STAND

            We have become too insensitive as a people and a nation that we cannot recognise the times and seasons we find ourselves in. Our eyes and ears have become so blind and deafened with so much murmuring, complaining, economic holocaust, Naira devaluation and political Hula-Balu that we cannot read the writings on the wall and take our stand as God’s elect in this age and time for Nigeria. Have we forgotten so soon what Jesus said in Mark 3: 23-25 “A nation or house divided against itself cannot stand” (emphasis mine)? Therefore if we the Son’s and Daughter’s of God that we claim we are cannot whole-heartedly stand and pray for the nation that we also claim we love then Nigeria is heading for great doom.

            Today we want to charge each and every one of us to intercede for the peace of this nation Nigeria just like Nehemiah did for Jerusalem in Neh 1:4-11. Please don’t think that your prayers and fasting for this nation are not important. May we also remind you that Nehemiah was only a cup bearer and not an apostle or a prophet but because he stood in the gap for Jerusalem a whole nation (ONE MAN), through his hands God rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in Just 52 days and also from a cupbearer Nehemiah became the governor (Neh 6:15 & Neh 8:9). Believe it or not but it doesn’t take God time or effort to rebuild the broken walls, economy and leadership of this nation and also in your life, it only takes one man (male or female) to stand in the gap (Ez 22:30).

Would you be that man or woman that will take the bull by the horn and stand for this Nation Nigeria? Remember that the peace, prosperity, abundance, serenity, good leadership and joy that this nation enjoys you also are a great partaker and beneficiary of them all. Therefore ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS STAND!!!

GOD BLESS YOU!!!    

YES YOU CAN

I know many people don’t make New Year resolutions, but I also know that deep down in our hearts, when a new year comes, we yearn for some kind of change. And it’s not wrong, in fact I think it shows that we all understand that in some way, we are not perfect and we need to change. However, we sometimes forget that change is not easy. It is a constant thing but it’s not an easy thing. Many steps are involved and it takes serious discipline to be able make change happen. But the good news is you can do it.

Queen Esther taught us that in other to change you have to work towards it and disregard what people will say or think. She went into the king’s court when she wasn't supposed to be there. She took a step that changed not only her future, but the future of the entire Jews. She knew it was not an easy thing and believe me, she didn't know if she was going to succeed or fail, but at least she tried and she found favour in the sight of the king (Esther 5:1-8).

We must also understand that when it comes to change, we cannot do it on our own. We need help the help of the Holy Spirit. This is why many people don’t change, we think we can do it on their own but we can't. We need God. That is why Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as ‘The Helper’(John 14:26). We need Him because times will come when our human strength will fail and cannot sustain us, He is the only one that can help us and even when people don’t believe in you, the Holy Spirit will give you comfort.

Remember: Changing to a better you is good. You must take the steps (no easy way). You need help. That help can only come from God (not man). You need to be disciplined. You can do it. YES YOU CAN

God bless you.

BE THANKFUL

I’m certain that most of us have gone down through memory lane thinking on how this year 2014 went by and some of us might have been thankful both for the little things and the big things while other might not have seen anything to be thankful or grateful for. For majority of us, we know that deep down within us we do not actually deserve to live another second, minute or hour on earth but God disappointed you, for some of us we do not even deserve the life we are enjoying now, the peace in our home’s, the love in our relationships and families, that little girl in our arms we have that makes the world go round for us and even the year 2014. But with all of our complains, our doubts and disobedience to God we made it to the end. So for as many of us that have not been thankful to God since the beginning of the year 2014, be thankful that you made it till the end of this year and may I remind you even at this very moment so many people have passed on to the other side but God has sustained you, therefore be thankful because death came close to knocking on your door, the door of your family or loved on but it passed by because of God’s mercies.

                Therefore I admonish all of us today to count our blessings all through the year 2014, take out time to remember and list them out and you’ll see how God has been good to you, your family and loved ones. And you will also see how God never treated you according to your iniquities.

                We want to thank every reader of the REAL SOUL FOOD BLOG; you are all richly blessed by God and thanks for all your supports, testimonies and comments. We wish you all A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS

It’s that time of the year again. Where almost everyone is happy and all through the year many people could not wait for this time. Many people are on leave from work and all schools have shut down. This time of the years is so exciting because many people get to travel, relax and eat all they can. Oh my, how I love this time of the year. But I must say, of late, I am starting to think that despite all the fun and time we have on our hands, we may slightly forget what is responsible for all the joy we feel at this time of the year.

It’s not just the end of the year, but it is also the time the greatest gift was given to us years ago. I know many people say that the birth of Jesus isn’t as significant as the death, but I say that without His birth, there would have been no death. So this is just a quick reminder, to all my brothers and sisters who believe that Jesus is our Saviour, not to forget amidst all the fun and merry, that it’s Jesus’ birthday.

Reminder

Do something this season that reflects the love God has for you. Give, smile and praise. God bless you. Merry Christmas

BE BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL

Have you ever heard these words before? You are beautiful but without brains OR you are beautiful but without character. I’m sure this rings a bell in the minds of majority of us. A young focused man who wants to settle down for marriage does not just bring a girl home because she’s beautiful, her character and qualities without a doubt must be accessed by his parents and members of his family. Now I want to inform everyone out there that no one in this generation wants to be hooked unto a liability for life. If you are not useful especially as a youth in this age and time then it’s a tragedy to say that you are just matter occupying a whole lot of space that in real sense do not matter to his/her generation (1 Timothy 4:12).
It was Bishop David Oyedepo that said: “It is better to endure the pain of success than to suffer the pain of regret”. Recently in my life I've realized that life do not give you what you deserve but what you demand. However, most youths today do not take out the time to be responsible. We have been too engulfed, engrossed, enveloped and involved with the social networks today that we've forgotten that we have a destination and only determination can drive us to our destination.Friends, if we cannot carry the burden and weight or jump the hurdles that life brings to us now, are we going to wait until we grow old before we take a decision to do so? I know that most of us are unable to move from our comfort zone because we are afraid of the unknown, for most of us procrastination has become a habit others laziness has engulfed us totally (Proverbs 6:9-11). We think and ask ourselves: what if I fail at it?, what if my thoughts cannot become a reality?, what if the finances are not enough to continue?, what if I come crashing down? What I’ll tell anyone in this category of life and I’m also telling myself is that it is better to have tried and failed in something than never have tried at all. Steve Harvey says that fear can either be F-forget E-everything A-and R-run OR F-face E-everything A-and R-rise.
Failing once or twice or even more does not make you a failure, what makes you a failure is when you give up and stop trying (Hebrews 12:1). Always forget your past failures and mistakes and keep on keeping on. One of my mentors said: “Until you let go of the past you will end up passing away with the past and you become a past tense” (Isaiah 43:18-19b). So therefore the only way to be beautiful and useful in life is to take full responsibility of your life and destiny. Determine to be a lady or a young man with brains.
Some days back my dad asked me a question that I've not been able to recover from something that can never leave my heart and I’ll like us to ponder on it as well. If you were given the opportunity to write on your own obituary about how you lived your life, what would you write? Now, if what you are now is not what you want to see written down, then I urge you today to start making a decision of change. If all of us take a decision today to become useful in life as well as responsible then the generations behind us would not find it hard to follow and neither will they suffer. BE BEAUTIFUL AND USEFUL!!!GOD BLESS YOU!!!

THE RELIGIOUS ATTITUDE

Hi friends, for a while now, I have been on a journey to becoming a better person. It's not been easy based on past orientation and one or two mistakes here and there but God is helping me. This week, I want to drop this message with you. It has been on my mind for a couple of weeks now and I think it's time to share. People may not really know what a religious attitude is but not to worry; I will break it down for you. It's simply that feeling you get when you believe that because you do everything thing right that's why you have it so easy in life. That feeling you get when you see someone you consider not to be as spiritual as you making it and you have not made any progress. 

You know what I mean, that attitude of self righteousness. The attitude that makes you point fingers at 'sinners'. The attitude that makes you think you are better than everyone. The one that makes you think because you go to church and read the whole bible every week, you are better than the man in the club. 

Let me show you something, in John 8:1-11, when the Pharisees brought to JESUS  the woman they had found fornicating, you must understand that they were still trying to validate if JESUS was the indeed the son of God as he claimed to be. They were expecting him to say 'stone her, she has sinned and she must pay with her blood'. But no, JESUS sensed that this was a religious attitude. Now this story draws our attention to a lot of things: 

1) Where was the man she was commuting the sin with? 

2) If JESUS had said they should kill her, would they have believed He was the messiah? 

3) Why did JESUS answer them in that manner? (vs 7 'He that is without sin among you, let him cast a stone at her)

4) What was JESUS writing on the ground? (I personally feel like he was writing out their sins on the ground)

5) Why did they leave even if no one knew their individual sins? 

If you think about the above questions, you will know that the Pharisees suffered from the 'self righteousness' syndrome. Quite frankly a lot of us still do this today and this is one of the reasons the church is failing. We are too busy pointing fingers at each other and thinking we are better but the truth is that all we are today is by God's grace. We have to learn not to condemn. See what JESUS said in vs 11.

We have to do away with this attitude. The one that eliminates the power of grace in this dispensation and makes it look like we all deserve what with get. We are supported by grace and grace alone. 

NOTE 

1) If you have this attitude, please pray against it. It will help you to be a better person and to affect the life's of others positively 

2) If you have drawn away from God and You feel like the whole world is against you, please take the leap of faith to change today. It's never to late to begin with God. 

GOD BLESS YOU 

MIND YOUR ACTIONS AND REACTIONS

Have you ever acted or done something before realizing it was wrong and you wish you could take it back but you can’t? Or have you ever disobeyed or disrespected someone and you regret it so much that you wish to change the hands of time right now and do the right thing? Well if you haven’t, I have. Most times, we act and react too rashly/harshly to situations and circumstances without even thinking it through. Taking a look at Esther 1:1-21, we see how Queen Vashti lost her place in royalty, lost her position, lost her crown and her home out of pride, reacting too quickly and acting in disobedience.

​Disobedience can cause a life time of regret. In vs 19 of that scripture above, we are made to understand that Vashti’s royal position was stripped off her and she was banished from coming to the king’s presence. It looks to me that she became like every other common woman in Persia that goes to market normally and even quarrels with the market women, no more servants to send because all her privileges were lost. Spiritually what this shows us is that disobedience to the instructions of God causes us miss some privileges and other things God has for us. In Numbers 20:12, because of one act of disobedience from Moses he was not permitted to enter the Promised Land. If you are not aware what disobedience does to a man, it takes you out of the presence of God and when that happens you can no longer be led by his spirit neither will you hear is voice.

​The second thing to note is to know who you are and what you are. In 1Peter 2:9, God has said we have been made royalties. This means that we must be very careful with the words that gush out of our mouths, with our actions and reactions to situations, because for one whatever a subordinate or a servant sees a King, Queen, prince or princess of a Nation do they emulate, and that almost happened in Esther 1:17. The action of the Queen would have caused all women in that nation to disrespect their husbands because that what they saw. Another key point for you today dear brothers and sisters is to mind who you follow and the people following you. Please don’t live a selfish life and think nobody watches you or emulates you. This may come as a shock to someone reading this but I want you to know this and please try and allow it sink in that “the destinies of others are tied to yours”. If you choose to live anyhow and think the effect will just be on you, I want you to know that those people’s destinies are been affected as well.

• My counsel for everyone today is to try and live a selfless life and a life for others. It doesn't make you a lesser man or woman but a man and a woman that has the spirit of love.

• And also let's learn to respect the people we are in a relationship with, be it your husband, wife, friend, church members, neighbors etc. This is to prevent us from saying something(s) we would regret.

• For those in the business world, ministry  and even students guard whatever God has given you preciously and with all diligence and do not lose it because of an act of disobedience, disrespect just like Queen Vashti did.

GOD BLESS YOU!!!    

BEFORE YOU THINK OF YOURSELF, THINK OF ME.

Friends, today I want us to understand that nothing can multiply in your hands until there is a release of what you already have, and a hand that is not open can neither give nor receive. There is no amount of prayer or fasting that you involve yourself in that will be able to change this. Looking at the book of 1Kings 17:10-13, we see how obedience to the instruction of God through his servant brought about multiplication and supplication to the life of that woman and her family. And also we see in John 6:5-9, how a little boy by an act of giving all that he had, became a blessing to multitude of people even without his knowledge.We must break free from this adamic nature of selfishness and self-centeredness that has crippled its way to our Christianity. If you are unable to give to God the little you have now you have not totally given your all to God.

God is saying to someone today, if you really want me to make you a blessing to your family and your generation, not even your selfishness must stand in the way it must be broken. In 1 Kings 17: 10-15 when the widow of Zarephath obeyed the voice of God through the Prophet her jar of oil never ran dry till the given day. “the jar of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land” vs 14. Some of us might say kai…but why would God even send the Prophet to a woman with no husband and little to eat, God must be extremely wicked. If you've ever thought like that, you have missed it. Understand first of all that when God sends a Prophet your way, it is the time for your blessing and secondly when God is about to bless you he disguises it. That’s why you must be sensitive in your spirit at all times and understand what God is trying to do. In this age and time some of us might even cause the Prophet and say things like “all these men of God sef they are asking for too much sef every time give give give and more giving, there are just eating our money. If it’s not tithe its thanksgiving offering or something else etc.” But that was not the thought of this widow. She knew her time for divine supply has come and God has answered her prayers.

For everyone that is reading this today I want this to sink into your spirit that no true Prophet or man of God is looking for your money to live on, it is only a channel to bring down God’s blessing upon you (Psalm 23:1,Philippians 4:19).

It was Bishop Oyedepo that said “God is not in need of anything but he is the meeter of every need.” He doesn’t need anything from you but you need everything from him and even that which is in your hands right now was given to you by God, so why hold it back from him when he makes demands of it. God does not bless hoarders or “akagoms” he blesses those that can release to him even the last 5 Naira or 50,000 Naira that they have and he makes them a blessing. We can see that in the life of our father Abraham in Gen 22:1-18.

Do not be ignorant of the truth not a fact that there is a blessing tied to your obedience to God’s instruction and to giving.

·         When you give you will lack nothing (Prov 28:29)

·         When you give it will come back to you in multiple fold (Luke 6:38)

·        When you give God will make sure that nothing in your hands or around you withers (Mal 3:10-12)

“I Prophecy to someone today that God is making you a blessing to your generation today in Jesus Name.” AMEN!!!

ASSIGNMENT

·         Do not give grudgingly but give cheerfully

·         Put God first in all that you do and open your hands to giving and God will supply all your needs.

Remember that when you serve God, God will service you. God Bless you!!!

THE POWER IN THE NAME "JESUS"

I once heard a man of God say once that it is two different things to believe In God and to believe God. To believe in God is to accept the fact that He exist however to believe God is to believe that He can do all that He says He will do, this is referred to as having Faith in God. 

Now deep down inside you as you're reading this, you know that most of us have this problem. We believe In God and his existence but we fail to have faith in Him. That is why you see many Christians are still oppressed and depressed because they fail to believe that He can do all things. 

Not to digress from the Topic, it is important we know the tool we have to get what need from God. Look at the story of Blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52. This was a man who had heard about Jesus and the miracles He had done. He had never seen Jesus or the miracles He had done because he was blind but he knew there was something different about Jesus. When he was shouting Jesus name many people told him to be quiet but he didn't listen. He knew the power in that name. He kept pressing on and that name lead him to his miracle.

This is how it is for many of us. When we call the name of Jesus, people laugh at us or people say "will JESUS come down from heaven and help you?" And this can be very discouraging for many of us. But I want to tell you this today, THERE IS POWER IN THE NAME JESUS. Philippians 2:10-11 which says  "so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" proves the solidity of the name JESUS. 

Bishop Oyedepo told a story once about how on a journey his car was approaching a sharp bend and there was a big truck coming and he knew there was no way they were going to make it, but while others panicked he said the name JESUS once and that was how God saved them from what would have been tragic. 

God can help you. But you must know that Jesus is the way, the truth and the light. His name carries the power we need (John 14:6). That is why we pray in His name. His name carries power. 

CONFESSION 

"Lord, help me to not only believe in you but believe you. Help me to understand the power in your name. Help me to always turn to you when challenges come and strengthen my faith in you name. Amen"

GOD FORGIVES

My name is Angela. I really have a lot to testify on because this God we serve has been good to me. I have been married for 15 years now and in the 15 years of my marriage I was barren for 13. 

Before I got married I had several abortions due to the life I was living. When I was getting married, I told my husband about my former life and he seemed to have overlooked it. But when we got married and children were not forth coming he blamed me, in short everybody including me blamed myself. It was a trying time for me. It's not like I never got pregnant. I always did and I always lost it when it was 3 months. In my 13 years of barrenness, I had 12 miscarriages. 

Later in 2011 I met a man of God who I told my problem to. He asked me that the abortions I had, what time I had them. I explained that it was when I was in the world and didn't know Christ. He asked me that the last abortion I had, how old was the baby? I said 3 months. He explained to me that the devil is trying to frustrate me by using the age of my aborted baby to destroy the others. 

He advised me to ask God to forgive me for killing the gifts He had given me in the past when I was in the world. He also told me to only thank God for the children He has given me. I wasn't OK with that at first but I did it. Every morning I will pray for my children who are going to school. Everybody laughed at me. 

But Praise God, after doing that for three months I took in. And to the glory of God I gave birth to two bouncing baby boys. God gave me double for my trouble. 

I just want to say that, I don't know what I you are going through but our God is ready to forgive you and help you from grass to grace. Even my husband turned against me but God whose love is eternal stood by me. Please don't give up. He will stand for you. God bless you