A Day Astray

The twilight glow fell in the dark, sinking out of sight
Like the passing wind, the fleeting time I could not hold
Going down beyond the sea, precipitating a cheerless night
And my eyes strain at words I further could not enfold.

Down the hill the day tripped like spike amidst lost shadows
Could my tears redeem a mite of the transiting night?
Its ripen fruits have fallen off without a harvest,
Its fallow land were lost to the weed without a seed.

Hunted in the forest of imprudence I was a prey to the growling foxes
Subtly and fatal they took from me a day I will no longer have
The bandits of time has stolen from me a slice of my appointment
While each years of my life beckon to the shoreline of no return.

Like yesterday the memories of my childhood were extinct
I have come to the frightful table where the souls of elders dine
The decisive moment that seal up the chains of chronicles
Give me tomorrow! Another morning budding with sunshine.

I will choose again from the generous hands of another day
Bequeath to me the Willing Spirit of boundless possibilities
Redeem my past that slipped away, O priceless prize hanged at Calvary
That I may perhaps avenge the bandits of today with the forte of tomorrow!

Omotayo Oni (Tpoet)

THE MIST

I will walk into the woods down to the forest of my imaginations
To either loose a piece of my mind or gain a piece of my soul
To put together the fragments of these broken petals
To find the missing puzzle from which life threw at me
To solve a piece of the mystery between the cradle and the grave

I will be gone from these burdens insufferable and drink from the river of solace
I will be gone, perhaps to pick some noesis at the feet of the aged
I have been around on the heels of loyalty and devotion to this side of life
I have sung an awkward song of desires too quiet to hear
And the mist has torn my loved selves away from my side

I have had a child fallen asleep in my arms, but my concerns are wide-awaken
How do I tell these ones those things bound to break their little cot?
Have I a tiding of good besides the shards of these broken tales?
Perhaps one that has kept me invincible when I could not forbid my tears
Unless beyond this voyage my chastened soul found another sphere

My aching scars I carry with me, to bear witness for me
And the thousand words in every moment of my silence
For I have in a while been in this field of war, in flight of trouble times
Down that lane is the ashes of a hopeless deed of the yesteryears
And the endless struggles of hopes that might be

I have fought in this battle, and I will be done with it
I have seen the cloudy mist and I will see the purity of the rain
I have seen the rage of the storm, now will be the ray of the sun
For I will be gone upon the waters, to dare the sea of uncertainties
For though He slays me, I will yet trust, till I see the end of my faith

Perhaps I have the utmost hill to climb, little is the strength in me
But for the Rock that loved me when all else was gone from me
Saying “Child of weakness, watch and pray, find in me thy all in all”
We should then be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for
For I know, the best will come from His hands to all in His arms.
   -©Omotayo Oni (Tpoet 16/12/17)

Weekly Digest vol.3

THE IRONY OF GOD'S LOVE (part one)

_Omotayo Oni

“…Let not my way prevail against your will, rid me of affections and obsessions that have become part of my living self”, this was my unspoken prayers as the week almost slipped away still wondering on what to share with friends on this week digest. My pen oscillating between some piece of creative words or a message that can only be meet for a chosen few.
The second verse of Deuteronomy chapter 8 resonates within the walls of my mind, like I have never read it before, saying: And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no. This hit me quite hard as I wonder if I have not by any means falter in my trying times. The future with God does not belong to the best of his men but to the faithful and the trusted, this made the Christian journey almost incomprehensible.
I quietly observe how those who loved the saving Cross of Christ are somehow offended by its cruel dealing with the life they planned out for themselves.
Many Christian secretly finds themselves discrediting the justice scheme of God. “God is not fair” several resolved. Our Christian voyage falls down a flight of stairs, landing us in a world of nightmares, “why would God allowed this to happen to me?”, “This isn't what God has said about me” we question our reality. “My ungodly friends are living lushly and sumptuously, I sold myself out to God with hope to be better off” wondering if the years of service ever worth it.
The reality of any man chosen to be use by God begins from setting out of Egypt to the wilderness. What sounds like 'frypan to fire' contrary to the motivation that got us leaving our comfort zone in bid for a greener pasture. We soon wish we have done things differently as circumstances set us up to rebel against the lordship of the God who called us out of Egypt.
Many started out the Christian journey without counting the cost, many loved God but are passionately preoccupied with themselves too. Wishing to bank on Gods love to enhance their soul begotten ambition, signing a contract with God without reading the terms and conditions. “And he said to them all, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it”. Luke 9:23&24. Clearly, our own plans don’t often workout alongside his. Exceptions to this however is if you truly never entered an agreement to walk with him or your self-will prevailed against his divine purpose; which of course means you impliedly or expressly choose to return to Egypt or waste away in the wilderness.  You have got to be deliberate if you will make anything meaningful in the kingdom. God will never shape a man he has not crushed, our inborn traits and gifts are not sufficient for his services. The cross await anyone who dares to come after him, the quarry for him who dares to stand tall as a priestly figure of faith and of course the fiery furnace await the gold that seeks to become a Jewel.
The hammer must dealt a great blow on the steel, smiting harshly against the anvils; this is the only way the blacksmith can forge his blade. Over six hundred thousand people left Egypt, only two faithfuls made it through the wilderness to the promise land; and not even Moses, the set man that led them out could witness the end of the journey. The human nature is wired to rebel against the ordeals of the wilderness, except the nature is allowed to die. This is what God seek to achieve with us, to shape a pure selfless man (vessel) in whom he can pour his glory.
Our many trial left us wondering if God really loved us, the beautiful promises of the bible is nothing close to the reality that awfully stares at us. “Why would God allowed this afflictions?” this became a question that desperately hunt for answers. Here is why it seems God stuck out his children from his bosom to give them to trying times considering his words in Deuteronomy 8:2.

1. To humble thee
God seeks to humble us under his mighty hand, to bring down the pride of our hearts and hide it from us; to lay us low in our own eyes, and clothe us with humility, that the Lord alone might be exalted: this he achieve through the lonely valleys of soul poverty and abnegation of all things. The blessed ones who possess the Kingdom repudiated every external thing and have routed from their hearts all sense of possessing. These are they who are the "poor in spirit". They have reached an inward state paralleling the outward circumstances of the common beggar in the streets of Jerusalem.

2. To prove thee
God seeks to know whether we would be obedient to his laws, or how we would behave towards him both in prosperity and adversity, and to try our graces, our faith and patience, fear and love.

3. To know what was in thine heart
The heart of man is the prime target of God. The heart defines a man in entirety. God knew all that was in a mans heart but will constantly revisit it if only he will find such one like his, that is why proverb 4:23 admonish us to guard our heart with all diligence. The heart is naturally prone to wickedness, unbelief, rebellion, frowardness, “… God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart”. 2 Chronicles 32:31

4. Whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or not
We must insist that the cross of Christ crushes our human nature. We dare not rest content with a neat doctrine of self-crucifixion. That is to imitate Saul and spare the best of the sheep and the oxen. A partial obedience will not do. Insist that the work be done in very truth and it will be done. The cross is rough and it is deadly but it is effective. It does not keep its victim hanging there forever. There comes a moment when its work is finished and the suffering victim dies. Then shall come the effulgence and the revealing of the godlike nature in a man that is now an emissary of light and grace to his generation. (...to be continued)

THE STEM OF MY HAIR

I glowered at the mirror to dress my unkempt hair
With a mild smile veiling my many scars
I thrust my comb into the stems of my hair
And I see its many race against the gray
I almost forgot what love absolutely feels like
I barely remember the sensation of my first embrace.

All that my mother taught me fades like a trodden petal
They are like a frozen memories in the midst of a lonely sea
The prospect of the yesteryears are tossed
Wandering in the fear of the unknown
So much yet undone, lagging in my race against time
And the stems of my hair dread the pending gray.

I didn't choose this fate that inflate the price of destiny
In its cruel claws did my mother left me
The stem of my hair had tasted my tears
The waters of Mara flood against it
Every of its length struggles against the tide
Bent each day against the odds of life.

Pray for me, O Lamb slain before my time
You who wore the cape of my misery
Give to me your garment of righteousness
Rescue me from the deep scary waters
Rebuke the rage of the blustering sea
Stir up your bowels of mercy, plead my cause!

I know not such wrong worthy of these griefs
Save the secret failings against my convictions
The tireless failures of a filthy lonely heart
I have not tasted the fruits forbidden to my fathers
Saddle me not with the price of their blemish
For these stems are vulnerable to the axe of time.

I have fought so hard to keep love burning in my heart
But I'm left with no strength of my own
‘Probably or definitely’ void of unconditional will
May it be that love cross this Jordan with me
May I find in Alice's tent the eyes of the one who is willing
That I may be comforted by the infilling of this vacuum.

I am a seed of Abraham, a pilgrim like unto my fathers
But I have tarried long at this side of the hills
I'm wearied of my journey through this wilderness
My flair had melted in these furnace of afflictions
I have suffered many assaults against my faith
Unutterable assaults against the love I've known.

Be gone O wretched pot that refute royal appetites!
There shall be a glory feast to end my fast
Show forth tongues of unnumbered foes
Mercy is set on the pinnacle of judgement
The guiltless One shall stand for the faltering one
Into my heart shall flow his streams of compassion.

I love the Man of Galilee, O that I see his face!
That I may lay holds on the hem of his garment
Turn now and hold me O Strength of Jacob
Mend these broken stairs in my journey to Canaan
Let not these burdens sink the dreams of Joseph
Let it not break the staff of Jacob.

Anoint these stems that they may burn; a flaming torch
Bestow unto your chosen the Mitre and the Crown
Kindle within my soul the burning lamp of a Watchman
That the imperfections I own be traded for your perfect love
O Spirit between the Cherubim bid me to come upon thy mount
Unto the heights of thy great calling, to the presence of thy glory.

Omotayo Oluwafemi Oni (Tpoet)
5/02/2019_ 3:05am

Weekly digest vol.2 By: Omotayo Oni

 Old Time Religion VS Contemporary Realities.

 “But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy”._  Ezra 3:12
The introductory text is a contrast between the old time values and the delusion of the new generation. The elders who saw the foundation of old upon which Solomon's temple was built knew the contemporary one is nothing to be compared to it. They knew they have lost an antiquated treasure. But the younger generation on the other hand never saw the glorious stance of the first temple. They lack the knowledge of God's premium touchstone. They grew up only to know of contemporary realities and its excitements.
Contemporary realities is a system birth out of the obstinate schemes of our arch enemy. Truth be told nothing of the contemporary realities is designed to be favourable to the old time faith.
The world constantly present to us a trendy lifestyle that subtly force compliance; a compliance that does not conform to the values of old.
The world has a scintillating methods of indoctrination, redefining values in the heart of men, changing men against the unchanging God. Consequently, Christian leaders today modified Christian doctrine to suit the system rather than confronting the system with the foundation that stands sure.
We cannot blend or modify the old time religion we simply must reveal it.
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 1cor3:11
The contemporary system is designed to rebel against God, it cannot fit into God's purpose, neither can it please God. We simply must confront it. Modifying our doctrine or blending it cannot go without little compromise.
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein. Jer 6:16
The old path has no appeal to a canal man, we can't reveal the saving grace of the cross and hide the offense of the cross; the eternal gospel will be made unfulfilled.
Every advances of the contemporary system makes being a true Christian more difficult.
Over the past decades there has developed a growing mentality that the church is an outdated organism. That we have somehow lost touch with the “millennial” generation. It is, therefore, imperative (they say) that we update the church model and make it more trendy. But in the bid to do this we lost touch of true spiritual essence. The apostolic office that once sat on the oceans of spiritual wisdom now settled for administrative workouts, fathers who once work by faith now work by sights, logic and calculations.
The present age now pose a challenge that shake our faith out of its root.
There will always be "paradigm shifts" in our value system but if there will ever be “faith” in the world when Christ return, if there will ever be a ready bride, then the Christian leaders must preserve the values of old. Christianity in 20years will be confronted with greater mystery of lawlessness if we can't simply set God's standards without compromise.
Truth is a bitter pill Christian leaders should dare to feed their flock and speak out against “the gospel of lawless grace”
The younger generation do not know the God of their fathers, because many of the fathers like Eli cannot bring to justice the spirit of rebellion by which the new generation Christian coordinate the service of the Lord. The sons of Aaron has brought upon the altar incense of strange fire.
Reconciling the world to God is a business that that has been committed to every Christian leaders and it requires wisdom, diligence and sometimes being at odd against the contemporary system that only defines Christian faith to suit the fallen nature.
I will draw my conclusion from the word of Christ in John 12:32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me”. Every Christian leader must sustain a spiritual strength to lift up Christ on every given platform, in every possible form, for when that is done, he (Christ) will draw men to himself.