Welcome again to the month of April! It will be a month of abundant celebration as the title of my discuss suggests. Victory parade is a parade held to celebrate a victory. Victory parades date back to ancient Rome, where Roman triumphs celebrated a leader who was militarily victorious.
We have a leader whose victory is worth celebrating up until now. We are celebrating the victory that Jesus won on our behalf on the cross of Calvary. This is not a temporary one but a permanent and eternal defeat of the enemy. No wonder the prophet Isaiah prophesied in chapter 40 verse 2 saying ‘speak comfort to Jerusalem and cry to her that her warfare is ended, and her iniquity is pardoned.”One of the things that has been used to rob the church of Jesus the most is ignorance of what was accomplished through the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. Even though her warfare is ended, she was not living in comfort until there was a declaration of the same to her. The enemy of our souls does not need to fight extra hard if he can keep us in the dark about what victory we have in Christ.
The brand of Christianity that puts us in a place where we are trying to get victorious is a fallacy and should not be embraced. We have victory in Christ already and all we are doing is enforcing and asserting what we already have knowing that the enemy we are up against does not have respect for boundaries.
One of the scriptures that describes the vividness of this victory parade amongst others is found in Colossians 2:11-15. Reading verse 15 in the Passion Translation (TPT) gives an elaborate insight into what happened at the cross and how we now have the right to celebrate the defeat of our enemy. His victory is our victory because we were buried and raised together with him. The enemy does not have a legal ground to exert dominion over us anymore!
“Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers and principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon and all their spiritual authority and power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were his!” Colossians 2:15 (TPT)
It is a victory parade celebration in Christ Jesus! Enjoy the New dawn as you stay conscious of your victorious status! I call you blessed!
CHILDREN’S CORNER
The 10 Commandments
The Ten Commandments are a set of rules that were given by God to direct and guide our actions. They help us to be aware of the good or bad things we should or should not do, so that we can knowingly aim to please God. Here are the 10 commandments (Exodus 20 – ICB)
- You must not have any other gods except me.
- You must not make for yourselves any idols…
- You must not use the name of the Lord your God thoughtlessly…
- Remember to keep the Sabbath as a holy day…
- Honour your father and your mother…
- You must not murder anyone.
- You must not be guilty of adultery.
- You must not steal.
- You must not tell lies about your neighbour in court.
- You must not want to take your neighbor’s house (belongings….
DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
A Time to Change Course
When a door keeps getting shut in your face, don’t you think it is time to go knocking on other doors? When you keep applying the same strategy to a situation just because it works for someone you know but it doesn’t work for you, don’t you think it’s time to re- strategize?
This door might be open to one and yet be shut to another. Life is such that what works for one person might not work for another.
Tenacity is a beautiful quality one should possess, and it should be used correctly to provide worthwhile results. The idea is to work smart and not to only work hard.
A foolish captain will drive his ship into the eye of a storm when he could avoid it by changing course. There is often a better approach to solving the problem if only you would consider doing it a different way from what you are used to. Change might be uncomfortable but it is essential for your personal growth and development.
To everything there is a season, A time for every There is a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Now is the time to change course!
BIBLICAL POETRY
Make living worth it
Afterall it did take nine months to form you, Many months of imagining what you would look like, Of thinking about the life God had mapped out for you.
Nine months of blessings being counted.
And then one day, whether early or late you made your entry into the physical world, temporarily separating from the spiritual realm.
You put your trust into others,
Looking to them to provide you with your most basics needs
And wailing persistently when they didn’t know what to do. And in the moments,
when they struggled to comprehend your demands
You were patient,
trusting that God had placed you with the right family.
And when the time was right,
they reconnected you with the spiritual realm
They Christened you, acknowledging that you were a gift from God.
Knowing that earth was your new home,
You decided to learn the ways of the humans.
Watching and studying until eventually you could
walk, speak, make decisions.
In time you grew physically,
and with guidance spiritually and emotionally.
The years kept passing and soon more was expected from you. You started to notice the importance of making living worth it. With time you started to pay more attention to your spiritual connection. It soon became apparent that your guardians exist in heaven as well.
That understanding the bible was critically to your spiritual growth. That praise and worship drew you closer to God
That sacrificing instant gratification will build your discipline Changes to your behaviour will help you become a disciple Changes to your lifestyle could make you a walking example of God’s love
So you read the bible, listened to the sermons, danced to praise And decided to make living worth it
HEALTH CORNER
Fighting Malaria: Understanding the Symptoms and Challenges.
Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected Anopheles mosquitoes. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2020, there were estimated 241 million cases of malaria worldwide, with approximately 95% occurring in Sub-saharan Africa. Severe malaria is usually caused by Plasmodium falciparum (often referred to as Falciparum malaria) whereas malaria caused by P. vivax, P. ovale, and P. malariae is typically more moderate.
Adults who have malaria typically have chills, a fever that lasts six hours or more, followed by sweating and a period of fever as well as headache, tiredness, stomach discomfort, and muscle pain. The more common symptoms in children are temperature, cough, nausea, and diarrhea. In severe circumstances, it might result in jaundice, convulsions, coma, or loss of life. Symptoms generally appear 10-15 after being bitten by an infected mosquito.
The good news is that malaria is preventable and treatable. The WHO recommends the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets, indoor residual spraying of insecticides, the removal of stagnant water, and antimalarial medication.
Challenges such as antimalarial drug resistance, insecticide resistance, and inadequate funding for malaria control programs continue to pose a threat to global efforts to eliminate malaria. Therefore, sustained investment and political commitment are needed to achieve the goal of a malaria-free world.
The fight against Malaria is an ongoing battle that requires a concerted effort from all stakeholders. As we continue to work towards eliminating malaria, we must remember the words of Proverbs 3:27 (NIV): “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act”. It is our responsibility to act and support efforts to prevent and treat malaria, especially for the most vulnerable populations affected by the disease.
FUN FACT
Did You Know?
- Sleeping without a pillow reduces back pain and keep your spine stronger. 2. Your shoes are the first thing people subconsciously notice about you.
- You can survive without eating for weeks but you will only live 11 days. without sleeping.
- People who laugh a lot are heathier than those who don’t.
- Spaghetto, confetto, and graffito are the singular forms of spaghetti, confetti, and graffiti.
AWESOME BIBLE PUZZLE
Change, Impact, Positivity, Decision, Growth, Direction, Tenacity, Time
CLOSURE:
God values people and he placed value on every soul he created. The soul of a man is as important to God as the entire world, which was why Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 16:26 (NKJV) For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” World changers are people who value what God values. No matter the sphere of influence they found themselves in, they put in their best to bring about positive and significant transformation.
They portray the values of God and encourage people around them to do the same. God never gets tired of bringing people to himself, he is daily in the business of changing the world into a better place. It is a mandate giving to every one of his sons and daughters, a mandate of Changing the World. He needs you as his child to join this shared vision and walk by it daily.
