Friday, October 6, 2017

Top 12 Offenses Christians Commit in Church

Author Unknown
Below are some offensive things some people do in church. Perhaps, you would find one or more you are guilty of and adjust as appropriate.
  1. Constantly looking at your wristwatch to check the time: Most people are guilty of this. Once the sermon is getting too long, they begin to take glances at the wristwatch, praying the service would come to an end quickly.
  2. Chewing gums: Have you ever sat near someone in church who is chewing gum like a cow chewing cud? You know how annoying that can be. Some even go as far as making silly sounds and blowing bubbles.
  3. Receiving calls, pinging and texting: This is pure disrespect for God! As if it’s not bad enough that your phone rings out during service, you will now go ahead to pick the call. You see some people pinging and texting away during service. This is just so wrong. Would you be pinging if your boss was talking to you? God deserves more respect.
  4. Wearing party clothes to church: There are clothes meant for church. You shouldn’t wear your skimpy and revealing clothes to church. Just because the church allows you the freedom to be comfortable doesn’t mean you have to take it for granted.
  5. Taking selfie during service: This applies mostly to the ladies. They are the ones who like to take photos of peoples outfit and hairstyles for fun or because they also want to make that style.
  6. Sleeping and snoring during sermons: It’s funny when you spot people sleeping, snoring and falling over their neighbours. You might be tired and all, but try and keep your eyes open. It’s just for a little while and you will be in your bed.
  7. Coming late: Some people are in the habit of coming to church when the sermon is about to start or halfway into the service. Some give the excuse of not being able to get their children ready on time. During school days, how do you manage to get them to school before 8a.m.? If you can get them to school early and if you can get to your place of work early, you can also get to church early.
  8. Gisting during service: Most people engage in silly chit-chat while the service is going on, not paying attention to to the pastor and they end up missing out.
  9. Keeping your eyes open during prayers to watch how others are praying: Close your eyes and pray your own so that your miracle doesn’t pass you by. Stop watching others.
  10. Public display of affection: We understand you love your spouse a lot, but can you keep the petting till you are out of the church? It could be distracting to those around you.
  11. Reading newspapers and magazines. Some men do this during sermons and prayers. Why come to church if that can’t wait till you get home!
  12. Jotting the pastor or speaker’s grammatical errors: Some people do this to keep themselves busy. Instead of listening to get the message, they pay attention to get all the errors the pastor will make.
Men and brethren would you blow bubbles or make noise with your gum if you were standing in a court of law, and in front of a judge? Would you pick your calls when your boss is talking to you? If your answer is no, then you shouldn’t do it in God’s presence. God deserves RESPECT and HONOUR.
Spit out your gum, turn off your cell phone, check that you’re appropriately dressed and make the most of the precious little time you have to spend in the presence of God.
Meditation: God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be held in reverence by all those around Him. – Psalm 89:7
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Thursday, October 5, 2017

What’s the Point?

– Author Unknown
In January 2000, leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina, invited their favourite son, Billy Graham, to a luncheon in his honour. Billy initially hesitated to accept the invitation because of his struggles with Parkinson’s disease. But the Charlotte leaders said, ‘We don’t expect a major address. Just come and let us honour you.’ So Billy agreed.
After wonderful things were said about him, Dr Graham stepped to the rostrum, looked at the crowd, and said, “I’m reminded today of Albert Einstein, the great physicist who this month has been honoured by Time magazine as the Man of the Century.
Einstein was once travelling from Princeton on a train when the conductor came down the aisle, punching the tickets of every passenger. When he came to Einstein, Einstein reached in his vest pocket. He couldn’t find his ticket, so he reached in his trouser pockets. It wasn’t there, so he looked in his briefcase but couldn’t find it. Then he looked in the seat beside him. He still couldn’t find it.
The conductor said, ‘Dr. Einstein, I know who you are. We all know who you are. I’m sure you bought a ticket. Don’t worry about it.’
Einstein nodded appreciatively. The conductor then continued down the aisle punching tickets. As he was ready to move to the next car, he turned around and saw the great physicist down on his hands and knees looking under his seat for his ticket. The conductor rushed back and said, ‘Dr. Einstein, don’t worry, I know who you are. No problem. You don’t need a ticket. I’m sure you bought one.’
Einstein looked at him and said, ‘Young man, I too know who I am. What I don’t know is where I’m going.”
Having said that, Billy Graham continued: ‘See the suit I’m wearing? It’s a brand new suit. My children and my grandchildren are telling me I’ve gotten a little slovenly in my old age. I used to be a bit more fastidious. So I went out and bought a new suit for this luncheon and one more occasion. You know what that occasion is? This is the suit in which I’ll be buried, but when you hear I’m dead, I don’t want you to remember the suit I’m wearing. What I want you to remember is this: I not only know who I am. I also know where I’m going.”
“Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil – it has no point.”
Meditation: And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. – 1 Corinthians 15:19 (NLT)
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

The Power of ‘I Am Sorry’

Author Unknown
I am sorry, a short but mighty sentence!
If you wish to live long, don’t joke with this short sentence, ‘I am sorry’. Do you know how many people who had gone to an early grave because they neglected the therapeutic power of ‘I am sorry’?
Most of the troubles in most homes are heightened because wives are too big to say ‘I am sorry’ to their husbands and you can trust the ego of husbands in saying same to their wives.
Quarrel lingers between friends because no party wants to say ‘I am sorry’. Each says or asks, “Why should I be the first to say ‘I am sorry’?” He or she would beat his or her chest and utter the ego phrase, “a whole me!”
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the part of the world where saying ‘I am sorry’ is a hard nut to crack while curses are easily unleashed.
Welcome to the part of the world where people refer to a person who says ‘I am sorry’ in a midst of a rift as weak: one who is not man enough; one who is foolish.
Welcome to Africa, where saying ‘I am sorry’ is tougher than forcing a donkey to pass through a needle hole.
All of us are victims of this discussion. We have lost valuable assets, money and even lives because of this cheap and affordable sentence ‘I am sorry’. It simply cost only a breath of speech.
Have you ever wondered why domestic violence is less pronounced in the western world? It is simply because they understand the efficacy of ‘I am sorry’.
Husbands say it to their wives and even children whenever they err, wives and children do the same and life goes on fine.
Learn how to say ‘I AM SORRY’ even if you are right.
Meditation: He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. – Proverbs 28:13
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

The Lost Wallet

As I walked home one freezing day, I stumbled on a wallet someone had lost in the street. I picked it up and looked inside to find some identification so I could call the owner. But the wallet contained only three dollars and a crumpled letter that looked as if it had been in there for years.
The envelope was worn and the only thing that was legible on it was the return address. I started to open the letter, hoping to find some clue. Then I saw the dateline–1924. The letter had been written almost 60 years ago.
It was written in a beautiful feminine handwriting on powder blue stationery with a little flower in the left-hand corner. It was a “Dear John” letter that told the recipient, whose name appeared to be Michael, that the writer could not see him anymore because her mother forbade it. Even so, she wrote that she would always love him.
It was signed, Hannah.
It was a beautiful letter, but there was no way except for the name Michael, that the owner could be identified. Maybe if I called information, the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the envelope.
“Operator,” I began, “this is an unusual request. I’m trying to find the owner of a wallet that I found. Is there anyway you can tell me if there is a phone number for an address that was on an envelope in the wallet?”
She suggested I speak with her supervisor, who hesitated for a moment then said, “Well, there is a phone listing at that address, but I can’t give you the number.” She said, as a courtesy, she would call that number, explain my story and would ask them if they wanted her to connect me.
I waited a few minutes and then she was back on the line. “I have a party who will speak with you.”
I asked the woman on the other end of the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped, “Oh! We bought this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was 30 years ago!”
“Would you know where that family could be located now?” I asked.
“I remember that Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home some years ago,” the woman said. “Maybe if you got in touch with them they might be able to track down the daughter.”
She gave me the name of the nursing home and I called the number. They told me the old lady had passed away some years ago but they did have a phone number for where they thought the daughter might be living.
I thanked them and phoned. The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home.
This whole thing was stupid, I thought to myself. Why was I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a wallet that had only three dollars and a letter that was almost 60 years old?
Nevertheless, I called the nursing home in which Hannah was supposed to be living and the man who answered the phone told me, “Yes, Hannah is staying with us.”
Even though it was already 10 p.m., I asked if I could come by to see her. “Well,” he said hesitatingly, “if you want to take a chance, she might be in the day room watching television.”
I thanked him and drove over to the nursing home. The night nurse and a guard greeted me at the door. We went up to the third floor of the large building. In the day room, the nurse introduced me to Hannah.
She was a sweet, silver-haired oldtimer with a warm smile and a twinkle in her eye. I told her about finding the wallet and showed her the letter. The second she saw the powder blue envelope with that little flower on the left, she took a deep breath and said, “Young man, this letter was the last contact I ever had with Michael.”
She looked away for a moment deep in thought and then said softly, “I loved him very much. But I was only 16 at the time and my mother felt I was too young. Oh, he was so handsome. He looked like Sean Connery, the actor.”
“Yes,” she continued. “Michael Goldstein was a wonderful person. If you should find him, tell him I think of him often. And,” she hesitated for a moment, almost biting her lip, “tell him I still love him. You know,” she said smiling as tears began to well up in her eyes, “I never did marry. I guess no one ever matched up to Michael…”
I thanked Hannah and said goodbye. I took the elevator to the first floor and as I stood by the door, the guard there asked, “Was the old lady able to help you?”
I told him she had given me a lead. “At least I have a last name. But I think I’ll let it go for a while. I spent almost the whole day trying to find the owner of this wallet.”
I had taken out the wallet, which was a simple brown leather case with red lacing on the side. When the guard saw it, he said, “Hey, wait a minute! That’s Mr. Goldstein’s wallet. I’d know it anywhere with that bright red lacing. He’s always losing that wallet. I must have found it in the halls at least three times.”
“Who’s Mr. Goldstein?” I asked as my hand began to shake.
“He’s one of the oldtimers on the 8th floor. That’s Mike Goldstein’s wallet for sure. He must have lost it on one of his walks.” I thanked the guard and quickly ran back to the nurse’s office. I told her what the guard had said. We went back to the elevator and got on. I prayed that Mr. Goldstein would be up.
On the eighth floor, the floor nurse said, “I think he’s still in the day room. He likes to read at night. He’s a darling old man.”
We went to the only room that had any lights on and there was a man reading a book. The nurse went over to him and asked if he had lost his wallet. Mr. Goldstein looked up with surprise, put his hand in his back pocket and said, “Oh, it is missing!”
“This kind gentleman found a wallet and we wondered if it could be yours?”
I handed Mr. Goldstein the wallet and the second he saw it, he smiled with relief and said, “Yes, that’s it! It must have dropped out of my pocket this afternoon. I want to give you a reward.”
“No, thank you,” I said. “But I have to tell you something. I read the letter in the hope of finding out who owned the wallet.”
The smile on his face suddenly disappeared. “You read that letter?”
“Not only did I read it, I think I know where Hannah is.”
He suddenly grew pale. “Hannah? You know where she is? How is she? Is she still as pretty as she was? Please, please tell me,” he begged.
“She’s fine…just as pretty as when you knew her.” I said softly.
The old man smiled with anticipation and asked, “Could you tell me where she is? I want to call her tomorrow.” He grabbed my hand and said, “You know something, Mister? I was so in love with that girl that when that letter came, my life literally ended. I never married. I guess I’ve always loved her.”
“Mr. Goldstein,” I said, “Come with me.”
We took the elevator down to the third floor. The hallways were darkened and only one or two little night-lights lit our way to the day room where Hannah was sitting alone watching the television. The nurse walked over to her.
“Hannah,” she said softly, pointing to Michael, who was waiting with me in the doorway. “Do you know this man?”
She adjusted her glasses, looked for a moment, but didn’t say a word. Michael said softly, almost in a whisper, “Hannah, it’s Michael. Do you remember me?”
She gasped, “Michael! I don’t believe it! Michael! It’s you! My Michael!” He walked slowly towards her and they embraced. The nurse and I left with tears streaming down our faces.
“See,” I said. “See how the Good Lord works! If it’s meant to be, it will be.”
About three weeks later I got a call at my office from the nursing home. “Can you break away on Sunday to attend a wedding? Michael and Hannah are going to tie the knot!”
It was a beautiful wedding with all the people at the nursing home dressed up to join in the celebration. Hannah wore a light beige dress and looked beautiful. Michael wore a dark blue suit and stood tall. They made me their best man.
The hospital gave them their own room and if you ever wanted to see a 76-year-old bride and a 79-year-old groom acting like two teenagers, you had to see this couple.
A perfect ending for a love affair that had lasted nearly 60 years.
Meditation: I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. Eccl 3:14 (KJV)

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!!!

Monday, October 2, 2017

The Prodigal Couple

Author Unknown
A wife joined her husband in the bedroom. Their children were asleep. He was busy reading the newspaper.
She looked at him. “My love, there’s something I need to confess” she began to speak.
“What is it?” he asked without looking at her, his face still glued to the newspaper.
“I have been unfaithful” she said.
He looked at her with fiery eyes. He slapped her. For the first time in their marriage, he slapped her.
“How could you woman?! Seventeen years of marriage, four children and this is what you do to me? You cheat on me? How can you stoop so low?” he shouted.
He got up from the bed. He started pacing as he continued shouting, “You are the one who always tells me to keep off women. Out of respect, I keep females at a distance and you on the other hand do this?”
He was about to pounce on her and beat her. The sting of unfaithfulness enraged him. A knock was heard on the door. Their first born, Maria, a fourteen year old girl walked in their bedroom.
“Mom, dad; is everything OK?” Maria asked.
“Get out! Get out!” he shouted as his daughter.
“It’s OK Maria, dad and I will sort this out. Go to sleep.” She told their daughter.
Maria walked out of the bedroom.
“Who is it? Who have you been unfaithful with? Give me his phone number. He will know today who I am.” he shouted, trying to grab his wife’s phone. She gently took her phone.
“Show me his number. Show me his face. Filthy animal who is snatching my wife,” he shouted some more.
“This is the man I have been unfaithful with, ” she said, handing her husband the phone. He looked at the screen of her phone and saw his own face and phone number.
“Me?!” he asked, puzzled.
“Yes, I have been unfaithful with you. I have been unfaithful to God because I have been so busy loving you. In my effort to be a good wife, I have forgotten God” she said.
He sat down on the bed, confused.
“When you met me, I was so devoted to God. In fact, you used to tell me that the most important reason you chose me as your wife was because of my devotion to God. I loved the godly man you used to be. We would pray and plan on having a godly family together. I remember the days I would fast and pray and tell God that if He blesses me with a good job, I will dedicate my career to Him. God did bless me, God blessed you, God blessed us. We did so well professionally, we got good money, we could afford a good wedding. We got married,” she explained.
He looked at her intently.
She continued, “The first few months of our marriage, we would pray as a family, go to Church, have fellowships, worship and do Bible study. But slowly, we stopped living by that Scripture that says ‘as for me and my household we will serve the Lord.’ We started having children whom we failed to raise in a godly way. With success, we changed our friends. We found the born again friends boring. We started worshiping money, success and materials. Look at us now, we live in a big house but God is absent. You started taking me to ungodly places to have fun, we started drinking too much, our children are ashamed by our drinking.”
He looked away from her.
“In order to please you, I changed too; thinking that being a good wife means tagging along with everything you do. I didn’t confront you when you started going astray, I didn’t pull you back to God, I got lost with you. So lost, that I started becoming proud, shallow, self-centred; all along thinking I am being a good wife. But this is not me. I have changed so much from the woman you found. We both have changed much.”
He looked at her.
“All these; the good house, the good meals we eat, the money we have, the comfortable life; they have made us forget the God who gave them to us. I am nothing without God and I feel ashamed that I have abandoned the God responsible for all I am and have. We have started having troubles in our marriage, because the Lord is no longer building our love, we are doing it on our own and we will fail if we keep on like this.” She reached out and touched his hand.
“I want to go back to the woman I used to be. A woman after God’s own heart. I miss the peace that God gives. I miss worship. I miss reading the Word. I miss going to Church and fellowship. I miss meditating. I miss praying with you. What does it profit me to gain a good marriage yet lose my soul, my God? I am going back to God. Only as a wife submitted to God will I be the best wife to you and the best mother to our children. He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favour from God, but I cannot bring favour to you if I continue being disconnected from God. I want my spiritual life back. I want God back in our home, our marriage, our family.”
He started breaking down in tears. His spirit was convicted. He held her tightly in his arms.
“I am sorry. I am sorry for going astray and taking you with me. You chose to marry me because you thought you are marrying a godly man. I miss being that godly man. Marriage shouldn’t be a stumbling block in our walk with God. The thought of you cheating on me ripped my heart apart; I cannot even begin to imagine how God feels when we are unfaithful to Him. God having blessed us this much and we turn our backs on Him. At the thought of you cheating on me I was filled with rage, yet God patiently looks at us in our unfaithfulness desiring us to go back to Him. I want to go back too. I want more in my life than these earthly things, I want God. I want the God of my youth. I am so sorry for slapping you.”
That night, they knelt, repented and rededicated their lives and marriage to God. The prodigal couple came back to God. The next morning, they prayed together with their children. God returned back to that home, because that couple returned back to God.
Meditation: if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. – 2 Chronicles 7:14

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

Friday, September 29, 2017

Focus on the Most Important Part of You

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
– James 1:21
The soul is, perhaps, the most important part of humans. It is what scholars usually call ‘the real man,’ ‘the hidden man,’ or ‘the inner man.’
The body is essentially a cover for the soul. The soul is to the body, what the CPU is to a computer; it is the part of man that conditions behaviour, ideals, attitudes, performance, spirituality, etc. The physical demonstrations of these are only seen through the carriage of the body or other parts of it. That is why, after death, the body will decompose away, whereas the soul will move on to face divine judgement, which will land it either in heaven or the lake of fire; hence, the ageless questions.
It is a popular saying that regaining the souls of men is the heartbeat of God. God so much craves for fellowship with our souls every time, every day. The primary assignment of Jesus on earth was to reconcile the souls of humans to God. Most church teachings are geared towards refining the souls of the faithful, so that they can be amenable for connection with God.
Recent breakthroughs in surgery have shown that human parts can be transplanted. But not the soul, it can neither be seen nor transferred. But it is what defines each individual. 
Therefore, considering the transcending importance of the soul, we are charged in the scripture above to be receptive to the word of God because, more than anything else, it is able to save our souls from undesirable consequences.
You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Thursday, September 28, 2017

A Good Thing

– Author Unknown
May today there be peace within
May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be
May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith
May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.
May you be content knowing you are a child of God.
Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, and to bask in the sun.
It is there for each and every one of us.
Meditation: And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. – Romans 12:2
You will succeed in Jesus Name!