“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight" (Proverbs 3: 5-6).
We are closing out the third week in the new year. We are still receiving your prayer requests for this new year. My Beautiful Queen and I continue to use the month of January to read and pray over all your requests and answer your questions. God continues to draw people to Himself as they seek Him for solutions to their problems. Many of you asked what words we have for 2020. Though, we are sharing the words the Holy Spirit is stirring in our hearts, we do so as students of the words who are walking in them. If you sense a quickening in your spirit as you read the words, receive them too as students of the words and walk in them.
When I was a graduate student at Virginia Tech University, my church small group members and I attended the African American Music ensemble in Williamsburg, a 4-hour drive from Blacksburg. It was an experience that took me back to worship style in Nigeria. I was reminded of the Williamsburg music ensemble when we were in Nigeria last November for leadership conference. This is because, the music had a special way of rhythm that mixes two or more different rhythms at the same time. This is a well-known style in West Africa. Another thing that the experience reminded me of was that everyone was a participant. There was no spectator. Everyone participated by either dancing, humming a song, clapping, moving bodies or doing all of the aforementioned. There was a regular repeated pattern of sound involved, which is what rhythm is all about.
In other to trust in the Lord with all your heart this year and lean not on your own understanding; but submit to Him in all your ways to make your paths straight requires a rhythm. Walking in the reality of Proverbs 3: 5-6 requires a rhythm. Our model example Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had a rhythm to life while He was here on earth. He showed us how the divine can live in humanity. Jesus rhythm of life is exemplified in these four areas:
Prayer was part of Jesus rhythm of life. Whether during His baptism as in Luke 3:21, “Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened” or after a busy time of ministry as in Matthew 14:23, “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone”, prayer was a natural rhythm for Jesus life. We need prayer as a natural rhythm of our lives too.
Work was part of Jesus rhythm of life and it was based on God’s kingdom. Jesus worked to bring heaven to earth, healing people, telling them of God’s love and showing them, giving hope to the hopeless, and encouraging people in the ways of God. We need Jesus model of work as a natural rhythm of our lives too.
Community was part of Jesus rhythm of life. The gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus spending time with people, be His disciples, the poor, the oppressed or the crowd that He frequently preached to and feed. We need community as a natural rhythm of our lives too.
Rest was part of Jesus rhythm of life. Jesus never overworked Himself to the point of exhaustion. In His humanity, He showed us rest was a necessity if we are to fulfill God’s purposes as His children. Jesus gave an open invitation in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give your rest.” My wife and I are currently reading one of the few books available on rest by our pastor. We need rest as a natural rhythm of our lives too.
Beloved brothers and sisters, God’s blueprint guarantees God’s outcomes. Jesus modeled God’s blueprint in His rhythm of life. We must too; no exceptions. Let’s walk in 2020 trusting in the Lord with all our hearts and leaning not on our own understanding; in all our ways submit to Him, and He will make our paths straight. This year shall be an unprecedented year for Jesus in and through your life because God is with you (Hebrews 13:5b). God bless you!
For The Cause of Christ,
Dr. Johnson Obamehinti
We are closing out the third week in the new year. We are still receiving your prayer requests for this new year. My Beautiful Queen and I continue to use the month of January to read and pray over all your requests and answer your questions. God continues to draw people to Himself as they seek Him for solutions to their problems. Many of you asked what words we have for 2020. Though, we are sharing the words the Holy Spirit is stirring in our hearts, we do so as students of the words who are walking in them. If you sense a quickening in your spirit as you read the words, receive them too as students of the words and walk in them.
When I was a graduate student at Virginia Tech University, my church small group members and I attended the African American Music ensemble in Williamsburg, a 4-hour drive from Blacksburg. It was an experience that took me back to worship style in Nigeria. I was reminded of the Williamsburg music ensemble when we were in Nigeria last November for leadership conference. This is because, the music had a special way of rhythm that mixes two or more different rhythms at the same time. This is a well-known style in West Africa. Another thing that the experience reminded me of was that everyone was a participant. There was no spectator. Everyone participated by either dancing, humming a song, clapping, moving bodies or doing all of the aforementioned. There was a regular repeated pattern of sound involved, which is what rhythm is all about.
In other to trust in the Lord with all your heart this year and lean not on your own understanding; but submit to Him in all your ways to make your paths straight requires a rhythm. Walking in the reality of Proverbs 3: 5-6 requires a rhythm. Our model example Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had a rhythm to life while He was here on earth. He showed us how the divine can live in humanity. Jesus rhythm of life is exemplified in these four areas:
Prayer was part of Jesus rhythm of life. Whether during His baptism as in Luke 3:21, “Now when all the people were baptized, Jesus was also baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened” or after a busy time of ministry as in Matthew 14:23, “After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone”, prayer was a natural rhythm for Jesus life. We need prayer as a natural rhythm of our lives too.
Work was part of Jesus rhythm of life and it was based on God’s kingdom. Jesus worked to bring heaven to earth, healing people, telling them of God’s love and showing them, giving hope to the hopeless, and encouraging people in the ways of God. We need Jesus model of work as a natural rhythm of our lives too.
Community was part of Jesus rhythm of life. The gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus spending time with people, be His disciples, the poor, the oppressed or the crowd that He frequently preached to and feed. We need community as a natural rhythm of our lives too.
Rest was part of Jesus rhythm of life. Jesus never overworked Himself to the point of exhaustion. In His humanity, He showed us rest was a necessity if we are to fulfill God’s purposes as His children. Jesus gave an open invitation in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give your rest.” My wife and I are currently reading one of the few books available on rest by our pastor. We need rest as a natural rhythm of our lives too.
Beloved brothers and sisters, God’s blueprint guarantees God’s outcomes. Jesus modeled God’s blueprint in His rhythm of life. We must too; no exceptions. Let’s walk in 2020 trusting in the Lord with all our hearts and leaning not on our own understanding; in all our ways submit to Him, and He will make our paths straight. This year shall be an unprecedented year for Jesus in and through your life because God is with you (Hebrews 13:5b). God bless you!
For The Cause of Christ,
Dr. Johnson Obamehinti
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