Walk With Me #Deararn.

What is your story? How is your life? The woman, let us call her Jane, had such a journey. In today's parlance, we will say she had been unlucky with men. She married five of them, and they all did not fill the void she felt on the inside. Each one looked like it, but as soon as she got in, she realized that she had made another mistake. She had to endure many snide remarks. No one understood her, and it became embarrassing to the point she would rather go to the well when she was sure there was no one else there. 

She found a way to escape by avoiding the crowd and staying away from social functions. She was sure to avoid other women's to avoid being accused of husband snatching. It was such a lonely road, but what could she do? Mind her business and that she did.  

Do you know, that every battle you face is actually a dig at your christian witness?

WALK WITH ME/BIBLE PROJECT presents the audio bible narrated by Anne Ajadi.

The project is dedicated to my brethren in Africa

"Not my own" Those words jumped at me as the young man pronounced them as he led prayers at one of our intercessory meetings. The context, of course, was the story of the two women who approached the king to help determine whose baby was the living one.

I was drawn into the discourse, and the more I studied, the more I saw that the question was an identity issue. The object was a baby, and transposed to our world can be a vision, a destiny, a purpose, and so on. Both parties were blessed with gifts to be nurtured. They received blessings that should define or, at the very least, affect their future. They each recognized and owned their gifts. The journey had been a while, all nine months, all the time spent nurturing the dream, which they were sure was God-breathed.

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you were born I set you apart;

I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Jeremiah 1:5

The two women in our story came before the king because they had a problem beyond them. They reported that as they were carrying out their assignments of looking after the babies, vision entrusted to their care, nature took its toll on the body, life happened, and both women slept, albeit with the gifts beside them. Night came, and one rested on her heritage, and the other was though careful not to trample on the tender shoot but careless enough not to notice when there was an exchange of identities. The strange things that occur under cover of the night. 

A dispute ensued, and each laid claim on the living child so much they needed higher power and authority higher to help resolve the matter. Wait, did they not know the details of their assignment? How is it that a mother cannot distinguish her baby from another? They approached King Solomon, who a while before had asked God for wisdom to rule the people right, in the counsel of God. This dispute was the test he needed to see if he truly got his request granted.

My wake up call was when I ended a conversation with a sister inn distress and I was drained. Even though I know certain situations can be tasking, this one had a tint of urgency to it. I decided to peel it back and realized I was running on empty. In fact, had been for a minute. Life had happened to me many times before and is happening again but I was breathless and had no visible or tangible source of refuelling. That was my cue. I shut it all down. No phones, no screens, just me, my bible and my note. I had to find my way back home...

a)     We have an identity

The whole essence of numbering the children of Israel was to give them an identity. 

We matter. We belong somewhere. There are peculiarities of our identity. If we truly understand who we are, we will carry ourselves a lot better.

Who are you? The question we must all answer at some point in our lives. Whatever the answer is, will determine what our value is. In this episode, we come up close and personal as we attempt to answer the gnawing question. Find out what Anne has to say about who she is...

The devil is adept at sowing his evil seeds, causing us to fall out of fellowship with God and our fellow brethren. He isolates us to have full reign with us, and when done wreaking havoc, he is fulfilled, leaving us lonely and feeling lost. We convince ourselves that we do not need to be accountable to anybody, maybe even buy into the lie that only God needs to be reported to; when we go that route, we go down the slippery slope of darkness, and if we do not immediately find our way back into fellowship, the effects can be devastating and long-lasting. We would find ourselves succumbing to foolishness and unnecessary struggles with sin and its consequences, which can be anything from anxiety to apathy to depression and sometimes death. We can lose the essence of our being. The good news, however, is that grace is available for the one who quickly retraces their steps.

Then they moved on from Bethel. While they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel began to give birth and had great difficulty. 17 And as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” 18 As she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named her son Ben-Oni. But his father named him Benjamin. Genesis 35:16ff

Never again will the name or label they called you or placed on you have negative effects on your life. You name, identity can change today. God already made provision for it.

"What is in a name?", a line from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

Beloved, your name is the gateway to your person, it is how we catch your attention

Names define your individuality, they colour your future. Your name is the announcement you make to the world about your personality and in many ways, your direction in Ife

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