Tag Archives: life

GENERAL

How to develop a Mind with unlimited potential

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Your mind is the mirror of who you are. What you don’t think about yourself you can’t become. Your mind is like a soil anything you put in it will surely germinate.


We must be careful of what we hear, what we watch and who we listen to, this period – as all these can either limit or expand your mind.

The mistake many make is that they invest more in the quality of their dressing than in the quality of their thinking.

If believers invested in the quality of their minds as much as they invested in their fashion and physique, they’d be unstoppable.

– Nwodo Divine


Quality living is not based on the quantity of things acquired, quality living is built on the quality of knowledge you have invested in yourself.


Your mind needs information to be active just like you need to eat to remain alive. You must feed your mind daily to defeat ignorance.


What you see about yourself in your mind can only come into fulfilment if you have an accurate knowledge.

Some of us are limited in our minds because of the kind of environment and background we grew in. But do you know you can break Such limitations?


Your mind is important to God because he releases ideas, imagination and pictures to help you discover His purpose for your life.


“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3

How to break Limitations off your Mind



1. The Knowledge of God

The knowledge of God is illuminating; it is enlightening. The mind that has been fed with the knowledge of God will remain creative and fruitful.

It is through the knowledge of God that our minds can able to receive the pictures and ideas that God is showing us.



“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;” – Heb. 10:16.


The above mentioned passage gives us an insight how God uses the human mind as a platform to transform humanity into His likeness.



Our mind can only be enlightened if we pursue the knowledge of God.

Meditation is the art of visualising God’s word.

– Nwodo Divine


2. Prayer and Meditation 🧘‍♂️

Meditating on the scripture is what produces a picture for your future. Until the saint meditates on the scriptures lines upon lines, precept upon precept, the saint will never be able to fully experience the reality of God’s promises.




If we must profit from the scriptures we must meditate and give ourselves totally to things of the spirit.


“Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” – 1 Timothy 4:15.



Reading Quality Books 📚

A robust, mental and spiritual life is needed for a successful life. Reading is a lifestyle to anyone who wants to remain relevant in God.


“And when I looked, behold, an hand was sent unto me; and, lo, a roll of a book was therein;” – Ezekiel 2:9.


Read books that will add value to your life. Books that will build your knowledge bank.


When we read books we begin living from the place the books stop. Books are powerful and you must give them priority because people will only look for you based on the relevant information you have in you.



When you begin to apply the information you have gotten, your value increases and your knowledge expands.

Have a Mentor 👨‍🏫

Mentorship delivers you from your own destruction. Knowledge with guidance from a mentor will produce wisdom.



There are people who had knowledge of so many things, but they lacked guidance, they made several mistakes.

One of the way to break limitations off your mind is to follow a mentor who has knowledge and valuable experience.


If we must break limitations of our mind we must start using the resources God has given to us to free ourselves.


God bless you.


This article was written by Green-Hills Emmanuel Amarayahweh

GENERAL

BE DILIGENT!

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Diligence to the service of the kingdom is necessary for anyone who wants to win the heart of God. A diligent person is someone who patient, persevering, and steady. He is one who is absolutely devoted to the work of the Kingdom.

The diligent saint need not be a preacher to be an effective kingdom worker. He might not be into the pastoral ministry 24/7 like the pastor, but he incorporates the preaching of the Gospel into his engagements.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:20.

It is unfortunate that in modern day Christianity, we find believers who want to enjoy the benefits of the kingdom without seeking the kingdom with their heart. The Kingdom we belong to operates with a reward-based system. In His teaching on the principles of the Kingdom, Jesus repeatedly explained that only those who are faithful to the tasks God has assigned to me them that will enjoy the bountiful benefits of the kingdom.

DILIGENT DAVID

One of the secrets to David’s success was his diligence to the cause of God. He was diligent both in his service to his father, his service to Saul and to the Israelites.

David was so diligent in His service to God, that even when he became king, he didn’t stop thinking about what to do for God. Amidst the tranquility and glory of the palace, David’s heart was restless because God did not have a Temple.

Folks, desiring to be great in the kingdom is not enough – the path to greatness is beyond mere desire. There must be an inner drive that pushes you to unquestionable diligence in God’s work.

Only lazy people desire blessings they didn’t work for. Only the slothful does nothing and expect rewards.

God’s blessing is tied to diligence. We will never fulfill the fullness of God’s plan for us if we are always lazy towards the interests of God.  It is only a diligent man that will do business with kings. In the business of the kingdom, God wants us to reach the level where we can speak to kings and deliver God’s counsel to rulers of nations.

Daniel was diligent in the things of God and because of diligence, he became excellent and industrious that even kings couldn’t resist his wisdom.

BENEFITS OF DILIGENCE

  1. God prospers the diligent:

Proverbs 13:4: “Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.” Lazy saints desire the promises of the gospel, but they get only the crumbs of providence because they are unwilling to work for it. But the devoted saints will always find miracles of divine provision in their lives; because a saint who works for the kingdom, is a saint who has his name enlisted in heaven’s payroll.

2. God promotes the diligent

“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.” Proverbs 22:29. God has always promoted saints who were unique and exemplary in their service to the Kingdom. The likes of Joseph, Daniel, Mordecai etc all went extra-mile in their efforts to uphold the cause of God.

HIS FAVOUR IS FOR THE DILIGENT

The average human believes that greatness comes by hardwork, thus he remains average.

Ecclesiastics reveals to us that, ‘the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill‘.

In life, there must be a God-factor. Christians who do not understand this will always claim to be too busy to serve God.

Lastly, incorporate Kingdom Service into whatever engagement you’re doing. If you’re a student, preach to your colleagues. If you’re a trader, share Gospel trats and magazines along with goods to your customers.

GENERAL

A place where the weak are strengthened

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1 Thess.5.14 – Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, SUPPORT THE WEAK, be patient toward all men.



Studies show that church attendance is gradually declining in America. Our youths are leaving the Church to join the streets – unfortunately, it seems like the Covid/lockdown magnified the situation.


With the Internet taking over as the global means of communication, it is important that as believers, we preserve the sacred custom of having fellowship with one another physically.



One of the most important benefits of having fellowship with the believers is that it strengthens us.


Paul reveals to us in 1 Corinthians 9:24, that Christianity is a race. In this race, there are those who have gone ahead of us; those who are with us and those behind us.



As we run, just as 2 Timothy reminds us, there are times one get weary. It’s not that such saint has fallen from faith, it’s just that he needs some words of encouragement to reinvigorate him to continue the race.


The Saint is in a battlefield constantly. It is either he is fighting against the antichrist system of the world, or he is fighting against the attempts of the flesh to lord over him.


This war requires strength and fortitude. This strength a lot of times cannot be generated by ourselves; it is gotten in fellowship with other folks of our faith.


This reminds me of the Vision Rick Joyner had. He said he saw believers striking themselves and the enemy was able to penetrate. He said he saw an army, so large and great and all the devil had to do was to poison the warriors against themselves. Immediately they started to hit themselves, the demons gained control.

A PLACE WHERE WE CAN BE STRENGTHENED

The communal Church is the strength of the saint.




A place where we can be strengthened is only in the midst of those who understand what we pass through.


A place where we can be strengthened is a place where we have people with the same goal, mission and hope as we do.


A place where we can be strengthened is a place where we see those who have gone far ahead of us and those we look up to – where they place their right hands on our shoulders and whisper to our ears, “You are stronger than you think”.


Statistics has shown that majority of those who end their lives abruptly, died out of hopelessness.


The Lord knew we would encounter these things, thus the need for fellowship.


A strong man remains strong because He is surrounded by Several other Strong men.


If we were sufficient alone, God wouldn’t have told Adam He needed Eve.


The Bible says, “Two are better than one, for one will sharpen the Countenance of His friend”.


IRON SHARPENS IRON


Having fellowship with other believers strengthens our faith. It makes us know we aren’t alone in this journey. It makes us strong when we feel weak.



The Church is where we find hope. The Church is where our decisions and determination is reinforced. The Church is where we are assured of His Glory and Presence.


If we ever think we can stand alone and do not need the House of Faith, then we have believed a lie.



If you want a coal to lose its flames, separate it from other coals. It may be producing and anchoring fire, but when separated, within minutes, the fire dies out.


So it is for the Saint. If we are separated from other coals, we will experience spiritual collapse.
Stay with the Brethren.

A united Body cannot be easily intimidated.


Has your hand ever told you it doesn’t need your ear? Just imagine how it would look like if your body parts were dissembled.

You would be so weak that even a puppy would be able to intimidate you. But you are strong, complete and bold because your body parts are together. So is it when we’re in union with other saints. It makes it nearly impossible for the enemy to attack us.




Written by Ehimwenma Fortune Osarunwense.

Student's Corner

Students’ Corner: The Time Factor

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Becoming an excellent student arguably requires certain resources which range from funds to enough textbooks, guides etc. One might not have access or full control of these things, but a resource that a student has full control over is ‘Time’.

You are in control of your time! No one else has control of it. Your lecturers might only have a portion of it, but you own your time.

The Time Factor is what every student must be able to use for his/her academic growth


Ecclesiastes 3 vs 1;
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: (Ecclesiastes 3:1|KJV)


When the Bible said to, “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”, it literally meant, “There’s a time for everything ”.



It never shortlisted it to a particular thing.


Students today develop problems when it comes to PRIORITIZING and meeting up with a set time especially time to read and give answers to waiting assignments.



Someone once made a joke, he said “Even if you give students a whole year for an assignment, you will definitely find many of them doing the assignments a night before submission ”.


I laughed when I heard this though it is painfully true.


The only time you find a lot of students reading is actually a day to exams or tests and this is sadly painful.


Then you see them blaming the teacher or lecturers for giving them low grades.



Throughout the semester or term, all you find them doing is anything but studying.


Having fun isn’t wrong but having it at the wrong time is wrong and dangerous to one’s academic growth.


Remember what Jesus said to Martha in Luke 10 vs 42?



He said, “But one thing is needful”.


In that text, Jesus didn’t mean to say cooking wasn’t necessary, all he meant to say was “At that moment, there was something more important than cooking”.


Having fun and being social is an essential part of every human’s life but when you prioritize it above the needful – your studies, you are wasting precious time – time you could invest in learning something new or gaining more knowledge about a particular course.



We all have our Achilles’ heel when it comes to studying. No one is perfect in all subjects; but the time you devote to gaining mastery of your least favourite subjects determine whether it becomes your strength or remains your downfall.

There exists a law of consistency which states that the way to gain mastery of a thing or course is to study and practice it repeatedly. Spend time daily studying your academic work.



Time lost is lost forever – it can never be gotten back. So what do you do with you time as a student?


A wise man once said, “Time, is an asset of equality. Everyone has 24hours, no one has 25 hours so use yours well”.


The key to a successful and fun-filled school session is total commitment and hard work. Read when the time to read comes, the fun can wait.

APPLICATION

1. Write down the list of courses you’re doing this session as well as the recommended texts for those topics

2. Apportion at least thirty minutes to studying each of those courses daily.

3. Be candid with yourself; the day must not pass without you completing the thirty minutes devoted to each subject.

4. Ensure you celebrate yourself for time spent by getting a good nap or challenging a friend to a quiz based on the studied course

5. Use your night time properly.

6. Overtime, increase the number of minutes spent on each course.

Thank you for your time here 😊. If you enjoyed this post, we request that you give us a like as well as a share 👍. More on students titbits comes soon.




Faith

Believe in The Immutability of God

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Isaiah 51: “Look unto Abraham”


If there’s anything I’m sure of, it’s the words of scriptures. God never minced words. If He says we should look unto Abraham, He means it.

Abraham is the symbol of the Christian faith. He is widely celebrated for his unrelenting belief in the promise of God.


Hebrews 11:17 “It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac,”


Hebrews 11:18 though God had promised him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.”


Hebrews 11:19 “Abraham assumed that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.”


The intensity and strength of Abraham’s faith was revealed when he attempted to sacrifice his only son.

This was the son that God had promised him; Isaac was the son through whom Abraham would become the father of many nations.

He was the precious and promised seed, yet, Abraham never showed any reluctance in sacrificing him just to please God.


The radical faith of this Saint of Old is what believers need today. We need to build our faith to become even stronger than that of Abraham if we are going to inherit the promise.

Having studied the life and pilgrimage of Abraham, I discovered only one source of Abraham’s strong faith;

– The Immutability of God


Hebrews 6:13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying:


Hebrews 6:14 “I will certainly bless you richly, and I will multiply your descendants into countless millions.”


Hebrews 6:15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised.



When God made the promise to Abraham, He swore by His name to fulfil the promise He made to Abraham.

The moment God made that oath, Abraham held onto it. He gripped it firmly and even gave thanks knowing that God would fulfil His oath.


Like Abraham, all we have to sustain our faith in this world is the immutability of God’s Word. God no longer needs to appear in dreams to give us His Promise like He did with Abraham.

In the days of old, there was no scripture or precedent to look up to and be strengthened in faith. There was no record of God’s promise to any man.


But God has blessed us with His Word – The Bible. We can look onto it in our moments of despair and be rest assured that so long as the Promise has been made, it will be fulfilled.

This, folks, is the definition of strong faith. This is the faith of Abraham and every person who ever walked with God.


It is a solid conviction on the immutability of God’s Word – if He said it, He will do it.


Psalms 37:28 “For the Lord loves justice, and he will never abandon the godly. He will keep them safe forever, but the children of the wicked will perish.”



God has given His Promise, that He will never abandon you. Even in your darkest moments, He will always be there.

Though, it may seem as if God is silently watching the world destroy itself, His eyes are specially fixed on His Saints.

Folk, stay glued to the promise of God that He will keep His beloved safe and lead us unto prosperity.

If God never fails, then let us hold unto His word. Let us believe His word that all things work for our good. Let us believe His word that even in famine, the Lord shall bless us with abundance.

Let us believe in the immutability of God.

Amen.


Faith

Enduring Faith!

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There is always an interval between the Promise and the fulfilment of the promise in the relationship between God and His children. That interval sometimes is long and full of several trials and challenges.


Could it be that the crisis believers are experiencing is only the interval between the Promise and the fulfilment of The Promise?


When David was anointed by Samuel in 1 Samuel 16, one would have thought David would become king the very next day, just like Saul.

Paradoxically, David ended up a wanderer in the wilderness, leading a pack of wild men for almost fourteen years before he finally ascended the Throne.



But even in those hard times running from Saul and living in the toughest of weather and geographical conditions, David stayed glued to God’s Promise that he would one day, ascend the throne of Israel, and surely, that day came.



There are certain challenges that God might not remove from our paths, but He has given us His Promise in His Word to sustain us even in these moments of trials and hardships.


Abraham is another example of a man who had to wait for years before seeing the fulfilment of The Promise.

At 75, Abraham had no son to call his own, yet, God promised Him a seed as well as fatherhood over nations. God usually gives us mind-blowing promises even in our distress in order to test us and stir up our faith.


Abraham was old, so was his wife. Neither of them could get pleasure from one another; neither had the capacity to create a seed; this was the difficult condition Abraham found himself in.



Does this sound similar to what you’re going through presently?


Probably you have a deadened business – a business already dried up by the harsh circumstances of life, with no income from it. God’s word is saying,


Psalms 92:12 “The righteous thrive like a palm tree, And grow like a cedar tree in Lebanon.”


God is giving you His Promise of fruitfulness the same way He promised Abraham a seed. Though all may seem hopeless, your job is to cling unto the word of God, and keep hoping on Him until the time of fulfilment.


Hebrews 6:15: “After waiting patiently, Abraham obtained the promise.”


Abraham definitely obtained the promise, but God’s Word told us that he had to wait patiently. Faith alone doesn’t obtain the Promise; a faith that cannot endure pain and suffering will never be able to obtain the Promise. Patience is needed.

Source: depositphotos


Patience is needed because The Promise is like a destination, faith makes us expectant of it, but only Patience will keep us expectant. Only patience will keep driving us towards our destination.


Patience is needed because on the journey to the promise, a lot of challenges will arise – persecutions, pandemics, plagues etc; God will permit these things to come your way to prove your Faith not just to Himself, but to the enemy and generations to come who will read your story.


The faith of the saint is not proven when the Saint has finally received The Promise, the faith is proven and seen in the road to attaining the promise.

Faith is in the Saint’s ability to withstand the pressures of life and keep serving God in expectation of an unseen promise.

Nwodo Divine



Romans 4:17 “As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations. He believed in God, who gives life to the dead and calls things into existence that do not exist.”


Here, we see a revelation of the intensity of Abraham’s faith. Paul, under the inspiration of The Holy Spirit, explains to us that though his organs were as good as dead,

Abraham believed God had the ability to enliven whatever is dead, and though there was probably no possibility of getting a baby from Sarah’s womb, God had the ability to call it forth into existence.


Such a powerful faith!


Isaiah 51:1 “Look unto Abraham…”

Source: Vectorstocks


Let us look unto Abraham and imitate his faith. Let the troubled Saint believe that God can revive his business; let the sick Saint believe that God can restore life to his body; let the depressed Saint believe that God can call forth great and mighty things into his life.


Romans 4:18 ”He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nations according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be.”



The Bible was careful to state that Abraham’s situation was not just of a man hoping in God it was a hope Against Hope – meaning, even when every reason to hope was gone,

Abraham never stopped hoping. Even when there was no reason to have faith, Abraham held unto The Promise.



Romans 4:20 “He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God


Romans 4:21 because he was fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.


Even in the uncertainty of the future, Abraham kept giving glory to God – He kept praising the most High. This means this man was never depressed about His childless state; he continued giving glory to God.


In this we learn that one of the evidence that have faith in God is that we believe God even when things seem not to be okay.

Thanksgiving is an evidence of faith in the ability of God to transform our situation.

Conclusively, beloved Saint, in your journey towards the Promise, make faith your fuel, patience your driver and Thanksgiving your music.

We hope you were blessed by this, we’d love to hear from and interact with you 😊. Do drop a like and comment. God Bless you, fam 😘💞💖

Faith

The Use of Faith

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A tool is something useful;

it is a thing available to serve a specific purpose. Its level of importance is determined by how much value it has.


We can consider faith a tool; an instrument that is useful in diverse ways.



One may wonder what the uses are, not to worry, they are explained below:




1. Faith is A CURRENCY


Just like one accesses physical commodities with money, faith is used to accessing whatever is supernatural. Faith determines our response to things about God and His kingdom.



It is attached to everything we do in God’s Kingdom; our works and responsibility towards the purposes of God must be mingled with faith, else they will amount to naught.


2. It is an instrument used for GAINING ALIGNMENT


We tread the path of alignment on the strength of our faith in Christ. By faith, we believe in the finished work of Christ. Also, it always prone believers to action. When there’s faith, there are works, so faith validates our work and makes it pleasing unto God.



3. Faith serves as A PARAMETER


God has standards in his kingdom, and for them to be met, there are kingdom parameters that are used to measure our duties. One of these criteria is faith.

He checks not only our heart posture (the intents and purity-state of our heart) but also whether we are faithless.



A pure heart is not enough, God demands faith when we carry out actions. Apostle Paul understood this and so he exhorted the brethren in Rome, thus:



‘‘He that doubteth is damned if he eats because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin’’ Romans 14:23.


His teaching labels the‘ absence of faith’ as a sin. A faithless Christian is vulnerable to sin and attacks from the devil.

His deeds are questionable, not because he is not holy, but because his actions did not take a stance from faith.

Satan easily conquers such a Christian during trials because he does not believe in the word of God.


4. Faith is the FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIANITY


Salvation and holiness are gained only by faith. Salvation begins with complete faith towards the finished work of Christ (they include His crucifixion, death, resurrection, and ascension).



Christ sustains our salvation through our constant unwavering FAITH in Him.

Although sinful activities in the world make piety tough for the children of God, we can remain exceptional from the patterns of the world when our faith in Christ is consistent.

This is where we give due diligence in responding to the salvation we once received.


2 Corinthians 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight.



Walking by faith is a deliberate action, it is a conscious response to our new nature by carrying out the responsibility that is befitting of a born again.

It is on this basis that we grow in grace and the Knowledge of God’s word.

Our faith sets us on the advantage of becoming approved of God, both in words and deeds.


2 Peter 1:5-7: “And beside this, giving all diligence, ADD TO YOUR FAITH virtue; and virtue knowledge. And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity’’


Brethren, it all begins with our faith, we gain all these virtues as a bonus for exploring faith.



That’s amazing! The usefulness of faith has proved to be all-encompassing–just like have been stated earlier in the first series of this subject.


Stay with me as we unveil more sequels that faith holds for us.


God bless you, abundantly.




David Chikwado Caleb

GENERAL

The Paradox of the Prophecy

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Text References: Genesis 37:3-9; 39:20; Chp. 41

The story of Joseph is one which is very common among us today – the story of how he was sold into slavery by his very own brothers, how his case deteriorated from slavery even into imprisonment, and how it finally ended with Joseph being on the throne.

We are very familiar with this story; but one thing many Christians do not realize is that they are actually having a re-experience of what Joseph experienced – that is, they are playing out the plot of Joseph’s story.

Joseph had a great dream of becoming a King. He was destined for greatness; he was destined for kingship and royalty. Joseph was a royal by destiny.

Like we do today, Joseph in his days had a dream of leading nations. In one of his dreams, he saw himself being the leader of ‘stars’.

In other words, Joseph was destined to be the leader of leaders and not mere men. This is the destiny of every child of God. You are born for nowhere else but the top.

The Cedar

Psalm 92:12 “The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” (NKJV)

            

The Palm tree is a tree which is known for its strong and solid roots, bark as well as productivity.

When the Bible tells us that the righteous will flourish like it, it simply reveals to us that as believers, whether you are a Child, teenager, youth or adult, in every of your engagements, fruitfulness and productivity will be the output.

It means that things will only keep getting better in our lives and in our engagements. It means that as a believer, in your academics, you will be among the best. In the skill you’re acquiring or the trade you are doing, you will achieve immense success. This is the prophetic destiny of every child of God!
          

But what you must also know dear saint, is that there will be a time when what you see in your life seems to contradict what you see in God’s word; I call this ‘The Paradox of the Prophecy’. It is a season that every Saint who ever became great in life passed through.

          

God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations, yet, for many years Abraham never had even a child.

Isaac blessed Jacob with the blessing for greatness, yet, for more than 14 years Jacob lived as a poor servant serving a shrewd master and receiving very little money as his wage.

God anointed David through Samuel to be king over Israel, yet, for many years David wandered from wilderness to wilderness leading a pack of wild and hungry men.

God promised to take the children of Israel to a land flowing with milk and honey, yet, for many years they walked in the wilderness eating only a kind of food daily.

                

The list is innumerable. The reason you must know this is that success and greatness comes in seasons and phases; if you are in what seems to be a tough season now, do not write off your dreams!

           

This paradoxical season comes in many forms – in Joseph’s life, it came in the form of slavery and imprisonment.

How could the one who had the stars in the galaxies bowing before him become a servant boy in the house of Potiphar?

How could the one who had the prophecy of worldwide greatness become a prisoner dwelling in a prison with criminals, thieves, and strumpets?

I was thinking since he was destined for greatness, God would make queens his nursing mothers and the palace his playground; but we see the exact opposite.

This young teenager lost his mother at an early age and suffered severe antagonism and antipathy from his brothers.

Wasn’t he the royal one? Wasn’t he supposed to be loved and pampered since he had the brightest future? – but we see the exact opposite. Joseph grew up in the toughest of environments.

           What does this reveal?

           

You are not alone! You are not the only one who is going through pain, intimidation and hardship inflicted by our nation’s system of education and economy.

Joseph also grew up knowing this pain; he also grew up receiving scorns and mockery from his older brothers. But the climax of the story is that he still became the noble that God destined him to be!

          

Look unto Joseph and be strengthened. He lived for years in a dungeon – an underground prison full of darkness and the most evil of criminals.

In the dungeon, you do not get good food; you do not wear good clothes; you do not get any encouragement or motivation; no one visits you in the dungeon – it is a place where you are left alone.

Does that sound like the condition you are in? Maybe you wish you were born in a very wealthy family; but you are living in a house or street full of dirt, immorality and ungodliness, do not despair, it’s only a paradoxical phase!

It is only a juxtaposition of the prophecy and the present. Or maybe all you’ve ever gotten is criticism even from your trusted ones; maybe you have no one to give you the love, acceptance and recognition that you crave for, look unto Joseph and be strengthened, he once went through the phase you’re going through today.

Great men are always alone, and great men are men who at adolescence or even childhood, were compelled to take responsibility for their lives and future by the harsh circumstances and battles of life.

Joseph was taken away from the comfort of his parents like many Christian youths these days are compelled to leave their families to learn a trade and fend for themselves due to lack.

But Joseph did not allow his circumstance to affect his grip on his prophecy. Even in the prison, Joseph saw himself as a leader and acted as one. Do not allow what you are going through affect your mood, rationality and self-esteem!

Be bold and confident of yourself! Be respectful and always look for a way to help those in your society!

Do not be intimidated by your peers who seem to have everything they wish for handed to them on a platter of gold! Neither should you be discouraged to think that your life will remain as it is now.

Hebrews 3:6: “….    Hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end. (KJV)

Don’t lose Hope!

God is saying to you, hold unto the hope of a great end. Hold unto the promise of God in the scriptures that you will be the head and not the tail, above and not beneath.

Do not lose your confidence and courage! Keep serving God and devoting your time to Kingdom work, rejoice in hope that surely, you will sit on the throne that belongs to you.

Spirituality

Beholding God

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To Behold is to see or look at; to see means to; perceive or detect, witness or observe by personal experience, to understand, to meet or visit.

It is a known fact that what you see at all times or look at has a way of influencing your life. Many times, it can become the very drive and controller of our being.

This is because “the eye” is a gateway to the soul of man. This eye is not just the physical eye that consists of the retina and cornea. Sight is not just of the eyes, but also of the mind. The interpretation of what a man get from seeing is dependent on the state of mind. For example, one who keeps exposing his mind to pornographic materials will definitely become addicted to immorality.



You as a son of God, thus, your gaze should continually be on God; always beholding. It is in this beholding that you come to know God, study his principles, understand his ways and government, have personal experience building convictions of your faith and become a witness that can stand strong at all times.


Hebrews 12:2a
[2] Looking away [from all that will distract] to Jesus, Who is the Leader and the Source of our faith [giving the first incentive for our belief] and is also its Finisher [bringing it to maturity and perfection]. (Amp)

Hebrews 12:2a
 2We look away from the natural realm and we fasten our gaze onto Jesus who birthed faith within us and who leads us forward into faith’s perfection. (TPT)


The answer to your complains about not understanding God is spending time in God’s Presence, gazing at His word and glory. It is not something you should do once; it is a continuous process.

The things of this natural realm tend to stand as a distraction between you and God. Scriptures admonish us not to pay attention to these things. The worldly and natural standards, ways of life shouldn’t be our concern, the gaze of our heart must be set on God.

Like the Psalmist, we must lift the eyes of our heart from the concerns of this world unto the Heavenly hills where the Lord dwells.


2 Corinthians 3:18
And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit. (AMP)


In the above scripture, what happens when one constantly beholds God is revealed. When you spend time beholding and gazing on God’s glory through His word, an inner transformation begins to take place – we become transfigured more and more into His likeness.

Do you know what that means?

You begin to manifest His nature; it becomes your way of life; it is a state whereby everything about us is immersed into God and everything about God is immersed into us.

The more we see God, the more we get our minds enlightened and our hearts flooded with truth.

How do we behold God?


You don’t behold God’s glory by staring at the sky, trying to imagine what God looks like. You behold by staying in the Word constantly. When you do that, The Holy Spirit begins to open you eyes to understand who God really is. Meditate on the knowledge and understanding that you get from God’s word, when you do that, it sinks into your heart and becomes a conviction. This conviction about God is what will determine the quality of our Christian living.




Written by:
Chidimma Blessing.

Spirituality

The Power of Association

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One of the greatest factors that determine one’s progress in life is Association. This factor goes a long way in making or marring the destiny of an individual.


The root of every destroyed or fulfilled destiny can in one way or another be traced or linked with the kind of people one associated with. The company we keep is not limited to our friends alone, it goes a long way beyond that.

It could be anyone, any organization or club. Let’s take a look at the life of King Solomon from the Bible.

1st Kings 11:1-8;

But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites;

2. Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love.

3. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

4. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father.

5. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.

6. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

7. Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.

8. And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.

We can see from the verses above that even the very wives of Solomon ended up destroying his long built relationship with God.

He had all the wisdom but the wrong association became a stumbling block for him and because of this, Israel was torn apart and taken from the house of David.

It doesn’t matter how great or anointed one can be, once you get involved with the wrong association, destruction is imminent and inevitable.

1 Corinthians 15:33: Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”


The wrong company destroys but the right company preserves and builds one up. Observe that in the aforementioned verse, we are warned by the Apostle to avoid being misled. The question is misled by what?

We are to avoid being misled by the thought that the only way to convert unbelievers is by being close friends with them. This is false and not biblical!

Jesus never taught communion with unbelievers; even though he ate with sinners, they were never among His close clique. Do not be deceived that you’re too strong or wise to be badly influenced by unbelievers.

Solomon was not just strong, he was wise; he was the wisest man of his time. Yet, his fall was the most disastrous of kings.



DAVID AND JONATHAN (1 Samuel 18)

Jonathan loved, protected and cherished David like a brother.


Jonathan was selfless – he gave David several gifts including his sword and his garment. These two youths stayed loyal and faithful to one another inspite of the enmity between Saul and David.

True friendship saves and protects. Jonathan saved David from Saul’s wrath.

– Have friends who are passionate about the things of God.

– Have vision-driven friends.

– Have friends who are compatible with your future. There are folks that if we allow into our personal space will become obstruction to our future goals.


Finally, do not be hesitant to separate from a friend who seems to be a stumbling block to your success. Abraham separated from Lot and Paul wasn’t reluctant in separating from Barnabas.

GENERAL, Spirituality

How to profit from The Bible

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The Bible is God’s tool for building His Saints. It must not be approached as an ordinary book.


The Bible is a spiritual book that can only be understood by spiritual men.


THE REVEALER OF TRUTH


“But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [complete truth]. For He will not speak on His initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].” John 16:13 (AMP).


The mysteries in the scriptures are subtly hidden from the knowledge of a carnal man. It takes the revelation of the Holy Spirit to unveil that which is hidden in God’s Word.


Anyone can read the Bible and to an extent, understand its message. But to be able to relate with the scripture and profit from its richness, we need the help of the Holy Spirit.



APPROACH TO STUDYING THE BIBLE

1. Meekness:

“Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which can save your souls.” James 1:21.




In order to be properly taught by The Word, the Saint must be ready to let go of his/her preconceptions and previous mind-set. He must come to God’s Word with an open heart, willing to accept its reproof and obey its instruction.


The Saint must approach the word as a student approaches his teacher. He must acknowledge that he knows nothing and he is capable of knowing nothing outside what The Spirit of Truth teaches him.



2. Consistency:

Spiritual Growth happens not in the quantity of time we spend in God’s Word alone, but also in how consistent we are in studying God’s word.



The Saint must not be lazy and sluggish in his approach to the Bible. It must be a daily habit and necessity. It must be cherished like the material food and must be mused on morning, noon and night.



Psalms 1:2: “….. on His law (the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) by day and by night.”

If the hardest of mathematical equations and formulas written by men cannot be fully understood in inconsistent and unserious studying, how much more a book written from the inspiration of God?

The Saint who will profit from the Word must be habitual student of it. He must be willing to devote at least an hour of the day and night to studying the scriptures.



MEDITATE ON IT

Source: Crosswalk

In order to apprehend the knowledge of The Divine, our minds must be conditioned into silent meditation.

It is in meditation that illumination is received. This great principle remains the secret of the wisest of men who have received the revelation of Christ.

In meditation, we ponder upon what we see in God’s word; we make it ours – we personalise it and apply it to our lives. Knowledge is processed from mental knowledge into conviction through meditation.

Meditation gives us insight into a knowledge. It opens us to a practical and real experience of Truth.

Meditate on God’s promises towards you. Ponder on His instructions;. Meditate on His wondrous works recorded in scriptures. The more you do this, the more God’s word becomes real to you.

PRAY-READ THE SCRIPTURES

Accompany your study of God’s word with prayers. Prayer deepens our understanding of the word and solidifies our faith to expect what the Word has promised us.

There are promises we come across in scriptures that we are to pray about and declare over our lives. When you come across such while studying God’s word, do not hesitate to instantly begin to declare it over your life and your family.

Conclusively, ensure you study your Bible with a pen and jotter, and desire to practice everything you’re learning from the scripture.