Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Poverty Is Of The Mind

 

Poverty is of the mind. It is not necessarily those things you do not have that make you poor, but the frustrations and other negative dispositions of the heart toward them which prevent them from coming to you.

-Babatunde Oladele

Everything You Have Done


 “Everything you have done” is a reflection of all that you are.

Every step you have taken was necessary to get you to this point in time.

Even the times you felt lost and alone helped to build your integrity and bolster your self-image.

If these times are a challenge and you’re feeling down, remember the journey that took you to this place.

“Everything you have done” on this long and twisted road through life, had to have happened in order for you to be all you are today.

Do I believe in destiny, fate or choice?

Choice.

It is by far the greatest gift, next to the ability to love and be loved, that God has given us.

Yes, He has plans for you. Greater plans than you could ever imagine, but He also has expectations. Thus the gift of choice.

“Everything you have done” or will do, either adds to your potential or delays the fulfilment of His desire for you.

If you could make a map of the journey of your life, it may appear to you that you have travelled a long distance and yet, not gotten very far.

Stop comparing the world’s standards to your accomplishments and see what God sees.

“Everything you have done” has brought you here. It is, my friend, a good place to be. For if you are at the lowest point in your life, thus far, you can celebrate.

From here, this very day, you can do anything you believe you can do. Finish school, start a business, become an artist, become a doctor, a lawyer, a farmer, a teacher, first by understanding that believing is half the journey to becoming all you were created to be and thoughtful planning and action is the vehicle to get you there.

Excuses are the signs on a dead end road.

Finally accepting yourself, sometimes takes a lifetime. But know that, by doing so, you honor the God who created you.

Go now, with “everything you have done,” and finish the work that was started at the moment you were conceived.

Please know, my friend…”I believe in you!”

By Bod Perks

Meditation: And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. – Romans 8:28


You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Vantage Point

 


There is a certain vantage point from which you can only recognise opportunities; there are certain dispositions you must have before you can utilise opportunities.

– Babatunde Oladele

It’s All About Perspectives



It’s All About Perspectives

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were.

The boy recognised his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. “I wrote: ‘Today is a beautiful day; but I cannot see it.‘”

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign reminded people how fortunate they were to have their sight.

Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?


Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.

When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile.

Face your past without regret.

Handle your present with confidence.

Prepare for the future without fear.

Keep the faith and drop the fear.

It’s a beautiful thing to see a person smiling. But even more beautiful is knowing that you are the reason for the smile!

Faith is not about everything turning out OK. Faith is about being OK no matter how things turn out.


– Author Unknown

Meditation: And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! – Mark 6:2

You will succeed in Jesus Name!

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

We will Never Serve Your God!


We will Never Serve Your God!

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!

— Author Unknown


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!

Passing the Buck

 

Inasmuch as it is fitting not to pass the buck, there are legitimate occasions when the buck must be passed for corporate good and whoever it is passed to must accept it in good faith in the spirit of collective responsibility and move on

Monday, May 1, 2023

Life Without God

Life Without God

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.”

– Author Unknown


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!