Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: New Video: Tehila Crew - You Are Holy

Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: New Video: Tehila Crew - You Are Holy

Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: Breaking news!! Nine Nigerian serving ministers sacked

Welcome to Linda Ikeji's Blog: Breaking news!! Nine Nigerian serving ministers sacked

ASTONISHING FACTS ABOUT YOUR BODY

Do you know that your body is an incredibly complex and intricate system and  still baffles researchers regularly despite thousands of years of medical knowledge? As a result, it shouldn't be a surprise that your body parts you deal with everyday have unexpected facts and explanations behind them.
Here are some facts about the human body: 

* The brain is more active at night than during the day. Scientists don't know yet why this is.
*The higher your IQ, the more you dream.
*Facial hair grows faster than any other hair on the body.
*The nail on the middle finger grows faster than the other fingernails.
*Fingernails grow nearly four times faster than toe nails.
*The lifespan of a human hair is 3 to 7 years on average.
*The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve zinc. It doesn't destroy the stomach because the stomach walls constantly renews itself.
*Women's hearts beat faster than men's.
*Women blink twice as many times as men do.
*Men burn fat faster than women by a rate of about 50calories a day.
*Men get hiccups more often than women.
*A man has approximately 6.8 litres of blood in the body while women have approximately 5 litres.
*During your lifetime, you will produce enough saliva to fill two swimming pools… to be continued.

VICTOR FRANK

ONCE PRAISE IS FOREVER PRAISE

My sincere appreciation goes to every member of praise family especially my fellow executives for all their support during my tenure as the leader.  Praise Family is such a lovely family to belong to, the bond and the relationship that exists in the family is so strong that no one will want to leave the family. But a time shall come in life when one will definitely move on and allow others to take charge.

I am happy that the series of meetings and seminars we conducted were not in vain. It shows by the number of leaders that had emerged from praise family. In June 2011, three leaders emerged from praise family and became leaders in other families and to the central executive of Youth Ministries. Again, in June 2013, another three great leaders also emerged from praise family to the central executive of the Youth Ministries.

Each time leaders emerged from praise family, it will be as if the most important people have been taken away from the family but time has proved that it is another opportunity for other greater leaders to emerge. For those who seem to be weary that some leaders are no longer in the family, I want to let you know that every member of praise family is a potential leader. This is your time to showcase the leader in you. The best way to do that is to give the incoming leaders all the necessary support they need.  If I should borrow the word of our pioneer leader, ‘There is no cause for alarm’. My prayer is that the love we share, the understanding we have and the friendship we have developed among us will continue to grow. I am still part of you, once praise is forever praise!

Angela B. Anwana

GADGETS & DECORUM

The first time i saw my local church pastor, Rev Awazie, go up the pulpit with his ipad (it was in a wake-keep service), i felt so proud of him that i told the person beside me, ‘Yea! That’s my Pastor...’ lol.

What is the place of Gadgets in our worship? To enhance worship or has it become a distraction too?

I remember when these smartphones just hit the shelves. Chei! Ushers in our church had clashes with members whilst trying to maintain decorum...

‘brother please put away your phone, the sermon is on’ #the culprit gives the usher a look of are-you-just-jealous-or-plainly-ignorant?# ,then he says, ‘thank you but i’m reading my bible on my phone’ .Reluctantly the usher would back-down to avoid a scene. I imagined part of what will pass through the usher’s mind...#with eyes rolling# ’what insolence! if not that we’re in church ehn.... hmmm... who does he think he is... Or Father forgive them though they know what they do....

Those around me know I’m a ‘gadget’ person. Modems, Blackberry, Androids, Ipad #eehm, okay i don’t have an Ipad yet, but I’ve listed it so you can get me one after reading this...lol. don’t harden your heart o#

Okay, back to our gist, gadgets in church can really be cool, efficient, swaggy, and sometimes distracting. For instance, you’re in the middle of this hot sermon, checking the Hebrew translation of one scripture on your blackberry and PING!  You hear that ever familiar sound PING! . You’d mutter under your breath, ‘who could be pinging me in church?’, the brilliant red light is blinking all over the place, calling for attention...tell me you didn’t read that ping?

Or hasn’t it ever happened that whilst you were in church, during a service, an email suddenly drops on your Ipad. You decide take a peek (saying in your mind, I’ll read it later) then you realize it’s an ‘important’ mail, perhaps one you’ve been expecting, an international business mail, visa approval, or from your lost cousin...tell me you didn’t quickly read that email?

Putting your gadget away and paying attention to those talking to you? There’s an App for that, it’s called ‘RESPECT’.  Even your spouse gets pissed when during a conversation and you are busy pinging or responding to an email, let’s not mention your boss, how much more God. 

I’m sure a lot of us have several marked highlighted, underlined and even painted parts of our bible (hard copy, i mean), and one day you were flipping through or searching for a passage; suddenly one marked verse strikes you, the Holy Spirit begins to minister to your soul...that wouldn’t have happened on your gadget.

Yea, yea...i know all about bookmarking of favourite passages on your device but nothing really compares to the rugged good old hard copy bible. You don’t have to press ‘Power On’ to read it.

In all these, i am the ‘chiefest’ of sinners. I’ve also gotten tired of feeling guilty and apologising to the Holy Spirit each time i distract myself. I quit whining about my ‘easily besetting sin’ and found me a cure; where do we draw the line between use of our gadgets as worship enhancements or distraction? 

Tips:

1.     Don’t bother bringing it to church, that way there’s zero chance of temptation

2.      

Switch off the internet before entering church , that way no mails or pings can drop

3.      

Preload or download offline versions of the bible on your gadget, that way you won’t worry about going live online to get a passage, commentary or translation

4.  

   Exercise restraint, stop your amateur videos and paparazzi during service, you’re distracting other brethren. Thankfully media produces CD’s each Sunday, buy them instead

5.   

  Come each Sunday with your rugged big old bible and jotter, that way you don’t get to doze and you’re actively engaged

As for me, I’ve decided nothing can separate me, not NEPA or PHCN, not MTN, AIRTEL, GLO, ETISALAT or any other consistently unstable network, not virus, nor gadget hanging palava, not swag nor business, not convenience nor whatever else will separate me from my Bible.

Maintain decorum in the use of your gadget today, don’t miss your blessing and if it’s too much of a bother send it to me, I can put it to excellent use #winks#

BERYL  EHONDOR

berylehondor@gmail.com

Kill The Phrase, ‘I HAVE DONE MY BEST’

Are you a pastor, departmental leader, sunday school teacher or just a member in the church?

 You may be a CEO, or someone occupying a high position in the society. If you can just drop the fact that you know it all, or that you have contributed so much, you will see yourself doing better than what you had done.

You may not be able to touch or reach out to everybody In your position as a leader, but you can still reach out to one more person. Don’t say I have done my best. Your best may not be good enough; you can still go the extra mile in your well doing. That extra effort can make a whole lot of difference. I am of the opinion that improving on your good deeds will bring joy to the heart of somebody.

So the essence of these write-ups is for you to add more effort to whatever you are doing. Don’t be carried away by praises or criticisms. Instead be appreciative to God for giving you the privilege to be in that positions, knowing fully well that if you don’t do it, He would surely raise someone else who would do it much better than you can.

 In Luke 17:10, Jesus says, “ So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: We have done that which was our duty to do”. This passage makes us understand that we should not be carried away by our past achievements.
 Therefore, kill the phrase, ‘I have done my best’. 

Maduka Nwaigwe

PARIASE TIP

The purpose God created you is to worship Him. And one of the ways to express your worship to God is to give him praise. We are to praise God at all times, even in difficult situations. What guarantees your access into God’s presence is not your weeping, complaints or worries but a praiseful heart. Some people think that the more tearful they are the more they can secure God’s attention. On the contrary, worries and complaints are expressions of doubt born out of fear. If you can reflect on His love and how he miraculously attended to your every need, you will not hesitate to give him unalloyed praise. If you cannot recount His goodness now perhaps due to what you are currently passing through, try this tip for at least a month or two as a concrete tool for building up your praises to God. Get a blank book or a good dairy, record the date and your prayer request on the left side of the page, then as your prayers are being answered begin to write out the results on the right side across from the corresponding requests.Dedicate a part of your daily prayer time to reading over those requests as well as writing new prayers. You will be surprised how seeing the concrete results will build up your faith and your willingness to turn praises to God. Anyaogu Emeka

WORD FOCUS

‘And the earth was without form and void;And God said, let there be light and there was light.’ (Gen 1:2,3KJV). The gospel Christ brought is not a gospel of works;it is not a gospel of purgatory; it is not a biased gospel where only the privileged have access to. It is the gospel of ‘whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have a never ending life.’ (Rom 4:5; Jhn 3:16). From the text, we see that God could not hesitate but launched into the shapeless and shattered earth with ‘let there be Light…’ (Gen 1:2). Salvation has been made available to you and you don’t need to continue in these woeful living you nicknamed 'pleasure'. It has been hovering around waiting for you to say 'I do'(Prov 1:20). Would you love to live a life that will lead to endless doom? Do you still enjoy fornication after all the multiple heartbreaks? Sin is deadlier than HIV. Jesus Christ loves you with a superlative love. One that cannot to be measured. Why waste your life when he has provided a better one for you? Ozioma Okeke

DILIGENCE TO WEALTH

‘Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings…’ (Proverb 22.29) It is the will of God that you should prosper, but on the road to prosperity there are many factors which can hinder you. These factors can be categorized into external and internal environmental factors. The external environmental factors are those factors youdo not have control over but can only influence, while the internal factors are the onesyoucan control, e.g., laziness. The book of proverb say that hard work leads to prosperity while laziness leads to poverty. Hard work will give you power, but being lazy will make you a slave. If you are lazy you will never get what you are after, but if you work hard you will get a fortune (Prov. 12:24,27) GNV. Lazy people should learn a lesson from the ways ants live. They have no leader, chief or ruler yet they store up their food during summer, getting ready for winter. How long is a lazy man going to lie in bed? When is he ever going to get up? ‘I will just take a short nap he says, I‘ll fold my hands and rest a while, but while he sleeps, poverty will attack him like an armed robber.’ (Prov.6:6-11). ‘Work and you will earn a living, if you sit around talking you will be poor.’ (prov. 14:24). Therefore, it is very essential that you work hard and commit your work into God’s hand to prosper you. God does not prosper empty hands. Work hard! Manna no Longer falls from heaven. Angela Musa

THE INGRATE AND THE MOST INGRATE

I watched a Christian movie some time ago, one of the characters whom I presumed took the lead role was angry with God, and decided never to worship Him because according to him God did not care about his plight.In other words, God was wicked to him for not providing him with a job after his long year of graduation. Those who graduated with him who were also his fellow Christians had good jobs and were doing great in their various endeavours, but he had nothing other than the ‘crumbs’ from his parent’s table. This led to his lost of faith, of course you know what this means, he was falsely accused and was put behind bars. There he started reflecting on the words of advice given to him by his parents and friends while he was backsliding, only if he had known. Still on reflection, he was shown heaven and hell in a trance. He saw one of the supposed believers in hell wailing in pains, he was pricked and shouted I don’t want to be here!The angel who was showing him all these said to him you are an INGRATE, you complained of not having a job but you were fed, clothed, shielded and never admitted in the hospital. He now said to the unbelievers you are the most UNGRATEFUL, you never cared about your souls but live your lives the way you pleased. The one (Jesus) who paid the price for your souls you ignored. After the trance, he realized his wrongs and was restored to faith in God. From the aboveexcerpt, who are you? An Ingrate or the most ungrateful? Yes you may not have got to the level you desired (being married, bearing children, lucrative job or a successful business, having a mansion, etc.) but you are alive hale and healthy, praise Him for the ones He has done and in due course you will be visited. Then, are you the most ungrateful?What more do you want from God who did not spare His cherished son but gave Him up for the remission of your sins. Isn’t time you repented and enjoyed the free salvation at your disposal? Remember, there is joy in heaven over a soul that repents.Why not make heaven happy today? SHALOM! Ezinne Okpara

PRAISEFOCUS IS NOW ON FACEBOOK

As the man of God revealed during our annual programme, ‘Hosting the Almighty’, 2013 is the year of rising up. Hope you have already queued into that prophetic revelation? Even PRAISEFOCUS is not left out in this prophecy, we are not only rising up but we also want to attain unto His excellence. For this reason we have updated our online version. You can now read more of our articles on www.praisefocus.blogspot.com or you can LIKE our facebook page: www.facebook.com/praisefocus, and be the first to read each month's publication. That is not all, you can even be among the contributors by forwarding your own articles to praisefocus@yahoo.com for us to publish. This month’s edition is a follow-up on the just concluded programme. We do not want the experience to fade out with time, that is why you most read the article: AFTER HOSTING THE ALMIGHTY WHAT NEXT? The theme of the programme talks about excellence. Do you know you can live an excellent life even in your kitchen? See SIMPLE IDEAS FOR A HEALTHY KITCHEN. WORD FOCUS is a direct short message that comes out every week on our blog and in our facebook page. After reading this month's edition you will see the reason you should like our facebook page.

AFTER HUSTING THE ALMIGHTY WHAT NEX?

Hosting the Almighty this year was no doubt a huge success. Various anointed men of God ministered prophetically under the unction of the Holy Spirit. Prophetic blessings were released and there was salvation, healing and deliverance. Personally I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit for the first time after many years. Halleluyah! Now January is gone and February is counting. After hosting the Almighty what next? Let's consider this scenario and see how it relates to us. You participate in a church programme all through the days and receive powerful ministrations with deep conviction in your spirit, then long after the programme you wait and wait, yet no manifestation until the memory of that programme fades out completely, then you start all over again, looking forward to the next up-coming one. Well, in case this is not your experience note that this is how it has been with many for years. For some it has become business as usual, the vicious circle continues while a few others are catching their flight to the next level. If your experience is like this, something most be wrong somewhere. Psalm 11:33 says, if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do, and it stopped there. But someone said, the righteous can do something and I totally agree with that. But the question is, what can I do? How do I consolidate the benefits of hosting the almighty and other programmes? Before I take this discussion further, I want you to note that the word of God is double edged. As I write this article, I also stand at the receiving end. “Hosting the Almighty” may have ended, but the benefits of the programme are still accessible, they can still manifest if activated. Yea, very possible! Here Are Few Suggestions 1) Exercise Faith: The bible says, without faith it is impossible to please God, and it can be deduced that without faith also it is impossible to receive anything from God. Faith is the authentic currency note with which you exchange blessings from God, so it is absolutely necessary that you learn to exercise faith over every circumstance. Even when they are suggesting the “negative” do not give up, consolidate your faith and your miracle will break forth like a dream. 2. Engage the Word: During the programme, the man of God said something about your situation that hit your mind so strong, your faith was steered up and you went ahead to write it down in your jotter. Now you will go back to that jotter, pick some relevant scriptures and begin to declare them prophetically over your situation. As you pray, release those scriptures violently into the spirit realm. Even if it does not make sense to you, continue because God is not sense, He is spirit. He uses the intangible to produce things that you can see in the physical. Heb. 11:3 says, He framed the entire world through His word. If you are born again that same power is in you, activate it and begin to recreate the circumstances around your life (your marriage, your family, your business, your career, your finances, your health, your relationships and so on.) With God's word in your mouth you can reshape your entire world. Speak it over your life continuously and then see what will happen before the end of this year. 3) You Need to Fight: This year, if you must break out of that circle and move to the next level, you will need a fighting spirit. Most times God says I have blessed you, but you are not seeing the manifestation. While others are testifying, your own blessings, promotions and breakthroughs are hanging somewhere, and you think it is the will of God? NO! The will of God is that you prosper and be in health even as your soul prospers…. Remember, during the programme the man of God would always say,“By this time tomorrow…” believe you me, that thing he said had already happened in the spirit realm but for you to see it sometimes, you need to be a fighter. Switch into a higher level of hot prayer frequency. The book of James 4:16 says and I paraphrase, the consistent fervent prayer of a righteous man has tremendous power to produce amazing results. In other words, if you are in right standing with God and your prayer is red-hot and consistent, you will break limits and set a new record for your family history. If you can speak in tongues, blessed are you. I like to say again that the benefits of hosting the almighty are still accessible. They are not for few people but for all, including you. If you can exercise faith and engage the word of God, then fight tirelessly in the place of prayer and if you are lead, sow a ‘dangerous’ seed and see if things will not change for you positively. …Sam Akhigbe

WORD FOCUS

Then he turned his face to the wall… (2kings. 20:2). When the news about death came to Hezekiah, he probably would have considered it and may be conclude 'I have no say, it is God's will for me' since He brought the news himself. Rather, he did otherwise. He understood the principles of the kingdom; he knew that sickness, death and life troubles are not from God. He had read about father Abraham and how he stood yet before the lord (Gen. 18:22). This gave him the impetus and he took his stand in the court. Instead of making complaints, he spoke to the mountains and made his case to the hills (Micah 6:1). We must know that personal prophecies are conditional and can be upturned if we wish. Sometimes stubborn issues stand on our way in life, may be God even revealed them to us before time, it doesn't matter. At such time, knowing what God said about them, we have to assume responsibility, take charge and face the 'wall' until it is pushed down. Wow! What a privilege for the sons of God! ……Okeke Ozioma

TIPS FOR A HEALTHY KITCHEN

by Chinyere Kalu I don't know how you feel but I really feel good about myself whenever I am in a neat, organized and attractive environment. In the same vain I give kudos to mothers, young girls and ladies whose offices (kitchen) is neat, organized, tidy and healthy. No matter what type of kitchen design you have, you should keep it healthy always. Though it's not always easy but you can make it healthy if you are determined. There are some few tips that can help you keep your kitchen healthy. Apart from the regular cleaning of the kitchen these practice will help you : •1.Keep the coldest part of the refrigerator between 32 and 41 degree •2. Wrap and cover all uncooked food. •3. Return perishable food such as butter and mayonnaise to the refrigerator as soon as possible. •4. Don't overload the refrigerator: this can block the circulation of the cooling air •5. Do not put hot food in the refrigerator, let it get cool first. •6. Don't keep leftover too long in the refrigerator •7. Put complimentary leftovers in pot with veggies and beef or chicken broth. •8. Blended, disinfect, or change kitchen cloths or sponges often, especially after raw meat, poultry, or fish have been prepared. •9. Wipe the tops of all cans before opening them. •10. Keep pest away from food, dishes and work surfaces •11. Keep your hands and all equipment clean •12. Never use a knife with which you have cut raw meat or fish to cut anything else without first washing it thoroughly •13. Scrub chopping boards and worktop counters between uses. •14. Keep separate boards for chopping raw meat or fish and cooked meat. •15. All store cooked or any salad item separately from raw meat •16. Disinfect and especially all cloths used for washing up and/or wiping down surfaces, as these can transfer germs readily •17. Never wipe your hands on towels that are used for drying dishes. Tips from “500 + time-saving Hints for every woman. By Emile Barnes

WORD FOCUS

WORD FOCUS So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief (Heb. 3:19 kjv). The word of God is true and can't return to the lord void without working out what it was sent for (Isa. 55:11). If there is anything we are to stake our life for, it is 'thus said the lord', it was what framed the earth. infact, we are to throw our whole weight on it, it should be to us as a pillar is to buildings. Isreal, despite how they were highly reverred never understood this and it cost them everything. The bible said '...they could not enter because they approached the word of God with double mind'. Many believers today have become a subject of fun by the devil today because the've got the same mindset with the isrealites who scorned at God when they doubted him. Jesus said 'these word are ..life, set your hearts unto all of them, they are not fables, they are your life... If you will only believe my words, that problem will become a past tense (rephrased) (Deut. 32:46,47; jhn. 6:63; mk. 9:23). Blissful day OZIOMA OKEKE