Not all of the happiness we experience in our lives is documented, but there are exceptions where we can capture a small portion of it with a single click. The 27th of November, 2021, was a watershed moment in my life and walking with the Lord. This article has been on my mind since the beginning of the year, and I can't believe it's finally here.
Believe me when I say that being a Master Guide or a God's servant is not easy; there are several problems and obligations to be met. But believe me when I say that if you continue to rely on God in all of your labor and service to be a good Child, it will pass you by like the wind. After serving in the Youth Ministry for several years, I was Invested as a Master Guide to Continue the Service. The day I committed to saving lives and presenting the everlasting gospel of the Three Angels Messages to the entire globe in preparation for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ was November 27th, 2021. Although the most qualified individuals are not always summoned, the call is always qualified.
Hello 😊!!Welcome, back Dear reader! Hope You stay safe and feel relaxed wherever you’re, glad to have you here again. In the last post, I wrote things I miss the most from blogging. Today I’ll be talking about 9 of the most important lessons I’ve learned so far both in adventurer and pathfinder ministry.
As a kid, I had a lot of fun. I'm the type of kid that loves to write, and you'll never see me without a pen or a book in my hands. When folks require references or information, the next thing you'll hear from my church buddies is to ask Felicia, who will have a camp report. She is going to jot down everything that was stated at the meeting. She has all of the information you require. Felicia may still have any documents or PowerPoint you require. Without the great parents that the Lord has blessed me with, I would not be where I am today.
My family was never perfect, but it was the home where I was allowed to volunteer in church, particularly in youth ministry. I used to be an adventurer and later a pathfinder. Camping, investing, activities, hiking, trails, and other outdoor activities were among the highlights of my life. At some camps, such as family camp, youth camp, and campori, I laugh a lot, weep a lot, become fatigued, and become silent after screaming so much. God was with me every step of the way.
Dear parent who is reading this “Teach a child in the way they should walk, and even when they are old, they will not deviate from it”. PROVERB 22:6.
I appreciate my leaders who have been with me since I was 5 when I was just a sedentary little girl who knew nothing in life.
MG Jeptha Nwoaha,MG Glory Christian,MG Abidoun Oluwuyi ,Pastor Emmanuel Ayeni, Elder MG Matthew Awolowo and MG Ikechukwu Paul.Thank you for helping me become who I am today. You have a very special space in my heart!
One thing I always Remember whenever the thought of give-up begins to ring in my heart is the words of My Youth leader MG Ikechuwku Paul though He’s late now Wish He was alive to Witness My Investiture Service.
This Was the Note He wrote in 2010 I found this in my Progressive class Note.
Dear Pathfinder, always Remember this and hold them close to your heart. These are words that will hold your soul firm when you feel like turning back.
Dear Pathfinder,
God doesn’t give the hardest battles to the strongest soldiers. He creates the strongest soldiers out of life’s hardest battles.
I know life will be hard. Problems will come, Test of faith will show up, temptation and trials will come, I know it will drain you. I know how it will feel when you’re fighting alone and I know there will be time you can fight much longer. I know.
But even in this, God is working behind the scenes. Even through this battle, God is making you so strong. And if you can’t feel the change, that’s your sign to keep fighting.
You have to go through these battles of life to learn and grow. If you were never put through trials, you would never grow.
But when it gets really hard, that’s when you have to fight the hardest. And I promise you, in the end, God will come through. He’ll show up, and change you.
Whenever you make it to the finish line Don’t forget to thank God for the journey and also share your testimony to encourage your friends who might have left the ministry and who are still in the ministry but losing the interest to continue.
STRONG SOLDIERS YOU’RE.
Here’s what that journey has looked like and 9 of the most important lessons I’ve learned so far.
As a young lady I joined the Youth ministry at age 5 but got baptized at age 15 . I still remember the speaker, the message, and the prompting of the Holy Spirit. My life was forever changed on that day. I am forever indebted to countless people for their investment in my life in Christ over these last fifteen years.
I’m not even going to pretend to be perfect. In these last fifteen years there have been times that I have run away from the Lord and ignored his call. I have given Him a bad name more times than I can count. I’ve lied, stolen, and even fought with some friends. I’ve been selfish, self-centered, and self seeking. All of this and more.
The only constant in my life has been Christ. In my foibles and strengths, in my victories and failures, he has never left me nor forsaken me, just like we are reminded in Hebrews 13:5.
Even with the tremendous amount of sin and failings in my life I have had the honor and joy of witnessing:
● Miraculous financial provision for myself and others,
● People be healed from sickness and disease,
● Others be freed from depression,
● Young ones been connected to Christ,
● And countless other testimonies.
The Lord has given me the opportunity to work with different churches, to help little children know more about him through visual aid. Now I get to minister through this platform and blog that the Lord has graciously worked through for the last two and a half years.
Over the last 15 years I have grown physically, mentally, emotionally, but most of all Spiritually. My theology and understanding of God has deepened and widened each year, but yet I still feel like I have barely even seen an iota of the surface.
I’ve come to realize, the more I know God and know about Him, the less I truly know. It’s a strange paradox of discipleship.
Here’s what I do know:
● The Lord is good!
● His mercies are new every day
● He desires fellowship and communion with us
● I have tasted the fruit of the world, and I know nothing compares to our Lord!
In this amazing journey of serving the Lord I have learned some life changing lessons that I wish I could go back and tell myself 15 years ago. Alas I cannot, so my prayer is that as I share them with you they will encourage and enrich your life. Share them with your children so they can learn them, and live by them
Here are some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned over the years.
This is probably one of the biggest lessons I have learned. We often become so ingrained with our ideology, theology, dogmas, and doctrines that we are unwilling to even hear out another brother or sister in the Lord who thinks differently than us.
The willingness to change your mind on a given topic shows maturity beyond measure. It’s not vacillating, but growing and learning that causes us to minister the Lord regardless of the setting we are in.
2.LOVE TRUMPS ALL
It is better to be disgraced or mistreated, than for Christ to receive a bad name. Am I perfect at allowing love to rule every aspect of my life? By no means, I fail regularly, but I press on toward the prize.
3. IT’S OK NOT TO SEE THE WHOLE ROAD, JUST TAKE A STEP
Too often we become frozen with indecision unable to move. We become afraid that a decision will be the wrong decision. Personally I have had too many times in my own life in which I was too afraid to make a decision for fear of making a wrong one.
I have come to learn though that as long as we are acting within the bounds of love we can move forward. How do you choose when you have two “right” choices? You pick one. You move forward. You allow the Lord to be glorified in it. You don’t have to see the whole road, you just have to take a step.
4.YOU CAN’T LIVE THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
This goes hand-in-hand with being willing to change your mind. When I learned this lesson it changed my entire theology and outlook on the Christian life. For years I worked and toiled to “earn” God’s love and to please Him. The reality is that no matter how hard we try to live the Christian life we will fail. We can do nothing apart from Christ (John 15:5). It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Galatians 2:20).
5.KNOWING ABOUT GOD, IS NOT KNOWING GOD
It’s easy to read books, listen to podcasts and sermons, attend conferences, or learn strategies and techniques that expand your frontal lobe. The Christian life is about experiential relationship with a living God. We know God through experience and communion.
Knowing about God, is not knowing God. You can know about Bill Gates, but to know him personally is entirely different. There were many times I allowed my learning about God to substitute for my relationship with God, but that never satisfied me. God desires you to know Him, more than you know about Him.
To engage in relationship with God, you must get to know Him. There are two main ways to get to know anyone. One way is to hear about them from someone else. Another is to hear from them yourself and walk with them in life.
The advantage we have in developing our relationship with God is that He tells us about Himself in Scripture, His self-revelation. So step one is to study God’s Word. Don’t skip the Old Testament, because He reveals Himself there.
Step two is engage in prayer. Listen for His response by keeping your eyes open to see Him reveal Himself by what He does and says in His Word.
Step three is walk with Him. Daily. Trust Him in all circumstances, live according to His Word. Surrender to Him, choosing to allow our own personal will to be swallowed up in His. This is the key to knowing God deeply. It may mean we never have answers for the troubles we have faced like Job. Or it may mean saying yes to His will before we even know what that means. Surrender to God comes before intimacy with God.
6.IT’S BETTER TO BE IN RELATIONSHIP, THAN TO BE RIGHT
In a world of self-empowerment too often a person wants to be right about their view, their side of the story, their principles, rather than be in a relationship. I learned this the hard way when I almost lost a number of friends by choosing to be “right.” In the end I chose a relationship. Don’t allow your pride to subvert your message or the cause of Christ. Whether it’s in your marriage, with your neighbor, or a coworker, choose relationships over being right because relationships lead to greater change than being right.
7.LIVE UNOFFENDABLE
Living unoffendable is a choice. When we fight against our brothers and sisters in the Lord, (or even against the world) to “be right” rather than in relationship, we are choosing to be offended. When you live unoffendable you set yourself in a place to build rapport with people in order to shine the light of Christ in their life.
If we’re going to deal with an offense, it needs to be a real offense. Paul says “be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,” (Ephesians 4:26). This is my rule on when to address something: don’t be quick to run in and make things right. A lot of times that’s us wanting our conscience at peace or to not feel uncomfortable. Sometimes it’s the less selfish thing to give it time. Walk away from it and sleep on it and if you notice you can’t let that thing go, then go to that person. Ask them what they meant by that. You might’ve misunderstood them, so give them space to explain. Assume the best.
I’m a big believer on getting everything on the table. Don’t build a big narrative in your head that somebody’s upset with you. Rather than build a narrative, I quickly pick up the phone or send a text and make sure we’re okay. Sometimes that’s yielded fruit, sometimes everything’s great, OR they act like nothing is wrong but there’s something building inside. Here’s the verse I live by, “as much as it concerns me, live at peace with all men.” (Romans 12:18) I will do what I can, but I can’t control that other person or make them tell me if something is upsetting them. I can’t force it to be okay. I can rest in that and know I’ve done everything I can.
We are in a more seriously divided world than ever. It seems like everybody’s opinions are more and more sacred. It’s dividing families, friends, and churches. What I would say is: there is room in loving relationships to have different opinions on things. We’re talking about a human institution run by humans. Each side has wrongs. Most people are fighting for something they really believe in that’s a good thing. We’re all for people. We’re doing the best we can with what we know and what we care about. We care about different things because of who we’re around and our experiences, but largely we’re trying to care about people. The old saying is true, we’re going to agree to disagree. If you want to go into those conversations, good for you. If someone is very opinionated about something, you probably won’t change their mind with a conversation. You can expand their mind and explain where you're coming from, and then try to understand where they’re coming from. We assume things upon people that aren’t true. We have to try to understand. For most people, politics are very personal. They come from experience, someone they know that’s suffering in some way, and they’re fighting for something they care deeply about. When we get to the root of what they care about, we probably actually agree with them. We want people to be taken care of, we just don’t agree on how that should be done. Instead of trying to change their mind, try to understand each other better. After all it’s not about you (or me), but about bringing the reality of the kingdom of heaven to earth.
8.YOU CAN’T DO IT ALONE; DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK FOR HELP
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of strength. Metals are made stronger through the assistance of other metals, by making alloys. The devil wants nothing more than to isolate you from the body. His goal is to dismember Christ piece by piece.
Be specific about what you need and keep it brief and to the point. People do not have the ability to scan you face and figure what you might need. May I have a glass of water please, is a perfectly reasonable ask. When what you need is simple and straightforward, people find it easy to respond.
Proverbs 27:17 tells us, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Strength is built in community when we can spur one another on to love and good works. Don’t be afraid to ask for help even if you have to pay for it.
Some of those “others” are professionals who charge for their work. If you need help in the arenas of mental, marital, or physical health seek professionals who can help you grow, and ultimately bring honor to the Lord in your life and relationships.
Finally, nothing compares to the Lord. I’ve tried and tasted the world, and nothing compares to the Lord. 15 years have passed and His name is just as sweet, His presence still breaks me, His voice still calms me and guides me, and nothing this world has to offer compares to the goodness of the Lord. What a Christ!
Friends, my prayer is that these 8 lessons from my 15 years can help you in your walk with the Lord. I pray you continue to grow and the grace and knowledge of our Lord. And I pray that His life swells within you as streams of living water to a dying and dehydrated world.
