Understanding God: How to Become a Hotcake

O You who hear prayer, To You all flesh will come.
– Psalm 65:2

In life, business and other pursuits, the value you bring to the table is proportionate to the patronage you enjoy, which in turn determines your greatness as an individual, or profitability as an organisation. No one exists for him/herself alone; we are all made for each other. The same way no company is set up to cater to its own needs alone. Each firm has the consumers in mind, and most of its activities are geared toward soliciting or retaining the customers.

The greatness of an individual is determined by the number of persons he is able to influence, the same way a corporate institution derives its relevance from the number of clientele it is able to serve satisfactorily.

Now let’s bring this home by considering God, the Creator of the universe and everything therein. As of today, the world’s population is estimated to be over seven billion people. And considering that a large percentage of that population acknowledges the supremacy of God and professes allegiance to Him, that means God must be big!

But, mind you, God is not sought for His own sake alone. If anything, most of us seek God because of what we can get from Him, as against what we can give to Him. The Psalmist lends credence to this verity by saying that all flesh come to God because He hears prayers. We seek God because He is able to meet our expectations. That is why He is much sought after by the seconds all over.

This is a lesson for us. You have to add value to people for them to seek you. The more people you are able to create value for, the more patronage you will get, the more your spheres of influence will increase, and the more prosperous you will become.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Reason You are Going Through Times

Author Unknown

There was a group of women in a Bible Study on the book of Malachi. As they were studying chapter three, they came across verse three, which says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.” This verse puzzled the women and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of them offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study. That week, this woman called up a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot. Then she thought again about the verse that says, “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”

He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when I see my image in it.”

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has His eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Meditation: My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. – James 1:2-4

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Letter – A Story About Human Kindness

This is a story about human kindness and hospitality, even to strangers.

Ruth went to her mailbox and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.

She read the letter:

Dear Ruth,

I’m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I’d like to stop by for a visit.

Love Always,

Jesus

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. “Why would the Lord want to visit me? I’m nobody special. I don’t have anything to offer.” With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets.

“Oh my goodness, I really don’t have anything to offer. I’ll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.” She reached for her purse and counted out its contents: five dollars and forty cents.

“Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.” She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk leaving Ruth with a grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meagre offerings tucked under her arm.

“Hey lady, can you help us, lady?” Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans; she hadn’t even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.

“Look lady, I ain’t got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it’s getting cold and we’re getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we’d really appreciate it.”

Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and, frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.

“Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.”

“Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway.” The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.

“Sir, wait!” The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. “Look, why don’t you take this food. I’ll figure out something else to serve my guest.” She handed the man her grocery bag.

“Thank you, lady. Thank you very much!”

“Yes, thank you!” It was the man’s wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering.

“You know, I’ve got another coat at home. Here, why don’t you take this one.” Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman’s shoulders.

Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street…without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest. “Thank you, lady! Thank you very much!”

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn’t have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox.

“That’s odd. The mailman doesn’t usually come twice in one day.” She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.

Dear Ruth,

It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat.

Love Always,

Jesus

The air was still cold. But even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.– Hebrews 13:2

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Why Go to Church

– Author Unknown

A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me I can’t remember a single one of them. So I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”

This started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column, much to the delight of the editor.

It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: “I’ve been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me those meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”

Meditation: How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification. – 1 Corinthians 14:26

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

The Ambassador of Christ

This is a true story about being a good ambassador of Christ in every situation and representing Him well wherever we find ourselves.

Several years ago, a preacher from out-of-state accepted a call to a church in Houston, Texas. Some weeks after he arrived, he had an occasion to ride the bus from his home to the downtown area.

When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him a quarter too much change. As he considered what to do, he thought to himself, “You’d better give the quarter back. It would be wrong to keep it.”

Then he thought, “Oh, forget it, it’s only a quarter. Who would worry about this little amount? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a ‘gift from God’ and keep quiet.”

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door, then he handed the quarter to the driver and said, “Here, you gave me too much change…”

The driver, with a smile, replied, “Aren’t you the new preacher in town?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what you would do if I gave you too much change. I’ll see you at church on Sunday.”

When the preacher stepped off the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on, and groaned, “Oh God! I almost sold your Son for a quarter!”

Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a really scary example of how much people watch us as Christians, and will put us to the test!  Always be on guard – and remember – you carry the name of Christ on your shoulders when you call yourself  ‘Christian.’

– Author Unknown

Meditation: So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is like God is calling to people through us. – 2 Corinthians 5:20 (ERV)

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

How You’re Forgiven

Author Unknown

Come now, and let us reason together,” Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

– Isaiah 1:18

One rainy afternoon, I was driving along one of the main streets of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick.

Suddenly my daughter spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. “Dad, I’m thinking of something.”

This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had discovered. I was eager to hear.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“The rain!” she began, “is like sin, and the windshield wipers are like God wiping our sins away.”

After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. “That’s really good.”

Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take this revelation? So I asked…

“Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?”

She didn’t hesitate one moment with her answer: “We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us.”

I will always remember this whenever I turn my wipers on.

The truth is God is more interested in pardoning our sins than in keeping the record of our wrongdoings. He is not judgemental of our actions, neither does He set out to dog our steps until we commit a sin so that He can pounce on us. That is not God.

Even when we reject His counsel and do things our own way, in addition to the agony of our rejection, He is also more pained by the consequences of our sins than we can ever be. That is why He is ever eager to forgive anyone who comes to Him with a sincere and repentant heart.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Where Do You Seek Help?

Challenges and trials are part of life, only the dead and inanimate don’t have them. We face various life situations that test our faith, maturity, endurance, skills, and expertise. But when the storms of life come billowing, do you fight or take a flight? When the vicissitudes of life become overwhelming, where do you turn for help?

Our answers to these questions are critical to how we fare in life: if you are the type that analyses a challenge and then tackles it headlong, rather than avoiding or running away from it, each encounter will certainly build up your maturity, spirituality, dignity, fortitude, and confidence; whereas, each time you take a flight and avoid a challenge constitutes a debit from your confidence and self-esteem. So, the best course to take is to fight it out. But, ensure you take the time to first analyse the situation, know how best to confront it, when to take it on, and what resources you need to realistically achieve your aim.

In the event where you are overwhelmed by the vicissitudes of life, such that you are feeling drowned, it is always good to look beyond yourself and reach out for help. While it is advisable to seek help from experts in the area of your challenge or from an enlightened significant other, you should not discountenance also seeking the help of God. In the case of humans, you can only be helped to the extent of the resources available to the person you run to. But God has unlimited resources and He has monopoly of solutions. He had solved innumerable challenges since humans started becoming conscious of them; and He hasn’t stopped. So you get the advantage of experience, expertise and formidability when you run to God. Nothing fazes Him; everything thaws in His presence. He is just a prayer away; why not tell Him about the issue now?

Meditation: Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You. When my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. –Psalm 61:1-2

You will succeed in Jesus Name!