Asides

EMBRACE THE POWER IN John 3:8

In John 3:8, Jesus touched on a powerful secret regarding who we are. When this revelation is understood and applied, there is no telling the transformation we will experience. Unfortunately, the main point of the passage is often overlooked. My purpose today is to shed light on John 3:8, pointing out its implication for your life. Hopefully, this will awaken in you the impetus to embrace your true nature, the God-nature. The passage reads,

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (NKJV).  

It is important to note from the outset that Jesus is not talking about the Holy Spirit. In the passage, he is describing people who are born of the Spirit. Those people, he says, are as the wind. To be “born of the Spirit” means to awake in consciousness to the truth that you are the offspring, not of flesh, but of Spirit. This awakening is the beginning of true spirituality, a point Nicodemus struggled to understand.

Let me now show you what Jesus says about you in John 3:8.

“The wind blows where it wishes”: You are as the wind. It is natural for you to blow with great power. It is natural for you to travel great distances effortlessly. You can manifest yourself wherever you want, because, like the wind, you are universally present. Your presence coincides with the presence of God. Time and space cannot limit your presence and activity.

Take, Elisha, for example: “When he [Gehazi] went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?” “Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered. But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? (2 Kings 5:25-26; cf. Col 2:5). This ability is not unique to Elisha. It is our common nature.

“You hear the sound of it”: You are irresistible. You have the aura of God. It is your nature to be influential. You were born to be known and recognized. Your presence is to be felt. You were born to get the attention of the world. This is your true nature.

“Cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes”: Where God comes from is where you come from; where God goes is where you go. You are mystery. Your life is a wonder. You are beyond definition. You are the master of your goings and comings. No one can contain you. You are the embodiment of freedom. In essence, you are just like the God who gave birth to you. This is your true nature.

I will conclude here, but this is by no means the end of what Jesus left us in John 3:8. As you pray and meditate, you will receive more insight. I hope this brief reflection has given you more reasons to appreciate the beauty of being born of the Spirit.

Do not be afraid of who you are. Embrace your true nature.

In light & love

Ogoe

FACE YOUR FEARS

Your progress in life requires you to evolve from one stage of development to the next. This evolution takes place at a mental and spiritual level. The process will not happen automatically. You must allow yourself to evolve.

At every stage of your development, there are challenges you must overcome. Conquering these challenges will prepare you for the next phase of your self-realization. As you evolve, a key challenge you must conquer is fear.

Today, I want to talk to you about “Face Your Fears.”

Twelve years ago, I preached a revival in Bolgatanga, a city in northern Ghana. When the program was over, I went to see the famous crocodile pond in Paga, about two hour drive from Bolgatanga. I was excited about the adventure. I wanted to sit on the large reptile, lift the tail, and take a photo, just like every tourist did. But I felt scared, so I left. On my way home, I knew I had to address this fear.

Six months later, another program took me to Tamale, also in northern Ghana. This time, I decided to face my fear. I had to face my crocodile. And face it, I did. Just so you know: Not only did I sit on the crocodile, I lifted the tail and took a nice picture with a beautiful smile to go with it.

Once you become aware that you have a fear of something or someone, there are three things you should not do. At the same time, there is one thing you must do.

First, do not feel ashamed about your fears. Feeling guilty about your fears will make matters worse. Fear and guilt dampen the human spirit. Having either of them is bad enough. Do not compound the problem by combining the two feelings. Regardless of your personal struggles, always remember to love yourself unconditionally.

Second, neither suppress nor ignore your fears. We all want to appear strong. No one likes to be seen as weak. The pressure to appear strong is particularly intense if you are someone people look up to, a leader of a group, for example. There is nothing wrong with projecting strength. Remember, however, that by ignoring the fear, you are merely delaying the inevitable. Eventually, you will have to confront the problem. You can ignore the fear, but the fear will not ignore you.

Third, do not broadcast your fears. Remember, fear is contagious. Be kind to the universe. Cover your mouth until your infection has passed. If you must release something into the universe, let it be faith and positive vibes, not your fears. It took the word of only ten fearful men to infect the whole congregation of Israel with fear of the giants (Numbers 13:25-33).

Fourth, face your fears. Facing your fears does not mean you should recklessly put yourself in harm’s way to prove a point. No, it means when you become aware you are dealing with fear, you must acknowledge the problem.

After acknowledging the problem, the next step is to accept that you need to work on yourself to release all feelings of insecurity. The problem of fear does not lie with the thing you fear. The proplem lies with you. The feeling of fear is a symptom of a deep seated issue in your life that needs to be addressed, by you.

You can try prayer, meditation, and relaxation techniques. But the antidote to fear is to arm yourself with your spiritual identity as God’s image and likeness. Only a solid awareness of your divine identity will make you immune to fear. It’ll take practice, but it’s worth the time and effort.

Remember, God’s unconditional love is a shield around you. Overcome fear today by seeing yourself as God sees you.

In light & love

Ogoe

RESPONSIBILITY MINUS GUILT

How you feel about yourself is the single most important factor in your overall wellbeing. It’s important, therefore, to feel right about yourself on a consistent basis, regardless of your shortcomings (past, present, or future). This can be challenging, I would agree. We learn to control a lot of things in life, but not many people have mastered the ability to control their feelings.

One thing that can get in the way of feeling right about yourself is the feeling of guilt. Most people struggle with this feeling almost every day. To help overcome this, I’d like to talk to you about “Responsibility Minus Guilt.”

The feeling of guilt is usually a reaction to something you’ve done or failed to do. The feeling can be self-inflicted, or it can be projected unto you by others. In any case, when you allow yourself to feel guilty, you’re absorbing into your system something very toxic. You don’t want that. Offering apologies or confessions won’t free you from feelings of guilt.

To live free of guilty feelings, I encourage you to practice the following:

First, learn to separate your actions from your feelings. Understand, your action and your feeling are not the same thing. Moreover, you are not your action. There’s you, and there’s your action. There’s you, and there’s your shortcomings. Do not mix the two. To experience your full potential, this is a crucial skill you need to master.

Guilty feeling is just a state of mind, not an objective reality. Regardless of what you’ve done or not done, there’s no law in the universe which requires you to feel guilty. How you feel is entirely your choice. Therefore, you can own your actions and remain unaffected by feelings of guilt.

Second, do not absorb the judgment others pass on you. People will judge you at some point, especially if they dislike something you’ve done. While you can’t always control what others say about you, you can always control how you feel. People can point accusing fingers at you, but if you feel right about yourself, their judgment will have no adverse effect on you. Remember, the degree to which a thing can affect you is proportional to the weight you attach to the thing.

Third, never be mad at yourself. Easier said than done. But, if you want to accelerate your personal and spiritual growth, you can’t skip this step. If you’re in the habit of getting mad at yourself, it’s important to stop now. Directing negative feelings at yourself will make you a candidate for all manner of diseases and misfortunes. Whenever you catch yourself getting mad at yourself, pause immediately, take a deep breath, and quiet yourself. Then, say, “I AM always kind to myself.”

In sum, always take responsibility for your actions. At the same time, however, distance yourself from all feelings of guilt. This approach to life will make you a stronger, happier person.

Feel right about yourself.

In love & light

Ogoe

2022: Discover Your Life Purpose

There’s nothing more fulfilling than knowing the reason you came into this world and dedicating yourself to your mission. This is what it means to live by destiny. Everyone who is born into this world comes with a specific assignment and life purpose. Jesus knew his.

Standing before Pilate, he declared, “In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth” (John 18:37, NIV). Like Jesus, everyone has a right to know their life purpose. Living by destiny is the best and the most satisfying way to live.

As we welcome a new year, I’d like to talk to you about “Discover Your Life Purpose.”

A lot of people either miss their destiny or fulfill it partially. Two factors account for this.

The first and the most important factor is the lack of spiritual awareness on the part of their parents. Children’s first contact with the world is through their parents. Therefore, when parents are spiritually awake, they can detect a child’s destiny at an early stage. Information about a child’s life purpose is already available at conception. Equipped with this information, parents can provide appropriate guidance for the child to succeed.

Unfortunately, in our modern world, when couples are expecting, they seem more interested in the child’s gender, height, weight, eye color, and so forth. The child’s life purpose is the last thing on their mind. Hence, children are left to navigate the complex issues of life through trial and error, without the aid of divine revelation. Inevitably, a lot of opportunities are missed.

By contrast, the ancients were more spiritually sensitive to the destiny of the babies they carried. Take, for example, Rebecca. Like most pregnant woman, she too felt the kicking of her babies. But unlike most women, she sensed there was a deeper story behind the constant kicking. She therefore consulted with God.

Only then was it revealed that she was carrying two nations in her womb, and that the firstborn would serve the younger. Armed with this revelation, Rebecca positioned herself strategically, played her cards well, protected Jacob, and made sure Jacob didn’t miss his destiny. Imagine what would have happened if Rebecca wasn’t spiritually sensitive to the movement of her babies. You can find the story in Genesis 25:21-23; 27:1-46.

Behind every Jacob, there’s a Rebecca. Behind every child of destiny, there’s almost always a parent who saw greatness in the child.

The second factor has to do with social programming. In our modern society, everything is neatly packaged. Your job is to fit in the matrix. For instance, shortly after you’re born, you’re plugged into ‘the system’ where you’re told what to think and what not to think. You’re expected to complete elementary school, go to high school, then college. The next step is to find employment, pay your taxes, buy a house, get married, make babies, grow old, retire, then die. In such an environment, it’ll take courage to pursue your purpose, especially if your purpose challenges the status quo.

When you feel empty, unhappy, or if you feel life is a grind, it’s usually a sign that you’re living a life that wasn’t meant for you. The fact that certain life choices are good for one person doesn’t mean the same choices will be good for you.

Your choices in life should be based, not on what everyone else is doing, but on what aligns best with your specific life purpose. If you don’t know the reason you came to this planet, how can you live a meaningful life?

Today, I want you to know that you can, and should, find out the reason you came into this world. It’s your right to know. If you’re unsure of your life purpose, let 2022 be the year you discover it. Ask God for your life purpose to be revealed to you. If you want to talk to someone who is more spiritually adept at dealing with these situations, that’s fine too.

Discovering your life purpose will give you a whole new way of approaching life. It’ll fill you with unimaginable energy and passion. Regardless of the circumstances of your birth, you’re not here by accident. You’re here for a reason, a good reason.

If you’re a parent reading this, give to your children the sense of destiny you didn’t get in your childhood. As Whitney Houston said in her song, Greatest Love of All, “Show them [children] all the beauty they possess inside.”

Let 2022 be your year of self-discovery. Find your purpose. Find true fulfillment by doing what you were sent to do.

In love & light

Ogoe

TRUST YOUR STAR

Often, trusting others feels easier than trusting yourself. There’s a reason for this. As we grow up, much of our education, formal as well as informal, prepares us to trust people and systems outside of ourselves.

We’re raised to trust the news, the government, the church, the school system, the health system, friends, and family. We’re raised to look outside ourselves for answers. But, while you’re trained to trust almost everyone and everything around you, rarely will you be taught the critical truth: Trusting yourself before all others is the key to fulfilling your destiny.

I’d like to talk to you today about “Trust Your Star.”

When Jesus was born, certain men from the East became aware of it through the guidance of his star. Following the star, they made it to Jerusalem safely. Upon arrival, however, they began to ask around as to the location of the child.

When Herod got wind of it, he set in motion an elaborate scheme to destroy the child or whoever he deemed a threat to his throne. The entire story can be found in Matthew 2:1-13. There’s an important lesson here I wish to highlight.

The wise men did not need to ask others for the child’s whereabout. The star that guided them in the East could have led them straight to Jesus. Involving all of Jerusalem, especially Herod, was a mistake, one that proved costly. Interestingly, as soon as they left Herod’s presence, the star from the east reappeared, leading them to Jesus.

Sometimes, you can go about seeking guidance from too many people. In the process, you neglect the guidance of your inner star. Talking to too many people about your journey will only confuse you and attract negative attention.

Like the men from the East, everyone in life is on a journey. The specifics of the journey differ from person to person. But, no matter where your journey calls you, you have a star from God that guides you. Therefore, learning to trust your star is crucial to your success.

Your star is not in the sky. Your star is a part of you. It’s the voice and the light of God in you.

You don’t have to go through Herod to get to your destination. You don’t need outside opinions to know where you need to go or what you need to do. You were never meant to receive your guidance from outside sources.

Fulfilling your destiny requires you to trust your God-given internal guiding star above all external suggestions.

Understand, your journey is yours to undertake. Your dream is yours to pursue. Your calling is yours to answer. No one understands your journey better than you do.

When you stop depending on people for guidance, your inner star will appear to guide you.

Remember, your deepest joy in life will come from knowing, trusting, and following your star. Look within and find the guidance you need. Trust your star.

In light & love

Ogoe