when her usual laissez-faire attitude. I just had to laugh, because there was no one just quite like Nene… Usually we would’ve started doing the rounds of the room together, but today my heart was heavy even as I laughed, successfully projecting my façade of utter peace and contentment, the façade that no matter what anyone thought, everything was “all right” in my world.


But not everything was all right in my world… This was supposed to have been me! This was supposed to have been my life, but it was snatched away from me!!! I turned away so that no one would see the ugliness pouring out from my heart, marring my beautiful visage… Hello darling another one chirped as she walked by ... My ever-loyal “boyfriend” came over and wrapped his strong arms around my shoulders, which normally would have made me feel much more secure, but today it had absolutely no effect whatsoever.


Dear God!!!, But I did everything right! I did what I was supposed to do!! I was who I was supposed to be!!! I prayed, I believed… Why did things turned out the way they did! Why is he the one who seems to have everything together, and I the one who seemingly has nothing to speak of, the one who has nothing to put together to send to my relatives in a greeting card to make them go awww…


'Oh my God he's coming over!' ... I tried valiantly to keep things together, but I felt myself losing the battle. As I  turned around to walk out of the banquet hall, for fear of breaking down completely, and spoiling my great moment, (with my name just about to be announced as the major award recipient for the evening), I heard HIS voice speak to me in a way that stopped me in my tracks…


Slowly I turned around, my tears quickly drying up, my shoulders squaring, and I stood taller… All because of the words He'd just whispered in my ear. This was it! This was the validation I’d been waiting for - This was what made everything clear to me … I am loved!


'Hello! It's been a while...'


It didn't matter anymore that he was married! It didn't matter anymore that he had his brood of children, and it didn't matter anymore and that I was the one who was right, and he was the one who had been wrong. Everything was OK now… everything was finally the way it should be …


Later that night lying in my comfortable bed, I basked in the light of His love, reminiscing on the beauty of the evening and  honor that had been bestowed upon me …. I was finally content. My world was finally right side up! I turned over, my eyes catching on the twinkle of my new engagement ring sparkling in the twilight… The one that almost never was because of how high of a fortress I had built around my heart… The wall that came crashing down today… I sighed and closed my eyes …. And the last words I heard just before I drifted off to sleep, were the words that He had spoken into my ear earlier that evening, the words that had made all the difference, and totally healed my bruised and battered soul … ‘My child do you for one moment imagine that I love him more than I love you? That I would favor him over you? Rest in my love… I LOVE YOU, and I have a plan for you that will very soon be revealed to you… rest in my love’


Yes, with those words everything melted away - The hurt, the anger, the bitterness, the feeling of being the one left out in the cold… I laughed! Oh YES! It had surely been revealed .. I reached over picked up my ring and slid it onto my finger…


The lullaby that rocked me to sleep that night was the old chorus: ‘Yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me, yes Jesus loves me for the Bible tells me so … I rested.

© OluPero Mettabel, November 24, 2012


Much love from "Me" to you,
OluPero Mettabel

Our “Three” with the “Fourth”; The “Fourth” with our “Three”

Can you see them?
There! Right in the midst of the flames.
Cast in by men who never lived to tell the tale,
Burnt to ashes even as they rained curses
Damning the condemned.
Even as they, the not condemned, were damned.
Their master they had a must to obey
This command they could not deny:

The three displaced in body, not in soul,
The names conferred – Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego
In aim to basterdize, demean, destroy.
Total annihilation of every vestige of faith,
Every remnant of hope,
But Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, stood strong,
Together the three as one,
Refusing to bow.

Securely bound, summarily shackled,
No means of escape (or so was thought).
Sundry eyes fixed on the gruesome
Pathos, tragedy and desolation,
Surely brought on by the very obedience
That compelled their souls.
The ones who succumbed standing by
By horror transfixed,
But still THEY refused to bow.

Freedom had Jehovah promised,
Heart, soul, body and mind.
Reverse divinity, through heavenly trinity
Of the tribe of Judah,
Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah - The three
Roaring Lion of the tribe of Judah arising,
Father, Spirit, The Son in the "Fourth"
The Divine in liberty, with flesh in captivity
Liberated from the scourge of fire in Serenity

Can you see them shackles broken!
Now they walk free!
In the midst of the fire,
In mystical conversation;
Holy communion, conferred through covenant.
Chaldean circumcision their hearts had rejected
Through which carnal satisfaction,
Would have bound the soul in captivity.
But by circumcision of fleshly hearts their spirits freed,
Breaking their bonds, rejecting passivity.


In the carnal fire, present HE is
So even as set to be consumed,
We are not ignited
By HIS Spirit’s fire lifted we are
Ignited with passion, but certainly not consumed!
The ONE corporeally with the three
In the physical fire,
The three intangibly with The “Three in One”
Through Spiritual fire.
Our “three” with the “Fourth”,
The “Fourth” with our “three”.


When all else have become ashes,
To His own He gives beauty.
And where bodies would have laid anointed with oil for burial,
The cruz of oil flows continually to sustain LIFE!
And instead of emptiness filling dried skeleton and skull
Fullness of the Godhead bodily dwells in living souls!
That the fire from without does not devour,
As the fire from within, baptizes to empower;
As the fourth walks freely with the three,
And the three are set free in the fourth.


Now The Lord is that Spirit,
And where HE is, there is liberty.
That we, when bound by limitation, turn to The Lord,
The veil between time and eternity is taken away
So that we who were bound by time and physicality,
In the fire without
Are liberated into the glory
“Outside of time”,
By the fire within,
LIFE UNTO LIFE  eternal!



 *** Etymology of the names:

• Hananiah means "God who is gracious" – God’s grace - CHRIST
• Misha'el means "Who is like God?”, - GOD THE FATHER

• Azariah means "God has helped" – God’s help – THE SPIRIT

• Shadrach possibly is derived from Shudur Aku "Command of the moon god" – Contrast COMMAND to GRACE

• Meshach is probably a variation of Mi•sha•aku, meaning "Who is what Aku is?", and may have been an alteration of his Hebrew name Mishael – Contrast IDOL to LIVING GOD!

• Abednego is either a corrupted or deliberate use of Abednebo, "servant of Nebo/Nabu," or Abednergo, a variation of Abednergal, "servant of the god Nergal – Contrast SERVANT to HELPER

THIS IS WHAT THE “THREE”(Father, Son and Holy Ghost) IN THE FOURTH MAN HAS BROUGHT: BY THE “FOURTH”(Jesus) in our “THREE” - Body: Liberated by walking with the “Fourth man”,  Mind: Set free by talking with the “Fourth man”, and Spirit: Ignited but not consumed by the fire of “Fourth man” – Halleluyah for Pentecoste!
FOR THIS WE ARE THANKFUL AS WE CELEBRATE THANKSGIVING!

Peace and much love,
From “Me” to you.


© OluPero Mettabel, November 22, 2012.

The Passage of Time -As we know it... The Intangible "Present" Moment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZzbGS17sF4

" Princi-pearls" - “Too blessed to be stressed”

A woman should not spend the moments of her life bemoaning the vagaries and the evilness of men, calories, double-digit dress sizes, and weight fluctuations, but rather on celebrating the abundance of love, life, peace and joy in that same life! The latter, she should cultivate and cherish without stressing over the former, an lifestyle if which she ironically she does not practice, will add on more of the former through the induction of stress… Make a determination today to ditch the moans and celebrate the tones... Determine to be - “Too blessed to be stressed”!

The sweetest moment of all…

It's so exciting to experience something as wonderful as getting to know the mysteries of the Kingdom… The joy of having a new world open up like a newly budding flower. A world of endless possibilities, a limitless world where there are no impossibilities, of nothing new under the sun, but the dumb-striking and eye-boggling revelations that take the mind through "reality threatening" calisthenics as it is morphed into a transformed state. It is exciting to hear the "come let me show yous", the "thus saith the Lords" and the "what do you sees"… It is awe inspiring to feel the springs of living water bubble up from within as that which has been deposited, begins to pour out in a torrential gush… But then the time comes when the lights go dim, and the words cease, when the torrent slows to a trickle and mellowness soothes through the ebb and flow… when all that can be uttered is hmmm...hmmm… hmmm...

That... becomes the sweetest moment of all…
The moment when I can just "come"…
When I can just "be"…
When I can just lay, bosom to bosom…
When I can just be loved… Be loved.

Jesus Loves Me
 Jesus loves me!
 This I know,
 For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak,
But He is strong.

Jesus loves me!
 Loves me still,
 When I'm weak and when I fail
That I might from sin be free,
Bled and died upon the tree.

Jesus loves me!
He who died
Heaven's gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Into His Kingdom, child come in.

Jesus loves me!
He will stay
Close beside me all the way.
Thou hast bled and died for me;
I will henceforth live for Thee.

Chorus:
 Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.

Anna B. Warner, 1820 -1915
** Words adapted to fit context


© OluPero Mettabel, October 12, 2012.

Feel God's love in this song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMCR4p5mSjQ

"Princi-pearls"

Giving thanks to God based on revelational certainty is the bedrock of the faith walk, moaning and living a life devoid of thanksgiving because of present-day reality, is like the millstone around the neck that serves to drown those who choose the flesh walk; for the just shall live by his faith and the carnal shall die giving in to his flesh…


Romans 8:6
For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.


1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.


Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

"Princi-pearls"

Man was not designed to be motivated, He was created to be inspired... The one that always needs motivation lacks intrinsic animation... But he that receives the breath of inspiration and inhales indeed must of necessity exhale - producing the energy that will initiate and sustain LIFE!...

MOTIVATION AIDS, BUT INSPIRATION IGNITES; Motivation is to coercion as inspiration is to animation...

Genesis 2:7 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

God motivated and molded clay into the form of a man, but it remained an organized but lifeless lump of clay until  the breath of God inspired it to become a living, life sustaining soul... Selah...

My book - "The Voice of One Woman"... Get your copy today...

http://pinterest.com/pin/57069120249233289/

"Princi-pearls"

John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy ...(Our joy, our peace, our liberty). Jesus has come that we may have life, and that we may have it more abundantly ... So lets LIVE, ABUNDANTLY, LAUGH UPROARIOUSLY AND LOVE PASSIONATELY...Because he whom the Lord has set free, he is free indeed!

Let's lose it to find out!

This is Time.

Time as we know it is the currency of our lives, and how that time is spent, determines the returns we get out of the life that we live.

Time may be borrowed, but for only short periods, but must be paid back, and that with interest, and no mistake made, this is a surety!

Time can only be quantified  after it has been  spent. The goods purchased are nonreturnable and nonrefundable, and experiences are impossible to reproduce, with exactitude and once flown can never be recaptured.

Just like money, time may be dissipated by spending it wastefully, wisely, or by giving it away, with or without regard and careful consideration.

Time also, like money, does not want for people who will gladly help you spend it, but be well aware of whom you grant this privilege, as it may well determine where and how you stand at the end of the day - flat broke or buoyantly solvent.

Thankfully time, like money, may also be held for qualitative units during which investments in large, and sometimes even minuscule amounts may cause such an increase as to result in multiplied end products as achieved through increased activity of time within time. This, cascade of events, however, can only be accomplished  through serendipitous synchrony by such a One, as has illimitable time at His disposal and the only One who is the "Time Plutocrat" - The "I am that I am". The One who in the beginning of Time, created time, who yet rules over time, from eternity to eternity.

Exposition:
We all, have one life to live and the manner in which we use this time is symbolic of the measure of currency spent and invested. This in turn determines the quality of our lifetime achievements, and may also define the length and quality of that span.

'...Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom'.

Like the servants in the parable of talents, we all are  given start-up resources, but the yield and the increase that we experience will depend how well we trade and invest those talents, and our ability to FULLY multiply and maximize our resources to their greatest capacity. This sets a high standard and requires that we recognize that this increase is solely dependent on the degree of involvement creator of time (who, paradoxically, lives in spheres out of time as we know it) in the apportioning of our time... 'And Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him!'. A man who so maximized his given resources by keeping company with the Ulti-inventor, that he finished all that he needed to accomplish way ahead of his  schedule, to the point that he was "NOT" !!! - Selah.

•  God multiplied Enoch's time within pregnant time, without breaking the cadence of time, enabling him to run his race and to finish his course, and in this case, ahead of schedule! (Gives a different perspective on some who we know left the earth way too early or so we thought huh?).

This infusion or birthing of pregnant time from out of time, into time, to accomplish purpose is not strange. See it demonstrated in Joshua's life....
Joshua 10:11-13
 11 And it happened, as they fled before Israel and were on the descent of Beth Horon, that the Lord cast down large hailstones from heaven on them as far as Azekah, and they died. There were more who died from the hailstones than the children of Israel killed with the sword.

12 Then Joshua spoke to the Lord in the day when the Lord delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel:
 “Sun, stand still over Gibeon; And Moon, in the Valley of Aijalon.”13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the people had revenge upon their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day.

  WOW!!!

• Again the boy with five loaves and two fishes mentioned in the epistles, had in his possession resources that  would have been entirely dissipated if he had kept them to himself but which were amplified ten, twenty, hundred, up to a thousandfold, in order to meet a greater immediate need, because he  released them to the 'Ulti-investor'. He was propelled by divine wisdom not age, sex, intelligence or resource dependent.

 The story of the Widow of Zarephath and her son during a time of famine, contrasts sharply with Eve's  story in terms of obedience and submission to God in the face of greater need, and Jesus sets and upholds the expected standard, thus cementing the foundations of the principle that:

IN ORDER TO EXPERIENCE THE "AD INFINITUM" MULTIPLICATION OF FINITELY LIMITED RESOURCES, ONE MUST PLACE ONE'S PERSONAL NEED AND THE DESIRE FOR INSTANT GRATIFICATION ON THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE. THIS SURRENDER CATALYZES THE AMPLIFICATION OF TIME AND IT'S RESOURCES - CONCEPTION TO BIRTH, FROM OUT TIME, INTO TIME IN IT'S OWN SET TIME - KAIROS INTO CHRONOS'.
  
©Mettabel Okulaja, Sept 2012.

• In the verses below we see that access to God's limitless resources, comes only through personal    sacrifice and submission, but yields unbelievably bountiful harvests.

The Widow of Zarephath and her son during a time of famine:
1 Kings 17:7-15
 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

12 So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’”

15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.

Woman in the garden of Eden - Immediate gratification in the setting of rebellion against God leading to truncation of previously deemed eternal life force, and given resources i.e. the privilege of enjoying the blessings of the garden and resultant banishment from the garden of Eden into the desert. A translocation from abundant life in eternity, into mortality, poverty; From earth spontaneously yielding  to   toil and sweat.   Man and his wife were now naked except for the gracious covering that God Himself provided.
 THEY WERE TRAPPED WITHOUT RECOURSE, IN TIME AS WE KNOW IT, AND CUT OFF FROM THE 'ULTI-PROVIDER'/INVESTOR'S UNLIMITED RESOURCES... The cruz of oil ran dry!

Genesis 3:6-7 
 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.

Genesis 3:17-24
 17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:“Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life.
 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.
 19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”
 20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
 21 Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
 22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

• Jesus - Our Quintissential example

 Philippians 2:5-11
 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. 9 Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

So, with this in mind, each one of us must settle these issues within himself:

• How much do I have been given in terms of resources, knowing that it is for a finite period.

• Is there a need that demands for submission of my resources.

• Is this need bigger than I.

• Am I willing to seek out this this "Ulti- investor and am I ready to submit to his will.

• Am I ready and willing to release my resources to the God who has the ability to maximize potential,  to  infuse them with power from out of time, into time to  achieve superlative effect.

If we are able to answer these questions in the affirmative, then we have the keys to living a maximally optimized life span that will result in satisfaction and rest, rather than in mundanely routine, mediocre and profitless time spent, (much like the wicked servant). We will be released to live a life that will not only fulfill a need greater than ourselves, but one which will also bring personal enrichment and satisfaction. For nothing that is withheld from the master, without a view to trading, multiplies, but that which is surrendered even though it may cause temporary deprivation , ultimately results in personal enrichment beyond one’s wildest dreams and or expectations.

Matthew 10:39 - He that findeth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Matthew 19:29 - And anyone that has forsaken house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my name’s sake will find it!

So, you  tell me, as I also ask myself, what currency do you have in your possession and how are you spending it?

Friends let's lose it to find out!

Peace and much love,

From "Me" to you.

The gospel according to the evening service.

It's a Wednesday evening, and my first church service in the last two weeks. I'm sitting there with a friend listening to the message which had just about started after we arrived, and the subject matter was: The role of speech in prayer. I honestly wasn't surprised that this was the focus of the evening service, as my understanding of God is that he will say certain things over and over again until we listen, hear, understand and execute the things that he would have us do.

A few weeks ago, the subject of my weekly video focused on blind Bartimaeus and how he received his sight through the ministry of Jesus. The one question that Jesus asked him was 'What would you have me do unto you? 'And blind Bartimaeus was not shy about stating his needs, and he thus received his sight. In the same vein, someone asked me a similar though less life-defining question a few weeks ago, and my first reaction was actually not commensurate with what my desire was because I felt I would have been asking for too much. During the course of that conversation, however, I adjusted my initial request to communicate more of what I actually desired. Without going into a lot of detail, I got  exactly what I had stated that I wanted, and actually a bit more :-)... Keeping in mind the fact that I had actually talked about this issue a little bit a few weeks ago, one would wonder why I am again writing on the topic. I believe it is because we as God's children, speaking also for myself, have cheated, and are cheating ourselves out of what the Lord would have us receive from him because (quoting from one of the stories in my book 'The Voice of One Woman') we "shrink" ourselves and as a result, shrink our requests to match what we believe the "shrunken" version of ourselves deserves. Using the example of the event that I spoke of earlier, the Lord helped me to understand the questions I believe may have been running through blind Bartimaeus's mind prior to the Lord asking the question that led to his receiving what he wanted from the Lord i.e. his sight.

The Holy Spirit ministered to me that, in Scripture, every significant, monumental, destiny defining miracle reported during Jesus's earthly healing ministry had a question that produced a commensurate response associated with it. One that was generated, before, during, or after the event An example of one such a miracle that occurred after a question was asked is that of the blind Bartimaeus we are speaking of. One that was asked while a miracle was being perfected was the one that Jesus asked another blind man-' what do you see?' after he had put clay upon his eyes; To which the man answered, 'I see men walking as trees…' After which the Lord went on to complete the miracle - restoration of perfect vision. Still another question that was asked after the miracle occurred - the woman with the issue of blood healed after she touched the hem of Jesus's garment was Jesus asking: 'Who touched me?'. Using these instances from scripture, the Lord then outlined the questions that I needed to ask myself, settling the answers before, during and even after any question is asked of me, so that I may receive what exactly it is that I want.

The first question he told me that I need to resolve is this:

Do I actually know exactly what I want? With two fundamental provisos - Is it God's will for me to have it? And does it agree with His Word?

The second question:

Do I believe that I am deserving of what I'm asking for?

The third question that I must resolve the answer to:

Am I assured of the fact that the person who will be asking the succedent question of me is willing, ready and able to bring to pass the desires of my heart?

The Spirit of God said that if I'm able to answer all of these questions, and settle my answers to them prior to my being asked any pivotal destiny-defining question as outlined above, or even any question at all that involves my being on the receiving end of a blessing, I will have the desires of my heart.

So in dealing with the first question of whether I actually know what I want, I soul searched, and discovered much to my amazement that beyond typical generalization, in many instances, I do not actually know, or fully understand what I want, or why I want it! So how do I expect to receive an answer to a question that I do not know the answer to?... Selah.

So needs must that I go into my closet i.e. my mind; to pray, search out, and meditate on God's Word, to discover what I actually want i.e what is entirely right and fitting for me.

Going on to question number two: Do I believe that I am deserving of the things I am asking for? And do I think that it is high enough on the scale of importance in the sight of the Lord? Again to my amazement, I discovered that I have not bothered to make certain requests of the Lord, because I did not believe I was deserving!!! Did not believe I was deserving of a certain type of house, car or job, did not believe that the blemish I wanted removed from my body was high enough on the scale of importance, so I just decided that I would not bother the Lord with such a frivolous request (paying no mind to the fact that the Bible records that the Lord thought it noteworthy enough to record the account of the healing of a certain King, of body blemishes).

So again needs must that I realize that I in and of myself, may not be deserving of anything, but IN CHRIST, God's desire is that I have life, and it more abundantly, knowing that nothing is ever too small or too lofty for me to bring to the Lord in prayer.

The third and perhaps the most important of the three questions that I must settle in my heart are this: Do I truly believe that God is willing and able to do what I am asking him to, and when I am asked the kind of question that I wrote of above, do I realize that it is not actually the physical person in front of me who is asking the question, but God himself? It is essential that I must know, understand, be assured and confident that God is not only willing, but he's able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we can ask or think, according to his power, which is at work in us.

So tracing my steps back to the situation I spoke of above, I realized that I, almost unwittingly, had been (albeit clumsily) able to settle the answers to all the outcome-defining questions I was asked by that person, because I was able to boldly state the desires of my heart, knowing that it was God's will for me to have that thing, was not guilty or embarrassed about the magnitude of my request, and had assured myself of the fact that the person who was asking the question of me had the power to make whatever it was I asked him, happen.

And since then, I have become highly sensitized to the fact that I must be careful to put every inquiry with regards to what I want or need in my day-to-day living through the "3-5 question step", before I give my answer, i.e. before I open my mouth to speak or answer any such request, I wait, listen to God in my heart until I am sure of exactly what I want, then boldly make the request, being fully persuaded  of the fact that it is God and not man who's asking the question of me and that He's doing so from the stance of One who is willing, able and supremely capable of fulfilling the desires of my heart: big or small, frivolous or weighty, significant or seemingly insignificant, to praise and glory of his name forever.

...And that my friends, brings us to the end of the evening service.
Peace and much love from "Me" called Mettabel, to you.

© OluPero Mettabel, August 31, 2012

Mary, Mary quite contrary; How do your lashes grow?

I was in the bathroom applying mascara to my eyelashes, when I suddenly realized how much they'd grown! I was ecstatic!! What gave rise to my seemingly mindless and joyful calisthenics was the fact that I actually had luscious and long lashes, which, I could not have boasted of a year ago. Now this is a marvelous thing I know, especially for those of us who wear makeup and for those of us who know how extremely frustrating it can be to apply the false eyelashes that make eyes look so mysterious :-), especially if you have also had a run-in with the inventions from the pit of hell called eyelash extensions (don't ask me how I know). Where am I going with this? because you know there must be some highly spiritual reason why I am talking about mascara on Facebook. Right you are if you thought so, because this immediately brought to my mind of Scripture from Galatians chapter 5 which says '… be not mocked, whatsoever a man sows, that shall he reap'. Now what does this have to do with mascara and lashes? I'll tell you: A few months ago I had an unfortunate experience with false eyelashes, which, I had a beautician apply for a special event. The process involved the gluing of small individual hairs to the base of each lash. The individual lashes theoretically would then grow naturally with the real ones, and then fall off over the course of about 3 to 4 weeks with one having the choice to maintain application of lashes or to just let it lapse. Being the somewhat inpatient individual that I am, I proceeded to try to remove false lashes myself when the lashes started appearing somewhat lopsided,  which regrettably resulted in my becoming lash-less!!! A horrific state which I had to endure for about 2 to 3 weeks with me praying frantically and desperately that my eyelashes would grow back. Thankfully they did, and I vowed never to do such a thing again. From that day onwards, I viewed my natural given eyelashes through different eyes (pardon the pun). I decided that from then on other than the application of mascara I will be thankful and content with the lashes I had been blessed with. I started using gentler products on my eyes, and a contraption known as vibrating mascara application stick. After a few weeks, I noticed that my eyelashes were becoming thicker and fuller and continued to do so as I suddenly realized this evening. This taught me two valuable lessons:

1. Whatever I pay attention to whatever and I stimulate in any way, will grow i.e. if I pay attention to love, joy, peace, and stimulate long-suffering, temperance, and brotherly kindness in my life, THEY will grow. On the contrary, if I pay attention to whatever or whoever has hurt me, disappointed me, failed me, and if I stimulate hatred, bitterness, and anger in my life, THESE TOO WILL GROW!

2. The second lesson I learned from this experience is that I cannot fake what is not there, otherwise the strain of maintaining status quo will pull at my emotions and peace of mind much like the fake lashes pulled on my natural ones, so all I'm left with are at best tattered emotions and at worst, an emotional barren wasteland.

Some will read this piece and say: but that's a bit of an extreme inference based on an activity as frivolous as the application of mascara! But I submit to you that I have found great value in allowing the Holy Spirit to use such frivolity to deposit in me wisdom, and to build in me depth of character. As He  rightly said in his Word, He uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise.

I hope you enjoyed reading this piece as much as I loved writing it.

Peace, and may your lashes continue to grow and prosper!!!

PS Since then I have used and still occasionally use the temporary and EASILY removable ones for that WOW!!! effect :-)...


  OluPero Mettabel, August 28th 2012.

                                         

My luscious God-given lashes!

Celebrate Jesus; Celebrate !!! Ba ba ba ba ba ba bum!!!

You cannot be fully celebrated, until you fully imbibe the culture of celebrating others, and good things that they have, or have done...

Because when God blesses a person, and you celebrate them, you are saying that you believe that it is God who has blessed them and that thing or trait is an achievable possibility and are thus planting seeds of belief and possibility in your own heart. But if you do not, or refuse to celebrate another, what you are actually saying is that you DO NOT truly believe that it was the Lord who blessed them, and you do not see that thing or trait as an achievable possibility in your life, thus planting seeds of doubt and impossibility in your own heart! 

And if you're wondering why nothing good is coming up as a harvest for you, maybe you just need to change the type of seed you're sowing...

And do you know why we can receive from God? It's because we celebrate Him!

... Be not mocked whatsoever a man sows, that shall he reap! - Book o'Galatians.

© OluPero Mettabel, August 7, 2012

Dream Big, See it as done, Then go ahead... STRUT YOUR STUFF!!!

We are currently being taught a series on "eyes" at church. My pastor, during the Sunday message, said the following: 'Exercise yourself daily in "seeing" the things  the Lord has told you about your future. Let your imagination run free, see it as done, and picture yourself doing the things that He has said that you would do' Upon hearing these words the following rejoinder immediately popped into my mind (I believe that it was a Holy Ghost inspired thought, because I am not this savvy with words):

 'When the Lord speaks a "Word" into your ear, Hang on to it and don't let ANYTHING hinder you... Like Abraham look up at the sky, squelching the sand in between your toes, and remembering the promise, Like Sarah laugh, remembering the ludicrous and gargantuan appointment with destiny, made for you by God, according to the "time of life".

'Like Moses hold onto the rod, remembering that the head of the dead staff, was the tail of a living snake, and like Joseph, with your dreams vivid and clear in your mind, Strut your stuff wearing with pride, your coat of many colors... Knowing with foresight that no seducing wiles, warden, nor butler can hold you back, FOR FAITHFUL IS HE WHO HAS PROMISED, WHO WILL ALSO DO IT!'

'SO HOLD FAST TO YOUR CONFESSION OF FAITH, LOOK UP INTO THE SKY AND "SEE" THE INNUMERABLE STARS, SQUELCH THE SAND IN BETWEEN YOUR TOES, LAUGH OUT LOUD, AND MARKING THE GROUND COVERED WITH YOUR ROD, WEARING YOUR "COAT OF MANY COLORS", YOU GO ON AHEAD AND STRUT YOUR STUFF...'

'... And yes! there will be mothers who will ponder and keep these things in their heart, Papas who will look on with pride and veiled trepidation, and there will be brothers who will also be haters. But you pay no one but your God and your  Word no mind. Just go on ahead and "Strut your stuff"...  Y'hear me? YOU STRUT YOUR STUFF!!!'

... And that my dear friends I believe, is how to exercise your faith unto good works...

Peace and much, much love,

From "Me" to you.

© OluPero Mettabel, August 7, 2012

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Dry Bones Can Live, But May Come Alive With Great Noise!

Hello everyone, I hope your weekend has been phenomenal!

I was sitting in church this morning, and my mind being one to meander from time to time, wandered right over to Ezekiel chapter 37... :-) Now what made me think about this particular chapter? (Even though my mind IS prone to wandering and has to be regularly reined in). It was a conversation I had with a wonderful friend of mine, who although has been through a lot over the past year has maintained her joy, her infectious spirit, and her smile… We were talking about a situation she had prayed about, which, instead of her seeing an immediate turnaround in the situation, seemed to result in things going somewhat awry. The events that followed eventually led to a favorable ending, but it was through much prayer, fasting and holding on to God's promises.

As I thought about our conversation, I believe the Spirit dropped something into my heart. He said: When a seemingly noisy and chaotic series of events follows a season of prayer and prophesying, the brouhaha is not necessarily the work of the devil, neither is it (although may very well be the case), always a test of one's spiritual mettle.
'What you perceive as noise may actually be the sound of the power of my might, moving things around, and bringing parts together, mobilizing and executing the desires of your heart, of me, creating universally animated unified wholeness, from a previously dead, dismal, and hopelessly disjointed situation'.

He said to me, 'Ezekiel was led to the Valley of dry bones, dead bones. What he saw was a horrific sight to behold! A sight so terrible that when I, the Lord God Almighty asked Ezekiel if the dry bones could live, he said 'only you know Lord!' The Lord said 'I then told him to prophesy to the bones, and you know what happened afterwards...'

The Bible stated that as Ezekiel spoke, suddenly there was a rattling noise all across the Valley and as he watched, bone began to move towards bone, attaching themselves as parts of whole skeletons. He watched, and the process continued until skin covered the entire bodies, over muscle, over bone, but still no breath was in them. The Lord then said to him 'prophesy to the winds! Speak breath into these dead bodies so that they may live again'. So, Ezekiel spoke the message, and the Bible records that they came to life-A formidable army!! This vision that Ezekiel saw was representative of what God wanted to do amongst his people that is, to raise them up from a place of deadness unto life!

Ezekiel 37  
1 The hand of the Lord came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. ² Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. ³ And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
So I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”
⁴ Again He said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: “Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. ⁶ I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the Lord.”’”
⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. ⁸ Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them.
⁹ Also He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army.


Using the account above allegorically, I came to the realization that if things seem to take a turn for the worse, rather than the better when I pray, instead of seeing it as a setback, which usually would result discouragement, and thoughts that God was not answering my prayer, the devil was waging war, or believing that it was an obstacle I would have to surmount by faith, that may not be the case at all! It may actually be the magnificent and mighty power of the Spirit working to change my situation.

 This is borne out by Scripture:
 1. Paul and Silas prayed, and the prison where they were kept shook so much so, that their chains fell off.

Acts 16:25-26
²⁵ But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.


2. On the day of Pentecost, the Bible records that there came a sound as of a rushing, mighty wind that filled the upper room just before the disciples got baptized by the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in diverse tongues. 

Acts 2:2
And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

These accounts corroborated what I felt the Spirit was ministering to me. He said to me, when things like this happen after a period of prayer and prophesying, do not be silent! What to do? Keep listening for what He wants you to say, keep saying what He tells you to say, keep prophesying, keep declaring and don't give up hope. And as Ezekiel saw a mighty, living Army raised up as the Phoenix from deadness and decay, you will see the answers to your prayers manifested right before your eyes.

Interestingly, this spoke to me on an extremely deep level as I am currently going through a similarly "chaotic" situation. I now know that instead (as I previously did) of seeing this as the end of the beginning, I now see it as the beginning from the end! So instead of a wail, I will let out a victorious shout! Instead of a moan, will groan in the spirit, to birth the desire of my heart, and instead of being quietly dismayed I WILL PROPHESY!!!

You all have a fab week, filled with righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost!

With love from,

"Me" to you.

Of The Old and The New...

Hello everyone,
It's "Me" wishing you happy new month! 
This year is going by so fast that it's almost dizzying! I'm actually right now trying out a software, that's translating my spoken words into text. I had bought the software a few months ago, and had given up on ever being able to use it because it would not recognize my accent… Imagine that! My initial introduction to the software was singularly humbling because I felt that my diction was pretty decent but alas, after the umpteenth try I gave up frustrated, and a little ticked off. I forgot about the software for about four months, but yesterday out of the blue, I decided to give it another try. I downloaded it again from the App Store and went through the training trepidatiously. This time, however, things seemed to go a little bit smoother, which made me feel a little bit more optimistic about how things would turn out. After the training process, I started dictating and lo and behold it actually recognized the majority of my words! Except that just now, when I dictated 'words', it inserted the word brides - Freudian slip? Maybe we'll see :-) … 

What I am trying to say right now is that something that I had given up on and considered a total waste of my time, money, and effort is actually now doing quite well on the usefulness scale!
 Why am I telling you about all this? Well, this is a new month, and I'm sure you like I, have had many things that we tried earlier in the year that just didn't work out the way we expected them to. Maybe you shouldn't just give up on that project just yet, maybe you should give it another try, maybe this time it just might work. I realized, and I'm realizing that as the book of Ecclesiastes says: There is a time for everything, and a purpose to every season under the sun. 

So the fact that whatever project  or thing that you had laid your hands on in the past did not turn out the way you expected it to should not discourage you from trying it again if you feel particularly strongly about it, or you can't seem to forget about it… You may just have tried it out of sync with its time and purpose. So... remember that forgotten project? discarded dream? "set aside" vision? maybe just now ready to be resurrected. The fact that this note exists is proof of what I'm saying. 
This month, reflect, think back, dig deep, let your creative juices start flowing. You may just start loving Piña Coladas! Again happy new month to you all from "Me".

Peace!

PS this time, I finished dictating this note without wanting to hit something or someone - namely the developer (Sorry Lord) :-)… Have a terrific day y'all. 

"Me"

Think you missed the beat?

I am one who has to work hard at not being overly self critical. I can often be found tying myself to a whipping post for a good round of self-flagellation regarding some misstep, misdeed or mis-whateva that I have committed... oh I forgot "mis-spokeness". Anyone been there? lol... Anyway, recently the Lord has lovingly been letting me see that the missteps to the beat of life that I have often thought spoiled the dance routine, may actually be a "ball-point" catch in the dance routine, and even if it is not so you just have to keep a smile on your face and keep on dancin' cos at the end of the dance, you just might be surprised to find yourself at the receiving end of a standing ovation...

This is what the Lord spoke to my heart:

'Don't get discouraged and stop dancing because you missed a beat, cos your perceived misstep just might be part of the beat, the unexpected foot work that catches the attention and makes one go - Wow!'... So keep on dancing!
But remember you must keep listening...


OluPero Mettabel, 07/26/12

Peace and love to you from my heart,
Me.

Comments anyone?

"Princi-pearls"

'By inspiration a dream is conceived, over Time matured, through Effort birthed, and by the Anointing delivered... Be inspired, but remember that it takes time, and effort fueled by God's anointing to translate your dreams from thought, to word to deed...'

© OluPero Mettabel, July 25, 2012

Out of time, into time, in it’s time

In the face of muses,
Muses of her self I see
See I, in the many faces,
Shades of sameness,
Each the one alike,
Each the one, uniquely placed,

Created from out of time,
Into time, seen in it’s time.

Gap-toothed smile,
Awkward first kiss.
First love, last stop,
Before arrival - "Grown-up Grove"
Under the shade reminiscing,
Underwriting indelibly etched.
Etched and shaded in the sands,

Predestined from out of time,
Into time, etched in it’s time

Beginning and end,
‘Ternity, finitely contained.
Contained in this vessel of Clay
Precious gifts grandly displayed,
All of this I kept for you.
For you, all this I saved,

Brought from out of time,
Into my time, kept in it’s time.

Far away, a world away
Brought as close, as close by fate,
Straight into my path, warmth into my heart,
Warm, willing, waiting aflame.
The flame in the hearth
'Scription "Home sweet home",

Arriving from out of time,
Into my time, sweet in it’s time

Promises made, promises kept
Promised words in secret, openly fulfilled
Grateful heart satiated and satisfied
Wholly blessed by "The One",
Wholly from out of time brought He you.
You, the face I now see,

Welcomed from out of time into time,
You in it’s time.

Me to you,
You to me,
From out of time into time,
Made beautiful you to me,
In it’s time
For me…

© OluPero Mettabel, July 25, 2012

Tell me... How does this speak to you?