One of my most profound discoveries I have made in my journey to financial freedom is the truism of the saying – as a man thinks in his heart, so is he (Proverbs 23: 7 KJV). What truly amazed me was that I have known this in my head all along, after having been a Christian for donkey years. Why I never believed it and walked in that knowledge is a mystery I am still trying to unravel. Was it because of over familiarity with the Word? Was it unbelief? Was it the fact that it seemed too simple – think and that is it? I knew in my head that the expectation of the righteous shall not be cut off, but how come my wishes were not coming true?
It wasn’t until a couple of years ago that it fully dawned on me the impact my thoughts were having on my life. My thought pattern was my worst enemy. I ruled so many things out of my life because I thought I could not do or afford them. I was shooting myself on the foot daily. From thoughts come beliefs, words and actions – action brings results, often of the unintended variety.
I have come to know that poverty is not the state of your bank account, but your mindset. Lack of money is a symptom of poverty, not the cause. If you have a poverty mentality, you will become poor. We move towards our expectations.
A poor man believes:
He cannot afford it
Times are hard
There is no money
He is managing
His salary is not enough
He is trying to make ends meet but they never seem to do so
You cannot have everything you want
Resources are limited and human needs are insatiable (there is not enough to go round)
The rich are crooks (which is the reason he will not be one of them)
The list goes on and on and on.
The amazing thing is that whatever you think is right is usually correct. It is a self fulfilling prophecy. A poem by C. W. Longenecker captures it beautifully:
If you think you are beaten, you are,
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you like to win, but you think you can’t,
It is almost certain you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find,
Success begins with a fellow’s will.
It’s all in the state of mind.
If you think you are outclassed, you are,
You’ve got to think high to rise,
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man.
But soon or late the man who wins,
Is the man who thinks he can.
I have come to realize that most arguments are of no use. People argue out of their own reality, and they are correct. Some people say financial principles do not work and they are right – it does not work for them. You cannot prove to someone that his reality is incorrect. He lives and breathes it. Change can only come when one’s eye of understanding opens. Whatever you say is correct. As you think, so you are.
If you think you cannot, you are right – you can’t. If you think you can, you are also right – you can. Whatever the size of container you use in approaching God’s sea of abundance will be filled to overflowing – tea spoon, table spoon, soup bowl, bucket, bath tub, tanker, pipeline – whatever you come with will be filled. There is more than enough. If you choose to abstain from abundant life through your mindset of scarcity, lack and unbelief, you will do just fine with the little you get used to. When all is said and done, what you think and speak consistently will ultimately manifest.
-Usiere Uko is editor at http://www.financialfreedominspiration.com/
Introduction
I have on several occasions been stopped on the road by complete strangers who asked, “What do you have for me?” They neither appeared like beggars nor mischief makers. If anything they looked like people who have needs of some sort. They discerned through whatever means that I could be of help. But I must confess with the benefits of hindsight that I blundered and blew away golden opportunities to point needy souls to their saviour. For I later came to realise that may be the people sensed or knew me to be a Christian and felt I could offer some help to their tormented souls or answer some nagging questions.
If only I was…
How might I have known if they were genuine seekers or not? How might I have known if they sense I looked different from all the multitudes they met that day? How might I have known if they thought they found someone who has something of substance to offer? Oh if I was a little more discerning that I was meeting needy souls. If only I was not too hasty in putting them off. If only I was not overcautious. If only I was a bit more patient to listen to their silent pleas. If only… Maybe I could have made a difference in their lives. How do I know? From my insensitive response I see an understanding disappointment in their eyes as we part. I see a look that says, “This one too doesn’t have an answer to my problem.”
Peter and John were different
We read in Acts 3:1-11, the business taking Peter and John to the temple was different from what they met on the way. The encounter with the lame man at the gate was not planned. But they were sensitive. They were patient to give attention to a begging lame man. They had time to respond to the man. To them listening to the poor beggar and meeting a need in his life was equally an important act of worship as going into the temple to pray. Their response to the man was beautiful.
The man got healing, more than he expected when so to speak he asked Peter and John, “What do you have for me?” He was expecting money. Peter and John gave him not money but what they had –The evidence of power in the name of Jesus Christ – healing. The man got up healed and started praising God. That is it. Their Lord had earlier taught them “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
They ask everyday
There are many people asking in one way or the other “What do you have for me?” What do we have for them? Christ? Can we be patient to give them Christ as their very real need?
Felts needs
It is ironical that people spent their lives not knowing what their real need is. They run from pillar to post and from dawn to dusk dissipating energy, getting tensed and stressed up plus high blood pressure. It is all about what they feel they need to make life worth living. Here the lame man might have thought money was all he needed to live. Those who brought him, and maybe he himself must have concluded and felt he needed the pittance from people to live because of his disability. As it always turns out to be, a man seals his destiny by whatever he says to himself. In this case the man might have said, ‘I am a cripple’ and the people agree he is cripple enough to depend on handouts. His was looking like sealed hope and destiny as they brought him daily to the temple gate to beg for alms. It was the pittance the man expected from Peter and John as usual.
The Real Need
But that day was not to be business as usual. Peter and John saw his needs differently. Instead of seeing the man’s felt needs they saw his real need. The man felt he needed money they thought he needed the touch of God. In order words the man needed to experience Christ who gives meaning to life. This was evidence in the man’s joyful reactions after the healing. Recall that:
- The man followed them walking, jumping and praising God.
- The people saw him walking and praising God.
- They were filled with wonder at what happened
That the man’s real need was to experience Jesus (through His healing power), is also seen in Peter’s emphasis to those who thought he did something extra ordinary. He addressed neither the man nor the miracle that was performed on him. He shifted the focus to the Christ.
“When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus… By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see. (Acts 3:12-13, 16)
The apostle had Jesus- the real need of the lame man. They gave him Jesus when he asked them “What do you have for me?” When he got Jesus through the healing power that is in His name the man praised God not the apostles.
Christ is
Christ is the real need people have. Yet He remains the need most misunderstood, most unknown and most unsought for.
All felt needs, once met continue to be needed. They never satisfy and yet they sap our energies all through. People spend time and money and yet continue to want more. The more they want the more they feel disillusioned if there is an end to it all. But Jesus the real need of the world satisfies through and thorough. He told the woman at the well,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)
Conclusion
The average person on the street is a ‘walking need’ waiting to be met somewhere sometime. The blank looks in most people’s eyes are actually asking, “What do have for me?” Jesus is all they need though most will not admit so because they do not know. But through our sensitivity we can say, “This you ask for but Jesus Christ we give you rise up and be free from bondage to felt needs and those things the enemy said you need to make life worth living”.
Many are watching and waiting expectantly. They are asking, “What do you have for us?” May our actions and words as Christians all say to the expecting needy world, “Silver or gold we do not have, but what we have we give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and live the real life.”
-Namani J Nharrel
The Bible is full of financial blessings which we have claimed, and claimed some more over the years. Years down the line, we begin to wonder if God’s word and promises are indeed true. We know God is not a liar, but we wonder what we are doing wrong to end up broke month after month, living from hand to mouth, claiming we shall be the head but feeling like the tail when we look around us. Where are the financial blessings?
Each year, we get a word from the Lord at the beginning of the year – This shall be your year of breakthrough, exploits, flying on eagles wings etc. We have stickers to show for it. They end up on our cars, doors, bibles and what have you. I know a brother whose cars’ rear windscreen was so full of stickers I was concerned if he could see through the rear view mirror. He was literally blinded by God’s promises down the years. If you look at the back of his car, you can trace all the promises down the years. He did not remove any, but simply added to it until he finally ran out of space.
Where is the manifestation of these promises? Has it come? Is it coming? When?
These are all valid questions. We are not bold enough to question God, but we have questions all the same. Whatever happened to Matthew 7: 7-8?
7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8 For everyone who asks receive, and he who seeks find, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
Not only have we been asking, He by Himself has even gone ahead to promise without us asking – this is your year of financial breakthrough, still nothing. What exactly is going on? Why is there so much need in the house?
Let me tell you my story.
I used to think that after asking, or receiving the yearly promise, all I needed to do was live holy, pray and attend all programs. Then one day, as I was leaving church for home, or as I was getting home from church, someone will run up to me and grab my shoulder:
“Brother, I have been looking for you, where have you been? The Lord laid it on my heart to give you something but you were nowhere to be found. I am so relieved that I finally found you”.
Then he will lead me towards the trunk of his car, open it, lo and behold, a “Ghana Must Go” bag (apologies to my Ghanaian friends) almost bursting at the seams, filled with naira notes – millions upon millions of naira. That was my picture of financial breakthrough.
I have since learned from the school of hard knocks that God does not work that way, except in some instances He sends money through others to pay for what He has specifically ordered, not to pander to my greed and laziness.
Another one was my employer sending me abroad for years on assignment. I will earn dollars while my salary is running back home. I have experienced this severally, but have come to realize that this is not the financial breakthrough I was looking for. I will return home awash with dollars, and six months later, I will be back to being broke again, praying for another assignment.
Yet another way I expected the breakthrough to come was by someone bringing me a very sweet deal, maybe LPO, contract, etc. I actually registered a company to prepare myself for this scenario. I will win a contract, or someone will bring me a contract with such a juicy upfront payment that I will execute it easily and will be rolling in millions afterwards. Of course this never happened.
I have come to realize after wasting more than 15 years wandering in the financial wilderness, that when God gives a promise, it is not time to hope, pray and go to sleep. It is time to hope, pray and go to work. A farmer does not hope for a bumper harvest my praying, fasting and attending night vigils. He hopes for a bumper harvest by praying, fasting, attending night vigils, getting good land and good seed, clearing the land, cultivating it, maintaining it by clearing weeds or using herbicides, applying fertilizers as necessary, hiring labour for the harvest as required and getting a good market for his products. His faith is expressed by working harder than his peers, putting more land under cultivation, doing more because he believes God will answer his prayer for a good harvest rather than cut back due to fears of drought or market slump which means inability to sell his excess produce.
God will not answer his prayer by raining down harvest from the sky. God will answer through a good weather, access to alternatives if the rains are not coming as much required, loyal and committed workers, friendly bankers, access to markets to sell his product etc. Even then, these things will not come by themselves. The farmer has to get up and go knock on doors.
This is when Matthew 7:8 kicks in – For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
A lazy farmer will ask but will not receive, seek and will not find, knock until his knuckles start to bleed and no door will be opened.
Like the story of talents in Matthew 25:14-30, the one who received one talent and buried it can ask all he wants, seek or he wants and knocks all he wants. It is by making what you have profitable that you can ask for more.
What has become of the money God has sent your way since you started working – your salary and bonuses? Can you give account of them? Is any left or you have consumed all? Are you accumulating wealth or you are giving it all away, eating with ten fingers? What business are you doing apart from your job? Which investment do you have that brings returns monthly, annually etc? Where else is money coming from apart from your salary? If you get laid off today, how long will you last before you start begging?
When God created the earth, He came down by himself to fellowship with Adam and Abraham. Then He sent His son Jesus, and when Jesus went back, He sent the Holy Spirit who has been here since. God has given us His all. What more do we want? More blessings? What have we done with what we have?
God has given us more than enough to multiply and have dominion. There is seed time and harvest. It will never cease. Are we planting or are we consuming? A farmer that eats all his seed will watch the next harvest from the sidelines as a spectator. You may be surprised that as you are waiting for God to move, God has been waiting for you to move. Until you move, all you may end up with is promises and stickers.
-Usiere Uko is editor at http://www.financialfreedominspiration.com/
Just about everyone has heard of the Wright brothers, the bicycle mechanics that pioneered manned motorized flight in the first part of the twentieth century. But what you may not know is that prior to that day, the Wrights, unknown with no university education, were not the leader in aviation. They were obscure at best, and another man was expected to put the first airplane in the air.
His name was Dr. Samuel P. Langley. He was a respected former professor of mathematics and astronomy who at that time was the director of the Smithsonian institution. Langley was an accomplished thinker, scientist, and inventor. He had published several important works on aerodynamics, and he possessed a vision for achieving manned flight. In fact, till late 1890s, he had done extensive experiments with large unmanned plane models and achieved a high degree of success.
In 1898, Langley approached the U.S. War Department for funding to design and build an airplane to carry a man aloft. And the department gave him a commission of $50,000- a huge sum at that time. Langley went right to work. By 1901, he had successfully tested an unmanned gasoline-powered heavier- than-air craft: It was the first in history. And when he enlisted the aid of Charles Manley, an engineer who built a powerful new lightweight engine based on the designs of Stephen Balzer, his success seemed inevitable.
On October 8, 1903. Langley expected his years of work to come to fruition. As journalists and curious on lookers watched, Charles Manley, wearing a cork-lined jacket, strode across the deck of a modified houseboat and climbed into the pilot’s seat of a craft called the
Great Aerodrome. The full seized, motorized device was perched atop a specially built catapult designed to initiate the Aerodrome’s flight into the air. But when they attempted the launch, part of the Aerodrome got caught, and the biplane was flung into sixteen feet of water a mere fifty yards away from the boat.
Criticism of Langley was brutal. At first, Langley didn’t let failure or the accompanying criticisms deter him. Eight weeks later in early December, he and Manley were ready to attempt flight again. They had made numerous modifications to the Aerodrome, and once more Manley climbed into the cockpit from the houseboat’s deck, ready to make history. But as before, disaster struck. This time the cable supports to the wings snapped as the plane was launched, the craft caught again on the launch rail, and it plunged into the river upside down. Manley nearly died.
Again the criticism was fierce. His Great Aerodrome was called “Langley’s Folly,” and Langley himself was accused of wasting public funds. The New York Times commented, “We hope that Prof. Langley will not put his substantial greatness as a scientist in further peril by continuing to waste his time, and the money involved in further airship experiments.” He didn’t.
Defeated and demoralized, he abandoned his decades- long pursuit of flight. Just days later, Orville and Wilbur Wright, uneducated, unknown, and unfounded – flew their plane “Flyer 1” over the sand dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Langley let his moment of disaster make him think it was the end. He abandoned his experiments. Two years later he suffered a stroke, and a year later he died. And today, while even young school children have heard of the Wright Brothers, Langley is remembered only by relatively few aviation buffs.
Never give up.
-Uju Onyechere.
There is no more sacrifice for sins. Heb 10:18b
This is a declaration that we need to preach from the roof tops. It is a wonderful declaration and attestation to all that Christ has become for us. The past, present and the future course of all mankind was dealt a decisive blow by our Lord and saviour Jesus such that things can just never be the same again.
It tears my heart apart to see us stumble on that basic but all important point. No amount of beautiful, lovely acts of piety can undo that statement. The time basking in prayers ought to be in view of that statement and not in trying to undo the statement. No deed; though worthy in the eyes of man, can change the fact that there is no more sacrifice for sins. It seems just good to think that it is possible to undo that fact.
It is vain to try to make a sacrifice for our sins. Our call to live in the light of who we have been made is not to try and pay back a little of the debt. The price to be where we are and who we are has been paid.
As I am coming to gradually understand God’s unsearchable love day by day, it is mouth gaping to just realise that his demonstration of love on the cross has put an end to all forms of sacrifice.
If there is any sacrifice worth giving, it is the sacrifice of ourselves (in letting go of self) beautifully-garnished, seemingly with incenses (of sacrifices) of praise and appreciation unto the lord alone who has done this marvelous deed.
It beats human ego to appreciate and understand that when he said, ‘It is finished’, It is finished. There is no part. No flesh can glory or boast in his presence. That is not our part.
When a wrestling match is declared over, you don’t go jogging and warming up your boots waiting for the next round. You join the victory parade. You know it’s over.
I wish to God we would realise it is over because a price has been paid. If our Saviour could decide to take a seat in attestation to the fact that all is settled, why are we trying to carry out that which has been accomplished?
Only let us hold on firmly to the hope we profess, because we can trust God to keep his promise. (Heb 10:23)
Cheers!
-Dr. Bolaji Akanni
A friend gave me a story of a man who proceeded to choose a vacation window and paid for all vacation expenses prior to seeking a leave approval from his boss. Contrary to his expectation, his boss refused to approve a leave for him within the vacation window he had chosen and paid for. The young man called the attention of his boss to the fact that he had already picked his vacation destination and all expenses had been paid. Furthermore, he labeled his boss as being insensitive and foolishly flouted his boss’s decision and proceeded on the vacation. This further infuriated his boss who felt slighted at his subordinate’s presumption and gross disrespect of his person, office and the institution. The young man was consequently fired for being absent without a leave approval.
Ideally, the young man should have sought his boss’s approval before making his vacation plans. This is because, as a professional, you’re primarily answerable to your boss or supervisor. To a very large extent, your level of obedience and loyalty go a very long way in determining how much you rise in the professional cadre.
The scenario described above is quite similar to what we sometimes do as Christians. We make up our minds to accomplish a task and we use all our human discretion to make out all the plans we think are necessary, then we go to God for approval. When he doesn’t give the approval we expect, then we begin to doubt His integrity and faithfulness. For instance a person gets set for a journey without initially consulting God for an approval to proceed, then when he is about to commence the journey, he ask God for a safe trip. If something goes wrong while on the journey, we begin to doubt God’s credibility. Another instance is when a person gets wealthy by cutting corners and feels that using such funds to support church events is tantamount to bribing your way through to God. Or a person who consciously and consistently eat a very bad diet and expects to live in divine health. This will all back fire. “God is not mocked, whatever you sow you will reap (Gal.6:7)”.
Ideally, whatever we do as Christians should always start and end with God. He loves us so much that he wants us to take an approval from him before we make every move of our lives, from the least to the greatest (1Cor.10:31 and Col.3:17). As our maker, Lord and savior his integrity is always at stake so he jealously protects it by nature. In other words, He sees his glory in our lives and he’ll want our every step to transmit this glory in return (1Cor.6:19-20).
To be able to effectively seek and take approvals from him we must know the following:
- Know God for who He is (Heb. 11:6, James 1:17, 1Tim.1:17, 1Tim.6:16).
- Know that God Loves you and has a perfect plan for you (John 3:16, Jer.29:11).
- Know yourself exactly as God knows you (Col.2:10, Eph.2:10)
- Know how to love your neighbor. This results as an automatic consequence of loving God and yourself (Eph. 5:1-2, 2Cor.5:14-15)
- Know that every action you take has a consequence, good or bad (Gal.6:7).
“I am God, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go. If you had listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from the sea.” Isaiah 48:17b-18 (The Message).
-Emeka Ofia
His father, Dr. Julius Hammer, owned a pharmaceutical chain that was having difficulties. One day his father was accused of performing an abortion in which a girl died. He was convicted and sent to jail. Suddenly Armand was faced with taking over the pharmaceutical company. He was only twenty-one and two years from graduating from medical school; now school seemed impossible, but Armand didn’t focus on the problem. Instead, he looked around to see what avenues to prosperity were open.
It was the start of prohibition. Booze was what people wanted, and Hammer realized that tincture of ginger was what was needed to make bootleg gin. He went out and cornered the world market on tincture of ginger, making a two-million-dollar fortune on one idea.
Immediately he had the finances, he hired an attorney to argue his father’s case. He soon had his father out of jail. Armand remained responsible for the pharmacies. So he went home at night after shutting down the stores and studied from eight in the evening until one in the morning. He couldn’t attend classes, so he hired another student to take notes for him. At the end of the year, he took all the tests and graduated number one in his medical class. Then he sold the pharmacies to the employees and made his millions.
Young Dr. Hammer wanted to go into practice, but it would be six months before this dream becomes possible. What should he do with the time? His father, a Russian and a socialist, told him he’d heard that people were dying of bubonic plague in Russia. So Hammer put together a little medical wagon and by boat and train got to Russia.
When he arrived he found that the people weren’t dying of bubonic plague; instead, they were starving to death. Hammer used his millions to buy wheat and ship it to Russia. This earned him Lenin’s personal attention. When they met, Lenin told Hammer that Russia needed tractors for growing crops, and commerce to bring in more foodstuffs. Lenin said, “I need a businessman, not a doctor.”
Hammer went home and called Henry Ford. He told Ford he wanted tractors but was rejected due to his hatred to Communism. But because Ford wasn’t selling his tractors, Hammer made him an offer he couldn’t reject. “For every two tractors you sell to me, I’ll buy one car from you.”
Ford agreed. Hammer got his tractors, resold the cars for a profit and shipped the tractors to Russia. It became a success and in return, Hammer earned the right to thirty-eight major trade concessions, each of which was worth a fortune. He was on his way to becoming a billionaire. Adversity struck. Stalin took over, cancelled all the concessions and gave Hammer twenty-four hours to get out of Russia. Dr. Hammer left with some artworks he had collected from around Russia.
In the height of America Depression, Hammer arrived in New York with the artwork. He took it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but they couldn’t afford to buy the collection, so he asked them if he could organize a show. He would split the gate fee Fifty-fifty. Armand’s brother Victor said, “It’s the Depression. Who can afford to attend an art show?” Dr. Hammer said, “No matter how hard the economy is, people always have a little money, especially for entertainment.”
Well, the show was an amazing success. Millions came to see it, and in just a few weeks, Hammer, who had been financially ruined by Stalin, was a millionaire again! There is always a solution to every challenge.
Find it!
-Uju Onyechere
Marriage from the Scriptures II
Before we go into this study, I want to put in form of a disclaimer saying, ‘The words I share are not mine’. In fact in the course of this study, I have had to review my own personal stance on some issues. So, just in case you are out there saying, ‘Practice what you preach’ or asking, Can she do that? Remember that it’s God’s instruction and His Word He will honour (Isa 55:11).
TEXT: I Peter 3: 1-6
The same goes for you wives: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs. There are husbands who, indifferent as they are to any words about God, will be captivated by your life of holy beauty.
Questions
The writer says here: Be good wives to your husbands, responsive to their needs.
What do you think is your spouse’s need?
The needs in the lives of people are different, so it is important to forget how you feel and objectively answer this question. Don’t try to compare your husband with the next man because he is unique.
Please ask yourself the question:
What does my husband need from me?
Do I have what it takes to deliver? What do I need to get in terms of virtue to attain?
You might find out after asking yourself the question about your husband’s need that you lack what is required to deliver, this is why I asked this question. This is the exact situation I found myself. Oh he needs me to be this so he feels like this but how can I? How can I be like this without pretending it not me! Very correct! What is requested of us is not living the life we choose but tapping into the grace of living the life of Christ (Gal. 2:20-21, Isa 53:7).
I have found out that sometimes we have spent too much time dwelling on the shortcomings of our spouses that we become those things without knowing. An example is a woman married to an impatient man who has now become impatient with her husband’s tendencies and snaps back at the slightest provocation. Fire for fire will always lead to wild uncontrolled fire.
This scripture further explains that every husband must be honoured, even those who are not in faith or acting as required. Now this is difficult, how do I do this?
Sister I wish I had all the answers but I don’t, yet I know someone who does: God; and He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit. When we spend time in prayer, submit our will, we will find a way out.
It is interesting how much women go through in terms of appearance to please their husband. Some people may not agree with me on this, but if we spent that much effort on our inside we will yield more result. I have found out that no matter how much a woman goes out of her way to remain pleasing in the sight of her husband, his being faithful is dependent on his commitment to God rather than to his wife. Remember Joseph, How can I do this against God! -was his motivation.
What matters most is not only your outer appearance–the styling of your hair, the jewelry you wear, the cut of your clothes– but your inner disposition. Cultivate inner beauty, the gentle, gracious kind that God delights in.
Am I saying you don’t look good, NO! But much more than look GOOD, BE GOOD! Let your style come from inside out showing first the glory of God!
“The holy women of old were beautiful before God that way, and were good, loyal wives to their husbands. Sarah, for instance, taking care of Abraham, would address him as ‘my dear husband.’ You’ll be true daughters of Sarah if you do the same, unanxious and unintimidated.” I Peter 3: 1-6 MSG
“But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” I Peter 3: 4 KJV
God is interested in our living a life of the Spirit! This life is a life that is actually beyond the flesh and we cannot attain being so entangled with things! We need to get to that place where our beauty and calm countenance is a product of the abundance of what we enjoy on our inside. I have met very few women with this grace in my lifetime. My prayer is to become one too! To exude the fragrance of a quiet spirit!
Sarah our example was a very beautiful woman, yet she was not applauded for it but for her spirit, I can imagine my husband telling me to pretend as his sister. (Gen. 20:1-end). My fictional requirement of a husband will cry out, are you not supposed to be my Knight in the shining armour? Why do I need to protect you now?
But my mama Sarah knew better, she saw herself as one who could shield her husband too! Women have always done it in history, Remember Zipporah! She went ahead of Moses to do the needful. (Exo. 4:24-26). Abigail also went ahead of Nabal to secure her husband’s life and hers. (I Sam. 25:3-42).
WORD FOR THE SINGLES
Do you respect your fiancé or boyfriend? Do you think you can bow to his authority? Do you see virtues in him now that you will forever respect?
Highly Recommended Resources:
http://www.todayschristianwoman.com
http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/encouragement/
Please keep studying the Word and share lessons learnt as comments. I look forward to hearing from you!
God Bless and keep you!
Much Love!
-Omolola
Recently, I saw a news report about Syrian refugees escaping from their war torn country via land mine-infested borders to the refugee camps across the Turkish border. What struck me the most was a young ex-soldier who painstakingly used his genius and experience to incapacitate the land mines via very unorthodox means. Subsequently he led as many that trusted in him across the border for free. As many that followed him had a guaranteed passage across the mine fields.
However, some people didn’t notice him, while others totally ignored him. These ones passed through land mine-infested route and they had horrific experiences. Some died, some were maimed and some actually crossed over unscathed, but in all it turned out to be an unmemorable experience for them. It would have obviously been better if they followed this unique ex-soldier who literarily gave himself to defuse the land mines and lead others across the border, all for free.
The ex-soldier who literarily gave himself to save his fellow compatriots serves as an allegory of Christ in this story while the mine field serves as an allegory of the world with all its uncertainties and unpredictability.
We live in a world full of uncertainties and lopsidedness, where change is ever constant and events swing faster than the pendulum. There’s a strong possibility that a very wealthy person becomes so poor overnight by making a singular bad business cum investment decision. There’s also a strong possibility that a person can win a million dollar lottery. There’s a strong possibility that you’re born into a wealthy and a royal family with all the requirements to have a guaranteed successful life. There’s also a strong possibility that you could be born into very poor family in a war torn zone where the chances of survival if any, are very slim. All these are left to time and chance.
In Christ, we have the guarantee of a Savior who is God; the Maker of heaven and earth. To this extent, we are guaranteed of a thorough passage through this uncertain world, unscathed. The bible says, “So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? (Roms.8:31-32 THE MESSAGE)”. His only requirement is that we trust and obey him so we can allow him lead us assuredly (Prov.3:5-6) the same way the Syrian refugees who trusted and followed the ex-soldier had a guaranteed passage across the mine fields.
“Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6 NIV)”
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you (1Pet.5:7 NIV).”
-Emeka Ofia
…this is a continuation from last week article titled ‘It is not in vain.’
Likely Possibilities
At some point in time, one or more people must have prayed, pursued and persuaded men to forsake their evil ways and turn to righteous living. Some might have died without seeing them repent. Some might have given up, discouraged as they saw these men go deeper in their sinful acts and wickedness. But in their dying hours, the two men remembered that Jesus is the way to eternal life and they made it right with God by putting their trust in Jesus. The dying sorcerer remembered there was life after death. He remembered that pastors show people the way to heaven. The criminal couldn’t have learnt those words of faith on the cross; but possibly from his parents, a rabbi as a growing Jewish boy or from the synagogue and the temple as an adult; until he derailed somewhere into criminality. But in the face of death, he remembered something like:
- The fear of God
- The just punishment for apprehended criminals
- The kingdom of God
- That Jesus has the power to admit into the kingdom
- Thatcalling on Jesus can admit one into the Kingdom
He remembered all this because he must have at one time or the other heard them preached or taught. Though his life contrasted what he knew about the kingdom, he remembered and appropriated them when the time came. Jesus accepted him instantly without giving a thought to his sinful wasted past. So also did He accept the sorcerer who once publicly despised God’s supremacy.
It is Never in Vain
Parents, teachers and ministers of the word labour to bring children and adults to Christ. Sometime they meet with frustrations and disappointments. Some preachers write off some sinners as impossible candidates of the kingdom. Such should be encouraged that their labours are never in vain even if results are not seen immediately. Keep at it. Proclaim it anyhow and demonstrate it by all means. You never know when the seed you plant will germinate and yield results. There will be surprises in heaven.
It is never too late
The Bible for sure warns in Heb 3:12-16
“Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end…”
It goes on to exhort “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
So no one should be encouraged to postpone putting his faith in Christ till dying moments. Many may not have the opportunity to call on Jesus before death as the sorcerer and the thief had. Nevertheless, Jesus accepts anyone that comes to him at any point in time and the way they are. Let no one hinder or discourage a willing soul from making amends in their last days.
As proclaimers of the gospel, we only open the door to heaven with the key (gospel) that is given but we are not the gate keepers deciding which specific individuals enter. We don’t decide when, how and where the seed we scatter will germinate.
At the blast of the trumpet, many Christians will rise from non-Christian graves. Let us be encouraged by Paul’s admonition,
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)
Just ponder on this
We may be working in hard places or with difficult persons, never give up. Results will always come but may not be the way we expect. The criminal did not expect to be saved but suddenly remembered what someone sometime in the past said about the kingdom. Now in case you want to give up on a person or a group of people just ask yourself, “What would have happened if Jesus had tried proving a point by coming down from the cross as the mocking party wanted him to?”
The destiny of many people hang on our being on that cross we carry. When God wants to work in the lives of the people you’ve laboured on, it will never be too late.
-Namani J Nharrel