Lesson #2 –If God gives you a dream, wake up and work with the dream team
At one of our monthly executive meetings mid last year, Emeka Ofia, our Mentoring Director, made a remarkable comment. He said, “I don’t think God is going to take Christ Lifeline Ministry beyond where the Executives and Partners are willing to go.” There was a brief silence as those words reverberated in our minds. I’m sure every other executive member was doing what we have been trained to do over the years i.e. checking to see how that statement aligns with Scriptures. As I pondered more on that statement in the following days, I could not help but appreciate the importance of teamwork in fulfilling divine mandates. I also recalled how God put together the current team in the Ministry.
The first 3 years in Christ Lifeline were very passive because the team was not vibrant. During this period, I always gave excuses to God for why I thought I was not the right leader for the mission and why it would be better for me to work with established ministries. At the time, we only shared monthly electronic messages to a few friends via Yahoogroups, and this was done chiefly in a bid to “quench” that constant yearning God had placed in my heart. By 2006, the “palliatives” weren’t working anymore as I began to get not only yearnings, but warnings. The particular warning that got me scared happened in Asaba, Delta State ofNigeria. In the bathroom of my hotel room, I heard God say – I gave you an assignment and you neglected it, yet you keep asking me to lead you to where you will be of service to the body of Christ. So out of frustration, I started to think about teamwork.
Who should I discuss the vision with? Who would understand the enormity of this task and be willing to work with God in this capacity? Who would not laugh at me or take me to be a joker (after all to some, I cracked more jokes than I quoted scriptures back then)? These were some of the questions I pondered on. The first person that came to mind was my fiancée (Busola) who is now my wife; the minimum I expected from her was to believe me. Then I thought of two pastors on campus that I believed were very good Christians and very unlike some other seeming “vainglorious” campus pastors. They are Ifelayo Ojo and Adeyiga Awomuti. I had separate meetings with them to share the vision of Christ Lifeline and also invited them to join me in the execution and it appeared that the best days of my life started then. There was this joy and fulfillment I experienced whenever I pondered on the way they believed in the vision and promised to work with God in executing it.
By January 2007, we had our first outreach program tagged “Mission Exhibition” and there were about 50 people in attendance. Surprisingly, 40 of them decided to partner with the Ministry and completed our Partner’s form. This was a critical turning point in the Ministry; we had a bigger and better team to do the work. Since then, we have had hundreds of Partners from 5 continents join this team of men and women that extend the help of Christ to nations and support platforms that attract others to Christ. We do not underestimate the work of God in putting the Christ Lifeline team together because like John Maxwell once said – “a great dream with a bad team is nothing more than a nightmare”. Please join us in giving glory to God!
– Tope S. Aladenusi
Join us at our 10th anniversary celebration taking place at Bellus Court, 7A Akin Adesanya Street, Off Town Planning Way, Ilupeju Lagos by 2pm on 20 July 2013. If you would like to attend, please send an email to info@christlifeline.org so we can send you an invitation letter.
The last Sunday in January this year may forever remain memorable to my family. On that day, as I picked a call from my mum at about 5 am, I immediately felt some heat in my spine. The last time I received such a call at an unusual hour was when my dad had issues with his health. I recall the travail we went through in prayer during that time and to God’s glory, he became hale and hearty again. So, I thought there may be something wrong with his health again when I received this call. Conversely, the voice I heard on the phone was unusually boisterous.
What happened, I inquired. “We just experienced a miracle”, my mum quickly responded. I tried to imagine what sort of miracle could have occurred in the middle of the night. As I was going to ask my next question to gain better clarity, my mum continued by saying – armed robbers visited us some hours ago. Now, this got me really confused because I couldn’t figure out how this part of the story was a miracle. But when I patiently listened to the whole story, I was full of gratitude at the awesomeness of God.
My mum had turned off the room lights before going to bed and when she suddenly opened her eyes in the middle of the night, she could see the frame of a man standing by the bed and facing her direction. She thought the person standing was my dad and asked, why are you standing there? Immediately, an armed robber shined a flashlight into her eyes and said, “you will have to cooperate with me now; I need you to bring out all the monies in this house”. I don’t have any money here, she responded. The guy brought out a dagger and said – “if you do not cooperate with me by quietly bringing out your money, you will not like the outcome by the time I finish dealing with you.” My mum’s response this time was quite affirmative – “I don’t have any money. I am a child of God and cannot lie to you”.
There was a long pause in the room and thereafter, the robber started apologizing to my mum. In his words, “I am very sorry madam for coming into this house. I obviously entered a wrong place! As I am standing here, I can hear God speaking to me clearly that I must not touch His anointed child and not a single pin must be taken away from this house. Please ma, pray for me. My name is Moses and I didn’t intend to be an armed robber. I got into this mess some years ago when I graduated and couldn’t get a job after searching severally”. The robber went on his knees and was weeping profusely while my mum prayed for him. When I asked my mum what she uttered during her prayers, she couldn’t remember anything (guess she must have been really terrified). After the prayer session, the robber returned a purse he had taken in the sitting room and said – “this was the only thing I had taken when I entered your house. I’m leaving now and I didn’t take any pin”. My dad was right there in the room, watching that episode in a speechless mode.
Now it all seemed to make sense to me after listening to the complete story. Indeed, it was a miracle, I muttered under my breath. My mum was full of joy, and I can’t forget the statement she used to summarize everything – this my God loves me so much. As I pondered over the situation, I wondered if she felt that love immediately the robber showed her the dagger and threatened her. It’s the same way sometimes we go through challenging situations as believers, and when we are in the current scene, we begin to get discouraged. However, that scene could just be the “Act 2, Scene 1” in the whole episode. When the full story is played out and told, it is surely going to be another miracle. I love the way Romans 8:28 (BBE) puts it – “And we are conscious that all things are working together for good to those who have love for God, and have been marked out by his purpose.”
I couldn’t initially reconcile “we just experienced a miracle” and “armed robbers visited us” just the same way you may be going through some irreconcilable situations right now. But whatever challenge it is you are passing through today, be conscious of the fact that when all the scenes of the drama are put together, we can boldly say – All life scenes work together for a miracle story to be told in my life. AMEN!
Tope Aladenusi
I once enrolled for an online leadership course organized by the Harvard Business School. The course was unlike the e-learning courses I was familiar with. With conventional online courses, the norm is to get some materials to read, listen to or watch before taking assessment tests or examinations. However, this course began with a program that asked me several questions about how I had led people and managed events in the past. The answers I supplied to this program were used to analyse my leadership and management style and conclude whether I am more of a leader than a manager or vice versa. With the results, it went ahead to instruct me on areas I needed to improve on in order to have the right mix of leadership and management.
I was very delighted with the results I had gotten from the analysis of my responses. I was fascinated about what “Harvard” was saying about me. I felt confident and reassured that I had what it takes to tackle the leadership challenges currently facing me in the ministry and workplace. But then I paused and thought: If I could believe in the Harvard report so much that I was motivated by it, how should I handle the prophecy of the scripture that is not of any private interpretation? If I could rejoice in what humans tell me based on extensive research, what manner of joy should flood my soul when the One who created me tells me who I am based on his deepest understanding of my real genetic constitution?
What do you see whenever you read your bible? Do you see angels, Israel, Mary, Moses, Paul … or do you see “you”? Do you accept the way God has programmed and rated you or are you befuddled by what is happening around you?
Are you suffering from a sickness? God said “that same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in you, and it can give energy to your body”. Are you confused about your future partner? He said “I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster; plans to give you a future filled with hope”. Are you concerned that your major channel of finance appears to be getting closed? He said – I am the one who opens up a door that no man can shut. Are you still being hunted by your past sins? He said “your sins and wrongdoings will I remember no more”.
If we could just look in the Word again with an eagerness to see and accept what it says about us, then we would be better equipped to face all of life’s challenges.
tope aladenusi
Whether we choose to accept it or not, the world has taken a new turn. For some, they kept affirming that Barack Obama couldn’t win the 2008 U.S presidential election. Their reason was not farfetched – How can someone they like to term “black man” be the president of USA? It has never happened before! Yes! Never before. But that’s history. There are people whose story shape the way history is written, and Obama is one of them. What fascinates me most is that this is the first time an African-American will win the U.S presidential election. Have you ever been the first person to do something remarkable? Today, I see many people not being able to birth the purpose of God for their lives because they have not been able to answer the question –“Where has it been done before?”. There is this unwritten code that rules in the hearts of men to extol an established pattern over a divine program. And that alone has made many not see the workings of God in their lives. In Matthew 15:6 Jesus said “ye made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition”. What is tradition? It’s simply those things that say ‘this is the way it has always been done’. As little as it may look, it is capable of making the word not have the effect it is supposed to have in our lives. Every tradition starts from someone. Why can’t we be the ones to start something good for others to follow? For a long time, no one ran the 100m race in less than 10 seconds. But the same week this was done by someone, some other people ran 100m race below 10 seconds. I’m sure Obama’s victory has ruptured some barriers from people’s mind. But we do not need to wait for such people before we do what we have been inspired to do. Sometimes it might be too late. It is profitable to follow the divine program on your inside instead of the established pattern on the outside, whether it has been done before or not. This is because we serve a God, who always leads us in victory because of Christ. II Cor. 2:14 (GW)
– tope aladenusi
A lesson from saying ‘I love you’ in advance Bible Reading: Phil 3:13
My wife once 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 picked up my phone, dialed her number and said ‘I love you’ to her for 14 times. Hmn! 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.
It’s the same way you would behave 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 square meals today so you would not bother eating for one month. It doesn’t make sense right? But why do we do so 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 rightly only in some seasons? If food is to the body what God’s word is to our mind, then you can imagine how sickly and skinny many of us are today. Do you not think it is time we took positive actions about our spiritual growth?
Beloved, in the last 6 months we have discussed on Spiritual Growth. Perhaps you read most of the messages and agreed with them. But please do not stop there. Practice these principles every day. We cannot afford to go to bed any day without having absorbed some ingredients that will facilitate our spiritual growth. Consistency is the key word. Don’t try to do it in advance or make up for it. Always make a conscious effort to grow up spiritually.
I love you and I passionately desire that you continue to grow spiritually.
– tope aladenusi
A Lesson From The Parrots Bible Reading: Romans 12
If you have ever seen where parrots are raised, you must have noticed that they are able to easily mimic the sounds they hear. Let’s assume we have three parrots and one was raised by an Asian, another by an African while the third was raised by a Briton. If the only sound these parrots learnt in their lifetime was the sound of “good morning”, you will realize that these parrots will all be able to echo “good morning” but in a different intonation. This is simply because their coaches have different accent. Human beings most times behave in a similar way – Most things that echo out of our lives are a result of what we have been exposed to. At every time in our lives, we are mimicking something or someone.
You know many times we hear or read a good message and we are quick to say “Oh! I will never do that bad thing again. The things I used to do, I will do them no more”. But as the events of life unfold, we see our actions constantly contradicting our intentions. Why? Intention alone is not enough. If the parrot raised by a Briton have the intention of pronouncing “good morning” like the one raised by an African, it may never be able to do so unless it is exposed to the same coaching. Likewise, despite our best intentions to grow spiritually, if we do not expose ourselves to the right “sounds”, we cannot produce the desired sound (growth). If all the ideas we are exposed to were gotten from mere men, we will naturally produce the sounds of mere men. So here’s the way out prescribed by God:-
Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transformyou inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Rom 12:2 (GNB)
Did you catch that? If you do not want to conform to the sounds echoed by the world, you have to pick up coaching of the kind of sounds you wanna produce. God has to transform you by a complete change of your mind. Imagine if those parrots desire to echo “good morning” like God will do, what sounds should they be exposed to? God’s of course! That’s the formula. Ephesians 5:1 (MSG) says it clearly – “Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents”. Go listen to God’s sound. If you must let God transform you, you have to expose yourself constantly to the thoughts of God. God has declared in Isaiah 55:8 – “my thoughts are not your (men’s) thoughts”. So every believer should also gravitate to a point where they also say “my thoughts are not the thoughts of men” just like a parrot can say “my sound is not like that of other parrots”.
How will this happen? Will God come to you every minute to whisper into your mind? Yes and No. I say “No” if you are expecting a mighty rushing wind and a voice that starts with “My son, my son” or “my daughter, my daughter”. I say “Yes” because his word is already near us and reading or hearing it regularly is as potent as his live whisper. Psalm 1 says “Blessed is the man whose delight is in God’s law and he meditate on it day and night”. We have to expose our minds to the thoughts of God constantly. Technology has even helped us to have all the verses of the Bible in an audio CD. Play it in your car while you drive or in your house while you do other things. Have audio Bible in your iPod and always listen to it. If you are not busy talking with anyone, you should be busy allowing God talk to you; you should be busy listening to the sound you want to produce in your life. Saturate your environment with the word. Do not be moved if you are called an extremist because you constantly allow God to transform you inwardly by a complete change of mind. Get excited about it and you will see yourself experience spiritual growth.
– tope aladenusi
And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. Mat 18:2-5
Sometime ago I asked children in my Sunday school class the question, “how many of you tell lies?” In response I got several hands up. These ones didn’t care who was watching them or what the person felt, they were just being honest.
In the Bible passage above Jesus is teaching us a great lesson we need to live by. You need to be converted and live like children again to enter the Kingdom of God.
What is the kingdom of God about? It’s about a domain where God’s rules reign and as a result His Peace, Joy, Love, and Righteousness abound such place. If we are going make our marriage a prototype of God’s kingdom then we need to be converted.
In children’s world except for now that adults are beginning to negatively influence this pure ones, there is innocence, truthfulness, no malice, self expression, trust.
Have you lost your pure thoughts about your marriage?
What are you keeping from your spouse?
What is that hurt, you keep in your heart?
What are those words you have left unsaid to one another?
Who are you looking out to impress at the expense of your marriage?
Humble yourself like the little child and let God lift you up.
It is well with your relationship in Jesus Name.
Shalom
omolola ezeifeoma