| Over the weekend my friend and I took a ride in his car through the streets and conurbations in the Dubai free trade zone. Amusingly, we lost our way when he was about to make a detour and take me back to my abode. At this juncture he quickly re-thought and told me to pick out his Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver from the pigeonhole in the car’s dashboard.
A GPS receiver is configured such that it receives very clear information from a space-basedglobal navigation satellite system (GNSS) that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites. My friend’s well sophisticated GPS receiver has a voice prompt that gives salient details about our location, our direction, required speed limits, necessary landmarks, road monitors (cameras that monitor speed) and our final destination. Our complete adherence and reliance on the information given to us via the GPS receiver made us get to our final destination (my abode) without much challenge.
Just as my friend and I took advantage of the information via the GPS receiver to get to our destination without much trouble, Christians are meant to rely on the information they get through the Spirit of God in us (Rom.8:9-10) and reliance on the Word of God (John 1:1-3, Prov.3:5-7) through scriptures to enjoy what I call God’s Provisional Scheme (GPS) (Phil.4:19).
God made heaven and earth through Christ for His purpose and goodness (Col.1:15-19). He redeemed us through Christ for His purpose and goodness (Eph.1:7-12). We are in turn meant to live through Christ to fulfill God’s purpose and goodness for our lives (Eph.2:10).
It was easy for us to take advantage of what the GPS receiver fed us with, because we trusted its viability and the source of information, though it was made by fallible men. Our lives will only be easy with God if we have faith in Him and trust Him for every single thing in our lives (Heb.11:6). God is never late (Eccl.3:11), He’s faithful even when we’re faithless He can’t deny Himself (2Tim.2:13) and he’s not unfaithful to forget your labors of Love (Heb.6:10). John G. Whittier once said – “God’s providence is not blind, but full of eyes.” Yes! His hands are also full of all the goodness that you desire.
Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Mat. 11:28-30 NIV). Please submit to Jesus in all you do and you’ll enjoy God’s Provisional Scheme (GPS) (Phil.4:19).
– Emeka Ofia |
| “I find it difficult to forgive myself”. This is a common statement on the lips and minds of many believers. One major reason for this is because for most of the quagmire we fall into, we remembered what the Word said about that situation or had a nudging from God about it but decided to press the “ignore” button. The other day I went to an office and wanted to park my car under a nice shade. I had a strong nudging not to do so, but I felt, what could happen to my car in such a serene environment? When I returned few hours later, I saw a massive dent at the back of my car and the first thing that came to my mind was … I knew it! He warned me but I wouldn’t listen. For a long time as I looked at that dent, I just regretted not obeying the Holy Spirit’s leading and reminded myself again of how I have made a mess of some other things in my life in a similar manner.
From a dent in something as ephemeral as a car to a dent in our lives that was caused by not walking in the Spirit, we have got to learn to forgive ourselves and not be found making the same mistake again. You can’t afford to be taking cue from Judas Iscariot; he could not forgive himself for betraying Jesus Christ and he ended up hanging himself (Matthew 27:5). On the other hand, Simon Peter forgave himself after denying Jesus thrice, turned back to the same Lord he had previously denied; and he became one of the foremost leaders in Christendom.
God is still willing to use you to influence lives positively and advance progressively to greater heights in life if you learn to forgive yourself and accept His forgiveness. I recall that for 10 years after I became born again, I lived like any bad guy on the streets. But a time came when I decided to forgive myself for walking in error, reaffirm my belief in God’s forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus and make a drastic U-turn in my attitude. In a short while, God transformed the course of my life. You may not be able to change your past, so stop allowing it to destroy your wonderful future. It is clear you screwed up by entering into that relationship; Yes! you knew you shouldn’t have taken that job which landed you into the job market again; That investment was not worth your sweat in any way, but you failed to listen to the Spirit; You may have occupied an enviable position in that church for years while you grew very lean spiritually; Perhaps you haven’t been giving your best to the work of the ministry committed to your hands. Forgive yourself today, accept the forgiveness God is stretching towards you, and move on with your life. Just give your best to ensure that going forward you obey the nudging of the Holy Spirit and live in obedience to God’s word.
You may not be able to go back to have a brand new start, but you can start now and have a brand new end. Bask in the heavenly freedom you enjoy. If the Son of man has set you free, don’t be the one to re-entangle yourself in bondage.
– Tope Aladenusi |
| The experience of some employers with some believers of our day is similar to the experience of Jesus and the fruitless fig tree described in Matthew 21:19 (CEV) – “…and along the way He saw a fig tree. But when He came to it, He found only leaves and no figs. So He told the tree, “You will never again grow any fruit!” Right then the fig tree dried up.”
We see some believers today with captivating ‘leaves’. They look responsible and attractive from afar. They have fair speeches that can swing any recruitment panel decision in their favour. Take a closer look – after they are employed but you don’t find the fruit of skilfulness, diligence and uprightness. They are not productive and fruitful because they are not skilful. Skilfulness has to do with being excellent at what you do; being an expert because of your distinguishing knowledge and experience. Are you regarded as an expert in your field? Do you consistently strive to improve your knowledge and experience? I find it incredible when some brethren tell me they are desirous of changing their jobs, and when I request their resume, they go through their mail and forward a copy they sent to some other person a year or two ago. I begin to wonder if it means that this person has not acquired any new knowledge or experience in the last year or two! I think a skilful person would consider their resume stale after every 12 months.
The bible says “the righteous is more excellent than his neighbour” (Proverbs 12:26 KJV). The believer has an excellent spirit by nature and therefore we should see the coterminous effect in everything he does. Excellence should be our lifestyle. Skilfulness should make us more productive in our workplace. But what do we see today? You give an unbeliever a target – “I need that report by 2pm tomorrow”. He says “YES SIR!” and before 2pm the next day, the report is ready. You give a believer the same target and his response is – “I will try my best by the grace of God”. Sadly, by 2pm the next day, he hasn’t even gone halfway. Won’t the employer begin to wonder: if he was working by the grace of God and giving his best, why didn’t he get the result in record time? Will the employer not be scared of people who tag their speeches with “by the grace of God”?
No man truly walks with God and remains unproductive. Even in the Old Testament, we see that the men who walked with God were more productive than their peers. We see a man like Daniel delivering exceptional results despite the adverse conditions around him, how much more the believer that has the exact ability of God in him. You who have 24/7 access to the wisdom of God in a mystery that is hidden from even the princes of this world (I Cor. 2:7-10), how then is it a struggle to excel in the vocation relating to this lesser world? Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:13 (AMP) – I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency].
The believer should never be found deflating his efficiency with any form of deficiency because he is self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency. It is wrong for the believer to continue to rate himself on the basis of his physical abilities alone, because he is a brand new person in Christ. You should be more conscious of your spiritual ability and this will definitely affect your productivity. The advantage for you is that your employer would generally give you tasks and rate you based on his perception of your physical ability. But if you work based on your spiritual ability there is no way you won’t constantly exceed the legitimate expectations of your employer.
While our major goal in life is not to excel at work but to fulfil our purpose, being skilful and fruitful at work is something that should flow naturally from us because we belong to the lineage where whatsoever thing we do, we do it excellently. I trust that you will determine to always display the fruit of integrity and productivity at all times and in all places even as I leave you with the words of Ralph Brownrig – “trees have their seasons at certain times of the year when they bring forth fruit; but a Christian is for all seasons.”
– Tope Aladenusi
(This piece is an excerpt of the article – “Why some employers don’t want to employ Christians” in Today’s Lifeline Magazine Vol.3No.1) |
| One reason many believers do not act in faith is because the current figures on their planning sheets or the circumstances around them seem unfavourable. But we will need to learn to ignore the figures (most times) when we act in faith.
When Jesus Christ wanted to feed 5000 men, the figures were unfavourable; they had just 5 loaves and 2 fish. Imagine 5 loaves divided among 5000 men, besides women and children – there would not be enough crumbs for some of the people to lick. Jesus understood the numbers but ignored them and acted in faith. The bible recorded that they had 12 bags of leftover after feeding the 5000 men. When Joshua and his team went to spy the land of Canaan, some of them came back with the report that the figures and circumstances were against them. The people in Canaan were many, and the Israelites were like grasshoppers compared to the Canaanites. But Caleb and Joshua who were acting on God’s instruction were not moved by the figures and statures.
Likewise, whenever you are acting on God’s word written in scripture or spoken to you, you may need to ignore the figures and move into action with the mindset that success is guaranteed.
The spiritual man or woman should know when to ignore the figures. The figures may help you know where you currently stand, but they should not deter you from reaching your God-given goals. Learn to make plans based on the directives of the Holy Spirit. Many times when God gives me an instruction regarding a move to make, I find myself saying – how can these things come to pass, because the figures are clearly not on my side in the physical realm. I remember years ago when He led us to donate classroom blocks to the Christian Learning Centre in Dukkawa, Nigeria. We had less than 5 partners in our ministry then, and our combined income wouldn’t have achieved much. But in less than 2 years from when we decided to act in faith, our partner numbers rose to over 100 and we were able to donate a block of 3 state-of-the-art classrooms to the Christian Learning Centre.
When God sends you to do a task, it may look impossible at first, but if you commit your mind and actions to it, it begins to look possible, and before you know it, it is accomplished. Action is usually the highway that helps you move from the impossible junction to the attainable lane.
What God wants to achieve through us is far greater than where we currently are or what we have today and that is why the figures and circumstances usually look mind blowing or unfavourable. Divine ideas require divine supplies for their fulfilment and God’s vision requires God’s provision for its realization. Therefore, the mind blowing figures should not scare us away from God’s goal for our lives; rather we should see them as reminders that we are God’s children who depend on divine supplies to achieve God-given ideas.
So I encourage you to put the figures in the right perspective and act in faith today!
Tope Aladenusi |
“Whosever hears these sayings of mine and doeth them the same is blessed in his deeds”. Now I want you to note carefully what the bible is teaching in the following scriptures.
The New American Standard version of the Bible (NASB) renders Mathew 7:24 this way; “therefore everyone who hears these words of mine AND ACTS ON THEM, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock and the rain fell, and the floods came and the winds blew and slammed against that house; AND YET IT DID NOT FALL, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of mine AND DOES NOT ACT ON THEM, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand…”
John 13:17 “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them”.
James 1:22 “but prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves”.
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. But we have to go beyond this level to the level of doers. Who are those who achieve great things? Those who act on the word of God! Who is able to believe without wavering, who stands firm and unshakable when the rains, the winds and the floods of life blows? Those who act on the word! Faith is PERFECTED (lacking nothing) when we act. Nothing questions faith like inaction. A lack of corresponding action is the greatest bane to faith and you don’t know what you can achieve, what giant is in you, until you act. There is a giant in you, that can overcome all, that giant is let loose when you go into action based on your faith. Don’t wait to have so-called big faith. The bible tells us clearly that if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “move” and it will respond to you. In truth, great faith is the result of many corresponding little actions. David acted his faith, first while caring for his animals and it grew. Later he met Goliath and applied the same principles of faith. It is not faith you lack; its action.
So the question at this point might as well be what have you done with your faith?
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac.
By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come
By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of pharaoh’s daughter.
By faith this same Moses forsook Egypt.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about for seven days.
I love these scriptures. See the actions our heroes of faith took on the basis of their faith. They acted by faith. Seven days they matched round a city. Seven days they acted because they believed and got results. In anything and everything by faith take action.
I feel the frustration of believers when they believe God for something and it’s like nothing is happening. But let every man be a liar, God remains true. Has He promised and He will not perform? Heaven and earth will pass away but not one jot of his word will go unfulfilled. The confidence we have is that if we ask anything in His name we know that He hears us, and if He does, then we know we have our petitions.
We have them. All things are yours. Actions establish them. There are so many things you can do that will never happen because you didn’t get started. Take a step of faith. Just a small step. If you have faith for a business, do as little as making enquiries. Doing that alone releases so much power. You see things fall into place; because you acted. If you want to grow that same business, pray over it in your understanding and in other tongues, then try new things as the Spirit guides you and see the resultant effect. If you want to be a great evangelist for God, start by speaking to the one person next to you and soon you will speak to thousands. What do you have faith for? What great dreams, visions or prophesy do you have? Take a step. Act. Power is released when we act.
Don’t just believe in your mind, speak it out, act it. Take action NOW. In anything and everything God is laying on your heart, by faith take action, and nothing can stop you.
This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
– Emmanuel Aladenusi
When I was a new believer in Christ and was trying to understand the faith concept, I believed that faith was trusting God for something without the smallest iota of doubt in the process. So when I had even the smallest of doubts, I believed that negated my faith. I also believed that once you had faith you did not need to do anything, all you had to do was keep praying and keep waiting; God through scriptures taught me otherwise.
I remember all the struggles I had trying to determine if I had faith or not. Many have these same issues and because they know that they must believe God without wavering, they are quick to assume they are disqualified whenever they falter in their faith.
How then do we establish faith? How do we prove this is faith? How do we know faith? By corresponding actions! James 2:26 – “for as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead also”. It’s not enough to say I have faith; you must consciously take action on the basis of that faith. Once you do that, faith is made perfect. James 2: 22 “… by works faith was made perfect”.
Act your faith. Put your faith to work. Abraham believed God and he sacrificed Isaac; Joseph believed God and gave instructions concerning his bones; Noah believed God and he built an ark. Their actions affirmed their faith and it was accounted to them as righteousness. Don’t spend time debating with the devil, just act your faith.
When you don’t act your faith you won’t get results. We are partakers with God. That means together with God we make things happen. So it’s not just enough to believe, we must take actions that corresponds to our faith. If you have faith for healing, don’t remain on the bed, get up and walk. If you believe God for a house, then begin to shop for one and start putting money aside towards the payment. By taking action you perfect faith. That’s why James said, I will show you my faith by my works.
And if it appears you doubt, override it by actions that are in tandem with the faith you desire. I like the story of Jesus and Peter. Luke 5:4-6 “and he said to Simeon, launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. But Simeon answered and said to him, Master we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net”. It’s like saying I don’t really believe this will work, but because you have said it I will act. And his actions brought him results. We don’t work by feelings, so ignore whatever doubt you feel and act your faith. For every “but” of doubt let there be a corresponding “nevertheless” in actions.
Friends act your faith today. Don’t be passive in faith. Be active in it. If you believe God for something, establish it by corresponding actions. “Whosoever hears these sayings of mine and doeth them the same is blessed in his deeds”.
Emmanuel Aladenusi
Years ago, I was assigned to go assist our Cameroun office for a short time. As I was about to set out for Cameroun, it occurred to me that I did not have sufficient cash to buy a few gifts or souvenirs for myself and my loved ones. I pondered on this need, and expressed my desire to God to provide cash for me … in a miraculous way.
Miraculous way . . . ? That was what I said but, sincerely I had defined in my mind how I wanted God to ‘send’ me the cash, not necessarily ‘miraculous’. I imagined I was going to do an outstanding job for the guys in Cameroun and they would be so impressed that they would give me a parting cash gift. I’m sure a lot of us do this on several occasions in our prayers, we figure out how we want God to grant our desires – sometimes to the smallest detail. But God’s ways can be totally different from our imaginations, like he taught me on that trip.
I got to Cameroun and went to the baggage claim section. After every passenger had picked their bags, mine refused to show up. I complained to the airline staff and they gave me the sad news– my bag was missing! They said that a message had been sent across their entire network and, hopefully, they would find my bag soon. Bewildered, I went to the Cameroun office to report the situation, and that was when I started to get answers to the desire I had expressed to God.
First, the ‘big boss’ at the Cameroun office gave me some cash to get clothes and shoes for myself before I commenced the assignment. The next day, I got a call from the airline; they apologized, explained that my bag had been mistakenly packaged to another country and handed my bag to me. Something more – they gave me a cash compensation for the inconvenience. When I opened my bag, I thought to myself – “I did not really miss the bag, but I really wanted the money. Thank God”. And then everything seemed to be the ‘miraculous’ for me unlike my earlier imagination.
I remember grumbling when my bag didn’t show up. I mean “how could the bag of a man of the most high God be declared missing?” But God arranged that temporary disturbance to grant me my heart desire. Perhaps you are saying – “why am I still unmarried despite my service to God for years?” “Why should the ministry or business of a man of God not move with rocket speed from the first day?” “Why haven’t I gotten that dream job?” As long as you are serving God with honesty and dedication, rest assured that a pleasant surprise is coming your way soon. His ways will transcend your imagination. “God makes everything happen at the right time…” -Ecclesiastes 3:11 (CEV).
– Tope Aladenusi
It is incredible that people live ordinary lives all through the year and suddenly start expecting things to change remarkably for them just because the calendar shows a new year approaching. I chatted with a number of believers towards the end of last year and in the first week of this year and I heard good resolutions and goals welling up from their minds. But for most believers, a greater number of their goals are about what they wish to achieve for themselves and their families with the help of God. Very few people are specific about what God wants to achieve through them. Interestingly, such people claim to believe that the measure of life is not in its duration, but in its donation.
I have also observed that most believers who think about donating to the world are usually not specific about how they intend to make their donations like they are specific for things they wish to get. For instance, a brother prays to God – “I want to get a job paying 15 million Naira per annum this year”; “I want to buy a Honda Accord 2011 model by June”; but when it comes to the thing that matters most, he says – “God, I want to bless lives this year”.
What does it mean to bless lives? Why are we not specific when it has to do with our donations to the world? Do we not think that God has specific goals for everyone of us this year? Have we taken time to find out what they are? Could it be – at least 30% of my earnings will be donated for evangelism to unreached nations; or 54 souls will be won to the kingdom by my preaching of the gospel? How about a discipleship class for young believers in your sitting room every Saturday by 6pm? Could it be something specific that you need to be doing in your church or Christian organization?
I love the Amplified version of Ephesians 5:15-17 – “Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as the unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people), Making the very most of the time [buying up each opportunity], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is”
It is difficult to live purposefully and accurately without having specific targets that are inspired by God. Have you taken time to firmly grasp the specific thing God wants to achieve through you this year? What are your donation goals for 2011?
Tope Aladenusi
A few days ago, someone said to me – “wow! The year went by so fast, I can’t believe we’ve got just 3 weeks left!”
I find it interesting that early in the year, most people count how many days or months in the year have been ‘spent’. E.g. By the 1st of February, people say – one month of the year is gone. However, towards the end of the year, most people talk in terms of – how many days or months are left. Some begin to rush to get many things accomplished when it dawns on them that the “time left” is dwindling.
In life also, you may have noticed people’s disposition to the change in time frames from “time since birth” to “time left to live”. For most people, this change occurs around age 40. Let’s face it, most youth count from “time since birth” and they always think they have time. A man once narrated his plans for his retirement to me; he assumed he had a superb plan as he beamed with one of the best smiles I have ever seen when he told me how he would spend his “time left to live” mainly doing God’s work. I asked him these questions: What about your “time since birth”; whose work would you be majoring on during this period? Your work? You bet he didn’t like my questions.
My message for today is simple – you need to ensure you work with the calendar of God for your life. Don’t reserve the main thing you should be doing in life for your “time left to live”. Ephesians 5:16 says – redeeming the time because the days are evil. By age 30, Jesus’ steps were already treading towards the finish line of his purpose. How old are you? If you cannot walk with God today along purpose lane, don’t be too sure you will do so tomorrow. Whatever you are going to become tomorrow, you are already becoming today. A bird-like creature cannot be too sure to realize its dream to be a cock if it is not like a chick today. That mammal with four legs should not think it will be a lion at its “time left to live” when it is just a cat at its “time since birth”. If God wanted Jack and John to live 70 years, I don’t think in His wisdom that He would want 50 of those years to be wasted. Every day counts in the kingdom. Give your best shot for God daily. Make your life count by making every moment count … for God!
Tope Aladenusi
What are your top 3 goals in life? What are your most cherished dreams? What drives you? I was chatting with a friend recently and he told me that he desires to become CEO of one of the biggest companies (name withheld) in West Africa. What a good goal, I said. I then asked him, what happens after you become CEO? What would you use your CEO position to attain? At this point, he became incoherent.
Beloved, what keeps you going? Jesus said in John 4:34 (MSG) – “The food that keeps me going is that I do the will of the One who sent me...” Purpose kept Jesus going. For many believers today, it is materialism, fear of failure, fame, and money (especially) that keeps them going. While we need some material things to fulfil our purpose on earth, we should be careful not to make getting material things our purpose. It’s just like an airplane; it needs tyres to take off and land, but that doesn’t mean that it should hit the expressway because it has tyres.
I strongly believe that every believer is a full time minister. God did not call anyone into part time ministry. II Corinthian 5:18 says every believer has been called into the ministry of reconciling men to God. We are all wired for full time ministry. It’s just that our platforms and mode of operation are different. To the pastor, it may be the pulpit. To the evangelist, it may be the remote areas. To the sportsman, it may be the stadium. To the senator, it may be the national assembly. To some, their platform is their place of work, while to others, it may be a school. Just as we do not see ourselves as part-time worshippers of God because we are not choristers, we should never have mindsets of part-time-ministry just because we are not pastors. If it is not in your priority to support the reconciliation of men to God on whatever platform God has given you, then you are failing the priority test. If your topmost dream is not connected to how God wants us to impact our generation as revealed in the bible, then you need to get back on track.
– Tope Aladenusi
Excerpted from Today’s Lifeline magazine (Vol.2 No. 5): 5 ways to know if you are living a purposeful life