NO CAUSE FOR ALARM
In a changing world where nothing is constant except change, fear often times is the order of the day. Fear of uncertainty, fear of failure, and fear of what tomorrow will bring and what it will be. Situations such as this are responsible for the many crises people go through every day. This is because, many people cast their minds on the problems and the difficulties they face rather than the one who has power over all things.
Going beyond the world of man, there's one who is not just constant but also consistent. He is the unchangeable changer, whose name is never written in past tense but in the present, therefore if you call him a present day reality you are not in error. 'I AM' is his name. Does that send any message to you?
Because he is the same yesterday, today and forever. There's no cause for alarm! David the man after God's heart, after he had listened to the 'big mouth' Goliath rail insult on the army of God said, “let no man's heart fail because of this uncircumcised philistine.” What does that mean to the fearful and terrified army of Israel? It means no panicking, no wahala, or no cause for alarm. All because God lives and He is always in control. One with God is majority.
My motivation in writing this piece is to encourage you and to refer you to the one who has answers to the entire questions that I wasn't able to provide answers to during my stay. Keep your eyes on Jesus who is all in all for us in everything. For me he is my all, make him your all today and you will be convinced that there is no cause for alarm!
Finally, I say to all my friends and well wishers; and my esteem readers.
I thank you all for making my stay in Lagos a memorable one, I appreciate all your kind gestures. Thanks for your gifts, my God will reward you all in double fold.PF
- OKECHI-GOSPEL OKEREKE
Saturday, August 6, 2011
My PINNACLE YOUTH
By Emeka Anyaogu
I was once a vibrant youth
Standing in the pinnacle of glory
My glory was seen by all men
But as I trudged ahead
I walked into a moonless night
Where the stars were hidden by tears
That beclouded my eyes and stole the songs from my heart
Now I work in a flowerless garden
Toiling with sweat from morning to night
My life has neither fragrance nor joy
For glory no longer abides with me
I have walked thorny paths
Bleeding and with blistered feet
Too weak to admire, too worn out to be admired
Strengthened by the bread of life
I'm back to take my rightful place
Pinnacle is my territory
I will forever PRAISE Him
For His FAVOUR upon my life
My God who gave me WISDOM
To have VICTORY over my weaknesses. PF
I was once a vibrant youth
Standing in the pinnacle of glory
My glory was seen by all men
But as I trudged ahead
I walked into a moonless night
Where the stars were hidden by tears
That beclouded my eyes and stole the songs from my heart
Now I work in a flowerless garden
Toiling with sweat from morning to night
My life has neither fragrance nor joy
For glory no longer abides with me
I have walked thorny paths
Bleeding and with blistered feet
Too weak to admire, too worn out to be admired
Strengthened by the bread of life
I'm back to take my rightful place
Pinnacle is my territory
I will forever PRAISE Him
For His FAVOUR upon my life
My God who gave me WISDOM
To have VICTORY over my weaknesses. PF
CHALLENGES OF CHRISTIAN RELATIONSHIP (2)
By Sam Akhigbe
In every relationship, weather in the circular word or among believers, the place of love can never be over emphasized, especially the agape kind of love. Agape love is the virtue of God in human nature that enables us to overlook individual weaknesses and major on their advantages (good side). It does not discriminate irrespective of personality, weather rich or poor, black or white, educated or illiterate, agape love will enable you to treat people the same way and relate freely. It is one of the virtues that promote unity and godliness among the people of God, but unfortunately most of us Christians have challenges in this area.
Has it ever occurred to you that new members come to church every Sunday, but majority of them never stay? Instead, some members of the church are pulling out to join other churches. Last year the youth executive became so worried about this issue to the point that they threw it open for members to send in their contributions in writing on how they think that new members can be attracted, developed and retained in the church.
In my own opinion, attracting people to church is not really the issue because, there are many ways people can be attracted to the house of God. For example, people can come to church by formal invitation through church evangelism, the quality of praise and worship, the message or sermon, the architectural masterpiece of the church like ours can also attract people without formal invitation. But the question now is; how can these people be retained when they come into the church?
When people come out of the world and enter the church, only to discover that what they see among believers is not different from where they are coming from, they will either go back or find their way to other places of worship. This has also accounted for the reason why some members will visit other churches and the will not come back. I will like to state here that interpersonal relationship among God's
people is key if we must experience increase in membership. Also the spiritual growth of the church will remain stunted until believers learn to relate freely with one another without discrimination. Acts 2:46 says: And they continue daily with one accord in the temple… the end of verse 47 says: and the lord added to their number such as should be saved be saved. (Not such as will come to the church today, and go back to the world after two weeks)
There is power in genuine love and there is also power in unity. The moment we learn to treat one another as one and member of the same body, church growth becomes inevitable. PF
…To be concluded
In every relationship, weather in the circular word or among believers, the place of love can never be over emphasized, especially the agape kind of love. Agape love is the virtue of God in human nature that enables us to overlook individual weaknesses and major on their advantages (good side). It does not discriminate irrespective of personality, weather rich or poor, black or white, educated or illiterate, agape love will enable you to treat people the same way and relate freely. It is one of the virtues that promote unity and godliness among the people of God, but unfortunately most of us Christians have challenges in this area.
Has it ever occurred to you that new members come to church every Sunday, but majority of them never stay? Instead, some members of the church are pulling out to join other churches. Last year the youth executive became so worried about this issue to the point that they threw it open for members to send in their contributions in writing on how they think that new members can be attracted, developed and retained in the church.
In my own opinion, attracting people to church is not really the issue because, there are many ways people can be attracted to the house of God. For example, people can come to church by formal invitation through church evangelism, the quality of praise and worship, the message or sermon, the architectural masterpiece of the church like ours can also attract people without formal invitation. But the question now is; how can these people be retained when they come into the church?
When people come out of the world and enter the church, only to discover that what they see among believers is not different from where they are coming from, they will either go back or find their way to other places of worship. This has also accounted for the reason why some members will visit other churches and the will not come back. I will like to state here that interpersonal relationship among God's
people is key if we must experience increase in membership. Also the spiritual growth of the church will remain stunted until believers learn to relate freely with one another without discrimination. Acts 2:46 says: And they continue daily with one accord in the temple… the end of verse 47 says: and the lord added to their number such as should be saved be saved. (Not such as will come to the church today, and go back to the world after two weeks)
There is power in genuine love and there is also power in unity. The moment we learn to treat one another as one and member of the same body, church growth becomes inevitable. PF
…To be concluded
PERCEPTION AND FACTS ABOUT GARDEN-EGGS
By Nnamdi Bonny
It has become accepted like every other myth that garden egg fruits are of no nutritional value but that the nutrients are limited to their leaves. This myth may have thriven owing to the seemingly tasteless savour of the fruit and the scantiness of researches in the past. However, recent researches have yielded impressive results rebuffing this widely spread myth and giving a beacon of hope to the relegated status of garden eggs, scientifically referred to as Solanum specie, grown predominantly in tropical Africa has proven to possess reasonably high level of water which play key roles in the maintenance of body moisture. It also possesses a major phytochemical (plant chemical) known as flavonoid, which functions essentially as a free-radical scavenger, in other words an anti-ageing nutrient.
Most remarkable about the garden egg fruit is its fibre content which though in small amount accounts for the easing of constipation, i.e lightening the bowel.
In conclusion, it is therefore, imperative that the campaign for a rather valueless garden egg be relinquished as the newly discovered nutritive quality of the fruit exonerates it. PF
It has become accepted like every other myth that garden egg fruits are of no nutritional value but that the nutrients are limited to their leaves. This myth may have thriven owing to the seemingly tasteless savour of the fruit and the scantiness of researches in the past. However, recent researches have yielded impressive results rebuffing this widely spread myth and giving a beacon of hope to the relegated status of garden eggs, scientifically referred to as Solanum specie, grown predominantly in tropical Africa has proven to possess reasonably high level of water which play key roles in the maintenance of body moisture. It also possesses a major phytochemical (plant chemical) known as flavonoid, which functions essentially as a free-radical scavenger, in other words an anti-ageing nutrient.
Most remarkable about the garden egg fruit is its fibre content which though in small amount accounts for the easing of constipation, i.e lightening the bowel.
In conclusion, it is therefore, imperative that the campaign for a rather valueless garden egg be relinquished as the newly discovered nutritive quality of the fruit exonerates it. PF
IF ONLY I HAVE MORE...
Compiled by
Felix Opom Chimeremeze Jn
We are living in a world where there is an insatiable demand for power, wealth and pleasure, even at grassroots level. This gets compounded by bad governance and lack of love among the citizenry which of course, result in abject poverty for the masses. Yet we are rich, rich in God and rich in ourselves because each one of us possesses tremendous wealth! Needed only is self-exploration.
Many people today are living far below expectation because of the belief that they do not have enough at their disposal. Hence, we constantly hear such phrases as: if only I had more cars, more children, more clothes, more money, more time...
The question now is, if now I have more cars, money, wives and children, what would I do with them? Can I ever dream of more time than I have now? A look at the clock reveals that each one is blessed with a total of eighty six thousand four hundred (86,400) seconds daily, six hundred and four thousand eight hundred (604,800) seconds weekly and over sixteen million (16.9m) seconds monthly. What do you do with each second as it rolls-by? Yet we crave for more, probably to sin more!
It is time we stopped craving for more and concentrate on what we have. It is time we used the time and other resources at our disposal properly. It is time we started appreciating God instead of complaining. Note: it is ever God's pleasure to show His power by extracting success from unpromising conditions and by accomplishing His greatest projects with inadequate instruments. So, with the little we have, we could do more.
If God had meant more for you, He would have added it, since when reproaching David for his greed, said “...I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house and your wives into your hands, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!” (2 Sam 12:7-8).
The God who gave you one or more child, car, clothing, house, and whatever is yours today gave them to you for a purpose. Why not let His purpose come alive in you by concentrating on them. His words shall never cease to accomplish its purpose, yet it may seem delayed in your sight but God is always on time. HE DOES IT WHEN IT IS BEST TO BE. Keep working as you wait for the best that is yet to come. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa 55:10-11). You could be delaying God's intention for you with your complaints and incessant cravings for more. “An unexamined life is not worth living.” How often do you examine your life? If you cannot prove yourself with little things, why should you receive more? Stop craving for more BUT CREATE MORE WITH YOUR LITTLE. May the Lord the of harvest bless us with abundant harvest. PF
Felix Opom Chimeremeze Jn
We are living in a world where there is an insatiable demand for power, wealth and pleasure, even at grassroots level. This gets compounded by bad governance and lack of love among the citizenry which of course, result in abject poverty for the masses. Yet we are rich, rich in God and rich in ourselves because each one of us possesses tremendous wealth! Needed only is self-exploration.
Many people today are living far below expectation because of the belief that they do not have enough at their disposal. Hence, we constantly hear such phrases as: if only I had more cars, more children, more clothes, more money, more time...
The question now is, if now I have more cars, money, wives and children, what would I do with them? Can I ever dream of more time than I have now? A look at the clock reveals that each one is blessed with a total of eighty six thousand four hundred (86,400) seconds daily, six hundred and four thousand eight hundred (604,800) seconds weekly and over sixteen million (16.9m) seconds monthly. What do you do with each second as it rolls-by? Yet we crave for more, probably to sin more!
It is time we stopped craving for more and concentrate on what we have. It is time we used the time and other resources at our disposal properly. It is time we started appreciating God instead of complaining. Note: it is ever God's pleasure to show His power by extracting success from unpromising conditions and by accomplishing His greatest projects with inadequate instruments. So, with the little we have, we could do more.
If God had meant more for you, He would have added it, since when reproaching David for his greed, said “...I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave your master's house and your wives into your hands, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!” (2 Sam 12:7-8).
The God who gave you one or more child, car, clothing, house, and whatever is yours today gave them to you for a purpose. Why not let His purpose come alive in you by concentrating on them. His words shall never cease to accomplish its purpose, yet it may seem delayed in your sight but God is always on time. HE DOES IT WHEN IT IS BEST TO BE. Keep working as you wait for the best that is yet to come. “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isa 55:10-11). You could be delaying God's intention for you with your complaints and incessant cravings for more. “An unexamined life is not worth living.” How often do you examine your life? If you cannot prove yourself with little things, why should you receive more? Stop craving for more BUT CREATE MORE WITH YOUR LITTLE. May the Lord the of harvest bless us with abundant harvest. PF
KINGDOM MENTALITY
By Angela Musa
A kingdom can be likened to a domain, an estate or a country ruled by a king. Heaven is the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ is the king of that kingdom. We are Christians today because we want to inherit the kingdom of God.
As we get involved in lots of activities in the church, let us not forget our main purpose of coming to church. The main purpose of coming to church is to build ourselves in preparation for the kingdom of God. Though people come to church for different purposes, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…' Matthew 6:32
If you desire to enter God's kingdom, here are the steps you need to take:
1.You need to be born again. John 3:3-5. It does not matter your position in the church, are you born again?
2. You need to obey the laws of the kingdom. The law of the kingdom is love... Love God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)
3.You also need to understand the principles of the kingdom. The key is to be ready at all times. Jesus used parables to teach us about the principles of the kingdom. See Matthew 25. PF
A kingdom can be likened to a domain, an estate or a country ruled by a king. Heaven is the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ is the king of that kingdom. We are Christians today because we want to inherit the kingdom of God.
As we get involved in lots of activities in the church, let us not forget our main purpose of coming to church. The main purpose of coming to church is to build ourselves in preparation for the kingdom of God. Though people come to church for different purposes, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness…' Matthew 6:32
If you desire to enter God's kingdom, here are the steps you need to take:
1.You need to be born again. John 3:3-5. It does not matter your position in the church, are you born again?
2. You need to obey the laws of the kingdom. The law of the kingdom is love... Love God with all your heart and love your neighbour as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)
3.You also need to understand the principles of the kingdom. The key is to be ready at all times. Jesus used parables to teach us about the principles of the kingdom. See Matthew 25. PF
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