The Bread of Life

God's word cannot be destroyed

2012-02-04T10:13:00.000-08:00

“Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned” (Jeremiah 36:28).

Men of exalted position and of low estate alike are wont to be ignorant, sometimes. This ignorance often leads them to assume rather wrongly that only what their minds can conceive are the realities. They become disinclined to the truths they don’t want to hear, especially those that expose their shortcomings. They also erroneously think what they hate must be bad and what they like must be good. And they sometimes go extra mile to keep the truth from being told. How wrong they are!

A man who was reputed to have wished, and even predicted that the Bible was going to be out of circulation sometimes, would have been shocked, had he lived much longer, to see that the same Bible was being printed in the house he built! King Jehoiakim was so intolerant of God’s word as to instruct the burning of God’s message, oblivious of the fact that the Author of the message can reproduce it verbatim, even adding more that would (more specifically) speak to him as an individual. He thought that, as king, his own opinion must be supreme, and was clearly unaware that “holy men of God spake (or wrote) as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1: 20, 21).

Those who despise the word of God, will soon discover that they cannot successfully fight Him. Heaven and earth may pass away, God’s Word will forever remain. Our profit today lies in believing and obeying the Word.

Thought for today: It is futile to wish God’s word out of existence.

Having the Mind of Christ

2012-01-26T01:50:00.000-08:00

TEXT: Leviticus 25:35–55

“And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him...” (Leviticus 25:35).

As we go about our daily affairs, many of us can hardly spare a moment for the person next door. The rat-race has so consumed a lot of us that what happens to the next person does not matter. We care not about our kinsmen not to talk of others. Many of us cannot even spare a moment for our suffering fellow pilgrims.

Unfortunately, many of our brethren suffer because of our indifference. God is drawing our attention to such situations. He says, “If thy brother (that includes sisters too) be waxen poor... then thou shalt relieve him.” God is talking first about our brethren in the household of faith. He says, there will always be poor people around us. But what does He expect us to do concerning the poor among us? Relieve him or her.

There are those who are indebted to us and cannot pay. We are not expected to continue to press them for the repayment. God says, “Relieve him.” Some of us put our neighbours into perpetual poverty because, we lend to them on interest. They are never able to pay off because of the inhuman high interest rate. God says relieve them. You should not lend with interest to your brother, you are not to exploit your brother.

God expects that you will not allow your brother to serve with rigour or in slavish condition with another person. You are expected to redeem him. How can you watch an unbeliever turn your fellow believer to a slave? Relieve him: your brother cannot be slave to you not to talk of any other person because he is a servant and child of God.

Look around today and find those you are to relieve and do it immediately. God wants you to help your brother and bring him out of bondage.

Thought for today: The merciful shall obtain mercy.

A man of good report

2012-01-20T09:58:00.000-08:00

“Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself; yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.” (3 John 12).

John the Beloved wrote to let us know that Brother Demetrius was a serious brother. He said Demetrius had a good report of all men. Everyone had something good to say about him. He is the kind of student parents love to have as their own. Teachers love him and fellow students admire him as well.

If Demetrius were here today what kind of person would he be? Firstly, you will find Demetrius to be a truly born again child of God. He will be fervent and useful in the church and school fellowship.

Demetrius is not a secret disciple. He is not ashamed to be called a child of God and so you will see him helping others to become better Christians.

Thirdly Demetrius will not owe anyone money. He does not spend money lavishly. He is a planner and so he would not spend all his pocket money within two weeks of resumption in school.

Fourthly you will find Demetrius to be a brilliant student academically. He knows how to study hard and work smart. No matter what we think of Demetrius he is much more!

The question then is what are you doing about your life? Do you have a good report of other people? May God grant you wisdom to do something good about your skill to obtain good report.

Challenge: When you live right many people will notice you

Prayer: Help me Lord to please You in all I do today.

Fresh Focus in the year 2012

2012-01-09T13:52:00.000-08:00

“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain” (1Corinthians 9: 24).

You have to be a scholar with a concrete focus if you want to be an achiever. You cannot be running to nowhere and expect to reach your destination. It is only when you work with a purpose that we say you are purpose-driven. There must be a goal you are pursuing, a target you want to hit and a dream you desire to realize in your academic adventures, if your aim is to excel in your studies.

Don’t run like aimless students who have got no definite things they are pursuing at a given time. If all it means to be busy is to wake up in the morning, go to school, do some work in the school, come back home to repeat the scenario the second day without specific goals and targets to actualize; the labor bestowed on working does not worth it.

It is possible to hit your success target if it is well set and well planned to be realized. Prudence demands that you set measurable, realistic, great, observable, achievable, long-term and short-term goals in your work. The goals that you set become your target that gives direction and focus on which to concentrate your efforts. You can hit the target if you work hard enough to realize the goals. Dare to strive for success like Paul whose commitment is expressed when he said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3: 14).

Failure is sometimes inevitable. Nobody has actually achieved something worthwhile in life who has never failed. Youths who are afraid of failing cannot attempt great tasks. People who do not want to make mistakes cannot be fluent in speaking a learnt language. Riding on a bicycle is an interesting game. No one can be skillful in the game without first falling severally before mastering the act. Man is bound to fall, sometimes. What matters is the direction of the fall-backward or forward. It is important to note that when it becomes inevitable to fall, never fall backward.

Youths who fall backward often break their “spinal cords” of focus which is the backbone of success; loosing every stamina and stability to continue on success journey. Learn to fall forward and rise courageously each time you cannot avoid a fall. Failures feed you with good feedbacks on the road of success. You must be wise to learn some lessons from your past failures with a sharp focus on your future success. Do not concentrate on the past mistakes, neither look back to your falls. Face the future with hope and focus on your success goals; you will make it in Jesus' name.

There maybe time where you will need to change your focus. It is possible that like Paul, you too have been moving with a circle of friends who have refused to allow you to influence them positively. Maybe you have given them Christian literature and other magazines but they refused to read them. And maybe they read them only to look for points to use in arguing or ridiculing the things of God. When your times together no longer offer any spiritual value then it is time for you to move off to a new field. If your friends refused to change for the better despite your love and concern, then you better change and leave them before they change you to become like them.

Achieving dreamers are youths who achieve great success and history continues to remember. Joseph and Daniel were example, of young dreamers of their age. They were dreamers who turned their generations around through great achievements in righteousness. You too can start dreaming for greater achievements. When there is no dream, young people live their lives on chances. Dreams will give you direction and a focus of life's pursuit. You must start to dream so as to have a clear vision for life.

The following tips are helpful.
i Conviction on your dreams: Dreamers are not doubters but those who have clear goals for success, and belief that they will succeed.
ii Consciousness of your dreams: True dreams will trigger earnest desire for achievement. You must be conscious of your dreams every time lest you are distracted from pursuing goals.
iii Courage to pursue your dreams: The rough road of success demands for rugged youths who are determined to crush mountains of obstacles. You need courage to move forward despite obstacles.
iv Confidence in yourself to realize your dreams: John Mason said” you may succeed if nobody else believes in you, but you will never succeed if you don't believe in yourself”. You must have confidence in yourself that you are able to reach your goal.
v Concentrate on your dreams: One major enemy of success is distraction and being busy here and there. A constant focus on your goals backed up with purposeful actions will bring results.
vi Conscientious pursuit of your dreams: Dreamers are not wishful thinkers. They are diligent and dutiful youths who aim at success.
vii Consistent pursuit of your dreams: Dreams initiate visions that must be backed up with consistent actions. Purposeful actions are great essentials for the successful realization of our dreams.

Challenge: Dreams and desires give clear vision and a A purpose-driven student will soon be a goal getter.
Prayer: Dear Father, give me dreams to drive me into success and help me dear Lord by directing path to focus only on what makes for progress.

Happy New Year to you all

2012-01-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

The Great Commission Evangelistic Ministries wish you all Happy New year

In the year 2012 you shall be Blessed in the city, and in the field. The fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your cows, and the flocks of your sheep shall all be blessed. Blessed shall be your basket and your store.
You shall be blessed when you come in, and when you go out.
The LORD shall cause your enemies that rise up against you to be smitten before your face: they shall come out against you one way, and flee before you seven ways.

Unto us a Child is born and a Son is given

2011-12-25T12:28:00.001-08:00

MERRY XMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR

2011-12-21T03:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks for giving Hope to the
Children of poor families in Africa
and bringing smiles on faces of many families.

Give Hope Initiative
Change Destiny by Education
The Great Commission Evangelistic Ministries
postfach 83 11 06
65913 Frankfurt
www.hope-africa.org

Sponsor a Child Now

The Gateway to Heaven

2011-12-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

TEXT: LUKE 18:18–30

“Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee” (Luke 18:28).

Man’s attitude is always to make a big deal of the little he does.
This religious ruler came to Jesus to seek the way to eternal life. What he got shocked him. He knew the commandments and declared gleefully: “All these have I kept from my youth up.” Like every self-righteous, he thought of how great he must be standing before God. As a keeper of the law, he thought the kingdom of God must be his already.

But a shocker was coming for him. With excitement he waited to know the “the one thing”, he lacked. If he has been able to do all the others, this one thing won’t be a big problem. He must have felt sure that he will pass the test. Then the shocker came: “Sell all that thou hast and come, follow me.” He became very sorrowful because he possessed great material wealth.

Many of us professing Christians are like this ruler. We make much noise of our Christianity while really we are only playing religion. We do the convenient and leave the needful undone.

What does God want? To enter into the kingdom, we cannot hold anything away from the Lord. We can’t set boundaries for the Lord. God wants “all” not “a part”. It is either all or none. He wants the best of you and not the worthless.

Examine your dealings with the Lord. What have you given to the Lord? What is it that you are holding back? The Lord’s conditions are: one, we should not be possessed by our possessions – money, gold, spouse, children, career, etc. Two, we need to share what we have with others who are less privileged. Three, lay up our treasures in heaven. Four, take up our cross and follow Him.

If we do these, with God’s grace upon our lives, we shall be accounted worthy to enter into the Kingdom of God to live with Him eternally.

Entrance into heaven demands more than religion

The Pattern of Wisdom

2011-12-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

“Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from
the words of my mouth” (Proverbs 4:5).

As we move towards the end of the year, we always like to get many good things. We love to have gifts and get many new things. For us young people, new things are good things.

If the Bible had been silent on this, it is not likely that many of us would think of wisdom as something that we must possess. Yet that is exactly what God wants us to do. As you think of things you want for Christmas and New year, think of wisdom as a virtue you must get.

How does one get wisdom?

W - Wait on the Lord and ask Him to give you wisdom

I - Identify the sins in your life that may stop you from receiving from the Lord.

S - Severe (cut) every link between you and those sins.

D - Diligently read your Bible everyday

O - Obey the word of God and live right everyday

M - Minister grace other in everything that you do.

Challenge: Wisdom is God’s gift, receive it free.

Prayer: I come to you Lord for wisdom today. Please make me wise to your ways in Jesus name.

The Hope of Victory

2011-12-04T12:49:00.000-08:00

“And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:” (Isaiah 4:3).

There is good news for you today. You will survive the storm and see the end result. Before you were born, Isaiah the prophet had spoken. He wrote what we are reading this morning. His message!

A remnant shall survive the assault. Whether against the Assyrians or in the time of the end, God has prepared some people who will outlast the storm. They will stand when others fall. They will be faithful when others are backsliding. They will continue in the faith when others are turning away. I trust you will be one of the remnants.

The remnants shall be called holy. Ah! So there is something in this holiness talk after all! It is interesting to know that holiness will survive in the end. What about worldliness? Gone! Fashions? Disappeared! Popularity? Useless! The remnant will not be known by their fashion parade or political connections. They will be known as holiness people.

The remnant shall live in Jerusalem – the city of God. This is beautiful. Everything human and earthly will be swallowed up in the end. The New Jerusalem will be the home of the saints and what a privilege to be a resident of so great and beautiful a city.

As you go out today remember that holiness pays. When everything else will get burnt in the storms and ways of the world, holiness will survive. And so will you as you live and walk with the holiness people.

Challenge: Holiness pays.

Prayer: Help me to live a holy life today in Jesus name.

Building for Tomorrow

2011-11-26T20:24:00.000-08:00

If the foundations be destroyed, What can the righteous do?

(Psalm 11: 3).

Foundation of a building is very important and fundamental. It is likened to the spinal cord in man that keeps the body upright. Jesus, while rounding up His sermon on the mount spoke of the wise and the foolish. These two categories of people actually built their houses which might look alike but the differences were identified by the type of foundation they laid before building the houses.

The wise laid his foundation upon a rock but the foolish laid his own upon the sand. Both houses were however subjected to the same tests, “And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house” (Matthew 7: 24-27). The two builders got different results for the wise man’s house “fell not: for it was founded upon a rock, but the foolish man’s house “fell: and great was the fall of it”.

Your teenage years are foundational to your future prospects. Young boys and girls who waste their youthful years cannot reach the peak of success at the right time if they eventually get to it at all. The Years wasted in youthful exuberant are irreversible. It is a wise attitude to be discreet, diligent and discipline in your teenage years to plan and prepare for a brighter tomorrow.

Your future career depends solely on how excellent you can perform in the appropriate subjects that will qualify you for the course of your dream in a university. Actually, this formed the wise academic foundation in the words of the Lord Jesus. Since nobody can do anything to rescue a house that is built on a faulty foundation, there is nothing much any one can do to help a person who wasted his youthful years in riotous living.

Challenge: Teenage years are foundational to your future prospects
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, help me to lay a good foundation for my future through had labour.

The Solution to all your Needs

2011-10-30T06:01:00.000-07:00

"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice!" (Psalm 55: 17).

A song writer writes: “Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of Prayer!” Truly, the hour of prayer is so sweet and seasoning. It affords the mortal man to commune intimately with the Immortal God in a Father-child relationship. It gives us immense opportunities to pour out our petitions before God.

Prayer offers us the privilege to unburden all our cares on Christ and receive rest for our soul. It provides us with an ample chance of asking and receiving, seeking and finding and knocking to get the door opened. Prayer is the key that opens the door of heaven for divine rain of blessings.

It is the hand of man that is stretched out by faith to receive all his needs from God. It is the source of strength, pathway to power and cornerstone of continual victory. Those who pray gallantly prevail against the devil’s onslaughts. Progress in life and in academic endeavors is facilitated by prayer. The devil trembles when you pray but may attempt to tempt when you play. Prayer is efficacious and powerful. It pays to pray.

Our text today indicates the psalmist's hours of prayer in the morning, noon and evening. Prayer is as important as our daily food, which we take three times daily.

The Bible enjoins us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17):
always to pray and not to faint (Luke 18:1):
continuing instant in prayer (Romans 12:12):
everywhere (1 Timothy 2:8);
and pray one for another (James 5: 16).

God is interested in our prayers. He is willing to answer our prayers if we will obey His words and do His will.

CHALLENGE: Strength for the day is received by prayer in the morning.

PRAYER: Help me to pray aright Oh God as I call upon you every day.

MILESTONS OF SUCCESS

2011-10-27T04:42:00.000-07:00

"Go through. Go through the gates; prepare ye the way of the people; cast up, cast up the highway; gather out the stones; lift up a standard for the people" (Isaiah 62: 10).

Milestones literally refer to small pillars erected on the highways to show distances from one place to the other, It is sometimes figuratively used to indicate stages reached in life pursuits. Milestones are therefore important and must be noted as useful guide to move forward in the right direction. Success also has milestones which are presented below using words formed by the acronym of milestones:

M - Motivation: Motivation refers to all the forces that energizes and sustains pursuit toward academic success.

I - Industry: This is the act of being hard-working or diligent, dutiful and disciplined because success is not by chance.

L - Labour: Labour involves the use of mental and physical powers in pursuing the goal of success.

E - Exploration: This involves exclusive search, study and a thorough examination of all the possible areas on a particular subject matter in the syllabus.

S - Study: This involves making frantic efforts and spending time to learn either by teaching-learning process or through rigorous reading activities.

T - Target: Success target are goals set to be achieved, which give direction and focus for our study.

o - Obedience: Obedience will bring answers to your prayers and earn you a good success.(Joshua 1 :8)

N - Nugget: These are tips and incentives that facilitate success which can be found in such as books as 4D of Success by W. F. Kumuyi

E - Experience: It is a good teacher which reveals potholes on the pathway of success.

S - Steadfastness: The discipline to be consistent in one's commitment to academic pursuit and achieve success at the end,

CHALLENGE: Milestones are necessary landmarks to success.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me to recognize the milestones on my way to success.

How dependable are you?

2011-10-04T02:25:00.000-07:00

“And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not” (Matthew 21:30).

A father came to his son and requested him to carry out a task. His reply was prompt and polite, "I go, sir", meaning, I'm going for it right away, in fact, I'm on my way. So immediate and so convincing was his reply that the father rested on it and counted the job done. He came back hours later to examine the progress made and alas, the boy was nowhere to be found, nor was there any sign that he had been around. This is the face of irresponsibility.

In life, the pattern of progress often follows a cycle of responsibility – opportunity - responsibility - and opportunity. So, opportunity seldom comes to the irresponsible boy or girl. Even if it does, he/she may not see it. Think about youthful Joseph. Whether with his father or with his boss, with his prison friends or even with Pharaoh, he demonstrated responsibility. He was always rewarded with ever increasing opportunities for greatness.

Now be sincere. On a rising scale of I-10, how would you rate yourself on dependability, consistency, diligence, and availability? Add up the scores, divide by four, and that is your responsibility index. If you score below 7, you need to redirect your life towards improved ratings. If you score above 7, you are on the right path, seek more responsibility.

CHALLENGE: Don't just talk responsibility, act responsible.
PRAYER: Lord God, please rid me of all acts of youthful irresponsibility.

God looks into the heart: The state of your heart determines the condition of your life

2011-09-28T04:40:00.000-07:00

“The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.” (Proverbs 16:23).

The heart of man can be viewed as the factory where characters and conducts are produced. It is the faculty of thinking, the seat of emotions and the core center of spiritual activities. The process of habit formation has its root in the heart. Human behaviors are good indicators of the state of the heart. Jesus says that “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.…for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matthew 12:33,34).

Your character and conduct in your daily interactions within the society hence continue to reveal much about your heart condition. Believers are scripturally taught to keep their heart pure. Clean heart will produce clean character and also keep the body healthy. The heart that is allowed to breed evils will lead man to bad behaviors. Do not allow impurity, filthiness and evil thinking in your heart.

The book of proverbs says that you should “keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). If you will surrender your heart for purging and purification by the power of God, your life will become a model for other Christians.

Challenge: Your heart is the faculty of thinking
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to keep my heart pure.

The Key to answered prayer

2011-09-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:25)

There is no yoke that seems to be heavier than that of grudge and /or the burden of malice. Unforgiving spirit ties your heart with that of the offender with a chord of malice. There is tension each time the chord is strained by the stroke of bitterness released by remembering the offence. Your heart cannot enjoy true peace except you forgive the offender and forget the offence. When you nurse a grudge, you breed the seed of bitterness and its root will spring up to defile. (Hebrews 12:15).

Unforgiving spirit will give birth to malice, bitterness and wrath if it is allowed to linger long in the heart. Unforgiving spirit hinders prayers and blocks the way to God’s blessings. Jesus said, “for if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses” Matthew 6; 14, 15). Forgiveness is, therefore, a sure way o peace, progress and prosperity. The best compliment you can give your “enemy” is forgiveness. Without it, your life will be surrounded with stress-inviting activities of resentment, revenge, retaliation and retrogression.

Challenge: Forgiveness releases freedom

Prayer: Heavenly Father, give me the grace to forgive and forget when people offend me.

Redeeming the time

2011-09-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5: 15, 16)

Great leaders of the world are people of self-discipline. They are often known to be good in time management. You cannot be a good time manager without self-discipline. One important issue that youngsters need to address in their lives is learning how to redeem their time. Time is so precious but it is very fast in slipping away. Your time must be gainfully engaged to take prompt actions on your success goals. Every youth on earth is given the same allotment of hours and minutes in a day. The level of self-discipline of every youth dictates how effectively those hours and minutes are profitably utilized. Disciplined students are wise enough to be diligent in maximizing the use of their time for profitable ventures.

What you achieve at a given time becomes significant at the end of the day when your gains are finally summed up together. The time wasted on joking, jesting, talking, and yelling instead of reading your books can never be redeemed for progress. You’ve got to be prudent enough to avoid careless or needless visitations, peer influence, unprofitable engagements that tend to drain your time. Computer or cell phone games, playing of cards, ludo or snooker will drain your time which could be spent for success pursuit. It is undisciplined students who spend all their time to play football and chess games at the expense of their studies. Self-discipline becomes imperative if you want to be a good time manager.

Challenge: Time flies and waits for nobody

Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to be disciplined so as to be a good time manager.

The law of liberty

2011-09-04T06:16:00.000-07:00

Text: Deuteronomy 18:8–13
Key verse: “Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God” (Deuteronomy 18:13).

Anticipation is a prominent instinct of man, and the eagerness of people to know about what lies ahead is great. People want to have an idea of what will happen tomorrow. A woman wants to know what the man that proposes marriage to her is likely to become in future. A traveler wants to find out if the journey he is embarking upon will be successful. A businessman is interested in the possible outcome of his investment. Even a gambler wants to find out about lucky numbers before he stakes his money. This instinct, predicated on curiosity, often make people get involved in actions that contravene God’s injunctions.

Although the Israelites were called out from one land to another and they were to dwell close to some strange people, they were given instructions on what not to do. God knew that those who live near them were ungodly and He did not want them to copy the practices of those ungodly people. Today, God still warns believers to desist from the behaviors and lifestyles of those unbelievers around.

God condemns, in totality, anything that has to do with horoscopy, fortune telling, use of charms, speaking to the dead, acts of witchcraft, traditional rites that have a tinge of idolatry, or a remote approval of any of these. The Bible was emphatic about God’s position about these: “For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee,” (verse 12).

Since it is easy to indulge in these practices, particularly as we see their preponderance among our sinful neighbors, we are warned not to emulate their practices, as these will earn us the wrath of God. We are to be careful and watchful. We are to keep our children at safe distance from such ungodly influences. God will help us as we obey Him.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: All that glitters is not gold.

The Lord God Almighty is our God

2011-08-29T13:07:00.000-07:00

TEXT: LEVITICUS 18:1-16
Key verse: Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 18:2).

Respect for constituted authority means modeling our lives along the lines of their prescriptions. Our conducts are expected to be moderated by the reality of what the laws say, or the guidelines they have stipulated. This is indeed the greatest tribute we can pay to those who have the duty to rule over us, or govern our affairs; those who have the responsibility to provide for the peace and orderly conduct of our lives - protecting us from infractions by others, and promoting our overall rights and interests. It is an obligation we owe those over us.

God desires much more obedience from all His children. Here, He commands Moses to declare to the children of Israel that He was the Lord their God. This being so, their standard for living was not to be according to the practices they witnessed in Egypt, or the abominations they were to encounter in Canaan. God’s word was to be their supreme guide and the barometer by which their lives were to be measured. In particular, therefore, the Lord instructed them against immoral dealings or unlawful marriages with anyone faintly related to them, or lusting after such people, or even the extreme case of incest. God is holy and all His children are to be holy also. To attain this state of holiness, the children of Israel were commanded to observe all of God’s statutes and judgments “which if a man do, he shall live in them; I am the Lord.”

The test of our faithfulness to God is in how we regard Him in our lives. If we consider Him indeed as our Lord, then He must have the final say in all areas of our lives. We must trust that He knows our interests best and that He means well for us. We must seek to avoid any action that will defile us or contravene His holy expectations. In short, if He is the Lord of our lives, we must keep His words even to the minutest details.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Who is your Lord?

Perfect Freedom

2011-08-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

Text: Psalm 119:41-48

Key verse: “And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts” (Psalm 119:45).

The Spirit of holiness is a free spirit, He sets men at liberty and enables them to resist every effort to bring them under subjection. The way of holiness is not a track for slaves, but the king’s highway for freemen, who are joyfully journeying from Egypt of bondage to the Canaan of rest. God’s mercies and His salvation guarantees our happy rest. The more we seek after the perfection of our obedience, the more shall we enjoy complete emancipation from every form of spiritual slavery. Liberty is next to life and is dearest to all brave men. He says, “I shall walk” indicating his daily progress through life at liberty.

Wherever God pardons sin, He subdues it. When the fetters of sin is broken off and we walk at liberty, in the way of God. This is a blessed sign we are pardoned.

God expects us to be free from that which is evil and not hampered by the fetters of any corruption. However, being at liberty does not mean freedom to live carnally or freedom to live as one pleases and to align toward the lifestyles of the old Sodom and Gomorrah. It is rather freedom to serve God unhindered. When we were in Satan’s bondage, he puts us in stocks and held us bound so much that we had no power to serve the Almighty God. But with the removal of fetters, we now have unhindered access to the throne of grace. We should be bold and courageous in His duty and diligent and vigorous in serving God.

The true freeman enjoys free walk with God, freely talks about God, freely loves God.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The service of sin is perfect slavery; the service of God is perfect liberty.

Pressing Forward

2011-08-14T12:19:00.000-07:00

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3: 14).

Great opportunities for success are often lost when scholars try to avoid risks. Youths who concentrate on small matters do not take risks on great adventures. No man can make an outstanding achievement by taking risks on small ideas. It is often wise to spend time on attainment of great goals than taking small risks on simple matters. Prudent students are those who attempt to stretch themselves in order to reach out to seemingly impossible tasks. You can only stir up God’s gifts in you by making advances to attempt difficult tasks. Great potentials for success could remain dormant in your life if you do not dare to take chances to do great things.

Youths who have faith in God think big and have great dreams. You need to attempt tasks that are beyond you so as to trust in God for success. Every student needs an ‘extra’ for extra-ordinary performance before he/she can leave the camp of common achievers. You can only add the extra by making advances to take chances on great risks to achieve great dreams. The more time you spend on “safety zone” the more you delay to relax in the camp of mediocrity. Begin to take actions to achieve your great goals by faith on the unfailing God. The future is bright for youngsters who dare to take chances to excel in their success pursuit.

Challenge: Great goals are for great achievers, but average performers attempt small tasks.

Prayer: Dear Lord, give me courage to make great advances on my success pursuit.

WHY DID YOU DO WHAT YOU DID?

2011-08-07T15:22:00.000-07:00

“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.” Genesis 3:6

Before you go ahead with your decision to do what you want to do, think. What reasons will you give in the end? Think before you go ahead. Look at Eve and her decision stated in the above verse. She has been in Eden for sometime now. Every tree that God made in the garden must have been pleasant to the eyes. Indeed everything that God made in the garden was good. Yet on this auspicious day the forbidden tree was looking extra beautiful, “good for food” and desired to make one wise. Same tree, same garden but now something, some suggestions are making Eve to think the tree was worth more attention than she had ever given it before. Think friend, think.
Before you take any decision to flout any clearly given instruction recognise what a temptation is. In case you've forgotten, a temptation is “desire for something bad”. A dictionary calls it “a desire for something that you know you should avoid.” But when temptation comes it attacks your ability to reason properly by playing on your emotion. And sadly, emotion overrules your reason since it plays primarily on your pleasure. Before you know it, the did is done and you are faced with the consequences. That's why you should remember the story of Eve and remember there will be a reporting time for every action you take. Yes, ask the blunt question before you go against what you know you shouldn't: why do I really want to do this?

Challenge: Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin.
Prayer: Help me to fear You today O Lord in Jesus name

WATCHING OVER PRIORITIES IN LIFE AND MINISTRY

2011-07-31T20:13:00.000-07:00
Matthew 24:42; Mark 13:37; Luke 21:36; Revelation 3:3

People have different experiences in life that make them lose what they already have. They fail to watch when it matters most. It happens in time of weakness or wealth, affliction and abundance, temptation and triumph, conflict and conquest, hardship and happiness. Esau failed to watch over his birthright when he was weak and hungry. David did not watch when temptation came to him and he fell. Gideon could not manage his triumph and he yielded to idolatry. But the Lord wants His children to watch, whatever is happening to them or around them. Believers in Christ are to be on guard against the enemy at all times in spite of their prevailing situation.

In the human body, every part is important, but some parts are more important than others. The head is more important than the fingers; the heart that circulates blood is more important than the arms. We must therefore give priority to certain aspects of life to remain alive. Difficulties and challenges come and go but life must be protected and preserved in order to sustain it. There are many parts in the Christian ministry, but some aspects are more important than others and Christian believers must watch so that the enemy does not take advantage of their carelessness. Before Jesus went to the Cross, He told His disciples to watch. After His resurrection and ascension to heaven He repeated the same warning. Now, from His exalted position at the right hand of the Father’s Throne the message remains the same. “Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.”

1. FOUNDATION EXPERIENCES FOR ALL MEN

Psalm 11:3; 2 Timothy 2:19; Matthew 12:37; 1 Samuel 2:3; Proverbs 24:9; Isaiah 55:7; 1 Timothy 4:2; Proverbs 4:20,21,23.

The foundation of a building or family is very important to the survival of the building or family. If the foundation of an individual’s Christian life is destroyed for lack of watching, there is little he or she can do. The Lord enjoins believers whose foundations are firmly rooted in Christ to ensure that they flee or depart from iniquity. They are to guard and watch over their Christian foundations with all carefulness. The desire in their hearts to follow Christ to the end must be sustained by all means. God’s call to every true follower of Christ is to watch. Moses, a great man of God who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt was caught unawares when the people provoked him to anger because they had no water to drink. God had told him to speak to the Rock, not the people but he called the people, “rebels” and struck the Rock two times. He lost the opportunity he had been waiting for for forty years – to lead the children of Israel to the land of Canaan. Christians should be careful not to lose their labour of many years for a few minutes of speaking angry words. Therefore, we should watch our words, “For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned”; constantly evaluate our actions; control our thoughts; keep our conscience tender and sensitive, and our hearts with all diligence.

2. FUNDAMENTAL ESSENTIALS IN MINISTRY

Luke 1:17; Colossians 1:28; Isaiah 56:10; 1 Corinthians 16:9,13; 2 Timothy 4:3-5; Acts 20:28; Psalm 26:8.

The fundamental thing in ministry is to prepare for the second coming of Christ. Getting to heaven is more important than any other thing in this world and every Christian believer should make this a guiding principle in the service of the Lord. Our preparation to be with God in eternity should dictate our actions. It amounts to a waste of life if believers are busy with church activities but they are not ready for eternity. If people are not ready for the rapture despite their labour for the Lord, they have wasted their time. God is not interested in the size of our cathedral, bank account, or the quality of our music. The fundamental thing is to get people saved, sanctified, pure and rapturable. If leaders are going to present a perfect church to Christ they must watch over the people under them. To uphold the fundamental things effectively, Christian servants must watch over the watchmen or workers under them to ensure that they maintain their Christian experiences; watch against the adversaries that want to destroy the church or oppose the true gospel; they must preserve the truth so that believers do not turn to fables because we live in days of apostasy; they should watch over the congregation to ensure it conforms to standard; and watch over God’s habitation where people worship Him to make sure it is conducive for fellowship, else the church will not grow.

3. FRUITFUL EVANGELIZATION BY ALL MEMBERS

Acts 8:4; Psalm 68:11; 2 Corinthians 10:4; 1 John 2:27; 1 Corinthians 7:29; Philippians 3:13,14; Matthew 13:24,25,28.

Christians should be motivated and mobilized to evangelize sinners outside the church. Every member should help others to come to the church. “The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.” Everyone who knows the Lord must join the great company of the publishers of the gospel. If believers, as soldiers of the Lord are going to succeed in the business of soul-winning, they must carry the weapons of our warfare needed in dealing with demons of religion, ideologies of men, principalities and powers and demon-possessed sinners. The spiritual armour of God is capable of cancelling, conquering and crushing the strongholds of the enemy. The believer should watch over the anointing in his life that breaks the yoke and penetrates the heart of sinners; he should watch his time, unlike the children of Israel who missed the blessings of God because they did not know the time of their visitation. Then he should watch his calling which is high, holy and heavenly so that he can take the ship of the people of God safely to harbour. Finally, he should watch over the harvest so that the enemy does not sow tares among the wheat. There are priorities in life and ministry and believers must be diligent enough to watch over them.

* * * * * * *

Congregational Song:

1. Thy Word is a lamp to my feet,

A light to my path alway;

To guide and to save me from sin,

And show me the heavenly way.

Thy word have I hid in my heart,...

That I might not sin against Thee,...

That I might not sin, that I might not sin

Thy word have I hid in my heart.

2. Forever, O Lord, is Thy word

Established and fixed on high;

Thy faithfulness unto all men

Abideth forever nigh.

3. At morning, at noon and at night

I ever will give Thee praise;

For Thou art my portion, O Lord,

And shall be through all my days!

4. Thro’ Him whom Thy Word hath foretold,

The Saviour and Morning Star,

Salvation and peace have been bro’t

To those who have strayed afar.

Give and it shall be given unto you

2011-07-24T08:36:00.000-07:00
Today's text describes the ancient practice of selling with a just balance. A good measure was considered as the only lawful standard for selling grains and other measurable commodities. To give a good measure the seller will press down the grains into the measuring can and shake it vigorously again and again until the can is full and running over. Sometimes, the seller would support the measurement with arms curved around the overflowing can for a bountiful measure.

The righteous God expects nothing less from His faithful children in their day-to-day commercial activities. God declared to the Israelites, just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just him, shall ye have: I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 19:36). God's promise to all givers is a good measure that is running over. There is always a great blessing in giving.

You must start to give today. Do not wait to have much before you give. Remember the widow who gave two mites (Mark 12:41-44) and the lad with five loaves and two small fishes (John 6:5-12). Both givers were recorded in the Bible for our learning today.

Little is much when it is given sincerely, selflessly, scripturally and/ or sacrificially. The best way to start is to give your life to Christ. God demands, “My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways” (Proverbs 23:26). No one has ever given to God and regret. Make it a lifestyle to give God your talent, tithes, time and/or your total being. You will ever be happy that you did so.

Challenge: To get all you need, give all you have

Prayer: Lord of heaven, I give my life and all to you.

Yes, In God we trust

2011-07-17T09:39:00.000-07:00
“God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son

Jesus Christ our Lord.” 1 Corinthians 1:9

We all need to remind ourselves of this simple truth: God is faithful. Say it everywhere. Let the blind know it and let the deaf understand this good news that God is faithful. You as a person must recognise this truth everyday as you look at the predictability of the sun. Each day the sun rises, moves across the sky from east to west and eventually sets. It never fails in this God ordained assignment. That is what faithfulness is all about. It is about constancy and certainty.

You may be sick right now and your entire body feels weak and worn. You prayed and even went to the hospital. The doctors diagnosed your sickness and prescribed some medicine to use. You have used all the drugs that the doctor prescribed but you are still sick. In your present condition you need to remember that God is still faithful. Yes, He is taking care of you otherwise things could probably have been worse!

When you face any tough challenge, difficult examination or serious financial problems remember the sun. Its predictability and dependability as it makes its journey across the sky should reassure your wondering heart that God is faithful. He will take good care of you. Yes, He will because He is faithful.

Challenge: God’s promises are like the stars, the darker the night, the brighter they shine.

Prayer: Lord, I believe You are true and dependable. Thank You Lord.

The power of desire

2010-06-24T01:39:00.000-07:00
“Through desire a man, having separated himself seeketh and intermeddleth with all wisdom” Proverbs 18: 1

It is the chariot wheel of the mind, the springboard of energy and the source of power to the soul. It is desire - the stimulating factor behind result-oriented actions. Desire for success in life will motivate the youth to separate himself from outward hindrances, peer influence, needless social amusements, careless discussions and every form of unprofitable activity to seek for wisdom.

Jesus separated Himself unto a solitary place to pray (Mark 1 :35); Paul in Arabia (Galatians 1: 17) and John the Baptist in the wilderness. They had a passion for something special that worldly distractions would hinder. John the beloved was banished in the isolated island of Patmos to receive Revelation.

How can you come across great wisdom while your whole mind is occupied with the world’s vanities? It is wisdom in itself to first detach yourself from unprofitable engagements to search and seek for great wisdom.

Do you know that great achievement does not come per chance? It is not a product of “trial and error”. It does not result from gambling. Great success is a product of dogged determination to study and achieve success. Wisdom demands that you identify those activities that compete with your study time and do away with them.

And do not forget to do away with unprofitable engagements, discussions and relationships too. Separate yourself from what is opposed to your success. It is high time you started a serious study habit to succeed in life.

Challenge: No man can truly have success without being focused.
Prayer: Oh God of heaven, help me to give myself to things that are profitable.

Moving Forward

2010-06-16T01:24:00.000-07:00
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward" (Exodus 14: 15).

It is somehow surprising to find some youths who remain static in their plans and progress for future prospects. These youths stand still in life with little or no progress at all. They share the same dreams, visions, the same proposal and opportunities and think the same way over the years without moving forward.

These sets of youths are wishful thinkers with no courage or power to take actions to move forward. There is no significant improvement in their spiritual life, study habit, academic achievement and life pursuit.

God is interested in your physical growth, spiritual development and academic advancement. The gift and potentials to grow and move forward are available to you in Christ. All you need to do is to "stir up the gift of God, which is in thee" (2Timothy 1:6) to achieve your life ambitions. You have no cause to remain static in your spiritual life, academic pursuit, future plans and life achievement.

Thirst and hunger for growth by studying, exploring opportunities, generating new ideas on how to do things better and learning to improve yourself through reading of biographies of great achievers. You can always improve your performance on any area of life pursuit. The day one stops learning to increase in knowledge and improve his lot in life is the day he becomes obsolete. Man must learn from the womb to the tomb.

Ensure you learn everyday from the Bible, books you read and from other people around you. As you learn, let growing be your goal. This was the experience of our Lord Jesus Christ who "increased in wisdom and stature"(Luke 2:52).

You must grow daily in knowledge, wisdom and understanding of the word of God. You must also advance in your academic pursuits. This is the way to be on "forward march" for progress.

CHALLENGE: Only hungry minds can grow- John Mason

PRAYER: Keep me as I move forward in life, Oh God.

THE PROFIT OF PATIENCE DAY

2010-06-10T00:18:00.000-07:00
"But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire wanting nothing"(James 1:4).

The world is in a hurry. The mad rush is alarming. Road signs read: "No waiting" "No U-Turn", "No Packing", "Keep Moving", etc. This is affecting everything negatively especially, spiritually. Patience has been removed from the dictionary of many people. Are you among the people that have no time for patience? Many youths do not want to study patiently again, all they want is certificate even if they have to get it by cheating and violence.

All this is because they want to "enjoy life" now. Many people can no more wait on the Lord to receive lasting Christian experiences of Salvation, Sanctification and Holy Ghost baptism and renewal of strength. It ought not to be like this. We should learn patience and practice it. Patience is profitable:
(i) it brings perfection in the knowledge of the gospel, the will of God and righteousness
(ii) it brings personal completeness in all graces and gifts of God
(iii) it prevents want or lack in spiritual and temporal matters. From the word PATIENCE there are many profits to derive:
P - Perfection.
A - Abundance of blessings.
T - Transformation into greater spiritual level.
I - Integrity will be built up.
E - Experience.
N - Nourishment in the presence of the Lord.
C - Completeness, calmness and comfort of the Spirit.
E - Exaltation by the Lord.

Learn a lesson from the frog which is very slow and patient. While other animals are running and birds flying about looking for what to eat, the food that the frog would eat usually comes to meet it right on the same spot. Be patient with God, your blessings, admission, promotion and provision will come and meet you as you pray, and wait patiently before the Lord.

CHALLENGE: "He that believeth shall not make haste"

PRAYER: Lord, help me to be patient today and always.

The good Shepherd!

2010-06-03T06:24:00.000-07:00
Unless we have the right leaders doing the right things, we may never have the desired success. Leadership isn’t only about who to be; it’s also about what to be. A leader is a seer, seeker, servant, strategist, shepherd, sustainer, steward, and spokesman.

It doesn’t matter what type of organisation you are in: leadership determines success. It is a critical variable in development calculus; and its dearth is the sole restrictive force that has barred some organisations from moving forward and upward. Let there be competent leaders, as many as are needed, and any movement would leap from recession to recovery, from limitation to liberation, from collective doom to continuous boom.

Leadership is influencing others to accomplish an objective. In the process, the leader keeps the various components of the organisation steady and running so that the set objectives can be achieved. Here, stated in this simple explanation of leadership, is the basic thing that leaders are needed to do: To birth visions, take the organisation to new heights and ensure it stays alive and runs well. For any organisation this translates into seven leadership roles.

*Dream. Leaders are needed to birth visions. Visions are dreams about desired future state, an imaginative portrait of change. Without vision, development isn’t possible. For example, the people may be dissatisfied with the status quo and begin to press for novelties to turn the tide; but it takes a leader to conceive, characterise and crystallise the change so desired and then construct the mechanism for its realisation.
*Decision. The running of any organisation involves making appropriate decisions. While inputs may come from members, it is the leader who sets the stage, garners the inputs and decides what holds and goes. Decision–making is the most crucial aspect of leadership. If decisions are wrong, the organisation is heading for storms.
*Direction. A leader leads by giving others direction. Someone says a leader knows the way, shows the way and goes the way. Thus, without a leader an organisation or a people are like a ship without a compass.
*Design. Any organisation runs according to specific designs – operations, staffing, training, architecture, wages, and so on. The leader designs the models for all this and decides on their adoption.
*Development. Every organisation needs leaders who can conduct diagnostic examination of its moribund institutions and sleepy workforce, and inject them with appropriate revival measures. Without effective leadership, development isn’t possible.
*Defence. The threat of the enemy is real. An organisation needs protection from crippling effects of sabotage from rival companies. A leader is needed to arrange defence and ensure there is a safety zone from where the organisation or nation can operate.
*Discipline. An organisation’s workforce requires both reinforcement and sanction to keep productivity high and ensure compliance to work ethics. Motivation helps to keep productivity on the up; but it is discipline that builds an organisation’s reputation.

Discipline and corporate control are vested in the leadership. The leader hands out the juicy carrot, but also wields the limber rod. The foregoing are the basic roles of leaders. They all add up to this: the leader’s duties are about taking the organisation somewhere and ensuring it gets there. Thus, leadership is conceptualised in terms of change and progress. You don’t need leaders if you have settled on a plateau and all you want is to ensure that the clock ticks on as usual.

If you have come to rest and deadness, you should get a manager, an administrator, who will ensure that things are done right, including your organisation’s burial. If no change is contemplated, no revolution is desired then leaders aren’t needed. But if you are seeking some sort of dramatic turnaround and a break of stale record, you need someone to make it happen – a leader.

A sleepy organisation needs a push; hence the call for leaders. Leaders have become so scarce because we cop out of raising them. I won’t mention names; but many great past leaders didn’t leave successors. They were voices without echoes. Pick one leader among the great ones you know and see if he has left a lookalike. If An organisations and institutions would create seedbeds for leadership capacity building, we might soon stop bemoaning the dearth of people with the brain and character needed to improve our collective existence.

For, make no mistake: human leaders aren’t heavenly creatures waiting for redeployment to the Earth. They are men and women around us who have the latent capacity to move people to achieve a set goal or arrive at a pre-determined destiny. They may be hidden from view; and we may have to pray and advertise to bring them out. But they are out there! They are raw and green and might be unaware of their leadership attributes.

But dust and brush them up through purposeful training and send them into the trenches. You’ve got generals out there in front lines. There is a theory of leadership that accounts for the raising of leaders by this method. It is called the Trait Theory. This theory is similar to another one known as the Great Events Theory. It claims the existence of innate leadership qualities, and attributes the emergence of a person as leader to some great events, which help unlock his potentials and put them into action.

John F. Kennedy provided some support for this theory. He had saved his crew from harrowing death by hungry sharks. The feat made him a hero. When asked how he did it, he replied with a shrug, “It was involuntary; they sank my boat.”

The application of both theories, however, yields a misleading assumption that leaders are born, not made. Our experience and those of great leaders contradict this claim. Granted that certain leadership traits might be inborn, a lot of leadership attributes are acquired, not inherited. Courage, integrity, character, love, judgement, technical competence are just a few examples. The most acceptable theory is named Transformational Leadership Theory, which holds that people can choose to become leaders, by learning about the art and science of leadership by formal and informal means.

The first step in such a training process is to learn some general things about leadership, which I will outline. For easy grasp, I have used the acronym of the word “leadership” to outline some basic facts about leaders.

Love. Leaders are lovers; otherwise they risk having treacherous yes-men on board.
Envisioning. Leaders are visionary people; they like moving things forward and are not comfortable with inertia.
Attitude. Leaders have a positive attitude about their tasks, the people and
Life. They are incurable optimists.
Dynamism. He or she may not look like a muscle builder; but a leader isn’t a weakling with a chicken’s gait. He has enough brawn for the day’s job.
Empowerment. Effective leaders share their influence and spread their authority down the hierarchical lines. They empower subordinates.
Resilience. Leaders aren’t quitters. They may suffer a setback; but they are soon back in the trenches.
Stress Management. Leadership is stressful. But effective leaders know how to avoid burnouts.
Heroism. Leaders harbour a success mentality and inevitably become heroes because they accomplish great things.
Integrity. This relates to moral uprightness. It’s the chief attribute of a leader. Without it a leader loses his worth.
Passion. This relates to strong enthusiasm.

All great leaders are men who pursue their goals with passion. Leadership isn’t only about who to be; it’s also about what to be. A leader is a seer, seeker, servant, strategist, shepherd, sustainer, steward and spokesman. These functional qualities speak volumes about the nature and type of leadership that your organisation may needs

Managing stressful situation

2010-05-26T23:12:00.000-07:00
*Victims of stress
Granted the variation in stress-coping capacity, all leaders are susceptible to stress-related problems, but some more than others. Coping capacity depends on some personality factors, scholars say. Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman, both cardiologists, have identified two types of personality, which they called Type-A and Type-B. Type-A people are extremely extrovertible, active, highly emotional, restive, polyphasic, workaholic, hasty, time-conscious, ambitious and success-driven. I call them the go-go, dream-dream, do-do, get-get leaders.

Said D’souza: “Type-A leaders rush to meet deadlines, become irritable and aggressive, their blood pressure rises, their cholesterol level increases, and in other biochemical ways they do damage to themselves”. Type-A leaders are very vulnerable to stress because of their characteristics and conduct. Their lifestyle exposes them to stress and its awful effects.

At the end of the behavioural personality continuum is the Type-B leaders who are on the softer side of leadership practice. They tread the leadership pathway with gentle, easy steps, calculating, calm, cool and collected. They are patient, oblivious of time and deadlines, realistic goal setters, introvertible, more tolerant and accommodating. Unlike Type-A people, they are more relaxed and go for leisure. Both types of leaders, however, are achievers because a leader’s effectiveness doesn’t depend on whether he is of Type-A or Type-B. But the stress coping capacity of each type of personality differs. Type-A are more likely to go down with stress-related illness than Type-B.

All effective leaders will experience stress in a measure. But we may all learn to manage the effects of stress such that we stay on top of it and our health and behaviour remain unaffected. I will state the coping mechanisms as tips.

* Control or avoid work-related stressors
To do this, avoid working without a schedule or plan; and when at work give no room for interruptions to prevent nerve jarring. Have intervention teams who help you investigate conflict, broker peace and write reports for your consideration and approval. Make your island bigger if you’re doing too little; trim your schedule if it’s getting too busy. Pursue change with steady calculated speed. Too many changes in one swoop will unleash stress and burn-out.
When decision-making becomes too tough and cumbersome, float a think-tank to help simplify the process and absorb some of the heat. You only need to look at their reports and decide what should be done. Don’t bottle up emotions and flaming feelings. Express them through interactive communication. Regard failure as a detour on the road to success and resist the urge to quit.

* Cut and share responsibilities
Effective leaders practise dispersed leadership that duplicates and deploys leadership talents such that authority flows upwards, downwards and laterally through the hierarchy. Dispersed leadership results in load-shedding and load-sharing, and thus keeps stress at the barest manageable minimum. Distribute “stress” across the hierarchy. Don’t share only the bucks; share the burden, too.

* Cultivate the appropriate lifestyle
Effective leaders don’t live anyhow. There is a lifestyle appropriate for effective leadership, which can help leaders stay on top of stress. Such a lifestyle is marked by exercise, good diet, good rest or relaxation, meditation, and communication through writing or speaking. These activities help to cope with stress when applied as relief techniques for tension. A walk might help you shed some heat off your system and get the blood flowing again when you feel dazed, dizzy and glued. Good green food and purposeful eating helps you build a strong healthy body with good immune function. Good sleep refreshes your mind such that you have a better shot at coping with further stressful situations.
Research has shown that people can reduce their stress level by expressing themselves in writing. When you have too many tasks competing for attention, put them down with the method statements for accomplishing them. And work on one task at a time.

* Change your thinking
Besides your genetic traits, your stress level is directly proportional to your perception of the stressful situations you face. If you’re always positive about your job, you have a better shot at reducing your stress level and stay unruffled.
Have a low stress month, Amen!

Getting along with stress

2010-05-22T05:34:00.000-07:00
Stress is part and parcel of active life. You can’t but welcome stress if you’re alive and active.
In fact, experts say stress is useful as a work-life morale booster. But there is another kind
of stress that results in distress, fatigue, emotional disorders, mental breakdowns,
and other health problems. That is the monster all leaders should learn to manage.

Some years ago, Ghana’s Jerry Rawlings collapsed on state duty. By his fall, the handsome former airforce pilot, who was president at that time, made a breath-taking scene. He fell for no apparent reason. He just went blank and off. Later, after the charismatic leader had come round, he gave the bewildered public the reason why he suddenly pined out: He had been working for years without leave! Praise God, Rawlings strayed into death’s orbit and walked away alive. But you can’t be sure you would if you tried! The airforce officer was felled by stress; and leaders who failed to manage stress would fall ill and go down in like manner.

Stress is part and parcel of active life. You can’t but welcome stress if you’re alive and active. In fact, experts say stress is useful as a work-life morale booster. In his book, Leadership, Anthony D’souza of the Haggai Institute, says: “Not all stress is bad. Stress wakes us up and gets us going”. This is the type of stress that helps pump you up with adrenaline, keeping all your body lights on when you have some urgent tasks to perform or you’re in frenetic pursuit of a vision with a close deadline.

Stress at such a time is a booster helpmate, giving you the needed high. It is positive stress called “eustress” and all effective leaders need it! It is a natural concomitant of active leadership; and some of us leaders are on high gear when pressure is put on us at full throttle.

But there’s another kind of stress that results in distress, fatigue, emotional disorders, mental breakdowns, physical wear and tear, low productivity and sundry health problems. That’s the stress that rattled Rawlings. It’s the monster all leaders should learn to manage. The monster is a creation of exposure to continuous or prolonged stressful situations. Short-term or seasonal stress is a boon to effective leadership. But where stress is allowed to assume a permanent feature of leadership practice, it puts the leader’s health and productivity in jeopardy.

Experts say people show symptoms of stress depending on their psychological characteristics and the variety of stressful situations they suffer. The lists of symptoms are long but inexhaustive. In an article he wrote for Healthwise (2005), Stuart J. Bryson listed seven physiological stress-related problems: Rapid heart-beat, headache, stiff neck, tight shoulders, backache, rapid breathing, sweating and clammy palms, nausea or diarrhoea. Anthony D’souza (1989) added “muscle tension or spasms, hypertension, coronary heart-disease, ulcers, insomnia, skin rashes, dizziness or blurred vision, gum disease, excessive tiredness, blood and hormonal changes”. Enough sicknesses to kill the strongest of all leaders!
Stress also produces such psychological problems as tenseness, sadness, boredom, temper flares, worry, depression, inferiority complex, and fuzziness.

Nor does stress spare your behaviour. While suffering from its effects, you would experience behavioural shifts from conviction to indecision, clear thinking to confusion, attentiveness to poor concentration, calmness to haste, rationality to impulsive behaviour, accommodation to intolerance, and moderation to intemperance. Your problem-coping power may dip and frustration set in. Also, your relationship with your family and society might be affected by the carry-overs of stress-induced behavioural problems. For all the problems it could unleash on the human life, stress is a negative experience all leaders should wish didn’t exist. However, the world is a stress arena. It pulsates with stress and we can only learn to cope with it, not wish it away.

The first step in coping with stress is knowing what it really is. The psychology of stress holds that stress isn’t influence of a bad occurrence. It’s your mind’s response to your body’s protest against stressful situations (stressors). If your mind interprets the situations negatively, stress results, with its symptoms. D’souza says “stress is an anxiety reaction to the way people look at what happens to them”. I’m afraid this is a dangerous conceptualisation of stress. If we operationalise stress as a function of the mind, we risk overlooking its external factors. We might reason: a leader may carry on as he will so long as he has programmed his mind to call billows bliss and view problems as pleasures, he will suffer no hurt. I don’t think you can always fool your mind so as to stretch your body beyond its elastic limits. No matter how good you are at mind conditioning, if you stretch the body beyond its capacity it would snap.

The mind may toughen the body to the extent that the body is capable of accepting the hardening. The human mind seems to know this; and when it tells the body it’s biting more than it can chew, stress is looming. One way you might cope with stress is to toughen your mind and condition it to be realistically positive about the crosses of leadership. But while you’re trying to do this, cut your duties according to your strength. That implies having a correct assessment of your stress-coping ability; for too much work invites stress. Now, what is too much for Rawlings may be too little for me! Gabrielle Reece (2007) says “one person’s stress is another’s holidays”. Quoting Hans Selye, the world’s leading stress expert, D’souza (1989) says that “if people are race horses, they will find great stress in trying to live the life of turtles”. On the flip side, “if people are turtles trying to keep up with the race horses also leads to burn-out”. Thus, as regards stress, what is safe for the goose may be dangerous for the gander.

The Power of an effective communication

2010-05-12T06:14:00.000-07:00
Are you a leader at the helm of your organisation? And you think you’ve got all it takes to keep the organisation running and moving up? But if good communication skills aren’t among your credentials, your leadership is heading for storms. Effective leadership without effective communication is impossible.

A leader may have all other attributes; but if he comes short of good communication, his organisation will record more groans than gains. Of course, good communication skills aren’t the only thing a leader needs to achieve corporate success. If the leader lacks all other attributes such as love, courage, technical skills, visioning, judgement and dynamism, his good communication skills will achieve nothing. You don’t build and run a world-class company with sheer gift of gab.

Yet, communication is central to leadership effectiveness because it is something all leaders must do – and always do – to succeed. Can you name anyone among the 100 top world leaders in any field who isn’t good at communicating? Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah, America’s Abraham Lincoln, Britain’s Winston Churchill, India’s Mahatma Gandhi, Manhattan (atomic bomb) Project’s leader, Robert Oppenheimer, Herman Miller’s Max De Pree, Europe’s business celebrity and former chairman of ABB, Percy Barnevik, General Electric’s Jack Welch, Chrysler’s Lee Iaccocca, and the brilliant constellations on the Fortune 500 CEOs … to name a few. All these are men skilled in the art of communicating.

In fact, down the ages, men who aspired to lead knew they had to have the ability to communicate well; otherwise their leadership would end in fiasco. The Biblical Moses appreciated this ability and confessed he lacked it. It was one of the reasons why he besought God to send someone else to lead Israel on a risky journey to Canaan. Moses didn’t take the job until God promised the smooth-talking Aaron would help out.

The importance of communication
A leader shuns communication skills at his organisation’s peril. Without good communication abilities, the most brilliant of all leaders will fail to deliver on the bottom-line. For, his organisation’s synergy will rupture, the workforce will be fluid, visioning will fail to catch, and progress will be a fantasy. How? Workers need to be wisely “talked into” commitment, loyalty and higher productivity. And bosses who snort at such pep-talks may watch their employees leave in droves. Monte Enbysk, Microsoft’s lead editor, claims that a study in 2001 of 20,000 exit interviews found that people leave jobs chiefly because of supervisors’ poor communication skills. So, it isn’t the poor pay that makes most workers leave. It’s the leader’s poor communication.

Also, communication serves as a potent weapon of influence especially when workers need motivation to buy into the leader’s progress plans. For example, consider visioning. You may birth a vision alone; but you would need your team’s support to shape, launch and actualise it. You would need to share the vision such that the workforce catches it, develops a passion for it, and resolves to be committed to its actualisation. Sir, you have no other means of doing this save by communication! Find out: Not all people in your team are willing to follow you on the vision trip. Most of your workforce might comprise people who are content with business-as-usual and would suffer inertia gladly so long as wages and fringe benefits are paid. Even in religious organisations, key leaders and workers aren’t quick to accept radical measures for lifting the organisation above conservative levels so long as they feel good and secured by the organisation’s routine existence.

So, your workers would need to be convinced that progress is necessary, and fresh ideas are required to attain new levels. They would need motivation to buy into your progress recipe and be committed to it until your organisation attains the new height. How do you go about achieving all this? By communication! Even if the nature of your organisation permits that things remain fairly the same for long, you still would need to keep the people on their jobs by communication. You would always have something to tell your subordinates; who relay your message to other leaders down the hierarchy and throughout the organisation. Thus, without communication you can’t function. Can you think of any leader doing anything in his organisation without engaging in communication? Planning, coaching, visioning, coordinating, counselling, evaluating and supervising are basic leadership functions; all of which can only be done through the communication process. See? Effective leadership without effective communication is impossible.

Explaining leadership communication
It is necessary to explain what communication is, especially in leadership. But I won’t bore you with various arguments about the right meaning of communication. You wonder how such a day-to-day action as communication has stirred up so much debate about its meaning. Leave the debates for scholarship circles; but we must clear some points about the subject. Remember: Our interest is in leadership communication. First, leadership communication isn’t a linear process (see diagram), but a cyclic flow of message and feedback. The sender sends the message through a channel to the receiver; who receives it and sends feedback to the sender. And the cycle continues as long as the process lasts.

Leaders still in love with inflexible top-down command-and-control leadership style miss this point and its advantage. They issue instructions and orders but seldom pause to find out if they are heard. They hardly wait for feedback, stopping the communication before it runs its full cycle. Later, they wonder why “Smith and John never do exactly what I say”. Leadership communication is an exchange. The sender and the receiver swap encoding and decoding roles; and feedback travels in both directions.

Donald Clark, a leadership writer and coach, was right to have said in one of his web-articles that it is “not just a give, as all parties must participate to complete the information exchange”. Doing this calls for effective listening by leaders – a communication skill only a few leaders know how to practise! A leader’s failure to listen effectively turns communication into a monologue, robbing the organisation of the gains that interactive communication attracts.

Second, effective leadership communication thrives on a good working climate. I mean the non-monetary working conditions that make the workforce feel wanted, appreciated, fulfilled and secured. Brent Filson, author of 23 books on leadership and president of The Filson Leadership Group Inc, underscores the critical presence of this element in the communication cycle; and recommends: “To best communicate an idea, wrap it in a human being”.

Filson counsels leaders to check on human relations aspects of their communication before they encode their message. Hear him: “Whenever you intend to communicate as a leader, you should assess not only the information you want to impart but also the human relations aspects of how you will go imparting it…” Yes, you must have in place some kind of homophyly, a degree of shared experience and commonness, and an air of civility. Otherwise, you won’t be able to use leadership communication too well as an instrument of inspiration for sustainable productivity and change.

Third, leadership communication isn’t a success joker in conflict times. You don’t communicate with your subordinates only when you have some ideas to sell, when you want to pass on a dream. You communicate to keep your organisation’s energy and synergy steady, steadfast and sure. You also employ communication to mobilise and motivate your workforce for change.

In short, you keep the organisation running through communication. Selective use of leadership communication is counter-productive. For instance, you fell back on communication to keep hope alive and dissuade workers from leaving when the going was tough. Then, you shunned it when the organisation soared into smooth-sailing. Result: Your team soon saw through the manipulation and resolved not to dance next time you play the hope tune.

Effective communication
Seeing communication is so important and central to leadership, all leaders should strive to be good communicators. I’m glad Prof David A. Owens of Vanderbilt University’s Graduate Management School says good communicators are made, not born. Which means you can study and practise leadership communication. You can assess your performance now and see where and what you need to improve on. And then take remedial measures.

Seven communication tips an effective leader must have

2010-04-30T01:43:00.001-07:00
“When I send a man to buy a horse, I don’t want to be told how many hairs the horse has in his tail. I wish only to know the points”, said Abraham Lincoln. Effective communication calls for painstaking search, selection and stringing of picture-building words.

* Empathise with the audience
Leaders who operate aloof of the people, pass the buck but keep the bucks and look for scapegoats, can’t use communication for persuasive end. If you didn’t identify with the problem, the workforce would perceive your motivation as condemnation and seek defence.

Walter Dill Scott, the former president of Northwestern University, observed that: “Every idea, concept, or conclusion which enters the mind is held as true unless hindered by some contradictory idea.” Thus, if one grain of contradictory idea is allowed in the gambit of a message the chance of its acceptance dips.

For example, if your audience is moved to say: “No Sir, we aren’t totally at fault” at the beginning of your talk, you have moved them into a condition of rejection. That is why the world’s famous master of oratory, Dale Carnegie, in his bestselling book, Effective Public Speaking, advised communicators to keep their audience yes-minded. One way of doing this is to launch your message with a common point of view. This is the wisdom America’s celebrated president, Abraham Lincoln, often adopted. “My way of opening and winning an argument,” revealed Lincoln, “is to first find a common ground of agreement.”

Be wary of buck-passing when discussing a problem or sharing a challenge. Tactical collectivism in communication helps galvanise group cooperation by neutralising opposition. Don’t look for scapegoats if you want to turn your workforce into change agents.

* Express yourself to impress your audience
You must express your mind in such a way that your audience is impressed and moved to do your bidding. To do this, you must demonstrate conviction and faith by your tone and flaunt enthusiasm by your manner. You must sound sure before you can assure your audience. Let your voice ring with contagious enthusiasm. Dale Carnegie advised that: “if you would impress an audience, be impressed yourself”. Your attitude to your own message will determine your audience’s attitude to it. Unless you are sufficiently motivated and can show it, you will never be able to motivate others. So, as you speak or write, be earnest. Stir up yourself. Keep your hairs up.

* Employ the appropriate language
Clarity is the first law in leadership communication. Choose words that say exactly what you mean and can appeal to your audience’s emotions without throwing up semantic blur. Often, when communication fails to catch, it’s because the audience don’t comprehend the message or they aren’t pinched by it owing to inappropriate diction.

Carnegie’s book, Effective Public Speaking suggests using concrete, familiar words that create pictures. People are soon put off by colourless phraseology and bland abstract expressions that feed listeners’ souls with boredom.

Let your words conjure images. Send your audience into dreaming. Massage their imagination. Abraham Lincoln was a master at this. Hear his objection to the long, complicated reports he received daily at the White House: “When I send a man to buy a horse, I don’t want to be told how many hairs the horse has in his tail. I wish only to know the points”. How visual! His words call up pictures and stick up like glue.

William Strunk Jr, in his book, The Elements of Style, wrote: “…The greatest writers … are effective largely because they deal in particulars … Their words call up pictures”. The French philosopher, Alain, said: “An abstract style is always bad. Your sentences should be full of stones, metals, chairs, tables, animals, men and women”. Effective communication calls for painstaking search, selection and stringing of picture-building words.

* Expect feedback
Communication is an exchange, not a monologue. As a process, it isn’t complete and fulfilling until the receiver has given his response to the message of the sender. You can’t be sure that your message has been received and understood if you received no response. Many times, however, leaders don’t pause for their subordinates to respond to their communications before they close the talk. Later, they wonder why the workforce doesn’t behave as envisaged.

Without feedback, communication is reduced to a give; but the giver may never know what impact his “gift” has made on the receiver. “The link of feedback”, writes Prof Anthony D’souza of the Haggai Institute, “completes the chain of communication”.

One of the major factors of communication failure is the neglect of feedback. The boss issues an instruction, growls at the end, “Have you got that?” and ends the talk without waiting for the addressee’s reply and reaction!
Such communication only results in frustration as staff scoot off to do what they feel is the leader’s directive – only to end up making painful mistakes.

I agree we all do this and seem to get by, especially in minor daily leadership routine. But where a specific far-reaching change is our goal, there must be plentiful interactive communication. Leadership communication for change thrives on negotiation. The leader must lay out his vision, allow some haggling, and close the deal with the people’s “aye”.

Feedback, however, may be misleading. Subordinates may hide their feelings and give the impression that they are in agreement with the leader’s views, especially if they fear a different opinion might offend the leader.

Therefore, to receive accurate feedback you must do three things. One, you must desire it. Let the workforce know you sincerely cherish their feelings and views about any communications they receive from you.

Two, you must demand it. Don’t just speak to or speak with. Ask the group or person what they think about what you’re saying. Or build feedback promptings into the message. For example, in sharing a vision for the organisation’s expansion, you might share your plans inviting your supervisors’ contributions.

You might say: “I can see it’s time we re-invented our organisation to maintain our share of the market. I’m looking at our brands and sales outlets, our marketing and customer retention strategies. All seem out of tune with the changing landscape and are crying for overhauling … Or what do you think? …”

But, if your staff know that you’re averse to contrary opinions, they would shy from giving any. Therefore, the third thing you must do is demonstrate your sincerity about listening to opinions of others.

To listen effectively, however, you must keep an open-mind, avoid prejudice, separate ideas from factual details, keep the man and the message separately, and avoid speculative cut-ins. When listening to your subordinates, just listen.

* Expel the barriers
No matter how skilful a leader is in communication, he wouldn’t influence many people by it unless he removes certain barriers. These are inhibitions that limit the power of communication as a weapon of organisational influence. The barriers are associated with the sender, the channel and the audience respectively. Details on these barriers can be found in the relevant literature; only an outline of them will be attempted here.

The sender (the leaders) must avoid wrong attitude. Don’t be judgmental, hostile, touchy, impatient, rash, proud, domineering and vindictive. Otherwise, your audience may accept and treat your message with deception, pessimism and disbelief.

Argument is another barrier. Avoid it with your subordinates as much as possible. For, you may win the points but lose the person. Also, watch against these: information overload, illogical presentation, abstract language, and ambiguous diction. Above all, in case of inter-personal communication, ensure that your verbal and non-verbal cues rhyme.
For example, don’t say “Well done” with a frown; or “Is there any way I can help?” in a sarcastic tone. For channel-related barriers, the leader should ensure that the medium is functioning well.

A malfunctioning system not only hinders smooth passage of the message, but may also distort meaning. Moreover, the channel and the message should match. Inappropriate channels can diminish the intrinsic power of a message.

Finally, the audience–related barriers: these are barriers the receiver may deliberately or inadvertently erect. Three of such barriers are explained by what is called the “Selectivity Theory”.

First, there is selective exposure by which people choose which communication they would receive or reject. Second, there is selective perception by which people choose to understand some communication and misunderstand others. Your workers may adopt selective perception if they see they can’t practise selective exposure.

The third is selective retention by which people choose to retain in their memory certain messages they like, and wipe off their minds those they detest. If your workers choose to forget your message, the chance of influencing them in any way is nil.
However, audience–related barriers can be removed by creating and adopting appropriate working climate and applying the basic communication rules we have been discussing.

The road to effective communication has no short-cut. But those who keep learning and practising will get there.

Wait For Your Blessings

2010-04-24T02:16:00.000-07:00
“And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac; and Isaac dwelt by the well Lahai-roi” (Genesis 25:11).

Life does not always run on the fast lane, nor does it roll on the conveyor belt of a fast food production joint. More often than not, life involves patiently waiting for the right time. For believers, this underscores the necessity of faith, trusting God to act appropriately in His own time.

Isaac always had the choice to take laws into his hand and attempt to fast forward God’s promises to his father, Abraham and by extension, to himself; or to wait for God to work out His plans in His own way. He chose the latter, even though the signs initially were at best confusing, and at worst troubling.

His father had taken another wife who promptly gave him six sons, seven grandsons and three great grandsons. Yet, in his patience, Isaac soon started possessing his blessings. First, his father willed all his wealth to Isaac. Then, he gave handsome gifts to the children of his concubines, and promptly sent them away so they would have nothing to do with Isaac, upon whom the promise of God rested.

Abraham himself was blessed with long life and so had time to put his domestic affairs in order before he eventually died at the ripe age of 175 years. It was after all this that God blessed Isaac. Wisely, too, Isaac, made his permanent residence in the land God had promised to give his father, Abraham.

Many times, people are in a hurry to receive blessings from God. They worry that the signs around them do not look good. They may be getting old and there are no wives or husbands, or children. They have left school for sometime, yet there are no jobs. They may be working and there appear to be little to show for it. They may be sick and the healing is not coming fast enough. The temptation would arise to take laws into their own hands, to work out their personal agenda to success, to help God to fulfil His promises to them.

You must not act that way. You must trust God to make all things beautiful for you in His own time. You must patiently “wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.” It is only in patience that you can possess your blessings.

Thought for the day: Heaven help only those who wait on the Lord.

The Source of Eternal Hope

2010-04-14T01:44:00.000-07:00
Key verse: “For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end” (Jeremiah 29:10,11).

A lady, who had been treated for depression, hanged herself with a belt in her bedroom closet in 2006 after receiving a message saying the world would be better without her.

The Lord knew the right words that would encourage Israel at the hour of her need. Against the backdrop of his struggle with incurable false prophets at home, Jeremiah addressed a letter of hope to the exiles at Babylon. Jeremiah’s letter was intended to calm their nerves and bring them hope from the living God.

He mentioned that the Lord has thoughts of peace towards them and not of evil. That God is not out there watching to bring evil upon them but to seek their peace if only they can cooperate and obey Him. His plan was to give them an expected end: that is, a future and a hope. They must, however forsake the counsel of false prophets prophesying an immediate end to their captivity, while praying for the peace of the city wherein they were taken captives.

God knows the thoughts He thinks toward us and His thoughts are the only ones that count for He knows what tomorrow holds for us. It makes no difference what other people think of us. His plan is towards our eternal happiness. Desiring to know what God thinks of us is all we should be concerned with. Too often we get caught up in other people’s opinions of us while we neglect the one opinion that matters.

God knows you — by name, by address, by spirit, by personality. His thoughts toward you are of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end (Jeremiah 29:11). God wants to give you the desires of your heart if only you can let Him reign supreme in your heart.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: you relinquish the desire to control your future, you obtain: happiness.

The Lord is full of Mercy

2010-04-10T00:47:00.000-07:00
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:8,10).

Few years ago, a particular Korean lady, ravaged by cancer and left with a few moments to live, was brought to a revival meeting presided over by a distinguished servant of God. During the prayer/ministrations, the power of God struck her and she was instantly healed and delivered. She was so amazed and wondered why God healed her because she never knew Jesus, neither had she been to church before. This was nothing short of a miracle of mercy.
This is God’s benevolent act which the psalmist, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, acknowledged in our text today. He noted with excitement the manifold benefits of God to him: forgiveness of sins, healing, redemption from destruction, love and mercies bestowed, provisions, good health and sound mind and God’s righteous judgements. The psalmist, with awe, acknowledged God’s nature and attributes juxtaposing this with the brevity of man’s love. He also exhorted and beckoned on angels and ministers of God’s entire creation to bless the Lord.
The psalmist’s upbeat attitude speaks conversely of some who think that all the benefits of protection, success in business and career, good health and sound mind, are the result of their personal righteousness and good deeds. Curiously, they fail to recognize the need to experience God’s gracious act which should culminate in the salvation of their soul and consequently for them to be of service to His kingdom. All the benefits we have received are acts of God’s mercies. We do not merit them.
God is the Almighty Creator who must be revered and venerated by His creatures. To the redeemed who have tasted of His saving grace, appreciation and gratitude must proceed from their lips naturally. To those who do not know how to acknowledge God’s undeserved benevolence and unmerited favour, it is simply indicative of one thing: the absence of Christ in the heart. For such, a total surrender of his life to Christ will be first step to gratefulness.

Thought for the day:To praise the Lord is to acknowledge His greatness.

Enjoying God's Favour

2010-03-29T12:34:00.000-07:00
“Now Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard, saying, Take him, and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he shall say unto thee” (Jeremiah 39:11,12).

It was C.H. Spurgeon of blessed memory who said, ‘After all, what can a man do without the Lord’s permission. He puts a bit into the mouth of rage, and a bridle upon the head of power. Let us fear the Lord and we shall have no one else to fear. No cup of cold water given to a despised prophet of God shall be without its reward; and if we stand up for Jesus, Jesus will stand up for us’.

God had promised to see Jeremiah through all the troubles and ministerial challenges he would face. The Babylonians in their superstition had respect for magicians and fortune tellers and because Jeremiah had counselled cooperation with Babylon and predicted victory for them they treated him as a seer: they accorded him special treatment and favour on the instruction of the king. And Ebed-melech, a despised Ethiopian who showed kindness to Jeremiah was promised deliverance by the Lord.

Believers and servants of the Lord are assured safe landing in their flight through life. The sea may roar, and the wind may blow, the promise of God for His children remain unchallengeable. It is only very important that we exercise absolute faith in Him who has called us to grace and glory. Our faith will be rewarded, just as the faith of Jeremiah and prophets of old was honoured.

Whatever challenges you are facing in your personal or ministerial journey, always rest assured that you will overcome. Because the Captain of the host is the one to whom belongeth all power. As we support the Church of Christ and servants of God, giving a cup of cold water when necessary, we will be dully rewarded if we faint not.

Thought for today: There is a promise of deliverance for Christ’s faithful followers.

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

2010-03-25T02:09:00.000-07:00
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Psalm 23: 1)

Good shepherds keep the sheep with care and diligence. It is the shepherd’s responsibility to provide for the sheep and protect them from danger. Lost sheep are often sought with all diligence while the weak ones are gently led by good shepherds (Isaiah 40: 11; Luke 15: 4).

It is a very rare privilege to have the Lord of heaven as one’s own Shepherd. Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep”(John 10: 11).

Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who laid His life down for the sheep. He is the compassionate One, the Saviour who is “touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin’ and who ‘is able to succour them that are tempted”(Hebrews 4: 15; 2:18).

Any youth who makes Christ his Shepherd shall not want any good things of life. An unfailing life insurance is signed when Jesus becomes your Lord. Come under His fold today and begin to enjoy His protection, promotion, power, peace, progress and prosperity.

Challenge: Christ is the Good Shepherd
Prayer: Dear Lord, make me to enjoy the blessings in your fold as I make you my Shepherd.

Released and Restored

2010-03-19T13:50:00.000-07:00
Key verse: “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the Lord; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after” (Jeremiah 30:17).

It was Robert Anthony who once said: ‘Hope is the expectation that something outside of ourselves, something or someone external, is going to come to our rescue and we will live happily ever after’.

The nation of Israel had passed through incurable grief owing to their frequent departure from the will and ways of the Lord. Yet, though the captives suffered justly, and could not help themselves, the Lord, from this passage, intended to appear for them as their deliverer and to punish their oppressors who had placed them in perpetual bondage and oppression.

As the afflictions and distresses of the Jewish nation are expressed by sickness, wounds, and bruises; so their prosperity, both spiritual and temporal, is signified by sound health. To complete their freedom, the coming Messiah would bring comfort, resettlement in their estate, with their city rebuilt, their offspring increased and religious worship and praise re-established.

Christ, through His authoritative pleadings at the throne remembers our persons and pleads our cause. His dominion over principalities and powers and absolute majesty in heaven, he employs for the benefit of those who trust in Him. His high estate is as much at our service as was his condition of abasement. He is the very present Help at the hour of need; only He can deliver from death and the power of the grave.

Like the backslidden and captive Israel in our passage, we need the Savior today, We need someone who can be our deliverer. Someone to save us from captivity to sin and Satan, and manifest the power of the Almighty in our lives and our world. You must turn to Jesus today.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Look up for your help! Not down.

PLAN FOR PROGRESS

2010-03-13T02:11:00.000-08:00
“Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.” (Proverbs 24: 27).

Good houses are often built from a well-structured plan of an architect. Road constructions are executed after a proper survey is carried out before the commencement of the work. No tangible work can be done in any field of human endeavours without a laid-out plan of actions. This explains the reason why progress is often thwarted without proper plans of actions. Proper preparation precedes progress and prosperity. You can only prosper in your life endeavours when you plan your work properly and make it fit before taking actions on your plans.

It is a common saying that, he who fails to plan has already planned to fail. You must always plan for progress. As a Student, a well-structured time-table is needed where you will spell-out when and what to read at a given time. It is planning that will give you the opportunity of allocating more time to difficult tasks in order to master such. Planning will accord you the benefit of looking ahead and preparing for eventualities.

Students who plan their works well will overcome the problems of doing their works haphazardly. You will be more organized to have a clear direction in your work when you plan before taking actions. It is of great advantage to always plan on daily, weekly and monthly basis in order to build on past achievements and to work for the prospects of future achievements.

Challenge: Failing to plan is planning to fail.
Prayer: Dear Lord, give me a sense of direction to plan my work well for progress.

Grace to Give

2010-03-05T01:14:00.000-08:00
Giving falls within some acts that are governed by the law of reciprocity. For instance, it is what the farmer plants that he will harvest and what he sows is what he will reap. The quantity of what is sown suggests the proportion of what he will reap.

The Bible says, “Be not deceived; God is not mucked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Nobody can deceive God! What you give is what you will receive. “The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself” (Proverbs 11:25).

It pays to give and share out from what you have. The giver can never lack for “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Luke 6:38; Acts 20:35). You do not need to wait till you have much to give before you start to give. The widow in Jesus' time had only two mites to give and she was commended by the Lord. The widow of Zarephath had nothing more than “an handful meal in a barrel” and she gave to the man of God. You can also share with people from the little you have to receive more blessing from God.

Human beings have varieties of things they can share with one another. You must first give your life to Christ as the ultimate of your giving. Then, you share your testimony of God's goodness with others to give them the gospel of light. You can give your time and talent to help others in anyway you can.

There are other things you can give like money, food and water to those who are in need of your service. Always remember that when you give, God will reward you if you do it selflessly, with simplicity and sincerity. (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Give and it shall be given unto you.

Challenge: Jesus gave His life for you, what will you give to him?

Prayer: Give me your grace Oh Lord to give in a scriptural way.

GOOD MANNER

2010-02-26T00:49:00.000-08:00
“Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous” (1Peter 3: 8).

The Christians are expected to be well behaved at home, in the school, workplace and in the society. Your conduct and character, to a great extent, show who you are to the outside world. Jesus calls believers the light of the world (Matthew 5: 14-15).

As a command, He said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven”. Truancy, lateness to school/workplace, disobedience, trouble-making activities and other bad behaviours are inconsistent to the Christian way of life. The attitude of noise-making in the class, jumping of queues, cracking of filthy jokes or riddles and contempt or despise to constituted authorities are not to be mentioned among true believers.

The word of God declares that, “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure and whether it be right” (Proverbs 20:11). True Christian youths must be obedient, kind, loving, respectful and good to others. The Christian youth ought to have a testimony of good behaviour among the other students. He must be a shining light in the darkness of the world where he lives.

The teachers and the other students will envy you as you are humble, honest, loyal and respectful in building up a dignified reputation. Every young Christian who desires to live a good life, pleasing unto God must learn to be of a good behaviour. Always remember that a good name is better than silver and gold. Good behaviour will earn you the position of honour here in this world and the one to come.

Challenge: A good name is better than gold.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, grant unto me the grace to always be of a good behaviour.

Hold on to the Promise

2010-02-11T07:15:00.000-08:00
“And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him” (Luke 8:25).

Many times, Christians have allowed fear to rob them of the great benefits they should enjoy from the promises of God which must be appropriated through faith. Fear works in such a way that it kills faith in the believer and makes him completely forget the unfailing promises of God, thereby making him a helpless captive of the unpleasant circumstances around him.

The disciples of Christ in our text had been told by Christ that they were crossing over to the other side of the river. Having walked with Christ for some time now, they ought to have known the power and authority in His words. More than that, the fact that Jesus Himself was with them in the boat they were travelling ought to have boosted their confidence and assured them of their safety.

But when the storm arose, they forgot the promise of God and were unable to personally exercise faith in the promise. They thought only of one thing – that they all would perish. As Jesus calmed the storm, He equally rebuked the disciples for their fear and lack of faith.

The journey of life can only be navigated successfully through abiding and unwavering faith in God and His promises. As we walk with the Lord, in happiness or in sorrow, in perils or in excitement, so must we rest assured that we are leaning on His everlasting arms. That God appears distant does not mean He has abandoned us.

His eternal charge to us resonates clearly: “Lo, I am with you always…”.
When we choose to concentrate on the things our eyes see and our ears hear around us, they will send fear into our hearts and sink our faith. As Christians, we must realize that the promises of Christ can never be changed or swallowed by the storms of life. If we will hold on to the promises of God and refuse to give in to fear, we will go through every storm and emerge victorious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Don’t let fear sink your faith.

For Glory and Beauty

2010-02-06T08:30:00.000-08:00
“And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty” (Exodus 28:2).

A preacher was excitedly dishing out the word of God to what he thought was a captive audience. All eyes were fixed on him as he blasted on with his sermon - oblivious of the fact that his shirt was not properly buttoned. He missed out a button hole causing his appearance to be funny.

It was this that engaged the attention of his audience and distracted them from his message. No doubt, both the character and the grooming of God’s ministers count and therefore deserve special attention.

In readiness for unified worship in the tabernacle, it was necessary to maintain a family of priests for Israel. Aaron and his children were divinely appointed to serve in the priest’s office. In doing this, the Lord was careful enough to spell out the details of their official dressing.

The recommended garment for Aaron was a multiple piece comprising a breastplate (in which were set twelve precious stones), and an ephod (a short cloak without sleeves), and a robe (an upper garment), and a broidered coat, a mitre (a turban), and a girdle (a linen band tied around the waist). The garments were to be made by no mean persons but only those that were wise-hearted, whom God had filled with the Spirit of wisdom.

Underlying these specifications was the consideration for glory and beauty. Observe the special materials (fine linen) and the choice of colours used - gold, blue, purple, scarlet – all standing for nobility and majesty. It was intended that the priest’s appearance should reflect the character of God to the people. Utmost care was therefore taken to clothe them as such.

Contrary to the perceptions of many Christians, the Lord does not delight in beggarliness. He deserves and demands the best of our talents, material resources and time. The house of God should reflect the character of God – sacred and dignified. A shabby church setting is for neither beauty nor glory.

God’s own children, especially the ministers, must be so exemplary in character and dressing as to point men to God rather than distract men’s attention from God.

Thought for the day: We must present ourselves well if we must represent God well.

PRAYING WITH PASSION

2010-01-30T01:58:00.000-08:00
“Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months” (James 5: 17).

There will be lots of changes in our life experiences if we choose to pray rather than complaining. Most people tend to grumble on many things. There could be many things that bother our minds at home, in the school or workplaces and in the society that may tempt us to murmur.

Great things will begin to happen in our lives if we start to pray with passion on life challenges. Nothing brings profits to sincere seekers of God like passionate persevering prayer of faith. If you have tried all other things to no avail, begin to pray. Prayer never fails. Prayer is the key. Prayer changes situations.

As a young Christian student, the best way you can develop yourself for future prospect is to learn the act of praying. People that are given to praying are people with God. The youth that prays has power with God and will do exploits. A prayerless youth will panic in problems instead of prevailing with God’s power.

People who learn to pray are people who lean on God and not on their own understanding. Victory is assured every person who will call upon the Lord with passion and earnestness. Learn to pray and be sure you are praying. Pray and pray until you are sure you have prayed. You can move God’s hands by praying in a purposeful and passionate manner.

Challenge: Prayer will turn the night to day

Prayer: Dear Lord, give me you grace and Spirit power to be praying.

Strengthening Our Souls

2010-01-23T06:06:00.000-08:00
Memory verse: “Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38).

Ever seen a hen or a chick having its legs entangled with a twine? Its movements will certainly be impeded by the entanglement. Though it may have the desire and longing to be smart and swift in its legs, this will not be possible for as long as the twine or thread remains wrapped around its legs.

This describes the struggle many people have with their spiritual life. Within them is the desire to soar high spiritually, to be victorious over sin, but unfortunately, this is not often the case. Though they sometimes are sincere about the desire to live above sin, they often find themselves weakened and defeated by their flesh.

The spirit within them indeed is willing, but unfortunately, their flesh is weak. Their flesh is a clog on their soul, slowing down and hampering their spiritual progress.

This reality is clearly brought out in the passage under consideration. Peter and the rest of the disciples openly and that sincerely, expressed their desire to follow Jesus all the way, even unto death. However, they failed to take note of the warning of Jesus that they would soon abandon Him.

Peter, basking in self confidence, boasted that he would never deny the Lord. He trusted his resolution but failed to seek the strength, support and grace of God to be able to watch and pray.

Jesus knew that however genuine and sincere our desire and resolve to follow the Lord may be, we will fail if we do not watch and pray. Our spirits may indeed be willing to please the Lord, but our flesh, which unfortunately we sometimes yield to, overpowers and weakens us.

To overcome, Jesus gives the simple panacea – watch and pray. There is the need to subdue the flesh, conquer its desires and be free from its grips through watchfulness and prayerfulness.

Watchfulness will help keep us on our guard while prayerfulness will give strength to our spirit and help it reach a height sublime. If you truly mean your vows and commitment to the Lord, then back it up with prayers.

Thought for the day: Prayers will strengthen your soul’s willingness and bring your body to submission.

GOODNESS IS GRACIOUS

2010-01-16T00:35:00.000-08:00
”The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth” (Exodus 34: 6)

Goodness is one of the virtues that God graciously bestows on the people that love Him. God Himself is gracious and merciful. He is abundant in goodness. He therefore wants His children to imbibe the deeds of goodness through His grace in our lives. The Bible exhorts believers to, “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.” (Psalm 37: 3).

John Wesley advices believers to,
Do all the good you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
Today opens new opportunities to you to do good to your fellow brothers and sisters.

One great good you can do yourself is to do good to someone, someway and somehow. The good that man does follows after him, especially when he is a saint. The word of God says, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6: 10).

Challenge: Every good thatdoes shall be rewarded by God
Prayer: Help me O Lord, to have the grace to do good at all times.

THE LORD, THY KEEPER

2010-01-09T07:20:00.000-08:00
“The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.” (Psalm 121:5)

It’s a great feeling to have God on one’s side. This day, the Lord has promised to be your keeper and you can depend on Him; He will keep you as he said. But note the identification of the keeper – The Lord. Some trust in other keepers. Many depend on human keepers.

It is a great necessity on our part to seek divine protection because everybody sooner or later realizes the necessity of having a keeper. For you, the job has been made easy. Before you woke up today, before you slept last night, indeed, before you were even born, God had positioned Himself as your keeper who will keep you from every evil.

The Lord, as a Keeper, will keep you from sin. He has the power and desire to make you to enjoy a life of bliss in His presence and so will keep you. No matter how polluted the world may be and no matter how sinful everybody else could be, the Lord has promised to keep you and He will.

The Lord will keep you from evil. There are many evil personalities in this world but today none of them will have access to your body, home or life because the Lord will keep you from them all. You remember how the Lord kept Israel from the curse of Balak in the wilderness? Or how He kept Daniel from the jaws of the lion? Even in a more dramatic way, the Lord will keep you. He is your shade and shelter from the heat of the sun of trouble. He will keep you and your joy will be full. Praise the Lord!

Challenge: He that keepeth Israel will not slumber.
Prayer: Thank You Lord for becoming my keeper today.

PRICE FOR EXCELLENCE DAY

2010-01-02T03:13:00.000-08:00
“Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain" (I Corinthian 9 :24).

Success is within the reach of every individual who aspires for it; and so is the ability to excel among students. God has made every student with the potentials, not only to achieve success but to excel among his equals. You may then ask why so many fail. One of the major causes of failure is the problem of sin. There is need for genuine repentance from sin for a close walk with God, the Author of success.

The prices of excellence involve waking up to study in the night, reading your books ahead of the class and spending time to understand what you study. Paying the price to excel could also involve revising your work very well ahead of time in preparation for your examinations and honestly concentrating on your studies without any distractions.

Excellence does not come overnight. Just as it takes time to lay a solid foundation before the superstructures are put on the house, it also takes time of toiling and labouring in the right direction of excellence before it is achieved. It is however possible for you to excel in your academics and also in your life if you are ready to pay the price.

The world is waiting for you. There is no room for mediocrity in your life. Think along with me. The Jews waited in bondage in Egypt for centuries until Moses came to bring the much-needed deliverance. The men of Israel remained in perplexities under the tyranny and terror of Goliath of Gath until David came.

The whole world lies under the dominion of sin, self and Satan until Jesus Christ, the Redeemer came and conquered all to give victory to man's soul, spirit and body. The walls of Jerusalem were in ruins and desolation until Nehemiah came to restore confidence and security to his people. What can we say of Elijah, John the Baptist, Deborah, Esther, the Apostles who championed the cause God and Christ?

The world is waiting for you! These days when honesty, integrity, righteousness are fast becoming a taboo. When corruption, dishonesty, occultism, examination malpractices, advanced free fraud (419) are widely accepted. Now lawlessness, social vices, immorality, nudity and worldly pleasures becomes the norm in our schools and colleges. You cannot mess up your life with immorality, laziness and worldly pleasure. You dare not abort the goal of God.

Who knows whether you are the man or woman in the making for societal, national or global change? The world is waiting for you. They waited for Thomas Edison for electricity, sound-recording device, and motion picture projector. They waited for Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, and Wilbur Wrights for airplanes, Handel, Martin Luther King Jnr, Indra Gandhi of India, Margaret Thatcher, Charles G. Finney, John Wesley, C.H. Spurgeon, William F. Kumuyi, and many more. There is a destiny ahead of you. Never abort it.

CHALLENGE: Success has price tags. Nevertheless the average person goes to his grave with his music still in him.

PRAYER: Lord, help me to succeed whatever the cost maybe and let my life fulfill your will and purpose and not the devil's.

The Law of God

2009-12-23T05:32:00.000-08:00
Some people are scared with the concept of the word-law. Professing believers in this category mistakenly take liberty to mean lawlessness.

Take note, there is no country without laws to guise the citizen. There is also no community of people without norms and ethics of behaviour acceptable as moral standard of life. Rules are made in schools to regulate the student's code of conduct.

Just as nations of the world have constitutions which spell out the principles by which the states are organized and governed, the Bible is God's constitution for the citizens of His kingdom. It is the law of the Lord, the perfect law of liberty for every child of God. Read it to be wise, study it to know the will of God, obey its words to be blessed and happy.

The word of God reveals the mind of God on every issue of life. The Bible contains God's commands for us to obey, God's warnings for us to heed, God's corrections for the erring ones and godly examples for us to follow. Retention of its precepts in our hearts is a formidable antidote against evil.

David said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11) Read the Bible slowly, study it searchingly, consider its precepts prayerfully and ponder on its teachings meditatively. Let its doctrines fill your heart and guide your feet.

You will be happy to discover that the Bible is a well of wisdom, treasury of wealth and a source of health. Read your Bible everyday. Cherish its precepts more than your daily food. There can be no other source than this the perfect law of liberty. True liberty is in the Word of God

Challenge: The Bible is the only compass that directs to heaven.

Prayer: Help me Oh Lord to understand your word as I read the scriptures everyday.

The Countenance of the Almighty

2009-12-15T01:52:00.000-08:00
“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace” (Numbers 6: 24 – 26).

Lord, more than money or any other material, more than gold or every good gifts, more than friends or any other favour, I need you and I want you to lift up your countenance upon me. You told Aaron and his children to continuously prophesy this truth into the lives of all your children. Our life on earth will amount to nothing should you hide your countenance from me. I do not want that to happen.

Dear Father, I want you to bless, and keep me. Lord please let your face shine upon me and grant me the grace I need to be able to cope with any eventuality today. As I think of the challenges this day, Lord I need your favour and appreciation in my professional life, in my service and in my social life.

I want to be a successful, so please help me to find your favour. I want to do all that will make you happy with me. Everything I do to help others in your name is my service. Help me with that. And my social life consists of my relationships with friends and family members. Please Lord, help me to receive your approval, and then I will be able to know that your countenance is upon me. Thank you Lord.

Challenge: God’s favour is better than human favour.

Prayer: Dear father, please keep eyes on me in all that I do today.

The Mercy of God

2009-12-11T03:56:00.000-08:00
“And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth” (1 Kings 18:1).

The perception of God before many is often warped, leading to a drastic substandard in the quality of life. An appropriate knowledge of His attributes of mercy and judgement, love and temperance often go a long way to determining man’s prosperity, spiritual renaissance and economic well-being.

In the preceding chapter, God had decided to shut the heavens against rainfall because of the sinful and backslidden state of the nation of Israel. In the third year, God mercifully and graciously decided to send rain again. But this was not without repentance. The nation needed to retrace her steps to the Lord in repentance and brokenness. Consequently, the Lord told Elijah, “Go shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth”, a veiled but pungent instruction to Elijah to declare to Ahab his sin, that of his father’s house, and of the nation of Israel.

It is folly for anyone to think that he can continue to live in sin while enjoying God’s goodness. Such folks clearly have a perverted understanding of who God really is. Those who take Him for a father Christmas who caresses all who come to Him and soft-gloves their acts of misdemeanor will be shocked to discover God’s anger and judgement against them ultimately.

God’s gracious hands are still outstretched to the sinner; He promises to send down rain of righteousness, abundance and prosperity once the sinner returns in repentance and penitence. Open your heart to Him in self-abasement and faith if you have gone into sin and disobedience and make appropriate restitution. If you don’t, you will be like the proverbial fool who is penny wise and pound foolish. If, however, your relationship with God is intact, you must believe Him for showers of blessings. He will not fail.

Thought for the day: True repentance begets the milk of God’s kindness

Warning against hurtful Imitation

2009-12-05T11:53:00.000-08:00
Key verse: “When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations” (Deuteronomy 18:9).

The Almighty God knew that the tendency of Israel to dabble into unnecessary imitation of the culture and tradition of other people was very high, hence, His decision to forewarn them. Israel had demonstrated repeated unfaithfulness and faithlessness in their dealings with God; for this reason God did not want to leave anything to chance.

On their journey to the Promised Land, Israel had repeatedly blasphemed, murmured and rebelled against their leaders and against God; they had also attempted at some points to go back to Egypt, even as they had at one point or the other courted idolatry. Hence, the Almighty God decided to warn them against any act of idol worship and abomination in the Promised Land.

As believers, our Christian journey to heaven is likened to that of Israel to Canaan. Many vibrant believers have had to abandon the faith because of careless imitation of the world.

Many believers who were once fervent had decided to drop their conviction as they got exposed to good things of life – good job, flourishing business and rewarding contracts. This happened as believers began to “learn to do after the abominations of” unbelievers.

God also warned Israel against the sin of idolatry. Therefore, we must be very careful not to embrace the worship of idol in a bid to beat hard times.

It is very sad to note that economic recession and other vicissitude of life have made a good number of believers to abandon the house of God for Voodoo, reading of stars, shrines and other hidden places seeking solution to their problems. By so doing they have sold themselves to perpetual slavery to Satan through false prophesies and divinations.

This Week, as we go about our businesses, we must bear in mind that we are called unto holiness whatever betides.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Sinful imitation destroys the simple-hearted.

The inheritance of God's people

2009-12-04T00:32:00.000-08:00
“And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one that is written among the living in Jerusalem:” (Isaiah 4:3).

There is good news for you today. You will survive the storm and see the end result. Before you were born, Isaiah the prophet had spoken. He wrote what we are reading this morning. His message!

A remnant shall survive the assault. Whether against the Assyrians or in the time of the end, God has prepared some people who will outlast the storm. They will stand when others fall. They will be faithful when others are backsliding. They will continue in the faith when others are turning away. I trust you will be one of the remnants.

The remnants shall be called holy. Ah! So there is something in this holiness talk after all! It is interesting to know that holiness will survive in the end. What about worldliness? Gone! Fashions? Disappeared! Popularity? Useless! The remnant will not be known by their fashion parade or political connections. They will be known as holiness people.

The remnant shall live in Jerusalem – the city of God. This is beautiful. Everything human and earthly will be swallowed up in the end. The New Jerusalem will be the home of the saints and what a privilege to be a resident of so great and beautiful a city.

As you go out today remember that holiness pays. When everything else will get burnt in the storms and ways of the world, holiness will survive. And so will you as you live and walk with the holiness people.

Challenge: Holiness pays.

Prayer: Help me to live a holy life today in Jesus name.

Jesus is coming soon, so be prepared

2009-12-03T00:40:00.000-08:00
“And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man” (Luke 17:26).

There was a father who was often away from home for weeks and months for business. One day, as he was leaving, his little boy asked him, “when are you coming back, Daddy?” He replied, “when you see the green leaves on the trees turning yellow and red and brown, you may know that I am coming soon!”

The little boy couldn’t understand dates, but he could see the changes in colour of the leaves. When he saw the leaves put on their dresses of yellow, red and brown, he was very happy, for he knew his daddy’s return was near!.

The sign-seeking Pharisees were asking the Lord about when the Kingdom of God should come. In their ignorance, they knew little or nothing about the various stages of the Kingdom that is, the present spiritual aspect of the kingdom in which Christ reigns in the heart of every born again Christian; the future kingdom at the time of His millennial reign when the Lord shall reign physically on earth for a period of one thousand years of uninterrupted joy, peace and prosperity and the eternal kingdom of Christ when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; when He shall reign for ever and ever (Revelation 11:15b).

The Lord told these religious leaders what the condition of the world shall be at the time of His coming. Wickedness, worldliness and wantonness shall be prevalent just as it was in the days of Noah and in the days of Lot. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life brought destruction upon the people through the flood and fire in the days of old. Lot’s wife was lost through lust. The angels of mercy held her by the hand and brought her out of Sodom but she looked back, contrary to the divine instruction and she became a pillar of salt. In spite of all the special privileges she enjoyed, she was lost.

The coming of the Lord is imminent. Everything happening in the world today points to the fact that the time is short. The necessity of salvation from sin and holiness of life cannot be over emphasized.

“Remember Lot’s wife”.

Separated to become God's own person

2009-12-02T00:09:00.000-08:00
“And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine” (Leviticus 20:26).

Several years ago, a class of students was on a trip to visit a coal mine. As they prepared to enter the mine the man conducting the tour noticed a little girl in a snow white dress. He said, “Dear, I have an apron to cover your dress if you want it”. The little girl replied, “No that’s alright, there is no dirt on my dress.” To the girl’s response the man said, “Your beautiful white dress will not look the same when you come out of the mine as when you went in.”

From the passage this morning, the basis is here again stated for which all the laws of holiness should be obeyed. God is holy; and those who serve Him must be holy. Israel is to be separated from all unclean persons and things, be devoted to God’s service, and obey all His commands. That is the purpose why the Almighty God severed them from the people of the land; which is a very forcible argument, which laid them under great obligation to obedience and holiness.

Like the little girl, we must guard our lives and avoid the very appearance of evil. Anything that will tarnish or stain our testimony must be avoided. We represent the most High God. Therefore, we must be above reproach, we must be people of integrity. We must also live lives of purity. His plan for bringing us closer unto Himself is “That ye should be Mine”. We were bought with a price. We are no longer our own.

Now that you in particular, have been redeemed and set apart for His exclusive use, do not wish to be anything different from His holy intention.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Cleave to the Lord to the end.

The perfect Liberty

2009-12-01T00:13:00.000-08:00
“And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts” (Psalm 119:45).

The Spirit of holiness is a free spirit, He sets men at liberty and enables them to resist every effort to bring them under subjection. The way of holiness is not a track for slaves, but the king’s highway for freemen, who are joyfully journeying from Egypt of bondage to the Canaan of rest.

God’s mercies and His salvation guarantees our happy rest. The more we seek after the perfection of our obedience, the more shall we enjoy complete emancipation from every form of spiritual slavery. Liberty is next to life and is dearest to all brave men.

He says, “I shall walk” indicating his daily progress through life at liberty. Whenever God pardons sin, He subdues it. When the fetters of sin is broken off and we walk at liberty, in the way of God. This is a blessed sign we are pardoned.

God expects us to be free from that which is evil and not hampered by the fetters of any corruption. However, being at liberty does not mean freedom to live carnally or freedom to live as one pleases and to align toward the lifestyles of the old Sodom and Gomorrah.

It is rather freedom to serve God unhindered. When we were in Satan’s bondage, he puts us in stocks and held us bound so much that we had no power to serve the Almighty God. But with the removal of fetters, we now have unhindered access to the throne of grace. We should be bold and courageous in His duty and diligent and vigorous in serving God.

The true freeman enjoys free walk with God, freely talks about God, freely loves God.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The service of sin is perfect slavery; the service of God is perfect liberty.

Partnership with the Almighty

2009-11-30T00:22:00.000-08:00
“And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; the LORD is with you, while ye be with Him; and if ye seek Him, He will be found; but if ye forsake Him, He will forsake you” (2 Chronicles 15:2).

Joshua had never experienced defeat in his life until the people of Ai conquered Israel and killed thirty-six men among the soldiers sent there. Then, he sought the face of God to find out the cause of this defeat after the initial victory at Jericho.

The answer came from the Lord: “Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them. Neither will I be with you anymore, except ye destroy the accursed things from among you” (Joshua 7:11,12).

Here the condition for divine human partnership was clearly spelt out. God is holy and demands holiness from all who want to have and maintain a continuous relationship with Him.

A prophet was sent to Asa and his army when they returned victorious from the war with the Ethiopians. Surprisingly, he did not come to congratulate them on their success but rather charged them to be dutiful.

The Spirit of God came upon the prophet both to instruct him about what he should say and to enable him to say it with clarity and boldness. He made them to realize that there is nothing like eternal security for any sinful person or nation.

God wants to maintain a loving relationship with man. However, “can two walk together except they be agreed?” Therefore, before anyone can have a meaningful relationship with Him, he must repent and believe the gospel. Moreover, he needs to follow peace with all men and holiness without which no man shall see the Lord.

Holiness of life brings us into a closer relationship with God. Then, we must daily walk by faith, without which it is impossible to please God and pray without ceasing, making obedience to God in all things our daily lifestyle.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The true test of holiness is doing right when no one is watching.

Reward of Persistence

2009-11-29T00:12:00.000-08:00
“And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee” (Mark 10:49).

Most often, the last step is the winning step. It is always darkest just before dawn. Persistence and steadfast commitment to a cause will win the needed victory. There is so much discouragement and confusion around that Christians need to exhort one another to faithfulness as the day of Christ draws near. “Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:18).

Blind Bartimaeus in our text had been in this depressing condition for quite a long time before the arrival of Jesus at Jericho. He suddenly heard about Jesus and determined to seize the golden opportunity to get rid of his problem. However, the more he cried, the farther the solution seemed to be, “but he cried the more, a great deal, thou son of David, have mercy on me.”

He cried until his plea got the attention of Jesus. At the end, he got the favour of God and the compliments of the people who had earlier stood in his way to receiving Christ’s attention.

The Bible enjoins us: “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:35-37).

The life of blind Bartimaeus naturally teaches the heaven-bound believers to endure till the end; keep the hope of eternal life close to his heart and guard it jealously; and show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope to the end.

As we continue in our Christian race, there may be discouragement from fellow pilgrims but we must daily remind ourselves that it is only those who endure and continue till the end that shall be saved. The Christian race is a battle of wits and nerves. Those who make up their minds to overcome every daunting odd are those who triumph ultimately.

Though for the day: The quitter never wins; the winner never quits.

The just shall live by faith

2009-11-28T00:41:00.000-08:00
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God” (Mark 11: 22).

One indispensable companion in every believer’s life journey is faith. It is your virtue for victory, your tenant for triumph and your precept for progress. The Bible defines faith as,“the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11: 1).

Faith is expressed in the bank-draft you receive instead of actual dollar notes in business transactions. It is seeing the invisible and believing the incredible. It is reposing absolute confidence in God for all your needs. It is taking God at His word and confessing His words until the promises are fulfil.

Faith can reorganize your thought, reshape your perception and renew your hope in God. Faith is the believer’s hand that receives from God what others think is impossible. If you have faith in God, nothing shall be impossible to you.

Jesus told the disciples the blanket truth for their daily up-keep: “Have faith in God”. You also need this God-kind of faith in your daily affairs. We are assured in the scriptures that, “without faith it is impossible to please him” (Hebrews 11: 6).

We also learn in another place that, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1: 17). You begin to realize then that faith is central and fundamental to your life as a Christian. Faith will make you to conquer in all your battles and put you above all circumstances. Put on, “he shield of faith” and you, “shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Ephesians 6: 16).

Prayer: Dear Lord, make me strong in faith.

Divine Assurance

2009-11-27T00:40:00.000-08:00
“I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron”
(Isaiah 45:2).

You have a wonderful promise from the Lord before you. The Lord is making a fantastic promise to all of us who will follow Him. He says He will go before you. When He goes before you He will do three things for you.

First, He will go before you to make crooked places straight. He does not want you to keep managing crooked things. He wants to correct them and straighten everything out for you. To Him be all glory forever and ever.

The second thing He wants to do is to break in pieces the gates of brass. God will go before you to defeat your enemies by breaking down their source of security which the gates of brass symbolise.

Finally, the Lord will cut in sunder the bars of iron to which the gates were fastened. That is a symbol of total victory that God will give you. Whatever power or force that is standing between you and the purpose of God in your life, God Himself will fight for you and you shall hold your peace. In Jesus name.

Challenge: Faithful is He who has promised.
Prayer: Lord I thank You for your great and precious promises.

The fontain of hope

2009-11-26T00:25:00.000-08:00
“They had almost consumed me upon earth; but I forsook not thy precepts. Quicken me after thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth” (Psalm 119:87).

The son of a poor man was travelling to a distant city for greener pastures and the father had no money to give him, except his transport fare. However, he had a Bible which he handed over to the boy, who before then had not been that familiar with it. As he did so, he said, I have no money that I can give you but there are so much treasure hidden in this book. Consult it everyday and you will never lack any good thing, neither will you be defeated.”

The boy did not think much about this until he ran into a difficult situation which made him extremely dejected. Just at the nick of time, he remembered the words of his father. Reaching out to where his Bible was, he opened. Lo and behold, he was faced with Matthew 11:28-30. As he read through, the Holy Ghost took over, his burden was lifted, and his life was no longer the same again after a fervent prayer session.

The Psalmist, in our text, puts his hope in the word of God for his salvation and comfort. He exuded great faith as he enthused that though he was extremely troubled by the enemy, he had made up his mind to trust in God’s statutes. Persecuted on all sides to the point of almost being destroyed, he was resolved to hold on tenaciously to God’s precepts.

He noted that the action of the proud who sought to destroy him was contrary to the word of God, yet for him he would never toe the line of wickedness. Rather, he looked unto God for deliverance, insisting he would keep to the word of God.

The word of God is the priceless treasure that can enrich our life without measure. It is the bastion of hope for the hopeless; it is the lamp to believers’ feet and light to their path; it is the source of believers’ authority and dominion over the enemy.

The hope of salvation for sinners lies in the word of God and it is the source of the believer’s strength. Therefore, the wise thing to do by all who desire victory in all areas of life and hope to be with the Lord at the end is to hold tightly to the word of God.

The word of God is the bulwark of the believer’s faith.

Do not worry but put your trust in the Lord

2009-11-25T00:15:00.000-08:00
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4: 6).

Man is born and bound to face challenges in life. You might have had some difficult situations, problematic circumstances and hard times in your life. Your attitude to tough time matters so much as it determines your end. It can either make you a victor or a victim of circumstances. Believers in Christ are victorious when they face life challenges with faith and prayers. Christians who pray about everything, every time and anywhere are people with God’s power to prevail in every situation in life. Prayer-less people are powerless and weak who panic rather than prevailing over problems. When you face tough times in life, don’t panic but pray. The Bible says, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much”.

The greatest secret of victory in life is prayer of faith. People of prayer are people of power. Satan panics when a child of God prays. Fear and torment are not for Christians who know how to pray. You can receive strength when you appear weak through prayer. You can receive courage and confidence from God when you face hard trials through prayer. Begin to pray about everything, everywhere and every time. Your life will never remain the same when you begin to spend time to pray every day.

Challenge: Prayer changes things.
Prayer: Help me to be prayerful, dear Lord.

Do not attempt to loose the opportunities

2009-11-24T00:33:00.000-08:00
KEY VERSE: “And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice” (2 Kings 13:19).

Horace Mann, in describing the irretrievable nature of time wrote: “Lost… somewhere between sunrise and sunset, sixty golden minutes. Each set with sixty diamond seconds. No reward is offered, for they are gone forever.”

Such can be said about certain opportunities – when lost, they are gone forever. It becomes very disturbing when such opportunities have great and long lasting implications.

Joash the king of Israel lost such an opportunity. He had the rare privilege of receiving the dying counsel and blessing of Prophet Elisha, whom God used so mightily that his dead bones were instrumental in raising the dead (verse 20), but made not full use of it.

Elisha’s instruction to the king was symbolic of deliverance of Israel from Syria, their arch oppressor. But the significance of this demonstration was lost on Joash who struck with bow and arrow only three times. He belittled the exercise.

The man of God was unhappy with Joash for he knew that if the king had
sustained the action until five or six times – or until Elisha ordered a stop – it would have meant a permanent deliverance for Israel. But he was told by the man of God that “whereas nowthou shalt smite Syria but thrice”.

True to this prediction, Syria was beaten by Israel only three times during which times Israel recovered the cities earlier taken from them by Syria.

Often, God presents us with opportunities to demonstrate our faith in Him knowing that without His favour and support we can achieve nothing worthwhile. But many do not take such things serious.

Those who hold sacred things with levity and belittle the counsel of true men of God do so to their own detriment. Half measured commitment to God is not enough to secure His full blessing.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Limited actions of faith spell limited victory.

With a fresh focus

2009-11-23T00:27:00.000-08:00
“And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.” (Judges 8: 4)

Gideon’s mission was to overthrow the Midianites and put an end to their seven-year oppression. He had few but God-appointed soldiers with him to achieve the goal. There can be no glorious battle as fighting with the army of the Lord. Gideon defeated the Midianites. The men of Israel pursued their enemies to Jordan, fainting and yet pursuing. Passion for total victory must have made them to continue to pursue the enemies despite their fainting condition. What a great lesson for every person who is battling for excellence.

Men and Women with passion and purpose in life must continue to pursue their success goals regardless of seemingly inconvenient conditions. You must be committed to your goal achievement come rain, come sunshine; and when you are full or hungry. If Gideon’s army could disregard their uncomfortable feelings to realize their goals of success, you can also despise every discomfort to make progress on your success journey. No man has ever woken up to realize his dreams without facing some obstacles in history. The strategy is always to persist in pursuing your goals, even when you are fainting.

Challenge: People with purpose are never distracted from their goal pursuit.
Prayer: Help me dear Lord, to be focused in my life pursuit.

Faith in God cannot be disappointed

2009-11-22T00:27:00.000-08:00
“Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.” (Micah 7:7).

Today is one sure day when everything will work out fine for me. The weather will favour me. Heaven has marked me for blessing. God’s mercy will surround me. Because my God will hear me.

I have always believed God is a prayer answering God. He answered the prayers of Abraham for a child and turned around the wrath of Esau against his brother Jacob. God answered the prayers of Daniel and rescued the three Hebrew boys from the fire of Nebuchadnezzar.

God answered the prayers of the unnamed boy who gave his five loaves and two fishes to Jesus. He went back home with more food than the one he gave to Jesus. Surely, today as I look unto Him, my God will hear me.

God is the God of my salvation. I am alive and well today because He took care of me. He is the one who sustains me and keeps me from evil. He is the one who gives me victory over sin and satan.

Whatever may happen today, I am sure He will be near me and watch over me. Once I call on Him, I am confident that my God will hear me. To Him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Challenge: Faithful is He who has promised who also will do it.
Prayer: Thank you Jesus for answering my prayers.

Your problem is your highway to your promotion

2009-11-21T12:00:00.000-08:00
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8: 28).

Usually, obstacles are open doors to overcomers. Joseph was a boy with great dreams. The problems confronting him could have proved to be great obstacles to the realization of his dreams. The scriptures reveal that the challenges that confronted him became stepping stones to his great achievements. He finally woke up one day to rise from prison to become the Prime minister in the palace of Pharaoh.

Have you heard of David, the son of Jesse who later became a great king in the land of Israel? It was not an easy journey to the throne for him. He had to confront the giant called Goliath, fight battles with the Philistines and live in exile away from home to escape the assassination of king Saul.

The story is the same for great achievers of world history. Courage to march forward is what you need in any problem that may come your way. Be sure that victory lies ahead.

What distinguishes winners from losers is the way they view and/or handle problems. While winners view great obstacles as challenges too big to miss, the losers view it as too big to hit. You should not be intimidated by problems and difficulties.

Challenges have their limit. God will not allow you to be tempted “above that ye are able” (1Corinthians 10: 13). As a child of God, see obstacles as means to achievement for “all things work together for good to them that love God”.

Challenge: God is greater than my problems.
Prayer: Dear Lord, help me to move forward regardless of any obstacles on my way of progress.

Forever Forward

2009-11-20T00:06:00.000-08:00
Memory verse: “And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth” (Numbers 21:10).

Boxing is one game many decent minds disagree should be rightly called sport. The deliberate inflicting of injuries on one another in the quest for praise or payment can only appeal to the beastly instinct in man. But there is one lesson professional boxers are taught which is valuable for us all. They are taught not to retreat but to move forward when in the ring.

In our text, it was said of the children of Israel that they ‘set forward….’ The significance of the statement becomes clearer when it is recalled that they had just suffered a serious setback in their progress towards the Promised Land.

In their weariness as they matched from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, they murmured against God and Moses, discrediting the gracious provision of manna the Lord made for them. The righteous judgment of God came upon them for this. Fiery serpents got in their midst and bit many to death.

Upon their repentance and Moses’ intercession, the Lord pardoned them and initiated the remedy of the brazen serpent on which if any victim of the snake bite looked, he was cured. At this juncture in their journey, they probably would have felt reluctant to move on, at least for the time being. But they set forward!

Forward is upward and is the secret of success in every sphere of life. Apostle Paul was conscious of this when he wrote: ‘I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 3:13,14).

Their recall of God’s past goodness at this instance and their songs of victory indicate they made the most of the divine discipline.

Have you suffered a setback lately? Are you tempted to give up due to what you regard as high-handedness meted out to you? Are you weighed down by past experiences? Are you losing steam for the race? Take a cue from Israel, look up and set forward.

Thought for the day: Press forward, greater trophies lay ahead.

Moving forward by taking opportunity

2009-11-19T00:42:00.000-08:00
“And it came to pass, when the Philistine arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine” (1Samuel 17: 48).

Goliath was a giant with terrifying stature. He was a mighty and an experienced warrior of an outstanding record. David, however, was a teenager who had never fought a battle. He was a lad whose faith in God wrote his name in the platter of gold. He took chance and made a victorious advance to meet Goliath that nobody in Israel could fight. David’s victory was a result of faith to take chance in spite of seemingly impossible situation. No significant achievement can be made by taking small risks on insignificant issues of life.

Your success depends on how far you can stretch yourself to reach out to your goals. You cannot realize an uncommon achievement by attempting common tasks. The greater the goals you set for success, the better for exceptional achievement. It is better to aim high and take risks to climb up to the pinnacle of success. The bottom is reserved for mediocre while the top is meant for people who dare to take chances. You can soar higher day by day on the eagle’s wings of success till you reach the top if you will take chances.

Challenge: Relaxation in the safe zone is mediocrity

Prayer: Dear lord, give me courage to make advances by faith.

Praying always

2009-11-18T00:23:00.000-08:00
"Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice!" (Psalm 55: 17).

A song writer writes: “Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of Prayer!” Truly, the hour of prayer is so sweet and seasoning. It affords the mortal man to commune intimately with the Immortal God in a Father-child relationship. It gives us immense opportunities to pour out our petitions before God.

Prayer offers us the privilege to unburden all our cares on Christ and receive rest for our soul. It provides us with an ample chance of asking and receiving, seeking and finding and knocking to get the door opened.

Prayer is the key that opens the door of heaven for divine rain of blessings. It is the hand of man that is stretched out by faith to receive all his needs from God. It is the source of strength, pathway to power and cornerstone of continual victory.

Those who pray gallantly prevail against the devil’s onslaughts. Progress in life and in academic endeavors is facilitated by prayer. The devil trembles when you pray but may attempt to tempt when you play. Prayer is efficacious and powerful. It pays to pray.

Our text today indicates the psalmist's hours of prayer in the morning, noon and evening. Prayer is as important as our daily food, which we take three times daily. The Bible enjoins us to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17): always to pray and not to faint (Luke 18:1): continuing instant in prayer (Romans 12:12): everywhere (1 Timothy 2:8); and pray one for another (James 5: 16).

God is interested in our prayers. He is willing to answer our prayers if we will obey His words and do His will.

CHALLENGE: Strength for the day is received by prayer in the morning.

PRAYER: Help me to pray aright Oh God as I call upon you every day.

Redeeming the time

2009-11-17T00:37:00.000-08:00
"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil" (Ephesians 5: 16).

An adage says, "Time and tides wait for no one". Time is very precious and it means different things to different people. To a business man it means money. To a civil servant it means his promotion. To the soldier time is safety and victory. To the preacher it means the salvation of the never dying souls. To the student time is success and certificate. Many people complain of lack of time.

Time will never wait for you. Napoleon Hill said "Do not wait; the time will never be just right: Start where you stand; and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along". If you are waiting for the best time; you will never begin to do something either for yourself or for God.

In the management of time, an author says, "The things that matter most must never be at the mercy of the things that matter least". This means you set your priorities right and ensure you work according to the order. Time will not wait for you, do something now. Stop procrastinating. Remember, if you spend three hours every day to eat, and you live for seventy years before you die, you have spent 8.75 years to eat in your life.

If you Spend another hour to talk and relax, you have spent an additional 8.75 years talking and relaxing. If you spend eight hours each day to sleep and you live for 70 years, you have spent 23.33 years sleeping. Adding all these together, you have spent 40.833 years out of 70 years eating, talking and sleeping! Meditate on this, plan out your time and achieve what you must achieve before the time runs out on you.

CHALLENGE: lf you must achieve anything in life, start now.

PRAYER: Lord, teach me to number my days that I may apply my heart unto wisdom.

Jesus is the lover of our Soul

2009-11-16T00:14:00.000-08:00
“Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: That the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none” (John 18:8,9).

It is difficult for many people to grasp God’s love for them because they start in the wrong place, that is, in themselves. In other words, they question how God could really love them since they do not deserve His love. What can liberate such people is the realization that God’s love for them does not begin with them, but with Him. He loves us because it is His nature and character to love us.

Such understanding will help us appreciate the affection Christ had for the disciples in the passage under consideration, and by extension, for the entire human race. Our Lord protected the disciples even when His own life was in serious jeopardy. “Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end” (John 13:1).

From Matthew’s account of what happened at the garden, the disciples had just disappointed the Lord’s expectation when He found them sleeping whereas they were expected to be watching and praying. Yet, He was there at the time when it mattered most, to secure them against the external aggression that could have swallowed them.

Besides, Christ died and made Himself a ransom for the sins of the world. In other words, because of His love for us, we have every reason to be filled with hope to feel secure, to expect His help and blessings, to enjoy salvation and abundant life, to live a life of love, to become more like Him, to live a life of victory over sin and evil, to enjoy His presence and be filled with joy and encouragement. To remain in sin is therefore to deny ourselves of His care and affection.

Thought for the day: A true friend loves at all times.

Jesus has power to heal and to deliver

2009-11-15T00:17:00.000-08:00
Key verse: “And as he was yet a coming, the devil threw him down, and tare him. And Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and delivered him again to his father” (Luke 9:42).

Miracles happen today. They are usually history-making and earth-shaking events which usually change the whole course of history and the fate of nations. Believing in miracles is a basic necessity of mankind. The fundamental need of the world today is a rebirth of belief in the supernatural power of the Almighty God.

The father of the lunatic boy in the text under consideration, cried unto the Lord with importunity. Prayer is the only force that can draw the power of God into one’s life. The merciful Christ did not refuse his plea but rather healed his child. Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit when he raged most. The devil threw him down, and tore him, distorted him as if he would have pulled him to pieces. But one word from Christ healed and made good the damage the devil had done to him. They were all amazed at the mighty power of God, which they could not but see in all the miracles Christ wrought. The works of God almighty are amazing especially those that are wrought through the hands of the Lord Jesus Christ; for he is the power of God and his name is wonderful.

God has not changed today. His power as of old is still in operation in the lives of those who believe. He can heal all sicknesses, deliver from oppression and set the captives free. We need to draw His miracles into our life through prayer and faith. And if we have committed any sin, let us repent and turn away from this, for He will surely pardon every confessed iniquity.

Are you sick, weary, depressed or afflicted? The devil comes not but to steal, kill and destroy. But for this purpose Jesus Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil in your life. There is abundant life in Christ if we can come to Him with unwavering faith.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: Faith in Christ secures unflagging victory.

The Captain of our Life

2009-11-14T00:30:00.000-08:00
Key Verse: “And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the Lord God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper” (2 Chronicles 13:12).

There once lived a man who protested each time he was extended a God-be-with-you compliment. He reasoned that if God were to be with someone the person will lose his freedom to do as he pleased. True, God’s presence in our life should put some restraint in our lives. What the protesting man did not consider is that God with us makes us unconquerable for, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31).

Abijah, king of Judah, armed himself with this consciousness when he went out against the army of Israel under Jeroboam with an army of four hundred thousand soldiers as against Israel’s eight hundred thousand soldiers. He was not altogether balanced in his assertions about Jeroboam’s coming to power in Israel, he nonetheless capitalized on the backsliding and idolatry of Jeroboam and Israel in his address. He talked proudly about Judah’s pure worship and faithfulness to the Mosaic Law. This way, he identified with the Almighty God and emphatically appealed to his opponents thus: “O children of Israel fight ye not against Jehovah, the God of your fathers, for ye shall not prosper” (2 Chronicles 13:12).

The outcome of the war was a clear victory for Abijah despite Jeroboams superior army and tactics. The presence of God with us should afford us comfort, courage, rest as well as terrify our enemies. If we have made Jehovah the Captain of our host, there is no need to live in fear. With Him on our side, we can pass through waters and fire and come out unscathed; surmount the most difficult challenge and fight every battle with confidence.

As you step out today into a world full of uncertainties, have you made the Lord your own Captain? Are you at peace with God? If not, why not humbly go to Him in penitent prayer and by faith accept His provision of salvation and restoration through Jesus Christ, His Son?

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
God-with-us is enough guarantee for our victory in every battle.

God is our Strength in Battle

2009-11-13T00:14:00.000-08:00
Key verse: “O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble” (Isaiah 33:2).

The story was told of a soldier who was hit in the chest through enemy fire during the Second World War. He fell down and became unconscious and was carried by his colleagues back to the camp for necessary medical attention. Upon examination, it was discovered that he had a copy of the pocket New Testament Bible in his chest pocket and that though the bullet had succeeded in tearing through, it miraculously got stuck at the page of Psalm 91. The soldier had no hurt; he only became unconscious as a result of shock. He eventually regained consciousness and went back to battle.

The gracious protection of God is very important for our security. The Assyrians had broken their covenant of peace and started overrunning Israel without any recourse to human sympathy. This necessitated the remnants crying to God for deliverance from the Assyrian oppression. Sennacherib, the Assyrian king moved his army against Judah and Jerusalem in a heartless invasion that devastated the land. this made the people to pray earnestly for divine mercy for the land. No sooner was the prayer made than they got divine intervention. Although, they prayed that God should save them from their enemies, the strength of the Assyrian camp was broken when God sent the destroying angel that slew hundreds of thousands of Assyrian soldiers.

God is still in the business of divinely protecting those who put their trust in Him, even if nations rise against them. He is our present help in trouble. Even if a thousand Sennecharibs should rise against us today, victory is certain if only we can avoid relying on the arm of flesh. The everlasting God is our refuge.

Are you distressed and almost swallowed up by the warfare and tumult of life? Does the enemy appear too powerful for you to curtail? There is victory assured if only you, like the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem, would this day look up to the gracious God and turn all your battles over unto Him. You will find in Him the Anchor that keeps the soul.

Thought for the day: God is the Anchor that keeps the soul.

Never give up but advance in adversity

2009-11-12T00:12:00.000-08:00
“And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them”(Judges 8:4).

Gideon's army were few in number as against the hosts of the “Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east (that) lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels (that) were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude” (Judges 7:12).
God does not fight with number. All that God requires from man is faith for victory. He is ready and willing at all times to fight for you in the battle of life. Whatever problems or challenges might face you on the pathway of progress; you will reach your goal if you can march forward by faith.
You need faith to advance forward in any adversity. Gideon's army chased their enemies to Jordan and passed over the river; fainted and yet pursuing. The secret of victory is in advancing forward with focus on your goal. When the Israelites got to the red sea, God’s charge to them was the same that they “go forward” (Exodus 14:13-15).
Winners never quit however fierce the battle may be. Achievers never give up; whatever troubles, difficulties and/or problems may come their ways on the path of progress. The student who will harvest success must be ready to weather the storm and get tough with tough situations he/she might encounter as he/she advances to achieve his/her goals. You must be determined to advance forward as a champion, whatever may happen. Only cowards retreat when the battle is fierce.

Challenge: Quitters never win.
Prayer: Dear Lord, give me the courage of a champion to march forward whatever betides.

Your Destiny is determined by your Decision

2009-11-11T00:14:00.000-08:00
Key Verse: “For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him” (Deuteronomy 11:22).

God is neither a tyrant nor a dictator. He gave man the right to decide what he does, hence, it is said that man is a free moral agent. But for every decision he makes right or wrong, there is a recompense. It is often said that decision determines destiny.
Although He had chosen Israel as a begotten nation and had promised to honour them above every other nation on earth, God still needed to tell them that they had some roles to play before they could appropriate all the blessings meant for them. Particularly, God stressed the fact that the realization of the promises he had made and Israel’s ability to enjoy victory over their enemies depended on how far they would obey his commandments. He expressly stated: “A blessing if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God… and a curse if ye will not obey”.
Just as he commanded Israel, God’s principle of ‘cause and effect’ is still potent in our daily dealings with Him. God demands implicit obedience. As He rewards every act of obedience so does he also frown at willful disobedience.
Instances abound where some people who had genuinely received miraculous healings from threatening diseases and illnesses, suddenly relapsed into a worst health condition. Some even have had to die in the process. The reason behind this has been traced to the inability of such beneficiaries of God’s power to faithfully keep the miracles by continuing in faith.
Today, many believers still lose God’s favour and what could have been a victory over circumstances of life owing to their decision to patronize sin. We have the opportunity and the blessings of God are ours to appropriate into our lives.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: A man is a product of what he sows.

Victory Through Faith

2009-11-10T00:37:00.000-08:00
Key verse:“Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time” (1 Kings 19:2)

During one of the many reformation battles, a young soldier found himself and his army being soundly defeated by the enemy. He and his comrades hastily retreated from the battlefield in defeat, running away in fear of their very lives. Knowing that the enemy was close behind, and that he was exhausted from the chase, he chose to hide in the cleft of a rock. As the enemy cautiously moved forward to enter the cave, he came upon the spider’s web, which was completely strung across the opening. He backed away and called out to a comrade “There can’t be anyone in here. They would have had to break the spider’s web to enter the cave”. So they left. The young soldier inside the cave pondered this irony saying “I asked God for protection and deliverance, and He sent me a spider to weave its web at the entrance of the cave”.
Similarly, Elijah, upon receiving the threat from Jezebel became so afraid that he escaped into the wilderness. Elijah changed his direction, hoping the change will settle the confusion in his heart. Fear robbed him of his joy, made him to run from things that were not after him. Fear-driven people often miss great opportunities because, they are afraid to venture out. Fear is a self imposed prison that will keep you from becoming what God plans for you to be. Fear cripples faith and weakens our prayer life.
Faith can re-write our future. God always holds something for the man who keeps his faith in Him. Let God have all your worries and cares, for He is always thinking about you. Faith is a more powerful force that creates positive circumstances. Faith sees the invisible, believes the impossible, and receives the incredible. Fear sees the obstacle but faith sees the way. The world will always give you the opportunity to quit but Winston Churchill has this to tell us “Never, never, never, give up!”

Thought for the day:Your life will shrink or expand in proportion to your faith.

A Strength and Refuge

2009-11-09T00:34:00.000-08:00
“Now the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is holpen shall fall down, and they all shall fail together”(Isaiah 31:3).

A song writer once wrote and affirmed his confidence in the unfailing ability of our God when he wrote, “my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.” He further said, “On Christ the solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand.”

No other preamble can be more appropriate in our attempt to drive home the teaching on our text today. The futility of man-made defence is here clearly portrayed. Worse still, the indignation of the Most High God and the impending doom that awaits those who rely on the arm of flesh no matter how fortified they may be are also unambiguously declared.

Faith in God is indispensable in our lives for a fruitful, fulfilled, peaceful, happy righteous and victorious life. It is faith that grants us a life of heaven on earth and eventually translates us into glory in the presence of God. Our heavenly Father desires to lead us in a life of faith. He continues to draw us into the unknown, for it is only the unknown that we truly learn to trust in the Lord.

“Egyptians are men and not God, and their horses flesh and not spirit. When the Lord shall stretch out his hand, both he that helpeth shall fall, and he that is helped shall fall down, and they all shall fail together” (v 3). God is the only Eternal Refuge. Hope in man is like a vapour that appears for a time and disappears almost immediately. If our expectation comes from any source other than God, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment and doom. It is only faith in God through Jesus Christ that can guarantee victory and make a way into God’s abiding presence.

Thought for the day: Leaning on the everlasting arms is the recipe for constant victory.

Redemption from the curse of death and sickness

2009-11-08T00:25:00.000-08:00
Redemption is a release or liberation from captivity or death by paying a price called a ransom. It simply connotes buying back unto freedom someone in servitude, slavery or captivity.

The fall of man brought all human race under sin, Satan and condemnation as a result of man’s disobedience to God and consequence of the broken law. For through the offence of one many are dead that as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation.

Man lost his purity and favor with God in the fall. Man cannot, by himself regain it. The whole creation was bought under the curse and all men (in Adam) became sinners and captives to sin, Satan and sickness (Romans 5:12). Consequently, man being under the sentence of death, could not pay his own death penalty and live again to enjoy freedom from sin and carry out the divine purpose for which he has been created.

God then undertook the redemption of man by sending His only begotten Son to die in man’s place. He being capable of redeeming man met the demands of the law and became the legal substitute by paying the redemptive price for those who are condemned to death because of breaking the law. This is absolute protection from eternal punishment through the blood of the perfect and spotless substitute (Exodus 12:13; John 3:16; Ephesians 1:7; Romans 3:24; Revelation 5:9; Romans 8:3; Isaiah 53:4-8; I Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; Matthew 26:28; I Peter 1:18-21; Genesis 3:16-24).

It is Christ who bore the curse of the law and suffered its condemnation of death in our stead. No sinner can acquitted except he accepts Christ as his Redeemer (Acts 4:12).

Man’s redemption is not limited to removal of guilt, but all consequences of the broken law, which are sickness, disease and satanic oppression. Healing of sickness and diseases well as continued health are provided for all men through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ.

In the Old Testament, there was a divine plan by which God heals all those who were in covenant relationship with him. Not everyone can enjoy this unfailing healing and health plan made by God for all mankind based on the fact that not all men are in covenant relationship with Him.

The promise to keep the Israelites from diseases by which the Egyptians were afflicted was made at the instance of the healing covenant Israel had with God. Diverse sickness, pestilences and plagues came upon them when they disobeyed God and broke His covenant (Deuteronomy 28:28-61; Psalms 107:17-20), but when they repented and prayed, fulfilling the covenant conditions, they were healed (Numbers 21:4-9); II Chronicles 7:13,14; Psalms 107:17-20). God is in the business of healing today where the conditions of the covenant are met.

Jesus not only bore our sins, He also bore our sicknesses and diseases. He became our sickness-bearer in exactly the same way he became our sin-bearer. Christ was scourged and striped for our healing; nailed to the cross for our sin (John 3:14; 12:22-23; Isaiah 53:4,5; Matthew 8:16,17; Psalms 103:2,4). The Holy Spirit concluded saying, Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law; sickness - pestilence, fever, cancer, ulcer, boils, as well as nameless sicknesses found in people’s life today and other infirmities recorded or not recorded in scriptures (Deuteronomy 28:15-29,58-61; Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 7:12-15). Christ has been made manifest to destroy the works of the devil - I John 3:8; Acts 10:38; Hebrews 13:8).

Divine healing and health like salvation has remained the right of every child of God. It is a vital part of complete salvation once we belong to the commonwealth of Israel and not strangers to the covenant of promise (Matthew 15:26-28; Ephesians 2:12-21; I Peter 2:9,10). Sickness in whatever form is of the devil. God calls it captivity (Job 42:10), Jesus calls it bondage (Luke 13:16,12) and the Holy Spirit calls it oppression (Acts 10:38).

The victory of Jesus is our victory. He did nothing for Himself. He conquered sin, Satan, disease and sickness on our behalf. He shares His victory with all who will repent and believe on His name. He bore our infirmities, sicknesses and diseases so that we could claim full release and deliverance. As much as disobedience to God’s word, misuse of tongue and unbelief will make the covenant of no effect, for the people of God, no more can anyone enjoy the blessing of healing without a current relationship with God through Christ, obedience to the Word of God and fulfilling the terms and conditions for healing (Exodus 15:26; 23:25-26; Deuteronomy 7:12-15,6-9; Leviticus 26; Psalms 91; Isaiah 1:19; Mark 2:5,9,11; III John).

It then goes without saying that curse causeless shall not come. Most often infirmities came as a consequence of:
*disobeying God (Genesis 20:1-18; I Chronicles 10:13),
*through Satan, the very source of sickness and affliction (Job 2:6-7; Matthew 4:23-24; John 10:10; 8:44; 5:14; Acts 10:38),
*backsliding (Exodus 10:10; II Chronicles 16:12-14; Matthew 12:43-45),
*misuse of tongue (Numbers 21:40;6; 11:10;3; 12:10;10),
*unlawful sin,
*covetousness or merchandising God’s gift (II Kings 5:20-27);
*rebellion (Psalms 107:17-20; Deuteronomy 32:39-41)
*or even breaking God’s law of nature.

The scripture reveals that evil spirits, devils and demons also assist Satan in its destructive work on human bodies. They possess, oppress, afflict, torment, and obsess people and cause: dumbness and deafness (Matthew 9:32,33; Mark 9:25-27), blindness (Matthew 12:22) grievous vexation and torments (Matthew l5: 22), lunacy (Matthew 4:24; Luke 9:38-42) and suicide (Matthew 17:15).

They gained entrance through sin, consulting with familiar spirits, palm reading, magic, witchcraft, fortune telling, not guarding the mind or refusal to resist the devil. As long as you have any of the devil’s property, he will stay around you. Renounce and destroy the works of the devil (I Peter 1:1,13; 5:8,9; Acts 19:18,19), for total emancipation from his claws.

The Bible sets forth condition precedence to enjoying the benefits and blessing of our relationship with God, i.e.
*our redemptive rights; genuine conversion (Psalms 103:2-5; Matthew 13:15; Mark 9:23; Matthew 21:21-22; Mark 11:22-24; John 14:12; James 1:6-8),
*obedience to God and His word (Exodus 15:26; 23:25,26; Proverbs 4:20-22);
*abiding in Him (Psalms 91:1-7; John 15:1-7);
*making peace with fellow men (Mark 11:22-26; James 5:14-26; Genesis 20:14);
*serving God in holiness (Exodus 23:25-26; Colossians 2:6,7; John 5:14; I John 3:21-22);
*appropriating the benefits of Calvary through prayer of faith (II Peter 1:3,4; Hebrews 6:18; I Peter 2:24; James 1:16,17: Hebrews 13:8; Matthew 8:17), etc.

From the foregoing, God heals those who are under healing covenant (Psalms 105:37; II Chronicles 30:18-20);
*by His Word (Psalms 107:20; Hebrews 4:20; Matthew 8:8);
*through His mercy (Matthew 20:30-34);
*by His Power (Matthew 28:18; Colossians 1:16-17; Luke 5:17),
*by His spirit (Acts 10:38; Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 10:18-19; Romans 8:2,11; Matthew 12:28);
*in His Name (Acts 3:6; Luke 10:17,18; Mark l6: 17,18; Proverbs 18:10; Philippians 2:9-11);
*by His Will (I John 5:14,15; John 5:30; III John 2:2).

What a sure word of prophecy, no need for private interpretation, according to your faith it shall be done unto you.

It is then left with every believer to fulfill the terms of the divine conditions in order to live in the reality of this grace; I Corinthians 6:20; 7:23; Obadiah 17).

We shall live to possess our possession. Healing and health is for today. We can lay claim boldly to this redemptive grace, not with uncertainty, but with confidence of faith and prayer to get healed and remain healthy all the days of our lives. Now we are redeemed, purchased, bought back again to be God’s peculiar possession (Acts 20:28

Importance of Persistence

2009-11-07T00:30:00.001-08:00
Key verse: “I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth” (Luke 11:8).

Five men were trapped in a deserted zinc mine in Salem, Kentucky, by falling rocks. They had nothing to eat. They were in utter darkness. One of the men could have saved himself had he not run back to warn the others. When the entombed men discovered that they could not escape, they began to pray and sing. Their prayer and praise lasted for fifty-three hours! Then they were rescued. Later one of the men testified: “we lay there from Friday morning till Sunday morning. We prayed without ceasing. When the rescuers reached us, we were still praying”.
After observing the prayer-pattern and prayer-power in the life of Jesus, the disciples pleaded that He should teach them how to pray. In response, Jesus taught them the model of prayer, gave a parable of unwavering faith in prayer and encouraged them to ask, seek and knock.
Most of us offer snap-shot prayers and give up too soon. Many believers lack glorious victory in Christian living, many do not have the overflowing rivers of the radiant life. Many lack a continuing permanent love for others in their heart. They pray, but give up and stop praying before the answer comes.
The ironies of prayer are evident: God knows our need, yet we must ask; God is ready to answer, yet we must patiently persist. It was continuous knocking which gave the widow victory over the unjust judge. God promises that He will answer prayer if we do not waver when our faith is tried. Perseverance proves that we have no alternative, that we depend on Him whole-heartedly. Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring of our soul to God through Christ in the strength and assistance of the Spirit, for such things God has promised.

THOUGHT FOR THE DY: The greatest prayer is persistence.

The Vanity of Man’s Help

2009-11-06T00:25:00.001-08:00
Memory verse: “Give us help from trouble: for vain is the help of man” (Psalm 108:12).

He had got everything ready: passport, visa and all other necessary documents. He had no need to seek God’s face in prayer; his uncle’s promises were enough. Someone was to bring him money in the United States that would take care of his ticket and a few other necessities. His entire life was about to change for the better. Or so he thought. Then the telephone message, no money was to be sent; he was no more to travel; his uncle’s business in the U.S. had suffered extensive reverses. The plan for his journey had to be shelved for now.
God’s promises are ‘yea’ and ‘amen’, signed, sealed, and delivered as He desires. This Psalm, a combination of chapters 57 and 60 is to inspire confidence in true children of God when the enemy tries to assail from every side. Wholesome trust and confidence in God, obedience to His word and righteousness of life must form the sure foundation of our victory in Christ. Israel’s song of victory resonated each time their enemies were defeated.
Dependence on man had brought many a person avoidable heartache. This is because man does not have the capacity to do all he says he will do; only the Almighty God has such capacity, because He only has control over all circumstances and all forces of nature. Man is limited in every respect regardless of his advances in science and technology.
As we live a life of daily victory over the activities of the enemy, we must depend on Christ, our Mighty Man in battle and the Source of true victory. We are easily defeated when we do not depend on Him who never fails. If our lives are pleasing unto Him and we commit all aspects of it to Him, He will surely bring us out of all our troubles. Vain is the help of man. God never fails. Let us praise Him and sing unto Him always even when our trials are greatest. And when the trials are over and the victory is won, let our voices rise in praises and adoration to the Lord our banner.

Thought for the day: Dependence upon God ensures our victory over the enemy.

If the Lord is on your Side

2009-11-05T00:09:00.000-08:00
Key verse: “And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's” (2 Chronicles 20:15).

Thomas Kempis, a Christian writer, once said: “Regard not much who is for thee or who is against thee, but give all thy thought and care to this that God be with thee in everything till death. For whom God will help no malice of man shall be able to hurt.” A man of prominence attended the services of an old minister in a small church. The old minister preached with accustomed earnestness. At the close of the service, some members of the congregation said, “pastor we had a distinguished visitor today, but you did not seem embarrassed,” the minister replied, “I have been preaching in the presence of the Almighty God for forty years and do you think with him as one of my constant hearers any man, however, distinguished can embarrass me by his presence?”

The message of our text today cannot be better explained than this. Jehoshaphat king of Judah was under the threat of being swallowed up by the armies of Moab, Ammon and Mount Seir who conspired together to fight him and destroy the land of Judah. However, Jehoshaphat trusted in the Lord and also encouraged all his subjects to believe in the unfailing arm of the Lord. Surprisingly, this fierce battle was fought in an atmosphere of prayers and worship of the majesty of God of all possibilities. The result was victory for Judah and all her inhabitants, because God fought on their side. If God be for us who can be against us.

Jesus is still committed to our journey and still in complete control. In His perfect timing, He will calm all opposing forces and powers that are working against us. When doubts begin to surface, we must draw closer, hold on even tighter, and trust Him even deeper. As long as we are fighting on the side of righteousness, uprightness and faith in God, no matter what battle we see with our eyes and hear with our ears, we will always come out with resounding testimonies of victory.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY : One with God is more than a majority.

Great Victory Through Praise :

2009-11-04T05:17:00.000-08:00
Key verse: “And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten” (2 Chronicles 20:22).

Over the years, many Christians have missed the best of God because of their ignorance of the power of and great possibilities through praise. We are often too quick to complain, murmur, get depressed or discouraged because of some temporary challenges that confront us. We sometimes blame others or even blame God for some of the mishaps that may sometimes happen to us and thus hinder God from taking sides with us in those troubled moments or stop God from deploying invisible hosts of heaven to fight our battles for us.

In the passage for meditation today, we find the dramatic and miraculous victory that came the way of the children of Judah under the leadership of Jehoshaphat when they abandoned conventional methods of warfare and depended upon the leading of the Spirit of God. Instead of complaining and grumbling or expressing fear at the intimidating forces of the enemies that came out to fight against them, they consulted the prophets of God on how to fight the battle. Expectedly, some of them would have been shocked by the simple, Spirit-led yet supernatural method that God gave them“. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever” (verse 21).

Our victories are guaranteed when we learn to praise God and show gratitude for His mercies that endure forever.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY : God’s ways are not our ways.

More than a conqueror:

2009-10-11T02:05:00.001-07:00
Every work of devil on your children, on your family, on your business is destroyed today in Jesus' name. You are free from the works of the devil today. Because of Calvary, your business is free from the works of the devil. Because of Calvary, your family is free from the work of the devil. Because of Calvary, the Lord has set you free. You will never come into bondage anymore in Jesus' name.

Right now, anything of the devil in your own life, in your own family…everything is going to be bruised. Everything is going to be destroyed because Jesus Christ died on the cross. Now you come to identify with Christ in His crucifixion. That identification with the crucifixion of Christ will transfer power from Calvary and transfer into your life in Jesus' name. It can happen now. I said, "It can happen now." Give a chance to the Lord and let that crucifixion take effect right now in your life.

Today, we can be victors. We can be victorious. You can conquer through the crucifixion. Resurrection, power, authority coming into your life. This can be, and this will be, the time of the manifestation of the victory coming from Calvary upon your life in Jesus' name.

That over-controlling power of the body of sin…bring that to the cross today and participate and identify in the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. When that takes place in your life, that old man will be rendered worthless, powerless, useless, and will not control your life anymore.

Come to the cross. Let the old man be crucified. Let the old nature be crucified. Let the body of sin be crucified. Don't pet that old man. Don't pamper that old man. Don't tolerate that old man. You need to be free. You don't want the body of sin to take charge of your life. You don't want the inbred sin to be the one that will control and direct your life. You want to be able to have the freedom, the liberty to do what is right. You do that as an individual by yourself. This is your decision and this is your determination…that today the old man must be crucified. You won't allow the control of your life, the direction of your life into the hand of the old man (the devil). Let it get crucified.

From the crucifixion of Jesus Christ we have redemption and forgiveness. From the crucifixion of Jesus Christ we have salvation and grace. From the crucifixion of Jesus Christ we have the forgiveness of God and eternal life.

Come to Calvary. Come to Christ. Receive that right now and the Lord will do it for you just by coming, You can tell the Lord, "Oh Lord, I come. Oh Lord I come."

Conversion, restoration, forgiveness, salvation, righteousness, the riches of the kingdom of God…it can come right now as you surrender your life, surrender your heart, surrender everything, the totality of your being unto the Lord. That righteousness can come now. The riches of the kingdom of the glory can come right now to you. Surrender to Him. Surrender to Him. Yield yourself completely unto the Lord right now.

Let Calvary bruise the head of the Evil One. Let Calvary crush out everything that is not of God that is not of his kingdom in your heart and your life. It will happen. Come by faith. Come expecting. Looking unto Jesus. He bore it all for you.

A new life has now begun because now we're risen together with Christ after the crucifixion. Accept it, believe it, embrace it, and possess it. Claim it to be yours…the crucified life. Claim it to be yours…the crucified life. It will be unto you as you believe it, as you accept it, as you embrace it…crucified.

It is done. You are free, and I am free. The devil has been overcome. His head has been bruised. He will not operate unchallenged in your life, in my life, in your family, in my family, in your business, in our ministry anymore in Jesus' name. We rejoice together today because we have conquered. We have conquered because of Calvary. We have conquered because of crucifixion. We have conquered every power of the enemy, and the devil has been bruised and totally destroyed out of our lives in Jesus' name.

Challenge for the day: Raise your voice to the Lord and say, "I've conquered."

The Anchor of Hope:

2009-10-10T00:14:00.001-07:00
When the Almighty God gave a promise to Abraham, He gave a promise to the sons and descendants of Abraham, the people that are walking by the faith of Abraham…they look at the promises of God, and they see that God Himself has committed Himself so much and has said, "This is my promise to you. It cannot fail." And the promise of God is greater than what you feel. The promise of God is greater than what you see. The promise of God is greater than what any man on earth can tell you. That is on the place you put your hope.

"Can God lie?" If the Lord says, "I will heal you," is that a lie? If the Lord says, "I will deliver you," can that be a lie? Can the devil make God a liar? Can your feeling make God a liar? Can your medical doctor make God a liar? Tell me. Can the seriousness of your sickness make God a liar? No. Nobody and nothing on earth, under the earth, or above the earth, can make God a liar.

Here it says, "By two immutable, unchangeable, immovable things in which it was impossible for God to lie." "We might have a strong consolation" (Heb.6.17). A strong consolation. When you concentrate on your feeling, you have a weak consolation. When you concentrate on how other people look at you and they pity you, you have a weak consolation. But when you change everything, when you turn around and you say, "I don't look at what I see. I'm not looking at what I feel. I'm looking at the Almighty God…that Almighty God who created the whole universe without anything."

He created everything without anything. That Almighty God who divided the Red Sea, that's who I'm looking at. That Almighty God that made the Jericho walls fall down. That's the God I'm looking at. That Almighty God that gave Abraham a child at the age of 100. That's the God I'm looking at. If that's the God you're looking today, you have a strong, strong consolation, in Jesus' name.

It is the hope we have that serves as an anchor, and all the waves of the ocean, all the storms of your situation, all the difficulties or the challenges you are facing, when you have that hope as your anchor, this morning you'll come out of that condition, in Jesus' name. If you can believe today…And I'm believing along with you that today is the day of your deliverance. It is the day of your healing. The strength of the Lord will come into your life. When that strength comes, you will find, the Lord has healed you in Jesus' name.

And it says, "That we through the comfort and the patience of the Scriptures might have hope." You have hope today" Can I tell you something about hope? It's not good enough to hope for one minute and then the other minute you change gears, and then you go into despair. It is not good to have hope one hour, and then the next hour you change into the negative. The hope, the hope, the hope must be to the end.

You know ideas of the world will make you drunk. You'll be staggering. Opinions of the world will make you drunk. You'll be staggering. But when you say, "Yes, I'm holding my anchor, my faith upon the Word of God," you will not stagger. You will be stable. You will be steady. You will be solid on the Word of God and say, "This is what He has said because this is what He has said, 'You will overcome.' And remember you're hoping until the end. You're not just hoping for a moment, not hoping for a day, hoping for two days, and hoping for one week. You hope to the very end. As you hope and you're hoping to the very end, that thing you're hoping for, it will come your way in Jesus' name.

Thought for the day: “If you can believe." Say, "I believe." Everybody say: "I believe." "If you can believe." All things are possible for him that believes.

Paid in Full

2009-10-09T00:31:00.000-07:00
This is an Assurance of Healing. That means there is no shadow of doubt. There can be no doubt in the mind of God that He will heal you. There can be no doubt in the mind of Christ that He will heal you. There can be no doubt as you look at the promises of God…the promises of God are not yes and no.

The promises of God are not perhaps or maybe. The promises of God give us assurance and certainty, affirmation and confirmation that this is what God has said, and God cannot deny Himself. I want to assure you today, your healing is coming your way. Your successful achievement is coming your way." You will see it in your body and feel it in your own mind, your own soul, and when that power comes to touch you, when that hand of the Almighty touches you, you know it is time to get out of that sickness, out of that captivity. Today is the day of your freedom, in Jesus' name.

Who shall hinder it? God comes to you today with that pronouncement, and He says in your life today, "I will." Satan cannot change that. Your feeling cannot change that. All the people in the world all joined together cannot change that. This morning, God's "I will" is injected into your life, and that willingness of God, with the divine ability of the Almighty, will get you out of that situation this morning. You're going to have everything the Lord has promised you in Jesus' name.

Today you have have the affirmation, confirmation, and the assurance of healing. Are you ready, this morning? I said, "Are you ready this morning?" Why don't you start telling the Lord, "I'm hopeful now. I'm hopeful now. I'm hopeful now. I'm hopeful now. I'm not looking at what I see. I'm not looking at what I feel. I'm not looking at what is going on around me. I'm looking at the Almighty God."

You're saying, "Oh Lord, yes, I thank You. Lord I thank You." Hope in God. Hope in God. Hope against hope…when the situation appears humanly hopeless, historically hopeless, scientifically hopeless…that you're hoping in God. Nothing negative, everything positive. Gird up the loins of your mind. Chase out all those loitering, wandering, loafing thoughts. Lock the door against all those loafing, loitering, wandering thoughts. Welcome in the promise of God. Welcome in the presence of the Lord. Welcome in the positive assurance of the Lord that gives you hope. Hope in the Lord.

Today is the day of your breakthrough, the morning of your miracle, the morning of your healing, the morning of your deliverance. Open your mouth and talk to the Lord. Have hope in God. Have hope in God. Have hope in God. Talk to the Lord in prayer. The anchor of hope is that anchor that will not allow your ship to stray, or to drift. It is that hope that is an anchor for you this morning.

Thought for the day: I am more than conqueror then Greater is he that is in me

Turn your visions into reality!

2009-10-08T00:14:00.000-07:00
A leader shouldn’t overdrive his workforce lest they grow weary and slide from motivation to indifference. Short-term thinking is an obsession with quick results. But the vision trip isn’t a sprint.

A vision can’t be held sacrosanct because it’s susceptible to social change. Time and events are sometimes cruel to visions. They may render them obsolete or block their implementation. Then, in spite of its vulnerability, a vision is one of the main things that make leadership tick. You should know that visioning is a systematic exercise. It isn’t something that can be done anyhow. If you want results you have to follow the process – from birthing of visions to their actualisation (or destination).

The Vision Orbit

“Vision,” writes Burt Nanus, “is composed of one part foresight, one part insight, and plenty of imagination and judgment, and often a healthy dose of chutzpah.” Nanus, a professor of management and author/editor of 20 books on leadership, is right – at least on the physical plane of vision formation and implementation where most leaders likely operate. For such leaders, a vision would be a product of intuition, imagination, hard thinking, rigorous research and stubborn faith.

Here is how all this may work out a vision. Examine the fossils of past industrial disasters and see why those organisations went down in red. Check on those great organisations to see what makes them so great and formidable. Consider the craze of the moment and imagine how your own organisation can take advantage of the ongoing fad to improve its performance. If you are in doubt, ask those who know or clear the haze by further reading or a survey. Filter everything through the sieve of swot-analysis of your own organisation. You will get an idea of something new that you can do to improve your organisation’s stand. Explore that new thing. Believe it. It’s vision.

Now, I suppose you have conceived a vision about some great lift for your organisation and you’ve developed and fine-tuned it by giving it a critical look and presenting it for discussion before your team. Through appropriate communication, you’ve shared the vision with them and they’ve accepted it.

You’ve got a vision – but what next? This question wouldn’t have been necessary if leaders had always respected their visions. But many don’t seem to have the knowledge that a vision has inevitable consequences. A vision leads to a vocation. With a vision come a mission and a goal. There are challenges on the way; for the goal of a vision comes with a price tag. You must pay this price or your vision will die. Many visions fade away and die because the leader fails to act on them. And dead visions have calamitous effects on an organisation’s all-round growth. In the short run, they stagnate the process of change unless they are replaced by similar and equal alternatives. In the long run, they breed skepticism in the workforce.

If an organisation is reputed for stillborn visions, its workforce gradually become fatalistic skeptics who regard talks about change with upturned nose and relish keeping business on as usual. So if you are not prepared to launch out, don’t go on the vision trip. If you do, you will harm the psyche of your organisation.

Therefore, after you’ve got the vision, the next thing is action. A vision not acted upon is useless. However, if you must act, you must act right and appropriately do things that would help launch the vision into its operational orbit. Sharing the vision with the workforce through communication isn’t enough. If you don’t wisely engage the staff, money and machines in pursuit of the goals of the vision, your vision will forever remain a fine success on paper! So apply your organisation’s resources, as your vision requires.

Here is an outline of other actions your vision demands for its actualisation.
* Align your values with the vision. Your organisation’s values must not be at variance with the vision. For example, integrity is the core value of any organisation that aspires to genuine greatness. The pursuit of a new vision shouldn’t tempt the organisation to compromise this core value. A vision pursued at the expense of an organisation’s core values will backfire and cost the organisation its reputation. If your organisation loses its reputation, the dividends of your vision won’t save it from going under.

* Adjust your leadership style to suit implementation of
the vision. With a new vision, a new social context emerges; and
work situation may change such that the old way of doing
things may no longer apply. For example, democracy may give way for autocracy if the vision introduces the workforce to tasks about which they possess minimal knowledge. In this situation workers have to be told what to do and initiative isn’t encouraged. Conversely, if the new tasks are familiar and the workforce has the requisite skills, autocratic leadership would be inappropriate. Barring minimal supervision, workers may be left to handle things themselves. Usually, effective leaders combine all leadership styles.

* Allow the vision to be shared with all staff periodically to sustain efforts for its realisation. There is the tendency to lose focus and discount commitment if the vision isn’t talked about for a long period. The workforce needs the constant reminder that they are on a journey and a detour or defection would delay arrival at the dreamland. They need to be held under the vision’s spell by constant motivation through good communication.
* Assess the value of the vision in the light of social events at particular times. As you move your organisation in the new direction, it is necessary to conduct periodic assessment of the vision’s current value and relevance, lest you arrive in the dreamland and discover that the world has moved on and what your vision yields barely offers your organisation the warmth of a cup of coffee in a blizzard. Periodically check on events and the landscape to see what changes are looming and the effect they may have on your vision.

* Abandon the vision if events show it has overstayed its welcome or lost its relevance. Yes, a vision in the physical realm isn’t foolproof even at its most developed state. So it is strange if a leader holds on to a vision that is no longer relevant or productive, instead of reforming it or dropping it to allow him dream another dream.

Since visioning is so central to effective leading, the leader should steer his vision away from certain danger zones. George Barna has written a splendid paper on this subject. He identifies six vision killers that the leader should avoid like a plague. Although Barna writes from a spiritual perspective, his “six killers” can also strike in other worlds. I will list the killers in the order Barna presents them; but the comments are mine.

The first is tradition. A leader may shy away from visioning if he finds no record of visionary projects in the organisation. He may reason that if the organisation has always been run without putting it through the rigour and pains of adventure, why bother now? But that may be the chief reason why he is hired – to put the organisation on the run!

The second vision-killer is fear. Vision calls for change at a price. Its pursuit may tear down the “old” order of things radicalising the organisation. This is risky. For those who are wary of rocking the boat, a vision is a scary travel-mate. For it might call for deployment of new skills and – ha! – the laying off of some old hands. A leader may be short of boldness to handle all this. Yet, by its sheer adoption, vision releases fresh courage, energy and hope. A leader should find strength and faith in these attributes to conquer the fear of uncertainties that a vision unleashes.

The third killer: stereotypes. For our purpose, a stereotype is a popular preconception about the products or services the organisation offers. For example, it is popular belief that many people are cutting down on sugar and beef for health reasons. So why would a CEO nurture the vision to expand the production base of his sugar factory? Yet, upon close examination, the belief might turn out to be false as only a class of the populace might be avoiding sugar while the rest of us are even obsessed with its use. Don’t let stereotypes weaken your resolve to advance the fortunes of your organisation. Check them up. They often turn out to be untrue.

Killer four: complacency. George Barna counsels leaders to test their passion quotient in seeking visions. I recommend that leaders repeat the test when the vision is really on. Complacency is slouth dressed up. Complacency either blocks the birth of visions or kills them at birth.

The remaining two killers are fatigue and short-term thinking. Fatigue comes from lack of rest between vision intervals. Therefore, a leader shouldn’t overdrive his workforce lest they grow weary and slide from motivation to indifference. Short-term thinking is an obsession with quick results. But the vision trip isn’t a sprint. Fatigue and myopia produce strong aversion for visioning; and leaders had better avoid them.

Prayer for the day : God let my visions click.

Why Visions Fail

2009-10-07T00:04:00.000-07:00
Once a vision misses its time and season, it disintegrates into mere wishful thinking. Nothing proves more fatal for vision than shifting attention.

I have counselled leaders to acquire a third eye – the eye to see an ideal future state for their organisations. I mean the capacity to conceive and implement visions of developmental changes. For vision is the hub of leadership. Leaders who
deride visions can’t improve their organisation in any remarkable way.

For example, when Louis Gerstner Jr. became CEO of IBM in 1993, the company was in deep red with annual net loses of $8bn. Yet Gerstner was quoted as saying: “The last thing IBM needs is a vision.” But within two years, he changed that view and embarked on a vision trip that led IBM into a network computing service. Soon, the company was recording 20% annual growth in the new venture. Note, however, that without vision Gerstner didn’t turn the tide for IBM. But when he developed, clarified, shared and launched a vision, the company revived.

Yes, visioning is an indispensable function of leadership; but visions sometimes fail to materialise. As a forecast of the future, a vision requires that certain factors be shut out to give the vision chance to mature and materialise. The realisation of a vision isn’t automatic. You may have a mental picture of remarkable development for your organisation and its people. But if you ignore the effect that certain intervening variables may have on your vision, the vision may turn out to be wishful thinking. Giving the factors the chance to act is the reason why some visions fail to “click”.

Factors inhibiting the visioning process
* Desperation: Because of their importance and centrality in leadership, visions are attractive to leaders. No sooner a leader assumes office than he begins to think about visions. Such obsession may make the leader overlook the seedbeds of authentic interest and ambition that visions require to emerge and mature. This rush into visioning is a desperate act put up by some leaders to justify their appointments – since it gives the impression that something new is about to happen. A vision so desperately formed and launched to boost the leader’s image and massage his ego is bound to fail. The absence of gestation and authentic interest will doom any vision.

* Delay: The motivational writer and bestselling author, John L. Mason, said: “Ideas have shelf life; that’s why we must act before the expiration date.” Visions have a lifespan beyond which they become impracticable and unnecessary. Therefore, while you shouldn’t hurry through visioning, you shouldn’t drag the process and defer action. The Book of Ecclesiastes says: “There is a time for everything.” Once a vision misses its time and season, it disintegrates into mere wishful thinking.

Strike the iron when it is red hot, an adage says. I say launch the vision when it matters; for later unpredictable cosmic forces might strike and cause it fatal damage. Develop your vision. Share it with your organisation’s rank and file. Set a launching date. Wait for clear weather; then get going.

* Derailment: By derailment, I mean the loss of focus. Nothing proves more fatal for vision than shifting attention. If you keep deferring action on your vision or you relish detours while the vision is in flight, you will derail. Perseverance keeps visions in orbit and ensures they are pursued to the end. If you lose focus and call it deferment, you might find on resumption that the world has moved on and your vision isn’t relevant anymore. Remember, visions have shelf life. So, avoid distractions. H. Besser shares a Norwegian fable (re-told by Robin Kegler) about a man who left his hometown to rejoin his fiancée. They planned to get married when he arrived. That’s vision! Now, our man didn’t like the direct route to his fiancée’s place because the route lacked adventure. Eventually, the man forgot about his purpose and went on aimless tours. After many years of wandering, he came back to his senses and decided to retrace his steps. But his fiancée had stopped waiting and married another man. By the time the man arrived, he looked much older, lonely and poor. His long journey had brought him no gain but robbed him of his vision forever. Lesson: Hold on to your vision as long as it is relevant. Deferment of a vision may result in its death.

* Dictatorship: The fourth factor that may scuttle a vision is dictatorship. You may conceive the vision alone; but you need midwives to help you develop and deliver it. Autocratic leadership may apply in certain organisational context, but never in the birthing of and acting on visions. The vision thing won’t answer to the traditional top-down method of innovation transfer. A vision must be shared with the workforce on whose efforts its realisation depends. Ken Blanchard and Jerse Stoner, two experts in visionary leadership, advise that you “allow others to have an opportunity to help shape the vision, to put their thumbprint on it. This will help to deepen their understanding and commitment…”

Sharing your vision with the workforce and calling for their input doesn’t mean erosion of your authority. Rather, it places you firmly in the driver’s seat and helps you keep everyone on board as the journey begins and continues. Leaders averse to participative style of leadership may carry on well with a measure of success. But the sour dividends of low commitment and employee retention will be part of the gain. For employees know how to cut down their loyalty and feign productivity when they are not motivated to see the leader’s vision as their own.

* Defective Communication: It isn’t enough to share the vision with the workforce; you have to communicate the vision such that you earn the people’s support. And this isn’t as simple as it seems. For communication isn’t just saying what you want to say but ensuring that you are understood and given expected feedback. And that can’t be done in a one-way-traffic flow of words. Development communication is interactive. A channel for feedback should be created in the system or you won’t be able to tell if you are heard.

Donald Clark, scholar and writer on leadership and management, hints at this when he writes: “Communication is an exchange, not just a give, as all parties must participate to complete the information exchange.” Doing this doesn’t mean you are pandering to people’s whims. But it does mean that you understand that you can’t handle the challenges of your visions alone; and those that might help out need to buy the vision and make it their own to give maximum dose of their commitment to the efforts needed to realise the vision’s goals. Communication, especially for persuasion, carries the air of deceptive simplicity. But it is a complex human activity that thrives on the intricacy of the spoken and written word. I will examine in detail the role of communication in leadership at the appropriate time. Meanwhile, when you communicate your vision to your workers, be forthcoming, honest, passionate, humble, firm and open to counter–opinions. Speak so the people may buy.

* Despair: Once launched, a vision moves an organisation into a faith venture. Nothing is predictable in nature; and the changing landscape might threaten the survival of your vision. Money may become scarce, machines may break down and key workers may leave. All this may shake your resolve to continue with the vision, though the prospects of success still appear bright. The feeling of despair is stronger and bites harder when all social indicators are suggesting you had better wind it up and quit. But if the vision hasn’t “expired” and your organisation’s progress still depends on it, hold on to it and keep inching forward. You may re-organise, recruit, re-order your priorities and re-make your budget. Pray if you can but don’t kill the vision if it begs to live.

* Doubt: Doubt is very dangerous to visioning. A vision is an imaginative picture of a future state you desire for your organisation. While such a mental portrait of change should be realistic and achievable, you will require a good dose of faith to believe it will happen; or you won’t start out. If you allow in doubt at any stage of the vision process, you will get stuck and eventually quit. The causatives of doubt are: limited resources, threat of competition from rival organisations, the landscape, timing, and the weather. Watch for them and ignore them when they arise. There are other factors responsible for the death of many visions. But those discussed here are major ones you need to resist so that your visions may come true. Although visioning is the nucleus of leadership, leaders need more than visions to put their organisations on the world’s industrial success map. I will dwell on these other essentials next time.

Thought for the day: His vision dies, he who surrenders to despair.

Prayer for the day : Lord give me strength, so that I can do all things by Christ Jesus

Setting and scoring your goals

2009-10-06T01:00:00.000-07:00
Goals are stated ambitions; and all leaders know they must set them and follow them up till they are accomplished. For, failure to set goals reduces leadership to management by chance and hunches – a sure recipe for corporate disaster.

Leaders are familiar with goals. They are driven by them. Their change efforts are bent towards accomplishing them. Goals make leadership tick. Periodically, leaders sit down; think hard, size up the future to design goals that will help ensure realisation of the bottom line and fulfilment of the organisation’s mission. Goals are stated ambitions; and all leaders know they must set them and follow them up till they are accomplished. For, failure to set goals reduces leadership to management by chance and hunches – a sure recipe for corporate disaster.

Profits of goal setting
The benefits of goal setting are numerous; but I will outline a few here.

* Definition: Goals help define an organisation’s mission and concretise its vision drive. Your organisation’s social architecture is partly defined and described by the goals you set and pursue. Your leadership too is rated and characterised according to the goals you accomplish. Simply, people know your organisation’s mission and rate what you’re doing at the helm by the visions (goals) you pursue. Thus, with neither goals nor vision, your leadership and organisation are essentially without identity.

* Direction: As products of visioning, goals help provide direction for an organisation. The over-arching purpose of leadership is to influence and maintain progressive change. But change is an end-product of realised goals in a particular direction. Thus, if you say you’re moving your organisation up, your staff and the public would be itching to know the direction you’re heading in. It’s your goals that tell them the way. Where no goals exist, there will be no sense of direction, no challenge and nothing to aim at. Consequently, workers become glued to norm and the organisation stagnates.

* Drive: Goals help the workforce know what the organisation is aiming at; and if this knowledge is coupled with appropriate motivation, aggregate productivity invariably improves. Thus, goals indirectly infuse the workforce with the drive for better performances. Leaders looking for an elixir to cure pervasive sloth at the workplace should try goal setting and chasing.

* Diversity: Goals can introduce diversity into an organisation’s fossilised work culture. The pursuit of new goals necessarily demands change in programmes and work-style, and the introduction of new production process, programmes, materials, machines and, probably, personnel. Colour and variety are marks of an organisation in sincere pursuit of specific goals.

* Discovery: Goal setting can help reveal the limits of your organisation and your own leadership. The elephant may not know it has no wings until it attempts to fly. Your organisation’s strengths and weaknesses come to the fore when you attempt to swim against the tide of norm towards a goal that takes your net-worth to a new height. Leaders who periodically set goals, review and pursue them have a realistic rating of their organisation’s capabilities and their own competencies. Those who don’t set goals work with a distorted view of whom and what they and their organisations are!

* Development: Your organisation cannot develop without your setting goals and realising them. Development is the cumulative effects of goals set and realised. Leaders of successful world-class organisations are goal-oriented.

* Description: Goals help describe an organisation’s successes. In establishments where things happen effortlessly, success is neither celebrated nor appreciated because it’s neither sought nor paid for. But where goals are set and their impact measured, the organisation has something to flaunt and the leader has a reason to cheer.

Pitfalls of goal setting
Not all goals are “scored”. Both corporate and political leaders are familiar with painful misses, when goals end in mirage. People may fail to reach their goals because the goals aren’t SMART. That means they aren’t: S-specific; M-measurable; A-achievable; R-realistic; T-time-bound.

First, a goal should be specific, expressed in clear unequivocal terms. It should be limited to one-shot one-track target(s).

Second, they should be measurable. Your goal must lend itself to incremental measuring after it has been accomplished. There’s no other way to know that the attainment of a goal has impacted the organisation positively but by measuring the quality and quantity of the resultant change.

Third, the goals should be achievable. Authentic leadership doesn’t cloud goal setting by embarking on a wild goose chase. You’re engaged in self-delusion if you pursue vaulting ambitions that your competencies and organisation’s resources can’t secure and hold.

Fourth, goals have to be realistic or they will end up as wishful thinking. Yes, goal setting isn’t a game of ideals. Facts are needed to conceive and birth ambitions. Of course, chutzpah is necessary but active faith in effective leadership isn’t a blind jump.

Fifth, goals must be time-bound. There must be a time frame for accomplishing all set goals. Otherwise, corporate commitment and fidelity to the objectives of the goals will be lacking. There won’t be any sense of urgency needed to galvanise the workforce and move them to bend their backs in service in order to realise the goal.
Thus, goals set without a time-frame fade away and are jettisoned by and by.

Thought for the day: A single Step is the beginning of a Million's Miles

Prayer: God gives me wisdom to know what to do and how to do them

ABC of Success

2009-10-05T02:03:00.000-07:00
It is always an exciting exercise learning the alphabets of English Language in the elementary school. This marks the beginning of acquisition of this noble international language. Success also has alphabets. Today, let us learn the alphabet of success. Learn these alphabets and personalized them for your life achievement.

A - Ambition for success;
B - Born to succeed;
C - Conviction for success;
D - Destined for success;

E - Excellence in success;
F - Faith for success;

G - Goals for success;
H - Height of success;

I - Industrious for success;
J - Justified to succeed;
K - Keyed for success;
L - Labouring to succeed;
M - Marked for success;
N - Named for success;

O - Outstanding in success;
P - Persistence for success;

Q - Quest for success;
R - Resolute to succeed;

S - Study for success;
T - Transformed to succeed;

U - “Unicorn” of success;
V - Vision of success;

W - Winner of success;
X - X-ray of success;

Y - Yearning for success;
Z - Zealous for success;

It is God's will for you to succeed in life. The Lord has also planned for your success. God has promised in the Bible. Thou shalt have good success” (Joshua 1:8). God has made provisions for your academic success if only you will give Him chance in your life. Follow the alphabets of success everyday as you claim God's promise of good success.

Challenge: Following God's word is the sure way to success.

Prayer: Lord, help me to keep your word today.

A GOOD SUCCESS

2009-10-04T07:24:00.000-07:00
"... then thou shalt have good success" (Joshua 1:8).

Success, true success is never cheap. It has a price tag. The student who desires success has a price to pay. Success is costly and yet, every student can afford its price, if so desired. The means of success is wasted on unprofitable ventures by those who are in want of it. The gate to the path of success is open to every student. Only the boy or girl who cares to follow the path will succeed. Success is within the reach of every Christian youth. 'You will have good success in life in Jesus name.
Let us learn three lessons from our reference. Joshua was to begin a course divinely planned and purposed for his life. God promised him good success right from the beginning. However, to get to this God-ordained success:

He must be strong (Joshua 1:5,7, 9) Youths are always known for their strength. Success demands that we exert our energy on goal-oriented actions. We must disperse our energy on reading and studying required by academics. We must be strong and hardworking in all our academic exercises.

He must be courageous (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9). Courage is the ability to be confident in facing dangerous or painful experiences. Courage will put fear under control. It is needed by the youth in pursuit of success. Courage is necessary to take you through the rigour of work for a good success without compromising for an average performance.

He must not be afraid or dismayed (Joshua 1:9). Joshua had giants to face in the battles ahead, hence this divine instruction. To be afraid or dismayed (distressed) will weaken faith and can lead to failure. Every subject must be faced with confidence and faith. No subject should be avoided or disregarded. As we work hard and pursue our goals, good success will be ours "in our academic endeavours. We must always remember to trust God with whom all things are possible.

Challenge: Average performance is not good enough, get into a better level of success.
Prayer: Grant unto me good success in all of my life endearvour, Oh God.

GOD’S ASSETS FOR YOU

2009-10-03T02:31:00.000-07:00
“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well” (Psalm 139: 14).

Within you are enormous deposits of God for your big accomplishment. Marvellous and wonderful gifts of God are in you for success. Your “house” is a depot of great potentials for progress and prosperity. There are gifts, talents and abilities that are divinely endowed in you from which to tap to rise to any height of success you may choose. The gifts of God which include time, opportunities, your skills and your will power are great assets of God that are given to you to be an achiever in your life pursuit. No man was divinely ordained to be a failure. Every individual chooses to attain his/her level of achievements in the field of human endeavor.

You are supposed to be a living testimony of the goodness and wonders of God’s creation. You are fearfully and wonderfully made to house God’s assets for exploits and productivity. Grand resources of God are within you to achieve great things in the land of the living. You will do well today by waking up the giants in you and begin to excel in your work. It will neither pay you nor benefit humanity if you continue to allow the great potentials of God in your life to remain dormant. You may not know you can excel until you start to use the talents and the gifts of God in your life.

Challenge: You are wonderfully and marvelously made for success
Prayer: Oh God of heaven, help me to discover my potentials and be able to use them for success.