THE HEART OF A PROSTITUTE - REHAB

THE HEART OF A PROSTITUTE - REHAB

“By faith the harlot Rehab perished not with them that believed not when she had received the spies with peace” – Hebrews 11:31 (KJV)

It takes humility and wisdom to draw lessons from a person or something most average people of ordinary intelligence will despise. However, we stand to benefit greatly when we draw lessons from things we are naturally inclined to spurn. A wise leader for instance needs to draw inspirations from the personal leadership qualities of an ant despite its tinny and small size. Rehab, a one-time heathen prostitute,[1] demonstrated some exemplary attitudes which are worthy of emulation. She forsook her evil career, and became a woman of great faith. Rehab eventually earned an enviable presence in both the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew and the memorials of people of great faith in the book of Hebrews.

Rehab stepped into positive limelight after she brilliantly planned and executed the protection and escape of the two Jewish spies sent to Jericho by Joshua, the then commander-in-chief of Israel’s army. Rehab’s wise scheme was motivated by her understanding of the sovereignty of God. “And she said unto the men, I know that the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land (Jericho) of the land faint because of you” – Joshua 2:9. This means that Rehab had a great respect for both God and His people although she was then an unbeliever. She thus sought to protect God’s people against the wish of the leaders of the city, Jericho, she lived.

Another remarkable trait of Rehab is her heart for her entire family. Despite the possibility of she been ostracised and despised by her family members due to her harlotry; she sought for their salvation. She made the following requests in Joshua 2:12-13: “Now therefore, I pray you swear unto me by the LORD, since I have showed you kindness, that you ye will also show kindness unto my father’s house...And that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and deliver our lives from death”.  Rehab in effect sought for the salvation of her entire family from the impending judgment of God against Jericho. Similarly, we need to seek for the salvation of our unbelieving family members and spare them of the eternal damnation that will eternally plague all persons who reject salvation through Jesus Christ.

Rehab looked at the bigger picture and ignored all the unpleasant treatments she might have received from her family members. To her, the salvation of her family members were paramount to their significance differences between her and them, and hurts they might have traded against each other. Consequently, while the city of Jericho and its inhabitants were destroyed; Rehab and her family members were saved and protected by God through the Israelites. They subsequently became part of the people of Israel. This godly association might have led to Rehab’s decision to forsake her evil ways.

Rehab’s name has been inscribed in two most significant passages in the Bible namely Matthew 1 and Hebrews 11. Whiles the latter mentions Rehab alongside people of great faith such as David, Abraham, Gideon, Moses and Sampson; the former inks her name in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. But why should a woman with such a backward background be allowed to have anything to do with the genealogy of the only sinless Saviour of the world? I believe God did so because Rehab had a great heart. She did not only revere and believe God after hearing of His great works through the Israelites (Joshua 2:10-11), but also sought for the salvation of her entire family. Rehab thus had a great heart after God’s heart – salvation of souls. Rehab both preserved the lives of God’s people and also sought for the salvation of those in her family who did not know God. She by her conduct aligned herself with the primary purpose of Jesus on earth – to save people from theirs sins and God’s impending wrath. Perhaps you may not have a sordid past as Rehab but do you have her heart? God is more interested in the state of your heart than your chequered and nasty past. Rehab surrendered her heart totally to God for His use. God thus changed her destiny and made her name great. Give your heart totally to God!

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of Daily Wisdom

Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com

Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com

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[1] https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/all-women-bible/Rahab

WEEKLY WISDOM SERIES 1

WEEKLY WISDOM SERIES 1

   A YEAR JOURNEY INTO WISDOM PATHS

“Getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do! And whatever else you do, get good judgment (understanding)” – Proverbs 4:7 (NLT).

*WEEK 1:

God expects His children to act in ways that are opposite to their negative or undesirable circumstances.

We should not allow our adverse circumstances to prevent us from doing what is needful and godly including worshipping God, being joyous and being more productive in whatever we are doing.

Praising, worshipping and expressing faith in God despite a person’s adverse circumstances leads to holistic enlargement and expansion.

The degree of God’s blessings a person can receive into that person’s destiny depends on the number of needed vessels that person makes available for God’s use.

God desires us to have a better perspective of our adverse situations and pay attention to their positive outcomes and His plans for us.

God expects His children to rejoice, praise Him and prepare for His blessings that will definitely follow their momentary afflictions.

One of the ways we can demonstrate our fear for God is our willingness to offer what we value most to Him.

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of Daily Wisdom

Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com

Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com

VOTE FOR CHARACTER AND COMPETENCE

VOTE FOR CHARACTER AND COMPETENCE

Kofi: Hello Ama, it’s good to hear from you again since our last conversation on phone a couple of months ago. The situation in Zimbabwe isn’t getting better. How’s Ghana?

Ama: Kofi, I am confused.

Kofi: About what?

Ama: I am struggling with which political candidate or party to vote for in Ghana’s upcoming general elections. I am being ridiculed of the candidates I desire to vote for. My friends are saying those candidates will never win so I should not waste my votes. Auntie Asantewaa and Uncle Ahoto are also insisting that I should vote for candidates of that political party that majority of the people in our community have always been voting for. I am now thinking of not voting at all so that I can have my peace of mind.

Kofi: Ama, you have a choice to either vote or not. You also have the right to decide which candidate to vote for should you finally decide to vote. You need to vote for a candidate you are convinced of even if that person is not going to win.

Ama: But why should I vote if my choice of candidate is not going to win?

Kofi: Casting a vote is a sacred exercise which must not be taken lightly. When you vote for a candidate, you give that candidate power to make decisions, if he wins, that will negatively or positively impact your destiny. That is why you should not just vote for anybody or a political party merely because they are the choice of many other people or opinion polls favour them. Your vote is a reflection of your personality and what you think. Will you vote for a dishonest idiot or a person who is morally bankrupt because he is the candidate of a popular political party? Voting for such a person will mean you endorse his character, beliefs and political ideologies.

  

Ama: So Kofi what should a voter consider before voting for a candidate?

Kofi: I will say character and competence.

Ama: What do you mean by “character and competence?”

Kofi: Character points to integrity and trustworthiness. A person of integrity does what he said he would do. They are trustworthy people because you can count on them to deliver their promises even if doing so will hurt their personal interests and that of their cronies. A political candidate who fails to carry out his promises after winning elections, without reasonable excuse, does not deserve your endorsement. You don’t have to vote for a candidate you do not trust. Competence on the other hand points to capacity to achieve what the person is promising. It relates to the skills, intelligence and experiences of the person and persons connected to him. The candidate and the political party he is leading must possess the needed intelligence and prudence to manage the resource of a nation and lead the people in that nation to attain some desirable goals. That candidate and his team must especially be people of character and worthy of your trust.

Ama: Does it then mean that good character of a candidate is enough to trust him with your vote? What do you make of a candidate who may have good character but is not competent?

Kofi: Ama, both character and competence are very necessary. But, if you were to choose between character and competence; choose character! It is better to have an accountant who is honest but less competent than to have a dishonest accountant who is highly competent. Guess what, that highly competent accountant will collapse your business because of his dishonesty. You should not entrust your treasures into the hands of a dishonest person.

Ama: Thanks so much Kofi for educating me on these matters. I will reflect on them and independently decide on candidates I desire to vote for based on my convictions about those candidates, not ignoring every relevant information about them.

Kofi: Ama, before you end the call let me share with you excerpts of a message, delivered by Dr. Mensa Otabil, I recently read from a website. He gave three other factors electorates like you should consider before voting for a particular candidate and his policies:

“ 1. Vote for your dreams and aspirations. Look at your future projections, where you are going and see the proposal that best suits where you are going in life: what kind of future do you want, what kind of vision (do) you have for your life? Think about your life, consider the proposals and ask yourself: which of these ones will help me become the person I want to be or my children or my grandchildren become what I want them to be? Which idea best fits my dreams and aspirations, not which colour I support or which slogan sounds nice, for which idea best helps me become whom I want to be, so, vote for your dreams and aspirations and never allow any politician to take you for granted...

2. Vote for your beliefs and your values: what do you value, what is important to you, what do you believe, what are the things that you wouldn’t compromise in life? Look at all of that...  
3. Vote for the best interest of your nation. Remember your vote doesn't just affect you but it will shape the destiny of your nation. Look at your nation, where it is and where it wants to be. Which of the proposals will help us get to a better place? Which of them?”

Ama: Thanks Kofi, I am very grateful for this information as well. God bless you!

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of Wisdom Thoughts

                                       Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com                                       Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com

WHAT MAKES GOD INVINCIBLE IN BATTLE

WHAT MAKES GOD INVINCIBLE IN BATTLE

Yes, God is the creator of all visible and invisible things

Certainly, He is omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent

Indeed, He is the only wise God

He is excellent in power, in judgment, and in justice

He is the Lord of hosts, the King of glory

He is the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle!

Who dares to contend with the Almighty God?

Who dares to darken His counsel by words without knowledge?

Where were those people when He laid the foundations of the earth?

Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or being His counsellor has taught Him?

Behold, the nations are a drop of a bucket in His sight

And are counted as the dust of the balance

All nations before Him are nothing and less than miniscule

They are counted to Him as less than nothing and vanity upon vanity

Have you not known? Have you not heard?

Has it not been told you from the beginning?

Have you not understood from the foundations from the earth?

That He faints not, neither does He get weary nor slumbers nor sleeps

Truly, there is no searching of His understanding, power, love, majesty and wisdom

He gives power to the faint; and increases the strength of the weakling who waits upon Him

Yet God is never complacent nor careless for a second, at any time and in any situation

He always has His full armour on which enables Him to stand against all wiles of the devil

His full armour comprises truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, His spoken word and prayers

He commands His children to put on His full armour to enable them withstand all evil attacks.

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of Daily Wisdom

Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com                                                                                 Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com

THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD

THE FOOLISHNESS OF GOD

And God created the heaven and the earth

He created them by and for Himself, without the help of humankind

Then He decided to create humankind to share His creation with humankind

So He created the first man and the first woman, and made them stewards over the earth

Adam and Eve disrespected and disappointed God

They rather chose to obey Satan instead of obeying Him

By their disobedience they surrendered the earth to the control of Satan

By their rebellion they permitted sin to dominate humankind and all creation on earth

God punished them and Satan

He also drove them from His presence because of their sinful nature

Yet God continued to love them and even covered their shame

Nevertheless, their descendants continued to rebel towards Him

He used all means to redeem and reconcile with them but to no avail

So God decided to sacrifice His life for these wicked, impudent and hard-hearted rebels

He came down from heaven to this earth to demonstrate His love to these stubborn rebels

They despised, mocked, maltreated, persecuted, rejected and crucified Him like a dog

He died but resurrected because death could not hold Him captive

He has still not given up on humankind, especially those who continue to reject Him

Even those who have reconciled with Him only a few of them truly and faithfully love Him

Is God not acting more than a foolish person?

Can’t He realize that His unconditional love has needlessly blinded Him?

What is humankind that He is so fruitlessly mindful of and not destroying swiftly?

He says even His foolishness is far better and higher than the best wisdom of humankind

He says even sinful humankind have compassion for their rebellious pets and children.

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of Daily Wisdom

Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com                                                                       Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com

MEEKNESS AND DIVINE DIRECTION

MEEKNESS AND DIVINE DIRECTION

“God blesses those who are gentle and lowly, for the whole earth will belong to them” – Matthew 5:5 (NLT).

The greatest encounter or privilege a person can have on this earth is for that person to be led by God. This is because any person God leads is guaranteed of divine provisions, daily guidance, unfathomable peace, righteous lifestyle, comfort in the midst of difficulties, divine vindication and exaltation, long life, and divine exploits! However, God does not just lead anybody; He only leads the meek. “The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his ways” – Psalm 25:9 (KJV). Moses and Jesus did great exploits while on this earth because of their meekness towards God by which He led them in all their ways.

This earth and the one to come belongs to God and He gives either of them to any person He wills – the meek. Matthew 5:5 expressly states that the meek shall inherit the earth. Meekness denotes gentleness, which “means to approach others (including one’s enemies) in a humble and caring spirit, not using force to get one’s way”.[1] It involves tolerance, forbearance, adaptability and more importantly, humility. Meekness thus generally denotes gentleness and humility. For Rev Dr Selwyn Hughes, “Humility is seeing ourselves from God’s point of view and having a right opinion of ourselves.” This means that humility is deep-rooted in both a correct view about God and that of ourselves in the light of His word.

Numbers 12:3 testifies about the meekness of Moses. This character trait of Moses paved way for God to communicate with him directly and plainly, beyond dreams and visions. Today, God mainly guides us through His word and the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:18, 22-33). Meekness is among the fruit of the Spirit. This means that we cannot exhibit meekness unless we allow the Holy Spirit to reside within us by surrendering our hearts to Jesus and God’s word (Matthew 11:28-29; John 6:63). We naturally exhibit meekness when the Holy Spirit takes deep roots in our hearts. Does He really live in your heart?

Richard Obeng Mensah, author of Daily Wisdom

Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com

Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com

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[1] William D. Mounce, Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words (Zondervan 2006) 281.

WHAT PEOPLE DO FOR VOTES

WHAT PEOPLE DO FOR VOTES

Ama: Hello Kofi, how’re you and Zimbabwe?

Kofi: Hey! Ama, good to hear from you. You always make me feel for Ghana.

All’s not well here. Zimbabwe is still wrestling with hyperinflation, mass unemployment, and collapsing economy. I hear Grandpa Mugabe wants to introduce bond notes which some experts are predicting will worsen the current wounded economy. How’s Ghana?

Ama: Ghana is getting sweeter and sweeter.

Kofi: That’s good news, I better start packing then and head to Ghana.

Ama: Hmm! Kofi, it’s a good idea but no rush. Come home and contribute your quota to the ailing economy. All Ghanaians need to take special interest in how our nation is being run.

Kofi: I understand dumsor (power crisis) is gone and massive development is taking place.

Ama: Kofi don’t forget we are in an election year and all things are possible; people can even grow yams on trees and harvest them overnight. We’re good at fixing our developmental challenges when elections are approaching. But experts say dumsor is just hiding.

Kofi: How sweet is Ghana getting then? Is the situation better than the cries in Zimbabwe?

Ama: Many interesting fila Kofi. The election referee is being suffocated with legal suits due to how it is blowing its whistle; the major political clubs are promising to bring down the new earth and new heaven if they win the elections; the current head coach is promising to score better goals if he’s re-elected; and some chiefs have become political pulpits for unhealthy propaganda because of their stomach. Many of the electorates are being swindled with gifts like coffin, gas cylinders, coins, microwave roads, electoral prophecies and political humility.

You know something, Kofi, these political clubs are currently behaving as if they care so much about Ghana and the electorates. On the contrary, they just want their votes. Their real interest is in their political clubs and the true members of those clubs.

Kofi: Ama you know in the US, issues about sexual misconduct, sexting and email scandals are being exploited to court the electorates by the leaders of the two big clubs. These issues point to character and integrity of the big shots; their colourful manifestoes are not enough.  

Ama: We also need to pay attention to the issues of corruption, incompetence, mismanagement, desperate desire for power or retention of it, and abuse of power and incumbency. The ongoing Gospel messages from the political pulpits are not enough! Oh! sorry Kofi, you know, I am almost out on phone credit. I should end here.

Kofi: Sorry Ama, I understand. I have not been able to send you some money all this while, due to situations here, but I hope to remit money when possible.

 Richard Obeng Mensah, author of Wisdom Thoughts

 Blog: www.richard-obeng-mensah.blogspot.com                                                                      Email: richardobengmensah@gmail.com