Category Archives: GENERAL

GENERAL

How Authentic is THE BIBLE?

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Beyond religious beliefs is the Bible authentic?



Beyond being a Christian by birth or whatever means, Is the Bible true?


Why should we believe that the Bible is true?



I am a Christian. I was brought up to believe that the Bible was the word of God.


In early life, I accepted it as such upon the authority of my parents, and never gave the question any serious thought. But later in life, I found myself face to face with the question, “Why do you believe the Bible is the word of God?”


This was a crossroad to me.



All I knew was that it is the word of God. But the How and why, I knew not!


I became curious and answers-conscious to the quiddity of the Bible.


This curiosity led me to pray fervently for an experiential knowledge of God.



It is in knowing God experientially that one can get to know the authenticity of things pertaining to Him.


Through many mediums; experience, theory, observation and by revelation, I arrived at some proofs that the Bible is the word of God.


These include {but not limited to};


1. The Holy Bible is God’s Revelation to man and not a mere Human imagination.


2. There is absolute accuracy and inviolability of the Old Testament which is in union with the new Testament.


3. By the unfailing manifestations of what are written there. Examples include the transforming power of the word, the working of miracles, the fellowship with the Holy-Ghost, etc.


4. On the ground of the testimony of Jesus Christ.


5. On the ground of its fulfilled, definite, explicit, and verbal prophecies before and after the Messiah, which was written hundred of years ago.


Invariably, man could not have foreseen these improbable events lay hundreds of years ahead, but God could, and it is God who spoke via these men.



6. On the ground of the unity of the books in the Book despite the disparities of men who wrote it. In all this wonderful conglomeration, we find an absolute unity of thoughts.


7. On the ground of the immeasurable superiority of the teaching of the Bible to those of any other books.


This can be seen factually in three points:


I. The Bible has in it nothing but the truth, while all other books have truth mixed with errors.


II. The Bible contains all truth. i.e there are no moral or spiritual subjects, which upon deep search, are not found within the Bible.


All other books ever written have their principles gotten from the Bible.


III. The Bible contains more truth than all other books. This is because the Bible is not man’s book, but God’s Book.


8. On the ground of the history of the book. This can be seen in its power to save men, and purify, gladden and beautify their lives, than in all other books put together.



9. No other book has the power to elevate not only individuals, but communities and nations has accepted it.



10. On the ground of its victory and its over the hatred and persecution of men.


11. On the ground of the character of those who accept and those who reject the book.



12. On the ground of the influence of the book.


13. On the ground of the inexhaustible treasures of the wisdom and knowledge of God.


14. On the ground of the fact that as we grow in knowledge and Holiness we grow towards the Bible.


15. On the ground of direct testimony of the Holy-Spirit.


Undoubtedly, the Bible is one of God’s gifts to Humanity for transformation of lives, and drawing men closer to God.



The Bible is true.



The Bible is God’s gift to humanity.


The Bible is the way, and its gives life.


If you still doubt the authenticity of the Bible being true and the only way to knowing God, you are only making issues worse for yourself.


The solution is get into the book yourself and study it.


Just surrender your will to the will of God. No matter where it leads you, and you will put yourself in such an attitude towards God that when you read this book, THE BIBLE, you will experience Its powers and wonders.


Stop searching for God through the wrong sources , the Bible is all you needed.


MYROSE SAVIOUR LILY.

GENERAL

DISOBEDIENCE

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Image Credit: theapologia.com.ng



Disobedience as common as it sounds, has contributed greatly to the fall of mankind. It has led to many unfulfilled destines.


The main purpose of God for man was to live a life of constant fellowship with him in the garden of Eden, but that purpose was cut short because of the sin of disobedience.


God gave instructions but they were disobeyed and till today, we still suffer from the consequences of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.


Disobedience to even the simplest and smallest of instructions could lead to a lasting problem or negative consequence.


How powerful the sin of disobedience could be, so powerful that it made the mighty fall (2nd Samuel 1:19).


In 1st Samuel chapter 15, God gave Saul an instruction to destroy the Amalekites with everything they possessed but he disobeyed and followed his own idea. God immediately rejected him (2 Samuel 1:18)


Sometimes, all we need to move to the next stage of our lives is obedience to an instruction from God.


The instruction might look simple or unrealistic, yet, it carries in it, the power to change your life for good, if obeyed, and to cause severe negative happenings, if disregarded.


We have become fond of negotiating with God just as Saul did.



We want our ideas to prevail over God’s ideas thinking ours is the best.


We want to do God’s will our own way but remember, it’s God’s will so you must do it God’s way and not your way.


God is very clear about disobedience. He says it is rebellion and that rebellion is like witchcraft


1 Samuel 15:23: “Rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols.”



Whenever God gives an instruction and you stubbornly ignore it, God sees such stubbornness as equivalent to idolatry.


How? Because you are idolizing your own ideas above God’s command.


It is ironical for us to expect God to speak to us, when we are living in stubbornness.



“Keep my commandments and live ” – Proverbs 7:2



The Life-Line of every believer is in his obedience to God’s commands.

The key to experiencing the fullness of God’s divine life is in obedience to His commands.

If keeping God’s commandments is the key to our living, then disobeying his commandments would lead to the opposite.

It would lead to spiritual death. It would lead to spiritual retardation.

God loves nothing less than complete obedience to His Word.


The instructions of God might seem too burdensome, but with His commands, comes Grace for obedience.




Written by Tolu-Taiwo Victor

GENERAL

Dealing with Procrastination

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Image Credit: Balance.media

Many destinies today, have become a mirage because of procrastination.


Several people would have reached the peak of their skills if they hadn’t fallen into the trap of complacency and laziness.



A lazy man is one who procrastinates.


Greatness comes by decisive and deliberate action to do what is important and needful for your success in Life. Complacency is the enemy of Growth.


Nothing will grow in our lives if we continue to live a life of missed opportunities as a result being lazy.


How to deal with Procrastination


1. Discipline:

Discipline is the bridge between planning and accomplishment.

Achievers are people who have the ability to compel their will and channel their energies in achieving a specific goal.

There is no key to achieving success other than discipline. Discipline yourself to work now! Discipline yourself to study now! Discipline yourself to face your fears! Just do it!

Do not shift to tomorrow, what you can do today! Grab your pen and write that story! Make that phone call!


2. Scheduling your time;


There are 24 hours in a day, each hour comes with its opportunities.



To schedule your time is to arrange your activities and fix them at their respective hours.


Several people schedule their time for insignificant things.


This is wrong as time is not renewable. Any hour spent without a deliberate schedule will lead to wasted opportunities.


Friends who will not help you to schedule your time should never be around you. Distance yourself from friends who will not respect your daily schedule. Your day is very precious to you. Many people are on the same level today because of the lack of a definite schedule. Give yourself to schedule.


3. Choose Sensible friends:


Friends are pointers to destiny, Loving your neighbour is a commandment, having a friend is your choice.


Any friend you have that will always make you use your time to talk, party and do other things that will not bring benefit to you and help you to get grow should not be your friend.


You must get rid of friends who are time wasters.


Never give yourself to friends who love to gossip. Friendship is either value-adding or value-depreciating.


Surround yourself with friends who will add value to your destiny and will always tell you what to do when you are confused.


4. Develop A Responsible Mind-set:

Ignorance is the greatest obstacles of a man, Bad mind-set is an enemy of progress.


If you want to grow, take responsibility! you are not like other persons. Our responsibilities are unique. So don’t just sit down, engage your responsibility!



God bless you!


Greenhills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

GENERAL

Launch Into The Deep

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Before Jesus came to them, Peter, James and John were fishing, yet they never knew that there was something deeper than fishing.

At times we are too focused on our endeavour that we fail to see the deeper calling of destiny that has been attached to our lives.

Peter, James and John were Fishermen, yet, there was a calling for them to become great Apostles that would set the pattern for the preaching of The Gospel.


“And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon’s, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless, at thy word, I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men.” Luke 5: 1-11. KJV



This is a very important message to learn from. Scriptures tell us that they toiled all night, yet, they could catch nothing.


Like Peter, a lot of believers have been toiling fruitlessly to earn substantial living. This lesson is for you.


Jesus wanted to teach the crowd he had no platform to preach from, he decided to use Peter boat.


Peter’s boat was his investment. It was his tool for working. It was his source of income. He gave the boat to Jesus. At the end, we are aware of the multiplication that ensued.



1. God’s Kingdom must be established in our Business. Wherever we find ourselves, we must live with the consciousness that we are children of God, representing God there. A believer must be guided by Christian principles in his business engagements. Let the Throne of God be exalted in your hearts.


2. We must ready to launch our nets into the deep if we are going to receive a big catch. To launch into the deep means to think beyond our present circumstances. It means to dream big. It means to invest big. It means to give your all to Kingdom work.


Peter was initially reluctant to launch into the deep because his thinking was shallow. Jesus was seeing a draught for Peter. But Peter’s thoughts were settled on the fruitless toil he had the previous night.


Many of us are still holding on to our past lives. God is calling us into abundance, but we are afraid to expect such, because of the memories of the fruitless toils we made yesterday.



I know of believers who are reluctant in giving life their best shot, because the last they did such, it did not yield the expected results.


But Jesus is saying this evening, launch your net into the deep. To launch into the deep, means one has to leave the realm of surface and mediocre living, and go after the deep realities of The Kingdom.


When Peter obeyed, he received a net-breaking miracle of multiplication.


What are you doing with your boat? Do you want to launch into the deep? Come and embrace the kingdom.


Written by Greenhills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

About The Author Greenhills Emmanuel is a Nigeria-based preacher and writer. He has written numerous articles which has been published across several Internet platforms.

GENERAL

Upgrade!

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To Upgrade is simply to increase in your worth and the quality of the value that you give to the society.



It is to raise your reasoning to the model of excellence and consistently improve on the quality of your mind in any endeavour you are engaged in.

Life comes in seasons. Destiny is in phases. Your ability to constantly upgrade your thinking and the quality of your services will go a long way in determining how much value you will add to the society.

Constantly upgrading ourselves is very important in sustaining generational relevance.

As Nwodo Divine, founder of Koininia Art says, ‘One must upgrade, because yesterday’s standard of excellence could today, be a display of mediocrity’


The problem with numerous believers is that even after getting born again, they still stick to their old pattern of thoughts and attitudes.


There is a clarion call from Heaven for us to upgrade.


We must advance the quality of our delivery to the level of wisdom and excellence that God has deposited in us.



Many persons, especially those in Africa, were born in bad times and conditions of life. Hence, even as believers, they have rubbed off the mindset of prominence, simply because their minds were shaped from infancy, by poverty.

Despise and detest poverty. Poverty leaves you defenceless and makes you dependent on the elite.

But greatness comes by intentional and deliberate efforts in upgrading your mind. Greatness is a lifestyle even as poverty.

UPGRADE WITH GOD’S WORD.

Source: Christianity.com


The first upgrade every believer should do is to advance his thinking to be aligned with the thoughts of God unveiled in God’s Word.


The Bible is the thoughts of God revealed. Spending time with The Bible is spending time with the thoughts of God.

When one does this consistently, one’s mind will increase in Wisdom very greatly.

The thoughts and ways of God are so mysterious, that we must constantly renew our minds to prevent being left behind in His move.


‘My life on earth is so brief, so tutor me in the ways of your wisdom. I am continually consumed by these irresistible longings, these cravings to obey your every commandment!’ Psalms 119:19-20.



For one to upgrade is for one to commit oneself to learning new things in God.


Never take pride today, in what you knew in the past because it can become obsolete.



Do not become complacent the things you’ve learnt or achieved in the past.

Upgrade and improve on them daily!

Each day, new methods of doing things are unfolded. If one does not advance in his methods, one will soon be considered to be archaic.

Joshua 1:8: ‘This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.’


In God’s first recorded discourse with Joshua, we discover an ageless truth; that our success and prosperity is tied to our ability to continually meditate on God’s Word, and practice that which it says.

As you continue to cogitate on the Word of God, your appetite for God widens. You will get unsatisfied with religion and pursue the kingdom.

UPGRADE BY READING QUALITY BOOKS

Source: Cfr.org



Upgrade your mind by getting quality books. Having a library of your own improves the way you think.

Books open you to new ways of seeing. Reading quality books sharpens our perception.

If you are not ready to be great do not read. A mind that does not read, will stink.


UPGRADE YOUR BELIEF SYSTEM


Do not let the mediocrity of your culture or background influence your belief system.

Your beliefs matter a lot. A poor character is a result of wrong belief systems. Failure and success are tied to your belief systems.


Change certain patterns and habits you know is dangerous to your destiny.


Deal with them, now!


Deal with everything that will cause the problem to your life.


Upgrade your mind and you will enjoy the best of life.

God bless you!

Written by Greenhills Emmanuel Amara-Yahweh.

GENERAL

The Hidden Leader in You

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The thinking of a leader is what separates him from his followers.
Every human has an instinct and capacity for leadership, but most do not have the courage or will to cultivate it. Man was created to lead.

True leadership is a product of inspiration, not manipulation. True Leadership goes far beyond the mechanics of most approaches that pervade our leadership programs. True leaders do not seek power. They are driven by a passion to achieve a noble cause.

Take note of the following things;


The discovery of true leadership is the discovery of a clear sense of purpose.
Without purpose, leadership holds no meaning. Leadership is communicating directly to a generation.

Discovering The Leader in You

Your relative attitude comes alive when you become aware of your true nature. The only way to know yourself is to know where you come from. That is why the best way to discover yourself is to study the nature and the attributes of God.

When a person gets to know his creator and finally comes to know himself, then his leadership ability is discovered.

The Spirit of Leadership

Every human being has a natural inclination for Leadership.

The leadership spirit is our inherent leadership potential. Every human being has the raw material for Leadership, but only a few have the drive to harness it.

True leadership is an attitude of the heart that is birthed by a renewed understanding of purpose. Leadership demands a price. Leadership is inherent. Leadership is a divine deposit. Leadership is not for you but others. Leadership is becoming your true self for the benefit of others.

The Mind of a Leader

In order to become excellent leaders in the society, we must get rid of every mindset that will obstruct the quality of our leadership.

A lot of us were born in families that if we were given a choice, we would reject them. We had the poorest parental training. These things negatively impacted our minds. And if they are not uprooted, they will become hindrances to realising our full leadership potential.

It is a process that takes time because it involves unlearning and learning a lot of things. But it must be given optimal priority because no leader can rise beyond his or her attitude.

Cultivating the mind of a leader isa decision every leadership driven Christian must take.

When the attitude of leadership is married to the ability of leadership then you are a true leader. The day you take responsibility for your attitude is the day you will truly grow up.

Leadership is 20% talent skill and technical knowledge and 80% attitude

Discover and harness the Hidden Leader in you. The world needs you right now.

Greenhills Emmanuel Amarayahweh wrote this

GENERAL

Safe in The Blood

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Exodus 12:13: “The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy [you] when I strike the land of Egypt.” (HCSB)

The story of the Passover is one which no believer is unfamiliar with. Yet, it is a story which only few believers have discovered the great wealth of divine revelation concealed underneath it. This is due to what one would call, ‘over-familiarity’ with the scriptures.

I intend on bringing to our understanding, a knowledge which is needed at this time more than ever.

In the text above, God was about to strike the nation of Israel with a plague. It was going to be a plague that would kill the firstborn of every living creature, man or animal, in Egypt. As providence would have it, the Israelites happened to be living in Egypt as slaves, at that time.

Such a season could be compared to the season we are in presently. The Bible tells us that are the spiritual Israel.

We are God’s people who are presently mixed up with the Pagans and unbelievers. We are people in covenant with God who are living amongst people outside of God’s covenant. Just like the children of Israel centuries ago, we find ourselves in a world full of corruption, oppression and hatred towards Christians.

In the USA, for instance, Joe Kennedy, a former Washington state high school football coach, was fired, for praying in the pitch, before and after every match of his team. This and more instances, show how believers are being oppressed by the evil ones sitting at the helm of world affairs.

God saw the oppression of His people, and He was about to send a plague to strike the land. But God had to distinguish His people in order to shield them from being affected by the plague.

The distinguishing mark was going to be the blood of a young lamb, sprinkled on the door posts of the Israelites. They obeyed, and they never got affected by the plague.

In a season of plague like this, you do not need to kill a lamb and shed its blood on your doorpost like the Israelites did. What they did was only a shadow and figure of what God was going to do in our generation.

The lamb which was slain represents Christ, who is the lamb that was slain for our redemption (1 Peter 1:19-20). His Blood was shed on the cross of cavalry, and till date, the Blood still speaks.

Hebrews 12:24: “And to Jesus, the Mediator (Go-between, Agent) of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks [of mercy], a better and nobler and more gracious message than the blood of Abel [which cried out for vengeance].” (AMP)

The Blood of Jesus speaks of mercy, not judgment. Where there is mercy, there is preservation; grace and protection. The Blood of Christ shed for us shields us from every plague and pestilence in the land.

But as a believer, you must apply the Blood to yourself and your household. You must not live in complacency or assumption.

We apply the Blood of Christ in our Household through two ways,

a. Declaring it

b. Teaching it to our household

Firstly, you must declare the Potency of the Blood and its efficacy in your life and family. Say this, ‘I declare that I am covered from this plague by the blood of Jesus through my faith in the finished works of Christ. Therefore, I and my household are safe and protected from this pandemic’. Do not say this alone; lead your family members to confessing it with you daily.

Teaching the importance of the Blood to your household is very important if they are going to benefit from it. When you explain the significance of applying the Blood, their faith is built up to trust in the covering of the Blood of Jesus.

Know that no matter how the condition of this pandemic gets, you will survive it, because you are covered by the blood! You are like the Israelite and your house is like the Goshen city where they dwelt. You are secure in the Blood of Jesus. And so is your family.

Amen.

GENERAL

More on The International Christian Youth Conference

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As we step into the month of February, the International Christian Youth Conference (ICYC) draws closer.

With scores of participants from different parts of the world, ICYC is a Cyber conference a believer shouldn’t meet.

Here’s a brief info on the Guest Ministers at the Conference;

1. Judah Olorunmaiye

Popularly known as “PJ”, Pastor Judah is a Pastor at Rhema Chapel, Osogbo, Western-Nigeria.

He is renowned for his relentless pursuit of truth, and his committedness to preaching God’s Word in its rawest form.

PJ is the author of one of Nigeria’s bestselling book, ‘Candid Opinions from God’s Oracle’. He is followed on Facebook and Telegram by thousands of believers all over the world.

2. Evangelist Ndi Perez:

Perez is a Us-based Evangelist whose ministery has featured mighty Manifestations of God’s power. He is widely celebrated for his simplicity, humility and Passion for the things of God.

God has wrought several Miracles under his ministrations. Miracles which include the healing of cancer, diabetes, Corona Virus etc.

3. Wesley Kayode Luther:

Wesley is a Nigerian-born preacher, whose ministry has spread from Nigeria to countries like South Africa, Dubai, US, UK etc. He is the founder of the Cyber-christian network chain, ‘Revival Train’, which consists of over two thousand members worldwide.

It is a great honor to have the ministry of these great servants of God in our midst. This is a great conference you will certainly enjoy.

To participate in the conference, open the link below;

Koinonia Art

See you there!