WHAT SHOULD I DO!

When the storms of life and heavy hails from above hit my way, when everything that I do does not work, that time when I try to rise and something heavy pushes me back down. In the middle of nowhere, in the place where it seems like I’m trapped and there is no hope for me to be rescued. When the days are dark and I have no lights with me, that time when all my friends and family are long gone away from me. What should I do? I am in the middle of a deep sea, I don’t know how to swim, I’ve been shouting SOS and it seems like my rescue chances are limited by 99.9%.

I’ve fasted so many times, casting my prayers upon the Lord, pouring my heart and soul to the great and Mighty God; however it seems like my supplications are just hitting the sky and come back strong and painful on me. I tried sharing what I have with everyone, giving my best to all, but I found myself left with nothing. I give myself time to the scriptures, seeking for knowledge, understanding and wisdom, but I don’t see it coming. I waited in the isle thinking that favour will come my way, but I only see troubles and shameful moments ahead of my path, what should I do?, it’s been long I’ve been at church but I haven’t seen progression.

What should I do my friend, tell me my brother, my sister, different prayers have been made for my life, I nearly got a bald on my head by the laying of hands from a pastor to a prophet, from an evangelist to a miracle performer. I’ve lost even the little capital I had by travelling from north to south, east to west looking for that thing I desire, for my breakthrough, for my prosperity. What should I do when all this have never been fruitful. Tell I and I will do it; I am as hungry as a hunting lion, ready to devour anything standing on my way. My life looks like a mess, but I know there is still one thing that I can do, you just have to say it out loudly and I will do it.

My life looks like a puzzle game; the numbers are way too complicated like they can’t be solved. What should I do? I have submitted my cv, I have applied to more than a thousand companies for a job but yet I got no replies, will I ever work, will I ever get an opportunity to explore my capabilities and to provide for my household, come on and tell me what should I do. Have I been made by a mistake, no I don’t think so, am I at the wrong place at the right time, I do not think so either, then why are thinks not working out, why am I trapped in a cage of worries and distress. I was born in poverty but I will never die poor, for I know that I am rich, however, what should I do to unleash the riches, to turn my situation into a solution, to turn this challenge of life into an opportunity of greatness. What should I do?

Who are you to judge the poor and condemn those that are weary and facing a lot of troubles, why are you so selfish to show them a way of prosperity. Why don’t you teach them the secret behind success? What makes a good Christian, is it money or fame, is it preaching or prophesying, I do not think so, then what it is? What should I do when the world and the church of God is full with pride and unreasonable people, unreliable individuals, those who seeks things only to profit them, those who don’t really care but pretend so, those who does things for human compliments forgetting that it is only God who has the reward for any good work.

When I am cast out by those I trust, the people of my tribe, when I am lost in the desert of life and not knowing the direction I should take. In the middle of distress and confusion, when I do not know where left or right is, when I am hungry and there is no food, when I want to go to school and there is no money, when I’ve looked all over for help and no one is interested, when I carried with me the curse of the past generations, what should I do? I really want to change my life, I really want to change my family’s situation and register prosperity in our line, but what should I do when everything I do always goes the opposite way.

Thank God I have an answer for you, LEAN ON GOD, worship Him for who He is, not what you think He will be. Glorify God for your life irrespective of what has happened or what is happening now. It is only God who can turn everything into your favour, pastors don’t know your purpose, God does, prophets don’t know why you were born, God does, evangelists don’t know why you were cursed, why your life is exactly like that, but God does. Stop wasting your money and time by running for miracles and wonders, stop trying to help God by doing the opposite of what you should be doing, and stop following the crowds into a pit. God’s timing is always the best and perfect, stop rushing things; you might get those that are not meant for you.

We are in this world altogether but we don’t really know how we came and how we will end, it only God who knows. I say to you, worship Him even when the thorns of your path are deeply painful, worship Him with that empty stomach, Worship Him with those tears and that broken heart, with all your disappointments. Worship Him even when you are rejected, cast out like a stranger, spoken badly by your own people or those you trust. You wanted to know what should you do, and exactly I told you the most expensive path you have to follow, this is a path you’ll never be disappointed when you follow it. The path in which all your disappointments will be turned into testimonies, worship God in all circumstances, rejoice in the Lord and in the mighty of His power, nothing is impossible with God, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death I shall fear no evil, His rod an staff shall protect me all the days of my life. Indeed the Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want, I have everything, I lack nothing at all, my life is full of everything I have reasons to worship God for, even for this tears and pains, I still worship God, I surrender all to Him.

Lean on God, and trust not on your own understanding, don’t look at what happened as a cause for pain and distress but as an opportunity to nakedly bless the name of the Lord, for He is all good, all righteous, all perfect by Himself, all holy and glorious, the Rock of all ages, He who is what He is!!! What should I do? Worship…

YOUR CHALLENG IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY FOR GREATNESS

It is very usual for people to run away from challenges; in fact none of us want to see a pool of challenges upon their life. Sometimes we even twist things so that hard times may pass us, or we do the opposite of what is expected of us to pass a certain challenge. It is not a nice thing to live life full of troubles, full of challenges and always expected to come out a hero. Tough times are meant to happen to anyone of us, difficulties are not only for the poor but the rich also. In this life, we all have something to fight and overcome if we are tough enough.

Now, behind every situation you are facing in your life there is always a solution dressed in shining clothe, ready to feast and celebrate the victory whenever you overcome and are patient enough to wait for the Lord, trusting in Him for your redemption. A challenge, situation or temptation is nothing else but just an unbroken ladder you need to climb in order to rich your destination on that course.

Challenges are mostly depressing, they put you in an atmosphere where you feel weak, hopeless; they can make you float like a paper hit by wind. It is even hard to concentrate or focus in the middle of a hard deep situation, the mind becomes messed and mixed up, you get different kinds of ideas about the deep things you are in, but the first idea or thought of doing things in God’s way is always the best. Situations can make you bleed emotionally, physically and spiritually. Many people are running around, from prophet to prophet, from witches to witches, and all they need is a miracle, just a miracle which can solve their problems and overcome their situations, if you are still doing that, you’ve lost it.

We all hear words that say ‘situations are not meant to hurt us, but to uplift us’. It is easy to hear or say, but not so simple to follow. There is no such a thing as living a life free of troubles on earth, but there is to take your troubles as blessing, you see your situation as a solution. I know that people sometimes needs testimonies to believe that they can come out if they are on a certain situation, but it is always not wise to compare situations because they do not come from the same direction or for the same reason. There are few things you need to do to unleash your opportunity from your challenge or situation.

1.    Be optimistic

Your first approach to a situation determines the outcomes, what you see, say and expect when you are facing hard times is what you will get. Someone once said that our attitude towards life determines life’s attitude towards us. People who have a positive attitude seems to live joyfully and happily in their everyday living as if they do not meet challenges, the truth is they do meet challenges but they look and expect the best out of it.

2.    Empower yourself and be responsible

Sometimes we forget that in whatever circumstance we face in life we are the ones who are still in charge. God did not just entrust us with life, but also trust and believe that in whatever circumstance we will be in, we will always overcome. People usually admit defeat by saying ‘things were meant to be this way, can’t help it or this is who I am I can’t even help it’. What a nice foolish speech. You know; until you become responsible for your life, don’t expect any change. Being responsible and empowering yourself only mean that you speak life on a dead situation, never accept a defeat in your life.

3.    Stop living a lie

Many people in our generation are not really living their lives but the lives of other people, the life of following where the crowds is floating to is not meant for you. Your life is not your friend’s life and you are not attached to anyone, neither will the challenges of your life be defeated by the way in which other used. Know yourself, understand your purpose, and stop admitting defeat, stop living a life of a loser and stop living a lie.

Happiness is a choice, it does not just come to you, but you choose to live with it. People who choose to live happier overcome their troubles just before they even get to them. A person who is happy always searches for the positive side of a situation…

ASPECTS OF FAITH

The mostly used word in our daily living as Christians is faith, however I wonder if we do really understand the exact meaning of faith, or the power that is hidden within this five letter word. The biblical definition of faith is clear in the book of Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. Faith is a substance, and we all know that a substance can be referred to the importance of what has been said or written by someone, or it can be a material with uniform characteristics. Faith is the evidence, and we are certain that evidence may refer to something that proves that either something is true or have existed; it is also referred to as a visible sign of something.

What we need to understand now is the core knowledge and wisdom behind faith, the aspects of which it is made of, the power that is deeply hidden within this little simple word we always confuse thinking that we have it whereas we are just playing behind its corners. Every time when Jesus tested His disciples He could say that they are of little faith, this however means that faith can be measured, the more you understand it the stronger it is in you. What makes the weight of faith is what has built it.

Now let’s discuss the aspects or elements of faith;

1.    Faith as behaviour

Sometimes we pray and don’t get what we prayed for just because we did not behave afterwards, we easily gave up by the words we spoke, the things we did and the walk we intended to walk after prayer. “Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.” Matthew 15:21-28. This woman is so dynamic, her behaviour made her get what she wanted, she understood faith as a behaviour, sometimes you’ve got to behave stubborn before the Lord if you want things to happen for you, reason with Him until you matches His faith. “ for without faith it is impossible to please God”, He is not pleased or impressed by how much you preach or come to church, but by your behaviour when you are not in the pulpit or church. The bible says that we must have God kind of faith, and again it says that we must have the attitude which was also in Christ Jesus, what it mean is that we must behave like God, “for in Him we live, we move and have our being”.

2.    Faith is a believe

The eyes of faith are very much spiritual that they see even the things that has not yet happened, the things that you’ve not yet seen with the naked eyes, but yet you believe in God for them. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. Peter believed Jesus when He called him to walk on top of waters as He was coming to the boat, and so he did walk on water. In the midst of oppositions and hard situation faith can makes things happen for you if you attempt it as a belief, believing that He who called you is faithful and He also shall do it for you. When Joshua prayed for the sun and the moon to stop until they are done avenging themselves upon their enemies, he believed without doubt that God would hear him, and indeed God heard him and the bible records “and there was no day like that before it or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man” Joshua 10:14

3.    Faith as obedience

God is not pleased by how much we offer, how much we have, what we have, how we worship or pray, God is well pleased when we obey His word, when we live according to His laws and principles, the principles of love and peace. “But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams” 1 Samuel 15:22. For without faith it is impossible to please God, Saul was trying to please God, but he couldn’t because he had no faith in Him, if you have faith in God, you will always obey even if you think what you will do will be accepted, don’t do things that would be accepted, but do things that will please God.

4.    Faith is giving the best

Giving is not enough to please God and challenge Him to pour out blessings upon your life, but giving the BEST, giving even if you don’t have all is a sign of faith in God. “But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.” Very small copper coins reflect as MORE to Jesus because the woman did not just give, but she gave out of her best and out of her faith. Your faith is not determined by how much you put of the giving basket, coins or notes, but by the measure of where you pulled it out. God accepted Abel’s offerings because he gave the best out of faith…

UNDERSTANDING THE POWER OF THE TONGUE

It is awful and unfortunate that the house of faith seems to be the one that is poorer than the outside world. People no longer see it worthy to come to God because God’s representatives seem to have lost the roots and the understanding of their authority and ruling power. God surely did not call us to suffer, He did not call us to become beggars and donation seekers, He didn’t even call us to always wait for a good Samaritan to pass our way and throw us a piece of bread. In fact the book of Malachi states that we should bring tithe to God so that there is bread/food in His house.

Now, where is the problem laying with us Christians? Surely we have forgotten or neglected the power that is within us, “my people perish from the lack of knowledge…” Hosea 4:6. We all know that the power of death and life is in the tongue (proverbs 18:21), it is usually said that actions speaks louder than works, but it is always true that the impact of words is much more powerful than that of actions, and that actions follows after words, there will never be action if a word is not unleashed; “and God said let there be light and there was light”, God spoke a word, then an action of light appearance occurred.

Words can bring about death; people perish because of something that has been said, a lot of divorces are a result of the tongue, a single word can divide the whole church, family or any organisation. Words are truly a source of mass destruction. When God divided the generation that was building the tower of babel is because they spoke the same language, they understood each other and their words made them realise that they can reach the heavens if they can build a tower all together. It is Eve’s tongue that led her to the trap of devil during the temptation in the Garden of Eden, the words “you will not surely die” (Gen. 3:4) changed the mind of Eve and thus an action followed.

The tongue has ability to bring the dead to life, to reconcile and bring peace to families, churches. Words can create happiness and excitements; they can build, reproof and correct all errors. The tongue is the power house of what we see with our naked eyes, your life becomes exactly what you declare it to be, your situation always responds through what you say by your tongue. A person who declares poverty will forever be poor, but he who declares riches opens all opportunities of wealth and riches. Many people do live because of what has been said; it is not going to church that makes you live, but what will be said in church has the capability of building or destroying your life. The tongue works like a remote controlled missile; it does not miss the target.

However the Lord Jesus said that the tongue will only speak what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45), this mean that for the tongue to speak sense and life, the heart should be filled with sense and life. The other reason you pray to God for a job and you never get it is because after praying you still declare by your mouth that you don’t have a job, your heart is not filled with what you say you want, maybe you are just praying because everyone is praying, or you are too much excited and not yet understanding how faith works; “For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:10). You pray and believe with your heart and with your tongue you speak faith towards your request.

Let your tongue be a fountain of life as Jesus said, live to encourage than to critique, speak kind words to everyone, seek to speak life to everything that is dead and it shall come back to life. Ezekiel when he was placed in the valley filled with dry bones, God asked him if the bones could come back to life and I love how this man answered God saying that if only God can speak a word to the dry bones they can come back to life and thus God gave him that platform to speak a word and the bones came to life. Understanding the power of the tongue will help you understand how God works in our lives, He placed too much authority that whatever you say comes to pass. It is said in the book of Job that you shall declare a thing and it shall be established, the light of the Lord will shine on your path.

You shall begin to speak blessings than curses upon your life and the life of others, we need life in the church of God than gossips that destroys the house of faith, we need unity through speaking love than small groups that hate and are jealous to each other. If you are to set an example of a believer, you’ve got to start from what comes out of your tongue; your speech shall be nourished with love and mercy, having the power to build than to destroy. Learn to speak God than devil; the enemy will always say it is impossible, while God always says that there is nothing impossible with Him. The enemy will always say you cannot do it, you’ve got no potential, who are you to be rich when your family background is full of poverty, but God will always say that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, and that silver and gold belongs to God, seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness will reward you with the addition of all things that you need and want. It’s high time to stop asking ourselves who are we to be good, gorgeous, talented, gifted or anointed, and begin to live and speak good, gorgeous, talented, gifted and anointed. God has placed godly authority in your tongue to speak anything and that thing comes to pass. Speak life, speak opportunities, speak success and prosperity, speak healing and salvation, speak solutions and not problems, speak breakthrough and not obstacles, speak life I say, speak life and you shall experience the hand of God in your entire life, let’s help the outside world to see life in God through speaking life wherever we are, wherever we go, speak life, for there is power in your tongue

Unstoppable: overcoming temptations

Unstoppable: overcoming temptations: 7 PILLARS OF OVERCOMING TEMPTATIONS AS A YOUTH Despising the nice preaching received in the road to one’s salvation from the darkness i...

overcoming temptations

7 PILLARS OF OVERCOMING TEMPTATIONS AS A YOUTH

Despising the nice preaching received in the road to one’s salvation from the darkness into light, the likes of living free. Being or becoming a Christian is not an easy task, but it is simple, the life you have to live is not common or usual, it is not like sleeping or walking up; you don’t just dream and live free, you don’t just guess to live, in fact being a Christian is not an easy task, but always simple when one is ready to live by the principles of love.

Now, a Christian life is full of challenges and temptations, we face different kinds of temptations in our every moment of breathing and living. However, not everyone is prepared to overcome those temptations. The lust of the flesh is the number one or mother of all temptations that we find ourselves falling to; submitting to sin, whether it be gossiping, sex(out of marriage or godly bond), gluttony, stealing, cheating, as well as other sins. There are easy sins to overcome from the ones listed, however some are very difficult to cease from or overcome them. We all know that a temptation is not a sin; it only becomes a sin when one gives in to it and engages in it.

Jesus Christ Himself was tempted, yet He didn’t sin. That’s another reason the bible says that He who was tempted in every way, just as we are, yet He did not sin; and that because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. So temptations are not new today, they always have been there, and it is not only you who are tempted by the temptation you are facing, we all are, it just don’t happen at the same time or in the same manner it happens to you.

There are many ways to deal and overcome temptations, let’s discuss a few below.

To overcome temptations you need the following!

1.    Discover yourself

Every person has special characteristics that differentiate each and every one of us, understanding your own self, your strong points and your weaknesses will help you know the kind of places you have to be, the kind of people to associate with, the kind of food you eat according to your faith in God. Know where you are from, the nature of your family (many Christians suffer from blood line temptations). This will help you ease the chances of being tempted and or avoid many temptations.

2.    Identifying your temptations

Just because your friend or fellow Christian suffers from sex temptations doesn’t mean that you also are under the same suffering. As I said, we are all different, so everyone of us must learn and know what temptations are difficult for you to overcome, knowing exactly which temptations tempts you the most you’ll be able to arm more against it and therefore you will conquer. Understanding your enemy helps you discover their/its weaknesses, and therefore using their/its weaknesses it is easy and simple to overcome

3.     Ask God to give you strength to overcome

A lot of young people always miss it when they go before God in prayer; you are always keen to asking God for forgiveness of the same thing or sin every day. Yes the bible says that we must confess our sins to God and He will forgive us, but continuously it says that we have to let go of such sins after confessing them. It is therefore wise to ask God to give you the strength to overcome your temptations than to ask for forgiveness the whole 365 days of the year

4.    Befriend the bible with God’s wisdom

Usually most difficult temptations comes through the word, different people interpret the bible in a different way, some uses theological knowledge, some uses their living experience, some uses deceiving spirits, and so on. But the point is, don’t attempt to interpret the Word of God with people’s experience or your own understanding, you cannot interpret or reveal God’s knowledge by your poor physical being or carnal mind. Devil tempted Jesus Christ using the word, so what would stop him from tempting you using the word also. Have the kind of God’s wisdom or spirit to guide you discern what is the real truth of a situation by the Word, Jesus defeated the devil by the very same word he tried tempting Him with, you can defeat him also

5.     Speak the language of God during temptation

Many people easily give up in temptation because they are too soft in their language, the bible says that let your no be no and your yes be yes, that’s the language of God. If you know that you don’t want to engage in premarital sex because it’s a sin, then say no to conditions that can cause you to do it, if you know that have to be faithful to your partner, then say yes to your relationship and no to the other lustful ones. To avoid and stay away from temptations you have to be mouthful and strong in your tongue, speak the language of God.

6.    Set an example of faithfulness

Sometimes we think like we are acing it as we lead our Christian life, being prayer warrior, a great young preacher, miracle performer, an apostle, evangelist, usher, deacon, worshipper, or anything you can think of. The question will be ‘are you faithful’ in that aspect, remember 1Timothy 4:12 ‘’do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in faith, in love and in purity’’. Setting an example of faithfulness only mean that your life is presentable to everyone, your speech is well set with humbleness and meekness, you follow after purity and holiness, you love everyone without pretending, and hence you have the God kind of faith

7.    Accept godly counsel

The world is full with zealous young people, anointed and burning with great fire for the gospel; some it’s because they are just gifted some called and some just deceived. Allowing godly counsel helps shape your life and gifts, helps you grow beyond the temptations that are found in the lane of your gift. How many young people can you point which fell due to pride and disobedience, I hope you don’t wish to follow them. Proverbs 19:20 “listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise”. God hate pride; don’t be a victim of pride’s destruction of many generations, “guide your heart will all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life” proverbs 4:23