TRIUMPHANT TESTIMONY - Joshua Elikplim (JoshEL)

The LORD has given me grace
He lifted me up to see His face
Now, I'm far from the base
And Sin is no more my case

Its far, far gone in the days
Now I've cross the lakes...
I've join the heavenly race;

So I'm burning with fire
With God's own de-sire
I'm growing faster, stronger
Just like the plant of Ce-dar
And this is what I've known 
I'm loving Jesus...
The world can pack and go
I'm loving Jesus... 

I've been living; I've been seeing
And... I have been breathing
So I've written... this poetic tone
Giving... glory, power and praise
To my God and daddy alone...
'Cos He raised me and I'm glorified
He washed me and I'm sanctified
So I lift up my voice now and...
I testify:

You see! I was firmly held in...
The walls and chains of Sin;
Yea, there was a lot of filthy air to breath,
Unholy ground to spin.
It was easy to lie, easy to lust and
I was so quick to vent my spleen.
Off course, I knew who I was and 
Where I've been:
In the land of gloom-doom, where filth boom
But no chance to be clean.
Off course, I knew what I felt and what I've seen:

 A burning temperature and a despondent atmosphere
Pervading the northern and southern hemisphere 
Yea, it was the site without a sight of one living thing.
Though I had the feeling of emptiness for so long,
And it was so strong...I knew something was wrong.
But, I thought I was enjoying all along...
Because I've been enticed, caught up in the carnal flirt,
But my eyes were blind to the threat...
So the Godly tabernacle was consumed in... dirt.

I pressed on till the spear of death...

Was about to pierce my chest.
It was at this point in time... 
The Lord of lords, the Prince of peace,
And the King of kings... Jesus Christ
Appeared at the scene... 
He saved me from my mess... Nevertheless,
I was brought before the throne... I was justified.
So the last became the first,
The worst became the best... consecrated from the rest,
Wonderfully furnished to... manifest
The glory of God here and to the ends of the earth.
 Just like the presence of God filled the tabernacle
Built by woods and in cubits,
I also died to the flesh, but I'm alive to the Spirit.

This is how I joined the holy matrimony
And though... I forfeited the past completely,
I can't help it, but share this triumphant testimony.

WHERE TO TURN - Mawuli Amekor

WHERE TO TURN

I took a closer look at humanity
Watched men from a fraternity
Trying to build a community
But all they did was vanity!

I saw men search for a gain
To the extent of doing things insane
They go through a lot of pain
But all this they do in vain!

Men seek for a greater future
Forgetting they are but a creature
Ignoring the call by nature
The fire of God they fail to nurture!

Oh! unto Christ may we now turn
From His word should we now learn
And His fire in us allow to burn
Then shall we begin to earn.

OVERVIEW

The poem is generally about the effort of men without Christ. It is true that men all over the world are trying to build a safer and a better community for themselves; they think the economic crises will be resolved, wars, murders, robberies, other social vices and the horrors of poverty will be solved by their manly endeavours. Sadly, no living  thing can exist without its source of life. When the tree is uprooted from the ground where its nutrition and source of
life comes from, it will die. Even nonliving-things perform their functions appropriately or become relevant to society by living on something - the torchlight has to live on batteries, the car on gas, diesel or petrol the computer on electrical power or batteries. It is an inevitable fact that the only autonomous being is Jehovah. So just as other living-things, human beings also have to live  on food and water for the nourishment of the body and for the pleasure of the soul. One main truth we should realise is that, as human beings, we are three in one; our body, Spirit and soul. Eating and drinking only nourishes our body and gives pleasure to our souls. Our spirit does not benefit from this carnal nourishment because the only source of life for the spirit is God and He can only be reached through Jesus Christ. This conclusion is what the poem is turning us to, so we can all acknowledge the  power and the concern of God in our daily lives.

ANALYSIS

Stanza I

"I took a closer look at humanity
Watched men from a fraternity
Trying to build a community
But all they did was vanity!"

The poem opens with the persona stating the ground or the basis of his follow up arguments. According to the persona he 'took a closer look' meaning he did not just jump into conclusion, but he first scrutinise the situation on the ground by taking a closer look at the human race. This choice of words by the persona  reveals the verisimilitude in his work, so that, we can count on his findings and make resolution in our lives. This phrase also goes the long way to identify the persona as a man of experience; one that we can count on for  advice. Alluding to the bible, we can conclude that, the persona follows apostle Paul to say that what we have  seen, heard and experienced is what we bring or say to you.  During the

The struggle of Man

observation experience of the persona, he realised that men of the same fraternity were trying to  build a community, but he also saw that all they were doing was vanity. We should however note that, when we use the word fraternity we are referring to a group of people with the same profession or a society of men with  the same goal. How then will these already united people seek to build a community if not for the fact that they had found their current situation to be unsatisfactory? We can therefore envisage a society that is united, has  professions, goals, etc. but are still not satisfied. What are they missing? even their efforts to recreate a  conducive environment turns futile.

 

Stanza II

"I saw men search for a gain
To the extent of doing things insane
They go through a lot of pain
But all this they do in vain!"

If the second stanza of the poem is closely read in addition to the first, one will realise that there is a sense of pity and vulnerability being displayed in the atmosphere of the poem. So that, we see men trying one mean to the other but failing continuously, they try to build a laudable community but their efforts were described as vanity; they put up all manner of insanity and pain just in search of a gain but all these was in vain. Awww! what a shame. There is nothing these group of people do that is successful. Literary, I sarcastically compare these people to the man described in Psalm 1:1-3 to mock them, but that will sound disdainful so I will simply say these group of people are the direct opposite of the man in Psalm 1:3 and the exact replica of the Man in the verse 4-6. At these point the persona is arousing the pity of the reader Why? Pity evokes the feeling of love and the show of concern, so by describing the pathetic situation of these community of men the persona's intention is also to create the emotion of love in the heart of his readers towards these people. [Hymn 921 - The church's hymnal; 'Rescue the Perishing']

 

Stanza III

"Men seek for a greater future
Forgetting they are but a creature
Ignoring the call by nature
The fire of God they fail to nurture!"

One thing we have to state clearly as Christians to the world is that these world is never going to get better.The only  thing the Bible that is made to get better from day to day or grow from glory to glory is thee church. God has no intention of restoring these world because he has already made provision for a new one; the only thing God cares about is the church  and the lost in the world - those who are caught in the fantasy of this world thinking is real, cursing the politicians for not making it a better place for them; those who are hoping that Ghana will one day have a sustained electrical power; those who think science and technology will one day turn these Hades of ours into an utopia; those without any hope, without Christ - these are the people that 'seeks for a greater future'. Man can denounce the authority of God any how they want, but it still does not change the fact that Jesus is Lord. Instead simply accepting the truth, they chose to be called evolved monkeys rather; the  foolishness of God will forever be wiser than men. What do we see here, after the persona creates a scene of pity, he went ahead to blame man for his miserable condition. Putting the pieces together, the persona the negligence shown towards the call of God is the cause of all the perils they go through. Elucidating this claim of the persona, the reason why man has to accept that he is a sinner confess, and believe Christ in order to be safe has been brought to bare.

                                                    

      Stanza IV   

Turning to Jesus

"Oh! unto Christ may we now turn
From His word should we now learn
And His fire in us allow to burn
Then shall we begin to earn."

In the last stanza of the poem, a prominent transition has been nominally elicited. This linguistic transition from the omniscient point of view to the first person point of view redirects the recipient of the message. We now realise that the persona is not only talking to unbelievers but to himself, in this case, a representative of all Christians. The use of we and us shows that he is not the only one but others are also inclusive. Turning unto Christ is his main concern in this stanza; it is not just a concern of the persona but he also seem to present this as an ideal solution to the problems he stated earlier in the poem. The persona believers the is some kind of knowledge that can prevent the people of the world from perishing with the world (The world, as I said earlier, is doomed to perished is now your decision to either perish with it or not). This can also be alluded to the bible  quotation, for the lack of knowledge my people perished - So that, without the word of God these group of men will surely perish. The persona also talks about the fire of God that is in us. The words of the persona, we realised, are not for only believers but mainly for unbelievers. The question therefore arises, how can unbelievers have the fire of God in them? The truth is God has created us  with a lot of resources and one of these is the desire to worship which most people are either ignoring or misusing. Worshiping is a resource because it aids us to connect with our source who will then use us to achieve His eternal purpose. Only when God is  satisfied that we can also be satisfied, for now let's put Him first.

CONCLUSION

Be revived

I am encouraged personally as a Christian to stir up the fire of God in me, to turn to Christ and learn from His Word. There is nothing for us in these world; well, that seem odd because we have family and friends, houses cars, etc. all these are just means to an end which is to achieve Christ-to be

conformed completely to the image of Christ. We can use all these to fulfill the purpose of God for our lives. I also realise from the poem that we need to sympathise with the lost in order to win them for Christ. If you are reading this analysis and you have not given your life to Christ, please now is

the time to accept Christ as your Lord and master saviour and live for Him. May be you are a Christian, but you are joking with your spiritual life or you have backslided, this morning I pray that the Lord will restore and revive you and give you much grace to continue and finish the race well.

Don't forget to Share is to Care. You may not be able to do anything to rescue the perishing, but you can share this.
(If you do not share nothing will happen to you though because you are a child of the new Jerusalem.)
BE BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE.

ECOM! We are Family; We are One.
 

AN EXPLICATION OF " 'WHAT JESUS DID' - MAWULI AMEKOR"

Once I lived in sin
Always making the devil win
Till I was condemned to die
I waited till the day drew nigh.

I heard a knock on sin's prison door
As I slept on the world's coldest floor
My price has been fully paid
I was free, not work as a maid.

I went out of hell's gate
And shouted, "He has change my fate"
I asked how He did it for me
He said, "read my word and see"

It's I who died on the cross
To wash away your dross
I took you out of strife.
 To give you eternal life!

I 'll Never from Him depart
But the world to impact
With His wisdom and His word;
Everything He did, Everything He said

It's Jesus. It's Jesus alone!
He sits mightily on the throne!
To Him be all honour and praise
To Him our voices and hands we raise.

                                       Mawuli Amekor 

ANALYSIS

OVERVIEW

'What Jesus did' is a poem that narrates an experience of the persona whiles he was in the world of sin and how the Lord Jesus paid for his freedom and delivered him from the horrible claws of sin and wash him with the blood that the Lord himself has shared on the cross of Calvary. The persona also acknowledges the fate changing event that took place during the deliverance process and promise to dedicate himself to the preaching of his saviour's word and wisdom in order to impact the whole world.

STANZA BY STANZA ANALYSIS

Stanza I

The first stanza of the poem started with the phrase 'once I lived in sin', which suggests that the current condition of the persona is located outside sin. The use of this phrase also unravel the flashback technique deployed by the persona. The second and third line of the poem seem a bit ironical since the unexpected is what happened to the persona. 'Always making the devil win', under normal circumstances should be followed by a positive outcome like a selection for reward or recommendation or even a crown from the devil; sadly the persona's tireless effort of making His master, the devil, win only qualified him for a 'condemnation of death' for he, the persona, stated: 'Till I was condemn to die' this sharp contrast deployed by the writer as the persona's condition move quickly from a state of comfort and heroism to a state of condemnation by perhaps his former boss 'the devil' unravel the character description of his former boss; 'the devil'. The persona, however, was unable to protest or even defend himself so he waited patiently for his day of death. One will assume at this point that 'the devil' his boss will make an effort to reverse this ridiculous situation, but I guess if we were to wait for this to happen the rest of the poetry will not continue because the persona will not be alive to narrate it. This stanza generally explicate the wicked and merciless nature of 'the devil' who happens to be the master of the persona at this moment. ECOM - There is nothing good for you with the devil, do not be deceived by his special treatment and how he makes you feel important when you are being chased by sin. All these are the natural flow of events that leads to your doom; BE WARNED

Stanza II

The first line of the second stanza did well to 'place our heart at the tip of our tongue'. The persona 'heard a knock at sin's prison door'. The imagery created here prove the situation of the persona to be that of uncomfortable and suffering. However, the persona, perhaps in a long time, for once had heard a knock on sin's prison door; but the only possible visitor he can be expecting here is death, for he is the one he has been waiting for. 'At long last the time to die is here' so he might think.
Once again the second and the third stanza contrast. 'I slept on the world's coldest floor' only reveal the poverty status of the persona, so that, he cannot even afford a bed not even a warm floor but 'the world's coldest floor'. How can someone who lives like this pay his dept in full; not any debt  the but kind of debt he could have been killed for? But someway, somehow the unexpected happened again - irony - 'My price has been fully paid'. He is now free from such a wicked master, surprising isn't it? 'I am free not to work as a maid'. The most horrible word the persona can use to describe his situation is 'a maid' but trust me, even maids get paid for their effort; the persona however indirectly is proclaiming his joy since he has even gone past the condition of a maid who used to be a better place to be. ECOM - Some of us at this point will argue, 'For me I don't live like a maid, I have a good and a successful life, among others.' Bu the truth is we have been blinded by this material things so we cannot see our real condition. Trust me, when the time of your condemnation is due, you will seek with tears to live like a maid but it will too far for your hands to reach. You can read the story of the prodigal son - Luke 15: 11 - 18

Stanza III

In the third stanza, a new word is introduced, 'hell' which depicts a terrible and a horrible condition. 'I went out of hell's gate' which therefore means, the persona's transition from gloom to happiness. 'And shouted He has changed my fate' an anonymous personality, has been introduced here by the persona. 'He' and this He changed the fate of the persona; now we have a fair idea of  the one who knocked at sin's prison door, paid the price in full and changed the fate of our persona - 'He'. The persona asked a question we all would have asked: how on earth did u do that - But this generous and anonymous He, simply said: 'Read my word and see' If the persona want to know more about how this happen, the he has a task to perform to read the words of his saviour - this imply that, though the persona has been set free, he still has something to do in order to fully comprehend the mystery concerning his salvation. ECOM - When you are in prison and one day you find out that the prison doors are widely opened, what do you have to do? keep running until you are finally safe. The same thing happens in our redemption process, once you have been save you must work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Reading the word of God to know Him more and praying daily to love and draw closer to him - Read your bible, pray everyday if you want to grow.

Stanza IV

The fourth stanza is a revelation of how the salvation of the persona took place. Perhaps, he got this information upon reading the word of the anonymous 'He' as instructed. He now realised that his saviour did not just pay his price in full, He actually died to do so, 'It's I who died on the cross' 'To wash away your dross'. The words of the 'He' actually described the former situation of the persona as 'strife'. So that, the 'He', by His death, took away all this suffering from sin, the devil and broke the persona's prison door to deliver him. After gaining this knowledge the Persona now realised he owe all to the gentle 'He'. ECOM - When you realised that you have been set free from a particular unpleasant situation because someone choose to die for you to gain your freedom, how will you feel? Apparently, most of us actually don't really appreciate the work done on the cross of Calvary. The more we fellowship with the Lord, the more we will gain the revelation of what he did and the more we will love him. THE LORD DESERVES TO BE LOVED 

Stanza V

'Never from Him to depart' Now upon gaining the knowledge, the persona started making promises, perhaps out of love to his saviour. Men give a lot of promises when they fall in love; the persona's case is not different. So he started :
                'Never from Him to depart
                 But the world to impact
                 With His wisdom and His word;
                 Everything He did, Everything He said'
 
We have to bear in mind that, all this were not required of the persona in the poem, he just started without any force or pressure. Well some may argue that whiles reading the word he was told to read, he realised this. But that was not what he was told to look for. But someway, somehow he decided to give his full life and service to his saviour. ECOM - As said earlier, if we gain the full knowledge of what the Lord has done for us, we cannot help it but love and adore Him. unfortunately, this has become a mere historical event and for some of us a religious one. You need the word of God and His spirit of interpretation in order to unlock the mystery behind this event. I have some articles on this, they are currently on this blog, may be they can help you under stand the more, but most importantly, pray to God for a full revelation that will suit you.

Stanza VI

The last stanza begins with a declarative sentence, 'It is Jesus.' Which is a rather bizarre statement Who is Jesus? Is a rational question to be asked here. But the persona made a more queer statement, 'It is Jesus alone.' Instead of him telling us who this Jesus is, he is rather busy praising and glorifying this Jesus. This shows the obsession, an unmeasurable desire and joy about the Personality Jesus. The Persona, eventually never told us who is the anonymous 'He' and Who the personality Jesus is. We are however left in suspense to decipher these two mysteries. This technique of suspenseful ending is however used by the persona to lure readers into searching for the answer which will lead them to his position of joy and Happiness. ECOM - We all know that the 'He' in the poem is the Lord Jesus Christ. But the writer of the poem did not pinpoint that fact. Go search for who Jesus is. (Really? I do know who Jesus is. DO YOU?) If you know who Jesus is why are you sad over little situations? (The writer became happy and praised Jesus when he found Him) When you truly find Jesus, you will not struggle to live for Him, your joy will be completed, material things becomes a after-secondary matter, your life will not be based on what people say but what Jesus says. If you truly find Jesus, you will always continue to look for him daily in word and in prayer because you thirst for His love will become insatiable. LOOK FOR JESUS NOW!

Conclusion

The writer used a lot of poetic and dramatic devices like, flashback, enjambment, suspense, situational irony, poetic justice, etc. to unravel how He was ruled by sin and how salvation came through the Lord Jesus the Christ. The whole poem is divided into three part, Part one begins from stanza one and end at stanza two, where the writer narrates his experience under the reign of sin. This part of the narration is to bring to bare how the devil can destroy you if you live under sin without Jesus. You will be in total darkness and bondage and your life will be a mess. From the poem it is vivid that, one may not know how wretched he is in the world of sin and without Jesus until He is condemned to die as the persona suffered. You will be enjoying all you can (making the devil win) and the heroic feelings will flow through your veins but when your time of condemnation comes, you will realise it's all vanity.

The second part present Jesus as a saviour and a powerful personality that can deliver you from the bondage of sin no matter how tough the prison doors are, just a knock from him will set you free. This part also postulates the love of God through Jesus Christ his son. The writer's main concern here is to tell the world Jesus died for them and there is no need to serve sin anymore. His love has conquered sin and just by reading his word, his spirit makes you strong by the day to proclaim and serve the Lord with gladness not with pain and hurt.

The last part of the poem exhibit the overflow of joy on the part of the persona. This joy emanates from the love he realised Jesus Christ has demonstrated towards him; in that while he, the writer, was still a sinner Christ died for him and set him free. He also reveal to the readers what it is like to have fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, the joy involved in setting Jesus on the throne of your heart and making it a responsibility to serve, honour and adore him for the rest of your life. By the use of suspense, the writer creates a thirst for the Lord Jesus in the readers. This technique is to make the readers understand the fact that, Jesus Christ is indefinitely unattainable hence we should always be in the suspense of his personality by seeking him everyday.

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ECOM! We are Family; We are One

WHO JESUS IS

WHO IS JESUS?

There's one greater than Abraham
 He is on the alter as ram
 It's because of us he has to come
  He is the great I am!!

He is the living bread

Without Him we are dead

So submit yourself and be lead

By the one and only true head

He is to us the living water

Without Him our lives can't be better

In heaven, He serves as the porter

He calls you a son or a daughter. 

To us He is the light

Every night of ours will take a flight

He'll raise us with His might

Till we begin to shine so bright

Believe Him, He is the way

Never to lead you astray

Just follow from day to day

And not a dime shall you pay

This man is the only truth

He's what you need as a youth

Your every pain shall He sooth 

And your life He'll make smooth

He is the eternal life

Closer than your husband and wife

This man forever lives with us

His name is Christ Jesus!!  

 

By: Mawuli Amekor 

 

ECOM! We are Family; We Are One!

Eternal Resolution

ETERNAL RESOLUTION

  Now this book I received from the Master

    When I arrived, they said His Son should help me read

Just to gain the needed acumen

To hell with Him! I know better

Upside down, on the book, with my wisdom I feed

 So His will strongly I must stern

I will adulterate His book forever

Though they said He lost His only son to sow its seed

But nothing from this I can learn

To mock His glorious pain my choice rather

To scoff the eternal existence my discovery and witty deed

But they said His love, for me, will still yearn

So He shouted my beloved pilgrim! Come nearer!

The teachings of my son are eternal! To Him you must heed

Now I know foolish is my book and my pen

two cities

            Remember time is running faster

        But my arms are still open, just a little longer

            The earlier you subdue, the better

 Look! The clock is ticking faster and faster and faster!

            And you are drawing nearer and nearer

            To the boat on that River

            Between you and the Cities afar.

     So my weeping grew stronger,

     Within my new melted heart,

            I turned around and start o’er

    The world and I now apart.

                                      

                                                             General Joe