Whose Glory Is It Anyway?

By Ife J. Ibitayo

A little over a year ago, God led me to start this blog. I baptized the process in prayer, reached out to friends and family, and even posted flyers around my neighborhood. I had naively hoped that even if it didn’t ride the rocket to stardom that I’d at least be able to generate some level of interest. But now it’s been over a year, and my rocket has yet to take off.

Whose Glory?

As I mentioned in my article on fame, my drug of choice has always been glory. Michael Jordan, Barak Obama, and Ife Ibitayo should all be mentioned in the same breath. Interestingly enough, fame is something that God wants too.

There are eighty-eight different passages in the Bible that speak of God doing something in order that people may “know that I am the LORD” (Exodus 7:5, 1 Kings 20:13, and Isaiah 49:23 to name a few). But since we’re both seeking glory, who does it properly belong to?

His Glory?

In the book of Isaiah, God says, “‘I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols’” (Isaiah 42:8). So clearly God thinks He deserves all the praise and the honor and the majesty. Considering that He is the Creator of the universe, the Sustainer of all life, and the Savior of all mankind, that is probably a reasonable demand. But then why do we so desire glory for ourselves?

My Glory?

The root of our glory seeking is pride. It began with Satan in heaven in ages past. He said, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the north. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:13-14).

Satan’s folly lay in attempting to set himself above God, and the same pride lies in our own hearts. We may not speak such blatantly boastful words, but we too think that we deserve praise and admiration. By the sweat of our brows and the work of our hands, we’ve fought for what we have today.

Chastising the Corinthians who were being ensnared by the same evil, Paul said, “What do you have that you did not receive” (1 Corinthians 4:7)? Our intelligence, our physique, and more were shaped by forces largely outside our control. We didn’t pave the path to where we are today but found it by stumbling across the yellow brick road of grace and mercy.

Our Glory

Yet the amazing thing about God’s glory is that it actually leaves room for our own as well. Before He was taken up to heaven, Jesus told the Father, “I’ve given them the glory that you gave me” (John 17:22). Jesus emphasized that there is glory that we can and should seek. But it is not derived from our own awesomeness but from the LORD’s. As we seek to glorify God on this earth, we may not receive the recognition we wish we did. But the LORD recognizes us, and He will glorify us at the proper time.

“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.”

(1 Peter 5:6)

Something Out of Nothing (Life in Waiting Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

In my post “Almost But Not Yet”, I mentioned the faith of Abraham, the father of the Israelites. He left his family and homeland based on the word of a foreign god. The LORD promised that the son he didn’t have would inherit a land he didn’t know about! The apostle Paul speaks about the significance of Abraham’s faith in the book of Romans:

Something

“The scriptures say God told him, ‘have made you the father of many nations.’ This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing” (Romans 4:17).

First and foremost, Paul emphasized the nature of God. When someone makes a promise to us, whether it be season tickets to our favorite sports team or a job at an exciting startup, we stake the value of that promise on the character of that person. Are they a conman? Or are they trustworthy? Abraham rested his faith on the God of Adam: the Creator who formed valuable life out of worthless dirt (Genesis 2:7), the God who regularly makes something out of nothing.

Nothing

But the seeming flip side of faith is cold, hard reality. In Romans 4:19, apostle Paul said, “Abraham faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.” One hundred-year-old men don’t father children, and ninety-year-old women don’t become pregnant. With similarly daunting truths that stand against the promises God has spoken to us, how can we square faith with reality?

Someone

Paul concluded that Abraham was “fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised” (Romans 4:21). Abraham understood the unlikeliness of God’s promise but knew that God is greater than likelihood, probability, and even possibility. The God he served was a miracle-working, promise-keeping God, and He still is today.

Conclusion

God’s promises anchor us in the heavenly realm of healings, miracles, and resurrection power when everything else in the world tries to steer us elsewhere. We can choose to cling on to our God for one more day—trusting that He’ll again make something out of nothing, or we can accept that nothing will remain nothing forever.

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise.”

(Hebrews 10:13)

Almost but Not Yet (Life in Waiting Pt. 1)

Ife J. Ibitayo

We live in a year of “almost but not yet”s. We’re almost allowed to go back into the office but not yet. We’re almost allowed to hold celebrations with our friends and family but not yet. We’re almost ready to return to normal (whatever “normal” will be) but not yet.

It’s like we’re stuck in Groundhog Day on Christmas Eve. We’re anxiously awaiting tomorrow, but it never seems to arrive.

Almost Free

 The Egyptians enslaved the Israelites for over four hundred years (Exodus 12:40). They waited generation after generation for salvation, according to the promise given to their ancestor Abraham (Genesis 15:13-14). Then their liberator finally arrived. Moses burst on the scene with a commission from God and a miracle working staff. He barged into Pharaoh’s palace and demanded that he release God’s people (Exodus 3-5). You can probably guess how well that went.

Pharoah kicked the uppity troublemaker out and doubled the workload of his slaves. Chastened and distraught, “Moses returned to the Lord and said, ‘Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all’” (Exodus 5:22-23).

Almost Understood

God responded to Moses, “‘I am the LORD. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by my name the LORD I did not make myself fully known to them’” (Exodus 6:2-3). A name carries the identity and character of a person; it reveals who they are. And just as God used the waiting to reveal Himself in a deeper way to Moses and the Israelites, so He does in our lives.

How can we appreciate that God is LORD of the valleys if we only remain on the mountaintops (1 Kings 20:28)? How can we find God in hell if we’re only treated to heaven (Psalm 139:8)? It’s through the wait that we can enter into a deeper understanding of who the LORD really is.

Almost Heard

“‘Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are enslaving’” (Exodus 6:5a). God doesn’t simply fix our problems. He enters into our pain while we’re waiting.

We all have those well-meaning loved ones who can’t bear to see us unhappy. Instead of taking the time to understand the source of our emotional discontent, they immediately seek to banish the problem. True love enters the waiting and sympathizes with our weaknesses before healing the pain (Hebrews 4:15).

Almost Glorious

Lastly, God said, “‘I will make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn so I can multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. Even then Pharaoh will refuse to listen to you. So I will bring down my fist on Egypt. Then I will rescue my forces—my people, the Israelites—from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment. When I raise my powerful hand and bring out the Israelites, the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord’” (Exodus 7:3-5). God strengthens our testimony by allowing us to wait.

The power of delayed graduations, marriages, and any number of major life events grows over time. For instance, it’s one thing to have a baby when you are thirty and quite another to have one when you are one hundred (Romans 4:19)! As God pushes the timeline of our promises out to the right, He’s increasing the glory of their fulfillment, not diminishing it.

Conclusion

“Almost but not yet” may very well be the hardest season of life to live in. But it’s also one of the richest. As the words to the classic song goes, “we may not be able to trace His hand. But we can trust His heart”. And we can rest assured that God is working even now.

“He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.”

(Psalm 121:3)

I Lost My Voice to Find My Worship

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Two years ago, I lost my singing voice. I remember the exact moment it happened. I was at a praise and worship service on a Wednesday night. My throat had already felt scratchy, but I had a job to do. I had to belt out the latest praise song louder than the on stage worship leaders. If I couldn’t hear me, clearly God couldn’t either. So I strained my voice a notch higher and something split in the back of my throat. For two years, I haven’t been able to sing for any extended amount of time without experiencing pain.

The Father is looking for worshipers who’ll worship Him in Spirit and in truth (John 4:23). Once I lost my voice, I became intent on finding out what God was really looking for.

In Truth

I’ve always loved praise and worship, ever since I was little. It doesn’t matter if it’s acoustic guitar and keyboard or clapping hands and talking drum; you’ll find me with my eyes closed, my mouth open, and my arms raised. But somewhere along the way, I found myself listening to my own voice a little too closely: Am I singing too softly or too loudly? Should I shift an octave higher or remain where I am? Is this note meant to be held or let go? I even started asking my family how they thought my singing was, as if I was the focus of praise and worship not God.

When we focus on what other people think of us, we can lose sight of our most important audience: God. I certainly did. And it wasn’t until I lost my voice that I realized I’d already lost the connection worship was supposed to be establishing in the first place.

In Spirit

Secondly, we’re supposed to worship God in Spirit. The word says “it is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all” (John 6:63). That truth applies to all of life, especially worship. When we physically worship God at our best–with clear voices, fresh chords, and perfect rhythm–that doesn’t impress Him.

It can be easy to forget that heaven is already filled with the greatest singers that’ll ever live: the angels themselves and perfected saints. Far higher quality worship continually rings out in heaven than can ever be achieved here on this earth. What serenades Him are worshipers who tap into His Spirit to give Him praise deeper than a thousand songs (Romans 8:26).

Conclusion

In losing my voice, I found a hidden blessing. My voice is the same rough, scratchy keening it’s always been. But my perspective on worship has been refreshed, and my hope is yours has been as well.

“Oh, sing to the LORD a new song! Sing to the LORD, all the earth.”

(Psalm 96:1 NKJV)

Watch God (Life After Death Pt. 3)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

For Part 1, “Remembered Sin or Resurrected Faith”, click here. For Part 2, “Unexpected Gift, Unexpected Grief”, click here.

Jesus had many disciples, but He had very few friends. A man named Lazarus and his two sisters–Mary and Martha–were among these precious few. When Lazarus fell ill, his sisters sent this message to the famed miracle worker, “‘Lord, Your dear friend is very sick’” (John 11:3). Jesus should have taken off as soon as He heard. But He waited instead. And by the time He arrived in Lazarus’ hometown, His dear friend was already dead (John 11:17).

Watch, God?

If you’re anything like me, you may have noticed that this is a fairly common pattern for God. We saw the writing on the wall and begged Him to step in a long time ago: To rescue our flagging finances, our failing marriage, or our wayward children. But He didn’t show.

The prophet Elijah once mocked some false prophets who were crying out to Baal by saying, “‘You’ll have to shout louder, for surely he is a god! Perhaps he is daydreaming or relieving himself or away on a trip or asleep’” (1 Kings 18:27). But sometimes I feel like that’s my God. And that’s how Mary and Martha felt when Jesus finally arrived. They cried to Jesus, “‘If you had been here, my brother would not have died’” (John 11:21, 32).

Watch God

We’re distraught when God shows up later than we want Him to because we think He’s too late to do anything at all. When we’ve declared bankruptcy, when our spouse files for divorce, when our son or daughter overdoses, we throw in the towel. We recognize that He’s the great physician who can heal broken bones, but we forget that He’s almighty God who resurrects corpses.

Even before Lazarus was laid in the tomb, Jesus said, “‘This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it’” (John 11:4). God’s glory is not a trivial matter. Only people who worship a glorious God have glorious faith.

They pour out their life savings to wash Jesus’ feet (John 13:1-8). Tortured, imprisoned, and sawn in two, they refuse to deny the faith (Hebrews 11:35-37). They accept sleepless night and starving days just to preach the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:27). They shout with Daniel’s three friends, “Our God is able to save us from the fiery furnace, but even if He does not, we will not submit” (Daniel 3:17-18). Such faith is not built on a small God working small miracles but a great God working great wonders.

Conclusion

When Jesus came to Lazarus’ tomb, He said, “‘Take away the stone.’” But she replied, “‘Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible’” (John 11:39). Martha had already swung the white flag of defeat. There was no point in unearthing the putrid, rotting corpse. But Jesus replied, “‘Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?’” (John 11:40). The question Jesus asked Martha, He asks you today: “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?”

Do you have enough faith to roll away the stone and watch God?

“The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.”

(2 Chronicles 16:9a NKJV)

Unexpected Gift, Unexpected Grief (Life After Death Pt. 2)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Elisha was the servant of the prophet Elijah, who was spoken of in Life After Death Pt. 1. The LORD gave him a double portion of Elijah’s powerful spirit (2 Kings 2:9-12). He exemplified this magnified ministry by multiplying bread (2 Kings 4:42-44), cleansing lepers (2 Kings 5:1-14), and even raising the dead (2 Kings 4:18-37).

Unexpected Gift

As all resurrections do, this one began with a birth. There was a wealthy woman living in the land of Shunem who noticed that Elisha passed through their village regularly. She invited the man of God into her home. Then she created a small upper room for him to stay in whenever he passed through. Blessed by her hospitality, Elisha asked what he could do for her. Recognizing that she and her husband were elderly yet childless, he promised that in a year’s time she’d have a son (2 Kings 4:8-16).

“‘O man of God, don’t deceive me and get my hopes up like that’” (2 Kings 4:16), the woman said. But sure enough, a year later she held a son in her arms.

Unexpected Grief

The infant grew from a babe cradled in his mother’s arms to a boy that could walk all by himself. But one day he ran to his father and cried, “Oh, my head, my head!” A servant carried him to his mother, and he died in her arms (2 Kings 4:18-20). The unexpected gift was replaced with unexpected grief.

The Shunammite woman traveled to the man of God. She collapsed at his feet and cried, “‘Did I ask you for a son, my lord? And didn’t I say, “Don’t deceive me and get my hopes up”’” (2 Kings 4:28)?

Like the Shunammite woman, we too have received unexpected gifts from God: a new job to work, a wife to hold, kids to raise. We might not have even asked for these things, yet God answered the desire of our hearts. He gave us a gift we cherished, then He took it away.

Unexpected Restoration

But the Shunammite woman had come to Elisha for a reason. He traveled with her back to her home. When he entered his room, he found the dead boy’s corpse lying on his bed. He cried out passionately to God, and God reached down to that precious boy and restored him back to life. Because of the Shunammite woman’s faith, a boy’s life was unexpectedly restored, a family was unexpectedly reunited, and a testimony was unexpectedly redeemed.

Conclusion

The Bible says that “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17). God never changes. The same God who gave you a good gift yesterday is the same God who took it away today. God always has a good reason for death—of a dream, a career, or even a loved one. We may never figure out what it is here in this life. But we can rest assured that the same power that raised this woman’s son from grave is still at work today.

“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

(Lamentations 3:22)

Stilling the Tsunami of Anxiety

By Ife J. Ibitayo

To see the original post on beamanjourney.com, click here.

It begins with the thoughts. What if they don’t like me? What if I’m not good enough? What if it’s cancer? And pretty soon I find myself flailing in a tsunami of doubt. When I was asked by my friend Pastor Stephen Law to write an article about overcoming anxiety, I laughed. It was like asking someone who’s barely learned how to tread water to teach others how to swim. But God is gracious, and He has taught me a few things about stilling this raging storm.

The Life Preserver of Prayer

Philippians 4:6 says, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.” Most worriers worry passively. It’s so natural that it’s like breathing and blinking to them. That is why God asks us to actively give our worries to Him through prayer.

I hated my tendency to see the thousand ways every situation could go wrong until I read a book called Draw the Circle by Mark Batterson. He wrote, “If you worry about everything, you’ll have a much higher likelihood of praying without ceasing if you simply learn to turn your worries into prayers. The Holy Spirit can redeem your anxious thoughts by using them as prayer triggers. Think of worry as a prayer alarm. Every time it goes off, you put it to prayer.” Once I discovered this gift, I realized that anxious worriers make some of the best prayer warriors. Through prayer God allows us to transform our mental suffering into spiritual blessing!

The Water Wings of the Word

Secondly, I learned that knowledge of the word of God is the best weapon to fend off the flaming darts of doubt. The Bible is more effective than more facts and data because anxiety often doesn’t stem from lack of information. I know that less than 1% of Americans suffer from glaucoma, yet I feared I might be going blind.  When layoffs swept through my company, I feared I might be let go even though they were still actively hiring in my group division. My problem was not with my head but with my heart.

When my head said I might lose my job, my heart should have said, “Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds then. Aren’t you more valuable than they are?” (Matthew 6:26). When the threat of sickness pounded at my door, from glaucoma to an irregular heartbeat to high blood pressure—all of which I visited doctors about in the past year—I should have told myself, “By His wounds I am healed” (Isaiah 53:5). For every fearful question, God has a hopeful answer if we internalize His Word.

The Support of Other Swimmers

Lastly, anxiety thrives in a vacuum. When we speak fearful things to ourselves and answer them by ourselves, our worries will grow with time. We must expose our fears to others if we want to experience healing.

Galatians 6:2 says, “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” This is not just a command to help other people carry their loads but also to allow others to shoulder ours. The level of need differs for all of us. We may need the listening ear of a trusted friend on occasion, or we may need regular, professional help depending on the severity of our anxiety. We may also slide along this spectrum depending on the season we’re going through. The key is recognizing this need and humbly admitting to someone else that we’re not alright.

Conclusion

Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “We have nothing to fear except fear itself.” I used to roll my eyes at this worn-out phrase, but FDR makes a good point. He went on to define fear as “nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.”

Fear really is the great enemy. It stole my joy for years and crippled my decision making. Anxiety kept me from the abundant life that God had for me, and it could be doing the same to you. Don’t let anxiety steal another minute of your happiness. Turn to God, speak to others, and start swimming down the stream of healing.

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:31-33).

Swimming Tips

  1. Start your day with a worry list. Write your worries on a sheet of paper, then title the list “God help me with…” and pray about them.
  2. Find a new verse each month that speaks to your specific anxieties and memorize it. Deuteronomy 31:6, 1 Peter 5:7, and Psalm 56:11 are all great verses to start with.
  3. Agree with someone you trust to talk regularly (daily, weekly, or monthly) about your fears and worries.

Remembered Sin or Resurrected Faith (Life After Death Pt. 1)

By Ife J. Ibitayo

Death is the last villain–the final boss–in the story of our lives. Death is guaranteed for all of us, but second life is not. Resurrection is as rare as unicorns, so whenever God rescues someone from the dead, He is clearly trying to send us a message.

Remembered Sin

During the middle of a famine, Elijah—the greatest prophet of the Old Testament—was sent to live with a widow. Her son died soon after he arrived. She railed against Elijah, “‘O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son’” (1 Kings 17:18 NLT)?

God has baked into our bones the knowledge of our own sinfulness. And when tragedy strikes, we often believe that we’re receiving our just deserts. Maybe your parents divorced and you think that if you had only been a better daughter, they might have stayed together. Maybe you have a friend who committed suicide and you wonder if you would have been able to save them if only you had cared enough to call. Maybe you’re sifting through the ruins of your own troubled life and you can’t stop seeing all the little bombs you set—the TNT of immaturity and the C-4 of pride.

This widow knew the darkness of her own heart and believed her day of reckoning had come.

Resurrected Faith

But God had a better word for her. Elijah whisked off the corpse and cried out to the LORD. The prayer of God’s righteous saints has great power while its working (James 5:16): to heal, to restore, and yes, even to raise the dead. Elijah cried out to God, and God reached down to him and restored the life of the boy he was praying over (1 Kings 17:19-22).

When Elijah returned the revived son to his mother, he said, ‘Look, your son is alive!’ Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth’” (1 Kings 17:24). The point of the death of the widow’s son was not to emphasize her sinfulness but to strengthen her faith.

Forgotten Miracle

Yet the widow’s son had been on the verge of death once before. A few Bible verses earlier, this same widow had been preparing the last supper for her family. Using the last of the flour in her house, they were going to eat and die (1 Kings 17:12).
But then Elijah showed up on her doorstep and gave her a word from God: “‘“There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crows grow again”’” (1 Kings 17:14 NLT)!

They were living off this very miracle when the widow’s son fell ill. God’s word had already proven true while the widow’s son was still alive, yet it took his death for her to be fully convinced.

Conclusion

We will be tempted to forget God’s faithfulness from yesterday if tragedy strikes close to home tomorrow. But don’t let the miraculous grow mundane in your life. Don’t let fear override faith. Remember that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and every word He speaks is true.

“Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise His holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things He does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagle’s!”

(Psalm 103:1-5 NLT)

The Humility, Humiliation, and Honor of Christ

By Ife J. Ibitayo

In honor of Easter, I want to consider Apostle Paul’s explanation for why Jesus came down to earth as explained in Philippians 2:6-11.

Humility

Philippians 2:6-7a says, “Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.”

Sometimes we can forget how great Jesus already was. He was the Divine, the Word of the Father. He formed all creatures, and all creatures were already subject to Him. They worshiped Him night and day in heaven, and He exalted and condemned them with a mere thought.

Yet the King above all Kings, the Lord above all Lords humbled Himself. From our point of view, this choice is utterly inexplicable. Title, power, and influence are par and parcel to worldly greatness. No earthly leader would exchange the glory of the throne for the obscurity of a manger.

But from the beginning, kingdom priorities have always been the opposite of earthly ones. In Mark 10:43-44, Jesus proclaimed that greatness was to be found through service, preeminence through submission. And He practiced what He preached. He gave up everything in order to give us everything.

Humiliation

But Jesus did not stop with humility, He stooped to humiliation. Philippians 2:7b-8 says, “When he appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.” For Jesus to relinquish His divine privileges to embrace humanity is one thing, but for Him to be mislabeled as a criminal, a miscreant, the scum of society is another thing altogether.

Prophesying about Jesus, Isaiah said, “He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5 NIV). Jesus became God’s punching bag on the cross. He endured the brutal body blows we deserved because of our sins. And the very people He suffered for thought that He–not they–was guilty (Isaiah 53:4).

Honor

Yet Jesus’ story does not end with disgrace. Philippians 2:9-11 says, “Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Notice the “therefore” in this passage. God the Father did not raise His Son to glory in spite of the humility and humiliation He endured but because of them.

In the verses proceeding this amazing passage, Apostle Paul says, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had” (Philippians 2:3-5 NLT).

Therefore we must remind ourselves daily that the path to Christlikeness is a path to glory, but we’ll find it through humility rather than hubris, and humiliation rather than exaltation.

Happy Easter!

“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.”

(Hebrews 12:2 NLT)

Fragile Kiyomi

By Ife J. Ibitayo

My short story “Fragile Kiyomi” has been published in Issue 1, Volume 2 of Free Bundle Magazine. This short story was one of the first pieces I finished and has gone through many iterations. The heart of the story lies in answering this question: Is programed perfection as valuable as messy humanity? A free copy of it and many other wonderful stories can be found by clicking here.

Story Excerpt

The iDoll cashier waved at them. Meiko waved back enthusiastically, almost like they were long-lost relatives. Contrary to what Kiyomi had said, Hottokōrudo was a wonderful place to shop. It had underpriced gems and overpriced trash. You just had to have an eye for which was which.

Shinji spent some time looking through flannel shirts. “Should I get cream or eggshell?” he asked himself. Something jabbed him in the rear. He grimaced and tried to transform it into a grin as he turned around to face Kiyomi. Her arms were overloaded with clothes.

“Can I buy this? What about this? Or, this?” Each skirt or dress she showed him was expensive and provocative, with windows and slits in places no adult, much less a child, should reveal.

“No,” Shinji said.

“To which one?”

“All of them.”

Kiyomi threw the clothes to the ground and stomped off. Shinji was about to follow her when a hand tugged at his sleeve. “Yes, Meiko?” he asked, turning around and smiling down at her.

“Can I get this, Uncle Shinji?” Meiko showed him a bright, polka-dot dress with little flowers on the shoulders. He checked the price tag and smiled wider. “Of course.”

He felt a sharp pain as two objects bounced off his back. He spun around, and Kiyomi was glaring at him. “That’s not fair!” she yelled and sprinted out of the store.

Shinji bent down and picked up the decorative chopsticks. He grinned sheepishly at the other customers who were gawking at him. He ran to the front of the store and asked the cashier, “Can you hold on to these?” She nodded, taking the chopsticks from his hands. Shinji turned to call Meiko, but she had followed him to the front of the store. He asked the cashier, “Can you watch her–it too?”