“On your marks… Set… Go!”
These words probably remind you of a competition, especially a race – a “running” competition.
One of the oldest running competitions in athletics and track & field sport events is the sprint. You may have witnessed one at the stadium or on TV or even participated in one yourself. A sprint is a race over a short distance, at top speed, while maintaining one lane on the running track. A professional athlete begins a sprint race by crouching (on his mark), leaning forward (getting set), and moving to an upright position then forward (to go) to the finish line immediately the starter gun is fired.
Apart from the athlete’s skills (stamina, breathing, leg length, speed, etc.), one thing is needed before the race begins – visualization. Before the start command is given, he must conclude the race in his mind; he must visualize himself getting to the finish line first. Nothing else must occupy his mind. Zero distractions! Those minutes before the race and the first few steps after the gun is shot are very crucial to his performance.
Sprints form a befitting analogy for each day in our lives. What do you find yourself doing first thing after you wake up or when your alarm rouses you out of your sweet sleep?
Where a lifetime could be compared to a marathon, a typical 12-18 hour day may be compared to a sprint. That means that the whole life of an individual is a series of sprints i.e. one day after another. We rest at night and wake the following morning to take another sprint.
How do you start your daily “sprint”? This has a strategic effect on your productivity and I think that many Christians today don’t pay particular attention to how they start their day. Jesus Christ was always “on track” and he practiced this principle. Mark 1:35 (NLT) says “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.”
Now, here’s the problem: A lot of people start off their day wrongly. They miss the most important part of the day. They either rush to the bathroom (in a hurry to get out) or reach for their smart phones to check recent posts on Facebook, or latest replies on WhatsApp or new pings. (I have also made this mistake in the past.) That’s how to get a bad start to a precious new day.
Get in the habit of, first of all, being still before the Father. Stay quiet. Worship God. Pray in tongues. This will help you see what the Lord has for you for that particular day. Many times, I’ve stayed quiet, awake but still in bed, and God would show me what the day would look like or something strategic I needed to do or things I should have done better the previous day. It’s very important that we start each day well. The enemy knows how important this spiritual exercise is and that’s why he’s surreptitiously introducing a new culture into the body of Christ – one of seeking first for social media.
I encourage you, when you wake up in the morning, before you grab your phone and begin discussing with people; stay quiet – be still. Worship and reverence God aloud or in your mind, even before you start to pray. You will be amazed by the great things He will do in your life.
Make every day of your life productive by ensuring you get a good start each day.
You will win!
Tope S. Aladenusi
The lifestyle of many believers today can be likened to an organization’s Finance Manager who has a 2016 goal to donate all the company’s assets to a charity organization in his village. Why do I say so? Your response to these two questions may help determine where your loyalty lies: How many people made a decision to accept Christ last year because of your ministration? What is your plan and prayer regarding soul winning this year?
I Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT) says “…You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price…” If we truly agree that we do not belong to ourselves, has the one who owns us influenced our plans for the year? The answer to this question can be determined by our current goals. Either our priorities are things we want to achieve for ourselves, which we are asking God to rubberstamp, or the ways God has revealed His intention to bless the world through us.
It may interest you to note that after salvation, believers got qualified for heaven (Philippians 3:20) but God left them here primarily because of what they have to give to the world. For God so loved the world that he gave ‘us’, so that other people can come to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through our interactions with them. This is the purpose of God for every believer and it is very clear in scriptures (2 Corinthians 5:18, Ephesians 4:11-12, I Peter 2:9). You are a gift to the world. Your time, intellect and resources should be spent primarily for the cause of Christ, and you are to use the platforms (work, school, sports, neighborhood, etc.) He has given you to make His power visible. For too long, people have seen us “working for God” in our own strength and wisdom, now its time for them to see Him working through us. This is the only way people get attracted to God’s kingdom, when they see His power at work doing what only He can do.
Although many of our New Year messages may have been centered on us, we can revise them by taking a cue from Jesus. Acts 10:38 (NLT) says –“And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good …”.The anointing, power and grace we have received from God is to enable us go around doing good. One of the finest way to measure this “good” is by how many saved people caused the angels in heaven to rejoice (Luke 15:7).
Beloved, I admonish you to take a second look at your goals for the year, and ensure that the “selfie goals” (if any) are upgraded to “Godie goals”.
Tope Aladenusi
Some weeks ago, I read eulogies on a woman who passed on in July; she was a pastor’s wife.
She died of cancer.
I am always eager to hear, read and see what people have to say about a deceased, for no morbid reason of course but to know the kind of person the deceased was. Each read also reminds me of the inevitable end of all flesh. However, this woman’s eulogies stood out for me for I have never seen such faith in a person as I deduced from what her husband wrote about her. After he had written such glowing things about her, he mentioned her last words; here they are.
“It is well. God is too faithful to fail. Praise God!”
These words struck me. No, they jarred me to an awakening reality- what kind of trust can one have to say these things with the last breath of life? And what kind of love shall one have for God, who allows so much pain and suffering, that one would still conclude that He is too faithful to fail?
I have been pondering fleetingly on this. She was dying, in excruciating pain with no hope except that the Great Physician would heal. From the first day of her six-month ordeal, I believe she had an unwavering faith. Oh the amount of communion she must have taken in faith, the bottles of anointing oil that may have been used to anoint her, the saints who must have prayed tirelessly through nights for days on end. Six months of this terrible disease with hope that was not evidently repaid and yet, “God is too faithful to fail”? How?
I cannot presume to say I have trust in and love for God half as she did. I have not yet seen God as I believe she did (and this is my doing because I believe God is as close to me as I am to him) but I know I want to love and trust the Jesus that she knew, to trust Him like she did. I wonder, is it the same Jesus I claim to know that she so loved and trusted to her death? Do I really love Him? Do I trust Him? Am I really who I say I am- His daughter? Her example pricks my heart.
I salute her and saints like her. Perhaps the true heroes are really not the miracle commanding saints (which we all ought to be ordinarily), the eloquent preachers or the compassion-filled givers. Perhaps the true heroes are the dying saints who still love Jesus, the suffering saints who trust Him to not fail even when it seems there is nothing but fail on its way.
Oh Jesus, can I really know You to trust that even when things fail and it seems You have failed me, I will still judge You too faithful to fail?
I believe I can as I continue to seek after you!
– Patience Pwanahakei Khobe
UNDERSTANDING what men really desire is never easy, since men come in different variations. However, regardless of what category a man falls into, there are things that every man is looking for in a woman. Are you the type of woman that men desire to be with?
Be Real with who you really are, rather than try to be what you think you should be or who you think people want you to be. It is easy to sense a real person from an artificial one and one of the main turn offs for men is a woman who is not herself and gives off a fake vibe.
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price [is] far above rubies. PROVERBS 31:10.
Have Confidence – Nothing is more attractive to a man than a woman who is confident and feels comfortable and happy in her skin. A woman who feels good about herself is a woman most likely with a good head on her shoulders, rational, focused and has good direction in life. If a woman does not have confidence in herself, then a man feels and sees no reason to have confidence in her either and he will not want to invest his time and effort in a woman he will have to baby sit emotionally all the time.
Regaining or boosting your confidence helps to improve your entire life, as well as your general sense of well-being. This is because when you love and accept yourself, this basically spreads like a wild-fire into every aspect of your life!
You can attract others almost effortlessly with your sincere and irresistible aura of feminine confidence.
A woman who’s secure in who she is, who LOVES who she is, as well as how she speaks, acts and interacts, has true confidence – and she’ll be benefited in unimaginable ways!
She’ll also achieve so much more in her life because of her healthy confidence and self-belief.
Did you know that almost everything positive and worthwhile that you currently have is a direct result of your personal levels of self-belief and self-confidence!?
Also, it’s very important that a woman knows her REAL self-worth before she even starts to go on the lookout for a man – or even out on another date! This is because men are only attracted to genuine confidence in a woman.
When you finally learn how to look at yourself in a new healthy and positive way, others will also start to look at you differently!
Express Intellect – Being desirable to a man is not just about having a pretty face or shapely figure. A woman with intelligence is important to and a man wants to be with a woman who will have something to talk about and who will teach him new things, just as he will teach her. Everyone is unique and has their own personal talents and areas of higher intelligence than others- so be sure to express that side of yourself to prove that you do have the whole package- an attractive appearance along with other intellectual surprises. Share your hobbies and share things you have learned through your life experiences.
A foolish woman [is] clamorous: [she is] simple, And knoweth nothing. PROVERBS 9:13.
Be Sweet and Feminine – Okay, today women are more independent and career oriented, but that does not mean we should have to give up and forget our feminine roots. Women are delicate creatures after all- we are sweet and giving and it is important for a man to see these qualities in a woman. It is not weak to show a man that you are sweet and care taking- after all, this is the type of woman a man dreams coming home to- someone who will lovingly welcome him home with a sweet feminine smile and take care of him. Never lose your special feminine roots- show him your sweet and romantic side.
Tell him what you want – It is understandable that you want a man who will treat you beautifully without you having to give him directions- and you should never lower your standards when it comes to this. However, you also have to remember that men cannot read minds and let’s face the fact- women are emotionally unpredictable creatures and are not always easy to read. Men love it when a woman has the strength and confidence to tell him what she wants. Men want to please women, so do not be afraid to open up and let him know what is important to you.
A virtuous woman [is] a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed [is] as rottenness in his bones. PROVERBS 12:4.
Stay Glamorous – This does not mean that you should walk on eggshells and worry about your looks all the time. You should feel secure enough in your relationship to know that even when you do not wear makeup, your man will still adore you and will not look at other women. However, this does not mean you should let yourself go and not care about the things that were once important to you. Relationships usually start going downhill when one or both partners stop caring about the little things.
Glamour is not based on a certain kind of face or body type. The most beautiful face and body can be very unglamorous .Have you ever noticed a stranger across a room who for some reason you just couldn’t take your eyes off …who drew your attention and you weren’t sure why. She wasn’t a “raving beauty” perhaps or she may not have been blessed with “the best body” in the world—but, nonetheless, she was radiantly beautiful—stunning—and she had a look that demanded your attention, in a very positive way.
Love yourself: We spend so much time waiting to be loved, hoping love will find us, searching, yearning for that special love, feeling empty and lost without it. Wanting someone to give us love and fill us up. Unfortunately, that’s not usually how life works. Loving yourself is mainly having self-respect which is the only dependable way to create love in your own life to share with others. When you expect love from an external source, and someone or something does not fulfill your void and fantasies, then you will feel worse than before. To be able to be loved, you must love and respect yourself as much as you do others.
– Janet Funmi Jacob
One evening, I was reading bible stories to my children and I saw an interesting story. It is a story I had heard several times since I was young. I read it to them and then it hit me, the whole essence of the bible can be summed into a paragraph:
The “Not So Old” Story: God created the heaven and the earth. He also created man in His own image so that man will have dominion over other creatures and fellowship with Him (Genesis 1:26, Genesis 3:6-8, 1 Corinthians 1:9). Man fell short of God’s plan through disobedience and broke the relationship (Genesis 3:6-7 – “6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.”). God sought to restore this relationship, through the law and prophets, until Jesus came (Romans 3:19-21, 8:3 – “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh”). Jesus came to earth to die for our sins and even though He was sinless, He died to remove our sins and restore us back into fellowship with God (i.e. back to the original plan God had for man).
You will agree with me that almost every Christian would have heard the story of why Jesus came to the world a number of times but sometimes when we hear or see a particular thing (song, jingle, story, advert, etc.) multiple times, we begin to overlook the “essence” and it begins to become “non-existent”.
The truth is, once you have given your life to Christ, you have been reconciled{to be reconciled means to settle or resolve} with God (Romans 5:10, 2 Corinthians 5:17 -18). You now have the Spirit of God living within you, you are a Child of God and have everything that comes with it (Ephesians 1:3 – “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ”). Part of the things you have as a child of God is spiritual blessing and it includes: healing, wisdom, redemption, grace, power, anointing, promotion, etc.
It is amazing how we spend our precious time chasing after what is already ours. The work of the Devil is to make us believe we do not have these things so that we suffer in the midst of abundance (John 10:10, Galatians 4:1-5). The essence of The “Not So Old” Story is that as a believer, you have been reconciled with God and you are a son and are above all (John 3:31, Ephesians 2:6, Galatians 4:6 – 7 – “Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.“).
Don’t be deceived! Since we are sons of God, we already have all these blessing in Christ. We need to be thankful and appreciate God each day for what He has given us. We need to confess all that He has given us and with faith, manifest it even when it seems otherwise. Our Father “calleth those things which be not as though they were” (Romans 4:17), so we should take after Him and do the same.
If you are not yet born again, you are yet to be reconciled to God, even if you are a “good person”. Every offspring of Adam i.e. the whole of humanity partook of this death (Romans 5:14 –“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come”). Sin nature became a way of life, and the reality for man.
The story of redemption (Jesus coming to die and reconciling man to God) is a story that has been told for centuries but it is still as powerful today as it was in the beginning. Hallelujah!!! Jesus has paid the price for man to be reconciled with God and all we have to do is to accept Him as our Lord and Savior (John 1:12 – “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,”)
If you have not accepted Jesus as your Savior, You can do so today by believing in His death and resurrection. You will receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life (the very life of God) will be yours forever. (Romans 10:9, John 3:16).
–Funmilola Odumuboni
In a typical African setting, a man is seeing and perceived as a domineering boss when it comes to the issue of love, passion and feelings. Women find it difficult to understand why their yearning for the love of their husband is left unsatisfied or rather unnoticed by their husband. I have come to discover in three years of marriage that men perceive romance in totally different ways from the women. Most times, a woman provides so many gestures which go unnoticed by the man. A husband may try to do everything possible to make sure he gets to the heart of his wife only to discover that the precious wife did not appreciate it.
If your thought is as mine you may begin to wonder, ‘’but what is wrong’’ Are the gestures extended not romantic or thoughtful? No! Are the recipients ungrateful and self-absorbed? No! The spouse is simply not romancing their spouse in a way that is romantic to them!
In this piece I shall be speaking from the woman’s perspective, what can a man do to make his wife feel loved?
Fellowship Together:ave you ever wondered how you can ever survive in this lifetime journey without God? No way! Take time to have fellowship with your wife on a daily basis, in fact I recommend both morning and night. In the morning before you go to work, hold hands if possible to commune with your maker, the manufacturer of this great institution. A couple that prays together, stays together. Make out time to pray together, study the word together, sometimes worshiping God in hymns and worship songs together is the bomb. Also, you can however, plan a retreat together perhaps in your vacation period, during weekends or even on weekdays.
Communicate With Her: What most men do is talk to their wife and not communication. I am privileged to study mass communication in my higher institution, and I understand that communication is not a one sided affair. When you communicate, you send a message to your wife, she gives you feedback by responding and we need to understand that unlike in a normal general setting when it comes to the issue of a man and a woman, mode of communication is different. When a man asks his woman a question, he needs answer almost immediately. For example:
Man: How are you?
Woman: I am fine.
This is not the case with women, and honestly for you to get the right answer to your ‘’how are you today?’’ from your wife as a man you will have to go through some processes like:
- a) Put up a Smile
- b) Look into her eyes
Hold her slightly and gently ask her, Honey how are you today?
Communicate at every given opportunity, talk about everything. This will go a long way to bring her into your world of love.
- Talk to her respectfully without demeaning her or hurting her feelings.
- Compliment her for the giftedness you see in her. Be specific.
- Do something active together to lift her spirit —even taking a walk hand-in-hand.
- Find something that makes you laugh together.
- Show interest in that which she values as important in her life.
- Be a good listener. Show her you value what she says: most times, men don’t really have time for women talk. I remember some years ago I was discussing this same topic with some of my colleagues, and one of my very good male friends said, ‘’Jane, do you expect me to stay sitting down with a woman? You’ve got to show enthusiasm for the things that she’s excited about—let your actions show it.
- Stop trying to fix or solve her problems. Listening may just be the single most masculine act you can do. Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. (1 Peter 3:7).
- When there is need for correction, be gentle —speak the truth in LOVE. Sometimes, women do some funny things that get the men angry but you can still with the help of God, correct your wife calmly.
- Let your wife know that you need and value her in your life, in your ministry, career and all round.
- Ask her what she wants: For example- “What do you need from me the most that would make you feel loved and cherished?
- Stop looking at your wife as a nag or a controller. When you see her that way, you are experiencing her as a “mother” or authority and you are the child that has to be compliant or rebellious. Instead, come from your own “inner adult” and see her as a person who has needs or wants. She is not a nag; she just needs you to come through for her and nurture her. She wants to depend on you to a certain degree. That will bring out her heart and her trust.
- Make her feel great just by being around you. This is where you want to make a woman feel safe. Everything from feeling comfortable that you’ll stand up for her if she is in need, to having someone to talk to when life gets crappy. If you can make a woman laugh, lift her spirits, ignite her passion, be an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on, any woman would be hard pressed to let you go.
Never cut yourself short. So remember, stand tall and let her take in all of the man that stands before her!
– Janet Funmi Jacob
Most Marriages fail because people go into this lifetime journey with unrealistic expectations from their spouses. I know it breaks our heart when our spouses are not measuring up to our expectations like; the way we want them to listen to us when we have things on our mind to purge out, the way we admire a calm and a gentle prince charming but here’s a talking Tom, the sleeping beauty you married that has suddenly become a sleeping beast and so on….
In marriage, we launch into it expecting certain things and of course no one in his or her right senses will look at his intended partner and say, “oh my love I know that a lifetime with you will make my life miserable on every area, such that I will want to just die. Will you marry me?” it is not possible, because even if you know that your spouse is not perfect, you still hope that things can move on fine even in your differences. We expect our spouse to be faithful to us, trustworthy and honest. We also expect our spouse to love us unconditionally, to understand with our shortcomings, to make excuses on our behalf and possibly go a little extra mile to add the color of rainbow to our life. I have been opportune to speak with young singles who in their state of despondency concluded that their major concern is to just get married and they’ll be fulfilled. I always tell them that marriage is not a source of joy but rather it is God in your life that gives you joy. (COLOSSIANS 1:27). You must have been well groomed for excellence before marriage for you to enjoy this special institution. I stumbled on a post sometimes ago which says;
“Most people get married believing a myth that marriage is beautiful box full of all the things they have longed for; Companionship, intimacy, friendship etc … The truth is that marriage at the start is an empty box, you must put something in before you can take anything out. There is no love in marriage, love is in people, and people put love in marriage. There is no romance in marriage; you have to infuse it into your marriage. A couple must learn the art, and form the habit of giving, loving, serving, praising, of keeping the box full. If you take out more than you put in, the box will be empty.”
The coming together of a good spouse should be the icing on the cake…do you get it?
– Janet Funmi Jacob
I recall a time in my university days, the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) of Nigeria did not supply power to our community for over 48 hours. There were complaints all over the streets and this formed a major discussion point in every nook and cranny. Then one evening while a group of us were all sitting under a tree for fresh air to get some relief from the overbearing heat in our rooms, power was suddenly restored by NEPA. We all shouted “Up NEPA” in a very harmonious way as though it was an orchestra. While the echo ceased, a friend looked at us, shook his head and said – “I wonder why you guys are celebrating over your right this way. It is totally out of place for NEPA to cut power supply without prior notification; we should be considering a protest if we were in developed nations, and not rejoicing over our rights in a way that makes it look as though NEPA has done us a favour.”
Wow! That statement resonated within me as I had equally been pondering on the attitude of many believers in that same locality at that time. It appeared we approached Christianity with the same attitude we had with NEPA. But the truth is that this issue is not isolated to that community alone. Many things we read in bible that should be seen in the daily life of an average believer is what we scream in surprise about, because they happen only once in a blue moon. It is sad that we live in an era where the exception has become the rule.
A man once came for one of our conferences and heard me give words of knowledge and the affected people walked to the stage; he also heard the testimonies of people that had been healed. He said if he had such gifts he would have started a church and he wonders what I was still waiting for. All attempts to teach him about supernatural knowing and healing that should be the natural tendency of all believers proved abortive; he just could not see that what he called exceptional was actually ‘the expected’ on a daily basis. A similar story is of a sister who was granted a visa to the UK and went to church to give testimony while rolling on the floor. Does she know that the earth belongs to her father in heaven and he has commanded her to go everywhere to preach the gospel? If we were truly aligned to purpose, who is that person on earth that will deny us visa? Some people even waste ministry time conducting anointing services for visa. Sister Faith passed an exam that every unbeliever in her class passed, and she closed her street to throw a big party. What was she expecting before then? How can the one who has access to the deep things of God be unable to comprehend the ephemeral things of the world?
I recall that a brother who has been a believer for over a decade once told me – this is my year of the supernatural, and I asked him, what have you been doing all these years? Living in the natural? Can a dog say – it is my year of barking or can a fish say it is my year to swim?
I like Galatians 6:16-17 (AMP) – “For neither is circumcision [now] of any importance, nor uncircumcision, but [only] a new creation [the result of a new birth and a new nature in Christ Jesus, the Messiah]. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule [who discipline themselves and regulate their lives by this principle], even upon the [true] Israel of God!” Wow! In this new dispensation where we ought to constantly regulate our lives in accordance with the rule of the new creation, excellence is the default setting; good health is natural; prosperity is our birthright; integrity is our touchstone; fulfillment is common place; and the supernatural is our lifestyle. How can we say “in Christ we live, move and have our being” and our lives are not constantly punctuated with the supernatural; Isn’t that a paradox?
Beloved, our new nature in Christ must be lived every time, every day; it ought not to be something we slip into, experience some remarkable results, scream in jubilation like “Up NEPA”, then slip out into something else. The supernatural is our lifestyle!
– Tope S. Aladenusi
The story of Joseph in the Bible has always been very inspiring for me. I love his ability to dream of a better life and to remain undaunted by seeming ‘reality’. I love that he could fearlessly tell the world of his vision and purpose. I am challenged by his godly attitude in a strange land, even when it appeared compromise would have helped. I love his dedication to duty and his spiritual maturity. I admire the spirit of a man who didn’t lose his person, even in prison. What more can I say of a man about whom the Bible records that by faith he gave instructions concerning his bones; he believed that one day his people would be resettled by God in their own promised land, and he partook of the blessing, even though he was dead.
I also learnt a very important financial lesson from Joseph and I would like to share it with you.
Pharaoh had a dream, twice for emphasis, and Joseph was brought from prison to provide the interpretation. The interpretation was that there would be seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine.
People complain daily about how things are getting bad – economic crunch, depression, stagnation and all. I always say, read the Bible, the world has seen several of such days even from the days of Abram, and there will be many more! That is not a cause for concern for us, by the wisdom of God we know all things. God establishes seasons; no season is bad of itself, it is the correct use of various seasons that is key.
Joseph interpreted the seasons for Pharaoh and taught him how to take advantage of them. That lesson is still relevant today. There is a reason for the season of plenty. What you do with your plenty will affect how you live in the season of scarcity and famine. Interact with most people going through famine today and they will tell you, sometimes with a glint in their eyes, about the good old days – how life was great and they had enough.
It is sound financial sense to always be wise with the plenty of today. Now Joseph’s advice was simple:
- Let Pharaoh appoint officers over the land
- Let them take one-fifth of the produce of the whole land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years
- Let it be laid up/ fortified in the cities
- That food shall be for a store against the season of famine.
1. APPOINT OFFICERS OVER THE LAND: Most of us are in the habit of leaving our financial affairs to chance. We do not watch over our financial affairs neither do we appoint anyone to do it. No good thing happens by chance. If you want financial success it will not just happen. You must take charge yourself. Bible says we should be diligent to know the state of our flocks! Diligent effort! Get knowledgeable about financial matters. Learn how to prepare and interpret simple cash flow statements; learn how to budget correctly; learn to interpret financial records, or if you can afford it, pay someone to teach you. So, appoint someone over your financial affairs or see to it yourself. That person is expected to come up with a plan on how to use the harvest of today. When you fail to plan you simply plan to fail. We spend so much time working to make money, but after putting in so much physical and intellectual effort, we spend the money effortlessly and without any intellectual exercise. I believe that’s wrong. We should give attention to how we make and spend money. If we fail to do so, we enter into the class of the wasters and can be conveniently classed with the slothful.
2. TAKE A PORTION OF YOUR PRODUCE/ PLENTY. It is often said but not often practiced – “do not spend all you have”. There is always oil and treasure in the dwelling of the wise. Only a foolish man spends all. Your first task is to divide your land and allocate a part of it. That part must always be considered seed for another season. People always argue that their money is not enough to start with so they use it all to settle bills. The truth however remains that until you start to have, you will never have. To him that has, more is given and he that is faithful in little is faithful in much. You have spent all you’ve made all these years and you still have not met all your needs. Try something else. Allocate a part of your income for other purposes other than bills. Divide your income. A part must be taken out for tomorrow. Someone said one part of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it.
After you have decided what portion/amount of your income should be dedicated for tomorrow, carefully channel all that part regularly into a simple savings account.
I will make three important clarifications at this stage.
One is that a part of the income belongs to God. That part goes to kingdom investments, which is the investments of all investments and security of all securities. This part is non-negotiable and must go first and straight to that purpose. It is an investment in God which yields fruit better than any other, and is as sure as God himself.
Secondly, the amount you set aside is for you to decide. But you must take into good cognizance where you are now and where you are going. For example we would expect an unmarried person to have more set aside regularly than a married person with kids. We would also expect a married person with very young children to also cut a bigger chunk than one whose children are in the university, all things being equal. We will equally expect variations according to different age groups.
The lesson is: we must take advantage of seasons of plenty to prepare for other seasons. And lastly never underestimate the power of those little sums of money you put aside. If you put a bucket under a dripping tap, you might say it will take forever to fill. And if you sit there and keep staring at it, you might get discouraged in the next thirty minutes and walk away. But if you must walk away don’t remove the bucket from under the tap for surely, given sufficient time, when you come back again it will be full. Little drops of water make a mighty ocean. Little sums of money eventually become millions; in fact ten thousand pounds is made up of a million pennies and each penny is important in making the eventual million. Have the tenacity to put aside those little amounts of money, week in week out, and watch them become plenty. Remember Jesus’ parable of the lost penny – Never underestimate a small amount of money.
3. LAY IT UP IN THE CITIES: Joseph advised that what is gathered should be put in different places and this is very important. Out of what you have set aside as savings, invest differently and let them be managed by different people. It is called diversification. When I learnt about the need to save and invest I just looked for the simplest investment to start and maintain and concentrated on that alone. I went into the stock market and remained there. I paid a big price but I learnt a priceless lesson. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. Diversify! Don’t put all you have in the same bank, the same investment vehicle, or even the same ‘city’. You should trade abroad you know? Have investments in foreign countries. It is wise to do so.
4. THE FOOD SHALL BE FOR A STORE AGAINST ANOTHER SEASON: Remember that doing all the aforementioned is preparing for another season. When famine comes you will have abundance and be satisfied because you have a store in heaven that nothing can steal from or destroy and you also have here on earth. Nations shall come to you, buy from you and learn of you because you used your season of plenty correctly. So, don’t give in to the urge to dip into it just to buy a fancy car or do something else ostentatious. It is meant for another season, wait for it!
You are blessed.
Emmanuel Aladenusi
I gained new insight on the importance of forming the right habits after an experience with my lovely wife, which I would like to share with you. Some time ago, she told me that I had not said ‘I love you’ to her for some days. So when I got to my office the following day, I called my wife on phone and started the call by saying ‘I love you’ to her 14 times. Hmmn! What’s this all about, she asked. I told her my reason – I do not want to bother saying ‘I love you’ in the next two weeks, so I decided to say it in advance. You need to have heard the way she screamed in protest.
It’s the same way you would react if I told you to take your bath 30 times today, so you will not bother doing so in the next 30 days … or to eat 90 meals today, so you would not need to eat for one month. It doesn’t make sense right? But why do we behave this way when it comes to spiritual matters and the things that have the greatest effect on our lives? Why do we study the word, pray hard and live right only in some seasons? Why are we committed to ministry only in some seasons?
I was praying recently and it was impressed on my heart that every person who has been a believer for at least 6 months ought to have developed these 5 habits: 1. Praise and worship; 2. Prayer; 3. Meditating on scriptures; 4. Witnessing about Christ; and 5. Giving to God’s work and the needy.
I have always known we should all be doing these things as believers but I did not appreciate the effect of making them our habits like I currently do. Habits are behaviour patterns we regularly follow until we do them unconsciously. So I asked myself how many believers are already operating in the ‘habit mode’ or ‘auto-cruise mode’ for these 5 things. Do we not do a powerful night vigil on a Friday and go to slumber for weeks? Many have reduced witnessing for Christ to something to be done on “evangelism day” or “fishing day” organised by the church. If we were to have a common sense rule that you only eat food after you have meditated on scriptures, how lean and weak will many of us be today? I’m sure many believers would be dead from hunger by now.
The good thing is that you can reverse any negative trend and start forming powerful habits that will make you live a purposeful life. Romans 12:21 (Phillips) says “Don’t allow yourself to be overpowered with evil. Take the offensive—overpower evil by good!” Whatever habit we want to develop, we have to be ready to take the offensive and stay with it consistently until we do it unconsciously. The same way we brush our teeth in the morning without any motivation, whether we are tired or not.
Psychologists say it takes about six weeks for a habit to develop. Many have never been successful at several things because they’ve never made it past the six-week barrier without missing a day. We recently started discussing forming some powerful habits at our monthly Christ Lifeline Fellowship, and I am so excited by the testimonies many have been sharing. For instance, to form the habit of prayer, we started out by giving ourselves the task of praying in tongues at least 30 minutes every day at a fixed time, say 5.30am.We also assigned everyone to a buddy that will check on them daily to ensure they did it. Some have been praying in tongues at least 30 minutes daily for 2 months straight. They are now on ‘auto-cruise mode’ and have started seeing the manifestation of fruit of prayer in their lives. Some others have been able to operate at the required level – praying without ceasing. In a similar manner, you can turn your life around in a few weeks.
Beloved, I’m sure you don’t wish to emulate me who said “I love you” 14 times so as to skip saying it for 14 days, because I was on a ‘silly mode’ that day. I want to encourage you today to have a program to get these 5 things (praise and worship; prayer; meditating on scriptures; witnessing about Christ; as well as giving to God’s work and the needy) into ‘habit mode’. It may be difficult initially, but after some weeks, it will be more difficult not to do them. Don’t try to do them in advance or make up for them. Always make a conscious effort to daily exhibit actions that are suited with your new nature in Christ.
Tope S. Aladenusi