The Christian's Waltz

By Esther Zoë Okore

THE CHRISTIAN'S WALTZ through life is a writ containing time-tested biblical truths and principles that the believer needs to scale both in life and godliness. In your hands are but a fraction of the notes handed down to me over a period of time, and it has been retold in such a comprehensive and relatable way, while still housing the unfailing and unadulterated truths and principles. I realize that so many people cannot implement the words of scripture because they do not become one with it. It sounds like fables at best, rocket science at worse. That is why this book comes in very simple applicable, apprehensible pictures.
Originally, they were 'dished out' as handed down, but have now been retouched for the sake of the audience majority, and so that anyone can relate with the lessons as simply as they have been written. I made sure to retain a great deal of the original informality of the style of writing, while adjusting a couple others so that they are book worthy. This volume is a modified compilation of the first few series of the original series, Zoë Quiet Corner, and therefore will not contain an all encompassing, totaling and concise information on the different subjects, but it contains enough to rapture your soul to a higher level of godly living.
It is my utmost desire and prayer that when you study this book, you will receive both the wisdom and empowerment to glide gracefully through a torrentuous world, to stream swiftly through the jazzed edges of failed humanity, and waltz confidently through life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Esther Zoë Okore
• Release date: Nov 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463750674

Esther Zoë Okore

I am Okore Esther Zoë. I write to inspire. I write to enlighten. I write to inform. And I write with the hope to transform lives into their most ideal state of living.

Book preview

Table of Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Introduction

NEW LIFE

Chapter 1: Baby Steps

Chapter 2: Why The Law Was Inadequate

Chapter 3: Living The Part

Chapter 4: Welcome Embrace

Chapter 5: A New Name

SEEKING GOD

Chapter 6: Personal Knowing

Chapter 7: Faithfulness

Chapter 8: Perfected To Be Accepted

Chapter 9: What Are You Famous For?

Chapter 10: Still Small Voice

Chapter 11: Give It All

Chapter 12: Humility In Strength

Chapter 13: Filling The Hole

PURPOSE

Chapter 14: Mantle in the Grave

Chapter 15: What Business Has A Fisherman With A Sword? Part 2

Chapter 16: What Business Has A Fisherman With A Sword? Part 3

Chapter 17: The Man From Judah, Part 2

Chapter 18: Purpose

Chapter 19: Purpose Driven Request

Chapter 20: Maximizing Potential

THE CHRISTIAN’S WALZ THROUGH LIFE

Chapter 21: What Business Has A Fisherman With A Sword? Part 1

Chapter 22: Wants Versus Needs

Chapter 23: Practice of Exemption

Chapter 24: True Love

Chapter 25: The Rock

Chapter 26: Easter Essence

Chapter 27: Mercy Break

Chapter 28: Principles: Bind It

Chapter 29: Unwanted Emotions

Chapter 30: He’s Not There

Chapter 31: The Man From Judah, Part 1

Chapter 32: Elisha 1: Wisdom

Chapter 33: Elisha 2: Demands For The Next Level

Chapter 34: Measure Your Faith

Chapter 35: War At Dawn

Chapter 36: Vessels Unto Honour

Chapter 37: No Competition

Chapter 38: Thorny Soils

Chapter 39: Majoring In The Minors

ADVANCING THE KINGDOM

Chapter 40: Authority

Chapter 41: Why Prosperity

Chapter 42: Lot’s Error

Chapter 43: A Teaching Priest

Chapter 44: War Against Knowledge

THE LADY

Chapter 45: Washing By The Word

Chapter 46: Achsah 2

Chapter 47: Quintessence of True Power (Lessons From Jael)

Chapter 48: Being Woman

RELATIONSHIPS

Chapter 49: Achsah 1

Chapter 50: Values

About the Author

Connect with Esther Zoë Okore

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the Ecclesia, Christ's only Bride.

Acknowledgment

It is a marvel that this book is finally here! It would be the utter ingratitude to take every part of the glory and applause for it.

I honour the Father God Almighty, the Master-planner, Mastermind, Master Craftsman for the election of grace to be a shareholder in His divine plans.

Special thanks to my parents and siblings. You have been my strength, an anchor and a solace. God bless you.

My family, the wilderness where the Baptist in John was refined, Chapel Of Light Interdenominational Okofia, UNIZIK Nnewi; it is impossible to neglect how God used each one of you to bring out the best in me. My brothers Nwokebu Christian, Okey Emmanuel, Nwakanma Michael, and the bible study teams throughout my undergraduate years, I honour you. May the Lord cause his face to shine on you.

To my beloved brother, Alfred Lucky Okechukwu, the oracle through whom the season for this book opened up, may the Lord grace you with his presence.

To my spiritual leaders: Pastor Chidiebere Amanoh, Pastor Nnanna Ukpai, Pastor Moore Ogbonna, Apostle Oluwatosin Omoniyi, Reverend Philip Chinagorom; God bless you for your timeless investments.

To the Physical therapists in Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, I cannot express my gratitude for your support, kind words and gestures. It was almost unbelievable. God bless you. To Physiotherapist George Shadow (Author of the Black Book), thank you for your tireless efforts to see this book materialize as stipulated. May God's grace furnish you always.

Introduction

It was on a fateful holiday afternoon in the month of August, 2015. We had just rounded up the first session of the preclinical class as undergraduate physiotherapists and, together with other students, were given a 2 months holiday that was supposed to span the months of August and September. At the advice of a friend, I decided to spend one of the holiday months in school. I saw myself spending extensive time in the study of the Bible. It was a healthy addiction and I was hungrily soaking up the Word.

One fateful morning, after a lengthy investment in the study of the word, I remembered what a friend and brother had told me about sharing the Word with others in order to hide it in my heart. It was a practice he did frequently, but my shy nature did not permit that sort of boldness. So, I thought, How do I share these things so I can retain them in my heart and spirit? Then as if as an inspiration, I figured, Share it on Facebook! And that was how Zoë Quiet Corner (the spring board for this book in your hand) began.

From leisurely sharing the lessons Daddy taught me, it gradually became a fairly constant exposition, from which I have received many testimonies, all of which humble me all the more, and encourage me all the better.

You see, the walk as a disciple of Christ in such an unforgiving, nearly suffocating world as ours can be really trying. The world has a structure and rule of law that sharply negates the new culture that we now have in Christ. Its priorities, pleasures and processes are usually never synchronizing with the principles of God with which the world was founded. The world wants you hardened, inhumane and always headed for the jugular all in the guise of survival; it wants you to live with negative thoughts, feelings and actions in the name of 'reality'. Any attempt to differ projects you as non-objective, delirious, unprofessional and out of touch with reality. That alone is a battle to sustain victory at.

Then there is the battle of conquering the flesh and its delight--acceptance, love, power, comfort, ego. That is yet another tedious fight. And as if these were not battles enough, the body of Christ is currently being infringed with fakes and fabrications, propagating false culture and fictitious doctrines. It is becoming increasingly difficult to keep your head above the waters of these wars. However, it is nothing we were not preempted on. Jesus and his apostles in different letters showed us that such times will come.

But here is the good news. Provision has been made to enable you glide through it all. It is possible to stay aplomb and coast through the horror. In Christ, there is a provision for anyone who intends to stay as disciples of Christ to do just that; and very 'effortlessly' too. There is effort to be put, but it is no longer the effort of trial. Jesus said in Matthew11:28-30,

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Jesus has made provision for a seamless lither through the corruption now in this world. And that is the womb from whence this book was birthed.

THE CHRISTIAN'S WALTZ through life is a writ containing time-tested biblical truths and principles that the believer needs to scale both in life and godliness. In your hands are but a fraction of the notes handed down to me over a period of time, and it has been retold in such a comprehensive and relatable way, while still housing the unfailing and unadulterated truths and principles. I realize that so many people cannot implement the words of scripture because they do not become one with it. It sounds like fables at best, rocket science at worse. That is why this book comes in very simple applicable, apprehensible pictures.

Originally, they were 'dished out' as handed down, but have now been retouched for the sake of the audience majority, and so that anyone can relate with the lessons as simply as they have been written. I made sure to retain a great deal of the original informality of the style of writing, while adjusting a couple others so that they are book worthy. This volume is a modified compilation of the first few series of the original series, Zoë Quiet Corner, and therefore will not contain an all encompassing, totaling and concise information on the different subjects, but it contains enough to rapture your soul to a higher level of godly living.

It is my utmost desire and prayer that when you study this book, you will receive both the wisdom and empowerment to glide gracefully through a torrentuous world, to stream swiftly through the jazzed edges of failed humanity, and waltz confidently through life.

NEW LIFE

CHAPTER 1: Baby Steps; Acts 15:19-20 (RSV)

There is a sequence to growth in Christianity. The undoing of the church has been to infer, deliberately or otherwise, that the crux of Christianity or coming into the sheepfold of Christ is salvation. Interestingly, salvation is just the beginning. It is the first step. Like an admission letter, it certifies you a student of an institution of learning. Relaxing or settling in the ‘salvation’ stage is tantamount to going ahead to look for a job with your admission letter. Yeah. It is that insane.

The sequence of growth and maturity in Christ has been ignored, warped, wrongly taught or just banished entirely. What many call discipleship in the church today is simply exposure to denominational constitution. Apostle Paul stated that his thinking and mannerisms were childlike when he was a child. But with growth came maturity (1 Corinthians 13:11). In many sects, there is no real attempt to nurture young Christians by guiding them on basic foundational guidelines and teachings. What we do not realize is that spiritual newborns are as fragile as natural neonates and hence need maximum care. Until we recognize that they need milk (1 Peter 2:2) and not solid food, we will never be able to occasion a balanced growth process. It would be wrong to feed an infant on solid meals with the intent that ‘he should be strong and quicker than his mates’. In doing that, you will fail to provide the nutrients that they really need for their health and wellbeing at that stage of life. Worse still, you would introduce macronutrient that they have not developed faculties to digest. Little wonder that the churches and society is full of babies in leadership apparels, taking offices and bearing titles, but very retarded in growth.

The error many ministers make is that they forget, or ignore the fact that a typical church setting is a conglomerate of believers with different spiritual needs. This ignorance or oversight has downplayed efforts that should ensure a healthy diet prescribed per maturity level. Some assemblies force solid food (which I must confess look like milk) down the throats of these neonates. Sadly, these meals do not have the nutrients babies require for growth, and so they malnourished, stagnate and even die in extreme cases.

Enough parables. Let’s look at the anchor scripture.

"Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble the gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the pollution of the idols and from unchastity and from what is strangled and from blood."

That was Apostle James’ advice when the circumcision party began to insist that circumcision was the key to salvation (read the entire chapter for better understanding). When I read came across this passage, I questioned, Why did he have to include the strangled animal and blood part? and the Holy Spirit taught me that it was because the people in question were gentiles and newborns. There was need to cultivate and nurture them into maturity before feeding them with meat and bones (which Paul did in 1 Corinthians 8). It would have caused more harm to them if he had just told them, Do right. Follow the Holy Spirit’s leading. They might not even know if a leading was instituted by the Holy Spirit. ‘Right doing’ is very relative, and so they could continue doing the wrong things while believing they were doing right. There was need to set guidelines. This is just like stalking a climbing plant so that tendril can find a means of climbing else it will simply crawl and never really grow.

This is not to propagate a move to indoctrinate believers. Rather than that, it is to prompt leaders to leave the state of assumption and create a step wise pattern that would actually help young believers to enjoy the provisions of salvation without walking in error due to ignorance. We wrongly assume that they understand what it means to abstain from all appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians. 5:22). We think they understand righteous sounding words like sanctification, prayer and consecration. So, we just move over to ‘weightier matters’, and in the end, we release many ‘unconverted converts’ to the society as ambassadors of Christ.

If Jesus had to go through the process of growth; sitting under teachers, staying subject to parents, and gradually building up stature and maturity; the unskilled in the faith should be tended gently into maturity using guidelines well expressed and scripturally balanced. Don’t be afraid to constrain the newborns; no mother allows her baby crawl into a busy road. Let them know they need to break up with the unbelieving fiancé. Help them understand that they cannot corrupt their hearts with songs that do not edify. Encourage them on the necessity to disentangle from lies, whether white or gray. Help them recognize that they have to let go of the works of the flesh as mentioned in several places in the scripture. Only when such foundations are set will they be able to learn to obey God’s teaching, to willingly