Meditation Moment

I am the salt of the earth, 
Set apart to preserve, to add taste, an antiseptic for any kind of wounds.
I am a city built upon a hill and cannot be hidden,
The city of the Lord, the Zion of the Holy God,
'Glorious things are spoken of thee O city of the Most High'

I arise and i shine for my light is come
And the splendor of the Lord shines on me, 
His glory appears over me in darkness.
No-longer do i look to the sun for light by day,
Nor to the moon for brightness by night.
For the Lord is unto me an everlasting light,
One that will never go out; that is not fueled of human means.
A permanent source of light is my God.

Nations shall come to my light,
Kings shall gather at the brightness of my rising,
They shall be drawn to the shimmering light of the Lord's glory upon me.
Sons and daughters from faraway lands shall come
To behold the wonder that the Lord's glory is in me
Blessed be the Lord for all His goodness.

Come and see what the Lord has done:
He has made the wealth of the nations come to me
The riches of distant lands belong to me.
And now, the little one has become a thousand,
The small one a strong nation.
Yes, that is the doing of the Lord and it is marvelous in our eyes!

Behold what the Lord does for me,
How He loads me daily with His benefits!
He is the all-sufficient God, Jehovah El Shaddai
Mighty are Your works Lord, i declare them unto all lands

From coast to coast, all will know of God's mercies,
His rich favour, His overflowing grace and His abundant goodness!
They will know that He is the Father of lights, The One from whom ALL good things come
They will sing His praises from East to West,
From morning to sunset, even in the night upon their beds, they will glorify God
Because of His works among the peoples.

Sing praises unto the Lord and honour Him;
Grateful praises are due to Him and Him alone.
He is worthy to be praised!! Alleluia

Isiah 60    Psalm 87:3    Matthew 5:13    Psalm 145:3    Psalm 47:6-7    James 1:17

Of New Identities

Find for me anyone who can proudly flash their Identity Card photo from ten years ago and you have found for me one in a million. It seemed as if every camera had the specific instruction to plant some 'bad' features and make the person look their very worst. I am inclined to guess that the default settings on the camera were: 1.)well combed hair  equals a mad-man's one-of-those-days hairdo; 2)the eyes equals exact replica of those used in the horror movies; and 3) make variations with whatever else can be distorted. Such is the story of the early Identity Card photos.

  

But for some of us the story went beyond Identity cards; it pierced through to the IDENTITY. I simply did not have an identity. Well i did have one; one which i did not want to associate with anyway. Back then, i looked at myself and said behold a majestic ball of nothing, a grasshopper among the giants, a waste from the scum of the earth, a voice carried about in the raging wind, a sharp eye cast about in a dark tunnel, a pair of eager feet treading on a path leading to a place called nowhere. If one wanted a clear definition of doom, gloom, despair, filth; all they had to do was read the story of my life. That was my identity. But thank God for Past Tense.....and thank God too that a sentence can start with the word "but" and still be perfect English.

At this point i thank God that old identities have an expiry date; more so that the expiry date for my identity came and naturally i was only too eager to get rid of the stinking identity, throw it to the dogs, walk ahead and burn them bridges behind me. Just to make sure that even if i so happened to want to return there was no possible way that could happen - at all. So i visited the place where the new identities are issued. I expected the typical long, draining and boring ques, being transferred from one office to the next, only to be turned down because some document is missing - or that one did not qualify, even for such a flimsy reason as that one's village of origin was not in the file. With this process, anything goes. But NO, that was not the experience. It was all different; surprisingly so. Though millions came in at the same time to the same office, there was always room for each one and for one more, even a billion more! It was easy; as easy as a mere confession. Yes that alone sufficed -confessing with my mouth and  believing in my heart the risen Lord Jesus. That was the very beginning of my getting a new identity; one which, a century later i am very sure that i will still produce it without hesitation and claim as my own with no trace of shame.

 2 Corinthians 5:17    

                                Romans 10:8-10      

                                                            Mathew 11:28

2bcntd.....