Don't Miss it for anything. (YouthAlive, Night Vigil)

Birthdays & Wedding Anniversary for November.

Bro. Tijani Opeyemi Kayode.                                         4^th

Bro. Oyebode Olusegun Kehinde.                                  7^th

Bro. Akinfolarin Tosin Akiniyi.                                        9^th

Sis. Akpan Joyful Godwin.                                                 11^th

Bro. Aladegbaiye Adefemi Oluwarotimi.                      14^th

Dnc. Babalola Oluwagbemiga Omokayode.                  21^st

Wedding

Deacon & Deaconess Babalola.                                         24^th

OPEN HEAVENS- BEWARE OF SATAN’S WILES!

According to John 10:10, Satan does not waste his time with those who have nothing in stock for him. If he is bringing lots of difficulties to you, it is because he has seen something good coming your way. Whether he likes it or not, that great destiny he has seen in you shall be accomplished in Jesus name. Usually, the devil prefers to use his perverted wisdom while fighting. He implements a hide-and-seek strategy in getting his victim. His target are usually pointed and focused. All he may target in a person’s life might be just to have at least one stronghold in that life. if he can succeed in having that, he knows he can go and sleep. He doesn’t mind your going to church, dancing, and singing as long as you idolise your children above God. If he can get you to love one of your children above God, he could destroy your destiny. This was how he ruined Eli and got God to reverse His great plan concerning that family (1 Samuel 2:30). Satan does not mind your worshipping God and being in His service as long as you idolise money. This was how he ruined the life of Gehazi who had the potential of becoming the most powerful prophet ever in his time. Satan can allow you pull down the gates of your enemies and to do exploits for your God as long as you lack self-control. He will tell you to be free and to do as you like, after all, we are in the dispensation of grace and not the law. This was how he got Samson.

Paul saw the devil trying to use his flesh against him so he kept his body under control (1 Corinthians 9:27). For failing to crucify their flesh, many evangelists are winning people to heaven while they are heading for hell. Beloved, your life being right with God is more important than your service for God. Is the devil still having a foothold in your life? Are you flowing with his evil philosophies? Reject them today. Take a good look at your life, thoughts, deeds, plans, words, and relationships and ensure that they are in conformity with the Word. Do everything possible to make it to Heaven.

5 FRIENDSHIP TRUTHS YOUR CHILD MUST KNOW

Children are born, great friends are made! Friendship is at the core of every meaningful relationship- work, marriage, social relationships, etc. so it’s best we groom our children to be the best friend they can be. The following five values of friendship would be a good place to start:

·         Friendship is a gift: Help your kids understand that by being friends with others, we are offering them the privilege to share our lives. We are giving a gift of ourselves, which is an honourable thing to do. We give of ourselves, our time, our resources, etc. and we share the joy and pains of our friends. Friendship teaches us to share. And it gives us the honour to share in people’s lives too.

·         Friendship is an act: The acts of friendship define the quality and impact of friendship. Friendship is not merely about saying, “this person is my friend”, but in being friendly. Let your kids know that friendship is actually about being kind, thoughtful, sensitive, loving, affectionate, etc. it is basically about acting rightly towards others. The basic rule of friendship is this- do to others what you want them to do to you. Teach your children to act towards their friends the way they want to be treated.

·         Friends accept: Friends accept one another for who they are. Friends should complement and not condemn. Encourage your kids to love their friends for whom they are. We are not saying teach them to celebrate their friend’s weaknesses, rather help them understand that no one is perfect. Teach them to correct their friends in love. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Help them not to become judgmental.

·         Friends nurture: Friends build each other up. We should teach our children to be a part of their friends’ support network, to encourage their friends and cheer them on. Let’s teach them to compliment others, not to be afraid of complimenting others, but to be the first to compliment their friends.

·         We can choose our friends: Let them know that friendship is a choice. They can choose who to be friends with, whoever makes them feel bad or inferior about themselves should be a friend. Friends should stir good feelings. Teach them not be friends with people because of what they have but because of who they are. They should watch out for character and values before becoming friends with people. This is because association has the power to influence. Let your children know that they will become more like the people they associate with. Proverbs 13:20 says, “He who walks with the wise grow wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.”

(Culled from GEM Woman Magazine)

WISDOM PAYS ITS OWNER (with Sis. Tomilola Kemi-Olaitan)

According to John 3:14-18, there is Godly wisdom and ungodly wisdom. Ungodly wisdom is the wisdom of the serpent. Being cunning, the devil knows how to get what he wants. Out there, there are many serpents ready to deceive unsuspecting people. However the wisdom from above is what God expects His children to operate on. Some leaders who claim to be led of God, still operate under serpentine wisdom. Proverbs 4:7 says God’s wisdom is the principal thing. Ecclesiastes 7:12 calls it a means of defence. Great nations of the world are what they are today based on wisdom. Israel though small in size is a regional power. Ecclesiastes 9:6 says wisdom is better than strength while Ecclesiastes 9:8 says wisdom is far better than weapons of wars. There are some battles that can only be won through the application of wisdom not by might. Also deploying wisdom in a time of war or in an event can lead to saving resources and time. Many battles are avoidable. If you apply wisdom you will prevent so many avoidable battles. If you employ wisdom in your speech it will be difficult for you to say what can trigger strife. Many fire that are kindled by the tongue according to James 3:5,6, can be avoided if wisdom is employed. If there is one thing you should ask God it is wisdom. Ecclesiastes 10:10 says wisdom is profitable to direct if you cannot give your children anything, give them education. The only one who controls wisdom is the owner of wisdom. Daniel 2:20 says wisdom belongs to God. If you think you’re wise, be extremely careful because 1 Corinthians 1:19, 20 says God can turn wisdom into foolishness. Ahithophel the great counsellor was a victim of this. 1 Corinthians 1:27, says, God can use foolish things to confound the wise. John 12:17, says, God leads counsellors and turn judges into fools. If you’re an earthly judge you must fear the Almighty God because He can make you to take some very foolish decision or err in your judgements to such an extent that it will be glaring to all that you are foolish. To maintain your wisdom you have to constantly feed on God’s word and submit to the counsel of the greatest counsellor. Ask for more of His wisdom in your life on a daily basis and avoid everything the Bible classifies as foolishness.

EFFECTS OF SECRETS IN FAMILIES (with Tobi Delly)

Secret is a pre-causal agent to the causes of trouble in Christian families. What is called irrelevancy often end up to affect someone in a family that looks healthy already. When a woman gives birth to a female child at her teen age and by the time the kid grew up, she also had a child of her that exact age, it is a function of secret. What you mostly keep away from children or tell them to abstain from is what they mostly do. That’s because parents don’t take the time to explain the reasons for their acts for the kids to understand and make a decision in line to that. A man of God narrated a story where he told her daughter about the importance of staying up as a virgin till marriage. The young girl later asked him, “Dad, was mom a virgin when you met her?” the man was taken aback, he then answered and said, “No, she wasn’t, I wasn’t too. But we didn’t have anybody to teach us the importance or virtues of it. Now, you have the opportunity to do the right thing because we your parents now know the right thing. That’s why we holding you to a standard.” The young girl was quite happy with the answer, and thanked her dad for telling her the truth, promising she’d keep it safe because of that. Look at it the other way round, if the man had presented the mom as a saint, the daughter won’t want to be a saint. And before you know it, she might be thinking, just because mom did, doesn’t mean I should.

Psychologists specialising in family secrets like Evan Imber-Black, a Psychotherapist, has discovered that secrets in family life can lead to murder, abuse, suicide, and other damages. It is so common with Nigerian families, the parents hide somewhere in the house discussing family matters while the kids are somewhere wondering what exactly are they talking about. Some families make sure when you’re at the dining you eat, not talk. No explanation, nothing. You talk, you get beaten. In another family, it might be when the Dad calls you once and you didn’t answer, you’re doomed for the day. The present family troubles can all be traced back to a family secret in the line of generation. It might be the mother was abused as a kid, might be the Dad was a cultist in his university days. A perfect family knows when to discuss these things with each other, with the kids and everyone. It helps push off mistakes that would’ve been made. And it’ll also help communication between the families. A family with no secrets or less secrets has a better communication than a family with more secrets.

I once heard a speaker saying at a conference, ‘my parents sent me to school, just saying, remember whose son thou art. That was all, no sex education, no peer pressure education, just remember whose son thou art. And with that I found myself in a very confusing world.’ According to his explanation, he came from a family where the father calls the mother by name, ‘Tade, Deji, Tunde, etc.’ and vice-versa for the mom too. The parents show no affection for each other, they don’t even touch themselves, all of a sudden the mother will just pregnant, and he will be wondering, what’s happening? How did it happen? Where did it happen? So that before starting his family, he made sure he recounts his life from A-Z. His own family background and the effects it had on him, in that way he and his wife were able to plan on how to educate the kids in a better way.

Whether you like it or not, Christian or no Christian, secret will shape the life of your family, even when you’re dead, it might even destroy the lot. Secrets are dynamic, and they move from person to person. The mother can tell the daughter closest to her. While she keeps it away from the others. This will later produce a rigid boundary in the family. It can isolate someone in a family, who thinks he or she is carrying a burden. It then kills either the person or eats away the relationship. A husband who discovers he is HIV positive and the wife is negative, or a wife who is in debt with her business and couldn’t tell the rest of the family. There are lots of concealing in families today but the knots are unknots, the better any relationship and families will be. If you’re one of those held in the captivity of secrets, apply wisdom, start by discussing it with someone, preferably your Pastor, if you believe in him. And then you can start including some people, one by one in the family and before you know it, you’re in the clear, happy and having fun with your life not looking back if someone has discovered what you’ve done in the past or else, the past will continue to haunt your present and can alter the future.

Shalom!

UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE (with Tobi Delly)

In a picture in one of my Chemistry textbooks, show Albert Einstein, seating with Rutherford, Neils Bohr, de Broglie, and other notable scientist discussing new research. Have you ever thought who Aliko Dangote’s friends are? A friend either pulls you up or drags you down with him. It is life’s natural law that you’re either moving forward in life or you’re going backward, there’s no standing still. So also your friends won’t hold you down. (i.e. pause) they either drag you to bankruptcy or lever you up to greatness. If you have a friend that is a joker, who doesn’t understand that life is a business and not a play fair you might end up where you don’t like with him if you can’t put a stop to that friendship. In my Primary school, throughout my school days, I was friends with only the set of people who have vision and constancy of purpose for their lives. When I started business, I had new set of friends with the same entrepreneurship mindset. We all attended Business School together, hopped from one business conference to another. When I started to write my first book, I made friends with others who already are Authors. I attended Association of Nigerian Authors meeting to get to the right set of people. The people you surround yourself with matters in your personal development growth, in your being successful or becoming a failure. There’s a law called ‘The law of five’. The law of five states that ‘You are the average of the five people you spend most of your time with.’ This means if you spend time mostly with five people who are on level 3 and 4, you’ll be the average of this level. That is, you don’t even get to be on level 4. You’ll be dragged down to 3 point something. I explained this to a friend in this way, if you’re on level 5 and you have a level-3 friend. Your level-3 friend will drag you down from your level-5. So that before you know what’s happening, you’re coming down to his level. But if you’re on level-5 with a friend on level-8, definitely, he’ll pull you up. You’ll start going up from your level-5. A most shocking aspect of Social Intelligence in Daniel Goleman’s research is that our brain communicates. When you have a friend, and your communicating becomes intense, brains begin to wire and thoughts begin to transfer from one brain to another. Now, you want to check who your brain is communicating with, ain’t that right? I’d want to if you ask me.

It took me a while to realise my mentor doesn’t have friends coming and going out of his house. I have discovered the damage just one friend can do. One bad apple can destroy the whole pack. So watch out, know your friends. If he is a fan (like the over 80, 000 fans watching a football match), then fan him out. Stick only with the players, (like the 22 players active on the field). When you’re socially intelligent, you communicate better with others and make them feel better off. You create a network of friends who have a purpose for living. I get my kicks from writing books. My five close friends get their kicks from Computer education, Writing, Consulting and Public speaking, Deals, Internet innovation respectively. And they’re doing so well with their various fields. When you’re visionless you become friends with those who likewise don’t have vision. If you don’t have direction, you become friends with those who don’t have direction for their lives. A farmer knows exactly when to plant, when to cultivate and when to harvest. A good farmer utilises this seasons. A lazy farmer ignores it. But it is he who soweth who is justified to harvest. If am not with the right set of people, I read books, listen to audio programs instead. When I feel I’m not working at the pace I should, I call friends to ask them the projects they’re  working on, I know I’ll get inspired to put more effort in mine. But how do you move forward if the person you’re friends with doesn’t care about moving forward or not. Understand social intelligence today, and know the right set of people to be friends with.

Shalom!

GIVE GOD THANKS ESPECIALLY IN TIMES OF TROUBLE (with Pastor Femi Oladapo)

It is very easy to give thanks to God when all is well. Psalm 103:1-6, but extremely difficult when in sorrow. Psalm 120:1, "In my distress I cried unto the Lord....” There’s always a brain call when anyone is in distress, sickness, accident, debt, crisis, chaos, etc. when anything bad is happening, people begin to call on God, ‘Oh, please God, I promise, I’ll be a better person this time. Oh lord, if you can just provide good health for me right now, I’ll serve you till I die. Some don’t even involve themselves in anything like praising God, only petition. Petition in the morning, mid-morning, afternoon, evening, night, and in the mid-night, you’re eating, instead of giving thanks for the food you’re still thinking, God provide a better food. Let there be meat; beef, snail, chicken, fish; fresh and smoked. Amen. However, the Bible commands us to give thanks in all things, 1Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ"

 

The Bible is right because God's word is settled in heaven. Psalm 119:89. The word of God cannot be faulted for it is the truth, John 17:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth, thy word is truth." What you give gratitude about is what you get mostly. You must understand that by default you’re either giving been grateful to God or you’re been ungrateful. If you think you’re not complaining, you’re already complaining, and been ungrateful, and what will you get? Things that’ll make you more ungrateful. But when you sing his language, ‘Halleluyah’, you get even more blessings that’ll make you continue your halleluyah. Two major reasons why you and I should give thanks to God even in times of trouble are;

 

1. God is our place of security and safety. All else may forsake you in trouble but God will not. All else may collapse, but God won’t. Psalm 46:1-5, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. No matter how the earth turns, the mountain shakes or water roars or trouble, God is in the midst of her. He is unshakable, unmovable, and unchangeable. Anything He says stand, Psalm 33:9 "For He spake, and it was done, He commanded, and it stood fast.

 

2. God is watching your reaction to that problem before He reacts, James 4:8, 1 Samuel 2:2 "Talk no more so exceeding proudly, let not arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed" Galatians 6:7 Your reaction matters, i.e. what you do to answer your troubles. There are two reactions basically aligned to human emotions.

 

a. Murmuring and complaining: This is the opposite of thanksgiving and it is a sin to God. Yet this is what many Christians do in time of trouble. It is the expression of unhappiness, dissatisfaction or discontent. Christians are full of complaining of either someone or something. It has become the way of life for many. Please not that all complaining and murmuring is a sin against God and He is displeased with it. Numbers 17:1. Murmuring and complaining has been detestable habit since time immemorial in our earthly world talkless of when it comes to God. Murmuring and complaining is a wrong act and must be avoided at all cost. Why?

 

1. It denies God's sovereignty, Genesis 17:1, Deuteronomy 32:39-40 "See now that I even I, am He and there is no god with me; I kill, and I make alive, I wound, and I heal, neither is there any that can deliver out of my hand; for I lift up my hand to heaven and say, I live forever"

 

2. It is an expression of unbelief. Proverb .24:10 "If thou faint in the day of adversity thy strength is small" Romans 8:28

 

3. It robs you of your blessings and denies you of operating in your destinies. Israelites, Numbers 14:21-22, Moses and Aaron, Numbers 20:12.

 

4. It discredits your testimony, Philippians 2:14-15 "Do all things without murmuring and disputing; that Ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom Ye shine as lights in the world"

 

b. Praise and thanksgiving; This is the best meal God require because;

 

1. It shows that we realize and acknowledge that God knows what's best for us, the problems we face notwithstanding. Job 23:10 "But He knoweth the way that I take, when He hath tried me I shall come forth as gold"

 

2. It shows a strong faith in God. Philippians 4:13

 

3. It preserves and multiplies your blessings/destinies, Job 42:10, 12:1 Samuel 2:21

 

4. Believers who praise and give thanks to God never focus on their problems but on God.

 

Little wonder they are always victorious. Habakkuk 3:17-19 No doubt, each of us has been blessed in numerous ways. The more we think about how we have been blessed, the more we will be thankful. Praise and giving thanks to God are the best solution to complaining and murmuring. Therefore when you are passing through any problem it's the best time to praise God and He will show up in that trouble. All trouble comes with its wrapping of blessing, and the only it can be turned into blessing is by giving thanks. Complaints will only blindfold you. David said in Psalm 146:1-2 "Praise Ye the Lord, Praise the Lord o my soul; while I live will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being "What about you?

October thanksgiving (Who says you can't baraje for Jesus)

Halleluyah!!!

Some of September thanksgiving Pictures

PRAISE GOD FOR A BETTER SEASON HAS COME (with Pastor Femi Oladapo)

In the last nine months like King David, you were down, you were sick and you were in danger, but the Lord had lifted you up. He has healed you and kept you alive. Real-time statistics has shown more than 20, 000 people die in Africa every day. There’s been plane crash around, terrorism terrorizes everywhere, market pace is slowing down, economies are dying, the public sector are on strike, those who are not are threatening to, but still you have something to be thankful about. Still we Nigerians are celebrating our 53rd Independence anniversary. Here, in the presence of the Lord, we are dancing, rejoicing and glorifying His name. In Lamentations 3:22-23, “It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” No matter what might have happened to you in the last nine months. You might have wept throughout that period but now you must praise Him for your Joy cometh. Psalm 30:5. You might have gone through nights of sorrow, praise Him for your morning of Joy has come. Don’t make a mistake to assume that weeping has come to stay and joy is forever gone. Believe God and His word. Psalm 126:1-5, Isaiah 25:8. He will swallow up death in victory, and the Lord will wipe away tears from off all faces, and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth, for the Lord hath spoken it. I know you have passed through some troubles and tough times. But like David, if you can extol God, a better season is here. Habakkuk 3:17-19.When you rejoice and praise God in your troubles, He will make your feet like hinds’ feet, and you will walk upon high places. God is not so worried about the circumstance of our life but He is concerned with how we respond to it. Job 1:21, 2 Kings 4:20-26, 35-36. If you can respond with worship and praise, God has all the power to change your situation for better. When trouble comes, the devil tries to get us to look at our flesh and give up. But God tries to get us to look at Him and praise up. Job 2:9-10. He has all power in His hand. He sees us now and has brought a better second half of the year. Provided you can trust, obey and praise Him you will laugh last. Job 13:15. “Though he slays me, yet will I trust in Him, but I will maintain mine own ways before Him” Job 23:10. “But he knoweth the way that I take; when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold” Job 42:10. “And the LORD turned the captivity of job, when he prayed for his friends; also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.”

THE PRAYER OF JABEZ (with Fred Omoregie)

1 chronicles 4:9, 10, “And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow. And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.”

This prayer is found in the book of 1^st Chronicles, it doesn’t seem to match into the rhythm of the passages, it was brief barely four lines but it is magical and pure manifestation of God’s ability to answer our prayers.

Who was Jabez? There’s no mention of him anywhere else in the scriptures, from the context, it does appear that it was from the tribe of Judah. There are theories as to who or where he came from but our purpose is to see the lesson we can learn from the passage.

First, consider, the attitude of Jabez. He was honourable why was he honourable than his brothers, we were not told, but it may have to do with the nature of his prayers. There are two characteristics that are needed for one to be honourable in prayer. One of them is being earnest, which means intense, zealous, sincere and determined. We are told that “the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much“(James 5:16). The second of these characteristics is humility. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, For He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7). The earnest, fervent prayer that is prayed in true humility is honorable before God. Another aspect of the attitude of Jabez is that he directed his prayer to God. Because we are to worship the Lord our God and serve Him alone. Jesus taught us to address our prayers saying “Our father in Heaven, hallowed be thy name” (Matthew 4:10, 6:9). To direct such a prayer to God demonstrates that one I trusting in Him and thus dependent on Him for everything.

Second, consider the characteristic of Jabez’s petition. He requested a personal blessing. To ask God’s blessing is to ask Him to bestow divine favour. There is nothing wrong in asking God to bless us specifically. The Psalmist did (Psalm 28:9). Jabez also asked God to enlarge his borders. These seem to relate to material prosperity. Thus it is scriptural for us to pray to God to bless us materially (Matthew 6:11). Then Jabez beseeched that God’s hand would be him; no doubt to provide protection and guidance. Should we not pray with the Psalmist, “Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are God of my salvation; on you, I will wait all day (Psalm 25:5).” Finally, Jabez expressed a petition that God would keep him from evil. Jesus also indicated that His disciples should pray for God’s preservation and deliverance as He taught them to say, “And do not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13)”

The reason why Jesus prayed thus was so that He might not be caused pain. One commentator expressed it this way. Let me not experience the grief which my name implies and which my sins would well produced. Another commentator phrased it thus “Grant that the grief implied in my name may not come upon me.” Finally, consider the response of God who granted him that which he requested. The Lord has promised us “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you shall find, Knock and it will be opened to you (Matthew 7:7,8).” God has said that He will hear and respond to the prayers of His people. Oh, He may not always give us what we ask for, when we ask for it, in exactly the same way that we asked.

But He is the source of every good and perfect gift. Therefore, we can trust Him to answer our prayers by providing what He knows best that we need in harmony with His will, Just as He did with the prayer of Jabez.

Therefore brethren, “make the prayer of Jabez for blessing a part of the daily fabric of your life. The prayer is simple, straight forward and it gained the favour and blessing of God.

THE KING'S BUSINESS (with Tomilola Kemi-Olaitan)

Not slothful in business but fervent in spirit serving the Lord, Romans 12:11. One of the names by which we believers are called is “sons of God” Romans 8:14, Philippians 2:15, John 1:12, 1 John 3:1, Lamentations 4:2 and Hosea 1:10. That is the name that we share with Jesus Christ (Matthew 17:5, Matthew 3:17).

So you and I are Sons of God. Actually, under the Old Testament one name that the collective nations of Israel were called is Sons of God (Exodus 4:22). Being a Son is a position of privilege, honour and power. Another name that we are called is servants of God (Psalm 116:16, Psalm 14:31, Psalm 119, 125). Jesus was also called servant (Matthew 12:18) even though He was earlier called a Son in Matthew 3:17 the same way Israel was called a Son in Exodus 4:22 and also a servant in Leviticus 25:55. So you and I are Sons of God and at the same time servants of God. Our position as servant is a position of duty. It is a position of obligation – Psalm 119:21. “We are all thy servants”

Thus, SOG does not only mean “Son of God.” It also means servant of God. Son-ship describes the position that helps us get things from God, while servant-hood describes the position that helps us give things to God, Sons receives, servant gives.

The God we serve is a great God. He is mighty and wonderful. He is both our Father and our Master. Malachi 1:6. The God we serve is a God who is at work all over the world even denominations that are not charismatic or Pentecostal. Proverbs 14:19.

Christians now have meetings in China, Iran and many other Countries that hitherto were considered non-Christian territories. However, God want us to join Him in His work, not only in the Church but also in the world. We need that vision. Our vision should not be tunneled, limited, or parochial. God want us to join Him in doing three things;

1.       He wants you to work for Him. Isaiah 6:8

2.       He wants you to work with Him. Mark 16:20

3.       He wants to work through you. Psalm 17:14, Jeremiah 5:1, Ezekiel 22:30.

If we are going to work with God in His business, God will have to do two things;

1.       Work on you and

2.       Work in you.

Without God working on you and in you the following things will happen;

a.        The volume (quantity) of work that will be done will not be good enough.

b.       The quality of the work that will be done will not be good enough.

c.        The rate at which the work will be done will be too slow.

d.       The impact of the work done will be too little.

The work of God does not begin through us. It actually begins in us and on us. The more you allow Him work in you and on you, the more He will eventually work through you.

If you see anybody God is working through, God has finished working in him and on him. Philippians 1:6. If you don’t allow God to work in you and on you, you will only be able to do very little for Him and He would also do very little for you and would also do very little through you. The more you allow Him to work in you and on you, the more you make it easier for Him to work through you. Philippians 2:13. What He wants is for His good pleasure to be done. Hebrew 13:12.

A DICHOTOMY OF RESTLESSNESS

I ended the last issue with David Oyedepo’s quote “Show me a lose youth in the Kingdom, and his star may never rise.” The age of the youth is an age of strength, when restlessness arises in the majority of the population. In a population of one hundred and twenty million (120,000,000) people with young people twenty-five years and below taking seventy percent (70%) you can see we are a nation bursting with energy and that is why Economist forecast India’s economy will be far stronger than China because of the population of their young ones who take over 70% compared to China’s policy of one child per family. So this age of restlessness, as a youth, what you use it to do doesn’t just affect your life but other people, and the Nation and the continent’s economy. Checking the Biblical history of restlessness, from Genesis 27:33-40. In verse 40; “And by the sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck (KJV).” In other versions of the Bible the word ‘dominion’ means ‘Restlessness’. ‘By your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother, and it shall come to pass when you become restless that you shall break his yoke from your neck.’

Now, let’s go a bit further in Genesis 33:1, “And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men.” and a bit more in verse 9, “And Esau said, I have enough.” And just one more before we delve into this insightful teaching of restlessness. In Genesis 36:6, “And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob. For their riches were more than that they might dwell together; and the land wherein they were strangers could not bear them because of their cattle.”

All Nigerian youths know the wealth-riches statistic of their country because it is obvious and glaring except those of course who were born rich. This means majority of youths are restless. Looking at the Biblical passage I have often wondered myself how come this guy, Esau was able to break that yoke and become a resounding success just like Jacob who got the blessing of wealth and prosperity when he got only the blessing of restlessness. From inception, Esau was a strong man. He hunts, kills and destroy. He is a muscle man just like Africans since we are a direct descendants (third world nations) of Esau. Jacob was a thinker always conserving what he has. If Esau saw a goat, he hunts it down and kills it, if Jacob saw the same goat he keeps it and nurtures it. Most probably he gets what he keeps from Esau like United States storing away petroleum sold them or exchanged by third world nations.

You must learn to cultivate as a youth, not spend all you make or all you’ve got. Don’t be a squanderer. Be a keeper. That’s the difference between first world nations and third world nations. And always ask question. The right question, the right question always breeds the right answer, insights and revelations. When Esau discovered there was nothing for him. He asked for just one blessing. Just one. And he got it even though it was a blessing-in-reverse, but at the time he doesn’t care less. I’ve met several youths on my life’s journey asking these questions about life. What life has in stock for them? How to become a success? I write the answer in just three simple steps.

1.       Be restless, hungry-filled and always ask question.

2.       Be a keeper. Save like it’s the last time you’d have the opportunity to.

3.       Never ever be satisfied with your achievement because you can always do more.

If you think you need more information, you can get the book “25 THINGS YOU MUST HAVE BEFORE AGE 25.”

Tobi Delly

OPEN HEAVENS, SEPTEMBER 15, 2013.

Everything that has a beginning also has an end. The only reason God has no end is because He has no beginning. If your problem has a beginning, it must surely end one day. The woman with the issue of blood suffered for 12 years but finally, it came to an end (Mark 5:25-34). In Luke 13:11-13, a woman was sick for 18 years but finally, the sickness ended. In the same vein, the man who was born blind was blind for 40 years but after this, his sight was restored (John 9:1-7). If you can trace the beginning of your problem, then it will surely end. The man at the pool was there for 38 years. He kept hoping for healing kept eluding him. He was looking out for an angel but the creator of angels personally showed up, and that was the day went he went home (John 5:2-9). Have you been expecting a particular breakthrough or healing or deliverance or blessing which has been eluding you over the years? This season, your desire shall be granted. That problem is ending now and your new season begins now!

However, it will amaze you to know that there are some people who do not want anything new. Some of them are afraid that it is better to continue with the impoverished lifestyle they grew up with than to enter a period of abundance that may erode their faith in Christ. Be encouraged and fear not. The new is always better than the old. No matter how good an old car is, it cannot be compared with a new one. Light is far better than darkness. Light is new while darkness is old. Some people have become so used to suffering, lack, failure or barrenness that they have not only adjusted but have also resigned to fate. Don’t! Never accept any condition that God does not want you to live with. Reject it and accept the new and it shall be well with you. Something new is coming your way.

YOUR BRAIN AND THE BIBLE 2 (with Tobi Delly)

What makes the difference when exactly we use the same brain to read and analyze, but we interpret the Bible in different ways according to the challenges we are facing or our present state of mind. The difference is brought about by our perception. We focused more on attention in the last edition but will be focusing more on perception in this section. First, let’s quickly analyze attention. There’s what scientist calls a top-down attention, this is your decision making attention, take a second to look from your bible to the closest doorway.  You’ve taken a conscious decision using your decision-making attention to look away at the doorway. And there’s what scientist call bottom-up attention; this is used to explain when something grabs your attention. E.g. when a phone rings and you think it is your phone. This has shown that in a split second when your focus is shifted from the Bible your brain can be manipulated and you can begin interpreting the Bible in a completely different way from what it should be.

Now this article, “Your brain and the Bible” will only graze what you should know about how your brain takes limited information from your senses to build you a trustworthy reality. And we can’t complete that without talking about our perception. Perception is internal. Most time our perceptions are the same. It is possible to interview a hundred people about a passage in the Bible and they’ll all say the same thing about the passage. Why is this? When you read the Bible, whether your eyes are very sharp or you use glasses, light is transmitted. The light reflected by what you’re reading. I.e. the letters is converted by your eyes into an electrical signal and is sent down a neurological pathway called the optical nerve to the back of your brain. Starting in a region called the visual cortex the image of what you’re reading is cross-referenced with memories of past experience stored throughout your brain as you try to interpret and define what you’re reading. Thus, you can understand why when you were listening to the Radio or watching a channel on Television and you saw a Pastor preaching, and after listening for five minutes you said, oh! This is wrong . . . this man is not preaching the true thing. And you change the channel. Focus, experience, and context are what create the contrast or difference between what the Pastor is reading from the Bible and what the congregation is reading. Therefore, the issue of the Bible is not physical or can be scientifically transmitted or concluded because God works in miraculous and personalized ways. So it’s always good to let your brain be in attunement in Christ. You might not believe it but this determines a lot of things when you are praying to God. What one man can pray to ask God in five minutes, another can ask for one hour. Why? The answer is in our understanding of attention, focus and perception. Last week I explained if you want to read the Bible, then make sure you don’t do anything but read. It is better to read for just five minutes than to stare for one hour just punning through the words. But now am telling you that whenever you’re reading the Bible with all that focus and attention. Don’t analyze, or interpret with your brain. The Bible is a book in existence for over a thousand years now. It is the most complete book you can ever hold with everything in just one book. From mystery, history, mythology, wisdom, proverbs, motivation, to prophecy, gemology, romance, songs, revelations, building, construction, etc. is contained in the Bible. Of recent it was announced a runaway bestseller. So take this book seriously and train your brain not to interpret but listening from the heart what God is really telling you or inspiring you to do. Shalom!

WHAT’S YOUR DRESS SENSE IN THIS INFORMATION AGE? (Sis. M F. Oladapo)

WHAT’S YOUR DRESS SENSE IN THIS INFORMATION AGE?

Your outward look reflects what your inward being is. Your dressing determines how you are addressed. God is concerned about the dressing of His children (His representatives). When He created Adam and Eve, He clothed them with Heaven’s wears (His own glory), because He too covers Himself with glory, hence Adam and Eve had great power and authority over the animals until they sinned and lost God’s glory and He clothed them with animal’s hide, no wonder the animals rebelled against them. The dressing that exposes your nakedness can cause the opposite sex to lust after you and may result to raping you. when you dress as a daughter of Zion (with royal wears), without you telling people who you are, you will be regarded and treated as a princess.

Your dressing with worldly clothes will only influence the world, while you influence Heaven and earth when you put on Jesus. The bride of Jesus will wear on the last day the special dress described in Rev. 19: 5-8, white, clean and beautiful when dressed. In Heaven and in eternity, your dressing will speak for your righteousness. Christians were known in those days not by their verbal claims but by their dressing and modest adornment. It is the other way round today, some ministers/minister’s wives can be mistaken for street urchins and sisters of easy virtues.

Today, some Christian sisters paint their faces (make up) like Jezebel. However, though no place in the Bible says if you paint your face, you won’t make Heaven, painting of faces was mentioned in two places in the Bible and they showed terrible experiences. 2 Kings 9:30, Jezebel made up herself and decked her Jewelleries the day she was going to die. She was eaten up by dogs and left with carcasses. Jeremiah 4:30,31. God was speaking in anger to the daughters of Zion, you may decide to paint your facethe way you like but does it worth it? If God should because of this debar you from Heaven, then you are on your own. Know that nobody ever add sugar to honey. You should realise that as a child of God, you are honey, no need to add sugar (make up). Anytime you see any wood painted, the wood underneath is inferior, nobody paints an ebony wood. Some Christian sisters in the name of fashion wears wig, the one whose head it’s cut from the kind of anointing they do not know. We are advised and warned by our spiritual father, Daddy G. O. not to joke with our heads. He said some ministers will come for ordination with wigs on their heads, you wonder which is to be anointed, the head or the wig? Revelation 7:1-3,, four angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth and the sea, and another angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God to stop the four angels in order to mark the servants of God that should not be hit or hurt. Note that what you wear matters, that is why soldiers wear uniforms so that they do not shoot theirs. Can God identify you as His? What is inside will show on the outside. A case where two oranges, ripe and unripe were presented to some people to choose one, they chose the ripe one, they were asked why did they choose the ripe one when they have not tasted it, they said the look from the outside show the ripe will be sweeter than the unripe.

Another case is that of a supposed Christian sister that was to obtain visa to attend a Christian organised convention abroad, the other participants were given visa while this particular sister was denied hers and asked the visa officer at the embassy why she was denied and he answered her that she was not one of them as she dressed differently. When you see a lady exposing her breast and thighs, she is saying to men out there that she is available. She doesn’t understand that God keeps valuable and precious things covered and protected. Gold is buried deep in the soil; covered and protected. Diamond, pearl are all buried deep; covered and protected.

In conclusion, it is important to be well dressed for every occasion, in Revelation 19:11-14, the Bridegroom’s dressing reflects His righteousness and the battle He is going into. Your dressing to dine with the King of Kings to evangelise, attend important interviews must be at your best, descent, clean and presentable in glorifying God. Accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and saviour today. Live your life to glorify Him. Put on Jesus and it will be well to see you here in this world and in Heaven.

Maranatha!!!

 

EVIDENCE OF GOD FROM SCIENCE (with Fred Omoregie)

EVIDENCE OF GOD FROM SCIENCE

In this article, I’ll be showing you facts from a broad array of different kinds of science. They will demonstrate that an all-powerful supreme being of infinite intelligence carefully provided more than sufficient proof that He exists.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek with all your heart.” –Jeremiah 29:13

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.” – Albert Einstein

The above quotes are from two different and mostly contradictory sources, one from the biblical book of Jeremiah and the other from a world renowned and famous scientist and inventor. Scientists for centuries have challenged the church dogma and most clergy are no more tolerant of scientists. But now theology and science are entering into a new relationship says physicist turned theologian, Robert John Russell who founded the centre for theology and natural sciences at the graduate theological union in Berkeley.

Physics have stumbled on signs that the cosmos is custom made for life and consciousness. If such unchanging constants of nature – like the strength of gravity, the charge of an electron and the mass of a proton were the tiniest bit different, the atom will not hold together, stars will not burn and life would never have made an appearance. An absolute proof of the existence of God from science can be seen from within the scientific community itself. Let us consider the first law of thermodynamics which states that “matter and energy can neither be created nor destroyed.” This means there’s no new matter or energy coming into existence and there’s no new matter or energy going out of existence. All who state that the universe came into existence from nothing violate the first law of thermodynamics which was established by the very scientific community. In summary, this law plainly demonstrates that the universe and all matter and energy within it must have a divine origin – a specific moment in which it was created by someone who is an all-powerful God.

Charles Townes who shared the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics for discovering the principles of laser stated thus “many have a feeling that somehow intelligence is involved in the laws of the universe.” A sizeable number of scientists have come to realize that one cannot understand God without understanding the works of his hand. A Jewish Scholar once pronounced that he doesn’t think that by studying science one will be forced to conclude that there must be God, But if one have already found God, then that individual can say from understanding science. “Ah, I see what God has done in the world.”

The arguments therefore of quantum physics shows a design which did not come into reality by chance, and the fact that science believe that there is evidence that the universe began and the logic that everything that began has a cause points also to an intelligent creator.

Another proof of God from science can be seen in our clocks and watches. In 1967, scientists built an atomic clock that uses cesium 133 atoms because it oscillates (vibrates) at the rate of 9,192,631,770 times per second. This clock is believed to be inaccurate within one second every 30 million years. Cesium 133 atoms never vary a single vibration, they are steady, constant, and reliable. It cannot be an accident of nature that just happens to always turn out exactly the same. God had to design the complexity and reliability of these atoms. No honest mind can think otherwise.

In conclusion, we have considered God’s power and intelligence, but none of these tells us much about the character of God. The prologue of the Gospel of John concludes, “No one has ever seen God, he who is at the father’s side, he has made Him known” (John 1:18). There is no other claim in the Universe like that, no other religion offers anything like it; the sublime claim that the creator of the universe has entered his own creation. In the same John 1:18, one can infer that the creator of the universe, which has been a constant study for atheists, scientists and all intelligent being was made known by His son, Jesus Christ. Therefore, everybody that is seeking to understand the universe with all his heart is in reality, seeking to know God (Jeremiah 25:13).