Wasted Investment

Author Unknown

I recently watched a movie called “Zero Account”.

From the quality of the movie, I was already discouraged. As the movie progressed the Lord open my eyes to see a deeper meaning. A devoted Christian was going on a journey. In the bus, he was with some unbelievers and unfortunately there was a crash. Of all the passengers in the bus, he was the only one that died while some of the unbelievers left that same bus without so much as a scratch.

The Pastor of his church was so bitter that he cried unto God asking why he would take him at his young age and leave the unbelievers. At that instant, an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in human form and showed him the life of the young man after death. The young man was taken to hell with an angel of the Lord. While they were there, the angel told him that his life was a wasted investment unto God and because of him so many people had been cast away in hell. He was surprised.

A demon arose and called his roommate in the university. It was shown that his roommate wanted him to show him the way of God on the night he was to be initiated into a cult group, but he said he couldn’t because he was late for fellowship. That same night his roommate was killed during the initiation by a rival cult. He never got to hear the word of God from him.

The demon called another name and a woman came forward. She was his close friend during his youth service year. People even used to call them husband and wife. So many times she invited him to clubs and parties, but never did he invite her to church. On the last day of camp on their way going home, she saw a tract in the cab they boarded. The outline said “Jesus the way, the truth, and the life”. She begged him to explain to her, but he was angry because he lost his flash drive at the stadium. Even when they got to their destination she kept on begging him to tell her more, but he refused and promised to call her the next day. She left sad and distraught. On her way home alone, she had an accident and she died. She also died without the knowledge of Christ from him.

Once again, the demon called out another name. His own biological sister came out. He was shocked. He was already in tears when he saw the others, but when he saw his sister he wept uncontrollably. She lived a wayward life, always drinking and partying. He always condemned her, but he never introduced her to Christ. She had an abortion one day and it went wrong. On the hospital bed, someone came to preach to her, but he sent the person out. Even in pains she begged him for forgiveness and for him to preach to her, but he turned deaf ears to her pleas.

On that same bed, she lost her life without the knowledge of Christ. After these three people had given their accounts, he wept bitterly because he had so many opportunities to preach to them but he didn’t. Their blood was on his hands. After this was done, the angel took him to Heaven, to the hall of judgment where they met another angel. The Angel explained to him that for everyone that didn’t go to hell, they would come to the hall of judgment before they would be given access to Heaven where their works would be tested in fire to check the quality. Those whose works had strong content and good foundation, their works would remain. But those whose works had no tangible content, it would be burnt completely in the fire.

When his works was tested, it was burnt completely. He was shocked. The moral is this: You can serve God from January till December, you can pray 24/7, you can go on an all year fasting, you can clean the church with your body day in day out, you can speak all the tongues known to man and in the spirit, BUT if you do not evangelize and preach the word of God, all you’ve done is nothing.

Even a sinner can attend service and clean the church. The primary function of a Christian on earth is to bear fruits. In the story above, the young man didn’t fulfill purpose, he didn’t preach the gospel. He did NOTHING!!! Absolutely nothing. He was a wasted investment because he didn’t impact any life on earth.

Meditation: Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’ – Ezekiel 33:11

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

An Effective Insulator from Sin

Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
– Psalm 119:11

Sin costs us a lot of things. Although it may seem pleasurable at the point of committing it, but the consequences of sin is usually undesirable, the harvest more grievous than the seed, and the impact of the consequences far-reaching. “Had I known…” is the common statement that follows the consequences of sin.

A whole nation has been wiped away in biblical or classical history because of their wrongdoings, not to talk of people dying by the day because of sins. God had decreed that the wages of sin is death; not that He rejoices in the death of sinners, His heart’s desire is always that all may come to repentance and be reconciled to Him. Oftentimes, the death that results from sin may not be physical. It could be spiritual, emotional, marital, academic, career, death of a dream, financial, etc.

However, because God does not desire the death of anyone in whatever form, He has offered us a lifeline to help us live above sin. True, it is very hard for a mortal to live without sinning. But, it is not impossible. That is perhaps the reason God inspired the Psalmist to affirm that by diligently internalising the word of God, he would not sin against God.

In other words, he is saying that by making time and effort to ingest the word, he had apprised himself with the knowledge of the moral will of God concerning various matters of life, so that when he needed to take an action, he would not sin against God. By having a working knowledge of the word, thereby knowing the will of God, he was insulating himself from the lures of sin. That means he was insuring himself from the different forms of death that come on account of sin. The Bible is the book where the total will of God can be accessed, maybe we should treat it as the Psalmist did.

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

We will Never Serve Your God!

Author Unknown

At her father’s funeral, the pastor’s daughter (who was a prostitute) watched and listened as church members described all the wonderful deeds done by the pastor of 10,000 capacity church with worldwide television ministry.

They spoke about his care, love, generosity, miracles, signs and wonders and tenderness when he was alive. After the funeral, the daughter of the late pastor asked her siblings and her mother, “Who was that man those people were talking about at the funeral? Is he the same man that raised us? They must be telling lies!”

All the children, including Jack (a drug addict), agreed that the people were telling lies. But their mother said they were not lying.

“Your father was a good pastor, but a bad husband and bad father. He groomed and grew the church but left his family groaning. Fire was in his bone to work for God, but love, affection and intimacy were not in his mind for his family.

“I was his wife, the church was his mistress. He loved the mistress and abandoned his wife. He won the church, but lost his family. What a shame!”

The children later wrote and placed on his tomb:

Dad, you pastored and nurtured them but abandoned us.

Dad, you did a lot of revival programmes, but your family is never revived.

Dad, you counseled them, but we lived without counsel.

Dad, you were a shepherd, but we lived without a pasture; you showed them love, but we lived in the desert of affection.

Dad, you were a successful pastor, counselor, but a total failure as a husband and father.

Dad, we hardly know that you are dead, because you were never there for us.

This one thing we promise you, we will never serve your God!

Meditation: But if anyone does not provide [love, affection, counsel, guidance, discipline, intimacy, mentorship, etc] for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. – 1 Timothy 5:8

You will succeed because Jesus loves You!

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!