Do you discern which one is priority or do you just jump into it?

The world we live in today just makes us busy. We are constantly running from one thing to the other and can barely find time to “put our feet up”; yet God is not making a day longer than twenty-four hours. While one is still struggling with all the legitimate things to be done, the devil then increases your busyness by adding more chores. Indeed it would appear to me that the devil has found a way to further complicate our lives by keeping us very busy both mentally and physically so that we are so overwhelmed, we get confused. This is indeed another way of wearing out the saints so that when he then attacks, we are too tired and overwhelmed to respond appropriately.

Daniel 7: 25KJV “And shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws”

The truth is there will be times in every life when you have so many responsibilities and/or obligations you can’t meet them all at the same time so that they all have to be ordered. If you try to do everything at the same time, you will most likely end up in a big mess. We therefore need to be able to rightly order how responsibilities and/or obligations placing and dealing with them in their order of importance. The problem is usually with prioritizing the most important ones. Not prioritizing right can upturn everything and the truth is; only God through the Holy Spirit can guide us into proper correcting. Some things are just more important than others depending on various factors like season, time, and the one who passed on the obligation. Such factors vary from season to any other thing. 

Luke 17: 15 “one of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus, shouting, Praise God!”

Moreover, if we correctly prioritize, the fallout of the resolution of one matter may be the resolution of others down the line. It becomes most difficult to prioritize though when all the obligations appear to be priority or when priority appears to contradict what you have been taught or have always believed; but the Holy Spirit knows all things and is able to decipher the true priorities like in the story of the ten lepers where one leper on finding that he was healed returned first to thank Jesus and as a result received wholeness. Jesus had instructed them all to go and present themselves to the priest but this one realized that priority for anyone that was healed was gratitude to the healer so that presenting oneself to the priest becomes secondary. It was just to fulfill the law.

Acts 6: 2: “So the twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “we apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program.”

Making less important things priority can cost so dearly and upturn our lives. The Apostles in the early church realized that though it would not make sense to stop sharing the word and take to sharing food, they had to fix the food problem to be able to effectively carryon their responsibility of sharing the word of God. Mundane as the food sharing matter was, it could have upturned everything and so fixing it was priority at the time. Some would have wondered why they did not just ignore such irresponsible and petty people who were fighting over food in the face of all the important things that were happening to believers at the time.

What time is it in your life? Do you know?

I was at the ROTH 2013 Conference just this past Saturday; thanks to Bola who connected me with Bidemi, the convener of the conference. It is wonderful to see sisters yielded to God, vessels unto honor, fit and ready for the master’s use. The feeling I had inside me through the conference reminds me of the experience Elizabeth’s baby had when Mary went to visit with her. I caught fresh fire. Weldon Bidemi, Audrey, Enife, Ini and Iyang; you are all instruments in God’s hands. Bola has wanted me to meet these ladies for a while now but it had to be now because this is the right time. I almost connected with Audrey sometime last year but God obviously disallowed it. It was not the right time.

Luke 1: 41 “At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

Timing is so important; no wonder God is particular about times and seasons. The bible tells us, through Solomon the wisest king that ever lived, that there is a time and a season for everything under the sun. Wrong things are obviously wrong to all and the effects are bad; but doing the right thing at the wrong time maybe just as bad or even worse. It is more difficult to decipher that one is wrong when they are not wrong because of what they have done but the timing. If David had gone to battle at the time when Kings go out to fight, he probably would never have fallen into sexual sin and consequently, murder.

2 Samuel 11: 1 “I the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites… Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.”

The all wise God works in seasons and according to times. He separated the night from the day and counseled that we work while it is day. He also created seasons for all the works of His hands so that whether it is a living being or just nature, we all exist in seasons. Indeed with nature, the effect is more far reaching than it is with man. Timing is a major factor with regard to whether or not we fail or succeed in life; so it is wonderful for us as believers to have the Holy Spirit who helps us discern our times and enables us respond appropriately to the times and season of our lives. The same ladies I discussed above and at the same conference, but at the wrong time, would have been a disaster.

1 Chronicles 12: 32 “From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders…all these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.”

If we are careful to always observe the seasons of our lives, we will find it easier to align properly for the full manifestation of the will of God in our lives. Knowing the times of our lives will help enable us tap into the peace that is ours even in difficult times; you know it is just a season you are in which will pass if you can hold on until it passes. I have found that just knowing what time it is in one’s life, will save us a lot of trouble and pain. If I was more sensitive to these times in the past, I probably would not have suffered as much pain as I have though I rejoice because God is causing all things to work for my good. Even the best gifts given at the wrong time changes the dynamics of our lives. We must learn to be sensitive to the times and seasons of our lives aligning ourselves with it.  

It’s a Journey … Is that Person prepared to counsel you?

So the bible tells us that one day Rehoboam, King Solomon’s son, was made king. Soon thereafter, there was trouble; some people wanted serious tax cut. Rehoboam first sought counsel from the men that sat with his father who advised that he cut the taxes. He then sought counsel from his friends who counseled contrary to that of the elderly men. He accepted the counsel of his friends and lost half the kingdom. It was not only lost to him but to generations yet unborn who were entitled to the kingdom. 

Interestingly, I do not doubt the sincerity of Rehoboam’s friends in the counsel they gave. They were most likely friends because they perceived life similarly. Again I guess they would not have wanted to lose the benefits they enjoyed as the king’s friends. Any loss the king suffered would have translated to loss for them. I do not think that facilitating the loss of a portion of the kingdom would have been their desire since it might jeopardize their relationship. It was just unfortunate that they had not been prepared to counsel on matters relating to governance; all they wanted was for their friend to be happy.

However, God had, as He always does, placed around Rehoboam people He had prepared to support him with wise counsel. When God brings us into a role, He provides all we need to succeed in it; it then is our responsibility to identify and pay attention to those He has placed around us to help us fulfill purpose in that role. The truth is such people are never perfect and don’t often say or act in ways we would like them to. The men that sat with Solomon probably watched Rehoboam grow up so may not have treated him with the respect he felt was due to him but they had what he needed – wise counsel. Such people will never be perfect neither are they there to be what you like, but what God would have them be to you.

John 2: “But his mother told the servants, do whatever he tells you.”

When Jesus was working out the provision of wine at the wedding in Cana, he was not the nicest person. He instructed without any explanation. That can be annoying and anyway, how did they know that the water would become wine? There may have been people there counseling them to buy more wine fast which they could have done since they had no idea how Jesus was going to produce wine from water but thank God they accepted Mary’s counsel. Not only did they get wine, they got the best for which the groom was honored. Wise counsel releases honor. Never blame the person the gives you wrong counsel; you accepted it because it appealed to something in you. If you have the Holy Spirit, you can tell when counsel is not right even when you do not know what the correct thing is.

We have to be more careful now than we have ever been. Marriages are breaking up; believers are getting poorer and even dying because of bad decisions and all because they sought and obtained counsel from people who are ill equipped to counsel them. “when you feel the need to talk to a being you can see and relate with, which is why you want to talk to somebody; you must be careful to choose that person that God has prepared to talk to you in that particular situation.” Excerpts from “It’s a Journey” (my new book). To get a copy, please call the numbers beside the book on this blog. It’s a companion as fit for your journey of life in Christ.

Be thankful…It is the goodness of God

Have you noticed how we struggle with gratitude these days? Nobody wants to be grateful to another: but how can we appreciate goodness when we keep wanting more so that no one ever does enough to make us owe them gratitude. We quickly forget the good people do or we tell ourselves that they owed us that act of kindness just so that we don’t owe them gratitude. Sometimes we have such great arguments that by the time we are done, the other party feels like they truly owe us even for the opportunity to do them good. 

My pastor describes thanksgiving as a product of deep thinking, which as we know, a number of people are incapable of today. We are so lacking in depth that we are unable to be appreciative or show appreciation even to God. When we manage to thank God, we often do it perfunctorily, either at the beginning or end of our prayer. We have become so selfish that we even feel God owes us and so we owe Him no gratitude. Ingratitude is more than bad manners; it is a major character flaw that should not be ignored. If you find you have difficulties with being grateful, please be true to yourself; admit and deal with it. As the saying goes, “to yourself, please be true.” 

Romans 1: 21 “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks…as a result, their minds became dark and confused.”

I dare to suggest that pride, which is one of satan’s most potent tool for destroying man, is often an underlying reason for ingratitude. People with deep sited pride must find a reason why they ought not to be grateful. The Levites who rebelled against Moses and Aaron would testify to this. Ingratitude is a terrible thing and may cost you very dearly just like it cost these Levites dearly; so dearly, almost their entire tribe, including the princes of the tribe, perished when the earth swallowed them. Meanwhile the Levites were a people once cursed but restored to a place of honor because they humbled themselves and sided with God in the time of Moses; but they ceased to think deeply and becoming ungrateful, they preferred the office of another and eventually incurred God’s wrath.

Numbers 3: 11-12 “And the Lord said to Moses, Look, I have chosen the Levites from among the Israelites to serve as substitutes for all the firstborn sons of the people of Israel. The Levites belong to me.”

We have to realize that in thanking man, we learn the art of thanksgiving which does not come to selfish man naturally. Also, in thanking man, we are ultimately appreciating God who placed the desire and will to do that good in the doer. For man in himself is not good; so, it takes God to place the desire to do well in any man. We must never forget that only God is good. Moreover, if we learn to identify and appreciate the acts of kindness of man, it causes thanksgiving to abound to God; because after you have thanked the man, you are still so full of thanks that you begin to thank his God. Let us learn to be thankful and also teach our children to be thankful.

Philippians 2: 15 “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.”

A journey to eternity; 0ur walk with God! Never give up! You will make it

To the glory of God, my book “it’s a journey; our walk with God” is available for purchase even in hard copy though the hard copy is not available online till August. The book itself is an expression of God’s goodness to me just as it tries to capture the reality of how God elects to express His goodness in our lives. God truly works in mysterious ways to perform His wonders. His goodness is not often the way we perceive goodness to be but after a while we realize that it is indeed goodness.

Ecclesiastes: 3: 1 “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”  

Some of the reasons that instigated my writing this book is seeing believers fall away from the faith because of disappointed expectations and the fact that they think the challenges they face are peculiar to them. It really does get lonely when you believe your difficulties are peculiar to you; it makes life as a believer tougher than life already is. The truth though is people go through challenges in life but maybe at different times so that when one is rejoicing, another may be singing a dirge. If while you are mourning, another is rejoicing, please accommodate their rejoicing for your turn shall come again. Life happens to all and it is like a wheel that keeps spinning.

Ecclesiastes 9: 2a KJV “All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean”  

The style of the book is simple just like the scriptures upon which it is based. The bible is so simple that intellectuals and “very wise” ones consider it stupid. So simple, some “erudite believers” feel God needs a little help to make the gospel a bit more intellectual so that they can preach it without looking stupid. Unfortunately, such people have ended up complicating the gospel making it more difficult to understand. The truth is most of such people have little understanding of God otherwise they would know that God is not complicated; you either know Him or you don’t. 

Galatians 6: 7 “Don’t be misled-you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.”

Sadly, having complicated our simple faith, we have made it a burden to many and are struggling to “un-complicate” it. Unfortunately, we are doing it in the flesh so that unwittingly, we are propagating the gospel of the flesh which in reality is another gospel. We are selling the idea of Christian discos, bars and such like, just to make Christianity appear less tedious. If you want to go to disco, it is your decision but please do not lie to yourself by pretending to have created a special one for believers. The fact that you label a thing Christian does not automatically bring God into a situation. Moreover, it takes revelation of God to fix this problem.

As we go through this journey of life, God reveals Himself to us in deeper dimensions often using experiences. This book prepares one for this journey by providing information that prepares your mind for what to expect. Even if you already face the challenges, the book becomes your companion, talking to you and reminding you that God is with you so that if you just hold on, you will come through. It is written in simple language and very fluid style so that it does not task you but reveals God inside you.