Is the way you rate your success getting you into trouble?
Bible Reading: Philippians 3
How do you rate your performance in your career, ministry, marriage, business or any life endeavour? Let me remind you of what we do. A 100m athlete may tell you that his best timing was 9.8 seconds; most times this timing was achieved some months ago. An employee will remind you of a very challenging assignment he finished well before the deadline. Some pastors will tell you about their most fulfilling moment – how they preached a powerful message many years ago and several people became believers. In short, most people rate themselves based on the best thing they have done in the past.
Good! You have wonderful ratings if we are to scroll through your past. But the last time you did that same thing, how well did you do it? Is your best performance still dated far into the past?
In an Olympic competition, if an athlete came first during the preliminary selection but on the day of the final selection, he was last, he will not even be opportune to contest for a medal. Whether we choose to accept it or not, that’s the way life responds to us. Most times, our last performance has the greatest significance and may even rubbish all the other good performances of the past. Therefore, it is better to rate your last performance as your best performance.
I mean in your marriage, your best show of love is not what you did during honeymoon; it is what you displayed today. Your relevance to your employer is not too much of how well you used to deliver, but how you are handling your current assignment. Mr. Pilot, you may have a good flying record, but your passengers onboard are concerned about reaching their destination safely. Thou minister of God, rejoiceth thou over thy past exploits? As I write this piece, I am not focused on how well my writings have blessed many in the past. This is my last (best) performance and I want you to be motivated to take a step in the right direction after reading this piece.
Once you rate yourself based on your last performance, it helps you to give your best to the present and sends a positive errand to all that is in you, saying … “Do it better this time”.
Oh my God! I believe Apostle Paul got it clear like no one else. He said in Philippians 3:13 (GNB) – “I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead”. The present connects the past to the future. Therefore, he is doing his best today. Imagine like Paul that you do not have any memories of the past; that means your best is NOW!
Beloved, forget the best performance of the past, give your best to today’s performance … better than the past, rated as the best.
– tope aladenusi
Know the price of success?
Bible Reading: Luke 14:25-34
Most times when I see people abandon good projects, I am eager to know the reasons. In many cases, the reason reminds me of Jesus’ question in Luke 14:28 (MSG) – “Is there anyone here who, planning to build a new house, doesn’t first sit down and figure the cost so you’ll know if you can complete it?”
In other words, from the start of a good course, as much as possible we should have thought through the entire process, known the cost and estimated the challenges. By so doing we will know if we can release the power to stay long, remain strong and finish well.
You will agree most of us do not do that. We have relegated planning and thinking under the guise of faith. Our watchword is “when I get to the bridge, I will cross it”. Most times we say this out of mental laziness. We are implying indirectly that we have not estimated the size of the bridge; we do not even know where it is or what it takes to cross it. All we know is that the Bible says ‘I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me’.
Yes! I agree. But if you are persuaded you can do all things, then let that mentality start working from the start of anything you want to do and not only when you are in the middle of nowhere. Ability to do all things means you should be able to estimate the price of any venture. Every success has a price tag and before you even commence a journey, you should know the price and be prepared to settle it. Faith is not ‘failing to know the price’ but a conviction to pay the known price and cross the bridge when you encounter it.
Do you want to stay long and remain strong in your career, company, ministry and marriage? Do you want to experience steady success in your projects? Have you estimated the price? Do you have an idea of what you require to remain on top of it?
Let’s stop rushing into things because everyone is doing so. Even when you go to the Church and your Pastor has been able to charge you with the word, don’t just dive immediately into a project. When someone proposes something nice to you, it is not a sign of weakness to say “let me think about it”.
If you really want to stay long and remain strong in every good thing you do, then you should cultivate the habit of estimating the cost of an endeavor and deciding if you are wiling to make the sacrifice before executing it.
tope aladenusi
Bible Reading: Proverbs 4:10-18
During courtship and the early years of marriage, they kept holding hands and painting the streets with love, but today, the couples who once imagined that they could never stay without each other cannot imagine continuing life with each other.
They start out their career and companies with the zeal and zest to reach the zenith, but after some time, they end up in the empire of mediocrity.
When they first got born-again, they were passionate about reading the bible, praying and reaching the unsaved, but the passion seemed to have a short expiry date. Today, their best experiences with God are always dated far into the past. No wonder they always say … ‘the good old days’.
At the start of their university education, I never saw any of them aiming at a third class grade, but many later settle for it against their desire and console themselves with the stories of some minorities who arrived well despite their grade.
They were known for serving God and ministering to others when they were in school; they planned to impact the outer world when they leave. But today, the outer world has taught them to be servants of money. Money dictates where they should be, what they should do, the number of hours to sleep etc. They alternate from one highest bidder to another. The dream to impact their generation is suddenly becoming a nightmare.
Most of these people are Christians and we see them everyday. I hope you are not one of them?
Is your life branded with abandoned projects?
Are you weak in areas where you used to be strong?
Did you start out well, but right now things don’t seem to be going well?
Are you concerned about ensuring consistency in every good thing you do?
Do you know others who are facing similar challenges?
Then rejoice, again I say rejoice because … in the next few weeks we will be teaching the series titled ‘Staying Power’. It will help you to be at par with the benchmark of God in Proverbs 4:18 “The ways of right-living people glow with light; the longer they live, the brighter they shine” (MSG).
– tope aladenusi
| All as sheep are gone astrayEach one is gone in his own separate way
The light of the Gospel has cast its rays Hear the voice of the master; He calls today
It gladdens my heart to do your service To snatch the life of a man as from abyss To release the soul the devil often hardens The kingdom of God; surely it widens
The sacrifice of Christ has set us free But for His love, where would we be We once were blind but now we see For us He’s risen once slain on the tree
We with eyes yet were blind we grope in vanity hoping to find Something perhaps to satisfy the mind Alas from above, TRUE LOVE; none of its kind
Flesh of my flesh, Bone of my Bones Such intimacy desired but then I was alone Until for me the king left His throne To redeem my soul that we may be one
– funmi aina |
Getting sufficient starting momentum
Bible Reading: Acts 9:1-20
One of the challenges the Wright brothers had when they were trying to invent the air plane was that they needed to ensure that the planes had enough momentum to take off from the ground and remain stable in the sky. It was not easy for them to discover the forces and elements needed for this. Sometimes, we have similar experiences in our lives. We can see the height we want to attain, we have a sincere desire to attain it, but it is as though there is not enough energy in us to propel us there. What should we do at such times?
We can learn from Apostle Paul. He had one of the most fulfilling apostolic ministries in the world. Did you ever bother to know how he started? Many remember how he encountered God on his way to Damascus and how he became blind. Thereafter, Ananias placed his hands on him and he received his sight. Then “he went right to work, wasting no time, preaching in the meeting places that this Jesus was the Son of God” – Acts 9:20 (MSG).
Is this not surprising? How did he just start preaching? Who taught him? Where did he get the doctrine, the boldness, the momentum?
The answer lies in the message God gave Ananias about him in Acts 9:11 (MSG) saying – “Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He’s there praying”. He prayed consistently for three days at the inception of his ministry.
When you are about to start realizing your God-given desires, do you also go for God-given strategies, drive and boldness?
Sometimes worshipping God amidst the initial confusion may just be all you need. Praying in the spirit while you ponder about the project is always effective. Your understanding is enlightened; your strength is renewed; God’s power at work in you is activated and sufficient momentum is generated.
– tope aladenusi
When you should leave the crowd …
Bible Reading: Matthew 16:21-28
We all have different approaches for generating the power we need to start something. Many are good, but some could be dangerous. One risky approach I have observed over time is the attitude of going to the crowd.
Some people live their lives based on … “majority carries the vote”. When they want to embark on a good course, they go around asking others – hey, I want to start this stuff, what do you think? And after consulting so many people, they eventually do what the majority said.
It is good to seek counsel from others but you should be careful about it because many dreams have died this way. There are so many things God will want you to do that you will not get the support of the crowd. Therefore, one of the greatest lessons you should learn in life is to leave the crowd when the time is right.
When our Saviour was about to die for our sins, he gave his disciples a hint of what was to happen. They all fought against it. But Jesus knew when to say ‘get thee behind me’.
Realizing your dreams will usually not be a community effort.
Have you ever seen a set of eagles flying? They rarely flock together. In a similar manner, those great heights you see in you may sometimes be achieved when you are left alone in ‘the lonely part of destiny’.
– tope aladenusi
| Paralyzing Bad Procrastination
Bible Reading: Ecclesiastes 11
Procrastination is putting off an action to a later time. It is natural for everyone to procrastinate to some degree but it becomes a problem when you keep procrastinating in a bad way. If you plan to tidy your surroundings early in the day and suddenly you hear the sound of a bomb blast around your house, it may be a good idea to procrastinate that action. That’s good procrastination – leaving less important things to attend to more important ones.
So procrastination can be as a result of many things, but when it keeps hindering you from starting the realization of your God-given desires, then it is a bad procrastination. One reason why most people do this is because they want to make a move only when all situations around them seems perfect and in line with their expectation. Any little challenge encountered along the way is just enough to let them think the time is not right to start a good course. A brother once confessed to me that he is passionate about being a teacher of God’s word, but his job and family issues are so demanding that he doesn’t even have time to read his Bible. But no matter what you are going through, you need to create time to start attending to the most important things of your life.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 (GNB) says “If you wait until the wind and the weather are just right, you will never plant anything and never harvest anything”. It’s like waiting for all the traffic lights to turn green before you move. In that case, you will sleep on the road. Traffic lights come in red, yellow and green and you have to be observant to know when a green light is facing you so that you can make a move. Many people are sleeping on their ‘productivity lanes’ just because all the factors they considered necessary to start a journey are not showing green lights.
Also, many procrastinate due to mental laziness. They are unable to properly organize the use of their time and the easy way out is to say … “I will do it tomorrow”. Most times, this tomorrow never comes or it comes too late. I’ve met many good Christians who are Professional Bad Procrastinators (PBP) and I hope you are not one of them. Their best actions are always reserved for tomorrow. But we live in an age where the phrase “tomorrow may be too late” appears to be more potent than ever before. You are only sure of today to some extent but you never can tell the challenges that tomorrow will present. Anything that can be done well today should scarcely be reserved for tomorrow except you have a counter instruction from God.
What’s happening to the good intentions you have for your home, your career, your ministry, your relationship, your business etc. Why not start doing something about them right now? Is your procrastination a good or a bad one?
Beloved, always say ‘NO’ to PBP.
– tope aladenusi
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The miracle seed called ‘nothing’
Bible Reading: II Kings 4:1-7
God always gives a miracle seed to everyone and it is usually not beyond what you have and where you are. I could say that a million times. What you need to start the journey to where you want to be is something you already have or somewhere you are already positioned. Our problem most times is that we underestimate those things. This problem started thousands of years ago as we can see from these two real life stories:
- “… A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets had cried to Elisha, saying, My husband, your servant, is dead … And the lender has come to take my two children to himself for slaves. And Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me. What do you have in the house? And she said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house except a pot of oil”. II King 4:1-2 (LITV)
- “… And going out, Jesus saw a great crowd and was filled with pity toward them. And evening coming, His disciples came near to Him saying, The place is deserted, and the hour is already gone by. Dismiss the crowds, that going away into the villages they may buy provisions for themselves. But Jesus said to them, They have no need to go away. You give them food to eat. But they said to Him, We have nothing here except five loaves and two fish”. Matthew 14: 14-17 (LITV)
Here are some lessons we should learn from these stories:
– the miracles they desired started with what they already had. The widow had a pot of oil and Elisha later gave her instructions on how to convert it to surplus. Jesus’ disciples had access to five loaves and two fishes and He taught them how by appreciating what they had (giving thanks), they could feed multitudes with it;
– the widow and Jesus’ disciples made the mistake that most believers of today replicate by saying they had ‘nothing’;
– the definition of ‘nothing’ to most of us is actually ‘something that we have underrated’. We should pay attention to the undertone that usually accompanies the word “except” after we have said ‘nothing’, because history has proved that those things are capable of changing a person’s state. For example, some say I have nothing except the anointing; my wife is good for nothing except that she is faithful; nothing except a mere diploma; nothing except a good friend; nothing except a pretty smile; nothing except a convincing ability…
Years ago, a brother told me that he had nothing except for the fact that people trust him so much. After some time, he came up with a business idea and started discussing it with these people. Guess what happened? They all gave him money to finance it without any collateral or evidence. All they said was ‘repay me at the agreed time’. Today, he is a millionaire.
Beloved, what are those things you have that you call ‘nothing’? Identify them and think of how to start realizing your dreams with them. They are starting blocks to make you get what you want and reach where you desire to be.
– tope aladenusi
They passed
Dropping their coins
Each one
Today was good
At times was real bad
That I couldn’t get some food
Yet I wondered
And pondered
On how I could get yonder
To the ripple of the water
I tried again,
Telling each one of my plight
Yet they all felt fine
By dropping some dime
Then……
He passed by
Not pleasant to the eyes
So why make the cry
But he asked
Would you like to get to the well?
What a question
Maybe he would help I thought
Finally someone to show some love
So I wailed
Telling my tale
Of how I seemed so late
Just to get to the fountain
I seemed to say
Could you stay?
And help me to the way
Just to the fountain
But what love the master displayed
“Stand up, Pick up your mat and walk” He said
And I was healed
Shocked and pleased
I wondered
Not about the law
But at such love
Which didn’t wait for me to ask?
WHAT AWESOME LOVE
– Dr bolaji akanni
| Start with your miracle seed
Bible Reading: John 2:1-11
Why do we plant seeds instead of fully grown trees? Why do we erect houses block upon block rather than just depositing a magnificent building into the ground? Why did Jesus start with twelve disciples even though he desired to impact the whole world?
Great endings are usually products of small beginnings. The bible says “And though your start was small, your end will be very great” Job 8:7 (BBE). My Christian brothers and sisters love to quote this verse, but most of them don’t start realizing their dreams because they have fallen into the trick of the devil that says … “if only you can have more, then it will be appropriate for you to start”. More money, more connections, more people, more anointing, more love, more more …
So they keep saying “if only I have more, I will start now”. But kingdom principle says … “if only you start now, you will have more”. I remember when we started our internet outreach, we had just ten subscribers. Today, the number of subscribers we have in a day is more than our total subscribers at inception.
It is grave diggers that start from the top and keep digging downwards. Great things usually start small and keep growing. Jesus’ lifestyle showed us that you are permitted to start small as long as you do not remain small.
Some people think you do not have faith if you start small. I wonder what they will say about God who brought forth the 6 billion people on earth through two people – Adam and Eve. What a beginning! Compare two to six billion and you can imagine the abundance that is waiting for you when you start.
To start small means to start with what you have and from where you are. Have you been offered a small job? Start with it. You live in a jungle? Start from there. You have just 3 followers? Start with them. You’ve got only 10 million bucks? Start with it. God always gives a miracle seed to everyone and it is not beyond what you have and where you are.
Don’t join the company of men who keep wishing they started climbing the success ladder from the top. Start with what you have and from where you are, and you are already on your way to the top.
– tope aladenusi |