| I’m always delighted to read these words written by Rick Warren – “God is much moreinterested in who you are than what you do. We are human beings, not human doings.”
We all know that God cares about what we do and how we conduct ourselves, but we must not forget that his first emphasis is always on who we are. He is first interested in our ‘being’ before our ‘doing’.
I understand the world sees things differently. For instance, they expect you to go to medical school before you become a doctor. But if you were dealing with God, he first makes you a medical doctor, and then he sends you to medical school. The world may expect you to complete your university degree and Law school in order to be a practicing lawyer. For God, he makes you a Lawyer in an instant, and gives you the instruction to go and practice.
Many believers are swift to go the way of the world. For instance, before they regard you as a saint, you must have gone through the Ups and Downs of Life, and it should be visible to all that you consistently lived without sin. But for God, he makes you a saint the instant you become born again, and then he gives you the manual on how to express your saintly nature. He is more concerned about your being. He transforms your being and knows that your doings will be affected by your being.
He said in Ezekiel 36:26-27 (GW) “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you … I will put my Spirit in you. I will enable you to live by my laws, and you will obey my rules.” First, a new heart, a new spirit, a saintly nature … and then, you will obey my rules. You get the certificate before you commence the school. You get the ‘saint medal’ before you start running the saintly race.
The Corinthians had notorious tendencies when they started the saintly race. But Paul reminded them of their being, and urged them to make their doing reflect their being. 1Cor 1:2 & 1Cor 6:20 (BBE) “To the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been made holy in Christ Jesus, saints by the selection of God … for a payment has been made for you: let God be honoured in your body.”
If you are born again, you are a saint according to God’s selection; but God desires that you also be a saint according to daily disposition. You have the ‘saint medal’ already, start seeing yourself this way and continue displaying your ‘medal’ wherever you go.
– tope aladenusi |
| Look at the ring-like scar that sits on your belly. We call it navel or belly button. But I like to call it “our first mouth”. Let’s face it; there was a time in our lives when we fed through the umbilical cord. This “mouth” was connected to our mothers’ placenta when we were in the womb, and was used to provide oxygen, nutrients and even transfer our waste to the outside world. During this phase of our lives, the mouth we currently use to eat was being developed. We got to a stage of maturity where our ‘first mouth’ had to be sealed, so that the other mouth could take full pre-eminence.
Anytime I see my belly button, I remember that life is in stages. Most times, different channels of nutrients and waste come with every stage. What generated income for you yesterday may be locked up today. Don’t keep looking back, because a baby doesn’t feed through the umbilical cord after it is born. The people that were instruments in lifting you up yesterday may want to pull you down today. Know when to run. It is commonly said that “a nest is good for a robin while it is an egg, but it is bad for a robin when it has wings”. Sometimes the line between success and failure may just be the ability to know when to leave the nest of our lives.
‘Moses’ may lead us out of Egypt , but it is ‘Joshua’ that will lead us to the promise land. Learn to know when someone stops leading you. Conditions will always change on the outside, especially as we mature in the things of God. Let’s be sensitive to see the new door that God is opening rather than singing the “things are getting bad” song of the world. For “He has set the right time for everything. He has given us a desire to know the future, but never gives us the satisfaction of fully understanding what he does”. (Ecclesiastes 3:11- GNB). Don’t be shocked to see some closed door this year; don’t be too naive to decipher the numerous doors of opportunities that God will bring your way. Be sensitive to know when to turn.
tope aladenusi |
| Someone once said that if you fail to plan then you are planning to fail. A game plan is very important in every affair of life. It tells where you are, what you hope to achieve, the resources available at your disposal and the time available for you to play.
When it comes to finances, knowing the expected end is very important. You must determine where you are now and your expected end. Christians live to fulfill PURPOSE. Purpose is the reason for you. The expected end is the actualization of purpose. I want to be rich is no cry. No target. How rich do you want to be? How rich? When do you hope to be that rich? Where are you now? What is in your hand now? And what time do you have left? These questions must form the nucleus of a solid investment plan targeted towards bringing you to the expected end.
Hab: 2:2:3 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak,
Very importantly “every vision is for an appointed time”. So it must be written down clearly. It must be made plain. Putting words to paper is very crucial. Don’t just assume you have a financial plan. Write it down clearly. This is where I ought to be … want to be. This is where I am. This is how long I have left. Then these are the steps I will take to achieve this purpose. Doing this releases power. Now notice that Habakkuk says that “he might run that readeth it”. Reading your vision/game plan releases power for the journey ahead. It gives focus and opportunity for redress. If you can’t see your expected end you might never get there. God told Abraham Gen 13:14: And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed forever. Hallelujah. Friends look from the place where you are to the place where you want to be. Look father than your today. Plan bigger than your today because you will be given as far as you can see. Why? Because we are not sufficient of ourselves but our sufficiency is of God. Know the expected end. Write it down. Make it plain. Strength will be released for the journey.
– emmanuel aladenusi |
If you know where you are heading in life, you will find the pathway to get there in the world. Likewise, if you do not know where you are heading, the world will show you many ways to compound the existing confusion.
Jesus Christ came to the world to die for humanity and the Jews helped him to fulfill his goal by crucifying him. Interestingly, the same Jews wanted to make Jesus their king at a time, but he refused the offer because it was not his goal. If Jesus were to act like a believer of our day, he would most likely take the offer and even go to Church to share ‘his testimony’. Many of us today are celebrating distractions because we do not know where we are heading.
Do we take our luggage to the airport and plan to board the next available aircraft to wherever it is heading. No! We always have our destination in mind, which is why we are able to book for flights. If we can do this for the little things of life, how come for many believers, the ‘available’ is most times the ‘desirable’? Why are we not reaching for set goals but settling into small holes, wishing that something somehow will someday bring the right goals to our doors?
Where do you want to be in five years? What about in twenty years? Analyse all the activities going on in your life on a daily basis. Are they directed only towards accomplishing the dreams of other men or they are steps to take you to your goal?
Beloved, you may not know the name of the organ that pumps blood to your brain, but whatever it will take, know where you are heading to.
tope aladenusi