Just Say YES!
We are 24 days into the New Year and I am so excited to be writing again! So much has transpired in my life since my last blog I’m not even going to bear the burden of trying to catch you all up right now. As I prayerfully considered my life over the last 6-7 months and all the choices, changes and challenges I faced I kept asking the Lord what should I write about on this good #WorldRaceWednesday? This journey of blogging is all too new to me and to be honest is sometimes super intimidating requiring total trust in the Lord and wisdom (hence how long it’s been since I wrote and my choice to write every other Wednesday now instead of every Wednesday). As I sit here writing this blog I keep thinking of the title I kept hearing ring in my ears, “Just Say YES!” No content but so much context leaving me like, “Lord where do I start?” For many of you this will be my 1st blog that you encounter. I SINCERELY invite you to read my ABOUT ME section along with my 1st 3 blogs to help give you some framework about who I am, why I am blogging and why you should care.
“Just Say YES!”
That’s right. YES, is where this blog starts. YES, is actually where my whole life started when I said YES to Christ exactly 10 years ago to be my Savior but eventually with time rejected Him as my Lord… Wait, what? What does that even mean? How does a Christian receive Christ as Savior but not Lord? Is that possible? How does that even work? I am not here to debate theology with anyone I am just here to share a piece of my testimony, my story and bring you all along the journey of my faith walk with Christ here in current day. There are so many modern-day Christians that have said YES to Jesus with their hearts but not with their minds or YES with their minds but not with their hearts. (Romans 8:8-10) See, we confess with our mouths but don’t really believe in our hearts, so we fall trap to this works mentality Christianity of trying to earn or be worthy of our salvation or Christandom. Well, I have news for you…
It DON’T work like that. I highly doubt that Paul was instructing us to earn our way into heaven or God’s good graces in Philippians 2:12-13 when he urged us to “…work out your salvation…” On the contrary, he was pointing us back to the finished work of the cross when he further said, …” it is God who works in you…” You see, we can NEVER “do” enough good works to earn Christ’s love or salvation or be “good” with God. Salvation is a FREE GIFT we must receive by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:4-10). Christ did not die to make BAD people GOOD. He died to give DEAD people LIFE. We are ALL either dead or alive in Christ. There’s no life outside of Him and outside of believing in the finished work of the cross (Romans 6). Our only work is to believe (John 6:28-29) and that belief is in what that blameless sinless Jewish man who was fully God and fully man did on that cross 2,000+ years ago on Calvary. That’s it. That is It! All we must do is say YES, Lord! I believe! I believe in the finished work of the cross and I receive your love, freedom, joy, healing, peace and riches of abundance in YOU forever more. I receive you and your life and give you mine in exchange for yours because my life without you is eternal death (Galatians 2:20).
Yesterday I said YES… again, but this time, I said it with my WHOLE heart soul body and mind and with a gut wrenching…. soul transforming…. spirit quickening…. eye opening…. life awakening revelation and understanding that my ONLY work was to believe in that age old scripture that we quote so much we almost forget it’s power! “For God so loved the WORLD that He GAVE His ONLY begotten Son, that WHOEVER BELIEVES in Him will not perish but have eternal LIFE.” – John 3:16. See, for so long I had been trapped in this vicious cycle of trying to earn God’s love by my works, of trying to please Him by what I did, trying to align my actions and behaviors just right as not to disappoint him that my life became void of the full power of the Holy Spirit. I accepted Him as Savior but with time, rejected Him as Lord. He was and is already pleased with me because I am accepted in the Beloved. I am in Christ Jesus. Yesterday I gave Jesus Back His FULL Lordship over every area in my life. I bowed down and got low and laid my crown, that He gave me, back at His feet. “Take it, it’s Yours Abba, my King. I just want You.” It was so humbling yet so freeing. I would do it all over again and I plan to, every day.
If I wasn’t careful, I could have allowed shame, guilt or pride to keep me from saying YES again, easily. I mean, who wants to realize after 10 solid years in the faith (well maybe not solid, I’ve had some struggles, a few re dedications, water baptisms etc but none the less) 10 years of walking with Christ to find out that He really has not been Lord over my life either in part or at all and then WRITE ABOUT IT? No one! Absolutely, No one. Our flesh or human nature and the enemy, Satan, IMMEDIATELY wants to start proposing all types of rebuttals, questions or accusations: I am already saved! I don’t need to believe again! So, you mean to tell me the last 10 years were a waste? Lord why did you let me go through all this? SHHHHH!!!! Man, I did not plan to write about this at all, but I hope someone that needs this receives this right here because I know this is the Holy Spirit…
It does not matter if it’s been 10 years, 20 years, 30 years or 50 years if there is still breathe in your body and Christ is saying say YES to me again and forget all your WORKS of the years past, just say YES NOW… I pray that you die to yourself, your words, your will and your way and crawl hop skip jump or leap at that invitation with all your might and say YES. LORD I BELIEVE. I hope you tell all those voices to SHUTUP and open your ears to the voice of the Lord like I did and even if it starts as a whisper say it! I BELIEVE in the FINISHED work of the cross and that you died so that I could Live. YES. I give you my life and I take yours. YES. I BELIEVE, and I receive what You are giving me God. This is not about a license to sin but an invitation to enter the greatest love relationship you will ever know and learn how to be loved and love in return (Romans 8). I am so full of His love joy and peace right now I can hardly contain myself. I want to shout it out on the mountain top, YOU CAN BE FREE INDEED IN CHRIST JESUS! DO YOU BELIEVE? I want the whole world to know about this goodness I have tasted afresh less than 24 hours ago. The goodness of Jesus Christ the Son of God. The ONLY way (John 14: 6-7) we can have a relationship with God the Father the Creator of the universe and receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. JESUS.
That is what I will carry in my heart as I travel for 11 months with 30 other young adults to reach the unreached in the 10/40 window for Jesus. This is the Truth that I will carry in my heart: Jesus Died. Jesus Rose. Jesus Lives. Jesus is Real. Jesus Loves and Jesus Saves. I will live and walk and serve amongst people that I do not know but my Savior loves. I will look in their eyes and hold their hands the way my Abba, Heavenly Father, holds mine. I will wash their feet or braid their hair with a humble servant’s heart. I will teach in their schools or worship in their underground churches with unrestrained love. I will dance in their streets and shop in their markets as they do. I will listen, and I will pray as He does, and I will go wherever the Holy Spirit leads me and my team/squad to go to reach His people with THIS GOOD NEWS. I will not hold back because He did not hold back when He died on the cross for you and for me. He looked down at this broken world full of broken people that He loved so much and died a murderer’s death so that you and I could live a victorious life. We are all in desperate need of the Savior, but we cannot forget our equal need for His Lordship. I pray right now for everyone that is reading this. I pray a newness in Christ Jesus over you whether it be for the 1st time or the 10th time. I pray that we would all recognize our deep NEED for Him and that we would say YES to His Will, Word, and Way. YES to Him as LORD. I pray that we would say YES to the finished work on the cross and CHOOSE to Believe. Choosing Christ is costly but not choosing Christ is deadly. I don’t want to gain the world but lose my soul (Matthew 8:36; 16:26). What about you? If you identify with ANY part of this blog and/or you hear the Holy Spirit of God speaking I invite you to stop right now and just pray to Jesus. Do not harden your heart when you hear Him. Respond.
“Just Say YES!”
With Love,
Faith-Tomi Oluwakoya, Daughter 1st
P.S. Traveling the world is not cheap, especially as a missionary and even more for an entire year! I want to invite you to make a difference by partnering with me. You may partner by giving in prayers and/or weekly, bi weekly, monthly, quarterly or one-time financial contributions. I am going to the darkest corners of the world to bring the light of Jesus Christ to the unreached populations. Your spiritual and monetary seeds will impact generations and fund the work of the Lord. This is beyond you and I. Partner with me and let’s see God do the POSSIBLE!
My Goal: $18,700 & you can help! There is NOTHING too big for my God. All I ask is that you partner with the heart of God for His people & feel free to sow a monetary seed & pray as much as you can, want or He leads you to. I am so excited & FULL of faith. I know God is going to do some AMAZING things in my life & yours as we partner to do His work together.
August 2018 is my launch into the field, but my journey starts NOW! You may not be able to physically come with me but you sure can partner with me in prayer and monetary seed financially & come along for the ride as I blog my journey from now until.
Click Above to DONATE
Click Above to SUBSCRIBE & Stay Updated
LET’S GO! #TWR2018
