A certain father was always busy pursuing his career. So busy was he that he did not have time even for his growing son. One day his son decided to have a tête-à-tête with him. He began “father how much is each of your hour valued?” the father not aware of the trap responded magnanimously “50 dollars son, you want to help me with work or is it some bucks you want?” I’ll tell you someday dad. The son by all means gathered some coins till he got 200 dollars. Then he waited for his father with all joy. When the father came home, the son ran to him and said, “Dad I have got great news for you”. “What is it son?” asked the unsuspecting father. The son replied, “Father, can I buy four of your hours and spend time with you? I love you so much dad and I would like to have some close moment with you. The father, after some thought replied with tearful eyes, I’m sorry son I know I have acted irresponsibly. I should have set sometime of my busy schedule to be with you”.
I hope right now your kids are not saving some bucks in order to have some of your time?
– johnstone katuku
| I read a book by Sam Adeyemi where he said “if you get a hold on the seed principle your future is guaranteed because that is where God invested the future”. That’s a powerful assertion. But is it really true? If it is then we all hold the keys to a lifetime of abundance.
The seed principle is very true. It is the fundamental principle of life and one of the utmost displays of the wisdom of God. Genesis shows us without any doubt that the future was invested in the seed. God makes/produces/creates/births just ONE and plants within that ONE seeds from which he must multiply. I repeat ‘must multiply’. There is no other way of multiplication given under heaven except through seeds and that will remain as long as the earth remains. To be ignorant of this is very fatal.
Look at this “Gen. 1:11: And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so”. “Gen. 1:20: “And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” Gen. 2:7: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul”. Clearly, plants multiply through seeds, how about humans and animals?
Gen. 3:15: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Notice the phrase – “thy seed and her seed”. God was saying in essence that enmity wouldn’t be between the two of you (else it will have died with them) but between their seeds i.e. for all generations. That’s why the serpent still bruises the heels today because the curse was placed on the seed and hence the future. God invested the future in the seed.
Glory to God! It means if we all have seeds then we can all have abundance. Thank God we all have seeds because God made sure every thing created were those“whose seed is in itself”. What ever you want, plant a seed of that kind and wait for the harvest. If you want more of it, simply plant more. Take money for example…every penny you get has got more pennies in it. Don’t underestimate that coin. If you don’t plant it then you have lost many coins. Dr Robert Schuler puts it this way “you can count the number of seeds in an apple but you can’t count the number of apples in a seed”.
The ability of life to multiply is perhaps more than our human understanding can comprehend. But the spirit gives us a witness that what we sow we shall reap in appropriate multiples. How do I know a prosperous man? By his seed attitude. If you spend all that money without giving to the kingdom, without investing a portion, I know where you will end up. If you don’t give help to people in many ways, I know where you will end up. If you don’t invest time in books, people, ministry, work, etc. I know how little you will have tomorrow. So sow a seed even though you feel like or not…we work by faith and not by sight. Don’t wait for a convenient time. He that observes the wind will not sow and he that regards the cloud will not reap. Disregard every circumstance. Act in faith; sow a seed. Be fanatical about it. It holds the key to the future. -emmanuel aladenusi
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“And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies THROUGH HIS SPIRIT, who lives in you”. Romans 8:11 (NIV)
How can we bring the life of God within our spirits to bear upon our mortal bodies which have been made subject to death because of sin? In preceding articles, we have mentioned that there are two keys: (i) Righteousness (ii) The Holy Spirit.
The above quoted portion of scripture tells us that the way in which God gave life to the dead body of Jesus Christ while he was lying in the tomb on Easter Sunday so that three-days decomposed tissues were recomposed and he came out of the tomb, in that same way God ministers that same life to our mortal bodies through his Holy Spirit. Halleluyah!
We have said that righteousness is the password of the New Creature, but the Holy Spirit is the environment in which he functions. Both must be in place for there to be a life-flow.
To activate the power of righteousness, you need to walk in the consciousness of it. To activate the power of the Holy Spirit in your life, you need to be in fellowship with him.
These are the keys to the treasuries of eternal life within you; the life that brings health and healing. Engage these keys today and let the life flow.
– Dr. deji oyebamiji
God is not in the business of measuring out his gifts to us. The spiritual birth bears some semblance to the natural. When you became born again, re-birthed by God, He gave you all that you would need for life and godliness (I Pet 1:3). Just the same way you don’t hear a mother give birth to a baby and request for hands or feet. All the baby needs for life has been wrapped up within him/her.
Remarkably, science acknowledges that the child’s brain only develops stating that all the child needs is within that little head. No wonder diseases that affect the child’s brain have far reaching consequences even into adult life.
Beyond science however, God’s word says ‘you are complete in Him who is the head over all principality and power’ – Col.2: 8 – 9. Again we are told that God has ‘blessed us with all spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus’-Eph 1:3. So much the more that scriptures say ‘as God is, so are we here on this earth’ (I John 4:17).
I know that having a sense of lack is customary here on earth. Modern day Christianity even considers it a sign of humility. But God thinks differently, sending his Son that you and I would have life and have it more abundantly.
Let’s follow the reasoning of Brother Paul in Romans 8:32. He says under inspiration of the Holy Ghost that if God was so kind as not to have spared his Son but gave him up for us all freely, what makes us think that he would not have along with him freely given us all things.
Let’s always learn to acknowledge every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus-Philemon 1:6. Scriptures is replete with descriptions of all that God has done for us in Christ Jesus. Listen to this one – “Eye has not see, Ear has not heard, neither has it entered into the hearts of man the things that God has prepared for them that love him. So much the more that we have his spirit to reveal unto us what these free riches are – I Cor. 2:9 – 12.
Realize God has emptied his all. You are his masterpiece (Eph 2:10). Nothing else can be added to you.
Till we meet again, I leave you with this SMS a friend sent to me saying. We are not helpless; we are not destitute; we are not beggars, we are Christians. Purpose defined us in Christ Jesus.
He has finished the work; let’s learn to walk in the reality of this.
-bolaji akanni
“And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life BECAUSE OF RITHEOUSNESS”. Romans 8:10 (KJV)
‘Righteousness’ is the password of recreated human spirit. It is the password of the new creature. Like a computer system, without this password you simply cannot log in.
The life that can swallow up the mortality in your flesh is within your spirit but righteousness is the key that unlocks that storehouse.
What is righteousness? It is the embodiment of our rights in Christ based on the new birth. It includes a lot among which are:
- Our right to stand before God without a sense of shame, guilt or inferiority.
- Our right to stand before Satan with a sense of authority.
- Our right to stand before the whole of life with a sense of dominion.
But righteousness will only do us good when we walk in the consciousness of it. What does that mean? It means living a life un-haunted by sin consciousness.
The spirit is the life of the body ‘because of righteousness’. And righteousness operates through our consciousness of it. Therefore, embrace the truth of righteousness today and unlock that fountain of life with your spirit to reform your mind and restore your body.
– Dr. deji oyebamiji
Sharpening your sensitivity to God’s leading – 2
Bible Reading: Romans 12
When you visit an experienced Medical Doctor and you explain your symptoms to him, most times he is able to say exactly what is wrong with you. His sensitivity towards labeling ailments did not come overnight. The Doctor had spent years developing his mind. He has consumed many books on anatomy, physiology and biochemistry. He has rubbed minds with people who reason and talk like Doctors. His lecturers have succeeded in making him change the way he thinks. So it is natural for him to easily label ailments.
In like manner, identifying the will of God should be natural to every believer. Romans 12:2 tells us the shortcut towards sharpening our sensitivity to God’s will. It reads “… be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may provewhat is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God”. If you want to know God’s will, then you have got to update your mind. You need to continuously meditate on God’s word so you can start reasoning like Him.
Think about this: when we say we want to know the will of God, we are indirectly saying we want to know the mind of God concerning a subject. The Bible contains the mind and thoughts of God. A sound knowledge of it places us in a vantage position to know his will concerning any subject.
You may ask ‘how does reading the Bible help me?’ When I read the Bible, I see things about Nazareth, Israel, Jesus, David, Adam and Eve, etc. How do these things relate to me in the 21st century? Well, remember that when a Medical Doctor is studying in school, he is exposed to various materials. None of these materials may tell him the exact ailment of the patients sitting right in front of him. But he is able to place a label on their symptoms by tapping into the knowledge he has been exposed to over time. Likewise, as you have a regular intercourse with the Bible, you are exposed to God’s way of thinking. And as you face the challenges of life, you unconsciously tap into it before making decisions. You begin to walk in the will of God unconsciously and naturally.
David said “by God’s words I can see where I’m going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path” – Psalm 119:105 (MSG). Failure to recognize the will of God may have many roots, but ignorance of God’s word is the taproot. God’s word is the key that opens the door of His will.
– tope aladenusi
No matter your station in life, you can update yourself so that you can be a person of influence to those around you. In the next few weeks, you will receive a series of articles designed to challenge you to leave “the rest” behind and move on to higher level in your walk with God. This is the first part:
Update your life by taking cognizance of how God has directed your steps, orchestrated your schedule and allowed you to experience certain things to make you more usable and stable in your walk. Understand that your only assignment is to be in God’s will at all time.
You don’t have to be particularly smart, strong or rich for God to use you. Know that God looks for faith, purity, holiness and obedience. Seek to develop those qualities. Surround yourself with the very best people, listen to them, learn from them and let them be a challenge to excite your passion to live for God. See, the world does not remember the rest, it only remembers the best.
– gabriel_ajibade
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream – and not make dreams your master,
If you can think – and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!”
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings – nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And – which is more – you’ll be a Man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)
Have you ever wondered about the usage of words like always, without ceasing, continually, at all times etc, with respect to prayer? Better still, have you ever questioned why Jesus rose early in the morning to pray or a great while before day? (“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” Mark 1:35 KJV) Or why Jesus had to withdraw himself to a solitary place, desert, mountains, etc praying throughout the night.
Many of us who thought we should only pray when our heart is troubled, or when we see circumstances beyond our control should realize that we are yet to be like Jesus. Most of the diseases, demon possessed people, and accusations that came his way, he attended to them as though he was referring to a case of headache.
I propose that we checkmate the weakness of our body. Most times we’ve wanted to pray, but we are subtly and stylishly hindered by the dictates of our body, saying, I’m tired, weak, and need some rest. When Jesus faced the same problem while praying in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46), though he acknowledged the weakness of the body in struggling to gain full control, but he simply triumphed by putting his body under check. Today many believers put this willingness of their spirit under, and allow the weakness of the body to gain ascendancy.
God is not hungry and thirsty of us praying, he simply commands it, because he knows it’s profitable to us. Why not act like a soldier, who will always defer every other hindrance so that he can carry out in detail the orders of his General.
Common get on your kneels and pray some.
– adeyiga awomuti
Scores of people in my country usually look forward to weekends so that they can relax from the arduous task of going to work for five consecutive days in a week. So relieved are many people that on Friday the mood is a weekend one. In government offices, workers leave their coats in their seats and disappear for their weekends. People coming to be served are informed that these workers have just gone out and will be back in a moment. But the truth of the matter is they are off for their weekends.
Codes of conduct and ethical principles have done little to eliminate this vice in public offices. The call for patriotism by our government spokesperson has done little either. The reason for this is that the implementers have turned to be the perpetrators of the practice. Some do not even appear on Friday. Slow pace is what marks most public offices in my country. A thing that would normally take hours to sort out may take months, or at least weeks. I once tried to follow up a refund of my overpaid fees in the university. It was about three thousand shillings. Well, eight weeks into it, the refund was within a striking distance. Then there was a strike in the university and so the process had to be halted. On resumption, I was told I had to restart the claim process. This time round I was taken through phases that I hadn’t gone through during the first time. I was fed up and I gave up the “fight” … and my money. That was not before I witnessed a real incident of systematic soldiering (slowing down everything). I was shell-shocked when a certain lady complained that it was her fifth time coming there to follow her results. And that’s not what shocked me. What fazed me was the response from the university attendant. All she could exclaim was…”this is your fifth time only? People have come here eleven times!’’
As Christians whatever we do should be done as unto Christ and not as unto men. Servants should give the best to their masters knowing that they derive their livelihood from them.
Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ; Not with eye service, as men pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him – Ephesians 6:5-9
Doing good work is a way of preaching out the gospel. When the masters are pleased, we provide an avenue for them to ask some soul-searching questions, may be leading to their conversion. Some masters are unscrupulous, always mistreating their servants but GOD is not a respecter of any persons and he will avenge our mistreatments (Romans 12:19). Finally let us overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21) by doing good works.
– johnstone katuku