MIZPAH HEIGHTS

It all began in August of the year 2009. I had just gained admission into the university and was beginning to enjoy real freedom. My parents where miles away and my close acquaintances were only too glad to keep their noses out of my business as long as I did theirs. It should have been the time of my life but it wasn't. I was a bored bookworm. It wasn't that I didn't have friends, I did have friends but we weren't close. My friends, indeed all boys, like girls a lot. They couldn't hang out without girls and I couldn't hang out with girls. First I was tongued tied around them, secondly I didn't want to break my sexual purity. I literally lived by Job 31:1. I had read that verse so often that I could memorise it at sleep. "I have made a covenant with my eyes, why then should I look upon a young woman?" This was my code and I lived by it. But as much as I wanted to be me, I was bored and was at risk of being a social misfit. I made up my mind...

As a child I grew up in an orthodox church and we observed lent. Lent was a serious time every year, the messages throughout the 40 day period was centered on repentance, holiness and good works. The musical instruments were packed up not to be used until easter, the songs we sang were sober and reflective (more of hymns) and there was no clapping nor dancing. It was lent and it was sober. Added to this I attended a Catholic school and lent was a big deal. Ash Wednesday was that day when we all had ash on our foreheads and were admonished to put on our best behaviour. I loved lent in those days, it gave us the opportunity to file out of the school to take masses in the church. Also it made one feel like a good Christian, I liked lent and I still do. What is lent? Lent is a period of 40 days fasting and self-denial that starts on Ash Wednesday and ends on Easter Sunday. It is a period of moderation where people give up some pleasures to fast and get closer to God. It b...

Have you wronged someone and are fighting within you to say that you are sorry? Have you bruised someone? Or have you done nothing wrong and someone is annoyed with you? Just say sorry. The Bible says "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed..." - James 5:16. Our words carry healing virtue we should use it right. Is it possible not to bite your tongue? It is usually a kind of reflex, beyond control. That's the reality of human relations, no matter how careful we are, sometimes we step on one another's toes. When this happens our reaction shows the quality of our character. Saying that you are sorry goes a long way in sustaining healthy relationships. In fact it carries an anointing to resolve conflicts quick. Is it easy to say sorry? This depends on a number of things, a sincere apology is obviously more difficult to render than one which is not. Saying sorry particularly when you are convinced you are right is als...

Marriage is ordained and instituted by God. Marriage is sweet. But Marriage is a marathon, it takes a lot of God's grace and godly counsel to win it. We must be careful to give only goodly counsel. Our counsels can make or mar a home. I will tell a short story. In my first year in the university there was couple who lived opposite our student apartment. They were always fighting. There was hardly any month they didn't throw themselves to the streets. Sometimes it got as bad as going naked when they fought. It was a sour marriage or so we thought. Neighbours would separate them when they fought but were often treated to a round of insults by the couple. As the fights continued more people began to ignore them. One fateful night, a well wisher who defiled the onlooking neighbours got a thorough beating from the fighting couple for daring to settle their quarrel. The fellow learnt a painful lesson. The funny thing about this couple was that after every humiliating fight ...

Chief lived in a big mansion in uptown Waterside. He had been hard working most of his life, he took his business seriously and there is little doubt that he ended up as successful as he is. He used to have his beautiful wife, Alice, live with him until she filled for a divorce. When she left she took the two girls with her. He couldn't argue with that after all he was rarely at home. It's been five years since they left, his busy life had taken a quick plunge to boring. After every business trip he came home to no embrace of love. His attendants were his only comfort, they kept his company only for the money. He missed his wife. He missed his family. Only now did he realise what they went through when he was away on those terribly long business trips. He had always told himself they would cope since they all needed the money. His wife had complained bitterly about his business, he listened but never acted. He never thought she could leave but she did. Seventeen yea...

Personality is simply individual differences. It is our personality that makes human interactions interesting. We cannot expect all men to behave and reason alike. But we all demand good relations from our acquaintances. Jesus said "Be perfect." This is an instruction not a suggestion. Our personality ought to be perfect though different. A lot of people seek to free themselves of the consequences of bad behaviour by clinging to the personality line. They say "I am sorry but it is who I am." It is high time we stopped accepting such excuses because you can change who you are. You can work on your personality. Your personality is not a sentence to a rigid life, your personality can be moulded to produce a better you. The MOST important step that anyone can take in obtaining a perfect personality is to submit to God. God has a perfect personality and He is willing to replicate His nature in anyone who desires His life. The evidence of an encounter with God i...

Confirmation is removal of doubt. This comes usually from an authoritative statement, general acceptability or an undeniable fact. In the case of King Saul his confirmation as the chosen king of Israel came primarily by the declaration of prophet Samuel but more importantly by his first victory as king. A band of Ammonites had laid siege on a portion of Israel, they were going to level the city. The only condition for peace was that they gouge out the occupants' right eye and that they become servants. The community was destruct and they wailed. Saul heard of it and went there. And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. - 1 Samuel 11:6 The rest is victory. The people were so over joyed that they were willing to put to death anyone who disputed the fact that Saul was king. Saul needed no greater confirmation, the kingdom was firmly rooted under him. In fact even Samuel called the people to Gilgal to reaffirm the ki...