He was the son of a poor preacher. He was considered to be a sensitive but morbid child. His schoolmaster labeled him, “A stupid blockhead.” He earned a collage degree, but graduated at the very bottom of his class. He was rejected from becoming a preacher. He tried law, and again was rejected. He borrowed a suit of clothes to take an examination to be an assistant in a hospital, and then failed at that as well.
He lived in poverty, was often ill, and once, even pawned his clothes for food. The one thing he wanted to do more than anything was to write. And so he forged a new trail. In the end, Oliver Goldsmith rose above his past to rank among the greatest writers of all time.
Richard Hooker worked for seven years on his humorous war novel, M*A*S*H, only to have it rejected by twenty-one publishers before Morrow decided to publish it. It became a runaway bestseller, spawning a blockbusting movie and a highly successful television series.
After having lost both legs in an air crash, British fighter pilot Douglas Bader rejoined the British Royal Air Force with two artificial limbs. During World War 11 he was captured by the Germans three times – and three times he escaped. Are you there? Am not sure you got that. He escaped on each occasion with artificial legs. You can see the power of determination.
It was Orison Swett Marden who said, “You must back up your ambition by your whole nature, by unbounded enthusiasm and determination to win that knows no failure.” There is no doubt some men and women will want to puncture that determination, but they will succeed if only you let them.
In their Book, Don’t Quote Me – What People Said And Then Wished They Hadn’t, Don Atyeo and Jonathon Green writes, “Addressing his audience in the Berliner Tageblatt on July 12, 1914, Prof. Hans Friedenthal of Berlin University stated his opinions in the evolution of ‘the new woman’ in an era of suffragism and higher education. ‘Brainwork will cause her to become bald, while increasing masculinity and contempt for beauty will induce the growth of hair on the face. In the future, therefore, woman will be bald and wear long moustaches and patriarchal beards’”
Goke Ilesanmi writing in Financial Standard said, “It is a truism that irrespective of what we do and how perfectly we think we have done it, criticism is inevitable. Criticism is even so celebrated that we have different categories of critics.”
According to the man who modernized the production of automobiles Henry Ford “I cannot discover that anyone knows enough to say definitely what is and what is not possible.” Never dwell in your past.
To our success!
– Uju Onyechere
Tiany had just called off her 6-year relationship with Jackizy. As she narrated the events that led to the painful separation, she wept profusely over what she termed “6 wasted years”. Being a ‘spiritual lady’ and church cell leader, she felt that this separation was a dent to her reputation and a bad example for others. I encouraged her from the scripture and told her that in a few months, she would be happily engaged to the man she was meant to marry. In addition, she would be so engrossed in her newfound love to the point that she would forget she ever had anything to do with Jackizy. I reiterated (with a smile) that I was 100% sure about this and would give the little finger on my left hand, if it did not happen.
Give my finger? Yes! I first witnessed something similar with Pastor Jide Lawal several years ago. I participated in the recruitment exercise of a blue chip company and after going through 6 different stages of assessment in a space of about 5 months; I was informed that I had not been successful in my last interview with Idy. I couldn’t believe it! This was a humiliation for a man of God! As I lamented my ordeal to Pastor Jide, his words were very reassuring and comforting. He said, “Tope, I can assure you that in a few months from now, you will be so busy on your new job that you will forget you ever had such a painful experience.” He was very right, and there is more.
About 7 years after we had that conversation, I was bidding for a contract alongside 3 competing companies, including Idy’s. On the day of the presentation of proposals, my company was first to present and as usual, I gave what I think was a “power presentation”. As I walked out of the client’s boardroom, I saw the representatives of one of the competing companies walk in and Idy was going to give the presentation. As I walked past Idy, I whispered to my colleague – that’s the guy who felt I wasn’t good enough 7 years ago. You can be sure that Idy didn’t recognize me. Days later, I received a call saying that we had won that bid. Wow, life can be interesting! Today, my client probably thinks Idy is “not good enough”. Hmm! Tiany is also currently happily married with kids, while Jackizy is still searching for his wife.
Why was Jide so sure things would turn around for me despite the pain I felt at the time? Why was I willing to ‘give away’ my finger if Tiany didn’t experience a turnaround? It’s simple! The words Jide and I gave could be termed “Word by Knowledge”; a prediction of an outcome based on the knowledge of a person’s life/lifestyle. The scripture is replete with instructions that if we obey as believers, yield 100% predictable outcomes. For instance, Luke 6:38 says – “Give and it shall be given unto you”. I don’t need to hear God before I tell a giver that he would enjoy the giving of others. In like manner, a believer who genuinely serves God will definitely blossom; we can say unto the righteous that it shall be well with him. We can say to him who delights in meditating on God’s word that “whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:3). Back in the day, I saw that Tiany genuinely lived for God and I could predict her future no matter what she was passing through currently.
Beloved, no one swims with God and goes to the bottom (Polish proverb). A friend of mine recently said to me – “Tope, in the past 4 years I have never seen you worried.” I think he should have observed instead – In the past 4 years, I have never seen you worried about a believer whose heart genuinely pants after God. If God opened our eyes so we could see all that would happen to us in 7 months or 7 years, or preferably, in eternity, I am sure we would dismiss all our current worries. But don’t wait for that; read the scripture to see what God has said and done about your future, and you will experience a peace that passeth all understanding.
Shalom!
– Tope S. Aladenusi
For eight years he wrote short stories and articles for publication, and for eight long years they came back as rejections. He didn’t give up, though, and for that we will always be grateful.
While he was in the Navy he wrote a mountain of routine reports and letters. After his hitch in the Navy was over he tried desperately to make it as a writer. For eight long years he sent stories and articles off to magazines but was never able to sell even one.
On one occasion an editor wrote an encouraging note on the rejection slip; it said simply, “Nice try.” The young writer was moved to tears and given new hope.
He was not the kind of man to give up. Finally, after many years of effort he wrote a book that deeply affected the entire world. He titled it
Roots. Yes Alex Haley, after years of diligent applications and rejections, finally saw his efforts rewarded, as he became one of the most successful and influential writers of the seventies.
Roots did not just become a best seller, but later became one of the best movies in the world.
The truth of the matter is that most of us are in a hurry. We want to make it with just one try. The era of patience and persistence has gone. Everything is instant. No thanks to the changing world economy or the competition in the market place. Many people have reached across to me, demanding to know why one publishing house or the other refused to publish their articles. My question has always been, how many have you written? How long have you been writing? And the answers are always amusing. Some, just one article. Others quite a few. And as soon as they don’t see it published, that becomes the end of the matter. No! You have to keep going until you get what you want. It’s as simple as that.
The same thing goes with public speaking. Many after my various presentations will meet me wishing to do it just like me. But the truth is that it requires practice and training. Anybody who tells you that he is a born public speaker (like those who say they were born with music or those who say they are born leaders) is merely deceiving you.
According to Jim Clemmer “Effective communication is no more a natural skill than leadership is a born trait. Very few powerful communicators just opened their mouths and let the words naturally flow out. Most leaders learned, developed, practiced, and refined their communication skills through a lot of hard work and conscientious effort. They learned how to sell and persuade. They learned how to infuse a well-formed case or logic with emotional appeal. They were able to light their logic on fire.”
With patience and persistence, you can achieve that dream of yours. Simply make up your mind to stay with it, no matter how long it may take. And am sure by the special grace of God, you will make it.
To our success!
Uju Onyechere.
We are all self-employed, whether we realize it or not. Very few people realize this until after retirement, when they scramble to get their act together and learn new tricks in old age, or after a job loss. For many, the outcome is catastrophic financially – the retiree and his gratuity soon part ways. Unless you are a partner or a major shareholder in the company, you are simply rendering services to the company whether in your name, or in the name of your own company. Your contract with the company has an end date. If you are not self-employed, you may be stranded. Your future is in your hands.
You are in charge of your life – your time, finances, career, relationships, you name it. You are the CEO of your life, whether you are an employee, employer, businessman, clergyman or whatever your vocation or calling, that is why minding our business is our primary responsibility.
Everyone is a business man or woman. Everyone is doing business, whether you own a business or working for a business or charity. Businesses can be broadly divided into two – manufacturing and services. Employees are into the service business, they provide services to their employer, using their time and skills. They get paid based on productivity and value added.
A good way to illustrate this is to imagine an Accounting/Auditing firm which sends some of their staff to work for another company, auditing their books for a certain period. The auditors are not employees of the company they are auditing, but they work for that company. They resume work in the morning and close in the evening. They have a certain task they are to complete to the satisfaction of the company paying the bills.
It may look like I am trying to play with words, but the issue is the mindset which ultimately determines the outcome. If you are self employed, you are working for your own company (though may not yet be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission), rendering services which is paid for monthly as salary. That means you are in charge of the quality of service you are rendering. To command better fees/salary etc, you want to add more value to the services you are rendering, exceeding customer expectations – the customer being your employer. You get paid more through salary increases, including promotion. Because you are in charge, you do not wait for the company to push you before you step up your game. You seek to improve your skills on your own by seeking out and attending courses relevant to your current job function to improve your performance on the job. Since you are self employed, you don’t mind spending your own money to attend some of the courses either home or abroad, to give you the competitive edge (if such training opportunities do not exist in the company). You are in effect working for yourself, not the company hence it does not matter if your new skills are recognized and rewarded by the current company. You have an idea where you are going, and if it means changing jobs to get there, you have the skills needed at that level.
Since you are self employed, you get to choose the jobs you do. If the job you are currently doing is not taking you where you want to go or is not what you really want to do, you can discuss with the company to move you to another job function, and if all fails, go work for another company. You take control of your career and professional development, not necessarily having to wait for the HR Department of the company you are working for – remember you are self employed. Your skill set is not tied to the company you work for, but what you want to do with your life now and in the future. You do not wait for the company to promote you – you promote yourself by acquiring the skill set of the position you want to be, and start performing at that level. Soon it will be obvious to all that you are a candidate for that position.
As a self-employed person, you do not wait for the company you work for to manage your finances. You don’t wait for your salary before you give your wife her housekeeping allowance. If the company delays in paying salaries, you have a Plan B, as your life is not tied to the company. You don’t wait on the company for gratuity and pension, you plan your cash flow down to your old age, by investing in portfolios that will generate fixed income, returns and growth. What the company offers, if any, becomes a bonus.
Also as a self-employed person, you do not wait for the company to tell you when to retire. You can choose to work as long as you want, doing what you love and loving what you do. If you love the company you are working for, you can stick with them till the mandatory retirement age, and then offer your skills to same company or another company as a consultant, if that is what you love doing. What that means is that you have registered your own company somewhere down the line and learnt how to run a business and not wait until you get notice of retirement.
As self-employed, it means you are in the driver’s seat of your life. You do not want someone driving you. No one knows where you really want to go more than you do. No one cares for you more than you do. In a business down turn, the company down sizes and no matter how much the company loves you, you may be let go. If you are financially illiterate, your gratuity may soon become history too. That is when it dawns on you that you are really on your own – truly self-employed.
Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
I recall that when I first hired a driver, I did most of the driving even though my driver always sat in the driver’s seat. What do I mean? Well first, in some false sense of humility, I sat in the front seat beside the driver rather than behind – diagonally opposite the driver’s seat, popularly called the “owner’s corner”. Second, whenever we were on the road and he seemed to be getting too close to any car, I would notice myself slamming my imaginary brakes; in short, I was usually edgy and often either making imaginary turns, or honking my imaginary horn, or accelerating or braking. What’s more? I kept telling him how he should drive – almost every minute.
In a matter of weeks, I noticed I was too worked up whenever my driver drove the car, much more than I used to be when I drove myself. I had to make a decision to either drive the car myself or trust him enough to drive. I was done with trying to make him drive my way. From the day I decided to really let him drive the car, I noted that I had some peace of mind; I could read and work in the car, and at a time, I even dozed off while he drove. Hmm! He wasn’t a bad driver anyway, I later reassured myself.
Today, as I ponder on the way many Christians run their lives, this experience comes to mind. Many believers claim to have given their lives to Christ, but in reality, they do the “driving”. Christ says “let’s go left”; we say “I think right is better, after all, everyone that matters is going right”. Christ says, “My beloved, we need to go slowly right now because there is danger ahead”, but we tell him to move at 160km/h so we don’t seem left behind. Christ tells us to stop at a fuel station to get a refill and renewing with the Word; we respond – “let’s do it at another station, I’m so busy now and in too much of a hurry”. No wonder many believers get so worked up in life!
Beloved, is Jesus Christ really the driver of our lives? If he is, then we should be experiencing what the Bible calls the peace that passeth all understanding. The believer has been called into a place of rest, because Christ has given us all we would ever need for life (2 Peter 1:3).If we would truly let him lead our lives, we would start living life indeed. Jesus said – “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28 KJVA). Do you find Christianity easy and interesting? Do you experience this rest Jesus talked about? If your answer is No, could it be that you do not trust him enough to drive your life, like I did with my driver? Could it be that you are not learning of him?
– Tope S. Aladenusi
Time is the most precious asset that we all are given on earth. You can make more money but you cannot make more time. This makes Time the most expensive currency that we spend. You don’t need to make noise about how you love God and His work; we only need to note how you spend your time and we get a clear indication whether you really love God and are giving your life to him. It is really difficult to claim you have given your life to Christ if you do not constantly give him your most important currency – time.
But what happens today? Many of us spend most of our time enriching our employers (a number of them unbelievers), fulfilling their goals, dreams and visions while the visions, dreams and goals that God has placed stay neglected. Our employers get the best of us, but God gets the worst of us. In a busy city like Lagos, many spend an average of 12 hours daily – 8am to 8pm – working for their employers, get home at night to watch the news, movies or catch up with their friends on Facebook, Blackberry and other social media. We do this day in day out, as time ticks away.
If we do not allocate valuable time to do God’s work now, when will we ever do so? Are we not among those who are getting older every day? I am not against working; I go to work daily too and I have loads of deliverables. More so, the Bible commands us to work. But while at work, do we have that sense of purpose aimed at fulfilling the great commission God has given to all believers and also realizing the goals He has placed inside us? Do we see our work as a platform to fulfill God’s purpose and reach out to others with the gospel of Christ?
It’s quite surprising that many believers think it a strange thing to excel at work and also be committed to the work of God. They feel that one has to give way for another. Sometimes people ask me, “Tope, how are you able to combine ministry with your very demanding work schedule?” What is the secret? The secret is that I don’t combine them. I simply live the Christian life – which is a life of all-round success. Sometimes I ask such people the question – you are so busy at work, how are you able to find time to eat? What is the secret behind combining eating and working? That gets them speechless, because when we consider something very important, we don’t talk about “combining them” with other things, we just do them.
Jesus Christ said, “My meat is to do the will of the One that sent me.” The way we “combine” eating and working since we consider both very important, is the same way we have to make time to live the will of God. It is said that when the heart is willing, it finds a thousand ways but when the heart is unwilling, it finds a thousand excuses. Are you willing to give your time to God? Do you need to reduce the time you give to movies, football, idle talk on social media, etc.?
– Tope S. Aladenusi
A man published his book in the United States of America, only to figure out that 90% of his books are left unsold. He was so disturbed. He felt void. He thought several times to give up. He thought several times to change his career. He thought several times to write another book. He thought several times to free out the books left. At the edge of making the decision, a friend came to visit him. The friend told him to leave the content of the book unedited but change the cover. “I said the cover needs change” he emphasized. They went on to change the cover of the book. A week after the launching of the book, the book won the best and the most rapid selling book in the United States of America.
Remember: the content is the same as the content of the book people refused to buy, but the cover was worked on. That’s the power of change. A success bred by change.
Change is the only constant of life.
Change is the most essential thing required to breed differences.
Difference is what people need to make a better decision.
A better decision is what breeds success.
That’s why we need change!
How can we attain change?
To every change, some goodbyes and welcomes need to be made in life.
We tend to get the same outcome when we mix the same ingredient. And people get tired of eating the same thing over and over again. People get tired of repetitions. Why do you think people smile at a joke they initially laughed at when they first heard it? It is because in the absence of change, there is no invention, and when there is no invention, there is no celebration.
Success doesn’t lie in doing common things with others. It lies in doing common things crowned with the extraordinary. When you do extraordinary things, people find it easier to differentiate because a change is introduced. “When you want to stand before the crowd, you have to take some steps out of the crowd”; that’s an illustration of success bred by change.
Change changes it all! Your worth is being doubted when you make no difference. Change is the only factor that makes someone stands out from the majority to the outstanding. People reckon with the first than the second! So you need to make some changes and overtake the first i.e. making some goodbyes and some welcomes.
BOTTOM LINE: Success is not about being like someone else. The fact is “when two different things have the same function, people make use of just one” so when you are like someone else, people hardly reckon with you because there is no element of change to prove the difference. So make a change now.
Stay blessed.
– AOD Oluwafemi
We can make 2013 our best year ever. It is a matter of choice in paying the price in doing our part. A lot of things have been written about 2012. For many, it was the worst year in living memory. For me, it was my best year ever. I have seen God crown my efforts with success in an unprecedented way. The year of course had its own challenges, including personal and national tragedies. There are certain things we do not have control over. I remember growing up, the serenity prayer whose rhyme sounded fascinating but whose import I never grasped until much later in life:
God grant me
The serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference
For most of us, especially in the area of business, finance and relationships (communication), we lack the wisdom to know the difference. We ask for serenity to wait for the things we can change to change by themselves. According to the late Jim Rohn, acclaimed as America’s foremost business philosopher;
– If you will change, everything will change
– To have more, you need to become more
– Don’t wish for things to get easier, wish that you get better
– Don’t wish for less problems, wish for more skills
– Success is something you attract by the person you become. Success is not something you pursue. Success is something you attract by becoming an attractive person
The summary is that you have to set yourself up for success by working on yourself. You prepare for war in time of peace. The outbreak of war is not the time to enrol in the Defence Academy. That is too late. God will pass the ball, but it is your responsibility to score the goal. If you are not ready and prepared, no matter how beautiful the pass, you will miss the shot.
Let me give you a simple illustration. A building contractor believes God for a financial breakthrough, and daily bombards Heaven with his request, doing all he knows how to ask. Let’s say the opportunity presents itself and he messes up the job. He becomes an embarrassment to the person who linked him up to get the job. He will not be given other jobs, and no amount of prayer and fasting will change things. A story goes that when the male lion wakes up in the morning, he stretches, announces his presence with a bone chilling roar and prays a simple prayer:
God, show me the animal that is my lunch today and leave the rest to me.
Our success in 2013 will depend on how much we cooperate with Heaven. Prayer, giving and confession alone are not enough. Faith without work is dead. We have to roll up our sleeves and change the things we can.
We need a new mindset, new thoughts, attitudes and beliefs about ourselves. We need new goals – spiritual, mental, physical, financial, relationship, career etc. We need new skills, new habits, new information, and new way of looking at things. What we have so far has brought us this far. We have reached the last bus stop and the bus is not going farther than this. To move forward, we have to leave the old bus and join a new bus. We have to leave the old behind and embrace the new. We cannot do the same old things and expect a new result. We have to raise our standards. We have to go where we have not gone before and do what we have not done before. We need to go the extra mile. We need to exceed our former limits. We need to move to the next level.
Our best years are ahead of us. They will not manifest through slogans for the year only. It is when opportunity meets preparation that miracles happen. The supernatural happens when the super meets the natural. We have encompassed this mountain long enough. It is time to blow the trumpet and move camp. We can make 2013 the best year of our life and 2014 even better. Happy New Year!
Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil according to 1 Timothy 6:10 (NKJV). Also the lack of money is the root of bitterness and the cause of most marital squabbles. Love it or hate it, we need Money to enjoy life to the fullest and make our unique contribution. Money becomes very important when we don’t have enough of it. It then dictates what job we take, where we live, what clothes we wear or cars we drive, what schools our children attend, and if we allow it, who we marry. Money then becomes a master rather than the slave it ought to be. The lack of money can push a good man or woman to do something they never imagined under normal circumstances.
Many, in an attempt to appear spiritual, avoid the subject of money. Rather than learn sound money management principles, we resort to prayer, hope and expectation of a financial breakthrough. Rather than back our prayers and faith with wisdom, understanding and hard work, we do whatever comes to our minds whenever money gets into our hand, and pray for increase. The result has been that there is lack in the house. When it comes to financial matters, we seem to be the tail, not the head. We consume our seed and pray for open heavens and a bumper harvest.
Money is just a tool to have our needs met, give to others and make a difference in our world. We are simply stewards of God’s resources. Like the parable of 5 talents in Matt 25:14-30, we are supposed to invest and multiply what comes into our hands, so that there will be enough and to spare. When we align ourselves with financial principles, we get the right results. These principles are no respecter of persons no matter how holy or committed we are.
The principles or laws of financial independence can be summed into 2.
1) Pay yourself first
2) Spend less than you earn
Paying yourself first means saving before spending. This savings is not simply to sit in a savings account and stare at you. It is to be invested for returns, the simplest being simple interest from fixed deposits, treasury bills, bonds etc. This means you decide how much you want to save each month, come rain or shine and just do it. By spending less than you earn, you make do with what you have left – cut your coat according to your cloth. When you save every month, you become richer every month and move closer to your financial goals. If you save nothing every month (eating with 10 fingers), you will be left with nothing at the end of the year, each year. So the question is; do you want to become richer every month, or keep marking time at the same spot?
If you master your finances, money becomes your slave. Rather than keep working hard for money, your money starts working hard for you. At a point, your interest income will grow to exceed your monthly expenses. At this point, you have achieved financial independence – you can do without your salary. You can decide to keep working or go do something else with your life. You now have a choice, something very few employees have. You are no longer afraid of being fired or laid off.
There are two types of money problems:
1) Not enough money (most are used to this)
2) Too much money (where you ought to be)
When you get to the point of more than enough (mentally and physically), money ceases to be an issue in your life. You are free of financial worry and anxiety. You can do what you want to do, how you want to do it, when you want to do it. You can spend without being scared if your cheque will bounce. It starts with financial education and financial intelligence – learning how to use what you have to create the abundance you desire. It will not happen overnight. It takes prayer, hope, learning, wisdom, hard work, focus and never giving up.
-Usiere Uko is editor of www.financialfreedominspiration.com and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence – www.amazon.com/Practical-Steps-Financial-Freedom-Independence/dp/147006832X .
While growing up in my early days as a Christian, I always imagined what it would mean to have eternal life. The mystery that surrounded the never ending life would leave me in wonder. To live on and on and on was the common thought that went on in my mind. I must be frank there wasn’t so much attraction to it asides from the curiosity of wondering what we would be doing living on and on and on. As a kid, I knew I could get tired of playing basketball after a long while so you would understand my part interest. The other attraction to it; as it were, was that the idea of perishing or living a temporary life wasn’t so fanciful either.
Then, gradually I came to realise that eternal life meant the very life of God. This time the thought of being called to be a partaker of God’s life was too good to be true. But it was evidently written all over scriptures. I couldn’t wait to partake of this life. Like so many others, I couldn’t suffer in this life and suffer in the hereafter too. ‘Let me take all the suffering I can knowing that a glorious life awaits me’, I concluded.
The concept of heaven suddenly turned to an afterlife destination. I tried to make myself qualify for the race to make this destination known as heaven. I thought of how beautiful it would be to finally lay aside this life and put on the glorious life of God. I thought of the ‘other fellowship’ in heaven in this light in the various songs in praise to God.
Gradually, the reality of living in the reality of who we have been made came. The concept of heaven changed from a destination I would do all to get to. But rather to what I have been made to partake of in Christ Jesus. I tried to live out this life by every means possible till I realised I was helpless and really needed help. I kept becoming born again, again and again because I felt I needed a fresh start – a new beginning, a new slate.
But thank God for illumination by his word which brings me to our discourse today which is: living the reality of sonship today not tomorrow; on earth and not in heaven. Let me illustrate this a little by saying that I am yet to see a soldier at the war front who decides to save up ammunition so that he could have some to take back home. The home has no need for his ammunition. What was given to him is meant to be used and used urgently at that.
As Christians, Titus says how we are to live in this present world
“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” Tit 2:11 – 12 NKJV.
We are saved to live out the glorious life we have received right now and not later. The world is meant to see the gradual unfolding of the Sons of God. Rapture shouldn’t be an escape route due to our being battered, shattered or frittered by just about anything on earth. It should be likened to the eager yearning of soldiers who have conquered and held the frontlines (and possibly even extended it).
Quite a number of times I have been drawn into waiting to get to heaven to finally live right as no act of goodness is possible here on earth. But friends, this is far from the truth. We are not called to live in desperation or frustration rather we are called to live in the victorious reality of all that Christ has obtained for us.
“But now in a single victorious stroke of Life, all three–sin, guilt, death–are gone, the gift of our Master, Jesus Christ. Thank God! With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.” 1st Cor. 15: 57 – 58 MSG
Our salvation is now and the reality of all that we have become ought to be displayed now. We have been packed full and packed deep to be a sign and a wonder. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth.
We were created a wondrous spectacle for the angelic hosts of heaven WHICH WE ARE!!! The question is ‘Are we living in the consciousness of this reality?’
“God, who is the Creator of all things, kept his secret hidden through all the past ages, in order that at the present time, by means of the church, the angelic rulers and powers in the heavenly world might learn of his wisdom in all its different forms.” Eph 3:10 GNB.
Someone said that no matter how terrible situation of things are, the lion never eats grass. I tend to think of that in line with the believer. We are not cockroaches or rats neither are we squirrels hiding in holes till an opportune time. Rapture is not what ought to distinguish me from the unbeliever but our distinction should be evident now.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (is a command that still reverberates even up till now). Matt 5: 16 KJV.
It is important to realise that these things do not fall on one like ripe cherries. There needs to be an expression of the reality that we have attained to in the inner man.
These find expression by engaging ourselves in exercises that would renew our mindset in line with the above.
I trust that you would find this out through a constant study of God’s word as it is clearly made plain for all to see.
Cheers.
-Dr. Bolaji Akanni