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 

God Is Good

My name is Hannah, and I want to testify openly about what God has done for me. My story goes like this. 

I was brought up in a home where my father is a Muslim and my mum was a Christian. So we the kids were left without guidance spiritually. I grew up knowing nothing about relationships both with God and man and this messed up my life greatly from the beginning. 

I had my first boyfriend when I was 10. I had sex for the first time when I was 11. I knew that God frowned upon such things but u still did it anyway because I didn't know better. I was never without a boyfriend in my life then. When I was 14 I met Kingsley. He was 7 years older than me but I felt he loved and understood me more than anyone in the world. We would fool around occasionally and not mind what people will say. Then I got pregnant, this was when I knew that the devil is in existence.

Kingsley denied me to my face. He said he only offered to teach me math. Even the people that always saw us together could not defend me. I was left alone, with a baby growing in me when I was merely an adult. This caused my mum hypertension which eventually lead to her early death. In my third trimester my dad kicked me out and I was all alone. 

I was taken in by a church that funded and took care of me till I put to bed. They also provided a house for me and opened a small business for me. I felt blessed beyond measures. But this was not the end. I felt like my life had ended. I was lost and frustrated. At the age 15 I was a mother that was still a child and I had very little source of income. When I was 16 I became a prostitute and this was how I leave for 10 years. I made a living in this act till I met my husband. 

He picked me up on the street and I thought he wanted sex but when we arrived at what I thought was a hotel, it turned out to be a church and he turned and told me that he didn't know why God lead him to carry me but please I should stay for the service. 

This is when God arrested me. I gave my life to Christ that day and I was seeing one pastor for counseling. My husband was so supportive even when he didn't know I was going to be his wife. I told him about my past and my son and he was so comforting about it. Even when he wanted to start a relationship with me I thought it was for sex, but no. For the three years we courted before getting married he didn't touch me. He respected me and over looked my past. He accepted my son as his and now my son carries his last name. 

At the end of it all, I have am meaningful relationship with God and man. 

I have never really shared this story with anyone but I felt it's time for me to come out and tell people that our God loves us. I read a post on this blog that was insightful (something has to change). If you find Him, He can right your wrong. He can turn your darkness to light. He can make you what you never expected to be. Just believe in Him and He will guide you. That is what I did and from that day Jesus changed my life. I hope this will be helpful to someone 

NEVER GO ON VACATION

From scriptures, we are made to understand that king David the man after God’s own heart never lost any battle, but understand that it wasn’t all battles he was present at. 2 Samuel 10:19…in the spring, at the (TIME) when KINGS GO OFF TO WAR, emphasis mine. David sent to war and remained in Jerusalem. Understand friends that in the battle of life you go to war, you don’t send to war. Wars and battles are personally fought. No doubt people stand in the gap for others in prayers and victory is won “praise God for that” but the question is;What is your reason for going on a vacation or relaxing or sending your followers to go forth when battles are going on? Personally I always wonder what David was thinking then; he opened the road for the devil to plant the seed of evil within him.

In verse two of that scripture; it says that as he rested walking on the roof he “SAW” LOL. The devil will not open your eyes to see a woman prayingooo or doing something that is of God, but he would rather open your eyes to sin. If David was at the battle ground where he was supposed to be, he wouldn’t have seen what he saw, he won’t have become an adulterer, conspirator of evil and a murderer. David did not plan it but it happened (sounds familiar right). Please friends be where you are meant to be, don’t allow the devil to take you unawares or meet you relaxing or else he capitalizes on it. Don’t allow him creep in at the breakthrough point of your life and don’t allow him define who you are. If you think the devil goes on vacation read (John 10:10).

As a minister of the gospel always be at the fore front and never relent. No matter how far you have gone in ministry and so many pastors have been trained under you, you still remain a Shepard of the flock. Never ever relax (psalm 84:7). As a father in the home please don’t leave the spiritual matters for the woman alone and you snore at night while she’s warring alone in prayers with generational curses from your linage (Deut 32:30) and as a business man or woman, never take your eyes off your business and allow others keep watch over it at all times. Maintain a close watch and record at all times.

COUNSEL

Understand friends that David made a mistake and he repented of it and was forgiven but we are privileged to learn from his mistakes and so we do not have to get to that point before knowing what is right. So I urge us today to start now and war it out.

GOD BLESS YOU!!!

 

HOW FAR IS TOO FAR: GOING ALL THE WAY FOR JESUS

Hello everyone. Our topic today is going to be very brief. What I plan to do is to make you ponder on this topic just like I did when the Holy Spirit laid it in my heart. He asked me one day while I was in church, "How far is too far". 

At first I didn't know what he meant, then it was suddenly clear, "How far can you go for The Lord". Kai, I thought deeply and I started to evaluate myself. I reviewed the story of Daniel (Daniel 6:8-13). A decree was passed that no one should pray to any other Gob but that of the kingdom. But Daniel did not agree, he still prayed to God despite the consequences and he was thrown to the lion's den. I stopped and pondered on that; can I do that for God? I asked myself. 

I put a pin in that thought and I moved to Apostle Paul. Do you know that Apostle Paul was actually stoned to the point that they thought he was dead (Acts 14:19-20). But when his stoners left, he dusted his body and went back to continue preaching the gospel. He didn't give up because he was stoned. Hmmm, this one is a serious something o.

But let's also put a pin in that. Then I thought of our lord Jesus Christ. His own ultimate sacrifice is what is keeping me and you today. If not for how far He went, I don't think I'll be here asking you, how far is too far? Jesus paid the ultimate price for the gospel. Have you ever for once thought of how life would have been if Jesus had given up? PRAISE GOD FOR JESUS!!! 

So let's take out all the pins, see how far Daniel went for God, see how far Paul went for God; can we do the same. I mean can we go all out for God, can we sacrifice our comfort, can we sacrifice our bodies, can we sacrifice being thrown to the lion's den, and can we sacrifice being stoned in the name of our God. 

One thing I learnt from these three men is that they determined that God was a priority. So they didn't let their lives be a waste. They knew that when it came to God, it was never too far.   

The truth is that, when it comes to the issues of God, which is the sole purpose of our living, it is never too far. If He can die for us, why can't we do the same for Him? 

ASSIGNMENT 

1) All I want you to do is to think about your life and what you can do for God. A lot of us have potentials buried in us that is meant to glorify the name of God but we are not exploring it because we are scared of what may happen if we do.  

2) Try to place God as the major priority in your life. This will make it easier for you to understand that it's never too far for God. 

   

CONFESSION

"Lord I want to go all out for you; I ask that You guide me on what You want me to do. I ask that You give me the boldness that I need to do what You want me to do. Lord I desire to more of you so that I can go all out for you. Thank you Lord"

THE CROSS ROAD

​Think about this for a second. When the chariots of death is racing fast towards you or coming up against you, and you are at a cross road just like the people of Israel in Exodus 14:10-22 as in the case of the Egyptian army and the Red Sea, with no knowledge of how to get to the other side, I ask what do you do? I’m sure different thoughts are racing through your mind right now but just imagine you were among these Israelites, it looks to me like most of us would forget God in an instance and surrender back to the Egyptians, or rather some might even be so overwhelmed with fear and defecate on themselves, or maybe just dive into the sea and say something like “it’s better to die in here than to go back to Egypt and be tortured again”.

​Friends I’ll say this one truth, no matter what we cook up in our minds to have done if we were part of them, what saved them was GOD. There’s no explanation that can be formulated by any man but God. In Exodus 14:21-22, we see how God through his mighty power parted the red sea. A geographical disaster did not just decide to pop up at that minute friends or the global climate did not just decide to change. But understand that the people grumbled and complained even after they saw the wonders of God upon the Egyptians (Exodus 7-11). The sad truth is that humans are never satisfied.

​Now the question is what do you do when you find yourself in a cross road? My answer to you is that you come out of the crowd and listen. That was what Moses did. He came out of the crowd to seek the face of the father on what to do. “Until you are helpless before God, he cannot make you a useful tool in his hands”. Despite the Chariots of Pharaoh on their tail, it would have resulted to a whole lot of panic for the people but Moses kept a calm and a noiseless spirit and sought God and heard from him (Exodus 14:15-16). But can you imagine if Moses panickedas well and didn’t even think of seeking God just like the rest of the people of Israel, surely they would have been captured and be tortured worse of especially him and Aaron.

​For majority of us, when life’s storms hit us hard, and it looks like life has turned its back on us and maybe we find ourselves in situations where finances are not coming from left right and centre, the landlord is about to send you and your family packing out because he wants to renovate and you have nowhere else to go or your husband is about to marry a second wife and throw you out because you are unable to bare any child for him and your heart is full of worry not having any clue of what to do, and neighbours, family and friends are giving you different advice on committing fraud or prostitution or to see a “babalawo” (herbalist). I tell you today that the best thing you can do for yourself and for the sake of your future is to come out from the midst of the crowd and seek the face of God on what to do. Keep away a heart full of worry and noise and allow God to speak to you. Trust me when I say that worry has never solved any problem but has caused many such as high blood pressureetc.

​So I urge you today that you have an attitude of Moses and make that decision to seek the face of God. Whenever God brings you out from your bondage and leads you to what looks like a red sea scenario, it is to show you that he is powerful to take you through it by his power without a scratch, how great he is and how tiny the enemy is, and also to bury the enemy totally beneath you never to come against you again.

LET YOUR TRUST BE ON GOD.

ASSIGNMENT

•

Allow God to be your only option and never ever make room for any alternative.