SUNDAY WORD: THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PALM SUNDAY

John 12:12-19: (NIV)
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King.
12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna![a]”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b]
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
15 
“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
    see, your king is coming,
    seated on a donkey’s colt.”[c]
16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.
17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had performed this sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”

Today is Palm Sunday-when we celebrate the triumphant entry of our LORD into Jerusalem. So today, this will be the Word.
A great crowd went out to meet God as He came into Jerusalem-you will meet the LORD when you listen to the Word because faith comes by hearing (Romans 10:17)-and hence they were positioned to receive. They rejoiced! When you worship Him it makes a powerful encounter possible in His presence and they acted on this worship through the taking of palm branches and the shoutings of praise. The LORD wants you to connect with Him intimately as your Savior and your King.

Jesus sat on a young donkey as was stated in prophecy and this speaks to me that what the LORD has revealed to your heart, will be made manifest before your eyes. His promises are real-He is a covenant keeping God. He is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19).
It says, as it is written, we should not be afraid because our king is coming, seated on a donkey’s cult-hence we should dispel the spirit of fear and keep living and walking in faith (2 Timothy 1:7). Its interesting that a King came in on a donkey’s colt-not how you would expect a king to come in right?
With God, you can always expect to encounter Him in an unconventional but deeply personal manner.
And they recognized Him. When you walk in relationship with God, you will be able to recognize Him even in situations where others cannot see Him present.
God comes to His children-this is why the prophesy says: Daughter Zion because it is relationship not religion in which you experience the voice and presence of Christ.
They knew how to respond to His presence. This was why they were able to shout "Hosanna!" with the palm branches and praise Him as King. When God walks into your life you will recognize His presence in your situation. 
Its interesting that even His disciples did not understand this.
Don’t get comfortable in your role in the body of Christ-don’t fall into religion keep yourself rooted in relationship with Him.
They only understood after it was revealed to them-after He was glorified. When you accept Jesus as your personal God and Savior you will be able to understand what others cannot. That is why the Word says:

2 Corinthians 4:3: (NIV):
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.

Notice it was the crowd that had witnessed God bring the dead to life-Lazarus-that spread the Word. When God steps into your situation personally, you become connected to the message of Truth because you have witnessed it.
And when people heard He had done this-when people hear how He has brought the dead to life in your life, they would be drawn to Him-they will meet Him.

The Pharisees are those that do not understand the message of God-and some are in the church because the Pharisees were religious leaders during this time but they did not understand the message because their perspective was wrong-they concentrated on the world not on Christ!


Concentrate on the message of Christ and not the world and you will begin to understand the significance of the resurrection, the significance of this beautiful celebration and the glorious resurrection and life that comes to us through Christ our King!

---
If you enjoyed this post: like, share and subscribe!

Also, join me every Sunday on my Youtube page for messages on faith, relationships and destiny!

4 STEPS TO EMBRACING YOUR SEASON OF SINGLENESS (KINGDOM COURTSHIP)

Genesis 2:18: (NIV)
18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Personally, singleness is an area I feel is struggled with in the body of Christ. How many of you can identify with feelings of loneliness, dealing with depressing thoughts and isolation? These feelings are normal but there are steps and strategies to dealing with such emotions.
It is key to understand, as children of the LORD, we are called to be set apart and there are ways to combat these intermittent spells in your singleness.
I walk you through four applicable steps to embracing your season of singleness!

1.     ACCEPT YOURSELF

Embrace your individuality. The LORD said it is not good for man to be alone and to be alone means to be separate. So first you must become comfortable with being separate before you are ready to step into your next season of being married!
Granted you will deal with feelings of intermittent frustration, and anxiety, and even confusion-but it is important to fight these thoughts in prayer-remember the Word says we are not given a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind ( 2 Timothy 1:7).
When you begin to spend time with the LORD and yourself, He gives you an understanding of your identity in Him that will enable you to embrace the wholeness that comes only from His presence. And when you recognize your identity as a child of God, you realize you are worth the wait-allow the Spirit to lead you to this place (Romans 8:14).

2.     EMBRACE YOUR SEASON

According to Genesis 2:18, the LORD will make a suitable helper. Let’s concentrate on the word: make. To make is to form. And in order to be formed you need to be put in a place of pressure. This is when you face challenges you are going through: having issues at your job, with that friend, that co-worker, that assignment? It is an opportunity to be built. Allow the LORD to use those situations to speak to your spirit and lead you-this is how we become more and more like Him and less like the world (John 3:30). Yield yourself to the leadership of the Spirit so He can use these experiences to teach you how to grow in the fruits of His personality (Galatians 5:22-23). This process is not fun but it is fruitful in order to be able to grow as a person and as a child of God.

3.     BE PRODUCTIVE

It is important to realize, the power of being productive in your singleness. When you are a single woman, your body and spirit is devoted unto the LORD (1 Corinthians 7:34). Once you embrace your seasons, you submit to His will. Hence, the fruits of the Spirit begin to speak into your life, and He leads you into areas where you will bear fruit as you yield to Him. Here, you become more mature in the Word, because you begin to learn from obedience what it means to sacrifice time, energy, effort, and even frustration, indignation etc as unto the LORD. This is when you begin to embody the traits of a helper. A helper by definition is someone who provides help to someone else. This is when the gifts of the LORD will start to speak through you-in a whisper, a thought; He could lead you to start a small business, or to even start teaching, or go travelling or take a course-the possibilities are limitless and there is ample time in this season to be of service in body and spirit to the LORD.

4.     PURPOSE

Now that you have embraced your identity, yielded to the Spirit through your seasons of experiences, and become productive through your obedience to the LORD, you will notice you have begun to move in purpose. And purpose is made complete in Christ-your identity shifts from being stationary to being mobile in the kingdom. What happens through this transition is you become a helper to people through your personality, your position, your productivity and eventually to your spouse through these various experiences. You will mature and begin to focus less on the things of the flesh like worrying about the timing when you will meet your mate, and begin to understand what it is to live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7); by the Spirit and not the flesh. (Galatians 5:25).

These four steps will enable you to move from a mindset of frustration to a place of fruition!
Allow yourself to be used in your season of singleness to serve in the LORD’s Kingdom. As you move from an understanding of your identity through Him, yield to Him by embracing your experiences, and become productive in the place of obedience, you will have stepped on the field of purpose, a suitable helper-built through this journey to serve as unto the LORD in your marital ministry and beyond!

---
Like, share, and comment on this post to share your thoughts.

  Q: How are you dealing with your singleness?

 Tip: Singles, start walking out your purpose step by step day by day and when the seasons change, the right steps will join you on the journey.

 Join me on Youtube for more discussions on relationship, faith and destiny on Sundays!







HOW TO MEET THE PERSON OF YOUR DREAMS

Today, I will be discussing simple strategies to position you to meet the person of your dreams!

1.     Know Who You Are:
To meet the person of your dreams, you first have to become the person of your dreams! It is important to date yourself to know who you want to date. You project what you want to reflect and this determines your prospects!
(Side note: Did you see what I did there-I love rhymes!)

2.      Build Yourself:
Build yourself! Allow yourself to explore and open yourself to new experiences-this will enable you to learn how to interact in new environments and who knows? You may meet the person of your dreams during or doing one of these social meetings. You should also learn how to become more accountable for your finances: start learning the art of saving!
Commit to your relationships and develop them accordingly-move apart from people that complicate your life and your daily decisions through stress; converse and communicate with people that contribute to your personal development through their actions, and finally, learn how to separate yourself from places and people that are contrary to your personal goals.
For instance if you want to learn more about business and branding, then spend more time with people that can contribute to this conversation. How? Begin the conversation-and you will soon find yourself in an environment conducive to your temperament-you need to make the first step to move into the next stage!
This enables you meet the person of your dreams because you are taking steps to becoming the person they also want you to be: a person that is organized mentally, emotionally and physically.
For instance, you want someone that is physically fit, then work on your own physical fitness!


3.     Achieve Your Goals:
And finally, spend time achieving your goals! This is an extension of the previous point but it is different in this aspect: cultivate discipline and diligence in your activities; goals don’t manifest overnight-they are a product of consistent commitment. The reason this will help you achieve your dreams is, it simply puts you in a mindset of maturity. If you are looking for a serious relationship, chances are-and this is 100% of the time in my opinion-the person you seek is also walking the path of goal setting and achieving! And they too will need someone that understands that mindset.

In summary to meet the person of your dreams become the person of your dreams!
These simple steps consistently applied will enable you to mature and meet the person you dream of being with-because in this process of developing, you discover who you are and who you want to become-and when you begin to implement the steps to make these dreams a reality, you produce a personality that is attractive to the person you want to build a lifetime with.
  

Q: What personal steps are you taking to meet the person of your dreams?

Tip: Write down your dreams and write down the desires you have for a partner-do they align? If not, work on making them align by bringing those dreams into reality through the steps highlighted above!

---

To learn more about self development:

Read:
The Path To Self Confidence
Accept Yourself
Discover Your Identity

Listen:
Awakening Destiny
Dangers of Dating
Doorway To Destiny
Power of Identity

If this message helped you, share it with someone by clicking the links below!

I share more messages on relationships, faith, destiny on my Youtube channel every Sunday!