God

August 09 2015 Do something DIFFERENTLY (1)

Neh 1.11 O Lord, let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant and the prayer of Your servants who delight to revere& fear Your name (Your nature and attributes); and prosper, I pray You, Your servant this day and grant him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was cup-bearer to the king.

No matter how you feel about your current situation please KNOW for certain that it contains within it seeds of your future greatness. Please write that in bold letters and place it in the most visible place possible. Whatever God allows you go through-Good or bad, it has a seed of equivalent good for you. Nehemiah’s position as cup-bearer to the King couldn't have been easy-remaining untainted in the midst of reveling unbelievers would try the most righteous but as he prayed, he recognized the power of his position. Do you?  

Do you recognize that missing that promotion, opportunity, failing that exam, losing that job, being on that job, getting that opportunity positions you supernaturally. This may not always be easy to see. If you lose a job for example, you may be tempted to feel you have nothing, just bills& unsolved problems but if you will reach deep within and look up above, you WILL benefit from your position! But you must deal with pride-everyone has some, no matter how spiritual but if you are honest with yourself and God, you'll be fine.

Ensure your pride isn't just hidden, deal with it! Acknowledge you have a part in the rot. This is hard I must confess, hence I found it really difficult to do in an organization I once worked for. Indeed, I actually stopped praying for that organization as I thought, what's the use? But with hindsight I realize that you sin when you fail to pray for your organization-it funds your life, the least you can do is pray! If anything it convinces God& yourself that you are not ungrateful which opens doors well beyond your greatest dreams.

Lord thank you for every opportunity I've gained& missed! You are Lord!

August 10 2015 Do something DIFFERENTLY (2)

Neh 2.1 And it came to pass ... in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. 2 Wherefore the king said unto me, why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart...

So you’ve been praying, fasting, believing, being nice, waiting, now what? Truth? For all of us doing something different is different. However, the principle is same and it’s real simple, so simple we often miss it! Do all you humanly can, and watch God do what He alone can! So whilst I’m tempted to say, be like Nehemiah and wait till the king asks you what the problem is, the truth is, some of you KNOW you should speak out loud but you sit, awaiting a ‘king’ to ask you what the problem is but God has already told you what to do yet you stubbornly await his ‘redirection’ but God doesn’t take instructions from you or me. How much better life would be, when we accept this!

This reminds me of an experience I had whilst awaiting a miracle of education scholarship (I had made up my mind to study abroad and though I had admission to study, I had no funds to carry out the dream and sadly my father couldn’t raise the funds either).We were invited to dinner at one of my dad’s friends home (my dad was alive then) on Sunday. As I prayed that morning, I felt God say, ask him (my father’s friend). If you knew my dad, you’d know for sure I couldn’t have made it up- my dad would rather DIE than ask another for money. Confused I asked  a pastor what he thought I should do and he said: “well, if you are sure it is God...” But my father would kill me...I thought!

At the house I prayed: “Lord, if it was really you, make him give me without asking”.  Then I prayed that my dad would go to the loo or something. As the evening wound down and I saw no ‘miracle’ in sight, I summoned courage and mouthed “uncle...” I cannot remember the remaining words but I remember my dad’s head in his hands& ‘uncle’ consoling him. Then uncle started saying he wished I had come at another time...At that point, I was sure I had missed it. My dad berated me all the way home as I curled in the backseat truly sorry for embarrassing him but you know what? He gave my dad money- that same night! In dollars too!! Not the whole sum, but enough to convince me that God was with me! Later, I was told that my dad was proud of me! Going to the UK was fundamental to my life and I have often wondered, what if I didn’t ask? What is that step that you are hesitating from taking that could dramatically change things?

Lord, help me accept your way rather than insist on mine!

August 11 2015 Do something differently (3)

Neh 2.1 And it came to pass ... in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. 2 Wherefore the king said unto me, why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart...

One thing I’ve learnt about changing anything is that desperation and dissatisfaction with status quo that is CRITICAL!  You can’t change anything you are willing to live with! If you can live without being married/ a child/ peace/ Money- you most likely won’t have them! I’m not talking about greed, lack of contentment or  unchecked ambition. I refer to a holy anger based on your knowledge of God’s will and plan for you that fans your desires. For many years, I wished to be married, but I was comfortable, could meet most of my needs and didn’t really ‘need’ a man. Then I attended a wedding of an ex-toaster and something within me flipped as I realized I didn’t just want marriage, I needed it for where I was going.

I remember crying and saying to God, I don’t care what I have to do ‘in you’ to be married. I know you’ve already created the person, I know you are not at fault; it is me or the man! What do I have to do to make it happen tell me and I’m not going to feel too big, or care what anyone thinks/ says. It took a while but when I met him I understood why I had to rid myself of my high ideas before God could bring him my way. I remember someone I trusted telling me I wasn’t even 40 yet, why was I desperate? Please note, the desperation I speak of is not towards people, its towards God, it’s an attitude that says, God I’m ready& will do anything you ask, I won’t casually wait, I’ll actively seek!

Nigeria, I dare say is the way it is today  because we are not collectively desperate for a change, we feel we are making our millions so why should we be bothered? You see, heaven is handicapped when men have options. With Nehemiah the matter touched him so much so, he could no longer be ‘business as usual’, he had never been sad before the king but this matter was such that he could do nothing but be sad!! Friends, if this year will be different you’ll have to get desperate towards heaven, let them know you won’t be side stepped with a promotion, a new car, house... Nothing but what our heart cries for will give us rest !

Lord, help me hold on to you like nothing else matters, cause nothing else matters!!



August 12 If there is a problem , We are the solution 

Neh 2. ^6 -9The king, ..asked me, How long will your journey take, and when will you return? So it pleased [him] to send me; and I set him a time. Also I said to the king, .. let letters be given me for the governors beyond the [Euphrates] River, that they may let me pass through to Judah, And a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest or park, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple and for the city wall and for the house that I shall occupy. And the king granted what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. Then I came to the governors beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

I was tempted to gloss over these verses but I believe we need to consider our path in the attainment of our God given goals. What do you plan to achieve this year? Do you know what you need? Nehemiah was so well prepared that he didn’t have to say to the king ‘please let me get back to you’. At a time well before the internet his plan was so detailed that he could ‘set the king a time’ for his return, request for specific letters for specific purposes and so it’s no surprise that his requests were granted. And he received even more as the king sent him with captains of the army and horsemen!!

So enough about Nehemiah, let’s talk about us- how detailed are our plans for 2015 and beyond? Do we have a clear understanding about how much time each task requires? Do we know the kind of ‘letters’ required for each of the gatekeepers we meet? What areas of our lives and family require protection as we set out? For example, if we plan to increase our income, what impact will that have on the amount of free time available to us, our spouse and children? How is it likely to affect our family life? In thinking about this, we may need to make adjustments, forgo some promotions and accept some challenges. Sometimes, some people say that God will handle it, don’t worry but our God is too detailed to condone such careless acts.

Detailed planning is not about worrying it’s about putting heart and mind into detailed preparations long before we are even able to carry out the plans. God shows us a pattern in creation-centuries before power, iron ore or steel was needed, everything required for their preparation was put in place! Can we honestly say that about ourselves? Most of us are barely one pay check away from extreme poverty despite having worked for years- this is not acceptable!!

Lord help me be detailed in my plans this year

Aug 13 Study Proverbs Chapter 1& 2

Living today is challenging for all! It seems like living by values is pointless. All around people who live riotously appear to thrive. You studied hard but failed, your colleague didn’t even attend classes but slept with the lecturer or paid and finished top of your class! Employers don’t even bother to give you a chance...choosing the cheat over you.

Your colleagues are clearly dishonest, fleecing the company but they have impressive looking houses, take awesome vacations in locations you’ve only dreamed...You insisted on right processes but got fired whilst your two-faced boss gets a promotion...

It’s times like this that studying proverbs is life saving! Silly as it seems, the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord is the beginning and the principal and choice part of knowledge [its starting point and its essence]; but fools despise godly Wisdom, instruction, and discipline (1.7). Don’t be too impressed by the THINGS people amass, they just may be ambushing their lives (1.18).  Assure yourself you will attain too- it will be by receiving an outpouring of God’s Spirit (1.23).

Problems come to all & you need more than money to solve them but if you wait till you need wisdom before seeking  her, she’ll spurn you (1.28) but you’ll dwell securely and in confident trust and shall be quiet, without fear or dread of evil (1.33) by her. We all need to be protected from deception in business and life wisdom delivers from evil men (2.12). Sometimes, I wonder how men survive with all the diverse states of near naked women I see on the streets...and I know of many man who boast of their conquests but wise men know None who go to her return nor do they attain he paths of life (2.19).

Thank you lord for wisdom!