WELCOME TO 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR

May 2019 bring you salvation, protection,  happiness, joy,  peace,  good health,  prosperity and love. 

WHEN YOU PRAY

JUST THINKING 

People pray for various reasons and the Bible says men should always pray. What makes and motivates a person to pray could be different from what makes another person pray.  Prayer ought to be a lifestyle to everyone of us. When disasters happen, you will hear both Christians and unbelievers say or ask people to pray for them or the situation. This shows that men believe in praying to God but they don't want to accept, follow and do the things the One whom they pray to has asked them to do. In other words, they know that there is God but they do not want to follow his ways.
When we pray, what happens to us? It brings us closer to God, we get convicted, healed, forgiven, answers, directions, we experience peace and so on. But prayer is an action that a few people do not want to get themselves involved in because it looks boring to them, their sins prevent them from praying or they do not believe in prayers.
2 chronicles 7:14 NKJV says,  "If My people who are called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land".
Praying is a form of humility before God. When you pray, you are saying, "God I can't do this on my own and I need you". Also, when you pray, you acknowledge that you can't do anything about your situation because it is beyond you and it is only God who can help you.
Furthermore, 2 Chronicles 4:9 -10 says, "Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, “Because I bore him in pain". And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, “Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!” So God granted him what he requested".
Why was it said that Jabez was more honorable than his siblings? His mother borne him in pain or sorrow but he didn't allow the situation to determine his future. Instead, he called on God. I believe the reason the Bible says he was more honorable than his brothers is because he called on God. That was the difference between him and his people. So, it is an honourable and respectable thing to pray. 
In conclusion, when you pray, it is not a waste of your time but a humble and honourable thing to do.

YOUR WORDS ARE TOO HARSH

JUST THINKING:

Words we say, are very powerful. They could encourage, build,  ginger,  motivate,  and even discourage people around us. One of the ways to kill a person fast is to talk down, criticize and condemn him with our harsh words.
There is no one on earth who has not said something "harsh" to someone else before. We have hurt people with our words severally in different ways. I like the way the Bible puts it:
James 3:2 NIV says, "We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check".
One of the ways you can know a perfect person is by his words.  Unfortunately, old words give us away.  Sadly,  we do not only you harsh words on our fellow men alone but on God as well. Have you thought of it that you could have hurt God with your words? Most of us have spoken harshly to God without realising it. Do you know how God feels when you speak to him harshly?
Malachi 3: 13-15 says:
13 “Your words have been harsh against me,” says the LORD, “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against you?’
14 You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the LORD of hosts?
15 So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up; they even tempt God and go free.’”
When you complain against God, you are speaking harshly against Him. When we regret serving God with our words because of the issues and challenges in our lives, it we are harsh on Him. When you compare yourself with unbelievers who are doing well and make money illegally,  unethically and immorally,  then you are speaking harshly to God.
Also, when you complain and say, "what have I gained by obeying Him, repenting of my old ways and following Him", or when you complain like the Israelites did when they said it was better to be slaves in Egypt than to die in the wilderness,  you are speaking harshly to God. Some of us would say it is better to be an unbeliever than being a believer in Christ because we compare our lives with theirs and think and conclude that we are losers,  failures and so on.  The danger of it is that the more we say those things and complain,  the serpent will continue to bite. Why not believe God despite what you see,  feel, hear and even perceive?

GIVING TO SANTA

JUST THINKING :

Santa is being used as a symbol of Christmas whereas he does not know the reason and meaning of Christmas.  We all know that Christmas is day of the celebration of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
However,  I will use Santa as an analogy to say something about Christmas. People say Christmas is the season  of love,  giving, being around or with family and so on while neglecting the person, the purpose of His birth and what He represents. Santa Claus is seen as a person who gives gifts and makes the wishes of children and people come to pass.  This reminds me of God who gave his son to the world as a gift to die for the sins of the world.
John 3:16 says,  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
I believe the world is using Santa to mimic what God does. God gave His son because He loves everyone and He does not want anyone to perish. So, Santa is flaunted as a figure who loves giving gifts and making wishes come through. Hmmmm,  you cannot fake the original.
I noticed that Santa gives but does not receive. Love should be mutual and when you love someone you give naturally.
Did you know that giving is the nature of God and not the nature of Santa which was embedded in mankind when we were created in God's image and likeness? Since Santa is a man like us,  we should give to him as well.  Connotatively,  we should also give to people even as we or whether we receive from them or not.
You can also give back to God since He gives. However, He does not want your money,  gifts because the gold, silver and the cattle are His. But you can give to Him. How?  By giving your life to Him and He will not reject you but He will warmly embrace you because His hands are wide open and ready to receive you. You can do this by accepting His son He sent to the world and whom we are celebrating on Christmas day as our Lord and Savior. His love is beyond words.  Santa only shows you love once in a year but God knew and loved you before you were born and He still loves you. In other words,  His love is everlasting. Santa's love is limited but God's love is unlimited because He is love. That is the nature which separates Him from Santa and men.
I Wish you and your family a merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance.

THE DANGERS OF LYING

JUST THINKING:

People lie for various reasons from avoiding issues, short-term peace, to avoiding confrontations, overcoming challenges facing them and so on. Lying may give you temporary succour or escape route but it will affect you later one way or the other.

During my study recently, I came across a scripture that opens my eyes to the effects lying will have on anyone who gives in to it. When a person lies, the hand of the Lord will become short to help him and His ears will become dull to hear him. This means that the lord will not be able to help you at that time of your need because his ears will not be able to hear you as a result of your lies. Lying is a stumbling block to the help you seek from God.

Isaiah 59:1-3 says, “Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. 2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. 3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue has muttered perversity”.
Iniquities and sins separate us from and also hide God’s face from us. Lying is one of the iniquities and sins listed in the above scriptures which make the Lord too weak to save you or too deaf to hear your call for help.  As innocent as a white lie or a political lie seems, it can prevent you from receiving the help you seek from God at that point of your need. This could be the cause why many of us think that God has forgotten and abandoned us. Many people wonder why it seems as if God does not want to smile on and help them, but they do not know it is this little thing called lying that could be the cause of it.

Psalm 34:12&13 says, “Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, 13 keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies”.

If you love life and want to see good days, you should refrain from telling lies. Everyone wants to see good days and enjoy good life but most people do not want to give up lying. It will take you to hell but it will also prevent you from enjoying the good life on earth. May God help us all.

SAFEGUARDING YOURSELF

JUST THINKING

Excerpts from Sex Crimes, Moral Failures and Guarding Yourself From Becoming a Statistic on www.churchleaders.com:

"After he was introduced he took the podium and asked the question, “How many of you pastors have some sort of boundaries when it comes to counselling members of the opposite sex? For instance, you won’t counsel a woman alone or with the door of your office shut or something like that?”

 I was shocked and rocked to hear the speaker say, “I’ve counselled hundreds of pastors all across America who have fallen into sexual sin and every single one of them had safeguards and boundaries in place.” It felt like the speaker had taken a stun gun and shot us all square in the chest.

He continued, “Here’s the problem, gentlemen. You can have all the safeguards you want. You can choose not to counsel a woman alone and refuse to be in a car by yourself with a member of the opposite sex. But LUST WILL PICK A LOCK. Lust will find a way to work around the safeguard and feed its ravenous hunger for satisfaction.” He continued, “The only real safeguard is a strong relationship with Jesus Christ and a strong relationship with your wife. Everything else is a distant third.”
I still won’t counsel a woman alone. Nor will I drive in a car alone with a member of the opposite sex. I definitely have safeguards. But I refuse to put my trust in these safeguards to keep me from giving into lust and crossing some moral line. Only Jesus is strong enough to do that!

As ministry leaders let’s stay close to Jesus and our spouses. Let’s be careful how we talk, what we do, who we are with and where we go. Let’s have honest accountability with friends (of the same sex) that we know and trust. Let’s refuse to become statistics to sexual sin. Let’s seek to “be holy as he is holy.”

OWNING UP

JUST THINKING 

Like Adam, many of us blame our predicaments, present state,  failures and circumstances on people and God. Adam said “The woman whom You gave to  be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” in Genesis 3:12 NKJV.
I once took that position concerning my former job and my results after I came out of the University though I had a legitimate reason for taking that position. But I later had to let go because I saw my faults in everything apart from the lecturer's faults. Just like me,  many of us are whining over one thing or the other and blaming their life's misfortune on people,  family,  friends,  bosses,  colleagues and so on. The truth is people might have caused you pain but at times we had a role we played in the misfortunes. Other times,  we caused it ourselves but we have refused to see it from the other angle that shows that we are the cause of it.
Some of us even blame it on God that it was what He told us to do that had led us to our shame and bad state. However,  the Bible says in Proverbs 19:3, "The foolishness of man undermines his way [ruining whatever he undertakes]; Then his heart is resentful and rages against the Lord [for, being a fool, he blames the Lord instead of himself]. AMP.
"Some people ruin themselves by their own stupid actions and then blame the Lord". GNT

Also,  many of us have ruined our lives with our hands but we want to blame it on God,  pastors, our parents and so on instead of taking responsibility for everything. Yes,  it may be true that people's actions, decisions and even politics caused us our jobs,  businesses, relationships and so on but we need to see our faults in it as well. Other times we caused it on ourselves outrightly and instead of owning up, we deliberately  put it on people in other to gain sympathy from others.

As for me, I have learnt over time to own up even when it is difficult to do it. When you own up to an error, that is the first step to recovery and making progress. If Adam had owned up and asked for mercy, I believe he would have been forgiven. This is the state of many of us because we usually see the faults of others instead of ours.

THE BLANK CHECK

JUST THINKING  

If you are given a blank check to ask for anything, what would you ask for?  This question can bring out the greed of many of us or the true state of our hearts. I have been told of people who were taken out on a date and they ended up ordering more than the person who took them out could afford after the person in question told them to order for anything they wanted to eat.
Where has decency or restraint gone to?
Proverbs 23:1-3 NLT says, “While dining with a ruler, pay attention to what is put before you. If you are a big eater, put a knife to your throat; don’t desire all the delicacies, for he might be trying to trick you".
Likewise, we have abused the blank checks given to us by God and people ignorantly or deliberately at various times. In the bible, Herod was pleased by his daughter’s dance performance and he told her, “Ask me for anything you like, the king said to the girl, and I will give it to you. He even vowed I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”
What she asked for was ridiculous. She asked for the head of John the Baptist as advised by Herodias, her mother. This is what many of us would do when given such an opportunity. We may ask for the death of others or our enemies, their jobs or properties, wish them bad, their wealth, their spouse, long life and so on.
However, I love what King Solomon asked for when God gave him the opportunity by asking him “Ask! What shall I give you?” In 1kings 3:5, his response to God was unlike what most of us would ask for when given such opportunity.

1 kings 3: 9 says,” Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong. For who by himself is able to govern these great people of yours?”
In other words, King Solomon asked for wisdom to lead and govern. His request pleased God because he asked for wisdom instead of asking for a long life or wealth or the death of his enemies. God was amazed at his request and He gave him Wisdom and other things he did not ask for. King Solomon’s response should be a pointer to what we should ask for when given an opportunity. As Christians, we have been given access into God’s presence (open check) because of Jesus Christ but our request will determine if we will get it or not because some people will ask amiss.

THEY WILL SURELY SPEAK

JUST THINKING

I get so worried when people say wrong and untrue things about me.  It affects me that I get sad,  angry and irritated by it.  But when I realized that whatever people say about me does not change who I am and whom I will become, I decided to change my attitude about what they say. But I must admit that not everything said about me is bad. There are times people speak well of me and other times they speak ill or bad of me. With all of it, my conclusion is that as long as you are alive, people will speak of you. 
Being talked about is not peculiar to your looks, your tribe, accent, status, circle of influence and so on. On a daily basis, everyone is being talked about one way or the other. The social media is a good tool through which gossip about people is propagated. Many lives have been destroyed because their private lives got to the social media. But I will call your attention to what the scriptures say about being spoken of or talked about.

Matthew 5:11-12 says (NLT), “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.  Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way".

Luke 6:26 (NKJV) says, "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, For so did their fathers to the false prophets".

In other words,  it is normal for people to speak about you. If people do not speak of you,  then something is wrong. If they speak well of you always,  then check yourself because that is dangerous on its own. People speak about people, so don't see it as a strange thing. It only shows that you are human.
As Christ's followers, people will mock, persecute and even lie about you. If you decide to carry out any venture, people will speak and if you don't, they will also speak. All men cannot speak well of you because there are people who will dislike you for no reason. They can't explain why they dislike you but they just hate or dislike your guts, personality and even your looks.
However, we should  also see it as a feed-back to learn from. When we hear things said about us, we should not just react or ignore it because those things said about us could be true. So, it is normal for people to say or speak about us. Some do it for gossip, while others could do it for cogent reasons due to the things they have seen us do or say. 
On a lighter mood,  I will prefer you come to me and say it to my face when I do or go wrong than saying it to someone else because I am the one who needs the change and not the one you speak to about me.

DECISION MAKING

JUST THINKING

Do not allow the complaints , the pressure and the attitude of  people around you,  the delay of God's promise and the circumstances you are faced with and the ones steering you in the face to make you compromise or make you feel compelled and go against the will of God and take decisions because it may cost you pain.
1 Samuel 13:11 - 12, And Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash,
then I said, ‘The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the Lord .’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.”
Saul was under pressure because a large army from the Philistines came against them, some of the Israelites with him went hiding and some ran away because they were scared. Also, Samuel the prophet had told him he would come within seven days to make the sacrifices they normally made before any battle but he didn't make it within those days. So,  Saul being under pressure of the army against him, his people complaining and running away assumed that if he didn't do it,  he and his people would perish. He carried out the sacrifice he was not supposed to carry out. Immediately he did it,  Samuel showed up. As a result of his lack of patience, he lost his kingdom to someone else.
Have you taken any decision(s) in haste because you were under pressure and you felt God was too slow in coming through with his promises? Where you happy afterwards or did you regret it later?
My advice is that you should not take decisions when you are standing, anxious, happy, sad, angry,  under pressure, in a hurry and so on because you might regret it later on.  In taking decisions,  you have to be calm, at times patient, get all the facts and information,  pray to God about it, maybe get people's opinions and advice. Decision making is a process which involves a lot of factors and dynamism.

GO BACK AND TRY AGAIN

 JUST THINKING

Every new week is a good time for us to make sure we get to or move closer to our goal, relax and reflect on the things we have done so far. Last week I grew,  failed, learnt, unlearnt and also experienced the mercies of God.  
In the area of failing,  I learnt a lot. I can easily say concerning failings that, "Your worst enemy is your memory. Your worst trait is going back over the failures and taunting yourself. You cry nearly every night after you go to bed because you have failed." Failure is a memory thing to be forgotten. Wherever you failed in your assignment or career for example,  learn from it and learners learn from so many things and failing is one of them.
As a student,  any time I failed a  practice question, it hurt me. "I just learnt that that is the element in me that wants to be better and not give up".  But, I did not run away from the practice question. Instead, I went back to it.  If I failed again,  I felt the same way and till went back to it until I got the answer to the question. That is how we achieve in failing, set backs and disappointments. You don't give up when you fail, instead go back and try again.  In the course of it,  you learn,  unlearn and maybe achieve.
Everyone has failed in life in so many ways but the difference between people that failed and succeeded is that failure is not final which the eventual successful ones have discovered. They go back to it and try again. Good people and bad people fail but the one who does not give up despite the failings will become better and even succeed.  But I must admit that going back to that place,  area, career,  job,  business and so on where you once failed does not guarantee success automatically. It makes you a better person and it shows how strong and courageous you are in the face of difficulties and failures.
In the learning curve of life, failure is one of the best ways of learning. Every true War General has scars they have had in life and in various wars they have fought in which  made them better, more strategic and stronger. They are signs that they have been to wars of various kinds. The scars came as a results of bitter experiences, defects, betrayal, failures and so on. But these experiences never took away what they are. Your mistakes, failures and bitter experiences do not take away who and what you are. In actual sense, they make you better and make you discover what and who you really are. You are a strong, tough and resilient being made in the image and likeness of God. So, do not stop because you failed but stop when you have crossed the finish line despite the desire to give up in the face of difficulties, disappointments, failures, bitter experiences and even rejections.

WHY ARE YOU NOT GRATEFUL?

         JUST THINKING:

Being grateful shows and speaks a lot about us.  But the Bible says that in the last days, many will be ungrateful. One way or the order we all have been guilty of not being grateful. As little or insignificant as a thing may be,  we should be grateful. We should be grateful for the so called "little things" like waking up, standing,  walking and even smiling. I called them little things because we do not see them as important. When we sleep,  wake up,  go out and come back safely, eat,  and do other things,  we do not know the efforts God puts in to protect us,  provide for us and even fight for us.  

Many times we forget to give God thanks for those so called little and irrelevant things because we do not see them as anything and because our eyes are on the big things. In history and to date,  man has always been the same with this issue. When God plagued Egypt because  Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go,  the Israelites never appreciated those things He did for them. The Egyptians had blood as water, while the Israelites had good water. There was darkness which could be felt (this is serious) in the camp of the Egyptians but the Israelites had light. The Egyptians had Plagues like frogs,  lice, swarms of flies,  death of livestock, boils on men and animals, hail, locusts, death of firstborns of the Egyptians and their animals, while it was different for the Israelites.

The above illustration is a typical example of what we do to God and people around us. Instead of being grateful for what we have, we end up complaining about everything we do not have. The Israelites were looking forward to the their freedom but they forgot to give God thanks for the small ones.  

Some people out there have anxiety and mental health issues but you have good health. You have more than enough to eat that you throw food away but many don't have what to and there they don't have hope of eating anything today. There is war in many nations but yours has peace. What we don't appreciate is what others are believing, praying and working hard to get. 

1Thessalonians 5: 18 says,  “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus".

LEARNING FROM THE LIVES OF DANIEL AND JOSEPH

JUST THINKING:

Daniel was said to be one or a person in whom was the spirit of excellence.  He was of a noble birth, without blemish, good-looking, eager to learn, well informed, full of wisdom, knowledge and understanding who also had the ability to serve. He also had the fear of God,  the ability to interpret dreams, explain riddles and solve difficult problems and prayerful. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what any writing means.
Joseph was hardworking, he paid attention  to details,  obedient,  confident, a dreamer, interpreter of dreams, friendly, God was with him, successful in all he did, trustworthy, he had no grudges against anyone, was well built and handsome.
Wow,  Daniel and Joseph were loaded. They had a very good curriculum vitae. Despite their individual uniqueness and different profiles,  they had what made them stand out.
Daniel said that he would not defile himself with the king's food,  delicacies and wine. While Joseph  was lusted after by Potiphar's (His master) wife and  was given an opportunity to sleep with her for free but refused it and said, "how then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”He refused to defile himself with Portiphar's wife.
Both of them did not allow their skills, successes,  innate abilities,  opportunities and favour to affect their faith and belief in God.  They stood firm in the face of temptations to defile themselves and sin against God. Wow, can you see yourself through the lives and experiences they had. Have you defiled yourself after God has blessed, promoted and transformed you?
However, you need to realize that God being with you or you being blessed by him does not mean temptations will not come. Asked Job and you will understand what it means to be blessed but tempted. Don't ever imagine that something is wrong with you when you are faced with diverse temptations and when the devil presents his food, wine and offers to you. 

Psalm 34:19 says, ''Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all''.

TRUE REPENTENCE

JUST THINKING

True repentance is coming before God, seeking mercy for all the wrong you have done, forsaking all of it and not going back to it again. If you have truly repented of something, you should give up on it without going back to it.

1 Samuel 7:3 &4 says,

“Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.  So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the Lord only”. 

 The above scripture shows us what true repentance is. It shows that repentance is of the heart, strength and soul. When you do REPENT, you should put away everything that has made you sin against God and commit yourself wholly to him. You should also prepare and give your heart to Him, turn your heart to Him, commit to Him, obey and serve Him only. In other words, to REPENT is to change your mind or turn from the devil and his ways (sin) and turn to God and his ways.

You should also realize that you cannot overcome the demons or sin you play with. When you repent, do not play around that weakness, thing, person, etc again that makes you sin against God. It is like a person who has given up on smoking, sees people smoking and goes to sit with them or he goes to sit with the vendor of cigarette. Do you know what will happen to him?

He may not give in to it that day but the desire will start building up in him and he will eventually give in to it. It is like water that drips gently on a concrete floor. The first drop will not break or crack the floor but it will eventually break it if the water keeps dripping consistently on that same stop. Most sins committed do not happen suddenly. They build up over time in us as we play around and with it.

When you play around SIN, you are indirectly sowing into the flesh which will eventually result in corruption, sin itself, destruction and even death. You will only get burnt when you play with fire and you will never get burnt if you do not play and come close to fire. For you not to get burnt again by sin, do not go near it. Whatever a man sows is what he will REAP.

Mark 1:14 &15 says,

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel ^[of the kingdom of God,

15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”