How Beautiful Are You?

“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined” [Psalm 50:2]

I remember being on a bus some time ago, and the Spirit of God began to make some things clear to me that I will try as much as possible to explain in this post; I look forward to seeing your response to the subject!

Have you ever thought to yourself that how exactly is beauty measured? Another good question will be who sets those standards? Is it not interesting that what is considered beautiful in one nation may be regarded as the exact opposite just a few miles away from that territory? From that simple observation, it is easy to come to the conclusion that there is no generic idea of what beauty is. In fact, we are trained to recognize and respond to certain qualities that we eventually consider ‘beautiful’ or ‘attractive’ in others. Through observation, young children begin at a very young age to appreciate certain qualities and abhor some others. Hardly do you see a very young child who discriminates based on some of the subtle physical qualities that adults dislike or want in ourselves or others.

Knowing that man’s understanding of beauty is in a sense not reliable since it is based on standards created by cultural ideologies, we should go on to find out what God’s idea of beauty is. But, before we even get to that, many of us at some point have met people that had all the qualities that the world considers beautiful, yet it was hard to appreciate those qualities possibly because of those people’s characters. On the other hand, you may have also met the “not-so-model” person that you just considered most beautiful for reasons you may have not even been able to explain at the time.

True beauty is a quality of the human spirit. Jesus said something striking to the Pharisees of His day: “ye are like whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” [Matt. 23:27]. The jewelry, apparel, fragrances, and everything else we wear can only be any good if the man of the inside – the real us – is beautiful. When you got a small cut somewhere on your body, the cut did not change your name, your environment, or your disposition to life in general. That is because the real gentleman or lady is on the inside. Before considering how to beautify the body that houses you, consider beautifying you first.

Certain things make an ‘ugly’ spirit, with which you can never really be appreciated by yourself, let alone others. Some of such things are anger, bitterness, pride, fear, and envy. For as long as you hold people in your heart for revenge or never to forgive, you are more or less carrying “dead men’s bones” around; there is no way you will appear beautiful to anyone including yourself. Get to God’s Word; accept the person of Jesus Christ. Allow the Word of God [in the Bible] to teach you how to put love, joy, and grace in your heart so much that you cannot go by unnoticed anywhere you go, because that is the way Jesus was and is. Be humble, appreciate others with a simple “thank you” as many times as they do good to you. Never consider “sorry” as a word only used by the weak, because the most beautiful people on earth use it a lot. Care to join them?

The word ‘winsome’ is a word that perfectly describes that person that’ll be considered most beautiful by God Himself and the world. It means “charming, often in a child-like or naïve way”; what that means is that your words always build those around you up. It means you are not so quick to conceive a conspiracy-theory of how the whole world is against you. You believe and expect the best of others. And, you come to everyone expecting to find something loveable in them. Have you ever seen children fight? They hardly ever have to apologize before they are back playing together. Jesus said “let the children come to me and don’t try to stop them! People who are like these children belong to God’s kingdom!” [Matt. 19:14] Nobody can ever know God as much as a ‘winsome’ heart can.

This kind of character is what God desires in you, and its rewards far outweigh the fear you may have of being trampled upon with a character like that. Yes, people may try to take advantage of you, but as long as you maintain that character, God will see to it Himself that He continually promotes you far above them. You’ll never be at a loss or disadvantage; someone may take something away from you physically, but what is it compared to God’s grace that helps you acquire all things? But, who can exhibit that character except one that belongs in God’s house – Zion – out of which God shines all of His beauty.

If you are a Christian, true beauty is on the inside of you. It only needs to shine more brightly; if it has been shining before, exhibit more of the same character that made it shine at first, and it will shine so brightly that kings [notable people in the world] will come to the brightness of it [Isaiah 60:2-3].  Henceforth, stand up tall, square your shoulders, and walk like the king or queen that you are [Revelations 1:6]. You may not have the best eyes, nose, legs, height, or weight by societal standards but Jesus considered you beautiful enough to pay with His own life for your freedom and life. Respect the blood of Jesus by appreciating everything about yourself, because God knew those things were there and loved you all the same.

Let us know how beautiful you are in your comment; but, in the mean time, enjoy this video!

Within Zion's Walls

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed…he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” [Hebrews 11:9-10]

Here I am, with a cup of hot cocoa in one hand, nothing short of grateful to the precious HolySpirit who is my light and my love. You know what is exceptionally exciting about Him is the fact that I can always depend on Him as my strength [physically, mentally, or spiritually]. On one thought, I really should do a post soon on the person of the HolySpirit; I am sure you’ll be blessed by it. But, until then, let’s talk about Zion – you can call me obsessed, but it’s just that I have seen the TRUTH!!!

In the opening scripture, we see that Canaan was not the Promised Land that God told Abraham about. In Hebrews Chapter 4, we see Paul arguing that, if Joshua had taken the people of Israel into the true Promised Land, there would have been no need for Jesus to come. Though God’s people entered the land God promised them [physically], they had not truly entered His rest. Zion is God’s rest. Hebrews 12:22 lets us know that the new creation [in Christ Jesus] is already in Zion. We are literally born there; we live in it and it is in us. WOW! How do we live in Zion? We live in Zion by doing God’s Word. And, how does Zion live in us? Zion takes its abode in us through our meditation on the truth of God’s Word. That same Hebrews 12 gives us a picture of Zion to be God’s dwelling place; the angels live in Zion together with God’s people. Double WOW!!

Do you realize that Jesus functioned in two worlds at the same time? He realized He was in the Father and the Father was in Him. That consciousness made it possible for Him to live a consistently supernatural life. In case you have not understood me so far, the idea I desire to pass across is that God is calling us to live a life of dominion over the circumstances of this world – economic downturns, failure, sickness, poverty, and all such things. In Isaiah 33:24 the Bible, speaking of Zion, says “the inhabitants shall not say, I am sick: the people that dwell therein shall be forgiven their iniquity”.


Two benefits of life in Zion to note in the reading from Isaiah are:

i.)         Divine health: It is the right of every citizen of Zion to live above any infirmity of the body. Now, if you currently fall sick every now and again, the first step to living in that scripture is accepting it. Believe it and begin to confess it as the present tense of your life. It may take a while to manifest in the physical realm, but because it is already a present-hour spiritual reality, it’ll prevail over your physical circumstance [in little to no time].

ii.)        Access to forgiveness: You never need to beat yourself up over any mistakes. I hope that you get this. You have access to forgiveness by prophecy. It was written way back in Isaiah’s time. God cannot decide that your sin is too big to be forgiven anymore; His word has gone forth, and He does not go back on it. Accept forgiveness and move on, confessing God’s word that says “sin shall not have dominion over you.” [Romans 6:14]

If you haven’t understood much of what I’ve written so far, then you probably need to give your heart to Christ first because understanding of these things is contingent on a life in Christ. For those who do understand, you need to lose taste for this world. Set your eyes on Zion; live in it! I just found something striking in Hebrews 11:14-15; it says “truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had the opportunity to have returned. But now, they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly”.

In order to live in Zion and enjoy the benefits of living within its walls, we need to cease to be mindful of the world. Life in the walls of our glorious city is literally dependent on soaking ourselves in God’s word. There are two groups of people in the earth today – those who live in the world [controlled by its system of failure, sickness, and confusion] and those who live in the Word of God [controlling the system of the world around them with Zion’s principles]. Don’t give yourself an opportunity to return to where you came from, which is the world [connoted with Egypt in the scriptures]. Desire, more than ever before, to live ONLY within the walls of Zion – our heavenly Jerusalem. Be determined to, through God’s word, remove sickness, poverty, failure, and sin from your life.

Enjoy consistent access to God; it is one of the benefits of living in Zion. Relish the ability to improve the economy and security of your earthly nation through prayers of intercession; this is yet another ability exclusive to those who live in Zion. And, finally, learn to worship God with all your heart and watch Him lift you higher and higher in Him; it is the reason for which you were born into Zion!

I’ll be expecting your questions and comments. Until then, enjoy this powerful excerpt from the message - The Beautiful People of the Beloved Country - by Rev. Chris Oyakhilome. God bless YOU!!!

True Patriotism

“Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.” [Psalm 50:2]

The famous Apostle Paul wrote extensively about a new creation, a heavenly Jerusalem, and a family on earth and in heaven, to which every Christian has been called. Time and space will fail me to list the scriptural verses where those thoughts were shared, but I advice that you take a look at Hebrews 12:22-23; in it, the Apostle further expressed that there’s a new ‘nation’ to which we believers have been called. For more on Zion, take a look at my blog post titled ‘Peace within our borders’; you’ll be blessed by it.

Zion is the city of God – a spiritual Israel, and we have been called to be citizens of it. In this post, I will not be discussing the benefits of life in Zion. Rather, my desire is to challenge us to see Zion as beautiful. The strongest nations in the world are built by indoctrination; citizens are taught that their nation is the greatest. The term ‘nation’ in itself has strength in it that means much more than geographical boundaries. As I was very adequately taught by Rev. Chris Oyakhilome, a state or country can only be referred to as a nation when its citizens have a common vision and speak one language [or have one mind].

The opening scripture shows us how God feels about Zion; it is the perfection of beauty. He wants us to be indoctrinated; God wants us to know that there is no nation or country in the earth greater than ours. Yet, many of us are consumed by a love for our earthly nations at the expense of a love for Zion. In Romans 9:8, the Bible says "they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." To be a child of the flesh is to be carnal enough to primarily identify one's self by physical or earthly nationality. In Romans 9:8, Paul shows us two types of children - those of the flesh and those of the promise. The 'promise' here refers to God's Word. Do you see that your origin is from God's word? Or, do you still identify first as Nigerian, American, British, South African, Korean, or Australian? If you are a Christian, that should not be the case.


This topic is so important, because our earthly nations have become more beautiful to many of us than Zion. We identify as Ugandan Christians, Brazilian Christians, and the likes instead of ‘just being Christians’. In our churches, some of us even form factions based on ethnicity or nationality. There are ‘Black’ people who will not attend ‘White’ churches and vice versa. I put the words Black and White in quotes, because in reality, once you become a Christian, you are neither White nor Black; you are a new creation [Galatians 3:28].

Learn to appreciate Zion TODAY! See Jesus in the eyes of every Christian, whether or not they speak your earthly language. Embrace them like you would Jesus if He lived in your house. Like Abraham [under God’s instruction] abandoned his earthly kindred, abandon yours also for Zion. This does not mean that you should not still love your earthly nation. It only means you should love Zion more. If someone asked you “where are you from?” let your answer first be Zion. Or, say to the person “do you mean in the flesh or in the spirit?” Either way, the person’s answer may lead to an opportunity to share Jesus with them.

If God Almighty could shine out of Zion, then you should be proud of your citizenship in this beautiful country!

Holy Flows: "You Are the Answer"

It’s great to come your way again this week. I’m really excited about this blog, and it’s all because of your faithful readership. Burnivine’s Blogoscope… is currently being read in over 23 countries and 67 cities in all the continents of the world. In honor of you, the reader, I have decided to publish something from a reader for this week. The following is a very inspiring piece by a truly gifted friend, Ms. Evanna Fabulosity Ebose [reppin’ Dublin, Ireland]; please, enjoy and meditate on it:

NOW LISTEN JC IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.
I AINT GONNA LIE BUT IF YOU AINT GOT HIM, YOU GOT NO LIFE!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW THIS IS THE CASE OF MANY
THEY LIVE TO DIE IN PENURY
THEY LIVE A LESSER LIFE COS THEY AINT GOT THE GREATER LIGHT
BUT ONE THING FOR SURE IS YOU'VE BEEN SENT TO GIVE THEM MORE

A WISE ONE WINNETH SOULS
A WISE ONE HEALETH BONES
YOU'RE FROM ABOVE, YOU HAVE THE POWER
THE DEVIL'S DOWN BELOW, THERE'S NO NEED TO COWER.

IF U ARE WISE, YOU'D WIN SOULS
IF YOU ARE WISE, YOU'D HEAL BONES
DON'T LET PEOPLE SUFFER IN PAIN
GIVE THEM HOPE TO RISE AND LIVE AGAIN!

MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE
LEAD THE WORLD AND SET THE PACE
NEVER NEGLECT ANY RACE
BUT SHOW THEM THERE IS A GREATER GRACE!

THIS IS THE YEAR OF THE GREATER LIGHT, 
HAVE YOU WON A SOUL? HAVE YOU SOLVED THEIR PLIGHT?
THE WORLD DEPENDS ON YOU, 
JUST SHOW THEM WAT TO DO!

REMEMBER UR FROM ZION!
LIVE EVERYDAY LIKE JESUS IS COMIN TOMORROW
PUSH ON LIKE A LION!:
WIPE AWAY THEIR PAINS AND SORROWS!

YOU ARE THE ANSWER!
STAY BLESSED...............MISS FABULOSITY 2010!

P.S: If you have something you would like me to consider for publishing, I’ll definitely be inclined to take a look and get back to you. Just send an e-mail to burnivine@gmail.com and notify me when you do. God bless you as you place your comments below!

Peace Within Our Borders: Unity In the Body of Christ

“Praise the Lord…O Zion. For He hath strengthened the bars of thy gates…He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.” [Psalm 147: 12 - 14]

It is of utmost exigency that believers begin to conduct a reassessment of what exactly we are about. The Spirit of God is doing something amongst us, but we need to let Him; we have to allow Him to “gather together the exiles of Israel”, that is those who are Christians but do not live as such.

Before I go further, I need to establish certain premises of why I refer to us as Israel today. First, we know from Hebrews 12:22-23 that “ye are come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God” so that we know that the church [as well as the physical Israel] was being referred to in Psalm 147. Also, we were rightly informed by the Apostle Paul that “they are not all Israel which are of Israel” in Romans 9:6-8 where he explains to us that the true spiritual Israel are the children of the promise. To further bolster his point, he mentioned in Galatians 3:29 that everyone who is in Christ is Abraham’s seed and an heir according to the promise.

The initial premise being established, we now know that Israel in Psalm 147 spoke concerning us as well. But, before I advance to the main point which is unity in the body of Christ, I’d like to dispel any assumptions that everyone reading this blog knows what the body of Christ is. According to Colossians 1:18, “he is the head of the body, the church: who is the first born from the dead; that in all things he may have the preeminence” letting us know that Jesus Christ is the head of the church which the bible refers to as His body.

Knowing this, why do we work against one another? Is there a good enough reason why slandering, malice, hatred, discontentment and other such things should be found in our midst? In my experience as a Christian, I have heard more Christians speak against and condemn ministers of God than unbelievers themselves. How can we function cohesively against the massive attacks from the enemy in these last days, if we are divided over our pre-conceived ideas of what Christianity and moderation should be? Is there a reason why we cannot share stories of challenges and victories in our soul winning exploits with one another?

Consider the Apostle Paul’s confrontation with Peter concerning the issue of eating and communing with Gentiles in Galatians 2:11-14 where Paul says concerning Peter, “I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed”. There was a simple disparity in revelations whereby Paul had a higher revelation that, Jew or Gentile, we are all one new creation in Christ Jesus, but Peter was yet to manifest a complete agreement with the idea mostly because of concern about criticism from Jewish Christians. In spite of that occurrence, the Bible does not record a fight or continued disagreement between them. In fact, the Bible records Peter giving Paul a form of admiration in 2 Peter 3:15 where he says “our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you”.

Another point to consider in evaluating our somewhat childish disagreements is that there are different families in Zion just as Israel had twelve different children all with different traits. Even though we are all children of the same heavenly Father, depending on the family (local church assembly) to which we belong, our characteristics and strengths may differ. Using Israel’s children as a case in point, they all developed into strong nations with different trades and responsibilities, some as kings [Judah], others as priests [Levi] and so on according to the gifting of God [Genesis 49]. Understanding this, we should not be offended or taken aback when other believers don’t meet our outward expectations, as long as they hold to the important foundational principle of Christ. Like Joseph said to his brothers “be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life”, we should walk in love, respecting one another, and giving ourselves a long rope.

Also, it has been my desire to write concerning an issue that has been of great concern to me. One would think that Christians would understand “touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm” [1 Chronicles 16:22] more than anyone else, but sadly, the reverse is the case. We find Christians condemning some and otherwise accepting some men of God. It is not in our place to do such a thing; in fact, it is a manifestation of spiritual childishness to demonstrate such audacity as to speak negatively about a man or woman of God, whether or not you think he or she has gone astray. In Romans 14:4, the Apostle Paul wrote “who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand”. Do you want to condemn a man of God that fell, only for God to restore him afterward? What then becomes of you who has touched the Lord’s anointed? Well, you may say that the anointing left him when he fell. But, think again!

After David had been anointed king and Saul had made attempts to kill David, Saul eventually died having already been rejected by God. After he died, a certain man brought news to David about the death of Saul and even lied that he killed Saul himself. Many of us, if in David’s shoes, would have burst out rejoicing considering that we have already been anointed and this ‘nuisance’ has been taken out of the way. But, David said something striking to the man that brought the news; he said “how wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed”? [2 Samuel 1:11-15, 19-20] Notice that David still referred to Saul as the Lord’s anointed. David ended up mourning for Saul and killing the young man that brought the supposed ‘good news’.

Afterward he forbade his men from letting the Gentiles know about it. Why must unbelievers hear about the fall of a minister of God from the mouth of believers? Why do we talk the most about ourselves in a negative light? This must change for us to be efficient as a body. For a while now, I have developed the mentality that my only business with another Christian’s spiritual life is to pray for them and give thanks to God for their successes. I believe fellow believers should adopt the same mentality, knowing that God deals with His children on an individual basis based on His expectations and no one else’s.

Jesus made it clear how we’ll know our brothers and sisters – by their fruits. He did not leave us in doubt or make it a confusing issue. John expounded on that by letting us know that “every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God” according to 1 John 4:2. Can we believe the word of God and relate with one another as siblings regardless of any other differences in understanding of the word of God?

Finally, in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, which I strongly encourage you to read, Paul explains in-depth the importance of this subject of unity. There needs to be peace within the borders of Zion, and God can only establish it through us. We cannot keep cutting each other down instead of helping to heal each other’s wounds. Refuse to be the stumbling block in the way of the Masters’ work. When you are outside of your Christian family [local church assembly], function from the standpoint of members of one body. Let us love one another, work with one another, pray for one another, and strengthen one another till the day that the Master arrives, so that He will indeed find a “church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing: but that it should be holy and without blemish” [Ephesians 5:27].

The church the Apostle refers to in Ephesians 5:27 is not your local assembly, but the body of Christ.

Be concerned about the body!