Thursday, 10 March 2016

Monday, 10 November 2014

TODAY’S NUGGET: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH “DEATH”?

TODAY’S NUGGET: WHAT DO YOU DO WITH “DEATH”?




While still sipping from the refreshing and reassuring cup of God’s comfort over the death of a church member that passed away shortly after the delivery of a new born baby, another tragedy hits—world class!

Perhaps you have not heard, but Dr Myles Munroe, his wife, his daughter and 6 other people died in a plane crash just yesterday. Very sad.

The man, I must say, influenced my life in many ways, especially in radically transforming my relationship mentality by giving me a paradigm shift—by his message titled “The Myth of Singleness”.

The rather interesting thing is that he was supposed to be hosting a Global Leadership Forum starting today. (He was about landing in the city for the conference when the crash occurred). On his website, he uploaded a one-minute video advert which he recorded in his own voice, and the advert ended with these words: “...COME, I’LL SEE YOU THERE”.

Yes, the Leadership forum is still going to hold as I saw on his official facebook page minutes ago (because that’s what he would have wanted), BUT HE WON’T BE SEEN THERE.

I shared a picture nugget from a message I preached last Sunday in which I said “One of the most painful realities of God’s Sovereignty is that NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE PRAY, NOT EVERYONE WILL LIVE LONG!” How true!

But what do we do with death?

YOU CAN CHOOSE TO BE AFRAID OF IT. Pray all you can against it and transfer your fears to the next generation by letting your children watch you grieve hopelessly about the departed ones (and I can bet you, as long as Jesus tarries, that prayer will not be answered one last time).

YOU CAN CHOOSE TO IGNORE THE REALITY. Live like there is no tomorrow.

Or YOU CAN CHOOSE TO CELEBRATE THE DEATH OF DEATH IN YOUR LIFE. That, I did.

How, you ask? I WROTE MY OWN OBITUARY...7 years ago! I came to a point where I MADE A DECISION!

·        I made a decision that assured me that death will not be my end, but the beginning of my very best!
·        I made a decision that assured me that heaven awaits!
·        I made a decision that gave me the confidence that the angels that had been given charge to keep me in all my ways will never fail—at best, they will carry me to the waiting embrace of my dad...at the appointed time.
·        I made a decision to make my death day, in fact, a birth date!
·        I made a decision that got me sealed...with the assurance that Jesus is coming back for me—and He has got the keys of death and hades.

Have you made that decision? Dr Myles did. His countless works will outlive him! 69 books, and countless contributions to other printed works will outlive him. He made his life count!

Make your life count. Embrace Jesus!

“It's IN CHRIST that you, once you HEARD the truth and BELIEVED it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves HOME FREE—SIGNED, SEALED, and DELIVERED by the Holy Spirit…the first installment on what's coming, a reminder that WE'LL GET EVERYTHING God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.” (Ephesians 1:13-14 MSG)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myles_Munroe

Adieu, Dr Myles Munroe.


With love, a protégé 

Monday, 3 November 2014

What You Might Have Been Missing...

These quotes are excerpts from yesterday's Message in Church titled "WHAT YOU MIGHT HAVE BEEN MISSING".
It's a message that focused on rediscovering and living the pentecostal experience, focusing on the Great Advantages the Holy Spirit brings to the life of the believer and stir up a willingness to give expression to them...maximising the power IN us.
Feel free to share...

 Have a blessed week!





Saturday, 1 November 2014

TODAY’S NUGGET: the FIRST DAY of the ELEVENTH MONTH… (Deut 1:3~)



Deuteronomy 1:3,6-8,11,21,33

“And it came to pass in the fortieth year, IN THE ELEVENTH MONTH, ON THE FIRST [DAY] OF THE MONTH, [that] … The LORD our God spake … saying, YE HAVE DWELT LONG ENOUGH IN THIS MOUNT: … take your journey, and GO … TO THE LAND OF THE CANAANITES … Behold, I have set the land before you: GO IN AND POSSESS THE LAND … (The LORD God of your fathers make you A THOUSAND TIMES SO MANY MORE as ye [are], and BLESS YOU, as he hath promised you!) Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: GO UP [AND] POSSESS [IT] … FEAR NOT, neither be discouraged. (For GOD HAS GONE) … IN THE WAY BEFORE YOU, to search you out a place to pitch your tents [in], … to shew you by what way ye should go …

The message is clear, right?

You’ve dwelt long enough at this juncture. Embrace God’s fulfillment season by stepping into your promised land!

~Take the leap!
~Start the trade.
~Record the single.
~Publish the book.
~Join that assembly.
~Say yes to that brother.
~Attend Daystar’s 2014 ELC.

Do whatever it takes to step into your promised land. And while you are at it, embrace these two advantages:

1.      GO WITH GOD. When you carry His presence, the red sea will flee and even Jordan will be driven back (Psalm 114:3).
2.      DO NOT REJECT THE COMFORT OFFERED. Don’t be another stupid entity like that Pharaoh … His whole land had been covered with frogs—their cooking pots and beds were not spared—yet, when offered to fix the date of relief, he prefers to spend ONE MORE NIGHT with the frogs!

Don’t be dense. If there’s any such frogs that need be evacuated from your life, tonight is a good time. In fact, NOW is the best time. Sorry for sounding urgent, but why not deal with those frogs NOW, before you scroll on?

Don’t know how? I’ll help you. Let’s pray. You and me. I’ll show you the way; you fill in the blanks.

Precious Father, I praise your name. You have reclaimed so much in my life. I was lost, and you found me. I was confused, and you guided me. I had nothing to offer, but still you loved me.

I confess that I still need help. My life needs your touch. Satan has brought frogs to saturate a room in my heart with discomfort … and the morbidity is fast spreading. Don’t let him win. Make my heart come alive again! I’ll give you the glory.

Father, specifically, here are the frogs I need you to evacuate from my life TONIGHT __________________.

(And this is the place where I step out. I’ll leave you and God to talk over the details).

Where there is pain, I wish you peace and mercy.
Where there is self-doubting, I wish you a renewed confidence in your ability to walk through it.
Where there is tiredness or exhaustion, I wish you understanding, patience, and renewed strength.
Where there is fear, I wish you love and courage.


Welcome to your month of #Fulfillment.

Friday, 31 October 2014

The EVER-PRESENTNESS of God



***Not less than ten people had invited me to a Praise/Gratitude challenge at different times in the last couple of months. Even though I hadn’t responded to any of the challenge the way the invitees expected, this post seeks to fulfill a part of the Praise Challenge.

Chief on my #ReasonsForPraise list is the “ever-presentness” of God!

The psalmist chanted it… “God is … a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1).
I discovered it two mornings ago as I stood in a cemetery, flanked on either sides by countless tombs…

“God, in all of these, where are You”, I asked. “I AM!” He responded. Just two words “I AM!” Moses heard it first… “tell them that I AM sent you” (Exodus 3:14).

What a response! Think about it. When we say “I am,” we always add another word.

“I am clean.”
“I am happy.”
“I am strong.”
“I am Joseph.” 

God, however, starkly states, “I am” and adds nothing else. Jesus came and continued the mystery. "Before Abraham was born, 'I AM'." (John 8:58 GNB).

“You are what?” we want to ask. “I am,” He replies. God needs no descriptive word because He never changes. Yet, Jesus offered few descriptions for our simile-programmed minds:

·“I am God’s Son.” — John 10:36
·“I am the resurrection and the life.” — John 11:25
·“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” — John 14:6
·“I am the true vine.” — John 15:1

He is what He has always been. He speaks of Himself ONLY in the PRESENT TENSE! The “present-tense” God. He NEVER says, "I was." Never. His immutability motivated the psalmist to declare, “But thou art THE SAME” (Psalm 102:27 KJV).

Unlike us. We WERE younger, faster and prettier. We WERE less indebted and more innocent. We are proned to be a people of the past tense.

Not God. Health changes. The weather changes. Relationship status changes. But the Yahweh who ruled the earth last night is the same Yahweh who rules it today.

Same love.
Same plan.
Same mood.
Same convictions.

He never changes—a still point in a turning world.

He sleeps through storms and calms the winds with a word. Cancer does not trouble Him, and cemeteries—yes—cemeteries do not disturb Him. He’s here before they came. He’ll be here after they are gone.


From the center of each storm, the unwavering Jesus shouts, "I Am!" He’s bold against the Galilean waves…why not invite Him into yours?

ICU.
Ebola.
Debts.
UTME.
Battlefield.
Prison cell.
Boardroom.
Heartbreak.
Post UTME.
Boko Haram.
2015 elections.
Maternity ward—

…whatever your storms, He remains the "I am!"

Give Him praise—for there is His address!


***Your turn: what’s topmost on your #ReasonsForPraise list? (Drop it as a comment…let’s saturate this page with His praise!)

Sunday, 26 October 2014

I’M A JOYFUL SLAVE!






The other day, a sincerely perplexed friend asked me:

"Some believers do say CHRISTIANS are SLAVES to JESUS. Most times, I counter it that I'm NOT a slave but a real child of God. Please enlighten me, which is true? Are we really slaves to Jesus?"

I doubt if she’ll be the first to ask that question. Here’s my response…

Checking the meaning of the word "slave" will be a good point to start... I found these:
  • someone who is EXCESSIVELY DEPENDENT UPON AND CONTROLLED BY another.
  • a legal property of someone (the master) who must be obeyed.


So sieve your question through that filter.

  • Are Christians not supposed to be excessively dependent on Jesus? Jesus said “you can do nothing without me” (John 15:5 GNB).
  • Are Christians not supposed to be controlled by the Spirit of Christ? Paul said “Those who are led by God's Spirit are God's children” (Romans 8:14 GNB).
  • Are believers not legal properties of Christ? Paul said “You do not belong to yourselves but to God; he bought you for a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20 GNB).


Some of the apostles identified themselves as "bondslaves" of Christ. (In their culture, bondslaves are the most hopeless of slaves...lol). Paul, in his letter to the Romans introduced himself as “a devoted slave of Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:1 MSG).

My perception is that, you're scared to be identified as a slave, no thanks to our cultural understanding of slavery (a visit to Badagry slave port will worsen that understanding). But my encouragement to you is to understand that it's one thing to be a slave to a task-master, it's another thing to be a slave to Love!

Being a slave to Christ is the ONLY realm where SLAVERY is an equivalent of SONSHIP and HEIRSHIP—CO-HEIRSHIP, as a matter of fact!

No honour could be greater, my Dear.

I’m a SLAVE—WE are slaves, happily so, gladly so, who have been bought out of another slavery, the slavery to sin and death and hell. We have been bought and redeemed from the slave market of souls under the power and authority of the devil himself. We have become God’s own purchased possession. He has made us not just slaves but sons, not just sons but joint heirs, not just joint heirs but rulers who will reign with Him forever and upon whom all the glories of eternity will be showered.

We are slaves who are loved. We are slaves who are beloved by our master.

Happy Sunday!