Do you know your divine placement in life? Do you really understand where you belong in the spirit? Until you know your divine position, you will continue to look for what is not missing.
It is the height of folly to assume that spiritual things don’t matter. Spiritual controls the physical. It is foolishness to say there is no God. You will only have yourself to blame when you realise there is God, and may it not be too late then.
If you don’t know God, you can’t access what has been divinely provided. God has actually raised you far above every problem, challenge, principality, power, spiritual wickedness, territorial spirits, sickness and disease. You can live ignorantly of this fact for your entire life and struggle all through life. Ignorance is destructive.
Stop running from pillar to post and run to God through Jesus Christ. He will reveal your true position in Him to you when you draw close to Him. Also, you can still be ignorant of your placement even when you are in Christ, if you don’t know what He has provided. God has not called us to live a beggarly and fear stricken life. Know Him and know all He has provided for you.
Seek knowledge of God and assume your position far above.
God bless us all.
Good afternoon.
What Kind of Vessel Are You?
We are all vessels for different purposes and assignments. We are useful to the extent of being allowed to be used by and of God for the different reasons He created us. We are tools in the Hands of God. We are as useful as we submit ourselves for His use.
Just as we have different vessels in our home, for drinking, storing, eating, washing, conveying, etc, we are also vessels of different types in the sight of God. Also, just as we have vessels of different materials, wood, clay, aluminum, silver, gold and other precious metals, you are also a vessel of a kind.
In our homes, the importance attached to a vessel is usually a function of the make (wood, clay, or gold), its beauty, and the price. Some vessels are kept only in the toilets and bathrooms because they are plastic and of little worth. Some are reserved for special guests like our porcelains, China wares and golden cutleries. In the same vein, we can be reserved for special purposes and occasions, or just be among the crowds.
While it is God who decides who plays special roles or general roles, you can influence God’s choice by your actions, words, thoughts, and choices. If you make God your first priority always, He will make you a special vessel for a special purpose.
You can be a special purpose vessel or a general purpose vessel by your choice of whom to serve and follow. The choice is yours.
God bless us all.
Good morning!
Who Do You Look up to? (2)
Another way through which we look up to others is through reading about them or watching their biographies or autobiographies in films. In other words, what we read and watch on TV have a great impact on our mind and eventually translate to our actions.
What kind of books do you read? Are they books that edify you, increase your knowledge and understanding, make you more intelligent? What kind of programs do you watch on the TV? Where do children learn some strange dance steps? Mostly from what they see their friends doing and what they see on TV. Just as you censor what your children watch or read, you must censor what you watch or read too.
Whether you accept it or not, you are directly and indirectly influenced by what you read or watch. Take care to censor what you read or watch, if you truly desire to be great.
God bless us all.
Good morning!
Who Do You Look Up To? (1)
Everybody is a reflection of some others. Most of our thought patterns, habits and actions are picked from someone or some people who we look up to. We are both directly and indirectly influenced by the behaviour of people around us and even sometimes those far from us, but who we deeply respect. We are also influenced by what we read or see, but we will stay on who we look up to today.
It is thus important to check those who are influencing you directly and indirectly. Are they influencing you positively or otherwise? If you are struggling with some negative habits, you may need to first check for direct and indirect reinforcements of such habits. It may be something you have seen in a close friend or even your parents or siblings. Until you deal with the influencer, you may not be able to change that habit.
If you want to build good habits and drop bad ones, surround yourself with those who have those good habits and distance yourself from those with the bad habits. If those with the bad habits are unavoidable, then you have to take on the challenge of helping them to change.
The people you look up to can determine who you become, you therefore need to see that you are looking up to the right people.
God bless us all.
Good morning!
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At 56 – Time To Move On
By Adewumi Oni
As the nation turned 56 on 1st October, many Nigerians are of the opinion that we have not justified our 56 years of post-independence. Amidst a challenging economic recession that has never been witnessed in the nation before, President Buhari called on Nigerians to give thanks to God and pray for the founding fathers of the nation.
Our journey since independence has been marred with a civil war and many military interregnums, with the last ending in 1999 after Gen. Abubakar Abdulsalam handed over to the then newly elected President Olusegun Obasanjo. It is a big plus that we have held four elections successfully since then, albeit with different degree of ‘freeness and fairness’.
One notable plague that has characterised almost all the different administrations that have presided over the country is corruption. The amount that the country has lost to corruption since independence is in trillions of Naira and this, no doubt, has painfully halted the rate of growth and development of the country.
Another sore reality is that after 102 years of living together as a country and 56 years of self-rule, many sections of the country are still calling for secession and self-determination. With the wounds of the last civil war yet to be properly healed, the Igbos have been at the forefront of the calls for breaking out of the federation.
Saddening also is the fact that 56 years after independence, the country still battles with providing stable power supply. The other time, achieving a 5000 megawatts power output was celebrated as if we were gaining independence afresh. Many of our roads are still in terrible states, such that whenever it rains, motorists go through hell to get to their destinations because of pockets of water-filled holes and ditches. Many of our rail lines were abandoned and left in a dismal state, until the Goodluck Jonathan administration started overhauling them.
In spite of the huge revenue the country had amassed from crude oil export over the years, the country today waddles in the mud of low external reserves and biting economic hardship. Almost all sectors of our economy are grinding to a halt and crime rate has grown both numerically and in sophistication.
While we truly need to thank God, especially for the fact that the nation did not break up in 2015 as predicted by some foreign bodies, we also need to do a lot of reflective thinking both as a nation and individually. Individually, whenever we turn a new age, we always reflect on our past failures and successes, what we could have achieved, learning points and set new target for ourselves. This should also apply to our national entity. As a nation, it is time to put behind our past failures and focus on rebuilding the nation to become a force to reckon with among comity of nations.
One would have expected the President’s Independence speech to have been directed more towards goals and targets for the next one year, instead of the focus on recounting the achievements of his administration. His speech should have been aimed at inspiring the citizenry towards a better tomorrow. Given the fact that his achievements thus far fall far below both his pre-election promises and Nigerians expectations, more attention should have been placed on his plans toward rebuilding the economy.
As we therefore begin another year as a nation, it is time for all the citizens to adopt the ‘Change’ agenda in our personal lives, especially as regards our spending habit, propensity for foreign goods, and disregard for law and order.
The leadership of the nation should also stop the ‘Blame Game’, and get to the business of repairing the damaged that has been inflicted on the country. Rather than placing blame, let the government fix the issues. When the citizens start seeing a government who is willing to take full responsibility for the nation, they will become more tolerant of the hardship they are facing. When we are sure of light at the end of the tunnel through clear and focused economic blueprint, our criticisms and complain will reduce.
I believe most Nigerians understand the enormity of the situation we are in, but those of us who supported the President at the last election equally believed that the President has the capacity to bring about a turnaround for the nation. It is therefore that capacity to deliver that is being called upon and nothing more.
Oni, a Chartered Accountant, writes from Mowe, Ogun State.
You Can’t Move Forward in a Reverse Gear
Are you still bound by your past mistakes? Is that failure still holding you back? Are you keeping to yourself because of that last hurtful relationship? Are you afraid of investing again because of the last failed investment? Or you have become distrustful due to the betrayal you suffered in the hands of that trusted fellow? Or perhaps you have been dwelling on that last success so much that you don’t want to try new things?
Hear this, nobody travels in a reverse gear. A driver drives facing the front windscreen and not the rear screen. As long as you keep looking into the past, you are driving in a reverse gear and that only takes you to one destination, BACKWARD. If you want to move forward, you must face the future and put the past behind you.
The only business you have in the past is to draw from the lessons of your failures or successes. This is why your eyes are in the front and not behind. You are to look forward and move towards new goals. You have no business in the past.
It is therefore time to get out of reverse gear and engage the drive gear. No matter how bad the past may have been, the future holds a lot of opportunities and promises, they are only waiting for you to walk into them.
God bless us all.
Good morning!
Happy Independence Day
As we mark our 56th year of independence, let us find time to pray for our nation, Nigeria, that God will set us on the path of greatness, help us to play our roles in building a great nation and give our leaders wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
Nigeria will be great again by God’s Grace.
God bless us all. Happy Independence Day!
Good morning!
What drives you?
We all have motivating factor(s) driving us and making us to leave the comfort of our beds every new morning. For some it is money, for some it is power, fame for some people, success for some and passion for some.
What drives a man will determine how far he will go. For instance, all things being equal, a vehicle with a full tank of fuel will travel farther than a motorcycle with a full tank of fuel. They can both convey from one place to the other, but with different capacity. One can go further than the other.
The same principle applies to our lives. The factor driving you will determine how far you will go in life. If it is money, you will likely get tired when the money is no longer flowing. If it is fame, when your fame goes down, you will likely give up. If it is power, when power changes hand you will go into hiding. If it is a relationship with someone, what happens if you lose the person?
The only driver that is guaranteed of driving one till death is Purpose. If you are being driven by purpose, your ‘well of passion’ will be continually full. Whether strong or weak, rich or poor, you will always want to pursue your purpose. This is why living ‘by and for’ purpose is extremely important.
Don’t live an ordinary life, pursuing money, wealth, fame and material things. Live a purposeful life and all these other things will be added unto you.
God bless us all.
Good morning!
Missing in Action?
Are you feeling like you have been kept in the cooler? Feeling like you are missing in action? Every good football player always wants to be fielded in every match, barring injury or booking suspension.
There are times the coach will keep a fit player on the bench. Coaches do this for so many reasons. Sometimes they could be keeping the player for a particular match or towards the end of the game in a match, especially when such players are game changers. Other times, it could be punishment for a misbehaviour, or to avoid exposing the player to injuries while playing.
Likewise, life sometimes keeps us on the bench and we become angry and frustrated. For similar reasons, you may be kept on the bench of life for a particular purpose and season. Do not despair. You may have sustained some serious injuries too, unknowing to you and if you continue, you will just crash. Sometimes it is as a result of our mistakes.
Whichever one is the situation, the bench is not a permanent position, you will soon resume back to actions. While you are on the bench, keep learning, keep equipping yourself and stay prepared. You may be called to action anytime. Don’t fret, it is just a phase.
God bless us all.
Good morning!
Dangers of Unforgiveness
Our world today is filled with vengeful, hurting and hate-filled people. This is manifesting in different forms among which are divorces, acid baths, genital mutilations, suicides and murders, etc and behind most of these is unforgiveness.
Both young and old are becoming victims of unforgiveness, either not forgiving others or themselves. What the unforgiving people do not know is that they are the real victims and not those they are having issues with.
Unforgiveness is unhealthy both medically and spiritually.
“Unforgiveness is classified in medical books as a disease. According to Dr. Steven Standiford, chief of surgery at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, refusing to forgive makes people sick and keeps them that way.
With that in mind, forgiveness therapy is now being used to help treat diseases, such as cancer.”(CBN News).
Of all cancer patients, 61 percent have forgiveness issues, and of those, more than half are severe, according to research by Dr. Michael Barry, a pastor and the author of the book, The Forgiveness Project.
“Harboring these negative emotions, this anger and hatred, creates a state of chronic anxiety,” he said.
“Chronic anxiety very predictably produces excess adrenaline and cortisol, which deplete the production of natural killer cells, which is your body’s foot soldier in the fight against cancer,” he explained.
Spiritually, you can invite evil thoughts into your life through unforgiveness. For as long as you also harbour unforgiveness in your heart, you are cut off from the throne of Grace and Mercy. Your prayers can’t be answered. Mark 11:25-26.
Don’t cheat yourself through unforgiveness. You are the real victim of unforgiveness.
God bless us all.
Good morning!
adewumioni 