Faith Without Action Is Dead...

...That is what James 2:17 says: "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

This must be the reason why that Nigerian woman I met at the store bought a pair of shoes she did not need and wrote out a check of hundred dollars.  But of course, she prayed while writing the check: "Oh, God, I don't even have money in my account.  This check will not bounce in Jesus' name.  I cover my account with the blood of Jesus."

Sometimes, I think I have faith, but when I meet people like this woman, I conclude that their faith must be on some kind of steroids.  Standing next to them, my faith is but a mustard seed (maybe smaller) while theirs is a watermelon fruit.  Either that or my Naija folks have just taken that verse in the bible to a whole new level.  Yeap.  They've definitely taken it to a whole new level.  It's only a typical Nigerian that will buy a pair unneeded shoes, write a check from a fallow account, pray against the unavoidable result, and then even plead the blood of Jesus on top of it.  Only a Nigerian.

But I have had my moments of having faith in God (and I continue to have faith in Him).  I woke up this morning thinking about all the times He has been there at the nick of time.  I remember when I applied to a four year college that was an hour away from me - even though I did not have a car, and therefore had no means of getting there.  Mom thought I was crazy.  But I just figured God would do it - like He always does.  That year, school started in January as usual.  By His grace, I bought the car on the 26th of December.

There isn't anytime that I think God is unable to do it for me.  Sometimes, I just find myself wondering if He will.  Why should He?  I am but a sinner.  Everyday, I sin.  Everyday, I beg for forgiveness.  And everyday, I go back and sin again.  I wouldn't do it if I were Him.  I wouldn't hear my prayers if I were Him.  But I am not Him.  I should learn that.  Sometimes, I try to tell Him the best way to perform my miracle for me.  How can I, a mere mortal sinner tell God how to do His job?  Where was I when He was creating the entire world?  Where was I when He was creating me?  I did not tell Him how to make me, and look how I turned: a fine babe - if I do say so myself :-)

So here is to God... I'm looking forward to more miracles.  Awe-inspiring miracles.  Unfathomable miracles.  Breath-taking miracles.  Unbelieveable miracles.  Never before seen or heard miracles.  Divine miracles.  Huge miracles, the kind that will perplex me and leave me at a loss for words.  The type of miracles that will have me scratching my scalp and rumpling my forehead.  The kind of miracle that will have my jaw sitting in the palm of my hand, my mind thinking, 'this can't be real.'  You know what I mean, God.  This is a toast post to that order.  Amen.  And so shall it be.

Against All Odds...

I know you do not know me, Sir, but I would like to personally say, Congratulations President Barack Obama.

The first time I knew of Barack Obama was when I saw him on the Oprah show, and at that time, he had not declared his intention to run for presidency. If he had, I would not even have blinked. Honestly, I would have thought, "Here goes another one....he is doomed to fail." When I heard Hilary Clinton was running, I was indifferent. I was indifferent because I wanted Obama to win, but I was pretty sure he wouldn't. I was sure that Clinton will win. Nobody wins the Clintons.

But then I heard Obama speak. His convictions bought me over. Before I could catch my breath, I became a believer. The man spoke like he had personally spoken with God (face to face) and God had said to him, "Go forth, my son, for I am with you. You are the next president of the United States." Well, in many ways, I guess God had - albeit not face to face. The bible is the way; God tells us over and over and over and over to trust Him. Why is it so hard to just trust Him? He really has never, ever failed. Obama spoke of change and hope: two things we needed and still need desperately. He was not arrogant, cocky, or proud. He was humble and hopeful. Every time I saw him react so calmly to stressful situations, I saw myself in him. I just loved - still love - everything about him.

It is evident - even to the human eye - that God is with this man. How else do you explain a black man who is a junior senator with a Kenyan first and last name, a Muslem middle name, a Kenyan father, and a history of using drugs winning the election with a large landslide over a White man who is a war hero and almost twice his age in a country where slaves were once not even allowed to vote.... and while the country is in a recession and fighting two wars??? How do you explain this? God is with him.

I commend all the people that had the nerves to come out and race to be the next president of the United States. I have never ran for any position in my life - not even the prefect of my class in elementary school. Every position I got, I got because of my grades. To come out in a country like America where the president is just a public servant who happens to have the secret service all around him and contest to be the president against other competent people (except Sarah Palin, of course), it takes real courage and bravery. So I commend all the people who contested. May God bless them. I always tell myself that I have a tough skin. I can handle criticism, but I think my criticism only goes as far as my writing. When a host of people begin to mock me and criticize my integrity on international TV and airwaves, it becomes a very hard pill to swallow. What about the fact that Obama will now become the most talked about and most photographed man in the world? WOW. I cannot even deal with my picture on my blog.

What I can do, however, is use Obama as a point of contact in my prayers. I have projects that I'm working on, and the odds are stacked incredibly high against me. I am tempted to give up and just forget it because rationality tells me that this will never work. But I didn't dream these things by myself. I am unable to conceive such thoughts all by myself. I don't have such wisdom. God put these thoughts in my heart; he showed me this vision, so if he is able to make me conceive them, then that means He is well able to help me achieve them. I could think about Joshua in the bible. He sowed during a time of famine and he reaped a million folds. But I didn't know Joshua. Obama's story seems more tangible. It happened right in front of me. To quit will be an insult to God.

If there is something you are trusting God for, you better use Obama in your prayers o. Don't worry about how impossible the task seems. With God, everything is possible. That does not mean you should jump off the cliff and hope that God will catch you oh. If you do that one, you're on your own. The vultures will feast on your body. And I, Vera will go on blogging... and living my dreams, of course

In a few hours, Barack Hussein Obama will become our 44th President. You best believe it!